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 77^th among the 334 largest counties in the nation and Greenville County’s 2.0-percent increase ranked 127^th. 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.

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.