North Dakota’s only large county, Cass, reported an average weekly wage of $828 in the third quarter of 2012, 0.7 percent higher than one year ago, 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 preliminary annual averages of employment.) Nationally, the average weekly wage fell 1.1 percent over the year to $906 in the third quarter of 2012. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that though Cass County’s wages were below the U.S. average, nine of the state’s smaller counties, those with employment below 75,000,reported wages above that for the nation. (See table 1.)

Employment in Cass County increased 4.1 percent from September 2011 to September 2012. Cass County’s employment level of 108,400 accounted for 25.7 percent of total employment within the state. Nationally, employment rose 1.6 percent during this 12-month period, as 276 of the 328 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Nationwide, the 328 largest counties made up 71.0 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 132.6 million in September 2012.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 52 smaller counties in North Dakota. Average weekly wages varied widely across the state, with eight having wages above $1,000 and two reporting wages under $500. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Cass County’s 0.7-percent wage growth from the third quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2012 ranked 25th nationally. (See table 1.) Among the 328 largest U.S. counties, 274 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Yolo, Calif., had the largest decline with a loss of 7.0 percent. Within Yolo, wage declines in government had the greatest impact on the county’s over-the-year decrease. Three counties tied for the second largest loss, as wages fell 6.9 percent in Rockingham, N.H.; Lake, Ohio; and Benton, Wash. Increases were recorded in 46 large counties nationwide; San Mateo, Calif., led this group with an over-the-year wage gain of 7.3 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Cass County’s $828 average wage placed in the bottom half among the 322 large counties, ranking 184th. Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average in 102 of the largest counties in the country. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,800. New York, N.Y., was second at $1,626, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($1,537), Washington, D.C. ($1,514), and Arlington, Va. ($1,488).

Of the largest counties in the United States, 225, or more than two-thirds, reported average weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2012. The lowest wage was reported in Horry, S.C., at $554 per week. Joining the Texas counties of Cameron ($580) and Hidalgo ($584) among the bottom five were Yakima, Wash. ($620) and Marion, Fla. ($621). Wages in these five lowest-ranked counties were about one-third or less of the average weekly wage in the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, Calif.

Average weekly wages in North Dakota's smaller counties

Forty-three of the 52 counties in North Dakota with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $906. Nine small counties had above-average wages, all located in the western portion of the state. The highest wage was reported in Slope County at $1,501, followed by Williams ($1,473) and Dunn ($1,297). Logan County reported the lowest wage in the state, averaging $469 in the third quarter of 2012. (See table 2.)

When all 53 counties in North Dakota were considered, 5 reported average weekly wages under $550, 15 had wages from $550 to $649, 15 reported wages from $650 to $749, 7 reported wages from $750 to $849, and 11 had wages of $850 or more. (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 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 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 national news release. Tables and additional content from the Employment and Wages Annual 2011 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn11htm. 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 Service: (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 covered 132.6 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 www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match the data contained on the BLS 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 largest county in North Dakota, third quarter 2012 (2)

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (3)
	September 2012 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2011-12 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (5)	Percent change, third quarter 2011-12 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)
United States (6)	132,624.7	1.6	--	$906	--	-1.1	--
North Dakota	422.2	7.8	--	872	18	6.3	1
Cass, N.D.	108.4	4.1	8	828	184	0.7	25
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.

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