From March 2011 to March 2012, employment increased in both of Kentucky's large counties, 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 2011 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment in Jefferson and Fayette Counties increased, 2.4 and 1.9 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment increased 1.8 percent during the 12-month period, as 293 of the 328 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Gregg, Texas, posted the largest increase, with a gain of 6.0 percent over the year. Benton, Wash., experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 3.9 percent.

Among the two large counties in Kentucky, employment was highest in Jefferson County (418,400) in March 2012. Together, Jefferson and Fayette Counties accounted for 33.9 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 328 largest counties accounted for 71.1 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 130.2 million in March 2012.

Both Jefferson and Fayette Counties had increases in average weekly wages greater than 5 percent from the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012. Jefferson County had the greatest increase (8.6 percent) to $955 and Fayette County increased 5.2 percent to $849. Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 5.4 percent over the year to $984 in the first quarter of 2012. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 118 counties with employment levels below 75,000 in Kentucky. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,151 to $470. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As noted, average weekly wages increased in both of Kentucky's large counties from the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012. At 8.6 percent, Jefferson ranked 22nd among the nation's 328 large counties. Fayette County, with an increase of 5.2 percent in average weekly wages, ranked 194th nationally. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, 323 large counties experienced increases in average weekly wages. Williamson, Texas, had the largest increase among the largest U.S. counties (27.4 percent). Middlesex, N.J. had the second largest gain (13.6 percent), followed by Washington, Pa. (12.4 percent) and Newport News City, Va. (12.1 percent).

Among the 328 largest U.S. counties, 4 experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. New York, N.Y., experienced the largest average weekly wage decrease with a loss of 6.3 percent, followed by the counties of Somerset, N.J., (-1.6 percent), Hudson, N.J. (-0.4 percent), and Douglas, Colo. (-0.3 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in the state's two large counties were below the U.S. average of $984. Jefferson County ($955, 119th) placed in the top half of the national ranking among the 328 largest counties in the first quarter of 2012 while Fayette ($849, 186th) placed in the bottom half. (See table 1.)

Nationally, New York, N.Y., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $2,464, followed by Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,957), Fairfield, Conn. ($1,942), Somerset, N.J. ($1,881) and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,791). Of the 328 large counties, 95 experienced an average weekly wage above the U.S. average in the first quarter of 2012.

There were 232 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the first quarter of 2012. Horry, S.C. ($559), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($570), Hidalgo, Texas ($579), and Lake, Fla. ($620).

Average weekly wages in Kentucky’s smaller counties

Among the 118 counties in Kentucky with employment below 75,000, Hancock ($1,151) and Ballard ($1,041) were the only two to report a higher average weekly wage than the national average of $984. Robertson County reported the lowest wage in the state, averaging $470 in the first quarter of 2012. (See table 2.)

When all 120 counties in Kentucky were considered, 4 reported average weekly wages under $500, 47 reported average weekly wages from $500 to $599, 32 reported wages from $600 to $699, 22 reported wages from $700 to $799, and 15 had wages above $800. (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 2010 edition of this publication, which was published in November 2011, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2011 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2010 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn09.htm. The 2011 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available later in 2012..

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 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 9.2 million employer reports cover 130.2 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.

Last Modified Date: November 1, 2012