County Employment and Wages in Illinois — Fourth Quarter 2020

News Release Information

21-924-CHI
Friday, July 09, 2021

Employment fell in the 13 largest counties in Illinois from December 2019 to December 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2019.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that Cook County (-10.1 percent), Kane County (-9.1 percent), and Winnebago County (-9.0 percent) had the largest over-the-year decreases in employment. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

View Chart Data

National employment decreased 6.1 percent over the year, with 352 of the 357 largest U.S. counties reporting declines. Maui + Kalawao, HI, had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 22.8 percent. Utah, UT, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment with a gain of 3.8 percent.

Among the 13 largest counties in Illinois, employment was highest in Cook County (2,377,000) in December 2020. Within Cook County's private industry, health care and social assistance accounted for the largest employment. Together, the 13 largest Illinois counties accounted for 80.4 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 357 largest counties made up 73.1 percent of total U.S. employment.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 89 counties in Illinois with employment below 75,000. Wage levels in 88 of the 89 smaller counties were below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2020. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

All 13 large Illinois counties reported average weekly wage gains from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020. (See chart 2.) Five counties had rates of wage gains that were above the national rate of 13.0 percent, with the largest gain in McLean County (+18.4 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among Illinois' eight other large counties ranged from 12.9 percent to 7.5 percent.

View Chart Data

Among the 357 largest counties in the United States, 356 had over-the-year wage increases. Nationally, across most industries, increases in average weekly wages reflect substantial employment declines combined with wage increases. The lowest paying industry, leisure and hospitality, had the largest employment loss, which results in higher average weekly wages for the industry and the nation. San Francisco, CA, had the largest percentage wage increase (+44.3 percent). Ector, TX, had the only over-the-year percentage decrease (-7.5 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 3 of the 13 largest counties in Illinois were above the national average of $1,339 in the fourth quarter of 2020. Weekly wages in these three counties ranked among the top 75 nationwide: Lake ($1,637, 25^th), Cook ($1,571, 39^th), and DuPage ($1,456, 56^th).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 89 reported average weekly wages above the U.S. average in the fourth quarter of 2020. Santa Clara, CA, had the highest average weekly wage at $3,690. Average weekly wages were below the national average in the remaining 268 counties. At $760 a week, Cameron, TX, had the lowest average weekly wage.

Average weekly wages in Illinois' smaller counties

Among the 89 smaller counties in Illinois-those with employment below 75,000-Rock Island ($1,561) reported an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,339. Pope County ($609) reported the lowest average weekly wage in the state.

When all 102 counties in Illinois were considered, 14 reported average weekly wages of less than $800, 35 registered wages from $800 to $899, 25 had wages from $900 to $999, and 28 had average weekly wages of $1,000 or higher. (See chart 3.)

Additional statistics and other information

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

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2019 edition of this publication was published in September 2020. Tables and additional content from the 2019 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2019/home.htm. The 2020 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2021.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 18, 2021. The County Employment and Wages full data update for first quarter 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.

QCEW Imputation Issue Caused by Pandemic-Related Challenges

In the spring of 2020, BLS modified its imputation process for QCEW to be more responsive to current economic conditions. While continuing work to improve this process, BLS made an unintended data processing error. This error affected data for the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2020. BLS has analyzed this issue and has determined that the impact on QCEW employment was negligible at the statewide level. In smaller areas and industries, revisions may be larger than usual. Wage data were not affected. Following the usual QCEW practice, these data will be revised and corrected with the full data update on September 1, 2021.

For more information on QCEW imputation methodology, see www.bls.gov/cew/additional-resources/imputation-methodology.htm.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/cew. However, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match the data contained on the Bureau's web site.

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

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

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: [phone]; Federal Relay Service: [phone].

Area	Establishments, fourth quarter 2020 (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage
		December 2020 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2019-20	National ranking by percent change	Fourth quarter 2020	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2019-20	National ranking by percent change
United States	10,675.8	140,881.3	-6.1	--	$1,339	--	13.0	--
Illinois	386.3	5,573.8	-7.8	--	1,378	10	13.0	18
Champaign	4.2	88.4	-5.0	127	1,086	262	10.7	261
Cook	140.7	2,377.0	-10.1	330	1,571	39	14.6	66
DuPage	34.8	572.7	-7.8	256	1,456	56	11.9	199
Kane	12.7	194.0	-9.1	305	1,166	197	13.3	127
Lake	20.4	317.0	-7.3	241	1,637	25	12.7	161
Madison	5.4	101.0	-3.9	78	990	327	9.8	299
McHenry	7.9	90.4	-7.1	230	1,024	314	10.9	255
McLean	3.3	77.5	-6.0	174	1,175	192	18.4	11
Peoria	4.2	97.3	-6.8	218	1,333	91	14.5	69
Sangamon	4.8	121.6	-5.9	170	1,204	169	7.5	333
St. Clair	5.0	86.3	-7.6	247	1,032	307	14.8	59
Will	15.4	241.8	-5.9	170	1,097	254	12.9	147
Winnebago	5.9	115.2	-9.0	301	1,053	286	10.0	291
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Area	Employment December 2020	Average weekly wage
United States	140,881,253	$1,339
Illinois	5,573,816	1,378
Adams	31,251	1,024
Alexander	858	837
Bond	4,173	850
Boone	17,308	1,062
Brown	4,344	1,071
Bureau	10,608	949
Calhoun	685	617
Carroll	4,021	918
Cass	5,241	928
Champaign	88,437	1,086
Christian	9,026	888
Clark	4,248	830
Clay	4,686	875
Clinton	11,743	881
Coles	22,518	771
Cook	2,376,956	1,571
Crawford	6,621	1,082
Cumberland	2,801	805
De Kalb	34,066	1,050
De Witt	4,648	1,183
Douglas	7,324	923
Du Page	572,659	1,456
Edgar	6,839	975
Edwards	2,042	846
Effingham	22,066	941
Fayette	5,390	785
Ford	4,480	993
Franklin	8,174	780
Fulton	7,653	804
Gallatin	833	869
Greene	2,244	798
Grundy	20,756	1,224
Hamilton	1,843	896
Hancock	3,793	813
Hardin	647	699
Henderson	1,050	684
Henry	13,175	929
Iroquois	7,082	810
Jackson	23,679	921
Jasper	2,046	852
Jefferson	18,706	992
Jersey	4,842	813
Jo Daviess	6,603	862
Johnson	2,270	941
Kane	194,046	1,166
Kankakee	42,229	972
Kendall	27,583	904
Knox	15,996	803
La Salle	38,726	1,008
Lake	317,007	1,637
Lawrence	4,209	936
Lee	12,493	1,020
Livingston	12,892	1,031
Logan	8,343	971
Macon	44,140	1,140
Macoupin	9,725	870
Madison	100,981	990
Marion	12,055	859
Marshall	2,798	859
Mason	2,761	805
Massac	2,785	910
McDonough	9,443	897
McHenry	90,358	1,024
McLean	77,495	1,175
Menard	1,591	804
Mercer	2,901	796
Monroe	7,904	876
Montgomery	8,290	852
Morgan	13,492	891
Moultrie	4,816	924
Ogle	14,396	1,054
Peoria	97,317	1,333
Perry	4,426	884
Piatt	3,362	840
Pike	3,753	793
Pope	484	609
Pulaski	1,248	802
Putnam	1,659	1,229
Randolph	11,648	995
Richland	5,676	856
Rock Island	68,954	1,561
Saline	7,367	772
Sangamon	121,571	1,204
Schuyler	1,382	808
Scott	883	826
Shelby	4,778	824
St. Clair	86,303	1,032
Stark	1,349	937
Stephenson	16,462	975
Tazewell	43,901	970
Union	4,727	788
Vermilion	24,862	972
Wabash	3,172	927
Warren	5,915	845
Washington	6,382	1,044
Wayne	3,698	750
White	3,822	744
Whiteside	19,978	890
Will	241,750	1,097
Williamson	27,126	902
Winnebago	115,226	1,053
Woodford	9,872	1,007
NOTE: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

State	Establishments, fourth quarter 2020 (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage
		December 2020 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2019-20	Fourth quarter 2020	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2019-20	National ranking by percent change
United States	10,675.8	140,881.3	-6.1	$1,339	--	13.0	--
Alabama	134.6	1,951.2	-2.9	1,096	35	11.4	36
Alaska	23.1	290.1	-6.4	1,260	17	10.6	44
Arizona	173.9	2,908.7	-3.3	1,214	22	14.6	9
Arkansas	94.6	1,194.8	-3.2	999	49	11.4	36
California	1,660.2	16,380.1	-8.3	1,724	3	18.5	1
Colorado	219.6	2,613.7	-5.7	1,378	10	12.3	25
Connecticut	126.8	1,578.4	-6.5	1,551	6	12.2	27
Delaware	35.1	432.9	-5.2	1,262	16	11.3	38
District of Columbia	43.8	713.0	-8.9	2,293	1	15.2	6
Florida	765.4	8,642.8	-5.0	1,180	24	13.1	17
Georgia	319.7	4,405.9	-4.0	1,208	23	10.9	42
Hawaii	47.3	561.1	-16.1	1,219	21	16.0	4
Idaho	71.8	763.5	0.8	1,034	47	12.8	21
Illinois	386.3	5,573.8	-7.8	1,378	10	13.0	18
Indiana	173.1	2,985.1	-4.0	1,076	39	11.2	39
Iowa	105.6	1,494.3	-4.3	1,099	34	11.6	32
Kansas	89.9	1,346.9	-4.5	1,070	40	11.5	34
Kentucky	130.4	1,839.6	-4.8	1,057	42	10.8	43
Louisiana	140.8	1,796.9	-7.0	1,078	38	8.6	48
Maine	55.4	594.3	-4.3	1,092	36	14.5	10
Maryland	174.5	2,546.1	-6.7	1,445	8	13.6	16
Massachusetts	266.7	3,365.8	-8.3	1,766	2	17.0	3
Michigan	265.3	3,998.2	-8.9	1,257	19	12.8	21
Minnesota	186.4	2,684.1	-7.9	1,322	13	12.3	25
Mississippi	76.1	1,119.1	-2.4	901	51	10.4	45
Missouri	221.5	2,724.4	-4.3	1,127	33	11.6	32
Montana	54.6	467.4	-1.4	1,035	45	12.7	23
Nebraska	72.5	962.7	-2.9	1,079	37	11.5	34
Nevada	90.2	1,283.1	-10.7	1,178	25	14.4	11
New Hampshire	57.1	637.3	-5.2	1,406	9	17.9	2
New Jersey	291.0	3,860.5	-7.2	1,517	7	13.9	15
New Mexico	64.8	767.1	-9.5	1,052	43	11.8	29
New York	662.4	8,693.4	-10.3	1,712	4	14.2	13
North Carolina	301.7	4,431.0	-2.7	1,152	29	11.2	39
North Dakota	32.6	394.4	-7.1	1,136	31	4.7	50
Ohio	307.3	5,199.9	-5.1	1,161	27	12.0	28
Oklahoma	113.6	1,569.1	-4.4	1,013	48	7.3	49
Oregon	167.3	1,824.3	-7.5	1,256	20	14.2	13
Pennsylvania	370.5	5,549.4	-7.4	1,287	15	12.6	24
Rhode Island	40.7	449.6	-8.3	1,259	18	14.7	7
South Carolina	149.2	2,074.4	-3.5	1,035	45	11.1	41
South Dakota	35.5	422.8	-1.9	1,048	44	14.4	11
Tennessee	176.2	3,002.5	-2.7	1,172	26	11.7	30
Texas	743.1	12,251.1	-4.3	1,294	14	9.0	47
Utah	117.9	1,557.8	0.6	1,154	28	12.9	20
Vermont	26.6	286.1	-8.9	1,133	32	14.7	7
Virginia	289.8	3,796.1	-4.7	1,360	12	13.0	18
Washington	259.7	3,219.7	-6.8	1,589	5	16.0	4
West Virginia	51.9	654.1	-5.3	997	50	10.3	46
Wisconsin	184.2	2,762.5	-4.8	1,140	30	11.7	30
Wyoming	27.7	260.2	-5.3	1,061	41	4.6	51
Puerto Rico	46.0	873.8	-4.0	621		8.0
Virgin Islands	3.5	35.3	-11.5	1,057		-1.3
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

View Chart Data