For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) USDL-15-1484
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
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 2014
From September 2014 to December 2014, gross job gains from opening
and expanding private sector establishments were 7.6 million, an
increase of 456,000 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 6.5
million, a decrease of 111,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
See tables A, 1, and 3.)
The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of
gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 1,109,000 jobs in the
private sector during the fourth quarter of 2014.
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)
The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of
increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses
in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track
these changes in employment at private business units from the third
month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains
are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing
units and the addition of new jobs at opening units. Gross job losses
are the result of contractions in employment at existing units and the
loss of jobs at closing units. The difference between the number of
gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change
in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.)
The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses at the
establishment level by industry subsector and for the 50 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as
gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size
class.
Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 6.3 million in
the fourth quarter of 2014, an increase of 383,000 jobs from the
previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)
Opening establishments accounted for 1.4 million jobs gained in the
fourth quarter of 2014, an increase of 73,000 jobs from the previous
quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)
Contracting establishments lost 5.3 million jobs in the fourth quarter
of 2014. This was a decrease of 200,000 jobs from the prior quarter.
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)
In the fourth quarter of 2014, closing establishments lost 1.2 million
jobs, an increase of 89,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)
Gross job gains represented 6.6 percent of private sector employment
in the fourth quarter of 2014, while gross job losses represented 5.6
percent of private sector employment. (See tables A, 2, and 3.)
In the fourth quarter of 2014, the number of establishment births
(a subset of the openings data, see the Technical Note for more
information) decreased by 2,000 to 222,000 establishments. These
new establishments accounted for 842,000 jobs, an increase of
17,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See table 8.)
Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are
available through the first quarter of 2014, when 629,000 jobs were
lost at 187,000 establishments. In the prior quarter, 677,000 jobs
were lost at 190,000 establishments. (See table 8.)
During the fourth quarter of 2014, gross job gains exceeded gross job
losses in all industry sectors except the natural resources and mining
sector. The service-providing sector, with 6.251 million gross job
gains and 5.263 million gross job losses, experienced a net increase
of 988,000 jobs. The goods-producing sector experienced a net increase
of 121,000 jobs, the result of 1.384 million gross job gains and 1.263
million gross job losses. The professional and business services
sector, a subset of the service-providing sector, experienced a net
increase of 285,000 jobs, the largest net gain in the sector since
December 1999. (See table 3.)
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses,
seasonally adjusted
Category 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2013 2014 2014 2014 2014
Levels (in thousands)
Gross job gains................ 7,296 6,856 7,438 7,179 7,635
At expanding establishments... 5,956 5,624 6,109 5,878 6,261
At opening establishments..... 1,340 1,232 1,329 1,301 1,374
Gross job losses............... 6,553 6,459 6,522 6,637 6,526
At contracting establishments. 5,335 5,330 5,340 5,492 5,292
At closing establishments..... 1,218 1,129 1,182 1,145 1,234
Net employment change(1)....... 743 397 916 542 1,109
Rates (percent)
Gross job gains................ 6.4 6.0 6.5 6.2 6.6
At expanding establishments... 5.2 4.9 5.3 5.1 5.4
At opening establishments..... 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.2
Gross job losses............... 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.6
At contracting establishments. 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.5
At closing establishments..... 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1
Net employment change(1)....... .6 .3 .9 .4 1.0
(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.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, firms with 1-49 employees accounted for
22 percent of total net job growth. Firms with 50-249 employees
accounted for 15 percent of net job growth. Firms with 250 or more
employees accounted for 63 percent of net job growth.
(See tables 4 and 5.)
Of the 2.9 million net jobs created over the last year, firms with 1-49
employees contributed 33 percent of net job growth, while firms with
50-249 employees contributed 22 percent, and firms with 250 or more
employees contributed 45 percent. (See table 4 and 5.)
In the fourth quarter of 2014, gross job gains exceeded gross job
losses in 49 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Texas
experienced 619,644 gross job gains and 479,473 gross job losses
resulting in a net employment gain of 140,171. This is the largest net
employment gain of any state this quarter. California had the second
largest net employment gain this quarter with 115,797 net jobs, the
result of 994,075 gross job gains and 878,278 gross job losses.
(See table 6.) Alaska had the highest rate of gross job gains as a
percent of employment at 10.5 percent, above the U.S. rate of 6.6
percent. Hawaii had the lowest rate of gross job losses as a percent
of employment at 4.4 percent, below the U.S. rate of 5.6 percent.
(See table 7.)
More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses is
available online at www.bls.gov/bdm. This information includes data
on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by
firm size, not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted
time series not presented in this release, charts of gross job gains
and gross job losses by industry and firm size, and frequently asked
questions on firm size data. Additional information about the Business
Employment Dynamics data can be found in the Technical Note of this
release or may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2015 are scheduled |
| to be released on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| Data in the next release, published on Wednesday, November 18, 2015, |
| will incorporate annual revisions to the BED series as well as |
| historical revisions to reflect an administrative change that occurred |
| in first quarter 2013. Annual revisions are published each year with |
| the release of first quarter data. These revisions will cover the last |
| four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of |
| seasonally adjusted data. |
| |
| Additionally, all historical BED series back to third quarter 1992 will|
| be revised with the release of first quarter data, for both seasonally |
| adjusted and not seasonally adjusted series, to incorporate an |
| administrative scope change. These revisions are primarily due to the |
| reclassification of a number of establishments from private households |
| (NAICS 814110) to services for the elderly and persons with |
| disabilities (NAICS 624120). Private households are not within the |
| scope of BED and, as a result, those establishments impacted by this |
| industry reclassification are now within scope. |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Changes to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| With the processing of fourth quarter 2014 BED data, BLS implemented a |
| new statistical matching process used in the longitudinal linking of |
| Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data. Tabulations from |
| this quarter forward will reflect this new methodology. For additional |
| details on this new methodology, please see the article "A Simplified |
| Approach to Administrative Record Linkage in the Quarterly Census of |
| Employment and Wages" available at: |
| http://www.bls.gov/osmr/pdf/st140020.pdf. |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical Note
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-
state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
(QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most employers in the U.S. are required
to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by
unemployment insurance (UI) laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW
is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to
the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs). 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 mea-
sures for any given quarter. Each of these measures -- QCEW, BED, and CES--
makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; how-
ever, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, estimation
procedure, and publication product.
Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat
different measures of over-the-quarter employment change. It is important to
understand program differences and the intended uses of the program products.
(See table below.)
Additional information on each program can be obtained from the program
web sites shown in the table below.
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- | 554,000 establish-
| submitted by 9.4 | ministrative records| ments
| million employers | submitted by 7.5 |
| | million private sec-|
| | tor employers |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal-
| age: all employers| ing government, pri-| ary jobs:
| subject to state | vate households, and|--UI Coverage, exclud-
| and federal UI Laws| establishments with | ing: agriculture, pri-
| | zero employment | vate households, and
| | | self-employed;
| | | including: railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
| | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -6 months after the| -7 months after the | -First Friday
| end of each quar- | end of each quarter| of following month
| ter | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Use of UI |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI |--Uses UI file as a sam-
file | and publishes each | quarter to longitu- | pling frame and annu-
| new quarter of UI | dinal database and | ally realigns (bench-
| data | directly summarizes | marks) sample esti-
| | gross job gains and | mates to first quar-
| | losses | ter UI levels
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly |--Provides current month-
products | ly and annual uni- | employer dynamics | ly estimates of employ-
| verse count of es- | data on establish- | ment, hours, and earn-
| tablishments, em- | ment openings, clos-| ings at the MSA, state,
| ployment, and wages| ings, expansions, | and national level by
| at the county, MSA,| and contractions at | industry
| State, and national| the national level |
| levels by detailed | by NAICS super- |
| industry | sectors,3-digit |
| | NAICS, and by size |
| | of firm, and at the |
| | state private-sector|
| | total level |
| |--Future expansions |
| | will include |
| | data at the county |
| | and MSA level |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses | -Detailed locality | -Business cycle | -Principal national
| data | analysis | economic indicator
| -Periodic universe | -Analysis of employ-| -Official time series
| counts for bench- | er dynamics under- | for employment change
| marking sample | lying economic ex- | measures
| survey estimates | pansions and con- | -Input into other ma-
| -Sample frame for | tractions | jor economic indi-
| BLS establishment | -Analysis of employ-| cators
| surveys | ment expansion and |
| | contraction by size|
| | of firm |
| | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Program |--www.bls.gov/cew/ |--www.bls.gov/bdm/ |--www.bls.gov/ces/
Web sites | | |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coverage
Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) laws are compiled from quarterly
contribution reports submitted to the SESAs by employers. In addition to the
quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate multiple establishments
within a state complete a questionnaire, called the "Multiple Worksite Report,"
which provides detailed information on the location of their establishments.
These reports are based on place of employment rather than place of residence.
UI and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable from state to state.
Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, religious or-
ganizations, most agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the
Armed Forces, elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads,
some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of cer-
tain small nonprofit organizations.
Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from lon-
gitudinal histories of 7.5 million private sector employer reports out
of 9.4 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to
BLS in the first quarter of 2014. Gross job gains and gross job losses data
in this release do not report estimates for government employees or private
households (NAICS 814110), and do not include establishments with zero employ-
ment in both previous and current quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands are also excluded from the national data. As an illustration,
the table below shows, in millions of establishments, the number of
establishments excluded from the national gross job gains and gross job losses
data in the first quarter 2014:
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data at the
national level
Millions
Total establishments QCEW program....................................9.4
Excluded: Public sector.........................................0.3
Private households....................................0.2
Zero employment.......................................1.3
Establishments in Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands..............................0.1
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data.............................................7.5
Unit of analysis
Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by in-
dustry and firms are used in the tabulation of the BED size class sta-
tistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that produces
goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in
one or predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either
corporate or otherwise, and may consist of several establishments. Firm-
level data are compiled based on an aggregation of establishments under
common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification
numbers. The firm level aggregation which is consistent with the role of
corporations as the economic decision makers 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 employ-
ment at the establishment or firm level. These changes come about in one
of four ways. A net increase in employment can come from either opening
units or expanding units. A net decrease in employment can come from either
closing units or contracting units. Gross job gains include the sum of all
jobs added at either opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include
the sum of all jobs lost in either closing or contracting units. The net
change in employment is the difference between gross job gains and gross
job losses.
The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:
Openings. These are either units with positive third month employment for
the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or
with positive third month employment in the current quarter following zero em-
ployment in the previous quarter.
Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third month
in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employment
over this period.
Closings. These are 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 quar-
ters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. The rates are calculated for
the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to
form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just
as their levels can. For instance, the difference between the gross job
gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.
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 estab-
lishments' unique SESA identification numbers (SESA-ID). Between 95 to 97
percent of establishments identified as continuous from quarter to quarter
are matched by SESA-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 SESA-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 SESA-
IDs as continuous. The match is based upon comparisons such as the same
name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst examines unmatched re-
cords individually and makes a possible match.
In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SESAs verify with
employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and ownership
classification of all establishments on a 4-year cycle. Changes in establish-
ment classification codes resulting from the verification process are intro-
duced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes re-
sulting from improved employer reporting also are introduced in the first
quarter.
Sizing methodology
The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED size
class data series. Dynamic sizing allocates each firm’s employment gain or
loss during a quarter to each respective size class in which the change
occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38
employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be al-
located to the first size class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size
class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49.
Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm size estimates and eliminates
any systematic effects which may be caused by the transitory and reverting
changes in firms’ sizes over time. Additionally, it allocates each job
gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred.
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 vari-
ation can be very large.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each
year, their influence can be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from
quarter to quarter. These adjustments make nonseasonal developments, such as
declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For example, the large
number of youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes that
have taken place in June relative to March, making it difficult to determine
if the level of economic activity has risen or declined. However, because
the effect of students finishing school in previous years is known, the
statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable
change. The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to ana-
lyze changes in economic activity.
The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contrac-
ting units are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated
based on the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. Simi-
larly, for industry data, the establishment counts data series for opening,
expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted,
and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number
of opening and closing establishments. Additionally establishment and em-
ployment levels are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the sea-
sonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12
ARIMA. Seasonally adjusted data series for 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 ad-
justed total private employment series from the CES program. The intended use
of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market changes that underlie
the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested particu-
larly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying
this change should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment
changes.
Reliability of the data
Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on admini-
strative rather than sample data, there are no issues related to sampling
error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists. Nonsampling errors can oc-
cur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected employment
data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses
when providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distri-
buted randomly throughout the dataset.
Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the
linkage process. This can result in overstating openings and closings while
understating expansions and contractions. The BLS continues to refine methods
for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these compli-
cations.
The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on correc-
tions in QCEW records, updates on predecessors and successors information, and
seasonal adjustment revisions.
Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the first qua-
rter data. These revisions cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adj-
usted 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 e
mployment and wages and an annual bulletin: Employment and Wages Annual
Averages, are available upon request from the Division of Administrative
Statistics and Labor Turnover, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department
of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; telephone 202-691-6567;
(http://www.bls.gov/cew/); (e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).
The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, its net change,
and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part of the Employ-
ment Situation report put out monthly by BLS.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides month-
ly measures of job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired in-
dividuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
number: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted
Total private
(In thousands)
Gross job gains Gross job losses
Year 3 months ended Net change(1) Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing
establishments establishments establishments establishments
2004 March 470 7,715 6,204 1,511 7,245 5,795 1,450
June 644 7,754 6,235 1,519 7,110 5,639 1,471
September 206 7,633 6,060 1,573 7,427 5,888 1,539
December 757 7,844 6,243 1,601 7,087 5,663 1,424
2005 March 384 7,620 6,131 1,489 7,236 5,801 1,435
June 593 7,774 6,231 1,543 7,181 5,776 1,405
September 677 7,965 6,387 1,578 7,288 5,844 1,444
December 494 7,807 6,252 1,555 7,313 5,948 1,365
2006 March 874 7,797 6,354 1,443 6,923 5,636 1,287
June 371 7,758 6,246 1,512 7,387 6,015 1,372
September 52 7,499 6,061 1,438 7,447 6,097 1,350
December 455 7,740 6,223 1,517 7,285 5,941 1,344
2007 March 549 7,727 6,297 1,430 7,178 5,881 1,297
June 149 7,632 6,222 1,410 7,483 6,079 1,404
September -252 7,318 5,847 1,471 7,570 6,215 1,355
December 299 7,658 6,196 1,462 7,359 6,012 1,347
2008 March -225 7,246 5,834 1,412 7,471 6,102 1,369
June -578 7,254 5,846 1,408 7,832 6,352 1,480
September -944 6,886 5,523 1,363 7,830 6,448 1,382
December -1,809 6,706 5,354 1,352 8,515 7,034 1,481
2009 March -2,716 5,850 4,659 1,191 8,566 7,141 1,425
June -1,667 6,386 5,084 1,302 8,053 6,671 1,382
September -878 6,342 5,131 1,211 7,220 5,856 1,364
December -234 6,640 5,315 1,325 6,874 5,596 1,278
2010 March -263 6,264 5,090 1,174 6,527 5,320 1,207
June 709 6,958 5,679 1,279 6,249 5,087 1,162
September 215 6,678 5,428 1,250 6,463 5,234 1,229
December 585 7,010 5,638 1,372 6,425 5,206 1,219
2011 March 301 6,458 5,286 1,172 6,157 5,021 1,136
June 600 6,936 5,640 1,296 6,336 5,109 1,227
September 824 7,148 5,790 1,358 6,324 5,174 1,150
December 364 6,894 5,546 1,348 6,530 5,253 1,277
2012 March 851 6,953 5,706 1,247 6,102 4,997 1,105
June 607 7,020 5,732 1,288 6,413 5,260 1,153
September 241 6,851 5,559 1,292 6,610 5,430 1,180
December 698 7,107 5,766 1,341 6,409 5,209 1,200
2013 March 926 7,272 5,648 1,624 6,346 5,187 1,159
June 678 7,174 5,849 1,325 6,496 5,284 1,212
September 468 7,051 5,708 1,343 6,583 5,435 1,148
December 743 7,296 5,956 1,340 6,553 5,335 1,218
2014 March 397 6,856 5,624 1,232 6,459 5,330 1,129
June 916 7,438 6,109 1,329 6,522 5,340 1,182
September 542 7,179 5,878 1,301 6,637 5,492 1,145
December 1,109 7,635 6,261 1,374 6,526 5,292 1,234
(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
2004 March .5 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3
June .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.2 1.4
September .3 7.1 5.6 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4
December .7 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.5 5.2 1.3
2005 March .4 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3
June .6 7.1 5.7 1.4 6.5 5.2 1.3
September .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3
December .4 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.6 5.4 1.2
2006 March .9 7.0 5.7 1.3 6.1 5.0 1.1
June .3 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2
September .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2
December .3 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2
2007 March .5 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.3 5.2 1.1
June .2 6.7 5.5 1.2 6.5 5.3 1.2
September -.3 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.7 5.5 1.2
December .2 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2
2008 March -.3 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.6 5.4 1.2
June -.6 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.9 5.6 1.3
September -.8 6.1 4.9 1.2 6.9 5.7 1.2
December -1.6 6.0 4.8 1.2 7.6 6.3 1.3
2009 March -2.4 5.4 4.3 1.1 7.8 6.5 1.3
June -1.6 5.9 4.7 1.2 7.5 6.2 1.3
September -.9 5.9 4.8 1.1 6.8 5.5 1.3
December -.2 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2
2010 March -.3 5.9 4.8 1.1 6.2 5.1 1.1
June .7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September .2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.1 4.9 1.2
December .6 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.0 4.9 1.1
2011 March .2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1
June .6 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September .8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1
December .3 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.0 4.8 1.2
2012 March .7 6.3 5.2 1.1 5.6 4.6 1.0
June .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
September .2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1
December .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2013 March 1.0 6.6 5.1 1.5 5.6 4.6 1.0
June .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2014 March .3 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
June .9 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0
September .4 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 1.0 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1
(1) The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage
of the previous and current quarter employment levels.
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains and job losses Gross job gains and job losses
(in thousands) as a percent of employment
Category 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept Dec.
2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,296 6,856 7,438 7,179 7,635 6.4 6.0 6.5 6.2 6.6
At expanding establishments 5,956 5,624 6,109 5,878 6,261 5.2 4.9 5.3 5.1 5.4
At opening establishments 1,340 1,232 1,329 1,301 1,374 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.2
Gross job losses 6,553 6,459 6,522 6,637 6,526 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.6
At contracting establishments 5,335 5,330 5,340 5,492 5,292 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.5
At closing establishments 1,218 1,129 1,182 1,145 1,234 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1
Net employment change 743 397 916 542 1,109 .6 .3 .9 .4 1.0
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,357 1,355 1,410 1,335 1,384 6.8 6.8 7.0 6.5 6.8
At expanding establishments 1,155 1,163 1,211 1,145 1,189 5.8 5.8 6.0 5.6 5.8
At opening establishments 202 192 199 190 195 1.0 1.0 1.0 .9 1.0
Gross job losses 1,312 1,208 1,233 1,215 1,263 6.6 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.2
At contracting establishments 1,102 1,017 1,042 1,036 1,067 5.5 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.2
At closing establishments 210 191 191 179 196 1.1 .9 .9 .9 1.0
Net employment change 45 147 177 120 121 .2 .8 1.0 .5 .6
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 280 288 281 279 277 13.8 14.0 13.7 13.5 13.2
At expanding establishments 243 253 246 243 239 12.0 12.3 12.0 11.8 11.4
At opening establishments 37 35 35 36 38 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8
Gross job losses 280 253 271 247 282 13.8 12.4 13.2 12.0 13.5
At contracting establishments 243 219 237 216 249 12.0 10.7 11.5 10.5 11.9
At closing establishments 37 34 34 31 33 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.5 1.6
Net employment change 0 35 10 32 -5 .0 1.6 .5 1.5 -.3
Construction
Gross job gains 653 673 692 652 665 11.1 11.2 11.4 10.7 10.7
At expanding establishments 526 551 564 537 545 8.9 9.2 9.3 8.8 8.8
At opening establishments 127 122 128 115 120 2.2 2.0 2.1 1.9 1.9
Gross job losses 638 585 597 579 603 10.9 9.8 9.9 9.5 9.7
At contracting establishments 511 468 483 471 483 8.7 7.8 8.0 7.7 7.8
At closing establishments 127 117 114 108 120 2.2 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.9
Net employment change 15 88 95 73 62 .2 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.0
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 424 394 437 404 442 3.5 3.3 3.6 3.3 3.6
At expanding establishments 386 359 401 365 405 3.2 3.0 3.3 3.0 3.3
At opening establishments 38 35 36 39 37 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3
Gross job losses 394 370 365 389 378 3.3 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.1
At contracting establishments 348 330 322 349 335 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.9 2.7
At closing establishments 46 40 43 40 43 .4 .3 .4 .3 .4
Net employment change 30 24 72 15 64 .2 .3 .6 .1 .5
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 5,939 5,501 6,028 5,844 6,251 6.3 5.8 6.4 6.2 6.5
At expanding establishments 4,801 4,461 4,898 4,733 5,072 5.1 4.7 5.2 5.0 5.3
At opening establishments 1,138 1,040 1,130 1,111 1,179 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2
Gross job losses 5,241 5,251 5,289 5,422 5,263 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.7 5.5
At contracting establishments 4,233 4,313 4,298 4,456 4,225 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.7 4.4
At closing establishments 1,008 938 991 966 1,038 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1
Net employment change 698 250 739 422 988 .7 .2 .9 .5 1.0
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 286 272 284 277 293 4.9 4.7 4.9 4.8 5.0
At expanding establishments 237 225 240 231 243 4.1 3.9 4.1 4.0 4.1
At opening establishments 49 47 44 46 50 .8 .8 .8 .8 .9
Gross job losses 251 251 248 251 246 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.2
At contracting establishments 192 196 191 199 191 3.3 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.3
At closing establishments 59 55 57 52 55 1.0 1.0 1.0 .9 .9
Net employment change 35 21 36 26 47 .6 .3 .6 .5 .8
Retail trade
Gross job gains 944 877 969 897 950 6.2 5.7 6.3 5.8 6.2
At expanding establishments 818 757 837 771 829 5.4 4.9 5.4 5.0 5.4
At opening establishments 126 120 132 126 121 .8 .8 .9 .8 .8
Gross job losses 835 879 827 905 834 5.5 5.8 5.3 5.9 5.4
At contracting establishments 720 775 716 798 722 4.7 5.1 4.6 5.2 4.7
At closing establishments 115 104 111 107 112 .8 .7 .7 .7 .7
Net employment change 109 -2 142 -8 116 .7 -.1 1.0 -.1 .8
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 283 232 244 248 329 6.5 5.4 5.6 5.6 7.3
At expanding establishments 252 199 210 215 297 5.8 4.6 4.8 4.9 6.6
At opening establishments 31 33 34 33 32 .7 .8 .8 .7 .7
Gross job losses 206 244 206 212 203 4.8 5.6 4.7 4.8 4.6
At contracting establishments 168 210 172 176 169 3.9 4.8 3.9 4.0 3.8
At closing establishments 38 34 34 36 34 .9 .8 .8 .8 .8
Net employment change 77 -12 38 36 126 1.7 -.2 .9 .8 2.7
Utilities
Gross job gains 12 14 12 12 14 2.2 2.6 2.2 2.2 2.6
At expanding establishments 11 12 11 11 12 2.0 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.2
At opening establishments 1 2 1 1 2 .2 .4 .2 .2 .4
Gross job losses 16 11 13 11 12 3.0 2.0 2.4 2.0 2.2
At contracting establishments 14 10 12 10 10 2.6 1.8 2.2 1.8 1.8
At closing establishments 2 1 1 1 2 .4 .2 .2 .2 .4
Net employment change -4 3 -1 1 2 -.8 .6 -.2 .2 .4
Information
Gross job gains 136 122 141 139 145 5.0 4.5 5.2 5.1 5.2
At expanding establishments 113 101 119 117 119 4.2 3.7 4.4 4.3 4.3
At opening establishments 23 21 22 22 26 .8 .8 .8 .8 .9
Gross job losses 123 127 133 138 134 4.5 4.6 4.9 5.0 4.8
At contracting establishments 101 107 111 118 108 3.7 3.9 4.1 4.3 3.9
At closing establishments 22 20 22 20 26 .8 .7 .8 .7 .9
Net employment change 13 -5 8 1 11 .5 -.1 .3 .1 .4
Financial activities
Gross job gains 368 324 374 357 383 4.8 4.2 4.9 4.6 5.0
At expanding establishments 288 262 305 288 301 3.8 3.4 4.0 3.7 3.9
At opening establishments 80 62 69 69 82 1.0 .8 .9 .9 1.1
Gross job losses 356 343 333 340 341 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.4 4.4
At contracting establishments 278 269 262 268 261 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.5 3.4
At closing establishments 78 74 71 72 80 1.0 1.0 .9 .9 1.0
Net employment change 12 -19 41 17 42 .2 -.3 .6 .2 .6
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,455 1,258 1,438 1,378 1,554 7.7 6.7 7.6 7.2 8.0
At expanding establishments 1,187 1,034 1,187 1,137 1,283 6.3 5.5 6.3 5.9 6.6
At opening establishments 268 224 251 241 271 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4
Gross job losses 1,256 1,263 1,236 1,247 1,269 6.7 6.7 6.5 6.5 6.5
At contracting establishments 1,000 1,026 983 1,000 994 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.1
At closing establishments 256 237 253 247 275 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4
Net employment change 199 -5 202 131 285 1.0 .0 1.1 .7 1.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains 886 827 882 927 930 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.5 4.5
At expanding establishments 725 694 731 768 764 3.6 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.7
At opening establishments 161 133 151 159 166 .8 .7 .7 .8 .8
Gross job losses 781 779 836 786 780 3.9 3.8 4.1 3.8 3.8
At contracting establishments 626 640 671 632 616 3.1 3.1 3.3 3.1 3.0
At closing establishments 155 139 165 154 164 .8 .7 .8 .7 .8
Net employment change 105 48 46 141 150 .5 .3 .2 .7 .7
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,209 1,197 1,275 1,199 1,250 8.4 8.3 8.8 8.2 8.4
At expanding establishments 945 942 1,003 950 979 6.6 6.5 6.9 6.5 6.6
At opening establishments 264 255 272 249 271 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.7 1.8
Gross job losses 1,121 1,075 1,162 1,226 1,140 7.8 7.4 8.0 8.4 7.7
At contracting establishments 914 876 961 1,024 930 6.4 6.0 6.6 7.0 6.3
At closing establishments 207 199 201 202 210 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4
Net employment change 88 122 113 -27 110 .6 .9 .8 -.2 .7
Other services
Gross job gains 272 280 302 282 283 7.0 7.1 7.6 7.1 7.1
At expanding establishments 214 224 241 227 226 5.5 5.7 6.1 5.7 5.7
At opening establishments 58 56 61 55 57 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.4
Gross job losses 273 252 268 280 272 7.0 6.4 6.7 7.1 6.8
At contracting establishments 214 197 211 222 212 5.5 5.0 5.3 5.6 5.3
At closing establishments 59 55 57 58 60 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5
Net employment change -1 28 34 2 11 .0 .7 .9 .0 .3
(1) Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately
Table 4. Private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
Total private by firm(1) Firm size 1 - 49 employees Firm size 50 - 249 employees Firm size 250 or more employees
Year 3 months Net Gross job Net Gross job Net Gross job Net Gross job
ended change(2,3) gains losses change gains losses change gains losses change gains losses
2004 March 430 6,306 5,876 153 3,392 3,239 137 1,194 1,057 140 1,720 1,580
June 621 6,471 5,850 169 3,387 3,218 141 1,196 1,055 311 1,888 1,577
September 197 6,243 6,046 88 3,379 3,291 88 1,175 1,087 21 1,689 1,668
December 759 6,494 5,735 274 3,480 3,206 101 1,172 1,071 384 1,842 1,458
2005 March 368 6,320 5,952 66 3,416 3,350 97 1,161 1,064 205 1,743 1,538
June 570 6,435 5,865 243 3,476 3,233 146 1,198 1,052 181 1,761 1,580
September 701 6,672 5,971 218 3,510 3,292 85 1,195 1,110 398 1,967 1,569
December 506 6,406 5,900 169 3,462 3,293 45 1,140 1,095 292 1,804 1,512
2006 March 788 6,433 5,645 334 3,547 3,213 222 1,213 991 232 1,673 1,441
June 375 6,349 5,974 117 3,434 3,317 110 1,190 1,080 148 1,725 1,577
September 43 6,103 6,060 -14 3,329 3,343 27 1,127 1,100 30 1,647 1,617
December 447 6,375 5,928 117 3,393 3,276 74 1,147 1,073 256 1,835 1,579
2007 March 466 6,300 5,834 189 3,451 3,262 99 1,153 1,054 178 1,696 1,518
June 174 6,256 6,082 -31 3,337 3,368 108 1,180 1,072 97 1,739 1,642
September -269 5,891 6,160 -132 3,252 3,384 -53 1,073 1,126 -84 1,566 1,650
December 298 6,254 5,956 8 3,315 3,307 63 1,140 1,077 227 1,799 1,572
2008 March -290 5,806 6,096 -154 3,228 3,382 -14 1,073 1,087 -122 1,505 1,627
June -548 5,855 6,403 -284 3,179 3,463 -41 1,095 1,136 -223 1,581 1,804
September -999 5,498 6,497 -346 3,047 3,393 -151 1,015 1,166 -502 1,436 1,938
December -1,869 5,338 7,207 -695 2,907 3,602 -374 948 1,322 -800 1,483 2,283
2009 March -2,673 4,584 7,257 -991 2,714 3,705 -620 806 1,426 -1,062 1,064 2,126
June -1,767 5,165 6,932 -472 2,948 3,420 -277 953 1,230 -1,018 1,264 2,282
September -933 5,138 6,071 -375 2,822 3,197 -114 930 1,044 -444 1,386 1,830
December -288 5,405 5,693 -155 2,942 3,097 -43 964 1,007 -90 1,499 1,589
2010 March -247 5,097 5,344 -207 2,851 3,058 -6 910 916 -34 1,336 1,370
June 687 5,809 5,122 238 3,096 2,858 207 1,074 867 242 1,639 1,397
September 200 5,497 5,297 24 2,940 2,916 83 996 913 93 1,561 1,468
December 518 5,781 5,263 91 3,048 2,957 95 1,035 940 332 1,698 1,366
2011 March 316 5,344 5,028 87 2,966 2,879 118 965 847 111 1,413 1,302
June 546 5,753 5,207 198 3,077 2,879 175 1,067 892 173 1,609 1,436
September 834 5,948 5,114 260 3,123 2,863 164 1,062 898 410 1,763 1,353
December 320 5,613 5,293 46 2,973 2,927 45 987 942 229 1,653 1,424
2012 March 840 5,767 4,927 373 3,153 2,780 214 1,047 833 253 1,567 1,314
June 602 5,819 5,217 179 3,041 2,862 167 1,080 913 256 1,698 1,442
September 219 5,569 5,350 48 2,951 2,903 47 1,003 956 124 1,615 1,491
December 637 5,766 5,129 176 3,018 2,842 91 1,013 922 370 1,735 1,365
2013 March 1,209 6,350 5,141 294 3,138 2,844 153 1,022 869 762 2,190 1,428
June 656 5,929 5,273 226 3,093 2,867 146 1,081 935 284 1,755 1,471
September 433 5,746 5,313 203 3,050 2,847 55 1,014 959 175 1,682 1,507
December 658 5,897 5,239 130 3,028 2,898 104 1,034 930 424 1,835 1,411
2014 March 445 5,621 5,176 236 3,044 2,808 151 1,026 875 58 1,551 1,493
June 915 6,134 5,219 322 3,160 2,838 227 1,129 902 366 1,845 1,479
September 521 5,813 5,292 171 3,002 2,831 99 1,057 958 251 1,754 1,503
December 1,000 6,142 5,142 219 3,085 2,866 154 1,083 929 627 1,974 1,347
(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower
than total gross job gains and gross job losses by establishment,
as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process.
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
(3) Net change totals for firm-level data shown differ from the establishment-level data
due to independent seasonal adjustment of the series.
NOTE: See http://www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for additional firm size class data.
Table 5. Components of private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains and job losses Gross job gains and job losses
(in thousands) as a percent of employment
Category 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept Dec.
2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014
Total private by firm(1)
Gross job gains 5,897 5,621 6,134 5,813 6,142 5.2 4.9 5.4 5.0 5.3
At expanding firms 4,988 4,738 5,240 4,949 5,230 4.4 4.1 4.6 4.3 4.5
At opening firms 909 883 894 864 912 .8 .8 .8 .7 .8
Gross job losses 5,239 5,176 5,219 5,292 5,142 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.4
At contracting firms 4,394 4,349 4,410 4,498 4,296 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.7
At closing firms 845 827 809 794 846 .7 .7 .7 .7 .7
Net employment change 658 445 915 521 1,000 .6 .4 .9 .4 .9
Firm size 1 to 49 employees
Gross job gains 3,028 3,044 3,160 3,002 3,085 9.4 9.4 9.7 9.2 9.3
At expanding firms 2,158 2,196 2,305 2,183 2,215 6.7 6.8 7.1 6.7 6.7
At opening firms 870 848 855 819 870 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.6
Gross job losses 2,898 2,808 2,838 2,831 2,866 9.0 8.6 8.7 8.6 8.7
At contracting firms 2,089 2,015 2,065 2,074 2,067 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.3 6.3
At closing firms 809 793 773 757 799 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.4
Net employment change 130 236 322 171 219 .4 .8 1.0 .6 .6
Firm size 50 to 249 employees
Gross job gains 1,034 1,026 1,129 1,057 1,083 4.9 4.9 5.4 5.0 5.1
At expanding firms 1,003 996 1,094 1,020 1,046 4.8 4.8 5.2 4.8 4.9
At opening firms 31 30 35 37 37 .1 .1 .2 .2 .2
Gross job losses 930 875 902 958 929 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.5 4.4
At contracting firms 899 845 874 928 891 4.3 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.2
At closing firms 31 30 28 30 38 .1 .1 .1 .1 .2
Net employment change 104 151 227 99 154 .5 .8 1.1 .5 .7
Firm size 250 or more employees
Gross job gains 1,835 1,551 1,845 1,754 1,974 3.0 2.5 3.0 2.8 3.2
At expanding firms 1,827 1,546 1,841 1,746 1,969 3.0 2.5 3.0 2.8 3.2
At opening firms 8 5 4 8 5 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Gross job losses 1,411 1,493 1,479 1,503 1,347 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.2
At contracting firms 1,406 1,489 1,471 1,496 1,338 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.2
At closing firms 5 4 8 7 9 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Net employment change 424 58 366 251 627 .7 .1 .6 .4 1.0
(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.
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.
2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014
United States(1)... 7,296,000 6,856,000 7,438,000 7,179,000 7,635,000 6,553,000 6,459,000 6,522,000 6,637,000 6,526,000
Alabama..... 88,974 84,701 87,364 88,919 90,371 80,202 84,878 81,574 81,945 78,004
Alaska..... 25,599 27,111 27,613 23,910 26,557 26,151 24,286 27,672 26,323 26,126
Arizona..... 142,862 122,710 128,550 137,917 151,778 114,990 127,049 126,814 117,215 113,641
Arkansas..... 56,317 55,241 52,907 56,474 62,332 52,575 48,156 46,722 50,404 47,403
California..... 970,775 908,148 934,892 939,378 994,075 826,149 819,458 863,561 809,544 878,278
Colorado..... 138,088 134,852 147,457 149,148 145,170 120,042 117,084 122,734 126,134 125,435
Connecticut..... 72,962 71,412 78,491 73,150 76,328 75,714 70,265 68,091 73,700 71,706
Delaware..... 23,382 22,392 23,550 21,635 25,660 20,578 21,103 18,717 22,310 19,587
District of Columbia 27,767 28,507 31,217 27,893 26,283 26,410 26,428 27,883 27,027 27,030
Florida..... 459,908 429,242 478,152 487,819 485,007 396,853 379,039 412,796 401,485 403,964
Georgia..... 223,857 218,553 229,447 229,767 238,774 191,558 187,662 201,150 198,093 191,279
Hawaii..... 27,361 24,229 24,507 26,070 26,306 22,530 25,768 25,728 23,396 22,671
Idaho..... 43,528 44,986 40,993 39,497 42,651 38,182 38,401 42,522 38,930 35,166
Illinois..... 287,742 282,582 301,654 279,907 310,184 262,299 273,676 271,324 289,157 277,372
Indiana..... 151,123 130,738 146,372 133,763 158,906 126,070 137,774 125,025 131,464 124,754
Iowa..... 75,848 73,265 78,695 72,206 77,791 69,858 69,123 72,090 73,304 71,592
Kansas..... 68,947 62,686 67,594 63,328 70,016 58,995 61,041 62,628 64,034 59,244
Kentucky..... 97,171 91,202 91,806 91,563 100,608 80,834 87,753 82,312 81,553 80,975
Louisiana..... 106,092 106,380 105,324 106,145 109,447 96,483 92,250 102,933 93,279 95,085
Maine..... 34,549 32,803 38,308 32,929 35,170 36,734 34,830 31,772 34,869 35,226
Maryland..... 129,342 120,701 136,035 133,072 138,569 129,324 119,730 119,062 128,097 128,152
Massachusetts..... 155,212 153,255 182,525 162,669 176,385 152,909 146,767 151,926 160,288 153,896
Michigan..... 210,828 193,208 226,224 192,391 220,347 193,392 179,299 192,512 205,613 186,360
Minnesota..... 132,158 122,559 152,857 131,751 137,598 131,154 131,329 118,560 139,248 129,787
Mississippi..... 56,504 49,034 52,831 53,592 59,693 48,189 50,683 57,818 51,427 45,894
Missouri..... 133,406 124,363 134,112 125,122 142,836 123,901 123,281 117,942 125,281 116,244
Montana..... 29,553 25,940 29,275 28,828 30,591 26,617 28,165 27,435 28,838 28,774
Nebraska..... 49,098 46,627 47,067 47,231 49,466 44,342 43,926 46,594 45,164 44,487
Nevada..... 63,969 68,371 69,971 69,834 70,245 53,928 54,147 58,601 58,920 56,185
New Hampshire..... 35,941 30,782 36,567 31,977 37,108 31,262 31,894 32,625 34,115 32,534
New Jersey..... 208,002 191,577 224,863 208,063 228,030 207,528 201,873 189,895 205,705 198,990
New Mexico..... 42,014 38,773 40,569 40,285 43,313 38,594 39,417 37,554 37,562 37,596
New York..... 488,832 453,091 494,472 478,751 489,879 440,138 439,127 429,972 447,805 436,119
North Carolina..... 213,112 196,483 215,534 207,123 222,971 189,004 186,412 182,481 193,641 182,522
North Dakota..... 29,881 31,989 28,240 30,567 32,989 24,992 24,936 26,117 25,255 25,721
Ohio..... 265,643 250,208 270,113 246,052 273,048 236,612 245,509 234,618 248,466 232,601
Oklahoma..... 77,204 76,411 77,458 76,496 85,104 77,423 74,634 76,244 69,680 69,389
Oregon..... 97,663 99,610 98,987 100,879 102,995 92,599 87,208 91,579 87,386 92,052
Pennsylvania..... 267,301 253,643 273,659 255,730 274,455 253,489 242,728 240,437 252,935 240,163
Rhode Island..... 24,474 22,816 26,158 24,210 26,357 22,933 22,863 22,333 23,419 22,844
South Carolina..... 102,061 95,713 99,522 93,993 107,609 82,586 88,987 89,050 90,212 77,805
South Dakota..... 22,932 21,356 21,583 20,766 21,356 20,102 20,435 20,238 20,179 19,843
Tennessee..... 144,253 125,985 130,918 133,159 149,273 110,071 121,089 117,551 117,107 110,514
Texas..... 566,604 553,296 571,566 576,117 619,644 487,463 479,767 465,260 486,158 479,473
Utah..... 77,520 69,642 75,546 76,505 77,378 64,131 63,801 70,146 65,137 63,345
Vermont..... 18,911 16,846 18,513 17,138 18,915 16,542 16,944 17,331 18,095 16,861
Virginia..... 169,315 157,945 183,313 168,475 170,693 165,862 161,816 164,858 174,289 162,570
Washington..... 171,855 165,916 183,724 176,717 181,492 156,542 147,848 138,526 149,394 147,867
West Virginia..... 36,600 35,778 37,208 34,450 37,117 35,915 37,449 36,067 36,943 33,713
Wisconsin..... 131,886 124,346 139,665 126,572 136,741 122,147 121,292 119,588 133,120 121,642
Wyoming..... 20,206 18,391 18,848 17,986 20,197 17,263 17,376 17,883 18,285 17,684
Puerto Rico..... 45,339 35,354 38,012 38,138 43,922 36,188 44,386 42,472 40,511 33,988
Virgin Islands..... 1,497 1,354 1,647 1,701 1,713 1,668 1,662 1,719 1,486 1,520
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 7. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains as a percent of employment Gross job losses as a percent of employment
State (3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014
United States(1)... 6.4 6.0 6.5 6.2 6.6 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.6
Alabama..... 6.0 5.6 5.9 5.9 6.0 5.3 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.2
Alaska..... 10.1 10.8 10.9 9.4 10.5 10.4 9.6 10.9 10.4 10.3
Arizona..... 6.7 5.7 6.0 6.4 7.0 5.4 6.0 6.0 5.4 5.2
Arkansas..... 6.0 5.8 5.6 5.9 6.5 5.5 5.0 4.9 5.3 4.9
California..... 7.3 6.8 7.0 7.0 7.3 6.3 6.1 6.4 6.0 6.5
Colorado..... 6.9 6.7 7.3 7.3 7.0 6.1 5.9 6.1 6.2 6.1
Connecticut..... 5.3 5.1 5.6 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.0 4.8 5.3 5.1
Delaware..... 6.6 6.3 6.5 6.0 7.0 5.8 5.9 5.2 6.1 5.4
District of Columbia.. 5.8 5.9 6.4 5.7 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.7 5.5 5.5
Florida..... 7.0 6.5 7.2 7.2 7.1 6.0 5.8 6.2 5.9 6.0
Georgia..... 6.8 6.5 6.8 6.8 7.0 5.8 5.6 5.9 5.9 5.6
Hawaii..... 5.4 4.8 4.9 5.2 5.2 4.5 5.1 5.1 4.7 4.4
Idaho..... 8.3 8.4 7.7 7.5 7.9 7.3 7.2 8.0 7.3 6.5
Illinois..... 5.8 5.8 6.1 5.7 6.2 5.3 5.5 5.5 5.8 5.5
Indiana..... 6.1 5.3 5.9 5.3 6.3 5.1 5.5 5.0 5.3 5.0
Iowa..... 6.0 5.8 6.2 5.7 6.1 5.5 5.5 5.7 5.7 5.6
Kansas..... 6.2 5.7 6.1 5.7 6.2 5.3 5.5 5.7 5.8 5.3
Kentucky..... 6.5 6.1 6.2 6.1 6.6 5.4 5.9 5.5 5.4 5.3
Louisiana..... 6.7 6.7 6.6 6.6 6.8 6.1 5.8 6.4 5.8 5.8
Maine..... 7.0 6.7 7.8 6.7 7.1 7.5 7.0 6.5 7.1 7.2
Maryland..... 6.4 5.9 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.3 5.8 5.8 6.2 6.2
Massachusetts..... 5.4 5.3 6.3 5.6 6.0 5.3 5.0 5.3 5.5 5.3
Michigan..... 6.0 5.5 6.4 5.5 6.2 5.6 5.1 5.4 5.8 5.2
Minnesota..... 5.6 5.3 6.5 5.5 5.8 5.6 5.7 5.1 5.9 5.4
Mississippi..... 6.6 5.7 6.1 6.2 6.8 5.6 5.9 6.7 6.0 5.2
Missouri..... 6.0 5.6 6.0 5.6 6.3 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.6 5.1
Montana..... 8.2 7.2 8.2 8.0 8.5 7.5 7.9 7.7 8.1 8.0
Nebraska..... 6.3 5.9 6.0 6.0 6.2 5.7 5.6 6.0 5.7 5.6
Nevada..... 6.3 6.6 6.7 6.6 6.6 5.3 5.2 5.6 5.5 5.3
New Hampshire..... 6.8 5.7 6.7 5.9 6.9 5.8 5.9 6.1 6.3 6.0
New Jersey..... 6.4 5.9 6.9 6.3 6.9 6.4 6.2 5.8 6.3 6.1
New Mexico..... 6.9 6.3 6.6 6.5 7.0 6.4 6.4 6.1 6.1 6.0
New York..... 6.6 6.2 6.6 6.4 6.5 6.0 6.0 5.7 6.0 5.8
North Carolina..... 6.4 5.9 6.4 6.1 6.5 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.4
North Dakota..... 8.2 8.6 7.6 8.2 8.7 6.9 6.8 7.0 6.7 6.7
Ohio..... 6.0 5.6 6.1 5.5 6.1 5.3 5.6 5.3 5.5 5.1
Oklahoma..... 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.1 6.7 6.2 6.0 6.1 5.5 5.5
Oregon..... 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.0 7.1 6.6 6.1 6.4 6.0 6.3
Pennsylvania..... 5.4 5.2 5.6 5.2 5.6 5.2 4.9 4.8 5.1 4.8
Rhode Island..... 6.2 5.7 6.5 5.9 6.4 5.7 5.7 5.5 5.8 5.6
South Carolina..... 6.7 6.2 6.5 6.1 6.8 5.5 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.0
South Dakota..... 6.9 6.3 6.4 6.2 6.3 6.0 6.1 6.0 6.0 5.8
Tennessee..... 6.3 5.4 5.6 5.7 6.3 4.7 5.3 5.0 5.0 4.7
Texas..... 6.1 5.9 6.0 6.0 6.4 5.3 5.1 4.9 5.1 4.9
Utah..... 7.4 6.5 7.0 7.1 7.1 6.1 6.0 6.6 6.0 5.8
Vermont..... 7.6 6.7 7.4 6.8 7.5 6.6 6.8 6.9 7.2 6.7
Virginia..... 5.7 5.3 6.2 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.5 5.5 5.8 5.5
Washington..... 6.9 6.6 7.3 7.0 7.1 6.3 5.9 5.5 6.0 5.9
West Virginia..... 6.5 6.3 6.6 6.1 6.6 6.4 6.7 6.4 6.6 6.0
Wisconsin..... 5.7 5.3 5.9 5.3 5.7 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.6 5.1
Wyoming..... 9.4 8.4 8.7 8.3 9.2 8.1 8.0 8.2 8.4 8.1
Puerto Rico..... 6.6 5.1 5.6 5.6 6.5 5.2 6.4 6.3 5.9 5.0
Virgin Islands..... 5.5 4.9 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.0 6.1 6.4 5.5 5.5
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 8. Private sector establishment births and deaths, seasonally adjusted
Total private
(Levels in thousands)
Number of Establishments Employment
Births Deaths(1) Births Deaths
Year 3 months ended Level Rate(2) Level Rate Level Rate Level Rate
2004 March 207 3.2 180 2.8 1,000 .9 917 .9
June 203 3.1 185 2.8 980 .9 909 .8
September 209 3.2 186 2.8 1,016 .9 953 .9
December 210 3.2 180 2.7 997 .9 894 .8
2005 March 209 3.1 185 2.8 944 .9 852 .8
June 216 3.2 180 2.7 951 .9 841 .8
September 221 3.3 186 2.8 996 .9 884 .8
December 221 3.3 186 2.8 979 .9 846 .8
2006 March 220 3.2 180 2.6 924 .8 748 .7
June 221 3.2 194 2.8 973 .9 841 .7
September 210 3.1 196 2.9 927 .8 836 .7
December 221 3.2 194 2.8 959 .8 804 .7
2007 March 214 3.1 193 2.8 897 .8 771 .7
June 206 3.0 202 2.9 884 .8 850 .7
September 216 3.1 203 2.9 941 .8 836 .7
December 208 3.0 206 2.9 902 .8 825 .7
2008 March 207 3.0 211 3.0 900 .8 817 .7
June 202 2.9 228 3.3 873 .8 934 .8
September 191 2.7 223 3.2 826 .7 877 .8
December 187 2.7 238 3.4 798 .7 941 .8
2009 March 172 2.5 236 3.4 707 .6 853 .8
June 177 2.6 225 3.3 742 .7 830 .8
September 169 2.5 215 3.2 691 .7 783 .7
December 183 2.7 200 3.0 711 .7 731 .7
2010 March 175 2.6 195 2.9 687 .7 671 .6
June 180 2.7 185 2.7 713 .7 649 .6
September 188 2.8 189 2.8 738 .7 693 .7
December 200 2.9 186 2.7 788 .7 685 .6
2011 March 189 2.8 184 2.7 697 .7 615 .6
June 192 2.8 190 2.8 747 .7 678 .6
September 199 2.9 187 2.7 786 .7 672 .6
December 202 2.9 191 2.8 801 .7 750 .7
2012 March 201 2.9 181 2.6 750 .7 607 .6
June 197 2.9 185 2.7 777 .7 664 .6
September 201 2.9 185 2.7 794 .7 684 .6
December 201 2.9 182 2.6 793 .7 675 .6
2013 March 584 8.1 185 2.6 1,092 1.0 633 .6
June 229 3.1 219 3.0 796 .7 706 .6
September 224 3.0 195 2.6 831 .7 683 .6
December 215 2.9 190 2.5 811 .7 677 .6
2014 March 213 2.8 187 2.5 763 .7 629 .5
June 220 2.9 N/A N/A 803 .7 N/A N/A
September 224 3.0 N/A N/A 825 .7 N/A N/A
December 222 2.9 N/A N/A 842 .7 N/A N/A
(1) Values for deaths are not available for the most recent three quarters
by definition. See the Technical Note for more information.
(2) The rates measure births and deaths as a percentage
of the average of the previous and current quarter employment levels or
total number of establishments.
United States Department of Labor
