Employment in Puerto Rico’s only large county, the municipio of San Juan, decreased 2.4 percent from September 2016 to September 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2016 annual average employment of 75,000 or more.) Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that in September 2017, San Juan’s employment level of 240,600 accounted for 27.9 percent of total employment in the commonwealth.

In the United States, employment grew 1.0 percent over the year, as 283 of the 346 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. (See table 1 and chart 1.) The 346 largest counties made up 72.7 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in San Juan was $617 in the third quarter of 2017, a 2.2-percent decrease from one year prior. In the United States, the average weekly wage decreased 0.6 percent to $1,021. (See table 1 and chart 2.) Among the 346 largest U.S. counties, 265 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages.

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 $1,021. (See table 2.) Juncos, located on the eastern part of the island, had the highest average weekly wage, $794. Guaynabo, located on the northern part of the island, was the only other small municipio with an average weekly wage above $600. Thirty-eight municipios had average weekly wages below $400, with about half of these lower-wage municipios located in the western part of the island, including Aguada ($304) and Las Marias ($296). (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 $794 in St. Croix. Average weekly wages on St. Thomas and St. John were $751 and $672, respectively.

Of the 36,900 jobs in the U.S. Virgin Islands in September 2017, 20,100 were on St. Thomas, and 14,700 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 2016 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 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.

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 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 23, 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. 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 2017

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2016-17 (2)	Third quarter 2017	Percent change, third quarter 2016-17 (2)
United States (3)	144,464.4	1.0	$1,021	-0.6
Puerto Rico	862.8	-3.1	509	-2.7
San Juan	240.6	-2.4	617	-2.2
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 2017

Area	Employment September 2017	Average weekly wage(1)
United States(2)	144,464,425	$1,021
Puerto Rico	862,778	509
Adjuntas	1,912	350
Aguada	4,072	304
Aguadilla	17,648	551
Aguas Buenas	1,678	386
Aibonito	5,647	443
Anasco	4,828	474
Arecibo	20,596	474
Arroyo	2,272	547
Barceloneta	10,064	527
Barranquitas	3,177	388
Bayamon	53,325	456
Cabo Rojo	5,394	308
Caguas	43,605	477
Camuy	3,376	350
Canovanas	5,178	459
Carolina	45,576	476
Catano	10,195	568
Cayey	9,470	482
Ceiba	1,092	406
Ciales	1,501	361
Cidra	5,922	469
Coamo	3,436	360
Comerio	1,603	397
Corozal	3,883	371
Culebra	455	363
Dorado	8,152	487
Fajardo	10,733	452
Florida	1,108	371
Guanica	2,464	329
Guayama	10,472	470
Guayanilla	2,316	416
Guaynabo	45,583	625
Gurabo	6,533	508
Hatillo	8,274	344
Hormigueros	2,336	335
Humacao	16,287	533
Isabela	7,028	449
Jayuya	2,752	478
Juana Diaz	6,113	454
Juncos	6,622	794
Lajas	2,900	324
Lares	3,573	318
Las Marias	1,042	296
Las Piedras	6,601	529
Loiza	1,439	377
Luquillo	1,973	373
Manati	13,466	532
Maricao	1,260	386
Maunabo	1,319	544
Mayaguez	28,166	457
Moca	4,395	310
Morovis	2,290	366
Naguabo	2,185	361
Naranjito	3,112	384
Orocovis	2,681	332
Patillas	1,522	387
Penuelas	2,672	360
Ponce	44,361	445
Quebradillas	1,974	377
Rincon	1,783	341
Rio Grande	5,814	420
Sabana Grande	2,738	342
Salinas	3,910	419
San German	8,279	397
San Juan	240,573	617
San Lorenzo	3,680	370
San Sebastian	5,187	316
Santa Isabel	5,295	408
Toa Alta	3,299	389
Toa Baja	12,103	440
Trujillo Alto	9,821	333
Utuado	3,512	437
Vega Alta	4,326	401
Vega Baja	7,354	491
Vieques	1,681	408
Villalba	3,406	503
Yabucoa	2,884	358
Yauco	5,886	367
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 2017

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2016-17	Third quarter 2017	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2016-17	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	144,464.4	1.0	$1,021	--	-0.6	--
Alabama	1,941.1	0.8	859	37	-1.3	38
Alaska	335.4	-0.7	1,025	15	-2.8	50
Arizona	2,760.1	2.4	948	24	-0.2	10
Arkansas	1,213.0	0.6	788	49	-0.6	19
California	17,153.4	1.7	1,215	4	0.5	4
Colorado	2,625.9	1.9	1,067	9	0.5	4
Connecticut	1,676.3	0.1	1,179	6	-2.2	47
Delaware	443.0	0.4	1,026	14	0.4	6
District of Columbia	764.7	0.7	1,759	1	1.3	2
Florida	8,305.8	-0.2	896	29	-1.1	31
Georgia	4,343.5	1.3	961	21	-0.9	27
Hawaii	652.5	0.4	953	22	-0.3	13
Idaho	722.3	2.7	778	50	-0.5	16
Illinois	5,969.6	0.5	1,057	10	-0.3	13
Indiana	3,044.0	0.6	861	36	-0.6	19
Iowa	1,546.1	-0.2	855	38	-2.2	47
Kansas	1,376.4	-0.1	839	41	-2.1	46
Kentucky	1,890.4	0.5	837	42	-2.4	49
Louisiana	1,904.3	-0.1	869	33	-1.7	42
Maine	621.9	0.7	821	46	-0.5	16
Maryland	2,661.8	0.5	1,105	8	-1.7	42
Massachusetts	3,568.0	0.9	1,265	2	-0.9	27
Michigan	4,334.3	0.9	964	20	-1.1	31
Minnesota	2,883.0	1.1	1,030	13	-2.0	45
Mississippi	1,129.1	-0.1	729	51	-1.4	39
Missouri	2,805.8	0.9	878	31	-1.2	34
Montana	468.6	0.9	793	48	0.1	8
Nebraska	973.3	-0.2	850	39	-0.8	23
Nevada	1,337.7	2.9	914	26	-3.8	51
New Hampshire	659.1	0.6	1,022	16	-0.4	15
New Jersey	4,043.6	1.1	1,156	7	-1.5	41
New Mexico	816.0	0.3	823	45	-0.8	23
New York	9,329.8	1.2	1,219	3	-0.2	10
North Carolina	4,348.0	1.3	904	27	-0.7	21
North Dakota	419.2	-1.0	953	22	-1.2	34
Ohio	5,383.6	0.6	920	25	-0.8	23
Oklahoma	1,593.3	0.7	843	40	-1.2	34
Oregon	1,905.3	1.8	969	19	-0.1	9
Pennsylvania	5,836.5	1.0	1,002	17	-1.1	31
Rhode Island	484.5	0.8	973	18	-1.8	44
South Carolina	2,027.2	0.8	828	43	-0.5	16
South Dakota	426.2	0.4	803	47	-0.7	21
Tennessee	2,953.3	1.1	903	28	-1.2	34
Texas	12,008.9	1.4	1,032	12	-1.0	29
Utah	1,444.1	2.6	879	30	-0.2	10
Vermont	310.3	0.1	869	33	-1.4	39
Virginia	3,843.6	1.0	1,053	11	-0.8	23
Washington	3,343.4	2.0	1,208	5	1.7	1
West Virginia	694.0	0.2	826	44	1.1	3
Wisconsin	2,866.9	0.5	876	32	-1.0	29
Wyoming	276.2	0.3	868	35	0.3	7
Puerto Rico	862.8	-3.1	509	(3)	-2.7	(3)
Virgin Islands	36.9	-1.1	763	(3)	-1.9	(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.