Employment increased in all 10 of Georgia’s large counties from December 2015 to December 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2015 average annual employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment increases ranged from 3.7 percent in Fulton County to 0.6 percent in Richmond County. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 1.2 percent from December 2015 to December 2016 as 280 of the 344 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Williamson, Tenn., had the largest percentage increase with a gain of 5.1 percent over the year. Lafayette, La., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment, with a loss of 5.1 percent.

Among the 10 largest counties in Georgia, employment was highest in Fulton County (845,700) in December 2016, while Bibb County had the smallest employment level (83,000). Together, Georgia’s large counties accounted for 57.2 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 344 largest counties made up 72.8 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 143.7 million in December 2016.

Seven of Georgia’s 10 large counties had over-the-year wage decreases in the fourth quarter of 2016, with the largest losses in Chatham and Muscogee Counties (-3.7 percent each). Fulton County had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties ($1,387), followed by Cobb ($1,094) and DeKalb ($1,067). Nationally, the average weekly wage decreased 1.5 percent over the year to $1,067 in the fourth quarter of 2016. (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 ($1,339), wage levels in all of these smaller counties were below the national average in December 2016. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Six of Georgia’s large counties had over-the-year wage decreases greater than the national decline of 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016. (See table 1.) In contrast, Clayton County had an over-the-year wage increase, up 11.3 percent, ranking first among the nation’s 344 large counties. DeKalb County (0.5 percent, 33^rd) and Hall County (0.1 percent, 40^th) also had over-the-year wage increases.

Among the 344 largest U.S. counties, 290 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. McLean, Ill., had the largest percentage wage decrease (-9.2 percent). Clay, Mo., had the second-largest decrease (-8.3 percent), followed by Lafayette, La. (-8.0 percent); Douglas, Colo. (-6.8 percent); and Passaic, N.J. (-6.0 percent).

Nationally, 48 large counties registered over-the-year wage increases. As noted, Clayton, Ga., had the largest percentage increase in average weekly wages (11.3 percent). Washington, Pa., had the second-largest increase (4.9 percent), followed by Marin, Calif. (4.3 percent); Elkhart, Ind. (4.0 percent); San Francisco, Calif., and Champaign, Ill. (3.7 percent each).

Large county average weekly wages

Fulton, Cobb, and DeKalb Counties had average weekly wages at or above the U.S. average of $1,067 and ranked in the top-third nationwide.  Average weekly wages in Gwinnett ($1,022) and Clayton ($1,006) ranked 130^th and 147^th, respectively.   

Nationwide, average weekly wages were above the U.S. average ($1,067) in 100 of the 344 largest counties in the fourth quarter of 2016. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $2,365, followed by New York, N.Y. ($2,212); San Mateo, Calif. ($2,098); and San Francisco, Calif. ($2,068).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 243 had weekly wages below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2016. Cameron, Texas ($640) reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Hidalgo, Texas ($648); Horry, S.C. ($654); and Webb, Texas ($683).

Average weekly wages in Georgia’s smaller counties

With the exception of Burke County ($1,339), all of the smaller counties in Georgia—those with employment below 75,000— had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $1,067. Among the smaller counties, Forsyth had the second highest average weekly wage at $990, followed by Heard at $885. Taliaferro County had the lowest average weekly wage in state at $482. (See table 2.)

When all 159 counties in Georgia were considered, 19 reported average weekly wages below $600, 76 had wages from $600 to $699, 32 had wages from $700 to $799, 24 had wages from $800 to $899, and 8 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 2015 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 2016 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2015 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2015/home.htm. The 2016 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2017.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, September 6, 2017.

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 9.9 million employer reports cover 143.7 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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 10 largest counties in Georgia, fourth quarter 2016

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2016 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2015-16 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2015-16 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	143,749.9	1.2	--	$1,067	--	-1.5	--
Georgia	4,349.3	2.4	--	993	20	-0.9	14
Bibb, Ga.	83.0	1.4	156	816	311	-2.6	252
Chatham, Ga.	150.4	1.7	130	886	253	-3.7	301
Clayton, Ga.	124.1	2.2	90	1,006	147	11.3	1
Cobb, Ga.	353.4	2.6	65	1,094	78	-1.9	191
DeKalb, Ga.	298.7	1.2	172	1,067	101	0.5	33
Fulton, Ga.	845.7	3.7	11	1,387	17	-2.0	198
Gwinnett, Ga.	350.2	2.6	65	1,022	130	-1.2	138
Hall, Ga.	84.4	2.4	76	929	215	0.1	40
Muscogee, Ga.	94.0	0.7	223	841	298	-3.7	301
Richmond, Ga.	105.5	0.6	230	869	272	-1.8	183
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 2016

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2016 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2015-16	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2015-16	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	143,749.9	1.2	$1,067	--	-1.5	--
Alabama	1,932.6	0.7	901	35	-1.3	21
Alaska	310.0	-1.9	1,038	17	-5.2	51
Arizona	2,760.1	2.1	945	25	-2.2	34
Arkansas	1,205.4	0.4	827	47	-1.4	22
California	16,923.3	1.9	1,271	5	-0.3	4
Colorado	2,588.6	2.0	1,086	12	-1.5	24
Connecticut	1,685.5	0.0	1,289	4	-3.4	46
Delaware	441.2	-0.1	1,055	15	-2.9	44
District of Columbia	760.9	0.5	1,763	1	0.6	2
Florida	8,538.9	2.7	942	27	-1.8	28
Georgia	4,349.3	2.4	993	20	-0.9	14
Hawaii	658.3	0.7	954	24	-0.3	4
Idaho	691.6	3.2	800	50	-0.4	8
Illinois	5,947.6	0.4	1,122	9	-2.0	31
Indiana	3,021.7	0.9	883	38	-0.9	14
Iowa	1,542.0	0.1	911	33	-1.0	16
Kansas	1,384.5	0.1	877	39	-2.2	34
Kentucky	1,894.2	0.6	874	41	-1.4	22
Louisiana	1,907.4	-1.6	914	32	-2.9	44
Maine	602.6	0.8	855	43	-2.1	33
Maryland	2,666.7	1.0	1,169	7	-0.4	8
Massachusetts	3,530.4	1.3	1,352	2	-2.4	39
Michigan	4,283.0	1.5	1,026	19	-1.6	25
Minnesota	2,839.7	1.2	1,062	14	-1.1	18
Mississippi	1,134.0	0.0	756	51	-1.8	28
Missouri	2,783.2	0.9	918	31	-1.7	27
Montana	456.5	0.7	822	48	0.5	3
Nebraska	972.4	0.0	876	40	-0.5	10
Nevada	1,307.8	2.7	924	29	-1.2	20
New Hampshire	656.9	1.3	1,092	10	-4.1	48
New Jersey	4,042.1	1.4	1,239	6	-1.9	30
New Mexico	811.4	0.0	844	45	-2.5	41
New York	9,332.5	1.2	1,342	3	-2.3	36
North Carolina	4,326.3	1.8	932	28	-0.7	13
North Dakota	414.4	-3.2	978	21	-4.2	49
Ohio	5,365.6	0.7	943	26	-2.3	36
Oklahoma	1,587.7	-1.2	864	42	-3.5	47
Oregon	1,860.7	2.4	970	22	-1.0	16
Pennsylvania	5,799.8	0.7	1,039	16	-2.3	36
Rhode Island	478.3	0.0	1,027	18	-1.6	25
South Carolina	2,024.3	1.8	855	43	-0.6	12
South Dakota	419.9	0.5	828	46	-0.5	10
Tennessee	2,947.5	1.8	970	22	-1.1	18
Texas	11,974.7	1.2	1,072	13	-2.5	41
Utah	1,415.1	2.9	910	34	-0.3	4
Vermont	312.6	0.1	897	36	-2.4	39
Virginia	3,831.6	0.6	1,091	11	-0.3	4
Washington	3,227.9	2.8	1,150	8	1.7	1
West Virginia	693.1	-1.6	809	49	-2.5	41
Wisconsin	2,842.4	0.5	924	29	-2.0	31
Wyoming	265.8	-3.9	894	37	-4.7	50
Puerto Rico	928.2	-0.3	555	(3)	-1.9	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.5	0.2	769	(3)	-1.8	(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.