From September 2018 to December 2018, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Georgia totaled 238,969, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments numbered 217,289, 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 21,680 jobs in Georgia’s private-sector during the fourth quarter of 2018. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 19,176. (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.)

Georgia’s gross job gains numbered 238,969 in the fourth quarter of 2018, a decrease of 14,280 from the previous quarter. Georgia’s level of gross job gains have remained above 200,000 each quarter since the fourth quarter of 2009. Georgia’s gross job losses numbered 217,289 in the fourth quarter of 2018, below the recent peak of 240,874 gross job losses in the second quarter of 2018. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 6.3 percent of private-sector employment in Georgia in the fourth quarter of 2018; nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.1 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses accounted for 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Georgia in the fourth quarter of 2018, while nationally gross job losses accounted for 5.6 percent of private-sector employment in the fourth quarter of 2018.

During the fourth quarter of 2018, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 8 of the 11 industry sectors in Georgia. The transportation and warehousing industry created 17,513 jobs in opening and expanding establishments, but lost 9,063 jobs in closing and contracting establishments. The resulting net gain of 8,450 jobs was the largest of any sector in Georgia in the fourth quarter of 2018. In professional and business services, 52,395 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments, while 46,565 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 5,830 jobs. Georgia’s education and health services industry had a net gain net gain of 3,689 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2018. Among the five other sectors with net employment gains, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by less than 3,000.

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in three industries in Georgia: information, retail trade, and other services. The information industry had the largest net employment decrease, with a loss of 4,295 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2018. The remaining two industries each had net employment losses below 2,300. (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 2019 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 30, 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.

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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. 2017	Mar. 2018	June 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Dec. 2017	Mar. 2018	June 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	256,202	243,572	236,252	253,249	238,969	6.9	6.5	6.2	6.7	6.3
At expanding establishments	204,208	191,662	190,321	204,222	198,209	5.5	5.1	5.0	5.4	5.2
At opening establishments	51,994	51,910	45,931	49,027	40,760	1.4	1.4	1.2	1.3	1.1
Gross job losses	206,907	211,926	240,874	234,073	217,289	5.6	5.6	6.4	6.2	5.7
At contracting establishments	162,080	169,698	190,853	182,804	172,698	4.4	4.5	5.1	4.8	4.5
At closing establishments	44,827	42,228	50,021	51,269	44,591	1.2	1.1	1.3	1.4	1.2
Net employment change (2)	49,295	31,646	-4,622	19,176	21,680	1.3	0.9	-0.2	0.5	0.6
Construction
Gross job gains	18,213	17,870	15,966	15,601	16,308	9.9	9.3	8.2	7.9	8.2
At expanding establishments	14,316	14,178	13,250	12,436	13,462	7.8	7.4	6.8	6.3	6.8
At opening establishments	3,897	3,692	2,716	3,165	2,846	2.1	1.9	1.4	1.6	1.4
Gross job losses	14,602	12,861	14,577	14,889	14,519	7.9	6.7	7.5	7.6	7.3
At contracting establishments	11,209	9,908	10,956	11,548	11,312	6.1	5.2	5.6	5.9	5.7
At closing establishments	3,393	2,953	3,621	3,341	3,207	1.8	1.5	1.9	1.7	1.6
Net employment change (2)	3,611	5,009	1,389	712	1,789	2.0	2.6	0.7	0.3	0.9
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	15,159	16,165	13,680	13,832	14,870	3.8	4.0	3.4	3.4	3.6
At expanding establishments	13,948	14,026	12,573	12,458	13,220	3.5	3.5	3.1	3.1	3.2
At opening establishments	1,211	2,139	1,107	1,374	1,650	0.3	0.5	0.3	0.3	0.4
Gross job losses	11,408	11,380	14,270	13,553	13,378	2.9	2.8	3.5	3.3	3.3
At contracting establishments	10,226	10,215	11,889	10,924	11,803	2.6	2.5	2.9	2.7	2.9
At closing establishments	1,182	1,165	2,381	2,629	1,575	0.3	0.3	0.6	0.6	0.4
Net employment change (2)	3,751	4,785	-590	279	1,492	0.9	1.2	-0.1	0.1	0.3
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	11,292	10,956	10,814	11,607	11,114	5.1	5.2	5.1	5.4	5.1
At expanding establishments	9,541	8,877	9,166	9,640	9,451	4.3	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.3
At opening establishments	1,751	2,079	1,648	1,967	1,663	0.8	1.0	0.8	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	10,190	9,064	10,007	10,954	8,293	4.6	4.3	4.7	5.1	3.8
At contracting establishments	7,844	6,973	7,396	8,177	6,152	3.5	3.3	3.5	3.8	2.8
At closing establishments	2,346	2,091	2,611	2,777	2,141	1.1	1.0	1.2	1.3	1.0
Net employment change (2)	1,102	1,892	807	653	2,821	0.5	0.9	0.4	0.3	1.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	29,406	30,706	27,860	29,337	25,349	5.9	6.2	5.6	5.9	5.2
At expanding establishments	25,361	26,960	23,710	25,343	22,468	5.1	5.4	4.8	5.1	4.6
At opening establishments	4,045	3,746	4,150	3,994	2,881	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.6
Gross job losses	27,360	26,968	32,415	30,536	27,599	5.6	5.4	6.5	6.2	5.6
At contracting establishments	23,638	23,244	27,399	26,315	23,052	4.8	4.7	5.5	5.3	4.7
At closing establishments	3,722	3,724	5,016	4,221	4,547	0.8	0.7	1.0	0.9	0.9
Net employment change (2)	2,046	3,738	-4,555	-1,199	-2,250	0.3	0.8	-0.9	-0.3	-0.4
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	14,231	10,818	12,273	16,186	17,513	7.1	5.3	6.0	7.9	8.2
At expanding establishments	12,620	9,530	10,186	14,607	16,267	6.3	4.7	5.0	7.1	7.6
At opening establishments	1,611	1,288	2,087	1,579	1,246	0.8	0.6	1.0	0.8	0.6
Gross job losses	7,454	11,425	10,208	12,463	9,063	3.7	5.6	5.0	6.0	4.3
At contracting establishments	6,053	10,157	8,948	10,920	7,639	3.0	5.0	4.4	5.3	3.6
At closing establishments	1,401	1,268	1,260	1,543	1,424	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	6,777	-607	2,065	3,723	8,450	3.4	-0.3	1.0	1.9	3.9
Information
Gross job gains	7,231	6,852	8,928	9,190	5,330	6.3	5.9	7.8	8.1	4.7
At expanding establishments	6,000	4,546	8,068	8,270	4,666	5.2	3.9	7.0	7.3	4.1
At opening establishments	1,231	2,306	860	920	664	1.1	2.0	0.8	0.8	0.6
Gross job losses	6,683	10,504	12,330	6,763	9,625	5.8	9.0	10.8	6.0	8.5
At contracting establishments	5,297	9,570	11,203	5,550	8,562	4.6	8.2	9.8	4.9	7.6
At closing establishments	1,386	934	1,127	1,213	1,063	1.2	0.8	1.0	1.1	0.9
Net employment change (2)	548	-3,652	-3,402	2,427	-4,295	0.5	-3.1	-3.0	2.1	-3.8
Financial activities
Gross job gains	13,821	11,654	12,258	13,912	12,741	5.9	4.9	5.1	5.8	5.3
At expanding establishments	9,905	8,568	9,544	10,584	9,460	4.2	3.6	4.0	4.4	3.9
At opening establishments	3,916	3,086	2,714	3,328	3,281	1.7	1.3	1.1	1.4	1.4
Gross job losses	12,620	11,259	12,491	13,151	12,082	5.3	4.7	5.3	5.5	5.1
At contracting establishments	9,043	7,677	8,969	8,864	9,012	3.8	3.2	3.8	3.7	3.8
At closing establishments	3,577	3,582	3,522	4,287	3,070	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.8	1.3
Net employment change (2)	1,201	395	-233	761	659	0.6	0.2	-0.2	0.3	0.2
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	58,303	49,503	47,877	54,909	52,395	8.6	7.2	6.9	7.9	7.5
At expanding establishments	47,358	41,273	39,282	45,717	44,024	7.0	6.0	5.7	6.6	6.3
At opening establishments	10,945	8,230	8,595	9,192	8,371	1.6	1.2	1.2	1.3	1.2
Gross job losses	46,085	45,641	53,533	50,196	46,565	6.8	6.7	7.8	7.3	6.7
At contracting establishments	34,433	36,845	42,563	39,004	37,344	5.1	5.4	6.2	5.7	5.4
At closing establishments	11,652	8,796	10,970	11,192	9,221	1.7	1.3	1.6	1.6	1.3
Net employment change (2)	12,218	3,862	-5,656	4,713	5,830	1.8	0.5	-0.9	0.6	0.8
Education and health services
Gross job gains	27,787	26,588	26,841	29,301	27,154	5.0	4.8	4.8	5.2	4.7
At expanding establishments	20,551	20,901	21,839	24,577	21,270	3.7	3.8	3.9	4.4	3.7
At opening establishments	7,236	5,687	5,002	4,724	5,884	1.3	1.0	0.9	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	22,684	22,554	24,557	24,641	23,465	4.1	4.1	4.4	4.3	4.1
At contracting establishments	17,689	15,933	18,866	18,198	18,114	3.2	2.9	3.4	3.2	3.2
At closing establishments	4,995	6,621	5,691	6,443	5,351	0.9	1.2	1.0	1.1	0.9
Net employment change (2)	5,103	4,034	2,284	4,660	3,689	0.9	0.7	0.4	0.9	0.6
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	43,181	40,991	38,592	39,044	39,300	9.0	8.4	7.9	8.0	8.0
At expanding establishments	33,279	31,056	30,730	29,681	32,594	6.9	6.4	6.3	6.1	6.6
At opening establishments	9,902	9,935	7,862	9,363	6,706	2.1	2.0	1.6	1.9	1.4
Gross job losses	33,964	35,075	40,195	41,522	37,039	7.1	7.2	8.2	8.6	7.5
At contracting establishments	26,964	28,589	31,648	32,993	29,087	5.6	5.9	6.5	6.8	5.9
At closing establishments	7,000	6,486	8,547	8,529	7,952	1.5	1.3	1.7	1.8	1.6
Net employment change (2)	9,217	5,916	-1,603	-2,478	2,261	1.9	1.2	-0.3	-0.6	0.5
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	8,086	8,698	9,516	8,611	7,724	7.8	8.4	9.0	8.1	7.3
At expanding establishments	5,888	6,516	7,607	6,861	6,164	5.7	6.3	7.2	6.5	5.8
At opening establishments	2,198	2,182	1,909	1,750	1,560	2.1	2.1	1.8	1.6	1.5
Gross job losses	8,235	7,257	8,582	8,977	9,044	8.0	6.9	8.1	8.5	8.5
At contracting establishments	6,349	5,237	6,009	6,673	6,894	6.2	5.0	5.7	6.3	6.5
At closing establishments	1,886	2,020	2,573	2,304	2,150	1.8	1.9	2.4	2.2	2.0
Net employment change (2)	-149	1,441	934	-366	-1,320	-0.2	1.5	0.9	-0.4	-1.2
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.