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Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
BDM BDM Program Links

Quarterly Data Series on Business Employment Dynamics News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) 				USDL-15-2204
Wednesday, November 18, 2015	

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 2015

From December 2014 to March 2015, gross job gains from opening and 
expanding private sector establishments were 6.9 million, a decrease
of 711,000 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 6.7 million,
an increase of 158,000 jobs from the previous quarter. 
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)

The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of 
gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 226,000 jobs in the 
private sector during the first quarter of 2015. 
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of
increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses
in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track
these changes in employment at private business units from the third
month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains
are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing 
units and the addition of new jobs at opening units. Gross job losses
are the result of contractions in employment at existing units and the
loss of jobs at closing units. The difference between the number of 
gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change
in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.) 


 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
|         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.   |
|                                                                        |
| Additionally, all historical BED series back to third quarter 1992     |
| have been revised for both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally      |
| adjusted series, to incorporate an administrative scope change. These  |
| revisions are primarily due to the reclassification of a number of     |
| establishments from private households (NAICS 814110) to services for  |
| the elderly and persons with disabilities (NAICS 624120). Private      |
| households are not within the scope of BED and, as a result, those     |
| establishments impacted by this industry reclassification are now      |
| within scope.                                                          |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses at the
establishment level by industry subsector and for the 50 states, the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as 
gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size 
class.

Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 5.7 million in 
the first quarter of 2015, a decrease of 613,000 jobs from the 
previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)

Opening establishments accounted for 1.3 million jobs gained in the 
first quarter of 2015, a decrease of 98,000 jobs from the previous 
quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)

Contracting establishments lost 5.6 million jobs in the first quarter 
of 2015. This was an increase of 236,000 jobs from the prior quarter. 
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)

In the first quarter of 2015, closing establishments lost 1.2 million 
jobs, a decrease of 78,000 jobs from the previous quarter. 
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)

Gross job gains represented 5.9 percent of private sector employment 
in the first quarter of 2015, while gross job losses represented 5.7 
percent of private sector employment. (See tables A, 2, and 3.) 

In the first quarter of 2015, the number of establishment births 
(a subset of the openings data, see the Technical Note for more 
information) increased by 10,000 to 233,000 establishments. These
new establishments accounted for 806,000 jobs, a decrease of 34,000
jobs from the previous quarter. (See table 8.)

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are 
available through the second quarter of 2014, when 717,000 jobs were
lost at 205,000 establishments. In the prior quarter, 630,000 jobs 
were lost at 189,000 establishments.  (See table 8.)

During the first quarter of 2015, gross job gains exceeded gross job 
losses in most industry sectors except the natural resources and mining
sector, manufacturing sector, transportation and warehousing sector, 
information sector, and the professional and business services sector. 
The service-providing sector, with 5.6 million gross job gains and
5.4 million gross job losses, experienced a net increase of 203,000
jobs. The goods-producing sector experienced a net increase of 23,000 
jobs, the result of 1.3 million gross job gains and 1.3 million gross 
job losses. The manufacturing sector, a subset of the goods-producing 
sector, experienced no net employment change over the quarter. 
(See table 3.)


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

Category                                 3 months ended

                                Mar.    June    Sept.   Dec.    Mar.
                                2014    2014    2014    2014    2015

                                      Levels (in thousands)
                                      
Gross job gains................ 6,927   7,467   7,235   7,658  6,947
 At expanding establishments... 5,664   6,128   5,905   6,279  5,666
 At opening establishments..... 1,263   1,339   1,330   1,379  1,281

Gross job losses............... 6,504   6,584   6,710   6,563  6,721
 At contracting establishments. 5,360   5,362   5,523   5,322  5,558
 At closing establishments..... 1,144   1,222   1,187   1,241  1,163

Net employment change(1).......   423     883     525   1,095    226
								
                                         Rates (percent)

Gross job gains................   6.1     6.5     6.3     6.6    5.9
 At expanding establishments...   5.0     5.3     5.1     5.4    4.8
 At opening establishments.....   1.1     1.2     1.2     1.2    1.1

Gross job losses...............   5.7     5.8     5.8     5.7    5.7
 At contracting establishments.   4.7     4.7     4.8     4.6    4.7
 At closing establishments.....   1.0     1.1     1.0     1.1    1.0

Net employment change(1).......    .4      .7      .5      .9     .2

    (1) The net employment change is the difference between total 
    gross job gains and total gross job losses.  See the Technical 
    Note for further information.

In the first quarter of 2015, firms with 1-49 employees had a net 
employment gain of 185,000. Firms with 50-249 employees had a net 
employment gain of 78,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment loss of 25,000. (See table 4 and 5.)    

Of the 2.6 million net jobs created over the last year, firms with 1-49 
employees contributed 33 percent of net job growth, while firms with 
50-249 employees contributed 21 percent, and firms with 250 or more 
employees contributed 46 percent. (See table 4 and 5.)

In the first quarter of 2015, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses
in 31 states and the District of Columbia. California experienced 
938,495 gross job gains and 853,530 gross job losses resulting in a net
employment gain of 84,965. This is the largest net employment gain of 
any state this quarter. Florida had the second largest net employment 
gain this quarter with 48,326 net jobs, the result of 433,403 gross job
gains and 385,077 gross job losses. (See table 6.) Alaska had the 
highest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 10.4 
percent, above the U.S. rate of 5.9 percent. Hawaii had the lowest rate
of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 4.8 percent, below 
the U.S. rate of 5.7 percent. (See table 7.)

More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses is 
available online at www.bls.gov/bdm. This information includes data on
the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm 
size, not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time
series not presented in this release, charts of gross job gains and 
gross job losses by industry and firm size, and frequently asked 
questions on firm size data. Additional information about the Business
Employment Dynamics data can be found in the Technical Note of this 
release or may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. 

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2015 are scheduled |
| to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).     |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                                 
Technical Note

   
   The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-
state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages 
(QCEW).  The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 
(BLS) from existing QCEW records.  Most employers in the U.S. are required 
to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by 
unemployment insurance (UI) laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW 
is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to 
the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs). These UI reports are 
supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to render administrative
data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW  and 
form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame.
   
   These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on total 
employment and wages and the longitudinal BED data on gross job gains and
losses. The QCEW is also the employment benchmark for  the Current
Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), and 
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) programs and is a major input
to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts.
   
   In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are linked across quarters
to provide a longitudinal   history for each establishment.  The linkage 
process allows the tracking of net employment changes at the establishment
level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and 
expanding units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.                                     

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures

   The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment mea-
sures for any given quarter.  Each of these measures -- QCEW, BED, and CES--
makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; how-
ever, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, estimation
procedure, and publication product.

   Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat 
different measures of over-the-quarter employment change. It is important to
understand program differences and the intended uses of the program products.
(See table below.)

   Additional information on each program can be obtained from the program 
web sites shown in the table below.

				                                  
Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           |         QCEW        |         BED          |         CES
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Source     |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey: 
           |  strative records   |  nally-linked UI ad- |  588,000 establish-
           |  submitted by 9.5   |  ministrative records|  ments
           |  million employers  |  submitted by 7.6    |
           |                     |  million private sec-|
           |                     |  tor employers       |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage   |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal-
           |  age:  all employers|  ing government, pri-|  ary jobs:
           |  subject to state   |  vate households, and|--UI Coverage, exclud-
           |  and federal UI Laws|  establishments with |  ing: agriculture, pri-
           |                     |  zero employment     |  vate households, and
           |                     |                      |  self-employed;
           |                     |                      |  including: railroads,
           |                     |                      |  religious organiza-
           |                     |                      |  tions, and other non-
           |                     |                      |  UI-covered jobs
           |                     |                      |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly          |--Quarterly           |--Monthly 
frequency  |  -6 months after the|  -7 months after the |  -First Friday
           |   end of each quar- |   end of each quarter|   of following month
           |   ter               |                      |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Use of UI  |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI   |--Uses UI file as a sam-
file       |  and publishes each |  quarter to longitu- |  pling frame and annu-
           |  new quarter of UI  |  dinal database and  |  ally realigns (bench-
           |  data               |  directly summarizes |  marks) sample esti-    
           |                     |  gross job gains and |  mates to first quar-  
           |                     |  losses              |  ter UI levels
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal  |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly  |--Provides current month-
products   |  ly and annual uni- |  employer dynamics   |  ly estimates of employ-
           |  verse count of es- |  data on establish-  |  ment, hours, and earn-
           |  tablishments, em-  |  ment openings, clos-|  ings at the MSA, state,
           |  ployment, and wages|  ings, expansions,   |  and national level by
           |  at the county, MSA,|  and contractions at |  industry
           |  State, and national|  the national level  |
           |  levels by detailed |  by NAICS super-     |
           |  industry           |  sectors,3-digit     |
           |                     |  NAICS, and by size  |
           |                     |  of firm, and at the |   
           |                     |  state private-sector|
           |                     |  total level         | 
           |                     |--Future expansions   |
           |                     |  will include        |
           |                     |  data at the county  |
           |                     |  and MSA level       |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal  |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses       |  -Detailed locality |  -Business cycle     |  -Principal national
           |   data              |   analysis           |   economic indicator
           |  -Periodic universe |  -Analysis of employ-|  -Official time series 
           |   counts for bench- |   er dynamics under- |   for employment change
           |   marking sample    |   lying economic ex- |   measures
           |   survey estimates  |   pansions and con-  |  -Input into other ma-
           |  -Sample frame for  |   tractions          |   jor economic indi-
           |   BLS establishment |  -Analysis of employ-|   cators
           |   surveys           |   ment expansion and |
           |                     |   contraction by size|   
           |                     |   of firm            |
           |                     |                      |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Program    |--www.bls.gov/cew/   |--www.bls.gov/bdm/    |--www.bls.gov/ces/
Web sites  |                     |                      |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               
                           
Coverage                           

   Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and Unemployment 
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) laws are compiled from quarterly 
contribution reports submitted to the SESAs by employers.  In addition to the
quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate multiple establishments 
within a state complete a questionnaire, called the "Multiple Worksite Report,"
which provides detailed information on the location of their establishments.    
These reports are based on place of employment rather than place of residence. 
UI and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable from state to state.

   Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, religious or-
ganizations, most agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the 
Armed Forces, elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads, 
some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of cer-
tain small nonprofit organizations.   
   
   Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from lon-
gitudinal histories of 7.6 million private sector employer reports out 
of 9.5 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to 
BLS in the first quarter of 2015.  Gross job gains and gross job losses data 
in this release do not report estimates for government employees or private 
households (NAICS 814110), and do not include establishments with zero employ-
ment in both previous and current quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and the 
Virgin Islands are also excluded from the national data. As an illustration, 
the table below shows, in millions of establishments, the number of 
establishments excluded from the national gross job gains and gross job losses 
data in the first quarter 2015:

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

                                                                   Millions
                                                                       
Total establishments QCEW program....................................9.5

    Excluded:  Public sector.........................................0.3 
               Private households....................................0.2
               Zero employment.......................................1.3      
               Establishments in Puerto Rico 
                 and the Virgin Islands..............................0.1 

                 
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data.............................................7.6

Unit of analysis
   
   Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by in-
dustry and firms are used in the tabulation of the BED size class sta-
tistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that produces 
goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in
one or predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either 
corporate or otherwise, and may consist of several establishments. Firm-
level data are compiled based on an aggregation of establishments under
common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification
numbers.  The firm level aggregation which is consistent with the role of
corporations as the economic decision makers are used for the measurement
of the BED data elements by size class.
   
   Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job gains 
and gross job losses by size class are lower than total gross job gains and 
gross job losses by industry, as some establishment gains and losses within 
a firm are offset during the aggregation process.  However, the total net 
changes in employment are the same for not seasonally adjusted data and are
similar for seasonally adjusted data.
                                 
Concepts and methodology

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

   Openings.  These are either units with positive third month employment for 
the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or 
with positive third month employment in the current quarter following zero em-
ployment in the previous quarter.
                                     
   Expansions.  These are units with positive employment in the third month 
in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employment
over this period.
   
   Closings.  These are either units with positive third month employment in 
the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the 
current quarter.
   Contractions.  These are units with positive employment in the third month
in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in employment
over this period.   

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

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

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

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

Establishment Births and Deaths

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

Linkage methodology

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

   In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SESAs verify with 
employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and ownership 
classification of all establishments on a 4-year cycle.  Changes in establish-
ment classification codes resulting from the verification process are intro-
duced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year.  Changes re-
sulting from improved employer reporting also are introduced in the first 
quarter. 
                              
Sizing methodology
   
   The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED size 
class data series.  Dynamic sizing allocates each firm’s employment gain or 
loss during a quarter to each respective size class in which the change 
occurred.  For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38 
employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be al-
located to the first size class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size 
class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49.

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

Annual Data

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

Seasonal adjustment

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

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

   The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contrac-
ting units are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated 
based on the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. Simi-
larly, for industry data, the establishment counts data series for opening,
expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted, 
and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number 
of opening and closing establishments.  Additionally establishment and em-
ployment levels are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the sea-
sonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 
ARIMA.  Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the sum of 
seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including the unclassified sector, 
which is not separately published.

   The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series 
will differ from the net employment change estimated from the seasonally ad-
justed total private employment series from the CES program. The intended use 
of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market changes that underlie 
the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested particu-
larly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying 
this change should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment 
changes.
   
Reliability of the data
   
   Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on admini-
strative rather than sample data, there are no issues related to sampling 
error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists.  Nonsampling errors can oc-
cur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected employment 
data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses
when providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distri-
buted randomly throughout the dataset. 
   
   Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the 
linkage process. This can result in overstating openings and closings while 
understating expansions and contractions. The BLS continues to refine methods
for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these compli-
cations.
   
   The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on correc-
tions in QCEW records, updates on predecessors and successors information, and
seasonal adjustment revisions.

   Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the first qua-
rter data. These revisions cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adj-
usted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data.
                      
Additional statistics and other information
   
   Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information.	
The QCEW program provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment 
by state, county, and detailed industry. News releases on quarterly county e
mployment and wages and an annual bulletin: Employment and Wages Annual 
Averages, are available upon request from the Division of Administrative 
Statistics and Labor Turnover, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department 
of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; telephone 202-691-6567; 
(http://www.bls.gov/cew/);  (e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).   
                                      
   The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, its net change,
and earnings by detailed industry.  These estimates are part of the Employ-
ment Situation report put out monthly by BLS.  
                                     
   The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides month-
ly measures of job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.

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


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

Total private

(In thousands)

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

2005  March                475      7,779       6,222         1,557       7,304       5,828           1,476
      June                 516      7,753       6,183         1,570       7,237       5,802           1,435
      September            736      8,023       6,412         1,611       7,287       5,813           1,474
      December             467      7,812       6,239         1,573       7,345       5,960           1,385

2006  March                896      7,880       6,383         1,497       6,984       5,661           1,323
      June                 342      7,766       6,228         1,538       7,424       6,026           1,398
      September             92      7,545       6,076         1,469       7,453       6,067           1,386
      December             431      7,770       6,226         1,544       7,339       5,964           1,375

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                315      6,521       5,304         1,217       6,206       5,026           1,180
      June                 595      6,976       5,633         1,343       6,381       5,113           1,268
      September            833      7,198       5,804         1,394       6,365       5,174           1,191
      December             350      6,878       5,515         1,363       6,528       5,271           1,257

2012  March                933      7,059       5,729         1,330       6,126       5,003           1,123
      June                 618      7,057       5,733         1,324       6,439       5,270           1,169
      September            255      6,886       5,573         1,313       6,631       5,433           1,198
      December             708      7,122       5,762         1,360       6,414       5,221           1,193

2013  March                544      6,913       5,685         1,228       6,369       5,191           1,178
      June                 666      7,160       5,839         1,321       6,494       5,284           1,210
      September            473      7,051       5,710         1,341       6,578       5,430           1,148
      December             728      7,279       5,944         1,335       6,551       5,343           1,208

2014  March                423      6,927       5,664         1,263       6,504       5,360           1,144
      June                 883      7,467       6,128         1,339       6,584       5,362           1,222
      September            525      7,235       5,905         1,330       6,710       5,523           1,187
      December           1,095      7,658       6,279         1,379       6,563       5,322           1,241

2015  March                226      6,947       5,666         1,281       6,721       5,558           1,163

(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

2005  March                 .5       7.1         5.7           1.4         6.6          5.3            1.3
      June                  .4       7.0         5.6           1.4         6.6          5.3            1.3
      September             .8       7.3         5.8           1.5         6.5          5.2            1.3
      December              .4       7.0         5.6           1.4         6.6          5.4            1.2

2006  March                 .8       7.0         5.7           1.3         6.2          5.0            1.2
      June                  .4       6.9         5.5           1.4         6.5          5.3            1.2
      September             .1       6.7         5.4           1.3         6.6          5.4            1.2
      December              .4       6.9         5.5           1.4         6.5          5.3            1.2

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                 .2       6.0         4.9           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             .5       6.3         5.1           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December              .9       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.7          4.6            1.1

2015  March                 .2       5.9         4.8           1.1         5.7          4.7            1.0

(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.  
                                   2014    2014    2014    2014    2015   2014   2014   2014   2014   2015
Total private(1)

Gross job gains                   6,927   7,467   7,235   7,658   6,947    6.1    6.5    6.3    6.6    5.9
 At expanding establishments      5,664   6,128   5,905   6,279   5,666    5.0    5.3    5.1    5.4    4.8
 At opening establishments        1,263   1,339   1,330   1,379   1,281    1.1    1.2    1.2    1.2    1.1
Gross job losses                  6,504   6,584   6,710   6,563   6,721    5.7    5.8    5.8    5.7    5.7
 At contracting establishments    5,360   5,362   5,523   5,322   5,558    4.7    4.7    4.8    4.6    4.7
 At closing establishments        1,144   1,222   1,187   1,241   1,163    1.0    1.1    1.0    1.1    1.0
Net employment change               423     883     525   1,095     226     .4     .7     .5     .9     .2

Goods-producing

Gross job gains                   1,370   1,421   1,357   1,393   1,321    6.8    7.0    6.7    6.8    6.4
 At expanding establishments      1,171   1,216   1,157   1,195   1,136    5.8    6.0    5.7    5.8    5.5
 At opening establishments          199     205     200     198     185    1.0    1.0    1.0    1.0     .9
Gross job losses                  1,216   1,253   1,236   1,269   1,298    6.1    6.2    6.0    6.2    6.3
 At contracting establishments    1,022   1,046   1,047   1,070   1,113    5.1    5.2    5.1    5.2    5.4
 At closing establishments          194     207     189     199     185    1.0    1.0     .9    1.0     .9
Net employment change               154     168     121     124      23     .7     .8     .7     .6     .1

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains                     290     284     286     280     284   14.1   13.8   13.8   13.4   13.5
 At expanding establishments        253     249     248     243     250   12.3   12.1   12.0   11.6   11.9
 At opening establishments           37      35      38      37      34    1.8    1.7    1.8    1.8    1.6
Gross job losses                    255     275     253     285     297   12.4   13.3   12.3   13.7   14.2
 At contracting establishments      221     237     220     250     264   10.7   11.5   10.7   12.0   12.6
 At closing establishments           34      38      33      35      33    1.7    1.8    1.6    1.7    1.6
Net employment change                35       9      33      -5     -13    1.7     .5    1.5    -.3    -.7

Construction

Gross job gains                     680     698     663     669     652   11.4   11.5   10.8   10.8   10.3
 At expanding establishments        555     565     541     546     533    9.3    9.3    8.8    8.8    8.4
 At opening establishments          125     133     122     123     119    2.1    2.2    2.0    2.0    1.9
Gross job losses                    590     606     589     606     616    9.9   10.0    9.6    9.7    9.8
 At contracting establishments      471     485     476     485     503    7.9    8.0    7.8    7.8    8.0
 At closing establishments          119     121     113     121     113    2.0    2.0    1.8    1.9    1.8
Net employment change                90      92      74      63      36    1.5    1.5    1.2    1.1     .5

Manufacturing

Gross job gains                     400     439     408     444     385    3.3    3.6    3.3    3.6    3.2
 At expanding establishments        363     402     368     406     353    3.0    3.3    3.0    3.3    2.9
 At opening establishments           37      37      40      38      32     .3     .3     .3     .3     .3
Gross job losses                    371     372     394     378     385    3.0    3.1    3.3    3.1    3.1
 At contracting establishments      330     324     351     335     346    2.7    2.7    2.9    2.7    2.8
 At closing establishments           41      48      43      43      39     .3     .4     .4     .4     .3
Net employment change                29      67      14      66       0     .3     .5     .0     .5     .1

Service-providing(1)

Gross job gains                   5,557   6,046   5,878   6,265   5,626    5.9    6.4    6.2    6.5    5.8
 At expanding establishments      4,493   4,912   4,748   5,084   4,530    4.8    5.2    5.0    5.3    4.7
 At opening establishments        1,064   1,134   1,130   1,181   1,096    1.1    1.2    1.2    1.2    1.1
Gross job losses                  5,288   5,331   5,474   5,294   5,423    5.6    5.7    5.7    5.5    5.6
 At contracting establishments    4,338   4,316   4,476   4,252   4,445    4.6    4.6    4.7    4.4    4.6
 At closing establishments          950   1,015     998   1,042     978    1.0    1.1    1.0    1.1    1.0
Net employment change               269     715     404     971     203     .3     .7     .5    1.0     .2

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains                     275     286     278     293     262    4.7    4.9    4.8    5.0    4.5
 At expanding establishments        227     240     231     243     218    3.9    4.1    4.0    4.1    3.7
 At opening establishments           48      46      47      50      44     .8     .8     .8     .9     .8
Gross job losses                    253     250     255     247     256    4.4    4.3    4.3    4.2    4.4
 At contracting establishments      197     192     200     192     204    3.4    3.3    3.4    3.3    3.5
 At closing establishments           56      58      55      55      52    1.0    1.0     .9     .9     .9
Net employment change                22      36      23      46       6     .3     .6     .5     .8     .1

Retail trade

Gross job gains                     882     975     904     952     908    5.8    6.3    5.8    6.2    5.9
 At expanding establishments        760     839     773     829     787    5.0    5.4    5.0    5.4    5.1
 At opening establishments          122     136     131     123     121     .8     .9     .8     .8     .8
Gross job losses                    885     836     911     842     873    5.8    5.4    5.9    5.4    5.6
 At contracting establishments      781     721     800     728     763    5.1    4.7    5.2    4.7    4.9
 At closing establishments          104     115     111     114     110     .7     .7     .7     .7     .7
Net employment change                -3     139      -7     110      35     .0     .9    -.1     .8     .3

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains                     236     248     251     330     228    5.4    5.6    5.7    7.3    5.0
 At expanding establishments        201     212     217     297     197    4.6    4.8    4.9    6.6    4.3
 At opening establishments           35      36      34      33      31     .8     .8     .8     .7     .7
Gross job losses                    245     207     211     205     272    5.6    4.8    4.8    4.6    6.0
 At contracting establishments      210     173     175     170     242    4.8    4.0    4.0    3.8    5.3
 At closing establishments           35      34      36      35      30     .8     .8     .8     .8     .7
Net employment change                -9      41      40     125     -44    -.2     .8     .9    2.7   -1.0

Utilities

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

Information

Gross job gains                     124     142     140     145     124    4.5    5.1    5.1    5.3    4.5
 At expanding establishments        102     119     117     119     107    3.7    4.3    4.3    4.3    3.9
 At opening establishments           22      23      23      26      17     .8     .8     .8    1.0     .6
Gross job losses                    129     133     140     136     128    4.7    4.9    5.2    5.0    4.7
 At contracting establishments      109     109     119     110     104    4.0    4.0    4.4    4.0    3.8
 At closing establishments           20      24      21      26      24     .7     .9     .8    1.0     .9
Net employment change                -5       9       0       9      -4    -.2     .2    -.1     .3    -.2

Financial activities

Gross job gains                     329     376     361     384     341    4.4    4.9    4.7    5.0    4.3
 At expanding establishments        264     306     289     302     275    3.5    4.0    3.8    3.9    3.5
 At opening establishments           65      70      72      82      66     .9     .9     .9    1.1     .8
Gross job losses                    344     337     345     344     330    4.5    4.4    4.5    4.4    4.2
 At contracting establishments      270     262     271     263     257    3.5    3.4    3.5    3.4    3.3
 At closing establishments           74      75      74      81      73    1.0    1.0    1.0    1.0     .9
Net employment change               -15      39      16      40      11    -.1     .5     .2     .6     .1

Professional and business services

Gross job gains                   1,275   1,447   1,395   1,570   1,253    6.7    7.6    7.3    8.1    6.5
 At expanding establishments      1,045   1,191   1,142   1,292   1,025    5.5    6.3    6.0    6.7    5.3
 At opening establishments          230     256     253     278     228    1.2    1.3    1.3    1.4    1.2
Gross job losses                  1,271   1,251   1,263   1,277   1,320    6.8    6.6    6.6    6.6    6.8
 At contracting establishments    1,029     992   1,007   1,002   1,085    5.5    5.2    5.3    5.2    5.6
 At closing establishments          242     259     256     275     235    1.3    1.4    1.3    1.4    1.2
Net employment change                 4     196     132     293     -67    -.1    1.0     .7    1.5    -.3

Education and health services

Gross job gains                     841     892     934     930     855    4.1    4.4    4.5    4.5    4.1
 At expanding establishments        702     736     770     765     706    3.4    3.6    3.7    3.7    3.4
 At opening establishments          139     156     164     165     149     .7     .8     .8     .8     .7
Gross job losses                    787     838     792     778     818    3.8    4.1    3.9    3.8    3.9
 At contracting establishments      642     672     637     619     642    3.1    3.3    3.1    3.0    3.1
 At closing establishments          145     166     155     159     176     .7     .8     .8     .8     .8
Net employment change                54      54     142     152      37     .3     .3     .6     .7     .2

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains                   1,207   1,283   1,214   1,257   1,235    8.3    8.8    8.3    8.5    8.3
 At expanding establishments        946   1,005     953     981     964    6.5    6.9    6.5    6.6    6.5
 At opening establishments          261     278     261     276     271    1.8    1.9    1.8    1.9    1.8
Gross job losses                  1,080   1,169   1,235   1,146   1,112    7.5    8.0    8.4    7.7    7.4
 At contracting establishments      883     964   1,024     932     916    6.1    6.6    7.0    6.3    6.1
 At closing establishments          197     205     211     214     196    1.4    1.4    1.4    1.4    1.3
Net employment change               127     114     -21     111     123     .8     .8    -.1     .8     .9

Other services

Gross job gains                     282     305     286     284     276    7.2    7.7    7.2    7.2    7.0
 At expanding establishments        224     241     228     226     218    5.7    6.1    5.7    5.7    5.5
 At opening establishments           58      64      58      58      58    1.5    1.6    1.5    1.5    1.5
Gross job losses                    256     271     284     274     266    6.6    6.9    7.1    6.8    6.6
 At contracting establishments      199     212     224     213     209    5.1    5.4    5.6    5.3    5.2
 At closing establishments           57      59      60      61      57    1.5    1.5    1.5    1.5    1.4
Net employment change                26      34       2      10      10     .6     .8     .1     .4     .4

(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

2005  March            416      6,418    6,002          58       3,424    3,366         90        1,175    1,085         268        1,819    1,551
      June             518      6,383    5,865         217       3,456    3,239        126        1,180    1,054         175        1,747    1,572
      September        767      6,699    5,932         228       3,517    3,289        110        1,199    1,089         429        1,983    1,554
      December         513      6,408    5,895         195       3,470    3,275         55        1,147    1,092         263        1,791    1,528

2006  March            782      6,460    5,678         312       3,538    3,226        211        1,216    1,005         259        1,706    1,447
      June             369      6,329    5,960         111       3,425    3,314        102        1,179    1,077         156        1,725    1,569
      September         86      6,120    6,034          -5       3,334    3,339         48        1,133    1,085          43        1,653    1,610
      December         446      6,388    5,942         137       3,406    3,269         80        1,153    1,073         229        1,829    1,600

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            327      5,358    5,031          98       2,978    2,880        121          969      848         108        1,411    1,303
      June             547      5,757    5,210         193       3,076    2,883        173        1,065      892         181        1,616    1,435
      September        841      5,965    5,124         266       3,132    2,866        170        1,065      895         405        1,768    1,363
      December         311      5,592    5,281          43       2,970    2,927         45          982      937         223        1,640    1,417

2012  March            960      5,883    4,923         397       3,175    2,778        220        1,052      832         343        1,656    1,313
      June             610      5,836    5,226         175       3,043    2,868        162        1,077      915         273        1,716    1,443
      September        230      5,584    5,354          50       2,959    2,909         52        1,005      953         128        1,620    1,492
      December         641      5,777    5,136         177       3,023    2,846         89        1,011      922         375        1,743    1,368

2013  March            576      5,719    5,143         229       3,077    2,848        155        1,024      869         192        1,618    1,426
      June             650      5,922    5,272         224       3,088    2,864        141        1,078      937         285        1,756    1,471
      September        449      5,757    5,308         207       3,054    2,847         60        1,016      956         182        1,687    1,505
      December         649      5,892    5,243         125       3,023    2,898        102        1,033      931         422        1,836    1,414

2014  March            448      5,642    5,194         256       3,077    2,821        152        1,031      879          40        1,534    1,494
      June             887      6,152    5,265         298       3,182    2,884        221        1,127      906         368        1,843    1,475
      September        505      5,850    5,345         161       3,046    2,885        101        1,059      958         243        1,745    1,502
      December         987      6,164    5,177         218       3,108    2,890        153        1,085      932         616        1,971    1,355

2015  March            238      5,607    5,369         185       3,064    2,879         78        1,013      935         -25        1,530    1,555


(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.  
                                   2014    2014    2014    2014    2015   2014   2014   2014   2014   2015
Total private by firm(1)

Gross job gains                   5,642   6,152   5,850   6,164   5,607    4.9    5.4    5.1    5.3    4.8
 At expanding firms               4,742   5,244   4,957   5,237   4,699    4.1    4.6    4.3    4.5    4.0
 At opening firms                   900     908     893     927     908     .8     .8     .8     .8     .8

Gross job losses                  5,194   5,265   5,345   5,177   5,369    4.5    4.5    4.6    4.4    4.6
 At contracting firms             4,361   4,422   4,522   4,320   4,536    3.8    3.8    3.9    3.7    3.9
 At closing firms                   833     843     823     857     833     .7     .7     .7     .7     .7

Net employment change               448     887     505     987     238     .4     .9     .5     .9     .2


Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains                   3,077   3,182   3,046   3,108   3,064    9.5    9.8    9.3    9.5    9.2
 At expanding firms               2,212   2,312   2,197   2,224   2,192    6.8    7.1    6.7    6.8    6.6
 At opening firms                   865     870     849     884     872    2.7    2.7    2.6    2.7    2.6

Gross job losses                  2,821   2,884   2,885   2,890   2,879    8.7    8.9    8.8    8.8    8.7
 At contracting firms             2,022   2,081   2,099   2,077   2,088    6.2    6.4    6.4    6.3    6.3
 At closing firms                   799     803     786     813     791    2.5    2.5    2.4    2.5    2.4

Net employment change               256     298     161     218     185     .8     .9     .5     .7     .5


Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains                   1,031   1,127   1,059   1,085   1,013    4.9    5.4    5.0    5.1    4.7
 At expanding firms               1,001   1,092   1,021   1,047     981    4.8    5.2    4.8    4.9    4.6
 At opening firms                    30      35      38      38      32     .1     .2     .2     .2     .1

Gross job losses                    879     906     958     932     935    4.2    4.3    4.5    4.4    4.4
 At contracting firms               849     877     928     893     900    4.1    4.2    4.4    4.2    4.2
 At closing firms                    30      29      30      39      35     .1     .1     .1     .2     .2

Net employment change               152     221     101     153      78     .7    1.1     .5     .7     .3


Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains                   1,534   1,843   1,745   1,971   1,530    2.5    3.0    2.8    3.2    2.4
 At expanding firms               1,529   1,840   1,739   1,966   1,526    2.5    3.0    2.8    3.2    2.4
 At opening firms                     5       3       6       5       4     .0     .0     .0     .0     .0

Gross job losses                  1,494   1,475   1,502   1,355   1,555    2.4    2.4    2.4    2.2    2.5
 At contracting firms             1,490   1,464   1,495   1,350   1,548    2.4    2.4    2.4    2.2    2.5
 At closing firms                     4      11       7       5       7     .0     .0     .0     .0     .0

Net employment change                40     368     243     616     -25     .1     .6     .4    1.0    -.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. 
                        2014       2014       2014        2014      2015       2014         2014       2014        2014      2015

United States(1)...  6,927,000  7,467,000  7,235,000   7,658,000  6,947,000  6,504,000   6,584,000   6,710,000  6,563,000  6,721,000

Alabama.....            85,698     87,746     89,581      90,302     84,986     84,395      81,872      83,032     79,390     83,133
Alaska.....             27,354     27,551     24,009      26,664     26,843     24,525      27,833      26,244     26,187     23,647
Arizona.....           124,658    128,858    138,330     151,389    130,192    127,086     127,070     118,042    114,098    126,022
Arkansas.....           55,898     53,160     57,019      63,560     52,074     48,861      50,927      52,229     48,759     55,318
California.....        917,303    939,117    954,021   1,009,991    938,495    827,877     869,019     844,371    876,809    853,530
Colorado.....          135,917    146,328    148,683     145,332    142,474    117,137     122,865     125,853    124,926    128,469
Connecticut.....        72,194     79,627     73,610      76,473     67,827     70,952      68,925      74,256     73,361     71,870
Delaware.....           22,627     23,840     22,618      25,677     20,948     21,091      18,871      22,510     19,694     26,759
District of Columbia    28,420     30,683     27,765      26,915     27,023     25,936      27,717      26,903     26,143     26,418
Florida.....           427,774    479,125    492,703     485,325    433,403    383,006     414,368     406,674    408,151    385,077

Georgia.....           220,280    230,136    230,220     238,116    215,750    188,252     201,151     198,351    191,800    195,401
Hawaii.....             24,692     24,892     26,593      26,591     25,524     25,485      25,162      22,937     22,314     24,417
Idaho.....              44,752     41,009     39,677      42,898     49,556     38,251      42,367      38,998     37,619     37,971
Illinois.....          285,810    303,626    283,715     311,522    289,355    271,352     270,682     288,307    274,821    287,323
Indiana.....           131,474    147,131    134,604     159,935    135,251    138,884     124,978     132,690    126,976    135,133
Iowa.....               73,648     78,802     73,749      78,199     75,990     70,575      72,494      73,787     72,224     68,787
Kansas.....             63,844     67,807     63,377      69,883     63,109     61,647      62,668      63,716     59,565     65,217
Kentucky.....           91,787     92,151     92,384     101,092     83,966     88,769      83,722      82,408     81,418     91,550
Louisiana.....         108,230    105,912    107,909     110,344     98,762     93,859     103,557      94,961     94,750    107,998
Maine.....              33,132     38,521     33,320      35,278     31,952     34,896      32,346      34,763     35,410     34,311

Maryland.....          121,499    136,148    133,137     138,559    122,791    119,838     119,577     128,790    126,916    128,633
Massachusetts.....     158,166    183,732    167,961     178,386    153,727    148,501     153,143     159,654    153,746    160,532
Michigan.....          192,830    226,828    191,082     220,069    186,698    179,257     190,752     205,107    186,438    185,816
Minnesota.....         122,490    152,221    131,482     136,923    132,507    129,346     118,383     134,267    128,935    124,085
Mississippi.....        49,959     53,077     53,826      60,007     48,649     51,299      57,214      51,585     46,688     55,261
Missouri.....          125,153    134,758    126,076     142,699    127,642    123,829     119,955     126,568    116,469    122,952
Montana.....            26,277     29,415     28,903      30,556     33,180     28,551      27,569      28,921     28,910     25,995
Nebraska.....           45,549     47,397     47,321      49,553     48,584     44,322      46,101      45,012     43,949     45,229
Nevada.....             68,622     69,877     69,923      70,287     67,468     54,980      59,580      60,168     56,851     57,353
New Hampshire.....      31,408     36,969     32,002      37,142     31,642     32,117      32,986      34,272     32,733     31,333

New Jersey.....        195,106    226,392    206,388     227,119    192,871    206,882     194,451     207,112    203,873    199,775
New Mexico.....         39,379     41,136     40,583      44,135     40,119     39,962      38,390      38,037     37,593     40,337
New York.....          457,654    496,747    479,367     492,207    452,751    442,296     431,265     449,498    438,941    447,485
North Carolina.....    199,537    217,022    209,823     224,428    201,554    190,119     187,185     193,695    183,831    195,257
North Dakota.....       32,111     28,257     30,570      32,877     27,400     24,768      26,193      25,903     25,770     33,253
Ohio.....              253,252    270,847    248,416     274,778    245,199    243,553     234,718     249,027    233,006    251,495
Oklahoma.....           77,375     78,476     77,829      85,458     72,454     72,002      74,533      70,508     69,618     78,715
Oregon.....            100,704    100,630    102,126     103,676    102,857     88,088      91,958      88,464     92,473     84,267
Pennsylvania.....      256,602    274,608    256,883     278,808    241,865    245,303     242,062     254,015    242,138    260,288
Rhode Island.....       22,872     26,185     24,175      26,349     21,815     22,671      22,399      23,327     22,897     23,924

South Carolina.....     96,579     98,984     94,120     107,723     89,525     89,150      90,029      90,053     78,630     88,343
South Dakota.....       21,871     21,565     20,829      21,338     21,738     20,347      20,177      20,142     19,835     19,475
Tennessee.....         126,772    131,374    133,418     147,613    122,997    122,340     118,013     119,313    114,067    123,505
Texas.....             557,909    572,445    578,909     621,191    558,120    482,188     471,468     492,179    482,093    554,065
Utah.....               70,092     75,836     76,796      77,688     81,508     64,326      71,419      64,827     63,747     64,830
Vermont.....            17,159     18,472     17,342      18,971     17,292     17,155      17,352      18,337     16,952     17,199
Virginia.....          159,319    185,419    168,154     170,860    179,773    163,063     166,417     174,206    163,277    166,667
Washington.....        170,242    185,741    178,850     175,377    172,884    151,460     161,538     157,888    156,237    145,606
West Virginia.....      36,189     37,341     34,791      37,372     33,488     37,697      36,240      36,900     34,173     38,029
Wisconsin.....         124,841    138,897    129,875     136,603    129,845    122,129     119,812     132,569    123,187    121,215

Wyoming.....            18,520     19,079     18,166      20,323     19,818     17,537      17,967      18,418     17,717     19,749
Puerto Rico.....        36,520     37,710     37,973      43,614     35,793     44,627      42,541      40,793     33,418     43,227
Virgin Islands.....      1,375      1,669      1,778       1,721      1,497      1,643       1,704       1,522      1,519      1,618

(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. 
                        2014    2014     2014     2014    2015        2014     2014      2014    2014     2015

United States...         6.1     6.5      6.3      6.6     5.9         5.7      5.8       5.8      5.7     5.7

Alabama.....             5.7     5.9      5.9      6.0     5.6         5.6      5.5       5.5      5.2     5.4
Alaska.....             10.8    10.8      9.5     10.6    10.4         9.7     11.0      10.4     10.4     9.2
Arizona.....             5.9     6.0      6.4      7.0     6.0         5.9      6.0       5.5      5.3     5.7
Arkansas.....            5.9     5.6      6.0      6.6     5.4         5.1      5.4       5.5      5.1     5.7
California.....          6.9     7.0      7.1      7.4     6.8         6.2      6.5       6.2      6.4     6.2
Colorado.....            6.8     7.2      7.3      7.0     6.9         5.9      6.1       6.1      6.1     6.1
Connecticut.....         5.1     5.7      5.2      5.4     4.8         5.0      4.9       5.3      5.2     5.1
Delaware.....            6.3     6.6      6.3      7.0     5.7         5.9      5.2       6.2      5.4     7.3
District of Columbia..   5.9     6.3      5.7      5.5     5.5         5.3      5.6       5.4      5.3     5.4
Florida.....             6.5     7.2      7.3      7.1     6.3         5.8      6.2       6.1      6.0     5.6

Georgia.....             6.6     6.9      6.8      6.9     6.2         5.6      6.0       5.9      5.5     5.6
Hawaii.....              4.9     5.0      5.3      5.2     4.9         5.1      5.0       4.5      4.4     4.8
Idaho.....               8.4     7.7      7.5      8.0     9.1         7.2      7.9       7.3      7.0     7.0
Illinois.....            5.8     6.2      5.7      6.2     5.8         5.4      5.5       5.8      5.5     5.7
Indiana.....             5.3     5.9      5.4      6.3     5.3         5.6      5.0       5.3      5.0     5.3
Iowa.....                5.8     6.1      5.8      6.1     5.9         5.5      5.7       5.8      5.6     5.4
Kansas.....              5.7     6.1      5.7      6.2     5.7         5.6      5.6       5.8      5.4     5.8
Kentucky.....            6.2     6.2      6.2      6.6     5.5         6.0      5.6       5.5      5.3     6.0
Louisiana.....           6.8     6.6      6.8      6.8     6.1         5.9      6.5       5.9      5.8     6.7
Maine.....               6.8     7.8      6.7      7.2     6.5         7.1      6.5       7.0      7.2     7.0

Maryland.....            6.0     6.6      6.5      6.7     5.9         5.8      5.8       6.3      6.2     6.2
Massachusetts.....       5.5     6.3      5.7      6.0     5.1         5.2      5.3       5.5      5.2     5.4
Michigan.....            5.4     6.4      5.4      6.2     5.2         5.1      5.4       5.7      5.2     5.1
Minnesota.....           5.2     6.5      5.6      5.8     5.6         5.6      5.1       5.7      5.4     5.2
Mississippi.....         5.8     6.2      6.2      6.9     5.5         6.0      6.6       6.0      5.4     6.4
Missouri.....            5.6     6.0      5.7      6.3     5.6         5.6      5.3       5.7      5.1     5.4
Montana.....             7.3     8.2      8.1      8.5     9.1         8.0      7.7       8.1      8.0     7.2
Nebraska.....            5.8     6.1      6.0      6.2     6.1         5.6      5.9       5.7      5.6     5.6
Nevada.....              6.6     6.7      6.6      6.6     6.3         5.4      5.7       5.7      5.3     5.3
New Hampshire.....       5.9     6.9      5.9      6.9     5.7         5.9      6.1       6.3      6.0     5.7

New Jersey.....          6.0     7.0      6.3      6.9     5.8         6.3      5.9       6.4      6.2     6.0
New Mexico.....          6.5     6.8      6.6      7.2     6.4         6.5      6.2       6.1      6.1     6.5
New York.....            6.2     6.7      6.4      6.6     5.9         6.0      5.8       6.0      5.8     5.9
North Carolina.....      6.0     6.4      6.2      6.5     5.9         5.7      5.6       5.7      5.4     5.7
North Dakota.....        8.7     7.6      8.2      8.7     7.1         6.7      7.0       6.9      6.7     8.7
Ohio.....                5.6     6.1      5.5      6.1     5.4         5.5      5.2       5.5      5.1     5.6
Oklahoma.....            6.2     6.3      6.2      6.7     5.7         5.7      6.0       5.6      5.5     6.1
Oregon.....              7.0     6.9      7.0      7.1     6.9         6.2      6.4       6.2      6.3     5.7
Pennsylvania.....        5.2     5.6      5.2      5.6     4.9         4.9      4.8       5.1      4.9     5.2
Rhode Island.....        5.7     6.5      5.9      6.4     5.3         5.7      5.5       5.8      5.6     5.8

South Carolina.....      6.2     6.4      6.0      6.8     5.7         5.8      5.8       5.8      5.0     5.5
South Dakota.....        6.5     6.4      6.2      6.3     6.3         6.1      6.0       5.9      5.8     5.7
Tennessee.....           5.5     5.7      5.7      6.2     5.2         5.3      5.1       5.0      4.8     5.2
Texas.....               5.9     6.0      6.1      6.4     5.8         5.1      4.9       5.1      5.0     5.7
Utah.....                6.5     7.1      7.1      7.2     7.3         6.0      6.7       6.0      5.8     5.9
Vermont.....             6.9     7.3      6.9      7.5     6.8         6.8      6.9       7.3      6.7     6.8
Virginia.....            5.4     6.2      5.6      5.8     6.0         5.5      5.7       5.8      5.5     5.6
Washington.....          6.9     7.4      7.1      6.9     6.7         6.0      6.4       6.2      6.1     5.6
West Virginia.....       6.5     6.6      6.2      6.6     6.0         6.7      6.4       6.5      6.0     6.7
Wisconsin.....           5.3     5.8      5.5      5.8     5.4         5.1      5.0       5.6      5.2     5.1

Wyoming.....             8.6     8.7      8.3      9.3     8.9         8.1      8.3       8.5      8.0     8.9
Puerto Rico.....         5.3     5.5      5.6      6.4     5.3         6.5      6.3       6.0      4.9     6.4
Virgin Islands.....      5.0     6.2      6.6      6.2     5.5         6.0      6.3       5.6      5.6     5.9

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

2005  March               227      3.3       196     2.9          972        .9      877        .8
      June                232      3.4       192     2.8          964        .9      845        .8
      September           236      3.4       195     2.8        1,005        .9      885        .8
      December            236      3.4       200     2.9          988        .9      850        .8
  
2006  March               236      3.3       195     2.8          949        .8      767        .7
      June                233      3.3       206     2.9          987        .9      850        .8
      September           224      3.1       210     2.9          934        .8      843        .7
      December            236      3.3       207     2.9          976        .9      812        .7
  
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          712        .7      631        .6
      June                210      2.9       206     2.9          766        .7      690        .6
      September           205      2.9       196     2.7          795        .7      677        .6
      December            214      3.0       198     2.8          802        .7      699        .6
  
2012  March               237      3.3       187     2.6          783        .7      613        .6
      June                216      3.0       195     2.7          799        .7      675        .6
      September           211      2.9       196     2.7          808        .7      693        .6
      December            218      3.0       183     2.5          810        .7      675        .6
  
2013  March               204      2.8       192     2.6          743        .7      644        .6
      June                222      3.0       215     2.9          791        .7      695        .6
      September           219      2.9       195     2.6          824        .7      681        .6
      December            215      2.9       186     2.5          805        .7      672        .6
  
2014  March               220      2.9       189     2.5          779        .7      630        .6
      June                220      2.9       205     2.7          805        .7      717        .6
      September           225      3.0       N/A     N/A          829        .7      N/A       N/A
      December            223      2.9       N/A     N/A          840        .7      N/A       N/A
  
2015  March               233      3.0       N/A     N/A          806        .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 18, 2015