For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, July 25, 2018 USDL-18-1210 

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

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

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FOURTH QUARTER 2017

From September 2017 to December 2017, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector 

establishments were 7.8 million, an increase of 537,000 jobs gained over the quarter, the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting privatesector establishments were 6.8 million, a decrease of 602,000 jobs lost 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 999,000 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2017. (See chart 1, 

and tables A and 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 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

Gross job losses

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

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

March 2007 - December 2017

Thousands

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

Gross Job Gains 

In the fourth quarter of 2017, gross job gains represented 6.4 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 

6.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, an increase of 426,000 compared to the previous quarter. 

Opening establishments accounted for 1.4 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2017, an 

increase of 111,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 2 and 3, and tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) 

Gross Job Losses

In the fourth quarter of 2017, gross job losses represented 5.5 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 fourth quarter of 

2017, a decrease of 576,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2017, closing

establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, a decrease of 26,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 2 

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

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the fourth quarter of 2017, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data) 

increased by 4,000, to a total of 244,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for 

849,000 jobs, an increase of 12,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a 

subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2017, when 660,000 jobs were lost 

at 202,000 establishments, a decrease of 69,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2016. (See Technical 

Note and table 8.) 

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 12 of 13 industries in the fourth quarter of 2017. The 

service-providing industries experienced a net job increase of 802,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2017. 

Within service-providing industries, professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter 

net job increase, with a gain of 175,000 jobs. The net job increase in professional and business services 

was the result of 1.5 million gross job gains and 1.3 million gross job losses. The utilities industry had 

the smallest net job increase over the quarter, with an increase of 1,000 jobs. The goods-producing 

industries experienced a net job increase of 197,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2017. Of the goodsproducing industries, construction added 105,000 jobs, manufacturing added 94,000 jobs, and natural 

resources and mining experienced a net decrease of 2,000 jobs. (See table 3.) 

Expansions

Contractions

4,500

5,500

6,500

7,500

'07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17

Chart 2. Private sector gross job gains at expanding establishments 

and gross job losses at contracting establishments, seasonally 

adjusted: March 2007 - December 2017

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents NBER defined recession period.

Openings

Closings

1,100

1,200

1,300

1,400

1,500

1,600

'07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17

Chart 3. Private sector gross job gains at opening establishments 

and gross job losses at closing establishments, seasonally 

adjusted: March 2007 - December 2017

Thousands

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

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

Category

3 months ended

Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.

2016 2017 2017 2017 2017

Levels (in thousands)

Gross job gains................................... 7,455 7,328 7,604 7,256 7,793

 At expanding establishments...... 6,040 6,019 6,246 5,935 6,361

 At opening establishments.......... 1,415 1,309 1,358 1,321 1,432

Gross job losses................................. 7,065 6,674 7,128 7,396 6,794

 At contracting establishments.... 5,760 5,521 5,879 6,082 5,506

 At closing establishments........... 1,305 1,153 1,249 1,314 1,288

Net employment change1.................. 390 654 476 -140 999

Rates (percent)

Gross job gains................................... 6.2 6.0 6.2 6.0 6.4

 At expanding establishments...... 5.0 4.9 5.1 4.9 5.2

 At opening establishments.......... 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses................................. 5.9 5.4 5.8 6.1 5.5

 At contracting establishments.... 4.8 4.5 4.8 5.0 4.5

 At closing establishments........... 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.0

Net employment change1.................. 0.3 0.6 0.4 -0.1 0.9

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.

Firm Size

In the fourth quarter of 2017, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 245,000. Firms 

with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 165,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a 

net employment gain of 501,000. Of the 1.9 million net jobs created over the last four quarters, firms 

with 1-49 employees contributed 30.4 percent of net job growth, while firms with 50-249 employees 

contributed 24.0 percent, and firms with 250 or more employees contributed 45.6 percent. (See tables 4 

and 5.) 

States

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 49 states and the District of Columbia in the fourth quarter 

of 2017. Alaska had the highest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 9.4 percent, above 

the U.S. rate of 6.4 percent. Hawaii had the lowest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 

5.1 percent. The Virgin Islands had the highest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 

24.1 percent, above the national rate of 5.5 percent. Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee had the lowest 

rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 4.9 percent each. (See tables 6 and 7.) 
- 4 - 

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 frequently asked questions 

on firm size data. 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 First Quarter 2018 are scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data 

Data in the next release, published on Wednesday, November 7, 2018, will incorporate annual revisions 

to the BED series. Annual revisions are published each year with the release of first quarter data. These 

revisions will cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally 

adjusted data.
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. 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.

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

QCEW BED CES

Source Count of UI administrative records 

submitted by 9.9 million establishments 

Count of longitudinally-linked UI administrative records submitted by 

7.9 million private-sector establishments

Sample survey: 634,000 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 lossesUses 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, 

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/
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 (QCEW), Business Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)—

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 7.9 million private sector employer reports 

out of 9.9 million total reports of employment and wages submitted 

by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2017. 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 2017. 

Number of active establishments included in

Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level

 Millions

Total establishments QCEW program..........9.9 

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

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

 Zero employment.................1.5 

 

Total establishments included in Business

Employment Dynamics data.....................7.9 

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 (CES) 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 (JOLTS) 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: 1 (800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

2007 March 584 7,815 6,331 1,484 7,231 5,894 1,337

June 132 7,647 6,205 1,442 7,515 6,084 1,431

September -209 7,376 5,870 1,506 7,585 6,190 1,395

December 268 7,687 6,181 1,506 7,419 6,040 1,379

2008 March -199 7,320 5,860 1,460 7,519 6,111 1,408

June -593 7,281 5,833 1,448 7,874 6,363 1,511

September -913 6,944 5,535 1,409 7,857 6,436 1,421

December -1,838 6,738 5,345 1,393 8,576 7,056 1,520

2009 March -2,680 5,918 4,675 1,243 8,598 7,142 1,456

June -1,667 6,425 5,080 1,345 8,092 6,674 1,418

September -849 6,399 5,139 1,260 7,248 5,854 1,394

December -264 6,665 5,308 1,357 6,929 5,605 1,324

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 560 6,933 5,701 1,232 6,373 5,194 1,179

June 674 7,155 5,834 1,321 6,481 5,275 1,206

September 476 7,048 5,708 1,340 6,572 5,425 1,147

December 717 7,267 5,936 1,331 6,550 5,346 1,204

2014 March 433 6,947 5,680 1,267 6,514 5,365 1,149

June 884 7,459 6,118 1,341 6,575 5,355 1,220

September 522 7,226 5,900 1,326 6,704 5,516 1,188

December 1,084 7,642 6,268 1,374 6,558 5,323 1,235

2015 March 226 7,032 5,722 1,310 6,806 5,606 1,200

June 833 7,589 6,245 1,344 6,756 5,563 1,193

September 414 7,324 5,964 1,360 6,910 5,695 1,215

December 1,010 7,851 6,387 1,464 6,841 5,573 1,268

2016 March 256 7,139 5,855 1,284 6,883 5,685 1,198

June 296 7,453 6,083 1,370 7,157 5,847 1,310

September 681 7,689 6,232 1,457 7,008 5,760 1,248

December 390 7,455 6,040 1,415 7,065 5,760 1,305

2017 March 654 7,328 6,019 1,309 6,674 5,521 1,153

June 476 7,604 6,246 1,358 7,128 5,879 1,249

September -140 7,256 5,935 1,321 7,396 6,082 1,314

December 999 7,793 6,361 1,432 6,794 5,506 1,288

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

2007 March 0.5 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.4 5.2 1.2

June 0.1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3

September -0.2 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2

December 0.2 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2008 March -0.1 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

June -0.5 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.9 5.6 1.3

September -0.9 6.1 4.9 1.2 7.0 5.7 1.3

December -1.7 6.0 4.8 1.2 7.7 6.3 1.4

2009 March -2.4 5.4 4.3 1.1 7.8 6.5 1.3

June -1.5 6.0 4.7 1.3 7.5 6.2 1.3

September -0.8 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.8 5.5 1.3

December -0.3 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3

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 0.7 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

September 0.4 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.8 4.8 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 0.4 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.8 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2016 March 0.3 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.7 4.7 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 0.6 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.4 4.5 0.9

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 0.9 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.5 4.5 1.0

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

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

2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................ 7,455 7,328 7,604 7,256 7,793 6.2 6.0 6.2 6.0 6.4

At expanding establishments ...... 6,040 6,019 6,246 5,935 6,361 5.0 4.9 5.1 4.9 5.2

At opening establishments ......... 1,415 1,309 1,358 1,321 1,432 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses ........................ 7,065 6,674 7,128 7,396 6,794 5.9 5.4 5.8 6.1 5.5

At contracting establishments ... 5,760 5,521 5,879 6,082 5,506 4.8 4.5 4.8 5.0 4.5

At closing establishments ......... 1,305 1,153 1,249 1,314 1,288 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.0

Net employment change ............. 390 654 476 -140 999 0.3 0.6 0.4 -0.1 0.9

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................ 1,319 1,394 1,394 1,257 1,419 6.3 6.6 6.6 5.9 6.6

At expanding establishments ...... 1,126 1,206 1,207 1,079 1,218 5.4 5.7 5.7 5.1 5.7

At opening establishments ......... 193 188 187 178 201 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9

Gross job losses ........................ 1,297 1,191 1,277 1,326 1,222 6.2 5.7 6.0 6.3 5.7

At contracting establishments ... 1,101 1,009 1,081 1,121 1,032 5.3 4.8 5.1 5.3 4.8

At closing establishments ......... 196 182 196 205 190 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9

Net employment change ............. 22 203 117 -69 197 0.1 0.9 0.6 -0.4 0.9

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................ 252 287 270 251 254 13.6 15.3 14.3 13.4 13.4

At expanding establishments ...... 220 253 238 219 222 11.9 13.5 12.6 11.7 11.7

At opening establishments ......... 32 34 32 32 32 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7

Gross job losses ........................ 269 232 258 240 256 14.6 12.4 13.7 12.8 13.5

At contracting establishments ... 238 199 221 210 226 12.9 10.6 11.7 11.2 11.9

At closing establishments ......... 31 33 37 30 30 1.7 1.8 2.0 1.6 1.6

Net employment change ............. -17 55 12 11 -2 -1.0 2.9 0.6 0.6 -0.1

Construction

Gross job gains ........................ 654 707 680 613 708 9.7 10.3 9.8 8.9 10.2

At expanding establishments ...... 533 584 562 501 577 7.9 8.5 8.1 7.3 8.3

At opening establishments ......... 121 123 118 112 131 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.9

Gross job losses ........................ 635 582 634 662 603 9.5 8.5 9.1 9.6 8.7

At contracting establishments ... 515 474 521 537 488 7.7 6.9 7.5 7.8 7.0

At closing establishments ......... 120 108 113 125 115 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.7

Net employment change ............. 19 125 46 -49 105 0.2 1.8 0.7 -0.7 1.5

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................ 413 400 444 393 457 3.3 3.3 3.6 3.2 3.7

At expanding establishments ...... 373 369 407 359 419 3.0 3.0 3.3 2.9 3.4

At opening establishments ......... 40 31 37 34 38 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Gross job losses ........................ 393 377 385 424 363 3.2 3.0 3.1 3.4 3.0

At contracting establishments ... 348 336 339 374 318 2.8 2.7 2.7 3.0 2.6

At closing establishments ......... 45 41 46 50 45 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4

Net employment change ............. 20 23 59 -31 94 0.1 0.3 0.5 -0.2 0.7

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................ 6,136 5,934 6,210 5,999 6,374 6.1 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.3

At expanding establishments ...... 4,914 4,813 5,039 4,856 5,143 4.9 4.8 5.0 4.8 5.1

At opening establishments ......... 1,222 1,121 1,171 1,143 1,231 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses ........................ 5,768 5,483 5,851 6,070 5,572 5.8 5.5 5.8 6.0 5.5

At contracting establishments ... 4,659 4,512 4,798 4,961 4,474 4.7 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.4

At closing establishments ......... 1,109 971 1,053 1,109 1,098 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1

Net employment change ............. 368 451 359 -71 802 0.3 0.4 0.4 -0.1 0.8

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................ 272 263 282 265 280 4.6 4.4 4.8 4.5 4.8

At expanding establishments ...... 225 220 236 223 235 3.8 3.7 4.0 3.8 4.0

At opening establishments ......... 47 43 46 42 45 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8

Gross job losses ........................ 256 249 246 268 247 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.5 4.2

At contracting establishments ... 201 196 194 213 193 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.6 3.3

At closing establishments ......... 55 53 52 55 54 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9

Net employment change ............. 16 14 36 -3 33 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.0 0.6

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

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

2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................ 895 927 920 875 899 5.6 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.7

At expanding establishments ...... 777 805 797 754 789 4.9 5.1 5.0 4.7 5.0

At opening establishments ......... 118 122 123 121 110 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7

Gross job losses ........................ 923 881 924 977 887 5.9 5.6 5.8 6.1 5.6

At contracting establishments ... 803 775 799 849 774 5.1 4.9 5.0 5.3 4.9

At closing establishments ......... 120 106 125 128 113 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7

Net employment change ............. -28 46 -4 -102 12 -0.3 0.3 0.0 -0.6 0.1

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................ 383 245 266 305 388 7.8 5.0 5.4 6.2 7.7

At expanding establishments ...... 339 215 231 266 343 6.9 4.4 4.7 5.4 6.8

At opening establishments ......... 44 30 35 39 45 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

Gross job losses ........................ 232 323 253 232 228 4.8 6.6 5.2 4.6 4.5

At contracting establishments ... 194 290 216 195 188 4.0 5.9 4.4 3.9 3.7

At closing establishments ......... 38 33 37 37 40 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8

Net employment change ............. 151 -78 13 73 160 3.0 -1.6 0.2 1.6 3.2

Utilities

Gross job gains ........................ 12 11 12 11 12 2.2 2.0 2.2 2.0 2.2

At expanding establishments ...... 10 10 11 10 11 1.8 1.8 2.0 1.8 2.0

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

Gross job losses ........................ 13 10 13 13 11 2.4 1.8 2.4 2.4 2.0

At contracting establishments ... 11 9 12 12 10 2.0 1.6 2.2 2.2 1.8

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

Net employment change ............. -1 1 -1 -2 1 -0.2 0.2 -0.2 -0.4 0.2

 Information

Gross job gains ........................ 142 142 157 151 150 5.1 5.1 5.6 5.4 5.3

At expanding establishments ...... 115 120 132 125 124 4.1 4.3 4.7 4.5 4.4

At opening establishments ......... 27 22 25 26 26 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9

Gross job losses ........................ 150 139 191 153 142 5.3 4.9 6.8 5.5 5.1

At contracting establishments ... 121 116 166 129 114 4.3 4.1 5.9 4.6 4.1

At closing establishments ......... 29 23 25 24 28 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0

Net employment change ............. -8 3 -34 -2 8 -0.2 0.2 -1.2 -0.1 0.2

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................ 382 353 390 370 384 4.8 4.4 4.8 4.6 4.8

At expanding establishments ...... 298 289 315 298 298 3.7 3.6 3.9 3.7 3.7

At opening establishments ......... 84 64 75 72 86 1.1 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.1

Gross job losses ........................ 356 336 343 362 368 4.4 4.2 4.2 4.5 4.6

At contracting establishments ... 274 262 267 283 282 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.5 3.5

At closing establishments ......... 82 74 76 79 86 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.1

Net employment change ............. 26 17 47 8 16 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.1 0.2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................ 1,395 1,285 1,437 1,363 1,480 7.0 6.3 7.0 6.7 7.2

At expanding establishments ...... 1,121 1,058 1,185 1,120 1,206 5.6 5.2 5.8 5.5 5.9

At opening establishments ......... 274 227 252 243 274 1.4 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3

Gross job losses ........................ 1,359 1,265 1,331 1,390 1,305 6.7 6.3 6.6 6.8 6.4

At contracting establishments ... 1,075 1,026 1,074 1,117 1,022 5.3 5.1 5.3 5.5 5.0

At closing establishments ......... 284 239 257 273 283 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4

Net employment change ............. 36 20 106 -27 175 0.3 0.0 0.4 -0.1 0.8

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................ 966 948 983 981 980 4.4 4.3 4.5 4.5 4.4

At expanding establishments ...... 774 786 812 814 802 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.6

At opening establishments ......... 192 162 171 167 178 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8

Gross job losses ........................ 905 813 901 903 861 4.1 3.7 4.1 4.1 3.8

At contracting establishments ... 709 656 729 724 676 3.2 3.0 3.3 3.3 3.0

At closing establishments ......... 196 157 172 179 185 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8

Net employment change ............. 61 135 82 78 119 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.6

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

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

2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................ 1,308 1,321 1,333 1,277 1,371 8.4 8.4 8.4 8.0 8.6

At expanding establishments ...... 1,016 1,054 1,054 1,003 1,085 6.5 6.7 6.6 6.3 6.8

At opening establishments ......... 292 267 279 274 286 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.8

Gross job losses ........................ 1,240 1,149 1,324 1,424 1,212 8.0 7.2 8.3 9.0 7.6

At contracting establishments ... 1,027 955 1,106 1,187 993 6.6 6.0 6.9 7.5 6.2

At closing establishments ......... 213 194 218 237 219 1.4 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.4

Net employment change ............. 68 172 9 -147 159 0.4 1.2 0.1 -1.0 1.0

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................ 281 286 306 278 292 6.8 6.9 7.4 6.7 7.1

At expanding establishments ...... 219 228 243 220 231 5.3 5.5 5.9 5.3 5.6

At opening establishments ......... 62 58 63 58 61 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.5

Gross job losses ........................ 293 272 281 304 272 7.1 6.6 6.8 7.3 6.6

At contracting establishments ... 231 212 220 238 210 5.6 5.1 5.3 5.7 5.1

At closing establishments ......... 62 60 61 66 62 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.5

Net employment change ............. -12 14 25 -26 20 -0.3 0.3 0.6 -0.6 0.5

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

2007 March 478 6,333 5,855 173 3,445 3,272 98 1,158 1,060 207 1,730 1,523

June 163 6,239 6,076 -33 3,330 3,363 99 1,171 1,072 97 1,738 1,641

September -215 5,920 6,135 -116 3,263 3,379 -34 1,079 1,113 -65 1,578 1,643

December 270 6,251 5,981 10 3,317 3,307 56 1,139 1,083 204 1,795 1,591

2008 March -274 5,831 6,105 -152 3,235 3,387 -11 1,079 1,090 -111 1,517 1,628

June -548 5,850 6,398 -287 3,174 3,461 -44 1,090 1,134 -217 1,586 1,803

September -956 5,532 6,488 -343 3,051 3,394 -140 1,020 1,160 -473 1,461 1,934

December -1,886 5,338 7,224 -689 2,910 3,599 -375 947 1,322 -822 1,481 2,303

2009 March -2,638 4,617 7,255 -983 2,721 3,704 -616 810 1,426 -1,039 1,086 2,125

June -1,763 5,169 6,932 -474 2,946 3,420 -281 950 1,231 -1,008 1,273 2,281

September -906 5,164 6,070 -372 2,826 3,198 -110 932 1,042 -424 1,406 1,830

December -317 5,403 5,720 -159 2,940 3,099 -45 962 1,007 -113 1,501 1,614

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 588 5,743 5,155 221 3,078 2,857 155 1,027 872 212 1,638 1,426

June 649 5,912 5,263 221 3,084 2,863 137 1,074 937 291 1,754 1,463

September 439 5,748 5,309 208 3,054 2,846 62 1,017 955 169 1,677 1,508

December 651 5,894 5,243 131 3,026 2,895 108 1,036 928 412 1,832 1,420

2014 March 459 5,662 5,203 248 3,077 2,829 153 1,034 881 58 1,551 1,493

June 888 6,142 5,254 299 3,179 2,880 216 1,123 907 373 1,840 1,467

September 502 5,845 5,343 168 3,051 2,883 102 1,058 956 232 1,736 1,504

December 987 6,166 5,179 225 3,111 2,886 157 1,087 930 605 1,968 1,363

2015 March 237 5,664 5,427 181 3,102 2,921 79 1,022 943 -23 1,540 1,563

June 834 6,256 5,422 316 3,197 2,881 189 1,135 946 329 1,924 1,595

September 381 5,884 5,503 113 3,038 2,925 59 1,038 979 209 1,808 1,599

December 895 6,270 5,375 250 3,183 2,933 101 1,078 977 544 2,009 1,465

2016 March 273 5,743 5,470 220 3,124 2,904 60 1,015 955 -7 1,604 1,611

June 300 6,051 5,751 64 3,125 3,061 116 1,109 993 120 1,817 1,697

September 665 6,229 5,564 147 3,135 2,988 80 1,080 1,000 438 2,014 1,576

December 326 5,920 5,594 88 3,076 2,988 52 1,033 981 186 1,811 1,625

2017 March 686 5,952 5,266 369 3,206 2,837 197 1,077 880 120 1,669 1,549

June 511 6,193 5,682 143 3,135 2,992 153 1,133 980 215 1,925 1,710

September -197 5,786 5,983 -176 2,948 3,124 -57 1,010 1,067 36 1,828 1,792

December 911 6,214 5,303 245 3,174 2,929 165 1,094 929 501 1,946 1,445

NOTE: See http://www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more detailed firm size class data

Gross job

3 Net change totals for the firm-level data differ from the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment.

Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job

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. 

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

Year 3 months ended

Total private by firm1 Firm size 1 - 49 employees Firm size 50 - 249 employees Firm size 250 or more

Net 

change2,3

Gross job Net 

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

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

2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ..................... 5,920 5,952 6,193 5,786 6,214 4.9 4.9 5.0 4.7 5.1

At expanding firms ............ 4,976 5,026 5,302 4,933 5,261 4.1 4.1 4.3 4.0 4.3

At opening firms ............... 944 926 891 853 953 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8

Gross job losses ..................... 5,594 5,266 5,682 5,983 5,303 4.6 4.4 4.7 4.9 4.3

At contracting firms ............ 4,734 4,442 4,847 5,083 4,434 3.9 3.7 4.0 4.2 3.6

At closing firms .................. 860 824 835 900 869 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7

Net employment change ............ 326 686 511 -197 911 0.3 0.5 0.3 -0.2 0.8

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ..................... 3,076 3,206 3,135 2,948 3,174 9.1 9.4 9.2 8.7 9.3

At expanding firms ............ 2,171 2,316 2,288 2,131 2,258 6.4 6.8 6.7 6.3 6.6

At opening firms ............... 905 890 847 817 916 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.7

Gross job losses ..................... 2,988 2,837 2,992 3,124 2,929 8.8 8.3 8.8 9.2 8.6

At contracting firms ............ 2,163 2,042 2,187 2,260 2,096 6.4 6.0 6.4 6.7 6.2

At closing firms .................. 825 795 805 864 833 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.4

Net employment change ............ 88 369 143 -176 245 0.3 1.1 0.4 -0.5 0.7

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ..................... 1,033 1,077 1,133 1,010 1,094 4.8 4.9 5.2 4.5 4.9

At expanding firms ............ 997 1,046 1,095 978 1,061 4.6 4.8 5.0 4.4 4.8

At opening firms ............... 36 31 38 32 33 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1

Gross job losses ..................... 981 880 980 1,067 929 4.5 4.0 4.4 4.8 4.2

At contracting firms ............ 951 854 954 1,037 897 4.4 3.9 4.3 4.7 4.1

At closing firms .................. 30 26 26 30 32 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

Net employment change ............ 52 197 153 -57 165 0.3 0.9 0.8 -0.3 0.7

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ..................... 1,811 1,669 1,925 1,828 1,946 2.8 2.5 2.9 2.8 2.9

At expanding firms ............ 1,808 1,664 1,919 1,824 1,942 2.8 2.5 2.9 2.8 2.9

At opening firms ............... 3 5 6 4 4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Gross job losses ..................... 1,625 1,549 1,710 1,792 1,445 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.2

At contracting firms ............ 1,620 1,546 1,706 1,786 1,441 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.2

At closing firms .................. 5 3 4 6 4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Net employment change ............ 186 120 215 36 501 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.7

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. 

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 6. Private sector gross job gains and losses by state, seasonally adjusted

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

2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017

United States 1 ............ 7,455,000 7,328,000 7,604,000 7,256,000 7,793,000 7,065,000 6,674,000 7,128,000 7,396,000 6,794,000

Alabama .................. 91,681 95,018 87,409 94,500 94,535 90,287 81,340 88,801 91,500 85,499

Alaska ..................... 24,029 23,211 27,146 21,147 23,051 24,699 24,169 24,590 26,106 25,087

Arizona .................. 138,291 136,971 145,129 156,480 150,080 126,313 126,704 134,184 124,785 126,790

Arkansas .................. 58,062 56,151 52,890 56,574 59,343 53,892 50,773 56,758 54,500 50,039

California .................. 980,183 962,840 1,008,489 945,420 1,012,893 910,192 872,313 963,220 921,087 878,611

Colorado .................. 143,107 147,416 154,090 146,525 150,388 140,926 133,241 138,475 142,005 134,785

Connecticut ............... 72,719 79,177 82,321 75,866 75,860 75,033 73,288 73,239 81,660 73,737

Delaware .................. 23,338 24,976 25,141 24,514 27,053 23,351 22,313 26,277 25,233 24,440

District of Columbia ... 28,788 29,705 29,308 28,084 29,872 28,695 24,377 28,802 27,580 25,951

Florida ..................... 487,710 445,222 487,806 417,099 601,026 445,725 409,290 450,987 550,590 386,654

Georgia .................. 239,884 230,965 229,623 224,926 255,553 211,569 212,760 225,490 228,351 205,236

Hawaii ..................... 26,673 27,379 27,647 28,750 27,120 26,775 25,523 28,656 28,034 26,110

Idaho ..................... 42,845 45,963 43,250 39,216 44,067 38,897 37,152 39,124 39,172 37,931

Illinois ..................... 309,191 298,256 295,556 287,491 310,581 290,285 276,590 283,177 309,665 274,431

Indiana ..................... 142,574 149,579 148,779 143,839 152,373 137,206 131,859 143,482 144,972 133,787

Iowa ........................ 73,955 78,764 73,448 70,162 76,283 76,993 71,324 73,959 73,416 68,723

Kansas ..................... 67,413 66,295 61,932 70,689 68,399 64,801 63,041 74,435 64,182 59,348

Kentucky .................. 95,679 90,878 95,401 92,556 93,898 90,662 85,832 94,425 91,789 86,067

Louisiana .................. 94,259 102,536 98,856 97,543 98,516 103,469 93,274 104,081 96,361 95,548

Maine ..................... 37,196 36,582 39,612 32,989 36,310 35,905 32,852 39,786 38,313 34,280

Maryland .................. 140,769 131,540 137,552 133,359 135,848 131,349 126,358 133,284 134,027 132,634

Massachusetts ............ 171,192 168,627 190,672 169,666 179,395 165,880 156,939 161,748 174,731 171,782

Michigan .................. 204,720 211,095 214,607 196,743 209,001 200,138 184,414 198,700 221,387 204,433

Minnesota ............... 140,520 142,651 140,705 131,688 143,126 138,963 117,302 129,066 140,788 137,173

Mississippi ............... 56,611 51,514 52,591 51,045 57,005 50,218 52,216 53,075 52,367 48,701

Missouri .................. 134,067 138,174 133,946 140,239 133,861 133,207 116,324 132,611 138,472 126,736

Montana .................. 29,076 30,348 29,692 26,807 31,827 27,842 26,801 29,106 29,737 27,761

Nebraska .................. 46,158 48,350 45,258 47,480 50,417 49,989 42,036 48,966 47,756 44,572

Nevada ..................... 71,548 75,922 73,628 73,242 77,451 64,782 59,528 69,752 68,063 61,756

New Hampshire ......... 35,405 32,723 37,609 31,928 37,577 33,335 32,020 34,154 37,103 33,658

New Jersey ............... 217,599 191,080 231,222 207,174 227,504 200,514 198,940 187,345 213,365 194,773

New Mexico ............ 41,275 40,142 42,206 40,887 39,989 40,739 39,132 39,683 39,637 37,870

New York ............... 472,712 482,960 512,229 488,700 483,363 461,337 446,567 452,251 485,909 457,296

North Carolina ............ 225,601 222,190 228,495 215,246 229,058 205,302 199,056 214,667 218,341 200,335

North Dakota ............ 23,021 26,128 23,242 23,088 23,360 26,535 22,998 23,826 23,383 23,106

Ohio ........................ 260,009 260,122 266,532 239,333 260,248 249,754 236,913 248,853 262,346 240,136

Oklahoma ............... 81,574 78,427 82,854 81,713 80,947 78,496 81,448 74,136 75,734 74,095

Oregon ..................... 103,156 108,577 103,951 102,766 107,905 96,506 89,507 94,764 99,294 95,339

Pennsylvania ............ 274,781 268,559 281,457 279,310 280,880 260,840 254,346 263,822 264,139 250,985

Rhode Island ............ 23,989 26,217 27,377 24,892 27,480 23,904 24,785 24,775 26,563 25,372

South Carolina ............ 108,676 100,891 102,376 96,040 116,023 90,148 92,823 99,787 106,344 85,962

South Dakota ............ 21,044 22,209 21,870 19,852 22,384 21,233 20,656 21,953 20,797 20,129

Tennessee ............... 144,675 128,481 136,278 134,472 147,416 126,150 123,277 129,537 128,703 123,782

Texas ..................... 588,802 580,416 588,070 595,615 641,177 538,726 519,376 539,188 579,631 537,456

Utah ........................ 79,259 91,646 81,427 82,619 84,690 75,963 72,367 74,004 75,903 70,508

Vermont .................. 17,998 16,827 20,084 17,066 18,651 17,636 17,258 17,430 20,080 16,545

Virginia .................. 194,325 186,996 196,028 182,441 196,190 180,449 172,727 183,875 193,605 170,840

Washington ............... 191,782 185,519 193,086 172,479 188,287 179,259 152,983 167,385 170,855 160,099

West Virginia ............ 34,777 34,065 35,135 37,743 34,247 33,887 34,690 35,391 35,798 33,151

Wisconsin ............... 134,052 143,931 139,680 122,392 136,582 131,290 116,833 136,434 140,307 121,569

Wyoming .................. 17,940 17,837 17,344 17,516 17,948 17,692 16,484 18,378 16,028 17,149

Puerto Rico ............... 38,952 34,349 34,820 27,179 45,987 36,267 38,301 35,043 41,788 76,402

Virgin Islands ............ 1,644 1,463 1,707 1,132 2,055 1,665 1,497 1,285 2,266 5,918

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 Gross job losses

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

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

2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017

United States .......................... 6.2 6.0 6.2 6.0 6.4 5.9 5.4 5.8 6.1 5.5

Alabama ............................. 5.8 6.1 5.5 6.0 6.0 5.8 5.2 5.6 5.8 5.4

Alaska ................................. 9.8 9.4 11.0 8.5 9.4 10.0 9.8 9.9 10.5 10.2

Arizona ............................... 6.0 5.8 6.2 6.6 6.2 5.5 5.4 5.7 5.3 5.3

Arkansas .............................. 5.9 5.6 5.2 5.7 5.9 5.4 5.0 5.6 5.5 5.0

California ........................... 6.9 6.7 6.9 6.5 6.9 6.3 6.0 6.6 6.4 6.0

Colorado .............................. 6.6 6.8 7.1 6.6 6.8 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.1

Connecticut ......................... 5.1 5.5 5.7 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.7 5.1

Delaware .............................. 6.2 6.6 6.6 6.5 7.1 6.2 5.9 7.0 6.6 6.4

District of Columbia ............... 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.4 5.7 5.6 4.7 5.6 5.3 5.0

Florida ................................. 6.7 6.1 6.6 5.6 8.1 6.1 5.5 6.1 7.5 5.2

Georgia .............................. 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.9 5.8 5.8 6.1 6.2 5.5

Hawaii ............................... 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.1 5.0 4.8 5.4 5.3 4.9

Idaho ................................. 7.5 7.9 7.3 6.7 7.4 6.7 6.3 6.6 6.6 6.4

Illinois ................................ 6.1 5.8 5.7 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.4 5.5 6.0 5.3

Indiana ............................... 5.4 5.7 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.2 5.1 5.5 5.5 5.1

Iowa ................................. 5.7 6.1 5.6 5.4 5.9 5.9 5.5 5.7 5.7 5.3

Kansas ................................. 5.9 5.8 5.5 6.3 6.1 5.7 5.6 6.6 5.7 5.2

Kentucky .............................. 6.1 5.7 6.1 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.4 5.9 5.8 5.4

Louisiana .............................. 5.9 6.4 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.5 5.9 6.5 6.1 6.0

Maine ................................ 7.4 7.2 7.7 6.5 7.1 7.1 6.4 7.7 7.5 6.7

Maryland ............................ 6.6 6.1 6.4 6.1 6.2 6.2 5.9 6.2 6.2 6.2

Massachusetts ....................... 5.6 5.5 6.1 5.5 5.7 5.4 5.1 5.2 5.6 5.6

Michigan ............................. 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.3 5.6 5.4 5.0 5.3 6.0 5.5

Minnesota ........................... 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.4 5.8 5.7 4.7 5.3 5.7 5.6

Mississippi ........................... 6.3 5.7 5.9 5.7 6.3 5.6 5.9 6.0 5.9 5.5

Missouri .............................. 5.7 5.9 5.6 5.9 5.6 5.6 4.9 5.6 5.9 5.4

Montana ............................... 7.8 8.1 7.9 7.2 8.5 7.5 7.1 7.7 8.0 7.4

Nebraska .............................. 5.7 5.9 5.6 5.9 6.2 6.2 5.2 6.1 5.9 5.5

Nevada .............................. 6.2 6.6 6.3 6.3 6.5 5.6 5.2 6.0 5.8 5.2

New Hampshire ..................... 6.3 5.7 6.6 5.6 6.6 5.9 5.6 5.9 6.5 5.9

New Jersey ........................... 6.4 5.5 6.7 6.0 6.5 5.9 5.8 5.5 6.2 5.6

New Mexico ........................ 6.6 6.4 6.7 6.5 6.3 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.3 6.0

New York ........................... 6.1 6.2 6.5 6.2 6.1 5.9 5.7 5.7 6.1 5.8

North Carolina ..................... 6.3 6.2 6.3 6.0 6.3 5.7 5.5 5.9 6.0 5.5

North Dakota ........................ 6.7 7.6 6.8 6.7 6.8 7.7 6.7 6.9 6.8 6.7

Ohio ................................. 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.1 5.6 5.4 5.1 5.4 5.6 5.2

Oklahoma ........................... 6.5 6.3 6.6 6.5 6.4 6.3 6.5 5.9 6.0 5.8

Oregon .............................. 6.6 6.9 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.3 5.7 5.9 6.3 6.0

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.4 5.2 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.2 4.9

Rhode Island ........................ 5.7 6.3 6.5 5.9 6.6 5.8 5.9 5.9 6.3 6.0

South Carolina ..................... 6.5 6.0 6.1 5.7 6.9 5.4 5.6 6.0 6.4 5.1

South Dakota ........................ 6.0 6.4 6.3 5.7 6.4 6.1 5.9 6.3 6.0 5.7

Tennessee ........................... 5.8 5.1 5.4 5.4 5.8 5.1 4.9 5.1 5.2 4.9

Texas ................................. 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.9 6.3 5.4 5.2 5.4 5.7 5.3

Utah ................................. 6.8 7.7 6.8 6.8 7.0 6.4 6.1 6.2 6.3 5.8

Vermont .............................. 7.0 6.6 7.9 6.7 7.2 7.0 6.8 6.8 7.8 6.4

Virginia .............................. 6.2 6.0 6.2 5.8 6.3 5.9 5.6 5.9 6.2 5.5

Washington ........................... 7.1 6.8 7.1 6.3 6.9 6.7 5.6 6.1 6.3 5.8

West Virginia ........................ 6.4 6.3 6.4 6.9 6.3 6.2 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.1

Wisconsin ........................... 5.5 5.9 5.6 5.0 5.6 5.3 4.8 5.5 5.7 5.0

Wyoming ........................... 8.8 8.8 8.5 8.7 8.8 8.7 8.1 9.0 7.9 8.3

Puerto Rico ........................... 5.8 5.1 5.2 4.1 7.1 5.4 5.7 5.2 6.2 11.7

Virgin Islands ........................ 6.0 5.3 6.2 4.2 8.4 6.0 5.5 4.7 8.3 24.1

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

2007 March 232 3.2 205 2.8 918 0.8 787 0.7

June 225 3.1 215 3.0 898 0.8 859 0.8

September 233 3.2 216 3.0 952 0.8 845 0.7

December 228 3.1 218 3.0 922 0.8 836 0.7

2008 March 226 3.1 224 3.1 919 0.8 832 0.7

June 221 3.0 238 3.3 876 0.8 913 0.8

September 216 3.0 233 3.2 849 0.8 881 0.8

December 211 2.9 253 3.5 819 0.7 951 0.9

2009 March 197 2.7 247 3.4 738 0.7 869 0.8

June 201 2.8 238 3.3 767 0.7 837 0.8

September 192 2.7 227 3.2 725 0.7 793 0.7

December 202 2.8 218 3.1 728 0.7 749 0.7

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 2.8 192 2.6 748 0.7 646 0.6

June 222 3.0 215 2.9 791 0.7 696 0.6

September 219 2.9 195 2.6 823 0.7 678 0.6

December 216 2.9 187 2.5 804 0.7 670 0.6

2014 March 221 2.9 189 2.5 782 0.7 633 0.6

June 220 2.9 205 2.7 806 0.7 718 0.6

September 224 3.0 200 2.6 828 0.7 706 0.6

December 223 2.9 197 2.6 837 0.7 708 0.6

2015 March 234 3.1 206 2.7 814 0.7 691 0.6

June 234 3.1 212 2.8 839 0.7 732 0.6

September 242 3.1 207 2.7 880 0.7 704 0.6

December 246 3.2 208 2.7 894 0.8 732 0.6

2016 March 236 3.0 202 2.6 787 0.7 660 0.6

June 242 3.1 214 2.7 838 0.7 724 0.6

September 240 3.1 215 2.7 872 0.7 749 0.6

December 239 3.0 217 2.8 868 0.7 729 0.6

2017 March 240 3.0 202 2.5 800 0.7 660 0.5

June 239 3.0 N/A N/A 846 0.7 N/A N/A

September 240 3.0 N/A N/A 837 0.7 N/A N/A

December 244 3.0 N/A N/A 849 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