Employment up 3.6 percent over the year ended March 2026 in Licking County, Ohio

From March 2025 to March 2026, employment increased in 151 of the 376 largest U.S. counties. Licking, Ohio (in the Columbus metropolitan area), had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, with a gain of 3.6 percent. Within Licking, the largest employment increase occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities. In Monterey, California (Salinas metropolitan area), employment increased 3.4 percent. Employment increased 2.9 percent in Baldwin, Alabama (Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area) and 2.8 percent in Loudoun, Virginia (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area).

Among the 10 largest counties, 3 had over-the-year percentage increases in employment. Orange, California (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area), had the largest over-the-year employment percentage gain (+0.7 percent) among these counties. Within Orange, education and health services had the largest employment increase. Employment increased 0.6 percent in New York, New York (Manhattan) and 0.3 percent in Dallas, Texas.

Washington, DC, and Arlington, Virginia, had the largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment (−4.5 percent each). Within Washington, the largest employment decrease occurred in government, while in Arlington, the largest employment decrease was in professional and business services. In Montgomery, Maryland (also in the Washington metropolitan area), employment decreased 4.0 percent.

Nationally, employment increased to 154.8 million, a 0.1-percent increase over the year ended March 2026.

These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. To learn more, see "County Employment and Wages Update – First Quarter 2026.” Also see charts related to the latest County Employment and Wages news release. Data for the nation, states, counties, and metropolitan areas can be found in the data viewer tool. The 376 large U.S. counties had average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2025.