• County Employment and Wages in Connecticut

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Three of Connecticut’s four large[1] counties reported employment increases from December 2010 to December 2011. Fairfield County had the highest rate of employment growth, up 1.5 percent. New Haven and Hartford Counties reported employment gains of 1.0 and 0.7 percent, respectively. The state’s remaining large county, New London, recorded an over-the-year decline of 1.1 percent. Nationally, employment increased 1.4 percent from December 2010 to December 2011. The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment was recorded in Kern, Calif., up 5.3 percent. Benton, Wash., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 3.4 percent. Among the four largest counties in Connecticut, employment was highest in Hartford (495,456) and lowest in New London (123,540). Along with Fairfield and New Haven, the four large counties accounted for 84.5 percent of the state’s total employment in December 2011. Nationwide, the 322 largest counties accounted for 70.7 percent of total U.S. employment. All four large counties in the state recorded decreases in average weekly wages from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011. Fairfield County recorded the largest decrease, down 4.6 percent. Fairfield County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,589 and ranked 7th highest among the 322 largest counties nationwide. Nationally, the average weekly wage fell 1.7 percent over the year to $955 in the fourth quarter of 2011. See the complete report: USDOL-BLS [1]Note: Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2010 annual average employment.

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