Both employment and wages in Fulton County (part of the Atlanta, Ga., metro area) grew faster than the nation over the 12 months ending in March 2022, according to new information provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Average weekly wage in Fulton County was $2,068, the highest average recorded among the large counties in the state. Nationally, the average weekly wage came in at $1,374.
Employment in Fulton County grew by 5.8% over the year, while wages increased by 8.3%. Nationally, employment grew by 5.0%, as wages increased by 6.7% over the year.
Of the 11 largest counties in Georgia, only Fulton and
Clayton counties (both in the Atlanta, Ga., area) recorded employment growth
faster than the nation with Clayton County employment rising by 8.4%. Muscogee
County (Columbus, Ga., area) was the only large county in the state that showed
a decline with employment, dropping 0.4%.
With the publication of the first quarter 2022 data, Forsyth
County was added as one of the nation’s 355 largest counties by employment.
With the addition, Georgia now has 11 counties that meet the criteria to be
included in the nation’s largest counties which was expanded to include all
counties with employment of 75,000 or more.
Compared to 10 years ago, two counties (Forsyth and Hall) in
Georgia have been added to the nation’s largest counties by employment size. No
county has been dropped from the list.
Of the nine counties that appeared on both the first quarter
2012 and 2022 lists, Fulton County recorded the fastest employment growth of
27.8% over the decade followed by Chatham County (Savannah, Ga., area) 24.1%, Cobb
County (Atlanta, Ga., area) and Gwinnett County (Atlanta, Ga., area) 20.1%.
Two of the nine counties have recorded employment declines
over the past decade with Muscogee County (Columbus, Ga., area) down 2.2%, and
Bibb County (Macon, Ga., area) down 0.5%.
Average Weekly Wages
Seven counties in Georgia saw the average weekly wage increase
faster than the nation. Hall County (Gainesville, Ga., area) recorded a 10.4%
increase in wages followed by DeKalb County that showed a 10.2% increase in the
average weekly wage.
Other counties with average weekly wage percentage increase
greater than the nation included Chatham County (Savannah, Ga., area) up 9.4%,
Fulton County (Atlanta, Ga., area) 8.3%, Forsyth County (Atlanta, Ga., area) 7.9%,
Gwinnett County (Atlanta, Ga., area) 7.5%, and Cobb County (Atlanta, Ga., area)
6.6%.
Bibb County (Macon, Ga., area) recorded the lowest average
wage of the large counties in the state at $970 per week as well as recording
the smallest increase over the year at 2.2%.
Table 1. Largest Georgia Counties Employment Levels
County 1st
Quarter 2012 1st
Quarter 2022
Bibb County 79,900 79,500
Chatham County 132,000 163,800
Clayton County 111,100 118,800
Cobb County 301,900 371,700
DeKalb County 276,100 300,400
Forsyth County N/A 79,300
Fulton County 711,700 909,900
Gwinnett County 306,300 367,800
Hall County N/A 92,100
Muscogee County 92,900 90,900
Richmond County 99,000 102,700
