From September 2018 to December 2018, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Alaska totaled 26,655, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments numbered 23,854, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Richard Holden, the Bureau’s Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations, noted the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 2,801. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 4,231.

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. 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.)

Alaska’s number of gross job gains increased by 4,833 during the fourth quarter of 2018, following a decline of 5,135 in the previous quarter. Gross job losses fell by 2,199 in the fourth quarter of 2018, after decreasing by 274 in the previous quarter. The net gain of 2,801 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2018 was the largest gain since the first quarter of 2013. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 10.9 percent of private-sector employment in Alaska in the fourth quarter of 2018, while gross job losses accounted for 9.7 percent of private-sector employment. Nationally, gross job gains and gross job losses accounted for 6.1 and 5.6 percent of private-sector employment, respectively. (See chart 2.)

During the fourth quarter of 2018, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in four industry sectors in Alaska. For example, within construction, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 923. While 3,538 jobs were gained in opening and expanding establishments in the industry, 2,615 jobs were lost by closing and contracting establishments in the fourth quarter of 2018. In education and health services, 2,264 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments, while 1,689 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in three industry sectors, led by leisure and hospitality, where gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 758.

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 for the First Quarter 2019 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 30, 2019.

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, Alaska, 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. 2017	Mar. 2018	June 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018	Dec. 2017	Mar. 2018	June 2018	Sept 2018	Dec. 2018
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	23,753	24,212	26,957	21,822	26,655	9.7	9.8	10.9	8.9	10.9
At expanding establishments	18,931	19,674	22,490	17,706	22,464	7.7	8.0	9.1	7.2	9.2
At opening establishments	4,822	4,538	4,467	4,116	4,191	2.0	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7
Gross job losses	25,045	21,672	26,327	26,053	23,854	10.2	8.8	10.7	10.6	9.7
At contracting establishments	20,822	18,370	22,452	22,504	19,611	8.5	7.5	9.1	9.2	8.0
At closing establishments	4,223	3,302	3,875	3,549	4,243	1.7	1.3	1.6	1.4	1.7
Net employment change (2)	-1,292	2,540	630	-4,231	2,801	-0.5	1.0	0.2	-1.7	1.2
Construction
Gross job gains	2,526	3,430	2,901	2,441	3,538	16.9	21.6	18.0	15.7	21.8
At expanding establishments	2,098	2,769	2,386	1,957	3,028	14.0	17.4	14.8	12.6	18.7
At opening establishments	428	661	515	484	510	2.9	4.2	3.2	3.1	3.1
Gross job losses	2,757	2,434	2,924	2,646	2,615	18.4	15.3	18.2	17.0	16.1
At contracting establishments	2,273	1,984	2,264	2,191	2,177	15.2	12.5	14.1	14.1	13.4
At closing establishments	484	450	660	455	438	3.2	2.8	4.1	2.9	2.7
Net employment change (2)	-231	996	-23	-205	923	-1.5	6.3	-0.2	-1.3	5.7
Retail trade
Gross job gains	2,121	2,170	2,380	2,139	2,141	5.9	6.0	6.6	6.0	6.0
At expanding establishments	1,623	1,928	1,896	1,706	1,895	4.5	5.3	5.3	4.8	5.3
At opening establishments	498	242	484	433	246	1.4	0.7	1.3	1.2	0.7
Gross job losses	2,448	2,103	2,882	2,328	2,342	6.8	5.9	8.0	6.5	6.5
At contracting establishments	2,054	1,720	2,676	2,036	1,978	5.7	4.8	7.4	5.7	5.5
At closing establishments	394	383	206	292	364	1.1	1.1	0.6	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-327	67	-502	-189	-201	-0.9	0.1	-1.4	-0.5	-0.5
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	2,668	2,286	2,636	2,164	2,445	13.4	11.6	13.1	10.5	12.3
At expanding establishments	2,221	1,927	2,201	1,769	1,810	11.2	9.8	10.9	8.6	9.1
At opening establishments	447	359	435	395	635	2.2	1.8	2.2	1.9	3.2
Gross job losses	2,486	2,444	1,996	2,629	2,509	12.5	12.4	9.9	12.8	12.6
At contracting establishments	2,087	2,150	1,784	2,294	2,052	10.5	10.9	8.8	11.2	10.3
At closing establishments	399	294	212	335	457	2.0	1.5	1.1	1.6	2.3
Net employment change (2)	182	-158	640	-465	-64	0.9	-0.8	3.2	-2.3	-0.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	2,549	2,763	2,607	2,794	3,091	9.2	10.0	9.6	10.3	11.3
At expanding establishments	1,793	2,257	1,934	2,113	2,294	6.5	8.2	7.1	7.8	8.4
At opening establishments	756	506	673	681	797	2.7	1.8	2.5	2.5	2.9
Gross job losses	2,854	2,540	3,294	2,547	2,793	10.3	9.2	12.0	9.3	10.2
At contracting establishments	2,103	2,152	2,490	2,019	2,049	7.6	7.8	9.1	7.4	7.5
At closing establishments	751	388	804	528	744	2.7	1.4	2.9	1.9	2.7
Net employment change (2)	-305	223	-687	247	298	-1.1	0.8	-2.4	1.0	1.1
Education and health services
Gross job gains	2,171	2,159	2,183	1,996	2,264	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.1	4.5
At expanding establishments	1,896	1,852	1,901	1,769	2,011	3.9	3.8	3.8	3.6	4.0
At opening establishments	275	307	282	227	253	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.5
Gross job losses	1,855	1,841	2,324	1,959	1,689	3.7	3.7	4.7	4.0	3.4
At contracting establishments	1,545	1,551	1,974	1,717	1,494	3.1	3.1	4.0	3.5	3.0
At closing establishments	310	290	350	242	195	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.5	0.4
Net employment change (2)	316	318	-141	37	575	0.8	0.7	-0.3	0.1	1.1
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	4,828	5,199	5,874	4,692	4,893	13.6	14.6	16.3	13.0	13.7
At expanding establishments	3,486	3,592	4,590	3,640	3,862	9.8	10.1	12.7	10.1	10.8
At opening establishments	1,342	1,607	1,284	1,052	1,031	3.8	4.5	3.6	2.9	2.9
Gross job losses	5,756	4,108	6,090	5,315	5,651	16.2	11.6	16.8	14.6	15.8
At contracting establishments	4,577	3,186	4,928	4,285	4,319	12.9	9.0	13.6	11.8	12.1
At closing establishments	1,179	922	1,162	1,030	1,332	3.3	2.6	3.2	2.8	3.7
Net employment change (2)	-928	1,091	-216	-623	-758	-2.6	3.0	-0.5	-1.6	-2.1
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	770	666	1,101	839	839	7.9	6.9	11.2	8.5	8.7
At expanding establishments	657	576	952	746	741	6.7	6.0	9.7	7.6	7.7
At opening establishments	113	90	149	93	98	1.2	0.9	1.5	0.9	1.0
Gross job losses	972	705	862	1,036	757	9.9	7.3	8.8	10.6	7.9
At contracting establishments	830	607	740	890	652	8.5	6.3	7.6	9.1	6.8
At closing establishments	142	98	122	146	105	1.4	1.0	1.2	1.5	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-202	-39	239	-197	82	-2.0	-0.4	2.4	-2.1	0.8
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

Category	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Dec. 2017	Mar. 2018	June 2018	Sept. 2018	Dec. 2018	Dec. 2017	Mar. 2018	June 2018	Sept. 2018	Dec. 2018
United States(1)	6.4	6.0	6.1	6.0	6.1	5.6	5.4	5.8	6.0	5.6
Alabama	6.0	6.0	5.8	5.9	6.3	5.4	5.3	5.7	5.9	5.3
Alaska	9.7	9.8	10.9	8.9	10.9	10.2	8.8	10.7	10.6	9.7
Arizona	6.3	6.0	6.0	6.6	6.2	5.3	5.3	5.9	5.0	5.1
Arkansas	6.1	5.4	5.0	6.0	5.8	5.1	5.0	5.6	5.5	4.9
California	6.9	6.4	6.7	6.5	6.7	6.0	5.9	6.3	6.2	5.9
Colorado	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.8	6.1	6.0	6.1	6.8	6.0
Connecticut	5.3	5.1	5.8	5.2	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.0	5.6	4.9
Delaware	7.0	7.1	6.5	5.6	6.6	6.4	5.9	6.0	6.6	5.7
District of Columbia	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.0	4.7	5.5	5.5	5.1
Florida	8.2	6.1	6.5	6.7	6.3	5.3	5.5	6.1	5.7	5.9
Georgia	6.9	6.5	6.2	6.7	6.3	5.6	5.6	6.4	6.2	5.7
Hawaii	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.1	5.7	4.7	4.8	5.5	5.5	5.1
Idaho	7.4	7.9	7.3	6.8	7.4	6.6	5.9	6.7	6.9	6.3
Illinois	6.0	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.3	5.1	5.5	5.7	5.6
Indiana	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.2	5.6	5.0	5.1	5.5	5.4	4.9
Iowa	5.9	5.5	5.7	5.3	5.8	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.7	5.3
Kansas	5.9	5.2	5.7	5.9	6.1	5.2	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.4
Kentucky	6.1	6.2	5.9	5.7	6.1	5.6	5.9	5.6	6.0	5.5
Louisiana	6.2	6.5	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.0	5.8	6.5	6.2	5.7
Maine	7.2	7.2	8.1	6.0	7.3	6.6	7.0	7.1	7.5	6.3
Maryland	6.2	6.3	6.0	6.3	6.8	6.3	5.7	5.8	6.6	6.4
Massachusetts	5.7	5.4	6.1	5.5	5.8	5.4	5.2	5.4	6.2	5.3
Michigan	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.0	5.7	5.4	4.6	5.1	6.2	5.2
Minnesota	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.4	5.7	5.5	5.0	5.3	5.7	5.4
Mississippi	6.3	5.5	5.7	5.8	6.4	5.4	5.8	6.0	5.7	5.2
Missouri	5.7	5.4	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.2	5.7	6.0	5.4
Montana	8.5	7.8	8.0	7.2	9.0	7.4	7.1	7.8	7.9	7.2
Nebraska	6.2	5.6	5.9	5.8	5.9	5.5	5.5	5.8	6.0	5.8
Nevada	6.6	6.5	6.1	6.7	6.6	5.2	5.4	5.8	5.6	5.3
New Hampshire	6.7	6.1	6.7	5.6	6.7	5.9	5.9	6.3	6.8	5.7
New Jersey	6.4	5.6	6.5	6.0	6.3	5.8	5.8	5.7	6.3	5.6
New Mexico	6.5	6.3	6.5	6.4	6.7	6.1	5.5	6.2	6.4	6.0
New York	6.2	6.2	6.3	6.1	6.2	5.8	5.6	5.8	6.4	5.7
North Carolina	6.3	6.2	6.1	5.6	6.7	5.5	5.2	5.5	6.5	5.3
North Dakota	6.8	7.0	6.7	6.6	6.8	6.8	6.3	6.2	6.6	6.2
Ohio	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.2	5.0	5.4	5.7	5.2
Oklahoma	6.4	6.1	6.3	6.6	6.4	5.8	5.5	6.5	6.1	6.0
Oregon	6.8	7.8	6.2	6.2	6.7	6.0	5.6	6.2	6.3	5.9
Pennsylvania	5.5	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.3	5.0	4.9	5.1	5.2	4.7
Rhode Island	6.6	6.3	6.3	6.2	6.4	6.0	6.1	6.1	6.4	5.7
South Carolina	7.0	5.9	7.5	5.8	7.4	5.3	4.7	6.5	6.5	5.4
South Dakota	6.4	6.4	6.1	5.9	6.3	5.7	5.9	6.1	5.8	5.8
Tennessee	5.9	5.0	5.5	5.8	5.8	4.9	4.8	5.1	5.2	4.9
Texas	6.4	5.8	5.9	5.9	6.1	5.3	5.1	5.2	5.4	5.1
Utah	7.0	7.4	6.9	7.3	6.9	5.9	6.0	6.3	6.5	6.1
Vermont	7.4	6.4	7.2	6.9	7.4	6.5	7.0	7.3	7.4	6.8
Virginia	6.3	5.8	6.1	5.6	6.2	5.5	5.2	5.8	6.3	5.5
Washington	6.9	7.2	7.3	6.1	6.5	6.0	5.7	6.3	6.3	5.6
West Virginia	6.3	6.8	6.8	7.0	6.3	6.1	5.8	6.4	6.4	6.5
Wisconsin	5.6	5.6	5.4	5.1	5.4	5.0	4.7	5.5	5.9	4.9
Wyoming	8.7	8.4	8.2	8.2	10.0	8.4	8.0	8.3	8.3	7.8
Puerto Rico	7.1	8.4	8.0	7.2	6.0	11.8	6.8	6.2	5.8	6.7
Virgin Islands	9.2	12.0	12.5	10.9	8.3	28.2	16.8	8.6	6.3	7.8
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.