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Employment increases in 288 of 334 largest U.S. counties, June 2013

December 24, 2013

From June 2012 to June 2013, employment increased in 288 of the 334 largest U.S. counties. Fort Bend, Texas (part of the Houston metropolitan area), had the largest increase, with a gain of 7.0 percent over the year, compared with national job growth of 1.6 percent. In Midland, Texas (part of the Midland metropolitan area), employment increased 6.0 percent over the year, and in Douglas, Colorado (part of the Denver area), 5.8 percent.

Percentage change in employment, selected counties, June 2012–June 2013
CountyPercentage change in employment, June 2012–June 2013

Fort Bend, TX

7.0

Midland, TX

6.0

Douglas, CO

5.8

Elkhart, IN

5.1

Placer, CA

4.9

Weld, CO

4.8

Travis, TX

4.8

Utah, UT

4.7

Williamson, TN

4.2

Santa Clara, CA

3.7

San Francisco, CA

3.5

San Mateo, CA

3.4

Harris, TX

3.2

King, WA

2.8

Dallas, TX

2.7

Orange, CA

2.7

Maricopa, AZ

2.6

Miami-Dade, FL

2.5

Los Angeles, CA

2.0

Middlesex, MA

1.9

Suffolk, MA

1.7

San Diego, CA

1.6

New York, NY

1.5

Fairfield, CT

1.3

Cook, IL

1.2

Washington, DC

0.9

Union, NJ

0.8

Fairfax, VA

0.4

Arlington, VA

-1.0

 

The five counties with the largest increases in the number of people employed were 

  • Los Angeles, California (part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area), where employment increased 2.0 percent; 
  • Harris, Texas (part of the Houston metropolitan area), with an increase of 3.2 percent; 
  • Maricopa, Arizona (part of the Phoenix metropolitan area), 2.6 percent; 
  • Dallas, Texas (part of the Dallas metropolitan area), 2.7 percent; and 
  • Orange, California (part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area), which also had a 2.7-percent increase.

All of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in employment in June 2013. Harris, Texas, had the largest gain (3.2 percent).

The U.S. average weekly wage increased over the year by 2.1 percent in the second quarter of 2013. Union, New Jersey (part of the New York metropolitan area), had the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 8.1 percent. Among the 334 largest counties, 304 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. 

 

Percentage change in average weekly wage, selected counties, June 2012–June 2013
CountyPercentage change in average weekly wage, June 2012–June 2013

Union, NJ

8.1

San Mateo, CA

8.0

Williamson, TN

7.8

Fort Bend, TX

5.1

Midland, TX

5.1

Utah, UT

4.3

Santa Clara, CA

4.2

San Diego, CA

4.0

Elkhart, IN

3.0

King, WA

2.9

Dallas, TX

2.9

Fairfax, VA

2.7

San Francisco, CA

2.2

Middlesex, MA

2.2

Harris, TX

2.1

Washington, DC

2.1

Suffolk, MA

1.8

New York, NY

1.8

Placer, CA

1.5

Maricopa, AZ

1.5

Arlington, VA

1.5

Cook, IL

1.3

Miami-Dade, FL

1.1

Douglas, CO

1.0

Fairfield, CT

0.7

Weld, CO

0.6

Orange, CA

0.4

Los Angeles, CA

0.4

Travis, TX

0.0

 

All of the 10 largest U.S. counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. San Diego, California (part of the San Diego metropolitan area), experienced the largest gain in average weekly wages (4.0 percent).

These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. To learn more, see "County Employment and Wages: Second Quarter 2013" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-13-2392. Data for the most recent quarter are preliminary and subject to revision. For purposes of this news release, large counties are defined as having employment levels of 75,000 or greater.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment increases in 288 of 334 largest U.S. counties, June 2013 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20131224.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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