From September 2016 to December 2016, gross job gains in private sector establishments in Kansas totaled 66,916, while gross job losses numbered 64,620, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,296. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that gross jobs gains exceeded gross job losses by 6,842 during the previous quarter.

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 number of gross job gains in Kansas fell from 70,015 in September 2016 to 66,916 in December 2016, a decline of 3,099. Conversely, gross job losses increased by 1,447 in the three months ended in December 2015. (See chart 1.) With one exception, gross job losses have been below 70,000 since September 2009.

Gross job gains represented 5.9 percent of private sector employment in Kansas in the quarter ended December 2016, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.2 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) 

Generally, the rate of gross job gains in Kansas has been below the U.S. rate since March 2009. Kansas’s rate of gross job losses as a percent of private sector employment was 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, similar to the national rate of 5.8 percent. From June 2008 to March 2015, the state’s rate of gross job losses was equal to or below the U.S. rate in each quarter. In three of the seven quarters since March 2015, Kansas’s rate of gross job losses has exceeded the national rate.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 10 published industry sectors in Kansas. For example, within transportation and warehousing, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,549. While 4,584 jobs in the industry were created by opening and expanding establishments, 2,035 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the three months ended in December 2016.

Professional and business services was among four industries in Kansas with gross job losses that exceeded gross job gains during the fourth quarter of 2016. In professional and business services, the 13,513 jobs lost in closing and contracting establishments offset the 12,514 jobs created in opening and expanding establishments, resulting in a net loss of 999 jobs. (See table 1.)

For More 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 website at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2017 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

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 quarterly 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, Kansas, 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. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept 2016	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept 2016	Dec. 2016
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	70,502	64,980	63,336	70,015	66,916	6.2	5.8	5.6	6.2	5.9
At expanding establishments	56,645	51,497	52,705	56,551	54,395	5.0	4.6	4.7	5.0	4.8
At opening establishments	13,857	13,483	10,631	13,464	12,521	1.2	1.2	0.9	1.2	1.1
Gross job losses	62,764	66,896	70,605	63,173	64,620	5.6	5.9	6.3	5.6	5.7
At contracting establishments	51,411	55,560	56,171	52,812	53,236	4.6	4.9	5.0	4.7	4.7
At closing establishments	11,353	11,336	14,434	10,361	11,384	1.0	1.0	1.3	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	7,738	-1,916	-7,269	6,842	2,296	0.6	-0.1	-0.7	0.6	0.2
Construction
Gross job gains	7,486	7,160	5,743	5,773	6,122	12.1	11.3	9.2	9.5	10.1
At expanding establishments	5,560	5,376	4,609	4,655	4,550	9.0	8.5	7.4	7.7	7.5
At opening establishments	1,926	1,784	1,134	1,118	1,572	3.1	2.8	1.8	1.8	2.6
Gross job losses	5,883	6,641	7,815	5,644	6,150	9.6	10.5	12.6	9.4	10.1
At contracting establishments	4,652	5,055	5,962	4,576	4,816	7.6	8.0	9.6	7.6	7.9
At closing establishments	1,231	1,586	1,853	1,068	1,334	2.0	2.5	3.0	1.8	2.2
Net employment change (2)	1,603	519	-2,072	129	-28	2.5	0.8	-3.4	0.1	0.0
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	4,936	3,617	4,037	5,054	4,608	3.0	2.2	2.5	3.1	2.9
At expanding establishments	4,379	3,386	3,716	4,700	4,287	2.7	2.1	2.3	2.9	2.7
At opening establishments	557	231	321	354	321	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2
Gross job losses	4,933	4,820	5,309	4,644	4,457	3.1	3.0	3.3	2.9	2.7
At contracting establishments	4,275	4,652	4,910	4,251	3,917	2.7	2.9	3.1	2.7	2.4
At closing establishments	658	168	399	393	540	0.4	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.3
Net employment change (2)	3	-1,203	-1,272	410	151	-0.1	-0.8	-0.8	0.2	0.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,238	2,968	3,128	3,018	2,926	5.3	5.0	5.2	5.1	4.9
At expanding establishments	2,447	2,322	2,571	2,362	2,246	4.0	3.9	4.3	4.0	3.8
At opening establishments	791	646	557	656	680	1.3	1.1	0.9	1.1	1.1
Gross job losses	2,712	3,171	2,967	2,854	2,806	4.5	5.2	5.0	4.8	4.7
At contracting establishments	2,121	2,307	2,020	2,399	2,215	3.5	3.8	3.4	4.0	3.7
At closing establishments	591	864	947	455	591	1.0	1.4	1.6	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	526	-203	161	164	120	0.8	-0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	8,469	9,022	8,165	8,199	8,593	5.7	6.0	5.4	5.4	5.8
At expanding establishments	7,292	7,959	7,221	6,970	7,293	4.9	5.3	4.8	4.6	4.9
At opening establishments	1,177	1,063	944	1,229	1,300	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	8,616	7,721	9,000	9,184	8,867	5.8	5.1	5.9	6.2	5.9
At contracting establishments	7,601	6,760	7,908	8,207	7,749	5.1	4.5	5.2	5.5	5.2
At closing establishments	1,015	961	1,092	977	1,118	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-147	1,301	-835	-985	-274	-0.1	0.9	-0.5	-0.8	-0.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	3,448	2,255	2,638	3,615	4,584	7.7	5.0	5.8	7.8	9.5
At expanding establishments	3,149	1,892	2,329	3,341	4,344	7.0	4.2	5.1	7.2	9.0
At opening establishments	299	363	309	274	240	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.5
Gross job losses	2,267	3,126	2,841	2,038	2,035	5.0	6.9	6.2	4.4	4.2
At contracting establishments	1,899	2,738	2,560	1,774	1,736	4.2	6.0	5.6	3.8	3.6
At closing establishments	368	388	281	264	299	0.8	0.9	0.6	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	1,181	-871	-203	1,577	2,549	2.7	-1.9	-0.4	3.4	5.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,225	3,465	3,808	3,960	3,766	5.7	4.7	5.1	5.4	5.1
At expanding establishments	3,230	2,671	3,052	3,083	2,896	4.4	3.6	4.1	4.2	3.9
At opening establishments	995	794	756	877	870	1.3	1.1	1.0	1.2	1.2
Gross job losses	3,563	3,694	3,645	3,363	3,720	4.8	5.1	5.0	4.5	5.0
At contracting establishments	2,655	2,769	2,575	2,525	2,737	3.6	3.8	3.5	3.4	3.7
At closing establishments	908	925	1,070	838	983	1.2	1.3	1.5	1.1	1.3
Net employment change (2)	662	-229	163	597	46	0.9	-0.4	0.1	0.9	0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	14,830	11,597	12,942	16,287	12,514	8.2	6.4	7.3	9.1	7.0
At expanding establishments	11,926	9,167	10,118	12,701	9,862	6.6	5.1	5.7	7.1	5.5
At opening establishments	2,904	2,430	2,824	3,586	2,652	1.6	1.3	1.6	2.0	1.5
Gross job losses	13,121	14,418	14,009	12,181	13,513	7.3	8.0	7.9	6.8	7.5
At contracting establishments	10,475	11,941	10,468	9,845	10,946	5.8	6.6	5.9	5.5	6.1
At closing establishments	2,646	2,477	3,541	2,336	2,567	1.5	1.4	2.0	1.3	1.4
Net employment change (2)	1,709	-2,821	-1,067	4,106	-999	0.9	-1.6	-0.6	2.3	-0.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains	8,798	9,102	7,924	8,576	8,410	4.6	4.8	4.2	4.4	4.4
At expanding establishments	6,856	6,131	6,846	6,954	6,585	3.6	3.2	3.6	3.6	3.4
At opening establishments	1,942	2,971	1,078	1,622	1,825	1.0	1.6	0.6	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	6,957	8,419	9,701	7,423	8,071	3.6	4.3	5.1	3.9	4.2
At contracting establishments	5,757	7,178	6,981	5,942	6,568	3.0	3.7	3.7	3.1	3.4
At closing establishments	1,200	1,241	2,720	1,481	1,503	0.6	0.6	1.4	0.8	0.8
Net employment change (2)	1,841	683	-1,777	1,153	339	1.0	0.5	-0.9	0.5	0.2
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	10,348	11,301	9,970	10,219	10,526	8.2	8.9	7.8	8.1	8.3
At expanding establishments	8,060	9,002	8,236	7,598	8,407	6.4	7.1	6.4	6.0	6.6
At opening establishments	2,288	2,299	1,734	2,621	2,119	1.8	1.8	1.4	2.1	1.7
Gross job losses	9,566	9,683	9,932	10,921	10,216	7.6	7.6	7.8	8.6	8.0
At contracting establishments	7,811	7,854	8,517	9,248	8,706	6.2	6.2	6.7	7.3	6.8
At closing establishments	1,755	1,829	1,415	1,673	1,510	1.4	1.4	1.1	1.3	1.2
Net employment change (2)	782	1,618	38	-702	310	0.6	1.3	0.0	-0.5	0.3
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	2,367	2,237	2,455	2,790	2,234	7.4	7.0	7.7	8.8	6.9
At expanding establishments	1,826	1,787	1,902	2,195	1,777	5.7	5.6	6.0	6.9	5.5
At opening establishments	541	450	553	595	457	1.7	1.4	1.7	1.9	1.4
Gross job losses	2,240	2,210	2,634	2,307	2,370	7.1	7.0	8.3	7.2	7.3
At contracting establishments	1,778	1,776	2,098	1,794	1,875	5.6	5.6	6.6	5.6	5.8
At closing establishments	462	434	536	513	495	1.5	1.4	1.7	1.6	1.5
Net employment change (2)	127	27	-179	483	-136	0.3	0.0	-0.6	1.6	-0.4
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.

Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept. 2016	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept. 2016	Dec. 2016
United States(1)	6.6	5.8	6.2	6.4	6.2	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.8	5.8
Alabama	6.2	5.8	5.8	6.2	5.8	5.3	5.4	5.8	5.7	5.7
Alaska	9.6	9.4	10.3	9.0	9.6	10.5	9.7	11.9	11.1	10.0
Arizona	6.9	6.0	6.1	7.1	6.0	5.4	5.7	6.1	5.2	5.5
Arkansas	6.3	5.4	5.4	6.2	5.7	5.3	5.3	5.8	5.4	5.2
California	7.6	6.5	6.8	6.9	6.7	6.7	6.3	6.7	6.1	6.3
Colorado	7.0	6.6	6.9	7.1	6.6	6.4	6.1	6.5	6.2	6.6
Connecticut	5.5	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.0	5.3	5.3	5.1
Delaware	7.3	6.5	6.7	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.4	6.6	6.5	6.2
District of Columbia	6.2	5.2	5.8	6.2	5.5	4.6	5.6	6.1	5.7	5.6
Florida	7.2	6.1	6.4	7.4	6.7	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.7	6.1
Georgia	6.9	6.1	7.0	6.7	6.5	5.7	5.6	6.6	5.9	5.8
Hawaii	5.8	4.9	5.4	5.8	5.2	4.4	4.9	6.0	5.0	5.1
Idaho	7.9	8.2	7.1	7.9	7.6	6.9	6.3	7.1	7.1	6.6
Illinois	6.4	5.3	5.9	5.7	6.1	5.6	5.4	5.9	5.7	5.7
Indiana	6.2	5.5	5.2	5.8	5.4	4.9	5.3	5.2	5.1	5.2
Iowa	6.0	6.0	5.6	6.0	5.7	5.7	5.3	6.1	5.8	5.9
Kansas	6.2	5.8	5.6	6.2	5.9	5.6	5.9	6.3	5.6	5.7
Kentucky	6.7	5.7	6.2	6.7	6.0	5.4	5.8	5.8	6.2	5.6
Louisiana	6.5	6.0	5.9	6.6	5.9	6.4	6.6	6.9	6.5	6.6
Maine	8.6	8.0	7.7	6.7	7.2	7.1	6.9	6.7	7.4	7.1
Maryland	6.8	6.2	6.3	6.5	6.6	5.9	6.0	6.3	6.0	6.3
Massachusetts	5.9	5.2	6.0	5.7	5.5	5.2	5.0	5.2	5.5	5.4
Michigan	6.1	5.4	5.9	5.6	5.6	5.3	4.9	5.3	5.6	5.4
Minnesota	6.1	5.4	5.9	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.2	5.6	5.6	5.8
Mississippi	7.1	5.7	5.7	6.3	6.3	5.4	6.1	6.5	5.6	5.7
Missouri	6.3	5.7	5.7	5.7	7.7	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	8.0
Montana	8.5	7.8	7.9	7.6	7.8	7.3	7.2	8.6	7.8	7.5
Nebraska	6.1	5.8	5.7	6.4	5.7	5.5	5.5	6.0	5.9	6.2
Nevada	6.8	6.3	6.5	6.7	6.7	5.3	5.7	5.6	5.5	5.6
New Hampshire	6.7	6.0	6.5	6.4	6.3	5.6	5.8	5.9	6.3	5.9
New Jersey	6.7	5.9	6.5	6.3	6.3	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.8
New Mexico	7.0	6.2	6.5	6.8	6.6	6.9	6.3	6.7	6.2	6.5
New York	6.4	6.1	6.2	6.3	6.0	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.9	5.9
North Carolina	6.7	6.0	6.3	6.1	6.3	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.6
North Dakota	6.7	6.6	6.8	8.1	6.7	8.1	8.9	9.0	7.1	7.8
Ohio	6.0	5.4	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.1	5.1	5.6	5.6	5.3
Oklahoma	6.3	5.7	5.8	6.3	6.3	6.5	6.4	6.8	6.0	6.1
Oregon	7.0	7.0	6.7	6.9	6.6	6.2	5.8	6.5	6.4	6.2
Pennsylvania	5.7	5.4	5.3	5.7	5.4	5.1	5.2	5.4	5.1	5.1
Rhode Island	6.6	5.8	6.2	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.9	6.2	6.0	5.8
South Carolina	7.1	6.1	6.3	6.3	6.6	5.3	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.4
South Dakota	6.7	6.2	6.4	6.4	6.0	5.9	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.1
Tennessee	6.3	5.2	5.7	5.9	5.7	4.8	5.1	5.3	5.2	5.0
Texas	6.1	4.7	6.3	6.2	5.9	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.4
Utah	7.2	7.3	6.7	7.4	6.7	6.0	5.9	6.4	6.5	6.3
Vermont	7.2	6.6	7.4	7.2	7.0	6.5	6.9	7.2	7.4	7.0
Virginia	6.4	5.9	6.4	6.0	6.2	5.6	5.9	6.0	6.1	5.9
Washington	6.8	7.1	7.2	6.7	7.2	6.2	5.6	5.8	6.4	6.7
West Virginia	6.6	5.9	5.8	6.6	6.4	6.3	6.9	6.9	6.6	6.2
Wisconsin	6.0	5.6	5.7	5.5	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.7	5.5	5.3
Wyoming	9.0	7.9	7.7	8.3	8.8	9.3	9.4	10.4	8.9	8.7
Puerto Rico	6.3	5.7	5.6	5.8	5.9	5.7	6.0	5.6	5.7	5.3
Virgin Islands	7.3	5.7	6.3	6.2	5.9	5.3	5.4	5.8	6.5	6.1
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.