Technical information:  (202) 691-6567      USDL 06-1859
               http://www.bls.gov/cew/
                                            For release:  10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902      Thursday, October 26, 2006


             COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES:  FIRST QUARTER 2006

   In March 2006, Collin County, Texas, had the largest over-the-year
percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S.,
according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.  Collin County, a Dallas
suburb, experienced an over-the-year employment gain of 7.8 percent
compared with national job growth of 2.2 percent.  Orleans County (New
Orleans), La., had the largest over-the-year gain in average weekly wages
in the first quarter of 2006, with an increase of 33.3 percent.  The high
average weekly wage growth rate for Orleans County was related to the
disproportionate job and pay losses in lower-paid industries due to the
impact of Hurricane Katrina.  The U.S. average weekly wage increased by
8.1 percent over the same time span.
   
   Of the 325 largest counties in the United States, as measured by 2005
annual average employment, 133 had over-the-year percentage growth in em-
ployment above the national average in March 2006, and 184 experienced
changes below the national average.   Average weekly wages grew faster
than the national average in 127 of the largest U.S. counties, while the
percent change in average weekly wages was below the national average in
193 counties.
         
   The employment and 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 reports submitted by every
employer subject to unemployment insurance (UI) laws.  The 8.8 million em-
ployer reports cover 132.6 million full- and part-time workers.  The at-
tached tables contain data for the nation and for the 325 U.S. counties
with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2005.  March
2006 employment and 2006 first-quarter average weekly wages for all states
are provided in table 4 of this release.  Data for all states, metropolitan
statistical areas, counties, and the nation through the fourth quarter of
2005 are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cew/.  Prelim-
inary data for first quarter of 2006 and final data for 2005 will be avail-
able later in October on the BLS Web site.

Large County Employment
   
   In March 2006, national employment, as measured by the QCEW program, was
132.6 million, up by 2.2 percent from March 2005.  The 325 U.S. counties with
75,000 or more employees accounted for 70.9 percent of total U.S. covered
employment and 77.7 percent of total covered wages.  These 325 counties had
a net job gain of 1,864,798 over the year, accounting for 65.4 percent of the
U.S. employment increase.  Employment increased in 289 of the large counties
from March 2005 to March 2006.  Collin, Texas, had the largest over-the-year
percentage increase in employment (7.8 percent).  Lee, Fla., had the next
largest increase, 7.7 percent, followed by the counties of Brazoria, Texas
(7.5 percent), and Manatee, Fla., and Clark, Nev. (7.2 percent each).  (See
table 1.)


    -------------------------------------------------------------------
   |                                                                   |
   |    County Changes for the 2006 County Employment and Wages News   |
   |       Releases:  Four Counties Added and One County Dropped       |
   |                                                                   |
   |   Counties with employment of 75,000 or more are included in      |
   | this release.  For 2006 data, four counties have been added to    |
   | the publication tables:  Douglas, Colo., Weld, Colo., Boone, Ky., |
   | and Butler, Pa.  One county, Potter, Texas, which had data for    |
   | 2005 published in the 2005 releases, will be excluded from this   |
   | and future 2006 releases because it no longer has an employment   |
   | level of 75,000 or more.                                          |
   |                                                                   |
    -------------------------------------------------------------------

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Top 10 large counties ranked by March 2006 employment, March 2005-06
employment growth, and March 2005-06 percent growth in employment

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Employment in large counties                            
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    March 2006 employment    |    Growth in employment,   |      Percent growth 
         (thousands)         |        March 2005-06       |      in employment,       
                             |        (thousands)         |      March 2005-06        
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             |                            |                          
U.S.                132,613.1| U.S.                2,852.5| U.S.                2.2
-----------------------------|----------------------------|-------------------------
                             |                            |                          
Los Angeles, Calif.   4,179.3| Los Angeles, Calif.   107.7| Collin, Texas       7.8
Cook, Ill.            2,502.0| Maricopa, Ariz.       102.1| Lee, Fla.           7.7
New York, N.Y.        2,271.0| Harris, Texas          83.0| Brazoria, Texas     7.5
Harris, Texas         1,924.0| Clark, Nev.            60.9| Manatee, Fla.       7.2
Maricopa, Ariz.       1,791.4| Dallas, Texas          44.3| Clark, Nev.         7.2
Orange, Calif.        1,512.1| New York, N.Y.         40.9| Lake, Fla.          7.0
Dallas, Texas         1,439.9| Orange, Calif.         36.2| Pasco, Fla.         6.9
San Diego, Calif.     1,313.3| King, Wash.            34.7| Seminole, Fla.      6.6
King, Wash.           1,126.8| Riverside, Calif.      30.9| Collier, Fla.       6.4
Miami-Dade, Fla.      1,014.5| Cook, Ill.             28.0| Will, Ill.          6.4
                             |                            | Hamilton, Ind.      6.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   

   Employment declined in 32 counties from March 2005 to March 2006.  The
largest percentage decline in employment was in Orleans County, La. (-38.7
percent), followed by the counties of Harrison, Miss. (-18.8 percent), and
Jefferson, La. (-11.7 percent).  Employment losses in these three Gulf Coast
counties reflected the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.  Monterey,
Calif., had the next largest employment decline (-3.6 percent), followed by
Boone, Ky. (-3.3 percent).

   The largest gains in employment from March 2005 to March 2006 were
recorded in the counties of Los Angeles, Calif. (107,700), Maricopa, Ariz.
(102,100), Harris, Texas (83,000), Clark, Nev. (60,900), and Dallas, Texas
(44,300).  (See table A.)
   
   The largest declines in employment occurred in the Katrina-affected
counties of Orleans, La. (-93,500), Jefferson, La. (-25,000), and Harrison,
Miss. (-17,100), followed by the counties of Oakland, Mich. (-14,200), and
Wayne, Mich. (-12,600).
   
   
Large County Average Weekly Wages

   The national average weekly wage in the first quarter of 2006 was $838.
Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 101 of the
largest 325 U.S. counties.  New York County, N.Y., held the top position
among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $2,223.
Fairfield, Conn., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,836, followed
by Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,584), Somerset, N.J. ($1,522), and San Francisco,
Calif. ($1,519).  (See table B.)
   
                                  - 3 -

Table B.  Top 10 large counties ranked by first quarter 2006 average weekly wages, first
quarter 2005-06 growth in average weekly wages, and first quarter 2005-06 percent growth
in average weekly wages

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Average weekly wage in large counties                     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Average weekly wage,   | Growth in average weekly |       Percent growth in 
     first quarter 2006    |    wage, first quarter   |      average weekly wage,
                           |          2005-06         |      first quarter 2005-06
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           |                          |                                 
U.S.                   $838| U.S.                  $63| U.S.                         8.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           |                          |                                 
New York, N.Y.       $2,223| Orleans, La.         $244| Orleans, La.                33.3
Fairfield, Conn.      1,836| Fairfield, Conn.      224| McLean, Ill.                20.5
Santa Clara, Calif.   1,584| Santa Clara, Calif.   213| Jefferson, La.              19.0
Somerset, N.J.        1,522| New York, N.Y.        195| Harrison, Miss.             18.0
San Francisco, Calif. 1,519| Somerset, N.J.        158| Montgomery, Texas           17.0
Suffolk, Mass.        1,494| Norfolk, Mass.        153| Norfolk, Mass.              16.7
Arlington, Va.        1,402| McLean, Ill.          146| Santa Clara, Calif.         15.5
Washington, D.C.      1,371| San Francisco, Calif. 144| Oklahoma, Okla.             15.3
San Mateo, Calif.     1,338| Arapahoe, Colo.       143| Arapahoe, Colo.             15.2
Hudson, N.J.          1,316| Fairfax, Va.          133| Sarasota, Fla.              14.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   There were 222 counties with an average weekly wage below the national
average in the first quarter of 2006.  The lowest average weekly wages were
reported in Cameron County, Texas ($477), followed by the counties of Hidalgo,
Texas ($490), Horry, S.C. ($524), Webb, Texas ($527), and Yakima, Wash. ($550).
(See table 1.)
   
   Over the year, the national average weekly wage rose by 8.1 percent.
Among the largest counties, Orleans, La., led the nation in growth in
average weekly wages, with an increase of 33.3 percent from the first
quarter of 2005.  McLean, Ill., was second with growth of 20.5 percent,
followed by the counties of Jefferson, La. (19.0 percent), Harrison, Miss.
(18.0 percent), and Montgomery, Texas (17.0 percent).  The high average
weekly wage growth rates for Orleans, Harrison, and Jefferson Counties were
related to the disproportionate job and pay losses in lower-paid industries
due to the impact of Hurricane Katrina.
   
   Two counties experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages.
Cumberland County, Pa., had the largest decrease, -3.7 percent, followed by
Trumbull, Ohio (-0.4 percent).  The lowest over-the-year increases in
average weekly wages were in Clayton, Ga. (1.3 percent), Kalamazoo, Mich.
(1.9 percent), and Benton, Ark. (2.2 percent).
   
Ten Largest U.S. Counties
   
   Of the 10 largest U.S. counties (based on 2005 annual average employment
levels), all reported increases in employment from March 2005 to March 2006.
Maricopa County, Ariz., experienced the fastest growth in employment among
the largest counties, with a 6.0 percent increase.  Within Maricopa County,
employment rose in every industry group except two--natural resources and
mining, and information.  The largest gains were in construction (13.8 per-
cent) and education and health services (7.3 percent).  Harris, Texas, had
the next largest increase in employment, 4.5 percent, followed by Dallas,
Texas, and King, Wash. (3.2 percent each).  The smallest employment gains
occurred in Cook County, Ill., (1.1 percent), followed by San Diego, Calif.
(1.6 percent), and New York, N.Y. (1.8 percent).  (See table 2.)

                                  - 4 -

   All of the 10 largest U.S. counties saw over-the-year increases in
average weekly wages.  Miami-Dade, Fla., had the fastest growth in wages
among the 10 largest counties, increasing by 11.0 percent.  Within Miami-
Dade County, average weekly wages increased the most in natural resources
and mining (20.3 percent).  San Diego, Calif., was second in wage growth,
increasing by 10.8 percent, followed by Maricopa, Ariz. (10.5 percent).
The smallest wage gains among the 10 largest counties occurred in Cook,
Ill. (6.5 percent), followed by Orange, Calif. (8.2 percent), and Dallas,
Texas (8.4 percent).
   
Largest County by State
   
   Table 3 shows March 2006 employment and the 2006 first quarter average
weekly wage in the largest county in each state, which is based on 2005
annual average employment levels.  (This table includes two counties--
Yellowstone, Mont., and Laramie, Wyo.--that have employment levels below
75,000.)  The employment levels in these counties in March 2006 ranged
from approximately 4.2 million in Los Angeles County, Calif., to 41,000
in Laramie County, Wyo.  The highest average weekly wage of these counties
was in New York, N.Y. ($2,223), while the lowest average weekly wage was in
Laramie, Wyo. ($633).  Due to substantial job losses related to Hurricane
Katrina, Orleans County was replaced by East Baton Rouge as the largest
county in Louisiana in 2005.

For More Information
   
   For additional information about the quarterly employment and wages
data, please read the Technical Note or visit the QCEW Web site at
http://www.bls.gov/cew/.  Additional information about the QCEW data also
may be obtained by e-mailing QCEWinfo@bls.gov or by calling (202) 691-6567.
                                                                       
   Several BLS regional offices are issuing QCEW news releases targeted to
local data users.  For links to these releases, see http://www.bls.gov/cew/
cewregional.htm.



    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
   |                         Hurricane Katrina                           |
   |                                                                     |
   |    The measures of employment and wages reported in this news       |
   | release reflect the impact of Hurricane Katrina and ongoing labor   |
   | market trends.  The effects of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the     |
   | Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, were first reflected in the Sep-     |
   | tember QCEW employment counts and the wage totals for the third     |
   | quarter of 2005.  The impact of this catastrophic storm in parts    |
   | of Louisiana and Mississippi continue to be reflected in monthly    |
   | employment and quarterly wage totals in the first quarter of 2006.  |
   | For more information, see the QCEW section of the Katrina coverage  |
   | on the BLS Web site (http://www.bls.gov/katrina/qcewquestions.htm). |
   |                                                                     |
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------






                                  - 5 -

Technical Note

   
   These data are the product of a federal-state cooperative program, 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 to-
tal pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) 
legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs).  The summaries 
are a result of the administration of state unemployment insurance programs 
that require most employers to pay quarterly taxes based on the employment 
and wages of workers covered by UI.  Data for 2006 are preliminary and sub-
ject to revision.

   For purposes of this release, large counties are defined as having em-
ployment levels of 75,000 or greater.  In addition, data for San Juan,
Puerto Rico, are provided, but not used in calculating U.S. averages,
rankings, or in the analysis in the text.  Each year, these large counties
are selected on the basis of the preliminary annual average of employment
for the previous year.  The 326 counties presented in this release were
derived using 2005 preliminary annual averages of employment.  For 2006
data, four counties have been added to the publication tables:  Douglas,
Colo., Weld, Colo., Boone, Ky., and Butler, Pa.  These counties will be
included in all 2006 quarterly releases.  One county, Potter, Texas, which
was published in the 2005 releases, no longer has an employment level of
75,000 or more and will be excluded in the 2006 releases.  The counties
in table 2 are selected and sorted each year based on the annual average 
employment from the preceding year.

   The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from
data released by the individual states.  These potential differences result
from the states' continuing receipt of UI data over time and ongoing review
and editing.  The individual states determine their data release timetables.
   
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures

   The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment
measures for any given quarter.  Each of these measures--QCEW, Business
Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)--makes
use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; however, 
each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, estimation pro-
cedure, and publication product.

   Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat
different measures of employment change over time. It is important to
understand program differences and the intended uses of the program pro-
ducts.  (See table below.)  Additional information on each program can 
be obtained from the program Web sites shown in the table below.

                                  - 6 -

Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           |         QCEW        |         BED          |         CES
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Source     |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey: 
           |  strative records   |  nally-linked UI ad- |  400,000 establish-
           |  submitted by 8.8   |  ministrative records|  ments
           |  million establish- |  submitted by 6.8    |
           |  ments              |  million private-sec-|
           |                     |  tor employers       |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Coverage   |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal-
           |  age, including all |  ing government, pri-|  ary jobs:
           |  employers subject  |  vate households, and|--UI coverage, exclud-
           |  to state and feder-|  establishments with |  ing agriculture, pri-
           |  al UI laws         |  zero employment     |  vate households, and
           |                     |                      |  self-employed workers
           |                     |                      |--Other employment, in-
           |                     |                      |  cluding railroads, 
           |                     |                      |  religious organiza-
           |                     |                      |  tions, and other non-
           |                     |                      |  UI-covered jobs
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Publication|--Quarterly          |--Quarterly           |--Monthly 
frequency  |  -7 months after the|  -8 months after the |  -Usually first Friday
           |   end of each quar- |   end of each quarter|   of following month
           |   ter               |                      |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Use of UI  |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI   |--Uses UI file as a sam-
file       |  and publishes each |  quarter to longitu- |  pling frame and annu-
           |  new quarter of UI  |  dinal database and  |  ally realigns (bench-
           |  data               |  directly summarizes |  marks) sample esti-    
           |                     |  gross job gains and |  mates to first quar-  
           |                     |  losses              |  ter UI levels
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal  |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly  |--Provides current month-
products   |  ly and annual uni- |  employer dynamics   |  ly estimates of employ-
           |  verse count of es- |  data on establish-  |  ment, hours, and earn-
           |  tablishments, em-  |  ment openings, clos-|  ings at the MSA, state,
           |  ployment, and wages|  ings, expansions,   |  and national level by
           |  at the county, MSA,|  and contractions at |  industry
           |  state, and national|  the national level  |
           |  levels by detailed |  by NAICS supersec-  |
           |  industry           |  tors and by size of |
           |                     |  firm                |
           |                     |--Future expansions   |
           |                     |  will include data at|
           |                     |  the county, MSA, and|
           |                     |  state level         |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|--------------------------
Principal  |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses       |  -Detailed locality |  -Business cycle     |  -Principal national
           |   data              |   analysis           |   economic indicator
           |  -Periodic universe |  -Analysis of employ-|  -Official time series 
           |   counts for bench- |   er dynamics under- |   for employment change
           |   marking sample    |   lying economic ex- |   measures
           |   survey estimates  |   pansions and con-  |  -Input into other ma-
           |  -Sample frame for  |   tractions          |   jor economic indi-
           |   BLS establishment |  -An analysis of em- |   cators
           |   surveys           |   ployment expansion |
           |                     |   and contraction by |
           |                     |   size of firm       |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|--------------------------
Program    |--www.bls.gov/cew/   |--www.bls.gov/bdm/    |--www.bls.gov/ces/
Web sites  |                     |                      |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  
                                  - 7 -
   
Coverage
   
   Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI laws are
compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the SWAs by
employers.  For federal civilian workers covered by the Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program, employment and wage data
are compiled from quarterly reports that are sent to the appropriate SWA by
the specific federal agency.  In addition to the quarterly contribution
reports, employers who operate multiple establishments within a state com-
plete a questionnaire, called the "Multiple Worksite Report," which provides
detailed information on the location and industry of each of their establish-
ments.  The employment and wage data included in this release are derived
from microdata summaries of nearly 9 million employer reports of employment
and wages submitted by states to the BLS.  These reports are based on place
of employment rather than place of residence.
   
   UI and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable from state to
state.  In 2005, UI and UCFE programs covered workers in 131.6 million
jobs.  The estimated 126.7 million workers in these jobs (after adjust-
ment for multiple jobholders) represented 96.6 percent of civilian wage 
and salary employment.  Covered workers received $5.352 trillion in pay,
representing 94.5 percent of the wage and salary component of personal
income and 43.0 percent of the gross domestic product.
   
   Major exclusions from UI coverage include self-employed workers, most
agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, 
elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some domes-
tic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of certain 
small nonprofit organizations.

   State and federal UI laws change periodically.  These changes may have
an impact on the employment and wages reported by employers covered under
the UI program.  Coverage changes may affect the over-the-year comparisons
presented in this news release.  

Concepts and methodology
   
   Monthly employment is based on the number of workers who worked during
or received pay for the pay period including the 12th of the month.  With
few exceptions, all employees of covered firms are reported, including pro-
duction and sales workers, corporation officials, executives, supervisory 
personnel, and clerical workers.  Workers on paid vacations and part-time 
workers also are included.
   
   Average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total
wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels (all employees,
as described above) and dividing the result by 13, for the 13 weeks in the
quarter.  These calculations are made using unrounded employment and wage
values.  The average wage values that can be calculated using rounded data
from the BLS database may differ from the averages reported.  Included in
the quarterly wage data are non-wage cash payments such as bonuses, the cash
value of meals and lodging when supplied, tips and other gratuities, and, in
some states, employer contributions to certain deferred compensation plans
such as 401(k) plans and stock options.  Over-the-year comparisons of average
weekly wages may reflect fluctuations in average monthly employment and/or
total quarterly wages between the current quarter and prior year levels.
   
   Average weekly wages are affected by the ratio of full-time to part-time
workers as well as the number of individuals in high-paying and low-paying
occupations and the incidence of pay periods within a quarter.  For instance,
the average weekly wage of the work force could increase significantly when
there is a large decline in the number of employees that had been receiving
below-average wages.  Wages may include payments to workers not present in
the employment counts because they did not work during the pay period in-
cluding the 12th of the month.  When comparing average weekly wage levels
between industries, states, or quarters, these factors should be taken into
consideration.

                                  - 8 -

   Federal government pay levels are subject to periodic, sometimes large,
fluctuations due to a calendar effect that consists of some quarters having
more pay periods than others.   Most federal employees are paid on a bi-
weekly pay schedule.  As a result of this schedule, in some quarters, fed-
eral wages contain payments for six pay periods, while in other quarters
their wages include payments for seven pay periods.  Over-the-year com-
parisons of average weekly wages may reflect this calendar effect.  Higher
growth in average weekly wages may be attributed, in part, to a comparison
of quarterly wages for the current year, which include seven pay periods,
with year-ago wages that reflect only six pay periods.  An opposite effect
will occur when wages in the current period, which contain six pay periods,
are compared with year-ago wages that include seven pay periods.   The ef-
fect on over-the-year pay comparisons can be pronounced in federal govern-
ment due to the uniform nature of federal payroll processing.  This pattern
may exist in private sector pay, however, because there are more pay period
types (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly) it is less pronounced.  The
effect is most visible in counties with large concentrations of federal
employment.
                            
   In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, states verify
with employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and own-
ership classification of all establishments on a 3-year cycle.  Changes
in establishment classification codes resulting from this process are in-
troduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year.  Changes 
resulting from improved employer reporting also are introduced in the first 
quarter. 

   QCEW data are not designed as a time series.  QCEW data are simply the
sums of individual establishment records and reflect the number of estab-
lishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time.  Estab-
lishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of rea-
sons--some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative
changes.  For example, economic change would come from a firm relocating
into the county; administrative change would come from a company correcting
its county designation.
   
   The over-the-year changes of employment and wages presented in this
release have been adjusted to account for most of the administrative
corrections made to the underlying establishment reports.  This is done by
modifying the prior-year levels used to calculate the over-the-year changes. 
Percent changes are calcuated using an adjusted version of the final 2005 
quarterly data as the base data.  The adjusted prior-year levels used to
calculate the over-the-year percent change in employment and wages are not
published.  These adjusted prior-year levels do not match the unadjusted
data maintained on the BLS Web site.  Over-the-year change calculations
based on data from the Web site, or from data published in prior BLS news
releases, may differ substantially from the over-the-year changes presented
in this news release.
   
   The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change measures
presented in this release account for most of the administrative changes--
those occurring when employers update the industry, location, and owner-
ship information of their establishments.  The most common adjustments
for administrative change are the result of updated information about the
county location of individual establishments.  Included in these adjust-
ments are administrative changes involving the classification of establish-
ments that were previously reported in the unknown or statewide county or
unknown industry categories.  The adjusted data do not account for adminis-
trative changes caused by multi-unit employers who start reporting for each
individual establishment rather than as a single entity.

                                  - 9 -

   The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change measures
presented in any County Employment and Wages news release are valid for
comparisons between the starting and ending points (a 12-month period)
used in that particular release.  Comparisons may not be valid for any
time period other than the one featured in a release even if the changes
were calculated using adjusted data.

   County definitions are assigned according to Federal Information
Processing Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS) as issued by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, after approval by the Secretary of
Commerce pursuant to Section 5131 of the Information Technology Management
Reform Act of 1996 and the Computer Security Act of 1987, Public Law 104-
106.  Areas shown as counties include those designated as independent cities 
in some jurisdictions and, in Alaska, those designated as census areas where 
counties have not been created.  County data also are presented for the New 
England states for comparative purposes even though townships are the more 
common designation used in New England (and New Jersey).  The regions re-
ferred to in this release are defined as census regions.

Additional statistics and other information
   
   An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive infor-
mation by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for 
the nation and all states.  The 2005 edition of this bulletin contains
selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains
and losses, as well as selected data from the fourth quarter 2005 version
of this news release.   This edition will also be the first to include the
data on a CD for enhanced access and usability.  As a result of this change,
the printed booklet will contain only selected graphic representations of
QCEW data; the data tables themselves will be published exclusively in
electronic formats as PDF and  fixed-width text files.  Employment and Wages
Annual Averages, 2005 will be available for sale in late 2006 from the United
States Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box
371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250, telephone 866-512-1800, outside of Washington,
D.C.  Within Washington, D.C., the telephone number is 202-512-1800.  The fax
number is 202-512-2104.  Also, the 2005 bulletin will be available in a por-
table document format (PDF) on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cew/
cewbultn05.htm.
   
   News releases on quarterly measures of gross job flows also are available
upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turn-
over (Business Employment Dynamics), telephone 202-691-6467; http://www.bls.
gov/bdm/; e-mail: BDMInfo@bls.gov.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  202-691-5200;  TDD message referral
phone number:  1-800-877-8339.
 
 
 
 

Table 1. Covered (1) establishments, employment, and wages in the 326 largest counties,
first quarter 2006 (2)
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
                                                     Employment               Average weekly wage (5)  
                                                                                                       
                           Establishments,                                                              
        County (3)          first quarter                Percent    Ranking           Percent   Ranking 
                                2006          March      change,      by    Average   change,      by   
                             (thousands)       2006       March     percent  weekly    first    percent 
                                           (thousands)  2005-06 (4)  change   wage    quarter    change 
                                                                                     2005-06 (4)         
                                                                                                       
United States (6)........       8,770.7     132,613.1       2.2         -     $838       8.1         - 
                                                                                                       
Jefferson, AL............          18.6         371.4       1.1       208      845       7.2       181 
Madison, AL..............           8.2         170.6       2.7       103      866       8.4       105 
Mobile, AL...............           9.8         170.7       3.2        77      659       9.7        54 
Montgomery, AL...........           6.6         136.7       3.3        72      683       8.6        97 
Tuscaloosa, AL...........           4.3          84.1       5.0        28      669       6.9       201 
Anchorage Borough, AK....           8.0         142.1       1.8       157      836       5.4       284 
Maricopa, AZ.............          89.1       1,791.4       6.0        15      822      10.5        32 
Pima, AZ.................          19.3         366.7       4.2        46      704       9.0        79 
Benton, AR...............           5.1          92.9       5.4        19      792       2.2       319 
Pulaski, AR..............          14.0         247.3       2.5       120      728       6.6       219 
                                                                                                       
Washington, AR...........           5.6          92.4       5.0        28      627       7.5       160 
Alameda, CA..............          49.4         683.9       1.1       208    1,099       9.9        47 
Contra Costa, CA.........          28.3         342.3       0.3       274    1,073       5.1       288 
Fresno, CA...............          29.6         333.7       2.8       100      637       6.5       227 
Kern, CA.................          17.2         262.5       5.1        26      692       6.0       259 
Los Angeles, CA..........         392.0       4,179.3       2.6       111      944       9.3        65 
Marin, CA................          11.8         107.2       0.7       244    1,010       7.6       155 
Monterey, CA.............          12.2         152.1      -3.6       319      767      10.4        35 
Orange, CA...............          95.5       1,512.1       2.5       120      967       8.2       123 
Placer, CA...............          10.4         136.7       2.7       103      793       8.0       131 
                                                                                                       
Riverside, CA............          42.8         632.8       5.1        26      707       8.4       105 
Sacramento, CA...........          50.1         639.6       2.9        94      911       7.1       189 
San Bernardino, CA.......          46.0         654.7       3.8        60      700       7.7       145 
San Diego, CA............          92.2       1,313.3       1.6       172      904      10.8        28 
San Francisco, CA........          44.6         533.0       2.9        94    1,519      10.5        32 
San Joaquin, CA..........          16.9         217.8       0.2       279      682       7.1       189 
San Luis Obispo, CA......           9.0         104.3       1.6       172      666       7.4       164 
San Mateo, CA............          23.3         333.8       2.1       139    1,338      10.0        44 
Santa Barbara, CA........          13.6         184.0       2.7       103      786       7.1       189 
Santa Clara, CA..........          55.4         871.7       3.0        91    1,584      15.5         7 
                                                                                                       
Santa Cruz, CA...........           8.7          93.0       1.6       172      819      12.3        16 
Solano, CA...............          10.0         129.6       1.6       172      780       7.7       145 
Sonoma, CA...............          17.8         188.3       0.8       234      784       6.8       207 
Stanislaus, CA...........          13.9         171.5       1.4       189      677       6.6       219 
Tulare, CA...............           8.8         137.7       1.4       189      575       9.1        73 
Ventura, CA..............          21.8         321.0       1.8       157      891       4.5       298 
Yolo, CA.................           5.4          97.4       1.8       157      765       9.1        73 
Adams, CO................           9.1         150.9       4.1        48      762       8.1       128 
Arapahoe, CO.............          19.4         272.0       1.8       157    1,081      15.2         9 
Boulder, CO..............          12.3         154.2       1.6       172      987       7.2       181 
                                                                                                       
Denver, CO...............          25.0         424.7       1.6       172    1,065       8.8        88 
Douglas, CO..............           8.6          84.0       5.3        22      853       9.5        62 
El Paso, CO..............          17.0         242.5       3.0        91      739       6.6       219 
Jefferson, CO............          18.6         204.3       0.5       262      849       6.8       207 
Larimer, CO..............           9.9         124.0       1.8       157      719       7.2       181 
Weld, CO.................           5.8          78.3       4.0        53      672      10.7        29 
Fairfield, CT............          32.5         409.3       1.1       208    1,836      13.9        11 
Hartford, CT.............          24.8         487.3       1.6       172    1,112       6.6       219 
New Haven, CT............          22.2         362.4       1.3       195      872       6.9       201 
New London, CT...........           6.8         128.0      -0.2       295      847       8.3       113 
                                                                                                       
New Castle, DE...........          19.6         280.2       0.7       244    1,113      10.3        37 
Washington, DC...........          31.4         664.9       0.3       274    1,371       7.3       175 
Alachua, FL..............           6.4         126.1       2.1       139      614       4.8       293 
Brevard, FL..............          14.4         209.4       2.6       111      746       6.6       219 
Broward, FL..............          63.3         753.5       3.3        72      791       (7)         - 
Collier, FL..............          12.3         140.6       6.4         9      729       3.6       310 
Duval, FL................          25.5         460.2       3.3        72      841       9.9        47 
Escambia, FL.............           7.9         130.4       3.2        77      642       8.6        97 
Hillsborough, FL.........          35.9         644.1       4.2        46      782       8.3       113 
Lake, FL.................           6.8          84.8       7.0         6      587       9.5        62 
                                                                                                       
Lee, FL..................          18.5         227.4       7.7         2      708       9.6        56 
Leon, FL.................           7.9         147.9       1.8       157      648       4.0       307 
Manatee, FL..............           8.8         129.9       7.2         4      636       9.8        53 
Marion, FL...............           7.8         103.0       4.4        40      587       7.7       145 
Miami-Dade, FL...........          85.9       1,014.5       2.2       134      826      11.0        25 
Okaloosa, FL.............           6.1          83.2       4.7        34      648       9.3        65 
Orange, FL...............          34.1         674.6       3.6        63      757       6.9       201 
Palm Beach, FL...........          48.8         568.9       3.5        64      806       4.4       301 
Pasco, FL................           9.2         100.5       6.9         7      563       8.9        84 
Pinellas, FL.............          31.2         450.1       3.2        77      710       8.2       123 
                                                                                                       
Polk, FL.................          12.3         212.3       4.1        48      624       7.2       181 
Sarasota, FL.............          14.7         161.3       4.9        30      729      14.1        10 
Seminole, FL.............          14.2         176.9       6.6         8      709       4.4       301 
Volusia, FL..............          13.7         169.6       4.3        45      574       5.7       269 
Bibb, GA.................           4.7          85.2      -0.4       302      697      10.5        32 
Chatham, GA..............           7.3         134.2       2.9        94      687       9.6        56 
Clayton, GA..............           4.4         108.2       0.3       274      754       1.3       321 
Cobb, GA.................          20.2         315.6       3.1        87      895       7.4       164 
De Kalb, GA..............          16.8         293.4       1.6       172      907       7.7       145 
Fulton, GA...............          38.2         748.3       1.9       150    1,164       7.7       145 
                                                                                                       
Gwinnett, GA.............          22.4         315.7       3.5        64      898      11.4        22 
Muscogee, GA.............           4.8          98.3       1.3       195      655       8.1       128 
Richmond, GA.............           4.8         107.3       2.8       100      670       7.4       164 
Honolulu, HI.............          24.0         448.2       2.6       111      742       7.1       189 
Ada, ID..................          14.3         204.6       6.2        12      730       9.3        65 
Champaign, IL............           4.0          90.1       1.2       202      657       6.3       242 
Cook, IL.................         132.7       2,502.0       1.1       208    1,047       6.5       227 
Du Page, IL..............          34.1         581.6       1.4       189    1,006       9.2        70 
Kane, IL.................          11.9         203.2       1.8       157      740       7.7       145 
Lake, IL.................          19.9         319.1       0.8       234    1,065      10.9        27 
                                                                                                       
McHenry, IL..............           8.0          97.9       3.9        56      689       7.0       197 
McLean, IL...............           3.5          83.8       2.7       103      858      20.5         2 
Madison, IL..............           5.8          93.2      -0.1       291      673       6.0       259 
Peoria, IL...............           4.7         100.6       1.6       172      829       8.1       128 
Rock Island, IL..........           3.4          75.3       1.3       195      838      13.4        12 
St. Clair, IL............           5.3          93.1       0.5       262      636       7.4       164 
Sangamon, IL.............           5.2         129.3       0.1       284      776       2.8       318 
Will, IL.................          12.2         174.0       6.4         9      719       4.7       296 
Winnebago, IL............           6.8         134.4       0.0       290      704       7.6       155 
Allen, IN................           8.9         181.7       2.5       120      700       6.2       250 
                                                                                                       
Elkhart, IN..............           4.8         128.8       3.9        56      702      10.4        35 
Hamilton, IN.............           7.0          98.4       6.4         9      830       6.4       234 
Lake, IN.................          10.0         192.4       0.7       244      718       6.7       214 
Marion, IN...............          23.6         572.9       0.2       279      900      10.0        44 
St. Joseph, IN...........           6.0         123.3      -0.7       307      676       6.3       242 
Vanderburgh, IN..........           4.8         108.4       1.1       208      693       7.8       141 
Linn, IA.................           6.1         118.9       1.4       189      774       6.9       201 
Polk, IA.................          14.3         264.4       2.4       125      859       8.3       113 
Scott, IA................           5.2          87.2       1.1       208      660       9.1        73 
Johnson, KS..............          19.8         299.4       0.7       244      883       8.5       101 
                                                                                                       
Sedgwick, KS.............          12.1         246.8       3.4        68      796      12.7        14 
Shawnee, KS..............           4.8          92.1      -1.4       312      694      10.2        42 
Wyandotte, KS............           3.2          77.0       2.0       145      779       7.4       164 
Boone, KY................           3.3          73.7      -3.3       318      722       3.0       316 
Fayette, KY..............           9.0         169.3       0.9       229      725       6.3       242 
Jefferson, KY............          22.3         424.0       1.9       150      799       7.4       164 
Caddo, LA................           7.3         126.1       3.3        72      647       8.7        93 
Calcasieu, LA............           4.8          84.4       2.2       134      698       9.2        70 
East Baton Rouge, LA.....          13.6         260.3       6.2        12      709       7.9       136 
Jefferson, LA............          14.4         188.0     -11.7       320      752      19.0         3 
                                                                                                       
Lafayette, LA............           8.1         127.4       5.8        17      723      12.6        15 
Orleans, LA..............          12.1         148.1     -38.7       322      977      33.3         1 
Cumberland, ME...........          11.9         166.7       1.1       208      751       6.1       255 
Anne Arundel, MD.........          14.2         222.2       2.3       130      863       8.0       131 
Baltimore, MD............          21.5         374.5       2.3       130      851       6.5       227 
Frederick, MD............           5.8          91.9       2.1       139      788       9.0        79 
Harford, MD..............           5.5          81.5       3.2        77      775      10.7        29 
Howard, MD...............           8.4         141.9       3.1        87      948       9.1        73 
Montgomery, MD...........          32.6         462.3       2.4       125    1,133       8.8        88 
Prince Georges, MD.......          15.4         311.5       0.7       244      865       8.5       101 
                                                                                                       
Baltimore City, MD.......          14.0         348.0      -0.5       304      951       6.4       234 
Barnstable, MA...........           9.1          83.3       0.8       234      696       6.6       219 
Bristol, MA..............          15.3         217.5       0.7       244      704       6.0       259 
Essex, MA................          20.3         291.2       1.0       223      880       9.7        54 
Hampden, MA..............          14.0         196.5       0.5       262      766       5.4       284 
Middlesex, MA............          46.5         791.3       1.9       150    1,177       7.2       181 
Norfolk, MA..............          21.3         315.3       0.6       257    1,069      16.7         6 
Plymouth, MA.............          13.6         172.7       1.1       208      742       5.5       278 
Suffolk, MA..............          21.3         563.5       1.2       202    1,494       7.3       175 
Worcester, MA............          20.2         314.8       0.8       234      820       9.0        79 
                                                                                                       
Genesee, MI..............           8.3         145.6      -1.0       310      745       5.1       288 
Ingham, MI...............           7.0         160.8      -1.2       311      778       5.6       275 
Kalamazoo, MI............           5.5         116.2       0.3       274      733       1.9       320 
Kent, MI.................          14.5         338.8       1.0       223      728       5.7       269 
Macomb, MI...............          18.1         323.6      -0.6       305      856       3.4       312 
Oakland, MI..............          40.3         694.0      -2.0       315      977       5.4       284 
Ottawa, MI...............           5.8         109.4      -0.2       295      704       4.6       297 
Saginaw, MI..............           4.5          85.8      -2.9       317      719       5.4       284 
Washtenaw, MI............           8.2         195.0      -0.2       295      911       6.4       234 
Wayne, MI................          33.7         772.6      -1.6       314      923       3.1       315 
                                                                                                       
Anoka, MN................           8.3         113.5       2.0       145      755       4.9       292 
Dakota, MN...............          10.9         170.9       2.6       111      811       7.6       155 
Hennepin, MN.............          43.9         831.4       1.8       157    1,047       4.8       293 
Olmsted, MN..............           3.7          88.8       2.9        94      892       3.8       309 
Ramsey, MN...............          16.2         327.4       1.6       172      928       6.3       242 
St. Louis, MN............           6.1          93.6       2.1       139      653       5.7       269 
Stearns, MN..............           4.6          78.2       3.2        77      635      10.1        43 
Harrison, MS.............           4.4          73.5     -18.8       321      663      18.0         4 
Hinds, MS................           6.5         128.7       0.9       229      715       8.8        88 
Boone, MO................           4.4          81.9       3.4        68      615       7.1       189 
                                                                                                       
Clay, MO.................           5.1          88.0       2.7       103      728       5.1       288 
Greene, MO...............           8.1         152.4       3.3        72      613       6.4       234 
Jackson, MO..............          18.8         364.7       0.8       234      844       8.9        84 
St. Charles, MO..........           7.8         119.8       3.1        87      695       6.3       242 
St. Louis, MO............          33.9         616.3       0.7       244      900       9.9        47 
St. Louis City, MO.......           8.0         219.5       0.1       284      981       7.4       164 
Douglas, NE..............          15.4         308.1       1.0       223      778       9.9        47 
Lancaster, NE............           7.9         151.8       0.5       262      644       5.7       269 
Clark, NV................          44.2         905.4       7.2         4      769       6.8       207 
Washoe, NV...............          13.7         214.8       4.0        53      734       4.0       307 
                                                                                                       
Hillsborough, NH.........          12.4         195.0       1.3       195      886       7.3       175 
Rockingham, NH...........          10.9         134.0       1.7       169      816       6.7       214 
Atlantic, NJ.............           6.8         143.8       0.6       257      731       8.3       113 
Bergen, NJ...............          34.6         443.4       0.4       269    1,061       7.9       136 
Burlington, NJ...........          11.5         202.6       1.9       150      853       7.2       181 
Camden, NJ...............          13.6         209.5       1.5       185      824       8.0       131 
Essex, NJ................          21.6         360.5       1.4       189    1,121       6.7       214 
Gloucester, NJ...........           6.4         104.0       3.9        56      742       9.1        73 
Hudson, NJ...............          14.1         235.5       0.1       284    1,316       6.2       250 
Mercer, NJ...............          11.1         227.3       2.6       111    1,068       7.4       164 
                                                                                                       
Middlesex, NJ............          21.2         395.0       0.9       229    1,083       5.6       275 
Monmouth, NJ.............          20.6         253.2       1.6       172      885       5.5       278 
Morris, NJ...............          18.1         284.3       1.0       223    1,286       8.3       113 
Ocean, NJ................          11.9         144.7       1.9       150      701       8.7        93 
Passaic, NJ..............          12.7         179.1       2.2       134      864       7.5       160 
Somerset, NJ.............          10.2         172.4       3.5        64    1,522      11.6        20 
Union, NJ................          15.0         228.3       0.3       274    1,106       9.6        56 
Bernalillo, NM...........          16.9         328.0       4.4        40      705       7.3       175 
Albany, NY...............           9.7         226.0      -0.1       291      820       5.5       278 
Bronx, NY................          15.7         221.9       1.2       202      745       5.8       265 
                                                                                                       
Broome, NY...............           4.5          94.3       1.1       208      641       6.3       242 
Dutchess, NY.............           8.2         116.9       0.1       284      835       4.4       301 
Erie, NY.................          23.3         449.5      -0.1       291      715       6.4       234 
Kings, NY................          43.3         458.5       1.6       172      705       7.3       175 
Monroe, NY...............          17.7         378.3      -0.1       291      806       8.2       123 
Nassau, NY...............          51.8         590.4       0.5       262      909       5.7       269 
New York, NY.............         115.3       2,271.0       1.8       157    2,223       9.6        56 
Oneida, NY...............           5.3         107.7       0.4       269      614       5.0       291 
Onondaga, NY.............          12.7         245.5       0.7       244      753       7.7       145 
Orange, NY...............           9.7         128.3       1.8       157      689       6.8       207 
                                                                                                       
Queens, NY...............          41.1         477.6       1.1       208      801       6.0       259 
Richmond, NY.............           8.3          88.7       0.6       257      703       6.2       250 
Rockland, NY.............           9.5         111.4       0.6       257      877       8.8        88 
Suffolk, NY..............          49.0         599.8       0.6       257      848       7.8       141 
Westchester, NY..........          36.1         407.6       0.5       262    1,193       8.0       131 
Buncombe, NC.............           7.2         109.9       1.3       195      614       7.2       181 
Catawba, NC..............           4.4          87.3       1.2       202      642      11.5        21 
Cumberland, NC...........           5.8         116.4       0.8       234      595       6.8       207 
Durham, NC...............           6.4         173.0       2.4       125    1,137      10.3        37 
Forsyth, NC..............           8.6         181.3       2.0       145      761       4.5       298 
                                                                                                       
Guilford, NC.............          13.9         273.8       1.3       195      726       6.5       227 
Mecklenburg, NC..........          28.3         530.6       3.2        77    1,167       8.4       105 
New Hanover, NC..........           6.8          97.8       4.5        37      663       9.0        79 
Wake, NC.................          24.7         416.8       4.8        33      829       8.5       101 
Cass, ND.................           5.8          92.1       4.1        48      649       6.6       219 
Butler, OH...............           7.3         141.5       1.7       169      725       5.8       265 
Cuyahoga, OH.............          38.3         745.0       0.1       284      865       6.5       227 
Franklin, OH.............          29.4         675.5       1.4       189      837       7.9       136 
Hamilton, OH.............          24.2         523.4       0.7       244      909       6.7       214 
Lake, OH.................           6.9          98.9      -0.2       295      690       3.4       312 
                                                                                                       
Lorain, OH...............           6.3         100.1       0.2       279      690       5.5       278 
Lucas, OH................          11.0         224.2       1.1       208      749       6.1       255 
Mahoning, OH.............           6.4         102.4       1.5       185      595       8.0       131 
Montgomery, OH...........          13.1         275.0      -0.2       295      758       4.4       301 
Stark, OH................           9.2         160.2      -0.7       307      644       8.8        88 
Summit, OH...............          15.0         268.6       1.1       208      756       6.5       227 
Trumbull, OH.............           4.9          84.3      -1.4       312      701      -0.4       322 
Oklahoma, OK.............          22.7         420.0       2.6       111      755      15.3         8 
Tulsa, OK................          18.9         339.5       4.4        40      774      13.0        13 
Clackamas, OR............          12.3         145.3       2.8       100      741       6.0       259 
                                                                                                       
Jackson, OR..............           6.6          81.6       0.8       234      597       6.2       250 
Lane, OR.................          10.7         146.9       2.6       111      622       6.3       242 
Marion, OR...............           9.0         133.6       1.7       169      629       6.1       255 
Multnomah, OR............          26.5         432.1       2.6       111      839       7.7       145 
Washington, OR...........          15.5         242.9       4.9        30      965       8.3       113 
Allegheny, PA............          35.0         674.7       0.9       229      871       7.1       189 
Berks, PA................           9.1         165.7       2.3       130      725       8.5       101 
Bucks, PA................          19.7         259.9       2.2       134      793       9.2        70 
Butler, PA...............           4.7          75.1       0.9       229      671       7.2       181 
Chester, PA..............          15.0         231.1       1.8       157    1,083       9.9        47 
                                                                                                       
Cumberland, PA...........           5.8         124.7       1.1       208      757      -3.7       323 
Dauphin, PA..............           7.1         178.7       2.4       125      789       3.4       312 
Delaware, PA.............          13.6         206.4       0.4       269      895      11.9        18 
Erie, PA.................           7.2         126.1       0.5       262      632       8.4       105 
Lackawanna, PA...........           5.7         100.3       1.9       150      615       7.0       197 
Lancaster, PA............          11.9         224.2       0.4       269      691       8.3       113 
Lehigh, PA...............           8.3         174.1       3.0        91      815       7.1       189 
Luzerne, PA..............           7.9         141.6       0.8       234      639       8.3       113 
Montgomery, PA...........          27.9         482.2       1.5       185    1,118      10.6        31 
Northampton, PA..........           6.3          96.8       2.0       145      714       6.4       234 
                                                                                                       
Philadelphia, PA.........          29.2         632.0       0.4       269      979       9.3        65 
Washington, PA...........           5.4          76.7       2.5       120      695       9.3        65 
Westmoreland, PA.........           9.5         135.9       0.2       279      639       9.0        79 
York, PA.................           8.8         173.5       2.1       139      709       6.0       259 
Kent, RI.................           5.7          80.5       0.7       244      734       7.5       160 
Providence, RI...........          18.2         282.0       0.1       284      802       4.8       293 
Charleston, SC...........          12.8         197.3       1.8       157      681       8.6        97 
Greenville, SC...........          12.8         228.1       2.3       130      695       5.6       275 
Horry, SC................           8.7         109.4       5.3        22      524       9.6        56 
Lexington, SC............           6.0          89.9       2.2       134      614       8.3       113 
                                                                                                       
Richland, SC.............           9.9         211.1       3.4        68      700       8.9        84 
Spartanburg, SC..........           6.5         115.5       0.2       279      742       8.6        97 
Minnehaha, SD............           6.1         110.7       2.6       111      683       7.6       155 
Davidson, TN.............          18.0         442.1       3.1        87      812       5.7       269 
Hamilton, TN.............           8.5         190.4       (7)         -      699       (7)         - 
Knox, TN.................          10.6         219.3       2.4       125      682       6.7       214 
Rutherford, TN...........           4.0          97.8       4.4        40      710       7.9       136 
Shelby, TN...............          20.0         502.4       1.5       185      813       7.3       175 
Bell, TX.................           4.3          94.7       1.2       202      610       9.1        73 
Bexar, TX................          30.7         693.2       3.9        56      738       7.4       164 
                                                                                                       
Brazoria, TX.............           4.4          83.7       7.5         3      822       9.9        47 
Brazos, TX...............           3.7          84.0       6.0        15      564       4.1       306 
Cameron, TX..............           6.3         120.5       4.0        53      477       4.4       301 
Collin, TX...............          14.9         258.4       7.8         1      990       7.5       160 
Dallas, TX...............          66.5       1,439.9       3.2        77    1,033       8.4       105 
Denton, TX...............           9.5         155.4       (7)         -      679       6.3       242 
El Paso, TX..............          13.0         262.6       3.2        77      568       7.4       164 
Fort Bend, TX............           7.4         113.1       4.5        37      883       7.8       141 
Galveston, TX............           5.0          91.3       3.7        61      755      12.0        17 
Harris, TX...............          91.8       1,924.0       4.5        37    1,033       8.7        93 
                                                                                                       
Hidalgo, TX..............           9.9         207.2       4.6        36      490       5.8       265 
Jefferson, TX............           5.8         123.0       4.9        30      761       6.4       234 
Lubbock, TX..............           6.5         119.9       1.2       202      609      10.3        37 
McLennan, TX.............           4.8         101.4      -0.2       295      637       5.5       278 
Montgomery, TX...........           7.2         107.7       6.1        14      785      17.0         5 
Nueces, TX...............           8.0         150.2       2.7       103      685      11.7        19 
Smith, TX................           5.1          90.9       1.3       195      669       6.5       227 
Tarrant, TX..............          35.1         730.5       2.9        94      839       8.4       105 
Travis, TX...............          26.0         541.2       4.1        48      934       7.7       145 
Webb, TX.................           4.5          83.7       5.4        19      527       7.8       141 
                                                                                                       
Williamson, TX...........           6.1         104.9       4.7        34      838       4.5       298 
Davis, UT................           7.0          97.7       5.2        25      635       6.9       201 
Salt Lake, UT............          37.7         553.3       4.4        40      744       9.4        64 
Utah, UT.................          12.3         161.3       5.6        18      589       6.9       201 
Weber, UT................           5.7          89.7       2.0       145      579       7.6       155 
Chittenden, VT...........           5.7          93.1      -0.6       305      847      11.0        25 
Arlington, VA............           7.3         157.0       1.6       172    1,402       8.2       123 
Chesterfield, VA.........           7.0         117.0       3.2        77      738       7.0       197 
Fairfax, VA..............          31.6         568.4       2.5       120    1,314      11.3        24 
Henrico, VA..............           8.7         172.9       1.0       223      919       2.9       317 
                                                                                                       
Loudoun, VA..............           7.4         123.9       4.1        48    1,114      11.4        22 
Prince William, VA.......           6.5         102.7       5.4        19      717       9.6        56 
Alexandria City, VA......           5.9          93.0       1.0       223    1,054       8.9        84 
Chesapeake City, VA......           5.3          99.0       (7)         -      631       8.2       123 
Newport News City, VA....           3.9          98.4       0.8       234      711       6.8       207 
Norfolk City, VA.........           5.6         141.1      -2.0       315      768       6.1       255 
Richmond City, VA........           7.0         161.4       2.7       103      987       8.7        93 
Virginia Beach City, VA..          11.2         175.8       1.1       208      630       8.4       105 
Clark, WA................          10.8         127.6       3.7        61      722       6.6       219 
King, WA.................          74.1       1,126.8       3.2        77    1,041      10.3        37 
                                                                                                       
Kitsap, WA...............           6.3          83.5       2.9        94      698       6.2       250 
Pierce, WA...............          19.3         262.0       3.5        64      737       7.4       164 
Snohomish, WA............          16.4         228.7       5.3        22      839      10.0        44 
Spokane, WA..............          14.3         201.4       3.4        68      651       6.4       234 
Thurston, WA.............           6.3          95.2       2.7       103      715       5.8       265 
Whatcom, WA..............           6.5          78.6       2.1       139      625       7.9       136 
Yakima, WA...............           7.4          92.0       1.9       150      550       7.0       197 
Kanawha, WV..............           6.1         107.3       0.8       234      706       7.1       189 
Brown, WI................           6.8         145.5       0.7       244      744       8.3       113 
Dane, WI.................          14.1         294.5       0.7       244      812      10.3        37 
                                                                                                       
Milwaukee, WI............          21.8         486.6      -0.3       301      843       8.4       105 
Outagamie, WI............           5.0         100.0      -0.4       302      705       5.5       278 
Racine, WI...............           4.3          74.3      -0.8       309      722       6.8       207 
Waukesha, WI.............          13.5         229.1       0.7       244      823       7.7       145 
Winnebago, WI............           3.9          86.8       1.1       208      777       3.5       311 
San Juan, PR.............          14.7         306.0      -2.4       (8)      531       3.1       (8) 

  1 Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees (UCFE) programs.  These 325 U.S. counties comprise 70.9 percent of the total covered workers
in the U.S.
  2 Data are preliminary.
  3 Includes areas not officially designated as counties.  See Technical Note.
  4 Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic
county reclassifications.  See Technical Note.
  5 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
  6 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
  7 Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.
  8 This county was not included in the U.S. rankings.





Table 2. Covered (1) establishments, employment, and wages in the ten largest counties,
first quarter 2006 (2)
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
                                                                    Employment         Average weekly  
                                                                                           wage (4)    
                                              Establishments,                                          
                                               first quarter                                           
         County by NAICS supersector                2006                    Percent            Percent 
                                                (thousands)      March      change,  Average   change, 
                                                                  2006       March    weekly    first  
                                                              (thousands) 2005-06 (3)  wage    quarter 
                                                                                             2005-06 (3)
                                                                                                       
United States (5)............................       8,770.7     132,613.1       2.2     $838       8.1 
  Private industry...........................       8,492.7     111,080.5       2.5      843       8.5 
    Natural resources and mining.............         123.5       1,634.5       2.7      882      13.2 
    Construction.............................         867.6       7,296.6       7.3      823       9.9 
    Manufacturing............................         365.3      14,104.7      -0.4    1,022       8.7 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....       1,890.9      25,624.0       1.8      708       7.8 
    Information..............................         144.0       3,041.5      -0.1    1,374      10.4 
    Financial activities.....................         840.5       8,101.5       2.3    1,629       9.9 
    Professional and business services.......       1,413.1      17,153.3       4.2    1,020       8.7 
    Education and health services............         790.1      16,830.1       2.8      714       7.5 
    Leisure and hospitality..................         703.7      12,626.1       2.4      338       8.0 
    Other services...........................       1,127.3       4,320.5       0.8      508       7.2 
  Government.................................         277.9      21,532.5       0.8      808       5.3 
                                                                                                       
Los Angeles, CA..............................         392.0       4,179.3       2.6      944       9.3 
  Private industry...........................         388.2       3,591.9       3.0      927       9.4 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5          10.8      -4.8    1,067      -6.7 
    Construction.............................          14.0         154.1       8.0      883       8.5 
    Manufacturing............................          16.1         469.5      -0.8    1,002      11.6 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          55.3         803.3       2.4      768       8.3 
    Information..............................           9.0         214.5       4.9    1,649       4.7 
    Financial activities.....................          24.7         248.0       2.5    1,680       8.5 
    Professional and business services.......          42.6         593.1       4.3    1,103      13.2 
    Education and health services............          28.1         471.1       2.7      804      10.9 
    Leisure and hospitality..................          27.1         383.9       3.3      503      11.3 
    Other services...........................         170.4         242.9       6.4      403       2.8 
  Government.................................           3.8         587.4       0.3    1,046       8.5 
                                                                                                       
Cook, IL.....................................         132.7       2,502.0       1.1    1,047       6.5 
  Private industry...........................         131.5       2,186.2       1.4    1,061       7.1 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.1           1.3       8.0    1,032       6.6 
    Construction.............................          11.4          89.2       4.8    1,182       5.0 
    Manufacturing............................           7.3         245.7      -3.3      987       3.0 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          27.2         471.5       0.3      803       8.1 
    Information..............................           2.5          59.4      -2.5    1,628       9.2 
    Financial activities.....................          14.9         216.8       0.7    2,411      12.2 
    Professional and business services.......          27.3         423.4       3.8    1,286       3.9 
    Education and health services............          13.1         361.0       2.2      765       7.1 
    Leisure and hospitality..................          11.1         219.2       3.1      388       9.0 
    Other services...........................          13.2          93.7      -0.3      668       6.4 
  Government.................................           1.2         315.8      -0.6      953       2.6 
                                                                                                       
New York, NY.................................         115.3       2,271.0       1.8    2,223       9.6 
  Private industry...........................         115.0       1,824.7       2.2    2,524       9.5 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.0           0.1       1.0    2,606      53.7 
    Construction.............................           2.1          29.7       3.7    1,387       4.7 
    Manufacturing............................           3.1          39.2      -8.5    1,349      11.9 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          21.4         237.9       2.1    1,139       6.5 
    Information..............................           4.2         129.6       0.4    2,445       9.2 
    Financial activities.....................          17.5         361.5       2.5    6,879      11.3 
    Professional and business services.......          23.1         454.2       2.7    2,067       6.9 
    Education and health services............           8.1         281.5       1.5      929       5.8 
    Leisure and hospitality..................          10.5         195.2       1.9      734       9.7 
    Other services...........................          16.7          84.0       0.8      912       7.2 
  Government.................................           0.2         446.2       0.3      998       8.6 
                                                                                                       
Harris, TX...................................          91.8       1,924.0       4.5    1,033       8.7 
  Private industry...........................          91.4       1,673.1       4.9    1,067       9.1 
    Natural resources and mining.............           1.4          70.8       9.3    3,120       3.4 
    Construction.............................           6.3         141.5       7.6      948      13.4 
    Manufacturing............................           4.6         171.9       4.8    1,398      10.3 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          21.3         402.7       4.2      953       9.8 
    Information..............................           1.3          31.5      -1.3    1,311      12.1 
    Financial activities.....................          10.0         116.6       2.1    1,464      10.4 
    Professional and business services.......          17.9         313.1       6.9    1,106       8.2 
    Education and health services............           9.5         199.1       3.2      767       6.5 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.0         166.6       4.0      367       8.9 
    Other services...........................          10.7          56.0       2.2      566       9.3 
  Government.................................           0.4         250.9       1.8      809       5.3 
                                                                                                       
Maricopa, AZ.................................          89.1       1,791.4       6.0      822      10.5 
  Private industry...........................          88.5       1,579.3       6.7      822      10.3 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5           8.9      -0.8      741      17.1 
    Construction.............................           9.0         175.7      13.8      856      18.4 
    Manufacturing............................           3.4         136.2       4.1    1,184       6.3 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          19.0         361.1       5.0      777       8.7 
    Information..............................           1.5          32.1      -2.0    1,078      11.7 
    Financial activities.....................          10.8         148.2       5.8    1,213      12.6 
    Professional and business services.......          18.9         301.0       6.3      787       9.6 
    Education and health services............           8.5         183.5       7.3      810       9.9 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           6.2         176.4       5.1      381      10.8 
    Other services...........................           6.2          46.8       1.7      552      12.2 
  Government.................................           0.6         212.1       1.2      820      11.4 
                                                                                                       
Orange, CA...................................          95.5       1,512.1       2.5      967       8.2 
  Private industry...........................          94.1       1,361.3       2.8      955       8.3 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.2           7.0      -4.7      538      -0.6 
    Construction.............................           7.0         106.2      10.9    1,008      10.2 
    Manufacturing............................           5.7         183.4       0.5    1,143      11.4 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          17.9         270.8       2.0      884       8.3 
    Information..............................           1.4          32.0      -0.9    1,414      11.9 
    Financial activities.....................          11.3         140.9       1.3    1,599       3.4 
    Professional and business services.......          19.0         271.4       4.2      997      10.5 
    Education and health services............           9.8         135.4       2.9      818       6.6 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.0         166.3       2.9      369       7.3 
    Other services...........................          14.7          47.8       0.3      540       6.3 
  Government.................................           1.4         150.7      -0.9    1,075       7.6 
                                                                                                       
Dallas, TX...................................          66.5       1,439.9       3.2    1,033       8.4 
  Private industry...........................          66.0       1,279.9       3.5    1,057       8.9 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5           7.3       7.1    3,020      16.5 
    Construction.............................           4.3          78.6       6.0      884       5.0 
    Manufacturing............................           3.2         147.1       3.4    1,261       7.1 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          14.9         300.4       2.2      944       9.4 
    Information..............................           1.7          52.6      -2.5    1,526      12.4 
    Financial activities.....................           8.4         138.7       3.8    1,644      10.2 
    Professional and business services.......          14.0         255.4       7.1    1,109       7.3 
    Education and health services............           6.3         135.2       3.9      841       5.3 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           5.1         122.4       0.1      489      15.3 
    Other services...........................           6.5          39.8      -1.3      613       8.1 
  Government.................................           0.4         160.0       0.8      843       4.1 
                                                                                                       
San Diego, CA................................          92.2       1,313.3       1.6      904      10.8 
  Private industry...........................          90.8       1,092.2       1.9      901      11.8 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.8          11.4      -2.5      511      12.8 
    Construction.............................           7.3          92.9       4.9      937      15.3 
    Manufacturing............................           3.4         104.1      -1.5    1,207      10.9 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          14.6         217.0       2.0      729       7.8 
    Information..............................           1.3          36.7      -2.1    2,349      39.9 
    Financial activities.....................           9.9          86.0       4.0    1,294       5.9 
    Professional and business services.......          16.2         215.4       1.8    1,056      10.8 
    Education and health services............           8.0         123.9       1.3      779      10.3 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           6.8         150.0       3.6      392      10.1 
    Other services...........................          22.4          54.7       0.7      464       7.7 
  Government.................................           1.4         221.2       0.2      917       6.1 
                                                                                                       
King, WA.....................................          74.1       1,126.8       3.2    1,041      10.3 
  Private industry...........................          73.6         974.4       3.8    1,056      10.8 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.4           3.3       1.7    1,325       1.6 
    Construction.............................           6.4          62.8      12.8      961       8.3 
    Manufacturing............................           2.5         109.6       4.6    1,413      16.9 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          14.7         215.3       1.8      916       9.8 
    Information..............................           1.7          69.7       1.2    1,817       9.2 
    Financial activities.....................           6.7          75.7       2.3    1,534      11.8 
    Professional and business services.......          12.3         174.5       7.3    1,200       9.9 
    Education and health services............           6.2         116.0       2.5      781      10.8 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           5.7         103.1       2.6      447       4.9 
    Other services...........................          16.9          44.5      -0.6      527       8.0 
  Government.................................           0.5         152.4      -0.4      942       5.5 
                                                                                                       
Miami-Dade, FL...............................          85.9       1,014.5       2.2      826      11.0 
  Private industry...........................          85.6         861.6       2.6      801      10.9 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5          11.1       4.0      445      20.3 
    Construction.............................           5.7          49.6      13.4      851      13.0 
    Manufacturing............................           2.7          48.3      -1.1      756       9.7 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          23.8         247.4       2.3      744       9.6 
    Information..............................           1.7          22.3      -3.1    1,269      11.5 
    Financial activities.....................          10.0          71.1       3.9    1,334      11.4 
    Professional and business services.......          17.1         140.0      -2.0      932      13.0 
    Education and health services............           8.6         131.5       4.9      749       6.7 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           5.8         102.1       1.9      505       (6) 
    Other services...........................           7.7          34.5       2.3      481       8.6 
  Government.................................           0.3         152.9      -0.4      965      12.2 

  1 Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees (UCFE) programs.
  2 Data are preliminary.
  3 Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic
county reclassifications.  See Technical Note.
  4 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
  5 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
  6 Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.





Table 3. Covered (1) establishments, employment, and wages in the largest county by
state, first quarter 2006 (2)
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
                                                Employment         Average weekly  
                                                                       wage (5)    
                          Establishments,                                          
                           first quarter                                           
        County (3)              2006                    Percent            Percent 
                            (thousands)      March      change,  Average   change, 
                                              2006       March    weekly    first  
                                          (thousands)  2005-06 (4) wage    quarter 
                                                                         2005-06 (4)
                                                                                    
United States (6)........       8,770.7     132,613.1       2.2     $838       8.1 
                                                                                   
Jefferson, AL............          18.6         371.4       1.1      845       7.2 
Anchorage Borough, AK....           8.0         142.1       1.8      836       5.4 
Maricopa, AZ.............          89.1       1,791.4       6.0      822      10.5 
Pulaski, AR..............          14.0         247.3       2.5      728       6.6 
Los Angeles, CA..........         392.0       4,179.3       2.6      944       9.3 
Denver, CO...............          25.0         424.7       1.6    1,065       8.8 
Hartford, CT.............          24.8         487.3       1.6    1,112       6.6 
New Castle, DE...........          19.6         280.2       0.7    1,113      10.3 
Washington, DC...........          31.4         664.9       0.3    1,371       7.3 
Miami-Dade, FL...........          85.9       1,014.5       2.2      826      11.0 
                                                                                   
Fulton, GA...............          38.2         748.3       1.9    1,164       7.7 
Honolulu, HI.............          24.0         448.2       2.6      742       7.1 
Ada, ID..................          14.3         204.6       6.2      730       9.3 
Cook, IL.................         132.7       2,502.0       1.1    1,047       6.5 
Marion, IN...............          23.6         572.9       0.2      900      10.0 
Polk, IA.................          14.3         264.4       2.4      859       8.3 
Johnson, KS..............          19.8         299.4       0.7      883       8.5 
Jefferson, KY............          22.3         424.0       1.9      799       7.4 
East Baton Rouge, LA.....          13.6         260.3       6.2      709       7.9 
Cumberland, ME...........          11.9         166.7       1.1      751       6.1 
                                                                                   
Montgomery, MD...........          32.6         462.3       2.4    1,133       8.8 
Middlesex, MA............          46.5         791.3       1.9    1,177       7.2 
Wayne, MI................          33.7         772.6      -1.6      923       3.1 
Hennepin, MN.............          43.9         831.4       1.8    1,047       4.8 
Hinds, MS................           6.5         128.7       0.9      715       8.8 
St. Louis, MO............          33.9         616.3       0.7      900       9.9 
Yellowstone, MT..........           5.4          72.9       2.3      635       6.7 
Douglas, NE..............          15.4         308.1       1.0      778       9.9 
Clark, NV................          44.2         905.4       7.2      769       6.8 
Hillsborough, NH.........          12.4         195.0       1.3      886       7.3 
                                                                                   
Bergen, NJ...............          34.6         443.4       0.4    1,061       7.9 
Bernalillo, NM...........          16.9         328.0       4.4      705       7.3 
New York, NY.............         115.3       2,271.0       1.8    2,223       9.6 
Mecklenburg, NC..........          28.3         530.6       3.2    1,167       8.4 
Cass, ND.................           5.8          92.1       4.1      649       6.6 
Cuyahoga, OH.............          38.3         745.0       0.1      865       6.5 
Oklahoma, OK.............          22.7         420.0       2.6      755      15.3 
Multnomah, OR............          26.5         432.1       2.6      839       7.7 
Allegheny, PA............          35.0         674.7       0.9      871       7.1 
Providence, RI...........          18.2         282.0       0.1      802       4.8 
                                                                                   
Greenville, SC...........          12.8         228.1       2.3      695       5.6 
Minnehaha, SD............           6.1         110.7       2.6      683       7.6 
Shelby, TN...............          20.0         502.4       1.5      813       7.3 
Harris, TX...............          91.8       1,924.0       4.5    1,033       8.7 
Salt Lake, UT............          37.7         553.3       4.4      744       9.4 
Chittenden, VT...........           5.7          93.1      -0.6      847      11.0 
Fairfax, VA..............          31.6         568.4       2.5    1,314      11.3 
King, WA.................          74.1       1,126.8       3.2    1,041      10.3 
Kanawha, WV..............           6.1         107.3       0.8      706       7.1 
Milwaukee, WI............          21.8         486.6      -0.3      843       8.4 
                                                                                   
Laramie, WY..............           3.1          40.9       3.6      633       5.3 
                                                                                   
San Juan, PR.............          14.7         306.0      -2.4      531       3.1 
St. Thomas, VI...........           1.8          23.3       0.6      616       5.5 

  1 Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
  2 Data are preliminary.
  3 Includes areas not officially designated as counties.  See Technical Note.
  4 Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted
for noneconomic county reclassifications.  See Technical Note.
  5 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
  6 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the 
Virgin Islands.





Table 4. Covered (1) establishments, employment, and wages by state, 
first quarter 2006 (2)
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
                                                Employment        Average weekly 
                                                                     wage (3)    
                          Establishments,                                        
                           first quarter                                         
          State                 2006                     Percent           Percent
                            (thousands)      March       change,  Average  change,
                                              2006        March    weekly   first 
                                          (thousands)    2005-06    wage   quarter
                                                                           2005-06
                                                                                 
United States (4)........       8,770.7     132,613.1       2.2     $838      8.1
                                                                                 
Alabama..................         116.1       1,923.6       2.6      690      7.6
Alaska...................          20.6         296.3       2.0      791      6.5
Arizona..................         145.1       2,613.3       6.0      767     10.2
Arkansas.................          80.5       1,171.6       2.5      621      7.1
California...............       1,279.8      15,422.5       2.7      952      9.2
Colorado.................         172.2       2,211.3       2.5      858      9.2
Connecticut..............         111.2       1,640.1       1.1    1,191     10.0
Delaware.................          30.1         415.0       1.7      965      9.8
District of Columbia.....          31.4         664.9       0.3    1,371      7.3
Florida..................         587.0       8,014.1       3.7      735      8.2
                                                                                 
Georgia..................         260.2       3,989.2       2.8      799      7.7
Hawaii...................          37.1         615.1       2.7      719      7.5
Idaho....................          53.4         623.3       5.0      609      8.6
Illinois.................         344.4       5,733.7       1.6      913      7.7
Indiana..................         155.2       2,870.4       1.1      717      7.5
Iowa.....................          92.2       1,445.7       1.8      662      7.5
Kansas...................          84.7       1,317.1       1.7      686      8.7
Kentucky.................         108.8       1,769.9       1.8      671      6.8
Louisiana................         121.6       1,793.1      -4.1      697     12.6
Maine....................          48.9         577.5       0.9      652      6.2
                                                                                 
Maryland.................         161.6       2,511.2       2.1      897      7.9
Massachusetts............         205.8       3,136.3       1.3    1,045      8.4
Michigan.................         257.3       4,207.8      -0.6      816      4.7
Minnesota................         173.0       2,633.0       2.7      827      5.8
Mississippi..............          68.6       1,112.1       0.0      597      9.3
Missouri.................         172.2       2,680.5       1.6      724      7.7
Montana..................          40.6         416.8       3.3      572      7.3
Nebraska.................          57.6         888.4       1.0      648      8.0
Nevada...................          70.0       1,260.0       6.2      764      6.7
New Hampshire............          48.0         617.1       1.7      800      7.5
                                                                                 
New Jersey...............         278.6       3,933.9       1.8    1,037      7.6
New Mexico...............          51.8         795.5       4.0      647      8.6
New York.................         566.9       8,329.2       1.0    1,193      8.8
North Carolina...........         238.4       3,905.5       2.4      744      7.8
North Dakota.............          25.2         328.8       2.8      586      6.9
Ohio.....................         293.3       5,267.2       0.8      751      6.5
Oklahoma.................          95.9       1,505.6       3.5      660     11.9
Oregon...................         126.8       1,669.7       2.9      734      7.3
Pennsylvania.............         334.3       5,551.7       1.6      807      8.0
Rhode Island.............          35.9         468.2       0.4      777      5.6
                                                                                 
South Carolina...........         122.5       1,834.1       1.9      661      8.2
South Dakota.............          29.4         373.2       2.2      581      6.6
Tennessee................         135.1       2,717.7       2.3      705      6.8
Texas....................         530.4       9,850.2       4.0      824      8.6
Utah.....................          84.4       1,147.2       5.0      660      8.9
Vermont..................          24.5         300.5       0.9      688      7.7
Virginia.................         218.2       3,613.3       2.5      862      8.6
Washington...............         208.1       2,784.0       3.1      833      8.7
West Virginia............          48.2         697.7       2.0      625      7.2
Wisconsin................         164.1       2,712.2       0.8      716      7.5
                                                                                 
Wyoming..................          23.5         256.8       5.0      667      9.3
                                                                                 
Puerto Rico..............          59.6       1,048.1       0.2      450      3.9
Virgin Islands...........           3.4          45.6       2.8      664      2.3

  1 Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
  2 Data are preliminary.
  3 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
  4 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the
Virgin Islands.