From December 2025 to March 2026, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Georgia were 233,759, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 225,131, 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 8,628 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 21,448. (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 Georgia 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 Georgia, contracting establishments lost 181,317 jobs in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 7,031 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 52,442 jobs, a decrease of 335 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 Georgia; 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 Georgia, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 177,379 in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 13,293 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 47,752 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 10,087 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 7 of the 11 published industry sectors in Georgia in the first quarter of 2026. Transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 8,826 jobs. This was the result of 19,147 gross job losses and 10,321 gross job gains. The professional and business services industry had a net loss of 5,119 jobs. Education and health services showed a net gain of 3,724 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. Georgia’s information industry sector had a net gain of 3,364 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, Georgia, 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	234,283	233,069	237,844	248,511	225,131	5.6	5.5	5.7	5.9	5.3
At expanding establishments	183,692	181,175	183,584	190,672	177,379	4.4	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.2
At opening establishments	50,591	51,894	54,260	57,839	47,752	1.2	1.2	1.3	1.4	1.1
Gross job losses	237,257	234,934	238,078	227,063	233,759	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.5
At contracting establishments	183,495	184,823	182,726	174,286	181,317	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.1	4.3
At closing establishments	53,762	50,111	55,352	52,777	52,442	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.3	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-2,974	-1,865	-234	21,448	-8,628	-0.1	-0.1	0.0	0.5	-0.2
Construction
Gross job gains	17,455	15,529	16,557	16,529	17,217	7.5	6.6	7.0	7.0	7.2
At expanding establishments	13,974	12,018	12,707	12,596	13,459	6.0	5.1	5.4	5.3	5.6
At opening establishments	3,481	3,511	3,850	3,933	3,758	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.7	1.6
Gross job losses	15,660	15,470	15,509	15,816	15,172	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.7	6.4
At contracting establishments	11,344	11,784	11,390	11,000	11,359	4.8	5.0	4.9	4.7	4.8
At closing establishments	4,316	3,686	4,119	4,816	3,813	1.8	1.6	1.8	2.0	1.6
Net employment change (2)	1,795	59	1,048	713	2,045	0.9	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.8
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	13,523	12,557	11,554	12,997	12,909	3.2	2.9	2.7	3.1	3.1
At expanding establishments	11,947	11,101	10,173	11,328	10,844	2.8	2.6	2.4	2.7	2.6
At opening establishments	1,576	1,456	1,381	1,669	2,065	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.5
Gross job losses	12,953	12,980	14,426	15,490	14,403	3.0	3.1	3.4	3.7	3.4
At contracting establishments	11,318	11,052	12,300	13,014	11,889	2.6	2.6	2.9	3.1	2.8
At closing establishments	1,635	1,928	2,126	2,476	2,514	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.6
Net employment change (2)	570	-423	-2,872	-2,493	-1,494	0.2	-0.2	-0.7	-0.6	-0.3
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	9,622	9,930	9,165	10,284	8,667	4.2	4.4	4.1	4.6	3.9
At expanding establishments	7,988	8,391	7,614	8,733	7,191	3.5	3.7	3.4	3.9	3.2
At opening establishments	1,634	1,539	1,551	1,551	1,476	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7
Gross job losses	10,022	9,482	10,299	9,185	10,178	4.4	4.2	4.6	4.0	4.5
At contracting establishments	7,664	7,592	8,353	6,839	8,189	3.4	3.4	3.7	3.0	3.6
At closing establishments	2,358	1,890	1,946	2,346	1,989	1.0	0.8	0.9	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-400	448	-1,134	1,099	-1,511	-0.2	0.2	-0.5	0.6	-0.6
Retail trade
Gross job gains	27,521	26,347	26,619	22,877	24,522	5.4	5.1	5.2	4.6	4.9
At expanding establishments	23,549	21,636	22,441	19,079	21,620	4.6	4.2	4.4	3.8	4.3
At opening establishments	3,972	4,711	4,178	3,798	2,902	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.6
Gross job losses	23,886	29,690	27,225	29,335	23,448	4.6	5.8	5.3	5.8	4.6
At contracting establishments	19,630	24,698	22,209	25,399	19,815	3.8	4.8	4.3	5.0	3.9
At closing establishments	4,256	4,992	5,016	3,936	3,633	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	3,635	-3,343	-606	-6,458	1,074	0.8	-0.7	-0.1	-1.2	0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	12,145	10,947	14,030	18,648	10,321	4.5	4.2	5.3	6.9	3.8
At expanding establishments	10,298	9,235	12,623	15,884	8,922	3.8	3.5	4.8	5.9	3.3
At opening establishments	1,847	1,712	1,407	2,764	1,399	0.7	0.7	0.5	1.0	0.5
Gross job losses	18,827	13,359	11,170	11,983	19,147	7.0	5.0	4.2	4.5	7.2
At contracting establishments	16,509	11,696	9,320	10,043	16,003	6.1	4.4	3.5	3.8	6.0
At closing establishments	2,318	1,663	1,850	1,940	3,144	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.7	1.2
Net employment change (2)	-6,682	-2,412	2,860	6,665	-8,826	-2.5	-0.8	1.1	2.4	-3.4
Information
Gross job gains	8,343	6,307	5,951	7,105	9,626	7.3	5.5	5.3	6.4	8.2
At expanding establishments	7,320	5,508	4,135	5,649	8,603	6.4	4.8	3.7	5.1	7.3
At opening establishments	1,023	799	1,816	1,456	1,023	0.9	0.7	1.6	1.3	0.9
Gross job losses	8,331	7,900	10,375	6,928	6,262	7.3	6.8	9.2	6.2	5.3
At contracting establishments	7,062	5,673	8,426	5,349	5,162	6.2	4.9	7.5	4.8	4.4
At closing establishments	1,269	2,227	1,949	1,579	1,100	1.1	1.9	1.7	1.4	0.9
Net employment change (2)	12	-1,593	-4,424	177	3,364	0.0	-1.3	-3.9	0.2	2.9
Financial activities
Gross job gains	13,917	13,076	13,158	13,500	12,104	5.0	4.8	4.7	4.9	4.4
At expanding establishments	10,521	10,173	9,762	9,155	9,348	3.8	3.7	3.5	3.3	3.4
At opening establishments	3,396	2,903	3,396	4,345	2,756	1.2	1.1	1.2	1.6	1.0
Gross job losses	13,936	13,284	13,090	12,812	13,609	5.0	4.8	4.8	4.6	5.0
At contracting establishments	9,508	9,882	9,333	8,852	9,700	3.4	3.6	3.4	3.2	3.6
At closing establishments	4,428	3,402	3,757	3,960	3,909	1.6	1.2	1.4	1.4	1.4
Net employment change (2)	-19	-208	68	688	-1,505	0.0	0.0	-0.1	0.3	-0.6
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	45,556	50,135	50,595	52,200	44,256	6.1	6.7	6.8	7.0	6.0
At expanding establishments	35,528	38,199	38,484	39,969	35,368	4.8	5.1	5.2	5.4	4.8
At opening establishments	10,028	11,936	12,111	12,231	8,888	1.3	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.2
Gross job losses	50,387	50,059	52,316	47,633	49,375	6.7	6.7	7.1	6.4	6.7
At contracting establishments	37,415	39,523	39,124	36,429	37,565	5.0	5.3	5.3	4.9	5.1
At closing establishments	12,972	10,536	13,192	11,204	11,810	1.7	1.4	1.8	1.5	1.6
Net employment change (2)	-4,831	76	-1,721	4,567	-5,119	-0.6	0.0	-0.3	0.6	-0.7
Education and health services
Gross job gains	31,613	32,110	33,475	31,441	30,283	4.6	4.6	4.8	4.4	4.2
At expanding establishments	24,844	25,950	27,454	24,834	24,369	3.6	3.7	3.9	3.5	3.4
At opening establishments	6,769	6,160	6,021	6,607	5,914	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	25,503	28,272	26,151	26,536	26,559	3.6	4.0	3.7	3.8	3.8
At contracting establishments	18,970	21,285	18,406	19,734	19,688	2.7	3.0	2.6	2.8	2.8
At closing establishments	6,533	6,987	7,745	6,802	6,871	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.0
Net employment change (2)	6,110	3,838	7,324	4,905	3,724	1.0	0.6	1.1	0.6	0.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	37,974	39,713	40,186	45,552	38,546	7.3	7.7	7.8	8.7	7.4
At expanding establishments	27,273	28,775	28,689	33,382	28,307	5.2	5.6	5.6	6.4	5.4
At opening establishments	10,701	10,938	11,497	12,170	10,239	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.0
Gross job losses	42,775	39,264	42,003	37,188	40,183	8.2	7.6	8.2	7.2	7.7
At contracting establishments	34,029	31,432	33,779	29,028	32,218	6.5	6.1	6.6	5.6	6.2
At closing establishments	8,746	7,832	8,224	8,160	7,965	1.7	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.5
Net employment change (2)	-4,801	449	-1,817	8,364	-1,637	-0.9	0.1	-0.4	1.5	-0.3
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	8,472	9,193	8,501	8,802	7,698	7.1	7.8	7.2	7.5	6.6
At expanding establishments	6,072	7,043	6,139	6,224	5,445	5.1	6.0	5.2	5.3	4.7
At opening establishments	2,400	2,150	2,362	2,578	2,253	2.0	1.8	2.0	2.2	1.9
Gross job losses	9,384	8,729	9,768	7,993	8,945	7.9	7.4	8.3	6.9	7.6
At contracting establishments	7,212	6,474	7,146	5,468	6,587	6.1	5.5	6.1	4.7	5.6
At closing establishments	2,172	2,255	2,622	2,525	2,358	1.8	1.9	2.2	2.2	2.0
Net employment change (2)	-912	464	-1,267	809	-1,247	-0.8	0.4	-1.1	0.6	-1.0
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.