1

Technical information: (202) 691-6467

 http://www.bls.gov/bdm/

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-2196

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Friday, November 18, 2005

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FIRST QUARTER 2005

From December 2004 to March 2005, the number of job gains from opening and expanding private

sector establishments was 7.6 million and the number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was 7.3 million, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.

Department of Labor. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all sectors, except manufacturing and

information. (See charts A and B.)

Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions in employment at existing

establishments and the addition of new jobs in opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of

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

difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in

employment.

On December 8, 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release for the first time new Business Employment Dynamics data on employment categorized by firm size. These new quarterly

data series will add another dimension to understanding employment dynamics by revealing the

contribution to net and gross employment change by firm size class. The news release will contain data from the third quarter of 1992 through the first quarter of 2005. Thereafter, size class

data will be included in each regular quarterly BED news release.

New Business Employment Dynamics Firm Size Class Data
2

Gross job gains ........................................ 7,745 7,857 7,789 8,081 7,635

At expanding establishments ........... 6,231 6,292 6,123 6,365 6,171

At opening establishments ............... 1,514 1,565 1,666 1,716 1,464

Gross job losses ....................................... 7,310 7,263 7,598 7,212 7,310

At contracting establishments ......... 5,871 5,726 5,953 5,727 5,852

At closing establishments ................ 1,439 1,537 1,645 1,485 1,458

Net employment change ......................... 435 594 191 869 325

 3 months ended

Category

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

1

Gross job gains ........................................ 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.4 6.9

At expanding establishments ........... 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.6

At opening establishments ............... 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.3

Gross job losses ....................................... 6.8 6.7 7.0 6.7 6.6

At contracting establishments ......... 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.3 5.3

At closing establishments ................ 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.3

Net employment change ......................... 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.7 0.3

Rates (percent)

 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.

June 2004 Sept. 2004 Dec. 2004 Mar. 2005

Levels (in thousands)

1

Mar. 2004

Private Sector Gross Job Gains and Job Losses

Opening and expanding private sector business establishments gained 7.6 million jobs in the first quarter

of 2005, a decrease of 446,000 from the previous quarter’s total. This was the smallest number of gross job

gains recorded in five quarters. Over the first quarter, expanding establishments added 6.2 million jobs, while

opening establishments added 1.5 million jobs.

First quarter gross job losses totaled 7.3 million, a slight increase from the prior gross job loss total of

7.2 million. During the quarter, contracting establishments lost 5.9 million jobs, while closing establishments

accounted for a loss of 1.5 million jobs. (See tables A, 1, 3, and chart B.)

From December 2004 to March 2005, gross job gains represented 6.9 percent of private sector

employment, the lowest gross job gains rate since the third quarter of 2003. Gross job losses were 6.6

percent of private sector employment. (See tables A and 2.) These gross job gain and loss statistics

demonstrate that a sizable number of jobs appear and disappear in the relatively short time frame

of one quarter.

Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses

Goods-producing. Expanding and opening establishments in the goods-producing sector accounted for

1,720,000 jobs. The first quarter of 2005 saw an increase of gross job losses from 1,637,000 in the previous quarter to 1,686,000. The increase in gross job losses coupled with a decrease in gross job gains led

to a smaller net gain (+34,000) than last quarter (+97,000). (See tables B and 3.)

Manufacturing. Gross job gains in the manufacturing sector totaled 569,000 jobs in the first quarter

of 2005. For the fourth consecutive quarter, job gains continued to trend downward. Gross job losses
3

 Total private.1..................................... 7,745 7,857 7,789 8,081 7,635 7,310 7,263 7,598 7,212 7,310

Goods-producing .................................... 1,764 1,696 1,667 1,734 1,720 1,670 1,647 1,691 1,637 1,686

Natural resources and mining .......... 314 283 271 296 307 282 282 290 275 284

Construction ........................................ 837 809 799 848 844 759 779 789 747 806

Manufacturing ..................................... 613 604 597 590 569 629 586 612 615 596

Service-providing.1.................................. 5,981 6,161 6,122 6,347 5,915 5,640 5,616 5,907 5,575 5,624

Wholesale trade .................................. 319 325 329 329 319 314 302 327 294 310

Retail trade ........................................... 1,059 1,058 1,044 1,090 1,020 1,011 974 1,126 992 980

Transportation and warehousing .... 244 241 244 255 243 228 236 235 217 231

Utilities .................................................. 15 13 14 11 15 16 14 16 15 15

Information ........................................... 156 151 163 188 143 169 182 194 169 164

Financial activities .............................. 442 461 469 497 452 433 457 452 451 443

Professional and business services 1,411 1,509 1,416 1,512 1,370 1,378 1,321 1,366 1,300 1,304

Education and health services ......... 751 753 757 802 741 672 696 704 647 704

Leisure and hospitality ...................... 1,138 1,164 1,169 1,204 1,138 1,091 1,090 1,135 1,134 1,131

Other services ...................................... 307 301 297 299 302 291 304 308 310 297

 Gross job gains

Industry

Table B. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Gross job losses

3 months ended

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

2004 2004 2004 2004 2005 2004 2004 2004 2004

3 months ended

 1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.

Sept.

2005

June

(596,000) were slightly less then the prior quarter, but when combined with the fall in gross job gains, this

sector experienced a net job loss of 27,000. The manufacturing sector has only reported positive net

employment changes for three quarters in the last 6 years.

Construction. In construction, gross job gains were little changed at 844,000 during the quarter, while

gross job losses rose to 806,000, resulting in a net gain of 38,000 jobs. This is the seventh consecutive

quarter of net job gains for the construction sector.

Service-providing. The combined service-providing sector experienced gross job gains of 5.9 million

in the first quarter of 2005, down by 432,000 from the previous quarter. Over the quarter, gross job losses

amounted to 5.6 million, up slightly from the fourth quarter of 2004. The increase in gross job losses,

combined with the decrease in gross job gains, led to a smaller net employment gain of 291,000 in

comparison with the previous quarter’s net employment gain of 772,000.

Information. The information sector gained 143,000 and lost 164,000 jobs in the first quarter of

2005, for a net loss of 21,000 jobs. This sector has only recorded a quarterly net job gain twice in the

last 4 years.

Professional and business services. Establishments in the professional and business services sector

reported smaller gross job gains of 1,370,000 in the first quarter of 2005, than in the fourth quarter of 2004

(1,512,000). Gross job losses were about unchanged at a level of 1,304,000 in the first quarter. The net

gain of 66,000 jobs represents the seventh consecutive quarter of positive net employment growth in this

industry.
4

 Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of employment change, seasonally adjusted

Mar. 2004 June 2004 Sept. 2004 Dec. 2004 Mar. 2005

 Establishments gaining jobs ................... 1,854 1,847 1,840 1,909 1,851

 Expanding establishments ................... 1,505 1,504 1,486 1,530 1,506

 Opening establishments ....................... 349 343 354 379 345

 Establishments losing jobs...................... 1,794 1,792 1,814 1,787 1,851

 Contracting establishments ................. 1,466 1,462 1,469 1,467 1,504

 Closing establishments ........................ 328 330 345 320 347

 Net establishment change ....................... 21 13 9 59 -2

 (In thousands)

 3 months ended

Category

1

 1 The net establishment change is the difference between the number of opening establishments and the number of

closing establishments. See the Technical Note for further information.

Number of Establishments Gaining and Losing Employment

Another way to look at the dynamics of business activities is to monitor the number and proportion of

business units that are growing and declining. In the first quarter of 2005, the number of expanding establishments marginally exceeded the number of contracting establishments, while the number of closing establishments was slightly higher than the number of opening establishments. Out of 6.6 million active private

sector establishments, a total of 1.9 million establishments gained jobs from December 2004 to March 2005.

(See table C.) Of these, 1.5 million were expanding establishments and 345,000 were opening establishments. During the quarter, 1.5 million establishments contracted and 347,000 establishments closed, resulting

in 1.9 million establishments losing jobs.

More Information

For the not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time series not presented in this

release, as well as charts of gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, please refer to the Business

Employment Dynamics Web page on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/bdm/. 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.
5

Comparing Business Employment Dynamics Data with Current Employment Statistics

and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Data

The net change in employment from Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data series

will not match the net change in employment from the monthly Current Employment

Statistics (CES) survey. The CES estimates are based on monthly surveys from a sample

of establishments, while gross job gains and gross job losses are based on a quarterly

census of administrative records. In addition, the CES has a different coverage, excluding

the agriculture sector but including establishments not covered by the unemployment

insurance program. The net over-the-quarter changes derived by aggregating component

series in the BED data may be different from the net employment change estimated from the

CES seasonally adjusted total employment series. The intended use of the BED statistics is

to show the dynamic labor market flows that underlie the net changes in aggregate

employment levels; data users who want to track net changes in aggregate employment

levels over time should refer to CES data.

BED data have a more limited scope than the Quarterly Census of Employment and

Wages (QCEW) data. The data in this release, in contrast to the QCEW data, exclude

government employees, private households (NAICS 814110), and establishments with zero

employment.

See the Technical Note for further information.
Technical Note

Source Count of UI administrative records Count of longitudinally-linked UI Sample survey: 400,000 employers

submitted by 8.5 million employers administrative records submitted by

6.6 million private sector employers

Coverage UI and UCFE coverage, including UI coverage, excluding govern- Nonfarm wage and salary jobs:

all employers subject to state and ment, private households, and estab- UI coverage, excluding agriculture,

federal UI laws lishments with zero employment private households, and self-employed workers

Other employment, including railroads, religious organizations, and

other non-UI-covered jobs

Publication Quarterly Quarterly Monthly

frequency - 7 months after the end of each - 8 months after the end of each - Usually first Friday of following

quarter quarter month

Use of UI file Directly summarizes and pub- Links each new UI quarter to Uses UI file as a sampling frame

 lishes each new quarter of UI longitudinal database and directly and annually realigns (benchmarks)

 data

Principal Provides a quarterly and annual Provides quarterly employer dynam- Provides current monthly estimates

products universe count of estab- ics data on establishment open- of employment, hours, and earnings

lishments, employment, and ings, closings, expansions, and con- at the MSA, state, and national levwages at the county, MSA, tractions at the national level by el by industry

state, and national levels by NAICS supersectors

detailed industry Future expansions will include data

at the county, MSA, and state level

Principal uses Major uses include: Major uses include: Major uses include:

- Detailed locality data - Business cycle analysis - Principal national economic

- Periodic universe counts for - Analysis of employer dynamics indicator

benchmarking sample survey underlying economic expansions - Official time series for

estimates and contractions employment change measures

- Sample frame for BLS - Future: employment expansion - Input into other major economic

establishment surveys and contraction by size of estab- indicators

lishment

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

Web sites

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

 QCEW BED CES

•

sample estimates to first quarter

UI levels

summarizes gross job gains

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a

product of a federal-state cooperative program known as

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), or the

ES-202 program. 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

Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to BLS and form the basis of the

Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame. These

reports also are 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 BLS uses of the

UI reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES)

program. (See table below for differences between QCEW, CES,

and BED.)

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

establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting

establishments.

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures

The BLS publishes three different establishment-based

employment measures for any given quarter. Each of these

measures—QCEW, BED, and CES—makes use of the quarterly

and losses

and by size of establishment
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 on previous page.) Additional information on each

program can be obtained from the program Web sites 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 over 6.6 million private

sector employer reports out of 8.5 million total reports of

employment and wages submitted by states to BLS in the

first quarter of 2005. 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 over three

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 gross job gains and gross

job losses data in the first quarter of 2005:

Concepts and methodology

The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net

change in employment at the establishment level. These

changes come about in one of four ways. A net increase in

employment can come from either opening establishments or

expanding establishments. A net decrease in employment can

come from either closing establishments or contracting

establishments. Gross job gains include the sum of all jobs

added at either opening or expanding establishments. Gross

job losses include the sum of all jobs lost in either closing or

contracting establishments. The net change in employment is

the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses.

The formal definitions of establishment-level employment

changes are as follows:

Openings. These are either establishments 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 establishments 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 establishments with positive thirdmonth employment in the previous quarter, with no

employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions. These are establishments with positive

employment in the third month in both the previous and current

quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

All establishment-level employment changes are measured

from the third month of each quarter. Not all establishments

change their employment levels; these establishments 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.

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

 Number of active establishments included in

 Business Employment Dynamics data

 Millions

 Total establishments QCEW program ................. 8.5

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

Private households ....................... 0.5

Zero employment ......................... 1.0

Establishments in Puerto Rico

 and the Virgin Islands ................. 0.1

 Total establishments included in Business

 Employment Dynamics data ............................. 6.6
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.

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 establishments are independently

seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on

the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses.

Similarly, 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 the total private sector are

calculated by summing the seasonally adjusted data for all

sectors, including the unclassified sector, which is not

published separately.

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.

Additional statistics and other information

Several other programs within BLS produce closely related

information. The QCEW program, also known as the ES-202

program, provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed industry. News releases on quarterly county employment and wages 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:

CEWInfo@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 job losses, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Gross job gains Gross job losses

Year 3 months ended Net change1

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

1992 September 455 7,377 5,632 1,745 6,922 5,351 1,571

 December 216 7,101 5,465 1,636 6,885 5,487 1,398

1993 March 313 7,309 5,410 1,899 6,996 5,354 1,642

 June 786 7,330 5,794 1,536 6,544 5,136 1,408

 September 874 7,523 5,881 1,642 6,649 5,316 1,333

 December 641 7,436 5,840 1,596 6,795 5,420 1,375

1994 March 517 7,400 5,807 1,593 6,883 5,435 1,448

 June 1,021 7,807 6,060 1,747 6,786 5,295 1,491

 September 1,175 7,972 6,227 1,745 6,797 5,493 1,304

 December 507 7,630 5,998 1,632 7,123 5,647 1,476

1995 March 746 7,782 6,129 1,653 7,036 5,660 1,376

 June 402 7,714 6,017 1,697 7,312 5,839 1,473

 September 771 7,970 6,291 1,679 7,199 5,680 1,519

 December 407 7,877 6,153 1,724 7,470 5,934 1,536

1996 March 460 7,943 6,190 1,753 7,483 5,957 1,526

 June 642 8,080 6,302 1,778 7,438 5,894 1,544

 September 632 8,189 6,326 1,863 7,557 5,998 1,559

 December 861 8,278 6,409 1,869 7,417 5,889 1,528

1997 March 799 8,292 6,448 1,844 7,493 5,900 1,593

 June 594 8,098 6,342 1,756 7,504 5,925 1,579

 September 854 8,593 6,680 1,913 7,739 5,981 1,758

 December 702 8,731 6,727 2,004 8,029 6,068 1,961

1998 March 747 8,788 6,633 2,155 8,041 6,107 1,934

 June 666 8,722 6,569 2,153 8,056 6,218 1,838

 September 659 8,539 6,574 1,965 7,880 6,161 1,719

 December 759 8,576 6,778 1,798 7,817 6,060 1,757

1999 March 380 8,744 6,733 2,011 8,364 6,466 1,898

 June 569 8,800 6,788 2,012 8,231 6,419 1,812

 September 548 8,817 6,871 1,946 8,269 6,397 1,872

 December 1,105 9,144 7,112 2,032 8,039 6,264 1,775

2000 March 818 8,906 6,988 1,918 8,088 6,361 1,727

 June 541 8,764 6,975 1,789 8,223 6,509 1,714

 September 146 8,724 6,834 1,890 8,578 6,719 1,859

 December 336 8,690 6,862 1,828 8,354 6,582 1,772

2001 March -101 8,555 6,768 1,787 8,656 6,756 1,900

 June -771 8,254 6,439 1,815 9,025 7,149 1,876

 September -1,380 7,749 5,990 1,759 9,129 7,174 1,955

 December -871 7,893 6,055 1,838 8,764 6,995 1,769

2002 March -1 8,128 6,324 1,804 8,129 6,400 1,729

 June -80 8,050 6,246 1,804 8,130 6,411 1,719

 September -211 7,763 6,083 1,680 7,974 6,345 1,629

 December -175 7,702 6,059 1,643 7,877 6,267 1,610

2003 March -404 7,472 5,932 1,540 7,876 6,321 1,555

 June -142 7,560 6,033 1,527 7,702 6,138 1,564

 September 72 7,396 5,897 1,499 7,324 5,893 1,431

 December 344 7,646 6,063 1,583 7,302 5,816 1,486

2004 March 435 7,745 6,231 1,514 7,310 5,871 1,439

 June 594 7,857 6,292 1,565 7,263 5,726 1,537

 September 191 7,789 6,123 1,666 7,598 5,953 1,645

 December 869 8,081 6,365 1,716 7,212 5,727 1,485

2005 March 325 7,635 6,171 1,464 7,310 5,852 1,458

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

Total Total
Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses, as a percent of employment1

, seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Gross job gains Gross job losses

Year 3 months ended Net change2Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

1992 September 0.5 8.3 6.3 2.0 7.8 6.0 1.8

 December 0.2 7.9 6.1 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6

1993 March 0.3 8.1 6.0 2.1 7.8 6.0 1.8

 June 0.8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.7 1.6

 September 0.9 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.3 5.8 1.5

 December 0.6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5

1994 March 0.5 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.5 5.9 1.6

 June 1.1 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.3 5.7 1.6

 September 1.2 8.4 6.6 1.8 7.2 5.8 1.4

 December 0.6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5

1995 March 0.8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.9 1.4

 June 0.5 8.0 6.2 1.8 7.5 6.0 1.5

 September 0.8 8.2 6.5 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6

 December 0.4 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6

1996 March 0.4 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6

 June 0.6 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.6 6.0 1.6

 September 0.7 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.6 6.0 1.6

 December 0.9 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.4 5.9 1.5

1997 March 0.7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 5.9 1.6

 June 0.5 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6

 September 0.8 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.6 5.9 1.7

 December 0.6 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.8 5.9 1.9

1998 March 0.7 8.5 6.4 2.1 7.8 5.9 1.9

 June 0.6 8.4 6.3 2.1 7.8 6.0 1.8

 September 0.7 8.2 6.3 1.9 7.5 5.9 1.6

 December 0.7 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.4 5.7 1.7

1999 March 0.3 8.2 6.3 1.9 7.9 6.1 1.8

 June 0.6 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.7 6.0 1.7

 September 0.5 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.7 6.0 1.7

 December 1.1 8.5 6.6 1.9 7.4 5.8 1.6

2000 March 0.8 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6

 June 0.4 7.9 6.3 1.6 7.5 5.9 1.6

 September 0.1 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.8 6.1 1.7

 December 0.3 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.6 6.0 1.6

2001 March -0.1 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.8 6.1 1.7

 June -0.8 7.4 5.8 1.6 8.2 6.5 1.7

 September -1.3 7.1 5.5 1.6 8.4 6.6 1.8

 December -0.8 7.3 5.6 1.7 8.1 6.5 1.6

2002 March 0.1 7.6 5.9 1.7 7.5 5.9 1.6

 June -0.1 7.5 5.8 1.7 7.6 6.0 1.6

 September -0.1 7.3 5.7 1.6 7.4 5.9 1.5

 December -0.2 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5

2003 March -0.5 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.4 5.9 1.5

 June -0.2 7.0 5.6 1.4 7.2 5.7 1.5

 September 0.1 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3

 December 0.4 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4

2004 March 0.4 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3

 June 0.5 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.7 5.3 1.4

 September 0.2 7.2 5.7 1.5 7.0 5.5 1.5

 December 0.7 7.4 5.8 1.6 6.7 5.3 1.4

2005 March 0.3 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3

 

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

 2See footnote 1, table 1.

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

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

 Category 3 months ended 3 months ended

Mar. 2004 June 2004 Sept. 2004 Dec. 2004 Mar. 2005 Mar. 2004 June 2004 Sept. 2004 Dec. 2004 Mar. 2005

Total private1

Gross job gains 7,745 7,857 7,789 8,081 7,635 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.4 6.9

 At expanding establishments 6,231 6,292 6,123 6,365 6,171 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.6

 At opening establishments 1,514 1,565 1,666 1,716 1,464 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.3

Gross job losses 7,310 7,263 7,598 7,212 7,310 6.8 6.7 7.0 6.7 6.6

 At contracting establishments 5,871 5,726 5,953 5,727 5,852 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.3 5.3

 At closing establishments 1,439 1,537 1,645 1,485 1,458 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.3

Net employment change 435 594 191 869 325 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.7 0.3

Goods-producing

Gross job gains 1,764 1,696 1,667 1,734 1,720 7.7 7.4 7.3 7.6 7.5

 At expanding establishments 1,487 1,444 1,403 1,440 1,454 6.5 6.3 6.1 6.3 6.3

 At opening establishments 277 252 264 294 266 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.2

Gross job losses 1,670 1,647 1,691 1,637 1,686 7.3 7.2 7.4 7.1 7.3

 At contracting establishments 1,372 1,334 1,366 1,340 1,371 6.0 5.8 6.0 5.8 5.9

 At closing establishments 298 313 325 297 315 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.4

Net employment change 94 49 -24 97 34 0.4 0.2 -0.1 0.5 0.2

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains 314 283 271 296 307 18.5 16.8 16.3 17.6 17.8

 At expanding establishments 266 243 230 244 258 15.7 14.4 13.8 14.5 15.0

 At opening establishments 48 40 41 52 49 2.8 2.4 2.5 3.1 2.8

Gross job losses 282 282 290 275 284 16.6 16.7 17.4 16.4 16.5

 At contracting establishments 234 235 243 233 233 13.8 13.9 14.6 13.9 13.5

 At closing establishments 48 47 47 42 51 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.5 3.0

Net employment change 32 1 -19 21 23 1.9 0.1 -1.1 1.2 1.3

Construction

Gross job gains 837 809 799 848 844 12.3 11.7 11.6 12.2 11.8

 At expanding establishments 669 655 643 676 678 9.8 9.5 9.3 9.7 9.5

 At opening establishments 168 154 156 172 166 2.5 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.3

Gross job losses 759 779 789 747 806 11.1 11.3 11.4 10.7 11.3

 At contracting establishments 602 609 616 592 642 8.8 8.8 8.9 8.5 9.0

 At closing establishments 157 170 173 155 164 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.2 2.3

Net employment change 78 30 10 101 38 1.2 0.4 0.2 1.5 0.5

Manufacturing

Gross job gains 613 604 597 590 569 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.0

 At expanding establishments 552 546 530 520 518 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.6

 At opening establishments 61 58 67 70 51 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.4

Gross job losses 629 586 612 615 596 4.5 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.2

 At contracting establishments 536 490 507 515 496 3.8 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.5

 At closing establishments 93 96 105 100 100 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7

Net employment change -16 18 -15 -25 -27 -0.2 0.1 0.0 -0.2 -0.2

Service-providing1

Gross job gains 5,981 6,161 6,122 6,347 5,915 7.1 7.2 7.1 7.4 6.9

 At expanding establishments 4,744 4,848 4,720 4,925 4,717 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.5

 At opening establishments 1,237 1,313 1,402 1,422 1,198 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.4

Gross job losses 5,640 5,616 5,907 5,575 5,624 6.6 6.6 6.9 6.5 6.5

 At contracting establishments 4,499 4,392 4,587 4,387 4,481 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.1 5.2

 At closing establishments 1,141 1,224 1,320 1,188 1,143 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.3

Net employment change 341 545 215 772 291 0.5 0.6 0.2 0.9 0.4

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains 319 325 329 329 319 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.6

 At expanding establishments 258 266 267 264 259 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.5

 At opening establishments 61 59 62 65 60 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses 314 302 327 294 310 5.6 5.3 5.8 5.2 5.5

 At contracting establishments 243 226 243 226 238 4.3 4.0 4.3 4.0 4.2

 At closing establishments 71 76 84 68 72 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.2 1.3

Net employment change 5 23 2 35 9 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.5 0.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains 1,059 1,058 1,044 1,090 1,020 7.0 6.9 6.9 7.2 6.7

 At expanding establishments 890 885 845 899 865 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.9 5.7

 At opening establishments 169 173 199 191 155 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.3 1.0

Gross job losses 1,011 974 1,126 992 980 6.7 6.4 7.5 6.5 6.4

 At contracting establishments 857 820 920 834 836 5.7 5.4 6.1 5.5 5.5

 At closing establishments 154 154 206 158 144 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.0 0.9

Net employment change 48 84 -82 98 40 0.3 0.5 -0.6 0.7 0.3

See footnote at end of table.
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted--Continued

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

 Category 3 months ended 3 months ended

Mar. 2004 June 2004 Sept. 2004 Dec. 2004 Mar. 2005 Mar. 2004 June 2004 Sept. 2004 Dec. 2004 Mar. 2005

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains 244 241 244 255 243 6.1 6.0 6.0 6.3 5.9

 At expanding establishments 205 202 203 211 205 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.2 5.0

 At opening establishments 39 39 41 44 38 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 0.9

Gross job losses 228 236 235 217 231 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.3 5.6

 At contracting establishments 183 192 190 171 180 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.2 4.4

 At closing establishments 45 44 45 46 51 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2

Net employment change 16 5 9 38 12 0.4 0.1 0.2 1.0 0.3

Utilities

Gross job gains 15 13 14 11 15 2.7 2.3 2.5 2.0 2.7

 At expanding establishments 13 11 13 10 13 2.3 1.9 2.3 1.8 2.3

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

Gross job losses 16 14 16 15 15 2.9 2.5 2.8 2.7 2.7

 At contracting establishments 14 12 13 13 13 2.5 2.1 2.3 2.3 2.3

 At closing establishments 2 2 3 2 2 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4

Net employment change -1 -1 -2 -4 0 -0.2 -0.2 -0.3 -0.7 0.0

 Information

Gross job gains 156 151 163 188 143 5.0 4.8 5.3 6.1 4.6

 At expanding establishments 132 125 135 152 120 4.2 4.0 4.4 4.9 3.9

 At opening establishments 24 26 28 36 23 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.2 0.7

Gross job losses 169 182 194 169 164 5.4 5.9 6.3 5.5 5.3

 At contracting establishments 138 146 148 124 123 4.4 4.7 4.8 4.0 4.0

 At closing establishments 31 36 46 45 41 1.0 1.2 1.5 1.5 1.3

Net employment change -13 -31 -31 19 -21 -0.4 -1.1 -1.0 0.6 -0.7

Financial activities

Gross job gains 442 461 469 497 452 5.7 5.9 5.9 6.3 5.6

 At expanding establishments 343 362 364 373 354 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.4

 At opening establishments 99 99 105 124 98 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6 1.2

Gross job losses 433 457 452 451 443 5.5 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.6

 At contracting establishments 325 324 334 338 331 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.2

 At closing establishments 108 133 118 113 112 1.4 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.4

Net employment change 9 4 17 46 9 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.0

Professional and business services

Gross job gains 1,411 1,509 1,416 1,512 1,370 8.8 9.3 8.7 9.2 8.2

 At expanding establishments 1,156 1,214 1,124 1,198 1,137 7.2 7.5 6.9 7.3 6.8

 At opening establishments 255 295 292 314 233 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.4

Gross job losses 1,378 1,321 1,366 1,300 1,304 8.5 8.2 8.3 7.9 7.8

 At contracting establishments 1,080 988 1,035 1,001 1,034 6.7 6.1 6.3 6.1 6.2

 At closing establishments 298 333 331 299 270 1.8 2.1 2.0 1.8 1.6

Net employment change 33 188 50 212 66 0.3 1.1 0.4 1.3 0.4

Education and health services

Gross job gains 751 753 757 802 741 4.7 4.7 4.7 5.0 4.5

 At expanding establishments 633 635 626 658 623 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.1 3.8

 At opening establishments 118 118 131 144 118 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.7

Gross job losses 672 696 704 647 704 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.0 4.3

 At contracting establishments 551 560 562 521 570 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.2 3.5

 At closing establishments 121 136 142 126 134 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8

Net employment change 79 57 53 155 37 0.4 0.4 0.3 1.0 0.2

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains 1,138 1,164 1,169 1,204 1,138 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.0

 At expanding establishments 854 889 883 900 877 6.9 7.1 7.1 7.1 6.9

 At opening establishments 284 275 286 304 261 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.1

Gross job losses 1,091 1,090 1,135 1,134 1,131 8.8 8.7 9.1 9.0 8.9

 At contracting establishments 870 873 888 900 910 7.0 7.0 7.1 7.1 7.2

 At closing establishments 221 217 247 234 221 1.8 1.7 2.0 1.9 1.7

Net employment change 47 74 34 70 7 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.5 0.1

 Other services

Gross job gains 307 301 297 299 302 8.1 7.9 7.8 7.9 7.9

 At expanding establishments 242 236 235 235 241 6.4 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.3

 At opening establishments 65 65 62 64 61 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.6

Gross job losses 291 304 308 310 297 7.6 8.0 8.2 8.2 7.8

 At contracting establishments 225 235 237 241 231 5.9 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.1

 At closing establishments 66 69 71 69 66 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.7

Net employment change 16 -3 -11 -11 5 0.5 -0.1 -0.4 -0.3 0.1

1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.