From December 2014 to March 2015 gross job gains in private sector establishments in Texas totaled 558,120, while gross job losses numbered 554,065, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 4,055. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 139,098.

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 the series low of 436,521 in June 2009. Texas’ 621,191 gross job gains in December 2014 were the highest level since the series’ inception in 1992, although the number of gross job gains fell 63,071 in March 2015. Gross job losses in the state peaked in March 2009, when more than 620,000 jobs were lost, and remained below 500,000 from December 2009 to December 2014. However, in March 2015, gross job losses increased by 71,972 to 554,065 (see chart 1.), the highest level since June 2009.

Gross job gains represented 5.8 percent of private sector employment in Texas in the quarter ended March 2015, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 5.9 percent of private sector 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. In March 2015 the state’s rate of gross job loss as a percent of private sector employment rose to match the national rate at 5.7 percent. With a few exceptions, the Texas rate of gross job loss has been below the U.S. rate since the series inception.

During the first quarter of 2015, Texas gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 11 industry sectors. For example, more than 89,400 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments in leisure and hospitality during the period, though about 76,100 jobs were lost at closing and contracting establishments. The resulting net gain of 13,387 jobs was the largest of any sector in the first quarter 2015. Other industries showing large net job gains included retail trade and education and health services. Within retail trade, approximately 76,000 jobs were created at opening and expanding establishments, while nearly 66,000 jobs were lost at closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 10,145. Education and health services recorded a net employment gain of 7,967, with nearly 68,900 gross job gains in opening and expanding establishments and around 60,900 job losses in closing and contracting establishments. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in five industry sectors in Texas in March 2015. The manufacturing sector recorded a net employment loss of 8,936 jobs. Although more than 27,500 jobs were added in opening and expanding establishments, these gains were offset by a loss of about 36,500 jobs at closing and contracting establishments. Professional and business services led all industry sectors in terms of both gross job gains and gross job losses with more than 109,000 of each, producing a net loss of approximately 1,500. Among the three remaining sectors – transportation and warehousing, other services, and information – gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by less than 1,200.

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/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2015 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

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.

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

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. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	557,909	572,445	578,909	621,191	558,120	5.9	6.0	6.1	6.4	5.8
At expanding establishments	465,877	483,942	487,315	523,547	455,177	4.9	5.1	5.1	5.4	4.7
At opening establishments	92,032	88,503	91,594	97,644	102,943	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	482,188	471,468	492,179	482,093	554,065	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.0	5.7
At contracting establishments	407,061	390,819	416,536	398,929	475,588	4.3	4.1	4.3	4.1	4.9
At closing establishments	75,127	80,649	75,643	83,164	78,477	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	75,721	100,977	86,730	139,098	4,055	0.8	1.1	1.0	1.4	0.1
Construction
Gross job gains	57,046	57,043	57,580	60,639	54,950	9.0	8.9	8.8	9.1	8.2
At expanding establishments	49,294	49,936	51,218	53,078	47,140	7.8	7.8	7.8	8.0	7.0
At opening establishments	7,752	7,107	6,362	7,561	7,810	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.2
Gross job losses	46,067	43,895	44,500	46,073	53,190	7.3	6.8	6.8	6.9	7.9
At contracting establishments	38,859	37,809	38,612	39,379	47,124	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.9	7.0
At closing establishments	7,208	6,086	5,888	6,694	6,066	1.1	0.9	0.9	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	10,979	13,148	13,080	14,566	1,760	1.7	2.1	2.0	2.2	0.3
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	30,416	31,753	32,278	35,263	27,573	3.4	3.6	3.7	3.9	3.1
At expanding establishments	27,656	29,410	26,393	32,515	24,888	3.1	3.3	3.0	3.6	2.8
At opening establishments	2,760	2,343	5,885	2,748	2,685	0.3	0.3	0.7	0.3	0.3
Gross job losses	26,672	28,496	27,222	24,313	36,509	3.0	3.2	3.1	2.7	4.1
At contracting establishments	24,039	21,457	24,582	21,713	33,715	2.7	2.4	2.8	2.4	3.8
At closing establishments	2,633	7,039	2,640	2,600	2,794	0.3	0.8	0.3	0.3	0.3
Net employment change (2)	3,744	3,257	5,056	10,950	-8,936	0.4	0.4	0.6	1.2	-1.0
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	27,448	27,427	29,387	32,034	27,562	4.8	4.8	5.0	5.4	4.7
At expanding establishments	22,917	23,622	25,139	27,056	21,894	4.0	4.1	4.3	4.6	3.7
At opening establishments	4,531	3,805	4,248	4,978	5,668	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	22,886	20,503	21,344	21,819	26,019	4.0	3.5	3.7	3.8	4.4
At contracting establishments	18,294	15,735	17,247	16,762	21,460	3.2	2.7	3.0	2.9	3.6
At closing establishments	4,592	4,768	4,097	5,057	4,559	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	4,562	6,924	8,043	10,215	1,543	0.8	1.3	1.3	1.6	0.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	70,375	74,630	70,541	74,887	76,005	5.6	5.9	5.6	6.0	6.0
At expanding establishments	62,278	62,828	61,560	65,287	63,519	5.0	5.0	4.9	5.2	5.0
At opening establishments	8,097	11,802	8,981	9,600	12,486	0.6	0.9	0.7	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	65,661	63,380	65,386	63,119	65,860	5.2	5.1	5.2	4.9	5.1
At contracting establishments	58,863	56,030	57,957	55,106	57,774	4.7	4.5	4.6	4.3	4.5
At closing establishments	6,798	7,350	7,429	8,013	8,086	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	4,714	11,250	5,155	11,768	10,145	0.4	0.8	0.4	1.1	0.9
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	22,050	23,056	23,871	32,014	22,981	5.5	5.7	5.8	7.6	5.4
At expanding establishments	18,762	19,932	20,194	28,767	19,678	4.7	4.9	4.9	6.8	4.6
At opening establishments	3,288	3,124	3,677	3,247	3,303	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	18,853	17,008	17,810	18,452	24,124	4.7	4.2	4.3	4.3	5.6
At contracting establishments	16,337	14,745	14,907	15,324	21,623	4.1	3.6	3.6	3.6	5.0
At closing establishments	2,516	2,263	2,903	3,128	2,501	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.6
Net employment change (2)	3,197	6,048	6,061	13,562	-1,143	0.8	1.5	1.5	3.3	-0.2
Information
Gross job gains	8,557	9,460	9,416	10,049	8,510	4.3	4.6	4.7	4.9	4.3
At expanding establishments	6,810	8,395	8,228	9,012	7,560	3.4	4.1	4.1	4.4	3.8
At opening establishments	1,747	1,065	1,188	1,037	950	0.9	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.5
Gross job losses	10,328	7,804	10,162	8,218	8,993	5.1	3.8	5.0	4.0	4.5
At contracting establishments	9,084	6,503	9,146	7,126	7,396	4.5	3.2	4.5	3.5	3.7
At closing establishments	1,244	1,301	1,016	1,092	1,597	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-1,771	1,656	-746	1,831	-483	-0.8	0.8	-0.3	0.9	-0.2
Financial activities
Gross job gains	30,056	32,763	35,266	36,543	32,432	4.5	4.8	5.1	5.3	4.6
At expanding establishments	24,164	26,623	29,170	28,904	25,285	3.6	3.9	4.2	4.2	3.6
At opening establishments	5,892	6,140	6,096	7,639	7,147	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	29,001	27,663	29,808	28,329	30,139	4.3	4.1	4.4	4.1	4.3
At contracting establishments	22,319	21,713	23,225	22,376	24,689	3.3	3.2	3.4	3.2	3.5
At closing establishments	6,682	5,950	6,583	5,953	5,450	1.0	0.9	1.0	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	1,055	5,100	5,458	8,214	2,293	0.2	0.7	0.7	1.2	0.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	110,179	112,354	114,302	116,366	109,880	7.3	7.4	7.3	7.4	7.0
At expanding establishments	91,023	94,365	95,083	97,909	89,686	6.0	6.2	6.1	6.2	5.7
At opening establishments	19,156	17,989	19,219	18,457	20,194	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.3
Gross job losses	96,357	92,986	96,756	96,275	111,415	6.4	6.1	6.2	6.2	7.1
At contracting establishments	79,917	75,209	79,797	78,132	92,953	5.3	4.9	5.1	5.0	5.9
At closing establishments	16,440	17,777	16,959	18,143	18,462	1.1	1.2	1.1	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	13,822	19,368	17,546	20,091	-1,535	0.9	1.3	1.1	1.2	-0.1
Education and health services
Gross job gains	62,375	64,998	66,663	79,536	68,882	4.3	4.5	4.6	5.4	4.6
At expanding establishments	52,401	56,631	57,180	65,640	56,610	3.6	3.9	3.9	4.5	3.8
At opening establishments	9,974	8,367	9,483	13,896	12,272	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	58,524	56,254	57,441	54,670	60,915	4.1	3.9	3.9	3.7	4.1
At contracting establishments	50,225	46,531	48,145	41,643	50,926	3.5	3.2	3.3	2.8	3.4
At closing establishments	8,299	9,723	9,296	13,027	9,989	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	3,851	8,744	9,222	24,866	7,967	0.2	0.6	0.7	1.7	0.5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	90,391	89,275	88,076	90,771	89,474	7.7	7.5	7.4	7.6	7.3
At expanding establishments	70,538	71,656	69,332	71,972	68,338	6.0	6.0	5.8	6.0	5.6
At opening establishments	19,853	17,619	18,744	18,799	21,136	1.7	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.7
Gross job losses	69,988	75,031	81,674	77,497	76,087	6.0	6.4	6.8	6.5	6.2
At contracting establishments	58,403	63,573	70,355	65,908	65,131	5.0	5.4	5.9	5.5	5.3
At closing establishments	11,585	11,458	11,319	11,589	10,956	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	20,403	14,244	6,402	13,274	13,387	1.7	1.1	0.6	1.1	1.1
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	21,305	22,316	20,416	22,995	20,062	7.5	7.8	7.0	7.9	6.9
At expanding establishments	16,825	17,774	16,812	18,359	15,791	5.9	6.2	5.8	6.3	5.4
At opening establishments	4,480	4,542	3,604	4,636	4,271	1.6	1.6	1.2	1.6	1.5
Gross job losses	18,100	18,820	20,075	19,621	20,892	6.4	6.5	7.0	6.7	7.1
At contracting establishments	14,438	15,060	16,099	15,851	17,018	5.1	5.2	5.6	5.4	5.8
At closing establishments	3,662	3,760	3,976	3,770	3,874	1.3	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.3
Net employment change (2)	3,205	3,496	341	3,374	-830	1.1	1.3	0.0	1.2	-0.2
(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

State	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	Mar. 2014	June 2014	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015
United States (1)	6.1	6.5	6.3	6.6	5.9	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7
Alabama	5.7	5.9	5.9	6.0	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.4
Alaska	10.8	10.8	9.5	10.6	10.4	9.7	11.0	10.4	10.4	9.2
Arizona	5.9	6.0	6.4	7.0	6.0	5.9	6.0	5.5	5.3	5.7
Arkansas	5.9	5.6	6.0	6.6	5.4	5.1	5.4	5.5	5.1	5.7
California	6.9	7.0	7.1	7.4	6.8	6.2	6.5	6.2	6.4	6.2
Colorado	6.8	7.2	7.3	7.0	6.9	5.9	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1
Connecticut	5.1	5.7	5.2	5.4	4.8	5.0	4.9	5.3	5.2	5.1
Delaware	6.3	6.6	6.3	7.0	5.7	5.9	5.2	6.2	5.4	7.3
District of Columbia	5.9	6.3	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.6	5.4	5.3	5.4
Florida	6.5	7.2	7.3	7.1	6.3	5.8	6.2	6.1	6.0	5.6
Georgia	6.6	6.9	6.8	6.9	6.2	5.6	6.0	5.9	5.5	5.6
Hawaii	4.9	5.0	5.3	5.2	4.9	5.1	5.0	4.5	4.4	4.8
Idaho	8.4	7.7	7.5	8.0	9.1	7.2	7.9	7.3	7.0	7.0
Illinois	5.8	6.2	5.7	6.2	5.8	5.4	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.7
Indiana	5.3	5.9	5.4	6.3	5.3	5.6	5.0	5.3	5.0	5.3
Iowa	5.8	6.1	5.8	6.1	5.9	5.5	5.7	5.8	5.6	5.4
Kansas	5.7	6.1	5.7	6.2	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.8	5.4	5.8
Kentucky	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.6	5.5	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.3	6.0
Louisiana	6.8	6.6	6.8	6.8	6.1	5.9	6.5	5.9	5.8	6.7
Maine	6.8	7.8	6.7	7.2	6.5	7.1	6.5	7.0	7.2	7.0
Maryland	6.0	6.6	6.5	6.7	5.9	5.8	5.8	6.3	6.2	6.2
Massachusetts	5.5	6.3	5.7	6.0	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.5	5.2	5.4
Michigan	5.4	6.4	5.4	6.2	5.2	5.1	5.4	5.7	5.2	5.1
Minnesota	5.2	6.5	5.6	5.8	5.6	5.6	5.1	5.7	5.4	5.2
Mississippi	5.8	6.2	6.2	6.9	5.5	6.0	6.6	6.0	5.4	6.4
Missouri	5.6	6.0	5.7	6.3	5.6	5.6	5.3	5.7	5.1	5.4
Montana	7.3	8.2	8.1	8.5	9.1	8.0	7.7	8.1	8.0	7.2
Nebraska	5.8	6.1	6.0	6.2	6.1	5.6	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.6
Nevada	6.6	6.7	6.6	6.6	6.3	5.4	5.7	5.7	5.3	5.3
New Hampshire	5.9	6.9	5.9	6.9	5.7	5.9	6.1	6.3	6.0	5.7
New Jersey	6.0	7.0	6.3	6.9	5.8	6.3	5.9	6.4	6.2	6.0
New Mexico	6.5	6.8	6.6	7.2	6.4	6.5	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.5
New York	6.2	6.7	6.4	6.6	5.9	6.0	5.8	6.0	5.8	5.9
North Carolina	6.0	6.4	6.2	6.5	5.9	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.7
North Dakota	8.7	7.6	8.2	8.7	7.1	6.7	7.0	6.9	6.7	8.7
Ohio	5.6	6.1	5.5	6.1	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.5	5.1	5.6
Oklahoma	6.2	6.3	6.2	6.7	5.7	5.7	6.0	5.6	5.5	6.1
Oregon	7.0	6.9	7.0	7.1	6.9	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.3	5.7
Pennsylvania	5.2	5.6	5.2	5.6	4.9	4.9	4.8	5.1	4.9	5.2
Rhode Island	5.7	6.5	5.9	6.4	5.3	5.7	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.8
South Carolina	6.2	6.4	6.0	6.8	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.0	5.5
South Dakota	6.5	6.4	6.2	6.3	6.3	6.1	6.0	5.9	5.8	5.7
Tennessee	5.5	5.7	5.7	6.2	5.2	5.3	5.1	5.0	4.8	5.2
Texas	5.9	6.0	6.1	6.4	5.8	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.0	5.7
Utah	6.5	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.3	6.0	6.7	6.0	5.8	5.9
Vermont	6.9	7.3	6.9	7.5	6.8	6.8	6.9	7.3	6.7	6.8
Virginia	5.4	6.2	5.6	5.8	6.0	5.5	5.7	5.8	5.5	5.6
Washington	6.9	7.4	7.1	6.9	6.7	6.0	6.4	6.2	6.1	5.6
West Virginia	6.5	6.6	6.2	6.6	6.0	6.7	6.4	6.5	6.0	6.7
Wisconsin	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.8	5.4	5.1	5.0	5.6	5.2	5.1
Wyoming	8.6	8.7	8.3	9.3	8.9	8.1	8.3	8.5	8.0	8.9
Puerto Rico	5.3	5.5	5.6	6.4	5.3	6.5	6.3	6.0	4.9	6.4
Virgin Islands	5.0	6.2	6.6	6.2	5.5	6.0	6.3	5.6	5.6	5.9
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.