Philadelphia Nonfarm Payrolls

What this measures — and why it matters in Philadelphia

This is the total count of nonfarm jobs in the Philadelphia metro area, from the BLS survey of employers. Where the unemployment rate measures slack, payrolls measure size: every point on this chart is the number of paychecks the regional economy issued that month, across roughly three million positions.

Payrolls are the demand side of every local business model. Jobs added are new renters, new lunch customers, new gym memberships; jobs lost are vacancy and churn. Because the data comes from employers rather than households, it is the more reliable read on hiring momentum — and the year-over-year change is the cleanest way to see it, since it nets out seasonal swings in a series this large.

Watch the composition of the trend as much as the direction. Philadelphia's base leans on education, health care, and government — sectors that cushion downturns but cap booms. Payroll growth persistently ahead of the national rate is the strongest simple evidence that the region is winning; growth persistently behind it is the thing to underwrite around.

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