For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, April 26, 2017 USDL-17-0476
Technical Information: (202) 691-6553 * BDMInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/bdm
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – THIRD QUARTER 2016
From June 2016 to September 2016, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.7 million, an increase of 187,000 jobs over the quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector
establishments were 7.0 million, a decrease of 194,000 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 688,000 jobs in the private-sector during the third quarter of 2016. (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 third quarter of 2016, gross job gains represented 6.4 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 third quarter of 2016, an increase of 151,000 compared to the previous quarter. Opening
establishments accounted for 1.4 million of the jobs gained in the third quarter of 2016, an increase of
36,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the third quarter of 2016, gross job losses represented 5.8 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 5.7 million jobs in the third quarter of
2016, a decrease of 109,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the third quarter of 2016, closing
establishments lost 1.2 million jobs, a decrease of 85,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A,
1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the third quarter of 2016, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data, see the
Technical Note for more information) decreased by 14,000, to a total of 238,000 establishments. These
new establishments accounted for 866,000 jobs, a decrease of 23,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through the fourth quarter of
2015, when 733,000 jobs were lost at 208,000 establishments. (See table 8.)
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 9 of 13 industries in the third quarter of 2016. The service
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 686,000 jobs in the third quarter of 2016.
Education and health services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 212,000
jobs. The net job increase in education and health services was the result of 1.0 million gross job gains
and 0.8 million gross job losses. The goods-producing industries experienced a net job increase of 2,000
jobs in the third quarter of 2016, the result of 1.3 million gross job gains and 1.3 million gross job losses.
Within the goods-producing sector, a net gain of 36,000 jobs in the construction sector offset the net job
losses of 29,000 in manufacturing and of 5,000 in the natural resource and mining sector. (See table 3.)
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
Category | Sept. | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept.
| 2015 | 2015 | 2016 | 2016 | 2016
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,338 | 7,843 | 6,977 | 7,463 | 7,650
At expanding establishments...... | 5,972 | 6,375 | 5,778 | 6,056 | 6,207
At opening establishments........ | 1,366 | 1,468 | 1,199 | 1,407 | 1,443
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6,911 | 6,842 | 6,783 | 7,156 | 6,962
At contracting establishments.... | 5,698 | 5,573 | 5,617 | 5,829 | 5,720
At closing establishments........ | 1,213 | 1,269 | 1,166 | 1,327 | 1,242
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 427 | 1,001 | 194 | 307 | 688
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 6.3 | 6.6 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 6.4
At expanding establishments...... | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.2
At opening establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 5.8
At contracting establishments.... | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.8
At closing establishments........ | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 third quarter of 2016, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 133,000. Firms
with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 84,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a
net employment gain of 464,000. Of the 2.1 million net jobs created over the last four quarters, firms
with 1-49 employees contributed 30.0 percent of net job growth, while firms with 50-249 employees
contributed 17.0 percent, and firms with 250 or more employees contributed 53.0 percent. (See tables 4
and 5.)
States
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in the
third quarter of 2016. Alaska had the highest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment, at 9.0
percent, above the U.S. rate of 6.4 percent. Alaska also had the highest rate of gross job losses as a
percent of employment at 11.1 percent, above the national rate of 5.8 percent. Connecticut had the
lowest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 5.2 percent. Hawaii had the lowest rate of
gross job losses as a percent of employment at 5.0 percent. (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 frequently asked questions
on firm-size data. 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 Fourth Quarter 2016 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
