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, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported October 27.
Employment rose by 7.8 percent in Collin County from March 2005 to March 2006. Lee, Fla., 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, La., followed by Harrison, Miss., and Jefferson, La. These employment losses reflected the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
The BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program produced this data, which is preliminary and subject to revision. 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,” news release 06-1859.
