Hawaii’s two large counties had employment decreases from March 2018 to March 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2018.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that Honolulu County and Maui + Kalawao County each had over-the-year employment declines of 0.2 percent. (See table 1.)

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

In March 2019, Honolulu County had an employment level of 471,800; Maui + Kalawao County’s employment level was 79,300. Together, Hawaii’s two large counties accounted for 83.7 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 355 largest counties made up 73.5 percent of total U.S. employment.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for Hawaii and Kauai, the two counties in Hawaii with employment below 75,000. Both of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2 and chart 1.)

Large county wage changes

Average weekly wages rose in both of Hawaii’s large counties from the first quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2019. At 3.3 percent each, the wage gains in Honolulu County and Maui + Kalawao County ranked 110^th among the nation’s 355 large counties. (See table 1.)

Nationally, 325 of the 355 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. San Francisco, CA, had the largest percentage wage gain at 10.2 percent, followed by Bay, FL (9.3 percent).

Among the 355 largest counties, 28 experienced an over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages. Elkhart, IN, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-7.6 percent), followed by Olmsted, MN (-5.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

The average weekly wage in Honolulu County ($1,054, 162^nd) placed in the top half of the national ranking. Average weekly wages in Maui + Kalawao ($900, 287^th) placed in the bottom half of the national ranking. Nationally, the average weekly wage was $1,184.

Nationwide, average weekly wages were above the U.S. average ($1,184) in 92 of the 355 largest counties in the first quarter of 2019. New York, NY, had the highest average weekly wage at $3,153, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,759), and Santa Clara, CA ($2,758).

In the first quarter of 2019, 263 large U.S. counties reported average weekly wages below the national average of $1,184. Cameron, TX, reported the lowest wage ($648), followed by Horry County, SC ($652) and Hidalgo, TX ($662).

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 2018 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 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 20, 2019. The County Employment and Wages full data update for second quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 4, 2019.

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 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 2 largest counties in Hawaii, 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	--	$1,184	--	2.8	--
Hawaii	658.1	-0.4	--	1,006	27	3.4	8
Honolulu, Hawaii	471.8	-0.2	308	1,054	162	3.3	110
Maui + Kalawao, Hawaii	79.3	-0.2	308	900	287	3.3	110
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.