Total nonfarm employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy metropolitan area (see box note) stood at 2,630,100 in October 2014, up 40,600 from one year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that nonfarm employment rose 1.6 percent locally from October a year ago compared to 2.0 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 33,500 jobs from October 2013 to October 2014, accounting for 83 percent of the area’s growth. The other six divisions for which data are published also added jobs over the year.

Industry employment

Two supersectors in the Boston area – professional and business services and education and health services –accounted for over half of the employment gain from October 2013 to October 2014. Locally, professional and business services added 11,500 jobs, a 2.6-percent gain which was lower than the national increase of 3.6 percent. Education and health services, the largest industry in the Boston area, gained 10,800 jobs. The 2.0-percent growth rate locally in this industry was similar to the national increase of 2.1 percent.

Information and trade, transportation, and utilities were the next highest job gainers in the Boston area from October 2013 to October 2014, with increases of 5,900 and 5,700, respectively. The 7.9-percent rate of job growth in Boston’s information industry far outpaced the 1.0-percent gain nationwide

Employment in other services rose by 2,600 in the local area from October a year ago. The 2.6-percent increase in jobs locally over the 12-month period was above the 0.8-percent national rate.

Local employment in leisure and hospitality rose by 1,100 and in construction by 1,000 from October 2013. The 0.4-percent gain in Boston’s leisure and hospitality industry was below the 2.8-percent national increase. Likewise, the 1.1-percent gain recorded in construction was below the 4.0 percent increase nationwide.   

Employment in the 12 Largest Metropolitan Areas

Boston was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in October 2014. All of these areas experienced over-the-year job growth during the period, with five exceeding the national average of 2.0 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was registered in Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, up 4.3 percent,  followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, up 3.6 percent. The slowest rate of expansion occurred in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, up 0.3 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area added the largest number of jobs, 123,900, since October 2013. Two other metropolitan areas gained more than 100,000 jobs over the year–Houston (120,600) and Dallas (111,900). Two areas added fewer than 10,000 jobs over the year–Philadelphia (9,100) and Detroit (6,900).

Two supersectors accounted for most of the job growth in the 12 largest areas. Professional and business services led employment growth in five metropolitan areas: Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Dallas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont. (See table 2.) Trade, transportation, and utilities recorded the largest gains in four areas: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Detroit, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, and Philadelphia.

Over the year, manufacturing recorded the largest loss of jobs in three areas–Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles. Information lost the most jobs in two areas–New York and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. Houston and Miami experienced no annual job loss in any supersector.

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	Oct	Aug	Sept	Oct	Change from Oct
	2013	2014	2014	2014(p)	2013 to Oct 2014
					Number	Percent
U.S.
Total nonfarm	138,013	139,061	139,753	140,817	2,804	2.0
Mining and logging	888	936	939	936	48	5.4
Construction	6,086	6,351	6,320	6,328	242	4.0
Manufacturing	12,055	12,254	12,232	12,227	172	1.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	26,083	26,438	26,418	26,649	566	2.2
Information	2,674	2,707	2,695	2,701	27	1.0
Financial activities	7,905	8,032	7,993	7,999	94	1.2
Professional and business services	18,918	19,455	19,453	19,591	673	3.6
Educational and health services	21,392	21,229	21,515	21,850	458	2.1
Leisure and hospitality	14,324	15,296	14,880	14,718	394	2.8
Other services	5,473	5,560	5,506	5,519	46	0.8
Government	22,215	20,803	21,802	22,299	84	0.4
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,589.5	2,592.2	2,611.2	2,630.1	40.6	1.6
Mining and logging	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	94.3	96.2	94.5	95.3	1.0	1.1
Manufacturing	193.8	195.1	193.8	193.6	-0.2	-0.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	412.5	405.5	415.4	418.2	5.7	1.4
Information	74.7	79.8	79.9	80.6	5.9	7.9
Financial activities	172.6	176.2	174.3	174.2	1.6	0.9
Professional and business services	440.9	451.3	448.7	452.4	11.5	2.6
Educational and health services	547.4	541.4	547.6	558.2	10.8	2.0
Leisure and hospitality	249.9	266.8	254.4	251.0	1.1	0.4
Other services	98.4	103.9	100.1	101.0	2.6	2.6
Government	304.4	275.4	301.9	305.0	0.6	0.2
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA division
Total nonfarm	1,796.5	1,814.5	1,815.3	1,830.0	33.5	1.9
Mining and logging	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	58.9	60.1	58.3	58.5	-0.4	-0.7
Manufacturing	91.7	93.2	92.4	92.3	0.6	0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	412.5	405.5	415.4	418.2	5.7	1.4
Information	58.8	63.2	63.2	63.6	4.8	8.2
Financial activities	142.9	146.4	144.9	145.4	2.5	1.7
Professional and business services	333.7	340.7	337.9	341.3	7.6	2.3
Educational and health services	412.9	406.8	414.1	423.2	10.3	2.5
Leisure and hospitality	175.4	191.6	182.2	178.9	3.5	2.0
Other services	70.5	73.4	71.0	71.9	1.4	2.0
Government	200.7	188.7	198.9	200.9	0.2	0.1
(p) preliminary

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

Area and Industry	Oct	Aug	Sept	Oct	Change from Oct
	2013	2014	2014	2014(p)	2013 to Oct 2014
					Number	Percent
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
Total nonfarm	2,431.3	2,472.6	2,470.3	2,489.1	57.8	2.4
Mining and logging	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2	0.0	0.0
Construction	95.5	98.0	98.8	100.7	5.2	5.4
Manufacturing	151.2	154.3	154.2	153.6	2.4	1.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	541.1	550.2	550.6	559.7	18.6	3.4
Information	84.6	86.9	86.2	85.3	0.7	0.8
Financial activities	158.2	161.0	161.6	162.9	4.7	3.0
Professional and business services	440.7	457.8	453.0	456.9	16.2	3.7
Educational and health services	298.6	295.9	298.0	300.1	1.5	0.5
Leisure and hospitality	248.4	261.0	255.9	256.9	8.5	3.4
Other services	93.9	93.1	91.7	91.9	-2.0	-2.1
Government	317.9	313.2	319.1	319.9	2.0	0.6
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,589.5	2,592.2	2,611.2	2,630.1	40.6	1.6
Mining and logging	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	94.3	96.2	94.5	95.3	1.0	1.1
Manufacturing	193.8	195.1	193.8	193.6	-0.2	-0.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	412.5	405.5	415.4	418.2	5.7	1.4
Information	74.7	79.8	79.9	80.6	5.9	7.9
Financial activities	172.6	176.2	174.3	174.2	1.6	0.9
Professional and business services	440.9	451.3	448.7	452.4	11.5	2.6
Educational and health services	547.4	541.4	547.6	558.2	10.8	2.0
Leisure and hospitality	249.9	266.8	254.4	251.0	1.1	0.4
Other services	98.4	103.9	100.1	101.0	2.6	2.6
Government	304.4	275.4	301.9	305.0	0.6	0.2
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,498.7	4,511.1	4,515.6	4,537.1	38.4	0.9
Mining and logging	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	0.0	0.0
Construction	161.1	167.7	166.0	167.8	6.7	4.2
Manufacturing	408.9	408.7	406.6	406.5	-2.4	-0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	903.9	903.7	905.5	913.8	9.9	1.1
Information	80.1	80.6	79.8	79.7	-0.4	-0.5
Financial activities	290.2	290.6	288.3	288.2	-2.0	-0.7
Professional and business services	788.0	799.1	799.8	800.0	12.0	1.5
Educational and health services	685.3	675.3	681.1	691.9	6.6	1.0
Leisure and hospitality	432.0	451.2	440.6	436.0	4.0	0.9
Other services	192.4	193.5	192.5	191.9	-0.5	-0.3
Government	555.4	539.3	554.0	559.9	4.5	0.8
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,133.2	3,214.3	3,221.3	3,245.1	111.9	3.6
Mining, logging, and construction	180.6	193.3	192.3	194.8	14.2	7.9
Manufacturing	258.3	258.5	256.8	256.8	-1.5	-0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	645.1	666.6	667.0	676.6	31.5	4.9
Information	79.8	79.7	79.3	79.1	-0.7	-0.9
Financial activities	253.1	258.5	257.3	259.3	6.2	2.4
Professional and business services	496.8	530.2	526.9	529.1	32.3	6.5
Educational and health services	388.5	390.1	392.6	395.9	7.4	1.9
Leisure and hospitality	320.5	334.5	333.3	330.2	9.7	3.0
Other services	112.6	115.0	114.6	114.7	2.1	1.9
Government	397.9	387.9	401.2	408.6	10.7	2.7
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI
Total nonfarm	1,883.9	1,866.8	1,877.6	1,890.8	6.9	0.4
Mining, logging, and construction	61.6	65.6	66.3	66.3	4.7	7.6
Manufacturing	233.4	233.3	234.7	237.3	3.9	1.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	349.1	353.3	352.0	356.9	7.8	2.2
Information	27.1	27.5	27.1	27.1	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	101.2	98.1	96.8	97.2	-4.0	-4.0
Professional and business services	365.4	365.8	367.1	369.0	3.6	1.0
Educational and health services	300.0	294.0	295.5	299.2	-0.8	-0.3
Leisure and hospitality	177.8	182.6	177.4	173.3	-4.5	-2.5
Other services	77.1	76.3	76.3	75.9	-1.2	-1.6
Government	191.2	170.3	184.4	188.6	-2.6	-1.4
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
Total nonfarm	2,818.9	2,898.1	2,920.4	2,939.5	120.6	4.3
Mining and logging	108.1	117.6	118.0	117.9	9.8	9.1
Construction	192.9	201.4	203.0	205.8	12.9	6.7
Manufacturing	255.0	262.1	261.6	263.0	8.0	3.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	567.7	585.4	584.2	588.0	20.3	3.6
Information	32.5	33.2	33.2	33.3	0.8	2.5
Financial activities	143.0	147.5	147.0	148.0	5.0	3.5
Professional and business services	431.2	447.4	448.8	448.6	17.4	4.0
Educational and health services	338.2	354.5	358.6	362.1	23.9	7.1
Leisure and hospitality	272.1	287.5	283.5	280.8	8.7	3.2
Other services	100.3	102.6	102.4	102.8	2.5	2.5
Government	377.9	358.9	380.1	389.2	11.3	3.0
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
Total nonfarm	5,638.1	5,639.1	5,674.5	5,725.3	87.2	1.5
Mining and logging	5.3	5.6	5.6	5.4	0.1	1.9
Construction	199.4	210.2	213.2	212.5	13.1	6.6
Manufacturing	524.4	510.1	509.2	508.9	-15.5	-3.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,039.2	1,041.5	1,042.7	1,052.3	13.1	1.3
Information	229.5	236.5	233.7	236.2	6.7	2.9
Financial activities	324.2	322.4	320.8	320.6	-3.6	-1.1
Professional and business services	873.0	892.4	897.8	905.5	32.5	3.7
Educational and health services	914.5	914.8	927.2	944.9	30.4	3.3
Leisure and hospitality	634.0	649.2	647.7	644.3	10.3	1.6
Other services	194.0	196.6	195.3	196.0	2.0	1.0
Government	700.6	659.8	681.3	698.7	-1.9	-0.3
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,364.1	2,402.7	2,416.0	2,440.7	76.6	3.2
Mining and logging	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	97.6	102.9	104.3	105.8	8.2	8.4
Manufacturing	77.7	78.9	79.9	80.7	3.0	3.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	551.0	564.6	566.9	571.6	20.6	3.7
Information	46.5	46.7	46.7	46.8	0.3	0.6
Financial activities	166.5	168.8	169.1	170.4	3.9	2.3
Professional and business services	374.3	384.7	384.6	388.1	13.8	3.7
Educational and health services	347.9	350.2	354.1	358.4	10.5	3.0
Leisure and hospitality	283.1	288.8	287.5	290.4	7.3	2.6
Other services	111.3	115.0	115.9	117.1	5.8	5.2
Government	307.6	301.5	306.4	310.8	3.2	1.0
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	8,786.7	8,839.9	8,844.0	8,910.6	123.9	1.4
Mining, logging, and construction	329.1	333.5	332.8	327.2	-1.9	-0.6
Manufacturing	358.4	356.6	355.1	355.3	-3.1	-0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,619.4	1,633.4	1,640.1	1,649.1	29.7	1.8
Information	279.0	276.5	272.8	273.8	-5.2	-1.9
Financial activities	740.3	747.8	741.7	740.9	0.6	0.1
Professional and business services	1,404.2	1,436.2	1,432.5	1,436.2	32.0	2.3
Educational and health services	1,644.1	1,631.9	1,661.8	1,689.6	45.5	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	785.6	847.6	819.8	810.9	25.3	3.2
Other services	383.0	388.9	383.9	386.5	3.5	0.9
Government	1,243.6	1,187.5	1,203.5	1,241.1	-2.5	-0.2
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmingon, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,775.2	2,752.2	2,761.4	2,784.3	9.1	0.3
Mining, logging, and construction	106.3	114.7	112.7	111.7	5.4	5.1
Manufacturing	179.5	179.3	179.3	179.6	0.1	0.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	508.1	512.7	511.7	516.0	7.9	1.6
Information	46.9	46.2	45.9	45.8	-1.1	-2.3
Financial activities	204.0	206.5	204.5	204.0	0.0	0.0
Professional and business services	442.8	444.9	443.6	446.9	4.1	0.9
Educational and health services	580.5	567.3	577.6	585.4	4.9	0.8
Leisure and hospitality	243.0	254.0	242.7	240.3	-2.7	-1.1
Other services	121.8	120.4	120.1	120.8	-1.0	-0.8
Government	342.3	306.2	323.3	333.8	-8.5	-2.5
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Total nonfarm	2,132.5	2,166.1	2,175.9	2,192.0	59.5	2.8
Mining and logging	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.2	-0.1	-7.7
Construction	96.9	104.9	104.5	104.1	7.2	7.4
Manufacturing	118.0	118.1	118.8	118.8	0.8	0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	348.5	351.7	353.0	358.2	9.7	2.8
Information	73.6	77.2	76.6	76.9	3.3	4.5
Financial activities	126.0	127.1	125.9	125.0	-1.0	-0.8
Professional and business services	424.1	436.3	440.3	443.2	19.1	4.5
Educational and health services	317.7	321.8	324.9	328.1	10.4	3.3
Leisure and hospitality	245.3	254.4	252.7	252.8	7.5	3.1
Other services	80.3	80.9	80.3	80.8	0.5	0.6
Government	300.8	292.5	297.7	302.9	2.1	0.7
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,093.3	3,081.6	3,086.7	3,110.9	17.6	0.6
Mining, logging, and construction	146.8	151.8	150.7	151.5	4.7	3.2
Manufacturing	46.9	46.4	45.5	44.6	-2.3	-4.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	392.8	394.7	392.3	395.5	2.7	0.7
Information	75.4	73.5	73.0	72.2	-3.2	-4.2
Financial activities	152.0	156.7	156.2	156.3	4.3	2.8
Professional and business services	702.5	708.5	700.7	704.5	2.0	0.3
Educational and health services	402.7	385.5	392.7	402.3	-0.4	-0.1
Leisure and hospitality	293.8	309.4	300.7	299.6	5.8	2.0
Other services	189.6	192.9	189.9	190.7	1.1	0.6
Government	690.8	662.2	685.0	693.7	2.9	0.4
(p) preliminary