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.
------------------------------------------------------------------
| 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. |
------------------------------------------------------------------
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), or the ES-202 program. The BED data are compiled by the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing quarterly state unemployment
insurance (UI) records. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file
quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by UI
laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The quarterly UI reports are sent by
the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to BLS and form the basis of the BLS
establishment universe sampling frame. These reports also are used to pro-
duce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and the longitu-
dinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. Other important BLS uses
of the UI reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program.
(See table below for differences between QCEW, CES, and BED.)
In the BED program, the quarterly UI 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 establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establish-
ments.
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures
The BLS 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.
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- | 400,000 establish-
| submitted by 8.9 | ministrative records| ments
| million employers | submitted by 6.9 |
| | 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 workers
| | |--Other employment, in-
| | | cluding railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -7 months after the| -8 months after the | -Usually 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 and by size |
| | of firm, and at the |
| | state private-sector|
| | total level |
| |--Future expansions |
| | will include data |
| | with greater in- |
| | dustry detail and |
| | data at the county |
| | and MSA level |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses | -Detailed locality | -Business cycle | -Principal 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 over 6.9 million private sector employer reports out
of 8.9 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to
BLS in the second quarter of 2007. 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 also are excluded from the national data. As an illustration,
the table below shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establish-
ments excluded from the gross job gains and gross job losses data in the second
quarter of 2007:
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data at the
national level
Millions
Total establishments QCEW program....................................8.9
Excluded: Public sector.........................................0.3
Private households....................................0.6
Zero employment.......................................1.0
Establishments in Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands..............................0.1
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data.............................................6.9
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, is 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 units with positive third-month employment in the pre-
vious 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.
All establishment-level employment changes are measured from the third
month of each quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their em-
ployment levels. Units with no change in employment count towards estimates
of total employment, but not for levels of gross employment 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.
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 esta-
blishments' 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 3-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.
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 contract-
ing 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 the total private sector are cal-
culated by summing the seasonally adjusted data for all sectors, including
the unclassified sector, which is not published separately.
The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting
units for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia are seasonally
adjusted at the total private level only. The sum of the state series for
opening, expanding, closing, and contracting units will not necessarily be
equal to the national total private series because of the independent seasonal
adjustment of these series.
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.
Additional statistics and other information
Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information.
The QCEW program, also known as the ES-202 program, provides both quarterly
and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed industry.
News releases on quarterly county employment and wages 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
1992 September 599 7,329 5,688 1,641 6,730 5,308 1,422
December 123 6,986 5,452 1,534 6,863 5,484 1,379
1993 March 288 7,117 5,404 1,713 6,829 5,364 1,465
June 734 7,275 5,782 1,493 6,541 5,155 1,386
September 965 7,539 5,926 1,613 6,574 5,265 1,309
December 603 7,375 5,822 1,553 6,772 5,411 1,361
1994 March 559 7,381 5,800 1,581 6,822 5,401 1,421
June 905 7,709 6,041 1,668 6,804 5,315 1,489
September 1,288 8,002 6,277 1,725 6,714 5,426 1,288
December 460 7,535 5,978 1,557 7,075 5,642 1,433
1995 March 758 7,787 6,124 1,663 7,029 5,652 1,377
June 358 7,666 6,006 1,660 7,308 5,840 1,468
September 845 7,983 6,341 1,642 7,138 5,645 1,493
December 378 7,830 6,140 1,690 7,452 5,929 1,523
1996 March 457 7,933 6,179 1,754 7,476 5,967 1,509
June 631 8,051 6,282 1,769 7,420 5,903 1,517
September 704 8,177 6,373 1,804 7,473 5,942 1,531
December 816 8,206 6,396 1,810 7,390 5,875 1,515
1997 March 784 8,214 6,407 1,807 7,430 5,886 1,544
June 584 8,055 6,330 1,725 7,471 5,931 1,540
September 901 8,515 6,718 1,797 7,614 5,927 1,687
December 708 8,617 6,697 1,920 7,909 6,024 1,885
1998 March 711 8,648 6,599 2,049 7,937 6,077 1,860
June 610 8,629 6,552 2,077 8,019 6,224 1,795
September 742 8,508 6,607 1,901 7,766 6,093 1,673
December 768 8,475 6,737 1,738 7,707 6,025 1,682
1999 March 353 8,585 6,626 1,959 8,232 6,395 1,837
June 644 8,539 6,661 1,878 7,895 6,210 1,685
September 588 8,571 6,734 1,837 7,983 6,250 1,733
December 1,005 8,749 6,956 1,793 7,744 6,076 1,668
2000 March 789 8,792 6,924 1,868 8,003 6,341 1,662
June 492 8,499 6,814 1,685 8,007 6,387 1,620
September 296 8,506 6,728 1,778 8,210 6,483 1,727
December 295 8,400 6,702 1,698 8,105 6,433 1,672
2001 March -156 8,436 6,694 1,742 8,592 6,717 1,875
June -792 8,009 6,319 1,690 8,801 7,050 1,751
September -1,184 7,608 5,917 1,691 8,792 6,991 1,801
December -960 7,591 5,932 1,659 8,551 6,858 1,693
2002 March -39 8,049 6,259 1,790 8,088 6,424 1,664
June -38 7,890 6,164 1,726 7,928 6,290 1,638
September -171 7,608 6,015 1,593 7,779 6,248 1,531
December -198 7,522 5,960 1,562 7,720 6,171 1,549
2003 March -420 7,423 5,901 1,522 7,843 6,306 1,537
June -96 7,415 5,944 1,471 7,511 6,040 1,471
September 180 7,369 5,898 1,471 7,189 5,828 1,361
December 332 7,560 6,027 1,533 7,228 5,792 1,436
2004 March 439 7,669 6,174 1,495 7,230 5,796 1,434
June 636 7,771 6,251 1,520 7,135 5,651 1,484
September 182 7,612 6,036 1,576 7,430 5,889 1,541
December 797 7,883 6,268 1,615 7,086 5,655 1,431
2005 March 352 7,578 6,107 1,471 7,226 5,800 1,426
June 590 7,796 6,248 1,548 7,206 5,789 1,417
September 651 7,943 6,362 1,581 7,292 5,846 1,446
December 539 7,846 6,278 1,568 7,307 5,936 1,371
2006 March 774 7,679 6,261 1,418 6,905 5,633 1,272
June 416 7,811 6,292 1,519 7,395 6,015 1,380
September 11 7,473 6,032 1,441 7,462 6,110 1,352
December 512 7,809 6,271 1,538 7,297 5,943 1,354
2007 March 438 7,509 6,158 1,351 7,071 5,796 1,275
June 241 7,644 6,257 1,387 7,403 6,008 1,395
(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
1992 September 0.7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 5.9 1.6
December .2 7.8 6.1 1.7 7.6 6.1 1.5
1993 March .3 7.9 6.0 1.9 7.6 6.0 1.6
June .8 8.0 6.4 1.6 7.2 5.7 1.5
September 1.1 8.3 6.5 1.8 7.2 5.8 1.4
December .6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5
1994 March .7 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.3 5.8 1.5
June 1.0 8.3 6.5 1.8 7.3 5.7 1.6
September 1.3 8.4 6.6 1.8 7.1 5.7 1.4
December .5 7.9 6.3 1.6 7.4 5.9 1.5
1995 March .8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.9 1.4
June .3 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.6 6.1 1.5
September .9 8.2 6.5 1.7 7.3 5.8 1.5
December .3 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.7 6.1 1.6
1996 March .5 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.6 6.1 1.5
June .7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 6.0 1.5
September .7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 6.0 1.5
December .8 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.4 5.9 1.5
1997 March .9 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.3 5.8 1.5
June .6 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.3 5.8 1.5
September 1.0 8.4 6.6 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6
December .8 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.6 5.8 1.8
1998 March .7 8.4 6.4 2.0 7.7 5.9 1.8
June .6 8.3 6.3 2.0 7.7 6.0 1.7
September .7 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6
December .7 8.0 6.4 1.6 7.3 5.7 1.6
1999 March .3 8.0 6.2 1.8 7.7 6.0 1.7
June .6 8.0 6.2 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6
September .6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6
December 1.0 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.1 5.6 1.5
2000 March .7 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.3 5.8 1.5
June .4 7.7 6.2 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5
September .2 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.5 5.9 1.6
December .3 7.6 6.1 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5
2001 March -.1 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.8 6.1 1.7
June -.8 7.2 5.7 1.5 8.0 6.4 1.6
September -1.2 6.9 5.4 1.5 8.1 6.4 1.7
December -.9 7.0 5.5 1.5 7.9 6.3 1.6
2002 March .0 7.5 5.8 1.7 7.5 6.0 1.5
June .0 7.3 5.7 1.6 7.3 5.8 1.5
September -.1 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.2 5.8 1.4
December .0 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.1 5.7 1.4
2003 March -.4 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.3 5.9 1.4
June -.1 7.0 5.6 1.4 7.1 5.7 1.4
September .1 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3
December .3 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3
2004 March .4 7.1 5.7 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3
June .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.2 1.4
September .3 7.1 5.6 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4
December .8 7.3 5.8 1.5 6.5 5.2 1.3
2005 March .3 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3
June .5 7.1 5.7 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3
September .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3
December .6 7.1 5.7 1.4 6.5 5.3 1.2
2006 March .8 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.1 5.0 1.1
June .4 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2
September .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2
December .5 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.5 5.3 1.2
2007 March .4 6.6 5.4 1.2 6.2 5.1 1.1
June .2 6.7 5.5 1.2 6.5 5.3 1.2
(1) The rates measure gross job gains and job losses as a percentage of the average of the previous and current employment.
(2) See footnote 1, table 1.
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
June Sept. Dec. March June June Sept. Dec. March June
2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,811 7,473 7,809 7,509 7,644 6.9 6.7 7.0 6.6 6.7
At expanding establishments 6,292 6,032 6,271 6,158 6,257 5.6 5.4 5.6 5.4 5.5
At opening establishments 1,519 1,441 1,538 1,351 1,387 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.2
Gross job losses 7,395 7,462 7,297 7,071 7,403 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.2 6.5
At contracting establishments 6,015 6,110 5,943 5,796 6,008 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.1 5.3
At closing establishments 1,380 1,352 1,354 1,275 1,395 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2
Net employment change 416 11 512 438 241 .4 .1 .5 .4 .2
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,692 1,572 1,636 1,629 1,622 7.2 6.6 7.0 6.9 6.9
At expanding establishments 1,438 1,329 1,381 1,398 1,385 6.1 5.6 5.9 5.9 5.9
At opening establishments 254 243 255 231 237 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0
Gross job losses 1,667 1,739 1,719 1,682 1,691 7.1 7.4 7.3 7.1 7.2
At contracting establishments 1,390 1,463 1,452 1,421 1,415 5.9 6.2 6.2 6.0 6.0
At closing establishments 277 276 267 261 276 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.2
Net employment change 25 -167 -83 -53 -69 .1 -.8 -.3 -.2 -.3
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 293 269 287 279 286 16.5 15.1 15.9 15.3 15.7
At expanding establishments 250 230 245 241 248 14.1 12.9 13.6 13.2 13.6
At opening establishments 43 39 42 38 38 2.4 2.2 2.3 2.1 2.1
Gross job losses 268 263 266 287 269 15.1 14.8 14.7 15.6 14.7
At contracting establishments 229 223 230 248 230 12.9 12.5 12.7 13.5 12.6
At closing establishments 39 40 36 39 39 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.1 2.1
Net employment change 25 6 21 -8 17 1.4 .3 1.2 -.3 1.0
Construction
Gross job gains 838 791 825 850 814 10.9 10.3 10.8 11.1 10.6
At expanding establishments 679 636 663 699 658 8.8 8.3 8.7 9.1 8.6
At opening establishments 159 155 162 151 156 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.0
Gross job losses 841 868 845 816 855 10.9 11.4 11.1 10.6 11.2
At contracting establishments 676 702 683 655 688 8.8 9.2 9.0 8.5 9.0
At closing establishments 165 166 162 161 167 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.2
Net employment change -3 -77 -20 34 -41 .0 -1.1 -.3 .5 -.6
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 561 512 524 500 522 4.0 3.6 3.8 3.6 3.7
At expanding establishments 509 463 473 458 479 3.6 3.3 3.4 3.3 3.4
At opening establishments 52 49 51 42 43 .4 .3 .4 .3 .3
Gross job losses 558 608 608 579 567 3.9 4.3 4.3 4.1 4.1
At contracting establishments 485 538 539 518 497 3.4 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.6
At closing establishments 73 70 69 61 70 .5 .5 .5 .4 .5
Net employment change 3 -96 -84 -79 -45 .1 -.7 -.5 -.5 -.4
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 6,119 5,901 6,173 5,880 6,022 6.9 6.6 6.9 6.5 6.7
At expanding establishments 4,854 4,703 4,890 4,760 4,872 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.3 5.4
At opening establishments 1,265 1,198 1,283 1,120 1,150 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.3
Gross job losses 5,728 5,723 5,578 5,389 5,712 6.4 6.4 6.2 6.0 6.3
At contracting establishments 4,625 4,647 4,491 4,375 4,593 5.2 5.2 5.0 4.9 5.1
At closing establishments 1,103 1,076 1,087 1,014 1,119 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2
Net employment change 391 178 595 491 310 .5 .2 .7 .5 .4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 332 311 322 314 318 5.7 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.3
At expanding establishments 270 253 262 256 264 4.6 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.4
At opening establishments 62 58 60 58 54 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 .9
Gross job losses 292 305 303 296 300 4.9 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.1
At contracting establishments 226 238 236 230 231 3.8 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.9
At closing establishments 66 67 67 66 69 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2
Net employment change 40 6 19 18 18 .8 .2 .3 .3 .2
Retail trade
Gross job gains 1,062 1,030 1,081 1,087 1,023 6.9 6.7 7.0 7.0 6.6
At expanding establishments 876 850 898 941 872 5.7 5.5 5.8 6.1 5.6
At opening establishments 186 180 183 146 151 1.2 1.2 1.2 .9 1.0
Gross job losses 1,100 1,085 1,004 971 1,028 7.1 7.0 6.5 6.2 6.6
At contracting establishments 942 923 857 827 890 6.1 6.0 5.5 5.3 5.7
At closing establishments 158 162 147 144 138 1.0 1.0 1.0 .9 .9
Net employment change -38 -55 77 116 -5 -.2 -.3 .5 .8 .0
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 247 241 269 224 242 5.8 5.7 6.3 5.2 5.6
At expanding establishments 207 207 231 192 208 4.9 4.9 5.4 4.5 4.8
At opening establishments 40 34 38 32 34 .9 .8 .9 .7 .8
Gross job losses 232 224 225 245 222 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.7 5.2
At contracting establishments 191 186 185 211 185 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.9 4.3
At closing establishments 41 38 40 34 37 1.0 .9 .9 .8 .9
Net employment change 15 17 44 -21 20 .3 .4 1.1 -.5 .4
Utilities
Gross job gains 15 15 19 11 14 2.8 2.8 3.5 2.0 2.6
At expanding establishments 13 14 13 10 13 2.4 2.6 2.4 1.8 2.4
At opening establishments 2 1 6 1 1 .4 .2 1.1 .2 .2
Gross job losses 13 15 18 11 12 2.4 2.8 3.3 2.0 2.2
At contracting establishments 11 13 13 10 10 2.0 2.4 2.4 1.8 1.8
At closing establishments 2 2 5 1 2 .4 .4 .9 .2 .4
Net employment change 2 0 1 0 2 .4 .0 .2 .0 .4
Information
Gross job gains 150 148 167 138 160 5.0 4.8 5.5 4.6 5.3
At expanding establishments 124 123 138 118 137 4.1 4.0 4.5 3.9 4.5
At opening establishments 26 25 29 20 23 .9 .8 1.0 .7 .8
Gross job losses 144 171 146 132 137 4.7 5.6 4.7 4.4 4.6
At contracting establishments 116 142 114 108 111 3.8 4.7 3.7 3.6 3.7
At closing establishments 28 29 32 24 26 .9 .9 1.0 .8 .9
Net employment change 6 -23 21 6 23 .3 -.8 .8 .2 .7
Financial activities
Gross job gains 457 446 457 421 436 5.6 5.5 5.5 5.1 5.3
At expanding establishments 353 350 347 335 353 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.1 4.3
At opening establishments 104 96 110 86 83 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.0 1.0
Gross job losses 442 445 444 418 467 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.1 5.7
At contracting establishments 342 343 338 320 360 4.2 4.2 4.1 3.9 4.4
At closing establishments 100 102 106 98 107 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.3
Net employment change 15 1 13 3 -31 .2 .1 .1 .0 -.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,438 1,335 1,427 1,276 1,389 8.3 7.6 8.1 7.2 7.7
At expanding establishments 1,164 1,093 1,149 1,064 1,148 6.7 6.2 6.5 6.0 6.4
At opening establishments 274 242 278 212 241 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.2 1.3
Gross job losses 1,287 1,279 1,313 1,242 1,322 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.0 7.4
At contracting establishments 1,006 1,029 1,057 996 1,022 5.7 5.9 6.0 5.6 5.7
At closing establishments 281 250 256 246 300 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.7
Net employment change 151 56 114 34 67 1.0 .3 .7 .2 .3
Education and health services
Gross job gains 787 784 795 799 785 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.5
At expanding establishments 659 665 666 678 673 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9
At opening establishments 128 119 129 121 112 .8 .7 .8 .7 .6
Gross job losses 713 674 692 655 697 4.2 4.0 4.1 3.8 4.0
At contracting establishments 595 561 558 540 579 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.1 3.3
At closing establishments 118 113 134 115 118 .7 .7 .8 .7 .7
Net employment change 74 110 103 144 88 .5 .6 .6 .8 .5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,210 1,180 1,223 1,165 1,219 9.3 9.1 9.3 8.8 9.1
At expanding establishments 925 896 932 903 940 7.1 6.9 7.1 6.8 7.0
At opening establishments 285 284 291 262 279 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.1
Gross job losses 1,182 1,184 1,105 1,096 1,196 9.0 9.0 8.4 8.3 8.9
At contracting establishments 958 959 892 902 965 7.3 7.3 6.8 6.8 7.2
At closing establishments 224 225 213 194 231 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.7
Net employment change 28 -4 118 69 23 .3 .1 .9 .5 .2
Other services
Gross job gains 313 295 299 292 304 8.1 7.7 7.8 7.6 7.8
At expanding establishments 248 235 238 239 247 6.4 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.3
At opening establishments 65 60 61 53 57 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.5
Gross job losses 287 305 291 278 287 7.4 7.9 7.5 7.2 7.3
At contracting establishments 225 240 228 217 224 5.8 6.2 5.9 5.6 5.7
At closing establishments 62 65 63 61 63 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6
Net employment change 26 -10 8 14 17 .7 -.2 .3 .4 .5
(1) Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Table 4. Private sector percentage share (1) of gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
3 months ended
June 2006 Sept. 2006 Dec. 2006 March 2007 June 2007
Total private.................
Gross job gains............... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Expanding firms............ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Opening firms.............. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Gross job losses.............. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Contracting firms.......... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Closing firms.............. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Firm size 1 - 4 employees
Gross job gains............... 15.2 15.6 15.8 15.7 14.8
Expanding firms........ ... 7.2 7.5 7.2 7.4 7.1
Opening firms ............. 57.0 58.6 60.6 60.4 58.8
Gross job losses.............. 15.9 15.8 15.9 16.7 16.2
Contracting firms.......... 8.0 7.8 8.0 8.2 7.9
Closing firms ............. 58.2 58.8 58.5 60.6 59.6
Firm size 5 - 9 employees
Gross job gains .............. 11.9 12.1 11.6 12.3 11.6
Expanding firms............ 11.1 11.3 10.8 11.5 10.8
Opening firms ............. 16.6 16.6 15.8 16.6 16.6
Gross job losses ............. 12.5 12.2 12.4 12.6 12.4
Contracting firms.......... 11.8 11.5 11.7 11.9 11.6
Closing firms.............. 16.3 16.0 16.1 15.9 16.6
Firm size 10 - 19 employees
Gross job gains .............. 12.3 12.3 11.7 12.5 12.1
Expanding firms............ 12.4 12.5 12.0 12.8 12.2
Opening firms.............. 11.4 11.0 10.3 10.8 11.3
Gross job losses.............. 12.6 12.4 12.4 12.5 12.5
Contracting firms.......... 13.0 12.7 12.8 12.9 12.8
Closing firms.............. 10.7 10.6 10.6 10.3 10.9
Firm size 20 - 49 employees
Gross job gains .............. 14.6 14.4 13.8 14.6 14.6
Expanding firms............ 15.8 15.6 14.9 15.9 15.6
Opening firms.............. 8.6 8.3 7.9 7.7 8.5
Gross job losses.............. 14.4 14.5 14.4 14.4 14.3
Contracting firms.......... 15.6 15.7 15.6 15.7 15.5
Closing firms.............. 8.3 8.1 8.0 7.5 7.9
Firm size 50 - 99 employees
Gross job gains .............. 9.1 9.1 8.7 9.0 9.2
Expanding firms ........... 10.3 10.2 9.8 10.2 10.3
Opening firms.............. 3.2 3.1 3.0 2.5 2.9
Gross job losses.............. 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.8 8.7
Contracting firms.......... 9.9 9.9 10.0 10.0 9.8
Closing firms.............. 3.3 3.1 3.1 2.9 2.7
Firm size 100 - 249 employees
Gross job gains............... 9.8 9.3 9.2 9.4 9.9
Expanding firms............ 11.3 10.8 10.6 11.0 11.4
Opening firms.............. 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.3
Gross job losses.............. 9.1 9.3 9.3 9.0 8.8
Contracting firms.......... 10.4 10.7 10.6 10.5 10.3
Closing firms.............. 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.7 1.3
Firm size 250 - 499 employees
Gross job gains............... 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.9
Expanding firms............ 6.9 6.8 6.4 6.4 6.9
Opening firms.............. .4 .4 .5 .3 .3
Gross job losses.............. 5.4 5.5 5.8 5.3 5.3
Contracting firms.......... 6.2 6.4 6.8 6.3 6.2
Closing firms.............. .7 .7 .6 .5 .5
Firm size 500 - 999 employees
Gross job gains............... 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.8
Expanding firms............ 5.6 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.6
Opening firms.............. .2 .4 .2 .2 .2
Gross job losses.............. 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.1 4.4
Contracting firms.......... 5.2 5.3 5.3 4.8 5.2
Closing firms.............. .3 .2 .4 .3 .3
Firm size 1,000 or more employees
Gross job gains............... 16.4 16.8 19.2 16.5 17.1
Expanding firms............ 19.4 19.9 22.9 19.5 20.1
Opening firms.............. .9 .1 .2 .5 .1
Gross job losses.............. 16.8 16.9 16.3 16.6 17.4
Contracting firms.......... 19.9 20.0 19.2 19.7 20.7
Closing firms ............. .1 .5 .8 .3 .2
(1) Share measures the percent of the category represented by each firm size class.
Table 5. Private sector gross job gains and losses by state, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains Gross job losses
State (3 months ended) (3 months ended)
June Sept. Dec. March June June Sept. Dec. March June
2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007
United States1..... 7,811,000 7,473,000 7,809,000 7,509,000 7,644,000 7,395,000 7,462,000 7,297,000 7,071,000 7,403,000
Alabama..... 100,840 100,446 106,892 112,765 99,726 100,349 103,700 104,477 89,364 105,984
Alaska..... 28,861 22,123 25,702 24,244 27,957 23,040 26,742 26,432 22,400 23,632
Arizona..... 170,647 174,546 161,693 156,804 154,110 154,963 152,200 165,067 153,133 158,011
Arkansas..... 59,654 58,160 62,275 60,704 54,946 60,404 63,784 58,778 52,796 61,452
California..... 955,811 910,172 982,478 947,540 932,830 926,329 927,374 907,888 912,613 966,693
Colorado..... 149,241 142,546 150,220 146,688 150,523 132,280 142,570 138,889 131,774 135,876
Connecticut..... 87,841 81,794 85,126 75,957 89,363 80,456 82,496 77,497 81,107 75,883
Delaware..... 28,310 23,470 26,159 29,733 24,896 26,663 27,718 23,392 28,414 23,872
District of Columbia 29,069 27,044 25,599 28,423 27,543 26,424 25,381 26,443 23,213 26,428
Florida..... 526,449 508,541 501,285 464,050 493,122 495,061 493,363 522,827 451,580 513,917
Georgia..... 257,404 247,388 263,872 249,091 243,732 233,395 251,362 252,232 227,479 250,468
Hawaii..... 29,136 28,211 27,446 27,483 29,341 24,918 26,129 26,250 26,630 27,098
Idaho..... 46,245 45,061 47,395 48,396 44,803 42,628 41,378 40,019 40,735 44,881
Illinois..... 306,757 278,177 293,431 281,177 301,138 263,652 288,515 281,099 268,855 270,862
Indiana..... 149,946 148,107 153,325 145,342 153,439 151,845 154,760 148,985 140,603 146,834
Iowa..... 79,031 75,093 79,518 72,577 79,866 73,192 74,910 73,886 73,448 72,256
Kansas..... 72,012 78,985 85,024 78,808 71,219 72,548 74,864 68,067 67,661 76,280
Kentucky..... 88,851 92,740 106,958 101,623 96,978 94,323 96,675 90,552 95,549 92,980
Louisiana..... 123,125 120,127 123,095 121,990 109,826 112,380 108,558 104,159 99,462 113,176
Maine..... 40,612 35,951 40,832 37,283 40,238 37,701 39,975 37,567 37,189 38,294
Maryland..... 136,710 131,708 136,491 130,873 129,262 136,422 136,408 130,083 125,994 128,857
Massachusetts..... 181,498 167,647 166,346 154,124 180,439 158,219 169,849 163,458 157,024 148,702
Michigan..... 246,077 226,583 229,109 216,604 239,038 237,059 255,227 261,024 234,035 229,300
Minnesota..... 155,378 138,439 146,430 140,915 151,477 150,512 165,270 147,210 133,393 144,135
Mississippi..... 63,581 68,823 67,302 60,198 59,332 66,289 62,884 58,428 62,486 65,842
Missouri..... 150,269 137,786 151,637 148,426 142,012 143,796 142,506 144,042 133,861 144,000
Montana..... 30,383 27,503 32,922 32,066 30,014 27,899 29,606 26,893 26,215 30,643
Nebraska..... 45,693 47,050 47,973 44,773 48,229 45,424 44,754 45,236 41,131 43,827
Nevada..... 79,576 73,442 80,115 79,439 74,310 72,527 76,814 77,068 70,468 76,036
New Hampshire..... 41,230 37,381 39,715 36,043 40,902 39,132 40,708 37,503 37,188 37,071
New Jersey..... 238,571 217,626 226,397 200,823 242,670 228,241 230,836 221,251 216,208 212,994
New Mexico..... 56,728 46,361 49,483 45,658 43,638 46,459 46,285 45,992 39,391 47,327
New York..... 497,341 451,199 491,296 439,880 501,731 450,660 454,776 436,426 450,887 469,097
North Carolina..... 230,531 228,819 271,718 238,694 230,301 216,862 222,867 209,905 203,669 223,702
North Dakota..... 19,942 19,561 19,077 19,613 19,321 19,436 17,615 18,029 17,877 18,673
Ohio..... 280,652 266,494 273,486 259,261 283,177 279,071 286,805 285,789 260,711 266,721
Oklahoma..... 86,252 85,999 87,109 85,616 85,428 86,973 80,220 80,850 73,657 89,207
Oregon..... 103,093 103,167 107,374 104,745 101,225 97,275 94,670 97,684 96,037 104,666
Pennsylvania..... 292,189 281,640 286,900 282,273 302,265 277,751 278,525 278,568 266,506 270,874
Rhode Island..... 29,960 28,749 28,621 25,073 28,796 25,774 28,340 28,374 27,137 26,256
South Carolina..... 112,410 124,764 109,561 113,532 105,523 110,062 103,809 97,192 98,842 107,074
South Dakota..... 21,897 21,559 22,548 21,003 21,989 19,443 20,198 19,873 19,153 19,784
Tennessee..... 149,007 143,225 156,388 148,938 142,856 152,368 143,136 157,013 144,012 139,122
Texas..... 555,610 545,573 566,668 542,825 553,947 508,951 480,295 476,908 461,745 485,096
Utah..... 78,264 77,218 79,960 80,804 77,611 65,772 68,620 64,989 62,978 70,542
Vermont..... 19,375 16,515 18,861 16,966 19,085 17,694 18,832 18,099 18,899 19,073
Virgnia..... 196,604 181,450 193,009 192,908 192,077 193,525 196,437 181,525 174,760 184,266
Washington..... 187,676 176,707 184,842 190,639 183,840 161,486 170,405 166,948 154,634 165,511
West Virginia..... 38,485 37,841 40,697 38,687 37,037 39,828 40,489 36,849 37,621 37,733
Wisconsin..... 151,415 143,515 146,759 144,613 146,916 143,378 146,137 143,350 141,179 134,163
Wyoming..... 19,438 20,984 22,692 22,362 18,932 18,839 19,491 16,482 18,199 21,853
Puerto Rico..... 46,809 50,294 56,039 43,159 47,784 55,110 56,054 47,988 55,059 50,761
Virgin Islands..... 2,243 2,727 2,358 2,091 3,531 2,287 2,766 1,980 2,501 2,376
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 6. 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)
June Sept. Dec. March June June Sept. Dec. March June
2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007
United States1..... 6.9 6.7 7.0 6.6 6.7 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.2 6.5
Alabama..... 6.4 6.4 6.8 7.1 6.2 6.3 6.6 6.7 5.7 6.7
Alaska..... 12.3 9.4 11.0 10.3 11.9 9.9 11.5 11.4 9.5 10.0
Arizona..... 7.7 7.8 7.2 7.0 6.8 6.9 6.7 7.3 6.8 7.0
Arkansas..... 6.1 5.9 6.4 6.2 5.6 6.1 6.6 6.0 5.4 6.3
California..... 7.4 7.1 7.6 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.2 7.0 7.0 7.4
Colorado..... 7.9 7.5 7.9 7.6 7.8 7.0 7.5 7.3 6.8 7.0
Connecticut..... 6.2 5.7 6.0 5.3 6.2 5.6 5.8 5.4 5.7 5.3
Delaware..... 7.7 6.5 7.2 8.1 6.8 7.3 7.6 6.4 7.7 6.6
District of Columbia.. 6.7 6.2 5.9 6.4 6.1 6.1 5.8 6.0 5.2 5.9
Florida..... 7.7 7.4 7.3 6.7 7.1 7.2 7.1 7.5 6.6 7.4
Georgia..... 7.6 7.3 7.8 7.3 7.1 7.0 7.4 7.4 6.7 7.3
Hawaii..... 5.8 5.6 5.4 5.5 5.8 4.9 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.4
Idaho..... 8.7 8.5 8.7 8.8 8.1 8.0 7.7 7.4 7.4 8.1
Illinois..... 6.1 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.9 5.2 5.8 5.6 5.4 5.3
Indiana..... 5.9 5.9 6.1 5.8 6.1 6.0 6.2 6.0 5.6 5.8
Iowa..... 6.4 6.1 6.4 5.8 6.4 6.0 6.1 5.9 5.9 5.8
Kansas..... 6.7 7.3 7.8 7.1 6.4 6.7 6.9 6.2 6.1 6.9
Kentucky..... 6.0 6.3 7.2 6.8 6.4 6.3 6.6 6.1 6.4 6.2
Louisiana..... 8.4 8.1 8.2 8.0 7.2 7.7 7.4 7.0 6.5 7.4
Maine..... 8.1 7.2 8.2 7.4 8.0 7.5 8.1 7.5 7.4 7.6
Maryland..... 6.6 6.3 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.6 6.5 6.3 6.1 6.1
Massachusetts..... 6.6 6.1 6.0 5.6 6.4 5.7 6.1 5.8 5.6 5.3
Michigan..... 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.1 6.7 6.5 7.0 7.2 6.5 6.4
Minnesota..... 6.7 6.1 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.6 7.2 6.4 5.8 6.2
Mississippi..... 7.1 7.7 7.5 6.7 6.6 7.4 7.0 6.5 7.0 7.3
Missouri..... 6.7 6.1 6.6 6.5 6.2 6.4 6.3 6.3 5.8 6.3
Montana..... 8.7 7.9 9.4 9.0 8.4 8.1 8.5 7.7 7.4 8.6
Nebraska..... 6.1 6.3 6.4 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.4 5.8
Nevada..... 7.1 6.5 7.1 6.9 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.8 6.2 6.7
New Hampshire..... 7.6 6.9 7.3 6.6 7.5 7.2 7.5 6.9 6.8 6.8
New Jersey..... 7.1 6.5 6.8 6.0 7.2 6.8 6.9 6.6 6.4 6.3
New Mexico..... 9.1 7.3 7.9 7.1 6.8 7.5 7.3 7.3 6.2 7.3
New York..... 7.1 6.5 7.0 6.2 7.0 6.4 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.6
North Carolina..... 7.0 7.0 8.1 7.1 6.8 6.6 6.8 6.3 6.1 6.6
North Dakota..... 7.3 7.2 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.2 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.8
Ohio..... 6.1 5.8 6.0 5.7 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.3 5.7 5.8
Oklahoma..... 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.0 7.0 7.3 6.7 6.8 6.1 7.3
Oregon..... 7.2 7.2 7.4 7.1 6.9 6.8 6.6 6.8 6.5 7.1
Pennsylvania..... 5.9 5.7 5.8 5.7 6.1 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.4 5.5
Rhode Island..... 7.2 6.9 6.8 5.9 6.8 6.2 6.8 6.7 6.4 6.2
South Carolina..... 7.4 8.2 7.1 7.3 6.7 7.3 6.8 6.2 6.3 6.9
South Dakota..... 7.0 6.9 7.1 6.5 6.8 6.2 6.5 6.2 5.9 6.1
Tennessee..... 6.3 6.1 6.7 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.1 6.7 6.1 6.0
Texas..... 6.8 6.6 6.8 6.4 6.5 6.2 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.7
Utah..... 8.1 7.8 8.0 8.0 7.6 6.7 7.0 6.5 6.2 6.9
Vermont..... 7.7 6.6 7.6 6.8 7.6 7.0 7.5 7.3 7.6 7.7
Virgnia..... 6.6 6.1 6.5 6.5 6.3 6.4 6.6 6.1 5.9 6.1
Washington..... 8.1 7.6 7.9 8.0 7.7 7.0 7.4 7.1 6.5 6.9
West Virginia..... 6.8 6.7 7.2 6.8 6.5 7.0 7.1 6.5 6.6 6.6
Wisconsin..... 6.4 6.0 6.2 6.0 6.1 6.0 6.1 6.0 5.9 5.6
Wyoming..... 9.4 10.1 10.7 10.2 8.8 9.1 9.4 7.8 8.4 10.0
Puerto Rico..... 6.2 6.7 7.5 5.8 6.4 7.3 7.5 6.4 7.4 6.9
Virgin Islands..... 6.8 8.3 7.1 6.4 10.6 7.0 8.4 6.0 7.6 7.2
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
United States Department of Labor
