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Economic News Release
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Quarterly Data Series on Business Employment Dynamics News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, July 29, 2020                                   	USDL-20-1463

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 2019

From September 2019 to December 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.8 million, an increase of 490,000 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 7.0 million, a decrease of 291,000 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 792,000 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2019. (See tables A
and 1.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment
that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track
these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the
third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross
job losses is the net change in employment. (See Technical Note.) The BED data series include gross job
gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size
class.

Gross Job Gains

In the fourth quarter of 2019, gross job gains represented 6.2 percent of private-sector employment. Gross
job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the
addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 6.3
million in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 369,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.5 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2019, an
increase of 121,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Gross Job Losses

In the fourth quarter of 2019, gross job losses represented 5.6 percent of private-sector employment.
Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of
jobs at closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 5.7 million jobs in the fourth quarter of
2019, a decrease of 348,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2019, closing
establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, an increase of 57,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A,
1, 2, and 3.)

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the fourth quarter of 2019, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 16,000, to a total of 266,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
897,000 jobs, an increase of 55,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2019, when 698,000 jobs were
lost at 222,000 establishments, a decrease of 64,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2018. (See Technical
Note and table 8.)

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 11 of 13 industries in the fourth quarter of 2019. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 809,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2019. Within
the service-providing industries, transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job
increase, with a gain of 256,000 jobs. This was the result of 509,000 gross job gains and 253,000 gross
job losses. The leisure and hospitality and retail trade sectors also showed increases in the fourth
quarter of 2019, with 182,000 and 3,000 net jobs gained respectively. The goods-producing industries
experienced a net job decrease of 17,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2019. Of the goods-producing
industries, the natural resources and mining sector experienced a net decrease of 42,000 jobs.  However,
the construction sector had a net gain of 19,000 jobs and the manufacturing sector showed a net increase
of 6,000 jobs. (See table 3.)


 Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |                  3 months ended                 
                 Category                 |    Dec. |    Mar. |    June |   Sept. |    Dec.
                                          |    2018 |    2019 |    2019 |    2019 |    2019
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |              Levels (in thousands)              
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |   7,768 |   7,375 |   7,605 |   7,341 |   7,831
        At expanding establishments...... |   6,318 |   6,038 |   6,229 |   5,979 |   6,348
        At opening establishments........ |   1,450 |   1,337 |   1,376 |   1,362 |   1,483
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |   6,957 |   6,850 |   7,423 |   7,330 |   7,039
        At contracting establishments.... |   5,626 |   5,649 |   6,078 |   6,050 |   5,702
        At closing establishments........ |   1,331 |   1,201 |   1,345 |   1,280 |   1,337
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     811 |     525 |     182 |      11 |     792
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
                                          |                 Rates (percent)                 
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |     6.3 |     5.9 |     6.0 |     5.8 |     6.2
        At expanding establishments...... |     5.1 |     4.8 |     4.9 |     4.7 |     5.0
        At opening establishments........ |     1.2 |     1.1 |     1.1 |     1.1 |     1.2
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |     5.6 |     5.5 |     5.9 |     5.8 |     5.6
        At contracting establishments.... |     4.5 |     4.5 |     4.8 |     4.8 |     4.5
        At closing establishments........ |     1.1 |     1.0 |     1.1 |     1.0 |     1.1
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     0.7 |     0.4 |     0.1 |     0.0 |     0.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross 
    job losses. See the Technical Note for further information.

Firm Size

In the fourth quarter of 2019, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 192,000. Firms 
with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 107,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a 
net employment gain of 395,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)

States

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
the Virgin Islands in the fourth quarter of 2019. (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 2020 are scheduled to be released on 
Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative 
program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are 
compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most 
employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of 
workers covered by unemployment insurance (UI) laws and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW 
is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to the State Workforce 
Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to 
render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW and 
form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame.

These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and 
the longitudinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. The QCEW is also the employment 
benchmark for the Current Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics 
(OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) programs and is a major input to 
the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts.

In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a 
longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net 
employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained 
at opening and expanding units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures

The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for any given 
quarter. Each of these measures—Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Business 
Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)—makes use of the 
quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; however, each measure has a somewhat 
different universe coverage, estimation procedure, and publication product.

Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat different measures of 
employment change over time. It is important to understand program differences and the intended 
uses of the program products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be obtained 
from the program websites shown in the table.

Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           |         QCEW        |         BED          |         CES
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Source     |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey:
           |  strative records   |  nally-linked UI ad- |  689,000 establish-
           |  submitted by 10.1  |  ministrative records|  ments
           |  million establish- |  submitted by 8.2    |
           |  ments in first qu- |  million private-sec-|
           |  arter of 2019      |  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  |                     |                      |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 8.2 
million private sector employer reports out of 10.1 million total reports of employment and wages 
submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2019. 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 2019.

                         Number of active establishments included in                       
                   Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level                 

 Total establishments QCEW program....................................................10.1

   Excluded: Public sector............................................................ 0.3
           Private households......................................................... 0.2
           Zero employment............................................................ 1.4

 Total establishments included in Business
 Employment Dynamics data............................................................. 8.2

Unit of analysis

Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by industry and firms are used in the 
tabulation of the BED size class statistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that 
produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or 
predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either corporate or otherwise, and may 
consist of several establishments. Firm-level data are compiled based on an aggregation of 
establishments under common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification 
numbers. The firm level aggregation which is consistent with the role of corporations as the 
economic decision makers are used for the measurement of the BED data elements by size class.

Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job gains and gross job losses by size 
class are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, as some establishment 
gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. However, the total net 
changes in employment are the same for not seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally 
adjusted data.

Concepts and methodology

The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employment at the 
establishment or firm level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A net increase in 
employment can come from either opening units or expanding units. A net decrease in 
employment can come from either closing units or contracting units. Gross job gains include the 
sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include the sum of all 
jobs lost in either closing or contracting units. The net change in employment is the difference 
between gross job gains and gross job losses.

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:

Openings. These are either units with positive third month employment for the first time in the 
current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the 
current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.

Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and 
current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.

Closings. These are either units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with 
no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and 
current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

Births. These are units with positive third month employment for the first time in the current 
quarter with no links to the prior quarter, or units with positive third month employment in the 
current quarter and zero employment in the third month of the previous four quarters. Births are a 
subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal businesses.

Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero employment reported in the third month of 
four consecutive quarters following the last quarter with positive employment. Deaths are a subset 
of closings not including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A unit that closes during the 
quarter may be a death, but we wait three quarters to determine whether it is a permanent closing 
or a temporary shutdown. Therefore, there is always a lag of three quarters for the publication of 
death statistics.

All employment changes are measured from the third month of the previous quarter to the third 
month of the current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their employment levels. 
Units with no change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, but not for 
levels of gross job gains and gross job losses.

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average 
of employment in the current and previous quarters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. The 
rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to 
form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For 
instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net 
growth rate.

Establishment Births and Deaths

For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as establishments that appear in the 
longitudinal database for the first time with positive employment in the third month of a quarter, or 
showed four consecutive quarters of zero employment in the third month followed by a quarter in 
which it shows positive employment in the third month. Similarly, deaths are defined as 
establishments that either drop out of the longitudinal database or an establishment that had 
positive employment in the third month of a given quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of 
showing zero employment in the third month. Although the data for establishment births and 
deaths are tabulated independently from the data for openings and closings, the concepts are not 
mutually exclusive. An establishment that is defined as a birth in a given quarter is necessarily an 
opening as well, and an establishment defined as a death in a quarter must also be a closing. Since 
openings include seasonal and other re-openings and closings include temporary shutdowns, the 
not seasonally adjusted values for births and deaths must be less than those for openings and 
closings. However, because some BED series do not have many re-openings or temporary 
shutdowns, as well as the fact that births and deaths are independently seasonally adjusted from 
openings and closings, there may be instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the former 
is greater than the latter.

Linkage methodology

Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, QCEW records are linked across 
two quarters. The linkage process matches establishments' unique SWA identification numbers 
(SWA-ID). Between 95 and 97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from quarter to 
quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are linked in one of three ways. The first method uses 
predecessor and successor information, identified by the states, which relates records with different 
SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can come about for a variety of 
reasons, including a change in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account restructuring. If a 
match cannot be attained in this manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to 
identify two establishments with different SWA-IDs as continuous. The match is based upon 
comparisons such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst examines 
unmatched records individually and makes a possible match.

In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify with employers and update, if 
necessary, the industry, location, and ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-year 
cycle. Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from the verification process are 
introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from improved 
employer reporting also are introduced in the first quarter.

Sizing methodology

The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED size class data series. Dynamic 
sizing allocates each firm’s employment gain or loss during a quarter to each respective size class 
in which the change occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38 
employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be allocated to the first size 
class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49.

Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm-size estimates and eliminates any systematic effects 
which may be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms’ sizes over time. 
Additionally, it allocates each job gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred.

Annual Data

The annual gross job gains and gross job losses measure the net change in employment at the 
establishment level from the third month of a quarter in the previous year to the third month of the 
same quarter in the current year. The BLS publishes annual BED data based on March-to-March 
changes once a year with the release of the first quarter BED data. The annual data based on over-
the-year changes for other quarters of the year are available upon request. The definitions and 
methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and gross job losses are similar to the quarterly 
measures. The linkage method considers all predecessor and successor relations that may come 
about due to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire year. At the 
establishment level, some of the quarterly job gains and job losses are offset during the estimation 
over the year. Therefore, the sum of four quarters of gross job gains and gross job losses are not 
equal to annual gross job gains and gross job losses. The net change in employment over the year, 
however, is equal to the sum of four quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted basis.

Seasonal adjustment

Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated job flows undergo sharp 
fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, reduced or expanded 
production, harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such 
seasonal variation can be very large.

Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence can 
be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from quarter to quarter. These adjustments make 
nonseasonal developments, such as declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For 
example, the large number of youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes that 
have taken place in June relative to March, making it difficult to determine if the level of economic 
activity has risen or declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in previous 
years is known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable change. 
The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in economic 
activity.

The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting units are 
independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on the difference between 
gross job gains and gross job losses. Similarly, for industry data, the establishment counts data 
series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted, 
and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of opening and 
closing establishments. Additionally establishment and employment levels are independently 
seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is 
run using X-13 ARIMA-SEATS. Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the sum of 
seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including the unclassified sector, which is not separately 
published.

The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series will differ from 
the net employment change estimated from the seasonally adjusted total private employment series 
from the CES program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market 
changes that underlie the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested 
particularly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying this change 
should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment changes.

Reliability of the data

Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on administrative rather than 
sample data, there are no issues related to sampling error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists. 
Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected 
employment data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when 
providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distributed randomly throughout the 
dataset.

Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the linkage process. This can 
result in overstating openings and closings while understating expansions and contractions. The 
BLS continues to refine methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these 
complications.

The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on corrections in QCEW records, 
updates on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal adjustment revisions.

Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the first quarter data. These revisions 
cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data.

Additional statistics and other information

Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information. The QCEW program 
provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed 
industry. News releases on quarterly county employment and wages and the annual bulletin also 
are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover 
(Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), telephone (202) 691-6567; (www.bls.gov/cew/); 
(e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).

The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program produces monthly estimates of employment, its 
net change, hours, and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part of the Employment 
Situation report put out monthly by BLS.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides monthly measures of 
job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. 
Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1 (800) 877-8339.






Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted

Total private

(In thousands)

                                                     Gross job gains                          Gross job losses
Year  3 months ended  Net change (1)    Total     Expanding      Opening         Total     Contracting    Closing
                                               establishments establishments            establishments establishments

2009  March               -2,680        5,918         4,675        1,243         8,598          7,142       1,456
      June                -1,667        6,425         5,080        1,345         8,092          6,674       1,418
      September             -849        6,399         5,139        1,260         7,248          5,854       1,394
      December              -264        6,665         5,308        1,357         6,929          5,605       1,324
 
2010  March                 -247        6,325         5,108        1,217         6,572          5,324       1,248
      June                   698        6,995         5,674        1,321         6,297          5,090       1,207
      September              237        6,741         5,438        1,303         6,504          5,231       1,273
      December               566        7,052         5,639        1,413         6,486          5,219       1,267
 
2011  March                  334        6,540         5,322        1,218         6,206          5,025       1,181
      June                   582        6,966         5,625        1,341         6,384          5,115       1,269
      September              841        7,205         5,810        1,395         6,364          5,172       1,192
      December               335        6,865         5,503        1,362         6,530          5,273       1,257
 
2012  March                  948        7,080         5,746        1,334         6,132          5,005       1,127
      June                   616        7,051         5,724        1,327         6,435          5,266       1,169
      September              252        6,881         5,571        1,310         6,629          5,430       1,199
      December               695        7,110         5,753        1,357         6,415          5,225       1,190
 
2013  March                  558        6,941         5,705        1,236         6,383          5,201       1,182
      June                   674        7,152         5,830        1,322         6,478          5,271       1,207
      September              507        7,058         5,719        1,339         6,551          5,408       1,143
      December               700        7,255         5,926        1,329         6,555          5,353       1,202
 
2014  March                  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        7,040         5,727        1,313         6,824          5,622       1,202
      June                   838        7,580         6,236        1,344         6,742          5,550       1,192
      September              466        7,340         5,977        1,363         6,874          5,665       1,209
      December               968        7,827         6,367        1,460         6,859          5,594       1,265
 
2016  March                  242        7,144         5,860        1,284         6,902          5,699       1,203
      June                   305        7,448         6,077        1,371         7,143          5,836       1,307
      September              734        7,709         6,249        1,460         6,975          5,730       1,245
      December               351        7,436         6,021        1,415         7,085          5,784       1,301
 
2017  March                  649        7,420         6,086        1,334         6,771          5,588       1,183
      June                   473        7,623         6,255        1,368         7,150          5,878       1,272
      September              -68        7,317         5,964        1,353         7,385          6,088       1,297
      December               955        7,814         6,374        1,440         6,859          5,561       1,298
 
2018  March                  707        7,484         6,135        1,349         6,777          5,587       1,190
      June                   401        7,655         6,257        1,398         7,254          5,967       1,287
      September               67        7,499         6,122        1,377         7,432          6,113       1,319
      December               811        7,768         6,318        1,450         6,957          5,626       1,331
 
2019  March                  525        7,375         6,038        1,337         6,850          5,649       1,201
      June                   182        7,605         6,229        1,376         7,423          6,078       1,345
      September               11        7,341         5,979        1,362         7,330          6,050       1,280
      December               792        7,831         6,348        1,483         7,039          5,702       1,337
 
 
(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

2009  March                 -2.4          5.4           4.3          1.1           7.8            6.5         1.3
      June                  -1.5          6.0           4.7          1.3           7.5            6.2         1.3
      September             -0.8          6.0           4.8          1.2           6.8            5.5         1.3
      December              -0.3          6.3           5.0          1.3           6.6            5.3         1.3
 
2010  March                 -0.2          6.0           4.8          1.2           6.2            5.0         1.2
      June                   0.7          6.6           5.4          1.2           5.9            4.8         1.1
      September              0.2          6.3           5.1          1.2           6.1            4.9         1.2
      December               0.5          6.6           5.3          1.3           6.1            4.9         1.2
 
2011  March                  0.3          6.1           5.0          1.1           5.8            4.7         1.1
      June                   0.5          6.4           5.2          1.2           5.9            4.7         1.2
      September              0.8          6.7           5.4          1.3           5.9            4.8         1.1
      December               0.4          6.4           5.1          1.3           6.0            4.8         1.2
 
2012  March                  0.8          6.4           5.2          1.2           5.6            4.6         1.0
      June                   0.5          6.4           5.2          1.2           5.9            4.8         1.1
      September              0.2          6.2           5.0          1.2           6.0            4.9         1.1
      December               0.6          6.4           5.2          1.2           5.8            4.7         1.1
 
2013  March                  0.5          6.2           5.1          1.1           5.7            4.6         1.1
      June                   0.6          6.4           5.2          1.2           5.8            4.7         1.1
      September              0.5          6.3           5.1          1.2           5.8            4.8         1.0
      December               0.6          6.4           5.2          1.2           5.8            4.7         1.1
 
2014  March                  0.4          6.1           5.0          1.1           5.7            4.7         1.0
      June                   0.8          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               0.8          6.6           5.4          1.2           5.8            4.7         1.1
 
2016  March                  0.2          6.0           4.9          1.1           5.8            4.8         1.0
      June                   0.2          6.2           5.1          1.1           6.0            4.9         1.1
      September              0.6          6.4           5.2          1.2           5.8            4.8         1.0
      December               0.3          6.2           5.0          1.2           5.9            4.8         1.1
 
2017  March                  0.5          6.1           5.0          1.1           5.6            4.6         1.0
      June                   0.4          6.2           5.1          1.1           5.8            4.8         1.0
      September             -0.1          6.0           4.9          1.1           6.1            5.0         1.1
      December               0.8          6.4           5.2          1.2           5.6            4.5         1.1
 
2018  March                  0.6          6.1           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                  0.4          5.9           4.8          1.1           5.5            4.5         1.0
      June                   0.1          6.0           4.9          1.1           5.9            4.8         1.1
      September              0.0          5.8           4.7          1.1           5.8            4.8         1.0
      December               0.6          6.2           5.0          1.2           5.6            4.5         1.1
 
 
(1) The rates measure gross job gains and job losses as a percentage of the average of the previous and current quarter
    employment levels.

(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.

Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted

                                   Gross job gains and job losses              Gross job gains and job losses
                                          (in thousands)                         as a percent of employment

    Category                              3 months ended                               3 months ended

                                   Dec.     Mar.     June     Sept.    Dec.    Dec.    Mar.    June    Sept.   Dec.
                                   2018     2019     2019     2019     2019    2018    2019    2019    2019    2019
Total private (1)

Gross job gains                   7,768    7,375    7,605    7,341    7,831     6.3     5.9     6.0     5.8     6.2
 At expanding establishments      6,318    6,038    6,229    5,979    6,348     5.1     4.8     4.9     4.7     5.0
 At opening establishments        1,450    1,337    1,376    1,362    1,483     1.2     1.1     1.1     1.1     1.2
Gross job losses                  6,957    6,850    7,423    7,330    7,039     5.6     5.5     5.9     5.8     5.6
 At contracting establishments    5,626    5,649    6,078    6,050    5,702     4.5     4.5     4.8     4.8     4.5
 At closing establishments        1,331    1,201    1,345    1,280    1,337     1.1     1.0     1.1     1.0     1.1
Net employment change               811      525      182       11      792     0.7     0.4     0.1     0.0     0.6
 
Goods-producing

Gross job gains                   1,406    1,343    1,363    1,241    1,310     6.4     6.1     6.2     5.7     5.9
 At expanding establishments      1,194    1,149    1,169    1,053    1,113     5.4     5.2     5.3     4.8     5.0
 At opening establishments          212      194      194      188      197     1.0     0.9     0.9     0.9     0.9
Gross job losses                  1,255    1,232    1,342    1,322    1,327     5.7     5.5     6.0     6.0     6.0
 At contracting establishments    1,052    1,049    1,135    1,133    1,124     4.8     4.7     5.1     5.1     5.1
 At closing establishments          203      183      207      189      203     0.9     0.8     0.9     0.9     0.9
Net employment change               151      111       21      -81      -17     0.7     0.6     0.2    -0.3    -0.1
 
Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains                     246      243      265      226      232    12.6    12.4    13.6    11.8    12.1
 At expanding establishments        214      213      233      196      200    11.0    10.9    12.0    10.2    10.4
 At opening establishments           32       30       32       30       32     1.6     1.5     1.6     1.6     1.7
Gross job losses                    256      242      249      239      274    13.2    12.4    12.8    12.5    14.3
 At contracting establishments      227      213      218      213      243    11.7    10.9    11.2    11.1    12.7
 At closing establishments           29       29       31       26       31     1.5     1.5     1.6     1.4     1.6
Net employment change               -10        1       16      -13      -42    -0.6     0.0     0.8    -0.7    -2.2
 
Construction

Gross job gains                     695      698      683      641      667     9.6     9.3     9.1     8.6     9.0
 At expanding establishments        559      569      560      519      542     7.7     7.6     7.5     7.0     7.3
 At opening establishments          136      129      123      122      125     1.9     1.7     1.6     1.6     1.7
Gross job losses                    621      614      668      642      648     8.6     8.2     8.9     8.6     8.7
 At contracting establishments      499      500      540      522      522     6.9     6.7     7.2     7.0     7.0
 At closing establishments          122      114      128      120      126     1.7     1.5     1.7     1.6     1.7
Net employment change                74       84       15       -1       19     1.0     1.1     0.2     0.0     0.3
 
Manufacturing

Gross job gains                     465      402      415      374      411     3.6     3.2     3.2     2.9     3.2
 At expanding establishments        421      367      376      338      371     3.3     2.9     2.9     2.6     2.9
 At opening establishments           44       35       39       36       40     0.3     0.3     0.3     0.3     0.3
Gross job losses                    378      376      425      441      405     3.0     2.9     3.3     3.4     3.2
 At contracting establishments      326      336      377      398      359     2.6     2.6     2.9     3.1     2.8
 At closing establishments           52       40       48       43       46     0.4     0.3     0.4     0.3     0.4
Net employment change                87       26      -10      -67        6     0.6     0.3    -0.1    -0.5     0.0
 
Service-providing(1)

Gross job gains                   6,362    6,032    6,242    6,100    6,521     6.2     5.8     6.0     5.8     6.2
 At expanding establishments      5,124    4,889    5,060    4,926    5,235     5.0     4.7     4.9     4.7     5.0
 At opening establishments        1,238    1,143    1,182    1,174    1,286     1.2     1.1     1.1     1.1     1.2
Gross job losses                  5,702    5,618    6,081    6,008    5,712     5.5     5.4     5.9     5.8     5.5
 At contracting establishments    4,574    4,600    4,943    4,917    4,578     4.4     4.4     4.8     4.7     4.4
 At closing establishments        1,128    1,018    1,138    1,091    1,134     1.1     1.0     1.1     1.1     1.1
Net employment change               660      414      161       92      809     0.7     0.4     0.1     0.0     0.7
 
Wholesale trade

Gross job gains                     279      258      267      255      266     4.8     4.3     4.6     4.3     4.6
 At expanding establishments        228      214      222      208      216     3.9     3.6     3.8     3.5     3.7
 At opening establishments           51       44       45       47       50     0.9     0.7     0.8     0.8     0.9
Gross job losses                    245      243      262      265      248     4.1     4.2     4.5     4.5     4.2
 At contracting establishments      190      192      204      212      193     3.2     3.3     3.5     3.6     3.3
 At closing establishments           55       51       58       53       55     0.9     0.9     1.0     0.9     0.9
Net employment change                34       15        5      -10       18     0.7     0.1     0.1    -0.2     0.4
 
Retail trade

Gross job gains                     847      905      870      845      885     5.4     5.7     5.6     5.4     5.7
 At expanding establishments        737      789      749      729      772     4.7     5.0     4.8     4.7     5.0
 At opening establishments          110      116      121      116      113     0.7     0.7     0.8     0.7     0.7
Gross job losses                    918      863      971      931      882     5.8     5.5     6.2     6.0     5.7
 At contracting establishments      787      752      830      810      764     5.0     4.8     5.3     5.2     4.9
 At closing establishments          131      111      141      121      118     0.8     0.7     0.9     0.8     0.8
Net employment change               -71       42     -101      -86        3    -0.4     0.2    -0.6    -0.6     0.0
 
Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains                     421      281      308      338      509     7.8     5.2     5.7     6.1     9.0
 At expanding establishments        365      240      263      287      446     6.8     4.4     4.9     5.2     7.9
 At opening establishments           56       41       45       51       63     1.0     0.8     0.8     0.9     1.1
Gross job losses                    239      346      267      253      253     4.5     6.3     4.9     4.6     4.4
 At contracting establishments      198      311      227      216      211     3.7     5.7     4.2     3.9     3.7
 At closing establishments           41       35       40       37       42     0.8     0.6     0.7     0.7     0.7
Net employment change               182      -65       41       85      256     3.3    -1.1     0.8     1.5     4.6
 
Utilities

Gross job gains                      12       12       13       14       13     2.2     2.2     2.4     2.6     2.4
 At expanding establishments         11       11       11       12       12     2.0     2.0     2.0     2.2     2.2
 At opening establishments            1        1        2        2        1     0.2     0.2     0.4     0.4     0.2
Gross job losses                     14       13       14       14       12     2.6     2.4     2.6     2.6     2.2
 At contracting establishments       12       12       12       13       10     2.2     2.2     2.2     2.4     1.8
 At closing establishments            2        1        2        1        2     0.4     0.2     0.4     0.2     0.4
Net employment change                -2       -1       -1        0        1    -0.4    -0.2    -0.2     0.0     0.2
 
Information

Gross job gains                     145      175      162      160      151     5.1     6.2     5.7     5.6     5.3
 At expanding establishments        116      139      137      129      120     4.1     4.9     4.8     4.5     4.2
 At opening establishments           29       36       25       31       31     1.0     1.3     0.9     1.1     1.1
Gross job losses                    150      145      163      155      159     5.3     5.2     5.7     5.5     5.5
 At contracting establishments      121      120      135      127      132     4.3     4.3     4.7     4.5     4.6
 At closing establishments           29       25       28       28       27     1.0     0.9     1.0     1.0     0.9
Net employment change                -5       30       -1        5       -8    -0.2     1.0     0.0     0.1    -0.2
 
Financial activities

Gross job gains                     394      362      407      383      402     4.8     4.4     4.9     4.6     4.8
 At expanding establishments        299      290      322      299      305     3.6     3.5     3.9     3.6     3.6
 At opening establishments           95       72       85       84       97     1.2     0.9     1.0     1.0     1.2
Gross job losses                    376      343      357      364      362     4.6     4.2     4.3     4.4     4.3
 At contracting establishments      286      261      276      281      275     3.5     3.2     3.3     3.4     3.3
 At closing establishments           90       82       81       83       87     1.1     1.0     1.0     1.0     1.0
Net employment change                18       19       50       19       40     0.2     0.2     0.6     0.2     0.5
 
Professional and business services

Gross job gains                   1,508    1,318    1,474    1,396    1,491     7.2     6.3     7.0     6.6     7.0
 At expanding establishments      1,199    1,074    1,204    1,123    1,195     5.7     5.1     5.7     5.3     5.6
 At opening establishments          309      244      270      273      296     1.5     1.2     1.3     1.3     1.4
Gross job losses                  1,352    1,318    1,366    1,373    1,379     6.4     6.2     6.4     6.5     6.5
 At contracting establishments    1,061    1,065    1,085    1,106    1,080     5.0     5.0     5.1     5.2     5.1
 At closing establishments          291      253      281      267      299     1.4     1.2     1.3     1.3     1.4
Net employment change               156        0      108       23      112     0.8     0.1     0.6     0.1     0.5
 
Education and health services

Gross job gains                   1,004    1,003    1,016    1,037    1,033     4.4     4.4     4.4     4.5     4.4
 At expanding establishments        816      823      834      859      823     3.6     3.6     3.6     3.7     3.5
 At opening establishments          188      180      182      178      210     0.8     0.8     0.8     0.8     0.9
Gross job losses                    868      851      975      925      902     3.8     3.7     4.2     4.0     3.9
 At contracting establishments      686      673      785      739      702     3.0     2.9     3.4     3.2     3.0
 At closing establishments          182      178      190      186      200     0.8     0.8     0.8     0.8     0.9
Net employment change               136      152       41      112      131     0.6     0.7     0.2     0.5     0.5
 
Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains                   1,406    1,338    1,342    1,321    1,398     8.6     8.2     8.1     8.1     8.5
 At expanding establishments      1,110    1,064    1,062    1,040    1,101     6.8     6.5     6.4     6.4     6.7
 At opening establishments          296      274      280      281      297     1.8     1.7     1.7     1.7     1.8
Gross job losses                  1,230    1,198    1,397    1,408    1,216     7.6     7.3     8.4     8.6     7.4
 At contracting establishments    1,004      992    1,160    1,172      992     6.2     6.0     7.0     7.2     6.0
 At closing establishments          226      206      237      236      224     1.4     1.3     1.4     1.4     1.4
Net employment change               176      140      -55      -87      182     1.0     0.9    -0.3    -0.5     1.1
 
Other services

Gross job gains                     304      299      310      295      305     7.2     7.0     7.3     6.9     7.1
 At expanding establishments        237      235      246      232      237     5.6     5.5     5.8     5.4     5.5
 At opening establishments           67       64       64       63       68     1.6     1.5     1.5     1.5     1.6
Gross job losses                    291      276      289      300      279     6.9     6.5     6.8     7.0     6.5
 At contracting establishments      224      216      223      235      213     5.3     5.1     5.2     5.5     5.0
 At closing establishments           67       60       66       65       66     1.6     1.4     1.6     1.5     1.5
Net employment change                13       23       21       -5       26     0.3     0.5     0.5    -0.1     0.6
 
(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

2009  March       -2,638        4,617    7,255        -983       2,721    3,704        -616         810    1,426      -1,039       1,086    2,125
      June        -1,763        5,169    6,932        -474       2,946    3,420        -281         950    1,231      -1,008       1,273    2,281
      September     -906        5,164    6,070        -372       2,826    3,198        -110         932    1,042        -424       1,406    1,830
      December      -317        5,403    5,720        -159       2,940    3,099         -45         962    1,007        -113       1,501    1,614
 
2010  March         -234        5,115    5,349        -195       2,863    3,058          -2         914      916         -37       1,338    1,375
      June           664        5,805    5,141         235       3,093    2,858         204       1,071      867         225       1,641    1,416
      September      226        5,525    5,299          26       2,946    2,920          87         998      911         113       1,581    1,468
      December       502        5,781    5,279          92       3,051    2,959          92       1,034      942         318       1,696    1,378
 
2011  March          340        5,375    5,035          99       2,983    2,884         122         971      849         119       1,421    1,302
      June           537        5,746    5,209         190       3,073    2,883         169       1,063      894         178       1,610    1,432
      September      852        5,974    5,122         272       3,137    2,865         171       1,066      895         409       1,771    1,362
      December       297        5,585    5,288          45       2,970    2,925          44         981      937         208       1,634    1,426
 
2012  March          972        5,904    4,932         388       3,173    2,785         220       1,054      834         364       1,677    1,313
      June           612        5,828    5,216         174       3,039    2,865         158       1,074      916         280       1,715    1,435
      September      226        5,581    5,355          55       2,963    2,908          54       1,006      952         117       1,612    1,495
      December       637        5,779    5,142         180       3,025    2,845          94       1,014      920         363       1,740    1,377
 
2013  March          582        5,743    5,161         212       3,071    2,859         156       1,029      873         214       1,643    1,429
      June           650        5,906    5,256         226       3,085    2,859         135       1,071      936         289       1,750    1,461
      September      473        5,764    5,291         225       3,063    2,838          69       1,021      952         179       1,680    1,501
      December       631        5,886    5,255         122       3,021    2,899         105       1,034      929         404       1,831    1,427
 
2014  March          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          222        5,669    5,447         166       3,096    2,930          76       1,024      948         -20       1,549    1,569
      June           838        6,248    5,410         319       3,197    2,878         188       1,131      943         331       1,920    1,589
      September      446        5,905    5,459         146       3,053    2,907          75       1,045      970         225       1,807    1,582
      December       860        6,261    5,401         237       3,178    2,941          96       1,077      981         527       2,006    1,479
 
2016  March          254        5,747    5,493         204       3,118    2,914          56       1,017      961          -6       1,612    1,618
      June           305        6,040    5,735          67       3,123    3,056         113       1,103      990         125       1,814    1,689
      September      728        6,251    5,523         180       3,151    2,971          94       1,086      992         454       2,014    1,560
      December       288        5,909    5,621          72       3,068    2,996          47       1,032      985         169       1,809    1,640
 
2017  March          663        5,994    5,331         359       3,239    2,880         187       1,078      891         117       1,677    1,560
      June           516        6,193    5,677         143       3,158    3,015         146       1,127      981         227       1,908    1,681
      September     -120        5,821    5,941        -121       2,992    3,113         -51       1,012    1,063          52       1,817    1,765
      December       871        6,222    5,351         240       3,192    2,952         159       1,092      933         472       1,938    1,466
 
2018  March          729        6,050    5,321         310       3,212    2,902         159       1,064      905         260       1,774    1,514
      June           426        6,179    5,753         128       3,189    3,061         150       1,132      982         148       1,858    1,710
      September       10        5,970    5,960        -102       3,019    3,121         -33       1,026    1,059         145       1,925    1,780
      December       739        6,132    5,393         210       3,182    2,972         151       1,085      934         378       1,865    1,487
 
2019  March          579        5,944    5,365         280       3,159    2,879         150       1,054      904         149       1,731    1,582
      June           187        6,111    5,924          55       3,137    3,082          93       1,119    1,026          39       1,855    1,816
      September      -59        5,816    5,875         -55       2,999    3,054         -38       1,015    1,053          34       1,802    1,768
      December       694        6,211    5,517         192       3,167    2,975         107       1,073      966         395       1,971    1,576
 
 
(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.
                                   2018     2019     2019     2019     2019    2018    2019    2019    2019    2019
Total private by firm (1)

Gross job gains                   6,132    5,944    6,111    5,816    6,211     4.9     4.7     4.8     4.6     4.9
 At expanding firms               5,166    5,019    5,215    4,939    5,220     4.1     4.0     4.1     3.9     4.1
 At opening firms                   966      925      896      877      991     0.8     0.7     0.7     0.7     0.8
 
Gross job losses                  5,393    5,365    5,924    5,875    5,517     4.3     4.3     4.7     4.7     4.4
 At contracting firms             4,508    4,515    5,035    5,010    4,631     3.6     3.6     4.0     4.0     3.7
 At closing firms                   885      850      889      865      886     0.7     0.7     0.7     0.7     0.7
 
Net employment change               739      579      187      -59      694     0.6     0.4     0.1    -0.1     0.5
 

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains                   3,182    3,159    3,137    2,999    3,167     9.3     9.1     9.1     8.7     9.2
 At expanding firms               2,257    2,259    2,279    2,156    2,216     6.6     6.5     6.6     6.3     6.4
 At opening firms                   925      900      858      843      951     2.7     2.6     2.5     2.4     2.8
 
Gross job losses                  2,972    2,879    3,082    3,054    2,975     8.7     8.4     8.9     8.8     8.7
 At contracting firms             2,122    2,063    2,225    2,218    2,128     6.2     6.0     6.4     6.4     6.2
 At closing firms                   850      816      857      836      847     2.5     2.4     2.5     2.4     2.5
 
Net employment change               210      280       55      -55      192     0.6     0.7     0.2    -0.1     0.5
 

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains                   1,085    1,054    1,119    1,015    1,073     4.8     4.7     4.9     4.5     4.8
 At expanding firms               1,054    1,030    1,086      984    1,038     4.7     4.6     4.8     4.4     4.6
 At opening firms                    31       24       33       31       35     0.1     0.1     0.1     0.1     0.2
 
Gross job losses                    934      904    1,026    1,053      966     4.1     4.0     4.5     4.7     4.2
 At contracting firms               904      878      998    1,029      934     4.0     3.9     4.4     4.6     4.1
 At closing firms                    30       26       28       24       32     0.1     0.1     0.1     0.1     0.1
 
Net employment change               151      150       93      -38      107     0.7     0.7     0.4    -0.2     0.6
 

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains                   1,865    1,731    1,855    1,802    1,971     2.7     2.5     2.7     2.6     2.8
 At expanding firms               1,855    1,730    1,850    1,799    1,966     2.7     2.5     2.7     2.6     2.8
 At opening firms                    10        1        5        3        5     0.0     0.0     0.0     0.0     0.0
 
Gross job losses                  1,487    1,582    1,816    1,768    1,576     2.2     2.3     2.6     2.6     2.3
 At contracting firms             1,482    1,574    1,812    1,763    1,569     2.2     2.3     2.6     2.6     2.3
 At closing firms                     5        8        4        5        7     0.0     0.0     0.0     0.0     0.0
 
Net employment change               378      149       39       34      395     0.5     0.2     0.1     0.0     0.5
 
 
(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by
    establishment, as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process.

NOTE: Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. Net change totals for
the firm-level data differ from the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of
analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail. See www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more
detailed firm size class data.

Table 6. Private sector gross job gains and losses by state, seasonally adjusted

                                           Gross job gains                                         Gross job losses
State                                      3 months ended                                          3 months ended

                           Dec.       Mar.       June       Sept.      Dec.        Dec.       Mar.       June       Sept.      Dec.
                           2018       2019       2019       2019       2019        2018       2019       2019       2019       2019

United States (1)...  7,768,000  7,375,000  7,605,000  7,341,000  7,831,000   6,957,000  6,850,000  7,423,000  7,330,000  7,039,000
 
Alabama.............    100,816     96,841     93,715     95,629    102,098      85,914     88,823     97,277     96,709     91,736
Alaska..............     27,051     24,748     26,955     23,615     25,548      24,029     22,229     25,350     25,007     25,427
Arizona.............    154,406    139,196    140,806    160,648    161,299     126,130    136,405    141,783    121,854    131,054
Arkansas............     59,915     53,605     50,642     56,518     65,621      50,421     51,893     58,009     56,355     48,857
California..........  1,019,583    958,690    986,077    939,910  1,023,895     893,290    918,099    969,001    909,515    900,745
Colorado............    155,491    150,523    161,898    150,709    154,783     137,868    143,527    142,841    148,238    142,901
Connecticut.........     76,068     74,499     82,537     79,052     78,090      71,454     81,433     83,620     82,328     79,474
Delaware............     25,620     24,839     23,225     23,718     25,359      21,770     21,612     24,821     23,984     24,302
District of Columbia     29,712     29,198     29,227     29,215     28,990      27,027     25,795     29,219     28,952     25,251
Florida.............    494,076    470,398    500,836    508,398    515,379     466,878    428,898    487,176    441,736    460,815
 
Georgia.............    239,126    257,662    236,211    239,926    252,323     217,509    218,890    246,926    233,652    216,151
Hawaii..............     30,742     28,766     25,041     29,020     29,795      27,198     31,811     32,710     28,365     28,557
Idaho...............     45,579     46,481     45,151     43,343     49,087      38,775     38,110     41,827     42,680     40,017
Illinois............    286,588    273,000    289,823    255,204    289,245     288,063    268,937    277,708    294,059    270,172
Indiana.............    148,866    156,880    140,418    143,721    159,789     133,677    129,593    155,955    152,070    134,514
Iowa................     75,879     67,346     75,896     68,696     75,734      69,658     71,892     73,362     73,262     69,937
Kansas..............     69,531     62,736     65,750     64,630     72,572      62,125     64,959     65,932     64,574     64,957
Kentucky............     97,782     92,536     91,694     93,509     97,814      87,327     88,220     94,999     90,394     92,757
Louisiana...........     99,438     95,919     97,369     94,769     94,434      92,940     94,705    105,984     99,020     92,766
Maine...............     37,301     37,368     39,623     33,318     38,217      34,444     33,681     39,418     37,768     36,432
 
Maryland............    146,421    139,079    138,324    135,836    143,545     138,449    125,036    140,041    144,488    128,911
Massachusetts.......    182,975    180,711    192,471    168,540    187,199     167,127    164,915    179,383    187,503    174,790
Michigan............    212,257    193,954    211,732    191,346    219,196     196,309    175,917    219,402    225,606    200,837
Minnesota...........    142,627    129,422    146,506    130,923    147,059     135,392    128,720    136,281    144,232    140,048
Mississippi.........     58,977     50,681     52,288     49,815     56,037      47,947     55,297     54,217     51,901     50,013
Missouri............    137,961    129,371    135,471    138,505    146,875     128,093    126,018    140,045    137,536    124,878
Montana.............     34,407     29,494     30,766     28,210     33,309      27,518     31,004     29,660     29,657     27,863
Nebraska............     47,835     46,491     46,984     45,665     51,026      46,760     45,655     46,493     44,446     47,528
Nevada..............     80,193     74,485     73,635     75,445     85,109      67,175     66,481     75,365     70,689     63,896
New Hampshire.......     37,886     36,640     37,129     33,261     38,349      32,781     32,983     36,876     38,203     34,225
 
New Jersey..........    223,239    201,365    216,314    209,706    229,309     199,050    198,569    203,764    216,244    204,300
New Mexico..........     43,809     41,983     40,861     43,749     44,407      39,424     38,022     41,409     39,943     41,340
New York............    504,548    485,292    492,204    469,641    480,900     460,838    433,874    475,470    484,354    466,096
North Carolina......    248,759    237,488    230,289    214,705    233,918     197,480    188,107    215,739    223,918    203,371
North Dakota........     23,548     24,826     23,575     23,210     23,548      21,746     22,437     23,713     24,814     23,415
Ohio................    261,361    258,396    266,633    251,312    267,740     245,446    241,765    265,147    272,778    246,532
Oklahoma............     84,052     74,976     76,968     81,812     82,766      78,597     75,282     80,251     78,936     80,110
Oregon..............    110,386    105,038    105,253    102,439    111,604      98,153     95,104    100,367    102,596     96,619
Pennsylvania........    277,414    266,704    272,697    274,084    282,335     249,012    249,431    278,287    272,854    254,386
Rhode Island........     26,789     24,678     27,100     24,792     27,498      24,229     23,887     28,695     26,368     25,056
 
South Carolina......    128,913    113,237    110,389    106,317    114,803      93,825    106,262    108,448    101,624    104,992
South Dakota........     22,202     20,396     22,031     20,592     22,895      20,696     22,444     21,436     21,144     20,517
Tennessee...........    148,634    138,640    142,792    142,652    147,133     127,807    124,279    131,387    132,694    130,443
Texas...............    652,219    584,029    607,026    616,227    644,021     537,389    541,312    562,489    561,642    547,280
Utah................     87,692     92,927     89,306     87,442     88,214      78,369     78,342     83,159     79,494     81,328
Vermont.............     18,863     17,446     18,074     16,025     17,627      17,285     16,200     18,303     19,579     16,328
Virginia............    199,472    201,989    194,478    167,181    213,332     176,271    175,654    187,801    191,833    176,376
Washington..........    182,294    176,059    190,942    173,654    188,423     160,020    160,092    164,526    171,392    162,672
West Virginia.......     35,422     33,504     34,404     31,847     33,825      36,511     36,947     36,179     37,289     39,080
Wisconsin...........    134,830    127,951    139,354    120,048    136,339     122,971    120,014    133,371    145,899    124,583
 
Wyoming.............     20,839     18,347     18,043     17,705     19,692      16,307     16,590     20,240     18,349     18,206
Puerto Rico.........     40,125     47,891     43,684     41,670     37,232      45,122     34,491     39,466     37,553     33,897
Virgin Islands......      1,934      2,987      2,303      3,066      2,881       1,736      1,853      1,597      1,792      2,003
 
(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.
                        2018    2019    2019    2019    2019          2018    2019    2019    2019    2019

United States.......     6.3     5.9     6.0     5.8     6.2           5.6     5.5     5.9     5.8     5.6
 
Alabama.............     6.3     6.0     5.8     5.9     6.3           5.3     5.5     6.0     5.9     5.7
Alaska..............    11.0    10.0    10.8     9.5    10.2           9.8     9.0    10.2    10.1    10.2
Arizona.............     6.2     5.6     5.7     6.4     6.4           5.1     5.5     5.7     4.8     5.2
Arkansas............     5.9     5.2     5.0     5.5     6.4           5.0     5.1     5.7     5.5     4.8
California..........     6.9     6.3     6.6     6.3     6.7           5.9     6.2     6.4     6.1     5.9
Colorado............     6.8     6.6     7.0     6.6     6.7           6.0     6.3     6.2     6.4     6.2
Connecticut.........     5.3     5.2     5.8     5.5     5.5           4.9     5.7     5.9     5.8     5.5
Delaware............     6.6     6.4     6.0     6.1     6.5           5.6     5.5     6.3     6.2     6.2
District of Columbia     5.6     5.4     5.4     5.4     5.4           5.1     4.9     5.5     5.4     4.7
Florida.............     6.4     6.1     6.5     6.5     6.6           6.1     5.6     6.3     5.7     5.9
 
Georgia.............     6.3     6.8     6.2     6.2     6.5           5.8     5.7     6.4     6.1     5.6
Hawaii..............     5.8     5.4     4.7     5.5     5.6           5.1     5.9     6.1     5.3     5.4
Idaho...............     7.4     7.5     7.1     6.9     7.7           6.3     6.1     6.7     6.8     6.3
Illinois............     5.5     5.2     5.6     4.9     5.6           5.6     5.1     5.3     5.6     5.2
Indiana.............     5.6     5.9     5.2     5.4     6.0           5.0     4.8     5.8     5.7     5.1
Iowa................     5.8     5.1     5.8     5.3     5.8           5.3     5.4     5.6     5.6     5.3
Kansas..............     6.1     5.4     5.7     5.7     6.3           5.4     5.7     5.7     5.6     5.7
Kentucky............     6.1     5.8     5.8     5.8     6.1           5.4     5.5     5.9     5.7     5.8
Louisiana...........     6.2     5.9     6.0     5.9     5.9           5.8     5.9     6.5     6.1     5.8
Maine...............     7.3     7.2     7.5     6.4     7.4           6.7     6.4     7.5     7.2     7.0
 
Maryland............     6.8     6.4     6.3     6.2     6.5           6.4     5.7     6.4     6.6     5.8
Massachusetts.......     5.8     5.7     6.0     5.3     5.8           5.3     5.2     5.7     5.9     5.5
Michigan............     5.6     5.1     5.5     5.1     5.8           5.2     4.6     5.8     6.0     5.3
Minnesota...........     5.7     5.2     5.8     5.2     5.8           5.4     5.1     5.5     5.8     5.6
Mississippi.........     6.5     5.7     5.8     5.5     6.2           5.3     6.2     6.0     5.8     5.5
Missouri............     5.8     5.4     5.6     5.8     6.1           5.4     5.3     5.8     5.8     5.2
Montana.............     8.9     7.6     8.0     7.3     8.6           7.2     8.0     7.7     7.7     7.2
Nebraska............     5.9     5.7     5.7     5.6     6.2           5.7     5.6     5.7     5.5     5.8
Nevada..............     6.6     6.0     5.9     6.0     6.8           5.5     5.4     6.0     5.7     5.0
New Hampshire.......     6.6     6.3     6.4     5.8     6.6           5.7     5.7     6.3     6.6     5.9
 
New Jersey..........     6.4     5.7     6.2     6.0     6.5           5.7     5.6     5.8     6.1     5.8
New Mexico..........     6.8     6.4     6.3     6.7     6.7           6.1     5.8     6.3     6.1     6.2
New York............     6.3     6.0     6.0     5.8     6.0           5.7     5.3     5.9     5.9     5.7
North Carolina......     6.7     6.3     6.1     5.7     6.2           5.3     5.1     5.7     5.9     5.3
North Dakota........     6.8     7.1     6.7     6.6     6.7           6.2     6.4     6.7     7.1     6.7
Ohio................     5.6     5.5     5.6     5.3     5.7           5.3     5.1     5.7     5.8     5.3
Oklahoma............     6.5     5.8     5.9     6.3     6.4           6.1     5.8     6.2     6.1     6.2
Oregon..............     6.7     6.3     6.3     6.2     6.7           6.0     5.8     6.1     6.2     5.8
Pennsylvania........     5.3     5.1     5.2     5.2     5.4           4.8     4.8     5.3     5.2     4.9
Rhode Island........     6.4     5.8     6.4     5.8     6.5           5.7     5.6     6.7     6.2     5.9
 
South Carolina......     7.4     6.4     6.3     6.0     6.5           5.4     6.0     6.2     5.7     5.9
South Dakota........     6.3     5.7     6.2     5.8     6.4           5.8     6.4     6.0     6.0     5.7
Tennessee...........     5.8     5.4     5.5     5.5     5.6           4.9     4.8     5.0     5.1     5.0
Texas...............     6.2     5.5     5.7     5.8     6.0           5.2     5.2     5.3     5.2     5.1
Utah................     6.9     7.3     6.9     6.8     6.8           6.2     6.2     6.5     6.2     6.3
Vermont.............     7.4     6.7     6.9     6.3     6.9           6.8     6.3     7.1     7.6     6.4
Virginia............     6.3     6.4     6.1     5.2     6.6           5.6     5.5     5.9     6.0     5.5
Washington..........     6.4     6.2     6.6     6.0     6.6           5.6     5.6     5.7     6.0     5.7
West Virginia.......     6.3     6.0     6.2     5.8     6.2           6.5     6.6     6.5     6.7     7.1
Wisconsin...........     5.4     5.1     5.5     4.8     5.5           5.0     4.8     5.3     5.8     5.0
 
Wyoming.............    10.0     8.6     8.5     8.5     9.3           7.8     7.8     9.6     8.7     8.6
Puerto Rico.........     6.0     7.1     6.4     6.1     5.4           6.8     5.1     5.8     5.4     4.9
Virgin Islands......     7.9    11.9     8.8    11.2    10.2           7.1     7.4     6.1     6.6     7.1
 
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

2009  March                197      2.7        247      3.4         738      0.7        869      0.8
      June                 201      2.8        238      3.3         767      0.7        837      0.8
      September            192      2.7        227      3.2         725      0.7        793      0.7
      December             202      2.8        218      3.1         728      0.7        749      0.7
 
2010  March                193      2.7        211      3.0         706      0.7        687      0.7
      June                 193      2.7        202      2.9         730      0.7        665      0.6
      September            207      2.9        204      2.9         754      0.7        701      0.7
      December             216      3.0        201      2.8         805      0.8        700      0.7
 
2011  March                204      2.9        200      2.8         715      0.7        632      0.6
      June                 210      2.9        205      2.9         767      0.7        689      0.6
      September            206      2.9        196      2.7         794      0.7        675      0.6
      December             214      3.0        198      2.8         800      0.7        700      0.6
 
2012  March                236      3.3        188      2.6         787      0.7        614      0.6
      June                 217      3.0        194      2.7         799      0.7        673      0.6
      September            210      2.9        196      2.7         804      0.7        692      0.6
      December             218      3.0        183      2.5         809      0.7        673      0.6
 
2013  March                205      2.8        193      2.6         748      0.7        648      0.6
      June                 222      3.0        215      2.9         789      0.7        695      0.6
      September            219      2.9        195      2.6         818      0.7        678      0.6
      December             215      2.9        187      2.5         803      0.7        670      0.6
 
2014  March                220      2.9        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        206      2.7         817      0.7        694      0.6
      June                 234      3.1        212      2.8         836      0.7        731      0.6
      September            242      3.1        207      2.7         880      0.7        702      0.6
      December             247      3.2        208      2.7         896      0.8        732      0.6
 
2016  March                236      3.0        203      2.6         789      0.7        668      0.6
      June                 241      3.1        213      2.7         838      0.7        720      0.6
      September            239      3.0        214      2.7         869      0.7        746      0.6
      December             238      3.0        217      2.8         868      0.7        727      0.6
 
2017  March                241      3.0        203      2.6         803      0.7        663      0.5
      June                 240      3.0        225      2.8         848      0.7        756      0.6
      September            242      3.0        225      2.8         849      0.7        762      0.6
      December             246      3.1        216      2.7         854      0.7        732      0.6
 
2018  March                248      3.1        214      2.7         811      0.7        663      0.5
      June                 265      3.3        231      2.9         880      0.7        774      0.6
      September            251      3.1        231      2.8         867      0.7        787      0.6
      December             249      3.1        222      2.7         863      0.7        762      0.6
 
2019  March                256      3.1        222      2.7         814      0.6        698      0.6
      June                 257      3.1        N/A      N/A         848      0.7        N/A      N/A
      September            250      3.0        N/A      N/A         842      0.7        N/A      N/A
      December             266      3.2        N/A      N/A         897      0.7        N/A      N/A
 
 
(1) Values for deaths are not available for the most recent three quarters by definition. See the
    Technical Note for more informations.

(2) The rates measure births and deaths as a percentage of the average of the previous and current
    quarter employment levels or total number of establishments.

Last Modified Date: July 29, 2020