Williamson County has Largest Employment Increase in the United States

NASHVILLE – According to the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and U.S. Department of Labor, Williamson County had the highest percentage of job growth compared to other large counties in the nation with an astounding 6.8 percent increase in job creation. That figure is more than three times higher that the national job growth rate of 1.9 percent. Many counties in the state also experienced job growth well above the national average.

“We are excited to see job growth throughout the entire state of Tennessee,” Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips said. “These numbers show that Tennessee is on the right track with nearly three million new jobs created over the last year.”

In Williamson County, the largest employment increase occurred in professional and business services, which gained 2,538 jobs during 2015, or an 8.8 percent increase from the previous year.

Job growth in 2015 was strong in many counties across Tennessee. Shelby County saw the largest number of new jobs, followed by Williamson, Hamilton, Knox, and Rutherford counties.

In Tennessee from September 2014 to September 2015, employment increased in 19 of the 20 largest Tennessee counties (counties with 25,000 or more jobs in 2014) creating a total of more than 2.7 million jobs throughout the state. Tennessee as a whole grew 2.6 percent over the year, also above the national job growth rate.

There is even more good news for workers across the state. The Tennessee average weekly wage increased 3.5 percent over the year, growing to $865 a week in the third quarter of 2015. Davidson County had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages with a gain of $63 or 6.5 percent. Within Davidson County, an average weekly wage gain of $128, or 13.5 percent, in management of companies and enterprises made the largest contribution to the county’s increase in weekly wages.

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