From December 2017 to December 2018, employment rose in the two large counties in Delaware—Sussex (3.1 percent) and New Castle (0.7 percent)—the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2017 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the employment increase in Sussex County was more than double the national increase of 1.5 percent and ranked 24^th among the 349 U.S. large counties for employment change.

Employment increased in 296 of the 349 largest U.S. counties from December 2017 to December 2018. Midland, TX, had the largest percentage increase, with a gain of 10.0 percent over the year. York, SC, had the next-largest percentage increase (5.1 percent), followed by the counties of Atlantic, NJ (4.6 percent) and Utah, UT (4.5 percent). Employment declined in 47 large counties during this period. Bay, FL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-5.6 percent), followed by Kanawha, WV, and Johnson, IA (-1.5 percent each).

New Castle County’s employment in December 2018 was 296,100 and accounted for about two-thirds of Delaware’s total employment. Sussex County’s employment was 79,900 in December 2018, which made up 17.7 percent of Delaware’s total employment. Nationwide, the 349 large counties accounted for 73.2 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 148.1 million in December 2018.

The average weekly wage in New Castle County increased 2.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of  2018, ranking 203^rd among the largest U.S. counties for wage change. The average weekly wage in Sussex County rose 2.5 percent over the year ranking 220^th. Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 3.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2018.

Among the 349 largest U.S. counties, 332 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Tippecanoe, IN, and Williamson, TN, had the largest percentage wage increases at 15.1 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively. Fifteen large U.S. counties had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Washington, PA, had the largest wage decline among the largest U.S. counties (-6.6 percent).

New Castle County’s average weekly wage of $1,228 ranked 62^nd among the 349 largest U.S. counties, and Sussex County’s average weekly wage of $833 ranked 331^st. Nationally, the average weekly wage was $1,144 in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Nationwide, 255 large counties had an average weekly wage below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2018. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Hidalgo, TX ($680), followed by the counties of Horry, SC, and Cameron, TX ($685 each). Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 94 of the largest 349 U.S. counties. Santa Clara, CA ($2,670) held the top position, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,452) and San Mateo, CA ($2,410).

Average Weekly Wages in Delaware’s Smaller County

Employment and wage levels are also available for Kent County, the one county in Delaware with employment below 75,000. Kent County had an average weekly wage of $867, more than 20 percent below the national average of $1,144. (See table A and chart 1.)

 Table A. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the three counties in Delaware, fourth quarter 2018

Area	Employment December 2018 (thousands)	Average weekly wage (1)
United States (2)	148,061.8	$1,144
Delaware	451.2	1,107
Kent	67.2	867
New Castle	296.1	1,228
Sussex	79.9	833
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 1. 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 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 Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2017 are now available online 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, 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 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 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.