Employment in Hinds County declined 1.1 percent from June 2011 to June 2012, 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 Harrison County, Mississippi's other large county, saw an employment gain of 0.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment increased 1.8 percent during the 12-month period, as 287 of the 328 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Yakima, Wash., posted the largest percentage increase, with a gain of 8.2 percent. Madison, Ill., St. Clair, Ill., and Clay, Mo., had the largest over-the-year decreases in employment among the nation's largest counties with losses of 2.0 percent each.

Among Mississippi's two largest counties, employment was higher in Hinds (120,600) in June 2012. Together, Hinds and Harrison counties accounted for 18.8 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 328 largest counties made up 70.9 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 132.9 million in June 2012.

Hinds County posted a 1.9-percent wage gain from the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012 and wages in Harrison County increased 0.3 percent. Nationally, average weekly wages advanced 1.3 percent. Average weekly wages in both Hinds County ($793) and Harrison County ($670) were well below the national average of $903. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 80 counties in Mississippi with employment below 75,000. One of these smaller counties, Claiborne ($1,316), had average weekly wages above the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Hinds County's 1.9-percent wage growth from the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012 ranked 108th among the 328 largest counties. Harrison County (0.3 percent) ranked 215th among the nation's largest counties. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, 233 large counties experienced growth in average weekly wages. Washington, Ore., had the largest wage gain among the largest U.S. counties (8.5 percent) from the second quarter of 2011. Washington, Pa., ranked second with a gain of 7.8 percent, followed by the counties of McLean, Ill. (7.2 percent), San Mateo, Calif. (7.1 percent), and Weld, Colo. (6.4 percent).

Among the 328 largest counties, 86 experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. Williamson, Texas, had the largest decrease in the nation (-17.0 percent), followed by the counties of Kitsap, Wash. (-4.2 percent), Arlington, Va. (-3.8 percent), Durham, N.C. (-3.6 percent), and Benton, Wash. (-3.4 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in both of Mississippi's large counties placed in the bottom half of the national rankings in the second quarter of 2012. Hinds County ($793) ranked 213th and Harrison County ($670) ranked 316th.

Nationally, average weekly wages were higher than average in 109 of the 328 largest counties. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $1,754. New York, N.Y., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,646, followed by Washington, D.C. ($1,544), San Mateo, Calif. ($1,515), and Arlington, Va. ($1,493).

There were 219 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2012. Horry, S.C. ($532), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($571), Hidalgo, Texas ($583), Lake, Fla. ($614), and Yakima, Wash. ($617).

Average weekly wages in Mississippi’s smaller counties

Among the 80 counties in Mississippi with employment below 75,000, all but 1 had average weekly wages below the national average of $903. The lone exception was Claiborne ($1,316). (See table 2.) Humphreys County reported the lowest weekly wage among all the counties in the state, averaging $450 in the second quarter of 2012.

When all 82 counties in Mississippi were considered, 4 reported average weekly wages under $500, 40 reported wages from $500-$599, 30 had wages from $600-$699, 8 had wages above $700. (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/.

An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2011 edition of this bulletin contains selected data produced by the Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2012 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2011 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn11.htm. The 2012 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available later in 2013.

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.

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 132.9 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: January 31, 2013