County Employment and Wages News Release — 2009-10-16

From March 2008 to March 2009, employment declined in 323 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 23.4 percent over the year, compared with a national job decrease of 4.2 percent. Nearly 80 percent of the employment decline in Elkhart occurred in manufacturing, which lost 22,100 jobs over the year. Arlington County, Va., experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a gain of 2.6 percent. The U.S. average weekly wage fell by 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2009. This is the largest over-the-year decline in U.S. average weekly wages dating back to 1978, when these quarterly data were first comparable.