From June 2013 to September 2013 gross job gains in private sector establishments in Louisiana totaled 104,587, while gross job losses numbered 94,339, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 10,248. In contrast, during the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,220.

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.)

Gross job gains in Louisiana rose by more than 6,000 between June and September 2013, though they remained within the levels generally experienced in each quarter since June 2012. Gross job losses declined by 5,194 in the three months ended in September 2013 after increasing in the two previous quarters. During the last five years, gross job losses in the state peaked in June 2009 when nearly 123,000 jobs were lost, but have remained below 100,000 in each of the last four quarters. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 6.6 percent of private sector employment in Louisiana in the quarter ended September 2013, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.1 percent of private employment. (See chart 2.) With the exception of June 2013, Louisiana’s rate of gross job gains has equaled or exceeded the U.S. rate in every quarter since December 2004. Louisiana’s rate of gross job loss as a percent of private sector employment, at 6.0 percent in September 2013, was higher than the national rate of 5.8 percent. With few exceptions, the state’s gross job loss rate has remained above the U.S. since September 1998. However, gross job loss rates for both the state and nation have generally trended downward since 2009 and Louisiana’s third quarter 2013 rate was the second lowest since the series inception in 1992.

During the third quarter of 2013, Louisiana gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 11 industry sectors. For example, within retail trade, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 6,059. While approximately 11,400 jobs were lost at closing and contracting establishments in the industry, almost 17,500 jobs were created at opening and expanding establishments in the 3 months ended in September 2013. In education and health services, more than 13,600 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments and nearly 11,000 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of almost 2,700. The professional and business services industry led all sectors in gross job losses, with more than 15,300 jobs lost at closing and contracting establishments. However, these job losses were offset by the creation of more than 16,600 jobs at opening and expanding establishments in the industry. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in four industry sectors in Louisiana in September 2013. Within information, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,906. The leisure and hospitality sector experienced a net loss of 454 jobs. Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by less than 150 in two sectors in the state in the third quarter of 2013, manufacturing and other services.

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/.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request: voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

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 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.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Louisiana, 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)
	Sept. 2012	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013	Sept. 2012	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	101,975	107,395	104,541	98,313	104,587	6.6	7.0	6.7	6.2	6.6
At expanding establishments	83,275	87,383	87,283	80,635	83,440	5.4	5.7	5.6	5.1	5.3
At opening establishments	18,700	20,012	17,258	17,678	21,147	1.2	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.3
Gross job losses	102,711	91,414	94,234	99,533	94,339	6.7	5.9	6.1	6.3	6.0
At contracting establishments	84,010	73,017	77,260	83,282	78,083	5.5	4.7	5.0	5.3	5.0
At closing establishments	18,701	18,397	16,974	16,251	16,256	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-736	15,981	10,307	-1,220	10,248	-0.1	1.1	0.6	-0.1	0.6
Construction
Gross job gains	14,503	12,411	13,926	12,568	13,035	11.4	9.7	10.7	9.6	10.0
At expanding establishments	12,332	10,766	12,193	11,013	11,344	9.7	8.4	9.4	8.4	8.7
At opening establishments	2,171	1,645	1,733	1,555	1,691	1.7	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.3
Gross job losses	12,757	12,292	10,982	13,203	12,311	10.0	9.6	8.4	10.1	9.3
At contracting establishments	10,949	10,227	9,414	11,658	10,682	8.6	8.0	7.2	8.9	8.1
At closing establishments	1,808	2,065	1,568	1,545	1,629	1.4	1.6	1.2	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	1,746	119	2,944	-635	724	1.4	0.1	2.3	-0.5	0.7
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,986	5,605	5,993	6,327	5,769	4.2	3.9	4.2	4.4	4.0
At expanding establishments	5,316	5,034	5,484	5,724	5,166	3.7	3.5	3.8	4.0	3.6
At opening establishments	670	571	509	603	603	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4
Gross job losses	6,428	5,775	5,178	5,907	5,905	4.5	4.0	3.6	4.1	4.1
At contracting establishments	5,972	4,999	4,548	5,179	5,184	4.2	3.5	3.2	3.6	3.6
At closing establishments	456	776	630	728	721	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-442	-170	815	420	-136	-0.3	-0.1	0.6	0.3	-0.1
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,328	3,703	3,751	3,177	3,464	4.6	5.1	5.1	4.4	4.7
At expanding establishments	2,619	3,111	2,916	2,683	2,991	3.6	4.3	4.0	3.7	4.1
At opening establishments	709	592	835	494	473	1.0	0.8	1.1	0.7	0.6
Gross job losses	3,539	3,458	3,327	3,807	2,957	4.9	4.8	4.6	5.2	4.0
At contracting establishments	2,751	2,622	2,750	3,120	2,515	3.8	3.6	3.8	4.3	3.4
At closing establishments	788	836	577	687	442	1.1	1.2	0.8	0.9	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-211	245	424	-630	507	-0.3	0.3	0.5	-0.8	0.7
Retail trade
Gross job gains	11,895	14,305	13,441	12,900	17,473	5.3	6.4	6.0	5.7	7.8
At expanding establishments	9,664	12,601	11,910	11,465	11,653	4.3	5.6	5.3	5.1	5.2
At opening establishments	2,231	1,704	1,531	1,435	5,820	1.0	0.8	0.7	0.6	2.6
Gross job losses	13,170	10,678	14,173	12,322	11,414	5.9	4.8	6.3	5.5	5.1
At contracting establishments	11,380	9,101	12,372	10,772	10,077	5.1	4.1	5.5	4.8	4.5
At closing establishments	1,790	1,577	1,801	1,550	1,337	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-1,275	3,627	-732	578	6,059	-0.6	1.6	-0.3	0.2	2.7
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,395	4,608	4,921	3,794	4,345	6.2	6.4	6.8	5.2	6.0
At expanding establishments	3,733	3,943	4,093	3,073	3,630	5.3	5.5	5.7	4.2	5.0
At opening establishments	662	665	828	721	715	0.9	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	4,122	3,539	3,732	4,650	3,857	5.8	5.0	5.2	6.4	5.3
At contracting establishments	3,117	2,711	3,149	3,964	2,905	4.4	3.8	4.4	5.5	4.0
At closing establishments	1,005	828	583	686	952	1.4	1.2	0.8	0.9	1.3
Net employment change (2)	273	1,069	1,189	-856	488	0.4	1.4	1.6	-1.2	0.7
Information
Gross job gains	2,655	3,373	2,244	2,560	3,048	10.8	13.6	8.8	9.5	11.6
At expanding establishments	2,427	3,131	2,003	2,254	2,465	9.9	12.6	7.9	8.4	9.4
At opening establishments	228	242	241	306	583	0.9	1.0	0.9	1.1	2.2
Gross job losses	2,906	2,550	2,974	1,617	4,954	11.8	10.3	11.7	6.0	18.9
At contracting establishments	2,305	1,941	2,470	1,260	4,484	9.4	7.8	9.7	4.7	17.1
At closing establishments	601	609	504	357	470	2.4	2.5	2.0	1.3	1.8
Net employment change (2)	-251	823	-730	943	-1,906	-1.0	3.3	-2.9	3.5	-7.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains	5,126	5,077	4,334	4,752	4,776	5.8	5.7	4.8	5.3	5.3
At expanding establishments	4,112	4,095	3,321	3,849	4,079	4.7	4.6	3.7	4.3	4.5
At opening establishments	1,014	982	1,013	903	697	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.0	0.8
Gross job losses	5,411	3,882	4,480	4,054	4,070	6.1	4.4	5.0	4.5	4.5
At contracting establishments	4,244	2,910	3,484	3,038	3,045	4.8	3.3	3.9	3.4	3.4
At closing establishments	1,167	972	996	1,016	1,025	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-285	1,195	-146	698	706	-0.3	1.3	-0.2	0.8	0.8
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	17,415	17,410	16,858	15,603	16,643	8.6	8.5	8.2	7.6	8.1
At expanding establishments	13,312	13,468	14,176	11,473	13,237	6.6	6.6	6.9	5.6	6.4
At opening establishments	4,103	3,942	2,682	4,130	3,406	2.0	1.9	1.3	2.0	1.7
Gross job losses	16,450	16,007	14,816	17,368	15,363	8.2	7.8	7.3	8.5	7.4
At contracting establishments	13,088	12,894	11,618	13,533	11,988	6.5	6.3	5.7	6.6	5.8
At closing establishments	3,362	3,113	3,198	3,835	3,375	1.7	1.5	1.6	1.9	1.6
Net employment change (2)	965	1,403	2,042	-1,765	1,280	0.4	0.7	0.9	-0.9	0.7
Education and health services
Gross job gains	12,635	14,391	13,173	11,058	13,648	4.7	5.3	4.8	4.1	5.0
At expanding establishments	10,480	10,824	11,187	9,740	11,519	3.9	4.0	4.1	3.6	4.2
At opening establishments	2,155	3,567	1,986	1,318	2,129	0.8	1.3	0.7	0.5	0.8
Gross job losses	12,091	11,223	12,111	12,958	10,971	4.6	4.2	4.5	4.8	4.0
At contracting establishments	9,275	8,013	9,342	10,882	8,478	3.5	3.0	3.5	4.0	3.1
At closing establishments	2,816	3,210	2,769	2,076	2,493	1.1	1.2	1.0	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	544	3,168	1,062	-1,900	2,677	0.1	1.1	0.3	-0.7	1.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	16,535	17,759	15,947	17,362	14,825	8.0	8.6	7.5	8.2	7.0
At expanding establishments	13,397	14,103	12,113	13,424	11,416	6.5	6.8	5.7	6.3	5.4
At opening establishments	3,138	3,656	3,834	3,938	3,409	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.6
Gross job losses	16,026	13,951	15,169	16,184	15,279	7.7	6.7	7.2	7.6	7.2
At contracting establishments	12,895	11,239	12,458	13,664	12,775	6.2	5.4	5.9	6.4	6.0
At closing establishments	3,131	2,712	2,711	2,520	2,504	1.5	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	509	3,808	778	1,178	-454	0.3	1.9	0.3	0.6	-0.2
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	2,930	3,317	3,310	3,143	3,025	6.7	7.6	7.5	7.2	6.8
At expanding establishments	2,523	2,574	2,599	2,412	2,438	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.5	5.5
At opening establishments	407	743	711	731	587	0.9	1.7	1.6	1.7	1.3
Gross job losses	3,372	2,943	2,955	3,253	3,026	7.8	6.8	6.8	7.4	6.8
At contracting establishments	2,547	2,344	2,228	2,772	2,438	5.9	5.4	5.1	6.3	5.5
At closing establishments	825	599	727	481	588	1.9	1.4	1.7	1.1	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-442	374	355	-110	-1	-1.1	0.8	0.7	-0.2	0.0
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. (3) Except public administration.

 

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

State	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Sep. 2012	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013	Jun. 2013	Sep. 2013	Sep. 2012	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013	Jun. 2013	Sep. 2013
United States (1)	6.2	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.1	6.0	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.8
Alabama	5.7	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.5	5.7	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.6
Alaska	9.0	9.8	10.7	10.6	9.7	10.3	10.1	9.6	10.0	9.8
Arizona	6.7	6.9	6.2	6.2	6.4	5.7	5.8	5.9	6.1	5.5
Arkansas	5.5	6.0	5.7	5.2	5.8	6.1	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.4
California	6.8	7.4	9.0	7.0	6.7	6.4	6.2	5.9	6.4	6.1
Colorado	6.9	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.0	6.5	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.3
Connecticut	5.2	5.4	5.1	5.6	5.3	5.4	5.1	5.2	4.8	5.4
Delaware	6.2	6.8	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.2	5.7	5.9	5.8	6.0
District of Columbia	5.8	6.8	5.7	6.1	5.8	6.1	5.5	5.4	5.6	5.3
Florida	7.3	7.1	6.7	7.1	7.0	6.7	6.3	6.0	6.3	6.2
Georgia	6.4	6.8	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.2	5.9	5.7	6.2	6.0
Hawaii	5.6	5.4	5.1	5.2	5.3	4.7	4.3	4.8	5.2	4.9
Idaho	8.2	7.9	8.1	8.0	7.7	7.0	7.2	7.2	7.5	7.2
Illinois	5.5	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.7	5.4	5.2	5.5	5.3	5.8
Indiana	5.7	5.9	5.6	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.3
Iowa	5.7	5.7	5.8	6.0	5.8	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.5
Kansas	5.6	6.3	5.6	6.2	6.1	6.1	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.7
Kentucky	5.7	6.5	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.4
Louisiana	6.6	7.0	6.7	6.2	6.6	6.7	5.9	6.1	6.3	6.0
Maine	6.7	7.0	6.7	8.1	7.3	7.3	7.5	7.0	6.4	7.4
Maryland	6.3	6.4	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.3	6.3	5.8	6.1	6.1
Massachusetts	5.3	5.4	6.2	6.1	5.4	5.6	5.3	4.9	5.0	5.5
Michigan	6.2	6.0	6.0	6.3	5.9	5.9	5.4	5.0	5.8	5.8
Minnesota	6.0	5.9	6.0	6.1	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.2	5.2	5.5
Mississippi	6.4	6.8	5.9	5.8	6.1	6.2	6.1	5.5	6.0	5.8
Missouri	5.9	6.4	6.5	5.9	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.7
Montana	7.9	8.3	8.1	8.0	7.7	7.3	7.8	7.4	7.7	7.5
Nebraska	5.6	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.1	5.5	5.2	5.4	5.7	5.6
Nevada	5.9	6.0	6.3	6.6	6.0	5.7	5.7	5.4	5.5	5.7
New Hampshire	6.4	6.5	6.3	6.8	6.0	6.9	6.4	6.1	5.9	6.5
New Jersey	6.2	6.4	6.3	6.6	6.2	6.3	6.2	5.8	5.6	6.0
New Mexico	6.4	7.4	6.2	6.7	6.5	6.6	6.2	6.5	6.8	6.7
New York	6.3	6.4	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.2	6.1	5.9	5.8	6.1
North Carolina	6.3	6.5	6.0	6.3	6.2	6.0	5.9	5.7	5.8	5.8
North Dakota	8.3	8.3	8.3	7.2	8.3	7.2	6.8	6.6	7.9	6.9
Ohio	5.6	6.1	5.9	6.2	5.5	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.3	5.6
Oklahoma	6.1	6.7	6.0	6.1	6.1	6.0	5.6	6.0	5.7	5.6
Oregon	7.1	7.0	7.2	7.1	7.0	6.4	6.6	6.1	6.2	6.2
Pennsylvania	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.2	5.4	5.1	5.3	5.2	5.2
Rhode Island	6.0	6.3	6.1	6.5	6.2	6.3	6.0	5.8	5.7	6.1
South Carolina	5.8	6.6	5.8	6.3	6.2	5.9	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.6
South Dakota	6.4	6.3	6.3	6.5	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	5.8	6.3
Tennessee	5.6	6.1	5.4	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.1	5.1	5.4	5.2
Texas	5.9	6.1	5.9	5.8	5.9	5.2	5.0	5.1	5.0	5.2
Utah	6.9	7.3	7.3	7.0	6.8	6.1	6.1	6.3	6.5	6.2
Vermont	7.0	7.6	7.0	7.3	7.1	7.0	7.1	6.7	7.8	7.4
Virginia	6.4	6.0	5.7	5.6	5.9	6.1	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.9
Washington	7.0	7.1	8.6	7.3	7.0	6.6	6.5	6.2	6.1	6.4
West Virginia	6.4	6.4	6.3	6.1	5.9	6.8	6.5	6.1	6.6	6.4
Wisconsin	5.4	5.7	5.4	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.2	5.4	5.4
Wyoming	8.6	9.5	8.7	8.5	8.2	8.7	8.4	8.5	9.0	8.1
Puerto Rico	6.2	6.8	5.6	5.9	6.1	6.3	5.9	6.4	6.2	6.6
Virgin Islands	5.3	7.0	5.6	5.0	5.5	7.7	5.6	6.5	6.5	6.8
Footnotes: (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.