Total nonfarm employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua metropolitan area stood at 2,568,300 in January 2015, up 48,900 from one year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that nonfarm employment rose 1.9 percent locally from January a year ago compared to 2.3 percent nationwide. (See chart 1 and table 1; Technical note at end of release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

 

The Boston-Cambridge-Nashua area includes 10 metropolitan divisions – separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton Metropolitan Division, which made up 67 percent of the workforce, gained 31,100 jobs from January 2014 to January 2015, accounting for 64 percent of the area’s growth. The other nine divisions for which data are published also added jobs over the year.

Industry employment

Two supersectors in the Boston area – education and health services and professional and business services–accounted for almost half of the employment gain from January 2014 to January 2015. Locally, education and health services, the largest industry in the Boston area, gained 13,400 jobs. The 2.6-percent growth rate locally in this industry was higher than the national increase of 2.4 percent. Professional and business services added 9,800 jobs, a 2.3-percent gain which was lower than the national increase of 3.7 percent.

Trade, transportation, and utilities and government had the next highest annual employment gains in the Boston area from January 2014, adding 7,900 and 5,600 jobs, respectively. The 1.9-percent rate of job growth in Boston’s trade, transportation, and utilities supersector compared to the 2.1-percent gain nationwide, while the 1.8-percent rate of local job growth in the government supersector outpaced the 0.4-percent gain nationwide.

 

Employment in other services rose by 3,600 in the local area from January a year ago. The 3.7-percent increase in jobs locally over the 12-month period  outpaced the 1.5-percent national rate. Local employment in Boston’s financial activities supersector rose by 2,500. The 1.5-percent gain was below the 2.0-percent national increase.

Employment in the 12 Largest Metropolitan Areas

Boston was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in January 2015. All 12 areas experienced over-the-year job growth during the period, with 7 exceeding the national average of 2.3 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was registered in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, up 4.4 percent, followed by Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, up 4.3 percent. The slowest rates of job growth were in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (1.5 percent) and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (1.6 percent). (See chart 3 and table 2.)

The New York-Newark-Jersey City area added the largest number of jobs, 179,600. Employment in both Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and Dallas increased by over 140,000. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington experienced the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 45,900 jobs, followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, up 46,300 jobs.

Education and health services registered the largest employment gains in 6 of the 12 metropolitan areas from January a year ago—Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale. Professional and business services added the most jobs in four areas—Dallas, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, and Washington. 

Government had the largest over-the-year loss of jobs in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. Manufacturing lost the most jobs in two areas–Chicago and New York.  Dallas was the only area to experience no annual job losses in any supersector.

 

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 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 2012 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 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 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 survey and administrative data 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 are also 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 special 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 for state CES data at the supersector level are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions for states is available at www.bls.gov/sae/.

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/.

 

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

Areas in the six New England states are defined as Metropolitan New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs), while areas in other states are county-based and identified as metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.  However, for comparative purposes, the Boston NECTA and its divisions have been referred to as a metropolitan area and metropolitan divisions. 

 

The Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Mass.-N.H. Metropolitan New England City and Town Area (NECTA) includes 10 NECTA divisions--subdivisions of the larger NECTA which function as distinct social, economic, and cultural areas within the larger region. The NECTA divisions that compose the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH NECTA include:  Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA, Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA, Framingham, MA, Haverhill- Newburyport-Amesbury town, MA-NH, Lawrence-Methuen town-Salem, MA-NH, Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH, Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, MA, Nashua, NH-MA, Peabody-Salem-Beverly, MA, Taunton- Middleborough-Norton, MA, and select cities and towns within.  

 

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 Boston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Jan	Nov	Dec	Jan	Change from Jan
	2014	2014	2014	2015(p)	2014 to Jan 2015
					Number	Percent
U.S.
Total nonfarm	135,516	141,478	141,484	138,663	3147	2.3
Mining and logging	860	916	912	893	33	3.8
Construction	5,609	6,339	6,175	5,926	317	5.7
Manufacturing	11,987	12,290	12,302	12,214	227	1.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	25,990	27,106	27,402	26,540	550	2.1
Information	2,689	2,778	2,775	2,737	48	1.8
Financial activities	7,863	8,041	8,059	8,018	155	2
Professional and business services	18,438	19,507	19,519	19,112	674	3.7
Educational and health services	21,120	21,912	21,893	21,634	514	2.4
Leisure and hospitality	13,815	14,616	14,597	14,274	459	3.3
Other services	5,466	5,592	5,589	5,550	84	1.5
Government	21,679	22,381	22,261	21,765	86	0.4
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,519.4	2,628.1	2,629.8	2,568.3	48.9	1.9
Mining, logging, and construction	85.4	99.0	95.4	88.7	3.3	3.9
Manufacturing	191.7	191.7	192.5	191.3	-0.4	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	409.1	421.1	429.3	417.0	7.9	1.9
Information	73.9	75.8	76.1	75.2	1.3	1.8
Financial activities	170.8	173.3	173.7	173.3	2.5	1.5
Professional and business services	428.0	449.2	446.4	437.8	9.8	2.3
Educational and health services	524.8	550.4	551.0	538.2	13.4	2.6
Leisure and hospitality	232.0	246.6	245.1	233.9	1.9	0.8
Other services	96.7	101.2	100.9	100.3	3.6	3.7
Government	307.0	319.8	319.4	312.6	5.6	1.8
Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA division
Total nonfarm	1,683.3	1,755.2	1,755.6	1,714.4	31.1	1.8
Mining, logging, and construction	52.0	60.0	57.4	54.0	2.0	3.8
Manufacturing	81.8	81.9	82.5	81.6	-0.2	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	239.0	245.9	249.8	243.7	4.7	2.0
Information	54.3	55.8	56.2	55.7	1.4	2.6
Financial activities	139.9	142.2	142.6	142.2	2.3	1.6
Professional and business services	320.3	334.7	333.4	326.6	6.3	2.0
Educational and health services	378.7	396.6	397.3	385.7	7.0	1.8
Leisure and hospitality	158.7	169.3	168.6	160.0	1.3	0.8
Other services	64.2	67.4	67.0	66.6	2.4	3.7
Government	194.4	201.4	200.8	198.3	3.9	2.0
(P) Preliminary

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

Area and Industry	Jan	Nov	Dec	Jan	Change from Jan
	2014	2014	2014	2015 (P)	2014 to Jan 2015
					Number	Percent
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,427.2	2,559.5	2,566.7	2,531.6	104.4	4.3
Mining and logging	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	94.5	104.6	102.3	100.1	5.6	5.9
Manufacturing	149.9	153.6	153.5	154.0	4.1	2.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	543.0	576.8	582.2	569.1	26.1	4.8
Information	87.6	87.6	89.6	87.4	-0.2	-0.2
Financial activities	156.3	162.6	163.0	163.8	7.5	4.8
Professional and business services	441.4	472.2	472.5	462.8	21.4	4.8
Education and health services	300.2	313.6	313.9	313.1	12.9	4.3
Leisure and hospitality	241.7	263.0	264.1	258.4	16.7	6.9
Other services	92.0	96.7	96.3	95.9	3.9	4.2
Government	319.3	327.5	328.0	325.7	6.4	2.0
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,519.4	2,628.1	2,629.8	2,568.3	48.9	1.9
Mining, logging, and construction	85.4	99.0	95.4	88.7	3.3	3.9
Manufacturing	191.7	191.7	192.5	191.3	-0.4	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	409.1	421.1	429.3	417.0	7.9	1.9
Information	73.9	75.8	76.1	75.2	1.3	1.8
Financial activities	170.8	173.3	173.7	173.3	2.5	1.5
Professional and business services	428.0	449.2	446.4	437.8	9.8	2.3
Education and health services	524.8	550.4	551.0	538.2	13.4	2.6
Leisure and hospitality	232.0	246.6	245.1	233.9	1.9	0.8
Other services	96.7	101.2	100.9	100.3	3.6	3.7
Government	307.0	319.8	319.4	312.6	5.6	1.8
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,372.8	4,566.8	4,563.5	4,440.6	67.8	1.6
Mining and logging	1.2	1.6	1.4	1.2	0.0	0.0
Construction	130.6	163.5	153.0	136.0	5.4	4.1
Manufacturing	406.9	409.9	411.4	405.8	-1.1	-0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	893.3	929.1	944.1	907.2	13.9	1.6
Information	78.7	80.5	81.0	80.3	1.6	2.0
Financial activities	286.8	289.7	288.4	286.8	0.0	0.0
Professional and business services	763.6	809.4	803.5	776.2	12.6	1.7
Education and health services	677.1	700.0	699.7	693.8	16.7	2.5
Leisure and hospitality	409.8	431.2	431.1	418.4	8.6	2.1
Other services	190.0	192.0	192.8	191.7	1.7	0.9
Government	534.8	559.9	557.1	543.2	8.4	1.6
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX
Total nonfarm	3,175.4	3,341.9	3,359.3	3,316.2	140.8	4.4
Mining, logging, and construction	183.6	196.7	199.2	198.7	15.1	8.2
Manufacturing	256.7	263.3	263.0	263.2	6.5	2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	667.3	704.8	714.5	697.8	30.5	4.6
Information	82.1	81.8	81.5	82.1	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	260.6	271.7	272.2	269.3	8.7	3.3
Professional and business services	512.8	552.9	554.2	545.8	33.0	6.4
Education and health services	390.8	411.2	413.6	410.0	19.2	4.9
Leisure and hospitality	313.0	333.3	334.3	330.3	17.3	5.5
Other services	113.6	116.0	115.4	113.8	0.2	0.2
Government	394.9	410.2	411.4	405.2	10.3	2.6
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land TX
Total nonfarm	2,839.9	2,982.7	2,992.6	2,946.5	106.6	3.8
Mining and logging	106.7	113.4	115.5	114.1	7.4	6.9
Construction	191.5	209.1	208.8	205.6	14.1	7.4
Manufacturing	250.5	257.4	258.7	255.4	4.9	2.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	586.7	612.4	620.1	602.3	15.6	2.7
Information	33.1	32.7	32.6	32.7	-0.4	-1.2
Financial activities	145.1	148.8	149.3	147.4	2.3	1.6
Professional and business services	446.2	471.3	470.4	465.8	19.6	4.4
Education and health services	342.1	359.8	359.2	358.3	16.2	4.7
Leisure and hospitality	269.1	289.0	290.0	286.4	17.3	6.4
Other services	100.7	104.9	104.3	103.3	2.6	2.6
Government	368.2	383.9	383.7	375.2	7.0	1.9
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA
Total nonfarm	5,621.1	5,844.8	5,853.1	5,769.8	148.7	2.6
Mining and logging	5.3	5.4	5.3	5.2	-0.1	-1.9
Construction	193.4	209.7	204.9	202.6	9.2	4.8
Manufacturing	521.2	525.7	524.7	523.0	1.8	0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,046.6	1,093.1	1,102.3	1,074.1	27.5	2.6
Information	222.6	225.3	224.3	218.3	-4.3	-1.9
Financial activities	320.5	326.5	328.0	326.8	6.3	2.0
Professional and business services	867.8	900.1	900.9	886.1	18.3	2.1
Education and health services	918.7	963.8	967.1	954.6	35.9	3.9
Leisure and hospitality	630.4	666.3	666.4	660.0	29.6	4.7
Other services	192.3	202.8	202.4	201.4	9.1	4.7
Government	702.3	726.1	726.8	717.7	15.4	2.2
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL
Total nonfarm	2,383.5	2,488.0	2,500.3	2,474.9	91.4	3.8
Mining and logging	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	94.7	107.6	106.4	104.0	9.3	9.8
Manufacturing	79.5	82.1	82.0	80.8	1.3	1.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	558.4	581.1	588.6	580.3	21.9	3.9
Information	47.3	48.5	48.6	48.0	0.7	1.5
Financial activities	165.5	173.7	173.9	172.4	6.9	4.2
Professional and business services	377.1	401.4	402.8	396.6	19.5	5.2
Education and health services	349.0	365.0	367.5	364.8	15.8	4.5
Leisure and hospitality	292.8	302.4	305.7	303.4	10.6	3.6
Other services	114.6	119.3	120.3	121.2	6.6	5.8
Government	304.0	306.3	303.9	302.8	-1.2	-0.4
New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	8,872.4	9,293.0	9,312.8	9,052.0	179.6	2.0
Mining, logging, and construction	315.2	358.3	352.4	329.2	14.0	4.4
Manufacturing	369.1	368.4	367.8	363.8	-5.3	-1.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,671.6	1,745.7	1,769.0	1,702.9	31.3	1.9
Information	279.3	284.9	283.6	279.7	0.4	0.1
Financial activities	743.5	752.7	752.7	746.8	3.3	0.4
Professional and business services	1,380.4	1,456.6	1,457.9	1,411.1	30.7	2.2
Education and health services	1,683.6	1,767.8	1,776.9	1,747.7	64.1	3.8
Leisure and hospitality	775.2	838.7	833.2	792.2	17.0	2.2
Other services	391.0	408.7	408.9	406.0	15.0	3.8
Government	1,263.5	1,311.2	1,310.4	1,272.6	9.1	0.7
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,721.5	2,829.1	2,831.2	2,767.4	45.9	1.7
Mining, logging, and construction	95.3	108.6	107.1	103.2	7.9	8.3
Manufacturing	178.9	179.7	181.0	180.4	1.5	0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	508.4	523.8	533.5	517.3	8.9	1.8
Information	46.5	46.2	46.4	45.9	-0.6	-1.3
Financial activities	201.6	204.6	205.0	206.1	4.5	2.2
Professional and business services	431.9	457.3	452.7	439.2	7.3	1.7
Education and health services	576.8	603.8	602.0	590.6	13.8	2.4
Leisure and hospitality	231.2	243.2	242.0	233.3	2.1	0.9
Other services	115.9	119.3	119.1	117.4	1.5	1.3
Government	335.0	342.6	342.4	334.0	-1.0	-0.3
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale AZ
Total nonfarm	1,827.6	1,906.4	1,912.5	1,881.4	53.8	2.9
Mining and logging	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	-0.1	-2.9
Construction	93.8	96.9	96.7	97.3	3.5	3.7
Manufacturing	117.3	117.7	117.4	116.2	-1.1	-0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	361.2	378.2	383.7	370.8	9.6	2.7
Information	33.8	34.9	34.9	34.2	0.4	1.2
Financial activities	160.6	165.2	165.9	164.8	4.2	2.6
Professional and business services	301.3	319.4	320.9	314.9	13.6	4.5
Education and health services	263.4	276.4	278.3	277.2	13.8	5.2
Leisure and hospitality	194.2	203.2	202.7	201.5	7.3	3.8
Other services	63.0	66.4	66.3	68.1	5.1	8.1
Government	235.6	244.7	242.4	233.1	-2.5	-1.1
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CA
Total nonfarm	2,124.4	2,237.0	2,244.2	2,205.1	80.7	3.8
Mining and logging	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8	-0.1	-11.1
Construction	94.4	104.7	100.7	100.8	6.4	6.8
Manufacturing	118.6	122.9	122.6	122.3	3.7	3.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	351.2	367.2	372.8	358.8	7.6	2.2
Information	75.0	79.6	80.0	79.7	4.7	6.3
Financial activities	125.7	128.0	128.7	128.1	2.4	1.9
Professional and business services	427.4	458.8	461.9	455.1	27.7	6.5
Education and health services	315.9	329.2	328.8	325.1	9.2	2.9
Leisure and hospitality	236.4	254.6	256.8	247.6	11.2	4.7
Other services	80.0	83.8	83.9	82.9	2.9	3.6
Government	298.9	307.3	307.1	303.9	5.0	1.7
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,050.7	3,158.7	3,156.3	3,097.0	46.3	1.5
Mining, logging, and construction	142.0	151.2	147.9	146.4	4.4	3.1
Manufacturing	49.6	50.0	49.8	49.1	-0.5	-1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	391.8	409.1	416.2	399.3	7.5	1.9
Information	78.0	76.1	76.6	76.4	-1.6	-2.1
Financial activities	150.8	151.4	150.8	148.8	-2.0	-1.3
Professional and business services	691.8	710.4	707.5	702.2	10.4	1.5
Education and health services	399.8	416.3	416.0	408.4	8.6	2.2
Leisure and hospitality	280.1	300.3	299.2	289.4	9.3	3.3
Other services	190.2	194.6	194.0	192.0	1.8	0.9
Government	676.6	699.3	698.3	685.0	8.4	1.2
(P) Preliminary