State of Connecticut Home Follow Research on FacebookFollow CTDOL on InstagramFollow CTDOL on LinkedINFollow CTDOL on YouTube
Connecticut Department of Labor Home Connecticut Labor Market Information Home Connecticut Labor Market Information Home
Home About Publications FAQ Glossary Contact
Labor Market Information - Connecticut Business Employment Dynamics
  Connecticut Business Employment Dynamics Last Updated: July 23, 2024  
WETHERSFIELD, July 23, 2024 - Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data published quarterly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks employment change at the establishment level and reveals the underlying dynamics of net employment change. The data include gross employment change, business expansion/contraction, establishment birth/death, and is available at sector level.

From October 2023 to December 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private sector establishments in Connecticut was 81,715, a 1,190 job decrease from the previous quarter. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting private sector establishments was 82,942, a decrease of 6,483 from the previous quarter.

During the fourth quarter of 2023, the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses yielded a net employment decrease of 1,227 jobs in the private sector. This net decrease follows a 6,520 net decrease during the third quarter of 2023.

Net employment change reached a low of -203,916 during the second quarter of 2020. The combined net change for the fourteen quarters of subsequent data through the first quarter of 2023 is 184,584 jobs.

chart 1 4Q 2023 Business Employment Dynamics

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 units 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 units and the addition of new jobs at opening units. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing units and the loss of jobs at closing units. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment.

The BED data series includes gross job gains and gross job losses at the establishment level by industry subsector and for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as annual gross job gains and annual gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class.

Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 64,254 in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 7,795 from the previous quarter.

Opening establishments accounted for 17,461 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 713 jobs from the previous quarter.

chart 2 4Q 2023 Business Employment Dynamics

Contracting establishments lost 64,051 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 5,191 from the prior quarter.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, closing establishments lost 18,891 jobs, a decrease of 1,292 from the previous quarter. Chart 3 shows the relationship between opening and closing-derived job change. Beginning in 2019, opening and closing-derived job change was above 2011-18 levels. During 2020Q2, the impact of the recession is illustrated by the large uptick in closing job losses and the large uptick in openings the following quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2023, employment change at openings and closings resulted in a 1,430 net employment decrease during the fourth quarter of 2023. This follows a 2,009 net decrease during the third quarter of 2023.

chart 3 4Q 2023 Business Employment Dynamics

In the fourth quarter of 2023, there were 3,590 establishment births (a subset of the openings data). These new establishments accounted for 10,671 jobs, 201 more than the previous quarter.

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2023, where 8,108 jobs were lost at 1,191 establishment deaths. In the prior quarter, 10,000 jobs were lost at 667 establishment deaths.

chart 4 4Q 2023 Business Employment Dynamics

The net change of establishment births and deaths went consistently negative during the Great Recession in Connecticut from the first quarter of 2008 through the first quarter of 2010. During those 9 quarters of net decline, Connecticut averaged a net decrease of 640 establishments per quarter, with the largest net establishment decline occurring at the end of the recession, down 1,784 in the first quarter of 2010. From 2010Q2-2018Q4, it ranged between -354 and +903 quarter-to-quarter change.

During the first half of 2019, net change fell by 1,945 establishments in the first quarter and 544 in the second. It recovered to a 57 establishment increase in the third quarter and fell by 153 in the fourth quarter of 2019. During the first quarter of 2020, net establishment births and deaths was up 4,111 and fell 1,565 during the second quarter of 2020. After the 2020 recession, net establishment change averaged a gain of 1,211 per quarter from the third quarter of 2020 through the first quarter of 2023. During the first quarter of 2023 (the most recent quarter available), net gains were 1,191.

During the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 6 of 10 industries. The largest net decreases occurred in Professional & Business Services (-4,125) and Retail Trade (-983 jobs). The largest net increasing industries were Transportation & Warehousing (+2,201 jobs) and Education & Health Services (+1,591 jobs).

chart 5 4Q 2023 Business Employment Dynamics

Additional Information on Business Employment Dynamics, including data for the United States, 50 states, and US territories can be found at: http://www.bls.gov/bdm/.


Current Version - 4Q2023
4Q 2023 Business Employment Dynamics
4Q 2023 Connecticut Business Employment Dynamics (Word Doc)

Archived BED Issues

chart 6 4Q 2023 Business Employment Dynamics

chart 7 4Q 2023 Business Employment Dynamics

chart 8 4Q 2023 Business Employment Dynamics

This publication was prepared by Matthew Krzyzek, Economist at the Connecticut Department of Labor, Office of Research. If you have any questions regarding this publication, please call (860) 263-6287 or Matthew.Krzyzek@ct.gov.

Related Publication:
The software required to view and print Adobe Acrobat (PDF) documents, such as those available here, is available for free from the Adobe Web site.
State of Connecticut Department of Labor - Office of Research, 200 Folly Brook Boulevard, Wethersfield, CT 06109
LMI Home | CTDOL Home | Feedback | This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. (more)
ct.gov logo with flag embelishment About CT Policies Accessibility Directories Social Media For State Employees