November 26, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

California, Texas, Florida, Nevada had fastest growing counties

The 248 U.S. counties with 100,000 or more employees accounted for about two-thirds of total U.S. employment covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs in 2001.

[Chart data—TXT]

Placer County, California, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (6.0 percent), followed by the counties of Collier, Florida (5.9 percent), Collin, Texas (5.7 percent), Manatee, Florida (5.1 percent), and Lee, Florida (4.7 percent). The median employment increase among the largest counties was 0.1 percent in 2001.

The largest absolute gains in employment in 2001 were recorded in the counties of Harris, Texas (+30,999), San Diego, California (+24,326), Los Angeles, California (+22,633), Clark, Nevada (+22,362), and Orange, California (+20,580).

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. Find more about pay and employment in large counties in "Employment and Average Annual Pay for Large Counties, 2001," news release USDL 02–650.