From September 2020 to September 2021, employment increased in 332 of the 343 largest U.S. counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In September 2021, national employment increased to 144.9 million, a 4.4-percent increase over the year, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. Honolulu, HI, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment with a gain of 13.3 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for September 2021, and average weekly wage data are presented for third quarter 2021.
Among the 343 largest counties, 333 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the third quarter of 2021, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,251, a 6.7-percent increase over the year. San Mateo, CA, had the largest third quarter over-the-year wage gain at 27.2 percent. (See table 1.)
Large County Employment in September 2021
Honolulu, HI, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (+13.3 percent). Within Honolulu, the largest employment increase occurred in leisure and hospitality, which gained 26,131 jobs over the year (+80.1 percent).
Jefferson, LA, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment, with a loss of 3.2 percent. Within Jefferson, combined government had the largest employment decrease with a loss of 2,429 jobs (-13.6 percent).
Large County Average Weekly Wage in Third Quarter 2021
San Mateo, CA, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages (+27.2 percent). Within San Mateo, an average weekly wage gain of $2,568 (+35.1 percent) in information made the largest contribution to the county’s increase in average weekly wages.
Union, NJ, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in average weekly wages, with a loss of 1.2 percent. Within Union, professional and business services had the largest impact, with an average weekly wage decrease of $262 (-11.9 percent) over the year.
Ten Largest Counties
All of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in employment. In September 2021, Miami-Dade, FL, had the largest over-the-year employment percentage gain (+7.6 percent). Within Miami-Dade, leisure and hospitality had the largest employment increase, with a gain of 32,934 jobs (+35.4 percent). (See table 2.)
All of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in average weekly wages. In third quarter 2021, Miami-Dade, FL, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage gain in average weekly wages (+10.4 percent). Within Miami-Dade, trade, transportation, and utilities had the largest impact, with an average weekly wage increase of $129 (+13.4 percent) over the year.
For More Information
The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 343 U.S. counties with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2020. September 2021 employment and third quarter 2021 average weekly wages for all states are provided in table 3 of this release.
The QCEW Technical Note is available at www.bls.gov/cew/news-release-technical-note.htm.
QCEW response rate tables are available at www.bls.gov/cew/response-rates/.
The most current news release on quarterly measures of gross job flows is available from QCEW Business Employment Dynamics at www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cewbd.pdf.
Several BLS regional offices issue QCEW news releases targeted to local data users. Links to these releases are available at www.bls.gov/cew/regional-resources.htm.
QCEW data are available in the Census Business Builder suite of web tools assisting business owners and regional analysts in data-driven decision making at www.census.gov/data/data-tools/cbb.html.
The QCEW news release schedule is available at www.bls.gov/cew/release-calendar.htm.
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____________ The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
The County Employment and Wages news release for fourth quarter 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
