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Economic News Release
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Business Employment Dynamics Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, January 30, 2024                                   	USDL-24-0144
Technical information:	(202) 691-6553  *  BDMInfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/bdm
Media contact:	        (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – SECOND QUARTER 2023

From March 2023 to June 2023, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 8.1 million, an increase of 79,000 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 7.8 million, an increase of 723,000 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 332,000 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2023. (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 second quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 6.2 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 6.5
million in the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of 4,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.6 million of the jobs gained in the second quarter of 2023, an
increase of 83,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Gross Job Losses

In the second quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.9 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 6.3 million jobs in the second quarter of
2023, an increase of 650,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the second quarter of 2023, closing
establishments lost 1.5 million jobs, an increase of 73,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the second quarter of 2023, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 1,000 to a total of 332,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
1.0 million jobs, an increase of 71,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the third quarter of 2022, when 913,000 jobs were
lost at 294,000 establishments, a decrease of 12,000 jobs from the second quarter of 2022. (See
Technical Note and table 8.)


 Table A. Three-month private-sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |                  3 months ended                 
                 Category                 |    June |   Sept. |    Dec. |    Mar. |    June
                                          |    2022 |    2022 |    2022 |    2023 |    2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |              Levels (in thousands)              
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |   8,352 |   8,841 |   8,108 |   8,041 |   8,120
        At expanding establishments...... |   6,624 |   7,183 |   6,447 |   6,515 |   6,511
        At opening establishments........ |   1,728 |   1,658 |   1,661 |   1,526 |   1,609
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |   7,970 |   7,500 |   7,630 |   7,065 |   7,788
        At contracting establishments.... |   6,450 |   5,995 |   6,113 |   5,646 |   6,296
        At closing establishments........ |   1,520 |   1,505 |   1,517 |   1,419 |   1,492
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     382 |   1,341 |     478 |     976 |     332
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
                                          |                 Rates (percent)                 
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |     6.6 |     6.9 |     6.3 |     6.2 |     6.2
        At expanding establishments...... |     5.2 |     5.6 |     5.0 |     5.0 |     5.0
        At opening establishments........ |     1.4 |     1.3 |     1.3 |     1.2 |     1.2
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |     6.2 |     5.9 |     5.9 |     5.4 |     5.9
        At contracting establishments.... |     5.0 |     4.7 |     4.7 |     4.3 |     4.8
        At closing establishments........ |     1.2 |     1.2 |     1.2 |     1.1 |     1.1
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     0.4 |     1.0 |     0.4 |     0.8 |     0.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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.

Firm Size

In the second quarter of 2023, firms with 1 to 49 employees had no change in net employment. Firms
with 50 to 249 employees had a net employment gain of 133,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment increase of 150,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 8 out of the 13 industry sectors in the second quarter of
2023. The service-providing industries experienced a net job gain of 300,000. The goods-producing
industries had a net job increase of 32,000. (See table 3.)

States

Gross job gains surpassed gross job losses in 33 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the
Virgin Islands in the second quarter of 2023. (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 Third Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
Last Modified Date: January 30, 2024