Total nonfarm employment for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, metropolitan area increased by 150,400 over the year in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the local rate of job gain, 5.3 percent, compared to the 3.8-percent national increase. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Industry employment

In Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, professional and business services had the largest gain (+41,900) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors. (See chart 2.) Within this supersector, the professional, scientific, and technical services sector added 20,500 jobs and the administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector added 17,600 jobs. The 7.5-percent increase in the metropolitan area’s professional and business services supersector compared to the 5.0-percent gain on a national level.

Trade, transportation, and utilities added 35,100 jobs over the year in the metropolitan area. Within this supersector, the transportation and warehousing sector added the most jobs (+16,100), followed by the wholesale trade sector (+11,600). The metropolitan area had a 5.8-percent gain in the trade, transportation, and utilities supersector, compared to the 3.6-percent increase for the nation.

Leisure and hospitality gained 18,700 jobs. Accommodation and food services accounted for 15,700, or 84.0 percent, of the jobs gained within this supersector.

Education and health services added 18,300 jobs. The majority of employment gained in this supersector was concentrated in the health care and social assistance sector (+14,600).

Two other supersectors in the local area had significant over-the-year job gains in August: information (+13,000) and financial activities (+10,900).

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in August 2022. All 12 areas gained jobs over the year. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, had the largest increase (+497,800). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, had the smallest increase (+73,800) among the largest areas, followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (+87,100). (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, had a 6.7-percent rate of job gain, followed by Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (+6.2 percent). The rates of job gain in the remaining 10 areas ranged from 5.7 percent in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, to 2.3 percent in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for September 2022 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the U.S. 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 estimates are produced with a model that uses direct sample estimates (described above) combined with other regressors to decrease volatility in estimation.

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. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/bmrk_article.htm.

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 totals shown in the same tables due to rounding.

Employment estimates. 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. Measures of sampling error for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018. The 12 metropolitan areas discussed in this release are the metropolitan areas with the largest population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes 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 Counties.

Additional information

Employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/.

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.