Rhode Island’s only large county, Providence, reported an employment gain of 1.0 percent from June 2012 to June 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.) Employment in Rhode Island’s largest county accounted for 59 percent of statewide employment in June 2013.

Nationally, 288 of the 334 large counties had employment gains from June 2012 to June 2013. The largest over-the-year percentage gain was recorded in Fort Bend, Texas, 7.0 percent. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 4.5 percent. The 334 U.S. counties with 75,000 or more jobs accounted for 71.4 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Providence County was $908 in the second quarter of 2013, 2.0 percent higher than it was one year earlier. (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 2.1 percent over the year to $921 in the second quarter 2013.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the four counties in Rhode Island with employment below 75,000. None of these counties registered an average weekly wage above the national average in the second quarter of 2013. Newport ($861) had the highest average weekly wage among the smaller counties while Bristol County had the lowest average weekly wage at $729. (See table 2.)

Large County Wage Changes

Providence County’s 2.0-percent wage gain ranked 133^rd among the 334 largest U.S. counties. Nationwide, Union, N.J., ranked first in average weekly wage growth, with an increase of 8.1 percent from the second quarter of 2012. San Mateo, Calif., placed second with a wage gain of 8.0 percent, followed by Williamson, Tenn. (7.8 percent) and Rockingham, N.H. (6.9 percent).

Among the 334 largest U.S. counties, 18 experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. Davidson, Tenn., had the largest average weekly wage decrease with a loss of 2.2 percent. Whatcom, Wash., had the second largest decrease in average weekly wages, followed by Washington, Ore., and Shelby, Tenn., which tied for the third largest percentage decrease.

Large County Average Weekly Wages

Providence County, with an average weekly wage of $908 in the second quarter of 2013, although ranking in the top-half (117^th), was not among 107 large counties nationwide with wages above the U.S. average. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid counties with an average weekly wage of $1,810. New York, N.Y., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,675, followed by San Mateo, Calif., ($1,632), Washington, D.C., ($1,575), and Arlington, Va. ($1,525).

More than two-thirds of the largest U.S. counties (227) reported average weekly wages below the national average in the second quarter of 2013. The lowest wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($537), followed by the Texas counties of Cameron ($572) and Hidalgo ($592). Wages in these lowest-ranked counties were less than one-third of the average weekly wage reported for the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,810).

Average Weekly Wages in Rhode Island’s Smaller Counties

All four counties in Rhode Island with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $921. Bristol County’s wage, at $729, was over 20 percent below the U.S. average. (See table 2.)

When all five counties in Rhode Island were considered, none reported wages above the national average. Overall, one county reported wages below $749, one reported waged ranging from $750 to $799, one reported wages ranging from $800 to $849, and two reported wages of $850 or above. (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 Wages 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 news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online 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.

For personal assistance or further information on the QCEW program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the New England Information Office at 617-565-2327. This release is available in PDF and HTML format on the New England BLS Web site at https://www.bls.gov/regions/northeast/news-release/countyemploymentandwages_rhodeisland.htm.

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 9.2 million employer reports cover 135.1 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 (1) employment and wages in the United States and the largest county in Rhode Island, second quarter 2013 (2)

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (3)
	June 2013 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2012-13 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (5)	Percent change, second quarter 2012-13 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)
United States (6)	135,094.0	1.6	--	$921	--	2.1	--
Rhode Island	465.5	1.0	--	880	19	2.3	16
Providence, R.I.	273.2	1.0	203	908	117	2.0	133
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) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (5) Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico. (6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Table 2. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Rhode Island, 2nd quarter 2013 (2)

Area	Employment June 2013	Average Weekly Wage (3)
United States (4)	135,093,963	$921
Rhode Island	465,450	880
Bristol County	14,037	729
Kent County	75,229	826
Newport County	40,438	861
Providence County	273,220	908
Washington County	52,485	788
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 (1) employment and wages by state, second quarter 2013 (2)

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (3)
	June 2013 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2012-13	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2012-13	National ranking by percent change
United States (4)	135,094.0	1.6	$921	--	2.1	--
Alabama	1,859.5	0.9	794	35	1.4	44
Alaska	342.6	-0.1	970	9	1.6	37
Arizona	2,438.1	1.8	877	20	1.7	32
Arkansas	1,150.4	-0.6	734	46	2.4	10
California	15,485.8	2.4	1,048	6	2.0	21
Colorado	2,359.4	2.9	933	14	1.6	37
Connecticut	1,666.3	1.0	1,128	3	1.5	41
Delaware	417.8	1.8	966	12	2.0	21
District of Columbia	725.0	0.9	1,575	1	2.1	19
Florida	7,402.0	2.4	822	29	2.0	21
Georgia	3,917.2	1.7	867	22	2.2	17
Hawaii	617.0	1.9	823	28	1.6	37
Idaho	642.7	2.7	683	51	1.9	28
Illinois	5,750.0	0.8	971	8	1.9	28
Indiana	2,863.4	1.1	776	42	1.7	32
Iowa	1,523.9	1.3	757	43	2.0	21
Kansas	1,350.0	1.2	779	41	2.1	19
Kentucky	1,790.6	0.6	782	38	1.3	46
Louisiana	1,894.7	0.9	824	27	2.4	10
Maine	604.4	0.4	732	47	1.8	30
Maryland	2,570.3	0.9	1,005	7	1.4	44
Massachusetts	3,352.7	1.3	1,131	2	2.0	21
Michigan	4,073.7	2.2	875	21	2.0	21
Minnesota	2,745.2	1.9	929	15	2.4	10
Mississippi	1,094.9	0.7	691	49	1.5	41
Missouri	2,668.2	1.2	803	33	1.6	37
Montana	448.4	1.5	717	48	2.4	10
Nebraska	941.0	0.9	737	45	2.6	7
Nevada	1,168.3	2.3	829	26	1.7	32
New Hampshire	629.1	0.8	916	17	2.9	4
New Jersey	3,917.5	1.0	1,084	5	2.6	7
New Mexico	795.0	0.4	781	39	-0.3	51
New York	8,804.9	1.1	1,118	4	2.0	21
North Carolina	3,985.1	1.7	808	31	2.5	9
North Dakota	433.7	3.2	887	18	3.7	1
Ohio	5,162.3	1.1	830	25	1.7	32
Oklahoma	1,560.7	0.9	794	35	3.5	2
Oregon	1,708.0	2.5	848	23	1.3	46
Pennsylvania	5,665.9	0.3	918	16	2.8	5
Rhode Island	465.5	1.0	880	19	2.3	16
South Carolina	1,864.9	1.8	747	44	1.5	41
South Dakota	417.0	1.0	689	50	1.8	30
Tennessee	2,709.3	1.5	820	30	0.5	49
Texas	11,078.8	2.7	944	13	2.4	10
Utah	1,259.7	2.8	783	37	2.2	17
Vermont	303.1	0.3	808	31	2.7	6
Virginia	3,685.4	0.7	968	11	1.7	32
Washington	3,013.3	2.2	969	10	2.4	10
West Virginia	713.1	-0.1	781	39	0.6	48
Wisconsin	2,768.2	0.6	801	34	3.0	3
Wyoming	290.4	0.4	845	24	0.5	49
Puerto Rico	926.1	-1.1	503	(5)	1.0	(5)
Virgin Islands	38.9	-3.0	706	(5)	-13.8	(5)
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. (5) Data not included in the national ranking.