Total nonfarm employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area decreased by 96,100 over the year in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the local rate of job loss, 2.5 percent, compared to the 6.0-percent national decline. (See chart 1.) This was the eighth consecutive month of over-the-year declines locally. (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.)

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of two metropolitan divisions – separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. Both divisions posted employment declines over the year. The Dallas-Plano-Irving Metropolitan Division, with 71 percent of the area’s total nonfarm employment, lost 60,600 jobs since November 2019, a decrease of 2.2 percent. The Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Division, which accounted for the remaining 29 percent of the area’s workforce, lost 35,500 jobs during the period, a decline of 3.2 percent.

Industry employment

In the greater Dallas metropolitan area, employment declined in 5 of the 10 supersectors. (See chart 2.) Leisure and hospitality had the largest loss, down 64,000, with the accommodation and food services sector accounting for 51,700 jobs lost. The 16.0-percent rate of job decline in the local leisure and hospitality supersector compared to the 19.8-percent national loss.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington’s education and health services supersector lost 33,000 jobs from November 2019 to November 2020. The vast majority of those job losses were in the health care and social assistance sector (-29,400). The education and health services supersector had a 7.0-percent rate of job decline in Dallas, compared to a 4.4-percent loss nationwide.

Employment in manufacturing fell by 10,100 in the local area from November a year ago. The Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan division was responsible for a decline of 7,700 jobs during the period. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington’s 3.5-percent annual decrease in manufacturing jobs compared to the U.S. loss of 4.8 percent.

Financial activities employment rose by 14,700, with most of the increase in the finance and insurance industry sector (+10,200). The local 4.6-percent rate of increase in financial activities jobs compared to the national decrease of 0.8 percent.

Although the overall change for the local professional and business services supersector was not significant, the professional, scientific, and technical services industry sector gained 11,500 jobs. The Dallas-Plano-Irving metropolitan division was responsible for most of that gain (+9,600).

The over-the-year employment change in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington’s largest supersector – trade, transportation, and utilities – was not significant. However, within the supersector, significant and opposing employment changes occurred in wholesale trade (-7,200) and retail trade (+8,400).

Employment in the 12 largest metropolitan areas

Dallas was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in November 2020. All 12 areas lost jobs over the year. New York-Newark-Jersey City had the largest decline (-999,600). Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale had the smallest loss (-57,300). (See chart 3 and table 2.)

New York had a 9.9-percent rate of job loss, followed by San Francisco-Hayward-Oakland (-9.3 percent). Boston-Cambridge-Nashua had a job loss rate of 9.1 percent. The rates of job losses in the remaining nine areas ranged from 8.1 percent in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim to 2.5 percent in Dallas.

Metropolitan area employment and unemployment data for December 2020 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, 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 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.

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 at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/ces-20110307.pdf.

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 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. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited in the analysis of this release only if they have been determined to be statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. Measures of sampling error for the total nonfarm employment series are available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions at www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.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 at the supersector level and for the private service-providing, goods-producing, total private and total nonfarm levels are available on the BLS website at https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/bmrk_article.htm.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated April 10, 2018.

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

Employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/sae/.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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	Nov. 2019	Sep. 2020	Oct. 2020	Nov. 2020(p)	Nov. 2019 to Nov. 2020(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States
Total nonfarm	153,177	141,901	143,488	144,005	-9,172	-6.0
Mining and logging	729	628	629	628	-101	-13.9
Construction	7,609	7,424	7,512	7,430	-179	-2.4
Manufacturing	12,871	12,205	12,220	12,257	-614	-4.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	28,350	26,459	26,827	27,407	-943	-3.3
Information	2,900	2,630	2,620	2,628	-272	-9.4
Financial activities	8,805	8,683	8,726	8,735	-70	-0.8
Professional and business services	21,727	20,273	20,659	20,709	-1,018	-4.7
Education and health services	24,682	23,148	23,485	23,590	-1,092	-4.4
Leisure and hospitality	16,439	13,214	13,372	13,189	-3,250	-19.8
Other services	5,911	5,445	5,501	5,498	-413	-7.0
Government	23,154	21,792	21,937	21,934	-1,220	-5.3
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	3,861.3	3,673.3	3,732.2	3,765.2	-96.1	-2.5
Mining, logging, and construction	233.9	229.0	233.3	233.8	-0.1	0.0
Manufacturing	290.3	280.0	279.8	280.2	-10.1	-3.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	826.4	789.2	805.6	823.8	-2.6	-0.3
Information	83.1	79.5	80.2	80.5	-2.6	-3.1
Financial activities	321.5	331.2	334.8	336.2	14.7	4.6
Professional and business services	650.9	645.2	656.2	663.8	12.9	2.0
Education and health services	471.1	434.5	439.4	438.1	-33.0	-7.0
Leisure and hospitality	399.4	322.7	332.1	335.4	-64.0	-16.0
Other services	129.5	119.1	121.9	125.6	-3.9	-3.0
Government	455.2	442.9	448.9	447.8	-7.4	-1.6
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	2,747.3	2,631.9	2,667.7	2,686.7	-60.6	-2.2
Mining, logging, and construction	155.0	156.8	159.5	158.7	3.7	2.4
Manufacturing	187.9	184.9	185.1	185.5	-2.4	-1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	553.8	533.6	543.4	553.4	-0.4	-0.1
Information	72.4	69.9	70.6	70.8	-1.6	-2.2
Financial activities	252.4	259.8	262.5	263.6	11.2	4.4
Professional and business services	525.2	522.2	527.5	535.2	10.0	1.9
Education and health services	326.6	301.7	303.8	303.7	-22.9	-7.0
Leisure and hospitality	272.7	216.1	222.4	222.7	-50.0	-18.3
Other services	87.5	81.6	84.0	85.7	-1.8	-2.1
Government	313.8	305.3	308.9	307.4	-6.4	-2.0
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm	1,114.0	1,041.4	1,064.5	1,078.5	-35.5	-3.2
Mining, logging, and construction	78.9	72.2	73.8	75.1	-3.8	-4.8
Manufacturing	102.4	95.1	94.7	94.7	-7.7	-7.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	272.6	255.6	262.2	270.4	-2.2	-0.8
Information	10.7	9.6	9.6	9.7	-1.0	-9.3
Financial activities	69.1	71.4	72.3	72.6	3.5	5.1
Professional and business services	125.7	123.0	128.7	128.6	2.9	2.3
Education and health services	144.5	132.8	135.6	134.4	-10.1	-7.0
Leisure and hospitality	126.7	106.6	109.7	112.7	-14.0	-11.0
Other services	42.0	37.5	37.9	39.9	-2.1	-5.0
Government	141.4	137.6	140.0	140.4	-1.0	-0.7
(p) preliminary

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

Area and Industry	Nov. 2019	Sep. 2020	Oct. 2020	Nov. 2020(p)	Nov. 2019 to Nov. 2020(p)
					Net change	Percent change
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,894.2	2,759.3	2,787.2	2,808.7	-85.5	-3.0
Mining and logging	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.6	0.1	6.7
Construction	130.6	131.0	130.0	131.9	1.3	1.0
Manufacturing	172.7	161.3	162.9	162.5	-10.2	-5.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	617.7	602.6	607.5	627.4	9.7	1.6
Information	103.6	94.3	95.5	96.1	-7.5	-7.2
Financial activities	178.7	173.9	175.7	175.4	-3.3	-1.8
Professional and business services	557.6	525.0	532.8	537.9	-19.7	-3.5
Education and health services	381.6	374.0	377.7	378.4	-3.2	-0.8
Leisure and hospitality	306.4	266.3	274.4	272.1	-34.3	-11.2
Other services	104.8	98.5	97.7	94.9	-9.9	-9.4
Government	339.0	330.9	331.4	330.5	-8.5	-2.5
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH
Total nonfarm	2,840.3	2,551.1	2,577.2	2,582.0	-258.3	-9.1
Mining, logging, and construction	126.0	111.4	112.5	112.9	-13.1	-10.4
Manufacturing	188.5	176.3	177.3	177.6	-10.9	-5.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	431.9	381.6	390.6	398.6	-33.3	-7.7
Information	82.7	80.4	80.0	80.1	-2.6	-3.1
Financial activities	186.9	185.4	185.7	186.0	-0.9	-0.5
Professional and business services	522.1	497.8	504.6	506.2	-15.9	-3.0
Education and health services	604.1	549.6	556.0	560.1	-44.0	-7.3
Leisure and hospitality	273.5	182.5	180.7	171.1	-102.4	-37.4
Other services	102.7	80.0	80.7	80.1	-22.6	-22.0
Government	321.9	306.1	309.1	309.3	-12.6	-3.9
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,802.6	4,438.1	4,477.3	4,461.6	-341.0	-7.1
Mining and logging	1.9	1.7	1.6	1.6	-0.3	-15.8
Construction	184.0	178.5	181.9	178.4	-5.6	-3.0
Manufacturing	416.4	398.5	398.8	396.8	-19.6	-4.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	965.1	907.8	915.2	934.0	-31.1	-3.2
Information	78.3	75.7	75.1	75.2	-3.1	-4.0
Financial activities	320.6	309.7	311.4	311.5	-9.1	-2.8
Professional and business services	847.2	785.8	801.5	806.6	-40.6	-4.8
Education and health services	752.2	706.1	715.0	714.2	-38.0	-5.1
Leisure and hospitality	481.2	381.0	382.4	350.8	-130.4	-27.1
Other services	199.0	181.3	181.1	180.4	-18.6	-9.3
Government	556.7	512.0	513.3	512.1	-44.6	-8.0
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,861.3	3,673.3	3,732.2	3,765.2	-96.1	-2.5
Mining, logging, and construction	233.9	229.0	233.3	233.8	-0.1	0.0
Manufacturing	290.3	280.0	279.8	280.2	-10.1	-3.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	826.4	789.2	805.6	823.8	-2.6	-0.3
Information	83.1	79.5	80.2	80.5	-2.6	-3.1
Financial activities	321.5	331.2	334.8	336.2	14.7	4.6
Professional and business services	650.9	645.2	656.2	663.8	12.9	2.0
Education and health services	471.1	434.5	439.4	438.1	-33.0	-7.0
Leisure and hospitality	399.4	322.7	332.1	335.4	-64.0	-16.0
Other services	129.5	119.1	121.9	125.6	-3.9	-3.0
Government	455.2	442.9	448.9	447.8	-7.4	-1.6
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	3,203.5	2,991.6	3,030.4	3,056.2	-147.3	-4.6
Mining and logging	78.9	62.8	64.0	63.9	-15.0	-19.0
Construction	242.5	215.8	219.8	220.0	-22.5	-9.3
Manufacturing	235.6	214.7	214.3	211.7	-23.9	-10.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	645.8	607.7	616.0	631.9	-13.9	-2.2
Information	32.5	29.1	29.1	29.9	-2.6	-8.0
Financial activities	168.0	162.2	164.3	165.0	-3.0	-1.8
Professional and business services	514.8	508.6	516.2	515.4	0.6	0.1
Education and health services	411.8	396.5	399.4	404.4	-7.4	-1.8
Leisure and hospitality	330.7	283.9	290.1	290.7	-40.0	-12.1
Other services	116.5	98.9	103.1	103.8	-12.7	-10.9
Government	426.4	411.4	414.1	419.5	-6.9	-1.6
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	6,332.7	5,659.9	5,771.5	5,817.8	-514.9	-8.1
Mining and logging	2.4	2.2	2.2	2.2	-0.2	-8.3
Construction	255.7	253.6	260.7	254.3	-1.4	-0.5
Manufacturing	496.5	458.2	458.9	457.7	-38.8	-7.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,138.9	1,042.4	1,060.9	1,090.3	-48.6	-4.3
Information	253.7	208.5	212.5	213.1	-40.6	-16.0
Financial activities	344.3	332.6	337.7	337.9	-6.4	-1.9
Professional and business services	982.6	903.3	921.7	921.8	-60.8	-6.2
Education and health services	1,096.6	1,027.4	1,041.7	1,047.4	-49.2	-4.5
Leisure and hospitality	775.0	545.3	576.7	590.1	-184.9	-23.9
Other services	211.6	164.5	168.9	170.9	-40.7	-19.2
Government	775.4	721.9	729.6	732.1	-43.3	-5.6
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,749.9	2,517.9	2,552.3	2,573.9	-176.0	-6.4
Mining and logging	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.0	0.0
Construction	143.7	137.8	138.6	138.4	-5.3	-3.7
Manufacturing	90.9	87.5	89.0	89.9	-1.0	-1.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	628.8	581.6	590.8	601.6	-27.2	-4.3
Information	51.1	47.2	47.7	47.9	-3.2	-6.3
Financial activities	191.3	190.2	191.2	191.1	-0.2	-0.1
Professional and business services	450.7	427.2	431.6	430.6	-20.1	-4.5
Education and health services	414.4	383.8	387.9	389.9	-24.5	-5.9
Leisure and hospitality	333.9	248.7	261.5	270.6	-63.3	-19.0
Other services	121.2	108.5	110.0	111.4	-9.8	-8.1
Government	323.1	304.6	303.2	301.7	-21.4	-6.6
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	10,115.7	8,934.2	9,049.5	9,116.1	-999.6	-9.9
Mining, logging, and construction	417.4	382.4	385.6	380.4	-37.0	-8.9
Manufacturing	360.1	326.4	328.3	327.0	-33.1	-9.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,770.2	1,560.3	1,586.9	1,630.8	-139.4	-7.9
Information	301.5	283.4	287.4	290.9	-10.6	-3.5
Financial activities	789.3	756.9	755.7	756.0	-33.3	-4.2
Professional and business services	1,633.9	1,453.5	1,477.0	1,484.8	-149.1	-9.1
Education and health services	2,116.7	1,891.3	1,939.2	1,966.8	-149.9	-7.1
Leisure and hospitality	937.7	598.0	609.7	597.9	-339.8	-36.2
Other services	429.4	370.3	372.4	370.5	-58.9	-13.7
Government	1,359.5	1,311.7	1,307.3	1,311.0	-48.5	-3.6
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	3,013.1	2,765.7	2,800.2	2,809.0	-204.1	-6.8
Mining, logging, and construction	121.2	108.2	108.6	109.3	-11.9	-9.8
Manufacturing	183.2	174.6	174.3	174.7	-8.5	-4.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	540.0	498.5	504.7	519.4	-20.6	-3.8
Information	49.6	46.4	46.7	46.8	-2.8	-5.6
Financial activities	218.9	210.9	211.1	210.7	-8.2	-3.7
Professional and business services	477.7	444.2	452.3	450.7	-27.0	-5.7
Education and health services	680.1	643.4	657.5	659.8	-20.3	-3.0
Leisure and hospitality	272.8	197.8	201.4	195.2	-77.6	-28.4
Other services	122.3	107.3	107.8	107.1	-15.2	-12.4
Government	347.3	334.4	335.8	335.3	-12.0	-3.5
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,244.9	2,130.1	2,163.6	2,187.6	-57.3	-2.6
Mining and logging	3.6	3.3	3.3	3.3	-0.3	-8.3
Construction	134.7	134.6	136.7	139.4	4.7	3.5
Manufacturing	134.5	130.9	130.8	132.3	-2.2	-1.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	426.8	417.5	422.0	436.5	9.7	2.3
Information	40.8	38.1	38.1	37.4	-3.4	-8.3
Financial activities	206.3	205.0	206.9	208.0	1.7	0.8
Professional and business services	385.2	350.3	361.3	361.5	-23.7	-6.2
Education and health services	350.0	339.5	344.3	346.0	-4.0	-1.1
Leisure and hospitality	235.8	189.9	199.1	201.5	-34.3	-14.5
Other services	72.7	72.1	72.2	72.3	-0.4	-0.6
Government	254.5	248.9	248.9	249.4	-5.1	-2.0
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,512.8	2,224.9	2,258.9	2,278.0	-234.8	-9.3
Mining and logging	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0
Construction	128.3	117.1	117.7	116.0	-12.3	-9.6
Manufacturing	143.7	127.4	127.2	126.9	-16.8	-11.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	382.2	340.1	341.4	354.5	-27.7	-7.2
Information	130.9	119.4	118.7	119.0	-11.9	-9.1
Financial activities	148.3	148.4	150.0	150.2	1.9	1.3
Professional and business services	509.1	482.4	490.6	495.0	-14.1	-2.8
Education and health services	368.6	338.8	343.0	347.0	-21.6	-5.9
Leisure and hospitality	284.3	190.0	201.7	199.8	-84.5	-29.7
Other services	88.8	70.3	73.1	73.0	-15.8	-17.8
Government	328.3	290.7	295.2	296.3	-32.0	-9.7
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,398.5	3,172.0	3,205.7	3,218.8	-179.7	-5.3
Mining, logging, and construction	166.0	165.9	167.3	167.6	1.6	1.0
Manufacturing	58.0	54.9	54.6	54.4	-3.6	-6.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities	417.9	385.6	391.9	404.6	-13.3	-3.2
Information	77.8	73.6	73.9	73.1	-4.7	-6.0
Financial activities	161.4	159.5	159.7	158.8	-2.6	-1.6
Professional and business services	792.2	765.3	774.7	776.4	-15.8	-2.0
Education and health services	455.1	413.4	417.8	420.6	-34.5	-7.6
Leisure and hospitality	335.4	249.2	256.9	257.0	-78.4	-23.4
Other services	211.3	204.1	203.3	202.1	-9.2	-4.4
Government	723.4	700.5	705.6	704.2	-19.2	-2.7
(p) preliminary