From December 2016 to March 2017 gross job gains in North Carolina totaled 222,190, while gross job losses numbered 199,056, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 23,134. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 20,299. (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.)

North Carolina’s gross job gains have remained above 200,000 each quarter since June 2010. Following a peak of 232,511 in December 2015, gross job gains declined to 222,190 by March 2017. North Carolina’s gross job losses declined from a recent high of 208,519 in September 2016 to 199,056 in March 2017. (See chart 1.)

North Carolina’s rate of gross job gains as a percent of private sector employment was 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2017; nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.0 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private sector employment in North Carolina, while nationally gross job losses accounted for 5.4 percent of private sector employment in the first quarter of 2017. With few exceptions, North Carolina’s rate of job losses has been equal to or below the U.S. rate since March 2013.

During the first quarter of 2017, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 10 of the 11 industry sectors in North Carolina. Leisure and hospitality added nearly 44,600 jobs in opening and expanding establishments, and lost more than 37,600 jobs in closing and contracting establishments. The resulting net gain of 6,932 jobs was the largest of any North Carolina sector in the first quarter of 2017. In professional and business services, approximately 45,700 jobs were added in opening and expanding establishments, while about 39,900 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 5,789 jobs. Four other industry sectors—retail trade, education and health services, construction, and financial activities—had gross job gains that exceeded gross job losses by more than 1,200. Net employment gains in the other four sectors were under 850. (See table 1.)

Transportation and warehousing was the only industry sector in North Carolina with gross job losses that exceeded gross job gains in the first quarter of 2017. With more than 5,200 gross jobs gains in opening and expanding establishments, and about 9,200 jobs losses in closing and contracting establishments, transportation and warehousing had a net loss of 3,960 jobs.

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 Second Quarter 2017 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 24, 2018.

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, North Carolina, 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. 2016	June 2016	Sept 2016	Dec. 2016	Mar. 2017	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept 2016	Dec. 2016	Mar. 2017
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	213,858	223,089	221,742	225,601	222,190	6.1	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.2
At expanding establishments	173,054	180,361	180,396	186,236	179,452	4.9	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.0
At opening establishments	40,804	42,728	41,346	39,365	42,738	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.2
Gross job losses	197,618	207,520	208,519	205,302	199,056	5.6	5.8	5.9	5.7	5.5
At contracting establishments	162,670	168,670	169,463	167,887	165,113	4.6	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.6
At closing establishments	34,948	38,850	39,056	37,415	33,943	1.0	1.1	1.1	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	16,240	15,569	13,223	20,299	23,134	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.6	0.7
Construction
Gross job gains	17,764	17,419	17,377	17,501	17,324	9.0	8.8	8.6	8.6	8.3
At expanding establishments	13,370	13,487	13,525	13,986	13,546	6.8	6.8	6.7	6.9	6.5
At opening establishments	4,394	3,932	3,852	3,515	3,778	2.2	2.0	1.9	1.7	1.8
Gross job losses	14,469	15,519	14,895	14,685	15,022	7.3	7.7	7.4	7.2	7.2
At contracting establishments	11,289	12,258	11,429	11,456	11,480	5.7	6.1	5.7	5.6	5.5
At closing establishments	3,180	3,261	3,466	3,229	3,542	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.6	1.7
Net employment change (2)	3,295	1,900	2,482	2,816	2,302	1.7	1.1	1.2	1.4	1.1
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	12,432	14,500	14,062	14,112	14,071	2.7	3.1	3.1	3.0	3.1
At expanding establishments	11,598	13,190	12,853	12,999	12,875	2.5	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8
At opening establishments	834	1,310	1,209	1,113	1,196	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3
Gross job losses	13,895	14,931	14,843	12,925	13,776	3.0	3.2	3.2	2.8	2.9
At contracting establishments	12,883	13,359	13,428	11,536	12,652	2.8	2.9	2.9	2.5	2.7
At closing establishments	1,012	1,572	1,415	1,389	1,124	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2
Net employment change (2)	-1,463	-431	-781	1,187	295	-0.3	-0.1	-0.1	0.2	0.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	8,925	9,992	8,653	9,060	8,467	5.0	5.5	4.7	4.9	4.6
At expanding establishments	7,334	7,969	6,987	7,179	6,782	4.1	4.4	3.8	3.9	3.7
At opening establishments	1,591	2,023	1,666	1,881	1,685	0.9	1.1	0.9	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	7,979	8,338	8,062	7,447	7,656	4.4	4.6	4.4	4.0	4.2
At contracting establishments	5,825	6,128	5,988	5,909	5,914	3.2	3.4	3.3	3.2	3.2
At closing establishments	2,154	2,210	2,074	1,538	1,742	1.2	1.2	1.1	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	946	1,654	591	1,613	811	0.6	0.9	0.3	0.9	0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	30,806	31,022	31,161	28,981	32,302	6.3	6.2	6.2	5.9	6.5
At expanding establishments	26,122	26,381	26,510	25,247	26,419	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.1	5.3
At opening establishments	4,684	4,641	4,651	3,734	5,883	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.8	1.2
Gross job losses	27,161	28,020	29,739	29,369	28,976	5.6	5.6	6.0	5.9	5.8
At contracting establishments	23,954	24,372	25,424	25,509	25,475	4.9	4.9	5.1	5.1	5.1
At closing establishments	3,207	3,648	4,315	3,860	3,501	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	3,645	3,002	1,422	-388	3,326	0.7	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.7
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	5,906	5,910	6,572	11,133	5,223	4.8	4.9	5.4	9.0	4.1
At expanding establishments	4,756	5,154	5,697	10,112	4,339	3.9	4.3	4.7	8.2	3.4
At opening establishments	1,150	756	875	1,021	884	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.7
Gross job losses	7,540	6,345	5,499	5,597	9,183	6.2	5.3	4.6	4.5	7.2
At contracting establishments	6,705	5,123	4,442	4,583	8,500	5.5	4.3	3.7	3.7	6.7
At closing establishments	835	1,222	1,057	1,014	683	0.7	1.0	0.9	0.8	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-1,634	-435	1,073	5,536	-3,960	-1.4	-0.4	0.8	4.5	-3.1
Information
Gross job gains	3,419	3,771	3,182	3,914	3,325	4.3	4.8	4.0	5.0	4.2
At expanding establishments	2,689	3,030	2,388	3,233	2,669	3.4	3.9	3.0	4.1	3.4
At opening establishments	730	741	794	681	656	0.9	0.9	1.0	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	2,860	3,137	3,765	3,128	2,974	3.6	4.0	4.7	4.0	3.7
At contracting establishments	2,434	2,287	3,025	2,512	2,327	3.1	2.9	3.8	3.2	2.9
At closing establishments	426	850	740	616	647	0.5	1.1	0.9	0.8	0.8
Net employment change (2)	559	634	-583	786	351	0.7	0.8	-0.7	1.0	0.5
Financial activities
Gross job gains	11,289	12,176	12,198	12,205	12,657	5.2	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.7
At expanding establishments	8,838	9,479	9,506	9,574	10,215	4.1	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.6
At opening establishments	2,451	2,697	2,692	2,631	2,442	1.1	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.1
Gross job losses	10,044	10,750	10,275	10,998	11,366	4.6	4.9	4.7	4.9	5.0
At contracting establishments	7,879	7,300	7,914	8,327	8,802	3.6	3.3	3.6	3.7	3.9
At closing establishments	2,165	3,450	2,361	2,671	2,564	1.0	1.6	1.1	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	1,245	1,426	1,923	1,207	1,291	0.6	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.7
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	45,262	48,634	47,488	45,820	45,667	7.6	8.0	7.8	7.6	7.5
At expanding establishments	37,007	38,308	38,300	36,944	37,140	6.2	6.3	6.3	6.1	6.1
At opening establishments	8,255	10,326	9,188	8,876	8,527	1.4	1.7	1.5	1.5	1.4
Gross job losses	42,382	44,755	44,121	47,175	39,878	7.1	7.4	7.2	7.7	6.5
At contracting establishments	34,183	35,854	34,257	38,069	32,274	5.7	5.9	5.6	6.2	5.3
At closing establishments	8,199	8,901	9,864	9,106	7,604	1.4	1.5	1.6	1.5	1.2
Net employment change (2)	2,880	3,879	3,367	-1,355	5,789	0.5	0.6	0.6	-0.1	1.0
Education and health services
Gross job gains	24,962	25,294	26,892	24,822	24,827	4.4	4.5	4.8	4.3	4.4
At expanding establishments	20,929	20,684	22,376	20,115	21,089	3.7	3.7	4.0	3.5	3.7
At opening establishments	4,033	4,610	4,516	4,707	3,738	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7
Gross job losses	23,934	23,519	22,595	23,261	21,725	4.3	4.1	3.9	4.1	3.8
At contracting establishments	18,901	18,818	18,391	18,180	17,815	3.4	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.1
At closing establishments	5,033	4,701	4,204	5,081	3,910	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	1,028	1,775	4,297	1,561	3,102	0.1	0.4	0.9	0.2	0.6
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	41,045	42,853	41,088	46,603	44,571	8.6	9.0	8.6	9.6	9.0
At expanding establishments	31,085	33,472	32,028	37,943	33,502	6.5	7.0	6.7	7.8	6.8
At opening establishments	9,960	9,381	9,060	8,660	11,069	2.1	2.0	1.9	1.8	2.2
Gross job losses	36,119	40,335	42,816	38,648	37,639	7.6	8.4	8.9	8.0	7.6
At contracting establishments	29,404	33,689	36,009	31,954	31,140	6.2	7.0	7.5	6.6	6.3
At closing establishments	6,715	6,646	6,807	6,694	6,499	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3
Net employment change (2)	4,926	2,518	-1,728	7,955	6,932	1.0	0.6	-0.3	1.6	1.4
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	7,773	7,865	9,546	7,184	8,167	8.1	8.1	9.8	7.3	8.3
At expanding establishments	5,845	6,070	7,326	5,413	6,044	6.1	6.3	7.5	5.5	6.1
At opening establishments	1,928	1,795	2,220	1,771	2,123	2.0	1.8	2.3	1.8	2.2
Gross job losses	6,680	7,224	7,221	8,491	7,371	6.9	7.4	7.4	8.6	7.5
At contracting establishments	5,307	5,467	5,374	6,875	5,807	5.5	5.6	5.5	7.0	5.9
At closing establishments	1,373	1,757	1,847	1,616	1,564	1.4	1.8	1.9	1.6	1.6
Net employment change (2)	1,093	641	2,325	-1,307	796	1.2	0.7	2.4	-1.3	0.8
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.