Business Employment Dynamics in Tennessee — Third Quarter 2025

From June 2025 to September 2025, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Tennessee were 161,528, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 145,664, 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 15,864 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 22,650. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Line chart of gross job gains and losses in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee, September 2020–September 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job gains	Gross job losses
Sep 2020	198,668	132,741
Dec 2020	188,109	116,199
Mar 2021	149,770	132,902
Jun 2021	157,071	151,747
Sep 2021	178,339	142,093
Dec 2021	193,785	146,056
Mar 2022	178,465	129,046
Jun 2022	169,073	168,247
Sep 2022	193,071	149,597
Dec 2022	160,698	154,489
Mar 2023	164,051	139,954
Jun 2023	163,426	152,949
Sep 2023	156,958	160,955
Dec 2023	173,484	154,824
Mar 2024	164,645	143,603
Jun 2024	156,457	161,441
Sep 2024	159,677	162,778
Dec 2024	156,103	175,306
Mar 2025	152,502	146,100
Jun 2025	144,915	167,565
Sep 2025	161,528	145,664

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 third quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Tennessee; 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 Tennessee, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 121,092 in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 2,992 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 40,436 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 13,621 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Tennessee, September 2020–September 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Tennessee	United States
Sep 2020	8.1	9.4
Dec 2020	7.4	7.4
Mar 2021	5.8	7.0
Jun 2021	6.1	6.8
Sep 2021	6.9	7.3
Dec 2021	7.3	7.7
Mar 2022	6.6	6.7
Jun 2022	6.2	6.5
Sep 2022	7.0	6.9
Dec 2022	5.8	6.3
Mar 2023	5.9	6.3
Jun 2023	5.8	6.2
Sep 2023	5.6	5.9
Dec 2023	6.1	6.0
Mar 2024	5.7	5.9
Jun 2024	5.5	5.8
Sep 2024	5.6	5.8
Dec 2024	5.5	5.9
Mar 2025	5.4	5.6
Jun 2025	5.1	5.7
Sep 2025	5.7	5.6

Gross job losses

In the third quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.2 percent of private-sector employment in Tennessee; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.7 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 Tennessee, contracting establishments lost 121,772 jobs in the third quarter of 2025, a decrease of 17,058 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 23,892 jobs, a decrease of 4,843 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Tennessee, September 2020–September 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Tennessee
Sep 2020	5.9	5.4
Dec 2020	5.7	4.6
Mar 2021	5.5	5.2
Jun 2021	5.9	5.9
Sep 2021	6.0	5.4
Dec 2021	5.4	5.5
Mar 2022	5.5	4.8
Jun 2022	6.2	6.1
Sep 2022	5.9	5.5
Dec 2022	5.9	5.6
Mar 2023	5.5	5.0
Jun 2023	5.9	5.5
Sep 2023	5.9	5.7
Dec 2023	5.7	5.5
Mar 2024	5.5	5.0
Jun 2024	5.9	5.6
Sep 2024	5.8	5.7
Dec 2024	5.7	6.2
Mar 2025	5.4	5.1
Jun 2025	6.0	5.9
Sep 2025	5.7	5.2

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 11 published industry sectors in Tennessee in the third quarter of 2025. Education and health services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 5,072 jobs. This was the result of 21,927 gross job gains and 16,855 gross job losses. The leisure and hospitality industry had a net gain of 3,286 jobs. Manufacturing showed a net loss of 3,715 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 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, Tennessee, 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	159,677	156,103	152,502	144,915	161,528	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.7
At expanding establishments	124,453	132,822	119,746	118,100	121,092	4.4	4.7	4.2	4.2	4.3
At opening establishments	35,224	23,281	32,756	26,815	40,436	1.2	0.8	1.2	0.9	1.4
Gross job losses	162,778	175,306	146,100	167,565	145,664	5.7	6.2	5.1	5.9	5.2
At contracting establishments	131,533	119,659	120,085	138,830	121,772	4.6	4.2	4.2	4.9	4.3
At closing establishments	31,245	55,647	26,015	28,735	23,892	1.1	2.0	0.9	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-3,101	-19,203	6,402	-22,650	15,864	-0.1	-0.7	0.3	-0.8	0.5
Construction
Gross job gains	11,046	13,759	12,468	12,089	12,766	6.7	8.4	7.5	7.3	7.8
At expanding establishments	9,226	11,678	9,858	10,277	9,957	5.6	7.1	5.9	6.2	6.1
At opening establishments	1,820	2,081	2,610	1,812	2,809	1.1	1.3	1.6	1.1	1.7
Gross job losses	13,477	13,218	11,871	13,144	10,853	8.3	8.1	7.2	8.0	6.6
At contracting establishments	11,052	8,839	9,764	11,059	8,872	6.8	5.4	5.9	6.7	5.4
At closing establishments	2,425	4,379	2,107	2,085	1,981	1.5	2.7	1.3	1.3	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-2,431	541	597	-1,055	1,913	-1.6	0.3	0.3	-0.7	1.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	9,616	9,465	9,231	8,457	9,186	2.7	2.6	2.6	2.4	2.6
At expanding establishments	8,564	8,594	7,841	7,780	7,750	2.4	2.4	2.2	2.2	2.2
At opening establishments	1,052	871	1,390	677	1,436	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.2	0.4
Gross job losses	12,038	11,831	10,727	11,447	12,901	3.3	3.3	3.0	3.2	3.7
At contracting establishments	9,914	9,611	9,575	10,614	11,967	2.7	2.7	2.7	3.0	3.4
At closing establishments	2,124	2,220	1,152	833	934	0.6	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.3
Net employment change (2)	-2,422	-2,366	-1,496	-2,990	-3,715	-0.6	-0.7	-0.4	-0.8	-1.1
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	5,415	5,242	5,430	4,869	5,003	3.9	3.9	4.1	3.7	3.8
At expanding establishments	4,145	4,568	4,150	3,968	3,918	3.0	3.4	3.1	3.0	3.0
At opening establishments	1,270	674	1,280	901	1,085	0.9	0.5	1.0	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	5,759	6,501	5,128	5,578	5,321	4.2	4.8	3.9	4.3	4.1
At contracting establishments	4,288	4,067	3,797	4,446	4,140	3.1	3.0	2.9	3.4	3.2
At closing establishments	1,471	2,434	1,331	1,132	1,181	1.1	1.8	1.0	0.9	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-344	-1,259	302	-709	-318	-0.3	-0.9	0.2	-0.6	-0.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	18,433	15,995	20,905	17,280	17,467	5.3	4.7	6.0	5.0	5.1
At expanding establishments	15,977	14,070	18,397	15,206	14,970	4.6	4.1	5.3	4.4	4.4
At opening establishments	2,456	1,925	2,508	2,074	2,497	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.7
Gross job losses	19,234	20,209	15,880	20,603	18,113	5.5	5.9	4.6	5.9	5.3
At contracting establishments	16,812	16,091	13,041	18,510	15,987	4.8	4.7	3.8	5.3	4.7
At closing establishments	2,422	4,118	2,839	2,093	2,126	0.7	1.2	0.8	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-801	-4,214	5,025	-3,323	-646	-0.2	-1.2	1.4	-0.9	-0.2
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	12,815	13,945	7,012	8,119	7,493	6.3	6.7	3.4	4.0	3.7
At expanding establishments	5,957	13,004	5,996	6,564	6,631	2.9	6.2	2.9	3.2	3.3
At opening establishments	6,858	941	1,016	1,555	862	3.4	0.5	0.5	0.8	0.4
Gross job losses	10,458	7,177	11,994	13,107	7,871	5.1	3.4	5.8	6.4	4.0
At contracting establishments	8,767	5,425	11,261	12,034	7,144	4.3	2.6	5.4	5.9	3.6
At closing establishments	1,691	1,752	733	1,073	727	0.8	0.8	0.4	0.5	0.4
Net employment change (2)	2,357	6,768	-4,982	-4,988	-378	1.2	3.3	-2.4	-2.4	-0.3
Information
Gross job gains	3,919	3,289	3,442	3,775	4,464	7.1	6.0	6.4	7.1	8.5
At expanding establishments	3,030	2,664	2,479	3,206	2,292	5.5	4.9	4.6	6.0	4.4
At opening establishments	889	625	963	569	2,172	1.6	1.1	1.8	1.1	4.1
Gross job losses	3,841	5,058	3,359	4,713	4,019	7.0	9.2	6.3	8.9	7.6
At contracting establishments	2,800	2,968	2,624	2,705	3,060	5.1	5.4	4.9	5.1	5.8
At closing establishments	1,041	2,090	735	2,008	959	1.9	3.8	1.4	3.8	1.8
Net employment change (2)	78	-1,769	83	-938	445	0.1	-3.2	0.1	-1.8	0.9
Financial activities
Gross job gains	7,683	7,759	7,118	7,541	7,057	4.5	4.6	4.1	4.3	4.1
At expanding establishments	5,965	6,133	5,528	5,789	5,577	3.5	3.6	3.2	3.3	3.2
At opening establishments	1,718	1,626	1,590	1,752	1,480	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	8,119	9,517	7,120	7,617	6,708	4.7	5.6	4.1	4.4	3.9
At contracting establishments	5,847	6,072	5,540	6,020	5,268	3.4	3.6	3.2	3.5	3.1
At closing establishments	2,272	3,445	1,580	1,597	1,440	1.3	2.0	0.9	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-436	-1,758	-2	-76	349	-0.2	-1.0	0.0	-0.1	0.2
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	29,169	26,308	28,685	28,213	30,957	6.4	5.9	6.5	6.3	7.1
At expanding establishments	23,716	21,531	23,497	23,678	24,968	5.2	4.8	5.3	5.3	5.7
At opening establishments	5,453	4,777	5,188	4,535	5,989	1.2	1.1	1.2	1.0	1.4
Gross job losses	34,017	38,726	26,423	31,815	29,421	7.5	8.7	6.0	7.2	6.6
At contracting establishments	27,342	25,428	21,105	26,576	24,408	6.0	5.7	4.8	6.0	5.5
At closing establishments	6,675	13,298	5,318	5,239	5,013	1.5	3.0	1.2	1.2	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-4,848	-12,418	2,262	-3,602	1,536	-1.1	-2.8	0.5	-0.9	0.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains	22,966	21,428	22,426	20,283	21,927	4.8	4.5	4.7	4.2	4.6
At expanding establishments	18,882	18,755	16,869	16,554	16,659	3.9	3.9	3.5	3.4	3.5
At opening establishments	4,084	2,673	5,557	3,729	5,268	0.9	0.6	1.2	0.8	1.1
Gross job losses	20,387	25,566	17,421	21,810	16,855	4.3	5.3	3.6	4.5	3.5
At contracting establishments	16,638	14,042	14,195	15,816	14,062	3.5	2.9	2.9	3.3	2.9
At closing establishments	3,749	11,524	3,226	5,994	2,793	0.8	2.4	0.7	1.2	0.6
Net employment change (2)	2,579	-4,138	5,005	-1,527	5,072	0.5	-0.8	1.1	-0.3	1.1
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	28,527	31,471	26,290	25,661	30,007	7.8	8.6	7.1	7.0	8.3
At expanding establishments	22,166	26,012	19,565	20,466	23,252	6.1	7.1	5.3	5.6	6.4
At opening establishments	6,361	5,459	6,725	5,195	6,755	1.7	1.5	1.8	1.4	1.9
Gross job losses	27,780	28,618	29,794	29,866	26,721	7.7	7.7	8.1	8.1	7.4
At contracting establishments	22,788	21,475	24,274	24,656	21,795	6.3	5.8	6.6	6.7	6.0
At closing establishments	4,992	7,143	5,520	5,210	4,926	1.4	1.9	1.5	1.4	1.4
Net employment change (2)	747	2,853	-3,504	-4,205	3,286	0.1	0.9	-1.0	-1.1	0.9
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	6,136	5,227	5,601	4,602	5,199	7.6	6.4	7.0	5.7	6.5
At expanding establishments	4,984	4,231	4,328	3,620	4,062	6.2	5.2	5.4	4.5	5.1
At opening establishments	1,152	996	1,273	982	1,137	1.4	1.2	1.6	1.2	1.4
Gross job losses	5,578	6,288	4,845	5,470	5,071	6.9	7.8	6.0	6.8	6.4
At contracting establishments	4,012	4,134	3,780	4,517	4,043	5.0	5.1	4.7	5.6	5.1
At closing establishments	1,566	2,154	1,065	953	1,028	1.9	2.7	1.3	1.2	1.3
Net employment change (2)	558	-1,061	756	-868	128	0.7	-1.4	1.0	-1.1	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	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

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Business Employment Dynamics in Tennessee — Third Quarter 2025