By James Clary
Economist
The County Employment and Wage Summary for the 3rd quarter of 2009 was released Tuesday March 29th, and while the data was broadly consistent with current employment statistics, it includes much more detailed information than the current employment statistics that the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases only at the level of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (with less lag and greater frequency however). Derived from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, this employment data confirms that the region was still experiencing employment loss in the Third Quarter of 2009, despite the nation experiencing year over year gains in employment at that time.
More importantly, this data allows analysts to examine how the recession affects each locality, as there have been different impacts within the region, as well as between various regions. This table shows that the region has experienced lower total wage growth than the state average, but that Surry, Suffolk, and Williamsburg have all outpaced the growth in state wages. This release also includes information on average weekly wages and industry employment that allow economists to better model the regional impacts the great recession.
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