Total nonfarm employment for the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 681,900 in June 2018, up 4,200, or 0.6 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 June increase marked six consecutive months of over-the-year employment gains in the Richmond metropolitan area. (See chart 1 and table 1. The Technical Note at the end of this release contains the metropolitan area definition. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

In the greater Richmond metropolitan area, trade, transportation, and utilities had the largest employment gain from June 2017 to June 2018, adding 1,900 jobs. The recent advance represented a 1.6-percent rate of job growth over the year in the local area, faster than the nationwide advance of 1.1 percent for this industry.

From June 2017 to June 2018, two other local supsersectors each added 1,000 jobs: mining, logging, and construction; and government. Locally, the rate of job growth in government was 0.9 percent. (See chart 2.)

No supersector in the Richmond area had an employment decrease that exceeded 1,000 jobs; employment in the financial activities industry was unchanged since June 2017.

Metropolitan area employment data for July 2018 are scheduled to be released on Friday, August 17, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

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 2017 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 www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.pdf.

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

The Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Amelia, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, King and Queen, King William, Louisa, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George, and Sussex Counties and Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg, and Richmond cities in Virginia.

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 BLS website 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.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area,
not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Area	Back data	Jun 2017	Apr 2018	May 2018	Jun 2018(1)	Jun 2017 to Jun 2018(1)
						Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm		147,578	148,372	149,334	149,980	2,402	1.6
Mining and logging		684	721	730	742	58	8.5
Construction		7,157	7,081	7,279	7,439	282	3.9
Manufacturing		12,508	12,598	12,654	12,795	287	2.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities		27,498	27,496	27,690	27,804	306	1.1
Information		2,809	2,763	2,765	2,781	-28	-1.0
Financial activities		8,510	8,505	8,552	8,637	127	1.5
Professional and business services		20,600	20,822	20,933	21,134	534	2.6
Education and health services		22,966	23,697	23,633	23,417	451	2.0
Leisure and hospitality		16,759	16,134	16,552	17,027	268	1.6
Other services		5,849	5,841	5,886	5,956	107	1.8
Government		22,238	22,714	22,660	22,248	10	0.0
Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total Nonfarm		677.7	676.8	681.1	681.9	4.2	0.6
Mining, logging, & construction		39.0	38.9	39.1	40.0	1.0	2.6
Manufacturing		32.4	32.6	32.7	32.8	0.4	1.2
Trade, transportation, & utilities		122.0	122.9	124.2	123.9	1.9	1.6
Information		7.5	7.6	7.7	7.7	0.2	2.7
Financial activities		52.0	51.2	51.5	52.0	0.0	0.0
Professional & business services		115.3	115.2	116.1	114.7	-0.6	-0.5
Educational & health services		97.1	96.1	96.3	96.4	-0.7	-0.7
Leisure & hospitality		69.0	66.3	68.1	69.7	0.7	1.0
Other services		32.8	32.8	33.9	33.1	0.3	0.9
Government		110.6	113.2	111.5	111.6	1.0	0.9
Footnotes (1) State and regional data for the most recent month are preliminary; U.S. data are preliminary for two months.
SOURCE: Current Employment Statistics - National - State and Metropolitan Area The Current Employment Statistics (CES) Survey is a monthly survey of business establishments which provides estimates of employment, hours, and earnings data by industry for the nation as a whole, all States, and most major metropolitan areas since 1939. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative program in which State employment security agencies prepare the data using concepts, definitions, and technical procedures prescribed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Return to Mid-Atlantic Information Office Homepage menu