1

Technical information: (202) 691-6467

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 04-2400

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FIRST QUARTER 2004

From December 2003 to March 2004, the number of job gains from opening and expanding

establishments was 7.7 million, and the number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments

was 7.3 million, according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.

Department of Labor. (See charts A and B.) During the first quarter of 2004, gross job gains exceeded

gross job losses in both the goods-producing and service-providing sectors.

Business Employment Dynamics statistics are derived from the Quarterly Census of Employment and

Wages (QCEW), also known as the ES-202 program. Gross job gains are defined as increases in employment resulting from expansions of employment at existing establishments or from the opening of establishments. Gross job losses are defined as declines in employment at existing establishments or from the closing

of establishments. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs

lost is the net change in employment.

Private Sector Gross Job Gains and Job Losses

Opening and expanding private sector business establishments gained 7.7 million jobs in the first quarter

of 2004, or 99,000 more than in the fourth quarter of 2003. Over the quarter, expanding establishments

added 6.2 million jobs, while opening establishments added 1.5 million.

Gross job losses totaled 7.3 million in the first quarter of 2004, up by 8,000 from the fourth quarter of

2003. Before this slight increase, gross job losses had been trending down since the third quarter of 2001.
2

Gross job gains ........................................ 7,472 7,560 7,396 7,646 7,745

At expanding establishments ........... 5,932 6,033 5,897 6,063 6,231

At opening establishments ............... 1,540 1,527 1,499 1,583 1,514

Gross job losses ....................................... 7,876 7,702 7,324 7,302 7,310

At contracting establishments ......... 6,321 6,138 5,893 5,816 5,871

At closing establishments ................ 1,555 1,564 1,431 1,486 1,439

Net employment change ......................... -404 -142 72 344 435

 3 months ended

Category

Table A. 3-month private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted

1

Gross job gains ........................................ 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.2 7.2

At expanding establishment ............. 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.7 5.8

At opening establishments ............... 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4

Gross job losses ....................................... 7.4 7.2 6.8 6.8 6.8

At contracting establishments ......... 5.9 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.5

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

Net employment change ......................... -0.5 -0.2 0.1 0.4 0.4

As a percent of employment

 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.

Mar. 2003 June 2003 Sept. 2003 Dec. 2003 Mar. 2004

Levels (in thousands)

1

In the first quarter of 2004, contracting establishments lost 5.9 million jobs, while closing establishments

accounted for a loss of 1.4 million jobs. (See tables A, 1, 3, and chart B.)

From December 2003 to March 2004, gross job gains and gross job losses represented 7.2 and

6.8 percent, respectively, of private sector employment, unchanged from the previous quarter. (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

During the first quarter of 2004, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in the goods-producing

sector for the first time since the first quarter of 2000. Expanding and opening establishments in the goodsproducing sector gained 1,764,000 jobs, while contracting and closing establishments lost 1,670,000 jobs,

for a net gain of 94,000 jobs. Quarterly job gains in manufacturing rose to 613,000, while gross job losses

dropped to a series low of 629,000, narrowing the net job loss in that sector to 16,000. In construction,

gross job gains increased to 837,000 and gross job losses decreased to 759,000, for a net gain of 78,000.

This represents the third consecutive quarter of net employment gains in the construction sector.

Gross job gains in the service-providing sector totaled 6.0 million jobs in the first quarter of 2004, exceeding gross job losses in that sector by 341,000. There were net job gains in the quarter in all serviceproviding sectors except utilities and information. The information sector gained 156,000 jobs and lost

169,000 jobs for a net loss of 13,000 jobs. The net job loss in this sector marked a resumption of the

string of net job losses that began in the first quarter of 2001 and had been interrupted by a slight net job

increase in the fourth quarter of 2003. (See tables B and 3.)
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Total private ............................... 7,472 7,560 7,396 7,646 7,745 7,876 7,702 7,324 7,302 7,310

Goods-producing .................................... 1,692 1,657 1,605 1,665 1,764 1,932 1,897 1,755 1,697 1,670

Natural resources and mining .......... 310 299 272 286 314 309 294 292 285 282

Construction ........................................ 782 811 784 793 837 829 822 762 761 759

Manufacturing ..................................... 600 547 549 586 613 794 781 701 651 629

Service-providing.1.................................................... 5,780 5,903 5,791 5,981 5,981 5,944 5,805 5,569 5,605 5,640

Wholesale trade .................................. 320 314 308 317 319 348 334 323 320 314

Retail trade ........................................... 962 1,039 1,019 1,061 1,059 1,060 996 989 1,016 1,011

Transportation and warehousing .... 227 230 235 227 244 237 283 239 237 228

Utilities .................................................. 15 14 16 14 15 15 19 19 16 16

Information ........................................... 166 153 149 172 156 201 194 185 166 169

Financial activities .............................. 442 455 444 436 442 428 418 417 462 433

Professional and business services 1,406 1,367 1,356 1,438 1,411 1,469 1,416 1,287 1,302 1,378

Education and health services ......... 760 745 731 744 751 680 698 670 659 672

Leisure and hospitality ...................... 1,083 1,166 1,125 1,161 1,138 1,161 1,105 1,095 1,097 1,091

Other services ...................................... 296 303 286 288 307 305 305 309 293 291

 Gross job gains

Industry

Table B. 3-month private sector job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Gross job losses

3 months ended

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

2003 2003 2003 2003 2004 2003 2003 2003 2003

3 months ended

 1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.

Mar.

2004

Number of Establishments Gaining and Losing Employment

In the first quarter of 2004, the number of opening establishments exceeded the number of closing

establishments, leading to a net addition of 21,000 units in the number of total active private sector

establishments. In addition, the number of establishments gaining jobs surpassed the number of establishments losing jobs for the third consecutive quarter. A total of 1.9 million establishments out of 6.5 million

active private sector establishments gained jobs from December 2003 to March 2004. (See table C.) Of

these, 1.5 million were expanding establishments and 349,000 were opening establishments. During the first

quarter of 2004, 1.8 million establishments lost jobs. Of these, 1.5 million were contracting establishments

and 328,000 were closing establishments.

.1

Sept.

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

Mar. 2003 June 2003 Sept. 2003 Dec. 2003 Mar. 2004

 Establishments gaining jobs ................... 1,750 1,788 1,791 1,815 1,854

 Expanding establishments ................... 1,418 1,457 1,463 1,467 1,505

 Opening establishments ....................... 332 331 328 348 349

 Establishments losing jobs...................... 1,847 1,801 1,772 1,775 1,794

 Contracting establishments ................. 1,513 1,473 1,454 1,453 1,466

 Closing establishments ........................ 334 328 318 322 328

 Net establishment change ....................... -2 3 10 26 21

 (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.
4

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 QCEW data, exclude

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

employment.

See the Technical Note for further information.

Comparing Business Employment Dynamics Data with Current Employment

 Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Data

More Information

For the not seasonally adjusted data and other time series not presented in this release, 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 may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.
Technical Note

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

submitted by 8.4 million employers administrative records submitted by

6.5 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

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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 6.5 million private

sector employer reports out of 8.4 million total reports of

employment and wages submitted by states to BLS in the first

quarter of 2004. 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 2004:

 Total establishments included in Business

 Employment Dynamics data .......................... 6.5

 *Approximately 54,000 establishments.

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 either establishments with positive

third-month 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,

 Number of active establishments included in

 Business Employment Dynamics data

 Millions

 Total establishments QCEW program ................. 8.4

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

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

Zero employment ......................... 1.1

Establishments in Puerto Rico

 and the Virgin Islands .................. 0.0*
including a change in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI

account restructuring. If a match cannot be attained in this

manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts

to identify two establishments with different SESA-IDs as

continuous. The match is based upon comparisons such as the

same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst

examines unmatched records individually and makes a possible

match.

In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data,

SESAs verify with employers and update, if necessary, the

industry, location, and ownership classification of all

establishments on a 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 change1Expanding 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

 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

 

 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. 2003 .June 2003 Sept. 2003 Dec. 2003 Mar. 2004 Mar. 2003 .June 2003 Sept. 2003 Dec. 2003 Mar. 2004

Total private1

Gross job gains 7,472 7,560 7,396 7,646 7,745 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.2 7.2

 At expanding establishments 5,932 6,033 5,897 6,063 6,231 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.7 5.8

 At opening establishments 1,540 1,527 1,499 1,583 1,514 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4

Gross job losses 7,876 7,702 7,324 7,302 7,310 7.4 7.2 6.8 6.8 6.8

 At contracting establishments 6,321 6,138 5,893 5,816 5,871 5.9 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.5

 At closing establishments 1,555 1,564 1,431 1,486 1,439 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.3

Net employment change -404 -142 72 344 435 -0.5 -0.2 0.1 0.4 0.4

Goods-producing

Gross job gains 1,692 1,657 1,605 1,665 1,764 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.3 7.7

 At expanding establishments 1,395 1,378 1,343 1,391 1,487 6.0 6.0 5.9 6.1 6.5

 At opening establishments 297 279 262 274 277 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2

Gross job losses 1,932 1,897 1,755 1,697 1,670 8.3 8.3 7.7 7.4 7.3

 At contracting establishments 1,579 1,558 1,443 1,391 1,372 6.8 6.8 6.3 6.1 6.0

 At closing establishments 353 339 312 306 298 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.3

Net employment change -240 -240 -150 -32 94 -1.0 -1.1 -0.6 -0.1 0.4

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains 310 299 272 286 314 18.5 17.9 16.4 17.3 18.5

 At expanding establishments 256 249 225 233 266 15.3 14.9 13.6 14.1 15.7

 At opening establishments 54 50 47 53 48 3.2 3.0 2.8 3.2 2.8

Gross job losses 309 294 292 285 282 18.4 17.6 17.7 17.2 16.6

 At contracting establishments 247 240 243 239 234 14.7 14.4 14.7 14.4 13.8

 At closing establishments 62 54 49 46 48 3.7 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.8

Net employment change 1 5 -20 1 32 0.1 0.3 -1.3 0.1 1.9

Construction

Gross job gains 782 811 784 793 837 11.7 12.2 11.7 11.8 12.3

 At expanding establishments 619 654 636 641 669 9.3 9.8 9.5 9.5 9.8

 At opening establishments 163 157 148 152 168 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.3 2.5

Gross job losses 829 822 762 761 759 12.4 12.3 11.4 11.3 11.1

 At contracting establishments 660 653 601 599 602 9.9 9.8 9.0 8.9 8.8

 At closing establishments 169 169 161 162 157 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.3

Net employment change -47 -11 22 32 78 -0.7 -0.1 0.3 0.5 1.2

Manufacturing

Gross job gains 600 547 549 586 613 4.0 3.8 3.8 4.1 4.3

 At expanding establishments 520 475 482 517 552 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.6 3.9

 At opening establishments 80 72 67 69 61 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4

Gross job losses 794 781 701 651 629 5.3 5.4 4.9 4.6 4.5

 At contracting establishments 672 665 599 553 536 4.5 4.6 4.2 3.9 3.8

 At closing establishments 122 116 102 98 93 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7

Net employment change -194 -234 -152 -65 -16 -1.3 -1.6 -1.1 -0.5 -0.2

Service-providing1

Gross job gains 5,780 5,903 5,791 5,981 5,981 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.1 7.1

 At expanding establishments 4,537 4,655 4,554 4,672 4,744 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.6

 At opening establishments 1,243 1,248 1,237 1,309 1,237 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.5

Gross job losses 5,944 5,805 5,569 5,605 5,640 7.0 7.0 6.6 6.6 6.6

 At contracting establishments 4,742 4,580 4,450 4,425 4,499 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.3

 At closing establishments 1,202 1,225 1,119 1,180 1,141 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.3

Net employment change -164 98 222 376 341 -0.1 0.0 0.3 0.5 0.5

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains 320 314 308 317 319 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.7

 At expanding establishments 251 252 249 257 258 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.6

 At opening establishments 69 62 59 60 61 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses 348 334 323 320 314 6.2 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.6

 At contracting establishments 269 256 250 245 243 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.3

 At closing establishments 79 78 73 75 71 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3

Net employment change -28 -20 -15 -3 5 -0.5 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains 962 1,039 1,019 1,061 1,059 6.4 6.9 6.7 7.1 7.0

 At expanding establishments 799 872 848 886 890 5.3 5.8 5.6 5.9 5.9

 At opening establishments 163 167 171 175 169 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.1

Gross job losses 1,060 996 989 1,016 1,011 7.0 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.7

 At contracting establishments 903 834 839 857 857 6.0 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.7

 At closing establishments 157 162 150 159 154 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0

Net employment change -98 43 30 45 48 -0.6 0.2 0.1 0.3 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. 2003 .June 2003 Sept. 2003 Dec. 2003 Mar. 2004 Mar. 2003 .June 2003 Sept. 2003 Dec. 2003 Mar. 2004

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains 227 230 235 227 244 5.6 5.8 6.0 5.7 6.1

 At expanding establishments 189 186 193 191 205 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.8 5.1

 At opening establishments 38 44 42 36 39 0.9 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.0

Gross job losses 237 283 239 237 228 5.9 7.1 6.1 6.0 5.7

 At contracting establishments 189 234 193 188 183 4.7 5.9 4.9 4.8 4.6

 At closing establishments 48 49 46 49 45 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1

Net employment change -10 -53 -4 -10 16 -0.3 -1.3 -0.1 -0.3 0.4

Utilities

Gross job gains 15 14 16 14 15 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.4 2.7

 At expanding establishments 13 12 14 12 13 2.2 2.1 2.4 2.1 2.3

 At opening establishments 2 2 2 2 2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4

Gross job losses 15 19 19 16 16 2.5 3.2 3.3 2.7 2.9

 At contracting establishments 13 17 15 14 14 2.2 2.9 2.6 2.4 2.5

 At closing establishments 2 2 4 2 2 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.4

Net employment change 0 -5 -3 -2 -1 0.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.3 -0.2

 Information

Gross job gains 166 153 149 172 156 5.1 4.8 4.7 5.5 5.0

 At expanding establishments 133 125 120 131 132 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.2 4.2

 At opening establishments 33 28 29 41 24 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.3 0.8

Gross job losses 201 194 185 166 169 6.2 6.1 5.8 5.2 5.4

 At contracting establishments 157 156 150 121 138 4.8 4.9 4.7 3.8 4.4

 At closing establishments 44 38 35 45 31 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.4 1.0

Net employment change -35 -41 -36 6 -13 -1.1 -1.3 -1.1 0.3 -0.4

Financial activities

Gross job gains 442 455 444 436 442 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.7

 At expanding establishments 340 361 344 333 343 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.2 4.4

 At opening establishments 102 94 100 103 99 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3

Gross job losses 428 418 417 462 433 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.9 5.5

 At contracting establishments 323 320 321 354 325 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.5 4.1

 At closing establishments 105 98 96 108 108 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.4 1.4

Net employment change 14 37 27 -26 9 0.3 0.4 0.4 -0.4 0.2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains 1,406 1,367 1,356 1,438 1,411 8.8 8.6 8.5 9.0 8.8

 At expanding establishments 1,129 1,084 1,085 1,136 1,156 7.1 6.8 6.8 7.1 7.2

 At opening establishments 277 283 271 302 255 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.9 1.6

Gross job losses 1,469 1,416 1,287 1,302 1,378 9.2 8.9 8.1 8.2 8.5

 At contracting establishments 1,148 1,067 996 1,000 1,080 7.2 6.7 6.3 6.3 6.7

 At closing establishments 321 349 291 302 298 2.0 2.2 1.8 1.9 1.8

Net employment change -63 -49 69 136 33 -0.4 -0.3 0.4 0.8 0.3

Education and health services

Gross job gains 760 745 731 744 751 4.8 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7

 At expanding establishments 630 624 607 616 633 4.0 4.0 3.8 3.9 4.0

 At opening establishments 130 121 124 128 118 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7

Gross job losses 680 698 670 659 672 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.3

 At contracting establishments 553 565 548 529 551 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.3 3.5

 At closing establishments 127 133 122 130 121 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8

Net employment change 80 47 61 85 79 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.4

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains 1,083 1,166 1,125 1,161 1,138 8.9 9.6 9.3 9.5 9.2

 At expanding establishments 807 885 849 866 854 6.6 7.3 7.0 7.1 6.9

 At opening establishments 276 281 276 295 284 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3

Gross job losses 1,161 1,105 1,095 1,097 1,091 9.6 9.1 9.0 8.9 8.8

 At contracting establishments 934 881 879 875 870 7.7 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.0

 At closing establishments 227 224 216 222 221 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8

Net employment change -78 61 30 64 47 -0.7 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.4

 Other services

Gross job gains 296 303 286 288 307 7.8 8.0 7.6 7.6 8.1

 At expanding establishments 229 239 227 227 242 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.4

 At opening establishments 67 64 59 61 65 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7

Gross job losses 305 305 309 293 291 8.0 8.0 8.2 7.8 7.6

 At contracting establishments 239 236 246 229 225 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.1 5.9

 At closing establishments 66 69 63 64 66 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7

Net employment change -9 -2 -23 -5 16 -0.2 0.0 -0.6 -0.2 0.5

1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.