From December 2021 to March 2022, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in the District of Columbia were 30,589, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 24,466, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 6,123 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2022. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 11,995. (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 first quarter of 2022, gross job gains represented 6.0 percent of private-sector employment in the District of Columbia; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 6.6 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 the District of Columbia, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 24,306 in the first quarter of 2022, a decrease of 3,672 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 6,283 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2022, a decrease of 2,082 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2022, gross job losses represented 4.9 percent of private-sector employment in the District of Columbia; nationally, gross job losses 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 the District of Columbia, contracting establishments lost 20,049 jobs in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 501 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 4,417 jobs, a decrease of 383 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all five published industry sectors in the District of Columbia in the first quarter of 2022. Professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 1,929 jobs. This was the result of 10,975 gross job gains and 9,046 gross job losses. Education and health services showed a net gain of 1,822 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 2022 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.

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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, District of Columbia, 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. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Dec. 2021	Mar. 2022	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Dec. 2021	Mar. 2022
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	25,543	33,379	38,398	36,343	30,589	5.5	7.1	7.9	7.3	6.0
At expanding establishments	21,065	25,551	31,016	27,978	24,306	4.5	5.4	6.4	5.6	4.8
At opening establishments	4,478	7,828	7,382	8,365	6,283	1.0	1.7	1.5	1.7	1.2
Gross job losses	24,817	25,450	23,712	24,348	24,466	5.4	5.4	4.9	4.9	4.9
At contracting establishments	20,334	20,954	18,290	19,548	20,049	4.4	4.4	3.8	3.9	4.0
At closing establishments	4,483	4,496	5,422	4,800	4,417	1.0	1.0	1.1	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	726	7,929	14,686	11,995	6,123	0.1	1.7	3.0	2.4	1.1
Financial activities
Gross job gains	867	1,037	1,323	1,303	1,258	3.3	4.0	5.0	5.0	4.8
At expanding establishments	666	812	1,007	920	974	2.5	3.1	3.8	3.5	3.7
At opening establishments	201	225	316	383	284	0.8	0.9	1.2	1.5	1.1
Gross job losses	1,088	1,109	1,187	1,240	1,141	4.1	4.2	4.6	4.7	4.3
At contracting establishments	839	920	938	991	843	3.2	3.5	3.6	3.8	3.2
At closing establishments	249	189	249	249	298	0.9	0.7	1.0	0.9	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-221	-72	136	63	117	-0.8	-0.2	0.4	0.3	0.5
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	8,700	10,044	11,307	12,802	10,975	5.3	6.1	6.8	7.5	6.4
At expanding establishments	7,175	7,712	8,506	9,517	8,811	4.4	4.7	5.1	5.6	5.1
At opening establishments	1,525	2,332	2,801	3,285	2,164	0.9	1.4	1.7	1.9	1.3
Gross job losses	7,997	9,398	8,056	10,132	9,046	4.8	5.7	4.8	5.9	5.3
At contracting establishments	6,479	7,422	6,215	8,188	7,010	3.9	4.5	3.7	4.8	4.1
At closing establishments	1,518	1,976	1,841	1,944	2,036	0.9	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.2
Net employment change (2)	703	646	3,251	2,670	1,929	0.5	0.4	2.0	1.6	1.1
Education and health services
Gross job gains	5,145	3,693	4,895	4,901	4,772	4.7	3.3	4.5	4.5	4.3
At expanding establishments	4,516	2,887	3,781	3,832	3,991	4.1	2.6	3.5	3.5	3.6
At opening establishments	629	806	1,114	1,069	781	0.6	0.7	1.0	1.0	0.7
Gross job losses	5,468	5,182	4,691	3,061	2,950	5.0	4.7	4.4	2.7	2.6
At contracting establishments	5,050	4,530	4,086	2,469	2,563	4.6	4.1	3.8	2.2	2.3
At closing establishments	418	652	605	592	387	0.4	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.3
Net employment change (2)	-323	-1,489	204	1,840	1,822	-0.3	-1.4	0.1	1.8	1.7
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	4,610	11,404	12,726	8,539	4,782	12.2	26.2	23.7	14.2	7.6
At expanding establishments	3,926	8,932	11,103	6,855	3,901	10.4	20.5	20.7	11.4	6.2
At opening establishments	684	2,472	1,623	1,684	881	1.8	5.7	3.0	2.8	1.4
Gross job losses	3,686	3,080	2,422	3,730	4,423	9.7	7.0	4.5	6.2	7.1
At contracting establishments	2,764	2,545	1,893	2,815	3,862	7.3	5.8	3.5	4.7	6.2
At closing establishments	922	535	529	915	561	2.4	1.2	1.0	1.5	0.9
Net employment change (2)	924	8,324	10,304	4,809	359	2.5	19.2	19.2	8.0	0.5
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	2,093	2,882	3,135	2,894	3,321	3.3	4.6	4.9	4.6	5.2
At expanding establishments	1,673	1,960	2,733	2,272	2,224	2.6	3.1	4.3	3.6	3.5
At opening establishments	420	922	402	622	1,097	0.7	1.5	0.6	1.0	1.7
Gross job losses	2,839	2,663	2,952	2,477	2,770	4.5	4.2	4.6	3.9	4.3
At contracting establishments	2,168	2,265	1,665	2,032	2,491	3.4	3.6	2.6	3.2	3.9
At closing establishments	671	398	1,287	445	279	1.1	0.6	2.0	0.7	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-746	219	183	417	551	-1.2	0.4	0.3	0.7	0.9
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. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Dec. 2021	Mar. 2022	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Dec. 2021	Mar. 2022
United States(1)	7.0	6.8	7.3	7.7	6.6	5.5	5.9	6.1	5.4	5.4
Alabama	6.7	6.3	6.7	7.6	6.2	5.8	6.0	6.3	5.2	6.0
Alaska	11.1	9.5	10.5	11.8	10.1	9.4	9.3	9.7	8.7	9.3
Arizona	6.5	6.8	7.1	6.8	6.8	5.4	5.9	5.1	5.0	5.7
Arkansas	6.3	5.8	6.8	7.8	5.9	5.1	5.7	6.7	4.8	5.4
California	7.8	7.8	7.8	8.5	7.4	5.9	6.5	6.1	5.5	5.6
Colorado	8.6	7.8	8.0	7.6	7.5	5.5	6.4	7.0	6.1	6.3
Connecticut	6.5	6.7	6.9	6.9	6.3	5.4	5.8	6.0	5.3	5.3
Delaware	7.0	6.8	7.6	8.2	7.3	6.2	6.5	7.2	6.0	5.6
District of Columbia	5.5	7.1	7.9	7.3	6.0	5.4	5.4	4.9	4.9	4.9
Florida	7.0	7.8	9.0	7.7	6.5	5.8	6.3	6.0	6.0	5.7
Georgia	6.8	7.0	7.5	7.9	6.8	5.7	6.2	6.2	5.5	5.7
Hawaii	8.7	10.7	7.3	7.1	6.1	5.7	5.5	6.3	5.1	5.1
Idaho	8.2	7.2	7.7	8.5	8.5	5.7	7.2	7.3	6.3	6.2
Illinois	7.3	6.2	6.6	7.5	6.2	5.1	5.5	6.0	4.9	5.0
Indiana	6.2	5.7	6.3	7.3	6.0	5.0	6.0	5.7	4.7	4.8
Iowa	6.2	6.0	6.2	6.6	6.5	5.5	6.0	6.1	5.4	5.3
Kansas	6.3	6.2	6.6	7.6	6.2	5.7	6.2	6.5	5.3	5.4
Kentucky	7.4	6.5	6.7	7.4	6.6	5.4	6.4	6.4	4.9	5.0
Louisiana	6.8	6.9	6.9	9.6	6.5	5.9	6.1	8.5	5.8	7.1
Maine	8.9	7.5	7.8	8.2	8.0	6.4	7.7	7.8	6.9	6.1
Maryland	6.7	6.6	7.5	7.3	6.6	5.6	6.5	6.4	5.3	5.9
Massachusetts	6.7	6.9	7.2	7.0	6.6	5.0	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.1
Michigan	8.6	6.3	6.5	7.5	6.3	4.8	5.6	5.9	5.2	5.1
Minnesota	9.4	6.1	6.4	7.3	6.0	4.8	5.6	6.7	5.2	5.4
Mississippi	5.7	6.5	7.6	7.9	6.1	6.5	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.0
Missouri	6.4	6.1	6.7	7.4	6.5	5.2	6.1	6.1	5.5	5.4
Montana	8.9	8.5	8.5	9.9	9.3	6.9	8.1	8.3	7.2	8.5
Nebraska	6.6	6.2	6.3	7.0	6.8	5.8	6.0	6.5	5.8	5.9
Nevada	7.5	9.4	8.9	8.3	6.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	4.8	5.2
New Hampshire	7.5	7.0	7.0	7.6	7.7	5.4	6.3	6.8	6.4	5.4
New Jersey	7.2	7.1	7.5	8.7	7.1	5.9	5.7	6.1	5.4	5.5
New Mexico	8.7	7.4	8.2	8.2	7.4	5.6	6.6	6.5	6.3	6.2
New York	7.0	7.1	7.5	7.7	6.7	5.4	5.7	5.9	5.4	5.2
North Carolina	6.9	6.4	6.8	8.1	6.5	5.4	5.8	6.4	5.0	5.3
North Dakota	8.3	6.9	7.5	7.6	7.5	6.7	6.5	6.7	6.5	6.5
Ohio	6.1	5.9	6.1	7.0	6.1	5.0	5.8	6.0	5.2	4.8
Oklahoma	6.2	6.6	7.1	7.6	6.3	5.9	6.1	6.6	5.9	5.7
Oregon	8.7	6.6	7.1	7.8	7.5	5.6	6.6	6.5	6.1	5.7
Pennsylvania	6.7	5.7	6.3	6.8	6.3	4.7	5.3	5.0	4.8	4.9
Rhode Island	9.9	7.0	7.6	8.5	7.9	5.6	6.4	7.1	6.6	5.7
South Carolina	6.4	6.3	7.3	7.9	6.9	6.0	6.4	6.0	5.3	6.2
South Dakota	7.3	6.8	6.6	7.2	7.7	6.0	5.8	6.4	5.9	6.1
Tennessee	5.8	6.1	6.9	7.3	6.6	5.2	6.0	5.4	5.6	4.7
Texas	6.1	6.8	7.1	7.7	6.3	5.1	5.6	5.5	4.8	5.4
Utah	7.3	7.0	7.4	7.5	7.8	5.7	6.1	7.0	6.0	5.9
Vermont	8.4	8.4	8.0	8.1	8.0	6.2	7.0	7.7	6.9	6.3
Virginia	6.2	6.4	6.9	7.2	6.4	5.4	6.1	6.0	5.3	5.8
Washington	8.0	6.7	7.3	7.8	7.3	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.3	5.0
West Virginia	7.4	6.6	7.1	7.9	7.3	5.9	6.6	6.5	6.0	5.9
Wisconsin	6.0	5.8	5.5	6.6	6.5	4.7	5.3	5.8	5.2	4.8
Wyoming	9.3	8.8	9.1	10.1	8.9	8.2	8.4	8.4	7.8	8.3
Puerto Rico	6.8	7.8	8.5	6.4	7.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.5	4.9
Virgin Islands	7.4	11.0	7.5	8.0	6.9	10.6	5.8	8.5	9.5	10.3
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.