From September 2024 to December 2024, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in Alaska were 25,948, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 24,328, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 1,620 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2024. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 4,275. (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 2024, gross job gains represented 10.3 percent of private-sector employment in Alaska; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.8 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 Alaska, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 21,740 in the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 4,961 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 4,208 jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 788 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the fourth quarter of 2024, gross job losses represented 9.6 percent of private-sector employment in Alaska; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.7 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 Alaska, contracting establishments lost 20,535 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 116 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 3,793 jobs, a decrease of 262 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 4 of the 7 published industry sectors in Alaska in the fourth quarter of 2024. Construction had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 1,401 jobs. This was the result of 3,807 gross job gains and 2,406 gross job losses. The professional and business services industry had a net gain of 511 jobs. Leisure and hospitality showed a net loss of 732 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state. Alaska’s retail trade industry sector had a net loss of 370 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 First Quarter 2025 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 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.

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, Alaska, 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. 2023	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	25,419	26,560	25,867	20,199	25,948	10.2	10.5	10.2	7.9	10.3
At expanding establishments	20,994	22,753	22,069	16,779	21,740	8.4	9.0	8.7	6.6	8.6
At opening establishments	4,425	3,807	3,798	3,420	4,208	1.8	1.5	1.5	1.3	1.7
Gross job losses	24,585	21,647	24,387	24,474	24,328	9.9	8.6	9.6	9.7	9.6
At contracting establishments	20,885	17,639	20,340	20,419	20,535	8.4	7.0	8.0	8.1	8.1
At closing establishments	3,700	4,008	4,047	4,055	3,793	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.5
Net employment change (2)	834	4,913	1,480	-4,275	1,620	0.3	1.9	0.6	-1.8	0.7
Construction
Gross job gains	3,439	4,009	2,905	1,809	3,807	19.5	20.8	15.2	10.2	20.5
At expanding establishments	2,978	3,530	2,491	1,479	3,377	16.9	18.3	13.0	8.3	18.2
At opening establishments	461	479	414	330	430	2.6	2.5	2.2	1.9	2.3
Gross job losses	2,682	2,293	4,271	2,647	2,406	15.2	11.9	22.3	15.0	12.9
At contracting establishments	2,272	1,834	3,806	2,278	1,973	12.9	9.5	19.9	12.9	10.6
At closing establishments	410	459	465	369	433	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.1	2.3
Net employment change (2)	757	1,716	-1,366	-838	1,401	4.3	8.9	-7.1	-4.8	7.6
Retail trade
Gross job gains	1,992	2,551	1,915	1,987	1,987	5.7	7.2	5.4	5.7	5.7
At expanding establishments	1,812	2,266	1,616	1,836	1,636	5.2	6.4	4.6	5.3	4.7
At opening establishments	180	285	299	151	351	0.5	0.8	0.8	0.4	1.0
Gross job losses	2,365	1,862	2,381	2,176	2,357	6.8	5.3	6.7	6.3	6.8
At contracting establishments	2,068	1,586	2,082	1,964	2,125	5.9	4.5	5.9	5.7	6.1
At closing establishments	297	276	299	212	232	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.6	0.7
Net employment change (2)	-373	689	-466	-189	-370	-1.1	1.9	-1.3	-0.6	-1.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	2,669	3,314	2,831	2,104	2,741	12.6	15.5	12.8	9.4	12.2
At expanding establishments	2,224	3,170	2,519	1,723	2,476	10.5	14.8	11.4	7.7	11.0
At opening establishments	445	144	312	381	265	2.1	0.7	1.4	1.7	1.2
Gross job losses	2,556	2,509	1,930	2,277	2,721	12.0	11.8	8.7	10.1	12.1
At contracting establishments	2,231	2,171	1,477	2,057	2,311	10.5	10.2	6.7	9.1	10.3
At closing establishments	325	338	453	220	410	1.5	1.6	2.0	1.0	1.8
Net employment change (2)	113	805	901	-173	20	0.6	3.7	4.1	-0.7	0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	3,246	2,634	2,683	2,145	3,077	11.5	9.2	9.4	7.5	10.6
At expanding establishments	2,551	2,120	2,145	1,764	2,480	9.0	7.4	7.5	6.2	8.5
At opening establishments	695	514	538	381	597	2.5	1.8	1.9	1.3	2.1
Gross job losses	2,492	2,878	2,495	2,515	2,566	8.8	10.1	8.7	8.7	8.8
At contracting establishments	1,926	2,087	1,991	1,962	2,035	6.8	7.3	6.9	6.8	7.0
At closing establishments	566	791	504	553	531	2.0	2.8	1.8	1.9	1.8
Net employment change (2)	754	-244	188	-370	511	2.7	-0.9	0.7	-1.2	1.8
Education and health services
Gross job gains	2,222	2,156	2,255	2,695	2,248	4.3	4.2	4.4	5.1	4.2
At expanding establishments	1,703	1,833	1,910	2,475	1,925	3.3	3.6	3.7	4.7	3.6
At opening establishments	519	323	345	220	323	1.0	0.6	0.7	0.4	0.6
Gross job losses	2,031	1,775	2,323	1,950	2,188	3.9	3.5	4.4	3.7	4.1
At contracting establishments	1,550	1,429	1,991	1,618	1,744	3.0	2.8	3.8	3.1	3.3
At closing establishments	481	346	332	332	444	0.9	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.8
Net employment change (2)	191	381	-68	745	60	0.4	0.7	0.0	1.4	0.1
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	5,429	4,943	5,857	4,788	5,127	15.0	13.7	15.9	13.0	14.1
At expanding establishments	4,324	3,870	4,666	3,562	4,177	11.9	10.7	12.7	9.7	11.5
At opening establishments	1,105	1,073	1,191	1,226	950	3.1	3.0	3.2	3.3	2.6
Gross job losses	5,558	4,605	5,372	5,445	5,859	15.3	12.7	14.7	14.8	16.1
At contracting establishments	4,456	3,538	4,170	4,357	4,797	12.3	9.8	11.4	11.8	13.2
At closing establishments	1,102	1,067	1,202	1,088	1,062	3.0	2.9	3.3	3.0	2.9
Net employment change (2)	-129	338	485	-657	-732	-0.3	1.0	1.2	-1.8	-2.0
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	966	903	1,220	888	963	9.4	8.7	11.4	8.3	9.2
At expanding establishments	781	775	1,098	781	816	7.6	7.5	10.3	7.3	7.8
At opening establishments	185	128	122	107	147	1.8	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.4
Gross job losses	897	772	948	1,208	990	8.8	7.4	8.9	11.3	9.4
At contracting establishments	789	614	810	1,091	825	7.7	5.9	7.6	10.2	7.8
At closing establishments	108	158	138	117	165	1.1	1.5	1.3	1.1	1.6
Net employment change (2)	69	131	272	-320	-27	0.6	1.3	2.5	-3.0	-0.2
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. 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)
	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024	Dec. 2023	Mar. 2024	June 2024	Sept. 2024	Dec. 2024
United States(1)	6.0	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.4	5.9	5.8	5.7
Alabama	6.2	5.7	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.9	5.3
Alaska	10.2	10.5	10.2	7.9	10.3	9.9	8.6	9.6	9.7	9.6
Arizona	6.5	8.4	5.6	6.3	6.1	6.6	6.4	6.8	6.5	6.0
Arkansas	6.2	5.6	5.2	5.2	5.8	5.0	5.2	5.8	5.2	4.8
California	6.4	5.8	6.1	6.4	6.6	6.4	5.6	6.8	6.1	6.4
Colorado	8.2	6.4	6.5	6.3	6.1	7.6	7.7	6.2	6.7	6.7
Connecticut	5.6	5.6	5.8	5.5	5.5	5.7	5.2	5.6	5.7	5.6
Delaware	6.1	6.0	5.9	6.8	6.1	5.8	5.1	6.5	6.4	6.4
District of Columbia	5.2	5.1	5.1	4.9	5.0	5.6	4.9	6.0	5.0	5.5
Florida	6.1	5.8	6.0	6.6	6.0	5.9	5.4	5.9	5.7	6.2
Georgia	6.2	6.0	5.7	5.7	6.0	5.7	5.7	5.7	6.1	5.4
Hawaii	6.1	5.4	5.1	5.6	5.3	5.0	5.1	5.4	5.0	4.9
Idaho	8.5	7.9	7.5	7.2	8.2	5.8	8.3	7.4	7.6	6.8
Illinois	5.0	5.1	5.2	5.0	5.1	5.1	4.8	5.3	5.1	5.2
Indiana	5.5	5.3	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.1	5.0	5.5	5.4	5.2
Iowa	6.1	6.1	5.5	5.2	5.5	5.7	5.6	5.7	6.0	5.6
Kansas	5.8	5.7	5.8	5.3	5.9	5.3	5.6	5.7	5.6	5.2
Kentucky	5.7	5.7	5.2	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.9	5.5	5.5
Louisiana	6.3	6.2	5.7	6.1	6.2	5.8	5.7	6.3	5.8	5.4
Maine	7.4	7.2	7.3	6.2	6.7	7.0	6.1	7.0	7.0	7.0
Maryland	6.2	5.8	7.2	6.1	6.0	5.8	5.7	6.5	6.1	5.9
Massachusetts	5.5	5.2	5.7	4.9	5.3	5.5	5.1	5.6	5.8	5.6
Michigan	5.5	5.4	5.7	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.6	5.8	6.0
Minnesota	6.9	5.8	5.7	5.1	5.5	6.9	5.7	5.4	5.9	5.1
Mississippi	6.1	5.7	5.8	6.1	6.3	5.7	6.1	6.3	5.7	6.4
Missouri	6.0	5.7	5.6	5.5	5.7	5.6	5.3	5.8	5.8	5.3
Montana	8.8	8.1	7.9	7.3	8.4	7.2	7.5	7.6	8.1	7.8
Nebraska	5.9	5.8	5.4	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.1	5.6	5.6	5.5
Nevada	6.7	5.9	5.8	6.1	6.2	5.4	6.2	5.7	5.9	5.8
New Hampshire	6.2	6.5	6.1	5.5	6.3	5.9	5.8	6.0	6.7	5.9
New Jersey	5.9	5.5	5.9	5.3	6.0	5.8	5.4	5.4	5.8	5.3
New Mexico	6.9	6.0	6.0	6.2	5.8	5.8	6.0	6.3	6.3	5.9
New York	5.7	5.9	5.9	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.0	5.5	5.7	5.5
North Carolina	6.3	5.4	5.6	5.6	6.1	4.9	5.5	5.7	6.1	5.5
North Dakota	6.7	6.9	6.6	6.5	6.5	6.3	6.1	6.6	6.6	6.7
Ohio	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.1	5.4	5.2	4.8	5.4	5.4	5.1
Oklahoma	6.1	5.6	5.6	6.0	5.9	5.8	5.2	6.4	5.6	5.4
Oregon	6.2	6.4	6.0	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.4	6.6	6.8
Pennsylvania	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.1	5.2	4.8	4.6	5.1	5.1	4.8
Rhode Island	6.8	6.9	6.6	6.2	7.2	6.3	5.7	6.7	6.5	6.3
South Carolina	6.2	6.4	5.9	6.2	6.5	5.3	6.3	6.4	5.9	6.0
South Dakota	6.6	6.3	6.0	5.9	6.7	5.8	5.8	6.3	5.9	5.9
Tennessee	6.2	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.5	4.9	5.7	5.8	5.0
Texas	5.7	5.4	5.4	5.6	5.8	5.2	5.1	5.3	5.3	5.1
Utah	6.6	6.7	6.4	6.6	6.6	6.5	6.0	6.6	6.1	6.2
Vermont	7.3	7.2	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.6	6.3	7.5	7.3	6.8
Virginia	5.9	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.5	5.2	5.6	5.5	5.5
Washington	6.0	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.3
West Virginia	6.5	6.9	6.6	5.8	6.4	5.8	5.7	6.8	6.6	6.1
Wisconsin	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.0	5.3	5.2	4.8	5.5	5.4	5.0
Wyoming	8.9	8.4	8.2	8.6	8.8	8.4	8.3	9.0	9.0	8.4
Puerto Rico	4.9	5.4	5.6	5.4	4.4	4.8	4.6	4.9	5.1	5.5
Virgin Islands	6.0	5.6	4.3	4.4	4.0	5.9	4.5	5.1	6.1	12.6
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.