Puerto Rico's one large county, the municipio of San Juan, reported an employment gain of 0.7 percent from December 2010 to December 2011, 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 2010 annual average employment.) Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that in December 2011, San Juan's employment level of 272,500 accounted for 28.4 percent of total employment in the Commonwealth.

In the United States, employment grew 1.4 percent over the year, as 266 of the 322 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. (See chart 1 .) The 322 largest counties made up 70.7 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in San Juan was $655 in the fourth quarter of 2011, 1.8 percent lower than one year prior. By comparison, the United States weekly wage declined 1.7 percent over the year to $955. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

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 had wages below the United States' average of $955. (See table 2.) Juncos, at $820, had the highest average weekly wage, followed by Barceloneta, at $733. None of the other municipios had a weekly wage above $725. Overall, four municipios, including San Juan, had an average weekly wage ranging from $600 to $725; all of these were located on the eastern part of the island. Thirty-eight municipios had average weekly wages below $475, with roughly half of these low-wage municipios located in the western end of the island, including Lajas ($379), Aguada ($366), and Lares ($351). (See chart 3.)

In the neighboring Virgin Islands, average weekly wages were also below the United States average. However, the highest average weekly wage among Virgin Island counties, at $850 on St. Croix, was 3.7 percent above the highest wage in any of Puerto Rico's municipios. Average weekly wages on St. Thomas were $722 and $630 on St. John.

Though employment on each island was below 25,000, more than half of the territory's 43,166 jobs in December 2011 were on St. Thomas, and an additional 18,185 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 wage 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 2010 edition of this publication, which was published in November 2011, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2011 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2010 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn10.htm. The 2011 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available later in 2012.

County employment and wage data for the first quarter 2012 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, September 27, 2012.

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 9.2 million employer reports cover 131.3 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.

Table 1. Covered(1) employment and wages in the United States, Puerto Rico, and San Juan, fourth quarter 2011(2)

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage(3)
	December 2011 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2010-11(4)	Average weekly wage	Percent change, fourth quarter 2010-11(4)
United States(5)	131,254.2	1.4	$955	-1.7
Puerto Rico	960.9	0.1	552	-1.1
San Juan	272.5	0.7	655	-1.8
Footnotes: (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) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Table 2. Covered1 employment and wages in the United States and Puerto Rico, by county, fourth quarter 20112

Area	Employment December 2011 (thousands)	Average weekly wage3
United States4	131,254.2	$955
Puerto Rico	960.9	552
Adjuntas	2.1	409
Aguada	4.7	366
Aguadilla	17.1	579
Aguas Buenas	1.9	424
Aibonito	5.2	479
Anasco	5.7	505
Arecibo	23.5	538
Arroyo	2.6	516
Barceloneta	9.9	733
Barranquitas	3.5	497
Bayamon	58.8	503
Cabo Rojo	6.4	388
Caguas	49.2	487
Camuy	3.5	407
Canovanas	6.8	486
Carolina	53.3	491
Catano	10.5	612
Cayey	11.3	536
Ceiba	1.3	459
Ciales	2.0	398
Cidra	5.9	561
Coamo	4.1	440
Comerio	1.8	476
Corozal	3.9	424
Culebra	0.4	382
Dorado	7.8	512
Fajardo	11.9	509
Florida	1.5	394
Guanica	2.4	383
Guayama	12.3	568
Guayanilla	2.7	562
Guaynabo	43.5	670
Gurabo	6.7	581
Hatillo	8.4	389
Hormigueros	2.5	398
Humacao	17.8	556
Isabela	7.2	439
Jayuya	2.9	499
Juana Diaz	6.5	497
Juncos	6.7	820
Lajas	3.1	379
Lares	5.1	351
Las Marias	2.0	420
Las Piedras	8.1	677
Loiza	1.6	409
Luquillo	2.5	521
Manati	12.8	534
Maricao	1.4	430
Maunabo	1.6	598
Mayaguez	33.3	484
Moca	3.7	423
Morovis	2.5	405
Naguabo	2.0	456
Naranjito	3.3	435
Orocovis	4.0	383
Patillas	1.8	446
Penuelas	2.8	510
Ponce	54.1	487
Quebradillas	2.2	450
Rincon	1.6	386
Rio Grande	6.1	458
Sabana Grande	2.9	415
Salinas	4.4	548
San German	9.2	483
San Juan	272.5	655
San Lorenzo	5.0	520
San Sebastian	5.2	391
Santa Isabel	6.6	417
Toa Alta	3.7	401
Toa Baja	13.3	512
Trujillo Alto	11.1	380
Utuado	3.9	475
Vega Alta	5.0	444
Vega Baja	8.8	529
Vieques	1.7	467
Villalba	3.5	477
Yabucoa	3.6	418
Yauco	6.4	435
Footnotes: 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. Covered 1 employment and wages by state, fourth quarter 2011 2

State	Employment		Average weekly wage 3
	December 2011 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2010-11	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level 4	Percent change, fourth quarter 2010-11	National ranking by percent change 4
United States5	131,254.2	1.4	$955	--	-1.7	--
Alabama	1,828.3	0.2	832	31	-0.8	14
Alaska	311.3	1.6	982	11	-0.5	10
Arizona	2,458.4	1.7	882	21	-1.1	17
Arkansas	1,157.1	0.9	736	47	-1.2	19
California	14,731.8	1.3	1,100	6	-2.7	47
Colorado	2,250.1	2.1	975	13	-2.6	46
Connecticut	1,642.0	0.9	1,188	4	-3.1	49
Delaware	405.9	0.4	984	10	-1.6	26
District of Columbia	708.0	1.3	1,668	1	-1.2	19
Florida	7,364.1	1.4	847	29	-2.8	48
Georgia	3,826.9	1.0	885	20	-2.2	39
Hawaii	607.0	1.4	845	30	-1.5	23
Idaho	606.4	0.8	717	50	-2.2	39
Illinois	5,635.9	1.1	1,013	8	-2.1	35
Indiana	2,799.2	2.0	789	41	-1.9	32
Iowa	1,464.2	1.1	793	40	-0.8	14
Kansas	1,320.1	0.7	800	38	-1.5	23
Kentucky	1,770.2	1.3	786	42	-1.0	16
Louisiana	1,870.8	1.0	850	27	-1.7	28
Maine	580.9	0.4	755	46	-1.8	30
Maryland	2,516.4	1.1	1,058	7	-2.0	33
Massachusetts	3,230.8	1.3	1,192	3	-2.1	35
Michigan	3,911.8	2.4	933	18	-0.5	10
Minnesota	2,636.4	2.1	936	16	-3.9	51
Mississippi	1,083.8	0.3	699	51	-1.1	17
Missouri	2,617.0	0.8	825	32	-1.7	28
Montana	426.7	1.8	727	48	0.7	4
Nebraska	910.5	0.8	762	45	-1.3	21
Nevada	1,124.1	0.8	852	26	-3.2	50
New Hampshire	615.4	0.9	971	15	-0.7	13
New Jersey	3,811.6	0.6	1,138	5	-2.1	35
New Mexico	784.3	-0.3	799	39	-2.2	39
New York	8,618.4	1.4	1,197	2	-1.8	30
North Carolina	3,885.9	1.3	824	33	-2.0	33
North Dakota	397.0	7.6	871	23	7.7	1
Ohio	5,027.6	1.3	855	25	-1.3	21
Oklahoma	1,530.0	1.3	817	34	2.6	2
Oregon	1,629.8	1.2	850	27	-0.2	6
Pennsylvania	5,595.1	0.7	936	16	-1.6	26
Rhode Island	451.9	0.1	919	19	-2.1	35
South Carolina	1,796.1	1.3	763	44	-1.5	23
South Dakota	397.0	1.5	724	49	1.4	3
Tennessee	2,654.9	2.1	858	24	-2.3	42
Texas	10,607.9	2.4	973	14	-0.3	8
Utah	1,202.8	2.8	806	37	-2.5	45
Vermont	303.9	1.3	809	36	-0.5	10
Virginia	3,625.0	1.3	1,004	9	-2.4	43
Washington	2,843.6	1.4	979	12	-0.2	6
West Virginia	714.0	2.2	776	43	-0.3	8
Wisconsin	2,689.6	0.7	817	34	-2.4	43
Wyoming	276.9	2.3	876	22	0.6	5
Puerto Rico	960.9	0.1	552	6	-1.1	6
Virgin Islands	43.2	-4.0	772	6	-3.4	6
Footnotes: 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.