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News Release Information

16-30-PHI
Friday, January 08, 2016

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

County Employment and Wages in the District of Columbia – Second Quarter 2015

Local Employment Growth Slower than that for the Nation

The average weekly wage in Washington, D.C., increased 1.8 percent from the second quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.0 percent over the year, as 323 of the largest 342 counties had 12-month increases. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2014 annual average employment.) Over-the-year weekly wage growth in Washington, D.C., placed 240th among the nation’s 342 large counties. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the average weekly wage in Washington, D.C., ranked fifth-highest in the nation in the second quarter of 2015, at $1,599. Nationally, weekly wages averaged $968.

Washington, D.C., reported a 1.8-percent increase in employment from June 2014 to June 2015. Nationally, employment rose 2.0 percent during this 12-month period as 319 of the largest 342 U.S. counties gained jobs. Washington, D.C.,’s percent growth in employment ranked 172nd among the nation’s largest counties. Employment in Washington, D.C., totaled 745,100 in June 2015.

Large county wage changes

Among the 342 largest U.S. counties, Ventura, Calif., had the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages (15.2 percent), followed by the counties of Santa Clara, Calif. (11.3 percent) and Forsyth, N.C. (10.9 percent).

Only 16 large counties nationwide experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages, led by Olmstead, Minn., with a loss of 5.2 percent. Ector, Texas had the second-largest decline at 5.1 percent, followed by Midland, Texas (-3.2 percent); Hillsborough, N.H. (-2.6 percent); and Lorain, Ohio (-2.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Across the United States, average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 102 of the largest 342 counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,109. San Mateo, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,863, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,842); San Francisco, Calif. ($1,730); Washington, D.C. ($1,599); and Arlington, Va. ($1,546).

Three of the 10 counties with the highest wages in the United States were located in the Washington metropolitan area (Arlington, Va.; Fairfax, Va.; and Washington, D.C.), and two were in the New York metropolitan area (Fairfield, Conn., and New York, N.Y.). Three other top-paying counties were located in or around the San Francisco metropolitan area (San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, Calif.). Rounding out the top 10 were Suffolk and Middlesex, Mass., which were located in the Boston metropolitan area. (See table 1.)

There were 240 large counties with an average weekly wage below the national average in the second quarter of 2015. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($568), followed by Cameron, Texas ($586); Hidalgo, Texas ($614); Webb, Texas ($651); Yakima, Wash. ($660); and Lake, Fla. ($665).

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 2. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit the QCEW Web site at 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 2014 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 second quarter 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2014 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2014/home.htm. The 2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2016.

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.

 

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the top 10 counties ranked by average weekly wage, second quarter 2015
Area(1) Employment Average weekly wage(2)
June 2015 (thousands) Percent change, June 2014-15(3) Average weekly wage National Ranking by level Percent change, second quarter 2014-15(3) National Ranking by percent change

United States(4)

140,594.9 2.0 $968 -- 3.0 --
 

Santa Clara, Calif.

1,018.7 4.0 2,109 1 11.3 2

San Mateo, Calif.

383.4 4.8 1,863 2 6.5 10

New York, N.Y.

2,378.9 2.3 1,842 3 3.3 87

San Francisco, Calif.

668.9 4.5 1,730 4 8.6 5

Washington, D.C.

745.1 1.8 1,599 5 1.8 240

Arlington, Va.

170.7 2.3 1,546 6 1.6 264

Fairfax, Va.

593.9 1.4 1,517 7 3.9 45

Suffolk, Mass.

640.8 3.0 1,512 8 3.1 105

Fairfield, Conn.

431.1 1.6 1,497 9 3.0 114

Middlesex, Mass.

883.0 2.4 1,491 10 7.5 8

Footnotes:
(1) Includes areas not officially designated as counties.
(2) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data
(3) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for any noneconomic county reclassifications.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
 

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

 

Table 2. Covered employment and wages by state, second quarter 2015
State Employment Average weekly wage (1)
June 2015 (thousands) Percent change, June 2014-15 Average weekly wage National ranking by level Percent change, second quarter 2014-15 National ranking by percent change

United States (2)

140,594.9 2.0 $968 -- 3.0 --

Alabama

1,899.3 1.3 819 37 1.6 41

Alaska

346.6 0.4 1,028 8 2.4 30

Arizona

2,549.9 2.5 904 21 1.8 39

Arkansas

1,184.6 1.7 762 47 2.1 35

California

16,338.9 2.8 1,131 5 5.5 1

Colorado

2,517.1 3.2 989 13 3.0 13

Connecticut

1,693.1 0.9 1,177 4 2.0 38

Delaware

439.1 2.2 991 12 1.5 42

District of Columbia

745.1 1.8 1,599 1 1.8 39

Florida

7,907.7 3.6 861 28 2.6 23

Georgia

4,167.8 3.4 903 22 2.4 30

Hawaii

635.9 1.6 876 24 3.8 6

Idaho

678.5 2.9 713 50 2.3 33

Illinois

5,925.5 1.5 1,015 10 2.6 23

Indiana

2,966.0 1.7 811 40 3.4 7

Iowa

1,561.2 0.9 802 43 2.8 18

Kansas

1,382.1 0.7 819 37 2.8 18

Kentucky

1,850.5 1.7 822 35 3.0 13

Louisiana

1,930.6 0.5 850 30 0.8 47

Maine

615.8 0.8 768 46 2.9 16

Maryland

2,631.3 1.4 1,046 7 2.6 23

Massachusetts

3,488.3 2.1 1,211 2 4.7 2

Michigan

4,225.0 1.5 916 20 2.1 35

Minnesota

2,826.3 1.5 977 15 3.2 8

Mississippi

1,114.7 1.1 709 51 0.6 48

Missouri

2,746.6 1.7 842 32 2.8 18

Montana

461.5 1.8 754 48 2.7 21

Nebraska

968.7 1.2 787 44 4.1 3

Nevada

1,248.1 3.2 855 29 2.6 23

New Hampshire

647.7 1.5 967 16 1.3 46

New Jersey

4,000.2 1.5 1,126 6 2.6 23

New Mexico

808.4 0.8 805 41 1.4 44

New York

9,136.9 1.9 1,180 3 3.1 9

North Carolina

4,185.6 2.6 850 30 3.9 4

North Dakota

445.0 -1.8 939 18 0.3 50

Ohio

5,308.1 1.4 865 26 2.4 30

Oklahoma

1,591.5 0.6 818 39 0.5 49

Oregon

1,810.4 3.4 899 23 3.0 13

Pennsylvania

5,763.9 0.8 958 17 2.7 21

Rhode Island

480.0 1.5 925 19 2.9 16

South Carolina

1,963.5 2.5 782 45 2.1 35

South Dakota

428.6 1.3 740 49 3.9 4

Tennessee

2,832.1 2.8 863 27 3.1 9

Texas

11,689.4 2.4 988 14 1.5 42

Utah

1,345.9 3.9 821 36 3.1 9

Vermont

309.3 0.6 831 34 2.2 34

Virginia

3,767.2 1.7 1,000 11 2.5 29

Washington

3,197.6 3.3 1,026 9 3.1 9

West Virginia

706.5 -0.8 803 42 1.4 44

Wisconsin

2,839.8 1.0 836 33 2.6 23

Wyoming

291.5 -1.5 869 25 -0.1 51

Puerto Rico

884.6 -1.4 513 (3) 2.0 (3)

Virgin Islands

37.9 0.1 748 (3) 2.2 (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: Friday, January 08, 2016