For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, July 26, 2023 USDL-23-1638
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 2022
From September 2022 to December 2022, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 8.0 million, a decrease of 769,000 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 7.6 million, an increase of 133,000 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 400,000 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2022. (See tables A
and 1.)
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| |
| Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data |
| |
| The release of First Quarter 2023 Business Employment Dynamics data, scheduled for October 25, |
| 2023, will incorporate annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. The revisions |
| will 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 fourth quarter of 2022, 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 6.4
million in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decrease of 703,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.7 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2022, a
decrease of 66,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the fourth quarter of 2022, 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 6.1 million jobs in the fourth quarter of
2022, an increase of 142,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2022, closing
establishments lost 1.5 million jobs, a decrease of 9,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
decreased by 5,000 to a total of 341,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
1.0 million jobs, an increase of 17,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2022, when 743,000 jobs were
lost at 253,000 establishments, a decrease of 35,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2021. (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 | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022
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| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 9,580 | 8,438 | 8,253 | 8,814 | 8,045
At expanding establishments...... | 7,715 | 6,887 | 6,552 | 7,091 | 6,388
At opening establishments........ | 1,865 | 1,551 | 1,701 | 1,723 | 1,657
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 6,688 | 6,893 | 8,540 | 7,512 | 7,645
At contracting establishments.... | 5,344 | 5,486 | 6,482 | 5,954 | 6,096
At closing establishments........ | 1,344 | 1,407 | 2,058 | 1,558 | 1,549
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 2,892 | 1,545 | -287 | 1,302 | 400
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 7.7 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 6.2
At expanding establishments...... | 6.2 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 4.9
At opening establishments........ | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.4 | 5.4 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 5.9
At contracting establishments.... | 4.3 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.7
At closing establishments........ | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.2
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 2.3 | 1.2 | -0.3 | 1.0 | 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 fourth quarter of 2022, firms with 1 to 49 employees had a net employment increase of 166,000. Firms
with 50 to 249 employees had a net employment gain of 146,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment increase of 64,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
Industries
Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 8 out of the 13 industry sectors in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The service-providing industries experienced a net job gain of 375,000. The goods-producing industries
had a net job increase of 25,000. (See table 3.)
States
Gross job gains surpassed gross job losses in 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands in the fourth quarter of 2022. (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 First Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
United States Department of Labor
