From December 2014 to March 2015, gross job gains in private sector establishments in Missouri totaled 127,642, while gross job losses numbered 122,952, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 4,690. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that during the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 26,230.

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.)

Gross job gains in Missouri declined by 15,057 from December 2014 to March 2015. Even with the decrease in this quarter, the number of gross job gains has exceeded the number of gross job losses in 18 of the past 20 quarters. The number of gross job losses was 6,483 higher in the three months ended in March 2015 compared to the prior quarter when the series low was recorded. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 5.6 percent of private sector employment in Missouri in the quarter ended March 2015, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 5.9 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) With few exceptions, the rate of gross job gains in Missouri has been the same as or below the U.S. rate since the series began in 1992. Missouri’s rate of gross job losses as a percent of private sector employment was 5.4 percent in the first quarter of 2015, lower than the national rate of 5.7 percent. Generally, the state’s rate of gross job losses has also been the same as or below the U.S. rate in each quarter since 1992.

During the first quarter of 2015, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in six industry sectors in Missouri. For example, within education and health services, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,810. While 18,418 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments, 16,608 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the industry in the three months ended in March 2015. In leisure and hospitality, 23,616 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments while 22,076 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by more than 100 in three industry sectors in the first quarter of 2015–retail trade, transportation and warehousing, and construction.

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 2015 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 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. 2014	Jun. 2014	Sep. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	Mar. 2014	Jun. 2014	Sep. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	125,153	134,758	126,076	142,699	127,642	5.6	6.0	5.7	6.3	5.6
At expanding establishments	103,478	113,094	104,587	118,080	106,223	4.6	5.0	4.7	5.2	4.7
At opening establishments	21,675	21,664	21,489	24,619	21,419	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	123,829	119,955	126,568	116,469	122,952	5.6	5.3	5.7	5.1	5.4
At contracting establishments	104,157	101,259	106,862	97,543	102,847	4.7	4.5	4.8	4.3	4.5
At closing establishments	19,672	18,696	19,706	18,926	20,105	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	1,324	14,803	-492	26,230	4,690	0.0	0.7	0.0	1.2	0.2
Construction
Gross job gains	12,697	11,816	11,827	12,347	11,319	11.6	10.7	10.7	11.1	10.0
At expanding establishments	10,592	9,862	9,938	10,152	9,415	9.7	8.9	9.0	9.1	8.3
At opening establishments	2,105	1,954	1,889	2,195	1,904	1.9	1.8	1.7	2.0	1.7
Gross job losses	10,571	12,680	11,068	10,942	11,823	9.6	11.5	10.1	9.8	10.4
At contracting establishments	8,690	10,407	9,229	9,034	9,546	7.9	9.4	8.4	8.1	8.4
At closing establishments	1,881	2,273	1,839	1,908	2,277	1.7	2.1	1.7	1.7	2.0
Net employment change (2)	2,126	-864	759	1,405	-504	2.0	-0.8	0.6	1.3	-0.4
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	7,523	8,939	7,477	8,889	7,851	3.0	3.5	2.9	3.5	3.0
At expanding establishments	6,821	8,445	7,041	8,417	7,506	2.7	3.3	2.7	3.3	2.9
At opening establishments	702	494	436	472	345	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1
Gross job losses	7,453	6,320	6,912	7,589	6,977	2.9	2.5	2.7	3.0	2.7
At contracting establishments	6,942	5,800	6,264	6,902	6,325	2.7	2.3	2.4	2.7	2.4
At closing establishments	511	520	648	687	652	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3
Net employment change (2)	70	2,619	565	1,300	874	0.1	1.0	0.2	0.5	0.3
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	5,571	6,167	5,254	5,847	5,761	4.7	5.1	4.4	4.8	4.8
At expanding establishments	4,419	5,101	4,329	4,799	4,752	3.7	4.2	3.6	3.9	4.0
At opening establishments	1,152	1,066	925	1,048	1,009	1.0	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	5,435	5,016	5,193	5,339	5,535	4.5	4.1	4.3	4.4	4.6
At contracting establishments	4,235	3,871	4,351	4,383	4,350	3.5	3.2	3.6	3.6	3.6
At closing establishments	1,200	1,145	842	956	1,185	1.0	0.9	0.7	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	136	1,151	61	508	226	0.2	1.0	0.1	0.4	0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	16,255	18,425	15,516	17,379	16,545	5.3	6.0	5.1	5.6	5.4
At expanding establishments	14,056	16,336	13,173	15,716	14,479	4.6	5.3	4.3	5.1	4.7
At opening establishments	2,199	2,089	2,343	1,663	2,066	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.5	0.7
Gross job losses	16,739	14,653	17,807	15,305	16,660	5.5	4.8	5.8	5.0	5.3
At contracting establishments	15,014	12,803	16,076	13,796	14,379	4.9	4.2	5.2	4.5	4.6
At closing establishments	1,725	1,850	1,731	1,509	2,281	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-484	3,772	-2,291	2,074	-115	-0.2	1.2	-0.7	0.6	0.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,223	4,955	4,323	5,838	5,232	5.0	5.9	5.0	6.8	5.9
At expanding establishments	3,382	4,292	3,694	5,318	4,421	4.0	5.1	4.3	6.2	5.0
At opening establishments	841	663	629	520	811	1.0	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.9
Gross job losses	5,115	4,200	3,884	3,473	5,384	6.0	4.9	4.6	4.0	6.1
At contracting establishments	4,411	3,769	3,324	2,938	4,732	5.2	4.4	3.9	3.4	5.4
At closing establishments	704	431	560	535	652	0.8	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-892	755	439	2,365	-152	-1.0	1.0	0.4	2.8	-0.2
Information
Gross job gains	1,921	2,264	2,177	2,064	1,664	3.7	4.4	4.1	4.0	3.4
At expanding establishments	1,476	2,124	1,792	1,666	1,422	2.8	4.1	3.4	3.2	2.9
At opening establishments	445	140	385	398	242	0.9	0.3	0.7	0.8	0.5
Gross job losses	2,021	1,872	2,049	2,301	1,669	3.9	3.6	3.9	4.4	3.3
At contracting establishments	1,729	1,670	1,813	1,861	1,453	3.3	3.2	3.5	3.6	2.9
At closing establishments	292	202	236	440	216	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.8	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-100	392	128	-237	-5	-0.2	0.8	0.2	-0.4	0.1
Financial activities
Gross job gains	5,729	6,318	6,259	7,209	6,825	3.7	4.1	4.1	4.6	4.3
At expanding establishments	4,553	5,151	5,059	5,759	5,387	2.9	3.3	3.3	3.7	3.4
At opening establishments	1,176	1,167	1,200	1,450	1,438	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	6,732	5,509	6,201	6,260	6,415	4.4	3.6	4.0	4.0	4.1
At contracting establishments	5,375	4,588	4,924	4,960	5,264	3.5	3.0	3.2	3.2	3.4
At closing establishments	1,357	921	1,277	1,300	1,151	0.9	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-1,003	809	58	949	410	-0.7	0.5	0.1	0.6	0.2
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	21,946	24,848	26,454	29,676	23,356	6.2	7.0	7.4	8.2	6.4
At expanding establishments	17,852	20,228	21,830	23,784	19,312	5.0	5.7	6.1	6.6	5.3
At opening establishments	4,094	4,620	4,624	5,892	4,044	1.2	1.3	1.3	1.6	1.1
Gross job losses	24,261	21,108	24,256	21,415	23,358	6.8	5.9	6.8	5.9	6.4
At contracting establishments	20,366	17,093	19,894	16,915	19,078	5.7	4.8	5.6	4.7	5.2
At closing establishments	3,895	4,015	4,362	4,500	4,280	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-2,315	3,740	2,198	8,261	-2	-0.6	1.1	0.6	2.3	0.0
Education and health services
Gross job gains	17,715	18,164	19,150	19,021	18,418	4.2	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.3
At expanding establishments	13,786	14,405	15,190	14,433	14,050	3.3	3.5	3.6	3.4	3.3
At opening establishments	3,929	3,759	3,960	4,588	4,368	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	17,858	17,418	17,450	14,846	16,608	4.2	4.2	4.2	3.5	3.9
At contracting establishments	14,429	14,245	13,395	12,116	13,369	3.4	3.4	3.2	2.9	3.1
At closing establishments	3,429	3,173	4,055	2,730	3,239	0.8	0.8	1.0	0.6	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-143	746	1,700	4,175	1,810	0.0	0.2	0.3	1.0	0.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	25,243	25,749	21,042	28,321	23,616	8.8	9.0	7.4	9.8	8.1
At expanding establishments	21,203	21,160	17,145	23,043	19,653	7.4	7.4	6.0	8.0	6.7
At opening establishments	4,040	4,589	3,897	5,278	3,963	1.4	1.6	1.4	1.8	1.4
Gross job losses	21,904	24,882	25,018	22,661	22,076	7.7	8.7	8.8	7.9	7.5
At contracting establishments	18,127	21,751	21,843	19,254	19,079	6.4	7.6	7.7	6.7	6.5
At closing establishments	3,777	3,131	3,175	3,407	2,997	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.0
Net employment change (2)	3,339	867	-3,976	5,660	1,540	1.1	0.3	-1.4	1.9	0.6
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	4,748	5,132	4,936	4,477	5,333	6.8	7.3	7.0	6.3	7.6
At expanding establishments	3,897	4,223	3,974	3,613	4,304	5.6	6.0	5.6	5.1	6.1
At opening establishments	851	909	962	864	1,029	1.2	1.3	1.4	1.2	1.5
Gross job losses	3,957	4,662	5,105	4,699	4,567	5.6	6.7	7.2	6.7	6.4
At contracting establishments	3,231	3,780	4,257	3,869	3,633	4.6	5.4	6.0	5.5	5.1
At closing establishments	726	882	848	830	934	1.0	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.3
Net employment change (2)	791	470	-169	-222	766	1.2	0.6	-0.2	-0.4	1.2
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. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015
United States (1)	6.1	6.5	6.3	6.6	5.9	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7
Alabama	5.7	5.9	5.9	6.0	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.4
Alaska	10.8	10.8	9.5	10.6	10.4	9.7	11.0	10.4	10.4	9.2
Arizona	5.9	6.0	6.4	7.0	6.0	5.9	6.0	5.5	5.3	5.7
Arkansas	5.9	5.6	6.0	6.6	5.4	5.1	5.4	5.5	5.1	5.7
California	6.9	7.0	7.1	7.4	6.8	6.2	6.5	6.2	6.4	6.2
Colorado	6.8	7.2	7.3	7.0	6.9	5.9	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1
Connecticut	5.1	5.7	5.2	5.4	4.8	5.0	4.9	5.3	5.2	5.1
Delaware	6.3	6.6	6.3	7.0	5.7	5.9	5.2	6.2	5.4	7.3
District of Columbia	5.9	6.3	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.6	5.4	5.3	5.4
Florida	6.5	7.2	7.3	7.1	6.3	5.8	6.2	6.1	6.0	5.6
Georgia	6.6	6.9	6.8	6.9	6.2	5.6	6.0	5.9	5.5	5.6
Hawaii	4.9	5.0	5.3	5.2	4.9	5.1	5.0	4.5	4.4	4.8
Idaho	8.4	7.7	7.5	8.0	9.1	7.2	7.9	7.3	7.0	7.0
Illinois	5.8	6.2	5.7	6.2	5.8	5.4	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.7
Indiana	5.3	5.9	5.4	6.3	5.3	5.6	5.0	5.3	5.0	5.3
Iowa	5.8	6.1	5.8	6.1	5.9	5.5	5.7	5.8	5.6	5.4
Kansas	5.7	6.1	5.7	6.2	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.8	5.4	5.8
Kentucky	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.6	5.5	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.3	6.0
Louisiana	6.8	6.6	6.8	6.8	6.1	5.9	6.5	5.9	5.8	6.7
Maine	6.8	7.8	6.7	7.2	6.5	7.1	6.5	7.0	7.2	7.0
Maryland	6.0	6.6	6.5	6.7	5.9	5.8	5.8	6.3	6.2	6.2
Massachusetts	5.5	6.3	5.7	6.0	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.5	5.2	5.4
Michigan	5.4	6.4	5.4	6.2	5.2	5.1	5.4	5.7	5.2	5.1
Minnesota	5.2	6.5	5.6	5.8	5.6	5.6	5.1	5.7	5.4	5.2
Mississippi	5.8	6.2	6.2	6.9	5.5	6.0	6.6	6.0	5.4	6.4
Missouri	5.6	6.0	5.7	6.3	5.6	5.6	5.3	5.7	5.1	5.4
Montana	7.3	8.2	8.1	8.5	9.1	8.0	7.7	8.1	8.0	7.2
Nebraska	5.8	6.1	6.0	6.2	6.1	5.6	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.6
Nevada	6.6	6.7	6.6	6.6	6.3	5.4	5.7	5.7	5.3	5.3
New Hampshire	5.9	6.9	5.9	6.9	5.7	5.9	6.1	6.3	6.0	5.7
New Jersey	6.0	7.0	6.3	6.9	5.8	6.3	5.9	6.4	6.2	6.0
New Mexico	6.5	6.8	6.6	7.2	6.4	6.5	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.5
New York	6.2	6.7	6.4	6.6	5.9	6.0	5.8	6.0	5.8	5.9
North Carolina	6.0	6.4	6.2	6.5	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.7
North Dakota	8.7	7.6	8.2	8.7	7.1	6.7	7.0	6.9	6.7	8.7
Ohio	5.6	6.1	5.5	6.1	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.5	5.1	5.6
Oklahoma	6.2	6.3	6.2	6.7	5.7	5.7	6.0	5.6	5.5	6.1
Oregon	7.0	6.9	7.0	7.1	6.9	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.3	5.7
Pennsylvania	5.2	5.6	5.2	5.6	4.9	4.9	4.8	5.1	4.9	5.2
Rhode Island	5.7	6.5	5.9	6.4	5.3	5.7	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.8
South Carolina	6.2	6.4	6.0	6.8	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.0	5.5
South Dakota	6.5	6.4	6.2	6.3	6.3	6.1	6.0	5.9	5.8	5.7
Tennessee	5.5	5.7	5.7	6.2	5.2	5.3	5.1	5.0	4.8	5.2
Texas	5.9	6.0	6.1	6.4	5.8	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.0	5.7
Utah	6.5	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.3	6.0	6.7	6.0	5.8	5.9
Vermont	6.9	7.3	6.9	7.5	6.8	6.8	6.9	7.3	6.7	6.8
Virginia	5.4	6.2	5.6	5.8	6.0	5.5	5.7	5.8	5.5	5.6
Washington	6.9	7.4	7.1	6.9	6.7	6.0	6.4	6.2	6.1	5.6
West Virginia	6.5	6.6	6.2	6.6	6.0	6.7	6.4	6.5	6.0	6.7
Wisconsin	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.8	5.4	5.1	5.0	5.6	5.2	5.1
Wyoming	8.6	8.7	8.3	9.3	8.9	8.1	8.3	8.5	8.0	8.9
Puerto Rico	5.3	5.5	5.6	6.4	5.3	6.5	6.3	6.0	4.9	6.4
Virgin Islands	5.0	6.2	6.6	6.2	5.5	6.0	6.3	5.6	5.6	5.9
Footnotes: (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.