Total nonfarm employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 3,466,600 in March 2016, up 129,900 over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. From March 2015 to March 2016, local nonfarm employment rose 3.9 percent, above the national increase of 2.0 percent. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that among the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Dallas ranked first in the rate of job growth and third in the number of jobs added.(See chart 1 and table 1; the Technical Note at the end of this release contains the metropolitan area definitions. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of two metropolitan divisions – separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Dallas-Plano-Irving Metropolitan Division, which accounted for 71 percent of the area’s workforce, added 112,600 jobs from March a year ago, an increase of 4.8 percent. The Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Division, which accounted for the remaining 29 percent of the area’s workforce, added 17,300 jobs during the 12-month period, a gain of 1.8 percent.

Industry employment

Trade, transportation, and utilities, the metropolitan area’s largest supersector, added 40,300 jobs from March 2015. (See table 1 and chart 2.) The 5.7-percent local rate of job growth compared to the national rate of 1.9 percent. Locally, industry employment growth occurred in each of the three subsectors, led by the addition of 20,300 wholesale trade jobs. Retail trade added 12,800 jobs and transportation and utilities added 7,200 jobs during the period.

Employment in leisure and hospitality rose by 26,900 from March 2015, with nearly all of the job gain in the supersector’s largest industry, food services and drinking places. The local leisure and hospitality job growth rate of 8.0 percent was more than double the national rate of 3.2 percent. While both metropolitan divisions added jobs over the year, the rate of job growth in Dallas-Plano-Irving exceeded that of Fort Worth-Arlington, at 10.3 and 3.2 percent, respectively.

The Dallas area’s professional and business services supersector added 20,600 jobs, a 3.8-percent gain over the year. One of the leading contributors to the supersector’s job growth was Dallas-Plano-Irving’s computer systems design and related services industry where employment increased by 8,500, a 13.6-percent gain. Nationwide, this supersector’s rate of job growth was 3.1 percent over the year.

Locally, education and health services employment expanded by 16,900 jobs, a gain of 4.1 percent over the year. Both metropolitan divisions had annual job gains, with Dallas-Plano-Irving adding 13,000 jobs and Fort Worth-Arlington adding 3,900 jobs. Nationwide, the rate of job growth was 3.2 percent over the year.

The local financial activities supersector added 13,000 jobs in the metropolitan area from March 2015, a 4.8-percent increase; nationally, the rate of job growth for this industry was 1.8 percent. Local employment growth was concentrated in the Dallas-Plano-Irving division, which added 11,900 jobs, a 5.5-percent increase.

Government employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area increased by 11,800 from March 2015; more than 80 percent of the gain came from local government which added 9,600 jobs. Total government employment rose 2.9 percent in the local area compared to a 0.5-percent rise nationwide.

The mining, logging, and construction supersector added 1,400 jobs over the year, an increase of 0.7 percent. All of the employment gain occurred in Dallas-Plano-Irving, which added 4,000 jobs during the period, a 3.2-percent increase. In contrast, employment in this industry declined in the Fort Worth-Arlington division, down by 2,600, a decrease of 3.6 percent.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington manufacturing supersector lost 2,100 jobs from March 2015, a 0.8-percent decrease; nationally, employment in this industry declined 0.2 percent. Within the two local metropolitan divisions, Fort Worth-Arlington lost 2,800 jobs, while employment in Dallas-Plano-Irving was little changed.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in March 2016. All 12 areas experienced over-the-year job growth during the period, with 9 areas exceeding the U.S. average of 2.0 percent. Dallas had the fastest rate of job growth, 3.9 percent, followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (3.7 percent) and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (3.2 percent). Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (0.3 percent), Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (1.6 percent), and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (1.8 percent) had the slowest rates of job growth. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

New York-Newark-Jersey City added the largest number of jobs, 193,200, followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (+145,300) and Dallas (+129,900). Houston had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 7,700 jobs, followed by Boston, up 42,700.

Professional and business services had the largest, or tied for the largest, employment gains in 5 of the 12 metropolitan areas from March a year ago—Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.

Manufacturing had the largest over-the-year losses in five areas—Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles. Three areas experienced no annual job losses in any supersector—Miami, New York, and Philadelphia.

Metropolitan area employment data for April 2016 are scheduled to be released on Friday, May 20, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

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 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 the 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 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 are available for state CES data at the total nonfarm and supersector levels and for metropolitan area CES data. Information on recent benchmark revisions for states is available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on February 28, 2013. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available online at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise Counties in Texas.

• The Dallas-Plano-Irving Metropolitan Division includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, and Rockwall Counties in Texas.
• The Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Division includes Hood, Johnson, Parker, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise Counties in Texas.

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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area and its components, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Mar. 2015	Jan. 2016	Feb. 2016	Mar. 2016(p)	Change from Mar. 2015 to Mar. 2016(p)
					Net Change	Percent Change
United States
Total nonfarm	140,099	141,150	141,987	142,877	2,778	2.0
Mining and logging	848	740	716	703	-145	-17.1
Construction	6,051	6,212	6,215	6,349	298	4.9
Manufacturing	12,254	12,245	12,236	12,228	-26	-0.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	26,449	26,997	26,830	26,953	504	1.9
Information	2,730	2,726	2,764	2,770	40	1.5
Financial activities	8,037	8,155	8,158	8,181	144	1.8
Professional and business services	19,233	19,643	19,723	19,828	595	3.1
Education and health services	21,973	22,261	22,590	22,687	714	3.2
Leisure and hospitality	14,599	14,661	14,792	15,060	461	3.2
Other services	5,577	5,589	5,621	5,652	75	1.3
Government	22,348	21,921	22,342	22,466	118	0.5
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	3,336.7	3,422.2	3,451.4	3,466.6	129.9	3.9
Mining, logging, and construction	196.1	195.1	196.8	197.5	1.4	0.7
Manufacturing	262.8	259.3	260.1	260.7	-2.1	-0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	703.9	741.2	740.4	744.2	40.3	5.7
Information	79.5	79.6	80.6	79.9	0.4	0.5
Financial activities	271.7	282.8	283.2	284.7	13.0	4.8
Professional and business services	548.9	558.6	566.5	569.5	20.6	3.8
Education and health services	408.6	422.5	425.3	425.5	16.9	4.1
Leisure and hospitality	337.1	355.2	359.4	364.0	26.9	8.0
Other services	117.7	114.5	117.3	118.4	0.7	0.6
Government	410.4	413.4	421.8	422.2	11.8	2.9
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	2,352.6	2,433.8	2,455.9	2,465.2	112.6	4.8
Mining, logging, and construction	124.4	125.9	127.2	128.4	4.0	3.2
Manufacturing	165.9	164.7	165.6	166.6	0.7	0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	469.3	499.6	499.3	500.0	30.7	6.5
Information	67.7	68.1	69.1	68.4	0.7	1.0
Financial activities	216.4	226.7	226.9	228.3	11.9	5.5
Professional and business services	440.9	450.4	456.2	456.5	15.6	3.5
Education and health services	283.3	294.2	296.7	296.3	13.0	4.6
Leisure and hospitality	228.1	243.8	246.5	251.5	23.4	10.3
Other services	79.9	79.4	81.4	82.2	2.3	2.9
Government	276.7	281.0	287.0	287.0	10.3	3.7
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	984.1	988.4	995.5	1,001.4	17.3	1.8
Mining, logging, and construction	71.7	69.2	69.6	69.1	-2.6	-3.6
Manufacturing	96.9	94.6	94.5	94.1	-2.8	-2.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	234.6	241.6	241.1	244.2	9.6	4.1
Information	11.8	11.5	11.5	11.5	-0.3	-2.5
Financial activities	55.3	56.1	56.3	56.4	1.1	2.0
Professional and business services	108.0	108.2	110.3	113.0	5.0	4.6
Education and health services	125.3	128.3	128.6	129.2	3.9	3.1
Leisure and hospitality	109.0	111.4	112.9	112.5	3.5	3.2
Other services	37.8	35.1	35.9	36.2	-1.6	-4.2
Government	133.7	132.4	134.8	135.2	1.5	1.1
(p) preliminary

Table 2. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Mar. 2015	Jan. 2016	Feb. 2016	Mar. 2016(p)	Change from Mar. 2015 to Mar. 2016(p)
					Net Change	Percent Change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,545.5	2,598.8	2,611.2	2,622.5	77.0	3.0
Mining and logging	1.4	1.5	1.5	1.5	0.1	7.1
Construction	104.4	109.7	112.4	112.9	8.5	8.1
Manufacturing	156.0	160.5	160.2	161.0	5.0	3.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	568.8	587.4	586.7	587.1	18.3	3.2
Information	87.4	86.6	86.2	85.9	-1.5	-1.7
Financial activities	160.4	163.0	161.9	161.9	1.5	0.9
Professional and business services	470.3	476.3	483.8	484.3	14.0	3.0
Education and health services	315.2	320.1	322.6	326.2	11.0	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	261.6	271.1	271.6	275.7	14.1	5.4
Other services	94.8	97.2	96.3	96.8	2.0	2.1
Government	325.2	325.4	328.0	329.2	4.0	1.2
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,602.2	2,618.0	2,625.6	2,644.9	42.7	1.6
Mining, logging, and construction	91.3	102.0	99.5	101.2	9.9	10.8
Manufacturing	191.8	189.4	188.7	188.6	-3.2	-1.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	408.2	417.3	410.3	413.5	5.3	1.3
Information	76.4	77.1	76.9	77.4	1.0	1.3
Financial activities	178.2	183.7	184.1	183.6	5.4	3.0
Professional and business services	441.9	445.4	446.1	448.5	6.6	1.5
Education and health services	557.0	558.0	568.6	572.4	15.4	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	240.4	237.4	236.0	240.8	0.4	0.2
Other services	98.7	100.6	100.1	102.6	3.9	4.0
Government	318.3	307.1	315.3	316.3	-2.0	-0.6
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,493.5	4,514.9	4,542.2	4,574.9	81.4	1.8
Mining and logging	1.5	1.2	1.2	1.4	-0.1	-6.7
Construction	148.6	150.3	149.5	156.4	7.8	5.2
Manufacturing	412.9	410.6	411.0	411.3	-1.6	-0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	908.3	923.5	920.2	922.9	14.6	1.6
Information	80.1	80.9	80.7	81.0	0.9	1.1
Financial activities	289.1	290.8	290.2	294.0	4.9	1.7
Professional and business services	783.4	774.9	783.5	786.3	2.9	0.4
Education and health services	699.7	704.8	712.9	712.4	12.7	1.8
Leisure and hospitality	427.4	437.3	440.3	452.3	24.9	5.8
Other services	193.1	192.6	194.9	195.1	2.0	1.0
Government	549.4	548.0	557.8	561.8	12.4	2.3
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,336.7	3,422.2	3,451.4	3,466.6	129.9	3.9
Mining, logging, and construction	196.1	195.1	196.8	197.5	1.4	0.7
Manufacturing	262.8	259.3	260.1	260.7	-2.1	-0.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	703.9	741.2	740.4	744.2	40.3	5.7
Information	79.5	79.6	80.6	79.9	0.4	0.5
Financial activities	271.7	282.8	283.2	284.7	13.0	4.8
Professional and business services	548.9	558.6	566.5	569.5	20.6	3.8
Education and health services	408.6	422.5	425.3	425.5	16.9	4.1
Leisure and hospitality	337.1	355.2	359.4	364.0	26.9	8.0
Other services	117.7	114.5	117.3	118.4	0.7	0.6
Government	410.4	413.4	421.8	422.2	11.8	2.9
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	2,980.1	2,973.5	2,983.2	2,987.8	7.7	0.3
Mining and logging	104.6	92.5	90.1	90.9	-13.7	-13.1
Construction	214.9	220.9	220.7	217.8	2.9	1.3
Manufacturing	255.3	237.4	234.5	235.4	-19.9	-7.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	604.8	612.6	609.1	610.2	5.4	0.9
Information	32.0	31.6	31.9	31.2	-0.8	-2.5
Financial activities	150.1	151.8	151.6	152.0	1.9	1.3
Professional and business services	469.7	458.4	459.7	458.2	-11.5	-2.4
Education and health services	362.8	375.3	378.4	378.8	16.0	4.4
Leisure and hospitality	294.0	305.3	309.3	313.3	19.3	6.6
Other services	105.9	105.6	105.6	106.0	0.1	0.1
Government	386.0	382.1	392.3	394.0	8.0	2.1
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	5,767.2	5,834.7	5,890.9	5,912.5	145.3	2.5
Mining and logging	4.2	4.3	4.2	4.1	-0.1	-2.4
Construction	209.2	220.3	225.0	225.0	15.8	7.6
Manufacturing	518.4	508.4	510.0	512.4	-6.0	-1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,062.5	1,088.1	1,077.7	1,077.6	15.1	1.4
Information	230.1	224.1	235.7	236.7	6.6	2.9
Financial activities	326.7	331.1	332.3	332.6	5.9	1.8
Professional and business services	875.6	883.3	893.4	895.6	20.0	2.3
Education and health services	934.6	957.0	975.3	980.3	45.7	4.9
Leisure and hospitality	674.8	691.8	698.7	703.0	28.2	4.2
Other services	198.6	196.6	200.5	201.2	2.6	1.3
Government	732.5	729.7	738.1	744.0	11.5	1.6
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,498.3	2,542.7	2,556.1	2,562.9	64.6	2.6
Mining and logging	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0
Construction	108.1	115.7	116.1	117.1	9.0	8.3
Manufacturing	83.5	84.8	85.7	85.7	2.2	2.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	580.3	592.4	591.0	591.9	11.6	2.0
Information	47.9	48.0	48.0	48.2	0.3	0.6
Financial activities	172.6	178.4	180.3	181.2	8.6	5.0
Professional and business services	399.7	408.4	411.6	411.3	11.6	2.9
Education and health services	364.9	372.7	374.8	374.5	9.6	2.6
Leisure and hospitality	313.3	313.4	316.9	319.5	6.2	2.0
Other services	121.1	123.0	123.4	124.2	3.1	2.6
Government	306.3	305.3	307.7	308.7	2.4	0.8
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	9,182.4	9,258.3	9,294.6	9,375.6	193.2	2.1
Mining, logging, and construction	341.9	358.2	353.6	367.9	26.0	7.6
Manufacturing	365.2	367.7	369.6	369.4	4.2	1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,687.5	1,714.2	1,695.3	1,695.6	8.1	0.5
Information	282.9	284.2	287.1	287.3	4.4	1.6
Financial activities	753.4	760.4	762.7	765.6	12.2	1.6
Professional and business services	1,445.6	1,466.6	1,468.1	1,484.0	38.4	2.7
Education and health services	1,779.5	1,792.4	1,815.7	1,835.1	55.6	3.1
Leisure and hospitality	822.7	823.0	822.8	840.3	17.6	2.1
Other services	404.7	410.0	413.4	416.7	12.0	3.0
Government	1,299.0	1,281.6	1,306.3	1,313.7	14.7	1.1
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,782.2	2,814.3	2,828.2	2,853.9	71.7	2.6
Mining, logging, and construction	101.4	107.4	105.0	108.4	7.0	6.9
Manufacturing	180.7	181.1	181.0	182.8	2.1	1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	507.4	518.2	514.5	520.1	12.7	2.5
Information	46.4	46.4	46.3	46.4	0.0	0.0
Financial activities	206.3	209.1	209.4	209.3	3.0	1.5
Professional and business services	437.4	450.5	452.0	454.9	17.5	4.0
Education and health services	603.3	608.2	620.4	620.5	17.2	2.9
Leisure and hospitality	240.8	240.0	239.0	249.0	8.2	3.4
Other services	116.4	116.9	118.1	118.1	1.7	1.5
Government	342.1	336.5	342.5	344.4	2.3	0.7
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	1,903.1	1,946.9	1,963.3	1,973.0	69.9	3.7
Mining and logging	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.3	-0.1	-2.9
Construction	96.7	100.9	103.0	104.9	8.2	8.5
Manufacturing	118.1	120.6	119.6	119.7	1.6	1.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	370.4	383.6	382.0	381.3	10.9	2.9
Information	35.8	38.6	38.2	38.3	2.5	7.0
Financial activities	164.5	172.1	174.2	175.8	11.3	6.9
Professional and business services	315.6	331.2	331.4	330.9	15.3	4.8
Education and health services	278.2	289.5	291.1	292.5	14.3	5.1
Leisure and hospitality	212.2	210.2	212.5	217.6	5.4	2.5
Other services	65.4	65.3	66.3	67.1	1.7	2.6
Government	242.8	231.6	241.7	241.6	-1.2	-0.5
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,224.4	2,276.3	2,285.2	2,295.5	71.1	3.2
Mining and logging	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.9	-0.1	-10.0
Construction	105.7	113.6	113.2	114.4	8.7	8.2
Manufacturing	125.2	126.2	126.6	126.4	1.2	1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	357.9	374.2	370.4	370.1	12.2	3.4
Information	82.5	85.8	85.8	85.9	3.4	4.1
Financial activities	127.9	128.6	128.5	129.2	1.3	1.0
Professional and business services	452.7	469.5	470.5	472.0	19.3	4.3
Education and health services	326.8	333.1	339.3	340.9	14.1	4.3
Leisure and hospitality	251.5	253.1	255.7	257.5	6.0	2.4
Other services	82.8	81.4	82.6	83.5	0.7	0.8
Government	310.4	309.9	311.7	314.7	4.3	1.4
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,119.9	3,171.3	3,179.6	3,206.5	86.6	2.8
Mining, logging, and construction	142.7	150.7	149.3	154.8	12.1	8.5
Manufacturing	51.9	52.0	52.2	52.4	0.5	1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	392.4	405.3	401.7	405.7	13.3	3.4
Information	76.6	75.0	75.4	74.9	-1.7	-2.2
Financial activities	152.6	154.4	154.1	154.6	2.0	1.3
Professional and business services	707.7	724.0	722.4	731.8	24.1	3.4
Education and health services	413.2	417.8	422.7	422.8	9.6	2.3
Leisure and hospitality	295.6	306.1	304.1	311.4	15.8	5.3
Other services	193.7	196.3	197.6	198.5	4.8	2.5
Government	693.5	689.7	700.1	699.6	6.1	0.9
(p) preliminary