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News Release Information

17-755-BOS
Thursday, June 01, 2017

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Boston Area Employment — April 2017

Total nonfarm employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Mass.-N.H. Metropolitan New England City and Town Area stood at 2,739,000 in April 2017, up 42,800 from one year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that nonfarm employment rose 1.6 percent locally from April a year ago. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.4 percent.(See chart 1 and table 1; Technical note at end of release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

 

The Boston-Cambridge-Nashua area includes 10 metropolitan divisions – separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metropolitan division, which made up 67 percent of the workforce, gained 35,700 jobs from April 2016 to April 2017. Six divisions for which data are published also added jobs over the year. The Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem and Lynn-Saugus- Marblehead metropolitan divisions lost jobs over the year.

 

Industry employment

Professional and business services had the largest local employment gain, adding 15,500 jobs from April 2016 to April 2017. The 3.3-percent rate of local job growth in this supersector outpaced the 2.9-percent gain nationwide.

Education and health services, the largest industry in the Boston area had the next largest annual employment gain in the Boston area from April 2016, adding 15,100 jobs. The 2.6-percent rate of job growth in Boston’s education and health services supersector was faster than the 2.2-percent nationwide gain.

The financial activities and government supersectors added 5,500 and 4,300 jobs respectively. The rates of local job growth in both supersectors outpaced their national rates of job gains.  

 

Two other supersectors in the Boston area gained at least 1,000 jobs over the year— other services (+2,100) and trade, transportation, and utilities (+1,700). The local rate of job growth in other services exceeded the nationwide gain of 1.0 percent. The 0.4-percent rate of job growth in trade, transportation, and utilities lagged that of the nation.

Manufacturing was the only supersector in the Boston area that lost jobs over the year (-2,000), a decrease of 1.1 percent. Nationally, manufacturing employment increased by 0.3 percent.

 

Employment in the twelve Largest Metropolitan Areas

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in April 2017. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with 7 areas exceeding the national increase of 1.4 percent. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell had the fastest rate of job growth, 3.3 percent, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington at 3.0 percent. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (0.3 percent) had the slowest rates of job growth, up 0.3 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

 

The Dallas area added the largest number of jobs over the year, 104,600, followed by Atlanta (+87,200) and New York-Newark-Jersey City (+83,100). Chicago had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 13,800 jobs, followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, which added 38,000 jobs.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in seven areas: Chicago, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, New York, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward. Manufacturing lost the most jobs over the year in three areas: Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. Atlanta and San Francisco had no annual job losses in any supersector.

Metropolitan area employment data for May 2017 are scheduled to be released on Friday, June 16, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).


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 2012 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. The employment data are estimated using a "link relative" technique in which a ratio (link relative) of current-month employment to that of the previous month is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are obtained by multiplying the estimates for the previous month by these ratios. Small-domain models are used as the official estimators for approximately 39 percent of CES published series which have insufficient sample for direct sample-based estimates.

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 are available for metropolitan areas or metropolitan divisions upon request. Measures of sampling error for states down to the supersector level is 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/benchmark2017.pdf.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget July 15, 2015. A detailed list of geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

Areas in the six New England states are defined as Metropolitan New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs), while areas in other states are county-based and identified as metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.  However, for comparative purposes, the Boston NECTA and its divisions have been referred to as a metropolitan area and metropolitan divisions. 

The Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH Metropolitan New England City and Town Area (NECTA) includes 10 NECTA divisions--subdivisions of the larger NECTA which function as distinct social, economic, and cultural areas within the larger region. The NECTA divisions that compose the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH NECTA include:  Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA; Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA; Framingham, MA; Haverhill- Newburyport-Amesbury town, MA-NH; Lawrence-Methuen town-Salem, MA-NH; Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH; Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, MA; Nashua, NH-MA; Peabody-Salem-Beverly, MA; Taunton- Middleborough-Norton, MA; and select cities and towns within.  

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/.

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, U.S. and Boston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area and IndustryApr 2016Feb 2017Mar 2017Apr 2017(p)Apr 2016 to Apr 2017(p)
Net changePercent change

U.S.

 

Total nonfarm

143,894144,292144,953145,9792,0851.4

Mining and logging

669672683693243.6

Construction

6,6096,4796,5806,7691602.4

Manufacturing

12,29912,30012,32612,333340.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

26,95627,00227,03727,1421860.7

Information

2,7842,7452,7342,729-55-2.0

Financial activities

8,2088,3388,3568,3831752.1

Professional and business services

19,97020,21620,33920,5565862.9

Educational and health services

22,67923,07723,11323,1764972.2

Leisure and hospitality

15,47015,16715,39715,7452751.8

Other services

5,6725,6735,6965,730581.0

Government

22,57822,62322,69222,7231450.6

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH

 

Total nonfarm

2,696.22,688.52,703.12,739.042.81.6

Mining, logging, and construction

106.899.6100.1107.10.30.3

Manufacturing

186.8185.3184.9184.8-2.0-1.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

417.1415.6416.0418.81.70.4

Information

77.778.578.478.60.91.2

Financial activities

184.4189.0189.2189.95.53.0

Professional and business services

465.7466.8468.8481.215.53.3

Educational and health services

576.8586.1589.5591.915.12.6

Leisure and hospitality

262.3247.8252.6261.7-0.6-0.2

Other services

100.6100.0100.9102.72.12.1

Government

318.0319.8322.7322.34.31.4

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA division

 

Total nonfarm

1,810.71,812.11,822.21,846.435.72.0

Mining, logging, and construction

64.959.959.863.5-1.4-2.2

Manufacturing

79.278.878.578.5-0.7-0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

246.1246.6246.9248.32.20.9

Information

57.859.158.959.01.22.1

Financial activities

153.1157.7157.9158.65.53.6

Professional and business services

348.4350.6352.9361.813.43.8

Educational and health services

414.5421.0423.2425.410.92.6

Leisure and hospitality

181.2170.7173.9180.5-0.7-0.4

Other services

66.366.266.768.01.72.6

Government

199.2201.5203.5202.83.61.8

(p) preliminary

 
Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
AreaApr 2016Feb 2017Mar 2017Apr 2017(p)Apr 2016 to Apr 2017(p)
Net changePercent change

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

 

Total nonfarm

2,652.32,716.22,730.32,739.587.23.3

Mining and logging

1.71.81.81.80.15.9

Construction

113.2118.5121.0120.06.86.0

Manufacturing

161.9163.6162.8162.91.00.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

584.4595.4597.1597.212.82.2

Information

96.398.698.298.21.92.0

Financial activities

164.8171.4172.2172.47.64.6

Professional and business services

486.4506.2511.4513.927.55.7

Education and health services

332.6342.6342.4342.810.23.1

Leisure and hospitality

283.8286.9291.1295.511.74.1

Other services

97.696.897.199.92.32.4

Government

329.6334.4335.2334.95.31.6

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)

 

Total nonfarm

2,696.22,688.52,703.12,739.042.81.6

Mining, logging, and construction

106.899.6100.1107.10.30.3

Manufacturing

186.8185.3184.9184.8-2.0-1.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

417.1415.6416.0418.81.70.4

Information

77.778.578.478.60.91.2

Financial activities

184.4189.0189.2189.95.53.0

Professional and business services

465.7466.8468.8481.215.53.3

Education and health services

576.8586.1589.5591.915.12.6

Leisure and hospitality

262.3247.8252.6261.7-0.6-0.2

Other services

100.6100.0100.9102.72.12.1

Government

318.0319.8322.7322.34.31.4

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

 

Total nonfarm

4,629.74,585.44,610.84,643.513.80.3

Mining and logging

1.61.51.51.60.00.0

Construction

168.4156.5157.5164.4-4.0-2.4

Manufacturing

414.3412.2412.7412.0-2.3-0.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

934.6925.7932.1932.2-2.4-0.3

Information

79.980.580.981.92.02.5

Financial activities

296.8305.6305.6305.48.62.9

Professional and business services

812.2794.6799.3814.22.00.2

Education and health services

716.6723.8723.1725.69.01.3

Leisure and hospitality

462.6442.4452.8461.6-1.0-0.2

Other services

193.7192.3192.6192.7-1.0-0.5

Government

549.0550.3552.7551.92.90.5

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

 

Total nonfarm

3,484.23,572.43,584.63,588.8104.63.0

Mining, logging, and construction

203.6208.6207.1205.72.11.0

Manufacturing

263.9265.5266.1264.91.00.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

736.8760.3762.4760.824.03.3

Information

82.282.582.581.4-0.8-1.0

Financial activities

279.7288.6291.4291.611.94.3

Professional and business services

574.5591.7595.7597.322.84.0

Education and health services

429.1439.5439.5441.011.92.8

Leisure and hospitality

366.0374.1377.9383.017.04.6

Other services

120.5124.8124.4125.85.34.4

Government

427.9436.8437.6437.39.42.2

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

 

Total nonfarm

3,000.93,010.13,024.13,042.841.91.4

Mining and logging

90.087.287.387.6-2.4-2.7

Construction

221.4215.6217.9213.8-7.6-3.4

Manufacturing

224.8226.1227.5229.95.12.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

606.3602.6600.2604.4-1.9-0.3

Information

32.432.832.532.1-0.3-0.9

Financial activities

154.2153.7153.9153.5-0.7-0.5

Professional and business services

467.9468.1472.7479.711.82.5

Education and health services

377.8386.2387.9390.512.73.4

Leisure and hospitality

312.4314.8318.8323.511.13.6

Other services

108.1107.0108.3109.91.81.7

Government

405.6416.0417.1417.912.33.0

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

 

Total nonfarm

5,969.86,007.76,032.16,021.751.90.9

Mining and logging

4.14.03.94.0-0.1-2.4

Construction

229.0230.5235.4237.88.83.8

Manufacturing

518.3510.8512.8510.7-7.6-1.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,079.71,085.61,083.31,079.2-0.50.0

Information

263.0256.2254.8252.4-10.6-4.0

Financial activities

336.2337.6337.2336.50.30.1

Professional and business services

894.2909.4911.9904.310.11.1

Education and health services

977.0996.51,004.11,002.225.22.6

Leisure and hospitality

719.7717.9723.9731.411.71.6

Other services

203.2208.1208.7210.87.63.7

Government

745.4751.1756.1752.47.00.9

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

 

Total nonfarm

2,586.82,630.62,639.72,647.560.72.3

Mining and logging

0.70.70.70.70.00.0

Construction

120.4124.5123.9125.14.73.9

Manufacturing

87.588.488.788.40.91.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

589.1596.9597.3599.510.41.8

Information

49.249.048.948.9-0.3-0.6

Financial activities

175.9174.3174.1174.5-1.4-0.8

Professional and business services

420.6430.4434.1434.313.73.3

Education and health services

381.6392.3395.0396.214.63.8

Leisure and hospitality

326.7331.0332.8335.08.32.5

Other services

125.0128.7128.6128.93.93.1

Government

310.1314.4315.6316.05.91.9

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

 

Total nonfarm

9,503.39,469.19,514.19,586.483.10.9

Mining, logging, and construction

383.0362.8369.9381.3-1.7-0.4

Manufacturing

366.2362.9363.5363.2-3.0-0.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,708.11,708.41,709.01,705.6-2.5-0.1

Information

285.7285.1287.2286.60.90.3

Financial activities

766.1768.3770.8775.08.91.2

Professional and business services

1,508.81,506.31,508.51,525.616.81.1

Education and health services

1,879.11,914.51,921.61,927.948.82.6

Leisure and hospitality

879.1842.9856.7887.78.61.0

Other services

415.7412.5413.0416.50.80.2

Government

1,311.51,305.41,313.91,317.05.50.4

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

 

Total nonfarm

2,869.72,878.02,889.72,913.643.91.5

Mining, logging, and construction

112.9109.4111.7115.82.92.6

Manufacturing

178.3177.3177.0176.9-1.4-0.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

517.1521.5522.9524.06.91.3

Information

46.946.146.246.2-0.7-1.5

Financial activities

210.7211.4211.3212.61.90.9

Professional and business services

459.9454.0461.3467.57.61.7

Education and health services

626.2648.3645.9646.720.53.3

Leisure and hospitality

257.8248.6251.4260.02.20.9

Other services

118.7118.6118.2119.71.00.8

Government

341.2342.8343.8344.23.00.9

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

 

Total nonfarm

1,974.62,013.02,017.32,023.448.82.5

Mining and logging

3.23.23.23.20.00.0

Construction

103.7104.2107.2109.25.55.3

Manufacturing

120.2121.9121.0121.51.31.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

382.6387.9387.9387.44.81.3

Information

36.435.835.936.3-0.1-0.3

Financial activities

173.2181.2181.6182.08.85.1

Professional and business services

336.2343.4341.6341.35.11.5

Education and health services

292.1298.5299.3300.18.02.7

Leisure and hospitality

218.9227.7232.0233.614.76.7

Other services

64.361.961.961.9-2.4-3.7

Government

243.8247.3245.7246.93.11.3

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

 

Total nonfarm

2,332.12,356.32,372.52,377.745.62.0

Mining and logging

1.00.90.91.00.00.0

Construction

110.4113.6116.4118.68.27.4

Manufacturing

130.7130.6132.0131.00.30.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

370.9375.3375.9375.04.11.1

Information

97.699.799.499.72.12.2

Financial activities

141.2145.5145.9144.43.22.3

Professional and business services

468.6469.7472.8471.42.80.6

Education and health services

339.4347.1348.8348.79.32.7

Leisure and hospitality

268.1264.8267.8273.04.91.8

Other services

85.286.186.888.12.93.4

Government

319.0323.0325.8326.87.82.4

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

 

Total nonfarm

3,230.33,240.03,246.43,268.338.01.2

Mining, logging, and construction

156.6151.1150.5156.70.10.1

Manufacturing

53.752.552.853.6-0.1-0.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

400.5402.5403.1404.84.31.1

Information

74.972.371.671.5-3.4-4.5

Financial activities

156.2155.9155.2155.7-0.5-0.3

Professional and business services

737.5743.1746.1750.312.81.7

Education and health services

440.4446.8445.7448.27.81.8

Leisure and hospitality

318.4319.2323.0329.210.83.4

Other services

194.1194.6193.6194.30.20.1

Government

698.0702.0704.8704.06.00.9

(p) preliminary

 

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, June 01, 2017