From September 2025 to December 2025, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in South Carolina were 130,511, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 107,896, 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 22,615 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 3,690. (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 6.7 percent of private-sector employment in South Carolina; 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 South Carolina, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 99,373 in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 1,121 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 31,138 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 8,855 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in South Carolina and nationally. (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 South Carolina, contracting establishments lost 87,519 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025, a decrease of 2,626 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 20,377 jobs, a decrease of 13,703 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 9 of the 11 published industry sectors in South Carolina in the fourth quarter of 2025. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 8,880 jobs. This was the result of 28,243 gross job gains and 19,363 gross job losses. The transportation and warehousing industry had a net gain of 5,174 jobs. Retail trade showed a net loss of 944 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.

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Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, South Carolina, 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	124,330	117,725	112,729	120,535	130,511	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.3	6.7
At expanding establishments	101,077	90,348	89,453	98,252	99,373	5.2	4.7	4.6	5.1	5.1
At opening establishments	23,253	27,377	23,276	22,283	31,138	1.2	1.4	1.2	1.2	1.6
Gross job losses	113,949	107,863	126,572	124,225	107,896	5.9	5.5	6.6	6.5	5.5
At contracting establishments	84,395	89,787	105,847	90,145	87,519	4.4	4.6	5.5	4.7	4.5
At closing establishments	29,554	18,076	20,725	34,080	20,377	1.5	0.9	1.1	1.8	1.0
Net employment change (2)	10,381	9,862	-13,843	-3,690	22,615	0.5	0.6	-0.8	-0.2	1.2
Construction
Gross job gains	10,297	9,853	9,209	8,411	9,227	8.6	8.1	7.4	6.8	7.3
At expanding establishments	8,253	7,577	7,226	6,804	7,353	6.9	6.2	5.8	5.5	5.8
At opening establishments	2,044	2,276	1,983	1,607	1,874	1.7	1.9	1.6	1.3	1.5
Gross job losses	8,045	7,711	8,202	8,771	7,779	6.7	6.3	6.6	7.1	6.2
At contracting establishments	5,038	5,581	6,330	6,309	6,018	4.2	4.6	5.1	5.1	4.8
At closing establishments	3,007	2,130	1,872	2,462	1,761	2.5	1.7	1.5	2.0	1.4
Net employment change (2)	2,252	2,142	1,007	-360	1,448	1.9	1.8	0.8	-0.3	1.1
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	7,225	7,853	8,064	7,259	7,790	2.7	3.0	3.0	2.8	3.0
At expanding establishments	6,356	6,480	6,661	6,785	6,172	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.4
At opening establishments	869	1,373	1,403	474	1,618	0.3	0.5	0.5	0.2	0.6
Gross job losses	8,193	7,968	8,162	8,479	7,476	3.1	3.0	3.1	3.2	2.9
At contracting establishments	6,954	7,311	6,825	6,836	6,745	2.6	2.8	2.6	2.6	2.6
At closing establishments	1,239	657	1,337	1,643	731	0.5	0.2	0.5	0.6	0.3
Net employment change (2)	-968	-115	-98	-1,220	314	-0.4	0.0	-0.1	-0.4	0.1
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,833	4,829	3,754	3,599	4,104	4.6	5.7	4.5	4.3	4.8
At expanding establishments	3,182	3,921	2,942	2,829	3,393	3.8	4.6	3.5	3.4	4.0
At opening establishments	651	908	812	770	711	0.8	1.1	1.0	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	3,711	3,587	4,012	4,227	3,206	4.4	4.3	4.8	5.1	3.8
At contracting establishments	2,761	2,751	3,117	2,990	2,335	3.3	3.3	3.7	3.6	2.8
At closing establishments	950	836	895	1,237	871	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.5	1.0
Net employment change (2)	122	1,242	-258	-628	898	0.2	1.4	-0.3	-0.8	1.0
Retail trade
Gross job gains	13,311	16,158	14,344	15,869	13,421	5.0	6.0	5.3	5.9	5.0
At expanding establishments	11,536	13,370	12,386	13,480	11,108	4.3	5.0	4.6	5.0	4.1
At opening establishments	1,775	2,788	1,958	2,389	2,313	0.7	1.0	0.7	0.9	0.9
Gross job losses	15,164	12,001	16,392	15,879	14,365	5.7	4.5	6.0	5.9	5.4
At contracting establishments	12,601	10,494	14,483	13,268	12,528	4.7	3.9	5.3	4.9	4.7
At closing establishments	2,563	1,507	1,909	2,611	1,837	1.0	0.6	0.7	1.0	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-1,853	4,157	-2,048	-10	-944	-0.7	1.5	-0.7	0.0	-0.4
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	5,730	4,257	4,077	4,618	9,605	7.1	5.4	5.2	5.9	11.9
At expanding establishments	4,954	3,378	3,469	4,122	5,181	6.1	4.3	4.4	5.3	6.4
At opening establishments	776	879	608	496	4,424	1.0	1.1	0.8	0.6	5.5
Gross job losses	5,125	5,578	5,797	4,398	4,431	6.3	7.0	7.4	5.7	5.5
At contracting establishments	3,950	4,931	5,193	3,336	3,975	4.9	6.2	6.6	4.3	4.9
At closing establishments	1,175	647	604	1,062	456	1.4	0.8	0.8	1.4	0.6
Net employment change (2)	605	-1,321	-1,720	220	5,174	0.8	-1.6	-2.2	0.2	6.4
Information
Gross job gains	1,146	1,683	1,751	1,425	1,637	4.0	6.1	6.3	5.1	6.0
At expanding establishments	770	1,075	1,060	1,205	1,001	2.7	3.9	3.8	4.3	3.7
At opening establishments	376	608	691	220	636	1.3	2.2	2.5	0.8	2.3
Gross job losses	2,428	1,782	1,396	2,629	2,103	8.6	6.5	5.1	9.5	7.7
At contracting establishments	1,604	1,504	1,044	1,719	1,332	5.7	5.5	3.8	6.2	4.9
At closing establishments	824	278	352	910	771	2.9	1.0	1.3	3.3	2.8
Net employment change (2)	-1,282	-99	355	-1,204	-466	-4.6	-0.4	1.2	-4.4	-1.7
Financial activities
Gross job gains	6,482	6,188	6,989	5,834	7,289	5.4	5.1	5.8	4.8	6.0
At expanding establishments	4,673	4,408	5,436	4,841	4,854	3.9	3.6	4.5	4.0	4.0
At opening establishments	1,809	1,780	1,553	993	2,435	1.5	1.5	1.3	0.8	2.0
Gross job losses	5,791	5,637	6,246	6,784	5,807	4.9	4.7	5.2	5.6	4.8
At contracting establishments	3,817	4,210	4,927	4,464	4,097	3.2	3.5	4.1	3.7	3.4
At closing establishments	1,974	1,427	1,319	2,320	1,710	1.7	1.2	1.1	1.9	1.4
Net employment change (2)	691	551	743	-950	1,482	0.5	0.4	0.6	-0.8	1.2
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	25,211	25,140	21,461	25,046	25,994	8.0	7.9	6.8	7.9	8.2
At expanding establishments	19,536	18,722	16,688	21,150	19,344	6.2	5.9	5.3	6.7	6.1
At opening establishments	5,675	6,418	4,773	3,896	6,650	1.8	2.0	1.5	1.2	2.1
Gross job losses	26,763	20,612	29,260	26,125	24,312	8.5	6.5	9.2	8.3	7.6
At contracting establishments	19,177	16,228	25,352	17,418	18,834	6.1	5.1	8.0	5.5	5.9
At closing establishments	7,586	4,384	3,908	8,707	5,478	2.4	1.4	1.2	2.8	1.7
Net employment change (2)	-1,552	4,528	-7,799	-1,079	1,682	-0.5	1.4	-2.4	-0.4	0.6
Education and health services
Gross job gains	14,418	14,433	14,610	15,074	16,553	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.7
At expanding establishments	11,558	10,736	11,380	12,934	12,868	4.1	3.8	4.0	4.5	4.4
At opening establishments	2,860	3,697	3,230	2,140	3,685	1.0	1.3	1.1	0.7	1.3
Gross job losses	13,239	11,821	12,690	13,373	13,273	4.7	4.2	4.5	4.7	4.6
At contracting establishments	9,096	10,184	10,154	9,130	10,695	3.2	3.6	3.6	3.2	3.7
At closing establishments	4,143	1,637	2,536	4,243	2,578	1.5	0.6	0.9	1.5	0.9
Net employment change (2)	1,179	2,612	1,920	1,701	3,280	0.4	0.9	0.6	0.5	1.1
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	30,181	20,923	22,869	22,775	28,243	10.6	7.3	8.1	8.2	9.8
At expanding establishments	24,993	16,038	17,721	18,925	23,271	8.8	5.6	6.3	6.8	8.1
At opening establishments	5,188	4,885	5,148	3,850	4,972	1.8	1.7	1.8	1.4	1.7
Gross job losses	19,744	24,903	28,608	27,119	19,363	6.9	8.7	10.1	9.8	6.7
At contracting establishments	15,439	21,758	23,734	20,251	16,407	5.4	7.6	8.4	7.3	5.7
At closing establishments	4,305	3,145	4,874	6,868	2,956	1.5	1.1	1.7	2.5	1.0
Net employment change (2)	10,437	-3,980	-5,739	-4,344	8,880	3.7	-1.4	-2.0	-1.6	3.1
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	4,835	4,906	4,560	4,580	5,092	7.8	8.0	7.3	7.4	8.2
At expanding establishments	3,830	3,475	3,573	3,530	3,651	6.2	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.9
At opening establishments	1,005	1,431	987	1,050	1,441	1.6	2.3	1.6	1.7	2.3
Gross job losses	4,543	4,133	4,345	5,191	4,487	7.4	6.8	6.9	8.4	7.3
At contracting establishments	2,980	3,469	3,461	3,408	3,517	4.9	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.7
At closing establishments	1,563	664	884	1,783	970	2.5	1.1	1.4	2.9	1.6
Net employment change (2)	292	773	215	-611	605	0.4	1.2	0.4	-1.0	0.9
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.

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)
	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.