From December 2024 to March 2025, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Wisconsin were 128,770, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 124,907, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 3,863 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,573. (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 gains

In the first quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.0 percent of private-sector employment in Wisconsin; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.6 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) 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 Wisconsin, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 110,913 in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 6,739 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 17,857 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 210 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 4.9 percent of private-sector employment in Wisconsin; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.4 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In Wisconsin, contracting establishments lost 108,229 jobs in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 4,331 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 16,678 jobs, a decrease of 3,488 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 10 published industry sectors in Wisconsin in the first quarter of 2025. Retail trade had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 3,886 jobs. This was the result of 16,098 gross job gains and 12,212 gross job losses. The construction industry had a net gain of 3,872 jobs, followed by the education and health services industry with 2,850 net jobs gains. Transportation and warehousing showed a net loss of 3,652 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state. Wisconsin’s leisure and hospitality and manufacturing industry sectors had net job losses of 2,441 jobs and 2,192 jobs, respectively.

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 Second Quarter 2025 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 26, 2026.

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, Wisconsin, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	145,284	135,653	129,123	135,299	128,770	5.7	5.3	5.1	5.3	5.0
At expanding establishments	121,741	115,737	109,858	117,652	110,913	4.8	4.5	4.3	4.6	4.3
At opening establishments	23,543	19,916	19,265	17,647	17,857	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7
Gross job losses	125,936	142,702	138,664	132,726	124,907	4.9	5.6	5.5	5.2	4.9
At contracting establishments	109,799	123,276	124,249	112,560	108,229	4.3	4.8	4.9	4.4	4.2
At closing establishments	16,137	19,426	14,415	20,166	16,678	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	19,348	-7,049	-9,541	2,573	3,863	0.8	-0.3	-0.4	0.1	0.1
Construction
Gross job gains	13,954	9,814	11,196	12,195	13,228	9.7	6.9	8.1	8.7	8.9
At expanding establishments	11,753	8,583	9,376	10,288	10,985	8.2	6.0	6.8	7.3	7.4
At opening establishments	2,201	1,231	1,820	1,907	2,243	1.5	0.9	1.3	1.4	1.5
Gross job losses	8,679	12,594	9,534	10,357	9,356	6.1	8.8	7.0	7.3	6.3
At contracting establishments	7,430	10,670	8,612	8,782	7,995	5.2	7.5	6.3	6.2	5.4
At closing establishments	1,249	1,924	922	1,575	1,361	0.9	1.3	0.7	1.1	0.9
Net employment change (2)	5,275	-2,780	1,662	1,838	3,872	3.6	-1.9	1.1	1.4	2.6
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	12,406	11,869	11,522	12,245	10,651	2.6	2.6	2.5	2.7	2.3
At expanding establishments	11,984	11,588	11,273	11,885	10,346	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.6	2.2
At opening establishments	422	281	249	360	305	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Gross job losses	13,964	16,235	15,426	13,368	12,843	3.0	3.5	3.3	2.9	2.7
At contracting establishments	13,541	15,414	14,805	12,716	12,227	2.9	3.3	3.2	2.8	2.6
At closing establishments	423	821	621	652	616	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1
Net employment change (2)	-1,558	-4,366	-3,904	-1,123	-2,192	-0.4	-0.9	-0.8	-0.2	-0.4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	5,103	4,451	5,177	4,978	5,179	3.8	3.3	3.9	3.8	4.0
At expanding establishments	4,649	3,990	4,511	4,233	4,429	3.5	3.0	3.4	3.2	3.4
At opening establishments	454	461	666	745	750	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.6	0.6
Gross job losses	4,034	5,226	4,664	5,101	4,738	3.0	4.0	3.5	3.9	3.6
At contracting establishments	3,354	4,445	4,009	4,208	3,960	2.5	3.4	3.0	3.2	3.0
At closing establishments	680	781	655	893	778	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.6
Net employment change (2)	1,069	-775	513	-123	441	0.8	-0.7	0.4	-0.1	0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	17,479	16,411	12,844	13,029	16,098	5.9	5.4	4.3	4.5	5.5
At expanding establishments	15,816	15,109	11,449	11,950	14,933	5.3	5.0	3.8	4.1	5.1
At opening establishments	1,663	1,302	1,395	1,079	1,165	0.6	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.4
Gross job losses	13,478	16,396	17,810	16,375	12,212	4.6	5.4	5.9	5.5	4.1
At contracting establishments	12,100	15,135	16,825	15,055	10,968	4.1	5.0	5.6	5.1	3.7
At closing establishments	1,378	1,261	985	1,320	1,244	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.4
Net employment change (2)	4,001	15	-4,966	-3,346	3,886	1.3	0.0	-1.6	-1.0	1.4
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	5,358	5,081	6,938	8,896	4,227	4.7	4.5	6.1	7.7	3.6
At expanding establishments	4,601	4,560	6,223	8,220	3,823	4.0	4.0	5.5	7.1	3.3
At opening establishments	757	521	715	676	404	0.7	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.3
Gross job losses	8,580	7,036	4,736	5,094	7,879	7.4	6.2	4.2	4.4	6.7
At contracting establishments	7,907	6,143	4,077	4,287	7,281	6.8	5.4	3.6	3.7	6.2
At closing establishments	673	893	659	807	598	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-3,222	-1,955	2,202	3,802	-3,652	-2.7	-1.7	1.9	3.3	-3.1
Financial activities
Gross job gains	5,299	5,861	5,784	5,192	4,910	3.4	3.7	3.7	3.3	3.1
At expanding establishments	4,435	4,874	4,723	4,113	4,077	2.8	3.1	3.0	2.6	2.6
At opening establishments	864	987	1,061	1,079	833	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.5
Gross job losses	5,916	5,267	6,075	5,800	5,526	3.8	3.3	3.9	3.8	3.5
At contracting establishments	4,883	4,263	5,472	4,447	4,286	3.1	2.7	3.5	2.9	2.7
At closing establishments	1,033	1,004	603	1,353	1,240	0.7	0.6	0.4	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-617	594	-291	-608	-616	-0.4	0.4	-0.2	-0.5	-0.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	20,392	21,012	19,228	19,274	18,048	6.3	6.4	5.9	5.9	5.5
At expanding establishments	16,615	17,066	15,380	15,703	14,850	5.1	5.2	4.7	4.8	4.5
At opening establishments	3,777	3,946	3,848	3,571	3,198	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	17,803	22,286	21,011	21,818	17,323	5.4	6.8	6.4	6.7	5.3
At contracting establishments	14,686	18,426	18,396	17,619	13,861	4.5	5.6	5.6	5.4	4.2
At closing establishments	3,117	3,860	2,615	4,199	3,462	0.9	1.2	0.8	1.3	1.1
Net employment change (2)	2,589	-1,274	-1,783	-2,544	725	0.9	-0.4	-0.5	-0.8	0.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	20,619	20,280	20,103	18,736	18,981	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.0	4.0
At expanding establishments	16,425	16,230	16,572	15,294	16,011	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.3	3.4
At opening establishments	4,194	4,050	3,531	3,442	2,970	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.6
Gross job losses	16,212	18,072	17,110	17,164	16,131	3.6	4.0	3.7	3.7	3.5
At contracting establishments	13,672	14,850	14,298	12,784	13,337	3.0	3.3	3.1	2.8	2.9
At closing establishments	2,540	3,222	2,812	4,380	2,794	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.9	0.6
Net employment change (2)	4,407	2,208	2,993	1,572	2,850	0.9	0.5	0.7	0.3	0.5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	31,877	30,368	26,197	31,543	27,141	11.1	10.4	9.1	10.9	9.3
At expanding establishments	26,198	25,621	22,206	28,030	22,704	9.1	8.8	7.7	9.7	7.8
At opening establishments	5,679	4,747	3,991	3,513	4,437	2.0	1.6	1.4	1.2	1.5
Gross job losses	27,509	28,690	32,525	26,966	29,582	9.5	9.9	11.3	9.4	10.1
At contracting establishments	24,276	24,882	29,384	23,594	26,315	8.4	8.6	10.2	8.2	9.0
At closing establishments	3,233	3,808	3,141	3,372	3,267	1.1	1.3	1.1	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	4,368	1,678	-6,328	4,577	-2,441	1.6	0.5	-2.2	1.5	-0.8
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	6,201	5,423	5,443	4,699	5,263	7.9	6.9	6.9	6.0	6.7
At expanding establishments	4,923	4,656	4,572	4,017	4,308	6.3	5.9	5.8	5.1	5.5
At opening establishments	1,278	767	871	682	955	1.6	1.0	1.1	0.9	1.2
Gross job losses	4,869	4,950	5,070	5,503	4,786	6.3	6.3	6.4	7.0	6.0
At contracting establishments	4,023	4,062	4,440	4,507	3,973	5.2	5.2	5.6	5.7	5.0
At closing establishments	846	888	630	996	813	1.1	1.1	0.8	1.3	1.0
Net employment change (2)	1,332	473	373	-804	477	1.6	0.6	0.5	-1.0	0.7
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)
	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025
United States(1)	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.5	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.4
Alabama	5.9	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.6	5.6	5.9	5.3	5.6
Alaska	10.7	10.2	8.0	10.3	10.0	8.5	9.6	9.6	9.5	8.1
Arizona	8.2	5.6	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.5	6.5	5.7	5.9	5.3
Arkansas	5.6	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.1	5.2	5.7	5.2	4.8	5.1
California	6.0	6.2	6.3	6.7	6.0	5.7	6.9	6.2	6.4	6.2
Colorado	6.4	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	7.4	5.8	6.4	6.5	6.8
Connecticut	5.8	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.2	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.3
Delaware	6.2	5.8	6.8	6.1	5.9	5.0	6.5	6.4	6.3	5.3
District of Columbia	5.1	5.1	4.9	5.0	4.8	5.0	5.4	5.0	5.5	5.8
Florida	5.8	6.1	6.5	6.0	5.8	5.5	5.8	5.7	6.2	5.5
Georgia	6.1	5.9	5.8	6.0	5.5	5.7	5.7	6.1	5.4	5.7
Hawaii	5.6	5.2	5.7	5.3	4.9	5.1	5.6	5.0	5.0	5.0
Idaho	7.9	7.5	7.1	8.2	7.3	8.1	7.2	7.5	6.8	7.3
Illinois	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.0	4.8	5.1	5.0	5.1	5.0
Indiana	5.3	5.2	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.5	5.3	5.1	5.2
Iowa	6.2	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.5
Kansas	5.9	5.9	5.3	5.9	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.2	5.4
Kentucky	5.9	5.3	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.1	5.8	5.4	5.5	4.8
Louisiana	6.3	5.8	6.1	6.2	5.6	5.6	6.2	5.8	5.5	5.6
Maine	7.4	7.2	6.2	7.0	7.4	6.3	7.1	7.1	7.1	6.3
Maryland	6.1	7.1	5.9	6.0	5.9	5.5	5.9	6.1	5.9	5.7
Massachusetts	5.3	5.7	5.0	5.3	5.0	5.1	5.6	5.8	5.5	5.1
Michigan	5.5	5.7	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.4	5.8	5.9	5.3
Minnesota	6.1	5.7	5.1	5.5	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.8	5.1	5.5
Mississippi	6.0	5.7	6.3	6.3	5.7	5.8	6.3	5.7	6.2	6.1
Missouri	5.9	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.4	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.2
Montana	8.1	7.9	7.2	8.4	8.0	7.6	7.6	8.0	7.8	7.5
Nebraska	5.9	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.2	5.1	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.3
Nevada	6.0	5.8	6.2	6.1	5.4	6.1	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.9
New Hampshire	6.4	6.1	5.6	6.3	6.5	5.8	6.0	6.7	5.9	6.1
New Jersey	5.5	5.9	5.4	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.4
New Mexico	6.4	6.1	6.3	6.1	5.9	6.1	6.5	6.2	5.9	5.8
New York	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.7	6.6	5.0	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.0
North Carolina	5.5	5.6	5.5	6.1	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.5
North Dakota	6.9	6.6	6.5	6.5	6.7	6.0	6.6	6.5	6.6	6.5
Ohio	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.4	5.2	4.8	5.3	5.4	5.1	4.9
Oklahoma	5.8	5.7	6.1	6.0	5.5	5.3	6.4	5.5	5.5	5.3
Oregon	6.6	6.0	6.3	6.2	5.8	5.9	6.3	6.6	6.6	6.2
Pennsylvania	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.2	5.0	4.6	5.2	5.0	4.8	4.7
Rhode Island	6.8	6.6	6.2	7.3	6.6	5.7	6.7	6.4	6.3	5.9
South Carolina	6.5	6.1	6.2	6.4	6.1	6.3	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.5
South Dakota	6.4	6.0	5.9	6.7	6.2	5.8	6.2	5.9	5.9	6.5
Tennessee	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.6	5.7	6.2	5.1
Texas	5.5	5.4	5.7	5.8	5.1	5.1	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.1
Utah	6.9	6.5	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.3	6.9	6.2	6.3	6.0
Vermont	7.5	6.7	6.6	6.7	6.9	6.3	7.4	7.1	6.7	6.8
Virginia	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.6	5.3	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.1
Washington	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.7	6.2	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.5
West Virginia	7.1	7.0	5.9	6.5	6.4	6.1	6.7	6.6	6.1	5.7
Wisconsin	5.7	5.3	5.1	5.3	5.0	4.9	5.6	5.5	5.2	4.9
Wyoming	8.4	8.2	8.9	8.9	8.1	8.4	8.8	8.5	8.3	8.7
Puerto Rico	5.3	5.5	5.4	4.3	6.3	4.7	4.9	5.0	5.4	5.4
Virgin Islands	6.4	4.9	4.7	5.2	5.4	5.3	5.7	7.5	10.8	7.6
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.