For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, July 27, 2016 USDL-16-1538

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

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

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FOURTH QUARTER 2015

 

From September 2015 to December 2015,

gross job gains from opening and 

expanding private sector establishments 

were 7.8 million, an increase of 530,000 

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 52,000 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 1.0 million jobs in the private sector 

during the fourth quarter of 2015. (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. 
- 2 - 

Gross job gains at expanding establishments 

totaled 6.4 million in the fourth quarter of 

2015, an increase of 415,000 jobs from the 

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

Opening establishments accounted for 1.4 

million jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 

2015, an increase of 115,000 jobs from the 

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

Contracting establishments lost 5.6 million 

jobs in the fourth quarter of 2015. This was a 

decrease of 106,000 jobs from the prior 

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

In the fourth quarter of 2015, closing

establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, an increase 

of 54,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See 

tables A, 1, and 3.) 

Gross job gains represented 6.6 percent of

private sector employment in the fourth quarter 

of 2015, while gross job losses represented 5.8 

percent of private sector employment. (See 

tables A, 2, and 3.) 

In the fourth quarter of 2015, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data, see the 

Technical Note for more information) increased by 2,000 to 240,000 establishments. These new establishments 

accounted for 889,000 jobs, an increase of 18,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See table 8.) 

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

when 691,000 jobs were lost at 206,000 establishments. In the prior quarter, 709,000 jobs were lost at 197,000 

establishments. (See table 8.) 

During the fourth quarter of 2015, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in most industry sectors except for 

natural resources and mining, and manufacturing. The natural resources and mining sector experienced a net 

decrease of 54,000 jobs, the result of 245,000 gross job gains and 299,000 gross job losses. The manufacturing 

sector experienced a net decrease of 12,000 jobs, the result of 412,000 gross job gains and 424,000 gross job 

losses. Overall, goods-producing industries experienced a net increase of 43,000 jobs, the result of 1.4 million 

gross job gains and 1.3 million gross job losses. Service-providing industries, with 6.5 million gross job gains 

and 5.5 million gross job losses, experienced a net increase of 957,000 jobs. (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 fourth quarter of 2015, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 230,000. Firms with 50-

249 employees had a net employment gain of 98,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net employment 

gain of 554,000. (See tables 4 and 5.) 

Of the 2.3 million net jobs created over the last four quarters, firms with 1-49 employees contributed 35 percent 

of net job growth, while firms with 50-249 employees contributed 19 percent, and firms with 250 or more 

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

In the fourth quarter of 2015, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 45 states and the District of 

Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. California experienced 1,068,393 gross job gains and 933,600 

gross job losses resulting in a net employment gain of 134,793. This is the largest net employment gain of any 

state this quarter. Florida had the second largest net employment gain this quarter with 98,741 net jobs, the 

result of 506,029 gross job gains and 407,288 gross job losses. (See table 6.) Alaska had the highest rate of 

gross job gains as a percent of employment at 9.5 percent, above the U.S. rate of 6.6 percent, as well as the 

highest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 10.5 percent, above the U.S. rate of 5.8 percent. 

Hawaii and Tennessee had the lowest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 4.6 percent. (See 

table 7.)

More Information 

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

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

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

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

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

this release or may be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. 

The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2016 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, 

November 9, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 

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

Category 

3 months ended 

Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. 

2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 

Levels (in thousands) 

Gross job gains.................................... 7,658 6,947 7,554 7,292 7,822 

 At expanding establishments........... 6,279 5,666 6,220 5,958 6,373 

 At opening establishments............... 1,379 1,281 1,334 1,334 1,449

 

Gross job losses................................... 6,563 6,721 6,725 6,874 6,822

 At contracting establishments........... 5,322 5,558 5,541 5,657 5,551

 At closing establishments................ 1,241 1,163 1,184 1,217 1,271

 

Net employment change1........................ 1,095 226 829 418 1,000

 

Rates (percent) 

Gross job gains................................ 6.6 5.9 6.4 6.1 6.6

 At expanding establishments....... 5.4 4.8 5.3 5.0 5.4

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

 

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

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

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

 

Net employment change1..................... .9 .2 .7 .3 .8
- 4 - 

Technical Note

 The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are 

a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as 

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). 

The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most 

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

on the employment and wages of workers covered by 

unemployment insurance (UI) laws, and to pay quarterly 

UI taxes. The QCEW is based largely on quarterly UI 

reports which are sent by businesses to the State 

Employment Security Agencies (SESAs). These UI reports 

are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections 

to render administrative data into economic statistics. 

Together these data comprise the QCEW and form the 

basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling 

frame. 

 These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW 

data on total employment and wages and the longitudinal 

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

the employment benchmark for the Current Employment 

Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics 

(OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 

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

Economic Analysis 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 9.5 million employers 

 Count of longitudinally-linked UI 

administrative records submitted by 

7.6 million private sector employers 

 Sample Survey: 588,000 

establishments 

Coverage  UI and UCFE coverage: all 

employers subject to State and 

federal UI Laws 

 UI Coverage, excluding: government, 

private households, and establishments 

with zero employment 

Non-farm wage and salary jobs: 

 UI Coverage, excluding: agriculture, 

private households, and selfemployed; including: railroads, 

religious organizations, and other 

non-UI-covered jobs 

Publication 

frequency 

 Quarterly 

— 6 Months after the end of each 

quarter 

 Quarterly 

— 7 Months after the end of each quarter 

 Monthly 

— First Friday of following month 

Use of UI file  Directly summarizes and publishes 

each new quarter of UI data 

 Links each new UI quarter to longitudinal 

database and directly summarizes gross 

job gains and losses 

 Uses UI file as a sampling frame 

and annually realigns (benchmarks) 

sample estimates to first quarter UI 

levels 

Principal products  Provides a quarterly and annual 

universe count of establishments, 

employment, and wages at the 

county, MSA, State, and national 

levels by detailed industry 

 Provides quarterly employer dynamics 

data on establishment openings, closings, 

expansions, and contractions at the 

national level by NAICS super-sectors, 3-

digit NAICS, and by size of firm, and at 

the state private-sector total level 

 Future expansions will include data at the 

county and MSA level 

 Provides current monthly estimates 

of employment, hours, and earnings 

at the MSA, State, and national level 

by industry 

Principal uses  Major uses include: 

— Detailed locality data 

— Periodic universe counts for 

benchmarking sample survey 

estimates 

— Sample frame for BLS 

establishment surveys 

 Major uses include: 

— Business cycle analysis 

— Analysis of employer dynamics 

underlying economic expansions and 

contractions 

— Analysis of employment expansion 

and contraction by size of firm 

 Major uses include: 

— Principal national economic 

indicator 

— Official time series for 

employment change measures 

— Input into other major economic 

indicators 

Program Websites  www.bls.gov/cew/  www.bls.gov/bdm/  www.bls.gov/ces/
- 5 - 

Coverage

Employment and wage data for workers covered by 

state UI and Unemployment Compensation for Federal 

Employees (UCFE) laws are compiled from quarterly 

contribution reports submitted to the SESAs by employers. 

In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers 

who operate multiple establishments within a state 

complete a questionnaire, called the “Multiple Worksite 

Report,” which provides detailed information on the 

location of their establishments. These reports are based 

on place of employment rather than place of residence. UI 

and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable 

from state to state. 

Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed 

workers, religious organizations, most agricultural workers 

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

officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some 

domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and 

employees of certain small nonprofit organizations. 

Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are 

derived from longitudinal histories of 7.6 million private 

sector employer reports out of 9.5 million total reports of 

employment and wages submitted by states to BLS in the 

first quarter of 2015. 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 2015: 

Number of active establishments included in 

Business Employment Dynamics data at the 

national level 

 Millions 

Total establishments QCEW program .........9.5 

 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 ........................7.6 

Unit of analysis 

 Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED 

statistics by industry and firms are used in the tabulation of 

the BED size class statistics. An establishment is defined 

as an economic unit that produces goods or services, 

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

predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, 

either corporate or otherwise, and may consist of several 

establishments. Firm-level data are compiled based on an 

aggregation of establishments under common ownership 

by a corporate parent using employer tax identification 

numbers. The firm level aggregation which is consistent 

with the role of corporations as the economic decision 

makers are used for the measurement of the BED data 

elements by size class. 

 Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total 

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

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

as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are 

offset during the aggregation process. However, the total 

net changes in employment are the same for not seasonally 

adjusted data and are similar for seasonally adjusted data. 

Concepts and methodology

The Business Employment Dynamics data measure 

the net change in employment at the establishment or firm 

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

net increase in employment can come from either opening 

units or expanding units. A net decrease in employment 

can come from either closing units or contracting units. 

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

opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include the 

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

The net change in employment is the difference between 

gross job gains and gross job losses. 

The formal definitions of employment changes are as 

follows: 

Openings. These are either units with positive third 

month employment for the first time in the current quarter, 

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

month employment in the current quarter following zero 

employment in the previous quarter. 

Expansions. These are units with positive 

employment in the third month in both the previous and 

current quarters, with a net increase in employment over 

this period. 

Closings. These are either units with positive third 

month employment in the previous quarter, with no 

employment or zero employment reported in the current 

quarter. 

Contractions. These are units with positive 

employment in the third month in both the previous and 

current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over 

this period. 

Births. These are units with positive third month 

employment for the first time in the current quarter with no 

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

employment in the current quarter and zero employment in 
- 6 - 

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

subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal 

businesses. 

Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero 

employment reported in the third month of four 

consecutive quarters following the last quarter with 

positive employment. Deaths are a subset of closings not 

including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A 

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

wait three quarters to determine whether it is a permanent 

closing or a temporary shutdown. Therefore, there is 

always a lag of three quarters for the publication of death 

statistics. 

All employment changes are measured from the third 

month of the previous quarter to the third month of the 

current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change 

their employment levels. Units with no change in 

employment count towards estimates of total employment, 

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

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as 

rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment 

in the current and previous quarters. This provides a 

symmetric growth rate. The rates are calculated for the 

components of gross job gains and gross job losses and 

then summed to form their respective totals. These rates 

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

instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate 

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

Establishment Births and Deaths 

 For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as 

establishments that appear in the longitudinal database for 

the first time with positive employment in the third month 

of a quarter, or showed four consecutive quarters of zero 

employment in the third month followed by a quarter in 

which it shows positive employment in the third month. 

Similarly, deaths are defined as establishments that either 

drop out of the longitudinal database or an establishment 

that had positive employment in the third month of a given 

quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of showing 

zero employment in the third month. Although the data for 

establishment births and deaths are tabulated 

independently from the data for openings and closings, the 

concepts are not mutually exclusive. An establishment that 

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

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

a quarter must also be a closing. Since openings include 

seasonal and other re-openings and closings include 

temporary shutdowns, the not seasonally adjusted values 

for births and deaths must be less than those for openings 

and closings. However, because some BED series do not 

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

the fact that births and deaths are independently seasonally 

adjusted from openings and closings, there may be 

instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the 

former is greater than the latter. 

Linkage methodology 

Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross 

job losses, QCEW records are linked across two quarters. 

The linkage process matches establishments' unique SESA 

identification numbers (SESA-ID). Between 95 to 

97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from 

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

linked in one of three ways. The first method uses 

predecessor and successor information, identified by the 

States, which relates records with different SESA-IDs 

across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can 

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

ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account 

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

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

identify two establishments with different SESA-IDs as 

continuous. The match is based upon comparisons such as 

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

analyst examines unmatched records individually and 

makes a possible match. 

 In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, 

SESAs verify with employers and update, if necessary, the 

industry, location, and ownership classification of all 

establishments on a 4-year cycle. Changes in 

establishment classification codes resulting from the 

verification process are introduced with the data reported 

for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from 

improved employer reporting also are introduced in the 

first quarter. 

 

Sizing methodology 

 The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations 

for the BED size class data series. Dynamic sizing 

allocates each firm’s employment gain or loss during a 

quarter to each respective size class in which the change 

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

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

employee increase, 2 would be allocated to the first size 

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

19 to size class 20 to 49. 

 Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm size 

estimates and eliminates any systematic effects which may 

be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms’ 

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

loss to the actual size class where it occurred. 

Annual Data 

 The annual gross job gains and gross job losses 

measure the net change in employment at the establishment 

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

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

The BLS publishes annual BED data based on March-toMarch changes once a year with the release of the first 

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

changes for other quarters of the year are available upon 

request. The definitions and methodology in measuring 

annual gross job gains and gross job losses are similar to 

the quarterly measures. The linkage method considers all 

predecessor and successor relations that may come about 
- 7 - 

due to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring 

over the entire year. At the establishment level, some of the 

quarterly job gains and job losses are offset during the 

estimation over the year. Therefore, the sum of four 

quarters of gross job gains and gross job losses are not

equal to annual gross job gains and gross job losses. The 

net change in employment over the year, however, is equal 

to the sum of four quarterly net changes on a not seasonally 

adjusted basis. 

Seasonal adjustment 

 Over the course of a year, the levels of employment 

and the associated job flows undergo sharp fluctuations due 

to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, reduced 

or expanded production, harvests, major holidays, and the 

opening and closing of schools. The effect of such seasonal 

variation can be very large. 

 Because these seasonal events follow a more or less 

regular pattern each year, their influence can be eliminated 

by adjusting these statistics from quarter to quarter. These 

adjustments make nonseasonal developments, such as 

declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For 

example, the large number of youths taking summer jobs is 

likely to obscure other changes that have taken place in 

June relative to March, making it difficult to determine if 

the level of economic activity has risen or declined. 

However, because the effect of students finishing school in 

previous years is known, the statistics for the current year 

can be adjusted to allow for a comparable change. The 

adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to 

analyze changes in economic activity. 

 The employment data series for opening, expanding, 

closing, and contracting units are independently seasonally 

adjusted; net changes are calculated based on the difference 

between gross job gains and gross job losses. Similarly, for 

industry data, the establishment counts data series for 

opening, expanding, closing, and contracting 

establishments are independently adjusted, and the net 

changes are calculated based on the difference between the 

number of opening and closing establishments. 

Additionally establishment and employment levels are 

independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the 

seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment 

is run using X-12 ARIMA. Seasonally adjusted data series 

for total private are the sum of seasonally adjusted data of 

all sectors including the unclassified sector, which is not 

separately published. 

The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing 

the BED component series will differ from the net 

employment change estimated from the seasonally 

adjusted total private employment series from the CES 

program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show the 

dynamic labor market changes that underlie the net 

employment change statistic. As such, data users interested 

particularly in the net employment change and not in the 

gross job flows underlying this change should refer to CES 

data for over-the-quarter net employment changes.

Reliability of the data 

 Since the data series on Business Employment 

Dynamics are based on administrative rather than sample 

data, there are no issues related to sampling error. 

Nonsampling error, however, still exists. Nonsampling 

errors can occur for many reasons, such as the employer 

submitting corrected employment data after the end of the 

quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when 

providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to 

be distributed randomly throughout the dataset. 

 Changes in administrative data sometimes create 

complications for the linkage process. This can result in 

overstating openings and closings while understating 

expansions and contractions. The BLS continues to refine 

methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate the 

effects of these complications. 

 The BED data series are subject to periodic minor 

changes based on corrections in QCEW records, updates 

on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal 

adjustment revisions. 

 Annual revisions are published each year with the 

release of the first quarter data. These revisions cover the 

last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 

years of seasonally adjusted data. 

Additional statistics and other information 

 Several other programs within BLS produce closely 

related information. The QCEW program provides both 

quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, 

county, and detailed industry. News releases on quarterly 

county employment and wages and an annual bulletin: 

Employment and Wages Annual Averages, are available 

upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics 

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

Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; telephone 

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

QCEWInfo@bls.gov). 

 The CES program produces monthly estimates of 

employment, its net change, and earnings by detailed 

industry. These estimates are part of the Employment 

Situation report put out monthly by BLS. 

 The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 

(JOLTS) program provides monthly measures of job 

openings, as well as employee hires and separations. 

 Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. 

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

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

(In thousands)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

2005 March 475 7,779 6,222 1,557 7,304 5,828 1,476

June 516 7,753 6,183 1,570 7,237 5,802 1,435

September 736 8,023 6,412 1,611 7,287 5,813 1,474

December 467 7,812 6,239 1,573 7,345 5,960 1,385

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 315 6,521 5,304 1,217 6,206 5,026 1,180

June 595 6,976 5,633 1,343 6,381 5,113 1,268

September 833 7,198 5,804 1,394 6,365 5,174 1,191

December 350 6,878 5,515 1,363 6,528 5,271 1,257

2012 March 933 7,059 5,729 1,330 6,126 5,003 1,123

June 618 7,057 5,733 1,324 6,439 5,270 1,169

September 255 6,886 5,573 1,313 6,631 5,433 1,198

December 708 7,122 5,762 1,360 6,414 5,221 1,193

2013 March 544 6,913 5,685 1,228 6,369 5,191 1,178

June 666 7,160 5,839 1,321 6,494 5,284 1,210

September 473 7,051 5,710 1,341 6,578 5,430 1,148

December 728 7,279 5,944 1,335 6,551 5,343 1,208

2014 March 423 6,927 5,664 1,263 6,504 5,360 1,144

June 883 7,467 6,128 1,339 6,584 5,362 1,222

September 525 7,235 5,905 1,330 6,710 5,523 1,187

December 1,095 7,658 6,279 1,379 6,563 5,322 1,241

2015 March 226 6,947 5,666 1,281 6,721 5,558 1,163

June 829 7,554 6,220 1,334 6,725 5,541 1,184

September 418 7,292 5,958 1,334 6,874 5,657 1,217

December 1,000 7,822 6,373 1,449 6,822 5,551 1,271

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

Gross job gains

Total Total

Gross job losses

Year 3 months ended Net change 1
Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment, 1

 seasonally adjusted

(Percent)

Expanding Opening Contracting Closing

establishments establishments establishments establishments

2005 March .5 7.1 5.7 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3

June .4 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.6 5.3 1.3

September .8 7.3 5.8 1.5 6.5 5.2 1.3

December .4 7.0 5.6 1.4 6.6 5.4 1.2

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 .2 6.0 4.9 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 5.9 4.8 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

June .7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

September .3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

December .8 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

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

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

Gross job gains

Total Total

Gross job losses

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

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

2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 7,658 6,947 7,554 7,292 7,822 6.6 5.9 6.4 6.1 6.6

At expanding establishments ......... 6,279 5,666 6,220 5,958 6,373 5.4 4.8 5.3 5.0 5.4

At opening establishments ............ 1,379 1,281 1,334 1,334 1,449 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 6,563 6,721 6,725 6,874 6,822 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.8

At contracting establishments ......... 5,322 5,558 5,541 5,657 5,551 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 1,241 1,163 1,184 1,217 1,271 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1

Net employment change .............. 1,095 226 829 418 1,000 .9 .2 .7 .3 .8

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,393 1,321 1,387 1,275 1,353 6.8 6.4 6.7 6.2 6.5

At expanding establishments ......... 1,195 1,136 1,195 1,099 1,156 5.8 5.5 5.8 5.3 5.6

At opening establishments ............ 198 185 192 176 197 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .9

Gross job losses ........................... 1,269 1,298 1,331 1,302 1,310 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.3 6.3

At contracting establishments ......... 1,070 1,113 1,138 1,110 1,116 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.4

At closing establishments ............ 199 185 193 192 194 1.0 .9 .9 .9 .9

Net employment change .............. 124 23 56 -27 43 .6 .1 .3 -.1 .2

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 280 284 263 243 245 13.4 13.5 13.0 12.3 12.6

At expanding establishments ......... 243 250 229 211 212 11.6 11.9 11.3 10.7 10.9

At opening establishments ............ 37 34 34 32 33 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.7

Gross job losses ........................... 285 297 332 285 299 13.7 14.2 16.3 14.5 15.5

At contracting establishments ......... 250 264 296 251 265 12.0 12.6 14.5 12.8 13.7

At closing establishments ............ 35 33 36 34 34 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.7 1.8

Net employment change .............. -5 -13 -69 -42 -54 -.3 -.7 -3.3 -2.2 -2.9

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 669 652 693 643 696 10.8 10.3 10.9 10.0 10.7

At expanding establishments ......... 546 533 571 532 571 8.8 8.4 9.0 8.3 8.8

At opening establishments ............ 123 119 122 111 125 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.7 1.9

Gross job losses ........................... 606 616 599 603 587 9.7 9.8 9.4 9.4 9.1

At contracting establishments ......... 485 503 484 489 472 7.8 8.0 7.6 7.6 7.3

At closing establishments ............ 121 113 115 114 115 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8

Net employment change .............. 63 36 94 40 109 1.1 .5 1.5 .6 1.6

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 444 385 431 389 412 3.6 3.2 3.5 3.2 3.3

At expanding establishments ......... 406 353 395 356 373 3.3 2.9 3.2 2.9 3.0

At opening establishments ............ 38 32 36 33 39 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3

Gross job losses ........................... 378 385 400 414 424 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.4 3.5

At contracting establishments ......... 335 346 358 370 379 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.1

At closing establishments ............ 43 39 42 44 45 .4 .3 .3 .4 .4

Net employment change .............. 66 0 31 -25 -12 .5 .1 .3 -.2 -.2

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 6,265 5,626 6,167 6,017 6,469 6.5 5.8 6.4 6.2 6.6

At expanding establishments ......... 5,084 4,530 5,025 4,859 5,217 5.3 4.7 5.2 5.0 5.3

At opening establishments ............ 1,181 1,096 1,142 1,158 1,252 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3

Gross job losses ........................... 5,294 5,423 5,394 5,572 5,512 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.6

At contracting establishments ......... 4,252 4,445 4,403 4,547 4,435 4.4 4.6 4.5 4.7 4.5

At closing establishments ............ 1,042 978 991 1,025 1,077 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1

Net employment change .............. 971 203 773 445 957 1.0 .2 .9 .4 1.0

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 293 262 284 269 294 5.0 4.5 4.8 4.5 5.0

At expanding establishments ......... 243 218 240 226 245 4.1 3.7 4.1 3.8 4.2

At opening establishments ............ 50 44 44 43 49 .9 .8 .7 .7 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 247 256 261 263 268 4.2 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.5

At contracting establishments ......... 192 204 207 208 209 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

At closing establishments ............ 55 52 54 55 59 .9 .9 .9 .9 1.0

Net employment change .............. 46 6 23 6 26 .8 .1 .4 .1 .5

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 952 908 990 919 919 6.2 5.9 6.3 5.8 5.9

At expanding establishments ......... 829 787 863 791 796 5.4 5.1 5.5 5.0 5.1

At opening establishments ............ 123 121 127 128 123 .8 .8 .8 .8 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 842 873 825 930 916 5.4 5.6 5.2 5.9 5.8

At contracting establishments ......... 728 763 714 817 785 4.7 4.9 4.5 5.2 5.0

At closing establishments ............ 114 110 111 113 131 .7 .7 .7 .7 .8

Net employment change .............. 110 35 165 -11 3 .8 .3 1.1 -.1 .1

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 330 228 257 264 343 7.3 5.0 5.6 5.7 7.3

At expanding establishments ......... 297 197 223 228 307 6.6 4.3 4.9 4.9 6.5

At opening establishments ............ 33 31 34 36 36 .7 .7 .7 .8 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 205 272 230 224 225 4.6 6.0 5.0 4.9 4.8

At contracting establishments ......... 170 242 198 188 186 3.8 5.3 4.3 4.1 4.0

At closing establishments ............ 35 30 32 36 39 .8 .7 .7 .8 .8

Net employment change .............. 125 -44 27 40 118 2.7 -1.0 .6 .8 2.5

Utilities

Gross job gains ........................... 14 13 13 14 12 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.6 2.2

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 145 124 147 143 161 5.3 4.5 5.4 5.2 5.8

At expanding establishments ......... 119 107 126 121 135 4.3 3.9 4.6 4.4 4.9

At opening establishments ............ 26 17 21 22 26 1.0 .6 .8 .8 .9

Gross job losses ........................... 136 128 132 145 138 5.0 4.7 4.8 5.2 5.0

At contracting establishments ......... 110 104 110 122 111 4.0 3.8 4.0 4.4 4.0

At closing establishments ............ 26 24 22 23 27 1.0 .9 .8 .8 1.0

Net employment change .............. 9 -4 15 -2 23 .3 -.2 .6 .0 .8

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 384 341 385 367 394 5.0 4.3 4.9 4.7 5.0

At expanding establishments ......... 302 275 314 298 308 3.9 3.5 4.0 3.8 3.9

At opening establishments ............ 82 66 71 69 86 1.1 .8 .9 .9 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 344 330 332 345 352 4.4 4.2 4.2 4.4 4.5

At contracting establishments ......... 263 257 259 270 269 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.4

At closing establishments ............ 81 73 73 75 83 1.0 .9 .9 1.0 1.1

Net employment change .............. 40 11 53 22 42 .6 .1 .7 .3 .5

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,570 1,253 1,438 1,401 1,588 8.1 6.5 7.3 7.1 8.0

At expanding establishments ......... 1,292 1,025 1,179 1,141 1,293 6.7 5.3 6.0 5.8 6.5

At opening establishments ............ 278 228 259 260 295 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.5

Gross job losses ........................... 1,277 1,320 1,296 1,308 1,310 6.6 6.8 6.6 6.6 6.6

At contracting establishments ......... 1,002 1,085 1,037 1,044 1,032 5.2 5.6 5.3 5.3 5.2

At closing establishments ............ 275 235 259 264 278 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4

Net employment change .............. 293 -67 142 93 278 1.5 -.3 .7 .5 1.4

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 930 855 933 961 1,002 4.5 4.1 4.4 4.5 4.7

At expanding establishments ......... 765 706 777 804 822 3.7 3.4 3.7 3.8 3.9

At opening establishments ............ 165 149 156 157 180 .8 .7 .7 .7 .8

Gross job losses ........................... 778 818 810 823 799 3.8 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.8

At contracting establishments ......... 619 642 651 653 630 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.0

At closing establishments ............ 159 176 159 170 169 .8 .8 .8 .8 .8

Net employment change .............. 152 37 123 138 203 .7 .2 .5 .6 .9

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,257 1,235 1,308 1,244 1,324 8.5 8.3 8.7 8.2 8.6

At expanding establishments ......... 981 964 1,032 987 1,044 6.6 6.5 6.9 6.5 6.8

At opening establishments ............ 276 271 276 257 280 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.8

Gross job losses ........................... 1,146 1,112 1,197 1,209 1,180 7.7 7.4 7.9 8.1 7.7

At contracting establishments ......... 932 916 996 1,005 976 6.3 6.1 6.6 6.7 6.4

At closing establishments ............ 214 196 201 204 204 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.3

Net employment change .............. 111 123 111 35 144 .8 .9 .8 .1 .9

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 284 276 301 280 289 7.2 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.1

At expanding establishments ......... 226 218 240 228 231 5.7 5.5 6.0 5.7 5.7

At opening establishments ............ 58 58 61 52 58 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.4

Gross job losses ........................... 274 266 267 281 273 6.8 6.6 6.6 7.0 6.7

At contracting establishments ......... 213 209 209 218 212 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.4 5.2

At closing establishments ............ 61 57 58 63 61 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.5

Net employment change .............. 10 10 34 -1 16 .4 .4 .9 .0 .4

1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.

Category

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

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

(In thousands)

gains losses gains losses gains losses gains losses

2005 March 416 6,418 6,002 58 3,424 3,366 90 1,175 1,085 268 1,819 1,551

June 518 6,383 5,865 217 3,456 3,239 126 1,180 1,054 175 1,747 1,572

September 767 6,699 5,932 228 3,517 3,289 110 1,199 1,089 429 1,983 1,554

December 513 6,408 5,895 195 3,470 3,275 55 1,147 1,092 263 1,791 1,528

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 327 5,358 5,031 98 2,978 2,880 121 969 848 108 1,411 1,303

June 547 5,757 5,210 193 3,076 2,883 173 1,065 892 181 1,616 1,435

September 841 5,965 5,124 266 3,132 2,866 170 1,065 895 405 1,768 1,363

December 311 5,592 5,281 43 2,970 2,927 45 982 937 223 1,640 1,417

2012 March 960 5,883 4,923 397 3,175 2,778 220 1,052 832 343 1,656 1,313

June 610 5,836 5,226 175 3,043 2,868 162 1,077 915 273 1,716 1,443

September 230 5,584 5,354 50 2,959 2,909 52 1,005 953 128 1,620 1,492

December 641 5,777 5,136 177 3,023 2,846 89 1,011 922 375 1,743 1,368

2013 March 576 5,719 5,143 229 3,077 2,848 155 1,024 869 192 1,618 1,426

June 650 5,922 5,272 224 3,088 2,864 141 1,078 937 285 1,756 1,471

September 449 5,757 5,308 207 3,054 2,847 60 1,016 956 182 1,687 1,505

December 649 5,892 5,243 125 3,023 2,898 102 1,033 931 422 1,836 1,414

2014 March 448 5,642 5,194 256 3,077 2,821 152 1,031 879 40 1,534 1,494

June 887 6,152 5,265 298 3,182 2,884 221 1,127 906 368 1,843 1,475

September 505 5,850 5,345 161 3,046 2,885 101 1,059 958 243 1,745 1,502

December 987 6,164 5,177 218 3,108 2,890 153 1,085 932 616 1,971 1,355

2015 March 238 5,607 5,369 185 3,064 2,879 78 1,013 935 -25 1,530 1,555

June 826 6,233 5,407 311 3,175 2,864 192 1,136 944 323 1,922 1,599

September 394 5,885 5,491 97 3,009 2,912 66 1,044 978 231 1,832 1,601

December 882 6,245 5,363 230 3,162 2,932 98 1,076 978 554 2,007 1,453

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

Net 

change

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

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

2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 6,164 5,607 6,233 5,885 6,245 5.3 4.8 5.3 4.9 5.3

At expanding firms .................. 5,237 4,699 5,335 5,023 5,295 4.5 4.0 4.5 4.2 4.5

At opening firms ..................... 927 908 898 862 950 .8 .8 .8 .7 .8

Gross job losses ........................ 5,177 5,369 5,407 5,491 5,363 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.5

At contracting firms .................. 4,320 4,536 4,592 4,669 4,513 3.7 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.8

At closing firms ................... 857 833 815 822 850 .7 .7 .7 .7 .7

Net employment change ............. 987 238 826 394 882 .9 .2 .7 .3 .8

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 3,108 3,064 3,175 3,009 3,162 9.5 9.2 9.6 9.1 9.5

At expanding firms .................. 2,224 2,192 2,326 2,187 2,257 6.8 6.6 7.0 6.6 6.8

At opening firms ..................... 884 872 849 822 905 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.7

Gross job losses ........................ 2,890 2,879 2,864 2,912 2,932 8.8 8.7 8.7 8.8 8.7

At contracting firms .................. 2,077 2,088 2,082 2,122 2,119 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.4 6.3

At closing firms ................... 813 791 782 790 813 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4

Net employment change ............. 218 185 311 97 230 .7 .5 .9 .3 .8

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,085 1,013 1,136 1,044 1,076 5.1 4.7 5.3 4.9 5.0

At expanding firms .................. 1,047 981 1,099 1,007 1,042 4.9 4.6 5.1 4.7 4.8

At opening firms ..................... 38 32 37 37 34 .2 .1 .2 .2 .2

Gross job losses ........................ 932 935 944 978 978 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.6

At contracting firms .................. 893 900 917 951 944 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.4

At closing firms ................... 39 35 27 27 34 .2 .2 .1 .1 .2

Net employment change ............. 153 78 192 66 98 .7 .3 .9 .4 .4

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,971 1,530 1,922 1,832 2,007 3.2 2.4 3.0 2.9 3.1

At expanding firms .................. 1,966 1,526 1,910 1,829 1,996 3.2 2.4 3.0 2.9 3.1

At opening firms ..................... 5 4 12 3 11 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,355 1,555 1,599 1,601 1,453 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.3

At contracting firms .................. 1,350 1,548 1,593 1,596 1,450 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.3

At closing firms ................... 5 7 6 5 3 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Net employment change ............. 616 -25 323 231 554 1.0 -.1 .5 .4 .8

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

losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. 

Category

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

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

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

2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015

United States 1

 ............ 7,658,000 6,947,000 7,554,000 7,292,000 7,822,000 6,563,000 6,721,000 6,725,000 6,874,000 6,822,000

Alabama .................. 90,302 84,986 89,888 88,051 96,278 79,390 83,133 81,281 86,070 82,503

Alaska ..................... 26,664 26,843 27,385 22,909 23,944 26,187 23,647 27,823 25,911 26,564

Arizona .................. 151,389 130,192 131,338 150,336 154,963 114,098 126,022 125,809 119,366 122,506

Arkansas .................. 63,560 52,074 57,124 58,978 62,235 48,759 55,318 51,031 50,906 50,080

California .................. 1,009,991 938,495 934,842 955,474 1,068,393 876,809 853,530 897,517 811,020 933,600

Colorado .................. 145,332 142,474 146,534 148,147 147,322 124,926 128,469 135,196 134,447 133,647

Connecticut ............... 76,473 67,827 81,367 72,894 75,663 73,361 71,870 68,807 82,363 69,891

Delaware .................. 25,677 20,948 27,972 22,481 27,012 19,694 26,759 20,802 22,614 22,998

District of Columbia ... 26,915 27,023 31,303 31,118 29,909 26,143 26,418 26,711 27,635 23,726

Florida ..................... 485,325 433,403 479,423 481,244 506,029 408,151 385,077 410,152 405,571 407,288

Georgia .................. 238,116 215,750 232,741 226,362 247,039 191,800 195,401 200,532 208,499 202,852

Hawaii ..................... 26,591 25,524 25,438 25,807 29,858 22,314 24,417 25,488 24,416 23,585

Idaho ..................... 42,898 49,556 41,477 42,927 43,910 37,619 37,971 39,261 38,677 37,964

Illinois ..................... 311,522 289,355 309,794 277,165 323,308 274,821 287,323 263,025 287,722 285,139

Indiana ..................... 159,935 135,251 146,088 138,935 158,608 126,976 135,133 130,145 135,979 125,772

Iowa ........................ 78,199 75,990 77,630 73,194 77,425 72,224 68,787 76,474 77,479 72,893

Kansas ..................... 69,883 63,109 66,653 63,082 70,654 59,565 65,217 64,933 64,142 62,682

Kentucky .................. 101,092 83,966 97,089 93,111 102,663 81,418 91,550 83,889 86,400 82,585

Louisiana .................. 110,344 98,762 102,189 98,922 105,957 94,750 107,998 108,807 100,050 102,632

Maine ..................... 35,278 31,952 40,149 32,765 35,593 35,410 34,311 31,987 35,658 35,408

Maryland .................. 138,559 122,791 147,032 134,789 142,178 126,916 128,633 122,825 132,518 125,070

Massachusetts ............ 178,386 153,727 188,785 162,263 175,914 153,746 160,532 150,136 168,871 156,432

Michigan .................. 220,069 186,698 219,556 195,118 218,548 186,438 185,816 187,213 204,087 192,282

Minnesota ............... 136,923 132,507 147,427 131,516 146,558 128,935 124,085 122,494 141,927 139,112

Mississippi ............... 60,007 48,649 55,359 54,075 62,207 46,688 55,261 51,607 51,187 48,431

Missouri .................. 142,699 127,642 138,623 130,446 144,912 116,469 122,952 119,969 126,229 119,640

Montana .................. 30,556 33,180 29,110 27,868 31,502 28,910 25,995 30,582 28,040 26,748

Nebraska .................. 49,553 48,584 47,109 47,684 49,075 43,949 45,229 45,472 44,223 44,278

Nevada ..................... 70,287 67,468 66,653 67,838 75,894 56,851 57,353 62,062 58,211 57,714

New Hampshire ......... 37,142 31,642 37,379 33,156 37,153 32,733 31,333 32,662 34,823 31,131

New Jersey ............... 227,119 192,871 237,230 211,747 228,002 203,873 199,775 196,290 202,878 197,804

New Mexico ............ 44,135 40,119 41,785 40,153 42,145 37,593 40,337 42,353 40,217 42,206

New York ............... 492,207 452,751 510,517 478,685 499,754 438,941 447,485 442,513 465,778 448,260

North Carolina ............ 224,428 201,554 222,540 215,149 231,306 183,831 195,257 186,438 196,782 192,146

North Dakota ............ 32,877 27,400 24,976 25,618 24,097 25,770 33,253 41,954 30,853 28,943

Ohio ........................ 274,778 245,199 272,264 245,565 273,202 233,006 251,495 237,460 256,532 235,464

Oklahoma ............... 85,458 72,454 75,658 75,238 79,209 69,618 78,715 82,570 76,608 81,183

Oregon ..................... 103,676 102,857 102,758 104,581 106,097 92,473 84,267 90,914 95,354 93,204

Pennsylvania ............ 278,808 241,865 277,841 265,180 286,453 242,138 260,288 245,484 263,136 256,494

Rhode Island ............ 26,349 21,815 27,189 23,866 27,116 22,897 23,924 24,003 23,613 23,503

South Carolina ............ 107,723 89,525 103,461 99,083 114,551 78,630 88,343 88,733 92,986 86,340

South Dakota ............ 21,338 21,738 21,381 20,412 22,952 19,835 19,475 20,354 21,112 20,368

Tennessee ............... 147,613 122,997 142,377 140,614 153,458 114,067 123,505 114,804 123,495 113,930

Texas ..................... 621,191 558,120 580,476 584,743 600,717 482,093 554,065 542,136 542,464 541,352

Utah ........................ 77,688 81,508 77,194 78,335 81,518 63,747 64,830 68,853 67,127 67,774

Vermont .................. 18,971 17,292 18,547 17,503 18,063 16,952 17,199 17,909 19,351 16,557

Virginia .................. 170,860 179,773 194,303 210,997 195,211 163,277 166,667 161,279 178,620 170,622

Washington ............... 175,377 172,884 185,623 170,134 176,144 156,237 145,606 150,744 174,709 157,999

West Virginia ............ 37,372 33,488 35,119 32,371 36,485 34,173 38,029 37,109 37,289 35,357

Wisconsin ............... 136,603 129,845 136,692 131,535 138,711 123,187 121,215 126,192 135,315 126,260

Wyoming .................. 20,323 19,818 16,942 17,709 18,969 17,717 19,749 23,720 18,620 19,565

Puerto Rico ............... 43,614 35,793 38,676 41,386 42,210 33,418 43,227 46,166 42,614 39,180

Virgin Islands ............ 1,721 1,497 1,693 1,584 1,978 1,519 1,618 1,808 1,997 1,464

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

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

State

Gross job gains Gross job losses

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

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

2014 2015 2015 2015 2015 2014 2015 2015 2015 2015

United States .......................... 6.6 5.9 6.4 6.1 6.6 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.8

Alabama ............................. 6.0 5.6 5.9 5.8 6.2 5.2 5.4 5.3 5.6 5.3

Alaska ................................. 10.6 10.4 10.6 9.0 9.5 10.4 9.2 10.8 10.2 10.5

Arizona ............................... 7.0 6.0 5.9 6.8 6.9 5.3 5.7 5.7 5.4 5.4

Arkansas .............................. 6.6 5.4 5.9 6.1 6.3 5.1 5.7 5.3 5.2 5.1

California ........................... 7.4 6.8 6.8 6.9 7.6 6.4 6.2 6.5 5.8 6.7

Colorado .............................. 7.0 6.9 7.0 7.1 7.0 6.1 6.1 6.4 6.4 6.3

Connecticut ......................... 5.4 4.8 5.8 5.1 5.3 5.2 5.1 4.8 5.8 5.0

Delaware .............................. 7.0 5.7 7.6 6.1 7.2 5.4 7.3 5.6 6.1 6.2

District of Columbia ............... 5.5 5.5 6.2 6.2 5.9 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.5 4.7

Florida ................................. 7.1 6.3 6.9 6.8 7.1 6.0 5.6 5.9 5.8 5.8

Georgia .............................. 6.9 6.2 6.7 6.5 6.9 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.9 5.7

Hawaii ............................... 5.2 4.9 4.9 5.1 5.7 4.4 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.6

Idaho .................................... 8.0 9.1 7.5 7.8 7.9 7.0 7.0 7.1 7.1 6.9

Illinois ................................ 6.2 5.8 6.2 5.4 6.4 5.5 5.7 5.2 5.7 5.6

Indiana ............................... 6.3 5.3 5.7 5.4 6.2 5.0 5.3 5.1 5.3 4.9

Iowa .................................... 6.1 5.9 6.1 5.6 6.0 5.6 5.4 5.9 6.0 5.6

Kansas ................................. 6.2 5.7 6.0 5.7 6.2 5.4 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.6

Kentucky .............................. 6.6 5.5 6.4 6.0 6.6 5.3 6.0 5.5 5.6 5.3

Louisiana .............................. 6.8 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.5 5.8 6.7 6.8 6.2 6.3

Maine ................................ 7.2 6.5 8.0 6.5 7.1 7.2 7.0 6.4 7.1 7.0

Maryland ............................ 6.7 5.9 7.0 6.5 6.7 6.2 6.2 5.9 6.3 5.9

Massachusetts ....................... 6.0 5.1 6.3 5.4 5.9 5.2 5.4 5.0 5.6 5.2

Michigan ............................. 6.2 5.2 6.1 5.4 6.1 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.7 5.3

Minnesota ........................... 5.8 5.6 6.1 5.4 6.1 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.9 5.8

Mississippi ........................... 6.9 5.5 6.3 6.2 7.1 5.4 6.4 5.9 5.8 5.4

Missouri .............................. 6.3 5.6 6.0 5.7 6.3 5.1 5.4 5.2 5.5 5.1

Montana ............................... 8.5 9.1 8.0 7.6 8.5 8.0 7.2 8.4 7.7 7.3

Nebraska .............................. 6.2 6.1 5.9 6.0 6.1 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.5

Nevada ............................... 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.8 5.3 5.3 5.7 5.3 5.2

New Hampshire ..................... 6.9 5.7 6.8 6.0 6.7 6.0 5.7 5.9 6.3 5.6

New Jersey ........................... 6.9 5.8 7.1 6.3 6.8 6.2 6.0 5.9 6.1 5.9

New Mexico ........................ 7.2 6.4 6.7 6.5 6.8 6.1 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.8

New York ........................... 6.6 5.9 6.7 6.3 6.5 5.8 5.9 5.8 6.0 5.9

North Carolina ........................ 6.5 5.9 6.4 6.1 6.6 5.4 5.7 5.4 5.6 5.5

North Dakota ........................ 8.7 7.1 6.7 7.1 6.7 6.7 8.7 11.3 8.5 8.1

Ohio .................................... 6.1 5.4 6.0 5.4 6.0 5.1 5.6 5.3 5.6 5.2

Oklahoma ........................... 6.7 5.7 6.0 6.0 6.3 5.5 6.1 6.5 6.1 6.5

Oregon ................................. 7.1 6.9 6.9 7.0 7.0 6.3 5.7 6.1 6.4 6.2

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.6 4.9 5.6 5.2 5.7 4.9 5.2 4.9 5.2 5.1

Rhode Island ........................ 6.4 5.3 6.6 5.8 6.6 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.7

South Carolina ........................ 6.8 5.7 6.5 6.2 7.1 5.0 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.3

South Dakota ........................ 6.3 6.3 6.3 5.9 6.6 5.8 5.7 5.9 6.1 5.9

Tennessee ........................... 6.2 5.2 5.9 5.8 6.3 4.8 5.2 4.8 5.1 4.6

Texas ................................. 6.4 5.8 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.0 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.5

Utah .................................... 7.2 7.3 6.9 7.0 7.2 5.8 5.9 6.1 5.9 6.0

Vermont .............................. 7.5 6.8 7.3 6.9 7.1 6.7 6.8 7.0 7.6 6.5

Virginia .............................. 5.8 6.0 6.4 6.9 6.4 5.5 5.6 5.4 5.9 5.5

Washington ........................... 6.9 6.7 7.2 6.5 6.7 6.1 5.6 5.8 6.7 6.0

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

Wisconsin ........................... 5.8 5.4 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.6 5.2

Wyoming .............................. 9.3 8.9 7.8 8.3 9.0 8.0 8.9 10.9 8.7 9.2

Puerto Rico ........................... 6.4 5.3 5.8 6.2 6.3 4.9 6.4 6.8 6.3 5.8

Virgin Islands ........................ 6.2 5.5 6.3 5.8 7.3 5.6 5.9 6.7 7.4 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

2005 March 227 3.3 196 2.9 972 .9 877 .8

June 232 3.4 192 2.8 964 .9 845 .8

September 236 3.4 195 2.8 1,005 .9 885 .8

December 236 3.4 200 2.9 988 .9 850 .8

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 2.8 712 .7 631 .6

June 210 2.9 206 2.9 766 .7 690 .6

September 205 2.9 196 2.7 795 .7 677 .6

December 214 3.0 198 2.8 802 .7 699 .6

2012 March 237 3.3 187 2.6 783 .7 613 .6

June 216 3.0 195 2.7 799 .7 675 .6

September 211 2.9 196 2.7 808 .7 693 .6

December 218 3.0 183 2.5 810 .7 675 .6

2013 March 204 2.8 192 2.6 743 .7 644 .6

June 222 3.0 215 2.9 791 .7 695 .6

September 219 2.9 195 2.6 824 .7 681 .6

December 215 2.9 186 2.5 805 .7 672 .6

2014 March 220 2.9 189 2.5 779 .7 630 .6

June 220 2.9 205 2.7 805 .7 717 .6

September 225 3.0 200 2.6 829 .7 705 .6

December 223 2.9 197 2.6 840 .7 709 .6

2015 March 233 3.0 206 2.7 806 .7 691 .6

June 232 3.0 N/A N/A 831 .7 N/A N/A

September 238 3.1 N/A N/A 871 .7 N/A N/A

December 240 3.1 N/A N/A 889 .7 N/A N/A

1 Values for deaths are not available for the most recent three quarters. See the Technical Note for more information.

2 The rates measure births and deaths as a percentage of the average of the previous and current quarter employment levels or total number of establishments

Year 3 months ended

Number of Establishments Employment

Births Deaths 1 Births Deaths