For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, April 29, 2026 USDL-26-0668
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 2025
From June 2025 to September 2025, gross job losses from contracting and closing private-sector
establishments were 7.6 million, a decrease of 272,000 jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job gains from expanding and
opening private-sector establishments were 7.5 million, a decrease of 110,000 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 2025, gross job losses represented 5.7 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 2025,
and closing establishments lost 1.5 million jobs. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Gains
In the third quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.6 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. Expanding establishments gained 5.9 million jobs
in the third quarter of 2025, and opening establishments gained 1.6 million jobs.
(See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the third quarter of 2025, there were 323,000 establishment births which accounted for 967,000
jobs. Data for establishment deaths are available through the fourth quarter of 2024, when 919,000 jobs
were lost at 306,000 establishments. (See Technical Note and table 8.)
Firm Size
In the third quarter of 2025, firms with 1 to 49 employees had a net employment decrease of 138,000.
Firms with 50 to 249 employees experienced a net employment loss of 75,000. Firms with 250 or more
employees added 4,000 net jobs. (See tables 4 and 5.)
States
Gross job losses surpassed gross job gains in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
the Virgin Islands in the third quarter of 2025.
(See tables 6 and 7.)
Industries
Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 9 out of 13 industry sectors in the third quarter of
2025. The service-providing industries experienced a net job loss of 16,000. The goods-producing
industries had a net job decrease of 143,000. (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.
| 2024 | 2024 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7,665 | 7,802 | 7,448 | 7,585 | 7,475
At expanding establishments...... | 6,101 | 6,142 | 5,859 | 6,058 | 5,878
At opening establishments........ | 1,564 | 1,660 | 1,589 | 1,527 | 1,597
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 7,607 | 7,496 | 7,238 | 7,906 | 7,634
At contracting establishments.... | 6,065 | 5,964 | 5,850 | 6,336 | 6,142
At closing establishments........ | 1,542 | 1,532 | 1,388 | 1,570 | 1,492
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 58 | 306 | 210 | -321 | -159
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.6
At expanding establishments...... | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.4
At opening establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 5.7
At contracting establishments.... | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.6
At closing establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.2
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -0.3 | -0.1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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.
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 2025 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
United States Department of Labor
