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News Release Information

26-757-PHI
Friday, May 15, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Business Employment Dynamics in New Jersey — Third Quarter 2025

From June 2025 to September 2025, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in New Jersey were 212,804, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 196,150, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Lori Keller noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 16,654 jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 11,659. (See chart 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 the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Gross job losses

In the third quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment in New Jersey; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.7 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In New Jersey, contracting establishments lost 180,627 jobs in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 11,079 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 32,177 jobs, a decrease of 1,755 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job gains

In the third quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.3 percent of private-sector employment in New Jersey; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.6 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) 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. In New Jersey, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 155,420 in the third quarter of 2025, a decrease of 20,650 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 40,730 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 1,661 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 8 of the 11 published industry sectors in New Jersey in the third quarter of 2025. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 9,444 jobs. This was the result of 41,037 gross job losses and 31,593 gross job gains. The professional and business services industry had a net loss of 8,472 jobs. Transportation and warehousing showed a net gain of 3,209 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. New Jersey’s education and health services industry sector had a net gain of 2,949 jobs.

For more information

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. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and the Business Employment Dynamics Summary.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Fourth Quarter 2025 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).


Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, New Jersey, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Sept.
2024
Dec.
2024
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Sept.
2024
Dec.
2024
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

199,075 221,965 208,276 215,139 196,150 5.4 6.0 5.6 5.8 5.3

At expanding establishments

160,037 178,194 173,994 176,070 155,420 4.3 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.2

At opening establishments

39,038 43,771 34,282 39,069 40,730 1.1 1.2 0.9 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses

216,494 200,880 201,117 203,480 212,804 5.8 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.8

At contracting establishments

178,231 161,010 167,422 169,548 180,627 4.8 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.9

At closing establishments

38,263 39,870 33,695 33,932 32,177 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.9

Net employment change (2)

-17,419 21,085 7,159 11,659 -16,654 -0.4 0.5 0.2 0.3 -0.5

Construction

Gross job gains

12,302 12,731 15,838 12,624 12,243 7.6 7.9 9.5 7.6 7.5

At expanding establishments

10,225 10,849 13,627 10,816 10,761 6.3 6.7 8.2 6.5 6.6

At opening establishments

2,077 1,882 2,211 1,808 1,482 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.1 0.9

Gross job losses

13,922 13,430 11,974 14,640 12,865 8.6 8.2 7.2 8.8 7.9

At contracting establishments

11,042 10,984 9,967 12,319 10,981 6.8 6.7 6.0 7.4 6.7

At closing establishments

2,880 2,446 2,007 2,321 1,884 1.8 1.5 1.2 1.4 1.2

Net employment change (2)

-1,620 -699 3,864 -2,016 -622 -1.0 -0.3 2.3 -1.2 -0.4

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

7,698 8,016 7,576 8,113 6,641 3.0 3.1 3.0 3.3 2.7

At expanding establishments

6,845 6,934 6,573 7,188 5,937 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.9 2.4

At opening establishments

853 1,082 1,003 925 704 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3

Gross job losses

9,059 7,769 8,310 8,425 9,013 3.5 3.0 3.3 3.4 3.6

At contracting establishments

7,929 6,681 7,221 7,482 8,146 3.1 2.6 2.9 3.0 3.3

At closing establishments

1,130 1,088 1,089 943 867 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3

Net employment change (2)

-1,361 247 -734 -312 -2,372 -0.5 0.1 -0.3 -0.1 -0.9

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

7,723 7,514 7,692 7,992 7,423 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.8 3.5

At expanding establishments

6,710 6,155 6,625 7,119 6,378 3.1 2.9 3.1 3.4 3.0

At opening establishments

1,013 1,359 1,067 873 1,045 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.5

Gross job losses

8,566 8,239 7,839 8,392 8,113 4.0 3.9 3.7 4.0 3.8

At contracting establishments

7,028 6,968 6,433 6,918 6,992 3.3 3.3 3.0 3.3 3.3

At closing establishments

1,538 1,271 1,406 1,474 1,121 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.5

Net employment change (2)

-843 -725 -147 -400 -690 -0.4 -0.4 -0.1 -0.2 -0.3

Retail trade

Gross job gains

21,570 19,816 24,328 23,450 21,616 5.0 4.7 5.6 5.5 5.1

At expanding establishments

18,374 17,021 21,564 20,114 17,915 4.3 4.0 5.0 4.7 4.2

At opening establishments

3,196 2,795 2,764 3,336 3,701 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.9

Gross job losses

24,574 23,857 19,872 26,163 23,882 5.7 5.6 4.6 6.1 5.5

At contracting establishments

21,416 20,727 17,154 22,003 21,175 5.0 4.9 4.0 5.1 4.9

At closing establishments

3,158 3,130 2,718 4,160 2,707 0.7 0.7 0.6 1.0 0.6

Net employment change (2)

-3,004 -4,041 4,456 -2,713 -2,266 -0.7 -0.9 1.0 -0.6 -0.4

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

10,127 18,256 8,456 9,023 14,530 4.3 7.7 3.6 3.9 6.2

At expanding establishments

9,154 17,174 7,577 8,181 13,824 3.9 7.2 3.2 3.5 5.9

At opening establishments

973 1,082 879 842 706 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3

Gross job losses

11,500 9,678 16,280 11,554 11,321 5.0 4.1 6.9 5.0 4.9

At contracting establishments

10,159 7,975 15,333 10,733 10,221 4.4 3.4 6.5 4.6 4.4

At closing establishments

1,341 1,703 947 821 1,100 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.5

Net employment change (2)

-1,373 8,578 -7,824 -2,531 3,209 -0.7 3.6 -3.3 -1.1 1.3

Information

Gross job gains

3,835 2,575 2,866 4,329 4,232 5.0 3.4 3.9 5.7 5.6

At expanding establishments

3,204 2,130 2,303 3,704 3,267 4.2 2.8 3.1 4.9 4.3

At opening establishments

631 445 563 625 965 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.8 1.3

Gross job losses

3,360 4,474 3,786 3,156 3,680 4.4 5.9 5.0 4.2 4.8

At contracting establishments

2,804 3,419 3,076 2,615 3,057 3.7 4.5 4.1 3.5 4.0

At closing establishments

556 1,055 710 541 623 0.7 1.4 0.9 0.7 0.8

Net employment change (2)

475 -1,899 -920 1,173 552 0.6 -2.5 -1.1 1.5 0.8

Financial activities

Gross job gains

11,442 9,894 9,016 11,033 9,261 4.5 3.9 3.5 4.3 3.7

At expanding establishments

9,383 8,083 7,905 9,435 7,725 3.7 3.2 3.1 3.7 3.1

At opening establishments

2,059 1,811 1,111 1,598 1,536 0.8 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.6

Gross job losses

12,006 9,799 9,178 10,344 10,497 4.7 3.9 3.6 4.1 4.2

At contracting establishments

9,622 7,073 7,561 8,405 8,706 3.8 2.8 3.0 3.3 3.5

At closing establishments

2,384 2,726 1,617 1,939 1,791 0.9 1.1 0.6 0.8 0.7

Net employment change (2)

-564 95 -162 689 -1,236 -0.2 0.0 -0.1 0.2 -0.5

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

38,346 46,112 43,006 43,433 38,486 5.4 6.5 6.0 6.1 5.4

At expanding establishments

31,749 39,099 37,005 36,689 30,495 4.5 5.5 5.2 5.2 4.3

At opening establishments

6,597 7,013 6,001 6,744 7,991 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.1

Gross job losses

46,469 43,230 42,492 41,402 46,958 6.6 6.1 6.0 5.8 6.6

At contracting establishments

37,610 35,306 34,789 33,951 38,861 5.3 5.0 4.9 4.8 5.5

At closing establishments

8,859 7,924 7,703 7,451 8,097 1.3 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1

Net employment change (2)

-8,123 2,882 514 2,031 -8,472 -1.2 0.4 0.0 0.3 -1.2

Education and health services

Gross job gains

32,855 39,284 33,970 31,826 30,360 4.4 5.2 4.5 4.1 3.9

At expanding establishments

29,059 28,730 31,229 27,646 26,597 3.9 3.8 4.1 3.6 3.4

At opening establishments

3,796 10,554 2,741 4,180 3,763 0.5 1.4 0.4 0.5 0.5

Gross job losses

25,478 30,755 24,326 27,300 27,411 3.4 4.0 3.1 3.6 3.5

At contracting establishments

21,620 23,554 21,119 23,771 23,631 2.9 3.1 2.7 3.1 3.0

At closing establishments

3,858 7,201 3,207 3,529 3,780 0.5 0.9 0.4 0.5 0.5

Net employment change (2)

7,377 8,529 9,644 4,526 2,949 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.5 0.4

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

34,269 38,239 34,261 41,402 31,593 8.5 9.4 8.3 10.1 7.8

At expanding establishments

24,265 30,480 26,686 32,686 21,398 6.0 7.5 6.5 8.0 5.3

At opening establishments

10,004 7,759 7,575 8,716 10,195 2.5 1.9 1.8 2.1 2.5

Gross job losses

42,911 34,078 40,856 36,662 41,037 10.6 8.4 10.0 9.0 10.1

At contracting establishments

36,471 28,096 33,927 30,320 36,399 9.0 6.9 8.3 7.4 9.0

At closing establishments

6,440 5,982 6,929 6,342 4,638 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.1

Net employment change (2)

-8,642 4,161 -6,595 4,740 -9,444 -2.1 1.0 -1.7 1.1 -2.3

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

9,159 9,686 9,846 10,557 9,018 6.6 7.0 7.1 7.6 6.5

At expanding establishments

7,084 7,444 7,900 7,760 6,836 5.1 5.4 5.7 5.6 4.9

At opening establishments

2,075 2,242 1,946 2,797 2,182 1.5 1.6 1.4 2.0 1.6

Gross job losses

11,016 9,152 8,863 9,229 11,126 8.0 6.6 6.4 6.7 8.1

At contracting establishments

7,879 6,808 6,754 7,321 8,235 5.7 4.9 4.9 5.3 6.0

At closing establishments

3,137 2,344 2,109 1,908 2,891 2.3 1.7 1.5 1.4 2.1

Net employment change (2)

-1,857 534 983 1,328 -2,108 -1.4 0.4 0.7 0.9 -1.6

Footnotes:
(1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately.
(2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
(3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Gross job losses as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Sept.
2024
Dec.
2024
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Sept.
2024
Dec.
2024
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025

United States(1)

5.8 5.9 5.6 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.7 5.4 6.0 5.7

Alabama

5.8 5.8 5.3 5.5 5.4 5.9 5.3 5.6 5.6 5.5

Alaska

8.0 10.3 10.0 9.9 7.5 9.6 9.5 8.1 10.3 10.0

Arizona

6.4 6.1 5.8 5.3 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.3 6.3 5.5

Arkansas

5.5 5.8 5.1 5.1 5.3 5.2 4.8 5.1 5.5 5.3

California

6.3 6.7 6.0 6.6 6.2 6.2 6.4 6.2 6.7 6.0

Colorado

6.3 6.2 6.2 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.5 6.8 7.1 6.5

Connecticut

5.5 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.3 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.8 5.9

Delaware

6.8 6.1 5.9 5.9 5.3 6.4 6.3 5.3 6.1 6.1

District of Columbia

4.9 5.0 4.8 5.7 4.6 5.0 5.5 5.8 5.9 5.9

Florida

6.5 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.7 6.2 5.5 5.8 6.0

Georgia

5.8 6.0 5.5 5.5 5.7 6.1 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.8

Hawaii

5.7 5.3 4.9 4.8 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.2 4.8

Idaho

7.1 8.2 7.3 7.7 6.7 7.5 6.8 7.3 7.2 7.6

Illinois

4.9 5.1 5.0 5.2 4.7 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.0

Indiana

5.3 5.5 5.4 5.0 5.1 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.6 5.1

Iowa

5.3 5.6 5.8 5.6 4.8 6.0 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.9

Kansas

5.3 5.9 5.5 5.4 5.8 5.6 5.2 5.4 6.3 5.8

Kentucky

5.4 5.3 5.2 5.0 5.3 5.4 5.5 4.8 5.4 5.6

Louisiana

6.1 6.2 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.6 6.3 6.0

Maine

6.2 7.0 7.4 7.2 6.2 7.1 7.1 6.3 7.4 7.0

Maryland

5.9 6.0 5.9 5.7 5.7 6.1 5.9 5.7 6.2 6.5

Massachusetts

5.0 5.3 5.0 5.5 5.3 5.8 5.5 5.1 5.8 5.9

Michigan

5.3 5.4 5.2 5.8 4.9 5.8 5.9 5.3 5.5 5.9

Minnesota

5.1 5.5 5.1 5.8 5.3 5.8 5.1 5.5 5.5 5.6

Mississippi

6.3 6.3 5.7 6.3 6.4 5.7 6.2 6.1 6.5 6.1

Missouri

5.6 5.7 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.3 5.2 6.1 5.9

Montana

7.2 8.4 8.0 7.7 7.0 8.0 7.8 7.5 8.3 7.9

Nebraska

5.6 5.6 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.8

Nevada

6.2 6.1 5.4 6.2 6.9 5.9 5.6 5.9 6.3 5.2

New Hampshire

5.6 6.3 6.5 6.3 5.6 6.7 5.9 6.1 6.7 6.8

New Jersey

5.4 6.0 5.6 5.8 5.3 5.8 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.8

New Mexico

6.3 6.1 5.9 5.9 5.8 6.2 5.9 5.8 6.0 6.2

New York

5.7 5.7 6.6 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.0 7.0 5.8

North Carolina

5.5 6.1 5.4 5.6 5.4 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.7

North Dakota

6.5 6.5 6.7 6.4 6.2 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.7 6.6

Ohio

5.2 5.4 5.2 5.3 5.1 5.4 5.1 4.9 5.4 5.3

Oklahoma

6.1 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.5 5.5 5.3 6.2 6.4

Oregon

6.3 6.2 5.8 6.4 5.7 6.6 6.6 6.2 6.5 6.7

Pennsylvania

5.1 5.2 5.0 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.8 4.7 5.2 5.2

Rhode Island

6.2 7.3 6.6 6.3 6.0 6.4 6.3 5.9 6.7 6.7

South Carolina

6.2 6.4 6.1 5.8 6.3 5.9 5.9 5.5 6.6 6.5

South Dakota

5.9 6.7 6.2 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.9 6.5 6.1 6.0

Tennessee

5.6 5.5 5.4 5.1 5.7 5.7 6.2 5.1 5.9 5.2

Texas

5.7 5.8 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.4 5.3

Utah

6.8 6.8 6.6 6.6 6.7 6.2 6.3 6.0 6.6 6.4

Vermont

6.6 6.7 6.9 6.9 6.6 7.1 6.7 6.8 7.5 7.8

Virginia

5.8 5.8 5.6 5.8 5.9 5.7 5.5 5.1 5.8 6.1

Washington

5.8 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.2 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.6

West Virginia

5.9 6.5 6.4 5.5 5.8 6.6 6.1 5.7 6.3 6.0

Wisconsin

5.1 5.3 5.0 5.3 4.9 5.5 5.2 4.9 5.5 5.6

Wyoming

8.9 8.9 8.1 8.3 7.7 8.5 8.3 8.7 8.9 8.4

Puerto Rico

5.4 4.3 6.3 7.0 5.4 5.0 5.4 5.4 6.1 5.7

Virgin Islands

4.7 5.2 5.4 15.0 7.1 7.5 10.8 7.6 9.5 8.4

Footnotes
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, May 15, 2026