Technical Information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 08-1715
http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, November 20, 2008
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FIRST QUARTER 2008
From December 2007 to March 2008, the number of job gains from opening
and expanding private sector establishments was 7.1 million, and the
number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was
7.4 million, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. (See tables A and 3.)
Over this period, firms with 1,000 or more employees experienced a
decline in their share of gross job gains with 15.2 percent, down from
19.1 percent in the prior quarter. (See tables D and 4.)
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data series include gross job
gains and gross job losses at the establishment level by major
industry sector 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.
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| Changes to Business Employment Dynamics Data |
| |
| Data in this release incorporates 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 5 years of |
| seasonally adjusted data. |
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The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of
increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in
the economy. 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 jobs gained
and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.
(See the Technical Note for more information.)
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses,
seasonally adjusted
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|-------------------------------------
| Mar. | June | Sept.| Dec. | Mar.
Category | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2008
|-------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
----------------------------------|-------------------------------------
| | | | |
Gross job gains...................| 7,627| 7,665| 7,323| 7,676| 7,130
At expanding establishments.....| 6,228| 6,250| 5,849| 6,220| 5,731
At opening establishments.......| 1,399| 1,415| 1,474| 1,456| 1,399
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 7,157| 7,473| 7,564| 7,366| 7,400
At contracting establishments...| 5,872| 6,066| 6,209| 6,010| 6,047
At closing establishments.......| 1,285| 1,407| 1,355| 1,356| 1,353
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| 470| 192| -241| 310| -270
|-------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|-------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 6.7| 6.7| 6.4| 6.8| 6.2
At expanding establishments.....| 5.5| 5.5| 5.1| 5.5| 5.0
At opening establishments.......| 1.2| 1.2| 1.3| 1.3| 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 6.3| 6.5| 6.7| 6.5| 6.5
At contracting establishments...| 5.2| 5.3| 5.5| 5.3| 5.3
At closing establishments.......| 1.1| 1.2| 1.2| 1.2| 1.2
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| .4| .2| -.3| .3| -.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Private Sector Establishment-Level Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
Opening and expanding private sector business establishments gained
7.1 million jobs in the first quarter of 2008, a decrease of 546,000
from the previous quarter. Over the quarter, expanding establishments
added 5.7 million jobs while opening establishments added 1.4 million
jobs.
Gross job losses totaled 7.4 million, an increase of 34,000 from the
previous quarter. During the quarter, contracting establishments lost
6.0 million jobs, while closing establishments lost 1.4 million jobs.
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)
The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number
of gross jobs lost yielded a net change of -270,000 jobs in the
private sector for first quarter 2008. This is the second time in the
past three quarters that there has been a net job loss.
From December 2007 to March 2008, gross job gains represented 6.2
percent of private sector employment, while gross job losses
represented 6.5 percent of private sector employment.
(See tables A and 2.)
Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in the following major
industry sectors: natural resources and mining, construction,
manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and
warehousing, financial activities, and professional and business
services. Education and health services was the only sector that had
gross job gains noticeably higher than gross job losses.
(See tables B and 3.)
Goods-producing. Expanding and opening establishments in the goods-
producing sectors accounted for 1,493,000 jobs gained, and contracting
and closing establishments accounted for 1,758,000 jobs lost. This
net loss of 265,000 jobs results in the seventh consecutive quarter of
net loss.
Construction. In construction, gross job gains fell over the quarter
to 763,000. Although gross job losses also decreased slightly to
869,000, this sector lost a net of 106,000 jobs. This sector
experienced net losses in seven of the previous eight quarters.
Manufacturing. Gross job gains declined to 456,000 while gross job
losses grew to 596,000. This reverses the recent downward trend in
gross job losses. This sector has experienced net losses in all but six
quarters since the beginning of 1998.
Table B. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses by industry,
seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Gross job gains | Gross job losses
| (3 months ended) | (3 months ended)
Industry |-----------------------------|-----------------------------
|Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar.
|2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2008 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2008
-----------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
Total private (1)....|7,627|7,665|7,323|7,676|7,130|7,157|7,473|7,564|7,366|7,400
Goods-Producing.......|1,665|1,633|1,504|1,573|1,493|1,702|1,713|1,725|1,701|1,758
Natural resources | | | | | | | | | |
and mining.........| 286| 290| 262| 292| 274| 288| 274| 274| 261| 293
Construction ........| 867| 820| 772| 784| 763| 828| 865| 882| 875| 869
Manufacturing .......| 512| 523| 470| 497| 456| 586| 574| 569| 565| 596
Service-Providing (1).|5,962|6,032|5,819|6,103|5,637|5,455|5,760|5,839|5,665|5,642
Wholesale trade......| 320| 321| 310| 321| 294| 297| 304| 308| 301| 306
Retail trade ........|1,099|1,029|1,007|1,022| 954| 979|1,042|1,064|1,011| 979
Transportation and | | | | | | | | | |
warehousing..........| 234| 246| 224| 254| 208| 250| 223| 233| 229| 250
Utilities............| 12| 15| 14| 15| 13| 11| 12| 12| 11| 10
Information..........| 140| 161| 155| 145| 154| 136| 139| 154| 155| 153
Financial activities.| 434| 433| 418| 432| 412| 423| 463| 479| 486| 436
Professional and | | | | | | | | | |
business services..|1,310|1,403|1,316|1,440|1,239|1,254|1,347|1,339|1,337|1,358
Education and | | | | | | | | | |
health services....| 818| 795| 810| 814| 785| 669| 696| 685| 666| 667
Leisure and | | | | | | | | | |
hospitality........|1,194|1,228|1,179|1,247|1,158|1,117|1,206|1,224|1,148|1,154
Other services.......| 299| 308| 293| 296| 290| 283| 289| 307| 287| 289
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Service-providing. In the service-providing sectors, gross job gains
decreased to 5,637,000 and gross job losses decreased to 5,642,000.
Job gains at expanding establishments decreased to 4,473,000 jobs,
while job losses at contracting establishments decreased to 4,566,000
jobs.
Education and Health Services. In the education and health services
sector, gross job gains decreased to 785,000 jobs in the first
quarter, while gross job losses remained virtually unchanged at 667,000.
Gross job gains have exceeded gross job losses every quarter since this
series began in 1992.
Retail Trade. In retail trade, gross job gains decreased to
954,000. This is only the second quarter since the series began in 1992
that gross job gains for this sector have been less than one million.
Leisure and Hospitality. Despite the decrease in gross job gains in
first quarter, the leisure and hospitality industry managed to show net
job growth. Other than the four quarters in 2001, this sector has
experienced a net job loss in only two quarters since 1992.
Financial Activities. For the fourth consecutive quarter gross job
losses exceeded gross job gains in this sector. The number of gross job
losses declined to 436,000, and the number of gross job gains also
decreased to 412,000.
Number of Establishments Gaining and Losing Employment
Another way to look at the dynamics of business activities is to
monitor the number and proportion of business units that are growing
and declining. In the first quarter of 2008, the number of
establishments losing jobs exceeded the number of establishments
gaining jobs.
Out of 7.3 million active private-sector establishments, a total of
1,976,000 establishments lost jobs from December 2007 to March 2008.
(See table C.) Of these establishments, 1,596,000 were contracting
establishments and 380,000 were closing establishments. Of the
establishments gaining jobs, 1,517,000 establishments were expanding
and 357,000 establishments were opening, resulting in 1,874,000
establishments gaining jobs.
The number of closing establishments exceeded the number of opening
establishments, resulting in a net loss of 23,000 private sector
establishments during the quarter.
Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of
employment change, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|--------------------------------------
Category | Mar. | June | Sept.| Dec. | Mar.
| 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2008
----------------------------------|-------|-------|------|------|--------
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,950| 1,919| 1,901| 1,940| 1,874
Expanding establishments........| 1,582| 1,559| 1,525| 1,558| 1,517
Opening establishments..........| 368| 360| 376| 382| 357
| | | | |
Establishments losing jobs........| 1,914| 1,952| 1,956| 1,935| 1,976
Contracting establishments......| 1,552| 1,582| 1,595| 1,575| 1,596
Closing establishments..........| 362| 370| 361| 360| 380
| | | | |
Net establishment change (1)......| 6| -10| 15| 22| -23
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1 The net establishment change is the difference between the number of
opening establishments and the number of closing establishments. See the
Technical Note for further information.
Firm-level Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses by Size Class
From December 2007 to March 2008, firms with 1 to 4 employees
accounted for the largest share of gross job gains at 16.2 percent.
Firms with 1,000 or more employees had the highest share of gross job
losses with 16.8 percent, followed closely by firms with 1 to 4
employees with 16.7 percent. (See tables D and 4.)
Table D. Three-month private sector share (1) of gross job gains and losses by firm
size, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Share of gross job gains | Share of gross job losses
| (3 months ended) | (3 months ended)
Firm size |------------------------------|------------------------------
| Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. | Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar.
| 2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2008 | 2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2008
-----------------------|------|-----|-----|-----|-----|------|-----|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
1 - 4 employees..| 15.9| 14.9| 16.2| 15.6| 16.2| 16.7| 16.1| 15.8| 16.0| 16.7
5 - 9 employees..| 12.2| 11.6| 12.2| 11.4| 12.4| 12.5| 12.3| 12.1| 12.3| 12.4
10 - 19 employees..| 12.4| 12.1| 12.2| 11.6| 12.6| 12.5| 12.3| 12.3| 12.4| 12.4
20 - 49 employees..| 14.5| 14.5| 14.3| 13.8| 14.7| 14.3| 14.3| 14.5| 14.4| 14.3
50 - 99 employees..| 8.9| 9.1| 8.9| 8.7| 9.1| 8.8| 8.6| 8.9| 8.9| 8.7
100 - 249 employees..| 9.4| 9.8| 9.2| 9.3| 9.4| 9.0| 8.9| 9.4| 9.1| 8.9
250 - 499 employees..| 5.5| 5.9| 5.6| 5.5| 5.6| 5.3| 5.2| 5.5| 5.3| 5.3
500 - 999 employees..| 4.5| 4.7| 4.6| 4.5| 4.4| 4.0| 4.4| 4.5| 4.5| 4.2
1,000 or more employees| 16.4| 16.9| 16.4| 19.1| 15.2| 16.5| 17.4| 16.6| 16.7| 16.8
| | | | | | | | | |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Shares measure the percent of the category represented by firm size,
and rates may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.
Gross Job Gains and Losses by State
In the first quarter, 19 states, the District of Columbia and the
Virgin Islands had net employment growth. However, 31 states and
Puerto Rico experienced net job losses. Although the number of gross
job gains in Texas declined from fourth quarter, it had the largest net
job growth with 51,572. This is the ninth consecutive quarter that Texas
has had the highest net job gains. After experiencing high net job
growth from third quarter 2003 to third quarter 2006, Florida and Arizona
have had net job losses in five of the past seven quarters. Gross job
gains in California are at the lowest level in the history of the data
series spanning back to 1992. (See table 5.) Connecticut had the
lowest rate of gross job losses and Wyoming had the highest rate of
gross job gains. (See table 6.)
More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses are
available at the Business Employment Dynamics Web page on the BLS Web
site at http://www.bls.gov/bdm. This information includes data on the
levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm size,
the 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.
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| Comparing Business Employment Dynamics Data with Current |
| Employment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment |
| and Wages Data |
| |
| The net change in employment from Business Employment |
| Dynamics (BED) data series will not match the net change in |
| employment from the monthly Current Employment Statistics (CES) |
| survey. The CES estimates are based on monthly surveys from a |
| sample of establishments, while gross job gains and gross job |
| losses are based on a quarterly census of administrative records.|
| In addition, the CES has a different coverage, excluding the |
| agriculture sector but including establishments not covered by |
| the unemployment insurance program. The net over-the-quarter |
| changes derived by aggregating component series in the BED data |
| may be different from the net employment change estimated from |
| the CES seasonally adjusted total employment series. The in- |
| tended use of the BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor |
| market flows that underlie the net changes in aggregate employ- |
| ment levels; data users who want to track net changes in aggre- |
| gate employment levels over time should refer to CES data. |
| |
| BED data have a more limited scope than the Quarterly Census |
| of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data. The data in this release, |
| in contrast to the QCEW data, exclude government employees, |
| private households (NAICS 814110), and establishments with zero |
| employment. |
| |
| See the Technical Note for further information. |
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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), or the ES-202 program. The BED data are compiled by the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing quarterly state unemployment
insurance (UI) records. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file
quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by UI
laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The quarterly UI reports are sent by
the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to BLS and form the basis of the BLS
establishment universe sampling frame. These reports also are used to pro-
duce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and the longitu-
dinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. Other important BLS uses
of the UI reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program.
(See table below for differences between QCEW, CES, and BED.)
In the BED program, the quarterly UI 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 establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establish-
ments.
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures
The BLS 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.
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- | 400,000 establish-
| submitted by 9.2 | ministrative records| ments
| million employers | submitted by 7.3 |
| | 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 workers
| | |--Other employment, in-
| | | cluding railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -7 months after the| -8 months after the | -Usually 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 and by size |
| | of firm, and at the |
| | state private-sector|
| | total level |
| |--Future expansions |
| | will include data |
| | with greater in- |
| | dustry 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 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 | | |
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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 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 over 7.3 million private sector employer reports out
of 9.2 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to
BLS in the first quarter of 2008. 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 also are excluded from the national data. As an illustration,
the table below shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establish-
ments excluded from the gross job gains and gross job losses data in the first
quarter of 2008:
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data at the
national level
Millions
Total establishments QCEW program....................................9.2
Excluded: Public sector.........................................0.3
Private households....................................0.6
Zero employment.......................................0.9
Establishments in Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands..............................0.1
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data.............................................7.3
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, is 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 units with positive third-month employment in the pre-
vious 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.
All establishment-level employment changes are measured from the third
month of each quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their em-
ployment levels. Units with no change in employment count towards estimates
of total employment, but not for levels of gross employment 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.
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 esta-
blishments' unique SWA identification numbers (SWA-ID). Between 95 to 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 re-
cords 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 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.
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 contract-
ing 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 the total private sector are cal-
culated by summing the seasonally adjusted data for all sectors, including
the unclassified sector, which is not published separately.
The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting
units for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia are seasonally
adjusted at the total private level only. The sum of the state series for
opening, expanding, closing, and contracting units will not necessarily be
equal to the national total private series because of the independent seasonal
adjustment of these series.
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.
Additional statistics and other information
Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information.
The QCEW program, also known as the ES-202 program, provides both quarterly
and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed industry.
News releases on quarterly county employment and wages 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
1992 September 599 7,329 5,688 1,641 6,730 5,308 1,422
December 123 6,986 5,452 1,534 6,863 5,484 1,379
1993 March 288 7,117 5,404 1,713 6,829 5,364 1,465
June 734 7,275 5,782 1,493 6,541 5,155 1,386
September 965 7,539 5,926 1,613 6,574 5,265 1,309
December 603 7,375 5,822 1,553 6,772 5,411 1,361
1994 March 559 7,381 5,800 1,581 6,822 5,401 1,421
June 905 7,709 6,041 1,668 6,804 5,315 1,489
September 1,288 8,002 6,277 1,725 6,714 5,426 1,288
December 460 7,535 5,978 1,557 7,075 5,642 1,433
1995 March 758 7,787 6,124 1,663 7,029 5,652 1,377
June 358 7,666 6,006 1,660 7,308 5,840 1,468
September 845 7,983 6,341 1,642 7,138 5,645 1,493
December 378 7,830 6,140 1,690 7,452 5,929 1,523
1996 March 457 7,933 6,179 1,754 7,476 5,967 1,509
June 631 8,051 6,282 1,769 7,420 5,903 1,517
September 704 8,177 6,373 1,804 7,473 5,942 1,531
December 816 8,206 6,396 1,810 7,390 5,875 1,515
1997 March 784 8,214 6,407 1,807 7,430 5,886 1,544
June 584 8,055 6,330 1,725 7,471 5,931 1,540
September 901 8,515 6,718 1,797 7,614 5,927 1,687
December 708 8,617 6,697 1,920 7,909 6,024 1,885
1998 March 711 8,648 6,599 2,049 7,937 6,077 1,860
June 610 8,629 6,552 2,077 8,019 6,224 1,795
September 742 8,508 6,607 1,901 7,766 6,093 1,673
December 768 8,475 6,737 1,738 7,707 6,025 1,682
1999 March 353 8,585 6,626 1,959 8,232 6,395 1,837
June 644 8,539 6,661 1,878 7,895 6,210 1,685
September 588 8,571 6,734 1,837 7,983 6,250 1,733
December 1,005 8,749 6,956 1,793 7,744 6,076 1,668
2000 March 789 8,792 6,924 1,868 8,003 6,341 1,662
June 492 8,499 6,814 1,685 8,007 6,387 1,620
September 296 8,506 6,728 1,778 8,210 6,483 1,727
December 295 8,400 6,702 1,698 8,105 6,433 1,672
2001 March -156 8,436 6,694 1,742 8,592 6,717 1,875
June -792 8,009 6,319 1,690 8,801 7,050 1,751
September -1,184 7,608 5,917 1,691 8,792 6,991 1,801
December -960 7,591 5,932 1,659 8,551 6,858 1,693
2002 March -39 8,049 6,259 1,790 8,088 6,424 1,664
June -38 7,890 6,164 1,726 7,928 6,290 1,638
September -171 7,608 6,015 1,593 7,779 6,248 1,531
December -198 7,522 5,960 1,562 7,720 6,171 1,549
2003 March -412 7,439 5,917 1,522 7,851 6,311 1,540
June -104 7,401 5,928 1,473 7,505 6,040 1,465
September 204 7,383 5,918 1,465 7,179 5,818 1,361
December 309 7,549 6,016 1,533 7,240 5,802 1,438
2004 March 450 7,683 6,189 1,494 7,233 5,799 1,434
June 631 7,760 6,234 1,526 7,129 5,648 1,481
September 215 7,630 6,057 1,573 7,415 5,877 1,538
December 781 7,872 6,256 1,616 7,091 5,660 1,431
2005 March 363 7,595 6,123 1,472 7,232 5,806 1,426
June 585 7,783 6,231 1,552 7,198 5,785 1,413
September 680 7,962 6,387 1,575 7,282 5,834 1,448
December 516 7,833 6,263 1,570 7,317 5,945 1,372
2006 March 787 7,697 6,278 1,419 6,910 5,635 1,275
June 410 7,795 6,274 1,521 7,385 6,009 1,376
September 36 7,488 6,052 1,436 7,452 6,099 1,353
December 492 7,801 6,262 1,539 7,309 5,953 1,356
2007 March 470 7,627 6,228 1,399 7,157 5,872 1,285
June 192 7,665 6,250 1,415 7,473 6,066 1,407
September -241 7,323 5,849 1,474 7,564 6,209 1,355
December 310 7,676 6,220 1,456 7,366 6,010 1,356
2008 March -270 7,130 5,731 1,399 7,400 6,047 1,353
(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
1992 September .7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 5.9 1.6
December .2 7.8 6.1 1.7 7.6 6.1 1.5
1993 March .3 7.9 6.0 1.9 7.6 6.0 1.6
June .8 8.0 6.4 1.6 7.2 5.7 1.5
September 1.1 8.3 6.5 1.8 7.2 5.8 1.4
December .6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5
1994 March .7 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.3 5.8 1.5
June 1.0 8.3 6.5 1.8 7.3 5.7 1.6
September 1.3 8.4 6.6 1.8 7.1 5.7 1.4
December .5 7.9 6.3 1.6 7.4 5.9 1.5
1995 March .8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.9 1.4
June .3 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.6 6.1 1.5
September .9 8.2 6.5 1.7 7.3 5.8 1.5
December .3 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.7 6.1 1.6
1996 March .5 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.6 6.1 1.5
June .7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 6.0 1.5
September .7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 6.0 1.5
December .8 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.4 5.9 1.5
1997 March .9 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.3 5.8 1.5
June .6 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.3 5.8 1.5
September 1.0 8.4 6.6 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6
December .8 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.6 5.8 1.8
1998 March .7 8.4 6.4 2.0 7.7 5.9 1.8
June .6 8.3 6.3 2.0 7.7 6.0 1.7
September .7 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6
December .7 8.0 6.4 1.6 7.3 5.7 1.6
1999 March .3 8.0 6.2 1.8 7.7 6.0 1.7
June .6 8.0 6.2 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6
September .6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6
December 1.0 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.1 5.6 1.5
2000 March .7 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.3 5.8 1.5
June .4 7.7 6.2 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5
September .2 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.5 5.9 1.6
December .3 7.6 6.1 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5
2001 March -.1 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.8 6.1 1.7
June -.8 7.2 5.7 1.5 8.0 6.4 1.6
September -1.2 6.9 5.4 1.5 8.1 6.4 1.7
December -.9 7.0 5.5 1.5 7.9 6.3 1.6
2002 March .0 7.5 5.8 1.7 7.5 6.0 1.5
June .0 7.3 5.7 1.6 7.3 5.8 1.5
September -.1 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.2 5.8 1.4
December .0 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.1 5.7 1.4
2003 March -.4 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.3 5.9 1.4
June -.1 7.0 5.6 1.4 7.1 5.7 1.4
September .2 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3
December .3 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3
2004 March .5 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3
June .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.2 1.4
September .3 7.1 5.6 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4
December .7 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.5 5.2 1.3
2005 March .3 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3
June .5 7.1 5.7 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3
September .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3
December .4 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.6 5.4 1.2
2006 March .8 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.1 5.0 1.1
June .5 7.0 5.6 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 .4 6.7 5.5 1.2 6.3 5.2 1.1
June .2 6.7 5.5 1.2 6.5 5.3 1.2
September -.3 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.7 5.5 1.2
December .3 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2
2008 March -.3 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.5 5.3 1.2
(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.
2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,627 7,665 7,323 7,676 7,130 6.7 6.7 6.4 6.8 6.2
At expanding establishments 6,228 6,250 5,849 6,220 5,731 5.5 5.5 5.1 5.5 5.0
At opening establishments 1,399 1,415 1,474 1,456 1,399 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.2
Gross job losses 7,157 7,473 7,564 7,366 7,400 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.5 6.5
At contracting establishments 5,872 6,066 6,209 6,010 6,047 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.3 5.3
At closing establishments 1,285 1,407 1,355 1,356 1,353 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Net employment change 470 192 -241 310 -270 .4 .2 -.3 .3 -.3
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,665 1,633 1,504 1,573 1,493 7.1 7.0 6.4 6.8 6.5
At expanding establishments 1,416 1,386 1,262 1,337 1,258 6.0 5.9 5.4 5.8 5.5
At opening establishments 249 247 242 236 235 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0
Gross job losses 1,702 1,713 1,725 1,701 1,758 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.4 7.6
At contracting establishments 1,437 1,433 1,455 1,424 1,481 6.1 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.4
At closing establishments 265 280 270 277 277 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Net employment change -37 -80 -221 -128 -265 -.1 -.3 -1.1 -.6 -1.1
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 286 290 262 292 274 15.6 15.8 14.4 15.8 14.5
At expanding establishments 246 251 224 250 234 13.4 13.7 12.3 13.5 12.4
At opening establishments 40 39 38 42 40 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.1
Gross job losses 288 274 274 261 293 15.7 14.9 15.1 14.1 15.5
At contracting establishments 248 233 233 224 251 13.5 12.7 12.8 12.1 13.3
At closing establishments 40 41 41 37 42 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.2
Net employment change -2 16 -12 31 -19 -.1 .9 -.7 1.7 -1.0
Construction
Gross job gains 867 820 772 784 763 11.3 10.7 10.2 10.5 10.2
At expanding establishments 704 657 616 634 614 9.2 8.6 8.1 8.5 8.2
At opening establishments 163 163 156 150 149 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.0
Gross job losses 828 865 882 875 869 10.7 11.3 11.7 11.7 11.7
At contracting establishments 665 696 715 702 698 8.6 9.1 9.5 9.4 9.4
At closing establishments 163 169 167 173 171 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.3
Net employment change 39 -45 -110 -91 -106 .6 -.6 -1.5 -1.2 -1.5
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 512 523 470 497 456 3.6 3.7 3.3 3.6 3.3
At expanding establishments 466 478 422 453 410 3.3 3.4 3.0 3.3 3.0
At opening establishments 46 45 48 44 46 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3
Gross job losses 586 574 569 565 596 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.4
At contracting establishments 524 504 507 498 532 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.9
At closing establishments 62 70 62 67 64 .4 .5 .4 .5 .5
Net employment change -74 -51 -99 -68 -140 -.5 -.4 -.8 -.5 -1.1
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 5,962 6,032 5,819 6,103 5,637 6.6 6.7 6.5 6.7 6.2
At expanding establishments 4,812 4,864 4,587 4,883 4,473 5.3 5.4 5.1 5.4 4.9
At opening establishments 1,150 1,168 1,232 1,220 1,164 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.3
Gross job losses 5,455 5,760 5,839 5,665 5,642 6.0 6.3 6.4 6.3 6.2
At contracting establishments 4,435 4,633 4,754 4,586 4,566 4.9 5.1 5.2 5.1 5.0
At closing establishments 1,020 1,127 1,085 1,079 1,076 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Net employment change 507 272 -20 438 -5 .6 .4 .1 .4 .0
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 320 321 310 321 294 5.3 5.4 5.1 5.4 4.9
At expanding establishments 259 264 248 263 238 4.3 4.4 4.1 4.4 4.0
At opening establishments 61 57 62 58 56 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 .9
Gross job losses 297 304 308 301 306 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.0 5.1
At contracting establishments 232 233 244 232 239 3.9 3.9 4.1 3.9 4.0
At closing establishments 65 71 64 69 67 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1
Net employment change 23 17 2 20 -12 .3 .3 -.1 .4 -.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains 1,099 1,029 1,007 1,022 954 7.1 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.2
At expanding establishments 944 871 821 870 804 6.1 5.6 5.3 5.6 5.2
At opening establishments 155 158 186 152 150 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.0
Gross job losses 979 1,042 1,064 1,011 979 6.3 6.7 6.8 6.5 6.3
At contracting establishments 835 905 926 871 846 5.4 5.8 5.9 5.6 5.4
At closing establishments 144 137 138 140 133 .9 .9 .9 .9 .9
Net employment change 120 -13 -57 11 -25 .8 -.1 -.3 .1 -.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 234 246 224 254 208 5.4 5.7 5.2 5.8 4.8
At expanding establishments 199 209 190 219 177 4.6 4.8 4.4 5.0 4.1
At opening establishments 35 37 34 35 31 .8 .9 .8 .8 .7
Gross job losses 250 223 233 229 250 5.8 5.2 5.4 5.3 5.8
At contracting establishments 214 185 194 189 216 5.0 4.3 4.5 4.4 5.0
At closing establishments 36 38 39 40 34 .8 .9 .9 .9 .8
Net employment change -16 23 -9 25 -42 -.4 .5 -.2 .5 -1.0
Utilities
Gross job gains 12 15 14 15 13 2.2 2.8 2.6 2.8 2.4
At expanding establishments 11 14 13 13 11 2.0 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.0
At opening establishments 1 1 1 2 2 .2 .2 .2 .4 .4
Gross job losses 11 12 12 11 10 2.0 2.2 2.2 2.0 1.8
At contracting establishments 10 10 10 10 9 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.6
At closing establishments 1 2 2 1 1 .2 .4 .4 .2 .2
Net employment change 1 3 2 4 3 .2 .6 .4 .8 .6
Information
Gross job gains 140 161 155 145 154 4.6 5.3 5.1 4.7 5.1
At expanding establishments 119 137 127 117 129 3.9 4.5 4.2 3.8 4.3
At opening establishments 21 24 28 28 25 .7 .8 .9 .9 .8
Gross job losses 136 139 154 155 153 4.5 4.6 5.0 5.1 5.1
At contracting establishments 112 113 129 126 123 3.7 3.7 4.2 4.1 4.1
At closing establishments 24 26 25 29 30 .8 .9 .8 1.0 1.0
Net employment change 4 22 1 -10 1 .1 .7 .1 -.4 .0
Financial activities
Gross job gains 434 433 418 432 412 5.3 5.3 5.1 5.3 5.1
At expanding establishments 342 346 322 332 324 4.2 4.2 3.9 4.1 4.0
At opening establishments 92 87 96 100 88 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.1
Gross job losses 423 463 479 486 436 5.1 5.6 5.8 6.0 5.4
At contracting establishments 324 354 362 368 323 3.9 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.0
At closing establishments 99 109 117 118 113 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4
Net employment change 11 -30 -61 -54 -24 .2 -.3 -.7 -.7 -.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,310 1,403 1,316 1,440 1,239 7.4 7.8 7.4 8.0 6.8
At expanding establishments 1,080 1,148 1,053 1,158 998 6.1 6.4 5.9 6.4 5.5
At opening establishments 230 255 263 282 241 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.3
Gross job losses 1,254 1,347 1,339 1,337 1,358 7.0 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.6
At contracting establishments 1,004 1,041 1,075 1,072 1,094 5.6 5.8 6.0 6.0 6.1
At closing establishments 250 306 264 265 264 1.4 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.5
Net employment change 56 56 -23 103 -119 .4 .3 -.1 .5 -.8
Education and health services
Gross job gains 818 795 810 814 785 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.4
At expanding establishments 688 676 678 695 661 4.0 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.7
At opening establishments 130 119 132 119 124 .8 .7 .8 .7 .7
Gross job losses 669 696 685 666 667 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.7 3.8
At contracting establishments 555 577 568 552 551 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.1
At closing establishments 114 119 117 114 116 .7 .7 .7 .6 .7
Net employment change 149 99 125 148 118 .9 .6 .8 .9 .6
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,194 1,228 1,179 1,247 1,158 9.0 9.2 8.9 9.3 8.6
At expanding establishments 914 939 891 961 879 6.9 7.0 6.7 7.2 6.5
At opening establishments 280 289 288 286 279 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1
Gross job losses 1,117 1,206 1,224 1,148 1,154 8.4 9.0 9.1 8.5 8.6
At contracting establishments 918 975 993 931 930 6.9 7.3 7.4 6.9 6.9
At closing establishments 199 231 231 217 224 1.5 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.7
Net employment change 77 22 -45 99 4 .6 .2 -.2 .8 .0
Other services
Gross job gains 299 308 293 296 290 7.7 7.9 7.5 7.6 7.5
At expanding establishments 241 247 230 238 233 6.2 6.3 5.9 6.1 6.0
At opening establishments 58 61 63 58 57 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5
Gross job losses 283 289 307 287 289 7.3 7.4 7.8 7.3 7.4
At contracting establishments 221 227 243 224 224 5.7 5.8 6.2 5.7 5.7
At closing establishments 62 62 64 63 65 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.7
Net employment change 16 19 -14 9 1 .4 .5 -.3 .3 .1
(1) Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately
Table 4. Private sector percentage share (1) of gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
3 months ended
Mar. 2007 June 2007 Sept. 2007 Dec. 2007 Mar. 2008
Firm size 1 - 4 employees
Gross job gains............... 15.9 14.9 16.2 15.6 16.2
Expanding firms............ 7.4 7.1 7.5 7.2 7.7
Opening firms.............. 60.0 58.4 59.4 61.5 58.9
Gross job losses.............. 16.7 16.1 15.8 16.0 16.7
Contracting firms.......... 8.2 7.9 7.7 8.0 8.1
Closing firms.............. 60.5 59.6 60.1 59.6 60.9
Firm size 5 - 9 employees
Gross job gains............... 12.2 11.6 12.2 11.4 12.4
Expanding firms............ 11.4 10.8 11.3 10.7 11.6
Opening firms.............. 16.6 16.5 16.4 15.5 16.5
Gross job losses.............. 12.5 12.3 12.1 12.3 12.4
Contracting firms.......... 11.9 11.6 11.3 11.5 11.7
Closing firms.............. 15.6 16.1 16.1 16.2 15.9
Firm size 10 - 19 employees
Gross job gains............... 12.4 12.1 12.2 11.6 12.6
Expanding firms............ 12.7 12.2 12.5 11.9 12.9
Opening firms.............. 10.8 11.4 10.7 10.1 11.0
Gross job losses.............. 12.5 12.3 12.3 12.4 12.4
Contracting firms.......... 12.9 12.7 12.7 12.6 12.8
Closing firms.............. 10.1 10.5 10.5 10.8 10.2
Firm size 20 - 49 employees
Gross job gains............... 14.5 14.5 14.3 13.8 14.7
Expanding firms............ 15.8 15.6 15.6 14.9 16.1
Opening firms.............. 7.7 8.6 7.7 7.7 7.8
Gross job losses.............. 14.3 14.3 14.5 14.4 14.3
Contracting firms.......... 15.6 15.5 15.7 15.6 15.6
Closing firms.............. 7.6 8.0 7.9 8.0 7.5
Firm size 50 - 99 employees
Gross job gains............... 8.9 9.1 8.9 8.7 9.1
Expanding firms............ 10.1 10.2 10.1 9.8 10.4
Opening firms.............. 2.4 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.7
Gross job losses.............. 8.8 8.6 8.9 8.9 8.7
Contracting firms.......... 9.9 9.7 10.0 10.0 9.9
Closing firms.............. 2.9 2.8 2.7 2.9 2.8
Firm size 100 - 249 employees
Gross job gains............... 9.4 9.8 9.2 9.3 9.4
Expanding firms............ 11.0 11.3 10.8 10.7 11.1
Opening firms.............. 1.0 1.3 1.5 1.3 1.3
Gross job losses.............. 9.0 8.9 9.4 9.1 8.9
Contracting firms.......... 10.4 10.2 10.8 10.4 10.3
Closing firms.............. 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5
Firm size 250 - 499 employees
Gross job gains............... 5.5 5.9 5.6 5.5 5.6
Expanding firms............ 6.5 6.9 6.6 6.5 6.6
Opening firms.............. .2 .4 .5 .3 .4
Gross job losses.............. 5.3 5.2 5.5 5.3 5.3
Contracting firms.......... 6.2 6.1 6.4 6.2 6.2
Closing firms.............. .6 .6 .5 .5 .4
Firm size 500 - 999 employees
Gross job gains............... 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.5 4.4
Expanding firms............ 5.3 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.2
Opening firms.............. .1 .2 .2 .2 .3
Gross job losses.............. 4.0 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.2
Contracting firms.......... 4.8 5.2 5.3 5.3 4.9
Closing firms.............. .3 .3 .2 .1 .2
Firm size 1,000 or more employees
Gross job gains............... 16.4 16.9 16.4 19.1 15.2
Expanding firms............ 19.4 20.0 19.6 22.6 18.1
Opening firms.............. .4 .1 .5 .2 .7
Gross job losses.............. 16.5 17.4 16.6 16.7 16.8
Contracting firms.......... 19.6 20.7 19.7 19.8 20.1
Closing firms.............. .3 .2 .0 .0 .2
(1) Shares measure the percent of the category represented by each firm size class,
and rates may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.
Table 5. 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.
2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008
United States1..... 7,627,000 7,665,000 7,323,000 7,676,000 7,130,000 7,157,000 7,473,000 7,564,000 7,366,000 7,400,000
Alabama..... 112,149 100,808 101,828 107,871 96,431 91,401 108,221 103,535 104,544 102,216
Alaska..... 24,548 28,101 22,638 24,875 24,026 22,824 24,267 26,359 26,209 21,293
Arizona..... 160,293 155,009 157,479 157,454 131,093 152,998 159,271 159,009 173,557 157,425
Arkansas..... 61,217 55,197 56,555 60,518 57,573 54,033 62,063 57,918 57,447 55,687
California..... 963,848 945,317 914,523 991,318 883,486 932,494 971,930 946,834 917,701 970,184
Colorado..... 146,568 150,850 148,802 147,704 144,403 132,118 136,425 145,775 142,396 139,549
Connecticut..... 77,458 90,055 78,985 84,896 75,774 82,572 77,009 83,429 82,717 75,913
Delaware..... 30,549 25,134 23,562 26,057 22,843 28,620 23,614 27,512 23,286 23,490
District of Columbia 28,832 27,860 26,552 26,858 27,668 23,433 26,521 28,084 26,855 24,968
Florida..... 472,508 496,973 495,029 503,784 462,893 459,346 531,335 557,640 557,019 508,941
Georgia..... 249,873 243,842 244,518 246,217 241,910 229,628 251,328 242,518 257,581 248,694
Hawaii..... 28,081 29,787 26,953 27,626 27,444 26,641 26,976 30,063 26,283 28,861
Idaho..... 48,321 44,611 42,078 46,957 43,825 40,588 45,016 45,607 42,462 47,387
Illinois..... 283,118 298,205 269,396 289,963 257,263 272,637 273,666 289,684 284,241 277,394
Indiana..... 146,991 154,286 145,385 147,408 128,823 141,285 148,037 154,035 152,272 151,313
Iowa..... 73,884 80,645 74,297 76,423 75,913 74,944 72,946 76,519 72,570 75,739
Kansas..... 75,841 71,588 74,748 72,455 85,756 66,638 75,089 67,156 72,803 76,089
Kentucky..... 103,007 96,967 87,033 98,760 89,802 96,129 93,881 96,077 91,580 94,167
Louisiana..... 122,183 110,681 110,325 114,566 105,843 99,834 113,637 107,897 102,061 101,310
Maine..... 37,953 40,256 37,699 39,812 35,386 37,735 38,603 40,136 36,533 38,311
Maryland..... 131,236 129,968 136,821 133,972 129,204 125,403 129,484 138,112 137,186 132,403
Massachusetts..... 159,703 180,726 167,840 163,903 156,011 158,570 151,899 175,531 169,769 152,572
Michigan..... 221,823 240,220 225,991 226,325 207,642 233,213 230,565 246,215 249,067 242,937
Minnesota..... 141,667 151,593 151,427 140,089 139,026 136,583 143,597 140,365 143,481 142,695
Mississippi..... 61,490 60,017 62,592 65,791 57,582 63,164 66,956 58,456 57,571 58,523
Missouri..... 150,073 142,046 146,395 138,451 137,642 136,739 145,375 144,782 141,379 139,452
Montana..... 32,425 30,040 29,111 32,517 30,702 26,528 30,769 29,363 28,468 30,160
Nebraska..... 46,978 48,148 48,569 47,931 46,332 43,157 44,493 44,276 47,536 42,107
Nevada..... 79,393 74,132 69,323 85,876 76,077 71,397 77,618 82,736 77,350 85,232
New Hampshire..... 36,686 40,806 36,282 39,237 35,433 37,465 37,485 39,787 38,422 37,137
New Jersey..... 203,113 242,733 216,092 227,637 202,756 218,590 217,207 234,703 218,322 213,561
New Mexico..... 47,065 45,581 46,822 47,752 44,333 40,068 49,069 47,911 44,620 41,459
New York..... 444,928 496,723 447,389 492,874 435,576 445,975 448,036 463,652 439,494 450,588
North Carolina..... 243,136 231,964 224,225 233,942 222,100 204,976 230,720 223,101 217,800 221,137
North Dakota..... 19,515 19,319 19,566 20,281 21,771 17,900 18,632 17,948 17,305 17,438
Ohio..... 267,559 286,268 253,718 270,727 243,918 264,922 271,389 282,838 274,342 283,287
Oklahoma..... 86,317 85,967 82,213 80,007 86,731 74,900 86,659 76,306 77,962 72,919
Oregon..... 106,161 101,500 102,187 107,206 97,406 97,176 105,123 100,470 103,814 100,289
Pennsylvania..... 287,665 303,250 269,675 289,282 267,831 273,284 277,287 288,146 275,587 274,187
Rhode Island..... 25,072 28,775 23,395 25,807 23,562 27,331 26,609 29,596 28,218 26,635
South Carolina..... 115,876 103,434 99,461 103,048 99,070 100,386 105,915 100,979 105,799 100,963
South Dakota..... 21,216 21,945 20,782 21,382 21,942 19,283 19,784 20,340 20,270 19,382
Tennessee..... 150,304 144,880 142,360 141,888 133,791 144,881 145,002 141,564 133,361 138,012
Texas..... 560,923 554,057 538,336 568,802 535,846 475,593 489,940 504,337 487,640 484,274
Utah..... 81,628 77,649 74,231 81,880 71,826 63,774 71,533 76,234 75,317 71,419
Vermont..... 17,815 19,069 19,066 20,368 17,728 18,608 19,040 20,052 18,694 19,372
Virginia..... 195,693 191,902 178,420 184,806 186,117 176,361 186,930 191,182 186,717 181,561
Washington..... 189,869 183,218 169,948 185,367 185,681 155,510 166,579 175,505 164,540 167,911
West Virginia..... 38,985 37,553 36,543 40,109 36,735 38,044 37,981 38,839 36,420 37,112
Wisconsin..... 145,965 147,543 129,879 136,739 133,678 141,622 134,549 144,564 135,453 136,642
Wyoming..... 22,594 19,121 21,394 23,500 23,351 18,381 21,843 19,945 18,010 19,803
Puerto Rico..... 45,975 49,080 52,534 49,548 43,097 55,885 50,962 50,788 49,977 56,195
Virgin Islands..... 2,245 3,594 2,401 2,261 2,193 2,427 2,401 3,189 2,234 2,157
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 6. 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.
2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008
United States1..... 6.7 6.7 6.4 6.8 6.2 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.5 6.5
Alabama..... 7.1 6.3 6.3 6.8 6.0 5.8 6.8 6.5 6.5 6.5
Alaska..... 10.5 11.9 9.6 10.6 10.2 9.8 10.3 11.3 11.2 9.0
Arizona..... 7.1 6.9 7.0 7.0 5.9 6.8 7.0 7.0 7.7 7.1
Arkansas..... 6.3 5.6 5.8 6.2 5.8 5.5 6.3 5.9 5.8 5.7
California..... 7.4 7.2 7.0 7.7 6.8 7.2 7.5 7.3 7.0 7.5
Colorado..... 7.6 7.8 7.7 7.6 7.4 6.9 7.0 7.5 7.3 7.1
Connecticut..... 5.4 6.3 5.5 5.9 5.3 5.8 5.4 5.8 5.7 5.3
Delaware..... 8.3 6.9 6.5 7.1 6.2 7.8 6.4 7.6 6.4 6.4
District of Columbia.. 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.2 5.2 5.9 6.3 6.1 5.6
Florida..... 6.8 7.2 7.1 7.4 6.8 6.7 7.7 8.1 8.1 7.5
Georgia..... 7.4 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.1 6.8 7.4 7.1 7.5 7.3
Hawaii..... 5.5 5.9 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.9 5.2 5.7
Idaho..... 8.8 8.1 7.6 8.5 8.0 7.4 8.2 8.3 7.7 8.6
Illinois..... 5.6 5.9 5.3 5.7 5.0 5.4 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.4
Indiana..... 5.9 6.1 5.8 5.9 5.2 5.6 5.9 6.1 6.0 6.1
Iowa..... 6.0 6.4 5.9 6.1 6.0 6.0 5.8 6.1 5.8 6.0
Kansas..... 6.9 6.5 6.7 6.5 7.7 6.0 6.8 6.1 6.6 6.7
Kentucky..... 6.9 6.5 5.8 6.6 5.9 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.1 6.3
Louisiana..... 8.0 7.2 7.3 7.4 6.9 6.5 7.4 7.0 6.7 6.5
Maine..... 7.5 8.0 7.5 8.0 7.0 7.5 7.7 8.0 7.3 7.6
Maryland..... 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.4 6.2 6.0 6.2 6.7 6.6 6.4
Massachusetts..... 5.8 6.5 6.0 5.9 5.6 5.6 5.4 6.3 6.1 5.5
Michigan..... 6.2 6.7 6.3 6.4 5.9 6.5 6.5 6.9 7.0 6.9
Minnesota..... 6.2 6.6 6.5 6.0 6.0 5.9 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.1
Mississippi..... 6.8 6.7 7.0 7.3 6.3 7.0 7.5 6.5 6.4 6.5
Missouri..... 6.5 6.2 6.4 6.0 6.0 5.9 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.1
Montana..... 9.1 8.4 8.2 9.0 8.5 7.5 8.6 8.2 8.0 8.4
Nebraska..... 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.3 6.0 5.7 5.9 5.8 6.2 5.5
Nevada..... 7.0 6.5 6.1 7.6 6.7 6.3 6.8 7.3 6.8 7.6
New Hampshire..... 6.7 7.5 6.6 7.2 6.5 6.9 6.9 7.3 7.1 6.8
New Jersey..... 6.0 7.2 6.4 6.8 6.1 6.5 6.4 7.0 6.5 6.3
New Mexico..... 7.4 7.2 7.3 7.5 6.9 6.3 7.7 7.5 7.0 6.5
New York..... 6.3 7.0 6.3 6.9 6.1 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.2 6.3
North Carolina..... 7.2 6.9 6.6 6.8 6.5 6.0 6.8 6.6 6.4 6.5
North Dakota..... 7.1 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.7 6.5 6.7 6.5 6.2 6.1
Ohio..... 5.9 6.2 5.5 6.0 5.4 5.8 5.9 6.2 6.1 6.3
Oklahoma..... 7.1 7.0 6.8 6.5 7.0 6.2 7.1 6.2 6.4 5.9
Oregon..... 7.3 6.9 7.0 7.3 6.7 6.7 7.2 6.9 7.1 6.9
Pennsylvania..... 5.8 6.1 5.5 5.8 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.6
Rhode Island..... 6.0 6.8 5.6 6.2 5.7 6.5 6.3 7.0 6.8 6.4
South Carolina..... 7.5 6.6 6.3 6.6 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.5 6.7 6.5
South Dakota..... 6.6 6.8 6.4 6.6 6.7 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.2 5.9
Tennessee..... 6.4 6.2 6.1 6.1 5.7 6.2 6.2 6.0 5.7 5.8
Texas..... 6.7 6.5 6.3 6.7 6.1 5.6 5.8 5.9 5.6 5.6
Utah..... 8.0 7.6 7.2 7.9 7.0 6.3 7.0 7.4 7.3 6.9
Vermont..... 7.0 7.6 7.6 8.2 7.0 7.4 7.6 8.0 7.5 7.7
Virginia..... 6.5 6.4 6.0 6.1 6.2 5.9 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.0
Washington..... 8.0 7.6 7.1 7.7 7.6 6.5 6.9 7.3 6.8 7.0
West Virginia..... 6.8 6.6 6.4 7.0 6.4 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.3 6.5
Wisconsin..... 6.1 6.2 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.9 5.6 6.0 5.7 5.7
Wyoming..... 10.4 8.8 9.9 10.8 10.5 8.5 10.1 9.3 8.2 8.9
Puerto Rico..... 6.1 6.6 7.1 6.7 5.9 7.4 6.9 6.9 6.8 7.6
Virgin Islands..... 6.8 10.8 7.3 6.8 6.6 7.3 7.2 9.5 6.8 6.5
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
United States Department of Labor
