From September 2016 to December 2016 gross job losses in Iowa totaled 76,129, while gross job gains numbered 73,751, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 2,378. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 4,081.

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. 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 job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.).

The 76,129 gross job losses in the three-month period ended in December 2016 were more than the 74,162 gross job losses in the previous three-month period. Iowa’s gross job losses have trended up since March 2012, when losses were 63,514. Gross job gains in December 2016 totaled 73,751 in the state, a decrease from 78,243 in the previous quarter. Iowa’s gross job gains have been above 70,000 since June 2011. (See chart 1.)

Gross job losses accounted for 5.9 percent of private sector employment in Iowa in the quarter ended December 2016 compared to the national gross job losses rate of 5.8 percent. Since the series began in 1992, Iowa’s rate of gross job losses has been generally below the national rate. Gross job gains represented 5.7 percent of private sector employment in Iowa in the quarter ended December 2016, while nationally gross job gains accounted for 6.2 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) Since the series inception, the rate of gross job gains in Iowa has been generally below the U.S. rate each quarter.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 5 of the 10 industry sectors in Iowa. For example, within construction, gross job losses exceeded gross jobs gains by 2,111. While more than 9,000 jobs were created by opening and expanding establishments in the industry, more than 11,000 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments in the three-months ended in December 2016. Professional and business services and other services were the only other industry sectors that had net employment losses of more than 1,000 jobs. (See table 1.)

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in five industry sectors. Within transportation and warehousing, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,330. Two other industries—leisure and hospitality and financial activities—each had net employment gains of more than 500 jobs.

Iowa was among the seven states in the West North Central Division. Five states in the division, including Iowa, had gross job losses that exceeded gross job gains. (See table A.) Iowa was among the five states in the division that had rates of gross job losses above the 5.8-percent national rate. Minnesota had a rate of gross job losses that was equal to the national rate and Kansas had a rate of gross job losses that was lower than the national rate. Five states in the division, including Iowa, had rates of gross job gains that were lower than the national rate. Missouri and North Dakota had rates of gross job gains that were greater than the 6.2-percent national rate.

Table A. Private sector gross job gains and losses for the United States, West North Central Division, and West North Central states, December 2016, seasonally adjusted

Area	Gross job gains		Gross job losses		Net change	Net change as a percent of total employment
	Total	As a percent of total employment	Total	As a percent of total employment
United States	7,465,000	6.2	7,089,000	5.8	376,000	0.4
West North Central (1)	553,559	—	565,496	—	-11,937	—
Iowa	73,751	5.7	76,129	5.9	-2,378	-0.2
Kansas	66,916	5.9	64,620	5.7	2,296	0.2
Minnesota	141,588	5.8	140,856	5.8	732	0.0
Missouri	181,050	7.7	186,321	8.0	-5,271	-0.3
Nebraska	46,186	5.7	49,758	6.2	-3,572	-0.5
North Dakota	23,040	6.7	26,586	7.8	-3,546	-1.1
South Dakota	21,028	6.0	21,226	6.1	-198	-0.1
Footnotes: (1) Data were calculated for this release using published gross job gains and gross job losses for states located in the West North Central Census Division.
Note: Dash indicates data not available.

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 release for first quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 8, 2017.

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 from existing QCEW records. The QCEW reports are sent by the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) to BLS and form the basis of the Bureau’s QCEW program and establishment universe sampling frame. These reports are also used to produce the QCEW data on total employment and wages. Other important Bureau uses of the QCEW reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, net changes, and earnings by detailed industry.

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 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, Iowa, 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. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept 2016	Dec. 2016	Dec. 2015	Mar. 2016	June 2016	Sept 2016	Dec. 2016
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	77,648	77,795	72,903	78,243	73,751	6.0	6.0	5.6	6.0	5.7
At expanding establishments	64,239	65,128	60,904	65,311	60,581	5.0	5.0	4.7	5.0	4.7
At opening establishments	13,409	12,667	11,999	12,932	13,170	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	73,121	69,140	79,614	74,162	76,129	5.7	5.3	6.1	5.8	5.9
At contracting establishments	61,411	58,764	67,902	63,031	65,911	4.8	4.5	5.2	4.9	5.1
At closing establishments	11,710	10,376	11,712	11,131	10,218	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	4,527	8,655	-6,711	4,081	-2,378	0.3	0.7	-0.5	0.2	-0.2
Construction
Gross job gains	9,708	13,051	8,049	12,866	9,024	12.4	15.7	9.8	16.1	11.3
At expanding establishments	7,925	10,952	6,750	10,778	7,341	10.1	13.2	8.2	13.5	9.2
At opening establishments	1,783	2,099	1,299	2,088	1,683	2.3	2.5	1.6	2.6	2.1
Gross job losses	7,712	8,375	11,788	10,019	11,135	9.9	10.2	14.4	12.6	13.9
At contracting establishments	6,252	7,073	10,253	8,852	9,659	8.0	8.6	12.5	11.1	12.1
At closing establishments	1,460	1,302	1,535	1,167	1,476	1.9	1.6	1.9	1.5	1.8
Net employment change (2)	1,996	4,676	-3,739	2,847	-2,111	2.5	5.5	-4.6	3.5	-2.6
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	6,464	5,623	5,743	5,182	6,296	3.0	2.6	2.6	2.5	3.0
At expanding establishments	5,626	5,126	5,468	4,830	5,735	2.6	2.4	2.5	2.3	2.7
At opening establishments	838	497	275	352	561	0.4	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.3
Gross job losses	6,367	5,644	6,420	6,544	5,983	2.9	2.6	3.0	3.0	2.8
At contracting establishments	6,078	5,328	6,014	6,021	5,638	2.8	2.5	2.8	2.8	2.6
At closing establishments	289	316	406	523	345	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2
Net employment change (2)	97	-21	-677	-1,362	313	0.1	0.0	-0.4	-0.5	0.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,267	3,363	2,924	2,805	3,124	4.9	5.0	4.4	4.2	4.7
At expanding establishments	2,788	2,903	2,519	2,378	2,631	4.2	4.3	3.8	3.6	4.0
At opening establishments	479	460	405	427	493	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.7
Gross job losses	2,865	2,998	3,629	3,185	2,833	4.3	4.5	5.4	4.8	4.3
At contracting establishments	2,251	2,596	3,160	2,744	2,356	3.4	3.9	4.7	4.1	3.6
At closing establishments	614	402	469	441	477	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	402	365	-705	-380	291	0.6	0.5	-1.0	-0.6	0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	9,662	10,478	10,047	9,896	9,159	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.4	5.0
At expanding establishments	8,702	9,270	8,983	8,805	8,080	4.8	5.1	4.9	4.8	4.4
At opening establishments	960	1,208	1,064	1,091	1,079	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.6
Gross job losses	9,283	8,481	10,320	10,238	9,165	5.2	4.7	5.7	5.7	5.1
At contracting establishments	8,393	7,409	9,308	9,231	8,292	4.7	4.1	5.1	5.1	4.6
At closing establishments	890	1,072	1,012	1,007	873	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5
Net employment change (2)	379	1,997	-273	-342	-6	0.1	1.1	-0.2	-0.3	-0.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	3,630	2,251	2,240	2,954	4,116	6.3	3.9	4.0	5.3	7.1
At expanding establishments	3,068	1,887	1,953	2,626	3,520	5.3	3.3	3.5	4.7	6.1
At opening establishments	562	364	287	328	596	1.0	0.6	0.5	0.6	1.0
Gross job losses	2,683	3,430	2,514	2,501	2,786	4.7	6.0	4.5	4.4	4.8
At contracting establishments	2,281	3,015	2,198	2,215	2,438	4.0	5.3	3.9	3.9	4.2
At closing establishments	402	415	316	286	348	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.6
Net employment change (2)	947	-1,179	-274	453	1,330	1.6	-2.1	-0.5	0.9	2.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,374	3,743	4,791	4,079	3,536	4.1	3.5	4.5	3.8	3.3
At expanding establishments	3,469	3,178	3,332	3,482	2,907	3.3	3.0	3.1	3.2	2.7
At opening establishments	905	565	1,459	597	629	0.8	0.5	1.4	0.6	0.6
Gross job losses	3,578	3,353	4,052	3,661	2,975	3.3	3.1	3.8	3.4	2.7
At contracting establishments	3,031	2,621	3,127	2,824	2,597	2.8	2.4	2.9	2.6	2.4
At closing establishments	547	732	925	837	378	0.5	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.3
Net employment change (2)	796	390	739	418	561	0.8	0.4	0.7	0.4	0.6
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	10,765	10,381	11,108	12,233	10,148	7.8	7.6	8.1	8.8	7.3
At expanding establishments	8,457	8,349	9,233	9,555	8,122	6.1	6.1	6.7	6.9	5.8
At opening establishments	2,308	2,032	1,875	2,678	2,026	1.7	1.5	1.4	1.9	1.5
Gross job losses	12,701	10,610	10,543	10,471	11,577	9.2	7.7	7.6	7.6	8.3
At contracting establishments	9,510	8,941	8,289	8,138	9,632	6.9	6.5	6.0	5.9	6.9
At closing establishments	3,191	1,669	2,254	2,333	1,945	2.3	1.2	1.6	1.7	1.4
Net employment change (2)	-1,936	-229	565	1,762	-1,429	-1.4	-0.1	0.5	1.2	-1.0
Education and health services
Gross job gains	9,572	8,546	8,617	10,043	9,122	4.4	3.9	4.0	4.6	4.1
At expanding establishments	8,002	7,398	7,205	8,942	7,921	3.7	3.4	3.3	4.1	3.6
At opening establishments	1,570	1,148	1,412	1,101	1,201	0.7	0.5	0.7	0.5	0.5
Gross job losses	9,036	7,949	9,687	8,290	9,131	4.2	3.7	4.5	3.8	4.2
At contracting establishments	7,669	6,809	8,602	7,212	7,773	3.6	3.2	4.0	3.3	3.6
At closing establishments	1,367	1,140	1,085	1,078	1,358	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.6
Net employment change (2)	536	597	-1,070	1,753	-9	0.2	0.2	-0.5	0.8	-0.1
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	13,510	14,165	13,445	11,907	13,683	9.7	9.9	9.4	8.4	9.6
At expanding establishments	10,848	10,901	10,559	8,836	9,973	7.8	7.6	7.4	6.2	7.0
At opening establishments	2,662	3,264	2,886	3,071	3,710	1.9	2.3	2.0	2.2	2.6
Gross job losses	12,517	12,076	14,595	13,858	12,921	9.0	8.5	10.2	9.8	9.2
At contracting establishments	10,485	9,810	11,955	11,427	10,858	7.5	6.9	8.4	8.1	7.7
At closing establishments	2,032	2,266	2,640	2,431	2,063	1.5	1.6	1.8	1.7	1.5
Net employment change (2)	993	2,089	-1,150	-1,951	762	0.7	1.4	-0.8	-1.4	0.4
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	3,162	2,885	2,789	2,754	2,535	7.6	7.2	6.9	6.9	6.4
At expanding establishments	2,656	2,492	2,312	2,371	2,091	6.4	6.2	5.7	5.9	5.3
At opening establishments	506	393	477	383	444	1.2	1.0	1.2	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	2,641	2,759	2,950	2,658	3,763	6.3	6.8	7.3	6.6	9.4
At contracting establishments	2,210	2,201	2,437	2,179	3,320	5.3	5.4	6.0	5.4	8.3
At closing establishments	431	558	513	479	443	1.0	1.4	1.3	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	521	126	-161	96	-1,228	1.3	0.4	-0.4	0.3	-3.0
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.