New Castle County ended the year with lower total employment and wage.
From December 2015 to December 2016, employment in Delaware’s only large county, New Castle, decreased 0.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported late last month.The bureau also reported that Delaware was one only a
The bureau also reported that Delaware was one only a half a dozen states to show a decline in employment over the one-year period.
Sheila Watkins, the bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the employment decrease in New Castle County compared to the national increase of 1.2 percent and ranked 318th.
Sheila Watkins, the bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the employment decrease in New Castle County compared to the national increase of 1.2 percent and ranked 318th among the 344 U.S. large counties for employment changeEmployment increased in 280 of the 344 largest U.S. counties from December 2015 to December 2016.
Employment increased in 280 of the 344 largest U.S. counties from December 2015 to December 2016.
New Castle County’s employment in December 2016 was 291,300 and accounted for about two-thirds of Delaware’s total employment.
The average weekly wage in New Castle County declined 2.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the fourth quarter of 2016, ranking it 252nd among the largest U.S. counties for wage change. Over the year, the national average weekly wage decreased 1.5 percent.
This is one of only eight declines for the nation in the history of the series, which dates back to 1978.
The 1.5 percent national decline in average weekly wages was the largest decline since fourth quarter 2011, when average weekly wages decreased by 1.7 percent.
New Castle County’s average weekly wage of $1,166 ranked 59th among the 344 largest counties. The average weekly wage in New Castle County was 9.3 percent higher than the U.S. average weekly wage of $1,067 in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) were also released for the two counties in Delaware with employment below 75,000.
Kent ($824) and Sussex ($794) had average weekly wages more than 20 percent below the national average of $1,067. See chart below to see how Delaware ranked among the 50 states
| Area | Employment December 2016 (thousands) | Average weekly wage (1) |
| United States (2) | 143,749.9 | $1,067 |
| Delaware | 441.2 | 1,055 |
| Kent | 66.5 | 824 |
| New Castle | 291.3 | 1,166 |
| Sussex | 74.7 | 794 |
Covered employment and wages by state, fourth quarter 2016
| State | Employment | Average weekly wage (1) | ||||
| December 2016 (thousands) | Percent change, December 2015-16 | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level | Percent change, fourth quarter 2015-16 | National ranking by percent change | |
| United States (2) | 143,749.9 | 1.2 | 1067 | — | -1.5 | — |
| Alabama | 1,932.6 | 0.7 | 901 | 35 | -1.3 | 21 |
| Alaska | 310.0 | -1.9 | 1038 | 17 | -5.2 | 51 |
| Arizona | 2,760.1 | 2.1 | 945 | 25 | -2.2 | 34 |
| Arkansas | 1,205.4 | 0.4 | 827 | 47 | -1.4 | 22 |
| California | 16,923.3 | 1.9 | 1271 | 5 | -0.3 | 4 |
| Colorado | 2,588.6 | 2.0 | 1086 | 12 | -1.5 | 24 |
| Connecticut | 1,685.5 | 0.0 | 1289 | 4 | -3.4 | 46 |
| Delaware | 441.2 | -0.1 | 1055 | 15 | -2.9 | 44 |
| District of Columbia | 760.9 | 0.5 | 1763 | 1 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Florida | 8,538.9 | 2.7 | 942 | 27 | -1.8 | 28 |
| Georgia | 4,349.3 | 2.4 | 993 | 20 | -0.9 | 14 |
| Hawaii | 658.3 | 0.7 | 954 | 24 | -0.3 | 4 |
| Idaho | 691.6 | 3.2 | 800 | 50 | -0.4 | 8 |
| Illinois | 5,947.6 | 0.4 | 1122 | 9 | -2 | 31 |
| Indiana | 3,021.7 | 0.9 | 883 | 38 | -0.9 | 14 |
| Iowa | 1,542.0 | 0.1 | 911 | 33 | -1 | 16 |
| Kansas | 1,384.5 | 0.1 | 877 | 39 | -2.2 | 34 |
| Kentucky | 1,894.2 | 0.6 | 874 | 41 | -1.4 | 22 |
| Louisiana | 1,907.4 | -1.6 | 914 | 32 | -2.9 | 44 |
| Maine | 602.6 | 0.8 | 855 | 43 | -2.1 | 33 |
| Maryland | 2,666.7 | 1.0 | 1169 | 7 | -0.4 | 8 |
| Massachusetts | 3,530.4 | 1.3 | 1352 | 2 | -2.4 | 39 |
| Michigan | 4,283.0 | 1.5 | 1026 | 19 | -1.6 | 25 |
| Minnesota | 2,839.7 | 1.2 | 1062 | 14 | -1.1 | 18 |
| Mississippi | 1,134.0 | 0.0 | 756 | 51 | -1.8 | 28 |
| Missouri | 2,783.2 | 0.9 | 918 | 31 | -1.7 | 27 |
| Montana | 456.5 | 0.7 | 822 | 48 | 0.5 | 3 |
| Nebraska | 972.4 | 0.0 | 876 | 40 | -0.5 | 10 |
| Nevada | 1,307.8 | 2.7 | 924 | 29 | -1.2 | 20 |
| New Hampshire | 656.9 | 1.3 | 1092 | 10 | -4.1 | 48 |
| New Jersey | 4,042.1 | 1.4 | 1239 | 6 | -1.9 | 30 |
| New Mexico | 811.4 | 0.0 | 844 | 45 | -2.5 | 41 |
| New York | 9,332.5 | 1.2 | 1342 | 3 | -2.3 | 36 |
| North Carolina | 4,326.3 | 1.8 | 932 | 28 | -0.7 | 13 |
| North Dakota | 414.4 | -3.2 | 978 | 21 | -4.2 | 49 |
| Ohio | 5,365.6 | 0.7 | 943 | 26 | -2.3 | 36 |
| Oklahoma | 1,587.7 | -1.2 | 864 | 42 | -3.5 | 47 |
| Oregon | 1,860.7 | 2.4 | 970 | 22 | -1 | 16 |
| Pennsylvania | 5,799.8 | 0.7 | 1039 | 16 | -2.3 | 36 |
| Rhode Island | 478.3 | 0.0 | 1027 | 18 | -1.6 | 25 |
| South Carolina | 2,024.3 | 1.8 | 855 | 43 | -0.6 | 12 |
| South Dakota | 419.9 | 0.5 | 828 | 46 | -0.5 | 10 |
| Tennessee | 2,947.5 | 1.8 | 970 | 22 | -1.1 | 18 |
| Texas | 11,974.7 | 1.2 | 1072 | 13 | -2.5 | 41 |
| Utah | 1,415.1 | 2.9 | 910 | 34 | -0.3 | 4 |
| Vermont | 312.6 | 0.1 | 897 | 36 | -2.4 | 39 |
| Virginia | 3,831.6 | 0.6 | 1091 | 11 | -0.3 | 4 |
| Washington | 3,227.9 | 2.8 | 1150 | 8 | 1.7 | 1 |
| West Virginia | 693.1 | -1.6 | 809 | 49 | -2.5 | 41 |
| Wisconsin | 2,842.4 | 0.5 | 924 | 29 | -2 | 31 |
| Wyoming | 265.8 | -3.9 | 894 | 37 | -4.7 | 50 |
| Puerto Rico | 928.2 | -0.3 | 555 | (3) | -1.9 | (3) |
| Virgin Islands | 38.5 | 0.2 | 769 | (3) | -1.8 | (3) |
