Employment decreased 0.3 percent in Alaska’s only large county, Anchorage Borough, from June 2018 to June 2019, 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 2018 annual average employment.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that in June 2019, Anchorage Borough’s employment totaled 150,300 and accounted for 44.3 percent of total employment within the state.

Employment nationwide advanced 1.1 percent during the 12-month period as 279 of the 355 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Adams, CO, had the largest percentage increase in the country, up 5.3 percent over the year. Bay, FL, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 6.4 percent.

The average weekly wage in Anchorage Borough was $1,143 in the second quarter of 2019, an increase of 3.4 percent from the second quarter of 2018. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.8 percent over the year to $1,095 in the second quarter of 2019. (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 $1,875 to $574 during the second quarter of 2019. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Anchorage Borough’s 3.4-percent wage gain from the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter 2019 placed 176^th among the nation’s 355 largest counties. (See table 1.) Nationally, 347 of the 355 largest counties had over-the-year wage increases. Benton, AR, had the largest percentage wage increase in the nation, up 16.3 percent. San Francisco, CA, had the second largest increase at 15.5 percent.

Of the 355 largest U.S. counties, 8 large counties registered wage declines during the period. McLean, IL, had the largest percentage over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 5.8 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Anchorage Borough’s $1,143 average weekly wage placed in the top 25 percent in the nation, ranking 78^th in the second quarter of 2019. Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 93 of the 355 largest counties. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,612. San Francisco, CA, was second with an average weekly wage of $2,430, followed by San Mateo, CA ($2,373) and New York, NY ($2,109). Average wages in the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, CA, were more than four times the average wage in the lowest-ranked county, Horry, SC ($649).

Among the largest U.S. counties, more than 70 percent (260) reported average weekly wages below the national average in the second quarter of 2019. At $649 a week, Horry County, SC, had the lowest average weekly wage among the 355 large counties. The next three lowest-paying large counties were in Texas: Hidalgo ($657), Cameron ($659), and Webb ($697).

Average weekly wages in Alaska’s smaller counties

Alaska additionally 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 $1,095. The exceptions were North Slope Borough ($1,875), Northwest Arctic Borough ($1,404), Southeast Fairbanks Census Area ($1,284), and Aleutian West Census Area ($1,181). The Kusilvak Census Area reported the lowest weekly wage among the smaller counties, averaging $574. (See table 2.)

When all 29 counties in Alaska were considered, 2 had wages below $700. Six counties had average weekly wages ranging from $700 to $799, eight had wages from $800 to $899, five 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 2018 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2019, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2019 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/employmentand-wages-annual-averages/2018/home.htm.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 20, 2020.

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 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 2019

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	149,089.2	1.1	--	$1,095	--	3.8	--
Alaska	338.9	0.7	--	1,078	15	3.6	26
Anchorage, Alaska	150.3	-0.3	308	1,143	78	3.4	176
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 2019

Area	Employment June 2019	Average weekly wage(1)
United States(2)	149,089,158	$1,095
Alaska	338,874	1,078
Aleutian East Borough	2,620	916
Aleutian West Census Area	3,090	1,181
Anchorage Borough	150,309	1,143
Bethel Census Area	7,593	852
Bristol Bay Borough	2,299	881
Denali Borough	3,690	750
Dillingham Census Area	3,085	890
Fairbanks North Star Borough	37,251	1,037
Haines Borough	1,327	709
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area	1,124	655
Juneau Borough	18,565	996
Kenai Peninsula Borough	21,699	976
Ketchikan Gateway Borough	8,231	917
Kodiak Island Borough	5,981	881
Kusilvak Census Area	2,216	574
Lake and Peninsula Borough	1,152	744
Mantanuska-Susitna Borough	25,450	866
Nome Census Area	4,023	1,074
North Slope Borough	12,489	1,875
Northwest Arctic Borough	2,908	1,404
Petersburg Census Area	1,289	776
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	2,533	869
Sitka Borough	4,695	921
Skagway Municipality	1,557	741
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area	2,562	1,284
Valdez-Cordova Census Area	5,912	1,046
Wrangell City and Borough	898	823
Yakutat Borough	296	867
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	2,386	748
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 2019

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2018-19	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2018-19	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	149,089.2	1.1	$1,095	--	3.8	--
Alabama	1,993.7	1.1	911	36	3.4	28
Alaska	338.9	0.7	1,078	15	3.6	26
Arizona	2,843.3	2.6	1,010	23	3.8	16
Arkansas	1,222.5	0.6	862	47	4.6	4
California	17,717.4	1.5	1,325	4	4.7	3
Colorado	2,765.7	2.2	1,128	9	4.9	2
Connecticut	1,690.8	-0.8	1,266	6	3.9	11
Delaware	458.0	0.8	1,057	17	3.4	28
District of Columbia	780.4	0.5	1,778	1	3.8	16
Florida	8,722.9	1.8	968	26	3.9	11
Georgia	4,507.1	1.7	1,016	22	3.9	11
Hawaii	652.2	-1.2	992	24	3.7	22
Idaho	765.1	2.6	820	50	3.3	33
Illinois	6,074.7	0.3	1,122	10	2.4	47
Indiana	3,089.8	0.5	910	38	3.1	39
Iowa	1,584.7	0.1	902	40	2.5	45
Kansas	1,403.0	0.6	905	39	2.8	42
Kentucky	1,909.7	0.3	911	36	3.3	33
Louisiana	1,920.2	-0.2	923	35	2.4	47
Maine	639.6	0.4	874	45	3.7	22
Maryland	2,733.6	0.7	1,178	8	3.3	33
Massachusetts	3,690.1	0.9	1,377	2	4.3	5
Michigan	4,419.7	0.1	1,018	21	2.4	47
Minnesota	2,952.6	0.8	1,101	13	2.6	44
Mississippi	1,135.9	0.4	767	51	2	51
Missouri	2,836.7	0.3	948	30	2.5	45
Montana	483.1	1.0	843	48	3.3	33
Nebraska	991.5	0.1	889	42	3.5	27
Nevada	1,408.8	2.6	961	29	3.2	38
New Hampshire	676.1	0.8	1,090	14	4	10
New Jersey	4,182.5	0.7	1,236	7	3	41
New Mexico	834.0	1.0	888	44	4.3	5
New York	9,682.8	1.0	1,347	3	3.9	11
North Carolina	4,527.3	2.0	970	25	3.9	11
North Dakota	431.8	1.3	1,026	20	4.1	7
Ohio	5,486.7	0.4	965	27	3.4	28
Oklahoma	1,618.5	0.5	900	41	3.1	39
Oregon	1,976.5	1.3	1,036	18	3.8	16
Pennsylvania	5,972.1	0.8	1,070	16	3.8	16
Rhode Island	494.5	0.7	1,034	19	3.4	28
South Carolina	2,144.2	1.3	867	46	3.7	22
South Dakota	441.8	0.4	838	49	3.8	16
Tennessee	3,047.8	1.8	964	28	3.3	33
Texas	12,585.6	2.0	1,102	12	3.8	16
Utah	1,526.1	3.0	936	32	4.1	7
Vermont	314.0	0.0	929	34	2.7	43
Virginia	3,981.6	1.0	1,113	11	3.7	22
Washington	3,500.6	1.8	1,288	5	5.9	1
West Virginia	700.4	-0.6	889	42	2.4	47
Wisconsin	2,945.3	0.3	940	31	4.1	7
Wyoming	287.6	1.7	932	33	3.4	28
Puerto Rico	867.7	1.5	531	(3)	-1.8	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.0	10.0	919	(3)	8.8	(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.