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Employment up in 6 large metropolitan areas, down in 1, over year ended September 2026

November 03, 2026

From September 2025 to September 2026, nonfarm employment increased in 6 out of 56 metropolitan areas with a 2020 Census population of 1 million or more and decreased in 1 area. In 49 of these large metropolitan areas, employment was essentially unchanged over the past year.

Chart Image
Chart Data

Over-the-year change in total nonfarm employment for large metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted, September 2026
Metropolitan area	Percent change	September 2025 employment	September 2026 employment	Employment change	Statistically significant?
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	2.7	841,000	863,400	22,400	Yes
Raleigh-Cary, NC	2.3	765,800	783,200	17,400	Yes
Fresno, CA	1.9	445,700	454,000	8,300	Yes
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	1.8	1,381,600	1,407,000	25,400	Yes
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	1.7	1,170,300	1,190,500	20,200	No
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	1.6	1,159,100	1,178,200	19,100	Yes
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	1.3	1,552,600	1,572,500	19,900	No
Birmingham, AL	1.2	564,600	571,600	7,000	No
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	1.1	1,401,500	1,416,600	15,100	No
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	1.1	2,003,000	2,025,500	22,500	No
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	1.1	1,541,500	1,557,700	16,200	No
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	1.0	4,308,200	4,352,100	43,900	Yes
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	1.0	619,900	626,200	6,300	No
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	1.0	3,455,800	3,489,400	33,600	No
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	1.0	1,192,100	1,204,600	12,500	No
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	1.0	1,493,400	1,507,700	14,300	No
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	1.0	2,451,600	2,475,200	23,600	No
St. Louis, MO-IL	1.0	1,421,700	1,435,700	14,000	No
New Orleans-Metairie, LA	0.9	468,700	472,900	4,200	No
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	0.8	1,097,000	1,106,000	9,000	No
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	0.7	2,126,500	2,141,500	15,000	No
Tulsa, OK	0.7	482,000	485,600	3,600	No
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	0.6	1,704,100	1,714,900	10,800	No
Kansas City, MO-KS	0.5	1,169,300	1,175,300	6,000	No
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	0.5	6,251,900	6,282,100	30,200	No
Oklahoma City, OK	0.5	710,400	713,900	3,500	No
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	0.5	3,131,400	3,146,800	15,400	No
Tucson, AZ	0.5	404,300	406,300	2,000	No
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	0.4	1,173,200	1,178,200	5,000	No
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	0.4	2,952,600	2,965,600	13,000	No
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	0.4	1,184,700	1,189,000	4,300	No
Jacksonville, FL	0.3	800,400	802,800	2,400	No
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	0.3	2,414,200	2,422,500	8,300	No
Cleveland, OH	0.2	1,082,200	1,083,900	1,700	No
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	0.2	1,641,600	1,645,700	4,100	No
Memphis, TN-MS-AR	0.2	656,300	657,400	1,100	No
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	0.2	855,900	857,500	1,600	No
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	0.2	9,995,300	10,019,900	24,600	No
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	0.2	745,400	746,900	1,500	No
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	0.1	2,731,500	2,733,800	2,300	No
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI	0.1	604,400	605,100	700	No
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	0.0	712,000	711,800	-200	No
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	-0.1	3,104,600	3,101,900	-2,700	No
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	-0.1	560,700	560,100	-600	No
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	-0.1	4,772,300	4,768,500	-3,800	No
Columbus, OH	-0.1	1,197,200	1,195,700	-1,500	No
Urban Honolulu, HI	-0.1	459,300	458,700	-600	No
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	-0.2	1,443,700	1,441,400	-2,300	No
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	-0.2	2,041,600	2,038,400	-3,200	No
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	-0.2	834,800	832,900	-1,900	No
Pittsburgh, PA	-0.5	1,210,000	1,203,500	-6,500	No
Rochester, NY	-0.5	521,400	518,600	-2,800	No
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	-0.6	1,182,300	1,175,300	-7,000	No
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	-0.6	1,229,800	1,222,100	-7,700	No
Richmond, VA	-1.0	731,200	724,200	-7,000	No
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	-1.8	3,353,000	3,292,000	-61,000	Yes

The largest percentage increase in the past year occurred in Salt Lake City-Murray, Utah (+2.7 percent), followed by Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina (+2.3 percent), and Fresno, California (+1.9 percent). Employment decreased in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV by 1.8 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 — September 2026. Also see charts related to the latest Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment up in 6 large metropolitan areas, down in 1, over year ended September 2026 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/employment-up-in-6-large-metropolitan-areas-down-in-1-over-year-ended-september-2026.htm (visited November 03, 2026).

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