Employment in Benton County increased faster than it did in almost every county in the U.S., a new report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.
The report, made public today, showed just five of the nation’s 344 largest counties increased employment faster than Northwest Arkansas’ Benton County.
Employment grew by 5 percent between March 2015 and March 2016. The county, which includes large employment centers in Rogers, Bentonville and Siloam Springs, had 113,400 workers at the end of March 2016.
Tennessee’s Williamson County had the nation’s top growth rate at 7.9 percent. The county is immediately south of Nashville. The overall report showed employment increased in 318 of the 344 counties.
Employment grew by 3.6 percent in Northwest Arkansas’ Washington County, where the primary employment areas are in Fayetteville and Springdale. The 3.6 percent growth to 102,400 jobs ranked 44th nationally.
Pulaski County, the state’s largest county that includes Little Rock and North Little Rock, increased its employment to 246,400. Its increase over March 2015 was 1.9 percent, ranking 176th nationally.
The quarterly employment report that’s published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics focuses on the 344 counties in the U.S. with employment of at least 75,000.
