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News Release Information

20-1858-ATL
Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Atlanta Area Employment – August 2020

Local Rate of Employment Loss Below the National Average

Total nonfarm employment for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,726,200 in August 2020, down 126,500, or 4.4 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count declined 7.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the Atlanta area has had over-the-year employment losses of 100,000 or more each month since April 2020. (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

Employment in Atlanta’s leisure and hospitality supersector fell sharply (-50,400) for the 12 months ending in August, the largest loss of jobs among local major industry sectors. Local employment losses were primarily in the food services and drinking places subsector (-29,800). Atlanta’s over-the-year rate of job loss for the leisure and hospitality industry was 16.2 percent; the national rate of job loss was 23.2 percent. (See chart 2.)

The professional and business services supersector in the Atlanta area lost 26,100 jobs from August 2019 to August 2020, a 4.8-percent decline. The employment services industry group accounted for 12,700 of the jobs lost in the industry sector. Nationally, employment in professional and business services was down 6.0 percent over the year.

Five other local area supersectors had job losses greater than 6,000, ranging from 12,000 in manufacturing to 6,100 in government.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in August 2020. All 12 areas had over-the-year job losses during the period, with the rates of job losses in 7 areas exceeding the national decrease of 7.0 percent. New York-Newark-Jersey City had the fastest rate of job loss (-11.8 percent), followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (-11.3 percent). Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (-3.5 percent) had the slowest rate of job loss. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

New York lost the largest number of jobs over the year (-1,176,100), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (-633,000). The smallest employment loss occurred in Phoenix (-77,300). Annual losses in the remaining nine metropolitan areas ranged from 366,600 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to 126,500 in Atlanta.

Over the year, leisure and hospitality lost the most jobs in all 12 metropolitan areas. New York had the largest loss of jobs for this sector (-404,900), followed by Los Angeles (-251,900). Phoenix had the smallest job loss for the leisure and hospitality sector (-48,100). The remaining nine areas had job losses ranging from 128,700 in Chicago to 50,400 in Atlanta for this industry sector.

Three areas had job gains over 1,000 within at least one supersector from August 2019 to August 2020: Dallas (financial activities), Phoenix (trade, transportation, and utilities; education and health services; and other services), and Washington (government).

Metropolitan area employment data for September 2020 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on August 2020 Establishment Survey Data

BLS has continued to review all estimation and methodological procedures for the establishment survey, which included the review of data, estimation processes, the application of the birth-death model, and seasonal adjustment. Business births and deaths cannot be adequately captured by the establishment survey as they occur. Therefore, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program uses a model to account for the relatively stable net employment change generated by business births and deaths. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the relationship between business births and deaths is no longer stable. Typically, reports with zero employment are not included in estimation. For the July final and August preliminary estimates, CES included a portion of these reports in the estimates and made modifications to the birth-death model. In addition for both months, the establishment survey included a portion of the reports that returned to reporting positive employment from reporting zero employment. For more information, see www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbd.htm.

In the establishment survey, workers who are paid by their employer for all or any part of the pay period including the 12th of the month are counted as employed, even if they were not actually at their jobs. Workers who are temporarily or permanently absent from their jobs and are not being paid are not counted as employed, even if they are continuing to receive benefits. The length of the reference period does vary across the respondents in the establishment survey; one-third of businesses have a weekly pay period, slightly over 40 percent a bi-weekly, about 20 percent semi-monthly, and a small amount monthly.


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 2017 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 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 for the total nonfarm 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 at the supersector level and for the private service-providing, goods-producing, total private and total nonfarm levels are 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/publications/benchmark-article/annual-benchmark-article.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 April 10, 2018. 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. Detailed industry employment data for metropolitan areas from the CES program are available from the State and Area Employment databases at www.bls.gov/sae/data/.

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, United States and the Atlanta metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area and IndustryAug
2019
June
2020
July
2020
Aug
2020(p)
Aug
2019 to Aug 2020(p)
Net changePercent change

United States

Total nonfarm

151,141138,502139,063140,598-10,543-7.0

Mining and logging

744630630625-119-16.0

Construction

7,7607,3657,4267,459-301-3.9

Manufacturing

12,92912,13912,17512,211-718-5.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

27,61925,86826,08726,382-1,237-4.5

Information

2,8872,5842,5852,594-293-10.1

Financial activities

8,8358,6488,6828,713-122-1.4

Professional and business services

21,52119,83820,00220,220-1,301-6.0

Education and health services

23,98022,55622,64922,815-1,165-4.9

Leisure and hospitality

17,24412,43713,13913,249-3,995-23.2

Other services

5,9515,2465,4055,445-506-8.5

Government

21,67121,19120,28320,885-786-3.6

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area

Total nonfarm

2,852.72,687.92,702.02,726.2-126.5-4.4

Mining and logging

1.61.51.51.5-0.1-6.3

Construction

130.4127.8127.0127.5-2.9-2.2

Manufacturing

173.0159.7159.7161.0-12.0-6.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

598.0588.0589.7598.40.40.1

Information

101.091.291.491.3-9.7-9.6

Financial activities

179.8174.1172.3169.8-10.0-5.6

Professional and business services

548.1515.9517.2522.0-26.1-4.8

Education and health services

370.7362.5363.7368.2-2.5-0.7

Leisure and hospitality

311.1250.6262.5260.7-50.4-16.2

Other services

105.494.496.298.3-7.1-6.7

Government

333.6322.2320.8327.5-6.1-1.8

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary


Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area and IndustryAug
2019
June
2020
July
2020
Aug
2020(p)
Aug
2019 to Aug 2020(p)
Net changePercent change

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

Total nonfarm

2,852.72,687.92,702.02,726.2-126.5-4.4

Mining and logging

1.61.51.51.5-0.1-6.3

Construction

130.4127.8127.0127.5-2.9-2.2

Manufacturing

173.0159.7159.7161.0-12.0-6.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

598.0588.0589.7598.40.40.1

Information

101.091.291.491.3-9.7-9.6

Financial activities

179.8174.1172.3169.8-10.0-5.6

Professional and business services

548.1515.9517.2522.0-26.1-4.8

Education and health services

370.7362.5363.7368.2-2.5-0.7

Leisure and hospitality

311.1250.6262.5260.7-50.4-16.2

Other services

105.494.496.298.3-7.1-6.7

Government

333.6322.2320.8327.5-6.1-1.8

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH

Total nonfarm

2,817.02,446.42,487.82,518.0-299.0-10.6

Mining, logging, and construction

127.7106.4110.8111.1-16.6-13.0

Manufacturing

189.4175.4176.3176.5-12.9-6.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

426.3364.0375.4384.0-42.3-9.9

Information

84.379.580.481.4-2.9-3.4

Financial activities

190.7185.5186.0185.2-5.5-2.9

Professional and business services

525.9490.7494.7498.4-27.5-5.2

Education and health services

579.2525.0533.7540.3-38.9-6.7

Leisure and hospitality

295.6157.6181.3190.8-104.8-35.5

Other services

107.970.978.078.8-29.1-27.0

Government

290.0291.4271.2271.5-18.5-6.4

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

Total nonfarm

4,797.04,344.84,399.74,430.4-366.6-7.6

Mining and logging

1.91.71.61.7-0.2-10.5

Construction

191.1179.0181.4181.4-9.7-5.1

Manufacturing

420.6402.4400.3400.8-19.8-4.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

949.4893.2901.3904.1-45.3-4.8

Information

79.575.775.475.3-4.2-5.3

Financial activities

323.1311.2312.8310.9-12.2-3.8

Professional and business services

852.8778.7786.7793.6-59.2-6.9

Education and health services

725.9690.3692.2696.8-29.1-4.0

Leisure and hospitality

515.0329.1379.4386.3-128.7-25.0

Other services

200.7179.5179.9181.4-19.3-9.6

Government

537.0504.0488.7498.1-38.9-7.2

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Total nonfarm

3,797.83,642.03,627.53,657.5-140.3-3.7

Mining, logging, and construction

229.9229.8229.9228.1-1.8-0.8

Manufacturing

290.9280.0279.8279.0-11.9-4.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

795.5782.8780.3786.6-8.9-1.1

Information

82.180.179.579.9-2.2-2.7

Financial activities

322.4328.5331.4332.39.93.1

Professional and business services

651.9626.4634.0645.5-6.4-1.0

Education and health services

464.3431.4428.2434.5-29.8-6.4

Leisure and hospitality

402.8334.0327.3323.0-79.8-19.8

Other services

129.8121.2118.1120.6-9.2-7.1

Government

428.2427.8419.0428.0-0.20.0

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

Total nonfarm

3,150.32,980.42,962.22,967.5-182.8-5.8

Mining and logging

79.861.560.659.9-19.9-24.9

Construction

239.1218.7217.9216.3-22.8-9.5

Manufacturing

237.3219.7215.8214.3-23.0-9.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

627.4607.6605.0610.1-17.3-2.8

Information

32.829.629.428.8-4.0-12.2

Financial activities

167.8164.5164.6164.7-3.1-1.8

Professional and business services

510.6500.8505.4509.4-1.2-0.2

Education and health services

406.0395.7398.7394.2-11.8-2.9

Leisure and hospitality

338.1285.0279.6279.8-58.3-17.2

Other services

116.098.7100.2104.7-11.3-9.7

Government

395.4398.6385.0385.3-10.1-2.6

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Total nonfarm

6,211.85,591.05,563.65,578.8-633.0-10.2

Mining and logging

2.32.32.32.30.00.0

Construction

260.9251.4249.3251.7-9.2-3.5

Manufacturing

500.0457.1458.9455.6-44.4-8.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,109.31,010.41,024.11,036.0-73.3-6.6

Information

238.2200.2202.5204.6-33.6-14.1

Financial activities

343.3331.4337.4335.2-8.1-2.4

Professional and business services

978.8888.1895.7896.7-82.1-8.4

Education and health services

1,070.91,014.11,016.31,016.9-54.0-5.0

Leisure and hospitality

780.0542.1543.4528.1-251.9-32.3

Other services

211.8160.2164.7161.5-50.3-23.7

Government

716.3733.7669.0690.2-26.1-3.6

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Total nonfarm

2,714.42,493.02,479.62,507.4-207.0-7.6

Mining and logging

0.70.80.80.80.114.3

Construction

143.2142.0140.6138.0-5.2-3.6

Manufacturing

92.084.585.385.6-6.4-7.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

610.7573.8576.7580.5-30.2-4.9

Information

51.048.047.046.7-4.3-8.4

Financial activities

189.8189.2190.4189.1-0.7-0.4

Professional and business services

455.7420.2421.2423.7-32.0-7.0

Education and health services

407.1381.7376.4380.7-26.4-6.5

Leisure and hospitality

327.3254.9244.7241.1-86.2-26.3

Other services

119.4108.1108.3108.0-11.4-9.5

Government

317.5289.8288.2313.2-4.3-1.4

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Total nonfarm

9,928.78,508.18,618.48,752.6-1,176.1-11.8

Mining, logging, and construction

429.6359.2376.8380.9-48.7-11.3

Manufacturing

359.9324.4326.5328.9-31.0-8.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,712.91,461.71,520.91,536.4-176.5-10.3

Information

301.4277.0280.4284.9-16.5-5.5

Financial activities

802.4746.8751.4758.2-44.2-5.5

Professional and business services

1,626.51,426.11,444.61,446.6-179.9-11.1

Education and health services

1,992.81,839.81,844.41,854.1-138.7-7.0

Leisure and hospitality

992.8475.4560.2587.9-404.9-40.8

Other services

428.9322.6358.8367.8-61.1-14.2

Government

1,281.51,275.11,154.41,206.9-74.6-5.8

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Total nonfarm

2,961.92,680.12,705.72,733.5-228.4-7.7

Mining, logging, and construction

124.5106.4107.1108.8-15.7-12.6

Manufacturing

184.4176.8176.7175.6-8.8-4.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

525.2481.0485.7493.9-31.3-6.0

Information

50.446.947.146.9-3.5-6.9

Financial activities

218.9210.3211.6211.7-7.2-3.3

Professional and business services

473.2446.4447.1449.1-24.1-5.1

Education and health services

651.2618.4622.7626.7-24.5-3.8

Leisure and hospitality

290.9169.2192.7197.6-93.3-32.1

Other services

123.695.5104.9107.9-15.7-12.7

Government

319.6329.2310.1315.3-4.3-1.3

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

Total nonfarm

2,179.32,060.72,050.72,102.0-77.3-3.5

Mining and logging

3.63.63.63.5-0.1-2.8

Construction

136.3133.4132.0132.2-4.1-3.0

Manufacturing

134.6130.5129.9130.4-4.2-3.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

405.5407.7408.3413.17.61.9

Information

40.837.838.038.5-2.3-5.6

Financial activities

204.3203.4202.6204.40.10.0

Professional and business services

371.2341.9343.4345.5-25.7-6.9

Education and health services

339.3330.4332.5342.63.31.0

Leisure and hospitality

229.2189.4177.6181.1-48.1-21.0

Other services

70.671.671.472.41.82.5

Government

243.9211.0211.4238.3-5.6-2.3

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Total nonfarm

2,494.72,200.62,196.42,213.1-281.6-11.3

Mining and logging

0.30.30.30.30.00.0

Construction

130.9115.9115.0115.6-15.3-11.7

Manufacturing

143.9125.4126.4127.1-16.8-11.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

373.8328.5334.4337.2-36.6-9.8

Information

131.3119.9121.4120.7-10.6-8.1

Financial activities

149.0146.2146.8147.5-1.5-1.0

Professional and business services

510.2480.9483.9485.5-24.7-4.8

Education and health services

361.4333.7335.6336.6-24.8-6.9

Leisure and hospitality

289.4181.5187.1186.2-103.2-35.7

Other services

89.168.571.069.7-19.4-21.8

Government

315.4299.8274.5286.7-28.7-9.1

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Total nonfarm

3,345.93,119.23,128.13,144.5-201.4-6.0

Mining, logging, and construction

168.7162.9166.8166.7-2.0-1.2

Manufacturing

57.254.454.354.3-2.9-5.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

408.0374.6382.2383.2-24.8-6.1

Information

77.573.274.073.9-3.6-4.6

Financial activities

162.3158.1157.4157.8-4.5-2.8

Professional and business services

787.2764.6768.7769.9-17.3-2.2

Education and health services

442.3408.0406.0407.1-35.2-8.0

Leisure and hospitality

347.6223.4243.6243.4-104.2-30.0

Other services

212.5203.5203.9204.3-8.2-3.9

Government

682.6696.5671.2683.91.30.2

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2020