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News Release Information

23-2420-SAN
Friday, November 17, 2023

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

Business Employment Dynamics in Washington — First Quarter 2023

From December 2022 to March 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Washington were 192,039, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 164,600, 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 27,439 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2023. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 18,879. (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 Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 6.4 percent of private-sector employment in Washington; 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 Washington, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 170,451 in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 17,267 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 21,588 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2023, a decrease of 3,359 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in Washington; nationally, gross job losses also 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 Washington, contracting establishments lost 144,543 jobs in the first quarter of 2023, a decrease of 2,041 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 20,057 jobs, an increase of 7,389 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 9 of the 11 industry sectors in Washington in the first quarter of 2023. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 8,757 jobs. This was the result of 32,044 gross job gains and 23,287 gross job losses. Retail trade had a net gain of 5,207 jobs. Washington’s transportation and warehousing industry sector had a net loss of 2,314 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 www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.

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. 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 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 units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.

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 units 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 units 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 units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter and either not reported, or reported with zero employment, in the current quarter.

Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

The full Technical Note for the Business Employment Dynamics program, which includes information on coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the current quarterly news release online at www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.htm.

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

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Washington, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Mar.
2022
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023
Mar.
2022
June
2022
Sept.
2022
Dec.
2022
Mar.
2023

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

212,327 207,139 212,159 178,131 192,039 7.3 7.0 7.2 5.9 6.4

At expanding establishments

177,500 179,245 185,270 153,184 170,451 6.1 6.1 6.3 5.1 5.7

At opening establishments

34,827 27,894 26,889 24,947 21,588 1.2 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7

Gross job losses

155,745 211,698 185,305 159,252 164,600 5.4 7.2 6.3 5.3 5.5

At contracting establishments

136,183 162,171 167,699 146,584 144,543 4.7 5.5 5.7 4.9 4.8

At closing establishments

19,562 49,527 17,606 12,668 20,057 0.7 1.7 0.6 0.4 0.7

Net employment change (2)

56,582 -4,559 26,854 18,879 27,439 1.9 -0.2 0.9 0.6 0.9

Construction

Gross job gains

20,925 19,834 18,651 17,908 20,633 9.5 9.0 8.6 8.1 9.1

At expanding establishments

17,384 17,347 15,813 15,269 18,298 7.9 7.9 7.3 6.9 8.1

At opening establishments

3,541 2,487 2,838 2,639 2,335 1.6 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.0

Gross job losses

17,056 19,313 17,206 16,557 16,787 7.8 8.8 7.9 7.5 7.4

At contracting establishments

15,320 15,346 15,759 15,525 15,112 7.0 7.0 7.2 7.0 6.7

At closing establishments

1,736 3,967 1,447 1,032 1,675 0.8 1.8 0.7 0.5 0.7

Net employment change (2)

3,869 521 1,445 1,351 3,846 1.7 0.2 0.7 0.6 1.7

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

10,412 10,239 12,174 10,399 9,908 4.0 3.9 4.5 3.9 3.6

At expanding establishments

9,415 9,744 11,561 9,816 9,252 3.6 3.7 4.3 3.7 3.4

At opening establishments

997 495 613 583 656 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Gross job losses

8,532 10,105 8,524 8,129 8,810 3.2 3.8 3.2 3.0 3.2

At contracting establishments

8,237 9,024 7,948 7,750 8,135 3.1 3.4 3.0 2.9 3.0

At closing establishments

295 1,081 576 379 675 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.2

Net employment change (2)

1,880 134 3,650 2,270 1,098 0.8 0.1 1.3 0.9 0.4

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

7,083 6,620 7,525 6,791 6,834 5.3 4.9 5.6 5.0 5.0

At expanding establishments

6,016 5,572 6,506 5,810 6,030 4.5 4.1 4.8 4.3 4.4

At opening establishments

1,067 1,048 1,019 981 804 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6

Gross job losses

5,386 7,414 5,532 5,626 5,430 4.0 5.5 4.1 4.1 3.9

At contracting establishments

4,864 5,709 4,691 4,952 4,704 3.6 4.2 3.5 3.6 3.4

At closing establishments

522 1,705 841 674 726 0.4 1.3 0.6 0.5 0.5

Net employment change (2)

1,697 -794 1,993 1,165 1,404 1.3 -0.6 1.5 0.9 1.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains

20,795 15,421 19,145 15,795 18,152 5.3 4.6 5.8 4.8 5.4

At expanding establishments

18,188 13,791 17,213 14,110 16,833 4.6 4.1 5.2 4.3 5.0

At opening establishments

2,607 1,630 1,932 1,685 1,319 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.4

Gross job losses

13,566 23,066 18,842 17,038 12,945 3.4 6.8 5.7 5.1 3.9

At contracting establishments

12,391 20,958 17,183 15,890 11,613 3.1 6.2 5.2 4.8 3.5

At closing establishments

1,175 2,108 1,659 1,148 1,332 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.4

Net employment change (2)

7,229 -7,645 303 -1,243 5,207 1.9 -2.2 0.1 -0.3 1.5

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

8,070 7,225 7,354 9,187 6,576 7.0 5.8 5.9 7.2 5.1

At expanding establishments

7,018 6,403 6,705 8,195 5,809 6.1 5.1 5.4 6.4 4.5

At opening establishments

1,052 822 649 992 767 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.6

Gross job losses

8,344 8,512 6,643 5,611 8,890 7.2 6.8 5.3 4.4 6.9

At contracting establishments

7,633 7,529 6,225 5,086 7,842 6.6 6.0 5.0 4.0 6.1

At closing establishments

711 983 418 525 1,048 0.6 0.8 0.3 0.4 0.8

Net employment change (2)

-274 -1,287 711 3,576 -2,314 -0.2 -1.0 0.6 2.8 -1.8

Information

Gross job gains

9,155 9,205 10,664 4,707 6,832 5.5 5.5 6.2 2.7 3.9

At expanding establishments

7,959 8,193 9,431 3,816 5,917 4.8 4.9 5.5 2.2 3.4

At opening establishments

1,196 1,012 1,233 891 915 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.5

Gross job losses

5,910 4,813 7,785 6,358 8,500 3.6 2.8 4.5 3.7 4.9

At contracting establishments

5,520 4,108 7,048 5,923 7,807 3.4 2.4 4.1 3.4 4.5

At closing establishments

390 705 737 435 693 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4

Net employment change (2)

3,245 4,392 2,879 -1,651 -1,668 1.9 2.7 1.7 -1.0 -1.0

Financial activities

Gross job gains

9,621 8,118 7,992 7,792 7,657 6.2 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.0

At expanding establishments

7,717 6,594 6,468 6,325 6,454 5.0 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.2

At opening establishments

1,904 1,524 1,524 1,467 1,203 1.2 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.8

Gross job losses

7,391 9,532 7,831 8,007 7,127 4.8 6.1 5.1 5.2 4.6

At contracting establishments

6,200 7,218 6,938 7,050 6,153 4.0 4.6 4.5 4.6 4.0

At closing establishments

1,191 2,314 893 957 974 0.8 1.5 0.6 0.6 0.6

Net employment change (2)

2,230 -1,414 161 -215 530 1.4 -0.9 0.1 -0.2 0.4

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

36,950 36,674 31,566 29,819 30,689 7.8 6.8 5.9 5.5 5.7

At expanding establishments

29,819 30,012 25,706 24,328 25,904 6.3 5.6 4.8 4.5 4.8

At opening establishments

7,131 6,662 5,860 5,491 4,785 1.5 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9

Gross job losses

21,264 29,948 28,218 26,943 29,794 4.5 5.5 5.2 5.0 5.5

At contracting establishments

18,884 23,831 25,544 24,352 26,137 4.0 4.4 4.7 4.5 4.8

At closing establishments

2,380 6,117 2,674 2,591 3,657 0.5 1.1 0.5 0.5 0.7

Net employment change (2)

15,686 6,726 3,348 2,876 895 3.3 1.3 0.7 0.5 0.2

Education and health services

Gross job gains

28,034 43,257 38,854 20,075 21,598 5.8 8.8 7.8 4.1 4.3

At expanding establishments

20,738 37,358 35,825 17,311 18,957 4.3 7.6 7.2 3.5 3.8

At opening establishments

7,296 5,899 3,029 2,764 2,641 1.5 1.2 0.6 0.6 0.5

Gross job losses

22,386 39,471 38,755 17,532 17,548 4.6 8.1 7.8 3.6 3.5

At contracting establishments

17,517 17,109 35,618 15,695 14,658 3.6 3.5 7.2 3.2 2.9

At closing establishments

4,869 22,362 3,137 1,837 2,890 1.0 4.6 0.6 0.4 0.6

Net employment change (2)

5,648 3,786 99 2,543 4,050 1.2 0.7 0.0 0.5 0.8

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

31,977 28,910 29,818 29,318 32,044 10.2 9.0 9.2 8.9 9.5

At expanding establishments

26,683 24,718 25,297 24,297 27,893 8.5 7.7 7.8 7.4 8.3

At opening establishments

5,294 4,192 4,521 5,021 4,151 1.7 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.2

Gross job losses

22,021 25,198 27,119 22,124 23,287 7.1 7.9 8.4 6.8 6.9

At contracting establishments

18,673 21,256 23,528 20,315 19,377 6.0 6.7 7.3 6.2 5.7

At closing establishments

3,348 3,942 3,591 1,809 3,910 1.1 1.2 1.1 0.6 1.2

Net employment change (2)

9,956 3,712 2,699 7,194 8,757 3.1 1.1 0.8 2.1 2.6

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

7,649 7,007 7,015 7,036 7,474 8.6 7.7 7.7 7.6 7.8

At expanding establishments

6,348 5,908 5,959 5,961 6,415 7.1 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.7

At opening establishments

1,301 1,099 1,056 1,075 1,059 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1

Gross job losses

5,031 6,252 5,850 5,542 5,335 5.7 6.9 6.4 5.9 5.6

At contracting establishments

4,085 4,898 4,965 4,886 4,578 4.6 5.4 5.4 5.2 4.8

At closing establishments

946 1,354 885 656 757 1.1 1.5 1.0 0.7 0.8

Net employment change (2)

2,618 755 1,165 1,494 2,139 2.9 0.8 1.3 1.7 2.2

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

United States(1)

6.7 6.6 6.9 6.3 6.2 5.5 6.2 5.9 5.9 5.4

Alabama

6.4 6.6 6.9 6.6 6.4 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.1 5.5

Alaska

10.2 10.2 8.5 10.9 10.4 9.5 9.0 10.4 9.2 8.0

Arizona

6.7 6.5 7.1 6.6 5.9 5.7 6.3 5.5 6.0 5.4

Arkansas

6.3 6.1 6.5 6.2 5.8 5.6 5.5 5.2 5.2 5.0

California

7.3 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.1 5.7 6.7 6.2 6.6 6.4

Colorado

7.5 7.3 7.0 7.6 7.2 6.3 6.6 7.1 6.9 6.5

Connecticut

6.3 6.4 6.3 5.9 6.1 5.3 6.3 6.2 5.9 5.3

Delaware

7.3 6.5 8.6 7.0 6.7 5.5 6.9 6.2 7.5 5.2

District of Columbia

6.1 6.1 7.2 5.6 5.9 5.1 6.3 5.0 5.5 4.8

Florida

6.5 7.5 7.8 6.2 6.3 5.7 6.3 5.6 6.0 5.6

Georgia

7.7 6.8 7.1 6.7 6.2 5.8 6.2 5.9 5.9 5.8

Hawaii

6.3 6.0 6.4 6.0 5.5 5.1 5.5 4.9 4.9 5.0

Idaho

8.6 7.1 7.8 8.4 7.9 6.2 8.4 7.5 6.9 7.5

Illinois

6.3 5.9 5.8 5.4 5.8 5.2 5.5 5.3 5.1 4.8

Indiana

5.9 5.7 6.4 5.7 5.5 4.9 5.9 5.5 5.2 5.0

Iowa

6.5 5.9 5.9 6.4 6.0 5.4 6.2 5.9 6.2 5.4

Kansas

6.4 6.5 7.4 6.3 6.1 5.5 7.1 5.5 5.6 5.4

Kentucky

6.7 6.3 6.6 6.0 6.1 5.7 6.5 5.4 5.3 4.9

Louisiana

6.7 6.7 6.9 6.1 6.3 6.3 6.4 5.7 6.2 5.6

Maine

8.5 7.2 7.6 7.4 7.7 6.3 8.0 7.3 6.8 6.2

Maryland

6.7 6.5 7.4 6.6 6.8 6.9 6.9 6.0 6.9 5.6

Massachusetts

6.8 6.1 6.2 5.5 5.8 5.1 5.5 6.1 5.8 4.7

Michigan

6.3 6.0 5.7 5.9 5.7 4.9 5.9 5.8 5.2 4.9

Minnesota

6.2 6.4 6.5 5.9 5.7 5.4 6.4 5.9 5.8 4.9

Mississippi

6.3 6.6 7.2 6.8 6.1 6.2 6.7 6.3 6.2 5.7

Missouri

6.5 6.2 6.8 6.1 6.5 5.4 5.9 6.3 5.8 5.1

Montana

9.3 8.2 8.7 9.2 8.7 7.6 9.1 7.8 7.8 7.1

Nebraska

6.8 6.4 7.1 6.0 6.3 5.9 6.5 6.1 5.7 5.1

Nevada

6.8 6.9 7.4 6.4 6.2 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.1 5.7

New Hampshire

7.7 6.7 6.9 6.7 7.0 5.6 6.7 6.7 6.0 5.9

New Jersey

7.1 6.6 6.8 6.8 6.1 5.7 6.2 6.4 5.9 5.7

New Mexico

7.6 6.7 8.0 6.7 6.8 6.2 7.1 5.9 6.2 5.9

New York

6.8 7.1 6.6 5.9 6.5 5.4 6.1 5.9 6.0 5.1

North Carolina

6.6 6.4 6.7 6.6 6.4 5.4 6.1 5.8 5.7 5.3

North Dakota

7.5 6.9 7.6 6.4 7.6 6.4 6.5 6.3 6.7 5.6

Ohio

6.4 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.8 4.9 5.9 5.5 5.7 4.9

Oklahoma

6.4 6.7 7.4 6.6 6.3 6.0 6.1 5.6 5.9 5.3

Oregon

7.6 6.0 6.7 6.5 7.3 5.6 7.0 6.0 6.2 6.1

Pennsylvania

6.3 5.5 6.1 5.5 5.5 4.8 5.6 5.1 5.2 4.6

Rhode Island

7.9 7.1 6.7 6.9 7.5 6.0 6.7 7.3 6.4 5.9

South Carolina

7.1 6.6 7.3 6.9 6.8 6.1 6.2 5.6 6.2 5.8

South Dakota

7.7 6.6 7.3 6.5 7.2 6.1 6.5 6.4 6.5 5.9

Tennessee

6.6 6.2 7.0 5.8 5.9 4.8 6.2 5.5 5.6 5.0

Texas

6.3 6.6 7.2 6.2 5.9 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.0

Utah

7.9 7.0 7.5 6.9 7.0 5.9 6.6 6.8 6.6 6.2

Vermont

8.8 7.5 7.2 7.8 8.2 6.4 7.6 7.8 7.0 6.0

Virginia

6.6 6.5 7.5 6.2 6.2 5.8 6.7 6.1 5.8 5.2

Washington

7.3 7.0 7.2 5.9 6.4 5.4 7.2 6.3 5.3 5.5

West Virginia

7.4 6.7 8.1 6.6 7.1 6.1 8.0 6.9 6.4 5.3

Wisconsin

6.6 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 4.8 6.0 5.8 5.5 4.9

Wyoming

9.2 8.4 9.2 9.2 8.9 8.3 9.2 8.4 7.9 7.8

Puerto Rico

7.4 6.7 6.2 6.6 5.1 5.0 6.1 5.3 6.1 5.7

Virgin Islands

7.4 8.0 8.5 5.9 7.5 8.8 9.2 5.5 4.7 6.5

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: Friday, November 17, 2023