Wages increased in 14 of the 15 largest counties in New Jersey from the fourth quarter of 2016 to the fourth quarter of 2017, 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 2016 annual average employment.) Morris County had the largest increase, with a gain of 3.9 percent, followed by Hudson and Monmouth Counties, up 3.1 and 2.8 percent, respectively. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that the over-the-year percentage wage gain in Morris County ranked in the top 100 of the 346 largest counties nationwide.

Eight of New Jersey’s large counties reported average weekly wages above the $1,109 national average in the fourth quarter of 2017. Average weekly wages in Morris and Somerset Counties exceeded $1,500.

Gloucester County had the largest rate of employment growth among New Jersey’s largest counties, up 2.7 percent. Nationally, employment grew by 1.5 percent from December 2016 to December 2017. (See chart 2.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the six counties in New Jersey with employment below 75,000. Hunterdon was the only small county to report an average weekly wage above the U.S. average of $1,109. Cape May County reported the lowest average weekly wage, $783. (See table 2.)

Large County Wage Changes

Morris County’s 3.9-percent annual wage increase matched the national average. Hudson County (3.1 percent) was the only other large county with an over-the-year increase above 3.0 percent. Four counties—Monmouth, Atlantic, Camden, and Union—posted over-the-year gains between 2.8 and 2.4 percent. Wage gains ranged from 1.9 to 0.3 percent in eight additional counties. Conversely, Mercer County (-0.4 percent) experienced an over-the-year loss and ranked 314^th nationwide.

Among the 346 largest U.S. counties, 339 recorded increases in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., and Ada, Idaho, had the largest percentage wage increases (11.5 percent each). Seven of the largest counties nationwide experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. Clayton, Ga., had the largest over-the-year wage decline (-6.7 percent).

Large County Average Weekly Wages

As noted, eight of New Jersey’s large counties reported average weekly wages above the national average. The state’s five highest-paying counties— Morris, Somerset, Hudson, Union, and Mercer—ranked among the nation’s top 25. Ocean County had an average weekly wage of $883, the lowest of all New Jersey’s large counties, ranking it nationally at 288^th.

Nationwide, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average of $1,109 in 95 of the 346 largest counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,576, followed by New York, N.Y. ($2,439), and San Mateo, Calif. ($2,341). Among the largest U.S. counties, nearly three-fourths (251) reported average weekly wages below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2017. The lowest weekly wages were in the Texas counties of Cameron ($652) and Hidalgo ($664), followed by Horry, S.C. ($674).

Large County Employment

Employment grew in all of the 15 largest counties in New Jersey from December 2016 to December 2017. Six of the counties had increases equal to or above the national job growth rate of 1.5 percent, led by Gloucester (2.7 percent), Hudson (2.5 percent), and Ocean (2.4 percent).

Nationally, employment grew in 316 of the 346 large U.S. counties. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase in employment with a gain of 11.5 percent over the year. Shawnee, Kan., and Caddo, La., had the largest over-the-year employment decrease, down 1.8 percent each.

In New Jersey, employment was highest in Bergen (458,400), followed by Middlesex (440,400), and Essex (349,500). Altogether, New Jersey’s large counties accounted for 90.9 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 346 largest counties made up 73.0 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average Weekly Wages in New Jersey's Smaller Counties

Hunterdon ($1,273) was the only small county to report an average weekly wage above the U.S. average of $1,109. (See table 2.)

When all 21 counties in New Jersey were considered, 9 had an average weekly above $1,150. All of these counties were clustered in northern and central New Jersey. The one county with average weekly wages below $850 was located at the southern tip of the state. (See chart 3.)

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 2016 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 2017 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2016/home.htm. The 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2018.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 22, 2018, 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 10.0 million employer reports cover 145.9 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.

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 15 largest counties in New Jersey, fourth quarter 2017

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Fourth quarter 2017	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	145,921.1	1.5	--	$1,109	--	3.9	--
New Jersey	4,106.9	1.6	--	1,262	6	1.8	50
Atlantic, N.J.	123.2	0.7	240	914	254	2.6	213
Bergen, N.J.	458.4	0.9	215	1,298	39	1.2	312
Burlington, N.J.	209.4	0.6	255	1,105	97	1.7	297
Camden, N.J.	209.4	1.9	96	1,096	102	2.6	213
Essex, N.J.	349.5	1.5	135	1,318	35	1.8	288
Gloucester, N.J.	112.6	2.7	52	926	238	1.1	314
Hudson, N.J.	267.9	2.5	62	1,408	20	3.1	163
Mercer, N.J.	253.7	1.3	158	1,355	25	-0.4	340
Middlesex, N.J.	440.4	1.9	96	1,259	48	1.9	281
Monmouth, N.J.	262.9	0.6	255	1,097	101	2.8	188
Morris, N.J.	295.6	1.4	144	1,582	12	3.9	92
Ocean, N.J.	166.9	2.4	69	883	288	1.3	308
Passaic, N.J.	170.1	0.2	302	1,066	120	1.9	281
Somerset, N.J.	190.4	0.3	295	1,568	13	0.3	336
Union, N.J.	224.7	0.7	240	1,385	22	2.4	241
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 Jersey, fourth quarter 2017

Area	Employment December 2017 (thousands)	Average weekly wage (1) fourth quarter 2017
United States (2)	145,921.1	$1,109
New Jersey	4,106.9	1,262
Atlantic	123.2	914
Bergen	458.4	1,298
Burlington	209.4	1,105
Camden	209.4	1,096
Cape May	36.3	783
Cumberland	59.7	919
Essex	349.5	1,318
Gloucester	112.6	926
Hudson	267.9	1,408
Hunterdon	47.6	1,273
Mercer	253.7	1,355
Middlesex	440.4	1,259
Monmouth	262.9	1,097
Morris	295.6	1,582
Ocean	166.9	883
Passaic	170.1	1,066
Salem	21.2	1,105
Somerset	190.4	1,568
Sussex	40.4	915
Union	224.7	1,385
Warren	33.5	1,020
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. Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, fourth quarter 2017

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2016-17	Fourth quarter 2017	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2016-17	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	145,921.1	1.5	$1,109	--	3.9	--
Alabama	1,955.3	1.1	928	36	2.9	32
Alaska	306.7	-1.2	1,052	19	1.5	51
Arizona	2,834.7	2.6	978	25	3.5	12
Arkansas	1,217.2	1.0	848	48	2.5	42
California	17,293.0	2.1	1,346	4	5.7	4
Colorado	2,653.3	2.5	1,133	10	4.3	9
Connecticut	1,689.7	0.3	1,317	5	2.2	46
Delaware	444.9	0.6	1,081	15	2.6	40
District of Columbia	769.0	0.9	1,812	1	2.7	37
Florida	8,712.0	2.0	975	26	3.4	16
Georgia	4,425.0	1.8	1,027	20	3.4	16
Hawaii	664.5	0.8	984	24	3.1	26
Idaho	712.4	3.0	857	46	7.1	1
Illinois	6,001.1	0.8	1,151	9	2.6	40
Indiana	3,057.8	1.1	915	38	3.6	11
Iowa	1,549.7	0.4	938	32	3.0	28
Kansas	1,390.3	0.4	894	41	1.9	49
Kentucky	1,903.8	0.5	892	42	2.1	47
Louisiana	1,918.8	0.4	933	35	2.1	47
Maine	610.3	1.2	884	43	3.4	16
Maryland	2,683.6	0.5	1,207	8	3.3	22
Massachusetts	3,582.2	1.3	1,411	3	4.4	8
Michigan	4,321.8	0.9	1,062	17	3.4	16
Minnesota	2,875.7	1.3	1,100	14	3.4	16
Mississippi	1,140.6	0.5	774	51	2.4	45
Missouri	2,809.5	1.0	945	31	2.9	32
Montana	461.4	1.0	843	50	2.7	37
Nebraska	980.9	0.9	901	39	3.0	28
Nevada	1,351.9	3.5	955	29	3.2	25
New Hampshire	661.3	0.7	1,132	11	3.7	10
New Jersey	4,106.9	1.6	1,262	6	1.8	50
New Mexico	816.7	0.6	865	45	2.5	42
New York	9,465.3	1.4	1,428	2	6.4	2
North Carolina	4,388.6	1.5	964	28	3.3	22
North Dakota	416.1	0.4	1,010	22	3.3	22
Ohio	5,409.2	0.8	973	27	3.1	26
Oklahoma	1,607.8	1.2	895	40	3.5	12
Oregon	1,900.4	2.0	1,014	21	4.5	7
Pennsylvania	5,870.4	1.2	1,075	16	3.5	12
Rhode Island	483.6	1.1	1,056	18	2.7	37
South Carolina	2,058.8	1.6	879	44	2.8	35
South Dakota	423.8	0.9	856	47	3.4	16
Tennessee	2,984.8	1.3	1,000	23	3.0	28
Texas	12,207.8	2.0	1,109	13	3.5	12
Utah	1,465.5	3.6	936	33	2.9	32
Vermont	314.7	0.5	919	37	2.5	42
Virginia	3,884.2	1.3	1,121	12	2.8	35
Washington	3,305.0	2.4	1,217	7	5.8	3
West Virginia	693.1	0.1	847	49	4.7	5
Wisconsin	2,872.6	1.0	951	30	3.0	28
Wyoming	267.5	0.6	935	34	4.6	6
Puerto Rico	887.0	-4.4	570	(3)	2.5	(3)
Virgin Islands	34.3	-11.1	827	(3)	7.7	(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.