Total nonfarm employment for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,892,900 in February 2018, up 25,800, or 0.9 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.6 percent. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the Philadelphia area’s February increase was its 69^th consecutive over-the-year employment gain. (See chart 1 and table 1; the Technical Note at the end of this release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area is made up of four metropolitan divisions¾separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. Three of the four divisions saw employment increases over the year. The Philadelphia Metropolitan Division, with 33 percent of the area’s employment, gained 9,700 jobs since last February. The Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County Metropolitan Division, with 36 percent of the area’s employment, added 9,900 jobs over the year. The Camden Metropolitan Division, with 19 percent of local employment, added 8,000 jobs; while the Wilmington Metropolitan Division, with the remaining 12 percent, lost 1,800 jobs over the year.

Industry employment

In the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, education and health services had the largest employment gain from February 2017 to February 2018, adding 15,900 jobs. The Philadelphia area’s 2.5-percent growth in education and health services employment was faster than the nationwide increase of 1.9 percent. (See chart 2.) The Philadelphia division added 8,300 jobs and the Montgomery County division added 6,100 jobs.

Trade, transportation, and utilities employment increased by 5,500 since last February, the second-largest gain in the Philadelphia area. The 1.1-percent rate of local job growth compared to the 0.9-percent rate for the nation. Of the three local divisions that gained in this industry, Camden saw the largest increase, adding 4,300 jobs.

Professional and businesses services added 3,700 jobs in the local area. The 0.8-percent rate of local employment growth in this supersector was slower than the 2.4-percent nationwide increase.

Two other supersectors in the local area gained more than 1,000 jobs each since last February: manufacturing and financial activities.

Two supersectors in the Philadelphia area lost more than 1,000 jobs each since February 2017: information (-1,500); and mining, logging, and construction (-1,400).

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in February 2018. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 5 areas exceeding the national average of 1.6 percent. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale had the fastest rate of job growth, up 3.0 percent, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington at 2.7 percent. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin had the slowest rate of job growth, at 0.7 percent, followed by Boston-Cambridge-Nashua and Philadelphia, at 0.9 percent each. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

New York-Newark-Jersey City added the largest number of jobs since Februaary 2017, 124,200, followed by Dallas (+96,000) and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (+93,400). Boston had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 24,500 jobs, followed by Philadelphia (+25,800). Annual gains in the remaining seven metropolitan areas ranged from 67,100 in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land to 30,600 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.

Over the year, professional and business services added the most jobs in five areas: Boston, Houston, Miami, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. Education and health services added the most jobs in three areas: New York, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.

The information supersector lost the most jobs in six areas. Dallas was the only metropolitan area to have no annual job losses in any supersector.

Metropolitan area employment data for March 2018 are scheduled to be released on Friday, April 20, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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 2012 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.

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.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample survey and administrative data 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 are also 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 special estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. Measures of sampling error for the total private employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.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 down to the supersector level are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this release. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.pdf.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on July 15, 2015. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

• The Camden, N.J. Metropolitan Division includes Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey.
• The Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, Pa. Metropolitan Division includes Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania.
• The Philadelphia, Pa. Metropolitan Division includes Delaware and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania.
• The Wilmington, Del.-Md.-N.J. Metropolitan Division includes New Castle County in Delaware; Cecil County in Maryland; and Salem County in New Jersey.

Additional information

More complete information on the technical procedures used to develop these estimates and additional data appear in Employment and Earnings, which is available online at www.bls.gov/opub/ee/home.htm. Industry employment data for states and metropolitan areas from the Current Employment Statistics program are also available in the above mentioned news releases and from the Internet at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.