Employment rose in all four large counties in Utah from March 2018 to March 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are those with 2018 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that all four counties reported rates of job growth that exceeded the national average of 1.4 percent. Utah County (3.7 percent) had the largest gain and Weber County (1.8 percent) had the smallest over-the-year increase. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 1.4 percent from March 2018 to March 2019 as 298 of the 355 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Midland, TX, had the largest percentage increase, up 5.8 percent over the year. Bay, FL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 5.9 percent.

Among the four largest counties in Utah, employment was highest in Salt Lake County (710,000) in March 2019. Together, the four large counties accounted for 79.7 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 355 largest counties made up 73.5 percent of total U.S. employment.

From the first quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2019, Utah County recorded the fastest rate of increase in average weekly wages among the four large counties in Utah, registering a gain of 4.2 percent. (See table 1.) Salt Lake had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s large counties at $1,130 per week. Nationally, average weekly wages increased 2.8 percent over the year to $1,184.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 25 counties in Utah with employment below 75,000. Wage levels in all of these smaller counties were below the national average in March 2019. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Average weekly wages in all four large counties increased from the first quarter 2018 to the first quarter 2019. Utah County’s 4.2-percent rise in average weekly wages was the largest among the state’s large counties and ranked 60^th among the nation’s 355 largest counties. (See table 1.) Average weekly wages in Salt Lake County increased 3.3 percent over the year, ranking 110^th. Over-the-year wage gains in Utah’s remaining two large counties were less than the national average, with Davis and Weber recording increases of 2.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Nationally, 325 of the 355 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. San Francisco, CA, had the largest over-the-year wage gain at 10.2 percent from the first quarter of 2018.

Among the largest U.S. counties, 28 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Elkhart, IN, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a decline of 7.6 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

As noted, Salt Lake County ($1,130) had the highest average weekly wage in the state and ranked 115^th among the 355 largest counties in the United States. Utah ($938, 254^th), Davis ($887, 297^th), and Weber ($823, 332^nd) Counties also reported average weekly wages below the national average of $1,184.

Nationally, 92 large counties registered average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,184 in the first quarter of 2019. New York, NY, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $3,153, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,759), and Santa Clara, CA ($2,758).

Seventy-four percent of the largest U.S. counties (263) reported average weekly wages below the national average. The lowest weekly wages were Cameron, TX ($648) followed by Horry, SC ($652) and Hidalgo, TX ($662).

Average weekly wages in Utah’s smaller counties

The 25 smaller counties in Utah, those with employment below 75,000, had average weekly wages below the national average. Among these smaller counties, Duchesne ($915) had the highest average weekly wage and Piute ($507) had the lowest average weekly wage in the first quarter of 2019. (See table 2.)

When all 29 counties in Utah were considered, 7 reported average weekly wages of $850 or higher, 6 reported wages from $750 to $849, 8 had wages from $650 to $749, 6 had wages from $550 to $649, and 2 had wages of $549 or lower. (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 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 2018 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2019 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2018/home.htm.

The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2016 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.

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 10.0 million employer reports covered workers in 146.1 million jobs. 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.

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.

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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 4 largest counties in Utah, first quarter 2019

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, first quarter 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	146,497.6	1.4	--	1184	--	2.8	--
Utah	1,501.4	3.0	--	978	32	3.1	16
Davis	129.9	2.1	78	887	297	2.7	161
Salt Lake	710.0	2.9	30	1130	115	3.3	110
Utah	248.6	3.7	11	938	254	4.2	60
Weber	108.3	1.8	94	823	332	2.1	218
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Utah, first quarter 2019

Area	Employment March 2019	Average Weekly Wage(1)
United States(2)	146,497,599	$1,184
Utah	1,501,447	978
Beaver	2,854	661
Box Elder	21,435	768
Cache	57,036	719
Carbon	8,387	850
Daggett	306	643
Davis	129,875	887
Duchesne	7,710	915
Emery	3,366	850
Garfield	2,058	651
Grand	5,789	636
Iron	19,371	635
Juab	3,738	685
Kane	3,355	605
Millard	4,650	747
Morgan	2,566	802
Piute	282	507
Rich	682	543
Salt Lake	709,957	1,130
San Juan	4,228	682
Sanpete	8,244	618
Sevier	8,946	719
Summit	31,009	892
Tooele	16,293	792
Uintah	12,862	846
Utah	248,642	938
Wasatch	9,686	829
Washington	68,888	717
Wayne	955	632
Weber	108,277	823
Footnotes (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
NOTE: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, first quarter 2019

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2018-19	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, first quarter 2018-19	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	146,497.6	1.4	$1,184	--	2.8	--
Alabama	1,978.0	1.6	944	38	2.5	32
Alaska	312.4	0.3	1,108	18	3.3	9
Arizona	2,895.1	2.5	1,056	22	3.0	21
Arkansas	1,218.5	0.7	896	45	2.2	38
California	17,436.4	1.8	1,401	5	3.8	4
Colorado	2,690.3	1.9	1,231	9	4.8	2
Connecticut	1,650.6	0.0	1,487	4	2.3	34
Delaware	444.1	1.3	1,199	13	-0.1	51
District of Columbia	773.5	0.5	1,921	1	0.2	49
Florida	8,894.3	2.1	1,015	26	2.7	25
Georgia	4,488.6	2.1	1,121	17	2.6	28
Hawaii	658.1	-0.4	1,006	27	3.4	8
Idaho	732.3	2.7	828	50	2.3	34
Illinois	5,912.0	0.1	1,275	8	2.7	25
Indiana	3,059.1	1.2	963	33	0.9	48
Iowa	1,527.1	0.1	942	39	2.3	34
Kansas	1,379.3	0.6	940	40	3.2	12
Kentucky	1,882.6	0.6	920	41	2.2	38
Louisiana	1,916.8	-0.1	954	34	2.5	32
Maine	599.8	1.2	919	42	3.1	16
Maryland	2,670.3	0.9	1,228	10	1.7	45
Massachusetts	3,558.1	1.1	1,561	3	3.5	7
Michigan	4,307.4	0.6	1,078	20	0.1	50
Minnesota	2,840.8	0.5	1,203	12	2.3	34
Mississippi	1,129.8	0.4	779	51	1.8	43
Missouri	2,788.4	0.5	986	31	2.6	28
Montana	458.8	0.9	844	49	3.1	16
Nebraska	965.6	0.1	917	43	2.2	38
Nevada	1,392.2	3.0	992	29	1.5	47
New Hampshire	656.2	1.2	1,156	15	3.1	16
New Jersey	4,040.2	1.3	1,399	6	1.7	45
New Mexico	825.4	1.3	890	47	3.2	12
New York	9,453.5	1.5	1,639	2	2.6	28
North Carolina	4,458.5	2.0	1,054	23	3.2	12
North Dakota	414.3	1.5	1,021	25	3.3	9
Ohio	5,363.2	0.7	1,035	24	3.0	21
Oklahoma	1,617.0	1.1	953	35	4.3	3
Oregon	1,921.9	1.3	1,060	21	3.3	9
Pennsylvania	5,850.3	1.1	1,146	16	2.8	24
Rhode Island	474.7	0.8	1,104	19	1.8	43
South Carolina	2,110.0	2.0	901	44	3.0	21
South Dakota	419.0	0.4	865	48	2.7	25
Tennessee	3,004.2	2.0	996	28	1.9	42
Texas	12,455.6	2.2	1,204	11	3.1	16
Utah	1,501.4	3.0	978	32	3.1	16
Vermont	309.1	0.4	950	36	3.7	5
Virginia	3,896.9	1.2	1,186	14	2.1	41
Washington	3,371.1	1.8	1,368	7	4.9	1
West Virginia	687.1	0.3	896	45	3.2	12
Wisconsin	2,838.9	0.1	992	29	2.6	28
Wyoming	269.0	1.9	948	37	3.7	5
Puerto Rico	875.8	2.2	553	(3)	-2.1	(3)
Virgin Islands	36.6	9.6	966	(3)	-1.0	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.