From March 2019 to June 2019, gross job gains in opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Nebraska totaled 46,984, while gross job losses in closing and contracting private-sector establishments numbered 46,493, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 491. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 836.  (See chart 1 and table 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.)

The 46,984 gross job gains in the second quarter of 2019, although higher than the 46,491 gross job gains seen in the previous quarter, remained below the 5-year peak of 51,434 in the third quarter of 2016. Gross job losses in the second quarter of 2019 totaled 46,493 in the state, an increase from 45,655 in the previous quarter. Nebraska’s gross job losses were at a 5-year high of 50,030 in the fourth quarter of 2016 and a low of 41,762 in the first quarter of 2017. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Nebraska in the second quarter of 2019, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.0 percent of private-sector employment. Nebraska’s rate of gross job gains has been at or below the U.S. rate each quarter over the past five years, with one exception. (See chart 2.) Nebraska’s rate of gross job losses represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in the second quarter of 2019 and was below the U.S. rate of 5.9 percent.

During the second quarter of 2019, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in six industry sectors in Nebraska. For example, within professional and business services, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,368. While 8,433 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments in the industry, 7,065 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the second quarter of 2019. In construction, 5,695 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments and 4,404 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 1,291 jobs. Net employment gains were less than 300 in each of the four remaining sectors. (See table 1.)

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in four industry sectors in Nebraska. Within retail trade, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,532. Net employment losses were less than 515 in the remaining sectors.

Four of the seven states in the West North Central Census division, including Nebraska, had gross job gains that exceeded gross job losses in the quarter ended June 2019. Five states in the division, including Nebraska, had rates of gross job gains that were lower than the 6.0-percent national rate. (See table A.) Five states in the division, including Nebraska, had rates of gross job losses that were lower than the 5.9-percent 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 2019, 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	7,605,000	6.0	7,423,000	5.9	182,000	0.1
West North Central (1)	516,213	—	507,262	—	8,951	—
Iowa	75,896	5.8	73,362	5.6	2,534	0.2
Kansas	65,750	5.7	65,932	5.7	-182	0.0
Minnesota	146,506	5.8	136,281	5.5	10,225	0.3
Missouri	135,471	5.6	140,045	5.8	-4,574	-0.2
Nebraska	46,984	5.7	46,493	5.7	491	0.0
North Dakota	23,575	6.7	23,713	6.7	-138	0.0
South Dakota	22,031	6.2	21,436	6.0	595	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 2019 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 29, 2020.

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 units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.

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 units 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 units 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 units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions.  These are units 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 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	June 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	47,822	47,885	47,835	46,491	46,984	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.7
At expanding establishments	37,939	39,577	38,313	36,731	38,631	4.6	4.9	4.7	4.5	4.7
At opening establishments	9,883	8,308	9,522	9,760	8,353	1.2	1.0	1.2	1.2	1.0
Gross job losses	47,343	48,225	46,760	45,655	46,493	5.8	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.7
At contracting establishments	38,554	39,333	38,312	38,630	36,765	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.5
At closing establishments	8,789	8,892	8,448	7,025	9,728	1.1	1.1	1.0	0.9	1.2
Net employment change (2)	479	-340	1,075	836	491	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.1	0.0
Construction
Gross job gains	5,066	4,697	4,945	4,753	5,695	9.6	9.1	9.4	9.0	10.8
At expanding establishments	4,007	3,781	3,928	3,634	4,504	7.6	7.3	7.5	6.9	8.5
At opening establishments	1,059	916	1,017	1,119	1,191	2.0	1.8	1.9	2.1	2.3
Gross job losses	4,857	4,780	4,685	5,577	4,404	9.3	9.3	9.0	10.5	8.4
At contracting establishments	3,821	3,918	3,763	4,597	3,517	7.3	7.6	7.2	8.7	6.7
At closing establishments	1,036	862	922	980	887	2.0	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.7
Net employment change (2)	209	-83	260	-824	1,291	0.3	-0.2	0.4	-1.5	2.4
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	2,521	3,267	2,585	2,384	2,034	2.6	3.3	2.6	2.4	2.1
At expanding establishments	2,367	3,079	2,323	2,254	1,973	2.4	3.1	2.3	2.3	2.0
At opening establishments	154	188	262	130	61	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.1
Gross job losses	2,664	2,326	2,686	2,124	2,548	2.7	2.3	2.6	2.1	2.5
At contracting establishments	2,472	2,111	2,440	2,019	2,322	2.5	2.1	2.4	2.0	2.3
At closing establishments	192	215	246	105	226	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2
Net employment change (2)	-143	941	-101	260	-514	-0.1	1.0	0.0	0.3	-0.4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	2,107	1,931	2,120	2,158	2,052	5.2	4.8	5.3	5.4	5.1
At expanding establishments	1,752	1,587	1,684	1,646	1,755	4.3	3.9	4.2	4.1	4.4
At opening establishments	355	344	436	512	297	0.9	0.9	1.1	1.3	0.7
Gross job losses	1,994	2,559	1,750	2,178	2,060	4.9	6.4	4.4	5.4	5.1
At contracting establishments	1,552	1,974	1,483	1,804	1,734	3.8	4.9	3.7	4.5	4.3
At closing establishments	442	585	267	374	326	1.1	1.5	0.7	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	113	-628	370	-20	-8	0.3	-1.6	0.9	0.0	0.0
Retail trade
Gross job gains	5,711	5,295	5,623	5,763	5,804	5.2	4.9	5.3	5.4	5.5
At expanding establishments	4,965	4,851	5,107	4,862	4,866	4.5	4.5	4.8	4.6	4.6
At opening establishments	746	444	516	901	938	0.7	0.4	0.5	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	6,188	7,234	5,778	6,057	7,336	5.6	6.7	5.4	5.6	6.9
At contracting establishments	5,609	5,727	5,124	5,479	6,301	5.1	5.3	4.8	5.1	5.9
At closing establishments	579	1,507	654	578	1,035	0.5	1.4	0.6	0.5	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-477	-1,939	-155	-294	-1,532	-0.4	-1.8	-0.1	-0.2	-1.4
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	1,701	1,999	3,018	1,848	1,954	4.2	5.0	7.3	4.4	4.7
At expanding establishments	1,468	1,693	2,539	1,503	1,728	3.6	4.2	6.1	3.6	4.2
At opening establishments	233	306	479	345	226	0.6	0.8	1.2	0.8	0.5
Gross job losses	1,823	1,738	1,707	2,692	1,909	4.5	4.3	4.1	6.5	4.6
At contracting establishments	1,533	1,589	1,401	2,416	1,323	3.8	3.9	3.4	5.8	3.2
At closing establishments	290	149	306	276	586	0.7	0.4	0.7	0.7	1.4
Net employment change (2)	-122	261	1,311	-844	45	-0.3	0.7	3.2	-2.1	0.1
Financial activities
Gross job gains	2,613	2,285	2,739	2,367	2,633	3.9	3.4	4.1	3.5	4.0
At expanding establishments	2,138	1,863	2,199	1,896	2,128	3.2	2.8	3.3	2.8	3.2
At opening establishments	475	422	540	471	505	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	2,144	2,213	2,242	2,305	2,372	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.5	3.6
At contracting establishments	1,680	1,799	1,825	1,866	1,919	2.5	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.9
At closing establishments	464	414	417	439	453	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	469	72	497	62	261	0.7	0.1	0.8	0.0	0.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	8,404	8,867	8,410	8,016	8,433	7.1	7.4	7.0	6.8	7.1
At expanding establishments	6,635	7,085	6,328	6,479	6,787	5.6	5.9	5.3	5.5	5.7
At opening establishments	1,769	1,782	2,082	1,537	1,646	1.5	1.5	1.7	1.3	1.4
Gross job losses	8,508	8,174	9,309	7,861	7,065	7.1	6.8	7.8	6.6	5.9
At contracting establishments	6,813	6,688	7,347	6,547	5,602	5.7	5.6	6.2	5.5	4.7
At closing establishments	1,695	1,486	1,962	1,314	1,463	1.4	1.2	1.6	1.1	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-104	693	-899	155	1,368	0.0	0.6	-0.8	0.2	1.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	6,840	6,861	6,021	6,830	6,014	4.9	5.0	4.4	4.9	4.3
At expanding establishments	5,005	5,394	4,653	4,907	4,711	3.6	3.9	3.4	3.5	3.4
At opening establishments	1,835	1,467	1,368	1,923	1,303	1.3	1.1	1.0	1.4	0.9
Gross job losses	6,493	6,461	6,084	5,583	6,367	4.7	4.7	4.4	4.1	4.6
At contracting establishments	4,863	4,981	4,556	4,390	4,330	3.5	3.6	3.3	3.2	3.1
At closing establishments	1,630	1,480	1,528	1,193	2,037	1.2	1.1	1.1	0.9	1.5
Net employment change (2)	347	400	-63	1,247	-353	0.2	0.3	0.0	0.8	-0.3
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	9,028	9,021	8,213	8,477	8,612	9.7	9.7	8.8	9.0	9.2
At expanding establishments	6,679	7,256	6,136	6,473	7,049	7.2	7.8	6.6	6.9	7.5
At opening establishments	2,349	1,765	2,077	2,004	1,563	2.5	1.9	2.2	2.1	1.7
Gross job losses	8,691	8,908	7,878	7,289	8,586	9.4	9.6	8.5	7.8	9.1
At contracting establishments	7,112	7,389	6,711	6,231	6,762	7.7	8.0	7.2	6.7	7.2
At closing establishments	1,579	1,519	1,167	1,058	1,824	1.7	1.6	1.3	1.1	1.9
Net employment change (2)	337	113	335	1,188	26	0.3	0.1	0.3	1.2	0.1
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	1,840	1,598	1,596	1,622	1,663	7.5	6.5	6.6	6.7	6.9
At expanding establishments	1,279	1,354	1,259	1,258	1,331	5.2	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.5
At opening establishments	561	244	337	364	332	2.3	1.0	1.4	1.5	1.4
Gross job losses	1,602	1,564	1,950	1,669	1,377	6.6	6.4	8.0	6.8	5.6
At contracting establishments	1,266	1,305	1,375	1,316	1,129	5.2	5.3	5.6	5.4	4.6
At closing establishments	336	259	575	353	248	1.4	1.1	2.4	1.4	1.0
Net employment change (2)	238	34	-354	-47	286	0.9	0.1	-1.4	-0.1	1.3
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.