For release 10:00 a.m. EST USDL-12-0159
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Technical information: (202) 691-6553 * BDMInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/bdm
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: SECOND QUARTER 2011
From March to June 2011 gross job gains from opening and expanding
private sector establishments was 6.9 million, an increase of 554,000
jobs compared to 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 was 6.3 million,
an increase of 228,000 jobs lost as compared to the previous quarter.
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all three major firm size
class categories. (See table 4.)
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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| New Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data Series |
| With the release of this quarter’s data, additional state data at |
| the NAICS industry sector level are now available. These data are|
| accessible through the data query tools at www.bls.gov/bdm/. Data |
| are available from September 1992 through June 2011 and will be |
| updated quarterly. |
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Job gains at expanding establishments totaled 5.6 million in second
quarter 2011, an increase from the previous quarter’s gain of 5.2
million jobs.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.3 million jobs in second quarter
2011, an increase of 157,000 jobs over the previous quarter’s gain of
1.1 million.
Contracting establishments lost 5.1 million jobs in the second quarter
of 2011. This is an increase from the prior quarter when contracting
establishments lost 5.0 million jobs.
In the second quarter of 2011, closing establishments lost 1.2 million
jobs, an increase of 114,000 jobs lost from the previous quarter.
(See tables 1 and 3.)
The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of
gross job losses yielded a net change of 578,000 jobs in the private
sector during the second quarter of 2011. (See table 1.)
Gross job gains represented 6.4 percent of private sector employment in
second quarter 2011, while gross job losses represented 5.8 percent of
private sector employment. (See table 2.)
In second quarter 2011, the number of establishment births (a subset of
the openings data, see the Technical Note for more information) rose by
4,000 to 187,000. These new establishments accounted for 727,000 jobs,
an increase of 67,000 from the previous quarter.
Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are
available through third quarter 2010, when 695,000 jobs were lost at
189,000 establishments. These figures represent an increase from the
second quarter when 652,000 jobs were lost at 185,000 establishments.
(See table 8.)
From March to June 2011, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in
all but three industry sectors -- utilities, information, and financial
activities. The construction industry experienced its first positive net
employment change since March 2007. In second quarter 2011, the
construction industry added 36,000 jobs with gross job gains of 662,000
and gross job losses of 626,000. The information sector continued to
experience net job losses, losing 5,000 jobs in the second quarter 2011.
This was the sixteenth consecutive quarter of net losses for the
information sector. Education and health services continued to have
positive over-the-quarter net gains, adding 26,000 jobs. This figure,
however, represents the lowest level of net gains for this sector since
the series began in September 1992. (See table 3.)
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses,
seasonally adjusted
Category 3 months ended
June Sept. Dec. Mar. June
2010 2010 2010 2011 2011
Levels (in thousands)
Gross job gains................ 6,969 6,685 7,009 6,338 6,892
At expanding establishments... 5,687 5,427 5,631 5,230 5,627
At opening establishments..... 1,282 1,258 1,378 1,108 1,265
Gross job losses............... 6,248 6,480 6,427 6,086 6,314
At contracting establishments. 5,086 5,255 5,199 4,969 5,083
At closing establishments..... 1,162 1,225 1,228 1,117 1,231
Net employment change(1)....... 721 205 582 252 578
Rates (percent)
Gross job gains................ 6.6 6.3 6.6 5.9 6.4
At expanding establishments... 5.4 5.1 5.3 4.9 5.2
At opening establishments..... 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.0 1.2
Gross job losses............... 5.9 6.2 6.1 5.7 5.8
At contracting establishments. 4.8 5.0 4.9 4.7 4.7
At closing establishments..... 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.1
Net employment change(1)....... .7 .1 .5 .2 .6
(1) The net employment change is the difference between total
gross job gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical
Note for further information.
Gross job gains and losses increased in all three major firm size
classes compared to the previous quarter. Firms with 250 or more employees
experienced the largest increase in both gross job gains and gross job
losses. This size class comprised 32 percent of the total net change in
employment for the quarter. (See tables 4 and 5.)
In the second quarter of 2011, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses
in 41 states and the District of Columbia. Texas had the largest net
employment change of 70,560 jobs, followed by New York with 57,072 jobs.
(See table 6.) Alaska experienced the largest rate of net employment change
at 1.5 percent, followed by Colorado and New Jersey at 1.0 percent each.
(See table 7.)
More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses are
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 Third Quarter 2011 are scheduled |
| to be released on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). |
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