Business Employment Dynamics in North Carolina — Third Quarter 2023

From June 2023 to September 2023, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in North Carolina were 253,947, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 230,670, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the difference between the number of gross job losses and the number of gross job gains yielded a net employment loss of 23,277 jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 13,167. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in North Carolina, September 2018–September 2023, seasonally adjusted

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Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in North Carolina, September 2018–September 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job losses	Gross job gains
Sep. 2018	234,592	210,044
Dec. 2018	199,523	245,811
Mar. 2019	193,255	238,705
Jun. 2019	222,534	230,709
Sep. 2019	222,593	217,560
Dec. 2019	205,223	232,765
Mar. 2020	223,067	224,802
Jun. 2020	530,821	178,321
Sep. 2020	196,351	308,352
Dec. 2020	183,156	286,020
Mar. 2021	202,445	258,199
Jun. 2021	218,935	244,069
Sep. 2021	244,291	257,074
Dec. 2021	193,714	311,557
Mar. 2022	213,348	259,370
Jun. 2022	240,891	255,446
Sep. 2022	234,300	266,108
Dec. 2022	230,657	268,628
Mar. 2023	214,252	263,089
Jun. 2023	235,494	248,661
Sep. 2023	253,947	230,670

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 third quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 5.6 percent of private-sector employment in North Carolina; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.8 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 North Carolina, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 186,726 in the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of 14,218 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 43,944 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of 3,773 jobs from the previous quarter.

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Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and North Carolina, September 2018–September 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	North Carolina
Sep. 2018	6.0	5.7
Dec. 2018	6.2	6.6
Mar. 2019	6.0	6.4
Jun. 2019	6.1	6.1
Sep. 2019	5.9	5.7
Dec. 2019	6.2	6.1
Mar. 2020	5.5	5.9
Jun. 2020	4.8	4.9
Sep. 2020	9.4	8.7
Dec. 2020	7.4	7.9
Mar. 2021	7.0	6.9
Jun. 2021	6.8	6.4
Sep. 2021	7.3	6.8
Dec. 2021	7.7	8.1
Mar. 2022	6.7	6.6
Jun. 2022	6.6	6.4
Sep. 2022	6.9	6.7
Dec. 2022	6.3	6.6
Mar. 2023	6.2	6.4
Jun. 2023	6.2	6.1
Sep. 2023	5.8	5.6

Gross job losses

In the third quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 6.2 percent of private-sector employment in North Carolina; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.9 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 North Carolina, contracting establishments lost 197,774 jobs in the third quarter of 2023, an increase of 3,557 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 56,173 jobs, an increase of 14,896 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and North Carolina, September 2018–September 2023, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	North Carolina
Sep. 2018	6.0	6.3
Dec. 2018	5.6	5.4
Mar. 2019	5.5	5.1
Jun. 2019	5.9	5.9
Sep. 2019	5.8	5.9
Dec. 2019	5.6	5.4
Mar. 2020	6.2	5.9
Jun. 2020	16.9	14.5
Sep. 2020	6.0	5.6
Dec. 2020	5.7	5.0
Mar. 2021	5.5	5.5
Jun. 2021	5.9	5.7
Sep. 2021	6.1	6.4
Dec. 2021	5.4	5.0
Mar. 2022	5.5	5.4
Jun. 2022	6.2	6.1
Sep. 2022	5.9	5.8
Dec. 2022	5.9	5.7
Mar. 2023	5.4	5.3
Jun. 2023	5.9	5.7
Sep. 2023	5.9	6.2

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 9 of the 11 industry sectors in North Carolina in the third quarter of 2023. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 7,418 jobs. This was the result of 48,801 gross job losses and 41,383 gross job gains. The manufacturing industry had a net loss of 6,746 jobs, followed by transportation and warehousing (-5,184) and professional and business services (-4,166). North Carolina’s education and health services industry sector had a net gain of 4,627 jobs.

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 the Business Employment Dynamics Home.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Fourth Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 24, 2024.

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, North Carolina, 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	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	266,108	268,628	263,089	248,661	230,670	6.7	6.6	6.4	6.1	5.6
At expanding establishments	223,248	215,074	208,043	200,944	186,726	5.6	5.3	5.1	4.9	4.5
At opening establishments	42,860	53,554	55,046	47,717	43,944	1.1	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.1
Gross job losses	234,300	230,657	214,252	235,494	253,947	5.8	5.7	5.3	5.7	6.2
At contracting establishments	181,146	179,035	170,497	194,217	197,774	4.5	4.4	4.2	4.7	4.8
At closing establishments	53,154	51,622	43,755	41,277	56,173	1.3	1.3	1.1	1.0	1.4
Net employment change (2)	31,808	37,971	48,837	13,167	-23,277	0.9	0.9	1.1	0.4	-0.6
Construction
Gross job gains	17,502	19,315	21,047	17,511	17,395	7.1	7.7	8.2	6.7	6.7
At expanding establishments	13,590	14,876	15,723	13,391	13,453	5.5	5.9	6.1	5.1	5.2
At opening establishments	3,912	4,439	5,324	4,120	3,942	1.6	1.8	2.1	1.6	1.5
Gross job losses	17,572	15,401	14,484	16,461	17,727	7.1	6.2	5.6	6.4	6.8
At contracting establishments	12,339	11,005	10,791	12,679	12,682	5.0	4.4	4.2	4.9	4.9
At closing establishments	5,233	4,396	3,693	3,782	5,045	2.1	1.8	1.4	1.5	1.9
Net employment change (2)	-70	3,914	6,563	1,050	-332	0.0	1.5	2.6	0.3	-0.1
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	16,034	15,149	14,839	13,590	13,153	3.4	3.2	3.1	2.9	2.8
At expanding establishments	14,773	13,778	13,190	12,389	11,937	3.1	2.9	2.8	2.6	2.5
At opening establishments	1,261	1,371	1,649	1,201	1,216	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Gross job losses	15,534	16,500	13,475	15,451	19,899	3.2	3.5	2.8	3.3	4.2
At contracting establishments	13,932	13,737	11,985	14,190	17,005	2.9	2.9	2.5	3.0	3.6
At closing establishments	1,602	2,763	1,490	1,261	2,894	0.3	0.6	0.3	0.3	0.6
Net employment change (2)	500	-1,351	1,364	-1,861	-6,746	0.2	-0.3	0.3	-0.4	-1.4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	11,508	10,954	9,802	10,628	9,336	5.7	5.3	4.8	5.1	4.5
At expanding establishments	9,943	8,421	7,778	8,541	7,838	4.9	4.1	3.8	4.1	3.8
At opening establishments	1,565	2,533	2,024	2,087	1,498	0.8	1.2	1.0	1.0	0.7
Gross job losses	8,780	8,659	8,331	8,656	10,243	4.3	4.2	4.0	4.2	4.9
At contracting establishments	6,309	6,423	6,591	6,575	7,469	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.6
At closing establishments	2,471	2,236	1,740	2,081	2,774	1.2	1.1	0.8	1.0	1.3
Net employment change (2)	2,728	2,295	1,471	1,972	-907	1.4	1.1	0.8	0.9	-0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	32,490	27,292	31,370	28,680	26,650	6.2	5.2	6.0	5.5	5.1
At expanding establishments	29,204	23,488	25,949	24,536	23,492	5.6	4.5	5.0	4.7	4.5
At opening establishments	3,286	3,804	5,421	4,144	3,158	0.6	0.7	1.0	0.8	0.6
Gross job losses	27,425	28,783	26,374	28,894	28,345	5.3	5.5	5.0	5.4	5.4
At contracting establishments	23,707	24,688	22,461	25,041	23,677	4.6	4.7	4.3	4.7	4.5
At closing establishments	3,718	4,095	3,913	3,853	4,668	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.9
Net employment change (2)	5,065	-1,491	4,996	-214	-1,695	0.9	-0.3	1.0	0.1	-0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	9,929	17,027	8,477	12,457	8,584	5.6	9.3	4.6	6.8	4.8
At expanding establishments	8,585	14,860	6,818	10,780	6,855	4.8	8.1	3.7	5.9	3.8
At opening establishments	1,344	2,167	1,659	1,677	1,729	0.8	1.2	0.9	0.9	1.0
Gross job losses	9,989	10,214	14,720	10,728	13,768	5.6	5.5	7.9	5.9	7.6
At contracting establishments	8,268	8,312	13,354	9,154	11,972	4.6	4.5	7.2	5.0	6.6
At closing establishments	1,721	1,902	1,366	1,574	1,796	1.0	1.0	0.7	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-60	6,813	-6,243	1,729	-5,184	0.0	3.8	-3.3	0.9	-2.8
Information
Gross job gains	6,221	4,685	5,728	3,889	4,451	7.5	5.6	6.8	4.6	5.2
At expanding establishments	4,913	3,169	4,641	2,880	3,321	5.9	3.8	5.5	3.4	3.9
At opening establishments	1,308	1,516	1,087	1,009	1,130	1.6	1.8	1.3	1.2	1.3
Gross job losses	4,465	5,886	4,275	4,648	4,804	5.3	7.1	5.0	5.5	5.8
At contracting establishments	3,272	3,569	3,432	3,804	3,326	3.9	4.3	4.0	4.5	4.0
At closing establishments	1,193	2,317	843	844	1,478	1.4	2.8	1.0	1.0	1.8
Net employment change (2)	1,756	-1,201	1,453	-759	-353	2.2	-1.5	1.8	-0.9	-0.6
Financial activities
Gross job gains	18,039	17,728	15,457	18,472	14,046	6.2	6.1	5.3	6.2	4.6
At expanding establishments	14,758	13,614	11,946	15,096	10,906	5.1	4.7	4.1	5.1	3.6
At opening establishments	3,281	4,114	3,511	3,376	3,140	1.1	1.4	1.2	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	15,200	14,881	13,301	14,939	14,678	5.2	5.1	4.5	5.0	4.9
At contracting establishments	10,760	10,971	9,753	11,618	10,857	3.7	3.8	3.3	3.9	3.6
At closing establishments	4,440	3,910	3,548	3,321	3,821	1.5	1.3	1.2	1.1	1.3
Net employment change (2)	2,839	2,847	2,156	3,533	-632	1.0	1.0	0.8	1.2	-0.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	60,886	59,768	55,292	51,820	50,537	8.3	8.1	7.4	7.0	6.8
At expanding establishments	49,862	47,281	43,451	39,987	40,566	6.8	6.4	5.8	5.4	5.5
At opening establishments	11,024	12,487	11,841	11,833	9,971	1.5	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.3
Gross job losses	51,269	56,137	47,681	58,046	54,703	7.0	7.6	6.4	7.8	7.3
At contracting establishments	39,042	43,050	36,272	48,526	41,784	5.3	5.8	4.9	6.5	5.6
At closing establishments	12,227	13,087	11,409	9,520	12,919	1.7	1.8	1.5	1.3	1.7
Net employment change (2)	9,617	3,631	7,611	-6,226	-4,166	1.3	0.5	1.0	-0.8	-0.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains	34,528	33,900	36,338	34,457	33,420	5.5	5.3	5.7	5.3	5.1
At expanding establishments	29,456	26,777	28,520	27,991	27,976	4.7	4.2	4.5	4.3	4.3
At opening establishments	5,072	7,123	7,818	6,466	5,444	0.8	1.1	1.2	1.0	0.8
Gross job losses	26,835	24,967	25,269	26,918	28,793	4.3	3.9	4.0	4.1	4.4
At contracting establishments	19,547	18,588	19,004	21,719	21,313	3.1	2.9	3.0	3.3	3.3
At closing establishments	7,288	6,379	6,265	5,199	7,480	1.2	1.0	1.0	0.8	1.1
Net employment change (2)	7,693	8,933	11,069	7,539	4,627	1.2	1.4	1.7	1.2	0.7
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	45,959	49,188	50,356	45,683	41,383	9.1	9.6	9.6	8.6	7.9
At expanding establishments	37,745	38,807	39,357	36,789	30,928	7.5	7.6	7.5	6.9	5.9
At opening establishments	8,214	10,381	10,999	8,894	10,455	1.6	2.0	2.1	1.7	2.0
Gross job losses	46,229	38,189	35,013	39,638	48,801	9.2	7.5	6.7	7.5	9.2
At contracting establishments	36,496	30,203	28,516	32,216	39,121	7.3	5.9	5.5	6.1	7.4
At closing establishments	9,733	7,986	6,497	7,422	9,680	1.9	1.6	1.2	1.4	1.8
Net employment change (2)	-270	10,999	15,343	6,045	-7,418	-0.1	2.1	2.9	1.1	-1.3
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	10,397	9,922	10,134	9,344	9,178	9.2	8.6	8.7	7.8	7.6
At expanding establishments	8,381	7,042	7,572	6,815	7,255	7.4	6.1	6.5	5.7	6.0
At opening establishments	2,016	2,880	2,562	2,529	1,923	1.8	2.5	2.2	2.1	1.6
Gross job losses	8,409	8,924	8,312	7,546	8,971	7.4	7.8	7.1	6.4	7.5
At contracting establishments	5,459	6,755	5,816	5,822	6,098	4.8	5.9	5.0	4.9	5.1
At closing establishments	2,950	2,169	2,496	1,724	2,873	2.6	1.9	2.1	1.5	2.4
Net employment change (2)	1,988	998	1,822	1,798	207	1.8	0.8	1.6	1.4	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	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Sept. 2022	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023
United States(1)	6.9	6.3	6.2	6.2	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.4	5.9	5.9
Alabama	6.9	6.6	6.4	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.1	5.5	5.7	6.0
Alaska	8.5	10.9	10.4	11.0	8.5	10.4	9.2	8.0	8.9	10.5
Arizona	7.1	6.6	5.9	7.0	6.7	5.5	6.0	5.4	6.5	5.9
Arkansas	6.5	6.2	5.8	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.2	5.0	6.0	5.7
California	6.8	6.6	6.1	6.7	6.2	6.2	6.6	6.4	6.4	6.5
Colorado	7.0	7.6	7.2	7.3	5.5	7.1	6.9	6.5	6.6	6.2
Connecticut	6.3	5.9	6.1	6.4	5.8	6.2	5.9	5.3	5.7	6.2
Delaware	8.6	7.0	6.7	6.0	6.0	6.2	7.5	5.2	5.7	6.5
District of Columbia	7.2	5.6	5.9	5.4	5.5	5.0	5.5	4.8	5.3	5.4
Florida	7.8	6.2	6.3	6.8	6.5	5.6	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.8
Georgia	7.1	6.7	6.2	6.4	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.8	6.5	6.1
Hawaii	6.4	6.0	5.5	5.7	5.3	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.2	6.9
Idaho	7.8	8.4	7.9	7.9	7.3	7.5	6.9	7.5	7.5	8.2
Illinois	5.8	5.4	5.8	5.4	4.8	5.3	5.1	4.8	5.3	5.5
Indiana	6.4	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.2	5.0	6.1	5.8
Iowa	5.9	6.4	6.0	6.0	5.5	5.9	6.2	5.4	5.9	5.8
Kansas	7.4	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.4	6.0	6.0
Kentucky	6.6	6.0	6.1	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.3	4.9	5.9	5.5
Louisiana	6.9	6.1	6.3	6.1	6.2	5.7	6.2	5.6	6.4	6.0
Maine	7.6	7.4	7.7	7.6	6.8	7.3	6.8	6.2	7.6	7.8
Maryland	7.4	6.6	6.8	6.7	6.4	6.0	6.9	5.6	6.3	6.5
Massachusetts	6.2	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.4	6.1	5.8	4.7	5.7	6.1
Michigan	5.7	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.2	5.8	5.2	4.9	5.3	5.9
Minnesota	6.5	5.9	5.7	6.0	3.1	5.9	5.8	4.9	5.6	4.2
Mississippi	7.2	6.8	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.3	6.2	5.7	6.6	6.2
Missouri	6.8	6.1	6.5	5.9	5.6	6.3	5.8	5.1	5.9	5.8
Montana	8.7	9.2	8.7	7.8	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.1	8.4	8.5
Nebraska	7.1	6.0	6.3	6.0	6.0	6.1	5.7	5.1	5.6	5.9
Nevada	7.4	6.4	6.2	6.6	6.5	5.8	6.1	5.7	6.0	5.5
New Hampshire	6.9	6.7	7.0	6.7	5.9	6.7	6.0	5.9	6.3	6.7
New Jersey	6.8	6.8	6.1	6.8	5.9	6.4	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.9
New Mexico	8.0	6.7	6.8	6.4	6.1	5.9	6.2	5.9	6.2	6.7
New York	6.6	5.9	6.5	6.3	5.8	5.9	6.0	5.1	5.7	6.1
North Carolina	6.7	6.6	6.4	6.1	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.3	5.7	6.2
North Dakota	7.6	6.4	7.6	6.9	6.6	6.3	6.7	5.6	6.7	6.6
Ohio	5.8	5.9	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.5	5.7	4.9	5.7	5.7
Oklahoma	7.4	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	5.6	5.9	5.3	6.0	6.0
Oregon	6.7	6.5	7.3	6.4	6.1	6.0	6.2	6.1	6.9	6.9
Pennsylvania	6.1	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.2	4.6	5.5	5.2
Rhode Island	6.7	6.9	7.5	6.7	6.5	7.3	6.4	5.9	7.0	6.8
South Carolina	7.3	6.9	6.8	6.4	6.8	5.6	6.2	5.8	6.8	5.7
South Dakota	7.3	6.5	7.2	6.8	6.3	6.4	6.5	5.9	6.2	6.3
Tennessee	7.0	5.8	5.9	5.9	2.7	5.5	5.6	5.0	5.5	4.2
Texas	7.2	6.2	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.3	5.3	5.0	5.4	5.5
Utah	7.5	6.9	7.0	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.2	6.2	6.5
Vermont	7.2	7.8	8.2	7.4	6.3	7.8	7.0	6.0	7.5	8.0
Virginia	7.5	6.2	6.2	6.0	5.8	6.1	5.8	5.2	5.8	6.0
Washington	7.2	5.9	6.4	6.0	5.4	6.3	5.3	5.5	5.6	6.0
West Virginia	8.1	6.6	7.1	6.1	6.5	6.9	6.4	5.3	6.1	6.5
Wisconsin	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.6	5.2	5.8	5.5	4.9	5.9	5.9
Wyoming	9.2	9.2	8.9	8.4	8.2	8.4	7.9	7.8	8.7	8.2
Puerto Rico	6.2	6.6	5.1	5.8	5.7	5.3	6.1	5.7	4.9	5.4
Virgin Islands	8.5	5.9	7.5	7.4	8.2	5.5	4.7	6.5	6.8	7.1
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: Tuesday, May 07, 2024

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Business Employment Dynamics in North Carolina — Third Quarter 2023