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News Release Information

23-2494-DAL
Thursday, November 30, 2023

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

Houston Area Employment — October 2023

Total nonfarm employment for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, metropolitan area increased by 76,600 over the year in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the local rate of job gain, 2.3 percent, compared to the 1.9-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.)

  Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change for total nonfarm employment in the Houston metropolitan area, October 2020–October 2023

Industry employment

In Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, education and health services had the largest gain (+24,600) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors. (See chart 2.) Within the supersector, heath care and social assistance increased by 23,300 jobs. The 5.6-percent increase in the metropolitan area’s education and health services supersector compared to the 4.2-percent gain on a national level.

  Chart 2. Over-the-year net change for industry supersector employment in the Houston metropolitan area, October 2023

Trade, transportation, and utilities gained 21,100 jobs over the year in the metropolitan area. The 3.1-percent increase in the metropolitan area’s trade, transportation, and utilities supersector compared to the 0.4-percent gain on a national level.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in October 2023. Eleven of twelve areas gained jobs over the year. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, had the largest increase (+165,300), followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+148,700). San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, had the smallest increase (+34,200), followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (+40,700), among the largest areas. (See table 2 and chart 3.) Employment in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, was little changed over the year.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, had a 3.6-percent rate of job gain. The rates of job gain in the remaining 10 areas ranged from 2.8 percent in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, to 1.4 percent in San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA.

  Chart 3. Over-the-year net change in total nonfarm employment for the 12 largest metropolitan areas, October 2023 (in thousands)

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for November 2023 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. (CT).


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. More information about the CES data is available in the State Employment and Unemployment Summary and the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary.

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 2022 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 compensate for smaller sample sizes.

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 in the CES State and Area benchmark article.

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. Reliability of state and area estimates for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.

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 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and Houston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area and Industry Oct.
2022
Aug.
2023
Sep.
2023
Oct.
2023(p)
Oct. 2022 to
Oct. 2023(p)
Net change Percent change

United States(1)

Total nonfarm

155,041 156,392 156,918 157,984 2,943 1.9

Mining and logging

622 652 650 651 29 4.7

Construction

7,976 8,207 8,164 8,193 217 2.7

Manufacturing

12,955 13,042 12,996 12,961 6 0.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

28,843 28,714 28,721 28,958 115 0.4

Information

3,124 3,057 3,037 3,037 -87 -2.8

Financial activities

9,111 9,208 9,154 9,178 67 0.7

Professional and business services

23,044 23,086 23,060 23,287 243 1.1

Education and health services

24,872 25,243 25,564 25,909 1,037 4.2

Leisure and hospitality

16,107 17,278 16,784 16,677 570 3.5

Other services

5,768 5,928 5,872 5,890 122 2.1

Government

22,619 21,977 22,916 23,243 624 2.8

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

Total nonfarm

3,312.9 3,348.8 3,373.1 3,389.5 76.6 2.3

Mining and logging

67.2 70.1 70.1 70.4 3.2 4.8

Construction

229.0 218.5 218.6 217.5 -11.5 -5.0

Manufacturing

227.1 233.7 234.6 235.0 7.9 3.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

681.0 695.6 695.8 702.1 21.1 3.1

Information

32.9 33.2 33.1 33.4 0.5 1.5

Financial activities

183.7 188.2 188.1 189.0 5.3 2.9

Professional and business services

551.7 560.6 561.7 561.0 9.3 1.7

Education and health services

435.4 451.2 454.1 460.0 24.6 5.6

Leisure and hospitality

341.0 352.9 350.1 347.9 6.9 2.0

Other services

119.5 120.8 119.5 119.4 -0.1 -0.1

Government

444.4 424.0 447.4 453.8 9.4 2.1

(1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published.
(p) Preliminary

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
Area Oct
2022
Aug
2023
Sep
2023
Oct
2023(p)
Oct 2022 to
Oct 2023(p)
Net
change
Percent
change

United States(1)

Total nonfarm

155,041 156,392 156,918 157,984 2,943 1.9

Mining and logging

622 652 650 651 29 4.7

Construction

7,976 8,207 8,164 8,193 217 2.7

Manufacturing

12,955 13,042 12,996 12,961 6 0.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

28,843 28,714 28,721 28,958 115 0.4

Information

3,124 3,057 3,037 3,037 -87 -2.8

Financial activities

9,111 9,208 9,154 9,178 67 0.7

Professional and business services

23,044 23,086 23,060 23,287 243 1.1

Education and health services

24,872 25,243 25,564 25,909 1,037 4.2

Leisure and hospitality

16,107 17,278 16,784 16,677 570 3.5

Other services

5,768 5,928 5,872 5,890 122 2.1

Government

22,619 21,977 22,916 23,243 624 2.8

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

Total nonfarm

3,031.6 3,063.3 3,073.0 3,096.5 64.9 2.1

Mining and logging

1.8 1.9 1.9 1.9 0.1 5.6

Construction

140.2 145.3 145.6 146.4 6.2 4.4

Manufacturing

176.2 174.8 173.7 174.1 -2.1 -1.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

658.4 650.9 650.9 657.6 -0.8 -0.1

Information

115.5 113.4 113.3 112.7 -2.8 -2.4

Financial activities

201.9 208.5 209.7 210.0 8.1 4.0

Professional and business services

594.9 585.2 586.9 593.5 -1.4 -0.2

Education and health services

397.4 413.0 417.0 424.5 27.1 6.8

Leisure and hospitality

298.3 315.9 312.2 315.9 17.6 5.9

Other services

105.0 109.5 110.5 108.6 3.6 3.4

Government

342.0 344.9 351.3 351.3 9.3 2.7

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)

Total nonfarm

2,816.6 2,870.3 2,865.1 2,890.2 73.6 2.6

Mining, logging, and construction

129.7 139.0 137.3 138.5 8.8 6.8

Manufacturing

183.0 183.6 182.1 181.6 -1.4 -0.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

407.5 412.5 411.2 416.3 8.8 2.2

Information

85.7 85.4 85.1 84.4 -1.3 -1.5

Financial activities

187.7 193.9 191.1 191.8 4.1 2.2

Professional and business services

546.5 563.0 555.2 556.6 10.1 1.8

Education and health services

603.1 608.5 618.1 631.1 28.0 4.6

Leisure and hospitality

258.4 285.7 267.1 265.6 7.2 2.8

Other services

99.3 106.2 100.7 103.1 3.8 3.8

Government

315.7 292.5 317.2 321.2 5.5 1.7

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

Total nonfarm

4,781.9 4,808.7 4,813.5 4,821.3 39.4 0.8

Mining and logging

1.5 1.6 1.6 1.6 0.1 6.7

Construction

192.2 195.4 194.5 194.6 2.4 1.2

Manufacturing

409.4 408.6 410.3 406.4 -3.0 -0.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

973.9 961.8 960.8 968.9 -5.0 -0.5

Information

82.6 78.7 77.2 76.2 -6.4 -7.7

Financial activities

319.1 325.8 324.0 323.0 3.9 1.2

Professional and business services

881.7 869.0 867.0 869.0 -12.7 -1.4

Education and health services

744.1 756.1 769.0 776.7 32.6 4.4

Leisure and hospitality

457.5 499.5 476.9 474.1 16.6 3.6

Other services

193.4 197.0 196.4 196.3 2.9 1.5

Government

526.5 515.2 535.8 534.5 8.0 1.5

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Total nonfarm

4,183.8 4,281.3 4,305.3 4,332.5 148.7 3.6

Mining, logging, and construction

238.9 254.6 256.9 254.9 16.0 6.7

Manufacturing

304.1 311.5 313.0 309.3 5.2 1.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

897.7 902.3 906.6 918.2 20.5 2.3

Information

91.8 95.6 95.4 95.8 4.0 4.4

Financial activities

365.7 380.7 382.5 383.8 18.1 4.9

Professional and business services

791.0 808.2 813.6 820.3 29.3 3.7

Education and health services

491.2 499.3 503.6 504.7 13.5 2.7

Leisure and hospitality

404.4 420.6 418.4 419.6 15.2 3.8

Other services

131.2 145.6 144.7 146.1 14.9 11.4

Government

467.8 462.9 470.6 479.8 12.0 2.6

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

Total nonfarm

3,312.9 3,348.8 3,373.1 3,389.5 76.6 2.3

Mining and logging

67.2 70.1 70.1 70.4 3.2 4.8

Construction

229.0 218.5 218.6 217.5 -11.5 -5.0

Manufacturing

227.1 233.7 234.6 235.0 7.9 3.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

681.0 695.6 695.8 702.1 21.1 3.1

Information

32.9 33.2 33.1 33.4 0.5 1.5

Financial activities

183.7 188.2 188.1 189.0 5.3 2.9

Professional and business services

551.7 560.6 561.7 561.0 9.3 1.7

Education and health services

435.4 451.2 454.1 460.0 24.6 5.6

Leisure and hospitality

341.0 352.9 350.1 347.9 6.9 2.0

Other services

119.5 120.8 119.5 119.4 -0.1 -0.1

Government

444.4 424.0 447.4 453.8 9.4 2.1

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Total nonfarm

6,313.1 6,329.2 6,352.0 6,424.4 111.3 1.8

Mining and logging

1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 0.0 0.0

Construction

262.9 262.5 261.1 266.3 3.4 1.3

Manufacturing

480.2 479.2 475.3 475.6 -4.6 -1.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,104.2 1,108.4 1,107.4 1,119.0 14.8 1.3

Information

259.7 235.0 228.6 229.9 -29.8 -11.5

Financial activities

329.4 330.0 328.5 330.5 1.1 0.3

Professional and business services

1,022.3 1,016.8 1,018.1 1,029.5 7.2 0.7

Education and health services

1,152.4 1,185.0 1,200.0 1,218.5 66.1 5.7

Leisure and hospitality

751.8 790.4 786.7 790.9 39.1 5.2

Other services

209.9 215.5 213.9 217.2 7.3 3.5

Government

738.4 704.5 730.5 745.1 6.7 0.9

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Total nonfarm

2,852.9 2,883.4 2,893.5 2,930.4 77.5 2.7

Construction

146.9 139.5 140.0 143.8 -3.1 -2.1

Manufacturing

95.2 97.9 97.7 98.4 3.2 3.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

642.8 654.1 655.6 665.9 23.1 3.6

Information

55.9 54.8 54.2 54.4 -1.5 -2.7

Financial activities

215.0 217.4 217.5 220.4 5.4 2.5

Professional and business services

517.6 524.9 530.1 532.3 14.7 2.8

Education and health services

433.9 441.6 447.0 453.9 20.0 4.6

Leisure and hospitality

324.8 325.8 322.9 330.0 5.2 1.6

Other services

112.1 115.2 114.9 115.3 3.2 2.9

Government

307.9 311.4 312.8 315.2 7.3 2.4

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

Total nonfarm

9,984.9 10,070.1 10,079.6 10,150.2 165.3 1.7

Mining, logging, and construction

411.7 423.6 420.2 419.2 7.5 1.8

Manufacturing

349.9 351.2 351.6 352.5 2.6 0.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,688.6 1,648.8 1,656.1 1,672.2 -16.4 -1.0

Information

329.3 301.6 301.9 301.0 -28.3 -8.6

Financial activities

808.4 820.9 809.1 808.4 0.0 0.0

Professional and business services

1,650.4 1,645.4 1,642.0 1,644.6 -5.8 -0.4

Education and health services

2,151.4 2,215.2 2,255.8 2,296.8 145.4 6.8

Leisure and hospitality

898.1 992.5 951.5 942.4 44.3 4.9

Other services

400.3 411.2 401.6 405.2 4.9 1.2

Government

1,296.8 1,259.7 1,289.8 1,307.9 11.1 0.9

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

Total nonfarm

3,064.7 3,102.2 3,125.1 3,149.6 84.9 2.8

Mining, logging, and construction

126.7 133.0 131.3 131.2 4.5 3.6

Manufacturing

179.7 183.6 181.6 181.7 2.0 1.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

555.0 552.4 554.3 557.5 2.5 0.5

Information

54.3 55.1 54.9 55.0 0.7 1.3

Financial activities

228.6 230.4 230.2 231.0 2.4 1.0

Professional and business services

505.5 510.6 513.2 516.9 11.4 2.3

Education and health services

694.3 696.5 716.0 727.1 32.8 4.7

Leisure and hospitality

262.2 296.0 281.0 279.7 17.5 6.7

Other services

121.2 126.3 125.1 126.4 5.2 4.3

Government

337.2 318.3 337.5 343.1 5.9 1.7

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

Total nonfarm

2,350.8 2,356.0 2,376.4 2,391.5 40.7 1.7

Mining and logging

3.0 3.4 3.3 3.4 0.4 13.3

Construction

155.2 161.3 160.5 161.4 6.2 4.0

Manufacturing

150.2 148.3 149.5 149.5 -0.7 -0.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

452.6 448.7 449.6 454.9 2.3 0.5

Information

43.1 41.8 39.8 40.1 -3.0 -7.0

Financial activities

218.6 222.0 222.7 220.5 1.9 0.9

Professional and business services

398.1 395.9 398.5 400.0 1.9 0.5

Education and health services

371.0 381.2 387.8 394.0 23.0 6.2

Leisure and hospitality

239.3 242.1 244.7 246.0 6.7 2.8

Other services

74.6 70.0 70.1 70.1 -4.5 -6.0

Government

245.1 241.3 249.9 251.6 6.5 2.7

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Total nonfarm

2,506.6 2,528.6 2,515.5 2,540.8 34.2 1.4

Mining and logging

0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0

Construction

126.0 131.5 129.6 132.0 6.0 4.8

Manufacturing

156.8 157.1 157.2 156.7 -0.1 -0.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

359.8 358.1 358.0 360.8 1.0 0.3

Information

155.2 152.8 150.1 151.4 -3.8 -2.4

Financial activities

145.2 147.1 143.9 146.7 1.5 1.0

Professional and business services

532.0 525.5 516.7 521.4 -10.6 -2.0

Education and health services

386.9 396.6 398.9 406.7 19.8 5.1

Leisure and hospitality

247.5 265.4 261.4 262.5 15.0 6.1

Other services

83.3 87.2 86.5 86.0 2.7 3.2

Government

313.6 307.0 312.9 316.3 2.7 0.9

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

Total nonfarm

3,343.7 3,380.1 3,387.0 3,403.8 60.1 1.8

Mining, logging, and construction

165.5 171.6 169.1 168.4 2.9 1.8

Manufacturing

57.5 56.8 56.6 57.0 -0.5 -0.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

400.2 397.8 396.3 403.3 3.1 0.8

Information

81.7 82.2 81.3 80.6 -1.1 -1.3

Financial activities

154.6 153.5 153.7 151.4 -3.2 -2.1

Professional and business services

810.9 811.8 810.7 813.4 2.5 0.3

Education and health services

450.2 457.6 463.3 470.2 20.0 4.4

Leisure and hospitality

307.1 329.1 322.0 320.0 12.9 4.2

Other services

192.2 200.1 199.7 200.4 8.2 4.3

Government

723.8 719.6 734.3 739.1 15.3 2.1

(1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published.
(p) Preliminary

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, November 30, 2023