area of very highabsolute numbers isMiddlesex MA with 127,978.xxxxxThe New York metro areais a significant area of employ-ment.The seven New York metrocounties of Bergen, Nassau, NewYork, Suffolk, Kings, Queens, andWestchester employ a combined784,908 workers in the twosectors. In contrast, some ofthe more peripheral countiessuch as Orange NY,Berkshire MA, New Castle DE,and Sussex NJ haveemployment numbers solow that they are notreleased to preventreveal ing individualemployers.xxxxxThe retail and wholesale trades areconcentrated close to the major urban centers in theregion. Wholesale trades are found in urban locationsbecause of the ease of distribution. In New York, of the almostquarter of million-workers in the two sectors, more than half are inthe wholesale sector. In more peripheral areas such as Franklin MAthe 3,662 workers in bothsectors only 782 are inwholesale, whereas inSuffolk County, NY onthe eastern tip ofLong Island andclose to the NewYork metro, 38%are in wholesale.xxxxxThe wholesaleand retail trades areimportant parts of theeconomy. In Mega-lopolisthey employ asignificant number ofworkers. In New York alone222,878 workers wereemployed in the twosectors, according to the1997 Census. AnotherWithheld from census to avoid disclosing dataTotal Number of Wholesale and Retail EmployeesSource: 1997 Economic Census250,000100,00050,00025,00010,0005,0002,5001,00050010%90%WholesaleRetail15%85%20%80%25%75%30%70%35%65%40%60%45%55%50%50%55%45%Percentage of Employees in Wholesale or Retail TradeSEE INSETSEE INSETNew YorkRegion InsetWashington D.C.Region Inset0 20 40 60 80 100MILES0 20 40 60 80 100KILOMETERS
