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.)

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.

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.

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