From September 2023 to December 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Mississippi were 57,470, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 52,682, 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 4,788 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 279. (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 6.1 percent of private-sector employment in Mississippi; 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 Mississippi, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 46,834 in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 72 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 10,636 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 109 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Mississippi; 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 Mississippi, contracting establishments lost 43,626 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 2,951 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 9,056 jobs, a decrease of 2,297 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 8 of the 10 industry sectors in Mississippi in the fourth quarter of 2023. Transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 1,491 jobs. This was the result of 3,891 gross job gains and 2,400 gross job losses. The professional and business services industry had a net gain of 1,352 jobs. Retail trade showed a net loss of 701 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 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).

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, Mississippi, 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	63,543	56,698	58,299	57,651	57,470	6.8	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.1
At expanding establishments	51,165	47,279	46,425	46,906	46,834	5.5	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0
At opening establishments	12,378	9,419	11,874	10,745	10,636	1.3	1.0	1.3	1.2	1.1
Gross job losses	57,383	53,845	61,507	57,930	52,682	6.2	5.7	6.6	6.2	5.7
At contracting establishments	47,055	45,968	50,395	46,577	43,626	5.1	4.9	5.4	5.0	4.7
At closing establishments	10,328	7,877	11,112	11,353	9,056	1.1	0.8	1.2	1.2	1.0
Net employment change (2)	6,160	2,853	-3,208	-279	4,788	0.6	0.4	-0.3	0.0	0.4
Construction
Gross job gains	4,444	4,941	4,361	5,482	4,787	9.7	10.4	9.2	11.3	9.7
At expanding establishments	3,638	4,259	3,523	4,675	3,737	7.9	9.0	7.4	9.6	7.6
At opening establishments	806	682	838	807	1,050	1.8	1.4	1.8	1.7	2.1
Gross job losses	3,318	3,661	4,046	4,640	3,840	7.2	7.7	8.4	9.6	7.8
At contracting establishments	2,630	3,071	3,131	3,730	3,239	5.7	6.5	6.5	7.7	6.6
At closing establishments	688	590	915	910	601	1.5	1.2	1.9	1.9	1.2
Net employment change (2)	1,126	1,280	315	842	947	2.5	2.7	0.8	1.7	1.9
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,299	4,890	4,108	3,954	4,460	3.6	3.4	2.8	2.8	3.1
At expanding establishments	4,968	4,648	3,613	3,642	4,158	3.4	3.2	2.5	2.6	2.9
At opening establishments	331	242	495	312	302	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
Gross job losses	7,100	3,767	6,470	4,838	4,235	4.8	2.5	4.4	3.4	3.0
At contracting establishments	5,509	3,452	6,230	4,329	3,982	3.7	2.3	4.2	3.0	2.8
At closing establishments	1,591	315	240	509	253	1.1	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.2
Net employment change (2)	-1,801	1,123	-2,362	-884	225	-1.2	0.9	-1.6	-0.6	0.1
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	1,950	1,903	1,804	1,959	1,942	5.5	5.3	5.0	5.5	5.4
At expanding establishments	1,490	1,585	1,452	1,647	1,512	4.2	4.4	4.0	4.6	4.2
At opening establishments	460	318	352	312	430	1.3	0.9	1.0	0.9	1.2
Gross job losses	1,572	1,740	1,981	1,650	1,752	4.4	4.8	5.5	4.6	4.9
At contracting establishments	1,293	1,435	1,677	1,286	1,364	3.6	4.0	4.7	3.6	3.8
At closing establishments	279	305	304	364	388	0.8	0.8	0.8	1.0	1.1
Net employment change (2)	378	163	-177	309	190	1.1	0.5	-0.5	0.9	0.5
Retail trade
Gross job gains	9,083	7,981	8,904	9,014	7,614	6.5	5.7	6.4	6.5	5.4
At expanding establishments	7,641	6,464	7,453	7,501	6,321	5.5	4.6	5.4	5.4	4.5
At opening establishments	1,442	1,517	1,451	1,513	1,293	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	8,540	8,369	9,190	8,069	8,315	6.1	6.0	6.6	5.8	6.0
At contracting establishments	7,412	7,361	7,928	6,840	7,220	5.3	5.3	5.7	4.9	5.2
At closing establishments	1,128	1,008	1,262	1,229	1,095	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	543	-388	-286	945	-701	0.4	-0.3	-0.2	0.7	-0.6
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,829	2,660	3,087	3,113	3,891	7.8	4.3	5.0	4.9	6.2
At expanding establishments	4,344	2,235	2,513	2,652	3,604	7.0	3.6	4.1	4.2	5.7
At opening establishments	485	425	574	461	287	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.7	0.5
Gross job losses	2,836	3,986	3,874	3,827	2,400	4.6	6.4	6.4	6.1	3.8
At contracting establishments	2,151	3,678	3,270	3,260	2,085	3.5	5.9	5.4	5.2	3.3
At closing establishments	685	308	604	567	315	1.1	0.5	1.0	0.9	0.5
Net employment change (2)	1,993	-1,326	-787	-714	1,491	3.2	-2.1	-1.4	-1.2	2.4
Financial activities
Gross job gains	2,978	2,359	2,575	2,618	2,035	6.7	5.3	5.7	5.8	4.6
At expanding establishments	1,951	1,814	1,895	2,021	1,581	4.4	4.1	4.2	4.5	3.6
At opening establishments	1,027	545	680	597	454	2.3	1.2	1.5	1.3	1.0
Gross job losses	2,355	2,218	2,428	2,420	2,271	5.3	5.0	5.4	5.4	5.1
At contracting establishments	1,775	1,476	1,746	1,585	1,729	4.0	3.3	3.9	3.5	3.9
At closing establishments	580	742	682	835	542	1.3	1.7	1.5	1.9	1.2
Net employment change (2)	623	141	147	198	-236	1.4	0.3	0.3	0.4	-0.5
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	11,170	10,294	10,358	11,268	11,292	9.4	8.7	8.8	9.6	9.6
At expanding establishments	8,779	8,555	7,732	8,905	9,042	7.4	7.2	6.6	7.6	7.7
At opening establishments	2,391	1,739	2,626	2,363	2,250	2.0	1.5	2.2	2.0	1.9
Gross job losses	10,448	10,651	11,844	10,966	9,940	8.8	8.9	10.1	9.4	8.4
At contracting establishments	8,688	9,190	9,734	8,245	7,919	7.3	7.7	8.3	7.1	6.7
At closing establishments	1,760	1,461	2,110	2,721	2,021	1.5	1.2	1.8	2.3	1.7
Net employment change (2)	722	-357	-1,486	302	1,352	0.6	-0.2	-1.3	0.2	1.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	8,656	7,269	9,256	6,009	7,531	6.0	5.0	6.2	3.9	5.0
At expanding establishments	7,185	6,196	7,634	5,040	5,958	5.0	4.3	5.1	3.3	4.0
At opening establishments	1,471	1,073	1,622	969	1,573	1.0	0.7	1.1	0.6	1.0
Gross job losses	7,540	7,121	5,089	7,391	7,093	5.2	4.9	3.4	4.9	4.7
At contracting establishments	6,245	5,638	4,128	5,815	5,444	4.3	3.9	2.8	3.9	3.6
At closing establishments	1,295	1,483	961	1,576	1,649	0.9	1.0	0.6	1.0	1.1
Net employment change (2)	1,116	148	4,167	-1,382	438	0.8	0.1	2.8	-1.0	0.3
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	10,882	10,127	9,582	10,336	9,963	8.1	7.6	7.1	7.8	7.3
At expanding establishments	8,182	8,129	7,597	7,841	7,883	6.1	6.1	5.6	5.9	5.8
At opening establishments	2,700	1,998	1,985	2,495	2,080	2.0	1.5	1.5	1.9	1.5
Gross job losses	9,743	8,758	11,767	10,202	9,226	7.3	6.5	8.7	7.6	6.9
At contracting establishments	8,312	7,660	8,776	8,618	7,760	6.2	5.7	6.5	6.4	5.8
At closing establishments	1,431	1,098	2,991	1,584	1,466	1.1	0.8	2.2	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	1,139	1,369	-2,185	134	737	0.8	1.1	-1.6	0.2	0.4
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	1,770	1,527	1,698	1,829	1,693	8.7	7.4	8.1	8.6	7.9
At expanding establishments	1,267	1,195	1,186	1,420	1,389	6.2	5.8	5.7	6.7	6.5
At opening establishments	503	332	512	409	304	2.5	1.6	2.4	1.9	1.4
Gross job losses	1,525	1,397	1,666	1,447	1,588	7.5	6.8	8.0	6.8	7.4
At contracting establishments	1,197	1,196	1,128	1,105	1,225	5.9	5.8	5.4	5.2	5.7
At closing establishments	328	201	538	342	363	1.6	1.0	2.6	1.6	1.7
Net employment change (2)	245	130	32	382	105	1.2	0.6	0.1	1.8	0.5
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.