The petroleum rich Wattenberg Field appears to be a gift that keeps on giving — at least when it comes to Weld County jobs.
Weld County reported employment gains of 8.9 percent for the 12 months through June 30, the fastest annual rate of employment growth among the country’s 339 largest counties, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
No other counties even came close. The No. 2 spot went to Benton County in Arkansas, which had employment gains of 6.8 percent. Benton County is home to Walmart.
with a 7.5 percent rate that was also fueled by strong hiring in natural resources and construction.
Adams County, which is seeing its share of drilling, ranked 11th among large U.S. counties, with a 4.8 percent gain in employment.
The added hiring is creating wage pressures. Average weekly wages in Weld County rose 5.8 percent, to $840, the eighth fastest rate of increase. Weekly wages were up 3.4 percent, to $916, in Adams County, the 36th best showing among counties with 75,000 or more jobs.
Nationally, employment rose at a 2 percent annual rate through the end of the second quarter, and average weekly wages were up 2.1 percent.
A more than 40 percent drop in oil prices since summer will probably loosen Weld County’s grip on the top spot, but for now it is holding tight.
Douglas County didn’t see as robust job growth as Weld and Adams counties, but it did manage stronger wage gains. Average weekly wages there were up 8.8 percent, the second fastest rate in the country after Midland County in Texas.
The average weekly wage of $1,100 in Douglas County is now on par with that of Boulder County and creeping closer to Denver’s average wage of $1,126 a week.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/aldosvaldi
