News Release Information 19-1785-NEW

Friday, October 11, 2019 PDF PDF version

County Employment and Wages in New York City – First Quarter 2019 Manhattan’s Average Weekly Wage Increased by 2.1 Percent

Average weekly wages in New York County, commonly known as the borough of Manhattan, increased 2.1 percent from the first quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that Manhattan’s average weekly wage of $3,153 ranked the highest among the nation’s 355 large counties, those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more. Nationally, average weekly wages increased 2.8 percent over the year. (See chart 1.)

The fastest rate of employment growth among the City’s boroughs was in Staten Island (Richmond County), up 3.7 percent. (See table 1.) Nationally, employment grew 1.4 percent from March 2018 to March 2019. (See chart 2.)

Over-the-year wage changes

All five boroughs of New York City had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages, and three had gains above the 2.8-percent national wage gain. The Bronx (Bronx County) and Brooklyn (Kings County)—with increases of 4.6 percent and 4.0 percent—ranked in the top 20 percent of the nation’s 355 large counties. Staten Island (Richmond County) had an increase of 2.9 percent, followed by Queens at 2.7 percent. Manhattan’s gain of 2.1 percent placed the borough in the bottom half of the large county rankings.

In Manhattan, 9 of 10 supersectors with at least 1,000 employees had over-the-year gains in average weekly wages. Leisure and hospitality had the largest wage increase, 5.6 percent. Average weekly wages in construction increased 3.5 percent, followed by information (3.3 percent), and government (3.2 percent). Financial activities had the smallest wage increase (0.4 percent). By contrast, manufacturing posted a 2.1-percent decline.

Nationally, all supersectors had over-the-year wage gains. The largest increases in average weekly wages occurred in information (5.9 percent) and in natural resources and mining (4.8 percent). Manufacturing had the slowest over-the-year wage gain, 1.2 percent.

Among the 355 largest U.S. counties, 325 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. San Francisco, CA, had the largest wage gain, up 10.2 percent from the first quarter of 2018. Over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages occurred in 28 large counties. Elkhart, IN, had the largest over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 7.6 percent.

Average weekly wages

For the year ending in the first quarter of 2019, Manhattan’s average weekly wage of $3,153 was more than two and a half times the national average of $1,184. Weekly wages in the four other New York City boroughs trailed those of the nation, with averages ranging from $1,099 in Queens to $954 in Brooklyn. (See chart 3.)

In Manhattan, the financial activities supersector had the highest first-quarter average weekly wage, $9,566. (See table 2.) Information had the second-highest average wage ($3,660), followed by professional and business services ($2,825). Manhattan’s leisure and hospitality supersector had the lowest average weekly wage, $963. Average wages in every supersector were higher in Manhattan than their respective national averages.

Among the nation’s 355 largest counties, 92 registered weekly wages above the U.S. average. Manhattan held the top position, with an average weekly wage of $3,153. San Francisco, CA, was second at $2,759, closely followed by Santa Clara, CA, at $2,758. Average wages in the highest-ranked county, Manhattan, were nearly five times the average wage in the lowest-ranked county, Cameron, TX ($648).

Employment

From March 2018 to March 2019, employment growth in three New York City boroughs exceeded the national average of 1.4 percent. Staten Island’s employment growth of 3.7 percent ranked 11th among the nation’s 355 largest counties. Employment grew 1.8 percent in Queens and 1.5 percent in the Bronx. Manhattan’s growth rate matched the national average. Brooklyn’s employment growth (0.5 percent) lagged the national rate.

In Manhattan, 8 of 10 supersectors with 1,000 or more employees gained jobs over the year. Information had the fastest rate of employment growth (3.5 percent), followed by education and health services (2.6 percent) and financial activities (2.2 percent). In contrast, manufacturing had a 5.8-percent employment loss.

Nationally, employment increased in 298 of the 355 largest U.S. counties from March 2018 to March 2019. Midland, TX, had the largest employment increase, with a gain of 5.8 percent over the year. Bay, FL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 5.9 percent.

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit www.bls.gov/cew.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2018 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2019 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2018/home.htm.

The County Employment and Wage release for second quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

Technical Note

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 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 and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons–some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States, New York State, and five counties of New York City, first quarter 2019 Area Employment Average weekly wage March 2019 (thousands) Percent change, March 2018-19 National ranking by percent change First quarter 2019 National ranking by level Percent change, first quarter 2018-19 National ranking by percent change United States 146,497.6 1.4 -- $1,184 -- 2.8 -- New York 9,453.5 1.5 -- 1,639 2 2.6 28 Bronx, NY 323.7 1.5 128 1,086 140 4.6 46 Kings, NY 780.2 0.5 241 954 232 4.0 69 New York, NY 2,500.7 1.4 138 3,153 1 2.1 218 Queens, NY 709.9 1.8 94 1,099 134 2.7 161 Richmond, NY 125.9 3.7 11 1,006 192 2.9 144 Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and New York County, first quarter 2019 Area Employment Average weekly wage March 2019 (thousands) Percent change March 2018-19 First quarter 2019 Percent change, first quarter 2018-19 United States 146,497.6 1.4 $1,184 2.8 Private industry 124,457.1 1.5 1,198 3.0 Natural resources and mining 1,814.0 1.2 1,334 4.8 Construction 7,138.6 3.2 1,194 2.7 Manufacturing 12,751.4 1.6 1,419 1.2 Trade, transportation, and utilities 27,104.9 0.5 975 3.8 Information 2,828.7 0.9 2,509 5.9 Financial activities 8,218.5 1.0 2,431 1.6 Professional and business services 20,858.3 1.6 1,589 3.5 Education and health services 23,017.0 1.9 965 2.7 Leisure and hospitality 16,053.6 1.5 461 3.6 Other services 4,492.7 1.3 759 3.5 Government 22,040.5 0.5 1,108 1.8 New York, NY 2,500.7 1.4 3,153 2.1 Private industry 2,269.9 1.5 3,314 2.1 Natural resources and mining 0.2 4.1 2,302 -5.5 Construction 43.5 0.4 2,023 3.5 Manufacturing 22.2 -5.8 1,797 -2.1 Trade, transportation, and utilities 249.7 -0.3 1,570 2.5 Information 178.5 3.5 3,660 3.3 Financial activities 384.7 2.2 9,566 0.4 Professional and business services 607.4 1.1 2,825 3.0 Education and health services 368.8 2.6 1,355 1.4 Leisure and hospitality 304.6 0.1 963 5.6 Other services 105.4 1.2 1,335 2.9 Government 230.8 0.3 1,567 3.2 Note: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.