Total nonfarm employment for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,791,400 in August 2018, up 53,700, or 2.0 percent, over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the national rate of job growth was 1.7 percent. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the Atlanta area has had over-the-year employment gains each month since July 2010. (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.)

Industry employment

In the Atlanta metropolitan area, the education and health services industry had the largest employment gain from August 2017 to August 2018, up 16,800, or 4.9 percent. Local job gains in the industry were concentrated in the hospitals (+8,100) and ambulatory health care services (+7,100) subsectors. Nationwide, employment in the education and health services industry rose 2.1 percent over the year. (See chart 2.)

Atlanta’s trade, transportation, and utilities supersector added 12,700 jobs, a 2.1-percent increase over the 12-month period. Local job gains were focused in the transportation and warehousing subsector (+7,200). Employment nationwide in trade, transportation, and utilities increased 1.2 percent from August a year ago.

Two other supersectors in the Atlanta area gained at least 9,000 jobs since last August. Atlanta’s construction supersector added 11,400 jobs, up 9.4 percent; nationwide, employment in this supersector rose 4.0 percent over the year. Atlanta’s leisure and hospitality industry added 9,800 jobs since August 2017. The 3.3-percent rate of local job growth exceeded the national gain of 1.6 percent.

For the eighth consecutive month, the information supersector in the Atlanta area lost jobs over the year. During the most recent 12-month period, the local information supersector lost 3,800 jobs, a 3.8-percent rate of decline. Nationally, employment in this supersector declined 0.8 percent during the 12-month period ended August 2018.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in August 2018. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 8 areas matching or exceeding the national increase of 1.7 percent. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land had the fastest rate of job growth, up 3.7 percent, followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale at 3.6 percent. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin had the slowest rate of job growth, up 0.8 percent, followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (1.2 percent). (See chart 3 and table 2.)

New York-Newark-Jersey City added the largest number of jobs over the year, 136,100. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (+114,900) and Houston (+110,200) also had increases over 100,000 jobs. Chicago had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 36,300 jobs. Annual gains in the remaining eight metropolitan areas ranged from 73,500 in Phoenix to 38,800 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.

Over the year, profession and business services added the most jobs in five areas: Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.

Information lost the most jobs in seven areas: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, and Washington. Dallas was the only metropolitan area to have no annual job losses in any supersector from August a year ago.

Metropolitan area employment data for September 2018 are scheduled to be released on Friday, October 19, 2018.

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 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 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 for the total private employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.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/sae/additional-resources/reliability-of-state-and-area-estimates.htm. Measures of nonsampling error are not available for the areas contained in this 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 July 15, 2015. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes the counties of Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton in Georgia.

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.