In New Mexico’s only large county, Bernalillo, employment rose 0.8 percent from December 2017 to December 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with 2017 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that the rate of employment growth in Bernalillo County ranked 198^th among the 349 largest U.S. counties. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 1.5 percent from December 2017 to December 2018 with 296 of the 349 largest U.S. counties registering increases. Midland, TX, recorded the largest percentage increase in the country, up 10.0 percent over the year. Bay, FL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment, with a loss of 5.6 percent.

Employment in Bernalillo County stood at 332,500 in December 2018, accounting for 40.1 percent of total employment in New Mexico. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 73.2 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Bernalillo County was $944 in the fourth quarter of 2018, ranking it 252^nd. Nationwide, 255 of the 349 large counties reported average weekly wages below the U.S. average of $1,144. Hidalgo, TX, reported the lowest weekly wage ($680), followed by Cameron, TX, and Horry, SC ($685 each).

Nationally, 94 large counties registered average weekly wages above the U.S. average in the fourth quarter of 2018. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,670. San Francisco, CA, was second at $2,452, followed by San Mateo, CA, at $2,410. The average weekly wage in the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, CA, was nearly four times the average weekly wage in the lowest-ranked county, Hidalgo, TX ($680).

The average weekly wage in Bernalillo County increased 3.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2018, ranking 128^th among the largest U.S. counties. Nationally, average weekly wages rose 3.2 percent over the year, as 332 of the 349 largest counties registered increases. Tippecanoe, IN, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages, with a gain of 15.1 percent.

Among the 349 large U.S. counties, 15 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Washington, PA, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease with a loss of 6.6 percent in average weekly wages.

Average weekly wages in New Mexico’s smaller counties

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 32 counties in New Mexico with employment levels below 75,000. Two of these smaller counties had average weekly wages above the $1,144 national average in the fourth quarter of 2018: Los Alamos ($1,601) and Eddy ($1,210). Catron County had the lowest average wage in the state at $555 per week. (See table 2.)

When all 33 counties in New Mexico were considered, 2 had weekly wages averaging $599 or less, 10 averaged $600 to $699 per week, 13 reported wages from $700 to $799, and 8 had wages averaging $800 or more. (See chart 1.) The counties with the highest average wages were primarily concentrated around the metropolitan areas of Albuquerque, Carlsbad, Farmington, Hobbs, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe.

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 2017 edition of this publication, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2018 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from the 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2017/home.htm. The 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2019.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 21, 2019.

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.

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 sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the largest county in New Mexico, fourth quarter 2018

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	148,061.8	1.5	--	$1,144	--	3.2	--
New Mexico	830.2	1.5	--	905	45	4.6	9
Bernalillo, NM	332.5	0.8	198	944	252	3.5	128
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in New Mexico, fourth quarter 2018

Area	Employment December 2018	Average weekly wage(1)
United States(2)	148,061,773	$1,144
New Mexico	830,234	905
Bernalillo	332,513	944
Catron	626	555
Chaves	21,267	725
Cibola	7,673	709
Colfax	4,309	634
Curry	17,069	714
De Baca	436	724
Dona Ana	73,546	762
Eddy	31,964	1,210
Grant	9,284	781
Guadalupe	1,463	631
Harding	168	704
Hidalgo	1,578	823
Lea	32,937	1,099
Lincoln	6,271	634
Los Alamos	16,345	1,601
Luna	7,137	724
McKinley	20,786	712
Mora	714	622
Otero	17,404	755
Quay	2,613	627
Rio Arriba	9,649	713
Roosevelt	5,969	712
Sandoval	30,797	802
San Juan	47,152	916
San Miguel	8,227	604
Santa Fe	62,027	960
Sierra	3,364	598
Socorro	5,168	752
Taos	11,269	627
Torrance	2,972	690
Union	1,288	686
Valencia	15,168	699
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, fourth quarter 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2017-18	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	148,061.8	1.5	$1,144	--	3.2	--
Alabama	1,986.6	1.6	957	36	3.1	33
Alaska	308.3	0.4	1,103	16	4.9	7
Arizona	2,921.1	3.0	1,017	24	4.1	11
Arkansas	1,227.0	0.8	869	50	2.4	43
California	17,556.7	1.7	1,392	4	3.3	26
Colorado	2,713.7	2.2	1,180	10	4.1	11
Connecticut	1,697.9	0.5	1,334	5	1.3	49
Delaware	451.2	1.1	1,107	15	2.4	43
District of Columbia	775.1	0.6	1,943	1	7.3	2
Florida	8,902.7	2.1	1,006	27	3.1	33
Georgia	4,499.8	1.8	1,053	21	2.4	43
Hawaii	669.3	0.6	1,016	25	3.3	26
Idaho	734.4	3.2	890	47	3.6	20
Illinois	6,026.0	0.3	1,189	9	3.3	26
Indiana	3,086.2	0.9	941	38	2.8	37
Iowa	1,558.4	0.5	966	35	3.0	35
Kansas	1,402.2	0.8	927	41	3.7	18
Kentucky	1,914.0	0.3	924	42	3.2	30
Louisiana	1,934.1	0.7	968	34	3.8	15
Maine	618.4	1.3	906	44	2.5	41
Maryland	2,702.5	0.8	1,228	8	1.7	48
Massachusetts	3,620.3	1.0	1,457	2	3.3	26
Michigan	4,366.5	1.0	1,077	19	1.3	49
Minnesota	2,902.3	0.9	1,140	14	3.6	20
Mississippi	1,144.3	0.2	793	51	2.5	41
Missouri	2,821.3	0.5	980	31	3.6	20
Montana	468.8	1.6	888	48	5.2	5
Nebraska	983.0	0.2	930	40	3.2	30
Nevada	1,397.4	3.3	1,006	27	5.3	4
New Hampshire	666.0	0.7	1,158	12	2.3	46
New Jersey	4,125.6	0.8	1,298	6	2.7	38
New Mexico	830.2	1.5	905	45	4.6	9
New York	9,613.2	1.5	1,445	3	1.0	51
North Carolina	4,458.9	1.6	1,013	26	5.1	6
North Dakota	422.3	1.5	1,057	20	4.7	8
Ohio	5,442.9	0.5	1,006	27	3.4	24
Oklahoma	1,632.3	1.5	932	39	4.1	11
Oregon	1,935.8	1.7	1,052	22	3.7	18
Pennsylvania	5,932.5	1.0	1,103	16	2.6	39
Rhode Island	487.2	0.8	1,085	18	2.6	39
South Carolina	2,119.6	2.8	893	46	1.9	47
South Dakota	428.4	1.2	885	49	3.4	24
Tennessee	3,039.8	1.8	1,030	23	3.0	35
Texas	12,531.7	2.5	1,148	13	3.5	23
Utah	1,511.5	3.2	972	33	3.8	15
Vermont	314.2	-0.4	954	37	3.2	30
Virginia	3,927.2	1.1	1,164	11	3.8	15
Washington	3,384.2	2.4	1,292	7	6.3	3
West Virginia	704.2	1.5	917	43	8.3	1
Wisconsin	2,892.3	0.6	989	30	4.0	14
Wyoming	272.1	1.8	978	32	4.4	10
Puerto Rico	896.4	0.8	576	(3)	0.9	(3)
Virgin Islands	34.5	0.5	925	(3)	2.3	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.