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News Release Information

15-1959-KAN
Thursday, October 22, 2015

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

County Employment and Wages in Utah – First Quarter 2015

Employment rose in the four largest counties in Utah from March 2014 to March 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2014 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that Utah County experienced the fastest employment growth among the 342 largest U.S. counties, up 6.7 percent over the year. The three remaining large counties in the state also had employment gains exceeding the national average of 2.1 percent.

Nationally, employment increased in 323 of the 342 largest U.S. counties from March 2014 to March 2015. As noted, Utah County, Utah, posted the largest percentage increase with a gain of 6.7 percent over the year. Within Utah County, the largest employment increase occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities, which added 2,962 jobs over the year (8.9 percent). Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the largest counties in the U.S. with a loss of 4.3 percent.

Among the four largest counties in Utah, employment was highest in Salt Lake County (635,800) and lowest in Weber (97,900). Together, the four largest counties accounted for 79.7 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 342 large counties made up 72.3 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average weekly wages increased in three of the four large counties in Utah from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015. Wages in Salt Lake County had the largest growth (2.0 percent), followed by Utah (1.9 percent) and Davis (0.8 percent). Salt Lake County had the highest average weekly wage ($966) among Utah’s large counties. (See table 1.) Nationally, average weekly wages increased 2.1 percent over the year to $1,048.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 25 counties in Utah with employment below 75,000. All of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As mentioned, Salt Lake County had the largest wage gain at 2.0 percent, placing it 142nd in the national ranking, followed by Utah (1.9 percent, 150th) and Davis (0.8 percent, 266th). (See table 1.) Weber registered a 0.1-percent decline in average weekly wages and ranked 304th among the largest counties in the nation.

Among the 342 largest U.S. counties, 297 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2015. Olmsted, Minn., ranked first in average weekly wage growth with a gain of 11.7 percent. Of the 342 largest counties, 39 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Snohomish, Wash., had the largest percentage decline in average weekly wages with a loss of 4.8 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

At $966, Salt Lake County’s average weekly wage ranked 146th among the 342 largest U.S. counties in the first quarter of 2015. The three remaining large counties in Utah had average weekly wages that placed them in the bottom quartile of the national ranking—Utah ($786, 294th); Davis ($785, 295th); and Weber ($721, 328th).

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average of $1,048 in 93 of the 342 largest counties. New York, N.Y., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,847. Santa Clara, Calif., was second at $2,203, followed by Somerset, N.J. ($2,080); San Francisco, Calif. ($2,070); and San Mateo, Calif. ($2,066). Among the 248 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the first quarter of 2015, Horry, S.C. ($583) reported the lowest wage.

Average weekly wages in Utah’s smaller counties

Each of the 25 counties in Utah with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average. Duchesne County’s wage of $957 was the highest among the small counties followed by Uintah at $947. Piute reported the lowest weekly wage in the state with an average of $472 in the first quarter of 2015. (See table 2.)

When all 29 counties in Utah were considered, 11 reported average weekly wages under $600, 2 reported wages from $600 to $649, 5 posted wages from $650 to $699, 3 had wages from $700 to $749, and 8 had wages greater than $750. (See chart 1.) 

Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly 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 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 first quarter 2015 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.

The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 17, 2015.


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 9.5 million employer reports cover 137.4 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 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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 4 largest counties in Utah, first quarter 2015
AreaEmploymentAverage Weekly Wage (1)
March 2015 (thousands)Percent change, March 2014-15 (2)National ranking by percent change (3)Average weekly wageNational ranking by level (3)Percent change, first quarter 2014-15 (2)National ranking by percent change (3)

United States (4)

137,412.42.1--$1,048--2.1--

Utah

1,318.83.7--845381.731

Davis, Utah

115.13.9377852950.8266

Salt Lake, Utah

635.83.4649661462.0142

Utah, Utah

202.06.717862941.9150

Weber, Utah

97.93.840721328-0.1304

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly 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 employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Utah, 1st quarter 2015
AreaEmployment March 2015Average Weekly Wage (1)

United States (2)

137,412,381$1,048

Utah

1,318,829845

Beaver

2,731589

Box Elder

18,056675

Cache

50,842626

Carbon

8,602780

Daggett

342677

Davis

115,091785

Duchesne

8,746957

Emery

3,145774

Garfield

1,899570

Grand

4,987576

Iron

15,569570

Juab

3,456609

Kane

2,883539

Millard

4,518670

Morgan

1,991727

Piute

239472

Rich

597527

Salt Lake

635,827966

San Juan

4,005666

Sanpete

6,948558

Sevier

8,130598

Summit

27,929742

Tooele

14,587761

Uintah

14,343947

Utah

202,043786

Wasatch

7,378665

Washington

55,175589

Wayne

825536

Weber

97,945721

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

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, first quarter 2015
StateEmploymentAverage weekly wage (1)
March 2015 (thousands)Percent change, March 2014-15Average weekly wageNational ranking by levelPercent change, first quarter 2014-15National ranking by percent change

United States (2)

137,412.42.1$1,048--2.1--

Alabama

1,873.51.3844392.219

Alaska

322.21.01,051152.610

Arizona

2,605.62.5926231.045

Arkansas

1,166.61.3790470.847

California

16,029.53.01,20763.73

Colorado

2,458.03.71,071132.416

Connecticut

1,640.50.81,38231.535

Delaware

422.82.51,1059-0.551

District of Columbia

732.61.41,76413.24

Florida

8,018.03.6885281.827

Georgia

4,107.03.5989181.731

Hawaii

633.71.3881312.89

Idaho

650.33.1736502.219

Illinois

5,724.61.21,13072.416

Indiana

2,894.81.8857351.438

Iowa

1,504.31.3848372.97

Kansas

1,357.11.0851361.438

Kentucky

1,810.31.5823411.535

Louisiana

1,927.11.0885282.021

Maine

571.40.9793450.946

Maryland

2,540.81.21,11382.512

Massachusetts

3,338.61.71,34143.24

Michigan

4,079.51.8969211.924

Minnesota

2,709.21.81,079124.31

Mississippi

1,102.30.6711510.748

Missouri

2,678.01.7882301.827

Montana

441.02.7750492.610

Nebraska

943.11.4818422.512

Nevada

1,227.73.786534-0.250

New Hampshire

623.51.5982201.243

New Jersey

3,834.61.41,28851.924

New Mexico

798.71.4805431.535

New York

8,865.01.91,46320.249

North Carolina

4,099.42.5930221.924

North Dakota

436.01.6984194.22

Ohio

5,144.51.4922241.438

Oklahoma

1,592.71.3869332.021

Oregon

1,748.73.5919252.97

Pennsylvania

5,606.90.91,031162.416

Rhode Island

456.11.41,008171.243

South Carolina

1,919.12.5801441.827

South Dakota

406.51.5763483.06

Tennessee

2,772.72.1886271.438

Texas

11,557.02.91,089102.512

Utah

1,318.83.7845381.731

Vermont

303.90.9824402.021

Virginia

3,649.31.11,068141.731

Washington

3,064.43.21,087111.827

West Virginia

692.4-0.3792461.438

Wisconsin

2,734.31.5877322.512

Wyoming

277.80.8892261.731

Puerto Rico

904.9-1.1524(3)1.0(3)

Virgin Islands

38.50.0738(3)-0.7(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: Thursday, October 22, 2015