Business Employment Dynamics in Alabama — Third Quarter 2025

From June 2025 to September 2025, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Alabama were 94,794, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 93,102, 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 loss of 1,692 jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,543. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Line chart of gross job gains and losses in Alabama, September 2020 to September 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 Alabama, September 2020–September 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job losses	Gross job gains
Sep 2020	89,859	118,680
Dec 2020	84,790	118,140
Mar 2021	92,194	106,225
Jun 2021	93,863	100,526
Sep 2021	100,415	106,955
Dec 2021	84,802	122,613
Mar 2022	97,170	105,974
Jun 2022	102,203	108,964
Sep 2022	97,194	114,933
Dec 2022	101,393	111,016
Mar 2023	93,712	109,854
Jun 2023	96,410	102,771
Sep 2023	100,817	102,456
Dec 2023	98,203	105,335
Mar 2024	95,836	101,248
Jun 2024	94,915	96,032
Sep 2024	101,412	99,198
Dec 2024	92,228	98,916
Mar 2025	95,520	92,217
Jun 2025	95,829	94,286
Sep 2025	94,794	93,102

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 2025, gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in Alabama; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.7 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 Alabama, contracting establishments lost 80,586 jobs in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 3,613 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 14,208 jobs, a decrease of 4,648 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Alabama, September 2020–September 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Alabama
Sep 2020	5.9	5.9
Dec 2020	5.7	5.5
Mar 2021	5.5	5.8
Jun 2021	5.9	6.0
Sep 2021	6.0	6.3
Dec 2021	5.4	5.2
Mar 2022	5.5	5.9
Jun 2022	6.2	6.2
Sep 2022	5.9	5.9
Dec 2022	5.9	6.1
Mar 2023	5.5	5.6
Jun 2023	5.9	5.7
Sep 2023	5.9	6.0
Dec 2023	5.7	5.8
Mar 2024	5.5	5.6
Jun 2024	5.9	5.6
Sep 2024	5.8	5.9
Dec 2024	5.7	5.3
Mar 2025	5.4	5.6
Jun 2025	6.0	5.6
Sep 2025	5.7	5.5

Gross job gains

In the third quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.4 percent of private-sector employment in Alabama; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.6 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 Alabama, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 74,439 in the third quarter of 2025, a decrease of 1,174 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 18,663 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2025, compared to 18,673 in the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Alabama, September 2020–September 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Alabama
Sep 2020	9.4	7.8
Dec 2020	7.4	7.6
Mar 2021	7.0	6.7
Jun 2021	6.8	6.3
Sep 2021	7.3	6.7
Dec 2021	7.7	7.5
Mar 2022	6.7	6.4
Jun 2022	6.5	6.6
Sep 2022	6.9	6.9
Dec 2022	6.3	6.6
Mar 2023	6.3	6.5
Jun 2023	6.2	6.0
Sep 2023	5.9	6.0
Dec 2023	6.0	6.2
Mar 2024	5.9	5.9
Jun 2024	5.8	5.6
Sep 2024	5.8	5.8
Dec 2024	5.9	5.8
Mar 2025	5.6	5.3
Jun 2025	5.7	5.5
Sep 2025	5.6	5.4

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 5 of the 10 published industry sectors in Alabama in the third quarter of 2025. Manufacturing had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 2,271 jobs. This was the result of 8,473 gross job losses and 6,202 gross job gains. Education and health services showed a net gain of 824 jobs, the largest gain 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 homepage and the Business Employment Dynamics Summary.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Fourth Quarter 2025 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 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, Alabama, 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	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	99,198	98,916	92,217	94,286	93,102	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.5	5.4
At expanding establishments	78,733	78,957	74,521	75,613	74,439	4.6	4.6	4.3	4.4	4.3
At opening establishments	20,465	19,959	17,696	18,673	18,663	1.2	1.2	1.0	1.1	1.1
Gross job losses	101,412	92,228	95,520	95,829	94,794	5.9	5.3	5.6	5.6	5.5
At contracting establishments	80,451	74,727	77,418	76,973	80,586	4.7	4.3	4.5	4.5	4.7
At closing establishments	20,961	17,501	18,102	18,856	14,208	1.2	1.0	1.1	1.1	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-2,214	6,688	-3,303	-1,543	-1,692	-0.1	0.5	-0.3	-0.1	-0.1
Construction
Gross job gains	8,964	8,067	8,535	9,137	8,838	8.3	7.4	7.8	8.3	8.0
At expanding establishments	7,526	6,533	6,979	7,559	7,402	7.0	6.0	6.4	6.9	6.7
At opening establishments	1,438	1,534	1,556	1,578	1,436	1.3	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3
Gross job losses	8,433	8,178	8,264	7,433	8,331	7.8	7.6	7.6	6.8	7.6
At contracting establishments	6,772	6,685	6,743	5,985	7,480	6.3	6.2	6.2	5.5	6.8
At closing establishments	1,661	1,493	1,521	1,448	851	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.3	0.8
Net employment change (2)	531	-111	271	1,704	507	0.5	-0.2	0.2	1.5	0.4
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	8,220	7,295	7,609	6,902	6,202	2.8	2.6	2.6	2.4	2.2
At expanding establishments	7,234	6,261	6,957	6,006	5,326	2.5	2.2	2.4	2.1	1.9
At opening establishments	986	1,034	652	896	876	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.3	0.3
Gross job losses	8,660	8,152	7,738	7,588	8,473	3.0	2.9	2.7	2.7	3.0
At contracting establishments	7,672	7,070	7,167	7,002	7,690	2.7	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.7
At closing establishments	988	1,082	571	586	783	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.3
Net employment change (2)	-440	-857	-129	-686	-2,271	-0.2	-0.3	-0.1	-0.3	-0.8
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,750	3,496	3,389	3,182	3,188	4.7	4.4	4.2	4.0	4.1
At expanding establishments	2,958	2,713	2,719	2,467	2,587	3.7	3.4	3.4	3.1	3.3
At opening establishments	792	783	670	715	601	1.0	1.0	0.8	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	3,860	3,257	3,537	3,389	3,457	4.9	4.1	4.5	4.3	4.4
At contracting establishments	2,841	2,627	2,691	2,826	2,990	3.6	3.3	3.4	3.6	3.8
At closing establishments	1,019	630	846	563	467	1.3	0.8	1.1	0.7	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-110	239	-148	-207	-269	-0.2	0.3	-0.3	-0.3	-0.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	14,082	11,975	12,413	13,749	12,058	5.8	5.0	5.2	5.8	5.1
At expanding establishments	11,648	10,021	10,630	11,679	10,230	4.8	4.2	4.5	4.9	4.3
At opening establishments	2,434	1,954	1,783	2,070	1,828	1.0	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	13,628	14,088	11,525	13,103	12,455	5.6	5.9	4.8	5.4	5.2
At contracting establishments	11,664	11,953	9,781	10,927	10,754	4.8	5.0	4.1	4.5	4.5
At closing establishments	1,964	2,135	1,744	2,176	1,701	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	454	-2,113	888	646	-397	0.2	-0.9	0.4	0.4	-0.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	3,844	5,907	3,452	3,660	3,811	5.2	7.9	4.6	5.1	5.3
At expanding establishments	3,301	5,193	2,830	2,883	3,327	4.5	6.9	3.8	4.0	4.6
At opening establishments	543	714	622	777	484	0.7	1.0	0.8	1.1	0.7
Gross job losses	4,384	3,188	6,328	4,249	4,497	6.0	4.2	8.5	5.9	6.2
At contracting establishments	3,429	2,551	5,582	3,255	4,062	4.7	3.4	7.5	4.5	5.6
At closing establishments	955	637	746	994	435	1.3	0.8	1.0	1.4	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-540	2,719	-2,876	-589	-686	-0.8	3.7	-3.9	-0.8	-0.9
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,844	4,582	4,982	4,821	4,654	4.8	4.5	4.9	4.8	4.6
At expanding establishments	3,763	3,315	3,956	3,613	3,225	3.7	3.3	3.9	3.6	3.2
At opening establishments	1,081	1,267	1,026	1,208	1,429	1.1	1.2	1.0	1.2	1.4
Gross job losses	4,792	4,753	4,747	5,147	4,367	4.7	4.7	4.6	5.1	4.3
At contracting establishments	3,684	3,675	3,504	3,873	3,537	3.6	3.6	3.4	3.8	3.5
At closing establishments	1,108	1,078	1,243	1,274	830	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.3	0.8
Net employment change (2)	52	-171	235	-326	287	0.1	-0.2	0.3	-0.3	0.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	17,168	19,308	16,410	18,469	18,109	6.5	7.3	6.3	7.0	6.8
At expanding establishments	13,233	15,521	12,844	15,220	14,036	5.0	5.9	4.9	5.8	5.3
At opening establishments	3,935	3,787	3,566	3,249	4,073	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.2	1.5
Gross job losses	21,611	17,683	17,456	17,718	18,401	8.2	6.7	6.7	6.8	7.0
At contracting establishments	16,540	14,220	13,877	14,883	15,602	6.3	5.4	5.3	5.7	5.9
At closing establishments	5,071	3,463	3,579	2,835	2,799	1.9	1.3	1.4	1.1	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-4,443	1,625	-1,046	751	-292	-1.7	0.6	-0.4	0.2	-0.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	12,281	13,105	13,382	11,714	12,572	4.9	5.2	5.2	4.6	5.0
At expanding establishments	9,560	10,044	10,329	8,889	10,018	3.8	4.0	4.0	3.5	4.0
At opening establishments	2,721	3,061	3,053	2,825	2,554	1.1	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	12,488	12,382	12,380	15,060	11,748	4.9	4.9	4.8	5.9	4.6
At contracting establishments	9,075	9,189	9,222	9,871	9,624	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.9	3.8
At closing establishments	3,413	3,193	3,158	5,189	2,124	1.3	1.3	1.2	2.0	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-207	723	1,002	-3,346	824	0.0	0.3	0.4	-1.3	0.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	19,563	18,664	16,126	16,971	17,343	9.4	8.8	7.6	7.9	8.1
At expanding establishments	14,644	14,303	12,778	12,865	13,478	7.0	6.7	6.0	6.0	6.3
At opening establishments	4,919	4,361	3,348	4,106	3,865	2.4	2.1	1.6	1.9	1.8
Gross job losses	17,715	14,382	16,837	16,348	16,945	8.4	6.8	7.9	7.7	8.0
At contracting establishments	14,280	11,872	13,638	13,996	13,838	6.8	5.6	6.4	6.6	6.5
At closing establishments	3,435	2,510	3,199	2,352	3,107	1.6	1.2	1.5	1.1	1.5
Net employment change (2)	1,848	4,282	-711	623	398	1.0	2.0	-0.3	0.2	0.1
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	4,034	3,628	3,243	3,156	3,650	8.3	7.5	6.7	6.5	7.5
At expanding establishments	2,957	2,723	2,531	2,393	2,777	6.1	5.6	5.2	4.9	5.7
At opening establishments	1,077	905	712	763	873	2.2	1.9	1.5	1.6	1.8
Gross job losses	3,153	3,666	3,441	3,271	3,379	6.5	7.5	7.1	6.7	7.0
At contracting establishments	2,365	2,819	2,528	2,492	2,700	4.9	5.8	5.2	5.1	5.6
At closing establishments	788	847	913	779	679	1.6	1.7	1.9	1.6	1.4
Net employment change (2)	881	-38	-198	-115	271	1.8	0.0	-0.4	-0.2	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. (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	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025
United States(1)	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.7	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.4	6.0	5.7
Alabama	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.9	5.3	5.6	5.6	5.5
Alaska	8.0	10.3	10.0	9.9	7.5	9.6	9.5	8.1	10.3	10.0
Arizona	6.4	6.1	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.3	6.3	5.5
Arkansas	5.5	5.8	5.1	5.1	5.3	5.2	4.8	5.1	5.5	5.3
California	6.3	6.7	6.0	6.6	6.2	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.7	6.0
Colorado	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.4	6.5	6.4	6.5	6.8	7.1	6.5
Connecticut	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.3	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.8	5.9
Delaware	6.8	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.3	6.4	6.3	5.3	6.1	6.1
District of Columbia	4.9	5.0	4.8	5.7	4.6	5.0	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.9
Florida	6.5	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.7	6.2	5.5	5.8	6.0
Georgia	5.8	6.0	5.5	5.5	5.7	6.1	5.4	5.7	5.6	5.8
Hawaii	5.7	5.3	4.9	4.8	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.2	4.8
Idaho	7.1	8.2	7.3	7.7	6.7	7.5	6.8	7.3	7.2	7.6
Illinois	4.9	5.1	5.0	5.2	4.7	5.0	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.0
Indiana	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.1	5.3	5.1	5.2	5.6	5.1
Iowa	5.3	5.6	5.8	5.6	4.8	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.8	5.9
Kansas	5.3	5.9	5.5	5.4	5.8	5.6	5.2	5.4	6.3	5.8
Kentucky	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.3	5.4	5.5	4.8	5.4	5.6
Louisiana	6.1	6.2	5.6	5.5	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.6	6.3	6.0
Maine	6.2	7.0	7.4	7.2	6.2	7.1	7.1	6.3	7.4	7.0
Maryland	5.9	6.0	5.9	5.7	5.7	6.1	5.9	5.7	6.2	6.5
Massachusetts	5.0	5.3	5.0	5.5	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.1	5.8	5.9
Michigan	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.8	4.9	5.8	5.9	5.3	5.5	5.9
Minnesota	5.1	5.5	5.1	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.1	5.5	5.5	5.6
Mississippi	6.3	6.3	5.7	6.3	6.4	5.7	6.2	6.1	6.5	6.1
Missouri	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.3	5.2	6.1	5.9
Montana	7.2	8.4	8.0	7.7	7.0	8.0	7.8	7.5	8.3	7.9
Nebraska	5.6	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.5	5.8
Nevada	6.2	6.1	5.4	6.2	6.9	5.9	5.6	5.9	6.3	5.2
New Hampshire	5.6	6.3	6.5	6.3	5.6	6.7	5.9	6.1	6.7	6.8
New Jersey	5.4	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.8
New Mexico	6.3	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.8	6.2	5.9	5.8	6.0	6.2
New York	5.7	5.7	6.6	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.0	7.0	5.8
North Carolina	5.5	6.1	5.4	5.6	5.4	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.7
North Dakota	6.5	6.5	6.7	6.4	6.2	6.5	6.6	6.5	6.7	6.6
Ohio	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.3	5.1	5.4	5.1	4.9	5.4	5.3
Oklahoma	6.1	6.0	5.5	5.5	6.0	5.5	5.5	5.3	6.2	6.4
Oregon	6.3	6.2	5.8	6.4	5.7	6.6	6.6	6.2	6.5	6.7
Pennsylvania	5.1	5.2	5.0	4.9	5.0	5.0	4.8	4.7	5.2	5.2
Rhode Island	6.2	7.3	6.6	6.3	6.0	6.4	6.3	5.9	6.7	6.7
South Carolina	6.2	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.3	5.9	5.9	5.5	6.6	6.5
South Dakota	5.9	6.7	6.2	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.5	6.1	6.0
Tennessee	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.7	5.7	6.2	5.1	5.9	5.2
Texas	5.7	5.8	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.1	5.4	5.3
Utah	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.2	6.3	6.0	6.6	6.4
Vermont	6.6	6.7	6.9	6.9	6.6	7.1	6.7	6.8	7.5	7.8
Virginia	5.8	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.9	5.7	5.5	5.1	5.8	6.1
Washington	5.8	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.2	5.8	5.7	5.5	5.4	5.6
West Virginia	5.9	6.5	6.4	5.5	5.8	6.6	6.1	5.7	6.3	6.0
Wisconsin	5.1	5.3	5.0	5.3	4.9	5.5	5.2	4.9	5.5	5.6
Wyoming	8.9	8.9	8.1	8.3	7.7	8.5	8.3	8.7	8.9	8.4
Puerto Rico	5.4	4.3	6.3	7.0	5.4	5.0	5.4	5.4	6.1	5.7
Virgin Islands	4.7	5.2	5.4	15.0	7.1	7.5	10.8	7.6	9.5	8.4
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: Wednesday, May 06, 2026

Southeast Information Office

Business Employment Dynamics in Alabama — Third Quarter 2025