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Employment down in 206 metro areas, up in 1, over the year ended February 2021

April 09, 2021

Over the year ended in February 2021, nonfarm payroll employment decreased significantly in 206 metropolitan areas, increased in 1 area, and was essentially unchanged in 182 areas.
Metropolitan areas with significant employment changes from February 2020 to February 2021, not seasonally adjusted
Metropolitan area 12-month change Employment
Percent Employment Feb. 2020 Feb. 2021

Alabama

Birmingham-Hoover, AL

 -3.0% -16,300 544,600 528,300

Gadsden, AL

 -7.1 -2,600 36,400 33,800

Montgomery, AL

 -4.6 -8,200 176,600 168,400

Tuscaloosa, AL

 -7.0 -8,000 114,000 106,000

Alaska

Anchorage, AK

 -6.4 -11,100 172,400 161,300

Fairbanks, AK

 -8.2 -3,000 36,700 33,700

Arizona

Flagstaff, AZ

 -8.0 -5,400 67,400 62,000

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

 -3.6 -79,600 2,233,500 2,153,900

Tucson, AZ

 -5.8 -23,000 397,500 374,500

Yuma, AZ

 -8.1 -4,900 60,600 55,700

Arkansas

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

 -4.8 -17,500 366,000 348,500

California

Bakersfield, CA

 -7.6 -21,100 278,800 257,700

Chico, CA

 -9.8 -7,800 80,000 72,200

El Centro, CA

 -8.7 -4,700 54,200 49,500

Fresno, CA

 -6.9 -25,300 367,900 342,600

Hanford-Corcoran, CA

 -8.8 -3,600 41,100 37,500

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

 -11.7 -738,400 6,303,000 5,564,600

Madera, CA

 -6.7 -2,700 40,400 37,700

Modesto, CA

 -5.7 -10,400 181,600 171,200

Napa, CA

 -12.9 -9,500 73,800 64,300

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

 -8.8 -27,600 315,400 287,800

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

 -5.7 -90,600 1,587,100 1,496,500

Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

 -6.2 -64,200 1,032,100 967,900

Salinas, CA

 -10.4 -15,000 144,700 129,700

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

 -8.7 -131,700 1,515,200 1,383,500

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

 -11.3 -283,500 2,500,800 2,217,300

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

 -8.8 -101,900 1,161,200 1,059,300

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA

 -12.6 -15,100 120,000 104,900

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

 -13.4 -13,900 103,500 89,600

Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA

 -9.3 -18,300 197,100 178,800

Santa Rosa, CA

 -12.9 -26,900 209,100 182,200

Vallejo-Fairfield, CA

 -8.4 -12,100 143,200 131,100

Visalia-Porterville, CA

 -7.6 -10,000 131,400 121,400

Yuba City, CA

 -9.5 -4,500 47,600 43,100

Colorado

Boulder, CO

 -7.5 -15,000 200,700 185,700

Colorado Springs, CO

 -4.5 -13,500 301,200 287,700

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

 -4.9 -75,500 1,539,700 1,464,200

Greeley, CO

 -7.5 -8,500 112,800 104,300

Connecticut

Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT

 -8.4 -33,300 397,300 364,000

Danbury, CT

 -7.9 -6,000 76,300 70,300

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT

 -7.0 -41,100 584,700 543,600

Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI

 -10.6 -13,300 125,200 111,900

Delaware

Dover, DE

 -6.1 -4,300 70,400 66,100

District of Columbia

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

 -6.8 -227,200 3,352,800 3,125,600

Florida

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

 -5.6 -16,200 287,200 271,000

Jacksonville, FL

 -3.0 -22,000 732,000 710,000

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

 -7.6 -209,600 2,765,400 2,555,800

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

 -12.5 -168,500 1,344,800 1,176,300

Tallahassee, FL

 -3.9 -7,300 188,800 181,500

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

 -3.1 -43,600 1,411,100 1,367,500

Georgia

Albany, GA

 -6.6 -4,200 63,200 59,000

Athens-Clarke County, GA

 -6.4 -6,300 98,300 92,000

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

 -5.6 -161,600 2,867,900 2,706,300

Columbus, GA-AL

 -5.7 -7,000 123,500 116,500

Hawaii

Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI

 -26.2 -21,100 80,400 59,300

Urban Honolulu, HI

 -15.5 -74,200 478,900 404,700

Illinois

Bloomington, IL

 -6.8 -6,300 92,500 86,200

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

 -8.4 -394,300 4,699,100 4,304,800

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL (2)

 -6.1 -11,200 183,100 171,900

Kankakee, IL

 -8.1 -3,700 45,400 41,700

Peoria, IL

 -7.6 -12,800 168,200 155,400

Rockford, IL

 -7.2 -10,600 146,800 136,200

Springfield, IL

 -6.3 -6,800 107,100 100,300

Indiana

Bloomington, IN

 -8.1 -6,600 81,200 74,600

Columbus, IN

 -6.2 -3,300 52,900 49,600

Evansville, IN-KY

 -6.1 -9,600 158,000 148,400

Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

 -4.3 -46,800 1,087,200 1,040,400

Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN

 -6.6 -7,100 107,900 100,800

South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI

 -7.5 -10,700 143,000 132,300

Terre Haute, IN

 -6.6 -4,400 66,800 62,400

Iowa

Ames, IA

 -12.0 -6,600 54,800 48,200

Cedar Rapids, IA

 -6.3 -9,000 144,000 135,000

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

 -4.6 -17,000 371,600 354,600

Iowa City, IA

 -7.4 -7,500 100,900 93,400

Kansas

Lawrence, KS

 -10.3 -5,500 53,600 48,100

Manhattan, KS

 -10.9 -4,700 43,000 38,300

Wichita, KS

 -8.0 -24,400 306,700 282,300

Kentucky

Lexington-Fayette, KY

 -6.1 -17,100 279,100 262,000

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

 -5.1 -34,200 671,300 637,100

Owensboro, KY

 -6.8 -3,600 52,600 49,000

Louisiana

Baton Rouge, LA

 -5.5 -22,400 410,900 388,500

Houma-Thibodaux, LA

 -6.6 -5,700 86,800 81,100

Lafayette, LA

 -8.0 -16,300 204,500 188,200

Lake Charles, LA

 -17.1 -18,800 110,200 91,400

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

 -11.2 -66,000 590,600 524,600

Shreveport-Bossier City, LA

 -7.5 -13,500 179,200 165,700

Maine

Bangor, ME

 -6.7 -4,600 68,400 63,800

Portland-South Portland, ME

 -6.7 -13,900 208,500 194,600

Maryland

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

 -6.0 -85,300 1,411,900 1,326,600

Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV

 -6.7 -6,900 102,900 96,000

Massachusetts

Barnstable Town, MA

 -6.2 -6,000 96,200 90,200

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH

 -9.1 -256,700 2,809,500 2,552,800

Leominster-Gardner, MA

 -9.3 -4,900 52,900 48,000

New Bedford, MA

 -9.6 -6,400 67,000 60,600

Pittsfield, MA

 -9.8 -3,800 38,900 35,100

Springfield, MA-CT

 -11.2 -37,600 335,900 298,300

Worcester, MA-CT

 -9.2 -26,700 290,000 263,300

Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI

 -8.7 -20,200 231,000 210,800

Battle Creek, MI

 -6.9 -3,900 56,600 52,700

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

 -7.8 -157,100 2,025,400 1,868,300

Flint, MI

 -6.9 -9,500 138,200 128,700

Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI

 -6.9 -39,400 567,700 528,300

Jackson, MI

 -8.9 -5,200 58,700 53,500

Kalamazoo-Portage, MI

 -8.5 -12,800 150,900 138,100

Lansing-East Lansing, MI

 -9.5 -22,700 239,200 216,500

Monroe, MI

 -9.1 -3,700 40,600 36,900

Muskegon, MI

 -7.6 -4,800 62,800 58,000

Saginaw, MI

 -6.5 -5,600 85,600 80,000

Minnesota

Duluth, MN-WI

 -6.5 -8,900 136,400 127,500

Mankato-North Mankato, MN

 -7.5 -4,400 58,800 54,400

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

 -8.5 -171,600 2,020,600 1,849,000

Mississippi

Jackson, MS

 -4.7 -13,100 278,000 264,900

Missouri

Kansas City, MO-KS

 -4.5 -49,500 1,093,500 1,044,000

St. Louis, MO-IL (1)

 -6.0 -84,300 1,399,900 1,315,600

Nebraska

Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA

 -4.2 -21,200 502,800 481,600

Nevada

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

 -13.8 -145,100 1,049,700 904,600

New Hampshire

Manchester, NH

 -7.8 -9,100 117,300 108,200

Portsmouth, NH-ME

 -5.6 -5,200 92,800 87,600

New Jersey

Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ

 -12.0 -15,600 130,300 114,700

Ocean City, NJ

 11.9 4,100 34,400 38,500

Trenton, NJ

 -6.2 -17,400 281,700 264,300

New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM

 -7.1 -28,300 401,000 372,700

Farmington, NM

 -10.1 -4,700 46,500 41,800

Las Cruces, NM

 -6.1 -4,600 75,000 70,400

Santa Fe, NM

 -12.4 -7,800 63,000 55,200

New York

Albany-Schedy-Troy, NY

 -6.9 -32,400 468,100 435,700

Binghamton, NY

 -8.3 -8,400 100,600 92,200

Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

 -8.9 -49,400 558,000 508,600

Elmira, NY

 -9.2 -3,400 37,000 33,600

Ithaca, NY

 -10.4 -6,700 64,700 58,000

Kingston, NY

 -9.8 -6,000 61,100 55,100

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

 -11.2 -1,113,600 9,933,200 8,819,600

Rochester, NY

 -6.8 -36,100 533,400 497,300

Syracuse, NY

 -8.5 -26,900 316,500 289,600

Utica-Rome, NY

 -8.1 -10,300 126,400 116,100

North Carolina

Asheville, NC

 -6.2 -12,300 197,800 185,500

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

 -4.2 -52,100 1,251,600 1,199,500

Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

 -4.2 -14,100 332,900 318,800

Fayetteville, NC

 -5.0 -6,600 132,500 125,900

Goldsboro, NC

 -5.8 -2,400 41,500 39,100

Greensboro-High Point, NC

 -5.9 -21,600 364,800 343,200

Raleigh, NC

 -3.2 -21,000 655,700 634,700

Wilmington, NC

 -4.1 -5,500 133,500 128,000

Winston-Salem, NC

 -4.7 -12,800 273,100 260,300

North Dakota

Fargo, ND-MN

 -4.1 -5,900 145,200 139,300

Ohio

Akron, OH

 -5.8 -19,800 338,700 318,900

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

 -5.7 -62,800 1,110,400 1,047,600

Cleveland-Elyria, OH

 -7.4 -78,300 1,064,900 986,600

Columbus, OH

 -4.0 -44,400 1,111,800 1,067,400

Dayton, OH

 -5.0 -19,700 390,100 370,400

Toledo, OH

 -7.9 -24,300 309,000 284,700

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA

 -6.9 -14,700 211,900 197,200

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, OK

 -6.1 -40,600 660,200 619,600

Tulsa, OK

 -6.7 -30,500 458,600 428,100

Oregon

Corvallis, OR

 -10.4 -4,600 44,100 39,500

Eugene, OR

 -10.5 -17,400 165,600 148,200

Medford, OR

 -5.1 -4,600 90,200 85,600

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

 -8.4 -103,700 1,232,500 1,128,800

Pennsylvania

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ

 -5.9 -22,200 378,900 356,700

East Stroudsburg, PA

 -9.3 -5,500 59,100 53,600

Erie, PA

 -8.1 -10,300 126,900 116,600

Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA

 -5.1 -17,700 348,700 331,000

Johnstown, PA

 -8.0 -4,200 52,800 48,600

Lancaster, PA

 -6.9 -17,800 259,000 241,200

Lebanon, PA

 -6.3 -3,400 53,700 50,300

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

 -7.2 -214,600 2,976,400 2,761,800

Pittsburgh, PA

 -7.5 -87,800 1,177,400 1,089,600

Reading, PA

 -8.3 -14,900 180,100 165,200

Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA

 -6.9 -18,100 261,400 243,300

State College, PA

 -13.1 -10,600 80,900 70,300

Rhode Island

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

 -8.6 -50,800 593,900 543,100

South Carolina

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

 -5.3 -20,000 376,400 356,400

Columbia, SC

 -3.9 -15,900 403,600 387,700

Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC

 -4.9 -8,200 168,600 160,400

South Dakota

Sioux Falls, SD

 -3.3 -5,300 159,500 154,200

Tennessee

Chattanooga, TN-GA

 -4.6 -12,300 268,500 256,200

Knoxville, TN

 -2.5 -10,100 409,300 399,200

Memphis, TN-MS-AR

 -3.8 -25,000 653,400 628,400

Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

 -4.4 -46,200 1,058,900 1,012,700

Texas

Austin-Round Rock, TX

 -3.0 -34,600 1,142,400 1,107,800

Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX

 -7.2 -11,900 165,900 154,000

Corpus Christi, TX

 -6.5 -12,500 191,600 179,100

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

 -3.7 -142,900 3,838,800 3,695,900

El Paso, TX

 -3.8 -12,600 327,300 314,700

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

 -7.3 -233,000 3,192,200 2,959,200

Laredo, TX

 -7.5 -8,100 108,200 100,100

Longview, TX

 -6.8 -6,700 98,700 92,000

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

 -4.2 -11,500 275,800 264,300

Midland, TX

 -17.5 -19,800 113,100 93,300

Odessa, TX

 -17.9 -14,700 82,200 67,500

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

 -3.3 -36,000 1,082,700 1,046,700

Vermont

Burlington-South Burlington, VT

 -8.5 -10,700 126,400 115,700

Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

 -8.3 -10,100 122,200 112,100

Richmond, VA

 -6.6 -45,000 686,200 641,200

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

 -4.7 -37,400 793,700 756,300

Washington

Bellingham, WA

 -8.0 -7,700 96,500 88,800

Bremerton-Silverdale, WA

 -7.2 -6,900 95,600 88,700

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

 -6.6 -138,900 2,104,700 1,965,800

Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA

 -5.5 -14,100 256,400 242,300

West Virginia

Beckley, WV

 -6.5 -2,800 43,300 40,500

Charleston, WV

 -7.0 -7,600 108,300 100,700

Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH

 -4.6 -6,100 133,600 127,500

Morgantown, WV

 -5.4 -3,900 71,700 67,800

Parkersburg-Vienna, WV

 -7.4 -2,800 37,700 34,900

Wisconsin

Madison, WI

 -6.4 -26,400 412,700 386,300

Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

 -7.1 -61,600 865,900 804,300

Wyoming

Casper, WY

 -8.5 -3,300 39,000 35,700

Note: Data for the most recent month are preliminary.

The largest over-the-year percentage losses in employment occurred in Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii (where employment decreased 21,100, or −26.2 percent), Odessa, Texas (−14,700, or −17.9 percent), and Midland, Texas (−19,800, or −17.5 percent). Employment in 25 other metro areas decreased by least 10.0 percent over the year ending February 2021.

The one significant over-the-year increase in employment occurred in Ocean City, New Jersey (+4,100, or +11.9 percent).

Among large metropolitan areas (those with a population of 1 million or more in 2010 Census ), nonfarm employment declined over the year in 50 metropolitan areas and was essentially unchanged in 1 area. The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada (−13.8 percent), Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida (−12.5 percent), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California (−11.7 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. To learn more, see "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — February 2021." Also see Charts of the latest metropolitan area employment and unemployment data and sortable table of metropolitan area employment data.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment down in 206 metro areas, up in 1, over the year ended February 2021 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/employment-down-in-206-metro-areas-up-in-1-over-the-year-ended-february-2021.htm (visited April 30, 2025).

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