For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, July 27, 2022 USDL-22-1551
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 2021
From September 2021 to December 2021, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 9.6 million, an increase of 781,000 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 6.7 million, a decrease of 785,000 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 2.9 million jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2021. (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 2021, gross job gains represented 7.7 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 7.7
million in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 594,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.8 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2021, an
increase of 187,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the fourth quarter of 2021, gross job losses represented 5.4 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 5.3 million jobs in the fourth quarter of
2021, a decrease of 590,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2021, closing
establishments lost 1.4 million jobs, a decrease of 195,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the fourth quarter of 2021, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 20,000 to a total of 376,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
1.1 million jobs, an increase of 96,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2021, when 608,000 jobs were
lost at 211,000 establishments, a decrease of 86,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2020. (See
Technical Note and table 8.)
Table A. Three-month private-sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
Category | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept.| Dec.
| 2020 | 2021 | 2021 | 2021 | 2021
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 8,821 | 8,154 | 8,141 | 8,795 | 9,576
At expanding establishments...... | 7,124 | 6,644 | 6,597 | 7,139 | 7,733
At opening establishments........ | 1,697 | 1,510 | 1,544 | 1,656 | 1,843
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6,757 | 6,469 | 7,248 | 7,482 | 6,697
At contracting establishments.... | 5,403 | 5,340 | 5,982 | 5,937 | 5,347
At closing establishments........ | 1,354 | 1,129 | 1,266 | 1,545 | 1,350
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 2,064 | 1,685 | 893 | 1,313 | 2,879
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7.4 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 7.7
At expanding establishments...... | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 6.2
At opening establishments........ | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 5.4
At contracting establishments.... | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.3
At closing establishments........ | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.1
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 2.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 gains exceeded gross job losses in all 13 industry sectors in the fourth quarter of 2021. The
service-providing industries experienced a net job increase of 2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Within the service-providing industries, the professional and business services sector had the largest
over-the-quarter net employment gain, adding 663,000 jobs. This was the result of 2.0 million gross job
gains and 1.3 million gross job losses. The retail trade sector had gross job gains of 925,000 and
gross job losses of 830,000, leading to a net job increase of 95,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021. The
goods-producing industries had a net job gain of 384,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021. Of the
goods-producing industries, the manufacturing sector posted a net job gain of 230,000, the construction
sector experienced a net increase of 143,000, and the natural resources and mining sector added 11,000
jobs. (See table 3.)
Firm Size
In the fourth quarter of 2021, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment increase of 896,000. Firms
with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 474,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment increase of 1.4 million. (See tables 4 and 5.)
States
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in
the fourth quarter of 2021. (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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on Fourth Quarter 2021 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 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2022 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| The release of First Quarter 2022 Business Employment Dynamics data will incorporate annual |
| revisions in accordance with standard procedures. However, the release scheduled for October 26, 2022 |
| will include two years of not seasonally adjusted data, along with the customary five years of |
| seasonally adjusted data. This temporary procedural change is to amend spikes in the openings and |
| closings series for the education and health services sector in Washington caused by an |
| administrative change. |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States Department of Labor
