County Employment and Wages News Release — 2010-01-13

From June 2008 to June 2009, employment declined in 324 of the 334 largest U.S. counties according to preliminary data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Elkhart County, Ind., located about 100 miles east of Chicago, posted the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 21.9 percent over the year, compared with a national job decrease of 5.1 percent. Nearly 70 percent of the employment decline in Elkhart occurred in manufacturing, which lost 18,400 jobs over the year (-32.2 percent). Yakima County, Wash., experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a gain of 1.5 percent. The U.S. average weekly wage fell over the year by 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2009. This is the second consecutive over-the-year decline in average weekly wages and one of only four declines dating back to 1978, when these quarterly data were first comparable.