(Bloomberg) -- More than 89,000 additional people were employed in the Phoenix, Ariz., countywide area in December 2019 compared with a year earlier -- leading all U.S. counties by a wide margin.

At the other end of the spectrum, the five counties that make up New York City lost the most jobs. Kings County (Brooklyn) shed 15,204, the biggest drop of any U.S. county. Kings was followed by Queens with a loss of 14,875 jobs. With New York County (Manhattan), Bronx and Richmond added, New York City had 52,120 fewer people employed in December 2019 compared with a year earlier.

It wasn’t all bad news: the NYC metro area outside the city limits gained 97,300 jobs last year, making it one of the faster-growing U.S. regions for employment.

Beyond Phoenix’s Maricopa County, an additional six U.S. counties saw growth of at least 25,000 jobs in 2019. Los Angeles County and Seattle’s King County added more than 50,000 jobs each. In Texas, Houston’s Harris County and Dallas County added more than 40,000 jobs each; Miami-Dade County and Las Vegas’ Clark County also exceeded that number.

To put the Maricopa County growth into perspective, it equates to adding about 245 jobs per day.

Wage Growth

Among the 51 metro areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million of more, 48 saw annual employment growth in 2019. Annual employment fell in the Hartford, Conn., and Memphis, Tenn., areas. Over the last 10 years, employment rose by less than 7% in cities including Hartford, Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

Average weekly earnings fell for private sector workers in 131 of 396 metro areas last year. Wages were unchanged in three and grew in 262. Income growth exceeded 5% in 118 metro areas. Wages rose by more than $100 a week in 17 areas and increased by more than $200 per week in four.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Tanzi in Washington at atanzi@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sarah McGregor at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net, Anita Sharpe

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