County Employment and Wages News Release — 2009-01-13

From June 2007 to June 2008, employment declined in more than half of the largest U.S. counties, according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Lee County, Fla., which contains the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area, posted the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 8.8 percent over the year, compared with a national job decrease of 0.3 percent. Orleans County, La., which includes the city of New Orleans, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a gain of 5.6 percent. Rock Island County, Ill., had the largest over-the-year gain in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2008, with an increase of 10.5 percent coming largely from the manufacturing supersector. The U.S. average weekly wage rose by 2.6 percent over the same time span.