FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: FOR RELEASE: Cheryl Abbot, Regional Economist July 29, 2008 (214) 767-6970 HOUSTON-SUGAR LAND-BAYTOWN JOB GROWTH HIGHEST AMONG THE 12 LARGEST AREAS NATIONWIDE Total nonfarm employment in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,619,300 in June 2008, an increase of 54,100 jobs over the year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. From June 2007 to June 2008, nonfarm employment rose 2.1 percent in the local area compared to a 0.1-percent decline nationwide. Among the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Houston's rate of job growth led all others, although it was closely followed by the 2.0-percent gain registered in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that while the rate of gain in Houston has slowed during the last year, the June advance continued the trend of over-the-year employment increases that extends back to March 2004. (See chart A and table 1; Technical Note at end of release contains metropolitan area definitions. All 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 2001-June 2008 Industry employment In the Houston area, 10 of 11 industry supersectors added at least 1,000 jobs from June 2007 to June 2008, and 2 of these added more than 10,000. Trade, transportation, and utilities experienced the largest over-the-year employment gain at 10,500; Houston's increase of 2.0 percent compared to a national decrease of 0.7 percent in this supersector. Educational and health services followed with the addition of 10,100 jobs during the 12-month period, increasing at a 3.6- percent pace, faster than the nationwide advance of 2.7 percent. The educational and health services industry accounted for 11 percent of the local workforce, but made up nearly 19 percent of Houston's job growth from June a year ago. Chart B. Over-the-year percent change in employment by industry supersector, United States and the Houston metropolitan area, June 2008 Three other local supersectors recorded gains of more than 5,000 jobs from June 2007 to June 2008. Employment in Houston's professional and business services rose by 8,500, or 2.2 percent; this compared to a 0.4-percent decline in the industry nationally. Public sector employment in the Houston area added 6,000 new jobs, increasing 1.7 percent; nationwide, government grew at a slower pace, advancing 1.2 percent. The natural resources and mining supersector continued to register strong growth locally with the addition of 5,200 jobs. During the 12-month period, employment in this supersector increased 6.1 percent in Houston, close to the 5.9-percent rate of growth recorded nationwide. Employment in natural resources and mining accounted for 3.5 percent of the local workforce in June 2008, but the supersector was responsible for nearly 10 percent of Houston's over-the-year job growth. Smaller local gains were registered in construction, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, other services, and financial activities. The only Houston supersector to increase at a slower-than-average pace when compared to the nation was leisure and hospitality, though the difference was not large, 1.4 percent locally versus 1.6 percent nationwide. Employment in the 12 largest areas The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area was one of the nation's 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in June 2008. Seven of these 12 areas experienced over-the-year job growth; in contrast, employment declined 0.1 percent for the nation as a whole. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown registered the fastest rate of gain, up 2.1 percent from June 2007, closely followed by Dallas-Fort Worth- Arlington, up 2.0 percent. The other five areas experiencing employment growth during the 12-month period were: Boston-Cambridge-Quincy and Washington- Arlington-Alexandria (both at 0.8 percent), Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta (0.7 percent), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island (0.2 percent), and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (0.1 percent). (See chart C.) Of the five remaining metropolitan areas, Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, registered no job growth. Employment declined in the other four areas: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (-0.3 percent), Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach (-0.7 percent), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana (-0.9 percent), and Detroit- Warren-Livonia (-1.7 percent). Dallas, the area with the second fastest growth rate in June 2008, added the largest number of jobs over the year, 57,800, followed closely by Houston with the addition of 54,100 jobs. Washington, D.C. was a more distant third, adding 25,300 to its count. The largest declines in employment occurred in Los Angeles (-48,900) and Detroit (-34,800). Chart C. Over-the-year percent change in employment, 12 largest metropolitan areas and the United States, June 2008 Additional information 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. Employment Definition. 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 2007 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 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 survey, 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 are available for state CES data at the total nonfarm and supersector level and for metropolitan area CES data. Information on recent benchmark revisions for states is available on the BLS Web site at 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 on November 20, 2007. A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy2008/b08-01.pdf. 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. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, U.S. and Houston metropolitan area, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands) Area and Industry June
2007Apr
2008May
2008June
2008(p)Change from June
2007 to June 2008Number Percent U.S.
Total nonfarm
138,791 137,730 138,383 138,624 -167 -0.1 Natural resources and mining
733 743 758 776 43 5.9 Construction
7,913 7,125 7,305 7,433 -480 -6.1 Manufacturing
13,990 13,544 13,564 13,632 -358 -2.6 Trade, transportation, and utilities
26,662 26,274 26,395 26,482 -180 -0.7 Information
3,055 3,003 3,009 3,020 -35 -1.1 Financial activities
8,383 8,206 8,227 8,278 -105 -1.3 Professional and business services
18,133 18,000 17,980 18,068 -65 -0.4 Educational and health services
18,137 18,924 18,867 18,633 496 2.7 Leisure and hospitality
14,049 13,581 13,902 14,272 223 1.6 Other services
5,573 5,532 5,552 5,603 30 0.5 Government
22,163 22,798 22,824 22,427 264 1.2 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
Total nonfarm
2,565.2 2,597.3 2,606.1 2,619.3 54.1 2.1 Natural resources and mining
85.4 88.4 89.2 90.6 5.2 6.1 Construction
199.9 201.9 201.9 203.3 3.4 1.7 Manufacturing
234.7 236.0 235.7 237.8 3.1 1.3 Trade, transportation, and utilities
519.8 524.5 525.4 530.3 10.5 2.0 Information
37.2 36.9 36.9 37.1 -0.1 -0.3 Financial activities
145.7 145.8 146.1 147.5 1.8 1.2 Professional and business services
383.5 386.9 388.3 392.0 8.5 2.2 Educational and health services
281.1 289.8 291.2 291.2 10.1 3.6 Leisure and hospitality
236.6 232.4 235.4 239.8 3.2 1.4 Other services
94.9 95.8 96.2 97.3 2.4 2.5 Government
346.4 358.9 359.8 352.4 6.0 1.7