For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, July 24, 2024 USDL-24-1472
Technical information: (202) 691-6553 * BDMInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/bdm
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FOURTH QUARTER 2023
From September 2023 to December 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.8 million, an increase of 264,000 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 7.5 million, a decrease of 272,000 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 344,000 jobs in the private sector during the fourth
quarter of 2023. (See tables A and 1.)
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 fourth quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 5.9 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 6.2
million in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 201,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.6 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2023, an
increase of 63,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the fourth quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.6 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 6.0 million jobs in the fourth quarter
of 2023, a decrease of 202,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2023, closing
establishments lost 1.5 million jobs, a decrease of 70,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 11,000 to a total of 322,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
1.0 million jobs, an increase of 41,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2023, when 822,000 jobs were
lost at 292,000 establishments, a decrease of 77,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2022. (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 | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023
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| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 8,108 | 8,041 | 8,120 | 7,559 | 7,823
At expanding establishments...... | 6,447 | 6,515 | 6,511 | 6,001 | 6,202
At opening establishments........ | 1,661 | 1,526 | 1,609 | 1,558 | 1,621
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 7,630 | 7,065 | 7,788 | 7,751 | 7,479
At contracting establishments.... | 6,113 | 5,646 | 6,296 | 6,174 | 5,972
At closing establishments........ | 1,517 | 1,419 | 1,492 | 1,577 | 1,507
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 478 | 976 | 332 | -192 | 344
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 5.9
At expanding establishments...... | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.7
At opening establishments........ | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.9 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.6
At contracting establishments.... | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.5
At closing establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.1
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0.3
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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 fourth quarter of 2023, firms with 1 to 49 employees had a net employment increase of 221,000. Firms
with 50 to 249 employees had a net employment gain of 112,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment decline of 41,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 out of the 13 industry sectors in the fourth quarter of
2023. The service-providing industries experienced a net job gain of 348,000. The goods-producing
industries had a net job decrease of 4,000. (See table 3.)
States
Gross job gains surpassed gross job losses in 41 states, and Puerto Rico, in the fourth quarter of 2023.
(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 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.
_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2024 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
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| |
| Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| The release of First Quarter 2024 Business Employment Dynamics data, scheduled for October 30, |
| 2024, will incorporate annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. The revisions |
| will include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of |
| seasonally adjusted data. |
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United States Department of Labor
