From December 2021 to March 2022, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Washington were 211,204, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 147,789, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 63,415 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2022. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 71,063. (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 first quarter of 2022, gross job gains represented 7.3 percent of private-sector employment in Washington; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 6.6 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 Washington, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 177,319 in the first quarter of 2022, a decrease of 7,344 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 33,885 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2022, a decrease of 3,208 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2022, gross job losses represented 5.0 percent of private-sector employment in Washington; 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 Washington, contracting establishments lost 135,460 jobs in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 2,372 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 12,329 jobs, a decrease of 5,276 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 10 of the 11 industry sectors in Washington in the first quarter of 2022. Professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 15,829 jobs. This was the result of 36,785 gross job gains and 20,956 gross job losses. Leisure and hospitality had a net gain of 11,816 jobs, followed by education and health services (8,417) and retail trade (7,324). Washington’s transportation and warehousing industry sector had a net loss of 238 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 Second Quarter 2022 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.

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 units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter and either not reported, or reported with zero employment, 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 sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Washington, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Dec. 2021	Mar. 2022	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Dec. 2021	Mar. 2022
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	219,403	185,694	203,176	221,756	211,204	8.0	6.7	7.3	7.8	7.3
At expanding establishments	193,815	160,266	175,570	184,663	177,319	7.1	5.8	6.3	6.5	6.1
At opening establishments	25,588	25,428	27,606	37,093	33,885	0.9	0.9	1.0	1.3	1.2
Gross job losses	156,100	165,356	164,099	150,693	147,789	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.3	5.0
At contracting establishments	135,073	145,304	143,061	133,088	135,460	4.9	5.2	5.1	4.7	4.6
At closing establishments	21,027	20,052	21,038	17,605	12,329	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.6	0.4
Net employment change (2)	63,303	20,338	39,077	71,063	63,415	2.3	0.8	1.4	2.5	2.3
Construction
Gross job gains	20,357	18,147	17,864	21,395	20,968	9.6	8.6	8.7	10.1	9.6
At expanding establishments	17,568	15,439	15,265	17,954	17,238	8.3	7.3	7.4	8.5	7.9
At opening establishments	2,789	2,708	2,599	3,441	3,730	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.6	1.7
Gross job losses	16,423	19,377	18,888	15,376	16,154	7.8	9.2	9.1	7.2	7.4
At contracting establishments	14,136	17,458	16,413	14,015	15,071	6.7	8.3	7.9	6.6	6.9
At closing establishments	2,287	1,919	2,475	1,361	1,083	1.1	0.9	1.2	0.6	0.5
Net employment change (2)	3,934	-1,230	-1,024	6,019	4,814	1.8	-0.6	-0.4	2.9	2.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	9,345	9,804	10,308	12,715	10,314	3.7	3.8	4.0	4.9	4.0
At expanding establishments	8,650	9,026	9,684	11,858	9,370	3.4	3.5	3.8	4.6	3.6
At opening establishments	695	778	624	857	944	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.4
Gross job losses	9,994	11,547	9,590	7,731	8,326	3.9	4.5	3.7	2.9	3.2
At contracting establishments	9,425	11,003	8,800	7,094	8,092	3.7	4.3	3.4	2.7	3.1
At closing establishments	569	544	790	637	234	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.1
Net employment change (2)	-649	-1,743	718	4,984	1,988	-0.2	-0.7	0.3	2.0	0.8
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	6,272	5,892	6,897	8,658	7,066	4.9	4.6	5.4	6.7	5.3
At expanding establishments	5,481	5,071	5,931	7,666	6,039	4.3	4.0	4.6	5.9	4.5
At opening establishments	791	821	966	992	1,027	0.6	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	5,272	6,173	5,615	5,024	5,189	4.2	4.8	4.4	3.9	3.9
At contracting establishments	4,423	5,156	4,778	4,170	4,855	3.5	4.0	3.7	3.2	3.6
At closing establishments	849	1,017	837	854	334	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.3
Net employment change (2)	1,000	-281	1,282	3,634	1,877	0.7	-0.2	1.0	2.8	1.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	27,295	20,500	24,504	17,579	20,583	6.8	5.1	6.2	4.4	5.2
At expanding establishments	25,532	18,919	22,667	15,753	18,092	6.4	4.7	5.7	3.9	4.6
At opening establishments	1,763	1,581	1,837	1,826	2,491	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.6
Gross job losses	18,343	18,485	20,548	17,602	13,259	4.6	4.5	5.1	4.4	3.3
At contracting establishments	17,068	17,156	19,249	16,051	12,270	4.3	4.2	4.8	4.0	3.1
At closing establishments	1,275	1,329	1,299	1,551	989	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.2
Net employment change (2)	8,952	2,015	3,956	-23	7,324	2.2	0.6	1.1	0.0	1.9
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	7,868	5,635	7,217	10,686	7,698	7.6	5.4	6.7	9.6	6.7
At expanding establishments	7,155	4,860	6,631	9,574	6,705	6.9	4.7	6.2	8.6	5.8
At opening establishments	713	775	586	1,112	993	0.7	0.7	0.5	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	6,919	8,281	6,010	4,677	7,936	6.7	8.0	5.6	4.2	6.9
At contracting establishments	6,429	7,947	5,335	4,315	7,507	6.2	7.7	5.0	3.9	6.5
At closing establishments	490	334	675	362	429	0.5	0.3	0.6	0.3	0.4
Net employment change (2)	949	-2,646	1,207	6,009	-238	0.9	-2.6	1.1	5.4	-0.2
Information
Gross job gains	5,106	5,836	8,804	7,804	9,060	3.4	3.8	5.5	4.8	5.5
At expanding establishments	4,247	4,772	7,321	6,935	7,908	2.8	3.1	4.6	4.3	4.8
At opening establishments	859	1,064	1,483	869	1,152	0.6	0.7	0.9	0.5	0.7
Gross job losses	2,633	3,686	3,406	4,905	5,647	1.7	2.4	2.1	3.1	3.4
At contracting establishments	2,269	3,056	2,887	4,453	5,417	1.5	2.0	1.8	2.8	3.3
At closing establishments	364	630	519	452	230	0.2	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.1
Net employment change (2)	2,473	2,150	5,398	2,899	3,413	1.7	1.4	3.4	1.7	2.1
Financial activities
Gross job gains	7,620	7,547	8,431	9,079	9,210	5.1	5.0	5.6	6.0	5.9
At expanding establishments	6,373	6,150	6,935	7,158	7,350	4.3	4.1	4.6	4.7	4.7
At opening establishments	1,247	1,397	1,496	1,921	1,860	0.8	0.9	1.0	1.3	1.2
Gross job losses	5,991	7,068	7,214	6,878	6,586	4.0	4.8	4.8	4.5	4.2
At contracting establishments	4,935	5,932	5,874	5,891	6,061	3.3	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.9
At closing establishments	1,056	1,136	1,340	987	525	0.7	0.8	0.9	0.6	0.3
Net employment change (2)	1,629	479	1,217	2,201	2,624	1.1	0.2	0.8	1.5	1.7
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	30,929	28,618	33,030	36,767	36,785	7.2	6.7	7.5	8.2	7.8
At expanding establishments	23,227	23,598	26,938	30,660	29,672	5.4	5.5	6.1	6.8	6.3
At opening establishments	7,702	5,020	6,092	6,107	7,113	1.8	1.2	1.4	1.4	1.5
Gross job losses	24,144	24,060	25,279	22,032	20,956	5.7	5.6	5.8	4.9	4.4
At contracting establishments	20,786	20,566	21,412	18,589	19,426	4.9	4.8	4.9	4.1	4.1
At closing establishments	3,358	3,494	3,867	3,443	1,530	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.3
Net employment change (2)	6,785	4,558	7,751	14,735	15,829	1.5	1.1	1.7	3.3	3.4
Education and health services
Gross job gains	21,338	20,564	19,886	31,377	28,947	4.5	4.4	4.2	6.5	6.0
At expanding establishments	18,480	17,426	16,585	18,770	21,802	3.9	3.7	3.5	3.9	4.5
At opening establishments	2,858	3,138	3,301	12,607	7,145	0.6	0.7	0.7	2.6	1.5
Gross job losses	19,453	20,592	22,368	21,031	20,530	4.1	4.4	4.7	4.4	4.3
At contracting establishments	15,815	16,014	18,040	17,161	16,861	3.3	3.4	3.8	3.6	3.5
At closing establishments	3,638	4,578	4,328	3,870	3,669	0.8	1.0	0.9	0.8	0.8
Net employment change (2)	1,885	-28	-2,482	10,346	8,417	0.4	0.0	-0.5	2.1	1.7
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	53,361	36,845	38,645	31,778	31,649	22.4	13.8	13.4	10.5	10.1
At expanding establishments	49,566	31,285	33,913	27,709	26,826	20.8	11.7	11.8	9.2	8.6
At opening establishments	3,795	5,560	4,732	4,069	4,823	1.6	2.1	1.6	1.3	1.5
Gross job losses	15,426	16,584	19,618	20,715	19,833	6.4	6.2	6.8	6.8	6.3
At contracting establishments	12,507	14,459	17,067	18,451	18,284	5.2	5.4	5.9	6.1	5.8
At closing establishments	2,919	2,125	2,551	2,264	1,549	1.2	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.5
Net employment change (2)	37,935	20,261	19,027	11,063	11,816	16.0	7.6	6.6	3.7	3.8
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	6,211	7,072	7,351	7,118	7,047	7.7	8.6	8.7	8.2	7.9
At expanding establishments	4,978	5,997	5,948	5,939	5,790	6.2	7.3	7.0	6.8	6.5
At opening establishments	1,233	1,075	1,403	1,179	1,257	1.5	1.3	1.7	1.4	1.4
Gross job losses	5,003	4,776	5,236	5,084	4,904	6.2	5.8	6.2	5.8	5.5
At contracting establishments	4,045	3,746	4,366	4,353	4,026	5.0	4.5	5.2	5.0	4.5
At closing establishments	958	1,030	870	731	878	1.2	1.3	1.0	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	1,208	2,296	2,115	2,034	2,143	1.5	2.8	2.5	2.4	2.4
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)
	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Dec. 2021	Mar. 2022	Mar. 2021	June 2021	Sept. 2021	Dec. 2021	Mar. 2022
United States(1)	7.0	6.8	7.3	7.7	6.6	5.5	5.9	6.1	5.4	5.4
Alabama	6.7	6.3	6.7	7.6	6.2	5.8	6.0	6.3	5.2	6.0
Alaska	11.1	9.5	10.5	11.8	10.1	9.4	9.3	9.7	8.7	9.3
Arizona	6.5	6.8	7.1	6.8	6.8	5.4	5.9	5.1	5.0	5.7
Arkansas	6.3	5.8	6.8	7.8	5.9	5.1	5.7	6.7	4.8	5.4
California	7.8	7.8	7.8	8.5	7.4	5.9	6.5	6.1	5.5	5.6
Colorado	8.6	7.8	8.0	7.6	7.5	5.5	6.4	7.0	6.1	6.3
Connecticut	6.5	6.7	6.9	6.9	6.3	5.4	5.8	6.0	5.3	5.3
Delaware	7.0	6.8	7.6	8.2	7.3	6.2	6.5	7.2	6.0	5.6
District of Columbia	5.5	7.1	7.9	7.3	6.0	5.4	5.4	4.9	4.9	4.9
Florida	7.0	7.8	9.0	7.7	6.5	5.8	6.3	6.0	6.0	5.7
Georgia	6.8	7.0	7.5	7.9	6.8	5.7	6.2	6.2	5.5	5.7
Hawaii	8.7	10.7	7.3	7.1	6.1	5.7	5.5	6.3	5.1	5.1
Idaho	8.2	7.2	7.7	8.5	8.5	5.7	7.2	7.3	6.3	6.2
Illinois	7.3	6.2	6.6	7.5	6.2	5.1	5.5	6.0	4.9	5.0
Indiana	6.2	5.7	6.3	7.3	6.0	5.0	6.0	5.7	4.7	4.8
Iowa	6.2	6.0	6.2	6.6	6.5	5.5	6.0	6.1	5.4	5.3
Kansas	6.3	6.2	6.6	7.6	6.2	5.7	6.2	6.5	5.3	5.4
Kentucky	7.4	6.5	6.7	7.4	6.6	5.4	6.4	6.4	4.9	5.0
Louisiana	6.8	6.9	6.9	9.6	6.5	5.9	6.1	8.5	5.8	7.1
Maine	8.9	7.5	7.8	8.2	8.0	6.4	7.7	7.8	6.9	6.1
Maryland	6.7	6.6	7.5	7.3	6.6	5.6	6.5	6.4	5.3	5.9
Massachusetts	6.7	6.9	7.2	7.0	6.6	5.0	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.1
Michigan	8.6	6.3	6.5	7.5	6.3	4.8	5.6	5.9	5.2	5.1
Minnesota	9.4	6.1	6.4	7.3	6.0	4.8	5.6	6.7	5.2	5.4
Mississippi	5.7	6.5	7.6	7.9	6.1	6.5	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.0
Missouri	6.4	6.1	6.7	7.4	6.5	5.2	6.1	6.1	5.5	5.4
Montana	8.9	8.5	8.5	9.9	9.3	6.9	8.1	8.3	7.2	8.5
Nebraska	6.6	6.2	6.3	7.0	6.8	5.8	6.0	6.5	5.8	5.9
Nevada	7.5	9.4	8.9	8.3	6.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	4.8	5.2
New Hampshire	7.5	7.0	7.0	7.6	7.7	5.4	6.3	6.8	6.4	5.4
New Jersey	7.2	7.1	7.5	8.7	7.1	5.9	5.7	6.1	5.4	5.5
New Mexico	8.7	7.4	8.2	8.2	7.4	5.6	6.6	6.5	6.3	6.2
New York	7.0	7.1	7.5	7.7	6.7	5.4	5.7	5.9	5.4	5.2
North Carolina	6.9	6.4	6.8	8.1	6.5	5.4	5.8	6.4	5.0	5.3
North Dakota	8.3	6.9	7.5	7.6	7.5	6.7	6.5	6.7	6.5	6.5
Ohio	6.1	5.9	6.1	7.0	6.1	5.0	5.8	6.0	5.2	4.8
Oklahoma	6.2	6.6	7.1	7.6	6.3	5.9	6.1	6.6	5.9	5.7
Oregon	8.7	6.6	7.1	7.8	7.5	5.6	6.6	6.5	6.1	5.7
Pennsylvania	6.7	5.7	6.3	6.8	6.3	4.7	5.3	5.0	4.8	4.9
Rhode Island	9.9	7.0	7.6	8.5	7.9	5.6	6.4	7.1	6.6	5.7
South Carolina	6.4	6.3	7.3	7.9	6.9	6.0	6.4	6.0	5.3	6.2
South Dakota	7.3	6.8	6.6	7.2	7.7	6.0	5.8	6.4	5.9	6.1
Tennessee	5.8	6.1	6.9	7.3	6.6	5.2	6.0	5.4	5.6	4.7
Texas	6.1	6.8	7.1	7.7	6.3	5.1	5.6	5.5	4.8	5.4
Utah	7.3	7.0	7.4	7.5	7.8	5.7	6.1	7.0	6.0	5.9
Vermont	8.4	8.4	8.0	8.1	8.0	6.2	7.0	7.7	6.9	6.3
Virginia	6.2	6.4	6.9	7.2	6.4	5.4	6.1	6.0	5.3	5.8
Washington	8.0	6.7	7.3	7.8	7.3	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.3	5.0
West Virginia	7.4	6.6	7.1	7.9	7.3	5.9	6.6	6.5	6.0	5.9
Wisconsin	6.0	5.8	5.5	6.6	6.5	4.7	5.3	5.8	5.2	4.8
Wyoming	9.3	8.8	9.1	10.1	8.9	8.2	8.4	8.4	7.8	8.3
Puerto Rico	6.8	7.8	8.5	6.4	7.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.5	4.9
Virgin Islands	7.4	11.0	7.5	8.0	6.9	10.6	5.8	8.5	9.5	10.3
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.