All six of Oregon’s large counties reported employment gains from December 2013 to December 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are those with 2013 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted all of the large counties in Oregon had rates of employment growth above the national average. Employment increases ranged from 3.7 percent in Marion County to 2.6 percent in Washington County. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 2.2 percent from December 2013 to December 2014 as 319 of the 339 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Weld, Colo., and Midland Texas, had the largest percentage increases in the country, each up 8.0 percent over the year. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment, down 5.0 percent.

Among the large counties in Oregon, Multnomah reported the highest employment (476,800) in December 2014. Together, the six large counties accounted for 72.0 percent of Oregon’s total employment. Nationwide, the largest 339 counties made up 72.1 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 136.1 million in December 2014.

From the fourth quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2014, Washington County recorded the largest rate of increase in average weekly wages among Oregon’s largest counties, registering a gain of 6.0 percent. Washington County also recorded the highest average weekly wage among the six large Oregon counties at $1,231. Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 3.5 percent to $1,035 in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 30 counties with employment below 75,000 in Oregon. Wage levels in all these smaller counties were below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

All six of Oregon’s large counties recorded over-the-year wage gains in the fourth quarter of 2014. Among the nation’s 339 large counties, 2 counties in Oregon ranked in the top third for wage growth—Washington (6.0 percent, 27^th) and Marion (4.2 percent, 99^th). The remaining four counties reported wage increases that were smaller than the national average of 3.5 percent, with Multnomah County (2.4 percent, 258^th) posting the smallest increase over the previous year.

Among the 339 largest U.S. counties, 332 recorded gains in average weekly wages. Benton, Ark., had the largest wage increase (9.9 percent). In contrast, seven counties nationwide experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., had the largest over-the-year wage decline with a loss of 20.4 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in Washington County ($1,231, 38^th) and Multnomah County ($1,030, 101^st) placed in the top third among the 339 largest counties nationwide. Average weekly wages in the state’s remaining four large counties ranged from $939 to $747 in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Nationally, 95 large counties registered average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,035 in the fourth quarter of 2014. San Mateo, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,166. New York, N.Y., was second at $2,138, followed by Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,114); Suffolk, Mass. ($1,856); and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,850).

Seventy-two percent of the largest U.S. counties (244) reported weekly wages below the national average. Horry County, S.C., reported the lowest wage ($610), followed by the Texas counties of Cameron ($621) and Hidalgo ($641), and the Florida counties of Osceola ($687) and Lake ($691).

Average weekly wages in Oregon’s smaller counties

All 30 smaller counties in Oregon with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $1,035. Benton reported the highest weekly wage ($943) followed by Clackamas ($939). Wheeler County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state, averaging $537 in the fourth quarter of 2014. (See table 2.)

When all 36 counties in Oregon were considered, 1 county reported average weekly wages under $600, 16 reported wages from $600 to $699, 12 reported wages from $700 to $799, 2 reported wages from $800 to $899, and 5 reported wages above $900. (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, which was published in September 2014, 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. The 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2015.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, September 17, 2015.

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 9.2 million employer reports cover 134.0 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.

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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 6 largest counties in Oregon, fourth quarter 2014

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (1)
	December 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	139,204.8	2.2	--	$1,035	--	3.5	--
Oregon	1,755.4	3.2	--	928	23	3.8	25
Clackamas, Ore.	148.3	3.0	92	939	171	2.6	244
Jackson, Ore.	82.6	3.6	57	747	325	3.3	191
Lane, Ore.	145.4	2.7	105	796	308	3.2	199
Marion, Ore.	140.6	3.7	51	811	290	4.2	99
Multnomah, Ore.	476.8	3.6	57	1,030	101	2.4	258
Washington, Ore.	271.0	2.6	112	1,231	38	6.0	27
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 data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Oregon, fourth quarter 2014

Area	Employment December 2014	Average Weekly Wage (1)
United States (2)	139,204,840	$1,035
Oregon	1,755,437	928
Baker	5,057	648
Benton	36,339	943
Clackamas	148,298	939
Clatsop	16,782	669
Columbia	10,149	716
Coos	21,983	686
Crook	5,752	766
Curry	6,118	664
Deschutes	69,110	785
Douglas	35,767	732
Gilliam	748	708
Grant	2,373	662
Harney	2,218	648
Hood River	11,965	681
Jackson	82,553	747
Jefferson	6,219	703
Josephine	24,354	667
Klamath	21,434	687
Lake	2,376	697
Lane	145,419	796
Lincoln	17,038	651
Linn	42,877	759
Malheur	12,073	662
Marion	140,565	811
Morrow	5,360	902
Multnomah	476,837	1,030
Polk	18,537	649
Sherman	826	810
Tillamook	8,626	669
Umatilla	28,495	785
Union	9,759	686
Wallowa	2,317	619
Wasco	10,491	727
Washington	271,015	1,231
Wheeler	302	537
Yamhill	33,420	761
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.
NOTE: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

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

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2013-14	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2013-14	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	139,204.8	2.2	$1,035	--	3.5	--
Alabama	1,891.4	1.3	881	35	3.5	31
Alaska	317.6	0.8	1,063	13	4.0	20
Arizona	2,630.8	2.2	926	25	2.3	47
Arkansas	1,180.5	2.2	807	47	4.5	5
California	16,068.5	2.6	1,209	6	2.9	41
Colorado	2,478.0	3.9	1,066	12	4.1	17
Connecticut	1,681.2	1.2	1,278	4	2.7	45
Delaware	433.0	2.9	1,049	16	1.5	51
District of Columbia	736.9	0.9	1,696	1	3.7	28
Florida	8,009.6	3.5	911	28	3.1	40
Georgia	4,131.9	3.7	958	21	3.8	25
Hawaii	638.3	0.7	908	29	4.2	15
Idaho	650.7	2.5	782	50	4.0	20
Illinois	5,844.1	1.4	1,089	8	2.8	42
Indiana	2,946.5	1.7	846	41	3.9	22
Iowa	1,527.6	1.1	870	38	4.3	11
Kansas	1,377.2	1.3	855	39	2.6	46
Kentucky	1,852.2	1.8	836	43	4.1	17
Louisiana	1,954.0	2.1	923	26	3.8	25
Maine	592.7	0.9	826	44	5.1	4
Maryland	2,590.3	1.3	1,113	7	3.5	31
Massachusetts	3,415.6	2.2	1,315	3	4.5	5
Michigan	4,158.9	2.1	984	20	3.3	37
Minnesota	2,762.9	1.4	1,024	17	3.6	30
Mississippi	1,118.6	1.0	747	51	2.3	47
Missouri	2,709.8	1.5	891	32	3.4	34
Montana	442.2	0.5	794	48	4.5	5
Nebraska	958.1	1.4	837	42	5.2	3
Nevada	1,229.6	4.2	899	30	1.6	50
New Hampshire	638.0	1.4	1,081	10	6.3	2
New Jersey	3,933.6	1.3	1,211	5	2.0	49
New Mexico	808.4	1.3	850	40	4.4	10
New York	9,067.6	2.0	1,321	2	4.3	11
North Carolina	4,141.8	2.4	890	33	3.4	34
North Dakota	454.8	4.5	1,050	15	7.1	1
Ohio	5,264.3	1.6	922	27	3.9	22
Oklahoma	1,614.3	2.1	876	36	2.8	42
Oregon	1,755.4	3.2	928	23	3.8	25
Pennsylvania	5,716.5	1.2	1,013	18	3.7	28
Rhode Island	471.5	1.9	1,003	19	4.5	5
South Carolina	1,931.4	2.9	817	46	3.2	39
South Dakota	412.5	1.3	791	49	4.2	15
Tennessee	2,822.1	2.4	927	24	3.5	31
Texas	11,662.7	3.7	1,070	11	4.3	11
Utah	1,324.2	3.0	872	37	4.3	11
Vermont	311.0	0.7	882	34	4.1	17
Virginia	3,691.4	0.6	1,057	14	2.8	42
Washington	3,069.7	3.2	1,082	9	4.5	5
West Virginia	712.0	0.1	818	45	3.3	37
Wisconsin	2,789.3	1.3	894	31	3.4	34
Wyoming	283.6	1.5	952	22	3.9	22
Puerto Rico	944.2	-1.5	556	(3)	0.7	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.5	-0.3	746	(3)	-1.2	(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: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.