Total nonfarm employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua metropolitan area stood at 2,721,900 in July 2016, up 54,000 from one year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that nonfarm employment rose 2.0 percent locally from July a year ago. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.7 percent. (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 38,900 jobs from July 2015 to July 2016. The other nine divisions for which data are published also added jobs over the year.

 

Industry employment

Education and health services, the largest industry in the Boston area, had the largest local employment gain, adding 15,500 jobs from July 2015 to July 2016. The 2.8-percent rate of local job growth in this supersector matched the 2.8 percent gain nationwide.

Leisure and hospitality had the next largest annual employment gain in the Boston area from July 2015, adding 9,300 jobs. The 3.4-percent rate of job growth in Boston’s leisure and hospitality supersector was higher than the 2.7-percent gain nationwide.

Locally, professional and business services and trade, transportation, and utilities added 8,400 and 6,300 jobs, respectively. The 1.8-percent rate of local job growth in professional and business services was lower than the 2.6-percent gain nationwide. The 1.5-percent local job growth rate in trade, transportation, and utilities was higher than the nation’s 1.4-percent gain.

 

Two other supersectors in the Boston area gained at least 1,000 jobs over the year—financial activities (+ 5,800) and other services (+1,100). The local rate of job growth in financial activities (3.1 percent) outpaced the 2.0-percent national increase while the rate of job growth in other services (1.0 percent) matched the national rate.

Two supersectors in the Boston area lost jobs over the year—manufacturing (-2,400) and government (-1,300). Nationally, manufacturing employment decreased while government employment increased.

Employment in the 12 Largest Metropolitan Areas

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in July 2016. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with 10 exceeding the national average of 1.7 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, up 3.2 percent. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (0.4 percent) and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (1.3 percent) had the slowest rates of job growth (See chart 3 and table 2.)

 

New York-Newark-Jersey City area added the largest number of jobs over the year, 199,700, followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (+116,800) and Dallas (+109,900). Houston had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 13,300 jobs, followed by Boston, which added 54,000 jobs.

Education and health services added the most jobs in Boston, Los Angeles,New York, and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale. Professional and business services gained the most jobs in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward.

Manufacturing lost the most jobs over the year in 7 areas — Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix. New York was the only area to have no annual job loss in any supersector.

Metropolitan area employment data for August 2016 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 20, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

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/.

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, MA-NH 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.  

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

Area and Industry	July	May	June	July	Jul 2015 to
	2015	2016	2016	2016(p)	Jul 2016 (p)
					Net change	Percent change
U.S.
Total nonfarm	141,774	144,555	145,215	144,185	2,411	1.7
Mining and logging	825	689	689	691	-134	-16.2
Construction	6,703	6,698	6,846	6,912	209	3.1
Manufacturing	12,407	12,253	12,374	12,379	-28	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	26,969	27,216	27,369	27,355	386	1.4
Information	2,767	2,740	2,797	2,798	31	1.1
Financial activities	8,210	8,250	8,338	8,377	167	2.0
Professional and business services	19,837	20,138	20,341	20,357	520	2.6
Educational and health services	21,750	22,696	22,487	22,367	617	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	15,844	15,716	16,176	16,269	425	2.7
Other services	5,702	5,703	5,760	5,757	55	1.0
Government	20,760	22,456	22,038	20,923	163	0.8
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,667.9	2,699.1	2,732.5	2,721.9	54.0	2.0
Mining, logging, and construction	109.3	112.7	117.5	119.9	10.6	9.7
Manufacturing	193.2	188.7	190.9	190.8	-2.4	-1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	418.1	421.8	426.3	424.4	6.3	1.5
Information	78.9	74.8	78.8	79.6	0.7	0.9
Financial activities	185.5	185.7	188.9	191.3	5.8	3.1
Professional and business services	465.6	462.5	471.9	474.0	8.4	1.8
Educational and health services	549.5	569.9	565.6	565.0	15.5	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	272.1	263.3	274.5	281.4	9.3	3.4
Other services	105.6	104.0	106.1	106.7	1.1	1.0
Government	290.1	315.7	312.0	288.8	-1.3	-0.4
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA division
Total nonfarm	1,791.7	1,808.0	1,831.2	1,830.6	38.9	2.2
Mining, logging, and construction	66.5	68.6	71.8	73.2	6.7	10.1
Manufacturing	82.6	80.8	82.1	82.2	-0.4	-0.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	247.6	247.8	250.3	249.3	1.7	0.7
Information	57.9	56.2	58.2	58.7	0.8	1.4
Financial activities	153.0	153.9	156.6	158.8	5.8	3.8
Professional and business services	347.5	345.3	352.5	354.5	7.0	2.0
Educational and health services	393.3	408.9	405.3	406.2	12.9	3.3
Leisure and hospitality	186.1	179.0	186.2	191.0	4.9	2.6
Other services	70.0	69.4	70.5	70.6	0.6	0.9
Government	187.2	198.1	197.7	186.1	-1.1	-0.6
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	Jul	May	Jun	Jul	Jul 2015 to
	2015	2016	2016	2016 (p)	Jul 2016 (p)
					Net	Percent
					change	change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,581.4	2,664.1	2,656.7	2,656.2	74.8	2.9
Mining and logging	1.4	1.5	1.4	1.4	0.0	0.0
Construction	109.0	115.1	116.1	116.8	7.8	7.2
Manufacturing	157.7	160.8	162.4	163.3	5.6	3.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	577.8	595.1	593.7	595.5	17.7	3.1
Information	94.5	87.9	88.3	88.8	-5.7	-6.0
Financial activities	163.0	164.6	165.0	166.3	3.3	2.0
Professional and business services	480.3	496.1	495.5	497.5	17.2	3.6
Education and health services	314.8	328.0	321.9	325.0	10.2	3.2
Leisure and hospitality	276.0	290.7	292.6	291.5	15.5	5.6
Other services	98.2	97.2	97.1	97.0	-1.2	-1.2
Government	308.7	327.1	322.7	313.1	4.4	1.4
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)
Total nonfarm	2,667.9	2,699.1	2,732.5	2,721.9	54.0	2.0
Mining, logging, and construction	109.3	112.7	117.5	119.9	10.6	9.7
Manufacturing	193.2	188.7	190.9	190.8	-2.4	-1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	418.1	421.8	426.3	424.4	6.3	1.5
Information	78.9	74.8	78.8	79.6	0.7	0.9
Financial activities	185.5	185.7	188.9	191.3	5.8	3.1
Professional and business services	465.6	462.5	471.9	474.0	8.4	1.8
Education and health services	549.5	569.9	565.6	565.0	15.5	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	272.1	263.3	274.5	281.4	9.3	3.4
Other services	105.6	104.0	106.1	106.7	1.1	1.0
Government	290.1	315.7	312.0	288.8	-1.3	-0.4
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,620.8	4,675.7	4,701.8	4,681.8	61.0	1.3
Mining and logging	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.6	0.1	6.7
Construction	174.6	173.4	181.6	185.1	10.5	6.0
Manufacturing	417.4	412.3	415.1	414.4	-3.0	-0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	932.4	938.1	942.5	943.2	10.8	1.2
Information	82.6	81.2	81.6	81.9	-0.7	-0.8
Financial activities	297.2	292.3	295.4	295.3	-1.9	-0.6
Professional and business services	821.8	822.1	831.5	831.0	9.2	1.1
Education and health services	688.1	712.9	702.1	695.6	7.5	1.1
Leisure and hospitality	471.1	480.9	492.0	488.6	17.5	3.7
Other services	196.3	195.9	198.4	200.9	4.6	2.3
Government	537.8	565.1	560.0	544.2	6.4	1.2
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,401.6	3,515.7	3,526.8	3,511.5	109.9	3.2
Mining, logging, and construction	202.0	199.8	202.0	203.0	1.0	0.5
Manufacturing	264.6	262.2	263.7	262.2	-2.4	-0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	724.1	752.4	756.8	757.9	33.8	4.7
Information	81.1	80.6	80.7	80.3	-0.8	-1.0
Financial activities	277.3	288.9	290.6	291.7	14.4	5.2
Professional and business services	563.8	579.4	578.9	583.1	19.3	3.4
Education and health services	416.2	431.5	430.0	430.0	13.8	3.3
Leisure and hospitality	357.9	374.3	381.4	378.5	20.6	5.8
Other services	121.5	120.1	121.1	120.5	-1.0	-0.8
Government	393.1	426.5	421.6	404.3	11.2	2.8
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	2,980.0	2,993.2	3,001.9	2,993.3	13.3	0.4
Mining and logging	99.9	86.7	86.8	86.5	-13.4	-13.4
Construction	217.5	219.0	215.8	217.9	0.4	0.2
Manufacturing	245.3	230.4	231.5	231.3	-14.0	-5.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	611.9	612.7	615.3	616.8	4.9	0.8
Information	32.9	31.3	31.2	30.5	-2.4	-7.3
Financial activities	152.1	153.2	154.5	155.1	3.0	2.0
Professional and business services	473.7	456.2	458.6	463.7	-10.0	-2.1
Education and health services	366.8	383.7	383.4	381.6	14.8	4.0
Leisure and hospitality	305.8	318.9	327.8	328.2	22.4	7.3
Other services	108.6	107.0	109.2	108.3	-0.3	-0.3
Government	365.5	394.1	387.8	373.4	7.9	2.2
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	5,780.7	5,956.7	5,963.8	5,897.5	116.8	2.0
Mining and logging	4.7	4.1	4.1	4.1	-0.6	-12.8
Construction	220.5	233.2	233.3	232.0	11.5	5.2
Manufacturing	520.2	510.8	513.2	514.8	-5.4	-1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,074.3	1,085.6	1,087.7	1,089.9	15.6	1.5
Information	223.9	237.1	235.4	228.6	4.7	2.1
Financial activities	334.0	335.7	338.4	337.4	3.4	1.0
Professional and business services	886.0	901.3	911.3	910.8	24.8	2.8
Education and health services	926.3	982.4	974.8	964.8	38.5	4.2
Leisure and hospitality	705.4	716.1	728.3	729.2	23.8	3.4
Other services	202.2	203.7	203.3	202.4	0.2	0.1
Government	683.2	746.7	734.0	683.5	0.3	0.0
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,465.1	2,569.4	2,541.5	2,539.8	74.7	3.0
Mining and logging	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	112.5	119.8	119.6	122.6	10.1	9.0
Manufacturing	84.4	84.9	84.4	83.8	-0.6	-0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	579.6	593.4	594.4	592.9	13.3	2.3
Information	48.2	48.0	48.2	48.1	-0.1	-0.2
Financial activities	175.3	181.3	182.9	183.7	8.4	4.8
Professional and business services	403.3	415.0	415.7	421.0	17.7	4.4
Education and health services	361.8	375.0	373.3	371.3	9.5	2.6
Leisure and hospitality	299.8	319.2	316.7	313.4	13.6	4.5
Other services	120.3	123.9	122.5	121.2	0.9	0.7
Government	279.3	308.3	283.2	281.2	1.9	0.7
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,373.9	9,527.4	9,607.7	9,573.6	199.7	2.1
Mining, logging, and construction	384.1	391.2	396.2	400.6	16.5	4.3
Manufacturing	368.9	369.3	373.0	371.8	2.9	0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,709.4	1,721.5	1,741.4	1,728.7	19.3	1.1
Information	287.4	277.1	291.7	293.7	6.3	2.2
Financial activities	776.4	765.9	773.4	781.8	5.4	0.7
Professional and business services	1,500.7	1,508.8	1,521.6	1,522.2	21.5	1.4
Education and health services	1,733.5	1,842.6	1,809.2	1,786.5	53.0	3.1
Leisure and hospitality	920.7	907.9	957.8	972.2	51.5	5.6
Other services	415.0	421.8	427.8	430.0	15.0	3.6
Government	1,277.8	1,321.3	1,315.6	1,286.1	8.3	0.6
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,804.5	2,897.5	2,912.3	2,870.2	65.7	2.3
Mining, logging, and construction	114.7	115.0	117.2	117.3	2.6	2.3
Manufacturing	182.0	183.3	184.9	185.0	3.0	1.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	516.0	527.4	529.6	524.3	8.3	1.6
Information	46.7	44.4	46.9	46.6	-0.1	-0.2
Financial activities	210.9	210.1	211.7	212.3	1.4	0.7
Professional and business services	449.4	471.0	475.1	472.5	23.1	5.1
Education and health services	590.7	616.1	608.6	604.4	13.7	2.3
Leisure and hospitality	265.2	267.0	277.9	275.5	10.3	3.9
Other services	119.3	119.8	120.3	119.4	0.1	0.1
Government	309.6	343.4	340.1	312.9	3.3	1.1
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	1,866.6	1,960.3	1,934.2	1,925.2	58.6	3.1
Mining and logging	3.5	3.3	3.3	3.2	-0.3	-8.6
Construction	99.6	105.7	108.2	110.3	10.7	10.7
Manufacturing	120.6	119.9	120.9	120.1	-0.5	-0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	373.8	383.9	383.4	383.8	10.0	2.7
Information	36.8	38.8	39.2	38.4	1.6	4.3
Financial activities	167.0	174.7	175.2	175.2	8.2	4.9
Professional and business services	320.4	328.1	329.8	331.3	10.9	3.4
Education and health services	276.6	291.9	290.4	288.2	11.6	4.2
Leisure and hospitality	201.7	214.4	209.4	207.0	5.3	2.6
Other services	65.0	65.7	65.6	65.3	0.3	0.5
Government	201.6	233.9	208.8	202.4	0.8	0.4
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,266.4	2,314.0	2,325.7	2,327.0	60.6	2.7
Mining and logging	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.9	-0.1	-10.0
Construction	113.3	117.3	118.8	122.2	8.9	7.9
Manufacturing	127.6	127.0	128.3	129.2	1.6	1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	366.1	368.9	371.5	373.8	7.7	2.1
Information	86.5	85.7	87.0	87.5	1.0	1.2
Financial activities	131.7	129.5	130.2	131.3	-0.4	-0.3
Professional and business services	467.9	473.3	477.0	483.3	15.4	3.3
Education and health services	326.0	343.0	339.7	338.8	12.8	3.9
Leisure and hospitality	262.1	266.5	271.6	271.0	8.9	3.4
Other services	84.6	84.6	85.6	85.2	0.6	0.7
Government	299.6	317.3	315.1	303.8	4.2	1.4
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,184.9	3,245.8	3,274.9	3,279.7	94.8	3.0
Mining, logging, and construction	154.7	158.4	161.9	161.6	6.9	4.5
Manufacturing	53.0	53.2	53.7	54.3	1.3	2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	404.6	413.4	417.5	415.6	11.0	2.7
Information	77.5	73.0	75.5	76.1	-1.4	-1.8
Financial activities	155.5	153.7	154.4	155.8	0.3	0.2
Professional and business services	729.2	739.7	745.6	748.3	19.1	2.6
Education and health services	404.8	420.4	420.5	421.1	16.3	4.0
Leisure and hospitality	325.6	326.6	338.2	337.1	11.5	3.5
Other services	200.2	200.0	201.6	203.4	3.2	1.6
Government	679.8	707.4	706.0	706.4	26.6	3.9
(p) preliminary