For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, July 28, 2021 USDL-21-1387
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 2020
From September 2020 to December 2020, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 8.8 million, a decrease of 2.0 million 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 188,000 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 2.0 million jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2020. (See tables A
and 1.)
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| |
| Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on Fourth Quarter 2020 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 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 2020, gross job gains represented 7.4 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 7.1
million in the fourth quarter of 2020, a decrease of 1.7 million jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.7 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2020, a
decrease of 348,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the fourth quarter of 2020, gross job losses represented 5.7 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 5.4 million jobs in the fourth quarter of
2020, a decrease of 108,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2020, closing
establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, a decrease of 80,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 8,000, to a total of 284,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
912,000 jobs, an increase of 92,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2020, when 763,000 jobs were
lost at 275,000 establishments, a decrease of 27,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2019. (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.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2020 | 2020 | 2020
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,864 | 6,963 | 5,749 | 10,804 | 8,756
At expanding establishments...... | 6,364 | 5,675 | 4,469 | 8,776 | 7,076
At opening establishments........ | 1,500 | 1,288 | 1,280 | 2,028 | 1,680
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 7,051 | 7,736 | 20,366 | 6,901 | 6,713
At contracting establishments.... | 5,725 | 6,288 | 17,470 | 5,473 | 5,365
At closing establishments........ | 1,326 | 1,448 | 2,896 | 1,428 | 1,348
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 813 | -773 | -14,617 | 3,903 | 2,043
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 6.2 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 9.4 | 7.4
At expanding establishments...... | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 7.6 | 6.0
At opening establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1.4
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.5 | 6.1 | 17.0 | 6.0 | 5.7
At contracting establishments.... | 4.5 | 5.0 | 14.6 | 4.8 | 4.6
At closing establishments........ | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.1
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.7 | -0.6 | -12.2 | 3.4 | 1.7
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(1) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross
job losses. See the Technical Note for further information.
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all 13 industries in the fourth quarter of 2020. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Within
the service-providing industries, the professional and business services sector had the largest
over-the-quarter net employment gain, adding 652,000 jobs. This was the result of 1.8 million gross job
gains and 1.2 million gross job losses. The leisure and hospitality sector experienced 1.4 million gross job
gains and 1.3 million gross job losses in the fourth quarter of 2020. The goods-producing industries had a
net job increase of 292,000 in the fourth quarter of 2020. Of the goods-producing industries, the construction
sector showed a net increase of 146,000 jobs, the manufacturing sector had a net increase of 145,000 jobs, and
the natural resources and mining sector added 1,000 jobs. (See table 3.)
Firm Size
In the fourth quarter of 2020, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment increase of 476,000. Firms with
50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 355,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net employment
increase of 1.0 million. (See tables 4 and 5.)
States
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 47 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the fourth
quarter of 2020. (See tables 6 and 7.)
For More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm.
This information includes data on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm
size, not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time series not presented in this release,
charts of gross job gains and gross job losses by industry and firm size, and answers to frequently asked
questions. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found
in the Technical Note of this release or can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.
_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2021 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
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 8.3
million private-sector employer reports out of 10.4 million total reports of employment and wages
submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2020. 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 2020.
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level
Millions
Total establishments QCEW program....................................................10.4
Excluded: Public sector............................................................ 0.3
Private households......................................................... 0.2
Zero employment............................................................ 1.6
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data............................................................. 8.3
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 10.4 | ministrative records| ments
| million establish- | submitted by 8.3 |
| ments in first qu- | million private-sec-|
| arter of 2020 | tor establishments |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and salary
| age, including all | ing government, pri-| jobs:
| employers subject | vate households, and|--UI coverage, exclud-
| to state and feder-| establishments with | ing agriculture, pri-
| ral UI Laws | zero employment | vate households, and
| | | self-employed workers
| | |--Other employment,
| | | including railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
| | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -6 months after the| -7 months after the | -Usually the 3rd Fri-
| end of each quar- | end of each quarter| day after the end of
| ter | | the week including
| | | the 12th of the month
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Use of UI |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI |--Uses UI file as a sam-
file | and publishes each | quarter to longitu- | pling frame and to ann-
| new quarter of UI | dinal database and | ually realign sample-
| data | directly summarizes | based estimates to pop-
| | gross job gains and | ulation counts (bench-
| | losses | marking)
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly |--Provides current month-
products | ly and annual uni- | employer dynamics | ly estimates of employ-
| verse count of es- | data on establish- | ment, hours, and earn-
| tablishments, em- | ment openings, clos-| ings at the MSA, state,
| ployment, and wages| ings, expansions, | and national level by
| at the county, met-| and contractions at | industry
| ropolitan statisti-| the national level |
| cal area (MSA), st-| by NAICS super- |
| ate, and national | sectors, 3-digit |
| levels by detailed | NAICS, and by size |
| industry | of firm, and at the |
| | state private-sector|
| | total level |
| |--Future expansions |
| | will include |
| | data with greater |
| | industry detail and |
| | data at the county |
| | and MSA level |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses | -Detailed locality | -Business cycle | -Principal federal
| data | analysis | economic indicator
| -Periodic universe | -Analysis of employ-| -Official time series
| counts for bench- | er dynamics under- | for employment change
| marking sample | lying economic ex- | measures
| survey estimates | pansions and con- | -Input into other ma-
| -Sample frame for | tractions | jor economic indi-
| BLS establishment | -Analysis of employ-| cators
| surveys | ment expansion and |
| | contraction by size|
| | of firm |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Program |--www.bls.gov/cew |--www.bls.gov/bdm |--www.bls.gov/ces
web sites | | |
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Unit of analysis
Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by industry and firms are used in the
tabulation of the BED size class statistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that
produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or
predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either corporate or otherwise, and may
consist of several establishments. Firm-level data are compiled based on an aggregation of
establishments under common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification
numbers. The firm level aggregation which is consistent with the role of corporations as the
economic decision makers are used for the measurement of the BED data elements by size class.
Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job gains and gross job losses by size
class are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, as some establishment
gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. However, the total net
changes in employment are the same for not seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally
adjusted data.
Concepts and methodology
The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employment at the
establishment or firm level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A net increase in
employment can come from either opening units or expanding units. A net decrease in
employment can come from either closing units or contracting units. Gross job gains include the
sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include the sum of all
jobs lost in either closing or contracting units. The net change in employment is the difference
between gross job gains and gross job losses.
The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:
Openings. These are either units with positive third month employment for the first time in the
current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the
current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.
Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and
current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.
Closings. These are either units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with
no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.
Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and
current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.
Births. These are units with positive third month employment for the first time in the current
quarter with no links to the prior quarter, or units with positive third month employment in the
current quarter and zero employment in the third month of the previous four quarters. Births are a
subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal businesses.
Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero employment reported in the third month of
four consecutive quarters following the last quarter with positive employment. Deaths are a subset
of closings not including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A unit that closes during the
quarter may be a death, but we wait three quarters to determine whether it is a permanent closing
or a temporary shutdown. Therefore, there is always a lag of three quarters for the publication of
death statistics.
All employment changes are measured from the third month of the previous quarter to the third
month of the current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their employment levels.
Units with no change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, but not for
levels of gross job gains and gross job losses.
Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average
of employment in the current and previous quarters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. The
rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to
form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For
instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net
growth rate.
Establishment Births and Deaths
For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as establishments that appear in the
longitudinal database for the first time with positive employment in the third month of a quarter, or
showed four consecutive quarters of zero employment in the third month followed by a quarter in
which it shows positive employment in the third month. Similarly, deaths are defined as
establishments that either drop out of the longitudinal database or an establishment that had
positive employment in the third month of a given quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of
showing zero employment in the third month. Although the data for establishment births and
deaths are tabulated independently from the data for openings and closings, the concepts are not
mutually exclusive. An establishment that is defined as a birth in a given quarter is necessarily an
opening as well, and an establishment defined as a death in a quarter must also be a closing. Since
openings include seasonal and other re-openings and closings include temporary shutdowns, the
not seasonally adjusted values for births and deaths must be less than those for openings and
closings. However, because some BED series do not have many re-openings or temporary
shutdowns, as well as the fact that births and deaths are independently seasonally adjusted from
openings and closings, there may be instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the former
is greater than the latter.
Linkage methodology
Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, QCEW records are linked across
two quarters. The linkage process matches establishments' unique SWA identification numbers
(SWA-ID). Between 95 and 97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from quarter to
quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are linked in one of three ways. The first method uses
predecessor and successor information, identified by the states, which relates records with different
SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can come about for a variety of
reasons, including a change in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account restructuring. If a
match cannot be attained in this manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to
identify two establishments with different SWA-IDs as continuous. The match is based upon
comparisons such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst examines
unmatched records individually and makes a possible match.
In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify with employers and update, if
necessary, the industry, location, and ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-year
cycle. Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from the verification process are
introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from improved
employer reporting also are introduced in the first quarter.
Sizing methodology
The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED size class data series. Dynamic
sizing allocates each firm’s employment gain or loss during a quarter to each respective size class
in which the change occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38
employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be allocated to the first size
class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49.
Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm-size estimates and eliminates any systematic effects
which may be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms’ sizes over time.
Additionally, it allocates each job gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred.
Annual Data
The annual gross job gains and gross job losses measure the net change in employment at the
establishment level from the third month of a quarter in the previous year to the third month of the
same quarter in the current year. The BLS publishes annual BED data based on March-to-March
changes once a year with the release of the first quarter BED data. The annual data based on over-
the-year changes for other quarters of the year are available upon request. The definitions and
methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and gross job losses are similar to the quarterly
measures. The linkage method considers all predecessor and successor relations that may come
about due to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire year. At the
establishment level, some of the quarterly job gains and job losses are offset during the estimation
over the year. Therefore, the sum of four quarters of gross job gains and gross job losses are not
equal to annual gross job gains and gross job losses. The net change in employment over the year,
however, is equal to the sum of four quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted basis.
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated job flows undergo sharp
fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, reduced or expanded
production, harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such
seasonal variation can be very large.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence can
be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from quarter to quarter. These adjustments make
nonseasonal developments, such as declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For
example, the large number of youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes that
have taken place in June relative to March, making it difficult to determine if the level of economic
activity has risen or declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in previous
years is known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable change.
The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in economic
activity.
The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting units are
independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on the difference between
gross job gains and gross job losses. Similarly, for industry data, the establishment counts data
series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted,
and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of opening and
closing establishments. Additionally establishment and employment levels are independently
seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is
run using X-13 ARIMA-SEATS. Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the sum of
seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including the unclassified sector, which is not separately
published.
The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series will differ from
the net employment change estimated from the seasonally adjusted total private employment series
from the CES program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market
changes that underlie the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested
particularly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying this change
should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment changes.
Reliability of the data
Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on administrative rather than
sample data, there are no issues related to sampling error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists.
Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected
employment data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when
providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distributed randomly throughout the
dataset.
Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the linkage process. This can
result in overstating openings and closings while understating expansions and contractions. The
BLS continues to refine methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these
complications.
The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on corrections in QCEW records,
updates on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal adjustment revisions.
Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the first quarter data. These revisions
cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data.
Additional statistics and other information
Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information. The QCEW program
provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed
industry. News releases on quarterly county employment and wages and the annual bulletin also
are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover
(Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), telephone (202) 691-6567; (www.bls.gov/cew/);
(e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).
The Current Employment Statistics 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.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.
Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: (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
2010 March -247 6,325 5,108 1,217 6,572 5,324 1,248
June 698 6,995 5,674 1,321 6,297 5,090 1,207
September 237 6,741 5,438 1,303 6,504 5,231 1,273
December 566 7,052 5,639 1,413 6,486 5,219 1,267
2011 March 334 6,540 5,322 1,218 6,206 5,025 1,181
June 582 6,966 5,625 1,341 6,384 5,115 1,269
September 841 7,205 5,810 1,395 6,364 5,172 1,192
December 335 6,865 5,503 1,362 6,530 5,273 1,257
2012 March 948 7,080 5,746 1,334 6,132 5,005 1,127
June 616 7,051 5,724 1,327 6,435 5,266 1,169
September 252 6,881 5,571 1,310 6,629 5,430 1,199
December 695 7,110 5,753 1,357 6,415 5,225 1,190
2013 March 558 6,941 5,705 1,236 6,383 5,201 1,182
June 674 7,152 5,830 1,322 6,478 5,271 1,207
September 507 7,058 5,719 1,339 6,551 5,408 1,143
December 700 7,255 5,926 1,329 6,555 5,353 1,202
2014 March 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 243 7,149 5,864 1,285 6,906 5,702 1,204
June 310 7,446 6,074 1,372 7,136 5,829 1,307
September 750 7,717 6,253 1,464 6,967 5,722 1,245
December 329 7,423 6,012 1,411 7,094 5,795 1,299
2017 March 654 7,428 6,091 1,337 6,774 5,591 1,183
June 480 7,621 6,252 1,369 7,141 5,873 1,268
September -55 7,324 5,970 1,354 7,379 6,080 1,299
December 933 7,801 6,366 1,435 6,868 5,571 1,297
2018 March 717 7,494 6,141 1,353 6,777 5,587 1,190
June 407 7,652 6,254 1,398 7,245 5,960 1,285
September 79 7,506 6,126 1,380 7,427 6,104 1,323
December 790 7,756 6,309 1,447 6,966 5,634 1,332
2019 March 533 7,460 6,102 1,358 6,927 5,682 1,245
June 171 7,637 6,253 1,384 7,466 6,105 1,361
September 53 7,404 6,022 1,382 7,351 6,077 1,274
December 813 7,864 6,364 1,500 7,051 5,725 1,326
2020 March -773 6,963 5,675 1,288 7,736 6,288 1,448
June -14,617 5,749 4,469 1,280 20,366 17,470 2,896
September 3,903 10,804 8,776 2,028 6,901 5,473 1,428
December 2,043 8,756 7,076 1,680 6,713 5,365 1,348
(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
2010 March -0.2 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.2 5.0 1.2
June 0.7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.1 4.9 1.2
December 0.5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2
2011 March 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1
June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2
September 0.8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1
December 0.4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2
2012 March 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0
June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1
December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2013 March 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1
June 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2014 March 0.4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
June 0.8 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 0.7 6.3 5.1 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 5.5 4.5 1.0 6.1 5.0 1.1
June -12.2 4.8 3.7 1.1 17.0 14.6 2.4
September 3.4 9.4 7.6 1.8 6.0 4.8 1.2
December 1.7 7.4 6.0 1.4 5.7 4.6 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.
2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,864 6,963 5,749 10,804 8,756 6.2 5.5 4.8 9.4 7.4
At expanding establishments 6,364 5,675 4,469 8,776 7,076 5.0 4.5 3.7 7.6 6.0
At opening establishments 1,500 1,288 1,280 2,028 1,680 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.8 1.4
Gross job losses 7,051 7,736 20,366 6,901 6,713 5.5 6.1 17.0 6.0 5.7
At contracting establishments 5,725 6,288 17,470 5,473 5,365 4.5 5.0 14.6 4.8 4.6
At closing establishments 1,326 1,448 2,896 1,428 1,348 1.0 1.1 2.4 1.2 1.1
Net employment change 813 -773 -14,617 3,903 2,043 0.7 -0.6 -12.2 3.4 1.7
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,319 1,286 1,036 1,476 1,451 5.9 5.7 4.9 7.1 6.9
At expanding establishments 1,114 1,098 852 1,238 1,240 5.0 4.9 4.0 6.0 5.9
At opening establishments 205 188 184 238 211 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.0
Gross job losses 1,329 1,295 2,576 1,376 1,159 6.0 5.8 11.9 6.6 5.5
At contracting establishments 1,126 1,098 2,288 1,172 975 5.1 4.9 10.6 5.6 4.6
At closing establishments 203 197 288 204 184 0.9 0.9 1.3 1.0 0.9
Net employment change -10 -9 -1,540 100 292 -0.1 -0.1 -7.0 0.5 1.4
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 234 239 221 220 228 12.2 12.4 12.1 12.8 13.1
At expanding establishments 201 208 193 184 198 10.5 10.8 10.6 10.7 11.4
At opening establishments 33 31 28 36 30 1.7 1.6 1.5 2.1 1.7
Gross job losses 273 251 372 237 227 14.2 13.1 20.5 13.8 13.1
At contracting establishments 242 220 332 207 201 12.6 11.5 18.3 12.1 11.6
At closing establishments 31 31 40 30 26 1.6 1.6 2.2 1.7 1.5
Net employment change -39 -12 -151 -17 1 -2.0 -0.7 -8.4 -1.0 0.0
Construction
Gross job gains 676 683 543 678 705 9.1 9.0 7.4 9.6 9.8
At expanding establishments 545 560 425 529 571 7.3 7.4 5.8 7.5 7.9
At opening establishments 131 123 118 149 134 1.8 1.6 1.6 2.1 1.9
Gross job losses 649 626 1,044 663 559 8.7 8.3 14.2 9.4 7.8
At contracting establishments 523 506 875 539 445 7.0 6.7 11.9 7.6 6.2
At closing establishments 126 120 169 124 114 1.7 1.6 2.3 1.8 1.6
Net employment change 27 57 -501 15 146 0.4 0.7 -6.8 0.2 2.0
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 409 364 272 578 518 3.2 2.9 2.2 4.8 4.3
At expanding establishments 368 330 234 525 471 2.9 2.6 1.9 4.4 3.9
At opening establishments 41 34 38 53 47 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4
Gross job losses 407 418 1,160 476 373 3.2 3.3 9.4 4.0 3.1
At contracting establishments 361 372 1,081 426 329 2.8 2.9 8.8 3.6 2.7
At closing establishments 46 46 79 50 44 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.4
Net employment change 2 -54 -888 102 145 0.0 -0.4 -7.2 0.8 1.2
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 6,545 5,677 4,713 9,328 7,305 6.2 5.5 4.8 9.9 7.5
At expanding establishments 5,250 4,577 3,617 7,538 5,836 5.0 4.4 3.7 8.0 6.0
At opening establishments 1,295 1,100 1,096 1,790 1,469 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.9 1.5
Gross job losses 5,722 6,441 17,790 5,525 5,554 5.5 6.2 18.0 5.9 5.7
At contracting establishments 4,599 5,190 15,182 4,301 4,390 4.4 5.0 15.4 4.6 4.5
At closing establishments 1,123 1,251 2,608 1,224 1,164 1.1 1.2 2.6 1.3 1.2
Net employment change 823 -764 -13,077 3,803 1,751 0.7 -0.7 -13.2 4.0 1.8
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 267 250 202 317 298 4.6 4.3 3.6 5.8 5.3
At expanding establishments 216 209 153 259 241 3.7 3.6 2.7 4.7 4.3
At opening establishments 51 41 49 58 57 0.9 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.0
Gross job losses 249 258 607 268 219 4.2 4.4 10.7 4.9 3.9
At contracting establishments 194 200 524 208 167 3.3 3.4 9.2 3.8 3.0
At closing establishments 55 58 83 60 52 0.9 1.0 1.5 1.1 0.9
Net employment change 18 -8 -405 49 79 0.4 -0.1 -7.1 0.9 1.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains 891 906 963 1,520 936 5.7 5.8 6.4 10.3 6.3
At expanding establishments 775 808 862 1,338 818 5.0 5.2 5.7 9.1 5.5
At opening establishments 116 98 101 182 118 0.7 0.6 0.7 1.2 0.8
Gross job losses 887 874 2,529 827 848 5.8 5.6 16.8 5.7 5.7
At contracting establishments 769 754 2,258 715 720 5.0 4.8 15.0 4.9 4.8
At closing establishments 118 120 271 112 128 0.8 0.8 1.8 0.8 0.9
Net employment change 4 32 -1,566 693 88 -0.1 0.2 -10.4 4.6 0.6
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 508 278 422 527 639 8.9 4.9 7.7 9.7 11.1
At expanding establishments 443 240 378 457 524 7.8 4.2 6.9 8.4 9.1
At opening establishments 65 38 44 70 115 1.1 0.7 0.8 1.3 2.0
Gross job losses 254 416 826 311 275 4.4 7.2 15.1 5.7 4.8
At contracting establishments 212 369 746 267 236 3.7 6.4 13.6 4.9 4.1
At closing establishments 42 47 80 44 39 0.7 0.8 1.5 0.8 0.7
Net employment change 254 -138 -404 216 364 4.5 -2.3 -7.4 4.0 6.3
Utilities
Gross job gains 13 10 10 14 13 2.4 1.8 1.9 2.6 2.4
At expanding establishments 12 9 8 12 11 2.2 1.6 1.5 2.2 2.0
At opening establishments 1 1 2 2 2 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4
Gross job losses 12 9 14 12 12 2.2 1.7 2.6 2.2 2.2
At contracting establishments 10 8 13 10 10 1.8 1.5 2.4 1.8 1.8
At closing establishments 2 1 1 2 2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4
Net employment change 1 1 -4 2 1 0.2 0.1 -0.7 0.4 0.2
Information
Gross job gains 155 152 98 204 173 5.4 5.3 3.6 7.8 6.5
At expanding establishments 124 130 73 163 136 4.3 4.5 2.7 6.2 5.1
At opening establishments 31 22 25 41 37 1.1 0.8 0.9 1.6 1.4
Gross job losses 161 139 421 135 142 5.6 4.9 15.4 5.2 5.3
At contracting establishments 134 111 358 104 109 4.7 3.9 13.1 4.0 4.1
At closing establishments 27 28 63 31 33 0.9 1.0 2.3 1.2 1.2
Net employment change -6 13 -323 69 31 -0.2 0.4 -11.8 2.6 1.2
Financial activities
Gross job gains 406 356 314 449 419 4.9 4.2 3.8 5.5 5.1
At expanding establishments 308 285 229 350 312 3.7 3.4 2.8 4.3 3.8
At opening establishments 98 71 85 99 107 1.2 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.3
Gross job losses 362 363 637 374 361 4.3 4.3 7.7 4.6 4.4
At contracting establishments 276 276 528 271 271 3.3 3.3 6.4 3.3 3.3
At closing establishments 86 87 109 103 90 1.0 1.0 1.3 1.3 1.1
Net employment change 44 -7 -323 75 58 0.6 -0.1 -3.9 0.9 0.7
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,506 1,270 1,142 1,812 1,832 7.0 5.9 5.6 9.2 9.0
At expanding establishments 1,202 1,032 850 1,461 1,485 5.6 4.8 4.2 7.4 7.3
At opening establishments 304 238 292 351 347 1.4 1.1 1.4 1.8 1.7
Gross job losses 1,378 1,377 2,965 1,364 1,180 6.5 6.5 14.5 6.9 5.8
At contracting establishments 1,083 1,105 2,572 1,047 893 5.1 5.2 12.6 5.3 4.4
At closing establishments 295 272 393 317 287 1.4 1.3 1.9 1.6 1.4
Net employment change 128 -107 -1,823 448 652 0.5 -0.6 -8.9 2.3 3.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains 1,034 976 663 1,365 1,157 4.4 4.2 2.9 6.3 5.2
At expanding establishments 824 771 481 1,112 932 3.5 3.3 2.1 5.1 4.2
At opening establishments 210 205 182 253 225 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.2 1.0
Gross job losses 904 983 2,418 914 893 3.8 4.2 10.7 4.1 4.0
At contracting establishments 707 767 2,082 708 693 3.0 3.3 9.2 3.2 3.1
At closing establishments 197 216 336 206 200 0.8 0.9 1.5 0.9 0.9
Net employment change 130 -7 -1,755 451 264 0.6 0.0 -7.8 2.2 1.2
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,407 1,116 651 2,516 1,433 8.5 6.8 4.8 21.1 11.5
At expanding establishments 1,102 864 448 2,026 1,133 6.7 5.3 3.3 17.0 9.1
At opening establishments 305 252 203 490 300 1.8 1.5 1.5 4.1 2.4
Gross job losses 1,218 1,660 6,300 1,036 1,319 7.4 10.1 45.8 8.7 10.5
At contracting establishments 995 1,344 5,319 778 1,078 6.0 8.2 38.7 6.5 8.6
At closing establishments 223 316 981 258 241 1.4 1.9 7.1 2.2 1.9
Net employment change 189 -544 -5,649 1,480 114 1.1 -3.3 -41.0 12.4 1.0
Other services
Gross job gains 307 283 191 529 321 7.1 6.6 5.0 14.8 8.6
At expanding establishments 237 218 126 348 232 5.5 5.1 3.3 9.7 6.2
At opening establishments 70 65 65 181 89 1.6 1.5 1.7 5.1 2.4
Gross job losses 279 336 1,036 264 283 6.5 7.9 26.9 7.4 7.6
At contracting establishments 214 250 771 187 206 5.0 5.9 20.0 5.2 5.5
At closing establishments 65 86 265 77 77 1.5 2.0 6.9 2.2 2.1
Net employment change 28 -53 -845 265 38 0.6 -1.3 -21.9 7.4 1.0
(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
2010 March -234 5,115 5,349 -195 2,863 3,058 -2 914 916 -37 1,338 1,375
June 664 5,805 5,141 235 3,093 2,858 204 1,071 867 225 1,641 1,416
September 226 5,525 5,299 26 2,946 2,920 87 998 911 113 1,581 1,468
December 502 5,781 5,279 92 3,051 2,959 92 1,034 942 318 1,696 1,378
2011 March 340 5,375 5,035 99 2,983 2,884 122 971 849 119 1,421 1,302
June 537 5,746 5,209 190 3,073 2,883 169 1,063 894 178 1,610 1,432
September 852 5,974 5,122 272 3,137 2,865 171 1,066 895 409 1,771 1,362
December 297 5,585 5,288 45 2,970 2,925 44 981 937 208 1,634 1,426
2012 March 972 5,904 4,932 388 3,173 2,785 220 1,054 834 364 1,677 1,313
June 612 5,828 5,216 174 3,039 2,865 158 1,074 916 280 1,715 1,435
September 226 5,581 5,355 55 2,963 2,908 54 1,006 952 117 1,612 1,495
December 637 5,779 5,142 180 3,025 2,845 94 1,014 920 363 1,740 1,377
2013 March 582 5,743 5,161 212 3,071 2,859 156 1,029 873 214 1,643 1,429
June 650 5,906 5,256 226 3,085 2,859 135 1,071 936 289 1,750 1,461
September 473 5,764 5,291 225 3,063 2,838 69 1,021 952 179 1,680 1,501
December 631 5,886 5,255 122 3,021 2,899 105 1,034 929 404 1,831 1,427
2014 March 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 260 5,755 5,495 206 3,119 2,913 56 1,019 963 -2 1,617 1,619
June 320 6,039 5,719 71 3,122 3,051 115 1,102 987 134 1,815 1,681
September 743 6,259 5,516 185 3,155 2,970 99 1,088 989 459 2,016 1,557
December 260 5,898 5,638 64 3,065 3,001 42 1,029 987 154 1,804 1,650
2017 March 667 6,002 5,335 360 3,240 2,880 186 1,080 894 121 1,682 1,561
June 527 6,191 5,664 145 3,157 3,012 146 1,125 979 236 1,909 1,673
September -104 5,829 5,933 -115 2,997 3,112 -46 1,014 1,060 57 1,818 1,761
December 845 6,211 5,366 233 3,188 2,955 154 1,090 936 458 1,933 1,475
2018 March 741 6,067 5,326 311 3,215 2,904 160 1,067 907 270 1,785 1,515
June 439 6,178 5,739 132 3,190 3,058 151 1,130 979 156 1,858 1,702
September 25 5,979 5,954 -97 3,023 3,120 -29 1,028 1,057 151 1,928 1,777
December 712 6,119 5,407 202 3,176 2,974 146 1,083 937 364 1,860 1,496
2019 March 577 6,004 5,427 274 3,196 2,922 149 1,060 911 154 1,748 1,594
June 188 6,132 5,944 54 3,155 3,101 94 1,120 1,026 40 1,857 1,817
September -9 5,867 5,876 -20 3,041 3,061 -30 1,017 1,047 41 1,809 1,768
December 700 6,227 5,527 210 3,191 2,981 103 1,070 967 387 1,966 1,579
2020 March -581 5,593 6,174 -346 2,964 3,310 -95 966 1,061 -140 1,663 1,803
June -15,238 4,546 19,784 -4,696 2,535 7,231 -2,821 578 3,399 -7,721 1,433 9,154
September 3,919 9,403 5,484 1,438 4,438 3,000 529 1,419 890 1,952 3,546 1,594
December 1,863 7,051 5,188 476 3,445 2,969 355 1,192 837 1,032 2,414 1,382
(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.
2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020
Total private by firm(1)
Gross job gains 6,227 5,593 4,546 9,403 7,051 4.9 4.4 3.8 8.2 6.0
At expanding firms 5,221 4,713 3,695 7,946 5,957 4.1 3.7 3.1 6.9 5.1
At opening firms 1,006 880 851 1,457 1,094 0.8 0.7 0.7 1.3 0.9
Gross job losses 5,527 6,174 19,784 5,484 5,188 4.4 4.9 16.5 4.7 4.4
At contracting firms 4,643 5,134 17,722 4,516 4,294 3.7 4.1 14.8 3.9 3.6
At closing firms 884 1,040 2,062 968 894 0.7 0.8 1.7 0.8 0.8
Net employment change 700 -581 -15,238 3,919 1,863 0.5 -0.5 -12.7 3.5 1.6
Firm size 1 to 49 employees
Gross job gains 3,191 2,964 2,535 4,438 3,445 9.2 8.6 7.6 13.7 10.4
At expanding firms 2,223 2,115 1,708 3,042 2,391 6.4 6.1 5.1 9.4 7.2
At opening firms 968 849 827 1,396 1,054 2.8 2.5 2.5 4.3 3.2
Gross job losses 2,981 3,310 7,231 3,000 2,969 8.6 9.5 21.8 9.3 9.0
At contracting firms 2,137 2,327 5,317 2,072 2,104 6.2 6.7 16.0 6.4 6.4
At closing firms 844 983 1,914 928 865 2.4 2.8 5.8 2.9 2.6
Net employment change 210 -346 -4,696 1,438 476 0.6 -0.9 -14.2 4.4 1.4
Firm size 50 to 249 employees
Gross job gains 1,070 966 578 1,419 1,192 4.8 4.2 2.7 7.1 5.9
At expanding firms 1,036 938 556 1,375 1,158 4.6 4.1 2.6 6.9 5.7
At opening firms 34 28 22 44 34 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2
Gross job losses 967 1,061 3,399 890 837 4.2 4.6 16.1 4.4 4.1
At contracting firms 934 1,030 3,290 862 811 4.1 4.5 15.6 4.3 4.0
At closing firms 33 31 109 28 26 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.1
Net employment change 103 -95 -2,821 529 355 0.6 -0.4 -13.4 2.7 1.8
Firm size 250 or more employees
Gross job gains 1,966 1,663 1,433 3,546 2,414 2.8 2.4 2.2 5.6 3.7
At expanding firms 1,962 1,660 1,431 3,529 2,408 2.8 2.4 2.2 5.6 3.7
At opening firms 4 3 2 17 6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Gross job losses 1,579 1,803 9,154 1,594 1,382 2.3 2.6 14.0 2.5 2.1
At contracting firms 1,572 1,777 9,115 1,582 1,379 2.3 2.6 13.9 2.5 2.1
At closing firms 7 26 39 12 3 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0
Net employment change 387 -140 -7,721 1,952 1,032 0.5 -0.2 -11.8 3.1 1.6
(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.
2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020
United States(1).... 7,864,000 6,963,000 5,749,000 10,804,000 8,756,000 7,051,000 7,736,000 20,366,000 6,901,000 6,713,000
Alabama............. 101,210 88,038 74,974 118,479 120,857 89,724 96,125 197,333 90,119 77,510
Alaska.............. 25,708 22,994 15,976 26,125 29,978 25,494 23,781 56,612 21,201 17,110
Arizona............. 161,684 142,660 142,021 188,965 180,613 131,921 151,494 288,876 148,907 120,463
Arkansas............ 66,058 52,888 47,653 72,104 69,930 49,413 56,439 119,256 54,052 50,864
California.......... 1,033,526 922,323 751,604 1,182,443 1,155,905 902,580 1,016,052 2,654,391 985,422 850,735
Colorado............ 154,775 146,864 128,725 215,277 162,104 143,528 161,908 330,236 135,875 156,952
Connecticut......... 78,282 74,079 57,620 145,865 87,068 79,999 84,157 265,693 66,466 77,371
Delaware............ 25,783 23,973 18,225 36,761 24,382 24,376 25,771 65,213 22,666 20,987
District of Columbia 28,907 28,449 16,316 38,358 24,390 25,084 28,599 111,967 26,824 25,824
Florida............. 518,476 427,989 454,603 685,191 561,853 463,711 482,375 1,047,754 492,778 412,953
Georgia............. 253,759 217,790 201,768 330,323 289,069 214,268 230,425 557,304 230,867 191,998
Hawaii.............. 30,150 27,999 17,082 29,478 61,042 27,912 31,192 141,270 51,061 19,048
Idaho............... 49,082 49,081 40,422 52,646 55,912 39,995 39,897 71,635 40,628 39,365
Illinois............ 288,093 254,939 224,118 454,452 310,728 268,919 310,548 898,646 265,795 291,468
Indiana............. 160,186 133,045 120,452 206,433 175,237 135,961 160,208 353,124 134,481 128,703
Iowa................ 76,115 68,219 56,059 90,872 84,048 71,270 77,348 163,360 67,444 62,660
Kansas.............. 72,463 62,633 55,975 85,160 76,568 65,013 68,682 146,615 64,265 66,093
Kentucky............ 100,449 85,377 70,624 132,030 104,686 89,006 97,894 234,102 75,229 82,634
Louisiana........... 94,925 84,883 66,839 126,510 126,986 92,085 100,952 253,572 101,773 81,703
Maine............... 38,413 33,604 26,670 57,283 42,020 36,140 36,819 107,675 28,627 30,894
Maryland............ 141,093 124,904 97,171 215,737 145,664 128,868 148,152 450,701 117,299 120,506
Massachusetts....... 187,728 165,169 109,590 348,934 203,025 177,913 193,240 714,130 156,162 161,889
Michigan............ 218,726 189,764 141,099 366,039 234,907 199,952 215,440 731,502 160,093 241,948
Minnesota........... 146,583 125,105 100,747 204,520 160,667 139,721 141,062 418,254 123,659 159,235
Mississippi......... 56,241 49,812 43,906 73,809 69,255 50,181 56,733 111,502 46,600 42,918
Missouri............ 149,173 123,536 108,508 189,201 163,548 126,959 138,015 330,131 125,593 120,672
Montana............. 33,231 29,990 25,718 36,443 35,436 27,933 30,358 52,250 26,800 25,657
Nebraska............ 51,291 47,643 38,885 63,100 53,837 46,946 49,831 96,697 45,538 44,177
Nevada.............. 85,282 67,736 61,256 135,413 98,639 63,901 79,198 335,465 67,865 63,957
New Hampshire....... 38,739 35,160 25,214 63,135 40,429 34,427 37,525 103,320 27,580 35,242
New Jersey.......... 229,606 202,323 150,045 485,419 261,706 204,729 222,150 913,602 179,780 188,603
New Mexico.......... 45,847 40,322 27,987 49,296 42,254 41,643 42,675 109,424 35,506 45,234
New York............ 480,529 442,737 292,303 922,619 529,005 465,753 515,065 1,980,764 403,504 453,279
North Carolina...... 235,197 223,550 177,537 304,808 288,786 203,674 218,100 530,511 199,290 183,725
North Dakota........ 23,552 24,097 17,558 28,073 23,247 23,417 24,502 57,565 21,946 22,702
Ohio................ 269,713 239,254 203,875 336,532 290,686 249,121 264,866 649,821 229,215 230,339
Oklahoma............ 83,429 69,577 70,388 81,961 96,217 80,887 85,430 153,017 77,487 68,507
Oregon.............. 111,629 104,027 80,081 136,837 114,311 96,963 108,302 293,842 94,862 101,865
Pennsylvania........ 283,898 261,356 177,105 484,981 296,607 255,290 296,782 896,709 236,671 257,656
Rhode Island........ 27,573 25,545 17,767 48,603 29,016 25,146 27,474 99,270 19,548 27,410
South Carolina...... 115,720 97,016 85,686 145,478 137,208 104,081 116,474 252,231 101,812 89,720
South Dakota........ 22,892 21,343 17,737 29,098 25,233 20,534 23,763 40,034 18,890 21,493
Tennessee........... 147,817 128,960 112,366 198,611 189,309 132,149 140,158 348,495 132,538 116,711
Texas............... 646,101 544,673 491,404 720,901 759,882 548,150 598,020 1,408,500 599,452 485,364
Utah................ 87,902 85,420 83,499 114,545 104,241 81,579 83,326 137,995 78,072 71,113
Vermont............. 17,695 14,932 10,825 27,757 17,670 16,345 19,399 43,790 12,947 18,446
Virginia............ 211,840 181,461 144,619 303,716 213,310 177,757 196,921 559,570 157,202 163,525
Washington.......... 190,519 216,627 137,589 234,423 190,847 167,332 215,647 466,763 164,790 161,372
West Virginia....... 34,064 32,860 26,456 44,344 37,937 39,055 37,162 72,219 35,357 31,466
Wisconsin........... 136,067 126,388 105,476 177,683 148,612 124,896 132,770 347,883 119,583 121,210
Wyoming............. 19,831 18,182 12,961 20,326 19,602 18,365 19,707 36,242 14,628 14,907
Puerto Rico......... 36,994 34,391 26,094 69,247 42,834 33,546 35,428 109,540 32,421 31,611
Virgin Islands...... 2,927 2,087 1,434 2,018 2,165 2,086 2,389 5,288 2,981 1,299
(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.
2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020
United States....... 6.2 5.5 4.8 9.4 7.4 5.5 6.1 17.0 6.0 5.7
Alabama............. 6.2 5.5 4.8 7.8 7.8 5.5 5.9 12.6 5.9 5.0
Alaska.............. 10.3 9.2 6.9 12.2 13.4 10.2 9.5 24.5 9.9 7.7
Arizona............. 6.4 5.6 5.7 7.9 7.4 5.2 5.9 11.7 6.2 4.9
Arkansas............ 6.5 5.1 4.8 7.5 7.1 4.9 5.5 12.0 5.6 5.1
California.......... 6.8 6.1 5.2 8.7 8.4 6.0 6.7 18.6 7.3 6.2
Colorado............ 6.7 6.3 5.8 10.0 7.5 6.2 7.0 14.9 6.3 7.2
Connecticut......... 5.5 5.2 4.3 11.2 6.5 5.6 5.9 19.7 5.1 5.8
Delaware............ 6.7 6.2 4.9 10.3 6.7 6.2 6.6 17.7 6.3 5.7
District of Columbia 5.4 5.2 3.3 8.3 5.2 4.7 5.3 22.4 5.8 5.5
Florida............. 6.6 5.4 6.1 9.5 7.6 5.9 6.2 13.9 6.8 5.6
Georgia............. 6.5 5.6 5.4 9.2 7.8 5.5 5.9 15.0 6.4 5.2
Hawaii.............. 5.7 5.2 3.6 7.4 14.7 5.2 5.8 29.8 12.7 4.6
Idaho............... 7.7 7.6 6.4 8.4 8.7 6.3 6.1 11.2 6.5 6.1
Illinois............ 5.6 5.0 4.6 9.7 6.5 5.2 6.0 18.4 5.6 6.1
Indiana............. 6.0 4.9 4.7 8.3 6.9 5.1 6.0 13.7 5.4 5.0
Iowa................ 5.8 5.2 4.4 7.4 6.8 5.5 5.9 13.0 5.6 5.1
Kansas.............. 6.3 5.4 5.0 7.9 7.0 5.7 6.0 13.3 6.0 6.0
Kentucky............ 6.2 5.3 4.6 8.8 6.8 5.6 6.1 15.3 5.0 5.4
Louisiana........... 5.9 5.3 4.5 8.8 8.7 5.7 6.3 16.9 7.2 5.5
Maine............... 7.3 6.4 5.4 12.0 8.5 6.9 7.0 21.7 6.0 6.3
Maryland............ 6.4 5.7 4.7 11.0 7.1 5.9 6.7 21.9 5.9 5.9
Massachusetts....... 5.8 5.2 3.7 12.5 7.0 5.6 6.0 24.2 5.6 5.6
Michigan............ 5.8 5.0 4.0 10.9 6.8 5.3 5.7 20.7 4.8 7.0
Minnesota........... 5.8 5.0 4.3 9.0 7.0 5.6 5.6 17.6 5.4 6.9
Mississippi......... 6.2 5.6 5.1 8.7 7.9 5.6 6.2 12.9 5.5 4.9
Missouri............ 6.2 5.2 4.7 8.5 7.2 5.3 5.7 14.3 5.7 5.3
Montana............. 8.6 7.7 6.8 9.9 9.3 7.2 7.7 13.8 7.2 6.8
Nebraska............ 6.2 5.8 4.9 8.1 6.8 5.8 6.1 12.1 5.9 5.6
Nevada.............. 6.8 5.4 5.3 12.8 8.9 5.0 6.3 29.2 6.4 5.7
New Hampshire....... 6.6 6.0 4.5 11.9 7.4 6.0 6.4 18.8 5.1 6.5
New Jersey.......... 6.5 5.7 4.6 15.7 8.1 5.8 6.3 28.1 5.8 5.9
New Mexico.......... 7.0 6.1 4.5 8.3 7.1 6.3 6.5 17.6 6.0 7.6
New York............ 6.0 5.5 3.9 13.3 7.4 5.7 6.4 26.9 5.9 6.4
North Carolina...... 6.3 5.8 4.8 8.5 7.8 5.4 5.7 14.5 5.6 5.1
North Dakota........ 6.7 6.8 5.2 8.8 7.2 6.6 7.0 17.2 6.9 7.1
Ohio................ 5.7 5.1 4.5 7.7 6.6 5.3 5.6 14.4 5.3 5.2
Oklahoma............ 6.5 5.4 5.6 6.8 7.8 6.2 6.7 12.3 6.4 5.6
Oregon.............. 6.7 6.2 5.0 9.0 7.4 5.8 6.5 18.4 6.2 6.5
Pennsylvania........ 5.4 4.9 3.6 10.3 6.2 4.9 5.6 18.2 5.0 5.3
Rhode Island........ 6.5 6.1 4.5 12.9 7.5 5.9 6.5 25.2 5.3 7.1
South Carolina...... 6.5 5.5 5.1 8.8 8.1 5.9 6.6 14.9 6.1 5.3
South Dakota........ 6.4 6.0 5.1 8.6 7.2 5.8 6.6 11.6 5.5 6.2
Tennessee........... 5.7 4.9 4.4 8.1 7.5 5.0 5.3 13.7 5.4 4.6
Texas............... 6.0 5.0 4.7 7.2 7.5 5.1 5.5 13.6 6.0 4.8
Utah................ 6.8 6.6 6.5 9.1 8.1 6.3 6.4 10.9 6.2 5.5
Vermont............. 6.9 5.8 4.6 12.3 7.6 6.4 7.6 18.5 5.7 7.9
Virginia............ 6.5 5.6 4.7 10.2 7.0 5.5 6.1 18.2 5.3 5.3
Washington.......... 6.6 7.4 4.9 8.9 7.1 5.8 7.4 16.9 6.2 6.0
West Virginia....... 6.2 6.0 5.1 8.8 7.4 7.1 6.8 13.8 7.0 6.2
Wisconsin........... 5.4 5.0 4.4 7.6 6.3 5.0 5.3 14.4 5.2 5.1
Wyoming............. 9.4 8.6 6.4 10.7 10.0 8.7 9.3 18.1 7.7 7.6
Puerto Rico......... 5.4 5.0 4.0 11.0 6.6 4.9 5.2 16.9 5.1 4.9
Virgin Islands...... 10.3 7.2 5.3 8.4 8.9 7.3 8.3 19.8 12.3 5.4
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
2010 March 193 2.7 211 3.0 706 0.7 687 0.7
June 193 2.7 202 2.9 730 0.7 665 0.6
September 207 2.9 204 2.9 754 0.7 701 0.7
December 216 3.0 201 2.8 805 0.8 700 0.7
2011 March 204 2.9 200 2.8 715 0.7 632 0.6
June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 0.7 689 0.6
September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 0.7 675 0.6
December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 0.7 700 0.6
2012 March 236 3.3 188 2.6 787 0.7 614 0.6
June 217 3.0 194 2.7 799 0.7 673 0.6
September 210 2.9 196 2.7 804 0.7 692 0.6
December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 0.7 673 0.6
2013 March 205 2.8 193 2.6 748 0.7 648 0.6
June 222 3.0 215 2.9 789 0.7 695 0.6
September 219 2.9 195 2.6 818 0.7 678 0.6
December 215 2.9 187 2.5 803 0.7 670 0.6
2014 March 220 2.9 190 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 235 3.0 204 2.6 788 0.7 670 0.6
June 241 3.1 213 2.7 838 0.7 720 0.6
September 240 3.1 214 2.7 872 0.7 745 0.6
December 239 3.0 217 2.8 868 0.7 727 0.6
2017 March 242 3.0 203 2.6 802 0.7 664 0.5
June 240 3.0 224 2.8 849 0.7 755 0.6
September 243 3.0 225 2.8 851 0.7 760 0.6
December 245 3.1 216 2.7 853 0.7 731 0.6
2018 March 248 3.1 214 2.7 812 0.7 664 0.5
June 264 3.3 231 2.9 879 0.7 772 0.6
September 252 3.1 231 2.8 868 0.7 786 0.6
December 249 3.1 222 2.7 861 0.7 762 0.6
2019 March 260 3.2 219 2.7 806 0.6 694 0.6
June 255 3.1 241 2.9 848 0.7 810 0.6
September 252 3.1 233 2.8 850 0.7 769 0.6
December 268 3.2 235 2.8 907 0.7 790 0.6
2020 March 280 3.4 275 3.3 800 0.6 763 0.6
June 225 2.7 N/A N/A 659 0.5 N/A N/A
September 276 3.4 N/A N/A 820 0.7 N/A N/A
December 284 3.4 N/A N/A 912 0.8 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 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
