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News Release Information

24-1547-ATL
Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Business Employment Dynamics in Alabama — Fourth Quarter 2023

From September 2023 to December 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Alabama were 104,753, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 100,067, 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 4,686 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 771. (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 the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 6.2 percent of private-sector employment in Alabama; 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 Alabama, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 84,859 in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 4,648 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 19,894 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 111 jobs from the previous quarter.


Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment in Alabama; nationally, gross job losses 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 Alabama, contracting establishments lost 78,896 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 2,021 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 21,171 jobs, an increase of 1,101 jobs from the previous quarter.


Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 10 industry sectors in Alabama in the fourth quarter of 2023. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 2,154 jobs. This was the result of 18,084 gross job gains and 15,930 gross job losses. The transportation and warehousing industry had a net gain of 2,092 jobs. Retail trade showed a net loss of 1,895 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state. Alabama’s education and health services industry sector had a net loss of 1,165 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 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, Alabama, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
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

111,392 107,346 100,702 100,216 104,753 6.6 6.4 5.9 5.9 6.2

At expanding establishments

87,297 83,816 80,324 80,211 84,859 5.2 5.0 4.7 4.7 5.0

At opening establishments

24,095 23,530 20,378 20,005 19,894 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.2

Gross job losses

101,269 92,757 95,939 100,987 100,067 6.1 5.5 5.7 6.0 5.8

At contracting establishments

79,922 75,213 79,792 80,917 78,896 4.8 4.5 4.7 4.8 4.6

At closing establishments

21,347 17,544 16,147 20,070 21,171 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.2

Net employment change (2)

10,123 14,589 4,763 -771 4,686 0.5 0.9 0.2 -0.1 0.4

Construction

Gross job gains

8,220 8,439 8,057 8,079 9,262 8.2 8.4 8.0 8.0 9.1

At expanding establishments

6,578 6,553 6,641 6,374 7,534 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.3 7.4

At opening establishments

1,642 1,886 1,416 1,705 1,728 1.6 1.9 1.4 1.7 1.7

Gross job losses

8,090 8,426 7,431 7,634 8,064 8.1 8.4 7.4 7.5 7.9

At contracting establishments

6,585 7,011 5,883 6,085 6,163 6.6 7.0 5.9 6.0 6.0

At closing establishments

1,505 1,415 1,548 1,549 1,901 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.9

Net employment change (2)

130 13 626 445 1,198 0.1 0.0 0.6 0.5 1.2

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

11,344 9,325 9,318 8,610 7,910 4.1 3.3 3.3 3.0 2.8

At expanding establishments

9,915 8,234 8,402 7,758 7,335 3.6 2.9 3.0 2.7 2.6

At opening establishments

1,429 1,091 916 852 575 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2

Gross job losses

9,206 7,743 8,188 8,684 7,835 3.3 2.7 2.9 3.1 2.8

At contracting establishments

7,887 7,085 7,334 7,499 7,051 2.8 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.5

At closing establishments

1,319 658 854 1,185 784 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3

Net employment change (2)

2,138 1,582 1,130 -74 75 0.8 0.6 0.4 -0.1 0.0

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

4,171 4,181 3,588 3,758 4,105 5.4 5.3 4.6 4.8 5.2

At expanding establishments

3,315 3,448 2,989 2,881 3,252 4.3 4.4 3.8 3.7 4.1

At opening establishments

856 733 599 877 853 1.1 0.9 0.8 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses

3,891 3,402 3,295 3,810 3,146 5.0 4.4 4.2 4.8 4.0

At contracting establishments

2,459 2,541 2,594 2,940 2,451 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.7 3.1

At closing establishments

1,432 861 701 870 695 1.8 1.1 0.9 1.1 0.9

Net employment change (2)

280 779 293 -52 959 0.4 0.9 0.4 0.0 1.2

Retail trade

Gross job gains

13,858 13,423 13,710 13,551 12,378 5.9 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.2

At expanding establishments

11,601 10,584 11,819 11,692 10,469 4.9 4.5 4.9 4.9 4.4

At opening establishments

2,257 2,839 1,891 1,859 1,909 1.0 1.2 0.8 0.8 0.8

Gross job losses

14,065 12,107 12,822 13,579 14,273 5.9 5.1 5.3 5.6 6.0

At contracting establishments

11,890 10,823 11,568 11,626 12,391 5.0 4.6 4.8 4.8 5.2

At closing establishments

2,175 1,284 1,254 1,953 1,882 0.9 0.5 0.5 0.8 0.8

Net employment change (2)

-207 1,316 888 -28 -1,895 0.0 0.6 0.4 0.1 -0.8

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

9,585 4,206 3,953 4,265 5,678 12.4 5.3 5.2 5.7 7.4

At expanding establishments

6,573 3,461 2,942 3,594 5,112 8.5 4.4 3.9 4.8 6.7

At opening establishments

3,012 745 1,011 671 566 3.9 0.9 1.3 0.9 0.7

Gross job losses

3,578 7,229 5,372 4,648 3,586 4.7 9.2 7.1 6.2 4.7

At contracting establishments

2,765 6,460 4,547 3,953 2,695 3.6 8.2 6.0 5.3 3.5

At closing establishments

813 769 825 695 891 1.1 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.2

Net employment change (2)

6,007 -3,023 -1,419 -383 2,092 7.7 -3.9 -1.9 -0.5 2.7

Financial activities

Gross job gains

6,377 6,428 5,310 5,159 5,737 6.4 6.4 5.2 5.1 5.7

At expanding establishments

4,924 4,515 4,048 4,084 4,660 4.9 4.5 4.0 4.0 4.6

At opening establishments

1,453 1,913 1,262 1,075 1,077 1.5 1.9 1.2 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses

7,204 4,829 5,304 5,639 6,026 7.2 4.8 5.2 5.6 6.0

At contracting establishments

4,798 3,815 4,203 4,612 4,637 4.8 3.8 4.1 4.6 4.6

At closing establishments

2,406 1,014 1,101 1,027 1,389 2.4 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.4

Net employment change (2)

-827 1,599 6 -480 -289 -0.8 1.6 0.0 -0.5 -0.3

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

20,133 20,885 18,998 18,994 20,828 7.6 7.9 7.1 7.1 7.8

At expanding establishments

15,285 15,888 15,147 14,607 16,252 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.5 6.1

At opening establishments

4,848 4,997 3,851 4,387 4,576 1.8 1.9 1.4 1.6 1.7

Gross job losses

19,532 18,266 19,026 20,219 19,108 7.4 6.8 7.2 7.6 7.1

At contracting establishments

14,781 14,707 15,675 15,968 15,329 5.6 5.5 5.9 6.0 5.7

At closing establishments

4,751 3,559 3,351 4,251 3,779 1.8 1.3 1.3 1.6 1.4

Net employment change (2)

601 2,619 -28 -1,225 1,720 0.2 1.1 -0.1 -0.5 0.7

Education and health services

Gross job gains

12,560 14,586 14,419 13,401 14,129 5.3 6.0 5.8 5.3 5.6

At expanding establishments

9,548 11,185 10,498 10,535 10,807 4.0 4.6 4.2 4.2 4.3

At opening establishments

3,012 3,401 3,921 2,866 3,322 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.1 1.3

Gross job losses

12,916 10,838 10,349 12,705 15,294 5.3 4.5 4.2 5.0 6.1

At contracting establishments

9,975 6,702 8,450 9,340 10,346 4.1 2.8 3.4 3.7 4.1

At closing establishments

2,941 4,136 1,899 3,365 4,948 1.2 1.7 0.8 1.3 2.0

Net employment change (2)

-356 3,748 4,070 696 -1,165 0.0 1.5 1.6 0.3 -0.5

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

17,834 18,822 16,772 18,036 18,084 9.0 9.3 8.2 8.8 8.8

At expanding establishments

14,071 15,047 12,692 13,981 14,228 7.1 7.4 6.2 6.8 6.9

At opening establishments

3,763 3,775 4,080 4,055 3,856 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.9

Gross job losses

15,626 13,581 17,726 17,430 15,930 7.9 6.7 8.7 8.5 7.7

At contracting establishments

13,074 11,055 14,470 14,159 12,832 6.6 5.5 7.1 6.9 6.2

At closing establishments

2,552 2,526 3,256 3,271 3,098 1.3 1.2 1.6 1.6 1.5

Net employment change (2)

2,208 5,241 -954 606 2,154 1.1 2.6 -0.5 0.3 1.1

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

3,393 3,898 3,270 3,803 3,309 7.4 8.5 7.1 8.2 7.0

At expanding establishments

2,599 2,755 2,425 2,834 2,600 5.7 6.0 5.3 6.1 5.5

At opening establishments

794 1,143 845 969 709 1.7 2.5 1.8 2.1 1.5

Gross job losses

3,890 3,174 2,913 3,230 3,711 8.5 7.0 6.3 6.9 7.9

At contracting establishments

3,018 2,359 2,224 2,263 2,772 6.6 5.2 4.8 4.8 5.9

At closing establishments

872 815 689 967 939 1.9 1.8 1.5 2.1 2.0

Net employment change (2)

-497 724 357 573 -402 -1.1 1.5 0.8 1.3 -0.9

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)
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