From June 2021 to September 2021, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in South Carolina were 125,492, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 115,618, 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 9,874 jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2021. During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 3,812. (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 third quarter of 2021, gross job gains represented 7.2 percent of private-sector employment in South Carolina; nationally, gross job gains also accounted for 7.2 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 South Carolina, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 99,150 in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of 9,903 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 26,342 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of 7,017 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the third quarter of 2021, gross job losses represented 6.6 percent of private-sector employment in South Carolina; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 6.2 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 South Carolina, contracting establishments lost 85,577 jobs in the third quarter of 2021, a decrease of 6,324 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 30,041 jobs, an increase of 9,558 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 11 industry sectors in South Carolina in the third quarter of 2021. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 8,111 jobs. This was the result of 29,065 gross job gains and 20,954 gross job losses. The financial activities industry had a net gain of 1,761 jobs, followed by manufacturing with a net gain of 1,746 jobs. Education and health services had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 3,498 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 Fourth Quarter 2021 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 27, 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, South Carolina, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Sept. 2020	Dec. 2020	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Sept. 2020	Dec. 2020	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	146,055	135,839	106,718	108,572	125,492	8.8	8.0	6.2	6.3	7.2
At expanding establishments	124,248	111,161	85,395	89,247	99,150	7.5	6.5	5.0	5.2	5.7
At opening establishments	21,807	24,678	21,323	19,325	26,342	1.3	1.5	1.2	1.1	1.5
Gross job losses	96,810	88,242	104,928	112,384	115,618	5.9	5.2	6.1	6.5	6.6
At contracting establishments	77,332	70,020	89,044	91,901	85,577	4.7	4.1	5.2	5.3	4.9
At closing establishments	19,478	18,222	15,884	20,483	30,041	1.2	1.1	0.9	1.2	1.7
Net employment change (2)	49,245	47,597	1,790	-3,812	9,874	2.9	2.8	0.1	-0.2	0.6
Construction
Gross job gains	7,739	8,069	6,955	7,148	7,599	7.5	7.8	6.7	6.9	7.3
At expanding establishments	5,923	6,500	5,336	5,710	5,850	5.7	6.3	5.1	5.5	5.6
At opening establishments	1,816	1,569	1,619	1,438	1,749	1.8	1.5	1.6	1.4	1.7
Gross job losses	7,576	7,262	6,919	7,233	7,795	7.3	7.0	6.7	7.0	7.5
At contracting establishments	6,016	4,971	5,483	5,613	5,734	5.8	4.8	5.3	5.4	5.5
At closing establishments	1,560	2,291	1,436	1,620	2,061	1.5	2.2	1.4	1.6	2.0
Net employment change (2)	163	807	36	-85	-196	0.2	0.8	0.0	-0.1	-0.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	11,545	9,185	7,780	7,737	9,152	4.8	3.7	3.1	3.1	3.7
At expanding establishments	10,925	8,433	6,771	6,956	7,912	4.5	3.4	2.7	2.8	3.2
At opening establishments	620	752	1,009	781	1,240	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.5
Gross job losses	8,150	6,970	6,758	8,557	7,406	3.3	2.9	2.7	3.4	3.0
At contracting establishments	7,361	6,108	6,274	7,743	6,135	3.0	2.5	2.5	3.1	2.5
At closing establishments	789	862	484	814	1,271	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.5
Net employment change (2)	3,395	2,215	1,022	-820	1,746	1.5	0.8	0.4	-0.3	0.7
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	4,041	4,375	3,794	3,878	4,707	5.7	6.1	5.2	5.3	6.4
At expanding establishments	3,402	3,391	3,159	3,240	3,877	4.8	4.7	4.3	4.4	5.3
At opening establishments	639	984	635	638	830	0.9	1.4	0.9	0.9	1.1
Gross job losses	3,572	2,918	2,974	3,363	4,824	5.0	4.1	4.0	4.5	6.6
At contracting establishments	2,653	2,284	2,285	2,604	3,299	3.7	3.2	3.1	3.5	4.5
At closing establishments	919	634	689	759	1,525	1.3	0.9	0.9	1.0	2.1
Net employment change (2)	469	1,457	820	515	-117	0.7	2.0	1.2	0.8	-0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	19,163	16,014	16,053	15,257	15,784	7.7	6.4	6.4	6.1	6.3
At expanding establishments	17,131	14,053	13,585	13,074	14,067	6.9	5.6	5.4	5.2	5.6
At opening establishments	2,032	1,961	2,468	2,183	1,717	0.8	0.8	1.0	0.9	0.7
Gross job losses	14,197	15,306	13,805	17,875	17,048	5.8	6.1	5.5	7.1	6.8
At contracting establishments	12,552	12,308	11,982	15,723	14,394	5.1	4.9	4.8	6.2	5.7
At closing establishments	1,645	2,998	1,823	2,152	2,654	0.7	1.2	0.7	0.9	1.1
Net employment change (2)	4,966	708	2,248	-2,618	-1,264	1.9	0.3	0.9	-1.0	-0.5
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	8,032	7,941	3,914	4,954	5,212	11.6	10.7	5.1	6.6	6.9
At expanding establishments	7,341	6,769	3,145	4,483	4,330	10.6	9.1	4.1	6.0	5.7
At opening establishments	691	1,172	769	471	882	1.0	1.6	1.0	0.6	1.2
Gross job losses	2,937	2,775	6,493	4,689	4,684	4.2	3.7	8.5	6.2	6.2
At contracting establishments	2,387	2,397	6,006	4,059	3,919	3.4	3.2	7.9	5.4	5.2
At closing establishments	550	378	487	630	765	0.8	0.5	0.6	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	5,095	5,166	-2,579	265	528	7.4	7.0	-3.4	0.4	0.7
Information
Gross job gains	2,404	1,589	1,646	1,984	2,521	9.9	6.4	6.2	7.5	9.1
At expanding establishments	1,972	955	1,256	1,168	1,667	8.1	3.8	4.7	4.4	6.0
At opening establishments	432	634	390	816	854	1.8	2.6	1.5	3.1	3.1
Gross job losses	1,224	1,880	1,650	1,676	1,615	5.0	7.6	6.2	6.2	5.8
At contracting establishments	804	1,216	1,366	1,183	940	3.3	4.9	5.1	4.4	3.4
At closing establishments	420	664	284	493	675	1.7	2.7	1.1	1.8	2.4
Net employment change (2)	1,180	-291	-4	308	906	4.9	-1.2	0.0	1.3	3.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains	6,280	6,272	5,728	5,622	7,899	6.3	6.1	5.5	5.4	7.6
At expanding establishments	4,912	4,408	4,348	4,365	5,938	4.9	4.3	4.2	4.2	5.7
At opening establishments	1,368	1,864	1,380	1,257	1,961	1.4	1.8	1.3	1.2	1.9
Gross job losses	5,318	4,699	4,788	6,017	6,138	5.3	4.6	4.6	5.8	5.9
At contracting establishments	3,507	3,447	3,559	4,517	3,946	3.5	3.4	3.4	4.4	3.8
At closing establishments	1,811	1,252	1,229	1,500	2,192	1.8	1.2	1.2	1.4	2.1
Net employment change (2)	962	1,573	940	-395	1,761	1.0	1.5	0.9	-0.4	1.7
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	35,694	31,872	22,190	21,841	25,036	12.9	11.0	7.6	7.4	8.6
At expanding establishments	30,970	26,278	17,994	17,605	19,459	11.2	9.1	6.2	6.0	6.7
At opening establishments	4,724	5,594	4,196	4,236	5,577	1.7	1.9	1.4	1.4	1.9
Gross job losses	20,762	18,538	23,529	24,384	24,698	7.6	6.4	8.0	8.3	8.5
At contracting establishments	16,437	15,076	19,946	20,313	18,289	6.0	5.2	6.8	6.9	6.3
At closing establishments	4,325	3,462	3,583	4,071	6,409	1.6	1.2	1.2	1.4	2.2
Net employment change (2)	14,932	13,334	-1,339	-2,543	338	5.3	4.6	-0.4	-0.9	0.1
Education and health services
Gross job gains	12,564	15,299	13,011	10,897	11,971	5.5	6.6	5.4	4.6	5.1
At expanding establishments	10,287	11,159	9,594	8,809	9,390	4.5	4.8	4.0	3.7	4.0
At opening establishments	2,277	4,140	3,417	2,088	2,581	1.0	1.8	1.4	0.9	1.1
Gross job losses	10,173	8,211	10,756	11,668	15,469	4.5	3.6	4.5	4.9	6.6
At contracting establishments	7,959	6,612	9,009	9,489	9,348	3.5	2.9	3.8	4.0	4.0
At closing establishments	2,214	1,599	1,747	2,179	6,121	1.0	0.7	0.7	0.9	2.6
Net employment change (2)	2,391	7,088	2,255	-771	-3,498	1.0	3.0	0.9	-0.3	-1.5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	32,556	29,259	20,592	24,012	29,065	14.9	12.7	8.6	10.0	11.9
At expanding establishments	27,265	24,709	16,483	19,954	21,683	12.5	10.7	6.9	8.3	8.9
At opening establishments	5,291	4,550	4,109	4,058	7,382	2.4	2.0	1.7	1.7	3.0
Gross job losses	17,815	15,174	21,339	21,481	20,954	8.1	6.6	9.0	8.9	8.6
At contracting establishments	13,865	12,166	18,566	16,375	16,130	6.3	5.3	7.8	6.8	6.6
At closing establishments	3,950	3,008	2,773	5,106	4,824	1.8	1.3	1.2	2.1	2.0
Net employment change (2)	14,741	14,085	-747	2,531	8,111	6.8	6.1	-0.4	1.1	3.3
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	4,269	4,295	3,643	3,890	4,448	9.1	9.0	7.4	8.0	9.0
At expanding establishments	3,004	3,103	2,649	2,930	3,203	6.4	6.5	5.4	6.0	6.5
At opening establishments	1,265	1,192	994	960	1,245	2.7	2.5	2.0	2.0	2.5
Gross job losses	3,653	3,089	3,699	3,259	3,978	7.7	6.4	7.6	6.7	8.1
At contracting establishments	2,558	2,202	2,960	2,388	2,577	5.4	4.6	6.1	4.9	5.2
At closing establishments	1,095	887	739	871	1,401	2.3	1.8	1.5	1.8	2.9
Net employment change (2)	616	1,206	-56	631	470	1.4	2.6	-0.2	1.3	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)
	Sept. 2020	Dec. 2020	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Sept. 2020	Dec. 2020	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021
United States(1)	9.5	7.4	6.8	6.7	7.2	6.0	5.7	5.4	5.9	6.2
Alabama	7.8	7.6	5.9	6.2	6.6	5.9	5.5	5.9	6.0	6.7
Alaska	12.2	13.4	11.0	9.5	10.4	9.8	7.7	9.4	9.2	9.5
Arizona	7.8	7.3	6.3	6.8	6.9	6.1	5.0	5.5	6.0	6.0
Arkansas	7.6	7.2	5.9	5.5	6.6	5.7	5.2	5.1	5.6	5.9
California	8.9	8.5	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.1	6.1	5.9	6.4	6.3
Colorado	10.1	7.5	8.6	7.8	8.1	6.4	7.2	5.6	6.4	7.0
Connecticut	11.4	6.6	6.3	6.6	6.8	5.1	5.9	5.3	5.9	6.0
Delaware	10.3	6.8	6.8	6.4	7.2	6.4	6.0	6.0	6.4	7.0
District of Columbia	8.2	5.3	5.5	7.0	7.9	5.7	5.5	5.3	5.4	4.8
Florida	9.5	8.0	6.9	7.8	9.2	6.7	6.0	5.8	6.2	6.0
Georgia	9.3	7.9	6.7	6.9	7.4	6.5	5.2	5.7	6.2	6.2
Hawaii	7.5	14.7	8.5	10.7	7.2	12.2	4.6	5.9	5.6	6.6
Idaho	8.4	8.7	8.1	7.2	7.7	6.4	6.1	5.7	7.2	7.3
Illinois	9.7	6.5	7.2	6.0	6.3	5.6	6.1	4.9	5.6	6.0
Indiana	8.3	6.8	6.0	5.7	6.3	5.2	5.0	5.1	6.0	5.8
Iowa	7.5	6.8	6.1	6.0	6.2	5.5	5.1	5.4	6.0	6.0
Kansas	7.9	7.0	6.2	6.2	6.6	5.9	5.9	5.5	6.1	6.6
Kentucky	9.0	7.3	7.3	6.4	6.6	5.1	6.1	5.1	6.5	6.5
Louisiana	9.1	8.7	6.4	6.8	6.9	7.0	5.6	5.9	6.2	8.6
Maine	12.3	8.5	9.0	7.7	7.8	6.0	6.3	6.3	7.8	8.0
Maryland	11.2	7.3	6.3	6.6	7.5	5.5	5.8	5.5	6.6	6.7
Massachusetts	12.4	7.0	6.6	6.9	7.2	5.4	5.5	5.0	5.7	5.9
Michigan	10.9	6.7	8.5	6.2	6.6	4.8	6.9	4.9	5.6	6.1
Minnesota	9.0	6.9	9.2	6.1	6.4	5.4	6.8	4.9	5.5	6.8
Mississippi	8.7	8.0	5.6	6.4	7.5	5.5	4.9	6.6	6.5	6.2
Missouri	8.5	7.1	6.3	6.0	6.7	5.7	5.2	5.3	6.3	6.1
Montana	9.9	9.4	8.8	8.3	8.4	7.2	6.8	6.9	8.1	8.3
Nebraska	8.2	6.8	6.5	6.2	6.2	5.8	5.5	6.2	6.0	6.6
Nevada	12.9	8.8	7.3	9.5	8.9	6.4	5.7	5.5	5.7	5.8
New Hampshire	11.8	7.4	7.4	7.0	7.0	5.3	6.4	5.4	6.4	6.8
New Jersey	15.7	8.1	7.0	7.2	7.4	5.6	5.9	5.6	5.7	6.1
New Mexico	8.5	7.3	8.5	7.1	7.9	6.1	7.5	5.7	6.6	6.3
New York	13.3	7.4	6.9	7.1	7.5	5.9	6.3	5.4	5.7	6.0
North Carolina	8.7	7.9	6.6	6.4	6.8	5.6	5.0	5.4	5.8	6.4
North Dakota	8.9	7.2	7.8	6.9	7.5	6.9	7.1	6.5	6.5	6.7
Ohio	7.8	6.6	6.1	5.9	6.1	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.8	6.0
Oklahoma	7.1	7.9	6.1	6.5	7.1	6.6	5.8	6.1	6.0	7.0
Oregon	9.0	7.4	8.5	6.6	7.0	6.3	6.5	5.6	6.6	6.5
Pennsylvania	10.3	6.2	6.4	5.6	6.2	4.9	5.3	4.6	5.3	5.3
Rhode Island	13.0	7.6	9.8	7.0	7.6	5.3	7.1	5.5	6.4	6.6
South Carolina	8.8	8.0	6.2	6.3	7.2	5.9	5.2	6.1	6.5	6.6
South Dakota	8.6	7.2	7.3	6.8	6.6	5.5	6.2	6.0	5.8	6.5
Tennessee	8.1	7.5	5.6	5.9	6.8	5.5	4.6	5.0	5.8	5.5
Texas	7.3	7.6	5.7	6.7	7.1	6.1	4.8	5.0	5.4	5.4
Utah	9.1	8.1	7.1	6.9	7.3	6.3	5.6	6.1	6.0	6.8
Vermont	12.9	7.6	8.2	8.4	7.9	5.8	8.0	6.1	6.8	7.5
Virginia	10.4	7.0	6.0	6.2	6.8	5.4	5.3	5.4	6.0	6.1
Washington	8.9	7.2	7.9	6.7	7.2	6.3	6.1	5.4	5.8	5.7
West Virginia	8.9	7.4	7.2	6.5	6.7	6.9	6.2	5.8	6.4	6.5
Wisconsin	7.6	6.3	5.8	5.8	5.5	5.1	5.1	4.7	5.4	5.8
Wyoming	10.8	10.0	9.1	8.8	8.9	7.7	7.7	8.3	8.5	8.6
Puerto Rico	11.1	6.6	6.6	7.7	8.3	5.1	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.1
Virgin Islands	7.8	9.9	7.4	10.6	7.4	12.5	5.8	10.8	6.2	8.5
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.