From September 2015 to December 2015, gross job losses in Oklahoma totaled 81,183, while gross job gains numbered 79,209, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. As a result, gross job losses exceeded gross gains by 1,974. (See chart 1.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that in the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,370.

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 losses in Oklahoma rose by nearly 4,600 during the fourth quarter of 2015 after falling by nearly 6,000 in the previous quarter. (See chart 1.) Oklahoma’s gross job losses have remained around 80,000 in three of the previous four quarters. Gross job gains rose by almost 4,000 in the three months ended in December 2015, after decreasing by about 400 in the previous quarter.

Gross job losses represented 6.5 percent of private sector employment in Oklahoma in the quarter ended December 2015; nationally gross job losses accounted for 5.8 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) During the past five years, Oklahoma’s rate of gross job losses had generally tracked with the U.S. rate until December 2014, but the state’s rate of gross job losses has exceeded the national rate since March 2015. Oklahoma’s rate of gross job gains as a percent of private sector employment was 6.3 percent compared to the national rate of 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. With few exceptions, the rate of gross job gains in Oklahoma has mirrored the national rate during the past five years.

During the fourth quarter of 2015, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 5 of the 11 industry sectors in Oklahoma. For example, within manufacturing, opening and expanding establishments added nearly 3,800 jobs, while closing and contracting establishments lost nearly 6,400 jobs. The resulting net loss of 2,604 jobs in the manufacturing sector was the largest of any sector in Oklahoma in the fourth quarter of 2015. The other services sector created approximately 2,300 jobs at opening and expanding establishments and lost about 2,800 jobs at closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net loss of 498 jobs. Oklahoma’s education and health services sector created nearly 9,200 jobs in opening and expanding establishments; however, the sector lost more than 9,600 jobs in closing and contracting establishments. (See table 1.)

Six industry sectors in Oklahoma registered net job gains during the quarter. Transportation and warehousing had the largest net gain in the state, 2,908 jobs. The sector lost more than 2,700 jobs at closing and contracting establishments, but it gained nearly 5,700 jobs at opening and expanding establishments. The professional and business services sector gained nearly 14,900 jobs in opening and expanding establishments, but lost more than 13,300 jobs in closing and contracting establishments. The result was a net gain of 1,552, the second largest net gain among the state’s sectors.

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 website at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics release for First Quarter 2016 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 9, 2016.

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: (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. 2014	Mar. 2015	June 2015	Sept. 2015	Dec. 2015	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	June 2015	Sept. 2015	Dec. 2015
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	85,458	72,454	75,658	75,238	79,209	6.7	5.7	6.0	6.0	6.3
At expanding establishments	68,712	58,992	62,072	61,388	63,942	5.4	4.6	4.9	4.9	5.1
At opening establishments	16,746	13,462	13,586	13,850	15,267	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.2
Gross job losses	69,618	78,715	82,570	76,608	81,183	5.5	6.1	6.5	6.1	6.5
At contracting establishments	57,031	66,818	69,190	62,813	65,348	4.5	5.2	5.4	5.0	5.2
At closing establishments	12,587	11,897	13,380	13,795	15,835	1.0	0.9	1.1	1.1	1.3
Net employment change (2)	15,840	-6,261	-6,912	-1,370	-1,974	1.2	-0.4	-0.5	-0.1	-0.2
Construction
Gross job gains	8,370	7,410	7,103	8,006	7,421	11.0	9.7	9.3	10.5	9.5
At expanding establishments	6,749	6,280	5,632	6,585	5,767	8.9	8.2	7.4	8.6	7.4
At opening establishments	1,621	1,130	1,471	1,421	1,654	2.1	1.5	1.9	1.9	2.1
Gross job losses	7,336	7,045	7,677	7,198	7,547	9.6	9.2	10.0	9.4	9.7
At contracting establishments	5,811	5,698	6,064	5,696	6,070	7.6	7.4	7.9	7.4	7.8
At closing establishments	1,525	1,347	1,613	1,502	1,477	2.0	1.8	2.1	2.0	1.9
Net employment change (2)	1,034	365	-574	808	-126	1.4	0.5	-0.7	1.1	-0.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,681	4,544	4,184	3,916	3,793	4.0	3.2	3.0	2.9	2.8
At expanding establishments	5,218	4,063	3,726	3,635	3,334	3.7	2.9	2.7	2.7	2.5
At opening establishments	463	481	458	281	459	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3
Gross job losses	4,090	5,551	7,549	6,195	6,397	2.9	3.9	5.4	4.6	4.8
At contracting establishments	3,524	5,113	6,936	5,679	5,731	2.5	3.6	5.0	4.2	4.3
At closing establishments	566	438	613	516	666	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.5
Net employment change (2)	1,591	-1,007	-3,365	-2,279	-2,604	1.1	-0.7	-2.4	-1.7	-2.0
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,408	2,952	2,926	2,805	3,320	5.4	4.9	4.8	4.7	5.6
At expanding establishments	2,658	2,366	2,398	2,265	2,654	4.2	3.9	3.9	3.8	4.5
At opening establishments	750	586	528	540	666	1.2	1.0	0.9	0.9	1.1
Gross job losses	2,981	3,189	4,042	3,541	3,667	4.7	5.2	6.7	5.9	6.1
At contracting establishments	2,280	2,736	3,391	2,738	2,940	3.6	4.5	5.6	4.6	4.9
At closing establishments	701	453	651	803	727	1.1	0.7	1.1	1.3	1.2
Net employment change (2)	427	-237	-1,116	-736	-347	0.7	-0.3	-1.9	-1.2	-0.5
Retail trade
Gross job gains	11,452	11,065	12,110	11,049	11,042	6.4	6.1	6.6	5.9	6.0
At expanding establishments	10,018	9,631	10,282	9,324	9,614	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.0	5.2
At opening establishments	1,434	1,434	1,828	1,725	1,428	0.8	0.8	1.0	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	9,852	10,437	9,821	11,162	10,625	5.5	5.7	5.3	6.0	5.7
At contracting establishments	8,447	9,186	8,636	9,671	9,444	4.7	5.0	4.7	5.2	5.1
At closing establishments	1,405	1,251	1,185	1,491	1,181	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.6
Net employment change (2)	1,600	628	2,289	-113	417	0.9	0.4	1.3	-0.1	0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	3,085	2,036	2,686	2,818	5,658	6.8	4.1	5.6	5.8	11.1
At expanding establishments	2,550	1,680	2,462	2,492	5,091	5.6	3.4	5.1	5.1	10.0
At opening establishments	535	356	224	326	567	1.2	0.7	0.5	0.7	1.1
Gross job losses	1,952	2,623	2,553	2,403	2,750	4.3	5.3	5.2	4.9	5.4
At contracting establishments	1,544	2,268	2,141	2,043	1,973	3.4	4.6	4.4	4.2	3.9
At closing establishments	408	355	412	360	777	0.9	0.7	0.8	0.7	1.5
Net employment change (2)	1,133	-587	133	415	2,908	2.5	-1.2	0.4	0.9	5.7
Information
Gross job gains	1,161	1,084	1,121	1,067	1,084	5.2	5.0	5.3	5.0	5.2
At expanding establishments	717	954	1,045	859	872	3.2	4.4	4.9	4.0	4.2
At opening establishments	444	130	76	208	212	2.0	0.6	0.4	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	880	814	1,159	1,266	897	4.0	3.8	5.4	5.9	4.3
At contracting establishments	758	621	839	944	644	3.4	2.9	3.9	4.4	3.1
At closing establishments	122	193	320	322	253	0.6	0.9	1.5	1.5	1.2
Net employment change (2)	281	270	-38	-199	187	1.2	1.2	-0.1	-0.9	0.9
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,642	4,005	3,688	4,069	3,845	6.0	5.2	4.8	5.2	5.0
At expanding establishments	3,646	2,838	2,953	3,193	2,940	4.7	3.7	3.8	4.1	3.8
At opening establishments	996	1,167	735	876	905	1.3	1.5	1.0	1.1	1.2
Gross job losses	3,947	4,100	4,008	3,682	3,771	5.1	5.3	5.2	4.8	4.9
At contracting establishments	3,088	3,178	2,870	2,822	2,864	4.0	4.1	3.7	3.7	3.7
At closing establishments	859	922	1,138	860	907	1.1	1.2	1.5	1.1	1.2
Net employment change (2)	695	-95	-320	387	74	0.9	-0.1	-0.4	0.4	0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	16,516	13,866	12,986	12,260	14,884	8.8	7.4	6.9	6.6	8.1
At expanding establishments	13,491	10,877	10,667	9,640	11,604	7.2	5.8	5.7	5.2	6.3
At opening establishments	3,025	2,989	2,319	2,620	3,280	1.6	1.6	1.2	1.4	1.8
Gross job losses	12,915	14,264	14,984	13,553	13,332	6.9	7.6	8.0	7.3	7.2
At contracting establishments	10,154	11,837	12,480	10,739	10,340	5.4	6.3	6.7	5.8	5.6
At closing establishments	2,761	2,427	2,504	2,814	2,992	1.5	1.3	1.3	1.5	1.6
Net employment change (2)	3,601	-398	-1,998	-1,293	1,552	1.9	-0.2	-1.1	-0.7	0.9
Education and health services
Gross job gains	9,982	8,855	8,954	9,367	9,195	5.0	4.4	4.3	4.6	4.5
At expanding establishments	7,605	7,296	7,652	7,733	7,338	3.8	3.6	3.7	3.8	3.6
At opening establishments	2,377	1,559	1,302	1,634	1,857	1.2	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	7,777	8,539	7,667	8,156	9,636	3.8	4.2	3.8	4.0	4.7
At contracting establishments	6,369	6,912	6,299	6,182	7,130	3.1	3.4	3.1	3.0	3.5
At closing establishments	1,408	1,627	1,368	1,974	2,506	0.7	0.8	0.7	1.0	1.2
Net employment change (2)	2,205	316	1,287	1,211	-441	1.2	0.2	0.5	0.6	-0.2
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	13,598	11,308	14,345	13,487	14,039	8.6	7.1	9.0	8.3	8.6
At expanding establishments	9,955	9,101	10,944	10,242	10,835	6.3	5.7	6.9	6.3	6.6
At opening establishments	3,643	2,207	3,401	3,245	3,204	2.3	1.4	2.1	2.0	2.0
Gross job losses	11,738	11,741	12,247	12,463	13,189	7.4	7.4	7.6	7.7	8.1
At contracting establishments	10,138	10,062	10,101	10,573	10,438	6.4	6.3	6.3	6.5	6.4
At closing establishments	1,600	1,679	2,146	1,890	2,751	1.0	1.1	1.3	1.2	1.7
Net employment change (2)	1,860	-433	2,098	1,024	850	1.2	-0.3	1.4	0.6	0.5
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	2,814	2,706	2,831	3,128	2,316	8.4	8.0	8.3	9.0	6.8
At expanding establishments	2,086	2,031	2,068	2,672	1,895	6.2	6.0	6.1	7.7	5.6
At opening establishments	728	675	763	456	421	2.2	2.0	2.2	1.3	1.2
Gross job losses	2,522	2,524	2,863	2,305	2,814	7.5	7.4	8.4	6.7	8.3
At contracting establishments	1,946	2,044	2,176	1,822	2,178	5.8	6.0	6.4	5.3	6.4
At closing establishments	576	480	687	483	636	1.7	1.4	2.0	1.4	1.9
Net employment change (2)	292	182	-32	823	-498	0.9	0.6	-0.1	2.3	-1.5
(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. 2014	Mar. 2015	June 2015	Sept. 2015	Dec. 2015	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	June 2015	Sept. 2015	Dec. 2015
United States (1)	6.6	5.9	6.4	6.1	6.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8
Alabama	6.0	5.6	5.9	5.8	6.2	5.2	5.4	5.3	5.6	5.3
Alaska	10.6	10.4	10.6	9.0	9.5	10.4	9.2	10.8	10.2	10.5
Arizona	7.0	6.0	5.9	6.8	6.9	5.3	5.7	5.7	5.4	5.4
Arkansas	6.6	5.4	5.9	6.1	6.3	5.1	5.7	5.3	5.2	5.1
California	7.4	6.8	6.8	6.9	7.6	6.4	6.2	6.5	5.8	6.7
Colorado	7.0	6.9	7.0	7.1	7.0	6.1	6.1	6.4	6.4	6.3
Connecticut	5.4	4.8	5.8	5.1	5.3	5.2	5.1	4.8	5.8	5.0
Delaware	7.0	5.7	7.6	6.1	7.2	5.4	7.3	5.6	6.1	6.2
District of Columbia	5.5	5.5	6.2	6.2	5.9	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5	4.7
Florida	7.1	6.3	6.9	6.8	7.1	6.0	5.6	5.9	5.8	5.8
Georgia	6.9	6.2	6.7	6.5	6.9	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.9	5.7
Hawaii	5.2	4.9	4.9	5.1	5.7	4.4	4.8	5.0	4.8	4.6
Idaho	8.0	9.1	7.5	7.8	7.9	7.0	7.0	7.1	7.1	6.9
Illinois	6.2	5.8	6.2	5.4	6.4	5.5	5.7	5.2	5.7	5.6
Indiana	6.3	5.3	5.7	5.4	6.2	5.0	5.3	5.1	5.3	4.9
Iowa	6.1	5.9	6.1	5.6	6.0	5.6	5.4	5.9	6.0	5.6
Kansas	6.2	5.7	6.0	5.7	6.2	5.4	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.6
Kentucky	6.6	5.5	6.4	6.0	6.6	5.3	6.0	5.5	5.6	5.3
Louisiana	6.8	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.5	5.8	6.7	6.8	6.2	6.3
Maine	7.2	6.5	8.0	6.5	7.1	7.2	7.0	6.4	7.1	7.0
Maryland	6.7	5.9	7.0	6.5	6.7	6.2	6.2	5.9	6.3	5.9
Massachusetts	6.0	5.1	6.3	5.4	5.9	5.2	5.4	5.0	5.6	5.2
Michigan	6.2	5.2	6.1	5.4	6.1	5.2	5.1	5.2	5.7	5.3
Minnesota	5.8	5.6	6.1	5.4	6.1	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.9	5.8
Mississippi	6.9	5.5	6.3	6.2	7.1	5.4	6.4	5.9	5.8	5.4
Missouri	6.3	5.6	6.0	5.7	6.3	5.1	5.4	5.2	5.5	5.1
Montana	8.5	9.1	8.0	7.6	8.5	8.0	7.2	8.4	7.7	7.3
Nebraska	6.2	6.1	5.9	6.0	6.1	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.5	5.5
Nevada	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.8	5.3	5.3	5.7	5.3	5.2
New Hampshire	6.9	5.7	6.8	6.0	6.7	6.0	5.7	5.9	6.3	5.6
New Jersey	6.9	5.8	7.1	6.3	6.8	6.2	6.0	5.9	6.1	5.9
New Mexico	7.2	6.4	6.7	6.5	6.8	6.1	6.5	6.8	6.5	6.8
New York	6.6	5.9	6.7	6.3	6.5	5.8	5.9	5.8	6.0	5.9
North Carolina	6.5	5.9	6.4	6.1	6.6	5.4	5.7	5.4	5.6	5.5
North Dakota	8.7	7.1	6.7	7.1	6.7	6.7	8.7	11.3	8.5	8.1
Ohio	6.1	5.4	6.0	5.4	6.0	5.1	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.2
Oklahoma	6.7	5.7	6.0	6.0	6.3	5.5	6.1	6.5	6.1	6.5
Oregon	7.1	6.9	6.9	7.0	7.0	6.3	5.7	6.1	6.4	6.2
Pennsylvania	5.6	4.9	5.6	5.2	5.7	4.9	5.2	4.9	5.2	5.1
Rhode Island	6.4	5.3	6.6	5.8	6.6	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7
South Carolina	6.8	5.7	6.5	6.2	7.1	5.0	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.3
South Dakota	6.3	6.3	6.3	5.9	6.6	5.8	5.7	5.9	6.1	5.9
Tennessee	6.2	5.2	5.9	5.8	6.3	4.8	5.2	4.8	5.1	4.6
Texas	6.4	5.8	6.0	5.9	6.0	5.0	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.5
Utah	7.2	7.3	6.9	7.0	7.2	5.8	5.9	6.1	5.9	6.0
Vermont	7.5	6.8	7.3	6.9	7.1	6.7	6.8	7.0	7.6	6.5
Virginia	5.8	6.0	6.4	6.9	6.4	5.5	5.6	5.4	5.9	5.5
Washington	6.9	6.7	7.2	6.5	6.7	6.1	5.6	5.8	6.7	6.0
West Virginia	6.6	6.0	6.3	5.8	6.6	6.0	6.7	6.6	6.8	6.4
Wisconsin	5.8	5.4	5.7	5.5	5.7	5.2	5.1	5.2	5.6	5.2
Wyoming	9.3	8.9	7.8	8.3	9.0	8.0	8.9	10.9	8.7	9.2
Puerto Rico	6.4	5.3	5.8	6.2	6.3	4.9	6.4	6.8	6.3	5.8
Virgin Islands	6.2	5.5	6.3	5.8	7.3	5.6	5.9	6.7	7.4	5.4
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.