For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, April 28, 2021                                   	USDL-21-0722

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 2020

From June 2020 to September 2020, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 10.8 million, an increase of 5.1 million 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 6.9 million, a decrease of 13.5 million 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 3.9 million jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2020. (See tables A
and 1.)

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|                                                                                                         |
|          Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on Third Quarter 2020 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                                                                                         |
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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 third quarter of 2020, gross job gains represented 9.4 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 8.8
million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 4.3 million jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 2.0 million of the jobs gained in the third quarter of 2020, an
increase of 748,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Gross Job Losses

In the third quarter of 2020, gross job losses represented 6.0 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 5.5 million jobs in the third quarter of
2020, a decrease of 12.0 million jobs from the prior quarter. In the third quarter of 2020, closing
establishments lost 1.4 million jobs, a decrease of 1.5 million jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the third quarter of 2020, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 51,000, to a total of 276,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
820,000 jobs, an increase of 161,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the fourth quarter of 2019, when 790,000 jobs were
lost at 235,000 establishments, an increase of 21,000 jobs from the third quarter of 2019. (See Technical
Note and table 8.)


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

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |                  3 months ended                 
                 Category                 |    Sept.|    Dec. |    Mar. |    June |    Sept.
                                          |    2019 |    2019 |    2020 |    2020 |    2020
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |              Levels (in thousands)              
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |   7,404 |   7,864 |   6,963 |   5,749 |  10,804
        At expanding establishments...... |   6,022 |   6,364 |   5,675 |   4,469 |   8,776
        At opening establishments........ |   1,382 |   1,500 |   1,288 |   1,280 |   2,028
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |   7,351 |   7,051 |   7,736 |  20,366 |   6,901
        At contracting establishments.... |   6,077 |   5,725 |   6,288 |  17,470 |   5,473
        At closing establishments........ |   1,274 |   1,326 |   1,448 |   2,896 |   1,428
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |      53 |     813 |    -773 | -14,617 |   3,903
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
                                          |                 Rates (percent)                 
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |     5.9 |     6.2 |     5.5 |     4.8 |     9.4
        At expanding establishments...... |     4.8 |     5.0 |     4.5 |     3.7 |     7.6
        At opening establishments........ |     1.1 |     1.2 |     1.0 |     1.1 |     1.8
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |     5.8 |     5.5 |     6.1 |    17.0 |     6.0
        At contracting establishments.... |     4.8 |     4.5 |     5.0 |    14.6 |     4.8
        At closing establishments........ |     1.0 |     1.0 |     1.1 |     2.4 |     1.2
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     0.1 |     0.7 |    -0.6 |   -12.2 |     3.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 12 of 13 industries in the third quarter of 2020. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job increase of 3.8 million in the third quarter of 2020. Within
the service-providing industries, the leisure and hospitality sector had the largest over-the-quarter
net employment gain, adding 1.5 million jobs. This was the result of 2.5 million gross job gains and 1.0
million gross job losses. The retail trade sector experienced a net employment increase in the third quarter
of 2020, with 693,000 net jobs gained. The goods-producing industries had a net job increase of 100,000
in the third quarter of 2020. Of the goods-producing industries, the manufacturing sector had a net increase
of 102,000 jobs, and the construction sector added 15,000 jobs. The natural resources and mining sector
showed a net loss of 17,000 jobs. (See table 3.)

Firm Size

In the third quarter of 2020, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment increase of 1.4 million.
Firms with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 529,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a
net employment increase of 2.0 million. (See tables 4 and 5.)

States

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico
in the third quarter of 2020. (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 on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm 
size, not seasonally adjusted data and other 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 2020 are scheduled to be released on 
Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).