COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN COLORADO – FOURTHQUARTER 2013

Employment growth recorded in all of Colorado’s large counties

Employment rose in all nine large counties in Colorado from December 2012 to December 2013, the

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with

employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2012 annual average employment.) Regional

Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that eight large counties reported employment growth

exceeding the national average of 1.8 percent and one county matched the U.S. average.

Weld County led employment growth in the state with a 6.0-percent gain and ranked 1st among the 334

large counties in the nation, followed by Douglas (5.2 percent, 3rd) and Adams (4.6 percent, 11th). Also

ranking in the top 100 counties nationwide were Denver (4.0 percent, 29th), Boulder (3.0 percent, 61st),

Larimer (2.9 percent, 72nd), and Arapahoe (2.8 percent, 76th).

Nationally, employment rose in 292 of the 334 largest U.S. counties from December 2012 to December

2013. Weld, Colo., posted the largest percentage increase, up 6.0 percent over the year, led by a gain of

1,864 jobs in construction. St. Clair, Ill., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease in employment

among the largest counties in the U.S. with a loss of 3.1 percent.

Among the nine largest counties in Colorado, employment was highest in Denver County (451,200) in

December 2013. Three other counties—Arapahoe, El Paso, and Jefferson—had employment levels

exceeding 200,000. Together, the nine large counties accounted for 79.6 percent of total employment

within the state. Nationwide, the 334 largest counties made up 71.7 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average weekly wages rose in 6 of the 9 large counties in Colorado from the fourth quarter of 2012 to

the fourth quarter of 2013. Weld had the largest over-the-year increase with a gain of 4.8 percent, though

it registered the lowest wage level among the nine counties at $871. Wages in five of the large counties

exceeded the national average of $1,000 with the highest level among Colorado’s large counties

recorded in Denver ($1,224). (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 55 counties in

Colorado with employment below 75,000. Of these smaller counties, only Broomfield ($1,367) and Rio

Blanco ($1,026) had average weekly wages above the national average. (See table 2.)

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Large county wage changes

Six of Colorado’s 9 large counties recorded wage growth from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the fourth

quarter of 2013, while the U.S. average weekly wage was unchanged. (See table 1.) As mentioned, Weld

had the largest wage increase (4.8 percent), placing 8th in the national ranking, followed by Boulder (3.7

percent, 13th). Also placing in the top 100 of the ranking were Adams (2.3 percent, 36th) and Larimer

(1.4 percent, 75th). Of the remaining large counties in Colorado, Denver registered wage growth of 1.0

percent and placed 106th in the national ranking followed by El Paso (0.2 percent, 165th). In contrast,

three large counties experienced decreases in average weekly wages. Douglas had the largest percentage

decrease in average weekly wages, with a loss of 29.7 percent over the year placing it last (334th) in the

national ranking. Average weekly wages also decreased in Arapahoe (-0.9 percent, 250th) and Jefferson

(-0.2 percent, 205th).

Among the 334 largest counties, 185 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Santa Cruz,

Calif., had the largest wage increase among the largest U.S. counties (6.5 percent). Average weekly

wages decreased in 140 of the largest counties. As mentioned, Douglas, Colo., registered the largest

average weekly wage decline with a loss of 29.7 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Five of the state’s large counties had average weekly wages that were above the national average of

$1,000, placing them in the top 100 among the 334 largest counties in the United States in the fourth

quarter of 2013. Denver recorded the highest weekly wage at $1,224 and ranked 29th followed by the

counties of Boulder ($1,174, 42nd), Arapahoe ($1,145, 50th), Douglas ($1,123, 52nd), and Jefferson

($1,005, 95th). The average weekly wages in Colorado’s four other large counties ranged from $871 to

$946.

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than average in 98 of the 334 largest U.S. counties. San Mateo,

Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of

$2,724. New York, N.Y., was second at $2,041, followed by Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,972). Among the

235 large counties with average weekly wages below the U.S. average in the fourth quarter of 2013,

Horry, S.C. ($587) reported the lowest wage.

Average weekly wages in Colorado’s smaller counties

Of the 55 counties in Colorado with employment below 75,000, only Broomfield ($1,367) and Rio

Blanco ($1,026) had average weekly wages above the national average of $1,000. Baca County reported

the lowest weekly wage in the state with an average of $516 in the fourth quarter of 2013. (See table 2.)

When all 64 counties in Colorado were considered, 7 had wages above $1,000. Six of these high-wage

counties were concentrated in the vicinity of the major metropolitan areas of Denver and Boulder. (See

chart 1.) Among the remaining counties, 9 had wages under $600, 22 reported wages from $600 to $699,

13 had wages from $700 to $799, 8 had wages from $800 to $899, and 5 had wages from $900 to $999.

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Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly 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 the QCEW Web site at

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 2012 edition of

this publication, which was published in September 2013, contains selected data produced by Business

Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter

2013 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages

Annual Averages 2012 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn12.htm. The 2013 edition

of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2014.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice

phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

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 9.3 million employer reports cover

136.1 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 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.

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December

2013

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2012-13 (2)

National

ranking by

percent

change (3)

Average

weekly

wage

National

ranking by

level (3)

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2012-13 (2)

National

ranking by

percent

change (3)

United States (4) 136,129.4 1.8 -- $1,000 -- 0.0 --

Colorado 2,383.9 3.1 -- 1,023 13 -0.9 43

Adams, Colo. 177.1 4.6 11 946 143 2.3 36

Arapahoe, Colo. 300.5 2.8 76 1,145 50 -0.9 250

Boulder, Colo. 167.6 3.0 61 1,174 42 3.7 13

Denver, Colo. 451.2 4.0 29 1,224 29 1.0 106

Douglas, Colo. 106.3 5.2 3 1,123 52 -29.7 334

El Paso, Colo. 246.4 2.0 122 887 189 0.2 165

Jefferson, Colo. 218.3 1.8 139 1,005 95 -0.2 205

Larimer, Colo. 138.3 2.9 72 900 177 1.4 75

Weld, Colo. 93.2 6.0 1 871 207 4.8 8

(3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

NOTE: Covered employment and w ages includes w orkers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal

Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 9 largest counties in Colorado, fourth

quarter 2013

Area

Employment Average Weekly Wage (1)

(1) Average w eekly w ages w ere calculated using unrounded data.

(2) Percent changes w ere computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.

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United States (2) 136,129,407 $1,000 Jefferson 218,274 $1,005

Kiowa 459 608

Colorado 2,383,920 1023 Kit Carson 3,220 652

Lake 2,174 639

Adams 177,088 946 La Plata 24,710 927

Alamosa 7,361 663 Larimer 138,299 900

Arapahoe 300,489 1,145 Las Animas 4,999 715

Archuleta 3,372 630 Lincoln 2,085 661

Baca 1,123 516 Logan 8,220 680

Bent 1,114 601 Mesa 59,033 811

Boulder 167,566 1,174 Mineral 521 586

Broomfield 34,470 1,367 Moffat 4,912 854

Chaffee 6,619 702 Montezuma 8,913 671

Cheyenne 731 840 Montrose 13,559 728

Clear Creek 3,266 854 Morgan 12,152 733

Conejos 1,323 570 Otero 6,146 677

Costilla 775 529 Ouray 1,552 699

Crowley 1,079 699 Park 2,037 683

Custer 794 594 Phillips 1,639 689

Delta 8,326 674 Pitkin 17,589 913

Denver 451,190 1,224 Prowers 4,438 632

Dolores 486 737 Pueblo 56,689 756

Douglas 106,336 1,123 Rio Blanco 3,054 1,026

Eagle 31,642 833 Rio Grande 3,820 654

Elbert 3,193 726 Routt 15,088 887

El Paso 246,363 887 Saguache 1,419 644

Fremont 12,609 707 San Juan 229 529

Garfield 24,866 926 San Miguel 5,007 717

Gilpin 5,153 746 Sedgwick 783 591

Grand 7,315 617 Summit 21,069 705

Gunnison 7,687 703 Teller 6,394 673

Hinsdale 238 526 Washington 1,195 663

Huerfano 1,648 562 Weld 93,165 871

Jackson 543 628 Yuma 3,944 722

NOTE: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and

Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Colorado,

fourth quarter 2013

Area Employment

December 2013

Average

weekly

wage (1)

Area Employment

December 2013

Average

weekly

wage (1)

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December

2013

(thousands)

Percent change,

December 2012-

13

Average

weekly

wage

National

ranking

by level

Percent change,

fourth quarter

2012-13

National ranking

by

percent change

United States (2) 136,129.4 1.8 $1,000 -- 0.0 --

Alabama 1,866.5 1.0 851 34 -0.5 39

Alaska 315.1 0.0 1,022 14 1.6 7

Arizona 2,571.0 2.4 906 23 -0.5 39

Arkansas 1,154.3 -0.5 771 47 0.4 22

California 15,650.3 2.8 1,175 6 -0.9 43

Colorado 2,383.9 3.1 1,023 13 -0.9 43

Connecticut 1,661.2 0.3 1,238 4 -1.3 49

Delaware 419.6 1.8 1,035 9 -0.6 41

District of Columbia 727.3 0.6 1,638 1 -3.9 51

Florida 7,739.5 2.7 883 29 0.2 27

Georgia 3,986.9 2.5 924 21 -0.1 32

Hawaii 632.9 1.7 871 30 0.3 25

Idaho 634.5 2.6 754 50 3.0 2

Illinois 5,758.9 1.0 1,060 8 0.2 27

Indiana 2,896.9 1.6 814 40 -0.2 35

Iowa 1,510.9 1.4 834 38 1.6 7

Kansas 1,359.5 1.6 832 39 -0.4 38

Kentucky 1,818.0 1.2 804 42 0.2 27

Louisiana 1,911.6 0.9 889 26 0.5 20

Maine 586.8 0.8 786 46 1.7 5

Maryland 2,555.1 0.4 1,076 7 -0.9 43

Massachusetts 3,332.9 1.5 1,258 3 0.8 17

Michigan 4,072.4 2.0 952 20 -0.2 35

Minnesota 2,720.6 1.7 988 16 0.3 25

Mississippi 1,108.1 1.1 729 51 1.3 11

Missouri 2,670.4 1.1 861 32 -0.2 35

Montana 440.0 1.3 760 48 0.4 22

Nebraska 944.3 1.4 796 43 -0.1 32

Nevada 1,180.5 3.0 884 28 0.7 18

New Hampshire 629.3 1.4 1,017 15 -0.8 42

New Jersey 3,887.5 1.2 1,186 5 1.1 14

New Mexico 796.2 -0.1 814 40 1.4 10

New York 8,888.6 1.7 1,266 2 -1.1 48

North Carolina 4,045.5 1.9 860 33 0.7 18

North Dakota 435.0 3.3 980 17 3.8 1

Ohio 5,175.4 1.4 887 27 0.0 30

Oklahoma 1,581.3 0.6 851 34 -0.1 32

Oregon 1,699.6 2.5 894 25 2.6 3

Pennsylvania 5,650.3 0.4 976 18 0.4 22

Rhode Island 462.7 1.4 960 19 1.5 9

South Carolina 1,875.8 2.3 793 44 1.0 15

South Dakota 407.1 1.3 759 49 1.3 11

Tennessee 2,758.3 1.8 895 24 -0.9 43

Texas 11,246.3 2.6 1,027 12 0.0 30

Utah 1,284.7 3.1 836 37 -0.9 43

Vermont 308.5 0.6 848 36 2.3 4

Virginia 3,670.0 0.1 1,028 11 -1.3 49

Washington 2,976.0 2.5 1,034 10 1.7 5

West Virginia 710.1 -0.6 792 45 0.5 20

Wisconsin 2,751.8 1.0 865 31 1.2 13

Wyoming 279.2 0.6 917 22 1.0 15

Puerto Rico 958.3 -2.3 551 (3) 0.2 (3)

Virgin Islands 38.5 -3.6 754 (3) 2.4 (3)

(3) Data not included in the national ranking.

NOTE: Covered employment and w ages includes w orkers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for

Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, fourth quarter 2013

State

Employment Average weekly wage (1)

(1) Average w eekly w ages w ere calculated using unrounded data.

(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Weld

Moffat

Mesa

Baca

Park

Las Animas

Routt

Yuma

Garfield

Lincoln

Pueblo

Larimer

Gunnison

Saguache

Bent

Eagle

Logan

Elbert

Rio Blanco Grand

El Paso

Kiowa

Montrose

Otero

La Plata

Delta

Kit Carson

Washington

Jackson

Prowers

Fremont

Cheyenne

Adams

Huerfano

Pitkin

Montezuma

Costilla

Morgan

Conejos

Archuleta

Dolores

Chaffee

Hinsdale

San Miguel

Custer

Mineral

Douglas

Crowley

Phillips

Boulder

Ouray

Lake

Alamosa

Arapahoe

Rio Grande

Sedgwick

Teller

Jefferson

Summit

San Juan

Clear Creek

Gilpin

Denver

Broomfield

Chart 1. Average weekly wages for counties in Colorado, fourth quarter 2013

Average weekly wages

(National average = $1,000)

Below $600

600 - 699

700 - 799

800 - 899

900 - 999

1,000 or more

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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