News
Bureau of Labor Statistics
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Cheryl Abbot Regional Economist (214) 767-6970 http://www.bls.gov/ro6/home.htm
United States Department of Labor
Dallas, TX 75202
FOR RELEASE: April 29, 2008
HOUSTON-SUGAR LAND-BAYTOWN METROPOLITAN AREA JOB GROWTH LEADS AMONG THE 12 LARGEST AREAS NATIONWIDE Total nonfarm employment in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,599,000 in March 2008, an increase of 80,100 jobs over the year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Since March 2007, employment rose 3.2 percent in the local area, well above the U.S. average of 0.4 percent, and the highest rate of growth among the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the nation. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that the March gain continued the trend of over-the-year employment increases for Houston that extends back to March 2004. (See chart A. Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.) Chart A. Total nonfarm employment, over-the-year percent change in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area, January 2000-March 2008
5.0
12-month percent change __
4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 -1.0 -2.0 Jan-01
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown
U.S.
Jan-02
Jan-03
Jan-04
Jan-05
Jan-06
Jan-07
Jan-08
2 Industry employment In the Houston area, 10 industry supersectors added at least 1,000 jobs from March 2007 to March 2008, and 3 of these added more than 12,000 during the period. Professional and business services experienced the largest employment gain, 17,900, growing 4.8 percent over the year, compared to a national increase of 0.8 percent. Educational and health services followed with the addition of 14,500 jobs during the 12-month period, increasing at a 5.2-percent pace. The educational and health services industry accounted for 11 percent of local employment, but 18 percent of job growth during the period. Trade, transportation, and utilities added the third-largest number of jobs as employment rose 12,600; this 2.5-percent local rate of growth compared with a 0.1-percent decline registered nationwide. Construction employment increased 9,300 from March a year ago, an increase of 4.8 percent. The gain in construction jobs in Houston compared to a national decline of 5.1 percent in this industry. Also adding a large number of jobs in March 2008 were the leisure and hospitality and manufacturing supersectors. Employment in leisure and hospitality increased 6,600 from March 2007, registering a 2.9-percent rate of growth; nationally, this supersector increased 2.4 percent. Locally, manufacturing added 6,000 jobs, growing 2.6 percent over the year; in contrast, manufacturing employment fell by 2.3 percent nationwide. Natural resources and mining, the supersector with the fewest jobs, registered the fastest rate of gain during the 12-month period in Houston. This supersector added 4,700 jobs from March a year ago, growing at a 5.6-percent pace. Nationally, this was also the fastest growing supersector in the United States at 5.1 percent. Natural resources and mining is much more important in the local economy, making up 3.4 percent of Houston’s total employment compared to 0.5 percent nationwide. Government, the third-largest employer in Houston, accounting for 13.8 percent of the workforce, gained 4,000 jobs during the 12-month span, an increase of 1.1 percent. Nationally, government employment also rose 1.1 during the period. Financial activities added 2,500 jobs from March a year ago, an increase of 1.7 percent. In contrast, employment in financial activities fell 1.3 percent at the national level from March 2007. Employment in the other services industry (which includes such services as equipment and machinery repair, dry cleaning and laundry, death care, and pet care) rose by 1,800 in the Houston metropolitan area, an advance of 1.9 percent. Nationally, this supersector added jobs at a 0.7- percent pace from March 2007 to March 2008. Employment in the 12 largest areas Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown was one of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in March 2008. Eight of these areas experienced over-the-year job growth greater than the national increase of 0.4 percent. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown registered the fastest employment gain, growing at a rate of 3.2 percent from March 2007, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, up 2.0 percent. The other six areas with above- average growth were: Atlanta- Sandy Springs- Marietta, Ga. (1.1 percent), Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. (1.0 percent), New York-Northern New JerseyLong Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (both at 0.8
3 percent), San Francisco-Oakland-Freemont, Calif. (0.6 percent), and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md (0.5 percent). One other area, Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., had job growth that equaled the national increase of 0.4 percent. (See chart B.) The three remaining metropolitan areas lost jobs from March 2007 to March 2008. Employment dropped 0.6 percent in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., 0.8 percent in MiamiFort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, Fla., and 2.3 percent in Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. The fastest growing industry supersector did not vary a lot among the 12 largest areas from March 2007 to March 2008. Education and health services had the highest percentage increase in employment in seven areas among those industries adding at least 1,000 jobs: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington. Houston, the area with the fastest rate of employment growth in March 2008, also added the largest number of jobs over the year, 80,100. New York ranked second with the addition of 65,500 jobs, and Dallas, the area with the second fastest rate of growth, followed with 58,200. In 8 of the 12 areas – Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Philadelphia, – the educational and health services supersector added the most jobs. In two areas – Atlanta and Washington – government had the largest numerical increase, while professional and business services led in Houston and San Francisco. Chart B. Over-the-year percent change in employment, 12 largest metropolitan areas and the United States, March 2008
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
3.2 2.0 1.1 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4 -0.6 -0.8 -2.3
-2.0 -1.0 0.0 Percent 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.Va.-Md.-W.Va. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmingon, Pa.N.J.-Del.-Md. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
United States Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, Fla. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.
-3.0
4 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 by subscription from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (telephone 202-512-1800). Industry employment data for states and metropolitan areas from the CES program are also available in the abovementioned news releases and from the Internet at (http://www.bls.gov/sae/). For personal assistance or further information on the Current Employment Statistics program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Southwest Information Office at 214-767-6970 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339. 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 in which State employment security agencies prepare the data using concepts, definitions, and technical procedures prescribed by 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 2002 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 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 survey and administrative data 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 are also 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 special 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 state CES data at the supersector level are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/sae/790stderr.htm. Information on recent benchmark revisions for states is available at http://www.bls.gov/sae/. Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated December 5, 2005. A list of the geographic definitions is published annually in the May issue of Employment and Earnings. The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Waller Counties in Texas.
5 Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands) Change from Mar Area and Industry Mar Jan Feb Mar 2007 to Mar 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008(p) Number Percent U.S. 136,533 135,912 136,441 137,015 482 0.4 Total nonfarm 701 727 728 737 36 5.1 Natural resources and mining 7,353 7,012 6,932 6,981 -372 -5.1 Construction Manufacturing 13,887 13,632 13,593 13,574 -313 -2.3 26,292 26,456 26,185 26,260 -32 -0.1 Trade, transportation, and utilities 3,024 2,993 3,007 3,005 -19 -0.6 Information 8,303 8,185 8,186 8,191 -112 -1.3 Financial activities 17,670 17,726 17,765 17,812 142 0.8 Professional and business services 18,300 18,502 18,764 18,849 549 3.0 Educational and health services 12,987 13,031 13,112 13,303 316 2.4 Leisure and hospitality 5,466 5,437 5,473 5,502 36 0.7 Other services 22,550 22,211 22,696 22,801 251 1.1 Government Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 2,444.8 2,454.9 2,462.3 2,471.2 26.4 1.1 Total nonfarm 2.6 2.5 2.5 2.5 -0.1 -3.8 Natural resources and mining 139.6 136.2 137.2 137.7 -1.9 -1.4 Construction 176.6 175.1 175.0 174.7 -1.9 -1.1 Manufacturing 557.1 564.7 561.7 562.6 5.5 1.0 Trade, transportation, and utilities 88.1 88.2 88.0 88.2 0.1 0.1 Information 163.9 160.0 160.6 160.6 -3.3 -2.0 Financial activities 406.5 407.4 410.0 412.2 5.7 1.4 Professional and business services 249.9 257.1 258.0 258.2 8.3 3.3 Educational and health services 232.6 230.9 233.2 236.9 4.3 1.8 Leisure and hospitality 96.9 97.3 97.7 97.9 1.0 1.0 Other services 331.0 335.5 338.4 339.7 8.7 2.6 Government Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH 2,446.3 2,455.9 2,460.1 2,471.9 25.6 1.0 Total nonfarm 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.1 11.1 Natural resources and mining 90.5 90.8 87.5 89.5 -1.0 -1.1 Construction 222.1 220.0 219.9 220.1 -2.0 -0.9 Manufacturing 411.9 417.9 410.8 411.9 0.0 0.0 Trade, transportation, and utilities 74.0 74.8 74.8 75.1 1.1 1.5 Information 188.5 187.9 187.5 187.6 -0.9 -0.5 Financial activities 397.6 401.6 403.3 405.5 7.9 2.0 Professional and business services 464.9 466.6 476.0 478.0 13.1 2.8 Educational and health services 204.2 206.2 205.1 207.9 3.7 1.8 Leisure and hospitality 87.3 86.3 86.8 87.2 -0.1 -0.1 Other services 304.4 302.8 307.4 308.1 3.7 1.2 Government Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI 4,489.7 4,479.6 4,480.8 4,505.8 16.1 0.4 Total nonfarm 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.2 -0.2 -8.3 Natural resources and mining 199.5 194.4 188.7 194.9 -4.6 -2.3 Construction 484.0 480.2 478.9 479.7 -4.3 -0.9 Manufacturing 918.2 929.6 921.1 926.0 7.8 0.8 Trade, transportation, and utilities 90.2 90.6 91.1 91.0 0.8 0.9 Information 329.3 325.6 325.3 325.4 -3.9 -1.2 Financial activities 721.0 720.7 722.3 725.0 4.0 0.6 Professional and business services 588.8 593.5 597.6 599.3 10.5 1.8 Educational and health services 387.7 384.3 385.3 389.9 2.2 0.6 Leisure and hospitality 196.9 196.5 196.4 196.9 0.0 0.0 Other services 571.1 562.0 571.9 575.5 4.4 0.8 Government (p) preliminary
6
Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands) - continued Change from Mar Area and Industry Mar Jan Feb Mar 2007 to Mar 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008(p) Number Percent Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 2,917.2 2,944.0 2,958.4 2,975.4 58.2 2.0 Total nonfarm 184.3 188.6 191.6 193.8 9.5 5.2 Natural resources, mining, and construction 298.8 294.8 294.8 294.6 -4.2 -1.4 Manufacturing 617.3 625.7 621.7 625.5 8.2 1.3 Trade, transportation, and utilities 88.5 89.1 90.3 91.0 2.5 2.8 Information 231.6 233.5 234.6 234.9 3.3 1.4 Financial activities 433.2 433.6 434.0 438.0 4.8 1.1 Professional and business services 311.7 323.0 326.0 326.6 14.9 4.8 Educational and health services 270.9 273.1 276.4 280.9 10.0 3.7 Leisure and hospitality 106.6 106.8 107.4 108.1 1.5 1.4 Other services 374.3 375.8 381.6 382.0 7.7 2.1 Government Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI 1,955.4 1,907.5 1,910.4 1,910.1 -45.3 -2.3 Total nonfarm 64.4 60.8 58.3 59.1 -5.3 -8.2 Natural resources, mining, and construction 263.9 243.1 243.9 238.4 -25.5 -9.7 Manufacturing 361.0 361.0 357.4 358.2 -2.8 -0.8 Trade, transportation, and utilities 34.1 33.3 33.5 33.3 -0.8 -2.3 Information 111.9 109.7 109.6 109.5 -2.4 -2.1 Financial activities 343.6 335.4 337.1 336.6 -7.0 -2.0 Professional and business services 277.6 280.2 283.0 284.2 6.6 2.4 Educational and health services 176.8 172.2 171.4 173.9 -2.9 -1.6 Leisure and hospitality 88.0 85.7 85.7 86.4 -1.6 -1.8 Other services 234.1 226.1 230.5 230.5 -3.6 -1.5 Government Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 2,518.9 2,566.0 2,581.7 2,599.0 80.1 3.2 Total nonfarm 83.3 87.4 87.5 88.0 4.7 5.6 Natural resources and mining 193.7 197.9 200.9 203.0 9.3 4.8 Construction 230.1 234.3 234.4 236.1 6.0 2.6 Manufacturing 509.7 522.4 519.6 522.3 12.6 2.5 Trade, transportation, and utilities 36.7 36.8 36.8 36.9 0.2 0.5 Information 143.0 144.7 145.1 145.5 2.5 1.7 Financial activities 370.7 384.1 386.9 388.6 17.9 4.8 Professional and business services 278.0 287.7 289.9 292.5 14.5 5.2 Educational and health services 224.8 225.3 227.8 231.4 6.6 2.9 Leisure and hospitality 93.5 93.7 94.8 95.3 1.8 1.9 Other services 355.4 351.7 358.0 359.4 4.0 1.1 Government Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA 5,644.1 5,541.9 5,577.1 5,608.8 -35.3 -0.6 Total nonfarm 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.1 0.1 2.0 Natural resources and mining 261.6 245.9 244.9 245.1 -16.5 -6.3 Construction 633.4 617.6 620.0 623.2 -10.2 -1.6 Manufacturing 1,083.2 1,090.3 1,084.2 1,083.3 0.1 0.0 Trade, transportation, and utilities 243.6 216.4 226.1 233.9 -9.7 -4.0 Information 383.6 357.8 356.9 356.3 -27.3 -7.1 Financial activities 881.5 869.2 873.5 877.3 -4.2 -0.5 Professional and business services 634.3 629.7 643.2 647.2 12.9 2.0 Educational and health services 560.0 557.0 561.0 567.6 7.6 1.4 Leisure and hospitality 194.0 193.7 195.6 197.1 3.1 1.6 Other services 763.9 759.2 766.6 772.7 8.8 1.2 Government (p) preliminary
7 Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands) - continued
Area and Industry
Mar 2007
Jan 2008 2,430.5 0.7 147.7 94.6 550.2 51.5 178.6 392.4 322.1 259.3 101.0 332.4 8,474.8 344.2 437.0 1,614.1 290.5 787.9 1,272.7 1,444.3 619.6 368.6 1,295.9 2,780.4 121.1 216.1 531.7 57.5 217.0 422.8 524.6 212.7 123.3 353.6 2,018.5 1.5 112.3 136.5 360.7 67.9 147.6 355.8 228.2 207.5 74.0 326.5
Feb 2008 2,437.2 0.7 146.1 94.6 548.3 51.8 177.0 393.9 325.1 263.4 101.9 334.4 8,483.9 338.2 437.5 1,594.3 291.4 788.1 1,274.0 1,459.5 621.4 370.7 1,308.8 2,789.8 118.7 217.0 524.8 57.6 216.8 423.6 536.7 212.1 123.5 359.0 2,028.8 1.6 112.7 136.8 356.4 68.5 147.6 358.3 233.0 209.1 74.9 329.9
Mar 2008(p) 2,442.9 0.7 145.0 94.7 547.3 51.7 176.3 396.9 325.0 267.0 103.3 335.0 8,539.2 344.8 437.5 1,600.6 292.4 789.6 1,284.2 1,469.9 632.5 372.9 1,314.8 2,804.5 121.8 217.1 526.8 57.2 217.2 427.6 535.6 216.3 124.0 360.9 2,035.9 1.6 112.3 137.3 355.4 68.2 147.8 359.8 234.2 211.8 75.5 332.0
Change from Mar 2007 to Mar 2008 Number Percent -20.8 -0.1 -17.9 -5.6 -0.4 -0.5 -6.6 -6.9 8.8 2.3 1.3 4.8 65.5 6.3 -16.3 11.0 5.2 -2.0 7.9 19.0 15.6 7.7 11.1 13.3 0.1 -4.0 3.5 0.7 -2.4 5.0 6.4 1.7 1.8 0.5 11.6 0.2 -2.4 -0.7 -3.1 -0.2 -5.4 7.9 1.9 5.2 1.4 6.8 -0.8 -12.5 -11.0 -5.6 -0.1 -1.0 -3.6 -1.7 2.8 0.9 1.3 1.5 0.8 1.9 -3.6 0.7 1.8 -0.3 0.6 1.3 2.5 2.1 0.9 0.5 0.1 -1.8 0.7 1.2 -1.1 1.2 1.2 0.8 1.5 0.1 0.6 14.3 -2.1 -0.5 -0.9 -0.3 -3.5 2.2 0.8 2.5 1.9 2.1
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL 2,463.7 Total nonfarm 0.8 Natural resources and mining 162.9 Construction 100.3 Manufacturing 547.7 Trade, transportation, and utilities 52.2 Information 182.9 Financial activities 403.8 Professional and business services 316.2 Educational and health services 264.7 Leisure and hospitality 102.0 Other services 330.2 Government New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA 8,473.7 Total nonfarm 338.5 Natural resources, mining, and construction 453.8 Manufacturing 1,589.6 Trade, transportation, and utilities 287.2 Information 791.6 Financial activities 1,276.3 Professional and business services 1,450.9 Educational and health services 616.9 Leisure and hospitality 365.2 Other services 1,303.7 Government Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmingon, PA-NJ-DE-MD 2,791.2 Total nonfarm 121.7 Natural resources, mining, and construction 221.1 Manufacturing 523.3 Trade, transportation, and utilities 56.5 Information 219.6 Financial activities 422.6 Professional and business services 529.2 Educational and health services 214.6 Leisure and hospitality 122.2 Other services 360.4 Government San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 2,024.3 Total nonfarm 1.4 Natural resources and mining 114.7 Construction 138.0 Manufacturing 358.5 Trade, transportation, and utilities 68.4 Information 153.2 Financial activities 351.9 Professional and business services 232.3 Educational and health services 206.6 Leisure and hospitality 74.1 Other services 325.2 Government (p) preliminary
8
Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, 12 largest metropolitan areas, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands) - continued Change from Mar Area and Industry Mar Jan Feb Mar 2007 to Mar 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008(p) Number Percent Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 2,972.9 2,968.2 2,975.6 2,995.4 22.5 0.8 Total nonfarm 182.9 177.2 174.8 177.0 -5.9 -3.2 Natural resources, mining, and construction 62.1 61.1 61.3 61.3 -0.8 -1.3 Manufacturing 398.8 406.0 398.3 399.6 0.8 0.2 Trade, transportation, and utilities 94.4 92.6 92.2 91.9 -2.5 -2.6 Information 160.8 155.8 156.1 156.0 -4.8 -3.0 Financial activities 670.3 672.2 676.3 681.4 11.1 1.7 Professional and business services 332.0 331.5 337.6 339.9 7.9 2.4 Educational and health services 244.7 243.4 243.9 247.9 3.2 1.3 Leisure and hospitality 180.8 181.0 182.2 183.0 2.2 1.2 Other services 646.1 647.4 652.9 657.4 11.3 1.7 Government (p) preliminary