Employment rose in each of Georgia’s nine large counties from December 2012 to December 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 employment increases ranged from 3.6 percent in Gwinnett County to 0.2 percent in Muscogee County. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment increased 1.8 percent during the 12-month period, as 292 of the 334 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Weld, Colo., posted the largest increase, with a gain of 6.0 percent over the year. St. Clair, Ill., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease in employment among the largest counties in the U.S. with a loss of 3.1 percent.

Among the largest counties in Georgia, employment was highest in Fulton (761,200) in December 2013. Two other counties—Cobb and Gwinnett—had employment levels exceeding 300,000. Together, Georgia’s nine large counties accounted for 55.4 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 334 largest counties accounted for 71.7 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 136.1 million in December 2013.

Average weekly wages increased in five of Georgia’s nine largest counties from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter of 2013. Clayton County recorded the largest wage increase (5.1 percent), followed by Chatham (1.3 percent). Muscogee, Bibb, and Cobb counties experienced wage increases below 1.0 percent over-the-year. Fulton had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,290, followed by the counties of Cobb ($1,043), De Kalb ($994) and Gwinnett ($958). The U.S. average weekly wage was unchanged over the year, remaining at $1,000 in the fourth quarter of 2013. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 150 counties with employment levels below 75,000 in Georgia. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $984 to $384. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As noted, average weekly wages increased in five of Georgia’s large counties from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter of 2013. Clayton County’s 5.1-percent wage increase ranked 5^th among the nation’s 334 large counties and Chatham County’s 1.3 percent ranked in the top 100 nationwide. Wage increases in Muscogee, Bibb, and Cobb counties ranged from 0.9 to 0.6 percent. (See table 1.) 

Nationwide, 185 large counties experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Santa Cruz, Calif., had the largest wage gain (6.5 percent). Ada, Idaho, had the second largest increase (6.4 percent), followed by Washington, Ore. (5.9 percent).

Among the 334 largest U.S. counties, 140 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2013. Douglas, Colo., had the largest average weekly wage decline with a loss of 29.7 percent, followed by the counties of San Mateo, Calif. (-15.8 percent), and Virginia Beach City, Va. (-10.0 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 5 of Georgia’s 9 largest counties placed in the top half of the national ranking among the 334 largest counties in the fourth quarter of 2013. The highest-paid counties—Fulton and Cobb—were both above the U.S. average of $1,000 and ranked in the top 75 nationwide. De Kalb ($994), Gwinnett ($958), and Clayton ($910) ranked 102^nd, 132^nd, and 164^th, respectively. Average weekly wages in the remaining four large counties placed in the bottom third of the national ranking. (See table 1.)

Nationally, San Mateo, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $2,724, followed by New York, N.Y. ($2,041), Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,972), San Francisco, Calif. ($1,753), and Suffolk, Mass. ($1,741).

There were 235 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the fourth quarter of 2013. Horry, S.C. ($587), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($598), Hidalgo, Texas ($620), Lake, Fla. ($668), and Webb, Texas ($670).

Average weekly wages in Georgia’s smaller counties

Among the 150 counties in Georgia with employment below 75,000, none registered an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,000. Burke County ($984) reported the highest weekly wage among the smaller counties, followed by the counties of Forsyth ($922), and Chattahoochee ($915). Echols County reported the lowest weekly in the state, averaging $384 in the fourth quarter of 2013. (See table 2.)

When all 159 counties in Georgia were considered, 7 reported average weekly wages under $500, 42 reported wages from $500 to $599, 67 reported wages from $600 to $699, 26 reported wages from $700 to $799, and 17 had wages at or above $800. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly 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/.

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 publication, which was published in October 2013, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2012 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 in September 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.

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 136.1 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.