Total nonfarm employment for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 9,331,200 in July 2015, up 164,400, or 1.8 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased 2.1 percent. Martin Kohli, the Bureau’s chief regional economist, noted that the New York area’s July increase was its 60th consecutive over-the-year employment gain. (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, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area is made up of four metropolitan divisions¾separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. All four divisions saw employment increases over the year. The New York-Jersey City-White Plains Metropolitan Division, with 72 percent of the area’s employment, gained 135,400 jobs since last July. The Nassau County-Suffolk County Metropolitan Division, with 14 percent of local employment, added 19,200 jobs over the last 12 months. The Newark Metropolitan Division, with another 13 percent of the areas jobs expanded by 9,400. Employment in the Dutchess County-Putnam County Metropolitan Division, which made up the remaining 2 percent of local employment, was little changed over the year.

Industry employment

In the greater New York metropolitan area, education and health services recorded the largest employment gain from July 2014 to July 2015, expanding by 60,800 jobs. Most of the area’s job gains were centered in the healthcare and social assistance sector of New York-Jersey City-White Plains (37,600) and Nassau County-Suffolk County (8,700). In the New York metropolitan area, education and health services employment grew 3.6 percent over the year, exceeding the national growth rate of 2.8 percent. (See chart 2.)

Leisure and hospitality employment increased by 33,800 since last July, the second-largest gain in the New York area. Most of the gain occurred in accommodation and food services located in New York City and Nassau County-Suffolk County, which added a combined total of more than 25,000 jobs. The New York area’s 3.8-percent rate of job growth in leisure and hospitality exceeded the 3.0-percent U.S. average.

From July 2014 to July 2015, only one other supersector in the area had an increase of at least 20,000 jobs—trade, transportation, and utilities (23,700). Retail trade accounted for more than half of the expansion, with New York City adding more than 10,000 jobs. Local area employment growth in trade, transportation, and utilities (1.4 percent) lagged the 2.0-percent national rate.

In the New York area, manufacturing was the only supersector to lose jobs over the year. Most of the loss occurred among manufacturers of nondurable goods in New York City (-2,700). The 0.8-percent New York area loss compared to a 1.2-percent national gain.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

New York was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in July 2015. All 12 areas experienced over-the-year job growth during the period, with 9 exceeding the national average of 2.1 percent. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had the fastest rate of job growth,   3.7 percent, followed by Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell (3.4 percent), Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (3.3 percent), and San Franisco-Oakland-Hayward (3.2 percent). The slowest rates of job growth were in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, at 1.5 percent each, and New York at 1.8 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

The New York area added the largest number of jobs, 164,400. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and Dallas both added more than 120,000 jobs. Philadelphia recorded the smallest employment gain (41,500), followed by Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (57,900).

Professional and business services registered the largest over-the-year employment gains in 6 of the 12 metropolitan areas—Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Phoenix, and San Francisco. Education and health services added the most jobs in four areas—Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington.

Manufacturing recorded the largest job loss in Dallas, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, New York, and Phoenix. Four areas—Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco— recorded no over-the-year job losses greater than 1,000 jobs in any supersector.

Metropolitan area employment data for August 2015 are scheduled to be released on Friday, September 18, 2015, 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 that 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 the 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 that 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 a sample survey, 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 the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. Measures of sampling error for state CES data at the supersector level are available online at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions for states is available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/sae/.

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 February 28, 2013. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris County, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

The Dutchess County-Putnam County, N.Y. Metropolitan Division includes Dutchess and Putnam Counties in New York.

The Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y. Metropolitan Division includes Nassau and Suffolk Counties in New York.

The New York-Jersey City-White Plains, N.Y.-N.J. Metropolitan Division includes 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, N.J.-Pa. Metropolitan Division includes Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

Additional information

Industry employment data for states and metropolitan areas from the CES 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.