For release 10:00 a.m. (EST), Tuesday, December 10, 2013 USDL-13-2347

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

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

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FIRST QUARTER 2013

From December 2012 to March 2013 gross

job losses from closing and contracting 

private sector establishments were 6.3 

million, a decrease of 115,000 jobs from the 

previous quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics reported today. Due to an 

administrative change in the education and 

health services industry sector, gross job 

gains are not comparable to data from 

previous quarters. (See box note on page 1.) 

The change in the number of jobs over 

time is the net result of increases and 

decreases in employment that occur at all 

businesses in the economy. Business 

Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics 

track these changes in employment at 

private business units from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains 

are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing units and the addition of new jobs at 

opening units. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing units and the loss 

of jobs at closing units. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross 

job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.) 

Administrative Change Affecting Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

First quarter 2013 data were affected by an administrative change to the count of establishments in the 

education and health services industry. A review of the administrative data from which the BED data are 

derived revealed that certain establishments that provide non-medical, home-based services for the 

elderly and persons with disabilities had been misclassified in the private households industry (NAICS 

814110), which is out of scope for the BED. These establishments are now in scope and are classified in 

services for the elderly and persons with disabilities (NAICS 624120.) This non-economic industry code 

change artificially inflates the data for gross job gains, openings, births, and the net employment change 

for the following data series: national total private, state total private, the education and health services 

sector, and firm size class.
- 2 - 

Gross job gains at expanding

establishments totaled 5.6 million in 

first quarter 2013, a decrease of 146,000 

jobs from the previous quarter. 

Openings in first quarter 2013 cannot 

be compared to the previous quarter. 

(See box note on page 1.) 

Contracting establishments lost 5.1

million jobs in first quarter 2013. This is 

a decrease of 63,000 jobs from the prior 

quarter. 

In the first quarter of 2013, closing

establishments lost 1.2 million jobs, a 

decrease of 52,000 jobs from the 

previous quarter. (See tables 1 and 3.) 

Gross job losses represented 5.6 

percent of private sector employment. 

(See table 2.) 

Gross job gains cannot be compared to 

the previous quarter. (See box note on 

page 1.) 

Establishment births cannot be compared to the previous quarter. (See box note on page 1.) 

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through second quarter 2012, when 

666,000 jobs were lost at 184,000 establishments. These figures represent increases from the prior quarter when 

605,000 jobs were lost at 181,000 establishments. 

During the first quarter of 2013, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all industry sectors except 

transportation and warehousing, utilities, and information. These three industries also experienced a net 

employment loss after being positive last quarter. The transportation and warehousing sector had gross job gains 

of 207,000 and gross job losses of 236,000, which resulted in a net employment loss of 29,000 jobs. This is the 

largest net loss since March 2010. (See table 3.) 
- 3 - 

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

See the Technical Note for further information. 

In the first quarter of 2013, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 46 states and the District of Columbia. 

Alaska had the highest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 10.7 percent, well above the U.S. 

total gross job gains rate of 6.4 percent. Hawaii had the lowest rate of gross job losses as a percent of 

employment at 4.8 percent, below the U.S. rate of 5.6 percent. (See tables 6 and 7.) 

More Information 

Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses are 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 may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. 

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2013 are scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 

Changes to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data 

Data in this release incorporate annual revisions to the BED series. Annual revisions are published each year 

with the release of first quarter data. These revisions cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data 

and five years of seasonally adjusted data.

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

Category

3 months ended

Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar.

2012 2012 2012 2012 2013

Levels (in thousands)

Gross job gains.................................... 6,946 7,027 6,847 7,110 7,200

 At expanding establishments........... 5,702 5,738 5,552 5,769 5,623

 At opening establishments............... 1,244 1,289 1,295 1,341 1,577

Gross job losses................................... 6,099 6,414 6,614 6,401 6,286

 At contracting establishments........... 4,995 5,259 5,436 5,199 5,136

 At closing establishments................ 1,104 1,155 1,178 1,202 1,150

Net employment change1........................ 847 613 233 709 914

Rates (percent)

Gross job gains................................ 6.3 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.4

 At expanding establishments....... 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.2 5.0

 At opening establishments............ 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4

Gross job losses............................... 5.6 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.6

 At contracting establishments........ 4.6 4.8 4.9 4.7 4.6

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

 

Net employment change1.....................

.7 .5 .2 .6 .8
- 4 - 

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 

Employment Security Agencies (SESAs). These UI 

reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data 

collections to render administrative data into economic 

statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW and 

form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe 

sampling frame. 

 These reports are used to produce the quarterly 

QCEW data on total employment and wages and the 

longitudinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. The 

QCEW is also the employment benchmark for the Current 

Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment 

Statistics (OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover 

Survey (JOLTS) programs and is a major input to the 

Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Personal Income 

Accounts. 

 In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records 

are linked across quarters to provide a longitudinal 

history for each establishment. The linkage process 

allows the tracking of net employment changes at the 

establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of 

jobs gained at opening and expanding units and jobs lost 

at closing and contracting units. 

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES 

employment measures 

 The Bureau publishes three different establishmentbased employment measures for any given quarter. Each 

of these measures — QCEW, BED, and 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 over-the-quarter 

employment change. It is important to understand 

program differences and the intended uses of the program 

products. (See table below.)

 Additional information on each program can be 

obtained from the program web sites shown in the table 

below. 

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

QCEW BED CES

Source Count of UI administrative records 

submitted by 9.2 million employers 

Count of longitudinally-linked UI 

administrative records submitted by 

7.3 million private sector employers 

Sample Survey: 486,000 

establishments

Coverage UI and UCFE coverage: all 

employers subject to State and 

federal UI Laws

UI Coverage, excluding: government, 

private households, and establishments 

with zero employment

Non-farm wage and salary jobs: 

UI Coverage, excluding: agriculture,

private households, and selfemployed; including: railroads, 

religious organizations, and other 

non-UI-covered jobs

Publication 

frequency

Quarterly 

—7 Months after the end of each 

quarter

Quarterly 

—8 Months after the end of each quarter

Monthly 

—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 losses

Uses UI file as a sampling frame 

and annually realigns (benchmarks) 

sample estimates to first quarter UI 

levels

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 super-sectors, 3-

digit NAICS, and by size of firm, and at 

the state private-sector total level

Future expansions will include 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 Websites www.bls.gov/cew/ www.bls.gov/bdm/ www.bls.gov/ces/
- 5 - 

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 SESAs 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 selfemployed 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 7.3 million 

private sector employer reports out of 9.2 million total 

reports of employment and wages submitted by states to 

BLS in the first quarter of 2013. 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 (49,972 units 

rounded to 0.0 million) 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 national gross job gains 

and gross job losses data in the first quarter 2013: 

Number of active establishments included in 

Business Employment Dynamics data at the 

national level 

 Millions 

Total establishments QCEW program .........9.2 

 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 ........................7.3 

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 
- 6 - 

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 reopenings 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 publication7.3 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 

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 examines unmatched records 

individually and makes a possible match. 

 In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, 

SESAs verify with employers and update, if necessary, 

the industry, location, and ownership classification of all 

establishments on a 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 
- 7 - 

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

2003 March -393 7,467 5,928 1,539 7,860 6,307 1,553

June -90 7,398 5,929 1,469 7,488 6,030 1,458

September 204 7,392 5,923 1,469 7,188 5,828 1,360

December 297 7,521 6,005 1,516 7,224 5,800 1,424

2004 March 470 7,715 6,204 1,511 7,245 5,795 1,450

June 644 7,754 6,235 1,519 7,110 5,639 1,471

September 206 7,633 6,060 1,573 7,427 5,888 1,539

December 757 7,844 6,243 1,601 7,087 5,663 1,424

2005 March 384 7,620 6,131 1,489 7,236 5,801 1,435

June 593 7,774 6,231 1,543 7,181 5,776 1,405

September 677 7,965 6,387 1,578 7,288 5,844 1,444

December 494 7,807 6,252 1,555 7,313 5,948 1,365

2006 March 874 7,797 6,354 1,443 6,923 5,636 1,287

June 371 7,758 6,246 1,512 7,387 6,015 1,372

September 52 7,499 6,061 1,438 7,447 6,097 1,350

December 455 7,740 6,223 1,517 7,285 5,941 1,344

2007 March 549 7,727 6,297 1,430 7,178 5,881 1,297

June 149 7,632 6,222 1,410 7,483 6,079 1,404

September -252 7,318 5,847 1,471 7,570 6,215 1,355

December 299 7,658 6,196 1,462 7,359 6,012 1,347

2008 March -225 7,246 5,834 1,412 7,471 6,102 1,369

June -578 7,254 5,846 1,408 7,832 6,352 1,480

September -944 6,886 5,523 1,363 7,830 6,448 1,382

December -1,809 6,706 5,354 1,352 8,515 7,034 1,481

2009 March -2,710 5,844 4,655 1,189 8,554 7,132 1,422

June -1,659 6,391 5,088 1,303 8,050 6,667 1,383

September -880 6,340 5,125 1,215 7,220 5,863 1,357

December -229 6,640 5,316 1,324 6,869 5,589 1,280

2010 March -262 6,256 5,086 1,170 6,518 5,313 1,205

June 715 6,966 5,684 1,282 6,251 5,086 1,165

September 210 6,675 5,423 1,252 6,465 5,240 1,225

December 591 7,015 5,642 1,373 6,424 5,202 1,222

2011 March 296 6,448 5,278 1,170 6,152 5,015 1,137

June 602 6,940 5,642 1,298 6,338 5,108 1,230

September 819 7,144 5,785 1,359 6,325 5,181 1,144

December 368 6,896 5,549 1,347 6,528 5,250 1,278

2012 March 847 6,946 5,702 1,244 6,099 4,995 1,104

June 613 7,027 5,738 1,289 6,414 5,259 1,155

September 233 6,847 5,552 1,295 6,614 5,436 1,178

December 709 7,110 5,769 1,341 6,401 5,199 1,202

2013 March 914 7,200 5,623 1,577 6,286 5,136 1,150

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

2003 March -.5 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.4 5.9 1.5

June .0 7.0 5.6 1.4 7.0 5.6 1.4

September .1 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3

December .3 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3

2004 March .5 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.7 5.4 1.3

June .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.2 1.4

September .3 7.1 5.6 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4

December .7 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.5 5.2 1.3

2005 March .4 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3

June .6 7.1 5.7 1.4 6.5 5.2 1.3

September .6 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3

December .4 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.6 5.4 1.2

2006 March .9 7.0 5.7 1.3 6.1 5.0 1.1

June .3 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

September .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2

December .3 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2007 March .5 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.3 5.2 1.1

June .2 6.7 5.5 1.2 6.5 5.3 1.2

September -.3 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.7 5.5 1.2

December .2 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2008 March -.3 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.6 5.4 1.2

June -.6 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.9 5.6 1.3

September -.8 6.1 4.9 1.2 6.9 5.7 1.2

December -1.6 6.0 4.8 1.2 7.6 6.3 1.3

2009 March -2.4 5.4 4.3 1.1 7.8 6.5 1.3

June -1.6 5.9 4.7 1.2 7.5 6.2 1.3

September -.9 5.9 4.8 1.1 6.8 5.5 1.3

December -.2 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2010 March -.2 5.9 4.8 1.1 6.1 5.0 1.1

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 .6 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.0 4.9 1.1

2011 March .2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1

June .6 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September .8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1

December .3 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.0 4.8 1.2

2012 March .7 6.3 5.2 1.1 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 .8 6.4 5.0 1.4 5.6 4.6 1.0

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

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

2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 6,946 7,027 6,847 7,110 7,200 6.3 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.4

At expanding establishments ...... 5,702 5,738 5,552 5,769 5,623 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.2 5.0

At opening establishments ......... 1,244 1,289 1,295 1,341 1,577 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.4

Gross job losses ........................ 6,099 6,414 6,614 6,401 6,286 5.6 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.6

At contracting establishments ...... 4,995 5,259 5,436 5,199 5,136 4.6 4.8 4.9 4.7 4.6

At closing establishments ............ 1,104 1,155 1,178 1,202 1,150 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0

Net employment change .............. 847 613 233 709 914 .7 .5 .2 .6 .8

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,402 1,396 1,338 1,359 1,345 7.3 7.2 6.9 7.0 6.8

At expanding establishments ...... 1,194 1,188 1,129 1,147 1,151 6.2 6.1 5.8 5.9 5.8

At opening establishments ......... 208 208 209 212 194 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,254 1,302 1,301 1,315 1,224 6.5 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.2

At contracting establishments ...... 1,043 1,087 1,090 1,097 1,020 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.2

At closing establishments ............ 211 215 211 218 204 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0

Net employment change .............. 148 94 37 44 121 .8 .5 .2 .3 .6

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 293 300 277 279 277 14.8 15.1 14.0 14.0 13.7

At expanding establishments ...... 253 259 236 238 238 12.8 13.0 11.9 11.9 11.8

At opening establishments ......... 40 41 41 41 39 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.1 1.9

Gross job losses ........................ 266 293 276 288 250 13.4 14.8 13.9 14.4 12.4

At contracting establishments ...... 228 252 240 250 214 11.5 12.7 12.1 12.5 10.6

At closing establishments ............ 38 41 36 38 36 1.9 2.1 1.8 1.9 1.8

Net employment change .............. 27 7 1 -9 27 1.4 .3 .1 -.4 1.3

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 675 641 648 667 674 12.2 11.5 11.6 11.9 11.7

At expanding establishments ...... 544 512 516 534 553 9.8 9.2 9.2 9.5 9.6

At opening establishments ......... 131 129 132 133 121 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.1

Gross job losses ........................ 622 639 614 604 600 11.2 11.4 11.0 10.7 10.5

At contracting establishments ...... 490 510 484 474 476 8.8 9.1 8.7 8.4 8.3

At closing establishments ............ 132 129 130 130 124 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2

Net employment change .............. 53 2 34 63 74 1.0 .1 .6 1.2 1.2

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 434 455 413 413 394 3.7 3.8 3.5 3.4 3.3

At expanding establishments ...... 397 417 377 375 360 3.4 3.5 3.2 3.1 3.0

At opening establishments ......... 37 38 36 38 34 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3

Gross job losses ........................ 366 370 411 423 374 3.0 3.1 3.5 3.5 3.2

At contracting establishments ...... 325 325 366 373 330 2.7 2.7 3.1 3.1 2.8

At closing establishments ............ 41 45 45 50 44 .3 .4 .4 .4 .4

Net employment change .............. 68 85 2 -10 20 .7 .7 .0 -.1 .1

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 5,544 5,631 5,509 5,751 5,855 6.2 6.2 6.1 6.3 6.4

At expanding establishments ...... 4,508 4,550 4,423 4,622 4,472 5.0 5.0 4.9 5.1 4.9

At opening establishments ......... 1,036 1,081 1,086 1,129 1,383 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5

Gross job losses ........................ 4,845 5,112 5,313 5,086 5,062 5.4 5.6 5.9 5.6 5.5

At contracting establishments ...... 3,952 4,172 4,346 4,102 4,116 4.4 4.6 4.8 4.5 4.5

At closing establishments ............ 893 940 967 984 946 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.0

Net employment change .............. 699 519 196 665 793 .8 .6 .2 .7 .9

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 285 287 267 280 273 5.1 5.1 4.7 4.9 4.8

At expanding establishments ...... 234 236 217 227 227 4.2 4.2 3.8 4.0 4.0

At opening establishments ......... 51 51 50 53 46 .9 .9 .9 .9 .8

Gross job losses ........................ 244 252 262 257 251 4.3 4.4 4.7 4.5 4.4

At contracting establishments ...... 188 195 208 200 194 3.3 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.4

At closing establishments ............ 56 57 54 57 57 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Net employment change .............. 41 35 5 23 22 .8 .7 .0 .4 .4

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 899 896 848 921 895 6.0 6.0 5.6 6.2 6.0

At expanding establishments ...... 773 760 708 788 777 5.2 5.1 4.7 5.3 5.2

At opening establishments ......... 126 136 140 133 118 .8 .9 .9 .9 .8

Gross job losses ........................ 845 819 875 829 874 5.7 5.5 5.8 5.6 5.8

At contracting establishments ...... 740 716 764 710 768 5.0 4.8 5.1 4.8 5.1

At closing establishments ............ 105 103 111 119 106 .7 .7 .7 .8 .7

Net employment change .............. 54 77 -27 92 21 .3 .5 -.2 .6 .2

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 213 220 221 263 207 5.1 5.3 5.3 6.3 4.9

At expanding establishments ...... 181 187 189 231 177 4.3 4.5 4.5 5.5 4.2

At opening establishments ......... 32 33 32 32 30 .8 .8 .8 .8 .7

Gross job losses ........................ 215 201 208 211 236 5.1 4.8 5.0 5.0 5.5

At contracting establishments ...... 184 168 174 173 205 4.4 4.0 4.2 4.1 4.8

At closing establishments ............ 31 33 34 38 31 .7 .8 .8 .9 .7

Net employment change .............. -2 19 13 52 -29 .0 .5 .3 1.3 -.6

Utilities

Gross job gains ........................... 12 11 12 14 10 2.2 2.0 2.2 2.6 1.8

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

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

Gross job losses ........................ 11 13 13 12 11 2.0 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.0

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

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

Net employment change .............. 1 -2 -1 2 -1 .2 -.4 -.2 .4 -.2

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 114 123 129 141 114 4.2 4.6 4.8 5.2 4.2

At expanding establishments ...... 95 105 108 116 97 3.5 3.9 4.0 4.3 3.6

At opening establishments ......... 19 18 21 25 17 .7 .7 .8 .9 .6

Gross job losses ........................ 113 126 140 121 119 4.2 4.7 5.2 4.5 4.4

At contracting establishments ...... 95 104 118 96 99 3.5 3.9 4.4 3.6 3.7

At closing establishments ............ 18 22 22 25 20 .7 .8 .8 .9 .7

Net employment change .............. 1 -3 -11 20 -5 .0 -.1 -.4 .7 -.2

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 341 360 354 376 346 4.6 4.8 4.7 5.0 4.5

At expanding establishments ...... 275 291 285 293 282 3.7 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.7

At opening establishments ......... 66 69 69 83 64 .9 .9 .9 1.1 .8

Gross job losses ........................ 319 330 333 326 325 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.3

At contracting establishments ...... 245 255 262 251 250 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.3 3.3

At closing establishments ............ 74 75 71 75 75 1.0 1.0 .9 1.0 1.0

Net employment change .............. 22 30 21 50 21 .3 .4 .3 .7 .2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,280 1,362 1,325 1,403 1,255 7.3 7.6 7.4 7.8 6.9

At expanding establishments ...... 1,039 1,111 1,080 1,132 1,035 5.9 6.2 6.0 6.3 5.7

At opening establishments ......... 241 251 245 271 220 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.2

Gross job losses ........................ 1,148 1,215 1,256 1,229 1,179 6.5 6.8 7.0 6.8 6.4

At contracting establishments ...... 925 959 1,003 977 940 5.2 5.4 5.6 5.4 5.1

At closing establishments ............ 223 256 253 252 239 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3

Net employment change .............. 132 147 69 174 76 .8 .8 .4 1.0 .5

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 821 799 840 836 1,200 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.3 6.0

At expanding establishments ...... 701 677 708 701 681 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.4

At opening establishments ......... 120 122 132 135 519 .6 .6 .7 .7 2.6

Gross job losses ........................ 697 768 746 717 743 3.6 3.9 3.9 3.6 3.7

At contracting establishments ...... 579 644 618 590 600 3.0 3.3 3.2 3.0 3.0

At closing establishments ............ 118 124 128 127 143 .6 .6 .7 .6 .7

Net employment change .............. 124 31 94 119 457 .6 .2 .4 .7 2.3

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,238 1,212 1,162 1,176 1,202 9.1 8.8 8.5 8.5 8.5

At expanding establishments ...... 971 935 891 904 958 7.1 6.8 6.5 6.5 6.8

At opening establishments ......... 267 277 271 272 244 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.7

Gross job losses ........................ 975 1,102 1,169 1,091 1,038 7.2 8.0 8.5 7.8 7.4

At contracting establishments ...... 785 908 960 881 844 5.8 6.6 7.0 6.3 6.0

At closing establishments ............ 190 194 209 210 194 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.4

Net employment change .............. 263 110 -7 85 164 1.9 .8 .0 .7 1.1

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 279 290 275 269 272 7.4 7.6 7.2 7.0 7.1

At expanding establishments ...... 220 230 218 209 218 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.4 5.7

At opening establishments ......... 59 60 57 60 54 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.4

Gross job losses ........................ 251 259 281 266 256 6.6 6.7 7.3 6.9 6.7

At contracting establishments ...... 196 204 219 207 199 5.2 5.3 5.7 5.4 5.2

At closing establishments ............ 55 55 62 59 57 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.5

Net employment change .............. 28 31 -6 3 16 .8 .9 -.1 .1 .4

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

2003 March -326 6,112 6,438 -135 3,257 3,392 -56 1,127 1,183 -135 1,728 1,863

June -137 6,108 6,245 112 3,346 3,234 -26 1,133 1,159 -223 1,629 1,852

September 193 6,162 5,969 120 3,327 3,207 21 1,127 1,106 52 1,708 1,656

December 310 6,218 5,908 146 3,340 3,194 32 1,128 1,096 132 1,750 1,618

2004 March 430 6,306 5,876 153 3,392 3,239 137 1,194 1,057 140 1,720 1,580

June 621 6,471 5,850 169 3,387 3,218 141 1,196 1,055 311 1,888 1,577

September 197 6,243 6,046 88 3,379 3,291 88 1,175 1,087 21 1,689 1,668

December 759 6,494 5,735 274 3,480 3,206 101 1,172 1,071 384 1,842 1,458

2005 March 368 6,320 5,952 66 3,416 3,350 97 1,161 1,064 205 1,743 1,538

June 570 6,435 5,865 243 3,476 3,233 146 1,198 1,052 181 1,761 1,580

September 701 6,672 5,971 218 3,510 3,292 85 1,195 1,110 398 1,967 1,569

December 506 6,406 5,900 169 3,462 3,293 45 1,140 1,095 292 1,804 1,512

2006 March 788 6,433 5,645 334 3,547 3,213 222 1,213 991 232 1,673 1,441

June 375 6,349 5,974 117 3,434 3,317 110 1,190 1,080 148 1,725 1,577

September 43 6,103 6,060 -14 3,329 3,343 27 1,127 1,100 30 1,647 1,617

December 447 6,375 5,928 117 3,393 3,276 74 1,147 1,073 256 1,835 1,579

2007 March 466 6,300 5,834 189 3,451 3,262 99 1,153 1,054 178 1,696 1,518

June 174 6,256 6,082 -31 3,337 3,368 108 1,180 1,072 97 1,739 1,642

September -269 5,891 6,160 -132 3,252 3,384 -53 1,073 1,126 -84 1,566 1,650

December 298 6,254 5,956 8 3,315 3,307 63 1,140 1,077 227 1,799 1,572

2008 March -290 5,806 6,096 -154 3,228 3,382 -14 1,073 1,087 -122 1,505 1,627

June -548 5,855 6,403 -284 3,179 3,463 -41 1,095 1,136 -223 1,581 1,804

September -999 5,498 6,497 -346 3,047 3,393 -151 1,015 1,166 -502 1,436 1,938

December -1,869 5,338 7,207 -695 2,907 3,602 -374 948 1,322 -800 1,483 2,283

2009 March -2,664 4,578 7,242 -983 2,715 3,698 -615 806 1,421 -1,066 1,057 2,123

June -1,764 5,170 6,934 -472 2,951 3,423 -277 954 1,231 -1,015 1,265 2,280

September -940 5,134 6,074 -374 2,821 3,195 -118 928 1,046 -448 1,385 1,833

December -289 5,405 5,694 -162 2,938 3,100 -43 964 1,007 -84 1,503 1,587

2010 March -240 5,093 5,333 -198 2,855 3,053 -3 909 912 -39 1,329 1,368

June 692 5,815 5,123 238 3,097 2,859 209 1,076 867 245 1,642 1,397

September 188 5,490 5,302 23 2,939 2,916 79 994 915 86 1,557 1,471

December 519 5,786 5,267 85 3,047 2,962 95 1,035 940 339 1,704 1,365

2011 March 313 5,334 5,021 93 2,968 2,875 118 963 845 102 1,403 1,301

June 548 5,758 5,210 196 3,078 2,882 176 1,069 893 176 1,611 1,435

September 823 5,943 5,120 259 3,123 2,864 161 1,061 900 403 1,759 1,356

December 321 5,612 5,291 39 2,967 2,928 45 987 942 237 1,658 1,421

2012 March 846 5,761 4,915 385 3,157 2,772 217 1,047 830 244 1,557 1,313

June 604 5,825 5,221 178 3,042 2,864 167 1,082 915 259 1,701 1,442

September 213 5,565 5,352 49 2,950 2,901 44 1,002 958 120 1,613 1,493

December 637 5,766 5,129 169 3,014 2,845 90 1,012 922 378 1,740 1,362

2013 March 1,198 6,302 5,104 281 3,098 2,817 156 1,021 865 761 2,183 1,422

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

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 Net 

change

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

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

2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 5,761 5,825 5,565 5,766 6,302 5.3 5.3 5.0 5.2 5.6

At expanding firms ............... 4,826 4,925 4,670 4,840 5,365 4.4 4.5 4.2 4.4 4.8

At opening firms .................. 935 900 895 926 937 .9 .8 .8 .8 .8

Gross job losses ..................... 4,915 5,221 5,352 5,129 5,104 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.7 4.6

At contracting firms ............... 4,087 4,393 4,515 4,282 4,251 3.7 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.8

At closing firms ................... 828 828 837 847 853 .8 .8 .8 .8 .8

Net employment change ............ 846 604 213 637 1,198 .8 .5 .1 .5 1.0

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 3,157 3,042 2,950 3,014 3,098 10.1 9.6 9.3 9.5 9.7

At expanding firms ............... 2,257 2,185 2,099 2,124 2,194 7.2 6.9 6.6 6.7 6.9

At opening firms .................. 900 857 851 890 904 2.9 2.7 2.7 2.8 2.8

Gross job losses ..................... 2,772 2,864 2,901 2,845 2,817 8.8 9.0 9.1 8.9 8.8

At contracting firms ............... 1,971 2,070 2,100 2,040 2,002 6.3 6.5 6.6 6.4 6.3

At closing firms ................... 801 794 801 805 815 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5

Net employment change ............ 385 178 49 169 281 1.3 .6 .2 .6 .9

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,047 1,082 1,002 1,012 1,021 5.2 5.3 5.0 5.0 4.9

At expanding firms ............... 1,016 1,046 966 979 991 5.0 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.8

At opening firms .................. 31 36 36 33 30 .2 .2 .2 .2 .1

Gross job losses ..................... 830 915 958 922 865 4.1 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.3

At contracting firms ............... 806 887 929 888 833 4.0 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.1

At closing firms ................... 24 28 29 34 32 .1 .1 .1 .2 .2

Net employment change ............ 217 167 44 90 156 1.1 .8 .3 .4 .6

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,557 1,701 1,613 1,740 2,183 2.7 2.9 2.8 3.0 3.7

At expanding firms ............... 1,553 1,694 1,605 1,737 2,180 2.7 2.9 2.8 3.0 3.7

At opening firms .................. 4 7 8 3 3 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Gross job losses ..................... 1,313 1,442 1,493 1,362 1,422 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.4

At contracting firms ............... 1,310 1,436 1,486 1,354 1,416 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.4

At closing firms ................... 3 6 7 8 6 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Net employment change ............ 244 259 120 378 761 .4 .4 .3 .7 1.3

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

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

2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013

United States 1 ............ 6,946,000 7,027,000 6,847,000 7,110,000 7,200,000 6,099,000 6,414,000 6,614,000 6,401,000 6,286,000

Alabama .................. 91,664 86,636 83,851 85,704 89,056 80,725 82,955 83,306 80,669 80,275

Alaska ..................... 26,693 27,530 22,445 24,240 26,662 22,241 23,495 25,672 25,260 23,917

Arizona .................. 128,274 128,793 135,745 142,500 128,935 118,427 125,041 117,227 119,631 121,218

Arkansas .................. 54,609 52,314 51,668 56,703 54,198 53,188 53,856 57,464 50,392 52,714

California .................. 851,650 894,003 844,915 919,234 1,149,953 755,035 776,483 795,400 774,546 756,150

Colorado .................. 125,624 136,640 131,864 134,421 135,946 114,020 118,410 123,134 117,054 120,012

Connecticut ............... 76,984 75,561 72,837 75,395 70,949 67,975 68,910 75,227 71,198 72,020

Delaware .................. 21,643 21,869 21,192 23,491 22,621 20,549 22,030 21,369 19,541 20,532

District of Columbia ... 28,382 27,380 27,410 31,906 27,106 21,358 25,248 28,636 25,818 25,558

Florida ..................... 415,877 431,131 457,853 455,616 425,622 362,860 395,664 423,743 399,755 383,394

Georgia .................. 218,487 209,942 201,628 217,427 212,850 190,064 196,142 198,881 188,763 186,171

Hawaii ..................... 25,388 27,415 27,160 26,609 25,203 25,215 23,961 22,743 20,912 23,670

Idaho ..................... 38,298 40,455 41,233 40,125 41,579 38,801 37,818 35,434 36,684 36,854

Illinois ..................... 263,612 265,911 271,148 258,830 268,730 233,030 243,549 263,946 251,875 265,334

Indiana ..................... 151,917 141,219 138,626 143,227 136,368 121,368 132,146 133,678 130,952 130,034

Iowa ........................ 76,178 71,500 70,809 71,392 72,607 63,144 64,753 68,605 68,038 66,921

Kansas ..................... 70,479 64,309 60,448 67,871 61,140 56,328 61,195 64,860 58,658 59,438

Kentucky .................. 90,342 88,382 83,055 93,554 84,328 80,583 80,246 85,735 80,606 84,243

Louisiana .................. 116,182 103,796 101,975 107,395 104,541 100,163 105,425 102,711 91,414 94,234

Maine ..................... 34,973 38,534 32,673 34,238 32,143 34,820 33,537 35,673 36,486 34,202

Maryland .................. 134,976 128,774 128,971 129,764 126,945 115,216 121,718 128,148 127,138 118,295

Massachusetts ............ 154,949 164,755 149,438 151,216 175,505 137,152 137,124 155,111 148,085 138,023

Michigan .................. 203,456 207,062 207,299 205,504 207,947 173,801 192,021 197,226 183,401 171,542

Minnesota ............... 142,219 138,414 136,191 134,577 137,595 129,890 121,959 128,083 130,799 120,381

Mississippi ............... 56,245 50,119 53,633 57,216 49,609 47,444 55,578 52,107 51,673 47,175

Missouri .................. 129,293 133,660 127,233 138,250 142,864 117,792 134,163 128,691 122,509 122,171

Montana .................. 27,526 28,856 27,400 29,068 28,651 26,029 26,533 25,705 27,260 26,427

Nebraska .................. 44,158 43,558 42,551 44,816 45,864 38,129 39,222 41,491 39,881 40,939

Nevada ..................... 58,292 62,766 58,249 60,294 62,843 52,978 53,406 57,228 56,082 53,767

New Hampshire ......... 34,728 37,456 34,114 34,580 33,735 32,426 33,920 36,227 34,128 32,155

New Jersey ............... 203,715 209,311 197,518 203,835 202,206 190,411 189,291 202,355 198,718 187,276

New Mexico ............ 41,135 40,507 38,580 44,250 37,762 35,763 41,590 39,230 37,406 39,187

New York ............... 466,516 466,207 454,607 466,748 456,587 399,950 429,311 443,564 440,756 429,494

North Carolina ............ 210,882 205,622 202,081 211,726 196,443 179,984 196,910 193,077 190,051 184,492

North Dakota ............ 34,497 26,806 28,903 29,218 29,398 20,369 22,207 25,009 23,917 23,359

Ohio ........................ 260,540 253,914 241,581 263,759 256,737 224,267 229,793 250,160 238,558 244,972

Oklahoma ............... 76,212 76,079 73,753 82,091 72,957 65,995 68,331 73,607 68,685 74,768

Oregon ..................... 94,240 94,439 97,220 95,654 99,441 87,988 89,229 86,297 91,054 84,487

Pennsylvania ............ 290,187 264,855 264,397 265,032 268,272 246,817 266,763 266,195 252,649 262,407

Rhode Island ............ 25,161 25,079 23,706 24,574 24,360 23,785 23,337 24,729 23,675 23,094

South Carolina ............ 93,884 89,273 85,519 97,458 87,131 80,792 86,862 87,308 79,795 83,845

South Dakota ............ 21,808 22,284 21,046 20,959 20,848 19,892 20,663 20,682 20,519 20,553

Tennessee ............... 133,838 134,381 124,873 138,078 123,145 113,151 125,736 124,155 114,673 116,749

Texas ..................... 533,617 549,198 532,447 553,932 537,115 445,061 458,036 473,461 450,359 465,576

Utah ........................ 68,992 71,874 68,688 74,490 75,396 58,811 60,288 61,913 61,715 64,502

Vermont .................. 17,953 18,231 17,200 18,800 17,248 17,360 17,602 17,307 17,530 16,860

Virginia .................. 175,293 169,738 186,995 177,043 165,555 159,817 168,085 179,241 165,510 159,740

Washington ............... 158,587 173,163 163,111 166,655 204,649 148,380 148,738 153,439 153,804 148,789

West Virginia ............ 40,700 36,043 36,427 36,002 35,950 35,173 40,260 38,609 36,604 34,714

Wisconsin ............... 136,346 133,444 125,268 131,552 125,586 118,700 120,808 127,601 122,830 120,242

Wyoming .................. 18,401 17,401 18,081 20,277 18,617 18,588 19,123 18,364 17,704 18,333

Puerto Rico ............... 41,120 46,152 42,434 46,915 38,510 40,496 38,353 43,922 40,722 43,762

Virgin Islands ............ 1,688 1,843 1,512 1,981 1,570 2,070 4,106 2,173 1,599 1,819

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

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

2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013

United States .......................... 6.3 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.4 5.6 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.6

Alabama ............................. 6.3 5.9 5.7 5.8 6.0 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.4

Alaska ................................. 10.8 11.1 9.0 9.8 10.7 9.0 9.4 10.3 10.1 9.6

Arizona ............................... 6.3 6.3 6.7 6.9 6.2 5.9 6.1 5.7 5.8 5.9

Arkansas .............................. 5.7 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.7 5.6 5.7 6.1 5.3 5.5

California .............................. 7.0 7.2 6.8 7.4 9.0 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.2 5.9

Colorado .............................. 6.7 7.3 6.9 7.1 7.1 6.1 6.3 6.5 6.2 6.2

Connecticut ......................... 5.6 5.5 5.2 5.4 5.1 4.9 4.9 5.4 5.1 5.2

Delaware .............................. 6.3 6.4 6.2 6.8 6.5 6.0 6.4 6.2 5.7 5.9

District of Columbia ............... 6.1 5.8 5.8 6.8 5.7 4.6 5.3 6.1 5.5 5.4

Florida ................................. 6.7 6.9 7.3 7.1 6.7 5.8 6.3 6.7 6.3 6.0

Georgia .............................. 6.9 6.6 6.4 6.8 6.6 6.0 6.1 6.2 5.9 5.7

Hawaii ............................... 5.3 5.7 5.6 5.4 5.1 5.3 5.0 4.7 4.3 4.8

Idaho .................................... 7.6 8.0 8.2 7.9 8.1 7.7 7.5 7.0 7.2 7.2

Illinois ................................ 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.5 4.8 5.0 5.4 5.2 5.5

Indiana ............................... 6.3 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.6 5.1 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.3

Iowa .................................... 6.2 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.2 5.2 5.6 5.5 5.4

Kansas ................................. 6.6 6.0 5.6 6.3 5.6 5.3 5.7 6.1 5.4 5.5

Kentucky .............................. 6.3 6.1 5.7 6.5 5.8 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.5 5.8

Louisiana .............................. 7.5 6.7 6.6 7.0 6.7 6.6 6.9 6.7 5.9 6.1

Maine ................................... 7.2 7.9 6.7 7.0 6.7 7.2 6.9 7.3 7.5 7.0

Maryland ............................. 6.7 6.3 6.3 6.4 6.3 5.7 6.0 6.3 6.3 5.8

Massachusetts ....................... 5.6 5.9 5.3 5.4 6.2 4.9 4.9 5.6 5.3 4.9

Michigan ............................. 6.1 6.1 6.2 6.0 6.0 5.2 5.7 5.9 5.4 5.0

Minnesota ........................... 6.3 6.1 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.4 5.6 5.7 5.2

Mississippi ........................... 6.6 5.9 6.4 6.8 5.9 5.7 6.5 6.2 6.1 5.5

Missouri .............................. 6.0 6.1 5.9 6.4 6.5 5.4 6.1 5.9 5.6 5.5

Montana ............................... 8.0 8.3 7.9 8.3 8.1 7.5 7.6 7.3 7.8 7.4

Nebraska .............................. 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.9 6.0 5.1 5.2 5.5 5.2 5.4

Nevada ............................... 5.9 6.4 5.9 6.0 6.3 5.4 5.4 5.7 5.7 5.4

New Hampshire ..................... 6.6 7.1 6.4 6.5 6.3 6.2 6.4 6.9 6.4 6.1

New Jersey ........................... 6.4 6.5 6.2 6.4 6.3 6.0 5.9 6.3 6.2 5.8

New Mexico ........................ 6.9 6.7 6.4 7.4 6.2 6.0 6.9 6.6 6.2 6.5

New York ........................... 6.5 6.5 6.3 6.4 6.3 5.6 6.0 6.2 6.1 5.9

North Carolina ........................ 6.6 6.4 6.3 6.5 6.0 5.6 6.1 6.0 5.9 5.7

North Dakota ........................ 10.3 7.9 8.3 8.3 8.3 6.1 6.5 7.2 6.8 6.6

Ohio .................................... 6.0 5.8 5.6 6.1 5.9 5.2 5.3 5.7 5.5 5.6

Oklahoma ........................... 6.3 6.3 6.1 6.7 6.0 5.5 5.6 6.0 5.6 6.0

Oregon ................................. 6.9 6.9 7.1 7.0 7.2 6.5 6.6 6.4 6.6 6.1

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.9 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.0 5.5 5.4 5.1 5.3

Rhode Island ........................ 6.4 6.4 6.0 6.3 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.3 6.0 5.8

South Carolina ........................ 6.4 6.1 5.8 6.6 5.8 5.5 5.9 5.9 5.4 5.6

South Dakota ........................ 6.6 6.7 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.2

Tennessee ........................... 6.0 6.0 5.6 6.1 5.4 5.1 5.6 5.5 5.1 5.1

Texas ................................. 6.1 6.2 5.9 6.1 5.9 5.0 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.1

Utah .................................... 6.9 7.2 6.9 7.3 7.3 5.9 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.3

Vermont .............................. 7.3 7.4 7.0 7.6 7.0 7.0 7.1 7.0 7.1 6.7

Virginia .............................. 6.1 5.8 6.4 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.8 6.1 5.6 5.5

Washington ........................... 6.8 7.4 7.0 7.1 8.6 6.5 6.4 6.6 6.5 6.2

West Virginia ........................ 7.1 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.3 6.2 7.1 6.8 6.5 6.1

Wisconsin ........................... 6.0 5.8 5.4 5.7 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.5 5.3 5.2

Wyoming .............................. 8.6 8.2 8.6 9.5 8.7 8.6 9.0 8.7 8.4 8.5

Puerto Rico ........................... 6.1 6.8 6.2 6.8 5.6 6.0 5.6 6.3 5.9 6.4

Virgin Islands ........................ 5.5 6.2 5.3 7.0 5.6 6.8 13.9 7.7 5.6 6.5

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

2003 March 193 3.0 186 2.9 1,004 .9 1,011 .9

June 191 3.0 186 2.9 964 .9 951 .9

September 193 3.0 179 2.8 954 .9 884 .8

December 200 3.1 180 2.8 998 .9 910 .9

2004 March 207 3.2 180 2.8 1,000 .9 917 .9

June 203 3.1 185 2.8 980 .9 909 .8

September 209 3.2 186 2.8 1,016 .9 953 .9

December 210 3.2 180 2.7 997 .9 894 .8

2005 March 209 3.1 185 2.8 944 .9 852 .8

June 216 3.2 180 2.7 951 .9 841 .8

September 221 3.3 186 2.8 996 .9 884 .8

December 221 3.3 186 2.8 979 .9 846 .8

2006 March 220 3.2 180 2.6 924 .8 748 .7

June 221 3.2 194 2.8 973 .9 841 .7

September 210 3.1 196 2.9 927 .8 836 .7

December 221 3.2 194 2.8 959 .8 804 .7

2007 March 214 3.1 193 2.8 897 .8 771 .7

June 206 3.0 202 2.9 884 .8 850 .7

September 216 3.1 203 2.9 941 .8 836 .7

December 208 3.0 206 2.9 902 .8 825 .7

2008 March 207 3.0 211 3.0 897 .8 813 .7

June 201 2.9 228 3.3 876 .8 934 .8

September 191 2.7 223 3.2 827 .7 880 .8

December 188 2.7 240 3.5 799 .7 947 .8

2009 March 172 2.5 236 3.4 703 .6 850 .8

June 177 2.6 227 3.3 742 .7 831 .8

September 169 2.5 215 3.2 692 .7 787 .7

December 183 2.7 200 3.0 712 .7 739 .7

2010 March 175 2.6 194 2.9 685 .7 667 .6

June 179 2.7 185 2.7 713 .7 650 .6

September 188 2.8 189 2.8 741 .7 694 .7

December 200 2.9 186 2.7 790 .7 689 .6

2011 March 189 2.8 184 2.7 695 .7 610 .6

June 192 2.8 190 2.8 748 .7 677 .6

September 198 2.9 187 2.7 790 .7 674 .6

December 202 2.9 191 2.8 802 .7 750 .7

2012 March 193 2.8 181 2.6 748 .7 605 .6

June 191 2.8 184 2.7 759 .7 666 .6

September 193 2.8 N/A N/A 789 .7 N/A N/A

December 192 2.8 N/A N/A 766 .7 N/A N/A

2013 March 578 8.0 N/A N/A 1,067 1.0 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