Total nonfarm employment in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 3,162,500 in January 2020, up 63,400 or 2.0 percent, from one year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.5 percent. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted January 2020 marked the 27^th consecutive month that Houston’s annual rate of job growth has exceeded the national rate. (See chart 1.) Among the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Houston ranked third in annual rate of job growth following Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale. (The Technical Note at the end of this release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Industry employment

In the Houston metropolitan area, education and health services added the largest number of jobs from January 2019 to January 2020, up 15,100. The health care and social assistance subsector added 13,100 jobs and educational services added 2,000 jobs. The education and health services supersector had a 3.8-percent rate of job growth in Houston, compared to 2.8 percent nationwide. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Houston’s professional and business services supersector added 13,500 jobs from January a year ago, the second-largest job increase among the local supersectors. Gains were widespread within the sector, including the architectural, engineering, and related services industry, which added 4,100 jobs, a 5.8-percent increase over the year. However, the employment services industry lost 4,600 jobs over the year. Houston’s professional and business services supersector employment rose 2.7 percent since January 2019, compared to the national increase of 2.1 percent.

Construction in the Houston area added 12,400 jobs from January 2019 to January 2020. Job gains occurred in all three sub-sectors, but were particularly strong in heavy and civil engineering construction (+6,300, +11.0 percent). Area employment in the construction supersector rose 5.5 percent, more than double the 2.4-percent national gain.

Leisure and hospitality added 9,700 jobs in the Houston area from January a year ago. Food services and drinking places added the largest share of jobs in the supersector, up 6,200. The 3.0-percent rate of local job growth in leisure and hospitality compared to the 2.3-percent national increase.

The government supersector added 7,500 jobs in the Houston area over the year. Federal, state, and local government all added jobs, with local government accounting for the largest share of the gain with 4,300 jobs. Government employment in Houston rose 1.8 percent, compared to the national increase of 1.0 percent.

The other services supersector (which includes repair and maintenance, personal and laundry services, membership associations, and private households) added 4,800 jobs in the local area since January 2019. The 4.3-percent local rate of job growth compared to the national rate of 1.5 percent.

Financial activities added 4,500 jobs over the year in Houston. The local rate of job growth was 2.8 percent, while the national rate was 1.7 percent.

Employment in Houston’s largest supersector–trade, transportation, and utilities–rose by 3,100 jobs over the year. Local growth was strong in wholesale trade (+4,900) and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+4,200), but retail trade recorded a loss of 6,000 jobs. The local supersector’s rate of job gain, 0.5 percent, matched the national increase.

Houston’s manufacturing employment fell 4,300 from January 2019 to January 2020. This marked the second consecutive month of over-the-year declines. Local job losses were concentrated in non-durable goods manufacturing (-2,800), but durable goods manufacturing also experienced losses (-1,500). The 1.8-percent decrease in Houston’s manufacturing employment compared to a gain of 0.2 percent nationally.

The mining and logging supersector in Houston lost 3,800 jobs from January a year ago. This was the fifth consecutive month of annual declines for local mining and logging (-4.7 percent) after 23 months of annual gains. Nationally, the mining and logging supersector had a 4.5-percent rate of job loss from January 2019 to January 2020.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in January 2020. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 6 areas exceeding the national increase of 1.5 percent. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale had the fastest rates of job growth, at 3.2 percent each, followed by Houston (+2.0 percent). Chicago-Naperville-Elgin had the slowest rate of job growth at 0.6 percent, followed by Boston-Cambridge-Nashua and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (+0.8 percent each).  (See chart 3 and table 2.)

Dallas added the largest number of jobs over the year, 119,300, followed by New York-Newark-New Jersey (+112,700) and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (+101,000). Boston had the smallest employment gain over the year, 22,500, followed by Philadelphia (+23,800). Annual gains in the remaining seven metropolitan areas ranged from 67,800 in Phoenix to 28,500 in Chicago.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in seven areas: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Phoenix. Professional and business services gained the most jobs in the five remaining areas.

Manufacturing lost the most jobs in four areas: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami. Trade, transportation, and utilities had the most job losses in four other areas: New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, and Washington. Dallas and Phoenix were the only areas to record job gains in all supersectors from January 2019 to January 2020.

Metropolitan area employment data for February 2020 are scheduled to be released on Friday, March 27, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

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.

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 2017 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. CES State and Area employment data are produced using several estimation procedures. Where possible these data are produced using a "weighted link relative" estimation technique in which a ratio of current-month weighted employment to that of the previous-month weighted employment is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are then obtained by multiplying these ratios by the previous month's employment estimates. The weighted link relative technique is utilized for data series where the sample size meets certain statistical criteria.

For some employment series, the sample of establishments is very small or highly variable. In these cases, a model-based approach is used in estimation. These models use the direct sample estimates (described above), combined with forecasts of historical (benchmarked) data to decrease volatility in estimation. Two different models (Fay-Herriot Model and Small Domain Model) are used depending on the industry level being estimated. For more detailed information about each model, refer to the BLS Handbook of Methods.

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 for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of sampling error for more detailed series at the area and division level are available upon request. Measures of sampling error for states down to the supersector level are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this release. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/sae/publications/benchmark-article/annual-benchmark-article.pdf

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated April 10, 2018. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller Counties.

Additional information

More complete information on the technical procedures used to develop these estimates and additional data appear in Employment and Earnings, which is available online at www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm. Detailed industry employment data for metropolitan areas from the CES program are available from the State and Area Employment databases at www.bls.gov/sae/data/.

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.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and Houston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Jan. 2019	Nov. 2019	Dec. 2019	Jan. 2020(p)	Jan. 2019 to Jan. 2020(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	147,879	153,177	152,929	150,117	2,238	1.5
Mining and logging	733	729	714	700	-33	-4.5
Construction	7,069	7,609	7,447	7,241	172	2.4
Manufacturing	12,737	12,871	12,876	12,763	26	0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,598	28,350	28,582	27,725	127	0.5
Information	2,799	2,900	2,895	2,854	55	2.0
Financial activities	8,618	8,805	8,819	8,761	143	1.7
Professional and business services	20,709	21,727	21,600	21,135	426	2.1
Education and health services	23,724	24,682	24,633	24,390	666	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	15,739	16,439	16,450	16,095	356	2.3
Other services	5,775	5,911	5,902	5,860	85	1.5
Government	22,378	23,154	23,011	22,593	215	1.0
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	3,099.1	3,203.5	3,209.5	3,162.5	63.4	2.0
Mining and logging	80.7	78.9	78.5	76.9	-3.8	-4.7
Construction	226.2	242.5	241.6	238.6	12.4	5.5
Manufacturing	234.3	235.6	234.9	230.0	-4.3	-1.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	631.1	645.8	652.9	634.2	3.1	0.5
Information	31.8	32.5	32.7	32.7	0.9	2.8
Financial activities	163.5	168.0	168.8	168.0	4.5	2.8
Professional and business services	494.3	514.8	512.7	507.8	13.5	2.7
Education and health services	396.0	411.8	411.1	411.1	15.1	3.8
Leisure and hospitality	320.0	330.7	332.2	329.7	9.7	3.0
Other services	112.7	116.5	117.3	117.5	4.8	4.3
Government	408.5	426.4	426.8	416.0	7.5	1.8
(p) preliminary

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

Area and Industry	Jan. 2019	Nov. 2019	Dec. 2019	Jan. 2020(p)	Jan. 2019 to Jan. 2020(p)
					Net change	Percent change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,804.3	2,894.2	2,904.0	2,858.4	54.1	1.9
Mining and logging	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	0.0	0.0
Construction	126.8	130.6	130.7	127.7	0.9	0.7
Manufacturing	169.6	172.7	172.1	172.1	2.5	1.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	598.7	617.7	623.6	611.1	12.4	2.1
Information	99.0	103.6	102.0	100.4	1.4	1.4
Financial activities	173.9	178.7	179.2	177.5	3.6	2.1
Professional and business services	542.1	557.6	562.6	544.9	2.8	0.5
Education and health services	365.6	381.6	384.1	380.1	14.5	4.0
Leisure and hospitality	292.9	306.4	303.5	301.0	8.1	2.8
Other services	101.7	104.8	105.6	104.8	3.1	3.0
Government	332.5	339.0	339.1	337.3	4.8	1.4
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,746.2	2,840.3	2,827.0	2,768.7	22.5	0.8
Mining, logging, and construction	114.2	126.0	120.3	114.6	0.4	0.4
Manufacturing	187.3	188.5	187.8	185.9	-1.4	-0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	427.1	431.9	436.3	427.1	0.0	0.0
Information	79.6	82.7	82.5	83.6	4.0	5.0
Financial activities	184.3	186.9	186.6	186.7	2.4	1.3
Professional and business services	499.6	522.1	518.0	507.1	7.5	1.5
Education and health services	579.1	604.1	599.6	588.4	9.3	1.6
Leisure and hospitality	263.9	273.5	271.8	261.1	-2.8	-1.1
Other services	101.5	102.7	102.9	102.0	0.5	0.5
Government	309.6	321.9	321.2	312.2	2.6	0.8
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,658.3	4,802.6	4,791.0	4,686.8	28.5	0.6
Mining and logging	1.6	1.9	1.8	1.7	0.1	6.3
Construction	159.8	184.0	173.9	161.7	1.9	1.2
Manufacturing	419.6	416.4	416.5	410.5	-9.1	-2.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	946.9	965.1	975.1	945.4	-1.5	-0.2
Information	78.4	78.3	80.4	79.0	0.6	0.8
Financial activities	311.6	320.6	320.9	318.4	6.8	2.2
Professional and business services	810.7	847.2	833.7	810.1	-0.6	-0.1
Education and health services	728.4	752.2	751.9	749.0	20.6	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	466.7	481.2	482.0	471.9	5.2	1.1
Other services	197.6	199.0	199.8	197.9	0.3	0.2
Government	537.0	556.7	555.0	541.2	4.2	0.8
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,697.4	3,861.3	3,875.6	3,816.7	119.3	3.2
Mining, logging, and construction	220.2	233.9	234.6	232.5	12.3	5.6
Manufacturing	284.2	290.3	290.5	288.5	4.3	1.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	787.8	826.4	832.5	802.6	14.8	1.9
Information	81.2	83.1	83.3	83.2	2.0	2.5
Financial activities	309.8	321.5	324.3	323.8	14.0	4.5
Professional and business services	621.5	650.9	651.4	642.9	21.4	3.4
Education and health services	453.6	471.1	475.2	471.6	18.0	4.0
Leisure and hospitality	378.8	399.4	401.9	397.8	19.0	5.0
Other services	122.8	129.5	127.5	127.3	4.5	3.7
Government	437.5	455.2	454.4	446.5	9.0	2.1
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	3,099.1	3,203.5	3,209.5	3,162.5	63.4	2.0
Mining and logging	80.7	78.9	78.5	76.9	-3.8	-4.7
Construction	226.2	242.5	241.6	238.6	12.4	5.5
Manufacturing	234.3	235.6	234.9	230.0	-4.3	-1.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	631.1	645.8	652.9	634.2	3.1	0.5
Information	31.8	32.5	32.7	32.7	0.9	2.8
Financial activities	163.5	168.0	168.8	168.0	4.5	2.8
Professional and business services	494.3	514.8	512.7	507.8	13.5	2.7
Education and health services	396.0	411.8	411.1	411.1	15.1	3.8
Leisure and hospitality	320.0	330.7	332.2	329.7	9.7	3.0
Other services	112.7	116.5	117.3	117.5	4.8	4.3
Government	408.5	426.4	426.8	416.0	7.5	1.8
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	6,157.1	6,332.7	6,349.7	6,258.1	101.0	1.6
Mining and logging	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.3	-0.1	-4.2
Construction	248.1	255.7	257.0	254.8	6.7	2.7
Manufacturing	497.9	496.5	498.3	495.2	-2.7	-0.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,114.1	1,138.9	1,147.5	1,115.0	0.9	0.1
Information	246.3	253.7	250.9	255.6	9.3	3.8
Financial activities	338.1	344.3	345.2	342.3	4.2	1.2
Professional and business services	950.6	982.6	987.4	968.2	17.6	1.9
Education and health services	1,052.8	1,096.6	1,099.3	1,090.0	37.2	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	746.9	775.0	775.6	762.8	15.9	2.1
Other services	205.3	211.6	212.5	208.5	3.2	1.6
Government	754.6	775.4	773.7	763.4	8.8	1.2
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,702.4	2,749.9	2,760.7	2,732.1	29.7	1.1
Mining and logging	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.1	14.3
Construction	139.5	143.7	142.2	141.8	2.3	1.6
Manufacturing	90.6	90.9	91.4	90.4	-0.2	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	615.5	628.8	636.9	620.4	4.9	0.8
Information	50.0	51.1	51.1	50.5	0.5	1.0
Financial activities	187.0	191.3	192.3	188.2	1.2	0.6
Professional and business services	443.2	450.7	451.6	450.8	7.6	1.7
Education and health services	405.6	414.4	413.2	408.5	2.9	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	331.9	333.9	338.9	337.5	5.6	1.7
Other services	120.3	121.2	120.7	121.3	1.0	0.8
Government	318.1	323.1	321.6	321.9	3.8	1.2
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,745.2	10,115.7	10,109.3	9,857.9	112.7	1.2
Mining, logging, and construction	398.6	417.4	404.5	392.5	-6.1	-1.5
Manufacturing	358.7	360.1	359.7	356.9	-1.8	-0.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,740.7	1,770.2	1,790.5	1,732.1	-8.6	-0.5
Information	284.5	301.5	296.2	286.9	2.4	0.8
Financial activities	780.2	789.3	790.4	780.1	-0.1	0.0
Professional and business services	1,558.3	1,633.9	1,630.8	1,586.5	28.2	1.8
Education and health services	2,010.5	2,116.7	2,115.1	2,084.8	74.3	3.7
Leisure and hospitality	888.9	937.7	937.5	894.8	5.9	0.7
Other services	419.3	429.4	429.7	426.7	7.4	1.8
Government	1,305.5	1,359.5	1,354.9	1,316.6	11.1	0.9
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,921.5	3,013.1	3,006.4	2,945.3	23.8	0.8
Mining, logging, and construction	114.0	121.2	117.3	112.8	-1.2	-1.1
Manufacturing	182.7	183.2	183.7	183.0	0.3	0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	529.0	540.0	544.9	524.9	-4.1	-0.8
Information	48.4	49.6	50.1	49.4	1.0	2.1
Financial activities	216.1	218.9	219.0	216.5	0.4	0.2
Professional and business services	458.7	477.7	472.3	468.6	9.9	2.2
Education and health services	658.7	680.1	677.8	665.9	7.2	1.1
Leisure and hospitality	260.0	272.8	272.5	264.1	4.1	1.6
Other services	120.8	122.3	122.1	120.7	-0.1	-0.1
Government	333.1	347.3	346.7	339.4	6.3	1.9
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,145.8	2,244.9	2,249.5	2,213.6	67.8	3.2
Mining and logging	3.5	3.6	3.6	3.6	0.1	2.9
Construction	128.6	134.7	135.7	135.4	6.8	5.3
Manufacturing	130.6	134.5	135.0	133.8	3.2	2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	409.0	426.8	430.8	415.7	6.7	1.6
Information	39.6	40.8	40.9	40.8	1.2	3.0
Financial activities	197.8	206.3	205.7	203.7	5.9	3.0
Professional and business services	360.7	385.2	380.1	372.1	11.4	3.2
Education and health services	331.3	350.0	352.2	348.6	17.3	5.2
Leisure and hospitality	229.7	235.8	238.0	235.7	6.0	2.6
Other services	69.6	72.7	72.4	70.2	0.6	0.9
Government	245.4	254.5	255.1	254.0	8.6	3.5
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,429.8	2,512.8	2,514.6	2,475.2	45.4	1.9
Mining and logging	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	120.5	128.3	125.7	123.4	2.9	2.4
Manufacturing	145.0	143.7	144.3	144.0	-1.0	-0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	375.5	382.2	385.7	372.6	-2.9	-0.8
Information	121.8	130.9	131.2	130.1	8.3	6.8
Financial activities	144.3	148.3	148.3	147.9	3.6	2.5
Professional and business services	487.6	509.1	509.4	503.2	15.6	3.2
Education and health services	355.9	368.6	369.3	366.0	10.1	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	272.2	284.3	285.8	277.5	5.3	1.9
Other services	86.8	88.8	88.2	87.7	0.9	1.0
Government	319.9	328.3	326.4	322.5	2.6	0.8
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,286.4	3,398.5	3,396.3	3,332.5	46.1	1.4
Mining, logging, and construction	159.3	166.0	163.5	161.8	2.5	1.6
Manufacturing	55.7	58.0	58.2	57.6	1.9	3.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	407.3	417.9	426.4	406.2	-1.1	-0.3
Information	75.1	77.8	77.0	77.1	2.0	2.7
Financial activities	158.4	161.4	163.0	162.6	4.2	2.7
Professional and business services	760.4	792.2	787.3	774.8	14.4	1.9
Education and health services	446.3	455.1	453.4	447.2	0.9	0.2
Leisure and hospitality	320.1	335.4	334.6	326.3	6.2	1.9
Other services	207.0	211.3	212.8	212.8	5.8	2.8
Government	696.8	723.4	720.1	706.1	9.3	1.3
(p) preliminary