County Employment And Wages: Third Quarter 2005 — 2006-04-12

In September 2005, Lee County, Fla., had the largest over-the-year per- centage increase in employment among the largest counties in the United States, according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Lee County, which includes Fort Myers, experienced an over-the-year employment gain of 11.4 percent, compared with national job growth of 2.0 percent. Passaic County, N.J., an area north of Newark, had the largest over-the-year gain in average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2005, with an increase of 19.0 percent. The U.S. average weekly wage increased by 6.1 percent over the same time span. Of the 322 largest counties in the U.S., as measured by 2004 annual average employment, 136 had over-the-year percentage growth in employment above the national average in September 2005, and 173 experienced changes below the national average. Average weekly wages grew faster than the national average in 132 of the largest U.S.