Three of the four large counties in Connecticut reported employment increases from December 2016 to December 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.) Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that New London County had the largest rate of employment growth, up 0.7 percent. New Haven and Hartford Counties reported employment gains of 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. Connecticut’s remaining large county, Fairfield, recorded an over-the-year employment decrease of 0.4 percent.

Nationally, employment increased 1.5 percent from December 2016 to December 2017, as 316 of the 346 largest counties registered increases. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase with a gain of 11.5 percent over the year.  Shawnee, Kan., and Caddo, La., had the largest over-the year percentage decreases in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with losses of 1.8 percent each.

Among the four largest counties in Connecticut, employment was highest in Hartford (514,592), followed by Fairfield (424,402). The four large counties accounted for 84.8 percent of the state’s total employment in December 2017. Nationwide, the 346 largest counties accounted for 73.0 percent of total U.S. employment.

All four of Connecticut’s large counties recorded increases in average weekly wages from the fourth quarter of 2016 to the fourth quarter of 2017, with the largest increases in New London (2.7 percent) and Hartford (2.6 percent). Fairfield County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,688 and ranked eighth among the nation’s 346 largest counties. (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.9 percent over the year to $1,109 in the fourth quarter of 2017.

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

Over-the-year, wage increases in all four large counties in Connecticut were below the national increase of 3.9 percent. Fairfield County’s 0.7-percent increase ranked 325^th among the 346 largest U.S. counties. (See table 1.) The wage increases in New Haven (2.5 percent), Hartford (2.6 percent), and New London (2.7 percent) ranked 227^h, 213^th, and 200^th, respectively.

Nationwide, 339 of the 346 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages from the fourth quarter of 2016.  San Mateo, Calif., and Ada, Idaho, had the largest wage increases among the largest U.S. counties, up 11.5 percent, each. Seven large U.S. counties had over-the year decreases in average weekly wages. Clayton, Ga., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-6.7 percent).

Large County Average Weekly Wages

As noted, average weekly wages in Fairfield County placed eighth among the 346 largest U.S. counties in the fourth quarter of 2017.  Hartford ($1,296, 40^th) and New Haven ($1,121, 84^th) also had average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,109, placing them in the top quarter of the nationwide ranking. The average weekly wage in the state’s remaining large county, New London ($1,051), was below the national average, but ranked in the middle third nationwide at 127^th.

Nationwide, 251 of the 346 large counties had an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the fourth quarter 2017. Cameron, Texas ($652) reported the lowest wage nationwide, followed by Hidalgo, Texas ($664), and Horry, S.C. ($674).

Among the 95 large counties with an average weekly wage above the U.S. average, Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position at $2,576. New York, N.Y., was second with an average weekly wage of $2,439, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($2,341), and San Francisco, Calif. ($2,232).

Average Weekly Wages in Connecticut’s Smaller Counties

Three of the four counties in Connecticut with employment below 75,000—Litchfield, Tolland, and Windham—had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $1,109. Middlesex County had an average weekly wage of $1,115.  (See table 2.)

When all eight counties in Connecticut were considered, four had an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,109.  One had a wage above $1,000.  Two had a wage between $900 and $999 and one had a wage lower than $899.  (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 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, which was published in September 2017, 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 2016 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.

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 9.9 million employer reports cover 144.5 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: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 4 largest counties in Connecticut, fourth quarter 2017

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	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	--
Connecticut	1,689.7	0.3	--	1,317	5	2.2	46
Fairfield, Conn.	424.4	-0.4	328	1,688	8	0.7	325
Hartford, Conn.	514.6	0.4	281	1,296	40	2.6	213
New Haven, Conn.	369.7	0.5	275	1,121	84	2.5	227
New London, Conn.	124.5	0.7	240	1,051	127	2.7	200
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 Connecticut, 4th quarter 2017

Area	Employment December 2017	Average Weekly Wage(1)
United States(2)	145,921,109	$1,109
Connecticut	1,689,738	1,317
Fairfield	424,402	1,688
Hartford	514,592	1,296
Litchfield	61,114	940
Middlesex	69,337	1,115
New Haven	369,684	1,121
New London	124,490	1,051
Tolland	40,846	982
Windham	38,914	865
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, fourth quarter 2017

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2016-17	Average weekly wage	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.