For release 10:00 a.m. (EST), Thursday, November 17, 2011 USDL-11-1646

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 2011

From December 2010 to March 2011 the 

number of gross job gains from opening and 

expanding private sector establishments was 

6.3 million, a decrease of 671,000 jobs 

compared to the previous quarter, the U.S. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over 

the same period, gross job losses from closing 

and contracting private sector establishments 

fell to 6.1 million, the lowest level since this 

series began in September 1992. 

Firms of all sizes experienced a decrease in 

gross job gains in the first quarter of 2011. 

Firms with less than 250 employees had the 

largest contribution to employment growth. 

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.

Changes to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data 

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

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

adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data. 
- 2 - 

Job gains at expanding establishments fell to 5.2 

million in first quarter 2011, a decrease from the 

previous quarter’s gain of 5.6 million. 

Opening establishments gained 1.1 million jobs in 

first quarter 2011, a decrease from the previous 

quarter when opening establishments created 1.4 

million jobs. This is the smallest number of jobs 

gained at opening establishments since the series 

began in September 1992. 

Contracting establishments lost 5 million jobs in 

the first quarter of 2011. This is the smallest 

number of jobs lost at contracting establishments 

since the series began in September 1992. 

In the first quarter of 2011, closing establishments 

lost 1.1 million jobs, a decline from the previous 

quarter. This is the smallest number of jobs lost at 

closing establishments since the series began in 

September 1992. (See tables 1 and 3.) 

 

The difference between the number of gross job 

gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a 

net change of 252,000 jobs in the private sector 

during the first quarter of 2011. (See table 1.) 

Gross job gains represented 5.9 percent of private sector employment in first quarter 2011, while gross job 

losses represented 5.7 percent of private sector employment. (See table 2.) 

In first quarter 2011, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data, see the Technical Note 

for more information) fell by 17,000 to 183,000. These new establishments accounted for 660,000 jobs, a 

decrease of 132,000 from the previous quarter. This is the smallest number of jobs gained at establishment 

births since the series began in September 1992. 

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through June 2010, when 652,000 

jobs were lost at 185,000 establishments. This represents the lowest number of jobs lost at establishment deaths 

since the series began in third quarter 1992. (See table 8.) 

From December 2010 to March 2011, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all industry sectors except 

construction, information, financial activities, retail trade, and transportation and warehousing. This is the 

fifteenth consecutive quarter of net losses for the information sector. Manufacturing experienced its fourth 

consecutive quarter of net employment gains. The leisure and hospitality sector as well as the professional and 

business services had the largest positive rates of net employment change at 0.5 percent. (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. 

Gross job gains declined in all three major firm size classes compared to the previous quarter. Firms with 250 

or more employees experienced the largest drop in gross job gains. Firms with less than 250 employees 

comprised 72 percent of the total net change in employment. (See tables 4 and 5.)

In the first quarter of 2011, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 35 states and the District of Columbia. 

Texas had the largest net employment change of 63,921 jobs, followed by Michigan with 27,251 jobs. (See 

table 6.) The District of Columbia experienced the largest rate of net employment change at 1.8 percent, 

followed by North Dakota at 1.6 percent. (See table 7.) 

More Information 

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2011 are scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 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. 

2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 

Levels (in thousands) 

Gross job gains.................................... 6,246 6,969 6,685 7,009 6,338 

 At expanding establishments........... 5,084 5,687 5,427 5,631 5,230 

 At opening establishments............... 1,162 1,282 1,258 1,378 1,108 

 

Gross job losses................................... 6,500 6,248 6,480 6,427 6,086 

 At contracting establishments........... 5,299 5,086 5,255 5,199 4,969 

 At closing establishments................ 1,201 1,162 1,225 1,228 1,117 

 

Net employment change1........................ -254 721 205 582 252 

 

Rates (percent) 

Gross job gains................................ 5.9 6.6 6.3 6.6 5.9 

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

 At opening establishments............ 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.0 

 

Gross job losses............................... 6.1 5.9 6.2 6.1 5.7 

 At contracting establishments........ 5.0 4.8 5.0 4.9 4.7 

 At closing establishments............. 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.0 

 

Net employment change1..................... -.2 .7 .1 .5 .2 
- 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 quarterly state 

unemployment insurance (UI) records. Most employers 

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

employment and wages of workers covered by UI laws, 

and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The quarterly UI reports are 

sent by the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) 

to BLS and form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment 

universe sampling frame. These reports are also used to 

produce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment 

and wages and the longitudinal BED data on gross job 

gains and losses. Other important Bureau uses of the UI 

reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) 

program. 

 In the BED program, the quarterly UI records are 

linked across quarters to provide a longitudinal history 

for each establishment. The linkage process allows the 

tracking of net employment changes at the 

establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of 

jobs gained at opening and expanding 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 9.1 million employers 

 Count of longitudinally-linked UI 

administrative records submitted by 

6.7 million private sector employers 

 Sample Survey: 440,000 

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 each 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 

and by size of firm, and at the state 

private-sector total level 

 Future expansions will include data with 

greater industry detail and 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 6.7 million 

private sector employer reports out of 9.1 million total 

reports of employment and wages submitted by states to 

BLS in the first quarter of 2011. 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 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 2011: 

Number of active establishments included in 

Business Employment Dynamics data at the 

national level 

 Millions 

Total establishments QCEW program .........9.1 

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

 Private households ................0.7 

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

 Establishments in Puerto Rico 

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

 

Total establishments included in Business 

Employment Dynamics data ........................6.7 

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 
- 6 - 

month employment in the current quarter and zero 

employment in the third month of the previous four 

quarters. Births are a subset of openings not including reopenings of seasonal businesses. 

Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero 

employment reported in the third month of four 

consecutive quarters following the last quarter with 

positive employment. Deaths are a subset of closings not 

including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A 

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

wait three quarters to determine whether it is a permanent 

closing or a temporary shutdown. Therefore, there is 

always a lag of three quarters for the 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 

year are available upon request. The definitions and 
- 7 - 

methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and 

gross job losses are similar to the quarterly measures. The 

linkage method considers all predecessor and successor 

relations that may come about due to changes in 

ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire 

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

gains and job losses are offset during the estimation over 

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

gains and gross job losses are not equal to annual gross 

job gains and gross job losses. The net change in 

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

of four quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted 

basis. 

Seasonal adjustment 

 Over the course of a year, the levels of employment 

and the associated job flows undergo sharp fluctuations 

due to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, 

reduced or expanded production, harvests, major 

holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The 

effect of such seasonal variation can be very large. 

 Because these seasonal events follow a more or less 

regular pattern each year, their influence can be 

eliminated by adjusting these statistics from quarter to 

quarter. These adjustments make nonseasonal 

developments, such as declines in economic activity, 

easier to recognize. For example, the large number of 

youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other 

changes that have taken place in June relative to March, 

making it difficult to determine if the level of economic 

activity has risen or declined. However, because the 

effect of students finishing school in previous years is 

known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted 

to allow for a comparable change. The adjusted figures 

provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes 

in economic activity. 

 The employment data series for opening, expanding, 

closing, and contracting units are independently 

seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on 

the difference between gross job gains and gross job 

losses. Similarly, for industry data, the establishment 

counts data series for opening, expanding, closing, and 

contracting establishments are independently adjusted, 

and the net changes are calculated based on the difference 

between the number of opening and closing 

establishments. Additionally establishment and 

employment levels are independently seasonally adjusted 

to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent 

seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 ARIMA. 

Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the 

sum of seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including 

the unclassified sector, which is not separately published. 

The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing 

the BED component series will differ from the net 

employment change estimated from the seasonally 

adjusted total private employment series from the CES 

program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show 

the dynamic labor market changes that underlie the net 

employment change statistic. As such, data users 

interested particularly in the net employment change and 

not in the gross job flows underlying this change should 

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

changes.

Reliability of the data 

 Since the data series on Business Employment 

Dynamics are based on administrative rather than sample 

data, there are no issues related to sampling error. 

Nonsampling error, however, still exists. Nonsampling 

errors can occur for many reasons, such as the employer 

submitting corrected employment data after the end of the 

quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when 

providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to 

be distributed randomly throughout the dataset. 

 Changes in administrative data sometimes create 

complications for the linkage process. This can result in 

overstating openings and closings while understating 

expansions and contractions. The BLS continues to refine 

methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate the 

effects of these complications. 

 The BED data series are subject to periodic minor 

changes based on corrections in QCEW records, updates 

on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal 

adjustment revisions. 

 Annual revisions are published each year with the 

release of the first quarter data. These revisions cover the 

last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 

years of seasonally adjusted data. 

Additional statistics and other information 

 Several other programs within BLS produce closely 

related information. The QCEW program provides both 

quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, 

county, and detailed industry. News releases on quarterly 

county employment and wages and an annual bulletin: 

Employment and Wages Annual Averages, are available 

upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics 

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

Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; telephone 

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

QCEWInfo@bls.gov). 

 The CES program produces monthly estimates of 

employment, its net change, and earnings by detailed 

industry. These estimates are part of the Employment 

Situation report put out monthly by BLS. 

 The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 

(JOLTS) program provides monthly measures of job 

openings, as well as employee hires and separations. 

 Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. 

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

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

(In thousands)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

2001 March -119 8,491 6,728 1,763 8,610 6,717 1,893

June -780 7,991 6,302 1,689 8,771 7,036 1,735

September -1,148 7,630 5,945 1,685 8,778 6,990 1,788

December -1,009 7,547 5,912 1,635 8,556 6,870 1,686

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 555 7,723 6,303 1,420 7,168 5,871 1,297

June 155 7,630 6,222 1,408 7,475 6,073 1,402

September -240 7,333 5,858 1,475 7,573 6,219 1,354

December 274 7,642 6,178 1,464 7,368 6,016 1,352

2008 March -215 7,234 5,831 1,403 7,449 6,086 1,363

June -574 7,255 5,851 1,404 7,829 6,351 1,478

September -955 6,893 5,526 1,367 7,848 6,467 1,381

December -1,819 6,698 5,342 1,356 8,517 7,030 1,487

2009 March -2,696 5,830 4,651 1,179 8,526 7,109 1,417

June -1,653 6,395 5,091 1,304 8,048 6,661 1,387

September -893 6,345 5,127 1,218 7,238 5,881 1,357

December -238 6,634 5,306 1,328 6,872 5,586 1,286

2010 March -254 6,246 5,084 1,162 6,500 5,299 1,201

June 721 6,969 5,687 1,282 6,248 5,086 1,162

September 205 6,685 5,427 1,258 6,480 5,255 1,225

December 582 7,009 5,631 1,378 6,427 5,199 1,228

2011 March 252 6,338 5,230 1,108 6,086 4,969 1,117

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

2001 March -.1 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.8 6.1 1.7

June -.8 7.2 5.7 1.5 8.0 6.4 1.6

September -1.1 6.9 5.4 1.5 8.0 6.4 1.6

December -1.0 7.0 5.5 1.5 8.0 6.4 1.6

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 .4 6.7 5.5 1.2 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 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.9 5.6 1.3

December -.2 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2

2010 March -.2 5.9 4.8 1.1 6.1 5.0 1.1

June .7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September .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 5.9 4.9 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.

2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 6,246 6,969 6,685 7,009 6,338 5.9 6.6 6.3 6.6 5.9

At expanding establishments ......... 5,084 5,687 5,427 5,631 5,230 4.8 5.4 5.1 5.3 4.9

At opening establishments ............ 1,162 1,282 1,258 1,378 1,108 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 6,500 6,248 6,480 6,427 6,086 6.1 5.9 6.2 6.1 5.7

At contracting establishments ......... 5,299 5,086 5,255 5,199 4,969 5.0 4.8 5.0 4.9 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 1,201 1,162 1,225 1,228 1,117 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.0

Net employment change .............. -254 721 205 582 252 -.2 .7 .1 .5 .2

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,300 1,468 1,378 1,364 1,296 6.9 7.8 7.3 7.2 6.9

At expanding establishments ......... 1,095 1,238 1,162 1,138 1,107 5.8 6.6 6.2 6.0 5.9

At opening establishments ............ 205 230 216 226 189 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 1,471 1,319 1,331 1,406 1,268 7.9 7.0 7.1 7.5 6.8

At contracting establishments ......... 1,214 1,088 1,092 1,160 1,049 6.5 5.8 5.8 6.2 5.6

At closing establishments ............ 257 231 239 246 219 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.2

Net employment change .............. -171 149 47 -42 28 -1.0 .8 .2 -.3 .1

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 277 305 270 284 261 15.8 17.1 14.9 15.6 14.2

At expanding establishments ......... 240 263 234 240 225 13.7 14.7 12.9 13.2 12.2

At opening establishments ............ 37 42 36 44 36 2.1 2.4 2.0 2.4 2.0

Gross job losses ........................... 273 239 267 278 260 15.5 13.4 14.7 15.2 14.1

At contracting establishments ......... 234 205 230 241 225 13.3 11.5 12.7 13.2 12.2

At closing establishments ............ 39 34 37 37 35 2.2 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.9

Net employment change .............. 4 66 3 6 1 .3 3.7 .2 .4 .1

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 609 681 658 638 613 11.0 12.4 11.9 11.6 11.3

At expanding establishments ......... 477 533 518 499 493 8.6 9.7 9.4 9.1 9.1

At opening establishments ............ 132 148 140 139 120 2.4 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.2

Gross job losses ........................... 735 681 658 697 638 13.2 12.4 12.0 12.8 11.8

At contracting establishments ......... 575 535 510 541 499 10.3 9.7 9.3 9.9 9.2

At closing establishments ............ 160 146 148 156 139 2.9 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.6

Net employment change .............. -126 0 0 -59 -25 -2.2 .0 -.1 -1.2 -.5

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 414 482 450 442 422 3.6 4.2 3.9 3.9 3.6

At expanding establishments ......... 378 442 410 399 389 3.3 3.9 3.6 3.5 3.3

At opening establishments ............ 36 40 40 43 33 .3 .3 .3 .4 .3

Gross job losses ........................... 463 399 406 431 370 4.0 3.4 3.6 3.8 3.2

At contracting establishments ......... 405 348 352 378 325 3.5 3.0 3.1 3.3 2.8

At closing establishments ............ 58 51 54 53 45 .5 .4 .5 .5 .4

Net employment change .............. -49 83 44 11 52 -.4 .8 .3 .1 .4

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 4,946 5,501 5,307 5,645 5,042 5.7 6.3 6.1 6.4 5.7

At expanding establishments ......... 3,989 4,449 4,265 4,493 4,123 4.6 5.1 4.9 5.1 4.7

At opening establishments ............ 957 1,052 1,042 1,152 919 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 5,029 4,929 5,149 5,021 4,818 5.8 5.7 5.9 5.7 5.5

At contracting establishments ......... 4,085 3,998 4,163 4,039 3,920 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.6 4.5

At closing establishments ............ 944 931 986 982 898 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0

Net employment change .............. -83 572 158 624 224 -.1 .6 .2 .7 .2

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 253 282 268 281 258 4.6 5.1 4.9 5.2 4.7

At expanding establishments ......... 203 231 218 223 214 3.7 4.2 4.0 4.1 3.9

At opening establishments ............ 50 51 50 58 44 .9 .9 .9 1.1 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 274 250 259 253 246 5.0 4.6 4.8 4.6 4.4

At contracting establishments ......... 214 192 200 197 189 3.9 3.5 3.7 3.6 3.4

At closing establishments ............ 60 58 59 56 57 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0

Net employment change .............. -21 32 9 28 12 -.4 .5 .1 .6 .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.

2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 804 897 799 893 805 5.6 6.1 5.5 6.2 5.5

At expanding establishments ......... 689 765 671 763 698 4.8 5.2 4.6 5.3 4.8

At opening establishments ............ 115 132 128 130 107 .8 .9 .9 .9 .7

Gross job losses ........................... 810 776 890 812 814 5.6 5.3 6.1 5.6 5.6

At contracting establishments ......... 694 671 778 692 704 4.8 4.6 5.3 4.8 4.8

At closing establishments ............ 116 105 112 120 110 .8 .7 .8 .8 .8

Net employment change .............. -6 121 -91 81 -9 .0 .8 -.6 .6 -.1

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 188 219 216 253 204 4.7 5.6 5.4 6.3 5.1

At expanding establishments ......... 159 184 183 217 173 4.0 4.7 4.6 5.4 4.3

At opening establishments ............ 29 35 33 36 31 .7 .9 .8 .9 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 223 191 196 193 223 5.7 4.9 4.9 4.8 5.5

At contracting establishments ......... 189 157 159 160 190 4.8 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 34 34 37 33 33 .9 .9 .9 .8 .8

Net employment change .............. -35 28 20 60 -19 -1.0 .7 .5 1.5 -.4

Utilities

Gross job gains ........................... 9 11 10 12 11 1.6 2.0 1.8 2.2 2.0

At expanding establishments ......... 8 10 9 10 10 1.4 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.8

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

Gross job losses ........................... 10 13 12 11 9 1.8 2.4 2.2 2.0 1.7

At contracting establishments ......... 9 12 11 10 8 1.6 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.5

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

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

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 107 126 134 127 111 3.9 4.6 4.9 4.8 4.1

At expanding establishments ......... 90 106 114 104 95 3.3 3.9 4.2 3.9 3.5

At opening establishments ............ 17 20 20 23 16 .6 .7 .7 .9 .6

Gross job losses ........................... 132 130 137 138 130 4.8 4.8 5.0 5.1 4.8

At contracting establishments ......... 112 110 115 114 110 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.1

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

Net employment change .............. -25 -4 -3 -11 -19 -.9 -.2 -.1 -.3 -.7

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 335 345 350 369 317 4.5 4.7 4.7 5.0 4.3

At expanding establishments ......... 269 273 277 282 257 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.5

At opening establishments ............ 66 72 73 87 60 .9 1.0 1.0 1.2 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 371 373 370 346 334 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.7 4.5

At contracting establishments ......... 282 288 275 263 255 3.8 3.9 3.7 3.6 3.4

At closing establishments ............ 89 85 95 83 79 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.1 1.1

Net employment change .............. -36 -28 -20 23 -17 -.5 -.3 -.3 .3 -.2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,162 1,357 1,285 1,387 1,219 7.0 8.1 7.6 8.2 7.1

At expanding establishments ......... 943 1,102 1,042 1,116 1,013 5.7 6.6 6.2 6.6 5.9

At opening establishments ............ 219 255 243 271 206 1.3 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 1,148 1,150 1,189 1,176 1,134 6.9 7.0 7.1 6.9 6.6

At contracting establishments ......... 914 892 937 918 907 5.5 5.4 5.6 5.4 5.3

At closing establishments ............ 234 258 252 258 227 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.3

Net employment change .............. 14 207 96 211 85 .1 1.1 .5 1.3 .5

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 748 780 798 842 733 4.0 4.2 4.3 4.5 3.8

At expanding establishments ......... 629 662 668 697 630 3.4 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.3

At opening establishments ............ 119 118 130 145 103 .6 .6 .7 .8 .5

Gross job losses ........................... 719 716 731 704 668 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.6

At contracting establishments ......... 601 599 600 580 558 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.0

At closing establishments ............ 118 117 131 124 110 .6 .6 .7 .7 .6

Net employment change .............. 29 64 67 138 65 .2 .4 .4 .7 .2

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.

2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,026 1,155 1,111 1,131 1,037 7.9 8.9 8.5 8.6 7.9

At expanding establishments ......... 793 892 864 862 814 6.1 6.9 6.6 6.6 6.2

At opening establishments ............ 233 263 247 269 223 1.8 2.0 1.9 2.0 1.7

Gross job losses ........................... 1,046 1,053 1,069 1,100 985 8.1 8.1 8.2 8.4 7.4

At contracting establishments ......... 855 873 873 893 799 6.6 6.7 6.7 6.8 6.0

At closing establishments ............ 191 180 196 207 186 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.4

Net employment change .............. -20 102 42 31 52 -.2 .8 .3 .2 .5

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 253 279 268 272 258 6.8 7.5 7.2 7.3 6.9

At expanding establishments ......... 198 219 209 210 206 5.3 5.9 5.6 5.6 5.5

At opening establishments ............ 55 60 59 62 52 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.4

Gross job losses ........................... 266 255 275 267 249 7.2 6.9 7.4 7.2 6.7

At contracting establishments ......... 208 199 211 207 193 5.6 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.2

At closing establishments ............ 58 56 64 60 56 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.5

Net employment change .............. -13 24 -7 5 9 -.4 .6 -.2 .1 .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

2001 March 52 7,033 6,981 23 3,508 3,485 -87 1,277 1,364 116 2,248 2,132

June -843 6,432 7,275 -123 3,393 3,516 -180 1,223 1,403 -540 1,816 2,356

September -1,214 6,124 7,338 -271 3,333 3,604 -253 1,142 1,395 -690 1,649 2,339

December -1,041 6,146 7,187 -118 3,325 3,443 -200 1,138 1,338 -723 1,683 2,406

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 481 6,301 5,820 196 3,454 3,258 109 1,155 1,046 176 1,692 1,516

June 170 6,260 6,090 -28 3,340 3,368 106 1,181 1,075 92 1,739 1,647

September -252 5,907 6,159 -129 3,256 3,385 -53 1,075 1,128 -70 1,576 1,646

December 259 6,231 5,972 -10 3,304 3,314 51 1,133 1,082 218 1,794 1,576

2008 March -259 5,810 6,069 -132 3,240 3,372 0 1,076 1,076 -127 1,494 1,621

June -552 5,862 6,414 -282 3,181 3,463 -38 1,100 1,138 -232 1,581 1,813

September -1,016 5,499 6,515 -354 3,045 3,399 -161 1,015 1,176 -501 1,439 1,940

December -1,880 5,323 7,203 -706 2,898 3,604 -380 941 1,321 -794 1,484 2,278

2009 March -2,626 4,582 7,208 -962 2,725 3,687 -600 807 1,407 -1,064 1,050 2,114

June -1,776 5,176 6,952 -472 2,952 3,424 -276 958 1,234 -1,028 1,266 2,294

September -957 5,134 6,091 -382 2,818 3,200 -127 928 1,055 -448 1,388 1,836

December -310 5,389 5,699 -176 2,928 3,104 -52 957 1,009 -82 1,504 1,586

2010 March -213 5,096 5,309 -177 2,866 3,043 7 910 903 -43 1,320 1,363

June 686 5,819 5,133 236 3,096 2,860 211 1,080 869 239 1,643 1,404

September 175 5,493 5,318 14 2,935 2,921 72 995 923 89 1,563 1,474

December 502 5,769 5,267 74 3,036 2,962 87 1,029 942 341 1,704 1,363

2011 March 300 5,270 4,970 95 2,931 2,836 120 954 834 85 1,385 1,300

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

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job

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

3 Net change totals for the firm-level data differ from the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment.

Year 3 months ended

Total private by firm1 Firm size 1 - 49 employees

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

and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. 

Firm size 50 - 249 employees Firm size 250 or more

Net 

change2,3

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change
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.

2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 5,096 5,819 5,493 5,769 5,270 4.8 5.5 5.2 5.4 4.9

At expanding firms .................. 4,209 4,897 4,606 4,792 4,414 4.0 4.6 4.4 4.5 4.1

At opening firms ..................... 887 922 887 977 856 .8 .9 .8 .9 .8

Gross job losses ........................ 5,309 5,133 5,318 5,267 4,970 5.1 4.9 5.0 4.9 4.7

At contracting firms .................. 4,409 4,300 4,441 4,392 4,122 4.2 4.1 4.2 4.1 3.9

At closing firms ................... 900 833 877 875 848 .9 .8 .8 .8 .8

Net employment change ............. -213 686 175 502 300 -.3 .6 .2 .5 .2

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 2,866 3,096 2,935 3,036 2,931 9.2 10.0 9.4 9.8 9.5

At expanding firms .................. 2,016 2,221 2,091 2,105 2,102 6.5 7.2 6.7 6.8 6.8

At opening firms ..................... 850 875 844 931 829 2.7 2.8 2.7 3.0 2.7

Gross job losses ........................ 3,043 2,860 2,921 2,962 2,836 9.8 9.2 9.4 9.6 9.1

At contracting firms .................. 2,174 2,060 2,088 2,128 2,020 7.0 6.6 6.7 6.9 6.5

At closing firms ................... 869 800 833 834 816 2.8 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.6

Net employment change ............. -177 236 14 74 95 -.6 .8 .0 .2 .4

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 910 1,080 995 1,029 954 4.7 5.6 5.1 5.3 4.8

At expanding firms .................. 880 1,041 961 990 930 4.5 5.4 4.9 5.1 4.7

At opening firms ..................... 30 39 34 39 24 .2 .2 .2 .2 .1

Gross job losses ........................ 903 869 923 942 834 4.6 4.4 4.8 4.8 4.2

At contracting firms .................. 875 841 892 906 807 4.5 4.3 4.6 4.6 4.1

At closing firms ................... 28 28 31 36 27 .1 .1 .2 .2 .1

Net employment change ............. 7 211 72 87 120 .1 1.2 .3 .5 .6

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,320 1,643 1,563 1,704 1,385 2.4 3.0 2.8 3.1 2.5

At expanding firms .................. 1,313 1,635 1,554 1,697 1,382 2.4 3.0 2.8 3.1 2.5

At opening firms ..................... 7 8 9 7 3 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,363 1,404 1,474 1,363 1,300 2.5 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.3

At contracting firms .................. 1,360 1,399 1,461 1,358 1,295 2.5 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.3

At closing firms ................... 3 5 13 5 5 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Net employment change ............. -43 239 89 341 85 -.1 .5 .2 .7 .2

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.

2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011

United States 1

 ............ 6,246,000 6,969,000 6,685,000 7,009,000 6,338,000 6,500,000 6,248,000 6,480,000 6,427,000 6,086,000

Alabama .................. 84,372 92,483 90,721 92,164 84,072 84,663 84,923 95,799 89,956 82,916

Alaska ..................... 25,441 26,360 23,161 24,908 24,319 23,791 21,840 23,448 25,197 21,293

Arizona .................. 120,845 120,873 126,753 141,676 117,103 122,788 127,006 129,605 113,046 117,413

Arkansas .................. 53,238 61,695 55,521 54,051 55,976 52,035 53,119 58,241 58,156 53,905

California .................. 781,375 887,666 787,214 873,783 752,698 836,279 779,531 818,105 772,029 738,300

Colorado .................. 118,409 133,255 124,225 131,018 122,688 122,968 125,126 124,036 120,092 114,405

Connecticut ............... 67,780 85,104 72,370 74,302 67,774 81,766 67,794 67,158 72,484 69,284

Delaware .................. 19,458 24,056 22,933 21,847 22,113 21,354 18,824 21,089 22,834 20,242

District of Columbia ... 23,622 26,497 25,326 27,846 29,987 21,281 23,479 29,528 24,781 21,458

Florida ..................... 374,097 424,764 419,552 453,057 372,940 378,742 404,928 426,977 414,993 356,280

Georgia .................. 198,798 210,784 216,883 214,691 207,785 198,131 207,651 202,499 198,644 186,781

Hawaii ..................... 24,547 24,707 28,392 26,466 24,223 24,865 26,116 25,057 22,825 22,900

Idaho ..................... 36,137 36,328 39,571 40,703 35,498 38,800 39,903 35,155 37,844 36,790

Illinois ..................... 234,051 268,667 255,731 281,974 245,304 244,386 232,366 251,229 254,339 236,133

Indiana ..................... 131,409 145,993 140,288 145,415 135,804 128,057 131,148 131,096 132,742 114,665

Iowa ........................ 64,941 70,717 70,026 75,715 65,535 65,873 66,734 69,637 69,027 66,140

Kansas ..................... 56,274 63,016 61,756 70,900 59,010 61,646 60,147 63,668 60,144 60,071

Kentucky .................. 79,350 87,264 83,568 93,215 80,921 84,151 79,926 81,672 81,135 83,668

Louisiana .................. 96,637 104,674 103,355 106,043 102,355 97,000 98,255 99,701 101,389 90,149

Maine ..................... 31,237 37,147 35,628 34,798 30,806 34,986 35,323 34,417 35,991 32,856

Maryland .................. 125,458 138,572 127,180 128,762 119,293 125,663 119,298 129,181 125,577 118,004

Massachusetts ............ 155,323 162,965 157,323 156,253 136,195 145,522 139,146 153,793 152,159 139,626

Michigan .................. 185,348 222,102 218,979 207,960 202,206 191,060 182,967 190,046 210,292 174,955

Minnesota ............... 125,554 138,901 124,355 131,626 124,362 130,865 112,782 123,248 128,668 118,040

Mississippi ............... 51,404 58,084 57,350 56,787 55,205 49,921 53,738 57,458 55,326 50,813

Missouri .................. 124,514 131,264 127,425 124,515 121,999 129,766 129,031 123,553 121,858 120,177

Montana .................. 26,138 26,982 27,124 27,445 24,767 27,803 26,508 24,974 27,711 24,719

Nebraska .................. 40,452 44,693 43,221 42,938 40,591 41,259 40,169 41,996 42,817 39,689

Nevada ..................... 52,267 61,087 55,275 67,891 58,860 65,509 55,786 63,266 58,018 56,471

New Hampshire ......... 34,777 36,737 33,633 36,059 31,746 35,982 33,135 33,968 34,213 31,830

New Jersey ............... 177,185 223,605 188,804 203,235 184,843 196,575 190,581 204,259 198,023 192,772

New Mexico ............ 38,503 40,815 39,762 40,742 35,917 38,639 40,938 41,048 37,689 35,305

New York ............... 376,211 452,585 432,680 449,459 406,459 396,193 398,325 410,012 419,971 385,929

North Carolina ............ 185,191 206,273 201,598 209,029 200,576 190,735 195,011 193,472 195,225 177,200

North Dakota ............ 19,848 20,600 22,758 23,814 23,425 18,786 18,120 17,074 17,984 18,400

Ohio ........................ 222,723 251,456 244,556 261,771 232,288 231,507 216,693 223,292 250,797 223,563

Oklahoma ............... 69,470 75,351 75,614 77,617 70,826 67,092 65,056 73,056 64,020 71,533

Oregon ..................... 89,239 88,864 95,437 94,944 90,375 88,209 86,397 83,701 91,838 84,986

Pennsylvania ............ 255,595 280,308 267,898 281,481 256,426 250,760 240,856 253,938 260,162 244,149

Rhode Island ............ 22,986 26,168 24,453 23,620 21,353 21,905 25,029 23,626 25,140 22,691

South Carolina ............ 89,756 96,305 91,822 89,875 86,741 85,427 85,961 85,836 84,506 78,523

South Dakota ............ 19,311 21,918 20,878 21,224 18,832 21,300 19,057 19,476 19,803 20,222

Tennessee ............... 110,089 135,727 123,944 129,673 117,400 113,834 119,621 127,678 114,731 107,336

Texas ..................... 473,487 493,086 496,166 517,288 490,083 441,554 450,941 448,972 438,142 426,162

Utah ........................ 64,156 66,707 66,646 69,992 64,599 64,634 63,249 64,810 62,883 59,437

Vermont .................. 15,849 18,449 18,660 19,203 15,293 17,651 18,681 16,375 16,981 16,751

Virginia .................. 154,919 187,240 177,577 178,103 164,199 163,577 167,200 177,624 167,855 153,775

Washington ............... 154,686 156,965 162,283 167,005 153,861 157,286 146,952 147,705 161,094 144,122

West Virginia ............ 33,754 37,521 36,767 34,855 36,012 34,998 36,549 34,036 35,503 31,982

Wisconsin ............... 127,777 135,914 133,367 137,774 126,841 127,653 120,414 124,554 130,173 121,831

Wyoming .................. 17,669 17,758 20,415 19,076 16,725 18,417 18,073 16,520 18,428 17,656

Puerto Rico ............... 38,518 36,360 41,677 45,491 35,682 44,195 44,179 41,118 36,861 41,248

Virgin Islands ............ 2,705 2,044 2,419 2,369 2,104 1,912 2,746 1,830 1,803 1,947

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.

2010 2010 2010 2010 2011 2010 2010 2010 2010 2011

United States .......................... 5.9 6.6 6.3 6.6 5.9 6.1 5.9 6.2 6.1 5.7

Alabama ............................. 5.8 6.4 6.3 6.3 5.8 5.9 5.8 6.6 6.2 5.8

Alaska ................................. 10.8 11.1 9.7 10.5 10.1 10.1 9.2 9.9 10.5 8.8

Arizona ............................... 6.2 6.2 6.5 7.2 5.9 6.3 6.4 6.6 5.7 5.9

Arkansas .............................. 5.8 6.6 6.0 5.8 6.0 5.6 5.7 6.2 6.3 5.8

California ........................... 6.7 7.5 6.7 7.4 6.3 7.2 6.7 6.9 6.6 6.2

Colorado .............................. 6.6 7.4 6.9 7.3 6.7 6.9 7.0 6.9 6.6 6.3

Connecticut ......................... 5.0 6.4 5.3 5.5 5.0 6.1 5.0 4.9 5.4 5.1

Delaware .............................. 5.8 7.1 6.7 6.4 6.4 6.3 5.6 6.2 6.7 6.0

District of Columbia ............... 5.4 6.0 5.7 6.3 6.6 4.8 5.3 6.6 5.6 4.8

Florida ................................. 6.2 7.0 6.9 7.4 6.1 6.3 6.7 7.0 6.8 5.8

Georgia .............................. 6.4 6.9 7.0 7.0 6.7 6.5 6.8 6.6 6.5 6.0

Hawaii ............................... 5.3 5.3 6.1 5.7 5.1 5.3 5.6 5.4 4.9 4.8

Idaho .................................... 7.3 7.4 8.1 8.2 7.1 7.8 8.1 7.2 7.7 7.4

Illinois ................................ 5.0 5.7 5.5 6.0 5.2 5.3 5.0 5.3 5.4 5.0

Indiana ............................... 5.7 6.4 6.1 6.3 5.8 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.7 4.9

Iowa .................................... 5.5 5.9 5.8 6.3 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.8 5.5

Kansas ................................. 5.4 6.0 5.9 6.7 5.6 5.9 5.8 6.1 5.7 5.7

Kentucky .............................. 5.7 6.3 6.0 6.6 5.8 6.1 5.7 5.8 5.7 6.0

Louisiana .............................. 6.5 7.1 6.9 7.1 6.8 6.6 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.0

Maine ................................ 6.6 7.8 7.5 7.3 6.4 7.3 7.4 7.2 7.5 6.9

Maryland ............................ 6.4 7.1 6.5 6.6 6.1 6.4 6.1 6.6 6.3 6.0

Massachusetts ....................... 5.8 6.0 5.8 5.8 5.0 5.5 5.2 5.7 5.6 5.2

Michigan ............................. 5.9 7.0 6.9 6.5 6.2 6.1 5.7 5.9 6.5 5.4

Minnesota ........................... 5.8 6.4 5.7 6.0 5.6 6.0 5.2 5.7 5.8 5.4

Mississippi ........................... 6.2 6.9 6.9 6.8 6.6 6.0 6.5 6.9 6.6 6.0

Missouri .............................. 5.8 6.2 5.9 5.8 5.7 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.6

Montana ............................... 7.8 8.1 8.1 8.2 7.3 8.2 8.0 7.5 8.3 7.3

Nebraska .............................. 5.6 6.1 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.7 5.4 5.7 5.8 5.4

Nevada ............................... 5.4 6.4 5.8 7.1 6.1 6.8 5.8 6.6 6.1 5.9

New Hampshire ..................... 6.8 7.2 6.6 7.0 6.1 7.0 6.4 6.6 6.7 6.2

New Jersey ........................... 5.6 7.1 6.0 6.5 5.8 6.2 6.1 6.5 6.3 6.1

New Mexico ........................ 6.5 6.9 6.8 6.9 6.0 6.6 6.9 7.0 6.4 5.9

New York ........................... 5.5 6.6 6.3 6.5 5.8 5.8 5.8 6.0 6.0 5.5

North Carolina ........................ 6.0 6.6 6.5 6.7 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.2 6.2 5.6

North Dakota ........................ 7.0 7.2 7.8 8.0 7.7 6.5 6.3 5.8 6.1 6.1

Ohio .................................... 5.4 6.1 5.9 6.2 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.4 6.0 5.3

Oklahoma ........................... 6.1 6.5 6.5 6.6 6.0 5.8 5.6 6.3 5.5 6.1

Oregon ................................. 6.8 6.8 7.3 7.2 6.8 6.7 6.5 6.4 6.9 6.3

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.5 5.9 5.7 5.9 5.4 5.3 5.1 5.3 5.4 5.1

Rhode Island ........................ 5.9 6.8 6.4 6.1 5.5 5.7 6.5 6.1 6.5 5.9

South Carolina ........................ 6.4 6.8 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.1 6.0 5.9 5.5

South Dakota ........................ 6.1 7.0 6.6 6.7 5.9 6.8 6.1 6.1 6.2 6.4

Tennessee ........................... 5.2 6.4 5.8 6.0 5.5 5.4 5.6 5.9 5.3 5.0

Texas ................................. 5.7 5.9 5.9 6.1 5.7 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.2 5.0

Utah .................................... 6.8 7.1 7.1 7.4 6.7 6.9 6.7 6.8 6.6 6.2

Vermont .............................. 6.7 7.8 7.9 8.0 6.3 7.4 7.9 6.9 7.0 6.9

Virginia .............................. 5.5 6.6 6.2 6.3 5.7 5.8 5.9 6.3 5.9 5.4

Washington ........................... 6.9 7.1 7.3 7.5 6.8 7.1 6.6 6.6 7.2 6.4

West Virginia ........................ 6.2 6.9 6.7 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.6 6.2 6.4 5.8

Wisconsin ........................... 5.8 6.1 6.0 6.2 5.6 5.8 5.4 5.6 5.8 5.4

Wyoming .............................. 8.6 8.7 10.0 9.3 8.0 9.0 8.9 8.1 8.9 8.5

Puerto Rico ........................... 5.7 5.4 6.2 6.8 5.3 6.6 6.6 6.1 5.6 6.1

Virgin Islands ........................ 8.7 6.6 7.9 7.5 6.6 6.2 8.9 5.9 5.7 6.1

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

2001 March 206 3.3 203 3.2 1,187 1.1 1,303 1.2

June 204 3.2 204 3.2 1,146 1.0 1,226 1.1

September 204 3.2 207 3.3 1,151 1.1 1,219 1.1

December 194 3.1 200 3.2 1,109 1.0 1,142 1.1

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 2.8 896 .8 768 .7

June 206 3.0 202 2.9 883 .8 851 .7

September 216 3.1 203 2.9 944 .8 837 .7

December 208 3.0 207 3.0 903 .8 830 .7

2008 March 207 3.0 211 3.0 894 .8 810 .7

June 200 2.9 228 3.3 876 .8 934 .8

September 191 2.7 223 3.2 830 .7 881 .8

December 188 2.7 240 3.5 801 .7 953 .9

2009 March 172 2.5 235 3.4 701 .6 846 .8

June 177 2.6 226 3.3 741 .7 832 .8

September 169 2.5 215 3.2 694 .7 786 .7

December 182 2.7 200 3.0 713 .7 741 .7

2010 March 175 2.6 194 2.9 684 .7 664 .6

June 179 2.7 185 2.7 713 .7 652 .6

September 188 2.8 N/A N/A 743 .7 N/A N/A

December 200 2.9 N/A N/A 792 .7 N/A N/A

2011 March 183 2.7 N/A N/A 660 .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