Employment increased in all of North Carolina’s nine large counties from December 2013 to December 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are those with 2013 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment growth in five of the nine large counties was equal to or above the national average. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 2.2 percent from December 2013 to December 2014 as 319 of the 339 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Weld, Colo., and Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increases, with gains of 8.0 percent each over the year. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a loss of 5.0 percent.

Among the nine largest counties in North Carolina, employment was highest in Mecklenburg County (630,400) and Wake County (503,300) in December 2014. Guilford County (275,200) was the only other large county in North Carolina to have an employment level greater than 250,000. Together, the nine largest North Carolina counties accounted for 53.4 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 339 largest counties made up 72.1 percent of total U.S. employment.

From the fourth quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2014, Buncombe County recorded the fastest rate of increase in average weekly wages among the nine large counties in North Carolina, registering a gain of 4.9 percent. (See table 1.) Durham County recorded the highest average weekly wage among these large counties at $1,271, followed by Mecklenburg County ($1,125) and Wake County ($1,008). Nationally, the average weekly wage increased to $1,035, a 3.5 percent increase, during the year ending in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 91 counties in North Carolina with employment levels below 75,000. With the exception of Orange County ($1,044), wage levels in all of these smaller counties were below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2014. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Average weekly wages increased in each of the nine largest counties in North Carolina from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2014. The wage gains in two of the state’s large counties placed in the top 100 of the national ranking—Buncombe (4.9 percent, 50^th) and Guilford (4.2 percent, 99^th). (See table 1.)

Nationally, 332 of the 339 largest counties registered over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Benton, Ark., had the largest wage gain, up 9.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013. Washington, Pa., was second with a wage increase of 9.2 percent, followed by the counties of Midland, Texas (9.0 percent), Brazoria, Texas (8.9 percent), and Douglas, Colo. (8.8 percent).

Of the 339 largest U.S. counties, 7 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages, with a loss of 20.4 percent from the fourth quarter 2013. Olmsted, Minn., had the second largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 5.5 percent, followed by Morris, N.J. (-2.9 percent), Rockland, N.Y. (-1.3 percent), and Camden, N.J. and Butler, Pa. (-0.8 percent each).

Large county average weekly wages

Durham County ($1,271) and Mecklenburg County ($1,125) had the highest average weekly wages in North Carolina and ranked 28^th and 60^th, respectively, among the 339 large U.S. counties by wage level. Average weekly wages in the state’s remaining seven large counties were below the national average of $1,035 in the fourth quarter of 2014. Catawba ($760) reported the lowest average weekly wage among the state’s large counties and ranked 323^rd nationwide.

Nationally, 95 large counties registered average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,035 in the fourth quarter of 2014. San Mateo, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,166. New York, N.Y., was second at $2,138, followed by Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,114), Suffolk Mass. ($1,856), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,850).

Seventy-two percent of the largest U.S. counties (244) reported weekly wages below the national average. Horry County, S.C., reported the lowest wage ($610), followed by the Texas counties of Cameron ($621) and Hidalgo ($641), and the Florida counties of Osceola ($687) and Lake ($691).

Average weekly wages in North Carolina’s smaller counties

With the exception of Orange County ($1,044), all 91 counties in North Carolina with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages below the national average of $1,035. Among these smaller counties, Iredell had the second highest average weekly wage at $886, while Clay had the lowest at $553. (See table 2.)

When all 100 counties in North Carolina were considered, all but 4 had wages below the national average. Ten reported average weekly wages under $600, 51 had wages from $600 to $699, 26 reported wages from $700 to $799, 8 had wages from $800 to $899, and 5 had wages of $900 or more. (See chart 1.)

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 2013 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Online Annual Averages 2013 are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm. The 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2015.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, September 17, 2015.

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 9.5 million employer reports cover 139.2 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.

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.