For release 10:00 a.m. (EST), Wednesday, November 9, 2016 USDL-16-2129

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

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

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FIRST QUARTER 2016

From December 2015 to March 2016,

gross job gains from opening and 

expanding private sector establishments 

were 7.0 million, a decrease of 866,000 

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 6.8 million, a 

decrease of 59,000 jobs from the previous 

quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.) 

The difference between the number of 

gross job gains and the number of gross 

job losses yielded a net employment gain

of 194,000 jobs in the private sector 

during the first quarter of 2016. (See 

tables A, 1, and 3.) 

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. 

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data 

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

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

data and five years of seasonally adjusted data. 
- 2 - 

Gross job gains at expanding establishments 

totaled 5.8 million in the first quarter of 2016, a 

decrease of 597,000 jobs from the previous 

quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.) 

Opening establishments accounted for 1.2 

million jobs gained in the first quarter of 2016, 

a decrease of 269,000 jobs from the previous 

quarter. (See tables A, 1, and 3.) 

Contracting establishments lost 5.6 million 

jobs in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of 

44,000 jobs from the prior quarter. (See tables 

A, 1, and 3.) 

In the first quarter of 2016, closing

establishments lost 1.2 million jobs, a decrease 

of 103,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See 

tables A, 1, and 3.) 

Gross job gains represented 5.8 percent of

private sector employment in the first quarter 

of 2016, while gross job losses represented 5.7 

percent of private sector employment. (See 

tables A, 2, and 3.) 

In the first quarter of 2016, the number of 

establishment births (a subset of the openings 

data, see the Technical Note for more 

information) decreased by 26,000 to 220,000 

establishments. These new establishments 

accounted for 734,000 jobs, a decrease of 

161,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See 

table 8.)

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through the second quarter of 2015, 

when 735,000 jobs were lost at 213,000 establishments. In the prior quarter, 690,000 jobs were lost at 206,000 

establishments. (See table 8.) 

During the first quarter of 2016, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 6 of 13 industries. The sectors with 

the largest net job increases in the first quarter of 2016 were leisure and hospitality (+109,000), and retail trade 

(+98,000). The net job increase in the leisure and hospitality sector was the result of 1.2 million gross job gains 

and 1.1 million gross job losses. The retail trade sector encountered 948,000 gross job gains along with 850,000 

gross job losses. The sectors with the largest net job decreases in the first quarter of 2016 were professional and 

business services (-118,000) and transportation and warehousing (-64,000). The net job decrease in the 

professional and business services sector was the result of 1.2 million gross job gains and 1.4 million gross job 

losses. The transportation and warehousing sector experienced 229,000 gross job gains along with 293,000 

gross job losses. (See table 3.) 
- 3 - 

1

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

See the Technical Note for further information. 

In the first quarter of 2016, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 175,000. Firms with 50-

249 employees had a net employment gain of 57,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net employment 

loss of 8,000. (See table 4 and 5.) 

Of the 2.3 million net jobs created over the last four quarters, firms with 1-49 employees contributed 37 percent 

of net job growth, while firms with 50-249 employees contributed 17 percent, and firms with 250 or more 

employees contributed 46 percent. (See table 4 and 5.) 

In the first quarter of 2016, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 34 states and the Virgin Islands. North 

Dakota has experienced gross job losses in excess of gross job gains for the past five quarters. Other states with 

gross job losses greater than gross job gains in the first quarter of 2016 include, but are not limited to, Alaska, 

Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming. Washington had the largest net employment gain 

this quarter with 39,276 net jobs, the result of 187,946 gross job gains and 148,670 gross job losses. Alaska had 

the highest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 9.4 percent, above the U.S. rate of 5.8 percent, 

as well as the highest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 9.7 percent, above the U.S. rate of 

5.7 percent. Hawaii and Michigan had the lowest rates of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 4.9 

percent. (See table 6 and 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 Second Quarter 2016 are scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 

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

Category 

3 months ended 

Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar. 

2015 2015 2015 2015 2016 

Levels (in thousands) 

Gross job gains.................................... 7,036 7,588 7,338 7,843 6,977 

 At expanding establishments........... 5,727 6,244 5,972 6,375 5,778 

 At opening establishments............... 1,309 1,344 1,366 1,468 1,199 

 

Gross job losses................................... 6,799 6,773 6,911 6,842 6,783 

 At contracting establishments........... 5,600 5,573 5,698 5,573 5,617 

 At closing establishments................ 1,199 1,200 1,213 1,269 1,166 

 

Net employment change1........................ 237 815 427 1,001 194 

 

Rates (percent) 

Gross job gains................................ 6.0 6.4 6.3 6.6 5.8 

 At expanding establishments....... 4.9 5.3 5.1 5.4 4.8 

 At opening establishments............ 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.0 

 

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

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

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

 

Net employment change1..................... .2 .7 .5 .8 .1 
- 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 Workforce 

Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by 

two additional BLS data collections to render 

administrative data into economic statistics. Together these 

data comprise the QCEW and form the basis of the 

Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame. 

 These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW 

data on total employment and wages and the longitudinal 

BED data on gross job gains and losses. The QCEW is also 

the employment benchmark for the Current Employment 

Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics 

(OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 

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

Economic Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts. 

 In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are 

linked across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for 

each establishment. The linkage process allows the 

tracking of net employment changes at the establishment 

level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at 

opening and expanding units and jobs lost at closing and 

contracting units. 

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 9.6 million employers 

 Count of longitudinally-linked UI 

administrative records submitted by 

7.7 million private sector employers 

 Sample Survey: 623,000 

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 SWAs by employers. 

In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers 

who operate multiple establishments within a state 

complete a questionnaire, called the “Multiple Worksite 

Report,” which provides detailed information on the 

location of their establishments. These reports are based 

on place of employment rather than place of residence. UI 

and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable 

from state to state. 

Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed 

workers, religious organizations, most agricultural workers 

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

officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some 

domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and 

employees of certain small nonprofit organizations. 

Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are 

derived from longitudinal histories of 7.7 million private 

sector employer reports out of 9.6 million total reports of 

employment and wages submitted by states to BLS in the 

first quarter of 2016. Gross job gains and gross job losses 

data in this release do not report estimates for government 

employees or private households (NAICS 814110), and do 

not include establishments with zero employment in both 

previous and current quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and 

the Virgin Islands are also excluded from the national data. 

As an illustration, the table below shows, in millions of 

establishments, the number of establishments excluded 

from the national gross job gains and gross job losses data 

in the first quarter 2016: 

Number of active establishments included in 

Business Employment Dynamics data at the 

national level 

 Millions 

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

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

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

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

 Establishments in Puerto Rico 

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

Total establishments included in Business 

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

Unit of analysis 

 Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED 

statistics by industry and firms are used in the tabulation of 

the BED size class statistics. An establishment is defined 

as an economic unit that produces goods or services, 

usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or 

predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, 

either corporate or otherwise, and may consist of several 

establishments. Firm-level data are compiled based on an 

aggregation of establishments under common ownership 

by a corporate parent using employer tax identification 

numbers. The firm level aggregation which is consistent 

with the role of corporations as the economic decision 

makers are used for the measurement of the BED data 

elements by size class. 

 Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total 

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

than total gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, 

as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are 

offset during the aggregation process. However, the total 

net changes in employment are the same for not seasonally 

adjusted data and are similar for seasonally adjusted data. 

Concepts and methodology

The Business Employment Dynamics data measure 

the net change in employment at the establishment or firm 

level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A 

net increase in employment can come from either opening 

units or expanding units. A net decrease in employment 

can come from either closing units or contracting units. 

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

opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include the 

sum of all jobs lost in either closing or contracting units. 

The net change in employment is the difference between 

gross job gains and gross job losses. 

The formal definitions of employment changes are as 

follows: 

Openings. These are either units with positive third 

month employment for the first time in the current quarter, 

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

month employment in the current quarter following zero 

employment in the previous quarter. 

Expansions. These are units with positive 

employment in the third month in both the previous and 

current quarters, with a net increase in employment over 

this period. 

Closings. These are either units with positive third 

month employment in the previous quarter, with no 

employment or zero employment reported in the current 

quarter. 

Contractions. These are units with positive 

employment in the third month in both the previous and 

current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over 

this period. 

Births. These are units with positive third month 

employment for the first time in the current quarter with no 

links to the prior quarter, or units with positive third month 

employment in the current quarter and zero employment in 
- 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 SWA 

identification numbers (SWA-ID). Between 95 to 

97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from 

quarter to quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are 

linked in one of three ways. The first method uses 

predecessor and successor information, identified by the 

States, which relates records with different SWA-IDs 

across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can 

come about for a variety of reasons, including a change in 

ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account 

restructuring. If a match cannot be attained in this manner, 

a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to 

identify two establishments with different SWA-IDs as 

continuous. The match is based upon comparisons such as 

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

analyst examines unmatched records individually and 

makes a possible match. 

 In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, 

SWAs verify with employers and update, if necessary, the 

industry, location, and ownership classification of all 

establishments on a 4-year cycle. Changes in 

establishment classification codes resulting from the 

verification process are introduced with the data reported 

for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from 

improved employer reporting also are introduced in the 

first quarter. 

 

Sizing methodology 

 The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations 

for the BED size class data series. Dynamic sizing 

allocates each firm’s employment gain or loss during a 

quarter to each respective size class in which the change 

occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees 

in quarter 1 to 38 employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-

employee increase, 2 would be allocated to the first size 

class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 

19 to size class 20 to 49. 

 Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm size 

estimates and eliminates any systematic effects which may 

be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms’ 

sizes over time. Additionally, it allocates each job gain or 

loss to the actual size class where it occurred. 

Annual Data 

 The annual gross job gains and gross job losses 

measure the net change in employment at the establishment 

level from the third month of a quarter in the previous year 

to the third month of the same quarter in the current year. 

The BLS publishes annual BED data based on March-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.
Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2006 March .8 7.0 5.7 1.3 6.2 5.0 1.2

June .4 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.5 5.3 1.2

September .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2

December .4 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.5 5.3 1.2

2007 March .5 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.4 5.2 1.2

June .1 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3

September -.2 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.6 5.4 1.2

December .2 6.7 5.4 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2008 March -.1 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

June -.5 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.9 5.6 1.3

September -.9 6.1 4.9 1.2 7.0 5.7 1.3

December -1.7 6.0 4.8 1.2 7.7 6.3 1.4

2009 March -2.4 5.4 4.3 1.1 7.8 6.5 1.3

June -1.5 6.0 4.7 1.3 7.5 6.2 1.3

September -.8 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.8 5.5 1.3

December -.3 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3

2010 March -.2 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.2 5.0 1.2

June .7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September .2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.1 4.9 1.2

December .5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2

2011 March .3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1

June .5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2

September .8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1

December .4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2

2012 March .8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0

June .5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September .2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1

December .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2013 March .5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1

June .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December .6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2014 March .4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

June .7 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December .9 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1

2015 March .2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

June .7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

September .5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December .8 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2016 March .1 5.8 4.8 1.0 5.7 4.7 1.0

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

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

2015 2015 2015 2015 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 2016

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 7,036 7,588 7,338 7,843 6,977 6.0 6.4 6.3 6.6 5.8

At expanding establishments ......... 5,727 6,244 5,972 6,375 5,778 4.9 5.3 5.1 5.4 4.8

At opening establishments ............ 1,309 1,344 1,366 1,468 1,199 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 6,799 6,773 6,911 6,842 6,783 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.7

At contracting establishments ......... 5,600 5,573 5,698 5,573 5,617 4.8 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 1,199 1,200 1,213 1,269 1,166 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0

Net employment change .............. 237 815 427 1,001 194 .2 .7 .5 .8 .1

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,340 1,395 1,292 1,368 1,292 6.4 6.7 6.2 6.6 6.1

At expanding establishments ......... 1,144 1,200 1,104 1,162 1,119 5.5 5.8 5.3 5.6 5.3

At opening establishments ............ 196 195 188 206 173 .9 .9 .9 1.0 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 1,312 1,337 1,312 1,316 1,282 6.3 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.2

At contracting establishments ......... 1,120 1,142 1,117 1,120 1,099 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.3

At closing establishments ............ 192 195 195 196 183 .9 .9 .9 .9 .9

Net employment change .............. 28 58 -20 52 10 .1 .3 -.1 .3 -.1

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 284 266 246 248 254 13.6 13.1 12.5 12.8 13.1

At expanding establishments ......... 249 232 212 214 223 11.9 11.4 10.8 11.0 11.5

At opening establishments ............ 35 34 34 34 31 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.6

Gross job losses ........................... 299 333 288 301 272 14.3 16.4 14.6 15.5 14.1

At contracting establishments ......... 264 297 252 266 239 12.6 14.6 12.8 13.7 12.4

At closing establishments ............ 35 36 36 35 33 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.7

Net employment change .............. -15 -67 -42 -53 -18 -.7 -3.3 -2.1 -2.7 -1.0

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 666 697 652 705 661 10.5 11.0 10.1 10.8 10.0

At expanding establishments ......... 539 572 534 574 550 8.5 9.0 8.3 8.8 8.3

At opening establishments ............ 127 125 118 131 111 2.0 2.0 1.8 2.0 1.7

Gross job losses ........................... 623 602 606 589 607 9.8 9.4 9.5 9.1 9.1

At contracting establishments ......... 507 486 492 474 499 8.0 7.6 7.7 7.3 7.5

At closing establishments ............ 116 116 114 115 108 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.6

Net employment change .............. 43 95 46 116 54 .7 1.6 .6 1.7 .9

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 390 432 394 415 377 3.2 3.5 3.2 3.3 3.1

At expanding establishments ......... 356 396 358 374 346 2.9 3.2 2.9 3.0 2.8

At opening establishments ............ 34 36 36 41 31 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3

Gross job losses ........................... 390 402 418 426 403 3.1 3.2 3.4 3.5 3.2

At contracting establishments ......... 349 359 373 380 361 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.1 2.9

At closing establishments ............ 41 43 45 46 42 .3 .3 .4 .4 .3

Net employment change .............. 0 30 -24 -11 -26 .1 .3 -.2 -.2 -.1

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 5,696 6,193 6,046 6,475 5,685 5.9 6.4 6.2 6.6 5.7

At expanding establishments ......... 4,583 5,044 4,868 5,213 4,659 4.7 5.2 5.0 5.3 4.7

At opening establishments ............ 1,113 1,149 1,178 1,262 1,026 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 5,487 5,436 5,599 5,526 5,501 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.6 5.6

At contracting establishments ......... 4,480 4,431 4,581 4,453 4,518 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.5 4.6

At closing establishments ............ 1,007 1,005 1,018 1,073 983 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0

Net employment change .............. 209 757 447 949 184 .3 .8 .5 1.0 .1

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 265 286 271 294 256 4.5 4.9 4.6 4.9 4.4

At expanding establishments ......... 219 240 225 244 216 3.7 4.1 3.8 4.1 3.7

At opening establishments ............ 46 46 46 50 40 .8 .8 .8 .8 .7

Gross job losses ........................... 260 263 264 268 265 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.5

At contracting establishments ......... 207 208 209 209 208 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.5

At closing establishments ............ 53 55 55 59 57 .9 .9 .9 1.0 1.0

Net employment change .............. 5 23 7 26 -9 .1 .5 .1 .4 -.1

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2015 2015 2015 2015 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 2016

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 920 998 928 925 948 5.9 6.3 5.8 5.9 6.0

At expanding establishments ......... 793 867 795 798 833 5.1 5.5 5.0 5.1 5.3

At opening establishments ............ 127 131 133 127 115 .8 .8 .8 .8 .7

Gross job losses ........................... 879 837 937 921 850 5.6 5.3 5.9 5.8 5.4

At contracting establishments ......... 766 724 823 789 747 4.9 4.6 5.2 5.0 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 113 113 114 132 103 .7 .7 .7 .8 .7

Net employment change .............. 41 161 -9 4 98 .3 1.0 -.1 .1 .6

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 235 262 268 343 229 5.1 5.7 5.8 7.3 4.8

At expanding establishments ......... 202 226 230 305 200 4.4 4.9 5.0 6.5 4.2

At opening establishments ............ 33 36 38 38 29 .7 .8 .8 .8 .6

Gross job losses ........................... 274 229 227 227 293 6.0 5.0 4.9 4.8 6.1

At contracting establishments ......... 243 197 191 188 258 5.3 4.3 4.1 4.0 5.4

At closing establishments ............ 31 32 36 39 35 .7 .7 .8 .8 .7

Net employment change .............. -39 33 41 116 -64 -.9 .7 .9 2.5 -1.3

Utilities

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

At expanding establishments ......... 12 12 11 11 8 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.4

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

Gross job losses ........................... 12 13 13 11 10 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.0 1.8

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

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

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

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 127 151 145 162 135 4.7 5.5 5.3 5.9 4.9

At expanding establishments ......... 109 129 121 135 116 4.0 4.7 4.4 4.9 4.2

At opening establishments ............ 18 22 24 27 19 .7 .8 .9 1.0 .7

Gross job losses ........................... 129 131 145 140 138 4.7 4.7 5.2 5.0 5.0

At contracting establishments ......... 105 108 122 112 110 3.8 3.9 4.4 4.0 4.0

At closing establishments ............ 24 23 23 28 28 .9 .8 .8 1.0 1.0

Net employment change .............. -2 20 0 22 -3 .0 .8 .1 .9 -.1

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 348 388 370 394 344 4.5 4.9 4.7 5.0 4.3

At expanding establishments ......... 278 316 299 307 278 3.6 4.0 3.8 3.9 3.5

At opening establishments ............ 70 72 71 87 66 .9 .9 .9 1.1 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 334 332 349 353 333 4.3 4.2 4.5 4.5 4.2

At contracting establishments ......... 259 259 273 270 258 3.3 3.3 3.5 3.4 3.3

At closing establishments ............ 75 73 76 83 75 1.0 .9 1.0 1.1 .9

Net employment change .............. 14 56 21 41 11 .2 .7 .2 .5 .1

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,285 1,450 1,417 1,600 1,237 6.6 7.5 7.2 8.1 6.3

At expanding establishments ......... 1,045 1,184 1,143 1,292 1,026 5.4 6.1 5.8 6.5 5.2

At opening establishments ............ 240 266 274 308 211 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 1,339 1,313 1,315 1,311 1,355 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.6 6.8

At contracting establishments ......... 1,097 1,049 1,054 1,037 1,111 5.6 5.4 5.4 5.2 5.6

At closing establishments ............ 242 264 261 274 244 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.2

Net employment change .............. -54 137 102 289 -118 -.2 .7 .5 1.5 -.5

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 872 940 970 1,006 878 4.2 4.5 4.6 4.8 4.1

At expanding establishments ......... 715 781 806 824 726 3.4 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.4

At opening establishments ............ 157 159 164 182 152 .8 .8 .8 .9 .7

Gross job losses ........................... 830 815 827 801 813 4.0 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.8

At contracting establishments ......... 646 656 659 635 658 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.1

At closing establishments ............ 184 159 168 166 155 .9 .8 .8 .8 .7

Net employment change .............. 42 125 143 205 65 .2 .6 .7 1.0 .3

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2015 2015 2015 2015 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 2016

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,261 1,316 1,270 1,344 1,247 8.4 8.8 8.4 8.8 8.0

At expanding establishments ......... 975 1,034 994 1,048 1,013 6.5 6.9 6.6 6.9 6.5

At opening establishments ............ 286 282 276 296 234 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.5

Gross job losses ........................... 1,127 1,205 1,211 1,184 1,138 7.6 8.0 8.0 7.8 7.4

At contracting establishments ......... 924 999 1,009 977 939 6.2 6.6 6.7 6.4 6.1

At closing establishments ............ 203 206 202 207 199 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.3

Net employment change .............. 134 111 59 160 109 .8 .8 .4 1.0 .6

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 282 304 284 294 272 7.1 7.6 7.0 7.2 6.7

At expanding establishments ......... 220 240 227 232 219 5.5 6.0 5.6 5.7 5.4

At opening establishments ............ 62 64 57 62 53 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.5 1.3

Gross job losses ........................... 270 268 282 273 266 6.8 6.6 6.9 6.8 6.5

At contracting establishments ......... 212 210 220 213 207 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.3 5.1

At closing establishments ............ 58 58 62 60 59 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.4

Net employment change .............. 12 36 2 21 6 .3 1.0 .1 .4 .2

1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.

Category

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

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)
Table 4. Private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

gains losses gains losses gains losses gains losses

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2015 2015 2015 2015 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 2016

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 5,662 6,253 5,898 6,258 5,624 4.8 5.3 5.0 5.3 4.7

At expanding firms .................. 4,727 5,344 5,010 5,295 4,790 4.0 4.5 4.2 4.5 4.0

At opening firms ..................... 935 909 888 963 834 .8 .8 .8 .8 .7

Gross job losses ........................ 5,418 5,430 5,501 5,376 5,400 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.5 4.5

At contracting firms .................. 4,566 4,604 4,675 4,528 4,579 3.9 3.9 4.0 3.8 3.8

At closing firms ................... 852 826 826 848 821 .7 .7 .7 .7 .7

Net employment change ............. 244 823 397 882 224 .2 .7 .3 .8 .2

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 3,106 3,197 3,040 3,179 3,020 9.4 9.6 9.2 9.5 9.0

At expanding firms .................. 2,208 2,333 2,191 2,265 2,218 6.7 7.0 6.6 6.8 6.6

At opening firms ..................... 898 864 849 914 802 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.4

Gross job losses ........................ 2,915 2,885 2,926 2,932 2,845 8.8 8.7 8.8 8.8 8.4

At contracting firms .................. 2,106 2,094 2,139 2,123 2,057 6.4 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.1

At closing firms ................... 809 791 787 809 788 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.3

Net employment change ............. 191 312 114 247 175 .6 .9 .4 .7 .6

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,022 1,136 1,038 1,075 1,002 4.8 5.3 4.8 5.0 4.6

At expanding firms .................. 989 1,100 1,002 1,041 974 4.6 5.1 4.6 4.8 4.5

At opening firms ..................... 33 36 36 34 28 .2 .2 .2 .2 .1

Gross job losses ........................ 941 945 980 977 945 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.3

At contracting firms .................. 905 917 952 943 917 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.2

At closing firms ................... 36 28 28 34 28 .2 .1 .1 .2 .1

Net employment change ............. 81 191 58 98 57 .4 .9 .3 .4 .3

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,534 1,920 1,820 2,004 1,602 2.4 3.0 2.9 3.1 2.5

At expanding firms .................. 1,530 1,911 1,817 1,989 1,598 2.4 3.0 2.9 3.1 2.5

At opening firms ..................... 4 9 3 15 4 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,562 1,600 1,595 1,467 1,610 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.5

At contracting firms .................. 1,555 1,593 1,584 1,462 1,605 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.5

At closing firms ................... 7 7 11 5 5 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Net employment change ............. -28 320 225 537 -8 -.1 .5 .4 .8 .0

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

losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. 

Category

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

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

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

2015 2015 2015 2015 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 2016

United States 1

 ............ 7,036,000 7,588,000 7,338,000 7,843,000 6,977,000 6,799,000 6,773,000 6,911,000 6,842,000 6,783,000

Alabama .................. 85,899 90,133 88,622 96,646 89,239 84,181 81,852 84,726 81,804 84,673

Alaska ..................... 26,765 27,285 23,091 24,329 23,755 23,861 28,028 26,099 26,571 24,612

Arizona .................. 130,121 132,220 150,812 154,720 136,475 125,986 125,669 120,509 123,146 130,066

Arkansas .................. 52,685 58,092 59,893 62,679 53,819 56,348 52,024 51,688 52,402 53,379

California .................. 962,485 951,854 961,980 1,075,178 921,636 858,122 897,274 820,337 929,638 889,698

Colorado .................. 142,267 146,462 146,856 147,332 140,016 129,124 134,781 134,443 134,691 130,052

Connecticut ............... 68,321 80,963 72,563 77,156 74,339 73,135 71,007 83,562 70,694 70,865

Delaware .................. 21,238 28,096 22,774 27,199 24,510 26,679 21,080 22,653 23,117 24,200

District of Columbia ... 28,374 30,607 30,577 31,569 26,719 26,080 29,130 27,128 23,562 28,186

Florida ..................... 438,045 481,297 484,767 510,696 439,847 387,219 412,153 410,423 412,905 410,669

Georgia .................. 217,351 233,055 228,996 247,757 218,517 201,453 202,981 209,021 202,861 199,712

Hawaii ..................... 26,105 25,566 26,318 30,040 25,200 23,833 24,889 23,717 23,183 25,729

Idaho ..................... 49,100 41,357 43,304 43,766 46,359 38,384 39,922 38,689 38,441 35,558

Illinois ..................... 293,135 309,300 277,259 321,551 271,116 286,571 261,161 291,760 283,941 274,351

Indiana ..................... 136,795 145,914 140,328 158,633 141,057 135,472 131,964 136,850 126,844 136,213

Iowa ........................ 77,878 77,698 73,876 77,648 77,795 70,698 77,854 77,550 73,121 69,140

Kansas ..................... 63,354 66,593 63,692 70,502 64,980 65,009 65,334 64,622 62,764 66,896

Kentucky .................. 84,531 97,979 94,081 103,547 88,881 92,965 84,291 87,585 83,693 90,733

Louisiana .................. 99,807 103,590 99,727 106,451 96,609 110,517 109,135 100,776 103,367 105,846

Maine ..................... 32,850 41,166 33,041 43,068 40,502 35,213 32,465 35,925 35,516 34,636

Maryland .................. 124,503 148,135 135,443 141,865 130,869 128,642 124,149 131,139 124,463 127,811

Massachusetts ............ 160,226 190,435 163,806 176,932 158,738 162,195 152,071 167,776 156,781 152,250

Michigan .................. 188,129 219,500 194,705 218,432 196,117 186,487 188,160 203,207 192,084 179,106

Minnesota ............... 132,740 147,841 130,507 145,443 131,059 122,682 122,188 137,770 137,636 126,838

Mississippi ............... 49,623 56,109 54,741 62,596 51,367 55,816 51,665 51,454 47,996 54,142

Missouri .................. 127,847 138,899 131,354 145,011 131,177 123,610 120,074 126,763 121,021 124,222

Montana .................. 33,608 29,199 27,896 31,491 29,163 26,295 30,976 28,117 26,762 26,815

Nebraska .................. 48,819 47,378 48,003 49,121 47,050 45,063 45,058 45,106 44,211 44,379

Nevada ..................... 67,471 66,737 68,252 76,024 70,313 57,798 62,843 60,927 58,645 64,506

New Hampshire ......... 31,887 37,480 33,637 37,269 33,406 31,444 33,098 35,115 31,119 32,615

New Jersey ............... 195,834 235,851 211,844 227,731 198,701 207,687 200,704 205,236 197,598 198,223

New Mexico ............ 40,800 42,444 40,870 43,231 39,261 41,264 42,909 40,917 42,850 39,633

New York ............... 457,455 506,880 479,956 492,245 469,294 450,426 443,347 461,323 445,177 442,368

North Carolina ............ 203,160 222,363 217,286 232,642 213,396 197,450 191,355 197,780 192,138 195,124

North Dakota ............ 27,368 24,792 25,567 24,038 23,501 33,179 41,546 30,767 28,948 31,279

Ohio ........................ 250,181 274,703 249,218 274,448 251,839 252,247 238,268 255,390 236,802 234,642

Oklahoma ............... 72,723 76,254 76,416 79,854 72,627 79,445 83,642 77,755 81,960 80,611

Oregon ..................... 103,630 103,432 105,022 106,625 106,558 85,815 91,533 96,128 93,530 88,983

Pennsylvania ............ 241,860 279,002 266,576 288,170 271,355 265,309 248,103 266,221 258,949 264,903

Rhode Island ............ 21,836 27,392 24,083 27,173 24,014 24,281 24,233 23,788 23,455 24,234

South Carolina ............ 90,647 103,478 98,740 115,442 98,841 88,683 87,414 94,015 85,611 95,873

South Dakota ............ 21,785 21,389 20,438 22,966 21,499 19,431 20,330 21,045 20,376 21,188

Tennessee ............... 123,820 143,757 139,965 153,086 130,023 125,842 115,061 124,699 116,059 125,798

Texas ..................... 563,722 581,041 587,566 600,731 460,303 556,791 547,248 549,814 543,729 543,545

Utah ........................ 82,148 77,367 78,739 81,519 84,042 66,549 69,400 67,620 68,467 68,450

Vermont .................. 17,664 18,641 17,668 18,140 16,825 17,133 17,605 19,407 16,671 17,717

Virginia .................. 181,580 195,555 213,437 195,967 181,750 168,547 163,026 178,417 172,197 182,918

Washington ............... 175,506 189,387 174,162 177,055 187,946 165,347 156,905 176,404 159,981 148,670

West Virginia ............ 33,875 35,579 32,589 36,337 32,562 38,396 37,403 37,564 35,335 37,995

Wisconsin ............... 132,058 137,249 133,980 145,150 136,563 123,100 126,130 134,844 126,012 126,353

Wyoming .................. 20,008 17,129 17,885 19,048 16,868 19,776 23,841 19,549 19,747 19,826

Puerto Rico ............... 36,260 38,624 40,437 42,057 38,292 43,466 41,723 42,986 38,537 40,072

Virgin Islands ............ 1,567 1,774 1,643 1,979 1,549 1,585 1,870 1,980 1,451 1,469

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

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

State

Gross job gains Gross job losses

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

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

2015 2015 2015 2015 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 2016

United States .......................... 6.0 6.4 6.3 6.6 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.7

Alabama ............................. 5.7 5.9 5.8 6.2 5.8 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.3 5.4

Alaska ................................. 10.4 10.6 9.1 9.6 9.4 9.3 10.9 10.3 10.5 9.7

Arizona ............................... 6.0 6.0 6.8 6.9 6.0 5.7 5.7 5.4 5.4 5.7

Arkansas .............................. 5.4 6.0 6.1 6.3 5.4 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3

California ........................... 7.0 6.9 6.9 7.6 6.5 6.2 6.5 5.9 6.7 6.3

Colorado .............................. 6.8 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.6 6.2 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.1

Connecticut ......................... 4.9 5.7 5.1 5.5 5.2 5.2 5.0 5.9 4.9 5.0

Delaware .............................. 5.8 7.7 6.1 7.3 6.5 7.3 5.8 6.1 6.2 6.4

District of Columbia ............... 5.8 6.1 6.1 6.2 5.2 5.2 5.8 5.4 4.6 5.6

Florida ................................. 6.4 7.0 6.9 7.2 6.1 5.6 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8

Georgia .............................. 6.3 6.7 6.5 6.9 6.1 5.8 5.8 5.9 5.7 5.6

Hawaii ............................... 5.1 4.9 5.1 5.8 4.9 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.4 4.9

Idaho .................................... 9.0 7.6 7.8 7.9 8.2 7.1 7.2 7.0 6.9 6.3

Illinois ................................ 5.8 6.1 5.4 6.4 5.3 5.7 5.2 5.8 5.6 5.4

Indiana ............................... 5.4 5.7 5.5 6.2 5.5 5.4 5.2 5.3 4.9 5.3

Iowa .................................... 6.0 6.0 5.7 6.0 6.0 5.5 6.0 6.0 5.7 5.3

Kansas ................................. 5.7 6.0 5.7 6.2 5.8 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.9

Kentucky .............................. 5.6 6.4 6.1 6.7 5.7 6.1 5.5 5.7 5.4 5.8

Louisiana .............................. 6.1 6.4 6.2 6.5 6.0 6.8 6.8 6.2 6.4 6.6

Maine ................................ 6.6 8.3 6.6 8.6 8.0 7.1 6.5 7.1 7.1 6.9

Maryland ............................ 6.0 7.1 6.5 6.8 6.2 6.2 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.0

Massachusetts ....................... 5.4 6.4 5.4 5.9 5.2 5.5 5.1 5.6 5.2 5.0

Michigan ............................. 5.3 6.1 5.4 6.1 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.6 5.3 4.9

Minnesota ........................... 5.6 6.1 5.4 6.1 5.4 5.1 5.1 5.8 5.7 5.2

Mississippi ........................... 5.7 6.5 6.2 7.1 5.7 6.4 5.9 5.9 5.4 6.1

Missouri .............................. 5.6 6.0 5.7 6.3 5.7 5.4 5.2 5.5 5.3 5.3

Montana ............................... 9.2 8.0 7.6 8.5 7.8 7.2 8.4 7.7 7.3 7.2

Nebraska .............................. 6.1 5.9 6.0 6.1 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.5

Nevada ............................... 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.8 6.3 5.3 5.8 5.6 5.3 5.7

New Hampshire ..................... 5.8 6.8 6.1 6.7 6.0 5.7 6.0 6.4 5.6 5.8

New Jersey ........................... 6.0 7.1 6.3 6.7 5.9 6.3 6.0 6.2 5.9 5.9

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

New York ........................... 6.0 6.7 6.3 6.4 6.1 5.9 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.7

North Carolina ........................ 5.9 6.4 6.3 6.7 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.5 5.6

North Dakota ........................ 7.1 6.7 7.1 6.7 6.6 8.6 11.2 8.5 8.1 8.9

Ohio .................................... 5.5 6.0 5.5 6.0 5.4 5.6 5.2 5.6 5.1 5.1

Oklahoma ........................... 5.7 6.0 6.1 6.3 5.7 6.3 6.6 6.1 6.5 6.4

Oregon ................................. 7.0 6.9 7.0 7.0 7.0 5.8 6.1 6.4 6.2 5.8

Pennsylvania ........................ 4.9 5.6 5.3 5.7 5.4 5.3 4.9 5.3 5.1 5.2

Rhode Island ........................ 5.4 6.7 5.8 6.6 5.8 6.0 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.9

South Carolina ........................ 5.7 6.5 6.1 7.1 6.1 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.3 5.8

South Dakota ........................ 6.3 6.3 5.9 6.7 6.2 5.7 5.9 6.1 5.9 6.1

Tennessee ........................... 5.2 6.0 5.8 6.3 5.2 5.3 4.8 5.1 4.8 5.1

Texas ................................. 5.8 6.0 5.9 6.1 4.7 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.5 5.5

Utah .................................... 7.4 6.9 7.0 7.2 7.3 6.0 6.2 6.0 6.0 5.9

Vermont .............................. 6.9 7.3 6.9 7.2 6.6 6.7 6.9 7.7 6.5 6.9

Virginia .............................. 6.1 6.5 7.1 6.4 5.9 5.6 5.4 5.8 5.6 5.9

Washington ........................... 6.9 7.3 6.7 6.8 7.1 6.4 6.1 6.8 6.2 5.6

West Virginia ........................ 6.0 6.4 5.8 6.6 5.9 6.8 6.7 6.7 6.3 6.9

Wisconsin ........................... 5.5 5.7 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.6 5.2 5.2

Wyoming .............................. 9.1 7.9 8.5 9.0 7.9 8.9 11.0 9.2 9.3 9.4

Puerto Rico ........................... 5.3 5.7 5.9 6.3 5.7 6.4 6.2 6.3 5.7 6.0

Virgin Islands ........................ 5.7 6.5 6.0 7.3 5.7 5.8 6.8 7.3 5.3 5.4

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

State

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

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

(Levels in thousands)

Level Rate 2 Level Rate Level Rate Level Rate

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

June 233 3.3 206 2.9 987 .9 850 .8

September 224 3.1 210 2.9 934 .8 843 .7

December 236 3.3 207 2.9 976 .9 812 .7

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

June 225 3.1 215 3.0 898 .8 859 .8

September 233 3.2 216 3.0 952 .8 845 .7

December 228 3.1 218 3.0 922 .8 836 .7

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

June 221 3.0 238 3.3 876 .8 913 .8

September 216 3.0 233 3.2 849 .8 881 .8

December 211 2.9 253 3.5 819 .7 951 .9

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

June 201 2.8 238 3.3 767 .7 837 .8

September 192 2.7 227 3.2 725 .7 793 .7

December 202 2.8 218 3.1 728 .7 749 .7

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

June 193 2.7 202 2.9 730 .7 665 .6

September 207 2.9 204 2.9 754 .7 701 .7

December 216 3.0 201 2.8 805 .8 700 .7

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

June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 .7 689 .6

September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 .7 675 .6

December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 .7 700 .6

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

June 216 3.0 195 2.7 799 .7 676 .6

September 210 2.9 197 2.7 805 .7 693 .6

December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 .7 673 .6

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

June 222 3.0 215 2.9 790 .7 695 .6

September 219 2.9 195 2.6 822 .7 678 .6

December 216 2.9 187 2.5 806 .7 673 .6

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

June 220 2.9 205 2.7 806 .7 718 .6

September 225 3.0 200 2.6 829 .7 705 .6

December 223 2.9 197 2.6 838 .7 709 .6

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

June 234 3.1 213 2.8 839 .7 735 .6

September 242 3.1 N/A N/A 882 .7 N/A N/A

December 246 3.2 N/A N/A 895 .8 N/A N/A

2016 March 220 2.8 N/A N/A 734 .6 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