From September 2013 to December 2013 gross job gains in Oklahoma totaled 77,182, while gross job losses numbered 76,346, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 836. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 6,200.

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 Oklahoma rose by 786 between September and December 2013. (See chart 1.) Oklahoma’s gross job gains have remained above 75,000 for three consecutive quarters. After edging down in the previous quarter, gross job losses rose by more than 6,000 in the three months ended in December 2013. During the most recent five-year period, job losses in the state peaked in March 2009 when more than 101,000 jobs were lost.

Gross job gains represented 6.1 percent of private sector employment in Oklahoma in the quarter ended December 2013, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.4 percent of private employment. (See chart 2.) Oklahoma’s rate of gross job gains generally tracked with the U.S. rate from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the fourth quarter of 2012. In the fourth quarter of 2013, Oklahoma’s rate of gross job losses as a percent of private sector employment was 6.1 percent, higher than the national rate of 5.8 percent. The rate of gross job losses in Oklahoma mirrored the national rate from March 2011 to December 2012, but has exhibited greater variability in recent quarters.

During the fourth quarter 2013, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of 11 industry sectors in Oklahoma. For example, within retail trade, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,108. While 10,374 jobs were lost at closing and contracting establishments in the industry, 11,482 were created at opening and expanding establishments in the 3 months ended in December 2013. In wholesale trade, the loss of 2,807 jobs at closing and contracting establishments was offset by a gain of 3,290 jobs at opening and expanding establishments, resulting in a net gain of 483 jobs. Professional and business services led all industry sectors in terms of both gross job gains and gross job losses with more than 13,000 of each, producing a net change of 422. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in five industry sectors in Oklahoma in December 2013, though the net loss in each sector was less than 750. The largest net employment decline occurred in education and health services, where gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 741. Other sectors recording net job losses were leisure and hospitality; other services; information; and manufacturing.

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/.

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: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Oklahoma, 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. 2012	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013	Dec. 2013	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013	Dec. 2013
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	82,091	72,957	75,621	76,396	77,182	6.7	6.0	6.1	6.1	6.1
At expanding establishments	66,115	58,675	61,087	61,333	61,708	5.4	4.8	4.9	4.9	4.9
At opening establishments	15,976	14,282	14,534	15,063	15,474	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2
Gross job losses	68,685	74,768	70,293	70,196	76,346	5.6	6.0	5.7	5.6	6.1
At contracting establishments	56,005	58,601	58,792	59,935	63,331	4.6	4.7	4.8	4.8	5.1
At closing establishments	12,680	16,167	11,501	10,261	13,015	1.0	1.3	0.9	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	13,406	-1,811	5,328	6,200	836	1.1	0.0	0.4	0.5	0.0
Construction
Gross job gains	10,193	7,576	7,924	8,803	8,320	14.1	10.3	10.7	11.7	10.9
At expanding establishments	7,857	6,117	6,530	7,056	6,643	10.9	8.3	8.8	9.4	8.7
At opening establishments	2,336	1,459	1,394	1,747	1,677	3.2	2.0	1.9	2.3	2.2
Gross job losses	5,980	8,680	7,164	7,254	8,219	8.3	11.8	9.7	9.7	10.8
At contracting establishments	4,819	6,782	5,877	6,285	6,777	6.7	9.2	8.0	8.4	8.9
At closing establishments	1,161	1,898	1,287	969	1,442	1.6	2.6	1.7	1.3	1.9
Net employment change (2)	4,213	-1,104	760	1,549	101	5.8	-1.5	1.0	2.0	0.1
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,981	5,248	4,823	4,146	4,387	4.5	3.9	3.5	3.0	3.2
At expanding establishments	5,366	4,769	4,288	3,688	3,990	4.0	3.5	3.1	2.7	2.9
At opening establishments	615	479	535	458	397	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.3
Gross job losses	5,838	5,178	4,707	5,090	4,416	4.3	3.8	3.5	3.7	3.3
At contracting establishments	4,639	4,403	4,214	4,705	3,923	3.4	3.2	3.1	3.4	2.9
At closing establishments	1,199	775	493	385	493	0.9	0.6	0.4	0.3	0.4
Net employment change (2)	143	70	116	-944	-29	0.2	0.1	0.0	-0.7	-0.1
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,500	3,285	3,311	3,416	3,290	5.7	5.3	5.3	5.5	5.2
At expanding establishments	2,832	2,701	2,664	2,691	2,652	4.6	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.2
At opening establishments	668	584	647	725	638	1.1	0.9	1.0	1.2	1.0
Gross job losses	2,628	3,191	2,856	2,840	2,807	4.3	5.2	4.6	4.6	4.5
At contracting establishments	2,079	2,356	2,477	2,240	2,256	3.4	3.8	4.0	3.6	3.6
At closing establishments	549	835	379	600	551	0.9	1.4	0.6	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	872	94	455	576	483	1.4	0.1	0.7	0.9	0.7
Retail trade
Gross job gains	10,964	10,792	11,561	11,169	11,482	6.3	6.2	6.6	6.4	6.4
At expanding establishments	9,457	9,108	9,450	9,610	9,828	5.4	5.2	5.4	5.5	5.5
At opening establishments	1,507	1,684	2,111	1,559	1,654	0.9	1.0	1.2	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	8,720	11,589	9,416	9,491	10,374	5.0	6.7	5.4	5.3	5.9
At contracting establishments	7,706	9,739	8,315	8,699	8,821	4.4	5.6	4.8	4.9	5.0
At closing establishments	1,014	1,850	1,101	792	1,553	0.6	1.1	0.6	0.4	0.9
Net employment change (2)	2,244	-797	2,145	1,678	1,108	1.3	-0.5	1.2	1.1	0.5
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	2,362	1,901	2,368	2,319	2,893	5.6	4.3	5.4	5.2	6.5
At expanding establishments	1,825	1,500	1,894	1,617	2,221	4.3	3.4	4.3	3.6	5.0
At opening establishments	537	401	474	702	672	1.3	0.9	1.1	1.6	1.5
Gross job losses	2,177	2,362	2,192	2,284	2,454	5.1	5.4	5.0	5.1	5.5
At contracting establishments	1,840	1,735	1,765	1,821	1,972	4.3	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.4
At closing establishments	337	627	427	463	482	0.8	1.4	1.0	1.0	1.1
Net employment change (2)	185	-461	176	35	439	0.5	-1.1	0.4	0.1	1.0
Information
Gross job gains	1,013	598	1,096	857	850	4.6	2.7	5.0	3.9	3.9
At expanding establishments	839	533	804	759	697	3.8	2.4	3.7	3.5	3.2
At opening establishments	174	65	292	98	153	0.8	0.3	1.3	0.4	0.7
Gross job losses	982	952	825	1,150	985	4.4	4.3	3.8	5.2	4.5
At contracting establishments	864	798	572	925	870	3.9	3.6	2.6	4.2	4.0
At closing establishments	118	154	253	225	115	0.5	0.7	1.2	1.0	0.5
Net employment change (2)	31	-354	271	-293	-135	0.2	-1.6	1.2	-1.3	-0.6
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,414	3,565	3,698	3,907	4,146	5.7	4.6	4.7	5.1	5.3
At expanding establishments	3,335	2,740	2,891	3,076	3,035	4.3	3.5	3.7	4.0	3.9
At opening establishments	1,079	825	807	831	1,111	1.4	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.4
Gross job losses	3,640	3,882	3,840	3,345	3,905	4.7	5.0	4.9	4.3	5.0
At contracting establishments	2,866	2,875	3,126	2,801	2,886	3.7	3.7	4.0	3.6	3.7
At closing establishments	774	1,007	714	544	1,019	1.0	1.3	0.9	0.7	1.3
Net employment change (2)	774	-317	-142	562	241	1.0	-0.4	-0.2	0.8	0.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	13,825	14,068	13,281	13,674	14,219	7.8	7.8	7.4	7.6	7.9
At expanding establishments	11,007	11,225	10,780	10,793	11,153	6.2	6.2	6.0	6.0	6.2
At opening establishments	2,818	2,843	2,501	2,881	3,066	1.6	1.6	1.4	1.6	1.7
Gross job losses	13,782	12,503	13,372	13,140	13,797	7.8	6.9	7.4	7.3	7.6
At contracting establishments	11,192	9,378	10,650	10,611	11,020	6.3	5.2	5.9	5.9	6.1
At closing establishments	2,590	3,125	2,722	2,529	2,777	1.5	1.7	1.5	1.4	1.5
Net employment change (2)	43	1,565	-91	534	422	0.0	0.9	0.0	0.3	0.3
Education and health services
Gross job gains	9,585	8,273	7,841	8,843	9,254	4.8	4.1	3.9	4.4	4.6
At expanding establishments	7,436	6,299	6,534	6,939	7,450	3.7	3.1	3.2	3.5	3.7
At opening establishments	2,149	1,974	1,307	1,904	1,804	1.1	1.0	0.7	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	7,755	8,493	8,422	8,294	9,995	3.9	4.2	4.2	4.1	5.0
At contracting establishments	5,832	6,658	7,058	6,897	8,532	2.9	3.3	3.5	3.4	4.3
At closing establishments	1,923	1,835	1,364	1,397	1,463	1.0	0.9	0.7	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	1,830	-220	-581	549	-741	0.9	-0.1	-0.3	0.3	-0.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	12,972	11,106	12,401	13,114	11,534	8.7	7.4	8.3	8.7	7.5
At expanding establishments	10,039	8,279	9,244	10,153	8,940	6.7	5.5	6.2	6.7	5.8
At opening establishments	2,933	2,827	3,157	2,961	2,594	2.0	1.9	2.1	2.0	1.7
Gross job losses	10,278	11,516	11,452	10,876	12,213	6.9	7.7	7.7	7.1	7.9
At contracting establishments	8,190	8,875	9,706	9,601	10,346	5.5	5.9	6.5	6.3	6.7
At closing establishments	2,088	2,641	1,746	1,275	1,867	1.4	1.8	1.2	0.8	1.2
Net employment change (2)	2,694	-410	949	2,238	-679	1.8	-0.3	0.6	1.6	-0.4
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	2,714	2,373	2,783	2,655	2,373	7.9	7.0	8.1	7.8	7.0
At expanding establishments	2,133	1,911	2,192	2,112	1,824	6.2	5.6	6.4	6.2	5.4
At opening establishments	581	462	591	543	549	1.7	1.4	1.7	1.6	1.6
Gross job losses	2,618	2,599	2,448	2,623	3,001	7.7	7.6	7.1	7.6	8.8
At contracting establishments	2,110	1,874	2,125	1,992	2,526	6.2	5.5	6.2	5.8	7.4
At closing establishments	508	725	323	631	475	1.5	2.1	0.9	1.8	1.4
Net employment change (2)	96	-226	335	32	-628	0.2	-0.6	1.0	0.2	-1.8
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)
	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013	Dec. 2013	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013	Dec. 2013
United States (1)	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.1	6.4	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.8
Alabama	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.5	6.0	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.3
Alaska	9.8	10.7	10.6	9.7	10.1	10.1	9.6	10.0	9.8	10.4
Arizona	6.9	6.2	6.2	6.4	6.8	5.8	5.9	6.1	5.5	5.4
Arkansas	6.0	5.7	5.2	5.8	5.7	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.4	5.4
California	7.4	9.0	7.0	6.7	7.3	6.2	5.9	6.4	6.1	6.2
Colorado	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.0	6.9	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.3	6.1
Connecticut	5.4	5.1	5.6	5.3	5.2	5.1	5.2	4.8	5.4	5.3
Delaware	6.8	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.4	5.7	5.9	5.8	6.0	5.8
District of Columbia	6.8	5.7	6.1	5.8	5.4	5.5	5.4	5.6	5.3	5.5
Florida	7.1	6.7	7.1	7.0	7.0	6.3	6.0	6.3	6.2	6.1
Georgia	6.8	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.8	5.9	5.7	6.2	6.0	5.9
Hawaii	5.4	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.3	4.3	4.8	5.2	4.9	4.5
Idaho	7.9	8.1	8.0	7.7	8.3	7.2	7.2	7.5	7.2	7.4
Illinois	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.2	5.5	5.3	5.8	5.4
Indiana	5.9	5.6	5.7	5.5	6.1	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.1
Iowa	5.7	5.8	6.0	5.8	5.9	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5
Kansas	6.3	5.6	6.2	6.1	6.3	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.7	5.3
Kentucky	6.5	5.8	5.8	5.8	6.5	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.4	5.3
Louisiana	7.0	6.7	6.2	6.6	6.6	5.9	6.1	6.3	6.0	6.1
Maine	7.0	6.7	8.1	7.3	7.0	7.5	7.0	6.4	7.4	7.4
Maryland	6.4	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.3	6.3	5.8	6.1	6.1	6.3
Massachusetts	5.4	6.2	6.1	5.4	5.4	5.3	4.9	5.0	5.5	5.4
Michigan	6.0	6.0	6.3	5.9	6.1	5.4	5.0	5.8	5.8	5.6
Minnesota	5.9	6.0	6.1	5.5	5.7	5.7	5.2	5.2	5.5	5.7
Mississippi	6.8	5.9	5.8	6.1	6.5	6.1	5.5	6.0	5.8	5.5
Missouri	6.4	6.5	5.9	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.7	5.5
Montana	8.3	8.1	8.0	7.7	8.3	7.8	7.4	7.7	7.5	7.4
Nebraska	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.1	6.2	5.2	5.4	5.7	5.6	5.7
Nevada	6.0	6.3	6.6	6.0	6.3	5.7	5.4	5.5	5.7	5.2
New Hampshire	6.5	6.3	6.8	6.0	6.6	6.4	6.1	5.9	6.5	5.8
New Jersey	6.4	6.3	6.6	6.2	6.4	6.2	5.8	5.6	6.0	6.2
New Mexico	7.4	6.2	6.7	6.5	6.7	6.2	6.5	6.8	6.7	6.2
New York	6.4	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.6	6.1	5.9	5.8	6.1	6.0
North Carolina	6.5	6.0	6.3	6.2	6.4	5.9	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.7
North Dakota	8.3	8.3	7.2	8.3	8.2	6.8	6.6	7.9	6.9	6.9
Ohio	6.1	5.9	6.2	5.5	6.0	5.5	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.3
Oklahoma	6.7	6.0	6.1	6.1	6.1	5.6	6.0	5.7	5.6	6.1
Oregon	7.0	7.2	7.1	7.0	6.8	6.6	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.5
Pennsylvania	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.2	5.4	5.1	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.1
Rhode Island	6.3	6.1	6.5	6.2	6.2	6.0	5.8	5.7	6.1	5.7
South Carolina	6.6	5.8	6.3	6.2	6.6	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.5
South Dakota	6.3	6.3	6.5	6.2	6.9	6.2	6.2	5.8	6.3	6.0
Tennessee	6.1	5.4	5.5	5.4	6.3	5.1	5.1	5.4	5.2	4.7
Texas	6.1	5.9	5.8	5.9	6.1	5.0	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.1
Utah	7.3	7.3	7.0	6.8	7.4	6.1	6.3	6.5	6.2	6.0
Vermont	7.6	7.0	7.3	7.1	7.4	7.1	6.7	7.8	7.4	6.7
Virginia	6.0	5.7	5.6	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.9	5.6
Washington	7.1	8.6	7.3	7.0	6.9	6.5	6.2	6.1	6.4	6.3
West Virginia	6.4	6.3	6.1	5.9	6.4	6.5	6.1	6.6	6.4	6.4
Wisconsin	5.7	5.4	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.2	5.4	5.4	5.2
Wyoming	9.5	8.7	8.5	8.2	9.4	8.4	8.5	9.0	8.1	8.4
Puerto Rico	6.8	5.6	5.9	6.1	6.9	5.9	6.4	6.2	6.6	5.5
Virgin Islands	7.0	5.6	5.0	5.5	5.2	5.6	6.5	6.5	6.8	5.9
Footnotes: (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.