Business Employment Dynamics in Tennessee — Fourth Quarter 2025

From September 2025 to December 2025, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Tennessee were 176,311, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 146,925, 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 29,386 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 15,864. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Line chart of gross job gains and losses in Tennessee, December 2020 to December 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, December 2020–December 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job gains	Gross job losses
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
Dec 2025	176,311	146,925

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 fourth quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 6.2 percent of private-sector employment in Tennessee; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.9 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 130,051 in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 8,959 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 46,260 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 5,824 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Tennessee, December 2020–December 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Tennessee	United States
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
Dec 2025	6.2	5.9

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.2 percent of private-sector employment in Tennessee; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.5 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 123,089 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 1,317 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 23,836 jobs, a decrease of 56 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Tennessee, December 2020–December 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Tennessee
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
Dec 2025	5.5	5.2

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 11 published industry sectors in Tennessee in the fourth quarter of 2025. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 9,795 jobs. This was the result of 34,564 gross job gains and 24,769 gross job losses. The education and health services industry had a net gain of 9,113 jobs. Professional and business services had a net loss of 2,820 jobs, followed by manufacturing with a net loss of 1,975 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 First Quarter 2026 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

The release of First Quarter 2026 Business Employment Dynamics data, scheduled for October 28, 2026, will incorporate annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. The revisions will 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.

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	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	156,103	152,502	144,915	161,528	176,311	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.7	6.2
At expanding establishments	132,822	119,746	118,100	121,092	130,051	4.7	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.6
At opening establishments	23,281	32,756	26,815	40,436	46,260	0.8	1.2	0.9	1.4	1.6
Gross job losses	175,306	146,100	167,565	145,664	146,925	6.2	5.1	5.9	5.2	5.2
At contracting establishments	119,659	120,085	138,830	121,772	123,089	4.2	4.2	4.9	4.3	4.4
At closing establishments	55,647	26,015	28,735	23,892	23,836	2.0	0.9	1.0	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-19,203	6,402	-22,650	15,864	29,386	-0.7	0.3	-0.8	0.5	1.0
Construction
Gross job gains	13,759	12,468	12,089	12,766	12,475	8.4	7.5	7.3	7.8	7.6
At expanding establishments	11,678	9,858	10,277	9,957	9,882	7.1	5.9	6.2	6.1	6.0
At opening establishments	2,081	2,610	1,812	2,809	2,593	1.3	1.6	1.1	1.7	1.6
Gross job losses	13,218	11,871	13,144	10,853	10,264	8.1	7.2	8.0	6.6	6.2
At contracting establishments	8,839	9,764	11,059	8,872	8,615	5.4	5.9	6.7	5.4	5.2
At closing establishments	4,379	2,107	2,085	1,981	1,649	2.7	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.0
Net employment change (2)	541	597	-1,055	1,913	2,211	0.3	0.3	-0.7	1.2	1.4
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	9,465	9,231	8,457	9,186	9,928	2.6	2.6	2.4	2.6	2.9
At expanding establishments	8,594	7,841	7,780	7,750	8,243	2.4	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.4
At opening establishments	871	1,390	677	1,436	1,685	0.2	0.4	0.2	0.4	0.5
Gross job losses	11,831	10,727	11,447	12,901	11,903	3.3	3.0	3.2	3.7	3.4
At contracting establishments	9,611	9,575	10,614	11,967	10,535	2.7	2.7	3.0	3.4	3.0
At closing establishments	2,220	1,152	833	934	1,368	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-2,366	-1,496	-2,990	-3,715	-1,975	-0.7	-0.4	-0.8	-1.1	-0.5
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	5,242	5,430	4,869	5,003	5,422	3.9	4.1	3.7	3.8	4.2
At expanding establishments	4,568	4,150	3,968	3,918	4,156	3.4	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.2
At opening establishments	674	1,280	901	1,085	1,266	0.5	1.0	0.7	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	6,501	5,128	5,578	5,321	4,944	4.8	3.9	4.3	4.1	3.8
At contracting establishments	4,067	3,797	4,446	4,140	4,071	3.0	2.9	3.4	3.2	3.1
At closing establishments	2,434	1,331	1,132	1,181	873	1.8	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-1,259	302	-709	-318	478	-0.9	0.2	-0.6	-0.3	0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	15,995	20,905	17,280	17,467	16,456	4.7	6.0	5.0	5.1	4.8
At expanding establishments	14,070	18,397	15,206	14,970	14,246	4.1	5.3	4.4	4.4	4.2
At opening establishments	1,925	2,508	2,074	2,497	2,210	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.6
Gross job losses	20,209	15,880	20,603	18,113	18,123	5.9	4.6	5.9	5.3	5.4
At contracting establishments	16,091	13,041	18,510	15,987	16,220	4.7	3.8	5.3	4.7	4.8
At closing establishments	4,118	2,839	2,093	2,126	1,903	1.2	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-4,214	5,025	-3,323	-646	-1,667	-1.2	1.4	-0.9	-0.2	-0.6
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	13,945	7,012	8,119	7,493	13,529	6.7	3.4	4.0	3.7	6.7
At expanding establishments	13,004	5,996	6,564	6,631	12,108	6.2	2.9	3.2	3.3	6.0
At opening establishments	941	1,016	1,555	862	1,421	0.5	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.7
Gross job losses	7,177	11,994	13,107	7,871	8,571	3.4	5.8	6.4	4.0	4.2
At contracting establishments	5,425	11,261	12,034	7,144	7,950	2.6	5.4	5.9	3.6	3.9
At closing establishments	1,752	733	1,073	727	621	0.8	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.3
Net employment change (2)	6,768	-4,982	-4,988	-378	4,958	3.3	-2.4	-2.4	-0.3	2.5
Information
Gross job gains	3,289	3,442	3,775	4,464	2,933	6.0	6.4	7.1	8.5	5.6
At expanding establishments	2,664	2,479	3,206	2,292	2,052	4.9	4.6	6.0	4.4	3.9
At opening establishments	625	963	569	2,172	881	1.1	1.8	1.1	4.1	1.7
Gross job losses	5,058	3,359	4,713	4,019	3,317	9.2	6.3	8.9	7.6	6.2
At contracting establishments	2,968	2,624	2,705	3,060	2,287	5.4	4.9	5.1	5.8	4.3
At closing establishments	2,090	735	2,008	959	1,030	3.8	1.4	3.8	1.8	1.9
Net employment change (2)	-1,769	83	-938	445	-384	-3.2	0.1	-1.8	0.9	-0.6
Financial activities
Gross job gains	7,759	7,118	7,541	7,057	7,766	4.6	4.1	4.3	4.1	4.5
At expanding establishments	6,133	5,528	5,789	5,577	6,118	3.6	3.2	3.3	3.2	3.5
At opening establishments	1,626	1,590	1,752	1,480	1,648	1.0	0.9	1.0	0.9	1.0
Gross job losses	9,517	7,120	7,617	6,708	7,097	5.6	4.1	4.4	3.9	4.1
At contracting establishments	6,072	5,540	6,020	5,268	5,587	3.6	3.2	3.5	3.1	3.2
At closing establishments	3,445	1,580	1,597	1,440	1,510	2.0	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-1,758	-2	-76	349	669	-1.0	0.0	-0.1	0.2	0.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	26,308	28,685	28,213	30,957	28,794	5.9	6.5	6.3	7.1	6.5
At expanding establishments	21,531	23,497	23,678	24,968	22,087	4.8	5.3	5.3	5.7	5.0
At opening establishments	4,777	5,188	4,535	5,989	6,707	1.1	1.2	1.0	1.4	1.5
Gross job losses	38,726	26,423	31,815	29,421	31,614	8.7	6.0	7.2	6.6	7.2
At contracting establishments	25,428	21,105	26,576	24,408	26,956	5.7	4.8	6.0	5.5	6.1
At closing establishments	13,298	5,318	5,239	5,013	4,658	3.0	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-12,418	2,262	-3,602	1,536	-2,820	-2.8	0.5	-0.9	0.5	-0.7
Education and health services
Gross job gains	21,428	22,426	20,283	21,927	28,882	4.5	4.7	4.2	4.6	6.0
At expanding establishments	18,755	16,869	16,554	16,659	17,511	3.9	3.5	3.4	3.5	3.6
At opening establishments	2,673	5,557	3,729	5,268	11,371	0.6	1.2	0.8	1.1	2.4
Gross job losses	25,566	17,421	21,810	16,855	19,769	5.3	3.6	4.5	3.5	4.1
At contracting establishments	14,042	14,195	15,816	14,062	15,133	2.9	2.9	3.3	2.9	3.1
At closing establishments	11,524	3,226	5,994	2,793	4,636	2.4	0.7	1.2	0.6	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-4,138	5,005	-1,527	5,072	9,113	-0.8	1.1	-0.3	1.1	1.9
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	31,471	26,290	25,661	30,007	34,564	8.6	7.1	7.0	8.3	9.4
At expanding establishments	26,012	19,565	20,466	23,252	26,925	7.1	5.3	5.6	6.4	7.3
At opening establishments	5,459	6,725	5,195	6,755	7,639	1.5	1.8	1.4	1.9	2.1
Gross job losses	28,618	29,794	29,866	26,721	24,769	7.7	8.1	8.1	7.4	6.7
At contracting establishments	21,475	24,274	24,656	21,795	21,097	5.8	6.6	6.7	6.0	5.7
At closing establishments	7,143	5,520	5,210	4,926	3,672	1.9	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.0
Net employment change (2)	2,853	-3,504	-4,205	3,286	9,795	0.9	-1.0	-1.1	0.9	2.7
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	5,227	5,601	4,602	5,199	5,552	6.4	7.0	5.7	6.5	6.9
At expanding establishments	4,231	4,328	3,620	4,062	4,325	5.2	5.4	4.5	5.1	5.4
At opening establishments	996	1,273	982	1,137	1,227	1.2	1.6	1.2	1.4	1.5
Gross job losses	6,288	4,845	5,470	5,071	4,533	7.8	6.0	6.8	6.4	5.7
At contracting establishments	4,134	3,780	4,517	4,043	3,533	5.1	4.7	5.6	5.1	4.4
At closing establishments	2,154	1,065	953	1,028	1,000	2.7	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-1,061	756	-868	128	1,019	-1.4	1.0	-1.1	0.1	1.2
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	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025
United States(1)	5.9	5.6	5.7	5.6	5.9	5.7	5.4	6.0	5.7	5.5
Alabama	5.8	5.3	5.5	5.4	6.1	5.3	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.4
Alaska	10.3	10.0	9.9	7.5	11.8	9.5	8.1	10.3	10.0	9.3
Arizona	6.1	5.8	5.3	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.3	6.3	5.5	5.4
Arkansas	5.8	5.1	5.1	5.3	6.0	4.8	5.1	5.5	5.3	5.0
California	6.7	6.0	6.6	6.2	6.8	6.4	6.2	6.7	6.0	6.1
Colorado	6.2	6.2	6.4	6.5	6.2	6.5	6.8	7.1	6.5	6.4
Connecticut	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.3	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.8	5.9	5.5
Delaware	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.3	5.5	6.3	5.3	6.1	6.1	5.5
District of Columbia	5.0	4.8	5.7	4.6	5.2	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.0
Florida	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.9	5.9	6.2	5.5	5.8	6.0	5.7
Georgia	6.0	5.5	5.5	5.7	5.9	5.4	5.7	5.6	5.8	5.5
Hawaii	5.3	4.9	4.8	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.2	4.8	4.7
Idaho	8.2	7.3	7.7	6.7	8.1	6.8	7.3	7.2	7.6	6.3
Illinois	5.1	5.0	5.2	4.7	5.3	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.0	5.3
Indiana	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.1	5.5	5.1	5.2	5.6	5.1	5.1
Iowa	5.6	5.8	5.6	4.8	6.3	5.6	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.4
Kansas	5.9	5.5	5.4	5.8	5.7	5.2	5.4	6.3	5.8	5.3
Kentucky	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.3	5.2	5.5	4.8	5.4	5.6	5.0
Louisiana	6.2	5.6	5.5	5.9	6.0	5.5	5.6	6.3	6.0	5.9
Maine	7.0	7.4	7.2	6.2	6.8	7.1	6.3	7.4	7.0	7.0
Maryland	6.0	5.9	5.7	5.7	6.0	5.9	5.7	6.2	6.5	5.6
Massachusetts	5.3	5.0	5.5	5.3	5.4	5.5	5.1	5.8	5.9	5.6
Michigan	5.4	5.2	5.8	4.9	5.6	5.9	5.3	5.5	5.9	5.3
Minnesota	5.5	5.1	5.8	5.3	5.6	5.1	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.5
Mississippi	6.3	5.7	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.2	6.1	6.5	6.1	5.8
Missouri	5.7	5.4	5.5	5.6	6.1	5.3	5.2	6.1	5.9	5.5
Montana	8.4	8.0	7.7	7.0	8.4	7.8	7.5	8.3	7.9	7.4
Nebraska	5.6	5.2	5.4	5.5	5.7	5.5	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.2
Nevada	6.1	5.4	6.2	6.9	6.2	5.6	5.9	6.3	5.2	5.4
New Hampshire	6.3	6.5	6.3	5.6	6.2	5.9	6.1	6.7	6.8	5.7
New Jersey	6.0	5.6	5.8	5.3	5.7	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.8	5.3
New Mexico	6.1	5.9	5.9	5.8	6.1	5.9	5.8	6.0	6.2	6.0
New York	5.7	6.6	5.9	5.9	5.6	5.5	5.0	7.0	5.8	5.6
North Carolina	6.1	5.4	5.6	5.4	6.0	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.7	5.1
North Dakota	6.5	6.7	6.4	6.2	6.9	6.6	6.5	6.7	6.6	6.4
Ohio	5.4	5.2	5.3	5.1	5.3	5.1	4.9	5.4	5.3	5.0
Oklahoma	6.0	5.5	5.5	6.0	6.2	5.5	5.3	6.2	6.4	5.1
Oregon	6.2	5.8	6.4	5.7	6.0	6.6	6.2	6.5	6.7	6.0
Pennsylvania	5.2	5.0	4.9	5.0	5.1	4.8	4.7	5.2	5.2	4.7
Rhode Island	7.3	6.6	6.3	6.0	6.6	6.3	5.9	6.7	6.7	6.2
South Carolina	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.3	6.7	5.9	5.5	6.6	6.5	5.5
South Dakota	6.7	6.2	6.0	5.9	6.0	5.9	6.5	6.1	6.0	5.6
Tennessee	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.7	6.2	6.2	5.1	5.9	5.2	5.2
Texas	5.8	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.6	5.2	5.1	5.4	5.3	4.9
Utah	6.8	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.5	6.3	6.0	6.6	6.4	6.1
Vermont	6.7	6.9	6.9	6.6	6.9	6.7	6.8	7.5	7.8	7.0
Virginia	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.1	5.8	6.1	5.1
Washington	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.2	5.6	5.7	5.5	5.4	5.6	5.3
West Virginia	6.5	6.4	5.5	5.8	5.9	6.1	5.7	6.3	6.0	6.0
Wisconsin	5.3	5.0	5.3	4.9	5.6	5.2	4.9	5.5	5.6	5.1
Wyoming	8.9	8.1	8.3	7.7	9.0	8.3	8.7	8.9	8.4	8.0
Puerto Rico	4.3	6.3	7.0	5.4	4.4	5.4	5.4	6.1	5.7	5.2
Virgin Islands	5.2	5.4	15.0	7.1	9.1	10.8	7.6	9.5	8.4	7.2
Footnotes (1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Last Modified Date: Friday, August 07, 2026

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Business Employment Dynamics in Tennessee — Fourth Quarter 2025