County Employment and Wages Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, February 22, 2023	USDL-23-0349

Technical information:	(202) 691-6567  *  QCEWInfo@bls.gov  	*  www.bls.gov/cew
Media contact:		(202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES – THIRD QUARTER 2022

From September 2021 to September 2022, employment increased in 346 of the 355 largest U.S. 
counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In September 2022, national employment 
increased to 151.2 million, a 4.3-percent increase over the year, as measured by the Quarterly Census of 
Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. Orleans, LA, had the largest over-the-year increase in 
employment, with a gain of 10.7 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for September 
2022, and average weekly wage data are presented for third quarter 2022.

Among the 355 largest counties, 345 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the third 
quarter of 2022, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,334, a 6.7-percent increase over 
the year. Midland, TX, had the largest third quarter over-the-year wage gain at 13.9 percent. (See table 
1.)

Large County Employment in September 2022

Orleans, LA, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (+10.7 percent). Within 
Orleans, the largest employment increase occurred in leisure and hospitality, which rose by 10,767 over 
the year (+39.7 percent).

Deschutes, OR, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment, with a loss of 
0.4 percent. Within Deschutes, financial activities had the largest employment decrease, with a decline 
of 329 (-8.3 percent).

Large County Average Weekly Wage in Third Quarter 2022

Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages (+13.9 
percent). Within Midland, an average weekly wage gain of $286 (+13.2 percent) in natural resources and 
mining made the largest contribution to the county’s increase in average weekly wages.

San Mateo, CA, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in average weekly wages, with a loss 
of 19.6 percent. Within San Mateo, information had the largest impact, with an average weekly wage 
decrease of $3,242 (-31.2 percent) over the year.

Ten Largest Counties

All of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in employment. In September 
2022, New York, NY, had the largest over-the-year employment percentage gain (+6.6 percent). Within 
New York, leisure and hospitality had the largest employment increase and rose by 57,047 (+28.4 
percent). (See table 2.)

All of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in average weekly wages. In third 
quarter 2022, Miami-Dade, FL, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage gain in average weekly 
wages (+8.8 percent). Within Miami-Dade, professional and business services had the largest impact, 
with an average weekly wage increase of $218 (+15.3 percent) over the year.

For More Information

The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 355 U.S. counties with annual 
average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2021. September 2022 employment and third quarter 
2022 average weekly wages for all states are provided in table 3 of this release.

The QCEW Technical Note is available at www.bls.gov/cew/news-release-technical-note.htm.

QCEW response rate tables are available at www.bls.gov/cew/response-rates/.

The most current news release on quarterly measures of gross job flows is available from QCEW 
Business Employment Dynamics at www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cewbd.pdf.

Several BLS regional offices issue QCEW news releases targeted to local data users. Links to these 
releases are available at www.bls.gov/cew/regional-resources.htm.

QCEW data are available in the Census Business Builder suite of web tools assisting business owners 
and regional analysts in data-driven decision making at www.census.gov/data/data-tools/cbb.html. 

The QCEW news release schedule is available at www.bls.gov/cew/release-calendar.htm.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access 
telecommunications relay services.

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The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2022 is scheduled to be 
released on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

The County Employment and Wages news release for fourth quarter 2022 is scheduled to be 
released on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).