Employment decreased 1.1 percent in Alaska’s only large county, Anchorage Borough, from June 2016 to June 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2016 annual average employment.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that in June 2017, Anchorage Borough’s employment totaled 151,400 and accounted for 44.7 percent of total employment within the state.

Nationally, employment advanced 1.7 percent from June 2016 to June 2017 as 318 of the 346 largest U.S. counties registered increases.  Midland, Texas, had the largest employment gain in the country, up 7.3 percent. Lucas, Ohio, had the largest over-the-year decrease among these counties with a loss of 1.9 percent.

The average weekly wage in Anchorage Borough was $1,064 in the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 1.0 percent from the second quarter of 2016. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.2 percent over the year to $1,020 in the second quarter of 2017. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 28 boroughs in Alaska with employment below 75,000. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,794 to $541 during the second quarter of 2017. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Anchorage Borough’s 1.0-percent wage gain from the second quarter of 2016 to the second quarter 2017 placed 300^th among the nation’s 346 largest counties. (See table 1.) Nationwide, 325 of the 346 largest counties had over-the-year wage increases. New Hanover, N.C., had the largest wage gain in the nation (11.9 percent). San Mateo, Calif., and Midland, Texas were second with wage increases of 11.4 percent each. Rounding out the top five were Kitsap, Wash. (11.0 percent) and Clackamas, Ore. (10.0 percent).

Of the 346 largest U.S. counties, 19 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. McLean, Ill., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-20.4 percent), followed by Union, N.J. (-3.7 percent); Warren, Ohio (-3.6 percent); Somerset, N.J. (-3.4 percent); Fairfield, Conn. (-1.9 percent); and Washington, Ore. (-1.9 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Anchorage Borough’s $1,064 average weekly wage placed in the top 25 percent in the nation, ranking 78^th in the second quarter of 2017. Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 97 of the 346 large U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,392. San Mateo, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $2,093, followed by San Francisco, Calif. ($1,941) and New York, N.Y. ($1,907).

Among the largest U.S. counties, more than two-thirds (249) had average weekly wages below the national average in the second quarter of 2017. The lowest weekly wage was in Cameron, Texas ($615), followed by Horry, S.C. ($622), and the Texas counties of Hidalgo ($632) and Webb ($667).

Average weekly wages in Alaska’s smaller counties

Alaska consists of 16 smaller boroughs, 11 census areas, and 1 municipality, each of which is considered a county level equivalent. Twenty-four of the 28 counties in Alaska with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $1,020. The exceptions were Valdez-Cordova Census Area ($1,025), Southeast Fairbanks Census Area ($1,228), Northwest Artic Borough ($1,272), and North Slope Borough ($1,794). The Kusilvak Census Area reported the lowest weekly wage among the smaller counties, averaging $541. (See table 2.)

When all 29 counties in Alaska were considered, 5 had wages below $700. Eight counties had average weekly wages ranging from $700 to $799, seven had wages from $800 to $899, three had wages from $900 to $999, and six had wages above $1,000. (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 2016 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 2017 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2016/home.htm.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Thursday March 8, 2018.

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 9.9 million employer reports cover 145.2 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 sit.

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 largest county in Alaska, second quarter 2017

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	145,186.4	1.7	--	$1,020	--	3.2	--
Alaska	338.4	-0.7	--	1,005	16	-0.5	51
Anchorage, Alaska	151.4	-1.1	342	1,064	78	1.0	300
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 Alaska, second quarter 2017

Area	Employment June 2017	Average weekly wage(1)
United States(2)	145,186,369	$1,020
Alaska	338,394	1,005
Aleutian East Borough	2,327	891
Aleutian West Census Area	3,295	988
Anchorage Borough	151,385	1,064
Bethel Census Area	7,491	775
Bristol Bay Borough	2,418	748
Denali Borough	3,813	729
Dillingham Census Area	3,391	774
Fairbanks North Star Borough	36,907	967
Haines Borough	1,222	647
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area	1,062	667
Juneau Borough	18,231	960
Kenai Peninsula Borough	22,024	885
Ketchikan Gateway Borough	8,375	850
Kodiak Island Borough	6,310	817
Kusilvak Census Area	2,425	541
Lake and Peninsula Borough	1,181	681
Mantanuska-Susitna Borough	24,031	812
Nome Census Area	3,856	1,005
North Slope Borough	12,122	1,794
Northwest Arctic Borough	2,895	1,272
Petersburg Census Area	1,354	775
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	2,490	804
Sitka Borough	4,413	844
Skagway Municipality	1,555	635
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area	2,571	1,228
Valdez-Cordova Census Area	5,814	1,025
Wrangell City and Borough	899	717
Yakutat Borough	275	770
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	2,214	734
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, second quarter 2017

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2016-17	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2016-17	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	145,186.4	1.7	$1,020	--	3.2	--
Alabama	1,946.4	1.2	858	38	2.8	31
Alaska	338.4	-0.7	1,005	16	-0.5	51
Arizona	2,699.6	2.9	943	23	2.5	35
Arkansas	1,206.0	0.7	810	47	3.2	22
California	17,150.9	2.2	1,210	5	4.7	3
Colorado	2,638.8	2.5	1,042	11	4.2	5
Connecticut	1,701.2	0.6	1,216	4	0.4	50
Delaware	446.6	0.6	1,012	15	2.2	43
District of Columbia	766.5	1.0	1,675	1	3.3	19
Florida	8,390.6	2.8	905	27	2.5	35
Georgia	4,357.8	2.1	956	21	2.9	27
Hawaii	653.0	1.0	935	24	3.5	13
Idaho	723.5	3.4	765	50	3.4	16
Illinois	6,006.6	0.9	1,062	9	2.4	39
Indiana	3,041.0	1.5	859	37	3.7	9
Iowa	1,571.4	0.4	853	39	3.3	19
Kansas	1,377.8	-0.1	849	40	2.4	39
Kentucky	1,889.4	0.8	862	35	2.9	27
Louisiana	1,907.7	0.0	869	34	2.0	46
Maine	629.1	0.9	814	46	2.5	35
Maryland	2,694.8	1.4	1,103	8	3.1	23
Massachusetts	3,604.5	1.6	1,278	2	3.6	11
Michigan	4,365.3	1.6	969	19	2.9	27
Minnesota	2,902.1	2.0	1,037	12	3.9	6
Mississippi	1,128.9	0.7	732	51	0.8	49
Missouri	2,818.7	1.2	889	30	3.0	25
Montana	473.6	1.3	797	48	3.9	6
Nebraska	984.0	0.4	833	43	3.5	13
Nevada	1,333.5	3.4	900	29	2.9	27
New Hampshire	665.4	1.6	1,015	14	1.2	48
New Jersey	4,123.5	1.8	1,173	6	2.3	41
New Mexico	815.4	0.7	823	45	1.5	47
New York	9,417.4	1.6	1,237	3	2.2	43
North Carolina	4,361.4	1.8	902	28	4.3	4
North Dakota	422.7	-0.2	953	22	5.0	2
Ohio	5,422.8	1.2	912	25	3.3	19
Oklahoma	1,583.8	0.8	845	41	2.5	35
Oregon	1,912.6	2.2	967	20	3.8	8
Pennsylvania	5,859.4	1.3	1,000	17	3.0	25
Rhode Island	487.3	1.0	980	18	2.6	33
South Carolina	2,053.9	2.0	834	42	3.6	11
South Dakota	435.5	0.6	785	49	3.4	16
Tennessee	2,948.1	1.8	906	26	3.5	13
Texas	12,059.6	2.1	1,027	13	2.7	32
Utah	1,440.3	3.4	862	35	2.6	33
Vermont	314.2	1.0	870	33	2.1	45
Virginia	3,886.6	1.5	1,047	10	3.7	9
Washington	3,352.5	2.2	1,141	7	5.6	1
West Virginia	690.9	-0.3	828	44	3.4	16
Wisconsin	2,905.3	1.1	876	31	2.3	41
Wyoming	280.2	-0.7	875	32	3.1	23
Puerto Rico	873.6	-1.0	515	(3)	1.2	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.6	0.4	762	(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: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.