From June 2025 to September 2025, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Kentucky were 94,098, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 89,334, 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 4,764 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 6,580. (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 third quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.6 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.7 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 76,857 jobs in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 743 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 17,241 jobs, an increase of 2,763 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job gains

In the third quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.3 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.6 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 70,954 in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 1,989 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 18,380 jobs gained in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 3,333 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 7 of the 11 published industry sectors in Kentucky in the third quarter of 2025. The manufacturing sector had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 2,715 jobs. This was the result of 8,462 gross job losses and 5,747 gross job gains. The leisure and hospitality industry had a net loss of 1,849 jobs, followed by transportation and warehousing with a net loss of 1,639 jobs. Kentucky’s retail trade sector showed a net gain of 1,478 jobs, the largest gain 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, 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)
	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	91,173	89,383	88,175	84,012	89,334	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.3
At expanding establishments	74,330	72,576	72,762	68,965	70,954	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.1	4.2
At opening establishments	16,843	16,807	15,413	15,047	18,380	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.9	1.1
Gross job losses	91,959	92,668	81,258	90,592	94,098	5.4	5.5	4.8	5.4	5.6
At contracting establishments	78,141	78,073	68,021	76,114	76,857	4.6	4.6	4.0	4.5	4.6
At closing establishments	13,818	14,595	13,237	14,478	17,241	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-786	-3,285	6,917	-6,580	-4,764	0.0	-0.2	0.4	-0.4	-0.3
Construction
Gross job gains	7,942	7,574	7,097	6,966	7,714	8.6	8.1	7.6	7.5	8.3
At expanding establishments	6,561	6,154	5,822	5,664	6,384	7.1	6.6	6.2	6.1	6.9
At opening establishments	1,381	1,420	1,275	1,302	1,330	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.4
Gross job losses	7,782	8,567	7,045	7,247	6,990	8.4	9.2	7.5	7.7	7.6
At contracting establishments	6,594	7,342	5,888	6,016	5,341	7.1	7.9	6.3	6.4	5.8
At closing establishments	1,188	1,225	1,157	1,231	1,649	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.8
Net employment change (2)	160	-993	52	-281	724	0.2	-1.1	0.1	-0.2	0.7
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	6,054	6,106	6,472	5,570	5,747	2.4	2.4	2.6	2.2	2.3
At expanding establishments	5,377	5,613	5,807	5,050	4,803	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.0	1.9
At opening establishments	677	493	665	520	944	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.4
Gross job losses	8,529	7,986	6,195	7,669	8,462	3.3	3.1	2.4	3.0	3.4
At contracting establishments	7,825	7,406	5,815	6,784	7,446	3.0	2.9	2.3	2.7	3.0
At closing establishments	704	580	380	885	1,016	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-2,475	-1,880	277	-2,099	-2,715	-0.9	-0.7	0.2	-0.8	-1.1
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,286	2,901	3,667	3,082	3,200	4.1	3.6	4.5	3.8	3.9
At expanding establishments	2,721	2,493	3,017	2,678	2,605	3.4	3.1	3.7	3.3	3.2
At opening establishments	565	408	650	404	595	0.7	0.5	0.8	0.5	0.7
Gross job losses	3,053	3,393	3,043	3,293	3,454	3.7	4.2	3.7	4.0	4.3
At contracting establishments	2,446	2,891	2,613	2,720	2,727	3.0	3.6	3.2	3.3	3.4
At closing establishments	607	502	430	573	727	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.9
Net employment change (2)	233	-492	624	-211	-254	0.4	-0.6	0.8	-0.2	-0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	13,557	10,267	11,773	10,589	12,593	6.4	4.9	5.6	5.0	6.0
At expanding establishments	12,045	8,771	10,347	9,041	10,759	5.7	4.2	4.9	4.3	5.1
At opening establishments	1,512	1,496	1,426	1,548	1,834	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.9
Gross job losses	10,559	12,481	10,040	13,195	11,115	5.1	5.9	4.8	6.2	5.2
At contracting establishments	9,610	11,231	8,387	11,411	9,559	4.6	5.3	4.0	5.4	4.5
At closing establishments	949	1,250	1,653	1,784	1,556	0.5	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	2,998	-2,214	1,733	-2,606	1,478	1.3	-1.0	0.8	-1.2	0.8
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	6,509	6,753	5,012	4,087	4,326	5.1	5.3	3.9	3.3	3.4
At expanding establishments	5,612	6,021	4,371	3,619	3,688	4.4	4.7	3.4	2.9	2.9
At opening establishments	897	732	641	468	638	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.5
Gross job losses	5,293	5,004	5,554	6,450	5,965	4.2	3.9	4.3	5.1	4.7
At contracting establishments	4,797	4,377	5,045	5,861	5,157	3.8	3.4	3.9	4.6	4.1
At closing establishments	496	627	509	589	808	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.6
Net employment change (2)	1,216	1,749	-542	-2,363	-1,639	0.9	1.4	-0.4	-1.8	-1.3
Information
Gross job gains	1,469	957	856	1,029	1,057	7.1	4.6	4.1	5.0	5.2
At expanding establishments	815	689	641	781	708	3.9	3.3	3.1	3.8	3.5
At opening establishments	654	268	215	248	349	3.2	1.3	1.0	1.2	1.7
Gross job losses	1,117	1,490	1,129	1,165	1,386	5.4	7.3	5.5	5.7	6.9
At contracting establishments	852	1,210	866	855	1,049	4.1	5.9	4.2	4.2	5.2
At closing establishments	265	280	263	310	337	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.5	1.7
Net employment change (2)	352	-533	-273	-136	-329	1.7	-2.7	-1.4	-0.7	-1.7
Financial activities
Gross job gains	3,994	3,907	3,671	4,271	4,034	4.2	4.1	3.9	4.5	4.2
At expanding establishments	2,932	2,839	2,842	3,317	3,067	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.5	3.2
At opening establishments	1,062	1,068	829	954	967	1.1	1.1	0.9	1.0	1.0
Gross job losses	4,331	4,394	3,591	3,820	4,231	4.6	4.6	3.8	4.0	4.5
At contracting establishments	3,395	3,417	2,744	2,924	3,200	3.6	3.6	2.9	3.1	3.4
At closing establishments	936	977	847	896	1,031	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.9	1.1
Net employment change (2)	-337	-487	80	451	-197	-0.4	-0.5	0.1	0.5	-0.3
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	15,132	14,172	17,587	16,824	17,878	6.7	6.4	7.9	7.5	7.9
At expanding establishments	12,054	11,155	14,675	13,624	13,559	5.3	5.0	6.6	6.1	6.0
At opening establishments	3,078	3,017	2,912	3,200	4,319	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.4	1.9
Gross job losses	18,457	18,892	13,460	16,135	17,144	8.2	8.4	6.1	7.1	7.6
At contracting establishments	15,357	15,485	10,883	13,344	14,017	6.8	6.9	4.9	5.9	6.2
At closing establishments	3,100	3,407	2,577	2,791	3,127	1.4	1.5	1.2	1.2	1.4
Net employment change (2)	-3,325	-4,720	4,127	689	734	-1.5	-2.0	1.8	0.4	0.3
Education and health services
Gross job gains	13,476	13,625	12,031	12,257	13,062	4.4	4.4	3.9	4.0	4.2
At expanding establishments	10,734	10,727	9,555	9,606	10,144	3.5	3.5	3.1	3.1	3.3
At opening establishments	2,742	2,898	2,476	2,651	2,918	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	11,904	10,995	10,409	11,944	13,890	3.9	3.6	3.3	3.9	4.5
At contracting establishments	9,413	8,490	8,157	9,611	10,930	3.1	2.8	2.6	3.1	3.5
At closing establishments	2,491	2,505	2,252	2,333	2,960	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	1,572	2,630	1,622	313	-828	0.5	0.8	0.6	0.1	-0.3
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	14,520	18,326	14,827	14,642	14,572	7.1	8.9	7.1	7.1	7.1
At expanding establishments	11,509	14,649	12,111	11,999	11,529	5.6	7.1	5.8	5.8	5.6
At opening establishments	3,011	3,677	2,716	2,643	3,043	1.5	1.8	1.3	1.3	1.5
Gross job losses	16,557	13,985	16,227	15,057	16,421	8.1	6.8	7.8	7.3	8.0
At contracting establishments	14,433	11,792	13,939	12,778	13,677	7.1	5.7	6.7	6.2	6.7
At closing establishments	2,124	2,193	2,288	2,279	2,744	1.0	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-2,037	4,341	-1,400	-415	-1,849	-1.0	2.1	-0.7	-0.2	-0.9
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	3,631	2,977	3,368	3,215	3,508	7.8	6.3	7.2	6.8	7.5
At expanding establishments	2,851	2,312	2,470	2,595	2,706	6.1	4.9	5.3	5.5	5.8
At opening establishments	780	665	898	620	802	1.7	1.4	1.9	1.3	1.7
Gross job losses	3,083	3,603	3,125	3,269	3,497	6.5	7.7	6.7	6.9	7.5
At contracting establishments	2,404	2,874	2,552	2,687	2,609	5.1	6.1	5.5	5.7	5.6
At closing establishments	679	729	573	582	888	1.4	1.6	1.2	1.2	1.9
Net employment change (2)	548	-626	243	-54	11	1.3	-1.4	0.5	-0.1	0.0
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.

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)
	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.