County Employment and Wages News Release — 2021-05-19

From December 2019 to December 2020, employment decreased in 352 of the 357 largest U.S. counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In December 2020, national employment (as measured by the QCEW program) decreased to 140.9 million, a 6.1-percent decrease over the year. Maui + Kalawao, HI, had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 22.8 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for December 2020, and average weekly wage data are presented for fourth quarter 2020. Employment was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to contain it. Among the 357 largest counties, 356 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the fourth quarter of 2020, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,339, a 13.0-percent increase over the year. San Francisco, CA, had the largest fourth quarter over-the-year wage gain at 44.3 percent.