For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, October 27, 2021 USDL-21-1906
Technical Information: (202) 691-6553 * BDMInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/bdm
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FIRST QUARTER 2021
From December 2020 to March 2021, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 8.2 million, a decrease of 667,000 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 288,000 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 1.7 million jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2021. (See tables A
and 1.)
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| |
| Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on First Quarter 2021 Business Employment Dynamics |
| |
| Data collection and processing methods have been impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. More |
| detail can be found at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-business-employment |
| -dynamics.htm |
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The 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 first quarter of 2021, gross job gains represented 6.8 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 6.6
million in the first quarter of 2021, a decrease of 480,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.5 million of the jobs gained in the first quarter of 2021, a
decrease of 187,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the first quarter of 2021, gross job losses represented 5.4 percent of private-sector employment.
Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of
jobs at closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 5.3 million jobs in the first quarter of
2021, a decrease of 63,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the first quarter of 2021, closing
establishments lost 1.1 million jobs, a decrease of 225,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the first quarter of 2021, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 16,000, to a total of 303,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
826,000 jobs, a decrease of 91,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the second quarter of 2020, when 1.2 million jobs were
lost at 329,000 establishments, an increase of 401,000 jobs from the first quarter of 2020. (See Technical
Note and table 8.)
Table A. Three-month private-sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
Category | Mar. | June | Sept.| Dec. | Mar.
| 2020 | 2020 | 2020 | 2020 | 2021
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,078 | 5,709 | 10,868 | 8,821 | 8,154
At expanding establishments...... | 5,719 | 4,416 | 8,817 | 7,124 | 6,644
At opening establishments........ | 1,359 | 1,293 | 2,051 | 1,697 | 1,510
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 7,869 | 20,401 | 6,858 | 6,757 | 6,469
At contracting establishments.... | 6,365 | 17,475 | 5,483 | 5,403 | 5,340
At closing establishments........ | 1,504 | 2,926 | 1,375 | 1,354 | 1,129
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | -791 | -14,692 | 4,010 | 2,064 | 1,685
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 5.6 | 4.8 | 9.5 | 7.4 | 6.8
At expanding establishments...... | 4.5 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 6.0 | 5.5
At opening establishments........ | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.3
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6.2 | 17.0 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.4
At contracting establishments.... | 5.0 | 14.6 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.5
At closing establishments........ | 1.2 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.9
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | -0.6 | -12.2 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 1.4
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(1) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross
job losses. See the Technical Note for further information.
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 11 of 13 industries in the first quarter of 2021. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 1.5 million in the first quarter of 2021. Within
the service-providing industries, the leisure and hospitality sector had the largest over-the-quarter net
employment gain, adding 740,000 jobs. This was the result of 1.7 million gross job gains and 1.0 million
gross job losses. The education and health services sector experienced 1.0 gross job gains and 912,000
gross job losses in the first quarter of 2021. The goods-producing industries had a net job increase of
187,000 in the first quarter of 2021. Of the goods-producing industries, the construction sector showed a net
increase of 98,000 jobs, the manufacturing sector had a net increase of 84,000 jobs, and
the natural resources and mining sector added 5,000 jobs. (See table 3.)
Firm Size
In the first quarter of 2021, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment increase of 949,000. Firms with
50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 217,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net employment
increase of 589,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
States
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in the
first quarter of 2021. (See tables 6 and 7.)
For More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm.
This information includes data 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.
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| |
| Annual Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| Data in this release incorporate regular annual revisions to the BED series. These revisions cover |
| the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data. |
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_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2021 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
Technical Note
Special technical note: The following technical note details procedures regularly adhered
to for tabulating the quarterly Business Employment Dynamics series on private-sector
gross job gains and gross job losses. Data collection and processing methods have been
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More detail can be found at
www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-business-employment-dynamics.htm.
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative
program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are
compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most
employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of
workers covered by unemployment insurance (UI) laws and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW
is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to the State Workforce
Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to
render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW and
form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame.
These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and
the longitudinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. The QCEW is also the employment
benchmark for the Current Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics
(OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) programs and is a major input to
the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts.
In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a
longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net
employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained
at opening and expanding units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures
The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for any given
quarter. Each of these measures—Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Business
Employment Dynamics, and Current Employment Statistics—makes use of the
quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; however, each measure has a somewhat
different universe coverage, estimation procedure, and publication product.
Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat different measures of
employment change over time. It is important to understand program differences and the intended
uses of the program products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be obtained
from the program websites shown in the table.
Coverage
Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and Unemployment Compensation for
Federal Employees (UCFE) laws are compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the
SWAs by employers. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate
multiple establishments within a state complete a questionnaire, called the “Multiple Worksite
Report,” which provides detailed information on the location of their establishments. These reports
are based on place of employment rather than place of residence. UI and UCFE coverage is broad
and basically comparable from state to state.
Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, religious organizations, most
agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, elected officials in most
states, most employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and
employees of certain small nonprofit organizations.
Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from longitudinal histories of 8.7
million private-sector employer reports out of 10.8 million total reports of employment and wages
submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2021. Gross job gains and gross job losses data in
this release do not report estimates for government employees or private households (NAICS
814110) and do not include establishments with zero employment in both previous and current
quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are also excluded from the national data.
The table below shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establishments excluded from
the national gross job gains and gross job losses data in the first quarter of 2021.
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level
Millions
Total establishments QCEW program....................................................10.8
Excluded: Public sector............................................................ 0.3
Private households......................................................... 0.2
Zero employment............................................................ 1.6
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data............................................................. 8.7
Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
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| QCEW | BED | CES
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Source |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey:
| strative records | nally-linked UI ad- | 697,000 establish-
| submitted by 10.8 | ministrative records| ments
| million establish- | submitted by 8.7 |
| ments in first qu- | million private-sec-|
| arter of 2021 | tor establishments |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and salary
| age, including all | ing government, pri-| jobs:
| employers subject | vate households, and|--UI coverage, exclud-
| to state and feder-| establishments with | ing agriculture, pri-
| ral UI Laws | zero employment | vate households, and
| | | self-employed workers
| | |--Other employment,
| | | including railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
| | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -6 months after the| -7 months after the | -Usually the 3rd Fri-
| end of each quar- | end of each quarter| day after the end of
| ter | | the week including
| | | the 12th of the month
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Use of UI |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI |--Uses UI file as a sam-
file | and publishes each | quarter to longitu- | pling frame and to ann-
| new quarter of UI | dinal database and | ually realign sample-
| data | directly summarizes | based estimates to pop-
| | gross job gains and | ulation counts (bench-
| | losses | marking)
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly |--Provides current month-
products | ly and annual uni- | employer dynamics | ly estimates of employ-
| verse count of es- | data on establish- | ment, hours, and earn-
| tablishments, em- | ment openings, clos-| ings at the MSA, state,
| ployment, and wages| ings, expansions, | and national level by
| at the county, met-| and contractions at | industry
| ropolitan statisti-| the national level |
| cal area (MSA), st-| by NAICS super- |
| ate, and national | sectors, 3-digit |
| levels by detailed | NAICS, and by size |
| industry | of firm, and at the |
| | state private-sector|
| | total level |
| |--Future expansions |
| | will include |
| | data with greater |
| | industry detail and |
| | data at the county |
| | and MSA level |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses | -Detailed locality | -Business cycle | -Principal federal
| data | analysis | economic indicator
| -Periodic universe | -Analysis of employ-| -Official time series
| counts for bench- | er dynamics under- | for employment change
| marking sample | lying economic ex- | measures
| survey estimates | pansions and con- | -Input into other ma-
| -Sample frame for | tractions | jor economic indi-
| BLS establishment | -Analysis of employ-| cators
| surveys | ment expansion and |
| | contraction by size|
| | of firm |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Program |--www.bls.gov/cew |--www.bls.gov/bdm |--www.bls.gov/ces
web sites | | |
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Unit of analysis
Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by industry and firms are used in the
tabulation of the BED size class statistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that
produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or
predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either corporate or otherwise, and may
consist of several establishments. Firm-level data are compiled based on an aggregation of
establishments under common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification
numbers. The firm level aggregation which is consistent with the role of corporations as the
economic decision makers are used for the measurement of the BED data elements by size class.
Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job gains and gross job losses by size
class are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, as some establishment
gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. However, the total net
changes in employment are the same for not seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally
adjusted data.
Concepts and methodology
The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employment at the
establishment or firm level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A net increase in
employment can come from either opening units or expanding units. A net decrease in
employment can come from either closing units or contracting units. Gross job gains include the
sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include the sum of all
jobs lost in either closing or contracting units. The net change in employment is the difference
between gross job gains and gross job losses.
The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:
Openings. These are either units with positive third month employment for the first time in the
current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the
current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.
Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and
current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.
Closings. These are either units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with
no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.
Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and
current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.
Births. These are units with positive third month employment for the first time in the current
quarter with no links to the prior quarter, or units with positive third month employment in the
current quarter and zero employment in the third month of the previous four quarters. Births are a
subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal businesses.
Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero employment reported in the third month of
four consecutive quarters following the last quarter with positive employment. Deaths are a subset
of closings not including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A unit that closes during the
quarter may be a death, but we wait three quarters to determine whether it is a permanent closing
or a temporary shutdown. Therefore, there is always a lag of three quarters for the publication of
death statistics.
All employment changes are measured from the third month of the previous quarter to the third
month of the current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their employment levels.
Units with no change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, but not for
levels of gross job gains and gross job losses.
Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average
of employment in the current and previous quarters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. The
rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to
form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For
instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net
growth rate.
Establishment Births and Deaths
For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as establishments that appear in the
longitudinal database for the first time with positive employment in the third month of a quarter, or
showed four consecutive quarters of zero employment in the third month followed by a quarter in
which it shows positive employment in the third month. Similarly, deaths are defined as
establishments that either drop out of the longitudinal database or an establishment that had
positive employment in the third month of a given quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of
showing zero employment in the third month. Although the data for establishment births and
deaths are tabulated independently from the data for openings and closings, the concepts are not
mutually exclusive. An establishment that is defined as a birth in a given quarter is necessarily an
opening as well, and an establishment defined as a death in a quarter must also be a closing. Since
openings include seasonal and other re-openings and closings include temporary shutdowns, the
not seasonally adjusted values for births and deaths must be less than those for openings and
closings. However, because some BED series do not have many re-openings or temporary
shutdowns, as well as the fact that births and deaths are independently seasonally adjusted from
openings and closings, there may be instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the former
is greater than the latter.
Linkage methodology
Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, QCEW records are linked across
two quarters. The linkage process matches establishments' unique SWA identification numbers
(SWA-ID). Between 95 and 97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from quarter to
quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are linked in one of three ways. The first method uses
predecessor and successor information, identified by the states, which relates records with different
SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can come about for a variety of
reasons, including a change in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account restructuring. If a
match cannot be attained in this manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to
identify two establishments with different SWA-IDs as continuous. The match is based upon
comparisons such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst examines
unmatched records individually and makes a possible match.
In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify with employers and update, if
necessary, the industry, location, and ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-year
cycle. Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from the verification process are
introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from improved
employer reporting also are introduced in the first quarter.
Sizing methodology
The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED size class data series. Dynamic
sizing allocates each firm’s employment gain or loss during a quarter to each respective size class
in which the change occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38
employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be allocated to the first size
class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49.
Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm-size estimates and eliminates any systematic effects
which may be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms’ sizes over time.
Additionally, it allocates each job gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred.
Annual Data
The annual gross job gains and gross job losses measure the net change in employment at the
establishment level from the third month of a quarter in the previous year to the third month of the
same quarter in the current year. The BLS publishes annual BED data based on March-to-March
changes once a year with the release of the first quarter BED data. The annual data based on over-
the-year changes for other quarters of the year are available upon request. The definitions and
methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and gross job losses are similar to the quarterly
measures. The linkage method considers all predecessor and successor relations that may come
about due to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire year. At the
establishment level, some of the quarterly job gains and job losses are offset during the estimation
over the year. Therefore, the sum of four quarters of gross job gains and gross job losses are not
equal to annual gross job gains and gross job losses. The net change in employment over the year,
however, is equal to the sum of four quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted basis.
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated job flows undergo sharp
fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, reduced or expanded
production, harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such
seasonal variation can be very large.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence can
be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from quarter to quarter. These adjustments make
nonseasonal developments, such as declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For
example, the large number of youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes that
have taken place in June relative to March, making it difficult to determine if the level of economic
activity has risen or declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in previous
years is known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable change.
The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in economic
activity.
The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting units are
independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on the difference between
gross job gains and gross job losses. Similarly, for industry data, the establishment counts data
series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted,
and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of opening and
closing establishments. Additionally establishment and employment levels are independently
seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is
run using X-13 ARIMA-SEATS. Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the sum of
seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including the unclassified sector, which is not separately
published.
The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series will differ from
the net employment change estimated from the seasonally adjusted total private employment series
from the CES program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market
changes that underlie the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested
particularly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying this change
should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment changes.
Reliability of the data
Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on administrative rather than
sample data, there are no issues related to sampling error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists.
Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected
employment data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when
providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distributed randomly throughout the
dataset.
Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the linkage process. This can
result in overstating openings and closings while understating expansions and contractions. The
BLS continues to refine methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these
complications.
The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on corrections in QCEW records,
updates on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal adjustment revisions.
Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the first quarter data. These revisions
cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data.
Additional statistics and other information
Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information. The QCEW program
provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed
industry. News releases on quarterly county employment and wages and the annual bulletin also
are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover
(Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), phone number: (202) 691-6567; (www.bls.gov/cew/);
(e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).
The Current Employment Statistics program produces monthly estimates of employment, its
net change, hours, and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part of the Employment
Situation report put out monthly by BLS.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey program provides monthly measures of
job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.
Voice phone number: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: (800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted
Total private
(In thousands)
Gross job gains Gross job losses
Year 3 months ended Net change(1) Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing
establishments establishments establishments establishments
2011 March 334 6,540 5,322 1,218 6,206 5,025 1,181
June 582 6,966 5,625 1,341 6,384 5,115 1,269
September 841 7,205 5,810 1,395 6,364 5,172 1,192
December 335 6,865 5,503 1,362 6,530 5,273 1,257
2012 March 948 7,080 5,746 1,334 6,132 5,005 1,127
June 616 7,051 5,724 1,327 6,435 5,266 1,169
September 252 6,881 5,571 1,310 6,629 5,430 1,199
December 695 7,110 5,753 1,357 6,415 5,225 1,190
2013 March 558 6,941 5,705 1,236 6,383 5,201 1,182
June 674 7,152 5,830 1,322 6,478 5,271 1,207
September 507 7,058 5,719 1,339 6,551 5,408 1,143
December 700 7,255 5,926 1,329 6,555 5,353 1,202
2014 March 419 6,953 5,687 1,266 6,534 5,380 1,154
June 895 7,454 6,114 1,340 6,559 5,342 1,217
September 577 7,247 5,918 1,329 6,670 5,487 1,183
December 1,038 7,617 6,248 1,369 6,579 5,346 1,233
2015 March 216 7,046 5,733 1,313 6,830 5,626 1,204
June 849 7,580 6,235 1,345 6,731 5,540 1,191
September 475 7,344 5,983 1,361 6,869 5,657 1,212
December 944 7,817 6,360 1,457 6,873 5,607 1,266
2016 March 249 7,163 5,875 1,288 6,914 5,706 1,208
June 318 7,443 6,070 1,373 7,125 5,820 1,305
September 748 7,710 6,250 1,460 6,962 5,718 1,244
December 308 7,413 6,007 1,406 7,105 5,806 1,299
2017 March 662 7,441 6,103 1,338 6,779 5,595 1,184
June 496 7,625 6,251 1,374 7,129 5,862 1,267
September -52 7,318 5,969 1,349 7,370 6,073 1,297
December 913 7,792 6,360 1,432 6,879 5,583 1,296
2018 March 727 7,506 6,153 1,353 6,779 5,589 1,190
June 422 7,657 6,255 1,402 7,235 5,951 1,284
September 79 7,500 6,125 1,375 7,421 6,099 1,322
December 763 7,744 6,301 1,443 6,981 5,648 1,333
2019 March 537 7,473 6,112 1,361 6,936 5,689 1,247
June 182 7,637 6,249 1,388 7,455 6,095 1,360
September 48 7,395 6,016 1,379 7,347 6,073 1,274
December 785 7,848 6,354 1,494 7,063 5,736 1,327
2020 March -791 7,078 5,719 1,359 7,869 6,365 1,504
June -14,692 5,709 4,416 1,293 20,401 17,475 2,926
September 4,010 10,868 8,817 2,051 6,858 5,483 1,375
December 2,064 8,821 7,124 1,697 6,757 5,403 1,354
2021 March 1,685 8,154 6,644 1,510 6,469 5,340 1,129
(1) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses, as a percent of employment(1), seasonally adjusted
Total private
(Percent)
Gross job gains Gross job losses
Year 3 months ended Net change(2) Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing
establishments establishments establishments establishments
2011 March 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1
June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2
September 0.8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1
December 0.4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2
2012 March 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0
June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1
December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2013 March 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1
June 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2014 March 0.4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
June 0.8 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1
September 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
December 0.9 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1
2015 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
June 0.7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0
September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.7 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1
2016 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
June 0.2 6.2 5.1 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1
September 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.3 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1
2017 March 0.5 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.6 4.6 1.0
June 0.4 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
September -0.1 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.1 5.0 1.1
December 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1
2018 March 0.6 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0
June 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
September 0.0 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1
December 0.6 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1
2019 March 0.5 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0
June 0.2 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.9 4.8 1.1
September 0.1 5.9 4.8 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0
December 0.7 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.5 4.5 1.0
2020 March -0.6 5.6 4.5 1.1 6.2 5.0 1.2
June -12.2 4.8 3.7 1.1 17.0 14.6 2.4
September 3.5 9.5 7.7 1.8 6.0 4.8 1.2
December 1.7 7.4 6.0 1.4 5.7 4.6 1.1
2021 March 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3 5.4 4.5 0.9
(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
Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar.
2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,078 5,709 10,868 8,821 8,154 5.6 4.8 9.5 7.4 6.8
At expanding establishments 5,719 4,416 8,817 7,124 6,644 4.5 3.7 7.7 6.0 5.5
At opening establishments 1,359 1,293 2,051 1,697 1,510 1.1 1.1 1.8 1.4 1.3
Gross job losses 7,869 20,401 6,858 6,757 6,469 6.2 17.0 6.0 5.7 5.4
At contracting establishments 6,365 17,475 5,483 5,403 5,340 5.0 14.6 4.8 4.6 4.5
At closing establishments 1,504 2,926 1,375 1,354 1,129 1.2 2.4 1.2 1.1 0.9
Net employment change -791 -14,692 4,010 2,064 1,685 -0.6 -12.2 3.5 1.7 1.4
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,300 1,039 1,493 1,469 1,368 5.9 4.9 7.2 6.9 6.4
At expanding establishments 1,102 850 1,248 1,251 1,160 5.0 4.0 6.0 5.9 5.4
At opening establishments 198 189 245 218 208 0.9 0.9 1.2 1.0 1.0
Gross job losses 1,317 2,576 1,370 1,172 1,181 5.9 11.9 6.6 5.6 5.5
At contracting establishments 1,107 2,287 1,171 982 1,004 5.0 10.6 5.6 4.7 4.7
At closing establishments 210 289 199 190 177 0.9 1.3 1.0 0.9 0.8
Net employment change -17 -1,537 123 297 187 0.0 -7.0 0.6 1.3 0.9
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 241 221 221 231 238 12.6 12.2 12.9 13.3 13.4
At expanding establishments 209 192 185 200 209 10.9 10.6 10.8 11.5 11.8
At opening establishments 32 29 36 31 29 1.7 1.6 2.1 1.8 1.6
Gross job losses 255 370 239 229 233 13.3 20.3 13.9 13.2 13.2
At contracting establishments 221 331 208 202 203 11.5 18.2 12.1 11.6 11.5
At closing establishments 34 39 31 27 30 1.8 2.1 1.8 1.6 1.7
Net employment change -14 -149 -18 2 5 -0.7 -8.1 -1.0 0.1 0.2
Construction
Gross job gains 692 546 689 716 679 9.1 7.4 9.7 9.9 9.2
At expanding establishments 562 425 535 577 545 7.4 5.8 7.5 8.0 7.4
At opening establishments 130 121 154 139 134 1.7 1.6 2.2 1.9 1.8
Gross job losses 637 1,046 662 565 581 8.4 14.2 9.3 7.8 7.8
At contracting establishments 510 876 541 449 475 6.7 11.9 7.6 6.2 6.4
At closing establishments 127 170 121 116 106 1.7 2.3 1.7 1.6 1.4
Net employment change 55 -500 27 151 98 0.7 -6.8 0.4 2.1 1.4
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 367 272 583 522 451 2.9 2.2 4.9 4.3 3.7
At expanding establishments 331 233 528 474 406 2.6 1.9 4.4 3.9 3.3
At opening establishments 36 39 55 48 45 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.4
Gross job losses 425 1,160 469 378 367 3.4 9.4 3.9 3.1 3.0
At contracting establishments 376 1,080 422 331 326 3.0 8.8 3.5 2.7 2.7
At closing establishments 49 80 47 47 41 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3
Net employment change -58 -888 114 144 84 -0.5 -7.2 1.0 1.2 0.7
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 5,778 4,670 9,375 7,352 6,786 5.5 4.7 9.9 7.6 6.9
At expanding establishments 4,617 3,566 7,569 5,873 5,484 4.4 3.6 8.0 6.1 5.6
At opening establishments 1,161 1,104 1,806 1,479 1,302 1.1 1.1 1.9 1.5 1.3
Gross job losses 6,552 17,825 5,488 5,585 5,288 6.2 18.1 5.8 5.8 5.4
At contracting establishments 5,258 15,188 4,312 4,421 4,336 5.0 15.4 4.6 4.6 4.4
At closing establishments 1,294 2,637 1,176 1,164 952 1.2 2.7 1.2 1.2 1.0
Net employment change -774 -13,155 3,887 1,767 1,498 -0.7 -13.4 4.1 1.8 1.5
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 254 204 322 302 265 4.3 3.6 5.8 5.5 4.7
At expanding establishments 211 154 262 243 218 3.6 2.7 4.7 4.4 3.9
At opening establishments 43 50 60 59 47 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.1 0.8
Gross job losses 262 608 268 223 220 4.4 10.7 4.9 3.9 3.9
At contracting establishments 202 525 208 170 173 3.4 9.2 3.8 3.0 3.1
At closing establishments 60 83 60 53 47 1.0 1.5 1.1 0.9 0.8
Net employment change -8 -404 54 79 45 -0.1 -7.1 0.9 1.6 0.8
Retail trade
Gross job gains 915 916 1,536 936 923 5.9 6.1 10.5 6.2 6.1
At expanding establishments 812 813 1,351 814 801 5.2 5.4 9.2 5.4 5.3
At opening establishments 103 103 185 122 122 0.7 0.7 1.3 0.8 0.8
Gross job losses 885 2,538 833 841 765 5.7 16.9 5.7 5.6 5.0
At contracting establishments 759 2,264 722 711 667 4.9 15.1 4.9 4.7 4.4
At closing establishments 126 274 111 130 98 0.8 1.8 0.8 0.9 0.6
Net employment change 30 -1,622 703 95 158 0.2 -10.8 4.8 0.6 1.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 291 424 525 636 353 5.1 7.8 9.7 11.1 5.9
At expanding establishments 250 377 454 521 303 4.4 6.9 8.4 9.1 5.1
At opening establishments 41 47 71 115 50 0.7 0.9 1.3 2.0 0.8
Gross job losses 417 836 313 276 417 7.3 15.2 5.8 4.8 7.1
At contracting establishments 368 754 270 236 381 6.4 13.7 5.0 4.1 6.5
At closing establishments 49 82 43 40 36 0.9 1.5 0.8 0.7 0.6
Net employment change -126 -412 212 360 -64 -2.2 -7.4 3.9 6.3 -1.2
Utilities
Gross job gains 10 10 14 13 10 1.8 1.9 2.6 2.4 1.9
At expanding establishments 9 8 12 11 9 1.6 1.5 2.2 2.0 1.7
At opening establishments 1 2 2 2 1 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2
Gross job losses 10 14 12 12 10 1.8 2.6 2.2 2.2 1.9
At contracting establishments 9 13 10 10 9 1.6 2.4 1.8 1.8 1.7
At closing establishments 1 1 2 2 1 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.2
Net employment change 0 -4 2 1 0 0.0 -0.7 0.4 0.2 0.0
Information
Gross job gains 153 99 207 175 181 5.3 3.6 7.8 6.6 6.6
At expanding establishments 130 74 164 136 153 4.5 2.7 6.2 5.1 5.6
At opening establishments 23 25 43 39 28 0.8 0.9 1.6 1.5 1.0
Gross job losses 144 419 132 143 117 5.0 15.3 5.0 5.4 4.3
At contracting establishments 114 357 102 109 93 4.0 13.0 3.9 4.1 3.4
At closing establishments 30 62 30 34 24 1.0 2.3 1.1 1.3 0.9
Net employment change 9 -320 75 32 64 0.3 -11.7 2.8 1.2 2.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains 362 317 453 432 386 4.3 3.9 5.5 5.3 4.7
At expanding establishments 288 230 352 321 302 3.4 2.8 4.3 3.9 3.7
At opening establishments 74 87 101 111 84 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.0
Gross job losses 369 638 375 371 339 4.4 7.7 4.7 4.5 4.1
At contracting establishments 279 527 273 279 255 3.3 6.4 3.4 3.4 3.1
At closing establishments 90 111 102 92 84 1.1 1.3 1.3 1.1 1.0
Net employment change -7 -321 78 61 47 -0.1 -3.8 0.8 0.8 0.6
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,304 1,149 1,827 1,855 1,467 6.1 5.7 9.2 9.0 7.1
At expanding establishments 1,052 850 1,467 1,500 1,180 4.9 4.2 7.4 7.3 5.7
At opening establishments 252 299 360 355 287 1.2 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.4
Gross job losses 1,402 2,966 1,349 1,195 1,245 6.6 14.5 6.8 5.8 6.0
At contracting establishments 1,119 2,576 1,046 908 1,000 5.3 12.6 5.3 4.4 4.8
At closing establishments 283 390 303 287 245 1.3 1.9 1.5 1.4 1.2
Net employment change -98 -1,817 478 660 222 -0.5 -8.8 2.4 3.2 1.1
Education and health services
Gross job gains 1,039 667 1,374 1,172 1,049 4.4 2.9 6.3 5.2 4.7
At expanding establishments 775 481 1,116 944 855 3.3 2.1 5.1 4.2 3.8
At opening establishments 264 186 258 228 194 1.1 0.8 1.2 1.0 0.9
Gross job losses 1,000 2,406 902 892 912 4.2 10.7 4.1 4.0 4.0
At contracting establishments 781 2,073 710 697 744 3.3 9.2 3.2 3.1 3.3
At closing establishments 219 333 192 195 168 0.9 1.5 0.9 0.9 0.7
Net employment change 39 -1,739 472 280 137 0.2 -7.8 2.2 1.2 0.7
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,124 656 2,535 1,447 1,723 6.9 4.8 21.3 11.6 13.3
At expanding establishments 866 449 2,035 1,139 1,408 5.3 3.3 17.1 9.1 10.9
At opening establishments 258 207 500 308 315 1.6 1.5 4.2 2.5 2.4
Gross job losses 1,695 6,331 1,024 1,329 983 10.3 46.0 8.6 10.6 7.7
At contracting establishments 1,368 5,323 778 1,087 809 8.3 38.7 6.5 8.7 6.3
At closing establishments 327 1,008 246 242 174 2.0 7.3 2.1 1.9 1.4
Net employment change -571 -5,675 1,511 118 740 -3.4 -41.2 12.7 1.0 5.6
Other services
Gross job gains 286 192 533 327 322 6.7 4.9 14.9 8.8 8.5
At expanding establishments 218 125 348 235 239 5.1 3.2 9.7 6.3 6.3
At opening establishments 68 67 185 92 83 1.6 1.7 5.2 2.5 2.2
Gross job losses 344 1,038 262 283 256 8.1 27.0 7.3 7.6 6.8
At contracting establishments 254 768 188 208 197 6.0 20.0 5.2 5.6 5.2
At closing establishments 90 270 74 75 59 2.1 7.0 2.1 2.0 1.6
Net employment change -58 -846 271 44 66 -1.4 -22.1 7.6 1.2 1.7
(1) Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Table 4. Private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
Total private by firm(1) Firm size 1 - 49 employees Firm size 50 - 249 employees Firm size 250 or more employees
Year 3 months Net Gross job Net Gross job Net Gross job Net Gross job
ended change gains losses change gains losses change gains losses change gains losses
2011 March 340 5,375 5,035 99 2,983 2,884 122 971 849 119 1,421 1,302
June 537 5,746 5,209 190 3,073 2,883 169 1,063 894 178 1,610 1,432
September 852 5,974 5,122 272 3,137 2,865 171 1,066 895 409 1,771 1,362
December 297 5,585 5,288 45 2,970 2,925 44 981 937 208 1,634 1,426
2012 March 972 5,904 4,932 388 3,173 2,785 220 1,054 834 364 1,677 1,313
June 612 5,828 5,216 174 3,039 2,865 158 1,074 916 280 1,715 1,435
September 226 5,581 5,355 55 2,963 2,908 54 1,006 952 117 1,612 1,495
December 637 5,779 5,142 180 3,025 2,845 94 1,014 920 363 1,740 1,377
2013 March 582 5,743 5,161 212 3,071 2,859 156 1,029 873 214 1,643 1,429
June 650 5,906 5,256 226 3,085 2,859 135 1,071 936 289 1,750 1,461
September 473 5,764 5,291 225 3,063 2,838 69 1,021 952 179 1,680 1,501
December 631 5,886 5,255 122 3,021 2,899 105 1,034 929 404 1,831 1,427
2014 March 442 5,665 5,223 231 3,070 2,839 149 1,035 886 62 1,560 1,498
June 893 6,134 5,241 302 3,178 2,876 214 1,119 905 377 1,837 1,460
September 560 5,865 5,305 197 3,064 2,867 117 1,066 949 246 1,735 1,489
December 951 6,155 5,204 212 3,105 2,893 150 1,085 935 589 1,965 1,376
2015 March 226 5,677 5,451 168 3,098 2,930 75 1,025 950 -17 1,554 1,571
June 846 6,243 5,397 323 3,196 2,873 187 1,128 941 336 1,919 1,583
September 456 5,914 5,458 148 3,057 2,909 79 1,047 968 229 1,810 1,581
December 830 6,245 5,415 227 3,172 2,945 90 1,074 984 513 1,999 1,486
2016 March 254 5,754 5,500 191 3,114 2,923 59 1,022 963 4 1,618 1,614
June 331 6,048 5,717 74 3,123 3,049 114 1,101 987 143 1,824 1,681
September 752 6,266 5,514 192 3,160 2,968 102 1,089 987 458 2,017 1,559
December 245 5,886 5,641 71 3,065 2,994 37 1,026 989 137 1,795 1,658
2017 March 658 6,000 5,342 341 3,232 2,891 190 1,084 894 127 1,684 1,557
June 543 6,203 5,660 150 3,160 3,010 145 1,123 978 248 1,920 1,672
September -100 5,833 5,933 -111 2,999 3,110 -44 1,014 1,058 55 1,820 1,765
December 831 6,199 5,368 241 3,189 2,948 149 1,086 937 441 1,924 1,483
2018 March 731 6,062 5,331 297 3,210 2,913 164 1,071 907 270 1,781 1,511
June 454 6,188 5,734 136 3,191 3,055 151 1,129 978 167 1,868 1,701
September 33 5,985 5,952 -90 3,027 3,117 -25 1,030 1,055 148 1,928 1,780
December 698 6,109 5,411 208 3,177 2,969 141 1,080 939 349 1,852 1,503
2019 March 572 6,003 5,431 259 3,190 2,931 153 1,064 911 160 1,749 1,589
June 204 6,142 5,938 58 3,157 3,099 93 1,118 1,025 53 1,867 1,814
September -1 5,874 5,875 -15 3,044 3,059 -27 1,019 1,046 41 1,811 1,770
December 682 6,214 5,532 214 3,191 2,977 99 1,067 968 369 1,956 1,587
2020 March -610 5,659 6,269 -368 3,026 3,394 -102 967 1,069 -140 1,666 1,806
June -15,320 4,494 19,814 -4,700 2,552 7,252 -2,819 579 3,398 -7,801 1,363 9,164
September 4,040 9,459 5,419 1,505 4,483 2,978 542 1,423 881 1,993 3,553 1,560
December 1,893 7,092 5,199 521 3,496 2,975 351 1,193 842 1,021 2,403 1,382
2021 March 1,755 6,798 5,043 949 3,590 2,641 217 1,094 877 589 2,114 1,525
(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
Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar.
2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021
Total private by firm(1)
Gross job gains 5,659 4,494 9,459 7,092 6,798 4.5 3.7 8.2 6.0 5.7
At expanding firms 4,708 3,626 7,980 5,982 5,731 3.7 3.0 6.9 5.1 4.8
At opening firms 951 868 1,479 1,110 1,067 0.8 0.7 1.3 0.9 0.9
Gross job losses 6,269 19,814 5,419 5,199 5,043 5.0 16.6 4.7 4.5 4.2
At contracting firms 5,177 17,716 4,487 4,307 4,273 4.1 14.8 3.9 3.7 3.6
At closing firms 1,092 2,098 932 892 770 0.9 1.8 0.8 0.8 0.6
Net employment change -610 -15,320 4,040 1,893 1,755 -0.5 -12.9 3.5 1.5 1.5
Firm size 1 to 49 employees
Gross job gains 3,026 2,552 4,483 3,496 3,590 8.8 7.7 13.8 10.5 10.7
At expanding firms 2,106 1,709 3,062 2,424 2,562 6.1 5.2 9.4 7.3 7.6
At opening firms 920 843 1,421 1,072 1,028 2.7 2.5 4.4 3.2 3.1
Gross job losses 3,394 7,252 2,978 2,975 2,641 9.8 21.9 9.2 9.0 7.9
At contracting firms 2,361 5,298 2,075 2,110 1,901 6.8 16.0 6.4 6.4 5.7
At closing firms 1,033 1,954 903 865 740 3.0 5.9 2.8 2.6 2.2
Net employment change -368 -4,700 1,505 521 949 -1.0 -14.2 4.6 1.5 2.8
Firm size 50 to 249 employees
Gross job gains 967 579 1,423 1,193 1,094 4.2 2.7 7.1 5.9 5.2
At expanding firms 939 557 1,380 1,161 1,065 4.1 2.6 6.9 5.7 5.1
At opening firms 28 22 43 32 29 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1
Gross job losses 1,069 3,398 881 842 877 4.7 16.1 4.4 4.1 4.2
At contracting firms 1,036 3,292 857 817 852 4.6 15.6 4.3 4.0 4.1
At closing firms 33 106 24 25 25 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1
Net employment change -102 -2,819 542 351 217 -0.5 -13.4 2.7 1.8 1.0
Firm size 250 or more employees
Gross job gains 1,666 1,363 3,553 2,403 2,114 2.4 2.1 5.6 3.7 3.2
At expanding firms 1,663 1,360 3,538 2,397 2,104 2.4 2.1 5.6 3.7 3.2
At opening firms 3 3 15 6 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Gross job losses 1,806 9,164 1,560 1,382 1,525 2.6 14.0 2.5 2.1 2.3
At contracting firms 1,780 9,126 1,555 1,380 1,520 2.6 13.9 2.5 2.1 2.3
At closing firms 26 38 5 2 5 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
Net employment change -140 -7,801 1,993 1,021 589 -0.2 -11.9 3.1 1.6 0.9
(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
Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar.
2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021
United States(1).... 7,078,000 5,709,000 10,868,000 8,821,000 8,154,000 7,869,000 20,401,000 6,858,000 6,757,000 6,469,000
Alabama............. 88,827 73,891 119,278 119,294 92,377 96,778 196,681 90,585 84,720 92,107
Alaska.............. 23,319 15,297 26,215 30,084 25,286 24,694 56,304 21,178 17,167 21,662
Arizona............. 144,546 142,520 188,469 180,158 157,582 155,039 288,811 147,266 120,914 137,245
Arkansas............ 53,062 47,512 73,315 71,401 59,076 58,018 119,820 54,843 51,611 50,250
California.......... 932,677 751,485 1,201,754 1,171,574 1,081,628 1,034,813 2,664,100 965,425 848,243 833,574
Colorado............ 147,764 126,401 216,809 161,665 190,034 161,067 333,840 135,842 157,038 123,149
Connecticut......... 84,446 58,417 148,355 88,630 85,542 85,604 263,538 65,898 79,517 71,646
Delaware............ 23,770 18,177 37,102 24,803 25,344 26,061 63,203 22,708 21,870 22,245
District of Columbia 28,354 16,282 37,965 24,490 25,353 28,885 111,741 26,667 25,795 24,772
Florida............. 434,219 450,826 685,781 586,615 521,589 485,406 1,051,658 492,931 443,199 435,096
Georgia............. 222,742 198,055 331,782 290,819 251,594 244,761 554,519 230,389 191,946 214,348
Hawaii.............. 29,199 17,297 29,959 61,190 37,733 31,355 142,873 49,141 18,902 26,185
Idaho............... 48,769 39,770 52,742 55,980 53,979 39,909 70,970 40,217 39,115 37,762
Illinois............ 261,345 220,967 457,067 311,130 352,016 311,903 893,653 262,529 292,410 235,866
Indiana............. 133,217 119,442 208,217 174,192 157,471 161,118 348,004 131,356 127,593 131,642
Iowa................ 70,845 55,343 91,616 84,795 76,915 78,413 163,420 67,835 62,908 68,172
Kansas.............. 62,310 55,385 85,025 76,509 68,181 68,780 146,099 63,525 64,495 61,530
Kentucky............ 88,290 70,385 132,991 112,311 112,708 99,198 234,010 75,389 93,275 80,297
Louisiana........... 86,705 65,928 129,943 127,528 96,274 103,480 252,014 99,686 81,705 88,400
Maine............... 34,854 25,718 58,423 41,979 45,104 38,198 108,980 28,668 31,261 32,096
Maryland............ 125,118 99,904 221,885 147,691 129,076 151,252 443,298 110,106 119,660 114,275
Massachusetts....... 168,134 109,631 349,742 203,528 193,648 195,390 714,797 152,202 160,761 145,185
Michigan............ 193,590 140,450 367,778 233,463 297,237 215,522 727,068 160,877 237,554 172,427
Minnesota........... 125,431 99,807 204,782 159,532 215,284 142,000 417,638 122,620 157,602 113,923
Mississippi......... 49,965 43,475 74,147 69,883 48,982 57,501 111,622 46,144 42,799 57,760
Missouri............ 123,860 107,428 189,558 162,655 145,842 141,712 330,790 125,598 119,914 120,759
Montana............. 29,405 25,685 36,552 35,500 34,300 30,536 52,377 26,639 25,794 26,870
Nebraska............ 47,976 38,438 63,895 53,943 52,031 50,198 97,404 45,413 43,750 49,507
Nevada.............. 67,801 59,684 136,709 97,898 83,087 81,338 337,194 68,282 63,782 62,689
New Hampshire....... 35,523 25,124 62,877 40,432 41,089 37,972 103,540 28,000 34,841 30,261
New Jersey.......... 200,860 153,459 484,495 262,647 231,639 226,863 917,511 173,437 189,844 186,170
New Mexico.......... 41,059 27,809 50,202 43,561 51,283 43,983 109,916 35,711 45,015 34,014
New York............ 442,072 289,826 921,194 528,197 502,099 526,144 1,981,322 405,074 452,008 393,029
North Carolina...... 224,389 177,407 308,279 288,961 249,484 222,011 532,972 197,428 182,519 200,141
North Dakota........ 24,206 17,552 28,228 23,213 25,429 25,311 56,881 21,947 22,713 20,985
Ohio................ 240,494 201,595 338,918 291,848 273,126 268,766 650,019 232,782 233,327 223,339
Oklahoma............ 70,187 69,513 86,685 97,432 75,490 85,871 152,932 79,279 71,686 75,024
Oregon.............. 115,500 80,526 137,454 115,457 134,802 110,706 290,625 95,988 101,713 88,715
Pennsylvania........ 262,222 175,690 487,751 298,990 318,356 299,656 901,158 232,669 258,653 227,213
Rhode Island........ 25,551 17,689 48,657 29,475 38,212 27,623 99,168 19,750 27,610 21,750
South Carolina...... 100,424 85,261 146,055 135,839 106,718 118,335 247,000 96,810 88,242 104,928
South Dakota........ 21,347 17,640 29,303 25,154 25,621 23,768 39,915 18,729 21,283 21,112
Tennessee........... 137,825 110,734 200,135 188,799 144,611 142,837 350,743 133,250 116,317 128,007
Texas............... 553,858 487,183 726,414 766,575 597,160 614,010 1,418,059 608,180 489,322 512,772
Utah................ 85,644 83,337 114,757 104,801 94,104 84,429 138,210 78,612 71,466 80,546
Vermont............. 15,102 11,010 29,141 17,749 19,463 19,665 43,626 13,023 18,518 14,209
Virginia............ 181,700 142,363 307,263 214,569 184,421 198,361 559,329 159,249 162,104 169,083
Washington.......... 222,102 132,571 235,678 192,772 215,904 226,515 479,283 165,708 163,861 149,132
West Virginia....... 35,869 26,431 44,845 38,074 37,107 38,127 72,955 34,658 31,713 29,736
Wisconsin........... 127,826 104,444 177,928 149,052 140,399 134,817 346,821 117,841 121,780 112,350
Wyoming............. 18,399 12,907 20,672 19,560 18,202 20,365 35,787 14,768 15,116 16,576
Puerto Rico......... 34,744 26,290 69,660 43,022 43,139 38,361 109,814 32,475 31,747 32,409
Virgin Islands...... 2,441 1,406 1,876 2,379 1,794 2,580 5,069 3,027 1,394 2,621
(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
Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar.
2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021
United States....... 5.6 4.8 9.5 7.4 6.8 6.2 17.0 6.0 5.7 5.4
Alabama............. 5.5 4.7 7.8 7.6 5.9 5.9 12.6 5.9 5.5 5.9
Alaska.............. 9.3 6.6 12.2 13.4 11.0 9.9 24.3 9.8 7.7 9.4
Arizona............. 5.7 5.8 7.8 7.3 6.3 6.0 11.8 6.1 5.0 5.5
Arkansas............ 5.1 4.8 7.6 7.2 5.9 5.6 12.1 5.7 5.2 5.1
California.......... 6.1 5.3 8.9 8.5 7.7 6.9 18.6 7.1 6.1 5.9
Colorado............ 6.3 5.7 10.1 7.5 8.6 7.0 15.1 6.4 7.2 5.6
Connecticut......... 5.9 4.3 11.4 6.6 6.3 6.0 19.5 5.1 5.9 5.3
Delaware............ 6.1 4.9 10.3 6.8 6.8 6.7 17.0 6.4 6.0 6.0
District of Columbia 5.3 3.3 8.2 5.3 5.5 5.4 22.3 5.7 5.5 5.3
Florida............. 5.5 6.0 9.5 8.0 6.9 6.2 14.1 6.7 6.0 5.8
Georgia............. 5.7 5.3 9.3 7.9 6.7 6.3 14.9 6.5 5.2 5.7
Hawaii.............. 5.4 3.6 7.5 14.7 8.5 5.9 30.3 12.2 4.6 5.9
Idaho............... 7.6 6.3 8.4 8.7 8.1 6.1 11.2 6.4 6.1 5.7
Illinois............ 5.0 4.5 9.7 6.5 7.2 6.0 18.2 5.6 6.1 4.9
Indiana............. 4.9 4.6 8.3 6.8 6.0 6.0 13.5 5.2 5.0 5.1
Iowa................ 5.4 4.4 7.5 6.8 6.1 6.0 13.0 5.5 5.1 5.4
Kansas.............. 5.4 5.0 7.9 7.0 6.2 6.0 13.3 5.9 5.9 5.5
Kentucky............ 5.5 4.6 9.0 7.3 7.3 6.1 15.2 5.1 6.1 5.1
Louisiana........... 5.4 4.4 9.1 8.7 6.4 6.5 16.8 7.0 5.6 5.9
Maine............... 6.7 5.2 12.3 8.5 9.0 7.3 21.9 6.0 6.3 6.3
Maryland............ 5.7 4.8 11.2 7.3 6.3 6.8 21.5 5.5 5.8 5.5
Massachusetts....... 5.2 3.7 12.4 7.0 6.6 6.1 24.2 5.4 5.5 5.0
Michigan............ 5.1 4.0 10.9 6.7 8.5 5.7 20.5 4.8 6.9 4.9
Minnesota........... 5.0 4.2 9.0 6.9 9.2 5.7 17.6 5.4 6.8 4.9
Mississippi......... 5.5 5.0 8.7 8.0 5.6 6.4 12.9 5.5 4.9 6.6
Missouri............ 5.2 4.6 8.5 7.1 6.3 5.9 14.4 5.7 5.2 5.3
Montana............. 7.5 6.8 9.9 9.4 8.8 7.8 13.9 7.2 6.8 6.9
Nebraska............ 5.8 4.8 8.2 6.8 6.5 6.1 12.2 5.8 5.5 6.2
Nevada.............. 5.3 5.3 12.9 8.8 7.3 6.4 29.5 6.4 5.7 5.5
New Hampshire....... 6.1 4.5 11.8 7.4 7.4 6.5 18.8 5.3 6.4 5.4
New Jersey.......... 5.7 4.8 15.7 8.1 7.0 6.5 28.3 5.6 5.9 5.6
New Mexico.......... 6.2 4.5 8.5 7.3 8.5 6.7 17.7 6.1 7.5 5.7
New York............ 5.5 3.9 13.3 7.4 6.9 6.5 26.9 5.9 6.3 5.4
North Carolina...... 5.9 4.9 8.7 7.9 6.6 5.8 14.6 5.6 5.0 5.4
North Dakota........ 6.9 5.3 8.9 7.2 7.8 7.2 17.1 6.9 7.1 6.5
Ohio................ 5.1 4.5 7.8 6.6 6.1 5.7 14.4 5.3 5.2 5.0
Oklahoma............ 5.4 5.5 7.1 7.9 6.1 6.6 12.3 6.6 5.8 6.1
Oregon.............. 6.9 5.0 9.0 7.4 8.5 6.5 18.2 6.3 6.5 5.6
Pennsylvania........ 5.0 3.6 10.3 6.2 6.4 5.7 18.3 4.9 5.3 4.6
Rhode Island........ 6.0 4.5 13.0 7.6 9.8 6.5 25.1 5.3 7.1 5.5
South Carolina...... 5.7 5.0 8.8 8.0 6.2 6.6 14.6 5.9 5.2 6.1
South Dakota........ 6.0 5.1 8.6 7.2 7.3 6.7 11.5 5.5 6.2 6.0
Tennessee........... 5.2 4.4 8.1 7.5 5.6 5.5 13.9 5.5 4.6 5.0
Texas............... 5.1 4.7 7.3 7.6 5.7 5.7 13.8 6.1 4.8 5.0
Utah................ 6.6 6.6 9.1 8.1 7.1 6.5 10.9 6.3 5.6 6.1
Vermont............. 5.9 4.6 12.9 7.6 8.2 7.7 18.4 5.8 8.0 6.1
Virginia............ 5.6 4.6 10.4 7.0 6.0 6.1 18.3 5.4 5.3 5.4
Washington.......... 7.7 4.8 8.9 7.2 7.9 7.8 17.4 6.3 6.1 5.4
West Virginia....... 6.6 5.1 8.9 7.4 7.2 7.0 14.1 6.9 6.2 5.8
Wisconsin........... 5.1 4.3 7.6 6.3 5.8 5.4 14.4 5.1 5.1 4.7
Wyoming............. 8.6 6.4 10.8 10.0 9.1 9.6 17.9 7.7 7.7 8.3
Puerto Rico......... 5.0 4.1 11.1 6.6 6.6 5.6 16.9 5.1 4.9 5.0
Virgin Islands...... 8.5 5.3 7.8 9.9 7.4 9.0 18.8 12.5 5.8 10.8
NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 8. Private sector establishment births and deaths, seasonally adjusted
Total private
(Levels in thousands)
Number of Establishments Employment
Births Deaths(1) Births Deaths
Year 3 months ended Level Rate(2) Level Rate Level Rate Level Rate
2011 March 204 2.9 200 2.8 715 0.7 632 0.6
June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 0.7 689 0.6
September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 0.7 675 0.6
December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 0.7 700 0.6
2012 March 236 3.3 188 2.6 787 0.7 614 0.6
June 217 3.0 194 2.7 799 0.7 673 0.6
September 210 2.9 196 2.7 804 0.7 692 0.6
December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 0.7 673 0.6
2013 March 205 2.8 193 2.6 748 0.7 648 0.6
June 222 3.0 215 2.9 789 0.7 695 0.6
September 219 2.9 195 2.6 818 0.7 678 0.6
December 215 2.9 187 2.5 803 0.7 670 0.6
2014 March 220 2.9 190 2.5 784 0.7 635 0.6
June 221 2.9 204 2.7 806 0.7 711 0.6
September 225 3.0 199 2.6 825 0.7 703 0.6
December 224 2.9 198 2.6 836 0.7 705 0.6
2015 March 233 3.0 207 2.7 818 0.7 696 0.6
June 234 3.1 211 2.8 838 0.7 728 0.6
September 243 3.2 207 2.7 881 0.7 699 0.6
December 247 3.2 209 2.7 892 0.7 733 0.6
2016 March 236 3.0 204 2.6 789 0.7 671 0.6
June 241 3.1 213 2.7 838 0.7 719 0.6
September 238 3.0 214 2.7 872 0.7 745 0.6
December 238 3.0 217 2.8 865 0.7 729 0.6
2017 March 242 3.0 204 2.6 804 0.7 666 0.5
June 241 3.0 224 2.8 850 0.7 753 0.6
September 243 3.0 225 2.8 850 0.7 760 0.6
December 245 3.1 216 2.7 848 0.7 732 0.6
2018 March 248 3.1 214 2.7 812 0.7 665 0.5
June 265 3.3 228 2.8 880 0.7 769 0.6
September 251 3.1 231 2.8 864 0.7 786 0.6
December 249 3.1 222 2.7 857 0.7 761 0.6
2019 March 260 3.2 220 2.7 807 0.6 696 0.6
June 258 3.1 241 2.9 850 0.7 807 0.6
September 250 3.0 233 2.8 848 0.7 768 0.6
December 268 3.2 235 2.8 905 0.7 792 0.6
2020 March 316 3.8 274 3.3 846 0.7 762 0.6
June 227 2.8 329 4.0 661 0.6 1,163 1.0
September 277 3.4 N/A N/A 822 0.7 N/A N/A
December 287 3.5 N/A N/A 917 0.8 N/A N/A
2021 March 303 3.6 N/A N/A 826 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.
United States Department of Labor
