County Employment and Wages News Release — 2018-11-21

From June 2017 to June 2018, employment increased in 309 of the 349 largest U.S. counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In June 2018, national employment (as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program) increased to 147.4 million, a 1.5 percent increase over the year. Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment with a gain of 11.6 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for June 2018, and average weekly wage data are presented for second quarter 2018. Among the 349 largest counties, 340 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the second quarter of 2018, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,055, a 3.4 percent increase over the year. Marin, CA, had the largest second quarter over-the-year wage gain at 11.7 percent. (See table 1.) Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (11.6 percent).