Employment rose in all seven large counties in Missouri from September 2016 to September 2017, 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 2016 annual average employment. The independent city of St. Louis has been designated as a county by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that Clay County had the fastest employment growth (2.8 percent) among the seven largest counties in the state. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, employment advanced 1.0 percent during the 12-month period as 283 of the 346 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase, up 10.4 percent over the year. Collier, Fla., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 5.2 percent.

Among the seven largest counties in Missouri, employment was highest in St. Louis (607,800) and lowest in Boone (94,600) in September 2017. Together, the seven largest Missouri counties accounted for 61.3 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 346 largest counties made up 72.7 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average weekly wages in each of the seven large counties in Missouri decreased at a rate equal to or faster than the national decline of 0.6 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017. Clay County had the largest over-the-year wage decrease, down 4.8 percent. Jackson County had the smallest decline among the state’s large counties and matched the national rate. St. Louis City ($1,066) and St. Louis County ($1,048) had the highest average weekly wages among Missouri’s large counties and were above the national average of $1,021. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 108 counties in Missouri with employment levels below 75,000. Of these small counties, Platte ($852) had the highest wage level, but did not exceed the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Jackson County’s 0.6-percent annual wage decline was the smallest among Missouri’s large counties and ranked 121^st among the 346 large U.S. counties. St. Louis County’s 0.7-percent wage decline ranked 133^rd. The remaining five large Missouri counties placed in the bottom third of the national ranking. Clay County’s 4.8-percent annual wage decline was the fifth largest in the nation and ranked 342^nd. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, 265 of the 346 largest counties had over-the-year wage decreases. Mercer, N.J., had the largest wage decline in the nation, down 8.8 percent. The Mercer, N.J., decrease was followed by Wyandotte, Kan. (-6.0 percent); Clark, Nev. (-5.3 percent); and Somerset, N.J. (-5.0 percent).

Of the 346 largest U.S. counties, 71 experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. The  8.4-percent increase in Midland, Texas, was followed by Union, N.J. (8.2 percent); Elkhart, Ind. (6.5 percent); Forsyth, N.C. (5.3 percent); and Maui + Kalawao, Hawaii (4.6 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Three of the state’s large counties had average weekly wages that placed in the top 100 of the 346 largest U.S. counties in the third quarter of 2017. Average weekly wages in St. Louis City ($1,066) and St. Louis County ($1,048) ranked 77^th and 87^th, respectively. Jackson County’s average weekly wage of $1,019 ranked 99^th. The four remaining large counties in Missouri had average weekly wages that placed them in the bottom third of the national ranking.

Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 96 of the 346 largest U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,320. San Mateo, Calif., was second at $2,123, followed by San Francisco, Calif. ($1,954), and New York, N.Y. ($1,889).

Among the largest U.S. counties, more than two-thirds (250) reported average weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2017. The lowest weekly wage was reported in Cameron, Texas ($612), followed by Horry, S.C. ($633), and the Texas counties of Hidalgo ($649) and Webb ($672). Wages in these lowest-ranked counties were less than 30 percent of the average weekly wage in the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, Calif.

Average weekly wages in Missouri’s smaller counties

Of the 108 counties in Missouri with employment below 75,000, Platte County reported the highest weekly wage with an average of $852, below the national average of $1,021. Ripley County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state with an average of $454 in the third quarter of 2017. (See table 2.)

When all 115 counties in Missouri were considered, all but 2 had wages below the national average. Twenty-five reported average weekly wages under $550, 50 reported wages from $550 to $649, 24 had wages from $650 to $749, and 16 had wages $750 or higher. (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 2016 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 2017 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from the 2016 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2016/home.htm. The 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2018.

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

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

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 9.7 million employer reports cover 136.6 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 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 7 largest counties in Missouri, third quarter 2017

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, third quarter 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	144,464.4	1.0	--	$1,021	--	-0.6	--
Missouri	2,805.8	0.9	--	878	31	-1.2	34
Boone, Mo.	94.6	1.2	132	819	294	-1.9	245
Clay, Mo.	107.4	2.8	28	856	254	-4.8	342
Greene, Mo.	166.2	1.3	114	781	321	-2.6	296
Jackson, Mo.	369.2	1.0	157	1,019	99	-0.6	121
St. Charles, Mo.	147.9	0.9	167	807	302	-1.7	231
St. Louis City, Mo.	228.0	0.2	259	1,066	77	-3.6	326
St. Louis, Mo.	607.8	0.8	182	1,048	87	-0.7	133
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 3. Covered employment and wages by state, third quarter 2017

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2016-17	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2016-17	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	144,464.4	1.0	$1,021	--	-0.6	--
Alabama	1,941.1	0.8	859	37	-1.3	38
Alaska	335.4	-0.7	1,025	15	-2.8	50
Arizona	2,760.1	2.4	948	24	-0.2	10
Arkansas	1,213.0	0.6	788	49	-0.6	19
California	17,153.4	1.7	1,215	4	0.5	4
Colorado	2,625.9	1.9	1,067	9	0.5	4
Connecticut	1,676.3	0.1	1,179	6	-2.2	47
Delaware	443.0	0.4	1,026	14	0.4	6
District of Columbia	764.7	0.7	1,759	1	1.3	2
Florida	8,305.8	-0.2	896	29	-1.1	31
Georgia	4,343.5	1.3	961	21	-0.9	27
Hawaii	652.5	0.4	953	22	-0.3	13
Idaho	722.3	2.7	778	50	-0.5	16
Illinois	5,969.6	0.5	1,057	10	-0.3	13
Indiana	3,044.0	0.6	861	36	-0.6	19
Iowa	1,546.1	-0.2	855	38	-2.2	47
Kansas	1,376.4	-0.1	839	41	-2.1	46
Kentucky	1,890.4	0.5	837	42	-2.4	49
Louisiana	1,904.3	-0.1	869	33	-1.7	42
Maine	621.9	0.7	821	46	-0.5	16
Maryland	2,661.8	0.5	1,105	8	-1.7	42
Massachusetts	3,568.0	0.9	1,265	2	-0.9	27
Michigan	4,334.3	0.9	964	20	-1.1	31
Minnesota	2,883.0	1.1	1,030	13	-2.0	45
Mississippi	1,129.1	-0.1	729	51	-1.4	39
Missouri	2,805.8	0.9	878	31	-1.2	34
Montana	468.6	0.9	793	48	0.1	8
Nebraska	973.3	-0.2	850	39	-0.8	23
Nevada	1,337.7	2.9	914	26	-3.8	51
New Hampshire	659.1	0.6	1,022	16	-0.4	15
New Jersey	4,043.6	1.1	1,156	7	-1.5	41
New Mexico	816.0	0.3	823	45	-0.8	23
New York	9,329.8	1.2	1,219	3	-0.2	10
North Carolina	4,348.0	1.3	904	27	-0.7	21
North Dakota	419.2	-1.0	953	22	-1.2	34
Ohio	5,383.6	0.6	920	25	-0.8	23
Oklahoma	1,593.3	0.7	843	40	-1.2	34
Oregon	1,905.3	1.8	969	19	-0.1	9
Pennsylvania	5,836.5	1.0	1,002	17	-1.1	31
Rhode Island	484.5	0.8	973	18	-1.8	44
South Carolina	2,027.2	0.8	828	43	-0.5	16
South Dakota	426.2	0.4	803	47	-0.7	21
Tennessee	2,953.3	1.1	903	28	-1.2	34
Texas	12,008.9	1.4	1,032	12	-1.0	29
Utah	1,444.1	2.6	879	30	-0.2	10
Vermont	310.3	0.1	869	33	-1.4	39
Virginia	3,843.6	1.0	1,053	11	-0.8	23
Washington	3,343.4	2.0	1,208	5	1.7	1
West Virginia	694.0	0.2	826	44	1.1	3
Wisconsin	2,866.9	0.5	876	32	-1.0	29
Wyoming	276.2	0.3	868	35	0.3	7
Puerto Rico	862.8	-3.1	509	(3)	-2.7	(3)
Virgin Islands	36.9	-1.1	763	(3)	-1.9	(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.