Pennsylvanians' wages up and down by region

Urban areas fare much better than rural counties in 2008 federal results WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania’s counties had some of the highest average weekly wages in the country in the first quarter of last year, according to recently released statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Montgomery County ranked 21st; Chester County, 36th; and Philadelphia County, 44th when wages were compared for all 334 large counties nationwide. Several counties in Pennsylvania also registered some of the largest over-the-year wage gains in the nation in the first quarter of 2008. In addition to Westmoreland (1st) and Butler (14th) counties, two other Pennsylvania counties ranked in the top one-fourth nationwide—Northampton and Delaware, at 70th and 80th, respectively. Delaware was the only county in the Commonwealth to rank in the top one-fourth of large counties nationwide in both wage levels and wage growth. Comparing large and small county averages Among Pennsylvania’s 19 large counties, five had average weekly wages exceeding $900 in the first quarter of 2008, - Montgomery, Chester, Philadelphia, Delaware, and Allegheny. These five counties, four of which were located in the Philadelphia, metropolitan area, recorded wage levels greater than the nationwide average of $905 and ranked in the top one-fourth nationally. The average weekly wage in the top-paying county of Montgomery was 31 percent above the national level. At the other end of the wage spectrum, Lackawanna County ($645) reported the lowest average weekly wage level in the Commonwealth, followed by the counties of Luzerne ($674), Erie ($683), Lancaster ($729), and Butler ($750). These five counties, two of which were located in the Scranton—Wilkes-Barre, Pa. metropolitan area, ranked in the bottom one-third nationwide. Nationally, New York City held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $2,805. Fairfield, Conn., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,905, followed by Somerset, N.J. ($1,765), Suffolk, Mass. ($1,708), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,639). Of the 10 counties with the highest wages in the United States, 4 were located in the greater New York metropolitan area (New York, N.Y., Fairfield, Conn., Somerset, N.J., and Hudson, N.J.), 3 others were located in or around the San Francisco area (San Francisco, Santa Clara, and San Mateo, all in California), and 2 more were located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va.). Rounding out the top 10 was Suffolk County, Mass., part of the Boston metropolitan area. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Cameron County, Texas ($523), followed by the counties of Hidalgo, Texas ($532), Horry, S.C. ($534), Webb, Texas ($554), and Yakima, Wash. ($587). Large Pa. county wage changes Of Pennsylvania’s 19 large counties, eight recorded wage growth above the national increase of 2.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008. After Westmoreland County’s 14.9-percent wage growth was Butler County’s 6.1-percent gain, which ranked 14th in the nation. The other six counties with higher-than-average wage growth were Northampton (3.9 percent/70th), Delaware (3.7 percent/80th), Washington (3.5 percent/97th), York (3.3 percent/112th), Lancaster (2.8 percent/151st), and Philadelphia (2.6 percent/163rd). Four of the eight counties registered wage gains that were among the highest one-fourth of large counties in the United States. Luzerne County was the only county in Pennsylvania to record a decline (-0.7 percent) in average weekly wages, ranking it 308th in the nation. Chester County, at 0.3 percent (283rd), reported the lowest percentage increase in average weekly wages in the Commonwealth in the first quarter of 2008, followed by the counties of Allegheny (0.5 percent/276th), Lehigh (0.7 percent/267th), and Montgomery (1.0 percent/253rd). These five counties ranked in the bottom one-fourth in wage growth nationwide. As noted earlier, Westmoreland, led the nation in average weekly wage growth, with an increase of 14.9 percent from the first quarter of 2007. Williamson, Texas, was second at 10.8 percent, followed by the counties of Somerset, N.J. (9.0 percent), San Luis Obispo, Calif. (8.3 percent), and Jefferson, Texas (7.9 percent). Thirty-four large counties experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. Trumbull, Ohio, had the largest decrease (-17.2 percent), followed by the counties of Saginaw, Mich. (-4.4 percent), Rockingham, N.H. (-3.9 percent), Fairfield, Conn. (-3.8 percent), and Mecklenburg, N.C. (-3.4 percent). A different story in smaller Pa. counties As mentioned, all but one of the 48 counties in Pennsylvania with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages below the national level. Susquehanna County reported the lowest wage level among Pennsylvania’s 48 small counties, at $479. The highest wage among these small counties was Montour County’s $909, followed by Greene County’s $852. Five of the Commonwealth’s 19 large counties recorded higher wage levels than Montour County, but none recorded lower wages than Susquehanna County. When all 67 counties in Pennsylvania are considered, just two— Susquehanna and Sullivan—had wages below $500. Both of these two counties were located in the northeastern part of the Commonwealth. Three other counties—Montgomery, Chester, and Philadelphia—had wages above $1,000. All three of these counties were located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth. Forty-three, or nearly two-thirds, of the counties in Pennsylvania reported average weekly wages from $501 to $700 in the first quarter of 2008. Comparing state average weekly wages The average weekly wage in Pennsylvania was $869, $36 below the nationwide level, ranking 15th highest among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nationally, 8 of the 12 areas with above-average weekly wage levels were located in a contiguous band along the east coast, stretching from Massachusetts to Virginia. The five highest average wages were in the District of Columbia ($1,488), New York ($1,399), Connecticut ($1,254), Massachusetts ($1,143), and New Jersey ($1,133). Where the data comes from Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The 9.1 million employer reports cover 134.8 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or States for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised (see Note below) and will not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.