Total nonfarm employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Mass.-N.H. Metropolitan New England City and Town Area stood at 2,690,900 in January 2017, up 59,100 from one year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that nonfarm employment rose 2.2 percent locally from January a year ago. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.5 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 46,700 jobs from January 2016 to January 2017. Seven 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

Education and health services, the largest industry in the Boston area, had the largest local employment gain, adding 25,100 jobs from January 2016 to January 2017. The 4.5-percent rate of local job growth in this supersector outpaced the 2.3-percent gain nationwide.

Professional and business services had the next largest annual employment gain in the Boston area from January 2016, adding 12,500 jobs. The 2.8-percent rate of job growth in Boston’s professional and business services supersector matched the nationwide gain.

The financial activities and government supersectors added 6,400 and 5,100 jobs respectively. The rates of local job growth in both supersectors outpaced the respective national gains.  

 

Four other supersectors in the Boston area gained at least 1,000 jobs over the year—leisure and hospitality (+4,900), trade, transportation, and utilities (+4,100), other services (+2,200), and information (+1,300). The local rates of job growth in leisure and hospitality and in trade, transportation, and utilities were similar to the national rates. The local rate of job growth in other services, at 2.2 percent, outpaced the 1.1-percent national increase. In information, local area employment increased 1.7 percent, while employment in this supersector declined 0.1 percent nationally.

Employment in the 12 Largest Metropolitan Areas

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in January 2017. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with 9 exceeding the national average of 1.5 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, up 4.0 percent, followed by Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell at 3.7 percent. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (0.3 percent) and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (0.5 percent) had the slowest rates of job growth. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

The New York-Newark-Jersey City area added the largest number of jobs over the year, 158,000, followed by Dallas (+135,400) and Atlanta (+96,800). Houston had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 9,300 jobs, followed by Chicago, which added 22,600 jobs.

 

The New York-Newark-Jersey City area added the largest number of jobs over the year, 158,000, followed by Dallas (+135,400) and Atlanta (96,800). Houston had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 9,300 jobs, followed by Chicago which added 22,600 jobs.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in six areas: Boston, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, 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 four areas: Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York.

Metropolitan area employment data for February 2017 are scheduled to be released on Friday, March 24, 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/benchmark2016.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 February 28, 2013. 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 Industry	Jan 2016	Nov 2016	Dec 2016	Jan 2017(p)	Jan 2016 to Jan 2017(p)
					Net change	Percent change
U.S.
Total nonfarm	141,088	146,393	146,158	143,261	2,173	1.5
Mining and logging	721	673	669	662	-59	-8.2
Construction	6,252	6,869	6,660	6,414	162	2.6
Manufacturing	12,293	12,328	12,341	12,261	-32	-0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	26,907	27,819	28,090	27,235	328	1.2
Information	2,724	2,780	2,775	2,722	-2	-0.1
Financial activities	8,152	8,337	8,373	8,342	190	2.3
Professional and business services	19,539	20,564	20,521	20,088	549	2.8
Educational and health services	22,193	23,074	23,023	22,707	514	2.3
Leisure and hospitality	14,747	15,466	15,394	15,027	280	1.9
Other services	5,580	5,705	5,676	5,640	60	1.1
Government	21,980	22,778	22,636	22,163	183	0.8
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,631.8	2,739.5	2,741.4	2,690.9	59.1	2.2
Mining, logging, and construction	101.8	109.8	107.5	101.5	-0.3	-0.3
Manufacturing	187.7	187.2	187.4	185.5	-2.2	-1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	420.0	428.4	433.6	424.1	4.1	1.0
Information	77.6	77.7	78.8	78.9	1.3	1.7
Financial activities	183.5	187.4	188.6	189.9	6.4	3.5
Professional and business services	452.5	477.1	475.8	465.0	12.5	2.8
Educational and health services	556.3	584.5	586.0	581.4	25.1	4.5
Leisure and hospitality	246.4	262.6	260.0	251.3	4.9	2.0
Other services	98.1	101.7	100.9	100.3	2.2	2.2
Government	307.9	323.1	322.8	313.0	5.1	1.7
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA division
Total nonfarm	1,765.8	1,842.9	1,845.1	1,812.5	46.7	2.6
Mining, logging, and construction	62.6	65.9	65.0	61.2	-1.4	-2.2
Manufacturing	79.7	79.9	79.8	78.7	-1.0	-1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	247.4	252.9	256.0	250.1	2.7	1.1
Information	57.4	58.2	59.1	59.3	1.9	3.3
Financial activities	152.4	156.1	157.1	158.4	6.0	3.9
Professional and business services	338.5	357.6	357.0	349.0	10.5	3.1
Educational and health services	397.1	419.5	421.0	416.6	19.5	4.9
Leisure and hospitality	170.2	182.3	180.4	173.8	3.6	2.1
Other services	64.8	67.5	66.7	66.2	1.4	2.2
Government	195.7	203.0	203.0	199.2	3.5	1.8
(p) preliminary

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

Area	Jan 2016	Nov 2016	Dec 2016	Jan 2017(p)	Jan 2016 to Jan 2017(p)
					Net change	Percent change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,602.0	2,729.1	2,735.8	2,698.8	96.8	3.7
Mining and logging	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.8	0.1	5.9
Construction	109.1	119.9	119.1	117.7	8.6	7.9
Manufacturing	160.4	163.6	163.5	163.1	2.7	1.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	584.4	606.2	614.7	599.4	15.0	2.6
Information	91.9	96.6	98.9	98.0	6.1	6.6
Financial activities	163.4	170.0	169.0	170.7	7.3	4.5
Professional and business services	476.8	506.9	506.9	498.5	21.7	4.6
Education and health services	326.8	341.9	340.3	338.0	11.2	3.4
Leisure and hospitality	266.6	289.3	288.9	285.2	18.6	7.0
Other services	95.4	99.0	98.5	97.0	1.6	1.7
Government	325.5	333.9	334.2	329.4	3.9	1.2
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)
Total nonfarm	2,631.8	2,739.5	2,741.4	2,690.9	59.1	2.2
Mining, logging, and construction	101.8	109.8	107.5	101.5	-0.3	-0.3
Manufacturing	187.7	187.2	187.4	185.5	-2.2	-1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	420.0	428.4	433.6	424.1	4.1	1.0
Information	77.6	77.7	78.8	78.9	1.3	1.7
Financial activities	183.5	187.4	188.6	189.9	6.4	3.5
Professional and business services	452.5	477.1	475.8	465.0	12.5	2.8
Education and health services	556.3	584.5	586.0	581.4	25.1	4.5
Leisure and hospitality	246.4	262.6	260.0	251.3	4.9	2.0
Other services	98.1	101.7	100.9	100.3	2.2	2.2
Government	307.9	323.1	322.8	313.0	5.1	1.7
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,542.4	4,705.6	4,683.8	4,565.0	22.6	0.5
Mining and logging	1.4	1.6	1.6	1.4	0.0	0.0
Construction	149.1	176.6	163.1	154.8	5.7	3.8
Manufacturing	412.2	414.1	413.1	411.2	-1.0	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	930.2	959.8	975.0	937.4	7.2	0.8
Information	80.2	80.5	81.3	80.5	0.3	0.4
Financial activities	293.9	298.4	300.5	302.0	8.1	2.8
Professional and business services	799.5	833.7	820.3	794.1	-5.4	-0.7
Education and health services	704.6	727.6	718.8	709.5	4.9	0.7
Leisure and hospitality	440.8	460.8	458.4	443.0	2.2	0.5
Other services	192.2	191.9	191.1	190.2	-2.0	-1.0
Government	538.3	560.6	560.6	540.9	2.6	0.5
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,422.8	3,583.3	3,593.6	3,558.2	135.4	4.0
Mining, logging, and construction	197.9	209.9	208.6	207.7	9.8	5.0
Manufacturing	263.0	266.4	266.1	266.1	3.1	1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	734.3	774.3	783.0	766.3	32.0	4.4
Information	81.1	83.0	83.1	82.1	1.0	1.2
Financial activities	276.9	286.4	288.6	289.4	12.5	4.5
Professional and business services	564.6	596.9	598.5	588.7	24.1	4.3
Education and health services	422.2	436.3	435.7	436.0	13.8	3.3
Leisure and hospitality	345.3	369.8	370.0	367.9	22.6	6.5
Other services	116.6	123.3	122.6	122.9	6.3	5.4
Government	420.9	437.0	437.4	431.1	10.2	2.4
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	2,976.8	3,021.6	3,036.0	2,986.1	9.3	0.3
Mining and logging	95.2	85.7	86.3	86.6	-8.6	-9.0
Construction	216.5	215.4	214.9	208.3	-8.2	-3.8
Manufacturing	231.6	217.9	222.1	222.1	-9.5	-4.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	609.0	618.3	627.3	608.9	-0.1	0.0
Information	32.2	33.1	33.4	32.5	0.3	0.9
Financial activities	153.3	155.9	156.6	154.9	1.6	1.0
Professional and business services	466.9	473.0	472.5	465.9	-1.0	-0.2
Education and health services	372.2	385.7	387.5	383.1	10.9	2.9
Leisure and hospitality	300.0	314.4	313.1	310.3	10.3	3.4
Other services	106.3	107.2	107.2	107.1	0.8	0.8
Government	393.6	415.0	415.1	406.4	12.8	3.3
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	5,878.4	6,074.9	6,064.6	5,957.8	79.4	1.4
Mining and logging	4.4	4.0	4.0	3.9	-0.5	-11.4
Construction	223.5	232.1	228.9	221.9	-1.6	-0.7
Manufacturing	517.8	514.3	515.2	508.9	-8.9	-1.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,083.4	1,121.7	1,132.4	1,095.1	11.7	1.1
Information	249.6	262.7	253.4	245.7	-3.9	-1.6
Financial activities	333.0	338.3	340.3	339.1	6.1	1.8
Professional and business services	885.8	919.8	911.5	899.0	13.2	1.5
Education and health services	953.5	990.0	988.1	986.2	32.7	3.4
Leisure and hospitality	696.2	731.1	730.0	708.1	11.9	1.7
Other services	198.6	207.6	206.8	207.2	8.6	4.3
Government	732.6	753.3	754.0	742.7	10.1	1.4
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,552.7	2,643.4	2,651.4	2,624.0	71.3	2.8
Mining and logging	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.0	0.0
Construction	116.2	124.8	125.1	122.0	5.8	5.0
Manufacturing	87.0	88.7	89.3	89.2	2.2	2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	589.3	607.9	614.2	600.4	11.1	1.9
Information	48.6	49.5	49.4	48.8	0.2	0.4
Financial activities	174.4	175.4	176.3	173.8	-0.6	-0.3
Professional and business services	415.2	436.6	434.0	428.5	13.3	3.2
Education and health services	374.3	388.7	389.4	390.2	15.9	4.2
Leisure and hospitality	318.3	329.1	331.9	330.7	12.4	3.9
Other services	122.8	127.5	128.4	128.4	5.6	4.6
Government	305.9	314.5	312.7	311.3	5.4	1.8
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,272.4	9,678.4	9,697.0	9,430.4	158.0	1.7
Mining, logging, and construction	362.6	388.8	380.9	365.2	2.6	0.7
Manufacturing	364.7	364.5	363.5	355.8	-8.9	-2.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,710.1	1,776.4	1,798.6	1,730.4	20.3	1.2
Information	280.2	290.9	291.8	286.1	5.9	2.1
Financial activities	763.2	767.2	770.1	765.9	2.7	0.4
Professional and business services	1,464.2	1,550.2	1,547.1	1,499.8	35.6	2.4
Education and health services	1,816.4	1,915.5	1,924.9	1,890.2	73.8	4.1
Leisure and hospitality	828.1	883.4	879.8	842.0	13.9	1.7
Other services	407.5	417.2	418.3	412.6	5.1	1.3
Government	1,275.4	1,324.3	1,322.0	1,282.4	7.0	0.5
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,797.4	2,931.5	2,933.6	2,864.5	67.1	2.4
Mining, logging, and construction	106.0	116.7	112.6	107.7	1.7	1.6
Manufacturing	177.6	177.7	178.5	177.5	-0.1	-0.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	516.8	538.8	546.5	527.4	10.6	2.1
Information	46.3	46.3	46.9	46.3	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	209.2	212.5	214.4	212.0	2.8	1.3
Professional and business services	447.2	470.9	467.6	456.3	9.1	2.0
Education and health services	606.0	645.3	644.7	633.7	27.7	4.6
Leisure and hospitality	240.1	258.4	258.0	248.8	8.7	3.6
Other services	116.2	120.1	119.9	118.6	2.4	2.1
Government	332.0	344.8	344.5	336.2	4.2	1.3
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	1,940.6	2,023.4	2,032.6	1,987.8	47.2	2.4
Mining and logging	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	0.0	0.0
Construction	100.4	104.2	104.7	103.7	3.3	3.3
Manufacturing	120.4	120.9	122.2	121.8	1.4	1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	380.8	402.8	403.4	387.3	6.5	1.7
Information	36.0	36.0	35.8	35.5	-0.5	-1.4
Financial activities	170.3	179.2	180.0	180.1	9.8	5.8
Professional and business services	332.4	349.9	355.0	340.6	8.2	2.5
Education and health services	288.0	297.0	299.1	297.7	9.7	3.4
Leisure and hospitality	211.7	220.8	221.4	220.9	9.2	4.3
Other services	63.4	61.9	62.6	61.0	-2.4	-3.8
Government	234.0	247.5	245.2	236.0	2.0	0.9
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,286.2	2,385.2	2,392.9	2,344.4	58.2	2.5
Mining and logging	0.9	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.0	0.0
Construction	106.9	116.8	114.2	111.5	4.6	4.3
Manufacturing	130.2	131.8	132.6	131.3	1.1	0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	372.0	388.9	395.1	377.6	5.6	1.5
Information	95.2	101.1	102.2	100.5	5.3	5.6
Financial activities	139.3	144.4	146.0	144.6	5.3	3.8
Professional and business services	460.3	478.4	478.8	468.9	8.6	1.9
Education and health services	329.7	344.1	344.6	342.7	13.0	3.9
Leisure and hospitality	255.9	267.1	267.8	260.0	4.1	1.6
Other services	83.5	86.4	86.2	84.8	1.3	1.6
Government	312.3	325.2	324.5	321.6	9.3	3.0
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,162.6	3,267.8	3,269.8	3,217.4	54.8	1.7
Mining, logging, and construction	151.3	156.1	153.4	152.6	1.3	0.9
Manufacturing	52.9	54.4	54.1	53.2	0.3	0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	400.4	414.6	420.0	404.4	4.0	1.0
Information	75.0	72.8	72.0	71.7	-3.3	-4.4
Financial activities	154.6	157.7	155.9	154.6	0.0	0.0
Professional and business services	719.9	746.9	745.1	737.6	17.7	2.5
Education and health services	430.5	441.4	440.9	437.5	7.0	1.6
Leisure and hospitality	300.3	321.6	324.9	316.6	16.3	5.4
Other services	191.1	196.0	196.0	193.0	1.9	1.0
Government	686.6	706.3	707.5	696.2	9.6	1.4
(p) preliminary