County Employment and Wages in Massachusetts–Second Quarter 2012

Employment increased in all nine large counties in Massachusetts from June 2011 to June 2012. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2011 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that Barnstable County had the largest gain, up 3.3 percent, followed by Plymouth County, up 3.1 percent. Middlesex, Norfolk, and Suffolk Counties also experienced over-the-year employment gains greater than the national increase of 1.8 percent.

Nationally, 287 of the 328 large counties had net job gains from June 2011 to June 2012. The largest over-the-year percentage gain was recorded in Yakima, Wash., 8.2 percent. Madison, Ill., St. Clair, Ill., and Clay Mo., had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment among the large U.S. counties with a loss of 2.0 percent each.

Among the nine large counties in Massachusetts, employment was highest in Middlesex (833,813) in June 2012, followed by Suffolk (598,121). Together, Massachusetts’ large counties accounted for 93.5 percent of total employment within the Commonwealth. Nationwide, the 322 largest counties made up 70.9 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average weekly wage growth was mixed among the nine large counties in Massachusetts from the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012. Weekly wages in Hampden County rose 2.2 percent; in contrast, weekly wages in Middlesex County decreased 3.2 percent. Suffolk County had the highest average weekly wage at $1,381, followed by Middlesex ($1,342) and Norfolk ($1,055). (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 1.3 percent over the year to $903 in the second quarter 2012.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the five counties in Massachusetts with employment below 75,000. All five of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Three of Massachusetts’ nine large counties saw wage increases from the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012. (See table 1.) Hampden County’s 2.2-percent wage gain ranked 87th among the 328 largest U.S. counties. Norfolk County (0.9 percent) ranked 182nd and Barnstable (0.4 percent) placed 211th. Worcester County saw no wage change over the year while the five other large counties all experienced wage declines from June 2011.

Nationwide, Washington, Ore., ranked first in average weekly wage growth, with an increase of 8.5 percent from the second quarter of 2011. Washington, Pa., placed second among the largest U.S. counties with a wage gain of 7.8 percent, followed by McLean, Ill. (7.2 percent) and San Mateo, Calif. (7.1 percent).

Of the 328 largest U.S. counties, 86 experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. Within Massachusetts, the decreases of 3.2 percent in Middlesex County and 3.0 percent in Essex County placed in the bottom 10 nationwide. Bristol (-1.3 percent) as well as Plymouth and Suffolk Counties (-0.7 percent each) also experienced a drop in wages from the second quarter 2011. Williamson, Texas, had the largest average weekly wage decrease in the nation with a loss of 17.0 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 5 of Massachusetts’ 9 large counties were above the national average of $903 in the second quarter of 2011 with 2 of these counties placing in the top 15 nationwide—Suffolk ($1,381, 9th) and Middlesex ($1,342, 11th). Average weekly wages were lowest in Barnstable County ($758, 254th).

Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 109 of the 328 largest U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid counties with an average weekly wage of $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).

Two-thirds of the largest U.S. counties (219) reported average weekly wages below the national average in the second quarter of 2012. The lowest wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($532), followed by the Texas counties of Cameron ($571) and Hidalgo ($583). Wages in these lowest-ranked counties were less than one-third of the average weekly wage reported for the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,754).

Average weekly wages in Massachusetts' smaller counties

All five counties in Massachusetts with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $903. Franklin reported the lowest wage $681; Nantucket had the highest wage at $851.

When all 14 counties in Massachusetts were considered, 9 had wages below the national average. As mentioned, the lowest weekly wage was reported in Franklin County, the only county in the Commonwealth with average weekly wages below $700. Six counties reported wages ranging from $700 to $849; four other counties had wages from $850 to $999. The three highest-paid counties—Suffolk, Middlesex, and Norfolk—all had average weekly wages over $1,000 and were located in the Boston metropolitan area, including the area encircled by Highway 495. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other Information

QCEW 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 www.bls.gov/cew/.

An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages Annual Wages Online, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2011 edition of this publication, which was published in October 2012, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2012 version of the news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online 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 Services: 1-800-877-8339.

For personal assistance or further information on the QCEW program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the New England Information Office at (617) 565-2327. This release is available in PDF and HTML format on the New England BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/ro1/maqcew.htm.

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.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | New England Information Office, JFK Federal Building Suite E-310, Boston, MA 02203

www.bls.gov/ro1 | Telephone: 1-617-565-2327 | Contact New England Region (R01)