California County Shows Biggest % Increase In Jobs & Payroll.

Santa Clara County, Calif., showed one of the fastest-growing percentage increases in jobs of U.S. counties between 1999 and 2000, according to a report on business activity released by the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau.

Santa Clara, part of the San Francisco-Oakland Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area, whose most populous city is San Jose, had a 6.2 percent increase in employment, tops among the five counties with the largest numeric gains in job growth.

According to the report, 2000 County Business Patterns, job growth in the rest of the top five counties was as follows: New York County, N.Y., the Manhattan portion of New York City, 3.9 percent; Maricopa County, Ariz., 3.8 percent; Los Angeles County, Calif., 3.1 percent; and Cook County, Ill., 2.1 percent.

Among the five counties with the largest gains in payroll, Santa Clara again had the highest percentage increase (36.7 percent). Middlesex County, Mass. (up 19.4 percent), and New York County (up 18.1 percent) were next, followed by Los Angeles County and Cook County (up 7.9 percent each).

Nationwide, private sector employment grew by 3 percent from 111 million in 1999 to 114 million in 2000. In addition, pay for these employees grew by 9.1 percent to $3.9 trillion.