Total nonfarm employment for the Pittsburgh, PA, metropolitan area increased by 29,000 over the year in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the local rate of job growth, 2.6 percent, compared to the 4.0-percent national increase. (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.)

Industry employment

In Pittsburgh, PA, leisure and hospitality had the largest gain (+13,000) among local private-industry supersectors. (See chart 2.) Within this supersector, accommodation and food services accounted for an increase of 7,400 jobs. The 14.6-percent growth in the metropolitan area’s leisure and hospitality supersector was similar to the increase on a national level.

Within the professional and business services supersector, the professional, scientific, and technical services sector gained 4,700 jobs.

Within the education and health services supersector, employment in the health care and social assistance sector increased by 1,200.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for October 2021 is scheduled to be released on December 2, 2021, 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.

For some employment series, the sample of establishments is very small or highly variable. In these cases, a model-based approach is used in estimation. These models use the direct sample estimates (described above), combined with forecasts of historical (benchmarked) data to decrease volatility in estimation. Two different models (Fay-Herriot Model and Small Domain Model) are used depending on the industry level being estimated. For more detailed information about each model, refer to the BLS Handbook of Methods.

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 surveys, administrative data, and modeling 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 nonfarm 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 at the supersector level and for the private service-providing, goods-producing, total private and total nonfarm levels are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/sae/publications/benchmark-article/annual-benchmark-article.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 on April 10, 2018. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania.

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. Detailed industry employment data for metropolitan areas from the CES program are available from the State and Area Employment databases at www.bls.gov/sae/data/.

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 Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, not seasonally adjusted (in thousands)

Area	Back data	Sep 2020	Jul 2021	Aug 2021	Sep 2021	Sep 2020 to Sep 2021
						Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm		141,946	146,536	(p)147,028	(p)147,682	(p)5,736	(p)4.0
Mining and logging		597	642	(p)646	(p)649	(p)52	(p)8.7
Construction		7,419	7,640	(p)7,651	(p)7,628	(p)209	(p)2.8
Manufacturing		12,138	12,460	(p)12,484	(p)12,462	(p)324	(p)2.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities		26,512	27,338	(p)27,328	(p)27,422	(p)910	(p)3.4
Information		2,652	2,761	(p)2,781	(p)2,801	(p)149	(p)5.6
Financial activities		8,710	8,897	(p)8,900	(p)8,847	(p)137	(p)1.6
Professional and business services		20,115	21,067	(p)21,193	(p)21,203	(p)1,088	(p)5.4
Education and health services		23,086	23,319	(p)23,362	(p)23,588	(p)502	(p)2.2
Leisure and hospitality		13,446	15,864	(p)15,827	(p)15,414	(p)1,968	(p)14.6
Other services		5,426	5,786	(p)5,786	(p)5,721	(p)295	(p)5.4
Government		21,845	20,762	(p)21,070	(p)21,947	(p)102	(p)0.5
Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total Nonfarm		1,098.4	1,126.7	1,124.0	(p)1,127.4	(p)29.0	(p)2.6
Mining and logging		8.2	7.6	7.6	(p)7.5	(p)-0.7	(p)-8.5
Construction		60.5	66.8	67.7	(p)65.7	(p)5.2	(p)8.6
Manufacturing		78.9	80.0	80.4	(p)79.9	(p)1.0	(p)1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities		195.2	194.9	194.0	(p)195.5	(p)0.3	(p)0.2
Information		17.9	19.1	19.0	(p)19.0	(p)1.1	(p)6.1
Financial activities		75.3	75.4	75.8	(p)74.6	(p)-0.7	(p)-0.9
Professional and business Services		170.9	178.5	177.9	(p)177.1	(p)6.2	(p)3.6
Education and health Services		247.9	245.4	245.9	(p)249.3	(p)1.4	(p)0.6
Leisure and hospitality		89.3	107.9	107.0	(p)102.3	(p)13.0	(p)14.6
Other services		43.0	45.8	45.8	(p)44.9	(p)1.9	(p)4.4
Government		111.3	105.3	102.9	(p)111.6	(p)0.3	(p)0.3
Footnotes (p) Preliminary
SOURCE: Current Employment Statistics - National - State and Metropolitan Area