For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Thursday, September 27, 2012 USDL-12-1939
Technical Information: (202) 691-6567 * QCEWInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cew
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
County Employment and Wages
First Quarter 2012
From March 2011 to March 2012, employment increased in 293 of the 328 largest U.S.
counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Gregg, Texas, posted
the largest increase, with a gain of 6.0 percent over the year, compared with
national job growth of 1.8 percent. Within Gregg, the largest employment increase
occurred in construction, which gained 1,948 jobs over the year (28.7 percent).
Benton, Wash., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease in employment among
the largest counties in the U.S. with a loss of 3.9 percent.
The U.S. average weekly wage increased over the year by 5.4 percent to $984 in the
first quarter of 2012. Williamson, Texas, had the largest over-the-year increase in
average weekly wages with a gain of 27.4 percent. Within Williamson, a total wage
gain of $298.1 million (49.5 percent) in the trade, transportation, and utilities
industry had the largest impact on the county’s increase in average weekly wages.
New York, N.Y., experienced the largest decrease in average weekly wages with a loss
of 6.3 percent over the year. County employment and wage data are compiled under the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program.
Table A. Large counties ranked by March 2012 employment, March 2011-12 employment
increase, and March 2011-12 percent increase in employment
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Employment in large counties
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March 2012 employment | Increase in employment, | Percent increase in employment,
(thousands) | March 2011-12 | March 2011-12
| (thousands) |
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| |
United States 130,175.4| United States 2,338.1| United States 1.8
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| |
Los Angeles, Calif. 3,925.0| Harris, Texas 70.4| Gregg, Texas 6.0
Cook, Ill. 2,373.7| New York, N.Y. 53.0| Williamson, Tenn. 5.6
New York, N.Y. 2,360.9| Los Angeles, Calif. 52.9| Rutherford, Tenn. 5.3
Harris, Texas 2,085.3| Maricopa, Ariz. 41.4| Montgomery, Texas 4.9
Maricopa, Ariz. 1,665.1| Cook, Ill. 35.8| Harford, Md. 4.7
Dallas, Texas 1,446.5| Dallas, Texas 34.6| Kent, Mich. 4.6
Orange, Calif. 1,386.8| King, Wash. 33.6| Delaware, Ohio 4.6
San Diego, Calif. 1,253.4| Santa Clara, Calif. 30.2| Fort Bend, Texas 4.6
King, Wash. 1,144.4| Hennepin, Minn. 27.1| Kern, Calif. 4.4
Miami-Dade, Fla. 989.5| Orange, Calif. 24.1| Douglas, Colo. 4.2
| | Manatee, Fla. 4.2
| | Ottawa, Mich. 4.2
| | Washington, Pa. 4.2
| | Denton, Texas 4.2
| | Davis, Utah 4.2
| | Utah, Utah 4.2
| |
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Large County Employment
In March 2012, national employment, as measured by the QCEW program, was 130.2
million, up by 1.8 percent or 2.3 million jobs, from March 2011. The 328 U.S.
counties with 75,000 or more jobs accounted for 71.1 percent of total U.S.
employment and 77.5 percent of total wages. These 328 counties had a net job growth
of 1.6 million over the year, accounting for 70.2 percent of the overall U.S.
employment increase.
Gregg, Texas, had the largest percentage increase in employment (6.0 percent) among
the largest U.S. counties. The five counties with the largest increases in
employment level were Harris, Texas; New York, N.Y.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Maricopa,
Ariz.; and Cook, Ill. These counties had a combined over-the-year gain of 253,500,
or 10.8 percent of the overall employment increase for the U.S. (See table A.)
Employment declined in 32 of the large counties from March 2011 to March 2012.
Benton, Wash., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-3.9
percent). Within Benton, professional and business services was the largest
contributor to the decrease in employment with a loss of 3,103 jobs (-13.3 percent).
Madison, Ill., had the second largest percent decrease in employment, followed by
Arlington, Va. Two counties, St. Clair, Ill., and Jefferson, La., tied for the
fourth largest employment decrease. (See table 1.)
Table B. Large counties ranked by first quarter 2012 average weekly wages, first quarter 2011-12
increase in average weekly wages, and first quarter 2011-12 percent increase in average weekly wages
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Average weekly wage in large counties
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Average weekly wage, | Increase in average weekly | Percent increase in average
first quarter 2012 | wage, first quarter 2011-12 | weekly wage, first
| | quarter 2011-12
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| |
United States $984| United States $50| United States 5.4
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| |
New York, N.Y. $2,464| Williamson, Texas $261| Williamson, Texas 27.4
Santa Clara, Calif. 1,957| Middlesex, N.J. 160| Middlesex, N.J. 13.6
Fairfield, Conn. 1,942| Morris, N.J. 138| Washington, Pa. 12.4
Somerset, N.J. 1,881| Lake, Ill. 126| Newport News City, Va. 12.1
San Francisco, Calif. 1,791| Collin, Texas 126| Collin, Texas 11.8
Suffolk, Mass. 1,708| San Mateo, Calif. 112| Tulsa, Okla. 11.3
San Mateo, Calif. 1,622| Washington, Pa. 110| Gregg, Texas 10.9
Arlington, Va. 1,617| Santa Clara, Calif. 103| Lake, Ill. 10.3
Washington, D.C. 1,602| Durham, N.C. 103| Peoria, Ill. 10.3
Morris, N.J. 1,595| Newport News City, Va. 100| Santa Cruz, Calif. 10.0
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Large County Average Weekly Wages
Average weekly wages for the nation increased by 5.4 percent during the year ending
in the first quarter of 2012. Among the 328 largest counties, 323 had over-the-year
increases in average weekly wages. Williamson, Texas, had the largest wage gain
among the largest U.S. counties (27.4 percent).
Of the 328 largest counties, 4 experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly
wages. New York, N.Y., had the largest average weekly wage decrease with a loss of
6.3 percent. Smaller first quarter bonus payments in 2012 contributed to this
decrease in the average weekly wage. Within New York County, total wages in
financial activities decreased by $5.3 billion (-13.4 percent) over the year.
Somerset, N.J., had the second largest decline in average weekly wages, followed by
Hudson, N.J., and Douglas, Colo. Clayton, Ga., had the smallest over-the-year
increase in average weekly wages (0.1 percent). (See table 1.)
Ten Largest U.S. Counties
All of the 10 largest counties experienced over-the-year percentage increases in
employment in March 2012. Harris, Texas, experienced the largest gain (3.5 percent).
Within Harris, professional and business services had the largest over-the-year
level increase among all private industry groups with a gain of 19,800 jobs (6.0
percent). San Diego, Calif., had the smallest percent increase in employment (1.1
percent) among the 10 largest counties. (See table 2.)
Nine of the 10 largest U.S. counties had an over-the-year increase in average weekly
wages. San Diego, Calif., experienced the largest increase in average weekly wages
(7.5 percent), largely due to substantial total wage gains over the year in
professional and business services ($291.1 million or 7.6 percent). New York, N.Y.,
had the only average weekly wage decline (-6.3 percent) among the 10 largest
counties.
For More Information
The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 328 U.S.
counties with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2011. March 2012
employment and 2012 first quarter average weekly wages for all states are provided
in table 3 of this release.
The employment and wage data by county are compiled under the QCEW program, also
known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from reports submitted by every
employer subject to unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The 9.2 million employer
reports cover 130.2 million full- and part-time workers. For additional information
about the quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note. Data
for the first quarter of 2012 will be available later at http://www.bls.gov/cew/.
Additional information about the QCEW data may be obtained by calling (202) 691-
6567.
Several BLS regional offices are issuing QCEW news releases targeted to local data
users. For links to these releases, see http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm.
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The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2012 is scheduled to be
released on Tuesday, January 8, 2013.
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| |
| County Changes for the 2012 |
| County Employment and Wages News Releases |
| |
| Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2011 |
| are included in this release and will be included in future 2012 |
| releases. Seven counties have been added to the publication tables: |
| Okaloosa, Fla.; Tippecanoe, Ind.; Johnson, Iowa; St. Tammany, La.; |
| Saratoga, N.Y.; Delaware, Ohio; and Gregg, Texas. One county, |
| Jackson, Ore., will be excluded. |
| |
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