1

Technical information: (202) 691-6467

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-1562

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, August 18, 2005

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FOURTH QUARTER 2004

From September to December 2004, the number of job gains from opening and expanding private sector

establishments was 8.1 million, and the number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was

7.2 million, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of

Labor. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all sectors, except manufacturing, utilities, and other

services. (See charts A and B.)

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 8.1 million jobs in the fourth quarter

of 2004, an increase of 292,000 jobs from the previous quarter. This was the largest gross job gain since

the first quarter of 2002. Over the quarter, expanding establishments added 6.4 million jobs and opening

establishments added 1.7 million jobs from the third to the fourth quarter.

Gross job losses totaled 7.2 million, a smaller loss than the 7.6 million in the third quarter of 2004. In the

fourth quarter of 2004, contracting establishments lost 5.7 million jobs and closing establishments lost 1.5

million jobs. (See tables A, 1, 3, and chart B.)
2

Gross job gains ........................................ 7,646 7,745 7,857 7,789 8,081

At expanding establishments ........... 6,063 6,231 6,292 6,123 6,365

At opening establishments ............... 1,583 1,514 1,565 1,666 1,716

Gross job losses ....................................... 7,302 7,310 7,263 7,598 7,212

At contracting establishments ......... 5,816 5,871 5,726 5,953 5,727

At closing establishments ................ 1,486 1,439 1,537 1,645 1,485

Net employment change ......................... 344 435 594 191 869

 3 months ended

Category

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

1

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

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

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

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

At contracting establishments ......... 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.3

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

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

Rates (percent)

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

Technical Note for further information.

Mar. 2004 June 2004 Sept. 2004 Dec. 2004

Levels (in thousands)

1

Dec. 2003

From September to December 2004, gross job gains represented 7.4 percent of private sector employment, which was the highest percent since the second quarter of 2002. Gross job losses were at 6.7 percent

of private sector employment, a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from the previous quarter. (See tables A

and 2.) These gross job gain and loss statistics demonstrate that sizable numbers of jobs appear and disappear in the relatively short time frame of one quarter.

Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses

Goods-producing. The fourth quarter of 2004 saw gross job losses in the goods-producing sector

fall to a total of 1,637,000. This is a return to the downward trend in job losses in this sector following an

increase in the previous quarter. Expanding and opening establishments gained 1,734,000 jobs, which led

to a net gain of 97,000 jobs over the quarter among goods-producing industries. (See tables B and 3.)

Manufacturing. Gross job gains in the manufacturing sector totaled 590,000 jobs in the fourth quarter

of 2004, down by 7,000 from the previous quarter. This decline, together with a small increase in gross job

losses to 615,000, led to a net decrease of 25,000 factory jobs. This represents 18 quarters of net employment loss in manufacturing over the last 5 years.

Construction. In construction, gross job gains rose to 848,000 during the quarter, while gross job

losses fell to 747,000, resulting in a net gain of 101,000 jobs. This is the largest net job gain in this sector

since March 2001, and the sixth consecutive quarter of net job gains.

Service-providing. The combined service-providing sector experienced gross job gains of 6.3 million

in the fourth quarter of 2004. Although gross job gains increased only slightly, a decrease in the number of

gross job losses led to a considerably larger net employment change (+772,000) than was registered in the

third quarter in this sector (+215,000).
3

 Total private ....................................... 7,646 7,745 7,857 7,789 8,081 7,302 7,310 7,263 7,598 7,212

Goods-producing .................................... 1,665 1,764 1,696 1,667 1,734 1,697 1,670 1,647 1,691 1,637

Natural resources and mining .......... 286 314 283 271 296 285 282 282 290 275

Construction ........................................ 793 837 809 799 848 761 759 779 789 747

Manufacturing ..................................... 586 613 604 597 590 651 629 586 612 615

Service-providing.1.................................. 5,981 5,981 6,161 6,122 6,347 5,605 5,640 5,616 5,907 5,575

Wholesale trade .................................. 317 319 325 329 329 320 314 302 327 294

Retail trade ........................................... 1,061 1,059 1,058 1,044 1,090 1,016 1,011 974 1,126 992

Transportation and warehousing .... 227 244 241 244 255 237 228 236 235 217

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

Information ........................................... 172 156 151 163 188 166 169 182 194 169

Financial activities .............................. 436 442 461 469 497 462 433 457 452 451

Professional and business services 1,438 1,411 1,509 1,416 1,512 1,302 1,378 1,321 1,366 1,300

Education and health services ......... 744 751 753 757 802 659 672 696 704 647

Leisure and hospitality ...................... 1,161 1,138 1,164 1,169 1,204 1,097 1,091 1,090 1,135 1,134

Other services ...................................... 288 307 301 297 299 293 291 304 308 310

 Gross job gains

Industry

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

(In thousands)

Gross job losses

3 months ended

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

2003 2004 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 2004 2004

3 months ended

 1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.

Sept.

2004

.1

Mar.

Retail trade. Gross job gains in retail trade increased by 46,000 to 1,090,000 in the fourth quarter

of 2004. A larger decrease in gross job losses (134,000) led to a net employment gain of 98,000.

Information. The information sector gained 188,000 and lost 169,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of

2004, for a net gain of 19,000 jobs. This sector has recorded a net quarterly job gain only twice in the last

4 years.

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

reported gross job gains of 1,512,000 in the fourth quarter of 2004, up from 1,416,000 in the previous

quarter. Gross job losses in this industry decreased from 1,366,000 in the third quarter to 1,300,000 this

quarter. The resulting net gain of 212,000 jobs represents the sixth consecutive quarter of positive

employment growth in this industry.

Number of Establishments Gaining and Losing Employment

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

business units that are growing and declining. In the fourth quarter of 2004, the number of opening establishments exceeded the number of closing establishments, leading to a net addition of 59,000 units to the total

number of active establishments. In addition, the number of establishments gaining jobs continued to surpass

the number of establishments losing jobs. Out of 6.6 million active private sector establishments, a total of

1.9 million establishments gained jobs from September to December 2004. (See table C.) Of these, 1.5

million were expanding establishments and 379,000 were opening establishments. During the fourth quarter,

1.8 million establishments lost jobs and of these 1.5 million establishments contracted and 320,000

establishments closed.
4

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

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

 Establishments gaining jobs ................... 1,815 1,854 1,847 1,840 1,909

 Expanding establishments ................... 1,467 1,505 1,504 1,486 1,530

 Opening establishments ....................... 348 349 343 354 379

 Establishments losing jobs...................... 1,775 1,794 1,792 1,814 1,787

 Contracting establishments ................. 1,453 1,466 1,462 1,469 1,467

 Closing establishments ........................ 322 328 330 345 320

 Net establishment change ....................... 26 21 13 9 59

 (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.

More Information

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

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

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

about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found in the Technical Note of this release or may be

obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.

Comparing Business Employment Dynamics Data with Current Employment Statistics

and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Data

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

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

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

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

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

the agriculture sector but including establishments not covered by the unemployment

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

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

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

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

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

levels over time should refer to CES data.

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

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

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

employment.

See the Technical Note for further information.
Technical Note

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

submitted by 8.5 million employers administrative records submitted by

6.6 million private sector employers

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

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

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

Other employment, including railroads, religious organizations, and

other non-UI-covered jobs

Publication Quarterly Quarterly Monthly

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

quarter quarter month

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

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

 data

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

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

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

state, and national levels by NAICS supersectors

detailed industry Future expansions will include data

at the county, MSA, and state level

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

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

- Periodic universe counts for - Analysis of employer dynamics indicator

benchmarking sample survey underlying economic expansions - Official time series for

estimates and contractions employment change measures

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

establishment surveys and contraction by size of estab- indicators

lishment

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

Web sites

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

 QCEW BED CES

•

sample estimates to first quarter

UI levels

summarizes gross job gains

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a

product of a federal-state cooperative program known as

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

ES-202 program. The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau

of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing quarterly state

unemployment insurance (UI) records. Most employers in the

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

and wages of workers covered by UI laws, and to pay quarterly

UI taxes. The quarterly UI reports are sent by the State

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

Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame. These

reports also are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on

total employment and wages and the longitudinal BED data on

gross job gains and losses. Other important BLS uses of the

UI reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES)

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

and BED.)

In the BED program, the quarterly UI records are linked

across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for each

establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net

employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn

allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and expanding

establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting

establishments.

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures

The BLS publishes three different establishment-based

employment measures for any given quarter. Each of these

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

and losses

and by size of establishment
UI employment reports in producing data; however, each

measure has a somewhat different universe coverage,

estimation procedure, and publication product.

Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result

in somewhat different measures of over-the-quarter employment change. It is important to understand program

differences and the intended uses of the program products.

(See table on previous page.) Additional information on each

program can be obtained from the program Web sites shown

in the table.

Coverage

Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI

and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees

(UCFE) laws are compiled from quarterly contribution reports

submitted to the SWAs by employers. In addition to the

quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate multiple

establishments within a state complete a questionnaire, called

the “Multiple Worksite Report,” which provides detailed

information on the location of their establishments. These

reports are based on place of employment rather than place of

residence. UI and UCFE coverage is broad and basically

comparable from state to state.

Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed

workers, religious organizations, most agricultural workers on

small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, elected officials

in most states, most employees of railroads, some domestic

workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of

certain small nonprofit organizations.

Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are

derived from longitudinal histories of over 6.5 million private

sector employer reports out of 8.4 million total reports of

employment and wages submitted by states to BLS in the

second 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 second quarter of 2004:

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,

including a change in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI

account restructuring. If a match cannot be attained in this

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

to identify two establishments with different SESA-IDs as

continuous. The match is based upon comparisons such as the

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

 Number of active establishments included in

 Business Employment Dynamics data

 Millions

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

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

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

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

Establishments in Puerto Rico

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

Total establishments included in Business

 Employment Dynamics data..... 6.5
examines unmatched records individually and makes a possible

match.

In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data,

SWAs verify with employers and update, if necessary, the

industry, location, and ownership classification of all

establishments on a 3-year cycle. Changes in establishment

classification codes resulting from the verification process are

introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the

year. Changes resulting from improved employer reporting also

are introduced in the first quarter.

Seasonal adjustment

Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the

associated job flows undergo sharp fluctuations due to such

seasonal events as changes in the weather, reduced or

expanded production, harvests, major holidays, and the

opening and closing of schools. The effect of such seasonal

variation can be very large.

Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular

pattern each year, their influence can be eliminated by adjusting

these statistics from quarter to quarter. These adjustments

make nonseasonal developments, such as declines in economic

activity, easier to recognize. For example, the large number of

youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes

that have taken place in June relative to March, making it

difficult to determine if the level of economic activity has risen

or declined. However, because the effect of students finishing

school in previous years is known, the statistics for the current

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

adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to

analyze changes in economic activity.

The employment data series for opening, expanding,

closing, and contracting establishments are independently

seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on

the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses.

Similarly, the establishment counts data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are

independently adjusted, and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of

opening and closing establishments. Additionally,

establishment and employment levels are independently

seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates.

Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 ARIMA.

Seasonally adjusted data series for the total private sector are

calculated by summing the seasonally adjusted data for all

sectors, including the unclassified sector, which is not

published separately.

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

BED component series will differ from the net employment

change estimated from the seasonally adjusted total private

employment series from the CES program. The intended use of

BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market changes

that underlie the net employment change statistic. As such,

data users interested particularly in the net employment change

and not in the gross job flows underlying this change should

refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment changes.

Reliability of the data

Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics

are based on administrative rather than sample data, there are

no issues related to sampling error. Nonsampling error,

however, still exists. Nonsampling errors can occur for many

reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected

employment data after the end of the quarter or typographical

errors made by businesses when providing information. Such

errors, however, are likely to be distributed randomly

throughout the dataset.

Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the linkage process. This can result in overstating

openings and closings while understating expansions and

contractions. The BLS continues to refine methods for

improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these

complications.

The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes

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

Additional statistics and other information

Several other programs within BLS produce closely related

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

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

available upon request from the Division of Administrative

Statistics and Labor Turnover, Bureau of Labor Statistics,

U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; telephone 202-691-6567; (http://www.bls.gov/cew/); (e-mail:

CEWInfo@bls.gov).

The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, its net change, and earnings by detailed industry.

These estimates are part of the Employment Situation report

put out monthly by BLS.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)

program provides monthly measures of job openings, as well

as employee hires and separations.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200;

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

(In thousands)

Gross job gains Gross job losses

Year 3 months ended Net change1 Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 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 employment 1

, seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Gross job gains Gross job losses

Year 3 months ended Net change2 Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

1992 September 0.5 8.3 6.3 2.0 7.8 6.0 1.8

 December 0.2 7.9 6.1 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6

1993 March 0.3 8.1 6.0 2.1 7.8 6.0 1.8

 June 0.8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.7 1.6

 September 0.9 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.3 5.8 1.5

 December 0.6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5

1994 March 0.5 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.5 5.9 1.6

 June 1.1 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.3 5.7 1.6

 September 1.2 8.4 6.6 1.8 7.2 5.8 1.4

 December 0.6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5

1995 March 0.8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.9 1.4

 June 0.5 8.0 6.2 1.8 7.5 6.0 1.5

 September 0.8 8.2 6.5 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6

 December 0.4 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6

1996 March 0.4 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6

 June 0.6 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.6 6.0 1.6

 September 0.7 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.6 6.0 1.6

 December 0.9 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.4 5.9 1.5

1997 March 0.7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 5.9 1.6

 June 0.5 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6

 September 0.8 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.6 5.9 1.7

 December 0.6 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.8 5.9 1.9

1998 March 0.7 8.5 6.4 2.1 7.8 5.9 1.9

 June 0.6 8.4 6.3 2.1 7.8 6.0 1.8

 September 0.7 8.2 6.3 1.9 7.5 5.9 1.6

 December 0.7 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.4 5.7 1.7

1999 March 0.3 8.2 6.3 1.9 7.9 6.1 1.8

 June 0.6 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.7 6.0 1.7

 September 0.5 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.7 6.0 1.7

 December 1.1 8.5 6.6 1.9 7.4 5.8 1.6

2000 March 0.8 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6

 June 0.4 7.9 6.3 1.6 7.5 5.9 1.6

 September 0.1 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.8 6.1 1.7

 December 0.3 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.6 6.0 1.6

2001 March -0.1 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.8 6.1 1.7

 June -0.8 7.4 5.8 1.6 8.2 6.5 1.7

 September -1.3 7.1 5.5 1.6 8.4 6.6 1.8

 December -0.8 7.3 5.6 1.7 8.1 6.5 1.6

2002 March 0.1 7.6 5.9 1.7 7.5 5.9 1.6

 June -0.1 7.5 5.8 1.7 7.6 6.0 1.6

 September -0.1 7.3 5.7 1.6 7.4 5.9 1.5

 December -0.2 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5

2003 March -0.5 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.4 5.9 1.5

 June -0.2 7.0 5.6 1.4 7.2 5.7 1.5

 September 0.1 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3

 December 0.4 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4

2004 March 0.4 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3

 June 0.5 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.7 5.3 1.4

 September 0.2 7.2 5.7 1.5 7.0 5.5 1.5

 December 0.7 7.4 5.8 1.6 6.7 5.3 1.4

 1 The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage of the average of the previous and current employment. 2

See 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

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

Total private1

Gross job gains 7,646 7,745 7,857 7,789 8,081 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.4

 At expanding establishments 6,063 6,231 6,292 6,123 6,365 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.8

 At opening establishments 1,583 1,514 1,565 1,666 1,716 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.6

Gross job losses 7,302 7,310 7,263 7,598 7,212 6.8 6.8 6.7 7.0 6.7

 At contracting establishments 5,816 5,871 5,726 5,953 5,727 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.3

 At closing establishments 1,486 1,439 1,537 1,645 1,485 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4

Net employment change 344 435 594 191 869 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.7

Goods-producing

Gross job gains 1,665 1,764 1,696 1,667 1,734 7.3 7.7 7.4 7.3 7.6

 At expanding establishments 1,391 1,487 1,444 1,403 1,440 6.1 6.5 6.3 6.1 6.3

 At opening establishments 274 277 252 264 294 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.3

Gross job losses 1,697 1,670 1,647 1,691 1,637 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.4 7.1

 At contracting establishments 1,391 1,372 1,334 1,366 1,340 6.1 6.0 5.8 6.0 5.8

 At closing establishments 306 298 313 325 297 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3

Net employment change -32 94 49 -24 97 -0.1 0.4 0.2 -0.1 0.5

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains 286 314 283 271 296 17.3 18.5 16.8 16.3 17.6

 At expanding establishments 233 266 243 230 244 14.1 15.7 14.4 13.8 14.5

 At opening establishments 53 48 40 41 52 3.2 2.8 2.4 2.5 3.1

Gross job losses 285 282 282 290 275 17.2 16.6 16.7 17.4 16.4

 At contracting establishments 239 234 235 243 233 14.4 13.8 13.9 14.6 13.9

 At closing establishments 46 48 47 47 42 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.5

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

Construction

Gross job gains 793 837 809 799 848 11.8 12.3 11.7 11.6 12.2

 At expanding establishments 641 669 655 643 676 9.5 9.8 9.5 9.3 9.7

 At opening establishments 152 168 154 156 172 2.3 2.5 2.2 2.3 2.5

Gross job losses 761 759 779 789 747 11.3 11.1 11.3 11.4 10.7

 At contracting establishments 599 602 609 616 592 8.9 8.8 8.8 8.9 8.5

 At closing establishments 162 157 170 173 155 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.2

Net employment change 32 78 30 10 101 0.5 1.2 0.4 0.2 1.5

Manufacturing

Gross job gains 586 613 604 597 590 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.1

 At expanding establishments 517 552 546 530 520 3.6 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6

 At opening establishments 69 61 58 67 70 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5

Gross job losses 651 629 586 612 615 4.6 4.5 4.1 4.2 4.3

 At contracting establishments 553 536 490 507 515 3.9 3.8 3.4 3.5 3.6

 At closing establishments 98 93 96 105 100 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7

Net employment change -65 -16 18 -15 -25 -0.5 -0.2 0.1 0.0 -0.2

Service-providing1

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

 At expanding establishments 4,672 4,744 4,848 4,720 4,925 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.7

 At opening establishments 1,309 1,237 1,313 1,402 1,422 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.7

Gross job losses 5,605 5,640 5,616 5,907 5,575 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.9 6.5

 At contracting establishments 4,425 4,499 4,392 4,587 4,387 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.1

 At closing establishments 1,180 1,141 1,224 1,320 1,188 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4

Net employment change 376 341 545 215 772 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.2 0.9

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains 317 319 325 329 329 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.7

 At expanding establishments 257 258 266 267 264 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.6

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

Gross job losses 320 314 302 327 294 5.7 5.6 5.3 5.8 5.2

 At contracting establishments 245 243 226 243 226 4.4 4.3 4.0 4.3 4.0

 At closing establishments 75 71 76 84 68 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.2

Net employment change -3 5 23 2 35 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.5

Retail trade

Gross job gains 1,061 1,059 1,058 1,044 1,090 7.1 7.0 6.9 6.9 7.2

 At expanding establishments 886 890 885 845 899 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.9

 At opening establishments 175 169 173 199 191 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.3

Gross job losses 1,016 1,011 974 1,126 992 6.8 6.7 6.4 7.5 6.5

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

 At closing establishments 159 154 154 206 158 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.0

Net employment change 45 48 84 -82 98 0.3 0.3 0.5 -0.6 0.7

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

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

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains 227 244 241 244 255 5.7 6.1 6.0 6.0 6.3

 At expanding establishments 191 205 202 203 211 4.8 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.2

 At opening establishments 36 39 39 41 44 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1

Gross job losses 237 228 236 235 217 6.0 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.3

 At contracting establishments 188 183 192 190 171 4.8 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.2

 At closing establishments 49 45 44 45 46 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1

Net employment change -10 16 5 9 38 -0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 1.0

Utilities

Gross job gains 14 15 13 14 11 2.4 2.7 2.3 2.5 2.0

 At expanding establishments 12 13 11 13 10 2.1 2.3 1.9 2.3 1.8

 At opening establishments 2 2 2 1 1 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2

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

 At contracting establishments 14 14 12 13 13 2.4 2.5 2.1 2.3 2.3

 At closing establishments 2 2 2 3 2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4

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

 Information

Gross job gains 172 156 151 163 188 5.5 5.0 4.8 5.3 6.1

 At expanding establishments 131 132 125 135 152 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.4 4.9

 At opening establishments 41 24 26 28 36 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.2

Gross job losses 166 169 182 194 169 5.2 5.4 5.9 6.3 5.5

 At contracting establishments 121 138 146 148 124 3.8 4.4 4.7 4.8 4.0

 At closing establishments 45 31 36 46 45 1.4 1.0 1.2 1.5 1.5

Net employment change 6 -13 -31 -31 19 0.3 -0.4 -1.1 -1.0 0.6

Financial activities

Gross job gains 436 442 461 469 497 5.5 5.7 5.9 5.9 6.3

 At expanding establishments 333 343 362 364 373 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.7

 At opening establishments 103 99 99 105 124 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.6

Gross job losses 462 433 457 452 451 5.9 5.5 5.8 5.7 5.7

 At contracting establishments 354 325 324 334 338 4.5 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.3

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

Net employment change -26 9 4 17 46 -0.4 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.6

Professional and business services

Gross job gains 1,438 1,411 1,509 1,416 1,512 9.0 8.8 9.3 8.7 9.2

 At expanding establishments 1,136 1,156 1,214 1,124 1,198 7.1 7.2 7.5 6.9 7.3

 At opening establishments 302 255 295 292 314 1.9 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.9

Gross job losses 1,302 1,378 1,321 1,366 1,300 8.2 8.5 8.2 8.3 7.9

 At contracting establishments 1,000 1,080 988 1,035 1,001 6.3 6.7 6.1 6.3 6.1

 At closing establishments 302 298 333 331 299 1.9 1.8 2.1 2.0 1.8

Net employment change 136 33 188 50 212 0.8 0.3 1.1 0.4 1.3

Education and health services

Gross job gains 744 751 753 757 802 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 5.0

 At expanding establishments 616 633 635 626 658 3.9 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.1

 At opening establishments 128 118 118 131 144 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.9

Gross job losses 659 672 696 704 647 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.0

 At contracting establishments 529 551 560 562 521 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.2

 At closing establishments 130 121 136 142 126 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8

Net employment change 85 79 57 53 155 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 1.0

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains 1,161 1,138 1,164 1,169 1,204 9.5 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5

 At expanding establishments 866 854 889 883 900 7.1 6.9 7.1 7.1 7.1

 At opening establishments 295 284 275 286 304 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.4

Gross job losses 1,097 1,091 1,090 1,135 1,134 8.9 8.8 8.7 9.1 9.0

 At contracting establishments 875 870 873 888 900 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.1 7.1

 At closing establishments 222 221 217 247 234 1.8 1.8 1.7 2.0 1.9

Net employment change 64 47 74 34 70 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.5

 Other services

Gross job gains 288 307 301 297 299 7.6 8.1 7.9 7.8 7.9

 At expanding establishments 227 242 236 235 235 6.0 6.4 6.2 6.2 6.2

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

Gross job losses 293 291 304 308 310 7.8 7.6 8.0 8.2 8.2

 At contracting establishments 229 225 235 237 241 6.1 5.9 6.2 6.3 6.4

 At closing establishments 64 66 69 71 69 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.8

Net employment change -5 16 -3 -11 -11 -0.2 0.5 -0.1 -0.4 -0.3

1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.