From December 2022 to March 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in North Dakota were 26,282, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 19,560, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 6,722 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 928. (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 private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector 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 Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 7.6 percent of private-sector employment in North Dakota; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 6.2 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In North Dakota, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 22,391 in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 4,059 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 3,891 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 460 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.6 percent of private-sector employment in North Dakota; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.4 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In North Dakota, contracting establishments lost 15,997 jobs in the first quarter of 2023, a decrease of 3,709 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 3,563 jobs, an increase of 578 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all five published industry sectors in North Dakota in the first quarter of 2023. Construction had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 1,969 jobs. This was the result of 4,870 gross job gains and 2,901 gross job losses. The leisure and hospitality industry had a net gain of 1,420 jobs, followed by retail trade, with a net employment gain of 1,229 jobs.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.

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 units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter and either not reported, or reported with zero employment, 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.

The full Technical Note for the Business Employment Dynamics program, which includes information on coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the current quarterly news release online at www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, North Dakota, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2022	June 2022	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2022	June 2022	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	25,190	23,133	25,773	21,763	26,282	7.5	6.9	7.6	6.4	7.6
At expanding establishments	20,128	18,817	21,497	18,332	22,391	6.0	5.6	6.3	5.4	6.5
At opening establishments	5,062	4,316	4,276	3,431	3,891	1.5	1.3	1.3	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	21,693	21,993	21,499	22,691	19,560	6.4	6.5	6.3	6.7	5.6
At contracting establishments	17,982	19,251	17,671	19,706	15,997	5.3	5.7	5.2	5.8	4.6
At closing establishments	3,711	2,742	3,828	2,985	3,563	1.1	0.8	1.1	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	3,497	1,140	4,274	-928	6,722	1.1	0.4	1.3	-0.3	2.0
Construction
Gross job gains	4,224	3,631	3,742	3,317	4,870	16.3	14.1	14.9	12.8	17.7
At expanding establishments	3,008	2,853	3,054	2,660	4,067	11.6	11.1	12.2	10.3	14.8
At opening establishments	1,216	778	688	657	803	4.7	3.0	2.7	2.5	2.9
Gross job losses	3,477	3,770	3,292	3,439	2,901	13.4	14.6	13.2	13.3	10.5
At contracting establishments	2,785	3,173	2,699	2,886	2,288	10.7	12.3	10.8	11.2	8.3
At closing establishments	692	597	593	553	613	2.7	2.3	2.4	2.1	2.2
Net employment change (2)	747	-139	450	-122	1,969	2.9	-0.5	1.7	-0.5	7.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	1,183	1,139	1,556	1,126	1,292	5.2	5.0	6.7	4.9	5.5
At expanding establishments	1,032	979	1,391	996	1,159	4.5	4.3	6.0	4.3	4.9
At opening establishments	151	160	165	130	133	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.6
Gross job losses	1,064	1,128	1,083	1,024	1,023	4.6	5.0	4.7	4.4	4.4
At contracting establishments	920	952	928	918	891	4.0	4.2	4.0	3.9	3.8
At closing establishments	144	176	155	106	132	0.6	0.8	0.7	0.5	0.6
Net employment change (2)	119	11	473	102	269	0.6	0.0	2.0	0.5	1.1
Retail trade
Gross job gains	2,719	2,145	2,698	2,139	3,084	6.1	4.8	6.0	4.7	6.8
At expanding establishments	2,493	1,931	2,380	1,983	2,938	5.6	4.3	5.3	4.4	6.5
At opening establishments	226	214	318	156	146	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.3	0.3
Gross job losses	1,981	2,722	2,476	2,533	1,855	4.4	6.1	5.5	5.7	4.1
At contracting establishments	1,791	2,502	2,263	2,367	1,679	4.0	5.6	5.0	5.3	3.7
At closing establishments	190	220	213	166	176	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.4
Net employment change (2)	738	-577	222	-394	1,229	1.7	-1.3	0.5	-1.0	2.7
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	3,051	3,091	3,296	2,750	2,906	8.9	9.0	9.6	8.0	8.5
At expanding establishments	2,155	2,333	2,441	2,102	2,150	6.3	6.8	7.1	6.1	6.3
At opening establishments	896	758	855	648	756	2.6	2.2	2.5	1.9	2.2
Gross job losses	2,671	3,310	2,703	2,941	2,685	7.9	9.7	7.9	8.6	7.8
At contracting establishments	2,106	2,809	2,161	2,360	2,068	6.2	8.2	6.3	6.9	6.0
At closing establishments	565	501	542	581	617	1.7	1.5	1.6	1.7	1.8
Net employment change (2)	380	-219	593	-191	221	1.0	-0.7	1.7	-0.6	0.7
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	4,474	3,960	3,719	3,155	4,782	11.5	10.1	9.5	8.1	12.1
At expanding establishments	3,336	3,123	3,079	2,696	4,119	8.6	8.0	7.9	6.9	10.4
At opening establishments	1,138	837	640	459	663	2.9	2.1	1.6	1.2	1.7
Gross job losses	3,566	3,642	4,103	3,571	3,362	9.2	9.3	10.5	9.1	8.4
At contracting establishments	2,932	3,217	3,232	3,085	2,591	7.6	8.2	8.3	7.9	6.5
At closing establishments	634	425	871	486	771	1.6	1.1	2.2	1.2	1.9
Net employment change (2)	908	318	-384	-416	1,420	2.3	0.8	-1.0	-1.0	3.7
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.

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

Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2022	June 2022	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2022	June 2022	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023
United States(1)	6.7	6.6	6.9	6.3	6.2	5.5	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.4
Alabama	6.4	6.6	6.9	6.6	6.4	5.9	6.2	5.9	6.1	5.5
Alaska	10.2	10.2	8.5	10.9	10.4	9.5	9.0	10.4	9.2	8.0
Arizona	6.7	6.5	7.1	6.6	5.9	5.7	6.3	5.5	6.0	5.4
Arkansas	6.3	6.1	6.5	6.2	5.8	5.6	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.0
California	7.3	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.7	6.2	6.6	6.4
Colorado	7.5	7.3	7.0	7.6	7.2	6.3	6.6	7.1	6.9	6.5
Connecticut	6.3	6.4	6.3	5.9	6.1	5.3	6.3	6.2	5.9	5.3
Delaware	7.3	6.5	8.6	7.0	6.7	5.5	6.9	6.2	7.5	5.2
District of Columbia	6.1	6.1	7.2	5.6	5.9	5.1	6.3	5.0	5.5	4.8
Florida	6.5	7.5	7.8	6.2	6.3	5.7	6.3	5.6	6.0	5.6
Georgia	7.7	6.8	7.1	6.7	6.2	5.8	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.8
Hawaii	6.3	6.0	6.4	6.0	5.5	5.1	5.5	4.9	4.9	5.0
Idaho	8.6	7.1	7.8	8.4	7.9	6.2	8.4	7.5	6.9	7.5
Illinois	6.3	5.9	5.8	5.4	5.8	5.2	5.5	5.3	5.1	4.8
Indiana	5.9	5.7	6.4	5.7	5.5	4.9	5.9	5.5	5.2	5.0
Iowa	6.5	5.9	5.9	6.4	6.0	5.4	6.2	5.9	6.2	5.4
Kansas	6.4	6.5	7.4	6.3	6.1	5.5	7.1	5.5	5.6	5.4
Kentucky	6.7	6.3	6.6	6.0	6.1	5.7	6.5	5.4	5.3	4.9
Louisiana	6.7	6.7	6.9	6.1	6.3	6.3	6.4	5.7	6.2	5.6
Maine	8.5	7.2	7.6	7.4	7.7	6.3	8.0	7.3	6.8	6.2
Maryland	6.7	6.5	7.4	6.6	6.8	6.9	6.9	6.0	6.9	5.6
Massachusetts	6.8	6.1	6.2	5.5	5.8	5.1	5.5	6.1	5.8	4.7
Michigan	6.3	6.0	5.7	5.9	5.7	4.9	5.9	5.8	5.2	4.9
Minnesota	6.2	6.4	6.5	5.9	5.7	5.4	6.4	5.9	5.8	4.9
Mississippi	6.3	6.6	7.2	6.8	6.1	6.2	6.7	6.3	6.2	5.7
Missouri	6.5	6.2	6.8	6.1	6.5	5.4	5.9	6.3	5.8	5.1
Montana	9.3	8.2	8.7	9.2	8.7	7.6	9.1	7.8	7.8	7.1
Nebraska	6.8	6.4	7.1	6.0	6.3	5.9	6.5	6.1	5.7	5.1
Nevada	6.8	6.9	7.4	6.4	6.2	5.5	5.7	5.8	6.1	5.7
New Hampshire	7.7	6.7	6.9	6.7	7.0	5.6	6.7	6.7	6.0	5.9
New Jersey	7.1	6.6	6.8	6.8	6.1	5.7	6.2	6.4	5.9	5.7
New Mexico	7.6	6.7	8.0	6.7	6.8	6.2	7.1	5.9	6.2	5.9
New York	6.8	7.1	6.6	5.9	6.5	5.4	6.1	5.9	6.0	5.1
North Carolina	6.6	6.4	6.7	6.6	6.4	5.4	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.3
North Dakota	7.5	6.9	7.6	6.4	7.6	6.4	6.5	6.3	6.7	5.6
Ohio	6.4	5.9	5.8	5.9	5.8	4.9	5.9	5.5	5.7	4.9
Oklahoma	6.4	6.7	7.4	6.6	6.3	6.0	6.1	5.6	5.9	5.3
Oregon	7.6	6.0	6.7	6.5	7.3	5.6	7.0	6.0	6.2	6.1
Pennsylvania	6.3	5.5	6.1	5.5	5.5	4.8	5.6	5.1	5.2	4.6
Rhode Island	7.9	7.1	6.7	6.9	7.5	6.0	6.7	7.3	6.4	5.9
South Carolina	7.1	6.6	7.3	6.9	6.8	6.1	6.2	5.6	6.2	5.8
South Dakota	7.7	6.6	7.3	6.5	7.2	6.1	6.5	6.4	6.5	5.9
Tennessee	6.6	6.2	7.0	5.8	5.9	4.8	6.2	5.5	5.6	5.0
Texas	6.3	6.6	7.2	6.2	5.9	5.3	5.8	5.3	5.3	5.0
Utah	7.9	7.0	7.5	6.9	7.0	5.9	6.6	6.8	6.6	6.2
Vermont	8.8	7.5	7.2	7.8	8.2	6.4	7.6	7.8	7.0	6.0
Virginia	6.6	6.5	7.5	6.2	6.2	5.8	6.7	6.1	5.8	5.2
Washington	7.3	7.0	7.2	5.9	6.4	5.4	7.2	6.3	5.3	5.5
West Virginia	7.4	6.7	8.1	6.6	7.1	6.1	8.0	6.9	6.4	5.3
Wisconsin	6.6	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	4.8	6.0	5.8	5.5	4.9
Wyoming	9.2	8.4	9.2	9.2	8.9	8.3	9.2	8.4	7.9	7.8
Puerto Rico	7.4	6.7	6.2	6.6	5.1	5.0	6.1	5.3	6.1	5.7
Virgin Islands	7.4	8.0	8.5	5.9	7.5	8.8	9.2	5.5	4.7	6.5
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.