For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, July 30, 2014 USDL-14-1388

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

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

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FOURTH QUARTER 2013

From September 2013 to December 2013,

gross job gains from opening and expanding 

private sector establishments were 7.3 

million, an increase of 290,000 jobs from the 

previous quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics reported today. Over this period, 

gross job losses from closing and 

contracting private sector establishments 

were 6.5 million, a decrease of 34,000 jobs 

from the previous quarter. 

The difference between the number of gross 

job gains and the number of gross job losses

yielded a net employment gain of 745,000 

jobs in the private sector during the fourth

quarter of 2013. (See table 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.) 

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses at the establishment level by industry 

subsector and for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as 

gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class.
Gross job gains at expanding

establishments totaled 5.9 million in the 

fourth quarter of 2013, an increase of 

260,000 jobs from the previous quarter.

Opening establishments accounted for 

1.3 million jobs gained in the fourth 

quarter of 2013, an increase of 30,000 

jobs from the previous quarter. 

Contracting establishments lost 5.3 

million jobs in the fourth quarter of 

2013. This is a decrease of 100,000 jobs 

from the prior quarter. 

In the fourth quarter of 2013, closing

establishments lost 1.2 million jobs, an 

increase of 66,000 jobs from the 

previous quarter. (See tables 1 and 3.) 

 

Gross job gains represented 6.4 percent

of private sector employment in the 

fourth quarter of 2013, while gross job 

losses represented 5.8 percent of private 

sector employment. (See table 2.) 

In the fourth quarter of 2013, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data, see the 

Technical Note for more information) decreased by 1,000 to 214,000. These new establishments accounted for 

795,000 jobs, an increase of 3,000 from the previous quarter. (See table 8.) 

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2013, 

when 638,000 jobs were lost at 185,000 establishments. In the prior quarter 675,000 jobs were lost at 182,000 

establishments. 

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

utilities sector and the other services sector. The professional and business services sector, which includes 

temporary help services, experienced a net increase of 193,000 jobs as a result of higher gross job gains this

quarter. The retail trade sector experienced a net increase of 113,000 jobs. This represents an increase of 76,000 

jobs compared to the prior quarter. The transportation and warehousing sector experienced the largest net 

change in the history of the series for that industry sector, a gain of 79,000 jobs. (See table 3.)

- 2 - 
The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. 

See the Technical Note for further information. 

Firms with 250 or more employees accounted for 68 percent of total net job growth in the fourth quarter of 

2013. Firms with 1-49 employees and firms with 50-249 employees each accounted for 16 percent of net job 

growth. This quarter is the fifteenth consecutive quarter of positive net employment change for all three major 

firm size categories. Of the 8.6 million net new jobs created between the second quarter of 2010 and the fourth

quarter of 2013, firms with 1-49 employees contributed 29 percent of net job growth, while firms with 50-249 

employees contributed 22 percent, and firms with 250 or more employees contributed 49 percent. (See tables 4 

and 5.) 

In the fourth quarter of 2013, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 47 states. California had the largest 

net employment gain of 141,341 jobs, followed by Texas with 81,451 jobs. (See table 6.) Alaska had the largest 

rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 10.1 percent, above the U.S. rate of 6.4 percent. Hawaii

had the lowest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 4.5 percent, below the U.S. rate of 5.8 

percent. (See table 7.) 

More Information 

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

This information includes data on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm size, not 

seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time series not presented in this release, charts of gross 

job gains and gross job losses by industry and firm size, and frequently asked questions on firm size data. 

Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found in the Technical Note of 

this release or may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. 

The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2014 are scheduled to be released on

Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

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

Category

3 months ended

Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.

2012 2013 2013 2013 2013

Levels (in thousands)

Gross job gains.................................... 7,110 7,200 7,143 6,975 7,265

 At expanding establishments........... 5,769 5,623 5,839 5,686 5,946

 At opening establishments............... 1,341 1,577 1,304 1,289 1,319

Gross job losses................................... 6,401 6,286 6,477 6,554 6,520

 At contracting establishments........... 5,199 5,136 5,267 5,403 5,303

 At closing establishments................ 1,202 1,150 1,210 1,151 1,217

Net employment change1........................ 709 914 666 421 745

Rates (percent)

Gross job gains................................ 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.1 6.4

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

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

Gross job losses............................... 5.8 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.8

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

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

 

Net employment change1..................... .6 .8 .6 .3 .6

- 3 - 
Changes to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data 

Data in the next release, published on Wednesday, November 19, 2014, will incorporate annual revisions to the BED 

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

last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.

- 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: 557,000 

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 

— 6 Months after the end of each 

quarter

• Quarterly 

— 7 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 self-employed 

workers, religious organizations, most agricultural workers 

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

officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some 

domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and 

employees of certain small nonprofit organizations.

Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are 

derived from longitudinal histories of 7.3 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 month 

employment in the current quarter and zero employment in 

- 6 - 
the third month of the previous four quarters. Births are a 

subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal 

businesses.

Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero 

employment reported in the third month of four 

consecutive quarters following the last quarter with 

positive employment. Deaths are a subset of closings not 

including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A 

unit that closes during the quarter may be a death, but we 

wait three quarters to determine whether it is a permanent 

closing or a temporary shutdown. Therefore, there is 

always a lag of three quarters for the publication of death 

statistics. 

All employment changes are measured from the third 

month of the previous quarter to the third month of the 

current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change 

their employment levels. Units with no change in 

employment count towards estimates of total employment, 

but not for levels of gross job gains and gross job losses. 

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as 

rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment 

in the current and previous quarters. This provides a 

symmetric growth rate. The rates are calculated for the 

components of gross job gains and gross job losses and 

then summed to form their respective totals. These rates 

can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For 

instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate 

and the gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.

Establishment Births and Deaths

 For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as 

establishments that appear in the longitudinal database for 

the first time with positive employment in the third month 

of a quarter, or showed four consecutive quarters of zero 

employment in the third month followed by a quarter in 

which it shows positive employment in the third month. 

Similarly, deaths are defined as establishments that either 

drop out of the longitudinal database or an establishment 

that had positive employment in the third month of a given 

quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of showing 

zero employment in the third month. Although the data for 

establishment births and deaths are tabulated 

independently from the data for openings and closings, the 

concepts are not mutually exclusive. An establishment that 

is defined as a birth in a given quarter is necessarily an 

opening as well, and an establishment defined as a death in 

a quarter must also be a closing. Since openings include 

seasonal and other re-openings and closings include 

temporary shutdowns, the not seasonally adjusted values 

for births and deaths must be less than those for openings 

and closings. However, because some BED series do not 

have many re-openings or temporary shutdowns, as well as 

the fact that births and deaths are independently seasonally 

adjusted from openings and closings, there may be 

instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the 

former is greater than the latter.

Linkage methodology

Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross 

job losses, QCEW records are linked across two quarters. 

The linkage process matches establishments' unique 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-toMarch changes once a year with the release of the first 

quarter BED data. The annual data based on over-the-year 

changes for other quarters of the year are available upon 

request. The definitions and methodology in measuring 

annual gross job gains and gross job losses are similar to 

the quarterly measures. The linkage method considers all 

predecessor and successor relations that may come about 

- 7 - 
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.

- 8 - 
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

June 666 7,143 5,839 1,304 6,477 5,267 1,210

September 421 6,975 5,686 1,289 6,554 5,403 1,151

December 745 7,265 5,946 1,319 6,520 5,303 1,217

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

June .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

September .3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

December .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

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

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

Gross job gains

Total Total

Gross job losses

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

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

2012 2013 2013 2013 2013 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 7,110 7,200 7,143 6,975 7,265 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.1 6.4

At expanding establishments ......... 5,769 5,623 5,839 5,686 5,946 5.2 5.0 5.2 5.0 5.2

At opening establishments ............ 1,341 1,577 1,304 1,289 1,319 1.2 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 6,401 6,286 6,477 6,554 6,520 5.8 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.8

At contracting establishments ......... 5,199 5,136 5,267 5,403 5,303 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 1,202 1,150 1,210 1,151 1,217 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1

Net employment change .............. 709 914 666 421 745 .6 .8 .6 .3 .6

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,359 1,345 1,370 1,309 1,344 7.0 6.8 6.9 6.6 6.8

At expanding establishments ......... 1,147 1,151 1,165 1,109 1,149 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.6 5.8

At opening establishments ............ 212 194 205 200 195 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 1,315 1,224 1,273 1,248 1,306 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.3 6.5

At contracting establishments ......... 1,097 1,020 1,067 1,053 1,099 5.6 5.2 5.4 5.3 5.5

At closing establishments ............ 218 204 206 195 207 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Net employment change .............. 44 121 97 61 38 .3 .6 .5 .3 .3

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 279 277 287 257 279 14.0 13.7 14.2 12.7 13.7

At expanding establishments ......... 238 238 249 220 242 11.9 11.8 12.3 10.9 11.9

At opening establishments ............ 41 39 38 37 37 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.8

Gross job losses ........................... 288 250 272 262 278 14.4 12.4 13.4 13.0 13.7

At contracting establishments ......... 250 214 235 228 242 12.5 10.6 11.6 11.3 11.9

At closing establishments ............ 38 36 37 34 36 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.8

Net employment change .............. -9 27 15 -5 1 -.4 1.3 .8 -.3 .0

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 667 674 661 655 643 11.9 11.7 11.4 11.3 11.0

At expanding establishments ......... 534 553 534 529 522 9.5 9.6 9.2 9.1 8.9

At opening establishments ............ 133 121 127 126 121 2.4 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.1

Gross job losses ........................... 604 600 616 588 635 10.7 10.5 10.6 10.1 10.8

At contracting establishments ......... 474 476 494 473 509 8.4 8.3 8.5 8.1 8.7

At closing establishments ............ 130 124 122 115 126 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.1

Net employment change .............. 63 74 45 67 8 1.2 1.2 .8 1.2 .2

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 413 394 422 397 422 3.4 3.3 3.5 3.3 3.5

At expanding establishments ......... 375 360 382 360 385 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.0 3.2

At opening establishments ............ 38 34 40 37 37 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3

Gross job losses ........................... 423 374 385 398 393 3.5 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.3

At contracting establishments ......... 373 330 338 352 348 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.9

At closing establishments ............ 50 44 47 46 45 .4 .4 .4 .4 .4

Net employment change .............. -10 20 37 -1 29 -.1 .1 .3 .0 .2

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 5,751 5,855 5,773 5,666 5,921 6.3 6.4 6.2 6.1 6.3

At expanding establishments ......... 4,622 4,472 4,674 4,577 4,797 5.1 4.9 5.0 4.9 5.1

At opening establishments ............ 1,129 1,383 1,099 1,089 1,124 1.2 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 5,086 5,062 5,204 5,306 5,214 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.6

At contracting establishments ......... 4,102 4,116 4,200 4,350 4,204 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.7 4.5

At closing establishments ............ 984 946 1,004 956 1,010 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1

Net employment change .............. 665 793 569 360 707 .7 .9 .6 .4 .7

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 280 273 288 274 284 4.9 4.8 5.0 4.7 4.9

At expanding establishments ......... 227 227 237 227 237 4.0 4.0 4.1 3.9 4.1

At opening establishments ............ 53 46 51 47 47 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 257 251 253 258 249 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.3

At contracting establishments ......... 200 194 199 205 191 3.5 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.3

At closing establishments ............ 57 57 54 53 58 1.0 1.0 .9 .9 1.0

Net employment change .............. 23 22 35 16 35 .4 .4 .6 .2 .6

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2012 2013 2013 2013 2013 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 921 895 946 888 942 6.2 6.0 6.3 5.8 6.2

At expanding establishments ......... 788 777 816 760 818 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.0 5.4

At opening establishments ............ 133 118 130 128 124 .9 .8 .9 .8 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 829 874 768 851 829 5.6 5.8 5.1 5.6 5.5

At contracting establishments ......... 710 768 664 750 714 4.8 5.1 4.4 4.9 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 119 106 104 101 115 .8 .7 .7 .7 .8

Net employment change .............. 92 21 178 37 113 .6 .2 1.2 .2 .7

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 263 207 219 226 283 6.3 4.9 5.2 5.3 6.6

At expanding establishments ......... 231 177 185 195 254 5.5 4.2 4.4 4.6 5.9

At opening establishments ............ 32 30 34 31 29 .8 .7 .8 .7 .7

Gross job losses ........................... 211 236 210 209 204 5.0 5.5 5.0 4.9 4.8

At contracting establishments ......... 173 205 177 173 167 4.1 4.8 4.2 4.1 3.9

At closing establishments ............ 38 31 33 36 37 .9 .7 .8 .8 .9

Net employment change .............. 52 -29 9 17 79 1.3 -.6 .2 .4 1.8

Utilities

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

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

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

Gross job losses ........................... 12 11 14 13 16 2.2 2.0 2.6 2.4 3.0

At contracting establishments ......... 11 10 13 12 14 2.0 1.8 2.4 2.2 2.6

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

Net employment change .............. 2 -1 0 -2 -3 .4 -.2 .0 -.4 -.6

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 141 114 134 129 134 5.2 4.2 4.9 4.8 4.9

At expanding establishments ......... 116 97 114 108 112 4.3 3.6 4.2 4.0 4.1

At opening establishments ............ 25 17 20 21 22 .9 .6 .7 .8 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 121 119 125 135 122 4.5 4.4 4.6 5.0 4.5

At contracting establishments ......... 96 99 101 113 100 3.6 3.7 3.7 4.2 3.7

At closing establishments ............ 25 20 24 22 22 .9 .7 .9 .8 .8

Net employment change .............. 20 -5 9 -6 12 .7 -.2 .3 -.2 .4

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 376 346 365 350 365 5.0 4.5 4.8 4.6 4.8

At expanding establishments ......... 293 282 296 282 287 3.9 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.8

At opening establishments ............ 83 64 69 68 78 1.1 .8 .9 .9 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 326 325 328 346 354 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

At contracting establishments ......... 251 250 255 275 276 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.6 3.6

At closing establishments ............ 75 75 73 71 78 1.0 1.0 1.0 .9 1.0

Net employment change .............. 50 21 37 4 11 .7 .2 .4 .1 .2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,403 1,255 1,358 1,360 1,441 7.8 6.9 7.3 7.3 7.7

At expanding establishments ......... 1,132 1,035 1,112 1,116 1,179 6.3 5.7 6.0 6.0 6.3

At opening establishments ............ 271 220 246 244 262 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4

Gross job losses ........................... 1,229 1,179 1,261 1,237 1,248 6.8 6.4 6.8 6.7 6.7

At contracting establishments ......... 977 940 995 994 989 5.4 5.1 5.4 5.4 5.3

At closing establishments ............ 252 239 266 243 259 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4

Net employment change .............. 174 76 97 123 193 1.0 .5 .5 .6 1.0

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 836 1,200 838 886 887 4.3 6.0 4.1 4.3 4.4

At expanding establishments ......... 701 681 689 737 729 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.6 3.6

At opening establishments ............ 135 519 149 149 158 .7 2.6 .7 .7 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 717 743 848 778 778 3.6 3.7 4.2 3.8 3.9

At contracting establishments ......... 590 600 673 630 622 3.0 3.0 3.3 3.1 3.1

At closing establishments ............ 127 143 175 148 156 .6 .7 .9 .7 .8

Net employment change .............. 119 457 -10 108 109 .7 2.3 -.1 .5 .5

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2012 2013 2013 2013 2013 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,176 1,202 1,245 1,177 1,199 8.5 8.5 8.8 8.2 8.4

At expanding establishments ......... 904 958 978 914 944 6.5 6.8 6.9 6.4 6.6

At opening establishments ............ 272 244 267 263 255 2.0 1.7 1.9 1.8 1.8

Gross job losses ........................... 1,091 1,038 1,107 1,183 1,118 7.8 7.4 7.8 8.3 7.7

At contracting establishments ......... 881 844 909 980 911 6.3 6.0 6.4 6.9 6.3

At closing establishments ............ 210 194 198 203 207 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4

Net employment change .............. 85 164 138 -6 81 .7 1.1 1.0 -.1 .7

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 269 272 285 274 268 7.0 7.1 7.4 7.0 6.9

At expanding establishments ......... 209 218 227 218 213 5.4 5.7 5.9 5.6 5.5

At opening establishments ............ 60 54 58 56 55 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.4

Gross job losses ........................... 266 256 265 271 272 6.9 6.7 6.9 6.9 7.0

At contracting establishments ......... 207 199 208 212 213 5.4 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.5

At closing establishments ............ 59 57 57 59 59 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

Net employment change .............. 3 16 20 3 -4 .1 .4 .5 .1 -.1

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

June 643 5,911 5,268 217 3,064 2,847 143 1,079 936 283 1,768 1,485

September 386 5,692 5,306 154 2,987 2,833 54 1,014 960 178 1,691 1,513

December 650 5,874 5,224 103 2,990 2,887 104 1,032 928 443 1,852 1,409

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

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

2012 2013 2013 2013 2013 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 5,766 6,302 5,911 5,692 5,874 5.2 5.6 5.3 5.1 5.2

At expanding firms .................. 4,840 5,365 5,039 4,821 4,990 4.4 4.8 4.5 4.3 4.4

At opening firms ..................... 926 937 872 871 884 .8 .8 .8 .8 .8

Gross job losses ........................ 5,129 5,104 5,268 5,306 5,224 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.6

At contracting firms .................. 4,282 4,251 4,444 4,496 4,382 3.9 3.8 3.9 4.0 3.9

At closing firms ................... 847 853 824 810 842 .8 .8 .7 .7 .7

Net employment change ............. 637 1,198 643 386 650 .5 1.0 .7 .4 .6

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 3,014 3,098 3,064 2,987 2,990 9.5 9.7 9.6 9.3 9.2

At expanding firms .................. 2,124 2,194 2,232 2,155 2,147 6.7 6.9 7.0 6.7 6.6

At opening firms ..................... 890 904 832 832 843 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.6

Gross job losses ........................ 2,845 2,817 2,847 2,833 2,887 8.9 8.8 8.8 8.8 8.9

At contracting firms .................. 2,040 2,002 2,064 2,058 2,083 6.4 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.4

At closing firms ................... 805 815 783 775 804 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.5

Net employment change ............. 169 281 217 154 103 .6 .9 .8 .5 .3

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,012 1,021 1,079 1,014 1,032 5.0 4.9 5.3 4.9 4.9

At expanding firms .................. 979 991 1,044 979 1,002 4.8 4.8 5.1 4.7 4.8

At opening firms ..................... 33 30 35 35 30 .2 .1 .2 .2 .1

Gross job losses ........................ 922 865 936 960 928 4.6 4.3 4.6 4.6 4.5

At contracting firms .................. 888 833 905 929 896 4.4 4.1 4.4 4.5 4.3

At closing firms ................... 34 32 31 31 32 .2 .2 .2 .1 .2

Net employment change ............. 90 156 143 54 104 .4 .6 .7 .3 .4

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,740 2,183 1,768 1,691 1,852 3.0 3.7 2.9 2.8 3.0

At expanding firms .................. 1,737 2,180 1,763 1,687 1,841 3.0 3.7 2.9 2.8 3.0

At opening firms ..................... 3 3 5 4 11 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,362 1,422 1,485 1,513 1,409 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.3

At contracting firms .................. 1,354 1,416 1,475 1,509 1,403 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.3

At closing firms ................... 8 6 10 4 6 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Net employment change ............. 378 761 283 178 443 .7 1.3 .4 .3 .7

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

losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. 

Category

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

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

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

2012 2013 2013 2013 2013 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013

United States 1

 ............ 7,110,000 7,200,000 7,143,000 6,975,000 7,265,000 6,401,000 6,286,000 6,477,000 6,554,000 6,520,000

Alabama .................. 85,704 89,056 87,744 81,342 88,320 80,669 80,275 82,081 83,875 78,999

Alaska ..................... 24,240 26,662 26,706 24,229 25,575 25,260 23,917 25,115 24,892 26,148

Arizona .................. 142,500 128,935 129,196 134,517 143,254 119,631 121,218 126,066 116,992 115,269

Arkansas .................. 56,703 54,198 48,982 54,326 54,163 50,392 52,714 55,245 51,476 50,908

California .................. 919,234 1,149,953 913,484 879,014 959,078 774,546 756,150 834,318 801,420 817,737

Colorado .................. 134,421 135,946 137,839 135,926 137,980 117,054 120,012 120,105 122,797 120,171

Connecticut ............... 75,395 70,949 78,215 73,457 72,578 71,198 72,020 67,043 75,657 74,636

Delaware .................. 23,491 22,621 22,484 22,844 22,951 19,541 20,532 20,386 21,220 20,704

District of Columbia ... 31,906 27,106 29,043 28,154 26,089 25,818 25,558 26,928 25,021 26,703

Florida ..................... 455,616 425,622 461,241 458,172 457,408 399,755 383,394 409,372 398,680 394,174

Georgia .................. 217,427 212,850 216,172 217,516 223,018 188,763 186,171 200,027 193,856 192,746

Hawaii ..................... 26,609 25,203 25,642 26,481 26,916 20,912 23,670 25,689 24,498 22,959

Idaho ..................... 40,125 41,579 41,461 40,067 43,825 36,684 36,854 38,558 37,495 38,347

Illinois ..................... 258,830 268,730 283,705 279,866 288,592 251,875 265,334 261,498 280,153 265,066

Indiana ..................... 143,227 136,368 139,661 135,733 150,500 130,952 130,034 129,407 131,184 126,621

Iowa ........................ 71,392 72,607 75,237 73,752 75,570 68,038 66,921 67,017 68,186 69,514

Kansas ..................... 67,871 61,140 67,481 67,108 69,066 58,658 59,438 60,483 62,717 58,856

Kentucky .................. 93,554 84,328 85,477 85,803 96,986 80,606 84,243 81,754 78,578 79,522

Louisiana .................. 107,395 104,541 98,313 104,587 103,939 91,414 94,234 99,533 94,339 96,123

Maine ..................... 34,238 32,143 39,249 35,517 34,309 36,486 34,202 31,139 36,066 36,638

Maryland .................. 129,764 126,945 126,893 125,703 129,126 127,138 118,295 125,056 123,937 129,086

Massachusetts ............ 151,216 175,505 173,757 155,978 154,308 148,085 138,023 142,775 158,373 153,419

Michigan .................. 205,504 207,947 217,038 203,757 214,196 183,401 171,542 200,728 200,275 194,061

Minnesota ............... 134,577 137,595 141,183 129,214 132,609 130,799 120,381 122,226 127,789 131,351

Mississippi ............... 57,216 49,609 49,612 52,352 56,135 51,673 47,175 51,657 49,553 47,729

Missouri .................. 138,250 142,864 131,513 128,924 133,568 122,509 122,171 119,004 125,534 122,326

Montana .................. 29,068 28,651 28,546 27,381 29,623 27,260 26,427 27,473 26,596 26,510

Nebraska .................. 44,816 45,864 45,752 47,699 48,905 39,881 40,939 43,811 43,810 44,599

Nevada ..................... 60,294 62,843 66,018 61,324 63,751 56,082 53,767 55,959 57,965 53,588

New Hampshire ......... 34,580 33,735 36,200 31,531 35,816 34,128 32,155 31,552 34,347 31,175

New Jersey ............... 203,835 202,206 213,505 201,174 208,013 198,718 187,276 181,131 197,415 202,977

New Mexico ............ 44,250 37,762 40,791 39,367 40,640 37,406 39,187 40,789 40,761 37,859

New York ............... 466,748 456,587 472,820 466,932 485,531 440,756 429,494 426,420 446,778 440,250

North Carolina ............ 211,726 196,443 207,942 206,049 212,479 190,051 184,492 189,804 191,366 188,376

North Dakota ............ 29,218 29,398 25,853 29,744 29,913 23,917 23,359 28,021 24,846 25,016

Ohio ........................ 263,759 256,737 274,779 244,965 262,864 238,558 244,972 234,133 244,391 234,278

Oklahoma ............... 82,091 72,957 75,621 76,396 77,182 68,685 74,768 70,293 70,196 76,346

Oregon ..................... 95,654 99,441 99,417 99,194 96,827 91,054 84,487 85,962 87,165 92,724

Pennsylvania ............ 265,032 268,272 262,901 254,554 268,854 252,649 262,407 252,075 255,635 248,868

Rhode Island ............ 24,574 24,360 25,911 24,731 24,432 23,675 23,094 22,672 24,044 22,849

South Carolina ............ 97,458 87,131 95,628 92,756 101,038 79,795 83,845 82,252 84,223 83,233

South Dakota ............ 20,959 20,848 21,611 20,456 22,970 20,519 20,553 19,329 20,886 20,124

Tennessee ............... 138,078 123,145 127,303 124,360 143,113 114,673 116,749 121,662 118,445 108,121

Texas ..................... 553,932 537,115 530,372 547,426 565,937 450,359 465,576 464,465 482,784 484,486

Utah ........................ 74,490 75,396 72,630 71,225 77,601 61,715 64,502 67,465 65,096 63,304

Vermont .................. 18,800 17,248 18,264 17,553 18,657 17,530 16,860 19,400 18,316 16,672

Virginia .................. 177,043 165,555 165,372 172,770 168,488 165,510 159,740 164,084 172,320 165,314

Washington ............... 166,655 204,649 177,515 171,550 171,909 153,804 148,789 148,500 157,575 155,301

West Virginia ............ 36,002 35,950 34,375 33,177 36,135 36,604 34,714 37,260 35,830 35,918

Wisconsin ............... 131,552 125,586 134,838 127,659 130,854 122,830 120,242 124,587 126,994 122,070

Wyoming .................. 20,277 18,617 18,151 17,341 20,059 17,704 18,333 19,316 17,255 18,037

Puerto Rico ............... 46,915 38,510 40,549 41,766 47,592 40,722 43,762 42,254 45,569 37,545

Virgin Islands ............ 1,981 1,570 1,419 1,519 1,412 1,599 1,819 1,819 1,891 1,610

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

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

State

Gross job gains Gross job losses

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

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

2012 2013 2013 2013 2013 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013

United States .......................... 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.1 6.4 5.8 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.8

Alabama ............................. 5.8 6.0 5.9 5.5 6.0 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.3

Alaska ................................. 9.8 10.7 10.6 9.7 10.1 10.1 9.6 10.0 9.8 10.4

Arizona ............................... 6.9 6.2 6.2 6.4 6.8 5.8 5.9 6.1 5.5 5.4

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

California ........................... 7.4 9.0 7.0 6.7 7.3 6.2 5.9 6.4 6.1 6.2

Colorado .............................. 7.1 7.1 7.1 7.0 6.9 6.2 6.2 6.1 6.3 6.1

Connecticut ......................... 5.4 5.1 5.6 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.2 4.8 5.4 5.3

Delaware .............................. 6.8 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.4 5.7 5.9 5.8 6.0 5.8

District of Columbia ............... 6.8 5.7 6.1 5.8 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.6 5.3 5.5

Florida ................................. 7.1 6.7 7.1 7.0 7.0 6.3 6.0 6.3 6.2 6.1

Georgia .............................. 6.8 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.8 5.9 5.7 6.2 6.0 5.9

Hawaii ............................... 5.4 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.3 4.3 4.8 5.2 4.9 4.5

Idaho .................................... 7.9 8.1 8.0 7.7 8.3 7.2 7.2 7.5 7.2 7.4

Illinois ................................ 5.3 5.5 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.2 5.5 5.3 5.8 5.4

Indiana ............................... 5.9 5.6 5.7 5.5 6.1 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.1

Iowa .................................... 5.7 5.8 6.0 5.8 5.9 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.5

Kansas ................................. 6.3 5.6 6.2 6.1 6.3 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.7 5.3

Kentucky .............................. 6.5 5.8 5.8 5.8 6.5 5.5 5.8 5.6 5.4 5.3

Louisiana .............................. 7.0 6.7 6.2 6.6 6.6 5.9 6.1 6.3 6.0 6.1

Maine ................................ 7.0 6.7 8.1 7.3 7.0 7.5 7.0 6.4 7.4 7.4

Maryland ............................ 6.4 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.3 6.3 5.8 6.1 6.1 6.3

Massachusetts ....................... 5.4 6.2 6.1 5.4 5.4 5.3 4.9 5.0 5.5 5.4

Michigan ............................. 6.0 6.0 6.3 5.9 6.1 5.4 5.0 5.8 5.8 5.6

Minnesota ........................... 5.9 6.0 6.1 5.5 5.7 5.7 5.2 5.2 5.5 5.7

Mississippi ........................... 6.8 5.9 5.8 6.1 6.5 6.1 5.5 6.0 5.8 5.5

Missouri .............................. 6.4 6.5 5.9 5.8 6.0 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.7 5.5

Montana ............................... 8.3 8.1 8.0 7.7 8.3 7.8 7.4 7.7 7.5 7.4

Nebraska .............................. 5.9 6.0 6.0 6.1 6.2 5.2 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.7

Nevada ............................... 6.0 6.3 6.6 6.0 6.3 5.7 5.4 5.5 5.7 5.2

New Hampshire ..................... 6.5 6.3 6.8 6.0 6.6 6.4 6.1 5.9 6.5 5.8

New Jersey ........................... 6.4 6.3 6.6 6.2 6.4 6.2 5.8 5.6 6.0 6.2

New Mexico ........................ 7.4 6.2 6.7 6.5 6.7 6.2 6.5 6.8 6.7 6.2

New York ........................... 6.4 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.6 6.1 5.9 5.8 6.1 6.0

North Carolina ........................ 6.5 6.0 6.3 6.2 6.4 5.9 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.7

North Dakota ........................ 8.3 8.3 7.2 8.3 8.2 6.8 6.6 7.9 6.9 6.9

Ohio .................................... 6.1 5.9 6.2 5.5 6.0 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.6 5.3

Oklahoma ........................... 6.7 6.0 6.1 6.1 6.1 5.6 6.0 5.7 5.6 6.1

Oregon ................................. 7.0 7.2 7.1 7.0 6.8 6.6 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.5

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.1 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.1

Rhode Island ........................ 6.3 6.1 6.5 6.2 6.2 6.0 5.8 5.7 6.1 5.7

South Carolina ........................ 6.6 5.8 6.3 6.2 6.6 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.5

South Dakota ........................ 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.2 6.9 6.2 6.2 5.8 6.3 6.0

Tennessee ........................... 6.1 5.4 5.5 5.4 6.3 5.1 5.1 5.4 5.2 4.7

Texas ................................. 6.1 5.9 5.8 5.9 6.1 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.1

Utah .................................... 7.3 7.3 7.0 6.8 7.4 6.1 6.3 6.5 6.2 6.0

Vermont .............................. 7.6 7.0 7.3 7.1 7.4 7.1 6.7 7.8 7.4 6.7

Virginia .............................. 6.0 5.7 5.6 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.9 5.6

Washington ........................... 7.1 8.6 7.3 7.0 6.9 6.5 6.2 6.1 6.4 6.3

West Virginia ........................ 6.4 6.3 6.1 5.9 6.4 6.5 6.1 6.6 6.4 6.4

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

Wyoming .............................. 9.5 8.7 8.5 8.2 9.4 8.4 8.5 9.0 8.1 8.4

Puerto Rico ........................... 6.8 5.6 5.9 6.1 6.9 5.9 6.4 6.2 6.6 5.5

Virgin Islands ........................ 7.0 5.6 5.0 5.5 5.2 5.6 6.5 6.5 6.8 5.9

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 3.0 900 .8 817 .7

June 202 2.9 228 3.3 873 .8 934 .8

September 191 2.7 223 3.2 826 .7 877 .8

December 187 2.7 238 3.4 798 .7 941 .8

2009 March 172 2.5 236 3.4 705 .6 851 .8

June 178 2.6 226 3.3 743 .7 830 .8

September 169 2.5 216 3.2 692 .7 785 .7

December 183 2.7 199 2.9 712 .7 730 .7

2010 March 175 2.6 195 2.9 688 .7 671 .6

June 179 2.7 185 2.7 713 .7 650 .6

September 187 2.8 189 2.8 741 .7 694 .7

December 200 2.9 186 2.7 787 .7 688 .6

2011 March 189 2.8 184 2.7 698 .7 615 .6

June 192 2.8 190 2.8 749 .7 677 .6

September 199 2.9 187 2.7 788 .7 673 .6

December 202 2.9 191 2.8 801 .7 749 .7

2012 March 201 2.9 181 2.6 748 .7 604 .6

June 197 2.9 184 2.7 778 .7 666 .6

September 201 2.9 185 2.7 796 .7 684 .6

December 201 2.9 182 2.6 795 .7 675 .6

2013 March 578 8.0 185 2.6 1,067 1.0 638 .6

June 226 3.0 N/A N/A 777 .7 N/A N/A

September 215 2.9 N/A N/A 792 .7 N/A N/A

December 214 2.9 N/A N/A 795 .7 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