Wages increased in 14 of the 15 largest counties in New Jersey from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with 2017 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Mercer County had the largest increase, with a gain of 7.1 percent, followed by Essex with a gain of 4.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that the over-the-year percentage wage gain in Mercer County ranked 13^th among the 349 largest counties nationwide.

Nine of New Jersey’s large counties reported average weekly wages above the $1,144 national average in the fourth quarter of 2018. Average weekly wages in Morris and Somerset Counties exceeded $1,600.

Atlantic County had the largest rate of employment growth among New Jersey’s largest counties, up 4.6 percent. Nationally, employment grew by 1.5 percent from December 2017 to December 2018. (See chart 2.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the six counties in New Jersey with employment below 75,000. Hunterdon was the only small county to report an average weekly wage above the U.S. average of $1,144. Cape May County reported the lowest average weekly wage, $833. (See table 2.)

Large County Wage Changes

Mercer County’s 7.1-percent annual wage increase came in at more than twice the national rate. Essex County (4.2 percent) was the only other large county with a gain that exceeded the national average. Somerset County’s 3.2-percent increase matched the national rate, and Hudson County followed, at 3.1 percent. Four counties—Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, and Morris—had over-the-year gains ranging from 2.7 to 2.1 percent. Wage gains ranged from 1.9 to 1.2 percent in six additional counties. Conversely, Union County (-0.4 percent) experienced an over-the-year loss and ranked 339^th nationwide.

Among the 349 largest U.S. counties, 332 recorded increases in average weekly wages. Tippecanoe, IN, had the largest fourth quarter over-the-year wage gain at 15.1 percent, followed by Williamson, TN, and Olmstead, MN, at 13.1 and 13.0 percent, respectively. Fifteen of the largest counties nationwide experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. Washington, PA, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 6.6 percent.

Large County Average Weekly Wages

As noted, nine of New Jersey’s large counties reported average weekly wages above the national average. The state’s four highest-paying counties—Somerset, Morris, Hudson, and Mercer—ranked among the nation’s top 25. Ocean County had an average weekly wage of $907, the lowest of New Jersey’s large counties, and ranked 289^th nationwide.

Nationwide, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average of $1,144 in 94 of the 349 largest counties. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,670, followed by San Francisco, CA, ($2,452), and San Mateo, CA, ($2,410). Among the largest U.S. counties, nearly three-fourths (255) reported average weekly wages below the national average, with the lowest weekly wage in Hidalgo, TX ($680).

Large County Employment

Employment grew in 12 of the 15 largest counties in New Jersey from December 2017 to December 2018. Three of the counties had increases above the national job growth rate of 1.5 percent—Atlantic (4.6 percent), Hudson (1.7 percent), and Ocean (1.6 percent).

Nationally, employment grew in 296 of the 349 large U.S. counties. Midland, TX, had the largest percentage increase in employment, with a gain of 10.0 percent over the year. Bay, FL, had the largest over-the-year employment decrease, down 5.6 percent.

In New Jersey, employment was highest in Bergen (457,000), followed by Middlesex (446,000), and Essex (348,500). Altogether, New Jersey’s large counties accounted for 91.0 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 73.2 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average Weekly Wages in New Jersey's Smaller Counties

Hunterdon ($1,305) was the only small county to report an average weekly wage above the U.S. average of $1,144. (See table 2.)

When all 21 counties in New Jersey were considered, 9 had an average weekly above $1,250. All of these counties were clustered in northern and central New Jersey. Six counties had average weekly wages below $950, five of which were located in the southern half of the state. (See chart 3.)

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 2017 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 2018 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2017/home.htm. The 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2019.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 21, 2019, 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 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 United States and the 15 largest counties in New Jersey, fourth quarter 2018

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Fourth quarter 2018	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	148,061.8	1.5	--	$1,144	--	3.2	--
New Jersey	4,125.6	0.8	--	1,298	6	2.7	38
Atlantic, NJ	128.1	4.6	3	933	264	1.9	265
Bergen, NJ	457.0	0.5	242	1,321	44	1.4	296
Burlington, NJ	202.7	0.0	297	1,148	93	1.2	306
Camden, NJ	209.1	0.2	273	1,118	108	1.9	265
Essex, NJ	348.5	0.3	258	1,374	31	4.2	80
Gloucester, NJ	114.0	1.1	167	942	256	1.4	296
Hudson, NJ	271.5	1.7	114	1,445	22	3.1	164
Mercer, NJ	259.2	0.8	198	1,439	23	7.1	13
Middlesex, NJ	446.0	0.9	185	1,291	48	2.4	227
Monmouth, NJ	262.8	0.2	273	1,130	101	2.7	203
Morris, NJ	295.4	-0.2	312	1,620	14	2.1	249
Ocean, NJ	168.6	1.6	126	907	289	2.6	210
Passaic, NJ	169.0	-0.5	332	1,082	135	1.3	301
Somerset, NJ	191.5	0.7	215	1,625	13	3.2	155
Union, NJ	230.5	0.3	258	1,359	35	-0.4	339
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 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in New Jersey, fourth quarter 2018

Area	Employment December 2018 (thousands)	Average weekly wage (1) fourth quarter 2018
United States (2)	148,061.8	$1,144
New Jersey	4,125.6	1,298
Atlantic	128.1	933
Bergen	457.0	1,321
Burlington	202.7	1,148
Camden	209.1	1,118
Cape May	35.6	833
Cumberland	59.7	939
Essex	348.5	1,374
Gloucester	114.0	942
Hudson	271.5	1,445
Hunterdon	48.0	1,305
Mercer	259.2	1,439
Middlesex	446.0	1,291
Monmouth	262.8	1,130
Morris	295.4	1,620
Ocean	168.6	907
Passaic	169.0	1,082
Salem	21.7	1,123
Somerset	191.5	1,625
Sussex	38.7	945
Union	230.5	1,359
Warren	33.3	1,026
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. 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 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	December 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2017-18	Fourth quarter 2018	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	148,061.8	1.5	$1,144	--	3.2	--
Alabama	1,986.6	1.6	957	36	3.1	33
Alaska	308.3	0.4	1,103	16	4.9	7
Arizona	2,921.1	3.0	1,017	24	4.1	11
Arkansas	1,227.0	0.8	869	50	2.4	43
California	17,556.7	1.7	1,392	4	3.3	26
Colorado	2,713.7	2.2	1,180	10	4.1	11
Connecticut	1,697.9	0.5	1,334	5	1.3	49
Delaware	451.2	1.1	1,107	15	2.4	43
District of Columbia	775.1	0.6	1,943	1	7.3	2
Florida	8,902.7	2.1	1,006	27	3.1	33
Georgia	4,499.8	1.8	1,053	21	2.4	43
Hawaii	669.3	0.6	1,016	25	3.3	26
Idaho	734.4	3.2	890	47	3.6	20
Illinois	6,026.0	0.3	1,189	9	3.3	26
Indiana	3,086.2	0.9	941	38	2.8	37
Iowa	1,558.4	0.5	966	35	3.0	35
Kansas	1,402.2	0.8	927	41	3.7	18
Kentucky	1,914.0	0.3	924	42	3.2	30
Louisiana	1,934.1	0.7	968	34	3.8	15
Maine	618.4	1.3	906	44	2.5	41
Maryland	2,702.5	0.8	1,228	8	1.7	48
Massachusetts	3,620.3	1.0	1,457	2	3.3	26
Michigan	4,366.5	1.0	1,077	19	1.3	49
Minnesota	2,902.3	0.9	1,140	14	3.6	20
Mississippi	1,144.3	0.2	793	51	2.5	41
Missouri	2,821.3	0.5	980	31	3.6	20
Montana	468.8	1.6	888	48	5.2	5
Nebraska	983.0	0.2	930	40	3.2	30
Nevada	1,397.4	3.3	1,006	27	5.3	4
New Hampshire	666.0	0.7	1,158	12	2.3	46
New Jersey	4,125.6	0.8	1,298	6	2.7	38
New Mexico	830.2	1.5	905	45	4.6	9
New York	9,613.2	1.5	1,445	3	1.0	51
North Carolina	4,458.9	1.6	1,013	26	5.1	6
North Dakota	422.3	1.5	1,057	20	4.7	8
Ohio	5,442.9	0.5	1,006	27	3.4	24
Oklahoma	1,632.3	1.5	932	39	4.1	11
Oregon	1,935.8	1.7	1,052	22	3.7	18
Pennsylvania	5,932.5	1.0	1,103	16	2.6	39
Rhode Island	487.2	0.8	1,085	18	2.6	39
South Carolina	2,119.6	2.8	893	46	1.9	47
South Dakota	428.4	1.2	885	49	3.4	24
Tennessee	3,039.8	1.8	1,030	23	3.0	35
Texas	12,531.7	2.5	1,148	13	3.5	23
Utah	1,511.5	3.2	972	33	3.8	15
Vermont	314.2	-0.4	954	37	3.2	30
Virginia	3,927.2	1.1	1,164	11	3.8	15
Washington	3,384.2	2.4	1,292	7	6.3	3
West Virginia	704.2	1.5	917	43	8.3	1
Wisconsin	2,892.3	0.6	989	30	4.0	14
Wyoming	272.1	1.8	978	32	4.4	10
Puerto Rico	896.4	0.8	576	(3)	0.9	(3)
Virgin Islands	34.5	0.5	925	(3)	2.3	(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.