An official website of the United States government
15-2098-SAN
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Hawaii’s only large county, Honolulu, reported an employment increase of 1.1 percent from March 2014 to March 2015 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with 2014 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the rate of employment growth in Honolulu County was below the nationalincrease of 2.1 percent. (See table 1.)
Nationally, employment increased in 323 of the 342 largest U.S. counties from March 2014 to March 2015. Utah County, Utah, had the largest percentage increase in employment at 6.7 percent. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 4.3 percent.
Employment in Honolulu County stood at 461,900 in March 2015, accounting for 72.9 percent of total employment in Hawaii. Nationwide, the 342 largest counties made up 72.3 percent of total U.S. employment which stood at 137.4 million in March 2015.
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the three counties in Hawaii with employment below 75,000. All three of these smaller counties had average weekly wages at least $250 below the national average. (See table 2 and chart 1.)
Large county wage changesFrom the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015, the average weekly wage in Honolulu County advanced 2.8 percent, above the national increase (2.1 percent), Honolulu’s percentage change in average weekly wages ranked 81st among the largest 342 U.S. counties. (See table 1.)
Nationally, 297 of the 342 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Olmsted, Minn., had the largest percentage wage increase among the largest U.S. counties (11.7 percent). Washington, Pa., was second with a wage increase of 10.7 percent, followed by the counties of Riverside, Calif. (10.1 percent); Lake, Ill. (9.2 percent); and Orange, Calif. (9.1 percent).
Of the 342 largest U.S. counties, 39 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Snohomish, Wash., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages, with a loss of 4.8 percent. Chester, Pa., had the second largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-4.0 percent), followed by Williamson, Texas (-3.1 percent); Saginaw, Mich. (-2.4 percent); and Palm Beach, Fla. (-2.0 percent).
Large county average weekly wagesHonolulu County had average weekly wages of $918 ranked near the middle (172nd) of the national ranking among the 342 largest counties. Nationally, the average weekly wage was $1,048 in the first quarter of 2015.
Nationwide, 93 large counties registered average weekly wage above the U.S. average in the first quarter of 2015. New York, N.Y., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $2,847, followed by Santa Clara, Calif., at $2,203. Rounding out the top five were Somerset, N.J. ($2,080); San Francisco, Calif. ($2,070); and San Mateo, Calif. ($2,066).
Seventy-three percent of the largest U.S. counties (248) reported weekly wages below the national average. Horry County, S.C., reported the lowest wage ($583), followed by the Texas counties of Cameron and Hidalgo ($593 and $607), Lake, Fla. ($649); and Yakima, Wash. ($658).
Additional statistics and other informationQCEW 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 2014 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 2015 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2014 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2014/home.htm. The 2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2016.
The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 17, 2015.
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 9.5 million employer reports cover 137.4 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 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.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Area | Employment | Average Weekly Wage (1) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 2015 (thousands) | Percent change, March 2014-15 (2) | National ranking by percent change (3) | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level (3) | Percent change, first quarter 2014-15 (2) | National ranking by percent change (3) | |
United States (4) | 137,412.4 | 2.1 | -- | $1,048 | -- | 2.1 | -- |
Hawaii | 633.7 | 1.3 | -- | 881 | 31 | 2.8 | 9 |
Honolulu, Hawaii | 461.9 | 1.1 | 243 | 918 | 172 | 2.8 | 81 |
Footnotes: | |||||||
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. |
Area | Employment March 2015 | Average Weekly Wage (1) |
---|---|---|
United States (2) | 137,412,381 | $1,048 |
Hawaii | 633,676 | 881 |
Hawaii | 66,535 | 763 |
Honolulu | 461,909 | 918 |
Kauai | 30,317 | 794 |
Maui + Kalawao | 73,697 | 788 |
Footnotes | ||
Note: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary. |
State | Employment | Average weekly wage (1) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 2015 (thousands) | Percent change, March 2014-15 | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level | Percent change, first quarter 2014-15 | National ranking by percent change | |
United States (2) | 137,412.4 | 2.1 | $1,048 | -- | 2.1 | -- |
Alabama | 1,873.5 | 1.3 | 844 | 39 | 2.2 | 19 |
Alaska | 322.2 | 1.0 | 1,051 | 15 | 2.6 | 10 |
Arizona | 2,605.6 | 2.5 | 926 | 23 | 1.0 | 45 |
Arkansas | 1,166.6 | 1.3 | 790 | 47 | 0.8 | 47 |
California | 16,029.5 | 3.0 | 1,207 | 6 | 3.7 | 3 |
Colorado | 2,458.0 | 3.7 | 1,071 | 13 | 2.4 | 16 |
Connecticut | 1,640.5 | 0.8 | 1,382 | 3 | 1.5 | 35 |
Delaware | 422.8 | 2.5 | 1,105 | 9 | -0.5 | 51 |
District of Columbia | 732.6 | 1.4 | 1,764 | 1 | 3.2 | 4 |
Florida | 8,018.0 | 3.6 | 885 | 28 | 1.8 | 27 |
Georgia | 4,107.0 | 3.5 | 989 | 18 | 1.7 | 31 |
Hawaii | 633.7 | 1.3 | 881 | 31 | 2.8 | 9 |
Idaho | 650.3 | 3.1 | 736 | 50 | 2.2 | 19 |
Illinois | 5,724.6 | 1.2 | 1,130 | 7 | 2.4 | 16 |
Indiana | 2,894.8 | 1.8 | 857 | 35 | 1.4 | 38 |
Iowa | 1,504.3 | 1.3 | 848 | 37 | 2.9 | 7 |
Kansas | 1,357.1 | 1.0 | 851 | 36 | 1.4 | 38 |
Kentucky | 1,810.3 | 1.5 | 823 | 41 | 1.5 | 35 |
Louisiana | 1,927.1 | 1.0 | 885 | 28 | 2.0 | 21 |
Maine | 571.4 | 0.9 | 793 | 45 | 0.9 | 46 |
Maryland | 2,540.8 | 1.2 | 1,113 | 8 | 2.5 | 12 |
Massachusetts | 3,338.6 | 1.7 | 1,341 | 4 | 3.2 | 4 |
Michigan | 4,079.5 | 1.8 | 969 | 21 | 1.9 | 24 |
Minnesota | 2,709.2 | 1.8 | 1,079 | 12 | 4.3 | 1 |
Mississippi | 1,102.3 | 0.6 | 711 | 51 | 0.7 | 48 |
Missouri | 2,678.0 | 1.7 | 882 | 30 | 1.8 | 27 |
Montana | 441.0 | 2.7 | 750 | 49 | 2.6 | 10 |
Nebraska | 943.1 | 1.4 | 818 | 42 | 2.5 | 12 |
Nevada | 1,227.7 | 3.7 | 865 | 34 | -0.2 | 50 |
New Hampshire | 623.5 | 1.5 | 982 | 20 | 1.2 | 43 |
New Jersey | 3,834.6 | 1.4 | 1,288 | 5 | 1.9 | 24 |
New Mexico | 798.7 | 1.4 | 805 | 43 | 1.5 | 35 |
New York | 8,865.0 | 1.9 | 1,463 | 2 | 0.2 | 49 |
North Carolina | 4,099.4 | 2.5 | 930 | 22 | 1.9 | 24 |
North Dakota | 436.0 | 1.6 | 984 | 19 | 4.2 | 2 |
Ohio | 5,144.5 | 1.4 | 922 | 24 | 1.4 | 38 |
Oklahoma | 1,592.7 | 1.3 | 869 | 33 | 2.0 | 21 |
Oregon | 1,748.7 | 3.5 | 919 | 25 | 2.9 | 7 |
Pennsylvania | 5,606.9 | 0.9 | 1,031 | 16 | 2.4 | 16 |
Rhode Island | 456.1 | 1.4 | 1,008 | 17 | 1.2 | 43 |
South Carolina | 1,919.1 | 2.5 | 801 | 44 | 1.8 | 27 |
South Dakota | 406.5 | 1.5 | 763 | 48 | 3.0 | 6 |
Tennessee | 2,772.7 | 2.1 | 886 | 27 | 1.4 | 38 |
Texas | 11,557.0 | 2.9 | 1,089 | 10 | 2.5 | 12 |
Utah | 1,318.8 | 3.7 | 845 | 38 | 1.7 | 31 |
Vermont | 303.9 | 0.9 | 824 | 40 | 2.0 | 21 |
Virginia | 3,649.3 | 1.1 | 1,068 | 14 | 1.7 | 31 |
Washington | 3,064.4 | 3.2 | 1,087 | 11 | 1.8 | 27 |
West Virginia | 692.4 | -0.3 | 792 | 46 | 1.4 | 38 |
Wisconsin | 2,734.3 | 1.5 | 877 | 32 | 2.5 | 12 |
Wyoming | 277.8 | 0.8 | 892 | 26 | 1.7 | 31 |
Puerto Rico | 904.9 | -1.1 | 524 | (3) | 1.0 | (3) |
Virgin Islands | 38.5 | 0.0 | 738 | (3) | -0.7 | (3) |
Footnotes: | ||||||
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, October 28, 2015