Washington Metropolitan Area Job Count in October 2008 Rose by 35,700 Over the Year (PDF)

Total nonfarm employment for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 3,040,900 in October 2008, up 35,700, or 1.2 percent, over the year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. While nonfarm employment grew in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the national job count fell 0.8 percent from October 2007 to October 2008. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that October’s advance was the 76th consecutive over-the-year increase in local payrolls, with growth extending back to July 2002 without interruption. However, the latest over-the-year advance was well below the recent peak growth of 87,200 jobs recorded in November 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 net change in the Washington metropolitan area and its components, October 1998-October 2008

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area is made up of two metropolitan divisions — separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area.  Both areas registered increases in employment since October 2007, but the larger Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Division dominated the growth, adding 30,900 jobs to its payrolls.  The Washington division accounted for 81 percent of the workforce in the local area and 87 percent of its overall employment increase.  In the smaller Bethesda-Frederick-Rockville, Md. Metropolitan Division, which represented the remaining 19 percent of the area’s employment, the job count grew by 4,800 over the year.

Industry employment

In the greater Washington metropolitan area, the government supersector added the largest number of jobs from October 2007 to October 2008, up 16,000.  The 2.4-percent local advance in government employment was well above the national increase of 1.2 percent.  (See table 1 and chart B.)  Most of the advance (13,600) was centered in the Washington metropolitan division, with 10,500 jobs coming from increases in state and local government employment.  In October 2008, public sector jobs accounted for over one-fifth of all employment in the Washington area, second to only professional and business services.

Chart B.  Over-the-year percent change in employment by selected industry supersector, United States and the Washington metropolitan area, October 2008

Three other industries gained more than 8,000 jobs over the year in the Washington area — professional and business services (11,000), education and health services (9,900), and other services (8,200).  Professional and business services jobs grew in Washington (1.6 percent) while declining across the United States (-1.7 percent).  Education and health services employment rose at a similar pace in the Washington area as nationwide.  However, the 4.5 percent local growth rate for other services employment (which includes equipment and machinery repairing, promoting or administering religious activities, advocacy, dry cleaning and laundry, personal care, pet care, photofinishing, and temporary parking) far exceeded the national advance. 

Three supersectors lost more than 2,000 jobs in the Washington area from October 2007 to October 2008.  Nearly half of these losses were centered in the Mining, Logging and Construction industry, which registered an employment decline of 5,000 jobs, or 2.7 percent.  All of these losses were in the Washington Metropolitan Division.  Employment decreased by 3,200 in financial activities, with both metropolitan divisions sharing in the decline.  In the information supersector, area employment fell by 2,400.  The last time this sector gained 1,000 or more jobs over the year was in July 2001.  Again, all the recent losses were centered in the Washington Metropolitan Division.

Twelve largest metropolitan areas

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in October 2008.  Seven of these 12 areas experienced over-the-year job losses, 4 added jobs, and 1 area registered no growth; nationally, employment declined 0.8 percent. 

Those areas with over-the-year job losses were:  Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (-0.2 percent), Chicago-Naperville-Joliet (-0.3 percent), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana (-0.9 percent), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (-1.0 percent), Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach (-1.7 percent), Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta (-1.8 percent), and Detroit-Warren-Livonia (-2.8 percent). 

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown registered the fastest rate of gain, up 2.0 percent, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, up 1.7 percent.  The other two areas experiencing employment growth during the 12-month period were:  Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (1.2 percent) and Boston-Cambridge-Quincy (0.6 percent).  New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island registered no job growth.  (See chart C.)

The largest declines in employment occurred in Detroit (-55,700) and Los Angeles (-50,600).  Two other areas, Atlanta and Miami, lost more than 40,000 jobs.  Houston, the area with the fastest rate of job growth in the nation in October 2008, also added the largest number of jobs over the year, 52,300, followed closely by Dallas with 50,000.  Washington was third, adding 35,700 to its count. 

Chart C.  Over-the-year percent change in employment, United States and 12 largest metropolitan areas, October 2008

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 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 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 www.bls.gov/sae/790stderr.htm.  Information on recent benchmark revisions for states is available at www.bls.gov/sae/.

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 above mentioned news releases and from the Internet at www.bls.gov/sae/. 

For personal assistance or further information on the Current Employment Statistics program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at 215-597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.

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 November 20, 2007.  A detailed list of the geographic definitions is available at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy2008/b08-01.pdf.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George's Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia. 

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. Metropolitan Division (MD)includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, and Prince George's Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.

The Bethesda-Frederick-Rockville, Md. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.