Total nonfarm employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy metropolitan area¹ stood at 2,559,200 in July 2013, up 59,000 from one year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that the annual gain in local jobs was the largest since January 2001 when 62,400 jobs were added. Nonfarm employment rose 2.4 percent locally from July a year ago compared to 1.7 percent nationwide. (See chart 1 and table 1; Technical note at end of release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

 

The Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area includes nine metropolitan divisions – separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Boston-Cambridge-Quincy Metropolitan Division, which made up 70 percent of the workforce, gained 48,600 jobs from July 2012 to July 2013, accounting for 82 percent of the area’s growth. Five of the other six divisions for which data are published also added jobs over the year.

Industry employment

Two industries in the Boston area – education and health services and professional and business services –  accounted for over half of the employment gain from July 2012 to July 2013. Education and health services, the largest industry in the Boston area, gained 17,400 jobs. The 3.5-percent growth rate in this industry was above the national average of 1.7 percent. Locally, professional and business services added 14,400 jobs, a 3.4-percent gain which was similar to the national increase of 3.5 percent.

The next-two-highest job gainers in the Boston area were construction and leisure and hospitality, with increases of 8,800 and 8,100 from July 2012 to July 2013, respectively. The 9.9-percent rate of job growth in Boston’s construction industry far outpaced the 2.8-percent gain nationwide. Locally, the construction supersector has recorded uninterrupted over-the-year employment growth since November 2010. 

Local employment in information and trade, transportation, and utilities rose by 4,300 and 3,000, respectively from July 2012. While the 1.1-percent gain in Boston’s trade, transportation, and utilities industry was below the 1.9-percent increase recorded nationally, the 3.9-percent gain recorded in information was above a 0.7 percent increase nationwide.    

The only sector to record job losses over the year locally was manufacturing, down 1,400, a 0.7-percent decline. Nationally, manufacturing employment grew 0.1 percent from July a year ago.  

Employment in the 12 Largest Metropolitan Areas

Boston was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in July 2013. All of these areas experienced over-the-year job growth during the period, with five exceeding the national average of 1.7 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was registered in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, up 3.7 percent, closely followed by Houston-Sugar-Land-Baytown, up 3.6 percent. The slowest rate of expansion occurred in Detroit-Warren-Livonia, up 0.7 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area added the largest number of jobs, 189,400, since July 2012. New York was followed by Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana where employment expanded by more than 90,000 in each area. Only Detroit had an employment increase below 15,000 over the year.

Professional and business services led employment growth in 3 of the 12 metropolitan areas–Atlanta–Sandy Springs-Marietta, Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, and Dallas. (See table 2.) Education and health services recorded the largest gains in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington. (See table 2.) Leisure and hospitality added the most jobs in Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.

Government recorded the largest loss of jobs in five areas–Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Manufacturing shed the most jobs in three areas–Atlanta, Boston, and New York.

Additional information

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request: voice phone: (202)-691-5200;  Federal Relay Service: (800)-877-8339.

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industry employment data for all states and metropolitan areas from the CES program are available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Persons are counted at their place of work rather than at their place of residence; those appearing on more than one payroll are counted on each payroll. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. The employment data are estimated using a "link relative" technique in which a ratio (link relative) of current-month employment to that of the previous month is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are obtained by multiplying the estimates for the previous month by these ratios. Small-domain models are used as the official estimators for the approximately 39 percent of CES published series which have insufficient sample for direct sample-based estimates. More complete information on the technical procedures used to develop these estimates and additional data appear in Employment and Earnings, which is available on line at www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm.   

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports that are submitted by employers who are covered under state unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The benchmark information is used to adjust the monthly estimates between the new benchmark and the preceding one and also to establish the level of employment for the new benchmark month. Thus, the benchmarking process establishes the level of employment, and the sample is used to measure the month-to-month changes in the level for the subsequent months.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, administrative data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling variability—that is, variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. Survey data also are subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys are subject to additional errors resulting from the specific estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. Measures of sampling error are available for state CES data at the total nonfarm and supersector level on line at https://www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions for states is available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on December 1, 2009. A detailed list of geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. Metropolitan New England City and Town Area (NECTA) includes nine NECTA divisions--subdivisions of the larger NECTA which function as distinct social, economic, and cultural areas within the larger region. The NECTA divisions that compose the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH NECTA include:  Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA, Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA, Framingham, MA, Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, MA-NH, Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, MA-NH, Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH, Nashua, NH-MA, Peabody, MA, Taunton-Norton-Raynham, MA, and select cities and towns within.  

 

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, U.S. and Boston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	July 2012	May 2013	June 2013	July 2013(p)	Change from July 2012 to July 2013
					Number	Percent
	U.S.
Total nonfarm	133,368	136,383	136,777	135,664	2,296	1.7
Natural resources and mining	868	868	881	889	21	2.4
Construction	5,888	5,834	5,992	6,054	166	2.8
Manufacturing	12,029	11,961	12,050	12,045	16	0.1
Trade transportation and utilities	25,485	25,816	25,966	25,978	493	1.9
Information	2,691	2,706	2,697	2,710	19	0.7
Financial activities	7,847	7,875	7,941	7,971	124	1.6
Professional and business services	18,053	18,492	18,657	18,691	638	3.5
Educational and health services	19,991	20,714	20,460	20,330	339	1.7
Leisure and hospitality	14,387	14,368	14,782	14,864	477	3.3
Other services	5,507	5,507	5,549	5,549	42	0.8
Government	20,622	22,242	21,802	20,583	-39	-0.2
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,500.2	2,556.4	2,576.1	2,559.2	59.0	2.4
Natural resources and mining	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0
Construction	89.0	91.6	96.3	97.8	8.8	9.9
Manufacturing	195.0	191.7	194.2	193.6	-1.4	-0.7
Trade transportation and utilities	404.4	406.3	411.5	408.7	4.3	1.1
Information	77.5	77.9	79.7	80.5	3.0	3.9
Financial activities	175.0	171.7	175.1	176.4	1.4	0.8
Professional and business services	424.6	433.7	438.0	439.0	14.4	3.4
Educational and health services	499.3	528.8	515.1	516.7	17.4	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	251.3	243.4	254.6	259.4	8.1	3.2
Other services	101.9	100.4	102.5	103.1	1.2	1.2
Government	281.7	310.4	308.6	283.5	1.8	0.6
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy MA division
Total nonfarm	1,731.8	1,770.5	1,781.7	1,780.4	48.6	2.8
Natural resources and mining	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	55.1	59.6	62.6	63.5	8.4	15.2
Manufacturing	92.3	90.9	92.4	92.5	0.2	0.2
Trade transportation and utilities	404.4	406.3	411.5	408.7	4.3	1.1
Information	60.9	61.3	62.8	63.5	2.6	4.3
Financial activities	144.7	141.9	144.2	146.4	1.7	1.2
Professional and business services	320.9	326.7	329.6	330.8	9.9	3.1
Educational and health services	376.2	401.5	388.8	390.8	14.6	3.9
Leisure and hospitality	176.3	172.4	180.9	185.0	8.7	4.9
Other services	71.0	69.4	70.7	70.3	-0.7	-1.0
Government	191.2	202.3	202.5	191.6	0.4	0.2

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	July	May	June	July	Change from July
	2012	2013	2013	2013(p)	2012 to July 2013
					Number	Percent
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
Total nonfarm	2,340.8	2,408.5	2,414.2	2,412.8	72.0	3.1
Natural resources and mining	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.1	-0.1	-8.3
Construction	87.8	90.9	91.7	94.9	7.1	8.1
Manufacturing	148.6	145.9	146.2	146.8	-1.8	-1.2
Trade transportation and utilities	528.7	539.8	539.6	542.3	13.6	2.6
Information	82.0	85.1	86.0	86.7	4.7	5.7
Financial activities	154.2	154.9	156.6	156.9	2.7	1.8
Professional and business services	418.1	436.4	440.9	440.8	22.7	5.4
Educational and health services	280.0	293.8	291.8	293.2	13.2	4.7
Leisure and hospitality	239.8	246.8	250.1	251.3	11.5	4.8
Other services	93.9	94.7	94.6	94.0	0.1	0.1
Government	306.5	319.1	315.6	304.8	-1.7	-0.6
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,500.2	2,556.4	2,576.1	2,559.2	59.0	2.4
Natural resources and mining	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0
Construction	89.0	91.6	96.3	97.8	8.8	9.9
Manufacturing	195.0	191.7	194.2	193.6	-1.4	-0.7
Trade transportation and utilities	404.4	406.3	411.5	408.7	4.3	1.1
Information	77.5	77.9	79.7	80.5	3.0	3.9
Financial activities	175.0	171.7	175.1	176.4	1.4	0.8
Professional and business services	424.6	433.7	438.0	439.0	14.4	3.4
Educational and health services	499.3	528.8	515.1	516.7	17.4	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	251.3	243.4	254.6	259.4	8.1	3.2
Other services	101.9	100.4	102.5	103.1	1.2	1.2
Government	281.7	310.4	308.6	283.5	1.8	0.6
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,391.6	4,443.4	4,474.5	4,459.9	68.3	1.6
Natural resources and mining	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	0.0	0.0
Construction	157.9	144.8	153.7	157.2	-0.7	-0.4
Manufacturing	415.1	416.1	416.8	416.2	1.1	0.3
Trade transportation and utilities	881.3	882.3	887.3	890.8	9.5	1.1
Information	81.3	82.1	83.0	82.4	1.1	1.4
Financial activities	289.7	294.4	296.3	296.8	7.1	2.5
Professional and business services	747.1	762.2	773.9	780.6	33.5	4.5
Educational and health services	655.1	678.9	672.3	663.2	8.1	1.2
Leisure and hospitality	433.2	429.0	441.9	440.6	7.4	1.7
Other services	191.5	193.7	196.2	195.6	4.1	2.1
Government	538.0	558.5	551.7	535.1	-2.9	-0.5
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX
Total nonfarm	3,003.0	3,117.7	3,133.1	3,114.8	111.8	3.7
Natural resources mining and construction	172.0	185.6	183.8	183.6	11.6	6.7
Manufacturing	259.0	256.6	259.9	260.0	1.0	0.4
Trade transportation and utilities	620.4	637.9	640.3	640.9	20.5	3.3
Information	77.7	77.0	77.8	78.1	0.4	0.5
Financial activities	244.7	252.2	255.9	258.4	13.7	5.6
Professional and business services	470.1	496.7	504.7	503.7	33.6	7.1
Educational and health services	376.8	389.4	388.1	386.9	10.1	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	305.0	316.9	322.2	319.1	14.1	4.6
Other services	108.4	111.0	110.6	109.5	1.1	1.0
Government	368.9	394.4	389.8	374.6	5.7	1.5
Detroit-Warren-Livonia MI
Total nonfarm	1,818.4	1,853.1	1,856.8	1,831.7	13.3	0.7
Natural resources mining and construction	59.7	56.1	57.9	59.2	-0.5	-0.8
Manufacturing	218.3	226.8	228.1	225.9	7.6	3.5
Trade transportation and utilities	340.5	345.3	345.8	345.3	4.8	1.4
Information	26.7	26.6	26.7	27.2	0.5	1.9
Financial activities	102.3	98.8	99.9	100.2	-2.1	-2.1
Professional and business services	340.4	348.3	345.0	342.2	1.8	0.5
Educational and health services	293.7	299.5	298.0	296.9	3.2	1.1
Leisure and hospitality	181.7	181.9	185.7	181.7	0.0	0.0
Other services	75.6	75.8	75.5	74.9	-0.7	-0.9
Government	179.5	194.0	194.2	178.2	-1.3	-0.7
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown TX
Total nonfarm	2,686.6	2,784.3	2,792.7	2,784.3	97.7	3.6
Natural resources and mining	102.8	105.5	106.3	108.5	5.7	5.5
Construction	176.3	186.7	187.8	189.3	13.0	7.4
Manufacturing	245.4	250.6	251.8	251.8	6.4	2.6
Trade transportation and utilities	547.5	566.7	569.5	568.7	21.2	3.9
Information	31.7	31.9	32.1	32.8	1.1	3.5
Financial activities	140.6	142.1	142.7	144.8	4.2	3.0
Professional and business services	411.6	418.6	422.3	422.8	11.2	2.7
Educational and health services	325.9	340.9	340.8	340.8	14.9	4.6
Leisure and hospitality	260.2	269.0	276.3	274.9	14.7	5.6
Other services	96.6	95.6	95.9	95.2	-1.4	-1.4
Government	348.0	376.7	367.2	354.7	6.7	1.9
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana CA
Total nonfarm	5,226.1	5,344.2	5,357.8	5,317.2	91.1	1.7
Natural resources and mining	4.8	4.5	4.6	4.7	-0.1	-2.1
Construction	182.4	188.2	193.7	194.4	12.0	6.6
Manufacturing	526.1	520.2	522.2	522.1	-4.0	-0.8
Trade transportation and utilities	1,005.4	997.4	1,001.6	1,009.1	3.7	0.4
Information	215.4	212.0	210.7	217.5	2.1	1.0
Financial activities	319.5	328.7	329.3	329.6	10.1	3.2
Professional and business services	823.5	842.3	843.8	845.2	21.7	2.6
Educational and health services	689.7	729.6	721.0	713.5	23.8	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	604.5	619.1	628.9	634.8	30.3	5.0
Other services	186.8	186.7	186.3	186.3	-0.5	-0.3
Government	668.0	715.5	715.7	660.0	-8.0	-1.2
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach FL
Total nonfarm	2,234.5	2,315.4	2,283.9	2,272.5	38.0	1.7
Natural resources and mining	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.0	0.0
Construction	86.7	86.9	88.7	88.7	2.0	2.3
Manufacturing	76.2	75.6	77.0	75.6	-0.6	-0.8
Trade transportation and utilities	531.7	550.1	547.8	549.0	17.3	3.3
Information	45.0	45.0	45.1	45.1	0.1	0.2
Financial activities	162.1	162.9	165.3	165.3	3.2	2.0
Professional and business services	346.7	352.6	351.7	352.7	6.0	1.7
Educational and health services	335.1	346.1	341.6	338.0	2.9	0.9
Leisure and hospitality	268.2	287.6	283.5	277.2	9.0	3.4
Other services	107.1	107.0	107.0	107.1	0.0	0.0
Government	275.0	300.9	275.5	273.1	-1.9	-0.7
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	8,555.3	8,732.9	8,799.3	8,744.7	189.4	2.2
Natural resources mining and construction	310.3	308.4	320.5	323.3	13.0	4.2
Manufacturing	357.2	354.2	354.1	350.7	-6.5	-1.8
Trade transportation and utilities	1,565.0	1,612.6	1,625.9	1,612.4	47.4	3.0
Information	279.4	272.5	273.0	273.9	-5.5	-2.0
Financial activities	745.9	735.4	748.2	756.9	11.0	1.5
Professional and business services	1,354.5	1,381.9	1,390.8	1,388.0	33.5	2.5
Educational and health services	1,546.6	1,643.8	1,628.7	1,595.7	49.1	3.2
Leisure and hospitality	793.7	782.8	818.3	833.7	40.0	5.0
Other services	379.5	389.3	389.8	387.8	8.3	2.2
Government	1,223.2	1,252.0	1,250.0	1,222.3	-0.9	-0.1
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmingon PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,703.8	2,765.9	2,779.3	2,735.5	31.7	1.2
Natural resources mining and construction	102.2	101.3	102.5	104.5	2.3	2.3
Manufacturing	183.4	181.5	182.1	181.6	-1.8	-1.0
Trade transportation and utilities	500.5	504.0	506.8	500.8	0.3	0.1
Information	48.6	48.0	47.9	47.6	-1.0	-2.1
Financial activities	202.6	201.2	203.1	203.8	1.2	0.6
Professional and business services	426.5	432.1	439.4	437.0	10.5	2.5
Educational and health services	560.8	591.5	583.8	580.1	19.3	3.4
Leisure and hospitality	247.7	244.6	253.4	254.6	6.9	2.8
Other services	123.1	123.7	125.5	124.0	0.9	0.7
Government	308.4	338.0	334.8	301.5	-6.9	-2.2
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA
Total nonfarm	1,980.4	2,014.7	2,022.7	2,009.7	29.3	1.5
Natural resources and mining	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	90.5	91.2	93.5	94.0	3.5	3.9
Manufacturing	116.7	114.8	115.5	116.0	-0.7	-0.6
Trade transportation and utilities	330.6	333.9	336.7	337.4	6.8	2.1
Information	68.5	68.5	68.9	68.9	0.4	0.6
Financial activities	127.6	127.9	127.8	128.3	0.7	0.5
Professional and business services	396.3	403.8	403.7	406.0	9.7	2.4
Educational and health services	251.7	259.7	258.5	254.9	3.2	1.3
Leisure and hospitality	229.6	235.5	240.7	240.1	10.5	4.6
Other services	77.8	76.5	76.5	76.5	-1.3	-1.7
Government	289.8	301.6	299.6	286.3	-3.5	-1.2
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,045.1	3,090.8	3,108.6	3,095.7	50.6	1.7
Natural resources mining and construction	147.8	145.7	147.4	146.0	-1.8	-1.2
Manufacturing	49.1	48.7	49.0	48.5	-0.6	-1.2
Trade transportation and utilities	385.9	388.9	392.3	392.0	6.1	1.6
Information	77.0	75.6	76.7	77.2	0.2	0.3
Financial activities	148.9	152.9	154.4	156.6	7.7	5.2
Professional and business services	707.3	715.1	717.6	716.0	8.7	1.2
Educational and health services	368.9	380.7	378.6	380.0	11.1	3.0
Leisure and hospitality	292.7	296.8	309.0	307.9	15.2	5.2
Other services	188.1	186.6	187.8	189.0	0.9	0.5
Government	679.4	699.8	695.8	682.5	3.1	0.5