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News Release Information

14-481-ATL
Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

County Employment and Wages in South Carolina — Third Quarter 2013

Employment gains were experienced in all seven of South Carolina’s large counties from September 2012 to September 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 Janet S. Rankin noted that Lexington posted the largest employment growth among South Carolina’s largest counties, increasing 4.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment rose 1.7 percent during the 12-month period as 286 of the 334 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Fort Bend, Texas, posted the largest over-the-year percentage increase with a gain of 6.0 percent, while Peoria, Ill., experienced the largest employment decline at 3.7 percent.

Among the seven largest counties in South Carolina, employment was highest in Greenville County (238,900) in September 2013. Two other counties–Charleston and Richland–had employment levels exceeding 200,000. Together, South Carolina’s large counties accounted for 58.1 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 334 largest counties made up 71.4 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 135.0 million in September 2013.

Wage gains were recorded in all seven of South Carolina’s large counties from the third quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of 2013. The average weekly wage in York County rose 2.5 percent, the largest increase among the state’s large counties. Horry County had the second-largest gain at 2.0 percent. Charleston County had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties at $812, followed by Greenville County at $811, and Richland County at $796. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 1.9 percent over the year to $922 in the third quarter of 2013. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 39 counties in South Carolina with employment below 75,000. One of these smaller counties, Fairfield ($988), had average weekly wages above the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Two large counties in South Carolina recorded over-the-year wage advances that were greater than the national increase of 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2013. York County’s 2.5-percent wage increase ranked 77th among the 334 largest counties in the nation and Greenville County’s 2.0-percent increase ranked 127th. The state’s remaining five large counties recorded wage increases ranging from 1.9 to 0.1 percent, at or less than the national increase. (See table 1.)

Among the 334 largest counties, 291 experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., had the largest increase in the nation (9.9 percent), followed by the counties of Dane, Wis. (9.3 percent) and Collier, Fla. (8.0 percent).

Nationwide, 40 large counties experienced decreases in average weekly wages from the third quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of 2013. Pinellas, Fla., had the largest decline (-4.3 percent), followed by the counties of Rockland, N.Y. (-4.1 percent), Harford, Md. (-2.6 percent), and Douglas, Colo. (-2.5 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Charleston and Greenville Counties, with average weekly wages of $812 and $811, respectively,placed in the middle third of the national ranking among the 334 largest U.S. counties in the third quarter of 2013.Average weekly wages in South Carolina’s five other large counties placed in the bottom third of the national ranking. (See table 1.)

Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 101 of the 334 largest counties. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $1,868. San Mateo, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,698, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,667), Washington, D.C. ($1,560), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,549).

There were 232 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the third quarter of 2013. Horry County, S.C. ($564), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($587), Hidalgo, Texas ($595), Pasco, Fla. ($635), and Webb, Texas ($636).

Average weekly wages in South Carolina’s smaller counties

Among the 39 counties in South Carolina with employment below 75,000, 38 had average weekly wages below the national average of $922. The lone exception was Fairfield County at $988. (See table 2.) Saluda County reported the lowest weekly wage among all the counties in the state, averaging $543 in the third quarter of 2013.

When all 46 counties in South Carolina were considered, 9 reported average weekly wages under $600, 21 reported wages from $600-$699, 11 had wages from $700-$799, and 5 had wages above $800. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly data for states have been included in this release in (See 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 bulletin, which was published in September 2013, contains selected data produced by the 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 Online Annual Averages 2012 are now available 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 later in 2014.

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.

Changes to QCEW Data Files

BLS discontinued its ftp service on February 28, 2014. As part of this transition, the QCEW data file collection was substantially reorganized and improved. For more information, see www.bls.gov/cew/about-data/data-files-guide.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 9.3 million employer reports cover 135.0 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 7 largest counties in South Carolina, third quarter 2013 (2)
Area Employment Average Weekly Wage (3)
September 2013 (thousands) Percent change, September 2012-13 (4) National ranking by percent change (5) Average weekly wage National ranking by level (5) Percent change, third quarter 2012-13 (4) National ranking by percent change (5)

United States (6)

134,957.5 1.7 -- $922 -- 1.9 --

South Carolina

1,859.3 2.3 -- 751 44 1.9 28

Charleston, S.C.

219.0 2.1 114 812 204 1.9 138

Greenville, S.C.

238.9 3.4 37 811 207 0.1 283

Horry, S.C.

114.2 2.0 120 564 334 2.0 127

Lexington, S.C.

102.9 4.3 16 702 319 1.0 216

Richland, S.C.

207.2 1.4 174 796 231 1.5 181

Spartanburg, S.C.

120.7 3.6 28 777 252 1.7 161

York, S.C.

78.0 3.2 48 729 300 2.5 77

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 data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(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  South Carolina, third quarter 2013(2)
Area Employment September 2013 Average weekly wage (3) Area Employment September 2013 Average weekly wage (3)

United States (4)

134,957,493 $922     Georgetown 22,152 $663

 

        Greenville 238,870 811

  South Carolina

1,859,303 751     Greenwood 27,848 681

 

        Hampton 4,703 661

    Abbeville

5,499 677     Horry 114,236 564

    Aiken

54,962 863     Jasper 7,131 645

    Allendale

2,950 746     Kershaw 15,530 662

    Anderson

61,798 661     Lancaster 19,888 766

    Bamberg

3,753 574     Laurens 18,607 676

    Barnwell

5,356 590     Lee 3,434 610

    Beaufort

58,121 640     Lexington 102,877 702

    Berkeley

42,589 826     McCormick 1,698 579

    Calhoun

4,184 772     Marion 6,630 586

    Charleston

219,035 812     Marlboro 6,982 738

    Cherokee

18,644 617     Newberry 12,940 633

    Chester

8,026 698     Oconee 22,299 776

    Chesterfield

13,601 650     Orangeburg 29,602 639

    Clarendon

6,871 559     Pickens 34,399 715

    Colleton

10,083 564     Richland 207,218 796

    Darlington

19,649 791     Saluda 4,151 543

    Dillon

8,176 556     Spartanburg 120,674 777

    Dorchester

29,872 640     Sumter 35,408 648

    Edgefield

5,815 621     Union 6,847 616

    Fairfield

8,004 988     Williamsburg 9,015 673

    Florence

59,355 692     York 77,961 729

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, third quarter 2013 (2)
State Employment Average weekly wage (3)
September 2013 (thousands) Percent change, September 2012-13 Average weekly wage National ranking by level Percent change, third quarter 2012-13 National ranking by percent change

United States (4)

134,957.5 1.7 $922 -- 1.9 --

Alabama

1,847.6 0.8 794 34 1.3 43

Alaska

345.0 0.4 990 9 3.0 7

Arizona

2,490.9 2.2 859 22 1.5 36

Arkansas

1,156.5 0.1 723 47 2.1 21

California

15,526.4 2.7 1,057 6 2.1 21

Colorado

2,355.7 3.1 952 12 1.7 31

Connecticut

1,650.3 0.7 1,109 3 1.9 28

Delaware

416.8 2.1 941 14 2.1 21

District of Columbia

726.2 1.5 1,560 1 3.0 7

Florida

7,501.8 2.6 808 31 1.1 46

Georgia

3,928.2 2.3 867 21 1.5 36

Hawaii

617.7 1.7 839 25 1.6 33

Idaho

644.7 2.3 703 50 2.3 19

Illinois

5,731.7 0.7 959 11 1.5 36

Indiana

2,883.6 1.2 784 38 1.6 33

Iowa

1,512.0 1.5 772 40 2.1 21

Kansas

1,347.6 1.8 776 39 2.0 26

Kentucky

1,794.5 1.0 760 43 1.1 46

Louisiana

1,893.4 1.4 827 28 2.9 10

Maine

601.5 0.7 735 46 1.8 30

Maryland

2,546.4 0.6 1,011 8 0.4 51

Massachusetts

3,318.3 1.2 1,131 2 2.6 11

Michigan

4,069.7 2.1 875 20 1.5 36

Minnesota

2,724.2 1.7 938 15 2.6 11

Mississippi

1,099.1 0.8 688 51 2.5 15

Missouri

2,661.0 1.3 805 32 1.4 40

Montana

446.7 1.2 705 49 2.3 19

Nebraska

937.5 1.3 766 41 3.4 3

Nevada

1,169.4 2.5 836 27 2.0 26

New Hampshire

624.5 0.6 895 18 2.4 17

New Jersey

3,851.9 1.2 1,068 5 1.3 43

New Mexico

793.7 0.5 766 41 0.7 49

New York

8,724.8 1.3 1,108 4 1.7 31

North Carolina

4,006.4 1.7 817 30 1.4 40

North Dakota

436.7 3.4 921 16 5.5 1

Ohio

5,147.5 1.4 837 26 1.2 45

Oklahoma

1,572.6 1.4 797 33 2.4 17

Oregon

1,709.8 2.4 856 23 2.6 11

Pennsylvania

5,622.4 0.3 913 17 1.6 33

Rhode Island

465.2 1.3 878 19 2.6 11

South Carolina

1,859.3 2.3 751 44 1.9 28

South Dakota

408.9 0.9 706 48 3.4 3

Tennessee

2,712.8 1.5 819 29 0.6 50

Texas

11,091.9 2.8 952 12 2.5 15

Utah

1,265.5 2.9 791 36 3.1 6

Vermont

302.5 0.0 788 37 3.4 3

Virginia

3,650.1 0.6 971 10 1.1 46

Washington

3,017.9 2.4 1,044 7 2.1 21

West Virginia

710.3 -0.7 751 44 3.7 2

Wisconsin

2,752.7 1.1 793 35 3.0 7

Wyoming

286.1 0.2 840 24 1.4 40

Puerto Rico

910.9 -2.5 501 (5) -0.6 (5)

Virgin Islands

37.9 -1.9 706 (5) -0.6 (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.

 Chart 1. Average weekly wages by county in South Carolina, third quarter 2013

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 23, 2014