From March 2016 to June 2016 gross job losses in Nebraska totaled 48,210, while gross job gains numbered 45,488, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 2,722. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,671.

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 48,210 gross job losses in June 2016 followed the 44,379 gross job losses March 2016. Nebraska’s gross job losses have trended up since March 2012, when losses were 38,141. Gross job gains in June 2016 totaled 45,488 in the state, a decrease from 47,050 in the previous quarter. Nebraska’s gross job gains have been above 40,000 since March 2010. (See chart 1.)

Gross job losses accounted for 6.0 percent of private sector employment in Nebraska in the quarter ended June 2016, matching the national rate of gross job losses. Since the series began, Nebraska’s rate of gross job losses has been at or below the national rate, with only one exception. Gross job gains represented 5.7 percent of private sector employment in Nebraska in the quarter ended June 2016, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.2 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) Since the series inception in 1992, the rate of gross job gains in Nebraska has been generally below the U.S. rate each quarter.

During the second quarter of 2016, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in six industry sectors in Nebraska. For example, within manufacturing, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,395. While more than 2,000 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments in the industry, almost 4,000 jobs were lost by closing and contracting establishments in the 3-months ended in June 2016. Two other sectors, leisure and hospitality and transportation and warehousing, had net employment losses of more than 600 during the second quarter of 2016. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in four industry sectors. Within retail trade and professional and business services, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 383 in each sector. In the two other industry sectors—other services and financial activities—net employment gains were less than 50.

Nebraska was among the seven states in the West North Central Census division. Four states in the division had rates of gross job losses that was higher than the national rate of 6.0 percent. Of the three remaining states, two had gross job loss rates below the national rate while the rate in Nebraska matched the nationwide rate. (See table A.) Nebraska was among the five states where the rates of gross job gains were lower than the 6.2-percent national rate. Two states had rates of gross job gains that were higher than the national rate.

Table A. Private sector gross job gains and losses for the United States, West North Central Division, and West North Central states, June 2016, seasonally adjusted

Area	Gross job gains		Gross job losses		Net change	Net change as a percent of total employment
	Total	As a percent of total employment	Total	As a percent of total employment
United States	7,463,000	6.2	7,156,000	6.0	307,000	0.2
West North Central (1)	504,303	—	515,128	—	-10,825	—
Iowa	72,903	5.6	79,614	6.1	-6,711	-0.5
Kansas	63,336	5.6	70,605	6.3	-7,269	-0.7
Minnesota	143,945	5.9	135,847	5.6	8,098	0.3
Missouri	133,514	5.7	128,070	5.4	5,444	0.3
Nebraska	45,488	5.7	48,210	6.0	-2,722	-0.3
North Dakota	23,222	6.8	31,169	9.0	-7,947	-2.2
South Dakota	21,895	6.4	21,613	6.2	282	0.2
Footnotes: (1) Data were calculated for this release using published gross job gains and gross job losses for states located in the West North Central Census Division.
Note: Dash indicates data not available.

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 third quarter 2016 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 26, 2017.

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 second 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, Nebraska, 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)
	June 2015	Sept 2015	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	June 2015	Sept 2015	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	47,378	48,003	49,121	47,050	45,488	5.9	6.0	6.1	5.8	5.7
At expanding establishments	39,155	39,402	40,333	39,049	37,016	4.9	4.9	5.0	4.8	4.6
At opening establishments	8,223	8,601	8,788	8,001	8,472	1.0	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	45,058	45,106	44,211	44,379	48,210	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	6.0
At contracting establishments	36,983	36,845	37,013	37,227	38,331	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.8
At closing establishments	8,075	8,261	7,198	7,152	9,879	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.9	1.2
Net employment change (2)	2,320	2,897	4,910	2,671	-2,722	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.3	-0.3
Construction
Gross job gains	4,860	5,133	5,213	5,832	4,660	9.9	10.5	10.5	11.4	9.1
At expanding establishments	3,811	4,186	4,162	4,598	3,739	7.8	8.6	8.4	9.0	7.3
At opening establishments	1,049	947	1,051	1,234	921	2.1	1.9	2.1	2.4	1.8
Gross job losses	4,456	4,702	4,384	4,280	4,918	9.1	9.7	8.9	8.4	9.6
At contracting establishments	3,749	3,750	3,611	3,351	3,727	7.7	7.7	7.3	6.6	7.3
At closing establishments	707	952	773	929	1,191	1.4	2.0	1.6	1.8	2.3
Net employment change (2)	404	431	829	1,552	-258	0.8	0.8	1.6	3.0	-0.5
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	2,341	2,543	2,771	2,209	2,344	2.4	2.6	2.9	2.3	2.5
At expanding establishments	2,230	2,336	2,222	2,039	2,191	2.3	2.4	2.3	2.1	2.3
At opening establishments	111	207	549	170	153	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.2	0.2
Gross job losses	3,348	3,070	2,453	2,387	3,739	3.5	3.2	2.5	2.4	3.9
At contracting establishments	2,987	2,245	2,360	2,248	3,247	3.1	2.3	2.4	2.3	3.4
At closing establishments	361	825	93	139	492	0.4	0.9	0.1	0.1	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-1,007	-527	318	-178	-1,395	-1.1	-0.6	0.4	-0.1	-1.4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	2,430	1,682	2,120	2,172	2,098	5.7	4.0	5.0	5.2	5.0
At expanding establishments	1,966	1,471	1,781	1,771	1,712	4.6	3.5	4.2	4.2	4.1
At opening establishments	464	211	339	401	386	1.1	0.5	0.8	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	2,334	2,347	2,094	2,236	2,177	5.5	5.6	4.9	5.3	5.2
At contracting establishments	1,801	1,755	1,784	1,821	1,793	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.3
At closing establishments	533	592	310	415	384	1.3	1.4	0.7	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	96	-665	26	-64	-79	0.2	-1.6	0.1	-0.1	-0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	6,963	5,755	6,047	6,928	6,632	6.3	5.2	5.5	6.3	5.9
At expanding establishments	6,428	4,910	5,562	6,208	5,935	5.8	4.4	5.1	5.6	5.3
At opening establishments	535	845	485	720	697	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.7	0.6
Gross job losses	6,520	6,578	6,028	5,648	6,249	5.9	5.9	5.5	5.1	5.6
At contracting establishments	5,419	5,972	5,402	5,066	5,544	4.9	5.4	4.9	4.6	5.0
At closing establishments	1,101	606	626	582	705	1.0	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.6
Net employment change (2)	443	-823	19	1,280	383	0.4	-0.7	0.0	1.2	0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	2,116	2,129	2,888	1,331	1,355	5.2	5.3	6.9	3.3	3.4
At expanding establishments	1,895	1,819	2,712	1,093	1,071	4.7	4.5	6.5	2.7	2.7
At opening establishments	221	310	176	238	284	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.6	0.7
Gross job losses	1,610	1,640	1,763	3,450	2,002	4.0	4.0	4.3	8.3	5.0
At contracting establishments	1,444	1,472	1,484	3,231	1,706	3.6	3.6	3.6	7.8	4.3
At closing establishments	166	168	279	219	296	0.4	0.4	0.7	0.5	0.7
Net employment change (2)	506	489	1,125	-2,119	-647	1.2	1.3	2.6	-5.0	-1.6
Financial activities
Gross job gains	2,561	2,642	2,791	2,023	2,377	4.0	4.1	4.4	3.1	3.7
At expanding establishments	2,152	2,232	2,240	1,606	2,066	3.4	3.5	3.5	2.5	3.2
At opening establishments	409	410	551	417	311	0.6	0.6	0.9	0.6	0.5
Gross job losses	2,131	2,178	1,994	2,097	2,361	3.3	3.4	3.1	3.2	3.7
At contracting establishments	1,657	1,712	1,634	1,663	1,866	2.6	2.7	2.5	2.5	2.9
At closing establishments	474	466	360	434	495	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.8
Net employment change (2)	430	464	797	-74	16	0.7	0.7	1.3	-0.1	0.0
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	8,388	8,207	7,887	8,271	8,022	7.2	7.0	6.8	7.1	6.8
At expanding establishments	6,707	6,926	6,292	6,902	6,738	5.8	5.9	5.4	5.9	5.7
At opening establishments	1,681	1,281	1,595	1,369	1,284	1.4	1.1	1.4	1.2	1.1
Gross job losses	6,866	7,482	8,607	7,411	7,639	5.9	6.4	7.3	6.3	6.6
At contracting establishments	5,835	6,115	7,022	6,119	6,055	5.0	5.2	6.0	5.2	5.2
At closing establishments	1,031	1,367	1,585	1,292	1,584	0.9	1.2	1.3	1.1	1.4
Net employment change (2)	1,522	725	-720	860	383	1.3	0.6	-0.5	0.8	0.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	5,963	7,537	6,961	6,183	6,326	4.6	5.7	5.2	4.6	4.7
At expanding establishments	4,535	6,063	5,329	4,947	4,469	3.5	4.6	4.0	3.7	3.3
At opening establishments	1,428	1,474	1,632	1,236	1,857	1.1	1.1	1.2	0.9	1.4
Gross job losses	5,926	5,691	5,711	5,481	6,361	4.5	4.3	4.3	4.0	4.7
At contracting establishments	4,388	4,090	3,979	4,081	4,563	3.3	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.4
At closing establishments	1,538	1,601	1,732	1,400	1,798	1.2	1.2	1.3	1.0	1.3
Net employment change (2)	37	1,846	1,250	702	-35	0.1	1.4	0.9	0.6	0.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	7,964	8,620	8,375	8,260	7,809	9.0	9.7	9.3	9.2	8.6
At expanding establishments	6,350	6,552	6,743	6,648	6,254	7.2	7.4	7.5	7.4	6.9
At opening establishments	1,614	2,068	1,632	1,612	1,555	1.8	2.3	1.8	1.8	1.7
Gross job losses	7,823	7,820	7,828	7,431	8,498	8.9	8.9	8.8	8.2	9.5
At contracting establishments	6,266	6,700	6,940	6,339	6,631	7.1	7.6	7.8	7.0	7.4
At closing establishments	1,557	1,120	888	1,092	1,867	1.8	1.3	1.0	1.2	2.1
Net employment change (2)	141	800	547	829	-689	0.1	0.8	0.5	1.0	-0.9
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	1,716	1,549	1,814	1,702	1,539	7.1	6.4	7.5	7.0	6.4
At expanding establishments	1,433	1,287	1,472	1,459	1,250	5.9	5.3	6.1	6.0	5.2
At opening establishments	283	262	342	243	289	1.2	1.1	1.4	1.0	1.2
Gross job losses	1,662	1,631	1,516	1,689	1,497	6.8	6.7	6.3	6.9	6.2
At contracting establishments	1,417	1,393	1,281	1,341	1,161	5.8	5.7	5.3	5.5	4.8
At closing establishments	245	238	235	348	336	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.4	1.4
Net employment change (2)	54	-82	298	13	42	0.3	-0.3	1.2	0.1	0.2
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.