October 27, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Most rapid growth and decline in employment by county, March 2005-March 2006

Collin County, Texas, a Dallas suburb, had the biggest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S in March 2006.

[Chart data—TXT]

Employment rose by 7.8 percent in Collin County from March 2005 to March 2006. Lee, Florida, which includes Fort Myers, and Brazoria, Texas, which is near the Gulf Coast, had the next highest increases. The nation as a whole experienced a job growth rate of 2.2 percent.

The largest percentage decline in employment was in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, followed by Harrison, Mississippi, and Jefferson, Louisiana. These employment losses reflected the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program produced these data, which are preliminary and subject to revision. Employment data presented here are for all workers covered by State and Federal unemployment insurance programs. The largest counties are those with employment levels of 75,000 or more—there are 325 such counties in the U.S.. Find out more in "County Employment and Wages: First Quarter 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release 06-1859.