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News Release Information

18-679-ATL
Friday, May 11, 2018

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Business Employment Dynamics in South Carolina – Third Quarter 2017

From June 2017 to September 2017, gross job losses in private-sector establishments in South Carolina totaled 106,344, while gross job gains numbered 96,040, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 10,304. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,589. (See chart1.)

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 the Technical Note for more information.)

The number of gross job losses in South Carolina (106,344) in the third quarter of 2017 was the highest since the second quarter of 2009. The number of gross job gains (96,040) was the lowest since the first quarter of 2015. (See chart 1.)

South Carolina’s rate of gross job losses as a percent of private-sector employment was 6.4 percent in the third quarter of 2017; nationally gross job losses accounted for 6.1 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job gains represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in South Carolina, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.0 percent of private-sector employment in the third quarter of 2017.

South Carolina’s gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 7 of 11 industries in the third quarter of 2017. The construction sector lost about 11,900 jobs at closing and contracting establishments, while opening and expanding establishments added close to 7,400 jobs. The resulting net loss of 4,516 jobs was the largest of any South Carolina sector during the quarter. Leisure and hospitality lost over 23,500 jobs at closing and contracting establishments, while adding just over 20,600 jobs at opening and expanding establishments, resulting in a net loss of 2,918 jobs. Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 2,666 within the retail trade sector, and by 2,593 in professional and business services. Among the three other sectors with net employment losses, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by less than 300.

In contrast, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in four industries in South Carolina. Within the transportation and warehousing sector, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,239; and in manufacturing, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,504. The financial activities and information industries each had net employment gains of less than 310. (See table 1.)

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 for Fourth Quarter 2017 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.

Effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on the Business Employment Dynamics

Hurricanes Irma and Maria made landfall in the United States on September 7 and September 20, 2017, respectively, during the BED third quarter reference period. These events did not cause changes to BED methodology. However, they did affect data collection in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. For more information, please visit the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) section of the following webpage:
www.bls.gov/bls/hurricanes-harvey-irma-maria.htm.


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, South Carolina, 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)
Sept
2016
Dec.
2016
Mar.
2017
June
2017
Sept
2017
Sept
2016
Dec.
2016
Mar.
2017
June
2017
Sept
2017

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

104,404108,676100,891102,37696,0406.36.56.06.15.7

At expanding establishments

86,15988,92883,60184,96480,2055.25.35.05.14.8

At opening establishments

18,24519,74817,29017,41215,8351.11.21.01.00.9

Gross job losses

93,11390,14892,82399,787106,3445.65.45.66.06.4

At contracting establishments

77,64175,41679,93785,34590,2724.74.54.85.15.4

At closing establishments

15,47214,73212,88614,44216,0720.90.90.80.91.0

Net employment change (2)

11,29118,5288,0682,589-10,3040.71.10.40.1-0.7

Construction

Gross job gains

8,7818,3318,1438,8407,3749.28.68.18.77.3

At expanding establishments

6,9336,6526,1587,0195,7417.36.96.16.95.7

At opening establishments

1,8481,6791,9851,8211,6331.91.72.01.81.6

Gross job losses

7,2607,1537,6857,25311,8907.67.47.67.211.9

At contracting establishments

5,9385,6166,4516,0269,6646.25.86.46.09.7

At closing establishments

1,3221,5371,2341,2272,2261.41.61.21.22.2

Net employment change (2)

1,5211,1784581,587-4,5161.61.20.51.5-4.6

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

7,8257,5567,0147,9057,3253.33.13.03.23.1

At expanding establishments

7,3136,9616,3937,0816,7073.12.92.72.92.8

At opening establishments

5125956218246180.20.20.30.30.3

Gross job losses

5,5365,9665,1996,1305,8212.32.52.12.52.4

At contracting establishments

4,9675,3304,8845,5615,2842.12.22.02.32.2

At closing establishments

5696363155695370.20.30.10.20.2

Net employment change (2)

2,2891,5901,8151,7751,5041.00.60.90.70.7

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

3,5373,1753,3233,6343,4104.94.44.65.04.7

At expanding establishments

2,8192,5032,7913,0842,7423.93.53.94.23.8

At opening establishments

7186725325506681.00.90.70.80.9

Gross job losses

3,2752,8763,1043,2043,6544.54.04.34.55.0

At contracting establishments

2,5232,3002,5672,4382,9943.53.23.63.44.1

At closing establishments

7525765377666601.00.80.71.10.9

Net employment change (2)

262299219430-2440.40.40.30.5-0.3

Retail trade

Gross job gains

15,30313,74615,06714,78812,8936.25.56.15.95.2

At expanding establishments

13,13211,73912,94612,52411,5455.34.75.25.04.7

At opening establishments

2,1712,0072,1212,2641,3480.90.80.90.90.5

Gross job losses

14,60213,64313,18715,72015,5595.95.55.46.46.3

At contracting establishments

12,90511,98411,54814,06613,5245.24.84.75.75.5

At closing establishments

1,6971,6591,6391,6542,0350.70.70.70.70.8

Net employment change (2)

7011031,880-932-2,6660.30.00.7-0.5-1.1

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

3,3864,5092,6403,0215,1585.57.24.24.88.0

At expanding establishments

3,0364,1272,2012,5554,7524.96.63.54.17.4

At opening establishments

3503824394664060.60.60.70.70.6

Gross job losses

2,6862,6734,3332,9742,9194.44.26.94.84.6

At contracting establishments

2,2602,3414,0352,6862,3563.73.76.44.33.7

At closing establishments

4263322982885630.70.50.50.50.9

Net employment change (2)

7001,836-1,693472,2391.13.0-2.70.03.4

Information

Gross job gains

1,2691,6461,2501,5881,7584.76.04.55.86.3

At expanding establishments

1,0461,3701,0281,1841,5293.95.03.74.35.5

At opening establishments

2232762224042290.81.00.81.50.8

Gross job losses

1,3551,2151,3301,8491,6145.04.54.86.75.8

At contracting establishments

1,0859551,1881,5731,3974.03.54.35.75.0

At closing establishments

2702601422762171.01.00.51.00.8

Net employment change (2)

-86431-80-261144-0.31.5-0.3-0.90.5

Financial activities

Gross job gains

5,1545,1304,8954,8144,9345.35.25.04.95.0

At expanding establishments

4,1344,1314,0473,9403,8844.34.24.14.03.9

At opening establishments

1,0209998488741,0501.01.00.90.91.1

Gross job losses

4,7574,5654,3354,9504,6274.94.64.45.04.7

At contracting establishments

3,7693,5393,5153,8483,6153.93.63.63.93.7

At closing establishments

9881,0268201,1021,0121.01.00.81.11.0

Net employment change (2)

397565560-1363070.40.60.6-0.10.3

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

20,98926,25620,62120,61418,8717.89.67.47.56.8

At expanding establishments

16,51520,02516,94416,82515,4946.17.36.16.15.6

At opening establishments

4,4746,2313,6773,7893,3771.72.31.31.41.2

Gross job losses

19,10919,22621,32319,63621,4647.17.17.77.17.8

At contracting establishments

14,86315,78918,54016,38718,0025.55.86.75.96.5

At closing establishments

4,2463,4372,7833,2493,4621.61.31.01.21.3

Net employment change (2)

1,8807,030-702978-2,5930.72.5-0.30.4-1.0

Education and health services

Gross job gains

10,7889,80010,9489,9949,1564.94.44.94.54.0

At expanding establishments

9,0438,2849,0358,2488,0024.13.74.03.73.5

At opening establishments

1,7451,5161,9131,7461,1540.80.70.90.80.5

Gross job losses

8,1359,1448,5128,9629,4483.74.13.74.04.2

At contracting establishments

6,4637,3257,0737,6517,8042.93.33.13.43.5

At closing establishments

1,6721,8191,4391,3111,6440.80.80.60.60.7

Net employment change (2)

2,6536562,4361,032-2921.20.31.20.5-0.2

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

21,68922,99021,02722,33220,6328.89.28.38.88.2

At expanding establishments

17,74618,79917,42818,45616,2697.27.56.97.36.5

At opening establishments

3,9434,1913,5993,8764,3631.61.71.41.51.7

Gross job losses

21,59618,93118,45723,31723,5508.87.67.39.29.4

At contracting establishments

18,91716,38816,23020,45120,8657.76.66.48.18.3

At closing establishments

2,6792,5432,2272,8662,6851.11.00.91.11.1

Net employment change (2)

934,0592,570-985-2,9180.01.61.0-0.4-1.2

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

3,7613,8053,4413,2733,3328.07.97.16.97.0

At expanding establishments

2,8372,9722,6522,6202,5216.06.25.55.55.3

At opening establishments

9248337896538112.01.71.61.41.7

Gross job losses

3,0793,2063,4013,6753,5206.56.77.07.67.4

At contracting establishments

2,3482,4922,4152,8392,7025.05.25.05.95.7

At closing establishments

7317149868368181.51.52.01.71.7

Net employment change (2)

68259940-402-1881.51.20.1-0.7-0.4

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
CategoryGross job gains as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Gross job losses as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Sept.
2016
Dec.
2016
Mar.
2017
June
2017
Sept.
2017
Sept.
2016
Dec.
2016
Mar.
2017
June
2017
Sept.
2017

United States(1)

6.46.26.06.26.05.85.95.45.86.1

Alabama

6.25.86.15.56.05.85.85.25.65.8

Alaska

9.19.89.411.08.511.210.09.89.910.5

Arizona

7.26.05.86.26.65.25.55.45.75.3

Arkansas

6.25.95.65.25.75.65.45.05.65.5

California

6.96.96.76.96.56.26.36.06.66.4

Colorado

7.16.66.87.16.66.26.56.26.36.4

Connecticut

5.25.15.55.75.25.45.25.15.15.7

Delaware

6.36.26.66.66.56.66.25.97.06.6

District of Columbia

6.25.65.75.75.45.85.64.75.65.3

Florida

7.46.76.16.65.65.86.15.56.17.5

Georgia

6.76.66.36.26.15.95.85.86.16.2

Hawaii

6.05.05.15.25.44.85.04.85.45.3

Idaho

7.97.57.97.36.77.36.76.36.66.6

Illinois

5.76.15.85.75.65.75.65.45.56.0

Indiana

5.85.45.75.75.55.15.25.15.55.5

Iowa

6.15.76.15.65.45.85.95.55.75.7

Kansas

6.25.95.85.56.35.65.75.66.65.7

Kentucky

6.86.15.76.15.96.35.85.45.95.8

Louisiana

6.85.96.46.26.16.56.55.96.56.1

Maine

6.77.47.27.76.57.47.16.47.77.5

Maryland

6.66.66.16.46.15.96.25.96.26.2

Massachusetts

5.75.65.56.15.55.45.45.15.25.6

Michigan

5.75.55.65.75.35.55.45.05.36.0

Minnesota

6.15.75.85.75.45.55.74.75.35.7

Mississippi

6.36.35.75.95.75.55.65.96.05.9

Missouri

5.75.75.95.65.95.45.64.95.65.9

Montana

7.67.88.17.97.27.77.57.17.78.0

Nebraska

6.45.75.95.65.95.96.25.26.15.9

Nevada

6.86.26.66.36.35.55.65.26.05.8

New Hampshire

6.46.35.76.65.66.35.95.65.96.5

New Jersey

6.36.45.56.76.05.95.95.85.56.2

New Mexico

7.06.66.46.76.56.26.56.26.36.3

New York

6.36.16.26.56.25.95.95.75.76.1

North Carolina

6.36.36.26.36.05.95.75.55.96.0

North Dakota

8.26.77.66.86.77.17.76.76.96.8

Ohio

5.75.75.75.85.15.75.45.15.45.6

Oklahoma

6.36.56.36.66.56.06.36.55.96.0

Oregon

6.96.66.96.56.56.46.35.75.96.3

Pennsylvania

5.65.45.25.55.45.15.15.05.25.2

Rhode Island

5.65.76.36.55.95.95.85.95.96.3

South Carolina

6.36.56.06.15.75.65.45.66.06.4

South Dakota

6.46.06.46.35.76.26.15.96.36.0

Tennessee

5.95.85.15.45.45.25.14.95.15.2

Texas

6.25.95.85.85.95.55.45.25.45.7

Utah

7.46.87.76.86.86.76.46.16.26.3

Vermont

7.27.06.67.96.77.47.06.86.87.8

Virginia

6.26.26.06.25.86.15.95.65.96.2

Washington

6.77.16.87.16.36.66.75.66.16.3

West Virginia

6.56.46.36.46.96.46.26.46.56.5

Wisconsin

5.55.55.95.65.05.65.34.85.55.7

Wyoming

8.58.88.88.58.78.88.78.19.07.9

Puerto Rico

5.85.85.15.24.15.75.45.75.26.2

Virgin Islands

6.26.05.36.24.26.86.05.54.78.3

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

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, May 11, 2018