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News Release Information

18-1230-DAL
Monday, August 06, 2018

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (972) 850-4800

Business Employment Dynamics in Oklahoma – Fourth Quarter 2017

From September 2017 to December 2017, gross job gains in Oklahoma totaled 80,947, while gross job losses numbered 74,095, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. As a result, gross job gains exceeded gross losses by 6,852. (See chart 1.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that in the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 5,979.

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 Oklahoma decreased by nearly 800 during the fourth quarter of 2017 after falling by more than 1,100 in the previous quarter. (See chart 1.) Gross job losses fell by more than 1,600 in the three months ended in December 2017, after increasing by nearly 1,600 in the previous quarter.

Gross job gains represented 6.4 percent of private sector employment in Oklahoma in the quarter ended December 2017, matching the national gross job gain rate. (See chart 2.) The rate of gross job gains in Oklahoma has equaled or exceeded the national rate since December 2016. Oklahoma’s rate of gross job losses as a percent of private sector employment was 5.8 percent compared to the national rate of 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. With the exception of September 2017, Oklahoma’s rate of gross job losses has exceeded the U.S. rate since March 2015.

During the fourth quarter of 2017, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 11 industry sectors in Oklahoma. For example, within transportation and warehousing, opening and expanding establishments added about 4,100 jobs, while closing and contracting establishments lost about 1,800 jobs. The resulting net gain of 2,315 jobs in the transportation and warehousing sector was the largest of any sector in Oklahoma in the fourth quarter of 2017. In leisure and hospitality, more than 15,200 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments and almost 13,100 were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net gain of 2,127, the second largest among the state’s sectors. (See table 1.)

Five industry sectors in Oklahoma registered net job losses during the latest quarter. Education and health services saw a net loss of 534 jobs, as opening and expanding establishments added 9,425 jobs while closing and contracting establishments lost 9,959 jobs. Construction had a net loss of 309 jobs during the quarter, as the 8,121 gross job losses offset the 7,812 gross job gains.

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 website at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics release for First Quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 7, 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, Oklahoma, seasonally adjusted
CategoryGross job gains and job losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and job losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Dec.
2016
Mar.
2017
June
2017
Sept.
2017
Dec.
2017
Dec.
2016
Mar.
2017
June
2017
Sept.
2017
Dec.
2017

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

81,57478,42782,85481,71380,9476.56.36.66.56.4

At expanding establishments

64,19762,62762,49564,65865,7065.15.05.05.15.2

At opening establishments

17,37715,80020,35917,05515,2411.41.31.61.41.2

Gross job losses

78,49681,44874,13675,73474,0956.36.55.96.05.8

At contracting establishments

61,92559,63860,56060,08058,9305.04.84.84.84.6

At closing establishments

16,57121,81013,57615,65415,1651.31.71.11.21.2

Net employment change (2)

3,078-3,0218,7185,9796,8520.2-0.20.70.50.6

Construction

Gross job gains

7,1997,5267,6698,5817,8129.29.810.011.19.9

At expanding establishments

5,6275,9406,1186,7906,2327.27.78.08.87.9

At opening establishments

1,5721,5861,5511,7911,5802.02.12.02.32.0

Gross job losses

8,5018,2547,7137,9838,12110.910.810.010.410.3

At contracting establishments

6,8756,1846,3736,0126,8478.88.18.37.88.7

At closing establishments

1,6262,0701,3401,9711,2742.12.71.72.61.6

Net employment change (2)

-1,302-728-44598-309-1.7-1.00.00.7-0.4

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

4,7335,0505,4524,7265,1183.73.94.33.74.0

At expanding establishments

4,1684,4804,7274,2574,3743.33.53.73.33.4

At opening establishments

5655707254697440.40.40.60.40.6

Gross job losses

5,1085,2833,8374,4474,0144.14.23.03.53.1

At contracting establishments

4,1303,8973,4633,7103,3833.33.12.72.92.6

At closing establishments

9781,3863747376310.81.10.30.60.5

Net employment change (2)

-375-2331,6152791,104-0.4-0.31.30.20.9

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

2,9272,9913,1653,0783,7755.05.25.45.26.4

At expanding establishments

2,3482,3392,4592,4063,2004.04.14.24.15.4

At opening establishments

5796527066725751.01.11.21.11.0

Gross job losses

3,1723,0832,5912,7912,8685.45.44.54.84.9

At contracting establishments

2,3992,1662,0942,1542,0044.13.83.63.73.4

At closing establishments

7739174976378641.31.60.91.11.5

Net employment change (2)

-245-92574287907-0.4-0.20.90.41.5

Retail trade

Gross job gains

10,11310,36611,04110,5269,7515.55.86.25.85.5

At expanding establishments

8,8078,4188,2368,8658,6924.84.74.64.94.9

At opening establishments

1,3061,9482,8051,6611,0590.71.11.60.90.6

Gross job losses

12,01712,62712,16811,2279,7926.67.06.76.25.5

At contracting establishments

9,9849,90810,1599,3818,3475.55.55.65.24.7

At closing establishments

2,0332,7192,0091,8461,4451.11.51.11.00.8

Net employment change (2)

-1,904-2,261-1,127-701-41-1.1-1.2-0.5-0.40.0

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

4,4622,5352,3294,0634,1348.64.84.57.77.6

At expanding establishments

4,1572,1161,7713,5233,6648.04.03.46.76.7

At opening establishments

3054195585404700.60.81.11.00.9

Gross job losses

2,3494,2082,2021,7501,8194.58.04.33.43.3

At contracting establishments

1,6483,6191,7611,5121,4403.26.93.42.92.6

At closing establishments

7015894412383791.31.10.90.50.7

Net employment change (2)

2,113-1,6731272,3132,3154.1-3.20.24.34.3

Information

Gross job gains

1,0658508076808775.14.13.93.34.4

At expanding establishments

9226437245966204.43.13.52.93.1

At opening establishments

14320783842570.71.00.40.41.3

Gross job losses

1,0191,2161,1961,2049934.95.85.75.95.0

At contracting establishments

8468961,0429738104.14.35.04.84.1

At closing establishments

1733201542311830.81.50.71.10.9

Net employment change (2)

46-366-389-524-1160.2-1.7-1.8-2.6-0.6

Financial activities

Gross job gains

4,1393,4803,5243,9693,9905.44.64.65.25.1

At expanding establishments

3,0842,8162,6302,8073,0424.03.73.43.73.9

At opening establishments

1,0556648941,1629481.40.91.21.51.2

Gross job losses

3,8573,9813,3963,5703,5575.15.14.44.64.6

At contracting establishments

2,8152,7212,7702,7062,6833.73.53.63.53.5

At closing establishments

1,0421,2606268648741.41.60.81.11.1

Net employment change (2)

282-5011283994330.3-0.50.20.60.5

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

14,68714,72616,03614,15213,7598.18.18.77.67.4

At expanding establishments

10,61711,48611,32511,19210,6485.96.36.16.05.7

At opening establishments

4,0703,2404,7112,9603,1112.21.82.61.61.7

Gross job losses

13,84713,22812,79313,20813,6077.67.37.07.07.2

At contracting establishments

10,7229,11710,0589,77610,5475.95.05.55.25.6

At closing establishments

3,1254,1112,7353,4323,0601.72.31.51.81.6

Net employment change (2)

8401,4983,2439441520.50.81.70.60.2

Education and health services

Gross job gains

10,1939,86410,3919,6059,4254.94.74.94.54.5

At expanding establishments

8,1467,9958,0247,6567,4483.93.83.83.63.6

At opening establishments

2,0471,8692,3671,9491,9771.00.91.10.90.9

Gross job losses

9,6709,7958,5649,2439,9594.74.74.14.44.7

At contracting establishments

7,2306,9556,9897,2717,5543.53.33.33.53.6

At closing establishments

2,4402,8401,5751,9722,4051.21.40.80.91.1

Net employment change (2)

523691,827362-5340.20.00.80.1-0.2

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

14,88713,63214,16415,16815,2059.08.28.59.18.9

At expanding establishments

10,50210,33110,07110,68511,7586.36.26.06.46.9

At opening establishments

4,3853,3014,0934,4833,4472.72.02.52.72.0

Gross job losses

12,87613,80914,00714,52813,0787.88.38.48.77.7

At contracting establishments

10,80410,51711,39912,15910,6596.56.36.87.36.3

At closing establishments

2,0723,2922,6082,3692,4191.32.01.61.41.4

Net employment change (2)

2,011-1771576402,1271.2-0.10.10.41.2

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

2,5102,8172,8412,6142,5857.58.38.37.57.4

At expanding establishments

1,9812,0952,0581,9892,0655.96.26.05.75.9

At opening establishments

5297227836255201.62.12.31.81.5

Gross job losses

2,8032,8152,3912,4122,6108.38.37.07.07.5

At contracting establishments

1,9801,7632,0281,9411,9455.95.25.95.65.6

At closing establishments

8231,0523634716652.43.11.11.41.9

Net employment change (2)

-2932450202-25-0.80.01.30.5-0.1

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
StateGross job gains as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Gross job losses as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Dec.
2016
Mar.
2017
June
2017
Sept.
2017
Dec.
2017
Dec.
2016
Mar.
2017
June
2017
Sept.
2017
Dec.
2017

United States(1)

6.26.06.26.06.45.95.45.86.15.5

Alabama

5.86.15.56.06.05.85.25.65.85.4

Alaska

9.89.411.08.59.410.09.89.910.510.2

Arizona

6.05.86.26.66.25.55.45.75.35.3

Arkansas

5.95.65.25.75.95.45.05.65.55.0

California

6.96.76.96.56.96.36.06.66.46.0

Colorado

6.66.87.16.66.86.56.26.36.46.1

Connecticut

5.15.55.75.25.35.25.15.15.75.1

Delaware

6.26.66.66.57.16.25.97.06.66.4

District of Columbia

5.65.75.75.45.75.64.75.65.35.0

Florida

6.76.16.65.68.16.15.56.17.55.2

Georgia

6.66.36.26.16.95.85.86.16.25.5

Hawaii

5.05.15.25.45.15.04.85.45.34.9

Idaho

7.57.97.36.77.46.76.36.66.66.4

Illinois

6.15.85.75.66.05.65.45.56.05.3

Indiana

5.45.75.75.55.75.25.15.55.55.1

Iowa

5.76.15.65.45.95.95.55.75.75.3

Kansas

5.95.85.56.36.15.75.66.65.75.2

Kentucky

6.15.76.15.96.05.85.45.95.85.4

Louisiana

5.96.46.26.16.26.55.96.56.16.0

Maine

7.47.27.76.57.17.16.47.77.56.7

Maryland

6.66.16.46.16.26.25.96.26.26.2

Massachusetts

5.65.56.15.55.75.45.15.25.65.6

Michigan

5.55.65.75.35.65.45.05.36.05.5

Minnesota

5.75.85.75.45.85.74.75.35.75.6

Mississippi

6.35.75.95.76.35.65.96.05.95.5

Missouri

5.75.95.65.95.65.64.95.65.95.4

Montana

7.88.17.97.28.57.57.17.78.07.4

Nebraska

5.75.95.65.96.26.25.26.15.95.5

Nevada

6.26.66.36.36.55.65.26.05.85.2

New Hampshire

6.35.76.65.66.65.95.65.96.55.9

New Jersey

6.45.56.76.06.55.95.85.56.25.6

New Mexico

6.66.46.76.56.36.56.26.36.36.0

New York

6.16.26.56.26.15.95.75.76.15.8

North Carolina

6.36.26.36.06.35.75.55.96.05.5

North Dakota

6.77.66.86.76.87.76.76.96.86.7

Ohio

5.75.75.85.15.65.45.15.45.65.2

Oklahoma

6.56.36.66.56.46.36.55.96.05.8

Oregon

6.66.96.56.56.86.35.75.96.36.0

Pennsylvania

5.45.25.55.45.55.15.05.25.24.9

Rhode Island

5.76.36.55.96.65.85.95.96.36.0

South Carolina

6.56.06.15.76.95.45.66.06.45.1

South Dakota

6.06.46.35.76.46.15.96.36.05.7

Tennessee

5.85.15.45.45.85.14.95.15.24.9

Texas

5.95.85.85.96.35.45.25.45.75.3

Utah

6.87.76.86.87.06.46.16.26.35.8

Vermont

7.06.67.96.77.27.06.86.87.86.4

Virginia

6.26.06.25.86.35.95.65.96.25.5

Washington

7.16.87.16.36.96.75.66.16.35.8

West Virginia

6.46.36.46.96.36.26.46.56.56.1

Wisconsin

5.55.95.65.05.65.34.85.55.75.0

Wyoming

8.88.88.58.78.88.78.19.07.98.3

Puerto Rico

5.85.15.24.17.15.45.75.26.211.7

Virgin Islands

6.05.36.24.28.46.05.54.78.324.1

Footnotes:
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

 

Last Modified Date: Monday, August 06, 2018