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Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
BDM BDM Program Links

Quarterly Data Series on Business Employment Dynamics News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) 				USDL-16-2129
Wednesday, November 9, 2016	

Technical information: (202) 691-6553  *  BDMInfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/bdm

Media contact:	       (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov	


	  BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS:  FIRST QUARTER 2016

From December 2015 to March 2016, gross job gains from opening 
and expanding private sector establishments were 7.0 million, 
a decrease of 866,000 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 6.8 
million, a decrease of 59,000 jobs from the previous quarter. 
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)

The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of 
gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 194,000 jobs in 
the private sector during the first quarter of 2016. 
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)

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. (See the Technical Note for more information.)

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
|         Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data           |
| Data in this release incorporate annual revisions to the BED series.   |
| Annual revisions are published each year with the release of first     |
| quarter data. These revisions cover the last four quarters of not      |
| seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.   |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

The BED data series include 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 
gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size 
class.

Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 5.8 million in 
the first quarter of 2016, a decrease of 597,000 jobs from the 
previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)

Opening establishments accounted for 1.2 million jobs gained in the 
first quarter of 2016, a decrease of 269,000 jobs from the previous 
quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)

Contracting establishments lost 5.6 million jobs in the first quarter
of 2016, an increase of 44,000 jobs from the prior quarter. 
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)

In the first quarter of 2016, closing establishments lost 1.2 million 
jobs, a decrease of 103,000 jobs from the previous quarter. 
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)

Gross job gains represented 5.8 percent of private sector employment 
in the first quarter of 2016, while gross job losses represented 5.7
percent of private sector employment. (See tables A, 2, and 3.)

In the first quarter of 2016, the number of establishment births 
(a subset of the openings data, see the Technical Note for more 
information) decreased by 26,000 to 220,000 establishments. These
new establishments accounted for 734,000 jobs, a decrease of 161,000
jobs from the previous quarter. (See table 8.)

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are 
available through the second quarter of 2015, when 735,000 jobs were
lost at 213,000 establishments. In the prior quarter, 690,000 jobs 
were lost at 206,000 establishments. (See table 8.)

During the first quarter of 2016, gross job gains exceeded gross job 
losses in 6 of 13 industries. The sectors with the largest net job 
increases in the first quarter of 2016 were leisure and hospitality 
(+109,000), and retail trade (+98,000). The net job increase in the 
leisure and hospitality sector was the result of 1.2 million gross job
gains and 1.1 million gross job losses. The retail trade sector 
encountered 948,000 gross job gains along with 850,000 gross job 
losses. The sectors with the largest net job decreases in the first
quarter of 2016 were professional and business services (-118,000) 
and transportation and warehousing (-64,000). The net job decrease in
the professional and business services sector was the result of 1.2 
million gross job gains and 1.4 million gross job losses. The 
transportation and warehousing sector experienced 229,000 gross job
gains along with 293,000 gross job losses. (See table 3.)


Table A.  Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses, 
seasonally adjusted 

Category                                 3 months ended

                                Mar.    June    Sept.   Dec.    Mar.
                                2015    2015    2015    2015    2016

                                      Levels (in thousands)
                                      
Gross job gains................ 7,036   7,588   7,338   7,843   6,977
 At expanding establishments... 5,727   6,244   5,972   6,375   5,778
 At opening establishments..... 1,309   1,344   1,366   1,468   1,199

Gross job losses............... 6,799   6,773   6,911   6,842   6,783
 At contracting establishments. 5,600   5,573   5,698   5,573   5,617
 At closing establishments..... 1,199   1,200   1,213   1,269   1,166

Net employment change(1).......   237     815     427   1,001     194
								
                                         Rates (percent)

Gross job gains................   6.0     6.4     6.3     6.6     5.8
 At expanding establishments...   4.9     5.3     5.1     5.4     4.8
 At opening establishments.....   1.1     1.1     1.2     1.2     1.0

Gross job losses...............   5.8     5.7     5.8     5.8     5.7
 At contracting establishments.   4.8     4.7     4.8     4.7     4.7
 At closing establishments.....   1.0     1.0     1.0     1.1     1.0

Net employment change(1).......    .2      .7      .5      .8      .1

    (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.

In the first quarter of 2016, firms with 1-49 employees had a net 
employment gain of 175,000. Firms with 50-249 employees had a net 
employment gain of 57,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment loss of 8,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)

Of the 2.3 million net jobs created over the last four quarters, firms 
with 1-49 employees contributed 37 percent of net job growth, while
firms with 50-249 employees contributed 17 percent, and firms with 250
or more employees contributed 46 percent. (See tables 4 and 5.)
 
In the first quarter of 2016, gross job gains exceeded gross job 
losses in 34 states and the Virgin Islands. North Dakota has 
experienced gross job losses in excess of gross job gains for 
the past five quarters.  Other states with gross job losses 
greater than gross job gains in the first quarter of 2016 include,
but are not limited to, Alaska, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas,
and Wyoming.  Washington had the largest net employment gain this 
quarter with 39,276 net jobs, the result of 187,946 gross job gains
and 148,670 gross job losses. Alaska had the highest rate of gross job
gains as a percent of employment at 9.4 percent, above the U.S. rate
of 5.8 percent, as well as the highest rate of gross job losses as a 
percent of employment at 9.7 percent, above the U.S. rate of 5.7 
percent.  Hawaii and Michigan had the lowest rates of gross job 
losses as a percent of employment at 4.9 percent. 
(See table 6 and 7.)  

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 frequently asked 
questions on firm size data. Additional information about the Business
Employment Dynamics data can be found in the Technical Note of this 
release or may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. 

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2016 are scheduled |
| to be released on Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).     |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                                 
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 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 mea-
sures for any given quarter.  Each of these measures -- QCEW, BED, and CES--
makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; how-
ever, 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 over-the-quarter employment change. It is important to
understand program differences and the intended uses of the program products.
(See table below.)

   Additional information on each program can be obtained from the program 
web sites shown in the table below.

				                                  
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- |  623,000 establish-
           |  submitted by 9.6   |  ministrative records|  ments
           |  million employers  |  submitted by 7.7    |
           |                     |  million private sec-|
           |                     |  tor employers       |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage   |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal-
           |  age:  all employers|  ing government, pri-|  ary jobs:
           |  subject to state   |  vate households, and|--UI Coverage, exclud-
           |  and federal UI Laws|  establishments with |  ing: agriculture, pri-
           |                     |  zero employment     |  vate households, and
           |                     |                      |  self-employed;
           |                     |                      |  including: railroads,
           |                     |                      |  religious organiza-
           |                     |                      |  tions, and other non-
           |                     |                      |  UI-covered jobs
           |                     |                      |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly          |--Quarterly           |--Monthly 
frequency  |  -6 months after the|  -7 months after the |  -First Friday
           |   end of each quar- |   end of each quarter|   of following month
           |   ter               |                      |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
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 annu-
           |  new quarter of UI  |  dinal database and  |  ally realigns (bench-
           |  data               |  directly summarizes |  marks) sample esti-    
           |                     |  gross job gains and |  mates to first quar-  
           |                     |  losses              |  ter UI levels
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
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, MSA,|  and contractions at |  industry
           |  State, and national|  the national level  |
           |  levels by detailed |  by NAICS super-     |
           |  industry           |  sectors,3-digit     |
           |                     |  NAICS, and by size  |
           |                     |  of firm, and at the |   
           |                     |  state private-sector|
           |                     |  total level         | 
           |                     |--Future expansions   |
           |                     |  will include        |
           |                     |  data at the county  |
           |                     |  and MSA level       |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal  |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses       |  -Detailed locality |  -Business cycle     |  -Principal national
           |   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 or-
ganizations, 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 cer-
tain small nonprofit organizations.   
   
   Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from lon-
gitudinal histories of 7.7 million private sector employer reports out 
of 9.6 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to 
BLS in the first quarter of 2016.  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 employ-
ment in both previous and current quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and the 
Virgin Islands are also excluded from the national data. As an illustration, 
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 2016:

             Number of active establishments included in 
              Business Employment Dynamics data at the
                          national level

                                                                   Millions
                                                                       
Total establishments QCEW program....................................9.6

    Excluded:  Public sector.........................................0.3 
               Private households....................................0.2
               Zero employment.......................................1.3      
               Establishments in Puerto Rico 
                 and the Virgin Islands..............................0.1 

                 
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data.............................................7.7

Unit of analysis
   
   Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by in-
dustry and firms are used in the tabulation of the BED size class sta-
tistics. 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 employ-
ment 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 em-
ployment 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 quar-
ters. 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 estab-
lishments' unique SWA identification numbers (SWA-ID).  Between 95 to 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 re-
cords 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 4-year cycle.  Changes in establish-
ment classification codes resulting from the verification process are intro-
duced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year.  Changes re-
sulting 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 al-
located 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 vari-
ation 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 ana-
lyze changes in economic activity.

   The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contrac-
ting units are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated 
based on the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. Simi-
larly, 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 em-
ployment levels are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the sea-
sonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 
ARIMA.  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 ad-
justed 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 particu-
larly 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 admini-
strative rather than sample data, there are no issues related to sampling 
error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists.  Nonsampling errors can oc-
cur 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 distri-
buted 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 compli-
cations.
   
   The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on correc-
tions 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 qua-
rter data. These revisions cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adj-
usted 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 e
mployment and wages and an annual bulletin: Employment and Wages Annual 
Averages, are available upon request from the Division of Administrative 
Statistics and Labor Turnover, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department 
of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; telephone 202-691-6567; 
(http://www.bls.gov/cew/);  (e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).   
                                      
   The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, its net change,
and earnings by detailed industry.  These estimates are part of the Employ-
ment Situation report put out monthly by BLS.  
                                     
   The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides month-
ly measures of job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired in-
dividuals upon request. Voice phone:  202-691-5200; TDD message referral 
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

2006  March                896      7,880       6,383         1,497       6,984       5,661           1,323
      June                 342      7,766       6,228         1,538       7,424       6,026           1,398
      September             92      7,545       6,076         1,469       7,453       6,067           1,386
      December             431      7,770       6,226         1,544       7,339       5,964           1,375

2007  March                584      7,815       6,331         1,484       7,231       5,894           1,337
      June                 132      7,647       6,205         1,442       7,515       6,084           1,431
      September           -209      7,376       5,870         1,506       7,585       6,190           1,395
      December             268      7,687       6,181         1,506       7,419       6,040           1,379

2008  March               -199      7,320       5,860         1,460       7,519       6,111           1,408
      June                -593      7,281       5,833         1,448       7,874       6,363           1,511
      September           -913      6,944       5,535         1,409       7,857       6,436           1,421
      December          -1,838      6,738       5,345         1,393       8,576       7,056           1,520

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                954      7,080       5,751         1,329       6,126       5,002           1,124
      June                 603      7,048       5,721         1,327       6,445       5,272           1,173
      September            271      6,898       5,581         1,317       6,627       5,429           1,198
      December             688      7,103       5,744         1,359       6,415       5,224           1,191

2013  March                565      6,933       5,704         1,229       6,368       5,190           1,178
      June                 661      7,154       5,832         1,322       6,493       5,284           1,209
      September            487      7,060       5,719         1,341       6,573       5,428           1,145
      December             712      7,261       5,927         1,334       6,549       5,344           1,205

2014  March                447      6,947       5,681         1,266       6,500       5,357           1,143
      June                 870      7,456       6,116         1,340       6,586       5,364           1,222
      September            540      7,243       5,912         1,331       6,703       5,517           1,186
      December           1,071      7,634       6,260         1,374       6,563       5,324           1,239

2015  March                237      7,036       5,727         1,309       6,799       5,600           1,199
      June                 815      7,588       6,244         1,344       6,773       5,573           1,200
      September            427      7,338       5,972         1,366       6,911       5,698           1,213
      December           1,001      7,843       6,375         1,468       6,842       5,573           1,269

2016  March                194      6,977       5,778         1,199       6,783       5,617           1,166

(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

2006  March                 .8       7.0         5.7           1.3         6.2          5.0            1.2
      June                  .4       6.9         5.5           1.4         6.5          5.3            1.2
      September             .1       6.7         5.4           1.3         6.6          5.4            1.2
      December              .4       6.9         5.5           1.4         6.5          5.3            1.2

2007  March                 .5       6.9         5.6           1.3         6.4          5.2            1.2
      June                  .1       6.7         5.4           1.3         6.6          5.3            1.3
      September            -.2       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.6          5.4            1.2
      December              .2       6.7         5.4           1.3         6.5          5.3            1.2

2008  March                -.1       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.5          5.3            1.2
      June                 -.5       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.9          5.6            1.3
      September            -.9       6.1         4.9           1.2         7.0          5.7            1.3
      December            -1.7       6.0         4.8           1.2         7.7          6.3            1.4

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            -.8       6.0         4.8           1.2         6.8          5.5            1.3
      December             -.3       6.3         5.0           1.3         6.6          5.3            1.3

2010  March                -.2       6.0         4.8           1.2         6.2          5.0            1.2
      June                  .7       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.9          4.8            1.1
      September             .2       6.3         5.1           1.2         6.1          4.9            1.2
      December              .5       6.6         5.3           1.3         6.1          4.9            1.2

2011  March                 .3       6.1         5.0           1.1         5.8          4.7            1.1
      June                  .5       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.9          4.7            1.2
      September             .8       6.7         5.4           1.3         5.9          4.8            1.1
      December              .4       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.0          4.8            1.2

2012  March                 .8       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.6          4.6            1.0
      June                  .5       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.9          4.8            1.1
      September             .2       6.2         5.0           1.2         6.0          4.9            1.1
      December              .6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1

2013  March                 .5       6.2         5.1           1.1         5.7          4.6            1.1
      June                  .6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1
      September             .5       6.3         5.1           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December              .6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1

2014  March                 .4       6.1         5.0           1.1         5.7          4.7            1.0
      June                  .7       6.5         5.3           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1
      September             .5       6.3         5.1           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December              .9       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.7          4.6            1.1

2015  March                 .2       6.0         4.9           1.1         5.8          4.8            1.0
      June                  .7       6.4         5.3           1.1         5.7          4.7            1.0
      September             .5       6.3         5.1           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December              .8       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1

2016  March                 .1       5.8         4.8           1.0         5.7          4.7            1.0

(1) The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage
    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

                                   Mar.    June    Sept.   Dec.    Mar.   Mar.   June   Sept.  Dec.   Mar.  
                                   2015    2015    2015    2015    2016   2015   2015   2015   2015   2016
Total private(1)

Gross job gains                   7,036   7,588   7,338   7,843   6,977    6.0    6.4    6.3    6.6    5.8
 At expanding establishments      5,727   6,244   5,972   6,375   5,778    4.9    5.3    5.1    5.4    4.8
 At opening establishments        1,309   1,344   1,366   1,468   1,199    1.1    1.1    1.2    1.2    1.0
Gross job losses                  6,799   6,773   6,911   6,842   6,783    5.8    5.7    5.8    5.8    5.7
 At contracting establishments    5,600   5,573   5,698   5,573   5,617    4.8    4.7    4.8    4.7    4.7
 At closing establishments        1,199   1,200   1,213   1,269   1,166    1.0    1.0    1.0    1.1    1.0
Net employment change               237     815     427   1,001     194     .2     .7     .5     .8     .1

Goods-producing

Gross job gains                   1,340   1,395   1,292   1,368   1,292    6.4    6.7    6.2    6.6    6.1
 At expanding establishments      1,144   1,200   1,104   1,162   1,119    5.5    5.8    5.3    5.6    5.3
 At opening establishments          196     195     188     206     173     .9     .9     .9    1.0     .8
Gross job losses                  1,312   1,337   1,312   1,316   1,282    6.3    6.4    6.3    6.3    6.2
 At contracting establishments    1,120   1,142   1,117   1,120   1,099    5.4    5.5    5.4    5.4    5.3
 At closing establishments          192     195     195     196     183     .9     .9     .9     .9     .9
Net employment change                28      58     -20      52      10     .1     .3    -.1     .3    -.1

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains                     284     266     246     248     254   13.6   13.1   12.5   12.8   13.1
 At expanding establishments        249     232     212     214     223   11.9   11.4   10.8   11.0   11.5
 At opening establishments           35      34      34      34      31    1.7    1.7    1.7    1.8    1.6
Gross job losses                    299     333     288     301     272   14.3   16.4   14.6   15.5   14.1
 At contracting establishments      264     297     252     266     239   12.6   14.6   12.8   13.7   12.4
 At closing establishments           35      36      36      35      33    1.7    1.8    1.8    1.8    1.7
Net employment change               -15     -67     -42     -53     -18    -.7   -3.3   -2.1   -2.7   -1.0

Construction

Gross job gains                     666     697     652     705     661   10.5   11.0   10.1   10.8   10.0
 At expanding establishments        539     572     534     574     550    8.5    9.0    8.3    8.8    8.3
 At opening establishments          127     125     118     131     111    2.0    2.0    1.8    2.0    1.7
Gross job losses                    623     602     606     589     607    9.8    9.4    9.5    9.1    9.1
 At contracting establishments      507     486     492     474     499    8.0    7.6    7.7    7.3    7.5
 At closing establishments          116     116     114     115     108    1.8    1.8    1.8    1.8    1.6
Net employment change                43      95      46     116      54     .7    1.6     .6    1.7     .9

Manufacturing

Gross job gains                     390     432     394     415     377    3.2    3.5    3.2    3.3    3.1
 At expanding establishments        356     396     358     374     346    2.9    3.2    2.9    3.0    2.8
 At opening establishments           34      36      36      41      31     .3     .3     .3     .3     .3
Gross job losses                    390     402     418     426     403    3.1    3.2    3.4    3.5    3.2
 At contracting establishments      349     359     373     380     361    2.8    2.9    3.0    3.1    2.9
 At closing establishments           41      43      45      46      42     .3     .3     .4     .4     .3
Net employment change                 0      30     -24     -11     -26     .1     .3    -.2    -.2    -.1

Service-providing(1)

Gross job gains                   5,696   6,193   6,046   6,475   5,685    5.9    6.4    6.2    6.6    5.7
 At expanding establishments      4,583   5,044   4,868   5,213   4,659    4.7    5.2    5.0    5.3    4.7
 At opening establishments        1,113   1,149   1,178   1,262   1,026    1.2    1.2    1.2    1.3    1.0
Gross job losses                  5,487   5,436   5,599   5,526   5,501    5.6    5.6    5.7    5.6    5.6
 At contracting establishments    4,480   4,431   4,581   4,453   4,518    4.6    4.6    4.7    4.5    4.6
 At closing establishments        1,007   1,005   1,018   1,073     983    1.0    1.0    1.0    1.1    1.0
Net employment change               209     757     447     949     184     .3     .8     .5    1.0     .1

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains                     265     286     271     294     256    4.5    4.9    4.6    4.9    4.4
 At expanding establishments        219     240     225     244     216    3.7    4.1    3.8    4.1    3.7
 At opening establishments           46      46      46      50      40     .8     .8     .8     .8     .7
Gross job losses                    260     263     264     268     265    4.4    4.4    4.5    4.5    4.5
 At contracting establishments      207     208     209     209     208    3.5    3.5    3.6    3.5    3.5
 At closing establishments           53      55      55      59      57     .9     .9     .9    1.0    1.0
Net employment change                 5      23       7      26      -9     .1     .5     .1     .4    -.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains                     920     998     928     925     948    5.9    6.3    5.8    5.9    6.0
 At expanding establishments        793     867     795     798     833    5.1    5.5    5.0    5.1    5.3
 At opening establishments          127     131     133     127     115     .8     .8     .8     .8     .7
Gross job losses                    879     837     937     921     850    5.6    5.3    5.9    5.8    5.4
 At contracting establishments      766     724     823     789     747    4.9    4.6    5.2    5.0    4.7
 At closing establishments          113     113     114     132     103     .7     .7     .7     .8     .7
Net employment change                41     161      -9       4      98     .3    1.0    -.1     .1     .6

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains                     235     262     268     343     229    5.1    5.7    5.8    7.3    4.8
 At expanding establishments        202     226     230     305     200    4.4    4.9    5.0    6.5    4.2
 At opening establishments           33      36      38      38      29     .7     .8     .8     .8     .6
Gross job losses                    274     229     227     227     293    6.0    5.0    4.9    4.8    6.1
 At contracting establishments      243     197     191     188     258    5.3    4.3    4.1    4.0    5.4
 At closing establishments           31      32      36      39      35     .7     .7     .8     .8     .7
Net employment change               -39      33      41     116     -64    -.9     .7     .9    2.5   -1.3

Utilities

Gross job gains                      13      13      13      12       9    2.4    2.4    2.4    2.2    1.6
 At expanding establishments         12      12      11      11       8    2.2    2.2    2.0    2.0    1.4
 At opening establishments            1       1       2       1       1     .2     .2     .4     .2     .2
Gross job losses                     12      13      13      11      10    2.2    2.4    2.4    2.0    1.8
 At contracting establishments       11      11      12      10       9    2.0    2.0    2.2    1.8    1.6
 At closing establishments            1       2       1       1       1     .2     .4     .2     .2     .2
Net employment change                 1       0       0       1      -1     .2     .0     .0     .2    -.2

Information

Gross job gains                     127     151     145     162     135    4.7    5.5    5.3    5.9    4.9
 At expanding establishments        109     129     121     135     116    4.0    4.7    4.4    4.9    4.2
 At opening establishments           18      22      24      27      19     .7     .8     .9    1.0     .7
Gross job losses                    129     131     145     140     138    4.7    4.7    5.2    5.0    5.0
 At contracting establishments      105     108     122     112     110    3.8    3.9    4.4    4.0    4.0
 At closing establishments           24      23      23      28      28     .9     .8     .8    1.0    1.0
Net employment change                -2      20       0      22      -3     .0     .8     .1     .9    -.1

Financial activities

Gross job gains                     348     388     370     394     344    4.5    4.9    4.7    5.0    4.3
 At expanding establishments        278     316     299     307     278    3.6    4.0    3.8    3.9    3.5
 At opening establishments           70      72      71      87      66     .9     .9     .9    1.1     .8
Gross job losses                    334     332     349     353     333    4.3    4.2    4.5    4.5    4.2
 At contracting establishments      259     259     273     270     258    3.3    3.3    3.5    3.4    3.3
 At closing establishments           75      73      76      83      75    1.0     .9    1.0    1.1     .9
Net employment change                14      56      21      41      11     .2     .7     .2     .5     .1

Professional and business services

Gross job gains                   1,285   1,450   1,417   1,600   1,237    6.6    7.5    7.2    8.1    6.3
 At expanding establishments      1,045   1,184   1,143   1,292   1,026    5.4    6.1    5.8    6.5    5.2
 At opening establishments          240     266     274     308     211    1.2    1.4    1.4    1.6    1.1
Gross job losses                  1,339   1,313   1,315   1,311   1,355    6.8    6.8    6.7    6.6    6.8
 At contracting establishments    1,097   1,049   1,054   1,037   1,111    5.6    5.4    5.4    5.2    5.6
 At closing establishments          242     264     261     274     244    1.2    1.4    1.3    1.4    1.2
Net employment change               -54     137     102     289    -118    -.2     .7     .5    1.5    -.5

Education and health services

Gross job gains                     872     940     970   1,006     878    4.2    4.5    4.6    4.8    4.1
 At expanding establishments        715     781     806     824     726    3.4    3.7    3.8    3.9    3.4
 At opening establishments          157     159     164     182     152     .8     .8     .8     .9     .7
Gross job losses                    830     815     827     801     813    4.0    3.9    3.9    3.8    3.8
 At contracting establishments      646     656     659     635     658    3.1    3.1    3.1    3.0    3.1
 At closing establishments          184     159     168     166     155     .9     .8     .8     .8     .7
Net employment change                42     125     143     205      65     .2     .6     .7    1.0     .3

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains                   1,261   1,316   1,270   1,344   1,247    8.4    8.8    8.4    8.8    8.0
 At expanding establishments        975   1,034     994   1,048   1,013    6.5    6.9    6.6    6.9    6.5
 At opening establishments          286     282     276     296     234    1.9    1.9    1.8    1.9    1.5
Gross job losses                  1,127   1,205   1,211   1,184   1,138    7.6    8.0    8.0    7.8    7.4
 At contracting establishments      924     999   1,009     977     939    6.2    6.6    6.7    6.4    6.1
 At closing establishments          203     206     202     207     199    1.4    1.4    1.3    1.4    1.3
Net employment change               134     111      59     160     109     .8     .8     .4    1.0     .6

Other services

Gross job gains                     282     304     284     294     272    7.1    7.6    7.0    7.2    6.7
 At expanding establishments        220     240     227     232     219    5.5    6.0    5.6    5.7    5.4
 At opening establishments           62      64      57      62      53    1.6    1.6    1.4    1.5    1.3
Gross job losses                    270     268     282     273     266    6.8    6.6    6.9    6.8    6.5
 At contracting establishments      212     210     220     213     207    5.3    5.2    5.4    5.3    5.1
 At closing establishments           58      58      62      60      59    1.5    1.4    1.5    1.5    1.4
Net employment change                12      36       2      21       6     .3    1.0     .1     .4     .2

(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(2,3)  gains   losses       change      gains   losses      change       gains   losses       change       gains   losses

2006  March            782      6,460    5,678         312       3,538    3,226        211        1,216    1,005         259        1,706    1,447
      June             369      6,329    5,960         111       3,425    3,314        102        1,179    1,077         156        1,725    1,569
      September         86      6,120    6,034          -5       3,334    3,339         48        1,133    1,085          43        1,653    1,610
      December         446      6,388    5,942         137       3,406    3,269         80        1,153    1,073         229        1,829    1,600

2007  March            478      6,333    5,855         173       3,445    3,272         98        1,158    1,060         207        1,730    1,523
      June             163      6,239    6,076         -33       3,330    3,363         99        1,171    1,072          97        1,738    1,641
      September       -215      5,920    6,135        -116       3,263    3,379        -34        1,079    1,113         -65        1,578    1,643
      December         270      6,251    5,981          10       3,317    3,307         56        1,139    1,083         204        1,795    1,591

2008  March           -274      5,831    6,105        -152       3,235    3,387        -11        1,079    1,090        -111        1,517    1,628
      June            -548      5,850    6,398        -287       3,174    3,461        -44        1,090    1,134        -217        1,586    1,803
      September       -956      5,532    6,488        -343       3,051    3,394       -140        1,020    1,160        -473        1,461    1,934
      December      -1,886      5,338    7,224        -689       2,910    3,599       -375          947    1,322        -822        1,481    2,303

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            975      5,903    4,928         397       3,178    2,781        221        1,055      834         357        1,670    1,313
      June             605      5,828    5,223         170       3,039    2,869        160        1,076      916         275        1,713    1,438
      September        245      5,595    5,350          57       2,965    2,908         55        1,007      952         133        1,623    1,490
      December         623      5,767    5,144         174       3,019    2,845         90        1,011      921         359        1,737    1,378

2013  March            593      5,741    5,148         230       3,082    2,852        156        1,026      870         207        1,633    1,426
      June             642      5,909    5,267         219       3,084    2,865        138        1,075      937         285        1,750    1,465
      September        458      5,764    5,306         210       3,056    2,846         62        1,018      956         186        1,690    1,504
      December         632      5,881    5,249         126       3,021    2,895        100        1,031      931         406        1,829    1,423

2014  March            469      5,663    5,194         260       3,084    2,824        154        1,033      879          55        1,546    1,491
      June             878      6,140    5,262         293       3,177    2,884        218        1,125      907         367        1,838    1,471
      September        516      5,858    5,342         168       3,052    2,884        102        1,059      957         246        1,747    1,501
      December         969      6,154    5,185         218       3,107    2,889        151        1,083      932         600        1,964    1,364

2015  March            244      5,662    5,418         191       3,106    2,915         81        1,022      941         -28        1,534    1,562
      June             823      6,253    5,430         312       3,197    2,885        191        1,136      945         320        1,920    1,600
      September        397      5,898    5,501         114       3,040    2,926         58        1,038      980         225        1,820    1,595
      December         882      6,258    5,376         247       3,179    2,932         98        1,075      977         537        2,004    1,467

2016  March            224      5,624    5,400         175       3,020    2,845         57        1,002      945          -8        1,602    1,610


(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.
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
(3) Net change totals for firm-level data shown differ from the establishment-level data
    due to independent seasonal adjustment of the series.
NOTE: See http://www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for additional 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

                                   Mar.    June    Sept.   Dec.    Mar.   Mar.   June   Sept.  Dec.   Mar.  
                                   2015    2015    2015    2015    2016   2015   2015   2015   2015   2016
Total private by firm(1)

Gross job gains                   5,662   6,253   5,898   6,258   5,624    4.8    5.3    5.0    5.3    4.7
 At expanding firms               4,727   5,344   5,010   5,295   4,790    4.0    4.5    4.2    4.5    4.0
 At opening firms                   935     909     888     963     834     .8     .8     .8     .8     .7

Gross job losses                  5,418   5,430   5,501   5,376   5,400    4.6    4.6    4.7    4.5    4.5
 At contracting firms             4,566   4,604   4,675   4,528   4,579    3.9    3.9    4.0    3.8    3.8
 At closing firms                   852     826     826     848     821     .7     .7     .7     .7     .7

Net employment change               244     823     397     882     224     .2     .7     .3     .8     .2


Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains                   3,106   3,197   3,040   3,179   3,020    9.4    9.6    9.2    9.5    9.0
 At expanding firms               2,208   2,333   2,191   2,265   2,218    6.7    7.0    6.6    6.8    6.6
 At opening firms                   898     864     849     914     802    2.7    2.6    2.6    2.7    2.4

Gross job losses                  2,915   2,885   2,926   2,932   2,845    8.8    8.7    8.8    8.8    8.4
 At contracting firms             2,106   2,094   2,139   2,123   2,057    6.4    6.3    6.4    6.4    6.1
 At closing firms                   809     791     787     809     788    2.4    2.4    2.4    2.4    2.3

Net employment change               191     312     114     247     175     .6     .9     .4     .7     .6


Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains                   1,022   1,136   1,038   1,075   1,002    4.8    5.3    4.8    5.0    4.6
 At expanding firms                 989   1,100   1,002   1,041     974    4.6    5.1    4.6    4.8    4.5
 At opening firms                    33      36      36      34      28     .2     .2     .2     .2     .1

Gross job losses                    941     945     980     977     945    4.4    4.4    4.5    4.6    4.3
 At contracting firms               905     917     952     943     917    4.2    4.3    4.4    4.4    4.2
 At closing firms                    36      28      28      34      28     .2     .1     .1     .2     .1

Net employment change                81     191      58      98      57     .4     .9     .3     .4     .3


Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains                   1,534   1,920   1,820   2,004   1,602    2.4    3.0    2.9    3.1    2.5
 At expanding firms               1,530   1,911   1,817   1,989   1,598    2.4    3.0    2.9    3.1    2.5
 At opening firms                     4       9       3      15       4     .0     .0     .0     .0     .0

Gross job losses                  1,562   1,600   1,595   1,467   1,610    2.5    2.5    2.5    2.3    2.5
 At contracting firms             1,555   1,593   1,584   1,462   1,605    2.5    2.5    2.5    2.3    2.5
 At closing firms                     7       7      11       5       5     .0     .0     .0     .0     .0

Net employment change               -28     320     225     537      -8    -.1     .5     .4     .8     .0


(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.

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)
                        Mar.       June       Sept.       Dec.      Mar.       Mar.         June       Sept.       Dec.      Mar. 
                        2015       2015       2015        2015      2016       2015         2015       2015        2015      2016

United States(1)...  7,036,000  7,588,000  7,338,000   7,843,000  6,977,000  6,799,000   6,773,000   6,911,000  6,842,000  6,783,000

Alabama.....            85,899     90,133     88,622      96,646     89,239     84,181      81,852      84,726     81,804     84,673
Alaska.....             26,765     27,285     23,091      24,329     23,755     23,861      28,028      26,099     26,571     24,612
Arizona.....           130,121    132,220    150,812     154,720    136,475    125,986     125,669     120,509    123,146    130,066
Arkansas.....           52,685     58,092     59,893      62,679     53,819     56,348      52,024      51,688     52,402     53,379
California.....        962,485    951,854    961,980   1,075,178    921,636    858,122     897,274     820,337    929,638    889,698
Colorado.....          142,267    146,462    146,856     147,332    140,016    129,124     134,781     134,443    134,691    130,052
Connecticut.....        68,321     80,963     72,563      77,156     74,339     73,135      71,007      83,562     70,694     70,865
Delaware.....           21,238     28,096     22,774      27,199     24,510     26,679      21,080      22,653     23,117     24,200
District of Columbia    28,374     30,607     30,577      31,569     26,719     26,080      29,130      27,128     23,562     28,186
Florida.....           438,045    481,297    484,767     510,696    439,847    387,219     412,153     410,423    412,905    410,669

Georgia.....           217,351    233,055    228,996     247,757    218,517    201,453     202,981     209,021    202,861    199,712
Hawaii.....             26,105     25,566     26,318      30,040     25,200     23,833      24,889      23,717     23,183     25,729
Idaho.....              49,100     41,357     43,304      43,766     46,359     38,384      39,922      38,689     38,441     35,558
Illinois.....          293,135    309,300    277,259     321,551    271,116    286,571     261,161     291,760    283,941    274,351
Indiana.....           136,795    145,914    140,328     158,633    141,057    135,472     131,964     136,850    126,844    136,213
Iowa.....               77,878     77,698     73,876      77,648     77,795     70,698      77,854      77,550     73,121     69,140
Kansas.....             63,354     66,593     63,692      70,502     64,980     65,009      65,334      64,622     62,764     66,896
Kentucky.....           84,531     97,979     94,081     103,547     88,881     92,965      84,291      87,585     83,693     90,733
Louisiana.....          99,807    103,590     99,727     106,451     96,609    110,517     109,135     100,776    103,367    105,846
Maine.....              32,850     41,166     33,041      43,068     40,502     35,213      32,465      35,925     35,516     34,636

Maryland.....          124,503    148,135    135,443     141,865    130,869    128,642     124,149     131,139    124,463    127,811
Massachusetts.....     160,226    190,435    163,806     176,932    158,738    162,195     152,071     167,776    156,781    152,250
Michigan.....          188,129    219,500    194,705     218,432    196,117    186,487     188,160     203,207    192,084    179,106
Minnesota.....         132,740    147,841    130,507     145,443    131,059    122,682     122,188     137,770    137,636    126,838
Mississippi.....        49,623     56,109     54,741      62,596     51,367     55,816      51,665      51,454     47,996     54,142
Missouri.....          127,847    138,899    131,354     145,011    131,177    123,610     120,074     126,763    121,021    124,222
Montana.....            33,608     29,199     27,896      31,491     29,163     26,295      30,976      28,117     26,762     26,815
Nebraska.....           48,819     47,378     48,003      49,121     47,050     45,063      45,058      45,106     44,211     44,379
Nevada.....             67,471     66,737     68,252      76,024     70,313     57,798      62,843      60,927     58,645     64,506
New Hampshire.....      31,887     37,480     33,637      37,269     33,406     31,444      33,098      35,115     31,119     32,615

New Jersey.....        195,834    235,851    211,844     227,731    198,701    207,687     200,704     205,236    197,598    198,223
New Mexico.....         40,800     42,444     40,870      43,231     39,261     41,264      42,909      40,917     42,850     39,633
New York.....          457,455    506,880    479,956     492,245    469,294    450,426     443,347     461,323    445,177    442,368
North Carolina.....    203,160    222,363    217,286     232,642    213,396    197,450     191,355     197,780    192,138    195,124
North Dakota.....       27,368     24,792     25,567      24,038     23,501     33,179      41,546      30,767     28,948     31,279
Ohio.....              250,181    274,703    249,218     274,448    251,839    252,247     238,268     255,390    236,802    234,642
Oklahoma.....           72,723     76,254     76,416      79,854     72,627     79,445      83,642      77,755     81,960     80,611
Oregon.....            103,630    103,432    105,022     106,625    106,558     85,815      91,533      96,128     93,530     88,983
Pennsylvania.....      241,860    279,002    266,576     288,170    271,355    265,309     248,103     266,221    258,949    264,903
Rhode Island.....       21,836     27,392     24,083      27,173     24,014     24,281      24,233      23,788     23,455     24,234

South Carolina.....     90,647    103,478     98,740     115,442     98,841     88,683      87,414      94,015     85,611     95,873
South Dakota.....       21,785     21,389     20,438      22,966     21,499     19,431      20,330      21,045     20,376     21,188
Tennessee.....         123,820    143,757    139,965     153,086    130,023    125,842     115,061     124,699    116,059    125,798
Texas.....             563,722    581,041    587,566     600,731    460,303    556,791     547,248     549,814    543,729    543,545
Utah.....               82,148     77,367     78,739      81,519     84,042     66,549      69,400      67,620     68,467     68,450
Vermont.....            17,664     18,641     17,668      18,140     16,825     17,133      17,605      19,407     16,671     17,717
Virginia.....          181,580    195,555    213,437     195,967    181,750    168,547     163,026     178,417    172,197    182,918
Washington.....        175,506    189,387    174,162     177,055    187,946    165,347     156,905     176,404    159,981    148,670
West Virginia.....      33,875     35,579     32,589      36,337     32,562     38,396      37,403      37,564     35,335     37,995
Wisconsin.....         132,058    137,249    133,980     145,150    136,563    123,100     126,130     134,844    126,012    126,353

Wyoming.....            20,008     17,129     17,885      19,048     16,868     19,776      23,841      19,549     19,747     19,826
Puerto Rico.....        36,260     38,624     40,437      42,057     38,292     43,466      41,723      42,986     38,537     40,072
Virgin Islands.....      1,567      1,774      1,643       1,979      1,549      1,585       1,870       1,980      1,451      1,469

The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.
(1) 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)

                        Mar.    June     Sept.    Dec.    Mar.        Mar.     June      Sept.   Dec.     Mar. 
                        2015    2015     2015     2015    2016        2015     2015      2015    2015     2016

United States(1)...      6.0     6.4      6.3      6.6     5.8         5.8      5.7       5.8      5.8     5.7

Alabama.....             5.7     5.9      5.8      6.2     5.8         5.5      5.3       5.5      5.3     5.4
Alaska.....             10.4    10.6      9.1      9.6     9.4         9.3     10.9      10.3     10.5     9.7
Arizona.....             6.0     6.0      6.8      6.9     6.0         5.7      5.7       5.4      5.4     5.7
Arkansas.....            5.4     6.0      6.1      6.3     5.4         5.8      5.3       5.3      5.3     5.3
California.....          7.0     6.9      6.9      7.6     6.5         6.2      6.5       5.9      6.7     6.3
Colorado.....            6.8     7.0      7.0      7.0     6.6         6.2      6.4       6.4      6.4     6.1
Connecticut.....         4.9     5.7      5.1      5.5     5.2         5.2      5.0       5.9      4.9     5.0
Delaware.....            5.8     7.7      6.1      7.3     6.5         7.3      5.8       6.1      6.2     6.4
District of Columbia..   5.8     6.1      6.1      6.2     5.2         5.2      5.8       5.4      4.6     5.6
Florida.....             6.4     7.0      6.9      7.2     6.1         5.6      5.9       5.8      5.8     5.8

Georgia.....             6.3     6.7      6.5      6.9     6.1         5.8      5.8       5.9      5.7     5.6
Hawaii.....              5.1     4.9      5.1      5.8     4.9         4.7      4.8       4.6      4.4     4.9
Idaho.....               9.0     7.6      7.8      7.9     8.2         7.1      7.2       7.0      6.9     6.3
Illinois.....            5.8     6.1      5.4      6.4     5.3         5.7      5.2       5.8      5.6     5.4
Indiana.....             5.4     5.7      5.5      6.2     5.5         5.4      5.2       5.3      4.9     5.3
Iowa.....                6.0     6.0      5.7      6.0     6.0         5.5      6.0       6.0      5.7     5.3
Kansas.....              5.7     6.0      5.7      6.2     5.8         5.8      5.9       5.8      5.6     5.9
Kentucky.....            5.6     6.4      6.1      6.7     5.7         6.1      5.5       5.7      5.4     5.8
Louisiana.....           6.1     6.4      6.2      6.5     6.0         6.8      6.8       6.2      6.4     6.6
Maine.....               6.6     8.3      6.6      8.6     8.0         7.1      6.5       7.1      7.1     6.9

Maryland.....            6.0     7.1      6.5      6.8     6.2         6.2      5.9       6.2      5.9     6.0
Massachusetts.....       5.4     6.4      5.4      5.9     5.2         5.5      5.1       5.6      5.2     5.0
Michigan.....            5.3     6.1      5.4      6.1     5.4         5.2      5.2       5.6      5.3     4.9
Minnesota.....           5.6     6.1      5.4      6.1     5.4         5.1      5.1       5.8      5.7     5.2
Mississippi.....         5.7     6.5      6.2      7.1     5.7         6.4      5.9       5.9      5.4     6.1
Missouri.....            5.6     6.0      5.7      6.3     5.7         5.4      5.2       5.5      5.3     5.3
Montana.....             9.2     8.0      7.6      8.5     7.8         7.2      8.4       7.7      7.3     7.2
Nebraska.....            6.1     5.9      6.0      6.1     5.8         5.7      5.6       5.6      5.5     5.5
Nevada.....              6.3     6.2      6.2      6.8     6.3         5.3      5.8       5.6      5.3     5.7
New Hampshire.....       5.8     6.8      6.1      6.7     6.0         5.7      6.0       6.4      5.6     5.8

New Jersey.....          6.0     7.1      6.3      6.7     5.9         6.3      6.0       6.2      5.9     5.9
New Mexico.....          6.5     6.8      6.5      7.0     6.2         6.7      6.9       6.6      6.9     6.3
New York.....            6.0     6.7      6.3      6.4     6.1         5.9      5.8       6.0      5.7     5.7
North Carolina.....      5.9     6.4      6.3      6.7     6.0         5.7      5.5       5.7      5.5     5.6
North Dakota.....        7.1     6.7      7.1      6.7     6.6         8.6     11.2       8.5      8.1     8.9
Ohio.....                5.5     6.0      5.5      6.0     5.4         5.6      5.2       5.6      5.1     5.1
Oklahoma.....            5.7     6.0      6.1      6.3     5.7         6.3      6.6       6.1      6.5     6.4
Oregon.....              7.0     6.9      7.0      7.0     7.0         5.8      6.1       6.4      6.2     5.8
Pennsylvania.....        4.9     5.6      5.3      5.7     5.4         5.3      4.9       5.3      5.1     5.2
Rhode Island.....        5.4     6.7      5.8      6.6     5.8         6.0      5.9       5.8      5.7     5.9

South Carolina.....      5.7     6.5      6.1      7.1     6.1         5.6      5.5       5.8      5.3     5.8
South Dakota.....        6.3     6.3      5.9      6.7     6.2         5.7      5.9       6.1      5.9     6.1
Tennessee.....           5.2     6.0      5.8      6.3     5.2         5.3      4.8       5.1      4.8     5.1
Texas.....               5.8     6.0      5.9      6.1     4.7         5.7      5.6       5.5      5.5     5.5
Utah.....                7.4     6.9      7.0      7.2     7.3         6.0      6.2       6.0      6.0     5.9
Vermont.....             6.9     7.3      6.9      7.2     6.6         6.7      6.9       7.7      6.5     6.9
Virginia.....            6.1     6.5      7.1      6.4     5.9         5.6      5.4       5.8      5.6     5.9
Washington.....          6.9     7.3      6.7      6.8     7.1         6.4      6.1       6.8      6.2     5.6
West Virginia.....       6.0     6.4      5.8      6.6     5.9         6.8      6.7       6.7      6.3     6.9
Wisconsin.....           5.5     5.7      5.6      6.0     5.6         5.2      5.2       5.6      5.2     5.2

Wyoming.....             9.1     7.9      8.5      9.0     7.9         8.9     11.0       9.2      9.3     9.4
Puerto Rico.....         5.3     5.7      5.9      6.3     5.7         6.4      6.2       6.3      5.7     6.0
Virgin Islands.....      5.7     6.5      6.0      7.3     5.7         5.8      6.8       7.3      5.3     5.4

(1) 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

2006  March               236      3.3       195     2.8          949        .8      767        .7
      June                233      3.3       206     2.9          987        .9      850        .8
      September           224      3.1       210     2.9          934        .8      843        .7
      December            236      3.3       207     2.9          976        .9      812        .7
  
2007  March               232      3.2       205     2.8          918        .8      787        .7
      June                225      3.1       215     3.0          898        .8      859        .8
      September           233      3.2       216     3.0          952        .8      845        .7
      December            228      3.1       218     3.0          922        .8      836        .7
  
2008  March               226      3.1       224     3.1          919        .8      832        .7
      June                221      3.0       238     3.3          876        .8      913        .8
      September           216      3.0       233     3.2          849        .8      881        .8
      December            211      2.9       253     3.5          819        .7      951        .9
  
2009  March               197      2.7       247     3.4          738        .7      869        .8
      June                201      2.8       238     3.3          767        .7      837        .8
      September           192      2.7       227     3.2          725        .7      793        .7
      December            202      2.8       218     3.1          728        .7      749        .7
  
2010  March               193      2.7       211     3.0          706        .7      687        .7
      June                193      2.7       202     2.9          730        .7      665        .6
      September           207      2.9       204     2.9          754        .7      701        .7
      December            216      3.0       201     2.8          805        .8      700        .7
  
2011  March               204      2.9       200     2.8          715        .7      632        .6
      June                210      2.9       205     2.9          767        .7      689        .6
      September           206      2.9       196     2.7          794        .7      675        .6
      December            214      3.0       198     2.8          800        .7      700        .6
  
2012  March               236      3.3       186     2.6          784        .7      614        .6
      June                216      3.0       195     2.7          799        .7      676        .6
      September           210      2.9       197     2.7          805        .7      693        .6
      December            218      3.0       183     2.5          809        .7      673        .6
  
2013  March               204      2.8       192     2.6          745        .7      645        .6
      June                222      3.0       215     2.9          790        .7      695        .6
      September           219      2.9       195     2.6          822        .7      678        .6
      December            216      2.9       187     2.5          806        .7      673        .6
  
2014  March               220      2.9       188     2.5          780        .7      629        .6
      June                220      2.9       205     2.7          806        .7      718        .6
      September           225      3.0       200     2.6          829        .7      705        .6
      December            223      2.9       197     2.6          838        .7      709        .6
  
2015  March               234      3.1       206     2.7          813        .7      690        .6
      June                234      3.1       213     2.8          839        .7      735        .6
      September           242      3.1       N/A     N/A          882        .7      N/A       N/A
      December            246      3.2       N/A     N/A          895        .8      N/A       N/A
  
2016  March               220      2.8       N/A     N/A          734        .6      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 information.

(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.

Last Modified Date: November 09, 2016