From June 2017 to September 2017 gross job gains in private sector establishments in Louisiana totaled 97,543, while gross job losses numbered 96,361, 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 1,182, compared to the previous quarter when gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 5,225. (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 declined by about 1,300 between June and September 2017 after falling by nearly 3,700 in the previous quarter. (See chart 1.) However, Louisiana’s gross job losses fell by more than 7,700 between June and September 2017 to its second-lowest level since March 2015. The gain of 1,182 jobs in September 2017 was the state’s fourth net job gain in the last 11 quarters.

Gross job gains represented 6.1 percent of private sector employment in Louisiana in the third quarter of 2017, compared to 6.0 percent for the nation. (See chart 2.) With few exceptions, the rates of gross job gains exceeded or matched the national rate of job gains since June 2005. Gross job losses in the state represented 6.1 percent of private sector employment in the quarter ended in September 2017, the same as the national rate. Except for the third quarter of 2017, Louisiana’s rates of gross job losses have exceeded the national averages in each quarter since June 2009.

During the third quarter of 2017, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 5 of the 11 industry sectors in Louisiana. For example, within leisure and hospitality, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by about 2,500. While nearly 16,500 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the industry, more than 19,000 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments in the 3 months ended in September 2017. In professional and business services, approximately 16,900 jobs were created in opening and expending establishments and nearly 14,700 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of about 2,200 jobs. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by more than 1,500 in one other sector, education and health services. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in six industry sectors in Louisiana. Within retail trade, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 2,038. Gross job losses also exceeded gross job gains by more than 1,000 in the manufacturing and construction sectors. Among the three other sectors with losses–other services, transportation and warehousing, and financial activities–gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by less than 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 release for Fourth Quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.

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. 2016	Dec. 2016	Mar. 2017	June 2017	Sept. 2017	Sept. 2016	Dec. 2016	Mar. 2017	June 2017	Sept. 2017
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	107,420	94,259	102,536	98,856	97,543	6.8	5.9	6.4	6.2	6.1
At expanding establishments	88,893	76,545	85,060	83,181	80,461	5.6	4.8	5.3	5.2	5.0
At opening establishments	18,527	17,714	17,476	15,675	17,082	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	103,707	103,469	93,274	104,081	96,361	6.5	6.5	5.9	6.5	6.1
At contracting establishments	86,821	86,901	77,366	85,270	81,188	5.4	5.5	4.9	5.3	5.1
At closing establishments	16,886	16,568	15,908	18,811	15,173	1.1	1.0	1.0	1.2	1.0
Net employment change (2)	3,713	-9,210	9,262	-5,225	1,182	0.3	-0.6	0.5	-0.3	0.0
Construction
Gross job gains	14,331	12,138	15,706	14,564	11,996	10.2	8.6	10.9	9.9	8.2
At expanding establishments	12,454	10,415	14,038	13,348	10,750	8.9	7.4	9.7	9.1	7.3
At opening establishments	1,877	1,723	1,668	1,216	1,246	1.3	1.2	1.2	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	13,117	13,526	9,975	14,015	13,423	9.4	9.7	6.9	9.5	9.1
At contracting establishments	11,295	12,040	8,408	12,533	12,040	8.1	8.6	5.8	8.5	8.2
At closing establishments	1,822	1,486	1,567	1,482	1,383	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	1,214	-1,388	5,731	549	-1,427	0.8	-1.1	4.0	0.4	-0.9
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,503	5,074	5,802	6,592	4,503	4.1	3.8	4.3	4.9	3.3
At expanding establishments	4,735	4,554	5,368	6,155	4,095	3.5	3.4	4.0	4.6	3.0
At opening establishments	768	520	434	437	408	0.6	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.3
Gross job losses	6,448	5,883	4,979	7,572	5,577	4.8	4.4	3.7	5.6	4.1
At contracting establishments	5,818	5,395	4,393	4,856	4,980	4.3	4.0	3.3	3.6	3.7
At closing establishments	630	488	586	2,716	597	0.5	0.4	0.4	2.0	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-945	-809	823	-980	-1,074	-0.7	-0.6	0.6	-0.7	-0.8
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,445	2,921	3,367	3,091	3,052	4.9	4.1	4.9	4.4	4.4
At expanding establishments	2,868	2,332	2,770	2,594	2,511	4.1	3.3	4.0	3.7	3.6
At opening establishments	577	589	597	497	541	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	3,192	3,443	3,310	3,384	2,999	4.5	5.0	4.8	4.8	4.3
At contracting establishments	2,600	2,773	2,504	2,821	2,361	3.7	4.0	3.6	4.0	3.4
At closing establishments	592	670	806	563	638	0.8	1.0	1.2	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	253	-522	57	-293	53	0.4	-0.9	0.1	-0.4	0.1
Retail trade
Gross job gains	13,842	14,406	13,427	12,125	12,269	5.9	6.1	5.7	5.2	5.3
At expanding establishments	11,825	12,482	11,746	10,715	10,328	5.0	5.3	5.0	4.6	4.5
At opening establishments	2,017	1,924	1,681	1,410	1,941	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.8
Gross job losses	14,682	13,752	14,411	14,235	14,307	6.3	5.9	6.2	6.1	6.1
At contracting establishments	12,669	12,387	12,870	12,576	12,156	5.4	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.2
At closing establishments	2,013	1,365	1,541	1,659	2,151	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-840	654	-984	-2,110	-2,038	-0.4	0.2	-0.5	-0.9	-0.8
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,339	4,112	3,936	3,837	3,464	6.2	5.9	5.6	5.6	5.0
At expanding establishments	3,617	3,576	3,562	3,371	3,117	5.2	5.1	5.1	4.9	4.5
At opening establishments	722	536	374	466	347	1.0	0.8	0.5	0.7	0.5
Gross job losses	4,387	4,656	4,004	4,737	3,647	6.3	6.6	5.7	6.8	5.3
At contracting establishments	3,912	4,144	3,421	4,016	3,028	5.6	5.9	4.9	5.8	4.4
At closing establishments	475	512	583	721	619	0.7	0.7	0.8	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-48	-544	-68	-900	-183	-0.1	-0.7	-0.1	-1.2	-0.3
Information
Gross job gains	2,480	1,390	2,551	1,313	2,195	10.9	6.2	11.3	5.9	9.9
At expanding establishments	1,641	1,266	2,154	985	1,357	7.2	5.6	9.5	4.4	6.1
At opening establishments	839	124	397	328	838	3.7	0.6	1.8	1.5	3.8
Gross job losses	2,453	1,620	1,610	2,849	2,082	10.8	7.3	7.1	12.7	9.3
At contracting establishments	2,053	1,226	1,209	1,909	1,856	9.0	5.5	5.3	8.5	8.3
At closing establishments	400	394	401	940	226	1.8	1.8	1.8	4.2	1.0
Net employment change (2)	27	-230	941	-1,536	113	0.1	-1.1	4.2	-6.8	0.6
Financial activities
Gross job gains	5,327	4,009	4,244	4,253	4,101	6.2	4.6	4.9	4.9	4.8
At expanding establishments	4,497	3,212	3,278	3,355	3,188	5.2	3.7	3.8	3.9	3.7
At opening establishments	830	797	966	898	913	1.0	0.9	1.1	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	4,407	4,923	4,320	4,599	4,251	5.1	5.7	5.0	5.4	5.0
At contracting establishments	3,523	3,975	3,359	3,596	3,395	4.1	4.6	3.9	4.2	4.0
At closing establishments	884	948	961	1,003	856	1.0	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.0
Net employment change (2)	920	-914	-76	-346	-150	1.1	-1.1	-0.1	-0.5	-0.2
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	19,483	13,886	16,700	15,012	16,935	9.3	6.6	8.0	7.3	8.1
At expanding establishments	15,723	10,478	13,631	12,198	13,547	7.5	5.0	6.5	5.9	6.5
At opening establishments	3,760	3,408	3,069	2,814	3,388	1.8	1.6	1.5	1.4	1.6
Gross job losses	16,435	18,328	14,944	15,779	14,687	7.8	8.7	7.2	7.6	7.1
At contracting establishments	13,446	14,133	11,713	12,458	12,034	6.4	6.7	5.6	6.0	5.8
At closing establishments	2,989	4,195	3,231	3,321	2,653	1.4	2.0	1.6	1.6	1.3
Net employment change (2)	3,048	-4,442	1,756	-767	2,248	1.5	-2.1	0.8	-0.3	1.0
Education and health services
Gross job gains	14,887	13,169	12,328	13,729	13,798	5.1	4.4	4.1	4.6	4.6
At expanding establishments	12,639	10,677	10,160	11,265	11,399	4.3	3.6	3.4	3.8	3.8
At opening establishments	2,248	2,492	2,168	2,464	2,399	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	12,273	12,372	13,271	12,649	12,278	4.1	4.2	4.5	4.3	4.2
At contracting establishments	10,121	10,049	10,595	10,599	9,973	3.4	3.4	3.6	3.6	3.4
At closing establishments	2,152	2,323	2,676	2,050	2,305	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.8
Net employment change (2)	2,614	797	-943	1,080	1,520	1.0	0.2	-0.4	0.3	0.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	17,537	16,758	17,305	17,644	19,036	7.6	7.2	7.5	7.6	8.2
At expanding establishments	13,810	12,305	12,460	13,602	14,868	6.0	5.3	5.4	5.9	6.4
At opening establishments	3,727	4,453	4,845	4,042	4,168	1.6	1.9	2.1	1.7	1.8
Gross job losses	19,049	17,647	15,635	16,943	16,494	8.3	7.7	6.8	7.3	7.1
At contracting establishments	15,438	14,690	13,295	14,030	13,979	6.7	6.4	5.8	6.0	6.0
At closing establishments	3,611	2,957	2,340	2,913	2,515	1.6	1.3	1.0	1.3	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-1,512	-889	1,670	701	2,542	-0.7	-0.5	0.7	0.3	1.1
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	3,450	2,985	3,606	3,291	3,062	7.6	6.5	8.2	7.4	6.9
At expanding establishments	2,686	2,377	2,869	2,699	2,482	5.9	5.2	6.5	6.1	5.6
At opening establishments	764	608	737	592	580	1.7	1.3	1.7	1.3	1.3
Gross job losses	3,328	3,373	3,013	3,407	3,254	7.3	7.4	6.8	7.7	7.4
At contracting establishments	2,670	2,738	2,343	2,776	2,648	5.9	6.0	5.3	6.3	6.0
At closing establishments	658	635	670	631	606	1.4	1.4	1.5	1.4	1.4
Net employment change (2)	122	-388	593	-116	-192	0.3	-0.9	1.4	-0.3	-0.5
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

State	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Sept. 2016	Dec. 2016	Mar. 2017	June 2017	Sept. 2017	Sept. 2016	Dec. 2016	Mar. 2017	June 2017	Sept. 2017
United States(1)	6.4	6.2	6.0	6.2	6.0	5.8	5.9	5.4	5.8	6.1
Alabama	6.2	5.8	6.1	5.5	6.0	5.8	5.8	5.2	5.6	5.8
Alaska	9.1	9.8	9.4	11.0	8.5	11.2	10.0	9.8	9.9	10.5
Arizona	7.2	6.0	5.8	6.2	6.6	5.2	5.5	5.4	5.7	5.3
Arkansas	6.2	5.9	5.6	5.2	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.0	5.6	5.5
California	6.9	6.9	6.7	6.9	6.5	6.2	6.3	6.0	6.6	6.4
Colorado	7.1	6.6	6.8	7.1	6.6	6.2	6.5	6.2	6.3	6.4
Connecticut	5.2	5.1	5.5	5.7	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.7
Delaware	6.3	6.2	6.6	6.6	6.5	6.6	6.2	5.9	7.0	6.6
District of Columbia	6.2	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.4	5.8	5.6	4.7	5.6	5.3
Florida	7.4	6.7	6.1	6.6	5.6	5.8	6.1	5.5	6.1	7.5
Georgia	6.7	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.1	5.9	5.8	5.8	6.1	6.2
Hawaii	6.0	5.0	5.1	5.2	5.4	4.8	5.0	4.8	5.4	5.3
Idaho	7.9	7.5	7.9	7.3	6.7	7.3	6.7	6.3	6.6	6.6
Illinois	5.7	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.5	6.0
Indiana	5.8	5.4	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.1	5.2	5.1	5.5	5.5
Iowa	6.1	5.7	6.1	5.6	5.4	5.8	5.9	5.5	5.7	5.7
Kansas	6.2	5.9	5.8	5.5	6.3	5.6	5.7	5.6	6.6	5.7
Kentucky	6.8	6.1	5.7	6.1	5.9	6.3	5.8	5.4	5.9	5.8
Louisiana	6.8	5.9	6.4	6.2	6.1	6.5	6.5	5.9	6.5	6.1
Maine	6.7	7.4	7.2	7.7	6.5	7.4	7.1	6.4	7.7	7.5
Maryland	6.6	6.6	6.1	6.4	6.1	5.9	6.2	5.9	6.2	6.2
Massachusetts	5.7	5.6	5.5	6.1	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.1	5.2	5.6
Michigan	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.3	6.0
Minnesota	6.1	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.4	5.5	5.7	4.7	5.3	5.7
Mississippi	6.3	6.3	5.7	5.9	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.9	6.0	5.9
Missouri	5.7	5.7	5.9	5.6	5.9	5.4	5.6	4.9	5.6	5.9
Montana	7.6	7.8	8.1	7.9	7.2	7.7	7.5	7.1	7.7	8.0
Nebraska	6.4	5.7	5.9	5.6	5.9	5.9	6.2	5.2	6.1	5.9
Nevada	6.8	6.2	6.6	6.3	6.3	5.5	5.6	5.2	6.0	5.8
New Hampshire	6.4	6.3	5.7	6.6	5.6	6.3	5.9	5.6	5.9	6.5
New Jersey	6.3	6.4	5.5	6.7	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.5	6.2
New Mexico	7.0	6.6	6.4	6.7	6.5	6.2	6.5	6.2	6.3	6.3
New York	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.5	6.2	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.7	6.1
North Carolina	6.3	6.3	6.2	6.3	6.0	5.9	5.7	5.5	5.9	6.0
North Dakota	8.2	6.7	7.6	6.8	6.7	7.1	7.7	6.7	6.9	6.8
Ohio	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.1	5.7	5.4	5.1	5.4	5.6
Oklahoma	6.3	6.5	6.3	6.6	6.5	6.0	6.3	6.5	5.9	6.0
Oregon	6.9	6.6	6.9	6.5	6.5	6.4	6.3	5.7	5.9	6.3
Pennsylvania	5.6	5.4	5.2	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.2
Rhode Island	5.6	5.7	6.3	6.5	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.9	5.9	6.3
South Carolina	6.3	6.5	6.0	6.1	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.6	6.0	6.4
South Dakota	6.4	6.0	6.4	6.3	5.7	6.2	6.1	5.9	6.3	6.0
Tennessee	5.9	5.8	5.1	5.4	5.4	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.2
Texas	6.2	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.5	5.4	5.2	5.4	5.7
Utah	7.4	6.8	7.7	6.8	6.8	6.7	6.4	6.1	6.2	6.3
Vermont	7.2	7.0	6.6	7.9	6.7	7.4	7.0	6.8	6.8	7.8
Virginia	6.2	6.2	6.0	6.2	5.8	6.1	5.9	5.6	5.9	6.2
Washington	6.7	7.1	6.8	7.1	6.3	6.6	6.7	5.6	6.1	6.3
West Virginia	6.5	6.4	6.3	6.4	6.9	6.4	6.2	6.4	6.5	6.5
Wisconsin	5.5	5.5	5.9	5.6	5.0	5.6	5.3	4.8	5.5	5.7
Wyoming	8.5	8.8	8.8	8.5	8.7	8.8	8.7	8.1	9.0	7.9
Puerto Rico	5.8	5.8	5.1	5.2	4.1	5.7	5.4	5.7	5.2	6.2
Virgin Islands	6.2	6.0	5.3	6.2	4.2	6.8	6.0	5.5	4.7	8.3
Footnotes: (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.