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News Release Information

23-2001-ATL
Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

County Employment and Wages in Mississippi — First Quarter 2023

Among Mississippi’s two largest counties, employment in Harrison increased 2.1 percent from March 2022 to March 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2022.) Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that employment in Hinds County declined 1.3 percent over the year. (See chart 1 and table 1.)


National employment increased 2.5 percent over the year, with 325 of the 360 largest U.S. counties reporting gains. Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment with a gain of 8.5 percent. Elkhart, IN, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 4.6 percent.

Among Mississippi’s two large counties, employment was highest in Hinds County (109,700) in March 2023. Within Hinds County’s private industry, health care and social assistance accounted for the largest employment. Together, Hinds and Harrison Counties accounted for 17.1 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 360 largest counties made up 73.0 percent of total U.S. employment.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 80 counties in Mississippi with employment below 75,000. Wage levels in all 80 smaller counties were below the national average of $1,465 in the first quarter of 2023. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Average weekly wages increased in both of Mississippi’s large counties from the first quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023. (See chart 2.) Hinds County (+7.1 percent) had a rate of wage gain that was above the national rate of 6.6 percent.


Among the 360 largest counties in the United States, 353 had over-the-year wage increases. Clayton, GA, had the largest percentage wage increase (+24.3 percent). Elkhart, IN, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease (-6.3 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in Hinds County ($1,103) and Harrison County ($918) were below the U.S. average of $1,465 in the first quarter of 2023.

Among the largest U.S. counties, 87 reported average weekly wages above the U.S. average in the first quarter of 2023. New York, NY, had the highest average weekly wage at $3,922. Average weekly wages were at or below the national average in the remaining 273 counties. At $782 a week, Hidalgo, TX, had the lowest average weekly wage.

Average weekly wages in Mississippi’s smaller counties

Among the 80 smaller counties in Mississippi—those with employment below 75,000—Claiborne ($1,408) reported the highest average weekly wage. Issaquena County ($606) reported the lowest average weekly wage in the state.

When all 82 counties in Mississippi were considered, 15 reported average weekly wages of less than $750, 18 had wages from $750 to $799, 14 had wages from $800 to $849, 15 had wages from $850 to $899, and 20 had average weekly wages of $900 or higher. (See map 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. This publication is typically published in September of the following year of the reference period or shortly after the QCEW first quarter full data update. The Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online is available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/.

The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2023 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The County Employment and Wages full data update for the second quarter 2023 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

County Changes for the 2023 County Employment and Wages News Releases

Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2022 are included in this release and will be included in future 2023 releases. Five counties have been added to the publication tables: Napa, CA; York, ME; Gaston, NC; Orange, NC; and Merrimack, NH. No counties were dropped from the publication tables.


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 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.

For more information see the Technical Note for the County Employment and Wages News Release.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Mississippi, first quarter 2023

(U.S. average = $1,465)

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the two largest counties in Mississippi, first quarter 2023
Area Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands)
Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2023
(thousands)
Percent change,
March
2022–23 (2)
National ranking
by percent change (3)
First quarter
2023
National ranking
by level (3)
Percent change,
first quarter
2022–23 (2)
National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

11,883.2 151,418.1 2.5 -- $1,465 -- 6.6 --

Mississippi

84.7 1,153.8 1.6 -- 944 51 7.2 31

Harrison

4.9 87.4 2.1 153 918 355 5.9 272

Hinds

5.7 109.7 -1.3 346 1,103 291 7.1 209

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Percent changes were computed from 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 establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in Mississippi, first quarter 2023
Area Establishments Employment March 2023 Average weekly wage (1)

United States (2)

11,883,196 151,418,052 $1,465

Mississippi

84,668 1,153,828 944

Adams

810 9,874 770

Alcorn

851 13,173 876

Amite

210 1,968 864

Attala

405 4,636 811

Benton

91 1,069 814

Bolivar

827 10,412 821

Calhoun

268 2,832 718

Carroll

142 1,055 724

Chickasaw

365 4,476 727

Choctaw

154 2,221 1,108

Claiborne

140 3,271 1,408

Clarke

250 3,060 752

Clay

386 6,937 804

Coahoma

599 6,543 793

Copiah

484 6,327 723

Covington

387 5,748 820

De Soto

3,566 69,518 849

Forrest

1,927 40,021 921

Franklin

134 1,520 868

George

390 5,088 745

Greene

155 1,827 769

Grenada

590 9,553 816

Hancock

972 13,958 1,182

Harrison

4,926 87,398 918

Hinds

5,670 109,697 1,103

Holmes

287 3,027 746

Humphreys

177 1,977 705

Issaquena

35 169 606

Itawamba

405 5,976 779

Jackson

2,632 50,022 1,166

Jasper

240 3,972 939

Jefferson

72 939 781

Jefferson Davis

157 1,557 779

Jones

1,409 28,699 840

Kemper

130 1,706 853

Lafayette

1,518 24,919 906

Lamar

1,509 20,163 805

Lauderdale

1,877 31,218 869

Lawrence

212 2,624 996

Leake

347 5,258 744

Lee

2,640 53,014 930

Leflore

815 13,801 760

Lincoln

867 13,189 912

Lowndes

1,544 24,522 1,042

Madison

3,833 59,035 1,029

Marion

597 8,020 876

Marshall

529 10,939 861

Monroe

637 9,340 946

Montgomery

236 2,438 753

Neshoba

567 11,408 1,015

Newton

375 5,408 771

Noxubee

229 2,114 823

Oktibbeha

1,056 20,436 872

Panola

644 9,920 867

Pearl River

972 11,182 751

Perry

171 2,073 876

Pike

1,025 14,576 769

Pontotoc

549 11,626 795

Prentiss

541 7,328 773

Quitman

144 1,014 631

Rankin

4,396 66,100 992

Scott

524 13,274 867

Sharkey

144 969 689

Simpson

483 7,362 661

Smith

201 2,757 874

Stone

324 4,776 774

Sunflower

537 8,070 790

Tallahatchie

219 2,471 839

Tate

422 5,865 809

Tippah

400 6,940 818

Tishomingo

469 6,428 854

Tunica

267 6,797 780

Union

593 12,160 918

Walthall

219 2,457 684

Warren

1,095 18,933 1,009

Washington

1,200 14,424 795

Wayne

398 4,645 816

Webster

203 2,051 722

Wilkinson

137 1,501 710

Winston

355 5,072 878

Yalobusha

211 2,677 881

Yazoo

440 6,089 948

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: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, first quarter 2023
State Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands)
Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2023
(thousands)
Percent change,
March
2022–23
First quarter
2023
National ranking
by level
Percent change,
first quarter
2022–23
National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

11,883.2 151,418.1 2.5 $1,465 -- 6.6 --

Alabama

153.8 2,055.3 2.6 1,164 38 8.9 12

Alaska

25.1 311.3 2.4 1,301 24 10.3 1

Arizona

214.7 3,143.1 2.7 1,330 21 7.5 27

Arkansas

102.2 1,272.5 3.1 1,127 44 6.4 41

California

1,790.3 17,842.7 0.9 1,735 5 5.5 46

Colorado

261.7 2,838.6 2.5 1,559 9 7.1 33

Connecticut

145.6 1,641.7 1.4 1,817 4 5.9 44

Delaware

41.0 462.3 3.0 1,431 15 4.8 50

District of Columbia

49.5 754.0 1.1 2,341 1 5.1 48

Florida

883.1 9,640.2 4.1 1,330 21 9.3 6

Georgia

376.4 4,775.6 3.0 1,376 17 6.1 43

Hawaii

55.1 634.3 3.3 1,218 30 7.2 31

Idaho

91.8 818.1 1.6 1,084 47 10.1 2

Illinois

409.8 5,936.4 2.1 1,567 8 5.5 46

Indiana

191.0 3,124.3 1.8 1,203 33 6.2 42

Iowa

110.7 1,526.1 0.9 1,176 36 8.3 15

Kansas

97.7 1,405.6 2.6 1,155 39 7.6 24

Kentucky

148.0 1,956.2 2.9 1,138 43 9.3 6

Louisiana

152.7 1,882.2 1.9 1,150 40 9.1 9

Maine

63.9 616.7 1.7 1,188 34 7.7 22

Maryland

189.1 2,647.5 2.0 1,541 10 9.0 10

Massachusetts

294.5 3,583.5 1.8 1,917 3 5.0 49

Michigan

311.0 4,305.8 2.0 1,308 23 6.8 35

Minnesota

207.8 2,836.9 1.9 1,461 14 6.5 40

Mississippi

84.7 1,153.8 1.6 944 51 7.2 31

Missouri

243.5 2,854.3 2.4 1,224 29 8.5 14

Montana

64.3 498.1 2.6 1,079 49 9.3 6

Nebraska

75.9 990.7 2.5 1,165 37 8.0 18

Nevada

106.3 1,497.2 3.8 1,246 27 7.4 28

New Hampshire

64.2 671.9 1.8 1,462 13 7.4 28

New Jersey

329.7 4,169.3 2.3 1,699 7 5.7 45

New Mexico

69.4 844.1 2.8 1,105 46 8.9 12

New York

693.2 9,368.7 2.9 2,015 2 2.1 51

North Carolina

366.3 4,782.7 3.1 1,348 18 6.8 35

North Dakota

34.9 413.0 2.9 1,216 31 9.8 3

Ohio

338.0 5,392.9 1.7 1,265 25 7.3 30

Oklahoma

128.2 1,660.1 3.6 1,109 45 9.0 10

Oregon

193.8 1,959.8 1.4 1,339 19 6.7 37

Pennsylvania

391.2 5,898.8 2.0 1,408 16 7.6 24

Rhode Island

47.7 478.4 2.1 1,334 20 6.6 39

South Carolina

173.4 2,221.1 3.4 1,139 42 9.5 5

South Dakota

39.3 440.8 2.0 1,084 47 7.0 34

Tennessee

210.7 3,201.7 2.9 1,264 26 7.8 20

Texas

820.5 13,568.7 4.3 1,480 11 8.1 17

Utah

134.7 1,666.9 2.4 1,245 28 7.9 19

Vermont

31.5 304.6 2.3 1,188 34 7.6 24

Virginia

347.7 4,002.1 2.6 1,477 12 8.2 16

Washington

238.7 3,540.1 2.5 1,721 6 7.7 22

West Virginia

56.8 682.4 1.8 1,062 50 9.6 4

Wisconsin

202.0 2,874.3 1.9 1,211 32 6.7 37

Wyoming

30.2 270.6 2.4 1,145 41 7.8 20

Puerto Rico

51.7 936.1 1.8 640 (3) 10.2 (3)

Virgin Islands

3.8 36.1 2.2 971 (3) 3.6 (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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2023