County Employment and Wages in Tennessee – First Quarter 2012

Employment rose in all six of Tennessee’s large counties from March 2011 to March 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 employment increases ranged from 5.6 percent in Williamson County to 1.2 percent in Knox County. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment increased 1.8 percent during the 12-month period, as 293 of the 328 large U.S. counties gained jobs. Gregg, Texas, posted the largest percentage 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 largest counties in Tennessee, employment was highest in Shelby County (466,800) in March 2012. One other county, Davidson, had an employment level exceeding 400,000. Together, Tennessee’s six large counties accounted for 56.5 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 328 largest counties made up 71.1 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 130.2 million in March 2012.

Average weekly wages increased in each of Tennessee’s six largest counties from the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012. Davidson County recorded the largest wage increase (9.0 percent), followed by Hamilton County (7.4 percent) and Knox County (7.3 percent). Williamson County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,125, followed by the counties of Davidson ($1,013) and Shelby ($970). Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 5.4 percent over the year to $984 in the first quarter of 2012, a slower wage growth rate compared to Tennessee’s six large counties. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 89 counties with employment levels below 75,000 in Tennessee. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,051 to $466. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Average weekly wages rose in all of Tennessee’s large counties from the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012. Davidson’s 9.0-percent wage increase ranked 18th among the nation’s 328 large counties, followed by Hamilton County (7.4 percent, 51st). Wage gains among the remaining four large counties in the state ranged from 7.3 percent to 5.9 percent and placed in the top half of the national ranking. (See table 1.)

Among the 328 largest U.S. counties, 323 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2012. Williamson, Texas, had the largest increase (27.4 percent), followed by the counties of Middlesex, N.J. (13.6 percent), Washington, Penn. (12.4 percent), Newport News City, Va. (12.1 percent), and Collin, Texas (11.8 percent).

Nationwide, 4 large counties experienced average weekly wage declines. New York, N.Y., experienced the largest over-the-year decline with a loss of 6.3 percent. Somerset, N.J., had the second largest decrease (1.6 percent), followed by the counties of Hudson, N.J. (-0.4 percent) and Douglas, Colo. (-0.3 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 3 of Tennessee’s 6 largest counties placed in the top half of the national ranking among the 328 largest counties in the first quarter of 2012. The highest-paid counties—Williamson and Davidson —were above the U.S. average of $984 and ranked in the top 100 nationwide at 52nd and 84th, respectively. Shelby County with an average weekly wage of $970 ranked 107th. Average weekly wages in the remaining three large counties placed in the bottom half of the national ranking. (See table 1.)

Nationally, average weekly wages were lower than average in 232 of the 328 largest counties. Horry, S.C. ($559), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($570), Hidalgo, Texas ($579), Lake, Fla. ($620), and Webb, Texas ($624).

There were 95 large counties with an average weekly wage above the U.S. average in the first quarter of 2012. New York, N.Y., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $2,464, followed by Santa Clara, Calif., at $1,957. Rounding out the top five were Fairfield, Conn. ($1,942), Somerset, N.J. ($1,881), and San Francisco, Calif., ($1,791).

Average weekly wages in Tennessee’s smaller counties

Among the 89 counties in Tennessee with employment below 75,000, two registered an average weekly wage above the national average of $984. Roane County ($1,051) reported the highest weekly wage among the smaller counties, followed by Anderson County ($996). Clay County reported the lowest weekly in the state, averaging $466 in the first quarter of 2012. (See table 2.)

When all 95 counties in Tennessee were considered, 7 reported average weekly wages under $500, 32 reported wages from $500 to $599, 29 had wages from $600 to $699, 16 had wages from $700 to $799, and 11 had wages at or 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/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.

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.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Southeast Information Office, Suite 7T50, 61 Forsyth St., S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303

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