Total nonfarm employment for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,960,500 in August 2019, up 41,500, or 1.4 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count also increased 1.4 percent. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the Philadelphia area has had consecutive over-the-year employment increases for more than seven years. (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 divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. All four divisions saw employment increases over the year. The Philadelphia Metropolitan Division, with 33 percent of the area’s employment, gained 19,800 jobs since last August. The Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County Metropolitan Division, with 37 percent of the area’s employment, added 12,200 jobs, and the Wilmington Metropolitan Division, with 12 percent of the area’s employment, added 6,900 jobs. The Camden Metropolitan Division, with the remaining 18 percent, had an increase of 2,600 jobs over the year.

Industry employment

In the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, education and health services had the largest employment gain from August 2018 to August 2019, adding 11,800 jobs. The Philadelphia area’s 1.8-percent growth in education and health services employment was slower than the nationwide increase of 2.5 percent. (See chart 2.) The Montgomery County division added 6,000 jobs and the Philadelphia division added 4,400 jobs.

Professional and business services (+11,600); mining, logging, and construction (+6,600); and leisure and hospitality (+6,100) had the next largest over-the-year local job gains. The 2.5-percent local rate of job growth in professional and business services was faster than the 2.1-percent gain for the nation. Leisure and hospitality employment grew 2.1 percent in the Philadelphia area compared to 1.8 percent nationally.

Three other supersectors in the local area gained at least 1,000 jobs each since last August: government (+4,700), financial activities (+1,700), and other services (+1,300).

Trade, transportation, and utilities was the only supersector in the Philadelphia area to lose more than 1,000 jobs since August 2018, down 3,500 jobs.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington was one of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in August 2019. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in six areas exceeding the national average of 1.4 percent. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had the fastest rate of job growth, up 3.1 percent, followed by Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (+2.7 percent each). Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria had the slowest annual rates of job growth (+1.0 percent each), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (+1.2 percent). (See chart 3 and table 2.)

New York-Newark-Jersey City added the largest number of jobs over the year, 134,200, followed by Dallas with 115,800 jobs. Washington had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 33,600 jobs, followed by Boston-Cambridge-Nashua with 39,600 jobs. Annual gains in the remaining eight metropolitan areas ranged from 81,900 in Houston to 41,500 in Philadelphia.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in seven areas: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, New York, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. Professional business services added the most jobs in three areas: Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward. Leisure and hospitality was the leading job producer in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell and Washington.

The information sector recorded the largest employment loss in five areas since August 2018: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and Phoenix. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector lost the most jobs in Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington.

Metropolitan area employment data for September 2019 are scheduled to be released on Friday, October 18, 2019, 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 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 delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-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, NJ 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, DE-MD-NJ 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/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm.

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.