A new report from the government showed that of the 342 counties in the United States, 308 of them added jobs from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the fourth quarter of 2015. While it is good news that the overwhelming majority of counties added jobs across the country, there were five counties that stood out as having faster job growth than all the rest.
With a growth rate of 6.8 percent from October 2014 to December 2015 and an unemployment rate of2.7 percent, Williamson County in Tennessee, just outside of Nashville has experienced the fastest job growth in the country. These wealthy suburbs of Nashville attract tons of businesses thanks to having the lowest tax rate of any county in Tennessee. Additionally, the state of Tennessee has no income tax. When these two things are combined, it’s no wonder companies such as Mars, Verizon, and Nissan North American have large operations within the county.
Utah County, Utah is next on the list with an employment growth rate of 6.6 percent between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2015 and an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent. Provo and Orem are the major cities in this county and while Brigham Young University is a major aspect of the economy, tech jobs are also big in this area. An article from theNew Yorker referred to the area as “the Next Silicon Valley.”
Loudoun County, Va., Chesterfield, Va., and Lee County, Fla., round out the list with employment growth rates of 6.3 percent, 6 percent, and 5.9 percent respectively.
