County Employment and Wages News Release — 2019-08-21

From March 2018 to March 2019, employment increased in 298 of the 355 largest U.S. counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In March 2019, national employment (as measured by the QCEW program) increased to 146.5 million, a 1.4 percent increase over the year. Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment with a gain of 5.8 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for March 2019, and average weekly wage data are presented for first quarter 2019. Among the 355 largest counties, 325 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the first quarter of 2019, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,184, a 2.8 percent increase over the year. San Francisco, CA, had the largest first quarter over-the-year wage gain at 10.2 percent. (See table 1.) Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (5.8 percent).