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News Release Information

19-1870-CHI
Friday, December 20, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Business Employment Dynamics in North Dakota — First Quarter 2019

From December 2018 to March 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in North Dakota totaled 24,826, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments numbered 22,437, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,389. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,802.  (See chart 1 and table 1.)

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. 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 24,826 gross job gains in the first quarter of 2019 followed the 23,548 gross job gains in the fourth quarter of 2018. North Dakota’s gross job losses numbered 22,437 in the first quarter of 2019, higher than the 21,746 gross job losses in the fourth quarter of 2018. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 7.1 percent of private sector employment in North Dakota in the first quarter of 2019; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.9 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses represented 6.4 percent of private sector employment in North Dakota in the first quarter of 2019, while the U.S. rate of gross job losses was 5.5 percent of private sector employment.

During the first quarter of 2019, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 836 in North Dakota’s construction industry sector. While more than 4,600 jobs were gained in opening and expanding establishments, approximately 3,800 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments. In each of the remaining four industry sectors with available state data, net employment changes were less than 375. (See table 1.)

Four of the seven states in the West North Central Census division had gross job gains that exceeded gross job losses. (See table A.) North Dakota had a rate of gross job gains that was higher than the 5.9-percent national rate. Six states had rates of gross job gains that were lower than the national rate. Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri had rates of gross job losses that were below the 5.5-percent national rate. The four remaining states had rates of gross job losses that were higher than the national rate.

Table A. Private sector gross job gains and losses for the United States, West North Central Division, and West North Central states, March 2019, seasonally adjusted
AreaGross job gainsGross job lossesNet changeNet change as
a percent of
total
employment
TotalAs a
percent of
total
employment
TotalAs a
percent of
total
employment

United States

7,375,0005.96,850,0005.5525,0000.4

West North Central (1)

480,588482,125-1,537

Iowa

67,3465.171,8925.4-4,546-0.3

Kansas

62,7365.464,9595.7-2,223-0.3

Minnesota

129,4225.2128,7205.17020.1

Missouri

129,3715.4126,0185.33,3530.1

Nebraska

46,4915.745,6555.68360.1

North Dakota

24,8267.122,4376.42,3890.7

South Dakota

20,3965.722,4446.4-2,048-0.7

Footnotes:
(1) Data were calculated for this release using published gross job gains and gross job losses for states located in the West 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 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 29, 2020.

Changes to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

Data in this release incorporate annual revisions to the BED series. Annual revisions are published each year with the release of first quarter data. These revisions cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.


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). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by unemployment insurance (UI) laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW and form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame.

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, North Dakota, seasonally adjusted
CategoryGross job gains and job losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and job losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Mar.
2018
June
2018
Sept
2018
Dec.
2018
Mar.
2019
Mar.
2018
June
2018
Sept
2018
Dec.
2018
Mar.
2019

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

24,30723,38723,03923,54824,8267.16.76.66.87.1

At expanding establishments

19,96819,47619,21119,50021,4255.85.65.55.66.1

At opening establishments

4,3393,9113,8284,0483,4011.31.11.11.21.0

Gross job losses

21,80121,57022,66721,74622,4376.36.26.66.26.4

At contracting establishments

18,11018,33718,98018,61618,8495.25.35.55.35.4

At closing establishments

3,6913,2333,6873,1303,5881.10.91.10.91.0

Net employment change (2)

2,5061,8173721,8022,3890.80.50.00.60.7

Construction

Gross job gains

4,3594,1424,1544,3724,62216.715.816.016.416.5

At expanding establishments

3,2103,4273,2953,4123,71712.313.112.712.813.3

At opening establishments

1,1497158599609054.42.73.33.63.2

Gross job losses

4,1853,1403,9463,8203,78615.912.015.214.313.6

At contracting establishments

3,2582,3963,2133,1693,13712.49.212.411.911.3

At closing establishments

9277447336516493.52.82.82.42.3

Net employment change (2)

1741,0022085528360.83.80.82.12.9

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

1,2011,0821,2881,2351,3635.04.55.45.15.7

At expanding establishments

1,0059801,0931,1041,1524.24.14.64.64.8

At opening establishments

1961021951312110.80.40.80.50.9

Gross job losses

1,1221,0531,1141,2321,1184.74.44.75.24.6

At contracting establishments

9249309931,0259703.93.94.24.34.0

At closing establishments

1981231212071480.80.50.50.90.6

Net employment change (2)

792917432450.30.10.7-0.11.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains

2,9722,1822,4532,3102,6846.24.65.35.15.9

At expanding establishments

2,6251,9972,0931,9632,4185.54.24.54.35.3

At opening establishments

3471853603472660.70.40.80.80.6

Gross job losses

2,3282,9672,9742,6112,5105.06.36.45.75.4

At contracting establishments

2,1612,8202,4082,4352,2144.66.05.25.34.8

At closing establishments

1671475661762960.40.31.20.40.6

Net employment change (2)

644-785-521-3011741.2-1.7-1.1-0.60.5

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

2,9163,1732,8762,5622,8418.59.28.37.48.7

At expanding establishments

2,1212,3362,2191,9082,1766.26.86.45.56.7

At opening establishments

7958376576546652.32.41.91.92.0

Gross job losses

2,7162,7682,7552,9572,8697.98.07.98.58.8

At contracting establishments

2,0302,2792,0542,3342,2475.96.65.96.76.9

At closing establishments

6864897016236222.01.42.01.81.9

Net employment change (2)

200405121-395-280.61.20.4-1.1-0.1

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

3,5943,8873,2714,0513,1638.89.68.110.07.8

At expanding establishments

2,8013,0102,7863,2122,7336.97.46.97.96.7

At opening establishments

7938774858394301.92.21.22.11.1

Gross job losses

3,5653,7443,8203,4223,5278.79.39.58.48.6

At contracting establishments

2,9413,1473,3042,9592,9047.27.88.27.37.1

At closing establishments

6245975164636231.51.51.31.11.5

Net employment change (2)

29143-549629-3640.10.3-1.41.6-0.8

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.

Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
CategoryGross job gains as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Gross job losses as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Mar.
2018
June
2018
Sept.
2018
Dec.
2018
Mar.
2019
Mar.
2018
June
2018
Sept.
2018
Dec.
2018
Mar.
2019

United States(1)

6.16.16.06.35.95.55.86.05.65.5

Alabama

6.15.86.06.36.05.45.75.95.35.5

Alaska

10.110.98.911.010.08.910.710.79.89.0

Arizona

6.06.06.66.25.65.35.95.15.15.5

Arkansas

5.45.06.15.95.25.25.75.65.05.1

California

6.46.76.56.96.36.06.46.25.96.2

Colorado

6.86.86.66.86.66.06.16.86.06.3

Connecticut

5.15.85.35.35.25.35.15.74.95.7

Delaware

7.16.45.76.66.45.96.06.55.65.5

District of Columbia

6.05.65.35.65.44.95.65.55.14.9

Florida

6.26.46.86.46.15.56.15.86.15.6

Georgia

6.56.36.76.36.85.76.46.15.85.7

Hawaii

5.15.35.15.85.44.75.45.45.15.9

Idaho

7.97.36.87.47.56.16.86.96.36.1

Illinois

5.75.65.55.55.25.25.65.85.65.1

Indiana

5.75.55.25.65.95.15.55.45.04.8

Iowa

5.65.75.35.85.15.35.45.75.35.4

Kansas

5.35.75.96.15.45.45.65.75.45.7

Kentucky

6.25.95.86.15.85.95.76.05.45.5

Louisiana

6.76.26.36.25.95.96.56.35.85.9

Maine

7.08.06.17.37.27.07.17.56.76.4

Maryland

6.36.16.36.86.45.85.86.66.45.7

Massachusetts

5.76.15.65.85.75.25.56.15.35.2

Michigan

5.65.55.05.65.14.65.26.25.24.6

Minnesota

5.45.85.55.75.25.15.25.75.45.1

Mississippi

5.55.75.96.55.76.06.05.95.36.2

Missouri

5.55.75.95.85.45.25.76.05.45.3

Montana

7.98.07.28.97.67.17.87.97.28.0

Nebraska

5.85.85.95.95.75.65.85.95.75.6

Nevada

6.56.16.76.66.05.55.85.75.55.4

New Hampshire

6.16.75.76.66.36.06.26.85.75.7

New Jersey

5.76.56.06.45.76.15.86.45.75.6

New Mexico

6.56.76.46.86.45.76.26.46.15.8

New York

6.36.36.16.36.05.65.86.45.75.3

North Carolina

6.26.15.76.76.35.35.76.45.35.1

North Dakota

7.16.76.66.87.16.36.26.66.26.4

Ohio

5.65.65.45.65.55.15.45.85.35.1

Oklahoma

6.26.46.76.55.85.76.36.16.15.8

Oregon

8.06.26.26.76.35.86.36.36.05.8

Pennsylvania

5.35.35.45.35.14.95.15.24.84.8

Rhode Island

6.46.36.26.45.86.16.16.45.75.6

South Carolina

6.37.55.87.46.45.16.76.55.46.0

South Dakota

6.46.16.06.35.75.96.15.75.86.4

Tennessee

5.15.55.85.85.44.95.35.34.94.8

Texas

5.95.96.06.25.55.15.35.45.25.2

Utah

7.56.97.36.97.36.06.46.46.26.2

Vermont

6.57.26.97.46.77.07.17.66.86.3

Virginia

6.06.25.76.36.45.45.86.35.65.5

Washington

7.27.36.26.46.26.26.56.55.65.6

West Virginia

6.96.87.06.36.06.06.46.46.56.6

Wisconsin

5.65.55.15.45.14.75.55.95.04.8

Wyoming

8.68.48.310.08.68.08.48.47.87.8

Puerto Rico

8.57.97.26.07.16.96.25.86.85.1

Virgin Islands

13.313.212.87.911.918.67.05.97.17.4

Footnotes
(1)Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, December 20, 2019