November 03, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Counties with fastest growing employment, March 2003

In March 2003, Placer County in California had the biggest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties.

[Chart data—TXT]

Employment in Placer County, California, located near Sacramento, grew by 4.9 percent from March 2002 to March 2003. It was followed by the counties of Lee, Florida, and St. Charles, Missouri (4.6 percent each), Rutherford, Tennessee (4.5 percent), and Pinellas, Florida (4.3 percent). In the nation as a whole, employment fell by 0.3 percent between March 2002 and March 2003.

The biggest absolute gains in over-the-year employment were recorded in the counties of Clark, Nevada (27,500), San Diego, California (20,900), Riverside, California (20,400), and Maricopa, Arizona, and Pinellas, Florida, (18,500 each).

The BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program produced these data. Pay data presented here are for all workers covered by State and Federal unemployment insurance programs. The largest counties are the 315 U.S. counties with employment levels of 75,000 or more. Find more about pay and employment in large counties in "County Employment and Wages: First Quarter 2003" (TXT) (PDF), news release USDL 03–654.