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News Release Information

25-792-PHI
Thursday, May 08, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Business Employment Dynamics in Pennsylvania — Third Quarter 2024

From June 2024 to September 2024, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Pennsylvania were 272,942, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 272,019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 923 jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2024. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 12,412. (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 2024, gross job losses represented 5.1 percent of private-sector employment in Pennsylvania; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.8 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 Pennsylvania, contracting establishments lost 226,118 jobs in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 11,077 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 46,824 jobs, an increase of 9,059 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job gains

In the third quarter of 2024, gross job gains represented 5.1 percent of private-sector employment in Pennsylvania; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.8 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 Pennsylvania, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 234,532 in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 9,865 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 37,487 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 394 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 6 of the 11 published industry sectors in Pennsylvania in the third quarter of 2024. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 8,844 jobs. This was the result of 57,272 gross job losses and 48,428 gross job gains. Transportation and warehousing showed a net gain of 8,941 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. Pennsylvania’s education and health services industry sector had a net gain of 6,775 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 2024 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.


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.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Pennsylvania, 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.
2023
Dec.
2023
Mar.
2024
June
2024
Sept.
2024
Sept.
2023
Dec.
2023
Mar.
2024
June
2024
Sept.
2024

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

273,967 277,807 272,677 262,548 272,019 5.2 5.2 5.1 4.9 5.1

At expanding establishments

234,185 233,083 230,674 224,667 234,532 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.2 4.4

At opening establishments

39,782 44,724 42,003 37,881 37,487 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7

Gross job losses

271,715 257,613 244,174 274,960 272,942 5.1 4.8 4.6 5.1 5.1

At contracting establishments

233,469 219,288 207,995 237,195 226,118 4.4 4.1 3.9 4.4 4.2

At closing establishments

38,246 38,325 36,179 37,765 46,824 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.9

Net employment change (2)

2,252 20,194 28,503 -12,412 -923 0.1 0.4 0.5 -0.2 0.0

Construction

Gross job gains

17,945 21,262 21,678 19,606 16,919 7.0 8.3 8.2 7.4 6.6

At expanding establishments

15,076 17,484 17,961 16,671 14,040 5.9 6.8 6.8 6.3 5.5

At opening establishments

2,869 3,778 3,717 2,935 2,879 1.1 1.5 1.4 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses

20,934 20,805 19,025 20,411 20,834 8.2 8.0 7.2 7.8 8.1

At contracting establishments

17,657 17,615 15,796 16,993 17,224 6.9 6.8 6.0 6.5 6.7

At closing establishments

3,277 3,190 3,229 3,418 3,610 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.4

Net employment change (2)

-2,989 457 2,653 -805 -3,915 -1.2 0.3 1.0 -0.4 -1.5

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

13,708 16,592 15,201 13,999 13,062 2.5 3.0 2.7 2.4 2.4

At expanding establishments

12,755 15,080 14,033 13,286 12,196 2.3 2.7 2.5 2.3 2.2

At opening establishments

953 1,512 1,168 713 866 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.2

Gross job losses

16,918 15,534 15,399 15,184 16,767 3.0 2.7 2.7 2.7 3.0

At contracting establishments

15,675 14,377 14,306 14,245 15,130 2.8 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.7

At closing establishments

1,243 1,157 1,093 939 1,637 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3

Net employment change (2)

-3,210 1,058 -198 -1,185 -3,705 -0.5 0.3 0.0 -0.3 -0.6

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

8,164 8,487 8,515 8,153 8,202 3.8 3.9 4.0 3.7 3.8

At expanding establishments

7,081 7,167 7,067 6,994 6,924 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.2

At opening establishments

1,083 1,320 1,448 1,159 1,278 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.6

Gross job losses

7,864 7,647 7,733 8,062 8,124 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.7

At contracting establishments

6,593 6,231 6,252 6,403 6,337 3.0 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9

At closing establishments

1,271 1,416 1,481 1,659 1,787 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8

Net employment change (2)

300 840 782 91 78 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.0 0.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains

28,942 26,861 29,623 29,033 27,547 4.8 4.6 5.0 4.8 4.7

At expanding establishments

25,397 23,507 26,207 25,918 24,663 4.2 4.0 4.4 4.3 4.2

At opening establishments

3,545 3,354 3,416 3,115 2,884 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5

Gross job losses

33,690 31,752 25,187 31,546 31,516 5.6 5.4 4.2 5.3 5.3

At contracting establishments

29,883 27,847 21,969 27,847 27,872 5.0 4.7 3.7 4.7 4.7

At closing establishments

3,807 3,905 3,218 3,699 3,644 0.6 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.6

Net employment change (2)

-4,748 -4,891 4,436 -2,513 -3,969 -0.8 -0.8 0.8 -0.5 -0.6

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

18,097 22,455 12,334 11,352 21,010 6.1 7.4 4.1 3.8 7.0

At expanding establishments

15,659 19,010 10,923 10,046 19,283 5.3 6.3 3.6 3.4 6.4

At opening establishments

2,438 3,445 1,411 1,306 1,727 0.8 1.1 0.5 0.4 0.6

Gross job losses

16,829 13,722 18,720 18,312 12,069 5.7 4.5 6.1 6.1 4.0

At contracting establishments

15,303 12,098 17,487 17,276 10,742 5.2 4.0 5.7 5.8 3.6

At closing establishments

1,526 1,624 1,233 1,036 1,327 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.4

Net employment change (2)

1,268 8,733 -6,386 -6,960 8,941 0.4 2.9 -2.0 -2.3 3.0

Information

Gross job gains

3,839 4,203 3,354 3,303 4,086 4.1 4.5 3.6 3.6 4.5

At expanding establishments

2,878 3,149 2,514 2,486 3,285 3.1 3.4 2.7 2.7 3.6

At opening establishments

961 1,054 840 817 801 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.9

Gross job losses

4,460 4,506 4,000 5,619 4,297 4.8 4.9 4.4 6.1 4.8

At contracting establishments

3,571 3,794 3,099 4,767 3,164 3.8 4.1 3.4 5.2 3.5

At closing establishments

889 712 901 852 1,133 1.0 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.3

Net employment change (2)

-621 -303 -646 -2,316 -211 -0.7 -0.4 -0.8 -2.5 -0.3

Financial activities

Gross job gains

11,122 10,981 11,150 11,842 11,112 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.3

At expanding establishments

9,171 8,505 9,218 9,588 9,364 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.8 2.8

At opening establishments

1,951 2,476 1,932 2,254 1,748 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.5

Gross job losses

12,717 11,353 11,809 11,796 12,597 3.8 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.7

At contracting establishments

10,398 9,465 9,494 9,676 9,983 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.9

At closing establishments

2,319 1,888 2,315 2,120 2,614 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.8

Net employment change (2)

-1,595 -372 -659 46 -1,485 -0.5 -0.2 -0.2 0.1 -0.4

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

51,338 45,687 49,486 47,356 53,637 6.1 5.5 5.9 5.7 6.4

At expanding establishments

42,219 36,644 40,357 39,257 43,692 5.0 4.4 4.8 4.7 5.2

At opening establishments

9,119 9,043 9,129 8,099 9,945 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.2

Gross job losses

48,470 51,183 46,472 56,631 50,081 5.8 6.1 5.6 6.7 6.0

At contracting establishments

40,291 42,315 37,548 47,072 38,882 4.8 5.0 4.5 5.6 4.7

At closing establishments

8,179 8,868 8,924 9,559 11,199 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.3

Net employment change (2)

2,868 -5,496 3,014 -9,275 3,556 0.3 -0.6 0.3 -1.0 0.4

Education and health services

Gross job gains

51,812 50,287 48,902 49,308 49,512 4.2 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.8

At expanding establishments

47,384 44,871 44,136 44,769 45,181 3.8 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.5

At opening establishments

4,428 5,416 4,766 4,539 4,331 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3

Gross job losses

37,405 36,372 34,252 39,912 42,737 3.0 2.9 2.6 3.1 3.3

At contracting establishments

32,558 31,598 29,806 34,580 36,221 2.6 2.5 2.3 2.7 2.8

At closing establishments

4,847 4,774 4,446 5,332 6,516 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.5

Net employment change (2)

14,407 13,915 14,650 9,396 6,775 1.2 1.0 1.2 0.6 0.5

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

52,082 53,807 55,141 51,364 48,428 9.3 9.5 9.6 8.9 8.6

At expanding establishments

42,475 43,400 43,727 41,359 39,941 7.6 7.7 7.6 7.2 7.1

At opening establishments

9,607 10,407 11,414 10,005 8,487 1.7 1.8 2.0 1.7 1.5

Gross job losses

55,805 49,623 46,416 51,269 57,272 9.9 8.8 8.1 8.9 10.1

At contracting establishments

47,754 41,383 39,396 44,786 46,896 8.5 7.3 6.9 7.8 8.3

At closing establishments

8,051 8,240 7,020 6,483 10,376 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.1 1.8

Net employment change (2)

-3,723 4,184 8,725 95 -8,844 -0.6 0.7 1.5 0.0 -1.5

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

12,900 13,179 12,818 13,585 14,802 6.6 6.7 6.4 6.7 7.2

At expanding establishments

10,607 10,875 10,543 11,127 12,681 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.5 6.2

At opening establishments

2,293 2,304 2,275 2,458 2,121 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.0

Gross job losses

12,274 11,170 11,747 11,817 12,503 6.2 5.6 5.9 5.9 6.1

At contracting establishments

10,040 9,131 9,974 9,612 10,226 5.1 4.6 5.0 4.8 5.0

At closing establishments

2,234 2,039 1,773 2,205 2,277 1.1 1.0 0.9 1.1 1.1

Net employment change (2)

626 2,009 1,071 1,768 2,299 0.4 1.1 0.5 0.8 1.1

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. See the Technical Note for further information.
(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.
2023
Dec.
2023
Mar.
2024
June
2024
Sept.
2024
Sept.
2023
Dec.
2023
Mar.
2024
June
2024
Sept.
2024

United States(1)

5.9 6.0 5.7 5.8 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.4 5.9 5.8

Alabama

6.0 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.7 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.9

Alaska

8.5 10.2 10.5 10.2 7.9 10.5 9.9 8.6 9.6 9.7

Arizona

6.8 6.5 8.4 5.6 6.3 5.7 6.6 6.4 6.8 6.5

Arkansas

5.6 6.2 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.8 5.0 5.2 5.8 5.2

California

6.4 6.4 5.8 6.1 6.4 6.5 6.4 5.6 6.8 6.1

Colorado

5.4 8.2 6.4 6.5 6.3 6.1 7.6 7.7 6.2 6.7

Connecticut

5.8 5.6 5.6 5.8 5.5 6.2 5.7 5.2 5.6 5.7

Delaware

6.0 6.1 6.0 5.9 6.8 6.5 5.8 5.1 6.5 6.4

District of Columbia

5.4 5.2 5.1 5.1 4.9 5.4 5.6 4.9 6.0 5.0

Florida

6.5 6.1 5.8 6.0 6.6 5.9 5.9 5.4 5.9 5.7

Georgia

6.1 6.2 6.0 5.7 5.7 6.1 5.7 5.7 5.7 6.1

Hawaii

5.3 6.1 5.4 5.1 5.6 6.8 5.0 5.1 5.4 5.0

Idaho

7.2 8.5 7.9 7.5 7.2 7.9 5.8 8.3 7.4 7.6

Illinois

4.8 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.0 5.3 5.1 4.8 5.3 5.1

Indiana

5.7 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.3 5.7 5.1 5.0 5.5 5.4

Iowa

5.6 6.1 6.1 5.5 5.2 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.7 6.0

Kansas

5.7 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.3 6.0 5.3 5.6 5.7 5.6

Kentucky

5.7 5.7 5.7 5.2 5.4 5.6 5.2 5.0 5.9 5.5

Louisiana

6.2 6.3 6.2 5.7 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7 6.3 5.8

Maine

7.0 7.4 7.2 7.3 6.2 7.8 7.0 6.1 7.0 7.0

Maryland

6.3 6.2 5.8 7.2 6.1 6.4 5.8 5.7 6.5 6.1

Massachusetts

5.4 5.5 5.2 5.7 4.9 5.9 5.5 5.1 5.6 5.8

Michigan

5.2 5.5 5.4 5.7 5.4 5.9 5.5 5.2 5.6 5.8

Minnesota

3.3 6.9 5.8 5.7 5.1 4.3 6.9 5.7 5.4 5.9

Mississippi

6.2 6.1 5.7 5.8 6.1 6.2 5.7 6.1 6.3 5.7

Missouri

5.6 6.0 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.6 5.3 5.8 5.8

Montana

7.7 8.8 8.1 7.9 7.3 8.4 7.2 7.5 7.6 8.1

Nebraska

6.0 5.9 5.8 5.4 5.6 5.9 5.7 5.1 5.6 5.6

Nevada

6.5 6.7 5.9 5.8 6.1 5.6 5.4 6.2 5.7 5.9

New Hampshire

5.8 6.2 6.5 6.1 5.5 6.7 5.9 5.8 6.0 6.7

New Jersey

6.0 5.9 5.5 5.9 5.3 6.0 5.8 5.4 5.4 5.8

New Mexico

6.4 6.9 6.0 6.0 6.2 6.8 5.8 6.0 6.3 6.3

New York

5.8 5.7 5.9 5.9 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.0 5.5 5.7

North Carolina

5.7 6.3 5.4 5.6 5.6 6.1 4.9 5.5 5.7 6.1

North Dakota

6.6 6.7 6.9 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.3 6.1 6.6 6.6

Ohio

5.2 5.4 5.5 5.2 5.1 5.6 5.2 4.8 5.4 5.4

Oklahoma

6.3 6.1 5.6 5.6 6.0 6.0 5.8 5.2 6.4 5.6

Oregon

6.1 6.2 6.4 6.0 6.3 6.7 6.2 6.1 6.4 6.6

Pennsylvania

5.2 5.2 5.1 4.9 5.1 5.1 4.8 4.6 5.1 5.1

Rhode Island

6.4 6.8 6.9 6.6 6.2 6.7 6.3 5.7 6.7 6.5

South Carolina

6.6 6.2 6.4 5.9 6.2 5.7 5.3 6.3 6.4 5.9

South Dakota

6.3 6.6 6.3 6.0 5.9 6.3 5.8 5.8 6.3 5.9

Tennessee

5.6 6.2 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.5 4.9 5.7 5.8

Texas

5.7 5.7 5.4 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.2 5.1 5.3 5.3

Utah

6.9 6.6 6.7 6.4 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.0 6.6 6.1

Vermont

6.4 7.3 7.2 6.6 6.6 7.9 6.6 6.3 7.5 7.3

Virginia

5.9 5.9 5.7 5.7 5.8 6.0 5.5 5.2 5.6 5.5

Washington

5.8 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.7 6.0 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.4

West Virginia

6.5 6.5 6.9 6.6 5.8 6.6 5.8 5.7 6.8 6.6

Wisconsin

5.2 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.0 5.8 5.2 4.8 5.5 5.4

Wyoming

8.3 8.9 8.4 8.2 8.6 8.2 8.4 8.3 9.0 9.0

Puerto Rico

5.7 4.9 5.4 5.6 5.4 5.3 4.8 4.6 4.9 5.1

Virgin Islands

8.2 6.0 5.6 4.3 4.4 6.8 5.9 4.5 5.1 6.1

Footnotes
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, May 08, 2025