For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, July 26, 2017 USDL-17-1046
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 2016
From September 2016 to December 2016, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.5 million, a decrease of 185,000 jobs over the quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector
establishments were 7.1 million, an increase of 127,000 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 376,000 jobs in the private-sector during the fourth quarter of 2016. (See tables A and 1.)
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 (BED) 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 2016, gross job gains represented 6.2 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
6.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, a decrease of 191,000 compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.4 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2016, an
increase of 6,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the fourth quarter of 2016, gross job losses represented 5.8 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 5.7 million jobs in the fourth quarter of
2016, a decrease of 6,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2016, closing
establishments lost 1.4 million jobs, an increase of 121,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables
A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the fourth quarter of 2016, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data, see the
Technical Note for more information) increased by 8,000, to a total of 246,000 establishments. These
new establishments accounted for 919,000 jobs, an increase of 53,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of
2016, when 667,000 jobs were lost at 204,000 establishments. (See table 8.)
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 8 of 13 industries in the fourth quarter of 2016. The
service-providing industries experienced a net job increase of 371,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Within service-providing industries, transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net
job increase, with a gain of 154,000 jobs. The net job increase in transportation and warehousing was the
result of 386,000 gross job gains and 232,000 gross job losses. The goods-producing industries
experienced a net job increase of 5,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2016. Among the goods-producing
industries, a net gain of 14,000 jobs in manufacturing and a net gain of 12,000 jobs in construction offset
the 21,000 net job losses in natural resources and mining. (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.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2016 | 2016 | 2016
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,843 | 6,977 | 7,463 | 7,650 | 7,465
At expanding establishments...... | 6,375 | 5,778 | 6,056 | 6,207 | 6,016
At opening establishments........ | 1,468 | 1,199 | 1,407 | 1,443 | 1,449
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6,842 | 6,783 | 7,156 | 6,962 | 7,089
At contracting establishments.... | 5,573 | 5,617 | 5,829 | 5,720 | 5,726
At closing establishments........ | 1,269 | 1,166 | 1,327 | 1,242 | 1,363
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 1,001 | 194 | 307 | 688 | 376
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 6.6 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 6.2
At expanding establishments...... | 5.4 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.0
At opening establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.8
At contracting establishments.... | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.7
At closing establishments........ | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 2016, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 68,000. Firms
with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 47,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a
net employment gain of 201,000. Of the 1.5 million net jobs created over the last four quarters, firms
with 1-49 employees contributed 29.4 percent of net job growth, while firms with 50-249 employees
contributed 20.0 percent, and firms with 250 or more employees contributed 50.6 percent. (See tables 4
and 5.)
States
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in the
fourth quarter of 2016. Over this period, 25 states exceeded the U.S. rate of gross job gains as a percent
of employment, which was 6.2 percent. Alaska had the highest rate of gross job gains as a percent of
employment, at 9.6 percent. Alaska also had the highest rate of gross job losses as a percent of
employment at 10.0 percent, above the national rate of 5.8 percent. Connecticut had the lowest rate of
gross job gains as a percent of employment at 5.1 percent. Tennessee had the lowest rate of gross job
losses as a percent of employment at 5.0 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 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 can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.
_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2017 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
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| |
| Administrative Change Affecting Missouri Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| Fourth quarter 2016 data were affected by an administrative change to the Missouri Unemployment |
| Insurance (UI) tax system. This non-economic change has resulted in an increase in the tabulated |
| number of establishment openings and closings as well as an increase in employment attributed to those |
| openings and closings in the state, as reported by the Business Employment Dynamics statistics. |
| |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| Data in the next release, published on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, 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. |
| |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 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- | 623,000 establish-
| submitted by 9.6 | ministrative records| ments
| million employers | submitted by 7.7 |
| | 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;
| | | including: railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
| | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -6 months after the| -7 months after the | -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,3-digit |
| | NAICS, and by size |
| | of firm, and at the |
| | state private-sector|
| | total level |
| |--Future expansions |
| | will include |
| | 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 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 7.7
million private sector employer reports out of 9.6 million total reports of employment and wages
submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2016. 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. As
an illustration, 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 2016:
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level
Total establishments QCEW program.................................................... 9.6
Excluded: Public sector............................................................ 0.3
Private households......................................................... 0.2
Zero employment............................................................ 1.3
Establishments in Puerto Rico..............................................
and the Virgin Islands............................................... 0.1
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data............................................................. 7.7
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 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 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 4-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-12 ARIMA. 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 an annual bulletin:
Employment and Wages Annual Averages, 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 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 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
2006 March 896 7,880 6,383 1,497 6,984 5,661 1,323
June 342 7,766 6,228 1,538 7,424 6,026 1,398
September 92 7,545 6,076 1,469 7,453 6,067 1,386
December 431 7,770 6,226 1,544 7,339 5,964 1,375
2007 March 584 7,815 6,331 1,484 7,231 5,894 1,337
June 132 7,647 6,205 1,442 7,515 6,084 1,431
September -209 7,376 5,870 1,506 7,585 6,190 1,395
December 268 7,687 6,181 1,506 7,419 6,040 1,379
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 954 7,080 5,751 1,329 6,126 5,002 1,124
June 603 7,048 5,721 1,327 6,445 5,272 1,173
September 271 6,898 5,581 1,317 6,627 5,429 1,198
December 688 7,103 5,744 1,359 6,415 5,224 1,191
2013 March 565 6,933 5,704 1,229 6,368 5,190 1,178
June 661 7,154 5,832 1,322 6,493 5,284 1,209
September 487 7,060 5,719 1,341 6,573 5,428 1,145
December 712 7,261 5,927 1,334 6,549 5,344 1,205
2014 March 447 6,947 5,681 1,266 6,500 5,357 1,143
June 870 7,456 6,116 1,340 6,586 5,364 1,222
September 540 7,243 5,912 1,331 6,703 5,517 1,186
December 1,071 7,634 6,260 1,374 6,563 5,324 1,239
2015 March 237 7,036 5,727 1,309 6,799 5,600 1,199
June 815 7,588 6,244 1,344 6,773 5,573 1,200
September 427 7,338 5,972 1,366 6,911 5,698 1,213
December 1,001 7,843 6,375 1,468 6,842 5,573 1,269
2016 March 194 6,977 5,778 1,199 6,783 5,617 1,166
June 307 7,463 6,056 1,407 7,156 5,829 1,327
September 688 7,650 6,207 1,443 6,962 5,720 1,242
December 376 7,465 6,016 1,449 7,089 5,726 1,363
(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
2006 March .8 7.0 5.7 1.3 6.2 5.0 1.2
June .4 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.5 5.3 1.2
September .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2
December .4 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.5 5.3 1.2
2007 March .5 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.4 5.2 1.2
June .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3
September -.2 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2
December .2 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2
2008 March -.1 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2
June -.5 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.9 5.6 1.3
September -.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 -.8 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.8 5.5 1.3
December -.3 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3
2010 March -.2 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.2 5.0 1.2
June .7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September .2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.1 4.9 1.2
December .5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2
2011 March .3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1
June .5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2
September .8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1
December .4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2
2012 March .8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0
June .5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September .2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1
December .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2013 March .5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1
June .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2014 March .4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
June .7 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December .9 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1
2015 March .2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
June .7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December .8 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2016 March .1 5.8 4.8 1.0 5.7 4.7 1.0
June .2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1
September .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December .4 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
(1) The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage 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.
2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,843 6,977 7,463 7,650 7,465 6.6 5.8 6.2 6.4 6.2
At expanding establishments 6,375 5,778 6,056 6,207 6,016 5.4 4.8 5.0 5.2 5.0
At opening establishments 1,468 1,199 1,407 1,443 1,449 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.2
Gross job losses 6,842 6,783 7,156 6,962 7,089 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.8 5.8
At contracting establishments 5,573 5,617 5,829 5,720 5,726 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.8 4.7
At closing establishments 1,269 1,166 1,327 1,242 1,363 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1
Net employment change 1,001 194 307 688 376 .8 .1 .2 .6 .4
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,368 1,292 1,332 1,299 1,306 6.6 6.1 6.4 6.3 6.2
At expanding establishments 1,162 1,119 1,145 1,101 1,114 5.6 5.3 5.5 5.3 5.3
At opening establishments 206 173 187 198 192 1.0 .8 .9 1.0 .9
Gross job losses 1,316 1,282 1,381 1,297 1,301 6.3 6.2 6.6 6.2 6.3
At contracting establishments 1,120 1,099 1,171 1,105 1,098 5.4 5.3 5.6 5.3 5.3
At closing establishments 196 183 210 192 203 .9 .9 1.0 .9 1.0
Net employment change 52 10 -49 2 5 .3 -.1 -.2 .1 -.1
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 248 254 260 248 249 12.8 13.1 13.8 13.5 13.5
At expanding establishments 214 223 228 215 217 11.0 11.5 12.1 11.7 11.8
At opening establishments 34 31 32 33 32 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.7
Gross job losses 301 272 297 253 270 15.5 14.1 15.9 13.7 14.6
At contracting establishments 266 239 264 223 239 13.7 12.4 14.1 12.1 12.9
At closing establishments 35 33 33 30 31 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.6 1.7
Net employment change -53 -18 -37 -5 -21 -2.7 -1.0 -2.1 -.2 -1.1
Construction
Gross job gains 705 661 657 654 648 10.8 10.0 9.8 9.9 9.7
At expanding establishments 574 550 541 529 528 8.8 8.3 8.1 8.0 7.9
At opening establishments 131 111 116 125 120 2.0 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.8
Gross job losses 589 607 650 618 636 9.1 9.1 9.7 9.3 9.4
At contracting establishments 474 499 523 503 513 7.3 7.5 7.8 7.6 7.6
At closing establishments 115 108 127 115 123 1.8 1.6 1.9 1.7 1.8
Net employment change 116 54 7 36 12 1.7 .9 .1 .6 .3
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 415 377 415 397 409 3.3 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.3
At expanding establishments 374 346 376 357 369 3.0 2.8 3.1 2.9 3.0
At opening establishments 41 31 39 40 40 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3
Gross job losses 426 403 434 426 395 3.5 3.2 3.5 3.5 3.2
At contracting establishments 380 361 384 379 346 3.1 2.9 3.1 3.1 2.8
At closing establishments 46 42 50 47 49 .4 .3 .4 .4 .4
Net employment change -11 -26 -19 -29 14 -.2 -.1 -.1 -.3 .1
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 6,475 5,685 6,131 6,351 6,159 6.6 5.7 6.2 6.4 6.2
At expanding establishments 5,213 4,659 4,911 5,106 4,902 5.3 4.7 5.0 5.1 4.9
At opening establishments 1,262 1,026 1,220 1,245 1,257 1.3 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.3
Gross job losses 5,526 5,501 5,775 5,665 5,788 5.6 5.6 5.8 5.7 5.8
At contracting establishments 4,453 4,518 4,658 4,615 4,628 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.6
At closing establishments 1,073 983 1,117 1,050 1,160 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.2
Net employment change 949 184 356 686 371 1.0 .1 .4 .7 .4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 294 256 276 274 277 4.9 4.4 4.7 4.6 4.7
At expanding establishments 244 216 227 225 224 4.1 3.7 3.9 3.8 3.8
At opening establishments 50 40 49 49 53 .8 .7 .8 .8 .9
Gross job losses 268 265 273 262 263 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.5
At contracting establishments 209 208 213 208 200 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.4
At closing establishments 59 57 60 54 63 1.0 1.0 1.0 .9 1.1
Net employment change 26 -9 3 12 14 .4 -.1 .1 .1 .2
Retail trade
Gross job gains 925 948 926 947 896 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.9 5.6
At expanding establishments 798 833 798 812 779 5.1 5.3 5.0 5.1 4.9
At opening establishments 127 115 128 135 117 .8 .7 .8 .8 .7
Gross job losses 921 850 900 949 916 5.8 5.4 5.7 6.0 5.8
At contracting establishments 789 747 790 827 792 5.0 4.7 5.0 5.2 5.0
At closing establishments 132 103 110 122 124 .8 .7 .7 .8 .8
Net employment change 4 98 26 -2 -20 .1 .6 .1 -.1 -.2
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 343 229 246 288 386 7.3 4.8 5.2 6.0 7.9
At expanding establishments 305 200 209 250 342 6.5 4.2 4.4 5.2 7.0
At opening establishments 38 29 37 38 44 .8 .6 .8 .8 .9
Gross job losses 227 293 250 227 232 4.8 6.1 5.3 4.7 4.7
At contracting establishments 188 258 211 188 192 4.0 5.4 4.5 3.9 3.9
At closing establishments 39 35 39 39 40 .8 .7 .8 .8 .8
Net employment change 116 -64 -4 61 154 2.5 -1.3 -.1 1.3 3.2
Utilities
Gross job gains 12 9 13 11 12 2.2 1.6 2.4 2.0 2.2
At expanding establishments 11 8 11 10 10 2.0 1.4 2.0 1.8 1.8
At opening establishments 1 1 2 1 2 .2 .2 .4 .2 .4
Gross job losses 11 10 13 14 13 2.0 1.8 2.4 2.6 2.4
At contracting establishments 10 9 11 12 11 1.8 1.6 2.0 2.2 2.0
At closing establishments 1 1 2 2 2 .2 .2 .4 .4 .4
Net employment change 1 -1 0 -3 -1 .2 -.2 .0 -.6 -.2
Information
Gross job gains 162 135 157 152 144 5.9 4.9 5.6 5.4 5.1
At expanding establishments 135 116 132 124 116 4.9 4.2 4.7 4.4 4.1
At opening establishments 27 19 25 28 28 1.0 .7 .9 1.0 1.0
Gross job losses 140 138 139 149 151 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.4 5.4
At contracting establishments 112 110 109 125 122 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.5 4.4
At closing establishments 28 28 30 24 29 1.0 1.0 1.1 .9 1.0
Net employment change 22 -3 18 3 -7 .9 -.1 .6 .0 -.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains 394 344 389 386 386 5.0 4.3 4.9 4.9 4.8
At expanding establishments 307 278 313 308 296 3.9 3.5 3.9 3.9 3.7
At opening establishments 87 66 76 78 90 1.1 .8 1.0 1.0 1.1
Gross job losses 353 333 354 347 358 4.5 4.2 4.4 4.3 4.5
At contracting establishments 270 258 272 274 272 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.4
At closing establishments 83 75 82 73 86 1.1 .9 1.0 .9 1.1
Net employment change 41 11 35 39 28 .5 .1 .5 .6 .3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,600 1,237 1,426 1,469 1,395 8.1 6.3 7.2 7.3 6.9
At expanding establishments 1,292 1,026 1,165 1,201 1,112 6.5 5.2 5.9 6.0 5.5
At opening establishments 308 211 261 268 283 1.6 1.1 1.3 1.3 1.4
Gross job losses 1,311 1,355 1,363 1,272 1,363 6.6 6.8 6.9 6.4 6.8
At contracting establishments 1,037 1,111 1,065 1,014 1,064 5.2 5.6 5.4 5.1 5.3
At closing establishments 274 244 298 258 299 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.3 1.5
Net employment change 289 -118 63 197 32 1.5 -.5 .3 .9 .1
Education and health services
Gross job gains 1,006 878 962 1,034 967 4.8 4.1 4.5 4.8 4.4
At expanding establishments 824 726 776 867 769 3.9 3.4 3.6 4.0 3.5
At opening establishments 182 152 186 167 198 .9 .7 .9 .8 .9
Gross job losses 801 813 888 822 918 3.8 3.8 4.2 3.8 4.2
At contracting establishments 635 658 701 650 707 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.0 3.2
At closing establishments 166 155 187 172 211 .8 .7 .9 .8 1.0
Net employment change 205 65 74 212 49 1.0 .3 .3 1.0 .2
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,344 1,247 1,312 1,330 1,301 8.8 8.0 8.4 8.5 8.3
At expanding establishments 1,048 1,013 1,025 1,045 1,013 6.9 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.5
At opening establishments 296 234 287 285 288 1.9 1.5 1.8 1.8 1.8
Gross job losses 1,184 1,138 1,273 1,297 1,238 7.8 7.4 8.2 8.4 7.9
At contracting establishments 977 939 1,055 1,082 1,024 6.4 6.1 6.8 7.0 6.5
At closing establishments 207 199 218 215 214 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4
Net employment change 160 109 39 33 63 1.0 .6 .2 .1 .4
Other services
Gross job gains 294 272 301 305 280 7.2 6.7 7.4 7.4 6.8
At expanding establishments 232 219 235 240 219 5.7 5.4 5.8 5.8 5.3
At opening establishments 62 53 66 65 61 1.5 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.5
Gross job losses 273 266 284 285 293 6.8 6.5 7.0 7.0 7.1
At contracting establishments 213 207 219 221 230 5.3 5.1 5.4 5.4 5.6
At closing establishments 60 59 65 64 63 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.5
Net employment change 21 6 17 20 -13 .4 .2 .4 .4 -.3
(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(2,3) gains losses change gains losses change gains losses change gains losses
2006 March 782 6,460 5,678 312 3,538 3,226 211 1,216 1,005 259 1,706 1,447
June 369 6,329 5,960 111 3,425 3,314 102 1,179 1,077 156 1,725 1,569
September 86 6,120 6,034 -5 3,334 3,339 48 1,133 1,085 43 1,653 1,610
December 446 6,388 5,942 137 3,406 3,269 80 1,153 1,073 229 1,829 1,600
2007 March 478 6,333 5,855 173 3,445 3,272 98 1,158 1,060 207 1,730 1,523
June 163 6,239 6,076 -33 3,330 3,363 99 1,171 1,072 97 1,738 1,641
September -215 5,920 6,135 -116 3,263 3,379 -34 1,079 1,113 -65 1,578 1,643
December 270 6,251 5,981 10 3,317 3,307 56 1,139 1,083 204 1,795 1,591
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 975 5,903 4,928 397 3,178 2,781 221 1,055 834 357 1,670 1,313
June 605 5,828 5,223 170 3,039 2,869 160 1,076 916 275 1,713 1,438
September 245 5,595 5,350 57 2,965 2,908 55 1,007 952 133 1,623 1,490
December 623 5,767 5,144 174 3,019 2,845 90 1,011 921 359 1,737 1,378
2013 March 593 5,741 5,148 230 3,082 2,852 156 1,026 870 207 1,633 1,426
June 642 5,909 5,267 219 3,084 2,865 138 1,075 937 285 1,750 1,465
September 458 5,764 5,306 210 3,056 2,846 62 1,018 956 186 1,690 1,504
December 632 5,881 5,249 126 3,021 2,895 100 1,031 931 406 1,829 1,423
2014 March 469 5,663 5,194 260 3,084 2,824 154 1,033 879 55 1,546 1,491
June 878 6,140 5,262 293 3,177 2,884 218 1,125 907 367 1,838 1,471
September 516 5,858 5,342 168 3,052 2,884 102 1,059 957 246 1,747 1,501
December 969 6,154 5,185 218 3,107 2,889 151 1,083 932 600 1,964 1,364
2015 March 244 5,662 5,418 191 3,106 2,915 81 1,022 941 -28 1,534 1,562
June 823 6,253 5,430 312 3,197 2,885 191 1,136 945 320 1,920 1,600
September 397 5,898 5,501 114 3,040 2,926 58 1,038 980 225 1,820 1,595
December 882 6,258 5,376 247 3,179 2,932 98 1,075 977 537 2,004 1,467
2016 March 224 5,624 5,400 175 3,020 2,845 57 1,002 945 -8 1,602 1,610
June 302 6,072 5,770 72 3,133 3,061 116 1,111 995 114 1,828 1,714
September 681 6,223 5,542 133 3,106 2,973 84 1,082 998 464 2,035 1,571
December 316 5,896 5,580 68 3,046 2,978 47 1,031 984 201 1,819 1,618
(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.
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
(3) Net change totals for firm-level data shown differ from the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment of the series.
NOTE: See http://www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for additional 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.
2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016
Total private by firm(1)
Gross job gains 6,258 5,624 6,072 6,223 5,896 5.3 4.7 5.1 5.2 4.9
At expanding firms 5,295 4,790 5,149 5,283 4,969 4.5 4.0 4.3 4.4 4.1
At opening firms 963 834 923 940 927 .8 .7 .8 .8 .8
Gross job losses 5,376 5,400 5,770 5,542 5,580 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.6 4.6
At contracting firms 4,528 4,579 4,842 4,692 4,721 3.8 3.8 4.0 3.9 3.9
At closing firms 848 821 928 850 859 .7 .7 .8 .7 .7
Net employment change 882 224 302 681 316 .8 .2 .3 .6 .3
Firm size 1 to 49 employees
Gross job gains 3,179 3,020 3,133 3,106 3,046 9.5 9.0 9.3 9.3 9.0
At expanding firms 2,265 2,218 2,253 2,208 2,161 6.8 6.6 6.7 6.6 6.4
At opening firms 914 802 880 898 885 2.7 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.6
Gross job losses 2,932 2,845 3,061 2,973 2,978 8.8 8.4 9.1 8.8 8.8
At contracting firms 2,123 2,057 2,175 2,157 2,155 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.4 6.4
At closing firms 809 788 886 816 823 2.4 2.3 2.6 2.4 2.4
Net employment change 247 175 72 133 68 .7 .6 .2 .5 .2
Firm size 50 to 249 employees
Gross job gains 1,075 1,002 1,111 1,082 1,031 5.0 4.6 5.1 5.0 4.8
At expanding firms 1,041 974 1,072 1,044 996 4.8 4.5 4.9 4.8 4.6
At opening firms 34 28 39 38 35 .2 .1 .2 .2 .2
Gross job losses 977 945 995 998 984 4.6 4.3 4.6 4.6 4.5
At contracting firms 943 917 962 969 953 4.4 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.4
At closing firms 34 28 33 29 31 .2 .1 .2 .1 .1
Net employment change 98 57 116 84 47 .4 .3 .5 .4 .3
Firm size 250 or more employees
Gross job gains 2,004 1,602 1,828 2,035 1,819 3.1 2.5 2.8 3.1 2.8
At expanding firms 1,989 1,598 1,824 2,031 1,812 3.1 2.5 2.8 3.1 2.8
At opening firms 15 4 4 4 7 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Gross job losses 1,467 1,610 1,714 1,571 1,618 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.5
At contracting firms 1,462 1,605 1,705 1,566 1,613 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.5
At closing firms 5 5 9 5 5 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Net employment change 537 -8 114 464 201 .8 .0 .2 .7 .3
(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.
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.
2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016
United States(1)... 7,843,000 6,977,000 7,463,000 7,650,000 7,465,000 6,842,000 6,783,000 7,156,000 6,962,000 7,089,000
Alabama..... 96,646 89,239 90,468 95,974 91,192 81,804 84,673 90,158 89,745 89,343
Alaska..... 24,329 23,755 26,030 22,411 23,748 26,571 24,612 29,972 27,596 24,810
Arizona..... 154,720 136,475 137,186 163,612 138,172 123,146 130,066 138,390 119,918 126,569
Arkansas..... 62,679 53,819 53,228 61,167 57,122 52,402 53,379 57,344 54,494 51,883
California..... 1,075,178 921,636 969,310 987,259 968,213 929,638 889,698 946,963 872,725 901,739
Colorado..... 147,332 140,016 148,006 153,349 142,224 134,691 130,052 138,701 135,109 141,376
Connecticut..... 77,156 74,339 77,489 74,208 72,208 70,694 70,865 75,829 75,109 73,722
Delaware..... 27,199 24,510 25,219 23,511 23,248 23,117 24,200 25,084 24,397 23,381
District of Columbia 31,569 26,719 29,684 31,411 28,585 23,562 28,186 31,218 28,869 28,501
Florida..... 510,696 439,847 460,188 537,172 490,012 412,905 410,669 428,183 416,981 446,536
Georgia..... 247,757 218,517 252,375 243,567 237,672 202,861 199,712 240,381 214,828 209,913
Hawaii..... 30,040 25,200 28,174 30,518 27,652 23,183 25,729 31,217 25,963 27,072
Idaho..... 43,766 46,359 40,993 44,973 43,414 38,441 35,558 40,443 40,480 38,443
Illinois..... 321,551 271,116 299,699 293,311 307,488 283,941 274,351 301,559 289,298 291,031
Indiana..... 158,633 141,057 137,024 149,640 141,154 126,844 136,213 134,813 132,940 137,271
Iowa..... 77,648 77,795 72,903 78,243 73,751 73,121 69,140 79,614 74,162 76,129
Kansas..... 70,502 64,980 63,336 70,015 66,916 62,764 66,896 70,605 63,173 64,620
Kentucky..... 103,547 88,881 96,696 104,901 94,712 83,693 90,733 91,777 97,403 87,660
Louisiana..... 106,451 96,609 94,903 105,759 93,098 103,367 105,846 111,231 102,408 103,821
Maine..... 43,068 40,502 39,055 33,573 36,267 35,516 34,636 34,077 37,485 35,878
Maryland..... 141,865 130,869 134,394 139,730 141,007 124,463 127,811 134,582 128,257 135,555
Massachusetts..... 176,932 158,738 181,391 173,891 169,035 156,781 152,250 158,315 166,349 165,216
Michigan..... 218,432 196,117 218,793 206,985 203,905 192,084 179,106 194,637 205,425 200,642
Minnesota..... 145,443 131,059 143,945 149,566 141,588 137,636 126,838 135,847 134,632 140,856
Mississippi..... 62,596 51,367 50,079 55,451 56,564 47,996 54,142 58,052 49,333 50,563
Missouri..... 145,011 131,177 133,514 132,069 181,050 121,021 124,222 128,070 125,311 186,321
Montana..... 31,491 29,163 29,552 28,143 28,782 26,762 26,815 32,061 28,704 27,811
Nebraska..... 49,121 47,050 45,488 51,210 46,186 44,211 44,379 48,210 47,154 49,758
Nevada..... 76,024 70,313 73,080 76,079 76,787 58,645 64,506 63,512 61,819 64,094
New Hampshire..... 37,269 33,406 36,483 35,989 35,377 31,119 32,615 33,058 35,405 33,269
New Jersey..... 227,731 198,701 220,836 210,721 218,012 197,598 198,223 195,999 197,194 199,380
New Mexico..... 43,231 39,261 40,168 42,559 40,990 42,850 39,633 41,720 38,728 40,414
New York..... 492,245 469,294 484,162 488,741 470,026 445,177 442,368 451,921 457,571 462,887
North Carolina..... 232,642 213,396 221,808 219,357 225,078 192,138 195,124 206,971 206,445 200,246
North Dakota..... 24,038 23,501 23,222 27,858 23,040 28,948 31,279 31,169 24,555 26,586
Ohio..... 274,448 251,839 257,809 260,780 257,128 236,802 234,642 260,094 258,978 247,337
Oklahoma..... 79,854 72,627 71,683 78,448 79,388 81,960 80,611 84,340 74,654 76,784
Oregon..... 106,625 106,558 104,631 105,869 102,987 93,530 88,983 100,510 98,653 96,138
Pennsylvania..... 288,170 271,355 267,682 285,600 274,145 258,949 264,903 272,140 258,787 259,210
Rhode Island..... 27,173 24,014 25,497 23,215 23,939 23,455 24,234 25,797 24,839 23,877
South Carolina..... 115,442 98,841 103,090 104,132 109,616 85,611 95,873 96,435 93,785 90,460
South Dakota..... 22,966 21,499 21,895 22,031 21,028 20,376 21,188 21,613 21,592 21,226
Tennessee..... 153,086 130,023 140,634 146,834 143,900 116,059 125,798 131,687 128,999 124,788
Texas..... 600,731 460,303 617,972 615,542 588,118 543,729 543,545 531,640 537,088 534,816
Utah..... 81,519 84,042 78,366 86,072 78,902 68,467 68,450 73,446 75,466 74,856
Vermont..... 18,140 16,825 18,741 18,293 17,874 16,671 17,717 18,300 18,753 17,725
Virginia..... 195,967 181,750 196,598 187,117 191,763 172,197 182,918 185,928 188,363 179,824
Washington..... 177,055 187,946 192,605 177,742 192,603 159,981 148,670 154,150 169,322 179,378
West Virginia..... 36,337 32,562 31,986 35,381 34,784 35,335 37,995 37,599 35,652 33,754
Wisconsin..... 145,150 136,563 137,744 133,492 133,351 126,012 126,353 139,248 134,073 131,301
Wyoming..... 19,048 16,868 15,896 16,789 17,778 19,747 19,826 21,419 17,993 17,529
Puerto Rico..... 42,057 38,292 37,884 39,108 39,503 38,537 40,072 38,038 38,260 35,843
Virgin Islands..... 1,979 1,549 1,746 1,712 1,629 1,451 1,469 1,602 1,794 1,689
The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.
(1) 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.
2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016
United States(1)... 6.6 5.8 6.2 6.4 6.2 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.8 5.8
Alabama..... 6.2 5.8 5.8 6.2 5.8 5.3 5.4 5.8 5.7 5.7
Alaska..... 9.6 9.4 10.3 9.0 9.6 10.5 9.7 11.9 11.1 10.0
Arizona..... 6.9 6.0 6.1 7.1 6.0 5.4 5.7 6.1 5.2 5.5
Arkansas..... 6.3 5.4 5.4 6.2 5.7 5.3 5.3 5.8 5.4 5.2
California..... 7.6 6.5 6.8 6.9 6.7 6.7 6.3 6.7 6.1 6.3
Colorado..... 7.0 6.6 6.9 7.1 6.6 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.2 6.6
Connecticut..... 5.5 5.2 5.4 5.2 5.1 4.9 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.1
Delaware..... 7.3 6.5 6.7 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.5 6.2
District of Columbia.. 6.2 5.2 5.8 6.2 5.5 4.6 5.6 6.1 5.7 5.6
Florida..... 7.2 6.1 6.4 7.4 6.7 5.8 5.8 5.9 5.7 6.1
Georgia..... 6.9 6.1 7.0 6.7 6.5 5.7 5.6 6.6 5.9 5.8
Hawaii..... 5.8 4.9 5.4 5.8 5.2 4.4 4.9 6.0 5.0 5.1
Idaho..... 7.9 8.2 7.1 7.9 7.6 6.9 6.3 7.1 7.1 6.6
Illinois..... 6.4 5.3 5.9 5.7 6.1 5.6 5.4 5.9 5.7 5.7
Indiana..... 6.2 5.5 5.2 5.8 5.4 4.9 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.2
Iowa..... 6.0 6.0 5.6 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.3 6.1 5.8 5.9
Kansas..... 6.2 5.8 5.6 6.2 5.9 5.6 5.9 6.3 5.6 5.7
Kentucky..... 6.7 5.7 6.2 6.7 6.0 5.4 5.8 5.8 6.2 5.6
Louisiana..... 6.5 6.0 5.9 6.6 5.9 6.4 6.6 6.9 6.5 6.6
Maine..... 8.6 8.0 7.7 6.7 7.2 7.1 6.9 6.7 7.4 7.1
Maryland..... 6.8 6.2 6.3 6.5 6.6 5.9 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.3
Massachusetts..... 5.9 5.2 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.2 5.0 5.2 5.5 5.4
Michigan..... 6.1 5.4 5.9 5.6 5.6 5.3 4.9 5.3 5.6 5.4
Minnesota..... 6.1 5.4 5.9 6.1 5.8 5.7 5.2 5.6 5.6 5.8
Mississippi..... 7.1 5.7 5.7 6.3 6.3 5.4 6.1 6.5 5.6 5.7
Missouri..... 6.3 5.7 5.7 5.7 7.7 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.4 8.0
Montana..... 8.5 7.8 7.9 7.6 7.8 7.3 7.2 8.6 7.8 7.5
Nebraska..... 6.1 5.8 5.7 6.4 5.7 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.9 6.2
Nevada..... 6.8 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.7 5.3 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.6
New Hampshire..... 6.7 6.0 6.5 6.4 6.3 5.6 5.8 5.9 6.3 5.9
New Jersey..... 6.7 5.9 6.5 6.3 6.3 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8
New Mexico..... 7.0 6.2 6.5 6.8 6.6 6.9 6.3 6.7 6.2 6.5
New York..... 6.4 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.9
North Carolina..... 6.7 6.0 6.3 6.1 6.3 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.6
North Dakota..... 6.7 6.6 6.8 8.1 6.7 8.1 8.9 9.0 7.1 7.8
Ohio..... 6.0 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.1 5.1 5.6 5.6 5.3
Oklahoma..... 6.3 5.7 5.8 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.4 6.8 6.0 6.1
Oregon..... 7.0 7.0 6.7 6.9 6.6 6.2 5.8 6.5 6.4 6.2
Pennsylvania..... 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.7 5.4 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.1 5.1
Rhode Island..... 6.6 5.8 6.2 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.9 6.2 6.0 5.8
South Carolina..... 7.1 6.1 6.3 6.3 6.6 5.3 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.4
South Dakota..... 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.4 6.0 5.9 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.1
Tennessee..... 6.3 5.2 5.7 5.9 5.7 4.8 5.1 5.3 5.2 5.0
Texas..... 6.1 4.7 6.3 6.2 5.9 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.4
Utah..... 7.2 7.3 6.7 7.4 6.7 6.0 5.9 6.4 6.5 6.3
Vermont..... 7.2 6.6 7.4 7.2 7.0 6.5 6.9 7.2 7.4 7.0
Virginia..... 6.4 5.9 6.4 6.0 6.2 5.6 5.9 6.0 6.1 5.9
Washington..... 6.8 7.1 7.2 6.7 7.2 6.2 5.6 5.8 6.4 6.7
West Virginia..... 6.6 5.9 5.8 6.6 6.4 6.3 6.9 6.9 6.6 6.2
Wisconsin..... 6.0 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.7 5.5 5.3
Wyoming..... 9.0 7.9 7.7 8.3 8.8 9.3 9.4 10.4 8.9 8.7
Puerto Rico..... 6.3 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.9 5.7 6.0 5.6 5.7 5.3
Virgin Islands..... 7.3 5.7 6.3 6.2 5.9 5.3 5.4 5.8 6.5 6.1
(1) 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
2006 March 236 3.3 195 2.8 949 .8 767 .7
June 233 3.3 206 2.9 987 .9 850 .8
September 224 3.1 210 2.9 934 .8 843 .7
December 236 3.3 207 2.9 976 .9 812 .7
2007 March 232 3.2 205 2.8 918 .8 787 .7
June 225 3.1 215 3.0 898 .8 859 .8
September 233 3.2 216 3.0 952 .8 845 .7
December 228 3.1 218 3.0 922 .8 836 .7
2008 March 226 3.1 224 3.1 919 .8 832 .7
June 221 3.0 238 3.3 876 .8 913 .8
September 216 3.0 233 3.2 849 .8 881 .8
December 211 2.9 253 3.5 819 .7 951 .9
2009 March 197 2.7 247 3.4 738 .7 869 .8
June 201 2.8 238 3.3 767 .7 837 .8
September 192 2.7 227 3.2 725 .7 793 .7
December 202 2.8 218 3.1 728 .7 749 .7
2010 March 193 2.7 211 3.0 706 .7 687 .7
June 193 2.7 202 2.9 730 .7 665 .6
September 207 2.9 204 2.9 754 .7 701 .7
December 216 3.0 201 2.8 805 .8 700 .7
2011 March 204 2.9 200 2.8 715 .7 632 .6
June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 .7 689 .6
September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 .7 675 .6
December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 .7 700 .6
2012 March 236 3.3 186 2.6 784 .7 614 .6
June 216 3.0 195 2.7 799 .7 676 .6
September 210 2.9 197 2.7 805 .7 693 .6
December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 .7 673 .6
2013 March 204 2.8 192 2.6 745 .7 645 .6
June 222 3.0 215 2.9 790 .7 695 .6
September 219 2.9 195 2.6 822 .7 678 .6
December 216 2.9 187 2.5 806 .7 673 .6
2014 March 220 2.9 188 2.5 780 .7 629 .6
June 220 2.9 205 2.7 806 .7 718 .6
September 225 3.0 200 2.6 829 .7 705 .6
December 223 2.9 197 2.6 838 .7 709 .6
2015 March 234 3.1 206 2.7 813 .7 690 .6
June 234 3.1 213 2.8 839 .7 735 .6
September 242 3.1 207 2.7 882 .7 704 .6
December 246 3.2 208 2.7 895 .8 733 .6
2016 March 220 2.8 204 2.6 734 .6 667 .6
June 252 3.2 N/A N/A 889 .7 N/A N/A
September 238 3.0 N/A N/A 866 .7 N/A N/A
December 246 3.1 N/A N/A 919 .8 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 information.
(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
