Business Employment Dynamics in Texas – First Quarter 2024

From December 2023 to March 2024, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Texas were 638,289, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 610,710, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 27,579 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2024. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 67,569. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Texas, March 2019-March 2024, seasonally adjusted

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Texas, March 2019–March 2024, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job gains	Gross job losses
Mar. 2019	595,606	554,155
Jun. 2019	615,295	565,656
Sep. 2019	619,389	567,167
Dec. 2019	639,362	551,195
Mar. 2020	556,103	614,171
Jun. 2020	488,307	1,409,555
Sep. 2020	722,285	606,902
Dec. 2020	764,415	490,855
Mar. 2021	628,669	522,070
Jun. 2021	703,511	578,932
Sep. 2021	754,010	576,892
Dec. 2021	844,979	517,467
Mar. 2022	707,156	588,570
Jun. 2022	733,941	645,128
Sep. 2022	817,714	598,095
Dec. 2022	709,768	614,597
Mar. 2023	699,178	586,970
Jun. 2023	677,532	628,833
Sep. 2023	662,610	643,975
Dec. 2023	677,439	609,870
Mar. 2024	638,289	610,710

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2024, gross job gains represented 5.4 percent of private-sector employment in Texas; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.7 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In Texas, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 507,931 in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 36,947 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 130,358 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 2,203 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Texas, March 2019–March 2024, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Texas
Mar. 2019	5.9	5.6
Jun. 2019	6.1	5.8
Sep. 2019	5.9	5.8
Dec. 2019	6.2	6.0
Mar. 2020	5.5	5.1
Jun. 2020	4.8	4.8
Sep. 2020	9.5	7.2
Dec. 2020	7.4	7.6
Mar. 2021	6.9	6.1
Jun. 2021	6.8	6.8
Sep. 2021	7.3	7.1
Dec. 2021	7.7	7.7
Mar. 2022	6.7	6.3
Jun. 2022	6.5	6.6
Sep. 2022	6.9	7.2
Dec. 2022	6.3	6.2
Mar. 2023	6.3	6.0
Jun. 2023	6.2	5.8
Sep. 2023	5.9	5.7
Dec. 2023	6.0	5.7
Mar. 2024	5.7	5.4

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2024, gross job losses represented 5.1 percent of private-sector employment in Texas; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.4 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In Texas, contracting establishments lost 499,721 jobs in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 16,154 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 110,989 jobs, a decrease of 15,314 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Texas, March 2019–March 2024, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Texas
Mar. 2019	5.6	5.3
Jun. 2019	5.9	5.3
Sep. 2019	5.8	5.3
Dec. 2019	5.5	5.1
Mar. 2020	6.3	5.7
Jun. 2020	16.8	13.7
Sep. 2020	5.9	6.1
Dec. 2020	5.7	4.9
Mar. 2021	5.5	5.1
Jun. 2021	5.9	5.6
Sep. 2021	6.1	5.5
Dec. 2021	5.4	4.8
Mar. 2022	5.5	5.3
Jun. 2022	6.2	5.8
Sep. 2022	5.9	5.3
Dec. 2022	5.9	5.3
Mar. 2023	5.5	5.1
Jun. 2023	5.9	5.4
Sep. 2023	6.0	5.5
Dec. 2023	5.7	5.2
Mar. 2024	5.4	5.1

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 8 of the 11 industry sectors in Texas in the first quarter of 2024. Professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 9,045 jobs. This was the result of 132,537 gross job gains and 123,492 gross job losses. The construction industry had a net gain of 7,693 jobs, and the education and health services industry had a net gain of 6,637 jobs. Transportation and warehousing showed a net loss of 15,101 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at the Business Employment Dynamics Home.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2024 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

Data in this release contain annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. These revisions include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.

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). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Texas, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	699,178	677,532	662,610	677,439	638,289	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.4
At expanding establishments	567,023	553,447	536,628	544,878	507,931	4.9	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.3
At opening establishments	132,155	124,085	125,982	132,561	130,358	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1
Gross job losses	586,970	628,833	643,975	609,870	610,710	5.1	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.1
At contracting establishments	481,952	512,243	513,975	483,567	499,721	4.2	4.4	4.4	4.1	4.2
At closing establishments	105,018	116,590	130,000	126,303	110,989	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.1	0.9
Net employment change (2)	112,208	48,699	18,635	67,569	27,579	0.9	0.4	0.2	0.5	0.3
Construction
Gross job gains	63,770	61,474	62,810	63,187	63,866	7.8	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6
At expanding establishments	52,195	51,164	53,621	53,040	53,762	6.4	6.3	6.5	6.4	6.4
At opening establishments	11,575	10,310	9,189	10,147	10,104	1.4	1.3	1.1	1.2	1.2
Gross job losses	51,639	55,915	54,505	54,800	56,173	6.4	6.8	6.7	6.6	6.6
At contracting establishments	42,793	45,427	44,164	43,854	46,490	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.3	5.5
At closing establishments	8,846	10,488	10,341	10,946	9,683	1.1	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.1
Net employment change (2)	12,131	5,559	8,305	8,387	7,693	1.4	0.8	0.9	1.0	1.0
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	34,128	37,244	32,491	33,965	34,101	3.6	3.9	3.4	3.5	3.5
At expanding establishments	29,767	32,765	27,189	29,140	28,330	3.1	3.4	2.8	3.0	2.9
At opening establishments	4,361	4,479	5,302	4,825	5,771	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.6
Gross job losses	31,859	28,748	33,798	29,592	30,538	3.4	3.0	3.5	3.1	3.2
At contracting establishments	27,459	24,488	28,268	25,015	25,880	2.9	2.6	2.9	2.6	2.7
At closing establishments	4,400	4,260	5,530	4,577	4,658	0.5	0.4	0.6	0.5	0.5
Net employment change (2)	2,269	8,496	-1,307	4,373	3,563	0.2	0.9	-0.1	0.4	0.3
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	31,230	31,573	28,267	29,831	28,198	4.8	4.8	4.3	4.5	4.2
At expanding establishments	26,507	26,885	23,101	24,585	22,628	4.1	4.1	3.5	3.7	3.4
At opening establishments	4,723	4,688	5,166	5,246	5,570	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	26,664	24,898	27,809	24,309	24,806	4.0	3.7	4.2	3.7	3.8
At contracting establishments	21,144	19,309	22,024	18,907	19,772	3.2	2.9	3.3	2.9	3.0
At closing establishments	5,520	5,589	5,785	5,402	5,034	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.8
Net employment change (2)	4,566	6,675	458	5,522	3,392	0.8	1.1	0.1	0.8	0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	72,741	75,470	74,916	67,619	66,954	5.2	5.4	5.3	4.8	4.8
At expanding establishments	62,939	64,451	64,807	57,526	56,208	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.1	4.0
At opening establishments	9,802	11,019	10,109	10,093	10,746	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	65,466	71,696	78,405	71,355	63,696	4.7	5.2	5.6	5.1	4.6
At contracting establishments	58,138	63,881	67,544	62,466	55,524	4.2	4.6	4.8	4.5	4.0
At closing establishments	7,328	7,815	10,861	8,889	8,172	0.5	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	7,275	3,774	-3,489	-3,736	3,258	0.5	0.2	-0.3	-0.3	0.2
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	27,998	28,031	29,867	44,282	23,361	4.5	4.5	4.8	7.0	3.6
At expanding establishments	23,760	23,832	25,362	40,392	19,894	3.8	3.8	4.1	6.4	3.1
At opening establishments	4,238	4,199	4,505	3,890	3,467	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.5
Gross job losses	37,482	30,080	26,928	24,952	38,462	6.0	4.9	4.3	4.0	6.1
At contracting establishments	33,322	24,653	22,027	20,769	34,932	5.3	4.0	3.5	3.3	5.5
At closing establishments	4,160	5,427	4,901	4,183	3,530	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-9,484	-2,049	2,939	19,330	-15,101	-1.5	-0.4	0.5	3.0	-2.5
Information
Gross job gains	11,360	10,151	10,310	8,868	9,614	4.8	4.4	4.4	3.9	4.2
At expanding establishments	9,158	8,619	8,212	6,888	7,728	3.9	3.7	3.5	3.0	3.4
At opening establishments	2,202	1,532	2,098	1,980	1,886	0.9	0.7	0.9	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	11,352	13,221	12,514	12,007	10,632	4.8	5.7	5.4	5.2	4.7
At contracting establishments	9,316	11,182	10,033	9,945	8,458	3.9	4.8	4.3	4.3	3.7
At closing establishments	2,036	2,039	2,481	2,062	2,174	0.9	0.9	1.1	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	8	-3,070	-2,204	-3,139	-1,018	0.0	-1.3	-1.0	-1.3	-0.5
Financial activities
Gross job gains	44,374	43,471	40,414	39,712	39,213	5.1	5.0	4.6	4.5	4.4
At expanding establishments	34,196	34,202	31,130	28,972	29,501	3.9	3.9	3.5	3.3	3.3
At opening establishments	10,178	9,269	9,284	10,740	9,712	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.1
Gross job losses	39,564	38,514	40,027	40,842	36,746	4.5	4.3	4.5	4.7	4.0
At contracting establishments	29,904	28,442	28,526	30,571	27,332	3.4	3.2	3.2	3.5	3.0
At closing establishments	9,660	10,072	11,501	10,271	9,414	1.1	1.1	1.3	1.2	1.0
Net employment change (2)	4,810	4,957	387	-1,130	2,467	0.6	0.7	0.1	-0.2	0.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	145,389	134,838	135,378	138,009	132,537	6.9	6.3	6.4	6.5	6.3
At expanding establishments	116,082	109,170	107,857	109,916	105,843	5.5	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.0
At opening establishments	29,307	25,668	27,521	28,093	26,694	1.4	1.2	1.3	1.3	1.3
Gross job losses	123,744	140,673	138,097	133,848	123,492	5.8	6.6	6.5	6.3	5.8
At contracting establishments	99,760	112,463	108,900	102,690	97,378	4.7	5.3	5.1	4.8	4.6
At closing establishments	23,984	28,210	29,197	31,158	26,114	1.1	1.3	1.4	1.5	1.2
Net employment change (2)	21,645	-5,835	-2,719	4,161	9,045	1.1	-0.3	-0.1	0.2	0.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains	95,888	95,998	88,498	87,695	85,017	5.3	5.3	4.7	4.7	4.5
At expanding establishments	79,560	80,024	73,025	70,506	67,636	4.4	4.4	3.9	3.8	3.6
At opening establishments	16,328	15,974	15,473	17,189	17,381	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	73,493	71,928	80,851	77,203	78,380	4.1	3.9	4.3	4.2	4.2
At contracting establishments	58,150	57,650	61,793	57,567	62,330	3.2	3.1	3.3	3.1	3.3
At closing establishments	15,343	14,278	19,058	19,636	16,050	0.9	0.8	1.0	1.1	0.9
Net employment change (2)	22,395	24,070	7,647	10,492	6,637	1.2	1.4	0.4	0.5	0.3
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	118,564	111,902	107,440	117,886	104,003	8.1	7.6	7.2	7.8	6.9
At expanding establishments	92,024	87,194	83,178	89,040	79,389	6.3	5.9	5.6	5.9	5.3
At opening establishments	26,540	24,708	24,262	28,846	24,614	1.8	1.7	1.6	1.9	1.6
Gross job losses	89,342	107,750	106,244	94,847	108,097	6.1	7.3	7.2	6.3	7.1
At contracting establishments	74,388	88,347	86,863	76,117	90,904	5.1	6.0	5.9	5.1	6.0
At closing establishments	14,954	19,403	19,381	18,730	17,193	1.0	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	29,222	4,152	1,196	23,039	-4,094	2.0	0.3	0.0	1.5	-0.2
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	28,461	23,693	27,150	24,830	25,529	8.3	6.8	7.9	7.1	7.2
At expanding establishments	22,396	18,025	21,065	18,773	18,788	6.5	5.2	6.1	5.4	5.3
At opening establishments	6,065	5,668	6,085	6,057	6,741	1.8	1.6	1.8	1.7	1.9
Gross job losses	22,410	24,241	22,257	24,731	22,902	6.5	7.0	6.4	7.1	6.5
At contracting establishments	17,106	18,743	15,754	18,765	17,636	5.0	5.4	4.5	5.4	5.0
At closing establishments	5,304	5,498	6,503	5,966	5,266	1.5	1.6	1.9	1.7	1.5
Net employment change (2)	6,051	-548	4,893	99	2,627	1.8	-0.2	1.5	0.0	0.7
(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
Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024
United States(1)	6.3	6.2	5.9	6.0	5.7	5.5	5.9	6.0	5.7	5.4
Alabama	6.5	6.0	6.0	6.2	5.7	5.6	5.7	6.0	5.7	5.5
Alaska	10.5	11.0	8.5	10.2	10.5	8.6	8.9	10.5	9.9	8.6
Arizona	6.0	7.0	6.8	6.5	8.4	5.6	6.3	5.7	6.6	6.4
Arkansas	5.8	5.9	5.6	6.2	5.6	5.1	6.0	5.8	5.0	5.2
California	6.3	6.8	6.4	6.4	5.8	6.6	6.4	6.5	6.4	5.6
Colorado	7.2	7.3	5.4	8.2	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.1	7.6	7.7
Connecticut	6.2	6.4	5.8	5.6	5.6	5.1	5.7	6.2	5.7	5.2
Delaware	6.7	6.4	6.0	6.1	6.0	5.2	5.8	6.5	5.8	5.1
District of Columbia	6.0	5.4	5.4	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.3	5.4	5.6	4.9
Florida	6.3	6.8	6.5	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.4
Georgia	6.5	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.0	6.0	6.4	6.1	5.7	5.7
Hawaii	5.6	5.7	5.3	6.1	5.4	5.1	5.3	6.8	5.0	5.1
Idaho	7.9	7.8	7.2	8.5	7.9	7.3	7.4	7.9	5.8	8.3
Illinois	5.8	5.4	4.8	5.0	5.1	4.8	5.2	5.3	5.1	4.8
Indiana	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.5	5.3	5.1	5.8	5.7	5.1	5.0
Iowa	6.1	6.0	5.6	6.1	6.1	5.4	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.6
Kansas	6.1	6.1	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.4	6.0	6.0	5.3	5.6
Kentucky	6.1	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	4.9	5.9	5.6	5.2	5.0
Louisiana	6.5	6.0	6.2	6.3	6.2	5.5	6.5	6.0	5.8	5.7
Maine	7.8	7.6	7.0	7.4	7.2	6.3	7.6	7.8	7.0	6.1
Maryland	7.2	6.7	6.3	6.2	5.8	6.0	6.6	6.4	5.8	5.7
Massachusetts	5.8	5.9	5.4	5.5	5.2	4.9	5.6	5.9	5.5	5.1
Michigan	5.8	5.9	5.2	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.3	5.9	5.5	5.2
Minnesota	5.8	6.0	3.3	6.9	5.8	4.8	5.5	4.3	6.9	5.7
Mississippi	6.5	6.4	6.2	6.1	5.7	6.1	6.5	6.2	5.7	6.1
Missouri	6.5	5.8	5.6	6.0	5.7	5.1	5.9	5.8	5.6	5.3
Montana	8.7	7.8	7.7	8.8	8.1	7.2	8.4	8.4	7.2	7.5
Nebraska	6.5	6.2	6.0	5.9	5.8	5.2	5.7	5.9	5.7	5.1
Nevada	6.2	6.5	6.5	6.7	5.9	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.4	6.2
New Hampshire	7.0	6.7	5.8	6.2	6.5	5.9	6.3	6.7	5.9	5.8
New Jersey	6.3	6.4	6.0	5.9	5.5	5.8	6.0	6.0	5.8	5.4
New Mexico	7.0	6.6	6.4	6.9	6.0	5.8	6.3	6.8	5.8	6.0
New York	6.5	6.2	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.2	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.0
North Carolina	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.3	5.4	5.3	5.7	6.1	4.9	5.5
North Dakota	7.6	6.9	6.6	6.7	6.9	5.7	6.7	6.6	6.3	6.1
Ohio	6.0	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.5	4.8	5.6	5.6	5.2	4.8
Oklahoma	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.1	5.6	5.4	6.1	6.0	5.8	5.2
Oregon	7.6	6.4	6.1	6.2	6.4	5.9	6.6	6.7	6.2	6.1
Pennsylvania	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.1	4.7	5.5	5.1	4.8	4.6
Rhode Island	7.4	6.7	6.4	6.8	6.9	5.9	6.8	6.7	6.3	5.7
South Carolina	6.8	6.4	6.6	6.2	6.4	5.9	6.6	5.7	5.3	6.3
South Dakota	7.3	6.7	6.3	6.6	6.3	5.9	6.0	6.3	5.8	5.8
Tennessee	5.9	5.8	5.6	6.2	5.5	5.0	5.5	5.7	5.5	4.9
Texas	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.4	5.1	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.1
Utah	7.0	6.9	6.9	6.6	6.7	6.3	6.4	6.6	6.5	6.0
Vermont	8.4	7.4	6.4	7.3	7.2	6.0	7.5	7.9	6.6	6.3
Virginia	6.2	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.2	5.9	6.0	5.5	5.2
Washington	6.6	6.1	5.8	6.0	5.7	6.3	5.7	6.0	5.4	5.3
West Virginia	7.3	6.1	6.5	6.5	6.9	5.5	6.4	6.6	5.8	5.7
Wisconsin	6.1	5.6	5.2	5.5	5.5	4.8	5.8	5.8	5.2	4.8
Wyoming	9.0	8.4	8.3	8.9	8.4	7.8	8.7	8.2	8.4	8.3
Puerto Rico	5.1	5.9	5.7	4.9	5.4	5.8	5.0	5.3	4.8	4.6
Virgin Islands	7.9	7.5	8.2	6.0	5.6	7.4	6.5	6.8	5.9	4.5
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, November 05, 2024

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Business Employment Dynamics in Texas – First Quarter 2024