County Employment and Wages in Kentucky - First Quarter 2012

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.

Table 1. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and the 2 largest counties in Kentucky, first quarter 2012 (2)
Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (3)
Area	March 2012 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2011-12 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (5)	Percent change, first quarter 2011-12 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)
United States (6)	130,175.4	1.8	--	$984	--	5.4	--
Kentucky	1,750.3	1.9	--	785	39	6.4	14
Fayette, Ky.	174.8	1.9	126	849	186	5.2	194
Jefferson, Ky.	418.4	2.4	95	955	119	8.6	22
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 Kentucky, 1st quarter 2012 (2)
Area	Employment March 2012	Average Weekly Wage (3)
United States (4)	130,175,438	$984
Kentucky	1,750,322	785
Adair	4,821	513
Allen	4,167	608
Anderson	4,234	643
Ballard	2,417	1,041
Barren	16,774	621
Bath	1,624	548
Bell	8,874	588
Boone	74,734	816
Bourbon	6,748	726
Boyd	26,598	807
Boyle	13,760	685
Bracken	1,298	596
Breathitt	3,176	611
Breckinridge	3,251	559
Bullitt	19,757	592
Butler	2,741	597
Caldwell	4,132	556
Calloway	15,937	597
Campbell	28,328	714
Carlisle	862	473
Carroll	6,240	961
Carter	6,048	523
Casey	3,572	523
Christian	31,239	705
Clark	11,906	717
Clay	4,071	611
Clinton	3,817	509
Crittenden	1,984	527
Cumberland	1,558	529
Daviess	44,841	663
Edmonson	1,496	557
Elliott	873	517
Estill	2,415	581
Fayette	174,792	849
Fleming	2,924	566
Floyd	11,909	692
Franklin	29,723	778
Fulton	2,405	641
Gallatin	2,313	894
Garrard	1,974	571
Grant	4,789	623
Graves	11,068	624
Grayson	7,419	570
Green	1,846	544
Greenup	7,832	641
Hancock	4,165	1,151
Hardin	44,706	724
Harlan	8,331	743
Harrison	4,795	728
Hart	4,588	573
Henderson	19,501	713
Henry	2,896	639
Hickman	976	522
Hopkins	17,806	789
Jackson	2,270	541
Jefferson	418,440	955
Jessamine	14,992	681
Johnson	5,830	612
Kenton	61,817	884
Knott	3,253	780
Knox	8,090	576
Larue	2,521	512
Laurel	23,033	632
Lawrence	3,358	661
Lee	1,673	563
Leslie	2,058	755
Letcher	5,690	733
Lewis	1,981	519
Lincoln	4,268	586
Livingston	2,598	687
Logan	7,845	774
Lyon	2,092	522
McCracken	37,925	762
McCreary	2,778	580
McLean	1,923	585
Madison	31,893	661
Magoffin	2,072	566
Marion	7,236	663
Marshall	10,572	853
Martin	3,026	806
Mason	8,251	678
Meade	4,209	624
Menifee	966	527
Mercer	5,879	829
Metcalfe	1,837	571
Monroe	2,962	522
Montgomery	10,739	634
Morgan	3,059	582
Muhlenberg	8,716	730
Nelson	14,105	640
Nicholas	917	480
Ohio	7,916	654
Oldham	13,865	683
Owen	1,698	672
Owsley	682	494
Pendleton	2,311	666
Perry	13,355	730
Pike	24,498	803
Powell	2,438	545
Pulaski	24,645	608
Robertson	284	470
Rockcastle	3,203	572
Rowan	10,106	586
Russell	6,421	567
Scott	22,310	882
Shelby	13,095	703
Simpson	8,618	634
Spencer	1,734	582
Taylor	10,715	541
Todd	2,285	525
Trigg	3,183	577
Trimble	1,039	743
Union	5,661	891
Warren	57,773	703
Washington	3,109	647
Wayne	5,122	550
Webster	3,113	778
Whitley	11,893	623
Wolfe	1,173	532
Woodford	8,597	735
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.
SOURCE: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

Table 3. Covered (1) employment and wages by state, first quarter 2012 (2)
State	Employment		Average weekly wage (3)
State	March 2012 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2011-12	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, first quarter 2011-12	National ranking by percent change
United States (4)	130,175.4	1.8	$984	--	5.4	--
Alabama	1,822.8	0.8	808	35	5.6	32
Alaska	316.4	1.9	973	15	6.7	9
Arizona	2,437.2	2.1	887	21	5.7	29
Arkansas	1,151.5	1.5	747	47	4.6	46
California	14,670.6	2.0	1,125	6	5.5	33
Colorado	2,230.4	2.4	1,003	13	5.4	36
Connecticut	1,613.1	1.5	1,330	3	3.8	50
Delaware	398.8	0.8	1,071	7	4.2	48
District of Columbia	712.1	1.3	1,602	1	4.0	49
Florida	7,377.3	2.0	837	30	5.4	36
Georgia	3,815.5	1.3	931	17	5.2	41
Hawaii	600.3	0.9	834	32	5.7	29
Idaho	596.7	1.1	692	50	5.0	43
Illinois	5,557.5	1.5	1,061	9	5.9	25
Indiana	2,777.0	2.2	822	34	6.3	17
Iowa	1,448.3	1.9	784	40	6.4	14
Kansas	1,314.2	1.8	803	37	7.2	5
Kentucky	1,750.3	1.9	785	39	6.4	14
Louisiana	1,863.1	1.2	836	31	4.9	44
Maine	561.4	0.5	757	46	4.7	45
Maryland	2,492.4	1.7	1,071	7	6.0	23
Massachusetts	3,178.7	1.7	1,227	5	5.7	29
Michigan	3,865.8	2.6	920	20	5.5	33
Minnesota	2,586.3	2.1	989	14	6.1	20
Mississippi	1,083.5	0.8	687	51	5.9	25
Missouri	2,593.7	1.2	838	29	6.5	12
Montana	419.5	1.8	706	48	7.8	4
Nebraska	905.3	2.1	765	44	6.1	20
Nevada	1,118.4	1.4	846	28	5.5	33
New Hampshire	602.1	1.0	923	19	5.4	36
New Jersey	3,749.0	1.5	1,228	4	5.9	25
New Mexico	779.7	0.4	782	41	5.8	28
New York	8,479.4	1.7	1,357	2	-0.8	51
North Carolina	3,874.9	1.7	869	23	5.3	39
North Dakota	397.4	9.0	857	25	14.6	1
Ohio	4,967.8	2.0	873	22	6.6	11
Oklahoma	1,525.5	2.0	806	36	9.4	2
Oregon	1,613.0	1.4	864	24	6.4	14
Pennsylvania	5,531.1	1.2	960	16	7.1	7
Rhode Island	443.5	1.1	931	17	8.0	3
South Carolina	1,797.7	1.7	764	45	6.0	23
South Dakota	390.4	2.1	703	49	6.7	9
Tennessee	2,636.7	2.4	847	27	6.8	8
Texas	10,605.2	2.6	1,013	11	7.2	5
Utah	1,193.1	3.2	799	38	6.1	20
Vermont	296.6	1.5	774	42	4.6	46
Virginia	3,586.3	1.4	1,019	10	5.3	39
Washington	2,831.9	1.9	1,009	12	6.5	12
West Virginia	705.5	2.4	768	43	6.2	18
Wisconsin	2,639.0	1.1	827	33	6.2	18
Wyoming	271.8	2.4	850	26	5.2	41
Puerto Rico	931.3	0.6	521	(5)	4.6	(5)
Virgin Islands	42.7	-5.4	722	(5)	-2.0	(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.