December 3, 1998 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Employment declined in 27 large counties in 1996

Of the 290 counties with employment of 75,000 or more, 131 had positive rates of employment growth equal to or lower than the national average of 2.1 percent during 1996.  Another 27 counties actually experienced employment declines.  In the District of Columbia, employment declined 2.7 percent, the largest reported.

[Chart data—TXT]

In order after the District, employment declined by 2.0 percent in Gaston County, North Carolina (part of the Charlotte metropolitan area), by 1.9 percent in Albany County, New York (part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan area), and by 1.7 percent in Passaic County, New Jersey (part of the Bergen-Passaic metropolitan area), Mercer County, New Jersey (part of the Trenton metropolitan area), and Broome County, New York (part of the Binghamton metropolitan area).

The largest absolute declines in employment occurred in the District of Columbia (-16,708), Albany County, New York (-4,239), Orleans County, Louisiana (-3,731), St. Louis City, Missouri (-3,620), and Mercer County, New Jersey (-3,365).

These data are a product of the BLS Covered Employed and Wages (ES-202) program. Additional information is available from news release USDL 98-443, "Employment and Average Annual Pay for Large Counties, 1996."