For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, April 28, 2021 USDL-21-0722 

Technical Information: (202) 691-6553 • BDMInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/bdm 

Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – THIRD QUARTER 2020

From June 2020 to September 2020, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector 

establishments were 10.8 million, an increase of 5.1 million jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and 

contracting private-sector establishments were 6.9 million, a decrease of 13.5 million jobs from the 

previous quarter. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job 

losses yielded a net employment gain of 3.9 million jobs in the private-sector during the third quarter of 

2020. (See chart 1, and tables A and 1.) 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on Third Quarter 2020 Business Employment Dynamics 

Data collection and processing methods have been impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. More 

detail can be found at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-business-employmentdynamics.htm. 

Gross job gains

Gross job losses

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Chart 1. Total private-sector gross job gains and gross job losses, seasonally adjusted

March 2010 - September 2020

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defined recession period.
- 2 - 

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 Technical Note.) 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. 

Gross Job Gains 

In the third quarter of 2020, gross job gains represented 9.4 percent of private-sector employment. 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. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 8.8 

million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 4.3 million jobs compared to the previous quarter. 

Opening establishments accounted for 2.0 million of the jobs gained in the third quarter of 2020, an 

increase of 748,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 2 and 3, and tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) 

Gross Job Losses 

In the third quarter of 2020, gross job losses represented 6.0 percent of private-sector employment. 

Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of 

jobs at closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 5.5 million jobs in the third quarter of 

2020, a decrease of 12.0 million jobs from the prior quarter. In the third quarter of 2020, closing

establishments lost 1.4 million jobs, a decrease of 1.5 million jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 

2 and 3, and tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) 

Expansions

Contractions

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

'10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains at expanding establishments 

and gross job losses at contracting establishments, seasonally 

adjusted: March 2010 - September 2020

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents NBER defined recession period.

Openings

Closings

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

'10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job gains at opening establishments 

and gross job losses at closing establishments, seasonally 

adjusted: March 2010 - September 2020

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents NBER defined recession period.
- 3 - 

Establishment Births and Deaths 

In the third quarter of 2020, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data) 

increased by 51,000, to a total of 276,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for 

820,000 jobs, an increase of 161,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a 

subset of the closings data) are available through the fourth quarter of 2019, when 790,000 jobs were 

lost at 235,000 establishments, an increase of 21,000 jobs from the third quarter of 2019. (See Technical 

Note and table 8.) 

Table A. Three-month private-sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted 

 

Category 

3 months ended 

Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. 

2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 

Levels (in thousands) 

Gross job gains............................. 7,404 7,864 6,963 5,749 10,804 

 At expanding establishments... 6,022 6,364 5,675 4,469 8,776 

 At opening establishments.... 1,382 1,500 1,288 1,280 2,028 

Gross job losses............................ 7,351 7,051 7,736 20,366 6,901 

 At contracting establishments 6,077 5,725 6,288 17,470 5,473 

 At closing establishments...... 1,274 1,326 1,448 2,896 1,428 

Net employment change1............. 53 813 -773 -14,617 3,903 

 

Rates (percent) 

Gross job gains............................. 5.9 6.2 5.5 4.8 9.4 

 At expanding establishments... 4.8 5.0 4.5 3.7 7.6 

 At opening establishments.... 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.8 

Gross job losses............................ 5.8 5.5 6.1 17.0 6.0 

 At contracting establishments 4.8 4.5 5.0 14.6 4.8 

 At closing establishments...... 1.0 1.0 1.1 2.4 1.2 

Net employment change1............. 0.1 0.7 -0.6 -12.2 3.4 

1

 The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical Note for 

further information. 
- 4 - 

Industries 

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 12 of 13 industries in the third quarter of 2020. The serviceproviding industries experienced a net job increase of 3.8 million in the third quarter of 2020. Within the 

service-providing industries, the leisure and hospitality sector had the largest over-the-quarter net 

employment gain, adding 1.5 million jobs. This was the result of 2.5 million gross job gains and 1.0 

million gross job losses. The retail trade sector experienced a net employment increase in the third 

quarter of 2020, with 693,000 net jobs gained. The goods-producing industries had a net job increase of 

100,000 in the third quarter of 2020. Of the goods-producing industries, the manufacturing sector had a 

net increase of 102,000 jobs, and the construction sector added 15,000 jobs. The natural resources and 

mining sector showed a net loss of 17,000 jobs. (See table 3.) 

Firm Size 

In the third quarter of 2020, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment increase of 1.4 million. 

Firms with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 529,000. Firms with 250 or more 

employees had a net employment increase of 2.0 million. (See tables 4 and 5.) 

States 

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in the 

third quarter of 2020. (See tables 6 and 7.) 

For More Information 

Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm. 

This information includes data on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm 

size, not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time series not presented in this release, 

charts of gross job gains and gross job losses by industry and firm size, and answers to frequently asked 

questions. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found in the 

Technical Note of this release or can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. 

 

The Business Employment Dynamics for Fourth Quarter 2020 are scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). 
Technical Note 

Special technical note: The following technical note details procedures regularly adhered to for tabulating the quarterly Business Employment Dynamics series on private-sector gross job gains and gross job losses. Data collection and processing methods 

have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More detail can be found at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-business-employment-dynamics.htm

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. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports 

on the employment and wages of workers covered by unemployment 

insurance (UI) laws and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW is 

based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to 

the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the 

QCEW and form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe 

sampling frame. 

These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on 

total employment and wages and the longitudinal BED data on gross 

job gains and losses. The QCEW is also the employment benchmark 

for the Current Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 

(JOLTS) programs and is a major input to the Bureau of Economic 

Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts. 

In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are linked 

across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net employment 

changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and expanding units and jobs lost at 

closing and contracting units. 

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment 

measures 

The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for any given quarter. Each of these measures—Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Business Employment Dynamics, and Current Employment Statistics—makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; however, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, estimation procedure, and publication product. 

Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in 

somewhat different measures of employment change over time. It is 

important to understand program differences and the intended uses 

of the program products. (See table.) Additional information on each 

program can be obtained from the program websites shown in the 

table. 

Coverage 

Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and 

Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) laws 

are compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the 

SWAs by employers. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate multiple establishments within a state 

complete a questionnaire, called the “Multiple Worksite Report,” 

which provides detailed information on the location of their establishments. These reports are based on place of employment rather 

than place of residence. UI and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable from state to state. 

Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, 

religious organizations, most agricultural workers on small farms, all 

members of the Armed Forces, elected officials in most states, most 

employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of certain small nonprofit organizations. 

 Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived 

from longitudinal histories of 8.3 million private-sector employer reports out of 10.4 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2020. Gross job gains 

and gross job losses data in this release do not report estimates for 

government employees or private households (NAICS 814110) and 

do not include establishments with zero employment in both previous 

and current quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 

are also excluded from the national data. The table below shows, in 

millions of establishments, the number of establishments excluded 

from the national gross job gains and gross job losses data in the first 

quarter 2020. 

Number of active establishments included in 

Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level 

 Millions 

Total establishments QCEW program..........10.4 

 Excluded: Public sector....................... 0.3 

 Private households............... 0.2 

 Zero employment................. 1.6 

 

Total establishments included in Business 

Employment Dynamics data.....................8.3 
 

Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures

QCEW BED CES 

Source  Count of UI administrative records 

submitted by 10.4 million establishments in first quarter of 2020 

 Count of longitudinally-linked UI administrative records submitted by 8.3 

million private-sector establishments 

 Sample survey: 697,000 establishments 

Coverage  UI and UCFE coverage, including 

all employers subject to state and 

federal UI laws 

 UI coverage, excluding government, 

private households, and establishments with zero employment 

Nonfarm wage and salary jobs: 

 UI coverage, excluding agriculture, private 

households, and self-employed workers 

 Other employment, including railroads, 

religious organizations, and other nonUI-covered jobs 

Publication frequency 

 Quarterly 

— 6 months after the end of each 

quarter 

 Quarterly 

— 7 months after the end of each 

quarter 

 Monthly 

— Usually the 3rd Friday after the end 

of the week including the 12th of the 

month 

Use of UI file  Directly summarizes and publishes 

each new quarter of UI data 

 Links each new UI quarter to longitudinal database and directly summarizes gross job gains and losses 

 Uses UI file as a sampling frame and to 

annually realign sample-based estimates 

to population counts (benchmarking) 

Principal 

products 

 Provides a quarterly and annual universe count of establishments, employment, and wages at the county, 

metropolitan statistical area (MSA), 

state, and national levels by detailed 

industry 

 Provides quarterly employer dynamics data on establishment openings, 

closings, expansions, and contractions 

at the national level by NAICS supersectors, 3-digit NAICS, and by size of 

firm, and at the state private-sector total level 

 Future expansions will include data 

with greater industry detail and data 

at the county and MSA level 

 Provides current monthly estimates of 

employment, hours, and earnings at the 

MSA, state, and national level by industry 

Principal uses  Major uses include: 

— Detailed locality data 

— Periodic universe counts for 

benchmarking sample survey estimates 

— Sample frame for BLS establishment surveys 

 Major uses include: 

— Business cycle analysis 

— Analysis of employer dynamics 

underlying economic expansions 

and contractions 

— Analysis of employment expansion and contraction by size of 

firm 

 Major uses include: 

— Principal federal economic indicator 

— Official time series for employment 

change measures 

— Input into other major economic indicators 

Program web 

sites 

 www.bls.gov/cew  www.bls.gov/bdm  www.bls.gov/ces 

Unit of analysis 

Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by 

industry and firms are used in the tabulation of the BED size class 

statistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, 

either corporate or otherwise, and may consist of several establishments. Firm-level data are compiled based on an aggregation of establishments under common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification numbers. The firm level aggregation which 

is consistent with the role of corporations as the economic decision 

makers are used for the measurement of the BED data elements by 

size class. 

Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job 

gains and gross job losses by size class are lower than total gross job 

gains and gross job losses by industry, as some establishment gains 

and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. 

However, the total net changes in employment are the same for not 

seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally adjusted data. 

Concepts and methodology 

The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change 

in employment at the establishment or firm level. These changes come 
about in one of four ways. A net increase in employment can come 

from either opening units or expanding units. A net decrease in employment can come from either closing units or contracting units. 

Gross job gains include the sum of all jobs added at either opening or 

expanding units. Gross job losses include the sum of all jobs lost in 

either closing or contracting units. The net change in employment is 

the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. 

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows: 

Openings. These are either units with positive third month employment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior 

quarter, or with positive third month employment in the current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter. 

Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third 

month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in 

employment over this period. 

Closings. These are either units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter. 

Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third 

month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease 

in employment over this period. 

Births. These are units with positive third month employment for 

the first time in the current quarter with no links to the prior quarter, 

or units with positive third month employment in the current quarter 

and zero employment in the third month of the previous four quarters. 

Births are a subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal 

businesses. 

Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero employment 

reported in the third month of four consecutive quarters following the 

last quarter with positive employment. Deaths are a subset of closings 

not including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A unit that 

closes during the quarter may be a death, but we wait three quarters to 

determine whether it is a permanent closing or a temporary shutdown. 

Therefore, there is always a lag of three quarters for the publication of 

death statistics. 

All employment changes are measured from the third month of the 

previous quarter to the third month of the current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their employment levels. Units with no 

change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, 

but not for levels of gross job gains and gross job losses. 

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment in the current and 

previous quarters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. The rates 

are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job 

losses and then summed to form their respective totals. These rates 

can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For instance, the 

difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses 

rate is the net growth rate. 

Establishment Births and Deaths 

For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as establishments that appear in the longitudinal database for the first time with 

positive employment in the third month of a quarter, or showed four 

consecutive quarters of zero employment in the third month followed 

by a quarter in which it shows positive employment in the third month. 

Similarly, deaths are defined as establishments that either drop out of 

the longitudinal database or an establishment that had positive employment in the third month of a given quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of showing zero employment in the third month. Although the data for establishment births and deaths are tabulated independently from the data for openings and closings, the concepts are 

not mutually exclusive. An establishment that is defined as a birth in 

a given quarter is necessarily an opening as well, and an establishment 

defined as a death in a quarter must also be a closing. Since openings 

include seasonal and other re-openings and closings include temporary shutdowns, the not seasonally adjusted values for births and 

deaths must be less than those for openings and closings. However, 

because some BED series do not have many re-openings or temporary 

shutdowns, as well as the fact that births and deaths are independently 

seasonally adjusted from openings and closings, there may be instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the former is greater 

than the latter. 

Linkage methodology 

Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, 

QCEW records are linked across two quarters. The linkage process 

matches establishments' unique SWA identification numbers (SWAID). Between 95 and 97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from quarter to quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are 

linked in one of three ways. The first method uses predecessor and 

successor information, identified by the states, which relates records 

with different SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor 

relations can come about for a variety of reasons, including a change 

in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account restructuring. If a 

match cannot be attained in this manner, a probability-based match is 

used. This match attempts to identify two establishments with different SWA-IDs as continuous. The match is based upon comparisons 

such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst 

examines unmatched records individually and makes a possible 

match. 

In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify 

with employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and 

ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-year cycle. 

Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from the verification process are introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from improved employer reporting 

also are introduced in the first quarter. 

 

Sizing methodology 

The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED 

size class data series. Dynamic sizing allocates each firm’s employment gain or loss during a quarter to each respective size class in 

which the change occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38 employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be allocated to the first size class, 5 to the 

size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49. 

Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm-size estimates and eliminates any systematic effects which may be caused by the transitory 

and reverting changes in firms’ sizes over time. Additionally, it allocates each job gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred. 

Annual Data 

The annual gross job gains and gross job losses measure the net 

change in employment at the establishment level from the third month 

of a quarter in the previous year to the third month of the same quarter 

in the current year. The BLS publishes annual BED data based on 

March-to-March changes once a year with the release of the first quarter BED data. The annual data based on over-the-year changes for 
other quarters of the year are available upon request. The definitions 

and methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and gross job 

losses are similar to the quarterly measures. The linkage method considers all predecessor and successor relations that may come about due 

to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire 

year. At the establishment level, some of the quarterly job gains and 

job losses are offset during the estimation over the year. Therefore, the 

sum of four quarters of gross job gains and gross job losses are not 

equal to annual gross job gains and gross job losses. The net change 

in employment over the year, however, is equal to the sum of four 

quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted basis. 

Seasonal adjustment 

Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated job flows undergo sharp fluctuations due to such seasonal events 

as changes in the weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, 

major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of 

such seasonal variation can be very large. 

Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern 

each year, their influence can be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from quarter to quarter. These adjustments make nonseasonal developments, such as declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. 

For example, the large number of youths taking summer jobs is likely 

to obscure other changes that have taken place in June relative to 

March, making it difficult to determine if the level of economic activity has risen or declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in previous years is known, the statistics for the current 

year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable change. The adjusted 

figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in 

economic activity. 

The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and 

contracting units are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes 

are calculated based on the difference between gross job gains and 

gross job losses. Similarly, for industry data, the establishment counts 

data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted, and the net changes are calculated 

based on the difference between the number of opening and closing 

establishments. Additionally establishment and employment levels 

are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-13 

ARIMA-SEATS. Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are 

the sum of seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including the unclassified sector, which is not separately published. 

The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED 

component series will differ from the net employment change estimated from the seasonally adjusted total private employment series 

from the CES program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show 

the dynamic labor market changes that underlie the net employment 

change statistic. As such, data users interested particularly in the net 

employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying this 

change should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment 

changes. 

Reliability of the data 

Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based 

on administrative rather than sample data, there are no issues related 

to sampling error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists. Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected employment data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when providing information. 

Such errors, however, are likely to be distributed randomly throughout 

the dataset. 

Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for 

the linkage process. This can result in overstating openings and closings while understating expansions and contractions. The BLS continues to refine methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate 

the effects of these complications. 

 The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based 

on corrections in QCEW records, updates on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal adjustment revisions. 

Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the 

first quarter data. These revisions cover the last four quarters of not 

seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data. 

Additional statistics and other information 

Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information. The QCEW program provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed industry. News 

releases on quarterly county employment and wages and the annual 

bulletin also are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover (Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), telephone (202) 691-6567; (www.bls.gov/cew/); 

(e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov). 

The Current Employment Statistics program produces monthly estimates of employment, its net change, hours, and earnings by detailed 

industry. These estimates are part of the Employment Situation report 

put out monthly by BLS. 

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey program provides 

monthly measures of job openings, as well as employee hires and separations. 

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD 

message referral phone number: (800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

2010 March -247 6,325 5,108 1,217 6,572 5,324 1,248

June 698 6,995 5,674 1,321 6,297 5,090 1,207

September 237 6,741 5,438 1,303 6,504 5,231 1,273

December 566 7,052 5,639 1,413 6,486 5,219 1,267

2011 March 334 6,540 5,322 1,218 6,206 5,025 1,181

June 582 6,966 5,625 1,341 6,384 5,115 1,269

September 841 7,205 5,810 1,395 6,364 5,172 1,192

December 335 6,865 5,503 1,362 6,530 5,273 1,257

2012 March 948 7,080 5,746 1,334 6,132 5,005 1,127

June 616 7,051 5,724 1,327 6,435 5,266 1,169

September 252 6,881 5,571 1,310 6,629 5,430 1,199

December 695 7,110 5,753 1,357 6,415 5,225 1,190

2013 March 558 6,941 5,705 1,236 6,383 5,201 1,182

June 674 7,152 5,830 1,322 6,478 5,271 1,207

September 507 7,058 5,719 1,339 6,551 5,408 1,143

December 700 7,255 5,926 1,329 6,555 5,353 1,202

2014 March 419 6,953 5,687 1,266 6,534 5,380 1,154

June 895 7,454 6,114 1,340 6,559 5,342 1,217

September 577 7,247 5,918 1,329 6,670 5,487 1,183

December 1,038 7,617 6,248 1,369 6,579 5,346 1,233

2015 March 216 7,046 5,733 1,313 6,830 5,626 1,204

June 849 7,580 6,235 1,345 6,731 5,540 1,191

September 475 7,344 5,983 1,361 6,869 5,657 1,212

December 944 7,817 6,360 1,457 6,873 5,607 1,266

2016 March 243 7,149 5,864 1,285 6,906 5,702 1,204

June 310 7,446 6,074 1,372 7,136 5,829 1,307

September 750 7,717 6,253 1,464 6,967 5,722 1,245

December 329 7,423 6,012 1,411 7,094 5,795 1,299

2017 March 654 7,428 6,091 1,337 6,774 5,591 1,183

June 480 7,621 6,252 1,369 7,141 5,873 1,268

September -55 7,324 5,970 1,354 7,379 6,080 1,299

December 933 7,801 6,366 1,435 6,868 5,571 1,297

2018 March 717 7,494 6,141 1,353 6,777 5,587 1,190

June 407 7,652 6,254 1,398 7,245 5,960 1,285

September 79 7,506 6,126 1,380 7,427 6,104 1,323

December 790 7,756 6,309 1,447 6,966 5,634 1,332

2019 March 533 7,460 6,102 1,358 6,927 5,682 1,245

June 171 7,637 6,253 1,384 7,466 6,105 1,361

September 53 7,404 6,022 1,382 7,351 6,077 1,274

December 813 7,864 6,364 1,500 7,051 5,725 1,326

2020 March -773 6,963 5,675 1,288 7,736 6,288 1,448

June -14,617 5,749 4,469 1,280 20,366 17,470 2,896

September 3,903 10,804 8,776 2,028 6,901 5,473 1,428

1 Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.

Year 3 months ended Net change 1

Gross job gains

Total Total

Gross job losses
Table 2. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment, 1

 seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

2010 March -0.2 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.2 5.0 1.2

June 0.7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September 0.2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.1 4.9 1.2

December 0.5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2

2011 March 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1

June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2

September 0.8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1

December 0.4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2

2012 March 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0

June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September 0.2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1

December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2013 March 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1

June 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2014 March 0.4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

June 0.8 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1

September 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

December 0.9 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1

2015 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

June 0.7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.7 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2016 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

June 0.2 6.2 5.1 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1

September 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.3 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

2017 March 0.5 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.6 4.6 1.0

June 0.4 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

September -0.1 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.1 5.0 1.1

December 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1

2018 March 0.6 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0

June 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

September 0.0 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1

December 0.7 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1

2019 March 0.5 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0

June 0.2 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.9 4.8 1.1

September 0.1 5.9 4.8 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.7 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.5 4.5 1.0

2020 March -0.6 5.5 4.5 1.0 6.1 5.0 1.1

June -12.2 4.8 3.7 1.1 17.0 14.6 2.4

September 3.4 9.4 7.6 1.8 6.0 4.8 1.2

1 The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage of the average of the previous and current quarter employment levels. 

2 Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.

Year 3 months ended Net change 2

Gross job gains

Total Total

Gross job losses
Table 3. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted

Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept.

2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 7,404 7,864 6,963 5,749 10,804 5.9 6.2 5.5 4.8 9.4

At expanding establishments ......... 6,022 6,364 5,675 4,469 8,776 4.8 5.0 4.5 3.7 7.6

At opening establishments ............ 1,382 1,500 1,288 1,280 2,028 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.8

Gross job losses ........................... 7,351 7,051 7,736 20,366 6,901 5.8 5.5 6.1 17.0 6.0

At contracting establishments ......... 6,077 5,725 6,288 17,470 5,473 4.8 4.5 5.0 14.6 4.8

At closing establishments ............ 1,274 1,326 1,448 2,896 1,428 1.0 1.0 1.1 2.4 1.2

Net employment change .............. 53 813 -773 -14,617 3,903 0.1 0.7 -0.6 -12.2 3.4

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,254 1,319 1,286 1,036 1,476 5.7 5.9 5.7 4.9 7.1

At expanding establishments ......... 1,059 1,114 1,098 852 1,238 4.8 5.0 4.9 4.0 6.0

At opening establishments ............ 195 205 188 184 238 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 1,331 1,329 1,295 2,576 1,376 6.1 6.0 5.8 11.9 6.6

At contracting establishments ......... 1,139 1,126 1,098 2,288 1,172 5.2 5.1 4.9 10.6 5.6

At closing establishments ............ 192 203 197 288 204 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.3 1.0

Net employment change .............. -77 -10 -9 -1,540 100 -0.4 -0.1 -0.1 -7.0 0.5

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 228 234 239 221 220 11.9 12.2 12.4 12.1 12.8

At expanding establishments ......... 197 201 208 193 184 10.3 10.5 10.8 10.6 10.7

At opening establishments ............ 31 33 31 28 36 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.5 2.1

Gross job losses ........................... 243 273 251 372 237 12.7 14.2 13.1 20.5 13.8

At contracting establishments ......... 215 242 220 332 207 11.2 12.6 11.5 18.3 12.1

At closing establishments ............ 28 31 31 40 30 1.5 1.6 1.6 2.2 1.7

Net employment change .............. -15 -39 -12 -151 -17 -0.8 -2.0 -0.7 -8.4 -1.0

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 649 676 683 543 678 8.8 9.1 9.0 7.4 9.6

At expanding establishments ......... 523 545 560 425 529 7.1 7.3 7.4 5.8 7.5

At opening establishments ............ 126 131 123 118 149 1.7 1.8 1.6 1.6 2.1

Gross job losses ........................... 647 649 626 1,044 663 8.7 8.7 8.3 14.2 9.4

At contracting establishments ......... 526 523 506 875 539 7.1 7.0 6.7 11.9 7.6

At closing establishments ............ 121 126 120 169 124 1.6 1.7 1.6 2.3 1.8

Net employment change .............. 2 27 57 -501 15 0.1 0.4 0.7 -6.8 0.2

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 377 409 364 272 578 3.0 3.2 2.9 2.2 4.8

At expanding establishments ......... 339 368 330 234 525 2.7 2.9 2.6 1.9 4.4

At opening establishments ............ 38 41 34 38 53 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4

Gross job losses ........................... 441 407 418 1,160 476 3.4 3.2 3.3 9.4 4.0

At contracting establishments ......... 398 361 372 1,081 426 3.1 2.8 2.9 8.8 3.6

At closing establishments ............ 43 46 46 79 50 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.4

Net employment change .............. -64 2 -54 -888 102 -0.4 0.0 -0.4 -7.2 0.8

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 6,150 6,545 5,677 4,713 9,328 5.9 6.2 5.5 4.8 9.9

At expanding establishments ......... 4,963 5,250 4,577 3,617 7,538 4.8 5.0 4.4 3.7 8.0

At opening establishments ............ 1,187 1,295 1,100 1,096 1,790 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.9

Gross job losses ........................... 6,020 5,722 6,441 17,790 5,525 5.8 5.5 6.2 18.0 5.9

At contracting establishments ......... 4,938 4,599 5,190 15,182 4,301 4.8 4.4 5.0 15.4 4.6

At closing establishments ............ 1,082 1,123 1,251 2,608 1,224 1.0 1.1 1.2 2.6 1.3

Net employment change .............. 130 823 -764 -13,077 3,803 0.1 0.7 -0.7 -13.2 4.0

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 256 267 250 202 317 4.3 4.6 4.3 3.6 5.8

At expanding establishments ......... 208 216 209 153 259 3.5 3.7 3.6 2.7 4.7

At opening establishments ............ 48 51 41 49 58 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.9 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 266 249 258 607 268 4.5 4.2 4.4 10.7 4.9

At contracting establishments ......... 212 194 200 524 208 3.6 3.3 3.4 9.2 3.8

At closing establishments ............ 54 55 58 83 60 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.5 1.1

Net employment change .............. -10 18 -8 -405 49 -0.2 0.4 -0.1 -7.1 0.9

See footnote at end of table.

Category

Gross job gains and losses (in thousands) Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Table 3. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted —Continued

Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept.

2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 858 891 906 963 1,520 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.4 10.3

At expanding establishments ......... 739 775 808 862 1,338 4.7 5.0 5.2 5.7 9.1

At opening establishments ............ 119 116 98 101 182 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.7 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 943 887 874 2,529 827 6.1 5.8 5.6 16.8 5.7

At contracting establishments ......... 821 769 754 2,258 715 5.3 5.0 4.8 15.0 4.9

At closing establishments ............ 122 118 120 271 112 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.8 0.8

Net employment change .............. -85 4 32 -1,566 693 -0.6 -0.1 0.2 -10.4 4.6

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 343 508 278 422 527 6.3 8.9 4.9 7.7 9.7

At expanding establishments ......... 290 443 240 378 457 5.3 7.8 4.2 6.9 8.4

At opening establishments ............ 53 65 38 44 70 1.0 1.1 0.7 0.8 1.3

Gross job losses ........................... 255 254 416 826 311 4.7 4.4 7.2 15.1 5.7

At contracting establishments ......... 217 212 369 746 267 4.0 3.7 6.4 13.6 4.9

At closing establishments ............ 38 42 47 80 44 0.7 0.7 0.8 1.5 0.8

Net employment change .............. 88 254 -138 -404 216 1.6 4.5 -2.3 -7.4 4.0

Utilities

Gross job gains ........................... 14 13 10 10 14 2.6 2.4 1.8 1.9 2.6

At expanding establishments ......... 12 12 9 8 12 2.2 2.2 1.6 1.5 2.2

At opening establishments ............ 2 1 1 2 2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4

Gross job losses ........................... 14 12 9 14 12 2.6 2.2 1.7 2.6 2.2

At contracting establishments ......... 13 10 8 13 10 2.4 1.8 1.5 2.4 1.8

At closing establishments ............ 1 2 1 1 2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.4

Net employment change .............. 0 1 1 -4 2 0.0 0.2 0.1 -0.7 0.4

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 162 155 152 98 204 5.7 5.4 5.3 3.6 7.8

At expanding establishments ......... 129 124 130 73 163 4.5 4.3 4.5 2.7 6.2

At opening establishments ............ 33 31 22 25 41 1.2 1.1 0.8 0.9 1.6

Gross job losses ........................... 154 161 139 421 135 5.4 5.6 4.9 15.4 5.2

At contracting establishments ......... 127 134 111 358 104 4.5 4.7 3.9 13.1 4.0

At closing establishments ............ 27 27 28 63 31 0.9 0.9 1.0 2.3 1.2

Net employment change .............. 8 -6 13 -323 69 0.3 -0.2 0.4 -11.8 2.6

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 386 406 356 314 449 4.6 4.9 4.2 3.8 5.5

At expanding establishments ......... 301 308 285 229 350 3.6 3.7 3.4 2.8 4.3

At opening establishments ............ 85 98 71 85 99 1.0 1.2 0.8 1.0 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 364 362 363 637 374 4.4 4.3 4.3 7.7 4.6

At contracting establishments ......... 282 276 276 528 271 3.4 3.3 3.3 6.4 3.3

At closing establishments ............ 82 86 87 109 103 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.3 1.3

Net employment change .............. 22 44 -7 -323 75 0.2 0.6 -0.1 -3.9 0.9

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,408 1,506 1,270 1,142 1,812 6.6 7.0 5.9 5.6 9.2

At expanding establishments ......... 1,130 1,202 1,032 850 1,461 5.3 5.6 4.8 4.2 7.4

At opening establishments ............ 278 304 238 292 351 1.3 1.4 1.1 1.4 1.8

Gross job losses ........................... 1,375 1,378 1,377 2,965 1,364 6.4 6.5 6.5 14.5 6.9

At contracting establishments ......... 1,111 1,083 1,105 2,572 1,047 5.2 5.1 5.2 12.6 5.3

At closing establishments ............ 264 295 272 393 317 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.9 1.6

Net employment change .............. 33 128 -107 -1,823 448 0.2 0.5 -0.6 -8.9 2.3

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,052 1,034 976 663 1,365 4.6 4.4 4.2 2.9 6.3

At expanding establishments ......... 868 824 771 481 1,112 3.8 3.5 3.3 2.1 5.1

At opening establishments ............ 184 210 205 182 253 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 921 904 983 2,418 914 4.0 3.8 4.2 10.7 4.1

At contracting establishments ......... 739 707 767 2,082 708 3.2 3.0 3.3 9.2 3.2

At closing establishments ............ 182 197 216 336 206 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.5 0.9

Net employment change .............. 131 130 -7 -1,755 451 0.6 0.6 0.0 -7.8 2.2

See footnote at end of table.

Category

Gross job gains and losses (in thousands) Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Table 3. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted —Continued

Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept.

2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,337 1,407 1,116 651 2,516 8.2 8.5 6.8 4.8 21.1

At expanding establishments ......... 1,047 1,102 864 448 2,026 6.4 6.7 5.3 3.3 17.0

At opening establishments ............ 290 305 252 203 490 1.8 1.8 1.5 1.5 4.1

Gross job losses ........................... 1,409 1,218 1,660 6,300 1,036 8.6 7.4 10.1 45.8 8.7

At contracting establishments ......... 1,175 995 1,344 5,319 778 7.2 6.0 8.2 38.7 6.5

At closing establishments ............ 234 223 316 981 258 1.4 1.4 1.9 7.1 2.2

Net employment change .............. -72 189 -544 -5,649 1,480 -0.4 1.1 -3.3 -41.0 12.4

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 299 307 283 191 529 7.0 7.1 6.6 5.0 14.8

At expanding establishments ......... 233 237 218 126 348 5.5 5.5 5.1 3.3 9.7

At opening establishments ............ 66 70 65 65 181 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.7 5.1

Gross job losses ........................... 300 279 336 1,036 264 7.0 6.5 7.9 26.9 7.4

At contracting establishments ......... 236 214 250 771 187 5.5 5.0 5.9 20.0 5.2

At closing establishments ............ 64 65 86 265 77 1.5 1.5 2.0 6.9 2.2

Net employment change .............. -1 28 -53 -845 265 0.0 0.6 -1.3 -21.9 7.4

1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.

Category

Gross job gains and losses (in thousands) Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Table 4. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

gains losses gains losses gains losses gains losses

2010 March -234 5,115 5,349 -195 2,863 3,058 -2 914 916 -37 1,338 1,375

June 664 5,805 5,141 235 3,093 2,858 204 1,071 867 225 1,641 1,416

September 226 5,525 5,299 26 2,946 2,920 87 998 911 113 1,581 1,468

December 502 5,781 5,279 92 3,051 2,959 92 1,034 942 318 1,696 1,378

2011 March 340 5,375 5,035 99 2,983 2,884 122 971 849 119 1,421 1,302

June 537 5,746 5,209 190 3,073 2,883 169 1,063 894 178 1,610 1,432

September 852 5,974 5,122 272 3,137 2,865 171 1,066 895 409 1,771 1,362

December 297 5,585 5,288 45 2,970 2,925 44 981 937 208 1,634 1,426

2012 March 972 5,904 4,932 388 3,173 2,785 220 1,054 834 364 1,677 1,313

June 612 5,828 5,216 174 3,039 2,865 158 1,074 916 280 1,715 1,435

September 226 5,581 5,355 55 2,963 2,908 54 1,006 952 117 1,612 1,495

December 637 5,779 5,142 180 3,025 2,845 94 1,014 920 363 1,740 1,377

2013 March 582 5,743 5,161 212 3,071 2,859 156 1,029 873 214 1,643 1,429

June 650 5,906 5,256 226 3,085 2,859 135 1,071 936 289 1,750 1,461

September 473 5,764 5,291 225 3,063 2,838 69 1,021 952 179 1,680 1,501

December 631 5,886 5,255 122 3,021 2,899 105 1,034 929 404 1,831 1,427

2014 March 442 5,665 5,223 231 3,070 2,839 149 1,035 886 62 1,560 1,498

June 893 6,134 5,241 302 3,178 2,876 214 1,119 905 377 1,837 1,460

September 560 5,865 5,305 197 3,064 2,867 117 1,066 949 246 1,735 1,489

December 951 6,155 5,204 212 3,105 2,893 150 1,085 935 589 1,965 1,376

2015 March 226 5,677 5,451 168 3,098 2,930 75 1,025 950 -17 1,554 1,571

June 846 6,243 5,397 323 3,196 2,873 187 1,128 941 336 1,919 1,583

September 456 5,914 5,458 148 3,057 2,909 79 1,047 968 229 1,810 1,581

December 830 6,245 5,415 227 3,172 2,945 90 1,074 984 513 1,999 1,486

2016 March 260 5,755 5,495 206 3,119 2,913 56 1,019 963 -2 1,617 1,619

June 320 6,039 5,719 71 3,122 3,051 115 1,102 987 134 1,815 1,681

September 743 6,259 5,516 185 3,155 2,970 99 1,088 989 459 2,016 1,557

December 260 5,898 5,638 64 3,065 3,001 42 1,029 987 154 1,804 1,650

2017 March 667 6,002 5,335 360 3,240 2,880 186 1,080 894 121 1,682 1,561

June 527 6,191 5,664 145 3,157 3,012 146 1,125 979 236 1,909 1,673

September -104 5,829 5,933 -115 2,997 3,112 -46 1,014 1,060 57 1,818 1,761

December 845 6,211 5,366 233 3,188 2,955 154 1,090 936 458 1,933 1,475

2018 March 741 6,067 5,326 311 3,215 2,904 160 1,067 907 270 1,785 1,515

June 439 6,178 5,739 132 3,190 3,058 151 1,130 979 156 1,858 1,702

September 25 5,979 5,954 -97 3,023 3,120 -29 1,028 1,057 151 1,928 1,777

December 712 6,119 5,407 202 3,176 2,974 146 1,083 937 364 1,860 1,496

2019 March 577 6,004 5,427 274 3,196 2,922 149 1,060 911 154 1,748 1,594

June 188 6,132 5,944 54 3,155 3,101 94 1,120 1,026 40 1,857 1,817

September -9 5,867 5,876 -20 3,041 3,061 -30 1,017 1,047 41 1,809 1,768

December 700 6,227 5,527 210 3,191 2,981 103 1,070 967 387 1,966 1,579

2020 March -581 5,593 6,174 -346 2,964 3,310 -95 966 1,061 -140 1,663 1,803

June -15,238 4,546 19,784 -4,696 2,535 7,231 -2,821 578 3,399 -7,721 1,433 9,154

September 3,919 9,403 5,484 1,438 4,438 3,000 529 1,419 890 1,952 3,546 1,594

Net 

change

Gross job

establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail. See

www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more detailed firm size class data.

Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job

NOTE: Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. Net change totals for the firm-level data differ from the

Year 3 months ended

Total private by firm1 Firm size 1 - 49 employees

1 Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by establishment, as some establishment gains 

and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. 

Firm size 50 - 249 employees Firm size 250 or more

Net 

change

Gross job
Table 5. Components of private-sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted

Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept.

2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 5,867 6,227 5,593 4,546 9,403 4.6 4.9 4.4 3.8 8.2

At expanding firms .................. 4,965 5,221 4,713 3,695 7,946 3.9 4.1 3.7 3.1 6.9

At opening firms ..................... 902 1,006 880 851 1,457 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 1.3

Gross job losses ........................ 5,876 5,527 6,174 19,784 5,484 4.7 4.4 4.9 16.5 4.7

At contracting firms ............... 5,020 4,643 5,134 17,722 4,516 4.0 3.7 4.1 14.8 3.9

At closing firms ................... 856 884 1,040 2,062 968 0.7 0.7 0.8 1.7 0.8

Net employment change ............. -9 700 -581 -15,238 3,919 -0.1 0.5 -0.5 -12.7 3.5

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 3,041 3,191 2,964 2,535 4,438 8.8 9.2 8.6 7.6 13.7

At expanding firms .................. 2,173 2,223 2,115 1,708 3,042 6.3 6.4 6.1 5.1 9.4

At opening firms ..................... 868 968 849 827 1,396 2.5 2.8 2.5 2.5 4.3

Gross job losses ........................ 3,061 2,981 3,310 7,231 3,000 8.9 8.6 9.5 21.8 9.3

At contracting firms ............... 2,232 2,137 2,327 5,317 2,072 6.5 6.2 6.7 16.0 6.4

At closing firms ................... 829 844 983 1,914 928 2.4 2.4 2.8 5.8 2.9

Net employment change ............. -20 210 -346 -4,696 1,438 -0.1 0.6 -0.9 -14.2 4.4

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,017 1,070 966 578 1,419 4.5 4.8 4.2 2.7 7.1

At expanding firms .................. 986 1,036 938 556 1,375 4.4 4.6 4.1 2.6 6.9

At opening firms ..................... 31 34 28 22 44 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2

Gross job losses ........................ 1,047 967 1,061 3,399 890 4.6 4.2 4.6 16.1 4.4

At contracting firms ............... 1,023 934 1,030 3,290 862 4.5 4.1 4.5 15.6 4.3

At closing firms ................... 24 33 31 109 28 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.1

Net employment change ............. -30 103 -95 -2,821 529 -0.1 0.6 -0.4 -13.4 2.7

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,809 1,966 1,663 1,433 3,546 2.6 2.8 2.4 2.2 5.6

At expanding firms .................. 1,806 1,962 1,660 1,431 3,529 2.6 2.8 2.4 2.2 5.6

At opening firms ..................... 3 4 3 2 17 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,768 1,579 1,803 9,154 1,594 2.6 2.3 2.6 14.0 2.5

At contracting firms ............... 1,765 1,572 1,777 9,115 1,582 2.6 2.3 2.6 13.9 2.5

At closing firms ................... 3 7 26 39 12 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0

Net employment change ............. 41 387 -140 -7,721 1,952 0.0 0.5 -0.2 -11.8 3.1

NOTE: Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. Net change totals for the firm-level data differ from the

establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail. See

www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more detailed firm size class data.

Category

Gross job gains and losses (in thousands) Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)

1 Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by establishment, as some establishment gains and 

losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. 
Table 6. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by state, seasonally adjusted

Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept.

2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020

United States 1 ............ 7,404,000 7,864,000 6,963,000 5,749,000 10,804,000 7,351,000 7,051,000 7,736,000 20,366,000 6,901,000

Alabama .................. 94,423 101,210 88,038 74,974 118,479 94,743 89,724 96,125 197,333 90,119

Alaska ..................... 24,031 25,708 22,994 15,976 26,125 25,082 25,494 23,781 56,612 21,201

Arizona .................. 158,912 161,684 142,660 142,021 188,965 122,446 131,921 151,494 288,876 148,907

Arkansas .................. 56,712 66,058 52,888 47,653 72,104 59,055 49,413 56,439 119,256 54,052

California .................. 957,511 1,033,526 922,323 751,604 1,182,443 910,802 902,580 1,016,052 2,654,391 985,422

Colorado .................. 151,336 154,775 146,864 128,725 215,277 148,249 143,528 161,908 330,236 135,875

Connecticut ............... 79,268 78,282 74,079 57,620 145,865 82,472 79,999 84,157 265,693 66,466

Delaware .................. 24,058 25,783 23,973 18,225 36,761 24,066 24,376 25,771 65,213 22,666

District of Columbia ... 29,652 28,907 28,449 16,316 38,358 28,702 25,084 28,599 111,967 26,824

Florida ..................... 510,367 518,476 427,989 454,603 685,191 446,393 463,711 482,375 1,047,754 492,778

Georgia .................. 240,087 253,759 217,790 201,768 330,323 231,298 214,268 230,425 557,304 230,867

Hawaii ..................... 29,731 30,150 27,999 17,082 29,478 27,699 27,912 31,192 141,270 51,061

Idaho ..................... 43,568 49,082 49,081 40,422 52,646 42,672 39,995 39,897 71,635 40,628

Illinois ..................... 258,724 288,093 254,939 224,118 454,452 290,410 268,919 310,548 898,646 265,795

Indiana ..................... 144,096 160,186 133,045 120,452 206,433 150,279 135,961 160,208 353,124 134,481

Iowa ........................ 68,869 76,115 68,219 56,059 90,872 73,909 71,270 77,348 163,360 67,444

Kansas ..................... 64,305 72,463 62,633 55,975 85,160 64,958 65,013 68,682 146,615 64,265

Kentucky .................. 94,832 100,449 85,377 70,624 132,030 91,725 89,006 97,894 234,102 75,229

Louisiana .................. 95,554 94,925 84,883 66,839 126,510 98,111 92,085 100,952 253,572 101,773

Maine ..................... 34,024 38,413 33,604 26,670 57,283 38,081 36,140 36,819 107,675 28,627

Maryland .................. 135,677 141,093 124,904 97,171 215,737 139,786 128,868 148,152 450,701 117,299

Massachusetts ............ 168,415 187,728 165,169 109,590 348,934 187,880 177,913 193,240 714,130 156,162

Michigan .................. 192,884 218,726 189,764 141,099 366,039 221,284 199,952 215,440 731,502 160,093

Minnesota ............... 134,330 146,583 125,105 100,747 204,520 143,662 139,721 141,062 418,254 123,659

Mississippi ............... 50,622 56,241 49,812 43,906 73,809 52,011 50,181 56,733 111,502 46,600

Missouri .................. 139,066 149,173 123,536 108,508 189,201 138,282 126,959 138,015 330,131 125,593

Montana .................. 28,367 33,231 29,990 25,718 36,443 29,594 27,933 30,358 52,250 26,800

Nebraska .................. 46,815 51,291 47,643 38,885 63,100 45,346 46,946 49,831 96,697 45,538

Nevada ..................... 75,765 85,282 67,736 61,256 135,413 69,258 63,901 79,198 335,465 67,865

New Hampshire ......... 33,686 38,739 35,160 25,214 63,135 38,396 34,427 37,525 103,320 27,580

New Jersey ............... 211,609 229,606 202,323 150,045 485,419 218,949 204,729 222,150 913,602 179,780

New Mexico ............ 44,494 45,847 40,322 27,987 49,296 39,997 41,643 42,675 109,424 35,506

New York ............... 469,675 480,529 442,737 292,303 922,619 482,643 465,753 515,065 1,980,764 403,504

North Carolina ............ 218,043 235,197 223,550 177,537 304,808 224,248 203,674 218,100 530,511 199,290

North Dakota ............ 23,085 23,552 24,097 17,558 28,073 24,976 23,417 24,502 57,565 21,946

Ohio ........................ 253,121 269,713 239,254 203,875 336,532 275,676 249,121 264,866 649,821 229,215

Oklahoma ............... 82,603 83,429 69,577 70,388 81,961 80,343 80,887 85,430 153,017 77,487

Oregon ..................... 103,032 111,629 104,027 80,081 136,837 102,740 96,963 108,302 293,842 94,862

Pennsylvania ............ 275,857 283,898 261,356 177,105 484,981 272,037 255,290 296,782 896,709 236,671

Rhode Island ............ 25,104 27,573 25,545 17,767 48,603 26,536 25,146 27,474 99,270 19,548

South Carolina ............ 106,943 115,720 97,016 85,686 145,478 103,035 104,081 116,474 252,231 101,812

South Dakota ............ 20,692 22,892 21,343 17,737 29,098 21,235 20,534 23,763 40,034 18,890

Tennessee ............... 143,410 147,817 128,960 112,366 198,611 134,154 132,149 140,158 348,495 132,538

Texas ..................... 621,816 646,101 544,673 491,404 720,901 569,866 548,150 598,020 1,408,500 599,452

Utah ........................ 87,882 87,902 85,420 83,499 114,545 80,452 81,579 83,326 137,995 78,072

Vermont .................. 16,048 17,695 14,932 10,825 27,757 19,565 16,345 19,399 43,790 12,947

Virginia .................. 177,767 211,840 181,461 144,619 303,716 200,915 177,757 196,921 559,570 157,202

Washington ............... 174,815 190,519 216,627 137,589 234,423 175,064 167,332 215,647 466,763 164,790

West Virginia ............ 32,234 34,064 32,860 26,456 44,344 37,364 39,055 37,162 72,219 35,357

Wisconsin ............... 120,219 136,067 126,388 105,476 177,683 146,059 124,896 132,770 347,883 119,583

Wyoming .................. 17,931 19,831 18,182 12,961 20,326 18,641 18,365 19,707 36,242 14,628

Puerto Rico ............... 40,432 36,994 34,391 26,094 69,247 37,460 33,546 35,428 109,540 32,421

Virgin Islands ............ 3,268 2,927 2,087 1,434 2,018 1,754 2,086 2,389 5,288 2,981

1 The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.

NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

State

Gross job gains 

(3 months ended)

Gross job losses

(3 months ended)
Table 7. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted

Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept.

2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020

United States .......................... 5.9 6.2 5.5 4.8 9.4 5.8 5.5 6.1 17.0 6.0

Alabama ............................. 5.8 6.2 5.5 4.8 7.8 5.9 5.5 5.9 12.6 5.9

Alaska ................................. 9.6 10.3 9.2 6.9 12.2 10.1 10.2 9.5 24.5 9.9

Arizona ............................... 6.3 6.4 5.6 5.7 7.9 4.9 5.2 5.9 11.7 6.2

Arkansas .............................. 5.6 6.5 5.1 4.8 7.5 5.8 4.9 5.5 12.0 5.6

California ........................... 6.3 6.8 6.1 5.2 8.7 6.0 6.0 6.7 18.6 7.3

Colorado .............................. 6.6 6.7 6.3 5.8 10.0 6.4 6.2 7.0 14.9 6.3

Connecticut ......................... 5.5 5.5 5.2 4.3 11.2 5.8 5.6 5.9 19.7 5.1

Delaware .............................. 6.2 6.7 6.2 4.9 10.3 6.3 6.2 6.6 17.7 6.3

District of Columbia ............... 5.5 5.4 5.2 3.3 8.3 5.3 4.7 5.3 22.4 5.8

Florida ................................. 6.6 6.6 5.4 6.1 9.5 5.8 5.9 6.2 13.9 6.8

Georgia .............................. 6.2 6.5 5.6 5.4 9.2 6.0 5.5 5.9 15.0 6.4

Hawaii ............................... 5.6 5.7 5.2 3.6 7.4 5.2 5.2 5.8 29.8 12.7

Idaho .................................... 7.0 7.7 7.6 6.4 8.4 6.8 6.3 6.1 11.2 6.5

Illinois ................................ 5.0 5.6 5.0 4.6 9.7 5.6 5.2 6.0 18.4 5.6

Indiana ............................... 5.4 6.0 4.9 4.7 8.3 5.6 5.1 6.0 13.7 5.4

Iowa .................................... 5.3 5.8 5.2 4.4 7.4 5.7 5.5 5.9 13.0 5.6

Kansas ................................. 5.6 6.3 5.4 5.0 7.9 5.7 5.7 6.0 13.3 6.0

Kentucky .............................. 5.9 6.2 5.3 4.6 8.8 5.7 5.6 6.1 15.3 5.0

Louisiana .............................. 5.9 5.9 5.3 4.5 8.8 6.1 5.7 6.3 16.9 7.2

Maine ................................ 6.5 7.3 6.4 5.4 12.0 7.3 6.9 7.0 21.7 6.0

Maryland ............................ 6.2 6.4 5.7 4.7 11.0 6.3 5.9 6.7 21.9 5.9

Massachusetts ....................... 5.3 5.8 5.2 3.7 12.5 5.9 5.6 6.0 24.2 5.6

Michigan ............................. 5.1 5.8 5.0 4.0 10.9 5.9 5.3 5.7 20.7 4.8

Minnesota ........................... 5.4 5.8 5.0 4.3 9.0 5.8 5.6 5.6 17.6 5.4

Mississippi ........................... 5.7 6.2 5.6 5.1 8.7 5.7 5.6 6.2 12.9 5.5

Missouri .............................. 5.8 6.2 5.2 4.7 8.5 5.8 5.3 5.7 14.3 5.7

Montana ............................... 7.4 8.6 7.7 6.8 9.9 7.7 7.2 7.7 13.8 7.2

Nebraska .............................. 5.7 6.2 5.8 4.9 8.1 5.5 5.8 6.1 12.1 5.9

Nevada ............................... 6.1 6.8 5.4 5.3 12.8 5.5 5.0 6.3 29.2 6.4

New Hampshire ..................... 5.8 6.6 6.0 4.5 11.9 6.6 6.0 6.4 18.8 5.1

New Jersey ........................... 6.0 6.5 5.7 4.6 15.7 6.2 5.8 6.3 28.1 5.8

New Mexico ........................ 6.8 7.0 6.1 4.5 8.3 6.1 6.3 6.5 17.6 6.0

New York ........................... 5.8 6.0 5.5 3.9 13.3 5.9 5.7 6.4 26.9 5.9

North Carolina ........................ 5.8 6.3 5.8 4.8 8.5 6.0 5.4 5.7 14.5 5.6

North Dakota ........................ 6.5 6.7 6.8 5.2 8.8 7.1 6.6 7.0 17.2 6.9

Ohio .................................... 5.3 5.7 5.1 4.5 7.7 5.9 5.3 5.6 14.4 5.3

Oklahoma ........................... 6.4 6.5 5.4 5.6 6.8 6.2 6.2 6.7 12.3 6.4

Oregon ................................. 6.2 6.7 6.2 5.0 9.0 6.2 5.8 6.5 18.4 6.2

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.2 5.4 4.9 3.6 10.3 5.1 4.9 5.6 18.2 5.0

Rhode Island ........................ 6.0 6.5 6.1 4.5 12.9 6.2 5.9 6.5 25.2 5.3

South Carolina ........................ 6.0 6.5 5.5 5.1 8.8 5.9 5.9 6.6 14.9 6.1

South Dakota ........................ 5.9 6.4 6.0 5.1 8.6 6.0 5.8 6.6 11.6 5.5

Tennessee ........................... 5.5 5.7 4.9 4.4 8.1 5.1 5.0 5.3 13.7 5.4

Texas ................................. 5.9 6.0 5.0 4.7 7.2 5.3 5.1 5.5 13.6 6.0

Utah .................................... 6.8 6.8 6.6 6.5 9.1 6.3 6.3 6.4 10.9 6.2

Vermont .............................. 6.3 6.9 5.8 4.6 12.3 7.6 6.4 7.6 18.5 5.7

Virginia .............................. 5.5 6.5 5.6 4.7 10.2 6.3 5.5 6.1 18.2 5.3

Washington ........................... 6.1 6.6 7.4 4.9 8.9 6.1 5.8 7.4 16.9 6.2

West Virginia ........................ 5.9 6.2 6.0 5.1 8.8 6.7 7.1 6.8 13.8 7.0

Wisconsin ........................... 4.8 5.4 5.0 4.4 7.6 5.9 5.0 5.3 14.4 5.2

Wyoming .............................. 8.6 9.4 8.6 6.4 10.7 8.9 8.7 9.3 18.1 7.7

Puerto Rico ........................... 5.9 5.4 5.0 4.0 11.0 5.5 4.9 5.2 16.9 5.1

Virgin Islands ........................ 12.0 10.3 7.2 5.3 8.4 6.4 7.3 8.3 19.8 12.3

NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

State

Gross job gains as a percent of employment Gross job losses as a percent of employment

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Table 8. Private-sector establishment births and deaths, seasonally adjusted

(Levels in thousands)

Level Rate 2 Level Rate Level Rate Level Rate

2010 March 193 2.7 211 3.0 706 0.7 687 0.7

June 193 2.7 202 2.9 730 0.7 665 0.6

September 207 2.9 204 2.9 754 0.7 701 0.7

December 216 3.0 201 2.8 805 0.8 700 0.7

2011 March 204 2.9 200 2.8 715 0.7 632 0.6

June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 0.7 689 0.6

September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 0.7 675 0.6

December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 0.7 700 0.6

2012 March 236 3.3 188 2.6 787 0.7 614 0.6

June 217 3.0 194 2.7 799 0.7 673 0.6

September 210 2.9 196 2.7 804 0.7 692 0.6

December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 0.7 673 0.6

2013 March 205 2.8 193 2.6 748 0.7 648 0.6

June 222 3.0 215 2.9 789 0.7 695 0.6

September 219 2.9 195 2.6 818 0.7 678 0.6

December 215 2.9 187 2.5 803 0.7 670 0.6

2014 March 220 2.9 190 2.5 784 0.7 635 0.6

June 221 2.9 204 2.7 806 0.7 711 0.6

September 225 3.0 199 2.6 825 0.7 703 0.6

December 224 2.9 198 2.6 836 0.7 705 0.6

2015 March 233 3.0 207 2.7 818 0.7 696 0.6

June 234 3.1 211 2.8 838 0.7 728 0.6

September 243 3.2 207 2.7 881 0.7 699 0.6

December 247 3.2 209 2.7 892 0.7 733 0.6

2016 March 235 3.0 204 2.6 788 0.7 670 0.6

June 241 3.1 213 2.7 838 0.7 720 0.6

September 240 3.1 214 2.7 872 0.7 745 0.6

December 239 3.0 217 2.8 868 0.7 727 0.6

2017 March 242 3.0 203 2.6 802 0.7 664 0.5

June 240 3.0 224 2.8 849 0.7 755 0.6

September 243 3.0 225 2.8 851 0.7 760 0.6

December 245 3.1 216 2.7 853 0.7 731 0.6

2018 March 248 3.1 214 2.7 812 0.7 664 0.5

June 264 3.3 231 2.9 879 0.7 772 0.6

September 252 3.1 231 2.8 868 0.7 786 0.6

December 249 3.1 222 2.7 861 0.7 762 0.6

2019 March 260 3.2 219 2.7 806 0.6 694 0.6

June 255 3.1 241 2.9 848 0.7 810 0.6

September 252 3.1 233 2.8 850 0.7 769 0.6

December 268 3.2 235 2.8 907 0.7 790 0.6

2020 March 280 3.4 N/A N/A 800 0.6 N/A N/A

June 225 2.7 N/A N/A 659 0.5 N/A N/A

September 276 3.4 N/A N/A 820 0.7 N/A N/A

1 Values for deaths are not available for the most recent three quarters. See the Technical Note for more information.

2 The rates measure births and deaths as a percentage of the average of the previous and current quarter employment levels or total number of establishments

Year 3 months ended

Number of Establishments Employment

Births Deaths 1 Births Deaths