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Employment up in 47 of 51 largest metropolitan areas, October 2017

December 04, 2017

From October 2016 to October 2017, nonfarm employment rose in 47 of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more and fell in 4. The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California (+3.0 percent each).
Over-the-year change in total nonfarm employment for large metropolitan areas, October 2017, not seasonally adjusted
Metropolitan area Percent change October 2016 employment October 2017 employment Over-the-year net change

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

 3.0% 1,219,700 1,256,500 36,800

Raleigh, NC

 3.0 609,700 627,900 18,200

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

 3.0 1,418,000 1,460,800 42,800

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

 2.9 1,024,800 1,054,900 30,100

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

 2.7 3,555,700 3,650,100 94,400

Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

 2.7 967,200 993,500 26,300

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

 2.6 661,700 678,900 17,200

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

 2.5 964,800 989,100 24,300

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

 2.4 2,708,200 2,774,000 65,800

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

 2.4 2,606,200 2,668,200 62,000

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

 2.4 1,984,200 2,032,000 47,800

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

 2.4 1,978,400 2,025,000 46,600

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH NECTA

 2.3 2,735,100 2,797,400 62,300

Jacksonville, FL

 2.3 673,700 689,500 15,800

Austin-Round Rock, TX

 2.2 1,014,400 1,036,600 22,200

Salt Lake City, UT

 2.2 714,400 730,400 16,000

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

 2.2 1,313,100 1,341,800 28,700

Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

 2.1 1,057,400 1,079,800 22,400

Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

 2.1 956,800 977,300 20,500

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

 2.0 1,170,600 1,193,800 23,200

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

 1.9 1,159,600 1,182,100 22,500

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

 1.7 2,008,500 2,043,100 34,600

Columbus, OH

 1.6 1,078,900 1,096,100 17,200

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

 1.6 3,013,500 3,061,600 48,100

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

 1.5 2,000,100 2,029,400 29,300

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

 1.5 1,082,600 1,098,700 16,100

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

 1.4 1,092,800 1,108,500 15,700

Cleveland-Elyria, OH

 1.4 1,061,300 1,075,800 14,500

Oklahoma City, OK

 1.4 633,500 642,600 9,100

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

 1.4 3,260,000 3,306,400 46,400

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

 1.3 2,912,500 2,951,300 38,800

Richmond, VA

 1.3 672,300 681,300 9,000

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

 1.2 1,440,800 1,457,400 16,600

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

 1.2 2,380,000 2,407,700 27,700

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

 1.0 1,452,600 1,466,600 14,000

Pittsburgh, PA

 1.0 1,175,300 1,187,400 12,100

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

 0.9 9,628,100 9,719,400 91,300

St. Louis, MO-IL

 0.9 1,379,700 1,392,300 12,600

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

 0.8 1,408,600 1,419,200 10,600

Kansas City, MO-KS

 0.8 1,083,300 1,091,800 8,500

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

 0.8 6,040,300 6,089,200 48,900

Birmingham-Hoover, AL

 0.6 522,500 525,600 3,100

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

 0.5 4,710,100 4,731,800 21,700

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA

 0.5 592,900 596,000 3,100

Memphis, TN-MS-AR

 0.4 645,800 648,500 2,700

Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

 0.2 868,900 871,000 2,100

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

 0.1 578,400 578,800 400

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA

 -0.2 576,900 575,900 -1,000

Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

 -0.5 572,100 569,400 -2,700

Rochester, NY

 -0.6 539,100 535,600 -3,500

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

 -1.2 777,900 768,800 -9,100

The over-the-year percentage decreases occurred in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia-North Carolina (−1.2 percent), Rochester, New York (−0.6 percent), Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, New York (−0.5 percent), and Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut (−0.2 percent).

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics (State and Metro Area) program and are not seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary and may be revised. To learn more, see “Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — October 2017” (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment up in 47 of 51 largest metropolitan areas, October 2017 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/employment-up-in-47-of-51-largest-metropolitan-areas-october-2017.htm (visited March 11, 2026).