Total nonfarm employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua metropolitan area stood at 2,727,200 in October 2016, up 46,700 from one year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that nonfarm employment rose 1.7 percent locally from October a year ago. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.6 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 32,400 jobs from October 2015 to October 2016. Eight divisions for which data are published also added jobs over the year except the Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem metropolitan division.

 

Industry employment

Education and health services, the largest industry in the Boston area, had the largest local employment gain, adding 11,100 jobs from October 2015 to October 2016. The 2.0-percent rate of local job growth in this supersector was lower than the 2.6 percent gain nationwide.

Leisure and hospitality had the next largest annual employment gain in the Boston area from October 2015, adding 9,700 jobs followed by professional and business services which added 7,400 jobs. The 3.8-percent rate of job growth in Boston’s leisure and hospitality supersector was higher than the 1.9-percent gain nationwide. The 1.6-percent rate of local job growth in professional and business services was lower than the national increase of 2.7-percent.

 

Three other supersectors in the Boston area gained at least 2,000 jobs over the year—financial activities (5,500), trade, transportation and utilities (5,000), and government (2,100). The local rate of job growth in financial activities (3.0 percent) outpaced the 2.1-percent national increase while growth rate in trade, transportation and utilities (1.2 percent) was similar to the national rate (1.3 percent). Likewise, the growth rate in government (0.7 percent) was similar to the national average (0.9 percent).

One supersector in the Boston area lost jobs over the year—manufacturing (1,900), a decrease of 1.0 percent. Nationally, manufacturing employment declined by 0.5 percent.

Employment in the 12 Largest Metropolitan Areas

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in October 2016. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with 8 exceeding the national average of 1.6 percent. The fastest rate of job growth was in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, up 3.3 percent. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (0.4 percent) and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (0.8 percent) had the slowest rates of job growth. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

 

The New York-Newark-Jersey City area added the largest number of jobs over the year, 135,600, followed by Dallas (+114,000) and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (+111,200). Houston had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 13,400 jobs, followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, which added 37,800 jobs.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward. Professional and business services gained the most jobs in Atlanta-Sandy-Springs-Roswell, Chicago, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, and Washington. Manufacturing lost the most jobs over the year in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Metropolitan area employment data for November 2016 are scheduled to be released on Friday, December 16, 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 are available for metropolitan areas or metropolitan divisions upon request. Measures of sampling error for states down to the supersector level is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/sae/benchmark2016.pdf.

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	Oct	Aug	Sept	Oct	Oct 2015 to
	2015	2016	2016	2016(p)	Oct 2016 (p)
					Net change	Percent change
U.S.
Total nonfarm	143,689	144,413	145,029	145,928	2239	1.6
Mining and logging	792	690	688	691	-101	-12.8
Construction	6,713	6,919	6,890	6,888	175	2.6
Manufacturing	12,340	12,365	12,306	12,282	-58	-0.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,109	27,356	27,276	27,457	348	1.3
Information	2,770	2,788	2,764	2,778	8	0.3
Financial activities	8,170	8,380	8,328	8,344	174	2.1
Professional and business services	20,050	20,422	20,447	20,594	544	2.7
Educational and health services	22,470	22,424	22,731	23,060	590	2.6
Leisure and hospitality	15,233	16,209	15,756	15,516	283	1.9
Other services	5,637	5,735	5,700	5,718	81	1.4
Government	22,405	21,125	22,143	22,600	195	0.9
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,680.5	2,713.0	2,709.0	2,727.2	46.7	1.7
Mining, logging, and construction	110.3	120.1	117.3	116.6	6.3	5.7
Manufacturing	190.8	190.0	188.6	188.9	-1.9	-1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	419.0	423.7	421.2	424.0	5.0	1.2
Information	77.1	78.9	78.3	77.8	0.7	0.9
Financial activities	183.3	190.5	188.3	188.8	5.5	3.0
Professional and business services	462.4	471.7	466.0	469.8	7.4	1.6
Educational and health services	564.5	563.6	567.7	575.6	11.1	2.0
Leisure and hospitality	257.9	283.6	268.5	267.6	9.7	3.8
Other services	101.5	105.7	101.9	102.3	0.8	0.8
Government	313.7	285.2	311.2	315.8	2.1	0.7
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA division
Total nonfarm	1,795.7	1,823.4	1,814.9	1,828.1	32.4	1.8
Mining, logging, and construction	66.8	73.5	71.2	70.3	3.5	5.2
Manufacturing	81.5	81.8	80.9	81.3	-0.2	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	247.2	248.2	247.2	247.6	0.4	0.2
Information	56.7	58.4	57.8	57.5	0.8	1.4
Financial activities	151.7	158.1	156.5	157.2	5.5	3.6
Professional and business services	345.0	352.3	348.5	351.8	6.8	2.0
Educational and health services	406.3	404.0	406.7	413.4	7.1	1.7
Leisure and hospitality	175.9	193.6	183.5	183.9	8.0	4.5
Other services	68.0	69.6	67.6	68.0	0.0	0.0
Government	196.6	183.9	195.0	197.1	0.5	0.3
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	Aug	Sep	Oct	Oct 2015 to
	2015	2016	2016	2016 (p)	Oct 2016 (p)
					Net	Percent
					change	change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,623.2	2,667.4	2,668.0	2,693.6	70.4	2.7
Mining and logging	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.4	-0.1	-6.7
Construction	110.4	117.3	117.0	118.6	8.2	7.4
Manufacturing	159.9	159.9	161.2	161.1	1.2	0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	586.2	595.8	593.0	599.5	13.3	2.3
Information	88.4	88.5	88.2	88.2	-0.2	-0.2
Financial activities	164.0	166.1	168.2	168.8	4.8	2.9
Professional and business services	489.5	497.4	497.9	507.5	18.0	3.7
Education and health services	323.0	329.7	329.5	334.2	11.2	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	275.6	293.5	286.3	286.4	10.8	3.9
Other services	97.3	95.6	95.1	95.5	-1.8	-1.8
Government	327.4	322.2	330.2	332.4	5.0	1.5
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)
Total nonfarm	2,680.5	2,713.0	2,709.0	2,727.2	46.7	1.7
Mining, logging, and construction	110.3	120.1	117.3	116.6	6.3	5.7
Manufacturing	190.8	190.0	188.6	188.9	-1.9	-1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	419.0	423.7	421.2	424.0	5.0	1.2
Information	77.1	78.9	78.3	77.8	0.7	0.9
Financial activities	183.3	190.5	188.3	188.8	5.5	3.0
Professional and business services	462.4	471.7	466.0	469.8	7.4	1.6
Education and health services	564.5	563.6	567.7	575.6	11.1	2.0
Leisure and hospitality	257.9	283.6	268.5	267.6	9.7	3.8
Other services	101.5	105.7	101.9	102.3	0.8	0.8
Government	313.7	285.2	311.2	315.8	2.1	0.7
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,659.6	4,677.3	4,677.0	4,698.3	38.7	0.8
Mining and logging	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.5	-0.1	-6.3
Construction	177.1	183.8	182.0	181.2	4.1	2.3
Manufacturing	414.8	412.1	409.7	410.7	-4.1	-1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	938.8	938.7	934.8	943.0	4.2	0.4
Information	82.4	80.9	80.5	80.4	-2.0	-2.4
Financial activities	294.2	294.2	288.7	288.8	-5.4	-1.8
Professional and business services	819.9	835.3	838.5	844.1	24.2	3.0
Education and health services	713.6	694.8	705.5	716.3	2.7	0.4
Leisure and hospitality	459.9	494.7	480.0	474.0	14.1	3.1
Other services	195.8	200.2	197.8	197.0	1.2	0.6
Government	561.5	541.1	558.0	561.3	-0.2	0.0
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,451.7	3,531.0	3,545.1	3,565.7	114.0	3.3
Mining, logging, and construction	200.2	203.7	205.0	206.3	6.1	3.0
Manufacturing	262.4	262.1	259.7	260.1	-2.3	-0.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	736.3	762.3	764.2	772.0	35.7	4.8
Information	79.9	81.5	82.0	81.4	1.5	1.9
Financial activities	280.4	294.3	293.3	294.4	14.0	5.0
Professional and business services	572.6	590.2	592.8	592.9	20.3	3.5
Education and health services	425.5	435.3	436.3	439.0	13.5	3.2
Leisure and hospitality	359.0	375.5	371.9	371.0	12.0	3.3
Other services	118.7	120.1	120.0	121.0	2.3	1.9
Government	416.7	406.0	419.9	427.6	10.9	2.6
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	3,009.4	2,991.7	3,004.4	3,022.8	13.4	0.4
Mining and logging	94.8	87.1	86.9	86.4	-8.4	-8.9
Construction	227.6	214.9	216.6	217.9	-9.7	-4.3
Manufacturing	238.9	230.3	230.0	232.1	-6.8	-2.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	612.5	620.1	618.1	622.9	10.4	1.7
Information	31.7	30.8	30.4	30.5	-1.2	-3.8
Financial activities	152.9	155.1	152.4	153.7	0.8	0.5
Professional and business services	471.5	464.0	463.3	466.2	-5.3	-1.1
Education and health services	375.8	385.2	387.9	389.4	13.6	3.6
Leisure and hospitality	305.8	327.4	323.0	319.2	13.4	4.4
Other services	108.3	108.5	106.7	105.6	-2.7	-2.5
Government	389.6	368.3	389.1	398.9	9.3	2.4
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	5,895.1	5,921.6	5,958.8	6,006.3	111.2	1.9
Mining and logging	4.7	4.1	4.0	4.0	-0.7	-14.9
Construction	222.8	232.7	229.2	229.7	6.9	3.1
Manufacturing	514.5	512.6	510.8	509.5	-5.0	-1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,081.3	1,089.5	1,087.4	1,095.0	13.7	1.3
Information	231.4	234.1	232.6	237.1	5.7	2.5
Financial activities	332.9	339.2	338.4	338.6	5.7	1.7
Professional and business services	901.0	919.9	916.1	920.6	19.6	2.2
Education and health services	963.3	965.5	980.8	996.9	33.6	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	706.2	725.0	727.7	723.3	17.1	2.4
Other services	201.5	201.9	204.2	206.5	5.0	2.5
Government	735.5	697.1	727.6	745.1	9.6	1.3
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,532.3	2,558.9	2,565.9	2,583.3	51.0	2.0
Mining and logging	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	116.4	121.7	122.0	121.7	5.3	4.6
Manufacturing	84.5	84.2	84.3	84.4	-0.1	-0.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	586.2	593.3	592.8	596.3	10.1	1.7
Information	48.6	48.3	47.6	48.0	-0.6	-1.2
Financial activities	177.5	183.1	181.9	182.1	4.6	2.6
Professional and business services	410.7	422.3	423.1	425.7	15.0	3.7
Education and health services	373.3	372.9	376.2	379.7	6.4	1.7
Leisure and hospitality	304.8	311.0	309.1	313.4	8.6	2.8
Other services	122.0	120.0	121.2	122.6	0.6	0.5
Government	307.7	301.5	307.1	308.8	1.1	0.4
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,467.2	9,513.9	9,523.3	9,602.8	135.6	1.4
Mining, logging, and construction	384.2	399.2	398.4	394.4	10.2	2.7
Manufacturing	371.7	371.7	373.3	371.8	0.1	0.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,729.4	1,726.9	1,733.7	1,745.1	15.7	0.9
Information	288.8	290.5	288.9	288.3	-0.5	-0.2
Financial activities	770.6	778.6	771.5	768.2	-2.4	-0.3
Professional and business services	1,512.0	1,522.3	1,516.5	1,530.9	18.9	1.3
Education and health services	1,805.4	1,778.6	1,812.3	1,852.0	46.6	2.6
Leisure and hospitality	878.4	957.9	923.3	903.5	25.1	2.9
Other services	411.2	426.1	420.5	420.5	9.3	2.3
Government	1,315.5	1,262.1	1,284.9	1,328.1	12.6	1.0
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,860.8	2,860.6	2,879.2	2,904.4	43.6	1.5
Mining, logging, and construction	115.5	118.4	118.1	116.9	1.4	1.2
Manufacturing	181.1	183.8	184.2	183.5	2.4	1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	522.8	523.2	523.3	528.6	5.8	1.1
Information	46.7	46.4	46.0	46.2	-0.5	-1.1
Financial activities	209.4	213.4	211.8	211.5	2.1	1.0
Professional and business services	454.8	467.5	465.8	466.6	11.8	2.6
Education and health services	615.5	602.3	613.6	624.9	9.4	1.5
Leisure and hospitality	254.9	273.6	263.8	262.8	7.9	3.1
Other services	117.9	118.5	118.2	120.0	2.1	1.8
Government	342.2	313.5	334.4	343.4	1.2	0.4
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	1,952.5	1,947.8	1,967.4	1,990.3	37.8	1.9
Mining and logging	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	100.0	106.9	109.4	109.9	9.9	9.9
Manufacturing	120.6	119.4	118.5	118.7	-1.9	-1.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	384.5	383.9	383.7	388.8	4.3	1.1
Information	37.0	37.7	37.5	38.3	1.3	3.5
Financial activities	169.3	174.5	174.0	175.0	5.7	3.4
Professional and business services	330.2	329.2	328.1	335.4	5.2	1.6
Education and health services	288.8	292.8	297.0	299.4	10.6	3.7
Leisure and hospitality	210.0	212.4	212.5	215.5	5.5	2.6
Other services	66.2	64.2	64.2	64.2	-2.0	-3.0
Government	242.6	223.5	239.2	241.8	-0.8	-0.3
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,296.7	2,331.1	2,334.8	2,354.9	58.2	2.5
Mining and logging	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.9	-0.1	-10.0
Construction	115.4	123.9	124.4	122.6	7.2	6.2
Manufacturing	127.9	129.4	129.2	126.9	-1.0	-0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	371.0	374.5	374.3	377.7	6.7	1.8
Information	86.9	86.8	86.3	86.7	-0.2	-0.2
Financial activities	130.2	132.1	130.8	132.1	1.9	1.5
Professional and business services	471.6	484.3	483.1	487.1	15.5	3.3
Education and health services	334.5	339.2	344.9	350.4	15.9	4.8
Leisure and hospitality	262.2	272.5	269.7	272.7	10.5	4.0
Other services	84.1	83.5	83.3	83.6	-0.5	-0.6
Government	311.9	304.0	307.9	314.2	2.3	0.7
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,206.6	3,243.1	3,257.5	3,276.8	70.2	2.2
Mining, logging, and construction	154.9	160.2	159.7	158.9	4.0	2.6
Manufacturing	53.5	54.1	53.7	54.6	1.1	2.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	404.5	415.9	412.5	416.4	11.9	2.9
Information	75.3	75.1	75.1	74.2	-1.1	-1.5
Financial activities	155.7	156.0	154.4	153.6	-2.1	-1.3
Professional and business services	730.7	746.6	746.0	752.7	22.0	3.0
Education and health services	417.5	420.0	429.3	432.4	14.9	3.6
Leisure and hospitality	315.3	332.7	322.2	320.9	5.6	1.8
Other services	198.1	202.5	202.1	201.1	3.0	1.5
Government	701.1	680.0	702.5	712.0	10.9	1.6
(p) preliminary