Business Employment Dynamics in Kentucky — Second Quarter 2025

From March 2025 to June 2025, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Kentucky were 90,592, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 84,012, 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 6,580 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 6,917. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Line chart of gross job gains and losses in Kentucky, June 2020 to June 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, June 2020–June 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job losses	Gross job gains
Jun 2020	230,815	70,909
Sep 2020	75,446	132,798
Dec 2020	93,796	111,606
Mar 2021	83,804	114,824
Jun 2021	99,084	101,239
Sep 2021	100,440	106,019
Dec 2021	78,350	117,391
Mar 2022	92,150	108,020
Jun 2022	106,247	102,880
Sep 2022	87,932	108,670
Dec 2022	87,539	97,897
Mar 2023	82,469	103,426
Jun 2023	98,651	93,778
Sep 2023	92,658	95,675
Dec 2023	87,876	95,696
Mar 2024	86,243	98,629
Jun 2024	97,007	89,092
Sep 2024	91,959	91,173
Dec 2024	92,668	89,383
Mar 2025	81,258	88,175
Jun 2025	90,592	84,012

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 5.4 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; 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 Kentucky, contracting establishments lost 76,114 jobs in the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 8,093 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 14,478 jobs, an increase of 1,241 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Kentucky, June 2020–June 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Kentucky
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
Jun 2025	6.0	5.4

Gross job gains

In the second quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.0 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; 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 Kentucky, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 68,965 in the second quarter of 2025, a decrease of 3,797 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 15,047 jobs gained in the second quarter of 2025, a decrease of 366 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Kentucky, June 2020–June 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Kentucky
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
Jun 2025	5.7	5.0

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 8 of the 11 published industry sectors in Kentucky in the second quarter of 2025. Retail trade had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 2,606 jobs. This was the result of 13,195 gross job losses and 10,589 gross job gains. The transportation and warehousing industry had a net loss of 2,363 jobs, followed by manufacturing with a net loss of 2,099 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, 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	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	89,092	91,173	89,383	88,175	84,012	5.3	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.0
At expanding establishments	72,922	74,330	72,576	72,762	68,965	4.3	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.1
At opening establishments	16,170	16,843	16,807	15,413	15,047	1.0	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	97,007	91,959	92,668	81,258	90,592	5.8	5.4	5.5	4.8	5.4
At contracting establishments	80,680	78,141	78,073	68,021	76,114	4.8	4.6	4.6	4.0	4.5
At closing establishments	16,327	13,818	14,595	13,237	14,478	1.0	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-7,915	-786	-3,285	6,917	-6,580	-0.5	0.0	-0.2	0.4	-0.4
Construction
Gross job gains	7,396	7,942	7,574	7,097	6,966	7.8	8.6	8.1	7.6	7.5
At expanding establishments	6,187	6,561	6,154	5,822	5,664	6.5	7.1	6.6	6.2	6.1
At opening establishments	1,209	1,381	1,420	1,275	1,302	1.3	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.4
Gross job losses	8,330	7,782	8,567	7,045	7,247	8.8	8.4	9.2	7.5	7.7
At contracting establishments	6,747	6,594	7,342	5,888	6,016	7.1	7.1	7.9	6.3	6.4
At closing establishments	1,583	1,188	1,225	1,157	1,231	1.7	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-934	160	-993	52	-281	-1.0	0.2	-1.1	0.1	-0.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	6,626	6,054	6,106	6,472	5,570	2.6	2.4	2.4	2.6	2.2
At expanding establishments	5,960	5,377	5,613	5,807	5,050	2.3	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.0
At opening establishments	666	677	493	665	520	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2
Gross job losses	7,735	8,529	7,986	6,195	7,669	3.0	3.3	3.1	2.4	3.0
At contracting establishments	7,239	7,825	7,406	5,815	6,784	2.8	3.0	2.9	2.3	2.7
At closing establishments	496	704	580	380	885	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.3
Net employment change (2)	-1,109	-2,475	-1,880	277	-2,099	-0.4	-0.9	-0.7	0.2	-0.8
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,175	3,286	2,901	3,667	3,082	4.0	4.1	3.6	4.5	3.8
At expanding establishments	2,564	2,721	2,493	3,017	2,678	3.2	3.4	3.1	3.7	3.3
At opening establishments	611	565	408	650	404	0.8	0.7	0.5	0.8	0.5
Gross job losses	3,706	3,053	3,393	3,043	3,293	4.5	3.7	4.2	3.7	4.0
At contracting establishments	3,118	2,446	2,891	2,613	2,720	3.8	3.0	3.6	3.2	3.3
At closing establishments	588	607	502	430	573	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-531	233	-492	624	-211	-0.5	0.4	-0.6	0.8	-0.2
Retail trade
Gross job gains	10,901	13,557	10,267	11,773	10,589	5.2	6.4	4.9	5.6	5.0
At expanding establishments	9,184	12,045	8,771	10,347	9,041	4.4	5.7	4.2	4.9	4.3
At opening establishments	1,717	1,512	1,496	1,426	1,548	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7
Gross job losses	12,792	10,559	12,481	10,040	13,195	6.1	5.1	5.9	4.8	6.2
At contracting establishments	10,771	9,610	11,231	8,387	11,411	5.1	4.6	5.3	4.0	5.4
At closing establishments	2,021	949	1,250	1,653	1,784	1.0	0.5	0.6	0.8	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-1,891	2,998	-2,214	1,733	-2,606	-0.9	1.3	-1.0	0.8	-1.2
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	5,328	6,509	6,753	5,012	4,087	4.2	5.1	5.3	3.9	3.3
At expanding establishments	4,999	5,612	6,021	4,371	3,619	3.9	4.4	4.7	3.4	2.9
At opening establishments	329	897	732	641	468	0.3	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.4
Gross job losses	6,945	5,293	5,004	5,554	6,450	5.4	4.2	3.9	4.3	5.1
At contracting establishments	6,505	4,797	4,377	5,045	5,861	5.1	3.8	3.4	3.9	4.6
At closing establishments	440	496	627	509	589	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-1,617	1,216	1,749	-542	-2,363	-1.2	0.9	1.4	-0.4	-1.8
Information
Gross job gains	858	1,469	957	856	1,029	4.1	7.1	4.6	4.1	5.0
At expanding establishments	585	815	689	641	781	2.8	3.9	3.3	3.1	3.8
At opening establishments	273	654	268	215	248	1.3	3.2	1.3	1.0	1.2
Gross job losses	1,148	1,117	1,490	1,129	1,165	5.6	5.4	7.3	5.5	5.7
At contracting establishments	925	852	1,210	866	855	4.5	4.1	5.9	4.2	4.2
At closing establishments	223	265	280	263	310	1.1	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.5
Net employment change (2)	-290	352	-533	-273	-136	-1.5	1.7	-2.7	-1.4	-0.7
Financial activities
Gross job gains	4,236	3,994	3,907	3,671	4,271	4.5	4.2	4.1	3.9	4.5
At expanding establishments	3,200	2,932	2,839	2,842	3,317	3.4	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.5
At opening establishments	1,036	1,062	1,068	829	954	1.1	1.1	1.1	0.9	1.0
Gross job losses	4,177	4,331	4,394	3,591	3,820	4.3	4.6	4.6	3.8	4.0
At contracting establishments	3,277	3,395	3,417	2,744	2,924	3.4	3.6	3.6	2.9	3.1
At closing establishments	900	936	977	847	896	0.9	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.9
Net employment change (2)	59	-337	-487	80	451	0.2	-0.4	-0.5	0.1	0.5
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	16,593	15,132	14,172	17,587	16,824	7.3	6.7	6.4	7.9	7.5
At expanding establishments	13,276	12,054	11,155	14,675	13,624	5.8	5.3	5.0	6.6	6.1
At opening establishments	3,317	3,078	3,017	2,912	3,200	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.4
Gross job losses	18,041	18,457	18,892	13,460	16,135	7.9	8.2	8.4	6.1	7.1
At contracting establishments	14,582	15,357	15,485	10,883	13,344	6.4	6.8	6.9	4.9	5.9
At closing establishments	3,459	3,100	3,407	2,577	2,791	1.5	1.4	1.5	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-1,448	-3,325	-4,720	4,127	689	-0.6	-1.5	-2.0	1.8	0.4
Education and health services
Gross job gains	13,953	13,476	13,625	12,031	12,257	4.6	4.4	4.4	3.9	4.0
At expanding establishments	11,310	10,734	10,727	9,555	9,606	3.7	3.5	3.5	3.1	3.1
At opening establishments	2,643	2,742	2,898	2,476	2,651	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	12,676	11,904	10,995	10,409	11,944	4.1	3.9	3.6	3.3	3.9
At contracting establishments	9,497	9,413	8,490	8,157	9,611	3.1	3.1	2.8	2.6	3.1
At closing establishments	3,179	2,491	2,505	2,252	2,333	1.0	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.8
Net employment change (2)	1,277	1,572	2,630	1,622	313	0.5	0.5	0.8	0.6	0.1
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	15,001	14,520	18,326	14,827	14,642	7.3	7.1	8.9	7.1	7.1
At expanding establishments	11,982	11,509	14,649	12,111	11,999	5.8	5.6	7.1	5.8	5.8
At opening establishments	3,019	3,011	3,677	2,716	2,643	1.5	1.5	1.8	1.3	1.3
Gross job losses	16,545	16,557	13,985	16,227	15,057	8.0	8.1	6.8	7.8	7.3
At contracting establishments	14,267	14,433	11,792	13,939	12,778	6.9	7.1	5.7	6.7	6.2
At closing establishments	2,278	2,124	2,193	2,288	2,279	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.1	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-1,544	-2,037	4,341	-1,400	-415	-0.7	-1.0	2.1	-0.7	-0.2
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	3,431	3,631	2,977	3,368	3,215	7.3	7.8	6.3	7.2	6.8
At expanding establishments	2,622	2,851	2,312	2,470	2,595	5.6	6.1	4.9	5.3	5.5
At opening establishments	809	780	665	898	620	1.7	1.7	1.4	1.9	1.3
Gross job losses	3,244	3,083	3,603	3,125	3,269	7.0	6.5	7.7	6.7	6.9
At contracting establishments	2,569	2,404	2,874	2,552	2,687	5.5	5.1	6.1	5.5	5.7
At closing establishments	675	679	729	573	582	1.5	1.4	1.6	1.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	187	548	-626	243	-54	0.3	1.3	-1.4	0.5	-0.1
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	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: Wednesday, March 04, 2026

Southeast Information Office

Business Employment Dynamics in Kentucky — Second Quarter 2025