From December 2025 to March 2026, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Florida were 477,540, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 466,488, 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 11,052 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2026. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 32,461. (See chart 1.)

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 first quarter of 2026, gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in Florida and nationally. (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 Florida, contracting establishments lost 365,112 jobs in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 1,007 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 112,428 jobs, a decrease of 8,688 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2026, gross job gains represented 5.3 percent of private-sector employment in Florida; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.5 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 Florida, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 346,611 in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 29,017 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 119,877 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 24,191 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 7 of the 11 published industry sectors in Florida in the first quarter of 2026. Transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 8,761 jobs. This was the result of 27,786 gross job losses and 19,025 gross job gains. The leisure and hospitality industry had a net loss of 7,959 jobs. Retail trade showed a net gain of 3,899 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. Florida’s professional and business services industry sector had a net gain of 3,866 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 Second Quarter 2026 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2027, 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.

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Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Florida, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025	Mar. 2026	Mar. 2025	June 2025	Sept. 2025	Dec. 2025	Mar. 2026
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	510,155	499,979	521,298	519,696	466,488	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.9	5.3
At expanding establishments	378,648	369,472	375,685	375,628	346,611	4.3	4.2	4.3	4.3	3.9
At opening establishments	131,507	130,507	145,613	144,068	119,877	1.5	1.5	1.7	1.6	1.4
Gross job losses	483,995	504,894	519,615	487,235	477,540	5.5	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.5
At contracting establishments	361,074	374,176	386,859	366,119	365,112	4.1	4.3	4.4	4.2	4.2
At closing establishments	122,921	130,718	132,756	121,116	112,428	1.4	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.3
Net employment change (2)	26,160	-4,915	1,683	32,461	-11,052	0.3	-0.1	0.1	0.3	-0.2
Construction
Gross job gains	53,537	47,145	47,847	45,111	42,994	8.2	7.2	7.3	6.9	6.7
At expanding establishments	36,612	33,356	31,934	30,102	30,329	5.6	5.1	4.9	4.6	4.7
At opening establishments	16,925	13,789	15,913	15,009	12,665	2.6	2.1	2.4	2.3	2.0
Gross job losses	49,367	51,516	53,695	51,487	48,750	7.5	7.8	8.2	7.9	7.6
At contracting establishments	34,198	35,412	37,047	35,319	35,194	5.2	5.4	5.7	5.4	5.5
At closing establishments	15,169	16,104	16,648	16,168	13,556	2.3	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.1
Net employment change (2)	4,170	-4,371	-5,848	-6,376	-5,756	0.7	-0.6	-0.9	-1.0	-0.9
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	17,162	15,834	15,869	17,197	16,829	4.0	3.7	3.7	4.0	3.9
At expanding establishments	13,360	12,523	11,955	12,379	13,292	3.1	2.9	2.8	2.9	3.1
At opening establishments	3,802	3,311	3,914	4,818	3,537	0.9	0.8	0.9	1.1	0.8
Gross job losses	16,992	17,327	17,820	16,864	16,202	4.0	4.1	4.1	3.9	3.8
At contracting establishments	12,743	13,084	13,777	12,435	12,693	3.0	3.1	3.2	2.9	3.0
At closing establishments	4,249	4,243	4,043	4,429	3,509	1.0	1.0	0.9	1.0	0.8
Net employment change (2)	170	-1,493	-1,951	333	627	0.0	-0.4	-0.4	0.1	0.1
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	17,784	16,938	17,546	16,804	15,587	4.5	4.2	4.4	4.2	3.9
At expanding establishments	13,366	13,172	12,736	12,490	11,622	3.4	3.3	3.2	3.1	2.9
At opening establishments	4,418	3,766	4,810	4,314	3,965	1.1	0.9	1.2	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	16,616	17,553	17,769	17,531	17,328	4.2	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.4
At contracting establishments	12,124	12,412	13,148	12,528	13,428	3.1	3.1	3.3	3.2	3.4
At closing establishments	4,492	5,141	4,621	5,003	3,900	1.1	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.0
Net employment change (2)	1,168	-615	-223	-727	-1,741	0.3	-0.2	-0.1	-0.3	-0.5
Retail trade
Gross job gains	62,214	59,831	56,969	54,522	56,447	5.4	5.1	5.0	4.8	5.0
At expanding establishments	51,421	47,763	44,778	43,489	46,538	4.5	4.1	3.9	3.8	4.1
At opening establishments	10,793	12,068	12,191	11,033	9,909	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	54,075	63,599	62,210	62,299	52,548	4.7	5.5	5.4	5.4	4.6
At contracting establishments	44,057	50,444	51,377	52,667	42,659	3.8	4.4	4.5	4.6	3.7
At closing establishments	10,018	13,155	10,833	9,632	9,889	0.9	1.1	0.9	0.8	0.9
Net employment change (2)	8,139	-3,768	-5,241	-7,777	3,899	0.7	-0.4	-0.4	-0.6	0.4
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	17,244	17,760	20,202	29,663	19,025	4.2	4.3	4.9	7.1	4.5
At expanding establishments	13,825	14,401	16,412	26,674	15,642	3.4	3.5	4.0	6.4	3.7
At opening establishments	3,419	3,359	3,790	2,989	3,383	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	24,605	17,700	21,586	17,431	27,786	6.0	4.3	5.2	4.2	6.7
At contracting establishments	21,348	14,492	18,113	14,120	24,509	5.2	3.5	4.4	3.4	5.9
At closing establishments	3,257	3,208	3,473	3,311	3,277	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-7,361	60	-1,384	12,232	-8,761	-1.8	0.0	-0.3	2.9	-2.2
Information
Gross job gains	8,053	7,575	7,364	8,708	8,036	5.2	4.9	4.9	5.7	5.3
At expanding establishments	5,915	5,726	4,827	6,670	6,162	3.8	3.7	3.2	4.4	4.1
At opening establishments	2,138	1,849	2,537	2,038	1,874	1.4	1.2	1.7	1.3	1.2
Gross job losses	9,453	8,672	9,673	8,244	8,490	6.1	5.6	6.4	5.5	5.6
At contracting establishments	6,961	6,495	7,383	6,124	6,626	4.5	4.2	4.9	4.1	4.4
At closing establishments	2,492	2,177	2,290	2,120	1,864	1.6	1.4	1.5	1.4	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-1,400	-1,097	-2,309	464	-454	-0.9	-0.7	-1.5	0.2	-0.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains	36,204	33,559	33,189	34,795	31,971	5.4	5.0	4.8	5.1	4.6
At expanding establishments	26,966	22,955	22,056	23,000	23,544	4.0	3.4	3.2	3.4	3.4
At opening establishments	9,238	10,604	11,133	11,795	8,427	1.4	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.2
Gross job losses	33,521	34,085	32,846	33,319	32,174	4.9	5.0	4.9	4.8	4.7
At contracting establishments	22,680	23,328	22,931	22,799	22,660	3.3	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3
At closing establishments	10,841	10,757	9,915	10,520	9,514	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.4
Net employment change (2)	2,683	-526	343	1,476	-203	0.5	0.0	-0.1	0.3	-0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	105,185	106,382	110,960	108,620	96,714	6.5	6.6	6.8	6.7	6.0
At expanding establishments	75,410	79,125	78,116	75,640	68,129	4.7	4.9	4.8	4.7	4.2
At opening establishments	29,775	27,257	32,844	32,980	28,585	1.8	1.7	2.0	2.0	1.8
Gross job losses	98,547	105,093	115,157	107,762	92,848	6.1	6.5	7.2	6.7	5.8
At contracting establishments	70,511	75,536	83,515	78,397	67,463	4.4	4.7	5.2	4.9	4.2
At closing establishments	28,036	29,557	31,642	29,365	25,385	1.7	1.8	2.0	1.8	1.6
Net employment change (2)	6,638	1,289	-4,197	858	3,866	0.4	0.1	-0.4	0.0	0.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	70,551	72,738	79,992	73,402	62,522	4.5	4.7	5.1	4.6	3.9
At expanding establishments	53,705	54,432	61,644	53,316	49,770	3.4	3.5	3.9	3.3	3.1
At opening establishments	16,846	18,306	18,348	20,086	12,752	1.1	1.2	1.2	1.3	0.8
Gross job losses	57,517	69,295	64,867	57,692	62,200	3.7	4.4	4.1	3.7	3.9
At contracting establishments	43,632	52,473	47,031	42,393	48,239	2.8	3.3	3.0	2.7	3.0
At closing establishments	13,885	16,822	17,836	15,299	13,961	0.9	1.1	1.1	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	13,034	3,443	15,125	15,710	322	0.8	0.3	1.0	0.9	0.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	90,312	92,788	97,584	101,749	82,543	6.7	7.1	7.4	7.5	6.1
At expanding establishments	67,045	66,912	70,195	72,888	62,236	5.0	5.1	5.3	5.4	4.6
At opening establishments	23,267	25,876	27,389	28,861	20,307	1.7	2.0	2.1	2.1	1.5
Gross job losses	94,436	92,107	95,566	83,549	90,502	7.1	7.0	7.2	6.2	6.7
At contracting establishments	74,111	71,457	72,614	67,312	71,632	5.6	5.4	5.5	5.0	5.3
At closing establishments	20,325	20,650	22,952	16,237	18,870	1.5	1.6	1.7	1.2	1.4
Net employment change (2)	-4,124	681	2,018	18,200	-7,959	-0.4	0.1	0.2	1.3	-0.6
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	20,830	19,639	21,122	21,659	18,645	7.2	6.9	7.4	7.5	6.4
At expanding establishments	14,198	13,145	13,700	14,391	12,847	4.9	4.6	4.8	5.0	4.4
At opening establishments	6,632	6,494	7,422	7,268	5,798	2.3	2.3	2.6	2.5	2.0
Gross job losses	19,810	19,974	20,813	18,639	19,060	6.8	6.9	7.2	6.4	6.5
At contracting establishments	13,103	13,352	13,920	12,478	12,814	4.5	4.6	4.8	4.3	4.4
At closing establishments	6,707	6,622	6,893	6,161	6,246	2.3	2.3	2.4	2.1	2.1
Net employment change (2)	1,020	-335	309	3,020	-415	0.4	0.0	0.2	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.