Business Employment Dynamics in Florida — First Quarter 2024

From December 2023 to March 2024, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Florida were 502,352, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 468,811, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 33,541 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2024. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 10,395. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Line chart of private-sector gross job gains and losses in Florida, March 2019–March 2024, seasonally adjusted. An accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Florida, March 2019–March 2024, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job gains	Gross job losses
Mar. 2019	480,885	437,066
Jun. 2019	499,072	481,500
Sep. 2019	500,812	446,286
Dec. 2019	519,640	461,096
Mar. 2020	437,483	486,692
Jun. 2020	448,802	1,045,173
Sep. 2020	675,208	493,362
Dec. 2020	588,585	441,443
Mar. 2021	533,113	432,532
Jun. 2021	596,086	473,234
Sep. 2021	705,734	471,822
Dec. 2021	619,739	472,252
Mar. 2022	533,558	465,020
Jun. 2022	615,630	510,267
Sep. 2022	654,195	462,312
Dec. 2022	527,131	505,892
Mar. 2023	537,362	476,457
Jun. 2023	579,538	500,994
Sep. 2023	564,003	504,260
Dec. 2023	522,115	511,720
Mar. 2024	502,352	468,811

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 2024, gross job gains represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment in Florida; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.7 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 Florida, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 372,447 in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 13,458 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 129,905 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 6,305 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Florida, March 2019–March 2024, seasonally adjusted
Period	Florida	United States
Mar. 2019	6.2	5.9
Jun. 2019	6.5	6.1
Sep. 2019	6.5	5.9
Dec. 2019	6.6	6.2
Mar. 2020	5.6	5.5
Jun. 2020	6.0	4.8
Sep. 2020	9.4	9.5
Dec. 2020	8.0	7.4
Mar. 2021	7.0	6.9
Jun. 2021	7.8	6.8
Sep. 2021	9.0	7.3
Dec. 2021	7.7	7.7
Mar. 2022	6.5	6.7
Jun. 2022	7.5	6.5
Sep. 2022	7.8	6.9
Dec. 2022	6.2	6.3
Mar. 2023	6.3	6.3
Jun. 2023	6.8	6.2
Sep. 2023	6.5	5.9
Dec. 2023	6.1	6.0
Mar. 2024	5.8	5.7

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2024, gross job losses represented 5.4 percent of private-sector employment both in Florida and nationally. (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 Florida, contracting establishments lost 348,080 jobs in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 27,199 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 120,731 jobs, a decrease of 15,710 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Florida, March 2019–March 2024, seasonally adjusted
Period	Florida	United States
Mar. 2019	5.7	5.6
Jun. 2019	6.2	5.9
Sep. 2019	5.8	5.8
Dec. 2019	5.8	5.5
Mar. 2020	6.2	6.3
Jun. 2020	13.9	16.8
Sep. 2020	6.8	5.9
Dec. 2020	6.0	5.7
Mar. 2021	5.8	5.5
Jun. 2021	6.1	5.9
Sep. 2021	6.0	6.1
Dec. 2021	5.9	5.4
Mar. 2022	5.7	5.5
Jun. 2022	6.2	6.2
Sep. 2022	5.6	5.9
Dec. 2022	6.0	5.9
Mar. 2023	5.7	5.5
Jun. 2023	5.9	5.9
Sep. 2023	5.9	6.0
Dec. 2023	5.9	5.7
Mar. 2024	5.4	5.4

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 9 of the 11 industry sectors in Florida in the first quarter of 2024. Education and health services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 10,591 jobs. This was the result of 69,176 gross job gains and 58,585 gross job losses. The professional and business services industry had a net gain of 8,601 jobs. Transportation and warehousing showed a net loss of 9,621 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state.

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 Home.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2024 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

Data in this release contain annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. These revisions include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.

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, Florida, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	537,362	579,538	564,003	522,115	502,352	6.3	6.8	6.5	6.1	5.8
At expanding establishments	416,303	422,920	414,436	385,905	372,447	4.9	5.0	4.8	4.5	4.3
At opening establishments	121,059	156,618	149,567	136,210	129,905	1.4	1.8	1.7	1.6	1.5
Gross job losses	476,457	500,994	504,260	511,720	468,811	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.4
At contracting establishments	351,721	368,463	369,117	375,279	348,080	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.0
At closing establishments	124,736	132,531	135,143	136,441	120,731	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.4
Net employment change (2)	60,905	78,544	59,743	10,395	33,541	0.6	0.9	0.6	0.2	0.4
Construction
Gross job gains	53,213	50,981	50,107	51,207	49,549	8.5	8.2	8.0	8.0	7.7
At expanding establishments	38,759	36,219	35,014	36,980	35,493	6.2	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.5
At opening establishments	14,454	14,762	15,093	14,227	14,056	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.2	2.2
Gross job losses	43,089	49,909	46,919	45,961	44,402	6.9	7.9	7.5	7.2	6.9
At contracting establishments	29,269	33,437	33,805	30,691	30,955	4.7	5.3	5.4	4.8	4.8
At closing establishments	13,820	16,472	13,114	15,270	13,447	2.2	2.6	2.1	2.4	2.1
Net employment change (2)	10,124	1,072	3,188	5,246	5,147	1.6	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.8
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	17,749	19,229	18,181	17,157	16,655	4.2	4.6	4.3	4.0	3.9
At expanding establishments	13,929	15,331	13,673	13,215	12,728	3.3	3.7	3.2	3.1	3.0
At opening establishments	3,820	3,898	4,508	3,942	3,927	0.9	0.9	1.1	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	16,386	16,199	15,991	16,596	17,632	4.0	3.9	3.7	3.9	4.2
At contracting establishments	12,390	12,439	12,418	12,853	13,477	3.0	3.0	2.9	3.0	3.2
At closing establishments	3,996	3,760	3,573	3,743	4,155	1.0	0.9	0.8	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	1,363	3,030	2,190	561	-977	0.2	0.7	0.6	0.1	-0.3
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	19,405	20,429	20,783	18,341	17,195	5.0	5.3	5.3	4.6	4.3
At expanding establishments	15,065	16,148	15,478	13,500	13,120	3.9	4.2	3.9	3.4	3.3
At opening establishments	4,340	4,281	5,305	4,841	4,075	1.1	1.1	1.4	1.2	1.0
Gross job losses	16,288	16,801	17,090	16,467	16,424	4.3	4.3	4.4	4.2	4.1
At contracting establishments	11,056	11,774	11,624	11,874	11,927	2.9	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
At closing establishments	5,232	5,027	5,466	4,593	4,497	1.4	1.3	1.4	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	3,117	3,628	3,693	1,874	771	0.7	1.0	0.9	0.4	0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	62,531	69,502	64,714	54,705	59,274	5.5	6.0	5.6	4.7	5.2
At expanding establishments	54,080	56,508	52,735	45,054	49,046	4.8	4.9	4.6	3.9	4.3
At opening establishments	8,451	12,994	11,979	9,651	10,228	0.7	1.1	1.0	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	51,377	60,523	60,466	61,263	53,274	4.5	5.3	5.2	5.4	4.7
At contracting establishments	43,095	50,570	49,549	51,302	42,173	3.8	4.4	4.3	4.5	3.7
At closing establishments	8,282	9,953	10,917	9,961	11,101	0.7	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	11,154	8,979	4,248	-6,558	6,000	1.0	0.7	0.4	-0.7	0.5
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	18,575	20,299	21,491	29,247	17,437	4.6	5.1	5.4	7.1	4.3
At expanding establishments	15,319	16,291	16,831	25,836	14,229	3.8	4.1	4.2	6.3	3.5
At opening establishments	3,256	4,008	4,660	3,411	3,208	0.8	1.0	1.2	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	26,101	17,525	18,433	18,139	27,058	6.5	4.5	4.6	4.4	6.7
At contracting establishments	22,354	14,111	14,963	14,673	23,877	5.6	3.6	3.7	3.6	5.9
At closing establishments	3,747	3,414	3,470	3,466	3,181	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-7,526	2,774	3,058	11,108	-9,621	-1.9	0.6	0.8	2.7	-2.4
Information
Gross job gains	9,060	9,978	8,145	7,762	9,220	5.7	6.3	5.1	5.0	5.8
At expanding establishments	7,288	6,239	5,899	5,582	6,831	4.6	3.9	3.7	3.6	4.3
At opening establishments	1,772	3,739	2,246	2,180	2,389	1.1	2.4	1.4	1.4	1.5
Gross job losses	9,579	9,646	9,282	9,277	8,015	6.0	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.1
At contracting establishments	6,513	7,690	6,732	6,263	5,795	4.1	4.9	4.3	4.0	3.7
At closing establishments	3,066	1,956	2,550	3,014	2,220	1.9	1.2	1.6	1.9	1.4
Net employment change (2)	-519	332	-1,137	-1,515	1,205	-0.3	0.2	-0.8	-0.9	0.7
Financial activities
Gross job gains	37,716	38,045	35,193	33,806	33,633	5.7	5.7	5.2	5.0	5.0
At expanding establishments	28,612	26,716	24,444	22,511	23,794	4.3	4.0	3.6	3.3	3.5
At opening establishments	9,104	11,329	10,749	11,295	9,839	1.4	1.7	1.6	1.7	1.5
Gross job losses	34,507	32,224	32,906	33,993	33,163	5.1	4.9	4.9	5.0	4.9
At contracting establishments	23,601	21,193	22,299	22,890	22,477	3.5	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.3
At closing establishments	10,906	11,031	10,607	11,103	10,686	1.6	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.6
Net employment change (2)	3,209	5,821	2,287	-187	470	0.6	0.8	0.3	0.0	0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	114,850	120,720	114,770	108,527	101,754	7.1	7.4	7.0	6.7	6.4
At expanding establishments	85,147	87,742	83,344	76,785	74,315	5.3	5.4	5.1	4.7	4.7
At opening establishments	29,703	32,978	31,426	31,742	27,439	1.8	2.0	1.9	2.0	1.7
Gross job losses	104,550	115,234	118,232	120,458	93,153	6.5	7.1	7.2	7.4	5.8
At contracting establishments	73,100	82,232	81,752	86,501	65,250	4.5	5.1	5.0	5.3	4.1
At closing establishments	31,450	33,002	36,480	33,957	27,903	2.0	2.0	2.2	2.1	1.7
Net employment change (2)	10,300	5,486	-3,462	-11,931	8,601	0.6	0.3	-0.2	-0.7	0.6
Education and health services
Gross job gains	76,439	81,038	83,330	70,944	69,176	5.3	5.6	5.7	4.8	4.6
At expanding establishments	63,103	63,266	65,639	53,468	55,031	4.4	4.4	4.5	3.6	3.7
At opening establishments	13,336	17,772	17,691	17,476	14,145	0.9	1.2	1.2	1.2	0.9
Gross job losses	59,982	63,192	63,737	59,941	58,585	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.0	3.9
At contracting establishments	44,859	46,937	46,859	43,153	42,980	3.1	3.2	3.2	2.9	2.9
At closing establishments	15,123	16,255	16,878	16,788	15,605	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.0
Net employment change (2)	16,457	17,846	19,593	11,003	10,591	1.1	1.3	1.4	0.8	0.7
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	93,539	102,329	99,241	95,564	86,276	7.4	8.0	7.7	7.3	6.6
At expanding establishments	72,121	74,355	75,121	71,885	64,483	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.5	4.9
At opening establishments	21,418	27,974	24,120	23,679	21,793	1.7	2.2	1.9	1.8	1.7
Gross job losses	82,770	89,231	89,976	91,044	85,860	6.5	7.0	6.9	7.0	6.6
At contracting establishments	65,874	67,546	68,610	69,263	67,995	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.2
At closing establishments	16,896	21,685	21,366	21,781	17,865	1.3	1.7	1.6	1.7	1.4
Net employment change (2)	10,769	13,098	9,265	4,520	416	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.3	0.0
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	21,498	23,063	22,075	21,332	20,812	7.9	8.4	7.9	7.7	7.3
At expanding establishments	15,259	15,461	15,094	15,304	14,974	5.6	5.6	5.4	5.5	5.3
At opening establishments	6,239	7,602	6,981	6,028	5,838	2.3	2.8	2.5	2.2	2.0
Gross job losses	18,542	20,707	20,031	19,545	19,967	6.8	7.5	7.2	7.0	7.0
At contracting establishments	12,663	13,736	13,603	13,094	14,204	4.6	5.0	4.9	4.7	5.0
At closing establishments	5,879	6,971	6,428	6,451	5,763	2.2	2.5	2.3	2.3	2.0
Net employment change (2)	2,956	2,356	2,044	1,787	845	1.1	0.9	0.7	0.7	0.3
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)
Category	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024	Mar. 2023	June 2023	Sept. 2023	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024
United States(1)	6.3	6.2	5.9	6.0	5.7	5.5	5.9	6.0	5.7	5.4
Alabama	6.5	6.0	6.0	6.2	5.7	5.6	5.7	6.0	5.7	5.5
Alaska	10.5	11.0	8.5	10.2	10.5	8.6	8.9	10.5	9.9	8.6
Arizona	6.0	7.0	6.8	6.5	8.4	5.6	6.3	5.7	6.6	6.4
Arkansas	5.8	5.9	5.6	6.2	5.6	5.1	6.0	5.8	5.0	5.2
California	6.3	6.8	6.4	6.4	5.8	6.6	6.4	6.5	6.4	5.6
Colorado	7.2	7.3	5.4	8.2	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.1	7.6	7.7
Connecticut	6.2	6.4	5.8	5.6	5.6	5.1	5.7	6.2	5.7	5.2
Delaware	6.7	6.4	6.0	6.1	6.0	5.2	5.8	6.5	5.8	5.1
District of Columbia	6.0	5.4	5.4	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.3	5.4	5.6	4.9
Florida	6.3	6.8	6.5	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.4
Georgia	6.5	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.0	6.0	6.4	6.1	5.7	5.7
Hawaii	5.6	5.7	5.3	6.1	5.4	5.1	5.3	6.8	5.0	5.1
Idaho	7.9	7.8	7.2	8.5	7.9	7.3	7.4	7.9	5.8	8.3
Illinois	5.8	5.4	4.8	5.0	5.1	4.8	5.2	5.3	5.1	4.8
Indiana	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.5	5.3	5.1	5.8	5.7	5.1	5.0
Iowa	6.1	6.0	5.6	6.1	6.1	5.4	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.6
Kansas	6.1	6.1	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.4	6.0	6.0	5.3	5.6
Kentucky	6.1	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	4.9	5.9	5.6	5.2	5.0
Louisiana	6.5	6.0	6.2	6.3	6.2	5.5	6.5	6.0	5.8	5.7
Maine	7.8	7.6	7.0	7.4	7.2	6.3	7.6	7.8	7.0	6.1
Maryland	7.2	6.7	6.3	6.2	5.8	6.0	6.6	6.4	5.8	5.7
Massachusetts	5.8	5.9	5.4	5.5	5.2	4.9	5.6	5.9	5.5	5.1
Michigan	5.8	5.9	5.2	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.3	5.9	5.5	5.2
Minnesota	5.8	6.0	3.3	6.9	5.8	4.8	5.5	4.3	6.9	5.7
Mississippi	6.5	6.4	6.2	6.1	5.7	6.1	6.5	6.2	5.7	6.1
Missouri	6.5	5.8	5.6	6.0	5.7	5.1	5.9	5.8	5.6	5.3
Montana	8.7	7.8	7.7	8.8	8.1	7.2	8.4	8.4	7.2	7.5
Nebraska	6.5	6.2	6.0	5.9	5.8	5.2	5.7	5.9	5.7	5.1
Nevada	6.2	6.5	6.5	6.7	5.9	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.4	6.2
New Hampshire	7.0	6.7	5.8	6.2	6.5	5.9	6.3	6.7	5.9	5.8
New Jersey	6.3	6.4	6.0	5.9	5.5	5.8	6.0	6.0	5.8	5.4
New Mexico	7.0	6.6	6.4	6.9	6.0	5.8	6.3	6.8	5.8	6.0
New York	6.5	6.2	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.2	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.0
North Carolina	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.3	5.4	5.3	5.7	6.1	4.9	5.5
North Dakota	7.6	6.9	6.6	6.7	6.9	5.7	6.7	6.6	6.3	6.1
Ohio	6.0	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.5	4.8	5.6	5.6	5.2	4.8
Oklahoma	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.1	5.6	5.4	6.1	6.0	5.8	5.2
Oregon	7.6	6.4	6.1	6.2	6.4	5.9	6.6	6.7	6.2	6.1
Pennsylvania	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.1	4.7	5.5	5.1	4.8	4.6
Rhode Island	7.4	6.7	6.4	6.8	6.9	5.9	6.8	6.7	6.3	5.7
South Carolina	6.8	6.4	6.6	6.2	6.4	5.9	6.6	5.7	5.3	6.3
South Dakota	7.3	6.7	6.3	6.6	6.3	5.9	6.0	6.3	5.8	5.8
Tennessee	5.9	5.8	5.6	6.2	5.5	5.0	5.5	5.7	5.5	4.9
Texas	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.4	5.1	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.1
Utah	7.0	6.9	6.9	6.6	6.7	6.3	6.4	6.6	6.5	6.0
Vermont	8.4	7.4	6.4	7.3	7.2	6.0	7.5	7.9	6.6	6.3
Virginia	6.2	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.7	5.2	5.9	6.0	5.5	5.2
Washington	6.6	6.1	5.8	6.0	5.7	6.3	5.7	6.0	5.4	5.3
West Virginia	7.3	6.1	6.5	6.5	6.9	5.5	6.4	6.6	5.8	5.7
Wisconsin	6.1	5.6	5.2	5.5	5.5	4.8	5.8	5.8	5.2	4.8
Wyoming	9.0	8.4	8.3	8.9	8.4	7.8	8.7	8.2	8.4	8.3
Puerto Rico	5.1	5.9	5.7	4.9	5.4	5.8	5.0	5.3	4.8	4.6
Virgin Islands	7.9	7.5	8.2	6.0	5.6	7.4	6.5	6.8	5.9	4.5
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, November 07, 2024

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