From September 2021 to December 2021, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Georgia were 319,390, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 222,404, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 96,986 in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2021. In the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 44,495. (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 fourth quarter of 2021, gross job gains represented 8.1 percent of private-sector employment in Georgia; 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 Georgia, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 255,198 in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 33,811 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 64,192 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 2,842 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2021, gross job losses represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Georgia; 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 Georgia, contracting establishments lost 167,972 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2021, a decrease of 19,658 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 54,432 jobs, an increase of 3,820 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 10 of 11 industry sectors in Georgia in the fourth quarter of 2021. Professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 25,433 jobs. This was the result of 72,882 gross job gains and 47,449 gross job losses. Georgia’s information industry had a net loss of 1,247 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 First Quarter 2022 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

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, Georgia, 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	290,819	251,594	260,499	282,737	319,390	7.9	6.7	6.9	7.4	8.1
At expanding establishments	234,450	191,648	205,118	221,387	255,198	6.4	5.1	5.4	5.8	6.5
At opening establishments	56,369	59,946	55,381	61,350	64,192	1.5	1.6	1.5	1.6	1.6
Gross job losses	191,946	214,348	235,681	238,242	222,404	5.2	5.7	6.2	6.2	5.7
At contracting establishments	146,587	174,099	189,346	187,630	167,972	4.0	4.6	5.0	4.9	4.3
At closing establishments	45,359	40,249	46,335	50,612	54,432	1.2	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.4
Net employment change (2)	98,873	37,246	24,818	44,495	96,986	2.7	1.0	0.7	1.2	2.4
Construction
Gross job gains	14,596	16,289	14,632	16,303	17,078	7.3	8.0	7.2	8.0	8.2
At expanding establishments	11,289	13,359	11,638	12,495	13,545	5.6	6.6	5.7	6.1	6.5
At opening establishments	3,307	2,930	2,994	3,808	3,533	1.7	1.4	1.5	1.9	1.7
Gross job losses	14,118	14,342	15,689	15,174	13,861	7.0	7.1	7.7	7.5	6.7
At contracting establishments	10,293	11,734	11,995	11,784	10,203	5.1	5.8	5.9	5.8	4.9
At closing establishments	3,825	2,608	3,694	3,390	3,658	1.9	1.3	1.8	1.7	1.8
Net employment change (2)	478	1,947	-1,057	1,129	3,217	0.3	0.9	-0.5	0.5	1.5
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	16,831	13,849	13,642	15,622	19,911	4.4	3.6	3.6	4.0	5.0
At expanding establishments	15,071	12,470	11,504	13,602	18,205	3.9	3.2	3.0	3.5	4.6
At opening establishments	1,760	1,379	2,138	2,020	1,706	0.5	0.4	0.6	0.5	0.4
Gross job losses	12,149	11,036	14,275	12,577	10,470	3.2	2.8	3.7	3.2	2.6
At contracting establishments	10,197	9,806	12,413	10,958	8,525	2.7	2.5	3.2	2.8	2.1
At closing establishments	1,952	1,230	1,862	1,619	1,945	0.5	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.5
Net employment change (2)	4,682	2,813	-633	3,045	9,441	1.2	0.8	-0.1	0.8	2.4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	11,306	9,725	10,813	12,525	13,808	5.5	4.7	5.2	6.0	6.4
At expanding establishments	9,257	8,092	8,949	10,225	11,607	4.5	3.9	4.3	4.9	5.4
At opening establishments	2,049	1,633	1,864	2,300	2,201	1.0	0.8	0.9	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	8,095	9,080	8,430	10,407	8,258	3.9	4.4	4.0	4.9	3.9
At contracting establishments	5,449	7,150	6,670	7,631	6,508	2.6	3.5	3.2	3.6	3.1
At closing establishments	2,646	1,930	1,760	2,776	1,750	1.3	0.9	0.8	1.3	0.8
Net employment change (2)	3,211	645	2,383	2,118	5,550	1.6	0.3	1.2	1.1	2.5
Retail trade
Gross job gains	30,657	29,928	31,006	33,365	30,465	6.4	6.1	6.3	6.7	6.0
At expanding establishments	26,473	24,540	27,063	28,517	26,387	5.5	5.0	5.5	5.7	5.2
At opening establishments	4,184	5,388	3,943	4,848	4,078	0.9	1.1	0.8	1.0	0.8
Gross job losses	28,734	26,991	28,987	30,197	28,610	5.9	5.6	5.9	6.0	5.7
At contracting establishments	24,901	22,821	25,083	26,502	24,025	5.1	4.7	5.1	5.3	4.8
At closing establishments	3,833	4,170	3,904	3,695	4,585	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.9
Net employment change (2)	1,923	2,937	2,019	3,168	1,855	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.7	0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	19,933	12,608	11,167	17,248	22,775	9.2	5.6	4.9	7.7	9.7
At expanding establishments	17,154	11,185	9,738	15,712	20,279	7.9	5.0	4.3	7.0	8.6
At opening establishments	2,779	1,423	1,429	1,536	2,496	1.3	0.6	0.6	0.7	1.1
Gross job losses	10,427	11,888	17,322	10,761	8,004	4.8	5.3	7.7	4.9	3.4
At contracting establishments	9,152	10,514	15,975	9,302	6,167	4.2	4.7	7.1	4.2	2.6
At closing establishments	1,275	1,374	1,347	1,459	1,837	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.8
Net employment change (2)	9,506	720	-6,155	6,487	14,771	4.4	0.3	-2.8	2.8	6.3
Information
Gross job gains	9,035	12,663	8,799	9,022	10,805	8.2	10.9	7.2	7.2	8.6
At expanding establishments	8,059	11,771	7,593	7,364	9,525	7.3	10.1	6.2	5.9	7.6
At opening establishments	976	892	1,206	1,658	1,280	0.9	0.8	1.0	1.3	1.0
Gross job losses	7,566	4,142	8,481	8,361	12,052	6.9	3.5	7.0	6.7	9.6
At contracting establishments	5,964	3,422	6,945	7,141	9,389	5.4	2.9	5.7	5.7	7.5
At closing establishments	1,602	720	1,536	1,220	2,663	1.5	0.6	1.3	1.0	2.1
Net employment change (2)	1,469	8,521	318	661	-1,247	1.3	7.4	0.2	0.5	-1.0
Financial activities
Gross job gains	14,808	12,090	14,386	16,246	20,304	6.2	4.9	5.8	6.6	8.0
At expanding establishments	10,792	9,547	11,164	13,110	16,072	4.5	3.9	4.5	5.3	6.3
At opening establishments	4,016	2,543	3,222	3,136	4,232	1.7	1.0	1.3	1.3	1.7
Gross job losses	12,297	10,809	13,958	12,675	14,512	5.1	4.5	5.6	5.1	5.7
At contracting establishments	8,915	7,918	10,431	8,778	9,922	3.7	3.3	4.2	3.5	3.9
At closing establishments	3,382	2,891	3,527	3,897	4,590	1.4	1.2	1.4	1.6	1.8
Net employment change (2)	2,511	1,281	428	3,571	5,792	1.1	0.4	0.2	1.5	2.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	76,177	48,675	54,489	62,611	72,882	10.9	6.8	7.6	8.6	9.7
At expanding establishments	63,122	37,956	43,791	51,504	59,392	9.0	5.3	6.1	7.1	7.9
At opening establishments	13,055	10,719	10,698	11,107	13,490	1.9	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.8
Gross job losses	39,599	51,486	53,262	50,325	47,449	5.6	7.2	7.4	6.9	6.4
At contracting establishments	29,608	42,019	43,352	38,917	34,908	4.2	5.9	6.0	5.3	4.7
At closing establishments	9,991	9,467	9,910	11,408	12,541	1.4	1.3	1.4	1.6	1.7
Net employment change (2)	36,578	-2,811	1,227	12,286	25,433	5.3	-0.4	0.2	1.7	3.3
Education and health services
Gross job gains	31,830	27,782	28,339	31,569	37,233	5.7	4.9	4.9	5.5	6.4
At expanding establishments	26,211	22,517	23,564	24,284	29,078	4.7	4.0	4.1	4.2	5.0
At opening establishments	5,619	5,265	4,775	7,285	8,155	1.0	0.9	0.8	1.3	1.4
Gross job losses	20,417	24,499	26,284	30,870	29,351	3.6	4.3	4.6	5.4	5.0
At contracting establishments	15,312	19,568	20,511	23,062	22,761	2.7	3.4	3.6	4.0	3.9
At closing establishments	5,105	4,931	5,773	7,808	6,590	0.9	0.9	1.0	1.4	1.1
Net employment change (2)	11,413	3,283	2,055	699	7,882	2.1	0.6	0.3	0.1	1.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	47,066	38,958	48,881	43,780	48,124	11.3	9.1	11.1	9.7	10.5
At expanding establishments	36,264	28,262	38,787	33,816	38,605	8.7	6.6	8.8	7.5	8.4
At opening establishments	10,802	10,696	10,094	9,964	9,519	2.6	2.5	2.3	2.2	2.1
Gross job losses	26,443	35,329	33,162	40,905	34,304	6.3	8.2	7.5	9.0	7.5
At contracting establishments	19,605	29,216	26,402	33,942	26,703	4.7	6.8	6.0	7.5	5.8
At closing establishments	6,838	6,113	6,760	6,963	7,601	1.6	1.4	1.5	1.5	1.7
Net employment change (2)	20,623	3,629	15,719	2,875	13,820	5.0	0.9	3.6	0.7	3.0
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	10,902	7,954	9,756	8,791	10,527	10.9	7.8	9.5	8.5	10.0
At expanding establishments	7,921	6,195	7,794	6,853	7,889	7.9	6.1	7.6	6.6	7.5
At opening establishments	2,981	1,759	1,962	1,938	2,638	3.0	1.7	1.9	1.9	2.5
Gross job losses	6,449	9,265	7,403	9,228	8,152	6.5	9.2	7.2	8.9	7.7
At contracting establishments	4,658	7,177	5,139	6,540	5,893	4.7	7.1	5.0	6.3	5.6
At closing establishments	1,791	2,088	2,264	2,688	2,259	1.8	2.1	2.2	2.6	2.1
Net employment change (2)	4,453	-1,311	2,353	-437	2,375	4.4	-1.4	2.3	-0.4	2.3
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.