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News Release Information

22-1637-CHI
Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Business Employment Dynamics in Iowa — Fourth Quarter 2021

From September 2021 to December 2021, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Iowa were 84,090, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 66,943, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 17,147 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2021. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 1,757. (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 fourth quarter of 2021, gross job gains represented 6.6 percent of private-sector employment in Iowa; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 7.7 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 Iowa, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 68,588 in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 4,326 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 15,502 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 2,168 jobs from the previous quarter.


Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2021, gross job losses represented 5.2 percent of private-sector employment in Iowa; 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 Iowa, contracting establishments lost 56,374 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2021, a decrease of 5,927 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 10,569 jobs, a decrease of 2,969 jobs from the previous quarter.


Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all 10 industry sectors in Iowa in the fourth quarter of 2021. Professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 3,320 jobs. This was the result of 13,054 gross job gains and 9,734 gross job losses. The transportation and warehousing industry had a net gain of 3,121 jobs. Iowa’s manufacturing industry sector had a net gain of 2,329 jobs followed by the leisure and hospitality industry with a net gain of 2,296.

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 First Quarter 2022 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.

Upcoming Revisions and Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on Business Employment Dynamics

The release of First Quarter 2022 Business Employment Dynamics data will incorporate annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures.

Data collection and processing methods have been impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. More detail can be found at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-business-employment-dynamics.htm.


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 either units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported 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, Iowa, 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.
2020
Mar.
2021
June
2021
Sept.
2021
Dec.
2021
Dec.
2020
Mar.
2021
June
2021
Sept.
2021
Dec.
2021

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

84,795 76,915 75,276 77,596 84,090 6.8 6.1 6.0 6.2 6.6

At expanding establishments

70,729 65,902 63,044 64,262 68,588 5.7 5.2 5.0 5.1 5.4

At opening establishments

14,066 11,013 12,232 13,334 15,502 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses

62,908 68,172 76,158 75,839 66,943 5.1 5.4 6.0 6.0 5.2

At contracting establishments

53,330 57,578 66,008 62,301 56,374 4.3 4.6 5.2 4.9 4.4

At closing establishments

9,578 10,594 10,150 13,538 10,569 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.1 0.8

Net employment change (2)

21,887 8,743 -882 1,757 17,147 1.7 0.7 0.0 0.2 1.4

Construction

Gross job gains

10,495 7,778 8,649 7,985 8,486 13.9 9.9 11.2 10.4 10.7

At expanding establishments

8,681 6,178 7,113 6,206 5,930 11.5 7.9 9.2 8.1 7.5

At opening establishments

1,814 1,600 1,536 1,779 2,556 2.4 2.0 2.0 2.3 3.2

Gross job losses

6,651 8,737 7,535 7,512 7,006 8.8 11.1 9.7 9.8 8.9

At contracting establishments

5,536 7,306 6,249 5,978 5,745 7.3 9.3 8.0 7.8 7.3

At closing establishments

1,115 1,431 1,286 1,534 1,261 1.5 1.8 1.7 2.0 1.6

Net employment change (2)

3,844 -959 1,114 473 1,480 5.1 -1.2 1.5 0.6 1.8

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

8,489 6,375 6,227 6,536 7,545 3.9 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.4

At expanding establishments

7,804 6,070 5,795 6,116 7,028 3.6 2.8 2.7 2.8 3.2

At opening establishments

685 305 432 420 517 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2

Gross job losses

4,254 6,260 7,016 5,661 5,216 2.0 2.9 3.2 2.6 2.4

At contracting establishments

4,022 5,868 6,585 5,372 4,854 1.9 2.7 3.0 2.5 2.2

At closing establishments

232 392 431 289 362 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2

Net employment change (2)

4,235 115 -789 875 2,329 1.9 0.0 -0.3 0.4 1.0

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

3,585 2,531 3,106 2,686 4,016 5.5 3.9 4.8 4.2 6.3

At expanding establishments

3,120 2,259 2,564 2,124 3,326 4.8 3.5 4.0 3.3 5.2

At opening establishments

465 272 542 562 690 0.7 0.4 0.8 0.9 1.1

Gross job losses

2,012 3,210 3,010 3,638 2,295 3.1 5.0 4.6 5.7 3.5

At contracting establishments

1,664 2,657 2,597 2,666 1,812 2.6 4.1 4.0 4.2 2.8

At closing establishments

348 553 413 972 483 0.5 0.9 0.6 1.5 0.7

Net employment change (2)

1,573 -679 96 -952 1,721 2.4 -1.1 0.2 -1.5 2.8

Retail trade

Gross job gains

10,706 10,350 8,627 8,842 9,799 6.3 5.9 4.9 5.1 5.7

At expanding establishments

9,912 9,242 7,711 7,677 8,772 5.8 5.3 4.4 4.4 5.1

At opening establishments

794 1,108 916 1,165 1,027 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.6

Gross job losses

7,794 8,496 10,988 10,363 9,265 4.6 4.9 6.3 6.0 5.4

At contracting establishments

6,668 7,733 10,437 9,375 8,489 3.9 4.5 6.0 5.4 4.9

At closing establishments

1,126 763 551 988 776 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.5

Net employment change (2)

2,912 1,854 -2,361 -1,521 534 1.7 1.0 -1.4 -0.9 0.3

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

5,719 4,003 3,227 4,059 5,606 9.4 6.5 5.3 6.6 8.8

At expanding establishments

5,125 3,586 2,722 3,647 5,093 8.4 5.8 4.5 5.9 8.0

At opening establishments

594 417 505 412 513 1.0 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8

Gross job losses

2,396 4,401 4,014 3,236 2,485 3.9 7.1 6.6 5.3 3.9

At contracting establishments

2,150 4,097 3,533 2,887 2,124 3.5 6.6 5.8 4.7 3.3

At closing establishments

246 304 481 349 361 0.4 0.5 0.8 0.6 0.6

Net employment change (2)

3,323 -398 -787 823 3,121 5.5 -0.6 -1.3 1.3 4.9

Financial activities

Gross job gains

3,797 3,267 4,874 6,673 4,448 3.4 3.0 4.4 6.2 4.1

At expanding establishments

2,890 2,711 3,952 5,743 3,358 2.6 2.5 3.6 5.3 3.1

At opening establishments

907 556 922 930 1,090 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.9 1.0

Gross job losses

4,255 3,306 5,583 6,277 4,265 3.9 3.0 5.2 5.8 3.9

At contracting establishments

3,596 2,639 4,643 5,212 3,629 3.3 2.4 4.3 4.8 3.3

At closing establishments

659 667 940 1,065 636 0.6 0.6 0.9 1.0 0.6

Net employment change (2)

-458 -39 -709 396 183 -0.5 0.0 -0.8 0.4 0.2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

13,046 11,616 11,380 11,066 13,054 9.7 8.5 8.2 8.0 9.2

At expanding establishments

10,098 9,467 9,040 8,751 9,652 7.5 6.9 6.5 6.3 6.8

At opening establishments

2,948 2,149 2,340 2,315 3,402 2.2 1.6 1.7 1.7 2.4

Gross job losses

8,824 9,920 10,927 11,646 9,734 6.5 7.2 7.9 8.4 6.9

At contracting establishments

6,955 7,720 9,035 8,443 7,061 5.1 5.6 6.5 6.1 5.0

At closing establishments

1,869 2,200 1,892 3,203 2,673 1.4 1.6 1.4 2.3 1.9

Net employment change (2)

4,222 1,696 453 -580 3,320 3.2 1.3 0.3 -0.4 2.3

Education and health services

Gross job gains

10,422 9,833 8,334 8,689 10,643 5.0 4.7 4.0 4.2 5.1

At expanding establishments

8,985 8,789 7,266 7,444 8,907 4.3 4.2 3.5 3.6 4.3

At opening establishments

1,437 1,044 1,068 1,245 1,736 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.8

Gross job losses

8,234 8,325 10,443 9,983 9,110 4.0 3.9 5.0 4.8 4.3

At contracting establishments

7,040 7,243 9,589 8,498 7,778 3.4 3.4 4.6 4.1 3.7

At closing establishments

1,194 1,082 854 1,485 1,332 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.6

Net employment change (2)

2,188 1,508 -2,109 -1,294 1,533 1.0 0.8 -1.0 -0.6 0.8

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

12,463 16,099 14,718 14,995 14,334 10.6 13.3 11.7 11.5 10.9

At expanding establishments

9,284 13,667 11,852 11,568 11,833 7.9 11.3 9.4 8.9 9.0

At opening establishments

3,179 2,432 2,866 3,427 2,501 2.7 2.0 2.3 2.6 1.9

Gross job losses

12,302 9,701 10,996 11,960 12,038 10.4 8.1 8.7 9.3 9.2

At contracting establishments

10,530 7,586 8,962 9,670 10,105 8.9 6.3 7.1 7.5 7.7

At closing establishments

1,772 2,115 2,034 2,290 1,933 1.5 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.5

Net employment change (2)

161 6,398 3,722 3,035 2,296 0.2 5.2 3.0 2.2 1.7

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

2,900 2,518 2,891 2,649 2,936 8.0 6.8 7.8 7.2 7.9

At expanding establishments

2,294 1,989 2,446 2,176 2,230 6.3 5.4 6.6 5.9 6.0

At opening establishments

606 529 445 473 706 1.7 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.9

Gross job losses

2,825 2,489 2,240 2,699 2,277 7.7 6.8 6.1 7.3 6.1

At contracting establishments

2,286 1,984 1,754 2,006 1,858 6.2 5.4 4.8 5.4 5.0

At closing establishments

539 505 486 693 419 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.9 1.1

Net employment change (2)

75 29 651 -50 659 0.3 0.0 1.7 -0.1 1.8

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.
2020
Mar.
2021
June
2021
Sept.
2021
Dec.
2021
Dec.
2020
Mar.
2021
June
2021
Sept.
2021
Dec.
2021

United States(1)

7.4 6.8 6.7 7.2 7.7 5.7 5.4 5.9 6.2 5.4

Alabama

7.6 5.9 6.2 6.6 7.6 5.5 5.9 6.0 6.7 5.3

Alaska

13.4 11.0 9.5 10.4 11.9 7.7 9.4 9.2 9.5 8.7

Arizona

7.3 6.3 6.8 6.9 6.8 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.0 4.9

Arkansas

7.2 5.9 5.5 6.6 7.6 5.2 5.1 5.6 5.9 4.5

California

8.5 7.7 7.8 7.8 8.5 6.1 5.9 6.4 6.3 5.5

Colorado

7.5 8.6 7.8 8.1 7.6 7.2 5.6 6.4 7.0 6.1

Connecticut

6.6 6.3 6.6 6.8 6.9 5.9 5.3 5.9 6.0 5.4

Delaware

6.8 6.8 6.4 7.2 8.3 6.0 6.0 6.4 7.0 6.1

District of Columbia

5.3 5.5 7.0 7.9 7.3 5.5 5.3 5.4 4.8 5.0

Florida

8.0 6.9 7.8 9.2 7.7 6.0 5.8 6.2 6.0 6.1

Georgia

7.9 6.7 6.9 7.4 8.1 5.2 5.7 6.2 6.2 5.7

Hawaii

14.7 8.5 10.7 7.2 6.8 4.6 5.9 5.6 6.6 4.8

Idaho

8.7 8.1 7.2 7.7 8.6 6.1 5.7 7.2 7.3 6.3

Illinois

6.5 7.2 6.0 6.3 7.5 6.1 4.9 5.6 6.0 4.9

Indiana

6.8 6.0 5.7 6.3 7.3 5.0 5.1 6.0 5.8 4.7

Iowa

6.8 6.1 6.0 6.2 6.6 5.1 5.4 6.0 6.0 5.2

Kansas

7.0 6.2 6.2 6.6 7.6 5.9 5.5 6.1 6.6 5.3

Kentucky

7.3 7.3 6.4 6.6 7.4 6.1 5.1 6.5 6.5 5.0

Louisiana

8.7 6.4 6.8 6.9 9.7 5.6 5.9 6.2 8.6 5.6

Maine

8.5 9.0 7.7 7.8 8.2 6.3 6.3 7.8 8.0 7.0

Maryland

7.3 6.3 6.6 7.5 7.2 5.8 5.5 6.6 6.7 5.7

Massachusetts

7.0 6.6 6.9 7.2 7.0 5.5 5.0 5.7 5.9 5.7

Michigan

6.7 8.5 6.2 6.6 7.5 6.9 4.9 5.6 6.1 5.3

Minnesota

6.9 9.2 6.1 6.4 7.3 6.8 4.9 5.5 6.8 5.2

Mississippi

8.0 5.6 6.4 7.5 8.0 4.9 6.6 6.5 6.2 5.7

Missouri

7.1 6.3 6.0 6.7 7.4 5.2 5.3 6.3 6.1 5.5

Montana

9.4 8.8 8.3 8.4 10.0 6.8 6.9 8.1 8.3 7.2

Nebraska

6.8 6.5 6.2 6.2 6.7 5.5 6.2 6.0 6.6 5.5

Nevada

8.8 7.3 9.5 8.9 8.2 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.8 4.9

New Hampshire

7.4 7.4 7.0 7.0 7.8 6.4 5.4 6.4 6.8 6.7

New Jersey

8.1 7.0 7.2 7.4 8.8 5.9 5.6 5.7 6.1 5.3

New Mexico

7.3 8.5 7.1 7.9 8.0 7.5 5.7 6.6 6.3 6.3

New York

7.4 6.9 7.1 7.5 7.7 6.3 5.4 5.7 6.0 5.5

North Carolina

7.9 6.6 6.4 6.8 8.1 5.0 5.4 5.8 6.4 5.2

North Dakota

7.2 7.8 6.9 7.5 7.7 7.1 6.5 6.5 6.7 6.5

Ohio

6.6 6.1 5.9 6.1 7.0 5.2 5.0 5.8 6.0 5.2

Oklahoma

7.9 6.1 6.5 7.1 7.4 5.8 6.1 6.0 7.0 6.4

Oregon

7.4 8.5 6.6 7.0 7.7 6.5 5.6 6.6 6.5 6.2

Pennsylvania

6.2 6.4 5.6 6.2 6.8 5.3 4.6 5.3 5.3 4.8

Rhode Island

7.6 9.8 7.0 7.6 8.5 7.1 5.5 6.4 6.6 6.5

South Carolina

8.0 6.2 6.3 7.2 7.9 5.2 6.1 6.5 6.6 5.3

South Dakota

7.2 7.3 6.8 6.6 7.2 6.2 6.0 5.8 6.5 5.9

Tennessee

7.5 5.6 5.9 6.8 7.4 4.6 5.0 5.8 5.5 4.9

Texas

7.6 5.7 6.7 7.1 7.7 4.8 5.0 5.4 5.4 4.7

Utah

8.1 7.1 6.9 7.3 7.5 5.6 6.1 6.0 6.8 5.8

Vermont

7.6 8.2 8.4 7.9 8.1 8.0 6.1 6.8 7.5 6.9

Virginia

7.0 6.0 6.2 6.8 7.1 5.3 5.4 6.0 6.1 5.4

Washington

7.2 7.9 6.7 7.2 7.8 6.1 5.4 5.8 5.7 5.1

West Virginia

7.4 7.2 6.5 6.7 7.8 6.2 5.8 6.4 6.5 5.9

Wisconsin

6.3 5.8 5.8 5.5 6.5 5.1 4.7 5.4 5.8 5.4

Wyoming

10.0 9.1 8.8 8.9 10.1 7.7 8.3 8.5 8.6 7.8

Puerto Rico

6.6 6.6 7.7 8.3 6.4 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.5

Virgin Islands

9.9 7.4 10.6 7.4 8.1 5.8 10.8 6.2 8.5 9.4

Footnotes
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2022