Idaho’s only large county, Ada, reported an employment increase of 3.9 percent from March 2013 to March 2014 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with 2013 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the rate of employment growth in Ada County was more than double the national average. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 1.7 percent from March 2013 to March 2014 as employment increased in 281 of the 339 largest U.S. counties. Weld County, Colo., recorded the largest percentage increase in the country, up 7.5 percent over the year. Peoria, Ill., registered the largest percentage employment decline, down 2.6 percent.

Employment in Ada County stood at 208,800 in March 2014, accounting for nearly one third of total employment in Idaho. Nationwide, the 339 largest counties made up 72.0 percent of total U.S. employment which stood at 134.6 million in March 2014, up 2.2 million from March 2013.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 43 counties in Idaho with employment below 75,000. All of these counties except Butte had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

The average weekly wage in Ada County advanced 5.9 percent, exceeding the national average increase (3.8 percent), from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014. Ada’s percentage change ranked 21st among the largest U.S. counties. (See table 1.)

Nationally, 323 of the 339 largest counties registered over-the-year wage increases. Chester, Pa., had the largest wage gain, up 13.9 percent from the first quarter of 2013. New York, N.Y., was second with a wage increase of 12.0 percent, followed by the counties of Forsyth, N.C. and San Mateo, Calif. (both up 9.6 percent).

Among the nation’s 339 largest counties, 15 experienced over-the-year wage decreases. Benton, Ark., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages, with a loss of 3.2 percent. Cumberland, N.C., had the second largest wage decline (-2.0 percent), followed by Dutchess, N.Y. (-1.6 percent), Ocean, N.J. (-1.3 percent), and McLean, Ill. (-1.0 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

The average weekly wage in Ada County was $857 in the first quarter of 2014, placing it 212th in the national ranking for wage levels. Nearly three-fourths of the largest U.S. counties (244) reported wages below the national weekly average of $1,027. Horry County, S.C., reported the lowest wage ($571), followed by the Texas counties of Cameron ($581) and Hidalgo ($597).

Among the nation’s 339 largest counties, 95 registered weekly wages above the U.S. average. New York, N.Y., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,749, more than four times the wage levels in the three lowest-paid counties. Santa Clara, Calif., was second-highest at $2,074 per week, followed by the counties of San Mateo, Calif. ($2,058) and Somerset, N.J. ($2,048).

Average weekly wages in Idaho’s smaller counties

All but 1 of the 43 counties in Idaho with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $1,027. Wages for smaller counties in Idaho ranged from $398 in Boise to $1,543 in Butte. (See table 2.)

When all 44 counties were considered, 4 registered average wages of $499 or less per week, 14 had wages from $500 to $599, 15 had wages from $600 to $699, 5 had wages from $700 to $799, and 6 had wages of $800 or more. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit www.bls.gov/cew.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2013 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2013 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The 9.4 million employer reports cover 136.6 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised (see Technical Note below) and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons–some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the one largest county in Idaho, first quarter 2014

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (1)
	March 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, first quarter 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	134,555.0	1.7	--	$1,027	--	3.8	--
Idaho	631.5	3.3	--	722	50	3.9	13
Ada, Idaho.	208.8	3.9	31	857	212	5.9	21
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. NOTE: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

 

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Idaho, 1st quarter 2014

Area	Employment March 2014	Average Weekly Wage (1)
United States (2)	134,554,959	$1,027
Idaho	631,537	722
Ada	208,793	857
Adams	866	614
Bannock	31,369	629
Bear Lake	1,556	499
Benewah	3,092	701
Bingham	14,175	637
Blaine	11,567	733
Boise	1,605	398
Bonner	12,409	612
Bonneville	44,652	630
Boundary	3,110	578
Butte	6,994	1,543
Camas	379	917
Canyon	54,938	613
Caribou	3,257	963
Cassia	10,185	583
Clark	407	844
Clearwater	2,626	633
Custer	1,312	746
Elmore	6,452	590
Franklin	3,095	494
Fremont	2,682	573
Gem	3,020	520
Gooding	5,781	631
Idaho	4,100	628
Jefferson	5,809	516
Jerome	8,991	626
Kootenai	52,122	660
Latah	12,801	632
Lemhi	2,078	569
Lewis	1,578	564
Lincoln	1,454	605
Madison	12,843	552
Minidoka	6,822	628
Nez Perce	20,326	723
Oneida	1,103	479
Owyhee	2,830	595
Payette	5,983	599
Power	3,301	724
Shoshone	4,419	803
Teton	2,494	585
Twin Falls	35,262	594
Valley	3,585	625
Washington	2,704	547
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Data are preliminary.
NOTE: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

 

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, first quarter 2014

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2013-14	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, first quarter 2013-14	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	134,555.0	1.7	$1,027	--	3.8	--
Alabama	1,849.5	0.6	825	38	1.6	50
Alaska	319.1	0.3	1,023	15	3.5	17
Arizona	2,540.8	1.9	918	22	3.1	26
Arkansas	1,152.6	0.3	784	46	2.5	37
California	15,572.9	2.8	1,165	6	4.5	5
Colorado	2,370.1	3.1	1,046	13	4.2	9
Connecticut	1,627.2	0.5	1,362	3	3.3	24
Delaware	412.5	2.0	1,110	7	3.9	13
District of Columbia	727.3	1.2	1,701	1	5.3	3
Florida	7,752.4	2.9	868	28	3.0	28
Georgia	3,974.8	2.6	972	18	3.4	18
Hawaii	624.9	1.2	857	32	1.9	42
Idaho	631.5	3.3	722	50	3.9	13
Illinois	5,651.2	0.9	1,104	8	4.2	9
Indiana	2,842.5	1.2	845	35	1.7	48
Iowa	1,485.4	1.5	824	39	3.0	28
Kansas	1,343.0	1.7	840	36	4.1	11
Kentucky	1,784.1	1.1	811	40	2.7	33
Louisiana	1,909.8	1.2	868	28	2.6	35
Maine	565.9	0.7	786	45	1.9	42
Maryland	2,512.8	0.1	1,086	9	1.8	47
Massachusetts	3,272.2	1.3	1,300	4	5.3	3
Michigan	4,013.5	1.7	950	20	3.1	26
Minnesota	2,652.3	0.8	1,036	14	3.4	18
Mississippi	1,096.8	0.6	707	51	1.7	48
Missouri	2,634.6	1.0	866	31	2.9	30
Montana	429.9	0.7	730	49	3.3	24
Nebraska	930.7	1.7	797	42	2.6	35
Nevada	1,183.5	3.4	867	30	2.7	33
New Hampshire	614.2	1.3	970	19	3.4	18
New Jersey	3,794.3	0.6	1,263	5	2.2	38
New Mexico	787.0	0.2	793	43	1.9	42
New York	8,699.5	1.6	1,460	2	7.3	1
North Carolina	4,003.2	1.7	914	23	3.4	18
North Dakota	428.9	3.3	944	21	6.7	2
Ohio	5,071.5	1.3	909	24	2.8	32
Oklahoma	1,565.2	0.7	854	34	3.9	13
Oregon	1,688.5	2.8	893	25	3.4	18
Pennsylvania	5,560.9	0.3	1,007	16	4.1	11
Rhode Island	449.7	1.1	996	17	4.4	8
South Carolina	1,873.6	2.7	787	44	1.9	42
South Dakota	400.2	1.4	741	48	4.5	5
Tennessee	2,718.2	1.7	874	27	2.2	38
Texas	11,220.6	2.6	1,062	11	4.5	5
Utah	1,270.8	3.1	831	37	3.4	18
Vermont	301.1	0.5	807	41	1.9	42
Virginia	3,613.2	0.0	1,050	12	2.2	38
Washington	2,966.3	2.6	1,068	10	3.8	16
West Virginia	694.6	-0.9	779	47	1.4	51
Wisconsin	2,694.5	1.0	856	33	2.9	30
Wyoming	275.4	1.0	877	26	2.1	41
Puerto Rico	914.9	-1.8	521	(3)	1.4	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.3	-3.6	744	(3)	2.6	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
NOTE: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.