Employment decreased 0.8 percent in Alaska’s only large county, Anchorage Borough, from June 2017 to June 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or greater as measured by 2017 annual average employment.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that in June 2018, Anchorage Borough’s employment totaled 150,700 and accounted for 44.9 percent of total employment within the state.

Nationally, employment advanced 1.5 percent from June 2017 to June 2018 as 309 of the 349 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Midland, TX, had the largest percentage increase in the country, up 11.6 percent over the year. McLean, IL, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 2.0 percent.

The average weekly wage in Anchorage Borough was $1,105 in the second quarter of 2018, an increase of 3.9 percent from the second quarter of 2017. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.4 percent over the year to $1,055 in the second quarter of 2018. (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 $1,822 to $647 during the second quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Anchorage Borough’s 3.9-percent wage gain from the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter 2018 placed 77^th among the nation’s 349 largest counties. (See table 1.) Nationally, 340 of the 349 largest counties had over-the-year wage increases. Marin, CA, had the largest percentage wage increase in the nation, up 11.7 percent. King, WA, and Lake, IL, tied for the second largest increase, each at 9.3 percent.

Of the 349 largest U.S. counties, 8 counties registered wage declines during the period. New Hanover, NC, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 6.4 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Anchorage Borough’s $1,105 average weekly wage placed in the top 25 percent in the nation, ranking 76^th in the second quarter of 2018. Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 94 of the 349 largest counties. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,573. San Mateo, CA, was second with an average weekly wage of $2,357, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,083) and New York, NY ($2,025).

Among the largest U.S. counties, more than 70 percent (255) reported average weekly wages below the national average in the second quarter of 2018. At $625 a week, Horry County, SC, had the lowest average weekly wage among the 349 large counties. The next three lowest-paying large counties were in Texas: Cameron, TX ($642), Hidalgo, TX ($645) and Webb, TX ($687).

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 $1,055. The exceptions were North Slope Borough ($1,822), Northwest Arctic Borough ($1,359), Southeast Fairbanks Census Area ($1,258), and Aleutian West Census Area ($1,116). The Kusilvak Census Area reported the lowest weekly wage among the smaller counties, averaging $647. (See table 2.)

When all 29 counties in Alaska were considered, 3 had wages below $700. Six counties had average weekly wages ranging from $700 to $799, nine had wages from $800 to $899, two had wages from $900 to $999, and nine had wages of $1,000 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 2017 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2018, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2018 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/2017/home.htm.

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.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 6, 2019.

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 9.8 million employer reports cover 143.9 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 largest county in Alaska, second quarter 2018

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	147,431.2	1.5	--	1055	--	3.4	--
Alaska	335.8	-0.9	--	1043	15	3.7	9
Anchorage, Alaska	150.7	-0.8	343	1105	76	3.9	77
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 2018

Area	Employment June 2018	Average Weekly Wage(1)
United States(2)	147,431,154	$1,055
Alaska	335,750	1,043
Aleutian East Borough	1,904	1,016
Aleutian West Census Area	3,120	1,116
Anchorage Borough	150,656	1,105
Bethel Census Area	7,493	809
Bristol Bay Borough	2,187	861
Denali Borough	3,667	782
Dillingham Census Area	3,410	808
Fairbanks North Star Borough	36,828	1,003
Haines Borough	1,266	676
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area	1,087	705
Juneau Borough	18,254	985
Kenai Peninsula Borough	21,514	938
Ketchikan Gateway Borough	8,291	890
Kodiak Island Borough	6,082	833
Kusilvak Census Area	2,140	647
Lake and Peninsula Borough	1,265	737
Mantanuska-Susitna Borough	24,283	834
Nome Census Area	3,934	1,003
North Slope Borough	11,684	1,822
Northwest Arctic Borough	2,784	1,359
Petersburg Census Area	1,314	780
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	2,577	818
Sitka Borough	4,604	876
Skagway Municipality	1,591	692
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area	2,670	1,258
Valdez-Cordova Census Area	5,970	1,026
Wrangell City and Borough	905	781
Yakutat Borough	278	807
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	2,497	709
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 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2017-18	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	147,431.2	1.5	$1,055	--	3.4	--
Alabama	1,969.9	1.2	882	37	2.8	35
Alaska	335.8	-0.9	1,043	15	3.7	9
Arizona	2,770.8	2.6	973	23	3.3	19
Arkansas	1,214.6	0.7	824	47	1.7	47
California	17,473.1	1.9	1,265	4	4.6	3
Colorado	2,704.4	2.4	1,075	10	3.2	27
Connecticut	1,704.5	0.3	1,218	5	0.1	50
Delaware	454.3	1.3	1,023	17	1.4	49
District of Columbia	777.3	1.3	1,713	1	2.6	39
Florida	8,568.9	2.1	931	28	2.9	32
Georgia	4,440.5	2.0	979	22	2.3	43
Hawaii	658.3	0.5	956	24	2.5	41
Idaho	745.3	3.1	794	50	3.8	8
Illinois	6,061.1	0.8	1,097	9	3.4	14
Indiana	3,075.8	1.1	883	36	2.8	35
Iowa	1,583.7	0.8	880	39	3.3	19
Kansas	1,393.3	1.0	879	40	3.4	14
Kentucky	1,905.9	0.9	882	37	2.3	43
Louisiana	1,918.6	0.4	901	33	3.7	9
Maine	636.8	1.0	843	45	3.6	11
Maryland	2,712.0	0.7	1,141	8	3.4	14
Massachusetts	3,650.1	1.0	1,322	2	3.5	12
Michigan	4,424.7	1.3	997	20	2.9	32
Minnesota	2,925.6	0.8	1,072	12	3.3	19
Mississippi	1,130.7	0.2	752	51	2.7	38
Missouri	2,829.0	0.5	924	30	3.9	7
Montana	478.7	1.1	817	48	2.5	41
Nebraska	990.8	0.6	859	43	3.1	29
Nevada	1,372.4	3.1	931	28	3.3	19
New Hampshire	670.8	0.8	1,049	14	3.3	19
New Jersey	4,157.0	0.9	1,201	7	2.3	43
New Mexico	823.6	1.0	852	44	3.5	12
New York	9,579.2	1.7	1,297	3	4.5	4
North Carolina	4,450.2	2.2	933	25	3.3	19
North Dakota	426.1	0.8	986	21	3.4	14
Ohio	5,461.3	0.7	933	25	2.3	43
Oklahoma	1,606.4	1.2	875	41	3.2	27
Oregon	1,947.3	1.5	999	18	3.3	19
Pennsylvania	5,924.9	1.1	1,031	16	3.1	29
Rhode Island	491.0	0.7	998	19	1.7	47
South Carolina	2,126.5	3.4	833	46	0.0	51
South Dakota	439.7	0.9	807	49	2.8	35
Tennessee	2,994.1	1.6	932	27	2.9	32
Texas	12,326.3	2.2	1,062	13	3.4	14
Utah	1,483.9	3.4	899	35	4.3	5
Vermont	312.4	-0.8	907	31	4.3	5
Virginia	3,941.0	1.3	1,073	11	2.6	39
Washington	3,444.1	2.7	1,218	5	6.9	1
West Virginia	702.9	1.6	868	42	4.8	2
Wisconsin	2,933.5	0.9	904	32	3.3	19
Wyoming	282.2	0.5	901	33	3.0	31
Puerto Rico	853.5	-2.3	543	(3)	5.2	(3)
Virgin Islands	33.4	-14.4	838	(3)	12.8	(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.