Total nonfarm employment for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,037,400 in September 2019, essentially unchanged over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national job count increased 1.4 percent. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that this was the second time since May 2010 that the Detroit metropolitan area had no over-the-year percentage change in employment. (See chart 1 and table 1; the Technical Note at the end of this release contains metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

The Detroit metropolitan area is made up of two metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills division, which accounted for 62 percent of the metropolitan area's employment, lost 2,900 jobs from September a year ago, a decline of 0.2 percent. The Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia Metropolitan Division, the area’s other employment center, gained 2,100 jobs over the 12-month period, a 0.3-percent rise.

Industry employment

In the Detroit metropolitan area, leisure and hospitality added the largest number of jobs from September 2018 to September 2019, up 4,400. Local employment in the leisure and hospitality supersector increased 2.2 percent over the year; nationally, employment in this sector rose 2.0 percent. (See chart 2.) Local job gains were concentrated in the Warren division, up 3,500 from the previous September.

Mining, logging, and construction had the second largest employment increase in the Detroit area, up 3,500 jobs over the year. The 4.5-percent rate of job growth was the highest among the local area supersectors that posted annual employment gains since last September. While both divisions added jobs, the rate of job growth was faster-paced in the Detroit division (+7.1 percent) compared to the Warren division (+3.3 percent).

Detroit’s trade, transportation, and utilities supersector added 2,300 jobs from September a year ago. Over the year, local employment in the trade, transportation, and utilities supersector increased 0.6 percent, while nationally, employment rose 0.4 percent. Employment gains were concentrated in the Detroit division (+1,900).

Two other local supersectors each gained at least 1,800 jobs: government and financial activities. The government supersector added 2,200 jobs, a 1.2-percent increase in the local area from September 2018 to September 2019. Nationally, employment in the government supersector grew 0.8 percent over the year. Detroit’s financial activities supersector added 1,800 jobs, a 1.6-percent increase. Nationally, employment in the financial activities supersector grew 1.2 percent over the year.

Three supersectors in the Detroit area lost more than 1,000 jobs since September 2018: manufacturing, education and health services, and professional and business services. Locally, manufacturing lost 7,200 jobs, down 2.7 percent. The Detroit area’s education and health services supersector lost 4,800 jobs, a 1.5-percent decrease. Professional and business services lost 2,500 jobs locally, a 0.6-percent decrease over the year. Nationally, employment in these supersectors increased over the year.

Metropolitan area employment data for October are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 19, 2019.

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 that 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 2017 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.

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.

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 the totals shown in the same tables because of rounding.

Employment estimates. 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 down to the supersector level are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm. Measures of nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this news release. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.pdf.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne Counties in Michigan.

The Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, MI Metropolitan Division includes Wayne County in Michigan.

The Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division includes Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair Counties in Michigan.

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.