decline in average weekly wages, with a decrease of 15.9 percent. Total wages for this industry fell by $37.9 billion over the year. New York County, N.Y., had the largest over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2009, with a loss of 23.4 percent. The area’s substantial over-the-year wage declines, which were largely attributable to lower bonus payments in financial activities, had a significant impact on the national average weekly wage trend in the first quarter of 2009. Excluding New York County, the national average weekly wage decrease is 1.3 percent - a difference of 1.2 percentage points.
Of the 334 largest counties in the United States (as measured by 2008 annual average employment), 154 had over-the-year percentage changes in employment equal to or below the national average (-4.2 percent) in March 2009; 178 large counties experienced changes above the national average. The percent change in average weekly wages was equal to or lower than the national average (-2.5 percent) in 76 of the largest U.S. counties but was above the national average in 255 counties.
The employment and 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 reports submitted by every employer subject to unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The 9.1 million employer reports cover 129 million full- and part-time workers.
Large County Employment
In March 2009, national employment, as measured by the QCEW program, was 129 million, down by 4.2 percent from March 2008. The 334 U.S. counties with 75,000 or more employees accounted for 71.5 percent of total U.S. employment and 77.7 percent of total wages. These 334 counties had a net job decline of 4,160,200 over the year, accounting for 73.3 percent of the overall U.S. employment decrease.
Employment declined in 323 counties from March 2008 to March 2009. The largest percentage decline in employment was in Elkhart, Ind. (-23.4 percent). Macomb, Mich., had the next largest percentage decline (-10.8 percent), followed by the counties of Marion, Fla. (-10.5 percent), Washoe, Nev. (-10.4 percent), and Horry, S.C. (-10.2 percent). The largest decline in employment levels occurred in Los Angeles, Calif. (-206,500), followed by the counties of Maricopa, Ariz. (-133,900), Cook, Ill. (-108,400), Orange,Calif. (-102,800), and New York, N.Y. (-84,900). (See table A.) Combined employment losses in these five counties over the year totaled 636,500 or 11.2 percent of the employment decline for the U.S. as a whole.
Employment rose in eight of the large counties from March 2008 to March 2009. None of the large counties grew by more than three percent over the year. Arlington, Va., had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (2.6 percent) among the largest counties in the U.S. Montgomery, Texas, had the next largest increase (1.5 percent), followed by the counties of Fort Bend, Texas (1.2 percent), Bronx, N.Y. (1.1 percent), and Anchorage, Alaska, and East Baton Rouge, La. (0.3 percent each). The largest gains in the level of employment from March 2008 to March 2009 were recorded in the counties of Arlington, Va. (3,900), Bronx, N.Y. (2,400), Montgomery, Texas (1,900), Fort Bend, Texas (1,500), and East Baton Rouge, La. (900).
Large County Average Weekly Wages
Average weekly wages for the nation fell 2.5 percent over the year in the first quarter of 2009. This is the largest over-the-year decline in U.S. average weekly wages dating back to 1978. During that time span, over-the-year declines in average weekly wages occurred in only two other quarters: first quarter 1993 (-0.9 percent) and fourth quarter 1994 (-1.1 percent). The average weekly wages in those two quarters declined because employment growth outpaced total wage growth; in the first quarter of 2009, both employment and wages decreased.
Among the 334 largest counties, 202 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages this quarter. The largest wage losses occurred in New York, N.Y., with a decline of 23.4 percent from the first quarter of 2008. Mecklenburg, N.C., had the second largest decline (-10.3 percent), followed by the counties of Fairfield, Conn. (-10.0 percent), Hudson, N.J. (-9.7 percent), and Suffolk, Mass. (-9.0 percent).
Of the 334 largest counties, 120 experienced growth in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., led the nation in growth in average weekly wages with an increase of 23.7 percent from the first quarter of 2008. Benton, Ark., was second with a gain of 16.7 percent, followed by the counties of Solano, Calif. (16.0 percent), Pulaski, Ark. (10.7 percent), and Peoria, Ill. (6.2 percent).
The national average weekly wage in the first quarter of 2009 was $882. Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 103 of the 334 largest U.S. counties. Three of the five counties with the highest average weekly wages in the nation were also among the five counties with the largest over-the-year losses in average weekly wages. Despite suffering the largest average weekly wage losses in the nation, New York, N.Y., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $2,149. San Mateo, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,786, followed by Fairfield, Conn. ($1,735), Somerset, N.J. ($1,734), and Suffolk, Mass. ($1,558). There were 230 counties with an average weekly wage below the national average in the first quarter of 2009. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($525), followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($527), Hidalgo, Texas ($538), Webb, Texas ($552), and Lake, Fla. ($576).
Average weekly wages are affected not only by changes in total wages but also by employment changes in high- and low-paying industries. The 2.5-percent over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages for the nation was partially due to large employment declines in high-paying industries such as manufacturing.
Ten Largest U.S. Counties
All of the 10 largest counties (based on 2008 annual average employment levels) experienced over-the-year percent declines in employment in March 2009. Maricopa, Ariz., experienced the largest decline in employment among the 10 largest counties with a 7.4 percent decrease. Within Maricopa, every private industry group except education and health services experienced employment declines, with construction experiencing the largest decline (-30.7 percent). (See table 2.) Orange, Calif., had the next largest decline in employment, -6.8 percent, followed by Miami-Dade, Fla. (-6.1 percent). Harris, Texas, experienced the smallest decline in employment (-1.1 percent) among the 10 largest counties. Dallas, Texas (-3.3 percent), and New York, N.Y. (-3.6 percent), had the second and third smallest employment losses, respectively.
Nine of the 10 largest U.S. counties saw an over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages. The nation-leading 23.4-percent wage decrease in New York, N.Y., was fueled by significant wage losses in the finance industry (-35.2 percent). New York’s average weekly wage loss was followed by Cook, Ill. (-5.4 percent), and Dallas, Texas (-3.3 percent). San Diego, Calif., had the smallest decrease in wages (-1.1 percent), followed by Miami-Dade, Fla. (-1.2 percent). The only wage increase occurred in King, Wash.(0.2 percent).
