Texas claims two of the top three fastest growing county economies in latest employment rankings

Travis County (Austin) and Collin County (Dallas-Fort Worth) were among the top three fastest growing county economies in 2022Q3, according to data released this week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages is an employer survey offering the most complete picture available of local economies at the county level. It's an indispensable tool for #economicdevelopment researchers and practitioners, as well as anybody else interested in tracking employment and wage trends in areas smaller than the federally defined metropolitan statistical areas.

Every county in the top 100 ranked by employment size added jobs in September 2022 on a year-over-year basis. The top 10 fastest growing counties were:

1. Orange, FL (Orlando), 7.8%
2. Travis, TX (Austin), 7.7%
3. Collin, TX (DFW), 7.3%
4. Kings, NY (Brooklyn), 7.0%
5. San Francisco, CA, 6.7%
6. New York, NY, 6.6%
7. Clark, NV (Las Vegas), 6.6%
8. Davidson, TN (Nashville), 6.5%
9. Essex, NJ, 6.2%
10. Mecklenburg, NC (Charlotte), 6.1%

Among counties of any size where QCEW data is available, New Orleans led the field with 10.7% year-over-year employment growth, fueled by nearly 11,000 jobs gained in the hospitality industry (40%).

BLS is scheduled to publish 2022Q4 data on May 24, 2023.