For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, October 30, 2024 USDL-24-2231
Technical information: (202) 691-6553 * BDMInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/bdm
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FIRST QUARTER 2024
From December 2023 to March 2024, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.6 million, a decrease of 294,000 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 7.1 million, a decrease of 384,000 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 493,000 jobs in the private sector during the first
quarter of 2024. (See tables A and 1.)
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| |
| Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| Data in this release contain annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. These |
| revisions include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of |
| seasonally adjusted data. |
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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 first quarter of 2024, gross job gains represented 5.7 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 6.1
million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 131,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.5 million of the jobs gained in the first quarter of 2024, a
decrease of 163,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the first quarter of 2024, 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 5.7 million jobs in the first quarter
of 2024, a decrease of 281,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the first quarter of 2024, closing
establishments lost 1.4 million jobs, a decrease of 103,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the first quarter of 2024, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
decreased by 5,000 to a total of 322,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
934,000 jobs, a decrease of 85,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the second quarter of 2023, when 887,000 jobs were
lost at 293,000 establishments, an increase of 70,000 jobs from the first 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 | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec. | Mar.
| 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024
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| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 8,169 | 8,129 | 7,700 | 7,902 | 7,608
At expanding establishments...... | 6,599 | 6,521 | 6,116 | 6,262 | 6,131
At opening establishments........ | 1,570 | 1,608 | 1,584 | 1,640 | 1,477
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 7,146 | 7,784 | 7,758 | 7,499 | 7,115
At contracting establishments.... | 5,712 | 6,316 | 6,237 | 5,995 | 5,714
At closing establishments........ | 1,434 | 1,468 | 1,521 | 1,504 | 1,401
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 1,023 | 345 | -58 | 403 | 493
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 6.3 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 5.7
At expanding establishments...... | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.6
At opening establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.1
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.5 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.4
At contracting establishments.... | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.3
At closing establishments........ | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 0.8 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3
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(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 first quarter of 2024, firms with 1 to 49 employees had a net employment increase of 71,000. Firms
with 50 to 249 employees had a net employment gain of 105,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment increase of 406,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 10 out of the 13 industry sectors in the first quarter of
2024. The service-providing industries experienced a net job gain of 362,000. The goods-producing
industries had a net job increase of 131,000. (See table 3.)
States
Gross job gains surpassed gross job losses in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
the Virgin Islands in the first 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.
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The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2024 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
United States Department of Labor
