Washington Area Employment For Major Industries (Wage and Salary Employment)

Estimates of total wage and salary employment are a product of The Current Employment Statistics (CES) Survey, a monthly survey of business establishments which provides estimates of employment, hours, and earnings data by industry for the nation as a whole, all States, and most major metropolitan areas since 1939. 

Total wage and salary employment is a component of the Washington Area Coincident Index.

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, except for Federal Government employment, which represents the number of persons who occupied positions on the last day 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. Establishments are classified in an industry on the basis of their principal product or activity.

Source:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics