For release 10:00 a.m. (EST), Tuesday, January 10, 2012 USDL-12-0026
Technical Information: (202) 691-6567 * QCEWInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cew
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
County Employment and Wages
Second Quarter 2011
From June 2010 to June 2011, employment increased in 215 of the 322 largest U.S.
counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Ottawa, Mich., posted
the largest increase, with a gain of 4.7 percent over the year, compared with
national job growth of 0.9 percent. Within Ottawa, the largest employment increase
occurred in manufacturing, which gained 2,514 jobs over the year (9.0 percent). San
Joaquin, Calif., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease in employment among
the largest counties in the U.S. with a loss of 4.0 percent.
The U.S. average weekly wage increased over the year by 3.0 percent to $891 in the
second quarter of 2011. Among the large counties in the U.S., Williamson, Texas, had
the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages in the second quarter of
2011 with a gain of 18.0 percent. Within Williamson, a total wage increase of $195.2
million (39.2 percent) in the trade, transportation, and utilities industry had the
largest impact on the county’s over-the-year increase in average weekly wages. Champaign,
Ill., experienced the largest decline in average weekly wages with a loss of 3.6
percent over the year. County employment and wage data are compiled under the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program.
Table A. Large counties ranked by June 2011 employment, June 2010-11 employment
increase, and June 2010-11 percent increase in employment
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Employment in large counties
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June 2011 employment | Increase in employment, | Percent increase in employment,
(thousands) | June 2010-11 | June 2010-11
| (thousands) |
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| |
United States 130,469.9| United States 1,131.6| United States 0.9
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| |
Los Angeles, Calif. 3,899.6| Harris, Texas 48.4| Ottawa, Mich. 4.7
Cook, Ill. 2,397.5| New York, N.Y. 43.6| Montgomery, Texas 4.1
New York, N.Y. 2,334.1| Cook, Ill. 28.1| Utah, Utah 4.0
Harris, Texas 2,043.2| Maricopa, Ariz. 28.0| Washington, Pa. 3.9
Maricopa, Ariz. 1,593.3| Dallas, Texas 26.5| Webb, Texas 3.9
Dallas, Texas 1,438.3| Los Angeles, Calif. 24.7| Elkhart, Ind. 3.8
Orange, Calif. 1,379.2| King, Wash. 22.9| Weld, Colo. 3.5
San Diego, Calif. 1,249.3| Miami-Dade, Fla. 20.8| Oakland, Mich. 3.3
King, Wash. 1,145.6| Oakland, Mich. 20.3| Travis, Texas 3.3
Miami-Dade, Fla. 953.4| Hennepin, Minn. 20.1| Saginaw, Mich. 3.2
| | Washington, Ore. 3.2
| |
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Large County Employment
In June 2011, national employment, as measured by the QCEW program, was 130.5
million, up by 0.9 percent or 1.1 million workers, from June 2010. The 322 U.S.
counties with 75,000 or more employees accounted for 70.5 percent of total U.S.
employment and 76.0 percent of total wages. These 322 counties had a net job growth
of 802,400 over the year, accounting for 70.9 percent of the overall U.S. employment
increase.
Ottawa, Mich., had the largest percentage increase in employment among the largest
U.S. counties (4.7 percent). The five counties with the largest increases in
employment level were Harris, Texas; New York, N.Y.; Cook, Ill.; Maricopa, Ariz.;
and Dallas, Texas. These counties had a combined over-the-year gain of 174,600, or
15.4 percent of the overall employment increase for the U.S.
Employment declined in 89 of the large counties from June 2010 to June 2011. San
Joaquin, Calif., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-
4.0 percent). Within San Joaquin, natural resources and mining was the largest
contributor to the decrease in employment with a loss of 5,268 jobs (-17.8 percent).
Yakima, Wash., had the second largest employment decrease, followed by Montgomery,
Ala., and Marion, Ore., both tied for the third largest decline, and Monterey,
Calif. (See table 1.)
Table B. Large counties ranked by second quarter 2011 average weekly wages, second quarter 2010-11
increase in average weekly wages, and second quarter 2010-11 percent increase in average weekly wages
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Average weekly wage in large counties
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Average weekly wage, | Increase in average weekly | Percent increase in average
second quarter 2011 | wage, second quarter 2010-11 | weekly wage, second
| | quarter 2010-11
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| |
United States $891| United States $26| United States 3.0
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| |
Santa Clara, Calif. $1,743| Williamson, Texas $159| Williamson, Texas 18.0
New York, N.Y. 1,645| Santa Clara, Calif. 137| Middlesex, Mass. 10.2
Arlington, Va. 1,553| Middlesex, Mass. 128| Harford, Md. 8.8
Washington, D.C. 1,541| San Mateo, Calif. 81| Santa Clara, Calif. 8.5
Fairfield, Conn. 1,469| San Francisco, Calif. 79| Butler, Pa. 7.5
San Francisco, Calif. 1,435| Fairfield, Conn. 76| Douglas, Colo. 7.4
Fairfax, Va. 1,421| Harford, Md. 72| New Castle, Del. 6.9
San Mateo, Calif. 1,403| New Castle, Del. 68| San Mateo, Calif. 6.1
Middlesex, Mass. 1,385| Douglas, Colo. 67| San Francisco, Calif. 5.8
Suffolk, Mass. 1,382| Arlington, Va. 65| Erie, Pa. 5.8
| | Dane, Wis. 5.8
| |
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Large County Average Weekly Wages
Average weekly wages for the nation increased by 3.0 percent over the year in the
second quarter of 2011. Among the 322 largest counties, 307 had over-the-year
increases in average weekly wages. Williamson, Texas, had the largest wage gain
among the largest U.S. counties (18.0 percent).
Of the 322 largest counties, 11 experienced declines in average weekly wages.
Champaign, Ill., had the largest wage decline with a loss of 3.6 percent over the
year. A $55.3 million total wage loss (-29.3 percent) within education and health services
contributed significantly to the county’s overall average weekly wage decline.
Benton, Ark., had the second largest decline in average weekly wages among the
counties, followed by Rutherford, Tenn., New York, N.Y., and Elkhart, Ind. (See
table 1.)
Ten Largest U.S. Counties
All of the 10 largest counties experienced over-the-year percent increases in
employment in June 2011. Harris, Texas, experienced the largest gain in employment
(2.4 percent). Within Harris, professional and business services had the largest
over-the-year increase among all private industry groups with a gain of 16,936
workers (5.3 percent). San Diego, Calif., had the smallest increase in employment
among the 10 largest counties. (See table 2.)
Nine of the 10 largest U.S. counties had an over-the-year increase in average weekly
wages. Harris, Texas, experienced the largest increase in average weekly wages with
a gain of 5.0 percent. Within Harris, the largest impact on the county’s average
weekly wage growth occurred in natural resources and mining, largely due to
significant total wage gains over the year ($522.2 million or 20.0 percent). New
York, N.Y., had the only average weekly wage decrease.
For More Information
The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 322 U.S.
counties with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2010. June 2011
employment and 2011 second quarter average weekly wages for all states are provided
in table 3 of this release.
The employment and wage data by county are compiled under the 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 130.5 million full- and part-time workers. For additional information
about the quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note. Data
for the second quarter of 2011 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 third quarter 2011 is scheduled to be
released on Wednesday, March 28, 2012.
