Employment increased in all seven of South Carolina’s large counties from September 2013 to September 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with 2013 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that Charleston County had the largest increase, up 4.3 percent, followed by the counties of Greenville and York, each up 3.9 percent. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 2.0 percent from September 2013 to September 2014 as 306 of the 339 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Weld, Colo., recorded the largest percentage increase in the country, up 8.8 percent over the year. Atlantic, N.J., registered the largest percentage employment decline, down 4.0 percent.

Among the seven largest counties in South Carolina, employment was highest in Greenville County (248,300) in September 2014. Two other counties, Charleston (228,900) and Richland (209,900), had employment levels above 200,000. Together, the seven largest South Carolina counties accounted for 58.8 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 339 largest counties made up 71.8 percent of total U.S. employment.

From the third quarter of 2013 to the third quarter of 2014, Spartanburg County recorded the fastest rate of increase in average weekly wages among the large counties in South Carolina, registering a gain of 3.9 percent. (See table 1.) Greenville County recorded the highest average weekly wage among the state’s large counties at $841 per week, followed by Charleston County at $837. Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 2.9 percent over the year, growing to $949 in the third quarter of 2014.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 39 counties in South Carolina with employment levels below 75,000. With the exception of Fairfield County ($1,075), wage levels in all of these smaller counties were below the national average in September 2014. (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 average increase of 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2014. Spartanburg County’s 3.9-percent wage increase ranked 44^th among the 339 largest counties in the nation and York County’s 3.3-percent increase ranked 81^st. The state’s remaining five large counties recorded wage increases ranging from 2.8 to 2.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Nationally, 328 of the 339 largest counties registered over-the-year wage increases. Olmsted, Minn., had the largest wage gain, up 11.1 percent from the third quarter of 2013. San Francisco, Calif., was second with a wage increase of 8.6 percent, followed by the counties of Santa Clara, Calif. (7.4 percent), and San Mateo, Calif., and Brazoria, Texas (7.1 percent each).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 10 experienced over-the-year wage decreases. Collier, Fla., had the largest wage decrease with a loss of 3.9 percent. Dane, Wis., had the second largest decrease in average weekly wages, down 2.2 percent from the third quarter of 2013, followed by Williamson, Texas. (-0.8 percent), Hamilton, Ind. (-0.7 percent), and Shawnee, Kan. (-0.4 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Greenville and Charleston Counties, with average weekly wages of $841 and $837, respectively, placed in the middle third of the national ranking among the 339 largest U.S. counties in the third quarter of 2014. Average weekly wages in South Carolina’s five other large counties placed in the bottom third of the national ranking. (See table 1.)

Nationally, 99 large counties registered average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $949 in the third quarter of 2014. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $2,012. San Mateo, Calif., was second at $1,824, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,733), San Francisco Calif. ($1,685) and Washington, D.C. ($1,631).

Seventy percent of the largest U.S. counties (237) reported weekly wages below the national average. Horry County, S.C., reported the lowest wage ($580), followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($603), Hidalgo, Texas ($616), Marion, Fla. ($644) and Pasco, Fla. ($650).

Average weekly wages in South Carolina’s smaller counties

Among the 39 counties in South Carolina – those with employment below 75,000 – Fairfield ($1,075) was the only county to report an average weekly wage above the $949 national average. Dillon County reported the lowest weekly wage among all the counties in the state, averaging $554 in the third quarter of 2014. (See table 2.)

When all 46 counties in South Carolina were considered, 7 reported average weekly wages under $600, 26 reported wages from $600-$749, 12 had wages from $750-$899, and 1 had wages above $900. (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 fourth quarter 2014 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 17, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

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 9.4 million employer reports cover 137.7 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.