From December 2013 to December 2014, employment in Delaware’s only large county, New Castle, increased 3.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2013 annual average employment.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that New Castle County gained jobs at a higher rate than the nation over the year and ranked in the top quarter of all 339 large counties nationwide (84^th) for job growth.

Employment increased in 319 of the 339 largest U.S. counties from December 2013 to December 2014. Weld, Colo., and Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase, with a gain of 8.0 percent each over the year. Adams, Colo., had the next-largest percentage increase (6.4 percent), followed by the counties of Lee, Fla., (6.2 percent) and Williamson, Tenn. (6.1 percent). Employment declined in 17 large counties during this period. Atlantic, N.J., experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-5.0 percent), followed by Norfolk City, Va. (-1.1 percent), McLean, Ill., and Peoria, Ill. (-0.9 percent each), and Lake, Ill. (-0.6 percent).

New Castle County’s employment in December 2014 was 287,700 and accounted for about two-thirds of Delaware’s total employment. Nationwide, the 339 large counties accounted for 72.1 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 139.2 million in December 2014. These 339 counties had a net job growth of 2.2 million over the year, accounting for 73.4 percent of the overall U.S. employment increase.

The average weekly wage in New Castle County rose 0.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2014, ranking it 326^th among the largest U.S. counties for wage change. Over the year, the national average weekly wage increased 3.5 percent. Benton, Ark., had the fastest wage increase among the largest U.S. counties (9.9 percent). San Mateo, Calif., had the largest wage decrease, down 20.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013.

New Castle County’s average weekly wage of $1,164 ranked 53^rd among the 339 largest counties. Delaware’s largest county exceeded the U.S. average weekly wage of $1,035 in the fourth quarter of 2014 by 12.5 percent.

Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 95 of the largest 339 U.S. counties. San Mateo, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with a wage of $2,166. New York, N.Y., was second at $2,138, followed by Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,114). (See table 1.) There were 244 counties with an average weekly wage below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2014. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($610), followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($621); and Hidalgo, Texas ($641).

Average Weekly Wages in Delaware’s Smaller Counties

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the two counties in Delaware with employment below 75,000. Both Kent ($821) and Sussex ($763) had average weekly wages more than 20 percent below the national average. (See table A and chart 1).

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 2. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit the QCEW Web site at 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 2013 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 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2013 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm. The 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2015.

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 9.2 million employer reports cover 128.7 million full- and part-time workers. 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 sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.