Total nonfarm employment in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area decreased by 151,600 over the year ending in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the local rate of job loss, 4.8 percent, compared to the 6.0-percent national decline. This was the seventh consecutive month of over-the-year employment declines in the Houston area. (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 Houston metropolitan area, employment declined in 10 out of 11 supersectors. (See chart 2.) Leisure and hospitality had the largest job loss (-45,800). Within the local supersector, food services and drinking places had the largest decline, losing 27,300 jobs over the year. Employment in the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry fell by 12,800, a decrease of 34.2 percent since October 2019. The 13.7-percent rate of job loss in Houston’s leisure and hospitality supersector compared to the 19.7-percent loss nationally.

Houston’s second-largest employment loss occurred in the construction supersector, down 19,800 jobs from October 2019 to October 2020. Employment declined in all the published industries, with the largest loss in heavy and civil engineering construction (-8,400). Local employment in construction fell 8.3 percent over the year, while U.S. employment declined 2.5 percent.

The manufacturing supersector in Houston lost 19,100 jobs in the year ending in October 2020. Local job losses were concentrated in durable goods manufacturing, which declined by 17,800. Non-durable goods manufacturing employment also fell, down by 1,300. However, within the sector, employment in petroleum and coals products manufacturing rose by 1,500. The local 8.2-percent rate of job loss in manufacturing compared to the 4.6-percent U.S. decline.

The mining and logging supersector in Houston lost 15,600 jobs over the year, with the majority of the losses in the support activities for mining industry (-12,400). Employment in the Houston mining and logging supersector fell 19.6 percent over the year, while the national rate of job loss was 15.3 percent.

Employment in Houston’s largest supersector–trade, transportation, and utilities–fell by 15,000 over the year. The largest contributor was wholesale trade, where employment declined by 15,100. Job losses in retail trade totaled 4,400. Despite an annual employment loss in airline transportation (-2,200), the sub-sector of transportation, warehousing, and utilities rose by 4,500 over the year. Locally, the trade, transportation, and utilities supersector’s rate of job loss was 2.4 percent, compared to the 3.5-percent national loss.

The other services supersector (which includes repair and maintenance, personal and laundry services, membership associations, and private households) lost 12,800 jobs in the local area since October 2019. The rates of job loss in Houston and the U.S. were 11.1 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.

Houston’s education and health services supersector lost 10,500 jobs from October a year ago. The healthcare and social assistance sub-sector was responsible for the entire loss. Employment in the education and health services supersector fell 2.6 percent locally, compared to the 4.4-percent decline nationally.

Over-the-year job losses were smaller in three of the four remaining supersectors: government (-7,300), financial activities (-3,400), and information (-3,100). Employment in professional and business services was little changed.

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in October 2020. All 12 areas had over-the-year job losses during the period, with the rates of job loss in 7 areas exceeding the national decrease of 6.0 percent. New York-Newark-Jersey City had the fastest rate of job loss (-10.1 percent), followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (-9.8 percent). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington had the slowest rate of job loss, down 2.3 percent, followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (-2.4 percent). (See chart 3 and table 2.)

New York lost the largest number of jobs over the year (-1,017,600), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (-520,000). The smallest employment loss occurred in Phoenix (-52,100). Annual job losses in the remaining nine metropolitan areas ranged from 343,300 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin to 89,800 in Dallas.

Over the year, the leisure and hospitality supersector lost the most jobs in all 12 metropolitan areas. New York had the largest loss of jobs in this sector (-339,300), followed by Los Angeles (-204,600). Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell had the smallest job loss for the leisure and hospitality sector (-36,500). The remaining nine areas had job losses in this industry sector ranging from 113,000 in Chicago to 37,600 in Phoenix.

The financial activities supersector added the most jobs in three areas: Dallas, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, and San Francisco. Trade, transportation, and utilities gained the most jobs in two other areas: Atlanta and Phoenix.

Metropolitan area employment data for November 2020 are scheduled to be released on Friday, December 18, 2020, 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 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.

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 nonfarm 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/publications/benchmark-article/annual-benchmark-article.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 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller Counties.

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. Detailed industry employment data for metropolitan areas from the CES program are available from the State and Area Employment databases at www.bls.gov/sae/data/.

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 Houston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Oct. 2019	Aug. 2020	Sep. 2020	Oct. 2020(p)	Oct. 2019 to Oct. 2020(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	152,570	140,700	141,854	143,459	-9,111	-6.0
Mining and logging	743	626	627	629	-114	-15.3
Construction	7,720	7,465	7,424	7,528	-192	-2.5
Manufacturing	12,820	12,200	12,208	12,229	-591	-4.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,793	26,397	26,442	26,810	-983	-3.5
Information	2,875	2,600	2,625	2,637	-238	-8.3
Financial activities	8,804	8,704	8,682	8,722	-82	-0.9
Professional and business services	21,676	20,215	20,266	20,627	-1,049	-4.8
Education and health services	24,561	22,839	23,138	23,472	-1,089	-4.4
Leisure and hospitality	16,648	13,226	13,207	13,365	-3,283	-19.7
Other services	5,907	5,445	5,444	5,505	-402	-6.8
Government	23,023	20,983	21,791	21,935	-1,088	-4.7
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	3,181.9	2,971.9	2,991.6	3,030.3	-151.6	-4.8
Mining and logging	79.7	60.9	62.8	64.1	-15.6	-19.6
Construction	240.0	215.9	215.8	220.2	-19.8	-8.3
Manufacturing	233.6	213.7	214.7	214.5	-19.1	-8.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	630.5	610.2	607.7	615.5	-15.0	-2.4
Information	32.4	28.9	29.1	29.3	-3.1	-9.6
Financial activities	167.8	164.1	162.2	164.4	-3.4	-2.0
Professional and business services	515.3	508.9	508.6	516.1	0.8	0.2
Education and health services	409.6	398.1	396.5	399.1	-10.5	-2.6
Leisure and hospitality	335.5	280.9	283.9	289.7	-45.8	-13.7
Other services	115.7	104.0	98.9	102.9	-12.8	-11.1
Government	421.8	386.3	411.4	414.5	-7.3	-1.7
(p) preliminary

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

Area and Industry	Oct. 2019	Aug. 2020	Sep. 2020	Oct. 2020(p)	Oct. 2019 to Oct. 2020(p)
					Net change	Percent change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,878.5	2,734.6	2,759.3	2,787.9	-90.6	-3.1
Mining and logging	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.6	0.1	6.7
Construction	130.7	128.7	131.0	130.1	-0.6	-0.5
Manufacturing	172.8	160.3	161.3	163.2	-9.6	-5.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	604.6	598.5	602.6	607.5	2.9	0.5
Information	101.6	92.5	94.3	95.3	-6.3	-6.2
Financial activities	179.0	172.7	173.9	176.6	-2.4	-1.3
Professional and business services	555.6	523.0	525.0	532.3	-23.3	-4.2
Education and health services	379.3	370.7	374.0	378.1	-1.2	-0.3
Leisure and hospitality	310.8	261.5	266.3	274.3	-36.5	-11.7
Other services	104.5	98.4	98.5	97.7	-6.8	-6.5
Government	338.1	326.8	330.9	331.2	-6.9	-2.0
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,837.1	2,524.0	2,551.1	2,576.1	-261.0	-9.2
Mining, logging, and construction	127.4	111.2	111.4	112.8	-14.6	-11.5
Manufacturing	187.9	176.2	176.3	176.8	-11.1	-5.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	426.0	383.8	381.6	390.7	-35.3	-8.3
Information	81.9	80.9	80.4	79.7	-2.2	-2.7
Financial activities	186.3	185.5	185.4	185.6	-0.7	-0.4
Professional and business services	523.4	499.5	497.8	505.0	-18.4	-3.5
Education and health services	600.4	539.1	549.6	555.9	-44.5	-7.4
Leisure and hospitality	281.7	191.0	182.5	180.9	-100.8	-35.8
Other services	103.7	79.5	80.0	80.8	-22.9	-22.1
Government	318.4	277.3	306.1	307.9	-10.5	-3.3
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,808.4	4,432.4	4,438.1	4,465.1	-343.3	-7.1
Mining and logging	1.9	1.7	1.7	1.6	-0.3	-15.8
Construction	190.3	181.4	178.5	182.1	-8.2	-4.3
Manufacturing	416.4	400.8	398.5	398.9	-17.5	-4.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	951.6	906.1	907.8	917.7	-33.9	-3.6
Information	79.5	75.3	75.7	75.0	-4.5	-5.7
Financial activities	320.4	311.2	309.7	311.6	-8.8	-2.7
Professional and business services	851.7	792.2	785.8	796.8	-54.9	-6.4
Education and health services	750.2	698.1	706.1	713.1	-37.1	-4.9
Leisure and hospitality	494.5	386.4	381.0	381.5	-113.0	-22.9
Other services	198.3	181.6	181.3	181.0	-17.3	-8.7
Government	553.6	497.6	512.0	505.8	-47.8	-8.6
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,825.0	3,658.7	3,673.3	3,735.2	-89.8	-2.3
Mining, logging, and construction	232.9	228.9	229.0	234.7	1.8	0.8
Manufacturing	285.8	278.9	280.0	281.4	-4.4	-1.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	804.9	787.7	789.2	806.5	1.6	0.2
Information	82.3	79.3	79.5	80.2	-2.1	-2.6
Financial activities	321.5	332.0	331.2	334.2	12.7	4.0
Professional and business services	647.0	646.2	645.2	654.9	7.9	1.2
Education and health services	469.5	434.7	434.5	440.2	-29.3	-6.2
Leisure and hospitality	399.4	322.2	322.7	332.2	-67.2	-16.8
Other services	129.6	120.9	119.1	121.7	-7.9	-6.1
Government	452.1	427.9	442.9	449.2	-2.9	-0.6
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	3,181.9	2,971.9	2,991.6	3,030.3	-151.6	-4.8
Mining and logging	79.7	60.9	62.8	64.1	-15.6	-19.6
Construction	240.0	215.9	215.8	220.2	-19.8	-8.3
Manufacturing	233.6	213.7	214.7	214.5	-19.1	-8.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	630.5	610.2	607.7	615.5	-15.0	-2.4
Information	32.4	28.9	29.1	29.3	-3.1	-9.6
Financial activities	167.8	164.1	162.2	164.4	-3.4	-2.0
Professional and business services	515.3	508.9	508.6	516.1	0.8	0.2
Education and health services	409.6	398.1	396.5	399.1	-10.5	-2.6
Leisure and hospitality	335.5	280.9	283.9	289.7	-45.8	-13.7
Other services	115.7	104.0	98.9	102.9	-12.8	-11.1
Government	421.8	386.3	411.4	414.5	-7.3	-1.7
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	6,293.1	5,572.8	5,659.9	5,773.1	-520.0	-8.3
Mining and logging	2.4	2.2	2.2	2.2	-0.2	-8.3
Construction	260.3	252.3	253.6	261.8	1.5	0.6
Manufacturing	497.6	454.7	458.2	458.4	-39.2	-7.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,111.2	1,032.9	1,042.4	1,060.9	-50.3	-4.5
Information	245.2	209.2	208.5	213.1	-32.1	-13.1
Financial activities	343.5	335.8	332.6	337.5	-6.0	-1.7
Professional and business services	982.0	895.9	903.3	920.6	-61.4	-6.3
Education and health services	1,091.6	1,017.5	1,027.4	1,043.2	-48.4	-4.4
Leisure and hospitality	778.7	526.7	545.3	574.1	-204.6	-26.3
Other services	213.1	162.3	164.5	169.0	-44.1	-20.7
Government	767.5	683.3	721.9	732.3	-35.2	-4.6
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,729.5	2,493.8	2,517.9	2,550.5	-179.0	-6.6
Mining and logging	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.1	14.3
Construction	143.5	138.3	137.8	138.9	-4.6	-3.2
Manufacturing	91.2	85.7	87.5	89.0	-2.2	-2.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	617.9	581.0	581.6	591.4	-26.5	-4.3
Information	50.7	46.9	47.2	47.8	-2.9	-5.7
Financial activities	190.3	189.3	190.2	190.9	0.6	0.3
Professional and business services	452.6	424.4	427.2	431.9	-20.7	-4.6
Education and health services	413.5	380.0	383.8	387.2	-26.3	-6.4
Leisure and hospitality	327.4	241.9	248.7	260.5	-66.9	-20.4
Other services	119.8	108.3	108.5	109.0	-10.8	-9.0
Government	321.9	297.2	304.6	303.1	-18.8	-5.8
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	10,052.5	8,751.7	8,934.2	9,034.9	-1,017.6	-10.1
Mining, logging, and construction	422.8	380.2	382.4	383.5	-39.3	-9.3
Manufacturing	357.9	327.9	326.4	328.1	-29.8	-8.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,733.6	1,536.8	1,560.3	1,587.2	-146.4	-8.4
Information	296.7	283.9	283.4	287.0	-9.7	-3.3
Financial activities	789.6	760.0	756.9	753.0	-36.6	-4.6
Professional and business services	1,632.3	1,450.2	1,453.5	1,475.8	-156.5	-9.6
Education and health services	2,095.3	1,853.6	1,891.3	1,939.1	-156.2	-7.5
Leisure and hospitality	943.9	586.6	598.0	604.6	-339.3	-35.9
Other services	431.1	367.1	370.3	372.4	-58.7	-13.6
Government	1,349.3	1,205.4	1,311.7	1,304.2	-45.1	-3.3
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	3,005.2	2,729.6	2,765.7	2,804.6	-200.6	-6.7
Mining, logging, and construction	124.3	109.2	108.2	109.3	-15.0	-12.1
Manufacturing	182.8	175.6	174.6	174.4	-8.4	-4.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	530.6	493.4	498.5	504.7	-25.9	-4.9
Information	49.6	46.9	46.4	46.7	-2.9	-5.8
Financial activities	218.5	211.7	210.9	211.2	-7.3	-3.3
Professional and business services	475.2	448.0	444.2	452.7	-22.5	-4.7
Education and health services	678.2	625.0	643.4	656.9	-21.3	-3.1
Leisure and hospitality	278.0	196.1	197.8	204.7	-73.3	-26.4
Other services	122.8	107.9	107.3	108.1	-14.7	-12.0
Government	345.2	315.8	334.4	335.9	-9.3	-2.7
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,216.9	2,099.6	2,130.1	2,164.8	-52.1	-2.4
Mining and logging	3.6	3.5	3.3	3.3	-0.3	-8.3
Construction	136.5	132.7	134.6	136.6	0.1	0.1
Manufacturing	134.5	130.3	130.9	131.2	-3.3	-2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	413.0	413.2	417.5	422.4	9.4	2.3
Information	40.9	38.4	38.1	38.1	-2.8	-6.8
Financial activities	206.4	204.3	205.0	206.9	0.5	0.2
Professional and business services	375.7	345.5	350.3	362.5	-13.2	-3.5
Education and health services	345.8	337.0	339.5	344.7	-1.1	-0.3
Leisure and hospitality	234.7	180.9	189.9	197.1	-37.6	-16.0
Other services	71.8	71.7	72.1	73.0	1.2	1.7
Government	254.0	242.1	248.9	249.0	-5.0	-2.0
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,502.2	2,214.0	2,224.9	2,255.9	-246.3	-9.8
Mining and logging	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	130.1	115.4	117.1	118.1	-12.0	-9.2
Manufacturing	143.3	127.0	127.4	127.4	-15.9	-11.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	373.3	338.0	340.1	340.9	-32.4	-8.7
Information	130.4	120.9	119.4	118.6	-11.8	-9.0
Financial activities	148.0	147.8	148.4	150.0	2.0	1.4
Professional and business services	509.5	485.5	482.4	490.1	-19.4	-3.8
Education and health services	367.6	335.7	338.8	343.0	-24.6	-6.7
Leisure and hospitality	286.5	187.2	190.0	200.1	-86.4	-30.2
Other services	88.3	69.6	70.3	72.3	-16.0	-18.1
Government	324.9	286.6	290.7	295.1	-29.8	-9.2
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,377.2	3,142.6	3,172.0	3,203.5	-173.7	-5.1
Mining, logging, and construction	166.6	166.7	165.9	167.3	0.7	0.4
Manufacturing	57.4	54.3	54.9	54.6	-2.8	-4.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	408.9	383.1	385.6	391.7	-17.2	-4.2
Information	77.6	73.5	73.6	73.8	-3.8	-4.9
Financial activities	162.2	158.3	159.5	159.6	-2.6	-1.6
Professional and business services	787.4	770.1	765.3	772.8	-14.6	-1.9
Education and health services	452.0	407.0	413.4	418.2	-33.8	-7.5
Leisure and hospitality	335.5	241.6	249.2	257.7	-77.8	-23.2
Other services	211.5	204.3	204.1	203.3	-8.2	-3.9
Government	718.1	683.7	700.5	704.5	-13.6	-1.9
(p) preliminary