2001 Employer Costs for Employee Compensation — 2002-11-21

Of the 248 largest counties in the United States, 128 had employment growth in 2001, 111 experienced declines in employment, and 9 had no changes, according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Average annual pay was higher than the national average of $36,214 in 101 of the largest 248 U.S. counties in 2001. Employment and annual pay data by county are compiled from reports sub- mitted by employers subject to state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) laws, covering 129.7 million full- and part-time workers. Average annual pay is computed by dividing total annual payrolls of employees covered by UI programs by the average monthly number of these employees. The attached tables and charts contain data for the nation and for the 248 U.S. counties with employment of 100,000 or more. Previous issues of this release included counties with employment of 75,000 or more.