DFW was #1 of the 12 Largest US Metropolitan Areas for Job Growth
From: US Department of Labor
Total nonfarm employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 2,929,700 in April 2011, up 83,100 over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the previous 12 months, nonfarm employment rose 2.9 percent in the local area compared to 1.1 percent nationwide. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that among the 12 largest metropolitan areas in the country, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranked first in both the rate of job growth and the number of jobs added during the past year. (See chart 1 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 1. Total nonfarm employment, over-the-year net change in the Dallas metropolitan area
and its divisions, April 2006 – April 2011 
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area is comprised of two metropolitan divisions – separately identifiable employment centers within the larger metropolitan area. The Dallas-Plano-Irving Metropolitan Division accounted for 71 percent of the area's workforce, but 76 percent of its job growth, as employment rose by 62,900, or 3.1 percent, from April a year ago. The Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Division added 20,200 jobs during the 12-month period, a 2.4-percent increase.
Industry employment
The professional and business services supersector added 24,700 jobs from April 2010 to April 2011 in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area, making this the 13th consecutive month of over-the-year job growth after 18 months of declining employment. The 5.9-percent rate of gain in this industry in April was almost double the 3.2-percent increase nationwide. Of note, the local increase was highly concentrated in the Dallas-Plano-Irving division which added 22,300 jobs, accounting for 90 percent of the industry’s growth in the area. (See table 1.)
The education and health services supersector gained the second-largest number of jobs in April, up 19,600 over the year – the largest 12-month gain since the inception of the series in January 1990. Job growth in this industry was strong in the two metropolitan divisions as Fort Worth-Arlington registered a 6.4-percent increase and Dallas-Plano-Irving, a 5.2-percent increase, both more than twice the national rate of 2.2 percent. (See chart 2.)
The metropolitan area’s largest supersector – trade, transportation, and utilities – added 12,600 jobs over the year, an increase of 2.2 percent. Nationwide, employment in this industry advanced 1.2 percent.
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in employment by industry supersector, United States
and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area, April 2011 
The local mining, logging, and construction supersector gained 10,300 jobs over the year, increasing at a rate of 6.6 percent. After registering annual declines for nearly two years, April marked the seventh consecutive month of growth for this industry.
Other local supersectors recording employment advances from April a year ago were financial activities (9,600), leisure and hospitality (7,500), and government (4,000). The nation also experienced job gains in leisure and hospitality, but declines in the financial activities and government supersectors over the 12-month period.
The largest over-the-year job loss in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area was registered in the information supersector. Employment fell 5,400 from April a year ago, a decline of 6.8 percent. Both metropolitan divisions experienced job losses, but the declines were steeper in Fort Worth-Arlington (-10.8 percent) than in Dallas-Plano-Irving (-5.9 percent). The last time this industry added jobs occurred three years ago, in April 2008.
Employment in the 12 largest areas
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in April 2011. Ten of these areas experienced over-the-year job gains during the period, but only two, Dallas and Houston, registered rates of job growth above the 1.1-percent increase nationwide. Job losses were recorded in Atlanta and San Francisco, though the percentage decline in both areas was less than 0.5 percent. (See chart 3 and table 2.)
Chart 3. Over-the-year percent change in employment, United States and 12 largest metropolitan
areas, April 2011 
Dallas had the largest increase in jobs from April a year ago, up 83,100, followed by Houston (51,100), Chicago (37,100), and Los Angeles (36,200). In contrast, Atlanta lost 9,000 jobs and San Francisco, 4,800, during this 12-month period.
Among the 12 metropolitan areas, professional and business services registered the largest employment increase in 4 areas (Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco, and Washington) while job gains in education and health services led in 3 areas (Boston, New York, and Philadelphia). Still, there was some diversity in job growth leaders in April as trade, transportation, and utilities was the primary job gainer in both Chicago and Houston, while manufacturing led in Detroit, information in Los Angeles, and leisure and hospitality in Miami.
Government suffered the largest employment decline in seven areas (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia) from April a year ago.
http://www.bls.gov/ro6/fax/dfw_ces.htm