Employment increased in all 10 of Georgia’s large counties from December 2014 to December 2015, 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 2014 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment increases ranged from 5.0 percent in Hall County to 0.1 percent in Muscogee County. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 1.9 percent from December 2014 to December 2015 as 308 of the 342 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Williamson, Tenn., recorded the largest percentage increase, up 6.8 percent over the year. Ector, Texas, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the large U.S. counties, with a loss of 11.8 percent.

Among the 10 largest counties in Georgia, employment was highest in Fulton County (811,400) in December 2015, while Hall County had the smallest employment level (82,200). Together, Georgia’s large counties accounted for 57.2 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 342 largest counties made up 72.5 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 141.9 million in December 2015.

Nine of Georgia’s 10 large counties had over-the-year wage increases in the fourth quarter of 2015, with the largest gain in Hall County, up 7.4 percent, followed by Muscogee County, up 6.6 percent. Fulton County had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties ($1,402), followed by Cobb County ($1,118), DeKalb County ($1,048), and Gwinnett County ($1,041). Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 4.4 percent over the year to $1,082 in the fourth quarter of 2015. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 149 counties in Georgia with employment below 75,000. With the exception of Burke County ($1,082), wage levels in all of these smaller counties were below the national average in December 2015. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As noted, average weekly wages increased in 9 of the 10 large counties in Georgia from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the fourth quarter of 2015. The wage gains in three of the state’s large counties placed in the top third of the national ranking—Hall (7.4 percent, 20^th), Muscogee (6.6 percent, 43^rd), and Chatham (5.9 percent, 88^th). (See table 1.) In contrast, Clayton County had an over-the-year wage decline, down 1.8 percent.

Nationally, 325 of the 342 largest counties registered over-the-year wage increases. Wyandotte, Kan., had the largest percentage wage increase among the largest U.S. counties (10.4 percent). Sonoma, Calif., was second with a wage increase of 10.0 percent, followed by Lake, Ill. (9.8 percent); Passaic, N.J. (9.4 percent); and Santa Clara, Calif., and Anoka, Minn. (9.3 percent each).

Of the 342 largest counties, 10 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages, with a loss of 11.5 percent. Ector, Texas, had the second largest decrease in average weekly wages (-8.0 percent), followed by Lafayette, La. (-4.3 percent); Gregg, Texas (-3.2 percent); and San Mateo, Calif. (-2.3 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 4 of Georgia’s 10 large counties placed in the top half of the national ranking in the fourth quarter of 2015. The highest paid counties—Fulton and Cobb—had average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,082 and ranked in the top 80 nationwide. Average weekly wages in DeKalb ($1,048) and Gwinnett ($1,041) ranked 126^th and 130^th, respectively.

Nationwide, average weekly wages were above the U.S. average ($1,082) in 100 of the 342 largest counties in the fourth quarter of 2015. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $2,335, followed by New York, N.Y. ($2,235); San Mateo, Calif. ($2,095); San Francisco, Calif. ($1,961); and Suffolk Mass. ($1,943).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 241 had average weekly wages below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2015. Cameron County, Texas ($649), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Horry, S.C. ($653); Hidalgo, Texas ($661); Webb, Texas ($706); and Harrison, Miss. ($729).

Average weekly wages in Georgia’s smaller counties

With the exception of Burke County ($1,082), all of the smaller counties in Georgia, those with employment below 75,000, had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $1,082. Among the smaller counties, Forsyth had the second highest average weekly wage at $1,018, followed by Rockdale at $1,001. Glascock County had the lowest average weekly wage in state at $484. (See table 2.)

When all 159 counties in Georgia were considered, 19 reported average weekly wages below $600, 75 had wages from $600-$699, 30 had wages from $700-$799, 22 had wages from $800 to $899, and 13 reported 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 2014 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 2015 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2014 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2014/home.htm. The 2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in December 2016.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2016 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, September 7, 2016.

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 9.7 million employer reports cover 141.9 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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 10 largest counties in Georgia, fourth quarter 2015

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2015 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2014-15 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2014-15 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	141,924.5	1.9	--	$1,082	--	4.4	--
Georgia	4,249.4	2.9	--	1,001	21	4.5	27
Bibb, Ga.	84.8	1.1	235	838	307	4.5	196
Chatham, Ga.	147.9	3.3	69	921	236	5.9	88
Clayton, Ga.	121.9	4.8	13	957	197	-1.8	330
Cobb, Ga.	340.6	3.0	93	1,118	80	3.4	266
DeKalb, Ga.	301.0	3.8	37	1,048	126	3.4	266
Fulton, Ga.	811.4	2.8	108	1,402	19	4.5	196
Gwinnett, Ga.	341.9	2.9	102	1,041	130	4.0	230
Hall, Ga.	82.2	5.0	10	930	225	7.4	20
Muscogee, Ga.	94.9	0.1	306	860	290	6.6	43
Richmond, Ga.	105.3	1.2	221	875	281	4.8	172
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

 

 

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, fourth quarter 2015

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2015 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2014-15	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2014-15	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	141,924.5	1.9	$1,082	--	4.4	--
Alabama	1,916.2	1.4	912	37	3.4	37
Alaska	315.9	-0.5	1,095	13	2.9	43
Arizona	2,701.8	2.6	967	24	4.4	28
Arkansas	1,201.4	1.7	838	46	3.8	35
California	16,593.8	3.1	1,274	5	5.4	10
Colorado	2,537.5	2.5	1,103	11	3.3	40
Connecticut	1,685.1	0.3	1,334	4	4.3	29
Delaware	441.2	1.8	1,086	15	3.4	37
District of Columbia	754.2	2.2	1,756	1	3.4	37
Florida	8,308.1	3.7	958	26	5.2	16
Georgia	4,249.4	2.9	1,001	21	4.5	27
Hawaii	653.0	2.2	957	27	5.4	10
Idaho	670.1	3.4	803	50	2.6	45
Illinois	5,931.2	1.4	1,146	8	5.1	18
Indiana	2,996.3	1.7	891	40	5.3	14
Iowa	1,539.0	0.7	920	34	5.7	3
Kansas	1,382.1	0.4	898	38	5.0	20
Kentucky	1,881.3	1.6	885	41	5.9	1
Louisiana	1,937.4	-1.0	940	29	1.8	47
Maine	596.9	0.7	873	43	5.7	3
Maryland	2,636.7	1.7	1,175	7	5.6	5
Massachusetts	3,479.1	1.6	1,385	2	5.4	10
Michigan	4,218.9	1.5	1,043	18	5.9	1
Minnesota	2,805.8	1.5	1,073	16	4.8	22
Mississippi	1,133.8	1.3	770	51	3.1	41
Missouri	2,759.6	1.8	933	33	4.6	25
Montana	453.2	2.5	818	49	3.0	42
Nebraska	971.8	1.4	880	42	5.1	18
Nevada	1,272.2	3.5	935	32	4.0	31
New Hampshire	648.6	1.7	1,139	9	5.4	10
New Jersey	3,988.4	1.7	1,262	6	4.0	31
New Mexico	808.9	-0.1	865	44	1.8	47
New York	9,227.6	1.7	1,372	3	3.9	34
North Carolina	4,247.1	2.5	939	30	5.5	8
North Dakota	428.1	-5.9	1,021	20	-2.8	51
Ohio	5,328.8	1.2	964	25	4.6	25
Oklahoma	1,605.0	-0.7	896	39	2.3	46
Oregon	1,814.8	3.3	979	23	5.5	8
Pennsylvania	5,759.7	0.7	1,063	17	4.9	21
Rhode Island	478.1	1.5	1,043	18	4.0	31
South Carolina	1,987.1	2.8	860	45	5.3	14
South Dakota	417.7	1.2	832	47	5.2	16
Tennessee	2,898.1	2.8	980	22	5.6	5
Texas	11,832.1	1.4	1,099	12	2.7	44
Utah	1,375.6	3.8	913	36	4.7	23
Vermont	312.1	0.3	919	35	4.1	30
Virginia	3,806.2	3.0	1,094	14	3.5	36
Washington	3,137.2	2.3	1,132	10	4.7	23
West Virginia	703.7	-1.3	829	48	1.3	49
Wisconsin	2,820.5	1.1	944	28	5.6	5
Wyoming	276.0	-2.9	937	31	-1.7	50
Puerto Rico	929.9	-1.6	565	(3)	1.6	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.4	-0.3	787	(3)	4.7	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.