Boston employers reported 2,733,800 payroll jobs in September 2026, an estimated 2,300 more than in September 2025.
Payroll jobs2,733,800September 2026 · Jobs at workplaces
Annual jobs change+2,300Compared with September 2025
Annual payroll growth+0.1%Compared with September 2025
Unemployment rate3.9%September 2026 · 0.3 percentage points lower than September 2025
BLS total nonfarm payroll · Not seasonally adjusted. Payroll counts jobs at workplaces; unemployment measures residents. These are different measures.
BLS does not mark this annual payroll change statistically significant at 90% confidence. This does not establish a statistically significant difference between metros.
Historical detail below: Census QWI 2025 Q3 · BLS OEWS May 2025 occupation estimates. Each source keeps its own date and coverage.
Historical workforce detail · Census QWI 2025 Q3
Hiring, worker flows and pay in Boston
Census workforce data arrive with a publication lag. These findings compare 2025 Q3 with 2024 Q3 and do not describe later conditions. Open "How this was calculated" for the arithmetic.
Census recorded 2,792,984 jobs in the Boston metro at the start of 2025 Q3, down 1.9% from the same quarter a year earlier. This is historical workforce detail from the latest complete Census quarter saved for this metro. QWI covers private employers and state and local government; federal jobs are excluded. Its job counts differ from monthly BLS payroll coverage.
Jobs, start of quarter2,792,984-1.9% vs. 2024 Q3
Hires in the quarter382,64713.7 per 100 jobs · -5.9% vs. 2024 Q3
Avg. monthly earnings$8,434Stable workers, nominal · +4.6% vs. 2024 Q3
Occupations with local data657BLS OEWS May 2025
JobsCensus QWI · 2024 Q3 to 2025 Q3
-1.9%
Jobs fell 1.9% from 2024 Q3 to 2025 Q3
Beginning-of-quarter employment was 2,792,984 in 2025 Q3, against 2,846,518 in 2024 Q3, a change of -53,534 jobs. That change was larger than in 1 of the 49 other covered metros with matching data for the same quarters.
How this was calculated
(2,792,984 - 2,846,518) / 2,846,518 = -1.9%. Same quarter, one year apart; all industries, all ownership, not seasonally adjusted.
Health care and social assistance had the largest job decline of any major industry
Health care and social assistance lost 37,385 jobs (-8.0%) between 2024 Q3 and 2025 Q3, and holds 15.4% of metro jobs. 7 of 16 industries with at least 2% of metro jobs grew. One year-over-year comparison is not a trend.
How this was calculated
430,372 - 467,757 = -37385 jobs; ranked by absolute change among sectors with at least 2% of 2025 Q3 employment and published values in both quarters.
88% of comparable occupations have local medians above the U.S. median
Of 643 occupations with a published annual median both here and nationally, 569 have a higher local median, 74 a lower one and 0 the same. The largest such occupation, home health and personal care aides (72,420 jobs), has a median of $40,910 versus $35,800 nationally. Annual figures are published annualized OEWS wage estimates, not actual annual take-home pay; pay is nominal and not adjusted for cost of living.
How this was calculated
Above: 569/643 = 88.5%; below: 74/643 = 11.5%; equal: 0/643. Occupations with both metro and national annual medians published (top-coded or suppressed values excluded), OEWS May 2025.
Information is a larger part of the job base than in most covered metros
3.2% of jobs here are in information, compared with a median of 1.7% across 49 other covered metros in 2025 Q3, about 1.9 times the typical share.
How this was calculated
Sector employment / all-industry employment for 2025 Q3; compared with the median share of the same sector in the other covered metros with the same quarter. Only sectors with at least 3% of local jobs are considered.
13.7 hires per 100 jobs in 2025 Q3, at or below the comparison median
Employers recorded 382,647 hires during 2025 Q3 against 2,792,984 jobs at the start of the quarter. The median across 49 other covered metros was 15.8. This is a flow ratio, not a chance of being hired, and hires are not job openings.
Jobs changed -1.9% and hires -5.9% between the same quarter one year apart. During 2025 Q3 employers recorded 382,647 hires and 404,345 separations, a difference of -21,698. That difference is a flow measure and is not the same as the official change in employment.
Census QWI beginning-of-quarter employment, all industries, private employers and state and local government; federal jobs excluded. Not seasonally adjusted. The axis is truncated: bars start above zero to show change. Compare the same quarter across years because seasonal patterns repeat. The highlighted bar is 2025 Q3.Show as a table
Quarter
Employment
Hires
Separations
2023 Q1
2,755,873
346,754
321,637
2023 Q2
2,782,232
440,471
412,589
2023 Q3
2,810,205
416,816
443,025
2023 Q4
2,784,773
351,394
376,793
2024 Q1
2,762,105
322,516
304,420
2024 Q2
2,779,935
427,234
360,687
2024 Q3
2,846,518
406,617
428,501
2024 Q4
2,823,755
334,439
367,781
2025 Q1
2,787,732
291,841
309,170
2025 Q2
2,769,233
386,573
363,583
2025 Q3
2,792,984
382,647
404,345
Careers · BLS OEWS May 2025
Explore careers in Boston
657 detailed occupations with local estimates, 645 with a published local median wage. Figures describe one survey reference period, not growth, openings or forecasts.
Try:
Showing 1 to 25 of 657 matching occupations. Local jobs are OEWS employment estimates; medians are for all workers in the occupation in this metro, compared with the U.S. median for the same occupation and pay basis.
BLS OEWS May 2025, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area (CBSA 14460). Unknown values sort last.
Occupation
Local jobs
Annual median
Hourly median
vs. U.S. median
National context
Home health and personal care aides31-1120 · Healthcare support
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area (CBSA 14460), one survey reference period. They show levels, not growth, openings or forecasts.
Largest occupations by local jobs: home health and personal care aides (72,420), general and operations managers (70,950), registered nurses (64,240), retail salespersons (64,150), fast food and counter workers (60,130).
Medians are for all workers in the occupation in this metro. "vs. U.S." compares with the national median for the same occupation, same release and same pay basis. 643 occupations have published annual medians both here and nationally. 12 have no published local median.
Annual figures are published annualized OEWS wage estimates, not actual annual take-home pay. Pay is nominal and not adjusted for cost of living.
Some occupations are paid and published on an hourly or annual basis only; the other column then says so rather than showing a converted figure.
"Not released" means BLS did not publish that local estimate. 1 occupations have a median above the BLS reporting ceiling, shown as such rather than as a number. Nothing is filled in or treated as zero.
"U.S. profile" links open national data for the occupation, not Boston figures.
Compare metros
How Boston compares with similar metros
Monthly payroll comparison · September 2026
All payroll rows compare September 2026 with September 2025 from the same BLS release, not seasonally adjusted. These are the same suggested peers used in the quarterly profiles. Estimates do not establish statistically significant differences between metros.
Payroll measures jobs at workplaces. Unemployment rates measure residents and are shown only when a validated estimate matches the same month and metro.
Historical comparison · Census QWI 2025 Q3
Quarterly hiring, jobs and earnings
Every metro in this historical table uses 2025 Q3 and 2024 Q3, from one saved Census release. Monthly payroll comparisons above use a separate BLS source and are not combined with these measures.
Showing Boston with Miami, Washington, DC, Philadelphia. Default: the 3 covered metros closest in total employment (Miami, Washington, DC, Philadelphia).
Choose metros (3 of 49 selected)
Census QWI, 2025 Q3 compared with 2024 Q3 for Boston and selected metros.
Census QWI, 2025 Q3 compared with 2024 Q3 for every metro. Hires per 100 jobs is hires during the quarter divided by beginning-of-quarter employment, times 100: a flow ratio, not a chance of being hired. Earnings are average monthly earnings of stable workers, nominal, not adjusted for cost of living.
Suggested peers are the covered metros closest in total QWI employment (smallest ratio difference) for the same quarter. Differences of a few tenths of a point are within normal revision and should not be read as a ranking.
By industry · Census QWI 2025 Q3
Industries behind the numbers
Hires are a count of hires made during the quarter, not unique people or job openings. A large count reflects industry size and turnover.
Largest job gains, 2024 Q3 to 2025 Q3
Transportation and warehousing+7,281 jobs+9.4%
Management of companies and enterprises+4,463 jobs+6.7%
Manufacturing+1,736 jobs+1.1%
Largest job declines, 2024 Q3 to 2025 Q3
Health care and social assistance-37,385 jobs-8.0%
Professional, scientific, and technical services-14,190 jobs-4.1%
Retail trade-4,426 jobs-1.8%
Show all 20 industry sectors
Census QWI NAICS sectors, private employers and state and local government; federal jobs excluded. Not seasonally adjusted. Change compares 2025 Q3 with 2024 Q3, the same quarter a year earlier. Not published = not published for every state portion or no matching prior-year quarter. Sectors do not add exactly to the total.
Industry
Employment
Share of jobs
Employment change, 1 yr
Hires
Hires change, 1 yr
Avg. monthly earnings
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
7,280
0.3%
-6.1%
1,712
+3.5%
$5,157
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
416
0.0%
Not published
57
Not published
$7,482
Utilities
9,815
0.4%
+3.3%
633
-1.4%
$11,024
Construction
133,029
4.8%
-3.1%
17,982
-2.4%
$8,479
Manufacturing
163,370
5.8%
+1.1%
11,772
-20.3%
$9,473
Wholesale trade
90,400
3.2%
-2.1%
7,330
-6.5%
$10,792
Retail trade
241,649
8.7%
-1.8%
38,191
-3.1%
$4,243
Transportation and warehousing
84,849
3.0%
+9.4%
13,539
+12.3%
$6,608
Information
89,506
3.2%
-1.9%
10,550
+6.9%
$16,115
Finance and insurance
146,337
5.2%
-1.7%
8,659
-11.0%
$15,268
Real estate and rental and leasing
41,143
1.5%
-0.8%
3,895
+0.2%
$8,897
Professional, scientific, and technical services
329,067
11.8%
-4.1%
28,985
-9.4%
$15,205
Management of companies and enterprises
70,719
2.5%
+6.7%
6,325
+0.8%
$11,287
Administrative and support and waste management
149,932
5.4%
-1.5%
34,994
-4.4%
$6,167
Educational services
296,334
10.6%
+0.1%
46,180
-9.7%
$6,510
Health care and social assistance
430,372
15.4%
-8.0%
55,209
-9.7%
$6,411
Arts, entertainment, and recreation
68,952
2.5%
+1.8%
16,049
-1.3%
$4,925
Accommodation and food services
240,550
8.6%
-0.3%
53,522
-4.4%
$3,185
Other services (except public administration)
95,619
3.4%
+0.7%
14,777
-4.1%
$4,773
Public administration
103,647
3.7%
+1.0%
12,289
-8.8%
$7,961
Sources and limits
Where these numbers come from
Monthly BLS payroll estimates cover September 2026. Census workforce detail covers 2025 Q3, and the wage survey covers OEWS May 2025. Each source retains its own observation period, coverage and publication dates. None is a real-time measure.
BLS monthly metro estimates
Current Employment Statistics (CES) total nonfarm payroll employment. Jobs at workplaces, not unique people, job openings or forecasts. Compare the same month one year apart because these estimates are not seasonally adjusted.
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) measures unemployment among residents of the metro. Its rate is shown separately from workplace payroll employment.
U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators. Jobs, hires, separations and earnings by industry for private employers and state and local government. Federal jobs are excluded.
Monthly payroll estimates measure nonfarm jobs at workplaces, not hiring events, job openings or resident employment. Annual changes are estimates, may be revised and do not establish acceleration or statistically significant differences between metros.
Hires are not job openings and not your odds of being hired. We make no claim about layoffs, AI or other causes behind any change.
Census QWI covers private employers and state and local government; federal jobs are excluded. Its data typically run about three quarters behind publication. This report uses the latest complete saved quarter, 2025 Q3; any newer partial measures are not substituted for the complete quarterly package.
QWI earnings are averages for workers who held the same job all quarter, before taxes, in nominal dollars. They are not salary offers and are not adjusted for cost of living.
BLS OEWS figures (OEWS May 2025) describe one survey reference period. They show levels, not growth, and are a different period from the QWI quarter, so the two are never combined into one measure.
BLS does not release some local estimates; they appear as "Not released", and wages above its reporting ceiling appear as such rather than as a number. None is filled in or treated as zero.
Census publishes this metro as separate MA and NH portions; QWI values here are their sum. BLS OEWS publishes the whole metro directly.
Single-quarter swings in an industry can reflect employer reclassification or reporting changes. Compare several quarters before drawing conclusions.