For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, October 30, 2019 USDL-19-1865
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 2019
From December 2018 to March 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.4 million, a decrease of 393,000 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 6.9 million, a decrease of 107,000 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 525,000 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2019. (See tables A and
1.)
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| Changes to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| Data in this release incorporate 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 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 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 2019, 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 6.0
million in the first quarter of 2019, a decrease of 280,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.3 million of the jobs gained in the first quarter of 2019, a
decrease of 113,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the first quarter of 2019, gross job losses represented 5.5 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 5.6 million jobs in the first quarter of
2019, an increase of 23,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the first quarter of 2019, closing
establishments lost 1.2 million jobs, a decrease of 130,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A,
1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the first quarter of 2019, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 7,000, to a total of 256,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
814,000 jobs, a decrease of 49,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the second quarter of 2018, when 774,000 jobs were
lost at 231,000 establishments, an increase of 111,000 jobs from the first quarter of 2018. (See Technical
Note and table 8.)
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 10 of 13 industries in the first quarter of 2019. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 414,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2019. Within
service-providing industries, education and health services had the largest over-the-quarter net job
increase, with a gain of 152,000 jobs. This was the result of 1,003,000 gross job gains and 851,000 gross
job losses. The leisure and hospitality sector had the second largest increase among service-providing
industries, with a net gain of 140,000 jobs. The goods-producing industries experienced a net job
increase of 111,000 jobs in the first quarter of 2019. Of the goods-producing industries, construction
experienced a net increase of 84,000 jobs, manufacturing added 26,000 jobs, and natural resources and
mining showed a net gain of 1,000 jobs. (See table 3.)
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.
| 2018 | 2018 | 2018 | 2018 | 2019
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| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,484 | 7,655 | 7,499 | 7,768 | 7,375
At expanding establishments...... | 6,135 | 6,257 | 6,122 | 6,318 | 6,038
At opening establishments........ | 1,349 | 1,398 | 1,377 | 1,450 | 1,337
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6,777 | 7,254 | 7,432 | 6,957 | 6,850
At contracting establishments.... | 5,587 | 5,967 | 6,113 | 5,626 | 5,649
At closing establishments........ | 1,190 | 1,287 | 1,319 | 1,331 | 1,201
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 707 | 401 | 67 | 811 | 525
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 5.9
At expanding establishments...... | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 4.8
At opening establishments........ | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.1
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.5 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 5.5
At contracting establishments.... | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.5
At closing establishments........ | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.0
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.4
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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.
Firm Size
In the first quarter of 2019, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 280,000. Firms
with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 150,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a
net employment gain of 149,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
States
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
the Virgin Islands in the first quarter of 2019. (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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The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2019 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, January 29, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
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| |
| South Carolina Business Employment Dynamics Data |
| |
| Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data for 2018 and the first quarter of 2019 for South |
| Carolina show unusual movements, which may be a result of a change in reporting. These |
| unusual movements coincide with a modernization of the South Carolina unemployment insurance |
| system. For more information, please visit: |
| www.bls.gov/cew/2018-notice-regarding-south-carolina-employment-and-wages-data.htm |
| |
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United States Department of Labor
