From September 2016 to December 2016 gross job gains in Georgia totaled 237,672, while gross job losses numbered 209,913, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 27,759. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 28,739. (See 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 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. 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 job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.)

The 237,672 gross job gains in December 2016 followed the 243,567 gross job gains in September 2016. Georgia’s gross job gains have remained above 200,000 each quarter since December 2009. Georgia’s gross job losses numbered 209,913 in December 2016, lower than the recent peak of 240,381 gross job losses in June 2016. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 6.5 percent of private sector employment in Georgia in the fourth quarter of 2016; nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.2 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) With few exceptions, Georgia’s rate of job gains has equaled or exceeded the U.S. rate since the series began in September 1992. Gross job losses accounted for 5.8 percent of private sector employment in Georgia in the fourth quarter of 2016, equal to the national rate of 5.8 percent. This marked the seventh time since the start of the series that Georgia’s gross job losses rate was equal to the national rate.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 10 of the 11 industry sectors in Georgia. Transportation and warehousing created nearly 15,200 jobs in opening and expanding establishments, but lost approximately 6,600 jobs in closing and contracting establishments. The resulting net gain of 8,625 jobs was the largest of any sector in the fourth quarter of 2016. In professional and business services, approximately 49,200 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments and about 45,000 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 4,213 jobs. Four other industry sectors—manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, and construction—each had gross job gains that exceeded gross job losses by more than 2,000. In contrast, the information industry sector had a net loss of 2,119 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2016. (See table 1.)

Additional statistics and other 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 for the First Quarter 2017 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 8, 2017.

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 establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establishments.

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

Contractions. These are establishments 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, Georgia, 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)
	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept 2016	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept 2016	Dec. 2016
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	247,757	218,517	252,375	243,567	237,672	6.9	6.1	7.0	6.7	6.5
At expanding establishments	196,796	175,601	194,846	189,578	190,591	5.5	4.9	5.4	5.2	5.2
At opening establishments	50,961	42,916	57,529	53,989	47,081	1.4	1.2	1.6	1.5	1.3
Gross job losses	202,861	199,712	240,381	214,828	209,913	5.7	5.6	6.6	5.9	5.8
At contracting establishments	159,895	160,460	181,311	168,086	163,175	4.5	4.5	5.0	4.6	4.5
At closing establishments	42,966	39,252	59,070	46,742	46,738	1.2	1.1	1.6	1.3	1.3
Net employment change (2)	44,896	18,805	11,994	28,739	27,759	1.2	0.5	0.4	0.8	0.7
Construction
Gross job gains	15,521	14,017	17,145	16,980	16,272	9.2	8.1	9.9	9.6	9.0
At expanding establishments	12,436	11,699	13,903	13,742	13,760	7.4	6.8	8.0	7.8	7.6
At opening establishments	3,085	2,318	3,242	3,238	2,512	1.8	1.3	1.9	1.8	1.4
Gross job losses	12,125	12,802	15,763	13,202	14,033	7.2	7.5	9.1	7.5	7.8
At contracting establishments	9,449	10,301	11,821	10,629	11,139	5.6	6.0	6.8	6.0	6.2
At closing establishments	2,676	2,501	3,942	2,573	2,894	1.6	1.5	2.3	1.5	1.6
Net employment change (2)	3,396	1,215	1,382	3,778	2,239	2.0	0.6	0.8	2.1	1.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	14,327	12,187	14,461	13,234	13,362	3.8	3.1	3.8	3.5	3.5
At expanding establishments	12,965	10,930	11,910	11,417	11,968	3.4	2.8	3.1	3.0	3.1
At opening establishments	1,362	1,257	2,551	1,817	1,394	0.4	0.3	0.7	0.5	0.4
Gross job losses	11,858	12,230	14,082	12,193	10,580	3.1	3.2	3.7	3.2	2.8
At contracting establishments	10,563	10,781	11,818	10,324	9,217	2.8	2.8	3.1	2.7	2.4
At closing establishments	1,295	1,449	2,264	1,869	1,363	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.5	0.4
Net employment change (2)	2,469	-43	379	1,041	2,782	0.7	-0.1	0.1	0.3	0.7
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	11,833	10,713	11,407	10,657	10,588	5.4	4.9	5.2	4.8	4.8
At expanding establishments	10,146	8,757	9,414	8,587	8,997	4.6	4.0	4.3	3.9	4.1
At opening establishments	1,687	1,956	1,993	2,070	1,591	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.7
Gross job losses	8,932	9,126	10,287	10,910	9,968	4.1	4.2	4.7	5.0	4.6
At contracting establishments	6,793	7,186	7,282	8,108	7,828	3.1	3.3	3.3	3.7	3.6
At closing establishments	2,139	1,940	3,005	2,802	2,140	1.0	0.9	1.4	1.3	1.0
Net employment change (2)	2,901	1,587	1,120	-253	620	1.3	0.7	0.5	-0.2	0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	31,335	29,350	29,038	30,456	29,171	6.4	6.0	5.9	6.2	6.0
At expanding establishments	27,001	25,581	24,136	26,190	25,336	5.5	5.2	4.9	5.3	5.2
At opening establishments	4,334	3,769	4,902	4,266	3,835	0.9	0.8	1.0	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	28,384	26,284	29,644	28,384	27,199	5.8	5.4	6.0	5.8	5.5
At contracting establishments	23,771	23,388	25,577	24,445	23,073	4.9	4.8	5.2	5.0	4.7
At closing establishments	4,613	2,896	4,067	3,939	4,126	0.9	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.8
Net employment change (2)	2,951	3,066	-606	2,072	1,972	0.6	0.6	-0.1	0.4	0.5
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	12,854	8,335	9,561	9,802	15,186	7.2	4.5	5.1	5.3	8.0
At expanding establishments	11,284	7,183	7,484	8,132	14,025	6.3	3.9	4.0	4.4	7.4
At opening establishments	1,570	1,152	2,077	1,670	1,161	0.9	0.6	1.1	0.9	0.6
Gross job losses	7,245	9,453	10,011	9,096	6,561	4.1	5.2	5.4	4.9	3.4
At contracting establishments	5,876	8,247	8,197	6,925	5,410	3.3	4.5	4.4	3.7	2.8
At closing establishments	1,369	1,206	1,814	2,171	1,151	0.8	0.7	1.0	1.2	0.6
Net employment change (2)	5,609	-1,118	-450	706	8,625	3.1	-0.7	-0.3	0.4	4.6
Information
Gross job gains	9,792	5,621	9,387	8,409	5,440	9.1	5.0	8.4	7.5	4.9
At expanding establishments	8,506	4,618	7,811	7,150	4,436	7.9	4.1	7.0	6.4	4.0
At opening establishments	1,286	1,003	1,576	1,259	1,004	1.2	0.9	1.4	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	6,327	9,210	7,966	8,997	7,559	5.9	8.2	7.2	8.1	6.9
At contracting establishments	4,370	5,489	6,165	6,969	5,780	4.1	4.9	5.6	6.3	5.3
At closing establishments	1,957	3,721	1,801	2,028	1,779	1.8	3.3	1.6	1.8	1.6
Net employment change (2)	3,465	-3,589	1,421	-588	-2,119	3.2	-3.2	1.2	-0.6	-2.0
Financial activities
Gross job gains	12,460	11,619	13,602	12,379	12,844	5.5	5.1	6.0	5.4	5.5
At expanding establishments	9,326	9,354	10,217	9,342	10,004	4.1	4.1	4.5	4.1	4.3
At opening establishments	3,134	2,265	3,385	3,037	2,840	1.4	1.0	1.5	1.3	1.2
Gross job losses	10,579	10,900	12,754	11,562	12,594	4.6	4.8	5.6	5.0	5.4
At contracting establishments	7,528	7,983	8,464	8,121	9,121	3.3	3.5	3.7	3.5	3.9
At closing establishments	3,051	2,917	4,290	3,441	3,473	1.3	1.3	1.9	1.5	1.5
Net employment change (2)	1,881	719	848	817	250	0.9	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	54,466	49,733	54,509	55,062	49,189	8.5	7.7	8.4	8.5	7.4
At expanding establishments	42,363	41,917	44,551	44,643	39,759	6.6	6.5	6.9	6.9	6.0
At opening establishments	12,103	7,816	9,958	10,419	9,430	1.9	1.2	1.5	1.6	1.4
Gross job losses	49,378	46,238	55,639	43,984	44,976	7.6	7.2	8.7	6.7	6.8
At contracting establishments	38,911	36,881	40,362	33,262	33,763	6.0	5.7	6.3	5.1	5.1
At closing establishments	10,467	9,357	15,277	10,722	11,213	1.6	1.5	2.4	1.6	1.7
Net employment change (2)	5,088	3,495	-1,130	11,078	4,213	0.9	0.5	-0.3	1.8	0.6
Education and health services
Gross job gains	25,950	25,928	28,364	27,144	25,812	4.9	4.9	5.4	5.1	4.8
At expanding establishments	21,152	19,580	22,135	21,735	19,714	4.0	3.7	4.2	4.1	3.7
At opening establishments	4,798	6,348	6,229	5,409	6,098	0.9	1.2	1.2	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	20,102	20,404	28,080	22,343	23,451	3.9	3.9	5.2	4.1	4.3
At contracting establishments	16,078	16,329	20,362	16,838	16,860	3.1	3.1	3.8	3.1	3.1
At closing establishments	4,024	4,075	7,718	5,505	6,591	0.8	0.8	1.4	1.0	1.2
Net employment change (2)	5,848	5,524	284	4,801	2,361	1.0	1.0	0.2	1.0	0.5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	38,106	31,875	43,068	38,235	39,354	8.4	6.9	9.3	8.2	8.4
At expanding establishments	29,553	25,704	31,048	27,592	30,794	6.5	5.6	6.7	5.9	6.6
At opening establishments	8,553	6,171	12,020	10,643	8,560	1.9	1.3	2.6	2.3	1.8
Gross job losses	33,149	29,299	37,297	37,968	36,763	7.3	6.4	8.0	8.1	7.9
At contracting establishments	26,739	24,154	27,949	31,044	29,864	5.9	5.3	6.0	6.6	6.4
At closing establishments	6,410	5,145	9,348	6,924	6,899	1.4	1.1	2.0	1.5	1.5
Net employment change (2)	4,957	2,576	5,771	267	2,591	1.1	0.5	1.3	0.1	0.5
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	7,658	6,319	9,037	7,702	7,508	7.8	6.4	9.0	7.7	7.4
At expanding establishments	6,060	5,158	7,020	5,913	6,116	6.2	5.2	7.0	5.9	6.0
At opening establishments	1,598	1,161	2,017	1,789	1,392	1.6	1.2	2.0	1.8	1.4
Gross job losses	6,991	6,691	7,486	8,350	7,036	7.1	6.7	7.4	8.3	7.0
At contracting establishments	5,110	5,054	5,660	6,457	5,311	5.2	5.1	5.6	6.4	5.3
At closing establishments	1,881	1,637	1,826	1,893	1,725	1.9	1.6	1.8	1.9	1.7
Net employment change (2)	667	-372	1,551	-648	472	0.7	-0.3	1.6	-0.6	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.