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News Release Information

24-1550-ATL
Wednesday, July 31, 2024

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

Business Employment Dynamics in Tennessee — Fourth Quarter 2023

From September 2023 to December 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Tennessee were 138,177, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 127,186, 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 10,991 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 39,668. (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 4.9 percent of private-sector employment in Tennessee; 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 Tennessee, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 98,631 in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 37,362 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 39,546 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 24,299 jobs from the previous quarter.


Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 4.6 percent of private-sector employment in Tennessee; 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 Tennessee, contracting establishments lost 103,023 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 11,809 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 24,163 jobs, a decrease of 807 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 11 industry sectors in Tennessee in the fourth quarter of 2023. Transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 7,995 jobs. This was the result of 13,515 gross job gains and 5,520 gross job losses. The leisure and hospitality industry had a net gain of 4,324 jobs. Professional and business services showed a net loss of 6,916 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, Tennessee, 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

160,803 162,157 165,165 76,516 138,177 5.8 5.9 5.9 2.7 4.9

At expanding establishments

132,356 138,096 135,150 61,269 98,631 4.8 5.0 4.8 2.2 3.5

At opening establishments

28,447 24,061 30,015 15,247 39,546 1.0 0.9 1.1 0.5 1.4

Gross job losses

155,186 137,669 152,886 116,184 127,186 5.6 5.0 5.5 4.2 4.6

At contracting establishments

132,499 116,035 133,309 91,214 103,023 4.8 4.2 4.8 3.3 3.7

At closing establishments

22,687 21,634 19,577 24,970 24,163 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9

Net employment change (2)

5,617 24,488 12,279 -39,668 10,991 0.2 0.9 0.4 -1.5 0.3

Construction

Gross job gains

12,302 13,202 12,480 3,131 12,059 8.3 8.6 8.0 2.0 7.7

At expanding establishments

10,104 11,535 10,126 2,667 8,514 6.8 7.5 6.5 1.7 5.4

At opening establishments

2,198 1,667 2,354 464 3,545 1.5 1.1 1.5 0.3 2.3

Gross job losses

10,510 9,644 10,133 6,411 10,013 7.1 6.3 6.5 4.2 6.3

At contracting establishments

8,760 7,910 8,533 4,447 7,909 5.9 5.2 5.5 2.9 5.0

At closing establishments

1,750 1,734 1,600 1,964 2,104 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.3 1.3

Net employment change (2)

1,792 3,558 2,347 -3,280 2,046 1.2 2.3 1.5 -2.2 1.4

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

12,873 9,398 11,524 3,514 8,998 3.5 2.6 3.1 0.9 2.5

At expanding establishments

11,477 8,603 10,269 3,398 7,555 3.1 2.4 2.8 0.9 2.1

At opening establishments

1,396 795 1,255 116 1,443 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.4

Gross job losses

11,483 11,906 11,410 11,602 7,797 3.1 3.3 3.1 3.3 2.2

At contracting establishments

10,218 10,990 10,621 10,331 6,521 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.9 1.8

At closing establishments

1,265 916 789 1,271 1,276 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.4

Net employment change (2)

1,390 -2,508 114 -8,088 1,201 0.4 -0.7 0.0 -2.4 0.3

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

6,555 6,102 6,639 1,870 4,719 5.0 4.6 4.9 1.4 3.5

At expanding establishments

5,360 5,449 5,654 1,614 3,482 4.1 4.1 4.2 1.2 2.6

At opening establishments

1,195 653 985 256 1,237 0.9 0.5 0.7 0.2 0.9

Gross job losses

5,469 5,159 5,142 3,116 4,075 4.2 3.9 3.8 2.3 3.0

At contracting establishments

4,429 4,146 4,480 2,158 2,971 3.4 3.1 3.3 1.6 2.2

At closing establishments

1,040 1,013 662 958 1,104 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.8

Net employment change (2)

1,086 943 1,497 -1,246 644 0.8 0.7 1.1 -0.9 0.5

Retail trade

Gross job gains

18,821 17,544 20,506 12,679 17,404 5.5 5.1 5.9 3.7 5.1

At expanding establishments

16,666 15,814 17,430 11,297 13,307 4.9 4.6 5.0 3.3 3.9

At opening establishments

2,155 1,730 3,076 1,382 4,097 0.6 0.5 0.9 0.4 1.2

Gross job losses

17,905 15,133 20,735 18,270 18,216 5.2 4.5 5.9 5.3 5.3

At contracting establishments

15,794 13,236 18,540 16,224 15,444 4.6 3.9 5.3 4.7 4.5

At closing establishments

2,111 1,897 2,195 2,046 2,772 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.8

Net employment change (2)

916 2,411 -229 -5,591 -812 0.3 0.6 0.0 -1.6 -0.2

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

9,278 8,055 7,105 6,588 13,515 4.7 4.1 3.6 3.4 6.8

At expanding establishments

8,252 7,352 6,250 6,416 12,113 4.2 3.7 3.2 3.3 6.1

At opening establishments

1,026 703 855 172 1,402 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.7

Gross job losses

7,445 9,891 10,197 5,332 5,520 3.7 4.9 5.2 2.8 2.8

At contracting establishments

6,598 9,202 9,355 4,001 4,616 3.3 4.6 4.8 2.1 2.3

At closing establishments

847 689 842 1,331 904 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.5

Net employment change (2)

1,833 -1,836 -3,092 1,256 7,995 1.0 -0.8 -1.6 0.6 4.0

Information

Gross job gains

3,092 4,032 4,112 1,289 2,309 5.6 7.1 7.3 2.3 4.2

At expanding establishments

2,213 3,271 3,021 1,125 1,320 4.0 5.8 5.4 2.0 2.4

At opening establishments

879 761 1,091 164 989 1.6 1.3 1.9 0.3 1.8

Gross job losses

3,914 3,501 3,937 3,442 2,593 7.0 6.2 7.0 6.2 4.7

At contracting establishments

2,978 2,634 3,278 2,835 2,036 5.3 4.7 5.8 5.1 3.7

At closing establishments

936 867 659 607 557 1.7 1.5 1.2 1.1 1.0

Net employment change (2)

-822 531 175 -2,153 -284 -1.4 0.9 0.3 -3.9 -0.5

Financial activities

Gross job gains

7,958 8,746 8,701 3,184 6,331 4.8 5.2 5.1 1.9 3.7

At expanding establishments

6,153 7,285 7,177 2,360 4,321 3.7 4.3 4.2 1.4 2.5

At opening establishments

1,805 1,461 1,524 824 2,010 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.5 1.2

Gross job losses

8,545 7,192 7,204 7,730 6,799 5.1 4.2 4.3 4.6 4.0

At contracting establishments

6,997 5,606 5,556 6,062 5,253 4.2 3.3 3.3 3.6 3.1

At closing establishments

1,548 1,586 1,648 1,668 1,546 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.9

Net employment change (2)

-587 1,554 1,497 -4,546 -468 -0.3 1.0 0.8 -2.7 -0.3

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

29,601 32,061 31,890 9,319 23,235 6.4 7.0 6.9 2.0 5.1

At expanding establishments

24,089 28,120 25,873 8,231 16,092 5.2 6.1 5.6 1.8 3.5

At opening establishments

5,512 3,941 6,017 1,088 7,143 1.2 0.9 1.3 0.2 1.6

Gross job losses

39,580 28,169 31,140 24,293 30,151 8.5 6.1 6.7 5.3 6.6

At contracting establishments

33,984 22,915 27,268 18,555 24,726 7.3 5.0 5.9 4.0 5.4

At closing establishments

5,596 5,254 3,872 5,738 5,425 1.2 1.1 0.8 1.3 1.2

Net employment change (2)

-9,979 3,892 750 -14,974 -6,916 -2.1 0.9 0.2 -3.3 -1.5

Education and health services

Gross job gains

20,253 21,397 23,578 20,462 15,140 4.5 4.7 5.2 4.4 3.2

At expanding establishments

16,578 18,980 20,519 12,200 10,951 3.7 4.2 4.5 2.6 2.3

At opening establishments

3,675 2,417 3,059 8,262 4,189 0.8 0.5 0.7 1.8 0.9

Gross job losses

17,754 16,647 16,539 11,980 15,130 4.0 3.7 3.7 2.6 3.2

At contracting establishments

15,096 13,858 14,020 8,927 11,875 3.4 3.1 3.1 1.9 2.5

At closing establishments

2,658 2,789 2,519 3,053 3,255 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Net employment change (2)

2,499 4,750 7,039 8,482 10 0.5 1.0 1.5 1.8 0.0

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

30,043 29,846 27,613 11,217 25,402 8.5 8.3 7.6 3.1 6.9

At expanding establishments

24,621 25,617 22,439 9,677 16,493 7.0 7.1 6.2 2.7 4.5

At opening establishments

5,422 4,229 5,174 1,540 8,909 1.5 1.2 1.4 0.4 2.4

Gross job losses

24,813 23,267 28,937 16,381 21,078 7.0 6.5 8.0 4.6 5.8

At contracting establishments

21,665 20,132 25,588 11,810 17,214 6.1 5.6 7.1 3.3 4.7

At closing establishments

3,148 3,135 3,349 4,571 3,864 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.3 1.1

Net employment change (2)

5,230 6,579 -1,324 -5,164 4,324 1.5 1.8 -0.4 -1.5 1.1

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

5,616 5,577 5,715 1,514 4,890 7.4 7.3 7.4 2.0 6.3

At expanding establishments

4,481 4,448 4,423 1,136 3,177 5.9 5.8 5.7 1.5 4.1

At opening establishments

1,135 1,129 1,292 378 1,713 1.5 1.5 1.7 0.5 2.2

Gross job losses

5,694 4,927 4,944 5,303 3,758 7.5 6.4 6.4 6.9 4.8

At contracting establishments

4,456 4,004 4,174 4,051 2,902 5.9 5.2 5.4 5.3 3.7

At closing establishments

1,238 923 770 1,252 856 1.6 1.2 1.0 1.6 1.1

Net employment change (2)

-78 650 771 -3,789 1,132 -0.1 0.9 1.0 -4.9 1.5

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.

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