For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, May 7, 2025 USDL-25-0714
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 2024
From June 2024 to September 2024, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector
establishments were 7.6 million, a decrease of 131,000 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 7.6 million, an increase of 31,000 jobs from the
previous quarter. (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 Losses
In the third quarter of 2024, 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 6.1 million jobs in the third quarter
of 2024, a decrease of 110,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the third quarter of 2024, closing
establishments lost 1.6 million jobs, a decrease of 21,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Gains
In the third quarter of 2024, gross job gains represented 5.8 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 6.1
million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 31,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.6 million of the jobs gained in the third quarter of 2024, which
is unchanged from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the third quarter of 2024, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
decreased by 10,000 to a total of 316,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
973,000 jobs, a decrease of 2,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the fourth quarter of 2023, when 921,000 jobs were
lost at 322,000 establishments, a decrease of 6,000 jobs from the third quarter of 2023. (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 | Sept. | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept.
| 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,700 | 7,902 | 7,608 | 7,591 | 7,622
At expanding establishments...... | 6,116 | 6,262 | 6,131 | 6,040 | 6,071
At opening establishments........ | 1,584 | 1,640 | 1,477 | 1,551 | 1,551
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 7,758 | 7,499 | 7,115 | 7,754 | 7,623
At contracting establishments.... | 6,237 | 5,995 | 5,714 | 6,162 | 6,052
At closing establishments........ | 1,521 | 1,504 | 1,401 | 1,592 | 1,571
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | -58 | 403 | 493 | -163 | -1
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 5.9 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.8
At expanding establishments...... | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6
At opening establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 5.8
At contracting establishments.... | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.6
At closing establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | -0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 2024, firms with 1 to 49 employees had a net employment loss of 146,000. Firms
with 50 to 249 employees had a net employment decline of 33,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment gain of 159,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
Industries
Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 8 out of the 13 industry sectors in the third quarter of
2024. The service-providing industries experienced a net job gain of 92,000. The goods-producing
industries had a net job decrease of 93,000. (See table 3.)
States
Gross job losses surpassed gross job gains in 35 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands
in the third quarter of 2024. (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 Fourth Quarter 2024 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
United States Department of Labor
