From December 2013 to March 2014, gross job gains in private sector establishments in Missouri totaled 124,363, while gross job losses numbered 123,281, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,082. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that during the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 9,505.

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 gains in Missouri declined by 9,043 from December 2013 to March 2014. Even with the decrease, this was the sixth consecutive quarter in which gross job gains have exceeded gross job losses in Missouri. Gross job losses declined by 620 in the three months ended in March 2014. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 5.6 percent of private sector employment in Missouri in the quarter ended March 2014, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.0 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) With few exceptions, the rate of gross job gains in Missouri has been below or equal to the U.S. rate since 1992.

During the first quarter 2014, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in five industry sectors in Missouri. For example, within leisure and hospitality, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 3,567. While 25,068 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments, 21,501 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the industry in the 3 months ended in March 2014. In construction, 12,641 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments and 10,599 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in six industry sectors during the first quarter of 2014. Within professional and business services, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 3,011. In financial activities, 6,700 jobs were lost in contracting and closing establishments, offsetting the 5,691 jobs created in opening and expanding establishments. In the four other sectors, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by less than 1,000.

For More 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/.

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.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2014 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

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.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Missouri, 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)
	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013	Dec. 2013	Mar. 2014	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013	Dec. 2013	Mar. 2014
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	143,382	131,898	128,987	133,406	124,363	6.5	5.9	5.8	6.0	5.6
At expanding establishments	108,443	111,537	106,123	110,411	102,779	4.9	5.0	4.8	5.0	4.6
At opening establishments	34,939	20,361	22,864	22,995	21,584	1.6	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	123,038	118,164	125,906	123,901	123,281	5.6	5.3	5.7	5.5	5.5
At contracting establishments	103,145	99,837	106,525	103,570	103,857	4.7	4.5	4.8	4.6	4.6
At closing establishments	19,893	18,327	19,381	20,331	19,424	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9
Net employment change (2)	20,344	13,734	3,081	9,505	1,082	0.9	0.6	0.1	0.5	0.1
Construction
Gross job gains	11,214	13,523	13,021	11,759	12,641	10.6	12.7	12.0	10.8	11.5
At expanding establishments	9,287	11,606	10,234	9,789	10,552	8.8	10.9	9.4	9.0	9.6
At opening establishments	1,927	1,917	2,787	1,970	2,089	1.8	1.8	2.6	1.8	1.9
Gross job losses	12,247	10,126	11,633	12,897	10,599	11.6	9.5	10.6	11.8	9.7
At contracting establishments	9,718	8,571	10,070	10,661	8,730	9.2	8.0	9.2	9.8	8.0
At closing establishments	2,529	1,555	1,563	2,236	1,869	2.4	1.5	1.4	2.0	1.7
Net employment change (2)	-1,033	3,397	1,388	-1,138	2,042	-1.0	3.2	1.4	-1.0	1.8
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	9,968	8,348	7,657	8,848	7,463	3.9	3.3	3.0	3.5	3.0
At expanding establishments	9,149	7,780	7,148	8,329	6,772	3.6	3.1	2.8	3.3	2.7
At opening establishments	819	568	509	519	691	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3
Gross job losses	7,856	6,803	7,944	8,289	7,326	3.1	2.7	3.1	3.2	2.9
At contracting establishments	7,084	6,230	7,203	7,711	6,828	2.8	2.5	2.8	3.0	2.7
At closing establishments	772	573	741	578	498	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
Net employment change (2)	2,112	1,545	-287	559	137	0.8	0.6	-0.1	0.3	0.1
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	5,977	6,581	5,709	5,925	5,546	5.1	5.6	4.8	5.0	4.7
At expanding establishments	4,827	5,218	4,474	4,892	4,393	4.1	4.4	3.8	4.1	3.7
At opening establishments	1,150	1,363	1,235	1,033	1,153	1.0	1.2	1.0	0.9	1.0
Gross job losses	5,805	5,180	5,447	5,025	5,378	4.9	4.4	4.6	4.2	4.5
At contracting establishments	4,513	4,255	4,353	4,111	4,230	3.8	3.6	3.7	3.4	3.5
At closing establishments	1,292	925	1,094	914	1,148	1.1	0.8	0.9	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	172	1,401	262	900	168	0.2	1.2	0.2	0.8	0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	16,021	17,819	16,272	17,806	16,282	5.4	5.9	5.4	5.9	5.3
At expanding establishments	13,995	15,818	14,201	15,423	14,099	4.7	5.2	4.7	5.1	4.6
At opening establishments	2,026	2,001	2,071	2,383	2,183	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.7
Gross job losses	18,342	13,611	17,411	15,619	16,633	6.1	4.4	5.7	5.2	5.5
At contracting establishments	16,304	12,250	15,644	13,924	14,918	5.4	4.0	5.1	4.6	4.9
At closing establishments	2,038	1,361	1,767	1,695	1,715	0.7	0.4	0.6	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-2,321	4,208	-1,139	2,187	-351	-0.7	1.5	-0.3	0.7	-0.2
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	3,820	4,628	5,167	5,554	4,219	4.6	5.6	6.2	6.6	5.0
At expanding establishments	3,338	3,967	4,676	4,956	3,305	4.0	4.8	5.6	5.9	3.9
At opening establishments	482	661	491	598	914	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.7	1.1
Gross job losses	4,630	4,126	4,446	3,889	5,151	5.6	5.0	5.3	4.6	6.0
At contracting establishments	4,001	3,463	3,628	3,271	4,441	4.8	4.2	4.3	3.9	5.2
At closing establishments	629	663	818	618	710	0.8	0.8	1.0	0.7	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-810	502	721	1,665	-932	-1.0	0.6	0.9	2.0	-1.0
Information
Gross job gains	1769	2262	1833	2274	1906	3.4	4.3	3.5	4.3	3.7
At expanding establishments	1469	1994	1503	1940	1462	2.8	3.8	2.9	3.7	2.8
At opening establishments	300	268	330	334	444	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.9
Gross job losses	1369	2426	2042	2005	1991	2.6	4.6	3.9	3.8	3.9
At contracting establishments	1114	1829	1745	1785	1700	2.1	3.5	3.3	3.4	3.3
At closing establishments	255	597	297	220	291	0.5	1.1	0.6	0.4	0.6
Net employment change (2)	400	-164	-209	269	-85	0.8	-0.3	-0.4	0.5	-0.2
Financial activities
Gross job gains	7,827	6,951	6,331	6,600	5,691	5.0	4.5	4.1	4.2	3.7
At expanding establishments	6,529	5,860	4,955	5,321	4,521	4.2	3.8	3.2	3.4	2.9
At opening establishments	1,298	1,091	1,376	1,279	1,170	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	7,288	6,655	6,284	6,944	6,700	4.7	4.3	4.0	4.4	4.3
At contracting establishments	5,776	5,076	5,197	5,469	5,334	3.7	3.3	3.3	3.5	3.4
At closing establishments	1,512	1,579	1,087	1,475	1,366	1.0	1.0	0.7	0.9	0.9
Net employment change (2)	539	296	47	-344	-1,009	0.3	0.2	0.1	-0.2	-0.6
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	23,181	24,194	23,952	26,842	21,518	6.7	7.0	6.9	7.7	6.0
At expanding establishments	18,909	19,890	19,657	21,355	17,530	5.5	5.8	5.7	6.1	4.9
At opening establishments	4,272	4,304	4,295	5,487	3,988	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.6	1.1
Gross job losses	22,258	21,356	22,687	21,899	24,529	6.5	6.2	6.5	6.2	6.9
At contracting establishments	17,858	17,492	18,460	17,375	20,584	5.2	5.1	5.3	4.9	5.8
At closing establishments	4,400	3,864	4,227	4,524	3,945	1.3	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.1
Net employment change (2)	923	2,838	1,265	4,943	-3,011	0.2	0.8	0.4	1.5	-0.9
Education and health services
Gross job gains	30,697	16,141	17,947	18,063	17,689	7.4	3.9	4.3	4.3	4.2
At expanding establishments	14,069	13,223	14,486	14,248	13,741	3.4	3.2	3.5	3.4	3.3
At opening establishments	16,628	2,918	3,461	3,815	3,948	4.0	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	15,070	17,730	16,384	16,582	17,755	3.7	4.2	3.9	4.0	4.2
At contracting establishments	13,092	14,364	12,941	13,004	14,402	3.2	3.4	3.1	3.1	3.4
At closing establishments	1,978	3,366	3,443	3,578	3,353	0.5	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	15,627	-1,589	1,563	1,481	-66	3.7	-0.3	0.4	0.3	0.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	26,036	24,615	24,930	23,535	25,068	9.3	8.7	8.8	8.3	8.8
At expanding establishments	21,078	20,380	19,746	18,957	21,053	7.5	7.2	7.0	6.7	7.4
At opening establishments	4,958	4,235	5,184	4,578	4,015	1.8	1.5	1.8	1.6	1.4
Gross job losses	21,750	23,549	25,076	23,792	21,501	7.8	8.3	9.0	8.5	7.6
At contracting establishments	18,428	20,674	21,781	20,487	17,881	6.6	7.3	7.8	7.3	6.3
At closing establishments	3,322	2,875	3,295	3,305	3,620	1.2	1.0	1.2	1.2	1.3
Net employment change (2)	4,286	1,066	-146	-257	3,567	1.5	0.4	-0.2	-0.2	1.2
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	5,405	4,829	4,648	4,312	4,754	7.7	6.9	6.6	6.2	6.8
At expanding establishments	4,516	4,004	3,791	3,491	3,905	6.4	5.7	5.4	5.0	5.6
At opening establishments	889	825	857	821	849	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2
Gross job losses	4,556	5,236	4,739	5,070	3,931	6.5	7.4	6.7	7.3	5.7
At contracting establishments	3,622	4,408	3,939	4,175	3,199	5.2	6.2	5.6	6.0	4.6
At closing establishments	934	828	800	895	732	1.3	1.2	1.1	1.3	1.1
Net employment change (2)	849	-407	-91	-758	823	1.2	-0.5	-0.1	-1.1	1.1
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.

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)
	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013	Dec. 2013	Mar. 2014	Mar. 2013	June 2013	Sept. 2013	Dec. 2013	Mar. 2014
United States(1)	6.6	6.4	6.3	6.4	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7
Alabama	6.1	6.0	5.5	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.3	5.7
Alaska	10.9	10.7	9.8	10.1	10.8	9.7	9.9	10.1	10.4	9.6
Arizona	6.1	6.2	6.4	6.7	5.7	5.8	5.9	5.5	5.4	6.0
Arkansas	5.8	5.3	5.8	6.0	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.7	5.5	5.0
California	9.1	7.0	6.9	7.3	6.8	6.1	6.5	6.2	6.3	6.1
Colorado	7.1	7.0	7.0	6.9	6.7	6.2	6.1	6.3	6.1	5.9
Connecticut	5.2	5.6	5.3	5.3	5.1	5.2	4.8	5.4	5.4	5.0
Delaware	6.5	6.5	6.6	6.6	6.3	5.8	5.8	6.0	5.8	5.9
District of Columbia	5.9	6.2	6.0	5.8	5.9	5.4	5.7	5.1	5.4	5.5
Florida	6.7	7.1	7.0	7.0	6.5	6.1	6.4	6.2	6.0	5.8
Georgia	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.8	6.5	5.8	6.1	6.0	5.8	5.6
Hawaii	5.2	5.2	5.6	5.4	4.8	4.7	5.1	4.7	4.5	5.1
Idaho	8.1	8.0	7.7	8.3	8.4	7.2	7.4	7.2	7.3	7.2
Illinois	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.4	5.3	5.7	5.3	5.5
Indiana	5.6	5.7	5.6	6.1	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.1	5.5
Iowa	5.9	6.0	5.9	6.0	5.8	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5
Kansas	5.7	6.2	6.1	6.2	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.3	5.5
Kentucky	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.5	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.5	5.4	5.9
Louisiana	7.0	6.3	6.9	6.7	6.7	6.1	6.6	6.0	6.1	5.8
Maine	6.8	8.1	7.4	7.0	6.7	7.0	6.4	7.3	7.5	7.0
Maryland	6.3	6.2	6.1	6.4	5.9	5.8	6.1	6.1	6.3	5.8
Massachusetts	6.4	6.1	5.5	5.4	5.3	5.0	5.0	5.5	5.3	5.0
Michigan	6.2	6.3	5.9	6.0	5.5	5.0	5.7	5.8	5.6	5.1
Minnesota	6.1	6.1	5.6	5.6	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.5	5.6	5.7
Mississippi	5.9	5.9	6.2	6.6	5.7	5.5	6.1	5.8	5.6	5.9
Missouri	6.5	5.9	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.6	5.3	5.7	5.5	5.5
Montana	8.2	8.0	7.7	8.2	7.2	7.6	7.9	7.6	7.5	7.9
Nebraska	6.0	6.0	6.3	6.3	5.9	5.4	5.4	5.7	5.7	5.6
Nevada	6.3	6.7	6.0	6.3	6.6	5.4	5.6	5.8	5.3	5.2
New Hampshire	6.4	6.8	6.0	6.8	5.7	6.1	5.9	6.5	5.8	5.9
New Jersey	6.5	6.5	6.2	6.4	5.9	6.0	5.7	6.2	6.4	6.2
New Mexico	6.4	6.9	6.7	6.9	6.3	6.6	6.7	6.7	6.4	6.4
New York	6.3	6.5	6.4	6.6	6.2	6.0	5.8	6.1	6.0	6.0
North Carolina	6.1	6.3	6.3	6.4	5.9	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.6
North Dakota	8.3	7.3	8.3	8.2	8.6	6.6	7.6	6.9	6.9	6.8
Ohio	6.0	6.2	5.6	6.0	5.6	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.3	5.6
Oklahoma	6.0	6.4	6.4	6.2	6.1	6.0	5.9	5.7	6.2	6.0
Oregon	7.2	7.2	7.1	6.9	7.0	6.1	6.3	6.3	6.6	6.1
Pennsylvania	5.5	5.3	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.2	4.9
Rhode Island	6.3	6.5	6.2	6.2	5.7	5.9	5.7	6.1	5.7	5.7
South Carolina	5.9	6.3	6.2	6.7	6.2	5.7	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.8
South Dakota	6.3	6.5	6.2	6.9	6.3	6.2	5.7	6.3	6.0	6.1
Tennessee	5.5	5.6	5.5	6.3	5.4	5.1	5.3	5.3	4.7	5.3
Texas	5.9	5.8	6.0	6.1	5.9	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.1
Utah	7.4	7.0	6.9	7.4	6.5	6.3	6.5	6.4	6.1	6.0
Vermont	7.0	7.4	7.1	7.6	6.7	6.9	7.7	7.4	6.6	6.8
Virginia	5.7	5.6	5.9	5.7	5.3	5.4	5.6	5.9	5.6	5.5
Washington	8.6	7.3	7.0	6.9	6.6	6.3	6.1	6.6	6.3	5.9
West Virginia	6.4	6.2	6.0	6.5	6.3	6.2	6.6	6.4	6.4	6.7
Wisconsin	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.7	5.3	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.1
Wyoming	8.8	8.6	8.4	9.4	8.4	8.7	9.1	8.2	8.1	8.0
Puerto Rico	5.7	6.0	6.1	6.6	5.1	6.3	6.0	6.6	5.2	6.4
Virgin Islands	5.7	4.9	5.7	5.5	4.9	6.5	6.8	6.5	6.0	6.1
Footnotes: (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.