The .gov means it's official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information,
make sure you're on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The
https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any
information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
Employment up in 308 of the 342 largest U.S. counties, December 2014 to December 2015
June 13, 2016
From December 2014 to December 2015, employment increased in 308 of the 342 U.S. counties with 75,000 or more jobs. Williamson, Tennessee (part of the Nashville area), had the largest percentage increase with a gain of 6.8 percent over the year, above the national job growth rate of 1.9 percent. Within Williamson, the largest employment increase occurred in professional and business services.
12-month percentage change in employment, selected counties, December 2015
County
Percentage change in employment,
December 2014 to December 2015
Employment, December 2015
Williamson, TN
6.8%
120,300
Utah, UT
6.6
215,700
Loudoun, VA
6.3
159,800
Chesterfield, VA
6.0
140,100
Lee, FL
5.9
253,100
Osceola, FL
5.8
87,600
Bell, TX
5.4
119,600
Boone, KY
5.1
85,200
Clay, MO
5.1
99,600
Hall, GA
5.0
82,200
Dallas, TX
3.9
1,651,600
Santa Clara, CA
3.8
1,040,800
Clark, NV
3.7
928,600
Maricopa, AZ
3.2
1,883,200
Miami-Dade, FL
3.0
1,115,900
King, WA
2.9
1,297,200
Los Angeles, CA
2.6
4,341,000
San Diego, CA
2.6
1,399,700
Orange, CA
2.3
1,550,600
New York, NY
2.1
2,442,200
Cook, IL
1.9
2,575,700
United States (total)
1.9
141,924,500
Harris, TX
-0.5
2,302,800
Washington, PA
-2.1
86,500
Weld, CO
-3.1
100,200
Gregg, TX
-5.1
76,200
Lafayette, LA
-5.6
136,100
Midland, TX
-9.3
86,600
Ector, TX
-11.8
70,600
Ector, Texas (part of the Midland–Odessa area), had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the largest counties in the United States, with a loss of 11.8 percent. Within Ector, natural resources and mining had the largest decrease in employment.
Among the 10 largest counties, 9 had over-the-year percentage increases in employment in December 2015. Dallas, Texas, had the largest gain (3.9 percent). Within Dallas, trade, transportation, and utilities had the largest over-the-year employment level increase. Harris, Texas (in the Houston area), had the only percentage decrease in employment among the 10 largest counties.
In December 2015, national employment was 141.9 million (as measured by the QCEW program). Over the year, from December 2014 to December 2015, employment increased 1.9 percent. In December 2015, the 342 U.S. counties with 75,000 or more jobs accounted for 72.5 percent of total U.S. employment. These 342 counties had a net job growth accounting for 81.4 percent of the overall U.S. employment increase for the year.
The five counties with the largest increases in employment were Los Angeles, Dallas, Maricopa, New York, and Cook; together their combined over-the-year employment increase was 12 percent of the increase for the United States as a whole.
These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. To learn more, see "County Employment and Wages: Fourth Quarter 2015" (HTML) (PDF). Data for 2015 are preliminary and subject to revision.
United States Department of Labor
