U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Western Information Office

Employment advanced in Idaho’s only large county, Ada, 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 Richard J. Holden noted that employment in Ada County was up 2.9 percent from March a year ago, a pace faster than the national increase of 1.8 percent. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment increased in 293 of the 328 largest U.S. counties from March 2011 to March 2012. Gregg, Texas, posted the largest increase with a gain of 6.0 percent over the year. Benton, Wash., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease, with a loss of 3.9 percent.

Employment in Ada County was 195,100 in March 2012 and accounted for 32.7 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 328 large counties made up 71.1 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Ada County was $810 in the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 4.5 percent from the first quarter of 2011. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 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 43 counties in Idaho with employment below 75,000. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Ada County’s 4.5-percent wage gain placed 250th in the national ranking. Among the 328 largest counties in the nation, 323 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2012. Williamson, Texas, ranked first in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 27.4 percent. Four large counties nationwide experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. New York, N.Y., had the largest average weekly wage decrease with a loss of 6.3 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Ada County’s $810 weekly wage placed 229th among the 328 largest counties in the first quarter of 2012. Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average of $984 in 95 of the largest counties. New York, N.Y., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,464. Among the 232 large counties with a weekly wage below the U.S. average, Horry, S.C. ($559) reported the lowest wage.

Average weekly wages in Idaho’s smaller counties

Forty-two of the 43 counties in Idaho with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wageslower the national average of $984. The exception was Butte County with an average weekly wage of $1,526. (See table 2.)

When all 44 counties in Idaho were considered, Butte, Caribou, and Ada reported an average weekly wage of $800 or more. Four counties had average weekly wages from $700 to $799. Thirteen counties reported average weekly wages from $600 to $699, 18 reported wages from $500 to $599, and 6 had wages below $500.

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 2011 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2012, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as data through the first quarter 2012 version of the national news release and the 2011 annual averages. Tables and additional content from the Employment and Wages Annual 2011 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn11htm.

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.

Last Modified Date: November 8, 2012