Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

16-87-CHI
Thursday, January 21, 2016

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Business Employment Dynamics in North Dakota — First Quarter 2015

From December 2014 to March 2015 gross job losses in North Dakota totaled 33,253, while gross job gains numbered 27,400, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 5,853. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross losses job by 7,107.

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 33,253 gross job losses in March were the largest for the state since the series inception in September 1992. With the exception of the most recent quarter, gross job losses in North Dakota remained below 28,000. North Dakota’s 27,400 gross job gains in March 2015 followed the 32,877 gross job gains in December 2014. Over the past five years, gross job gains reached a high of 34,490 in March 2012 and a low of 20,364 in June 2010. (See chart 1.) The gross job gains in March 2012 were a series high for the state.

Gross job losses represented 8.7 percent of private sector employment in North Dakota in the quarter ended March 2015, while nationally gross job losses accounted for 5.7 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) Since March 2011, the rate of gross job losses in North Dakota has been at or above the U.S. rate each quarter. Gross job gains represented 7.1 percent of private sector employment in North Dakota in the quarter ended March 2015, while the U.S. rate of gross job gains was 5.9 percent of private sector employment. Gross job gains in North Dakota have been at or above the national rate since March 2006.

During the first quarter of 2015, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in four industry sectors in North Dakota. For example, within professional and business services, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 953. While almost 3,000 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments in the industry, nearly 4,000 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the 3-months ended in March 2015. In the leisure and hospitality industry, more than 3,474 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments and 4,235 jobs lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a loss of 761 jobs. In construction, 6,974 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, while 6,680 jobs were gained in opening and expanding establishments, resulting in a net loss of almost 300 jobs in the first quarter of 2015. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in one industry sector. Within retail trade, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 866.

North Dakota was among the seven states in the West North Central Census division. Five states (Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota) in the division had gross job gains that exceeded gross job losses. (See table A.) Three states (Kansas, Minnesota, and Missouri) had rates of gross job gains that were lower than the 5.9-percent national rate. Three states (North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska) had a rate of gross job gains that was higher than the national rate and one state (Iowa) had a rate of gross job gains that was equal to the national rate. Four states (Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska) had rates of gross job losses that were below the 5.7-percent national rate. Two states (Kansas and North Dakota) had rates of gross job losses that were higher than the national rate and one state (South Dakota) had a rate of gross job losses that was equal to 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, March 2015, seasonally adjusted
AreaGross job gainsGross job lossesNet changeNet change as
a percent of
total
employment
TotalAs a
percent of
total
employment
TotalAs a
percent of
total
employment

United States

6,947,0005.96,721,0005.7226,0000.2

West North Central (1)

496,970478,99817,972

Iowa

75,9905.968,7875.47,2030.5

Kansas

63,1095.765,2175.8-2,108-0.1

Minnesota

132,5075.6124,0855.28,4220.4

Missouri

127,6425.6122,9525.44,6900.2

Nebraska

48,5846.145,2295.63,3550.5

North Dakota

27,4007.133,2538.7-5,853-1.6

South Dakota

21,7386.319,4755.72,2630.6

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 release for second quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2016.

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

Data in this release incorporate annual revisions to the BED series.  Annual revisions are published each year with the release of first quarter data. These revisions cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.

Additionally, all historical BED series back to third quarter 1992 have been revised for both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted series, to incorporate an administrative scope change. These revisions are primarily due to the reclassification of a number of establishments from private households (NAICS 814110) to services for the elderly and persons with disabilities (NAICS 624120). Private households are not within the scope of BED and, as a result, those establishments impacted by this industry reclassification are now within scope.


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 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, North Dakota, seasonally adjusted
CategoryGross job gains and job losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and job losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Mar.
2014
June
2014
Sept.
2014
Dec.
2014
Mar.
2015
Mar.
2014
June
2014
Sept.
2014
Dec.
2014
Mar.
2015

Total private (1)

 

Gross job gains

32,11128,25730,57032,87727,4008.77.68.28.77.1

At expanding establishments

26,47823,40225,39226,92921,5127.26.36.87.15.6

At opening establishments

5,6334,8555,1785,9485,8881.51.31.41.61.5

Gross job losses

24,76826,19325,90325,77033,2536.77.06.96.78.7

At contracting establishments

20,74122,47321,67921,80728,8425.66.05.85.77.5

At closing establishments

4,0273,7204,2243,9634,4111.11.01.11.01.2

Net employment change (2)

7,3432,0644,6677,107-5,8532.00.61.32.0-1.6

Construction

 

Gross job gains

7,0105,5746,6758,7616,68020.716.419.724.217.7

At expanding establishments

5,5304,3375,2966,7434,63516.312.815.618.612.3

At opening establishments

1,4801,2371,3792,0182,0454.43.64.15.65.4

Gross job losses

5,6786,0705,3944,9226,97416.717.915.913.618.5

At contracting establishments

4,6885,0214,3653,9335,82813.814.812.910.915.5

At closing establishments

9901,0491,0299891,1462.93.13.02.73.0

Net employment change (2)

1,332-4961,2813,839-2944.0-1.53.810.6-0.8

Wholesale trade

 

Gross job gains

1,8251,5211,6501,7741,4786.85.66.06.45.3

At expanding establishments

1,6491,2761,4801,6171,3046.14.75.45.84.7

At opening establishments

1762451701571740.70.90.60.60.6

Gross job losses

1,5461,5051,1781,3041,8145.85.64.34.76.6

At contracting establishments

1,1981,3551,0151,1971,6714.55.03.74.36.1

At closing establishments

3481501631071431.30.60.60.40.5

Net employment change (2)

27916472470-3361.00.01.71.7-1.3

Retail trade

 

Gross job gains

4,1882,8713,1953,1343,9638.35.76.36.27.7

At expanding establishments

3,5822,5792,7352,8453,2457.15.15.45.66.3

At opening establishments

6062924602897181.20.60.90.61.4

Gross job losses

2,5763,0843,1742,7863,0975.16.06.35.56.0

At contracting establishments

2,4102,9132,9412,4912,7884.85.75.84.95.4

At closing establishments

1661712332953090.30.30.50.60.6

Net employment change (2)

1,612-213213488663.2-0.30.00.71.7

Professional and business services

 

Gross job gains

3,3373,6053,7213,2422,8699.610.110.28.77.9

At expanding establishments

2,5332,9913,1122,5602,1967.38.48.56.96.0

At opening establishments

8046146096826732.31.71.71.81.9

Gross job losses

2,6152,4972,8943,4633,8227.57.07.99.310.5

At contracting establishments

2,1062,1162,3932,7553,1906.05.96.57.48.8

At closing establishments

5093815017086321.51.11.41.91.7

Net employment change (2)

7221,108827-221-9532.13.12.3-0.6-2.6

Leisure and hospitality

 

Gross job gains

3,6064,0183,9734,4703,4748.99.99.810.98.4

At expanding establishments

2,6983,1173,0133,4582,6786.77.77.48.46.5

At opening establishments

9089019601,0127962.22.22.42.51.9

Gross job losses

3,3383,8854,0453,5714,2358.39.510.08.710.3

At contracting establishments

2,7733,3023,2323,0373,6656.98.18.07.48.9

At closing establishments

5655838135345701.41.42.01.31.4

Net employment change (2)

268133-72899-7610.60.4-0.22.2-1.9

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
CategoryGross job gains as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Gross job losses as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Mar.
2014
June
2014
Sept.
2014
Dec.
2014
Mar.
2015
Mar.
2014
June
2014
Sept.
2014
Dec.
2014
Mar.
2015

United States (1)

6.16.56.36.65.95.75.85.85.75.7

Alabama

5.75.95.96.05.65.65.55.55.25.4

Alaska

10.810.89.510.610.49.711.010.410.49.2

Arizona

5.96.06.47.06.05.96.05.55.35.7

Arkansas

5.95.66.06.65.45.15.45.55.15.7

California

6.97.07.17.46.86.26.56.26.46.2

Colorado

6.87.27.37.06.95.96.16.16.16.1

Connecticut

5.15.75.25.44.85.04.95.35.25.1

Delaware

6.36.66.37.05.75.95.26.25.47.3

District of Columbia

5.96.35.75.55.55.35.65.45.35.4

Florida

6.57.27.37.16.35.86.26.16.05.6

Georgia

6.66.96.86.96.25.66.05.95.55.6

Hawaii

4.95.05.35.24.95.15.04.54.44.8

Idaho

8.47.77.58.09.17.27.97.37.07.0

Illinois

5.86.25.76.25.85.45.55.85.55.7

Indiana

5.35.95.46.35.35.65.05.35.05.3

Iowa

5.86.15.86.15.95.55.75.85.65.4

Kansas

5.76.15.76.25.75.65.65.85.45.8

Kentucky

6.26.26.26.65.56.05.65.55.36.0

Louisiana

6.86.66.86.86.15.96.55.95.86.7

Maine

6.87.86.77.26.57.16.57.07.27.0

Maryland

6.06.66.56.75.95.85.86.36.26.2

Massachusetts

5.56.35.76.05.15.25.35.55.25.4

Michigan

5.46.45.46.25.25.15.45.75.25.1

Minnesota

5.26.55.65.85.65.65.15.75.45.2

Mississippi

5.86.26.26.95.56.06.66.05.46.4

Missouri

5.66.05.76.35.65.65.35.75.15.4

Montana

7.38.28.18.59.18.07.78.18.07.2

Nebraska

5.86.16.06.26.15.65.95.75.65.6

Nevada

6.66.76.66.66.35.45.75.75.35.3

New Hampshire

5.96.95.96.95.75.96.16.36.05.7

New Jersey

6.07.06.36.95.86.35.96.46.26.0

New Mexico

6.56.86.67.26.46.56.26.16.16.5

New York

6.26.76.46.65.96.05.86.05.85.9

North Carolina

6.06.46.26.55.95.75.65.75.45.7

North Dakota

8.77.68.28.77.16.77.06.96.78.7

Ohio

5.66.15.56.15.45.55.25.55.15.6

Oklahoma

6.26.36.26.75.75.76.05.65.56.1

Oregon

7.06.97.07.16.96.26.46.26.35.7

Pennsylvania

5.25.65.25.64.94.94.85.14.95.2

Rhode Island

5.76.55.96.45.35.75.55.85.65.8

South Carolina

6.26.46.06.85.75.85.85.85.05.5

South Dakota

6.56.46.26.36.36.16.05.95.85.7

Tennessee

5.55.75.76.25.25.35.15.04.85.2

Texas

5.96.06.16.45.85.14.95.15.05.7

Utah

6.57.17.17.27.36.06.76.05.85.9

Vermont

6.97.36.97.56.86.86.97.36.76.8

Virginia

5.46.25.65.86.05.55.75.85.55.6

Washington

6.97.47.16.96.76.06.46.26.15.6

West Virginia

6.56.66.26.66.06.76.46.56.06.7

Wisconsin

5.35.85.55.85.45.15.05.65.25.1

Wyoming

8.68.78.39.38.98.18.38.58.08.9

Puerto Rico

5.35.55.66.45.36.56.36.04.96.4

Virgin Islands

5.06.26.66.25.56.06.35.65.65.9

Footnotes
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, January 21, 2016