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Economic News Release
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BDM BDM Program Links

Quarterly Data Series on Business Employment Dynamics News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EST), Wednesday, November 8, 2017                                USDL-17-1481

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 2017

From December 2016 to March 2017, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector 
establishments were 7.3 million, a decrease of 127,000 jobs over the quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 
Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector 
establishments were 6.7 million, a decrease of 391,000 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 654,000 jobs in the private-sector during the first quarter of 2017. (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 first quarter of 2017, gross job gains represented 6.0 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 6.0 
million in the first quarter of 2017, a decrease of 21,000 compared to the previous quarter. Opening 
establishments accounted for 1.3 million of the jobs gained in the first quarter of 2017, a decrease of 
106,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Gross Job Losses

In the first quarter of 2017, 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 5.5 million jobs in the first quarter of 2017, a 
decrease of 239,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the first quarter of 2017, closing establishments lost 
1.2 million jobs, a decrease of 152,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the first quarter of 2017, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data, see the 
Technical Note for more information) increased by 1,000, to a total of 240,000 establishments. These 
new establishments accounted for 800,000 jobs, a decrease of 68,000 jobs from the previous quarter. 
Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through the second quarter of 
2016, when 724,000 jobs were lost at 214,000 establishments. (See table 8.)

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 12 of 13 industries in the first quarter of 2017. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 451,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2017. Within 
service-providing industries, leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, 
with a gain of 172,000 jobs. The net job increase in leisure and hospitality was the result of 1.3 million 
gross job gains and 1.1 million gross job losses. The transportation and warehousing industry had the 
only net job decrease over the quarter. The goods-producing industries experienced a net job increase of 
203,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2017. All of the goods-producing industries had positive net gains. 
Construction added 125,000 jobs, natural resources and mining added 55,000 jobs, and manufacturing 
added 23,000 jobs. (See table 3.)

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

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |                  3 months ended                 
                 Category                 |    Mar. |    June |   Sept. |    Dec. |    Mar.
                                          |    2016 |    2016 |    2016 |    2016 |    2017
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |              Levels (in thousands)              
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |   7,139 |   7,453 |   7,689 |   7,455 |   7,328
        At expanding establishments...... |   5,855 |   6,083 |   6,232 |   6,040 |   6,019
        At opening establishments........ |   1,284 |   1,370 |   1,457 |   1,415 |   1,309
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |   6,883 |   7,157 |   7,008 |   7,065 |   6,674
        At contracting establishments.... |   5,685 |   5,847 |   5,760 |   5,760 |   5,521
        At closing establishments........ |   1,198 |   1,310 |   1,248 |   1,305 |   1,153
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     256 |     296 |     681 |     390 |     654
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
                                          |                 Rates (percent)                 
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |     6.0 |     6.2 |     6.4 |     6.2 |     6.0
        At expanding establishments...... |     4.9 |     5.1 |     5.2 |     5.0 |     4.9
        At opening establishments........ |     1.1 |     1.1 |     1.2 |     1.2 |     1.1
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |     5.7 |     6.0 |     5.8 |     5.9 |     5.4
        At contracting establishments.... |     4.7 |     4.9 |     4.8 |     4.8 |     4.5
        At closing establishments........ |     1.0 |     1.1 |     1.0 |     1.1 |     0.9
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     0.3 |     0.2 |     0.6 |     0.3 |     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 first quarter of 2017, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 369,000. Firms 
with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 197,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a 
net employment gain of 120,000. Of the 2.0 million net jobs created over the last four quarters, firms 
with 1-49 employees contributed 33.8 percent of net job growth, while firms with 50-249 employees 
contributed 22.5 percent, and firms with 250 or more employees contributed 43.7 percent. (See tables 4 
and 5.)

States

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 44 states and the District of Columbia in the first quarter of 
2017. Over this period, 27 states exceeded the U.S. rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment, 
which was 6.0 percent. Alaska had the highest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 9.4 
percent. Hawaii, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico had the lowest rate of gross job gains as a percent of 
employment at 5.1 percent. Alaska also had the highest rate of gross job losses as a percent of 
employment at 9.8 percent, above the national rate of 5.4 percent. Minnesota and the District of 
Columbia had the lowest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 4.7 percent. (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 frequently asked questions 
on firm size data. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found 
in the Technical Note of this release or can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.

_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2017 are scheduled to be released on 
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                                                                          |
|                           Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data                           |
|                                                                                                          |
| Data in this release incorporate annual revisions to the BED series. Annual revisions are published each |
| year with the release of first quarter data. These revisions cover the last four quarters of not         |
| seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.                                     |
|                                                                                                          |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






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- |  634,000 establish-
           |  submitted by 9.9   |  ministrative records|  ments
           |  million establish- |  submitted by 7.9    |
           |  ments              |  million private sec-|
           |                     |  tor establishments  |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage   |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and salary
           |  age:  all employers|  ing government, pri-|  jobs:
           |  subject to state   |  vate households, and|--UI Coverage, exclud-
           |  and federal UI Laws|  establishments with |  ing agriculture, pri-
           |                     |  zero employment     |  vate households, and
           |                     |                      |  self-employed 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 
           |   end of each quar- |   end of each quarter|   Friday after the end 
           |   ter               |                      |   of 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, MSA,|  and contractions at |  industry
           |  State, and national|  the national level  |
           |  levels by detailed |  by NAICS super-     |
           |  industry           |  sectors,3-digit     |
           |                     |  NAICS, and by size  |
           |                     |  of firm, and at the |
           |                     |  state private-sector|
           |                     |  total level         |
           |                     |--Future expansions   |
           |                     |  will include        |
           |                     |  data 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 7.9 
million private sector employer reports out of 9.9 million total reports of employment and wages 
submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2017. 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 2017.

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

 Total establishments QCEW program.................................................... 9.9

   Excluded: Public sector............................................................ 0.3
           Private households......................................................... 0.2
           Zero employment............................................................ 1.5

 Total establishments included in Business
 Employment Dynamics data............................................................. 7.9

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

2007  March                584      7,815       6,331         1,484       7,231       5,894           1,337
      June                 132      7,647       6,205         1,442       7,515       6,084           1,431
      September           -209      7,376       5,870         1,506       7,585       6,190           1,395
      December             268      7,687       6,181         1,506       7,419       6,040           1,379

2008  March               -199      7,320       5,860         1,460       7,519       6,111           1,408
      June                -593      7,281       5,833         1,448       7,874       6,363           1,511
      September           -913      6,944       5,535         1,409       7,857       6,436           1,421
      December          -1,838      6,738       5,345         1,393       8,576       7,056           1,520

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                560      6,933       5,701         1,232       6,373       5,194           1,179
      June                 674      7,155       5,834         1,321       6,481       5,275           1,206
      September            476      7,048       5,708         1,340       6,572       5,425           1,147
      December             717      7,267       5,936         1,331       6,550       5,346           1,204

2014  March                433      6,947       5,680         1,267       6,514       5,365           1,149
      June                 884      7,459       6,118         1,341       6,575       5,355           1,220
      September            522      7,226       5,900         1,326       6,704       5,516           1,188
      December           1,084      7,642       6,268         1,374       6,558       5,323           1,235

2015  March                226      7,032       5,722         1,310       6,806       5,606           1,200
      June                 833      7,589       6,245         1,344       6,756       5,563           1,193
      September            414      7,324       5,964         1,360       6,910       5,695           1,215
      December           1,010      7,851       6,387         1,464       6,841       5,573           1,268

2016  March                256      7,139       5,855         1,284       6,883       5,685           1,198
      June                 296      7,453       6,083         1,370       7,157       5,847           1,310
      September            681      7,689       6,232         1,457       7,008       5,760           1,248
      December             390      7,455       6,040         1,415       7,065       5,760           1,305

2017  March                654      7,328       6,019         1,309       6,674       5,521           1,153

(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

2007  March                 .5       6.9         5.6           1.3         6.4          5.2            1.2
      June                  .1       6.7         5.4           1.3         6.6          5.3            1.3
      September            -.2       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.6          5.4            1.2
      December              .2       6.7         5.4           1.3         6.5          5.3            1.2

2008  March                -.1       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.5          5.3            1.2
      June                 -.5       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.9          5.6            1.3
      September            -.9       6.1         4.9           1.2         7.0          5.7            1.3
      December            -1.7       6.0         4.8           1.2         7.7          6.3            1.4

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            -.8       6.0         4.8           1.2         6.8          5.5            1.3
      December             -.3       6.3         5.0           1.3         6.6          5.3            1.3

2010  March                -.2       6.0         4.8           1.2         6.2          5.0            1.2
      June                  .7       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.9          4.8            1.1
      September             .2       6.3         5.1           1.2         6.1          4.9            1.2
      December              .5       6.6         5.3           1.3         6.1          4.9            1.2

2011  March                 .3       6.1         5.0           1.1         5.8          4.7            1.1
      June                  .5       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.9          4.7            1.2
      September             .8       6.7         5.4           1.3         5.9          4.8            1.1
      December              .4       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.0          4.8            1.2

2012  March                 .8       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.6          4.6            1.0
      June                  .5       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.9          4.8            1.1
      September             .2       6.2         5.0           1.2         6.0          4.9            1.1
      December              .6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1

2013  March                 .5       6.2         5.1           1.1         5.7          4.6            1.1
      June                  .6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1
      September             .5       6.3         5.1           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December              .6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1

2014  March                 .4       6.1         5.0           1.1         5.7          4.7            1.0
      June                  .7       6.5         5.3           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1
      September             .4       6.2         5.1           1.1         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December              .9       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.7          4.6            1.1

2015  March                 .2       6.0         4.9           1.1         5.8          4.8            1.0
      June                  .7       6.4         5.3           1.1         5.7          4.7            1.0
      September             .4       6.2         5.0           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December              .8       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1

2016  March                 .3       6.0         4.9           1.1         5.7          4.7            1.0
      June                  .2       6.2         5.1           1.1         6.0          4.9            1.1
      September             .6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December              .3       6.2         5.0           1.2         5.9          4.8            1.1

2017  March                 .6       6.0         4.9           1.1         5.4          4.5             .9

(1) The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage of the previous and current 
    quarter employment levels.
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.






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

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

    Category                                 3 months ended                      3 months ended

                                   Mar.    June    Sept.   Dec.    Mar.   Mar.   June   Sept.  Dec.   Mar.  
                                   2016    2016    2016    2016    2017   2016   2016   2016   2016   2017
Total private(1)

Gross job gains                   7,139   7,453   7,689   7,455   7,328    6.0    6.2    6.4    6.2    6.0
 At expanding establishments      5,855   6,083   6,232   6,040   6,019    4.9    5.1    5.2    5.0    4.9
 At opening establishments        1,284   1,370   1,457   1,415   1,309    1.1    1.1    1.2    1.2    1.1
Gross job losses                  6,883   7,157   7,008   7,065   6,674    5.7    6.0    5.8    5.9    5.4
 At contracting establishments    5,685   5,847   5,760   5,760   5,521    4.7    4.9    4.8    4.8    4.5
 At closing establishments        1,198   1,310   1,248   1,305   1,153    1.0    1.1    1.0    1.1     .9
Net employment change               256     296     681     390     654     .3     .2     .6     .3     .6

Goods-producing

Gross job gains                   1,317   1,335   1,313   1,319   1,394    6.3    6.4    6.3    6.3    6.6
 At expanding establishments      1,125   1,149   1,107   1,126   1,206    5.4    5.5    5.3    5.4    5.7
 At opening establishments          192     186     206     193     188     .9     .9    1.0     .9     .9
Gross job losses                  1,303   1,381   1,308   1,297   1,191    6.2    6.6    6.3    6.2    5.7
 At contracting establishments    1,114   1,172   1,113   1,101   1,009    5.3    5.6    5.4    5.3    4.8
 At closing establishments          189     209     195     196     182     .9    1.0     .9     .9     .9
Net employment change                14     -46       5      22     203     .1    -.2     .0     .1     .9

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains                     257     262     248     252     287   13.4   13.9   13.4   13.6   15.3
 At expanding establishments        223     230     216     220     253   11.6   12.2   11.7   11.9   13.5
 At opening establishments           34      32      32      32      34    1.8    1.7    1.7    1.7    1.8
Gross job losses                    278     296     257     269     232   14.5   15.7   13.9   14.6   12.4
 At contracting establishments      244     262     225     238     199   12.7   13.9   12.2   12.9   10.6
 At closing establishments           34      34      32      31      33    1.8    1.8    1.7    1.7    1.8
Net employment change               -21     -34      -9     -17      55   -1.1   -1.8    -.5   -1.0    2.9

Construction

Gross job gains                     676     660     665     654     707   10.1    9.8   10.0    9.7   10.3
 At expanding establishments        553     544     532     533     584    8.3    8.1    8.0    7.9    8.5
 At opening establishments          123     116     133     121     123    1.8    1.7    2.0    1.8    1.8
Gross job losses                    619     651     622     635     582    9.3    9.8    9.3    9.5    8.5
 At contracting establishments      507     525     507     515     474    7.6    7.9    7.6    7.7    6.9
 At closing establishments          112     126     115     120     108    1.7    1.9    1.7    1.8    1.6
Net employment change                57       9      43      19     125     .8     .0     .7     .2    1.8

Manufacturing

Gross job gains                     384     413     400     413     400    3.1    3.3    3.2    3.3    3.3
 At expanding establishments        349     375     359     373     369    2.8    3.0    2.9    3.0    3.0
 At opening establishments           35      38      41      40      31     .3     .3     .3     .3     .3
Gross job losses                    406     434     429     393     377    3.2    3.5    3.5    3.2    3.0
 At contracting establishments      363     385     381     348     336    2.9    3.1    3.1    2.8    2.7
 At closing establishments           43      49      48      45      41     .3     .4     .4     .4     .3
Net employment change               -22     -21     -29      20      23    -.1    -.2    -.3     .1     .3

Service-providing(1)

Gross job gains                   5,822   6,118   6,376   6,136   5,934    5.9    6.2    6.4    6.1    5.9
 At expanding establishments      4,730   4,934   5,125   4,914   4,813    4.8    5.0    5.1    4.9    4.8
 At opening establishments        1,092   1,184   1,251   1,222   1,121    1.1    1.2    1.3    1.2    1.1
Gross job losses                  5,580   5,776   5,700   5,768   5,483    5.6    5.8    5.8    5.8    5.5
 At contracting establishments    4,571   4,675   4,647   4,659   4,512    4.6    4.7    4.7    4.7    4.5
 At closing establishments        1,009   1,101   1,053   1,109     971    1.0    1.1    1.1    1.1    1.0
Net employment change               242     342     676     368     451     .3     .4     .6     .3     .4

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains                     261     274     277     272     263    4.4    4.7    4.8    4.6    4.4
 At expanding establishments        217     226     226     225     220    3.7    3.9    3.9    3.8    3.7
 At opening establishments           44      48      51      47      43     .7     .8     .9     .8     .7
Gross job losses                    268     272     262     256     249    4.6    4.6    4.5    4.3    4.2
 At contracting establishments      210     213     209     201     196    3.6    3.6    3.6    3.4    3.3
 At closing establishments           58      59      53      55      53    1.0    1.0     .9     .9     .9
Net employment change                -7       2      15      16      14    -.2     .1     .3     .3     .2

Retail trade

Gross job gains                     970     934     957     895     927    6.2    5.9    6.0    5.6    5.9
 At expanding establishments        846     804     817     777     805    5.4    5.1    5.1    4.9    5.1
 At opening establishments          124     130     140     118     122     .8     .8     .9     .7     .8
Gross job losses                    864     912     960     923     881    5.5    5.7    6.1    5.9    5.6
 At contracting establishments      756     801     836     803     775    4.8    5.0    5.3    5.1    4.9
 At closing establishments          108     111     124     120     106     .7     .7     .8     .8     .7
Net employment change               106      22      -3     -28      46     .7     .2    -.1    -.3     .3

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains                     239     249     290     383     245    5.0    5.3    6.0    7.8    5.0
 At expanding establishments        206     213     250     339     215    4.3    4.5    5.2    6.9    4.4
 At opening establishments           33      36      40      44      30     .7     .8     .8     .9     .6
Gross job losses                    292     249     229     232     323    6.2    5.3    4.8    4.8    6.6
 At contracting establishments      256     211     190     194     290    5.4    4.5    4.0    4.0    5.9
 At closing establishments           36      38      39      38      33     .8     .8     .8     .8     .7
Net employment change               -53       0      61     151     -78   -1.2     .0    1.2    3.0   -1.6

Utilities

Gross job gains                      10      13      11      12      11    1.8    2.4    2.0    2.2    2.0
 At expanding establishments          8      11      10      10      10    1.4    2.0    1.8    1.8    1.8
 At opening establishments            2       2       1       2       1     .4     .4     .2     .4     .2
Gross job losses                     10      13      14      13      10    1.8    2.4    2.6    2.4    1.8
 At contracting establishments        9      11      12      11       9    1.6    2.0    2.2    2.0    1.6
 At closing establishments            1       2       2       2       1     .2     .4     .4     .4     .2
Net employment change                 0       0      -3      -1       1     .0     .0    -.6    -.2     .2

Information

Gross job gains                     139     157     153     142     142    5.0    5.6    5.4    5.1    5.1
 At expanding establishments        117     131     124     115     120    4.2    4.7    4.4    4.1    4.3
 At opening establishments           22      26      29      27      22     .8     .9    1.0    1.0     .8
Gross job losses                    140     141     152     150     139    5.0    5.0    5.4    5.3    4.9
 At contracting establishments      111     109     126     121     116    4.0    3.9    4.5    4.3    4.1
 At closing establishments           29      32      26      29      23    1.0    1.1     .9    1.0     .8
Net employment change                -1      16       1      -8       3     .0     .6     .0    -.2     .2

Financial activities

Gross job gains                     358     388     391     382     353    4.5    4.8    4.9    4.8    4.4
 At expanding establishments        284     313     311     298     289    3.6    3.9    3.9    3.7    3.6
 At opening establishments           74      75      80      84      64     .9     .9    1.0    1.1     .8
Gross job losses                    339     354     350     356     336    4.3    4.4    4.4    4.4    4.2
 At contracting establishments      262     272     276     274     262    3.3    3.4    3.5    3.4    3.3
 At closing establishments           77      82      74      82      74    1.0    1.0     .9    1.0     .9
Net employment change                19      34      41      26      17     .2     .4     .5     .4     .2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains                   1,274   1,431   1,474   1,395   1,285    6.4    7.2    7.4    7.0    6.3
 At expanding establishments      1,041   1,173   1,199   1,121   1,058    5.2    5.9    6.0    5.6    5.2
 At opening establishments          233     258     275     274     227    1.2    1.3    1.4    1.4    1.1
Gross job losses                  1,368   1,354   1,282   1,359   1,265    6.9    6.7    6.4    6.7    6.3
 At contracting establishments    1,117   1,065   1,022   1,075   1,026    5.6    5.3    5.1    5.3    5.1
 At closing establishments          251     289     260     284     239    1.3    1.4    1.3    1.4    1.2
Net employment change               -94      77     192      36      20    -.5     .5    1.0     .3     .0

Education and health services

Gross job gains                     909     966   1,044     966     948    4.3    4.5    4.8    4.4    4.3
 At expanding establishments        743     781     872     774     786    3.5    3.6    4.0    3.5    3.6
 At opening establishments          166     185     172     192     162     .8     .9     .8     .9     .7
Gross job losses                    826     885     824     905     813    3.8    4.1    3.8    4.1    3.7
 At contracting establishments      669     702     656     709     656    3.1    3.3    3.0    3.2    3.0
 At closing establishments          157     183     168     196     157     .7     .8     .8     .9     .7
Net employment change                83      81     220      61     135     .5     .4    1.0     .3     .6

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains                   1,292   1,313   1,350   1,308   1,321    8.3    8.4    8.7    8.4    8.4
 At expanding establishments      1,030   1,030   1,056   1,016   1,054    6.6    6.6    6.8    6.5    6.7
 At opening establishments          262     283     294     292     267    1.7    1.8    1.9    1.9    1.7
Gross job losses                  1,165   1,278   1,304   1,240   1,149    7.5    8.2    8.4    8.0    7.2
 At contracting establishments      959   1,061   1,086   1,027     955    6.2    6.8    7.0    6.6    6.0
 At closing establishments          206     217     218     213     194    1.3    1.4    1.4    1.4    1.2
Net employment change               127      35      46      68     172     .8     .2     .3     .4    1.2

Other services

Gross job gains                     282     303     309     281     286    6.9    7.4    7.6    6.8    6.9
 At expanding establishments        221     237     241     219     228    5.4    5.8    5.9    5.3    5.5
 At opening establishments           61      66      68      62      58    1.5    1.6    1.7    1.5    1.4
Gross job losses                    270     283     286     293     272    6.6    6.9    7.0    7.1    6.6
 At contracting establishments      211     220     222     231     212    5.2    5.4    5.4    5.6    5.1
 At closing establishments           59      63      64      62      60    1.4    1.5    1.6    1.5    1.5
Net employment change                12      20      23     -12      14     .3     .5     .6    -.3     .3

(1) Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately






Table 4.  Private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

                      Total private by firm(1)       Firm size 1 - 49 employees      Firm size 50 - 249 employees      Firm size 250 or more employees
Year  3 months        Net        Gross job            Net          Gross job          Net           Gross job           Net           Gross job
        ended      change(2,3)  gains   losses       change      gains   losses      change       gains   losses       change       gains   losses

2007  March            478      6,333    5,855         173       3,445    3,272         98        1,158    1,060         207        1,730    1,523
      June             163      6,239    6,076         -33       3,330    3,363         99        1,171    1,072          97        1,738    1,641
      September       -215      5,920    6,135        -116       3,263    3,379        -34        1,079    1,113         -65        1,578    1,643
      December         270      6,251    5,981          10       3,317    3,307         56        1,139    1,083         204        1,795    1,591

2008  March           -274      5,831    6,105        -152       3,235    3,387        -11        1,079    1,090        -111        1,517    1,628
      June            -548      5,850    6,398        -287       3,174    3,461        -44        1,090    1,134        -217        1,586    1,803
      September       -956      5,532    6,488        -343       3,051    3,394       -140        1,020    1,160        -473        1,461    1,934
      December      -1,886      5,338    7,224        -689       2,910    3,599       -375          947    1,322        -822        1,481    2,303

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            588      5,743    5,155         221       3,078    2,857        155        1,027      872         212        1,638    1,426
      June             649      5,912    5,263         221       3,084    2,863        137        1,074      937         291        1,754    1,463
      September        439      5,748    5,309         208       3,054    2,846         62        1,017      955         169        1,677    1,508
      December         651      5,894    5,243         131       3,026    2,895        108        1,036      928         412        1,832    1,420

2014  March            459      5,662    5,203         248       3,077    2,829        153        1,034      881          58        1,551    1,493
      June             888      6,142    5,254         299       3,179    2,880        216        1,123      907         373        1,840    1,467
      September        502      5,845    5,343         168       3,051    2,883        102        1,058      956         232        1,736    1,504
      December         987      6,166    5,179         225       3,111    2,886        157        1,087      930         605        1,968    1,363

2015  March            237      5,664    5,427         181       3,102    2,921         79        1,022      943         -23        1,540    1,563
      June             834      6,256    5,422         316       3,197    2,881        189        1,135      946         329        1,924    1,595
      September        381      5,884    5,503         113       3,038    2,925         59        1,038      979         209        1,808    1,599
      December         895      6,270    5,375         250       3,183    2,933        101        1,078      977         544        2,009    1,465

2016  March            273      5,743    5,470         220       3,124    2,904         60        1,015      955          -7        1,604    1,611
      June             300      6,051    5,751          64       3,125    3,061        116        1,109      993         120        1,817    1,697
      September        665      6,229    5,564         147       3,135    2,988         80        1,080    1,000         438        2,014    1,576
      December         326      5,920    5,594          88       3,076    2,988         52        1,033      981         186        1,811    1,625

2017  March            686      5,952    5,266         369       3,206    2,837        197        1,077      880         120        1,669    1,549


(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by establishment, as some 
    establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. 
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
(3) Net change totals for firm-level data shown differ from the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment of the series.
NOTE: See http://www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for additional firm size class data.






Table 5. Components of private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted

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

    Category                                 3 months ended                      3 months ended

                                   Mar.    June    Sept.   Dec.    Mar.   Mar.   June   Sept.  Dec.   Mar.  
                                   2016    2016    2016    2016    2017   2016   2016   2016   2016   2017
Total private by firm(1)

Gross job gains                   5,743   6,051   6,229   5,920   5,952    4.8    5.1    5.2    4.9    4.9
 At expanding firms               4,837   5,149   5,271   4,976   5,026    4.0    4.3    4.4    4.1    4.1
 At opening firms                   906     902     958     944     926     .8     .8     .8     .8     .8

Gross job losses                  5,470   5,751   5,564   5,594   5,266    4.6    4.8    4.6    4.6    4.4
 At contracting firms             4,624   4,837   4,713   4,734   4,442    3.9    4.0    3.9    3.9    3.7
 At closing firms                   846     914     851     860     824     .7     .8     .7     .7     .7

Net employment change               273     300     665     326     686     .2     .3     .6     .3     .5


Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains                   3,124   3,125   3,135   3,076   3,206    9.3    9.3    9.3    9.1    9.4
 At expanding firms               2,253   2,264   2,219   2,171   2,316    6.7    6.7    6.6    6.4    6.8
 At opening firms                   871     861     916     905     890    2.6    2.6    2.7    2.7    2.6

Gross job losses                  2,904   3,061   2,988   2,988   2,837    8.6    9.1    8.8    8.8    8.3
 At contracting firms             2,091   2,189   2,171   2,163   2,042    6.2    6.5    6.4    6.4    6.0
 At closing firms                   813     872     817     825     795    2.4    2.6    2.4    2.4    2.3

Net employment change               220      64     147      88     369     .7     .2     .5     .3    1.1


Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains                   1,015   1,109   1,080   1,033   1,077    4.6    5.1    5.0    4.8    4.9
 At expanding firms                 984   1,072   1,042     997   1,046    4.5    4.9    4.8    4.6    4.8
 At opening firms                    31      37      38      36      31     .1     .2     .2     .2     .1

Gross job losses                    955     993   1,000     981     880    4.4    4.6    4.6    4.5    4.0
 At contracting firms               926     960     970     951     854    4.3    4.4    4.5    4.4    3.9
 At closing firms                    29      33      30      30      26     .1     .2     .1     .1     .1

Net employment change                60     116      80      52     197     .2     .5     .4     .3     .9


Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains                   1,604   1,817   2,014   1,811   1,669    2.5    2.8    3.1    2.8    2.5
 At expanding firms               1,600   1,813   2,010   1,808   1,664    2.5    2.8    3.1    2.8    2.5
 At opening firms                     4       4       4       3       5     .0     .0     .0     .0     .0

Gross job losses                  1,611   1,697   1,576   1,625   1,549    2.5    2.6    2.4    2.5    2.4
 At contracting firms             1,607   1,688   1,572   1,620   1,546    2.5    2.6    2.4    2.5    2.4
 At closing firms                     4       9       4       5       3     .0     .0     .0     .0     .0

Net employment change                -7     120     438     186     120     .0     .2     .7     .3     .1


(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job 
    losses by establishment, as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the 
    aggregation process.






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

                                         Gross job gains                                          Gross job losses
State                                    (3 months ended)                                         (3 months ended)
                        Mar.       June       Sept.       Dec.      Mar.       Mar.         June       Sept.       Dec.      Mar. 
                        2016       2016       2016        2016      2017       2016         2016       2016        2016      2017

United States(1)...  7,139,000  7,453,000  7,689,000   7,455,000  7,328,000  6,883,000   7,157,000   7,008,000  7,065,000  6,674,000

Alabama.....            90,793     90,760     96,889      91,681     95,018     86,214      91,306      90,051     90,287     81,340
Alaska.....             24,277     26,205     22,603      24,029     23,211     24,338      28,231      27,693     24,699     24,169
Arizona.....           135,581    139,046    164,484     138,291    136,971    130,588     138,270     120,568    126,313    126,704
Arkansas.....           54,640     54,032     61,522      58,062     56,151     54,408      57,902      54,893     53,892     50,773
California.....        943,771    981,914    990,473     980,183    962,840    894,779     933,875     880,241    910,192    872,313
Colorado.....          140,988    149,843    153,653     143,107    147,416    130,307     138,773     134,971    140,926    133,241
Connecticut.....        74,868     77,561     74,841      72,719     79,177     71,778      76,530      76,198     75,033     73,288
Delaware.....           24,679     25,377     23,909      23,338     24,976     24,481      25,216      24,652     23,351     22,313
District of Columbia    26,874     29,953     31,846      28,788     29,705     28,471      29,503      29,467     28,695     24,377
Florida.....           444,007    464,716    539,960     487,710    445,222    411,436     428,968     427,925    445,725    409,290

Georgia.....           223,883    248,515    243,716     239,884    230,965    206,845     229,940     213,118    211,569    212,760
Hawaii.....             27,561     28,651     31,080      26,673     27,379     26,056      30,358      25,354     26,775     25,523
Idaho.....              46,462     41,251     45,011      42,845     45,963     36,462      40,329      41,174     38,897     37,152
Illinois.....          283,828    302,719    294,960     309,191    298,256    284,187     301,468     291,637    290,285    276,590
Indiana.....           141,901    138,247    149,878     142,574    149,579    137,248     136,065     133,516    137,206    131,859
Iowa.....               79,212     74,136     79,033      73,955     78,764     70,423      81,142      75,042     76,993     71,324
Kansas.....             65,870     63,815     69,905      67,413     66,295     67,138      69,868      63,576     64,801     63,041
Kentucky.....           90,742     97,533    107,152      95,679     90,878     92,705      93,542      98,989     90,662     85,832
Louisiana.....          97,906     96,125    107,420      94,259    102,536    107,783     110,705     103,707    103,469     93,274
Maine.....              36,757     38,785     33,988      37,196     36,582     34,506      34,616      37,257     35,905     32,852

Maryland.....          131,658    135,312    139,923     140,769    131,540    128,032     130,754     127,394    131,349    126,358
Massachusetts.....     163,984    182,828    174,563     171,192    168,627    154,476     159,124     167,415    165,880    156,939
Michigan.....          193,986    217,902    208,459     204,720    211,095    179,533     196,003     202,265    200,138    184,414
Minnesota.....         132,819    143,583    148,763     140,520    142,651    127,554     133,901     133,973    138,963    117,302
Mississippi.....        51,728     50,515     56,026      56,611     51,514     55,123      58,142      49,476     50,218     52,216
Missouri.....          131,362    133,732    132,102     134,067    138,174    125,523     127,768     125,330    133,207    116,324
Montana.....            29,091     29,559     28,377      29,076     30,348     27,279      31,986      28,603     27,842     26,801
Nebraska.....           47,358     45,783     51,489      46,158     48,350     44,737      47,712      47,315     49,989     42,036
Nevada.....             72,047     72,895     77,042      71,548     75,922     66,108      65,362      63,229     64,782     59,528
New Hampshire.....      33,670     36,640     36,134      35,405     32,723     32,852      33,071      35,328     33,335     32,020

New Jersey.....        197,702    217,390    212,548     217,599    191,080    202,392     191,614     200,091    200,514    198,940
New Mexico.....         39,814     40,215     43,313      41,275     40,142     39,727      42,367      38,844     40,739     39,132
New York.....          475,125    482,639    490,500     472,712    482,960    444,730     452,880     458,750    461,337    446,567
North Carolina.....    213,858    223,089    221,742     225,601    222,190    197,618     207,520     208,519    205,302    199,056
North Dakota.....       23,641     23,256     27,990      23,021     26,128     31,323      30,933      24,632     26,535     22,998
Ohio.....              255,575    261,010    263,761     260,009    260,122    237,713     263,358     261,433    249,754    236,913
Oklahoma.....           72,625     72,166     79,254      81,574     78,427     80,485      84,369      75,254     78,496     81,448
Oregon.....            109,011    105,151    106,360     103,156    108,577     89,365     102,770      99,322     96,506     89,507
Pennsylvania.....      273,803    268,296    285,638     274,781    268,559    265,993     273,456     258,739    260,840    254,346
Rhode Island.....       23,971     25,378     23,258      23,989     26,217     24,549      25,729      24,390     23,904     24,785

South Carolina.....     98,954    102,914    104,404     108,676    100,891     98,283      94,867      93,113     90,148     92,823
South Dakota.....       21,547     21,921     22,238      21,044     22,209     21,180      21,593      21,398     21,233     20,656
Tennessee.....         132,274    141,910    147,480     144,675    128,481    128,616     132,811     130,083    126,150    123,277
Texas.....             535,504    569,649    617,457     588,802    580,416    571,800     545,548     541,252    538,726    519,376
Utah.....               84,240     79,060     86,460      79,259     91,646     68,971      74,471      77,794     75,963     72,367
Vermont.....            17,059     18,779     18,354      17,998     16,827     17,742      18,235      18,795     17,636     17,258
Virginia.....          183,177    197,646    192,072     194,325    186,996    184,958     188,255     189,545    180,449    172,727
Washington.....        187,856    192,404    177,681     191,782    185,519    159,898     158,624     175,845    179,259    152,983
West Virginia.....      32,334     31,573     35,225      34,777     34,065     38,085      37,617      34,886     33,887     34,690
Wisconsin.....         137,502    138,276    133,986     134,052    143,931    127,509     139,248     134,840    131,290    116,833

Wyoming.....            17,029     15,960     17,147      17,940     17,837     19,984      21,748      17,942     17,692     16,484
Puerto Rico.....        38,377     37,755     39,088      38,952     34,349     40,221      37,274      38,609     36,267     38,301
Virgin Islands.....      1,651      1,792      1,722       1,644      1,463      1,577       1,586       1,856      1,665      1,497

The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.






Table 7.  Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted

                        Gross job gains as a percent of employment    Gross job losses as a percent of employment
State                              (3 months ended)                               (3 months ended)

                        Mar.    June     Sept.    Dec.    Mar.        Mar.     June      Sept.   Dec.     Mar. 
                        2016    2016     2016     2016    2017        2016     2016      2016    2016     2017

United States(1)...      6.0     6.2      6.4      6.2     6.0         5.7      6.0       5.8      5.9     5.4

Alabama.....             5.9     5.8      6.2      5.8     6.1         5.5      5.9       5.8      5.8     5.2
Alaska.....              9.6    10.4      9.1      9.8     9.4         9.6     11.2      11.2     10.0     9.8
Arizona.....             5.9     6.2      7.2      6.0     5.8         5.7      6.0       5.2      5.5     5.4
Arkansas.....            5.5     5.4      6.2      5.9     5.6         5.4      5.9       5.6      5.4     5.0
California.....          6.6     6.9      6.9      6.9     6.7         6.3      6.6       6.2      6.3     6.0
Colorado.....            6.6     7.0      7.1      6.6     6.8         6.1      6.5       6.2      6.5     6.2
Connecticut.....         5.3     5.4      5.2      5.1     5.5         5.0      5.4       5.4      5.2     5.1
Delaware.....            6.6     6.8      6.3      6.2     6.6         6.5      6.7       6.6      6.2     5.9
District of Columbia..   5.3     5.9      6.2      5.6     5.7         5.6      5.8       5.8      5.6     4.7
Florida.....             6.2     6.5      7.4      6.7     6.1         5.8      5.9       5.8      6.1     5.5

Georgia.....             6.2     6.9      6.7      6.6     6.3         5.8      6.4       5.9      5.8     5.8
Hawaii.....              5.2     5.4      6.0      5.0     5.1         5.0      5.8       4.8      5.0     4.8
Idaho.....               8.2     7.2      7.9      7.5     7.9         6.5      7.0       7.3      6.7     6.3
Illinois.....            5.6     6.0      5.7      6.1     5.8         5.6      5.9       5.7      5.6     5.4
Indiana.....             5.5     5.4      5.8      5.4     5.7         5.3      5.2       5.1      5.2     5.1
Iowa.....                6.1     5.7      6.1      5.7     6.1         5.4      6.2       5.8      5.9     5.5
Kansas.....              5.8     5.7      6.2      5.9     5.8         5.9      6.3       5.6      5.7     5.6
Kentucky.....            5.9     6.2      6.8      6.1     5.7         6.0      6.0       6.3      5.8     5.4
Louisiana.....           6.0     6.0      6.8      5.9     6.4         6.7      6.9       6.5      6.5     5.9
Maine.....               7.2     7.7      6.7      7.4     7.2         6.9      6.8       7.4      7.1     6.4

Maryland.....            6.2     6.4      6.6      6.6     6.1         6.0      6.2       5.9      6.2     5.9
Massachusetts.....       5.4     6.0      5.7      5.6     5.5         5.1      5.2       5.4      5.4     5.1
Michigan.....            5.3     5.9      5.7      5.5     5.6         4.9      5.4       5.5      5.4     5.0
Minnesota.....           5.5     5.9      6.1      5.7     5.8         5.2      5.5       5.5      5.7     4.7
Mississippi.....         5.9     5.7      6.3      6.3     5.7         6.2      6.5       5.5      5.6     5.9
Missouri.....            5.6     5.7      5.7      5.7     5.9         5.3      5.4       5.4      5.6     4.9
Montana.....             7.9     7.9      7.6      7.8     8.1         7.3      8.6       7.7      7.5     7.1
Nebraska.....            5.9     5.7      6.4      5.7     5.9         5.5      5.9       5.9      6.2     5.2
Nevada.....              6.4     6.5      6.8      6.2     6.6         5.9      5.8       5.5      5.6     5.2
New Hampshire.....       6.0     6.5      6.4      6.3     5.7         5.8      5.9       6.3      5.9     5.6

New Jersey.....          5.8     6.4      6.3      6.4     5.5         6.0      5.7       5.9      5.9     5.8
New Mexico.....          6.4     6.4      7.0      6.6     6.4         6.4      6.7       6.2      6.5     6.2
New York.....            6.2     6.3      6.3      6.1     6.2         5.8      5.8       5.9      5.9     5.7
North Carolina.....      6.1     6.3      6.3      6.3     6.2         5.6      5.8       5.9      5.7     5.5
North Dakota.....        6.7     6.8      8.2      6.7     7.6         8.9      8.9       7.1      7.7     6.7
Ohio.....                5.5     5.6      5.7      5.7     5.7         5.2      5.7       5.7      5.4     5.1
Oklahoma.....            5.7     5.8      6.3      6.5     6.3         6.3      6.8       6.0      6.3     6.5
Oregon.....              7.1     6.8      6.9      6.6     6.9         5.8      6.6       6.4      6.3     5.7
Pennsylvania.....        5.4     5.3      5.6      5.4     5.2         5.3      5.4       5.1      5.1     5.0
Rhode Island.....        5.8     6.1      5.6      5.7     6.3         5.9      6.2       5.9      5.8     5.9

South Carolina.....      6.0     6.3      6.3      6.5     6.0         6.0      5.8       5.6      5.4     5.6
South Dakota.....        6.2     6.4      6.4      6.0     6.4         6.1      6.2       6.2      6.1     5.9
Tennessee.....           5.4     5.8      5.9      5.8     5.1         5.2      5.4       5.2      5.1     4.9
Texas.....               5.4     5.8      6.2      5.9     5.8         5.8      5.5       5.5      5.4     5.2
Utah.....                7.3     6.7      7.4      6.8     7.7         6.0      6.4       6.7      6.4     6.1
Vermont.....             6.7     7.4      7.2      7.0     6.6         6.9      7.2       7.4      7.0     6.8
Virginia.....            5.9     6.5      6.2      6.2     6.0         6.0      6.1       6.1      5.9     5.6
Washington.....          7.1     7.3      6.7      7.1     6.8         6.0      6.0       6.6      6.7     5.6
West Virginia.....       5.9     5.8      6.5      6.4     6.3         6.9      6.9       6.4      6.2     6.4
Wisconsin.....           5.6     5.7      5.5      5.5     5.9         5.2      5.7       5.6      5.3     4.8

Wyoming.....             8.1     7.7      8.5      8.8     8.8         9.4     10.6       8.8      8.7     8.1
Puerto Rico.....         5.7     5.6      5.8      5.8     5.1         6.0      5.5       5.7      5.4     5.7
Virgin Islands.....      6.0     6.5      6.2      6.0     5.3         5.8      5.7       6.8      6.0     5.5

(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.






Table 8.  Private sector establishment births and deaths, seasonally adjusted

Total private

(Levels in thousands)

                              Number of Establishments                     Employment
                             Births             Deaths(1)            Births             Deaths
Year  3 months ended     Level    Rate(2)   Level    Rate       Level      Rate    Level      Rate

2007  March               232      3.2       205     2.8          918        .8      787        .7
      June                225      3.1       215     3.0          898        .8      859        .8
      September           233      3.2       216     3.0          952        .8      845        .7
      December            228      3.1       218     3.0          922        .8      836        .7
  
2008  March               226      3.1       224     3.1          919        .8      832        .7
      June                221      3.0       238     3.3          876        .8      913        .8
      September           216      3.0       233     3.2          849        .8      881        .8
      December            211      2.9       253     3.5          819        .7      951        .9
  
2009  March               197      2.7       247     3.4          738        .7      869        .8
      June                201      2.8       238     3.3          767        .7      837        .8
      September           192      2.7       227     3.2          725        .7      793        .7
      December            202      2.8       218     3.1          728        .7      749        .7
  
2010  March               193      2.7       211     3.0          706        .7      687        .7
      June                193      2.7       202     2.9          730        .7      665        .6
      September           207      2.9       204     2.9          754        .7      701        .7
      December            216      3.0       201     2.8          805        .8      700        .7
  
2011  March               204      2.9       200     2.8          715        .7      632        .6
      June                210      2.9       205     2.9          767        .7      689        .6
      September           206      2.9       196     2.7          794        .7      675        .6
      December            214      3.0       198     2.8          800        .7      700        .6
  
2012  March               236      3.3       188     2.6          787        .7      614        .6
      June                217      3.0       194     2.7          799        .7      673        .6
      September           210      2.9       196     2.7          804        .7      692        .6
      December            218      3.0       183     2.5          809        .7      673        .6
  
2013  March               205      2.8       192     2.6          748        .7      646        .6
      June                222      3.0       215     2.9          791        .7      696        .6
      September           219      2.9       195     2.6          823        .7      678        .6
      December            216      2.9       187     2.5          804        .7      670        .6
  
2014  March               221      2.9       189     2.5          782        .7      633        .6
      June                220      2.9       205     2.7          806        .7      718        .6
      September           224      3.0       200     2.6          828        .7      706        .6
      December            223      2.9       197     2.6          837        .7      708        .6
  
2015  March               234      3.1       206     2.7          814        .7      691        .6
      June                234      3.1       212     2.8          839        .7      732        .6
      September           242      3.1       207     2.7          880        .7      704        .6
      December            246      3.2       208     2.7          894        .8      732        .6
  
2016  March               236      3.0       202     2.6          787        .7      660        .6
      June                242      3.1       214     2.7          838        .7      724        .6
      September           240      3.1       N/A     N/A          872        .7      N/A       N/A
      December            239      3.0       N/A     N/A          868        .7      N/A       N/A
  
2017  March               240      3.0       N/A     N/A          800        .7      N/A       N/A

(1) Values for deaths are not available for the most recent three quarters by definition. See the 
    Technical Note for more information.

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






Last Modified Date: November 08, 2017