For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, July 29, 2020 USDL-20-1463
Technical Information: (202) 691-6553 * BDMInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/bdm
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FOURTH QUARTER 2019
From September 2019 to December 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.8 million, an increase of 490,000 jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting
private-sector establishments were 7.0 million, a decrease of 291,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net
employment gain of 792,000 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2019. (See tables A
and 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 Technical Note.) 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.
Gross Job Gains
In the fourth quarter of 2019, gross job gains represented 6.2 percent of private-sector employment. 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. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 6.3
million in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 369,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.5 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2019, an
increase of 121,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the fourth quarter of 2019, gross job losses represented 5.6 percent of private-sector employment.
Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of
jobs at closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 5.7 million jobs in the fourth quarter of
2019, a decrease of 348,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2019, closing
establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, an increase of 57,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A,
1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the fourth quarter of 2019, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 16,000, to a total of 266,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
897,000 jobs, an increase of 55,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2019, when 698,000 jobs were
lost at 222,000 establishments, a decrease of 64,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2018. (See Technical
Note and table 8.)
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 11 of 13 industries in the fourth quarter of 2019. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 809,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2019. Within
the service-providing industries, transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job
increase, with a gain of 256,000 jobs. This was the result of 509,000 gross job gains and 253,000 gross
job losses. The leisure and hospitality and retail trade sectors also showed increases in the fourth
quarter of 2019, with 182,000 and 3,000 net jobs gained respectively. The goods-producing industries
experienced a net job decrease of 17,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2019. Of the goods-producing
industries, the natural resources and mining sector experienced a net decrease of 42,000 jobs. However,
the construction sector had a net gain of 19,000 jobs and the manufacturing sector showed a net increase
of 6,000 jobs. (See table 3.)
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
Category | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec.
| 2018 | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 | 2019
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,768 | 7,375 | 7,605 | 7,341 | 7,831
At expanding establishments...... | 6,318 | 6,038 | 6,229 | 5,979 | 6,348
At opening establishments........ | 1,450 | 1,337 | 1,376 | 1,362 | 1,483
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6,957 | 6,850 | 7,423 | 7,330 | 7,039
At contracting establishments.... | 5,626 | 5,649 | 6,078 | 6,050 | 5,702
At closing establishments........ | 1,331 | 1,201 | 1,345 | 1,280 | 1,337
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 811 | 525 | 182 | 11 | 792
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 6.3 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 6.2
At expanding establishments...... | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 5.0
At opening establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.6
At contracting establishments.... | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.5
At closing establishments........ | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross
job losses. See the Technical Note for further information.
Firm Size
In the fourth quarter of 2019, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 192,000. Firms
with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 107,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a
net employment gain of 395,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
States
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
the Virgin Islands in the fourth quarter of 2019. (See tables 6 and 7.)
For More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm.
This information includes data on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm
size, not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time series not presented in this release,
charts of gross job gains and gross job losses by industry and firm size, and answers to frequently asked
questions. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found
in the Technical Note of this release or can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.
_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2020 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
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.
These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and
the longitudinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. The QCEW is also the employment
benchmark for the Current Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics
(OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) programs and is a major input to
the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts.
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 units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures
The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for any given
quarter. Each of these measures—Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Business
Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)—makes use of the
quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; however, each measure has a somewhat
different universe coverage, estimation procedure, and publication product.
Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat different measures of
employment change over time. It is important to understand program differences and the intended
uses of the program products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be obtained
from the program websites shown in the table.
Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| QCEW | BED | CES
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Source |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey:
| strative records | nally-linked UI ad- | 689,000 establish-
| submitted by 10.1 | ministrative records| ments
| million establish- | submitted by 8.2 |
| ments in first qu- | million private-sec-|
| arter of 2019 | tor establishments |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and salary
| age, including all | ing government, pri-| jobs:
| employers subject | vate households, and|--UI Coverage, exclud-
| to state and feder-| establishments with | ing agriculture, pri-
| ral UI Laws | zero employment | vate households, and
| | | self-employed workers
| | |--other employment,
| | | including railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
| | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -6 months after the| -7 months after the | -Usually the 3rd Fri-
| end of each quar- | end of each quarter| day after the end of
| ter | | the week including
| | | the 12th of the month
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Use of UI |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI |--Uses UI file as a sam-
file | and publishes each | quarter to longitu- | pling frame and to ann-
| new quarter of UI | dinal database and | ually realign sample-
| data | directly summarizes | based estimates to pop-
| | gross job gains and | ulation counts (bench-
| | losses | marking)
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly |--Provides current month-
products | ly and annual uni- | employer dynamics | ly estimates of employ-
| verse count of es- | data on establish- | ment, hours, and earn-
| tablishments, em- | ment openings, clos-| ings at the MSA, state,
| ployment, and wages| ings, expansions, | and national level by
| at the county, Met-| and contractions at | industry
| ropolitan statisti-| the national level |
| cal area (MSA), St-| by NAICS super- |
| ate, and national | sectors,3-digit |
| levels by detailed | NAICS, and by size |
| industry | of firm, and at the |
| | state private-sector|
| | total level |
| |--Future expansions |
| | will include |
| | data with greater |
| | industry detail and |
| | data at the county |
| | and MSA level |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses | -Detailed locality | -Business cycle | -Principal federal
| data | analysis | economic indicator
| -Periodic universe | -Analysis of employ-| -Official time series
| counts for bench- | er dynamics under- | for employment change
| marking sample | lying economic ex- | measures
| survey estimates | pansions and con- | -Input into other ma-
| -Sample frame for | tractions | jor economic indi-
| BLS establishment | -Analysis of employ-| cators
| surveys | ment expansion and |
| | contraction by size|
| | of firm |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Program |--www.bls.gov/cew |--www.bls.gov/bdm |--www.bls.gov/ces
Web sites | | |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coverage
Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and Unemployment Compensation for
Federal Employees (UCFE) laws are compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the
SWAs by employers. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate
multiple establishments within a state complete a questionnaire, called the “Multiple Worksite
Report,” which provides detailed information on the location of their establishments. These reports
are based on place of employment rather than place of residence. UI and UCFE coverage is broad
and basically comparable from state to state.
Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, religious organizations, most
agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, elected officials in most
states, most employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and
employees of certain small nonprofit organizations.
Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from longitudinal histories of 8.2
million private sector employer reports out of 10.1 million total reports of employment and wages
submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2019. Gross job gains and gross job losses data in
this release do not report estimates for government employees or private households (NAICS
814110) and do not include establishments with zero employment in both previous and current
quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are also excluded from the national data.
The table below shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establishments excluded from
the national gross job gains and gross job losses data in the first quarter 2019.
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level
Total establishments QCEW program....................................................10.1
Excluded: Public sector............................................................ 0.3
Private households......................................................... 0.2
Zero employment............................................................ 1.4
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data............................................................. 8.2
Unit of analysis
Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by industry and firms are used in the
tabulation of the BED size class statistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that
produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or
predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either corporate or otherwise, and may
consist of several establishments. Firm-level data are compiled based on an aggregation of
establishments under common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification
numbers. The firm level aggregation which is consistent with the role of corporations as the
economic decision makers are used for the measurement of the BED data elements by size class.
Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job gains and gross job losses by size
class are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, as some establishment
gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. However, the total net
changes in employment are the same for not seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally
adjusted data.
Concepts and methodology
The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employment at the
establishment or firm level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A net increase in
employment can come from either opening units or expanding units. A net decrease in
employment can come from either closing units or contracting units. Gross job gains include the
sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include the sum of all
jobs lost in either closing or contracting units. The net change in employment is the difference
between gross job gains and gross job losses.
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 either units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with
no employment or zero employment reported 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.
Births. These are units with positive third month employment for the first time in the current
quarter with no links to the prior quarter, or units with positive third month employment in the
current quarter and zero employment in the third month of the previous four quarters. Births are a
subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal businesses.
Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero employment reported in the third month of
four consecutive quarters following the last quarter with positive employment. Deaths are a subset
of closings not including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A unit that closes during the
quarter may be a death, but we wait three quarters to determine whether it is a permanent closing
or a temporary shutdown. Therefore, there is always a lag of three quarters for the publication of
death statistics.
All employment changes are measured from the third month of the previous quarter to the third
month of the current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their employment levels.
Units with no change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, but not for
levels of gross job gains and gross job losses.
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. This provides a symmetric growth rate. 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.
Establishment Births and Deaths
For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as establishments that appear in the
longitudinal database for the first time with positive employment in the third month of a quarter, or
showed four consecutive quarters of zero employment in the third month followed by a quarter in
which it shows positive employment in the third month. Similarly, deaths are defined as
establishments that either drop out of the longitudinal database or an establishment that had
positive employment in the third month of a given quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of
showing zero employment in the third month. Although the data for establishment births and
deaths are tabulated independently from the data for openings and closings, the concepts are not
mutually exclusive. An establishment that is defined as a birth in a given quarter is necessarily an
opening as well, and an establishment defined as a death in a quarter must also be a closing. Since
openings include seasonal and other re-openings and closings include temporary shutdowns, the
not seasonally adjusted values for births and deaths must be less than those for openings and
closings. However, because some BED series do not have many re-openings or temporary
shutdowns, as well as the fact that births and deaths are independently seasonally adjusted from
openings and closings, there may be instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the former
is greater than the latter.
Linkage methodology
Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, QCEW records are linked across
two quarters. The linkage process matches establishments' unique SWA identification numbers
(SWA-ID). Between 95 and 97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from quarter to
quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are linked in one of three ways. The first method uses
predecessor and successor information, identified by the states, which relates records with different
SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can come about for a variety of
reasons, including a change in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account restructuring. If a
match cannot be attained in this manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to
identify two establishments with different SWA-IDs as continuous. The match is based upon
comparisons such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst examines
unmatched records individually and makes a possible match.
In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify with employers and update, if
necessary, the industry, location, and ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-year
cycle. Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from the verification process are
introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from improved
employer reporting also are introduced in the first quarter.
Sizing methodology
The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED size class data series. Dynamic
sizing allocates each firm’s employment gain or loss during a quarter to each respective size class
in which the change occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38
employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be allocated to the first size
class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49.
Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm-size estimates and eliminates any systematic effects
which may be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms’ sizes over time.
Additionally, it allocates each job gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred.
Annual Data
The annual gross job gains and gross job losses measure the net change in employment at the
establishment level from the third month of a quarter in the previous year to the third month of the
same quarter in the current year. The BLS publishes annual BED data based on March-to-March
changes once a year with the release of the first quarter BED data. The annual data based on over-
the-year changes for other quarters of the year are available upon request. The definitions and
methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and gross job losses are similar to the quarterly
measures. The linkage method considers all predecessor and successor relations that may come
about due to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire year. At the
establishment level, some of the quarterly job gains and job losses are offset during the estimation
over the year. Therefore, the sum of four quarters of gross job gains and gross job losses are not
equal to annual gross job gains and gross job losses. The net change in employment over the year,
however, is equal to the sum of four quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted basis.
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated job flows undergo sharp
fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, reduced or expanded
production, harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such
seasonal variation can be very large.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence can
be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from quarter to quarter. These adjustments make
nonseasonal developments, such as declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For
example, the large number of youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes that
have taken place in June relative to March, making it difficult to determine if the level of economic
activity has risen or declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in previous
years is known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable change.
The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in economic
activity.
The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting units are
independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on the difference between
gross job gains and gross job losses. Similarly, for industry data, the establishment counts data
series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted,
and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of opening and
closing establishments. Additionally establishment and employment levels are independently
seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is
run using X-13 ARIMA-SEATS. Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the sum of
seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including the unclassified sector, which is not separately
published.
The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series will differ from
the net employment change estimated from the seasonally adjusted total private employment series
from the CES program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market
changes that underlie the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested
particularly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying this change
should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment changes.
Reliability of the data
Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on administrative rather than
sample data, there are no issues related to sampling error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists.
Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected
employment data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when
providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distributed randomly throughout the
dataset.
Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the linkage process. This can
result in overstating openings and closings while understating expansions and contractions. The
BLS continues to refine methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these
complications.
The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on corrections in QCEW records,
updates on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal adjustment revisions.
Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the first quarter data. These revisions
cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data.
Additional statistics and other information
Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information. The QCEW program
provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed
industry. News releases on quarterly county employment and wages and the annual bulletin also
are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover
(Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), telephone (202) 691-6567; (www.bls.gov/cew/);
(e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).
The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program produces monthly estimates of employment, its
net change, hours, and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part of the Employment
Situation report put out monthly by BLS.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides monthly measures of
job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.
Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1 (800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted
Total private
(In thousands)
Gross job gains Gross job losses
Year 3 months ended Net change (1) Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing
establishments establishments establishments establishments
2009 March -2,680 5,918 4,675 1,243 8,598 7,142 1,456
June -1,667 6,425 5,080 1,345 8,092 6,674 1,418
September -849 6,399 5,139 1,260 7,248 5,854 1,394
December -264 6,665 5,308 1,357 6,929 5,605 1,324
2010 March -247 6,325 5,108 1,217 6,572 5,324 1,248
June 698 6,995 5,674 1,321 6,297 5,090 1,207
September 237 6,741 5,438 1,303 6,504 5,231 1,273
December 566 7,052 5,639 1,413 6,486 5,219 1,267
2011 March 334 6,540 5,322 1,218 6,206 5,025 1,181
June 582 6,966 5,625 1,341 6,384 5,115 1,269
September 841 7,205 5,810 1,395 6,364 5,172 1,192
December 335 6,865 5,503 1,362 6,530 5,273 1,257
2012 March 948 7,080 5,746 1,334 6,132 5,005 1,127
June 616 7,051 5,724 1,327 6,435 5,266 1,169
September 252 6,881 5,571 1,310 6,629 5,430 1,199
December 695 7,110 5,753 1,357 6,415 5,225 1,190
2013 March 558 6,941 5,705 1,236 6,383 5,201 1,182
June 674 7,152 5,830 1,322 6,478 5,271 1,207
September 507 7,058 5,719 1,339 6,551 5,408 1,143
December 700 7,255 5,926 1,329 6,555 5,353 1,202
2014 March 419 6,953 5,687 1,266 6,534 5,380 1,154
June 895 7,454 6,114 1,340 6,559 5,342 1,217
September 577 7,247 5,918 1,329 6,670 5,487 1,183
December 1,038 7,617 6,248 1,369 6,579 5,346 1,233
2015 March 216 7,040 5,727 1,313 6,824 5,622 1,202
June 838 7,580 6,236 1,344 6,742 5,550 1,192
September 466 7,340 5,977 1,363 6,874 5,665 1,209
December 968 7,827 6,367 1,460 6,859 5,594 1,265
2016 March 242 7,144 5,860 1,284 6,902 5,699 1,203
June 305 7,448 6,077 1,371 7,143 5,836 1,307
September 734 7,709 6,249 1,460 6,975 5,730 1,245
December 351 7,436 6,021 1,415 7,085 5,784 1,301
2017 March 649 7,420 6,086 1,334 6,771 5,588 1,183
June 473 7,623 6,255 1,368 7,150 5,878 1,272
September -68 7,317 5,964 1,353 7,385 6,088 1,297
December 955 7,814 6,374 1,440 6,859 5,561 1,298
2018 March 707 7,484 6,135 1,349 6,777 5,587 1,190
June 401 7,655 6,257 1,398 7,254 5,967 1,287
September 67 7,499 6,122 1,377 7,432 6,113 1,319
December 811 7,768 6,318 1,450 6,957 5,626 1,331
2019 March 525 7,375 6,038 1,337 6,850 5,649 1,201
June 182 7,605 6,229 1,376 7,423 6,078 1,345
September 11 7,341 5,979 1,362 7,330 6,050 1,280
December 792 7,831 6,348 1,483 7,039 5,702 1,337
(1) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses, as a percent of employment (1), seasonally adjusted
Total private
(Percent)
Gross job gains Gross job losses
Year 3 months ended Net change (2) Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing
establishments establishments establishments establishments
2009 March -2.4 5.4 4.3 1.1 7.8 6.5 1.3
June -1.5 6.0 4.7 1.3 7.5 6.2 1.3
September -0.8 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.8 5.5 1.3
December -0.3 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3
2010 March -0.2 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.2 5.0 1.2
June 0.7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.1 4.9 1.2
December 0.5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2
2011 March 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1
June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2
September 0.8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1
December 0.4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2
2012 March 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0
June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1
December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2013 March 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1
June 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2014 March 0.4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
June 0.8 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1
September 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
December 0.9 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1
2015 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
June 0.7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.8 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2016 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
June 0.2 6.2 5.1 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1
September 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.3 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
2017 March 0.5 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.6 4.6 1.0
June 0.4 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
September -0.1 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.1 5.0 1.1
December 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1
2018 March 0.6 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0
June 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
September 0.0 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1
December 0.7 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1
2019 March 0.4 5.9 4.8 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0
June 0.1 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.0 5.8 4.7 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.6 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1
(1) The rates measure gross job gains and job losses as a percentage of the average of the previous and current quarter
employment levels.
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains and job losses Gross job gains and job losses
(in thousands) as a percent of employment
Category 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019
Total private (1)
Gross job gains 7,768 7,375 7,605 7,341 7,831 6.3 5.9 6.0 5.8 6.2
At expanding establishments 6,318 6,038 6,229 5,979 6,348 5.1 4.8 4.9 4.7 5.0
At opening establishments 1,450 1,337 1,376 1,362 1,483 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2
Gross job losses 6,957 6,850 7,423 7,330 7,039 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.8 5.6
At contracting establishments 5,626 5,649 6,078 6,050 5,702 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.8 4.5
At closing establishments 1,331 1,201 1,345 1,280 1,337 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1
Net employment change 811 525 182 11 792 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.6
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,406 1,343 1,363 1,241 1,310 6.4 6.1 6.2 5.7 5.9
At expanding establishments 1,194 1,149 1,169 1,053 1,113 5.4 5.2 5.3 4.8 5.0
At opening establishments 212 194 194 188 197 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
Gross job losses 1,255 1,232 1,342 1,322 1,327 5.7 5.5 6.0 6.0 6.0
At contracting establishments 1,052 1,049 1,135 1,133 1,124 4.8 4.7 5.1 5.1 5.1
At closing establishments 203 183 207 189 203 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9
Net employment change 151 111 21 -81 -17 0.7 0.6 0.2 -0.3 -0.1
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 246 243 265 226 232 12.6 12.4 13.6 11.8 12.1
At expanding establishments 214 213 233 196 200 11.0 10.9 12.0 10.2 10.4
At opening establishments 32 30 32 30 32 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7
Gross job losses 256 242 249 239 274 13.2 12.4 12.8 12.5 14.3
At contracting establishments 227 213 218 213 243 11.7 10.9 11.2 11.1 12.7
At closing establishments 29 29 31 26 31 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.6
Net employment change -10 1 16 -13 -42 -0.6 0.0 0.8 -0.7 -2.2
Construction
Gross job gains 695 698 683 641 667 9.6 9.3 9.1 8.6 9.0
At expanding establishments 559 569 560 519 542 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.0 7.3
At opening establishments 136 129 123 122 125 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7
Gross job losses 621 614 668 642 648 8.6 8.2 8.9 8.6 8.7
At contracting establishments 499 500 540 522 522 6.9 6.7 7.2 7.0 7.0
At closing establishments 122 114 128 120 126 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.7
Net employment change 74 84 15 -1 19 1.0 1.1 0.2 0.0 0.3
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 465 402 415 374 411 3.6 3.2 3.2 2.9 3.2
At expanding establishments 421 367 376 338 371 3.3 2.9 2.9 2.6 2.9
At opening establishments 44 35 39 36 40 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Gross job losses 378 376 425 441 405 3.0 2.9 3.3 3.4 3.2
At contracting establishments 326 336 377 398 359 2.6 2.6 2.9 3.1 2.8
At closing establishments 52 40 48 43 46 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4
Net employment change 87 26 -10 -67 6 0.6 0.3 -0.1 -0.5 0.0
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 6,362 6,032 6,242 6,100 6,521 6.2 5.8 6.0 5.8 6.2
At expanding establishments 5,124 4,889 5,060 4,926 5,235 5.0 4.7 4.9 4.7 5.0
At opening establishments 1,238 1,143 1,182 1,174 1,286 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2
Gross job losses 5,702 5,618 6,081 6,008 5,712 5.5 5.4 5.9 5.8 5.5
At contracting establishments 4,574 4,600 4,943 4,917 4,578 4.4 4.4 4.8 4.7 4.4
At closing establishments 1,128 1,018 1,138 1,091 1,134 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1
Net employment change 660 414 161 92 809 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.7
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 279 258 267 255 266 4.8 4.3 4.6 4.3 4.6
At expanding establishments 228 214 222 208 216 3.9 3.6 3.8 3.5 3.7
At opening establishments 51 44 45 47 50 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9
Gross job losses 245 243 262 265 248 4.1 4.2 4.5 4.5 4.2
At contracting establishments 190 192 204 212 193 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.6 3.3
At closing establishments 55 51 58 53 55 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9
Net employment change 34 15 5 -10 18 0.7 0.1 0.1 -0.2 0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains 847 905 870 845 885 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.4 5.7
At expanding establishments 737 789 749 729 772 4.7 5.0 4.8 4.7 5.0
At opening establishments 110 116 121 116 113 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7
Gross job losses 918 863 971 931 882 5.8 5.5 6.2 6.0 5.7
At contracting establishments 787 752 830 810 764 5.0 4.8 5.3 5.2 4.9
At closing establishments 131 111 141 121 118 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.8
Net employment change -71 42 -101 -86 3 -0.4 0.2 -0.6 -0.6 0.0
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 421 281 308 338 509 7.8 5.2 5.7 6.1 9.0
At expanding establishments 365 240 263 287 446 6.8 4.4 4.9 5.2 7.9
At opening establishments 56 41 45 51 63 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.1
Gross job losses 239 346 267 253 253 4.5 6.3 4.9 4.6 4.4
At contracting establishments 198 311 227 216 211 3.7 5.7 4.2 3.9 3.7
At closing establishments 41 35 40 37 42 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7
Net employment change 182 -65 41 85 256 3.3 -1.1 0.8 1.5 4.6
Utilities
Gross job gains 12 12 13 14 13 2.2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.4
At expanding establishments 11 11 11 12 12 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.2
At opening establishments 1 1 2 2 1 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.2
Gross job losses 14 13 14 14 12 2.6 2.4 2.6 2.6 2.2
At contracting establishments 12 12 12 13 10 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.4 1.8
At closing establishments 2 1 2 1 2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.4
Net employment change -2 -1 -1 0 1 -0.4 -0.2 -0.2 0.0 0.2
Information
Gross job gains 145 175 162 160 151 5.1 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.3
At expanding establishments 116 139 137 129 120 4.1 4.9 4.8 4.5 4.2
At opening establishments 29 36 25 31 31 1.0 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.1
Gross job losses 150 145 163 155 159 5.3 5.2 5.7 5.5 5.5
At contracting establishments 121 120 135 127 132 4.3 4.3 4.7 4.5 4.6
At closing establishments 29 25 28 28 27 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.9
Net employment change -5 30 -1 5 -8 -0.2 1.0 0.0 0.1 -0.2
Financial activities
Gross job gains 394 362 407 383 402 4.8 4.4 4.9 4.6 4.8
At expanding establishments 299 290 322 299 305 3.6 3.5 3.9 3.6 3.6
At opening establishments 95 72 85 84 97 1.2 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.2
Gross job losses 376 343 357 364 362 4.6 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.3
At contracting establishments 286 261 276 281 275 3.5 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.3
At closing establishments 90 82 81 83 87 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Net employment change 18 19 50 19 40 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.2 0.5
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,508 1,318 1,474 1,396 1,491 7.2 6.3 7.0 6.6 7.0
At expanding establishments 1,199 1,074 1,204 1,123 1,195 5.7 5.1 5.7 5.3 5.6
At opening establishments 309 244 270 273 296 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4
Gross job losses 1,352 1,318 1,366 1,373 1,379 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.5 6.5
At contracting establishments 1,061 1,065 1,085 1,106 1,080 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.1
At closing establishments 291 253 281 267 299 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4
Net employment change 156 0 108 23 112 0.8 0.1 0.6 0.1 0.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains 1,004 1,003 1,016 1,037 1,033 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.4
At expanding establishments 816 823 834 859 823 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.5
At opening establishments 188 180 182 178 210 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9
Gross job losses 868 851 975 925 902 3.8 3.7 4.2 4.0 3.9
At contracting establishments 686 673 785 739 702 3.0 2.9 3.4 3.2 3.0
At closing establishments 182 178 190 186 200 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9
Net employment change 136 152 41 112 131 0.6 0.7 0.2 0.5 0.5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,406 1,338 1,342 1,321 1,398 8.6 8.2 8.1 8.1 8.5
At expanding establishments 1,110 1,064 1,062 1,040 1,101 6.8 6.5 6.4 6.4 6.7
At opening establishments 296 274 280 281 297 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8
Gross job losses 1,230 1,198 1,397 1,408 1,216 7.6 7.3 8.4 8.6 7.4
At contracting establishments 1,004 992 1,160 1,172 992 6.2 6.0 7.0 7.2 6.0
At closing establishments 226 206 237 236 224 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4
Net employment change 176 140 -55 -87 182 1.0 0.9 -0.3 -0.5 1.1
Other services
Gross job gains 304 299 310 295 305 7.2 7.0 7.3 6.9 7.1
At expanding establishments 237 235 246 232 237 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.4 5.5
At opening establishments 67 64 64 63 68 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6
Gross job losses 291 276 289 300 279 6.9 6.5 6.8 7.0 6.5
At contracting establishments 224 216 223 235 213 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.5 5.0
At closing establishments 67 60 66 65 66 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.5
Net employment change 13 23 21 -5 26 0.3 0.5 0.5 -0.1 0.6
(1) Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Table 4. Private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
Total private by firm (1) Firm size 1 - 49 employees Firm size 50 - 249 employees Firm size 250 or more employees
Year 3 months Net Gross job Net Gross job Net Gross job Net Gross job
ended change gains losses change gains losses change gains losses change gains losses
2009 March -2,638 4,617 7,255 -983 2,721 3,704 -616 810 1,426 -1,039 1,086 2,125
June -1,763 5,169 6,932 -474 2,946 3,420 -281 950 1,231 -1,008 1,273 2,281
September -906 5,164 6,070 -372 2,826 3,198 -110 932 1,042 -424 1,406 1,830
December -317 5,403 5,720 -159 2,940 3,099 -45 962 1,007 -113 1,501 1,614
2010 March -234 5,115 5,349 -195 2,863 3,058 -2 914 916 -37 1,338 1,375
June 664 5,805 5,141 235 3,093 2,858 204 1,071 867 225 1,641 1,416
September 226 5,525 5,299 26 2,946 2,920 87 998 911 113 1,581 1,468
December 502 5,781 5,279 92 3,051 2,959 92 1,034 942 318 1,696 1,378
2011 March 340 5,375 5,035 99 2,983 2,884 122 971 849 119 1,421 1,302
June 537 5,746 5,209 190 3,073 2,883 169 1,063 894 178 1,610 1,432
September 852 5,974 5,122 272 3,137 2,865 171 1,066 895 409 1,771 1,362
December 297 5,585 5,288 45 2,970 2,925 44 981 937 208 1,634 1,426
2012 March 972 5,904 4,932 388 3,173 2,785 220 1,054 834 364 1,677 1,313
June 612 5,828 5,216 174 3,039 2,865 158 1,074 916 280 1,715 1,435
September 226 5,581 5,355 55 2,963 2,908 54 1,006 952 117 1,612 1,495
December 637 5,779 5,142 180 3,025 2,845 94 1,014 920 363 1,740 1,377
2013 March 582 5,743 5,161 212 3,071 2,859 156 1,029 873 214 1,643 1,429
June 650 5,906 5,256 226 3,085 2,859 135 1,071 936 289 1,750 1,461
September 473 5,764 5,291 225 3,063 2,838 69 1,021 952 179 1,680 1,501
December 631 5,886 5,255 122 3,021 2,899 105 1,034 929 404 1,831 1,427
2014 March 442 5,665 5,223 231 3,070 2,839 149 1,035 886 62 1,560 1,498
June 893 6,134 5,241 302 3,178 2,876 214 1,119 905 377 1,837 1,460
September 560 5,865 5,305 197 3,064 2,867 117 1,066 949 246 1,735 1,489
December 951 6,155 5,204 212 3,105 2,893 150 1,085 935 589 1,965 1,376
2015 March 222 5,669 5,447 166 3,096 2,930 76 1,024 948 -20 1,549 1,569
June 838 6,248 5,410 319 3,197 2,878 188 1,131 943 331 1,920 1,589
September 446 5,905 5,459 146 3,053 2,907 75 1,045 970 225 1,807 1,582
December 860 6,261 5,401 237 3,178 2,941 96 1,077 981 527 2,006 1,479
2016 March 254 5,747 5,493 204 3,118 2,914 56 1,017 961 -6 1,612 1,618
June 305 6,040 5,735 67 3,123 3,056 113 1,103 990 125 1,814 1,689
September 728 6,251 5,523 180 3,151 2,971 94 1,086 992 454 2,014 1,560
December 288 5,909 5,621 72 3,068 2,996 47 1,032 985 169 1,809 1,640
2017 March 663 5,994 5,331 359 3,239 2,880 187 1,078 891 117 1,677 1,560
June 516 6,193 5,677 143 3,158 3,015 146 1,127 981 227 1,908 1,681
September -120 5,821 5,941 -121 2,992 3,113 -51 1,012 1,063 52 1,817 1,765
December 871 6,222 5,351 240 3,192 2,952 159 1,092 933 472 1,938 1,466
2018 March 729 6,050 5,321 310 3,212 2,902 159 1,064 905 260 1,774 1,514
June 426 6,179 5,753 128 3,189 3,061 150 1,132 982 148 1,858 1,710
September 10 5,970 5,960 -102 3,019 3,121 -33 1,026 1,059 145 1,925 1,780
December 739 6,132 5,393 210 3,182 2,972 151 1,085 934 378 1,865 1,487
2019 March 579 5,944 5,365 280 3,159 2,879 150 1,054 904 149 1,731 1,582
June 187 6,111 5,924 55 3,137 3,082 93 1,119 1,026 39 1,855 1,816
September -59 5,816 5,875 -55 2,999 3,054 -38 1,015 1,053 34 1,802 1,768
December 694 6,211 5,517 192 3,167 2,975 107 1,073 966 395 1,971 1,576
(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by establishment, as some
establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process.
NOTE: Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. Net change totals for the firm-level data differ from
the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail.
See www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more detailed firm size class data.
Table 5. Components of private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains and job losses Gross job gains and job losses
(in thousands) as a percent of employment
Category 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019
Total private by firm (1)
Gross job gains 6,132 5,944 6,111 5,816 6,211 4.9 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.9
At expanding firms 5,166 5,019 5,215 4,939 5,220 4.1 4.0 4.1 3.9 4.1
At opening firms 966 925 896 877 991 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8
Gross job losses 5,393 5,365 5,924 5,875 5,517 4.3 4.3 4.7 4.7 4.4
At contracting firms 4,508 4,515 5,035 5,010 4,631 3.6 3.6 4.0 4.0 3.7
At closing firms 885 850 889 865 886 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
Net employment change 739 579 187 -59 694 0.6 0.4 0.1 -0.1 0.5
Firm size 1 to 49 employees
Gross job gains 3,182 3,159 3,137 2,999 3,167 9.3 9.1 9.1 8.7 9.2
At expanding firms 2,257 2,259 2,279 2,156 2,216 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.3 6.4
At opening firms 925 900 858 843 951 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.8
Gross job losses 2,972 2,879 3,082 3,054 2,975 8.7 8.4 8.9 8.8 8.7
At contracting firms 2,122 2,063 2,225 2,218 2,128 6.2 6.0 6.4 6.4 6.2
At closing firms 850 816 857 836 847 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.5
Net employment change 210 280 55 -55 192 0.6 0.7 0.2 -0.1 0.5
Firm size 50 to 249 employees
Gross job gains 1,085 1,054 1,119 1,015 1,073 4.8 4.7 4.9 4.5 4.8
At expanding firms 1,054 1,030 1,086 984 1,038 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.4 4.6
At opening firms 31 24 33 31 35 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2
Gross job losses 934 904 1,026 1,053 966 4.1 4.0 4.5 4.7 4.2
At contracting firms 904 878 998 1,029 934 4.0 3.9 4.4 4.6 4.1
At closing firms 30 26 28 24 32 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Net employment change 151 150 93 -38 107 0.7 0.7 0.4 -0.2 0.6
Firm size 250 or more employees
Gross job gains 1,865 1,731 1,855 1,802 1,971 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.8
At expanding firms 1,855 1,730 1,850 1,799 1,966 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.8
At opening firms 10 1 5 3 5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Gross job losses 1,487 1,582 1,816 1,768 1,576 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.3
At contracting firms 1,482 1,574 1,812 1,763 1,569 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.3
At closing firms 5 8 4 5 7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Net employment change 378 149 39 34 395 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.5
(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by
establishment, as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process.
NOTE: Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. Net change totals for
the firm-level data differ from the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of
analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail. See www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more
detailed firm size class data.
Table 6. Private sector gross job gains and losses by state, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains Gross job losses
State 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019
United States (1)... 7,768,000 7,375,000 7,605,000 7,341,000 7,831,000 6,957,000 6,850,000 7,423,000 7,330,000 7,039,000
Alabama............. 100,816 96,841 93,715 95,629 102,098 85,914 88,823 97,277 96,709 91,736
Alaska.............. 27,051 24,748 26,955 23,615 25,548 24,029 22,229 25,350 25,007 25,427
Arizona............. 154,406 139,196 140,806 160,648 161,299 126,130 136,405 141,783 121,854 131,054
Arkansas............ 59,915 53,605 50,642 56,518 65,621 50,421 51,893 58,009 56,355 48,857
California.......... 1,019,583 958,690 986,077 939,910 1,023,895 893,290 918,099 969,001 909,515 900,745
Colorado............ 155,491 150,523 161,898 150,709 154,783 137,868 143,527 142,841 148,238 142,901
Connecticut......... 76,068 74,499 82,537 79,052 78,090 71,454 81,433 83,620 82,328 79,474
Delaware............ 25,620 24,839 23,225 23,718 25,359 21,770 21,612 24,821 23,984 24,302
District of Columbia 29,712 29,198 29,227 29,215 28,990 27,027 25,795 29,219 28,952 25,251
Florida............. 494,076 470,398 500,836 508,398 515,379 466,878 428,898 487,176 441,736 460,815
Georgia............. 239,126 257,662 236,211 239,926 252,323 217,509 218,890 246,926 233,652 216,151
Hawaii.............. 30,742 28,766 25,041 29,020 29,795 27,198 31,811 32,710 28,365 28,557
Idaho............... 45,579 46,481 45,151 43,343 49,087 38,775 38,110 41,827 42,680 40,017
Illinois............ 286,588 273,000 289,823 255,204 289,245 288,063 268,937 277,708 294,059 270,172
Indiana............. 148,866 156,880 140,418 143,721 159,789 133,677 129,593 155,955 152,070 134,514
Iowa................ 75,879 67,346 75,896 68,696 75,734 69,658 71,892 73,362 73,262 69,937
Kansas.............. 69,531 62,736 65,750 64,630 72,572 62,125 64,959 65,932 64,574 64,957
Kentucky............ 97,782 92,536 91,694 93,509 97,814 87,327 88,220 94,999 90,394 92,757
Louisiana........... 99,438 95,919 97,369 94,769 94,434 92,940 94,705 105,984 99,020 92,766
Maine............... 37,301 37,368 39,623 33,318 38,217 34,444 33,681 39,418 37,768 36,432
Maryland............ 146,421 139,079 138,324 135,836 143,545 138,449 125,036 140,041 144,488 128,911
Massachusetts....... 182,975 180,711 192,471 168,540 187,199 167,127 164,915 179,383 187,503 174,790
Michigan............ 212,257 193,954 211,732 191,346 219,196 196,309 175,917 219,402 225,606 200,837
Minnesota........... 142,627 129,422 146,506 130,923 147,059 135,392 128,720 136,281 144,232 140,048
Mississippi......... 58,977 50,681 52,288 49,815 56,037 47,947 55,297 54,217 51,901 50,013
Missouri............ 137,961 129,371 135,471 138,505 146,875 128,093 126,018 140,045 137,536 124,878
Montana............. 34,407 29,494 30,766 28,210 33,309 27,518 31,004 29,660 29,657 27,863
Nebraska............ 47,835 46,491 46,984 45,665 51,026 46,760 45,655 46,493 44,446 47,528
Nevada.............. 80,193 74,485 73,635 75,445 85,109 67,175 66,481 75,365 70,689 63,896
New Hampshire....... 37,886 36,640 37,129 33,261 38,349 32,781 32,983 36,876 38,203 34,225
New Jersey.......... 223,239 201,365 216,314 209,706 229,309 199,050 198,569 203,764 216,244 204,300
New Mexico.......... 43,809 41,983 40,861 43,749 44,407 39,424 38,022 41,409 39,943 41,340
New York............ 504,548 485,292 492,204 469,641 480,900 460,838 433,874 475,470 484,354 466,096
North Carolina...... 248,759 237,488 230,289 214,705 233,918 197,480 188,107 215,739 223,918 203,371
North Dakota........ 23,548 24,826 23,575 23,210 23,548 21,746 22,437 23,713 24,814 23,415
Ohio................ 261,361 258,396 266,633 251,312 267,740 245,446 241,765 265,147 272,778 246,532
Oklahoma............ 84,052 74,976 76,968 81,812 82,766 78,597 75,282 80,251 78,936 80,110
Oregon.............. 110,386 105,038 105,253 102,439 111,604 98,153 95,104 100,367 102,596 96,619
Pennsylvania........ 277,414 266,704 272,697 274,084 282,335 249,012 249,431 278,287 272,854 254,386
Rhode Island........ 26,789 24,678 27,100 24,792 27,498 24,229 23,887 28,695 26,368 25,056
South Carolina...... 128,913 113,237 110,389 106,317 114,803 93,825 106,262 108,448 101,624 104,992
South Dakota........ 22,202 20,396 22,031 20,592 22,895 20,696 22,444 21,436 21,144 20,517
Tennessee........... 148,634 138,640 142,792 142,652 147,133 127,807 124,279 131,387 132,694 130,443
Texas............... 652,219 584,029 607,026 616,227 644,021 537,389 541,312 562,489 561,642 547,280
Utah................ 87,692 92,927 89,306 87,442 88,214 78,369 78,342 83,159 79,494 81,328
Vermont............. 18,863 17,446 18,074 16,025 17,627 17,285 16,200 18,303 19,579 16,328
Virginia............ 199,472 201,989 194,478 167,181 213,332 176,271 175,654 187,801 191,833 176,376
Washington.......... 182,294 176,059 190,942 173,654 188,423 160,020 160,092 164,526 171,392 162,672
West Virginia....... 35,422 33,504 34,404 31,847 33,825 36,511 36,947 36,179 37,289 39,080
Wisconsin........... 134,830 127,951 139,354 120,048 136,339 122,971 120,014 133,371 145,899 124,583
Wyoming............. 20,839 18,347 18,043 17,705 19,692 16,307 16,590 20,240 18,349 18,206
Puerto Rico......... 40,125 47,891 43,684 41,670 37,232 45,122 34,491 39,466 37,553 33,897
Virgin Islands...... 1,934 2,987 2,303 3,066 2,881 1,736 1,853 1,597 1,792 2,003
(1) The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.
NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 7. Private sector gross job gains and losses, as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains as a percent of employment Gross job losses as a percent of employment
State 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019
United States....... 6.3 5.9 6.0 5.8 6.2 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.8 5.6
Alabama............. 6.3 6.0 5.8 5.9 6.3 5.3 5.5 6.0 5.9 5.7
Alaska.............. 11.0 10.0 10.8 9.5 10.2 9.8 9.0 10.2 10.1 10.2
Arizona............. 6.2 5.6 5.7 6.4 6.4 5.1 5.5 5.7 4.8 5.2
Arkansas............ 5.9 5.2 5.0 5.5 6.4 5.0 5.1 5.7 5.5 4.8
California.......... 6.9 6.3 6.6 6.3 6.7 5.9 6.2 6.4 6.1 5.9
Colorado............ 6.8 6.6 7.0 6.6 6.7 6.0 6.3 6.2 6.4 6.2
Connecticut......... 5.3 5.2 5.8 5.5 5.5 4.9 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.5
Delaware............ 6.6 6.4 6.0 6.1 6.5 5.6 5.5 6.3 6.2 6.2
District of Columbia 5.6 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.1 4.9 5.5 5.4 4.7
Florida............. 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.5 6.6 6.1 5.6 6.3 5.7 5.9
Georgia............. 6.3 6.8 6.2 6.2 6.5 5.8 5.7 6.4 6.1 5.6
Hawaii.............. 5.8 5.4 4.7 5.5 5.6 5.1 5.9 6.1 5.3 5.4
Idaho............... 7.4 7.5 7.1 6.9 7.7 6.3 6.1 6.7 6.8 6.3
Illinois............ 5.5 5.2 5.6 4.9 5.6 5.6 5.1 5.3 5.6 5.2
Indiana............. 5.6 5.9 5.2 5.4 6.0 5.0 4.8 5.8 5.7 5.1
Iowa................ 5.8 5.1 5.8 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.3
Kansas.............. 6.1 5.4 5.7 5.7 6.3 5.4 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.7
Kentucky............ 6.1 5.8 5.8 5.8 6.1 5.4 5.5 5.9 5.7 5.8
Louisiana........... 6.2 5.9 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.9 6.5 6.1 5.8
Maine............... 7.3 7.2 7.5 6.4 7.4 6.7 6.4 7.5 7.2 7.0
Maryland............ 6.8 6.4 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.4 5.7 6.4 6.6 5.8
Massachusetts....... 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.2 5.7 5.9 5.5
Michigan............ 5.6 5.1 5.5 5.1 5.8 5.2 4.6 5.8 6.0 5.3
Minnesota........... 5.7 5.2 5.8 5.2 5.8 5.4 5.1 5.5 5.8 5.6
Mississippi......... 6.5 5.7 5.8 5.5 6.2 5.3 6.2 6.0 5.8 5.5
Missouri............ 5.8 5.4 5.6 5.8 6.1 5.4 5.3 5.8 5.8 5.2
Montana............. 8.9 7.6 8.0 7.3 8.6 7.2 8.0 7.7 7.7 7.2
Nebraska............ 5.9 5.7 5.7 5.6 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.8
Nevada.............. 6.6 6.0 5.9 6.0 6.8 5.5 5.4 6.0 5.7 5.0
New Hampshire....... 6.6 6.3 6.4 5.8 6.6 5.7 5.7 6.3 6.6 5.9
New Jersey.......... 6.4 5.7 6.2 6.0 6.5 5.7 5.6 5.8 6.1 5.8
New Mexico.......... 6.8 6.4 6.3 6.7 6.7 6.1 5.8 6.3 6.1 6.2
New York............ 6.3 6.0 6.0 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.3 5.9 5.9 5.7
North Carolina...... 6.7 6.3 6.1 5.7 6.2 5.3 5.1 5.7 5.9 5.3
North Dakota........ 6.8 7.1 6.7 6.6 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.7 7.1 6.7
Ohio................ 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.7 5.3 5.1 5.7 5.8 5.3
Oklahoma............ 6.5 5.8 5.9 6.3 6.4 6.1 5.8 6.2 6.1 6.2
Oregon.............. 6.7 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.7 6.0 5.8 6.1 6.2 5.8
Pennsylvania........ 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.4 4.8 4.8 5.3 5.2 4.9
Rhode Island........ 6.4 5.8 6.4 5.8 6.5 5.7 5.6 6.7 6.2 5.9
South Carolina...... 7.4 6.4 6.3 6.0 6.5 5.4 6.0 6.2 5.7 5.9
South Dakota........ 6.3 5.7 6.2 5.8 6.4 5.8 6.4 6.0 6.0 5.7
Tennessee........... 5.8 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.6 4.9 4.8 5.0 5.1 5.0
Texas............... 6.2 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.0 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.1
Utah................ 6.9 7.3 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.2 6.3
Vermont............. 7.4 6.7 6.9 6.3 6.9 6.8 6.3 7.1 7.6 6.4
Virginia............ 6.3 6.4 6.1 5.2 6.6 5.6 5.5 5.9 6.0 5.5
Washington.......... 6.4 6.2 6.6 6.0 6.6 5.6 5.6 5.7 6.0 5.7
West Virginia....... 6.3 6.0 6.2 5.8 6.2 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.7 7.1
Wisconsin........... 5.4 5.1 5.5 4.8 5.5 5.0 4.8 5.3 5.8 5.0
Wyoming............. 10.0 8.6 8.5 8.5 9.3 7.8 7.8 9.6 8.7 8.6
Puerto Rico......... 6.0 7.1 6.4 6.1 5.4 6.8 5.1 5.8 5.4 4.9
Virgin Islands...... 7.9 11.9 8.8 11.2 10.2 7.1 7.4 6.1 6.6 7.1
NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 8. Private sector establishment births and deaths, seasonally adjusted
Total private
(Levels in thousands)
Number of Establishments Employment
Births Deaths (1) Births Deaths
Year 3 months ended Level Rate (2) Level Rate Level Rate Level Rate
2009 March 197 2.7 247 3.4 738 0.7 869 0.8
June 201 2.8 238 3.3 767 0.7 837 0.8
September 192 2.7 227 3.2 725 0.7 793 0.7
December 202 2.8 218 3.1 728 0.7 749 0.7
2010 March 193 2.7 211 3.0 706 0.7 687 0.7
June 193 2.7 202 2.9 730 0.7 665 0.6
September 207 2.9 204 2.9 754 0.7 701 0.7
December 216 3.0 201 2.8 805 0.8 700 0.7
2011 March 204 2.9 200 2.8 715 0.7 632 0.6
June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 0.7 689 0.6
September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 0.7 675 0.6
December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 0.7 700 0.6
2012 March 236 3.3 188 2.6 787 0.7 614 0.6
June 217 3.0 194 2.7 799 0.7 673 0.6
September 210 2.9 196 2.7 804 0.7 692 0.6
December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 0.7 673 0.6
2013 March 205 2.8 193 2.6 748 0.7 648 0.6
June 222 3.0 215 2.9 789 0.7 695 0.6
September 219 2.9 195 2.6 818 0.7 678 0.6
December 215 2.9 187 2.5 803 0.7 670 0.6
2014 March 220 2.9 190 2.5 784 0.7 635 0.6
June 221 2.9 204 2.7 806 0.7 711 0.6
September 225 3.0 199 2.6 825 0.7 703 0.6
December 224 2.9 198 2.6 836 0.7 705 0.6
2015 March 233 3.0 206 2.7 817 0.7 694 0.6
June 234 3.1 212 2.8 836 0.7 731 0.6
September 242 3.1 207 2.7 880 0.7 702 0.6
December 247 3.2 208 2.7 896 0.8 732 0.6
2016 March 236 3.0 203 2.6 789 0.7 668 0.6
June 241 3.1 213 2.7 838 0.7 720 0.6
September 239 3.0 214 2.7 869 0.7 746 0.6
December 238 3.0 217 2.8 868 0.7 727 0.6
2017 March 241 3.0 203 2.6 803 0.7 663 0.5
June 240 3.0 225 2.8 848 0.7 756 0.6
September 242 3.0 225 2.8 849 0.7 762 0.6
December 246 3.1 216 2.7 854 0.7 732 0.6
2018 March 248 3.1 214 2.7 811 0.7 663 0.5
June 265 3.3 231 2.9 880 0.7 774 0.6
September 251 3.1 231 2.8 867 0.7 787 0.6
December 249 3.1 222 2.7 863 0.7 762 0.6
2019 March 256 3.1 222 2.7 814 0.6 698 0.6
June 257 3.1 N/A N/A 848 0.7 N/A N/A
September 250 3.0 N/A N/A 842 0.7 N/A N/A
December 266 3.2 N/A N/A 897 0.7 N/A N/A
(1) Values for deaths are not available for the most recent three quarters by definition. See the
Technical Note for more informations.
(2) The rates measure births and deaths as a percentage of the average of the previous and current
quarter employment levels or total number of establishments.
United States Department of Labor
