From June 2019 to September 2019 gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Utah totaled 87,442, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments numbered 79,494, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1.) Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses yielding a net employment gain of 7,948 jobs in the private sector. Acting Regional Commissioner Susan Mendez noted that gross jobs gains have exceeded gross job losses in each quarter since the second quarter of 2010.   

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 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.)

Gross job gains

In the third quarter of 2019, gross job gains represented 6.8 percent of private-sector employment in Utah, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 5.8 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 Utah, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 70,603 in the third quarter of 2019, a decrease of 401 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 16,839 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2019, a decrease of 1,463 jobs from the previous quarter. Since the series began in September 1992, the rate of gross job gains in Utah has been equal to or above the U.S. rate each quarter.

Gross job losses

In the third quarter of 2019, gross job losses represented 6.2 percent of private-sector employment in Utah; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.8 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 Utah, contracting establishments lost 65,403 jobs in the third quarter of 2019, a decrease of 2,330 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 14,091 jobs, a decrease of 1,335 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 9 of the 11 industry sectors in Utah in the second quarter of 2019. Education and health services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 3,554 jobs. This was the result of 11,606 gross job gains and 8,052 gross job losses. The professional and business services industry had a net gain of 2,023 jobs. Of the two sectors with net employment losses, retail trade had the larger loss with 1,017 jobs.

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 Fourth Quarter 2019 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 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.

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 https://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, Utah, 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)
	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept 2019	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept 2019
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	91,311	87,692	92,927	89,306	87,442	7.3	6.9	7.3	6.9	6.8
At expanding establishments	72,087	69,903	73,991	71,004	70,603	5.8	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.5
At opening establishments	19,224	17,789	18,936	18,302	16,839	1.5	1.4	1.5	1.4	1.3
Gross job losses	80,280	78,369	78,342	83,159	79,494	6.4	6.2	6.2	6.5	6.2
At contracting establishments	65,264	63,046	63,486	67,733	65,403	5.2	5.0	5.0	5.3	5.1
At closing establishments	15,016	15,323	14,856	15,426	14,091	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	11,031	9,323	14,585	6,147	7,948	0.9	0.7	1.1	0.4	0.6
Construction
Gross job gains	8,340	9,441	10,776	10,232	9,343	8.1	9.1	10.0	9.3	8.6
At expanding establishments	6,348	7,354	8,200	7,715	7,364	6.2	7.1	7.6	7.0	6.8
At opening establishments	1,992	2,087	2,576	2,517	1,979	1.9	2.0	2.4	2.3	1.8
Gross job losses	9,852	7,800	7,749	9,736	9,107	9.5	7.5	7.1	8.9	8.4
At contracting establishments	8,174	6,139	6,017	7,410	7,252	7.9	5.9	5.5	6.8	6.7
At closing establishments	1,678	1,661	1,732	2,326	1,855	1.6	1.6	1.6	2.1	1.7
Net employment change (2)	-1,512	1,641	3,027	496	236	-1.4	1.6	2.9	0.4	0.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	4,549	5,361	5,693	5,001	4,407	3.5	4.0	4.2	3.7	3.2
At expanding establishments	4,070	4,720	5,044	4,205	3,887	3.1	3.5	3.7	3.1	2.8
At opening establishments	479	641	649	796	520	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.4
Gross job losses	3,960	3,576	3,796	4,218	4,474	3.0	2.6	2.8	3.1	3.2
At contracting establishments	3,333	3,134	3,214	3,700	3,892	2.5	2.3	2.4	2.7	2.8
At closing establishments	627	442	582	518	582	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.4
Net employment change (2)	589	1,785	1,897	783	-67	0.5	1.4	1.4	0.6	0.0
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	2,865	2,808	2,796	2,661	2,681	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.2
At expanding establishments	2,164	2,147	2,301	2,090	2,018	4.2	4.2	4.4	4.0	3.9
At opening establishments	701	661	495	571	663	1.4	1.3	1.0	1.1	1.3
Gross job losses	2,473	2,727	2,427	2,930	2,517	4.8	5.3	4.7	5.6	4.8
At contracting establishments	1,906	1,919	1,854	2,309	1,934	3.7	3.7	3.6	4.4	3.7
At closing establishments	567	808	573	621	583	1.1	1.6	1.1	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	392	81	369	-269	164	0.8	0.2	0.7	-0.5	0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	12,202	10,180	12,628	10,603	10,307	7.0	5.9	7.3	6.0	5.9
At expanding establishments	9,910	8,333	10,374	9,014	8,564	5.7	4.8	6.0	5.1	4.9
At opening establishments	2,292	1,847	2,254	1,589	1,743	1.3	1.1	1.3	0.9	1.0
Gross job losses	10,914	10,611	10,111	12,380	11,324	6.3	6.2	5.8	7.0	6.5
At contracting establishments	9,171	9,445	8,232	10,246	9,470	5.3	5.5	4.7	5.8	5.4
At closing establishments	1,743	1,166	1,879	2,134	1,854	1.0	0.7	1.1	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	1,288	-431	2,517	-1,777	-1,017	0.7	-0.3	1.5	-1.0	-0.6
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	5,017	5,950	2,939	4,272	3,779	8.7	9.9	5.0	7.3	6.3
At expanding establishments	3,616	5,226	2,533	3,654	3,233	6.3	8.7	4.3	6.2	5.4
At opening establishments	1,401	724	406	618	546	2.4	1.2	0.7	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	3,059	3,198	5,431	2,411	3,492	5.3	5.4	9.1	4.1	5.8
At contracting establishments	2,640	2,679	5,055	2,015	3,069	4.6	4.5	8.5	3.4	5.1
At closing establishments	419	519	376	396	423	0.7	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	1,958	2,752	-2,492	1,861	287	3.4	4.5	-4.1	3.2	0.5
Information
Gross job gains	3,015	1,821	2,147	2,499	3,070	8.1	4.9	5.7	6.5	7.9
At expanding establishments	2,566	1,383	1,697	1,917	2,639	6.9	3.7	4.5	5.0	6.8
At opening establishments	449	438	450	582	431	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.5	1.1
Gross job losses	2,186	3,025	1,962	1,945	2,306	5.9	8.1	5.2	5.1	6.0
At contracting establishments	1,594	1,859	1,577	1,627	1,844	4.3	5.0	4.2	4.3	4.8
At closing establishments	592	1,166	385	318	462	1.6	3.1	1.0	0.8	1.2
Net employment change (2)	829	-1,204	185	554	764	2.2	-3.2	0.5	1.4	1.9
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,850	4,752	4,839	6,093	5,504	5.5	5.4	5.5	6.8	6.1
At expanding establishments	3,733	3,550	3,601	4,572	3,978	4.2	4.0	4.1	5.1	4.4
At opening establishments	1,117	1,202	1,238	1,521	1,526	1.3	1.4	1.4	1.7	1.7
Gross job losses	5,093	4,896	4,526	4,186	4,497	5.8	5.6	5.2	4.7	5.0
At contracting establishments	3,681	3,572	3,055	3,141	2,957	4.2	4.1	3.5	3.5	3.3
At closing establishments	1,412	1,324	1,471	1,045	1,540	1.6	1.5	1.7	1.2	1.7
Net employment change (2)	-243	-144	313	1,907	1,007	-0.3	-0.2	0.3	2.1	1.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	17,710	16,904	18,450	19,045	16,725	8.2	7.8	8.4	8.6	7.5
At expanding establishments	12,944	12,788	14,042	14,456	13,112	6.0	5.9	6.4	6.5	5.9
At opening establishments	4,766	4,116	4,408	4,589	3,613	2.2	1.9	2.0	2.1	1.6
Gross job losses	15,496	15,611	15,684	16,179	14,702	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.3	6.6
At contracting establishments	12,054	12,321	12,195	12,705	11,584	5.6	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.2
At closing establishments	3,442	3,290	3,489	3,474	3,118	1.6	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.4
Net employment change (2)	2,214	1,293	2,766	2,866	2,023	1.0	0.6	1.2	1.3	0.9
Education and health services
Gross job gains	10,971	10,052	11,021	9,085	11,606	5.9	5.4	5.8	4.7	6.1
At expanding establishments	9,366	8,045	9,184	7,084	9,757	5.0	4.3	4.8	3.7	5.1
At opening establishments	1,605	2,007	1,837	2,001	1,849	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	8,190	8,169	7,047	10,192	8,052	4.4	4.4	3.7	5.3	4.1
At contracting establishments	6,648	6,187	5,513	8,475	6,802	3.6	3.3	2.9	4.4	3.5
At closing establishments	1,542	1,982	1,534	1,717	1,250	0.8	1.1	0.8	0.9	0.6
Net employment change (2)	2,781	1,883	3,974	-1,107	3,554	1.5	1.0	2.1	-0.6	2.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	17,236	15,822	17,112	15,433	15,628	11.5	10.4	11.2	10.0	10.1
At expanding establishments	13,960	12,614	13,794	12,894	12,675	9.3	8.3	9.0	8.4	8.2
At opening establishments	3,276	3,208	3,318	2,539	2,953	2.2	2.1	2.2	1.6	1.9
Gross job losses	14,500	14,670	15,699	14,590	14,925	9.7	9.7	10.2	9.5	9.6
At contracting establishments	12,430	12,413	13,652	12,766	13,183	8.3	8.2	8.9	8.3	8.5
At closing establishments	2,070	2,257	2,047	1,824	1,742	1.4	1.5	1.3	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	2,736	1,152	1,413	843	703	1.8	0.7	1.0	0.5	0.5
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	2,943	3,029	3,012	3,053	2,941	8.4	8.5	8.4	8.5	8.2
At expanding establishments	2,285	2,462	2,103	2,456	2,267	6.5	6.9	5.9	6.8	6.3
At opening establishments	658	567	909	597	674	1.9	1.6	2.5	1.7	1.9
Gross job losses	3,031	2,669	2,646	2,876	2,830	8.6	7.5	7.3	8.0	7.8
At contracting establishments	2,516	2,137	2,093	2,045	2,301	7.1	6.0	5.8	5.7	6.3
At closing establishments	515	532	553	831	529	1.5	1.5	1.5	2.3	1.5
Net employment change (2)	-88	360	366	177	111	-0.2	1.0	1.1	0.5	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)
	Sept. 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept. 2019	Sept. 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept. 2019
United States(1)	6.0	6.3	5.9	6.0	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.9	5.8
Alabama	6.0	6.3	6.0	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.3	5.5	6.0	5.9
Alaska	8.9	11.0	10.0	10.8	9.5	10.7	9.8	9.0	10.2	10.1
Arizona	6.6	6.2	5.6	5.7	6.4	5.1	5.1	5.5	5.7	4.8
Arkansas	6.1	5.9	5.2	5.0	5.5	5.6	5.0	5.1	5.7	5.5
California	6.5	6.9	6.3	6.6	6.3	6.2	5.9	6.2	6.4	6.1
Colorado	6.6	6.8	6.6	7.0	6.6	6.8	6.0	6.3	6.2	6.4
Connecticut	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.8	5.5	5.7	4.9	5.7	5.9	5.8
Delaware	5.7	6.6	6.4	6.0	6.1	6.5	5.6	5.5	6.3	6.2
District of Columbia	5.3	5.6	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.1	4.9	5.5	5.4
Florida	6.8	6.4	6.1	6.5	6.5	5.8	6.1	5.6	6.3	5.7
Georgia	6.7	6.3	6.8	6.2	6.2	6.1	5.8	5.7	6.4	6.1
Hawaii	5.1	5.8	5.4	4.7	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.9	6.1	5.3
Idaho	6.8	7.4	7.5	7.1	6.9	6.9	6.3	6.1	6.7	6.8
Illinois	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.6	4.9	5.8	5.6	5.1	5.3	5.6
Indiana	5.2	5.6	5.9	5.2	5.4	5.4	5.0	4.8	5.8	5.7
Iowa	5.3	5.8	5.1	5.8	5.3	5.7	5.3	5.4	5.6	5.6
Kansas	5.9	6.1	5.4	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.4	5.7	5.7	5.6
Kentucky	5.8	6.1	5.8	5.8	5.8	6.0	5.4	5.5	5.9	5.7
Louisiana	6.3	6.2	5.9	6.0	5.9	6.3	5.8	5.9	6.5	6.1
Maine	6.1	7.3	7.2	7.5	6.4	7.5	6.7	6.4	7.5	7.2
Maryland	6.3	6.8	6.4	6.3	6.2	6.6	6.4	5.7	6.4	6.6
Massachusetts	5.6	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.3	6.1	5.3	5.2	5.7	5.9
Michigan	5.0	5.6	5.1	5.5	5.1	6.2	5.2	4.6	5.8	6.0
Minnesota	5.5	5.7	5.2	5.8	5.2	5.7	5.4	5.1	5.5	5.8
Mississippi	5.9	6.5	5.7	5.8	5.5	5.9	5.3	6.2	6.0	5.8
Missouri	5.9	5.8	5.4	5.6	5.8	6.0	5.4	5.3	5.8	5.8
Montana	7.2	8.9	7.6	8.0	7.3	7.9	7.2	8.0	7.7	7.7
Nebraska	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.5
Nevada	6.7	6.6	6.0	5.9	6.0	5.7	5.5	5.4	6.0	5.7
New Hampshire	5.7	6.6	6.3	6.4	5.8	6.8	5.7	5.7	6.3	6.6
New Jersey	6.0	6.4	5.7	6.2	6.0	6.4	5.7	5.6	5.8	6.1
New Mexico	6.4	6.8	6.4	6.3	6.7	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.3	6.1
New York	6.1	6.3	6.0	6.0	5.8	6.4	5.7	5.3	5.9	5.9
North Carolina	5.7	6.7	6.3	6.1	5.7	6.4	5.3	5.1	5.7	5.9
North Dakota	6.6	6.8	7.1	6.7	6.6	6.6	6.2	6.4	6.7	7.1
Ohio	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.3	5.8	5.3	5.1	5.7	5.8
Oklahoma	6.7	6.5	5.8	5.9	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.8	6.2	6.1
Oregon	6.2	6.7	6.3	6.3	6.2	6.3	6.0	5.8	6.1	6.2
Pennsylvania	5.4	5.3	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.2	4.8	4.8	5.3	5.2
Rhode Island	6.2	6.4	5.8	6.4	5.8	6.4	5.7	5.6	6.7	6.2
South Carolina	5.8	7.4	6.4	6.3	6.0	6.5	5.4	6.0	6.2	5.7
South Dakota	6.0	6.3	5.7	6.2	5.8	5.7	5.8	6.4	6.0	6.0
Tennessee	5.8	5.8	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.3	4.9	4.8	5.0	5.1
Texas	6.0	6.2	5.5	5.7	5.8	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.2
Utah	7.3	6.9	7.3	6.9	6.8	6.4	6.2	6.2	6.5	6.2
Vermont	6.9	7.4	6.7	6.9	6.3	7.6	6.8	6.3	7.1	7.6
Virginia	5.7	6.3	6.4	6.1	5.2	6.3	5.6	5.5	5.9	6.0
Washington	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.6	6.0	6.5	5.6	5.6	5.7	6.0
West Virginia	7.0	6.3	6.0	6.2	5.8	6.4	6.5	6.6	6.5	6.7
Wisconsin	5.1	5.4	5.1	5.5	4.8	5.9	5.0	4.8	5.3	5.8
Wyoming	8.3	10.0	8.6	8.5	8.5	8.4	7.8	7.8	9.6	8.7
Puerto Rico	7.2	6.0	7.1	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.8	5.1	5.8	5.4
Virgin Islands	12.8	7.9	11.9	8.8	11.2	5.9	7.1	7.4	6.1	6.6
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.