Total nonfarm employment for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, metropolitan area added 106,700 jobs over the year in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the local rate of job gain, 3.7 percent, compared to the 3.3-percent national increase. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, is made up of four metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. Employment rose over the year in all four divisions. Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA, with 37 percent of the metropolitan area’s total nonfarm employment, added 43,300 jobs over the year. Philadelphia, PA, which accounted for 33 percent of the area’s employment, gained 38,900 jobs since January 2023. Camden, NJ, with 18 percent of area employment, added 15,600 jobs, and Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ, with 12 percent of the area’s employment, gained 8,900 jobs.

Industry employment

In Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, education and health services had the largest increase (+33,400) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors. (See chart 2.) Within this supersector, the healthcare and social assistance sector added the most jobs (+27,100). The 5.1-percent rise in the metropolitan area’s education and health services supersector compared to the 4.5-percent rise on a national level.

Leisure and hospitality added 20,100 jobs. Nearly all the employment gain within this supersector was concentrated in the accommodation and food services sector (+17,200). The supersector’s rate of growth in the metropolitan area was 8.6 percent compared to the nation’s increase of 7.2 percent.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in January 2023. All 12 areas gained jobs over the year. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, had the largest increase (+375,200). Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, had the smallest increase (+79,200) among the largest areas, followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (+79,300). (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, had a 5.9-percent rate of job gain. The rates of job gain in the remaining 11 areas ranged from 4.9 percent in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, to 2.5 percent in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for February 2023 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the U.S. 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 2022 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 estimates are produced with a model that uses direct sample estimates (described above) combined with other regressors to compensate for smaller sample sizes.

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. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available in the CES State and Area benchmark article.

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 also are 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 specific estimation processes used. The sums of individual items may not always equal totals shown in the same tables due to rounding.

Employment estimates. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited in the analysis of this release only if they have been determined to be statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. Reliability of state and area estimates for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018. The 12 metropolitan areas discussed in this release are the metropolitan areas with the largest population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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 Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division includes Delaware and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania.

• The Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA Metropolitan Division includes Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery 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

Employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.