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News Release Information

23-832-PHI
Monday, April 24, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Washington Area Employment — March 2023

Total nonfarm employment for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, metropolitan area increased by 74,700 over the year in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the local rate of job gain, 2.3 percent, compared to the 2.7-percent national rise. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)   

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, is made up of two metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. Employment rose over the year in both divisions. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, division, with 82 percent of the metropolitan area’s total nonfarm employment, added 58,500 jobs over the year. The Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD, division, which accounted for 18 percent of the area’s employment, gained 16,200 jobs since March 2022.

Industry employment

In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, leisure and hospitality had the largest increase (+27,400) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors, with both divisions recording rises. Within the supersector, the accommodation and food services sector added 23,500 jobs. (See chart 2.) The 9.7-percent gain in the metropolitan area’s leisure and hospitality supersector compared to the 6.5-percent gain on a national level.   

Education and health services added 19,900 jobs over the year in the metropolitan area. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, division rose by 14,700 jobs, or 74 percent of the metropolitan area’s employment gain in this industry. Within the supersector, the health care and social assistance sector increased by 10,300 jobs. In Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD, the supersector gained 5,200 jobs, with 3,900 jobs added in the health care and social assistance sector. The metropolitan area had a 4.6-percent increase compared to the 4.3-percent rise for the nation.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in March 2023. All 12 areas gained jobs over the year. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, had the largest increase (+277,000). San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, had the smallest increase (+50,100), followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (+53,400), among the largest areas. (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, had a 5.1-percent rate of job gain, followed by Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (+4.5 percent). The rates of job gain in the remaining 10 areas ranged from 3.5 percent in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, to 1.6 percent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for April 2023 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Changes to Current Employment Statistics (CES) Data

Effective with the release of January 2023 data, all nonfarm payroll employment estimates in this release have been adjusted to 2022 benchmark levels. Not seasonally adjusted data beginning with April 2021 and seasonally adjusted data beginning with January 2018 were subject to revision. Some not seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted series have been revised as far back as 1990.

In addition, the basis for industry classification in the establishment survey has been revised from the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to NAICS 2022. Implementation of NAICS 2022 resulted in revisions reflecting content and coding changes within the retail trade, information, and financial services sectors. The majority of the changes associated with the NAICS 2022 implementation impact levels of detail not published by CES State and Area. For more information about updated industry titles and new, discontinued, and collapsed industries resulting from the NAICS 2022 implementation, see the CES State and Area benchmark article.


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.

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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.

  • The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.
  • The Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division includes Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.

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, Washington metropolitan area and its components, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
AreaBack
data
Mar
2022
Jan
2023
Feb
2023
Mar
2023
Mar 2022 to
Mar 2023
Net
change
Percent
change

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area

Total nonfarm

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479000000000001
3,266.03,308.33,322.9(p)3,340.7(p)74.7(p)2.3

Mining, logging, and construction

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479001500000001
160.1160.9161.9(p)163.3(p)3.2(p)2.0

Manufacturing

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479003000000001
55.657.055.7(p)55.9(p)0.3(p)0.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479004000000001
395.5402.0395.9(p)395.1(p)-0.4(p)-0.1

Information

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479005000000001
80.278.378.4(p)79.0(p)-1.2(p)-1.5

Financial activities

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479005500000001
154.0152.0152.7(p)153.5(p)-0.5(p)-0.3

Professional and business services

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479006000000001
792.7798.7803.0(p)805.1(p)12.4(p)1.6

Education and health services

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479006500000001
436.0447.3452.8(p)455.9(p)19.9(p)4.6

Leisure and hospitality

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479007000000001
282.0298.2299.7(p)309.4(p)27.4(p)9.7

Other services

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479008000000001
190.6193.6194.0(p)195.1(p)4.5(p)2.4

Government

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11479009000000001
719.3720.3728.8(p)728.4(p)9.1(p)1.3

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division

Total nonfarm

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478940000000001
2,685.52,715.82,726.9(p)2,744.0(p)58.5(p)2.2

Mining, logging, and construction

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478941500000001
127.4128.5129.5(p)130.6(p)3.2(p)2.5

Manufacturing

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478943000000001
36.236.835.4(p)35.5(p)-0.7(p)-1.9

Trade, transportation, and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478944000000001
320.4324.7319.9(p)318.8(p)-1.6(p)-0.5

Information

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478945000000001
68.066.166.0(p)66.6(p)-1.4(p)-2.1

Financial activities

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478945500000001
119.9118.5119.4(p)120.5(p)0.6(p)0.5

Professional and business services

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478946000000001
659.9664.8667.4(p)671.2(p)11.3(p)1.7

Education and health services

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478946500000001
344.6351.6356.7(p)359.3(p)14.7(p)4.3

Leisure and hospitality

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478947000000001
234.4247.7248.4(p)257.4(p)23.0(p)9.8

Other services

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478948000000001
168.0170.6170.8(p)171.6(p)3.6(p)2.1

Government

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU11478949000000001
606.7606.5613.4(p)612.5(p)5.8(p)1.0

Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division

Total nonfarm

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435240000000001
580.5592.5596.0(p)596.7(p)16.2(p)2.8

Mining, logging, and construction

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435241500000001
32.732.432.4(p)32.7(p)0.0(p)0.0

Manufacturing

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435243000000001
19.420.220.3(p)20.4(p)1.0(p)5.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435244000000001
75.177.376.0(p)76.3(p)1.2(p)1.6

Information

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435245000000001
12.212.212.4(p)12.4(p)0.2(p)1.6

Financial activities

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435245500000001
34.133.533.3(p)33.0(p)-1.1(p)-3.2

Professional and business services

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435246000000001
132.8133.9135.6(p)133.9(p)1.1(p)0.8

Education and health services

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435246500000001
91.495.796.1(p)96.6(p)5.2(p)5.7

Leisure and hospitality

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435247000000001
47.650.551.3(p)52.0(p)4.4(p)9.2

Other services

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435248000000001
22.623.023.2(p)23.5(p)0.9(p)4.0

Government

Go to web page with historical data for series SMU24435249000000001
112.6113.8115.4(p)115.9(p)3.3(p)2.9

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

SOURCE: Current Employment Statistics - National - State and Metropolitan Area

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)
AreaMar
2022
Jan
2023
Feb
2023
Mar
2023(p)
Mar 2022 to
Mar 2023(p)
Net
change
Percent
change

United States(1)

Total nonfarm

150,411152,839153,997154,5174,1062.7

Mining and logging

583622624629467.9

Construction

7,4637,5507,6037,6561932.6

Manufacturing

12,67312,88912,92612,9362632.1

Trade, transportation, and utilities

28,32728,75828,63828,6012741.0

Information

3,0063,0503,0603,070642.1

Financial activities

8,9499,0469,0479,041921.0

Professional and business services

22,20722,46822,64222,6774702.1

Education and health services

24,16224,75025,12725,2041,0424.3

Leisure and hospitality

15,10315,63915,82316,0849816.5

Other services

5,6125,7435,7665,7881763.1

Government

22,32622,32422,74122,8315052.3

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

Total nonfarm

2,945.13,012.43,031.03,041.796.63.3

Mining and logging

1.81.81.81.80.00.0

Construction

134.8140.2141.5140.96.14.5

Manufacturing

175.7177.8178.2177.01.30.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

649.5650.3651.8654.14.60.7

Information

116.8117.1117.1116.80.00.0

Financial activities

194.1202.5203.2204.110.05.2

Professional and business services

579.4582.2582.7582.02.60.4

Education and health services

381.0398.2403.6407.526.57.0

Leisure and hospitality

278.5297.7301.4306.728.210.1

Other services

99.8104.5107.1107.37.57.5

Government

333.7340.1342.6343.59.82.9

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)

Total nonfarm

2,729.72,772.42,787.62,809.079.32.9

Mining, logging, and construction

120.8122.4121.9124.73.93.2

Manufacturing

182.6181.8181.8182.0-0.6-0.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

400.6411.3407.1406.05.41.3

Information

81.783.484.384.22.53.1

Financial activities

182.9188.8189.4189.26.33.4

Professional and business services

524.4536.4539.6542.618.23.5

Education and health services

596.2596.3610.7617.921.73.6

Leisure and hospitality

233.8242.2239.8248.214.46.2

Other services

96.999.399.6100.43.53.6

Government

309.8310.5313.4313.84.01.3

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

Total nonfarm

4,617.54,667.74,674.24,691.674.11.6

Mining and logging

1.41.41.41.50.17.1

Construction

166.3163.9162.1167.91.61.0

Manufacturing

404.6407.7408.7408.53.91.0

Trade, transportation, and utilities

949.4965.3957.3956.36.90.7

Information

79.580.378.978.4-1.1-1.4

Financial activities

315.1313.0312.5315.0-0.10.0

Professional and business services

847.5839.8836.1833.7-13.8-1.6

Education and health services

723.2741.3752.6751.228.03.9

Leisure and hospitality

419.1445.9447.3457.338.29.1

Other services

188.9192.9194.2195.66.73.5

Government

522.5516.2523.1526.23.70.7

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Total nonfarm

4,001.64,177.14,195.64,204.7203.15.1

Mining, logging, and construction

227.8240.8244.7242.714.96.5

Manufacturing

295.4305.3303.9305.19.73.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

866.3900.9899.8896.830.53.5

Information

88.193.893.092.94.85.4

Financial activities

351.5368.7367.7368.416.94.8

Professional and business services

742.4776.5786.3787.545.16.1

Education and health services

464.9490.8494.0497.432.57.0

Leisure and hospitality

382.9400.8401.1407.824.96.5

Other services

124.5133.9134.6134.510.08.0

Government

457.8465.6470.5471.613.83.0

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

Total nonfarm

3,190.33,285.43,312.43,332.3142.04.5

Mining and logging

63.168.367.968.04.97.8

Construction

218.4220.8221.5224.56.12.8

Manufacturing

220.2227.1227.2229.49.24.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

658.8680.9677.5683.524.73.7

Information

32.233.433.333.10.92.8

Financial activities

174.7182.7184.2183.18.44.8

Professional and business services

525.5543.8550.9555.029.55.6

Education and health services

417.5433.6440.8442.124.65.9

Leisure and hospitality

330.6338.5343.2343.412.83.9

Other services

117.1115.8116.8119.42.32.0

Government

432.2440.5449.1450.818.64.3

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Total nonfarm

6,150.06,226.96,282.96,302.0152.02.5

Mining and logging

2.11.91.91.9-0.2-9.5

Construction

254.4244.9250.0248.8-5.6-2.2

Manufacturing

474.5474.8473.9476.01.50.3

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,082.71,101.41,097.21,096.513.81.3

Information

264.0242.3249.5254.5-9.5-3.6

Financial activities

330.1327.5329.4326.7-3.4-1.0

Professional and business services

986.51,008.11,013.01,010.524.02.4

Education and health services

1,111.91,149.71,164.51,168.556.65.1

Leisure and hospitality

706.4736.0752.5761.455.07.8

Other services

202.2204.6208.8208.96.73.3

Government

735.2735.7742.2748.313.11.8

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Total nonfarm

2,778.32,846.12,868.62,875.697.33.5

Mining and logging

      

Construction

141.7140.9141.5139.1-2.6-1.8

Manufacturing

93.495.296.596.63.23.4

Trade, transportation, and utilities

628.4647.7651.1650.822.43.6

Information

54.654.754.654.4-0.2-0.4

Financial activities

206.1212.2211.5213.06.93.3

Professional and business services

500.4513.7516.1514.313.92.8

Education and health services

418.5433.3438.2442.123.65.6

Leisure and hospitality

320.5329.1334.1338.518.05.6

Other services

109.9112.5114.9115.05.14.6

Government

304.0306.0309.3311.07.02.3

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Total nonfarm

9,677.69,819.79,894.09,954.6277.02.9

Mining, logging, and construction

384.3387.8392.0398.113.83.6

Manufacturing

344.6344.5346.8348.94.31.2

Trade, transportation, and utilities

1,654.21,674.51,655.61,656.22.00.1

Information

321.6311.1321.5323.62.00.6

Financial activities

784.6803.2804.5805.520.92.7

Professional and business services

1,594.11,596.51,611.71,621.627.51.7

Education and health services

2,109.32,166.12,207.22,225.6116.35.5

Leisure and hospitality

801.2848.5855.3873.272.09.0

Other services

388.7399.0401.1401.512.83.3

Government

1,295.01,288.51,298.31,300.45.40.4

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Total nonfarm

2,979.13,024.43,041.73,061.182.02.8

Mining, logging, and construction

120.6121.6120.9120.70.10.1

Manufacturing

178.1180.1181.7181.23.11.7

Trade, transportation, and utilities

545.0554.5548.9547.42.40.4

Information

53.254.354.454.31.12.1

Financial activities

224.5228.1228.2229.04.52.0

Professional and business services

492.7494.2494.9499.16.41.3

Education and health services

669.5683.6698.9704.134.65.2

Leisure and hospitality

244.5253.8253.9262.818.37.5

Other services

117.3121.2121.2122.75.44.6

Government

333.7333.0338.7339.86.11.8

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

Total nonfarm

2,308.72,354.42,364.72,362.153.42.3

Mining and logging

3.03.13.23.20.26.7

Construction

149.0152.1155.5157.98.96.0

Manufacturing

143.6149.2148.9150.56.94.8

Trade, transportation, and utilities

456.9453.2453.5452.2-4.7-1.0

Information

42.643.142.942.5-0.1-0.2

Financial activities

218.0221.3221.7219.01.00.5

Professional and business services

385.8399.7394.8392.26.41.7

Education and health services

358.0377.2381.2380.122.16.2

Leisure and hospitality

235.4240.4244.2245.19.74.1

Other services

71.670.370.570.7-0.9-1.3

Government

244.8244.8248.3248.73.91.6

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Total nonfarm

2,442.62,477.12,493.92,492.750.12.1

Mining and logging

0.40.30.30.3-0.1-25.0

Construction

122.6121.3125.2123.50.90.7

Manufacturing

153.6156.1158.0157.43.82.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

352.2358.4357.1354.52.30.7

Information

149.3150.8150.4150.61.30.9

Financial activities

143.8144.8145.9144.91.10.8

Professional and business services

518.3520.5522.6521.43.10.6

Education and health services

380.6390.5394.5395.715.14.0

Leisure and hospitality

224.5239.6243.1245.120.69.2

Other services

81.382.581.781.30.00.0

Government

316.0312.3315.1318.02.00.6

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Total nonfarm

3,266.03,308.33,322.93,340.774.72.3

Mining, logging, and construction

160.1160.9161.9163.33.22.0

Manufacturing

55.657.055.755.90.30.5

Trade, transportation, and utilities

395.5402.0395.9395.1-0.4-0.1

Information

80.278.378.479.0-1.2-1.5

Financial activities

154.0152.0152.7153.5-0.5-0.3

Professional and business services

792.7798.7803.0805.112.41.6

Education and health services

436.0447.3452.8455.919.94.6

Leisure and hospitality

282.0298.2299.7309.427.49.7

Other services

190.6193.6194.0195.14.52.4

Government

719.3720.3728.8728.49.11.3

Footnotes
(1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published.
(p) Preliminary

 

Last Modified Date: Monday, April 24, 2023