Business Employment Dynamics in Colorado – Second Quarter 2023

From March 2023 to June 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Colorado were 178,132, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 160,978, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 17,154 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 17,518. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Colorado, June 2018-June 2023, seasonally adjusted

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Colorado, June 2018–June 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job gains	Gross job losses
Jun. 2018	152,723	137,277
Sep. 2018	149,209	151,149
Dec. 2018	155,482	138,271
Mar. 2019	151,636	142,576
Jun. 2019	161,485	141,620
Sep. 2019	150,583	147,420
Dec. 2019	154,655	143,653
Mar. 2020	147,817	161,403
Jun. 2020	126,508	333,153
Sep. 2020	215,950	135,238
Dec. 2020	161,575	157,052
Mar. 2021	190,192	122,803
Jun. 2021	175,272	144,230
Sep. 2021	184,323	158,571
Dec. 2021	176,462	140,706
Mar. 2022	175,916	146,964
Jun. 2022	174,078	156,631
Sep. 2022	167,165	169,449
Dec. 2022	179,968	164,325
Mar. 2023	174,762	157,244
Jun. 2023	178,132	160,978

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 Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the second quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 7.3 percent of private-sector employment in Colorado; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 6.2 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 Colorado, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 132,046 in the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of 1,023 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 46,086 jobs gained in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 4,393 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Colorado, June 2018–June 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	Colorado	United States
Jun. 2018	6.7	6.2
Sep. 2018	6.6	6.0
Dec. 2018	6.8	6.2
Mar. 2019	6.6	6.0
Jun. 2019	7.0	6.1
Sep. 2019	6.6	5.9
Dec. 2019	6.7	6.2
Mar. 2020	6.3	5.5
Jun. 2020	5.7	4.8
Sep. 2020	10.1	9.4
Dec. 2020	7.5	7.4
Mar. 2021	8.6	7.0
Jun. 2021	7.8	6.8
Sep. 2021	8.0	7.3
Dec. 2021	7.6	7.7
Mar. 2022	7.5	6.7
Jun. 2022	7.3	6.6
Sep. 2022	7.0	6.9
Dec. 2022	7.6	6.3
Mar. 2023	7.2	6.2
Jun. 2023	7.3	6.2

Gross job losses

In the second quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 6.6 percent of private-sector employment in Colorado; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.9 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In Colorado, contracting establishments lost 122,324 jobs in the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of 560 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 38,654 jobs, an increase of 4,294 jobs from the previous quarter.

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Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Colorado, June 2018–June 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	Colorado	United States
Jun. 2018	6.1	5.8
Sep. 2018	6.7	6.0
Dec. 2018	6.1	5.6
Mar. 2019	6.3	5.5
Jun. 2019	6.2	5.9
Sep. 2019	6.4	5.8
Dec. 2019	6.2	5.6
Mar. 2020	7.0	6.2
Jun. 2020	15.1	16.9
Sep. 2020	6.4	6.0
Dec. 2020	7.2	5.7
Mar. 2021	5.5	5.5
Jun. 2021	6.4	5.9
Sep. 2021	7.0	6.1
Dec. 2021	6.1	5.4
Mar. 2022	6.3	5.5
Jun. 2022	6.6	6.2
Sep. 2022	7.1	5.9
Dec. 2022	6.9	5.9
Mar. 2023	6.5	5.4
Jun. 2023	6.6	5.9

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 11 industry sectors in Colorado in the second quarter of 2023. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 6,211 jobs. This was the result of 36,828 gross job gains and 30,617 gross job losses. The education and health services industry had a net gain of 4,788 jobs. Retail trade showed a net loss of 2,486 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state. Colorado’s information industry sector had a net loss of 1,309 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 the Business Employment Dynamics Home.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Third Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

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.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Colorado, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	June 2022	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	June 2022	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	174,078	167,165	179,968	174,762	178,132	7.3	7.0	7.6	7.2	7.3
At expanding establishments	137,572	143,123	130,507	133,069	132,046	5.8	6.0	5.5	5.5	5.4
At opening establishments	36,506	24,042	49,461	41,693	46,086	1.5	1.0	2.1	1.7	1.9
Gross job losses	156,631	169,449	164,325	157,244	160,978	6.6	7.1	6.9	6.5	6.6
At contracting establishments	125,073	125,910	123,300	122,884	122,324	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.1	5.0
At closing establishments	31,558	43,539	41,025	34,360	38,654	1.3	1.8	1.7	1.4	1.6
Net employment change (2)	17,447	-2,284	15,643	17,518	17,154	0.7	-0.1	0.7	0.7	0.7
Construction
Gross job gains	14,422	12,916	14,933	15,791	14,174	7.9	7.1	8.2	8.4	7.6
At expanding establishments	11,705	11,331	11,097	12,188	10,949	6.4	6.2	6.1	6.5	5.9
At opening establishments	2,717	1,585	3,836	3,603	3,225	1.5	0.9	2.1	1.9	1.7
Gross job losses	12,792	14,008	13,825	14,078	14,719	6.9	7.7	7.6	7.5	7.9
At contracting establishments	10,181	10,217	10,228	10,699	11,360	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.7	6.1
At closing establishments	2,611	3,791	3,597	3,379	3,359	1.4	2.1	2.0	1.8	1.8
Net employment change (2)	1,630	-1,092	1,108	1,713	-545	1.0	-0.6	0.6	0.9	-0.3
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	6,120	5,404	6,090	5,575	6,638	4.0	3.5	3.9	3.6	4.4
At expanding establishments	5,478	4,957	4,952	4,806	5,569	3.6	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.7
At opening establishments	642	447	1,138	769	1,069	0.4	0.3	0.7	0.5	0.7
Gross job losses	5,771	6,550	6,357	5,580	7,060	3.7	4.3	4.2	3.6	4.6
At contracting establishments	4,990	5,355	5,144	4,921	5,937	3.2	3.5	3.4	3.2	3.9
At closing establishments	781	1,195	1,213	659	1,123	0.5	0.8	0.8	0.4	0.7
Net employment change (2)	349	-1,146	-267	-5	-422	0.3	-0.8	-0.3	0.0	-0.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	6,198	6,715	7,760	6,077	6,137	5.4	5.8	6.7	5.2	5.2
At expanding establishments	5,070	5,459	5,700	4,872	4,598	4.4	4.7	4.9	4.2	3.9
At opening establishments	1,128	1,256	2,060	1,205	1,539	1.0	1.1	1.8	1.0	1.3
Gross job losses	6,415	5,863	5,975	5,244	5,893	5.6	5.0	5.1	4.4	5.0
At contracting establishments	4,466	3,863	4,314	3,781	4,340	3.9	3.3	3.7	3.2	3.7
At closing establishments	1,949	2,000	1,661	1,463	1,553	1.7	1.7	1.4	1.2	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-217	852	1,785	833	244	-0.2	0.8	1.6	0.8	0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	16,143	16,432	17,381	17,735	16,245	5.9	6.0	6.4	6.4	5.9
At expanding establishments	13,693	15,175	14,162	14,987	13,438	5.0	5.5	5.2	5.4	4.9
At opening establishments	2,450	1,257	3,219	2,748	2,807	0.9	0.5	1.2	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	18,708	19,624	16,704	14,696	18,731	6.8	7.2	6.1	5.3	6.8
At contracting establishments	16,240	16,610	13,896	12,662	15,697	5.9	6.1	5.1	4.6	5.7
At closing establishments	2,468	3,014	2,808	2,034	3,034	0.9	1.1	1.0	0.7	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-2,565	-3,192	677	3,039	-2,486	-0.9	-1.2	0.3	1.1	-0.9
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	6,056	6,407	8,553	6,542	6,520	6.1	6.4	8.4	6.3	6.4
At expanding establishments	5,299	5,697	7,510	5,620	5,634	5.3	5.7	7.4	5.4	5.5
At opening establishments	757	710	1,043	922	886	0.8	0.7	1.0	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	7,708	5,991	4,834	8,007	5,784	7.6	6.0	4.7	7.7	5.6
At contracting establishments	6,971	4,763	3,672	7,405	4,727	6.9	4.8	3.6	7.1	4.6
At closing establishments	737	1,228	1,162	602	1,057	0.7	1.2	1.1	0.6	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-1,652	416	3,719	-1,465	736	-1.5	0.4	3.7	-1.4	0.8
Information
Gross job gains	4,759	4,204	4,382	3,690	3,222	6.0	5.4	5.6	4.7	4.1
At expanding establishments	3,959	3,582	3,232	2,747	2,604	5.0	4.6	4.1	3.5	3.3
At opening establishments	800	622	1,150	943	618	1.0	0.8	1.5	1.2	0.8
Gross job losses	4,203	4,505	5,102	4,229	4,531	5.3	5.7	6.5	5.4	5.8
At contracting establishments	3,484	3,550	4,169	3,082	3,494	4.4	4.5	5.3	3.9	4.5
At closing establishments	719	955	933	1,147	1,037	0.9	1.2	1.2	1.5	1.3
Net employment change (2)	556	-301	-720	-539	-1,309	0.7	-0.3	-0.9	-0.7	-1.7
Financial activities
Gross job gains	10,958	10,420	10,957	9,965	10,816	6.2	5.9	6.4	5.8	6.3
At expanding establishments	7,392	8,263	7,021	6,585	7,326	4.2	4.7	4.1	3.8	4.3
At opening establishments	3,566	2,157	3,936	3,380	3,490	2.0	1.2	2.3	2.0	2.0
Gross job losses	10,570	11,811	12,351	11,393	8,997	6.1	6.8	7.2	6.6	5.2
At contracting establishments	8,009	7,872	8,618	7,932	5,664	4.6	4.5	5.0	4.6	3.3
At closing establishments	2,561	3,939	3,733	3,461	3,333	1.5	2.3	2.2	2.0	1.9
Net employment change (2)	388	-1,391	-1,394	-1,428	1,819	0.1	-0.9	-0.8	-0.8	1.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	41,806	38,509	38,623	39,079	36,662	8.7	7.9	8.0	8.0	7.4
At expanding establishments	31,042	31,204	24,709	28,723	27,335	6.5	6.4	5.1	5.9	5.5
At opening establishments	10,764	7,305	13,914	10,356	9,327	2.2	1.5	2.9	2.1	1.9
Gross job losses	35,350	36,504	39,173	32,634	36,267	7.4	7.5	8.0	6.7	7.3
At contracting establishments	26,659	24,095	27,333	23,766	26,735	5.6	5.0	5.6	4.9	5.4
At closing establishments	8,691	12,409	11,840	8,868	9,532	1.8	2.5	2.4	1.8	1.9
Net employment change (2)	6,456	2,005	-550	6,445	395	1.3	0.4	0.0	1.3	0.1
Education and health services
Gross job gains	18,616	19,318	21,496	20,809	22,272	5.4	5.6	6.1	5.9	6.2
At expanding establishments	14,592	17,270	15,420	15,954	17,543	4.2	5.0	4.4	4.5	4.9
At opening establishments	4,024	2,048	6,076	4,855	4,729	1.2	0.6	1.7	1.4	1.3
Gross job losses	16,980	16,472	18,479	16,046	17,484	4.9	4.7	5.3	4.6	4.8
At contracting establishments	13,562	11,908	13,350	12,246	12,651	3.9	3.4	3.8	3.5	3.5
At closing establishments	3,418	4,564	5,129	3,800	4,833	1.0	1.3	1.5	1.1	1.3
Net employment change (2)	1,636	2,846	3,017	4,763	4,788	0.5	0.9	0.8	1.3	1.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	36,557	37,053	37,031	36,100	36,828	10.8	10.8	10.7	10.5	10.5
At expanding establishments	30,815	32,012	28,312	28,626	29,163	9.1	9.3	8.2	8.3	8.3
At opening establishments	5,742	5,041	8,719	7,474	7,665	1.7	1.5	2.5	2.2	2.2
Gross job losses	27,890	37,032	32,207	35,378	30,617	8.2	10.7	9.4	10.2	8.7
At contracting establishments	23,006	30,004	26,012	28,907	24,065	6.8	8.7	7.6	8.3	6.8
At closing establishments	4,884	7,028	6,195	6,471	6,552	1.4	2.0	1.8	1.9	1.9
Net employment change (2)	8,667	21	4,824	722	6,211	2.6	0.1	1.3	0.3	1.8
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	7,399	6,191	7,498	6,852	6,842	9.3	7.7	9.2	8.3	8.2
At expanding establishments	5,300	5,130	4,970	4,901	4,844	6.7	6.4	6.1	5.9	5.8
At opening establishments	2,099	1,061	2,528	1,951	1,998	2.6	1.3	3.1	2.4	2.4
Gross job losses	5,796	6,800	6,110	5,965	6,365	7.3	8.5	7.5	7.2	7.7
At contracting establishments	4,159	4,577	4,070	4,245	4,144	5.2	5.7	5.0	5.1	5.0
At closing establishments	1,637	2,223	2,040	1,720	2,221	2.1	2.8	2.5	2.1	2.7
Net employment change (2)	1,603	-609	1,388	887	477	2.0	-0.8	1.7	1.1	0.5
(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)
Category	June 2022	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	June 2022	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023
United States(1)	6.6	6.9	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.4	5.9
Alabama	6.6	6.9	6.6	6.4	5.9	6.2	5.9	6.1	5.5	5.7
Alaska	10.2	8.5	10.9	10.4	11.0	9.0	10.4	9.2	8.0	8.9
Arizona	6.5	7.1	6.6	5.9	7.0	6.3	5.5	6.0	5.4	6.5
Arkansas	6.1	6.5	6.2	5.8	5.8	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.0	6.0
California	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.1	6.7	6.7	6.2	6.6	6.4	6.4
Colorado	7.3	7.0	7.6	7.2	7.3	6.6	7.1	6.9	6.5	6.6
Connecticut	6.4	6.3	5.9	6.1	6.4	6.3	6.2	5.9	5.3	5.7
Delaware	6.5	8.6	7.0	6.7	6.0	6.9	6.2	7.5	5.2	5.7
District of Columbia	6.1	7.2	5.6	5.9	5.4	6.3	5.0	5.5	4.8	5.3
Florida	7.5	7.8	6.2	6.3	6.8	6.3	5.6	6.0	5.6	5.8
Georgia	6.8	7.1	6.7	6.2	6.4	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.8	6.5
Hawaii	6.0	6.4	6.0	5.5	5.7	5.5	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.2
Idaho	7.1	7.8	8.4	7.9	7.9	8.4	7.5	6.9	7.5	7.5
Illinois	5.9	5.8	5.4	5.8	5.4	5.5	5.3	5.1	4.8	5.3
Indiana	5.7	6.4	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.9	5.5	5.2	5.0	6.1
Iowa	5.9	5.9	6.4	6.0	6.0	6.2	5.9	6.2	5.4	5.9
Kansas	6.5	7.4	6.3	6.1	6.1	7.1	5.5	5.6	5.4	6.0
Kentucky	6.3	6.6	6.0	6.1	5.6	6.5	5.4	5.3	4.9	5.9
Louisiana	6.7	6.9	6.1	6.3	6.1	6.4	5.7	6.2	5.6	6.4
Maine	7.2	7.6	7.4	7.7	7.6	8.0	7.3	6.8	6.2	7.6
Maryland	6.5	7.4	6.6	6.8	6.7	6.9	6.0	6.9	5.6	6.3
Massachusetts	6.1	6.2	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.5	6.1	5.8	4.7	5.7
Michigan	6.0	5.7	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.2	4.9	5.3
Minnesota	6.4	6.5	5.9	5.7	6.0	6.4	5.9	5.8	4.9	5.6
Mississippi	6.6	7.2	6.8	6.1	6.3	6.7	6.3	6.2	5.7	6.6
Missouri	6.2	6.8	6.1	6.5	5.9	5.9	6.3	5.8	5.1	5.9
Montana	8.2	8.7	9.2	8.7	7.8	9.1	7.8	7.8	7.1	8.4
Nebraska	6.4	7.1	6.0	6.3	6.0	6.5	6.1	5.7	5.1	5.6
Nevada	6.9	7.4	6.4	6.2	6.6	5.7	5.8	6.1	5.7	6.0
New Hampshire	6.7	6.9	6.7	7.0	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.0	5.9	6.3
New Jersey	6.6	6.8	6.8	6.1	6.8	6.2	6.4	5.9	5.7	5.9
New Mexico	6.7	8.0	6.7	6.8	6.4	7.1	5.9	6.2	5.9	6.2
New York	7.1	6.6	5.9	6.5	6.3	6.1	5.9	6.0	5.1	5.7
North Carolina	6.4	6.7	6.6	6.4	6.1	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.3	5.7
North Dakota	6.9	7.6	6.4	7.6	6.9	6.5	6.3	6.7	5.6	6.7
Ohio	5.9	5.8	5.9	5.8	5.6	5.9	5.5	5.7	4.9	5.7
Oklahoma	6.7	7.4	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.1	5.6	5.9	5.3	6.0
Oregon	6.0	6.7	6.5	7.3	6.4	7.0	6.0	6.2	6.1	6.9
Pennsylvania	5.5	6.1	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.6	5.1	5.2	4.6	5.5
Rhode Island	7.1	6.7	6.9	7.5	6.7	6.7	7.3	6.4	5.9	7.0
South Carolina	6.6	7.3	6.9	6.8	6.4	6.2	5.6	6.2	5.8	6.8
South Dakota	6.6	7.3	6.5	7.2	6.8	6.5	6.4	6.5	5.9	6.2
Tennessee	6.2	7.0	5.8	5.9	5.9	6.2	5.5	5.6	5.0	5.5
Texas	6.6	7.2	6.2	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.3	5.0	5.4
Utah	7.0	7.5	6.9	7.0	6.8	6.6	6.8	6.6	6.2	6.2
Vermont	7.5	7.2	7.8	8.2	7.4	7.6	7.8	7.0	6.0	7.5
Virginia	6.5	7.5	6.2	6.2	6.0	6.7	6.1	5.8	5.2	5.8
Washington	7.0	7.2	5.9	6.4	6.0	7.2	6.3	5.3	5.5	5.6
West Virginia	6.7	8.1	6.6	7.1	6.1	8.0	6.9	6.4	5.3	6.1
Wisconsin	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.6	6.0	5.8	5.5	4.9	5.9
Wyoming	8.4	9.2	9.2	8.9	8.4	9.2	8.4	7.9	7.8	8.7
Puerto Rico	6.7	6.2	6.6	5.1	5.8	6.1	5.3	6.1	5.7	4.9
Virgin Islands	8.0	8.5	5.9	7.5	7.4	9.2	5.5	4.7	6.5	6.8
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Last Modified Date: Thursday, February 08, 2024

Mountain-Plains Information Office

Business Employment Dynamics in Colorado – Second Quarter 2023