From September 2017 to December 2017, gross job gains in Mississippi totaled 57,005, while gross job losses numbered 48,701, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 8,304. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,322. (See chart 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. 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.) 

Mississippi’s gross job gains numbered 57,005 in the fourth quarter of 2017, an increase of 5,960 from the previous quarter. (Seechart 1.) Mississippi’s gross job losses declined by 3,666 in the fourth quarter of 2017, after declining by 708 in the previous quarter. 

Mississippi’s rate of gross job gains as a percent of private sector employment was 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017; nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.4 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses accounted for 5.5 percent of private sector employment in Mississippi in the fourth quarter of 2017, matching the national rate of 5.5 percent. 

During the fourth quarter of 2017, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 10 industry sectors in Mississippi. Professional and business services added nearly 12,100 jobs at opening and expanding establishments, while closing and contracting establishments lost approximately 7,300 jobs. The resulting net gain of 4,812 jobs was the largest of any Mississippi sector in the fourth quarter of 2017. Transportation and warehousing created 4,727 jobs at opening and expanding establishments, while 1,917 jobs were lost at closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 2,810 jobs. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,040 within the manufacturing sector. Net employment gains in each of the other three sectors were less than 680. 

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in four industries in Mississippi. Within the education and health services sector, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,096. In each of the remaining three sectors with net employment losses, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by less than 690. (See table 1.)  

Mississippi was among the four states in the East South Central Census division. In the fourth quarter of 2017, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all four states. (See table A.) All four states in the division had rates of gross job gains that were below the 6.4-percent national rate. Three states had rates of gross job losses that were below the national rate of 5.5 percent. Mississippi’s rate of gross job losses matched the national rate in the fourth quarter of 2017. 

Table A. Private sector gross job gains and losses for the United States, East South Central Division, and East South Central states, December 2017, seasonally adjusted

Area	Gross job gains		Gross job losses		Net change	Net change as a percent of total employment
	Total	As a percent of total employment	Total	As a percent of total employment
United States	7,793,000	6.4	6,794,000	5.5	999,000	0.9
East South Central (1)	392,854	—	344,049	—	48,805	—
Alabama	94,535	6.0	85,499	5.4	9,036	0.6
Kentucky	93,898	6.0	86,067	5.4	7,831	0.6
Mississippi	57,005	6.3	48,701	5.5	8,304	0.8
Tennessee	147,416	5.8	123,782	4.9	23,634	0.9
Footnotes: (1) Data were calculated for this release using published gross job gains and gross job losses for states located in the East South Central Census Division.
Note: Dash indicates data not available.

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 First Quarter 2018 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 7, 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, Mississippi, 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. 2016	Mar. 2017	June 2017	Sept. 2017	Dec. 2017	Dec. 2016	Mar. 2017	June 2017	Sept. 2017	Dec. 2017
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	56,611	51,514	52,591	51,045	57,005	6.3	5.7	5.9	5.7	6.3
At expanding establishments	45,519	41,350	42,457	43,597	47,841	5.1	4.6	4.8	4.9	5.3
At opening establishments	11,092	10,164	10,134	7,448	9,164	1.2	1.1	1.1	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	50,218	52,216	53,075	52,367	48,701	5.6	5.9	6.0	5.9	5.5
At contracting establishments	42,150	44,518	45,139	43,325	40,176	4.7	5.0	5.1	4.9	4.5
At closing establishments	8,068	7,698	7,936	9,042	8,525	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.0	1.0
Net employment change (2)	6,393	-702	-484	-1,322	8,304	0.7	-0.2	-0.1	-0.2	0.8
Construction
Gross job gains	5,034	4,856	4,185	4,974	4,526	11.4	11.1	9.7	11.5	10.5
At expanding establishments	3,715	3,803	3,065	4,105	3,677	8.4	8.7	7.1	9.5	8.5
At opening establishments	1,319	1,053	1,120	869	849	3.0	2.4	2.6	2.0	2.0
Gross job losses	4,825	4,700	5,158	4,165	4,681	11.0	10.7	11.9	9.6	10.8
At contracting establishments	4,083	3,856	4,267	3,332	3,812	9.3	8.8	9.8	7.7	8.8
At closing establishments	742	844	891	833	869	1.7	1.9	2.1	1.9	2.0
Net employment change (2)	209	156	-973	809	-155	0.4	0.4	-2.2	1.9	-0.3
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	3,922	4,020	4,369	3,683	4,661	2.7	2.8	3.0	2.6	3.2
At expanding establishments	3,615	3,901	4,013	3,575	4,346	2.5	2.7	2.8	2.5	3.0
At opening establishments	307	119	356	108	315	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.2
Gross job losses	3,390	4,285	3,999	4,276	3,621	2.4	3.0	2.7	3.0	2.5
At contracting establishments	3,162	3,899	3,792	4,047	3,074	2.2	2.7	2.6	2.8	2.1
At closing establishments	228	386	207	229	547	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.4
Net employment change (2)	532	-265	370	-593	1,040	0.3	-0.2	0.3	-0.4	0.7
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	1,905	1,462	1,817	1,530	1,796	5.5	4.3	5.2	4.5	5.2
At expanding establishments	1,544	1,166	1,385	1,265	1,554	4.5	3.4	4.0	3.7	4.5
At opening establishments	361	296	432	265	242	1.0	0.9	1.2	0.8	0.7
Gross job losses	1,468	1,421	1,854	1,461	1,398	4.3	4.1	5.4	4.2	4.0
At contracting establishments	1,240	1,119	1,520	1,178	1,162	3.6	3.2	4.4	3.4	3.3
At closing establishments	228	302	334	283	236	0.7	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	437	41	-37	69	398	1.2	0.2	-0.2	0.3	1.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	8,288	7,767	7,745	7,986	7,499	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.3
At expanding establishments	7,125	6,345	6,508	6,795	6,656	5.0	4.5	4.6	4.8	4.7
At opening establishments	1,163	1,422	1,237	1,191	843	0.8	1.0	0.9	0.8	0.6
Gross job losses	7,828	8,325	8,388	7,803	8,183	5.6	5.9	6.0	5.6	5.8
At contracting establishments	6,897	7,354	7,268	6,589	7,201	4.9	5.2	5.2	4.7	5.1
At closing establishments	931	971	1,120	1,214	982	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	460	-558	-643	183	-684	0.2	-0.4	-0.5	0.0	-0.5
Transporting and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,417	1,984	2,632	3,086	4,727	9.5	4.2	5.8	6.7	10.0
At expanding establishments	4,086	1,695	2,177	2,772	4,366	8.8	3.6	4.8	6.0	9.2
At opening establishments	331	289	455	314	361	0.7	0.6	1.0	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	2,200	4,057	2,354	2,749	1,917	4.7	8.7	5.1	6.0	4.1
At contracting establishments	1,780	3,764	2,067	2,449	1,648	3.8	8.1	4.5	5.3	3.5
At closing establishments	420	293	287	300	269	0.9	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.6
Net employment change (2)	2,217	-2,073	278	337	2,810	4.8	-4.5	0.7	0.7	5.9
Financial activities
Gross job gains	2,153	1,818	2,103	1,829	1,816	5.0	4.2	4.9	4.3	4.2
At expanding establishments	1,594	1,462	1,621	1,452	1,419	3.7	3.4	3.8	3.4	3.3
At opening establishments	559	356	482	377	397	1.3	0.8	1.1	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	2,169	1,899	1,785	1,882	1,877	5.0	4.4	4.1	4.4	4.3
At contracting establishments	1,767	1,504	1,382	1,455	1,519	4.1	3.5	3.2	3.4	3.5
At closing establishments	402	395	403	427	358	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.0	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-16	-81	318	-53	-61	0.0	-0.2	0.8	-0.1	-0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	10,900	8,886	8,243	8,663	12,085	10.1	8.2	7.7	8.2	11.1
At expanding establishments	9,240	6,848	6,652	7,111	10,342	8.6	6.3	6.2	6.7	9.5
At opening establishments	1,660	2,038	1,591	1,552	1,743	1.5	1.9	1.5	1.5	1.6
Gross job losses	8,727	9,321	9,736	8,894	7,273	8.1	8.5	9.1	8.3	6.7
At contracting establishments	6,854	7,854	8,280	7,573	5,546	6.4	7.2	7.7	7.1	5.1
At closing establishments	1,873	1,467	1,456	1,321	1,727	1.7	1.3	1.4	1.2	1.6
Net employment change (2)	2,173	-435	-1,493	-231	4,812	2.0	-0.3	-1.4	-0.1	4.4
Education and health services
Gross job gains	6,478	7,044	7,271	6,450	5,869	4.6	5.0	5.1	4.5	4.1
At expanding establishments	4,900	5,755	6,099	5,622	4,982	3.5	4.1	4.3	3.9	3.5
At opening establishments	1,578	1,289	1,172	828	887	1.1	0.9	0.8	0.6	0.6
Gross job losses	6,113	5,372	5,552	6,098	6,965	4.4	3.8	3.9	4.3	4.9
At contracting establishments	4,948	4,643	4,738	4,975	5,581	3.6	3.3	3.3	3.5	3.9
At closing establishments	1,165	729	814	1,123	1,384	0.8	0.5	0.6	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	365	1,672	1,719	352	-1,096	0.2	1.2	1.2	0.2	-0.8
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	8,986	9,145	10,241	9,122	9,487	6.7	6.9	7.6	6.7	7.0
At expanding establishments	6,480	6,788	7,968	7,718	7,145	4.8	5.1	5.9	5.7	5.3
At opening establishments	2,506	2,357	2,273	1,404	2,342	1.9	1.8	1.7	1.0	1.7
Gross job losses	9,529	8,681	9,360	10,837	8,812	7.1	6.6	7.0	8.0	6.6
At contracting establishments	8,359	7,275	8,059	8,360	7,491	6.2	5.5	6.0	6.2	5.6
At closing establishments	1,170	1,406	1,301	2,477	1,321	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-543	464	881	-1,715	675	-0.4	0.3	0.6	-1.3	0.4
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	1,552	1,466	1,348	1,472	1,492	7.7	7.2	6.7	7.4	7.4
At expanding establishments	1,294	1,155	1,107	1,212	1,111	6.4	5.7	5.5	6.1	5.5
At opening establishments	258	311	241	260	381	1.3	1.5	1.2	1.3	1.9
Gross job losses	1,305	1,349	1,518	1,402	1,411	6.5	6.7	7.5	7.0	7.1
At contracting establishments	1,066	1,065	1,213	1,058	1,217	5.3	5.3	6.0	5.3	6.1
At closing establishments	239	284	305	344	194	1.2	1.4	1.5	1.7	1.0
Net employment change (2)	247	117	-170	70	81	1.2	0.5	-0.8	0.4	0.3
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.