From March 2018 to June 2018, gross job gains in private-sector establishments in Alabama totaled 92,414, while gross job losses numbered 91,229, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 1,185 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2018. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 10,809.

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.)

The 92,414 gross job gains in June 2018 followed the 95,408 gross job gains in March 2018. With two exceptions, Alabama’s gross job gains have been between 90,000 and 100,000 each quarter since the second quarter of 2015. (See chart 1.) Alabama’s gross job losses numbered 91,229 in the second quarter of 2018, lower than the recent peak of 91,407 gross jobs losses in September 2017.

Alabama’s rate of gross job gains as a percent of private sector employment was 5.8 percent in the second quarter of 2018; nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.1 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses represented 5.7 percent of private sector employment in Alabama, while nationally gross job losses accounted for 5.8 percent of private sector employment in the second quarter of 2018.

During the second quarter of 2018, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 10 industry sectors in Alabama. For example, education and health services added nearly 11,700 jobs in opening and expanding establishments, and lost more than 9,300 jobs in closing and contracting establishments. The resulting net gain of 2,316 jobs was the largest of any sector in the state for the second quarter of 2018. Among the five other sectors with net employment gains, the professional and business services sector had a net gain of over 600 jobs in the second quarter of 2018; the remaining four sectors had net gross job gains exceed gross losses by less than 500.

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in four industries in Alabama. Retail trade lost approximately 14,800 jobs in closing and contracting establishments, and added nearly 13,600 jobs in opening and expanding establishments. The resulting net loss of 1,266 jobs was the largest of any sector in the state for the second quarter of 2018. Net losses in the remaining three industries were less than 750. (See table 1.) 

Alabama was among the four states in the East South Central Census Division. In the second quarter of 2018, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee had gross job gains that exceeded gross job losses. (See table A.) All four states in the division had rates of gross job gains that were below the 6.1-percent national rate. Alabama was among the three states in the division that had rates of gross job losses that were below the 5.8-percent national rate. Mississippi had a rate of job loss above the national rate.

Table A. Private sector gross job gains and losses for the United States, East South Central Division, and East South Central states, June 2018, 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	7,639,000	6.1	7,202,000	5.8	437,000	0.3
East South Central (1)	378,597	—	366,281	—	12,316	—
Alabama	92,414	5.8	91,229	5.7	1,185	0.1
Kentucky	94,775	5.9	89,163	5.6	5,612	0.3
Mississippi	51,181	5.7	53,851	6.0	-2,670	-0.3
Tennessee	140,227	5.5	132,038	5.1	8,189	0.4
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 Third Quarter 2018 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 24, 2019.

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, Alabama, 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)
	June 2017	Sept. 2017	Dec. 2017	Mar. 2018	June 2018	June 2017	Sept. 2017	Dec. 2017	Mar. 2018	June 2018
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	87,628	94,446	94,822	95,408	92,414	5.6	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.8
At expanding establishments	74,192	77,021	78,979	79,995	76,659	4.7	4.9	5.0	5.0	4.8
At opening establishments	13,436	17,425	15,843	15,413	15,755	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	89,429	91,407	86,247	84,599	91,229	5.6	5.8	5.4	5.3	5.7
At contracting establishments	74,585	75,899	73,247	71,581	76,701	4.7	4.8	4.6	4.5	4.8
At closing establishments	14,844	15,508	13,000	13,018	14,528	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-1,801	3,039	8,575	10,809	1,185	0.0	0.2	0.6	0.7	0.1
Construction
Gross job gains	7,347	8,460	7,902	8,526	7,545	8.6	10.0	9.2	9.7	8.5
At expanding establishments	6,149	7,007	6,458	6,886	6,313	7.2	8.3	7.5	7.8	7.1
At opening establishments	1,198	1,453	1,444	1,640	1,232	1.4	1.7	1.7	1.9	1.4
Gross job losses	8,803	7,487	6,897	6,543	7,147	10.3	8.9	8.0	7.5	8.0
At contracting establishments	7,501	6,162	5,865	5,591	6,092	8.8	7.3	6.8	6.4	6.8
At closing establishments	1,302	1,325	1,032	952	1,055	1.5	1.6	1.2	1.1	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-1,456	973	1,005	1,983	398	-1.7	1.1	1.2	2.2	0.5
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	7,578	7,715	8,702	7,796	8,021	2.9	2.9	3.3	2.9	3.0
At expanding establishments	6,882	6,952	7,913	7,240	7,180	2.6	2.6	3.0	2.7	2.7
At opening establishments	696	763	789	556	841	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3
Gross job losses	8,041	7,566	6,617	6,942	7,917	3.0	2.8	2.5	2.6	3.0
At contracting establishments	7,134	6,955	6,158	6,416	6,957	2.7	2.6	2.3	2.4	2.6
At closing establishments	907	611	459	526	960	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-463	149	2,085	854	104	-0.1	0.1	0.8	0.3	0.0
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,435	3,352	3,364	3,568	3,525	4.6	4.5	4.6	4.8	4.8
At expanding establishments	2,831	2,663	2,805	2,972	2,870	3.8	3.6	3.8	4.0	3.9
At opening establishments	604	689	559	596	655	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	3,003	3,542	3,036	3,304	3,403	4.0	4.8	4.1	4.5	4.6
At contracting establishments	2,379	2,694	2,378	2,707	2,632	3.2	3.7	3.2	3.7	3.6
At closing establishments	624	848	658	597	771	0.8	1.1	0.9	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	432	-190	328	264	122	0.6	-0.3	0.5	0.3	0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	13,641	13,120	12,153	15,495	13,582	5.8	5.6	5.3	6.7	5.9
At expanding establishments	11,947	11,487	10,599	13,307	11,318	5.1	4.9	4.6	5.8	4.9
At opening establishments	1,694	1,633	1,554	2,188	2,264	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.9	1.0
Gross job losses	13,763	14,608	13,389	12,262	14,848	5.9	6.3	5.8	5.3	6.4
At contracting establishments	11,936	12,695	11,813	10,729	12,265	5.1	5.5	5.1	4.6	5.3
At closing establishments	1,827	1,913	1,576	1,533	2,583	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-122	-1,488	-1,236	3,233	-1,266	-0.1	-0.7	-0.5	1.4	-0.5
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	2,390	3,031	4,848	3,121	3,329	4.2	5.4	8.4	5.3	5.7
At expanding establishments	2,121	2,696	4,319	2,747	2,874	3.7	4.8	7.5	4.7	4.9
At opening establishments	269	335	529	374	455	0.5	0.6	0.9	0.6	0.8
Gross job losses	3,289	2,731	2,618	3,847	3,538	5.8	4.8	4.5	6.6	6.1
At contracting establishments	2,952	2,331	2,214	3,307	3,141	5.2	4.1	3.8	5.7	5.4
At closing establishments	337	400	404	540	397	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-899	300	2,230	-726	-209	-1.6	0.6	3.9	-1.3	-0.4
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,311	6,002	4,105	4,144	4,221	4.6	6.3	4.3	4.3	4.5
At expanding establishments	3,378	4,760	3,259	3,347	3,385	3.6	5.0	3.4	3.5	3.6
At opening establishments	933	1,242	846	797	836	1.0	1.3	0.9	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	4,368	4,109	5,517	4,308	4,948	4.6	4.4	5.8	4.6	5.2
At contracting establishments	3,299	3,189	4,377	3,455	3,617	3.5	3.4	4.6	3.7	3.8
At closing establishments	1,069	920	1,140	853	1,331	1.1	1.0	1.2	0.9	1.4
Net employment change (2)	-57	1,893	-1,412	-164	-727	0.0	1.9	-1.5	-0.3	-0.7
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	17,625	17,261	19,564	17,970	18,021	7.3	7.2	8.1	7.4	7.4
At expanding establishments	14,900	13,529	16,514	15,102	15,120	6.2	5.6	6.8	6.2	6.2
At opening establishments	2,725	3,732	3,050	2,868	2,901	1.1	1.6	1.3	1.2	1.2
Gross job losses	15,792	18,079	16,665	15,710	17,420	6.6	7.5	6.9	6.5	7.2
At contracting establishments	12,727	14,441	13,917	12,653	14,850	5.3	6.0	5.8	5.2	6.1
At closing establishments	3,065	3,638	2,748	3,057	2,570	1.3	1.5	1.1	1.3	1.1
Net employment change (2)	1,833	-818	2,899	2,260	601	0.7	-0.3	1.2	0.9	0.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	10,275	9,954	10,531	10,706	11,658	4.4	4.3	4.5	4.6	5.0
At expanding establishments	9,043	8,488	8,837	9,323	9,916	3.9	3.7	3.8	4.0	4.3
At opening establishments	1,232	1,466	1,694	1,383	1,742	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.7
Gross job losses	9,465	9,731	9,607	10,793	9,342	4.1	4.3	4.2	4.7	4.0
At contracting establishments	7,703	7,739	8,002	9,036	7,981	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.9	3.4
At closing establishments	1,762	1,992	1,605	1,757	1,361	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.8	0.6
Net employment change (2)	810	223	924	-87	2,316	0.3	0.0	0.3	-0.1	1.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	15,677	18,912	17,257	17,978	16,501	7.7	9.4	8.5	8.8	8.0
At expanding establishments	12,838	14,309	13,051	14,137	12,831	6.3	7.1	6.4	6.9	6.2
At opening establishments	2,839	4,603	4,206	3,841	3,670	1.4	2.3	2.1	1.9	1.8
Gross job losses	16,863	17,591	16,108	15,066	17,077	8.3	8.7	8.0	7.4	8.3
At contracting establishments	13,988	14,879	13,750	12,829	14,474	6.9	7.4	6.8	6.3	7.0
At closing establishments	2,875	2,712	2,358	2,237	2,603	1.4	1.3	1.2	1.1	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-1,186	1,321	1,149	2,912	-576	-0.6	0.7	0.5	1.4	-0.3
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	2,794	3,473	3,132	3,113	3,239	6.6	8.2	7.4	7.4	7.6
At expanding establishments	2,189	2,496	2,417	2,494	2,533	5.2	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.9
At opening establishments	605	977	715	619	706	1.4	2.3	1.7	1.5	1.7
Gross job losses	2,889	2,915	3,182	3,022	2,800	6.9	6.9	7.5	7.2	6.6
At contracting establishments	2,272	2,292	2,586	2,405	2,329	5.4	5.4	6.1	5.7	5.5
At closing establishments	617	623	596	617	471	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.5	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-95	558	-50	91	439	-0.3	1.3	-0.1	0.2	1.0
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.