From March 2019 to June 2019 gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Colorado totaled 161,898, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments numbered 142,841, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 19,057. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that gross jobs gains have exceeded gross job losses in each quarter since the second quarter of 2010, with the exception of the third quarter of 2018 when losses exceeded gains by 2,666.

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. 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 the second quarter of 2019 were at their highest level since the first quarter of 2001 when gross job gains numbered 162,295. Colorado’s employment gains have remained above 140,000 each quarter for the most recent 5 years. Gross job losses declined in the second quarter of 2019. Job losses peaked in the fourth quarter of 2001, when more than 170,000 jobs were lost. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 7.0 percent of private-sector employment in Colorado in the second quarter of 2019, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.0 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Since the series began in September 1992, the rate of gross job gains in Colorado has been above the U.S. rate each quarter.

During the second quarter of 2019, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in nine industry sectors in Colorado. For example, within professional and business services, gross job gains exceeded gross jobs losses by 6,112. While almost 29,000 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the industry, more than 35,000 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments. In leisure and hospitality, more than 34,000 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments and approximately 29,000 jobs lost in closing and contracting establishments. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in two industry sectors. Within retail trade, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,675. In manufacturing, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by less than 500.

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 release for third quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 29, 2020.

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). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by unemployment insurance (UI) laws and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW and form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame.

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 units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.

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 units 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 units 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 units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions.  These are units 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, Colorado, 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)
	June 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	June 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	153,001	149,713	155,491	150,523	161,898	6.8	6.6	6.8	6.6	7.0
At expanding establishments	125,127	120,080	123,227	118,702	129,733	5.6	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.6
At opening establishments	27,874	29,633	32,264	31,821	32,165	1.2	1.3	1.4	1.4	1.4
Gross job losses	137,876	152,379	137,868	143,527	142,841	6.1	6.8	6.0	6.3	6.2
At contracting establishments	110,514	121,909	109,792	115,707	113,148	4.9	5.4	4.8	5.1	4.9
At closing establishments	27,362	30,470	28,076	27,820	29,693	1.2	1.4	1.2	1.2	1.3
Net employment change (2)	15,125	-2,666	17,623	6,996	19,057	0.7	-0.2	0.8	0.3	0.8
Construction
Gross job gains	14,277	14,689	15,116	15,436	15,202	8.2	8.6	8.6	8.6	8.5
At expanding establishments	11,453	11,296	11,595	12,563	12,391	6.6	6.6	6.6	7.0	6.9
At opening establishments	2,824	3,393	3,521	2,873	2,811	1.6	2.0	2.0	1.6	1.6
Gross job losses	14,004	14,731	13,032	13,861	14,725	8.1	8.6	7.5	7.8	8.2
At contracting establishments	10,914	11,662	10,140	11,001	11,772	6.3	6.8	5.8	6.2	6.6
At closing establishments	3,090	3,069	2,892	2,860	2,953	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.6	1.6
Net employment change (2)	273	-42	2,084	1,575	477	0.1	0.0	1.1	0.8	0.3
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,653	5,317	5,863	5,798	5,405	3.8	3.6	4.0	3.9	3.6
At expanding establishments	5,147	4,592	5,194	5,211	4,811	3.5	3.1	3.5	3.5	3.2
At opening establishments	506	725	669	587	594	0.3	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.4
Gross job losses	4,836	5,651	4,985	4,533	5,892	3.2	3.8	3.3	3.1	3.9
At contracting establishments	4,048	4,728	4,051	4,008	5,015	2.7	3.2	2.7	2.7	3.3
At closing establishments	788	923	934	525	877	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.4	0.6
Net employment change (2)	817	-334	878	1,265	-487	0.6	-0.2	0.7	0.8	-0.3
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	5,405	5,446	5,347	5,030	5,396	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.6	5.0
At expanding establishments	4,437	4,364	4,305	4,067	4,344	4.1	4.0	4.0	3.7	4.0
At opening establishments	968	1,082	1,042	963	1,052	0.9	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.0
Gross job losses	4,817	5,201	4,719	4,466	4,820	4.4	4.8	4.4	4.1	4.4
At contracting establishments	3,477	3,857	3,569	3,425	3,581	3.2	3.6	3.3	3.1	3.3
At closing establishments	1,340	1,344	1,150	1,041	1,239	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.1
Net employment change (2)	588	245	628	564	576	0.6	0.2	0.6	0.5	0.6
Retail trade
Gross job gains	16,406	17,024	15,864	17,316	15,921	6.0	6.2	5.9	6.3	5.8
At expanding establishments	13,770	15,153	13,503	14,996	13,973	5.0	5.5	5.0	5.5	5.1
At opening establishments	2,636	1,871	2,361	2,320	1,948	1.0	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.7
Gross job losses	16,598	18,615	15,930	15,630	17,596	6.0	6.8	5.9	5.7	6.4
At contracting establishments	14,653	15,817	13,804	13,527	15,058	5.3	5.8	5.1	4.9	5.5
At closing establishments	1,945	2,798	2,126	2,103	2,538	0.7	1.0	0.8	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-192	-1,591	-66	1,686	-1,675	0.0	-0.6	0.0	0.6	-0.6
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,689	6,180	6,014	4,709	5,174	6.1	7.9	7.5	5.8	6.3
At expanding establishments	4,061	4,083	5,401	4,229	4,264	5.3	5.2	6.7	5.2	5.2
At opening establishments	628	2,097	613	480	910	0.8	2.7	0.8	0.6	1.1
Gross job losses	4,148	3,808	3,245	5,282	4,090	5.4	4.9	4.0	6.5	5.0
At contracting establishments	3,600	3,065	2,681	4,567	3,373	4.7	3.9	3.3	5.6	4.1
At closing establishments	548	743	564	715	717	0.7	1.0	0.7	0.9	0.9
Net employment change (2)	541	2,372	2,769	-573	1,084	0.7	3.0	3.5	-0.7	1.3
Information
Gross job gains	4,176	3,428	3,129	2,689	3,944	5.5	4.5	4.1	3.6	5.2
At expanding establishments	3,618	2,950	2,576	2,119	3,536	4.8	3.9	3.4	2.8	4.7
At opening establishments	558	478	553	570	408	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.5
Gross job losses	3,304	3,704	3,039	3,118	3,346	4.4	5.0	4.1	4.2	4.4
At contracting establishments	2,680	2,983	2,292	2,758	2,810	3.6	4.0	3.1	3.7	3.7
At closing establishments	624	721	747	360	536	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.7
Net employment change (2)	872	-276	90	-429	598	1.1	-0.5	0.0	-0.6	0.8
Financial activities
Gross job gains	9,376	8,754	9,065	8,847	9,757	5.7	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.9
At expanding establishments	6,969	6,645	6,468	6,592	7,142	4.2	4.0	3.9	4.0	4.3
At opening establishments	2,407	2,109	2,597	2,255	2,615	1.5	1.3	1.6	1.4	1.6
Gross job losses	7,937	8,981	8,863	8,623	9,571	4.8	5.4	5.4	5.2	5.8
At contracting establishments	5,834	6,275	6,274	5,932	6,926	3.5	3.8	3.8	3.6	4.2
At closing establishments	2,103	2,706	2,589	2,691	2,645	1.3	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6
Net employment change (2)	1,439	-227	202	224	186	0.9	-0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	32,569	30,330	31,537	30,825	35,077	7.7	7.1	7.4	7.2	8.1
At expanding establishments	25,801	23,578	24,166	24,498	27,832	6.1	5.5	5.7	5.7	6.4
At opening establishments	6,768	6,752	7,371	6,327	7,245	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.5	1.7
Gross job losses	28,315	29,193	30,043	27,796	28,965	6.7	6.9	7.0	6.5	6.6
At contracting establishments	21,121	21,544	22,266	21,383	20,907	5.0	5.1	5.2	5.0	4.8
At closing establishments	7,194	7,649	7,777	6,413	8,058	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.5	1.8
Net employment change (2)	4,254	1,137	1,494	3,029	6,112	1.0	0.2	0.4	0.7	1.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains	16,191	16,012	16,543	15,148	16,555	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.5	4.8
At expanding establishments	13,859	14,034	13,737	12,453	13,742	4.1	4.2	4.1	3.7	4.0
At opening establishments	2,332	1,978	2,806	2,695	2,813	0.7	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	15,358	15,417	14,615	14,692	14,911	4.5	4.6	4.3	4.3	4.4
At contracting establishments	12,206	12,410	11,479	11,858	11,616	3.6	3.7	3.4	3.5	3.4
At closing establishments	3,152	3,007	3,136	2,834	3,295	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	833	595	1,928	456	1,644	0.3	0.2	0.6	0.2	0.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	33,077	31,171	32,807	29,265	34,461	9.6	9.1	9.6	8.5	10.0
At expanding establishments	27,470	25,601	27,126	23,619	28,657	8.0	7.5	7.9	6.9	8.3
At opening establishments	5,607	5,570	5,681	5,646	5,804	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.6	1.7
Gross job losses	28,908	36,359	29,817	35,476	29,033	8.5	10.6	8.7	10.4	8.4
At contracting establishments	24,558	31,317	25,633	29,728	24,484	7.2	9.1	7.5	8.7	7.1
At closing establishments	4,350	5,042	4,184	5,748	4,549	1.3	1.5	1.2	1.7	1.3
Net employment change (2)	4,169	-5,188	2,990	-6,211	5,428	1.1	-1.5	0.9	-1.9	1.6
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	6,085	6,152	5,744	5,528	6,195	8.0	8.0	7.5	7.2	7.9
At expanding establishments	4,876	4,790	4,304	4,392	4,868	6.4	6.2	5.6	5.7	6.2
At opening establishments	1,209	1,362	1,440	1,136	1,327	1.6	1.8	1.9	1.5	1.7
Gross job losses	4,835	5,948	6,023	5,514	4,853	6.3	7.7	7.8	7.1	6.2
At contracting establishments	3,767	4,507	4,621	4,015	3,663	4.9	5.8	6.0	5.2	4.7
At closing establishments	1,068	1,441	1,402	1,499	1,190	1.4	1.9	1.8	1.9	1.5
Net employment change (2)	1,250	204	-279	14	1,342	1.7	0.3	-0.3	0.1	1.7
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)
	June 2018	Sept. 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	June 2018	Sept. 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019
United States(1)	6.1	6.0	6.3	5.9	6.0	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.9
Alabama	5.8	6.0	6.3	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.3	5.5	6.0
Alaska	10.9	8.9	11.0	10.0	10.8	10.7	10.7	9.8	9.0	10.2
Arizona	6.0	6.6	6.2	5.6	5.7	5.9	5.1	5.1	5.5	5.7
Arkansas	5.0	6.1	5.9	5.2	5.0	5.7	5.6	5.0	5.1	5.7
California	6.7	6.5	6.9	6.3	6.6	6.4	6.2	5.9	6.2	6.4
Colorado	6.8	6.6	6.8	6.6	7.0	6.1	6.8	6.0	6.3	6.2
Connecticut	5.8	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.8	5.1	5.7	4.9	5.7	5.9
Delaware	6.4	5.7	6.6	6.4	6.0	6.0	6.5	5.6	5.5	6.3
District of Columbia	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.4	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.1	4.9	5.5
Florida	6.4	6.8	6.4	6.1	6.5	6.1	5.8	6.1	5.6	6.3
Georgia	6.3	6.7	6.3	6.8	6.2	6.4	6.1	5.8	5.7	6.4
Hawaii	5.3	5.1	5.8	5.4	4.7	5.4	5.4	5.1	5.9	6.1
Idaho	7.3	6.8	7.4	7.5	7.1	6.8	6.9	6.3	6.1	6.7
Illinois	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.6	5.6	5.8	5.6	5.1	5.3
Indiana	5.5	5.2	5.6	5.9	5.2	5.5	5.4	5.0	4.8	5.8
Iowa	5.7	5.3	5.8	5.1	5.8	5.4	5.7	5.3	5.4	5.6
Kansas	5.7	5.9	6.1	5.4	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.7	5.7
Kentucky	5.9	5.8	6.1	5.8	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.4	5.5	5.9
Louisiana	6.2	6.3	6.2	5.9	6.0	6.5	6.3	5.8	5.9	6.5
Maine	8.0	6.1	7.3	7.2	7.5	7.1	7.5	6.7	6.4	7.5
Maryland	6.1	6.3	6.8	6.4	6.3	5.8	6.6	6.4	5.7	6.4
Massachusetts	6.1	5.6	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.5	6.1	5.3	5.2	5.7
Michigan	5.5	5.0	5.6	5.1	5.5	5.2	6.2	5.2	4.6	5.8
Minnesota	5.8	5.5	5.7	5.2	5.8	5.2	5.7	5.4	5.1	5.5
Mississippi	5.7	5.9	6.5	5.7	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.3	6.2	6.0
Missouri	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.4	5.6	5.7	6.0	5.4	5.3	5.8
Montana	8.0	7.2	8.9	7.6	8.0	7.8	7.9	7.2	8.0	7.7
Nebraska	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.7
Nevada	6.1	6.7	6.6	6.0	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.5	5.4	6.0
New Hampshire	6.7	5.7	6.6	6.3	6.4	6.2	6.8	5.7	5.7	6.3
New Jersey	6.5	6.0	6.4	5.7	6.2	5.8	6.4	5.7	5.6	5.8
New Mexico	6.7	6.4	6.8	6.4	6.3	6.2	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.3
New York	6.3	6.1	6.3	6.0	6.0	5.8	6.4	5.7	5.3	5.9
North Carolina	6.1	5.7	6.7	6.3	6.1	5.7	6.4	5.3	5.1	5.7
North Dakota	6.7	6.6	6.8	7.1	6.7	6.2	6.6	6.2	6.4	6.7
Ohio	5.6	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.4	5.8	5.3	5.1	5.7
Oklahoma	6.4	6.7	6.5	5.8	5.9	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.8	6.2
Oregon	6.2	6.2	6.7	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.0	5.8	6.1
Pennsylvania	5.3	5.4	5.3	5.1	5.2	5.1	5.2	4.8	4.8	5.3
Rhode Island	6.3	6.2	6.4	5.8	6.4	6.1	6.4	5.7	5.6	6.7
South Carolina	7.5	5.8	7.4	6.4	6.3	6.7	6.5	5.4	6.0	6.2
South Dakota	6.1	6.0	6.3	5.7	6.2	6.1	5.7	5.8	6.4	6.0
Tennessee	5.5	5.8	5.8	5.4	5.5	5.3	5.3	4.9	4.8	5.0
Texas	5.9	6.0	6.2	5.5	5.7	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.3
Utah	6.9	7.3	6.9	7.3	6.9	6.4	6.4	6.2	6.2	6.5
Vermont	7.2	6.9	7.4	6.7	6.9	7.1	7.6	6.8	6.3	7.1
Virginia	6.2	5.7	6.3	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.3	5.6	5.5	5.9
Washington	7.3	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.6	6.5	6.5	5.6	5.6	5.7
West Virginia	6.8	7.0	6.3	6.0	6.2	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.6	6.5
Wisconsin	5.5	5.1	5.4	5.1	5.5	5.5	5.9	5.0	4.8	5.3
Wyoming	8.4	8.3	10.0	8.6	8.5	8.4	8.4	7.8	7.8	9.6
Puerto Rico	7.9	7.2	6.0	7.1	6.4	6.2	5.8	6.8	5.1	5.8
Virgin Islands	13.2	12.8	7.9	11.9	8.8	7.0	5.9	7.1	7.4	6.1
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.