From September 2019 to December 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in South Dakota were 22,895, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 20,517, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Bryan Droste noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 2,378 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2019. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 552. (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 fourth month of one quarter to the fourth 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 fourth quarter of 2019, gross job gains represented 6.4 percent of private-sector employment in South Dakota; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 6.2 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 South Dakota, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 19,041 in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 1,512 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 3,854 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 791 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2019, gross job losses represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in South Dakota; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.6 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 South Dakota, contracting establishments lost 17,138 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2019, a decrease of 603 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 3,379 jobs, a decrease of 24 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in four of the seven industry sectors in South Dakota in the fourth quarter of 2019. Leisure and hospitality had an over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 1,162 jobs. This was the result of 5,787 gross job gains and 4,625 gross job losses. Professional and business services showed a net loss of 163 jobs, the largest loss among the three sectors that reported net losses 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 release for first quarter 2020 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 28, 2020.

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 https://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, South 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)
	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept 2019	Dec. 2019	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept 2019	Dec. 2019
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	22,202	20,396	22,031	20,592	22,895	6.3	5.7	6.2	5.8	6.4
At expanding establishments	18,376	16,826	18,427	17,529	19,041	5.2	4.7	5.2	4.9	5.3
At opening establishments	3,826	3,570	3,604	3,063	3,854	1.1	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.1
Gross job losses	20,696	22,444	21,436	21,144	20,517	5.8	6.4	6.0	6.0	5.7
At contracting establishments	17,180	18,680	17,782	17,741	17,138	4.8	5.3	5.0	5.0	4.8
At closing establishments	3,516	3,764	3,654	3,403	3,379	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	1,506	-2,048	595	-552	2,378	0.5	-0.7	0.2	-0.2	0.7
Construction
Gross job gains	2,946	2,704	2,964	3,087	3,195	12.7	11.4	12.7	13.3	13.3
At expanding establishments	2,293	2,060	2,309	2,453	2,514	9.9	8.7	9.9	10.6	10.5
At opening establishments	653	644	655	634	681	2.8	2.7	2.8	2.7	2.8
Gross job losses	2,578	3,091	3,201	2,566	2,819	11.1	13.0	13.7	11.0	11.8
At contracting establishments	2,068	2,412	2,591	2,074	2,178	8.9	10.1	11.1	8.9	9.1
At closing establishments	510	679	610	492	641	2.2	2.9	2.6	2.1	2.7
Net employment change (2)	368	-387	-237	521	376	1.6	-1.6	-1.0	2.3	1.5
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	1,261	1,101	1,114	887	1,083	6.0	5.2	5.2	4.2	5.1
At expanding establishments	1,124	842	979	754	932	5.3	4.0	4.6	3.6	4.4
At opening establishments	137	259	135	133	151	0.7	1.2	0.6	0.6	0.7
Gross job losses	1,105	1,121	834	1,079	984	5.2	5.3	3.9	5.1	4.7
At contracting establishments	809	991	664	959	859	3.8	4.7	3.1	4.5	4.1
At closing establishments	296	130	170	120	125	1.4	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	156	-20	280	-192	99	0.8	-0.1	1.3	-0.9	0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	2,752	2,572	3,002	2,534	2,830	5.3	5.0	5.9	4.9	5.6
At expanding establishments	2,512	2,264	2,698	2,309	2,585	4.8	4.4	5.3	4.5	5.1
At opening establishments	240	308	304	225	245	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.4	0.5
Gross job losses	3,041	3,145	3,282	2,991	2,882	5.9	6.0	6.4	5.9	5.7
At contracting establishments	2,579	2,864	2,721	2,545	2,533	5.0	5.5	5.3	5.0	5.0
At closing establishments	462	281	561	446	349	0.9	0.5	1.1	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-289	-573	-280	-457	-52	-0.6	-1.0	-0.5	-1.0	-0.1
Financial activities
Gross job gains	1,194	824	1,064	1,169	1,048	4.2	2.9	3.8	4.1	3.7
At expanding establishments	934	649	903	988	822	3.3	2.3	3.2	3.5	2.9
At opening establishments	260	175	161	181	226	0.9	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.8
Gross job losses	1,284	1,106	957	1,218	1,191	4.5	3.9	3.3	4.2	4.1
At contracting establishments	1,061	885	782	979	979	3.7	3.1	2.7	3.4	3.4
At closing establishments	223	221	175	239	212	0.8	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-90	-282	107	-49	-143	-0.3	-1.0	0.5	-0.1	-0.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	2,423	2,531	2,606	2,543	2,349	7.4	7.7	7.9	7.7	7.0
At expanding establishments	1,754	1,930	2,047	1,987	1,734	5.4	5.9	6.2	6.0	5.2
At opening establishments	669	601	559	556	615	2.0	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.8
Gross job losses	2,733	2,392	2,148	2,200	2,512	8.4	7.3	6.6	6.6	7.5
At contracting establishments	2,280	1,840	1,637	1,722	1,984	7.0	5.6	5.0	5.2	5.9
At closing establishments	453	552	511	478	528	1.4	1.7	1.6	1.4	1.6
Net employment change (2)	-310	139	458	343	-163	-1.0	0.4	1.3	1.1	-0.5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	5,303	4,627	5,213	4,399	5,787	11.2	9.8	11.1	9.3	12.1
At expanding establishments	4,179	3,886	4,148	3,814	4,639	8.8	8.2	8.8	8.1	9.7
At opening establishments	1,124	741	1,065	585	1,148	2.4	1.6	2.3	1.2	2.4
Gross job losses	4,780	5,526	5,089	4,982	4,625	10.1	11.6	10.8	10.6	9.7
At contracting establishments	3,842	4,372	4,296	4,076	3,843	8.1	9.2	9.1	8.7	8.1
At closing establishments	938	1,154	793	906	782	2.0	2.4	1.7	1.9	1.6
Net employment change (2)	523	-899	124	-583	1,162	1.1	-1.8	0.3	-1.3	2.4
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	748	719	922	824	809	6.9	6.5	8.3	7.3	7.2
At expanding establishments	653	558	775	669	701	6.0	5.0	7.0	5.9	6.2
At opening establishments	95	161	147	155	108	0.9	1.5	1.3	1.4	1.0
Gross job losses	664	785	644	862	753	6.1	7.0	5.8	7.7	6.7
At contracting establishments	511	680	503	730	628	4.7	6.1	4.5	6.5	5.6
At closing establishments	153	105	141	132	125	1.4	0.9	1.3	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	84	-66	278	-38	56	0.8	-0.5	2.5	-0.4	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.