From September 2014 to December 2014, gross job gains in private sector establishments in Kansas totaled 70,016, while gross job losses numbered 59,244, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 10,772, the largest amount since March 2012. During the previous quarter, gross jobs losses exceeded gross job gains by 706.

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 Kansas rose from 63,328 in September 2014 to 70,016 in December 2014, an increase of 6,688. Gross job gains in Kansas have remained above 60,000 in each quarter since June 2010. Gross job losses declined by 4,790 during the fourth quarter of 2014 after increasing in each of the three previous quarters. (See chart 1.) The 59,244 gross job losses recorded in the three months ended in December 2014 were the fourth-lowest recorded in Kansas since the series began in 1992.

 

Gross job gains represented 6.2 percent of private sector employment in Kansas in the quarter ended December 2014, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.6 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) Generally, the rate of gross job gains in Kansas has been below the U.S. rate since March 2009. Kansas’s rate of gross job losses as a percent of private sector employment was 5.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, lower than the national rate of 5.6 percent. With few exceptions, the state’s rate of gross job losses has been below the U.S. rate in each quarter since 2008.

During the fourth quarter of 2014, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all 10 published industry sectors in Kansas. For example, within professional and business services, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 3,211. While 14,767 jobs in the industry were created by opening and expanding establishments, 11,556 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the three months ended in December 2014. In transportation and warehousing, 3,247 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments while 1,940 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments. Three additional industries registered gross job gains that exceeded gross job losses by more than 1,000: manufacturing (1,258); retail trade (1,195); and education and health services (1,035). (See table 1.)

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/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2015 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 18, 2015.

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, Kansas, 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. 2013	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Dec. 2013	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	68,947	62,686	67,594	63,328	70,016	6.2	5.7	6.1	5.7	6.2
At expanding establishments	56,301	52,718	56,179	51,828	57,547	5.1	4.8	5.1	4.7	5.1
At opening establishments	12,646	9,968	11,415	11,500	12,469	1.1	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	58,995	61,041	62,628	64,034	59,244	5.3	5.5	5.7	5.8	5.3
At contracting establishments	48,550	50,063	52,017	54,187	48,720	4.4	4.5	4.7	4.9	4.4
At closing establishments	10,445	10,978	10,611	9,847	10,524	0.9	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.9
Net employment change (2)	9,952	1,645	4,966	-706	10,772	0.9	0.2	0.4	-0.1	0.9
Construction
Gross job gains	8,145	7,883	6,932	6,125	6,872	13.9	13.0	11.5	10.4	11.5
At expanding establishments	6,637	6,405	5,599	4,729	5,549	11.3	10.6	9.3	8.0	9.3
At opening establishments	1,508	1,478	1,333	1,396	1,323	2.6	2.4	2.2	2.4	2.2
Gross job losses	6,347	6,527	8,317	6,964	6,051	10.8	10.8	13.7	11.7	10.1
At contracting establishments	5,004	5,268	6,958	5,874	4,893	8.5	8.7	11.5	9.9	8.2
At closing establishments	1,343	1,259	1,359	1,090	1,158	2.3	2.1	2.2	1.8	1.9
Net employment change (2)	1,798	1,356	-1,385	-839	821	3.1	2.2	-2.2	-1.3	1.4
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,324	4,280	4,643	4,021	5,310	3.3	2.7	2.8	2.5	3.3
At expanding establishments	4,888	3,997	4,304	3,767	4,849	3.0	2.5	2.6	2.3	3.0
At opening establishments	436	283	339	254	461	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3
Gross job losses	3,923	3,930	3,914	5,097	4,052	2.4	2.4	2.4	3.1	2.5
At contracting establishments	3,509	3,702	3,552	4,699	3,624	2.1	2.3	2.2	2.9	2.2
At closing establishments	414	228	362	398	428	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.3
Net employment change (2)	1,401	350	729	-1,076	1,258	0.9	0.3	0.4	-0.6	0.8
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,532	3,683	2,957	2,927	3,182	5.8	6.0	4.9	4.8	5.2
At expanding establishments	2,792	3,134	2,365	2,277	2,522	4.6	5.1	3.9	3.7	4.1
At opening establishments	740	549	592	650	660	1.2	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.1
Gross job losses	2,760	2,824	2,768	2,698	2,640	4.5	4.7	4.5	4.4	4.3
At contracting establishments	1,956	1,998	2,136	2,033	2,112	3.2	3.3	3.5	3.3	3.4
At closing establishments	804	826	632	665	528	1.3	1.4	1.0	1.1	0.9
Net employment change (2)	772	859	189	229	542	1.3	1.3	0.4	0.4	0.9
Retail trade
Gross job gains	8,820	8,534	8,765	8,387	8,989	6.1	5.8	6.0	5.7	6.1
At expanding establishments	7,701	7,513	7,586	7,221	7,928	5.3	5.1	5.2	4.9	5.4
At opening establishments	1,119	1,021	1,179	1,166	1,061	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.7
Gross job losses	7,908	8,064	7,970	9,261	7,794	5.4	5.5	5.4	6.3	5.3
At contracting establishments	6,991	7,053	7,184	8,283	6,770	4.8	4.8	4.9	5.6	4.6
At closing establishments	917	1,011	786	978	1,024	0.6	0.7	0.5	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	912	470	795	-874	1,195	0.7	0.3	0.6	-0.6	0.8
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	3,127	2,373	2,378	2,572	3,247	7.4	5.5	5.6	6.0	7.3
At expanding establishments	2,609	2,111	2,049	2,318	2,975	6.2	4.9	4.8	5.4	6.7
At opening establishments	518	262	329	254	272	1.2	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.6
Gross job losses	2,040	2,396	2,413	1,898	1,940	4.8	5.6	5.6	4.4	4.4
At contracting establishments	1,647	2,179	2,146	1,678	1,669	3.9	5.1	5.0	3.9	3.8
At closing establishments	393	217	267	220	271	0.9	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.6
Net employment change (2)	1,087	-23	-35	674	1,307	2.6	-0.1	0.0	1.6	2.9
Financial activities
Gross job gains	3,457	3,204	3,449	3,719	3,823	4.9	4.5	4.8	5.1	5.3
At expanding establishments	2,689	2,627	2,852	3,109	2,869	3.8	3.7	4.0	4.3	4.0
At opening establishments	768	577	597	610	954	1.1	0.8	0.8	0.8	1.3
Gross job losses	3,738	3,344	3,198	3,273	3,430	5.3	4.7	4.4	4.6	4.8
At contracting establishments	2,812	2,562	2,540	2,576	2,653	4.0	3.6	3.5	3.6	3.7
At closing establishments	926	782	658	697	777	1.3	1.1	0.9	1.0	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-281	-140	251	446	393	-0.4	-0.2	0.4	0.5	0.5
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	13,768	12,014	13,635	12,860	14,767	8.3	7.2	8.1	7.6	8.6
At expanding establishments	10,729	10,008	11,311	10,131	11,679	6.5	6.0	6.7	6.0	6.8
At opening establishments	3,039	2,006	2,324	2,729	3,088	1.8	1.2	1.4	1.6	1.8
Gross job losses	11,705	11,952	12,372	12,123	11,556	7.0	7.1	7.4	7.1	6.7
At contracting establishments	9,678	9,370	9,424	9,944	9,264	5.8	5.6	5.6	5.8	5.4
At closing establishments	2,027	2,582	2,948	2,179	2,292	1.2	1.5	1.8	1.3	1.3
Net employment change (2)	2,063	62	1,263	737	3,211	1.3	0.1	0.7	0.5	1.9
Education and health services
Gross job gains	7,378	6,193	8,645	7,083	7,621	4.1	3.3	4.7	3.9	4.1
At expanding establishments	6,487	5,390	6,993	6,215	6,315	3.6	2.9	3.8	3.4	3.4
At opening establishments	891	803	1,652	868	1,306	0.5	0.4	0.9	0.5	0.7
Gross job losses	6,175	7,805	6,322	6,749	6,586	3.4	4.3	3.4	3.6	3.5
At contracting establishments	5,274	6,517	5,216	5,610	5,453	2.9	3.6	2.8	3.0	2.9
At closing establishments	901	1,288	1,106	1,139	1,133	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	1,203	-1,612	2,323	334	1,035	0.7	-1.0	1.3	0.3	0.6
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	9,566	9,610	10,893	10,129	10,087	7.9	7.8	8.9	8.3	8.2
At expanding establishments	7,028	7,756	8,832	7,552	7,787	5.8	6.3	7.2	6.2	6.3
At opening establishments	2,538	1,854	2,061	2,577	2,300	2.1	1.5	1.7	2.1	1.9
Gross job losses	9,733	8,650	10,104	10,512	9,434	8.0	7.1	8.2	8.5	7.7
At contracting establishments	7,865	6,925	8,383	8,887	7,633	6.5	5.7	6.8	7.2	6.2
At closing establishments	1,868	1,725	1,721	1,625	1,801	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.5
Net employment change (2)	-167	960	789	-383	653	-0.1	0.7	0.7	-0.2	0.5
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	2,579	2,334	2,431	2,754	2,677	7.9	7.1	7.5	8.4	8.1
At expanding establishments	1,939	1,683	1,925	2,091	2,084	5.9	5.1	5.9	6.4	6.3
At opening establishments	640	651	506	663	593	2.0	2.0	1.6	2.0	1.8
Gross job losses	2,144	2,569	2,613	2,355	2,533	6.5	7.8	8.0	7.2	7.7
At contracting establishments	1,708	1,909	2,112	1,866	1,883	5.2	5.8	6.5	5.7	5.7
At closing establishments	436	660	501	489	650	1.3	2.0	1.5	1.5	2.0
Net employment change (2)	435	-235	-182	399	144	1.4	-0.7	-0.5	1.2	0.4
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

Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Dec. 2013	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Dec. 2013	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014
United States (1)	6.4	6.0	6.5	6.2	6.6	5.8	5.7	5.6	5.8	5.6
Alabama	6.0	5.6	5.9	5.9	6.0	5.3	5.7	5.5	5.4	5.2
Alaska	10.1	10.8	10.9	9.4	10.5	10.4	9.6	10.9	10.4	10.3
Arizona	6.7	5.7	6.0	6.4	7.0	5.4	6.0	6.0	5.4	5.2
Arkansas	6.0	5.8	5.6	5.9	6.5	5.5	5.0	4.9	5.3	4.9
California	7.3	6.8	7.0	7.0	7.3	6.3	6.1	6.4	6.0	6.5
Colorado	6.9	6.7	7.3	7.3	7.0	6.1	5.9	6.1	6.2	6.1
Connecticut	5.3	5.1	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.4	5.0	4.8	5.3	5.1
Delaware	6.6	6.3	6.5	6.0	7.0	5.8	5.9	5.2	6.1	5.4
District of Columbia	5.8	5.9	6.4	5.7	5.3	5.4	5.5	5.7	5.5	5.5
Florida	7.0	6.5	7.2	7.2	7.1	6.0	5.8	6.2	5.9	6.0
Georgia	6.8	6.5	6.8	6.8	7.0	5.8	5.6	5.9	5.9	5.6
Hawaii	5.4	4.8	4.9	5.2	5.2	4.5	5.1	5.1	4.7	4.4
Idaho	8.3	8.4	7.7	7.5	7.9	7.3	7.2	8.0	7.3	6.5
Illinois	5.8	5.8	6.1	5.7	6.2	5.3	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.5
Indiana	6.1	5.3	5.9	5.3	6.3	5.1	5.5	5.0	5.3	5.0
Iowa	6.0	5.8	6.2	5.7	6.1	5.5	5.5	5.7	5.7	5.6
Kansas	6.2	5.7	6.1	5.7	6.2	5.3	5.5	5.7	5.8	5.3
Kentucky	6.5	6.1	6.2	6.1	6.6	5.4	5.9	5.5	5.4	5.3
Louisiana	6.7	6.7	6.6	6.6	6.8	6.1	5.8	6.4	5.8	5.8
Maine	7.0	6.7	7.8	6.7	7.1	7.5	7.0	6.5	7.1	7.2
Maryland	6.4	5.9	6.6	6.5	6.6	6.3	5.8	5.8	6.2	6.2
Massachusetts	5.4	5.3	6.3	5.6	6.0	5.3	5.0	5.3	5.5	5.3
Michigan	6.0	5.5	6.4	5.5	6.2	5.6	5.1	5.4	5.8	5.2
Minnesota	5.6	5.3	6.5	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.7	5.1	5.9	5.4
Mississippi	6.6	5.7	6.1	6.2	6.8	5.6	5.9	6.7	6.0	5.2
Missouri	6.0	5.6	6.0	5.6	6.3	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.6	5.1
Montana	8.2	7.2	8.2	8.0	8.5	7.5	7.9	7.7	8.1	8.0
Nebraska	6.3	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.2	5.7	5.6	6.0	5.7	5.6
Nevada	6.3	6.6	6.7	6.6	6.6	5.3	5.2	5.6	5.5	5.3
New Hampshire	6.8	5.7	6.7	5.9	6.9	5.8	5.9	6.1	6.3	6.0
New Jersey	6.4	5.9	6.9	6.3	6.9	6.4	6.2	5.8	6.3	6.1
New Mexico	6.9	6.3	6.6	6.5	7.0	6.4	6.4	6.1	6.1	6.0
New York	6.6	6.2	6.6	6.4	6.5	6.0	6.0	5.7	6.0	5.8
North Carolina	6.4	5.9	6.4	6.1	6.5	5.7	5.6	5.5	5.8	5.4
North Dakota	8.2	8.6	7.6	8.2	8.7	6.9	6.8	7.0	6.7	6.7
Ohio	6.0	5.6	6.1	5.5	6.1	5.3	5.6	5.3	5.5	5.1
Oklahoma	6.2	6.1	6.2	6.1	6.7	6.2	6.0	6.1	5.5	5.5
Oregon	6.9	7.0	6.9	7.0	7.1	6.6	6.1	6.4	6.0	6.3
Pennsylvania	5.4	5.2	5.6	5.2	5.6	5.2	4.9	4.8	5.1	4.8
Rhode Island	6.2	5.7	6.5	5.9	6.4	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.8	5.6
South Carolina	6.7	6.2	6.5	6.1	6.8	5.5	5.8	5.7	5.8	5.0
South Dakota	6.9	6.3	6.4	6.2	6.3	6.0	6.1	6.0	6.0	5.8
Tennessee	6.3	5.4	5.6	5.7	6.3	4.7	5.3	5.0	5.0	4.7
Texas	6.1	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.4	5.3	5.1	4.9	5.1	4.9
Utah	7.4	6.5	7.0	7.1	7.1	6.1	6.0	6.6	6.0	5.8
Vermont	7.6	6.7	7.4	6.8	7.5	6.6	6.8	6.9	7.2	6.7
Virginia	5.7	5.3	6.2	5.6	5.8	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.5
Washington	6.9	6.6	7.3	7.0	7.1	6.3	5.9	5.5	6.0	5.9
West Virginia	6.5	6.3	6.6	6.1	6.6	6.4	6.7	6.4	6.6	6.0
Wisconsin	5.7	5.3	5.9	5.3	5.7	5.2	5.1	5.0	5.6	5.1
Wyoming	9.4	8.4	8.7	8.3	9.2	8.1	8.0	8.2	8.4	8.1
Puerto Rico	6.6	5.1	5.6	5.6	6.5	5.2	6.4	6.3	5.9	5.0
Virgin Islands	5.5	4.9	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.0	6.1	6.4	5.5	5.5
Footnotes: (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.