Task 1

Changes in the number of jobs are the net result of decreases or increases in the employment opportunities that are available in all sectors of the economy. The role of Business Employment Dynamics (BED) reports is to track and report such changes within private business establishments. Gross job gains result from the increases in employment opportunities that result from the expansion of existing establishments or the creation of new businesses while gross job losses result from employment contractions. Net change is the difference between the two measures.

Gross job losses in private sector establishments totaled 465,576 within the state of Texas between December 2012 and March 2013 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). Stanley W. Suchman, the Regional Commissioner, opined that the total job losses had increased by 15,218 when compared to the previous quarter. In contrast, gross job gains of about 537,115 were experienced in the first quarter of 2013 (Ryan, 2013).

It is observed that the number of gross job gains had been increasing since June, 2009 when they had reached an all-time low of about 435,900 (Dickerson, 2014). After gross job losses had declined the last quarter, they rose by 15,218 in the three months that ended in March 2013 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). The highest number of job losses was witnessed in March 2009 when over 620,000 jobs were lost during that quarter.