From June 2016 to September 2016 gross job gains in private sector establishments in Louisiana totaled 105,759, while gross job losses numbered 102,408, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 3,351, compared to the previous quarter when gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 16,328. (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 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.)

The number of gross job gains in Louisiana rose by more than 10,800 between June and September 2016 after falling by about 1,700 in the previous quarter. (See chart 1.) Louisiana’s gross job losses fell by more than 8,800 between June and September 2016, to the lowest level since September 2015. The gain of 3,351 jobs was the largest net increase since the September to December 2014 period.

With one exception, Louisiana’s rates of gross job gain equaled or exceeded the U.S. rates from December 2004 to June 2015. More recently, the national gross job gain rate has exceeded the state’s rate in three of the last five quarters, although in the quarter ended September 2016, gross job gains represented 6.6 percent of private sector employment in Louisiana, compared to 6.4 percent for the nation.(See chart 2.) Gross jobs losses in the state represented 6.5 percent of private sector employment in the latest period, above the national rate of 5.8 percent. Louisiana’s rates of gross job losses have exceeded the national averages since June 2009.

During the third quarter of 2016, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 11 industry sectors in Louisiana. For example, within professional and business services, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,972. While more than 16,300 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the industry, more than 19,300 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments in the 3 months ended in September 2016. In education and health services, approximately 14,500 jobs were created in opening and expending establishments and nearly 11,700 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 2,794 jobs. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by more than 1,000 in one other sector, construction. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in five industry sectors in Louisiana. Within leisure and hospitality, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,362. Gross job losses also exceeded gross job gains by more than 1,000 in the manufacturing sector. Among the three other sectors with losses–retail trade, information, and transportation and warehousing–gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by less than 1,000.

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 release for Fourth Quarter 2016 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 26, 2017.

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 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 quarterly 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, Louisiana, 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)
	Sept. 2015	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept. 2016	Sept. 2015	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept. 2016
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	99,727	106,451	96,609	94,903	105,759	6.2	6.5	6.0	5.9	6.6
At expanding establishments	81,562	84,729	79,039	78,577	87,845	5.1	5.2	4.9	4.9	5.5
At opening establishments	18,165	21,722	17,570	16,326	17,914	1.1	1.3	1.1	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	100,776	103,367	105,846	111,231	102,408	6.2	6.4	6.6	6.9	6.5
At contracting establishments	85,959	88,311	90,015	91,485	85,495	5.3	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.4
At closing establishments	14,817	15,056	15,831	19,746	16,913	0.9	0.9	1.0	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-1,049	3,084	-9,237	-16,328	3,351	0.0	0.1	-0.6	-1.0	0.1
Construction
Gross job gains	14,030	13,916	13,964	13,741	14,055	10.0	9.8	9.8	9.8	10.0
At expanding establishments	12,513	12,213	12,387	12,161	12,369	8.9	8.6	8.7	8.7	8.8
At opening establishments	1,517	1,703	1,577	1,580	1,686	1.1	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.2
Gross job losses	10,925	14,331	14,165	14,124	12,965	7.8	10.1	10.0	10.1	9.2
At contracting establishments	9,705	12,649	12,247	12,104	11,223	6.9	8.9	8.6	8.7	8.0
At closing establishments	1,220	1,682	1,918	2,020	1,742	0.9	1.2	1.4	1.4	1.2
Net employment change (2)	3,105	-415	-201	-383	1,090	2.2	-0.3	-0.2	-0.3	0.8
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	4,996	5,106	4,578	4,432	5,388	3.5	3.6	3.3	3.2	4.0
At expanding establishments	4,500	4,576	4,066	3,990	4,678	3.2	3.2	2.9	2.9	3.5
At opening establishments	496	530	512	442	710	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.5
Gross job losses	6,654	7,188	6,680	7,718	6,455	4.7	5.1	4.8	5.6	4.7
At contracting establishments	5,976	6,582	6,278	6,870	5,856	4.2	4.7	4.5	5.0	4.3
At closing establishments	678	606	402	848	599	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.6	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-1,658	-2,082	-2,102	-3,286	-1,067	-1.2	-1.5	-1.5	-2.4	-0.7
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	2,892	3,383	2,806	2,918	3,380	4.0	4.7	4.0	4.1	4.9
At expanding establishments	2,441	2,544	2,187	2,414	2,852	3.4	3.5	3.1	3.4	4.1
At opening establishments	451	839	619	504	528	0.6	1.2	0.9	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	3,152	3,355	3,497	3,893	3,104	4.4	4.7	4.9	5.6	4.4
At contracting establishments	2,585	2,701	2,922	3,150	2,532	3.6	3.8	4.1	4.5	3.6
At closing establishments	567	654	575	743	572	0.8	0.9	0.8	1.1	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-260	28	-691	-975	276	-0.4	0.0	-0.9	-1.5	0.5
Retail trade
Gross job gains	13,151	14,392	14,766	13,152	13,672	5.7	6.1	6.3	5.5	5.8
At expanding establishments	10,900	12,442	12,476	11,423	11,739	4.7	5.3	5.3	4.8	5.0
At opening establishments	2,251	1,950	2,290	1,729	1,933	1.0	0.8	1.0	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	13,659	13,241	13,559	13,756	14,546	5.8	5.7	5.8	5.8	6.1
At contracting establishments	11,953	11,618	12,220	12,112	12,589	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.1	5.3
At closing establishments	1,706	1,623	1,339	1,644	1,957	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-508	1,151	1,207	-604	-874	-0.1	0.4	0.5	-0.3	-0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,356	4,538	3,273	3,204	4,278	5.8	6.1	4.5	4.5	6.1
At expanding establishments	3,684	3,974	2,629	2,695	3,581	4.9	5.3	3.6	3.8	5.1
At opening establishments	672	564	644	509	697	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.7	1.0
Gross job losses	4,598	5,098	5,544	5,600	4,328	6.0	6.8	7.5	7.8	6.1
At contracting establishments	3,963	4,433	4,795	4,852	3,743	5.2	5.9	6.5	6.8	5.3
At closing establishments	635	665	749	748	585	0.8	0.9	1.0	1.0	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-242	-560	-2,271	-2,396	-50	-0.2	-0.7	-3.0	-3.3	0.0
Information
Gross job gains	1,837	3,769	3,064	1,787	2,439	7.0	14.6	12.0	7.5	10.8
At expanding establishments	1,612	3,123	2,381	1,215	1,633	6.1	12.1	9.3	5.1	7.2
At opening establishments	225	646	683	572	806	0.9	2.5	2.7	2.4	3.6
Gross job losses	3,941	2,748	4,145	4,306	2,533	15.0	10.6	16.1	18.0	11.2
At contracting establishments	3,741	2,533	3,391	2,566	2,101	14.2	9.8	13.2	10.7	9.3
At closing establishments	200	215	754	1,740	432	0.8	0.8	2.9	7.3	1.9
Net employment change (2)	-2,104	1,021	-1,081	-2,519	-94	-8.0	4.0	-4.1	-10.5	-0.4
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,350	4,814	3,941	4,409	5,233	5.0	5.6	4.5	5.1	6.0
At expanding establishments	3,452	3,710	3,148	3,459	4,436	4.0	4.3	3.6	4.0	5.1
At opening establishments	898	1,104	793	950	797	1.0	1.3	0.9	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	5,032	4,734	4,602	5,107	4,382	5.8	5.5	5.3	5.9	5.0
At contracting establishments	4,058	3,717	3,627	4,215	3,493	4.7	4.3	4.2	4.9	4.0
At closing establishments	974	1,017	975	892	889	1.1	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-682	80	-661	-698	851	-0.8	0.1	-0.8	-0.8	1.0
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	16,912	16,064	15,657	15,839	19,307	8.0	7.6	7.4	7.6	9.2
At expanding establishments	13,498	11,671	12,263	12,524	15,544	6.4	5.5	5.8	6.0	7.4
At opening establishments	3,414	4,393	3,394	3,315	3,763	1.6	2.1	1.6	1.6	1.8
Gross job losses	17,437	16,995	17,173	16,798	16,335	8.2	8.0	8.2	8.0	7.7
At contracting establishments	14,190	13,937	13,639	12,611	13,305	6.7	6.6	6.5	6.0	6.3
At closing establishments	3,247	3,058	3,534	4,187	3,030	1.5	1.4	1.7	2.0	1.4
Net employment change (2)	-525	-931	-1,516	-959	2,972	-0.2	-0.4	-0.8	-0.4	1.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains	13,604	15,196	11,050	12,812	14,491	4.7	5.2	3.8	4.4	5.0
At expanding establishments	11,476	11,000	9,373	10,831	12,280	4.0	3.8	3.2	3.7	4.2
At opening establishments	2,128	4,196	1,677	1,981	2,211	0.7	1.4	0.6	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	10,816	11,483	12,553	13,218	11,697	3.7	3.9	4.3	4.5	4.0
At contracting establishments	8,688	9,332	10,387	9,918	9,485	3.0	3.2	3.6	3.4	3.2
At closing establishments	2,128	2,151	2,166	3,300	2,212	0.7	0.7	0.7	1.1	0.8
Net employment change (2)	2,788	3,713	-1,503	-406	2,794	1.0	1.3	-0.5	-0.1	1.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	17,067	18,930	16,805	16,756	17,429	7.5	8.3	7.2	7.3	7.5
At expanding establishments	12,507	14,422	12,522	12,922	13,751	5.5	6.3	5.4	5.6	5.9
At opening establishments	4,560	4,508	4,283	3,834	3,678	2.0	2.0	1.8	1.7	1.6
Gross job losses	16,424	15,596	15,578	17,492	18,791	7.2	6.8	6.7	7.5	8.1
At contracting establishments	14,163	13,267	13,419	15,102	15,272	6.2	5.8	5.8	6.5	6.6
At closing establishments	2,261	2,329	2,159	2,390	3,519	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.5
Net employment change (2)	643	3,334	1,227	-736	-1,362	0.3	1.5	0.5	-0.2	-0.6
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	3,435	3,263	3,262	2,985	3,327	7.6	7.1	7.1	6.5	7.4
At expanding establishments	2,677	2,563	2,561	2,466	2,617	5.9	5.6	5.6	5.4	5.8
At opening establishments	758	700	701	519	710	1.7	1.5	1.5	1.1	1.6
Gross job losses	3,260	3,051	3,013	3,338	3,325	7.2	6.7	6.6	7.4	7.3
At contracting establishments	2,736	2,564	2,414	2,676	2,636	6.0	5.6	5.3	5.9	5.8
At closing establishments	524	487	599	662	689	1.2	1.1	1.3	1.5	1.5
Net employment change (2)	175	212	249	-353	2	0.4	0.4	0.5	-0.9	0.1
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

State	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Sept. 2015	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept. 2016	Sept. 2015	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept. 2016
United States(1)	6.3	6.6	5.8	6.2	6.4	5.8	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.8
Alabama	5.8	6.2	5.8	5.8	6.2	5.5	5.3	5.4	5.8	5.7
Alaska	9.1	9.6	9.4	10.3	9.0	10.3	10.5	9.7	11.9	11.1
Arizona	6.8	6.9	6.0	6.1	7.1	5.4	5.4	5.7	6.1	5.2
Arkansas	6.1	6.3	5.4	5.4	6.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.8	5.4
California	6.9	7.6	6.5	6.8	6.9	5.9	6.7	6.3	6.7	6.1
Colorado	7.0	7.0	6.6	6.9	7.1	6.4	6.4	6.1	6.5	6.2
Connecticut	5.1	5.5	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.9	4.9	5.0	5.3	5.3
Delaware	6.1	7.3	6.5	6.7	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.4	6.6	6.5
District of Columbia	6.1	6.2	5.2	5.8	6.2	5.4	4.6	5.6	6.1	5.7
Florida	6.9	7.2	6.1	6.4	7.4	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.7
Georgia	6.5	6.9	6.1	7.0	6.7	5.9	5.7	5.6	6.6	5.9
Hawaii	5.1	5.8	4.9	5.4	5.8	4.6	4.4	4.9	6.0	5.0
Idaho	7.8	7.9	8.2	7.1	7.9	7.0	6.9	6.3	7.1	7.1
Illinois	5.4	6.4	5.3	5.9	5.7	5.8	5.6	5.4	5.9	5.7
Indiana	5.5	6.2	5.5	5.2	5.8	5.3	4.9	5.3	5.2	5.1
Iowa	5.7	6.0	6.0	5.6	6.0	6.0	5.7	5.3	6.1	5.8
Kansas	5.7	6.2	5.8	5.6	6.2	5.8	5.6	5.9	6.3	5.6
Kentucky	6.1	6.7	5.7	6.2	6.7	5.7	5.4	5.8	5.8	6.2
Louisiana	6.2	6.5	6.0	5.9	6.6	6.2	6.4	6.6	6.9	6.5
Maine	6.6	8.6	8.0	7.7	6.7	7.1	7.1	6.9	6.7	7.4
Maryland	6.5	6.8	6.2	6.3	6.5	6.2	5.9	6.0	6.3	6.0
Massachusetts	5.4	5.9	5.2	6.0	5.7	5.6	5.2	5.0	5.2	5.5
Michigan	5.4	6.1	5.4	5.9	5.6	5.6	5.3	4.9	5.3	5.6
Minnesota	5.4	6.1	5.4	5.9	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.2	5.6	5.6
Mississippi	6.2	7.1	5.7	5.7	6.3	5.9	5.4	6.1	6.5	5.6
Missouri	5.7	6.3	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4
Montana	7.6	8.5	7.8	7.9	7.6	7.7	7.3	7.2	8.6	7.8
Nebraska	6.0	6.1	5.8	5.7	6.4	5.6	5.5	5.5	6.0	5.9
Nevada	6.2	6.8	6.3	6.5	6.7	5.6	5.3	5.7	5.6	5.5
New Hampshire	6.1	6.7	6.0	6.5	6.4	6.4	5.6	5.8	5.9	6.3
New Jersey	6.3	6.7	5.9	6.5	6.3	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8
New Mexico	6.5	7.0	6.2	6.5	6.8	6.6	6.9	6.3	6.7	6.2
New York	6.3	6.4	6.1	6.2	6.3	6.0	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.9
North Carolina	6.3	6.7	6.0	6.3	6.1	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.8
North Dakota	7.1	6.7	6.6	6.8	8.1	8.5	8.1	8.9	9.0	7.1
Ohio	5.5	6.0	5.4	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.1	5.1	5.6	5.6
Oklahoma	6.1	6.3	5.7	5.8	6.3	6.1	6.5	6.4	6.8	6.0
Oregon	7.0	7.0	7.0	6.7	6.9	6.4	6.2	5.8	6.5	6.4
Pennsylvania	5.3	5.7	5.4	5.3	5.7	5.3	5.1	5.2	5.4	5.1
Rhode Island	5.8	6.6	5.8	6.2	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.9	6.2	6.0
South Carolina	6.1	7.1	6.1	6.3	6.3	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.8	5.7
South Dakota	5.9	6.7	6.2	6.4	6.4	6.1	5.9	6.1	6.2	6.2
Tennessee	5.8	6.3	5.2	5.7	5.9	5.1	4.8	5.1	5.3	5.2
Texas	5.9	6.1	4.7	6.3	6.2	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.4
Utah	7.0	7.2	7.3	6.7	7.4	6.0	6.0	5.9	6.4	6.5
Vermont	6.9	7.2	6.6	7.4	7.2	7.7	6.5	6.9	7.2	7.4
Virginia	7.1	6.4	5.9	6.4	6.0	5.8	5.6	5.9	6.0	6.1
Washington	6.7	6.8	7.1	7.2	6.7	6.8	6.2	5.6	5.8	6.4
West Virginia	5.8	6.6	5.9	5.8	6.6	6.7	6.3	6.9	6.9	6.6
Wisconsin	5.6	6.0	5.6	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.2	5.2	5.7	5.5
Wyoming	8.5	9.0	7.9	7.7	8.3	9.2	9.3	9.4	10.4	8.9
Puerto Rico	5.9	6.3	5.7	5.6	5.8	6.3	5.7	6.0	5.6	5.7
Virgin Islands	6.0	7.3	5.7	6.3	6.2	7.3	5.3	5.4	5.8	6.5
Footnotes: (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.