For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Tuesday, July 30, 2013 USDL-13-1524

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 2012

From September 2012 to December 2012 

gross job gains from opening and 

expanding private sector establishments 

were 7.1 million, an increase of 238,000 

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 6.4 million, a decrease 

of 231,000 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 668,000 

jobs in the private sector during the fourth 

quarter of 2012. (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. 
- 2 - 

Gross job gains at expanding establishments 

totaled 5.8 million in fourth quarter 2012, an 

increase of 207,000 jobs from the previous 

quarter. 

Opening establishments accounted for 1.3 million 

jobs gained in fourth quarter 2012, an increase of 

31,000 jobs from the previous quarter. 

Contracting establishments lost 5.2 million jobs 

in fourth quarter 2012. This is a decrease of 

206,000 jobs from the prior quarter. 

In the fourth quarter of 2012, closing

establishments lost 1.2 million jobs, a decrease of 

25,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables 

1 and 3.) 

 

Gross job gains represented 6.4 percent of private 

sector employment in fourth quarter 2012, while 

gross job losses represented 5.8 percent of private 

sector employment. (See table 2.) 

In the fourth quarter of 2012, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data, see the 

Technical Note for more information) decreased by 1,000 to 192,000. These new establishments accounted for 

766,000 jobs, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous quarter. (See table 8.) 

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

605,000 jobs were lost at 181,000 establishments. These figures represent decreases from the prior quarter when 

750,000 jobs were lost at 191,000 establishments. 

During the fourth quarter of 2012, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in only two industry sectors: 

natural resources and mining, and manufacturing. The manufacturing sector experienced its first negative net 

change since March 2010, losing 11,000 jobs. The information sector had gross job gains of 141,000 and gross 

job losses of 120,000, which resulted in a positive net change of 21,000 jobs. This is the largest increase in the 

information sector since third quarter 2000 and only the second increase in the last five years. (See table 3.) 

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all three major firm size classes during fourth quarter 2012. Firms 

with 250 or more employees experienced the largest net increase of 379,000 jobs. (See tables 4 and 5.)
- 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 fourth quarter of 2012, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 47 states, the District of Columbia, 

Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. California had the largest net employment gain of 134,544 jobs. Two 

states, Alaska and Wyoming, tied for the highest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 9.5 

percent, above the U.S. national rate of 6.4 percent. Hawaii had the lowest rate of gross job losses as a percent 

of employment at 4.4 percent, below the national rate of 5.8 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 First Quarter 2013 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, 

November 19, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 

Changes to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data 

Data in the next release, published on Tuesday, November 19, 2013, 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. 

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

Category 

3 months ended 

Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. 

2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 

Levels (in thousands) 

Gross job gains.................................... 6,909 6,935 7,004 6,813 7,051 

 At expanding establishments........... 5,557 5,706 5,744 5,545 5,752 

 At opening establishments............... 1,352 1,229 1,260 1,268 1,299 

 

Gross job losses................................... 6,520 6,121 6,422 6,614 6,383 

 At contracting establishments........... 5,238 4,935 5,213 5,386 5,180 

 At closing establishments................ 1,282 1,186 1,209 1,228 1,203 

 

Net employment change1........................ 389 814 582 199 668 

 

Rates (percent) 

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

 At expanding establishments....... 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.2 

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

 

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

 At contracting establishments........ 4.8 4.5 4.7 4.9 4.7 

 At closing establishments............. 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 

 

Net employment change1..................... .3 .7 .5 .2 .6 
- 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 

6.8 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 6.8 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 2012. 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 2012: 

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 ................0.8 

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

 Establishments in Puerto Rico 

 and the Virgin Islands ...........0.0 

Total establishments included in Business 

Employment Dynamics data ........................6.8 

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 
- 6 - 

no links to the prior quarter, or units with positive third 

month employment in the current quarter and zero 

employment in the third month of the previous four 

quarters. Births are a subset of openings not including 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 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-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 
- 7 - 

year are available upon request. The definitions and 

methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and 

gross job losses are similar to the quarterly measures. The 

linkage method considers all predecessor and successor 

relations that may come about due to changes in 

ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire 

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

gains and job losses are offset during the estimation over 

the year. Therefore, the sum of four quarters of gross job 

gains and gross job losses are not equal to annual gross 

job gains and gross job losses. The net change in 

employment over the year, however, is equal to the sum 

of four quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted 

basis. 

Seasonal adjustment 

 Over the course of a year, the levels of employment 

and the associated job flows undergo sharp fluctuations 

due to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, 

reduced or expanded production, harvests, major 

holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The 

effect of such seasonal variation can be very large. 

 Because these seasonal events follow a more or less 

regular pattern each year, their influence can be 

eliminated by adjusting these statistics from quarter to 

quarter. These adjustments make nonseasonal 

developments, such as declines in economic activity, 

easier to recognize. For example, the large number of 

youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other 

changes that have taken place in June relative to March, 

making it difficult to determine if the level of economic 

activity has risen or declined. However, because the 

effect of students finishing school in previous years is 

known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted 

to allow for a comparable change. The adjusted figures 

provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes 

in economic activity. 

 The employment data series for opening, expanding, 

closing, and contracting units are independently 

seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on 

the difference between gross job gains and gross job 

losses. Similarly, for industry data, the establishment 

counts data series for opening, expanding, closing, and 

contracting establishments are independently adjusted, 

and the net changes are calculated based on the difference 

between the number of opening and closing 

establishments. Additionally establishment and 

employment levels are independently seasonally adjusted 

to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent 

seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 ARIMA. 

Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the 

sum of seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including 

the unclassified sector, which is not separately published. 

The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing 

the BED component series will differ from the net 

employment change estimated from the seasonally 

adjusted total private employment series from the CES 

program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show 

the dynamic labor market changes that underlie the net 

employment change statistic. As such, data users 

interested particularly in the net employment change and 

not in the gross job flows underlying this change should 

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

changes.

Reliability of the data 

 Since the data series on Business Employment 

Dynamics are based on administrative rather than sample 

data, there are no issues related to sampling error. 

Nonsampling error, however, still exists. Nonsampling 

errors can occur for many reasons, such as the employer 

submitting corrected employment data after the end of the 

quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when 

providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to 

be distributed randomly throughout the dataset. 

 Changes in administrative data sometimes create 

complications for the linkage process. This can result in 

overstating openings and closings while understating 

expansions and contractions. The BLS continues to refine 

methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate the 

effects of these complications. 

 The BED data series are subject to periodic minor 

changes based on corrections in QCEW records, updates 

on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal 

adjustment revisions. 

 Annual revisions are published each year with the 

release of the first quarter data. These revisions cover the 

last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 

years of seasonally adjusted data. 

Additional statistics and other information 

 Several other programs within BLS produce closely 

related information. The QCEW program provides both 

quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, 

county, and detailed industry. News releases on quarterly 

county employment and wages and an annual bulletin: 

Employment and Wages Annual Averages, are available 

upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics 

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

Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; telephone 

202-691-6567; (http://www.bls.gov/cew/); (e-mail: 

QCEWInfo@bls.gov). 

 The CES program produces monthly estimates of 

employment, its net change, and earnings by detailed 

industry. These estimates are part of the Employment 

Situation report put out monthly by BLS. 

 The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 

(JOLTS) program provides monthly measures of job 

openings, as well as employee hires and separations. 

 Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. 

Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral 

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

(In thousands)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

2002 March -10 8,071 6,298 1,773 8,081 6,434 1,647

June -30 7,868 6,145 1,723 7,898 6,274 1,624

September -151 7,630 6,039 1,591 7,781 6,248 1,533

December -241 7,483 5,938 1,545 7,724 6,185 1,539

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 -227 7,233 5,826 1,407 7,460 6,095 1,365

June -575 7,257 5,851 1,406 7,832 6,354 1,478

September -968 6,879 5,515 1,364 7,847 6,462 1,385

December -1,793 6,712 5,360 1,352 8,505 7,022 1,483

2009 March -2,706 5,834 4,648 1,186 8,540 7,122 1,418

June -1,656 6,395 5,093 1,302 8,051 6,669 1,382

September -899 6,335 5,119 1,216 7,234 5,874 1,360

December -217 6,651 5,325 1,326 6,868 5,583 1,285

2010 March -266 6,245 5,078 1,167 6,511 5,308 1,203

June 722 6,972 5,690 1,282 6,250 5,087 1,163

September 187 6,669 5,416 1,253 6,482 5,253 1,229

December 609 7,027 5,651 1,376 6,418 5,193 1,225

2011 March 292 6,437 5,272 1,165 6,145 5,010 1,135

June 603 6,942 5,646 1,296 6,339 5,111 1,228

September 794 7,136 5,776 1,360 6,342 5,194 1,148

December 389 6,909 5,557 1,352 6,520 5,238 1,282

2012 March 814 6,935 5,706 1,229 6,121 4,935 1,186

June 582 7,004 5,744 1,260 6,422 5,213 1,209

September 199 6,813 5,545 1,268 6,614 5,386 1,228

December 668 7,051 5,752 1,299 6,383 5,180 1,203

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

Year 3 months ended Net change 1

Gross job gains

Total Total

Gross job losses
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

2002 March .0 7.5 5.9 1.6 7.5 6.0 1.5

June .0 7.3 5.7 1.6 7.3 5.8 1.5

September -.1 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.2 5.8 1.4

December -.3 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.2 5.8 1.4

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 -.2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.5 5.3 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 -1.5 6.0 4.8 1.2 7.5 6.2 1.3

September -.9 5.9 4.8 1.1 6.8 5.5 1.3

December -.1 6.4 5.1 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 .1 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.2 5.0 1.2

December .5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2

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 4.5 1.1

June .5 6.3 5.2 1.1 5.8 4.7 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

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.

Year 3 months ended Net change 2

Gross job gains

Total Total

Gross job losses
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted

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

2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 6,909 6,935 7,004 6,813 7,051 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.4

At expanding establishments ......... 5,557 5,706 5,744 5,545 5,752 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.2

At opening establishments ............ 1,352 1,229 1,260 1,268 1,299 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 6,520 6,121 6,422 6,614 6,383 6.0 5.6 5.8 6.0 5.8

At contracting establishments ......... 5,238 4,935 5,213 5,386 5,180 4.8 4.5 4.7 4.9 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 1,282 1,186 1,209 1,228 1,203 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1

Net employment change .............. 389 814 582 199 668 .3 .7 .5 .2 .6

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,363 1,386 1,388 1,326 1,344 7.0 7.1 7.1 6.8 6.8

At expanding establishments ......... 1,144 1,184 1,186 1,127 1,142 5.9 6.1 6.1 5.8 5.8

At opening establishments ............ 219 202 202 199 202 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 1,356 1,241 1,304 1,299 1,312 7.0 6.4 6.7 6.6 6.7

At contracting establishments ......... 1,121 1,027 1,078 1,080 1,095 5.8 5.3 5.5 5.5 5.6

At closing establishments ............ 235 214 226 219 217 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1

Net employment change .............. 7 145 84 27 32 .0 .7 .4 .2 .1

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 298 288 298 274 272 15.4 14.5 15.0 13.8 13.6

At expanding establishments ......... 253 250 259 236 234 13.1 12.6 13.0 11.9 11.7

At opening establishments ............ 45 38 39 38 38 2.3 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.9

Gross job losses ........................... 270 258 296 275 287 13.9 13.0 14.9 13.8 14.5

At contracting establishments ......... 235 221 250 237 250 12.1 11.1 12.6 11.9 12.6

At closing establishments ............ 35 37 46 38 37 1.8 1.9 2.3 1.9 1.9

Net employment change .............. 28 30 2 -1 -15 1.5 1.5 .1 .0 -.9

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 632 662 631 638 659 11.4 11.9 11.3 11.4 11.7

At expanding establishments ......... 498 538 508 513 532 9.0 9.7 9.1 9.2 9.4

At opening establishments ............ 134 124 123 125 127 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.3

Gross job losses ........................... 659 616 634 610 601 11.9 11.1 11.4 10.9 10.6

At contracting establishments ......... 513 487 507 480 471 9.3 8.8 9.1 8.6 8.3

At closing establishments ............ 146 129 127 130 130 2.6 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3

Net employment change .............. -27 46 -3 28 58 -.5 .8 -.1 .5 1.1

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 433 436 459 414 413 3.6 3.6 3.8 3.5 3.4

At expanding establishments ......... 393 396 419 378 376 3.3 3.3 3.5 3.2 3.1

At opening establishments ............ 40 40 40 36 37 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3

Gross job losses ........................... 427 367 374 414 424 3.7 3.1 3.1 3.4 3.5

At contracting establishments ......... 373 319 321 363 374 3.2 2.7 2.7 3.0 3.1

At closing establishments ............ 54 48 53 51 50 .5 .4 .4 .4 .4

Net employment change .............. 6 69 85 0 -11 -.1 .5 .7 .1 -.1

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 5,546 5,549 5,616 5,487 5,707 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.1 6.3

At expanding establishments ......... 4,413 4,522 4,558 4,418 4,610 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.9 5.1

At opening establishments ............ 1,133 1,027 1,058 1,069 1,097 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 5,164 4,880 5,118 5,315 5,071 5.8 5.4 5.7 5.8 5.6

At contracting establishments ......... 4,117 3,908 4,135 4,306 4,085 4.6 4.3 4.6 4.7 4.5

At closing establishments ............ 1,047 972 983 1,009 986 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1

Net employment change .............. 382 669 498 172 636 .4 .7 .5 .3 .7

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 276 282 288 266 277 4.9 5.1 5.0 4.6 4.9

At expanding establishments ......... 223 234 240 218 226 4.0 4.2 4.2 3.8 4.0

At opening establishments ............ 53 48 48 48 51 .9 .9 .8 .8 .9

Gross job losses ........................... 250 244 254 263 256 4.5 4.3 4.5 4.7 4.5

At contracting establishments ......... 191 186 192 207 199 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.7 3.5

At closing establishments ............ 59 58 62 56 57 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0

Net employment change .............. 26 38 34 3 21 .4 .8 .5 -.1 .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

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

2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 898 883 891 836 917 6.1 5.9 6.0 5.6 6.2

At expanding establishments ......... 776 761 760 701 789 5.3 5.1 5.1 4.7 5.3

At opening establishments ............ 122 122 131 135 128 .8 .8 .9 .9 .9

Gross job losses ........................... 821 845 813 871 823 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.8 5.5

At contracting establishments ......... 695 738 710 760 703 4.7 5.0 4.8 5.1 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 126 107 103 111 120 .9 .7 .7 .7 .8

Net employment change .............. 77 38 78 -35 94 .5 .2 .5 -.2 .7

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 244 213 218 221 263 5.9 5.2 5.3 5.2 6.3

At expanding establishments ......... 210 181 186 190 231 5.1 4.4 4.5 4.5 5.5

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

Gross job losses ........................... 203 219 202 204 211 4.9 5.2 4.8 4.8 5.0

At contracting establishments ......... 166 185 167 169 173 4.0 4.4 4.0 4.0 4.1

At closing establishments ............ 37 34 35 35 38 .9 .8 .8 .8 .9

Net employment change .............. 41 -6 16 17 52 1.0 .0 .5 .4 1.3

Utilities

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

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

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

Gross job losses ........................... 12 10 12 14 13 2.2 1.8 2.2 2.6 2.4

At contracting establishments ......... 11 8 10 12 11 2.0 1.4 1.8 2.2 2.0

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

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

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 124 114 123 132 141 4.6 4.2 4.6 4.9 5.3

At expanding establishments ......... 99 95 106 112 117 3.7 3.5 4.0 4.2 4.4

At opening establishments ............ 25 19 17 20 24 .9 .7 .6 .7 .9

Gross job losses ........................... 136 115 124 141 120 5.1 4.3 4.7 5.2 4.5

At contracting establishments ......... 102 93 101 116 95 3.8 3.5 3.8 4.3 3.6

At closing establishments ............ 34 22 23 25 25 1.3 .8 .9 .9 .9

Net employment change .............. -12 -1 -1 -9 21 -.5 -.1 -.1 -.3 .8

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 361 349 362 355 375 4.9 4.7 4.8 4.7 5.0

At expanding establishments ......... 281 282 295 286 293 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.9

At opening establishments ............ 80 67 67 69 82 1.1 .9 .9 .9 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 353 330 334 339 326 4.7 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.3

At contracting establishments ......... 268 243 253 261 251 3.6 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.3

At closing establishments ............ 85 87 81 78 75 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.0

Net employment change .............. 8 19 28 16 49 .2 .2 .3 .2 .7

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,354 1,301 1,349 1,322 1,381 7.8 7.3 7.5 7.3 7.6

At expanding establishments ......... 1,081 1,068 1,110 1,082 1,121 6.2 6.0 6.2 6.0 6.2

At opening establishments ............ 273 233 239 240 260 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4

Gross job losses ........................... 1,255 1,174 1,221 1,262 1,229 7.2 6.7 6.8 7.0 6.8

At contracting establishments ......... 983 911 947 990 977 5.6 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.4

At closing establishments ............ 272 263 274 272 252 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4

Net employment change .............. 99 127 128 60 152 .6 .6 .7 .3 .8

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 811 812 791 834 828 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.3

At expanding establishments ......... 676 697 677 706 700 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.6

At opening establishments ............ 135 115 114 128 128 .7 .6 .6 .7 .7

Gross job losses ........................... 740 697 773 743 712 3.8 3.6 4.0 3.8 3.7

At contracting establishments ......... 604 568 642 610 584 3.1 2.9 3.3 3.1 3.0

At closing establishments ............ 136 129 131 133 128 .7 .7 .7 .7 .7

Net employment change .............. 71 115 18 91 116 .4 .6 .1 .5 .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.

2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,115 1,214 1,197 1,140 1,162 8.3 9.0 8.7 8.3 8.4

At expanding establishments ......... 842 960 932 884 902 6.3 7.1 6.8 6.4 6.5

At opening establishments ............ 273 254 265 256 260 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9

Gross job losses ........................... 1,106 964 1,097 1,168 1,087 8.2 7.1 8.0 8.4 7.8

At contracting establishments ......... 886 775 902 956 879 6.6 5.7 6.6 6.9 6.3

At closing establishments ............ 220 189 195 212 208 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5

Net employment change .............. 9 250 100 -28 75 .1 1.9 .7 -.1 .6

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 263 275 287 271 266 6.9 7.2 7.5 7.1 6.9

At expanding establishments ......... 205 221 231 217 209 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.4

At opening establishments ............ 58 54 56 54 57 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.5

Gross job losses ........................... 262 250 257 279 266 6.9 6.6 6.7 7.3 7.0

At contracting establishments ......... 205 194 202 217 206 5.4 5.1 5.3 5.7 5.4

At closing establishments ............ 57 56 55 62 60 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.6

Net employment change .............. 1 25 30 -8 0 .0 .6 .8 -.2 -.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

2002 March 70 6,602 6,532 54 3,402 3,348 -52 1,194 1,246 68 2,006 1,938

June -61 6,416 6,477 69 3,379 3,310 -7 1,191 1,198 -123 1,846 1,969

September -176 6,190 6,366 20 3,335 3,315 -46 1,144 1,190 -150 1,711 1,861

December -247 6,114 6,361 -3 3,299 3,302 -73 1,106 1,179 -171 1,709 1,880

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 -277 5,807 6,084 -138 3,238 3,376 -11 1,073 1,084 -128 1,496 1,624

June -547 5,861 6,408 -287 3,179 3,466 -37 1,098 1,135 -223 1,584 1,807

September -1,035 5,483 6,518 -359 3,039 3,398 -160 1,013 1,173 -516 1,431 1,947

December -1,850 5,341 7,191 -693 2,907 3,600 -370 946 1,316 -787 1,488 2,275

2009 March -2,643 4,582 7,225 -967 2,724 3,691 -611 806 1,417 -1,065 1,052 2,117

June -1,766 5,174 6,940 -475 2,949 3,424 -275 956 1,231 -1,016 1,269 2,285

September -979 5,119 6,098 -388 2,814 3,202 -127 927 1,054 -464 1,378 1,842

December -277 5,408 5,685 -161 2,937 3,098 -42 963 1,005 -74 1,508 1,582

2010 March -231 5,094 5,325 -185 2,863 3,048 -1 909 910 -45 1,322 1,367

June 689 5,818 5,129 233 3,094 2,861 211 1,079 868 245 1,645 1,400

September 157 5,478 5,321 11 2,933 2,922 71 992 921 75 1,553 1,478

December 534 5,789 5,255 86 3,045 2,959 99 1,035 936 349 1,709 1,360

2011 March 329 5,339 5,010 108 2,979 2,871 122 964 842 99 1,396 1,297

June 550 5,765 5,215 195 3,078 2,883 178 1,072 894 177 1,615 1,438

September 793 5,928 5,135 247 3,116 2,869 152 1,058 906 394 1,754 1,360

December 332 5,615 5,283 39 2,967 2,928 46 985 939 247 1,663 1,416

2012 March 830 5,748 4,918 362 3,119 2,757 216 1,046 830 252 1,583 1,331

June 572 5,797 5,225 158 3,004 2,846 161 1,080 919 253 1,713 1,460

September 168 5,516 5,348 -3 2,893 2,896 38 999 961 133 1,624 1,491

December 593 5,714 5,121 130 2,967 2,837 84 1,004 920 379 1,743 1,364

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

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

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

2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 5,615 5,748 5,797 5,516 5,714 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.0 5.2

At expanding firms .................. 4,689 4,848 4,929 4,662 4,826 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.2 4.4

At opening firms ..................... 926 900 868 854 888 .9 .8 .8 .8 .8

Gross job losses ........................ 5,283 4,918 5,225 5,348 5,121 4.9 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.7

At contracting firms .................. 4,399 4,081 4,380 4,501 4,276 4.1 3.7 4.0 4.1 3.9

At closing firms ................... 884 837 845 847 845 .8 .8 .8 .8 .8

Net employment change ............. 332 830 572 168 593 .3 .7 .5 .1 .5

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 2,967 3,119 3,004 2,893 2,967 9.4 9.8 9.5 9.2 9.4

At expanding firms .................. 2,085 2,253 2,176 2,085 2,112 6.6 7.1 6.9 6.6 6.7

At opening firms ..................... 882 866 828 808 855 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.7

Gross job losses ........................ 2,928 2,757 2,846 2,896 2,837 9.3 8.8 9.0 9.2 8.9

At contracting firms .................. 2,086 1,953 2,055 2,088 2,033 6.6 6.2 6.5 6.6 6.4

At closing firms ................... 842 804 791 808 804 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.5

Net employment change ............. 39 362 158 -3 130 .1 1.0 .5 .0 .5

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 985 1,046 1,080 999 1,004 4.9 5.1 5.4 4.9 4.9

At expanding firms .................. 948 1,016 1,046 965 974 4.7 5.0 5.2 4.7 4.8

At opening firms ..................... 37 30 34 34 30 .2 .1 .2 .2 .1

Gross job losses ........................ 939 830 919 961 920 4.7 4.1 4.6 4.7 4.6

At contracting firms .................. 906 803 887 931 887 4.5 4.0 4.4 4.6 4.4

At closing firms ................... 33 27 32 30 33 .2 .1 .2 .1 .2

Net employment change ............. 46 216 161 38 84 .2 1.0 .8 .2 .3

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,663 1,583 1,713 1,624 1,743 2.9 2.7 2.9 2.8 3.0

At expanding firms .................. 1,656 1,579 1,707 1,612 1,740 2.9 2.7 2.9 2.8 3.0

At opening firms ..................... 7 4 6 12 3 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,416 1,331 1,460 1,491 1,364 2.5 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.3

At contracting firms .................. 1,407 1,325 1,438 1,482 1,356 2.5 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.3

At closing firms ................... 9 6 22 9 8 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Net employment change ............. 247 252 253 133 379 .4 .4 .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.

2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012

United States 1

 ............ 6,909,000 6,935,000 7,004,000 6,813,000 7,051,000 6,520,000 6,121,000 6,422,000 6,614,000 6,383,000

Alabama .................. 85,633 91,147 84,920 83,127 83,772 87,650 80,326 81,715 82,206 79,513

Alaska ..................... 23,440 26,381 27,630 22,254 23,664 26,155 21,997 23,362 25,468 25,228

Arizona .................. 139,367 128,843 128,712 134,318 142,005 123,249 121,081 124,788 117,424 118,875

Arkansas .................. 60,670 53,381 50,617 51,092 55,753 50,505 52,324 52,617 55,826 49,056

California .................. 870,675 842,341 887,477 827,492 905,965 785,705 760,027 779,094 783,686 771,421

Colorado .................. 128,255 125,797 138,109 131,968 133,994 122,714 115,062 119,234 123,084 116,948

Connecticut ............... 73,072 77,422 76,257 71,695 74,526 71,692 68,197 69,468 73,892 70,365

Delaware .................. 21,735 22,107 21,752 21,771 23,355 21,334 20,468 22,610 22,138 19,561

District of Columbia ... 26,595 29,723 26,871 26,693 30,451 24,771 20,338 26,196 27,948 25,459

Florida ..................... 439,908 414,219 421,896 454,478 451,764 413,449 365,900 395,061 422,223 396,718

Georgia .................. 203,099 219,814 214,145 201,804 215,168 202,265 191,090 202,986 200,269 189,181

Hawaii ..................... 25,587 24,551 26,632 26,273 25,794 21,986 25,568 24,763 23,911 21,529

Idaho ..................... 37,097 38,404 40,213 40,980 39,975 37,811 38,352 37,611 35,338 36,631

Illinois ..................... 267,916 263,987 263,873 270,410 257,065 258,824 235,357 241,807 265,131 252,028

Indiana ..................... 143,961 150,073 140,314 138,449 141,803 134,950 121,345 131,698 134,489 131,743

Iowa ........................ 71,492 75,925 70,865 69,857 71,066 69,343 62,833 64,030 68,098 67,402

Kansas ..................... 65,220 72,837 63,539 62,992 68,148 61,690 57,228 60,718 66,891 58,540

Kentucky .................. 87,855 91,719 88,548 84,813 91,937 82,301 81,151 80,639 81,943 81,448

Louisiana .................. 102,234 109,747 101,281 99,429 104,418 97,984 98,510 104,363 102,944 90,875

Maine ..................... 33,221 34,867 38,293 32,103 34,205 35,125 34,497 32,974 35,380 36,411

Maryland .................. 129,484 135,839 128,787 130,769 127,775 122,326 115,922 122,287 129,010 126,560

Massachusetts ............ 148,370 154,973 164,077 148,509 150,023 150,490 138,173 137,487 156,756 148,494

Michigan .................. 203,971 208,109 209,535 209,360 204,175 196,273 178,757 195,190 200,789 184,944

Minnesota ............... 125,820 152,204 139,597 134,849 134,938 131,726 133,973 121,250 130,627 130,787

Mississippi ............... 52,282 54,928 49,378 52,243 57,396 50,544 47,226 55,417 50,729 52,142

Missouri .................. 134,687 133,117 133,106 128,913 138,530 125,738 119,773 139,829 129,765 121,856

Montana .................. 28,553 27,783 28,905 27,332 29,012 26,686 26,305 26,502 25,375 27,169

Nebraska .................. 43,876 44,064 43,321 42,753 44,976 40,167 38,030 39,828 41,943 39,550

Nevada ..................... 57,485 58,879 63,846 58,103 60,082 55,150 53,065 54,370 56,807 55,939

New Hampshire ......... 35,844 34,876 36,985 33,587 34,463 33,640 32,250 33,680 35,919 33,805

New Jersey ............... 208,879 204,354 212,859 196,983 203,946 199,863 187,241 189,236 200,646 195,226

New Mexico ............ 37,929 41,334 40,590 38,153 42,888 40,581 35,306 41,465 39,338 35,252

New York ............... 438,220 467,340 468,789 461,510 464,448 427,473 403,623 434,900 446,526 440,946

North Carolina ............ 205,605 210,182 201,581 197,469 207,822 192,401 179,134 192,592 192,634 191,444

North Dakota ............ 32,285 34,563 26,998 29,529 29,235 19,885 20,145 22,002 26,071 23,957

Ohio ........................ 255,010 257,935 253,436 239,722 261,514 239,343 222,736 229,340 254,269 240,528

Oklahoma ............... 76,516 75,110 73,855 72,938 79,084 70,641 68,149 67,598 75,201 67,539

Oregon ..................... 93,674 92,985 93,491 97,240 94,828 92,363 87,056 88,921 86,428 90,642

Pennsylvania ............ 278,996 287,205 264,484 262,020 263,211 249,261 246,934 264,265 266,076 247,501

Rhode Island ............ 24,067 26,209 25,198 23,568 24,421 24,900 22,040 23,293 24,966 23,582

South Carolina ............ 91,266 90,984 89,452 85,659 96,330 82,761 79,437 86,675 87,619 79,404

South Dakota ............ 21,563 21,765 22,642 21,022 20,893 19,365 19,933 21,199 20,613 20,457

Tennessee ............... 135,832 132,991 133,201 125,916 138,481 117,380 113,095 125,811 124,788 114,847

Texas ..................... 523,866 537,062 546,168 526,961 551,309 457,961 446,708 457,008 473,008 451,336

Utah ........................ 69,692 70,120 71,955 70,156 74,427 61,984 59,307 59,459 61,749 60,812

Vermont .................. 20,232 17,597 18,259 17,033 18,411 16,430 17,256 18,263 17,368 17,428

Virginia .................. 179,267 175,338 169,857 188,452 175,639 177,063 161,214 167,758 181,523 164,816

Washington ............... 163,991 157,863 172,704 161,011 166,428 164,123 146,884 147,566 153,641 153,295

West Virginia ............ 38,129 40,657 35,411 35,529 35,569 32,964 34,872 40,026 37,266 36,191

Wisconsin ............... 127,238 136,446 133,227 122,610 130,639 130,485 120,565 121,972 127,966 121,776

Wyoming .................. 20,004 18,242 17,093 17,703 20,169 17,496 18,379 19,021 18,046 17,516

Puerto Rico ............... 45,535 41,000 45,398 41,896 47,303 38,101 41,093 38,884 43,256 40,497

Virgin Islands ............ 1,929 1,558 1,750 1,415 1,864 1,891 1,996 4,042 2,166 1,570

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.

2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012

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

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

Alaska ................................. 9.6 10.8 11.1 9.0 9.5 10.7 8.9 9.4 10.2 10.1

Arizona ............................... 6.9 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.8 6.2 6.0 6.1 5.8 5.8

Arkansas .............................. 6.5 5.6 5.3 5.4 5.9 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.9 5.2

California ........................... 7.2 6.9 7.2 6.7 7.2 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.3 6.2

Colorado .............................. 6.9 6.7 7.3 6.9 7.0 6.6 6.2 6.3 6.5 6.2

Connecticut ......................... 5.3 5.6 5.5 5.2 5.4 5.3 5.0 5.0 5.3 5.1

Delaware .............................. 6.4 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.8 6.2 5.9 6.6 6.5 5.7

District of Columbia ............... 5.8 6.4 5.8 5.7 6.5 5.4 4.4 5.6 6.0 5.4

Florida ................................. 7.1 6.7 6.8 7.1 7.1 6.7 5.9 6.3 6.6 6.2

Georgia .............................. 6.5 7.0 6.7 6.4 6.7 6.4 6.0 6.4 6.3 5.9

Hawaii ............................... 5.4 5.2 5.5 5.4 5.3 4.6 5.3 5.2 5.0 4.4

Idaho .................................... 7.4 7.7 8.0 8.1 7.9 7.6 7.7 7.5 7.0 7.2

Illinois ................................ 5.6 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.4 4.8 5.0 5.4 5.2

Indiana ............................... 6.1 6.2 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.7 5.0 5.4 5.6 5.4

Iowa .................................... 5.9 6.2 5.8 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.1 5.2 5.6 5.4

Kansas ................................. 6.1 6.8 5.9 5.9 6.3 5.8 5.3 5.7 6.2 5.4

Kentucky .............................. 6.1 6.4 6.1 5.9 6.3 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.7 5.6

Louisiana .............................. 6.7 7.1 6.6 6.4 6.7 6.5 6.5 6.7 6.7 5.9

Maine ................................ 6.8 7.2 7.9 6.6 7.0 7.3 7.1 6.8 7.2 7.6

Maryland ............................ 6.5 6.7 6.3 6.5 6.3 6.1 5.8 6.1 6.4 6.2

Massachusetts ....................... 5.4 5.6 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.5 5.0 4.9 5.6 5.3

Michigan ............................. 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.0 6.0 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.4

Minnesota ........................... 5.5 6.8 6.2 5.9 5.9 5.8 6.0 5.3 5.8 5.8

Mississippi ........................... 6.3 6.5 5.8 6.2 6.7 6.1 5.6 6.6 6.0 6.1

Missouri .............................. 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.0 6.4 5.9 5.5 6.4 5.9 5.6

Montana ............................... 8.4 8.0 8.3 7.9 8.3 7.8 7.6 7.7 7.3 7.7

Nebraska .............................. 5.9 5.9 5.7 5.7 6.0 5.4 5.1 5.3 5.6 5.2

Nevada ............................... 6.0 6.0 6.5 5.9 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.7 5.7

New Hampshire ..................... 6.9 6.7 7.1 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.1 6.4 6.8 6.4

New Jersey ........................... 6.5 6.4 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.3 5.9 5.9 6.3 6.0

New Mexico ........................ 6.4 6.9 6.8 6.4 7.1 6.8 5.9 6.9 6.5 5.9

New York ........................... 6.1 6.6 6.5 6.4 6.4 6.0 5.7 6.0 6.2 6.1

North Carolina ........................ 6.5 6.5 6.2 6.2 6.4 6.0 5.6 6.0 6.0 5.9

North Dakota ........................ 10.0 10.3 7.8 8.5 8.3 6.2 6.0 6.4 7.6 6.8

Ohio .................................... 6.0 6.0 5.9 5.5 6.0 5.6 5.2 5.3 5.9 5.6

Oklahoma ........................... 6.4 6.3 6.1 6.0 6.5 5.8 5.7 5.5 6.2 5.5

Oregon ................................. 6.9 6.9 6.9 7.1 6.9 6.8 6.4 6.6 6.3 6.6

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.7 5.9 5.4 5.3 5.3 5.1 5.1 5.4 5.4 5.0

Rhode Island ........................ 6.2 6.7 6.4 6.0 6.2 6.4 5.6 5.9 6.3 6.0

South Carolina ........................ 6.2 6.2 6.1 5.9 6.5 5.6 5.4 5.9 5.9 5.4

South Dakota ........................ 6.6 6.6 6.8 6.4 6.3 5.9 6.1 6.4 6.2 6.1

Tennessee ........................... 6.1 5.9 5.9 5.6 6.2 5.3 5.1 5.7 5.5 5.1

Texas ................................. 6.0 6.1 6.2 5.8 6.1 5.3 5.0 5.1 5.3 5.0

Utah .................................... 7.2 7.1 7.2 7.0 7.3 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.1 6.0

Vermont .............................. 8.3 7.2 7.4 6.9 7.4 6.8 7.0 7.4 7.1 7.1

Virginia .............................. 6.2 6.0 5.8 6.5 6.0 6.1 5.6 5.8 6.2 5.6

Washington ........................... 7.2 6.8 7.4 6.9 7.1 7.1 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.5

West Virginia ........................ 6.8 7.2 6.3 6.2 6.3 5.8 6.1 7.0 6.6 6.5

Wisconsin ........................... 5.6 5.9 5.8 5.3 5.7 5.7 5.3 5.3 5.5 5.3

Wyoming .............................. 9.4 8.5 8.1 8.4 9.5 8.2 8.6 9.0 8.5 8.2

Puerto Rico ........................... 6.7 6.0 6.6 6.1 6.9 5.7 6.0 5.7 6.3 5.8

Virgin Islands ........................ 6.3 5.1 5.9 5.0 6.6 6.1 6.5 13.7 7.7 5.6

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

2002 March 204 3.2 190 3.0 1,175 1.1 1,089 1.0

June 208 3.3 187 2.9 1,189 1.1 1,080 1.0

September 199 3.1 184 2.9 1,051 1.0 1,023 1.0

December 201 3.1 191 3.0 1,023 1.0 1,021 1.0

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 N/A N/A 759 .7 N/A N/A

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

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