Business Employment Dynamics in Kentucky — Fourth Quarter 2023

From September 2023 to December 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Kentucky were 95,879, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 87,018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 8,861 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 3,317. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Kentucky, December 2018–December 2023, seasonally adjusted

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Kentucky, December 2018–December 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job gains	Gross job losses
Dec. 2018	97,153	88,187
Mar. 2019	93,363	89,553
Jun. 2019	93,253	94,094
Sep. 2019	94,204	91,689
Dec. 2019	100,258	89,501
Mar. 2020	88,097	99,456
Jun. 2020	70,688	231,642
Sep. 2020	132,679	75,175
Dec. 2020	111,736	93,716
Mar. 2021	115,143	83,589
Jun. 2021	100,941	99,462
Sep. 2021	105,949	100,274
Dec. 2021	117,726	78,293
Mar. 2022	108,348	91,963
Jun. 2022	102,628	106,356
Sep. 2022	108,606	87,882
Dec. 2022	98,218	87,574
Mar. 2023	102,867	82,015
Jun. 2023	93,576	99,073
Sep. 2023	94,807	91,490
Dec. 2023	95,879	87,018

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 the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.9 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 Kentucky, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 79,517 in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 2,357 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 16,362 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 1,285 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Kentucky, December 2018–December 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Kentucky
Dec. 2018	6.2	6.1
Mar. 2019	6.0	5.8
Jun. 2019	6.1	5.9
Sep. 2019	5.9	5.9
Dec. 2019	6.2	6.2
Mar. 2020	5.5	5.5
Jun. 2020	4.8	4.6
Sep. 2020	9.4	8.9
Dec. 2020	7.4	7.3
Mar. 2021	7.0	7.4
Jun. 2021	6.8	6.5
Sep. 2021	7.3	6.7
Dec. 2021	7.7	7.4
Mar. 2022	6.7	6.7
Jun. 2022	6.6	6.3
Sep. 2022	6.9	6.6
Dec. 2022	6.3	6.0
Mar. 2023	6.2	6.1
Jun. 2023	6.2	5.6
Sep. 2023	5.8	5.7
Dec. 2023	5.9	5.7

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.2 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.6 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In Kentucky, contracting establishments lost 70,408 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 5,991 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 16,610 jobs, an increase of 1,519 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Kentucky, December 2018–December 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Kentucky
Dec. 2018	5.6	5.5
Mar. 2019	5.5	5.6
Jun. 2019	5.9	5.9
Sep. 2019	5.8	5.7
Dec. 2019	5.6	5.6
Mar. 2020	6.2	6.1
Jun. 2020	16.9	15.1
Sep. 2020	6.0	5.1
Dec. 2020	5.7	6.2
Mar. 2021	5.5	5.4
Jun. 2021	5.9	6.4
Sep. 2021	6.1	6.4
Dec. 2021	5.4	4.9
Mar. 2022	5.5	5.7
Jun. 2022	6.2	6.5
Sep. 2022	5.9	5.4
Dec. 2022	5.9	5.3
Mar. 2023	5.4	4.9
Jun. 2023	5.9	5.9
Sep. 2023	5.9	5.5
Dec. 2023	5.6	5.2

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 11 industry sectors in Kentucky in the fourth quarter of 2023. Education and health services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 4,200 jobs. This was the result of 14,917 gross job gains and 10,717 gross job losses. Professional and business services showed a net loss of 3,606 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 Business Employment Dynamics Home.

The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2024 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

The release of First Quarter 2024 Business Employment Dynamics data, scheduled for October 30, 2024, will incorporate annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. The revisions will include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.

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.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Kentucky, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	98,218	102,867	93,576	94,807	95,879	6.0	6.1	5.6	5.7	5.7
At expanding establishments	82,315	85,722	76,653	77,160	79,517	5.0	5.1	4.6	4.6	4.7
At opening establishments	15,903	17,145	16,923	17,647	16,362	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	87,574	82,015	99,073	91,490	87,018	5.3	4.9	5.9	5.5	5.2
At contracting establishments	74,763	70,442	85,577	76,399	70,408	4.5	4.2	5.1	4.6	4.2
At closing establishments	12,811	11,573	13,496	15,091	16,610	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	10,644	20,852	-5,497	3,317	8,861	0.7	1.2	-0.3	0.2	0.5
Construction
Gross job gains	7,849	9,166	7,857	8,181	9,153	9.3	10.4	8.8	9.2	10.0
At expanding establishments	6,505	7,601	6,701	6,668	7,486	7.7	8.6	7.5	7.5	8.2
At opening establishments	1,344	1,565	1,156	1,513	1,667	1.6	1.8	1.3	1.7	1.8
Gross job losses	6,439	5,983	7,735	7,759	7,046	7.6	6.8	8.6	8.7	7.8
At contracting establishments	5,512	4,956	6,752	6,127	5,685	6.5	5.6	7.5	6.9	6.3
At closing establishments	927	1,027	983	1,632	1,361	1.1	1.2	1.1	1.8	1.5
Net employment change (2)	1,410	3,183	122	422	2,107	1.7	3.6	0.2	0.5	2.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	8,400	8,329	7,354	6,734	8,240	3.3	3.3	2.8	2.6	3.2
At expanding establishments	7,651	7,829	6,516	6,242	7,700	3.0	3.1	2.5	2.4	3.0
At opening establishments	749	500	838	492	540	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
Gross job losses	7,387	5,906	8,090	7,032	6,627	2.9	2.3	3.2	2.8	2.5
At contracting establishments	6,654	5,352	7,670	6,344	6,047	2.6	2.1	3.0	2.5	2.3
At closing establishments	733	554	420	688	580	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2
Net employment change (2)	1,013	2,423	-736	-298	1,613	0.4	1.0	-0.4	-0.2	0.7
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,468	4,437	3,636	4,036	3,360	4.3	5.6	4.5	5.0	4.2
At expanding establishments	3,039	3,946	3,080	3,509	3,033	3.8	5.0	3.8	4.3	3.8
At opening establishments	429	491	556	527	327	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.4
Gross job losses	3,390	2,779	3,716	3,233	3,615	4.3	3.5	4.6	4.0	4.5
At contracting establishments	2,822	2,230	3,122	2,632	2,949	3.6	2.8	3.9	3.3	3.7
At closing establishments	568	549	594	601	666	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.8
Net employment change (2)	78	1,658	-80	803	-255	0.0	2.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	12,067	11,181	11,377	11,966	11,537	5.8	5.3	5.4	5.7	5.5
At expanding establishments	10,763	9,515	9,791	9,705	10,101	5.2	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.8
At opening establishments	1,304	1,666	1,586	2,261	1,436	0.6	0.8	0.8	1.1	0.7
Gross job losses	11,795	11,314	11,771	11,736	10,946	5.7	5.4	5.6	5.6	5.3
At contracting establishments	10,439	10,273	10,506	10,236	8,921	5.0	4.9	5.0	4.9	4.3
At closing establishments	1,356	1,041	1,265	1,500	2,025	0.7	0.5	0.6	0.7	1.0
Net employment change (2)	272	-133	-394	230	591	0.1	-0.1	-0.2	0.1	0.2
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	8,384	5,196	4,121	5,417	7,223	6.4	3.9	3.2	4.2	5.6
At expanding establishments	7,780	4,625	3,720	4,935	6,824	5.9	3.5	2.9	3.8	5.3
At opening establishments	604	571	401	482	399	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.3
Gross job losses	4,816	7,197	7,593	5,148	5,020	3.7	5.4	5.8	4.0	3.9
At contracting establishments	4,347	6,882	7,016	4,750	4,371	3.3	5.2	5.4	3.7	3.4
At closing establishments	469	315	577	398	649	0.4	0.2	0.4	0.3	0.5
Net employment change (2)	3,568	-2,001	-3,472	269	2,203	2.7	-1.5	-2.6	0.2	1.7
Information
Gross job gains	1,546	1,039	1,183	1,211	880	6.9	4.6	5.4	5.6	3.8
At expanding establishments	1,118	674	848	975	664	5.0	3.0	3.9	4.5	2.9
At opening establishments	428	365	335	236	216	1.9	1.6	1.5	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	1,145	1,177	1,126	1,303	1,256	5.2	5.3	5.2	6.0	5.5
At contracting establishments	877	955	839	951	946	4.0	4.3	3.9	4.4	4.1
At closing establishments	268	222	287	352	310	1.2	1.0	1.3	1.6	1.4
Net employment change (2)	401	-138	57	-92	-376	1.7	-0.7	0.2	-0.4	-1.7
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,134	4,724	4,519	4,423	3,729	4.4	5.0	4.8	4.6	3.9
At expanding establishments	2,952	3,470	3,483	3,660	2,881	3.1	3.7	3.7	3.8	3.0
At opening establishments	1,182	1,254	1,036	763	848	1.3	1.3	1.1	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	4,255	3,604	4,443	4,634	4,292	4.5	3.8	4.6	4.9	4.5
At contracting establishments	3,487	2,741	3,273	3,625	3,048	3.7	2.9	3.4	3.8	3.2
At closing establishments	768	863	1,170	1,009	1,244	0.8	0.9	1.2	1.1	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-121	1,120	76	-211	-563	-0.1	1.2	0.2	-0.3	-0.6
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	15,812	18,514	18,490	16,717	14,308	6.9	8.2	8.0	7.2	6.3
At expanding establishments	12,511	14,924	14,748	13,157	10,913	5.5	6.6	6.4	5.7	4.8
At opening establishments	3,301	3,590	3,742	3,560	3,395	1.4	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5
Gross job losses	18,970	16,344	18,029	18,613	17,914	8.3	7.2	7.8	8.1	7.9
At contracting establishments	16,083	13,827	15,219	15,358	14,536	7.0	6.1	6.6	6.7	6.4
At closing establishments	2,887	2,517	2,810	3,255	3,378	1.3	1.1	1.2	1.4	1.5
Net employment change (2)	-3,158	2,170	461	-1,896	-3,606	-1.4	1.0	0.2	-0.9	-1.6
Education and health services
Gross job gains	13,741	15,150	14,418	14,209	14,917	4.8	5.2	5.0	4.9	5.0
At expanding establishments	11,453	12,792	11,613	11,300	12,107	4.0	4.4	4.0	3.9	4.1
At opening establishments	2,288	2,358	2,805	2,909	2,810	0.8	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	10,530	9,570	13,430	11,196	10,717	3.7	3.3	4.6	3.8	3.6
At contracting establishments	8,580	7,622	10,688	8,943	7,949	3.0	2.6	3.7	3.0	2.7
At closing establishments	1,950	1,948	2,742	2,253	2,768	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	3,211	5,580	988	3,013	4,200	1.1	1.9	0.4	1.1	1.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	17,250	19,691	15,338	16,590	17,617	8.6	9.7	7.5	8.3	8.6
At expanding establishments	14,380	16,246	12,211	12,640	13,913	7.2	8.0	6.0	6.3	6.8
At opening establishments	2,870	3,445	3,127	3,950	3,704	1.4	1.7	1.5	2.0	1.8
Gross job losses	14,543	13,793	18,356	16,144	14,780	7.3	6.7	9.0	8.0	7.2
At contracting establishments	12,568	12,091	16,488	13,671	12,287	6.3	5.9	8.1	6.8	6.0
At closing establishments	1,975	1,702	1,868	2,473	2,493	1.0	0.8	0.9	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	2,707	5,898	-3,018	446	2,837	1.3	3.0	-1.5	0.3	1.4
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	3,508	3,820	3,669	3,793	3,295	8.0	8.7	8.1	8.4	7.1
At expanding establishments	2,796	2,985	2,979	3,160	2,585	6.4	6.8	6.6	7.0	5.6
At opening establishments	712	835	690	633	710	1.6	1.9	1.5	1.4	1.5
Gross job losses	3,124	2,888	3,202	3,211	3,287	7.2	6.5	7.2	7.1	7.2
At contracting establishments	2,448	2,271	2,680	2,614	2,480	5.6	5.1	6.0	5.8	5.4
At closing establishments	676	617	522	597	807	1.6	1.4	1.2	1.3	1.8
Net employment change (2)	384	932	467	582	8	0.8	2.2	0.9	1.3	-0.1
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.

Table 2. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023
United States(1)	6.3	6.2	6.2	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.4	5.9	5.9	5.6
Alabama	6.6	6.4	5.9	5.9	6.2	6.1	5.5	5.7	6.0	5.8
Alaska	10.9	10.4	11.0	8.5	10.1	9.2	8.0	8.9	10.5	9.9
Arizona	6.6	5.9	7.0	6.7	6.6	6.0	5.4	6.5	5.9	6.9
Arkansas	6.2	5.8	5.8	5.6	6.1	5.2	5.0	6.0	5.7	5.3
California	6.6	6.1	6.7	6.2	6.3	6.6	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5
Colorado	7.6	7.2	7.3	5.5	8.4	6.9	6.5	6.6	6.2	7.5
Connecticut	5.9	6.1	6.4	5.8	5.6	5.9	5.3	5.7	6.2	5.7
Delaware	7.0	6.7	6.0	6.0	6.2	7.5	5.2	5.7	6.5	5.9
District of Columbia	5.6	5.9	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.5	4.8	5.3	5.4	5.6
Florida	6.2	6.3	6.8	6.5	5.9	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.8
Georgia	6.7	6.2	6.4	6.1	6.1	5.9	5.8	6.5	6.1	5.7
Hawaii	6.0	5.5	5.7	5.3	6.1	4.9	5.0	5.2	6.9	5.0
Idaho	8.4	7.9	7.9	7.3	8.5	6.9	7.5	7.5	8.2	5.8
Illinois	5.4	5.8	5.4	4.8	4.9	5.1	4.8	5.3	5.5	5.1
Indiana	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.0	6.1	5.8	5.3
Iowa	6.4	6.0	6.0	5.5	6.0	6.2	5.4	5.9	5.8	5.7
Kansas	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.7	5.8	5.6	5.4	6.0	6.0	5.4
Kentucky	6.0	6.1	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.3	4.9	5.9	5.5	5.2
Louisiana	6.1	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.2	5.6	6.4	6.0	6.1
Maine	7.4	7.7	7.6	6.8	7.3	6.8	6.2	7.6	7.8	7.0
Maryland	6.6	6.8	6.7	6.4	6.3	6.9	5.6	6.3	6.5	5.9
Massachusetts	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.4	5.3	5.8	4.7	5.7	6.1	5.6
Michigan	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.2	5.5	5.2	4.9	5.3	5.9	5.6
Minnesota	5.9	5.7	6.0	3.1	6.8	5.8	4.9	5.6	4.2	7.0
Mississippi	6.8	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.1	6.2	5.7	6.6	6.2	5.7
Missouri	6.1	6.5	5.9	5.6	6.0	5.8	5.1	5.9	5.8	5.6
Montana	9.2	8.7	7.8	7.7	8.8	7.8	7.1	8.4	8.5	7.2
Nebraska	6.0	6.3	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.7	5.1	5.6	5.9	5.6
Nevada	6.4	6.2	6.6	6.5	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.0	5.5	5.1
New Hampshire	6.7	7.0	6.7	5.9	6.2	6.0	5.9	6.3	6.7	5.9
New Jersey	6.8	6.1	6.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.8
New Mexico	6.7	6.8	6.4	6.1	6.9	6.2	5.9	6.2	6.7	5.8
New York	5.9	6.5	6.3	5.8	5.8	6.0	5.1	5.7	6.1	5.7
North Carolina	6.6	6.4	6.1	5.6	6.1	5.7	5.3	5.7	6.2	4.7
North Dakota	6.4	7.6	6.9	6.6	6.7	6.7	5.6	6.7	6.6	6.3
Ohio	5.9	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.3	5.7	4.9	5.7	5.7	5.2
Oklahoma	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.1	5.9	5.3	6.0	6.0	5.7
Oregon	6.5	7.3	6.4	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.1	6.9	6.9	6.3
Pennsylvania	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	4.6	5.5	5.2	4.9
Rhode Island	6.9	7.5	6.7	6.5	6.8	6.4	5.9	7.0	6.8	6.4
South Carolina	6.9	6.8	6.4	6.8	6.2	6.2	5.8	6.8	5.7	5.4
South Dakota	6.5	7.2	6.8	6.3	6.6	6.5	5.9	6.2	6.3	5.9
Tennessee	5.8	5.9	5.9	2.7	4.9	5.6	5.0	5.5	4.2	4.6
Texas	6.2	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.3	5.0	5.4	5.5	5.2
Utah	6.9	7.0	6.8	6.8	6.4	6.6	6.2	6.2	6.5	6.2
Vermont	7.8	8.2	7.4	6.3	7.2	7.0	6.0	7.5	8.0	6.6
Virginia	6.2	6.2	6.0	5.8	5.9	5.8	5.2	5.8	6.0	5.6
Washington	5.9	6.4	6.0	5.4	6.0	5.3	5.5	5.6	6.0	5.2
West Virginia	6.6	7.1	6.1	6.5	6.1	6.4	5.3	6.1	6.5	6.5
Wisconsin	6.0	6.0	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.5	4.9	5.9	5.9	5.1
Wyoming	9.2	8.9	8.4	8.2	8.8	7.9	7.8	8.7	8.2	8.3
Puerto Rico	6.6	5.1	5.8	5.7	4.9	6.1	5.7	4.9	5.4	4.8
Virgin Islands	5.9	7.5	7.4	8.2	5.7	4.7	6.5	6.8	7.1	5.8
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Southeast Information Office

Business Employment Dynamics in Kentucky — Fourth Quarter 2023