County Employment and Wages News Release — 2010-10-19

From March 2009 to March 2010, employment declined in 296 of the 326 largest U.S. counties according to preliminary data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Collier, Fla., posted the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 6.0 percent over the year, compared with a national job decrease of 2.1 percent. Forty-five percent of the employment decline in Collier occurred in natural resources and mining, which lost 3,282 jobs over the year (-41.2 percent). Elkhart, Ind., experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S. with a gain of 5.7 percent. The U.S. average weekly wage increased over the year by 0.8 percent to $889 in the first quarter of 2010. Among the large counties in the U.S., New York, N.Y., had the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2010, with a gain of 11.9 percent.