For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Friday, October 16, 2009 USDL-09-1241
Technical Information: (202) 691-6567 * QCEWInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cew
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES
First Quarter 2009
From March 2008 to March 2009, employment declined in 323 of the 334 largest
U.S. counties according to preliminary data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Elkhart County, Ind., located about 100 miles
east of Chicago, posted the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 23.4
percent over the year, compared with a national job decrease of 4.2 percent.
Nearly 80 percent of the employment decline in Elkhart occurred in
manufacturing, which lost 22,100 jobs over the year. Arlington County, Va.,
experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment
among the largest counties in the U.S., with a gain of 2.6 percent.
The U.S. average weekly wage fell by 2.5 percent in the first quarter of
2009. This is the largest over-the-year decline in U.S. average weekly wages
dating back to 1978, when these quarterly data were first comparable. (See
Technical Note.) The financial activities supersector sustained the largest
decline in average weekly wages, with a decrease of 15.9 percent. Total
wages for this industry fell by $37.9 billion over the year. New York
County, N.Y., had the largest over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages
in the first quarter of 2009, with a loss of 23.4 percent. The area’s
substantial over-the-year wage declines, which were largely attributable to
lower bonus payments in financial activities, had a significant impact on
the national average weekly wage trend in the first quarter of 2009.
Excluding New York County, the national average weekly wage decrease is 1.3
percent--a difference of 1.2 percentage points.
Table A. Top 10 large counties ranked by March 2009 employment, March 2008-09 employment
decrease, and March 2008-09 percent decrease in employment
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Employment in large counties
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March 2009 employment | Decrease in employment, | Percent decrease in employment,
(thousands) | March 2008-09 | March 2008-09
| (thousands) |
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| |
United States 128,992.2| United States -5,676.3| United States -4.2
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| |
Los Angeles, Calif. 3,996.3| Los Angeles, Calif. -206.5| Elkhart, Ind. -23.4
Cook, Ill. 2,381.5| Maricopa, Ariz. -133.9| Macomb, Mich. -10.8
New York, N.Y. 2,290.3| Cook, Ill. -108.4| Marion, Fla. -10.5
Harris, Texas 2,028.4| Orange, Calif. -102.8| Washoe, Nev. -10.4
Maricopa, Ariz. 1,671.0| New York, N.Y. -84.9| Horry, S.C. -10.2
Dallas, Texas 1,425.7| Clark, Nev. -83.3| Seminole, Fla. -9.7
Orange, Calif. 1,399.5| Miami-Dade, Fla. -62.8| Ottawa, Mich. -9.7
San Diego, Calif. 1,263.0| San Diego, Calif. -61.6| Catawba, N.C. -9.7
King, Wash. 1,135.9| Wayne, Mich. -59.0| Lee, Fla. -9.5
Miami-Dade, Fla. 963.9| Broward, Fla. -58.6| Sarasota, Fla. -9.5
| |
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Of the 334 largest counties in the United States (as measured by 2008 annual
average employment), 154 had over-the-year percentage changes in employment
equal to or below the national average (-4.2 percent) in March 2009; 178
large counties experienced changes above the national average. The percent
change in average weekly wages was equal to or lower than the national
average (-2.5 percent) in 76 of the largest U.S. counties but was above the
national average in 255 counties.
The employment and 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 reports submitted by every
employer subject to unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The 9.1 million
employer reports cover 129 million full- and part-time workers.
Large County Employment
In March 2009, national employment, as measured by the QCEW program, was 129
million, down by 4.2 percent from March 2008. The 334 U.S. counties with
75,000 or more employees accounted for 71.5 percent of total U.S. employment
and 77.7 percent of total wages. These 334 counties had a net job decline of
4,160,200 over the year, accounting for 73.3 percent of the overall U.S.
employment decrease.
Employment declined in 323 counties from March 2008 to March 2009. The
largest percentage decline in employment was in Elkhart, Ind. (-23.4
percent). Macomb, Mich., had the next largest percentage decline (-10.8
percent), followed by the counties of Marion, Fla. (-10.5 percent), Washoe,
Nev. (-10.4 percent), and Horry, S.C. (-10.2 percent). The largest decline
in employment levels occurred in Los Angeles, Calif. (-206,500), followed by
the counties of Maricopa, Ariz. (-133,900), Cook, Ill. (-108,400), Orange,
Calif. (-102,800), and New York, N.Y. (-84,900). (See table A.) Combined
employment losses in these five counties over the year totaled 636,500 or
11.2 percent of the employment decline for the U.S. as a whole.
Employment rose in eight of the large counties from March 2008 to March
2009. None of the large counties grew by more than three percent over the
year. Arlington, Va., had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in
employment (2.6 percent) among the largest counties in the U.S. Montgomery,
Texas, had the next largest increase (1.5 percent), followed by the counties
of Fort Bend, Texas (1.2 percent), Bronx, N.Y. (1.1 percent), and Anchorage,
Alaska, and East Baton Rouge, La. (0.3 percent each). The largest gains in
the level of employment from March 2008 to March 2009 were recorded in the
counties of Arlington, Va. (3,900), Bronx, N.Y. (2,400), Montgomery, Texas
(1,900), Fort Bend, Texas (1,500), and East Baton Rouge, La. (900).
Table B. Top 10 large counties ranked by first quarter 2009 average weekly wages, first quarter 2008-09
decrease in average weekly wages, and first quarter 2008-09 percent decrease in average weekly wages
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Average weekly wage in large counties
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Average weekly wage, | Decrease in average weekly | Percent decrease in average
first quarter 2009 | wage, first quarter 2008-09 | weekly wage, first
| | quarter 2008-09
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| |
United States $882| United States -$23| United States -2.5
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| |
New York, N.Y. $2,149| New York, N.Y. -$657| New York, N.Y. -23.4
San Mateo, Calif. 1,786| Fairfield, Conn. -192| Mecklenburg, N.C. -10.3
Fairfield, Conn. 1,735| Suffolk, Mass. -155| Fairfield, Conn. -10.0
Somerset, N.J. 1,734| Hudson, N.J. -150| Hudson, N.J. -9.7
Suffolk, Mass. 1,558| Mecklenburg, N.C. -121| Suffolk, Mass. -9.0
San Francisco, Calif. 1,523| San Francisco, Calif. -100| Westmoreland, Pa. -8.9
Santa Clara, Calif. 1,519| Westchester, N.Y. -92| Elkhart, Ind. -8.7
Arlington, Va. 1,472| Hennepin, Minn. -80| Trumbull, Ohio -7.1
Washington, D.C. 1,461| Union, N.J. -72| Westchester, N.Y. -7.0
Hudson, N.J. 1,394| Santa Clara, Calif. -70| Hennepin, Minn. -6.7
Morris, N.J. 1,394| |
| |
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Large County Average Weekly Wages
Average weekly wages for the nation fell 2.5 percent over the year in the
first quarter of 2009. This is the largest over-the-year decline in U.S.
average weekly wages dating back to 1978. During that time span, over-the-
year declines in average weekly wages occurred in only two other quarters:
first quarter 1993 (-0.9 percent) and fourth quarter 1994 (-1.1 percent).
The average weekly wages in those two quarters declined because employment
growth outpaced total wage growth; in the first quarter of 2009, both
employment and wages decreased.
Among the 334 largest counties, 202 had over-the-year decreases in average
weekly wages this quarter. The largest wage losses occurred in New York,
N.Y., with a decline of 23.4 percent from the first quarter of 2008.
Mecklenburg, N.C., had the second largest decline (-10.3 percent), followed
by the counties of Fairfield, Conn. (-10.0 percent), Hudson, N.J. (-9.7
percent), and Suffolk, Mass. (-9.0 percent). (See table B.)
Of the 334 largest counties, 120 experienced growth in average weekly wages.
San Mateo, Calif., led the nation in growth in average weekly wages with an
increase of 23.7 percent from the first quarter of 2008. Benton, Ark., was
second with a gain of 16.7 percent, followed by the counties of Solano,
Calif. (16.0 percent), Pulaski, Ark. (10.7 percent), and Peoria, Ill. (6.2
percent).
The national average weekly wage in the first quarter of 2009 was $882.
Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 103 of the 334
largest U.S. counties. Three of the five counties with the highest average
weekly wages in the nation were also among the five counties with the
largest over-the-year losses in average weekly wages. Despite suffering the
largest average weekly wage losses in the nation, New York, N.Y., held the
top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly
wage of $2,149. San Mateo, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of
$1,786, followed by Fairfield, Conn. ($1,735), Somerset, N.J. ($1,734), and
Suffolk, Mass. ($1,558). There were 230 counties with an average weekly wage
below the national average in the first quarter of 2009. The lowest average
weekly wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($525), followed by the counties of
Cameron, Texas ($527), Hidalgo, Texas ($538), Webb, Texas ($552), and Lake,
Fla. ($576). (See table 1.)
Average weekly wages are affected not only by changes in total wages but
also by employment changes in high- and low-paying industries. (See
Technical Note.) The 2.5-percent over-the-year decrease in average weekly
wages for the nation was partially due to large employment declines in high-
paying industries such as manufacturing. (See table 2.)
Ten Largest U.S. Counties
All of the 10 largest counties (based on 2008 annual average employment
levels) experienced over-the-year percent declines in employment in March
2009. Maricopa, Ariz., experienced the largest decline in employment among
the 10 largest counties with a 7.4 percent decrease. Within Maricopa, every
private industry group except education and health services experienced
employment declines, with construction experiencing the largest decline
(-30.7 percent). (See table 2.) Orange, Calif., had the next largest decline
in employment, -6.8 percent, followed by Miami-Dade, Fla. (-6.1 percent).
Harris, Texas, experienced the smallest decline in employment (-1.1 percent)
among the 10 largest counties. Dallas, Texas (-3.3 percent), and New York,
N.Y. (-3.6 percent), had the second and third smallest employment losses,
respectively.
Nine of the 10 largest U.S. counties saw an over-the-year decrease in
average weekly wages. The nation-leading 23.4-percent wage decrease in New
York, N.Y., was fueled by significant wage losses in the finance industry
(-35.2 percent). New York’s average weekly wage loss was followed by Cook,
Ill. (-5.4 percent), and Dallas, Texas (-3.3 percent). San Diego, Calif.,
had the smallest decrease in wages (-1.1 percent), followed by Miami-Dade,
Fla. (-1.2 percent). The only wage increase occurred in King, Wash. (0.2
percent).
Largest County by State
Table 3 shows March 2009 employment and the 2009 first quarter average
weekly wage in the largest county in each state, which is based on 2008
annual average employment levels. The employment levels in the counties in
table 3 in March 2009 ranged from approximately four million in Los Angeles
County, Calif., to 42,900 in Laramie County, Wyo. The highest average weekly
wage of these counties was in New York, N.Y. ($2,149), while the lowest
average weekly wage was in Yellowstone, Mont. ($697).
For More Information
The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and for the
334 U.S. counties with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in
2008. March 2009 employment and 2009 first-quarter average weekly wages for
all states are provided in table 4 of this release.
For additional information about the quarterly employment and wages data,
please read the Technical Note. Data for the first quarter of 2009 and final
data for 2008 will be available later at http://www.bls.gov/cew/. Additional
information about the QCEW data may be obtained by calling (202) 691-6567.
Several BLS regional offices are issuing QCEW news releases targeted to
local data users. For links to these releases, see
http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm.
_____________
The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2009 is scheduled
to be released on Wednesday, January 13, 2010.
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| |
| County Changes for the 2009 |
| County Employment and Wages News Releases |
| |
| Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2008 |
| are included in this release and will be included in future 2009 |
| releases. For 2009 data, two counties have been added to the |
| publication tables: Johnson, Iowa, and Gregg, Texas. Two counties, |
| Boone, Ky., and St. Tammany, La., will be excluded from 2009 |
| releases. |
| |
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