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News Release Information

18-1899-KAN
Friday, December 14, 2018

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

Business Employment Dynamics in Missouri – First Quarter 2018

From December 2017 to March 2018, gross job gains in private sector establishments in Missouri totaled 128,761, while gross job losses numbered 122,569, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 6,192. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that during the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 4,994.

Chart 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses in Missouri, March 2013 - March 2018

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 decreased by 5,430 in the three months ended in March 2018 and were at their lowest level since March 2015. The number of gross job losses also declined, down 6,628 from December 2017 to March 2018. Gross job gains have exceeded gross job losses for 14 consecutive quarters. (See chart 1.)

Chart 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment, United States and Missouri, March 2013 - March 2018, seasonally adjusted

Gross job gains represented 5.4 percent of private sector employment in Missouri in the quarter ended March 2018, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.0 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.)  Missouri’s rate of gross job losses as a percent of private sector employment was 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018, lower than the national rate of 5.4 percent. Generally, the state’s rates of gross job gains and gross job losses have been equal to or below the U.S. rate in each quarter since the series began in 1992.

During the first quarter of 2018, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 9 of the 11 industry sectors in Missouri. For example, within leisure and hospitality, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,522. While 24,613 jobs in the industry were created by opening and expanding establishments, 22,091 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the three months ended in March 2018. Manufacturing experienced a net gain of 1,331 jobs. The professional and businesses services industry had a net gain of 1,304 jobs.  (See table 1.)

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 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 30, 2019.

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.


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, Missouri, 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.
2017
June
2017
Sept
2017
Dec.
2017
Mar.
2018
Mar.
2017
June
2017
Sept
2017
Dec.
2017
Mar.
2018

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

138,795134,103140,341134,191128,7615.95.65.95.75.4

At expanding establishments

111,511109,648112,171110,578104,6714.74.64.74.74.4

At opening establishments

27,28424,45528,17023,61324,0901.21.01.21.01.0

Gross job losses

117,736133,913139,943129,197122,5695.05.65.95.55.2

At contracting establishments

100,716109,255111,104101,795101,5964.34.64.74.34.3

At closing establishments

17,02024,65828,83927,40220,9730.71.01.21.20.9

Net employment change (2)

21,0591903984,9946,1920.90.00.00.20.2

Construction

Gross job gains

11,87811,05410,97911,99811,5859.58.99.09.79.3

At expanding establishments

9,4819,1058,8989,9739,1427.67.37.38.17.3

At opening establishments

2,3971,9492,0812,0252,4431.91.61.71.62.0

Gross job losses

11,29311,04011,71010,85711,1149.18.99.58.88.9

At contracting establishments

9,5328,9039,0058,6649,0007.77.27.37.07.2

At closing establishments

1,7612,1372,7052,1932,1141.41.72.21.81.7

Net employment change (2)

58514-7311,1414710.40.0-0.50.90.4

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

7,0308,5787,4517,6007,8332.63.22.82.92.9

At expanding establishments

6,4918,0726,9097,0877,2922.43.02.62.72.7

At opening establishments

5395065425135410.20.20.20.20.2

Gross job losses

7,0697,1327,4727,2106,5022.62.72.82.72.4

At contracting establishments

6,4176,4166,6806,5265,9162.42.42.52.42.2

At closing establishments

6527167926845860.20.30.30.30.2

Net employment change (2)

-391,446-213901,3310.00.50.00.20.5

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

5,6555,4015,8255,8044,9274.74.44.84.84.1

At expanding establishments

4,6384,5154,8894,8784,1353.93.74.04.03.4

At opening establishments

1,0178869369267920.80.70.80.80.7

Gross job losses

4,4894,7595,8775,2154,8813.73.94.84.34.0

At contracting establishments

3,5403,6294,4173,8904,0072.93.03.63.23.3

At closing establishments

9491,1301,4601,3258740.80.91.21.10.7

Net employment change (2)

1,166642-52589461.00.50.00.50.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains

18,86516,79016,09816,65216,9006.05.35.25.35.3

At expanding establishments

16,14714,56214,01114,49914,5615.14.64.54.64.6

At opening establishments

2,7182,2282,0872,1532,3390.90.70.70.70.7

Gross job losses

16,91518,58418,39016,56116,0155.45.95.85.35.1

At contracting establishments

15,08116,09415,73114,08114,2424.85.15.04.54.5

At closing establishments

1,8342,4902,6592,4801,7730.60.80.80.80.6

Net employment change (2)

1,950-1,794-2,292918850.6-0.6-0.60.00.2

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

6,4014,3674,8996,3925,6137.04.85.37.06.1

At expanding establishments

5,7733,6524,0625,3894,8076.34.04.45.95.2

At opening establishments

6287158371,0038060.70.80.91.10.9

Gross job losses

5,7215,2704,8724,9515,3666.25.75.35.45.8

At contracting establishments

5,2384,3433,8764,0734,8085.74.74.24.45.2

At closing establishments

4839279968785580.51.01.11.00.6

Net employment change (2)

680-903271,4412470.8-0.90.01.60.3

Information

Gross job gains

2,5142,4852,5161,8582,0795.35.15.23.94.4

At expanding establishments

1,9532,2232,0571,4711,7044.14.64.33.13.6

At opening establishments

5612624593873751.20.50.90.80.8

Gross job losses

1,7412,7402,5722,3871,9913.75.65.35.04.1

At contracting establishments

1,4262,4422,0451,8311,6913.05.04.23.83.5

At closing establishments

3152985275563000.70.61.11.20.6

Net employment change (2)

773-255-56-529881.6-0.5-0.1-1.10.3

Financial activities

Gross job gains

7,2417,4056,9786,9546,5194.54.54.24.34.0

At expanding establishments

5,8355,8675,4575,6495,1233.63.63.33.53.1

At opening establishments

1,4061,5381,5211,3051,3960.90.90.90.80.9

Gross job losses

5,7066,2287,6847,2216,5553.53.84.74.44.1

At contracting establishments

4,6804,8195,5665,7685,3322.92.93.43.53.3

At closing establishments

1,0261,4092,1181,4531,2230.60.91.30.90.8

Net employment change (2)

1,5351,177-706-267-361.00.7-0.5-0.1-0.1

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

23,13424,66228,66723,19723,5106.16.57.46.16.1

At expanding establishments

18,30519,79322,83718,75019,3804.85.25.94.95.0

At opening establishments

4,8294,8695,8304,4474,1301.31.31.51.21.1

Gross job losses

21,29522,82825,26425,33522,4765.66.06.66.65.9

At contracting establishments

17,92817,66819,39519,85418,2434.74.65.15.24.8

At closing establishments

3,3675,1605,8695,4814,2330.91.41.51.41.1

Net employment change (2)

1,8391,8343,403-2,1381,0340.50.50.8-0.50.2

Education and health services

Gross job gains

20,50920,32121,75220,32418,5854.64.54.84.54.1

At expanding establishments

14,09414,50715,92115,47713,6213.23.23.53.43.0

At opening establishments

6,4155,8145,8314,8474,9641.41.31.31.11.1

Gross job losses

16,79619,48319,12618,74918,9393.84.44.34.14.2

At contracting establishments

13,70914,25113,29911,80313,7053.13.23.02.63.0

At closing establishments

3,0875,2325,8276,9465,2340.71.21.31.51.2

Net employment change (2)

3,7138382,6261,575-3540.80.10.50.4-0.1

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

28,68025,53928,30726,12624,6139.58.49.48.68.0

At expanding establishments

23,34621,40322,02621,50619,7507.77.07.37.16.4

At opening establishments

5,3344,1366,2814,6204,8631.81.42.11.51.6

Gross job losses

20,48129,25529,38224,06422,0916.79.59.77.97.2

At contracting establishments

18,07225,47525,30520,20019,3185.98.38.46.66.3

At closing establishments

2,4093,7804,0773,8642,7730.81.21.31.30.9

Net employment change (2)

8,199-3,716-1,0752,0622,5222.8-1.1-0.30.70.8

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

5,0695,8705,2164,9455,0257.08.07.26.86.9

At expanding establishments

3,9144,5293,8453,8413,8675.46.25.35.35.3

At opening establishments

1,1551,3411,3711,1041,1581.61.81.91.51.6

Gross job losses

4,7294,9885,8835,1994,7696.56.98.17.26.5

At contracting establishments

3,7673,8524,3713,9013,7185.25.36.05.45.1

At closing establishments

9621,1361,5121,2981,0511.31.62.11.81.4

Net employment change (2)

340882-667-2542560.51.1-0.9-0.40.4

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, December 14, 2018