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News Release Information

19-1583-SAN
Wednesday, September 04, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Business Employment Dynamics in Arizona – Fourth Quarter 2018

From September 2018 to December 2018, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Arizona totaled 154,603, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments numbered 125,642, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Richard Holden, the Bureau’s Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations, noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 28,961. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 37,428.

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. 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.)

Arizona’s number of gross job gains decreased by 5,030 during the fourth quarter of 2018, following an increase of 14,775 in the previous quarter. Gross job losses rose by 3,437 in the fourth quarter of 2018, after decreasing by 20,279 in the previous quarter. The net gain of 28,961 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2018 marked the 19th consecutive quarter of net employment gains in Arizona. (See chart 1.)

Gross job gains represented 6.2 percent of private-sector employment in Arizona in the fourth quarter of 2018, while gross job losses accounted for 5.1 percent of employment. Nationally, gross job gains and gross job losses accounted for 6.1 and 5.6 percent of private-sector employment, respectively. (See chart 2.) The rate of gross job gains in Arizona has been above the U.S. rate the past 2 quarters, while the gross job loss rate has been below the national average for the past 2 quarters.

During the fourth quarter of 2018, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 10 of the 11 industry sectors in Arizona. For example, within professional and business services, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 6,907. While 33,027 jobs were gained in opening and expanding establishments in the industry, 26,120 jobs were lost by closing and contracting establishments in the fourth quarter of 2018. In construction, 14,257 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments, while 9,542 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments. (See table 1.)

In contrast, the other services industry sector had a net employment loss, where gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 246.

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 for the First Quarter 2019 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 30, 2019.


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 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 quarterly 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, Arizona, 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.
2017
Mar.
2018
June
2018
Sept
2018
Dec.
2018
Dec.
2017
Mar.
2018
June
2018
Sept
2018
Dec.
2018

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

149,164 143,329 144,858 159,633 154,603 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.6 6.2

At expanding establishments

120,882 117,381 115,520 132,895 126,692 5.1 4.9 4.8 5.5 5.1

At opening establishments

28,282 25,948 29,338 26,738 27,911 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses

126,322 127,123 142,484 122,205 125,642 5.3 5.3 5.9 5.0 5.1

At contracting establishments

99,917 103,480 115,530 100,915 101,064 4.2 4.3 4.8 4.1 4.1

At closing establishments

26,405 23,643 26,954 21,290 24,578 1.1 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.0

Net employment change (2)

22,842 16,206 2,374 37,428 28,961 1.0 0.7 0.1 1.6 1.1

Construction

Gross job gains

13,055 13,143 12,980 12,667 14,257 8.7 8.6 8.3 8.0 8.8

At expanding establishments

11,070 11,494 10,920 10,959 12,286 7.4 7.5 7.0 6.9 7.6

At opening establishments

1,985 1,649 2,060 1,708 1,971 1.3 1.1 1.3 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses

9,352 10,655 11,809 10,605 9,542 6.2 6.9 7.6 6.7 5.8

At contracting establishments

7,709 8,437 9,676 9,052 7,699 5.1 5.5 6.2 5.7 4.7

At closing establishments

1,643 2,218 2,133 1,553 1,843 1.1 1.4 1.4 1.0 1.1

Net employment change (2)

3,703 2,488 1,171 2,062 4,715 2.5 1.7 0.7 1.3 3.0

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

6,583 6,194 6,325 6,321 6,784 3.9 3.7 3.7 3.7 4.0

At expanding establishments

5,859 5,681 5,780 5,508 6,158 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.6

At opening establishments

724 513 545 813 626 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.4

Gross job losses

4,756 4,638 5,537 4,839 5,183 2.8 2.7 3.3 2.8 3.0

At contracting establishments

3,872 3,891 3,913 4,120 3,938 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3

At closing establishments

884 747 1,624 719 1,245 0.5 0.4 1.0 0.4 0.7

Net employment change (2)

1,827 1,556 788 1,482 1,601 1.1 1.0 0.4 0.9 1.0

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

4,314 4,505 4,828 5,984 4,491 4.5 4.7 5.0 6.1 4.5

At expanding establishments

3,489 3,805 4,145 4,790 3,577 3.6 4.0 4.3 4.9 3.6

At opening establishments

825 700 683 1,194 914 0.9 0.7 0.7 1.2 0.9

Gross job losses

4,212 3,959 4,023 4,441 4,346 4.4 4.1 4.2 4.5 4.4

At contracting establishments

3,022 2,985 2,893 3,555 3,326 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.6 3.4

At closing establishments

1,190 974 1,130 886 1,020 1.2 1.0 1.2 0.9 1.0

Net employment change (2)

102 546 805 1,543 145 0.1 0.6 0.8 1.6 0.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains

18,139 16,751 17,885 18,900 17,430 5.5 5.2 5.5 5.8 5.3

At expanding establishments

16,183 15,284 15,394 16,634 15,738 4.9 4.7 4.7 5.1 4.8

At opening establishments

1,956 1,467 2,491 2,266 1,692 0.6 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.5

Gross job losses

16,543 15,667 17,621 15,466 15,565 5.0 4.8 5.4 4.7 4.7

At contracting establishments

14,351 14,062 15,461 13,721 13,492 4.3 4.3 4.7 4.2 4.1

At closing establishments

2,192 1,605 2,160 1,745 2,073 0.7 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.6

Net employment change (2)

1,596 1,084 264 3,434 1,865 0.5 0.4 0.1 1.1 0.6

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

5,664 3,972 5,137 5,549 7,446 6.7 4.2 5.4 5.8 7.5

At expanding establishments

4,756 3,135 4,566 4,909 5,735 5.6 3.3 4.8 5.1 5.8

At opening establishments

908 837 571 640 1,711 1.1 0.9 0.6 0.7 1.7

Gross job losses

3,237 5,150 3,851 3,848 3,019 3.9 5.5 4.1 4.0 3.1

At contracting establishments

2,600 4,620 3,168 3,479 2,360 3.1 4.9 3.4 3.6 2.4

At closing establishments

637 530 683 369 659 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.7

Net employment change (2)

2,427 -1,178 1,286 1,701 4,427 2.8 -1.3 1.3 1.8 4.4

Information

Gross job gains

2,302 2,083 2,518 2,386 3,000 5.1 4.4 5.4 5.1 6.3

At expanding establishments

1,748 1,753 2,208 1,935 2,626 3.9 3.7 4.7 4.1 5.5

At opening establishments

554 330 310 451 374 1.2 0.7 0.7 1.0 0.8

Gross job losses

1,688 2,295 2,734 2,537 1,967 3.7 4.9 5.8 5.4 4.1

At contracting establishments

1,237 1,929 2,388 2,127 1,538 2.7 4.1 5.1 4.5 3.2

At closing establishments

451 366 346 410 429 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9

Net employment change (2)

614 -212 -216 -151 1,033 1.4 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 2.2

Financial activities

Gross job gains

9,393 10,173 10,710 10,960 10,589 4.5 4.8 5.1 5.1 4.9

At expanding establishments

7,252 8,664 8,430 8,978 8,262 3.5 4.1 4.0 4.2 3.8

At opening establishments

2,141 1,509 2,280 1,982 2,327 1.0 0.7 1.1 0.9 1.1

Gross job losses

8,907 8,724 9,267 8,930 9,836 4.2 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.6

At contracting establishments

6,949 6,590 7,340 7,029 7,702 3.3 3.1 3.5 3.3 3.6

At closing establishments

1,958 2,134 1,927 1,901 2,134 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.0

Net employment change (2)

486 1,449 1,443 2,030 753 0.3 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.3

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

31,648 25,908 28,340 32,138 33,027 7.5 6.1 6.7 7.5 7.5

At expanding establishments

26,654 21,676 23,772 27,120 27,342 6.3 5.1 5.6 6.3 6.2

At opening establishments

4,994 4,232 4,568 5,018 5,685 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3

Gross job losses

23,647 26,418 30,073 24,818 26,120 5.5 6.3 7.1 5.8 6.0

At contracting establishments

18,357 21,911 23,785 20,116 20,453 4.3 5.2 5.6 4.7 4.7

At closing establishments

5,290 4,507 6,288 4,702 5,667 1.2 1.1 1.5 1.1 1.3

Net employment change (2)

8,001 -510 -1,733 7,320 6,907 2.0 -0.2 -0.4 1.7 1.5

Education and health services

Gross job gains

18,930 17,474 18,853 23,317 18,977 4.5 4.0 4.3 5.3 4.3

At expanding establishments

15,975 14,958 14,969 20,318 15,867 3.8 3.4 3.4 4.6 3.6

At opening establishments

2,955 2,516 3,884 2,999 3,110 0.7 0.6 0.9 0.7 0.7

Gross job losses

15,249 15,468 18,968 14,800 14,764 3.6 3.6 4.4 3.3 3.3

At contracting establishments

12,322 12,570 16,001 11,979 11,565 2.9 2.9 3.7 2.7 2.6

At closing establishments

2,927 2,898 2,967 2,821 3,199 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.7

Net employment change (2)

3,681 2,006 -115 8,517 4,213 0.9 0.4 -0.1 2.0 1.0

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

22,912 24,867 21,788 26,125 23,655 7.1 7.7 6.7 8.0 7.2

At expanding establishments

17,844 19,444 17,290 21,575 19,217 5.5 6.0 5.3 6.6 5.8

At opening establishments

5,068 5,423 4,498 4,550 4,438 1.6 1.7 1.4 1.4 1.4

Gross job losses

22,639 20,896 23,709 21,645 22,346 7.1 6.5 7.3 6.6 6.8

At contracting establishments

18,561 18,002 19,571 18,226 18,169 5.8 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.5

At closing establishments

4,078 2,894 4,138 3,419 4,177 1.3 0.9 1.3 1.0 1.3

Net employment change (2)

273 3,971 -1,921 4,480 1,309 0.0 1.2 -0.6 1.4 0.4

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

4,533 4,365 5,181 5,230 4,613 6.5 6.2 7.2 7.2 6.2

At expanding establishments

3,517 3,194 3,960 4,285 3,551 5.0 4.5 5.5 5.9 4.8

At opening establishments

1,016 1,171 1,221 945 1,062 1.5 1.7 1.7 1.3 1.4

Gross job losses

3,824 4,196 4,587 4,402 4,859 5.5 5.9 6.4 6.0 6.6

At contracting establishments

2,834 3,176 3,343 3,537 3,759 4.1 4.5 4.7 4.8 5.1

At closing establishments

990 1,020 1,244 865 1,100 1.4 1.4 1.7 1.2 1.5

Net employment change (2)

709 169 594 828 -246 1.0 0.3 0.8 1.2 -0.4

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.
2017
Mar.
2018
June
2018
Sept.
2018
Dec.
2018
Dec.
2017
Mar.
2018
June
2018
Sept.
2018
Dec.
2018

United States(1)

6.4 6.0 6.1 6.0 6.1 5.6 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.6

Alabama

6.0 6.0 5.8 5.9 6.3 5.4 5.3 5.7 5.9 5.3

Alaska

9.7 9.8 10.9 8.9 10.9 10.2 8.8 10.7 10.6 9.7

Arizona

6.3 6.0 6.0 6.6 6.2 5.3 5.3 5.9 5.0 5.1

Arkansas

6.1 5.4 5.0 6.0 5.8 5.1 5.0 5.6 5.5 4.9

California

6.9 6.4 6.7 6.5 6.7 6.0 5.9 6.3 6.2 5.9

Colorado

6.8 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.8 6.1 6.0 6.1 6.8 6.0

Connecticut

5.3 5.1 5.8 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.6 4.9

Delaware

7.0 7.1 6.5 5.6 6.6 6.4 5.9 6.0 6.6 5.7

District of Columbia

5.8 6.0 5.6 5.3 5.6 5.0 4.7 5.5 5.5 5.1

Florida

8.2 6.1 6.5 6.7 6.3 5.3 5.5 6.1 5.7 5.9

Georgia

6.9 6.5 6.2 6.7 6.3 5.6 5.6 6.4 6.2 5.7

Hawaii

5.1 5.0 5.2 5.1 5.7 4.7 4.8 5.5 5.5 5.1

Idaho

7.4 7.9 7.3 6.8 7.4 6.6 5.9 6.7 6.9 6.3

Illinois

6.0 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.3 5.1 5.5 5.7 5.6

Indiana

5.7 5.6 5.4 5.2 5.6 5.0 5.1 5.5 5.4 4.9

Iowa

5.9 5.5 5.7 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.7 5.3

Kansas

5.9 5.2 5.7 5.9 6.1 5.2 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.4

Kentucky

6.1 6.2 5.9 5.7 6.1 5.6 5.9 5.6 6.0 5.5

Louisiana

6.2 6.5 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.0 5.8 6.5 6.2 5.7

Maine

7.2 7.2 8.1 6.0 7.3 6.6 7.0 7.1 7.5 6.3

Maryland

6.2 6.3 6.0 6.3 6.8 6.3 5.7 5.8 6.6 6.4

Massachusetts

5.7 5.4 6.1 5.5 5.8 5.4 5.2 5.4 6.2 5.3

Michigan

5.7 5.7 5.6 5.0 5.7 5.4 4.6 5.1 6.2 5.2

Minnesota

5.8 5.3 5.8 5.4 5.7 5.5 5.0 5.3 5.7 5.4

Mississippi

6.3 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.4 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.2

Missouri

5.7 5.4 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.2 5.7 6.0 5.4

Montana

8.5 7.8 8.0 7.2 9.0 7.4 7.1 7.8 7.9 7.2

Nebraska

6.2 5.6 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.5 5.5 5.8 6.0 5.8

Nevada

6.6 6.5 6.1 6.7 6.6 5.2 5.4 5.8 5.6 5.3

New Hampshire

6.7 6.1 6.7 5.6 6.7 5.9 5.9 6.3 6.8 5.7

New Jersey

6.4 5.6 6.5 6.0 6.3 5.8 5.8 5.7 6.3 5.6

New Mexico

6.5 6.3 6.5 6.4 6.7 6.1 5.5 6.2 6.4 6.0

New York

6.2 6.2 6.3 6.1 6.2 5.8 5.6 5.8 6.4 5.7

North Carolina

6.3 6.2 6.1 5.6 6.7 5.5 5.2 5.5 6.5 5.3

North Dakota

6.8 7.0 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.8 6.3 6.2 6.6 6.2

Ohio

5.7 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.6 5.2 5.0 5.4 5.7 5.2

Oklahoma

6.4 6.1 6.3 6.6 6.4 5.8 5.5 6.5 6.1 6.0

Oregon

6.8 7.8 6.2 6.2 6.7 6.0 5.6 6.2 6.3 5.9

Pennsylvania

5.5 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.0 4.9 5.1 5.2 4.7

Rhode Island

6.6 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.4 6.0 6.1 6.1 6.4 5.7

South Carolina

7.0 5.9 7.5 5.8 7.4 5.3 4.7 6.5 6.5 5.4

South Dakota

6.4 6.4 6.1 5.9 6.3 5.7 5.9 6.1 5.8 5.8

Tennessee

5.9 5.0 5.5 5.8 5.8 4.9 4.8 5.1 5.2 4.9

Texas

6.4 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.1 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.1

Utah

7.0 7.4 6.9 7.3 6.9 5.9 6.0 6.3 6.5 6.1

Vermont

7.4 6.4 7.2 6.9 7.4 6.5 7.0 7.3 7.4 6.8

Virginia

6.3 5.8 6.1 5.6 6.2 5.5 5.2 5.8 6.3 5.5

Washington

6.9 7.2 7.3 6.1 6.5 6.0 5.7 6.3 6.3 5.6

West Virginia

6.3 6.8 6.8 7.0 6.3 6.1 5.8 6.4 6.4 6.5

Wisconsin

5.6 5.6 5.4 5.1 5.4 5.0 4.7 5.5 5.9 4.9

Wyoming

8.7 8.4 8.2 8.2 10.0 8.4 8.0 8.3 8.3 7.8

Puerto Rico

7.1 8.4 8.0 7.2 6.0 11.8 6.8 6.2 5.8 6.7

Virgin Islands

9.2 12.0 12.5 10.9 8.3 28.2 16.8 8.6 6.3 7.8

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

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 04, 2019