For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, July 27, 2022 USDL-22-1551
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 2021
From September 2021 to December 2021, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 9.6 million, an increase of 781,000 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 6.7 million, a decrease of 785,000 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 2.9 million jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2021. (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 2021, gross job gains represented 7.7 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 7.7
million in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 594,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.8 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2021, an
increase of 187,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the fourth quarter of 2021, gross job losses represented 5.4 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 5.3 million jobs in the fourth quarter of
2021, a decrease of 590,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2021, closing
establishments lost 1.4 million jobs, a decrease of 195,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the fourth quarter of 2021, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 20,000 to a total of 376,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
1.1 million jobs, an increase of 96,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2021, when 608,000 jobs were
lost at 211,000 establishments, a decrease of 86,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2020. (See
Technical Note and table 8.)
Table A. Three-month private-sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
Category | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept.| Dec.
| 2020 | 2021 | 2021 | 2021 | 2021
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 8,821 | 8,154 | 8,141 | 8,795 | 9,576
At expanding establishments...... | 7,124 | 6,644 | 6,597 | 7,139 | 7,733
At opening establishments........ | 1,697 | 1,510 | 1,544 | 1,656 | 1,843
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6,757 | 6,469 | 7,248 | 7,482 | 6,697
At contracting establishments.... | 5,403 | 5,340 | 5,982 | 5,937 | 5,347
At closing establishments........ | 1,354 | 1,129 | 1,266 | 1,545 | 1,350
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 2,064 | 1,685 | 893 | 1,313 | 2,879
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7.4 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 7.7
At expanding establishments...... | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 6.2
At opening establishments........ | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 5.4
At contracting establishments.... | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.3
At closing establishments........ | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.1
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 2.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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.
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all 13 industry sectors in the fourth quarter of 2021. The
service-providing industries experienced a net job increase of 2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Within the service-providing industries, the professional and business services sector had the largest
over-the-quarter net employment gain, adding 663,000 jobs. This was the result of 2.0 million gross job
gains and 1.3 million gross job losses. The retail trade sector had gross job gains of 925,000 and
gross job losses of 830,000, leading to a net job increase of 95,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021. The
goods-producing industries had a net job gain of 384,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021. Of the
goods-producing industries, the manufacturing sector posted a net job gain of 230,000, the construction
sector experienced a net increase of 143,000, and the natural resources and mining sector added 11,000
jobs. (See table 3.)
Firm Size
In the fourth quarter of 2021, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment increase of 896,000. Firms
with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 474,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment increase of 1.4 million. (See tables 4 and 5.)
States
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in
the fourth quarter of 2021. (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 for the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm
size, not seasonally adjusted data and 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.
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| |
| Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on Fourth Quarter 2021 Business Employment Dynamics |
| |
| Data collection and processing methods have been impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. More |
| detail can be found at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-business-employment |
| -dynamics.htm |
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_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2022 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| The release of First Quarter 2022 Business Employment Dynamics data will incorporate annual |
| revisions in accordance with standard procedures. However, the release scheduled for October 26, 2022 |
| will include two years of not seasonally adjusted data, along with the customary five years of |
| seasonally adjusted data. This temporary procedural change is to amend spikes in the openings and |
| closings series for the education and health services sector in Washington caused by an |
| administrative change. |
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Technical Note
Special technical note: The following technical note details procedures regularly adhered
to for tabulating the quarterly Business Employment Dynamics series on private-sector
gross job gains and gross job losses. Data collection and processing methods have been
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More detail can be found at
www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-business-employment-dynamics.htm.
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, Business
Employment Dynamics, and Current Employment Statistics—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.
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 8.7
million private-sector employer reports out of 10.8 million total reports of employment and wages
submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2021. 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 of 2021.
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level
Millions
Total establishments QCEW program....................................................10.8
Excluded: Public sector............................................................ 0.3
Private households......................................................... 0.2
Zero employment............................................................ 1.6
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data............................................................. 8.7
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- | 697,000 establish-
| submitted by 10.8 | ministrative records| ments
| million establish- | submitted by 8.7 |
| ments in first qu- | million private-sec-|
| arter of 2021 | 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 | | |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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), phone number: (202) 691-6567; (www.bls.gov/cew/);
(e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).
The Current Employment Statistics 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 program provides monthly measures of
job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access
telecommunications relay services.
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
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 419 6,953 5,687 1,266 6,534 5,380 1,154
June 895 7,454 6,114 1,340 6,559 5,342 1,217
September 577 7,247 5,918 1,329 6,670 5,487 1,183
December 1,038 7,617 6,248 1,369 6,579 5,346 1,233
2015 March 216 7,046 5,733 1,313 6,830 5,626 1,204
June 849 7,580 6,235 1,345 6,731 5,540 1,191
September 475 7,344 5,983 1,361 6,869 5,657 1,212
December 944 7,817 6,360 1,457 6,873 5,607 1,266
2016 March 249 7,163 5,875 1,288 6,914 5,706 1,208
June 318 7,443 6,070 1,373 7,125 5,820 1,305
September 748 7,710 6,250 1,460 6,962 5,718 1,244
December 308 7,413 6,007 1,406 7,105 5,806 1,299
2017 March 662 7,441 6,103 1,338 6,779 5,595 1,184
June 496 7,625 6,251 1,374 7,129 5,862 1,267
September -52 7,318 5,969 1,349 7,370 6,073 1,297
December 913 7,792 6,360 1,432 6,879 5,583 1,296
2018 March 727 7,506 6,153 1,353 6,779 5,589 1,190
June 422 7,657 6,255 1,402 7,235 5,951 1,284
September 79 7,500 6,125 1,375 7,421 6,099 1,322
December 763 7,744 6,301 1,443 6,981 5,648 1,333
2019 March 537 7,473 6,112 1,361 6,936 5,689 1,247
June 182 7,637 6,249 1,388 7,455 6,095 1,360
September 48 7,395 6,016 1,379 7,347 6,073 1,274
December 785 7,848 6,354 1,494 7,063 5,736 1,327
2020 March -791 7,078 5,719 1,359 7,869 6,365 1,504
June -14,692 5,709 4,416 1,293 20,401 17,475 2,926
September 4,010 10,868 8,817 2,051 6,858 5,483 1,375
December 2,064 8,821 7,124 1,697 6,757 5,403 1,354
2021 March 1,685 8,154 6,644 1,510 6,469 5,340 1,129
June 893 8,141 6,597 1,544 7,248 5,982 1,266
September 1,313 8,795 7,139 1,656 7,482 5,937 1,545
December 2,879 9,576 7,733 1,843 6,697 5,347 1,350
(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
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 0.8 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1
September 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.7 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 0.7 6.5 5.3 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 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0
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 0.6 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1
2019 March 0.5 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0
June 0.2 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.1 5.9 4.8 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.7 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.5 4.5 1.0
2020 March -0.6 5.6 4.5 1.1 6.2 5.0 1.2
June -12.2 4.8 3.7 1.1 17.0 14.6 2.4
September 3.5 9.5 7.7 1.8 6.0 4.8 1.2
December 1.7 7.4 6.0 1.4 5.7 4.6 1.1
2021 March 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3 5.4 4.5 0.9
June 0.8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.9 1.0
September 1.0 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.2 4.9 1.3
December 2.3 7.7 6.2 1.5 5.4 4.3 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.
2020 2021 2021 2021 2021 2020 2021 2021 2021 2021
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 8,821 8,154 8,141 8,795 9,576 7.4 6.8 6.7 7.2 7.7
At expanding establishments 7,124 6,644 6,597 7,139 7,733 6.0 5.5 5.4 5.8 6.2
At opening establishments 1,697 1,510 1,544 1,656 1,843 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.5
Gross job losses 6,757 6,469 7,248 7,482 6,697 5.7 5.4 5.9 6.2 5.4
At contracting establishments 5,403 5,340 5,982 5,937 5,347 4.6 4.5 4.9 4.9 4.3
At closing establishments 1,354 1,129 1,266 1,545 1,350 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.3 1.1
Net employment change 2,064 1,685 893 1,313 2,879 1.7 1.4 0.8 1.0 2.3
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,469 1,368 1,273 1,335 1,517 6.9 6.4 6.0 6.3 7.0
At expanding establishments 1,251 1,160 1,085 1,122 1,290 5.9 5.4 5.1 5.3 6.0
At opening establishments 218 208 188 213 227 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.0
Gross job losses 1,172 1,181 1,328 1,266 1,133 5.6 5.5 6.2 5.9 5.2
At contracting establishments 982 1,004 1,131 1,045 940 4.7 4.7 5.3 4.9 4.3
At closing establishments 190 177 197 221 193 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.9
Net employment change 297 187 -55 69 384 1.3 0.9 -0.2 0.4 1.8
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 231 238 220 218 228 13.3 13.4 12.6 12.7 12.9
At expanding establishments 200 209 194 191 200 11.5 11.8 11.1 11.1 11.3
At opening establishments 31 29 26 27 28 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.6
Gross job losses 229 233 217 201 217 13.2 13.2 12.4 11.7 12.3
At contracting establishments 202 203 192 174 191 11.6 11.5 11.0 10.1 10.8
At closing establishments 27 30 25 27 26 1.6 1.7 1.4 1.6 1.5
Net employment change 2 5 3 17 11 0.1 0.2 0.2 1.0 0.6
Construction
Gross job gains 716 679 627 637 715 9.9 9.2 8.4 8.7 9.6
At expanding establishments 577 545 507 500 571 8.0 7.4 6.8 6.8 7.7
At opening establishments 139 134 120 137 144 1.9 1.8 1.6 1.9 1.9
Gross job losses 565 581 656 641 572 7.8 7.8 8.9 8.8 7.7
At contracting establishments 449 475 531 505 452 6.2 6.4 7.2 6.9 6.1
At closing establishments 116 106 125 136 120 1.6 1.4 1.7 1.9 1.6
Net employment change 151 98 -29 -4 143 2.1 1.4 -0.5 -0.1 1.9
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 522 451 426 480 574 4.3 3.7 3.4 3.9 4.6
At expanding establishments 474 406 384 431 519 3.9 3.3 3.1 3.5 4.2
At opening establishments 48 45 42 49 55 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.4
Gross job losses 378 367 455 424 344 3.1 3.0 3.7 3.5 2.8
At contracting establishments 331 326 408 366 297 2.7 2.7 3.3 3.0 2.4
At closing establishments 47 41 47 58 47 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.4
Net employment change 144 84 -29 56 230 1.2 0.7 -0.3 0.4 1.8
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 7,352 6,786 6,868 7,460 8,059 7.6 6.9 6.9 7.4 7.9
At expanding establishments 5,873 5,484 5,512 6,017 6,443 6.1 5.6 5.5 6.0 6.3
At opening establishments 1,479 1,302 1,356 1,443 1,616 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.6
Gross job losses 5,585 5,288 5,920 6,216 5,564 5.8 5.4 6.0 6.1 5.4
At contracting establishments 4,421 4,336 4,851 4,892 4,407 4.6 4.4 4.9 4.8 4.3
At closing establishments 1,164 952 1,069 1,324 1,157 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.1
Net employment change 1,767 1,498 948 1,244 2,495 1.8 1.5 0.9 1.3 2.5
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 302 265 280 307 356 5.5 4.7 5.0 5.4 6.2
At expanding establishments 243 218 232 249 286 4.4 3.9 4.1 4.4 5.0
At opening establishments 59 47 48 58 70 1.1 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.2
Gross job losses 223 220 247 276 224 3.9 3.9 4.4 4.9 3.9
At contracting establishments 170 173 190 202 171 3.0 3.1 3.4 3.6 3.0
At closing establishments 53 47 57 74 53 0.9 0.8 1.0 1.3 0.9
Net employment change 79 45 33 31 132 1.6 0.8 0.6 0.5 2.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains 936 923 926 961 925 6.2 6.1 6.0 6.2 6.0
At expanding establishments 814 801 801 836 798 5.4 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.2
At opening establishments 122 122 125 125 127 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
Gross job losses 841 765 949 1,003 830 5.6 5.0 6.2 6.5 5.4
At contracting establishments 711 667 844 875 722 4.7 4.4 5.5 5.7 4.7
At closing establishments 130 98 105 128 108 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.7
Net employment change 95 158 -23 -42 95 0.6 1.1 -0.2 -0.3 0.6
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 636 353 323 431 694 11.1 5.9 5.5 7.4 11.2
At expanding establishments 521 303 271 368 577 9.1 5.1 4.6 6.3 9.3
At opening establishments 115 50 52 63 117 2.0 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.9
Gross job losses 276 417 390 309 247 4.8 7.1 6.7 5.2 4.0
At contracting establishments 236 381 350 260 203 4.1 6.5 6.0 4.4 3.3
At closing establishments 40 36 40 49 44 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.7
Net employment change 360 -64 -67 122 447 6.3 -1.2 -1.2 2.2 7.2
Utilities
Gross job gains 13 10 13 16 17 2.4 1.9 2.4 3.0 3.2
At expanding establishments 11 9 11 14 15 2.0 1.7 2.0 2.6 2.8
At opening establishments 2 1 2 2 2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4
Gross job losses 12 10 13 14 14 2.2 1.9 2.4 2.6 2.6
At contracting establishments 10 9 11 11 12 1.8 1.7 2.0 2.0 2.2
At closing establishments 2 1 2 3 2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.4
Net employment change 1 0 0 2 3 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.6
Information
Gross job gains 175 181 193 240 224 6.6 6.6 6.9 8.5 7.6
At expanding establishments 136 153 148 195 179 5.1 5.6 5.3 6.9 6.1
At opening establishments 39 28 45 45 45 1.5 1.0 1.6 1.6 1.5
Gross job losses 143 117 161 146 172 5.4 4.3 5.8 5.1 5.9
At contracting establishments 109 93 131 109 136 4.1 3.4 4.7 3.8 4.7
At closing establishments 34 24 30 37 36 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.2
Net employment change 32 64 32 94 52 1.2 2.3 1.1 3.4 1.7
Financial activities
Gross job gains 432 386 418 483 512 5.3 4.7 5.1 5.8 6.1
At expanding establishments 321 302 322 374 388 3.9 3.7 3.9 4.5 4.6
At opening establishments 111 84 96 109 124 1.4 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.5
Gross job losses 371 339 419 431 391 4.5 4.1 5.1 5.1 4.7
At contracting establishments 279 255 321 319 294 3.4 3.1 3.9 3.8 3.5
At closing establishments 92 84 98 112 97 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.2
Net employment change 61 47 -1 52 121 0.8 0.6 0.0 0.7 1.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,855 1,467 1,539 1,728 1,966 9.0 7.1 7.3 8.2 9.1
At expanding establishments 1,500 1,180 1,216 1,369 1,601 7.3 5.7 5.8 6.5 7.4
At opening establishments 355 287 323 359 365 1.7 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.7
Gross job losses 1,195 1,245 1,470 1,476 1,303 5.8 6.0 7.0 7.0 6.1
At contracting establishments 908 1,000 1,197 1,121 988 4.4 4.8 5.7 5.3 4.6
At closing establishments 287 245 273 355 315 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.5
Net employment change 660 222 69 252 663 3.2 1.1 0.3 1.2 3.0
Education and health services
Gross job gains 1,172 1,049 1,020 1,058 1,235 5.2 4.7 4.5 4.7 5.4
At expanding establishments 944 855 820 849 953 4.2 3.8 3.6 3.8 4.2
At opening establishments 228 194 200 209 282 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.2
Gross job losses 892 912 1,002 1,078 994 4.0 4.0 4.5 4.8 4.4
At contracting establishments 697 744 806 829 776 3.1 3.3 3.6 3.7 3.4
At closing establishments 195 168 196 249 218 0.9 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.0
Net employment change 280 137 18 -20 241 1.2 0.7 0.0 -0.1 1.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,447 1,723 1,725 1,788 1,655 11.6 13.3 12.6 12.4 11.0
At expanding establishments 1,139 1,408 1,420 1,476 1,352 9.1 10.9 10.4 10.2 9.0
At opening establishments 308 315 305 312 303 2.5 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.0
Gross job losses 1,329 983 984 1,176 1,098 10.6 7.7 7.2 8.2 7.3
At contracting establishments 1,087 809 802 961 899 8.7 6.3 5.9 6.7 6.0
At closing establishments 242 174 182 215 199 1.9 1.4 1.3 1.5 1.3
Net employment change 118 740 741 612 557 1.0 5.6 5.4 4.2 3.7
Other services
Gross job gains 327 322 330 349 363 8.8 8.5 8.5 8.9 9.0
At expanding establishments 235 239 256 270 275 6.3 6.3 6.6 6.9 6.8
At opening establishments 92 83 74 79 88 2.5 2.2 1.9 2.0 2.2
Gross job losses 283 256 260 278 263 7.6 6.8 6.8 7.1 6.5
At contracting establishments 208 197 191 196 197 5.6 5.2 5.0 5.0 4.9
At closing establishments 75 59 69 82 66 2.0 1.6 1.8 2.1 1.6
Net employment change 44 66 70 71 100 1.2 1.7 1.7 1.8 2.5
(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
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 442 5,665 5,223 231 3,070 2,839 149 1,035 886 62 1,560 1,498
June 893 6,134 5,241 302 3,178 2,876 214 1,119 905 377 1,837 1,460
September 560 5,865 5,305 197 3,064 2,867 117 1,066 949 246 1,735 1,489
December 951 6,155 5,204 212 3,105 2,893 150 1,085 935 589 1,965 1,376
2015 March 226 5,677 5,451 168 3,098 2,930 75 1,025 950 -17 1,554 1,571
June 846 6,243 5,397 323 3,196 2,873 187 1,128 941 336 1,919 1,583
September 456 5,914 5,458 148 3,057 2,909 79 1,047 968 229 1,810 1,581
December 830 6,245 5,415 227 3,172 2,945 90 1,074 984 513 1,999 1,486
2016 March 254 5,754 5,500 191 3,114 2,923 59 1,022 963 4 1,618 1,614
June 331 6,048 5,717 74 3,123 3,049 114 1,101 987 143 1,824 1,681
September 752 6,266 5,514 192 3,160 2,968 102 1,089 987 458 2,017 1,559
December 245 5,886 5,641 71 3,065 2,994 37 1,026 989 137 1,795 1,658
2017 March 658 6,000 5,342 341 3,232 2,891 190 1,084 894 127 1,684 1,557
June 543 6,203 5,660 150 3,160 3,010 145 1,123 978 248 1,920 1,672
September -100 5,833 5,933 -111 2,999 3,110 -44 1,014 1,058 55 1,820 1,765
December 831 6,199 5,368 241 3,189 2,948 149 1,086 937 441 1,924 1,483
2018 March 731 6,062 5,331 297 3,210 2,913 164 1,071 907 270 1,781 1,511
June 454 6,188 5,734 136 3,191 3,055 151 1,129 978 167 1,868 1,701
September 33 5,985 5,952 -90 3,027 3,117 -25 1,030 1,055 148 1,928 1,780
December 698 6,109 5,411 208 3,177 2,969 141 1,080 939 349 1,852 1,503
2019 March 572 6,003 5,431 259 3,190 2,931 153 1,064 911 160 1,749 1,589
June 204 6,142 5,938 58 3,157 3,099 93 1,118 1,025 53 1,867 1,814
September -1 5,874 5,875 -15 3,044 3,059 -27 1,019 1,046 41 1,811 1,770
December 682 6,214 5,532 214 3,191 2,977 99 1,067 968 369 1,956 1,587
2020 March -610 5,659 6,269 -368 3,026 3,394 -102 967 1,069 -140 1,666 1,806
June -15,320 4,494 19,814 -4,700 2,552 7,252 -2,819 579 3,398 -7,801 1,363 9,164
September 4,040 9,459 5,419 1,505 4,483 2,978 542 1,423 881 1,993 3,553 1,560
December 1,893 7,092 5,199 521 3,496 2,975 351 1,193 842 1,021 2,403 1,382
2021 March 1,755 6,798 5,043 949 3,590 2,641 217 1,094 877 589 2,114 1,525
June 920 6,614 5,694 698 3,493 2,795 204 1,137 933 18 1,984 1,966
September 1,280 7,112 5,832 298 3,475 3,177 229 1,189 960 753 2,448 1,695
December 2,736 7,653 4,917 896 3,748 2,852 474 1,314 840 1,366 2,591 1,225
(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.
2020 2021 2021 2021 2021 2020 2021 2021 2021 2021
Total private by firm(1)
Gross job gains 7,092 6,798 6,614 7,112 7,653 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.8 6.1
At expanding firms 5,982 5,731 5,655 6,087 6,489 5.1 4.8 4.7 5.0 5.2
At opening firms 1,110 1,067 959 1,025 1,164 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.9
Gross job losses 5,199 5,043 5,694 5,832 4,917 4.5 4.2 4.7 4.7 4.0
At contracting firms 4,307 4,273 4,860 4,809 4,053 3.7 3.6 4.0 3.9 3.3
At closing firms 892 770 834 1,023 864 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.7
Net employment change 1,893 1,755 920 1,280 2,736 1.5 1.5 0.8 1.1 2.1
Firm size 1 to 49 employees
Gross job gains 3,496 3,590 3,493 3,475 3,748 10.5 10.7 10.2 10.1 10.7
At expanding firms 2,424 2,562 2,566 2,485 2,627 7.3 7.6 7.5 7.2 7.5
At opening firms 1,072 1,028 927 990 1,121 3.2 3.1 2.7 2.9 3.2
Gross job losses 2,975 2,641 2,795 3,177 2,852 9.0 7.9 8.2 9.3 8.2
At contracting firms 2,110 1,901 1,988 2,193 2,024 6.4 5.7 5.8 6.4 5.8
At closing firms 865 740 807 984 828 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.9 2.4
Net employment change 521 949 698 298 896 1.5 2.8 2.0 0.8 2.5
Firm size 50 to 249 employees
Gross job gains 1,193 1,094 1,137 1,189 1,314 5.9 5.2 5.4 5.5 6.1
At expanding firms 1,161 1,065 1,108 1,159 1,277 5.7 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.9
At opening firms 32 29 29 30 37 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2
Gross job losses 842 877 933 960 840 4.1 4.2 4.4 4.5 3.8
At contracting firms 817 852 910 927 813 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.3 3.7
At closing firms 25 25 23 33 27 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1
Net employment change 351 217 204 229 474 1.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.3
Firm size 250 or more employees
Gross job gains 2,403 2,114 1,984 2,448 2,591 3.7 3.2 3.0 3.7 3.8
At expanding firms 2,397 2,104 1,981 2,443 2,585 3.7 3.2 3.0 3.7 3.8
At opening firms 6 10 3 5 6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Gross job losses 1,382 1,525 1,966 1,695 1,225 2.1 2.3 3.0 2.5 1.8
At contracting firms 1,380 1,520 1,962 1,689 1,216 2.1 2.3 3.0 2.5 1.8
At closing firms 2 5 4 6 9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Net employment change 1,021 589 18 753 1,366 1.6 0.9 0.0 1.2 2.0
(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.
2020 2021 2021 2021 2021 2020 2021 2021 2021 2021
United States(1).... 8,821,000 8,154,000 8,141,000 8,795,000 9,576,000 6,757,000 6,469,000 7,248,000 7,482,000 6,697,000
Alabama............. 119,294 92,377 98,458 105,158 123,121 84,720 92,107 94,344 106,750 86,692
Alaska.............. 30,084 25,286 21,847 23,961 27,986 17,167 21,662 21,303 21,918 20,502
Arizona............. 180,158 157,582 171,297 175,461 176,424 120,914 137,245 149,126 152,372 127,115
Arkansas............ 71,401 59,076 56,022 66,061 78,152 51,611 50,250 56,824 59,874 46,913
California.......... 1,171,574 1,081,628 1,111,041 1,123,411 1,263,445 848,243 833,574 924,896 914,395 817,715
Colorado............ 161,665 190,034 175,095 185,136 177,505 157,038 123,149 145,073 159,851 142,139
Connecticut......... 88,630 85,542 90,384 93,752 96,125 79,517 71,646 80,149 82,471 75,282
Delaware............ 24,803 25,344 23,474 26,568 31,132 21,870 22,245 23,794 26,033 23,023
District of Columbia 24,490 25,353 33,099 38,409 36,154 25,795 24,772 25,367 23,534 24,965
Florida............. 586,615 521,589 594,873 714,440 620,547 443,199 435,096 473,304 472,323 485,513
Georgia............. 290,819 251,594 260,499 282,737 319,390 191,946 214,348 235,681 238,242 222,404
Hawaii.............. 61,190 37,733 49,250 34,438 32,973 18,902 26,185 26,298 31,537 23,158
Idaho............... 55,980 53,979 48,505 50,776 57,988 39,115 37,762 47,768 48,823 42,391
Illinois............ 311,130 352,016 298,372 311,542 378,074 292,410 235,866 274,482 293,148 241,186
Indiana............. 174,192 157,471 149,586 164,891 195,758 127,593 131,642 156,760 151,625 125,550
Iowa................ 84,795 76,915 75,276 77,596 84,090 62,908 68,172 76,158 75,839 66,943
Kansas.............. 76,509 68,181 68,087 73,154 85,507 64,495 61,530 68,174 73,086 59,413
Kentucky............ 112,311 112,708 99,257 104,949 117,852 93,275 80,297 102,580 103,046 79,208
Louisiana........... 127,528 96,274 101,433 102,880 146,763 81,705 88,400 93,676 129,960 84,232
Maine............... 41,979 45,104 39,009 39,590 42,215 31,261 32,096 40,073 40,434 35,966
Maryland............ 147,691 129,076 137,692 157,519 152,777 119,660 114,275 136,921 138,640 120,002
Massachusetts....... 203,528 193,648 207,270 217,283 215,423 160,761 145,185 171,566 178,055 176,669
Michigan............ 233,463 297,237 222,680 234,583 273,189 237,554 172,427 202,472 217,395 190,282
Minnesota........... 159,532 215,284 145,938 153,700 175,774 157,602 113,923 133,050 162,284 127,029
Mississippi......... 69,883 48,982 56,390 65,966 72,504 42,799 57,760 57,656 54,905 50,572
Missouri............ 162,655 145,842 141,163 155,844 174,451 119,914 120,759 145,379 141,012 130,144
Montana............. 35,500 34,300 32,865 33,259 39,855 25,794 26,870 31,529 32,508 28,711
Nebraska............ 53,943 52,031 49,834 50,268 54,692 43,750 49,507 48,886 53,014 44,600
Nevada.............. 97,898 83,087 111,229 107,324 102,935 63,782 62,689 67,662 70,153 60,754
New Hampshire....... 40,432 41,089 39,516 39,515 44,497 34,841 30,261 35,760 38,462 38,281
New Jersey.......... 262,647 231,639 239,708 250,454 304,548 189,844 186,170 192,503 207,816 185,576
New Mexico.......... 43,561 51,283 43,694 49,266 51,063 45,015 34,014 40,189 39,930 40,182
New York............ 528,197 502,099 518,958 559,006 590,361 452,008 393,029 422,051 443,330 417,053
North Carolina...... 288,961 249,484 241,817 256,502 314,572 182,519 200,141 221,426 244,858 201,434
North Dakota........ 23,213 25,429 22,525 24,467 25,764 22,713 20,985 21,227 22,197 21,551
Ohio................ 291,848 273,126 265,532 275,693 321,925 233,327 223,339 265,035 269,431 234,247
Oklahoma............ 97,432 75,490 81,271 88,311 94,365 71,686 75,024 75,108 87,915 80,657
Oregon.............. 115,457 134,802 105,790 112,694 125,365 101,713 88,715 106,130 104,372 102,163
Pennsylvania........ 298,990 318,356 277,331 309,749 344,695 258,653 227,213 266,006 260,551 244,777
Rhode Island........ 29,475 38,212 28,289 30,784 34,713 27,610 21,750 25,839 26,839 26,519
South Carolina...... 135,839 106,718 108,572 125,492 138,925 88,242 104,928 112,384 115,618 92,872
South Dakota........ 25,154 25,621 24,015 23,510 25,968 21,283 21,112 20,932 23,057 21,513
Tennessee........... 188,799 144,611 154,802 176,734 194,757 116,317 128,007 151,018 143,369 130,096
Texas............... 766,575 597,160 697,328 753,292 836,520 489,322 512,772 566,281 572,188 509,280
Utah................ 104,801 94,104 92,724 98,710 101,982 71,466 80,546 80,574 92,372 80,008
Vermont............. 17,749 19,463 20,027 18,981 19,628 18,518 14,209 16,320 18,107 16,684
Virginia............ 214,569 184,421 195,231 213,826 225,872 162,104 169,083 187,666 192,102 172,065
Washington.......... 192,772 215,904 184,755 200,914 221,233 163,861 149,132 161,011 159,079 143,605
West Virginia....... 38,074 37,107 33,867 35,398 41,116 31,713 29,736 33,480 33,627 30,914
Wisconsin........... 149,052 140,399 140,340 134,511 159,842 121,780 112,350 130,321 140,845 132,035
Wyoming............. 19,560 18,202 17,488 17,924 20,579 15,116 16,576 16,985 17,152 15,896
Puerto Rico......... 43,022 43,139 51,860 57,802 45,192 31,747 32,409 33,495 35,406 38,820
Virgin Islands...... 2,379 1,794 2,590 1,833 1,976 1,394 2,621 1,535 2,079 2,297
(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.
2020 2021 2021 2021 2021 2020 2021 2021 2021 2021
United States....... 7.4 6.8 6.7 7.2 7.7 5.7 5.4 5.9 6.2 5.4
Alabama............. 7.6 5.9 6.2 6.6 7.6 5.5 5.9 6.0 6.7 5.3
Alaska.............. 13.4 11.0 9.5 10.4 11.9 7.7 9.4 9.2 9.5 8.7
Arizona............. 7.3 6.3 6.8 6.9 6.8 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.0 4.9
Arkansas............ 7.2 5.9 5.5 6.6 7.6 5.2 5.1 5.6 5.9 4.5
California.......... 8.5 7.7 7.8 7.8 8.5 6.1 5.9 6.4 6.3 5.5
Colorado............ 7.5 8.6 7.8 8.1 7.6 7.2 5.6 6.4 7.0 6.1
Connecticut......... 6.6 6.3 6.6 6.8 6.9 5.9 5.3 5.9 6.0 5.4
Delaware............ 6.8 6.8 6.4 7.2 8.3 6.0 6.0 6.4 7.0 6.1
District of Columbia 5.3 5.5 7.0 7.9 7.3 5.5 5.3 5.4 4.8 5.0
Florida............. 8.0 6.9 7.8 9.2 7.7 6.0 5.8 6.2 6.0 6.1
Georgia............. 7.9 6.7 6.9 7.4 8.1 5.2 5.7 6.2 6.2 5.7
Hawaii.............. 14.7 8.5 10.7 7.2 6.8 4.6 5.9 5.6 6.6 4.8
Idaho............... 8.7 8.1 7.2 7.7 8.6 6.1 5.7 7.2 7.3 6.3
Illinois............ 6.5 7.2 6.0 6.3 7.5 6.1 4.9 5.6 6.0 4.9
Indiana............. 6.8 6.0 5.7 6.3 7.3 5.0 5.1 6.0 5.8 4.7
Iowa................ 6.8 6.1 6.0 6.2 6.6 5.1 5.4 6.0 6.0 5.2
Kansas.............. 7.0 6.2 6.2 6.6 7.6 5.9 5.5 6.1 6.6 5.3
Kentucky............ 7.3 7.3 6.4 6.6 7.4 6.1 5.1 6.5 6.5 5.0
Louisiana........... 8.7 6.4 6.8 6.9 9.7 5.6 5.9 6.2 8.6 5.6
Maine............... 8.5 9.0 7.7 7.8 8.2 6.3 6.3 7.8 8.0 7.0
Maryland............ 7.3 6.3 6.6 7.5 7.2 5.8 5.5 6.6 6.7 5.7
Massachusetts....... 7.0 6.6 6.9 7.2 7.0 5.5 5.0 5.7 5.9 5.7
Michigan............ 6.7 8.5 6.2 6.6 7.5 6.9 4.9 5.6 6.1 5.3
Minnesota........... 6.9 9.2 6.1 6.4 7.3 6.8 4.9 5.5 6.8 5.2
Mississippi......... 8.0 5.6 6.4 7.5 8.0 4.9 6.6 6.5 6.2 5.7
Missouri............ 7.1 6.3 6.0 6.7 7.4 5.2 5.3 6.3 6.1 5.5
Montana............. 9.4 8.8 8.3 8.4 10.0 6.8 6.9 8.1 8.3 7.2
Nebraska............ 6.8 6.5 6.2 6.2 6.7 5.5 6.2 6.0 6.6 5.5
Nevada.............. 8.8 7.3 9.5 8.9 8.2 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.8 4.9
New Hampshire....... 7.4 7.4 7.0 7.0 7.8 6.4 5.4 6.4 6.8 6.7
New Jersey.......... 8.1 7.0 7.2 7.4 8.8 5.9 5.6 5.7 6.1 5.3
New Mexico.......... 7.3 8.5 7.1 7.9 8.0 7.5 5.7 6.6 6.3 6.3
New York............ 7.4 6.9 7.1 7.5 7.7 6.3 5.4 5.7 6.0 5.5
North Carolina...... 7.9 6.6 6.4 6.8 8.1 5.0 5.4 5.8 6.4 5.2
North Dakota........ 7.2 7.8 6.9 7.5 7.7 7.1 6.5 6.5 6.7 6.5
Ohio................ 6.6 6.1 5.9 6.1 7.0 5.2 5.0 5.8 6.0 5.2
Oklahoma............ 7.9 6.1 6.5 7.1 7.4 5.8 6.1 6.0 7.0 6.4
Oregon.............. 7.4 8.5 6.6 7.0 7.7 6.5 5.6 6.6 6.5 6.2
Pennsylvania........ 6.2 6.4 5.6 6.2 6.8 5.3 4.6 5.3 5.3 4.8
Rhode Island........ 7.6 9.8 7.0 7.6 8.5 7.1 5.5 6.4 6.6 6.5
South Carolina...... 8.0 6.2 6.3 7.2 7.9 5.2 6.1 6.5 6.6 5.3
South Dakota........ 7.2 7.3 6.8 6.6 7.2 6.2 6.0 5.8 6.5 5.9
Tennessee........... 7.5 5.6 5.9 6.8 7.4 4.6 5.0 5.8 5.5 4.9
Texas............... 7.6 5.7 6.7 7.1 7.7 4.8 5.0 5.4 5.4 4.7
Utah................ 8.1 7.1 6.9 7.3 7.5 5.6 6.1 6.0 6.8 5.8
Vermont............. 7.6 8.2 8.4 7.9 8.1 8.0 6.1 6.8 7.5 6.9
Virginia............ 7.0 6.0 6.2 6.8 7.1 5.3 5.4 6.0 6.1 5.4
Washington.......... 7.2 7.9 6.7 7.2 7.8 6.1 5.4 5.8 5.7 5.1
West Virginia....... 7.4 7.2 6.5 6.7 7.8 6.2 5.8 6.4 6.5 5.9
Wisconsin........... 6.3 5.8 5.8 5.5 6.5 5.1 4.7 5.4 5.8 5.4
Wyoming............. 10.0 9.1 8.8 8.9 10.1 7.7 8.3 8.5 8.6 7.8
Puerto Rico......... 6.6 6.6 7.7 8.3 6.4 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.5
Virgin Islands...... 9.9 7.4 10.6 7.4 8.1 5.8 10.8 6.2 8.5 9.4
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
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 2.9 190 2.5 784 0.7 635 0.6
June 221 2.9 204 2.7 806 0.7 711 0.6
September 225 3.0 199 2.6 825 0.7 703 0.6
December 224 2.9 198 2.6 836 0.7 705 0.6
2015 March 233 3.0 207 2.7 818 0.7 696 0.6
June 234 3.1 211 2.8 838 0.7 728 0.6
September 243 3.2 207 2.7 881 0.7 699 0.6
December 247 3.2 209 2.7 892 0.7 733 0.6
2016 March 236 3.0 204 2.6 789 0.7 671 0.6
June 241 3.1 213 2.7 838 0.7 719 0.6
September 238 3.0 214 2.7 872 0.7 745 0.6
December 238 3.0 217 2.8 865 0.7 729 0.6
2017 March 242 3.0 204 2.6 804 0.7 666 0.5
June 241 3.0 224 2.8 850 0.7 753 0.6
September 243 3.0 225 2.8 850 0.7 760 0.6
December 245 3.1 216 2.7 848 0.7 732 0.6
2018 March 248 3.1 214 2.7 812 0.7 665 0.5
June 265 3.3 228 2.8 880 0.7 769 0.6
September 251 3.1 231 2.8 864 0.7 786 0.6
December 249 3.1 222 2.7 857 0.7 761 0.6
2019 March 260 3.2 220 2.7 807 0.6 696 0.6
June 258 3.1 241 2.9 850 0.7 807 0.6
September 250 3.0 233 2.8 848 0.7 768 0.6
December 268 3.2 235 2.8 905 0.7 792 0.6
2020 March 316 3.8 274 3.3 846 0.7 762 0.6
June 227 2.8 329 4.0 661 0.6 1,163 1.0
September 277 3.4 235 2.9 822 0.7 697 0.6
December 287 3.5 218 2.6 917 0.8 694 0.6
2021 March 303 3.6 211 2.5 826 0.7 608 0.5
June 351 4.1 N/A N/A 980 0.8 N/A N/A
September 356 4.1 N/A N/A 1,012 0.8 N/A N/A
December 376 4.3 N/A N/A 1,108 0.9 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
