For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) USDL-14-2105
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
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 2014
From December 2013 to March 2014, gross job gains from opening and
expanding private sector establishments were 6.9 million, a decrease
of 440,000 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 6.5 million,
a decrease of 94,000 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 397,000 jobs in the
private sector during the first quarter of 2014.
(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.)
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.
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| Changes 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. |
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Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 5.6 million in
the first quarter of 2014, a decrease of 332,000 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 2014, a decrease of 108,000 jobs from the previous
quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)
Contracting establishments lost 5.3 million jobs in the first quarter
of 2014. This was a decrease of 5,000 jobs from the prior quarter.
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)
In the first quarter of 2014, closing establishments lost 1.1 million
jobs, a decrease of 89,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)
Gross job gains represented 6.0 percent of private sector employment
in the first quarter of 2014, while gross job losses represented 5.7
percent of private sector employment. (See tables A, 2, and 3.)
In the first quarter of 2014, the number of establishment births
(a subset of the openings data, see the Technical Note for more
information) decreased by 2,000 to 213,000. These new establishments
accounted for 763,000 jobs, a decrease of 48,000 from the previous
quarter. (See table 8.)
Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are
available through the second quarter of 2013, when 706,000 jobs were
lost at 219,000 establishments. In the prior quarter 633,000 jobs were
lost at 185,000 establishments. (See table 8.)
During the first quarter of 2014, gross job gains exceeded gross job
losses in every industry sector except retail trade, transportation
and warehousing, information, financial activities, and professional
and business services. The professional and business services sector,
which includes temporary help services, experienced a net decrease of
5,000 jobs. This was the first negative net change in the series since
third quarter 2009. The construction sector experienced the largest
net change since first quarter 2006, a gain of 88,000 jobs.
(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.
2013 2013 2013 2013 2014
Levels (in thousands)
Gross job gains................ 7,272 7,174 7,051 7,296 6,856
At expanding establishments... 5,648 5,849 5,708 5,956 5,624
At opening establishments..... 1,624 1,325 1,343 1,340 1,232
Gross job losses............... 6,346 6,496 6,583 6,553 6,459
At contracting establishments. 5,187 5,284 5,435 5,335 5,330
At closing establishments..... 1,159 1,212 1,148 1,218 1,129
Net employment change(1)....... 926 678 468 743 397
Rates (percent)
Gross job gains................ 6.6 6.4 6.3 6.4 6.0
At expanding establishments... 5.1 5.2 5.1 5.2 4.9
At opening establishments..... 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1
Gross job losses............... 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.7
At contracting establishments. 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7
At closing establishments..... 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0
Net employment change(1)....... 1.0 .6 .5 .6 .3
(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 2014 firms with 1-49 employees accounted for 53
percent of total net job growth. Firms with 50-249 employees accounted
for 34 percent of net job growth. Firms with 250 or more employees
accounted for 13 percent of net job growth, its lowest share since
third quarter 2004. This quarter is the sixteenth consecutive quarter
of positive net employment change for all three major firm size
categories. (See tables 4 and 5.)
Of the 9.1 million net new jobs created between the second quarter of
2010 and the first quarter of 2014, firms with 1-49 employees
contributed 31 percent of net job growth, while firms with 50-249
employees contributed 22 percent, and firms with 250 or more employees
contributed 47 percent. (See table 4.)
In the first quarter of 2014, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses
in 35 states. California had the largest net employment gain of 88,690
jobs, followed by Texas with 73,529 jobs. (See table 6.) Alaska had the
largest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 10.8
percent, above the U.S. rate of 6.0 percent. Pennsylvania had the
lowest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 4.9
percent, below the U.S. rate of 5.7 percent. (See table 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.
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| The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2014 are scheduled |
| to be released on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). |
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