Employment in Puerto Rico’s only large county, the municipio of San Juan, increased 1.3 percent from September 2017 to September 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2017 annual average employment of 75,000 or more.) Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that in September 2018, San Juan’s employment level of 242,000 accounted for 28.1 percent of total employment in the commonwealth.

In the United States, employment grew 1.6 percent over the year, as 295 of the 349 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. (See table 1 and chart 1.) The 349 largest counties made up 73.0 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in San Juan was $649 in the third quarter of 2018, a 6.0-percent increase from one year prior. In the United States, the average weekly wage increased 3.3 percent to $1,055. (See table 1 and chart 2.) Among the 349 largest U.S. counties, 336 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 77 municipios in Puerto Rico with employment below 75,000. All 77 municipios had wages below the U.S. average of $1,055. (See table 2.) Juncos, located on the eastern part of the island, had the highest average weekly wage, $838. Two small municipios located on the northern part of the island, had average weekly wages above $600—Guaynabo ($661) and Cataño ($601). Thirty municipios had average weekly wages below $400, with about half of these municipios located in the western part of the island, including Cabo Rojo ($324) and Las Marías ($322). (See chart 3.)

In the neighboring Virgin Islands, average weekly wages were also below the U.S. average. The highest average weekly wage among the three Virgin Island counties was $908 in St. Thomas. Average weekly wages on St. Croix and St. John were $881 and $685, respectively.

Of the 33,400 jobs in the U.S. Virgin Islands in September 2018, 17,700 were on St. Thomas, and 14,500 were on St. Croix.

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 2017 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn17.htm. The 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2019.

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.

The County Employment and Wages news release for fourth quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

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. 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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States, Puerto Rico, and San Juan, third quarter 2018

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2017-18 (2)	Third quarter 2018	Percent change, third quarter 2017-18 (2)
United States (3)	146,824.1	1.6	$1,055	3.3
Puerto Rico	862.5	0.2	534	5.3
San Juan	242.0	1.3	649	6.0
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) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Puerto Rico, third quarter 2018

Area	Employment September 2018	Average weekly wage(1)
United States(2)	146,824,093	$1,055
Puerto Rico	862,488	534
Adjuntas	1,591	334
Aguada	4,271	355
Aguadilla	17,236	569
Aguas Buenas	1,706	370
Aibonito	5,491	457
Añasco	4,927	511
Arecibo	20,023	487
Arroyo	2,105	551
Barceloneta	10,575	531
Barranquitas	3,033	403
Bayamón	52,428	473
Cabo Rojo	5,904	324
Caguas	44,705	495
Camuy	3,725	365
Canóvanas	4,760	453
Carolina	44,053	497
Cataño	10,214	601
Cayey	9,281	500
Ceiba	1,139	424
Ciales	1,482	383
Cidra	5,959	481
Coamo	3,307	380
Comerío	1,627	392
Corozal	3,866	379
Culebra	436	353
Dorado	8,361	511
Fajardo	9,325	477
Florida	988	401
Guánica	2,375	337
Guayama	9,973	481
Guayanilla	2,382	414
Guaynabo	48,310	661
Gurabo	6,441	537
Hatillo	8,367	361
Hormigueros	2,373	353
Humacao	14,662	585
Isabela	6,937	470
Jayuya	2,719	508
Juana Díaz	6,086	478
Juncos	6,734	838
Lajas	3,101	327
Lares	3,913	341
Las Marías	1,109	322
Las Piedras	7,269	535
Loíza	1,621	394
Luquillo	1,867	415
Manatí	13,728	544
Maricao	1,241	359
Maunabo	1,258	578
Mayagüez	28,870	463
Moca	4,230	329
Morovis	2,128	375
Naguabo	2,089	395
Naranjito	3,036	413
Orocovis	2,326	365
Patillas	1,475	419
Peñuelas	2,457	412
Ponce	44,649	463
Quebradillas	1,982	372
Rincón	1,735	359
Rio Grande	4,827	424
Sabana Grande	3,115	354
Salinas	3,481	479
San Germán	8,182	402
San Juan	241,993	649
San Lorenzo	3,926	398
San Sebastián	5,239	334
Santa Isabel	5,071	457
Toa Alta	3,214	409
Toa Baja	13,339	452
Trujillo Alto	9,363	358
Utuado	3,537	424
Vega Alta	4,346	429
Vega Baja	7,757	501
Vieques	1,463	453
Villalba	3,292	586
Yabucoa	2,499	393
Yauco	5,844	383
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: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, third quarter 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2017-18	Third quarter 2018	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	146,824.1	1.6	$1,055	--	3.3	--
Alabama	1,966.0	1.2	885	38	3.1	25
Alaska	334.0	-0.4	1,065	13	3.7	12
Arizona	2,838.6	2.8	974	23	2.9	31
Arkansas	1,222.1	0.7	811	49	2.9	31
California	17,457.5	1.8	1,260	5	3.8	9
Colorado	2,684.0	2.1	1,104	9	3.5	18
Connecticut	1,681.5	0.3	1,209	6	2.5	41
Delaware	447.8	0.6	1,046	15	2.4	42
District of Columbia	770.7	0.7	1,807	1	2.8	36
Florida	8,690.7	4.6	924	29	3.1	25
Georgia	4,448.8	2.3	993	20	3.3	21
Hawaii	654.7	0.0	975	22	2.4	42
Idaho	743.5	3.0	805	50	3.2	23
Illinois	6,029.2	0.8	1,087	10	3.0	28
Indiana	3,072.3	0.9	883	39	2.4	42
Iowa	1,555.0	0.6	887	37	3.7	12
Kansas	1,390.4	1.0	867	42	3.5	18
Kentucky	1,898.7	0.5	855	43	2.2	47
Louisiana	1,915.4	0.5	901	33	3.7	12
Maine	626.5	0.6	851	45	3.7	12
Maryland	2,683.9	0.7	1,130	8	2.4	42
Massachusetts	3,598.1	0.7	1,305	2	3.2	23
Michigan	4,366.5	0.8	991	21	2.8	36
Minnesota	2,904.3	0.8	1,074	12	4.2	5
Mississippi	1,133.7	0.2	754	51	3.4	20
Missouri	2,812.0	0.4	907	31	3.3	21
Montana	473.3	1.0	815	48	2.8	36
Nebraska	980.3	0.6	873	41	2.8	36
Nevada	1,382.9	3.4	936	28	2.4	42
New Hampshire	662.3	0.5	1,040	16	1.7	49
New Jersey	4,072.6	0.8	1,181	7	2.1	48
New Mexico	826.2	1.2	855	43	3.9	7
New York	9,467.5	1.4	1,272	4	4.2	5
North Carolina	4,398.0	1.1	938	26	3.8	9
North Dakota	424.3	1.1	995	19	4.4	3
Ohio	5,424.4	0.7	947	25	2.9	31
Oklahoma	1,616.8	1.2	874	40	3.6	16
Oregon	1,939.8	1.5	1,005	18	3.8	9
Pennsylvania	5,894.8	1.0	1,031	17	3.0	28
Rhode Island	489.4	1.0	963	24	-1.3	51
South Carolina	2,088.2	2.8	834	46	0.8	50
South Dakota	431.5	1.3	827	47	3.0	28
Tennessee	3,005.6	1.7	938	26	3.9	7
Texas	12,327.0	2.6	1,064	14	3.1	25
Utah	1,494.4	3.4	911	30	3.6	16
Vermont	310.9	0.0	892	36	2.6	40
Virginia	3,889.6	1.1	1,082	11	2.9	31
Washington	3,425.6	2.4	1,280	3	6.2	2
West Virginia	706.0	1.7	894	35	8.1	1
Wisconsin	2,888.9	0.7	901	33	2.9	31
Wyoming	278.2	0.6	905	32	4.3	4
Puerto Rico	862.5	0.2	534	(3)	5.3	(3)
Virgin Islands	33.4	-8.0	888	(3)	18.6	(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.