Total nonfarm employment for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, metropolitan area increased by 43,000 over the year in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the local rate of job gain, 1.4 percent, compared to the 1.5-percent national increase. (See chart 1 and table 1.) (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change for total nonfarm employment in the United States and the Atlanta metropolitan area, September 2021–September 2024

Period	United States	Atlanta
Sep 2021	4.2	6.4
Oct 2021	4.2	6.6
Nov 2021	4.5	6.5
Dec 2021	5.0	6.0
Jan 2022	4.9	5.7
Feb 2022	5.3	6.2
Mar 2022	5.0	6.1
Apr 2022	4.9	6.6
May 2022	4.7	6.2
Jun 2022	4.5	5.6
Jul 2022	4.2	5.2
Aug 2022	4.1	5.1
Sep 2022	3.9	5.2
Oct 2022	3.6	4.0
Nov 2022	3.3	3.8
Dec 2022	3.0	3.5
Jan 2023	3.2	3.9
Feb 2023	2.8	3.2
Mar 2023	2.6	2.9
Apr 2023	2.5	2.2
May 2023	2.5	2.2
Jun 2023	2.4	2.4
Jul 2023	2.1	1.3
Aug 2023	2.1	1.4
Sep 2023	2.0	1.4
Oct 2023	1.9	1.1
Nov 2023	1.8	1.3
Dec 2023	2.0	1.3
Jan 2024	1.8	0.9
Feb 2024	1.8	0.7
Mar 2024	1.9	1.0
Apr 2024	1.8	1.3
May 2024	1.7	1.1
Jun 2024	1.6	1.2
Jul 2024	1.6	1.5
Aug 2024	1.5	1.4
Sep 2024	1.5	1.4

In Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, leisure and hospitality had the largest gain (+20,300) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors. Accommodation and food services accounted for 16,300, or 80.3 percent, of the jobs gained within this supersector. (See chart 2.) The metropolitan area had a 6.6-percent gain in the leisure and hospitality supersector, compared to the 2.0 percent increase for the nation.

  

View Chart Data

 Chart 2. Over-the-year net change for industry supersector employment in the Atlanta metropolitan area, September 2024 (in thousands)

Industry	Net change
Leisure and hospitality*	20.3
Education and health services*	16.7
Construction	4.9
Other services	4.1
Financial activities	3.2
Mining and logging	0.1
Manufacturing	-1.0
Information	-3.4
Professional and business services	-5.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	-6.6
Note: An asterisk indicates statistical significance at the 90-percent confidence level. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Education and health services added 16,700 jobs over the year in the metropolitan area. Health care and social assistance gained 18,800 jobs within this supersector. The 4.0-percent increase in the metropolitan area’s education and health services supersector compared to the 3.8-percent gain on a national level.

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in September 2024. Eight of twelve areas gained total nonfarm payroll employment over the year. The largest job gain occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (+149,600). Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (+41,800), had the smallest employment increase among the areas with significant changes, followed by Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (+43,000) and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (+43,500). (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, each reported a 2.2-percent rate of job gain. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, reported a job gain of 1.3 percent.

  

View Chart Data

 Chart 3. Over-the-year net change in total nonfarm employment for the 12 largest metropolitan areas, September 2024 (in thousands)

Area	Net change
New York*	149.6
Dallas*	83.3
Los Angeles*	81.8
Houston*	75.1
Miami*	63.0
Phoenix*	43.5
Atlanta*	43.0
Philadelphia*	41.8
Boston	24.3
Washington	21.1
San Francisco	15.1
Chicago	4.6
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 October 2024 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, 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 employment 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 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

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.