Total nonfarm employment for the Richmond, VA, metropolitan area increased by 22,400 over the year in December, 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, 3.1 percent, compared to the 1.4-percent national increase. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year net change for total nonfarm employment in the Richmond metropolitan area, December 2021–December 2024

Period	Net change (in thousands)
Dec 2021	25.8
Jan 2022	24.2
Feb 2022	30.4
Mar 2022	26.6
Apr 2022	29.6
May 2022	29.0
Jun 2022	27.4
Jul 2022	26.9
Aug 2022	27.5
Sep 2022	28.5
Oct 2022	23.0
Nov 2022	23.0
Dec 2022	19.7
Jan 2023	27.6
Feb 2023	24.4
Mar 2023	23.2
Apr 2023	19.9
May 2023	21.3
Jun 2023	24.2
Jul 2023	12.6
Aug 2023	12.7
Sep 2023	13.4
Oct 2023	15.2
Nov 2023	12.3
Dec 2023	11.6
Jan 2024	8.1
Feb 2024	8.9
Mar 2024	13.3
Apr 2024	12.6
May 2024	10.7
Jun 2024	11.4
Jul 2024	16.8
Aug 2024	17.7
Sep 2024	19.4
Oct 2024	22.5
Nov 2024	23.7
Dec 2024	22.4

In Richmond, VA, education and health services had the largest gain (9,300) among the private-industry supersectors. The metropolitan area had an 8.6-percent rate of employment increase, compared to 3.8 percent for the nation. (See chart 2.) Within the supersector, the health care and social assistance sector added 7,900 jobs over the year.

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year net change for industry supersector employment in the Richmond metropolitan area, December 2024

Industry	Net change (in thousands)
Education and health services*	9.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	3.4
Mining, logging, and construction	3.0
Leisure and hospitality	2.9
Other services	0.3
Professional and business services	0.0
Information	-0.1
Manufacturing	-0.4
Financial activities	-0.7
Note: An asterisk indicates statistical significance at the 90-percent confidence level. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for January 2025 is scheduled to be released on Friday, March 21, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. More information about the CES data is available in the State Employment and Unemployment Summary and the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary. See the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Technical Note for more information on definitions and methodology.

Reliability of the employment 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. 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. Documentation on the reliability of state and area estimates is available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineations issued on April 10, 2018.

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

State and area employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website.

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.

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	Dec 2023	Oct 2024	Nov 2024	Dec 2024(1)	Dec 2023 to Dec 2024(1)
						Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm		158,269	160,030	160,539	160,458	2,189	1.4
Mining and logging		642	641	640	634	-8	-1.2
Construction		8,051	8,462	8,378	8,242	191	2.4
Manufacturing		12,991	12,866	12,891	12,898	-93	-0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities		29,648	29,150	29,581	29,842	194	0.7
Information		3,028	2,990	3,003	3,020	-8	-0.3
Financial activities		9,265	9,284	9,291	9,317	52	0.6
Professional and business services		22,965	23,125	23,124	23,045	80	0.3
Education and health services		25,980	26,834	26,992	26,962	982	3.8
Leisure and hospitality		16,485	16,951	16,761	16,784	299	1.8
Other services		5,846	5,920	5,926	5,917	71	1.2
Government		23,368	23,807	23,952	23,797	429	1.8
Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total Nonfarm		718.7	739.2	743.6	741.1	22.4	3.1
Mining, logging, & construction		42.3	46.4	46.3	45.3	3.0	7.1
Manufacturing		32.4	32.2	32.1	32.0	-0.4	-1.2
Trade, transportation, & utilities		134.6	131.6	136.1	138.0	3.4	2.5
Information		7.0	6.8	6.9	6.9	-0.1	-1.4
Financial activities		59.0	59.1	58.5	58.3	-0.7	-1.2
Professional & business services		121.4	124.3	122.7	121.4	0.0	0.0
Educational & health services		107.7	114.6	115.5	117.0	9.3	8.6
Leisure & hospitality		66.1	69.4	69.2	69.0	2.9	4.4
Other services		33.1	33.4	33.8	33.4	0.3	0.9
Government		115.1	121.4	122.5	119.8	4.7	4.1
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