Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, December 17, 2025 		               USDL-25-1583

Technical information: 
 Employment:    (202) 691-6559  *  sminfo@bls.gov    *  www.bls.gov/sae 
 Unemployment:  (202) 691-6392  *  lausinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/lau 

Media contact:  (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                  METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- SEPTEMBER 2025
               
               
Unemployment rates were higher in September than a year earlier in 275 of the 387 metropolitan 
areas, lower in 83 areas, and unchanged in 29 areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
reported today. A total of 45 areas had jobless rates of less than 3.0 percent and 8 areas had
rates of at least 8.0 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 10
metropolitan areas and was essentially unchanged in 377 areas. The national unemployment rate
in September was 4.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 3.9 percent a year earlier.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly programs. The civilian labor force and 
unemployment data are based on the same concepts and definitions as those used for the national 
household survey estimates. These data pertain to people by where they reside. The employment data
are from an establishment survey that measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry.
These data pertain to jobs on payrolls defined by where the establishments are located. For more 
information about the concepts and statistical methodologies used by these two programs, see the
Technical Note.

 ______________________________________________________________________________________________
|											       |
|                                 Federal Government Shutdown				       |
|											       |
| Publication of September data was delayed by more than 6 weeks because of a lapse in	       |
| federal appropriations. Collection of September data for the household survey, which	       |
| provides the primary inputs to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, had    |
| been completed in accordance with our normal schedule prior to the federal government	       |
| shutdown. The September LAUS data in this news release will not be revised until annual      |
| processing. September estimates from the establishment survey include both data collected    |
| on our normal schedule prior to the shutdown and also September data that businesses	       |
| self-reported electronically during the shutdown. As a result, the establishment survey      |
| collection rate (80.2 percent) for this initial release of September 2025 data is higher     |
| than usual.										       |
|											       |
| BLS will not publish an October 2025 Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news      |
| release. Establishment survey data for October, as well as revised data for September,       |
| will be published with the November 2025 data. Household survey data were not collected      |
| for the October 2025 reference period due to a lapse in appropriations and will not be       |
| collected retroactively. For both surveys, the collection period for November 2025 data was  |
| extended, and extra processing time will be needed. The Metropolitan Area Employment and     |
| Unemployment news release for November 2025 is scheduled to be published on Friday,	       |
| January 16, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). 						       |
|______________________________________________________________________________________________|


Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In September, Sioux Falls, SD-MN, had the lowest unemployment rate, 1.8 percent. El Centro, CA, had
the highest rate, 21.5 percent. A total of 245 areas had September jobless rates below the U.S. 
rate of 4.3 percent, 127 areas had rates above it, and 15 areas had rates equal to that of the 
nation. (See table 1.)

The largest over-the-year unemployment rate increase in September occurred in Brownsville-Harlingen,
TX (+2.2 percentage points). Fifty-one other areas had rate increases of at least 1.0 percentage 
point. Kahului-Wailuku, HI, and Kokomo, IN, had the largest over-the-year rate decreases in September
(-1.5 percentage points each). 

Of the 56 metropolitan areas with a 2020 Census population of 1 million or more, Urban Honolulu, HI,
had the lowest jobless rate in September, 2.2 percent. Fresno, CA, had the highest rate, 7.5 
percent. Forty large areas had over-the-year unemployment rate increases, 11 had decreases, and 5
had no change. The largest rate increase occurred in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD (+1.3 percentage
points). The largest jobless rate declines occurred in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, and Urban 
Honolulu, HI (-0.8 percentage point each). 

Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Thirteen of the most populous metropolitan areas are made up of 37 metropolitan divisions, which are
essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In September, Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL,
had the lowest division unemployment rate, 3.0 percent. Newark, NJ, had the highest rate among the
divisions, 6.0 percent. (See table 2.)

In September, 33 metropolitan divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate increases, 3 had 
decreases, and 1 had no change. The largest increases occurred in Camden, NJ; Lakewood-New Brunswick,
NJ; Newark, NJ; and Washington, DC-MD (+1.6 percentage points each). The largest unemployment rate 
decline from September 2024 occurred in Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL (-1.0 percentage point).

Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In September 2025, nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 10 metropolitan areas and
was essentially unchanged in 377 areas. The largest over-the-year employment increases occurred in 
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (+85,200), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (+44,100),
and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (+40,900). The largest over-the-year percentage gains in 
employment occurred in Rochester, MN (+7.0 percent), Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC
(+4.4 percent), and Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR (+3.3 percent). (See table 3.)

Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 6 metropolitan areas with a 2020 Census population of
1 million or more and was essentially unchanged in 50 areas. The largest over-the-year percentage 
increase in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, 
NC-SC (+2.9 percent), followed by San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX (+1.8 percent), and Philadelphia-
Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (+1.4 percent).

Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In September, nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 3 metropolitan divisions and was
essentially unchanged in 34 divisions. The over-the-year increases in employment among the 
metropolitan divisions occurred in New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ (+68,100, or +1.1
percent), Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL (+39,500, or +1.0 percent), and Tampa, FL (+18,700, or 
+1.8 percent). (See table 4.)

_____________
The State Employment and Unemployment news release for November 2025 is scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment 
news release for November 2025 is scheduled to be released on Friday, January 16, 2026, at 10:00 
a.m. (ET).

 ______________________________________________________________________________________________
|											       |
|                Upcoming Changes to the Establishment Survey Birth-Death Model		       |
|											       |
| Effective with the release of January 2026 data, the establishment survey will change the    |
| birth-death model by incorporating current sample information each month. The change follows |
| the same methodology applied to the April through October 2024 forecasts during the 2024     |
| post-benchmark period (see question 9 in the CES Birth-Death Model Frequently Asked	       |
| Questions page at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbdqa.htm).				       |
|______________________________________________________________________________________________|

Technical Note

This news release presents civilian labor force and unemployment data from the 
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program (tables 1 and 2) for 387
metropolitan statistical areas, plus 6 areas in Puerto Rico. Estimates for 37
metropolitan divisions also are presented. Nonfarm payroll employment 
estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program (tables 3 and 4)
are provided for the same areas. State estimates were previously published in 
the State Employment and Unemployment news release and are republished in this 
news release for ease of reference. The LAUS and CES programs are both 
federal-state cooperative endeavors.

Civilian labor force and unemployment--from the LAUS program

Definitions. The civilian labor force and unemployment data are based on the
same concepts and definitions as those used for the official national estimates
obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a sample survey of households
that is conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census
Bureau. The LAUS program measures employed people and unemployed people on a
place-of-residence basis. The universe for each is the civilian noninstitutional
population 16 years of age and older. Employed people are those who did any
work at all for pay or profit in the reference week (typically the week including
the 12th of the month) or worked 15 hours or more without pay in a family 
business or farm, plus those not working who had a job from which they were 
temporarily absent, whether or not paid, for such reasons as labor-management 
dispute, illness, or vacation. Unemployed people are those who were not employed
during the reference week (based on the definition above), had actively looked
for a job sometime in the 4-week period ending with the reference week, and were 
currently available for work; people on layoff expecting recall need not be 
looking for work to be counted as unemployed. The civilian labor force is the
sum of employed and unemployed people. The unemployment rate is the number of 
unemployed as a percent of the civilian labor force.

Method of estimation. Estimates for states, the District of Columbia, the
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan division, and New York City are
produced using time-series models with real-time benchmarking to national CPS
totals. Model-based estimates are also produced for the following areas and
their respective balances: the Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL Metropolitan
Division; Cleveland, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area; Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Metropolitan Statistical Area; Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division;
and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Modeling improves 
the statistical basis of the estimation for these areas and provides important tools
for analysis, such as measures of errors and seasonally adjusted series. For all 
other substate areas in this news release, estimates are prepared through indirect 
estimation procedures using a building-block approach. Estimates of employed people,
which are based largely on "place of work" estimates from the CES program, are
adjusted to refer to place of residence as used in the CPS. Unemployment estimates
are aggregates of people previously employed in industries covered by state 
Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and entrants to the labor force from the CPS. 
The substate estimates of employment and unemployment, which geographically exhaust
the entire state, are adjusted proportionally to ensure that they add to the
independently estimated model-based area totals. A detailed description of the
estimation procedures is available from BLS upon request.

Annual revisions. Civilian labor force and unemployment data shown for the prior year
reflect adjustments made at the beginning of each year, usually implemented with the
issuance of January estimates. The adjusted model-based estimates typically reflect
updated population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, any revisions in other input 
data sources, and model re-estimation. All substate estimates then are re-estimated
using updated inputs and adjusted to add to the revised model-based totals. In early
2025, implementation of synthetic intercensal population estimates for states and the 
2020-based delineations for federal statistical areas necessitated the replacement of 
substate estimates back to their series beginnings. For more information, see
www.bls.gov/lau/geography-and-data-changes-in-2025.htm.

Employment--from the CES program

Definitions. Employment data refer to people on establishment payrolls who receive pay
for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. People 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 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. Information on recent
benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.pdf.

Seasonal adjustment. Payroll employment data are seasonally adjusted for states, 
metropolitan areas, and metropolitan divisions at the total nonfarm level. For states,
data are seasonally adjusted at the supersector level as well. Revisions to historical
data for the most recent 5 years are made once a year, coincident with annual benchmark
adjustments.

Payroll employment data are seasonally adjusted concurrently, using all available estimates,
including those for the current month, to develop sample-based seasonal factors. Concurrent
sample-based factors are created every month for the current month's preliminary estimate 
as well as the previous month's final estimate.

Reliability of the estimates

The estimates presented in this news 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.

Use of error measures

Civilian labor force and unemployment estimates. Measures of sampling error are not
available for metropolitan areas or metropolitan divisions. Model-based error measures
for states are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/lau/lastderr.htm. Measures 
of nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this news release. 
 
Employment estimates. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited
in the analysis of this news release only if they have been determined to be statistically
significant at the 90-percent confidence level. Measures of sampling error for the total 
nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions 
at www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.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 at the supersector level and for the private service providing, goods-producing,
total private and total nonfarm levels are available on the BLS website at
www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm. 

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 July 21, 2023. A detailed list of the geographic
definitions is available online at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

Additional information

Estimates of unadjusted and seasonally adjusted civilian labor force and unemployment data
for states and seven substate areas are available in the news release State Employment and 
Unemployment. Estimates of civilian labor force and unemployment for all states, metropolitan
areas, counties, cities with a population of 25,000 or more, and other areas used in the 
administration of various federal economic assistance programs are available online at
www.bls.gov/lau/. Employment data from the CES program for states and metropolitan areas are
available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/.

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