Total nonfarm employment for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, metropolitan area increased by 193,000 over the year in February, 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 gain, 6.5 percent, compared to the 4.9-percent national increase. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

 Industry employment

In Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, trade, transportation, and utilities had the largest employment gain (+43,100) among local private-industry supersectors. (See chart 2.) Within the supersector, employment in the retail trade sector increased by 24,200, and employment in the wholesale trade sector rose by 9,600. The 7.0-percent rate of job increase in Houston’s trade, transportation, and utilities supersector compared to the 4.6-percent gain nationwide.

 

Leisure and hospitality added 42,800 jobs from February 2021 to February 2022. Within this supersector, the accommodation and food services sector accounted for most of the increase (+38,100). The 15.1-percent rise in the metropolitan area’s leisure and hospitality supersector compared to the 17.4-percent gain on a national level.

The professional and business services supersector gained 28,500 jobs in the metropolitan area since February 2021. The 5.8-percent local rate of job growth compared to the national gain of 5.6 percent.

In the metropolitan area, education and health services rose by 23,900 jobs over the year. The healthcare and social assistance sector added 14,500 jobs, and the education services sector gained 9,400 jobs. The education and health services supersector’s 6.0-percent local rate of job growth compared to the 2.8-percent gain nationwide.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in February 2022. All 12 areas gained jobs over the year. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, had the largest increase (+512,100), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (+417,000). Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ, has the smallest gain (+89,600) among the largest areas. (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, each had a 7.4-percent rate of job gain. The rates of job gain in the remaining 10 areas ranged from 6.9 percent in San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, to 4.0 percent in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for March 2022 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative endeavor between State employment security agencies and the U.S. 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 estimates are produced with a model that uses direct sample estimates (described above) combined with other regressors to decrease volatility in estimation.

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. Information on recent benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/bmrk_article.htm.

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 totals shown in the same tables due to 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.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the delineations issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on April 10, 2018. The 12 metropolitan areas discussed in this release are the metropolitan areas with the largest population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, United States and Houston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area and Industry	Feb. 2021	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022	Feb. 2022(p)	Feb. 2021 to Feb. 2022(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States(1)
Total nonfarm	142,129	150,352	147,505	149,144	7,015	4.9
Mining and logging	531	589	580	588	57	10.7
Construction	6,970	7,449	7,192	7,284	314	4.5
Manufacturing	12,169	12,579	12,493	12,577	408	3.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,085	29,043	28,279	28,333	1,248	4.6
Information	2,749	2,925	2,876	2,899	150	5.5
Financial activities	8,674	8,893	8,804	8,848	174	2.0
Professional and business services	20,649	21,964	21,528	21,806	1,157	5.6
Education and health services	23,503	24,090	23,752	24,154	651	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	12,540	14,804	14,458	14,717	2,177	17.4
Other services	5,266	5,586	5,520	5,582	316	6.0
Government	21,993	22,430	22,023	22,356	363	1.7
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm	2,982.5	3,177.0	3,130.0	3,175.5	193.0	6.5
Mining and logging	61.1	63.6	63.8	65.5	4.4	7.2
Construction	201.9	216.3	211.7	214.0	12.1	6.0
Manufacturing	210.6	218.0	216.6	218.2	7.6	3.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	616.1	668.4	652.8	659.2	43.1	7.0
Information	27.9	31.2	31.5	31.5	3.6	12.9
Financial activities	165.5	171.1	169.3	171.8	6.3	3.8
Professional and business services	488.8	515.7	506.9	517.3	28.5	5.8
Education and health services	401.3	424.4	421.1	425.2	23.9	6.0
Leisure and hospitality	283.1	318.9	316.0	325.9	42.8	15.1
Other services	104.3	112.2	110.0	109.3	5.0	4.8
Government	421.9	437.2	430.3	437.6	15.7	3.7
(1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published. (p) preliminary

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

Area	Feb 2021	Dec 2021	Jan 2022	Feb 2022(p)	Feb 2021 to Feb 2022(p)
					Net change	Percent change
United States(1)
Total nonfarm	142,129	150,352	147,505	149,144	7,015	4.9
Mining and logging	531	589	580	588	57	10.7
Construction	6,970	7,449	7,192	7,284	314	4.5
Manufacturing	12,169	12,579	12,493	12,577	408	3.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	27,085	29,043	28,279	28,333	1,248	4.6
Information	2,749	2,925	2,876	2,899	150	5.5
Financial activities	8,674	8,893	8,804	8,848	174	2.0
Professional and business services	20,649	21,964	21,528	21,806	1,157	5.6
Education and health services	23,503	24,090	23,752	24,154	651	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	12,540	14,804	14,458	14,717	2,177	17.4
Other services	5,266	5,586	5,520	5,582	316	6.0
Government	21,993	22,430	22,023	22,356	363	1.7
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Total nonfarm	2,748.3	2,916.8	2,888.6	2,922.7	174.4	6.3
Mining and logging	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	0.1	5.6
Construction	127.9	133.1	132.7	130.5	2.6	2.0
Manufacturing	164.4	175.0	171.8	173.7	9.3	5.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	594.1	642.7	627.9	629.0	34.9	5.9
Information	106.8	112.7	113.8	116.4	9.6	9.0
Financial activities	180.8	190.0	190.6	192.4	11.6	6.4
Professional and business services	540.6	572.4	569.3	583.6	43.0	8.0
Education and health services	362.7	381.3	381.7	385.1	22.4	6.2
Leisure and hospitality	245.4	274.9	268.7	276.8	31.4	12.8
Other services	95.2	99.8	99.6	100.9	5.7	6.0
Government	328.6	333.0	330.6	332.4	3.8	1.2
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA)
Total nonfarm	2,579.3	2,739.2	2,688.4	2,711.5	132.2	5.1
Mining, logging, and construction	112.6	126.1	121.6	120.0	7.4	6.6
Manufacturing	176.4	181.5	180.5	181.1	4.7	2.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	391.2	415.1	404.9	403.6	12.4	3.2
Information	80.1	83.1	82.3	83.3	3.2	4.0
Financial activities	181.6	180.0	179.4	179.1	-2.5	-1.4
Professional and business services	501.2	528.4	521.6	526.2	25.0	5.0
Education and health services	576.9	592.9	583.8	594.9	18.0	3.1
Leisure and hospitality	172.2	229.6	220.0	221.7	49.5	28.7
Other services	86.3	94.4	92.8	94.0	7.7	8.9
Government	300.8	308.1	301.5	307.6	6.8	2.3
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Total nonfarm	4,359.9	4,656.9	4,549.7	4,581.7	221.8	5.1
Mining and logging	1.3	1.7	1.7	1.7	0.4	30.8
Construction	147.3	174.2	157.0	156.5	9.2	6.2
Manufacturing	398.3	402.9	401.4	404.7	6.4	1.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	914.2	981.3	950.4	950.6	36.4	4.0
Information	71.6	75.0	75.7	77.6	6.0	8.4
Financial activities	312.9	317.9	315.5	314.5	1.6	0.5
Professional and business services	793.1	843.6	824.8	826.3	33.2	4.2
Education and health services	711.1	719.7	710.4	724.6	13.5	1.9
Leisure and hospitality	327.9	424.3	410.8	413.6	85.7	26.1
Other services	176.1	185.7	184.0	184.5	8.4	4.8
Government	506.1	530.6	518.0	527.1	21.0	4.1
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Total nonfarm	3,710.8	3,999.9	3,954.8	3,986.6	275.8	7.4
Mining, logging, and construction	212.6	224.9	223.0	222.8	10.2	4.8
Manufacturing	281.7	288.1	284.4	288.3	6.6	2.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	813.9	894.4	872.1	871.1	57.2	7.0
Information	79.6	85.6	86.3	86.5	6.9	8.7
Financial activities	331.2	351.0	352.8	357.6	26.4	8.0
Professional and business services	649.6	721.0	715.0	723.7	74.1	11.4
Education and health services	451.3	470.8	466.5	474.3	23.0	5.1
Leisure and hospitality	327.7	382.7	380.3	388.1	60.4	18.4
Other services	112.5	127.9	125.6	124.1	11.6	10.3
Government	450.7	453.5	448.8	450.1	-0.6	-0.1
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Total nonfarm	2,982.5	3,177.0	3,130.0	3,175.5	193.0	6.5
Mining and logging	61.1	63.6	63.8	65.5	4.4	7.2
Construction	201.9	216.3	211.7	214.0	12.1	6.0
Manufacturing	210.6	218.0	216.6	218.2	7.6	3.6
Trade, transportation, and utilities	616.1	668.4	652.8	659.2	43.1	7.0
Information	27.9	31.2	31.5	31.5	3.6	12.9
Financial activities	165.5	171.1	169.3	171.8	6.3	3.8
Professional and business services	488.8	515.7	506.9	517.3	28.5	5.8
Education and health services	401.3	424.4	421.1	425.2	23.9	6.0
Leisure and hospitality	283.1	318.9	316.0	325.9	42.8	15.1
Other services	104.3	112.2	110.0	109.3	5.0	4.8
Government	421.9	437.2	430.3	437.6	15.7	3.7
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Total nonfarm	5,666.6	6,111.4	6,005.0	6,083.6	417.0	7.4
Mining and logging	2.1	2.0	2.0	2.0	-0.1	-4.8
Construction	249.7	254.2	247.0	256.6	6.9	2.8
Manufacturing	454.9	463.1	461.3	466.3	11.4	2.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,051.7	1,116.3	1,089.6	1,091.6	39.9	3.8
Information	217.4	252.4	244.1	251.6	34.2	15.7
Financial activities	326.6	326.8	323.7	323.2	-3.4	-1.0
Professional and business services	930.1	984.8	961.3	974.6	44.5	4.8
Education and health services	1,061.6	1,104.0	1,098.3	1,111.6	50.0	4.7
Leisure and hospitality	499.6	681.6	666.8	682.6	183.0	36.6
Other services	165.4	195.6	191.5	195.1	29.7	18.0
Government	707.5	730.6	719.4	728.4	20.9	3.0
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Total nonfarm	2,602.0	2,762.1	2,728.4	2,756.9	154.9	6.0
Mining and logging	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.1	12.5
Construction	138.1	140.9	138.4	139.9	1.8	1.3
Manufacturing	88.3	91.8	90.2	91.6	3.3	3.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	594.3	638.6	628.5	634.7	40.4	6.8
Information	49.4	52.7	52.3	52.8	3.4	6.9
Financial activities	191.1	200.1	199.8	200.6	9.5	5.0
Professional and business services	454.2	488.4	479.5	482.3	28.1	6.2
Education and health services	402.9	415.6	410.0	414.9	12.0	3.0
Leisure and hospitality	270.2	313.0	312.3	320.0	49.8	18.4
Other services	107.6	112.9	112.6	113.7	6.1	5.7
Government	305.1	307.2	303.9	305.5	0.4	0.1
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Total nonfarm	8,943.5	9,639.0	9,351.6	9,455.6	512.1	5.7
Mining, logging, and construction	360.6	390.2	367.1	368.5	7.9	2.2
Manufacturing	328.1	339.3	331.2	335.5	7.4	2.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1,550.2	1,695.5	1,632.6	1,630.9	80.7	5.2
Information	292.7	319.8	315.1	317.8	25.1	8.6
Financial activities	760.5	775.9	764.0	768.7	8.2	1.1
Professional and business services	1,469.8	1,602.1	1,543.4	1,561.9	92.1	6.3
Education and health services	1,989.2	2,044.7	1,995.6	2,033.3	44.1	2.2
Leisure and hospitality	565.7	787.3	747.6	760.2	194.5	34.4
Other services	353.6	381.7	381.1	388.2	34.6	9.8
Government	1,273.1	1,302.5	1,273.9	1,290.6	17.5	1.4
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Total nonfarm	2,777.5	2,947.1	2,879.2	2,906.7	129.2	4.7
Mining, logging, and construction	109.3	120.0	115.6	115.3	6.0	5.5
Manufacturing	171.7	176.8	175.2	176.6	4.9	2.9
Trade, transportation, and utilities	516.0	555.2	535.9	535.7	19.7	3.8
Information	47.8	50.2	48.9	48.5	0.7	1.5
Financial activities	216.1	219.3	217.1	217.4	1.3	0.6
Professional and business services	455.6	480.5	475.0	480.6	25.0	5.5
Education and health services	637.5	655.4	641.8	655.6	18.1	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	187.5	240.6	228.4	230.2	42.7	22.8
Other services	107.0	116.1	114.8	115.5	8.5	7.9
Government	329.0	333.0	326.5	331.3	2.3	0.7
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Total nonfarm	2,179.7	2,286.6	2,250.9	2,269.3	89.6	4.1
Mining and logging	2.5	2.9	2.9	2.9	0.4	16.0
Construction	136.6	139.9	138.5	140.7	4.1	3.0
Manufacturing	135.8	139.1	139.8	141.2	5.4	4.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	433.3	468.6	457.8	457.9	24.6	5.7
Information	38.8	41.6	41.0	40.6	1.8	4.6
Financial activities	215.0	217.2	214.1	215.1	0.1	0.0
Professional and business services	367.4	385.8	374.5	379.0	11.6	3.2
Education and health services	341.9	351.9	347.1	351.5	9.6	2.8
Leisure and hospitality	199.9	224.7	225.3	226.1	26.2	13.1
Other services	65.4	70.9	69.4	71.4	6.0	9.2
Government	243.1	244.0	240.5	242.9	-0.2	-0.1
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
Total nonfarm	2,247.2	2,416.7	2,375.4	2,402.2	155.0	6.9
Mining and logging	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.0	0.0
Construction	119.5	118.8	117.3	122.0	2.5	2.1
Manufacturing	144.5	149.4	149.5	151.3	6.8	4.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	343.4	366.8	357.8	356.5	13.1	3.8
Information	135.5	145.0	142.6	142.7	7.2	5.3
Financial activities	138.1	141.5	140.8	142.2	4.1	3.0
Professional and business services	479.2	508.8	503.4	505.7	26.5	5.5
Education and health services	358.3	372.7	365.9	370.7	12.4	3.5
Leisure and hospitality	157.3	219.6	209.9	218.8	61.5	39.1
Other services	67.4	79.3	78.0	79.4	12.0	17.8
Government	303.6	314.4	309.8	312.5	8.9	2.9
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Total nonfarm	3,130.4	3,295.2	3,224.8	3,254.3	123.9	4.0
Mining, logging, and construction	157.4	161.6	157.4	160.5	3.1	2.0
Manufacturing	54.4	56.5	54.9	55.0	0.6	1.1
Trade, transportation, and utilities	385.9	418.5	402.7	399.5	13.6	3.5
Information	74.8	77.8	76.6	76.5	1.7	2.3
Financial activities	155.7	154.0	151.5	152.4	-3.3	-2.1
Professional and business services	768.2	791.8	779.4	787.7	19.5	2.5
Education and health services	426.0	432.5	422.1	428.7	2.7	0.6
Leisure and hospitality	217.1	288.1	280.4	283.0	65.9	30.4
Other services	190.6	195.3	193.8	194.4	3.8	2.0
Government	700.3	719.1	706.0	716.6	16.3	2.3
(1) U.S. data are preliminary for two months after they are first published. (p) Preliminary