For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, July 26, 2017 USDL-17-1046 

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

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

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FOURTH QUARTER 2016

From September 2016 to December 2016, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector 

establishments were 7.5 million, a decrease of 185,000 jobs over the quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector 

establishments were 7.1 million, an increase of 127,000 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 376,000 jobs in the private-sector during the fourth quarter of 2016. (See chart 1, and tables A 

and 1.) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

employer size class.

Gross job gains

Gross job losses

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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

March 2006 - December 2016

Thousands

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

Gross Job Gains 

In the fourth quarter of 2016, gross job gains represented 6.2 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 

6.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, a decrease of 191,000 compared to the previous quarter. 

Opening establishments accounted for 1.4 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2016, an 

increase of 6,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See chart 2 and 3 and tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) 

Gross Job Losses

In the fourth quarter of 2016, gross job losses represented 5.8 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 5.7 million jobs in the fourth quarter of 

2016, a decrease of 6,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2016, closing

establishments lost 1.4 million jobs, an increase of 121,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See chart 2 

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

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the fourth quarter of 2016, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data, see the 

Technical Note for more information) increased by 8,000, to a total of 246,000 establishments. These 

new establishments accounted for 919,000 jobs, an increase of 53,000 jobs from the previous quarter. 

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 

2016, when 667,000 jobs were lost at 204,000 establishments. (See table 8.) 

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 8 of 13 industries in the fourth quarter of 2016. The 

service-providing industries experienced a net job increase of 371,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2016. 

Within service-providing industries, transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter net 

job increase, with a gain of 154,000 jobs. The net job increase in transportation and warehousing was the 

result of 386,000 gross job gains and 232,000 gross job losses. The goods-producing industries 

experienced a net job increase of 5,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2016. Among the goods-producing 

industries, a net gain of 14,000 jobs in manufacturing and a net gain of 12,000 jobs in construction offset

the 21,000 net job losses in natural resources and mining. (See table 3.)

Expansions

Contractions

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

'06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16

Chart 2. Components of private sector gross job gains and gross 

job losses at expanding and contracting establishments, 

seasonally adjusted: March 2006 - December 2016

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents NBER defined recession period.

Openings

Closings 1,100

1,200

1,300

1,400

1,500

1,600

'06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16

Chart 3. Components of private sector gross job gains and gross 

job losses at opening and closing establishments, seasonally 

adjusted: March 2006 - December 2016

Thousands

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

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

Category

3 months ended

Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.

2015 2016 2016 2016 2016

Levels (in thousands)

Gross job gains................................... 7,843 6,977 7,463 7,650 7,465

 At expanding establishments...... 6,375 5,778 6,056 6,207 6,016

 At opening establishments.......... 1,468 1,199 1,407 1,443 1,449

Gross job losses................................. 6,842 6,783 7,156 6,962 7,089

 At contracting establishments.... 5,573 5,617 5,829 5,720 5,726

 At closing establishments........... 1,269 1,166 1,327 1,242 1,363

 

Net employment change1.................. 1,001 194 307 688 376

Rates (percent)

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

 At expanding establishments...... 5.4 4.8 5.0 5.2 5.0

 At opening establishments.......... 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.2

Gross job losses................................. 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.8 5.8

 At contracting establishments.... 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.8 4.7

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

Net employment change1.................. 0.8 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.4 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.

Firm Size

In the fourth quarter of 2016, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 68,000. Firms 

with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 47,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a 

net employment gain of 201,000. Of the 1.5 million net jobs created over the last four quarters, firms 

with 1-49 employees contributed 29.4 percent of net job growth, while firms with 50-249 employees 

contributed 20.0 percent, and firms with 250 or more employees contributed 50.6 percent. (See tables 4 

and 5.) 

States

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in the 

fourth quarter of 2016. Over this period, 25 states exceeded the U.S. rate of gross job gains as a percent 

of employment, which was 6.2 percent. Alaska had the highest rate of gross job gains as a percent of 

employment, at 9.6 percent. Alaska also had the highest rate of gross job losses as a percent of 

employment at 10.0 percent, above the national rate of 5.8 percent. Connecticut had the lowest rate of 

gross job gains as a percent of employment at 5.1 percent. Tennessee had the lowest rate of gross job 

losses as a percent of employment at 5.0 percent. (See tables 6 and 7.) 
- 4 - 

For More Information 

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

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

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

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

on firm size data. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found 

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

The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2017 are scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

Administrative Change Affecting Missouri Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data 

Fourth quarter 2016 data were affected by an administrative change to the Missouri Unemployment 

Insurance (UI) tax system. This non-economic change has resulted in an increase in the tabulated 

number of establishment openings and closings as well as an increase in employment attributed to those 

openings and closings in the state, as reported by the Business Employment Dynamics statistics.

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

Data in the next release, published on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, will incorporate annual revisions 

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

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

adjusted data.
Technical Note

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

a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of 

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

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

on the employment and wages of workers covered by unemployment

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

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

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

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

sampling frame.

These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on 

total employment and wages and the longitudinal BED data on gross 

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

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

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

Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts.

In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are linked 

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

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

closing and contracting units.

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

QCEW BED CES

Source Count of UI administrative records 

submitted by 9.6 million establishments 

Count of longitudinally-linked UI administrative records submitted by 

7.7 million private-sector establishments

Sample survey: 623,000 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

— Within 6 months after the end of 

each quarter

Quarterly

— 7 months after the end of each 

quarter

Monthly

— Usually first Friday of following 

month

Use of UI file Directly summarizes and publishes 

each new quarter of UI data

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

annually realign sample-based estimates 

to population counts (benchmarking)

Principal

products

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

MSA, state, and national levels by 

detailed industry

Provides quarterly employer dynamics data on establishment openings, 

closings, expansions, and contractions 

at the national level by NAICS supersectors and by size of firm, and at the 

state private-sector total level 

Future expansions will include data 

with greater industry detail and data 

at the county and MSA level 

Provides current monthly estimates of 

employment, hours, and earnings at the 

MSA, state, and national level by industry

Principal uses Major uses include:

— Detailed locality data

— Periodic universe counts for 

benchmarking sample survey estimates

— Sample frame for BLS establishment surveys

Major uses include:

— Business cycle analysis

— Analysis of employer dynamics 

underlying economic expansions 

and contractions

— Analysis of employment expansion and contraction by size of 

firm

Major uses include:

— Principal national economic indicator

— Official time series for employment 

change measures

— Input into other major economic indicators

Program Web 

sites

www.bls.gov/cew/ www.bls.gov/bdm/ www.bls.gov/ces/
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment 

measures

The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for any given quarter. Each of these measures—Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Business Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)—

makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; 

however, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, 

estimation procedure, and publication product.

Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat different measures of employment change over time. It is important to understand program differences and the intended uses of the 

program products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be obtained from the program 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 7.7 million private sector employer reports 

out of 9.6 million total reports of employment and wages submitted 

by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2016. 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. As an illustration, the table below 

shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establishments 

excluded from the national gross job gains and gross job losses data 

in the first quarter 2016:

Number of active establishments included in

Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level

 Millions

Total establishments QCEW program..........9.6 

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

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

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

 Establishments in Puerto Rico

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

Total establishments included in Business

Employment Dynamics data.....................7.7

Unit of analysis

Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by 

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

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

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

is consistent with the role of corporations as the economic decision 

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

size class.

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

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

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

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

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

seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally adjusted data.

Concepts and methodology

The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change 

in employment at the establishment or firm level. These changes come 

about in one of four ways. A net increase in employment can come 

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

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

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

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

the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. 

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:

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

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

Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third 

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

employment over this period.

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

Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third 

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

in employment over this period.

Births. These are units with positive third month employment for 

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

or units with positive third 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 to 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 4-year cycle.

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

also are introduced in the first quarter. 

 

Sizing methodology

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

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

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

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

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

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

Annual Data

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

change in employment at the establishment level from the third month 

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

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

March-to-March changes once a year with the release of the first quarter BED data. The annual data based on over-the-year changes for 

other quarters of the year are available upon request. The definitions 

and methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and gross job 

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

to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire 

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

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

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

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

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

quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted basis. 

Seasonal adjustment

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

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

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

such seasonal variation can be very large.

Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern 

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

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

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

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

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

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

economic activity.

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

contracting units are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes 

are calculated based on the difference between gross job gains and 

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

data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted, and the net changes are calculated 
based on the difference between the number of opening and closing 

establishments. Additionally establishment and employment levels 

are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 

ARIMA. Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the sum 

of seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including the unclassified 

sector, which is not separately published.

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

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

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

the dynamic labor market changes that underlie the net employment 

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

employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying this 

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

changes.

Reliability of the data

Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based 

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

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

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

the dataset. 

Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for 

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

the effects of these complications.

The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based 

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

Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the 

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

seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data.

Additional statistics and other information

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

releases on quarterly county employment and wages and an annual 

bulletin: Employment and Wages Annual Averages, are available 

upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor 

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

Washington, DC 20212; telephone 202-691-6567; 

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

The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, its 

net change, and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part 

of the Employment Situation report put out monthly by BLS. 

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program 

provides monthly measures of job openings, as well as employee hires 

and separations. 

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD 

message referral number: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

2006 March 896 7,880 6,383 1,497 6,984 5,661 1,323

June 342 7,766 6,228 1,538 7,424 6,026 1,398

September 92 7,545 6,076 1,469 7,453 6,067 1,386

December 431 7,770 6,226 1,544 7,339 5,964 1,375

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010 March -247 6,325 5,108 1,217 6,572 5,324 1,248

June 698 6,995 5,674 1,321 6,297 5,090 1,207

September 237 6,741 5,438 1,303 6,504 5,231 1,273

December 566 7,052 5,639 1,413 6,486 5,219 1,267

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

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

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

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

2012 March 954 7,080 5,751 1,329 6,126 5,002 1,124

June 603 7,048 5,721 1,327 6,445 5,272 1,173

September 271 6,898 5,581 1,317 6,627 5,429 1,198

December 688 7,103 5,744 1,359 6,415 5,224 1,191

2013 March 565 6,933 5,704 1,229 6,368 5,190 1,178

June 661 7,154 5,832 1,322 6,493 5,284 1,209

September 487 7,060 5,719 1,341 6,573 5,428 1,145

December 712 7,261 5,927 1,334 6,549 5,344 1,205

2014 March 447 6,947 5,681 1,266 6,500 5,357 1,143

June 870 7,456 6,116 1,340 6,586 5,364 1,222

September 540 7,243 5,912 1,331 6,703 5,517 1,186

December 1,071 7,634 6,260 1,374 6,563 5,324 1,239

2015 March 237 7,036 5,727 1,309 6,799 5,600 1,199

June 815 7,588 6,244 1,344 6,773 5,573 1,200

September 427 7,338 5,972 1,366 6,911 5,698 1,213

December 1,001 7,843 6,375 1,468 6,842 5,573 1,269

2016 March 194 6,977 5,778 1,199 6,783 5,617 1,166

June 307 7,463 6,056 1,407 7,156 5,829 1,327

September 688 7,650 6,207 1,443 6,962 5,720 1,242

December 376 7,465 6,016 1,449 7,089 5,726 1,363

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

Gross job gains

Total Total

Gross job losses

Year 3 months ended Net change 1
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

2006 March .8 7.0 5.7 1.3 6.2 5.0 1.2

June .4 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.5 5.3 1.2

September .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2

December .4 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.5 5.3 1.2

2007 March .5 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.4 5.2 1.2

June .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3

September -.2 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2

December .2 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2008 March -.1 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

June -.5 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.9 5.6 1.3

September -.9 6.1 4.9 1.2 7.0 5.7 1.3

December -1.7 6.0 4.8 1.2 7.7 6.3 1.4

2009 March -2.4 5.4 4.3 1.1 7.8 6.5 1.3

June -1.5 6.0 4.7 1.3 7.5 6.2 1.3

September -.8 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.8 5.5 1.3

December -.3 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3

2010 March -.2 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.2 5.0 1.2

June .7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September .2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.1 4.9 1.2

December .5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2

2011 March .3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1

June .5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2

September .8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1

December .4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2

2012 March .8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0

June .5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September .2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1

December .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2013 March .5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1

June .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2014 March .4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

June .7 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December .9 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1

2015 March .2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

June .7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December .8 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2016 March .1 5.8 4.8 1.0 5.7 4.7 1.0

June .2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1

September .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December .4 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

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.

Gross job gains

Total Total

Gross job losses

Year 3 months ended Net change 2
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted

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

2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................ 7,843 6,977 7,463 7,650 7,465 6.6 5.8 6.2 6.4 6.2

At expanding establishments ...... 6,375 5,778 6,056 6,207 6,016 5.4 4.8 5.0 5.2 5.0

At opening establishments ......... 1,468 1,199 1,407 1,443 1,449 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.2

Gross job losses ........................ 6,842 6,783 7,156 6,962 7,089 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.8 5.8

At contracting establishments ...... 5,573 5,617 5,829 5,720 5,726 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.8 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 1,269 1,166 1,327 1,242 1,363 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1

Net employment change .............. 1,001 194 307 688 376 .8 .1 .2 .6 .4

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................ 1,368 1,292 1,332 1,299 1,306 6.6 6.1 6.4 6.3 6.2

At expanding establishments ...... 1,162 1,119 1,145 1,101 1,114 5.6 5.3 5.5 5.3 5.3

At opening establishments ......... 206 173 187 198 192 1.0 .8 .9 1.0 .9

Gross job losses ........................ 1,316 1,282 1,381 1,297 1,301 6.3 6.2 6.6 6.2 6.3

At contracting establishments ...... 1,120 1,099 1,171 1,105 1,098 5.4 5.3 5.6 5.3 5.3

At closing establishments ............ 196 183 210 192 203 .9 .9 1.0 .9 1.0

Net employment change .............. 52 10 -49 2 5 .3 -.1 -.2 .1 -.1

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................ 248 254 260 248 249 12.8 13.1 13.8 13.5 13.5

At expanding establishments ...... 214 223 228 215 217 11.0 11.5 12.1 11.7 11.8

At opening establishments ......... 34 31 32 33 32 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.7

Gross job losses ........................ 301 272 297 253 270 15.5 14.1 15.9 13.7 14.6

At contracting establishments ...... 266 239 264 223 239 13.7 12.4 14.1 12.1 12.9

At closing establishments ............ 35 33 33 30 31 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.6 1.7

Net employment change .............. -53 -18 -37 -5 -21 -2.7 -1.0 -2.1 -.2 -1.1

Construction

Gross job gains ........................ 705 661 657 654 648 10.8 10.0 9.8 9.9 9.7

At expanding establishments ...... 574 550 541 529 528 8.8 8.3 8.1 8.0 7.9

At opening establishments ......... 131 111 116 125 120 2.0 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.8

Gross job losses ........................ 589 607 650 618 636 9.1 9.1 9.7 9.3 9.4

At contracting establishments ...... 474 499 523 503 513 7.3 7.5 7.8 7.6 7.6

At closing establishments ............ 115 108 127 115 123 1.8 1.6 1.9 1.7 1.8

Net employment change .............. 116 54 7 36 12 1.7 .9 .1 .6 .3

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................ 415 377 415 397 409 3.3 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.3

At expanding establishments ...... 374 346 376 357 369 3.0 2.8 3.1 2.9 3.0

At opening establishments ......... 41 31 39 40 40 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3

Gross job losses ........................ 426 403 434 426 395 3.5 3.2 3.5 3.5 3.2

At contracting establishments ...... 380 361 384 379 346 3.1 2.9 3.1 3.1 2.8

At closing establishments ............ 46 42 50 47 49 .4 .3 .4 .4 .4

Net employment change .............. -11 -26 -19 -29 14 -.2 -.1 -.1 -.3 .1

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................ 6,475 5,685 6,131 6,351 6,159 6.6 5.7 6.2 6.4 6.2

At expanding establishments ...... 5,213 4,659 4,911 5,106 4,902 5.3 4.7 5.0 5.1 4.9

At opening establishments ......... 1,262 1,026 1,220 1,245 1,257 1.3 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.3

Gross job losses ........................ 5,526 5,501 5,775 5,665 5,788 5.6 5.6 5.8 5.7 5.8

At contracting establishments ...... 4,453 4,518 4,658 4,615 4,628 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.6

At closing establishments ............ 1,073 983 1,117 1,050 1,160 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.2

Net employment change .............. 949 184 356 686 371 1.0 .1 .4 .7 .4

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................ 294 256 276 274 277 4.9 4.4 4.7 4.6 4.7

At expanding establishments ...... 244 216 227 225 224 4.1 3.7 3.9 3.8 3.8

At opening establishments ......... 50 40 49 49 53 .8 .7 .8 .8 .9

Gross job losses ........................ 268 265 273 262 263 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.5

At contracting establishments ...... 209 208 213 208 200 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.4

At closing establishments ............ 59 57 60 54 63 1.0 1.0 1.0 .9 1.1

Net employment change .............. 26 -9 3 12 14 .4 -.1 .1 .1 .2

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted —Continued

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

2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................ 925 948 926 947 896 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.9 5.6

At expanding establishments ...... 798 833 798 812 779 5.1 5.3 5.0 5.1 4.9

At opening establishments ......... 127 115 128 135 117 .8 .7 .8 .8 .7

Gross job losses ........................ 921 850 900 949 916 5.8 5.4 5.7 6.0 5.8

At contracting establishments ...... 789 747 790 827 792 5.0 4.7 5.0 5.2 5.0

At closing establishments ............ 132 103 110 122 124 .8 .7 .7 .8 .8

Net employment change .............. 4 98 26 -2 -20 .1 .6 .1 -.1 -.2

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................ 343 229 246 288 386 7.3 4.8 5.2 6.0 7.9

At expanding establishments ...... 305 200 209 250 342 6.5 4.2 4.4 5.2 7.0

At opening establishments ......... 38 29 37 38 44 .8 .6 .8 .8 .9

Gross job losses ........................ 227 293 250 227 232 4.8 6.1 5.3 4.7 4.7

At contracting establishments ...... 188 258 211 188 192 4.0 5.4 4.5 3.9 3.9

At closing establishments ............ 39 35 39 39 40 .8 .7 .8 .8 .8

Net employment change .............. 116 -64 -4 61 154 2.5 -1.3 -.1 1.3 3.2

Utilities

Gross job gains ........................ 12 9 13 11 12 2.2 1.6 2.4 2.0 2.2

At expanding establishments ...... 11 8 11 10 10 2.0 1.4 2.0 1.8 1.8

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

Gross job losses ........................ 11 10 13 14 13 2.0 1.8 2.4 2.6 2.4

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

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

Net employment change .............. 1 -1 0 -3 -1 .2 -.2 .0 -.6 -.2

 Information

Gross job gains ........................ 162 135 157 152 144 5.9 4.9 5.6 5.4 5.1

At expanding establishments ...... 135 116 132 124 116 4.9 4.2 4.7 4.4 4.1

At opening establishments ......... 27 19 25 28 28 1.0 .7 .9 1.0 1.0

Gross job losses ........................ 140 138 139 149 151 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.4 5.4

At contracting establishments ...... 112 110 109 125 122 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.5 4.4

At closing establishments ............ 28 28 30 24 29 1.0 1.0 1.1 .9 1.0

Net employment change .............. 22 -3 18 3 -7 .9 -.1 .6 .0 -.3

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................ 394 344 389 386 386 5.0 4.3 4.9 4.9 4.8

At expanding establishments ...... 307 278 313 308 296 3.9 3.5 3.9 3.9 3.7

At opening establishments ......... 87 66 76 78 90 1.1 .8 1.0 1.0 1.1

Gross job losses ........................ 353 333 354 347 358 4.5 4.2 4.4 4.3 4.5

At contracting establishments ...... 270 258 272 274 272 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.4

At closing establishments ............ 83 75 82 73 86 1.1 .9 1.0 .9 1.1

Net employment change .............. 41 11 35 39 28 .5 .1 .5 .6 .3

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................ 1,600 1,237 1,426 1,469 1,395 8.1 6.3 7.2 7.3 6.9

At expanding establishments ...... 1,292 1,026 1,165 1,201 1,112 6.5 5.2 5.9 6.0 5.5

At opening establishments ......... 308 211 261 268 283 1.6 1.1 1.3 1.3 1.4

Gross job losses ........................ 1,311 1,355 1,363 1,272 1,363 6.6 6.8 6.9 6.4 6.8

At contracting establishments ...... 1,037 1,111 1,065 1,014 1,064 5.2 5.6 5.4 5.1 5.3

At closing establishments ............ 274 244 298 258 299 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.3 1.5

Net employment change .............. 289 -118 63 197 32 1.5 -.5 .3 .9 .1

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................ 1,006 878 962 1,034 967 4.8 4.1 4.5 4.8 4.4

At expanding establishments ...... 824 726 776 867 769 3.9 3.4 3.6 4.0 3.5

At opening establishments ......... 182 152 186 167 198 .9 .7 .9 .8 .9

Gross job losses ........................ 801 813 888 822 918 3.8 3.8 4.2 3.8 4.2

At contracting establishments ...... 635 658 701 650 707 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.0 3.2

At closing establishments ............ 166 155 187 172 211 .8 .7 .9 .8 1.0

Net employment change .............. 205 65 74 212 49 1.0 .3 .3 1.0 .2

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted —Continued

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

2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................ 1,344 1,247 1,312 1,330 1,301 8.8 8.0 8.4 8.5 8.3

At expanding establishments ...... 1,048 1,013 1,025 1,045 1,013 6.9 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.5

At opening establishments ......... 296 234 287 285 288 1.9 1.5 1.8 1.8 1.8

Gross job losses ........................ 1,184 1,138 1,273 1,297 1,238 7.8 7.4 8.2 8.4 7.9

At contracting establishments ...... 977 939 1,055 1,082 1,024 6.4 6.1 6.8 7.0 6.5

At closing establishments ............ 207 199 218 215 214 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4

Net employment change .............. 160 109 39 33 63 1.0 .6 .2 .1 .4

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................ 294 272 301 305 280 7.2 6.7 7.4 7.4 6.8

At expanding establishments ...... 232 219 235 240 219 5.7 5.4 5.8 5.8 5.3

At opening establishments ......... 62 53 66 65 61 1.5 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.5

Gross job losses ........................ 273 266 284 285 293 6.8 6.5 7.0 7.0 7.1

At contracting establishments ...... 213 207 219 221 230 5.3 5.1 5.4 5.4 5.6

At closing establishments ............ 60 59 65 64 63 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.5

Net employment change .............. 21 6 17 20 -13 .4 .2 .4 .4 -.3

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

2006 March 782 6,460 5,678 312 3,538 3,226 211 1,216 1,005 259 1,706 1,447

June 369 6,329 5,960 111 3,425 3,314 102 1,179 1,077 156 1,725 1,569

September 86 6,120 6,034 -5 3,334 3,339 48 1,133 1,085 43 1,653 1,610

December 446 6,388 5,942 137 3,406 3,269 80 1,153 1,073 229 1,829 1,600

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010 March -234 5,115 5,349 -195 2,863 3,058 -2 914 916 -37 1,338 1,375

June 664 5,805 5,141 235 3,093 2,858 204 1,071 867 225 1,641 1,416

September 226 5,525 5,299 26 2,946 2,920 87 998 911 113 1,581 1,468

December 502 5,781 5,279 92 3,051 2,959 92 1,034 942 318 1,696 1,378

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

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

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

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

2012 March 975 5,903 4,928 397 3,178 2,781 221 1,055 834 357 1,670 1,313

June 605 5,828 5,223 170 3,039 2,869 160 1,076 916 275 1,713 1,438

September 245 5,595 5,350 57 2,965 2,908 55 1,007 952 133 1,623 1,490

December 623 5,767 5,144 174 3,019 2,845 90 1,011 921 359 1,737 1,378

2013 March 593 5,741 5,148 230 3,082 2,852 156 1,026 870 207 1,633 1,426

June 642 5,909 5,267 219 3,084 2,865 138 1,075 937 285 1,750 1,465

September 458 5,764 5,306 210 3,056 2,846 62 1,018 956 186 1,690 1,504

December 632 5,881 5,249 126 3,021 2,895 100 1,031 931 406 1,829 1,423

2014 March 469 5,663 5,194 260 3,084 2,824 154 1,033 879 55 1,546 1,491

June 878 6,140 5,262 293 3,177 2,884 218 1,125 907 367 1,838 1,471

September 516 5,858 5,342 168 3,052 2,884 102 1,059 957 246 1,747 1,501

December 969 6,154 5,185 218 3,107 2,889 151 1,083 932 600 1,964 1,364

2015 March 244 5,662 5,418 191 3,106 2,915 81 1,022 941 -28 1,534 1,562

June 823 6,253 5,430 312 3,197 2,885 191 1,136 945 320 1,920 1,600

September 397 5,898 5,501 114 3,040 2,926 58 1,038 980 225 1,820 1,595

December 882 6,258 5,376 247 3,179 2,932 98 1,075 977 537 2,004 1,467

2016 March 224 5,624 5,400 175 3,020 2,845 57 1,002 945 -8 1,602 1,610

June 302 6,072 5,770 72 3,133 3,061 116 1,111 995 114 1,828 1,714

September 681 6,223 5,542 133 3,106 2,973 84 1,082 998 464 2,035 1,571

December 316 5,896 5,580 68 3,046 2,978 47 1,031 984 201 1,819 1,618

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

Net 

change

Gross job

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

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

Year 3 months ended

Total private by firm1 Firm size 1 - 49 employees

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

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

Firm size 50 - 249 employees Firm size 250 or more

Net 

change2,3

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change

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

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

2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 6,258 5,624 6,072 6,223 5,896 5.3 4.7 5.1 5.2 4.9

At expanding firms ............... 5,295 4,790 5,149 5,283 4,969 4.5 4.0 4.3 4.4 4.1

At opening firms .................. 963 834 923 940 927 .8 .7 .8 .8 .8

Gross job losses ..................... 5,376 5,400 5,770 5,542 5,580 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.6 4.6

At contracting firms ............... 4,528 4,579 4,842 4,692 4,721 3.8 3.8 4.0 3.9 3.9

At closing firms .................. 848 821 928 850 859 .7 .7 .8 .7 .7

Net employment change ............ 882 224 302 681 316 .8 .2 .3 .6 .3

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 3,179 3,020 3,133 3,106 3,046 9.5 9.0 9.3 9.3 9.0

At expanding firms ............... 2,265 2,218 2,253 2,208 2,161 6.8 6.6 6.7 6.6 6.4

At opening firms .................. 914 802 880 898 885 2.7 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.6

Gross job losses ..................... 2,932 2,845 3,061 2,973 2,978 8.8 8.4 9.1 8.8 8.8

At contracting firms ............... 2,123 2,057 2,175 2,157 2,155 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.4 6.4

At closing firms .................. 809 788 886 816 823 2.4 2.3 2.6 2.4 2.4

Net employment change ............ 247 175 72 133 68 .7 .6 .2 .5 .2

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,075 1,002 1,111 1,082 1,031 5.0 4.6 5.1 5.0 4.8

At expanding firms ............... 1,041 974 1,072 1,044 996 4.8 4.5 4.9 4.8 4.6

At opening firms .................. 34 28 39 38 35 .2 .1 .2 .2 .2

Gross job losses ..................... 977 945 995 998 984 4.6 4.3 4.6 4.6 4.5

At contracting firms ............... 943 917 962 969 953 4.4 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.4

At closing firms .................. 34 28 33 29 31 .2 .1 .2 .1 .1

Net employment change ............ 98 57 116 84 47 .4 .3 .5 .4 .3

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 2,004 1,602 1,828 2,035 1,819 3.1 2.5 2.8 3.1 2.8

At expanding firms ............... 1,989 1,598 1,824 2,031 1,812 3.1 2.5 2.8 3.1 2.8

At opening firms .................. 15 4 4 4 7 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Gross job losses ..................... 1,467 1,610 1,714 1,571 1,618 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.5

At contracting firms ............... 1,462 1,605 1,705 1,566 1,613 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.5

At closing firms .................. 5 5 9 5 5 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Net employment change ............ 537 -8 114 464 201 .8 .0 .2 .7 .3

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

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

Category

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

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Table 6. Private sector gross job gains and losses by state, seasonally adjusted

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

2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016

United States 1 ............ 7,843,000 6,977,000 7,463,000 7,650,000 7,465,000 6,842,000 6,783,000 7,156,000 6,962,000 7,089,000

Alabama .................. 96,646 89,239 90,468 95,974 91,192 81,804 84,673 90,158 89,745 89,343

Alaska ..................... 24,329 23,755 26,030 22,411 23,748 26,571 24,612 29,972 27,596 24,810

Arizona .................. 154,720 136,475 137,186 163,612 138,172 123,146 130,066 138,390 119,918 126,569

Arkansas .................. 62,679 53,819 53,228 61,167 57,122 52,402 53,379 57,344 54,494 51,883

California .................. 1,075,178 921,636 969,310 987,259 968,213 929,638 889,698 946,963 872,725 901,739

Colorado .................. 147,332 140,016 148,006 153,349 142,224 134,691 130,052 138,701 135,109 141,376

Connecticut ............... 77,156 74,339 77,489 74,208 72,208 70,694 70,865 75,829 75,109 73,722

Delaware .................. 27,199 24,510 25,219 23,511 23,248 23,117 24,200 25,084 24,397 23,381

District of Columbia ... 31,569 26,719 29,684 31,411 28,585 23,562 28,186 31,218 28,869 28,501

Florida ..................... 510,696 439,847 460,188 537,172 490,012 412,905 410,669 428,183 416,981 446,536

Georgia .................. 247,757 218,517 252,375 243,567 237,672 202,861 199,712 240,381 214,828 209,913

Hawaii ..................... 30,040 25,200 28,174 30,518 27,652 23,183 25,729 31,217 25,963 27,072

Idaho ..................... 43,766 46,359 40,993 44,973 43,414 38,441 35,558 40,443 40,480 38,443

Illinois ..................... 321,551 271,116 299,699 293,311 307,488 283,941 274,351 301,559 289,298 291,031

Indiana ..................... 158,633 141,057 137,024 149,640 141,154 126,844 136,213 134,813 132,940 137,271

Iowa ........................ 77,648 77,795 72,903 78,243 73,751 73,121 69,140 79,614 74,162 76,129

Kansas ..................... 70,502 64,980 63,336 70,015 66,916 62,764 66,896 70,605 63,173 64,620

Kentucky .................. 103,547 88,881 96,696 104,901 94,712 83,693 90,733 91,777 97,403 87,660

Louisiana .................. 106,451 96,609 94,903 105,759 93,098 103,367 105,846 111,231 102,408 103,821

Maine ..................... 43,068 40,502 39,055 33,573 36,267 35,516 34,636 34,077 37,485 35,878

Maryland .................. 141,865 130,869 134,394 139,730 141,007 124,463 127,811 134,582 128,257 135,555

Massachusetts ............ 176,932 158,738 181,391 173,891 169,035 156,781 152,250 158,315 166,349 165,216

Michigan .................. 218,432 196,117 218,793 206,985 203,905 192,084 179,106 194,637 205,425 200,642

Minnesota ............... 145,443 131,059 143,945 149,566 141,588 137,636 126,838 135,847 134,632 140,856

Mississippi ............... 62,596 51,367 50,079 55,451 56,564 47,996 54,142 58,052 49,333 50,563

Missouri .................. 145,011 131,177 133,514 132,069 181,050 121,021 124,222 128,070 125,311 186,321

Montana .................. 31,491 29,163 29,552 28,143 28,782 26,762 26,815 32,061 28,704 27,811

Nebraska .................. 49,121 47,050 45,488 51,210 46,186 44,211 44,379 48,210 47,154 49,758

Nevada ..................... 76,024 70,313 73,080 76,079 76,787 58,645 64,506 63,512 61,819 64,094

New Hampshire ......... 37,269 33,406 36,483 35,989 35,377 31,119 32,615 33,058 35,405 33,269

New Jersey ............... 227,731 198,701 220,836 210,721 218,012 197,598 198,223 195,999 197,194 199,380

New Mexico ............ 43,231 39,261 40,168 42,559 40,990 42,850 39,633 41,720 38,728 40,414

New York ............... 492,245 469,294 484,162 488,741 470,026 445,177 442,368 451,921 457,571 462,887

North Carolina ............ 232,642 213,396 221,808 219,357 225,078 192,138 195,124 206,971 206,445 200,246

North Dakota ............ 24,038 23,501 23,222 27,858 23,040 28,948 31,279 31,169 24,555 26,586

Ohio ........................ 274,448 251,839 257,809 260,780 257,128 236,802 234,642 260,094 258,978 247,337

Oklahoma ............... 79,854 72,627 71,683 78,448 79,388 81,960 80,611 84,340 74,654 76,784

Oregon ..................... 106,625 106,558 104,631 105,869 102,987 93,530 88,983 100,510 98,653 96,138

Pennsylvania ............ 288,170 271,355 267,682 285,600 274,145 258,949 264,903 272,140 258,787 259,210

Rhode Island ............ 27,173 24,014 25,497 23,215 23,939 23,455 24,234 25,797 24,839 23,877

South Carolina ............ 115,442 98,841 103,090 104,132 109,616 85,611 95,873 96,435 93,785 90,460

South Dakota ............ 22,966 21,499 21,895 22,031 21,028 20,376 21,188 21,613 21,592 21,226

Tennessee ............... 153,086 130,023 140,634 146,834 143,900 116,059 125,798 131,687 128,999 124,788

Texas ..................... 600,731 460,303 617,972 615,542 588,118 543,729 543,545 531,640 537,088 534,816

Utah ........................ 81,519 84,042 78,366 86,072 78,902 68,467 68,450 73,446 75,466 74,856

Vermont .................. 18,140 16,825 18,741 18,293 17,874 16,671 17,717 18,300 18,753 17,725

Virginia .................. 195,967 181,750 196,598 187,117 191,763 172,197 182,918 185,928 188,363 179,824

Washington ............... 177,055 187,946 192,605 177,742 192,603 159,981 148,670 154,150 169,322 179,378

West Virginia ............ 36,337 32,562 31,986 35,381 34,784 35,335 37,995 37,599 35,652 33,754

Wisconsin ............... 145,150 136,563 137,744 133,492 133,351 126,012 126,353 139,248 134,073 131,301

Wyoming .................. 19,048 16,868 15,896 16,789 17,778 19,747 19,826 21,419 17,993 17,529

Puerto Rico ............... 42,057 38,292 37,884 39,108 39,503 38,537 40,072 38,038 38,260 35,843

Virgin Islands ............ 1,979 1,549 1,746 1,712 1,629 1,451 1,469 1,602 1,794 1,689

1 The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.

NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

State

Gross job gains Gross job losses

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

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

2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016

United States .......................... 6.6 5.8 6.2 6.4 6.2 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.8 5.8

Alabama ................................ 6.2 5.8 5.8 6.2 5.8 5.3 5.4 5.8 5.7 5.7

Alaska ................................. 9.6 9.4 10.3 9.0 9.6 10.5 9.7 11.9 11.1 10.0

Arizona ............................... 6.9 6.0 6.1 7.1 6.0 5.4 5.7 6.1 5.2 5.5

Arkansas .............................. 6.3 5.4 5.4 6.2 5.7 5.3 5.3 5.8 5.4 5.2

California .............................. 7.6 6.5 6.8 6.9 6.7 6.7 6.3 6.7 6.1 6.3

Colorado .............................. 7.0 6.6 6.9 7.1 6.6 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.2 6.6

Connecticut ......................... 5.5 5.2 5.4 5.2 5.1 4.9 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.1

Delaware .............................. 7.3 6.5 6.7 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.5 6.2

District of Columbia ............... 6.2 5.2 5.8 6.2 5.5 4.6 5.6 6.1 5.7 5.6

Florida ................................. 7.2 6.1 6.4 7.4 6.7 5.8 5.8 5.9 5.7 6.1

Georgia ................................. 6.9 6.1 7.0 6.7 6.5 5.7 5.6 6.6 5.9 5.8

Hawaii .................................. 5.8 4.9 5.4 5.8 5.2 4.4 4.9 6.0 5.0 5.1

Idaho .................................... 7.9 8.2 7.1 7.9 7.6 6.9 6.3 7.1 7.1 6.6

Illinois ................................ 6.4 5.3 5.9 5.7 6.1 5.6 5.4 5.9 5.7 5.7

Indiana ................................ 6.2 5.5 5.2 5.8 5.4 4.9 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.2

Iowa .................................... 6.0 6.0 5.6 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.3 6.1 5.8 5.9

Kansas ................................. 6.2 5.8 5.6 6.2 5.9 5.6 5.9 6.3 5.6 5.7

Kentucky .............................. 6.7 5.7 6.2 6.7 6.0 5.4 5.8 5.8 6.2 5.6

Louisiana .............................. 6.5 6.0 5.9 6.6 5.9 6.4 6.6 6.9 6.5 6.6

Maine ................................... 8.6 8.0 7.7 6.7 7.2 7.1 6.9 6.7 7.4 7.1

Maryland ............................. 6.8 6.2 6.3 6.5 6.6 5.9 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.3

Massachusetts ....................... 5.9 5.2 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.2 5.0 5.2 5.5 5.4

Michigan ............................. 6.1 5.4 5.9 5.6 5.6 5.3 4.9 5.3 5.6 5.4

Minnesota .............................. 6.1 5.4 5.9 6.1 5.8 5.7 5.2 5.6 5.6 5.8

Mississippi ........................... 7.1 5.7 5.7 6.3 6.3 5.4 6.1 6.5 5.6 5.7

Missouri .............................. 6.3 5.7 5.7 5.7 7.7 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.4 8.0

Montana ............................... 8.5 7.8 7.9 7.6 7.8 7.3 7.2 8.6 7.8 7.5

Nebraska .............................. 6.1 5.8 5.7 6.4 5.7 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.9 6.2

Nevada ................................ 6.8 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.7 5.3 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.6

New Hampshire ..................... 6.7 6.0 6.5 6.4 6.3 5.6 5.8 5.9 6.3 5.9

New Jersey ........................... 6.7 5.9 6.5 6.3 6.3 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8

New Mexico ........................... 7.0 6.2 6.5 6.8 6.6 6.9 6.3 6.7 6.2 6.5

New York .............................. 6.4 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.9

North Carolina ........................ 6.7 6.0 6.3 6.1 6.3 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.6

North Dakota ........................ 6.7 6.6 6.8 8.1 6.7 8.1 8.9 9.0 7.1 7.8

Ohio .................................... 6.0 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.1 5.1 5.6 5.6 5.3

Oklahoma .............................. 6.3 5.7 5.8 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.4 6.8 6.0 6.1

Oregon ................................. 7.0 7.0 6.7 6.9 6.6 6.2 5.8 6.5 6.4 6.2

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.7 5.4 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.1 5.1

Rhode Island ........................ 6.6 5.8 6.2 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.9 6.2 6.0 5.8

South Carolina ........................ 7.1 6.1 6.3 6.3 6.6 5.3 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.4

South Dakota ........................ 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.4 6.0 5.9 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.1

Tennessee .............................. 6.3 5.2 5.7 5.9 5.7 4.8 5.1 5.3 5.2 5.0

Texas ................................. 6.1 4.7 6.3 6.2 5.9 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.4

Utah .................................... 7.2 7.3 6.7 7.4 6.7 6.0 5.9 6.4 6.5 6.3

Vermont .............................. 7.2 6.6 7.4 7.2 7.0 6.5 6.9 7.2 7.4 7.0

Virginia .............................. 6.4 5.9 6.4 6.0 6.2 5.6 5.9 6.0 6.1 5.9

Washington ........................... 6.8 7.1 7.2 6.7 7.2 6.2 5.6 5.8 6.4 6.7

West Virginia ........................ 6.6 5.9 5.8 6.6 6.4 6.3 6.9 6.9 6.6 6.2

Wisconsin .............................. 6.0 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.7 5.5 5.3

Wyoming .............................. 9.0 7.9 7.7 8.3 8.8 9.3 9.4 10.4 8.9 8.7

Puerto Rico ........................... 6.3 5.7 5.6 5.8 5.9 5.7 6.0 5.6 5.7 5.3

Virgin Islands ........................ 7.3 5.7 6.3 6.2 5.9 5.3 5.4 5.8 6.5 6.1

NOTE: Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

State

Gross job gains as a percent of employment Gross job losses as a percent of employment

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Table 8. Private sector establishment births and deaths, seasonally adjusted

(Levels in thousands)

Level Rate 2 Level Rate Level Rate Level Rate

2006 March 236 3.3 195 2.8 949 .8 767 .7

June 233 3.3 206 2.9 987 .9 850 .8

September 224 3.1 210 2.9 934 .8 843 .7

December 236 3.3 207 2.9 976 .9 812 .7

2007 March 232 3.2 205 2.8 918 .8 787 .7

June 225 3.1 215 3.0 898 .8 859 .8

September 233 3.2 216 3.0 952 .8 845 .7

December 228 3.1 218 3.0 922 .8 836 .7

2008 March 226 3.1 224 3.1 919 .8 832 .7

June 221 3.0 238 3.3 876 .8 913 .8

September 216 3.0 233 3.2 849 .8 881 .8

December 211 2.9 253 3.5 819 .7 951 .9

2009 March 197 2.7 247 3.4 738 .7 869 .8

June 201 2.8 238 3.3 767 .7 837 .8

September 192 2.7 227 3.2 725 .7 793 .7

December 202 2.8 218 3.1 728 .7 749 .7

2010 March 193 2.7 211 3.0 706 .7 687 .7

June 193 2.7 202 2.9 730 .7 665 .6

September 207 2.9 204 2.9 754 .7 701 .7

December 216 3.0 201 2.8 805 .8 700 .7

2011 March 204 2.9 200 2.8 715 .7 632 .6

June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 .7 689 .6

September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 .7 675 .6

December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 .7 700 .6

2012 March 236 3.3 186 2.6 784 .7 614 .6

June 216 3.0 195 2.7 799 .7 676 .6

September 210 2.9 197 2.7 805 .7 693 .6

December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 .7 673 .6

2013 March 204 2.8 192 2.6 745 .7 645 .6

June 222 3.0 215 2.9 790 .7 695 .6

September 219 2.9 195 2.6 822 .7 678 .6

December 216 2.9 187 2.5 806 .7 673 .6

2014 March 220 2.9 188 2.5 780 .7 629 .6

June 220 2.9 205 2.7 806 .7 718 .6

September 225 3.0 200 2.6 829 .7 705 .6

December 223 2.9 197 2.6 838 .7 709 .6

2015 March 234 3.1 206 2.7 813 .7 690 .6

June 234 3.1 213 2.8 839 .7 735 .6

September 242 3.1 207 2.7 882 .7 704 .6

December 246 3.2 208 2.7 895 .8 733 .6

2016 March 220 2.8 204 2.6 734 .6 667 .6

June 252 3.2 N/A N/A 889 .7 N/A N/A

September 238 3.0 N/A N/A 866 .7 N/A N/A

December 246 3.1 N/A N/A 919 .8 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