April 09, 2009 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Fastest decline in employment by county, September 2007-2008

Among the largest U.S. counties, Elkhart County, Indiana, located about 100 miles east of Chicago, posted the largest percentage decline in employment between September 2007 and September 2008, with a loss of 10.8 percent. Manufacturing sustained the largest employment losses in Elkhart.

Percent decrease in employment, selected counties, September 2007-September 2008
[Chart data—TXT]

The counties with the next largest percentage declines are all located in Florida: Lee (-8.1 percent), Collier (-7.4 percent), Sarasota (-7.1 percent), and Marion (-6.4 percent).

Employment declined in more than half of the largest U.S. counties from September 2007 to September 2008. Overall, the national job decrease was 0.8 percent.

The BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program produced these data, which are preliminary and subject to revision. 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. Find out more in "County Employment and Wages: Third Quarter 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release 09-0362.