Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

24-848-PHI
Wednesday, May 01, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Washington Area Employment — March 2024

Total nonfarm employment for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, metropolitan area stood at 3,361,300 in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that, while employment levels in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, were little changed over the year, the rate of increase nationally was 1.9 percent. (See chart 1.) (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, is made up of two metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, division, with 82 percent of the metropolitan area’s total nonfarm employment, had an employment level of 2,770,100 in March 2024. The Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD, division accounted for 18 percent of the area’s employment and had an employment level of 591,200.

Industry employment

In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, little changed among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors. (See chart 2). Within the education and health services supersector, the health care and social assistance sector gained 14,100 jobs, with both divisions contributing to the increase. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, division gained 10,100 jobs, or 72 percent of the metropolitan area’s employment rise in this sector. Employment in the Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD, division increased by 4,000 jobs in the health care and social assistance sector.

 

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in March 2024. Five of twelve areas gained total nonfarm payroll employment over the year. The largest job gain occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (+118,700). Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, had the smallest employment increase (+53,600) among the areas with significant changes. (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, had a 2.3-percent rate of job gain, followed closely by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (+2.2 percent), and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (+2.0 percent). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, reported job gains of 1.5 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for April 2024 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Changes to Current Employment Statistics (CES) Data

Effective with the release of January 2024 estimates on March 11, 2024, nonfarm payroll employment estimates for states and areas have been adjusted to 2023 benchmark levels. Not seasonally adjusted data beginning with April 2022 and seasonally adjusted data beginning with January 2019 are subject to revision. Some data series have been revised as far back as 1990. See the CES State and Area benchmark article for further information.

Also effective with the release of January 2024 estimates, the CES program implemented a new weight smoothing procedure for state and metropolitan area employment data. Background information on weight smoothing in the Current Employment Statistics Survey is available on the BLS website.


Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More information about the CES data is available in the State Employment and Unemployment Summary and the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary.

Definitions. Employment data refer to persons on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part of the pay period which 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 2022 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 estimates are produced with a model that uses direct sample estimates (described above) combined with other regressors to compensate for smaller sample sizes.

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports which 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. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available in the CES State and Area benchmark article.

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 totals shown in the same tables due to rounding.

Employment estimates. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited in the analysis of this release only if they have been determined to be statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. Reliability of state and area estimates for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018. The 12 metropolitan areas discussed in this release are the metropolitan areas with the largest population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.

  • The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.
  • The Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division includes Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.
Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, Washington metropolitan area and its components, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area Back
data
Mar
2023
Jan
2024
Feb
2024
Mar
2024(p)
Mar 2023 to
Mar 2024(p)
Net
change
Percent
change

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area

Total nonfarm

3,337.4 3,338.4 3,348.8 3,361.3 23.9 0.7

Mining, logging, and construction

162.8 160.2 157.9 160.3 -2.5 -1.5

Manufacturing

56.7 57.1 57.3 57.9 1.2 2.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

398.8 405.7 401.6 400.6 1.8 0.5

Information

81.8 78.3 79.0 79.6 -2.2 -2.7

Financial activities

154.6 150.4 150.3 150.8 -3.8 -2.5

Professional and business services

810.9 802.9 803.6 804.9 -6.0 -0.7

Education and health services

452.5 461.2 465.6 464.7 12.2 2.7

Leisure and hospitality

310.3 304.4 306.1 310.9 0.6 0.2

Other services

192.0 193.3 193.2 194.3 2.3 1.2

Government

717.0 724.9 734.2 737.3 20.3 2.8

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division

Total nonfarm

2,745.3 2,751.2 2,758.8 2,770.1 24.8 0.9

Mining, logging, and construction

131.1 130.0 128.0 130.3 -0.8 -0.6

Manufacturing

36.5 36.8 36.9 37.5 1.0 2.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

323.3 329.5 326.3 325.7 2.4 0.7

Information

69.2 66.7 67.3 67.9 -1.3 -1.9

Financial activities

118.9 115.8 115.6 115.9 -3.0 -2.5

Professional and business services

677.1 671.5 671.6 673.0 -4.1 -0.6

Education and health services

356.9 363.4 365.9 365.0 8.1 2.3

Leisure and hospitality

260.2 256.2 257.7 261.5 1.3 0.5

Other services

169.1 170.8 170.7 171.5 2.4 1.4

Government

603.0 610.5 618.8 621.8 18.8 3.1

Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division

Total nonfarm

592.1 587.2 590.0 591.2 -0.9 -0.2

Mining, logging, and construction

31.7 30.2 29.9 30.0 -1.7 -5.4

Manufacturing

20.2 20.3 20.4 20.4 0.2 1.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

75.5 76.2 75.3 74.9 -0.6 -0.8

Information

12.6 11.6 11.7 11.7 -0.9 -7.1

Financial activities

35.7 34.6 34.7 34.9 -0.8 -2.2

Professional and business services

133.8 131.4 132.0 131.9 -1.9 -1.4

Education and health services

95.6 97.8 99.7 99.7 4.1 4.3

Leisure and hospitality

50.1 48.2 48.4 49.4 -0.7 -1.4

Other services

22.9 22.5 22.5 22.8 -0.1 -0.4

Government

114.0 114.4 115.4 115.5 1.5 1.3

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

SOURCE: Current Employment Statistics - National - State and Metropolitan Area

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area Mar
2023
Jan
2024
Feb
2024
Mar
2024(p)
Mar 2023 to
Mar 2024(p)
Net
change
Percent
change

United States(1)

Total nonfarm

154,253 155,432 156,559 157,218 2,965 1.9

Mining and logging

628 628 632 639 11 1.8

Construction

7,701 7,804 7,860 7,976 275 3.6

Manufacturing

12,889 12,881 12,909 12,912 23 0.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

28,553 28,795 28,687 28,703 150 0.5

Information

3,036 2,976 2,997 2,997 -39 -1.3

Financial activities

9,094 9,177 9,169 9,166 72 0.8

Professional and business services

22,552 22,549 22,693 22,718 166 0.7

Education and health services

25,133 25,748 26,119 26,205 1,072 4.3

Leisure and hospitality

16,031 16,076 16,225 16,473 442 2.8

Other services

5,750 5,796 5,821 5,858 108 1.9

Government

22,886 23,002 23,447 23,571 685 3.0

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

Total nonfarm

3,038.6 3,047.7 3,057.5 3,068.7 30.1 1.0

Mining and logging

2.0 2.1 2.1 2.1 0.1 5.0

Construction

141.9 142.8 144.6 146.2 4.3 3.0

Manufacturing

179.9 181.4 182.6 182.0 2.1 1.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

662.4 656.0 652.7 651.7 -10.7 -1.6

Information

113.9 97.2 98.2 95.8 -18.1 -15.9

Financial activities

203.3 207.6 207.4 206.1 2.8 1.4

Professional and business services

586.0 581.0 581.3 584.6 -1.4 -0.2

Education and health services

399.6 414.4 416.3 420.0 20.4 5.1

Leisure and hospitality

301.6 308.3 310.1 315.8 14.2 4.7

Other services

102.5 102.8 103.9 104.5 2.0 2.0

Government

345.5 354.1 358.3 359.9 14.4 4.2

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)

Total nonfarm

2,784.0 2,761.8 2,781.1 2,792.2 8.2 0.3

Mining, logging, and construction

124.2 122.2 120.1 122.6 -1.6 -1.3

Manufacturing

184.0 182.6 182.2 181.7 -2.3 -1.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

403.3 401.9 399.6 399.1 -4.2 -1.0

Information

82.7 78.4 78.7 78.2 -4.5 -5.4

Financial activities

184.4 182.8 182.7 183.4 -1.0 -0.5

Professional and business services

528.9 521.4 523.0 520.2 -8.7 -1.6

Education and health services

610.0 609.7 624.8 628.9 18.9 3.1

Leisure and hospitality

250.0 245.7 247.5 253.1 3.1 1.2

Other services

100.5 102.5 101.7 103.1 2.6 2.6

Government

316.0 314.6 320.8 321.9 5.9 1.9

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

Total nonfarm

4,723.6 4,675.2 4,701.7 4,728.1 4.5 0.1

Mining and logging

1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 0.1 7.1

Construction

169.9 162.0 162.7 169.2 -0.7 -0.4

Manufacturing

413.2 416.5 419.1 420.0 6.8 1.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

963.8 962.9 952.3 956.9 -6.9 -0.7

Information

80.1 76.8 77.5 77.9 -2.2 -2.7

Financial activities

317.0 316.2 315.6 315.7 -1.3 -0.4

Professional and business services

839.3 797.8 801.6 801.6 -37.7 -4.5

Education and health services

757.3 761.1 775.8 775.8 18.5 2.4

Leisure and hospitality

450.8 446.1 449.9 459.3 8.5 1.9

Other services

194.2 196.6 199.3 199.7 5.5 2.8

Government

536.6 537.7 546.4 550.5 13.9 2.6

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Total nonfarm

4,183.3 4,227.0 4,250.8 4,247.5 64.2 1.5

Mining, logging, and construction

241.6 246.8 250.1 250.3 8.7 3.6

Manufacturing

304.2 308.4 310.4 309.4 5.2 1.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

887.7 903.0 896.2 893.3 5.6 0.6

Information

93.0 90.4 90.5 91.2 -1.8 -1.9

Financial activities

364.5 368.2 368.8 367.2 2.7 0.7

Professional and business services

775.0 766.3 777.0 771.2 -3.8 -0.5

Education and health services

496.2 508.0 512.6 512.0 15.8 3.2

Leisure and hospitality

416.0 416.6 418.3 422.5 6.5 1.6

Other services

133.0 140.5 140.4 142.0 9.0 6.8

Government

472.1 478.8 486.5 488.4 16.3 3.5

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

Total nonfarm

3,350.9 3,394.2 3,417.6 3,418.7 67.8 2.0

Mining and logging

71.5 71.2 70.6 72.2 0.7 1.0

Construction

232.7 229.5 233.6 235.2 2.5 1.1

Manufacturing

231.0 236.3 237.4 236.3 5.3 2.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

680.7 690.6 686.9 684.9 4.2 0.6

Information

33.2 32.7 32.6 32.2 -1.0 -3.0

Financial activities

186.3 186.0 186.6 185.7 -0.6 -0.3

Professional and business services

552.5 554.6 560.3 558.8 6.3 1.1

Education and health services

441.8 460.2 464.7 465.8 24.0 5.4

Leisure and hospitality

353.0 349.0 353.2 354.1 1.1 0.3

Other services

124.6 129.8 130.7 130.4 5.8 4.7

Government

443.6 454.3 461.0 463.1 19.5 4.4

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Total nonfarm

6,206.7 6,200.2 6,235.0 6,257.0 50.3 0.8

Mining and logging

2.0 1.9 1.9 1.9 -0.1 -5.0

Construction

250.7 252.3 253.0 253.6 2.9 1.2

Manufacturing

477.0 471.5 471.3 470.8 -6.2 -1.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,080.1 1,090.4 1,081.7 1,078.2 -1.9 -0.2

Information

237.6 199.4 203.6 205.7 -31.9 -13.4

Financial activities

314.9 312.7 313.0 311.8 -3.1 -1.0

Professional and business services

972.5 956.1 961.6 963.1 -9.4 -1.0

Education and health services

1,163.3 1,203.6 1,217.4 1,227.5 64.2 5.5

Leisure and hospitality

753.4 749.4 758.9 767.1 13.7 1.8

Other services

209.4 212.5 215.4 216.1 6.7 3.2

Government

745.8 750.4 757.2 761.2 15.4 2.1

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Total nonfarm

2,892.0 2,942.7 2,953.6 2,958.5 66.5 2.3

Construction

149.5 155.8 156.3 157.8 8.3 5.6

Manufacturing

96.8 99.0 98.7 98.3 1.5 1.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

644.3 659.0 658.4 654.3 10.0 1.6

Information

56.9 54.7 54.9 54.8 -2.1 -3.7

Financial activities

214.1 217.9 217.1 216.6 2.5 1.2

Professional and business services

518.5 513.6 515.0 514.9 -3.6 -0.7

Education and health services

443.5 458.1 461.3 464.9 21.4 4.8

Leisure and hospitality

343.4 349.8 354.7 357.2 13.8 4.0

Other services

113.2 115.6 116.3 117.4 4.2 3.7

Government

311.0 318.3 320.0 321.4 10.4 3.3

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Total nonfarm

9,969.0 9,967.6 10,008.7 10,087.7 118.7 1.2

Mining, logging, and construction

393.7 379.9 377.7 389.1 -4.6 -1.2

Manufacturing

349.3 343.1 344.5 346.8 -2.5 -0.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,661.6 1,668.6 1,650.8 1,648.6 -13.0 -0.8

Information

326.4 306.7 308.9 310.0 -16.4 -5.0

Financial activities

816.1 821.3 821.2 820.4 4.3 0.5

Professional and business services

1,644.0 1,610.0 1,609.9 1,623.1 -20.9 -1.3

Education and health services

2,201.9 2,258.6 2,296.8 2,319.1 117.2 5.3

Leisure and hospitality

874.7 872.8 882.5 902.3 27.6 3.2

Other services

401.3 406.3 403.2 408.4 7.1 1.8

Government

1,300.0 1,300.3 1,313.2 1,319.9 19.9 1.5

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Total nonfarm

3,052.6 3,047.0 3,065.2 3,084.1 31.5 1.0

Mining, logging, and construction

122.4 117.4 117.6 120.0 -2.4 -2.0

Manufacturing

180.9 181.8 182.0 181.4 0.5 0.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

543.6 541.2 534.6 535.2 -8.4 -1.5

Information

54.2 52.3 52.8 52.9 -1.3 -2.4

Financial activities

228.9 229.3 229.6 229.9 1.0 0.4

Professional and business services

498.0 487.2 487.7 490.2 -7.8 -1.6

Education and health services

701.0 713.8 730.2 734.5 33.5 4.8

Leisure and hospitality

262.0 259.1 259.8 267.4 5.4 2.1

Other services

121.8 123.3 122.4 123.0 1.2 1.0

Government

339.8 341.6 348.5 349.6 9.8 2.9

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

Total nonfarm

2,393.1 2,433.1 2,445.5 2,446.7 53.6 2.2

Mining and logging

3.2 3.7 3.8 3.9 0.7 21.9

Construction

165.0 170.5 170.4 170.2 5.2 3.2

Manufacturing

149.0 148.1 148.1 147.6 -1.4 -0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

463.6 476.2 475.8 477.2 13.6 2.9

Information

43.0 41.2 40.8 40.6 -2.4 -5.6

Financial activities

213.0 210.6 210.9 209.5 -3.5 -1.6

Professional and business services

390.2 391.5 395.3 395.2 5.0 1.3

Education and health services

382.7 406.7 408.7 410.2 27.5 7.2

Leisure and hospitality

255.8 249.1 250.9 251.5 -4.3 -1.7

Other services

76.3 77.0 77.8 77.6 1.3 1.7

Government

251.3 258.5 263.0 263.2 11.9 4.7

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Total nonfarm

2,457.4 2,446.0 2,453.3 2,460.2 2.8 0.1

Mining and logging

0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.0

Construction

120.2 117.8 118.4 120.4 0.2 0.2

Manufacturing

153.6 148.2 148.6 149.0 -4.6 -3.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

347.4 350.1 347.1 345.5 -1.9 -0.5

Information

148.2 136.6 135.2 133.5 -14.7 -9.9

Financial activities

139.0 135.0 134.3 133.9 -5.1 -3.7

Professional and business services

509.1 496.4 499.4 498.5 -10.6 -2.1

Education and health services

389.3 404.6 408.7 410.8 21.5 5.5

Leisure and hospitality

245.3 247.5 250.1 252.3 7.0 2.9

Other services

84.4 85.3 85.8 86.9 2.5 3.0

Government

320.5 324.1 325.3 329.0 8.5 2.7

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Total nonfarm

3,337.4 3,338.4 3,348.8 3,361.3 23.9 0.7

Mining, logging, and construction

162.8 160.2 157.9 160.3 -2.5 -1.5

Manufacturing

56.7 57.1 57.3 57.9 1.2 2.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

398.8 405.7 401.6 400.6 1.8 0.5

Information

81.8 78.3 79.0 79.6 -2.2 -2.7

Financial activities

154.6 150.4 150.3 150.8 -3.8 -2.5

Professional and business services

810.9 802.9 803.6 804.9 -6.0 -0.7

Education and health services

452.5 461.2 465.6 464.7 12.2 2.7

Leisure and hospitality

310.3 304.4 306.1 310.9 0.6 0.2

Other services

192.0 193.3 193.2 194.3 2.3 1.2

Government

717.0 724.9 734.2 737.3 20.3 2.8

Footnotes
(1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published.
(p) Preliminary

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, May 01, 2024