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News Release Information

15-873-BOS
Wednesday, May 06, 2015

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

County Employment And Wages In Maine - Third Quarter 2014

Maine’s only large county, Cumberland, reported an employment gain of 0.8 percent from September 2013 to September 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2013 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that Cumberland’s employment gain ranked 248th among the 339 large U.S. counties.

Nationally, employment increased 2.0 percent from September 2013 to September 2014, as 306 of the 339 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment was recorded in Weld, Colo. (8.8 percent); Atlantic, N.J., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease (-4.0 percent).

Employment in Cumberland County stood at 174,781 in September 2014 and accounted for 28.9 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 339 largest counties made up 71.8 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Cumberland County increased 2.3 percent to $832 from the third quarter of 2013 to the third quarter of 2014. (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 2.9 percent over the year to $949.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 15 counties in Maine 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

The 2.3-percent wage gain in Cumberland County ranked 194th among the 334 largest U.S. counties. Across the country, 328 large counties experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2014. Olmstead, Minn., had the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 11.1 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

Of the 339 largest U.S. counties, 10 experienced decreases in average weekly wages. Collier, Fla., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wage, with a loss of 3.9 percent. Dane, Wis., had the second largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages, followed by Williamson, Texas; Hamilton, Ind.; and Shawnee, Kan.

Large County Average Weekly Wages

Cumberland County’s average weekly wage of $832 placed in the middle-third of the national ranking at 207th in the third quarter of 2014. Average weekly wages were equal to or greater than the national average of $949 in 102 of the largest U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., was the highest-paid large county with an average weekly wage of $2,012. San Mateo, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,824, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,733), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,685).

Among the 237 counties with average weekly wages below the national average, Horry, S.C. ($580), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($603), Hidalgo, Texas ($616), Marion, Fla. ($644), and Pasco, Fla. ($650).

Average Weekly Wages in Maine’s Smaller Counties

All 15 counties in Maine with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $949. Sagadahoc reported the highest average weekly wage of any county in Maine, at $884 per week. Lincoln reported the lowest weekly wage in the state, averaging $600, followed by Piscataquis at $608.

When all 16 counties in Maine were considered, all had weekly wages that were lower than the national average. Five reported wages of $649 or less, nine had wages from $650 to $749, one had wages from $750 to $849, and one had wages of $850 or more. (See chart 1 .) The higher paid counties were concentrated along the state’s southern Atlantic coastline.

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 the QCEW Web site at www.bls.gov/cew.

An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages Annual Wages Online, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2013 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2014, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2013 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm. The 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2015.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339.


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 9.4 million employer reports cover 137.7 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 largest county in Maine, third quarter 2014
Area Employment Average Weekly Wage (1)
September
2014
(thousands)
Percent change,
September
2013-14 (2)
National
ranking by
percent change (3)
Average
weekly
wage
National
ranking by
level (3)
Percent change,
second quarter
2013-14 (2)
National
ranking by
percent change (3)

United States (4)

137,724.1 2.0 -- $949 -- 2.9 --

Maine

604.5 0.3 -- 754 46 2.6 26

Cumberland, Maine

174.8 0.8 248 832 207 2.3 194

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 no 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 of the counties in Maine, third quarter 2014
Area Employment September 2014 Average Weekly Wage(1)

United States(2)

137,724,117 $949

Maine

604,479 754

Androscoggin

48,933 735

Arroostook

28,139 658

Cumberland

174,781 832

Franklin

10,597 674

Hancock

24,748 665

Kennebec

59,654 748

Knox

17,928 637

Lincoln

11,905 600

Oxford

16,711 650

Penobscot

70,247 716

Piscataquis

5,716 608

Sagadahoc

15,516 884

Somerset

17,511 696

Waldo

11,705 647

Washington

10,338 642

York

70,601 746

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, third quarter 2014
State Employment Average weekly wage (1)
September 2014 (thousands) Percent change, September 2013-14 Average weekly wage National ranking by level Percent change, third quarter 2013-14 National ranking by percent change

United States (2)

137,724.1 2.0 $949 -- 2.9 --

Alabama

1,871.2 1.3 815 34 2.5 30

Alaska

344.7 -0.1 1,019 9 3.0 19

Arizona

2,539.6 1.8 876 24 2.0 40

Arkansas

1,170.9 1.3 737 47 1.8 44

California

16,013.4 3.1 1,095 5 3.7 7

Colorado

2,443.0 3.7 982 12 3.0 19

Connecticut

1,663.2 0.8 1,124 4 1.4 49

Delaware

426.1 1.9 961 16 2.2 37

District of Columbia

732.9 0.8 1,631 1 4.5 2

Florida

7,748.4 3.3 826 32 2.1 38

Georgia

4,059.0 3.4 891 21 2.8 23

Hawaii

625.1 0.9 870 25 3.9 4

Idaho

658.4 2.1 721 50 2.6 26

Illinois

5,807.4 1.2 982 12 2.5 30

Indiana

2,924.7 1.4 799 39 1.9 42

Iowa

1,528.8 1.1 800 38 3.6 10

Kansas

1,363.1 1.2 794 40 2.3 35

Kentucky

1,827.8 1.8 781 42 2.5 30

Louisiana

1,928.3 1.7 852 27 3.1 16

Maine

604.5 0.3 754 46 2.6 26

Maryland

2,574.5 1.1 1,042 8 3.1 16

Massachusetts

3,386.7 1.8 1,164 2 3.0 19

Michigan

4,141.0 1.7 896 19 2.4 33

Minnesota

2,757.9 1.1 965 15 2.9 22

Mississippi

1,105.0 0.5 697 51 1.3 50

Missouri

2,686.4 1.0 828 31 2.7 25

Montana

449.5 0.7 732 49 3.7 7

Nebraska

950.0 1.1 779 43 1.8 44

Nevada

1,215.8 4.0 840 28 0.5 51

New Hampshire

633.5 1.4 927 18 3.6 10

New Jersey

3,880.4 0.8 1,087 6 1.7 47

New Mexico

804.0 1.1 786 41 2.6 26

New York

8,902.1 2.0 1,145 3 3.2 15

North Carolina

4,085.5 1.9 839 29 2.8 23

North Dakota

455.9 4.3 977 14 6.1 1

Ohio

5,219.1 1.4 863 26 3.1 16

Oklahoma

1,592.3 1.0 826 32 3.6 10

Oregon

1,752.8 2.4 887 22 3.6 10

Pennsylvania

5,676.2 1.0 937 17 2.6 26

Rhode Island

471.8 1.4 895 20 1.8 44

South Carolina

1,902.7 2.4 768 45 2.4 33

South Dakota

415.8 1.7 733 48 3.7 7

Tennessee

2,775.5 2.4 837 30 2.1 38

Texas

11,433.6 3.1 988 11 3.8 6

Utah

1,304.7 3.1 803 37 1.5 48

Vermont

306.5 1.2 805 36 2.3 35

Virginia

3,667.9 0.6 989 10 2.0 40

Washington

3,112.8 3.2 1,087 6 3.9 4

West Virginia

709.3 -0.2 778 44 3.5 14

Wisconsin

2,783.1 1.1 808 35 1.9 42

Wyoming

291.3 1.7 877 23 4.4 3

Puerto Rico

896.7 -1.5 505 (3) 0.8 (3)

Virgin Islands

37.5 -1.0 720 (3) 2.0 (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.
 

 Chart 1. Average weekly wages by county in Maine, third quarter 2014

 

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, May 06, 2015