For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, December 17, 2025 USDL-25-1582
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 2025
From December 2024 to March 2025, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.4 million, a decrease of 354,000 jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and
contracting private-sector establishments were 7.2 million, a decrease of 258,000 jobs from the
previous quarter. (See tables A and 1.)
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| Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| Data in this release contain annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. These |
| revisions include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five 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 private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track
these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the
third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross
job losses is the net change in employment. (See Technical Note.) The BED data series include gross job
gains and gross job losses by industry subsector for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size
class.
Gross Job Gains
In the first quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.6 percent of private-sector employment.
Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and
the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled
5.9 million jobs in the first quarter of 2025. Opening establishments accounted for 1.6 million of the
jobs gained in the first quarter of 2025. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the first quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.4 percent of private-sector employment. Gross
job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at
closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 5.9 million jobs in the first quarter of 2025. In
the first quarter of 2025, closing establishments lost 1.4 million jobs. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the first quarter of 2025, there were 328,000 establishment births which accounted for 1.0 million
jobs. Data for establishment deaths are available through the second quarter of 2024, when 931,000 jobs
were lost at 333,000 establishments. (See Technical Note and table 8.)
Table A. Three-month private-sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
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| 3 months ended
Category | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec. | Mar.
| 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2025
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| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,748 | 7,639 | 7,665 | 7,802 | 7,448
At expanding establishments...... | 6,217 | 6,078 | 6,101 | 6,142 | 5,859
At opening establishments........ | 1,531 | 1,561 | 1,564 | 1,660 | 1,589
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 7,183 | 7,716 | 7,607 | 7,496 | 7,238
At contracting establishments.... | 5,775 | 6,183 | 6,065 | 5,964 | 5,850
At closing establishments........ | 1,408 | 1,533 | 1,542 | 1,532 | 1,388
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 565 | -77 | 58 | 306 | 210
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.6
At expanding establishments...... | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.4
At opening establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.5 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.4
At contracting establishments.... | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4
At closing establishments........ | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.0
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.4 | -0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2
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(1) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross
job losses. See the Technical Note for further information.
Firm Size
In the first quarter of 2025, firms with 1 to 49 employees had a net employment gain of 88,000. Firms
with 50 to 249 employees had a net employment decline of 22,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a
net employment increase of 267,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 out of the 13 industry sectors in the first quarter of
2025. The service-providing industries experienced a net job gain of 169,000. The goods-producing
industries had a net job increase of 41,000. (See table 3.)
States
Gross job gains surpassed gross job losses in 32 states and Puerto Rico in the first quarter of 2025.
(See tables 6 and 7.)
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| |
| Federal Government Shutdown |
| |
| Publication of first quarter 2025 data was delayed by more than 6 weeks because of a lapse in |
| federal appropriations. Collection of first quarter Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages |
| data - which Business Employment Dynamics data is based upon - had been completed in accordance |
| with our normal schedule prior to the federal government shutdown. |
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For More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm.
This information includes data for the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm
size, not seasonally adjusted data and seasonally adjusted time series not presented in this release,
charts of gross job gains and gross job losses by industry and firm size, and answers to frequently asked
questions. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found
in the Technical Note of this release or can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.
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The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2025 are scheduled to be released on
Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
United States Department of Labor
