From December 2014 to December 2015, employment in Delaware’s only large county, New Castle, increased 1.7 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 2014 annual average employment.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that New Castle County gained jobs at a lower rate than the nation over the year and ranked in the middle of all 342 large counties nationwide (171^st) for job growth.

Employment increased in 308 of the 342 largest U.S. counties from December 2014 to December 2015. Williamson, Tenn., had the largest percentage increase, with a gain of 6.8 percent over the year. Utah, Utah, had the next-largest percentage increase (6.6 percent), followed by the counties of Loudon, Va., (6.3 percent) and Chesterfield, Va. (6.0 percent). Employment declined in 26 large counties during this period. Ector, Texas, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-11.8 percent), followed by Midland, Texas (-9.3 percent), Lafayette, La. (-5.6 percent), Gregg, Texas (-5.1 percent), and Weld, Colo. (-3.1 percent).

New Castle County’s employment in December 2015 was 293,200 and accounted for about two-thirds of Delaware’s total employment. Nationwide, the 342 large counties accounted for 72.5 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 141.9 million in December 2015. These 342 counties had a net job growth of 2.2 million over the year, accounting for 81.4 percent of the overall U.S. employment increase.

The average weekly wage in New Castle County rose 2.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the fourth quarter of 2015, ranking it 291^st among the largest U.S. counties for wage change. Over the year, the national average weekly wage increased 4.4 percent. Wyandotte, Kan., had the fastest wage increase among the largest U.S. counties (10.4 percent). Midland, Texas, had the largest wage decrease, down 11.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014.

New Castle County’s average weekly wage of $1,198 ranked 58^th among the 342 largest counties. Delaware’s largest county exceeded the U.S. average weekly wage of $1,082 in the fourth quarter of 2015 by 10.7 percent.

Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 100 of the largest 342 U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with a wage of $2,335. New York, N.Y., was second at $2,235, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($2,095). (See table 1.) There were 241 counties with an average weekly wage below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2015. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Cameron, Texas ($649), followed by the counties of Horry, S.C. ($653); and Hidalgo, Texas ($661).

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 ($858) and Sussex ($809) had average weekly wages more than 20 percent below the national average of $1,082. (See table A and chart 1). (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 2014 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 2015 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2014 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2014/home.htm. The 2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2016.

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 9.7 million employer reports cover 141.9 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: (800) 877-8339.