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News Release Information

24-222-DAL
Thursday, February 08, 2024

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

Business Employment Dynamics in Arkansas — Second Quarter 2023

From March 2023 to June 2023, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Arkansas were 65,458, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 63,471, 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 loss of 1,987 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 7,285. (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 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 Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the second quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment in Arkansas; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 6.2 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 Arkansas, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 51,246 in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 2,133 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 12,225 jobs gained in the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of 195 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the second quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 6.0 percent of private-sector employment in Arkansas; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.9 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 Arkansas, contracting establishments lost 54,147 jobs in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 9,761 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 11,311 jobs, an increase of 1,449 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 6 of the 10 industry sectors in Arkansas in the second quarter of 2023. Transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 2,003 jobs. This was the result of 3,210 gross job gains and 5,213 gross job losses. The professional and business services industry had a net loss of 1,588 jobs, and leisure and hospital had a net loss of 1,202 jobs. Education and health services showed a net gain of 2,120 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. Arkansas’ construction industry sector had a net gain of 1,332 jobs.

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 Third Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.


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, Arkansas, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
June
2023
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
June
2023

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

63,722 67,914 66,289 61,533 63,471 6.1 6.5 6.2 5.8 5.8

At expanding establishments

49,860 55,528 54,137 49,113 51,246 4.8 5.3 5.1 4.6 4.7

At opening establishments

13,862 12,386 12,152 12,420 12,225 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1

Gross job losses

58,012 55,294 55,695 54,248 65,458 5.5 5.2 5.2 5.0 6.0

At contracting establishments

50,225 44,543 45,650 44,386 54,147 4.8 4.2 4.3 4.1 5.0

At closing establishments

7,787 10,751 10,045 9,862 11,311 0.7 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.0

Net employment change (2)

5,710 12,620 10,594 7,285 -1,987 0.6 1.3 1.0 0.8 -0.2

Construction

Gross job gains

4,834 5,768 5,370 5,303 5,945 8.4 10.0 9.0 8.6 9.4

At expanding establishments

3,578 4,573 4,039 4,269 4,618 6.2 7.9 6.8 6.9 7.3

At opening establishments

1,256 1,195 1,331 1,034 1,327 2.2 2.1 2.2 1.7 2.1

Gross job losses

4,446 4,206 3,937 3,941 4,613 7.7 7.3 6.6 6.4 7.3

At contracting establishments

3,744 3,149 3,225 3,059 3,720 6.5 5.5 5.4 5.0 5.9

At closing establishments

702 1,057 712 882 893 1.2 1.8 1.2 1.4 1.4

Net employment change (2)

388 1,562 1,433 1,362 1,332 0.7 2.7 2.4 2.2 2.1

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

5,239 5,190 4,964 3,971 5,008 3.3 3.2 3.0 2.5 3.0

At expanding establishments

4,961 4,879 4,655 3,723 4,804 3.1 3.0 2.8 2.3 2.9

At opening establishments

278 311 309 248 204 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1

Gross job losses

4,290 4,155 4,379 4,347 5,098 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.6 3.1

At contracting establishments

4,110 3,789 3,983 4,130 4,600 2.5 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.8

At closing establishments

180 366 396 217 498 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3

Net employment change (2)

949 1,035 585 -376 -90 0.7 0.7 0.4 -0.1 -0.1

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

2,954 3,511 3,032 3,164 3,360 5.9 6.9 5.9 6.1 6.4

At expanding establishments

2,201 2,829 2,434 2,494 2,565 4.4 5.6 4.7 4.8 4.9

At opening establishments

753 682 598 670 795 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.5

Gross job losses

2,792 2,253 2,586 2,732 2,985 5.6 4.5 5.0 5.3 5.7

At contracting establishments

2,409 1,660 1,933 2,016 2,452 4.8 3.3 3.7 3.9 4.7

At closing establishments

383 593 653 716 533 0.8 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.0

Net employment change (2)

162 1,258 446 432 375 0.3 2.4 0.9 0.8 0.7

Retail trade

Gross job gains

7,430 8,535 6,535 8,011 7,468 5.2 6.0 4.5 5.6 5.2

At expanding establishments

6,161 7,118 5,476 6,291 6,524 4.3 5.0 3.8 4.4 4.5

At opening establishments

1,269 1,417 1,059 1,720 944 0.9 1.0 0.7 1.2 0.7

Gross job losses

9,422 7,722 7,987 6,640 7,972 6.5 5.4 5.6 4.6 5.6

At contracting establishments

8,206 6,701 7,104 5,764 6,565 5.7 4.7 5.0 4.0 4.6

At closing establishments

1,216 1,021 883 876 1,407 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.6 1.0

Net employment change (2)

-1,992 813 -1,452 1,371 -504 -1.3 0.6 -1.1 1.0 -0.4

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

4,472 3,012 4,116 2,359 3,210 7.1 4.7 6.5 3.7 5.1

At expanding establishments

4,048 2,554 3,662 1,854 2,843 6.4 4.0 5.8 2.9 4.5

At opening establishments

424 458 454 505 367 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.6

Gross job losses

4,150 2,653 3,996 3,149 5,213 6.5 4.2 6.3 5.0 8.3

At contracting establishments

3,818 2,345 3,537 2,837 4,815 6.0 3.7 5.6 4.5 7.7

At closing establishments

332 308 459 312 398 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.6

Net employment change (2)

322 359 120 -790 -2,003 0.6 0.5 0.2 -1.3 -3.2

Financial activities

Gross job gains

3,377 3,788 3,181 3,217 3,032 6.2 6.9 5.7 5.8 5.4

At expanding establishments

2,348 2,871 2,395 2,386 2,179 4.3 5.2 4.3 4.3 3.9

At opening establishments

1,029 917 786 831 853 1.9 1.7 1.4 1.5 1.5

Gross job losses

3,051 2,522 3,210 2,901 3,268 5.6 4.6 5.8 5.3 5.8

At contracting establishments

2,453 1,809 2,215 2,201 2,349 4.5 3.3 4.0 4.0 4.2

At closing establishments

598 713 995 700 919 1.1 1.3 1.8 1.3 1.6

Net employment change (2)

326 1,266 -29 316 -236 0.6 2.3 -0.1 0.5 -0.4

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

11,982 11,688 12,982 10,984 11,602 7.9 7.6 8.3 6.9 7.4

At expanding establishments

8,842 8,713 10,314 8,416 8,886 5.8 5.7 6.6 5.3 5.7

At opening establishments

3,140 2,975 2,668 2,568 2,716 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.7

Gross job losses

9,177 11,180 9,950 11,263 13,190 6.0 7.3 6.3 7.2 8.4

At contracting establishments

7,653 9,020 7,709 9,085 11,129 5.0 5.9 4.9 5.8 7.1

At closing establishments

1,524 2,160 2,241 2,178 2,061 1.0 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3

Net employment change (2)

2,805 508 3,032 -279 -1,588 1.9 0.3 2.0 -0.3 -1.0

Education and health services

Gross job gains

8,821 9,391 8,292 9,483 9,477 4.8 5.1 4.4 4.9 4.9

At expanding establishments

6,811 8,100 6,874 8,081 7,898 3.7 4.4 3.6 4.2 4.1

At opening establishments

2,010 1,291 1,418 1,402 1,579 1.1 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8

Gross job losses

6,813 6,641 6,871 6,437 7,357 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.4 3.8

At contracting establishments

5,954 5,326 5,643 5,078 5,921 3.2 2.9 3.0 2.7 3.1

At closing establishments

859 1,315 1,228 1,359 1,436 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7

Net employment change (2)

2,008 2,750 1,421 3,046 2,120 1.1 1.5 0.7 1.5 1.1

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

10,056 11,641 12,497 10,051 9,730 8.3 9.5 10.0 7.9 7.6

At expanding establishments

7,661 9,924 9,986 7,786 7,429 6.3 8.1 8.0 6.1 5.8

At opening establishments

2,395 1,717 2,511 2,265 2,301 2.0 1.4 2.0 1.8 1.8

Gross job losses

9,449 9,406 8,743 8,879 10,932 7.8 7.7 6.9 6.9 8.6

At contracting establishments

8,257 7,341 7,176 7,081 8,902 6.8 6.0 5.7 5.5 7.0

At closing establishments

1,192 2,065 1,567 1,798 2,030 1.0 1.7 1.2 1.4 1.6

Net employment change (2)

607 2,235 3,754 1,172 -1,202 0.5 1.8 3.1 1.0 -1.0

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

2,263 2,677 2,315 2,394 2,353 9.1 10.5 8.9 9.0 8.7

At expanding establishments

1,535 1,856 1,817 1,732 1,743 6.2 7.3 7.0 6.5 6.4

At opening establishments

728 821 498 662 610 2.9 3.2 1.9 2.5 2.3

Gross job losses

1,900 1,934 1,800 1,818 2,224 7.6 7.6 6.9 6.8 8.2

At contracting establishments

1,527 1,370 1,363 1,371 1,616 6.1 5.4 5.2 5.1 6.0

At closing establishments

373 564 437 447 608 1.5 2.2 1.7 1.7 2.2

Net employment change (2)

363 743 515 576 129 1.5 2.9 2.0 2.2 0.5

(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)
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
June
2023
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
June
2023

United States(1)

6.6 6.9 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.2 5.9 5.9 5.4 5.9

Alabama

6.6 6.9 6.6 6.4 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.1 5.5 5.7

Alaska

10.2 8.5 10.9 10.4 11.0 9.0 10.4 9.2 8.0 8.9

Arizona

6.5 7.1 6.6 5.9 7.0 6.3 5.5 6.0 5.4 6.5

Arkansas

6.1 6.5 6.2 5.8 5.8 5.5 5.2 5.2 5.0 6.0

California

6.8 6.8 6.6 6.1 6.7 6.7 6.2 6.6 6.4 6.4

Colorado

7.3 7.0 7.6 7.2 7.3 6.6 7.1 6.9 6.5 6.6

Connecticut

6.4 6.3 5.9 6.1 6.4 6.3 6.2 5.9 5.3 5.7

Delaware

6.5 8.6 7.0 6.7 6.0 6.9 6.2 7.5 5.2 5.7

District of Columbia

6.1 7.2 5.6 5.9 5.4 6.3 5.0 5.5 4.8 5.3

Florida

7.5 7.8 6.2 6.3 6.8 6.3 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.8

Georgia

6.8 7.1 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.2 5.9 5.9 5.8 6.5

Hawaii

6.0 6.4 6.0 5.5 5.7 5.5 4.9 4.9 5.0 5.2

Idaho

7.1 7.8 8.4 7.9 7.9 8.4 7.5 6.9 7.5 7.5

Illinois

5.9 5.8 5.4 5.8 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.1 4.8 5.3

Indiana

5.7 6.4 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.9 5.5 5.2 5.0 6.1

Iowa

5.9 5.9 6.4 6.0 6.0 6.2 5.9 6.2 5.4 5.9

Kansas

6.5 7.4 6.3 6.1 6.1 7.1 5.5 5.6 5.4 6.0

Kentucky

6.3 6.6 6.0 6.1 5.6 6.5 5.4 5.3 4.9 5.9

Louisiana

6.7 6.9 6.1 6.3 6.1 6.4 5.7 6.2 5.6 6.4

Maine

7.2 7.6 7.4 7.7 7.6 8.0 7.3 6.8 6.2 7.6

Maryland

6.5 7.4 6.6 6.8 6.7 6.9 6.0 6.9 5.6 6.3

Massachusetts

6.1 6.2 5.5 5.8 5.9 5.5 6.1 5.8 4.7 5.7

Michigan

6.0 5.7 5.9 5.7 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.2 4.9 5.3

Minnesota

6.4 6.5 5.9 5.7 6.0 6.4 5.9 5.8 4.9 5.6

Mississippi

6.6 7.2 6.8 6.1 6.3 6.7 6.3 6.2 5.7 6.6

Missouri

6.2 6.8 6.1 6.5 5.9 5.9 6.3 5.8 5.1 5.9

Montana

8.2 8.7 9.2 8.7 7.8 9.1 7.8 7.8 7.1 8.4

Nebraska

6.4 7.1 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.5 6.1 5.7 5.1 5.6

Nevada

6.9 7.4 6.4 6.2 6.6 5.7 5.8 6.1 5.7 6.0

New Hampshire

6.7 6.9 6.7 7.0 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.0 5.9 6.3

New Jersey

6.6 6.8 6.8 6.1 6.8 6.2 6.4 5.9 5.7 5.9

New Mexico

6.7 8.0 6.7 6.8 6.4 7.1 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.2

New York

7.1 6.6 5.9 6.5 6.3 6.1 5.9 6.0 5.1 5.7

North Carolina

6.4 6.7 6.6 6.4 6.1 6.1 5.8 5.7 5.3 5.7

North Dakota

6.9 7.6 6.4 7.6 6.9 6.5 6.3 6.7 5.6 6.7

Ohio

5.9 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.9 5.5 5.7 4.9 5.7

Oklahoma

6.7 7.4 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.1 5.6 5.9 5.3 6.0

Oregon

6.0 6.7 6.5 7.3 6.4 7.0 6.0 6.2 6.1 6.9

Pennsylvania

5.5 6.1 5.5 5.5 5.2 5.6 5.1 5.2 4.6 5.5

Rhode Island

7.1 6.7 6.9 7.5 6.7 6.7 7.3 6.4 5.9 7.0

South Carolina

6.6 7.3 6.9 6.8 6.4 6.2 5.6 6.2 5.8 6.8

South Dakota

6.6 7.3 6.5 7.2 6.8 6.5 6.4 6.5 5.9 6.2

Tennessee

6.2 7.0 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.2 5.5 5.6 5.0 5.5

Texas

6.6 7.2 6.2 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.0 5.4

Utah

7.0 7.5 6.9 7.0 6.8 6.6 6.8 6.6 6.2 6.2

Vermont

7.5 7.2 7.8 8.2 7.4 7.6 7.8 7.0 6.0 7.5

Virginia

6.5 7.5 6.2 6.2 6.0 6.7 6.1 5.8 5.2 5.8

Washington

7.0 7.2 5.9 6.4 6.0 7.2 6.3 5.3 5.5 5.6

West Virginia

6.7 8.1 6.6 7.1 6.1 8.0 6.9 6.4 5.3 6.1

Wisconsin

6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.6 6.0 5.8 5.5 4.9 5.9

Wyoming

8.4 9.2 9.2 8.9 8.4 9.2 8.4 7.9 7.8 8.7

Puerto Rico

6.7 6.2 6.6 5.1 5.8 6.1 5.3 6.1 5.7 4.9

Virgin Islands

8.0 8.5 5.9 7.5 7.4 9.2 5.5 4.7 6.5 6.8

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

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, February 08, 2024