County Employment and Wages News Release — 2020-02-20

From September 2018 to September 2019, employment increased in 283 of the 355 largest U.S. counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In September 2019, national employment (as measured by the QCEW program) increased to 148.6 million, a 1.1 percent increase over the year. New Hanover, NC, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment with a gain of 5.8 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for September 2019, and average weekly wage data are presented for third quarter 2019. Among the 355 largest counties, 350 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the third quarter of 2019, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,093, a 3.6 percent increase over the year. Boulder, CO, had the largest third quarter over-the-year wage gain at 18.4 percent. (See table 1.) New Hanover, NC, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (5.8 percent).