From December 2024 to March 2025, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 172,479 while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Washington were 165,224 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 7,255 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2025. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 3,420. (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 first quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Washington; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.6 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 Washington, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 148,495 in the first quarter of 2025, similar to the number of gross job gains the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 23,984 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 1,843 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in Washington; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.4 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 Washington, contracting establishments lost 154,512 jobs in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 7,024 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 10,712 jobs, a decrease of 12,700 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 11 industry sectors in Washington in the first quarter of 2025. Retail trade had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 6,204 jobs. This was the result of 18,838 gross job gains and 12,634 gross job losses. The education and health services industry had a net gain of 4,514 jobs, followed by the construction industry sector with a net gain of 2,906 jobs. Manufacturing showed a net loss of 2,993 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 Home.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2025 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 26, 2026.

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, Washington, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	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	174,050	176,199	175,085	174,320	172,479	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.7
At expanding establishments	149,428	149,743	148,278	148,493	148,495	4.9	5.0	4.9	4.9	4.9
At opening establishments	24,622	26,456	26,807	25,827	23,984	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8
Gross job losses	185,713	168,275	173,313	170,900	165,224	6.2	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.5
At contracting establishments	147,477	144,666	146,640	147,488	154,512	4.9	4.8	4.9	4.9	5.1
At closing establishments	38,236	23,609	26,673	23,412	10,712	1.3	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-11,663	7,924	1,772	3,420	7,255	-0.5	0.3	0.0	0.1	0.2
Construction
Gross job gains	19,054	17,711	16,392	17,849	18,795	8.8	8.3	7.8	8.4	8.8
At expanding establishments	16,311	14,770	13,643	15,013	16,097	7.5	6.9	6.5	7.1	7.5
At opening establishments	2,743	2,941	2,749	2,836	2,698	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.3
Gross job losses	20,451	20,022	18,973	17,051	15,889	9.4	9.3	9.1	8.1	7.4
At contracting establishments	15,621	17,039	15,908	14,504	15,089	7.2	7.9	7.6	6.9	7.0
At closing establishments	4,830	2,983	3,065	2,547	800	2.2	1.4	1.5	1.2	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-1,397	-2,311	-2,581	798	2,906	-0.6	-1.0	-1.3	0.3	1.4
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	9,291	9,648	8,354	7,264	7,815	3.4	3.5	3.0	2.6	2.8
At expanding establishments	8,749	9,046	7,670	6,594	7,225	3.2	3.3	2.8	2.4	2.6
At opening establishments	542	602	684	670	590	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Gross job losses	8,747	9,084	8,708	10,086	10,808	3.2	3.3	3.2	3.7	4.0
At contracting establishments	7,917	8,258	7,855	9,393	10,119	2.9	3.0	2.9	3.4	3.7
At closing establishments	830	826	853	693	689	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Net employment change (2)	544	564	-354	-2,822	-2,993	0.2	0.2	-0.2	-1.1	-1.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	5,815	5,954	6,065	5,402	6,586	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.0	5.0
At expanding establishments	4,876	4,812	5,105	4,725	5,526	3.5	3.5	3.8	3.5	4.2
At opening establishments	939	1,142	960	677	1,060	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.5	0.8
Gross job losses	6,774	6,902	5,822	6,636	6,238	4.9	5.1	4.3	5.0	4.7
At contracting establishments	5,202	5,523	4,805	5,342	5,748	3.8	4.1	3.5	4.0	4.3
At closing establishments	1,572	1,379	1,017	1,294	490	1.1	1.0	0.8	1.0	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-959	-948	243	-1,234	348	-0.7	-0.8	0.2	-1.0	0.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	17,391	15,419	16,224	14,375	18,838	5.3	4.7	4.9	4.4	5.8
At expanding establishments	15,424	13,777	14,454	12,485	16,640	4.7	4.2	4.4	3.8	5.1
At opening establishments	1,967	1,642	1,770	1,890	2,198	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.7
Gross job losses	14,785	17,541	18,169	18,387	12,634	4.5	5.3	5.5	5.6	3.8
At contracting establishments	12,377	15,918	16,273	16,321	11,583	3.8	4.8	4.9	5.0	3.5
At closing establishments	2,408	1,623	1,896	2,066	1,051	0.7	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.3
Net employment change (2)	2,606	-2,122	-1,945	-4,012	6,204	0.8	-0.6	-0.6	-1.2	2.0
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	6,509	8,004	9,012	10,737	6,846	4.6	5.7	6.4	7.4	4.6
At expanding establishments	5,766	6,997	8,284	9,141	6,422	4.1	5.0	5.9	6.3	4.3
At opening establishments	743	1,007	728	1,596	424	0.5	0.7	0.5	1.1	0.3
Gross job losses	7,578	6,343	6,776	5,733	7,074	5.5	4.5	4.8	3.9	4.8
At contracting establishments	6,365	5,639	5,527	5,254	6,802	4.6	4.0	3.9	3.6	4.6
At closing establishments	1,213	704	1,249	479	272	0.9	0.5	0.9	0.3	0.2
Net employment change (2)	-1,069	1,661	2,236	5,004	-228	-0.9	1.2	1.6	3.5	-0.2
Information
Gross job gains	4,506	4,845	4,670	4,861	4,801	2.8	3.0	2.8	2.9	3.0
At expanding establishments	3,706	4,152	3,952	4,145	4,045	2.3	2.6	2.4	2.5	2.5
At opening establishments	800	693	718	716	756	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.5
Gross job losses	6,004	3,947	4,343	5,389	5,029	3.7	2.4	2.7	3.3	3.1
At contracting establishments	4,666	3,388	3,401	4,720	4,745	2.9	2.1	2.1	2.9	2.9
At closing establishments	1,338	559	942	669	284	0.8	0.3	0.6	0.4	0.2
Net employment change (2)	-1,498	898	327	-528	-228	-0.9	0.6	0.1	-0.4	-0.1
Financial activities
Gross job gains	6,460	7,185	7,413	6,271	7,432	4.3	4.7	4.9	4.1	4.8
At expanding establishments	5,292	5,862	6,224	5,240	6,452	3.5	3.8	4.1	3.4	4.2
At opening establishments	1,168	1,323	1,189	1,031	980	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.6
Gross job losses	7,495	6,829	7,211	7,088	6,406	4.9	4.4	4.8	4.6	4.2
At contracting establishments	5,559	5,546	5,584	5,667	5,638	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.7
At closing establishments	1,936	1,283	1,627	1,421	768	1.3	0.8	1.1	0.9	0.5
Net employment change (2)	-1,035	356	202	-817	1,026	-0.6	0.3	0.1	-0.5	0.6
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	28,625	31,228	30,931	30,678	27,817	5.3	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.3
At expanding establishments	23,324	25,322	25,226	23,531	23,241	4.3	4.7	4.7	4.4	4.4
At opening establishments	5,301	5,906	5,705	7,147	4,576	1.0	1.1	1.1	1.3	0.9
Gross job losses	33,348	27,339	29,897	31,537	26,341	6.2	5.1	5.6	5.9	5.0
At contracting establishments	23,960	22,967	23,423	25,992	24,427	4.5	4.3	4.4	4.9	4.6
At closing establishments	9,388	4,372	6,474	5,545	1,914	1.7	0.8	1.2	1.0	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-4,723	3,889	1,034	-859	1,476	-0.9	0.7	0.2	-0.2	0.3
Education and health services
Gross job gains	21,575	20,851	23,107	20,188	21,793	4.2	4.0	4.4	3.8	4.1
At expanding establishments	18,300	17,713	19,756	17,702	18,749	3.6	3.4	3.8	3.3	3.5
At opening establishments	3,275	3,138	3,351	2,486	3,044	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.6
Gross job losses	17,107	16,326	16,926	17,965	17,279	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.4	3.3
At contracting establishments	13,321	13,806	14,133	15,252	15,829	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.9	3.0
At closing establishments	3,786	2,520	2,793	2,713	1,450	0.7	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.3
Net employment change (2)	4,468	4,525	6,181	2,223	4,514	0.9	0.8	1.2	0.4	0.8
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	28,834	28,186	27,426	27,021	25,868	8.5	8.3	8.1	7.9	7.5
At expanding establishments	23,860	23,137	22,444	22,851	20,982	7.0	6.8	6.6	6.7	6.1
At opening establishments	4,974	5,049	4,982	4,170	4,886	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.2	1.4
Gross job losses	28,327	27,249	29,483	26,046	26,645	8.3	8.0	8.7	7.6	7.7
At contracting establishments	23,245	23,161	25,542	22,613	24,488	6.8	6.8	7.5	6.6	7.1
At closing establishments	5,082	4,088	3,941	3,433	2,157	1.5	1.2	1.2	1.0	0.6
Net employment change (2)	507	937	-2,057	975	-777	0.2	0.3	-0.6	0.3	-0.2
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	6,834	6,898	6,442	6,191	6,137	7.0	7.0	6.5	6.3	6.3
At expanding establishments	5,697	5,719	5,133	5,314	4,997	5.8	5.8	5.2	5.4	5.1
At opening establishments	1,137	1,179	1,309	877	1,140	1.2	1.2	1.3	0.9	1.2
Gross job losses	6,272	6,119	6,690	6,117	5,457	6.4	6.2	6.8	6.2	5.5
At contracting establishments	4,770	5,027	5,418	4,932	4,919	4.9	5.1	5.5	5.0	5.0
At closing establishments	1,502	1,092	1,272	1,185	538	1.5	1.1	1.3	1.2	0.5
Net employment change (2)	562	779	-248	74	680	0.6	0.8	-0.3	0.1	0.8
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)
	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
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.