Total nonfarm employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 3,683,700 in November 2017, up 100,400 over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. From November 2016 to November 2017, local nonfarm employment rose 2.8 percent, twice the national rate of 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that among the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Dallas ranked first in both the rate of job growth and the number of jobs added. (See chart 3 and table 2; 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 73,100 jobs from November a year ago, an increase of 2.9 percent. The Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Division, which accounted for the remaining 29 percent of the area’s workforce, added 27,300 jobs during the 12-month period, a gain of 2.7 percent.

Industry employment

Professional and business services added 31,100 jobs in the local area from November 2016 to November  2017, the largest gain of any local supersector, and a 5.2-percent increase from a year ago. (See table 1 and chart 2.) The bulk of the gain was in the Dallas-Plano-Irving metropolitan division, which added 26,900 jobs, a 5.6-percent increase. Nationwide, employment in the professional and business services supersector rose at a rate of 2.7 percent over the year.

Employment in the area’s leisure and hospitality supersector rose by 18,100 since November 2016, the second-largest gain among the local supersectors. The majority of the job gain was in the sector’s largest industry, food services and drinking places (+12,800). The supersector’s rate of job growth in the Dallas metropolitan area, 4.9 percent, was more than double the nationwide advance of 1.8 percent.

Education and health services added 11,200 jobs in the Dallas area from November 2016. The area’s 2.6-percent rate of job growth in education and health services compared to the U.S. rate of 2.0 percent.

Trade, transportation, and utilities, the metropolitan area’s largest supersector, added 11,000 jobs from November 2016. The 1.4-percent local rate of job growth was twice the national gain of 0.7 percent. Locally, employment rose in two of the three industry subsectors, with retail trade adding 6,600 jobs and transportation, warehousing, and utilities adding 5,300 jobs.

The manufacturing supersector added 9,300 jobs in the metropolitan area, an increase of 3.5 percent. Nationally, employment rose 1.5 percent in the sector. Locally, employment increased at a faster pace in the Fort Worth division compared to the Dallas division, 5.2 and 2.6 percent, respectively.

The local financial activities supersector added 7,400 jobs from November 2016, a 2.6-percent increase; nationally, the rate of job growth was 1.8 percent. Both metropolitan divisions added jobs: 4,100 in Dallas-Plano-Irving and 3,300 in Fort Worth-Arlington. The rate of job growth in Fort Worth- Arlington, at 5.2 percent, was faster-paced than the 1.8-percent gain in Dallas-Plano-Irving.

Government employment in the metropolitan area increased by 6,900, or 1.6 percent, from November 2016 to November 2017. Local government accounted for more than 85 percent of the sector’s job growth (+5,900 jobs). Nationally, government employment edged up 0.1 percent.

In the three remaining local supersectors, other services added 5,200 jobs since November 2016; mining, logging, and construction added 2,400 jobs; and information lost 2,200 jobs.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in November 2017. All 12 areas had over-the-year job growth during the period, with the rates of job growth in 8 areas exceeding the national increase of 1.4 percent. Dallas had the fastest rate of growth, 2.8 percent, followed by Boston-Cambridge-Nashua and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, both at 2.2 percent. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim had the slowest rates of job growth at 0.6 and 0.8 percent, respectively. (See chart 3 and table 2.)

Dallas added the largest number of jobs since November 2016, 100,400, followed by New York-Newark-Jersey City (+89,300). Chicago had the smallest employment gain over the year, adding 25,900 jobs. Annual job gains in the other nine metropolitan areas ranged from 60,300 to 30,000.

Over the year, education and health services added the most jobs in eight areas: Boston, Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, New York, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Phoenix, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria. Professional and business services gained the most jobs in three areas: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Dallas, and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land.

Information lost the most jobs over the year in three areas: Dallas, Phoenix, and Washington. Miami had no annual job losses in any supersector.

Metropolitan area employment data for December 2017 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 23, 2018, 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. 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 sample of establishments is very small or highly variable. In these cases, a model-based approach is used in estimation. These models use the direct sample estimates (described above), combined with forecasts of historical (benchmarked) data to decrease volatility in estimation. Two different models (Fay-Herriot Model and Small Domain Model) are used depending on the industry level being estimated. For more detailed information about each model, refer to the BLS Handbook of Methods.

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 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/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, dated July 15, 2015. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available 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 CES program are also available in the above mentioned news releases and from the BLS website 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.