County Employment and Wages News Release

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.htm

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

In September 2007, Orleans County, La., had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Orleans County, which includes the city of New Orleans, experienced an over-the-year employment gain of 8.6 percent, compared with national job growth of 0.9 percent. Clayton County, Ga., had the largest over-the-year gain in average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2007, with an increase of 23.9 percent due to increases in wage disbursements in the trade, transportation, and utilities supersector during the quarter. The U.S. average weekly wage rose by 4.3 percent over the same time span. Of the 328 largest counties in the United States, as measured by 2006 annual average employment, 130 had over-the-year percentage growth in employment above the national average (0.9 percent) in September 2007; 179 large counties experienced changes below the national average. The percent change in average weekly wages was higher than the national average (4.3 percent) in 101 of the largest U.S. counties, but was below the national average in 207 counties. The employer reports in third quarter 2007 cover 136.2 million full- and part-time workers. The attached tables contain data for the nation and for the 328 U.S. counties with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2006.

Table 1. Covered (1) establishments, employment, and wages in the 329 largest counties, third quarter 2007(2)
 

		Employment			Average weekly wage(4)
County (3)	Establishments third quarter 2007 (thousands)	September 2007 (thousands)	Percent change September 2006-07(5)	Ranking by percent change	Average weekly wage	Percent change third quarter 2006-07 (5)	Ranking by percent change
United States (6)	9,012.8	136,246.9	0.9	-	$818	4.3	-
Lehigh, PA	8.6	178.5	0.0	218	837	7.0	15

 
 
 (1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees (UCFE) programs. These 328 U.S. counties comprise 70.9 percent of the total covered workers
in the U.S.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Includes areas not officially designated as counties. See Technical Note.
(4) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(5) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic
county reclassifications. See Technical Note.
(6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(7) Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.
(8) This county was not included in the U.S. rankings.

Last Modified Date: April 09, 2008

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.htm