Three of Connecticut’s four large counties reported employment increases from December 2012 to December 2013, 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 2012 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that Fairfield County had the largest rate of employment growth, up 0.7 percent. Hartford and New Haven Counties each reported an employment gain of 0.2 percent, while Connecticut’s remaining large county, New London, recorded an over-the-year decline of 1.5 percent.

Nationally, employment increased 1.8 percent from December 2012 to December 2013, as 292 of the 334 largest counties registered increases. Weld County, Colo., had the largest percentage increase, up 6.0 percent over the year. St. Clair, Ill., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease in employment among the large counties in the U.S. with a loss of 3.1 percent.

Among the four largest counties in Connecticut, employment was highest in Hartford (501,819) and lowest in New London (121,741). Along with Fairfield and New Haven, the four large counties accounted for 84.6 percent of the state’s total employment in December 2013. Nationwide, the 334 largest counties accounted for 71.7 percent of total U.S. employment.

New Haven (0.5 percent) and New London (0.1 percent) recorded increases in average weekly wages from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter of 2013, while Fairfield (-3.3 percent) and Hartford (-1.0 percent) experienced decreases over the year. Fairfield County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,653 and ranked sixth-highest among the nation’s 334 largest counties. (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage was unchanged over the year, remaining at $1,000 in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the four counties in Connecticut with employment below 75,000. Average weekly wages in three of these smaller counties were below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large County Wage Changes

New Haven County’s wage increase of 0.5 percent ranked 141^st among the 334 largest U.S. counties. (See table 1.)  New London County’s wage gain of 0.1 percent ranked 174^th nationally. The wage decreases in Hartford (-1.0 percent) and Fairfield (-3.3 percent) ranked 253^rd and 325^th, respectively.

Nationwide, 185 of the 334 largest counties had over-the-year gains in average weekly wages from the fourth quarter of 2012. Santa Cruz, Calif., had the largest wage gain in the nation, up 6.5 percent.

Of the 334 largest counties, 140 experienced over-the year decreases in average weekly wages. Douglas, Colo., had the largest average weekly wage decrease with a loss of 29.7 percent.

Large County Average Weekly Wages

As noted, average weekly wages in Fairfield County placed sixth among the 334 largest U.S. counties in the fourth quarter of 2013. Hartford ($1,197, 34^th) and New Haven ($1,040, 76^th) joined Fairfield with average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,000, placing all three in the top quarter of the nationwide ranking. The average weekly wage in the state’s remaining large county, New London ($971), was below the national average, but still ranked in the top half nationwide at 120^th.

Among the highest-paid large U.S. counties, San Mateo, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,724. New York, N.Y., was second with an average weekly wage of $2,041, followed by Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,972), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,753).

Horry, S.C. ($587) reported the lowest wage nationwide, followed by the counties of Cameron and Hidalgo, Texas ($598 and $620, respectively). Wages in the lowest-ranked county, Horry, were less than one-fourth of the average weekly wage reported for the highest-ranked county, San Mateo, Calif.

Average Weekly Wages in Connecticut’s Smaller Counties

Three of the four counties in Connecticut with employment below 75,000—Litchfield, Windham, and Tolland counties—had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $1,000, with Windham reporting the lowest, $797. Middlesex County was the exception, with an average weekly wage of $1,023. (See table 2.)

When considering all eight counties in Connecticut, four had an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,000. New London was just below the national average with an average weekly wage of $971, while wages in the remaining counties were all below $900 per week. (See chart 1.)

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 the QCEW Web site at www.bls.gov/cew.

An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2012 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2013, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2013 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2012 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2012/home.htm. The 2013 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2014. 

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339.

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 9.3 million employer reports cover 136.1 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 and the 4 largest counties in Connecticut, fourth quarter 2013

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (1)
	December 2013 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2012-13 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2012-13 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	136,129.4	1.8	--	$1,000	--	0.0	--
Connecticut	1,661.2	0.3	--	1,238	4	-1.3	49
Fairfield, Conn.	420.0	0.7	230	1,653	6	-3.3	325
Hartford, Conn.	501.8	0.2	279	1,197	34	-1.0	253
New Haven, Conn.	361.9	0.2	279	1,040	76	0.5	141
New London, Conn.	121.7	-1.5	329	971	120	0.1	174
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: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 2. Covered(1) employment and wages in the United States and all of the counties in Connecticut, fourth quarter 2013(2)

Area	Employment December 2013	Average Weekly Wage(3)
United States(4)	136,129,407	$1,000
Connecticut	1,661,204	1,238
Fairfield	420,040	1,653
Hartford	501,819	1,197
Litchfield	61,481	864
Middlesex	67,335	1,023
New Haven	361,876	1,040
New London	121,741	971
Tolland	41,105	877
Windham	39,893	797
Footnotes:   (1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. (2) Data are preliminary. (3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, fourth quarter 2013

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2013 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2012-13	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2012-13	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	136,129.4	1.8	$1,000	--	0.0	--
Alabama	1,866.5	1.0	851	34	-0.5	39
Alaska	315.1	0.0	1,022	14	1.6	7
Arizona	2,571.0	2.4	906	23	-0.5	39
Arkansas	1,154.3	-0.5	771	47	0.4	22
California	15,650.3	2.8	1,175	6	-0.9	43
Colorado	2,383.9	3.1	1,023	13	-0.9	43
Connecticut	1,661.2	0.3	1,238	4	-1.3	49
Delaware	419.6	1.8	1,035	9	-0.6	41
District of Columbia	727.3	0.6	1,638	1	-3.9	51
Florida	7,739.5	2.7	883	29	0.2	27
Georgia	3,986.9	2.5	924	21	-0.1	32
Hawaii	632.9	1.7	871	30	0.3	25
Idaho	634.5	2.6	754	50	3.0	2
Illinois	5,758.9	1.0	1,060	8	0.2	27
Indiana	2,896.9	1.6	814	40	-0.2	35
Iowa	1,510.9	1.4	834	38	1.6	7
Kansas	1,359.5	1.6	832	39	-0.4	38
Kentucky	1,818.0	1.2	804	42	0.2	27
Louisiana	1,911.6	0.9	889	26	0.5	20
Maine	586.8	0.8	786	46	1.7	5
Maryland	2,555.1	0.4	1,076	7	-0.9	43
Massachusetts	3,332.9	1.5	1,258	3	0.8	17
Michigan	4,072.4	2.0	952	20	-0.2	35
Minnesota	2,720.6	1.7	988	16	0.3	25
Mississippi	1,108.1	1.1	729	51	1.3	11
Missouri	2,670.4	1.1	861	32	-0.2	35
Montana	440.0	1.3	760	48	0.4	22
Nebraska	944.3	1.4	796	43	-0.1	32
Nevada	1,180.5	3.0	884	28	0.7	18
New Hampshire	629.3	1.4	1,017	15	-0.8	42
New Jersey	3,887.5	1.2	1,186	5	1.1	14
New Mexico	796.2	-0.1	814	40	1.4	10
New York	8,888.6	1.7	1,266	2	-1.1	48
North Carolina	4,045.5	1.9	860	33	0.7	18
North Dakota	435.0	3.3	980	17	3.8	1
Ohio	5,175.4	1.4	887	27	0.0	30
Oklahoma	1,581.3	0.6	851	34	-0.1	32
Oregon	1,699.6	2.5	894	25	2.6	3
Pennsylvania	5,650.3	0.4	976	18	0.4	22
Rhode Island	462.7	1.4	960	19	1.5	9
South Carolina	1,875.8	2.3	793	44	1.0	15
South Dakota	407.1	1.3	759	49	1.3	11
Tennessee	2,758.3	1.8	895	24	-0.9	43
Texas	11,246.3	2.6	1,027	12	0.0	30
Utah	1,284.7	3.1	836	37	-0.9	43
Vermont	308.5	0.6	848	36	2.3	4
Virginia	3,670.0	0.1	1,028	11	-1.3	49
Washington	2,976.0	2.5	1,034	10	1.7	5
West Virginia	710.1	-0.6	792	45	0.5	20
Wisconsin	2,751.8	1.0	865	31	1.2	13
Wyoming	279.2	0.6	917	22	1.0	15
Puerto Rico	958.3	-2.3	551	(3)	0.2	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.5	-3.6	754	(3)	2.4	(3)
(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: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.