Employment rose in two of the four largest counties in Kansas from June 2010 to June 2011, 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 2010 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that Johnson County experienced job growth of 1.6 percent over the year, followed by Wyandotte County (1.2 percent). Both of these counties registered employment gains that exceeded the national average of 0.9 percent.

Nationally, employment increased in 215 of the 322 large counties from June 2010 to June 2011. Ottawa, Mich., experienced the largest percentage increase, with a gain of 4.7 percent over the year. San Joaquin, Calif., posted the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 4.0 percent.

Among the four largest counties in Kansas, employment was highest in Johnson County (303,400) and lowest in Wyandotte (82,000). Together, the four largest counties accounted for 54.7 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 322 large counties made up 70.5 percent of total U.S. employment.

All four large counties in Kansas experienced wage growth from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011. The average weekly wage in Shawnee County rose 4.1 percent to $780 from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011. Shawnee County's wage gain was the largest among Kansas's four large counties and was above the 3.0-percent increase for the nation. Johnson County's average weekly wage of $907 was the highest among the state's large counties and above the national average of $891. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 101 counties in Kansas with employment below 75,000. Of these smaller counties, only Coffey ($1,198) had an average weekly wage above the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

In the second quarter of 2011, the 4.1-percent wage gain in Shawnee County placed 59th among the 322 largest counties in the nation. (See table 1.) Average wages in Sedgwick and Wyandotte Counties grew 2.9 and 2.4 percent, respectively, and ranked 131st and 181st. Johnson County's average wage increased 2.1 percent over the year and ranked 209th.

Among the 322 largest counties in the U.S., 307 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2011. Williamson, Texas, ranked first in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 18.0 percent. Champaign, Ill., had the largest wage decline with a loss of 3.6 percent over the year.

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 2 of Kansas's 4 largest counties were in the top half of the national ranking among the 322 largest counties in the United States in the second quarter of 2011. Johnson County ($907, 94th), was above the U.S. average of $891 and ranked in the top 100 nationwide. The other county in the top half of the ranking was Wyandotte ($853, 140th). The state's remaining large counties, Sedgwick ($815) and Shawnee ($780), placed 174th and 217th, respectively.

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than average in 107 of the 322 largest U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,743. New York, N.Y., was second at $1,645, followed by Arlington, Va. ($1,553), and Washington, D.C. ($1,541). Among the 215 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2011, Horry, S.C. ($526) reported the lowest wage.

Average weekly wages in Kansas's smaller counties

Of the 101 counties in Kansas with employment below 75,000, only one county—Coffey ($1,198)—had an average weekly wage above the national average of $891. Decatur and Washington Counties each reported the lowest weekly wage in the state with an average of $436 in the second quarter of 2011. (See table 2.)

When all 105 counties in Kansas were considered, all but 2 had wages below the national average of $891. Twelve reported average weekly wages under $500, 53 reported wages from $500 to $599, 31 had wages from $600 to $699, and 9 had wages above $700. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly data for states has 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/cewbultn10.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.

For personal assistance or further information on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Mountain-Plains Information Office in Kansas City at 816-285-7000.

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 9.1 million employer reports cover 130.5 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 (1) employment and wages in the United States and the 4 largest counties in Kansas, second quarter 2011 (2)

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (3)
	June 2011 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2010-11 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (5)	Percent change, second quarter 2010-11 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)
United States (6)	130,469.9	0.9	--	$891	--	3.0	--
Kansas	1,313.2	-0.1	--	754	40	2.9	23
Johnson, Kan.	303.4	1.6	74	907	94	2.1	209
Sedgwick, Kan.	238.1	-1.3	290	815	174	2.9	131
Shawnee, Kan.	94.3	-1.9	303	780	217	4.1	59
Wyandotte, Kan.	82.0	1.2	104	853	140	2.4	181
Footnotes: (1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. (2) Data are preliminary. (3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (4) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (5) Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico. (6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Table 2. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Kansas, second quarter 2011 (2)

Area	Employment June 2011	Average weekly wage (3)		Area	Employment June 2011	Average weekly wage (3)
United States (4)	130,469,924	$891
Kansas	1,313,239	754		Lincoln	986	$494
Allen	5,802	572		Linn	2,018	785
Anderson	2,103	519		Logan	1,342	538
Atchison	6,051	628		Lyon	15,044	597
Barber	1,888	501		Mcpherson	14,414	677
Barton	12,973	638		Marion	3,723	507
Bourbon	5,935	537		Marshall	4,756	554
Brown	4,632	577		Meade	1,667	642
Butler	18,101	598		Miami	7,925	608
Chase	754	447		Mitchell	3,468	575
Chautauqua	823	476		Montgomery	16,717	585
Cherokee	6,091	629		Morris	1,508	523
Cheyenne	877	515		Morton	1,206	625
Clark	830	513		Nemaha	5,410	581
Clay	3,257	532		Neosho	7,101	617
Cloud	3,674	519		Ness	1,343	664
Coffey	4,014	1,198		Norton	2,665	567
Comanche	687	439		Osage	2,960	464
Cowley	13,673	615		Osborne	1,541	511
Crawford	16,328	574		Ottawa	1,403	518
Decatur	976	436		Pawnee	3,378	592
Dickinson	6,622	548		Phillips	2,570	552
Doniphan	2,289	620		Pottawatomie	8,886	644
Douglas	44,541	653		Pratt	4,945	609
Edwards	1,017	582		Rawlins	872	528
Elk	674	464		Reno	28,548	597
Ellis	15,767	648		Republic	2,076	475
Ellsworth	3,022	557		Rice	3,870	574
Finney	19,060	629		Riley	28,306	677
Ford	17,535	621		Rooks	1,886	567
Franklin	8,664	632		Rush	1,187	585
Geary	14,670	707		Russell	2,856	588
Gove	1,241	522		Saline	29,279	640
Graham	1,031	614		Scott	2,030	646
Grant	3,562	709		Sedgwick	238,119	815
Gray	3,200	603		Seward	11,535	618
Greeley	599	568		Shawnee	94,250	780
Greenwood	1,770	548		Sheridan	993	571
Hamilton	1,174	562		Sherman	2,668	502
Harper	2,300	603		Smith	1,448	487
Harvey	13,242	642		Stafford	1,413	479
Haskell	1,773	658		Stanton	770	679
Hodgeman	582	515		Stevens	1,776	647
Jackson	4,200	570		Sumner	6,510	587
Jefferson	3,468	553		Thomas	4,032	539
Jewell	880	539		Trego	1,257	579
Johnson	303,372	907		Wabaunsee	1,349	488
Kearny	1,324	562		Wallace	478	510
Kingman	2,687	581		Washington	2,184	436
Kiowa	1,124	521		Wichita	836	604
Labette	9,937	561		Wilson	3,383	616
Lane	746	598		Woodson	759	518
Leavenworth	21,176	840		Wyandotte	82,041	853
Footnotes: (1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. (2) Data are preliminary. (3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Table 3. Covered (1) employment and wages by state, second quarter 2011 (2)

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (3)
	June 2011 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2010-11	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2010-11	National ranking by percent change
United States (4)	130,469.9	0.9	$891	--	3.0	--
Alabama	1,824.8	-0.4	767	34	2.3	41
Alaska	335.9	1.6	941	9	2.6	27
Arizona	2,336.3	1.1	842	20	2.7	26
Arkansas	1,140.4	-1.3	703	47	2.6	27
California	14,664.6	0.3	1,019	6	4.0	7
Colorado	2,234.7	1.4	900	13	3.4	16
Connecticut	1,630.2	0.8	1,116	3	3.8	9
Delaware	408.4	0.5	926	12	5.9	2
District of Columbia	711.3	1.4	1,541	1	2.4	36
Florida	7,092.3	0.8	802	25	2.6	27
Georgia	3,803.1	1.0	832	21	2.5	32
Hawaii	590.5	0.7	799	26	2.4	36
Idaho	616.6	0.0	667	49	2.3	41
Illinois	5,633.0	1.0	939	10	3.2	17
Indiana	2,769.2	1.3	749	41	2.2	46
Iowa	1,476.9	0.7	726	43	2.5	32
Kansas	1,313.2	-0.1	754	40	2.9	23
Kentucky	1,751.8	0.9	760	38	2.3	41
Louisiana	1,844.3	-0.1	794	28	3.1	18
Maine	593.8	0.3	712	46	1.9	48
Maryland	2,513.5	0.5	987	7	3.1	18
Massachusetts	3,230.4	0.9	1,120	2	5.6	3
Michigan	3,896.9	1.8	845	19	2.4	36
Minnesota	2,645.4	1.4	898	15	3.5	12
Mississippi	1,079.4	-0.6	664	50	1.8	49
Missouri	2,617.7	0.3	774	31	1.6	50
Montana	434.1	0.5	681	48	3.5	12
Nebraska	911.6	0.1	714	45	2.4	36
Nevada	1,123.0	0.5	816	24	2.5	32
New Hampshire	615.2	0.4	888	16	2.4	36
New Jersey	3,836.2	-0.3	1,056	5	2.6	27
New Mexico	788.7	-0.5	763	37	2.8	24
New York	8,575.3	1.0	1,092	4	1.0	51
North Carolina	3,865.9	1.5	783	30	2.5	32
North Dakota	382.4	5.1	769	33	8.2	1
Ohio	5,009.1	0.9	795	27	2.6	27
Oklahoma	1,510.3	0.7	749	41	4.5	5
Oregon	1,637.5	0.7	819	22	4.2	6
Pennsylvania	5,606.5	1.0	875	17	3.1	18
Rhode Island	458.1	0.3	862	18	3.5	12
South Carolina	1,801.6	1.1	726	43	2.3	41
South Dakota	404.8	0.8	656	51	3.8	9
Tennessee	2,616.9	1.3	794	28	2.3	41
Texas	10,462.4	2.1	900	13	4.0	7
Utah	1,183.9	2.0	756	39	3.1	18
Vermont	297.0	1.0	773	32	2.8	24
Virginia	3,619.7	0.9	949	8	2.2	46
Washington	2,875.8	0.6	928	11	3.5	12
West Virginia	702.9	0.3	765	36	5.4	4
Wisconsin	2,712.0	0.9	767	34	3.0	22
Wyoming	284.7	1.2	819	22	3.7	11
Puerto Rico	915.1	-1.4	496	(5)	0.6	(5)
Virgin Islands	44.1	0.6	747	(5)	5.5	(5)
Footnotes: (1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. (2) Data are preliminary. (3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (5) Data not included in the national ranking.

 

Last Modified Date: January 18, 2012