Employment increased in all seven of South Carolina’s large counties from September 2014 to September 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2014 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment in all seven large South Carolina counties increased at a faster rate than the 1.9-percent rate of job growth for the nation. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 1.9 percent from September 2014 to September 2015 as 312 of the 342 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Williamson, Tenn., recorded the largest percentage increase in the country, up 6.5 percent over the year. Ector, Texas, registered the largest percentage employment decline, down 8.3 percent.

Among the seven largest counties in South Carolina, employment was highest in Greenville County (257,700) in September 2015. Two other counties, Charleston and Richland, had employment levels above 200,000. Together, the seven largest South Carolina counties accounted for 58.9 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 342 largest counties made up 72.2 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 140.4 million in September 2015.

From the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015, Charleston County recorded the fastest rate of increase in average weekly wages among the large counties in South Carolina, registering a gain of 4.1 percent. (See table 1.) Charleston County also recorded the highest average weekly wage among the state’s large counties at $873 per week, followed by Greenville County at $859. Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 2.6 percent over the year, growing to $974 in the third quarter of 2015.

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 ($1,168), wage levels in all of these smaller counties were below the national average in September 2015. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Average weekly wages increased in each of the seven largest counties in South Carolina from the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015. The wage gains in three of the state’s large counties placed in the top half of the national ranking–Charleston (4.1 percent, 37^th), Horry (3.6 percent, 64^th), and Spartanburg (2.8 percent, 138^th). The state’s remaining four large counties recorded wage increases ranging from 2.4 to 0.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Nationally, 319 of the 342 largest counties registered over-the-year wage increases. Rockland, N.Y., had the largest wage gain, up 24.9 percent from the third quarter of 2014. Lake, Ill., was second with a wage increase of 11.7 percent, followed by the counties of Onondaga, N.Y. (6.5 percent), Washington, Ore. (6.4 percent), and Marin, Calif., and Santa Cruz, Calif. (6.1 percent each).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 20 experienced over-the-year wage decreases. Midland, Texas, had the largest wage decrease with a loss of 6.7 percent. Ector, Texas, had the second largest decrease in average weekly wages, down 4.9 percent from the third quarter of 2014, followed by Lafayette, La. (-3.2 percent), Stark, Ohio (-2.1 percent), and Gregg, Texas (-1.5 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Charleston and Greenville Counties, with average weekly wages of $873 and $859, respectively, placed in the middle third of the national ranking among the 342 largest U.S. counties in the third quarter of 2015. Average weekly wages in South Carolina’s five other large counties placed in the bottom third of the national ranking. (See table 1.)

Nationally, 100 large counties registered average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $974 in the third quarter of 2015. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $2,090. San Mateo, Calif., was second at $1,894, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,829), San Francisco, Calif. ($1,712) and Washington, D.C. ($1,667).

Seventy-one percent of the largest U.S. counties (242) reported weekly wages below the national average. Horry County, S.C., reported the lowest wage ($598), followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($615), Hidalgo, Texas ($624), Marion, Fla. and Webb, Texas ($658 each).

Average weekly wages in South Carolina’s smaller counties

Among the 39 smaller counties in South Carolina, those with employment below 75,000, Fairfield ($1,168) was the only county to report an average weekly wage above the $974 national average. Dillon County reported the lowest weekly wage among all the counties in the state, averaging $572 in the third quarter of 2015. (See table 2.)

When all 46 counties in South Carolina were considered, 6 had wages below $600, 27 had wages from $600-$749, 12 reported wages from $750-$899, and 1 reported average weekly 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 September 2016.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 8, 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 9.6 million employer reports cover 140.4 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 7 largest counties in South Carolina, third quarter 2015

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2015 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2014-15 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, third quarter 2014-15 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	140,442.2	1.9	--	$974	--	2.6	--
South Carolina	1,959.7	2.9	--	788	44	2.6	22
Charleston, S.C.	235.9	3.4	66	873	194	4.1	37
Greenville, S.C.	257.7	3.5	58	859	204	2.4	178
Horry, S.C.	121.1	3.0	95	598	342	3.6	64
Lexington, S.C.	112.8	4.1	25	741	321	2.1	215
Richland, S.C.	214.1	2.1	145	833	238	2.3	193
Spartanburg, S.C.	128.1	3.0	95	814	260	2.8	138
York, S.C.	84.9	4.1	25	763	311	0.5	315
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, third quarter 2015

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2015 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2014-15	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2014-15	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	140,442.2	1.9	$974	--	2.6	--
Alabama	1,893.6	1.2	830	34	1.8	40
Alaska	346.4	0.4	1,041	9	2.2	34
Arizona	2,613.9	2.9	889	24	1.5	42
Arkansas	1,193.4	1.9	756	48	2.6	22
California	16,474.4	3.0	1,134	5	3.4	6
Colorado	2,513.0	2.9	1,006	12	2.4	30
Connecticut	1,668.3	0.2	1,147	4	2.0	38
Delaware	436.3	2.1	963	15	0.3	48
District of Columbia	743.6	1.4	1,667	1	2.3	33
Florida	8,023.2	3.5	852	31	3.1	10
Georgia	4,171.1	2.8	916	22	2.8	19
Hawaii	635.4	1.4	896	23	3.1	10
Idaho	680.3	3.3	736	50	2.1	37
Illinois	5,888.6	1.3	1,020	10	3.9	3
Indiana	2,971.7	1.6	818	39	2.4	30
Iowa	1,535.9	0.4	823	38	3.0	14
Kansas	1,370.9	0.6	809	41	1.8	40
Kentucky	1,852.5	1.4	804	42	2.9	18
Louisiana	1,926.3	-0.2	858	30	0.7	47
Maine	609.7	0.7	779	46	3.3	7
Maryland	2,607.8	1.3	1,067	8	2.4	30
Massachusetts	3,446.9	1.4	1,197	2	3.0	14
Michigan	4,203.0	1.6	921	20	2.7	20
Minnesota	2,800.7	1.4	990	14	2.6	22
Mississippi	1,118.9	1.2	706	51	1.3	43
Missouri	2,737.9	1.9	846	32	2.2	34
Montana	457.9	1.9	759	47	3.7	4
Nebraska	964.0	1.4	811	40	4.2	2
Nevada	1,254.5	3.2	862	29	2.5	27
New Hampshire	642.8	1.5	952	18	2.7	20
New Jersey	3,933.9	1.4	1,116	6	2.6	22
New Mexico	809.2	0.6	798	43	1.3	43
New York	9,065.4	1.8	1,180	3	3.1	10
North Carolina	4,194.1	2.5	863	28	3.0	14
North Dakota	438.0	-3.8	956	17	-2.3	51
Ohio	5,282.7	1.2	878	25	1.9	39
Oklahoma	1,598.0	0.2	825	37	0.0	49
Oregon	1,812.8	3.0	924	19	4.4	1
Pennsylvania	5,722.1	0.8	961	16	2.5	27
Rhode Island	477.4	1.2	919	21	2.6	22
South Carolina	1,959.7	2.9	788	44	2.6	22
South Dakota	419.5	0.9	756	48	3.1	10
Tennessee	2,850.6	2.7	864	27	3.2	8
Texas	11,681.0	2.1	999	13	1.1	45
Utah	1,353.9	3.7	829	35	3.2	8
Vermont	308.2	0.5	829	35	3.0	14
Virginia	3,759.7	2.5	1,014	11	2.5	27
Washington	3,187.6	2.5	1,111	7	2.2	34
West Virginia	702.4	-1.1	785	45	0.9	46
Wisconsin	2,815.7	0.9	834	33	3.5	5
Wyoming	287.4	-1.5	866	26	-1.1	50
Puerto Rico	891.1	-0.7	512	(3)	1.4	(3)
Virgin Islands	36.8	-2.1	738	(3)	2.1	(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.