From September 2019 to December 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Mississippi were 56,037, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 50,013, 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 6,024 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2019. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 2,086. (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.)

Gross job gains

In the fourth quarter of 2019, gross job gains represented 6.2 percent of private-sector employment in Mississippi; nationally, gross job gains also accounted for 6.2 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In Mississippi, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 46,792 in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 4,586 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 9,245 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 1,636 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2019, gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in Mississippi; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.6 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In Mississippi, contracting establishments lost 39,711 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2019, a decrease of 4,506 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 10,302 jobs, an increase of 2,618 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 10 industry sectors in Mississippi in the fourth quarter of 2019. Transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 2,338 jobs. This was the result of 5,146 gross job gains and 2,808 gross job losses. The construction industry had a net gain of 1,181 jobs. Retail trade showed a net loss of 707 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for the First Quarter 2020 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 28, 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.

The full Technical Note for the Business Employment Dynamics program, which includes information on coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the current quarterly news release online at www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.htm.

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. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept. 2019	Dec. 2019	Dec. 2018	Mar. 2019	June 2019	Sept. 2019	Dec. 2019
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	58,977	50,681	52,288	49,815	56,037	6.5	5.7	5.8	5.5	6.2
At expanding establishments	47,062	42,053	44,114	42,206	46,792	5.2	4.7	4.9	4.7	5.2
At opening establishments	11,915	8,628	8,174	7,609	9,245	1.3	1.0	0.9	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	47,947	55,297	54,217	51,901	50,013	5.3	6.2	6.0	5.8	5.5
At contracting establishments	39,824	47,520	45,802	44,217	39,711	4.4	5.3	5.1	4.9	4.4
At closing establishments	8,123	7,777	8,415	7,684	10,302	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.1
Net employment change (2)	11,030	-4,616	-1,929	-2,086	6,024	1.2	-0.5	-0.2	-0.3	0.7
Construction
Gross job gains	4,351	5,145	4,890	4,007	4,818	9.9	11.6	10.8	9.0	10.8
At expanding establishments	3,576	4,303	4,110	3,472	4,027	8.1	9.7	9.1	7.8	9.0
At opening establishments	775	842	780	535	791	1.8	1.9	1.7	1.2	1.8
Gross job losses	3,888	4,110	4,974	4,632	3,637	8.9	9.2	11.1	10.4	8.0
At contracting establishments	3,097	3,431	3,771	3,862	3,077	7.1	7.7	8.4	8.7	6.8
At closing establishments	791	679	1,203	770	560	1.8	1.5	2.7	1.7	1.2
Net employment change (2)	463	1,035	-84	-625	1,181	1.0	2.4	-0.3	-1.4	2.8
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,891	4,656	4,310	3,801	4,840	4.0	3.2	2.9	2.6	3.2
At expanding establishments	4,251	4,121	3,841	3,659	4,628	2.9	2.8	2.6	2.5	3.1
At opening establishments	1,640	535	469	142	212	1.1	0.4	0.3	0.1	0.1
Gross job losses	3,399	3,986	4,741	3,902	3,927	2.4	2.7	3.3	2.7	2.6
At contracting establishments	3,036	3,695	4,518	3,673	3,454	2.1	2.5	3.1	2.5	2.3
At closing establishments	363	291	223	229	473	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3
Net employment change (2)	2,492	670	-431	-101	913	1.6	0.5	-0.4	-0.1	0.6
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	1,747	1,559	1,508	1,531	1,618	5.0	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.7
At expanding establishments	1,456	1,305	1,267	1,320	1,331	4.2	3.8	3.7	3.8	3.9
At opening establishments	291	254	241	211	287	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.8
Gross job losses	1,378	1,317	1,834	1,629	1,599	4.1	3.9	5.2	4.7	4.7
At contracting establishments	1,082	1,091	1,609	1,318	1,194	3.2	3.2	4.6	3.8	3.5
At closing establishments	296	226	225	311	405	0.9	0.7	0.6	0.9	1.2
Net employment change (2)	369	242	-326	-98	19	0.9	0.6	-0.8	-0.3	0.0
Retail trade
Gross job gains	7,312	7,573	7,341	7,446	7,832	5.4	5.6	5.3	5.5	5.8
At expanding establishments	6,550	6,817	6,456	6,559	6,994	4.8	5.0	4.7	4.8	5.2
At opening establishments	762	756	885	887	838	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.6
Gross job losses	7,588	7,954	8,871	8,515	8,539	5.5	5.8	6.5	6.2	6.4
At contracting establishments	6,504	6,926	7,543	7,262	6,572	4.7	5.1	5.5	5.3	4.9
At closing establishments	1,084	1,028	1,328	1,253	1,967	0.8	0.7	1.0	0.9	1.5
Net employment change (2)	-276	-381	-1,530	-1,069	-707	-0.1	-0.2	-1.2	-0.7	-0.6
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,832	2,891	3,302	2,729	5,146	9.7	5.6	6.5	5.4	9.9
At expanding establishments	4,231	2,470	3,015	2,443	4,672	8.5	4.8	5.9	4.8	9.0
At opening establishments	601	421	287	286	474	1.2	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.9
Gross job losses	2,290	3,845	2,499	2,519	2,808	4.5	7.6	4.9	5.0	5.4
At contracting establishments	2,020	3,252	2,044	2,227	2,034	4.0	6.4	4.0	4.4	3.9
At closing establishments	270	593	455	292	774	0.5	1.2	0.9	0.6	1.5
Net employment change (2)	2,542	-954	803	210	2,338	5.2	-2.0	1.6	0.4	4.5
Financial activities
Gross job gains	1,895	1,941	1,975	1,823	1,890	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.2	4.4
At expanding establishments	1,419	1,470	1,604	1,458	1,470	3.3	3.4	3.7	3.4	3.4
At opening establishments	476	471	371	365	420	1.1	1.1	0.9	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	1,809	1,866	1,873	2,006	2,008	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.7	4.7
At contracting establishments	1,404	1,439	1,467	1,595	1,413	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.7	3.3
At closing establishments	405	427	406	411	595	0.9	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.4
Net employment change (2)	86	75	102	-183	-118	0.2	0.2	0.3	-0.5	-0.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	12,840	7,085	8,579	9,291	9,719	11.4	6.3	8.0	8.7	8.9
At expanding establishments	9,745	5,720	7,120	8,036	8,041	8.7	5.1	6.6	7.5	7.4
At opening establishments	3,095	1,365	1,459	1,255	1,678	2.7	1.2	1.4	1.2	1.5
Gross job losses	8,245	12,333	9,974	8,831	8,670	7.3	11.1	9.2	8.3	8.0
At contracting establishments	6,665	11,221	8,656	7,481	7,308	5.9	10.1	8.0	7.0	6.7
At closing establishments	1,580	1,112	1,318	1,350	1,362	1.4	1.0	1.2	1.3	1.3
Net employment change (2)	4,595	-5,248	-1,395	460	1,049	4.1	-4.8	-1.2	0.4	0.9
Education and health services
Gross job gains	6,052	6,505	6,986	5,936	6,088	4.2	4.5	4.8	4.1	4.1
At expanding establishments	5,214	5,478	5,849	5,080	4,851	3.6	3.8	4.0	3.5	3.3
At opening establishments	838	1,027	1,137	856	1,237	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.6	0.8
Gross job losses	6,400	6,136	5,359	5,870	6,686	4.5	4.2	3.6	4.0	4.6
At contracting establishments	5,149	5,110	4,585	4,928	4,847	3.6	3.5	3.1	3.4	3.3
At closing establishments	1,251	1,026	774	942	1,839	0.9	0.7	0.5	0.6	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-348	369	1,627	66	-598	-0.3	0.3	1.2	0.1	-0.5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	9,507	9,086	9,718	9,796	9,602	7.1	6.8	7.2	7.1	7.0
At expanding establishments	7,389	7,116	7,875	7,555	7,434	5.5	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.4
At opening establishments	2,118	1,970	1,843	2,241	2,168	1.6	1.5	1.4	1.6	1.6
Gross job losses	8,962	9,249	9,124	9,597	8,489	6.6	6.8	6.7	7.0	6.2
At contracting establishments	7,772	7,743	7,990	8,342	7,233	5.7	5.7	5.9	6.1	5.3
At closing establishments	1,190	1,506	1,134	1,255	1,256	0.9	1.1	0.8	0.9	0.9
Net employment change (2)	545	-163	594	199	1,113	0.5	0.0	0.5	0.1	0.8
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	1,405	1,285	1,479	1,464	1,638	7.0	6.4	7.4	7.3	8.2
At expanding establishments	1,109	1,040	1,123	1,064	1,273	5.5	5.2	5.6	5.3	6.4
At opening establishments	296	245	356	400	365	1.5	1.2	1.8	2.0	1.8
Gross job losses	1,410	1,556	1,462	1,552	1,382	7.0	7.8	7.3	7.8	6.9
At contracting establishments	1,168	1,261	1,154	1,160	1,049	5.8	6.3	5.8	5.8	5.2
At closing establishments	242	295	308	392	333	1.2	1.5	1.5	2.0	1.7
Net employment change (2)	-5	-271	17	-88	256	0.0	-1.4	0.1	-0.5	1.3
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.