Total nonfarm employment for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,752,900 in September 2017, up 68,300, or 2.5 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that among the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Atlanta ranked second in the rate of job growth and third in the number of jobs added. (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.)

Industry employment

In the Atlanta metropolitan area, the professional and business services industry had the largest employment gain from September 2016 to September 2017, up 30,500, or 6.2 percent. Nationwide, employment in professional and business services rose 2.6 percent from the previous September. (See chart 2.)

Education and health services employment increased by 8,900 since last September, the second-largest gain in the Atlanta area. The 2.6-percent rate of local job growth for this supersector was greater than the 2.1-percent national gain.

Leisure and hospitality added 7,600 jobs from September 2016 to September 2017. The 2.6-percent rate of local job growth was more than double the national rate of 1.2 percent.

Six of the eight remaining local supersectors had over-the-year job gains ranging from 6,300 to 1,400 in September 2017.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in September 2017. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 7 areas exceeding the national increase of 1.2 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 2.7 percent, followed by Atlanta at 2.5 percent. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin had the slowest rate of job growth, up 0.2 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

Dallas added the largest number of jobs over the year, 93,600, followed by New York-Newark-Jersey City (+86,000). Chicago had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 11,300 jobs. Annual jobs gains in the other nine metropolitan areas ranged from 68,300 to 19,500.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in five areas: Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, New York, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward. Professional and business services gained the most jobs in four areas: Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.

Trade, transportation, and utilities had the largest job losses over the year in Chicago and New York. Manufacturing lost the most jobs in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Metropolitan area employment data for October 2017 are scheduled to be released on Friday, November 17, 2017.

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. 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 surveys, 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 the total private 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 are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this release. 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 on July 15, 2015. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm

The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes the counties of Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton in Georgia.

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 from the BLS website 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.