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News Release Information

19-1905-ATL
Thursday, November 21, 2019

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

Business Employment Dynamics in North Carolina – First Quarter 2019

From December 2018 to March 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in North Carolina totaled 237,488, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments numbered 188,107, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 49,381 jobs in North Carolina’s private-sector during the first quarter of 2019. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 51,279. (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 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.)

North Carolina’s gross jobs gains totaled 237,488 in the first quarter of 2019, a decrease of 11,271 from the previous quarter. With one exception, North Carolina’s gross job gains have been above 200,000 each quarter since the second quarter of 2010. North Carolina’s gross job losses totaled 188,107 in the first quarter of 2019, below the recent peak of 236,976 gross job losses in the third quarter of 2018. (Seechart 1.)

North Carolina’s rate of gross job gains as a percent of private sector employment was 6.3 percent 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 5.1 percent of private sector employment in North Carolina; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.5 percent of private sector employment in the first quarter of 2019.

During the first quarter of 2019, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 10 of the 11 industry sectors in North Carolina. Leisure and hospitality created 45,610 jobs in opening and expanding establishments, but lost 34,603 jobs in closing and contracting establishments. The resulting net gain of 11,007 jobs was the largest of any sector in North Carolina in the first quarter of 2019. In professional and business services, 47,741 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments, while 39,214 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 8,527 jobs. Education and health services added 28,066 jobs in opening and expanding establishments and lost 21,083 jobs in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 6,983 jobs. Within the retail trade and construction sectors, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 6,305 and 5,922, respectively. In each of the five other sectors with net employment gains, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by less than 2,800. (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 Second Quarter 2019 are 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 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)
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

228,106228,178209,963248,759237,4886.26.15.76.76.3

At expanding establishments

182,261185,987170,969204,005193,1955.05.04.65.55.1

At opening establishments

45,84542,19138,99444,75444,2931.21.11.11.21.2

Gross job losses

193,957212,847236,976197,480188,1075.35.76.45.35.1

At contracting establishments

162,599167,090195,414159,115156,1124.44.55.34.34.2

At closing establishments

31,35845,75741,56238,36531,9950.91.21.11.00.9

Net employment change (2)

34,14915,331-27,01351,27949,3810.90.4-0.71.41.2

Construction

Gross job gains

18,41018,61617,32022,15220,6308.58.47.89.99.0

At expanding establishments

14,10214,57513,26817,05515,8226.56.66.07.66.9

At opening establishments

4,3084,0414,0525,0974,8082.01.81.82.32.1

Gross job losses

14,38815,96917,11316,07714,7086.77.37.87.26.4

At contracting establishments

10,98811,37413,11012,36511,6685.15.26.05.55.1

At closing establishments

3,4004,5954,0033,7123,0401.62.11.81.71.3

Net employment change (2)

4,0222,6472076,0755,9221.81.10.02.72.6

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

14,71015,69214,74015,68313,5013.13.33.13.22.8

At expanding establishments

13,61514,33513,92614,49312,6452.93.02.93.02.6

At opening establishments

1,0951,3578141,1908560.20.30.20.20.2

Gross job losses

13,15413,61314,20014,08913,2372.82.93.02.92.8

At contracting establishments

12,10811,89112,73312,62512,0272.62.52.72.62.5

At closing establishments

1,0461,7221,4671,4641,2100.20.40.30.30.3

Net employment change (2)

1,5562,0795401,5942640.30.40.10.30.0

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

9,0529,4468,7289,1689,8265.05.14.85.15.4

At expanding establishments

7,1167,5326,8037,4067,8713.94.13.74.14.3

At opening establishments

1,9361,9141,9251,7621,9551.11.01.11.01.1

Gross job losses

7,5248,6808,6787,0657,0824.14.84.83.93.8

At contracting establishments

5,8496,1476,6895,5015,3753.23.43.73.02.9

At closing establishments

1,6752,5331,9891,5641,7070.91.41.10.90.9

Net employment change (2)

1,528766502,1032,7440.90.30.01.21.6

Retail trade

Gross job gains

30,62729,04327,88328,34532,2026.15.85.65.76.4

At expanding establishments

26,03424,52624,41725,02327,9705.24.94.95.05.6

At opening establishments

4,5934,5173,4663,3224,2320.90.90.70.70.8

Gross job losses

27,02330,23435,48225,80925,8975.46.07.15.25.2

At contracting establishments

24,20225,55130,98722,34522,5374.85.16.24.54.5

At closing establishments

2,8214,6834,4953,4643,3600.60.90.90.70.7

Net employment change (2)

3,604-1,191-7,5992,5366,3050.7-0.2-1.50.51.2

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

6,6226,9398,65112,1999,1045.05.26.58.96.5

At expanding establishments

5,2835,9927,50210,7127,8964.04.55.67.85.6

At opening establishments

1,3399471,1491,4871,2081.00.70.91.10.9

Gross job losses

7,8487,1856,1885,8229,1585.95.54.64.26.5

At contracting establishments

7,0045,7625,0614,6708,3895.34.43.83.46.0

At closing establishments

8441,4231,1271,1527690.61.10.80.80.5

Net employment change (2)

-1,226-2462,4636,377-54-0.9-0.31.94.70.0

Information

Gross job gains

4,1773,8793,7123,4894,5955.34.94.74.46.1

At expanding establishments

3,5733,1653,0192,8803,3734.54.03.83.64.5

At opening establishments

6047146936091,2220.80.90.90.81.6

Gross job losses

3,0372,8574,4363,8003,7483.83.65.64.85.0

At contracting establishments

2,5312,0833,6552,7523,2463.22.64.63.54.3

At closing establishments

5067747811,0485020.61.01.01.30.7

Net employment change (2)

1,1401,022-724-3118471.51.3-0.9-0.41.1

Financial activities

Gross job gains

11,91313,63211,73613,49211,4495.15.85.05.84.8

At expanding establishments

9,26310,5148,98610,4288,8974.04.53.84.53.7

At opening establishments

2,6503,1182,7503,0642,5521.11.31.21.31.1

Gross job losses

9,63511,37012,81011,1709,7794.24.95.54.84.1

At contracting establishments

6,8358,2919,7898,3377,4213.03.64.23.63.1

At closing establishments

2,8003,0793,0212,8332,3581.21.31.31.21.0

Net employment change (2)

2,2782,262-1,0742,3221,6700.90.9-0.51.00.7

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

45,88948,69146,10650,45947,7417.37.77.28.07.4

At expanding establishments

35,99038,61437,65940,55338,7995.76.15.96.46.0

At opening establishments

9,89910,0778,4479,9068,9421.61.61.31.61.4

Gross job losses

42,06142,22544,52544,65339,2146.76.77.06.96.1

At contracting establishments

35,02933,29436,09035,43831,9905.65.35.75.55.0

At closing establishments

7,0328,9318,4359,2157,2241.11.41.31.41.1

Net employment change (2)

3,8286,4661,5815,8068,5270.61.00.21.11.3

Education and health services

Gross job gains

27,63326,43424,26329,21428,0664.74.54.14.94.7

At expanding establishments

22,37722,15220,03624,45823,2553.83.83.44.13.9

At opening establishments

5,2564,2824,2274,7564,8110.90.70.70.80.8

Gross job losses

21,02523,87726,96122,15421,0833.64.04.63.73.5

At contracting establishments

18,01218,36022,48417,32517,0453.13.13.82.92.8

At closing establishments

3,0135,5174,4774,8294,0380.50.90.80.80.7

Net employment change (2)

6,6082,557-2,6987,0606,9831.10.5-0.51.21.2

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

45,36444,06336,62950,62245,6109.08.77.410.28.9

At expanding establishments

34,24435,43327,29240,64035,5736.87.05.58.26.9

At opening establishments

11,1208,6309,3379,98210,0372.21.71.92.02.0

Gross job losses

37,04543,36453,32936,35334,6037.48.610.87.36.8

At contracting establishments

31,23734,26144,49129,67828,4406.26.89.06.05.6

At closing establishments

5,8089,1038,8386,6756,1631.21.81.81.31.2

Net employment change (2)

8,319699-16,70014,26911,0071.60.1-3.42.92.1

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

8,4928,2217,4889,8499,2738.48.17.59.78.9

At expanding establishments

6,3276,0555,7857,1716,9156.36.05.87.16.6

At opening establishments

2,1652,1661,7032,6782,3582.12.11.72.62.3

Gross job losses

7,8778,2148,3127,4086,4957.88.18.27.36.2

At contracting establishments

5,9195,8496,2865,5205,2145.95.86.25.45.0

At closing establishments

1,9582,3652,0261,8881,2811.92.32.01.91.2

Net employment change (2)

6157-8242,4412,7780.60.0-0.72.42.7

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)
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: Thursday, November 21, 2019