From September 2023 to December 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Oklahoma were 81,669, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 77,731, 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 3,938 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,698. (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 the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 6.1 percent of private-sector employment in Oklahoma; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.9 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 Oklahoma, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 63,339 in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 2,653 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 18,330 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 1,312 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Oklahoma; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.6 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 Oklahoma, contracting establishments lost 59,785 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 2,386 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 17,946 jobs, a decrease of 195 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 11 industry sectors in Oklahoma in the fourth quarter of 2023. Transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 2,376. This was the result of 5,125 gross job gains and 2,749 gross job losses. Education and health services had the second largest net gain of 2,247. Retail trade showed a net loss of 2,192 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 First Quarter 2024 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 30, 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, Oklahoma, 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)
	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023
Total private(1)
Gross job gains	88,157	83,640	82,988	83,010	81,669	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.1
At expanding establishments	68,014	64,998	64,826	65,992	63,339	5.1	4.9	4.8	4.9	4.7
At opening establishments	20,143	18,642	18,162	17,018	18,330	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.4
Gross job losses	78,069	70,808	80,274	80,312	77,731	5.9	5.3	6.0	6.0	5.7
At contracting establishments	60,906	56,589	66,035	62,171	59,785	4.6	4.2	4.9	4.6	4.4
At closing establishments	17,163	14,219	14,239	18,141	17,946	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.4	1.3
Net employment change(2)
Construction
Gross job gains	6,796	7,050	6,954	7,121	7,457	8.4	8.7	8.4	8.7	8.9
At expanding establishments	5,091	5,603	5,292	5,506	5,779	6.3	6.9	6.4	6.7	6.9
At opening establishments	1,705	1,447	1,662	1,615	1,678	2.1	1.8	2.0	2.0	2.0
Gross job losses	6,480	5,641	6,329	6,551	6,317	8.1	7.0	7.7	7.9	7.5
At contracting establishments	4,951	4,050	5,047	4,803	5,026	6.2	5.0	6.1	5.8	6.0
At closing establishments	1,529	1,591	1,282	1,748	1,291	1.9	2.0	1.6	2.1	1.5
Net employment change(2)
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,758	4,346	5,976	4,302	4,660	4.3	3.2	4.3	3.1	3.4
At expanding establishments	5,082	3,907	4,845	3,889	4,160	3.8	2.9	3.5	2.8	3.0
At opening establishments	676	439	1,131	413	500	0.5	0.3	0.8	0.3	0.4
Gross job losses	4,333	3,787	3,986	4,669	5,086	3.3	2.8	2.8	3.3	3.6
At contracting establishments	3,583	3,114	3,503	3,791	3,833	2.7	2.3	2.5	2.7	2.7
At closing establishments	750	673	483	878	1,253	0.6	0.5	0.3	0.6	0.9
Net employment change(2)
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,493	3,407	3,339	3,025	2,945	6.0	5.8	5.6	5.1	4.9
At expanding establishments	2,522	2,533	2,382	2,416	2,166	4.3	4.3	4.0	4.1	3.6
At opening establishments	971	874	957	609	779	1.7	1.5	1.6	1.0	1.3
Gross job losses	2,794	2,687	2,536	2,952	2,475	4.9	4.6	4.2	5.0	4.2
At contracting establishments	1,949	2,012	2,034	2,202	1,784	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.7	3.0
At closing establishments	845	675	502	750	691	1.5	1.2	0.8	1.3	1.2
Net employment change(2)
Retail trade
Gross job gains	10,299	10,892	10,664	10,318	9,289	5.6	5.9	5.7	5.5	5.0
At expanding establishments	8,350	8,685	8,973	8,775	7,448	4.5	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.0
At opening establishments	1,949	2,207	1,691	1,543	1,841	1.1	1.2	0.9	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	12,087	9,081	11,069	10,960	11,481	6.5	4.9	5.9	5.8	6.2
At contracting establishments	10,029	8,012	9,136	9,077	9,771	5.4	4.3	4.9	4.8	5.3
At closing establishments	2,058	1,069	1,933	1,883	1,710	1.1	0.6	1.0	1.0	0.9
Net employment change(2)
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,797	2,577	2,686	2,410	5,125	6.8	3.8	4.1	3.8	7.9
At expanding establishments	4,241	2,059	2,338	1,929	4,725	6.0	3.0	3.6	3.0	7.3
At opening establishments	556	518	348	481	400	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.8	0.6
Gross job losses	3,465	6,102	4,770	3,595	2,749	4.9	8.9	7.3	5.7	4.3
At contracting establishments	2,868	5,537	4,362	3,025	2,247	4.1	8.1	6.7	4.8	3.5
At closing establishments	597	565	408	570	502	0.8	0.8	0.6	0.9	0.8
Net employment change(2)
Information
Gross job gains	944	1,178	1,383	927	1,562	5.3	6.6	7.6	5.2	8.8
At expanding establishments	554	851	1,036	535	604	3.1	4.8	5.7	3.0	3.4
At opening establishments	390	327	347	392	958	2.2	1.8	1.9	2.2	5.4
Gross job losses	1,084	913	985	1,926	1,193	6.2	5.1	5.4	10.7	6.7
At contracting establishments	875	707	688	660	923	5.0	3.9	3.8	3.7	5.2
At closing establishments	209	206	297	1,266	270	1.2	1.2	1.6	7.0	1.5
Net employment change(2)
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,318	4,122	4,826	4,385	4,173	5.4	5.2	6.0	5.4	5.1
At expanding establishments	3,037	3,011	3,399	3,340	3,087	3.8	3.8	4.2	4.1	3.8
At opening establishments	1,281	1,111	1,427	1,045	1,086	1.6	1.4	1.8	1.3	1.3
Gross job losses	4,005	3,610	3,780	3,945	4,196	5.1	4.6	4.7	4.9	5.2
At contracting establishments	2,923	2,768	2,708	2,650	3,127	3.7	3.5	3.4	3.3	3.9
At closing establishments	1,082	842	1,072	1,295	1,069	1.4	1.1	1.3	1.6	1.3
Net employment change(2)
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	16,579	15,680	15,957	16,797	14,583	7.9	7.5	7.6	8.0	7.0
At expanding establishments	11,706	11,676	11,903	12,988	10,807	5.6	5.6	5.7	6.2	5.2
At opening establishments	4,873	4,004	4,054	3,809	3,776	2.3	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8
Gross job losses	15,335	13,637	16,734	17,262	15,683	7.3	6.5	7.9	8.2	7.5
At contracting establishments	11,910	10,272	13,762	12,824	11,573	5.7	4.9	6.5	6.1	5.5
At closing establishments	3,425	3,365	2,972	4,438	4,110	1.6	1.6	1.4	2.1	2.0
Net employment change(2)
Education and health services
Gross job gains	12,954	11,912	12,056	11,663	11,610	5.8	5.3	5.2	5.1	4.9
At expanding establishments	10,749	9,697	10,132	9,414	9,239	4.8	4.3	4.4	4.1	3.9
At opening establishments	2,205	2,215	1,924	2,249	2,371	1.0	1.0	0.8	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	9,415	8,481	9,690	8,965	9,363	4.2	3.8	4.2	3.9	4.0
At contracting establishments	7,110	6,499	7,783	7,147	6,659	3.2	2.9	3.4	3.1	2.8
At closing establishments	2,305	1,982	1,907	1,818	2,704	1.0	0.9	0.8	0.8	1.2
Net employment change(2)
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	15,916	15,762	13,793	15,138	15,202	9.0	8.7	7.6	8.4	8.3
At expanding establishments	11,943	11,572	10,685	11,683	11,388	6.8	6.4	5.9	6.5	6.2
At opening establishments	3,973	4,190	3,108	3,455	3,814	2.2	2.3	1.7	1.9	2.1
Gross job losses	13,592	11,973	15,120	13,886	13,393	7.7	6.7	8.4	7.7	7.3
At contracting establishments	10,512	9,887	12,732	11,774	10,451	6.0	5.5	7.1	6.5	5.7
At closing establishments	3,080	2,086	2,388	2,112	2,942	1.7	1.2	1.3	1.2	1.6
Net employment change(2)
Other services(3)
Gross job gains	3,291	3,168	3,034	3,053	2,707	8.8	8.4	7.9	7.9	7.0
At expanding establishments	2,370	2,348	2,145	2,352	2,127	6.3	6.2	5.6	6.1	5.5
At opening establishments	921	820	889	701	580	2.5	2.2	2.3	1.8	1.5
Gross job losses	2,756	2,555	2,473	2,621	3,121	7.4	6.8	6.4	6.7	8.0
At contracting establishments	1,965	1,918	1,808	1,989	2,363	5.3	5.1	4.7	5.1	6.1
At closing establishments	791	637	665	632	758	2.1	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.9
Net employment change(2)
(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)
	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Dec. 2022	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023
United States(1)	6.3	6.2	6.2	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.4	5.9	5.9	5.6
Alabama	6.6	6.4	5.9	5.9	6.2	6.1	5.5	5.7	6.0	5.8
Alaska	10.9	10.4	11.0	8.5	10.1	9.2	8.0	8.9	10.5	9.9
Arizona	6.6	5.9	7.0	6.7	6.6	6.0	5.4	6.5	5.9	6.9
Arkansas	6.2	5.8	5.8	5.6	6.1	5.2	5.0	6.0	5.7	5.3
California	6.6	6.1	6.7	6.2	6.3	6.6	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5
Colorado	7.6	7.2	7.3	5.5	8.4	6.9	6.5	6.6	6.2	7.5
Connecticut	5.9	6.1	6.4	5.8	5.6	5.9	5.3	5.7	6.2	5.7
Delaware	7.0	6.7	6.0	6.0	6.2	7.5	5.2	5.7	6.5	5.9
District of Columbia	5.6	5.9	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.5	4.8	5.3	5.4	5.6
Florida	6.2	6.3	6.8	6.5	5.9	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.8
Georgia	6.7	6.2	6.4	6.1	6.1	5.9	5.8	6.5	6.1	5.7
Hawaii	6.0	5.5	5.7	5.3	6.1	4.9	5.0	5.2	6.9	5.0
Idaho	8.4	7.9	7.9	7.3	8.5	6.9	7.5	7.5	8.2	5.8
Illinois	5.4	5.8	5.4	4.8	4.9	5.1	4.8	5.3	5.5	5.1
Indiana	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.0	6.1	5.8	5.3
Iowa	6.4	6.0	6.0	5.5	6.0	6.2	5.4	5.9	5.8	5.7
Kansas	6.3	6.1	6.1	5.7	5.8	5.6	5.4	6.0	6.0	5.4
Kentucky	6.0	6.1	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.3	4.9	5.9	5.5	5.2
Louisiana	6.1	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.2	5.6	6.4	6.0	6.1
Maine	7.4	7.7	7.6	6.8	7.3	6.8	6.2	7.6	7.8	7.0
Maryland	6.6	6.8	6.7	6.4	6.3	6.9	5.6	6.3	6.5	5.9
Massachusetts	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.4	5.3	5.8	4.7	5.7	6.1	5.6
Michigan	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.2	5.5	5.2	4.9	5.3	5.9	5.6
Minnesota	5.9	5.7	6.0	3.1	6.8	5.8	4.9	5.6	4.2	7.0
Mississippi	6.8	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.1	6.2	5.7	6.6	6.2	5.7
Missouri	6.1	6.5	5.9	5.6	6.0	5.8	5.1	5.9	5.8	5.6
Montana	9.2	8.7	7.8	7.7	8.8	7.8	7.1	8.4	8.5	7.2
Nebraska	6.0	6.3	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.7	5.1	5.6	5.9	5.6
Nevada	6.4	6.2	6.6	6.5	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.0	5.5	5.1
New Hampshire	6.7	7.0	6.7	5.9	6.2	6.0	5.9	6.3	6.7	5.9
New Jersey	6.8	6.1	6.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.8
New Mexico	6.7	6.8	6.4	6.1	6.9	6.2	5.9	6.2	6.7	5.8
New York	5.9	6.5	6.3	5.8	5.8	6.0	5.1	5.7	6.1	5.7
North Carolina	6.6	6.4	6.1	5.6	6.1	5.7	5.3	5.7	6.2	4.7
North Dakota	6.4	7.6	6.9	6.6	6.7	6.7	5.6	6.7	6.6	6.3
Ohio	5.9	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.3	5.7	4.9	5.7	5.7	5.2
Oklahoma	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.1	5.9	5.3	6.0	6.0	5.7
Oregon	6.5	7.3	6.4	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.1	6.9	6.9	6.3
Pennsylvania	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	4.6	5.5	5.2	4.9
Rhode Island	6.9	7.5	6.7	6.5	6.8	6.4	5.9	7.0	6.8	6.4
South Carolina	6.9	6.8	6.4	6.8	6.2	6.2	5.8	6.8	5.7	5.4
South Dakota	6.5	7.2	6.8	6.3	6.6	6.5	5.9	6.2	6.3	5.9
Tennessee	5.8	5.9	5.9	2.7	4.9	5.6	5.0	5.5	4.2	4.6
Texas	6.2	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.3	5.0	5.4	5.5	5.2
Utah	6.9	7.0	6.8	6.8	6.4	6.6	6.2	6.2	6.5	6.2
Vermont	7.8	8.2	7.4	6.3	7.2	7.0	6.0	7.5	8.0	6.6
Virginia	6.2	6.2	6.0	5.8	5.9	5.8	5.2	5.8	6.0	5.6
Washington	5.9	6.4	6.0	5.4	6.0	5.3	5.5	5.6	6.0	5.2
West Virginia	6.6	7.1	6.1	6.5	6.1	6.4	5.3	6.1	6.5	6.5
Wisconsin	6.0	6.0	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.5	4.9	5.9	5.9	5.1
Wyoming	9.2	8.9	8.4	8.2	8.8	7.9	7.8	8.7	8.2	8.3
Puerto Rico	6.6	5.1	5.8	5.7	4.9	6.1	5.7	4.9	5.4	4.8
Virgin Islands	5.9	7.5	7.4	8.2	5.7	4.7	6.5	6.8	7.1	5.8
(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.