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News Release Information

15-617-DAL
Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (972) 850-4800

Houston Area Employment — March 2015

Total nonfarm employment in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,971,200 in March 2015, up 82,500 from one year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. From March 2014 to March 2015, local nonfarm employment rose 2.9 percent, above the national rate of 2.3 percent. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that the Houston metropolitan area has had over-the-year employment increases in each month since July 2010. (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.)

 Chart 1. Total nonfarm employment, over-the-year percent change in the United States and the Houston metropolitan area, March 2010–March 2015
Industry employment

Education and health services registered the largest annual job gain among Houston’s supersectors, adding 16,500 jobs, a 4.8-percent rise from March 2014. This industry accounted for about 12 percent of the local area workforce in March 2015, and provided 20 percent of the area’s over-the-year job growth. Local job gains for this major sector were broadly-based, including educational services, ambulatory health care services, and hospitals. Nationwide, education and health services employment rose 2.5 percent during the period. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Trade, transportation, and utilities–the area’s largest supersector–registered an annual job increase of 15,900 from March 2014 to March 2015. The growth was led by a gain of 8,600 jobs in the retail trade industry, an increase of 3.0 percent. The wholesale trade industry added 3,700 jobs during the period while transportation and utilities added 3,600 jobs. The total supersector expanded 2.7 percent locally and 2.3 percent nationally.

Houston’s leisure and hospitality supersector rose 12,900 during the 12-month period, with most of the gain occurring in its largest industry, food services and drinking places. Since March 2014, leisure and hospitality employment increased 4.6 percent locally and 3.4 percent nationally.

The professional and business services supersector gained 10,700 jobs from March 2014, a 2.3-percent rise; nationally, employment increased 3.5 percent in this supersector. Local growth was strongest in the architectural, engineering, and related services industry (up 3,600 or 5.0 percent).

The construction supersector in the Houston area expanded by 8,600 jobs over the year, led by construction of buildings, up 6,400 jobs or 12.4 percent. The total construction sector rose 4.3 percent locally and 4.9 percent nationally.

Government employment added 6,700 jobs since March 2014, with the local government jurisdiction accounting for nearly all of the total government rise, up 6,200. Employment gains in local government were led by educational services, which accounted for three-fourths of the local government sector’s increase. Jobs in both the state and federal government sectors in Houston were little changed over the year. Locally, total government employment rose 1.8 percent, compared to the 0.3-percent gain nationally.

 Chart 2. Total nonfarm and selected industry supersector employment, over-the-year percent change, United States and the Houston metropolitan area, March 2015

Three other local supersectors recorded employment gains of at least 2,300 from March 2014: mining and logging (5,500); financial activities (3,000); and manufacturing (2,300). The mining and logging industry’s 5.1-percent gain was the fastest among all Houston supersectors, and surpassed the national rate of 0.2 percent. The financial activities sector rose 2.1 percent locally and 1.9 percent nationally.

Within the local manufacturing sector, non-durable manufacturing gains provided about two-thirds of the sector’s growth (1,500 jobs), though it accounted for only about one-third of total manufacturing employment. Locally, manufacturing increased 0.9 percent over the year, while nationally it rose 1.6 percent.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Houston was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in March 2015. All of these areas experienced over-the-year job growth during the period, with seven exceeding the national average of 2.3 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was registered in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, up 3.8 percent, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (3.6 percent) and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (3.4 percent). The slowest rates of job growth were in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (1.3 percent) and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (1.4 percent). (See chart 3 and table 2.)

 Chart 3. Total nonfarm employment, over-the-year percent change, United States and 12 largest metropolitan areas, March 2015

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim added the largest number of jobs, 168,500, since March 2014. Two other metropolitan areas, New York-Newark-Jersey City and Dallas, gained more than 100,000 jobs over the year. Boston-Cambridge-Nashua and Philadelphia added the fewest number of jobs.

Education and health services led employment growth in 7 of the 12 metropolitan areas from a year ago—Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. Trade, transportation, and utilities recorded the largest gains in four areas—Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Chicago, Dallas, and Miami.

Over the year, manufacturing recorded the largest job losses in Chicago, New York, and Phoenix. Four areas recorded no job losses in any supersector since March 2014—Boston, Dallas, Houston, and Miami

Metropolitan area employment data for April 2015 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Changes to Current Employment Statistics Data

Effective with the release of January 2015 data, nonfarm payroll employment estimates for states, metropolitan areas, and metropolitan divisions were revised to reflect 2014 benchmark levels. For more information on benchmark procedures, see www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbmart.htm.

Revised metropolitan area and metropolitan division delineations were also implemented with the release of January 2015 data. The revised delineations were issued by the Office of Management and Budget for solely statistical purposes through Bulletin No. 13-01 on February 28, 2013, based on the application of updated statistical standards to U.S. Census Bureau population and journey-to-work data.

Note that Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., replaces Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich., in the 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas discussion based on annual estimates of population change by the U.S. Census Bureau. For further information, see www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.2013.html.


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 that 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 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System.

Method of estimation. The employment data are estimated using a "link relative" technique in which a ratio (link relative) of current-month employment to that of the previous month is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for the current month are obtained by multiplying the estimates for the previous month by these ratios. Small-domain models are used as the official estimators for the approximately 39 percent of CES published series which have insufficient sample for direct sample-based estimates.

Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports that 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 are available for state CES data at the total nonfarm and supersector level and for metropolitan area CES data. Information on recent benchmark revisions for states is available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on February 28, 2013. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available online at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugarland Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller Counties in Texas.

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 in the above mentioned news releases and from the Internet 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.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, U.S. and Houston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area and Industry
 
Mar.
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015(p)
Change from Mar.
2014 to Mar. 2015
Number Percent

U.S.

 

Total nonfarm

137,214 138,671 139,503 140,326 3,112 2.3

Mining and logging

868 893 878 870 2 0.2

Construction

5,746 5,920 5,929 6,025 279 4.9

Manufacturing

12,061 12,212 12,228 12,256 195 1.6

Trade, transportation, and utilities

25,852 26,546 26,349 26,451 599 2.3

Information

2,719 2,739 2,770 2,777 58 2.1

Financial activities

7,889 8,016 8,024 8,040 151 1.9

Professional and business services

18,685 19,124 19,230 19,344 659 3.5

Education and health services

21,465 21,629 21,917 22,011 546 2.5

Leisure and hospitality

14,181 14,271 14,417 14,664 483 3.4

Other services

5,523 5,549 5,573 5,597 74 1.3

Government

22,225 21,772 22,188 22,291 66 0.3

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area

 

Total nonfarm

2,888.7 2,945.6 2,965.7 2,971.2 82.5 2.9

Mining and logging

107.5 113.5 113.7 113.0 5.5 5.1

Construction

198.3 204.9 206.1 206.9 8.6 4.3

Manufacturing

252.4 255.7 254.8 254.7 2.3 0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

585.8 602.8 602.1 601.7 15.9 2.7

Information

33.1 32.7 33.2 33.2 0.1 0.3

Financial activities

145.8 147.3 148.0 148.8 3.0 2.1

Professional and business services

455.4 465.5 466.2 466.1 10.7 2.3

Education and health services

345.6 357.6 361.5 362.1 16.5 4.8

Leisure and hospitality

282.2 285.8 290.4 295.1 12.9 4.6

Other services

103.1 103.6 103.6 103.4 0.3 0.3

Government

379.5 376.2 386.1 386.2 6.7 1.8

(p) preliminary



Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area and Industry
 
Mar.
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015(p)
Change from
Mar. 2014 to Mar. 2015
Number Percent

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

 

Total nonfarm

2,461.7 2,528.8 2,540.3 2,542.2 80.5 3.3

Mining and logging

1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 0.0 0.0

Construction

97.5 100.4 103.3 101.4 3.9 4.0

Manufacturing

150.5 153.9 153.8 152.6 2.1 1.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

543.4 565.9 562.6 564.9 21.5 4.0

Information

88.9 87.8 88.2 88.0 -0.9 -1.0

Financial activities

157.1 163.6 163.6 162.5 5.4 3.4

Professional and business services

453.7 462.6 467.1 468.8 15.1 3.3

Education and health services

303.7 313.6 315.7 315.9 12.2 4.0

Leisure and hospitality

248.4 258.2 260.8 263.0 14.6 5.9

Other services

92.6 96.0 95.6 94.8 2.2 2.4

Government

324.6 325.5 328.3 329.0 4.4 1.4

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH

 

Total nonfarm

2,544.9 2,569.1 2,565.2 2,584.0 39.1 1.5

Mining, logging, and construction

84.9 89.0 86.2 86.8 1.9 2.2

Manufacturing

191.5 191.9 190.7 191.5 0.0 0.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

403.5 414.6 404.7 406.1 2.6 0.6

Information

74.2 75.1 75.8 75.6 1.4 1.9

Financial activities

170.7 173.0 172.4 172.2 1.5 0.9

Professional and business services

429.1 438.3 438.1 439.4 10.3 2.4

Education and health services

540.9 540.6 546.6 552.1 11.2 2.1

Leisure and hospitality

236.8 233.6 231.1 238.8 2.0 0.8

Other services

98.2 100.5 99.3 100.7 2.5 2.5

Government

315.1 312.5 320.3 320.8 5.7 1.8

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

 

Total nonfarm

4,417.8 4,439.4 4,456.4 4,480.4 62.6 1.4

Mining and logging

1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 0.0 0.0

Construction

137.7 136.8 138.2 145.3 7.6 5.5

Manufacturing

409.0 406.6 406.0 405.9 -3.1 -0.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

889.3 906.8 901.5 905.0 15.7 1.8

Information

79.5 80.6 80.2 80.3 0.8 1.0

Financial activities

286.1 285.9 286.0 285.4 -0.7 -0.2

Professional and business services

773.1 778.3 783.2 785.2 12.1 1.6

Education and health services

685.8 691.1 698.0 699.9 14.1 2.1

Leisure and hospitality

417.1 417.2 418.4 424.7 7.6 1.8

Other services

192.5 191.6 191.5 192.2 -0.3 -0.2

Government

546.5 543.3 552.2 555.3 8.8 1.6

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

 

Total nonfarm

3,221.5 3,316.7 3,333.3 3,337.3 115.8 3.6

Mining, logging, and construction

187.2 198.7 201.4 198.1 10.9 5.8

Manufacturing

260.1 263.4 262.6 262.1 2.0 0.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

667.5 697.0 695.7 696.5 29.0 4.3

Information

81.6 81.9 81.8 81.6 0.0 0.0

Financial activities

261.9 269.5 271.4 273.6 11.7 4.5

Professional and business services

522.7 547.1 547.0 546.7 24.0 4.6

Education and health services

396.4 410.3 411.6 411.2 14.8 3.7

Leisure and hospitality

324.7 329.6 334.9 340.6 15.9 4.9

Other services

115.0 113.5 115.3 115.3 0.3 0.3

Government

404.4 405.7 411.6 411.6 7.2 1.8

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

 

Total nonfarm

2,888.7 2,945.6 2,965.7 2,971.2 82.5 2.9

Mining and logging

107.5 113.5 113.7 113.0 5.5 5.1

Construction

198.3 204.9 206.1 206.9 8.6 4.3

Manufacturing

252.4 255.7 254.8 254.7 2.3 0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

585.8 602.8 602.1 601.7 15.9 2.7

Information

33.1 32.7 33.2 33.2 0.1 0.3

Financial activities

145.8 147.3 148.0 148.8 3.0 2.1

Professional and business services

455.4 465.5 466.2 466.1 10.7 2.3

Education and health services

345.6 357.6 361.5 362.1 16.5 4.8

Leisure and hospitality

282.2 285.8 290.4 295.1 12.9 4.6

Other services

103.1 103.6 103.6 103.4 0.3 0.3

Government

379.5 376.2 386.1 386.2 6.7 1.8

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

 

Total nonfarm

5,674.0 5,761.5 5,804.3 5,842.5 168.5 3.0

Mining and logging

5.3 5.2 5.2 5.2 -0.1 -1.9

Construction

198.0 203.0 206.3 209.6 11.6 5.9

Manufacturing

523.7 521.5 523.0 526.0 2.3 0.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,036.8 1,072.1 1,062.0 1,063.7 26.9 2.6

Information

222.4 214.9 223.1 224.1 1.7 0.8

Financial activities

320.8 326.8 328.3 327.6 6.8 2.1

Professional and business services

874.7 885.2 893.4 896.2 21.5 2.5

Education and health services

934.9 952.8 969.2 976.7 41.8 4.5

Leisure and hospitality

644.3 660.5 664.4 671.5 27.2 4.2

Other services

195.9 201.8 203.8 206.4 10.5 5.4

Government

717.2 717.7 725.6 735.5 18.3 2.6

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

 

Total nonfarm

2,413.3 2,473.0 2,491.0 2,505.1 91.8 3.8

Mining and logging

0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.0 0.0

Construction

98.0 104.2 105.9 106.0 8.0 8.2

Manufacturing

80.1 80.9 81.9 82.4 2.3 2.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

558.7 579.4 576.7 577.5 18.8 3.4

Information

47.2 48.0 48.3 48.4 1.2 2.5

Financial activities

166.6 172.2 172.2 173.8 7.2 4.3

Professional and business services

382.6 395.6 400.0 400.6 18.0 4.7

Education and health services

353.0 363.6 368.3 369.2 16.2 4.6

Leisure and hospitality

303.0 303.4 308.9 315.0 12.0 4.0

Other services

116.9 121.1 121.5 123.6 6.7 5.7

Government

306.6 304.0 306.7 308.0 1.4 0.5

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

 

Total nonfarm

8,994.3 9,049.7 9,087.6 9,145.9 151.6 1.7

Mining, logging, and construction

321.8 328.0 320.9 328.3 6.5 2.0

Manufacturing

369.9 364.0 362.4 367.1 -2.8 -0.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,658.8 1,701.9 1,682.0 1,683.8 25.0 1.5

Information

283.1 279.6 283.1 284.7 1.6 0.6

Financial activities

747.2 747.8 748.2 750.8 3.6 0.5

Professional and business services

1,395.3 1,412.8 1,420.3 1,423.3 28.0 2.0

Education and health services

1,728.3 1,745.1 1,768.3 1,782.8 54.5 3.2

Leisure and hospitality

797.0 792.2 799.5 812.6 15.6 2.0

Other services

395.5 405.9 405.9 409.4 13.9 3.5

Government

1,297.4 1,272.4 1,297.0 1,303.1 5.7 0.4

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

 

Total nonfarm

2,751.2 2,766.2 2,779.0 2,786.5 35.3 1.3

Mining, logging, and construction

99.1 103.5 103.3 105.9 6.8 6.9

Manufacturing

179.2 180.0 179.0 178.5 -0.7 -0.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

506.0 516.8 511.0 511.2 5.2 1.0

Information

46.2 45.5 45.4 45.3 -0.9 -1.9

Financial activities

201.6 206.1 205.0 204.1 2.5 1.2

Professional and business services

435.3 438.6 438.2 438.8 3.5 0.8

Education and health services

588.3 592.5 602.4 601.7 13.4 2.3

Leisure and hospitality

236.1 233.6 235.4 240.9 4.8 2.0

Other services

116.3 117.4 118.9 118.8 2.5 2.1

Government

343.1 332.2 340.4 341.3 -1.8 -0.5

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

 

Total nonfarm

1,849.1 1,881.2 1,902.9 1,904.6 55.5 3.0

Mining and logging

3.4 3.3 3.3 3.3 -0.1 -2.9

Construction

94.4 97.4 98.3 99.3 4.9 5.2

Manufacturing

118.1 116.2 116.7 116.9 -1.2 -1.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

360.0 370.5 370.4 370.9 10.9 3.0

Information

34.3 34.1 34.7 34.9 0.6 1.7

Financial activities

161.0 164.4 166.0 165.8 4.8 3.0

Professional and business services

303.0 315.0 316.8 314.1 11.1 3.7

Education and health services

265.8 276.8 277.3 277.6 11.8 4.4

Leisure and hospitality

204.7 202.0 205.9 209.2 4.5 2.2

Other services

64.2 68.1 69.3 69.0 4.8 7.5

Government

240.2 233.4 244.2 243.6 3.4 1.4

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

 

Total nonfarm

2,152.7 2,205.0 2,216.7 2,225.6 72.9 3.4

Mining and logging

0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 -0.1 -11.1

Construction

96.6 100.8 100.8 104.5 7.9 8.2

Manufacturing

119.4 122.3 121.7 123.0 3.6 3.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

348.5 357.7 353.7 354.2 5.7 1.6

Information

76.3 79.6 80.1 80.2 3.9 5.1

Financial activities

126.1 128.1 127.8 127.1 1.0 0.8

Professional and business services

433.8 457.1 462.1 460.3 26.5 6.1

Education and health services

324.8 324.3 328.0 330.3 5.5 1.7

Leisure and hospitality

242.6 246.7 251.3 251.3 8.7 3.6

Other services

81.4 83.4 84.4 85.7 4.3 5.3

Government

302.3 304.2 306.0 308.2 5.9 2.0

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

 

Total nonfarm

3,075.5 3,095.8 3,108.7 3,126.2 50.7 1.6

Mining, logging, and construction

143.2 146.2 145.0 146.4 3.2 2.2

Manufacturing

49.8 49.1 48.9 48.8 -1.0 -2.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

388.7 399.0 395.0 397.5 8.8 2.3

Information

77.1 76.4 75.8 75.3 -1.8 -2.3

Financial activities

151.0 148.3 149.0 149.5 -1.5 -1.0

Professional and business services

696.3 702.0 702.2 709.2 12.9 1.9

Education and health services

404.7 409.1 417.4 417.7 13.0 3.2

Leisure and hospitality

286.6 288.7 288.0 291.8 5.2 1.8

Other services

191.8 191.9 191.8 192.6 0.8 0.4

Government

686.3 685.1 695.6 697.4 11.1 1.6

(p) preliminary

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 05, 2015