For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Tuesday, August 2, 2011 USDL-11-1149

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 2010

From September to December 2010 

the number of gross job gains from 

opening and expanding private sector 

establishments increased to 7.0 

million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics reported today. Over this 

period, the number of gross job losses

from closing and contracting private 

sector establishments was essentially 

unchanged from the previous quarter at 

6.4 million. 

In the fourth quarter of 2010, large 

firms with 250 or more employees 

experienced the largest quarter of 

gross job gains (1.7 million) since 

December 2007. 

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in 

employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) 

statistics track these changes in employment at private business units from the third month of one 

quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from 

expansions at existing units and the addition of new jobs at opening units. Gross job losses are the 

result of contractions in employment at existing units and the loss of jobs at closing units. The 

difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net 

change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.) 

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses at the establishment level by 

industry subsector and 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. 
- 2 - 

Contracting establishments lost 5.2 million jobs 

in the fourth quarter of 2010, resuming a 

downward trend in this series that began in the 

second quarter of 2009. 

Job gains at expanding establishments rose to 5.6 

million in fourth quarter 2010 after falling in the 

third quarter. 

In the fourth quarter of 2010 closing

establishments lost 1.2 million jobs, about the 

same as in the previous quarter. 

 

Opening establishments gained 1.3 million jobs in 

fourth quarter 2010, an increase from the previous 

quarter when opening establishments created 1.2 

million jobs. (See tables 1 and 3.) 

In fourth quarter 2010, the number of 

establishment births (a subset of the openings 

data, see the Technical Note for more information) 

rose by 14,000 to 196,000. These new 

establishments accounted for 771,000 jobs, an 

increase of 57,000 from the previous quarter. 

Fourth quarter 2010 experienced the highest 

number of establishment births since second 

quarter 2008. 

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through March 2010, when 667,000 

jobs were lost at 196,000 establishments. This quarter represents the lowest number of jobs lost since the series 

began in third quarter 1992, and the lowest number of establishment deaths since first quarter 2007. (See table 

8.) 

The difference between the number of gross jobs gains and the number of gross jobs losses yielded a net 

change of 563,000 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter 2010. (See table 1.) 

Gross job gains represented 6.6 percent of private sector employment in fourth quarter 2010, while gross job 

losses represented 6.1 percent of private sector employment. (See table 2.) 

The goods-producing sector experienced gross job gains of 1,350,000 and gross job losses of 1,400,000, 

leading to a net employment loss of -50,000. Within the goods producing sector, construction contributed all of 

the net employment losses, (-63,000). The information sector was the only other sector to experience a net 

employment loss in fourth quarter 2010. Transportation and warehousing had the largest positive rate of net 

employment change, 1.4 percent, followed by professional and business services at 1.1 percent. The financial 

activities sector recorded a net employment change of 22,000, reversing a negative trend that began in second 

quarter 2007. (See table 3.) 
- 3 - 

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. 

Firms with 250 or more employees accounted for 72.8 percent of total net job gains in the fourth quarter of 

2010. This is the largest net employment gain (351,000) in this size class since September 2005. (See tables 4 

and 5.) 

In the fourth quarter of 2010, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in eight states, down from 20 states in 

the previous quarter. California had the largest positive quarterly net employment change of 100,811 jobs. (See 

table 6.) North Dakota experienced the largest rate of net employment change at 1.9 percent. (See table 7.) 

More Information 

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

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

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 may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. 

The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2011 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, 

November 17, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 

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

Category 

3 months ended 

Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. 

2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 

Levels (in thousands) 

Gross job gains.................................... 6,662 6,110 6,935 6,593 6,954 

 At expanding establishments........... 5,326 4,996 5,682 5,388 5,609 

 At opening establishments............... 1,336 1,114 1,253 1,205 1,345 

 

Gross job losses................................... 6,890 6,421 6,207 6,442 6,391 

 At contracting establishments........... 5,598 5,231 5,064 5,226 5,162 

 At closing establishments................ 1,292 1,190 1,143 1,216 1,229 

 

Net employment change1........................ -228 -311 728 151 563 

 

Rates (percent) 

Gross job gains................................ 6.4 5.8 6.6 6.2 6.6 

 At expanding establishments....... 5.1 4.7 5.4 5.1 5.3 

 At opening establishments............ 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.3 

 

Gross job losses............................... 6.5 6.1 5.9 6.0 6.1 

 At contracting establishments........ 5.3 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.9 

 At closing establishments............. 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 

 

Net employment change1..................... -.1 -.3 .7 .2 .5 
- 4 - 

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 quarterly state 

unemployment insurance (UI) records. Most employers 

in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the 

employment and wages of workers covered by UI laws, 

and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The quarterly UI reports are 

sent by the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) 

to BLS and form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment 

universe sampling frame. These reports are also used to 

produce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment 

and wages and the longitudinal BED data on gross job 

gains and losses. Other important Bureau uses of the UI 

reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) 

program. 

 In the BED program, the quarterly UI 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 establishmentbased employment measures for any given quarter. Each 

of these measures — QCEW, BED, and 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 over-the-quarter 

employment change. It is important to understand 

program differences and the intended uses of the program 

products. (See table below.) 

 Additional information on each program can be 

obtained from the program web sites shown in the table 

below. 

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

QCEW BED CES 

Source  Count of UI administrative records 

submitted by 9.0 million employers 

 Count of longitudinally-linked UI 

administrative records submitted by 

6.7 million private sector employers 

 Sample Survey: 410,000 

establishments 

Coverage  UI and UCFE coverage: all 

employers subject to State and 

federal UI Laws 

 UI Coverage, excluding: government, 

private households, and establishments 

with zero employment 

Non-farm wage and salary jobs: 

 UI Coverage, excluding: agriculture, 

private households, and selfemployed; including: railroads, 

religious organizations, and other 

non-UI-covered jobs 

Publication 

frequency 

 Quarterly 

—7 Months after the end of each 

quarter 

 Quarterly 

—8 Months after the end of each quarter 

 Monthly 

—First Friday of each 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 annually realigns (benchmarks) 

sample estimates to first quarter UI 

levels 

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 super-sectors 

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 national economic 

indicator 

— Official time series for 

employment change measures 

— Input into other major economic 

indicators 

Program Websites  www.bls.gov/cew/  www.bls.gov/bdm/  www.bls.gov/ces/
- 5 - 

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 SESAs 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 selfemployed 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 6.7 million 

private sector employer reports out of 9.0 million total 

reports of employment and wages submitted by states to 

BLS in the first quarter of 2010. 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 also are excluded 

from the national data. As an illustration, 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 2010: 

Number of active establishments included in 

Business Employment Dynamics data at the 

national level 

 Millions 

Total establishments QCEW program .........9.0 

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

 Private households ................0.7 

 Zero employment .................1.3 

 Establishments in Puerto Rico 

 and the Virgin Islands ...........0.0 

 (less than 50,000) 

Total establishments included in Business 

Employment Dynamics data ........................6.7 

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 
- 6 - 

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 reopenings 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 

SESA identification numbers (SESA-ID). Between 95 to 

97 percent of establishments identified as continuous 

from quarter to quarter are matched by SESA-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 SESA-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 

SESA-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, 

SESAs verify with employers and update, if necessary, 

the industry, location, and ownership classification of all 

establishments on a 4-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 
- 7 - 

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-12 ARIMA. 

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 an annual bulletin: 

Employment and Wages Annual Averages, are available 

upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics 

and Labor Turnover, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. 

Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; telephone 

202-691-6567; (http://www.bls.gov/cew/); (e-mail: 

QCEWInfo@bls.gov). 

 The CES program produces monthly estimates of 

employment, its net change, 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 

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

2000 March 827 8,849 6,960 1,889 8,022 6,342 1,680

June 503 8,479 6,794 1,685 7,976 6,373 1,603

September 324 8,525 6,756 1,769 8,201 6,479 1,722

December 251 8,351 6,673 1,678 8,100 6,444 1,656

2001 March -119 8,491 6,728 1,763 8,610 6,717 1,893

June -780 7,991 6,302 1,689 8,771 7,036 1,735

September -1,148 7,630 5,945 1,685 8,778 6,990 1,788

December -1,009 7,547 5,912 1,635 8,556 6,870 1,686

2002 March -10 8,071 6,298 1,773 8,081 6,434 1,647

June -30 7,868 6,145 1,723 7,898 6,274 1,624

September -151 7,630 6,039 1,591 7,781 6,248 1,533

December -241 7,483 5,938 1,545 7,724 6,185 1,539

2003 March -393 7,467 5,928 1,539 7,860 6,307 1,553

June -90 7,398 5,929 1,469 7,488 6,030 1,458

September 204 7,392 5,923 1,469 7,188 5,828 1,360

December 297 7,521 6,005 1,516 7,224 5,800 1,424

2004 March 470 7,715 6,204 1,511 7,245 5,795 1,450

June 644 7,754 6,235 1,519 7,110 5,639 1,471

September 206 7,633 6,060 1,573 7,427 5,888 1,539

December 757 7,844 6,243 1,601 7,087 5,663 1,424

2005 March 384 7,620 6,131 1,489 7,236 5,801 1,435

June 593 7,774 6,231 1,543 7,181 5,776 1,405

September 677 7,965 6,387 1,578 7,288 5,844 1,444

December 494 7,807 6,252 1,555 7,313 5,948 1,365

2006 March 806 7,726 6,293 1,433 6,920 5,635 1,285

June 424 7,789 6,273 1,516 7,365 5,998 1,367

September 45 7,495 6,057 1,438 7,450 6,098 1,352

December 462 7,765 6,241 1,524 7,303 5,954 1,349

2007 March 491 7,657 6,243 1,414 7,166 5,870 1,296

June 207 7,661 6,250 1,411 7,454 6,056 1,398

September -249 7,328 5,855 1,473 7,577 6,223 1,354

December 286 7,670 6,197 1,473 7,384 6,028 1,356

2008 March -275 7,172 5,778 1,394 7,447 6,083 1,364

June -520 7,285 5,878 1,407 7,805 6,332 1,473

September -966 6,888 5,521 1,367 7,854 6,469 1,385

December -1,814 6,720 5,357 1,363 8,534 7,041 1,493

2009 March -2,741 5,783 4,611 1,172 8,524 7,109 1,415

June -1,604 6,421 5,117 1,304 8,025 6,644 1,381

September -900 6,341 5,124 1,217 7,241 5,883 1,358

December -228 6,662 5,326 1,336 6,890 5,598 1,292

2010 March -311 6,110 4,996 1,114 6,421 5,231 1,190

June 728 6,935 5,682 1,253 6,207 5,064 1,143

September 151 6,593 5,388 1,205 6,442 5,226 1,216

December 563 6,954 5,609 1,345 6,391 5,162 1,229

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

2000 March .8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.8 1.5

June .4 7.7 6.2 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5

September .2 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.5 5.9 1.6

December .2 7.5 6.0 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5

2001 March -.1 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.8 6.1 1.7

June -.8 7.2 5.7 1.5 8.0 6.4 1.6

September -1.1 6.9 5.4 1.5 8.0 6.4 1.6

December -1.0 7.0 5.5 1.5 8.0 6.4 1.6

2002 March .0 7.5 5.9 1.6 7.5 6.0 1.5

June .0 7.3 5.7 1.6 7.3 5.8 1.5

September -.1 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.2 5.8 1.4

December -.3 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.2 5.8 1.4

2003 March -.5 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.4 5.9 1.5

June .0 7.0 5.6 1.4 7.0 5.6 1.4

September .1 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3

December .3 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3

2004 March .5 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3

June .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.2 1.4

September .3 7.1 5.6 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4

December .7 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.5 5.2 1.3

2005 March .4 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3

June .6 7.1 5.7 1.4 6.5 5.2 1.3

September .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3

December .4 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.6 5.4 1.2

2006 March .8 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.1 5.0 1.1

June .4 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

September .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2

December .3 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2007 March .4 6.7 5.5 1.2 6.3 5.2 1.1

June .2 6.7 5.5 1.2 6.5 5.3 1.2

September -.3 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.7 5.5 1.2

December .2 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2008 March -.2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.5 5.3 1.2

June -.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 6.9 5.6 1.3

September -.8 6.1 4.9 1.2 6.9 5.7 1.2

December -1.6 6.0 4.8 1.2 7.6 6.3 1.3

2009 March -2.5 5.3 4.2 1.1 7.8 6.5 1.3

June -1.5 6.0 4.8 1.2 7.5 6.2 1.3

September -1.0 5.9 4.8 1.1 6.9 5.6 1.3

December -.1 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2010 March -.3 5.8 4.7 1.1 6.1 5.0 1.1

June .7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September .2 6.2 5.1 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1

December .5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 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

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

2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 6,662 6,110 6,935 6,593 6,954 6.4 5.8 6.6 6.2 6.6

At expanding establishments ......... 5,326 4,996 5,682 5,388 5,609 5.1 4.7 5.4 5.1 5.3

At opening establishments ............ 1,336 1,114 1,253 1,205 1,345 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.3

Gross job losses ........................... 6,890 6,421 6,207 6,442 6,391 6.5 6.1 5.9 6.0 6.1

At contracting establishments ...... 5,598 5,231 5,064 5,226 5,162 5.3 5.0 4.8 4.9 4.9

At closing establishments ............ 1,292 1,190 1,143 1,216 1,229 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2

Net employment change .............. -228 -311 728 151 563 -.1 -.3 .7 .2 .5

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,313 1,266 1,461 1,360 1,350 6.9 6.7 7.8 7.3 7.2

At expanding establishments ......... 1,080 1,072 1,238 1,158 1,133 5.7 5.7 6.6 6.2 6.0

At opening establishments ............ 233 194 223 202 217 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 1,590 1,459 1,305 1,315 1,400 8.4 7.8 7.0 7.0 7.4

At contracting establishments ...... 1,321 1,204 1,082 1,082 1,156 7.0 6.4 5.8 5.8 6.1

At closing establishments ............ 269 255 223 233 244 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.3

Net employment change .............. -277 -193 156 45 -50 -1.5 -1.1 .8 .3 -.2

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 285 270 305 268 279 16.3 15.4 17.2 14.8 15.4

At expanding establishments ......... 243 235 263 234 236 13.9 13.4 14.8 12.9 13.0

At opening establishments ............ 42 35 42 34 43 2.4 2.0 2.4 1.9 2.4

Gross job losses ........................... 292 271 235 263 277 16.7 15.4 13.2 14.5 15.2

At contracting establishments ...... 253 232 202 228 241 14.5 13.2 11.3 12.6 13.2

At closing establishments ............ 39 39 33 35 36 2.2 2.2 1.9 1.9 2.0

Net employment change .............. -7 -1 70 5 2 -.4 .0 4.0 .3 .2

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 615 591 677 644 631 10.9 10.7 12.3 11.8 11.5

At expanding establishments ......... 470 466 534 514 498 8.3 8.4 9.7 9.4 9.1

At opening establishments ............ 145 125 143 130 133 2.6 2.3 2.6 2.4 2.4

Gross job losses ........................... 773 728 676 647 694 13.6 13.1 12.3 11.8 12.7

At contracting establishments ...... 606 570 535 503 539 10.7 10.3 9.7 9.2 9.9

At closing establishments ............ 167 158 141 144 155 2.9 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.8

Net employment change .............. -158 -137 1 -3 -63 -2.7 -2.4 .0 .0 -1.2

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 413 405 479 448 440 3.6 3.5 4.1 3.9 3.9

At expanding establishments ......... 367 371 441 410 399 3.2 3.2 3.8 3.6 3.5

At opening establishments ............ 46 34 38 38 41 .4 .3 .3 .3 .4

Gross job losses ........................... 525 460 394 405 429 4.5 4.0 3.4 3.5 3.8

At contracting establishments ...... 462 402 345 351 376 4.0 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.3

At closing establishments ............ 63 58 49 54 53 .5 .5 .4 .5 .5

Net employment change .............. -112 -55 85 43 11 -.9 -.5 .7 .4 .1

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 5,349 4,844 5,474 5,233 5,604 6.2 5.6 6.3 6.1 6.4

At expanding establishments ......... 4,246 3,924 4,444 4,230 4,476 4.9 4.5 5.1 4.9 5.1

At opening establishments ............ 1,103 920 1,030 1,003 1,128 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3

Gross job losses ........................... 5,300 4,962 4,902 5,127 4,991 6.2 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.7

At contracting establishments ...... 4,277 4,027 3,982 4,144 4,006 5.0 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.6

At closing establishments ............ 1,023 935 920 983 985 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1

Net employment change .............. 49 -118 572 106 613 .0 -.2 .6 .2 .7

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 259 248 280 263 278 4.7 4.6 5.2 4.8 5.0

At expanding establishments ......... 203 201 232 216 222 3.7 3.7 4.3 3.9 4.0

At opening establishments ............ 56 47 48 47 56 1.0 .9 .9 .9 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 283 274 248 259 252 5.1 5.0 4.5 4.7 4.6

At contracting establishments ...... 220 213 191 199 196 4.0 3.9 3.5 3.6 3.6

At closing establishments ............ 63 61 57 60 56 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0

Net employment change .............. -24 -26 32 4 26 -.4 -.4 .7 .1 .4

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.

2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 816 784 892 788 889 5.7 5.4 6.2 5.4 6.2

At expanding establishments ......... 702 676 766 666 763 4.9 4.7 5.3 4.6 5.3

At opening establishments ............ 114 108 126 122 126 .8 .7 .9 .8 .9

Gross job losses ........................... 936 805 769 884 807 6.5 5.6 5.3 6.1 5.5

At contracting establishments ...... 808 690 665 772 687 5.6 4.8 4.6 5.3 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 128 115 104 112 120 .9 .8 .7 .8 .8

Net employment change .............. -120 -21 123 -96 82 -.8 -.2 .9 -.7 .7

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 220 183 216 211 250 5.5 4.7 5.4 5.4 6.2

At expanding establishments ......... 187 157 183 181 216 4.7 4.0 4.6 4.6 5.4

At opening establishments ............ 33 26 33 30 34 .8 .7 .8 .8 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 222 223 189 195 192 5.7 5.6 4.8 4.9 4.8

At contracting establishments ...... 184 190 156 158 159 4.7 4.8 4.0 4.0 4.0

At closing establishments ............ 38 33 33 37 33 1.0 .8 .8 .9 .8

Net employment change .............. -2 -40 27 16 58 -.2 -.9 .6 .5 1.4

Utilities

Gross job gains ........................... 11 9 11 9 11 2.0 1.6 2.0 1.7 2.0

At expanding establishments ......... 10 8 10 8 9 1.8 1.4 1.8 1.5 1.6

At opening establishments ............ 1 1 1 1 2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .4

Gross job losses ........................... 14 9 12 12 10 2.5 1.6 2.2 2.2 1.8

At contracting establishments ...... 12 8 11 11 9 2.1 1.4 2.0 2.0 1.6

At closing establishments ............ 2 1 1 1 1 .4 .2 .2 .2 .2

Net employment change .............. -3 0 -1 -3 1 -.5 .0 -.2 -.5 .2

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 123 106 128 135 126 4.4 3.8 4.7 5.0 4.7

At expanding establishments ......... 97 89 107 116 103 3.5 3.2 3.9 4.3 3.8

At opening establishments ............ 26 17 21 19 23 .9 .6 .8 .7 .9

Gross job losses ........................... 144 130 129 136 131 5.2 4.7 4.7 5.0 4.9

At contracting establishments ...... 121 111 109 114 107 4.4 4.0 4.0 4.2 4.0

At closing establishments ............ 23 19 20 22 24 .8 .7 .7 .8 .9

Net employment change .............. -21 -24 -1 -1 -5 -.8 -.9 .0 .0 -.2

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 356 326 347 346 368 4.8 4.3 4.6 4.7 4.9

At expanding establishments ......... 267 263 277 275 283 3.6 3.5 3.7 3.7 3.8

At opening establishments ............ 89 63 70 71 85 1.2 .8 .9 1.0 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 400 369 372 369 346 5.4 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.6

At contracting establishments ...... 305 281 288 275 262 4.1 3.8 3.9 3.7 3.5

At closing establishments ............ 95 88 84 94 84 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.1

Net employment change .............. -44 -43 -25 -23 22 -.6 -.7 -.4 -.3 .3

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,368 1,125 1,340 1,258 1,364 8.3 6.8 8.1 7.5 8.0

At expanding establishments ......... 1,100 920 1,096 1,029 1,104 6.7 5.6 6.6 6.1 6.5

At opening establishments ............ 268 205 244 229 260 1.6 1.2 1.5 1.4 1.5

Gross job losses ........................... 1,184 1,130 1,144 1,185 1,171 7.2 6.8 6.9 7.1 6.9

At contracting establishments ...... 920 898 890 933 911 5.6 5.4 5.4 5.6 5.4

At closing establishments ............ 264 232 254 252 260 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5

Net employment change .............. 184 -5 196 73 193 1.1 .0 1.2 .4 1.1

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 825 730 767 784 835 4.5 3.9 4.1 4.2 4.4

At expanding establishments ......... 685 619 655 664 697 3.7 3.3 3.5 3.6 3.7

At opening establishments ............ 140 111 112 120 138 .8 .6 .6 .6 .7

Gross job losses ........................... 677 690 718 729 698 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.8

At contracting establishments ...... 555 578 601 597 573 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.1

At closing establishments ............ 122 112 117 132 125 .7 .6 .6 .7 .7

Net employment change .............. 148 40 49 55 137 .8 .2 .3 .3 .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.

2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,032 1,000 1,143 1,089 1,116 7.9 7.7 8.8 8.4 8.6

At expanding establishments ......... 783 783 890 859 860 6.0 6.0 6.9 6.6 6.6

At opening establishments ............ 249 217 253 230 256 1.9 1.7 1.9 1.8 2.0

Gross job losses ........................... 1,141 1,037 1,043 1,062 1,097 8.8 8.0 8.0 8.2 8.4

At contracting establishments ...... 933 845 868 870 892 7.2 6.5 6.7 6.7 6.8

At closing establishments ............ 208 192 175 192 205 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.5 1.6

Net employment change .............. -109 -37 100 27 19 -.9 -.3 .8 .2 .2

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 262 247 278 259 266 7.0 6.7 7.5 7.0 7.2

At expanding establishments ......... 202 196 220 207 208 5.4 5.3 5.9 5.6 5.6

At opening establishments ............ 60 51 58 52 58 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.6

Gross job losses ........................... 272 263 253 274 266 7.3 7.1 6.8 7.3 7.1

At contracting establishments ...... 211 205 197 210 205 5.7 5.5 5.3 5.6 5.5

At closing establishments ............ 61 58 56 64 61 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.6

Net employment change .............. -10 -16 25 -15 0 -.3 -.4 .7 -.3 .1

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

2000 March 910 7,443 6,533 308 3,745 3,437 191 1,417 1,226 411 2,281 1,870

June 460 6,972 6,512 43 3,528 3,485 80 1,322 1,242 337 2,122 1,785

September 316 7,062 6,746 76 3,627 3,551 92 1,348 1,256 148 2,087 1,939

December 266 6,885 6,619 33 3,512 3,479 60 1,300 1,240 173 2,073 1,900

2001 March 52 7,033 6,981 23 3,508 3,485 -87 1,277 1,364 116 2,248 2,132

June -843 6,432 7,275 -123 3,393 3,516 -180 1,223 1,403 -540 1,816 2,356

September -1,214 6,124 7,338 -271 3,333 3,604 -253 1,142 1,395 -690 1,649 2,339

December -1,041 6,146 7,187 -118 3,325 3,443 -200 1,138 1,338 -723 1,683 2,406

2002 March 70 6,602 6,532 54 3,402 3,348 -52 1,194 1,246 68 2,006 1,938

June -61 6,416 6,477 69 3,379 3,310 -7 1,191 1,198 -123 1,846 1,969

September -176 6,190 6,366 20 3,335 3,315 -46 1,144 1,190 -150 1,711 1,861

December -247 6,114 6,361 -3 3,299 3,302 -73 1,106 1,179 -171 1,709 1,880

2003 March -326 6,112 6,438 -135 3,257 3,392 -56 1,127 1,183 -135 1,728 1,863

June -137 6,108 6,245 112 3,346 3,234 -26 1,133 1,159 -223 1,629 1,852

September 193 6,162 5,969 120 3,327 3,207 21 1,127 1,106 52 1,708 1,656

December 310 6,218 5,908 146 3,340 3,194 32 1,128 1,096 132 1,750 1,618

2004 March 430 6,306 5,876 153 3,392 3,239 137 1,194 1,057 140 1,720 1,580

June 621 6,471 5,850 169 3,387 3,218 141 1,196 1,055 311 1,888 1,577

September 197 6,243 6,046 88 3,379 3,291 88 1,175 1,087 21 1,689 1,668

December 759 6,494 5,735 274 3,480 3,206 101 1,172 1,071 384 1,842 1,458

2005 March 368 6,320 5,952 66 3,416 3,350 97 1,161 1,064 205 1,743 1,538

June 570 6,435 5,865 243 3,476 3,233 146 1,198 1,052 181 1,761 1,580

September 701 6,672 5,971 218 3,510 3,292 85 1,195 1,110 398 1,967 1,569

December 506 6,406 5,900 169 3,462 3,293 45 1,140 1,095 292 1,804 1,512

2006 March 734 6,372 5,638 316 3,530 3,214 217 1,203 986 201 1,639 1,438

June 423 6,381 5,958 138 3,446 3,308 122 1,197 1,075 163 1,738 1,575

September 24 6,099 6,075 -16 3,325 3,341 21 1,128 1,107 19 1,646 1,627

December 449 6,386 5,937 113 3,396 3,283 68 1,145 1,077 268 1,845 1,577

2007 March 430 6,241 5,811 179 3,438 3,259 107 1,146 1,039 144 1,657 1,513

June 216 6,288 6,072 -9 3,348 3,357 118 1,188 1,070 107 1,752 1,645

September -269 5,904 6,173 -130 3,252 3,382 -61 1,075 1,136 -78 1,577 1,655

December 264 6,241 5,977 -13 3,307 3,320 48 1,131 1,083 229 1,803 1,574

2008 March -308 5,755 6,063 -149 3,226 3,375 -4 1,066 1,070 -155 1,463 1,618

June -505 5,891 6,396 -263 3,190 3,453 -27 1,106 1,133 -215 1,595 1,810

September -1,034 5,496 6,530 -355 3,041 3,396 -168 1,015 1,183 -511 1,440 1,951

December -1,883 5,334 7,217 -712 2,901 3,613 -385 941 1,326 -786 1,492 2,278

2009 March -2,652 4,545 7,197 -974 2,715 3,689 -598 801 1,399 -1,080 1,029 2,109

June -1,735 5,198 6,933 -452 2,960 3,412 -266 963 1,229 -1,017 1,275 2,292

September -977 5,131 6,108 -386 2,815 3,201 -134 928 1,062 -457 1,388 1,845

December -306 5,399 5,705 -179 2,931 3,110 -55 956 1,011 -72 1,512 1,584

2010 March -270 4,998 5,268 -220 2,809 3,029 3 899 896 -53 1,290 1,343

June 688 5,802 5,114 237 3,070 2,833 217 1,081 864 234 1,651 1,417

September 121 5,432 5,311 -28 2,879 2,907 64 988 924 85 1,565 1,480

December 482 5,727 5,245 45 2,996 2,951 86 1,025 939 351 1,706 1,355

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

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

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 

change2,3

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job

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

2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 5,399 4,998 5,802 5,432 5,727 5.1 4.7 5.4 5.1 5.4

At expanding establishments ...... 4,441 4,147 4,907 4,589 4,784 4.2 3.9 4.6 4.3 4.5

At opening establishments ......... 958 851 895 843 943 .9 .8 .8 .8 .9

Gross job losses ........................ 5,705 5,268 5,114 5,311 5,245 5.4 5.1 4.9 5.0 4.9

At contracting establishments ... 4,783 4,372 4,295 4,439 4,373 4.5 4.2 4.1 4.2 4.1

At closing establishments ......... 922 896 819 872 872 .9 .9 .8 .8 .8

Net employment change ............ -306 -270 688 121 482 -.3 -.4 .5 .1 .5

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 2,931 2,809 3,070 2,879 2,996 9.4 9.0 9.9 9.3 9.7

At expanding establishments ...... 2,017 1,993 2,221 2,074 2,096 6.5 6.4 7.2 6.7 6.8

At opening establishments ......... 914 816 849 805 900 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.9

Gross job losses ........................ 3,110 3,029 2,833 2,907 2,951 10.0 9.8 9.1 9.4 9.5

At contracting establishments ... 2,233 2,163 2,045 2,074 2,119 7.2 7.0 6.6 6.7 6.8

At closing establishments ......... 877 866 788 833 832 2.8 2.8 2.5 2.7 2.7

Net employment change ............ -179 -220 237 -28 45 -.6 -.8 .8 -.1 .2

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 956 899 1,081 988 1,025 4.9 4.6 5.6 5.1 5.2

At expanding establishments ...... 918 871 1,043 957 988 4.7 4.5 5.4 4.9 5.0

At opening establishments ......... 38 28 38 31 37 .2 .1 .2 .2 .2

Gross job losses ........................ 1,011 896 864 924 939 5.2 4.6 4.4 4.7 4.8

At contracting establishments ... 974 869 837 895 904 5.0 4.5 4.3 4.6 4.6

At closing establishments ......... 37 27 27 29 35 .2 .1 .1 .1 .2

Net employment change ............ -55 3 217 64 86 -.3 .0 1.2 .4 .4

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,512 1,290 1,651 1,565 1,706 2.8 2.3 3.0 2.8 3.1

At expanding establishments ...... 1,506 1,283 1,643 1,558 1,700 2.8 2.3 3.0 2.8 3.1

At opening establishments ......... 6 7 8 7 6 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,584 1,343 1,417 1,480 1,355 2.9 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.4

At contracting establishments ... 1,576 1,340 1,413 1,470 1,350 2.9 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.4

At closing establishments ......... 8 3 4 10 5 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Net employment change ............ -72 -53 234 85 351 -.1 -.1 .4 .1 .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.

2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010

United States 1

 ............ 6,662,000 6,110,000 6,935,000 6,593,000 6,954,000 6,890,000 6,421,000 6,207,000 6,442,000 6,391,000

Alabama .................. 86,379 82,695 90,438 88,544 90,702 92,544 83,327 83,971 93,826 89,501

Alaska ..................... 24,288 25,078 26,302 22,312 24,643 25,288 23,147 21,772 23,678 25,148

Arizona .................. 131,273 116,334 120,892 125,191 141,383 140,298 123,728 126,749 128,620 113,291

Arkansas .................. 57,989 52,233 59,161 54,065 51,200 54,247 49,809 52,001 57,243 52,965

California .................. 845,478 759,025 877,920 778,595 865,213 831,793 816,085 775,156 808,688 764,402

Colorado .................. 122,327 117,669 134,977 123,839 130,646 132,705 124,210 125,355 123,841 119,650

Connecticut ............... 70,946 66,227 84,589 71,786 73,898 77,470 81,300 67,402 66,409 71,286

Delaware .................. 20,397 19,505 23,200 22,394 21,906 24,289 20,984 18,817 20,947 22,426

District of Columbia ... 26,592 23,480 26,793 24,765 27,063 24,332 21,514 23,153 28,738 25,329

Florida ..................... 440,522 362,571 417,808 404,527 448,586 448,286 370,546 398,220 419,712 409,980

Georgia .................. 204,380 197,155 210,870 214,910 212,882 215,423 195,344 206,776 201,871 199,578

Hawaii ..................... 24,368 23,639 23,154 27,664 26,011 25,953 25,062 27,020 25,508 23,225

Idaho ..................... 38,431 35,560 36,170 39,190 40,627 40,220 38,578 39,976 35,182 37,883

Illinois ..................... 255,104 229,254 268,855 254,225 280,923 275,576 243,415 231,470 248,499 254,352

Indiana ..................... 134,249 129,707 144,840 138,311 144,007 135,204 125,181 130,048 129,856 131,387

Iowa ........................ 68,771 63,734 66,021 67,723 73,723 74,300 65,573 64,302 68,074 67,678

Kansas ..................... 62,377 55,897 62,950 60,969 70,888 67,646 61,303 60,033 64,595 60,301

Kentucky .................. 89,347 77,786 86,562 82,611 92,103 86,416 83,376 80,238 81,243 80,087

Louisiana .................. 100,019 95,060 103,774 99,254 103,225 103,173 94,395 99,189 99,829 102,496

Maine ..................... 35,430 30,442 37,089 35,485 34,589 37,779 34,497 35,250 34,301 35,896

Maryland .................. 119,515 124,598 137,676 125,059 127,919 132,550 125,093 118,452 129,294 124,842

Massachusetts ............ 145,704 145,413 161,032 155,260 153,871 160,961 143,996 137,623 152,522 152,222

Michigan .................. 210,533 183,635 221,292 216,561 207,002 228,170 191,162 184,025 191,483 213,459

Minnesota ............... 123,644 120,648 137,671 122,151 128,848 132,265 131,091 113,426 123,654 130,063

Mississippi ............... 51,744 50,450 55,735 55,347 56,747 52,347 49,877 53,286 57,549 54,639

Missouri .................. 122,278 123,242 131,143 128,842 126,065 132,033 129,143 129,992 124,464 122,341

Montana .................. 27,841 25,855 26,844 27,113 27,675 29,098 27,670 26,442 24,859 27,566

Nebraska .................. 40,153 39,893 44,594 43,235 42,866 46,789 40,899 39,950 42,344 42,597

Nevada ..................... 68,915 51,824 60,877 54,879 68,041 66,626 65,187 55,657 62,955 58,121

New Hampshire ......... 33,650 34,318 36,515 32,944 35,973 36,107 35,737 33,092 33,520 34,008

New Jersey ............... 196,657 176,313 224,190 191,225 204,741 210,510 193,790 190,949 197,695 195,727

New Mexico ............ 37,662 37,821 40,218 38,901 40,319 42,496 37,739 40,379 40,590 37,219

New York ............... 420,489 373,307 460,370 427,213 453,107 428,924 390,777 398,109 410,850 420,427

North Carolina ............ 196,885 182,350 203,715 197,026 202,887 213,043 188,187 187,704 193,011 193,221

North Dakota ............ 19,816 19,787 20,384 22,672 23,787 19,189 18,824 18,476 17,083 17,984

Ohio ........................ 234,522 219,390 249,715 240,319 256,936 255,910 228,984 217,712 222,822 246,148

Oklahoma ............... 68,999 66,668 74,136 74,038 75,680 76,133 66,249 63,918 75,077 63,113

Oregon ..................... 89,357 87,342 87,560 93,583 94,073 96,934 87,279 85,849 82,215 91,616

Pennsylvania ............ 267,074 249,634 280,379 265,581 280,004 274,524 248,312 234,954 252,791 256,214

Rhode Island ............ 23,191 22,628 26,103 24,288 23,465 24,865 21,893 25,469 23,157 25,506

South Carolina ............ 85,984 87,466 96,184 91,029 89,047 92,731 82,707 86,190 85,292 84,617

South Dakota ............ 19,762 19,139 21,984 20,768 21,260 21,189 21,608 19,021 19,553 19,800

Tennessee ............... 121,455 108,572 134,652 122,885 127,894 119,337 111,023 118,770 125,005 112,694

Texas ..................... 476,502 467,608 492,190 494,933 513,948 484,059 434,114 448,103 449,143 440,853

Utah ........................ 65,512 63,614 66,317 66,278 70,287 67,768 63,688 63,939 63,404 62,171

Vermont .................. 19,496 15,542 17,791 18,480 19,035 18,017 17,756 20,659 16,402 16,968

Virginia .................. 166,982 151,244 186,533 173,108 177,916 168,916 162,007 166,993 176,544 167,012

Washington ............... 151,742 153,771 156,299 161,355 166,765 181,151 155,633 146,072 145,950 161,011

West Virginia ............ 37,101 33,246 37,055 36,236 34,319 34,836 34,478 35,887 33,719 35,458

Wisconsin ............... 130,553 125,693 134,910 131,286 137,195 138,015 129,422 121,104 126,228 132,336

Wyoming .................. 16,108 17,159 17,405 19,989 18,898 18,573 18,274 17,953 16,365 18,402

Puerto Rico ............... 45,647 38,617 37,160 39,838 44,957 41,169 44,755 43,997 40,417 36,329

Virgin Islands ............ 2,361 2,632 2,006 2,327 2,249 1,899 1,897 2,825 1,758 1,800

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

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

2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010

United States .......................... 6.4 5.8 6.6 6.2 6.6 6.5 6.1 5.9 6.0 6.1

Alabama ............................. 6.0 5.8 6.3 6.1 6.3 6.4 5.8 5.8 6.5 6.2

Alaska ................................. 10.3 10.6 11.1 9.4 10.3 10.8 9.8 9.2 10.0 10.6

Arizona ............................... 6.7 5.9 6.2 6.4 7.2 7.1 6.3 6.4 6.5 5.7

Arkansas .............................. 6.3 5.7 6.3 5.8 5.5 5.9 5.4 5.6 6.1 5.7

California ........................... 7.2 6.5 7.5 6.6 7.3 7.1 7.0 6.6 6.8 6.4

Colorado .............................. 6.8 6.5 7.5 6.9 7.2 7.3 6.9 7.0 6.9 6.6

Connecticut ......................... 5.3 4.9 6.3 5.3 5.4 5.7 6.0 5.0 4.9 5.3

Delaware .............................. 6.0 5.8 6.9 6.6 6.4 7.2 6.3 5.6 6.1 6.5

District of Columbia ............... 6.0 5.3 6.0 5.6 6.1 5.5 4.9 5.2 6.5 5.7

Florida ................................. 7.3 6.1 7.0 6.7 7.4 7.4 6.2 6.6 6.9 6.8

Georgia .............................. 6.6 6.4 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.0 6.4 6.7 6.6 6.4

Hawaii ............................... 5.2 5.1 5.0 6.0 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.8 5.5 4.9

Idaho ................................. 7.8 7.2 7.4 8.0 8.2 8.1 7.8 8.2 7.2 7.7

Illinois ................................ 5.5 4.9 5.7 5.4 6.0 5.9 5.3 4.9 5.3 5.4

Indiana ............................... 5.8 5.7 6.3 6.0 6.2 5.9 5.5 5.7 5.6 5.7

Iowa .................................... 5.8 5.4 5.5 5.7 6.1 6.2 5.5 5.4 5.7 5.7

Kansas ................................. 6.0 5.4 6.0 5.9 6.7 6.5 5.8 5.7 6.2 5.7

Kentucky .............................. 6.4 5.6 6.2 5.8 6.5 6.2 5.9 5.7 5.8 5.6

Louisiana .............................. 6.7 6.4 7.0 6.7 6.9 7.0 6.4 6.7 6.7 6.9

Maine ................................ 7.4 6.4 7.8 7.5 7.2 8.0 7.3 7.4 7.2 7.5

Maryland ............................ 6.1 6.4 7.0 6.4 6.4 6.8 6.4 6.0 6.5 6.4

Massachusetts ....................... 5.5 5.4 6.0 5.7 5.7 6.0 5.4 5.1 5.7 5.6

Michigan ............................. 6.7 5.9 7.0 6.8 6.5 7.2 6.1 5.8 6.0 6.7

Minnesota ........................... 5.7 5.6 6.3 5.6 5.8 6.1 6.1 5.2 5.7 6.0

Mississippi ........................... 6.3 6.1 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.4 6.0 6.4 6.9 6.6

Missouri .............................. 5.7 5.8 6.1 6.0 5.9 6.2 6.0 6.1 5.9 5.7

Montana ............................... 8.3 7.7 8.1 8.1 8.2 8.6 8.2 7.9 7.5 8.2

Nebraska .............................. 5.5 5.4 6.0 5.9 5.8 6.3 5.6 5.4 5.7 5.8

Nevada .............................. 7.2 5.4 6.4 5.8 7.1 6.9 6.7 5.8 6.6 6.1

New Hampshire ..................... 6.6 6.7 7.1 6.4 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.5 6.5 6.6

New Jersey ........................... 6.2 5.6 7.2 6.0 6.5 6.7 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.2

New Mexico ........................ 6.3 6.4 6.8 6.6 6.8 7.1 6.4 6.8 6.9 6.3

New York ........................... 6.1 5.5 6.7 6.2 6.5 6.3 5.7 5.7 6.0 6.1

North Carolina ..................... 6.4 5.9 6.6 6.4 6.5 6.9 6.1 6.0 6.2 6.2

North Dakota ........................ 7.0 7.0 7.1 7.7 8.0 6.7 6.5 6.4 5.8 6.1

Ohio .................................... 5.6 5.3 6.0 5.7 6.1 6.2 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.9

Oklahoma ........................... 6.0 5.8 6.4 6.3 6.5 6.6 5.8 5.5 6.4 5.4

Oregon ................................. 6.8 6.7 6.7 7.1 7.2 7.4 6.6 6.6 6.3 6.9

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.7 5.3 5.9 5.6 5.9 5.9 5.3 5.0 5.3 5.4

Rhode Island ........................ 6.1 5.9 6.8 6.2 6.1 6.5 5.6 6.6 6.0 6.6

South Carolina ..................... 6.1 6.3 6.8 6.4 6.3 6.6 5.9 6.0 6.0 6.0

South Dakota ........................ 6.3 6.1 7.0 6.6 6.7 6.7 6.8 6.0 6.1 6.2

Tennessee ........................... 5.7 5.1 6.3 5.7 5.9 5.6 5.2 5.6 5.8 5.3

Texas ................................. 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.9 6.1 5.8 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.2

Utah .................................... 6.9 6.8 7.1 7.0 7.4 7.2 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.6

Vermont .............................. 8.2 6.5 7.5 7.7 7.9 7.5 7.4 8.8 6.8 7.1

Virginia .............................. 5.9 5.4 6.6 6.1 6.3 5.9 5.8 5.9 6.2 5.9

Washington ........................... 6.7 6.9 7.0 7.2 7.5 8.1 7.0 6.6 6.5 7.2

West Virginia ........................ 6.8 6.0 6.7 6.6 6.2 6.4 6.3 6.6 6.2 6.4

Wisconsin ........................... 5.9 5.6 6.1 5.9 6.1 6.2 5.8 5.5 5.7 5.9

Wyoming .............................. 7.8 8.4 8.6 9.8 9.1 9.0 8.9 8.8 8.0 8.9

Puerto Rico ........................... 6.7 5.7 5.5 6.0 6.7 6.1 6.7 6.5 6.1 5.5

Virgin Islands ........................ 7.8 8.5 6.5 7.5 7.1 6.3 6.1 9.1 5.6 5.7

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 

(3 months ended)

Gross job losses as a percent of employment

(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

2000 March 213 3.4 186 3.0 1,235 1.1 1,125 1.0

June 204 3.3 180 2.9 1,137 1.0 1,058 1.0

September 209 3.3 199 3.2 1,159 1.1 1,160 1.1

December 200 3.2 194 3.1 1,139 1.0 1,105 1.0

2001 March 206 3.3 203 3.2 1,187 1.1 1,303 1.2

June 204 3.2 204 3.2 1,146 1.0 1,226 1.1

September 204 3.2 207 3.3 1,151 1.1 1,219 1.1

December 194 3.1 200 3.2 1,109 1.0 1,142 1.1

2002 March 204 3.2 190 3.0 1,175 1.1 1,089 1.0

June 208 3.3 187 2.9 1,189 1.1 1,080 1.0

September 199 3.1 184 2.9 1,051 1.0 1,023 1.0

December 201 3.1 191 3.0 1,023 1.0 1,021 1.0

2003 March 193 3.0 186 2.9 1,004 .9 1,011 .9

June 191 3.0 186 2.9 964 .9 951 .9

September 193 3.0 179 2.8 954 .9 884 .8

December 200 3.1 180 2.8 998 .9 910 .9

2004 March 207 3.2 180 2.8 1,000 .9 917 .9

June 203 3.1 185 2.8 980 .9 909 .8

September 209 3.2 186 2.8 1,016 .9 953 .9

December 210 3.2 180 2.7 997 .9 894 .8

2005 March 209 3.1 185 2.8 944 .9 852 .8

June 216 3.2 180 2.7 951 .9 841 .8

September 221 3.3 186 2.8 996 .9 884 .8

December 221 3.3 186 2.8 979 .9 846 .8

2006 March 220 3.2 180 2.6 922 .8 743 .7

June 219 3.2 194 2.8 973 .9 843 .7

September 210 3.1 196 2.9 927 .8 837 .7

December 221 3.2 193 2.8 966 .9 809 .7

2007 March 214 3.1 193 2.8 891 .8 764 .7

June 204 2.9 201 2.9 883 .8 851 .7

September 218 3.1 203 2.9 945 .8 840 .7

December 209 3.0 207 3.0 906 .8 831 .7

2008 March 207 3.0 210 3.0 889 .8 809 .7

June 199 2.9 228 3.3 876 .8 936 .8

September 192 2.8 223 3.2 831 .7 882 .8

December 188 2.7 240 3.5 806 .7 952 .9

2009 March 172 2.5 235 3.4 696 .6 844 .8

June 176 2.6 226 3.3 740 .7 831 .8

September 169 2.5 216 3.2 693 .7 793 .7

December 184 2.7 200 3.0 716 .7 745 .7

2010 March 172 2.5 196 2.9 661 .6 667 .6

June 172 2.6 N/A N/A 698 .7 N/A N/A

September 182 2.7 N/A N/A 714 .7 N/A N/A

December 196 2.9 N/A N/A 771 .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