For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, January 27, 2021                                   	USDL-21-0125

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

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – SECOND QUARTER 2020

From March 2020 to June 2020, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector
establishments were 20.4 million, an increase of 12.6 million jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job gains from opening and expanding
private-sector establishments were 5.7 million, a decrease of 1.2 million 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 loss of 14.6 million jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2020. (See tables A
and 1.)

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|                                                                                                         |
|          Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on Second Quarter 2020 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 second quarter of 2020, gross job gains represented 4.8 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 4.5
million in the second quarter of 2020, a decrease of 1.2 million jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.3 million of the jobs gained in the second quarter of 2020, a
decrease of 8,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Gross Job Losses

In the second quarter of 2020, gross job losses represented 17.0 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 17.5 million jobs in the second quarter of
2020, an increase of 11.2 million jobs from the prior quarter. In the second quarter of 2020, closing
establishments lost 2.9 million jobs, an increase of 1.4 million jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the second quarter of 2020, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
decreased by 55,000, to a total of 225,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
659,000 jobs, a decrease of 141,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the third quarter of 2019, when 769,000 jobs were
lost at 233,000 establishments, a decrease of 41,000 jobs from the second quarter of 2019. (See Technical
Note and table 8.)


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

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |                  3 months ended                 
                 Category                 |    June |   Sept. |    Dec. |    Mar. |    June
                                          |    2019 |    2019 |    2019 |    2020 |    2020
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |              Levels (in thousands)              
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |   7,637 |   7,404 |   7,864 |   6,963 |   5,749
        At expanding establishments...... |   6,253 |   6,022 |   6,364 |   5,675 |   4,469
        At opening establishments........ |   1,384 |   1,382 |   1,500 |   1,288 |   1,280
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |   7,466 |   7,351 |   7,051 |   7,736 |  20,366
        At contracting establishments.... |   6,105 |   6,077 |   5,725 |   6,288 |  17,470
        At closing establishments........ |   1,361 |   1,274 |   1,326 |   1,448 |   2,896
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     171 |      53 |     813 |    -773 | -14,617
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
                                          |                 Rates (percent)                 
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |     6.1 |     5.9 |     6.2 |     5.5 |     4.8
        At expanding establishments...... |     5.0 |     4.8 |     5.0 |     4.5 |     3.7
        At opening establishments........ |     1.1 |     1.1 |     1.2 |     1.0 |     1.1
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |     5.9 |     5.8 |     5.5 |     6.1 |    17.0
        At contracting establishments.... |     4.8 |     4.8 |     4.5 |     5.0 |    14.6
        At closing establishments........ |     1.1 |     1.0 |     1.0 |     1.1 |     2.4
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     0.2 |     0.1 |     0.7 |    -0.6 |   -12.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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.


Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in all 13 industries in the second quarter of 2020. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job decline of 13.1 million in the second quarter of 2020. Within
the service-providing industries, the leisure and hospitality sector had the largest over-the-quarter
net employment decrease, losing 5.6 million jobs. This was the result of 651,000 gross job gains and 6.3
million gross job losses. The education and health services sector experienced a net employment decrease
in the second quarter of 2020, with 1.8 million net jobs lost. The goods-producing industries realized a net
job decrease of 1.5 million in the second quarter of 2020. Of the goods-producing industries, the manufacturing
sector had a net decrease of 888,000 jobs, the construction sector lost 501,000 jobs, and the natural resources
and mining sector showed a net loss of 151,000 jobs. (See table 3.)

Firm Size

In the second quarter of 2020, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment decline of 4.7 million.
Firms with 50-249 employees had a net job loss of 2.8 million. Firms with 250 or more employees had a
net employment decline of 7.7 million. (See tables 4 and 5.)

States

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
the Virgin Islands in the second quarter of 2020. (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.

_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for Third Quarter 2020 are scheduled to be released on 
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).