Technical information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 07-1323 https://www.bls.gov/bdm/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, August 30, 2007 NEW QUARTERLY DATA FROM BLS ON BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS BY STATE Data on Business Employment Dynamics (BED) by state were introduced today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. These data track the number of jobs gained from opening and expanding establishments and the number of jobs lost at contracting and closing establishments each quarter from September 1992 to December 2006 for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Beginning with data for first quarter 2007, state data will appear in the quarterly BED news release. Business Employment Dynamics by State A summary of BED statistics by state is presented in tables 1 through 4. Tables 1 and 2 present the levels and rates of private sector gross job gains and gross job losses for the state economies in the most recent five quarters ending in fourth quarter 2006. Table 3 contains the rates of gross jobs gained and gross jobs lost at opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments for the most recent quarter. Table 4 shows the rates of establishments gaining and losing jobs at opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments in fourth quarter 2006. More detailed information and data on states’ gross job gains and gross job losses are available at the Business Employment Dynamics Web page at https://www.bls.gov/bdm/. This information includes data on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by state, both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted, from September 1992 to December 2006—the most recent published quarter. In addition, data on the number of establishments that opened or closed and expanded or contracted each quarter are available by state on the Web site. Information about Business Employment Dynamics data also can be found in the Technical Note of this release or maybe obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. What are Business Employment Dynamics? The economy is in a constant state of change; individual businesses are starting, stopping, growing, and declining. The BED data series are designed to illuminate these dynamic changes in business establishments and employment over time through expansions, contractions, openings, and closings. - 2 - This new Business Employment Dynamics data series includes gross job gains and gross job losses at the establishment level for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 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 units and the addition of new jobs at opening units. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing units and the loss of jobs at closing units. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.) Uses of the Data State gross job gain and gross job loss statistics highlight the forces behind job growth. In addition to being a measure of comparing the em- ployment dynamics across states, the BED data can be used in highlighting state labor markets over the course of the business cycle, as well as measuring the importance of job changes at opening and closing establish- ments relative to changes at existing establishments. Comparisons Between States BED data at the state level can be used to help identify how one state’s rate of gross job gains or gross job losses compares to another state’s. For example, from September 2006 to December 2006, Alaska had the highest rate of gross job gains (10.9 percent) and gross job losses (11.4 percent). In contrast, Hawaii and Connecticut had the lowest rate of gross job losses (5.3 percent each). (See tables 2 and 3.) States’ Business Cycles BED data highlight the business cycle properties of each state’s economy. For example, Wisconsin began exhibiting net job losses earlier than other states with over-the-quarter gross job losses exceeding gross job gains almost three quarters before the start of the 2001 recession. Job Growth Job growth is a function of all components of gross job gains and losses as shown in the BED data. For example, Nevada has experienced significant job growth since the start of the BED series in 1992 with both job gains and job losses increasing over that time period. Nevada’s growth has been primarily driven by expansions at existing establishments, but the state also has witnessed a steady number of openings that, on average, have ex- ceeded jobs lost from closing establishments. - 3 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Comparing Business Employment Dynamics Data with Current | | Employment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment | | and Wages Data | | | | The net change in employment from Business Employment Dynamics | | (BED) data series will not match the net change in employment from | | the monthly Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey. The CES es- | | timates are based on monthly surveys from a sample of establishments, | | while gross job gains and gross job losses are based on a quarterly | | census of administrative records. In addition, the CES has a different | | coverage, excluding the agriculture sector but including establishments | | not covered by the unemployment insurance program. The net over-the- | | quarter changes derived by aggregating component series in the BED data | | may be different from the net employment change estimated from the CES | | seasonally adjusted total employment series. The intended use of the | | BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market flows that underlie | | the net changes in aggregate employment levels; data users who want to | | track net changes in aggregate employment levels over time should refer | | to CES data. | | | | BED data have a more limited scope than the Quarterly Census of Em- | | ployment and Wages (QCEW) data. The data in this release, in contrast | | to the QCEW data, exclude government employees, private households | | (NAICS 814110), and establishments with zero employment. See the Tech- | | nical Note for further information. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Upcoming Changes to Business Employment Dynamics Data | | | | With the release of first quarter 2007 Business Employment Dynamics | | (BED) data in November 2007, the BED program will implement a policy | | of revising the previous year’s not seasonally adjusted data and the | | last 5 years of seasonally adjusted data. These revisions will occur | | annually with the release of first quarter data. | | | | At the same time, the BED program will start using the 2007 version | | of the North American Industry Classification System as the basis for | | the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 4 - 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 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing quarterly state unemployment insurance (UI) records. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by UI laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The quarterly UI reports are sent by the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to BLS and form the basis of the BLS establishment universe sampling frame. These reports also are used to pro- duce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and the longitu- dinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. Other important BLS uses of the UI reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. (See table below for differences between QCEW, CES, and BED.) In the BED program, the quarterly UI 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 establish- ments. Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures The BLS publishes three different establishment-based employment mea- sures for any given quarter. Each of these measures--QCEW, BED, and CES-- makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; how- ever, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, estimation procedure, and publication product. Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat different measures of over-the-quarter employment change. It is important to understand program differences and the intended uses of the program products. (See table below.) Additional information on each program can be obtained from the program Web sites shown in the table. - 5 - Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | QCEW | BED | CES -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------ Source |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey: | strative records | nally-linked UI ad- | 400,000 establish- | submitted by 8.9 | ministrative records| ments | million employers | submitted by 7.0 | | | million private sec-| | | tor employers | -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------ Coverage |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal- | age: all employers| ing government, pri-| ary jobs: | subject to state | vate households, and|--UI Coverage, exclud- | and federal UI Laws| establishments with | ing agriculture, pri- | | zero employment | vate households, and | | | self-employed workers | | |--Other employment, in- | | | cluding railroads, | | | religious organiza- | | | tions, and other non- | | | UI-covered jobs -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------ Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly frequency | -7 months after the| -8 months after the | -Usually first Friday | end of each quar- | end of each quarter| of following month | ter | | -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------ Use of UI |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI |--Uses UI file as a sam- file | and publishes each | quarter to longitu- | pling frame and annu- | new quarter of UI | dinal database and | ally realigns (bench- | data | directly summarizes | marks) sample esti- | | gross job gains and | mates to first quar- | | losses | ter UI levels -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------ Principal |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly |--Provides current month- products | ly and annual uni- | employer dynamics | ly estimates of employ- | verse count of es- | data on establish- | ment, hours, and earn- | tablishments, em- | ment openings, clos-| ings at the MSA, state, | ployment, and wages| ings, expansions, | and national level by | at the county, MSA,| and contractions at | industry | state, and national| the national level | | levels by detailed | by NAICS supersector| | industry | and by size of firm | | |--Future expansions | | | will include data at| | | the county, MSA, and| | | state level | -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------ Principal |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include: uses | -Detailed locality | -Business cycle | -Principal national | data | analysis | economic indicator | -Periodic universe | -Analysis of employ-| -Official time series | counts for bench- | er dynamics under- | for employment change | marking sample | lying economic ex- | measures | survey estimates | pansions and con- | -Input into other ma- | -Sample frame for | tractions | jor economic indi- | BLS establishment | An analysis of em- | cators | surveys | ployment expansion | | | and contraction by | | | size of firm | | | | -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------ Program |--www.bls.gov/cew/ |--www.bls.gov/bdm/ |--www.bls.gov/ces/ Web sites | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 6 - Coverage Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) laws are compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the SWAs by employers. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate multiple establishments within a state complete a questionnaire, called the "Multiple Worksite Report," which provides detailed information on the location of their establishments. These reports are based on place of employment rather than place of residence. UI and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable from state to state. Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, religious or- ganizations, most agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of cer- tain small nonprofit organizations. Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from lon- gitudinal histories of over 7.0 million private sector employer reports out of 8.9 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to BLS in the fourth quarter of 2006. Gross job gains and gross job losses data in this release do not report estimates for government employees or private households (NAICS 814110) and do not include establishments with zero employ- ment over three quarters. In addition, data for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are not included in United States totals; however, these data are published with the state BED data. As an illustration, the table below shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establishments excluded from the gross job gains and gross job losses data in the fourth quarter of 2006: Number of active establishments included in state Business Employment Dynamics data Millions Total establishments QCEW program....................................8.9 Excluded: Public sector.........................................0.3 Private households....................................0.6 Zero employment.......................................1.0 Total establishments included in state Business Employment Dynamics data...........................................7.0 Unit of analysis Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by in- dustry and firms are used in the tabulation of the BED size class sta- tistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either corporate or otherwise, and may consist of several establishments. Firm- level data are compiled based on an aggregation of establishments under common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification numbers. The firm-level aggregation, which is consistent with the role of corporations as the economic decision makers, is used for the measurement of the BED data elements by size class. Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job gains and gross job losses by size class are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. However, the total net changes in employment are the same for not seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally adjusted data. - 7 - Concepts and methodology The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employ- ment at the establishment or firm level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A net increase in employment can come from either opening units or expanding units. A net decrease in employment can come from either closing units or contracting units. Gross job gains include the sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include the sum of all jobs lost in either closing or contracting units. The net change in employment is the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. 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 em- ployment 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 pre- vious 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. All establishment-level employment changes are measured from the third month of each quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their em- ployment levels. Units with no change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, but not for levels of gross employment job gains and gross job losses. 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 quar- ters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. 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. Linkage methodology Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, QCEW records are linked across two quarters. The linkage process matches esta- blishments' unique SWA identification numbers (SWA-ID). Between 95 to 97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from quarter to quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are linked in one of three ways. The first method uses predecessor and successor information, identified by the states, which relates records with different SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can come about for a variety of reasons, including a change in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account restructuring. If a match cannot be attained in this manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to identify two establishments with different SWA- IDs as continuous. The match is based upon comparisons such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst examines unmatched re- cords individually and makes a possible match. In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify with employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-year cycle. Changes in establish- ment classification codes resulting from the verification process are intro- duced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes re- sulting from improved employer reporting also are introduced in the first quarter. - 8 - Sizing methodology The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED size- class data series. Dynamic sizing allocates each firm's employment gain or loss during a quarter to each respective size class in which the change occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38 employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be al- located to the first size class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49. Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm-size estimates and eliminates any systematic effects which may be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms' sizes over time. Additionally, it allocates each job gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred. Seasonal adjustment Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated job flows undergo sharp fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such seasonal vari- ation can be very large. Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence can be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from quarter to quarter. These adjustments make nonseasonal developments, such as declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For example, the large number of youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes that have taken place in June relative to March, making it difficult to determine if the level of economic activity has risen or declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in previous years is known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable change. The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to ana- lyze changes in economic activity. The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contract- ing units are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. Simi- larly, for industry data, the establishment counts data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted, and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of opening and closing establishments. Additionally, establishment and em- ployment levels are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the sea- sonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 ARIMA. Seasonally adjusted data series for the total private sector are cal- culated by summing the seasonally adjusted data for all sectors, including the unclassified sector, which is not published separately. The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting units for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia are seasonally adjusted at the total private level only. The sum of the state series for open- ing, expanding, closing, and contracting units will not necessarily be equal to the national total private series because of the independent seasonal adjust- ment of these series. The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series will differ from the net employment change estimated from the seasonally ad- justed total private employment series from the CES program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market changes that underlie the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested particu- larly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying this change should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment changes. Reliability of the data Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on admini- strative rather than sample data, there are no issues related to sampling error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists. Nonsampling errors can oc- cur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected employment data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distri- buted randomly throughout the dataset. Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the linkage process. This can result in overstating openings and closings while understating expansions and contractions. The BLS continues to refine methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these compli- cations. The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on correc- tions in QCEW records, updates on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal adjustment revisions. - 9 - Additional statistics and other information Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information. The QCEW program, also known as the ES-202 program, provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed industry. News releases on quarterly county employment and wages are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; telephone 202-691-6567; (https://www.bls.gov/cew/); (e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov). The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, its net change, and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part of the Employ- ment Situation report put out monthly by BLS. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides month- ly measures of job openings, as well as employee hires and separations. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired in- dividuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral number: 1-800-877-8339. Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by state, seasonally adjusted Gross job gains Gross job losses State (3 months ended) (3 months ended) Dec. March June Sept. Dec. Dec. March June Sept. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 United States (1)..... 7,818,000 7,556,000 7,761,000 7,364,000 7,734,000 7,267,000 6,772,000 7,295,000 7,345,000 7,218,000 Alabama .............. 111,644 103,743 100,806 101,842 107,199 99,996 93,051 99,071 102,805 103,129 Alaska ............... 25,128 26,162 28,732 21,653 25,408 27,131 22,015 22,458 26,469 26,404 Arizona .............. 165,669 172,185 166,623 171,540 160,222 146,300 128,605 152,171 152,364 163,933 Arkansas ............. 60,313 63,772 59,513 58,564 61,309 55,458 52,719 59,445 61,364 57,471 California ........... 1,006,738 930,835 946,640 894,866 974,871 869,549 908,131 900,747 901,248 885,374 Colorado ............. 147,317 137,874 149,885 143,632 150,585 135,592 127,746 132,040 144,690 139,283 Connecticut .......... 80,974 78,840 87,156 81,030 84,707 79,160 75,184 78,338 82,159 76,336 Delaware ............. 27,688 25,964 27,770 23,411 25,966 24,638 24,147 25,894 27,461 23,256 District of Columbia . 25,030 25,992 28,808 27,070 24,618 25,238 23,472 26,600 25,675 27,014 Florida .............. 509,472 483,408 521,985 491,734 499,579 494,868 412,651 486,924 487,935 523,909 Georgia .............. 249,734 254,688 257,521 245,828 263,741 239,806 221,469 234,320 255,702 252,821 Hawaii ............... 28,317 27,755 28,682 27,677 26,988 25,041 25,239 25,417 26,656 26,636 Idaho ................ 46,547 47,900 46,222 44,915 47,183 38,450 38,933 42,389 41,259 39,861 Illinois ............. 290,919 283,849 307,144 278,479 292,645 288,195 265,395 260,487 285,939 279,570 Indiana .............. 150,182 153,313 148,759 145,617 151,719 151,396 139,251 151,810 152,949 148,740 Iowa ................. 77,877 78,411 77,936 73,598 77,767 74,249 70,942 71,426 73,492 72,309 Kansas ............... 72,070 70,589 71,822 80,934 74,788 65,839 63,421 73,821 66,728 66,975 Kentucky ............. 96,228 100,764 86,808 90,598 105,213 95,092 83,274 93,863 95,723 90,001 Louisiana............. 187,824 152,400 121,752 118,861 120,834 170,973 106,838 108,463 103,850 103,978 Maine ................ 41,581 35,897 40,509 35,119 40,373 38,398 37,013 37,477 39,311 37,120 Maryland ............. 135,651 141,926 135,332 130,763 136,324 136,999 124,303 136,911 137,052 129,773 Massachusetts ........ 168,491 158,000 180,115 166,974 165,249 169,677 156,866 157,204 167,204 164,127 Michigan ............. 230,363 217,168 247,226 226,239 229,386 262,768 240,164 236,767 256,870 264,248 Minnesota ............ 159,995 150,999 156,515 140,806 147,906 148,263 138,180 155,152 169,663 149,422 Mississippi .......... 93,194 68,911 63,170 67,660 66,404 75,275 58,031 65,182 62,260 57,787 Missouri ............. 145,568 147,198 146,950 136,058 151,533 139,951 130,016 143,022 139,173 137,996 Montana .............. 30,785 32,366 30,250 27,174 32,835 26,952 26,295 27,742 29,635 26,749 Nebraska ............. 43,833 45,562 45,089 46,787 47,432 43,352 40,306 44,915 44,762 45,157 Nevada ............... 82,079 83,069 79,460 73,302 80,243 67,146 64,914 72,452 76,030 76,563 New Hampshire ........ 39,517 38,966 40,865 36,945 39,549 39,618 36,492 38,734 40,465 37,576 New Jersey ........... 225,042 219,037 236,437 216,977 226,357 227,211 202,605 223,784 224,923 217,483 New Mexico ........... 47,360 50,697 55,640 45,774 48,583 40,199 40,418 45,389 44,522 44,936 New York ............. 473,818 447,791 492,781 445,715 489,582 455,908 451,192 452,166 451,960 438,190 North Carolina ....... 228,096 230,861 227,452 196,479 269,251 215,789 195,681 213,401 192,658 206,114 North Dakota ......... 18,089 21,278 19,912 19,691 19,081 17,319 17,404 19,482 17,698 18,043 Ohio ................. 281,194 275,509 279,118 263,540 270,013 285,901 267,039 275,088 282,491 281,543 Oklahoma ............. 86,237 86,846 84,551 84,772 86,201 73,853 72,135 82,571 79,772 80,346 Oregon ............... 111,489 107,162 102,507 102,169 106,566 93,880 95,805 96,836 94,415 97,204 Pennsylvania ......... 293,112 294,277 290,192 278,487 284,772 293,303 265,699 274,509 273,665 268,748 Rhode Island ......... 27,205 25,115 29,675 28,563 28,393 29,216 25,969 25,856 27,611 28,041 South Carolina ....... 112,344 112,541 109,383 120,372 109,548 113,207 96,302 111,868 103,775 96,229 South Dakota ......... 22,327 22,138 21,975 21,769 22,560 20,144 20,136 19,380 20,155 19,880 Tennessee ............ 146,663 146,443 147,865 142,108 152,248 137,984 126,859 149,756 142,001 133,789 Texas ................ 558,177 554,875 552,450 540,271 562,174 471,141 449,775 501,655 466,145 468,078 Utah ................. 75,396 83,940 78,096 76,714 79,503 64,986 63,802 65,139 68,215 64,509 Vermont .............. 19,901 16,976 19,307 16,913 18,920 17,369 18,362 17,745 18,754 18,062 Virginia ............. 192,174 194,549 194,709 178,522 191,491 188,614 168,124 189,246 192,144 178,887 Washington ........... 203,013 178,305 186,813 174,517 184,972 164,050 158,201 160,118 167,048 165,782 West Virginia ........ 40,633 43,159 37,829 37,494 40,524 37,306 35,462 39,055 39,650 36,510 Wisconsin ............ 142,101 142,881 149,177 137,886 144,841 143,637 134,807 140,667 144,676 143,326 Wyoming .............. 21,248 22,932 19,250 20,574 22,422 16,698 16,636 18,468 19,282 16,448 Puerto Rico .......... 52,544 47,883 46,996 48,181 54,849 42,535 54,181 55,272 52,155 51,298 Virgin Islands ....... 2,300 2,478 2,165 2,669 2,068 2,304 1,902 2,474 3,926 1,923 1 The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state. NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted Gross job gains as a percent of employment Gross job losses as a percent of employment State (3 months ended) (3 months ended) Dec. March June Sept. Dec. Dec. March June Sept. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 United States ........ 7.1 6.7 6.9 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.0 6.5 6.5 6.4 Alabama .............. 7.1 6.6 6.4 6.5 6.8 6.4 5.9 6.2 6.5 6.5 Alaska ............... 11.0 11.4 12.3 9.2 10.9 11.9 9.6 9.7 11.4 11.4 Arizona .............. 7.7 7.9 7.5 7.7 7.1 6.8 5.8 6.9 6.8 7.3 Arkansas ............. 6.2 6.5 6.0 6.0 6.3 5.7 5.4 6.1 6.3 5.9 California ........... 7.9 7.2 7.3 6.9 7.5 6.8 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.8 Colorado ............. 7.9 7.3 7.9 7.6 7.9 7.3 6.8 7.0 7.6 7.3 Connecticut .......... 5.8 5.6 6.1 5.6 5.9 5.6 5.3 5.5 5.7 5.3 Delaware ............. 7.6 7.1 7.6 6.4 7.1 6.8 6.6 7.1 7.5 6.4 District of Columbia . 5.8 5.9 6.6 6.1 5.6 5.8 5.4 6.0 5.9 6.2 Florida .............. 7.5 7.1 7.6 7.1 7.3 7.3 6.0 7.0 7.1 7.6 Georgia .............. 7.5 7.6 7.6 7.3 7.8 7.3 6.7 7.0 7.5 7.5 Hawaii ............... 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.3 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.3 5.3 Idaho ................ 9.0 9.1 8.7 8.4 8.7 7.5 7.4 8.0 7.7 7.4 Illinois ............. 5.8 5.7 6.1 5.5 5.8 5.8 5.3 5.2 5.6 5.5 Indiana .............. 6.0 6.1 5.9 5.9 6.0 6.1 5.6 6.0 6.1 5.9 Iowa ................. 6.4 6.4 6.3 5.9 6.3 6.0 5.8 5.8 5.9 5.9 Kansas ............... 6.7 6.6 6.6 7.4 6.9 6.2 5.9 6.9 6.2 6.1 Kentucky ............. 6.6 6.8 5.8 6.1 7.1 6.5 5.6 6.3 6.5 6.1 Louisiana............. 13.2 10.5 8.2 8.0 8.1 12.1 7.3 7.3 7.0 7.0 Maine ................ 8.4 7.2 8.1 7.0 8.2 7.8 7.5 7.5 7.9 7.4 Maryland ............. 6.6 6.9 6.5 6.3 6.6 6.7 6.0 6.6 6.6 6.3 Massachusetts ........ 6.2 5.7 6.5 6.0 5.9 6.2 5.7 5.6 6.0 6.0 Michigan ............. 6.2 6.0 6.7 6.2 6.4 7.2 6.6 6.5 7.1 7.4 Minnesota ............ 7.0 6.6 6.7 6.1 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.7 7.3 6.6 Mississippi .......... 10.7 7.8 7.1 7.5 7.4 8.7 6.5 7.3 7.0 6.4 Missouri ............. 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.6 6.3 5.7 6.2 6.1 6.1 Montana .............. 9.1 9.4 8.7 7.8 9.4 8.0 7.7 7.9 8.6 7.6 Nebraska ............. 5.9 6.1 6.0 6.3 6.4 5.9 5.4 6.0 6.0 6.0 Nevada ............... 7.5 7.5 7.1 6.5 7.1 6.1 5.8 6.5 6.7 6.8 New Hampshire ........ 7.3 7.3 7.5 6.8 7.3 7.4 6.7 7.2 7.5 6.9 New Jersey ........... 6.7 6.6 7.0 6.5 6.8 6.8 6.0 6.7 6.7 6.5 New Mexico ........... 7.9 8.3 8.9 7.3 7.7 6.6 6.6 7.3 7.1 7.1 New York ............. 6.8 6.4 7.0 6.3 7.0 6.5 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.3 North Carolina ....... 7.1 7.1 7.0 5.9 8.1 6.7 6.1 6.5 5.8 6.2 North Dakota ......... 6.8 7.9 7.4 7.2 7.0 6.4 6.5 7.2 6.5 6.6 Ohio ................. 6.1 6.0 6.1 5.7 6.0 6.2 5.8 6.0 6.2 6.2 Oklahoma ............. 7.3 7.3 7.1 7.1 7.2 6.3 6.1 6.9 6.6 6.7 Oregon ............... 7.9 7.5 7.2 7.1 7.3 6.6 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.7 Pennsylvania ......... 6.0 6.0 5.9 5.7 5.8 6.0 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.5 Rhode Island ......... 6.5 6.0 7.1 6.8 6.8 7.0 6.2 6.2 6.6 6.7 South Carolina ....... 7.5 7.5 7.2 7.9 7.1 7.6 6.4 7.4 6.7 6.2 South Dakota ......... 7.2 7.1 7.0 6.9 7.1 6.5 6.5 6.2 6.4 6.3 Tennessee ............ 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.1 6.5 5.9 5.5 6.5 6.1 5.7 Texas ................ 7.0 6.9 6.7 6.5 6.8 5.9 5.5 6.1 5.6 5.6 Utah ................. 8.0 8.7 8.0 7.8 8.0 6.9 6.7 6.7 6.9 6.5 Vermont .............. 7.9 6.7 7.7 6.8 7.5 7.0 7.3 7.0 7.5 7.2 Virginia ............. 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.0 6.4 6.4 5.6 6.4 6.5 6.0 Washington ........... 9.0 7.8 8.1 7.5 7.9 7.2 6.9 6.9 7.2 7.1 West Virginia ........ 7.2 7.6 6.6 6.6 7.1 6.6 6.3 6.8 7.0 6.4 Wisconsin ............ 6.0 6.0 6.3 5.8 6.0 6.1 5.7 5.9 6.0 6.0 Wyoming .............. 10.8 11.3 9.3 9.9 10.6 8.5 8.1 8.9 9.3 7.8 Puerto Rico .......... 6.9 6.3 6.2 6.4 7.4 5.6 7.2 7.3 6.9 6.9 Virgin Islands ....... 7.1 7.5 6.6 8.3 6.3 7.1 5.8 7.5 12.2 5.8 NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, December 2006, seasonally adjusted (Percent) Gross job gains Gross job losses State Net Expanding Opening Contracting Closing change (1) Total establishments establishments Total establishments establishments United States ........ 0.4 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.4 5.2 1.2 Alabama .............. .3 6.8 5.6 1.2 6.5 5.6 .9 Alaska ............... -.5 10.9 8.9 2.0 11.4 9.4 2.0 Arizona .............. -.2 7.1 5.7 1.4 7.3 5.8 1.5 Arkansas ............. .4 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.9 5.0 .9 California ........... .7 7.5 6.1 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3 Colorado ............. .6 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.3 6.0 1.3 Connecticut .......... .6 5.9 5.2 .7 5.3 4.8 .5 Delaware ............. .7 7.1 5.5 1.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 District of Columbia . -.6 5.6 4.7 .9 6.2 4.7 1.5 Florida .............. -.3 7.3 5.5 1.8 7.6 5.9 1.7 Georgia .............. .3 7.8 5.7 2.1 7.5 5.5 2.0 Hawaii ............... .0 5.3 4.5 .8 5.3 4.3 1.0 Idaho ................ 1.3 8.7 6.9 1.8 7.4 5.9 1.5 Illinois ............. .3 5.8 4.8 1.0 5.5 4.6 .9 Indiana .............. .1 6.0 5.0 1.0 5.9 5.0 .9 Iowa ................. .4 6.3 5.3 1.0 5.9 5.0 .9 Kansas ............... .8 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2 Kentucky ............. 1.0 7.1 5.6 1.5 6.1 5.0 1.1 Louisiana............. 1.1 8.1 6.6 1.5 7.0 5.8 1.2 Maine ................ .8 8.2 6.3 1.9 7.4 5.8 1.6 Maryland ............. .3 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.3 5.1 1.2 Massachusetts ........ -.1 5.9 4.9 1.0 6.0 4.8 1.2 Michigan ............. -1.0 6.4 5.0 1.4 7.4 5.9 1.5 Minnesota ............ -.1 6.5 5.1 1.4 6.6 5.1 1.5 Mississippi .......... 1.0 7.4 6.0 1.4 6.4 5.5 .9 Missouri ............. .5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 5.1 1.0 Montana .............. 1.8 9.4 7.5 1.9 7.6 6.1 1.5 Nebraska ............. .4 6.4 5.3 1.1 6.0 5.0 1.0 Nevada ............... .3 7.1 5.9 1.2 6.8 5.9 .9 New Hampshire ........ .4 7.3 5.9 1.4 6.9 5.7 1.2 New Jersey ........... .3 6.8 5.4 1.4 6.5 5.4 1.1 New Mexico ........... .6 7.7 6.0 1.7 7.1 5.9 1.2 New York ............. .7 7.0 5.7 1.3 6.3 4.9 1.4 North Carolina ....... 1.9 8.1 5.7 2.4 6.2 5.2 1.0 North Dakota ......... .4 7.0 5.7 1.3 6.6 5.6 1.0 Ohio ................. -.2 6.0 5.0 1.0 6.2 5.2 1.0 Oklahoma ............. .5 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.7 5.3 1.4 Oregon ............... .6 7.3 6.1 1.2 6.7 5.6 1.1 Pennsylvania ......... .3 5.8 4.8 1.0 5.5 4.6 .9 Rhode Island ......... .1 6.8 5.3 1.5 6.7 5.3 1.4 South Carolina ....... .9 7.1 5.8 1.3 6.2 5.3 .9 South Dakota ......... .8 7.1 5.8 1.3 6.3 5.3 1.0 Tennessee ............ .8 6.5 5.6 .9 5.7 5.0 .7 Texas ................ 1.2 6.8 5.5 1.3 5.6 4.6 1.0 Utah ................. 1.5 8.0 6.3 1.7 6.5 5.3 1.2 Vermont .............. .3 7.5 6.4 1.1 7.2 5.7 1.5 Virginia ............. .4 6.4 5.3 1.1 6.0 5.1 .9 Washington ........... .8 7.9 6.6 1.3 7.1 6.0 1.1 West Virginia ........ .7 7.1 5.9 1.2 6.4 5.3 1.1 Wisconsin ............ .0 6.0 5.0 1.0 6.0 5.0 1.0 Wyoming .............. 2.8 10.6 9.0 1.6 7.8 6.6 1.2 Puerto Rico .......... .5 7.4 6.3 1.1 6.9 5.1 1.8 Virgin Islands ....... .5 6.3 4.7 1.6 5.8 5.1 .7 1 Net change is the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. Table 4. Private sector establishments by direction of employment change as a percent of total establishments by state, December 2006, seasonally adjusted (Percent) Gross job gains Gross job losses State Net Expanding Opening Contracting Closing change (1) Total establishments establishments Total establishments establishments United States ........ 0.5 28.1 22.6 5.5 27.3 22.3 5.0 Alabama .............. .4 27.7 23.5 4.2 27.4 23.6 3.8 Alaska ............... -.1 33.6 26.5 7.1 34.2 27.0 7.2 Arizona .............. .9 30.9 23.8 7.1 28.9 22.7 6.2 Arkansas ............. .8 26.6 21.6 5.0 25.7 21.5 4.2 California ........... .1 29.7 23.7 6.0 28.9 23.0 5.9 Colorado ............. 1.5 28.9 21.7 7.2 27.4 21.7 5.7 Connecticut .......... .2 24.7 21.6 3.1 24.7 21.8 2.9 Delaware ............. .9 25.9 19.9 6.0 25.7 20.6 5.1 District of Columbia . -.1 28.0 22.4 5.6 27.3 21.6 5.7 Florida .............. .9 26.2 19.0 7.2 26.8 20.5 6.3 Georgia .............. .6 31.1 22.4 8.7 29.5 21.4 8.1 Hawaii ............... -.3 26.7 22.4 4.3 26.9 22.3 4.6 Idaho ................ 1.2 31.1 24.1 7.0 28.5 22.7 5.8 Illinois ............. .7 26.9 21.2 5.7 26.1 21.1 5.0 Indiana .............. .2 28.5 23.7 4.8 28.7 24.1 4.6 Iowa ................. .1 26.8 23.1 3.7 26.7 23.1 3.6 Kansas ............... .5 27.9 23.2 4.7 26.0 21.8 4.2 Kentucky ............. 2.0 31.3 24.6 6.7 28.5 23.8 4.7 Louisiana............. 1.0 30.0 24.8 5.2 27.1 22.9 4.2 Maine ................ .3 28.0 22.0 6.0 28.2 22.5 5.7 Maryland ............. .3 28.0 22.5 5.5 27.6 22.4 5.2 Massachusetts ........ -.3 28.0 22.6 5.4 28.2 22.5 5.7 Michigan ............. .2 26.7 20.9 5.8 29.4 23.8 5.6 Minnesota ............ -.2 27.4 22.7 4.7 28.6 23.7 4.9 Mississippi .......... .6 28.5 23.9 4.6 27.1 23.1 4.0 Missouri ............. 1.7 27.5 22.5 5.0 26.4 23.1 3.3 Montana .............. 1.6 31.0 24.0 7.0 27.2 21.8 5.4 Nebraska ............. .6 27.3 22.7 4.6 26.3 22.3 4.0 Nevada ............... 2.1 32.2 25.2 7.0 29.0 24.1 4.9 New Hampshire ........ -.2 26.9 21.7 5.2 28.0 22.6 5.4 New Jersey ........... .6 25.7 20.8 4.9 25.9 21.6 4.3 New Mexico ........... 1.0 29.8 23.8 6.0 27.6 22.6 5.0 New York ............. .2 25.9 20.6 5.3 24.7 19.6 5.1 North Carolina ....... 3.9 31.2 23.3 7.9 26.6 22.6 4.0 North Dakota ......... 1.0 28.7 23.6 5.1 27.8 23.7 4.1 Ohio ................. -.5 27.7 23.4 4.3 29.4 24.6 4.8 Oklahoma ............. .6 27.7 22.8 4.9 26.1 21.8 4.3 Oregon ............... .5 29.3 23.8 5.5 27.3 22.3 5.0 Pennsylvania ......... .6 26.7 22.0 4.7 25.7 21.6 4.1 Rhode Island ......... .4 27.5 21.3 6.2 27.4 21.6 5.8 South Carolina ....... 1.9 28.5 22.9 5.6 25.9 22.2 3.7 South Dakota ......... .9 28.1 23.1 5.0 27.1 23.0 4.1 Tennessee ............ .2 28.1 24.5 3.6 27.0 23.6 3.4 Texas ................ .6 29.0 24.1 4.9 26.4 22.1 4.3 Utah ................. 3.0 32.8 24.8 8.0 26.7 21.7 5.0 Vermont .............. -.3 26.9 22.0 4.9 27.6 22.4 5.2 Virginia ............. .2 27.9 23.2 4.7 27.4 22.9 4.5 Washington ........... 1.2 30.4 24.9 5.5 27.5 23.2 4.3 West Virginia ........ -.1 28.2 24.2 4.0 27.8 23.7 4.1 Wisconsin ............ -.1 27.5 23.1 4.4 29.4 24.9 4.5 Wyoming .............. 1.3 31.2 25.5 5.7 28.0 23.6 4.4 Puerto Rico .......... -1.0 26.2 22.0 4.2 23.6 18.4 5.2 Virgin Islands ....... 3.2 25.2 19.4 5.8 25.8 23.2 2.6 1 Net change is the difference between the number of opening establishments and the number of closing establishments. NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.