County Employment and Wages News Release - 2024 Q05 Results — 2025-06-04

From December 2023 to December 2024, employment increased in 256 of the 369 largest U.S. counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In December 2024, national employment increased to 156.2 million, a 0.8-percent increase over the year, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. Kings, NY, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, with a gain of 5.3 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for December 2024, and average weekly wage data are presented for fourth quarter 2024. Among the 369 largest counties, 357 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the fourth quarter of 2024, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,507, a 5.0-percent increase over the year. Santa Clara, CA, had the largest fourth quarter over-the-year wage gain at 15.0 percent. (See table 1.) Kings, NY, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (+5.3 percent).