From December 2019 to March 2020, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Missouri were 123,536, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 138,015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 14,479 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2020. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 22,214. (See chart 1 and table 1.)      

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector 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.)

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2020, gross job gains represented 5.2 percent of private-sector employment in Missouri; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.5 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In Missouri, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 100,261 in the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 22,121 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 23,275 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 3,516 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2020, gross job losses represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Missouri; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 6.1 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In Missouri, contracting establishments lost 115,401 jobs in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 12,571 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 22,614 jobs, a decrease of 1,515 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 10 of the 11 industry sectors in Missouri in the first quarter of 2020. Three sectors had net job declines of more than 2,700: leisure and hospitality, transportation and warehousing, and education and health services. Gross job losses in leisure and hospitality were 27,883, while gross job gains were 22,209, resulting in a net loss of 5,674 jobs. The second largest net employment decrease was in transportation and warehousing, with a net loss of 3,194 jobs. Education and health services recorded a net employment loss of 2,799 jobs. Construction was the only sector where gross job gains exceeded gross job losses, resulting in a net gain of 373 jobs in the first quarter of 2020.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2020 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.

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.

The full Technical Note for the Business Employment Dynamics program, which includes information on coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the current quarterly news release online at www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.htm.

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

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. 2019	June 2019	Sept. 2019	Dec. 2019	Mar. 2020	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept. 2019	Dec. 2019	Mar. 2020
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	130,095	135,649	139,066	149,173	123,536	5.4	5.7	5.8	6.2	5.2
At expanding establishments	103,094	111,295	110,456	122,382	100,261	4.3	4.7	4.6	5.1	4.2
At opening establishments	27,001	24,354	28,610	26,791	23,275	1.1	1.0	1.2	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	125,923	140,017	138,282	126,959	138,015	5.3	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.7
At contracting establishments	102,766	115,396	113,031	102,830	115,401	4.3	4.8	4.7	4.3	4.8
At closing establishments	23,157	24,621	25,251	24,129	22,614	1.0	1.0	1.1	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	4,172	-4,368	784	22,214	-14,479	0.1	-0.1	0.0	0.9	-0.5
Construction
Gross job gains	12,153	12,222	11,722	13,568	11,495	9.7	9.7	9.3	10.5	8.8
At expanding establishments	9,606	9,701	9,334	10,970	9,010	7.7	7.7	7.4	8.5	6.9
At opening establishments	2,547	2,521	2,388	2,598	2,485	2.0	2.0	1.9	2.0	1.9
Gross job losses	10,631	10,912	11,387	10,680	11,122	8.5	8.7	9.0	8.3	8.5
At contracting establishments	8,301	8,941	8,848	8,596	9,085	6.6	7.1	7.0	6.7	6.9
At closing establishments	2,330	1,971	2,539	2,084	2,037	1.9	1.6	2.0	1.6	1.6
Net employment change (2)	1,522	1,310	335	2,888	373	1.2	1.0	0.3	2.2	0.3
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	7,120	8,424	7,365	7,437	6,885	2.6	3.0	2.7	2.7	2.5
At expanding establishments	6,560	7,763	6,596	6,679	6,268	2.4	2.8	2.4	2.4	2.3
At opening establishments	560	661	769	758	617	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.2
Gross job losses	7,009	7,727	8,273	7,941	7,546	2.5	2.8	2.9	2.8	2.7
At contracting establishments	6,380	6,928	7,616	7,305	6,790	2.3	2.5	2.7	2.6	2.4
At closing establishments	629	799	657	636	756	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3
Net employment change (2)	111	697	-908	-504	-661	0.1	0.2	-0.2	-0.1	-0.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	4,866	5,664	7,906	5,209	4,612	4.0	4.6	6.4	4.2	3.8
At expanding establishments	3,820	4,849	6,924	4,291	3,927	3.1	3.9	5.6	3.5	3.2
At opening establishments	1,046	815	982	918	685	0.9	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.6
Gross job losses	5,467	4,872	5,303	5,318	5,270	4.5	4.0	4.3	4.3	4.3
At contracting establishments	4,390	3,923	4,361	4,292	4,287	3.6	3.2	3.5	3.5	3.5
At closing establishments	1,077	949	942	1,026	983	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-601	792	2,603	-109	-658	-0.5	0.6	2.1	-0.1	-0.5
Retail trade
Gross job gains	15,481	16,309	15,436	17,197	16,104	5.0	5.3	5.1	5.7	5.3
At expanding establishments	13,279	14,344	13,385	15,194	14,481	4.3	4.7	4.4	5.0	4.8
At opening establishments	2,202	1,965	2,051	2,003	1,623	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.5
Gross job losses	16,317	19,922	18,498	16,452	16,233	5.3	6.5	6.1	5.5	5.4
At contracting establishments	14,096	17,226	16,126	14,407	14,135	4.6	5.6	5.3	4.8	4.7
At closing establishments	2,221	2,696	2,372	2,045	2,098	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-836	-3,613	-3,062	745	-129	-0.3	-1.2	-1.0	0.2	-0.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	5,202	4,932	4,876	9,439	5,312	5.4	5.1	5.1	9.5	5.3
At expanding establishments	4,300	4,241	4,104	8,553	4,589	4.5	4.4	4.3	8.6	4.6
At opening establishments	902	691	772	886	723	0.9	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.7
Gross job losses	5,157	5,662	5,099	4,401	8,506	5.4	5.9	5.3	4.4	8.5
At contracting establishments	4,619	4,808	4,229	3,780	7,885	4.8	5.0	4.4	3.8	7.9
At closing establishments	538	854	870	621	621	0.6	0.9	0.9	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	45	-730	-223	5,038	-3,194	0.0	-0.8	-0.2	5.1	-3.2
Information
Gross job gains	1,761	1,672	1,984	1,966	1,778	3.7	3.5	4.2	4.3	3.9
At expanding establishments	1,419	1,433	1,547	1,572	1,383	3.0	3.0	3.3	3.4	3.0
At opening establishments	342	239	437	394	395	0.7	0.5	0.9	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	2,164	2,386	2,476	2,241	1,874	4.6	5.1	5.4	4.9	4.1
At contracting establishments	1,849	2,013	1,894	1,828	1,553	3.9	4.3	4.1	4.0	3.4
At closing establishments	315	373	582	413	321	0.7	0.8	1.3	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-403	-714	-492	-275	-96	-0.9	-1.6	-1.2	-0.6	-0.2
Financial activities
Gross job gains	7,115	7,319	7,513	8,288	7,167	4.4	4.4	4.5	5.0	4.3
At expanding establishments	5,526	5,964	5,633	6,454	5,623	3.4	3.6	3.4	3.9	3.4
At opening establishments	1,589	1,355	1,880	1,834	1,544	1.0	0.8	1.1	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	6,415	6,585	7,763	7,137	7,254	3.9	4.0	4.7	4.2	4.3
At contracting establishments	5,072	5,077	5,919	5,393	5,870	3.1	3.1	3.6	3.2	3.5
At closing establishments	1,343	1,508	1,844	1,744	1,384	0.8	0.9	1.1	1.0	0.8
Net employment change (2)	700	734	-250	1,151	-87	0.5	0.4	-0.2	0.8	0.0
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	22,834	24,127	24,807	25,967	23,273	6.0	6.4	6.5	6.8	6.0
At expanding establishments	17,792	19,689	19,682	20,641	18,578	4.7	5.2	5.2	5.4	4.8
At opening establishments	5,042	4,438	5,125	5,326	4,695	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.4	1.2
Gross job losses	24,219	23,927	22,877	25,179	24,093	6.3	6.3	6.0	6.6	6.3
At contracting establishments	19,552	19,655	18,721	19,623	19,502	5.1	5.2	4.9	5.1	5.1
At closing establishments	4,667	4,272	4,156	5,556	4,591	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.5	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-1,385	200	1,930	788	-820	-0.3	0.1	0.5	0.2	-0.3
Education and health services
Gross job gains	21,019	21,118	24,442	22,463	17,943	4.6	4.6	5.4	4.9	3.9
At expanding establishments	15,093	14,833	17,264	16,088	12,836	3.3	3.2	3.8	3.5	2.8
At opening establishments	5,926	6,285	7,178	6,375	5,107	1.3	1.4	1.6	1.4	1.1
Gross job losses	18,801	22,141	19,556	18,131	20,742	4.1	4.9	4.2	3.9	4.5
At contracting establishments	13,302	16,743	13,549	12,547	16,194	2.9	3.7	2.9	2.7	3.5
At closing establishments	5,499	5,398	6,007	5,584	4,548	1.2	1.2	1.3	1.2	1.0
Net employment change (2)	2,218	-1,023	4,886	4,332	-2,799	0.5	-0.3	1.2	1.0	-0.6
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	25,482	26,174	26,188	29,873	22,209	8.2	8.5	8.5	9.7	7.1
At expanding establishments	20,202	22,229	20,920	25,672	18,400	6.5	7.2	6.8	8.3	5.9
At opening establishments	5,280	3,945	5,268	4,201	3,809	1.7	1.3	1.7	1.4	1.2
Gross job losses	23,006	29,151	29,626	23,084	27,883	7.4	9.4	9.7	7.4	9.0
At contracting establishments	19,837	25,077	25,766	19,842	24,166	6.4	8.1	8.4	6.4	7.8
At closing establishments	3,169	4,074	3,860	3,242	3,717	1.0	1.3	1.3	1.0	1.2
Net employment change (2)	2,476	-2,977	-3,438	6,789	-5,674	0.8	-0.9	-1.2	2.3	-1.9
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	5,137	5,819	5,138	5,132	5,001	7.1	7.9	7.0	7.0	6.9
At expanding establishments	3,856	4,692	3,831	4,002	3,724	5.3	6.4	5.2	5.5	5.1
At opening establishments	1,281	1,127	1,307	1,130	1,277	1.8	1.5	1.8	1.5	1.8
Gross job losses	4,715	4,949	5,805	4,929	5,222	6.5	6.8	7.9	6.8	7.2
At contracting establishments	3,616	3,725	4,642	3,913	3,926	5.0	5.1	6.3	5.4	5.4
At closing establishments	1,099	1,224	1,163	1,016	1,296	1.5	1.7	1.6	1.4	1.8
Net employment change (2)	422	870	-667	203	-221	0.6	1.1	-0.9	0.2	-0.3
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)
	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept. 2019	Dec. 2019	Mar. 2020	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept. 2019	Dec. 2019	Mar. 2020
United States(1)	6.0	6.1	5.9	6.2	5.5	5.5	5.9	5.8	5.5	6.1
Alabama	6.1	5.9	5.8	6.2	5.5	5.6	5.9	5.9	5.5	5.9
Alaska	10.1	10.7	9.6	10.3	9.2	9.0	10.1	10.1	10.2	9.5
Arizona	5.7	5.7	6.3	6.4	5.6	5.5	5.6	4.9	5.2	5.9
Arkansas	5.3	5.0	5.6	6.5	5.1	5.1	5.7	5.8	4.9	5.5
California	6.4	6.6	6.3	6.8	6.1	6.1	6.4	6.0	6.0	6.7
Colorado	6.6	7.0	6.6	6.7	6.3	6.3	6.2	6.4	6.2	7.0
Connecticut	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.6	5.9
Delaware	6.5	6.0	6.2	6.7	6.2	5.6	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.6
District of Columbia	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.4	5.2	5.0	5.5	5.3	4.7	5.3
Florida	6.2	6.5	6.6	6.6	5.4	5.6	6.3	5.8	5.9	6.2
Georgia	6.7	6.1	6.2	6.5	5.6	5.7	6.5	6.0	5.5	5.9
Hawaii	5.5	4.8	5.6	5.7	5.2	5.9	5.8	5.2	5.2	5.8
Idaho	7.5	7.1	7.0	7.7	7.6	6.1	6.7	6.8	6.3	6.1
Illinois	5.2	5.6	5.0	5.6	5.0	5.2	5.3	5.6	5.2	6.0
Indiana	5.8	5.1	5.4	6.0	4.9	4.8	5.9	5.6	5.1	6.0
Iowa	5.1	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.2	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.5	5.9
Kansas	5.6	5.7	5.6	6.3	5.4	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.7	6.0
Kentucky	5.8	5.8	5.9	6.2	5.3	5.5	6.0	5.7	5.6	6.1
Louisiana	6.1	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.3	6.1	6.5	6.1	5.7	6.3
Maine	7.5	7.4	6.5	7.3	6.4	6.7	7.4	7.3	6.9	7.0
Maryland	6.4	6.4	6.2	6.4	5.7	5.7	6.5	6.3	5.9	6.7
Massachusetts	6.1	6.0	5.3	5.8	5.2	5.2	5.6	5.9	5.6	6.0
Michigan	5.2	5.5	5.1	5.8	5.0	4.6	5.7	5.9	5.3	5.7
Minnesota	5.2	5.8	5.4	5.8	5.0	5.2	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.6
Mississippi	5.7	5.8	5.7	6.2	5.6	6.2	6.1	5.7	5.6	6.2
Missouri	5.4	5.7	5.8	6.2	5.2	5.3	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.7
Montana	7.6	8.1	7.4	8.6	7.7	8.1	7.7	7.7	7.2	7.7
Nebraska	5.7	5.7	5.7	6.2	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.8	6.1
Nevada	6.1	6.0	6.1	6.8	5.4	5.4	6.2	5.5	5.0	6.3
New Hampshire	6.4	6.4	5.8	6.6	6.0	5.7	6.3	6.6	6.0	6.4
New Jersey	5.7	6.2	6.0	6.5	5.7	5.7	5.9	6.2	5.8	6.3
New Mexico	6.7	6.3	6.8	7.0	6.1	5.8	6.5	6.1	6.3	6.5
New York	6.0	6.1	5.8	6.0	5.5	5.4	5.9	5.9	5.7	6.4
North Carolina	6.4	6.0	5.8	6.3	5.8	5.1	5.9	6.0	5.4	5.7
North Dakota	7.1	6.7	6.5	6.7	6.8	6.4	6.7	7.1	6.6	7.0
Ohio	5.6	5.7	5.3	5.7	5.1	5.2	5.7	5.9	5.3	5.6
Oklahoma	5.9	6.0	6.4	6.5	5.4	5.9	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.7
Oregon	6.4	6.3	6.2	6.7	6.2	5.8	6.1	6.2	5.8	6.5
Pennsylvania	5.2	5.3	5.2	5.4	4.9	4.8	5.4	5.1	4.9	5.6
Rhode Island	5.9	6.3	6.0	6.5	6.1	5.7	6.5	6.2	5.9	6.5
South Carolina	6.6	6.4	6.0	6.5	5.5	6.5	6.2	5.9	5.9	6.6
South Dakota	5.7	6.2	5.9	6.4	6.0	6.2	5.9	6.0	5.8	6.6
Tennessee	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.7	4.9	4.9	5.2	5.1	5.0	5.3
Texas	5.6	5.8	5.9	6.0	5.0	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.1	5.5
Utah	7.3	7.0	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.2	6.6	6.3	6.3	6.4
Vermont	6.9	7.1	6.3	6.9	5.8	6.3	7.1	7.6	6.4	7.6
Virginia	6.4	6.1	5.5	6.5	5.6	5.5	5.8	6.3	5.5	6.1
Washington	6.4	6.6	6.1	6.6	7.4	6.1	5.8	6.1	5.8	7.4
West Virginia	6.1	6.2	5.9	6.2	6.0	6.7	6.6	6.7	7.1	6.8
Wisconsin	5.2	5.5	4.8	5.4	5.0	4.9	5.3	5.9	5.0	5.3
Wyoming	9.0	8.5	8.6	9.4	8.6	7.8	9.5	8.9	8.7	9.3
Puerto Rico	7.2	6.4	5.9	5.4	5.0	5.2	5.8	5.5	4.9	5.2
Virgin Islands	12.9	8.9	12.0	10.3	7.2	7.6	6.9	6.4	7.3	8.3
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.