Employment up in 49 of the 51 largest metro areas, December 2015 to December 2016

From December 2015 to December 2016, nonfarm employment rose in 49 of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, and fell in Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin (−0.5 percent), and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia-North Carolina (−0.4 percent).

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Chart Data 12-month employment percent change for large metropolitan areas, December 2016 Metropolitan area Over-the-year percent change December 2015 employment December 2016 employment Over-the-year net change Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 4.2% 1,190,600 1,240,900 50,300 Salt Lake City, UT 3.4 690,500 714,200 23,700 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 3.4 1,068,700 1,104,700 36,000 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 3.4 1,922,200 1,986,800 64,600 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 3.3 3,483,600 3,597,100 113,500 Jacksonville, FL 3.3 666,700 688,800 22,100 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 3.2 1,415,500 1,460,300 44,800 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 3.2 929,200 958,500 29,300 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 2.9 1,389,900 1,430,700 40,800 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 2.7 2,643,800 2,714,600 70,800 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 2.7 928,000 952,800 24,800 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 2.6 940,400 964,700 24,300 St. Louis, MO-IL 2.5 1,358,500 1,392,100 33,600 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 2.4 2,572,700 2,633,500 60,800 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 2.2 1,135,200 1,160,300 25,100 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 2.2 995,200 1,017,000 21,800 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 2.2 1,282,400 1,310,800 28,400 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 2.1 3,222,200 3,288,800 66,600 Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH NECTA 2.0 2,681,100 2,734,300 53,200 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 2.0 1,072,300 1,094,000 21,700 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 2.0 1,412,400 1,441,300 28,900 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 2.0 2,313,100 2,359,700 46,600 Austin-Round Rock, TX 1.9 984,600 1,003,400 18,800 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 1.9 1,038,100 1,057,800 19,700 Columbus, OH 1.8 1,060,600 1,079,800 19,200 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 1.8 661,600 673,700 12,100 Raleigh, NC 1.8 598,000 608,900 10,900 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 1.7 1,130,100 1,149,000 18,900 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 1.7 1,964,400 1,997,700 33,300 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 1.6 1,385,300 1,407,500 22,200 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 1.5 5,952,500 6,042,500 90,000 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 1.4 1,946,600 1,974,000 27,400 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 1.4 2,879,200 2,920,500 41,300 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 1.4 1,984,700 2,012,200 27,500 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 1.3 561,600 568,700 7,100 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1.3 9,537,100 9,657,700 120,600 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 1.0 1,058,100 1,069,000 10,900 Kansas City, MO-KS 1.0 1,051,500 1,062,000 10,500 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 0.8 520,600 524,800 4,200 Rochester, NY 0.8 530,400 534,800 4,400 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 0.7 4,640,600 4,672,800 32,200 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 0.7 576,700 580,500 3,800 Richmond, VA 0.7 670,500 675,000 4,500 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA 0.6 576,100 579,300 3,200 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 0.6 641,600 645,600 4,000 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 0.5 3,021,300 3,036,100 14,800 Pittsburgh, PA 0.4 1,169,000 1,173,400 4,400 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA 0.4 583,100 585,400 2,300 Oklahoma City, OK 0.1 635,500 636,000 500 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC -0.4 772,000 769,200 -2,800 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI -0.5 860,300 855,600 -4,700

The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida (+4.2 percent), followed by Salt Lake City, Utah; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California; and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington (+3.4 percent each).

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics (State and Metro Area) program and are not seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. To learn more, see "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — December 2016" (HTML) (PDF).