Total nonfarm employment for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, metropolitan area stood at 2,731,400 in March 2025 compared to 2,739,100 a year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that the employment change over the year was not statistically significant. Nationally, employment rose 1.2 percent over the year. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year net change for total nonfarm employment in the Boston metropolitan area, March 2022–March 2025

Period	Net change (in thousands)
Mar 2022	121.0
Apr 2022	112.9
May 2022	104.6
Jun 2022	103.8
Jul 2022	90.0
Aug 2022	83.8
Sep 2022	88.1
Oct 2022	62.9
Nov 2022	59.9
Dec 2022	50.8
Jan 2023	61.5
Feb 2023	49.1
Mar 2023	49.5
Apr 2023	36.7
May 2023	41.9
Jun 2023	40.2
Jul 2023	29.6
Aug 2023	27.6
Sep 2023	28.8
Oct 2023	25.8
Nov 2023	23.2
Dec 2023	31.7
Jan 2024	15.8
Feb 2024	13.8
Mar 2024	17.3
Apr 2024	7.0
May 2024	6.3
Jun 2024	5.9
Jul 2024	-0.9
Aug 2024	-4.0
Sep 2024	-6.4
Oct 2024	0.3
Nov 2024	-1.7
Dec 2024	-6.6
Jan 2025	-0.2
Feb 2025	-6.0
Mar 2025	-7.7

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, is made up of three metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. The Boston, MA, division and the Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA, division had the largest shares of the metropolitan area’s total nonfarm employment (46 percent each). Rockingham County-Strafford County, NH, accounted for the remaining 8 percent of jobs in the metropolitan area.

Education and health services accounted for 26 percent of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, private sector employment. An additional 21 percent of local jobs were in professional and business services. In the Boston, MA, division, 29 percent of private employment was in education and health services, and 19 percent was in professional and business services. The two supersectors each accounted for 25 percent of the Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA, division’s private sector employment.

Little employment change occurred over the year among the private industry supersectors in the metropolitan area or any of its divisions. (See chart 2.) Nationally, education and health services employment grew 3.4 percent over the year, while professional and business services employment declined 0.2 percent.

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year net change for industry supersector employment in the Boston metropolitan area, March 2025

Industry	Net change (in thousands)
Professional and business services	-5.6
Leisure and hospitality	-5.2
Mining, logging, and construction	-3.5
Manufacturing	-3.4
Information	-1.5
Other services	-1.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	-0.6
Financial activities	1.2
Education and health services	8.3
Note: An asterisk indicates statistical significance at the 90-percent confidence level. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in March 2025. Three of twelve areas gained total nonfarm payroll employment over the year: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (+94,200), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+56,100), and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL (+31,500). (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Significant increases in employment ranged from 1.3 percent (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX) to 1.0 percent (New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ).

  

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Chart 3. Over-the-year net change in total nonfarm employment for the 12 largest metropolitan areas, March 2025 (in thousands)

Area	Net change (in thousands)
New York*	94.2
Dallas*	56.1
Houston	36.3
Miami*	31.5
Washington	26.2
Philadelphia	24.8
Atlanta	19.0
Chicago	16.2
Boston	-7.7
Phoenix	-9.5
Los Angeles	-16.3
San Francisco	-20.5
Note: An asterisk indicates statistical significance at the 90-percent confidence level. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for April 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. More information about the CES data is available in the State Employment and Unemployment Summary and the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary. See the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Technical Note for more information on definitions and methodology.

Reliability of the estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, administrative data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited in the analysis of this release only if they have been determined to be statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. Documentation on the reliability of state and area estimates is available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineations issued on July 21, 2023. The 12 metropolitan areas discussed in this release are the metropolitan areas with the largest population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, and Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts, and Rockingham and Strafford Counties in New Hampshire.

• The Boston, MA Metropolitan Division includes Norfolk, Plymouth, and Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts.
• The Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA Metropolitan Division includes Essex and Middlesex Counties in Massachusetts.
• The Rockingham County-Strafford County, NH Metropolitan Division includes Rockingham and Strafford Counties in New Hampshire.

Additional information

State and area employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.