From December 2016 to December 2017, employment rose in both of Delaware’s large counties—Sussex increased 2.7 percent, and New Castle increased 0.5 percent—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 2016 annual average employment.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the employment increase in Sussex County was almost twice the national increase of 1.5 percent and ranked 52^nd among the 346 U.S. large counties for employment change.

Employment increased in 316 of the 346 largest U.S. counties from December 2016 to December 2017. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase, with a gain of 11.5 percent over the year. Utah, Utah, had the next-largest percentage increase (6.0 percent), followed by the counties of Montgomery, Texas (5.9 percent) and Calcasieu, La. (5.8 percent). Employment declined in 25 large counties during this period. Caddo, La., and Shawnee, Kan., had the largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment (-1.8 percent each), followed by Kanawha, W.Va. (-1.5 percent); Potter, Texas (-1.3 percent); Jefferson, La. (-1.2 percent); and Anchorage, Ak. (-1.1 percent).

New Castle County’s employment in December 2017 was 293,300 and accounted for about two-thirds of Delaware’s total employment. Sussex County’s employment was 77,000 in December 2017, which made up 17.3 percent of Delaware’s total employment. Nationwide, the 346 large counties accounted for 73.0 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 145.9 million in December 2017. These 346 counties had a net job growth of 1.6 million over the year, accounting for 74.4 percent of the overall U.S. employment increase.

The average weekly wage in Sussex County increased 3.2 percent over the year in December 2017, ranking 151^st among the largest U.S. counties for wage change. The average weekly wage in New Castle County rose 2.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016 to the fourth quarter of 2017, ranking 227^th. Over the year, the national average weekly wage increased 3.9 percent.

Among the 346 largest U.S. counties, 339 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., and Ada, Idaho, had the largest percentage wage increases (11.5 percent each). Seven large counties had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Clayton, Ga., had the largest wage decline among the largest U.S. counties (-6.7 percent).

New Castle County’s average weekly wage of $1,195 ranked 62^nd among the 346 largest counties, and Sussex County ranked 325^th with an average weekly wage of $817. The average weekly wage in New Castle County was 7.8 percent higher than the U.S. average weekly wage of $1,109 in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Nationwide, 251 large counties had an average weekly wage below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2017. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Cameron, Texas ($652), followed by the counties of Hidalgo, Texas ($664) and Horry, S.C. ($674). Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 95 of the largest 346 U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,576) held the top position, followed by New York, N.Y. ($2,439) and San Mateo, Calif. ($2,341). (See table 1.)

Average Weekly Wages in Delaware’s Smaller County

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for Kent County, the only county in Delaware with employment below 75,000. Kent County had an average weekly wage of $845, more than 20 percent below the national average of $1,109. (See table A and chart 1.)

 Table A. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all of the counties in Delaware, fourth quarter 2017

Area	Employment December 2017 (thousands)	Average weekly wage (1)
United States (2)	145,921.1	$1,109
Delaware	444.9	1,081
Kent	66.5	845
New Castle	293.3	1,195
Sussex	77.0	817
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.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 2. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit the QCEW Web site at 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 2016 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 2017 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2016 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2016/home.htm. The 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2017.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 22, 2018, 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 10.0 million employer reports cover 145.9 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.

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 top 10 counties ranked by average weekly wage, fourth quarter 2017

Area	Employment	Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2017 (thousands)	Fourth quarter 2017	National ranking by level (2)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2016-2017 (3)	National ranking by percent change (2)
United States (4)	145,921.1	$1,109	--	3.9	--
Santa Clara, Calif.	1,093.4	2,576	1	8.9	5
New York, N.Y.	2,516.0	2,439	2	10.4	3
San Mateo, Calif.	407.5	2,341	3	11.5	1
San Francisco, Calif.	730.9	2,232	4	7.4	7
Suffolk, Mass.	679.7	1,986	5	5.4	22
Washington, D.C.	769.0	1,812	6	2.7	200
Arlington, Va.	178.6	1,727	7	2.8	188
Fairfield, Conn.	424.4	1,688	8	0.7	325
Fairfax, Va.	611.0	1,646	9	2.0	270
Middlesex, Mass.	915.0	1,613	10	5.1	30
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for any noneconomic county reclassifications. (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 2. Covered employment and wages by state, fourth quarter 2017

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2016-17	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2016-17	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	145,921.1	1.5	$1,109	--	3.9	--
Alabama	1,955.3	1.1	928	36	2.9	32
Alaska	306.7	-1.2	1,052	19	1.5	51
Arizona	2,834.7	2.6	978	25	3.5	12
Arkansas	1,217.2	1.0	848	48	2.5	42
California	17,293.0	2.1	1,346	4	5.7	4
Colorado	2,653.3	2.5	1,133	10	4.3	9
Connecticut	1,689.7	0.3	1,317	5	2.2	46
Delaware	444.9	0.6	1,081	15	2.6	40
District of Columbia	769.0	0.9	1,812	1	2.7	37
Florida	8,712.0	2.0	975	26	3.4	16
Georgia	4,425.0	1.8	1,027	20	3.4	16
Hawaii	664.5	0.8	984	24	3.1	26
Idaho	712.4	3.0	857	46	7.1	1
Illinois	6,001.1	0.8	1,151	9	2.6	40
Indiana	3,057.8	1.1	915	38	3.6	11
Iowa	1,549.7	0.4	938	32	3.0	28
Kansas	1,390.3	0.4	894	41	1.9	49
Kentucky	1,903.8	0.5	892	42	2.1	47
Louisiana	1,918.8	0.4	933	35	2.1	47
Maine	610.3	1.2	884	43	3.4	16
Maryland	2,683.6	0.5	1,207	8	3.3	22
Massachusetts	3,582.2	1.3	1,411	3	4.4	8
Michigan	4,321.8	0.9	1,062	17	3.4	16
Minnesota	2,875.7	1.3	1,100	14	3.4	16
Mississippi	1,140.6	0.5	774	51	2.4	45
Missouri	2,809.5	1.0	945	31	2.9	32
Montana	461.4	1.0	843	50	2.7	37
Nebraska	980.9	0.9	901	39	3.0	28
Nevada	1,351.9	3.5	955	29	3.2	25
New Hampshire	661.3	0.7	1,132	11	3.7	10
New Jersey	4,106.9	1.6	1,262	6	1.8	50
New Mexico	816.7	0.6	865	45	2.5	42
New York	9,465.3	1.4	1,428	2	6.4	2
North Carolina	4,388.6	1.5	964	28	3.3	22
North Dakota	416.1	0.4	1,010	22	3.3	22
Ohio	5,409.2	0.8	973	27	3.1	26
Oklahoma	1,607.8	1.2	895	40	3.5	12
Oregon	1,900.4	2.0	1,014	21	4.5	7
Pennsylvania	5,870.4	1.2	1,075	16	3.5	12
Rhode Island	483.6	1.1	1,056	18	2.7	37
South Carolina	2,058.8	1.6	879	44	2.8	35
South Dakota	423.8	0.9	856	47	3.4	16
Tennessee	2,984.8	1.3	1,000	23	3.0	28
Texas	12,207.8	2.0	1,109	13	3.5	12
Utah	1,465.5	3.6	936	33	2.9	32
Vermont	314.7	0.5	919	37	2.5	42
Virginia	3,884.2	1.3	1,121	12	2.8	35
Washington	3,305.0	2.4	1,217	7	5.8	3
West Virginia	693.1	0.1	847	49	4.7	5
Wisconsin	2,872.6	1.0	951	30	3.0	28
Wyoming	267.5	0.6	935	34	4.6	6
Puerto Rico	887.0	-4.4	570	(3)	2.5	(3)
Virgin Islands	34.3	-11.1	827	(3)	7.7	(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.