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News Release Information

26-423-BOS
Thursday, March 05, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (646) 264-3600

Business Employment Dynamics in Massachusetts — Second Quarter 2025

From March 2025 to June 2025, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Massachusetts were 183,284, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 174,708, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Michael G. Phinney noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 8,576 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 5,390. (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 second quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment in Massachusetts; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 6.0 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 Massachusetts, contracting establishments lost 146,747 jobs in the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 12,089 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 36,537, an increase of 7,088 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job gains

In the second quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in Massachusetts; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.7 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 Massachusetts, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 142,320 in the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 15,519 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 32,388 jobs gained in the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 472 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 7 of the 11 published industry sectors in Massachusetts in the second quarter of 2025. Retail trade had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 4,475 jobs. This was the result of 21,599 gross job losses and 17,124 gross job gains. Construction had the next largest net loss, with 2,509 jobs lost. Among industries with net gains, other services and professional and business services added 1,675 and 1,128 jobs, respectively. Education and health services had a net gain of 886 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 Third Quarter 2025 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 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, Massachusetts, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
June
2024
Sept.
2024
Dec.
2024
Mar.
2025
June
2025
June
2024
Sept.
2024
Dec.
2024
Mar.
2025
June
2025

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

181,048 159,471 170,570 158,717 174,708 5.7 5.0 5.3 5.0 5.5

At expanding establishments

149,423 129,016 134,737 126,801 142,320 4.7 4.0 4.2 4.0 4.5

At opening establishments

31,625 30,455 35,833 31,916 32,388 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0

Gross job losses

179,355 184,490 174,947 164,107 183,284 5.6 5.8 5.5 5.1 5.8

At contracting establishments

138,639 146,870 141,724 134,658 146,747 4.3 4.6 4.5 4.2 4.6

At closing establishments

40,716 37,620 33,223 29,449 36,537 1.3 1.2 1.0 0.9 1.2

Net employment change (2)

1,693 -25,019 -4,377 -5,390 -8,576 0.1 -0.8 -0.2 -0.1 -0.3

Construction

Gross job gains

12,678 11,130 14,601 12,757 13,122 7.3 6.7 8.7 7.5 7.7

At expanding establishments

10,247 8,654 11,179 9,718 10,514 5.9 5.2 6.7 5.7 6.2

At opening establishments

2,431 2,476 3,422 3,039 2,608 1.4 1.5 2.0 1.8 1.5

Gross job losses

16,010 14,762 13,327 13,303 15,631 9.2 8.8 8.0 7.8 9.2

At contracting establishments

12,154 11,412 10,338 10,647 12,211 7.0 6.8 6.2 6.2 7.2

At closing establishments

3,856 3,350 2,989 2,656 3,420 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 2.0

Net employment change (2)

-3,332 -3,632 1,274 -546 -2,509 -1.9 -2.1 0.7 -0.3 -1.5

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

6,843 6,339 6,184 5,149 6,372 2.9 2.8 2.7 2.2 2.8

At expanding establishments

5,859 5,205 5,278 4,408 5,710 2.5 2.3 2.3 1.9 2.5

At opening establishments

984 1,134 906 741 662 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.3

Gross job losses

8,140 7,621 7,392 6,635 7,516 3.5 3.3 3.2 2.9 3.3

At contracting establishments

6,738 6,706 6,448 5,888 6,359 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.6 2.8

At closing establishments

1,402 915 944 747 1,157 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.5

Net employment change (2)

-1,297 -1,282 -1,208 -1,486 -1,144 -0.6 -0.5 -0.5 -0.7 -0.5

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

5,255 4,697 4,678 5,179 4,843 4.4 3.9 3.9 4.4 4.2

At expanding establishments

4,193 3,548 3,663 4,157 3,826 3.5 2.9 3.1 3.5 3.3

At opening establishments

1,062 1,149 1,015 1,022 1,017 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.9

Gross job losses

6,517 5,163 5,905 4,794 5,638 5.3 4.2 5.0 4.1 4.8

At contracting establishments

4,525 3,912 4,737 3,746 4,249 3.7 3.2 4.0 3.2 3.6

At closing establishments

1,992 1,251 1,168 1,048 1,389 1.6 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.2

Net employment change (2)

-1,262 -466 -1,227 385 -795 -0.9 -0.3 -1.1 0.3 -0.6

Retail trade

Gross job gains

18,501 14,975 14,208 18,203 17,124 5.6 4.6 4.4 5.6 5.2

At expanding establishments

16,161 13,073 12,556 16,322 14,801 4.9 4.0 3.9 5.0 4.5

At opening establishments

2,340 1,902 1,652 1,881 2,323 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.7

Gross job losses

18,941 17,823 20,844 15,252 21,599 5.7 5.4 6.4 4.7 6.6

At contracting establishments

16,479 15,701 18,431 13,047 18,545 5.0 4.8 5.7 4.0 5.7

At closing establishments

2,462 2,122 2,413 2,205 3,054 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.9

Net employment change (2)

-440 -2,848 -6,636 2,951 -4,475 -0.1 -0.8 -2.0 0.9 -1.4

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

6,064 4,805 7,421 4,340 5,019 6.4 5.0 7.6 4.4 5.2

At expanding establishments

5,319 4,035 6,280 3,311 4,359 5.6 4.2 6.4 3.4 4.5

At opening establishments

745 770 1,141 1,029 660 0.8 0.8 1.2 1.0 0.7

Gross job losses

5,231 4,547 5,067 5,814 6,718 5.4 4.7 5.2 5.9 6.9

At contracting establishments

3,658 3,738 4,261 5,164 6,067 3.8 3.9 4.4 5.2 6.2

At closing establishments

1,573 809 806 650 651 1.6 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7

Net employment change (2)

833 258 2,354 -1,474 -1,699 1.0 0.3 2.4 -1.5 -1.7

Information

Gross job gains

3,841 4,410 3,508 3,253 4,068 4.1 4.8 3.9 3.6 4.5

At expanding establishments

3,027 3,569 2,636 2,507 3,159 3.2 3.9 2.9 2.8 3.5

At opening establishments

814 841 872 746 909 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.8 1.0

Gross job losses

5,074 5,268 4,915 3,670 4,399 5.5 5.8 5.4 4.1 4.9

At contracting establishments

3,701 4,021 3,977 2,797 3,061 4.0 4.4 4.4 3.1 3.4

At closing establishments

1,373 1,247 938 873 1,338 1.5 1.4 1.0 1.0 1.5

Net employment change (2)

-1,233 -858 -1,407 -417 -331 -1.4 -1.0 -1.5 -0.5 -0.4

Financial activities

Gross job gains

8,165 7,374 7,469 6,624 8,922 3.8 3.4 3.5 3.0 4.1

At expanding establishments

6,705 5,943 5,800 5,221 7,528 3.1 2.7 2.7 2.4 3.5

At opening establishments

1,460 1,431 1,669 1,403 1,394 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.6

Gross job losses

8,094 9,547 7,604 7,510 8,247 3.7 4.4 3.5 3.5 3.8

At contracting establishments

5,700 7,442 5,776 6,031 6,628 2.6 3.4 2.7 2.8 3.1

At closing establishments

2,394 2,105 1,828 1,479 1,619 1.1 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.7

Net employment change (2)

71 -2,173 -135 -886 675 0.1 -1.0 0.0 -0.5 0.3

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

36,365 33,434 33,230 30,541 34,836 5.7 5.4 5.4 4.9 5.6

At expanding establishments

29,894 26,171 25,387 24,216 27,228 4.7 4.2 4.1 3.9 4.4

At opening establishments

6,471 7,263 7,843 6,325 7,608 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.0 1.2

Gross job losses

35,412 38,104 37,538 34,148 33,708 5.6 6.1 6.0 5.5 5.4

At contracting establishments

26,566 29,445 29,465 27,419 26,042 4.2 4.7 4.7 4.4 4.2

At closing establishments

8,846 8,659 8,073 6,729 7,666 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.1 1.2

Net employment change (2)

953 -4,670 -4,308 -3,607 1,128 0.1 -0.7 -0.6 -0.6 0.2

Education and health services

Gross job gains

34,366 33,668 30,862 31,258 32,836 4.3 4.2 3.8 3.9 4.0

At expanding establishments

29,090 29,545 25,225 25,952 27,787 3.6 3.7 3.1 3.2 3.4

At opening establishments

5,276 4,123 5,637 5,306 5,049 0.7 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6

Gross job losses

30,002 30,142 29,166 28,463 31,950 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.9

At contracting establishments

24,220 23,542 23,015 23,373 25,362 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.9 3.1

At closing establishments

5,782 6,600 6,151 5,090 6,588 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.8

Net employment change (2)

4,364 3,526 1,696 2,795 886 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.4 0.1

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

37,865 29,797 38,225 32,955 36,741 10.3 8.2 10.5 9.0 10.1

At expanding establishments

30,068 22,808 29,093 24,481 28,972 8.2 6.3 8.0 6.7 8.0

At opening establishments

7,797 6,989 9,132 8,474 7,769 2.1 1.9 2.5 2.3 2.1

Gross job losses

35,643 40,218 34,249 35,347 37,901 9.7 11.1 9.4 9.7 10.4

At contracting establishments

27,516 32,195 28,381 29,476 30,481 7.5 8.9 7.8 8.1 8.4

At closing establishments

8,127 8,023 5,868 5,871 7,420 2.2 2.2 1.6 1.6 2.0

Net employment change (2)

2,222 -10,421 3,976 -2,392 -1,160 0.6 -2.9 1.1 -0.7 -0.3

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

9,135 6,691 8,216 6,882 8,963 8.2 6.0 7.5 6.3 8.1

At expanding establishments

7,326 5,092 6,154 5,354 6,947 6.6 4.6 5.6 4.9 6.3

At opening establishments

1,809 1,599 2,062 1,528 2,016 1.6 1.4 1.9 1.4 1.8

Gross job losses

7,775 9,295 6,996 7,234 7,288 7.0 8.4 6.4 6.6 6.6

At contracting establishments

5,514 7,237 5,379 5,509 5,455 5.0 6.5 4.9 5.0 4.9

At closing establishments

2,261 2,058 1,617 1,725 1,833 2.0 1.9 1.5 1.6 1.7

Net employment change (2)

1,360 -2,604 1,220 -352 1,675 1.2 -2.4 1.1 -0.3 1.5

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)
June
2024
Sept.
2024
Dec.
2024
Mar.
2025
June
2025
June
2024
Sept.
2024
Dec.
2024
Mar.
2025
June
2025

United States(1)

5.8 5.8 5.9 5.6 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.4 6.0

Alabama

5.6 5.8 5.8 5.3 5.5 5.6 5.9 5.3 5.6 5.6

Alaska

10.2 8.0 10.3 10.0 9.9 9.6 9.6 9.5 8.1 10.3

Arizona

5.6 6.4 6.1 5.8 5.3 6.5 5.7 5.9 5.3 6.3

Arkansas

5.3 5.5 5.8 5.1 5.1 5.7 5.2 4.8 5.1 5.5

California

6.2 6.3 6.7 6.0 6.6 6.9 6.2 6.4 6.2 6.7

Colorado

6.6 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.4 5.8 6.4 6.5 6.8 7.1

Connecticut

5.8 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.8

Delaware

5.8 6.8 6.1 5.9 5.9 6.5 6.4 6.3 5.3 6.1

District of Columbia

5.1 4.9 5.0 4.8 5.7 5.4 5.0 5.5 5.8 5.9

Florida

6.1 6.5 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.7 6.2 5.5 5.8

Georgia

5.9 5.8 6.0 5.5 5.5 5.7 6.1 5.4 5.7 5.6

Hawaii

5.2 5.7 5.3 4.9 4.8 5.6 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.2

Idaho

7.5 7.1 8.2 7.3 7.7 7.2 7.5 6.8 7.3 7.2

Illinois

5.1 4.9 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.2

Indiana

5.2 5.3 5.5 5.4 5.0 5.5 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.6

Iowa

5.6 5.3 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.8 6.0 5.6 5.5 5.8

Kansas

5.9 5.3 5.9 5.5 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.2 5.4 6.3

Kentucky

5.3 5.4 5.3 5.2 5.0 5.8 5.4 5.5 4.8 5.4

Louisiana

5.8 6.1 6.2 5.6 5.5 6.2 5.8 5.5 5.6 6.3

Maine

7.2 6.2 7.0 7.4 7.2 7.1 7.1 7.1 6.3 7.4

Maryland

7.1 5.9 6.0 5.9 5.7 5.9 6.1 5.9 5.7 6.2

Massachusetts

5.7 5.0 5.3 5.0 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.5 5.1 5.8

Michigan

5.7 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.8 5.4 5.8 5.9 5.3 5.5

Minnesota

5.7 5.1 5.5 5.1 5.8 5.2 5.8 5.1 5.5 5.5

Mississippi

5.7 6.3 6.3 5.7 6.3 6.3 5.7 6.2 6.1 6.5

Missouri

5.6 5.6 5.7 5.4 5.5 5.8 5.8 5.3 5.2 6.1

Montana

7.9 7.2 8.4 8.0 7.7 7.6 8.0 7.8 7.5 8.3

Nebraska

5.5 5.6 5.6 5.2 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.5

Nevada

5.8 6.2 6.1 5.4 6.2 5.8 5.9 5.6 5.9 6.3

New Hampshire

6.1 5.6 6.3 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.7 5.9 6.1 6.7

New Jersey

5.9 5.4 6.0 5.6 5.8 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.4 5.5

New Mexico

6.1 6.3 6.1 5.9 5.9 6.5 6.2 5.9 5.8 6.0

New York

5.8 5.7 5.7 6.6 5.9 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.0 7.0

North Carolina

5.6 5.5 6.1 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.4

North Dakota

6.6 6.5 6.5 6.7 6.4 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.7

Ohio

5.2 5.2 5.4 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.1 4.9 5.4

Oklahoma

5.7 6.1 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.4 5.5 5.5 5.3 6.2

Oregon

6.0 6.3 6.2 5.8 6.4 6.3 6.6 6.6 6.2 6.5

Pennsylvania

4.9 5.1 5.2 5.0 4.9 5.2 5.0 4.8 4.7 5.2

Rhode Island

6.6 6.2 7.3 6.6 6.3 6.7 6.4 6.3 5.9 6.7

South Carolina

6.1 6.2 6.4 6.1 5.8 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.5 6.6

South Dakota

6.0 5.9 6.7 6.2 6.0 6.2 5.9 5.9 6.5 6.1

Tennessee

5.5 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.1 5.6 5.7 6.2 5.1 5.9

Texas

5.4 5.7 5.8 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.4

Utah

6.5 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.6 6.9 6.2 6.3 6.0 6.6

Vermont

6.7 6.6 6.7 6.9 6.9 7.4 7.1 6.7 6.8 7.5

Virginia

5.6 5.8 5.8 5.6 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.5 5.1 5.8

Washington

5.9 5.8 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.6 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.4

West Virginia

7.0 5.9 6.5 6.4 5.5 6.7 6.6 6.1 5.7 6.3

Wisconsin

5.3 5.1 5.3 5.0 5.3 5.6 5.5 5.2 4.9 5.5

Wyoming

8.2 8.9 8.9 8.1 8.3 8.8 8.5 8.3 8.7 8.9

Puerto Rico

5.5 5.4 4.3 6.3 7.0 4.9 5.0 5.4 5.4 6.1

Virgin Islands

4.9 4.7 5.2 5.4 15.0 5.7 7.5 10.8 7.6 9.5

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

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, March 05, 2026