Business Employment Dynamics in Kentucky — First Quarter 2025

From December 2024 to March 2025, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Kentucky were 88,175, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 81,258, 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 6,917 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 3,285. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Line chart of private-sector gross job gains and losses in Kentucky, March 2020 to March 2025, 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 Kentucky, March 2020–March 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job gains	Gross job losses
Mar 2020	87,881	99,754
Jun 2020	70,909	230,815
Sep 2020	132,798	75,446
Dec 2020	111,606	93,796
Mar 2021	114,824	83,804
Jun 2021	101,239	99,084
Sep 2021	106,019	100,440
Dec 2021	117,391	78,350
Mar 2022	108,020	92,150
Jun 2022	102,880	106,247
Sep 2022	108,670	87,932
Dec 2022	97,897	87,539
Mar 2023	103,426	82,469
Jun 2023	93,778	98,651
Sep 2023	95,675	92,658
Dec 2023	95,696	87,876
Mar 2024	98,629	86,243
Jun 2024	89,092	97,007
Sep 2024	91,173	91,959
Dec 2024	89,383	92,668
Mar 2025	88,175	81,258

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 5.2 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; 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 Kentucky, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 72,762 in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 186 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 15,413 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 1,394 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Kentucky, March 2020–March 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Kentucky
Mar 2020	5.5	5.5
Jun 2020	4.8	4.6
Sep 2020	9.4	8.9
Dec 2020	7.4	7.3
Mar 2021	7.0	7.4
Jun 2021	6.8	6.5
Sep 2021	7.3	6.7
Dec 2021	7.7	7.4
Mar 2022	6.7	6.7
Jun 2022	6.5	6.3
Sep 2022	6.9	6.7
Dec 2022	6.3	6.0
Mar 2023	6.3	6.1
Jun 2023	6.2	5.6
Sep 2023	5.9	5.7
Dec 2023	6.0	5.7
Mar 2024	5.9	5.9
Jun 2024	5.8	5.3
Sep 2024	5.8	5.4
Dec 2024	5.9	5.3
Mar 2025	5.6	5.2

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 4.8 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; 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 Kentucky, contracting establishments lost 68,021 jobs in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 10,052 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 13,237 jobs, a decrease of 1,358 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Kentucky, March 2020–March 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Kentucky
Mar 2020	6.3	6.2
Jun 2020	16.8	15.0
Sep 2020	5.9	5.0
Dec 2020	5.7	6.2
Mar 2021	5.5	5.4
Jun 2021	5.9	6.3
Sep 2021	6.0	6.4
Dec 2021	5.4	4.9
Mar 2022	5.5	5.7
Jun 2022	6.2	6.5
Sep 2022	5.9	5.4
Dec 2022	5.9	5.3
Mar 2023	5.5	4.9
Jun 2023	5.9	5.9
Sep 2023	5.9	5.6
Dec 2023	5.7	5.2
Mar 2024	5.5	5.1
Jun 2024	5.9	5.8
Sep 2024	5.8	5.4
Dec 2024	5.7	5.5
Mar 2025	5.4	4.8

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 8 of the 11 published industry sectors in Kentucky in the first quarter of 2025. Professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 4,127 jobs. This was the result of 17,587 gross job gains and 13,460 gross job losses. The retail trade industry had a net gain of 1,733 jobs, followed by education and health services with a net gain of 1,622 jobs. Leisure and hospitality showed a net loss of 1,400 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state.

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.

Federal Government Shutdown

Publication of first quarter 2025 data was delayed by more than 6 weeks because of a lapse in federal appropriations. Collection of first quarter Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data – which Business Employment Dynamics data is based upon – had been completed in accordance with our normal schedule prior to the federal government shutdown.

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, 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.

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, Kentucky, 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. 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	98,629	89,092	91,173	89,383	88,175	5.9	5.3	5.4	5.3	5.2
At expanding establishments	80,784	72,922	74,330	72,576	72,762	4.8	4.3	4.4	4.3	4.3
At opening establishments	17,845	16,170	16,843	16,807	15,413	1.1	1.0	1.0	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	86,243	97,007	91,959	92,668	81,258	5.1	5.8	5.4	5.5	4.8
At contracting establishments	72,612	80,680	78,141	78,073	68,021	4.3	4.8	4.6	4.6	4.0
At closing establishments	13,631	16,327	13,818	14,595	13,237	0.8	1.0	0.8	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	12,386	-7,915	-786	-3,285	6,917	0.8	-0.5	0.0	-0.2	0.4
Construction
Gross job gains	9,319	7,396	7,942	7,574	7,097	9.9	7.8	8.6	8.1	7.6
At expanding establishments	7,742	6,187	6,561	6,154	5,822	8.2	6.5	7.1	6.6	6.2
At opening establishments	1,577	1,209	1,381	1,420	1,275	1.7	1.3	1.5	1.5	1.4
Gross job losses	7,100	8,330	7,782	8,567	7,045	7.5	8.8	8.4	9.2	7.5
At contracting establishments	5,863	6,747	6,594	7,342	5,888	6.2	7.1	7.1	7.9	6.3
At closing establishments	1,237	1,583	1,188	1,225	1,157	1.3	1.7	1.3	1.3	1.2
Net employment change (2)	2,219	-934	160	-993	52	2.4	-1.0	0.2	-1.1	0.1
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	8,451	6,626	6,054	6,106	6,472	3.2	2.6	2.4	2.4	2.6
At expanding establishments	7,590	5,960	5,377	5,613	5,807	2.9	2.3	2.1	2.2	2.3
At opening establishments	861	666	677	493	665	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3
Gross job losses	6,964	7,735	8,529	7,986	6,195	2.7	3.0	3.3	3.1	2.4
At contracting establishments	6,207	7,239	7,825	7,406	5,815	2.4	2.8	3.0	2.9	2.3
At closing establishments	757	496	704	580	380	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.1
Net employment change (2)	1,487	-1,109	-2,475	-1,880	277	0.5	-0.4	-0.9	-0.7	0.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,817	3,175	3,286	2,901	3,667	4.8	4.0	4.1	3.6	4.5
At expanding establishments	3,045	2,564	2,721	2,493	3,017	3.8	3.2	3.4	3.1	3.7
At opening establishments	772	611	565	408	650	1.0	0.8	0.7	0.5	0.8
Gross job losses	3,097	3,706	3,053	3,393	3,043	3.8	4.5	3.7	4.2	3.7
At contracting establishments	2,527	3,118	2,446	2,891	2,613	3.1	3.8	3.0	3.6	3.2
At closing establishments	570	588	607	502	430	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.5
Net employment change (2)	720	-531	233	-492	624	1.0	-0.5	0.4	-0.6	0.8
Retail trade
Gross job gains	11,451	10,901	13,557	10,267	11,773	5.5	5.2	6.4	4.9	5.6
At expanding establishments	9,617	9,184	12,045	8,771	10,347	4.6	4.4	5.7	4.2	4.9
At opening establishments	1,834	1,717	1,512	1,496	1,426	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7
Gross job losses	10,427	12,792	10,559	12,481	10,040	4.9	6.1	5.1	5.9	4.8
At contracting establishments	9,316	10,771	9,610	11,231	8,387	4.4	5.1	4.6	5.3	4.0
At closing establishments	1,111	2,021	949	1,250	1,653	0.5	1.0	0.5	0.6	0.8
Net employment change (2)	1,024	-1,891	2,998	-2,214	1,733	0.6	-0.9	1.3	-1.0	0.8
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	5,443	5,328	6,509	6,753	5,012	4.2	4.2	5.1	5.3	3.9
At expanding establishments	4,891	4,999	5,612	6,021	4,371	3.8	3.9	4.4	4.7	3.4
At opening establishments	552	329	897	732	641	0.4	0.3	0.7	0.6	0.5
Gross job losses	7,942	6,945	5,293	5,004	5,554	6.1	5.4	4.2	3.9	4.3
At contracting establishments	7,556	6,505	4,797	4,377	5,045	5.8	5.1	3.8	3.4	3.9
At closing establishments	386	440	496	627	509	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-2,499	-1,617	1,216	1,749	-542	-1.9	-1.2	0.9	1.4	-0.4
Information
Gross job gains	973	858	1,469	957	856	4.6	4.1	7.1	4.6	4.1
At expanding establishments	716	585	815	689	641	3.4	2.8	3.9	3.3	3.1
At opening establishments	257	273	654	268	215	1.2	1.3	3.2	1.3	1.0
Gross job losses	1,454	1,148	1,117	1,490	1,129	6.9	5.6	5.4	7.3	5.5
At contracting establishments	1,180	925	852	1,210	866	5.6	4.5	4.1	5.9	4.2
At closing establishments	274	223	265	280	263	1.3	1.1	1.3	1.4	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-481	-290	352	-533	-273	-2.3	-1.5	1.7	-2.7	-1.4
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,706	4,236	3,994	3,907	3,671	5.0	4.5	4.2	4.1	3.9
At expanding establishments	3,604	3,200	2,932	2,839	2,842	3.8	3.4	3.1	3.0	3.0
At opening establishments	1,102	1,036	1,062	1,068	829	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	4,207	4,177	4,331	4,394	3,591	4.4	4.3	4.6	4.6	3.8
At contracting establishments	3,238	3,277	3,395	3,417	2,744	3.4	3.4	3.6	3.6	2.9
At closing establishments	969	900	936	977	847	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	499	59	-337	-487	80	0.6	0.2	-0.4	-0.5	0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	18,275	16,593	15,132	14,172	17,587	8.1	7.3	6.7	6.4	7.9
At expanding establishments	14,953	13,276	12,054	11,155	14,675	6.6	5.8	5.3	5.0	6.6
At opening establishments	3,322	3,317	3,078	3,017	2,912	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.3
Gross job losses	15,231	18,041	18,457	18,892	13,460	6.7	7.9	8.2	8.4	6.1
At contracting establishments	12,365	14,582	15,357	15,485	10,883	5.4	6.4	6.8	6.9	4.9
At closing establishments	2,866	3,459	3,100	3,407	2,577	1.3	1.5	1.4	1.5	1.2
Net employment change (2)	3,044	-1,448	-3,325	-4,720	4,127	1.4	-0.6	-1.5	-2.0	1.8
Education and health services
Gross job gains	13,955	13,953	13,476	13,625	12,031	4.6	4.6	4.4	4.4	3.9
At expanding establishments	11,445	11,310	10,734	10,727	9,555	3.8	3.7	3.5	3.5	3.1
At opening establishments	2,510	2,643	2,742	2,898	2,476	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	10,522	12,676	11,904	10,995	10,409	3.5	4.1	3.9	3.6	3.3
At contracting establishments	8,119	9,497	9,413	8,490	8,157	2.7	3.1	3.1	2.8	2.6
At closing establishments	2,403	3,179	2,491	2,505	2,252	0.8	1.0	0.8	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	3,433	1,277	1,572	2,630	1,622	1.1	0.5	0.5	0.8	0.6
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	17,217	15,001	14,520	18,326	14,827	8.2	7.3	7.1	8.9	7.1
At expanding establishments	13,388	11,982	11,509	14,649	12,111	6.4	5.8	5.6	7.1	5.8
At opening establishments	3,829	3,019	3,011	3,677	2,716	1.8	1.5	1.5	1.8	1.3
Gross job losses	14,675	16,545	16,557	13,985	16,227	7.1	8.0	8.1	6.8	7.8
At contracting establishments	12,603	14,267	14,433	11,792	13,939	6.1	6.9	7.1	5.7	6.7
At closing establishments	2,072	2,278	2,124	2,193	2,288	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.1
Net employment change (2)	2,542	-1,544	-2,037	4,341	-1,400	1.1	-0.7	-1.0	2.1	-0.7
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	3,657	3,431	3,631	2,977	3,368	7.9	7.3	7.8	6.3	7.2
At expanding establishments	2,811	2,622	2,851	2,312	2,470	6.1	5.6	6.1	4.9	5.3
At opening establishments	846	809	780	665	898	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.4	1.9
Gross job losses	3,227	3,244	3,083	3,603	3,125	7.0	7.0	6.5	7.7	6.7
At contracting establishments	2,594	2,569	2,404	2,874	2,552	5.6	5.5	5.1	6.1	5.5
At closing establishments	633	675	679	729	573	1.4	1.5	1.4	1.6	1.2
Net employment change (2)	430	187	548	-626	243	0.9	0.3	1.3	-1.4	0.5
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. 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. 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.

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, December 23, 2025

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Business Employment Dynamics in Kentucky — First Quarter 2025