From December 2015 to December 2016, employment in Delaware’s only large county, New Castle, decreased 0.8 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 2015 annual average employment.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the employment decrease in New Castle County compared to the national increase of 1.2 percent and ranked 318^th among the 344 U.S. large counties for employment change.

Employment increased in 280 of the 344 largest U.S. counties from December 2015 to December 2016. Williamson, Tenn., had the largest percentage increase, with a gain of 5.1 percent over the year. York, S.C., had the next-largest percentage increase (4.6 percent), followed by the counties of Williamson, Texas, (4.5 percent) and Utah, Utah (4.5 percent). Employment declined in 58 large counties during this period. Lafayette, La., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-5.1 percent), followed by Gregg, Texas (-3.5 percent); Midland, Texas (-2.9 percent); Erie, Pa. (-2.2 percent); and Kanawha, W.Va. (-2.2 percent).

New Castle County’s employment in December 2016 was 291,300 and accounted for about two-thirds of Delaware’s total employment. Nationwide, the 344 large counties accounted for 72.8 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 143.7 million in December 2016. These 344 counties had a net job growth of 1.4 million over the year, accounting for 80.7 percent of the overall U.S. employment increase.

The average weekly wage in New Castle County declined 2.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the fourth quarter of 2016, ranking it 252^nd among the largest U.S. counties for wage change. Over the year, the national average weekly wage decreased 1.5 percent.

This is one of only eight declines for the nation in the history of the series, which dates back to 1978. The 1.5 percent national decline in average weekly wages was the largest decline since fourth quarter 2011, when average weekly wages decreased by 1.7 percent.

Among the 344 largest U.S. counties, 290 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. McLean, Ill., had the largest percentage wage decrease (-9.2 percent). Forty-eight large counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Clayton, Ga., had the largest wage increase among the largest U.S. counties (11.3 percent.)

New Castle County’s average weekly wage of $1,166 ranked 59^th among the 344 largest counties. The average weekly wage in New Castle County was 9.3 percent higher than the U.S. average weekly wage of $1,067 in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Nationwide, 243 large counties had an average weekly wage below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2016. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Cameron, Texas ($640), followed by the counties of Hidalgo, Texas ($648) and Horry, S.C. ($654). Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 100 of the largest 344 U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,365) held the top position, followed by New York, N.Y. ($2,212) and San Mateo, Calif. ($2,098). (See table 1.)

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. Kent ($824) and Sussex ($794) had average weekly wages more than 20 percent below the national average of $1,067. (See table A and chart 1.)

Table A. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all of the counties in Delaware, fourth quarter 2016

Area	Employment December 2016 (thousands)	Average weekly wage (1)
United States (2)	143,749.9	$1,067
Delaware	441.2	1,055
Kent	66.5	824
New Castle	291.3	1,166
Sussex	74.7	794
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: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

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 2015 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 2016 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2015 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2015/home.htm. The 2016 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2017.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, September 6, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

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 9.9 million employer reports cover 143.7 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: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the top 10 counties ranked by average weekly wage, fourth quarter 2015

Area	Employment	Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2016 (thousands)	Fourth quarter 2016	National ranking by level (2)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2015-2016 (3)	National ranking by percent change (2)
United States (4)	143,749.9	$1,067	--	-1.5	--
Santa Clara, Calif.	1,064.0	2,365	1	0.9	18
New York, N.Y.	2,471.6	2,212	2	-1.1	127
San Mateo, Calif.	398.8	2,098	3	-1.5	164
San Francisco, Calif.	715.5	2,068	4	3.7	5
Suffolk, Mass.	669.9	1,888	5	-3.2	282
Washington, D.C.	760.9	1,763	6	0.1	40
Arlington, Va.	174.3	1,677	7	-1.4	149
Fairfield, Conn.	426.8	1,676	8	-3.8	306
Fairfax, Va.	604.5	1,610	9	-0.6	84
Morris, N.J.	187.6	1,563	10	-0.7	95
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for any noneconomic county reclassifications. (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 by state, fourth quarter 2016

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2016 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2015-16	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2015-16	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	143,749.9	1.2	1067	--	-1.5	--
Alabama	1,932.6	0.7	901	35	-1.3	21
Alaska	310.0	-1.9	1038	17	-5.2	51
Arizona	2,760.1	2.1	945	25	-2.2	34
Arkansas	1,205.4	0.4	827	47	-1.4	22
California	16,923.3	1.9	1271	5	-0.3	4
Colorado	2,588.6	2.0	1086	12	-1.5	24
Connecticut	1,685.5	0.0	1289	4	-3.4	46
Delaware	441.2	-0.1	1055	15	-2.9	44
District of Columbia	760.9	0.5	1763	1	0.6	2
Florida	8,538.9	2.7	942	27	-1.8	28
Georgia	4,349.3	2.4	993	20	-0.9	14
Hawaii	658.3	0.7	954	24	-0.3	4
Idaho	691.6	3.2	800	50	-0.4	8
Illinois	5,947.6	0.4	1122	9	-2	31
Indiana	3,021.7	0.9	883	38	-0.9	14
Iowa	1,542.0	0.1	911	33	-1	16
Kansas	1,384.5	0.1	877	39	-2.2	34
Kentucky	1,894.2	0.6	874	41	-1.4	22
Louisiana	1,907.4	-1.6	914	32	-2.9	44
Maine	602.6	0.8	855	43	-2.1	33
Maryland	2,666.7	1.0	1169	7	-0.4	8
Massachusetts	3,530.4	1.3	1352	2	-2.4	39
Michigan	4,283.0	1.5	1026	19	-1.6	25
Minnesota	2,839.7	1.2	1062	14	-1.1	18
Mississippi	1,134.0	0.0	756	51	-1.8	28
Missouri	2,783.2	0.9	918	31	-1.7	27
Montana	456.5	0.7	822	48	0.5	3
Nebraska	972.4	0.0	876	40	-0.5	10
Nevada	1,307.8	2.7	924	29	-1.2	20
New Hampshire	656.9	1.3	1092	10	-4.1	48
New Jersey	4,042.1	1.4	1239	6	-1.9	30
New Mexico	811.4	0.0	844	45	-2.5	41
New York	9,332.5	1.2	1342	3	-2.3	36
North Carolina	4,326.3	1.8	932	28	-0.7	13
North Dakota	414.4	-3.2	978	21	-4.2	49
Ohio	5,365.6	0.7	943	26	-2.3	36
Oklahoma	1,587.7	-1.2	864	42	-3.5	47
Oregon	1,860.7	2.4	970	22	-1	16
Pennsylvania	5,799.8	0.7	1039	16	-2.3	36
Rhode Island	478.3	0.0	1027	18	-1.6	25
South Carolina	2,024.3	1.8	855	43	-0.6	12
South Dakota	419.9	0.5	828	46	-0.5	10
Tennessee	2,947.5	1.8	970	22	-1.1	18
Texas	11,974.7	1.2	1072	13	-2.5	41
Utah	1,415.1	2.9	910	34	-0.3	4
Vermont	312.6	0.1	897	36	-2.4	39
Virginia	3,831.6	0.6	1091	11	-0.3	4
Washington	3,227.9	2.8	1150	8	1.7	1
West Virginia	693.1	-1.6	809	49	-2.5	41
Wisconsin	2,842.4	0.5	924	29	-2	31
Wyoming	265.8	-3.9	894	37	-4.7	50
Puerto Rico	928.2	-0.3	555	(3)	-1.9	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.5	0.2	769	(3)	-1.8	(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.