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News Release Information

23-2333-ATL
Thursday, November 02, 2023

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

Business Employment Dynamics in Tennessee — First Quarter 2023

From December 2022 to March 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Tennessee were 162,157, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 137,669, 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 24,488 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 5,617. (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 Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 5.9 percent of private-sector employment in Tennessee; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 6.2 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 138,096 in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 5,740 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 24,061 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2023, a decrease of 4,386 jobs from the previous quarter.


Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.0 percent of private-sector employment in Tennessee; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.4 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 116,035 jobs in the first quarter of 2023, a decrease of 16,464 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 21,634 jobs, a decrease of 1,053 jobs from the previous quarter.


Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 9 of the 11 industry sectors in Tennessee in the first quarter of 2023. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 6,579 jobs. This was the result of 29,846 gross job gains and 23,267 gross job losses. The education and health services industry had a net gain of 4,750 jobs. Tennessee’s manufacturing industry sector had a net loss of 2,508 jobs. The transportation and warehousing industry had net loss of 1,836 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 www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

Data in this release contain annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. These revisions 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. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by unemployment insurance (UI) laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW and form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame.

In the BED program, the QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and expanding units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. BED statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment in the current and previous quarters. The rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:

Openings. These are either units with positive third month employment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.

Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.

Closings. These are units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter and either not reported, or reported with zero employment, in the current quarter.

Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

The full Technical Note for the Business Employment Dynamics program, which includes information on coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the current quarterly news release online at www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.htm.

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)
Mar.
2022
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
Mar.
2022
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

178,940 168,944 193,098 160,803 162,157 6.6 6.2 7.0 5.8 5.9

At expanding establishments

146,440 137,216 164,797 132,356 138,096 5.4 5.0 6.0 4.8 5.0

At opening establishments

32,500 31,728 28,301 28,447 24,061 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.0 0.9

Gross job losses

128,381 168,607 150,300 155,186 137,669 4.8 6.2 5.5 5.6 5.0

At contracting establishments

112,290 143,344 128,995 132,499 116,035 4.2 5.3 4.7 4.8 4.2

At closing establishments

16,091 25,263 21,305 22,687 21,634 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8

Net employment change (2)

50,559 337 42,798 5,617 24,488 1.8 0.0 1.5 0.2 0.9

Construction

Gross job gains

13,898 11,357 12,440 12,302 13,202 9.6 7.8 8.5 8.3 8.6

At expanding establishments

10,817 9,625 10,266 10,104 11,535 7.5 6.6 7.0 6.8 7.5

At opening establishments

3,081 1,732 2,174 2,198 1,667 2.1 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.1

Gross job losses

9,030 11,134 10,377 10,510 9,644 6.3 7.6 7.1 7.1 6.3

At contracting establishments

7,933 9,183 9,051 8,760 7,910 5.5 6.3 6.2 5.9 5.2

At closing establishments

1,097 1,951 1,326 1,750 1,734 0.8 1.3 0.9 1.2 1.1

Net employment change (2)

4,868 223 2,063 1,792 3,558 3.3 0.2 1.4 1.2 2.3

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

13,299 13,196 14,699 12,873 9,398 3.7 3.6 4.0 3.5 2.6

At expanding establishments

12,267 11,577 13,964 11,477 8,603 3.4 3.2 3.8 3.1 2.4

At opening establishments

1,032 1,619 735 1,396 795 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.2

Gross job losses

9,054 10,924 11,433 11,483 11,906 2.5 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.3

At contracting establishments

7,835 9,861 10,557 10,218 10,990 2.2 2.7 2.9 2.8 3.0

At closing establishments

1,219 1,063 876 1,265 916 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3

Net employment change (2)

4,245 2,272 3,266 1,390 -2,508 1.2 0.6 0.9 0.4 -0.7

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

6,503 7,297 8,213 6,555 6,102 5.1 5.7 6.3 5.0 4.6

At expanding establishments

5,195 5,512 7,000 5,360 5,449 4.1 4.3 5.4 4.1 4.1

At opening establishments

1,308 1,785 1,213 1,195 653 1.0 1.4 0.9 0.9 0.5

Gross job losses

4,682 5,939 5,523 5,469 5,159 3.7 4.6 4.2 4.2 3.9

At contracting establishments

3,628 4,659 4,423 4,429 4,146 2.9 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.1

At closing establishments

1,054 1,280 1,100 1,040 1,013 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8

Net employment change (2)

1,821 1,358 2,690 1,086 943 1.4 1.1 2.1 0.8 0.7

Retail trade

Gross job gains

25,421 17,520 22,495 18,821 17,544 7.5 5.1 6.6 5.5 5.1

At expanding establishments

23,000 14,647 19,753 16,666 15,814 6.8 4.3 5.8 4.9 4.6

At opening establishments

2,421 2,873 2,742 2,155 1,730 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.5

Gross job losses

14,733 22,345 22,485 17,905 15,133 4.3 6.4 6.6 5.2 4.5

At contracting establishments

13,298 20,113 20,739 15,794 13,236 3.9 5.8 6.1 4.6 3.9

At closing establishments

1,435 2,232 1,746 2,111 1,897 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6

Net employment change (2)

10,688 -4,825 10 916 2,411 3.2 -1.3 0.0 0.3 0.6

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

8,881 10,958 9,955 9,278 8,055 4.4 5.5 5.0 4.7 4.1

At expanding establishments

7,827 9,935 8,913 8,252 7,352 3.9 5.0 4.5 4.2 3.7

At opening establishments

1,054 1,023 1,042 1,026 703 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4

Gross job losses

8,506 16,086 9,947 7,445 9,891 4.2 8.1 5.0 3.7 4.9

At contracting establishments

8,065 14,914 9,127 6,598 9,202 4.0 7.5 4.6 3.3 4.6

At closing establishments

441 1,172 820 847 689 0.2 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3

Net employment change (2)

375 -5,128 8 1,833 -1,836 0.2 -2.6 0.0 1.0 -0.8

Information

Gross job gains

5,208 5,139 5,948 3,092 4,032 10.3 9.6 10.8 5.6 7.1

At expanding establishments

3,855 3,542 4,516 2,213 3,271 7.6 6.6 8.2 4.0 5.8

At opening establishments

1,353 1,597 1,432 879 761 2.7 3.0 2.6 1.6 1.3

Gross job losses

2,566 3,910 3,797 3,914 3,501 5.0 7.3 6.9 7.0 6.2

At contracting establishments

1,680 3,122 3,083 2,978 2,634 3.3 5.8 5.6 5.3 4.7

At closing establishments

886 788 714 936 867 1.7 1.5 1.3 1.7 1.5

Net employment change (2)

2,642 1,229 2,151 -822 531 5.3 2.3 3.9 -1.4 0.9

Financial activities

Gross job gains

9,847 8,636 11,080 7,958 8,746 6.0 5.2 6.7 4.8 5.2

At expanding establishments

7,865 6,763 9,181 6,153 7,285 4.8 4.1 5.6 3.7 4.3

At opening establishments

1,982 1,873 1,899 1,805 1,461 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.9

Gross job losses

6,986 8,422 7,899 8,545 7,192 4.3 5.2 4.8 5.1 4.2

At contracting establishments

5,725 6,847 6,139 6,997 5,606 3.5 4.2 3.7 4.2 3.3

At closing establishments

1,261 1,575 1,760 1,548 1,586 0.8 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.9

Net employment change (2)

2,861 214 3,181 -587 1,554 1.7 0.0 1.9 -0.3 1.0

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

35,928 34,568 39,299 29,601 32,061 7.9 7.5 8.5 6.4 7.0

At expanding establishments

29,256 28,411 33,260 24,089 28,120 6.4 6.2 7.2 5.2 6.1

At opening establishments

6,672 6,157 6,039 5,512 3,941 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.2 0.9

Gross job losses

25,849 36,268 31,576 39,580 28,169 5.6 7.9 6.9 8.5 6.1

At contracting establishments

23,025 31,300 25,746 33,984 22,915 5.0 6.8 5.6 7.3 5.0

At closing establishments

2,824 4,968 5,830 5,596 5,254 0.6 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.1

Net employment change (2)

10,079 -1,700 7,723 -9,979 3,892 2.3 -0.4 1.6 -2.1 0.9

Education and health services

Gross job gains

20,155 21,540 24,435 20,253 21,397 4.7 5.0 5.6 4.5 4.7

At expanding establishments

16,303 17,753 21,542 16,578 18,980 3.8 4.1 4.9 3.7 4.2

At opening establishments

3,852 3,787 2,893 3,675 2,417 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.5

Gross job losses

16,843 18,913 15,652 17,754 16,647 4.0 4.3 3.6 4.0 3.7

At contracting establishments

14,872 15,280 13,141 15,096 13,858 3.5 3.5 3.0 3.4 3.1

At closing establishments

1,971 3,633 2,511 2,658 2,789 0.5 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6

Net employment change (2)

3,312 2,627 8,783 2,499 4,750 0.7 0.7 2.0 0.5 1.0

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

30,517 29,109 33,804 30,043 29,846 9.0 8.6 9.8 8.5 8.3

At expanding establishments

24,015 22,785 29,110 24,621 25,617 7.1 6.7 8.4 7.0 7.1

At opening establishments

6,502 6,324 4,694 5,422 4,229 1.9 1.9 1.4 1.5 1.2

Gross job losses

23,459 27,027 24,551 24,813 23,267 7.0 7.9 7.1 7.0 6.5

At contracting establishments

20,529 22,266 21,059 21,665 20,132 6.1 6.5 6.1 6.1 5.6

At closing establishments

2,930 4,761 3,492 3,148 3,135 0.9 1.4 1.0 0.9 0.9

Net employment change (2)

7,058 2,082 9,253 5,230 6,579 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.5 1.8

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

6,121 6,533 6,683 5,616 5,577 8.3 8.7 8.8 7.4 7.3

At expanding establishments

4,587 5,164 5,464 4,481 4,448 6.2 6.9 7.2 5.9 5.8

At opening establishments

1,534 1,369 1,219 1,135 1,129 2.1 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.5

Gross job losses

5,460 5,609 5,414 5,694 4,927 7.4 7.6 7.2 7.5 6.4

At contracting establishments

4,620 4,210 4,601 4,456 4,004 6.3 5.7 6.1 5.9 5.2

At closing establishments

840 1,399 813 1,238 923 1.1 1.9 1.1 1.6 1.2

Net employment change (2)

661 924 1,269 -78 650 0.9 1.1 1.6 -0.1 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)
Mar.
2022
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
Mar.
2022
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023

United States(1)

6.7 6.6 6.9 6.3 6.2 5.5 6.2 5.9 5.9 5.4

Alabama

6.4 6.6 6.9 6.6 6.4 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.1 5.5

Alaska

10.2 10.2 8.5 10.9 10.4 9.5 9.0 10.4 9.2 8.0

Arizona

6.7 6.5 7.1 6.6 5.9 5.7 6.3 5.5 6.0 5.4

Arkansas

6.3 6.1 6.5 6.2 5.8 5.6 5.5 5.2 5.2 5.0

California

7.3 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.1 5.7 6.7 6.2 6.6 6.4

Colorado

7.5 7.3 7.0 7.6 7.2 6.3 6.6 7.1 6.9 6.5

Connecticut

6.3 6.4 6.3 5.9 6.1 5.3 6.3 6.2 5.9 5.3

Delaware

7.3 6.5 8.6 7.0 6.7 5.5 6.9 6.2 7.5 5.2

District of Columbia

6.1 6.1 7.2 5.6 5.9 5.1 6.3 5.0 5.5 4.8

Florida

6.5 7.5 7.8 6.2 6.3 5.7 6.3 5.6 6.0 5.6

Georgia

7.7 6.8 7.1 6.7 6.2 5.8 6.2 5.9 5.9 5.8

Hawaii

6.3 6.0 6.4 6.0 5.5 5.1 5.5 4.9 4.9 5.0

Idaho

8.6 7.1 7.8 8.4 7.9 6.2 8.4 7.5 6.9 7.5

Illinois

6.3 5.9 5.8 5.4 5.8 5.2 5.5 5.3 5.1 4.8

Indiana

5.9 5.7 6.4 5.7 5.5 4.9 5.9 5.5 5.2 5.0

Iowa

6.5 5.9 5.9 6.4 6.0 5.4 6.2 5.9 6.2 5.4

Kansas

6.4 6.5 7.4 6.3 6.1 5.5 7.1 5.5 5.6 5.4

Kentucky

6.7 6.3 6.6 6.0 6.1 5.7 6.5 5.4 5.3 4.9

Louisiana

6.7 6.7 6.9 6.1 6.3 6.3 6.4 5.7 6.2 5.6

Maine

8.5 7.2 7.6 7.4 7.7 6.3 8.0 7.3 6.8 6.2

Maryland

6.7 6.5 7.4 6.6 6.8 6.9 6.9 6.0 6.9 5.6

Massachusetts

6.8 6.1 6.2 5.5 5.8 5.1 5.5 6.1 5.8 4.7

Michigan

6.3 6.0 5.7 5.9 5.7 4.9 5.9 5.8 5.2 4.9

Minnesota

6.2 6.4 6.5 5.9 5.7 5.4 6.4 5.9 5.8 4.9

Mississippi

6.3 6.6 7.2 6.8 6.1 6.2 6.7 6.3 6.2 5.7

Missouri

6.5 6.2 6.8 6.1 6.5 5.4 5.9 6.3 5.8 5.1

Montana

9.3 8.2 8.7 9.2 8.7 7.6 9.1 7.8 7.8 7.1

Nebraska

6.8 6.4 7.1 6.0 6.3 5.9 6.5 6.1 5.7 5.1

Nevada

6.8 6.9 7.4 6.4 6.2 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.1 5.7

New Hampshire

7.7 6.7 6.9 6.7 7.0 5.6 6.7 6.7 6.0 5.9

New Jersey

7.1 6.6 6.8 6.8 6.1 5.7 6.2 6.4 5.9 5.7

New Mexico

7.6 6.7 8.0 6.7 6.8 6.2 7.1 5.9 6.2 5.9

New York

6.8 7.1 6.6 5.9 6.5 5.4 6.1 5.9 6.0 5.1

North Carolina

6.6 6.4 6.7 6.6 6.4 5.4 6.1 5.8 5.7 5.3

North Dakota

7.5 6.9 7.6 6.4 7.6 6.4 6.5 6.3 6.7 5.6

Ohio

6.4 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.8 4.9 5.9 5.5 5.7 4.9

Oklahoma

6.4 6.7 7.4 6.6 6.3 6.0 6.1 5.6 5.9 5.3

Oregon

7.6 6.0 6.7 6.5 7.3 5.6 7.0 6.0 6.2 6.1

Pennsylvania

6.3 5.5 6.1 5.5 5.5 4.8 5.6 5.1 5.2 4.6

Rhode Island

7.9 7.1 6.7 6.9 7.5 6.0 6.7 7.3 6.4 5.9

South Carolina

7.1 6.6 7.3 6.9 6.8 6.1 6.2 5.6 6.2 5.8

South Dakota

7.7 6.6 7.3 6.5 7.2 6.1 6.5 6.4 6.5 5.9

Tennessee

6.6 6.2 7.0 5.8 5.9 4.8 6.2 5.5 5.6 5.0

Texas

6.3 6.6 7.2 6.2 5.9 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.0

Utah

7.9 7.0 7.5 6.9 7.0 5.9 6.6 6.8 6.6 6.2

Vermont

8.8 7.5 7.2 7.8 8.2 6.4 7.6 7.8 7.0 6.0

Virginia

6.6 6.5 7.5 6.2 6.2 5.8 6.7 6.1 5.8 5.2

Washington

7.3 7.0 7.2 5.9 6.4 5.4 7.2 6.3 5.3 5.5

West Virginia

7.4 6.7 8.1 6.6 7.1 6.1 8.0 6.9 6.4 5.3

Wisconsin

6.6 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 4.8 6.0 5.8 5.5 4.9

Wyoming

9.2 8.4 9.2 9.2 8.9 8.3 9.2 8.4 7.9 7.8

Puerto Rico

7.4 6.7 6.2 6.6 5.1 5.0 6.1 5.3 6.1 5.7

Virgin Islands

7.4 8.0 8.5 5.9 7.5 8.8 9.2 5.5 4.7 6.5

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: Thursday, November 02, 2023