Puerto Rico’s only large county, the municipio of San Juan, reported an employment decrease of 1.4 percent from September 2015 to September 2016, 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.) Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that in September 2016, San Juan’s employment level of 244,976 accounted for 27.6 percent of total employment in the commonwealth.

In the United States, employment grew 1.7 percent over the year, as 307 of the 344 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. (See table 1 and chart 1.) The 344 largest counties made up 72.5 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in San Juan was $634 in the third quarter of 2016, a 2.8-percent increase from a year ago. By comparison, the U.S. weekly wage increased 5.4 percent over the year to $1,027. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

 

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 77 municipios in Puerto Rico with employment below 75,000. All 77 had wages below the U.S. average of $1,027. (See table 2.) Juncos, located on the eastern part of the island, had the highest average weekly wage, $891. Guaynabo, located on the northern part of the island, was the only other small municipio with an average weekly wage above $600. Thirty-two municipios had average weekly wages below $400, with roughly half of these low-wage municipios located in the western end of the island, including Lajas ($325) and Las Marias ($313). (See chart 3.)

In the neighboring Virgin Islands, average weekly wages were also below the U.S. average. The highest average weekly wage among the three Virgin Island counties was $802 in St. Croix. Average weekly wages on St. Thomas and St. John were $771 and $698, respectively.

Though employment on each island was below 25,000, more than half of the Virgin Island’s 37,443 jobs in September 2016 were on St. Thomas, and an additional 14,265 were on St. Croix.

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 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 Online are now available 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.

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.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2016 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 7, 2017.

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 9.8 million employer reports cover 142.9 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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States, Puerto Rico, and San Juan, third quarter 2016

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2016 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2015-16 (2)	Average weekly wage	Percent change, third quarter 2015-16 (2)
United States (3)	142,940.5	1.7	$1,027	5.4
Puerto Rico	888.2	-0.4	524	2.3
San Juan	245.0	-1.4	634	2.8
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) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Puerto Rico, third quarter 2016

Area	Employment September 2016	Average weekly wage (1)
United States (2)	142,940,452	$1,027
Puerto Rico	888,207	524
Adjuntas	1,908	349
Aguada	4,110	349
Aguadilla	17,912	592
Aguas Buenas	1,782	379
Aibonito	5,555	471
Anasco	5,120	523
Arecibo	20,540	492
Arroyo	2,609	500
Barceloneta	9,738	509
Barranquitas	3,049	412
Bayamon	55,122	465
Cabo Rojo	5,959	339
Caguas	45,530	477
Camuy	3,503	370
Canovanas	5,546	451
Carolina	45,710	497
Catano	10,429	591
Cayey	9,686	512
Ceiba	1,119	404
Ciales	1,572	356
Cidra	5,934	494
Coamo	3,713	386
Comerio	2,038	367
Corozal	3,896	376
Culebra	460	330
Dorado	8,356	490
Fajardo	11,384	474
Florida	1,132	374
Guanica	2,554	369
Guayama	10,891	511
Guayanilla	2,250	420
Guaynabo	46,121	639
Gurabo	6,493	513
Hatillo	8,083	366
Hormigueros	2,437	338
Humacao	16,279	546
Isabela	6,553	454
Jayuya	2,822	517
Juana Diaz	6,352	447
Juncos	6,631	891
Lajas	3,074	325
Lares	3,721	333
Las Marias	1,322	313
Las Piedras	6,962	572
Loiza	1,483	370
Luquillo	1,957	403
Manati	13,866	538
Maricao	1,254	430
Maunabo	1,295	557
Mayaguez	30,670	461
Moca	4,183	349
Morovis	2,267	370
Naguabo	2,190	386
Naranjito	2,926	393
Orocovis	3,103	356
Patillas	1,647	389
Penuelas	2,740	398
Ponce	47,539	454
Quebradillas	2,194	351
Rincon	1,769	358
Rio Grande	5,889	449
Sabana Grande	3,136	353
Salinas	3,479	467
San German	9,389	424
San Juan	244,976	634
San Lorenzo	4,728	473
San Sebastian	5,252	338
Santa Isabel	5,320	420
Toa Alta	3,532	408
Toa Baja	12,754	452
Trujillo Alto	10,354	338
Utuado	3,873	417
Vega Alta	4,509	412
Vega Baja	7,922	501
Vieques	1,846	405
Villalba	3,377	567
Yabucoa	2,884	370
Yauco	5,942	389
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: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, third quarter 2016

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2016 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2015-16	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2015-16	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	142,940.5	1.7	$1,027	--	5.4	--
Alabama	1,923.8	1.5	870	36	4.9	38
Alaska	337.4	-2.6	1,055	12	1.2	49
Arizona	2,695.5	3.1	950	24	6.9	5
Arkansas	1,205.4	1.0	794	48	5.2	32
California	16,871.1	2.4	1,210	4	6.7	8
Colorado	2,576.5	2.6	1,062	10	5.6	23
Connecticut	1,674.2	0.3	1,204	5	5.0	34
Delaware	440.7	0.8	1,022	16	5.6	23
District of Columbia	759.2	1.7	1,728	1	3.8	45
Florida	8,320.2	3.7	905	29	6.2	14
Georgia	4,290.4	2.9	969	21	5.9	18
Hawaii	648.4	1.8	956	23	6.7	8
Idaho	703.7	3.5	782	50	6.3	12
Illinois	5,933.6	0.6	1,062	10	4.4	40
Indiana	3,025.9	1.8	866	37	5.9	18
Iowa	1,548.6	0.8	873	35	6.2	14
Kansas	1,377.2	0.5	857	39	5.9	18
Kentucky	1,880.2	1.5	857	39	6.5	10
Louisiana	1,908.8	-0.9	883	32	2.9	48
Maine	616.2	0.9	825	45	5.9	18
Maryland	2,648.1	1.4	1,124	8	5.3	30
Massachusetts	3,522.9	2.0	1,277	2	6.8	7
Michigan	4,292.2	2.1	976	19	5.9	18
Minnesota	2,849.5	1.6	1,053	13	6.4	11
Mississippi	1,126.9	0.7	739	51	4.7	39
Missouri	2,782.1	1.6	888	30	5.0	34
Montana	464.5	1.5	792	49	4.3	41
Nebraska	973.9	0.9	857	39	5.5	26
Nevada	1,300.7	3.8	949	25	10.1	1
New Hampshire	655.0	1.8	1,027	15	7.9	2
New Jersey	4,000.0	1.8	1,173	7	5.0	34
New Mexico	811.5	0.2	830	44	4.0	43
New York	9,216.6	1.6	1,222	3	3.5	46
North Carolina	4,290.3	2.3	909	28	5.3	30
North Dakota	423.2	-3.4	964	22	0.7	50
Ohio	5,347.3	1.1	924	26	5.4	27
Oklahoma	1,578.7	-1.3	854	42	3.5	46
Oregon	1,866.5	2.6	970	20	5.2	32
Pennsylvania	5,776.7	1.0	1,013	17	5.4	27
Rhode Island	481.1	0.8	990	18	7.6	3
South Carolina	2,008.6	2.5	832	43	5.6	23
South Dakota	424.2	1.1	809	47	7.0	4
Tennessee	2,918.8	2.5	912	27	5.4	27
Texas	11,830.7	1.3	1,042	14	4.3	41
Utah	1,407.4	3.8	881	33	6.3	12
Vermont	309.9	0.5	880	34	6.2	14
Virginia	3,801.0	1.0	1,063	9	5.0	34
Washington	3,278.9	3.0	1,188	6	6.9	5
West Virginia	691.5	-1.6	816	46	3.9	44
Wisconsin	2,850.1	1.0	885	31	6.2	14
Wyoming	274.8	-4.7	865	38	0.0	51
Puerto Rico	888.2	-0.4	524	(3)	2.3	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.4	1.4	778	(3)	5.9	(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.