For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, October 27, 2021 USDL-21-1906 

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

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

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FIRST QUARTER 2021

From December 2020 to March 2021, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector 

establishments were 8.2 million, a decrease of 667,000 jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S. Bureau 

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

private-sector establishments were 6.5 million, a decrease of 288,000 jobs from the previous quarter. 

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

employment gain of 1.7 million jobs in the private-sector during the first quarter of 2021. (See chart 1, 

and tables A and 1.) 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Effect on First Quarter 2021 Business Employment Dynamics 

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

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

Gross job gains

Gross job losses

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

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

March 2011 - March 2021

Thousands

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

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

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

track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter 

to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of 

gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See Technical Note.) The BED data series include 

gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, 

Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by 

employer size class. 

Gross Job Gains 

In the first quarter of 2021, gross job gains represented 6.8 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 6.6 

million in the first quarter of 2021, a decrease of 480,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter. 

Opening establishments accounted for 1.5 million of the jobs gained in the first quarter of 2021, a 

decrease of 187,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 2 and 3, and tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) 

Gross Job Losses 

In the first quarter of 2021, gross job losses represented 5.4 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 5.3 million jobs in the first quarter of 2021, a 

decrease of 63,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the first quarter of 2021, closing establishments lost 

1.1 million jobs, a decrease of 225,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 2 and 3, and tables A, 

1, 2, and 3.) 

Expansions

Contractions

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

'11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20 '21

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains at expanding 

establishments and gross job losses at contracting 

establishments, seasonally adjusted: March 2011 - March 2021

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents NBER defined recession period.

Openings

Closings

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

'11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20 '21

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

and gross job losses at closing establishments, seasonally 

adjusted: March 2011 - March 2021

Thousands

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

Establishment Births and Deaths 

In the first quarter of 2021, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data) 

increased by 16,000, to a total of 303,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for 

826,000 jobs, a decrease of 91,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a 

subset of the closings data) are available through the second quarter of 2020, when 1.2 million jobs were 

lost at 329,000 establishments, an increase of 401,000 jobs from the first quarter of 2020. (See Technical 

Note and table 8.) 

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

 

Category 

3 months ended 

Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar. 

2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 

Levels (in thousands) 

Gross job gains............................. 7,078 5,709 10,868 8,821 8,154 

 At expanding establishments... 5,719 4,416 8,817 7,124 6,644 

 At opening establishments.... 1,359 1,293 2,051 1,697 1,510 

Gross job losses............................ 7,869 20,401 6,858 6,757 6,469 

 At contracting establishments 6,365 17,475 5,483 5,403 5,340 

 At closing establishments...... 1,504 2,926 1,375 1,354 1,129 

Net employment change1............. -791 -14,692 4,010 2,064 1,685 

 

Rates (percent) 

Gross job gains............................. 5.6 4.8 9.5 7.4 6.8 

 At expanding establishments... 4.5 3.7 7.7 6.0 5.5 

 At opening establishments.... 1.1 1.1 1.8 1.4 1.3 

Gross job losses............................ 6.2 17.0 6.0 5.7 5.4 

 At contracting establishments 5.0 14.6 4.8 4.6 4.5 

 At closing establishments...... 1.2 2.4 1.2 1.1 0.9 

Net employment change1............. -0.6 -12.2 3.5 1.7 1.4 

1

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

further information. 
- 4 - 

Industries 

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 11 of 13 industries in the first quarter of 2021. The serviceproviding industries experienced a net job increase of 1.5 million in the first quarter of 2021. Within the 

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

employment gain, adding 740,000 jobs. This was the result of 1.7 million gross job gains and 1.0 million 

gross job losses. The education and health services sector experienced 1.0 gross job gains and 912,000 

gross job losses in the first quarter of 2021. The goods-producing industries had a net job increase of 

187,000 in the first quarter of 2021. Of the goods-producing industries, the construction sector showed a 

net increase of 98,000 jobs, the manufacturing sector had a net increase of 84,000 jobs, and the natural 

resources and mining sector added 5,000 jobs. (See table 3.) 

Firm Size 

In the first quarter of 2021, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment increase of 949,000. Firms 

with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 217,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a 

net employment increase of 589,000. (See tables 4 and 5.) 

States 

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

first quarter of 2021. (See tables 6 and 7.) 

For More Information 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Annual Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data 

Data in this release incorporate regular annual revisions to the BED series. These revisions cover the last 

four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data. 

 

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2021 are scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). 
Technical Note 

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

have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More detail can be found at 

www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-business-employment-dynamics.htm.

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of 

a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of 

Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by 

the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports 

on the employment and wages of workers covered by unemployment 

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

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

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

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

sampling frame. 

These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on 

total employment and wages and the longitudinal BED data on gross 

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

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

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

Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts. 

In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are linked 

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

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

closing and contracting units. 

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment 

measures 

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

Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in 

somewhat different measures of employment change over time. It is 

important to understand program differences and the intended uses 

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

program can be obtained from the program websites shown in the 

table. 

Coverage 

Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and 

Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) laws 

are compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the 

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

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

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

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

Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, 

religious organizations, most agricultural workers on small farms, all 

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

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

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

from longitudinal histories of 8.7 million private-sector employer reports out of 10.8 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2021. 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 of 2021. 

Number of active establishments included in 

Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level 

 Millions 

Total establishments QCEW program..........10.8 

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

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

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

 

Total establishments included in Business 

Employment Dynamics data.....................8.7 
 

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

QCEW BED CES 

Source  Count of UI administrative records 

submitted by 10.8 million establishments in first quarter of 2021 

 Count of longitudinally-linked UI administrative records submitted by 8.7 

million private-sector establishments 

 Sample survey: 697,000 establishments 

Coverage  UI and UCFE coverage, including 

all employers subject to state and 

federal UI laws 

 UI coverage, excluding government, 

private households, and establishments with zero employment 

Nonfarm wage and salary jobs: 

 UI coverage, excluding agriculture, private 

households, and self-employed workers 

 Other employment, including railroads, 

religious organizations, and other nonUI-covered jobs 

Publication frequency 

 Quarterly 

— 6 months after the end of each 

quarter 

 Quarterly 

— 7 months after the end of each 

quarter 

 Monthly 

— Usually the 3rd Friday after the end 

of the week including the 12th of the 

month 

Use of UI file  Directly summarizes and publishes 

each new quarter of UI data 

 Links each new UI quarter to longitudinal database and directly summarizes gross job gains and losses  Uses UI file as a sampling frame and to 

annually realign sample-based estimates 

to population counts (benchmarking) 

Principal 

products 

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

metropolitan statistical area (MSA), 

state, and national levels by detailed 

industry 

 Provides quarterly employer dynamics data on establishment openings, 

closings, expansions, and contractions 

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

firm, and at the state private-sector total level 

 Future expansions will include data 

with greater industry detail and data 

at the county and MSA level 

 Provides current monthly estimates of 

employment, hours, and earnings at the 

MSA, state, and national level by industry 

Principal uses  Major uses include: 

— Detailed locality data 

— Periodic universe counts for 

benchmarking sample survey estimates 

— Sample frame for BLS establishment surveys 

 Major uses include: 

— Business cycle analysis 

— Analysis of employer dynamics 

underlying economic expansions 

and contractions 

— Analysis of employment expansion and contraction by size of 

firm 

 Major uses include: 

— Principal federal economic indicator 

— Official time series for employment 

change measures 

— Input into other major economic indicators 

Program web 

sites 

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

Unit of analysis 

Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by 

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

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

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

is consistent with the role of corporations as the economic decision 

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

size class. 

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

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

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

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

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

seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally adjusted data. 

Concepts and methodology 

The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change 

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

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

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

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

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

the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. 

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows: 

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

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

Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third 

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

employment over this period. 

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

Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third 

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

in employment over this period. 

Births. These are units with positive third month employment for 

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

or units with positive third month employment in the current quarter 

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

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

businesses. 

Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero employment 

reported in the third month of four consecutive quarters following the 

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

not including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A unit that 

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

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

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

death statistics. 

All employment changes are measured from the third month of the 

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

change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

rate is the net growth rate. 

Establishment Births and Deaths 

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

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

consecutive quarters of zero employment in the third month followed 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

than the latter. 

Linkage methodology 

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

QCEW records are linked across two quarters. The linkage process 

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

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

successor information, identified by the states, which relates records 

with different SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor 

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

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

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

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

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

examines unmatched records individually and makes a possible 

match. 

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

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

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

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

also are introduced in the first quarter. 

 

Sizing methodology 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Annual Data 

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

change in employment at the establishment level from the third month 

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

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

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

and methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and gross job 

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

to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire 

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

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

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

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

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

quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted basis. 

Seasonal adjustment 

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

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

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

such seasonal variation can be very large. 

Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern 

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

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

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

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

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

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

economic activity. 

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

contracting units are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes 

are calculated based on the difference between gross job gains and 

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

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

based on the difference between the number of opening and closing 

establishments. Additionally establishment and employment levels 

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

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

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

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

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

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

the dynamic labor market changes that underlie the net employment 

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

employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying this 

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

changes. 

Reliability of the data 

Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based 

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

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

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

the dataset. 

Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for 

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

the effects of these complications. 

 The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based 

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

Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the 

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

seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data. 

Additional statistics and other information 

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

releases on quarterly county employment and wages and the annual 

bulletin also are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover (Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), phone number: (202) 691-6567; 

(www.bls.gov/cew/); (e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov). 

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

industry. These estimates are part of the Employment Situation report 

put out monthly by BLS. 

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey program provides 

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

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

5200; TDD message referral phone number: (800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2016 March 249 7,163 5,875 1,288 6,914 5,706 1,208

June 318 7,443 6,070 1,373 7,125 5,820 1,305

September 748 7,710 6,250 1,460 6,962 5,718 1,244

December 308 7,413 6,007 1,406 7,105 5,806 1,299

2017 March 662 7,441 6,103 1,338 6,779 5,595 1,184

June 496 7,625 6,251 1,374 7,129 5,862 1,267

September -52 7,318 5,969 1,349 7,370 6,073 1,297

December 913 7,792 6,360 1,432 6,879 5,583 1,296

2018 March 727 7,506 6,153 1,353 6,779 5,589 1,190

June 422 7,657 6,255 1,402 7,235 5,951 1,284

September 79 7,500 6,125 1,375 7,421 6,099 1,322

December 763 7,744 6,301 1,443 6,981 5,648 1,333

2019 March 537 7,473 6,112 1,361 6,936 5,689 1,247

June 182 7,637 6,249 1,388 7,455 6,095 1,360

September 48 7,395 6,016 1,379 7,347 6,073 1,274

December 785 7,848 6,354 1,494 7,063 5,736 1,327

2020 March -791 7,078 5,719 1,359 7,869 6,365 1,504

June -14,692 5,709 4,416 1,293 20,401 17,475 2,926

September 4,010 10,868 8,817 2,051 6,858 5,483 1,375

December 2,064 8,821 7,124 1,697 6,757 5,403 1,354

2021 March 1,685 8,154 6,644 1,510 6,469 5,340 1,129

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

2011 March 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1

June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2

September 0.8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1

December 0.4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2

2012 March 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0

June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September 0.2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1

December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2013 March 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1

June 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2014 March 0.4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

June 0.8 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1

September 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

December 0.9 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1

2015 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

June 0.7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.7 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2016 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

June 0.2 6.2 5.1 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1

September 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.3 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

2017 March 0.5 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.6 4.6 1.0

June 0.4 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

September -0.1 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.1 5.0 1.1

December 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1

2018 March 0.6 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0

June 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

September 0.0 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1

December 0.6 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1

2019 March 0.5 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0

June 0.2 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.9 4.8 1.1

September 0.1 5.9 4.8 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.7 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.5 4.5 1.0

2020 March -0.6 5.6 4.5 1.1 6.2 5.0 1.2

June -12.2 4.8 3.7 1.1 17.0 14.6 2.4

September 3.5 9.5 7.7 1.8 6.0 4.8 1.2

December 1.7 7.4 6.0 1.4 5.7 4.6 1.1

2021 March 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3 5.4 4.5 0.9

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

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

2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 7,078 5,709 10,868 8,821 8,154 5.6 4.8 9.5 7.4 6.8

At expanding establishments ......... 5,719 4,416 8,817 7,124 6,644 4.5 3.7 7.7 6.0 5.5

At opening establishments ............ 1,359 1,293 2,051 1,697 1,510 1.1 1.1 1.8 1.4 1.3

Gross job losses ........................... 7,869 20,401 6,858 6,757 6,469 6.2 17.0 6.0 5.7 5.4

At contracting establishments ......... 6,365 17,475 5,483 5,403 5,340 5.0 14.6 4.8 4.6 4.5

At closing establishments ............ 1,504 2,926 1,375 1,354 1,129 1.2 2.4 1.2 1.1 0.9

Net employment change .............. -791 -14,692 4,010 2,064 1,685 -0.6 -12.2 3.5 1.7 1.4

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,300 1,039 1,493 1,469 1,368 5.9 4.9 7.2 6.9 6.4

At expanding establishments ......... 1,102 850 1,248 1,251 1,160 5.0 4.0 6.0 5.9 5.4

At opening establishments ............ 198 189 245 218 208 0.9 0.9 1.2 1.0 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 1,317 2,576 1,370 1,172 1,181 5.9 11.9 6.6 5.6 5.5

At contracting establishments ......... 1,107 2,287 1,171 982 1,004 5.0 10.6 5.6 4.7 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 210 289 199 190 177 0.9 1.3 1.0 0.9 0.8

Net employment change .............. -17 -1,537 123 297 187 0.0 -7.0 0.6 1.3 0.9

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 241 221 221 231 238 12.6 12.2 12.9 13.3 13.4

At expanding establishments ......... 209 192 185 200 209 10.9 10.6 10.8 11.5 11.8

At opening establishments ............ 32 29 36 31 29 1.7 1.6 2.1 1.8 1.6

Gross job losses ........................... 255 370 239 229 233 13.3 20.3 13.9 13.2 13.2

At contracting establishments ......... 221 331 208 202 203 11.5 18.2 12.1 11.6 11.5

At closing establishments ............ 34 39 31 27 30 1.8 2.1 1.8 1.6 1.7

Net employment change .............. -14 -149 -18 2 5 -0.7 -8.1 -1.0 0.1 0.2

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 692 546 689 716 679 9.1 7.4 9.7 9.9 9.2

At expanding establishments ......... 562 425 535 577 545 7.4 5.8 7.5 8.0 7.4

At opening establishments ............ 130 121 154 139 134 1.7 1.6 2.2 1.9 1.8

Gross job losses ........................... 637 1,046 662 565 581 8.4 14.2 9.3 7.8 7.8

At contracting establishments ......... 510 876 541 449 475 6.7 11.9 7.6 6.2 6.4

At closing establishments ............ 127 170 121 116 106 1.7 2.3 1.7 1.6 1.4

Net employment change .............. 55 -500 27 151 98 0.7 -6.8 0.4 2.1 1.4

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 367 272 583 522 451 2.9 2.2 4.9 4.3 3.7

At expanding establishments ......... 331 233 528 474 406 2.6 1.9 4.4 3.9 3.3

At opening establishments ............ 36 39 55 48 45 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.4

Gross job losses ........................... 425 1,160 469 378 367 3.4 9.4 3.9 3.1 3.0

At contracting establishments ......... 376 1,080 422 331 326 3.0 8.8 3.5 2.7 2.7

At closing establishments ............ 49 80 47 47 41 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3

Net employment change .............. -58 -888 114 144 84 -0.5 -7.2 1.0 1.2 0.7

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 5,778 4,670 9,375 7,352 6,786 5.5 4.7 9.9 7.6 6.9

At expanding establishments ......... 4,617 3,566 7,569 5,873 5,484 4.4 3.6 8.0 6.1 5.6

At opening establishments ............ 1,161 1,104 1,806 1,479 1,302 1.1 1.1 1.9 1.5 1.3

Gross job losses ........................... 6,552 17,825 5,488 5,585 5,288 6.2 18.1 5.8 5.8 5.4

At contracting establishments ......... 5,258 15,188 4,312 4,421 4,336 5.0 15.4 4.6 4.6 4.4

At closing establishments ............ 1,294 2,637 1,176 1,164 952 1.2 2.7 1.2 1.2 1.0

Net employment change .............. -774 -13,155 3,887 1,767 1,498 -0.7 -13.4 4.1 1.8 1.5

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 254 204 322 302 265 4.3 3.6 5.8 5.5 4.7

At expanding establishments ......... 211 154 262 243 218 3.6 2.7 4.7 4.4 3.9

At opening establishments ............ 43 50 60 59 47 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.1 0.8

Gross job losses ........................... 262 608 268 223 220 4.4 10.7 4.9 3.9 3.9

At contracting establishments ......... 202 525 208 170 173 3.4 9.2 3.8 3.0 3.1

At closing establishments ............ 60 83 60 53 47 1.0 1.5 1.1 0.9 0.8

Net employment change .............. -8 -404 54 79 45 -0.1 -7.1 0.9 1.6 0.8

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

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

2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 915 916 1,536 936 923 5.9 6.1 10.5 6.2 6.1

At expanding establishments ......... 812 813 1,351 814 801 5.2 5.4 9.2 5.4 5.3

At opening establishments ............ 103 103 185 122 122 0.7 0.7 1.3 0.8 0.8

Gross job losses ........................... 885 2,538 833 841 765 5.7 16.9 5.7 5.6 5.0

At contracting establishments ......... 759 2,264 722 711 667 4.9 15.1 4.9 4.7 4.4

At closing establishments ............ 126 274 111 130 98 0.8 1.8 0.8 0.9 0.6

Net employment change .............. 30 -1,622 703 95 158 0.2 -10.8 4.8 0.6 1.1

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 291 424 525 636 353 5.1 7.8 9.7 11.1 5.9

At expanding establishments ......... 250 377 454 521 303 4.4 6.9 8.4 9.1 5.1

At opening establishments ............ 41 47 71 115 50 0.7 0.9 1.3 2.0 0.8

Gross job losses ........................... 417 836 313 276 417 7.3 15.2 5.8 4.8 7.1

At contracting establishments ......... 368 754 270 236 381 6.4 13.7 5.0 4.1 6.5

At closing establishments ............ 49 82 43 40 36 0.9 1.5 0.8 0.7 0.6

Net employment change .............. -126 -412 212 360 -64 -2.2 -7.4 3.9 6.3 -1.2

Utilities

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

At expanding establishments ......... 9 8 12 11 9 1.6 1.5 2.2 2.0 1.7

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

Gross job losses ........................... 10 14 12 12 10 1.8 2.6 2.2 2.2 1.9

At contracting establishments ......... 9 13 10 10 9 1.6 2.4 1.8 1.8 1.7

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

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

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 153 99 207 175 181 5.3 3.6 7.8 6.6 6.6

At expanding establishments ......... 130 74 164 136 153 4.5 2.7 6.2 5.1 5.6

At opening establishments ............ 23 25 43 39 28 0.8 0.9 1.6 1.5 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 144 419 132 143 117 5.0 15.3 5.0 5.4 4.3

At contracting establishments ......... 114 357 102 109 93 4.0 13.0 3.9 4.1 3.4

At closing establishments ............ 30 62 30 34 24 1.0 2.3 1.1 1.3 0.9

Net employment change .............. 9 -320 75 32 64 0.3 -11.7 2.8 1.2 2.3

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 362 317 453 432 386 4.3 3.9 5.5 5.3 4.7

At expanding establishments ......... 288 230 352 321 302 3.4 2.8 4.3 3.9 3.7

At opening establishments ............ 74 87 101 111 84 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 369 638 375 371 339 4.4 7.7 4.7 4.5 4.1

At contracting establishments ......... 279 527 273 279 255 3.3 6.4 3.4 3.4 3.1

At closing establishments ............ 90 111 102 92 84 1.1 1.3 1.3 1.1 1.0

Net employment change .............. -7 -321 78 61 47 -0.1 -3.8 0.8 0.8 0.6

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,304 1,149 1,827 1,855 1,467 6.1 5.7 9.2 9.0 7.1

At expanding establishments ......... 1,052 850 1,467 1,500 1,180 4.9 4.2 7.4 7.3 5.7

At opening establishments ............ 252 299 360 355 287 1.2 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.4

Gross job losses ........................... 1,402 2,966 1,349 1,195 1,245 6.6 14.5 6.8 5.8 6.0

At contracting establishments ......... 1,119 2,576 1,046 908 1,000 5.3 12.6 5.3 4.4 4.8

At closing establishments ............ 283 390 303 287 245 1.3 1.9 1.5 1.4 1.2

Net employment change .............. -98 -1,817 478 660 222 -0.5 -8.8 2.4 3.2 1.1

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,039 667 1,374 1,172 1,049 4.4 2.9 6.3 5.2 4.7

At expanding establishments ......... 775 481 1,116 944 855 3.3 2.1 5.1 4.2 3.8

At opening establishments ............ 264 186 258 228 194 1.1 0.8 1.2 1.0 0.9

Gross job losses ........................... 1,000 2,406 902 892 912 4.2 10.7 4.1 4.0 4.0

At contracting establishments ......... 781 2,073 710 697 744 3.3 9.2 3.2 3.1 3.3

At closing establishments ............ 219 333 192 195 168 0.9 1.5 0.9 0.9 0.7

Net employment change .............. 39 -1,739 472 280 137 0.2 -7.8 2.2 1.2 0.7

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

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

2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,124 656 2,535 1,447 1,723 6.9 4.8 21.3 11.6 13.3

At expanding establishments ......... 866 449 2,035 1,139 1,408 5.3 3.3 17.1 9.1 10.9

At opening establishments ............ 258 207 500 308 315 1.6 1.5 4.2 2.5 2.4

Gross job losses ........................... 1,695 6,331 1,024 1,329 983 10.3 46.0 8.6 10.6 7.7

At contracting establishments ......... 1,368 5,323 778 1,087 809 8.3 38.7 6.5 8.7 6.3

At closing establishments ............ 327 1,008 246 242 174 2.0 7.3 2.1 1.9 1.4

Net employment change .............. -571 -5,675 1,511 118 740 -3.4 -41.2 12.7 1.0 5.6

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 286 192 533 327 322 6.7 4.9 14.9 8.8 8.5

At expanding establishments ......... 218 125 348 235 239 5.1 3.2 9.7 6.3 6.3

At opening establishments ............ 68 67 185 92 83 1.6 1.7 5.2 2.5 2.2

Gross job losses ........................... 344 1,038 262 283 256 8.1 27.0 7.3 7.6 6.8

At contracting establishments ......... 254 768 188 208 197 6.0 20.0 5.2 5.6 5.2

At closing establishments ............ 90 270 74 75 59 2.1 7.0 2.1 2.0 1.6

Net employment change .............. -58 -846 271 44 66 -1.4 -22.1 7.6 1.2 1.7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2016 March 254 5,754 5,500 191 3,114 2,923 59 1,022 963 4 1,618 1,614

June 331 6,048 5,717 74 3,123 3,049 114 1,101 987 143 1,824 1,681

September 752 6,266 5,514 192 3,160 2,968 102 1,089 987 458 2,017 1,559

December 245 5,886 5,641 71 3,065 2,994 37 1,026 989 137 1,795 1,658

2017 March 658 6,000 5,342 341 3,232 2,891 190 1,084 894 127 1,684 1,557

June 543 6,203 5,660 150 3,160 3,010 145 1,123 978 248 1,920 1,672

September -100 5,833 5,933 -111 2,999 3,110 -44 1,014 1,058 55 1,820 1,765

December 831 6,199 5,368 241 3,189 2,948 149 1,086 937 441 1,924 1,483

2018 March 731 6,062 5,331 297 3,210 2,913 164 1,071 907 270 1,781 1,511

June 454 6,188 5,734 136 3,191 3,055 151 1,129 978 167 1,868 1,701

September 33 5,985 5,952 -90 3,027 3,117 -25 1,030 1,055 148 1,928 1,780

December 698 6,109 5,411 208 3,177 2,969 141 1,080 939 349 1,852 1,503

2019 March 572 6,003 5,431 259 3,190 2,931 153 1,064 911 160 1,749 1,589

June 204 6,142 5,938 58 3,157 3,099 93 1,118 1,025 53 1,867 1,814

September -1 5,874 5,875 -15 3,044 3,059 -27 1,019 1,046 41 1,811 1,770

December 682 6,214 5,532 214 3,191 2,977 99 1,067 968 369 1,956 1,587

2020 March -610 5,659 6,269 -368 3,026 3,394 -102 967 1,069 -140 1,666 1,806

June -15,320 4,494 19,814 -4,700 2,552 7,252 -2,819 579 3,398 -7,801 1,363 9,164

September 4,040 9,459 5,419 1,505 4,483 2,978 542 1,423 881 1,993 3,553 1,560

December 1,893 7,092 5,199 521 3,496 2,975 351 1,193 842 1,021 2,403 1,382

2021 March 1,755 6,798 5,043 949 3,590 2,641 217 1,094 877 589 2,114 1,525

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

Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job

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

Year 3 months ended

Total private by firm1 Firm size 1 - 49 employees

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

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

Firm size 50 - 249 employees Firm size 250 or more

Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job

establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail. See
Table 5. Components of private-sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted

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

2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 5,659 4,494 9,459 7,092 6,798 4.5 3.7 8.2 6.0 5.7

At expanding firms .................. 4,708 3,626 7,980 5,982 5,731 3.7 3.0 6.9 5.1 4.8

At opening firms ..................... 951 868 1,479 1,110 1,067 0.8 0.7 1.3 0.9 0.9

Gross job losses ........................ 6,269 19,814 5,419 5,199 5,043 5.0 16.6 4.7 4.5 4.2

At contracting firms ............... 5,177 17,716 4,487 4,307 4,273 4.1 14.8 3.9 3.7 3.6

At closing firms ................... 1,092 2,098 932 892 770 0.9 1.8 0.8 0.8 0.6

Net employment change ............. -610 -15,320 4,040 1,893 1,755 -0.5 -12.9 3.5 1.5 1.5

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 3,026 2,552 4,483 3,496 3,590 8.8 7.7 13.8 10.5 10.7

At expanding firms .................. 2,106 1,709 3,062 2,424 2,562 6.1 5.2 9.4 7.3 7.6

At opening firms ..................... 920 843 1,421 1,072 1,028 2.7 2.5 4.4 3.2 3.1

Gross job losses ........................ 3,394 7,252 2,978 2,975 2,641 9.8 21.9 9.2 9.0 7.9

At contracting firms ............... 2,361 5,298 2,075 2,110 1,901 6.8 16.0 6.4 6.4 5.7

At closing firms ................... 1,033 1,954 903 865 740 3.0 5.9 2.8 2.6 2.2

Net employment change ............. -368 -4,700 1,505 521 949 -1.0 -14.2 4.6 1.5 2.8

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 967 579 1,423 1,193 1,094 4.2 2.7 7.1 5.9 5.2

At expanding firms .................. 939 557 1,380 1,161 1,065 4.1 2.6 6.9 5.7 5.1

At opening firms ..................... 28 22 43 32 29 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1

Gross job losses ........................ 1,069 3,398 881 842 877 4.7 16.1 4.4 4.1 4.2

At contracting firms ............... 1,036 3,292 857 817 852 4.6 15.6 4.3 4.0 4.1

At closing firms ................... 33 106 24 25 25 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1

Net employment change ............. -102 -2,819 542 351 217 -0.5 -13.4 2.7 1.8 1.0

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,666 1,363 3,553 2,403 2,114 2.4 2.1 5.6 3.7 3.2

At expanding firms .................. 1,663 1,360 3,538 2,397 2,104 2.4 2.1 5.6 3.7 3.2

At opening firms ..................... 3 3 15 6 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,806 9,164 1,560 1,382 1,525 2.6 14.0 2.5 2.1 2.3

At contracting firms ............... 1,780 9,126 1,555 1,380 1,520 2.6 13.9 2.5 2.1 2.3

At closing firms ................... 26 38 5 2 5 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0

Net employment change ............. -140 -7,801 1,993 1,021 589 -0.2 -11.9 3.1 1.6 0.9

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

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

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

Category

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

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)

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

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

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

2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021

United States 1 ............ 7,078,000 5,709,000 10,868,000 8,821,000 8,154,000 7,869,000 20,401,000 6,858,000 6,757,000 6,469,000

Alabama .................. 88,827 73,891 119,278 119,294 92,377 96,778 196,681 90,585 84,720 92,107

Alaska ..................... 23,319 15,297 26,215 30,084 25,286 24,694 56,304 21,178 17,167 21,662

Arizona .................. 144,546 142,520 188,469 180,158 157,582 155,039 288,811 147,266 120,914 137,245

Arkansas .................. 53,062 47,512 73,315 71,401 59,076 58,018 119,820 54,843 51,611 50,250

California .................. 932,677 751,485 1,201,754 1,171,574 1,081,628 1,034,813 2,664,100 965,425 848,243 833,574

Colorado .................. 147,764 126,401 216,809 161,665 190,034 161,067 333,840 135,842 157,038 123,149

Connecticut ............... 84,446 58,417 148,355 88,630 85,542 85,604 263,538 65,898 79,517 71,646

Delaware .................. 23,770 18,177 37,102 24,803 25,344 26,061 63,203 22,708 21,870 22,245

District of Columbia ... 28,354 16,282 37,965 24,490 25,353 28,885 111,741 26,667 25,795 24,772

Florida ..................... 434,219 450,826 685,781 586,615 521,589 485,406 1,051,658 492,931 443,199 435,096

Georgia .................. 222,742 198,055 331,782 290,819 251,594 244,761 554,519 230,389 191,946 214,348

Hawaii ..................... 29,199 17,297 29,959 61,190 37,733 31,355 142,873 49,141 18,902 26,185

Idaho ..................... 48,769 39,770 52,742 55,980 53,979 39,909 70,970 40,217 39,115 37,762

Illinois ..................... 261,345 220,967 457,067 311,130 352,016 311,903 893,653 262,529 292,410 235,866

Indiana ..................... 133,217 119,442 208,217 174,192 157,471 161,118 348,004 131,356 127,593 131,642

Iowa ........................ 70,845 55,343 91,616 84,795 76,915 78,413 163,420 67,835 62,908 68,172

Kansas ..................... 62,310 55,385 85,025 76,509 68,181 68,780 146,099 63,525 64,495 61,530

Kentucky .................. 88,290 70,385 132,991 112,311 112,708 99,198 234,010 75,389 93,275 80,297

Louisiana .................. 86,705 65,928 129,943 127,528 96,274 103,480 252,014 99,686 81,705 88,400

Maine ..................... 34,854 25,718 58,423 41,979 45,104 38,198 108,980 28,668 31,261 32,096

Maryland .................. 125,118 99,904 221,885 147,691 129,076 151,252 443,298 110,106 119,660 114,275

Massachusetts ............ 168,134 109,631 349,742 203,528 193,648 195,390 714,797 152,202 160,761 145,185

Michigan .................. 193,590 140,450 367,778 233,463 297,237 215,522 727,068 160,877 237,554 172,427

Minnesota ............... 125,431 99,807 204,782 159,532 215,284 142,000 417,638 122,620 157,602 113,923

Mississippi ............... 49,965 43,475 74,147 69,883 48,982 57,501 111,622 46,144 42,799 57,760

Missouri .................. 123,860 107,428 189,558 162,655 145,842 141,712 330,790 125,598 119,914 120,759

Montana .................. 29,405 25,685 36,552 35,500 34,300 30,536 52,377 26,639 25,794 26,870

Nebraska .................. 47,976 38,438 63,895 53,943 52,031 50,198 97,404 45,413 43,750 49,507

Nevada ..................... 67,801 59,684 136,709 97,898 83,087 81,338 337,194 68,282 63,782 62,689

New Hampshire ......... 35,523 25,124 62,877 40,432 41,089 37,972 103,540 28,000 34,841 30,261

New Jersey ............... 200,860 153,459 484,495 262,647 231,639 226,863 917,511 173,437 189,844 186,170

New Mexico ............ 41,059 27,809 50,202 43,561 51,283 43,983 109,916 35,711 45,015 34,014

New York ............... 442,072 289,826 921,194 528,197 502,099 526,144 1,981,322 405,074 452,008 393,029

North Carolina ............ 224,389 177,407 308,279 288,961 249,484 222,011 532,972 197,428 182,519 200,141

North Dakota ............ 24,206 17,552 28,228 23,213 25,429 25,311 56,881 21,947 22,713 20,985

Ohio ........................ 240,494 201,595 338,918 291,848 273,126 268,766 650,019 232,782 233,327 223,339

Oklahoma ............... 70,187 69,513 86,685 97,432 75,490 85,871 152,932 79,279 71,686 75,024

Oregon ..................... 115,500 80,526 137,454 115,457 134,802 110,706 290,625 95,988 101,713 88,715

Pennsylvania ............ 262,222 175,690 487,751 298,990 318,356 299,656 901,158 232,669 258,653 227,213

Rhode Island ............ 25,551 17,689 48,657 29,475 38,212 27,623 99,168 19,750 27,610 21,750

South Carolina ............ 100,424 85,261 146,055 135,839 106,718 118,335 247,000 96,810 88,242 104,928

South Dakota ............ 21,347 17,640 29,303 25,154 25,621 23,768 39,915 18,729 21,283 21,112

Tennessee ............... 137,825 110,734 200,135 188,799 144,611 142,837 350,743 133,250 116,317 128,007

Texas ..................... 553,858 487,183 726,414 766,575 597,160 614,010 1,418,059 608,180 489,322 512,772

Utah ........................ 85,644 83,337 114,757 104,801 94,104 84,429 138,210 78,612 71,466 80,546

Vermont .................. 15,102 11,010 29,141 17,749 19,463 19,665 43,626 13,023 18,518 14,209

Virginia .................. 181,700 142,363 307,263 214,569 184,421 198,361 559,329 159,249 162,104 169,083

Washington ............... 222,102 132,571 235,678 192,772 215,904 226,515 479,283 165,708 163,861 149,132

West Virginia ............ 35,869 26,431 44,845 38,074 37,107 38,127 72,955 34,658 31,713 29,736

Wisconsin ............... 127,826 104,444 177,928 149,052 140,399 134,817 346,821 117,841 121,780 112,350

Wyoming .................. 18,399 12,907 20,672 19,560 18,202 20,365 35,787 14,768 15,116 16,576

Puerto Rico ............... 34,744 26,290 69,660 43,022 43,139 38,361 109,814 32,475 31,747 32,409

Virgin Islands ............ 2,441 1,406 1,876 2,379 1,794 2,580 5,069 3,027 1,394 2,621

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

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

2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021

United States .......................... 5.6 4.8 9.5 7.4 6.8 6.2 17.0 6.0 5.7 5.4

Alabama ............................. 5.5 4.7 7.8 7.6 5.9 5.9 12.6 5.9 5.5 5.9

Alaska ................................. 9.3 6.6 12.2 13.4 11.0 9.9 24.3 9.8 7.7 9.4

Arizona ............................... 5.7 5.8 7.8 7.3 6.3 6.0 11.8 6.1 5.0 5.5

Arkansas .............................. 5.1 4.8 7.6 7.2 5.9 5.6 12.1 5.7 5.2 5.1

California ........................... 6.1 5.3 8.9 8.5 7.7 6.9 18.6 7.1 6.1 5.9

Colorado .............................. 6.3 5.7 10.1 7.5 8.6 7.0 15.1 6.4 7.2 5.6

Connecticut ......................... 5.9 4.3 11.4 6.6 6.3 6.0 19.5 5.1 5.9 5.3

Delaware .............................. 6.1 4.9 10.3 6.8 6.8 6.7 17.0 6.4 6.0 6.0

District of Columbia ............... 5.3 3.3 8.2 5.3 5.5 5.4 22.3 5.7 5.5 5.3

Florida ................................. 5.5 6.0 9.5 8.0 6.9 6.2 14.1 6.7 6.0 5.8

Georgia .............................. 5.7 5.3 9.3 7.9 6.7 6.3 14.9 6.5 5.2 5.7

Hawaii ............................... 5.4 3.6 7.5 14.7 8.5 5.9 30.3 12.2 4.6 5.9

Idaho .................................... 7.6 6.3 8.4 8.7 8.1 6.1 11.2 6.4 6.1 5.7

Illinois ................................ 5.0 4.5 9.7 6.5 7.2 6.0 18.2 5.6 6.1 4.9

Indiana ............................... 4.9 4.6 8.3 6.8 6.0 6.0 13.5 5.2 5.0 5.1

Iowa .................................... 5.4 4.4 7.5 6.8 6.1 6.0 13.0 5.5 5.1 5.4

Kansas ................................. 5.4 5.0 7.9 7.0 6.2 6.0 13.3 5.9 5.9 5.5

Kentucky .............................. 5.5 4.6 9.0 7.3 7.3 6.1 15.2 5.1 6.1 5.1

Louisiana .............................. 5.4 4.4 9.1 8.7 6.4 6.5 16.8 7.0 5.6 5.9

Maine ................................ 6.7 5.2 12.3 8.5 9.0 7.3 21.9 6.0 6.3 6.3

Maryland ............................ 5.7 4.8 11.2 7.3 6.3 6.8 21.5 5.5 5.8 5.5

Massachusetts ....................... 5.2 3.7 12.4 7.0 6.6 6.1 24.2 5.4 5.5 5.0

Michigan ............................. 5.1 4.0 10.9 6.7 8.5 5.7 20.5 4.8 6.9 4.9

Minnesota ........................... 5.0 4.2 9.0 6.9 9.2 5.7 17.6 5.4 6.8 4.9

Mississippi ........................... 5.5 5.0 8.7 8.0 5.6 6.4 12.9 5.5 4.9 6.6

Missouri .............................. 5.2 4.6 8.5 7.1 6.3 5.9 14.4 5.7 5.2 5.3

Montana ............................... 7.5 6.8 9.9 9.4 8.8 7.8 13.9 7.2 6.8 6.9

Nebraska .............................. 5.8 4.8 8.2 6.8 6.5 6.1 12.2 5.8 5.5 6.2

Nevada ............................... 5.3 5.3 12.9 8.8 7.3 6.4 29.5 6.4 5.7 5.5

New Hampshire ..................... 6.1 4.5 11.8 7.4 7.4 6.5 18.8 5.3 6.4 5.4

New Jersey ........................... 5.7 4.8 15.7 8.1 7.0 6.5 28.3 5.6 5.9 5.6

New Mexico ........................ 6.2 4.5 8.5 7.3 8.5 6.7 17.7 6.1 7.5 5.7

New York ........................... 5.5 3.9 13.3 7.4 6.9 6.5 26.9 5.9 6.3 5.4

North Carolina ........................ 5.9 4.9 8.7 7.9 6.6 5.8 14.6 5.6 5.0 5.4

North Dakota ........................ 6.9 5.3 8.9 7.2 7.8 7.2 17.1 6.9 7.1 6.5

Ohio .................................... 5.1 4.5 7.8 6.6 6.1 5.7 14.4 5.3 5.2 5.0

Oklahoma ........................... 5.4 5.5 7.1 7.9 6.1 6.6 12.3 6.6 5.8 6.1

Oregon ................................. 6.9 5.0 9.0 7.4 8.5 6.5 18.2 6.3 6.5 5.6

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.0 3.6 10.3 6.2 6.4 5.7 18.3 4.9 5.3 4.6

Rhode Island ........................ 6.0 4.5 13.0 7.6 9.8 6.5 25.1 5.3 7.1 5.5

South Carolina ........................ 5.7 5.0 8.8 8.0 6.2 6.6 14.6 5.9 5.2 6.1

South Dakota ........................ 6.0 5.1 8.6 7.2 7.3 6.7 11.5 5.5 6.2 6.0

Tennessee ........................... 5.2 4.4 8.1 7.5 5.6 5.5 13.9 5.5 4.6 5.0

Texas ................................. 5.1 4.7 7.3 7.6 5.7 5.7 13.8 6.1 4.8 5.0

Utah .................................... 6.6 6.6 9.1 8.1 7.1 6.5 10.9 6.3 5.6 6.1

Vermont .............................. 5.9 4.6 12.9 7.6 8.2 7.7 18.4 5.8 8.0 6.1

Virginia .............................. 5.6 4.6 10.4 7.0 6.0 6.1 18.3 5.4 5.3 5.4

Washington ........................... 7.7 4.8 8.9 7.2 7.9 7.8 17.4 6.3 6.1 5.4

West Virginia ........................ 6.6 5.1 8.9 7.4 7.2 7.0 14.1 6.9 6.2 5.8

Wisconsin ........................... 5.1 4.3 7.6 6.3 5.8 5.4 14.4 5.1 5.1 4.7

Wyoming .............................. 8.6 6.4 10.8 10.0 9.1 9.6 17.9 7.7 7.7 8.3

Puerto Rico ........................... 5.0 4.1 11.1 6.6 6.6 5.6 16.9 5.1 4.9 5.0

Virgin Islands ........................ 8.5 5.3 7.8 9.9 7.4 9.0 18.8 12.5 5.8 10.8

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

2011 March 204 2.9 200 2.8 715 0.7 632 0.6

June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 0.7 689 0.6

September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 0.7 675 0.6

December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 0.7 700 0.6

2012 March 236 3.3 188 2.6 787 0.7 614 0.6

June 217 3.0 194 2.7 799 0.7 673 0.6

September 210 2.9 196 2.7 804 0.7 692 0.6

December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 0.7 673 0.6

2013 March 205 2.8 193 2.6 748 0.7 648 0.6

June 222 3.0 215 2.9 789 0.7 695 0.6

September 219 2.9 195 2.6 818 0.7 678 0.6

December 215 2.9 187 2.5 803 0.7 670 0.6

2014 March 220 2.9 190 2.5 784 0.7 635 0.6

June 221 2.9 204 2.7 806 0.7 711 0.6

September 225 3.0 199 2.6 825 0.7 703 0.6

December 224 2.9 198 2.6 836 0.7 705 0.6

2015 March 233 3.0 207 2.7 818 0.7 696 0.6

June 234 3.1 211 2.8 838 0.7 728 0.6

September 243 3.2 207 2.7 881 0.7 699 0.6

December 247 3.2 209 2.7 892 0.7 733 0.6

2016 March 236 3.0 204 2.6 789 0.7 671 0.6

June 241 3.1 213 2.7 838 0.7 719 0.6

September 238 3.0 214 2.7 872 0.7 745 0.6

December 238 3.0 217 2.8 865 0.7 729 0.6

2017 March 242 3.0 204 2.6 804 0.7 666 0.5

June 241 3.0 224 2.8 850 0.7 753 0.6

September 243 3.0 225 2.8 850 0.7 760 0.6

December 245 3.1 216 2.7 848 0.7 732 0.6

2018 March 248 3.1 214 2.7 812 0.7 665 0.5

June 265 3.3 228 2.8 880 0.7 769 0.6

September 251 3.1 231 2.8 864 0.7 786 0.6

December 249 3.1 222 2.7 857 0.7 761 0.6

2019 March 260 3.2 220 2.7 807 0.6 696 0.6

June 258 3.1 241 2.9 850 0.7 807 0.6

September 250 3.0 233 2.8 848 0.7 768 0.6

December 268 3.2 235 2.8 905 0.7 792 0.6

2020 March 316 3.8 274 3.3 846 0.7 762 0.6

June 227 2.8 329 4.0 661 0.6 1,163 1.0

September 277 3.4 N/A N/A 822 0.7 N/A N/A

December 287 3.5 N/A N/A 917 0.8 N/A N/A

2021 March 303 3.6 N/A N/A 826 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