South Dakota’s only large county, Minnehaha, reported an employment increase of 5.7 percent from June 2020 to June 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2020.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that in June 2021, Minnehaha County’s employment level was 130,449. (See table 1.)

National employment increased 6.7 percent over the year, with 339 of the 343 largest U.S. counties reporting gains. Atlantic, NJ, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment with a gain of 36.8 percent. Calcasieu, LA, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 0.9 percent.

Minnehaha County’s employment accounted for 29.5 percent of total employment within the state. Within the county’s private industry, health care and social assistance accounted for the largest employment (26,767) in June 2021. Nationwide, the 343 largest counties made up 72.2 percent of total U.S. employment.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 65 counties in South Dakota with employment below 75,000. All 65 smaller counties had wage levels below the national average of $1,241 in the second quarter of 2021. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Minnehaha County’s 2.7-percent wage growth from the second quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2021 was lower than the national rate of 4.5 percent and ranked 197^th nationally. Among the 343 largest counties in the United States, 302 had over-the-year wage increases. San Francisco, CA, had the largest percentage wage increase (+29.7 percent). Atlantic, NJ, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease (-7.4 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Minnehaha County’s $1,041 average weekly wage ranked 223^rd among the 343 largest U.S. counties in the second quarter of 2021. Among the largest U.S. counties, 90 reported average weekly wages above the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2021. Santa Clara, CA, had the highest average weekly wage at $3,516. Average weekly wages were at or below the national average in the remaining 253 counties. At $728 a week, Hidalgo, TX, had the lowest average weekly wage.

Average weekly wages in South Dakota’s smaller counties

Among the 65 smaller counties in South Dakota—those with employment below 75,000—Union ($1,177) reported the highest average weekly wage. Mellette County ($565) reported the lowest average weekly wage in the state.

When all 66 counties in South Dakota were considered, 12 reported average weekly wages of less than $700, 21 registered wages from $700 to $799, 23 had wages from $800 to $899, and 10 had average weekly wages of $900 or higher. (See chart 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 third quarter 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 23, 2022. The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.

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.

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

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the largest county in South Dakota, second quarter 2021

Area	Establishments, second quarter (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
		June 2021 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2020–21 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Second quarter 2021	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2020–21 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	10,863.2	144,044.8	6.7	--	$1,241	--	4.5	--
South Dakota	36.3	442.3	6.4	--	936	49	2.6	31
Minnehaha	8.4	130.4	5.7	174	1,041	223	2.7	197
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 South Dakota, second quarter 2021

Area	Establishments	Employment June 2021	Average weekly wage (1)
United States (2)	10,863,217	144,044,799	$1,241
South Dakota	36,263	442,310	936
Aurora	111	929	653
Beadle	677	8,486	854
Bennett	95	795	766
Bon Homme	222	1,813	704
Brookings	1,178	17,903	915
Brown	1,463	20,433	931
Brule	257	2,059	720
Buffalo	27	611	891
Butte	407	2,788	701
Campbell	72	462	689
Charles Mix	361	3,593	761
Clark	177	1,181	714
Clay	427	5,989	829
Codington	1,295	16,394	821
Corson	68	754	845
Custer	391	3,106	717
Davison	814	12,059	870
Day	240	1,938	713
Deuel	186	1,591	863
Dewey	145	2,403	872
Douglas	128	1,098	770
Edmunds	181	1,238	808
Fall River	305	2,628	819
Faulk	102	627	724
Grant	366	3,751	895
Gregory	233	1,568	656
Haakon	113	765	829
Hamlin	260	2,375	872
Hand	170	1,412	688
Hanson	108	630	792
Harding	69	469	778
Hughes	889	10,711	965
Hutchinson	283	2,752	750
Hyde	62	528	897
Jackson	84	761	672
Jerauld	105	1,913	708
Jones	67	447	578
Kingsbury	252	1,830	731
Lake	461	5,102	894
Lawrence	1,399	12,855	830
Lincoln	2,234	26,300	1,034
Lyman	138	1,439	659
McCook	229	1,334	753
McPherson	86	561	665
Marshall	202	1,676	864
Meade	901	8,086	891
Mellette	44	291	565
Miner	101	728	679
Minnehaha	8,418	130,449	1,041
Moody	208	2,494	823
Oglala Lakota	129	4,190	919
Pennington	5,117	60,693	917
Perkins	146	1,153	675
Potter	132	859	817
Roberts	300	3,502	786
Sanborn	87	645	680
Spink	278	2,544	817
Stanley	156	1,278	778
Sully	96	858	952
Todd	106	2,866	820
Tripp	254	2,295	783
Turner	313	2,239	765
Union	780	9,710	1,177
Walworth	248	2,211	722
Yankton	860	12,644	905
Ziebach	32	273	816
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, second quarter 2021

State	Establishments, second quarter (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
		June 2021 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2020–21	Second quarter 2021	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2020–21	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	10,863.2	144,044.8	6.7	$1,241	--	4.5	--
Alabama	137.8	1,952.0	4.4	1,010	35	4.8	15
Alaska	23.7	315.5	6.7	1,181	17	-1.2	51
Arizona	180.2	2,857.8	5.3	1,154	20	5.9	6
Arkansas	96.1	1,205.3	4.4	974	45	5.2	12
California	1,662.9	16,992.1	7.0	1,579	3	7.5	5
Colorado	228.9	2,723.9	7.1	1,283	10	4.4	19
Connecticut	130.1	1,604.1	7.9	1,411	6	0.6	47
Delaware	35.1	440.1	5.1	1,165	19	1.7	41
District of Columbia	44.0	724.6	3.3	2,096	1	5.4	8
Florida	782.5	8,654.0	6.7	1,113	24	7.7	3
Georgia	337.0	4,453.5	6.5	1,139	22	5.9	6
Hawaii	48.7	590.5	12.7	1,117	23	0.7	46
Idaho	76.4	801.8	7.3	930	50	5.3	10
Illinois	394.6	5,743.5	6.5	1,260	11	3.5	25
Indiana	178.2	3,011.8	5.2	1,013	34	5.4	8
Iowa	106.1	1,528.0	4.8	999	38	2.1	38
Kansas	90.5	1,356.0	4.0	995	41	2.7	30
Kentucky	132.4	1,851.2	5.6	999	38	2.9	28
Louisiana	142.7	1,806.6	5.4	1,005	36	2.0	39
Maine	57.0	623.0	8.7	1,005	36	2.4	33
Maryland	175.6	2,599.7	6.8	1,319	9	1.0	44
Massachusetts	277.4	3,497.0	10.1	1,591	2	1.1	43
Michigan	270.2	4,175.6	8.4	1,143	21	2.5	32
Minnesota	192.8	2,814.5	6.4	1,240	13	3.3	26
Mississippi	75.7	1,107.1	4.1	843	51	3.8	22
Missouri	221.6	2,759.3	5.3	1,052	32	3.6	23
Montana	55.1	490.7	7.0	959	47	4.5	18
Nebraska	74.4	976.6	4.8	997	40	3.9	21
Nevada	93.9	1,353.9	14.0	1,106	25	5.3	10
New Hampshire	58.5	657.4	8.7	1,345	8	10.6	1
New Jersey	300.4	3,993.8	12.0	1,387	7	0.8	45
New Mexico	63.0	790.6	4.3	987	42	2.9	28
New York	667.9	8,885.4	9.2	1,540	5	1.3	42
North Carolina	311.1	4,511.3	7.2	1,092	27	5.1	14
North Dakota	32.6	407.4	4.3	1,067	29	0.6	47
Ohio	312.4	5,266.7	4.3	1,068	28	3.6	23
Oklahoma	114.6	1,568.7	3.1	963	46	2.4	33
Oregon	169.2	1,899.6	5.6	1,196	15	4.8	15
Pennsylvania	370.9	5,674.7	6.9	1,193	16	2.0	39
Rhode Island	42.1	472.2	10.0	1,168	18	-0.3	50
South Carolina	150.1	2,091.9	4.9	977	44	5.2	12
South Dakota	36.3	442.3	6.4	936	49	2.6	31
Tennessee	182.3	3,012.4	5.9	1,094	26	7.6	4
Texas	758.0	12,466.7	5.7	1,210	14	4.7	17
Utah	119.9	1,586.0	7.6	1,060	30	4.2	20
Vermont	27.8	292.4	7.5	1,053	31	-0.2	49
Virginia	293.6	3,854.3	6.1	1,257	12	3.2	27
Washington	263.6	3,376.7	5.7	1,547	4	8.3	2
West Virginia	52.7	663.8	4.8	955	48	2.2	37
Wisconsin	186.5	2,845.7	5.7	1,037	33	2.3	35
Wyoming	28.2	275.1	5.6	987	42	2.3	35
Puerto Rico	47.6	867.2	8.6	567	(3)	2.0	(3)
Virgin Islands	3.5	35.7	0.0	923	(3)	-8.4	(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.