From September 2025 to December 2025, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Mississippi were 60,684, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 54,989, 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 5,695 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 3,479. (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 gains

In the fourth quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 6.4 percent of private-sector employment in Mississippi; 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 Mississippi, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 48,334 in the fourth quarter of 2025, a decrease of 470 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 12,350 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 742 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment in Mississippi; 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 Mississippi, contracting establishments lost 44,675 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025, a decrease of 344 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 10,314 jobs, a decrease of 1,600 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of the 10 published industry sectors in Mississippi in the fourth quarter of 2025. Professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 2,892 jobs. This was the result of 12,607 gross job gains and 9,715 gross job losses. The leisure and hospitality industry had a net gain of 2,423 jobs, followed by transportation and warehousing with a net gain of 1,534 jobs. Retail trade showed a net loss of 1,309 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 First Quarter 2026 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 28, 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, Mississippi, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	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	58,948	53,782	58,239	60,412	60,684	6.3	5.7	6.3	6.4	6.4
At expanding establishments	47,842	42,204	47,283	48,804	48,334	5.1	4.5	5.1	5.2	5.1
At opening establishments	11,106	11,578	10,956	11,608	12,350	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.3
Gross job losses	57,777	57,475	61,024	56,933	54,989	6.2	6.1	6.5	6.1	5.8
At contracting establishments	44,012	49,547	48,396	45,019	44,675	4.7	5.3	5.2	4.8	4.7
At closing establishments	13,765	7,928	12,628	11,914	10,314	1.5	0.8	1.3	1.3	1.1
Net employment change (2)	1,171	-3,693	-2,785	3,479	5,695	0.1	-0.4	-0.2	0.3	0.6
Construction
Gross job gains	5,196	5,733	4,160	4,676	5,245	10.1	10.8	7.8	8.8	9.8
At expanding establishments	4,131	4,757	3,350	3,919	4,079	8.0	9.0	6.3	7.4	7.6
At opening establishments	1,065	976	810	757	1,166	2.1	1.8	1.5	1.4	2.2
Gross job losses	4,348	3,929	4,484	4,488	4,884	8.4	7.5	8.4	8.4	9.1
At contracting establishments	3,095	3,261	3,512	3,791	3,926	6.0	6.2	6.6	7.1	7.3
At closing establishments	1,253	668	972	697	958	2.4	1.3	1.8	1.3	1.8
Net employment change (2)	848	1,804	-324	188	361	1.7	3.3	-0.6	0.4	0.7
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	3,953	3,303	4,603	3,489	3,178	2.8	2.4	3.3	2.5	2.3
At expanding establishments	3,645	3,067	4,316	3,296	3,051	2.6	2.2	3.1	2.4	2.2
At opening establishments	308	236	287	193	127	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1
Gross job losses	4,056	4,751	4,940	4,267	3,808	2.9	3.4	3.5	3.1	2.8
At contracting establishments	3,734	4,519	4,334	3,839	3,521	2.7	3.2	3.1	2.8	2.6
At closing establishments	322	232	606	428	287	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.3	0.2
Net employment change (2)	-103	-1,448	-337	-778	-630	-0.1	-1.0	-0.2	-0.6	-0.5
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	1,655	1,801	1,835	1,656	1,677	4.6	4.9	5.0	4.5	4.6
At expanding establishments	1,300	1,504	1,548	1,398	1,303	3.6	4.1	4.2	3.8	3.6
At opening establishments	355	297	287	258	374	1.0	0.8	0.8	0.7	1.0
Gross job losses	1,929	1,658	2,033	1,887	2,039	5.3	4.5	5.5	5.2	5.7
At contracting establishments	1,483	1,392	1,591	1,531	1,689	4.1	3.8	4.3	4.2	4.7
At closing establishments	446	266	442	356	350	1.2	0.7	1.2	1.0	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-274	143	-198	-231	-362	-0.7	0.4	-0.5	-0.7	-1.1
Retail trade
Gross job gains	7,276	7,749	9,158	8,114	6,953	5.2	5.6	6.6	5.8	5.1
At expanding establishments	5,975	6,592	7,787	6,944	5,912	4.3	4.8	5.6	5.0	4.3
At opening establishments	1,301	1,157	1,371	1,170	1,041	0.9	0.8	1.0	0.8	0.8
Gross job losses	9,654	7,178	8,736	7,867	8,262	7.0	5.2	6.3	5.7	6.0
At contracting establishments	8,016	6,066	7,320	6,939	6,941	5.8	4.4	5.3	5.0	5.0
At closing establishments	1,638	1,112	1,416	928	1,321	1.2	0.8	1.0	0.7	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-2,378	571	422	247	-1,309	-1.8	0.4	0.3	0.1	-0.9
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	3,533	2,502	3,171	3,909	4,869	5.7	4.1	5.3	6.5	7.7
At expanding establishments	3,181	2,095	2,887	2,713	4,024	5.1	3.4	4.8	4.5	6.4
At opening establishments	352	407	284	1,196	845	0.6	0.7	0.5	2.0	1.3
Gross job losses	3,176	4,209	3,847	3,212	3,335	5.2	6.9	6.5	5.3	5.2
At contracting establishments	2,269	3,681	3,268	2,603	2,615	3.7	6.0	5.5	4.3	4.1
At closing establishments	907	528	579	609	720	1.5	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.1
Net employment change (2)	357	-1,707	-676	697	1,534	0.5	-2.8	-1.2	1.2	2.5
Financial activities
Gross job gains	2,126	2,240	2,600	2,689	2,561	4.7	4.9	5.7	5.9	5.6
At expanding establishments	1,584	1,647	2,050	2,109	1,856	3.5	3.6	4.5	4.6	4.1
At opening establishments	542	593	550	580	705	1.2	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.5
Gross job losses	2,393	2,125	2,844	2,280	2,287	5.3	4.7	6.3	5.0	5.0
At contracting establishments	1,723	1,655	2,043	1,630	1,837	3.8	3.7	4.5	3.6	4.0
At closing establishments	670	470	801	650	450	1.5	1.0	1.8	1.4	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-267	115	-244	409	274	-0.6	0.2	-0.6	0.9	0.6
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	11,955	9,396	10,687	13,478	12,607	10.0	7.9	9.1	11.3	10.5
At expanding establishments	9,579	7,367	7,982	11,783	10,281	8.0	6.2	6.8	9.9	8.6
At opening establishments	2,376	2,029	2,705	1,695	2,326	2.0	1.7	2.3	1.4	1.9
Gross job losses	10,602	11,653	11,026	9,818	9,715	8.9	9.8	9.4	8.2	8.1
At contracting establishments	7,764	10,091	8,757	7,512	7,694	6.5	8.5	7.5	6.3	6.4
At closing establishments	2,838	1,562	2,269	2,306	2,021	2.4	1.3	1.9	1.9	1.7
Net employment change (2)	1,353	-2,257	-339	3,660	2,892	1.1	-1.9	-0.3	3.1	2.4
Education and health services
Gross job gains	7,736	7,909	7,969	6,661	7,590	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.2	4.8
At expanding establishments	6,457	6,132	6,550	5,386	5,740	4.2	3.9	4.1	3.4	3.6
At opening establishments	1,279	1,777	1,419	1,275	1,850	0.8	1.1	0.9	0.8	1.2
Gross job losses	7,957	6,824	6,859	7,232	6,671	5.1	4.3	4.3	4.5	4.2
At contracting establishments	5,818	5,838	5,248	5,460	5,533	3.7	3.7	3.3	3.4	3.5
At closing establishments	2,139	986	1,611	1,772	1,138	1.4	0.6	1.0	1.1	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-221	1,085	1,110	-571	919	-0.1	0.7	0.7	-0.3	0.6
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	11,551	9,003	10,564	11,593	12,257	8.5	6.6	7.8	8.6	9.0
At expanding establishments	9,165	5,961	8,103	8,010	9,563	6.7	4.4	6.0	5.9	7.0
At opening establishments	2,386	3,042	2,461	3,583	2,694	1.8	2.2	1.8	2.7	2.0
Gross job losses	9,219	11,471	10,978	11,987	9,834	6.7	8.5	8.2	8.8	7.2
At contracting establishments	7,111	10,007	8,435	8,952	8,158	5.2	7.4	6.3	6.6	6.0
At closing establishments	2,108	1,464	2,543	3,035	1,676	1.5	1.1	1.9	2.2	1.2
Net employment change (2)	2,332	-2,468	-414	-394	2,423	1.8	-1.9	-0.4	-0.2	1.8
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	1,727	1,444	1,483	2,243	1,510	7.9	6.7	6.9	10.3	7.0
At expanding establishments	1,261	1,040	1,145	1,857	1,061	5.8	4.8	5.3	8.5	4.9
At opening establishments	466	404	338	386	449	2.1	1.9	1.6	1.8	2.1
Gross job losses	1,999	1,437	1,963	1,619	2,169	9.1	6.6	9.1	7.4	9.9
At contracting establishments	1,316	1,211	1,301	1,154	1,334	6.0	5.6	6.0	5.3	6.1
At closing establishments	683	226	662	465	835	3.1	1.0	3.1	2.1	3.8
Net employment change (2)	-272	7	-480	624	-659	-1.2	0.1	-2.2	2.9	-2.9
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.