From December 2014 to March 2015 gross job gains in Wisconsin totaled 129,845, while gross job losses numbered 121,215, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 8,630. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 13,416.

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.).

The 129,845 gross job gains in March 2015 followed the 136,603 gross job gains in the three-month period ended December 2014. During the past 5 years, gross job gains in Wisconsin peaked at 138,897 in June 2014 and were at a low point of 124,841 in March 2014. (See chart 1.) Wisconsin’s 121,215 gross job losses in March 2015 followed the 123,187 gross job losses recorded in December 2014. Over the past 5 years, gross job losses reached a high of 132,569 in September 2014 and a low of 118,912 in March 2012.(See chart 1.) The gross job losses in March 2012 were a series low for the state.   

Gross job gains represented 5.4 percent of private sector employment in Wisconsin in the quarter ended March 2015, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 5.9 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) Since the series inception in 1992, the rate of gross job gains in Wisconsin has been below the U.S. rate each quarter. Wisconsin’s gross job losses represented 5.1 percent of private sector employment in March 2015, compared to the U.S. rate of 5.7 percent. With only one exception, Wisconsin’s rate of gross job losses has been below the national rate since the series began.

During the first quarter of 2015, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in seven industry sectors in Wisconsin. For example, within leisure and hospitality, gross job gains exceeded gross jobs losses by 2,768. While approximately 23,000 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the industry, more than 25,000 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments in the three months ended in March 2015. In the manufacturing industry, more than 13,500 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments and approximately 12,000 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments. This resulted in a net employment gain of nearly 1,500 jobs in the manufacturing industry. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in three industry sectors. Within professional and business services, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 2,528. In the two other sectors— transportation and warehousing and financial activities—gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,064 jobs and 168 jobs, respectively.

Wisconsin was among the five states in the East North Central Census division. Four states in the division (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin) had gross job gains that exceeded gross job losses. (See table A.) All five states in the division had rates of gross job gains that were lower than the 5.9-percent national rate. Four states (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin) had rates of gross job losses that were below the 5.7-percent national rate. One state (Illinois) had a rate of gross job losses that was equal to the national rate.

Table A. Private sector gross job gains and losses for the United States, East North Central Division, and East North Central states, March 2015, seasonally adjusted

Area	Gross job gains		Gross job losses		Net change	Net change as a percent of total employment
	Total	As a percent of total employment	Total	As a percent of total employment
United States	6,947,000	5.9	6,721,000	5.7	226,000	0.2
East North Central (1)	986,348	—	980,982	—	5,366	—
Illinois	289,355	5.8	287,323	5.7	2,032	0.1
Indiana	135,251	5.3	135,133	5.3	118	0.0
Michigan	186,698	5.2	185,816	5.1	882	0.1
Ohio	245,199	5.4	251,495	5.6	-6,296	-0.2
Wisconsin	129,845	5.4	121,215	5.1	8,630	0.3
Footnotes: (1) Data were calculated for this release using published gross job gains and gross job losses for states located in the East North Central Census Division.
Note: Dash indicates data not available.

Additional statistics and other information

BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. For more information on the Business Employment Dynamics data, visit the BED web site at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics release for second quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2016.

Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), or the ES-202 program. The BED data are compiled from existing QCEW records. The QCEW reports are sent by the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) to BLS and form the basis of the Bureau’s QCEW program and establishment universe sampling frame. These reports are also used to produce the QCEW data on total employment and wages. Other important Bureau uses of the QCEW reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, net changes, and earnings by detailed industry.

In the BED program, the QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and expanding establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establishments.

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. BED statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment in the current and previous quarters. The rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:

Openings.  These are either establishments with positive third month employment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.

Expansions.  These are establishments with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.

Closings.  These are either establishments with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions.  These are establishments with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Wisconsin, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and job losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	124,841	138,897	129,875	136,603	129,845	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.8	5.4
At expanding establishments	105,831	117,348	111,707	116,031	110,165	4.5	4.9	4.7	4.9	4.6
At opening establishments	19,010	21,549	18,168	20,572	19,680	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	122,129	119,812	132,569	123,187	121,215	5.1	5.0	5.6	5.2	5.1
At contracting establishments	104,700	102,375	113,116	102,053	105,197	4.4	4.3	4.8	4.3	4.4
At closing establishments	17,429	17,437	19,453	21,134	16,018	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	2,712	19,085	-2,694	13,416	8,630	0.2	0.8	-0.1	0.6	0.3
Construction
Gross job gains	12,384	12,301	11,313	10,226	10,169	12.4	12.0	10.9	9.8	9.5
At expanding establishments	10,805	10,132	10,242	8,883	8,744	10.8	9.9	9.9	8.5	8.2
At opening establishments	1,579	2,169	1,071	1,343	1,425	1.6	2.1	1.0	1.3	1.3
Gross job losses	9,887	9,484	10,117	11,092	9,916	9.9	9.3	9.8	10.6	9.2
At contracting establishments	8,081	7,871	8,551	9,185	8,161	8.1	7.7	8.3	8.8	7.6
At closing establishments	1,806	1,613	1,566	1,907	1,755	1.8	1.6	1.5	1.8	1.6
Net employment change (2)	2,497	2,817	1,196	-866	253	2.5	2.7	1.1	-0.8	0.3
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	13,555	14,398	13,176	14,429	13,608	3.0	3.1	2.9	3.1	3.0
At expanding establishments	13,183	13,978	12,866	13,809	13,268	2.9	3.0	2.8	3.0	2.9
At opening establishments	372	420	310	620	340	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Gross job losses	11,981	11,353	14,152	11,667	12,132	2.6	2.4	3.1	2.5	2.6
At contracting establishments	11,176	10,678	13,393	11,067	11,186	2.4	2.3	2.9	2.4	2.4
At closing establishments	805	675	759	600	946	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.2
Net employment change (2)	1,574	3,045	-976	2,762	1,476	0.4	0.7	-0.2	0.6	0.4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	4,689	5,321	4,534	4,951	5,271	3.9	4.5	3.8	4.1	4.4
At expanding establishments	4,066	4,878	4,174	4,456	4,749	3.4	4.1	3.5	3.7	4.0
At opening establishments	623	443	360	495	522	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.4
Gross job losses	4,445	4,474	4,931	4,335	4,415	3.8	3.7	4.1	3.6	3.7
At contracting establishments	3,744	3,491	4,175	3,529	3,618	3.2	2.9	3.5	2.9	3.0
At closing establishments	701	983	756	806	797	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	244	847	-397	616	856	0.1	0.8	-0.3	0.5	0.7
Retail trade
Gross job gains	16,702	18,575	14,865	16,007	16,928	5.5	6.1	4.9	5.3	5.6
At expanding establishments	15,405	17,049	13,705	14,966	15,022	5.1	5.6	4.5	5.0	5.0
At opening establishments	1,297	1,526	1,160	1,041	1,906	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.6
Gross job losses	16,408	16,160	18,806	16,205	16,014	5.5	5.3	6.2	5.4	5.3
At contracting establishments	15,035	14,801	17,320	14,156	14,571	5.0	4.9	5.7	4.7	4.8
At closing establishments	1,373	1,359	1,486	2,049	1,443	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.7	0.5
Net employment change (2)	294	2,415	-3,941	-198	914	0.0	0.8	-1.3	-0.1	0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,144	4,453	4,237	6,032	4,140	4.7	5.1	4.8	6.7	4.6
At expanding establishments	3,780	3,930	3,791	5,745	3,887	4.3	4.5	4.3	6.4	4.3
At opening establishments	364	523	446	287	253	0.4	0.6	0.5	0.3	0.3
Gross job losses	4,491	4,067	4,303	3,845	5,204	5.1	4.6	4.9	4.3	5.8
At contracting establishments	3,963	3,555	3,791	3,336	4,733	4.5	4.0	4.3	3.7	5.3
At closing establishments	528	512	512	509	471	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-347	386	-66	2,187	-1,064	-0.4	0.5	-0.1	2.4	-1.2
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,743	5,148	4,991	5,029	4,435	3.2	3.6	3.5	3.4	3.0
At expanding establishments	4,242	4,482	4,438	4,386	3,927	2.9	3.1	3.1	3.0	2.7
At opening establishments	501	666	553	643	508	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.3
Gross job losses	5,286	4,501	5,020	4,850	4,603	3.6	3.1	3.4	3.3	3.2
At contracting establishments	4,509	3,752	4,224	3,813	3,907	3.1	2.6	2.9	2.6	2.7
At closing establishments	777	749	796	1,037	696	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-543	647	-29	179	-168	-0.4	0.5	0.1	0.1	-0.2
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	18,355	20,731	18,740	21,588	18,179	6.0	6.8	6.1	7.1	5.9
At expanding establishments	16,164	18,321	16,791	18,962	15,944	5.3	6.0	5.5	6.2	5.2
At opening establishments	2,191	2,410	1,949	2,626	2,235	0.7	0.8	0.6	0.9	0.7
Gross job losses	20,471	20,835	19,061	18,849	20,707	6.7	6.9	6.3	6.2	6.7
At contracting establishments	17,318	17,522	15,380	14,919	17,968	5.7	5.8	5.1	4.9	5.8
At closing establishments	3,153	3,313	3,681	3,930	2,739	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.3	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-2,116	-104	-321	2,739	-2,528	-0.7	-0.1	-0.2	0.9	-0.8
Education and health services
Gross job gains	13,121	13,772	13,916	15,043	13,559	3.3	3.5	3.4	3.7	3.3
At expanding establishments	11,357	11,546	11,946	12,480	11,512	2.9	2.9	2.9	3.1	2.8
At opening establishments	1,764	2,226	1,970	2,563	2,047	0.4	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.5
Gross job losses	12,482	13,161	14,244	13,060	12,998	3.2	3.3	3.5	3.2	3.2
At contracting establishments	10,672	10,963	11,455	10,314	11,529	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.5	2.8
At closing establishments	1,810	2,198	2,789	2,746	1,469	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.4
Net employment change (2)	639	611	-328	1,983	561	0.1	0.2	-0.1	0.5	0.1
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	21,146	27,261	24,237	24,969	25,770	8.1	10.3	9.2	9.5	9.7
At expanding establishments	16,977	21,928	21,029	21,103	21,627	6.5	8.3	8.0	8.0	8.1
At opening establishments	4,169	5,333	3,208	3,866	4,143	1.6	2.0	1.2	1.5	1.6
Gross job losses	24,812	24,445	28,609	24,862	23,002	9.5	9.3	10.9	9.4	8.6
At contracting establishments	20,648	21,009	24,331	20,565	20,105	7.9	8.0	9.3	7.8	7.5
At closing establishments	4,164	3,436	4,278	4,297	2,897	1.6	1.3	1.6	1.6	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-3,666	2,816	-4,372	107	2,768	-1.4	1.0	-1.7	0.1	1.1
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	4,467	5,542	4,828	4,353	5,213	5.9	7.3	6.4	5.8	6.9
At expanding establishments	3,991	4,978	4,304	3,848	4,524	5.3	6.6	5.7	5.1	6.0
At opening establishments	476	564	524	505	689	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.9
Gross job losses	5,182	4,575	5,259	5,487	4,781	6.9	6.1	6.9	7.3	6.4
At contracting establishments	4,342	3,752	4,425	4,553	3,895	5.8	5.0	5.8	6.1	5.2
At closing establishments	840	823	834	934	886	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-715	967	-431	-1,134	432	-1.0	1.2	-0.5	-1.5	0.5
Footnotes: (1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately. (2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical Note for further information. (3) Except public administration.