Employment in Puerto Rico’s only large county, the municipio of San Juan, increased 1.7 percent from September 2018 to September 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2018 annual average employment of 75,000 or more.) Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that in September 2019, San Juan’s employment level of 242,900 accounted for 27.6 percent of total employment in the commonwealth.

In the United States, employment grew 1.1 percent over the year, as 283 of the 355 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. (See table 1 and chart 1.) The 355 largest counties made up 73.4 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in San Juan was $637 in the third quarter of 2019, a 0.9-percent decrease over the year. In the United States, the average weekly wage increased 3.6 percent to $1,093. (See table 1 and chart 2.) Among the 355 largest U.S. counties, 350 had over-the-year increases 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 municipios had wages below the U.S. average of $1,093. (See table 2.) Juncos, located on the eastern part of the island, had the highest average weekly wage, $868. Two small municipios, located in the northern and southeastern parts of the island, had average weekly wages above $600—Guaynabo ($650) and Maunabo ($607). Thirty-five municipios had average weekly wages below $400, with about half of these municipios located in the western part of the island, including the three with the lowest averages—Cabo Rojo ($322), Moca ($321), and Las Marías ($305). (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 $1,124 in St. Croix. Average weekly wages on St. Thomas and St. John were $931 and $725, respectively. Of the 37,800 jobs in the U.S. Virgin Islands in September 2019, 18,922 were on St. Thomas, and 17,513 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 2018 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2019, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2019 version of this news release. Tables and additional content from the 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2018/home.htm. The 2019 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2020.

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 news release for fourth quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. The County Employment and Wages full data update for fourth quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.

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 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 2019

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2018-19 (2)	Third quarter 2019	Percent change, third quarter 2018-19 (2)
United States (3)	148,556.5	1.1	$1,093	3.6
Puerto Rico	878.9	1.9	528	-0.8
San Juan	242.9	1.7	637	-0.9
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 3. Covered employment and wages by state, third quarter 2019

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2018-19	Third quarter 2019	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2018-19	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	148,556.50	1.1	$1,093	--	3.6	--
Alabama	1,989.50	1.1	919	36	3.8	18
Alaska	338	1.2	1,105	14	3.7	21
Arizona	2,913.40	2.6	1,018	22	4.5	4
Arkansas	1,222.80	0	841	49	3.8	18
California	17,713.10	1.4	1,309	5	3.8	18
Colorado	2,749.00	2.4	1,170	8	6.1	1
Connecticut	1,676.60	-0.3	1,236	6	2.3	50
Delaware	453.2	1.1	1,078	15	3.3	32
District of Columbia	776.4	0.6	1,851	1	2.5	49
Florida	8,838.20	1.7	955	29	3.4	27
Georgia	4,509.70	1.4	1,026	20	3.4	27
Hawaii	654.1	-0.3	1,012	23	3.9	15
Idaho	765.2	2.9	838	50	4.1	10
Illinois	6,023.10	0	1,125	10	3.6	23
Indiana	3,083.50	0.3	914	37	3.5	26
Iowa	1,556.90	0.1	914	37	3	39
Kansas	1,395.90	0.4	893	43	2.9	43
Kentucky	1,910.80	0.7	884	45	3.4	27
Louisiana	1,913.50	-0.3	923	35	2.6	47
Maine	632.6	0.9	887	44	4.2	7
Maryland	2,696.90	0.2	1,169	9	3.6	23
Massachusetts	3,642.50	0.9	1,359	2	4.2	7
Michigan	4,375.80	0.2	1,021	21	3	39
Minnesota	2,917.80	0.4	1,107	13	3	39
Mississippi	1,135.80	0.1	768	51	2.7	46
Missouri	2,826.50	0.6	942	31	3.9	15
Montana	478.9	1.2	848	48	3.9	15
Nebraska	984.7	0.3	908	39	4	13
Nevada	1,412.20	2.1	973	26	4.1	10
New Hampshire	667.9	0.8	1,075	16	3.4	27
New Jersey	4,104.00	0.9	1,217	7	3	39
New Mexico	842.1	1.7	899	40	5.1	2
New York	9,575.40	1.1	1,314	4	3.3	32
North Carolina	4,501.30	2.2	972	27	3.6	23
North Dakota	428.4	0.9	1,028	19	3.3	32
Ohio	5,443.30	0.3	976	25	3.1	37
Oklahoma	1,628.80	0.5	897	41	2.6	47
Oregon	1,970.70	1.4	1,037	18	3.2	35
Pennsylvania	5,947.90	0.8	1,064	17	3.2	35
Rhode Island	491.3	0.6	991	24	2.8	44
South Carolina	2,132.40	2.2	866	46	3.7	21
South Dakota	433.4	0.4	855	47	3.4	27
Tennessee	3,060.80	1.9	966	28	2.8	44
Texas	12,603.20	2.1	1,109	12	4.1	10
Utah	1,535.20	2.8	954	30	4.8	3
Vermont	311	0	927	34	4.3	5
Virginia	3,931.40	1	1,125	10	4	13
Washington	3,489.80	2.1	1,335	3	4.3	5
West Virginia	694.4	-1.8	897	41	0.3	51
Wisconsin	2,893.80	0.1	929	33	3.1	37
Wyoming	283.1	1.5	942	31	4.2	7
Puerto Rico	878.9	1.9	528	(3)	-0.8	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.8	9.6	1,012	(3)	12.8	(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.