County Employment and Wages News Release — 2009-07-21

From December 2007 to December 2008, employment declined in 285 of the 334 largest U.S. counties, according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Elkhart County, Ind., located about 100 miles east of Chicago, posted the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 17.8 percent over the year, compared with a national job decrease of 2.3 percent. Manufacturing sustained the largest employment losses in Elkhart. Montgomery County, Texas, which is about 20 miles north of Houston, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a gain of 2.7 percent. St. Louis City, Mo., had the largest over-the-year gain in average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2008, with an increase of 56.8 percent coming predominantly from the professional and business services and manufacturing supersectors. The U.S. average weekly wage rose by 2.2 percent over the same time span.