KANSAS CITY – The Mountain-Plains Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has released County Employment and Wages in Missouri for the Third Quarter 2022.
The report shows national rankings of wage levels, wage growth, and employment changes for the seven large counties in Missouri compared to the 355 largest counties in the United States.
The report shows Ste. Genevieve County is among 11 counties with average weekly wages of $1,000 or above. All of the other cities are in the metro areas of St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia. The national average weekly wage is $1,334. Worth County has the lowest average weekly earnings: $539.
Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted the following highlights:
Employment rose in all seven of the largest counties in Missouri from September 2021 to September 2022. Clay County had the largest over-the-year increases in employment at 4.5 percent.
All seven large Missouri counties reported average weekly wage gains. Six counties had rates of wage gains that were above the national rate of 6.7 percent. Wages in St. Charles County increased by 11.2 percent and in Clay County by 10.9 percent. Over-the-year wage gains among Missouri’s other five large counties ranged from 9.3 percent to 5.7 percent.
Weekly wages in two of the seven largest counties in Missouri were above the national average of $1,334 in the third quarter of 2022. Average weekly wages in St. Louis City ($1,404, 68th) and St. Louis County ($1,352, 84th) ranked among the top 100 nationwide.
Among the 108 smaller counties in Missouri—those with employment below 75,000—Platte ($1,138) reported the highest average weekly wage in the state. Worth County ($539) reported the lowest average weekly wage in the state. (See chart).
