Employment rose in 8 of the 10 large counties in Washington from September 2011 to September 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2011 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that Yakima County posted the largest employment increase, 3.4 percent, followed by Snohomish County (2.8 percent) and King County (2.4 percent).

Nationally, employment grew 1.6 percent during this 12-month period, as 276 of the 328 large U.S. counties gained jobs. Elkhart, Ind., had the largest percentage increase in employment in the nation, up 6.9 percent over the year. Benton, Wash., had the largest employment decrease in the country, down 5.2 percent.

Among the large counties in Washington, King reported the highest employment (1,171,900). Three other counties, Pierce, Snohomish, and Spokane, had employment levels above 200,000. Together, the 10 largest counties in Washington accounted for 84.2 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 328 largest counties made up 71.0 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 132.6 million in September 2012.

Average weekly wages increased over the year in three Washington counties. King County recorded the largest gain, 2.3 percent, and had the highest average weekly wage in the state ($1,354). Nationally, in the third quarter of 2012 the average weekly wage declined 1.1 percent over the year to $906. (See table 1.) This is one of only six over-the-year average weekly wage declines dating back to 1978, when the first comparable quarterly data are available.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 29 counties in Washington with employment below 75,000 in 2011. All of these counties had average weekly wages below the national average and ranged from $482 to $803 during the third quarter of 2012. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

King County’s 2.3-percent wage gain ranked 4th nationally and Clark County’s 1.2-percent wage advance placed 17th among the 328 large counties nationwide. Average weekly wages did not change in the third quarter of 2012 in two of Washington’s large counties, while wages declined in five others. Among these five, Benton County’s weekly wages decreased 6.9 percent and tied for the second largest decline in the nation.

Average weekly wages declined over the year in 274 of the 328 largest U.S. counties. Yolo, Calif., had the largest wage decline (-7.0 percent). In contrast, 46 large counties experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., ranked first with a gain of 7.3 percent. Douglas, Colo., had the second largest increase (5.4 percent), followed by Pinellas, Fla. King County, Wash., tied with Clayton County, Ga., for the fourth largest percentage increase.

Large county average weekly wages

King County’s $1,354 weekly wage placed 10th among the 328 largest counties in the third quarter of 2012. Snohomish ($996) and Benton ($913) Counties placed 61st and 96th, respectively. Conversely, Yakima County’s $620 weekly wage ranked 325th.

Nationwide, 103 large counties registered weekly wages at or above the U.S. average of $906 in the third quarter of 2012. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,800. New York, N.Y., was second at $1,626, followed by the counties of San Mateo, Calif. ($1,537), Washington, D.C. ($1,514), and Arlington, Va. ($1,488).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 225 reported weekly wages below the national average. Horry County, S.C., reported the lowest wage ($554), followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($580), Hidalgo, Texas ($584), Yakima, Wash. ($620), and Marion, Fla. ($621).

Average weekly wages in Washington’s smaller counties

All of the 29 counties in Washington with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $906. (See table 2.)

When all 39 counties in Washington were considered, 3 counties had an average weekly wage of $900 or more, and 6 counties had an average weekly wage of $800 to $899. Seven counties had average weekly wages from $700 to $799. Twenty counties reported average weekly wages from $600 to $699, and 3 had wages below $600.

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 http://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 2011 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2012 version of the news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online 2011 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn11.htm.  The 2012 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available later in 2013.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

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 9.2 million employer reports covered 132.6 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 and may not match the data contained on the BLS 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.

Table 1. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and the two large counties in Washington, third quarter 2012 (2)

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (3)
	September 2012 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2011-12 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (5)	Percent change, third quarter 2011-12 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)
United States (6)	132,624.7	1.6	--	$906	--	-1.1	--
Washington	2,944.6	1.5	--	1,024	7	1.3	2
Benton, Wash.	79.1	-5.2	328	913	96	-6.9	325
Clark, Wash.	131.0	2.0	97	849	161	1.2	17
King, Wash.	1,171.9	2.4	54	1,354	10	2.3	4
Kitsap, Wash.	80.3	-0.5	297	885	121	-0.7	96
Pierce, Wash.	266.0	0.5	241	840	170	-0.4	76
Snohomish, Wash.	259.7	2.8	40	996	61	0.7	25
Spokane, Wash.	200.9	0.8	209	780	236	-0.3	68
Thurston, Wash.	96.9	1.0	186	847	162	-0.4	76
Whatcom, Wash.	80.7	0.3	256	758	253	0.0	47
Yakima, Wash.	113.7	3.4	25	620	325	0.0	47
Footnotes: (1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. (2) Data are preliminary. (3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (4) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (5) Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico. (6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

 

Last Modified Date: May 1, 2013