For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, October 27, 2021                                   	USDL-21-1906

Technical Information:	(202) 691-6553  *  BDMInfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/bdm
Media Contact:	        (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FIRST QUARTER 2021

From December 2020 to March 2021, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 8.2 million, a decrease of 667,000 jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting
private-sector establishments were 6.5 million, a decrease of 288,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net
employment gain of 1.7 million jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2021. (See tables A
and 1.)

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|                                                                                                         |
|          Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on First Quarter 2021 Business Employment Dynamics               |
|                                                                                                         |
|   Data collection and processing methods have been impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. More      |
|   detail can be found at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-business-employment        |
|   -dynamics.htm                                                                                         |
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The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment
that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track
these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the
third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross
job losses is the net change in employment. (See Technical Note.) The BED data series include gross job
gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size
class.

Gross Job Gains

In the first quarter of 2021, gross job gains represented 6.8 percent of private-sector employment. Gross
job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the
addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 6.6
million in the first quarter of 2021, a decrease of 480,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.5 million of the jobs gained in the first quarter of 2021, a
decrease of 187,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Gross Job Losses

In the first quarter of 2021, gross job losses represented 5.4 percent of private-sector employment.
Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of
jobs at closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 5.3 million jobs in the first quarter of
2021, a decrease of 63,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the first quarter of 2021, closing
establishments lost 1.1 million jobs, a decrease of 225,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the first quarter of 2021, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 16,000, to a total of 303,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
826,000 jobs, a decrease of 91,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the second quarter of 2020, when 1.2 million jobs were
lost at 329,000 establishments, an increase of 401,000 jobs from the first quarter of 2020. (See Technical
Note and table 8.)


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

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                                          |                  3 months ended                 
                 Category                 |    Mar. |    June |    Sept.|    Dec. |    Mar.
                                          |    2020 |    2020 |    2020 |    2020 |    2021
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |              Levels (in thousands)              
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |   7,078 |   5,709 |  10,868 |   8,821 |   8,154
        At expanding establishments...... |   5,719 |   4,416 |   8,817 |   7,124 |   6,644
        At opening establishments........ |   1,359 |   1,293 |   2,051 |   1,697 |   1,510
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |   7,869 |  20,401 |   6,858 |   6,757 |   6,469
        At contracting establishments.... |   6,365 |  17,475 |   5,483 |   5,403 |   5,340
        At closing establishments........ |   1,504 |   2,926 |   1,375 |   1,354 |   1,129
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |    -791 | -14,692 |   4,010 |   2,064 |   1,685
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
                                          |                 Rates (percent)                 
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |     5.6 |     4.8 |     9.5 |     7.4 |     6.8
        At expanding establishments...... |     4.5 |     3.7 |     7.7 |     6.0 |     5.5
        At opening establishments........ |     1.1 |     1.1 |     1.8 |     1.4 |     1.3
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |     6.2 |    17.0 |     6.0 |     5.7 |     5.4
        At contracting establishments.... |     5.0 |    14.6 |     4.8 |     4.6 |     4.5
        At closing establishments........ |     1.2 |     2.4 |     1.2 |     1.1 |     0.9
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |    -0.6 |   -12.2 |     3.5 |     1.7 |     1.4
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(1) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross 
    job losses. See the Technical Note for further information.


Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 11 of 13 industries in the first quarter of 2021. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 1.5 million in the first quarter of 2021. Within
the service-providing industries, the leisure and hospitality sector had the largest over-the-quarter net
employment gain, adding 740,000 jobs. This was the result of 1.7 million gross job gains and 1.0 million
gross job losses. The education and health services sector experienced 1.0 gross job gains and 912,000
gross job losses in the first quarter of 2021. The goods-producing industries had a net job increase of
187,000 in the first quarter of 2021. Of the goods-producing industries, the construction sector showed a net
increase of 98,000 jobs, the manufacturing sector had a net increase of 84,000 jobs, and
the natural resources and mining sector added 5,000 jobs. (See table 3.)

Firm Size

In the first quarter of 2021, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment increase of 949,000. Firms with
50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 217,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net employment
increase of 589,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)

States

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in the
first quarter of 2021. (See tables 6 and 7.)

For More Information

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

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|                                                                                                         |
|                         Annual Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data                     |
|                                                                                                         |
|   Data in this release incorporate regular annual revisions to the BED series. These revisions cover    |
|   the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.    |
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_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2021 are scheduled to be released on 
Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).