Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, April 3, 2024 	                                  USDL-24-0627

Technical information: 
 Employment:             (202) 691-6559  *  sminfo@bls.gov    *  www.bls.gov/sae 
 Unemployment:           (202) 691-6392  *  lausinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/lau 

Media contact:           (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                  METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- FEBRUARY 2024


(NOTE: This news release was reissued on Friday, April 5, 2024, to correct the spelling
of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area.)


Unemployment rates were higher in February than a year earlier in 247 of the 389 metropolitan
areas, lower in 109 areas, and unchanged in 33 areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 
reported today. A total of 54 areas had jobless rates of less than 3.0 percent and 13 areas 
had rates of at least 8.0 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 42 
metropolitan areas, decreased in 3 areas, and was essentially unchanged in 344 areas. The 
national unemployment rate in February was 4.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 
3.9 percent a year earlier.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly programs. The civilian labor force and 
unemployment data are based on the same concepts and definitions as those used for the national 
household survey estimates. These data pertain to individuals by where they reside. The 
employment data are from an establishment survey that measures nonfarm employment, hours, and 
earnings by industry. These data pertain to jobs on payrolls defined by where the establishments 
are located. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodologies used by these 
two programs, see the Technical Note.

Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In February, Ames, IA, had the lowest unemployment rate, 1.9 percent. The next lowest rate was 
in Burlington-South Burlington, VT, 2.0 percent. El Centro, CA, had the highest rate, 17.2 percent. 
A total of 216 areas had February jobless rates below the U.S. rate of 4.2 percent, 165 areas had 
rates above it, and 8 areas had rates equal to that of the nation. (See table 1.)

The largest over-the-year unemployment rate increase in February occurred in Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, 
HI (+2.7 percentage points). Forty-eight other areas had rate increases of at least 1.0 percentage 
point. Barnstable Town, MA, and Ocean City, NJ, had the largest over-the-year rate decreases in 
February (-1.1 percentage points each). 

Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, 
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, had the lowest jobless rate in February, 2.2
percent. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA, had the highest rate, 5.5 percent. Thirty-eight 
large areas had over-the-year unemployment rate increases, nine had decreases, and four had no
change. The largest rate increase was in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (+1.3 percentage points). 
The largest jobless rate decline occurred in Pittsburgh, PA (-0.8 percentage point).

Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are made up of 38 metropolitan divisions, which are 
essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In February, Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL,
had the lowest division unemployment rate, 1.6 percent. Tacoma-Lakewood, WA, had the highest rate 
among the divisions, 6.8 percent. (See table 2.)

In February, 24 metropolitan divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate increases and 14 had 
decreases. The largest rate increase occurred in Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA (+1.4 percentage 
points). The largest over-the-year jobless rate decline occurred in Taunton-Middleborough-Norton, MA 
(-0.5 percentage point).

Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In February, nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 42 metropolitan areas, decreased 
in 3 areas, and was essentially unchanged in 344 areas. The largest over-the-year employment increases 
occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (+92,300), Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 
(+79,800), and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+75,100). The largest over-the-year percentage gains
in employment occurred in Ocean City, NJ (+20.2 percent), Madera, CA (+6.3 percent), and Coeur d'Alene, 
ID (+5.9 percent). The over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro,
OR-WA (-18,500, or -1.5 percent), Elkhart-Goshen, IN (-6,400, or -4.6 percent), and Kahului-Wailuku-
Lahaina, HI (-5,700, or -7.4 percent). (See table 3.)

Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 21 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population 
of 1 million or more, decreased in 1 area, and was essentially unchanged in 29 areas. The largest 
over-the-year percentage increase in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in 
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV (+3.4 percent), followed by Austin-Round Rock, TX; Raleigh, NC; 
and Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA (+2.8 percent each). The over-the-year decrease in 
employment occurred in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA (-1.5 percent).

Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In February, nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 6 metropolitan divisions and was 
essentially unchanged in 32 divisions. The largest over-the-year increases in employment among the
metropolitan divisions occurred in Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX (+50,600), Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, 
FL (+35,600), and Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+24,500). (See table 4.)

The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment occurred in Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, 
FL (+2.8 percent), Tacoma-Lakewood, WA (+2.4 percent), and Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+2.1 percent).

_____________
The State Employment and Unemployment news release for March is scheduled to be released on Friday,
April 19, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release 
for March is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note
  
   This news release presents civilian labor force and unemployment data from the
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program (tables 1 and 2) for 389
metropolitan statistical areas and metropolitan New England City and Town Areas
(NECTAs), plus 7 areas in Puerto Rico. Estimates for 38 metropolitan and NECTA
divisions also are presented. Nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the
Current Employment Statistics (CES) program (tables 3 and 4) are provided for
the same areas. State estimates were previously published in the news release
State Employment and Unemployment, and are republished in this news release for
ease of reference. The LAUS and CES programs are both federal-state cooperative
endeavors.

Civilian labor force and unemployment--from the LAUS program

   Definitions. The civilian labor force and unemployment data are based on the
same concepts and definitions as those used for the official national estimates
obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a sample survey of households
that is conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census
Bureau. The LAUS program measures employed people and unemployed people on a
place-of-residence basis. The universe for each is the civilian noninstitutional
population 16 years of age and older. Employed people are those who did any work
at all for pay or profit in the reference week (typically the week including the
12th of the month) or worked 15 hours or more without pay in a family business or
farm, plus those not working who had a job from which they were temporarily absent,
whether or not paid, for such reasons as labor-management dispute, illness, or
vacation. Unemployed people are those who were not employed during the reference
week (based on the definition above), had actively looked for a job sometime in the
4-week period ending with the reference week, and were currently available for work;
people on layoff expecting recall need not be looking for work to be counted as
unemployed. The civilian labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed people.
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed as a percent of the civilian labor
force.

   Method of estimation. Estimates for states, the District of Columbia, the Los
Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan division, and New York City are produced
using time-series models with real-time benchmarking to national CPS totals. Model-
based estimates are also produced for the following areas and their respective
balances: the Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division;
Cleveland-Elyria, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area; Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Metropolitan Statistical Area; Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division;
and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division. Modeling improves the
statistical basis of the estimation for these areas and provides important tools
for analysis, such as measures of errors and seasonally adjusted series. For all
other substate areas in this news release, estimates are prepared through indirect
estimation procedures using a building-block approach. Estimates of employed
people, which are based largely on “place of work” estimates from the CES program,
are adjusted to refer to place of residence as used in the CPS. Unemployment
estimates are aggregates of people previously employed in industries covered by
state unemployment insurance (UI) laws and entrants to the labor force from the
CPS. The substate estimates of employment and unemployment, which geographically
exhaust the entire state, are adjusted proportionally to ensure that they add to
the independently estimated model-based area totals. A detailed description of the
estimation procedures is available from BLS upon request.

   Annual revisions. Civilian labor force and unemployment data shown for the prior
year reflect adjustments made at the beginning of each year, usually implemented with
the issuance of January estimates. The adjusted model-based estimates typically reflect
updated population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, any revisions in other input
data sources, and model re-estimation. All substate estimates then are re-estimated
using updated inputs and adjusted to add to the revised model-based totals. In early
2021, a new generation of time-series models was implemented, resulting in the
replacement of data back to the series beginnings.

Employment--from the CES program 

   Definitions. Employment data refer to people on establishment payrolls who receive
pay for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. People 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 that 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 online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.pdf.

   Seasonal adjustment. Payroll employment data are seasonally adjusted for states,
metropolitan areas, and metropolitan divisions at the total nonfarm level. For states,
data are seasonally adjusted at the supersector level as well. Revisions to historical
data for the most recent 5 years are made once a year, coincident with annual benchmark
adjustments.

   Payroll employment data are seasonally adjusted concurrently, using all available
estimates including those for the current month, to develop sample-based seasonal factors.
Concurrent sample-based factors are created every month for the current month's preliminary
estimate as well as the previous month's final estimate.

Reliability of the estimates

   The estimates presented in this news 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 the totals shown in the same tables because of
rounding.

Use of error measures

   Civilian labor force and unemployment estimates. Measures of sampling error are not
available for metropolitan areas or metropolitan divisions. Model-based error measures for
states are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/laus/lastderr.htm. Measures of
nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this news release. Information
on recent data revisions for states and local areas is available online at
www.bls.gov/lau/launews1.htm.

   Employment estimates. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited
in the analysis of this news release only if they have been determined to be statistically
significant at the 90-percent confidence level.  Measures of sampling error for the total
nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions
at www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm. Measures of sampling error for more detailed series
at the area and division level are available upon request. Measures of sampling error for
states at the supersector level and for the private service-providing, goods-producing,
total private and total nonfarm levels are available on the BLS website at 
www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm. 

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. Data reflect New England City and
Town Area (NECTA) definitions, rather than county-based definitions, in the six New England
States. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available online at
www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

Additional information

   Estimates of unadjusted and seasonally adjusted civilian labor force and unemployment
data for states and seven substate areas are available in the news release State Employment
and Unemployment. Estimates of civilian labor force and unemployment for all states,
metropolitan areas, counties, cities with a population of 25,000 or more, and other areas
used in the administration of various federal economic assistance programs are available
on the Internet at www.bls.gov/lau/. Employment data from the CES program for states and
metropolitan areas are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/.

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