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From March 2024 to June 2024, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 7.8 million, an increase of 639,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 7.6 million, a decrease of 17,000 jobs from the previous quarter. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses during the second quarter of 2024 yielded a net employment decline of 163,000 jobs in the private sector.
Quarter | Gross job gains | Gross job losses | Net employment change |
---|---|---|---|
Q2 2014 |
7,454,000 | 6,559,000 | 895,000 |
Q3 2014 |
7,247,000 | 6,670,000 | 577,000 |
Q4 2014 |
7,617,000 | 6,579,000 | 1,038,000 |
Q1 2015 |
7,046,000 | 6,830,000 | 216,000 |
Q2 2015 |
7,580,000 | 6,731,000 | 849,000 |
Q3 2015 |
7,344,000 | 6,869,000 | 475,000 |
Q4 2015 |
7,817,000 | 6,873,000 | 944,000 |
Q1 2016 |
7,163,000 | 6,914,000 | 249,000 |
Q2 2016 |
7,443,000 | 7,125,000 | 318,000 |
Q3 2016 |
7,710,000 | 6,962,000 | 748,000 |
Q4 2016 |
7,413,000 | 7,105,000 | 308,000 |
Q1 2017 |
7,434,000 | 6,783,000 | 651,000 |
Q2 2017 |
7,639,000 | 7,113,000 | 526,000 |
Q3 2017 |
7,321,000 | 7,360,000 | -39,000 |
Q4 2017 |
7,772,000 | 6,889,000 | 883,000 |
Q1 2018 |
7,494,000 | 6,811,000 | 683,000 |
Q2 2018 |
7,688,000 | 7,190,000 | 498,000 |
Q3 2018 |
7,485,000 | 7,399,000 | 86,000 |
Q4 2018 |
7,719,000 | 6,996,000 | 723,000 |
Q1 2019 |
7,453,000 | 6,981,000 | 472,000 |
Q2 2019 |
7,654,000 | 7,395,000 | 259,000 |
Q3 2019 |
7,385,000 | 7,313,000 | 72,000 |
Q4 2019 |
7,838,000 | 7,076,000 | 762,000 |
Q1 2020 |
7,024,000 | 7,886,000 | -862,000 |
Q2 2020 |
5,725,000 | 20,234,000 | -14,509,000 |
Q3 2020 |
10,855,000 | 6,834,000 | 4,021,000 |
Q4 2020 |
8,808,000 | 6,772,000 | 2,036,000 |
Q1 2021 |
8,313,000 | 6,544,000 | 1,769,000 |
Q2 2021 |
8,200,000 | 7,215,000 | 985,000 |
Q3 2021 |
8,870,000 | 7,387,000 | 1,483,000 |
Q4 2021 |
9,587,000 | 6,687,000 | 2,900,000 |
Q1 2022 |
8,541,000 | 6,990,000 | 1,551,000 |
Q2 2022 |
8,337,000 | 7,959,000 | 378,000 |
Q3 2022 |
8,851,000 | 7,489,000 | 1,362,000 |
Q4 2022 |
8,121,000 | 7,625,000 | 496,000 |
Q1 2023 |
8,169,000 | 7,146,000 | 1,023,000 |
Q2 2023 |
8,129,000 | 7,784,000 | 345,000 |
Q3 2023 |
7,700,000 | 7,758,000 | -58,000 |
Q4 2023 |
7,902,000 | 7,499,000 | 403,000 |
Q1 2024 |
7,608,000 | 7,115,000 | 493,000 |
Q2 2024 |
7,591,000 | 7,754,000 | -163,000 |
Note: Data are seasonally adjusted. |
Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 8 of the 13 major industries in the second quarter of 2024. Four major industries had a net loss of 50,000 jobs or more: professional and business services (−86,000), retail trade (−71,000), construction (−58,000), and leisure and hospitality (−53,000).
Industry | Gross job gains | Gross job losses | Net employment change |
---|---|---|---|
Professional and business services |
1,437,000 | 1,523,000 | -86,000 |
Retail trade |
803,000 | 874,000 | -71,000 |
Construction |
634,000 | 692,000 | -58,000 |
Leisure and hospitality |
1,368,000 | 1,421,000 | -53,000 |
Information |
130,000 | 175,000 | -45,000 |
Transportation and warehousing |
294,000 | 338,000 | -44,000 |
Manufacturing |
397,000 | 432,000 | -35,000 |
Wholesale trade |
257,000 | 269,000 | -12,000 |
Utilities |
16,000 | 16,000 | 0 |
Natural resources and mining |
217,000 | 208,000 | 9,000 |
Financial activities |
396,000 | 387,000 | 9,000 |
Other services |
323,000 | 313,000 | 10,000 |
Education and health services |
1,221,000 | 1,073,000 | 148,000 |
Note: Data are seasonally adjusted. |
Utilities had the same number of gross job losses, 16,000, as gross job gains, yielding no net change in employment.
Four major industries had net job increases: education and health services (148,000), other services (10,000), and natural resources and mining and financial activities (9,000 each). The 148,000-job increase in education and health services resulted from a gross job gain of 1,221,000 exceeding a gross job loss of 1,073,000.
These data are from the Business Employment Dynamics program and are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Business Employment Dynamics — Second Quarter 2024." Also see charts related to the latest "Business Employment Dynamics" news release. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or predominantly one activity.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Job losses 7.8 million, job gains 7.6 million, during second quarter 2024 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/job-losses-7-8-million-job-gains-7-6-million-during-second-quarter-2024.htm (visited February 11, 2025).