Technical Information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 08-0203
http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, February 14, 2008
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: SECOND QUARTER 2007
From March 2007 to June 2007, the number of job gains from
opening and expanding private sector establishments was 7.6 million,
and the number of job losses from closing and contracting
establishments was 7.4 million, according to data released today by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. (See
charts 1 and 2 and table 3.) Over this period, firms with 1,000 or
more employees accounted for the largest share of gross job gains
(17.1 percent) as well as the largest share of gross job losses (17.4
percent). (See tables D and 4 and chart 3.)
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data series include gross
job gains and gross job losses at the establishment level by major
industry sector 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.
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. 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 jobs
gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in
employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.)
Private Sector Establishment-Level Gross Job Gains and Job Losses
Opening and expanding private sector business establishments
gained 7.6 million jobs in the second quarter of 2007, an increase of
135,000 from the previous quarter. Over the quarter, expanding
establishments added 6.3 million jobs while opening establishments
added 1.4 million jobs.
Gross job losses totaled 7.4 million, an increase of 332,000 from
the previous quarter. During the quarter, contracting establishments
lost 6.0 million jobs, while closing establishments lost 1.4 million
jobs. (See tables A, 1, and 3, and chart 2.)
The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the
number of gross jobs lost yielded a net change of 241,000 jobs in the
private sector for second quarter 2007.
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses,
seasonally adjusted
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|-------------------------------------
| June | Sept.| Dec. | March| June
Category | 2006 | 2006 | 2006 | 2007 | 2007
|-------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
----------------------------------|-------------------------------------
| | | | |
Gross job gains...................| 7,811| 7,473| 7,809| 7,509| 7,644
At expanding establishments.....| 6,292| 6,032| 6,271| 6,158| 6,257
At opening establishments.......| 1,519| 1,441| 1,538| 1,351| 1,387
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 7,395| 7,462| 7,297| 7,071| 7,403
At contracting establishments...| 6,015| 6,110| 6,943| 5,796| 6,008
At closing establishments.......| 1,380| 1,352| 1,354| 1,275| 1,395
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| 416| 11 | 512| 438| 241
|-------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|-------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 6.9| 6.7| 7.0| 6.6| 6.7
At expanding establishments.....| 5.6| 5.4| 5.6| 5.4| 5.5
At opening establishments.......| 1.3| 1.3| 1.4| 1.2| 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 6.5| 6.6| 6.5| 6.2| 6.5
At contracting establishments...| 5.3| 5.4| 5.3| 5.1| 5.3
At closing establishments.......| 1.2| 1.2| 1.2| 1.1| 1.2
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| .4| .1| .5| .4| .2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
From March 2007 to June 2007, gross job gains represented 6.7
percent of private sector employment, while gross job losses
represented 6.5 percent of private sector employment. (See tables A
and 2.) These gross job gain and loss statistics demonstrate that a
sizable number of jobs appear and disappear in the relatively short
time frame of one quarter.
Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
Goods-producing. Expanding and opening establishments in the
goods-producing sector accounted for 1,622,000 jobs gained, and
contracting and closing establishments accounted for 1,691,000 jobs
lost. This net loss of 69,000 jobs was the fourth consecutive
quarter of net loss in this sector. (See tables B and 3.)
Construction. In construction, gross job gains fell over the
quarter to 814,000 and gross job losses increased to 855,000,
resulting in a net loss of 41,000 jobs.
Manufacturing. Gross job gains in manufacturing increased to a
level of 522,000 jobs in the second quarter of 2007, and gross job
losses fell to 567,000, resulting in a net loss of 45,000 jobs. This
was the fourth consecutive quarter of net job losses for this
industry.
Table B. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses by industry,
seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Gross job gains | Gross job losses
| (3 months ended) | (3 months ended)
Industry |-----------------------------|-----------------------------
|June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June
|2006 |2006 |2006 |2007 |2007 |2006 |2006 |2006 |2007 |2007
-----------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
Total private1 |7,811|7,473|7,809|7,509|7,644|7,395|7,462|7,297|7,071|7,403
Goods-Producing.......|1,692|1,572|1,636|1,629|1,622|1,667|1,739|1,719|1,682|1,691
Natural resources | | | | | | | | | |
and mining.........| 293| 269| 287| 279| 286| 268| 263| 266| 287| 269
Construction ........| 838| 791| 825| 850| 814| 841| 868| 845| 816| 855
Manufacturing .......| 561| 512| 524| 500| 522| 558| 608| 608| 579| 567
Service-Providing1....|6,119|5,901|6,173|5,880|6,022|5,728|5,723|5,578|5,389|5,712
Wholesale trade......| 332| 311| 322| 314| 318| 292| 305| 303| 296| 300
Retail trade ........|1,062|1,030|1,081|1,087|1,023|1,100|1,085|1,004| 971|1,028
Transportation and | | | | | | | | | |
warehousing..........| 247| 241| 269| 224| 242| 232| 224| 225| 245| 222
Utilities............| 15| 15| 19| 11| 14| 13| 15| 18| 11| 12
Information..........| 150| 148| 167| 138| 160| 144| 171| 146| 132| 137
Financial activities.| 457| 446| 457| 421| 436| 442| 445| 444| 418| 467
Professional and | | | | | | | | | |
business services..|1,438|1,335|1,427|1,276|1,389|1,287|1,279|1,313|1,242|1,322
Education and | | | | | | | | | |
health services....| 787| 784| 795| 799| 785| 713| 674| 692| 655| 697
Leisure and | | | | | | | | | |
hospitality........|1,210|1,180|1,223|1,165|1,219|1,182|1,184|1,105|1,096|1,196
Other services.......| 313| 295| 299| 292| 304| 287| 305| 291| 278| 287
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Service-providing. In the service-providing sector, gross job
gains totaled 6,022,000 and gross job losses totaled 5,712,000 in the
second quarter of 2007, resulting in a net gain of 310,000 jobs.
Education and Health Services. The education and health services
sector gained 785,000 jobs and lost 697,000 jobs in this quarter, for
a net gain of 88,000. This industry has experienced a net growth in
jobs every quarter since this series began in 1992.
Retail Trade. In retail trade, gross job gains decreased this
quarter to 1,023,000 and gross job losses rose to 1,028,000, resulting
in a net loss of 5,000 jobs.
Leisure and Hospitality. The leisure and hospitality industry
gained 1,219,000 jobs and lost 1,196,000 jobs in the second quarter
of 2007, for a net gain of 23,000 jobs.
Financial Activities. The financial activities sector experienced
gross job gains of 436,000 and gross job losses of 467,000, resulting
in a net loss of 31,000 jobs. This was the first net loss in this
sector since the fourth quarter of 2003.
Number of Establishments Gaining and Losing Employment
Another way to look at the dynamics of business activities is to
monitor the number and proportion of business units that are growing
and declining. In the second quarter of 2007, the number of
establishments losing jobs exceeded the number of establishments
gaining jobs. Out of 6.9 million active private-sector
establishments, a total of 1,938,000 establishments lost jobs from
March 2007 to June 2007. (See table C.) Of these, 1,574,000 were
contracting establishments and 364,000 were closing establishments.
During the quarter, 1,555,000 establishments expanded and 352,000
establishments opened, resulting in 1,907,000 establishments gaining
jobs. Overall, the number of active private sector establishments
decreased by 12,000 during the quarter. This change is the
difference between the number of opening establishments and the
number of closing establishments. A decrease in the total number of
active establishments happened only two other times in the BED time
series: September 2001 and March 2003.
Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of
employment change, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|--------------------------------------
Category | June | Sept. | Dec. | March| June
| 2006 | 2006 | 2006 | 2007 | 2007
----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|------|------
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,923 | 1,891 | 1,954 | 1,935| 1,907
Expanding establishments........| 1,559 | 1,535 | 1,562 | 1,577| 1,555
Opening establishments..........| 364 | 356 | 392 | 358| 352
| | | | |
Establishments losing jobs........| 1,899 | 1,909 | 1,892 | 1,900| 1,938
Contracting establishments......| 1,554 | 1,558 | 1,542 | 1,545| 1,574
Closing establishments..........| 345 | 351 | 350 | 355| 364
| | | | |
Net establishment change (1)......| 19 | 5 | 42 | 3| -12
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 The net establishment change is the difference between the number of
opening establishments and the number of closing establishments. See the
Technical Note for further information.
Firm-level Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses by Size Class
From March 2007 to June 2007, firms with 1,000 or more employees
accounted for the largest share of gross job gains (17.1 percent) as
well as the largest share of gross job losses (17.4 percent). (See
tables D and 4, and chart 3.)
Small firms, those with 1-4, 5-9, and 10-19 employees,
show a drop in their shares of gross job gains over the quarter and
over the year. This drop was most significant for firms with 1 - 4
employees, whose share of gross job gains fell from 15.7 percent in
the previous quarter to 14.8 percent in the current quarter.
In the second quarter of 2007, firms with 500 or more employees
represented 21.9 percent of gross job gains and 21.8 percent of gross
job losses. (See table D.)
Firms with 1-4 employees continued to have the largest shares
of both job gains at opening firms and job losses at closing firms,
with 58.8 percent and 59.6 percent respectively, in the second
quarter of 2007. (See table 4.)
Table D. Three-month private sector share (1) of gross job gains and losses by firm
size, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Share of gross job gains | Share of gross job losses
| (3 months ended) | (3 months ended)
Firm size |------------------------------|------------------------------
| June|Sept.| Dec. |Mar. |June | June| Sept.| Dec.| Mar.| June
| 2006|2006 | 2006 |2007 |2007 | 2006| 2006 | 2006| 2007| 2007
-----------------------|-----|-----|------|-----|-----|-----|------|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
1 - 4 employees..| 15.2| 15.6| 15.8 | 15.7| 14.8| 15.9| 15.8 | 15.9| 16.7| 16.2
5 - 9 employees..| 11.9| 12.1| 11.6 | 12.3| 11.6| 12.5| 12.2 | 12.4| 12.6| 12.4
10 - 19 employees..| 12.3| 12.3| 11.7 | 12.5| 12.1| 12.6| 12.4 | 12.4| 12.5| 12.5
20 - 49 employees..| 14.6| 14.4| 13.8 | 14.6| 14.6| 14.4| 14.5 | 14.4| 14.4| 14.3
50 - 99 employees..| 9.1| 9.1| 8.7 | 9.0| 9.2| 8.9| 8.9 | 8.9| 8.8| 8.7
100 - 249 employees..| 9.8| 9.3| 9.2 | 9.4| 9.9| 9.1| 9.3 | 9.3| 9.0| 8.8
250 - 499 employees..| 5.9| 5.8| 5.5 | 5.5| 5.9| 5.4| 5.5 | 5.8| 5.3| 5.3
500 - 999 employees..| 4.8| 4.6| 4.5 | 4.5| 4.8| 4.4| 4.5 | 4.6| 4.1| 4.4
1,000 or more employees| 16.4| 16.8| 19.2 | 16.5| 17.1| 16.8| 16.9 | 16.3| 16.6| 17.4
| | | | | | | | | |
Total...............|100.0|100.0| 100.0|100.0|100.0|100.0|100.0 |100.0|100.0|100.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Share measures the percent of the category represented by firm size.
Gross Job Gains and Losses by State
Over the quarter, Alaska had the highest rate of gross job
gains (11.9 percent) and Alaska and Wyoming both had the highest
rates of gross job losses (10 percent). Arkansas had the lowest rate
of gross job gains (5.6 percent), and Illinois, Connecticut, and
Massachusetts had the lowest rates of gross job losses (5.3 percent
each). (See table 6.) Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in
31 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. In 19
states and Puerto Rico, gross job losses were greater than gross job
gains resulting in net losses in total employment (See table 5.)
More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses are
available at the Business Employment Dynamics Web page on the BLS Web
site at http://www.bls.gov/bdm. This information includes data on
the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm
size, the 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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| Comparing Business Employment Dynamics Data with Current |
| Employment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment |
| and Wages Data |
| |
| The net change in employment from Business Employment |
| Dynamics (BED) data series will not match the net change in |
| employment from the monthly Current Employment Statistics (CES) |
| survey. The CES estimates are based on monthly surveys from a |
| sample of establishments, while gross job gains and gross job |
| losses are based on a quarterly census of administrative records.|
| In addition, the CES has a different coverage, excluding the |
| agriculture sector but including establishments not covered by |
| the unemployment insurance program. The net over-the-quarter |
| changes derived by aggregating component series in the BED data |
| may be different from the net employment change estimated from |
| the CES seasonally adjusted total employment series. The in- |
| tended use of the BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor |
| market flows that underlie the net changes in aggregate employ- |
| ment levels; data users who want to track net changes in aggre- |
| gate employment levels over time should refer to CES data. |
| |
| BED data have a more limited scope than the Quarterly Census |
| of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data. The data in this release, |
| in contrast to the QCEW data, exclude government employees, |
| private households (NAICS 814110), and establishments with zero |
| employment. |
| |
| See the Technical Note for further information. |
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