Public Information Office CB00-116
301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax)
301-457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: pio@census.gov
County Business Patterns Staff
301-457-2580
e-mail: cbp@census.gov
Los Angeles County, Calif., and Harris County, Texas,
Experience Country's Biggest Job Gains, Census Bureau Reports
Los Angeles County, Calif., and Harris County, Texas, had the highest
employment growth in the nation between 1997 and 1998, according to the annual
County Business Patterns reports issued today by the Commerce Department's
Census Bureau.
The number of employees in Los Angeles County increased by 104,706 between
1997 and 1998, and the number in Harris County, Texas, by 80,374.
During the same period, the number of people living in Los Angeles County
grew by more than 97,000, and Harris County, Texas, by more than 52,000.
Orange County, Calif., was third, adding 61,385 more workers, followed by
Maricopa County, Ariz. (54,275), and San Diego County, Calif. (54,067).
"Nationally, the number of employees in private businesses continued to
increase, from 105 million in 1997 to 108 million in 1998," Census Bureau
analyst Paul Hanczaryk said.
During 1998, the payrolls for all private business employees grew by
9 percent over 1997 levels.
County Business Patterns is an annual series that covers establishments with
employees and most of the nation's economic activity. The series shows economic
change over time.
Governments use the data to design economic development programs and companies
use them to identify business opportunities.
The following table shows employee and population gains for the United States
and the five counties with the largest employee gains from 1997 to 1998:
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Employee Population
1998 1997 Gain: 1997-1998 Gain: 1997-1998
County Employees Employees Number/Percent Number/Percent
United States 108,117,731 105,299,123 2,818,608 2.7% 2,464,396 0.9%
Los Angeles, Calif. 3,693,537 3,588,831 104,706 2.9% 97,696 1.1%
Harris, Texas 1,592,279 1,511,905 80,374 5.3% 52,506 1.7%
Orange, Calif. 1,274,074 1,212,689 61,385 5.1% 58,183 2.2%
Maricopa, Ariz. 1,246,448 1,192,173 54,275 4.6% 85,320 3.2%
San Diego, Calif. 961,014 906,947 54,067 6.0% 44,063 1.6%
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Gains in the number of employer business establishments for the United States
and the five top counties for the period 1997 to 1998 were as follows:
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1998 1997 Gain
County Establishments Establishments Number/Percent
United States 6,941,822 6,894,869 46,953 0.7%
Clark, Nev. 26,691 25,013 1,678 6.7%
Maricopa, Ariz. 68,955 67,647 1,308 1.9%
New York, N.Y. 1/ 105,128 103,872 1,256 1.2%
Orange, Calif. 75,154 73,959 1,195 1.6%
San Diego, Calif. 64,413 63,304 1,109 1.8%
1/ Manhattan portion of New York City
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The five counties with the largest gains in annual payrolls, as well as gains
for the United States from 1997 to 1998 were as follows:
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Gain
County 1998 Payroll 1997 Payroll Amount/Percent
($billion) ($billion) ($billion)
United States 3,309.4 3,047.9 261.5 8.6%
New York, N.Y. 1/ 122.5 110.3 12.2 11.1%
Los Angeles, Calif. 123.8 115.8 8.0 6.9%
King, Wash. 41.6 33.7 7.9 23.3%
Cook, Ill. 91.5 84.6 6.9 8.2%
Dallas, Texas 53.2 46.8 6.4 13.6%
1/ Manhattan portion of New York City
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The 1998 County Business Patterns is the first economy-wide series to use the
new North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, which replace
the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. NAICS reflects more
accurately the changing and growing services-based economy. It includes
1,170 industries, of which 565 are service-based. In contrast, the SIC system
covered 1,004 industries, of which 416 were service-related.
County Business Patterns data are obtained from Census Bureau reports and
administrative records of other federal agencies. Quality assurance procedures
are applied to all phases of collection, processing and tabulation to minimize
errors. However, the data are still subject to error from miscoding, estimation
for missing or misreported data and difficulties covering the proper units for
the report.
The data will be available on CD-ROM at a later date. The Census Bureau will
release the report for Puerto Rico later this year.
Selected Data for 50 Counties Having Highest Non-Farm Employment: 1998
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County Non-Farm Employment Establishments Annual Payroll
# of % Number Ammount Avg.
emp. as of change % ($1000) % per
March 12 from 1997 change change emp.
from 1997 from 1997 ($)
Los Angeles,CA 3,693,537 2.9 219,933 0.5 123,783,190 6.9 33,513
Cook, IL 2,446,113 2.1 127,124 0.5 91,485,933 8.2 37,401
New York, NY 1/ 1,951,646 1.4 105,128 1.2 122,512,615 11.1 62,774
Harris, TX 1,592,279 5.3 83,308 1.3 56,948,014 11.1 35,765
Dallas, TX 1,411,913 3.1 63,998 0.0 53,229,253 13.6 37,700
Orange, CA 1,274,074 5.1 75,154 1.6 43,261,217 11.7 33,955
Maricopa, AZ 1,246,448 4.6 68,955 1.9 37,009,066 12.2 29,692
San Diego, CA 961,014 6.0 64,413 1.8 29,596,400 13.1 30,797
King, WA 955,805 2.9 58,839 0.7 41,614,294 23.3 43,538
Santa Clara, CA 946,363 6.0 44,204 1.9 47,589,390 12.6 50,287
Dade, FL 835,903 2.4 67,042 -0.2 23,873,282 6.1 28,560
Hennepin, MN 820,439 1.5 38,350 1.3 30,194,803 8.6 36,803
Middlesex, MA 787,896 1.7 41,848 0.6 32,400,149 12.5 41,122
Wayne, MI 755,495 0.6 36,089 -0.2 27,507,268 5.7 36,410
Cuyahoga, OH 749,942 1.7 38,566 -0.3 24,475,426 4.7 32,636
Oakland, MI 746,998 4.0 41,626 0.4 29,477,823 10.7 39,462
Fulton, GA 678,327 5.1 29,887 1.2 26,476,880 14.6 39,033
Allegheny, PA 672,404 0.2 34,987 -0.5 21,562,413 5.9 32,068
Alameda, CA 598,220 3.7 35,137 1.1 22,237,245 8.0 37,172
Tarrant, TX 591,128 6.2 32,593 0.5 16,958,422 10.1 28,688
Franklin, OH 589,962 3.3 27,644 0.6 18,311,725 11.0 31,039
Philadelphia, PA 586,689 1.5 26,181 -1.5 20,193,733 5.6 34,420
Du Page, IL 586,425 3.3 31,672 1.5 22,128,922 10.3 37,735
Broward, FL 585,668 3.9 49,026 1.1 16,036,830 7.2 27,382
St. Louis, MO 582,360 0.4 30,262 -0.2 18,951,999 4.3 32,543
Clark, NV 549,060 4.9 26,691 6.7 14,997,766 11.0 27,315
Suffolk, MA 539,259 2.6 19,870 0.9 24,653,907 14.2 45,718
Marion, IN 534,151 4.0 24,348 -0.4 17,666,734 11.2 33,074
Nassau, NY 532,641 1.4 46,238 0.6 18,034,793 7.5 33,859
Hamilton, OH 531,128 0.5 24,944 -1.0 17,524,771 7.0 32,995
San Francisco, CA 531,023 2.7 31,632 0.5 23,635,443 8.9 44,509
Bexar, TX 529,247 1.8 29,487 0.9 13,618,555 8.6 25,732
Orange, FL 528,249 6.8 25,218 1.9 14,382,922 11.8 27,228
Hillsborough, FL 493,710 5.4 26,125 1.3 14,010,997 11.2 28,379
Suffolk, NY 487,168 1.7 41,675 1.4 16,062,744 6.7 32,972
Montgomery, PA 476,769 1.5 25,388 1.0 17,350,690 7.6 36,392
Milwaukee, WI 475,869 0.5 21,384 -1.8 15,033,114 6.4 31,591
Salt Lake, UT 466,200 3.7 24,553 1.5 13,160,097 9.5 28,228
Hartford, CT 459,632 1.3 23,275 -1.0 17,360,148 9.5 37,770
Mecklenburg, NC 456,674 0.5 23,466 -2.4 15,866,266 6.4 34,743
Shelby, TN 453,920 3.2 21,376 -0.4 13,654,921 9.1 30,082
Bergen, NJ 446,352 0.8 32,941 0.2 17,865,329 6.4 40,025
Queens, NY 2/ 444,825 1.6 35,408 1.6 13,841,289 5.7 31,116
Fairfax, VA 444,700 5.8 24,581 1.2 19,939,778 22.8 44,839
San Bernardino, CA 425,068 4.5 26,132 1.3 10,828,605 8.2 25,475
Fairfield, CT 424,846 1.0 28,438 0.4 21,547,737 11.7 50,719
Palm Beach, FL 414,845 2.7 35,287 1.7 12,128,879 8.4 29,237
Kings, NY 3/ 409,177 1.1 36,980 2.3 11,605,124 5.2 28,362
Multnomah, OR 399,456 1.0 23,396 0.7 12,740,308 6.1 31,894
Erie, NY 399,282 0.3 22,528 -1.0 10,955,772 4.4 27,439
1/Manhattan portion of New York City
2/Queens portion of New York City
3/Brooklyn portion of New York City
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Selected Data for States: 1998
_______________________________________________________________________________
State Non-Farm Employment Establishments Annual Payroll
Avg.
# of emp. % Number % Amount % per
as of change change ($1000) change emp.
March 12 from 1997 from 1997 from 1997 ($)
UNITED STATES 108,117,731 2.7 6,941,822 0.7 3,309,405,533 8.6 30,609
ALABAMA 1,604,110 0.8 100,316 0.0 40,330,597 5.3 25,142
ALASKA 196,135 3.8 18,212 0.4 6,883,920 8.1 35,098
ARIZONA 1,763,508 3.7 110,245 1.5 49,052,246 11.1 27,815
ARKANSAS 944,935 2.1 62,353 0.0 21,764,625 6.7 23,033
CALIFORNIA 12,026,989 4.0 773,925 1.0 406,481,070 9.5 33,797
COLORADO 1,757,628 4.9 130,354 2.3 53,790,978 13.6 30,604
CONNECTICUT 1,493,964 1.5 92,362 -0.4 58,225,763 9.3 38,974
DELAWARE 354,643 1.9 22,871 2.8 11,831,134 7.5 33,361
DIST. OF COLUMBIA 402,070 1.4 19,571 0.1 17,358,137 8.6 43,172
FLORIDA 5,756,353 3.7 420,638 0.7 149,936,849 8.3 26,047
GEORGIA 3,198,950 3.0 194,213 1.5 94,687,270 10.6 29,599
HAWAII 416,571 -2.2 29,603 -1.3 11,291,978 1.0 27,107
IDAHO 423,615 4.7 35,961 1.1 10,595,285 8.0 25,012
ILLINOIS 5,221,782 2.6 304,533 0.6 175,703,556 8.2 33,648
INDIANA 2,540,866 2.1 146,197 0.0 71,435,864 7.6 28,115
IOWA 1,213,285 2.9 80,838 0.3 30,409,574 7.9 25,064
KANSAS 1,081,941 3.1 74,019 0.1 28,747,577 7.3 26,570
KENTUCKY 1,443,015 1.4 89,593 0.6 36,889,001 6.4 25,564
LOUISIANA 1,577,220 3.0 100,667 -0.1 40,802,387 7.5 25,870
MAINE 456,715 2.2 38,334 1.0 11,559,136 5.6 25,309
MARYLAND 1,938,727 1.7 126,577 0.5 59,817,673 6.4 30,854
MASSACHUSETTS 2,924,913 2.3 167,929 0.6 105,871,311 10.6 36,196
MICHIGAN 3,919,567 2.0 235,403 0.0 128,649,484 6.9 32,822
MINNESOTA 2,271,671 3.5 134,981 1.5 70,094,975 10.1 30,856
MISSISSIPPI 937,023 3.0 59,771 0.7 21,066,790 7.6 22,483
MISSOURI 2,310,122 1.2 143,912 0.3 64,669,474 6.6 27,994
MONTANA 277,144 1.2 30,957 0.7 5,960,687 5.1 21,508
NEBRASKA 720,252 2.7 48,655 0.1 18,178,238 9.7 25,239
NEVADA 800,861 4.2 44,613 5.4 21,847,334 9.7 27,280
NEW HAMPSHIRE 518,526 4.1 36,842 0.4 14,863,829 9.1 28,666
NEW JERSEY 3,368,365 2.0 230,860 0.7 125,787,145 8.1 37,344
NEW MEXICO 540,186 1.2 42,608 0.3 13,133,707 4.9 24,313
NEW YORK 6,993,814 1.4 481,962 0.7 274,634,982 8.2 39,268
NORTH CAROLINA 3,223,178 1.8 198,690 0.6 86,780,877 7.2 26,924
NORTH DAKOTA 249,476 3.1 20,288 -0.7 5,533,810 7.8 22,182
OHIO 4,806,046 2.1 270,343 -0.1 140,265,358 6.7 29,185
OKLAHOMA 1,167,709 3.5 84,881 0.3 28,667,008 6.5 24,550
OREGON 1,310,750 1.4 99,183 0.6 37,722,920 6.0 28,780
PENNSYLVANIA 4,906,190 1.3 292,659 0.2 145,569,019 6.0 29,670
RHODE ISLAND 402,485 3.0 28,245 0.3 11,115,638 6.2 27,618
SOUTH CAROLINA 1,526,106 3.5 94,985 1.1 38,559,169 8.0 25,266
SOUTH DAKOTA 289,422 3.7 23,521 0.1 6,403,476 8.9 22,125
TENNESSEE 2,299,348 2.3 131,110 0.1 62,441,176 7.6 27,156
TEXAS 7,570,820 4.4 462,875 0.8 229,185,833 11.5 30,272
UTAH 866,146 5.1 52,025 2.7 22,199,933 9.2 25,631
VERMONT 239,034 2.8 21,261 0.1 5,907,989 5.8 24,716
VIRGINIA 2,700,589 2.8 172,182 0.9 81,261,075 11.6 30,090
WASHINGTON 2,134,598 2.6 161,473 1.1 73,268,188 15.0 34,324
WEST VIRGINIA 547,234 0.8 41,703 0.2 13,278,895 4.0 24,265
WISCONSIN 2,319,343 1.8 138,635 0.2 64,912,499 6.4 27,987
WYOMING 163,791 1.2 17,888 1.2 3,980,094 4.3 24,300
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau
available free from Adobe.
