Total nonfarm employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Mass.-N.H. Metropolitan New England City and Town Area stood at 2,765,100 in April 2018, up 36,900 from one year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that nonfarm employment rose 1.4 percent locally from April 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 27,000 jobs from April 2017 to April 2018. The other divisions for which data are published also added jobs over the year except the Peabody and Framingham divisions.

Industry employment

Professional and business services had the largest annual employment gain in the Boston area from April 2017, adding 18,200 jobs. The 3.8-percent rate of job growth in Boston’s professional and business services supersector exceeded the 2.6-percent nationwide gain.

Education and health services, the largest industry in the Boston area, had the next largest local employment gain, adding 7,600 jobs from April 2017 to April 2018. The 1.3-percent rate of local job growth in this supersector lagged the national gain of 1.8 percent.

Three other supersectors in the Boston area gained at least 1,000 jobs over the year— manufacturing (+3,100), leisure and hospitality (+2,700) and other services (+1,700). The local rates of job growth in manufacturing and leisure and hospitality supersectors lagged that of the nation.

The government supersector had the largest annual job loss in the Boston area of 1,500 jobs over the year, a 0.5-percent rate of decrease.

Employment in the twelve Largest Metropolitan Areas

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in April 2018. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 4 areas exceeding the national increase of 1.6 percent. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had the fastest rate of job growth, up 3.4 percent, followed by Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale up 2.8 percent, respectively. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin had the slowest rate of job growth, up 0.7 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

The Dallas area added the largest number of jobs over the year, 119,900, followed by New York-Newark-Jersey City, up 113,500. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 25,500 jobs. Annual gains in the remaining nine metropolitan areas ranged from 94,100 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim to 34,700 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.

Over the year, professional and business services added the most jobs in five areas: Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward. Education and health services gained the most jobs in four areas: New York, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Phoenix and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. The information supersector lost the most jobs over the year in three areas: Atlanta, Chicago and Houston.

Metropolitan area employment data for May 2018 are scheduled to be released on Friday, June 15, 2018, 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/benchmark2017.pdf.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget July 15, 2015. 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, Mass.-N.H. 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, Mass.-N.H. NECTA include:  Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA; Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Mass.; Framingham, Mass.; Haverhill- Newburyport-Amesbury town, Mass.-N.H.; Lawrence-Methuen town-Salem, Mass.-N.H.; Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, Mass.-N.H.; Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, Mass.; Nashua, N.H.-Mass.; Peabody-Salem-Beverly, Mass.; Taunton-Middleborough-Norton, Mass.; 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, United States and Boston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	2017-04-01	Feb 2018	Mar 2018	Apr 2018(p)	Apr 2017 to Apr 2018 (p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	146,101	146,674	147,369	148,367	2,266	1.6
Mining and logging	660	702	711	719	59	8.9
Construction	6,816	6,799	6,886	7,078	262	3.8
Manufacturing	12,349	12,536	12,576	12,599	250	2.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,192	27,330	27,420	27,484	292	1.1
Information	2,793	2,753	2,755	2,768	-25	-0.9
Financial activities	8,382	8,487	8,502	8,507	125	1.5
Professional and business services	20,300	20,466	20,571	20,819	519	2.6
Educational and health services	23,260	23,598	23,629	23,684	424	1.8
Leisure and hospitality	15,888	15,591	15,825	16,158	270	1.7
Other services	5,748	5,780	5,800	5,847	99	1.7
Government	22,713	22,632	22,694	22,704	-9	0.0
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,728.2	2,708.0	2,719.1	2,765.1	36.9	1.4
Mining, logging, and construction	108.2	107.5	107.7	113.3	5.1	4.7
Manufacturing	185.3	187.0	187.9	188.4	3.1	1.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	419.5	413.9	414.6	419.7	0.2	0.0
Information	79.3	79.7	79.7	79.2	-0.1	-0.1
Financial activities	183.1	182.2	181.3	183.0	-0.1	-0.1
Professional and business services	479.5	481.1	485.0	497.7	18.2	3.8
Educational and health services	586.7	587.7	588.8	594.3	7.6	1.3
Leisure and hospitality	267.7	253.9	258.4	270.4	2.7	1.0
Other services	101.8	101.3	100.8	103.5	1.7	1.7
Government	317.1	313.7	314.9	315.6	-1.5	-0.5
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA division
Total nonfarm	1,838.9	1,826.5	1,833.0	1,865.9	27.0	1.5
Mining, logging, and construction	64.6	65.3	64.9	67.0	2.4	3.7
Manufacturing	78.8	79.6	80.1	80.5	1.7	2.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	248.7	243.1	243.1	246.8	-1.9	-0.8
Information	59.1	59.4	59.5	58.8	-0.3	-0.5
Financial activities	152.2	151.2	150.3	151.9	-0.3	-0.2
Professional and business services	360.4	364.0	367.7	377.6	17.2	4.8
Educational and health services	423.8	423.9	424.7	429.0	5.2	1.2
Leisure and hospitality	185.4	176.3	179.2	188.3	2.9	1.6
Other services	67.0	66.9	66.2	68.1	1.1	1.6
Government	198.9	196.8	197.3	197.9	-1.0	-0.5
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 and Industry	Apr 2017	Feb 2018	Mar 2018	Apr 2018(p)	Apr 2017 to Apr 2018(p)
					Net change	Percent change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,711.4	2,736.0	2,744.6	2,752.7	41.3	1.5
Mining and logging	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	119.0	124.3	124.1	125.9	6.9	5.8
Manufacturing	166.5	168.7	168.7	168.1	1.6	1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	597.4	609.6	613.3	612.7	15.3	2.6
Information	99.0	92.6	90.9	90.6	-8.4	-8.5
Financial activities	169.2	168.8	169.1	169.9	0.7	0.4
Professional and business services	496.9	494.3	496.0	494.4	-2.5	-0.5
Education and health services	339.8	350.2	353.6	353.0	13.2	3.9
Leisure and hospitality	289.7	289.7	292.4	299.0	9.3	3.2
Other services	99.4	99.4	98.2	100.2	0.8	0.8
Government	332.9	336.8	336.7	337.3	4.4	1.3
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)
Total nonfarm	2,728.2	2,708.0	2,719.1	2,765.1	36.9	1.4
Mining, logging, and construction	108.2	107.5	107.7	113.3	5.1	4.7
Manufacturing	185.3	187.0	187.9	188.4	3.1	1.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	419.5	413.9	414.6	419.7	0.2	0.0
Information	79.3	79.7	79.7	79.2	-0.1	-0.1
Financial activities	183.1	182.2	181.3	183.0	-0.1	-0.1
Professional and business services	479.5	481.1	485.0	497.7	18.2	3.8
Education and health services	586.7	587.7	588.8	594.3	7.6	1.3
Leisure and hospitality	267.7	253.9	258.4	270.4	2.7	1.0
Other services	101.8	101.3	100.8	103.5	1.7	1.7
Government	317.1	313.7	314.9	315.6	-1.5	-0.5
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,664.2	4,632.0	4,656.2	4,698.9	34.7	0.7
Mining and logging	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	168.4	157.4	165.4	174.1	5.7	3.4
Manufacturing	414.1	418.2	420.2	419.6	5.5	1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	938.2	938.5	941.7	945.3	7.1	0.8
Information	79.4	76.0	75.8	75.6	-3.8	-4.8
Financial activities	301.4	306.7	306.5	305.5	4.1	1.4
Professional and business services	816.1	802.4	799.2	814.5	-1.6	-0.2
Education and health services	727.9	730.8	733.7	736.1	8.2	1.1
Leisure and hospitality	475.1	452.3	460.7	475.9	0.8	0.2
Other services	195.0	193.3	192.9	194.1	-0.9	-0.5
Government	547.0	554.9	558.6	556.6	9.6	1.8
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,568.0	3,645.7	3,660.1	3,687.9	119.9	3.4
Mining, logging, and construction	211.1	215.6	217.2	223.9	12.8	6.1
Manufacturing	268.6	276.3	275.7	276.7	8.1	3.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	755.8	769.7	771.4	774.4	18.6	2.5
Information	83.5	84.0	83.8	83.7	0.2	0.2
Financial activities	291.3	296.8	297.5	296.8	5.5	1.9
Professional and business services	585.8	600.6	605.0	611.7	25.9	4.4
Education and health services	441.3	451.2	452.1	452.9	11.6	2.6
Leisure and hospitality	372.3	381.5	382.9	393.0	20.7	5.6
Other services	121.0	123.7	126.6	126.9	5.9	4.9
Government	437.3	446.3	447.9	447.9	10.6	2.4
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	3,013.0	3,061.5	3,074.9	3,097.5	84.5	2.8
Mining and logging	77.0	78.5	77.8	78.2	1.2	1.6
Construction	215.7	226.2	227.2	227.9	12.2	5.7
Manufacturing	217.9	222.7	222.7	228.0	10.1	4.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	610.6	623.6	623.8	624.9	14.3	2.3
Information	32.5	31.7	31.5	31.0	-1.5	-4.6
Financial activities	157.8	161.3	161.7	162.1	4.3	2.7
Professional and business services	476.4	496.0	503.4	506.2	29.8	6.3
Education and health services	384.8	385.0	385.2	388.3	3.5	0.9
Leisure and hospitality	316.4	314.0	317.3	324.2	7.8	2.5
Other services	111.1	108.2	109.3	112.2	1.1	1.0
Government	412.8	414.3	415.0	414.5	1.7	0.4
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	6,023.7	6,083.5	6,101.8	6,117.8	94.1	1.6
Mining and logging	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9	0.0	0.0
Construction	236.6	244.8	242.8	247.7	11.1	4.7
Manufacturing	508.4	507.5	508.8	507.8	-0.6	-0.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,090.9	1,093.8	1,088.0	1,087.0	-3.9	-0.4
Information	237.8	240.5	245.6	244.2	6.4	2.7
Financial activities	338.3	339.9	338.9	340.9	2.6	0.8
Professional and business services	899.4	919.9	923.8	928.8	29.4	3.3
Education and health services	1,007.9	1,030.4	1,036.8	1,035.9	28.0	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	738.9	748.8	756.2	762.7	23.8	3.2
Other services	205.3	199.7	200.3	202.0	-3.3	-1.6
Government	757.3	755.3	757.7	757.9	0.6	0.1
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,640.7	2,664.6	2,671.0	2,666.2	25.5	1.0
Mining and logging	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.1	14.3
Construction	128.2	136.0	138.5	140.1	11.9	9.3
Manufacturing	88.9	92.8	94.3	96.6	7.7	8.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	595.9	600.5	599.2	595.8	-0.1	0.0
Information	51.3	50.8	50.6	50.4	-0.9	-1.8
Financial activities	178.6	178.8	179.5	179.4	0.8	0.4
Professional and business services	434.4	443.5	439.4	437.6	3.2	0.7
Education and health services	393.7	393.4	395.2	394.0	0.3	0.1
Leisure and hospitality	330.0	329.9	333.1	332.2	2.2	0.7
Other services	123.8	123.7	124.6	124.6	0.8	0.6
Government	315.2	314.4	315.8	314.7	-0.5	-0.2
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,613.9	9,624.6	9,667.9	9,727.4	113.5	1.2
Mining, logging, and construction	391.4	381.7	385.9	395.9	4.5	1.1
Manufacturing	363.2	360.4	362.5	362.6	-0.6	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,716.3	1,735.3	1,737.6	1,741.3	25.0	1.5
Information	283.5	283.1	285.8	284.6	1.1	0.4
Financial activities	768.5	773.6	774.0	772.0	3.5	0.5
Professional and business services	1,528.1	1,530.9	1,537.2	1,545.0	16.9	1.1
Education and health services	1,937.1	1,973.0	1,980.3	1,989.3	52.2	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	894.4	863.2	874.9	901.6	7.2	0.8
Other services	420.4	420.2	419.2	421.4	1.0	0.2
Government	1,311.0	1,303.2	1,310.5	1,313.7	2.7	0.2
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,908.6	2,896.2	2,917.3	2,948.0	39.4	1.4
Mining, logging, and construction	116.7	108.8	110.4	114.6	-2.1	-1.8
Manufacturing	179.6	180.4	179.9	180.1	0.5	0.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	517.6	521.3	523.8	525.9	8.3	1.6
Information	46.0	44.8	44.9	44.9	-1.1	-2.4
Financial activities	213.0	214.2	214.4	214.9	1.9	0.9
Professional and business services	464.6	458.4	464.3	475.0	10.4	2.2
Education and health services	645.3	657.3	658.6	660.6	15.3	2.4
Leisure and hospitality	264.2	250.4	258.0	267.4	3.2	1.2
Other services	120.4	118.2	119.3	120.4	0.0	0.0
Government	341.2	342.4	343.7	344.2	3.0	0.9
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,036.3	2,081.5	2,090.8	2,092.7	56.4	2.8
Mining and logging	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.2	0.0	0.0
Construction	110.4	118.1	119.6	121.4	11.0	10.0
Manufacturing	120.9	127.8	127.9	128.4	7.5	6.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	389.8	398.5	400.2	396.9	7.1	1.8
Information	36.4	35.9	36.1	36.4	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	184.7	190.0	189.5	189.4	4.7	2.5
Professional and business services	343.0	348.7	349.7	349.7	6.7	2.0
Education and health services	306.4	318.6	319.1	319.7	13.3	4.3
Leisure and hospitality	228.8	228.7	233.4	235.0	6.2	2.7
Other services	66.0	65.0	65.5	65.7	-0.3	-0.5
Government	246.7	247.1	246.7	246.9	0.2	0.1
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,382.0	2,410.8	2,417.9	2,426.8	44.8	1.9
Mining and logging	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.1	25.0
Construction	114.4	118.6	119.1	120.4	6.0	5.2
Manufacturing	137.1	141.3	142.1	142.2	5.1	3.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	379.5	381.9	381.1	382.5	3.0	0.8
Information	102.8	108.5	108.6	108.5	5.7	5.5
Financial activities	141.5	142.5	142.3	144.1	2.6	1.8
Professional and business services	474.6	485.2	486.7	487.8	13.2	2.8
Education and health services	349.5	356.1	358.3	355.4	5.9	1.7
Leisure and hospitality	271.9	267.7	269.5	274.4	2.5	0.9
Other services	87.2	85.0	84.0	84.7	-2.5	-2.9
Government	323.1	323.5	325.7	326.3	3.2	1.0
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,269.2	3,277.7	3,288.3	3,307.9	38.7	1.2
Mining, logging, and construction	159.2	158.5	160.4	161.3	2.1	1.3
Manufacturing	54.7	54.6	54.7	54.7	0.0	0.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	402.7	402.3	406.2	408.3	5.6	1.4
Information	73.8	74.9	74.8	74.9	1.1	1.5
Financial activities	156.2	157.9	157.9	159.4	3.2	2.0
Professional and business services	744.2	751.5	748.0	751.5	7.3	1.0
Education and health services	439.5	445.2	445.5	449.2	9.7	2.2
Leisure and hospitality	326.3	321.4	326.9	334.8	8.5	2.6
Other services	206.6	208.8	208.4	208.7	2.1	1.0
Government	706.0	702.6	705.5	705.1	-0.9	-0.1
p(Preliminary)