From March 2019 to June 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Kentucky were 91,694, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 94,999, 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 loss of 3,305 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2019. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 4,316. (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 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 91,694 gross job gains in the second quarter of 2019 were 842 less than the 92,536 gross job gains in the first quarter of 2019. Kentucky’s gross job gains have remained below 100,000 each quarter since the fourth quarter of 2016. (Seechart 1.) Kentucky’s gross job losses were 94,999 in the second quarter of 2019, an increase of 6,779 jobs from the previous quarter.

In the second quarter of 2019, gross job gains represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 6.0 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses represented 5.9 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky, matching the national rate.

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 11 industry sectors in Kentucky. Education and health services added 13,256 jobs in opening and expanding establishments, and lost 11,045 jobs in closing and contracting establishments. The resulting net gain of 2,211 jobs was the largest of any sector in the state for the second quarter of 2019. Kentucky’s professional and business services industry sector had a net employment gain of 1,072 jobs in the second quarter of 2019. Net job gains in the remaining four industries were less than 200. (See table 1.)

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in five industry sectors in Kentucky in the second quarter of 2019. Retail trade lost 13,384 jobs at closing and contracting establishments, while opening and expanding establishments added 10,929 jobs. The resulting net loss of 2,455 jobs was the largest of any Kentucky industry sector in the second quarter of 2019. Kentucky’s leisure and hospitality sector lost 18,565 jobs at closing and contracting establishments, while opening and expanding establishments added 16,460 jobs, resulting in a net loss of 2,105 jobs. Manufacturing had a net employment loss of 1,079 jobs in the second quarter of 2019. Among the two other sectors with net job losses, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by less than 350.

Kentucky was among the four states in the East South Central Census division. In the second quarter of 2019, Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi each had gross job losses that exceeded gross job gains. (See table A.) Kentucky was among the three states in the division that had rates of gross job losses that were at or above the 5.9-percent national rate. Tennessee had a rate of job loss below the national rate. All four states in the division had rates of gross job gains that were below the 6.0-percent 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 2019, 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	7,605,000	6.0	7,423,000	5.9	182,000	0.1
East South Central (1)	380,489	—	377,880	—	2,609	—
Alabama	93,715	5.8	97,277	6.0	-3,562	-0.2
Kentucky	91,694	5.8	94,999	5.9	-3,305	-0.1
Mississippi	52,288	5.8	54,217	6.0	-1,929	-0.2
Tennessee	142,792	5.5	131,387	5.0	11,405	0.5
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 2019 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 29, 2020.

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 units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.

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

Contractions.  These are units 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, Kentucky, 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 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	June 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	94,540	90,984	97,782	92,536	91,694	5.9	5.8	6.1	5.8	5.8
At expanding establishments	76,414	75,768	79,889	76,714	74,730	4.8	4.8	5.0	4.8	4.7
At opening establishments	18,126	15,216	17,893	15,822	16,964	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	90,495	96,148	87,327	88,220	94,999	5.7	6.0	5.4	5.5	5.9
At contracting establishments	76,601	80,167	72,281	74,959	79,957	4.8	5.0	4.5	4.7	5.0
At closing establishments	13,894	15,981	15,046	13,261	15,042	0.9	1.0	0.9	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	4,045	-5,164	10,455	4,316	-3,305	0.2	-0.2	0.7	0.3	-0.1
Construction
Gross job gains	7,757	8,094	7,848	8,433	7,638	9.8	10.4	10.0	10.5	9.4
At expanding establishments	6,269	6,463	5,868	6,752	6,242	7.9	8.3	7.5	8.4	7.7
At opening establishments	1,488	1,631	1,980	1,681	1,396	1.9	2.1	2.5	2.1	1.7
Gross job losses	7,590	8,297	7,653	6,579	7,788	9.6	10.6	9.8	8.2	9.6
At contracting establishments	5,982	6,360	6,164	5,251	5,909	7.6	8.1	7.9	6.5	7.3
At closing establishments	1,608	1,937	1,489	1,328	1,879	2.0	2.5	1.9	1.7	2.3
Net employment change (2)	167	-203	195	1,854	-150	0.2	-0.2	0.2	2.3	-0.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	6,505	6,809	8,355	6,729	6,639	2.6	2.7	3.4	2.7	2.6
At expanding establishments	6,120	6,130	7,726	6,338	6,099	2.4	2.4	3.1	2.5	2.4
At opening establishments	385	679	629	391	540	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2
Gross job losses	7,320	7,763	5,729	6,802	7,718	2.9	3.1	2.3	2.7	3.0
At contracting establishments	6,251	7,274	5,284	6,372	7,384	2.5	2.9	2.1	2.5	2.9
At closing establishments	1,069	489	445	430	334	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1
Net employment change (2)	-815	-954	2,626	-73	-1,079	-0.3	-0.4	1.1	0.0	-0.4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,724	3,631	3,596	3,895	3,704	4.9	4.9	4.8	5.1	4.9
At expanding establishments	3,025	2,819	3,108	3,108	2,940	4.0	3.8	4.1	4.1	3.9
At opening establishments	699	812	488	787	764	0.9	1.1	0.7	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	3,531	3,714	3,441	3,130	3,551	4.7	5.0	4.6	4.1	4.6
At contracting establishments	2,780	2,990	2,556	2,568	2,770	3.7	4.0	3.4	3.4	3.6
At closing establishments	751	724	885	562	781	1.0	1.0	1.2	0.7	1.0
Net employment change (2)	193	-83	155	765	153	0.2	-0.1	0.2	1.0	0.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	12,167	12,252	11,594	12,107	10,929	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.7	5.1
At expanding establishments	9,989	10,791	9,803	10,102	8,980	4.6	5.0	4.6	4.8	4.2
At opening establishments	2,178	1,461	1,791	2,005	1,949	1.0	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	12,619	13,708	12,114	12,174	13,384	5.9	6.4	5.7	5.7	6.3
At contracting establishments	11,382	11,507	10,332	10,436	11,390	5.3	5.4	4.9	4.9	5.4
At closing establishments	1,237	2,201	1,782	1,738	1,994	0.6	1.0	0.8	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-452	-1,456	-520	-67	-2,455	-0.3	-0.7	-0.3	0.0	-1.2
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	6,133	4,483	9,052	4,186	4,793	5.8	4.2	8.4	3.9	4.4
At expanding establishments	5,703	3,960	8,495	3,782	4,214	5.4	3.7	7.9	3.5	3.9
At opening establishments	430	523	557	404	579	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.5
Gross job losses	3,758	7,651	4,450	6,500	4,764	3.6	7.3	4.1	6.0	4.4
At contracting establishments	3,372	7,149	3,922	6,181	4,218	3.2	6.8	3.6	5.7	3.9
At closing establishments	386	502	528	319	546	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.5
Net employment change (2)	2,375	-3,168	4,602	-2,314	29	2.2	-3.1	4.3	-2.1	0.0
Information
Gross job gains	1,343	1,372	1,073	1,090	1,354	6.1	6.2	4.9	5.0	6.1
At expanding establishments	949	1,115	731	755	1,101	4.3	5.0	3.3	3.5	5.0
At opening establishments	394	257	342	335	253	1.8	1.2	1.6	1.5	1.1
Gross job losses	1,288	1,296	1,430	995	1,235	5.8	5.9	6.6	4.5	5.6
At contracting establishments	1,037	1,101	1,018	815	912	4.7	5.0	4.7	3.7	4.1
At closing establishments	251	195	412	180	323	1.1	0.9	1.9	0.8	1.5
Net employment change (2)	55	76	-357	95	119	0.3	0.3	-1.7	0.5	0.5
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,181	4,300	4,025	3,865	4,197	4.5	4.6	4.4	4.2	4.6
At expanding establishments	3,006	3,454	2,946	2,954	3,031	3.2	3.7	3.2	3.2	3.3
At opening establishments	1,175	846	1,079	911	1,166	1.3	0.9	1.2	1.0	1.3
Gross job losses	3,611	4,024	4,136	4,160	4,011	3.9	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.3
At contracting establishments	2,747	3,149	3,166	3,124	2,986	3.0	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.2
At closing establishments	864	875	970	1,036	1,025	0.9	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.1
Net employment change (2)	570	276	-111	-295	186	0.6	0.3	0.0	-0.3	0.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	18,172	16,738	17,051	17,680	17,754	8.3	7.7	7.9	8.1	8.2
At expanding establishments	14,416	13,991	13,386	14,577	14,537	6.6	6.4	6.2	6.7	6.7
At opening establishments	3,756	2,747	3,665	3,103	3,217	1.7	1.3	1.7	1.4	1.5
Gross job losses	17,236	17,224	18,233	18,184	16,682	7.9	7.9	8.4	8.4	7.7
At contracting establishments	14,414	14,415	14,913	15,512	14,100	6.6	6.6	6.9	7.2	6.5
At closing establishments	2,822	2,809	3,320	2,672	2,582	1.3	1.3	1.5	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	936	-486	-1,182	-504	1,072	0.4	-0.2	-0.5	-0.3	0.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains	14,312	11,588	12,446	11,702	13,256	5.4	4.4	4.6	4.3	4.8
At expanding establishments	11,080	9,818	9,493	9,742	10,694	4.2	3.7	3.5	3.6	3.9
At opening establishments	3,232	1,770	2,953	1,960	2,562	1.2	0.7	1.1	0.7	0.9
Gross job losses	10,568	11,653	10,809	11,270	11,045	4.0	4.4	4.0	4.2	4.0
At contracting establishments	8,468	9,081	8,679	9,511	9,056	3.2	3.4	3.2	3.5	3.3
At closing establishments	2,100	2,572	2,130	1,759	1,989	0.8	1.0	0.8	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	3,744	-65	1,637	432	2,211	1.4	0.0	0.6	0.1	0.8
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	15,475	16,620	17,253	17,728	16,460	7.8	8.4	8.7	8.8	8.2
At expanding establishments	12,335	13,186	14,109	14,672	13,064	6.2	6.7	7.1	7.3	6.5
At opening establishments	3,140	3,434	3,144	3,056	3,396	1.6	1.7	1.6	1.5	1.7
Gross job losses	17,642	16,266	14,873	13,672	18,565	8.9	8.3	7.5	6.8	9.2
At contracting establishments	15,649	13,677	12,689	11,459	16,130	7.9	7.0	6.4	5.7	8.0
At closing establishments	1,993	2,589	2,184	2,213	2,435	1.0	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-2,167	354	2,380	4,056	-2,105	-1.1	0.1	1.2	2.0	-1.0
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	3,352	3,291	3,474	3,231	3,266	8.1	8.0	8.3	7.7	7.8
At expanding establishments	2,356	2,475	2,623	2,486	2,537	5.7	6.0	6.3	5.9	6.1
At opening establishments	996	816	851	745	729	2.4	2.0	2.0	1.8	1.7
Gross job losses	3,415	3,278	3,119	3,101	3,607	8.2	7.9	7.5	7.4	8.6
At contracting establishments	2,842	2,441	2,483	2,378	2,761	6.8	5.9	6.0	5.7	6.6
At closing establishments	573	837	636	723	846	1.4	2.0	1.5	1.7	2.0
Net employment change (2)	-63	13	355	130	-341	-0.1	0.1	0.8	0.3	-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.