Total nonfarm employment for the New York-Newark-Jersey City-NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 8,625,900 in July 2020, down 1,354,700, or 13.6 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count decreased 7.7 percent. Martin Kohli, the Bureau’s chief regional economist, noted that the employment total for the New York area was the lowest July count since 2011. (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.)

  

The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area is made up of four metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. With 72 percent of the area’s employment, the New York-Jersey City-White Plains Metropolitan Division lost 1,026,700 jobs since last July. The Nassau County-Suffolk County Metropolitan Division, with 14 percent of local employment, lost 173,500 jobs. The Newark Metropolitan Division, with 13 percent of the area’s employment, lost 136,300 over the year. Employment in the Dutchess County-Putnam County Metropolitan Division, with the remaining share of local employment, lost 18,200 jobs over the year.

Industry employment

In the New York metropolitan area, leisure and hospitality lost the largest number of jobs from July 2019 to July 2020, down 439,800. The New York-Jersey City-White Plains Metropolitan Division accounted for most of the loss (-346,900), where the division’s accommodation and food services industry shed 248,100 jobs. In percentage terms, the leisure and hospitality supersector declined 43.9 percent over the year in the New York metropolitan area, compared to 24.2 percent, nationally. (See chart 2.)

Trade, transportation, and utilities employment contracted by 200,000, an 11.6-percent decline. Local employment in retail trade fell by 94,700. Nationwide, trade, transportation, and utilities employment declined 5.7 percent.

Three other supersectors in New York-Newark-Jersey City each lost more than 150,000 jobs from July a year ago: professional and business services (-185,000); government (-151,100), and education and health services (-150,900). Employment in local professional business services was down 11.3 percent from a year ago; nationally, employment in this sector declined 6.7 percent. Government employment in the local area fell 11.6 percent from a year ago, while nationally, government employment decreased 4.5 percent. Employment in New York’s education and health services sector fell 7.5 percent compared to a 5.1-percent national decrease.

  

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

New York-Newark-Jersey City was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in July 2020. All 12 areas had over-the-year job losses during the period, with 6 of the areas’ rates of job loss exceeding the national decrease of 7.7 percent. New York (-13.6 percent) had the fastest rate of job loss, followed by Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (-12.1 percent). Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (-3.5 percent) had the slowest rate of job loss. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

  

New York lost the largest number of jobs over the year (-1,354,700), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (-628,000). The smallest employment loss occurred in Phoenix (-74,000). Annual losses in the remaining nine metropolitan areas ranged from 396,000 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to 135,000 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell.

Over the year, leisure and hospitality lost the most jobs in all 12 metropolitan areas. New York had the largest loss of jobs for this sector (-439,800), followed by Los Angeles (-242,500). Atlanta and Phoenix had the smallest job losses for the leisure and hospitality sector, each losing 48,300 jobs. The remaining eight areas had job losses ranging from 138,000 in Chicago to 60,500 in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land for this industry sector.

Phoenix had over-the-year employment gains in three sectors: trade, transportation, and utilities (5,900); education and health services (4,300); and other services (1,000). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington added 10,700 jobs in financial activities. No other area had job gains over 1,000.

Metropolitan area employment data for August 2020 are scheduled to be released on Friday, September 18, 2020, 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 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 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 down to 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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

The Dutchess County-Putnam County, NY Metropolitan Division consists of Dutchess and Putnam Counties in New York. 

The Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY Metropolitan Division consists of Nassau and Suffolk Counties in New York.

The New York-Jersey City-White Plains Metropolitan Division consists of New York City (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond Counties), and Orange, Rockland, and Westchester Counties in New York; and Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Passaic Counties in New Jersey.

The Newark, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division consists of Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County 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. 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.