Eight of North Carolina’s nine largest counties reported employment gains 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 3.7 percent in both Mecklenburg and Wake Counties to 1.1 percent in Guilford County. Employment declined 1.0 percent in Cumberland County over the 12-month period. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment increased 1.8 percent over the year, 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 North Carolina, employment was highest in Mecklenburg (606,800) in December 2013. Two other counties—Wake and Guilford—had employment levels exceeding 250,000. Together, North Carolina’s nine large counties accounted for 53.1 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.

Six of North Carolina’s nine largest counties experienced an increase in their average weekly wages from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter of 2013. Average weekly wage increases in two counties exceeded 2.0 percent—Durham (3.6 percent) and Forsyth (2.2 percent). Durham County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,255, followed by the counties of Mecklenburg ($1,098) and Wake ($984). Nationally, the average weekly wage was unchanged over the year 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 91 counties with employment levels below 75,000 in North Carolina. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,018 to $538. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As noted, average weekly wages advanced in six of North Carolina’s large counties from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter of 2013. At 3.6 percent, Durham’s wage increase ranked 14^th among the nation’s 334 large counties. Two other counties placed in the top third of the rankings—Forsyth (2.2 percent, 41^st) and New Hanover (1.1 percent, 95^th). (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), Virginia Beach City, Va. (-10.0 percent), McHenry, Ill. (-8.8 percent) and Shawnee, Kan. (-5.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Durham and Mecklenburg Counties, with average weekly wages of $1,255 and $1,098, respectively, placed in the top third of the national ranking among the 334 largest U.S. counties in the fourth quarter of 2012. Wake ($984), Forsyth ($895), and Guilford ($858) fell in the middle third of the national ranking and the state’s remaining four large counties fell in the bottom third.

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 North Carolina’s smaller counties

Among the 91 counties in North Carolina with employment below 75,000, only Orange County ($1,018) had an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,000. This was followed by the counties of Iredell ($832) and Camden ($809). Tyrrell County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state, averaging $538 in the fourth quarter of 2013. (See table 2.)

When all 100 counties in North Carolina were considered, 21 reported average weekly wages under $600, 50 reported wages from $600 to $699, 20 had wages from $700 to $799, and 9 had wages 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.