Colorado Job Creation Remains Lackluster

The recent release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Business Dynamics (BDM) dataset shows that Colorado job creation remains weak.

Unlike other job statistics, which report the change in net jobs, the BDM statistics measure gross job gains and gross jobs lost. The data is derived from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which explains why the lag in reporting is about 7 to 9 months.

Gross job gains were weak during 2010 and 2011, averaging 127,691 for the eight quarters. During the 7 previous quarters (Q2 2008 through Q4 2009), average quarterly gains were 124,895. This period included much of the 2007 recession. On average, gross job gains have been about the same for the period 2007 through 2011.

For the eight quarters in 2010 and 2011, average job losses were 120,452. By comparison, average job losses were 148,913 for the seven prior quarters (Q2 2008 through Q4 2009).

For 2010 and 2011, net job gains were primarily a result of reduced jobs losses and weak job gains. A variety of factors are responsible for this lack of job creation and ultimately the slow recovery.

In the chart below:
Heavy horizontal blue lines represent average gross gains for the period.
Heavy horizontal red lines represent average losses for the period.
Light blue lines represent quarterly totals (same as previous charts).
Light red lines represent quarterly totals (same as previous charts).

For additional information on the Colorado go to https://cber.co/CBEReconomy.html.

©Copyright 2011 by CBER.

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