Business Employment Dynamics in the U.S. Virgin Islands — Fourth Quarter 2023

From September 2023 to December 2023, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in the U.S. Virgin Islands were 1,453, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 1,442, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 11 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 254. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in the U.S. Virgin Islands, December 2018–December 2023, seasonally adjusted

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Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in the U.S. Virgin Islands, December 2018–December 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job losses	Gross job gains
Dec. 2018	1,774	1,952
Mar. 2019	1,890	3,290
Jun. 2019	1,804	2,349
Sep. 2019	1,720	3,284
Dec. 2019	2,173	2,909
Mar. 2020	2,562	2,282
Jun. 2020	5,185	1,401
Sep. 2020	2,947	1,857
Dec. 2020	1,388	2,216
Mar. 2021	2,540	1,825
Jun. 2021	1,425	2,662
Sep. 2021	2,105	1,864
Dec. 2021	2,307	1,940
Mar. 2022	2,111	1,782
Jun. 2022	2,189	1,892
Sep. 2022	1,326	2,042
Dec. 2022	1,153	1,432
Mar. 2023	1,613	1,838
Jun. 2023	1,688	1,841
Sep. 2023	1,782	2,036
Dec. 2023	1,453	1,442

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 Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in the U.S. Virgin Islands; in the United States, gross job gains accounted for 5.9 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 the U.S. Virgin Islands, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 1,206 in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 204 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 236 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 390 jobs from the previous quarter.

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Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and U.S. Virgin Islands, December 2018–December 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Virgin Islands
Dec. 2018	6.2	8.0
Mar. 2019	6.0	13.0
Jun. 2019	6.1	8.9
Sep. 2019	5.9	12.0
Dec. 2019	6.2	10.2
Mar. 2020	5.5	7.9
Jun. 2020	4.8	5.2
Sep. 2020	9.4	7.7
Dec. 2020	7.4	9.2
Mar. 2021	7.0	7.5
Jun. 2021	6.8	10.9
Sep. 2021	7.3	7.5
Dec. 2021	7.7	7.9
Mar. 2022	6.7	7.4
Jun. 2022	6.6	8.0
Sep. 2022	6.9	8.5
Dec. 2022	6.3	5.9
Mar. 2023	6.2	7.5
Jun. 2023	6.2	7.4
Sep. 2023	5.8	8.2
Dec. 2023	5.9	5.7

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment in the U.S. Virgin Islands; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.6 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 the U.S. Virgin Islands, contracting establishments lost 957 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 321 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 496 jobs, a decrease of 8 jobs from the previous quarter.

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Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and U.S. Virgin Islands, December 2018–December 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Virgin Islands
Dec. 2018	5.6	7.2
Mar. 2019	5.5	7.4
Jun. 2019	5.9	6.8
Sep. 2019	5.8	6.3
Dec. 2019	5.6	7.6
Mar. 2020	6.2	8.9
Jun. 2020	16.9	19.2
Sep. 2020	6.0	12.2
Dec. 2020	5.7	5.8
Mar. 2021	5.5	10.5
Jun. 2021	5.9	5.8
Sep. 2021	6.1	8.5
Dec. 2021	5.4	9.5
Mar. 2022	5.5	8.8
Jun. 2022	6.2	9.2
Sep. 2022	5.9	5.5
Dec. 2022	5.9	4.7
Mar. 2023	5.4	6.5
Jun. 2023	5.9	6.8
Sep. 2023	5.9	7.1
Dec. 2023	5.6	5.8

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 U.S. 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 First Quarter 2024 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

The release of First Quarter 2024 Business Employment Dynamics data, scheduled for October 30, 2024, will incorporate annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. The revisions will include the previous 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). 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, U.S. Virgin Islands, 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	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	1,432	1,838	1,841	2,036	1,442	5.9	7.5	7.4	8.2	5.7
At expanding establishments	1,120	1,320	1,371	1,410	1,206	4.6	5.4	5.5	5.7	4.8
At opening establishments	312	518	470	626	236	1.3	2.1	1.9	2.5	0.9
Gross job losses	1,153	1,613	1,688	1,782	1,453	4.7	6.5	6.8	7.1	5.8
At contracting establishments	977	1,089	1,220	1,278	957	4.0	4.4	4.9	5.1	3.8
At closing establishments	176	524	468	504	496	0.7	2.1	1.9	2.0	2.0
Net employment change (2)	279	225	153	254	-11	1.2	1.0	0.6	1.1	-0.1
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.

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	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023
United States(1)	6.3	6.2	6.2	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.4	5.9	5.9	5.6
Alabama	6.6	6.4	5.9	5.9	6.2	6.1	5.5	5.7	6.0	5.8
Alaska	10.9	10.4	11.0	8.5	10.1	9.2	8.0	8.9	10.5	9.9
Arizona	6.6	5.9	7.0	6.7	6.6	6.0	5.4	6.5	5.9	6.9
Arkansas	6.2	5.8	5.8	5.6	6.1	5.2	5.0	6.0	5.7	5.3
California	6.6	6.1	6.7	6.2	6.3	6.6	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5
Colorado	7.6	7.2	7.3	5.5	8.4	6.9	6.5	6.6	6.2	7.5
Connecticut	5.9	6.1	6.4	5.8	5.6	5.9	5.3	5.7	6.2	5.7
Delaware	7.0	6.7	6.0	6.0	6.2	7.5	5.2	5.7	6.5	5.9
District of Columbia	5.6	5.9	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.5	4.8	5.3	5.4	5.6
Florida	6.2	6.3	6.8	6.5	5.9	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.8
Georgia	6.7	6.2	6.4	6.1	6.1	5.9	5.8	6.5	6.1	5.7
Hawaii	6.0	5.5	5.7	5.3	6.1	4.9	5.0	5.2	6.9	5.0
Idaho	8.4	7.9	7.9	7.3	8.5	6.9	7.5	7.5	8.2	5.8
Illinois	5.4	5.8	5.4	4.8	4.9	5.1	4.8	5.3	5.5	5.1
Indiana	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.0	6.1	5.8	5.3
Iowa	6.4	6.0	6.0	5.5	6.0	6.2	5.4	5.9	5.8	5.7
Kansas	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.7	5.8	5.6	5.4	6.0	6.0	5.4
Kentucky	6.0	6.1	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.3	4.9	5.9	5.5	5.2
Louisiana	6.1	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.2	5.6	6.4	6.0	6.1
Maine	7.4	7.7	7.6	6.8	7.3	6.8	6.2	7.6	7.8	7.0
Maryland	6.6	6.8	6.7	6.4	6.3	6.9	5.6	6.3	6.5	5.9
Massachusetts	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.4	5.3	5.8	4.7	5.7	6.1	5.6
Michigan	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.2	5.5	5.2	4.9	5.3	5.9	5.6
Minnesota	5.9	5.7	6.0	3.1	6.8	5.8	4.9	5.6	4.2	7.0
Mississippi	6.8	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.1	6.2	5.7	6.6	6.2	5.7
Missouri	6.1	6.5	5.9	5.6	6.0	5.8	5.1	5.9	5.8	5.6
Montana	9.2	8.7	7.8	7.7	8.8	7.8	7.1	8.4	8.5	7.2
Nebraska	6.0	6.3	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.7	5.1	5.6	5.9	5.6
Nevada	6.4	6.2	6.6	6.5	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.0	5.5	5.1
New Hampshire	6.7	7.0	6.7	5.9	6.2	6.0	5.9	6.3	6.7	5.9
New Jersey	6.8	6.1	6.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.8
New Mexico	6.7	6.8	6.4	6.1	6.9	6.2	5.9	6.2	6.7	5.8
New York	5.9	6.5	6.3	5.8	5.8	6.0	5.1	5.7	6.1	5.7
North Carolina	6.6	6.4	6.1	5.6	6.1	5.7	5.3	5.7	6.2	4.7
North Dakota	6.4	7.6	6.9	6.6	6.7	6.7	5.6	6.7	6.6	6.3
Ohio	5.9	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.3	5.7	4.9	5.7	5.7	5.2
Oklahoma	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.1	5.9	5.3	6.0	6.0	5.7
Oregon	6.5	7.3	6.4	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.1	6.9	6.9	6.3
Pennsylvania	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	4.6	5.5	5.2	4.9
Rhode Island	6.9	7.5	6.7	6.5	6.8	6.4	5.9	7.0	6.8	6.4
South Carolina	6.9	6.8	6.4	6.8	6.2	6.2	5.8	6.8	5.7	5.4
South Dakota	6.5	7.2	6.8	6.3	6.6	6.5	5.9	6.2	6.3	5.9
Tennessee	5.8	5.9	5.9	2.7	4.9	5.6	5.0	5.5	4.2	4.6
Texas	6.2	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.3	5.0	5.4	5.5	5.2
Utah	6.9	7.0	6.8	6.8	6.4	6.6	6.2	6.2	6.5	6.2
Vermont	7.8	8.2	7.4	6.3	7.2	7.0	6.0	7.5	8.0	6.6
Virginia	6.2	6.2	6.0	5.8	5.9	5.8	5.2	5.8	6.0	5.6
Washington	5.9	6.4	6.0	5.4	6.0	5.3	5.5	5.6	6.0	5.2
West Virginia	6.6	7.1	6.1	6.5	6.1	6.4	5.3	6.1	6.5	6.5
Wisconsin	6.0	6.0	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.5	4.9	5.9	5.9	5.1
Wyoming	9.2	8.9	8.4	8.2	8.8	7.9	7.8	8.7	8.2	8.3
Puerto Rico	6.6	5.1	5.8	5.7	4.9	6.1	5.7	4.9	5.4	4.8
Virgin Islands	5.9	7.5	7.4	8.2	5.7	4.7	6.5	6.8	7.1	5.8
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.

Last Modified Date: Thursday, August 01, 2024

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Business Employment Dynamics in the U.S. Virgin Islands — Fourth Quarter 2023