Total nonfarm employment for Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, increased by 136,400 over the year in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the local rate of job gain, 4.7 percent, compared to the 5.3-percent national increase. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Industry employment

In Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, leisure and hospitality had the largest employment increase over the year, up 63,500. Within this supersector, accommodation and food services accounted for 57,200 jobs gained, while arts, entertainment, and recreation accounted for 6,300 jobs gained. (See chart 2.) The 23.9-percent rate of job increase in the local leisure and hospitality supersector compared to the 18.5-percent national gain.

Trade, transportation, and utilities, the largest supersector in the metropolitan area, added 28,500 jobs from July 2020 to July 2021. Within the supersector, employment in retail trade increased by 10,500. The trade, transportation, and utilities supersector had a 4.7-percent gain in the metropolitan area, compared to the 4.4-percent increase for the nation.

The professional and business services supersector gained 19,900 jobs over the year in the metropolitan area. The 4.1-percent rate of job increase compared to a 6.2-percent gain nationwide.

In the metropolitan area, education and health services saw a gain of 12,500 jobs over the year. This supersector’s 3.2-percent rate of job increase compared to a similar gain of 3.2-percent gain nationwide.

The other services supersector (which includes repair and maintenance, personal and laundry services, membership associations, and private households) gained 12,300 jobs in the metropolitan area since July 2020. The 12.2-percent rate of job growth compared to the national gain of 7.3 percent.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in July 2021. All 12 areas gained jobs over the year. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, had the largest increase (+558,300). San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, had the smallest gain (+105,700) among the largest areas. (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua had the highest rate of job gain, rising 7.8 percent, followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (+7.6 percent). The rates of job gains in the remaining 10 areas ranged from 6.6 percent in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, to 4.2 percent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for August 2021 is scheduled to be released on September 29, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

Special technical note: This technical note describes the procedures regularly used on a monthly basis to develop estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the procedures described in this technical note have been modified. The modifications are briefly described in the box note of this news release. More information on the changes to the CES business birth-death model is available at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbd.htm.

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 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 at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/ces-20110307.pdf.

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. 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. 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/web/laus/790stderr.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/bmrk_article.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 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller 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; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and Houston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Jul. 2020	May 2021	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021(p)	Jul. 2020 to Jul. 2021(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	139,107	145,355	146,603	146,470	7,363	5.3
Mining and logging	599	619	633	642	43	7.2
Construction	7,424	7,476	7,592	7,641	217	2.9
Manufacturing	12,107	12,275	12,409	12,441	334	2.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	26,154	27,029	27,305	27,315	1,161	4.4
Information	2,606	2,706	2,722	2,760	154	5.9
Financial activities	8,709	8,784	8,843	8,887	178	2.0
Professional and business services	19,856	20,759	20,943	21,084	1,228	6.2
Education and health services	22,590	23,525	23,343	23,308	718	3.2
Leisure and hospitality	13,364	14,625	15,395	15,834	2,470	18.5
Other services	5,388	5,608	5,730	5,782	394	7.3
Government	20,310	21,949	21,688	20,776	466	2.3
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	2,903.8	3,037.8	3,047.3	3,040.2	136.4	4.7
Mining and logging	63.4	69.9	68.9	68.4	5.0	7.9
Construction	209.2	206.1	204.2	202.2	-7.0	-3.3
Manufacturing	212.6	207.0	207.2	210.9	-1.7	-0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	600.6	626.4	631.8	629.1	28.5	4.7
Information	27.9	28.6	28.8	29.0	1.1	3.9
Financial activities	163.5	164.0	163.2	163.5	0.0	0.0
Professional and business services	481.3	493.1	493.7	501.2	19.9	4.1
Education and health services	388.8	401.5	400.5	401.3	12.5	3.2
Leisure and hospitality	265.7	312.8	326.6	329.2	63.5	23.9
Other services	100.6	111.2	111.3	112.9	12.3	12.2
Government	390.2	417.2	411.1	392.5	2.3	0.6
(p) preliminary

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Jul. 2020	May 2021	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021(p)	Jul. 2020 to Jul. 2021(p)
					Net change	Percent change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,628.9	2,744.8	2,776.2	2,794.7	165.8	6.3
Mining and logging	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	127.0	128.6	130.4	130.4	3.4	2.7
Manufacturing	161.8	166.6	166.3	166.8	5.0	3.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	570.5	584.2	591.1	593.3	22.8	4.0
Information	89.8	100.7	101.7	105.5	15.7	17.5
Financial activities	177.2	178.4	179.7	182.4	5.2	2.9
Professional and business services	513.6	540.1	552.4	557.5	43.9	8.5
Education and health services	344.0	367.3	365.5	366.0	22.0	6.4
Leisure and hospitality	232.6	252.8	261.8	270.0	37.4	16.1
Other services	93.3	96.2	97.9	98.5	5.2	5.6
Government	317.5	328.3	327.8	322.7	5.2	1.6
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,493.7	2,631.3	2,671.9	2,687.8	194.1	7.8
Mining, logging, and construction	117.4	123.2	125.6	129.0	11.6	9.9
Manufacturing	176.4	178.1	181.9	183.4	7.0	4.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	376.8	399.8	405.1	401.7	24.9	6.6
Information	78.1	79.4	80.4	83.0	4.9	6.3
Financial activities	182.3	182.8	183.8	183.9	1.6	0.9
Professional and business services	497.6	518.0	526.0	531.7	34.1	6.9
Education and health services	530.5	553.4	553.3	557.4	26.9	5.1
Leisure and hospitality	180.8	208.1	230.7	244.4	63.6	35.2
Other services	82.8	86.0	88.8	93.0	10.2	12.3
Government	271.0	302.5	296.3	280.3	9.3	3.4
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,325.6	4,439.8	4,495.9	4,506.7	181.1	4.2
Mining and logging	1.6	1.7	1.8	1.8	0.2	12.5
Construction	175.2	173.4	178.5	182.8	7.6	4.3
Manufacturing	395.4	390.8	395.0	396.5	1.1	0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	905.1	917.9	928.1	929.8	24.7	2.7
Information	71.3	70.3	70.8	70.2	-1.1	-1.5
Financial activities	315.0	314.9	317.4	316.1	1.1	0.3
Professional and business services	768.7	789.7	799.5	806.4	37.7	4.9
Education and health services	675.6	703.8	696.8	698.5	22.9	3.4
Leisure and hospitality	350.9	372.2	399.6	412.1	61.2	17.4
Other services	177.0	179.6	182.4	182.8	5.8	3.3
Government	489.8	525.5	526.0	509.7	19.9	4.1
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,582.6	3,758.6	3,790.4	3,793.7	211.1	5.9
Mining, logging, and construction	216.7	215.1	216.7	217.7	1.0	0.5
Manufacturing	278.6	281.3	282.7	284.9	6.3	2.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	786.3	813.7	825.3	823.2	36.9	4.7
Information	77.1	79.4	79.9	80.3	3.2	4.2
Financial activities	322.3	328.4	330.3	333.2	10.9	3.4
Professional and business services	616.9	652.1	663.8	669.0	52.1	8.4
Education and health services	438.7	451.8	448.3	450.5	11.8	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	314.6	361.4	377.8	381.5	66.9	21.3
Other services	110.0	118.9	121.4	121.7	11.7	10.6
Government	421.4	456.5	444.2	431.7	10.3	2.4
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	2,903.8	3,037.8	3,047.3	3,040.2	136.4	4.7
Mining and logging	63.4	69.9	68.9	68.4	5.0	7.9
Construction	209.2	206.1	204.2	202.2	-7.0	-3.3
Manufacturing	212.6	207.0	207.2	210.9	-1.7	-0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	600.6	626.4	631.8	629.1	28.5	4.7
Information	27.9	28.6	28.8	29.0	1.1	3.9
Financial activities	163.5	164.0	163.2	163.5	0.0	0.0
Professional and business services	481.3	493.1	493.7	501.2	19.9	4.1
Education and health services	388.8	401.5	400.5	401.3	12.5	3.2
Leisure and hospitality	265.7	312.8	326.6	329.2	63.5	23.9
Other services	100.6	111.2	111.3	112.9	12.3	12.2
Government	390.2	417.2	411.1	392.5	2.3	0.6
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	5,417.1	5,752.0	5,792.2	5,776.4	359.3	6.6
Mining and logging	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	0.0	0.0
Construction	246.2	249.6	250.6	247.1	0.9	0.4
Manufacturing	455.3	454.6	457.4	455.6	0.3	0.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,002.8	1,045.0	1,054.6	1,061.7	58.9	5.9
Information	184.1	204.5	201.2	204.1	20.0	10.9
Financial activities	321.9	323.7	323.6	326.9	5.0	1.6
Professional and business services	873.4	915.7	916.1	924.6	51.2	5.9
Education and health services	1,015.9	1,067.3	1,065.0	1,056.6	40.7	4.0
Leisure and hospitality	486.2	604.9	632.6	656.1	169.9	34.9
Other services	163.5	169.1	174.7	179.1	15.6	9.5
Government	665.9	715.7	714.5	662.7	-3.2	-0.5
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,455.6	2,584.2	2,571.8	2,578.4	122.8	5.0
Mining and logging	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.0	0.0
Construction	139.5	139.0	138.9	138.8	-0.7	-0.5
Manufacturing	86.0	87.1	87.9	87.3	1.3	1.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	564.1	576.8	581.5	583.3	19.2	3.4
Information	45.3	46.6	46.6	46.7	1.4	3.1
Financial activities	186.2	189.9	190.7	192.3	6.1	3.3
Professional and business services	427.9	448.4	449.8	452.5	24.6	5.7
Education and health services	383.8	400.1	397.2	397.7	13.9	3.6
Leisure and hospitality	230.7	281.7	283.5	284.6	53.9	23.4
Other services	103.2	110.6	112.3	112.3	9.1	8.8
Government	288.1	303.2	282.6	282.1	-6.0	-2.1
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	8,566.1	9,078.3	9,189.8	9,124.4	558.3	6.5
Mining, logging, and construction	381.9	369.9	373.5	374.7	-7.2	-1.9
Manufacturing	321.7	332.3	335.5	334.5	12.8	4.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,481.5	1,557.7	1,580.5	1,563.0	81.5	5.5
Information	276.3	293.7	297.4	296.9	20.6	7.5
Financial activities	760.0	752.8	759.5	752.1	-7.9	-1.0
Professional and business services	1,437.7	1,495.8	1,517.0	1,519.4	81.7	5.7
Education and health services	1,816.6	1,979.9	1,958.7	1,942.3	125.7	6.9
Leisure and hospitality	546.6	653.2	712.2	747.4	200.8	36.7
Other services	329.6	351.8	356.8	359.8	30.2	9.2
Government	1,214.2	1,291.2	1,298.7	1,234.3	20.1	1.7
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,685.1	2,821.2	2,843.2	2,824.0	138.9	5.2
Mining, logging, and construction	116.0	118.4	119.7	121.2	5.2	4.5
Manufacturing	173.0	173.4	175.2	176.6	3.6	2.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	493.0	511.8	517.2	515.2	22.2	4.5
Information	49.7	51.1	52.2	52.8	3.1	6.2
Financial activities	215.5	216.5	217.8	218.8	3.3	1.5
Professional and business services	440.2	460.4	463.8	463.1	22.9	5.2
Education and health services	608.2	639.0	636.1	630.1	21.9	3.6
Leisure and hospitality	186.6	217.1	230.4	236.5	49.9	26.7
Other services	99.4	105.2	107.5	107.7	8.3	8.4
Government	303.5	328.3	323.3	302.0	-1.5	-0.5
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,029.8	2,174.1	2,174.9	2,184.1	154.3	7.6
Mining and logging	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	0.0	0.0
Construction	133.7	134.2	136.0	136.8	3.1	2.3
Manufacturing	131.1	135.8	136.5	136.5	5.4	4.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	404.8	431.1	438.9	439.4	34.6	8.5
Information	36.1	36.5	36.9	37.3	1.2	3.3
Financial activities	203.6	204.5	205.3	207.6	4.0	2.0
Professional and business services	344.7	365.3	367.8	376.1	31.4	9.1
Education and health services	326.0	348.3	348.6	347.5	21.5	6.6
Leisure and hospitality	171.8	210.6	213.1	213.5	41.7	24.3
Other services	65.1	67.2	68.5	70.0	4.9	7.5
Government	210.1	237.8	220.5	216.6	6.5	3.1
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,190.3	2,279.9	2,297.7	2,296.0	105.7	4.8
Mining and logging	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	121.5	126.3	124.9	124.0	2.5	2.1
Manufacturing	138.6	140.8	141.7	142.5	3.9	2.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	330.1	332.2	333.2	335.2	5.1	1.5
Information	134.5	134.3	137.3	139.3	4.8	3.6
Financial activities	138.8	139.2	139.9	140.8	2.0	1.4
Professional and business services	473.8	490.3	494.4	499.4	25.6	5.4
Education and health services	340.5	358.6	356.5	354.5	14.0	4.1
Leisure and hospitality	157.5	185.1	196.9	204.6	47.1	29.9
Other services	63.9	69.5	71.9	74.9	11.0	17.2
Government	290.8	303.3	300.7	280.5	-10.3	-3.5
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,077.8	3,190.0	3,212.7	3,213.3	135.5	4.4
Mining, logging, and construction	161.9	161.3	163.5	163.7	1.8	1.1
Manufacturing	53.9	55.5	55.8	56.1	2.2	4.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	375.9	389.6	394.0	394.3	18.4	4.9
Information	73.6	72.4	73.2	73.5	-0.1	-0.1
Financial activities	155.2	152.2	152.9	153.6	-1.6	-1.0
Professional and business services	766.9	776.9	783.3	789.6	22.7	3.0
Education and health services	402.4	433.6	426.4	426.9	24.5	6.1
Leisure and hospitality	224.4	249.0	262.5	275.8	51.4	22.9
Other services	191.1	190.2	192.5	193.5	2.4	1.3
Government	672.5	709.3	708.6	686.3	13.8	2.1
(p) preliminary