For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, July 24, 2019 USDL-19-1342
Technical Information: (202) 691-6553 * BDMInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/bdm
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FOURTH QUARTER 2018
From September 2018 to December 2018, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.7 million, an increase of 281,000 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 6.9 million, a decrease of 506,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net
employment gain of 814,000 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2018. (See tables A and
1.)
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| |
| South Carolina Business Employment Dynamics Data |
| |
| Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data for all four quarters 2018 for South Carolina show |
| unusual movements, which may be a result of a change in reporting. These unusual movements |
| coincide with a modernization of the South Carolina unemployment insurance system. For more |
| information, please visit: www.bls.gov/cew/2018-notice-regarding-south-carolina-employment- |
| and-wages-data.htm |
| |
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The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment
that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics statistics track
these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the
third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross
job losses is the net change in employment. (See Technical Note.) The BED data series include gross job
gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size
class.
Gross Job Gains
In the fourth quarter of 2018, gross job gains represented 6.1 percent of private-sector employment. Gross
job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the
addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 6.3
million in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 202,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.4 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2018, an
increase of 79,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the fourth quarter of 2018, gross job losses represented 5.6 percent of private-sector employment.
Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of
jobs at closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 5.6 million jobs in the fourth quarter of
2018, a decrease of 516,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2018, closing
establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, an increase of 10,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A,
1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the fourth quarter of 2018, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
decreased by 4,000, to a total of 248,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
857,000 jobs, a decrease of 2,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2018, when 662,000 jobs were
lost at 214,000 establishments, a decrease of 70,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2017. (See Technical
Note and table 8.)
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 9 of 13 industries in the fourth quarter of 2018. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 669,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2018. Within
service-providing industries, transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job
increase, with a gain of 187,000 jobs. The net job increase in transportation and warehousing was the result
of 424,000 gross job gains and 237,000 gross job losses. The retail trade industry had the largest decrease
among service-providing industries, with a loss of 70,000 jobs. The goods-producing industries experienced
a net job increase of 145,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2018. Of the goods-producing industries,
manufacturing added 90,000 jobs, construction experienced a net increase of 69,000 jobs, and natural
resources and mining lost 14,000 jobs. (See table 3.)
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
Category | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2018 | 2018 | 2018
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,826 | 7,406 | 7,639 | 7,448 | 7,729
At expanding establishments...... | 6,383 | 6,071 | 6,245 | 6,099 | 6,301
At opening establishments........ | 1,443 | 1,335 | 1,394 | 1,349 | 1,428
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6,847 | 6,666 | 7,202 | 7,421 | 6,915
At contracting establishments.... | 5,547 | 5,526 | 5,942 | 6,099 | 5,583
At closing establishments........ | 1,300 | 1,140 | 1,260 | 1,322 | 1,332
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 979 | 740 | 437 | 27 | 814
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 6.4 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.1
At expanding establishments...... | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.0
At opening establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.6
At contracting establishments.... | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.5
At closing establishments........ | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.1
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5
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(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.
Firm Size
In the fourth quarter of 2018, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 199,000. Firms
with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 147,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a
net employment gain of 400,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
States
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands
in the fourth quarter of 2018. Among the states, Alaska had the highest rate of gross job gains as a
percent of employment at 10.9 percent, above the U.S. rate of 6.1 percent. Connecticut and Pennsylvania
had the lowest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 5.3 percent each. Alaska had the
highest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 9.7 percent, above the national rate of 5.6
percent. Pennsylvania had the lowest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 4.7 percent.
(See tables 6 and 7.)
For 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 answers to frequently asked
questions. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found
in the Technical Note of this release or can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.
_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2019 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
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| |
| Changes to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| Data in the next release, published on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, will incorporate annual |
| revisions to the BED series. Annual revisions are published each year with the release of |
| first quarter data. These revisions will cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted |
| data and five years of seasonally adjusted data. |
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Technical Note
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative
program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are
compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most
employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of
workers covered by unemployment insurance (UI) laws and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW
is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to the State Workforce
Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to
render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW and
form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame.
These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and
the longitudinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. The QCEW is also the employment
benchmark for the Current Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics
(OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) programs and is a major input to
the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts.
In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a
longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net
employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained
at opening and expanding units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures
The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for any given
quarter. Each of these measures—Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Business
Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)—makes use of the
quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; however, 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
employment change over time. It is important to understand program differences and the intended
uses of the program products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be obtained
from the program websites shown in the table.
Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
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| QCEW | BED | CES
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Source |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey:
| strative records | nally-linked UI ad- | 651,000 establish-
| submitted by 10.0 | ministrative records| ments
| million establish- | submitted by 8.0 |
| ments in first qu- | million private-sec-|
| arter of 2018 | tor establishments |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and salary
| age, including all | ing government, pri-| jobs:
| employers subject | vate households, and|--UI Coverage, exclud-
| to state and feder-| establishments with | ing agriculture, pri-
| ral UI Laws | zero employment | vate households, and
| | | self-employed workers
| | |--other employment,
| | | including railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
| | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -6 months after the| -7 months after the | -Usually the 3rd Fri-
| end of each quar- | end of each quarter| day after the end of
| ter | | the week including
| | | the 12th of the month
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
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 to ann-
| new quarter of UI | dinal database and | ually realign sample-
| data | directly summarizes | based estimates to pop-
| | gross job gains and | ulation counts (bench-
| | losses | marking)
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
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, Met-| and contractions at | industry
| ropolitan statisti-| the national level |
| cal area (MSA), St-| by NAICS super- |
| ate, and national | sectors,3-digit |
| levels by detailed | NAICS, and by size |
| industry | of firm, and at the |
| | state private-sector|
| | total level |
| |--Future expansions |
| | will include |
| | data with greater |
| | industry 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 federal
| 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 | | |
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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 organizations, 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 certain small nonprofit organizations.
Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from longitudinal histories of 8.0
million private sector employer reports out of 10.0 million total reports of employment and wages
submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2018. 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 employment in both previous and current
quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are also excluded from the national data.
The table below shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establishments excluded from
the national gross job gains and gross job losses data in the first quarter 2018.
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level
Total establishments QCEW program....................................................10.0
Excluded: Public sector............................................................ 0.3
Private households......................................................... 0.2
Zero employment............................................................ 1.5
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data............................................................. 8.0
Unit of analysis
Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by industry and firms are used in the
tabulation of the BED size class statistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that
produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or
predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either corporate or otherwise, and may
consist of several establishments. Firm-level data are compiled based on an aggregation of
establishments under common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification
numbers. The firm level aggregation which is consistent with the role of corporations as the
economic decision makers are used for the measurement of the BED data elements by size class.
Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job gains and gross job losses by size
class are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, as some establishment
gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. However, the total net
changes in employment are the same for not seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally
adjusted data.
Concepts and methodology
The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employment 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 employment in the previous quarter.
Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and
current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.
Closings. These are either units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with
no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.
Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and
current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.
Births. These are units with positive third month employment for the first time in the current
quarter with no links to the prior quarter, or units with positive third month employment in the
current quarter and zero employment in the third month of the previous four quarters. Births are a
subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal businesses.
Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero employment reported in the third month of
four consecutive quarters following the last quarter with positive employment. Deaths are a subset
of closings not including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A unit that closes during the
quarter may be a death, but we wait three quarters to determine whether it is a permanent closing
or a temporary shutdown. Therefore, there is always a lag of three quarters for the publication of
death statistics.
All employment changes are measured from the third month of the previous quarter to the third
month of the current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their employment levels.
Units with no change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, but not for
levels of gross job gains and gross job losses.
Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average
of employment in the current and previous quarters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. The
rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to
form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For
instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net
growth rate.
Establishment Births and Deaths
For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as establishments that appear in the
longitudinal database for the first time with positive employment in the third month of a quarter, or
showed four consecutive quarters of zero employment in the third month followed by a quarter in
which it shows positive employment in the third month. Similarly, deaths are defined as
establishments that either drop out of the longitudinal database or an establishment that had
positive employment in the third month of a given quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of
showing zero employment in the third month. Although the data for establishment births and
deaths are tabulated independently from the data for openings and closings, the concepts are not
mutually exclusive. An establishment that is defined as a birth in a given quarter is necessarily an
opening as well, and an establishment defined as a death in a quarter must also be a closing. Since
openings include seasonal and other re-openings and closings include temporary shutdowns, the
not seasonally adjusted values for births and deaths must be less than those for openings and
closings. However, because some BED series do not have many re-openings or temporary
shutdowns, as well as the fact that births and deaths are independently seasonally adjusted from
openings and closings, there may be instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the former
is greater than the latter.
Linkage methodology
Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, QCEW records are linked across
two quarters. The linkage process matches establishments' unique SWA identification numbers
(SWA-ID). Between 95 and 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 records 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 establishment classification codes resulting from the verification process are
introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting 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 allocated to the first size
class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49.
Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm-size estimates and eliminates any systematic effects
which may be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms’ sizes over time.
Additionally, it allocates each job gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred.
Annual Data
The annual gross job gains and gross job losses measure the net change in employment at the
establishment level from the third month of a quarter in the previous year to the third month of the
same quarter in the current year. The BLS publishes annual BED data based on March-to-March
changes once a year with the release of the first quarter BED data. The annual data based on over-
the-year changes for other quarters of the year are available upon request. The definitions and
methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and gross job losses are similar to the quarterly
measures. The linkage method considers all predecessor and successor relations that may come
about due to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire year. At the
establishment level, some of the quarterly job gains and job losses are offset during the estimation
over the year. Therefore, the sum of four quarters of gross job gains and gross job losses are not
equal to annual gross job gains and gross job losses. The net change in employment over the year,
however, is equal to the sum of four quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted basis.
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated job flows undergo sharp
fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, reduced or expanded
production, harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such
seasonal variation 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 analyze changes in economic
activity.
The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting units are
independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on the difference between
gross job gains and gross job losses. Similarly, 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 employment levels are independently
seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is
run using X-13 ARIMA-SEATS. Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the sum of
seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including the unclassified sector, which is not separately
published.
The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series will differ from
the net employment change estimated from the seasonally adjusted 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
particularly 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 administrative rather than
sample data, there are no issues related to sampling error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists.
Nonsampling errors can occur 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 distributed 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
complications.
The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on corrections in QCEW records,
updates on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal adjustment revisions.
Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the first quarter data. These revisions
cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data.
Additional statistics and other information
Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information. The QCEW program
provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed
industry. News releases on quarterly county employment and wages and the annual bulletin also
are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover
(Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), telephone (202) 691-6567; (www.bls.gov/cew/);
(e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).
The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program produces monthly estimates of employment, its
net change, hours, and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part of the Employment
Situation report put out monthly by BLS.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides monthly measures of
job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.
Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone 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
2008 March -199 7,320 5,860 1,460 7,519 6,111 1,408
June -593 7,281 5,833 1,448 7,874 6,363 1,511
September -913 6,944 5,535 1,409 7,857 6,436 1,421
December -1,838 6,738 5,345 1,393 8,576 7,056 1,520
2009 March -2,680 5,918 4,675 1,243 8,598 7,142 1,456
June -1,667 6,425 5,080 1,345 8,092 6,674 1,418
September -849 6,399 5,139 1,260 7,248 5,854 1,394
December -264 6,665 5,308 1,357 6,929 5,605 1,324
2010 March -247 6,325 5,108 1,217 6,572 5,324 1,248
June 698 6,995 5,674 1,321 6,297 5,090 1,207
September 237 6,741 5,438 1,303 6,504 5,231 1,273
December 566 7,052 5,639 1,413 6,486 5,219 1,267
2011 March 334 6,540 5,322 1,218 6,206 5,025 1,181
June 582 6,966 5,625 1,341 6,384 5,115 1,269
September 841 7,205 5,810 1,395 6,364 5,172 1,192
December 335 6,865 5,503 1,362 6,530 5,273 1,257
2012 March 948 7,080 5,746 1,334 6,132 5,005 1,127
June 616 7,051 5,724 1,327 6,435 5,266 1,169
September 252 6,881 5,571 1,310 6,629 5,430 1,199
December 695 7,110 5,753 1,357 6,415 5,225 1,190
2013 March 558 6,941 5,705 1,236 6,383 5,201 1,182
June 674 7,152 5,830 1,322 6,478 5,271 1,207
September 507 7,058 5,719 1,339 6,551 5,408 1,143
December 700 7,255 5,926 1,329 6,555 5,353 1,202
2014 March 433 6,955 5,687 1,268 6,522 5,372 1,150
June 885 7,454 6,114 1,340 6,569 5,350 1,219
September 553 7,241 5,912 1,329 6,688 5,504 1,184
December 1,060 7,629 6,256 1,373 6,569 5,334 1,235
2015 March 221 7,039 5,729 1,310 6,818 5,614 1,204
June 832 7,584 6,239 1,345 6,752 5,558 1,194
September 445 7,335 5,975 1,360 6,890 5,680 1,210
December 987 7,834 6,372 1,462 6,847 5,582 1,265
2016 March 253 7,145 5,860 1,285 6,892 5,692 1,200
June 294 7,449 6,076 1,373 7,155 5,846 1,309
September 714 7,704 6,243 1,461 6,990 5,744 1,246
December 368 7,440 6,026 1,414 7,072 5,770 1,302
2017 March 658 7,423 6,088 1,335 6,765 5,582 1,183
June 463 7,624 6,255 1,369 7,161 5,889 1,272
September -93 7,311 5,959 1,352 7,404 6,106 1,298
December 979 7,826 6,383 1,443 6,847 5,547 1,300
2018 March 740 7,406 6,071 1,335 6,666 5,526 1,140
June 437 7,639 6,245 1,394 7,202 5,942 1,260
September 27 7,448 6,099 1,349 7,421 6,099 1,322
December 814 7,729 6,301 1,428 6,915 5,583 1,332
(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
2008 March -0.1 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2
June -0.5 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.9 5.6 1.3
September -0.9 6.1 4.9 1.2 7.0 5.7 1.3
December -1.7 6.0 4.8 1.2 7.7 6.3 1.4
2009 March -2.4 5.4 4.3 1.1 7.8 6.5 1.3
June -1.5 6.0 4.7 1.3 7.5 6.2 1.3
September -0.8 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.8 5.5 1.3
December -0.3 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3
2010 March -0.2 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.2 5.0 1.2
June 0.7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.1 4.9 1.2
December 0.5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2
2011 March 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1
June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2
September 0.8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1
December 0.4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2
2012 March 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0
June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1
December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2013 March 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1
June 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2014 March 0.4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
June 0.7 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
September 0.4 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.9 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1
2015 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
June 0.7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.8 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2016 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
June 0.2 6.2 5.1 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1
September 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.3 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
2017 March 0.5 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.6 4.6 1.0
June 0.4 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
September -0.1 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.1 5.0 1.1
December 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1
2018 March 0.6 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.4 4.5 0.9
June 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
September 0.0 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1
December 0.5 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.6 4.5 1.1
(1) The rates measure gross job gains and job losses as a percentage of the average of the previous and current quarter
employment levels.
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains and job losses Gross job gains and job losses
(in thousands) as a percent of employment
Category 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,826 7,406 7,639 7,448 7,729 6.4 6.0 6.1 6.0 6.1
At expanding establishments 6,383 6,071 6,245 6,099 6,301 5.2 4.9 5.0 4.9 5.0
At opening establishments 1,443 1,335 1,394 1,349 1,428 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1
Gross job losses 6,847 6,666 7,202 7,421 6,915 5.6 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.6
At contracting establishments 5,547 5,526 5,942 6,099 5,583 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.5
At closing establishments 1,300 1,140 1,260 1,322 1,332 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.1
Net employment change 979 740 437 27 814 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.0 0.5
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,435 1,390 1,398 1,296 1,393 6.8 6.4 6.4 5.9 6.3
At expanding establishments 1,226 1,200 1,208 1,111 1,189 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.1 5.4
At opening establishments 209 190 190 185 204 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9
Gross job losses 1,233 1,174 1,256 1,308 1,248 5.8 5.4 5.7 6.0 5.7
At contracting establishments 1,039 997 1,058 1,111 1,047 4.9 4.6 4.8 5.1 4.8
At closing establishments 194 177 198 197 201 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9
Net employment change 202 216 142 -12 145 1.0 1.0 0.7 -0.1 0.6
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 256 254 275 236 242 13.5 13.2 14.2 12.3 12.5
At expanding establishments 223 224 241 207 211 11.8 11.6 12.4 10.8 10.9
At opening establishments 33 30 34 29 31 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.5 1.6
Gross job losses 258 236 247 243 256 13.6 12.3 12.8 12.7 13.2
At contracting establishments 227 206 213 215 227 12.0 10.7 11.0 11.2 11.7
At closing establishments 31 30 34 28 29 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.5 1.5
Net employment change -2 18 28 -7 -14 -0.1 0.9 1.4 -0.4 -0.7
Construction
Gross job gains 719 716 685 641 687 10.4 10.0 9.5 8.9 9.5
At expanding establishments 582 590 563 524 557 8.4 8.2 7.8 7.3 7.7
At opening establishments 137 126 122 117 130 2.0 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.8
Gross job losses 608 584 634 656 618 8.8 8.1 8.7 9.1 8.5
At contracting establishments 491 476 515 533 496 7.1 6.6 7.1 7.4 6.8
At closing establishments 117 108 119 123 122 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.7
Net employment change 111 132 51 -15 69 1.6 1.9 0.8 -0.2 1.0
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 460 420 438 419 464 3.7 3.4 3.5 3.3 3.6
At expanding establishments 421 386 404 380 421 3.4 3.1 3.2 3.0 3.3
At opening establishments 39 34 34 39 43 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Gross job losses 367 354 375 409 374 3.0 2.8 3.0 3.3 2.9
At contracting establishments 321 315 330 363 324 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.9 2.5
At closing establishments 46 39 45 46 50 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4
Net employment change 93 66 63 10 90 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.0 0.7
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 6,391 6,016 6,241 6,152 6,336 6.3 5.9 6.1 6.0 6.2
At expanding establishments 5,157 4,871 5,037 4,988 5,112 5.1 4.8 4.9 4.9 5.0
At opening establishments 1,234 1,145 1,204 1,164 1,224 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.2
Gross job losses 5,614 5,492 5,946 6,113 5,667 5.5 5.3 5.8 6.0 5.5
At contracting establishments 4,508 4,529 4,884 4,988 4,536 4.4 4.4 4.8 4.9 4.4
At closing establishments 1,106 963 1,062 1,125 1,131 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.1
Net employment change 777 524 295 39 669 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.0 0.7
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 280 263 273 268 277 4.7 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.7
At expanding establishments 233 220 229 220 228 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.9
At opening establishments 47 43 44 48 49 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8
Gross job losses 249 243 250 267 243 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.6 4.1
At contracting establishments 193 192 196 210 188 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.6 3.2
At closing establishments 56 51 54 57 55 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9
Net employment change 31 20 23 1 34 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.0 0.6
Retail trade
Gross job gains 907 919 902 909 841 5.7 5.8 5.6 5.7 5.4
At expanding establishments 793 811 772 791 735 5.0 5.1 4.8 5.0 4.7
At opening establishments 114 108 130 118 106 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7
Gross job losses 898 848 955 998 911 5.7 5.3 6.0 6.3 5.8
At contracting establishments 783 748 837 850 781 5.0 4.7 5.3 5.4 5.0
At closing establishments 115 100 118 148 130 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.8
Net employment change 9 71 -53 -89 -70 0.0 0.5 -0.4 -0.6 -0.4
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 390 257 284 308 424 7.6 4.9 5.5 5.9 7.9
At expanding establishments 343 224 245 269 369 6.7 4.3 4.7 5.2 6.9
At opening establishments 47 33 39 39 55 0.9 0.6 0.8 0.7 1.0
Gross job losses 231 327 252 254 237 4.5 6.3 4.9 4.9 4.5
At contracting establishments 190 296 217 217 196 3.7 5.7 4.2 4.2 3.7
At closing establishments 41 31 35 37 41 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8
Net employment change 159 -70 32 54 187 3.1 -1.4 0.6 1.0 3.4
Utilities
Gross job gains 12 11 13 11 12 2.2 2.0 2.4 2.0 2.2
At expanding establishments 11 10 11 10 11 2.0 1.8 2.0 1.8 2.0
At opening establishments 1 1 2 1 1 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2
Gross job losses 12 11 15 13 13 2.2 2.0 2.7 2.4 2.4
At contracting establishments 10 10 13 12 11 1.8 1.8 2.3 2.2 2.0
At closing establishments 2 1 2 1 2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.4
Net employment change 0 0 -2 -2 -1 0.0 0.0 -0.3 -0.4 -0.2
Information
Gross job gains 147 154 158 147 140 5.3 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.0
At expanding establishments 120 131 133 123 114 4.3 4.7 4.7 4.4 4.1
At opening establishments 27 23 25 24 26 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9
Gross job losses 148 143 167 157 149 5.3 5.1 5.9 5.6 5.3
At contracting establishments 121 120 139 129 120 4.3 4.3 4.9 4.6 4.3
At closing establishments 27 23 28 28 29 1.0 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0
Net employment change -1 11 -9 -10 -9 0.0 0.4 -0.3 -0.3 -0.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains 389 351 389 375 389 4.8 4.3 4.8 4.6 4.7
At expanding establishments 301 281 311 297 297 3.7 3.4 3.8 3.6 3.6
At opening establishments 88 70 78 78 92 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.1
Gross job losses 370 338 354 386 373 4.6 4.1 4.4 4.8 4.6
At contracting establishments 283 262 275 299 283 3.5 3.2 3.4 3.7 3.5
At closing establishments 87 76 79 87 90 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.1
Net employment change 19 13 35 -11 16 0.2 0.2 0.4 -0.2 0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,499 1,324 1,456 1,412 1,489 7.3 6.4 7.0 6.8 7.1
At expanding establishments 1,215 1,088 1,193 1,150 1,195 5.9 5.3 5.7 5.5 5.7
At opening establishments 284 236 263 262 294 1.4 1.1 1.3 1.3 1.4
Gross job losses 1,315 1,255 1,354 1,365 1,344 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.5 6.4
At contracting establishments 1,029 1,016 1,086 1,095 1,052 5.0 4.9 5.2 5.2 5.0
At closing establishments 286 239 268 270 292 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4
Net employment change 184 69 102 47 145 0.9 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.7
Education and health services
Gross job gains 987 971 1,005 1,008 998 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.4
At expanding establishments 805 799 814 836 816 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.6
At opening establishments 182 172 191 172 182 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
Gross job losses 863 830 933 915 864 3.9 3.7 4.2 4.0 3.8
At contracting establishments 681 668 758 735 680 3.1 3.0 3.4 3.2 3.0
At closing establishments 182 162 175 180 184 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8
Net employment change 124 141 72 93 134 0.5 0.7 0.2 0.5 0.6
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,391 1,331 1,338 1,314 1,391 8.8 8.2 8.2 8.1 8.6
At expanding establishments 1,093 1,058 1,061 1,039 1,104 6.9 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.8
At opening establishments 298 273 277 275 287 1.9 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8
Gross job losses 1,221 1,183 1,351 1,417 1,220 7.6 7.3 8.4 8.8 7.5
At contracting establishments 997 991 1,131 1,187 997 6.2 6.1 7.0 7.4 6.1
At closing establishments 224 192 220 230 223 1.4 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4
Net employment change 170 148 -13 -103 171 1.2 0.9 -0.2 -0.7 1.1
Other services
Gross job gains 295 287 314 294 297 7.1 6.9 7.5 7.0 7.0
At expanding establishments 232 228 250 234 234 5.6 5.5 6.0 5.6 5.5
At opening establishments 63 59 64 60 63 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.5
Gross job losses 275 275 283 308 289 6.6 6.6 6.8 7.3 6.8
At contracting establishments 212 215 221 243 221 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.8 5.2
At closing establishments 63 60 62 65 68 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.6
Net employment change 20 12 31 -14 8 0.5 0.3 0.7 -0.3 0.2
(1) Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Table 4. Private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
Total private by firm(1) Firm size 1 - 49 employees Firm size 50 - 249 employees Firm size 250 or more employees
Year 3 months Net Gross job Net Gross job Net Gross job Net Gross job
ended change gains losses change gains losses change gains losses change gains losses
2008 March -274 5,831 6,105 -152 3,235 3,387 -11 1,079 1,090 -111 1,517 1,628
June -548 5,850 6,398 -287 3,174 3,461 -44 1,090 1,134 -217 1,586 1,803
September -956 5,532 6,488 -343 3,051 3,394 -140 1,020 1,160 -473 1,461 1,934
December -1,886 5,338 7,224 -689 2,910 3,599 -375 947 1,322 -822 1,481 2,303
2009 March -2,638 4,617 7,255 -983 2,721 3,704 -616 810 1,426 -1,039 1,086 2,125
June -1,763 5,169 6,932 -474 2,946 3,420 -281 950 1,231 -1,008 1,273 2,281
September -906 5,164 6,070 -372 2,826 3,198 -110 932 1,042 -424 1,406 1,830
December -317 5,403 5,720 -159 2,940 3,099 -45 962 1,007 -113 1,501 1,614
2010 March -234 5,115 5,349 -195 2,863 3,058 -2 914 916 -37 1,338 1,375
June 664 5,805 5,141 235 3,093 2,858 204 1,071 867 225 1,641 1,416
September 226 5,525 5,299 26 2,946 2,920 87 998 911 113 1,581 1,468
December 502 5,781 5,279 92 3,051 2,959 92 1,034 942 318 1,696 1,378
2011 March 340 5,375 5,035 99 2,983 2,884 122 971 849 119 1,421 1,302
June 537 5,746 5,209 190 3,073 2,883 169 1,063 894 178 1,610 1,432
September 852 5,974 5,122 272 3,137 2,865 171 1,066 895 409 1,771 1,362
December 297 5,585 5,288 45 2,970 2,925 44 981 937 208 1,634 1,426
2012 March 972 5,904 4,932 388 3,173 2,785 220 1,054 834 364 1,677 1,313
June 612 5,828 5,216 174 3,039 2,865 158 1,074 916 280 1,715 1,435
September 226 5,581 5,355 55 2,963 2,908 54 1,006 952 117 1,612 1,495
December 637 5,779 5,142 180 3,025 2,845 94 1,014 920 363 1,740 1,377
2013 March 582 5,743 5,161 212 3,071 2,859 156 1,029 873 214 1,643 1,429
June 650 5,906 5,256 226 3,085 2,859 135 1,071 936 289 1,750 1,461
September 473 5,764 5,291 225 3,063 2,838 69 1,021 952 179 1,680 1,501
December 631 5,886 5,255 122 3,021 2,899 105 1,034 929 404 1,831 1,427
2014 March 455 5,666 5,211 240 3,073 2,833 152 1,035 883 63 1,558 1,495
June 887 6,136 5,249 300 3,179 2,879 215 1,121 906 372 1,836 1,464
September 536 5,860 5,324 185 3,060 2,875 110 1,063 953 241 1,737 1,496
December 967 6,158 5,191 217 3,107 2,890 154 1,086 932 596 1,965 1,369
2015 March 230 5,665 5,435 172 3,097 2,925 77 1,022 945 -19 1,546 1,565
June 833 6,252 5,419 318 3,199 2,881 189 1,133 944 326 1,920 1,594
September 417 5,899 5,482 133 3,048 2,915 65 1,041 976 219 1,810 1,591
December 879 6,267 5,388 242 3,179 2,937 98 1,077 979 539 2,011 1,472
2016 March 265 5,746 5,481 213 3,121 2,908 58 1,016 958 -6 1,609 1,615
June 302 6,046 5,744 66 3,126 3,060 115 1,106 991 121 1,814 1,693
September 701 6,245 5,544 164 3,143 2,979 88 1,084 996 449 2,018 1,569
December 302 5,912 5,610 76 3,070 2,994 50 1,033 983 176 1,809 1,633
2017 March 674 5,992 5,318 367 3,241 2,874 189 1,077 888 118 1,674 1,556
June 513 6,198 5,685 143 3,162 3,019 146 1,128 982 224 1,908 1,684
September -153 5,812 5,965 -136 2,985 3,121 -60 1,009 1,069 43 1,818 1,775
December 885 6,224 5,339 245 3,194 2,949 161 1,092 931 479 1,938 1,459
2018 March 779 6,021 5,242 334 3,182 2,848 167 1,061 894 278 1,778 1,500
June 458 6,169 5,711 137 3,171 3,034 154 1,132 978 167 1,866 1,699
September -19 5,948 5,967 -131 2,987 3,118 -37 1,025 1,062 149 1,936 1,787
December 746 6,119 5,373 199 3,161 2,962 147 1,084 937 400 1,874 1,474
(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by establishment, as some
establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process.
NOTE: Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. Net change totals for the firm-level data differ from
the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail.
See www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more detailed firm size class data.
Table 5. Components of private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains and job losses Gross job gains and job losses
(in thousands) as a percent of employment
Category 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018
Total private by firm(1)
Gross job gains 6,224 6,021 6,169 5,948 6,119 5.1 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.9
At expanding firms 5,264 5,078 5,265 5,086 5,168 4.3 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.1
At opening firms 960 943 904 862 951 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8
Gross job losses 5,339 5,242 5,711 5,967 5,373 4.3 4.3 4.6 4.8 4.3
At contracting firms 4,460 4,433 4,851 5,078 4,488 3.6 3.6 3.9 4.1 3.6
At closing firms 879 809 860 889 885 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
Net employment change 885 779 458 -19 746 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.0 0.6
Firm size 1 to 49 employees
Gross job gains 3,194 3,182 3,171 2,987 3,161 9.4 9.3 9.2 8.7 9.3
At expanding firms 2,270 2,283 2,309 2,158 2,250 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.3 6.6
At opening firms 924 899 862 829 911 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.7
Gross job losses 2,949 2,848 3,034 3,118 2,962 8.7 8.3 8.8 9.1 8.7
At contracting firms 2,107 2,064 2,212 2,265 2,114 6.2 6.0 6.4 6.6 6.2
At closing firms 842 784 822 853 848 2.5 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.5
Net employment change 245 334 137 -131 199 0.7 1.0 0.4 -0.4 0.6
Firm size 50 to 249 employees
Gross job gains 1,092 1,061 1,132 1,025 1,084 4.9 4.7 5.1 4.6 4.8
At expanding firms 1,060 1,032 1,096 994 1,053 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.5 4.7
At opening firms 32 29 36 31 31 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1
Gross job losses 931 894 978 1,062 937 4.2 4.0 4.4 4.7 4.2
At contracting firms 898 871 950 1,032 905 4.1 3.9 4.3 4.6 4.1
At closing firms 33 23 28 30 32 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Net employment change 161 167 154 -37 147 0.7 0.7 0.7 -0.1 0.6
Firm size 250 or more employees
Gross job gains 1,938 1,778 1,866 1,936 1,874 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.7
At expanding firms 1,934 1,763 1,860 1,934 1,865 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.7
At opening firms 4 15 6 2 9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Gross job losses 1,459 1,500 1,699 1,787 1,474 2.2 2.2 2.5 2.6 2.2
At contracting firms 1,455 1,498 1,689 1,781 1,469 2.2 2.2 2.5 2.6 2.2
At closing firms 4 2 10 6 5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Net employment change 479 278 167 149 400 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.5
(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by
establishment, as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process.
NOTE: Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. Net change totals for
the firm-level data differ from the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of
analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail. See www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more
detailed firm size class data.
Table 6. Private sector gross job gains and losses by state, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains Gross job losses
State 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018
United States(1).... 7,826,000 7,406,000 7,639,000 7,448,000 7,729,000 6,847,000 6,666,000 7,202,000 7,421,000 6,915,000
Alabama............. 94,822 95,408 92,414 94,873 100,130 86,247 84,599 91,229 93,501 85,072
Alaska.............. 23,753 24,212 26,957 21,822 26,655 25,045 21,672 26,327 26,053 23,854
Arizona............. 149,164 143,329 144,858 159,633 154,603 126,322 127,123 142,484 122,205 125,642
Arkansas............ 61,837 54,713 50,184 60,077 59,430 51,164 51,129 57,117 55,090 49,735
California.......... 1,006,720 943,168 994,036 952,711 1,010,567 879,820 873,921 943,723 916,902 889,366
Colorado............ 151,305 152,077 153,411 149,663 155,567 135,072 133,458 138,208 151,939 137,813
Connecticut......... 76,225 73,726 82,914 75,079 76,397 75,144 74,835 72,541 80,313 71,220
Delaware............ 26,545 27,296 24,983 21,527 25,360 24,302 22,600 23,141 25,465 21,909
District of Columbia 30,487 31,638 29,663 28,106 29,756 25,823 25,107 29,569 29,263 26,908
Florida............. 610,728 461,699 490,156 517,791 485,085 396,998 415,301 462,786 435,454 454,669
Georgia............. 256,202 243,572 236,252 253,249 238,969 206,907 211,926 240,874 234,073 217,289
Hawaii.............. 27,322 26,880 28,019 27,074 30,445 25,437 26,108 29,625 29,782 27,615
Idaho............... 44,087 47,380 44,433 41,148 45,650 38,758 35,993 41,092 42,067 38,745
Illinois............ 306,642 297,390 291,226 289,306 286,523 273,761 263,419 287,764 295,943 290,151
Indiana............. 152,730 150,823 146,171 139,020 148,496 132,131 135,050 147,061 142,048 132,939
Iowa................ 77,044 72,763 74,977 69,092 75,387 69,393 68,476 70,344 74,016 68,764
Kansas.............. 67,371 59,291 64,974 67,041 69,167 59,074 62,541 63,272 64,410 61,579
Kentucky............ 96,637 97,348 94,775 90,270 97,409 88,557 93,418 89,163 94,436 87,136
Louisiana........... 99,534 104,399 97,557 99,790 98,689 95,862 93,651 103,617 100,875 93,114
Maine............... 36,637 37,325 42,263 31,345 37,890 34,260 36,037 36,791 38,925 32,789
Maryland............ 135,910 136,190 131,382 137,227 146,999 136,873 124,625 127,460 144,016 140,316
Massachusetts....... 179,340 170,940 191,050 171,572 182,641 170,518 161,219 169,458 195,777 167,732
Michigan............ 209,924 215,009 212,862 190,601 212,435 201,345 172,727 194,576 232,016 196,541
Minnesota........... 142,622 133,031 143,233 135,941 143,079 137,459 124,520 130,411 141,344 135,193
Mississippi......... 57,247 49,047 51,181 52,089 57,676 48,680 52,670 53,851 50,879 46,751
Missouri............ 134,191 128,761 136,175 142,104 138,175 129,197 122,569 135,227 142,150 127,453
Montana............. 31,819 29,814 30,470 27,300 34,427 27,823 26,996 29,587 29,985 27,342
Nebraska............ 50,496 46,119 47,811 47,714 47,904 44,716 44,422 47,285 48,567 46,929
Nevada.............. 77,583 77,239 74,203 81,864 80,791 61,853 64,015 70,292 68,534 66,139
New Hampshire....... 38,049 34,737 38,301 31,989 37,953 33,715 33,948 35,786 39,158 32,548
New Jersey.......... 222,652 195,067 226,840 207,612 222,013 198,679 202,204 197,622 218,225 196,070
New Mexico.......... 40,895 40,492 41,958 41,157 43,273 38,285 35,382 39,635 41,027 38,724
New York............ 486,419 487,774 501,866 485,791 503,189 458,703 446,548 463,111 507,585 458,865
North Carolina...... 228,877 227,451 228,600 209,332 247,084 201,030 190,130 202,562 239,220 196,545
North Dakota........ 23,364 24,123 23,378 22,946 23,527 23,093 21,767 21,525 22,656 21,749
Ohio................ 264,245 257,964 260,528 247,650 259,585 241,351 233,979 250,063 268,421 243,935
Oklahoma............ 82,246 78,771 81,185 84,980 83,749 74,837 70,899 82,922 77,976 77,698
Oregon.............. 108,362 126,218 101,845 100,887 109,501 95,674 91,805 101,444 101,496 97,912
Pennsylvania........ 280,828 269,034 275,982 276,475 277,177 254,044 253,319 266,297 273,678 247,646
Rhode Island........ 27,510 26,816 26,413 26,106 26,804 25,380 25,611 25,793 27,015 24,413
South Carolina...... 117,366 101,452 130,498 100,034 128,834 88,279 80,164 113,086 113,956 94,634
South Dakota........ 22,366 22,660 21,354 21,085 22,230 20,135 20,837 21,540 20,475 20,496
Tennessee........... 148,658 128,609 140,227 149,180 149,515 124,382 122,183 132,038 134,468 125,914
Texas............... 647,693 594,270 605,354 618,195 647,373 543,784 524,628 542,770 565,234 530,060
Utah................ 85,107 91,524 85,608 90,954 86,722 70,867 73,492 79,338 80,550 76,884
Vermont............. 18,850 16,527 18,573 17,625 18,832 16,838 18,162 18,737 19,020 17,547
Virginia............ 196,457 184,748 193,648 176,965 197,460 171,383 167,145 183,646 197,904 175,551
Washington.......... 188,715 201,454 204,773 171,856 181,728 163,741 160,868 176,916 177,466 159,139
West Virginia....... 34,506 37,645 37,803 38,930 35,351 33,250 32,156 35,644 35,662 36,484
Wisconsin........... 137,630 138,695 137,077 126,007 134,627 121,738 116,842 137,348 145,552 121,967
Wyoming............. 17,919 17,379 17,108 16,755 20,766 17,229 16,363 17,239 17,184 16,342
Puerto Rico......... 46,357 55,031 52,532 48,061 39,799 76,992 43,925 40,796 38,298 45,090
Virgin Islands...... 2,218 2,702 2,815 2,510 1,965 6,800 3,775 1,929 1,449 1,859
(1) The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.
NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 7. Private sector gross job gains and losses, as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains as a percent of employment Gross job losses as a percent of employment
State 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018
United States....... 6.4 6.0 6.1 6.0 6.1 5.6 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.6
Alabama............. 6.0 6.0 5.8 5.9 6.3 5.4 5.3 5.7 5.9 5.3
Alaska.............. 9.7 9.8 10.9 8.9 10.9 10.2 8.8 10.7 10.6 9.7
Arizona............. 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.6 6.2 5.3 5.3 5.9 5.0 5.1
Arkansas............ 6.1 5.4 5.0 6.0 5.8 5.1 5.0 5.6 5.5 4.9
California.......... 6.9 6.4 6.7 6.5 6.7 6.0 5.9 6.3 6.2 5.9
Colorado............ 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.8 6.1 6.0 6.1 6.8 6.0
Connecticut......... 5.3 5.1 5.8 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.6 4.9
Delaware............ 7.0 7.1 6.5 5.6 6.6 6.4 5.9 6.0 6.6 5.7
District of Columbia 5.8 6.0 5.6 5.3 5.6 5.0 4.7 5.5 5.5 5.1
Florida............. 8.2 6.1 6.5 6.7 6.3 5.3 5.5 6.1 5.7 5.9
Georgia............. 6.9 6.5 6.2 6.7 6.3 5.6 5.6 6.4 6.2 5.7
Hawaii.............. 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.1 5.7 4.7 4.8 5.5 5.5 5.1
Idaho............... 7.4 7.9 7.3 6.8 7.4 6.6 5.9 6.7 6.9 6.3
Illinois............ 6.0 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.3 5.1 5.5 5.7 5.6
Indiana............. 5.7 5.6 5.4 5.2 5.6 5.0 5.1 5.5 5.4 4.9
Iowa................ 5.9 5.5 5.7 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.7 5.3
Kansas.............. 5.9 5.2 5.7 5.9 6.1 5.2 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.4
Kentucky............ 6.1 6.2 5.9 5.7 6.1 5.6 5.9 5.6 6.0 5.5
Louisiana........... 6.2 6.5 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.0 5.8 6.5 6.2 5.7
Maine............... 7.2 7.2 8.1 6.0 7.3 6.6 7.0 7.1 7.5 6.3
Maryland............ 6.2 6.3 6.0 6.3 6.8 6.3 5.7 5.8 6.6 6.4
Massachusetts....... 5.7 5.4 6.1 5.5 5.8 5.4 5.2 5.4 6.2 5.3
Michigan............ 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.0 5.7 5.4 4.6 5.1 6.2 5.2
Minnesota........... 5.8 5.3 5.8 5.4 5.7 5.5 5.0 5.3 5.7 5.4
Mississippi......... 6.3 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.4 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.2
Missouri............ 5.7 5.4 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.2 5.7 6.0 5.4
Montana............. 8.5 7.8 8.0 7.2 9.0 7.4 7.1 7.8 7.9 7.2
Nebraska............ 6.2 5.6 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.5 5.5 5.8 6.0 5.8
Nevada.............. 6.6 6.5 6.1 6.7 6.6 5.2 5.4 5.8 5.6 5.3
New Hampshire....... 6.7 6.1 6.7 5.6 6.7 5.9 5.9 6.3 6.8 5.7
New Jersey.......... 6.4 5.6 6.5 6.0 6.3 5.8 5.8 5.7 6.3 5.6
New Mexico.......... 6.5 6.3 6.5 6.4 6.7 6.1 5.5 6.2 6.4 6.0
New York............ 6.2 6.2 6.3 6.1 6.2 5.8 5.6 5.8 6.4 5.7
North Carolina...... 6.3 6.2 6.1 5.6 6.7 5.5 5.2 5.5 6.5 5.3
North Dakota........ 6.8 7.0 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.8 6.3 6.2 6.6 6.2
Ohio................ 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.6 5.2 5.0 5.4 5.7 5.2
Oklahoma............ 6.4 6.1 6.3 6.6 6.4 5.8 5.5 6.5 6.1 6.0
Oregon.............. 6.8 7.8 6.2 6.2 6.7 6.0 5.6 6.2 6.3 5.9
Pennsylvania........ 5.5 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.0 4.9 5.1 5.2 4.7
Rhode Island........ 6.6 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.4 6.0 6.1 6.1 6.4 5.7
South Carolina...... 7.0 5.9 7.5 5.8 7.4 5.3 4.7 6.5 6.5 5.4
South Dakota........ 6.4 6.4 6.1 5.9 6.3 5.7 5.9 6.1 5.8 5.8
Tennessee........... 5.9 5.0 5.5 5.8 5.8 4.9 4.8 5.1 5.2 4.9
Texas............... 6.4 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.1 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.1
Utah................ 7.0 7.4 6.9 7.3 6.9 5.9 6.0 6.3 6.5 6.1
Vermont............. 7.4 6.4 7.2 6.9 7.4 6.5 7.0 7.3 7.4 6.8
Virginia............ 6.3 5.8 6.1 5.6 6.2 5.5 5.2 5.8 6.3 5.5
Washington.......... 6.9 7.2 7.3 6.1 6.5 6.0 5.7 6.3 6.3 5.6
West Virginia....... 6.3 6.8 6.8 7.0 6.3 6.1 5.8 6.4 6.4 6.5
Wisconsin........... 5.6 5.6 5.4 5.1 5.4 5.0 4.7 5.5 5.9 4.9
Wyoming............. 8.7 8.4 8.2 8.2 10.0 8.4 8.0 8.3 8.3 7.8
Puerto Rico......... 7.1 8.4 8.0 7.2 6.0 11.8 6.8 6.2 5.8 6.7
Virgin Islands...... 9.2 12.0 12.5 10.9 8.3 28.2 16.8 8.6 6.3 7.8
NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 8. Private sector establishment births and deaths, seasonally adjusted
Total private
(Levels in thousands)
Number of Establishments Employment
Births Deaths(1) Births Deaths
Year 3 months ended Level Rate(2) Level Rate Level Rate Level Rate
2008 March 226 3.1 224 3.1 919 0.8 832 0.7
June 221 3.0 238 3.3 876 0.8 913 0.8
September 216 3.0 233 3.2 849 0.8 881 0.8
December 211 2.9 253 3.5 819 0.7 951 0.9
2009 March 197 2.7 247 3.4 738 0.7 869 0.8
June 201 2.8 238 3.3 767 0.7 837 0.8
September 192 2.7 227 3.2 725 0.7 793 0.7
December 202 2.8 218 3.1 728 0.7 749 0.7
2010 March 193 2.7 211 3.0 706 0.7 687 0.7
June 193 2.7 202 2.9 730 0.7 665 0.6
September 207 2.9 204 2.9 754 0.7 701 0.7
December 216 3.0 201 2.8 805 0.8 700 0.7
2011 March 204 2.9 200 2.8 715 0.7 632 0.6
June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 0.7 689 0.6
September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 0.7 675 0.6
December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 0.7 700 0.6
2012 March 236 3.3 188 2.6 787 0.7 614 0.6
June 217 3.0 194 2.7 799 0.7 673 0.6
September 210 2.9 196 2.7 804 0.7 692 0.6
December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 0.7 673 0.6
2013 March 205 2.8 193 2.6 748 0.7 648 0.6
June 222 3.0 215 2.9 789 0.7 695 0.6
September 219 2.9 195 2.6 818 0.7 678 0.6
December 215 2.9 187 2.5 803 0.7 670 0.6
2014 March 220 2.9 189 2.5 781 0.7 635 0.6
June 221 2.9 205 2.7 805 0.7 716 0.6
September 225 3.0 199 2.6 827 0.7 704 0.6
December 224 2.9 197 2.6 839 0.7 707 0.6
2015 March 234 3.1 206 2.7 814 0.7 694 0.6
June 234 3.1 212 2.8 839 0.7 732 0.6
September 242 3.1 207 2.7 880 0.7 704 0.6
December 247 3.2 208 2.7 893 0.8 733 0.6
2016 March 236 3.0 203 2.6 786 0.7 663 0.6
June 242 3.1 214 2.7 839 0.7 723 0.6
September 239 3.0 215 2.7 872 0.7 747 0.6
December 239 3.0 217 2.8 869 0.7 729 0.6
2017 March 241 3.0 203 2.6 800 0.7 659 0.5
June 240 3.0 225 2.8 851 0.7 760 0.6
September 241 3.0 226 2.8 851 0.7 763 0.6
December 246 3.1 216 2.7 853 0.7 732 0.6
2018 March 250 3.1 214 2.6 817 0.7 662 0.5
June 263 3.2 N/A N/A 878 0.7 N/A N/A
September 252 3.1 N/A N/A 859 0.7 N/A N/A
December 248 3.0 N/A N/A 857 0.7 N/A N/A
(1) Values for deaths are not available for the most recent three quarters by definition. See the
Technical Note for more informations.
(2) The rates measure births and deaths as a percentage of the average of the previous and current
quarter employment levels or total number of establishments.
United States Department of Labor
