Total nonfarm employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Mass.-N.H. Metropolitan New England City and Town Area stood at 2,699,000 in January 2018, up 22,400 from one year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that nonfarm employment rose 0.8 percent locally from January 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 divisions¾separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metropolitan division, which made up 67 percent of the workforce, gained 15,500 jobs from January 2017 to January 2018. All the other divisions for which data are published also added jobs over the year except the Peabody and Framingham divisions.

Industry employment

Professional and business services had the largest annual employment gain in the Boston area from January 2017, adding 11,700 jobs. The 2.5-percent rate of job growth in Boston’s professional and business services supersector was comparable to the 2.2-percent nationwide gain.

Education and health services, the largest industry in the Boston area, had the next largest local employment gain, adding 6,000 jobs from January 2017 to January 2018. The 1.1-percent rate of local job growth in this supersector lagged the national gain of 2.1 percent.

Three other supersectors in the Boston area gained at least 1,000 jobs over the year—leisure and hospitality (+3,400), other services (+1,600), and manufacturing (+1,100). The local rates of job growth in all three of these supersectors lagged that of the nation.

Three supersectors lost jobs over the year—government (̶ 3,000), trade, transportation and utilities (̶ 2,000) and financial activities (̶ 1,400).

Employment in the twelve Largest Metropolitan Areas

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in January 2018. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 6 areas exceeding the national increase of 1.4 percent. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale had the fastest rate of job growth, up 2.7 percent, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, up 2.4 percent. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin had the slowest rate of job growth, up 0.5 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area added the largest number of jobs over the year, 114,600, followed by New York-Newark-Jersey City, up 104,000. Boston had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 22,400 jobs. Chicago and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington each added 23,200 jobs. Annual gains in the remaining seven metropolitan areas ranged from 85,800 in Dallas to 29,700 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in five areas: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Phoenix. Professional and business services gained the most jobs in four areas: Boston, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Miami, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward.

Metropolitan area employment data for February 2018 are scheduled to be released on Friday, March 23, 2018, 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, Mass.-N.H. 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, Mass.-N.H. NECTA include:  Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA; Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Mass.; Framingham, Mass.; Haverhill- Newburyport-Amesbury town, Mass.-N.H.; Lawrence-Methuen town-Salem, Mass.-N.H.; Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, Mass.-N.H.; Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, Mass.; Nashua, N.H.-Mass.; Peabody-Salem-Beverly, Mass.; Taunton-Middleborough-Norton, Mass.; 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 2017	Nov 2017	Dec 2017	Jan 2018(p)	Jan 2017 to Jan 2018
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	143,393	148,783	148,530	145,472	2,079	1.4
Mining and logging	637	703	700	693	56	8.8
Construction	6,459	7,117	6,970	6,692	233	3.6
Manufacturing	12,277	12,522	12,560	12,484	207	1.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,305	28,171	28,337	27,464	159	0.6
Information	2,778	2,799	2,784	2,724	-54	-1.9
Financial activities	8,345	8,499	8,516	8,461	116	1.4
Professional and business services	19,875	20,864	20,770	20,319	444	2.2
Educational and health services	22,766	23,609	23,556	23,250	484	2.1
Leisure and hospitality	15,124	15,877	15,862	15,452	328	2.2
Other services	5,656	5,809	5,800	5,751	95	1.7
Government	22,171	22,813	22,675	22,182	11	0.0
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,676.6	2,770.4	2,767.7	2,699.0	22.4	0.8
Mining, logging, and construction	102.8	117.7	114.5	107.4	4.6	4.5
Manufacturing	186.6	187.6	188.7	187.7	1.1	0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	423.9	431.7	436.7	421.9	-2.0	-0.5
Information	78.8	79.7	79.0	79.2	0.4	0.5
Financial activities	183.2	183.9	184.2	181.8	-1.4	-0.8
Professional and business services	467.0	489.6	487.5	478.7	11.7	2.5
Educational and health services	569.0	589.9	589.0	575.0	6.0	1.1
Leisure and hospitality	254.2	267.5	267.4	257.6	3.4	1.3
Other services	99.5	104.9	103.9	101.1	1.6	1.6
Government	311.6	317.9	316.8	308.6	-3.0	-1.0
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA division
Total nonfarm	1,800.0	1,865.9	1,862.7	1,815.5	15.5	0.9
Mining, logging, and construction	62.3	70.5	68.8	64.3	2.0	3.2
Manufacturing	79.9	79.7	80.3	80.0	0.1	0.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	250.3	254.0	256.3	246.9	-3.4	-1.4
Information	58.9	59.7	59.1	59.4	0.5	0.8
Financial activities	152.2	152.7	152.9	150.8	-1.4	-0.9
Professional and business services	351.5	368.4	367.9	362.2	10.7	3.0
Educational and health services	406.5	425.0	423.5	410.5	4.0	1.0
Leisure and hospitality	176.2	186.6	186.8	179.8	3.6	2.0
Other services	65.6	70.0	68.8	66.7	1.1	1.7
Government	196.6	199.3	198.3	194.9	-1.7	-0.9
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 2017	Nov 2017	Dec 2017	Jan 2018(p)	Jan 2017 to Jan 2018(p)
					Net change	Percent change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,665.5	2,770.3	2,767.0	2,709.8	44.3	1.7
Mining and logging	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	116.7	126.0	125.6	121.1	4.4	3.8
Manufacturing	166.2	168.6	169.4	167.3	1.1	0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	595.0	619.2	622.9	606.6	11.6	1.9
Information	96.9	100.2	99.5	91.5	-5.4	-5.6
Financial activities	167.1	170.7	170.4	166.8	-0.3	-0.2
Professional and business services	487.7	504.4	501.2	492.4	4.7	1.0
Education and health services	334.2	348.4	349.2	344.0	9.8	2.9
Leisure and hospitality	274.7	290.7	290.3	285.5	10.8	3.9
Other services	96.9	99.0	100.3	98.9	2.0	2.1
Government	328.5	341.5	336.6	334.1	5.6	1.7
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)
Total nonfarm	2,676.6	2,770.4	2,767.7	2,699.0	22.4	0.8
Mining, logging, and construction	102.8	117.7	114.5	107.4	4.6	4.5
Manufacturing	186.6	187.6	188.7	187.7	1.1	0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	423.9	431.7	436.7	421.9	-2.0	-0.5
Information	78.8	79.7	79.0	79.2	0.4	0.5
Financial activities	183.2	183.9	184.2	181.8	-1.4	-0.8
Professional and business services	467.0	489.6	487.5	478.7	11.7	2.5
Education and health services	569.0	589.9	589.0	575.0	6.0	1.1
Leisure and hospitality	254.2	267.5	267.4	257.6	3.4	1.3
Other services	99.5	104.9	103.9	101.1	1.6	1.6
Government	311.6	317.9	316.8	308.6	-3.0	-1.0
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,583.7	4,758.6	4,730.9	4,606.9	23.2	0.5
Mining and logging	1.3	1.6	1.5	1.5	0.2	15.4
Construction	151.8	179.4	171.4	155.4	3.6	2.4
Manufacturing	411.2	419.1	420.2	416.2	5.0	1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	944.4	973.9	980.3	942.0	-2.4	-0.3
Information	80.6	77.8	78.2	76.7	-3.9	-4.8
Financial activities	299.8	304.3	304.8	306.5	6.7	2.2
Professional and business services	797.3	840.2	827.6	796.8	-0.5	-0.1
Education and health services	714.3	734.6	727.1	721.2	6.9	1.0
Leisure and hospitality	452.0	474.2	467.7	456.7	4.7	1.0
Other services	192.7	193.2	194.2	192.5	-0.2	-0.1
Government	538.3	560.3	557.9	541.4	3.1	0.6
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,522.0	3,671.0	3,666.8	3,607.8	85.8	2.4
Mining, logging, and construction	205.3	215.6	211.9	209.6	4.3	2.1
Manufacturing	265.8	275.0	274.6	272.6	6.8	2.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	762.3	792.2	796.0	773.2	10.9	1.4
Information	83.2	83.2	84.2	83.4	0.2	0.2
Financial activities	286.7	296.4	295.5	294.3	7.6	2.7
Professional and business services	581.2	604.6	602.3	588.4	7.2	1.2
Education and health services	434.4	452.6	450.4	447.9	13.5	3.1
Leisure and hospitality	357.5	382.6	383.1	378.1	20.6	5.8
Other services	117.6	123.8	123.3	121.8	4.2	3.6
Government	428.0	445.0	445.5	438.5	10.5	2.5
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	2,965.1	3,063.4	3,073.4	3,029.5	64.4	2.2
Mining and logging	76.1	77.5	77.9	78.8	2.7	3.5
Construction	210.1	221.6	221.4	219.3	9.2	4.4
Manufacturing	217.1	220.1	221.1	221.7	4.6	2.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	613.1	633.7	640.2	622.4	9.3	1.5
Information	32.3	31.4	31.9	31.7	-0.6	-1.9
Financial activities	157.0	160.3	160.4	160.1	3.1	2.0
Professional and business services	467.2	491.9	492.8	488.6	21.4	4.6
Education and health services	379.3	384.1	383.9	380.4	1.1	0.3
Leisure and hospitality	306.4	319.5	318.5	312.8	6.4	2.1
Other services	106.0	108.0	109.2	108.2	2.2	2.1
Government	400.5	415.3	416.1	405.5	5.0	1.2
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	5,948.0	6,152.5	6,169.0	6,062.6	114.6	1.9
Mining and logging	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9	0.0	0.0
Construction	224.4	243.8	242.9	241.1	16.7	7.4
Manufacturing	511.6	506.8	507.8	503.1	-8.5	-1.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,097.9	1,131.0	1,138.9	1,107.8	9.9	0.9
Information	237.9	247.3	246.2	233.5	-4.4	-1.8
Financial activities	337.5	341.2	343.9	339.9	2.4	0.7
Professional and business services	889.8	933.5	939.1	916.7	26.9	3.0
Education and health services	988.7	1,030.0	1,031.9	1,026.5	37.8	3.8
Leisure and hospitality	712.3	750.4	752.1	740.7	28.4	4.0
Other services	200.2	204.3	203.2	201.0	0.8	0.4
Government	744.8	761.3	760.1	749.4	4.6	0.6
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,616.2	2,666.5	2,679.3	2,645.9	29.7	1.1
Mining and logging	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.0	0.0
Construction	125.2	133.0	133.4	131.3	6.1	4.9
Manufacturing	87.8	90.8	92.0	91.2	3.4	3.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	599.2	614.1	619.0	601.5	2.3	0.4
Information	50.8	50.6	50.5	50.3	-0.5	-1.0
Financial activities	178.1	179.5	181.7	177.9	-0.2	-0.1
Professional and business services	429.5	441.4	443.2	437.4	7.9	1.8
Education and health services	387.0	393.4	395.6	392.0	5.0	1.3
Leisure and hospitality	322.8	322.4	324.9	327.7	4.9	1.5
Other services	122.5	124.4	125.7	123.2	0.7	0.6
Government	312.6	316.2	312.6	312.7	0.1	0.0
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,434.7	9,825.7	9,838.2	9,538.7	104.0	1.1
Mining, logging, and construction	372.2	405.7	398.2	377.1	4.9	1.3
Manufacturing	362.1	363.8	363.6	358.8	-3.3	-0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,734.1	1,796.2	1,814.0	1,749.4	15.3	0.9
Information	280.7	290.2	288.3	280.7	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	763.3	779.3	781.8	770.6	7.3	1.0
Professional and business services	1,495.5	1,564.6	1,563.5	1,517.4	21.9	1.5
Education and health services	1,875.9	1,974.9	1,979.7	1,928.2	52.3	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	854.8	904.6	904.6	858.6	3.8	0.4
Other services	415.2	425.3	426.8	417.3	2.1	0.5
Government	1,280.9	1,321.1	1,317.7	1,280.6	-0.3	0.0
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,854.8	2,955.7	2,950.9	2,878.0	23.2	0.8
Mining, logging, and construction	110.3	116.8	113.8	106.3	-4.0	-3.6
Manufacturing	178.4	180.5	181.8	179.7	1.3	0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	523.0	537.2	542.1	523.7	0.7	0.1
Information	46.2	45.0	45.2	44.9	-1.3	-2.8
Financial activities	212.1	215.0	215.6	214.0	1.9	0.9
Professional and business services	455.3	475.3	472.1	457.0	1.7	0.4
Education and health services	628.4	659.4	656.5	644.3	15.9	2.5
Leisure and hospitality	248.2	262.4	260.0	252.0	3.8	1.5
Other services	118.9	119.2	119.9	118.6	-0.3	-0.3
Government	334.0	344.9	343.9	337.5	3.5	1.0
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	1,999.5	2,086.3	2,088.4	2,052.5	53.0	2.7
Mining and logging	3.1	3.2	3.1	3.1	0.0	0.0
Construction	106.8	117.8	118.4	116.7	9.9	9.3
Manufacturing	120.2	125.7	128.2	127.2	7.0	5.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	391.4	409.0	409.2	397.5	6.1	1.6
Information	35.0	35.4	35.6	35.3	0.3	0.9
Financial activities	182.8	190.3	188.8	189.1	6.3	3.4
Professional and business services	340.5	353.1	354.0	345.0	4.5	1.3
Education and health services	301.4	314.9	315.4	314.8	13.4	4.4
Leisure and hospitality	216.2	224.0	225.9	222.4	6.2	2.9
Other services	64.7	65.4	65.7	65.3	0.6	0.9
Government	237.4	247.5	244.1	236.1	-1.3	-0.5
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,347.4	2,435.7	2,437.7	2,398.3	50.9	2.2
Mining and logging	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.1	25.0
Construction	111.5	120.8	119.5	116.1	4.6	4.1
Manufacturing	135.7	142.4	141.6	140.4	4.7	3.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	382.8	394.5	399.2	385.6	2.8	0.7
Information	101.9	108.2	108.1	106.9	5.0	4.9
Financial activities	140.6	142.5	143.9	142.3	1.7	1.2
Professional and business services	468.7	487.4	485.9	479.6	10.9	2.3
Education and health services	341.8	356.5	356.4	352.4	10.6	3.1
Leisure and hospitality	260.0	271.4	273.7	268.2	8.2	3.2
Other services	85.0	85.6	84.4	84.7	-0.3	-0.4
Government	319.0	325.9	324.5	321.6	2.6	0.8
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,214.7	3,306.2	3,310.2	3,258.5	43.8	1.4
Mining, logging, and construction	153.5	159.6	159.5	156.6	3.1	2.0
Manufacturing	54.2	55.1	54.7	54.5	0.3	0.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	404.8	414.6	421.0	406.0	1.2	0.3
Information	73.6	73.4	74.9	74.7	1.1	1.5
Financial activities	154.8	157.3	158.6	157.8	3.0	1.9
Professional and business services	734.1	751.4	748.6	744.8	10.7	1.5
Education and health services	433.2	451.7	449.8	443.2	10.0	2.3
Leisure and hospitality	308.9	325.9	326.0	321.9	13.0	4.2
Other services	202.2	209.0	210.6	206.5	4.3	2.1
Government	695.4	708.2	706.5	692.5	-2.9	-0.4
Footnotes (p) Preliminary