There's still more great news about the local economy. A recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists Rutherford County in the nation’s top echelon in terms of employment growth.

The First Quarter 2012 County Employment and Wages report indicates that employment increased in 293 of the 328 largest U.S. counties, of which Rutherford is included. The report measures employment growth from March 2011 to March 2012.

While national employment, measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, is up 1.8 percent, Rutherford County demonstrated an impressive 5.3 percent increase, making it third in the nation for percentage increase in employment.

In addition, the report showed that Rutherford County had a 5.9 percent increase in average weekly wages, surpassing the U.S. average of 5.4 percent, and placing the county in the top 45 percent of large U.S. counties included in the ranking. 

“This report reiterates that our efforts with Destination Rutherford, to foster an environment for significant economic growth in Rutherford County, are working,” said Destination Rutherford Chairman Bill Jones. “Teamwork between key leaders in both the public and private sectors helps accomplish our goals of continuing to put Rutherford County on the map when it comes to job creation.”

The employment and wage data in the report are compiled under the QCEW program and derived from reports submitted by every employer subject to unemployment insurance laws. The 9.2 million employer reports cover 130.2 million full- and part-time workers.

The full report is available here: http://bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.nr0.htm