Bureau of Labor Statistics
New York Office Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/ro2/ Fax-On-Demand: (212) 337-2412 Media Contact: (212) 337-2420 Information: (212) 337-2400 FOR RELEASE: May 21, 2008
COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN NEW JERSEY: THIRD QUARTER 2007
Middlesex County employment growth leads State
Somerset County records highest wage
Middlesex County recorded over-the-year employment growth of 1.1 percent
in September 2007, the fastest increase among New Jersey's 15 largest
counties, those with 75,000 or more jobs (as measured by 2006 average
annual employment), according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of
Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Michael L. Dolfman noted that
Middlesex was the only large county in New Jersey to exceed the nationwide
employment increase of 0.9 percent. (See chart A.) Just over half (8) of
the State's large counties lost jobs over the year.
In the third quarter of 2007, average weekly wages in Somerset County
increased 5.8 percent over the year, the largest increase among New
Jersey's large counties. (See chart B.) Mercer County ranked second in
the State with 5.5-percent growth, followed by Gloucester and Monmouth
Counties with wage gains of 5.1 and 4.9 percent, respectively. All 4
counties exceeded the national increase of 4.3 percent and ranked among
the top 75 in the nation in wage growth in the third quarter of 2007.
Somerset County also recorded the highest average weekly wage at $1,210
in the third quarter of 2007, followed by Morris at $1,142. Among the
nation's 328 large counties, Somerset's average weekly wage ranked 10th
highest. Twelve of the 15 large counties (80 percent) in the State
reported average weekly wages above the $818 average for the nation.
Nationally, 112 of the 328 large counties (34 percent) reported wages above
the U.S. average.
Wage and employment levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also
available for the six counties in New Jersey with employment less than
75,000. Four of these counties had weekly wages below the national
average. (See table 2.)
Employment in Large Counties
Employment in New Jersey's largest counties ranged from a high of
454,200 in Bergen to a low of 104,200 in Gloucester in September 2007.
Taken together, the large counties in New Jersey accounted for 91 percent
of the State's employment, while nationally, large counties accounted for
71 percent of employment.
Although Middlesex, with a 1.1-percent increase in employment, was the
only county with growth exceeding the national average, five other large
counties in New Jersey added jobs over the year. Mercer and Hudson
Counties had the next highest growth rates in the State, up 0.7 and 0.6
percent, respectively. Employment in Bergen, Ocean, and Gloucester
Counties grew from 0.3 to 0.1 percent. In contrast, eight counties lost
jobs from September a year ago. Burlington, Somerset, and Monmouth
Counties posted declines that ranged from 0.2 to 0.7 percent. Four
counties experienced employment decreases in the neighborhood of 1.0
percent: Essex, Camden, Morris, and Passaic. The sharpest decline
occurred in Atlantic County, where employment dropped 3.8 percent over the
year.
Nationally, employment rose in 217 of the 328 large counties from
September 2006 to September 2007. Orleans County, La., which includes the
city of New Orleans, had the largest over-the-year employment growth with
an 8.6-percent increase. Fort Bend County, Texas, followed with an over-
the-year gain of 7.1 percent. Employment growth in Orleans reflected
significant recovery from the substantial job losses that occurred in 2005
and 2006, due to Hurricane Katrina. In contrast, employment decreased in
86 large counties across the nation. Trumbull County, Ohio, posted the
largest decline, 5.7 percent.
Wage Changes in Large Counties
Four of the 15 (27 percent) large counties in New Jersey had wage
increases exceeding that for the nation in the third quarter of 2007, with
Somerset County's 5.8-percent increase the highest in the State.
Somerset's wage growth ranked 40th among the 328 largest counties in the
nation. Mercer, Gloucester, and Monmouth Counties followed with growth
rates of 5.5, 5.1, and 4.9 percent, respectively, and placed 48th, 64th,
and 71st. While none of the other large New Jersey counties had wage
increases that exceeded the national average of 4.3 percent, six posted
growth rates ranging from 4.2 to 3.1 percent: Hudson, Atlantic, Camden,
Bergen, Essex, and Burlington. The only decline in average weekly wages
occurred in Middlesex County (-0.1 percent).
Among the largest counties in the United States, Clayton County, Ga.,
led the nation in wage growth with an increase of 23.9 percent from the
third quarter of 2006. Muscogee, Ga., was second with growth of 12.1
percent, followed by the counties of Santa Clara, Calif. (11.8 percent),
Rock Island, Ill. (11.5 percent), and Davidson, Tenn. (9.1 percent). Ten
large counties experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages
led by Trumbull, Ohio, down 10.6 percent.
Wages in Large Counties
Twelve of New Jersey's large counties had average weekly wages exceeding
the national average in the third quarter of 2007. Seven of these counties
had weekly wages above $1,000, led by Somerset at $1,210. Morris and
Hudson Counties followed, with average wages that topped $1,100, then
Union, Mercer, Essex and Bergen. Only three large New Jersey counties had
below-average weekly wages-Gloucester, Atlantic, and Ocean Counties posted
averages that ranged from $746 to $679.
Nationally, Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,585) recorded the highest average
weekly wage, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,544), Washington, D.C.
($1,376), and Arlington, Va. ($1,364). The lowest average weekly wage was
reported in Cameron County, Texas ($518), followed by the counties of
Hidalgo, Texas ($529), Horry, S.C., ($536), Webb, Texas ($548), and Yakima,
Wash. ($568).
Employment and Wages in Small Counties
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also
available for New Jersey's six small counties, those with less than 75,000
as measured by 2006 average annual employment. These counties accounted
for 9 percent of statewide employment. Among the small counties,
Cumberland reported the highest job total in September 2007 at 63,800,
followed by Hunterdon (49,400) and Cape May (47,800). Salem County had the
fewest jobs-23,300.
Hunterdon had the highest average weekly wage in the State among the
small counties, $925, more than $100 above that for the nation. Salem
($831) was the only other small county with a wage exceeding the U.S.
average in the third quarter of 2007. Cape May County, at the southern tip
of New Jersey, had the lowest weekly wage, averaging $559. (See chart 1.)
When all 21 counties in New Jersey are considered, 14 had average weekly
wages above the $818 national average.
Additional Statistics and Other Information
An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive
information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages
for the nation and all states. Employment and Wages Annual Averages, 2006
is now available for sale from the United States Government Printing
Office, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250,
telephone 866-512-1800, outside of Washington, D.C. Within Washington,
D.C., the telephone number is 202-512-1800. The fax number is 202-512-
2104. The bulletin is available in a portable document format (PDF) on the
BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn06.htm. Also, the quarterly
press release, County Employment and Wages, presents employment and wage
data for the largest counties in the United States and is available at
http://www.bls.gov/cew/.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number: 1-800-877-8339. For personal assistance or further
information on the Quarterly Covered Employment and Wages Program, as well
as other Bureau programs, contact the New York-New Jersey Information
Office at (646) 264-3600 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30
p.m. ET.
TECHNICAL NOTE
QCEW data are the sums of individual establishment records reflecting
the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point
in time. For this reason, county and industry data are not designed to be
used as a time series.
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. The potential differences result from several causes.
Differences between BLS and state published data may be due to the
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.
Average weekly 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 reports submitted by employers subject to state and
federal unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The 9.0 million employer reports
cover 136.2 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly wage
is first compiled by dividing the total quarterly payroll of employees
covered by UI programs by the average monthly number of these employees.
This number, then, is divided by 13, the number of weeks in the quarter.
It is to be noted 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
http://www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases may not match
the data contained on the Bureau's Web site because of adjustments made to
improve over-the-year comparisons.
NYLS - 7333 New York Labor
05/20/08
Table 1.Covered1 employment and wages in the United States, New Jersey and 15 large counties,
third quarter 20072
Employment Average weekly wage3
______________________ _____________________________________________
Percent
Percent change, National
Area September change, Average National third ranking
2007 September weekly ranking quarter by percent
(thousands) 2006-074 wage by level5 2006-074 change5
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
United States6 136,246.9 0.9 $818 -- 4.3 --
New Jersey 3,985.2 0.1 965 -- 3.7 --
Atlantic 148.5 -3.8 719 216 4.1 117
Bergen 454.2 0.3 1,009 29 3.9 134
Burlington 203.9 -0.2 871 78 3.1 204
Camden 210.1 -1.0 833 98 4.0 125
Essex 357.4 -0.9 1,022 24 3.2 199
Gloucester 104.2 0.1 746 187 5.1 64
Hudson 237.7 0.6 1,110 15 4.2 110
Mercer 223.9 0.7 1,027 23 5.5 48
Middlesex 411.0 1.1 996 33 -0.1 307
Monmouth 257.5 -0.7 874 75 4.9 71
Morris 286.1 -1.1 1,142 12 0.4 303
Ocean 153.6 0.2 679 272 2.0 267
Passaic 176.6 -1.1 853 86 2.4 248
Somerset 174.1 -0.6 1,210 10 5.8 40
Union 234.8 (7) 1,056 21 (7) --
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for
Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
2 Data are preliminary.
3 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
4 Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic
county reclassifications.
5 Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
6 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
7 Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.
Table 2. Covered1 employment and wages,
the United States, New Jersey and counties
in New Jersey, third quarter, 20072
Employment
September Average
2007 weekly
Area (thousands) wage3
____________________________________________________
United States4 136,246.9 $ 818
New Jersey 3,985.2 965
Atlantic 148.5 719
Bergen 454.2 1,009
Burlington 203.9 871
Camden 210.1 833
Cape May 47.8 559
Cumberland 63.8 724
Essex 357.4 1,022
Gloucester 104.2 746
Hudson 237.7 1,110
Hunterdon 49.4 925
Mercer 223.9 1,027
Middlesex 411.0 996
Monmouth 257.5 874
Morris 286.1 1,142
Ocean 153.6 679
Passaic 176.6 853
Salem 23.3 831
Somerset 174.1 1,210
Sussex 40.6 745
Union 234.8 1,056
Warren 37.5 792
____________________________________________________
1 Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance
(UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees (UCFE) programs.
2 Data are preliminary.
3 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded
data.
4 Totals for the United States do not include data for
Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 3. Covered1 employment and wages by state and territory, third quarter 20072
Employment Average weekly wage3
____________ ______________________________________________
Percent
change, National
Area September Average National third ranking
2007 weekly ranking quarter by percent
(thousands) wage by level4 2006-07 change4
_________________________________________________________________________________________
United States5 136,246.9 $818 - 4.3 -
Alabama 1,959.0 707 32 3.7 37
Alaska 327.3 840 13 5.4 9
Arizona 2,644.9 783 20 4.1 25
Arkansas 1,184.5 629 46 4.1 25
California 15,755.0 932 6 4.5 18
Colorado 2,314.3 844 12 3.2 42
Connecticut 1,696.9 1,021 2 6.6 2
Delaware 425.2 860 10 1.2 50
District of Columbia 679.0 1,376 1 5.3 12
Florida 7,879.9 741 26 4.1 25
Georgia 4,089.4 782 21 4.1 25
Hawaii 624.4 760 22 5.4 9
Idaho 675.5 634 45 3.4 41
Illinois 5,917.6 866 9 4.0 32
Indiana 2,937.4 702 34 2.2 49
Iowa 1,494.5 668 40 4.2 22
Kansas 1,368.7 680 38 2.7 46
Kentucky 1,814.3 676 39 3.0 44
Louisiana 1,880.8 716 31 4.5 18
Maine 615.3 660 44 3.9 35
Maryland 2,563.7 892 7 4.1 25
Massachusetts 3,261.0 1,002 4 5.5 5
Michigan 4,218.2 808 16 2.4 48
Minnesota 2,713.3 822 15 4.6 16
Mississippi 1,142.2 607 50 3.8 36
Missouri 2,746.7 719 29 4.2 22
Montana 446.1 608 49 4.6 16
Nebraska 922.7 666 41 5.4 9
Nevada 1,286.4 792 19 5.5 5
New Hampshire 637.2 799 18 3.2 42
New Jersey 3,985.2 965 5 3.7 37
New Mexico 830.4 682 37 4.1 25
New York 8,585.3 1,009 3 6.1 3
North Carolina 4,104.1 719 29 3.5 40
North Dakota 347.4 621 48 5.8 4
Ohio 5,331.9 745 25 2.8 45
Oklahoma 1,548.2 666 41 5.5 5
Oregon 1,751.7 750 24 4.2 22
Pennsylvania 5,673.4 802 17 4.4 20
Rhode Island 486.1 759 23 -0.1 51
South Carolina 1,904.7 664 43 3.6 39
South Dakota 397.5 598 51 4.7 15
Tennessee 2,774.4 728 28 4.3 21
Texas 10,304.9 825 14 5.0 13
Utah 1,231.6 $696 36 5.5 5
Vermont 305.2 699 35 4.0 32
Virginia 3,686.6 857 11 5.0 13
Washington 2,976.5 878 8 6.7 1
West Virginia 713.8 623 47 4.0 32
Wisconsin 2,802.3 705 33 2.6 47
Wyoming 284.3 734 27 4.1 25
Puerto Rico 1,008.0 453 (6) 2.5 (6)
Virgin Islands 45.0 682 (6) -0.3 (6)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
1/ Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation
for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
2/ Data are preliminary.
3/ Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
4/ Ranking does not include Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
5/ Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
6/ Data not included in the national ranking.
Last Modified Date: June 30, 2006
