Business Employment Dynamics in Texas — First Quarter 2025

From December 2024 to March 2025, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Texas were 614,624, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 610,808, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 3,816 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2025. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 86,525. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Texas, March 2020-March 2025, seasonally adjusted

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in Texas, March 2020–March 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	Gross job losses	Gross job gains
Mar 2020	614,262	557,279
Jun 2020	1,407,064	488,710
Sep 2020	606,719	721,452
Dec 2020	490,766	762,646
Mar 2021	522,065	630,005
Jun 2021	578,078	703,959
Sep 2021	576,605	752,931
Dec 2021	517,503	843,110
Mar 2022	588,746	708,637
Jun 2022	644,396	734,365
Sep 2022	597,750	816,668
Dec 2022	614,610	708,402
Mar 2023	587,090	700,652
Jun 2023	628,028	677,992
Sep 2023	643,657	661,718
Dec 2023	609,833	675,952
Mar 2024	605,198	650,343
Jun 2024	628,691	645,705
Sep 2024	631,503	673,111
Dec 2024	611,785	698,310
Mar 2025	614,624	610,808

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 2025, gross job losses represented 5.1 percent of private-sector employment in Texas; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.4 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 Texas, contracting establishments lost 507,323 jobs in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 9,775 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 107,301 jobs, a decrease of 6,936 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and Texas, March 2020–March 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Texas
Mar 2020	6.3	5.7
Jun 2020	16.8	13.7
Sep 2020	5.9	6.1
Dec 2020	5.7	4.9
Mar 2021	5.5	5.1
Jun 2021	5.9	5.6
Sep 2021	6.0	5.5
Dec 2021	5.4	4.8
Mar 2022	5.5	5.3
Jun 2022	6.2	5.7
Sep 2022	5.9	5.3
Dec 2022	5.9	5.3
Mar 2023	5.5	5.1
Jun 2023	5.9	5.4
Sep 2023	5.9	5.5
Dec 2023	5.7	5.2
Mar 2024	5.5	5.1
Jun 2024	5.9	5.3
Sep 2024	5.8	5.3
Dec 2024	5.7	5.2
Mar 2025	5.4	5.1

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.1 percent of private-sector employment in Texas; 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 Texas, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 491,737 in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 63,323 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 119,071 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 24,179 jobs from the previous quarter.

View Chart Data

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and Texas, March 2020–March 2025, seasonally adjusted
Period	United States	Texas
Mar 2020	5.5	5.2
Jun 2020	4.8	4.8
Sep 2020	9.4	7.2
Dec 2020	7.4	7.6
Mar 2021	7.0	6.1
Jun 2021	6.8	6.8
Sep 2021	7.3	7.1
Dec 2021	7.7	7.7
Mar 2022	6.7	6.4
Jun 2022	6.5	6.6
Sep 2022	6.9	7.2
Dec 2022	6.3	6.2
Mar 2023	6.3	6.0
Jun 2023	6.2	5.8
Sep 2023	5.9	5.7
Dec 2023	6.0	5.7
Mar 2024	5.9	5.5
Jun 2024	5.8	5.4
Sep 2024	5.8	5.7
Dec 2024	5.9	5.8
Mar 2025	5.6	5.1

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 5 of the 11 published industry sectors in Texas in the first quarter of 2025. Transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 13,040 jobs. This was the result of 35,144 gross job losses and 22,104 gross job gains. The professional and business services industry had a net loss of 12,069 jobs. Construction showed a net gain of 9,579 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. Texas’ education and health services industry sector had a net gain of 7,256 jobs.

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

Data in this release contain annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. These revisions include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.

Federal Government Shutdown

Publication of first quarter 2025 data was delayed by more than 6 weeks because of a lapse in federal appropriations. Collection of first quarter Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data – which Business Employment Dynamics data is based upon – had been completed in accordance with our normal schedule prior to the federal government shutdown.

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 2025 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. (CT).

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.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Texas, seasonally adjusted
Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
Category	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	650,343	645,705	673,111	698,310	610,808	5.5	5.4	5.7	5.8	5.1
At expanding establishments	513,599	515,665	553,909	555,060	491,737	4.3	4.3	4.7	4.6	4.1
At opening establishments	136,744	130,040	119,202	143,250	119,071	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.2	1.0
Gross job losses	605,198	628,691	631,503	611,785	614,624	5.1	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.1
At contracting establishments	494,703	514,618	496,093	497,548	507,323	4.2	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.2
At closing establishments	110,495	114,073	135,410	114,237	107,301	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	45,145	17,014	41,608	86,525	-3,816	0.4	0.1	0.4	0.6	0.0
Construction
Gross job gains	64,691	60,650	67,179	66,885	62,828	7.6	7.1	7.8	7.7	7.1
At expanding establishments	54,525	49,725	57,510	55,939	53,226	6.4	5.8	6.7	6.4	6.0
At opening establishments	10,166	10,925	9,669	10,946	9,602	1.2	1.3	1.1	1.3	1.1
Gross job losses	56,062	58,940	52,758	51,757	53,249	6.6	6.9	6.2	5.9	6.0
At contracting establishments	45,941	49,479	41,583	43,191	44,046	5.4	5.8	4.9	4.9	5.0
At closing establishments	10,121	9,461	11,175	8,566	9,203	1.2	1.1	1.3	1.0	1.0
Net employment change (2)	8,629	1,710	14,421	15,128	9,579	1.0	0.2	1.6	1.8	1.1
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	34,307	33,171	30,965	34,179	31,657	3.5	3.4	3.2	3.5	3.3
At expanding establishments	28,465	28,094	26,573	29,917	26,955	2.9	2.9	2.7	3.1	2.8
At opening establishments	5,842	5,077	4,392	4,262	4,702	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.5
Gross job losses	30,647	29,383	32,511	30,515	30,889	3.2	3.1	3.3	3.1	3.1
At contracting establishments	26,203	24,829	27,662	26,575	26,892	2.7	2.6	2.8	2.7	2.7
At closing establishments	4,444	4,554	4,849	3,940	3,997	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.4
Net employment change (2)	3,660	3,788	-1,546	3,664	768	0.3	0.3	-0.1	0.4	0.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	28,611	27,418	27,287	26,349	26,122	4.4	4.2	4.2	4.0	4.1
At expanding establishments	22,936	22,951	23,384	21,517	21,880	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.3	3.4
At opening establishments	5,675	4,467	3,903	4,832	4,242	0.9	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.7
Gross job losses	24,875	26,023	25,435	26,189	24,330	3.8	4.0	3.8	4.0	3.7
At contracting establishments	19,750	21,046	20,009	21,457	19,798	3.0	3.2	3.0	3.3	3.0
At closing establishments	5,125	4,977	5,426	4,732	4,532	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	3,736	1,395	1,852	160	1,792	0.6	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.4
Retail trade
Gross job gains	68,439	72,070	70,986	69,744	65,287	4.9	5.2	5.0	5.0	4.7
At expanding establishments	57,597	62,694	61,980	59,999	56,033	4.1	4.5	4.4	4.3	4.0
At opening establishments	10,842	9,376	9,006	9,745	9,254	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.7
Gross job losses	64,348	68,271	69,231	74,121	64,033	4.6	4.9	4.9	5.3	4.6
At contracting establishments	56,049	60,290	60,723	64,130	55,927	4.0	4.3	4.3	4.6	4.0
At closing establishments	8,299	7,981	8,508	9,991	8,106	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.6
Net employment change (2)	4,091	3,799	1,755	-4,377	1,254	0.3	0.3	0.1	-0.3	0.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	23,674	23,378	27,537	41,935	22,104	3.8	3.8	4.4	6.6	3.4
At expanding establishments	20,155	19,886	24,040	38,177	18,867	3.2	3.2	3.8	6.0	2.9
At opening establishments	3,519	3,492	3,497	3,758	3,237	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5
Gross job losses	37,961	26,683	26,675	23,088	35,144	6.0	4.2	4.3	3.6	5.5
At contracting establishments	34,720	22,839	21,261	19,068	31,910	5.5	3.6	3.4	3.0	5.0
At closing establishments	3,241	3,844	5,414	4,020	3,234	0.5	0.6	0.9	0.6	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-14,287	-3,305	862	18,847	-13,040	-2.2	-0.4	0.1	3.0	-2.1
Information
Gross job gains	9,631	10,627	9,871	9,842	9,940	4.2	4.7	4.3	4.4	4.4
At expanding establishments	7,739	8,529	7,971	7,686	7,924	3.4	3.8	3.5	3.4	3.5
At opening establishments	1,892	2,098	1,900	2,156	2,016	0.8	0.9	0.8	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	10,416	11,179	10,461	10,943	10,260	4.6	4.9	4.6	4.8	4.5
At contracting establishments	8,448	8,728	8,096	8,809	8,460	3.7	3.8	3.6	3.9	3.7
At closing establishments	1,968	2,451	2,365	2,134	1,800	0.9	1.1	1.0	0.9	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-785	-552	-590	-1,101	-320	-0.4	-0.2	-0.3	-0.4	-0.1
Financial activities
Gross job gains	39,793	42,298	43,623	41,260	38,279	4.4	4.7	4.8	4.5	4.2
At expanding establishments	29,749	33,280	34,344	31,011	30,034	3.3	3.7	3.8	3.4	3.3
At opening establishments	10,044	9,018	9,279	10,249	8,245	1.1	1.0	1.0	1.1	0.9
Gross job losses	37,395	37,588	39,330	37,995	35,292	4.1	4.1	4.3	4.1	3.8
At contracting establishments	28,052	27,394	30,367	28,497	25,899	3.1	3.0	3.3	3.1	2.8
At closing establishments	9,343	10,194	8,963	9,498	9,393	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.0	1.0
Net employment change (2)	2,398	4,710	4,293	3,265	2,987	0.3	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	137,237	134,144	144,274	143,545	124,056	6.6	6.4	6.8	6.7	5.9
At expanding establishments	106,602	103,396	118,446	111,354	99,700	5.1	4.9	5.6	5.2	4.7
At opening establishments	30,635	30,748	25,828	32,191	24,356	1.5	1.5	1.2	1.5	1.2
Gross job losses	124,016	141,249	137,480	137,440	136,125	5.8	6.7	6.5	6.5	6.4
At contracting establishments	97,856	114,438	104,033	110,526	108,198	4.6	5.4	4.9	5.2	5.1
At closing establishments	26,160	26,811	33,447	26,914	27,927	1.2	1.3	1.6	1.3	1.3
Net employment change (2)	13,221	-7,105	6,794	6,105	-12,069	0.8	-0.3	0.3	0.2	-0.5
Education and health services
Gross job gains	86,613	90,410	94,096	93,694	80,902	4.7	4.8	5.0	4.9	4.3
At expanding establishments	68,284	72,991	76,046	73,887	64,402	3.7	3.9	4.0	3.9	3.4
At opening establishments	18,329	17,419	18,050	19,807	16,500	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	78,138	76,621	82,098	77,395	73,646	4.1	4.1	4.3	4.0	3.8
At contracting establishments	62,363	60,331	63,015	59,452	60,182	3.3	3.2	3.3	3.1	3.1
At closing establishments	15,775	16,290	19,083	17,943	13,464	0.8	0.9	1.0	0.9	0.7
Net employment change (2)	8,475	13,789	11,998	16,299	7,256	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.5
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	105,261	105,662	110,002	124,670	102,261	7.0	7.0	7.3	8.2	6.6
At expanding establishments	80,182	79,446	86,077	91,492	75,556	5.3	5.3	5.7	6.0	4.9
At opening establishments	25,079	26,216	23,925	33,178	26,705	1.7	1.7	1.6	2.2	1.7
Gross job losses	102,166	107,147	111,694	93,324	109,960	6.7	7.1	7.4	6.1	7.1
At contracting establishments	84,920	89,269	86,010	76,033	93,108	5.6	5.9	5.7	5.0	6.0
At closing establishments	17,246	17,878	25,684	17,291	16,852	1.1	1.2	1.7	1.1	1.1
Net employment change (2)	3,095	-1,485	-1,692	31,346	-7,699	0.3	-0.1	-0.1	2.1	-0.5
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	26,156	24,151	25,773	25,533	24,002	7.4	6.7	7.2	7.1	6.6
At expanding establishments	19,161	17,971	20,717	19,171	19,063	5.4	5.0	5.8	5.3	5.2
At opening establishments	6,995	6,180	5,056	6,362	4,939	2.0	1.7	1.4	1.8	1.4
Gross job losses	22,930	24,256	22,863	24,841	24,062	6.5	6.7	6.4	6.9	6.6
At contracting establishments	17,640	18,383	16,180	19,559	18,797	5.0	5.1	4.5	5.4	5.2
At closing establishments	5,290	5,873	6,683	5,282	5,265	1.5	1.6	1.9	1.5	1.4
Net employment change (2)	3,226	-105	2,910	692	-60	0.9	0.0	0.8	0.2	0.0
(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. See the Technical Note for further information. (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)
Category	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Mar. 2025
United States(1)	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.5	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.4
Alabama	5.9	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.6	5.6	5.9	5.3	5.6
Alaska	10.7	10.2	8.0	10.3	10.0	8.5	9.6	9.6	9.5	8.1
Arizona	8.2	5.6	6.4	6.1	5.8	6.5	6.5	5.7	5.9	5.3
Arkansas	5.6	5.3	5.5	5.8	5.1	5.2	5.7	5.2	4.8	5.1
California	6.0	6.2	6.3	6.7	6.0	5.7	6.9	6.2	6.4	6.2
Colorado	6.4	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	7.4	5.8	6.4	6.5	6.8
Connecticut	5.8	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.2	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.3
Delaware	6.2	5.8	6.8	6.1	5.9	5.0	6.5	6.4	6.3	5.3
District of Columbia	5.1	5.1	4.9	5.0	4.8	5.0	5.4	5.0	5.5	5.8
Florida	5.8	6.1	6.5	6.0	5.8	5.5	5.8	5.7	6.2	5.5
Georgia	6.1	5.9	5.8	6.0	5.5	5.7	5.7	6.1	5.4	5.7
Hawaii	5.6	5.2	5.7	5.3	4.9	5.1	5.6	5.0	5.0	5.0
Idaho	7.9	7.5	7.1	8.2	7.3	8.1	7.2	7.5	6.8	7.3
Illinois	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.0	4.8	5.1	5.0	5.1	5.0
Indiana	5.3	5.2	5.3	5.5	5.4	5.1	5.5	5.3	5.1	5.2
Iowa	6.2	5.6	5.3	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.8	6.0	5.6	5.5
Kansas	5.9	5.9	5.3	5.9	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.2	5.4
Kentucky	5.9	5.3	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.1	5.8	5.4	5.5	4.8
Louisiana	6.3	5.8	6.1	6.2	5.6	5.6	6.2	5.8	5.5	5.6
Maine	7.4	7.2	6.2	7.0	7.4	6.3	7.1	7.1	7.1	6.3
Maryland	6.1	7.1	5.9	6.0	5.9	5.5	5.9	6.1	5.9	5.7
Massachusetts	5.3	5.7	5.0	5.3	5.0	5.1	5.6	5.8	5.5	5.1
Michigan	5.5	5.7	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.4	5.8	5.9	5.3
Minnesota	6.1	5.7	5.1	5.5	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.8	5.1	5.5
Mississippi	6.0	5.7	6.3	6.3	5.7	5.8	6.3	5.7	6.2	6.1
Missouri	5.9	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.4	5.4	5.8	5.8	5.3	5.2
Montana	8.1	7.9	7.2	8.4	8.0	7.6	7.6	8.0	7.8	7.5
Nebraska	5.9	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.2	5.1	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.3
Nevada	6.0	5.8	6.2	6.1	5.4	6.1	5.8	5.9	5.6	5.9
New Hampshire	6.4	6.1	5.6	6.3	6.5	5.8	6.0	6.7	5.9	6.1
New Jersey	5.5	5.9	5.4	6.0	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.4
New Mexico	6.4	6.1	6.3	6.1	5.9	6.1	6.5	6.2	5.9	5.8
New York	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.7	6.6	5.0	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.0
North Carolina	5.5	5.6	5.5	6.1	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.5
North Dakota	6.9	6.6	6.5	6.5	6.7	6.0	6.6	6.5	6.6	6.5
Ohio	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.4	5.2	4.8	5.3	5.4	5.1	4.9
Oklahoma	5.8	5.7	6.1	6.0	5.5	5.3	6.4	5.5	5.5	5.3
Oregon	6.6	6.0	6.3	6.2	5.8	5.9	6.3	6.6	6.6	6.2
Pennsylvania	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.2	5.0	4.6	5.2	5.0	4.8	4.7
Rhode Island	6.8	6.6	6.2	7.3	6.6	5.7	6.7	6.4	6.3	5.9
South Carolina	6.5	6.1	6.2	6.4	6.1	6.3	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.5
South Dakota	6.4	6.0	5.9	6.7	6.2	5.8	6.2	5.9	5.9	6.5
Tennessee	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.0	5.6	5.7	6.2	5.1
Texas	5.5	5.4	5.7	5.8	5.1	5.1	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.1
Utah	6.9	6.5	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.3	6.9	6.2	6.3	6.0
Vermont	7.5	6.7	6.6	6.7	6.9	6.3	7.4	7.1	6.7	6.8
Virginia	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.6	5.3	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.1
Washington	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.7	6.2	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.5
West Virginia	7.1	7.0	5.9	6.5	6.4	6.1	6.7	6.6	6.1	5.7
Wisconsin	5.7	5.3	5.1	5.3	5.0	4.9	5.6	5.5	5.2	4.9
Wyoming	8.4	8.2	8.9	8.9	8.1	8.4	8.8	8.5	8.3	8.7
Puerto Rico	5.3	5.5	5.4	4.3	6.3	4.7	4.9	5.0	5.4	5.4
Virgin Islands	6.4	4.9	4.7	5.2	5.4	5.3	5.7	7.5	10.8	7.6
(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.

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2025

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