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News Release Information

24-1616-SAN
Thursday, August 08, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Business Employment Dynamics in Alaska – Fourth Quarter 2023

From September 2023 to December 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Alaska were 25,198, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 24,637, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 561 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 5,107. (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 10.1 percent of private-sector employment in Alaska; 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 Alaska, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 20,973 in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 3,427 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 4,225 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 439 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 9.9 percent of private-sector employment in Alaska; 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 Alaska, contracting establishments lost 20,962 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 1,353 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 3,675 jobs, a decrease of 449 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 4 of the 7 industry sectors in Alaska in the fourth quarter of 2023. Construction had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 659 jobs. This was the result of 3,358 gross job gains and 2,699 gross job losses. The professional and business services industry had a net job increase of 576, followed by the education and health services industry with a net gain of 111 jobs. Retail trade showed a net loss of 333 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.

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

The release of First Quarter 2024 Business Employment Dynamics data, scheduled for October 30, 2024, will incorporate annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. The revisions will 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, Alaska, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and 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

26,395 25,502 27,627 21,332 25,198 10.9 10.4 11.0 8.5 10.1

At expanding establishments

22,461 21,182 23,799 17,546 20,973 9.3 8.6 9.5 7.0 8.4

At opening establishments

3,934 4,320 3,828 3,786 4,225 1.6 1.8 1.5 1.5 1.7

Gross job losses

22,355 19,548 22,186 26,439 24,637 9.2 8.0 8.9 10.5 9.9

At contracting establishments

18,378 16,451 17,910 22,315 20,962 7.6 6.7 7.2 8.9 8.4

At closing establishments

3,977 3,097 4,276 4,124 3,675 1.6 1.3 1.7 1.6 1.5

Net employment change (2)

4,040 5,954 5,441 -5,107 561 1.7 2.4 2.1 -2.0 0.2

Construction

Gross job gains

2,885 2,917 2,887 2,331 3,358 18.1 17.1 16.8 13.9 19.2

At expanding establishments

2,485 2,393 2,493 1,814 2,958 15.6 14.0 14.5 10.8 16.9

At opening establishments

400 524 394 517 400 2.5 3.1 2.3 3.1 2.3

Gross job losses

2,514 2,019 2,659 2,588 2,699 15.7 11.8 15.5 15.4 15.4

At contracting establishments

2,098 1,674 2,150 2,065 2,295 13.1 9.8 12.5 12.3 13.1

At closing establishments

416 345 509 523 404 2.6 2.0 3.0 3.1 2.3

Net employment change (2)

371 898 228 -257 659 2.4 5.3 1.3 -1.5 3.8

Retail trade

Gross job gains

2,045 2,839 1,972 2,037 2,029 5.9 8.0 5.6 5.8 5.8

At expanding establishments

1,843 2,521 1,663 1,748 1,858 5.3 7.1 4.7 5.0 5.3

At opening establishments

202 318 309 289 171 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.5

Gross job losses

1,925 1,630 2,618 2,441 2,362 5.5 4.6 7.4 7.0 6.7

At contracting establishments

1,637 1,466 2,346 2,068 2,066 4.7 4.1 6.6 5.9 5.9

At closing establishments

288 164 272 373 296 0.8 0.5 0.8 1.1 0.8

Net employment change (2)

120 1,209 -646 -404 -333 0.4 3.4 -1.8 -1.2 -0.9

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

2,149 2,399 2,654 1,685 2,429 10.5 11.8 12.6 7.9 11.5

At expanding establishments

1,962 2,086 2,343 1,129 2,214 9.6 10.3 11.1 5.3 10.5

At opening establishments

187 313 311 556 215 0.9 1.5 1.5 2.6 1.0

Gross job losses

2,386 1,943 1,359 2,314 2,553 11.7 9.5 6.5 10.9 12.0

At contracting establishments

2,015 1,693 1,023 1,939 2,228 9.9 8.3 4.9 9.1 10.5

At closing establishments

371 250 336 375 325 1.8 1.2 1.6 1.8 1.5

Net employment change (2)

-237 456 1,295 -629 -124 -1.2 2.3 6.1 -3.0 -0.5

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

2,797 2,395 2,897 2,360 3,057 10.2 8.6 10.4 8.3 10.9

At expanding establishments

2,196 1,835 2,365 1,784 2,496 8.0 6.6 8.5 6.3 8.9

At opening establishments

601 560 532 576 561 2.2 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0

Gross job losses

2,360 2,743 2,237 2,730 2,481 8.6 10.0 8.0 9.6 8.8

At contracting establishments

1,823 2,285 1,628 2,158 1,917 6.6 8.3 5.8 7.6 6.8

At closing establishments

537 458 609 572 564 2.0 1.7 2.2 2.0 2.0

Net employment change (2)

437 -348 660 -370 576 1.6 -1.4 2.4 -1.3 2.1

Education and health services

Gross job gains

2,058 2,499 2,465 2,617 2,158 4.1 5.0 4.9 5.2 4.2

At expanding establishments

1,839 2,078 2,152 2,435 1,696 3.7 4.2 4.3 4.8 3.3

At opening establishments

219 421 313 182 462 0.4 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.9

Gross job losses

2,227 1,826 2,002 1,999 2,047 4.5 3.6 4.0 3.9 4.0

At contracting establishments

1,718 1,509 1,712 1,630 1,575 3.5 3.0 3.4 3.2 3.1

At closing establishments

509 317 290 369 472 1.0 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.9

Net employment change (2)

-169 673 463 618 111 -0.4 1.4 0.9 1.3 0.2

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

5,608 5,151 5,902 4,549 5,399 16.0 14.4 16.2 12.4 14.9

At expanding establishments

4,805 3,994 4,737 3,478 4,333 13.7 11.2 13.0 9.5 12.0

At opening establishments

803 1,157 1,165 1,071 1,066 2.3 3.2 3.2 2.9 2.9

Gross job losses

5,107 3,826 5,411 5,779 5,556 14.6 10.7 14.9 15.7 15.3

At contracting establishments

4,048 3,141 3,894 4,590 4,467 11.6 8.8 10.7 12.5 12.3

At closing establishments

1,059 685 1,517 1,189 1,089 3.0 1.9 4.2 3.2 3.0

Net employment change (2)

501 1,325 491 -1,230 -157 1.4 3.7 1.3 -3.3 -0.4

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

1,055 888 1,259 920 959 10.8 8.9 12.2 8.8 9.3

At expanding establishments

867 771 1,145 841 785 8.9 7.7 11.1 8.0 7.6

At opening establishments

188 117 114 79 174 1.9 1.2 1.1 0.8 1.7

Gross job losses

907 774 830 1,281 893 9.3 7.8 8.1 12.2 8.6

At contracting establishments

675 674 667 1,111 785 6.9 6.8 6.5 10.6 7.6

At closing establishments

232 100 163 170 108 2.4 1.0 1.6 1.6 1.0

Net employment change (2)

148 114 429 -361 66 1.5 1.1 4.1 -3.4 0.7

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.
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

Footnotes
(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: Thursday, August 08, 2024