From December 2019 to March 2020, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in North Dakota were 24,097, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 24,502, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 405 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2020. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 135. (See chart 1.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector 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 Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2020, gross job gains represented 6.8 percent of private-sector employment in North Dakota; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.5 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In North Dakota, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 20,511 in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 1,500 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 3,586 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 955 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2020, gross job losses represented 7.0 percent of private-sector employment in North Dakota; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 6.1 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In North Dakota, contracting establishments lost 21,135 jobs in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 1,746 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 3,367 jobs, a decrease of 661 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 4 of the 5 industry sectors in North Dakota in the first quarter of 2020. Professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease with a loss of 760 jobs. This was the result of 2,634 gross job gains and 3,394 gross job losses. Retail trade had a net gain of 178 jobs, the only increase of any sector in the state.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2020 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.

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 units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.

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 units 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 units 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 units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

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

The full Technical Note for the Business Employment Dynamics program, which includes information on coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the current quarterly news release online at www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.htm.

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

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. 2019	June 2019	Sept 2019	Dec. 2019	Mar. 2020	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept 2019	Dec. 2019	Mar. 2020
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	24,889	23,563	23,085	23,552	24,097	7.1	6.7	6.5	6.7	6.8
At expanding establishments	21,415	19,912	18,373	19,011	20,511	6.1	5.7	5.2	5.4	5.8
At opening establishments	3,474	3,651	4,712	4,541	3,586	1.0	1.0	1.3	1.3	1.0
Gross job losses	22,444	23,630	24,976	23,417	24,502	6.4	6.7	7.1	6.6	7.0
At contracting establishments	18,845	20,139	21,335	19,389	21,135	5.4	5.7	6.1	5.5	6.0
At closing establishments	3,599	3,491	3,641	4,028	3,367	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.1	1.0
Net employment change (2)	2,445	-67	-1,891	135	-405	0.7	0.0	-0.6	0.1	-0.2
Construction
Gross job gains	4,639	4,450	4,757	4,319	4,450	16.6	15.9	17.2	15.5	15.7
At expanding establishments	3,716	3,584	3,337	3,073	3,481	13.3	12.8	12.1	11.0	12.3
At opening establishments	923	866	1,420	1,246	969	3.3	3.1	5.1	4.5	3.4
Gross job losses	3,786	4,725	4,589	4,309	4,790	13.6	16.8	16.7	15.4	16.9
At contracting establishments	3,131	3,685	3,821	3,311	4,044	11.2	13.1	13.9	11.8	14.3
At closing establishments	655	1,040	768	998	746	2.4	3.7	2.8	3.6	2.6
Net employment change (2)	853	-275	168	10	-340	3.0	-0.9	0.5	0.1	-1.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	1,372	1,198	1,252	1,212	1,158	5.7	5.0	5.1	5.0	4.8
At expanding establishments	1,161	1,062	1,120	1,061	1,014	4.8	4.4	4.6	4.4	4.2
At opening establishments	211	136	132	151	144	0.9	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6
Gross job losses	1,119	1,201	1,104	1,300	1,278	4.6	5.0	4.5	5.4	5.3
At contracting establishments	971	965	951	1,109	1,115	4.0	4.0	3.9	4.6	4.6
At closing establishments	148	236	153	191	163	0.6	1.0	0.6	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	253	-3	148	-88	-120	1.1	0.0	0.6	-0.4	-0.5
Retail trade
Gross job gains	2,683	2,337	2,343	2,429	2,632	5.9	5.1	5.1	5.4	5.8
At expanding establishments	2,414	2,104	2,067	2,128	2,423	5.3	4.6	4.5	4.7	5.3
At opening establishments	269	233	276	301	209	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.5
Gross job losses	2,523	2,807	2,552	2,454	2,454	5.5	6.2	5.6	5.4	5.3
At contracting establishments	2,224	2,368	2,236	2,179	2,204	4.8	5.2	4.9	4.8	4.8
At closing establishments	299	439	316	275	250	0.7	1.0	0.7	0.6	0.5
Net employment change (2)	160	-470	-209	-25	178	0.4	-1.1	-0.5	0.0	0.5
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	2,875	3,120	2,696	2,982	2,634	8.8	9.5	8.2	9.0	8.0
At expanding establishments	2,195	2,547	2,014	2,338	2,079	6.7	7.8	6.1	7.1	6.3
At opening establishments	680	573	682	644	555	2.1	1.7	2.1	1.9	1.7
Gross job losses	2,870	2,578	2,830	2,764	3,394	8.9	7.9	8.6	8.4	10.3
At contracting establishments	2,229	2,132	2,268	2,042	2,818	6.9	6.5	6.9	6.2	8.6
At closing establishments	641	446	562	722	576	2.0	1.4	1.7	2.2	1.7
Net employment change (2)	5	542	-134	218	-760	-0.1	1.6	-0.4	0.6	-2.3
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	3,200	3,821	3,591	3,458	3,291	7.9	9.4	8.9	8.5	8.2
At expanding establishments	2,732	3,015	2,772	2,520	2,930	6.7	7.4	6.9	6.2	7.3
At opening establishments	468	806	819	938	361	1.2	2.0	2.0	2.3	0.9
Gross job losses	3,546	3,623	3,871	3,522	3,671	8.7	8.9	9.6	8.7	9.2
At contracting establishments	2,916	3,167	3,231	2,944	3,158	7.2	7.8	8.0	7.3	7.9
At closing establishments	630	456	640	578	513	1.5	1.1	1.6	1.4	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-346	198	-280	-64	-380	-0.8	0.5	-0.7	-0.2	-1.0
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.