From December 2012 to March 2013 gross job losses in private sector establishments in Texas totaled 465,576, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted this total job loss was an increase of 15,217 from the previous quarter. Gross job gains numbered 537,115 in the first quarter of 2013. Due to an administrative change in the education and health services industry sector, current gross job gains are not comparable to data from previous quarters. (See box note.) During the prior quarter, gross job gains in the state exceeded gross job losses by more than 100,000.

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. Business Employment Dynamics (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 job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.)

Gross job gains in Texas have trended upward since bottoming out at about 436,000 in June 2009. After declining in the previous quarter, gross job losses increased by 15,217 in the three months ended in March 2013. Job losses in the state peaked in March 2009, when more than 620,000 jobs were lost in that three-month period. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 5.9 percent of private sector employment in Texas in the quarter ended March 2013, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.4 percent of private employment. (See chart 2.) The rate of gross job gains in Texas has been below the U.S. rate in each quarter since March 2009 and generally below the U.S. rate since the series began in September 1992. Similarly, the Texas rate of gross job loss as a percent of private sector employment, at 5.1 percent, was lower than the national rate of 5.6 percent in March 2013. With few exceptions, the Texas gross job loss rate has remained below the U.S. rate since the series inception.

During the first quarter 2013, Texas gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all industry sectors with the exception of information which experienced a minimal loss. For example, more than 105,000 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments in professional and business services during the period, though over 92,000 jobs were lost at closing and contracting establishments. The resulting net gain of 13,056 jobs was the largest of any sector in the first quarter 2013. Other industries showing large net job gains included construction and leisure and hospitality. In construction, more than 56,000 jobs were created at opening and expanding establishments, but were partially offset by the loss of about 44,000 jobs at closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 11,633. Leisure and hospitality recorded a net employment gain of 11,097, with about 84,000 gross job gains in opening and expanding establishments and around 73,000 job losses in closing and contracting establishments. (See table 1. Data for gross job gains in the education and health services sector are not comparable to previous quarters.)

Additional statistics and other information

BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. For more information on the Business Employment Dynamics data, visit the BED web site at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request: voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

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), or the ES-202 program. The BED data are compiled from existing quarterly QCEW records. The QCEW reports are sent by the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) to BLS and form the basis of the Bureau’s QCEW program and establishment universe sampling frame. These reports are also used to produce the QCEW data on total employment and wages. Other important Bureau uses of the QCEW reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, net changes, and earnings by detailed industry.

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 establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establishments.

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 establishments 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 establishments 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 either establishments with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

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

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Texas, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and job losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2012	Jun. 2012	Sep. 2012	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013	Mar. 2012	Jun. 2012	Sep. 2012	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	533,617	549,198	532,447	553,932	537,115	6.1	6.2	5.9	6.1	5.9
At expanding establishments	447,534	463,311	447,698	463,867	445,829	5.1	5.2	5.0	5.1	4.9
At opening establishments	86,083	85,887	84,749	90,065	91,286	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	445,061	458,036	473,461	450,359	465,576	5.0	5.2	5.2	5.0	5.1
At contracting establishments	379,148	387,496	397,857	378,243	400,650	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.2	4.4
At closing establishments	65,913	70,540	75,604	72,116	64,926	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	88,556	91,162	58,986	103,573	71,539	1.1	1.0	0.7	1.1	0.8
Construction
Gross job gains	53,742	56,250	53,894	55,661	56,025	9.4	9.7	9.2	9.4	9.3
At expanding establishments	45,103	47,945	46,905	46,146	49,222	7.9	8.3	8.0	7.8	8.2
At opening establishments	8,639	8,305	6,989	9,515	6,803	1.5	1.4	1.2	1.6	1.1
Gross job losses	48,108	48,286	48,258	46,833	44,392	8.4	8.3	8.3	7.9	7.3
At contracting establishments	40,592	41,421	39,114	40,184	38,309	7.1	7.1	6.7	6.8	6.3
At closing establishments	7,516	6,865	9,144	6,649	6,083	1.3	1.2	1.6	1.1	1.0
Net employment change (2)	5,634	7,964	5,636	8,828	11,633	1.0	1.4	0.9	1.5	2.0
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	32,278	32,575	31,340	29,845	27,792	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.4	3.2
At expanding establishments	30,014	30,464	29,153	27,675	25,323	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.2	2.9
At opening establishments	2,264	2,111	2,187	2,170	2,469	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3
Gross job losses	25,068	26,661	26,714	28,366	27,778	2.9	3.0	3.1	3.2	3.2
At contracting establishments	22,683	23,728	24,422	25,405	25,503	2.6	2.7	2.8	2.9	2.9
At closing establishments	2,385	2,933	2,292	2,961	2,275	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Net employment change (2)	7,210	5,914	4,626	1,479	14	0.9	0.7	0.6	0.2	0.0
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	25,894	27,598	24,445	27,301	26,831	4.8	5.1	4.5	5.0	4.9
At expanding establishments	21,944	23,269	20,458	22,847	22,585	4.1	4.3	3.8	4.2	4.1
At opening establishments	3,950	4,329	3,987	4,454	4,246	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	19,479	20,738	22,015	20,830	20,562	3.6	3.9	4.0	3.8	3.8
At contracting establishments	15,669	16,987	18,000	17,211	16,347	2.9	3.2	3.3	3.1	3.0
At closing establishments	3,810	3,751	4,015	3,619	4,215	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.8
Net employment change (2)	6,415	6,860	2,430	6,471	6,269	1.2	1.2	0.5	1.2	1.1
Retail trade
Gross job gains	64,640	69,981	64,186	70,761	69,878	5.5	5.8	5.4	5.9	5.8
At expanding establishments	57,550	61,128	54,384	61,498	61,240	4.9	5.1	4.6	5.1	5.1
At opening establishments	7,090	8,853	9,802	9,263	8,638	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.7
Gross job losses	61,745	58,400	61,139	52,660	65,845	5.3	4.9	5.1	4.4	5.5
At contracting establishments	56,210	52,711	53,819	46,591	59,857	4.8	4.4	4.5	3.9	5.0
At closing establishments	5,535	5,689	7,320	6,069	5,988	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.5
Net employment change (2)	2,895	11,581	3,047	18,101	4,033	0.2	0.9	0.3	1.5	0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	20,935	20,331	19,588	20,859	18,909	5.5	5.3	5.1	5.4	4.8
At expanding establishments	17,164	17,181	16,259	18,657	16,439	4.5	4.5	4.2	4.8	4.2
At opening establishments	3,771	3,150	3,329	2,202	2,470	1.0	0.8	0.9	0.6	0.6
Gross job losses	16,449	15,469	19,393	18,265	18,123	4.3	4.0	5.0	4.6	4.6
At contracting establishments	14,645	13,046	15,929	15,742	15,982	3.8	3.4	4.1	4.0	4.1
At closing establishments	1,804	2,423	3,464	2,523	2,141	0.5	0.6	0.9	0.6	0.5
Net employment change (2)	4,486	4,862	195	2,594	786	1.2	1.3	0.1	0.8	0.2
Information
Gross job gains	7,867	8,437	9,505	9,040	7,882	4.1	4.3	4.9	4.7	4.0
At expanding establishments	6,777	7,255	8,168	7,565	6,893	3.5	3.7	4.2	3.9	3.5
At opening establishments	1,090	1,182	1,337	1,475	989	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.5
Gross job losses	7,924	8,214	10,149	8,611	7,897	4.1	4.2	5.2	4.4	4.0
At contracting establishments	7,002	6,959	8,975	7,558	7,002	3.6	3.6	4.6	3.9	3.5
At closing establishments	922	1,255	1,174	1,053	895	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-57	223	-644	429	-15	0.0	0.1	-0.3	0.3	0.0
Financial activities
Gross job gains	28,938	31,092	30,989	33,308	30,172	4.5	4.9	4.8	5.1	4.5
At expanding establishments	23,676	25,481	25,729	26,582	24,723	3.7	4.0	4.0	4.1	3.7
At opening establishments	5,262	5,611	5,260	6,726	5,449	0.8	0.9	0.8	1.0	0.8
Gross job losses	23,942	25,989	26,483	25,441	26,731	3.8	4.1	4.1	3.9	4.0
At contracting establishments	18,957	20,294	20,967	19,836	21,175	3.0	3.2	3.2	3.0	3.2
At closing establishments	4,985	5,695	5,516	5,605	5,556	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	4,996	5,103	4,506	7,867	3,441	0.7	0.8	0.7	1.2	0.5
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	109,213	110,463	109,729	109,692	105,227	8.0	7.9	7.7	7.7	7.3
At expanding establishments	90,402	92,439	93,492	90,245	88,195	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.3	6.1
At opening establishments	18,811	18,024	16,237	19,447	17,032	1.4	1.3	1.1	1.4	1.2
Gross job losses	90,612	93,413	93,793	94,982	92,171	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.4
At contracting establishments	76,524	74,720	77,765	77,601	76,900	5.6	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.3
At closing establishments	14,088	18,693	16,028	17,381	15,271	1.0	1.3	1.1	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	18,601	17,050	15,936	14,710	13,056	1.4	1.3	1.1	1.1	0.9
Education and health services
Gross job gains	59,944	60,011	60,575	65,952	65,940	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.7	4.7
At expanding establishments	51,178	52,066	50,859	56,034	49,359	3.7	3.8	3.7	4.0	3.5
At opening establishments	8,766	7,945	9,716	9,918	16,581	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7	1.2
Gross job losses	53,701	51,882	52,407	47,507	52,957	4.0	3.8	3.8	3.4	3.8
At contracting establishments	45,889	44,218	43,332	39,196	45,833	3.4	3.2	3.1	2.8	3.3
At closing establishments	7,812	7,664	9,075	8,311	7,124	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.5
Net employment change (2)	6,243	8,129	8,168	18,445	12,983	0.3	0.6	0.6	1.3	0.9
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	84,386	84,171	79,811	85,945	83,969	7.9	7.8	7.3	7.7	7.4
At expanding establishments	65,745	66,814	62,839	69,167	66,871	6.2	6.2	5.7	6.2	5.9
At opening establishments	18,641	17,357	16,972	16,778	17,098	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5
Gross job losses	65,226	72,311	72,818	68,623	72,872	6.1	6.6	6.7	6.2	6.5
At contracting establishments	55,173	62,260	62,400	57,799	63,961	5.2	5.7	5.7	5.2	5.7
At closing establishments	10,053	10,051	10,418	10,824	8,911	0.9	0.9	1.0	1.0	0.8
Net employment change (2)	19,160	11,860	6,993	17,322	11,097	1.8	1.2	0.6	1.5	0.9
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	19,183	20,800	20,553	19,837	18,955	7.2	7.7	7.5	7.2	6.8
At expanding establishments	15,400	16,928	16,785	15,878	15,399	5.8	6.3	6.1	5.8	5.5
At opening establishments	3,783	3,872	3,768	3,959	3,556	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3
Gross job losses	16,521	16,157	19,165	17,456	17,486	6.1	6.0	7.0	6.3	6.2
At contracting establishments	13,239	13,211	15,067	14,112	14,331	4.9	4.9	5.5	5.1	5.1
At closing establishments	3,282	2,946	4,098	3,344	3,155	1.2	1.1	1.5	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	2,662	4,643	1,388	2,381	1,469	1.1	1.7	0.5	0.9	0.6
(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.
Note: Due to an administrative change, gross job gains in first quarter 2013 are not comparable to data for previous quarters.

Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted

State	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2012	June 2012	Sept. 2012	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013	Mar. 2012	June 2012	Sept. 2012	Dec. 2012	Mar. 2013
United States(1)	6.3	6.4	6.2	6.4	6.4	5.6	5.9	6.0	5.8	5.6
Alabama	6.3	5.9	5.7	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.5	5.4
Alaska	10.8	11.1	9.0	9.8	10.7	9.0	9.4	10.3	10.1	9.6
Arizona	6.3	6.3	6.7	6.9	6.2	5.9	6.1	5.7	5.8	5.9
Arkansas	5.7	5.5	5.5	6.0	5.7	5.6	5.7	6.1	5.3	5.5
California	7.0	7.2	6.8	7.4	9.0	6.2	6.3	6.4	6.2	5.9
Colorado	6.7	7.3	6.9	7.1	7.1	6.1	6.3	6.5	6.2	6.2
Connecticut	5.6	5.5	5.2	5.4	5.1	4.9	4.9	5.4	5.1	5.2
Delaware	6.3	6.4	6.2	6.8	6.5	6.0	6.4	6.2	5.7	5.9
District of Columbia	6.1	5.8	5.8	6.8	5.7	4.6	5.3	6.1	5.5	5.4
Florida	6.7	6.9	7.3	7.1	6.7	5.8	6.3	6.7	6.3	6.0
Georgia	6.9	6.6	6.4	6.8	6.6	6.0	6.1	6.2	5.9	5.7
Hawaii	5.3	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.1	5.3	5.0	4.7	4.3	4.8
Idaho	7.6	8.0	8.2	7.9	8.1	7.7	7.5	7.0	7.2	7.2
Illinois	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.5	4.8	5.0	5.4	5.2	5.5
Indiana	6.3	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.6	5.1	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.3
Iowa	6.2	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.2	5.2	5.6	5.5	5.4
Kansas	6.6	6.0	5.6	6.3	5.6	5.3	5.7	6.1	5.4	5.5
Kentucky	6.3	6.1	5.7	6.5	5.8	5.6	5.5	5.9	5.5	5.8
Louisiana	7.5	6.7	6.6	7.0	6.7	6.6	6.9	6.7	5.9	6.1
Maine	7.2	7.9	6.7	7.0	6.7	7.2	6.9	7.3	7.5	7.0
Maryland	6.7	6.3	6.3	6.4	6.3	5.7	6.0	6.3	6.3	5.8
Massachusetts	5.6	5.9	5.3	5.4	6.2	4.9	4.9	5.6	5.3	4.9
Michigan	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.0	6.0	5.2	5.7	5.9	5.4	5.0
Minnesota	6.3	6.1	6.0	5.9	6.0	5.8	5.4	5.6	5.7	5.2
Mississippi	6.6	5.9	6.4	6.8	5.9	5.7	6.5	6.2	6.1	5.5
Missouri	6.0	6.1	5.9	6.4	6.5	5.4	6.1	5.9	5.6	5.5
Montana	8.0	8.3	7.9	8.3	8.1	7.5	7.6	7.3	7.8	7.4
Nebraska	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.9	6.0	5.1	5.2	5.5	5.2	5.4
Nevada	5.9	6.4	5.9	6.0	6.3	5.4	5.4	5.7	5.7	5.4
New Hampshire	6.6	7.1	6.4	6.5	6.3	6.2	6.4	6.9	6.4	6.1
New Jersey	6.4	6.5	6.2	6.4	6.3	6.0	5.9	6.3	6.2	5.8
New Mexico	6.9	6.7	6.4	7.4	6.2	6.0	6.9	6.6	6.2	6.5
New York	6.5	6.5	6.3	6.4	6.3	5.6	6.0	6.2	6.1	5.9
North Carolina	6.6	6.4	6.3	6.5	6.0	5.6	6.1	6.0	5.9	5.7
North Dakota	10.3	7.9	8.3	8.3	8.3	6.1	6.5	7.2	6.8	6.6
Ohio	6.0	5.8	5.6	6.1	5.9	5.2	5.3	5.7	5.5	5.6
Oklahoma	6.3	6.3	6.1	6.7	6.0	5.5	5.6	6.0	5.6	6.0
Oregon	6.9	6.9	7.1	7.0	7.2	6.5	6.6	6.4	6.6	6.1
Pennsylvania	5.9	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.0	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.3
Rhode Island	6.4	6.4	6.0	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.9	6.3	6.0	5.8
South Carolina	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.6	5.8	5.5	5.9	5.9	5.4	5.6
South Dakota	6.6	6.7	6.4	6.3	6.3	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.2
Tennessee	6.0	6.0	5.6	6.1	5.4	5.1	5.6	5.5	5.1	5.1
Texas	6.1	6.2	5.9	6.1	5.9	5.0	5.2	5.2	5.0	5.1
Utah	6.9	7.2	6.9	7.3	7.3	5.9	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.3
Vermont	7.3	7.4	7.0	7.6	7.0	7.0	7.1	7.0	7.1	6.7
Virginia	6.1	5.8	6.4	6.0	5.7	5.5	5.8	6.1	5.6	5.5
Washington	6.8	7.4	7.0	7.1	8.6	6.5	6.4	6.6	6.5	6.2
West Virginia	7.1	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.3	6.2	7.1	6.8	6.5	6.1
Wisconsin	6.0	5.8	5.4	5.7	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.5	5.3	5.2
Wyoming	8.6	8.2	8.6	9.5	8.7	8.6	9.0	8.7	8.4	8.5
Puerto Rico	6.1	6.8	6.2	6.8	5.6	6.0	5.6	6.3	5.9	6.4
Virgin Islands	5.5	6.2	5.3	7.0	5.6	6.8	13.9	7.7	5.6	6.5
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.