Total nonfarm employment for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, metropolitan area increased by 78,000 over the year in September, 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, 2.4 percent, compared to the 2.1-percent national increase. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, is made up of two metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, division, with 82 percent of the metropolitan area’s total nonfarm employment, added 70,100 jobs from September 2022 to September 2023. The Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD, division accounted for 18 percent of the area’s employment and had an employment level of 601,600 in September 2023.

Industry employment

In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, education and health services had the largest gain (+20,500) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors, with both divisions recording increases. Much of the employment gain in this supersector was concentrated in the health care and social assistance sector (+15,800). (See chart 2.) The 4.6-percent rise in the metropolitan area’s education and health services supersector compared to the 4.1-percent increase on a national level.

Leisure and hospitality gained 15,900 jobs over the year in the metropolitan area. Within the industry supersector, accommodation and food services added 16,900 jobs for the same period. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, division added 14,600 jobs, or 86 percent of the metropolitan area’s employment rise in this sector. The metropolitan area had a 5.2-percent increase in leisure and hospitality employment compared to the 4.1-percent gain for the nation.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in September 2023. All 12 areas gained jobs over the year. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, had the largest increase (+201,600), followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+178,300). San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, had the smallest increase (+42,400), closely followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (+51,700), among the largest areas. (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, had a 4.3-percent rate of job gain. The rates of job gain in the remaining 11 areas ranged from 2.9 percent in both Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, to 1.4 percent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for October 2023 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 30, 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. More information about the CES data is available in the State Employment and Unemployment Summary and the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary.

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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.

• The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.
• The Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division includes Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, Washington metropolitan area and its components, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area	Back data	Sep 2022	Jul 2023	Aug 2023	Sep 2023(p)	Sep 2022 to Sep 2023(p)
						Net change	Percent change
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm		3,318.4	3,375.7	3,380.1	3,396.4	78.0	2.4
Mining, logging, and construction		164.3	170.5	171.6	167.9	3.6	2.2
Manufacturing		57.0	56.6	56.8	56.8	-0.2	-0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities		397.3	398.8	397.8	396.5	-0.8	-0.2
Information		80.9	82.1	82.2	81.0	0.1	0.1
Financial activities		155.0	153.4	153.5	153.5	-1.5	-1.0
Professional and business services		804.1	813.1	811.8	810.4	6.3	0.8
Education and health services		441.0	453.6	457.6	461.5	20.5	4.6
Leisure and hospitality		308.1	330.7	329.1	324.0	15.9	5.2
Other services		191.8	202.0	200.1	199.6	7.8	4.1
Government		718.9	714.9	719.6	745.2	26.3	3.7
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm		2,724.7	2,774.8	2,779.3	2,794.8	70.1	2.6
Mining, logging, and construction		131.2	135.2	136.2	133.0	1.8	1.4
Manufacturing		37.0	35.8	36.0	36.0	-1.0	-2.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities		320.6	323.1	322.5	321.0	0.4	0.1
Information		68.2	69.8	69.9	68.8	0.6	0.9
Financial activities		121.1	120.9	121.0	121.2	0.1	0.1
Professional and business services		668.2	675.8	675.1	674.9	6.7	1.0
Education and health services		347.9	359.0	362.0	364.5	16.6	4.8
Leisure and hospitality		257.3	276.2	274.8	270.7	13.4	5.2
Other services		168.4	178.4	176.3	176.2	7.8	4.6
Government		604.8	600.6	605.5	628.5	23.7	3.9
Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm		593.7	600.9	600.8	601.6	7.9	1.3
Mining, logging, and construction		33.1	35.3	35.4	34.9	1.8	5.4
Manufacturing		20.0	20.8	20.8	20.8	0.8	4.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities		76.7	75.7	75.3	75.5	-1.2	-1.6
Information		12.7	12.3	12.3	12.2	-0.5	-3.9
Financial activities		33.9	32.5	32.5	32.3	-1.6	-4.7
Professional and business services		135.9	137.3	136.7	135.5	-0.4	-0.3
Education and health services		93.1	94.6	95.6	97.0	3.9	4.2
Leisure and hospitality		50.8	54.5	54.3	53.3	2.5	4.9
Other services		23.4	23.6	23.8	23.4	0.0	0.0
Government		114.1	114.3	114.1	116.7	2.6	2.3
Footnotes (p) Preliminary
SOURCE: Current Employment Statistics - National - State and Metropolitan Area

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area	Sep 2022	Jul 2023	Aug 2023	Sep 2023(p)	Sep 2022 to Sep 2023(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States(1)
Total nonfarm	153,809	156,022	156,416	157,001	3,192	2.1
Mining and logging	619	652	652	649	30	4.8
Construction	7,956	8,185	8,215	8,173	217	2.7
Manufacturing	12,918	13,038	13,056	13,014	96	0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	28,584	28,778	28,714	28,720	136	0.5
Information	3,108	3,084	3,055	3,034	-74	-2.4
Financial activities	9,066	9,222	9,210	9,152	86	0.9
Professional and business services	22,806	23,052	23,087	23,073	267	1.2
Education and health services	24,539	25,120	25,242	25,545	1,006	4.1
Leisure and hospitality	16,157	17,388	17,288	16,822	665	4.1
Other services	5,733	5,942	5,928	5,866	133	2.3
Government	22,323	21,561	21,969	22,953	630	2.8
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	3,006.0	3,052.0	3,063.3	3,072.8	66.8	2.2
Mining and logging	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	0.1	5.6
Construction	138.6	144.3	145.3	145.9	7.3	5.3
Manufacturing	176.9	175.2	174.8	174.1	-2.8	-1.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	654.0	653.2	650.9	649.8	-4.2	-0.6
Information	112.2	114.4	113.4	113.0	0.8	0.7
Financial activities	199.5	208.2	208.5	208.5	9.0	4.5
Professional and business services	593.2	581.0	585.2	588.7	-4.5	-0.8
Education and health services	393.5	407.9	413.0	416.4	22.9	5.8
Leisure and hospitality	293.8	321.0	315.9	312.5	18.7	6.4
Other services	103.6	109.3	109.5	110.5	6.9	6.7
Government	338.9	335.6	344.9	351.5	12.6	3.7
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)
Total nonfarm	2,788.8	2,875.0	2,870.3	2,865.5	76.7	2.8
Mining, logging, and construction	130.4	137.5	139.0	137.2	6.8	5.2
Manufacturing	183.5	184.6	183.6	182.0	-1.5	-0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	403.0	413.1	412.5	411.7	8.7	2.2
Information	84.0	85.4	85.4	84.8	0.8	1.0
Financial activities	185.3	193.8	193.9	191.1	5.8	3.1
Professional and business services	537.8	566.3	563.0	554.7	16.9	3.1
Education and health services	595.1	608.1	608.5	618.1	23.0	3.9
Leisure and hospitality	258.7	285.4	285.7	267.8	9.1	3.5
Other services	99.5	106.5	106.2	101.1	1.6	1.6
Government	311.5	294.3	292.5	317.0	5.5	1.8
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,748.5	4,821.1	4,808.7	4,815.0	66.5	1.4
Mining and logging	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.6	0.1	6.7
Construction	190.5	197.4	195.4	194.5	4.0	2.1
Manufacturing	406.8	408.8	408.6	410.3	3.5	0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	960.7	963.3	961.8	960.5	-0.2	0.0
Information	82.2	78.7	78.7	77.2	-5.0	-6.1
Financial activities	319.3	327.2	325.8	324.2	4.9	1.5
Professional and business services	875.0	871.1	869.0	868.9	-6.1	-0.7
Education and health services	732.2	752.6	756.1	767.6	35.4	4.8
Leisure and hospitality	457.3	506.5	499.5	477.4	20.1	4.4
Other services	192.9	198.6	197.0	196.6	3.7	1.9
Government	530.1	515.3	515.2	536.2	6.1	1.2
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	4,128.6	4,276.8	4,281.3	4,306.9	178.3	4.3
Mining, logging, and construction	236.7	256.8	254.6	258.6	21.9	9.3
Manufacturing	302.0	312.2	311.5	312.9	10.9	3.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	887.3	902.8	902.3	907.4	20.1	2.3
Information	91.5	96.8	95.6	95.5	4.0	4.4
Financial activities	363.8	381.3	380.7	382.1	18.3	5.0
Professional and business services	774.3	812.9	808.2	813.9	39.6	5.1
Education and health services	481.1	496.4	499.3	503.9	22.8	4.7
Leisure and hospitality	404.5	423.4	420.6	418.6	14.1	3.5
Other services	130.0	144.1	145.6	144.8	14.8	11.4
Government	457.4	450.1	462.9	469.2	11.8	2.6
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	3,276.1	3,345.1	3,348.8	3,370.8	94.7	2.9
Mining and logging	66.9	70.1	70.1	70.0	3.1	4.6
Construction	227.3	221.7	218.5	218.5	-8.8	-3.9
Manufacturing	226.5	234.0	233.7	233.1	6.6	2.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	669.2	695.6	695.6	695.5	26.3	3.9
Information	32.8	33.3	33.2	33.1	0.3	0.9
Financial activities	181.5	187.2	188.2	188.7	7.2	4.0
Professional and business services	545.4	562.2	560.6	559.8	14.4	2.6
Education and health services	431.6	449.7	451.2	454.9	23.3	5.4
Leisure and hospitality	340.7	352.2	352.9	351.5	10.8	3.2
Other services	120.2	117.4	120.8	119.5	-0.7	-0.6
Government	434.0	421.7	424.0	446.2	12.2	2.8
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	6,217.4	6,320.7	6,329.2	6,360.7	143.3	2.3
Mining and logging	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	0.0	0.0
Construction	259.3	261.4	262.5	262.6	3.3	1.3
Manufacturing	477.8	479.5	479.2	476.0	-1.8	-0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,089.9	1,104.7	1,108.4	1,107.2	17.3	1.6
Information	258.2	240.9	235.0	228.6	-29.6	-11.5
Financial activities	325.4	331.2	330.0	329.6	4.2	1.3
Professional and business services	1,005.9	1,015.5	1,016.8	1,019.6	13.7	1.4
Education and health services	1,127.6	1,179.0	1,185.0	1,201.9	74.3	6.6
Leisure and hospitality	741.2	792.4	790.4	788.3	47.1	6.4
Other services	208.3	215.8	215.5	214.5	6.2	3.0
Government	721.9	698.4	704.5	730.5	8.6	1.2
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,823.8	2,862.9	2,883.4	2,893.5	69.7	2.5
Mining and logging
Construction	147.0	139.2	139.5	140.2	-6.8	-4.6
Manufacturing	94.8	97.4	97.9	97.6	2.8	3.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	636.0	654.6	654.1	656.5	20.5	3.2
Information	56.0	55.3	54.8	54.4	-1.6	-2.9
Financial activities	212.9	215.3	217.4	216.8	3.9	1.8
Professional and business services	511.3	522.4	524.9	530.5	19.2	3.8
Education and health services	429.9	441.1	441.6	447.6	17.7	4.1
Leisure and hospitality	318.9	327.9	325.8	320.6	1.7	0.5
Other services	111.2	115.9	115.2	115.5	4.3	3.9
Government	305.0	293.0	311.4	313.0	8.0	2.6
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,886.7	10,093.4	10,070.1	10,088.3	201.6	2.0
Mining, logging, and construction	409.7	423.5	423.6	421.3	11.6	2.8
Manufacturing	348.2	350.4	351.2	351.8	3.6	1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,669.9	1,656.3	1,648.8	1,657.4	-12.5	-0.7
Information	328.0	306.2	301.6	304.2	-23.8	-7.3
Financial activities	809.0	821.5	820.9	809.5	0.5	0.1
Professional and business services	1,644.2	1,651.2	1,645.4	1,637.6	-6.6	-0.4
Education and health services	2,106.5	2,212.6	2,215.2	2,255.2	148.7	7.1
Leisure and hospitality	901.4	995.0	992.5	952.2	50.8	5.6
Other services	396.6	409.6	411.2	401.7	5.1	1.3
Government	1,273.2	1,267.1	1,259.7	1,297.4	24.2	1.9
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	3,037.7	3,107.4	3,102.2	3,124.4	86.7	2.9
Mining, logging, and construction	127.1	131.8	133.0	131.5	4.4	3.5
Manufacturing	179.8	183.8	183.6	182.1	2.3	1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	547.2	554.2	552.4	554.2	7.0	1.3
Information	54.6	55.6	55.1	54.9	0.3	0.5
Financial activities	227.5	231.1	230.4	230.9	3.4	1.5
Professional and business services	501.9	511.9	510.6	511.1	9.2	1.8
Education and health services	681.1	695.4	696.5	716.2	35.1	5.2
Leisure and hospitality	265.4	299.6	296.0	281.4	16.0	6.0
Other services	120.4	127.0	126.3	125.1	4.7	3.9
Government	332.7	317.0	318.3	337.0	4.3	1.3
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,327.2	2,324.4	2,356.0	2,378.9	51.7	2.2
Mining and logging	3.0	3.3	3.4	3.3	0.3	10.0
Construction	155.0	159.4	161.3	160.6	5.6	3.6
Manufacturing	150.0	149.5	148.3	149.5	-0.5	-0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	446.5	448.9	448.7	449.6	3.1	0.7
Information	43.0	41.8	41.8	40.3	-2.7	-6.3
Financial activities	217.1	219.8	222.0	223.0	5.9	2.7
Professional and business services	395.7	391.9	395.9	399.2	3.5	0.9
Education and health services	367.4	375.5	381.2	388.1	20.7	5.6
Leisure and hospitality	234.5	241.2	242.1	244.1	9.6	4.1
Other services	71.4	69.7	70.0	69.9	-1.5	-2.1
Government	243.6	223.4	241.3	251.3	7.7	3.2
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,473.5	2,534.3	2,528.6	2,515.9	42.4	1.7
Mining and logging	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	126.0	130.9	131.5	129.5	3.5	2.8
Manufacturing	156.4	158.1	157.1	157.2	0.8	0.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	354.3	356.8	358.1	356.5	2.2	0.6
Information	154.0	153.5	152.8	149.9	-4.1	-2.7
Financial activities	143.7	147.3	147.1	144.0	0.3	0.2
Professional and business services	524.0	529.4	525.5	518.1	-5.9	-1.1
Education and health services	378.1	396.9	396.6	399.2	21.1	5.6
Leisure and hospitality	244.9	266.5	265.4	261.1	16.2	6.6
Other services	82.5	88.4	87.2	87.0	4.5	5.5
Government	309.3	306.2	307.0	313.1	3.8	1.2
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,318.4	3,375.7	3,380.1	3,396.4	78.0	2.4
Mining, logging, and construction	164.3	170.5	171.6	167.9	3.6	2.2
Manufacturing	57.0	56.6	56.8	56.8	-0.2	-0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	397.3	398.8	397.8	396.5	-0.8	-0.2
Information	80.9	82.1	82.2	81.0	0.1	0.1
Financial activities	155.0	153.4	153.5	153.5	-1.5	-1.0
Professional and business services	804.1	813.1	811.8	810.4	6.3	0.8
Education and health services	441.0	453.6	457.6	461.5	20.5	4.6
Leisure and hospitality	308.1	330.7	329.1	324.0	15.9	5.2
Other services	191.8	202.0	200.1	199.6	7.8	4.1
Government	718.9	714.9	719.6	745.2	26.3	3.7
Footnotes (1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published. (p) Preliminary