For release 10:00 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, July 29, 2020 USDL-20-1463 

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 2019

From September 2019 to December 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector 

establishments were 7.8 million, an increase of 490,000 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 7.0 million, a decrease of 291,000 jobs from the previous quarter. 

The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net 

employment gain of 792,000 jobs in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2019. (See chart 1, 

and tables A and 1.) 

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment 

that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics 

track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter 

to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of 

gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See Technical Note.) The BED data series include 

gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, 

Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by 

employer size class. 

Gross job gains

Gross job losses

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Chart 1. Total private sector gross job gains and gross job losses, seasonally adjusted

March 2009 - December 2019

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defined recession period.
- 2 - 

Gross Job Gains 

In the fourth quarter of 2019, gross job gains represented 6.2 percent of private-sector employment. 

Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and 

the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 

6.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 369,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter. 

Opening establishments accounted for 1.5 million of the jobs gained in the fourth quarter of 2019, an 

increase of 121,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 2 and 3, and tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) 

Gross Job Losses 

In the fourth quarter of 2019, gross job losses represented 5.6 percent of private-sector employment. 

Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of 

jobs at closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 5.7 million jobs in the fourth quarter of 

2019, a decrease of 348,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2019, closing

establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, an increase of 57,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 2 

and 3, and tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) 

Establishment Births and Deaths 

In the fourth quarter of 2019, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data) 

increased by 16,000, to a total of 266,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for 

897,000 jobs, an increase of 55,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a 

subset of the closings data) are available through the first quarter of 2019, when 698,000 jobs were lost 

at 222,000 establishments, a decrease of 64,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2018. (See Technical 

Note and table 8.) 

Expansions

Contractions

4,500

5,500

6,500

7,500

'09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19

Chart 2. Private sector gross job gains at expanding establishments 

and gross job losses at contracting establishments, seasonally 

adjusted: March 2009 - December 2019

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents NBER defined recession period.

Openings

Closings

1,100

1,200

1,300

1,400

1,500

1,600

'09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19

Chart 3. Private sector gross job gains at opening establishments 

and gross job losses at closing establishments, seasonally 

adjusted: March 2009 - December 2019

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents NBER defined recession period.
- 3 - 

Industries 

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 11 of 13 industries in the fourth quarter of 2019. The 

service-providing industries experienced a net job increase of 809,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2019. 

Within the service-providing industries, transportation and warehousing had the largest over-the-quarter 

net job increase, with a gain of 256,000 jobs. This was the result of 509,000 gross job gains and 253,000 

gross job losses. The leisure and hospitality and retail trade sectors also showed increases in the fourth 

quarter of 2019, with 182,000 and 3,000 net jobs gained respectively. The goods-producing industries 

experienced a net job decrease of 17,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2019. Of the goods-producing 

industries, the natural resources and mining sector experienced a net decrease of 42,000 jobs. However, 

the construction sector had a net gain of 19,000 jobs and the manufacturing sector showed a net increase 

of 6,000 jobs. (See table 3.) 

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

 

Category 

3 months ended 

Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. 

2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 

Levels (in thousands) 

Gross job gains............................. 7,768 7,375 7,605 7,341 7,831 

 At expanding establishments... 6,318 6,038 6,229 5,979 6,348 

 At opening establishments.... 1,450 1,337 1,376 1,362 1,483 

Gross job losses............................ 6,957 6,850 7,423 7,330 7,039 

 At contracting establishments 5,626 5,649 6,078 6,050 5,702 

 At closing establishments...... 1,331 1,201 1,345 1,280 1,337 

Net employment change1............. 811 525 182 11 792 

 

Rates (percent) 

Gross job gains............................. 6.3 5.9 6.0 5.8 6.2 

 At expanding establishments... 5.1 4.8 4.9 4.7 5.0 

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

Gross job losses............................ 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.8 5.6 

 At contracting establishments 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.8 4.5 

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

Net employment change1............. 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.6 

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. 
- 4 - 

Firm Size 

In the fourth quarter of 2019, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment gain of 192,000. Firms 

with 50-249 employees had a net employment gain of 107,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a 

net employment gain of 395,000. (See tables 4 and 5.) 

States 

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the 

Virgin Islands in the fourth quarter of 2019. (See tables 6 and 7.) 

For 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 answers to frequently asked 

questions. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found in the 

Technical Note of this release or can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. 

 

The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2020 are scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). 
Technical Note 

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of 

a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of 

Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by 

the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports 

on the employment and wages of workers covered by unemployment 

insurance (UI) laws and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW is 

based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to 

the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the 

QCEW and form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe 

sampling frame. 

These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on 

total employment and wages and the longitudinal BED data on gross 

job gains and losses. The QCEW is also the employment benchmark 

for the Current Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 

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

Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts. 

In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are linked 

across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net employment 

changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and expanding units and jobs lost at 

closing and contracting units. 

Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures

QCEW BED CES 

Source  Count of UI administrative records 

submitted by 10.1 million establishments in first quarter of 2019 

 Count of longitudinally-linked UI administrative records submitted by 8.2 

million private-sector establishments 

 Sample survey: 689,000 establishments 

Coverage  UI and UCFE coverage, including 

all employers subject to state and 

federal UI laws 

 UI coverage, excluding government, 

private households, and establishments with zero employment 

Nonfarm wage and salary jobs: 

 UI coverage, excluding agriculture, private 

households, and self-employed workers 

 Other employment, including railroads, 

religious organizations, and other nonUI-covered jobs 

Publication frequency 

 Quarterly 

— 6 months after the end of each 

quarter 

 Quarterly 

— 7 months after the end of each 

quarter 

 Monthly 

— Usually the 3rd Friday after the end 

of the week including the 12th of the 

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 to 

annually realign sample-based estimates 

to population counts (benchmarking) 

Principal 

products 

 Provides a quarterly and annual universe count of establishments, employment, and wages at the county, 

metropolitan statistical area (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 supersectors, 3-digit NAICS, 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 federal economic indicator 

— Official time series for employment 

change measures 

— Input into other major economic indicators 

Program Web 

sites 

 www.bls.gov/cew  www.bls.gov/bdm  www.bls.gov/ces 
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment 

measures 

The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for any given quarter. Each of these measures—Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Business Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (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 employment change over time. It is important to understand program differences and the intended uses of the 

program products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be obtained from the program websites shown in the table. 

Coverage 

Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and 

Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) laws 

are compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the 

SWAs by employers. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, 

employers who operate multiple establishments within a state complete a questionnaire, called the “Multiple Worksite Report,” which 

provides detailed information on the location of their establishments. 

These reports are based on place of employment rather than place of 

residence. UI and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable 

from state to state. 

Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, religious organizations, most agricultural workers on small farms, all 

members of the Armed Forces, elected officials in most states, most 

employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers 

at schools, and employees of certain small nonprofit organizations. 

 Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from 

longitudinal histories of 8.2 million private sector employer reports 

out of 10.1 million total reports of employment and wages submitted 

by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2019. 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. 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 2019. 

Number of active establishments included in 

Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level 

 Millions 

Total establishments QCEW program..........10.1 

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

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

 Zero employment................. 1.4 

 

Total establishments included in Business 

Employment Dynamics data.....................8.2 

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 the third month of the previous four quarters. 

Births are a subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal 

businesses. 

Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero employment 

reported in the third month of four consecutive quarters following the 

last quarter with positive employment. Deaths are a subset of closings 

not including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A unit that 

closes during the quarter may be a death, but we wait three quarters to 

determine whether it is a permanent closing or a temporary shutdown. 

Therefore, there is always a lag of three quarters for the publication of 

death statistics. 
All employment changes are measured from the third month of the 

previous quarter to the third month of the current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their employment levels. Units with no 

change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, 

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

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment in the current and 

previous quarters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. The rates 

are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job 

losses and then summed to form their respective totals. These rates 

can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For instance, the 

difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses 

rate is the net growth rate. 

Establishment Births and Deaths 

For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as establishments that appear in the longitudinal database for the first time with 

positive employment in the third month of a quarter, or showed four 

consecutive quarters of zero employment in the third month followed 

by a quarter in which it shows positive employment in the third month. 

Similarly, deaths are defined as establishments that either drop out of 

the longitudinal database or an establishment that had positive employment in the third month of a given quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of showing zero employment in the third month. Although the data for establishment births and deaths are tabulated independently from the data for openings and closings, the concepts are 

not mutually exclusive. An establishment that is defined as a birth in 

a given quarter is necessarily an opening as well, and an establishment 

defined as a death in a quarter must also be a closing. Since openings 

include seasonal and other re-openings and closings include temporary shutdowns, the not seasonally adjusted values for births and 

deaths must be less than those for openings and closings. However, 

because some BED series do not have many re-openings or temporary 

shutdowns, as well as the fact that births and deaths are independently 

seasonally adjusted from openings and closings, there may be instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the former is greater 

than the latter. 

Linkage methodology 

Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, 

QCEW records are linked across two quarters. The linkage process 

matches establishments' unique SWA identification numbers (SWAID). Between 95 and 97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from quarter to quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are 

linked in one of three ways. The first method uses predecessor and 

successor information, identified by the states, which relates records 

with different SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor 

relations can come about for a variety of reasons, including a change 

in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account restructuring. If a 

match cannot be attained in this manner, a probability-based match is 

used. This match attempts to identify two establishments with different SWA-IDs as continuous. The match is based upon comparisons 

such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst 

examines unmatched records individually and makes a possible 

match. 

In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify 

with employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and 

ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-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 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-13 

ARIMA-SEATS. 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 the annual 

bulletin also are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover (Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), telephone (202) 691-6567; (www.bls.gov/cew/); 

(e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov). 

The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program produces 

monthly estimates of employment, its net change, hours, 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 phone 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2012 March 948 7,080 5,746 1,334 6,132 5,005 1,127

June 616 7,051 5,724 1,327 6,435 5,266 1,169

September 252 6,881 5,571 1,310 6,629 5,430 1,199

December 695 7,110 5,753 1,357 6,415 5,225 1,190

2013 March 558 6,941 5,705 1,236 6,383 5,201 1,182

June 674 7,152 5,830 1,322 6,478 5,271 1,207

September 507 7,058 5,719 1,339 6,551 5,408 1,143

December 700 7,255 5,926 1,329 6,555 5,353 1,202

2014 March 419 6,953 5,687 1,266 6,534 5,380 1,154

June 895 7,454 6,114 1,340 6,559 5,342 1,217

September 577 7,247 5,918 1,329 6,670 5,487 1,183

December 1,038 7,617 6,248 1,369 6,579 5,346 1,233

2015 March 216 7,040 5,727 1,313 6,824 5,622 1,202

June 838 7,580 6,236 1,344 6,742 5,550 1,192

September 466 7,340 5,977 1,363 6,874 5,665 1,209

December 968 7,827 6,367 1,460 6,859 5,594 1,265

2016 March 242 7,144 5,860 1,284 6,902 5,699 1,203

June 305 7,448 6,077 1,371 7,143 5,836 1,307

September 734 7,709 6,249 1,460 6,975 5,730 1,245

December 351 7,436 6,021 1,415 7,085 5,784 1,301

2017 March 649 7,420 6,086 1,334 6,771 5,588 1,183

June 473 7,623 6,255 1,368 7,150 5,878 1,272

September -68 7,317 5,964 1,353 7,385 6,088 1,297

December 955 7,814 6,374 1,440 6,859 5,561 1,298

2018 March 707 7,484 6,135 1,349 6,777 5,587 1,190

June 401 7,655 6,257 1,398 7,254 5,967 1,287

September 67 7,499 6,122 1,377 7,432 6,113 1,319

December 811 7,768 6,318 1,450 6,957 5,626 1,331

2019 March 525 7,375 6,038 1,337 6,850 5,649 1,201

June 182 7,605 6,229 1,376 7,423 6,078 1,345

September 11 7,341 5,979 1,362 7,330 6,050 1,280

December 792 7,831 6,348 1,483 7,039 5,702 1,337

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

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 -0.8 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.8 5.5 1.3

December -0.3 6.3 5.0 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3

2010 March -0.2 6.0 4.8 1.2 6.2 5.0 1.2

June 0.7 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September 0.2 6.3 5.1 1.2 6.1 4.9 1.2

December 0.5 6.6 5.3 1.3 6.1 4.9 1.2

2011 March 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.7 1.1

June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.7 1.2

September 0.8 6.7 5.4 1.3 5.9 4.8 1.1

December 0.4 6.4 5.1 1.3 6.0 4.8 1.2

2012 March 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.6 1.0

June 0.5 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

September 0.2 6.2 5.0 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1

December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2013 March 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.6 1.1

June 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2014 March 0.4 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

June 0.8 6.5 5.3 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1

September 0.5 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

December 0.9 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.7 4.6 1.1

2015 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

June 0.7 6.4 5.3 1.1 5.7 4.7 1.0

September 0.5 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.8 6.6 5.4 1.2 5.8 4.7 1.1

2016 March 0.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

June 0.2 6.2 5.1 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1

September 0.6 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.3 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.9 4.8 1.1

2017 March 0.5 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.6 4.6 1.0

June 0.4 6.2 5.1 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

September -0.1 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.1 5.0 1.1

December 0.8 6.4 5.2 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1

2018 March 0.6 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0

June 0.3 6.1 5.0 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

September 0.0 6.0 4.9 1.1 6.0 4.9 1.1

December 0.7 6.3 5.1 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1

2019 March 0.4 5.9 4.8 1.1 5.5 4.5 1.0

June 0.1 6.0 4.9 1.1 5.9 4.8 1.1

September 0.0 5.8 4.7 1.1 5.8 4.8 1.0

December 0.6 6.2 5.0 1.2 5.6 4.5 1.1

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

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

Year 3 months ended Net change 2

Gross job gains

Total Total

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

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

2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 7,768 7,375 7,605 7,341 7,831 6.3 5.9 6.0 5.8 6.2

At expanding establishments ......... 6,318 6,038 6,229 5,979 6,348 5.1 4.8 4.9 4.7 5.0

At opening establishments ............ 1,450 1,337 1,376 1,362 1,483 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 6,957 6,850 7,423 7,330 7,039 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.8 5.6

At contracting establishments ......... 5,626 5,649 6,078 6,050 5,702 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.8 4.5

At closing establishments ............ 1,331 1,201 1,345 1,280 1,337 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1

Net employment change .............. 811 525 182 11 792 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.6

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,406 1,343 1,363 1,241 1,310 6.4 6.1 6.2 5.7 5.9

At expanding establishments ......... 1,194 1,149 1,169 1,053 1,113 5.4 5.2 5.3 4.8 5.0

At opening establishments ............ 212 194 194 188 197 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9

Gross job losses ........................... 1,255 1,232 1,342 1,322 1,327 5.7 5.5 6.0 6.0 6.0

At contracting establishments ......... 1,052 1,049 1,135 1,133 1,124 4.8 4.7 5.1 5.1 5.1

At closing establishments ............ 203 183 207 189 203 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9

Net employment change .............. 151 111 21 -81 -17 0.7 0.6 0.2 -0.3 -0.1

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 246 243 265 226 232 12.6 12.4 13.6 11.8 12.1

At expanding establishments ......... 214 213 233 196 200 11.0 10.9 12.0 10.2 10.4

At opening establishments ............ 32 30 32 30 32 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7

Gross job losses ........................... 256 242 249 239 274 13.2 12.4 12.8 12.5 14.3

At contracting establishments ......... 227 213 218 213 243 11.7 10.9 11.2 11.1 12.7

At closing establishments ............ 29 29 31 26 31 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.6

Net employment change .............. -10 1 16 -13 -42 -0.6 0.0 0.8 -0.7 -2.2

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 695 698 683 641 667 9.6 9.3 9.1 8.6 9.0

At expanding establishments ......... 559 569 560 519 542 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.0 7.3

At opening establishments ............ 136 129 123 122 125 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7

Gross job losses ........................... 621 614 668 642 648 8.6 8.2 8.9 8.6 8.7

At contracting establishments ......... 499 500 540 522 522 6.9 6.7 7.2 7.0 7.0

At closing establishments ............ 122 114 128 120 126 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.7

Net employment change .............. 74 84 15 -1 19 1.0 1.1 0.2 0.0 0.3

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 465 402 415 374 411 3.6 3.2 3.2 2.9 3.2

At expanding establishments ......... 421 367 376 338 371 3.3 2.9 2.9 2.6 2.9

At opening establishments ............ 44 35 39 36 40 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Gross job losses ........................... 378 376 425 441 405 3.0 2.9 3.3 3.4 3.2

At contracting establishments ......... 326 336 377 398 359 2.6 2.6 2.9 3.1 2.8

At closing establishments ............ 52 40 48 43 46 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4

Net employment change .............. 87 26 -10 -67 6 0.6 0.3 -0.1 -0.5 0.0

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 6,362 6,032 6,242 6,100 6,521 6.2 5.8 6.0 5.8 6.2

At expanding establishments ......... 5,124 4,889 5,060 4,926 5,235 5.0 4.7 4.9 4.7 5.0

At opening establishments ............ 1,238 1,143 1,182 1,174 1,286 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 5,702 5,618 6,081 6,008 5,712 5.5 5.4 5.9 5.8 5.5

At contracting establishments ......... 4,574 4,600 4,943 4,917 4,578 4.4 4.4 4.8 4.7 4.4

At closing establishments ............ 1,128 1,018 1,138 1,091 1,134 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1

Net employment change .............. 660 414 161 92 809 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.7

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 279 258 267 255 266 4.8 4.3 4.6 4.3 4.6

At expanding establishments ......... 228 214 222 208 216 3.9 3.6 3.8 3.5 3.7

At opening establishments ............ 51 44 45 47 50 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9

Gross job losses ........................... 245 243 262 265 248 4.1 4.2 4.5 4.5 4.2

At contracting establishments ......... 190 192 204 212 193 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.6 3.3

At closing establishments ............ 55 51 58 53 55 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9

Net employment change .............. 34 15 5 -10 18 0.7 0.1 0.1 -0.2 0.4

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 847 905 870 845 885 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.4 5.7

At expanding establishments ......... 737 789 749 729 772 4.7 5.0 4.8 4.7 5.0

At opening establishments ............ 110 116 121 116 113 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7

Gross job losses ........................... 918 863 971 931 882 5.8 5.5 6.2 6.0 5.7

At contracting establishments ......... 787 752 830 810 764 5.0 4.8 5.3 5.2 4.9

At closing establishments ............ 131 111 141 121 118 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.8

Net employment change .............. -71 42 -101 -86 3 -0.4 0.2 -0.6 -0.6 0.0

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 421 281 308 338 509 7.8 5.2 5.7 6.1 9.0

At expanding establishments ......... 365 240 263 287 446 6.8 4.4 4.9 5.2 7.9

At opening establishments ............ 56 41 45 51 63 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 239 346 267 253 253 4.5 6.3 4.9 4.6 4.4

At contracting establishments ......... 198 311 227 216 211 3.7 5.7 4.2 3.9 3.7

At closing establishments ............ 41 35 40 37 42 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7

Net employment change .............. 182 -65 41 85 256 3.3 -1.1 0.8 1.5 4.6

Utilities

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

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

At opening establishments ............ 1 1 2 2 1 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.2

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

At contracting establishments ......... 12 12 12 13 10 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.4 1.8

At closing establishments ............ 2 1 2 1 2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.4

Net employment change .............. -2 -1 -1 0 1 -0.4 -0.2 -0.2 0.0 0.2

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 145 175 162 160 151 5.1 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.3

At expanding establishments ......... 116 139 137 129 120 4.1 4.9 4.8 4.5 4.2

At opening establishments ............ 29 36 25 31 31 1.0 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 150 145 163 155 159 5.3 5.2 5.7 5.5 5.5

At contracting establishments ......... 121 120 135 127 132 4.3 4.3 4.7 4.5 4.6

At closing establishments ............ 29 25 28 28 27 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.9

Net employment change .............. -5 30 -1 5 -8 -0.2 1.0 0.0 0.1 -0.2

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 394 362 407 383 402 4.8 4.4 4.9 4.6 4.8

At expanding establishments ......... 299 290 322 299 305 3.6 3.5 3.9 3.6 3.6

At opening establishments ............ 95 72 85 84 97 1.2 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.2

Gross job losses ........................... 376 343 357 364 362 4.6 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.3

At contracting establishments ......... 286 261 276 281 275 3.5 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.3

At closing establishments ............ 90 82 81 83 87 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Net employment change .............. 18 19 50 19 40 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.2 0.5

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,508 1,318 1,474 1,396 1,491 7.2 6.3 7.0 6.6 7.0

At expanding establishments ......... 1,199 1,074 1,204 1,123 1,195 5.7 5.1 5.7 5.3 5.6

At opening establishments ............ 309 244 270 273 296 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4

Gross job losses ........................... 1,352 1,318 1,366 1,373 1,379 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.5 6.5

At contracting establishments ......... 1,061 1,065 1,085 1,106 1,080 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.1

At closing establishments ............ 291 253 281 267 299 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4

Net employment change .............. 156 0 108 23 112 0.8 0.1 0.6 0.1 0.5

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,004 1,003 1,016 1,037 1,033 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.4

At expanding establishments ......... 816 823 834 859 823 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.5

At opening establishments ............ 188 180 182 178 210 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9

Gross job losses ........................... 868 851 975 925 902 3.8 3.7 4.2 4.0 3.9

At contracting establishments ......... 686 673 785 739 702 3.0 2.9 3.4 3.2 3.0

At closing establishments ............ 182 178 190 186 200 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9

Net employment change .............. 136 152 41 112 131 0.6 0.7 0.2 0.5 0.5

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.

2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,406 1,338 1,342 1,321 1,398 8.6 8.2 8.1 8.1 8.5

At expanding establishments ......... 1,110 1,064 1,062 1,040 1,101 6.8 6.5 6.4 6.4 6.7

At opening establishments ............ 296 274 280 281 297 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8

Gross job losses ........................... 1,230 1,198 1,397 1,408 1,216 7.6 7.3 8.4 8.6 7.4

At contracting establishments ......... 1,004 992 1,160 1,172 992 6.2 6.0 7.0 7.2 6.0

At closing establishments ............ 226 206 237 236 224 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4

Net employment change .............. 176 140 -55 -87 182 1.0 0.9 -0.3 -0.5 1.1

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 304 299 310 295 305 7.2 7.0 7.3 6.9 7.1

At expanding establishments ......... 237 235 246 232 237 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.4 5.5

At opening establishments ............ 67 64 64 63 68 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6

Gross job losses ........................... 291 276 289 300 279 6.9 6.5 6.8 7.0 6.5

At contracting establishments ......... 224 216 223 235 213 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.5 5.0

At closing establishments ............ 67 60 66 65 66 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.5

Net employment change .............. 13 23 21 -5 26 0.3 0.5 0.5 -0.1 0.6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2012 March 972 5,904 4,932 388 3,173 2,785 220 1,054 834 364 1,677 1,313

June 612 5,828 5,216 174 3,039 2,865 158 1,074 916 280 1,715 1,435

September 226 5,581 5,355 55 2,963 2,908 54 1,006 952 117 1,612 1,495

December 637 5,779 5,142 180 3,025 2,845 94 1,014 920 363 1,740 1,377

2013 March 582 5,743 5,161 212 3,071 2,859 156 1,029 873 214 1,643 1,429

June 650 5,906 5,256 226 3,085 2,859 135 1,071 936 289 1,750 1,461

September 473 5,764 5,291 225 3,063 2,838 69 1,021 952 179 1,680 1,501

December 631 5,886 5,255 122 3,021 2,899 105 1,034 929 404 1,831 1,427

2014 March 442 5,665 5,223 231 3,070 2,839 149 1,035 886 62 1,560 1,498

June 893 6,134 5,241 302 3,178 2,876 214 1,119 905 377 1,837 1,460

September 560 5,865 5,305 197 3,064 2,867 117 1,066 949 246 1,735 1,489

December 951 6,155 5,204 212 3,105 2,893 150 1,085 935 589 1,965 1,376

2015 March 222 5,669 5,447 166 3,096 2,930 76 1,024 948 -20 1,549 1,569

June 838 6,248 5,410 319 3,197 2,878 188 1,131 943 331 1,920 1,589

September 446 5,905 5,459 146 3,053 2,907 75 1,045 970 225 1,807 1,582

December 860 6,261 5,401 237 3,178 2,941 96 1,077 981 527 2,006 1,479

2016 March 254 5,747 5,493 204 3,118 2,914 56 1,017 961 -6 1,612 1,618

June 305 6,040 5,735 67 3,123 3,056 113 1,103 990 125 1,814 1,689

September 728 6,251 5,523 180 3,151 2,971 94 1,086 992 454 2,014 1,560

December 288 5,909 5,621 72 3,068 2,996 47 1,032 985 169 1,809 1,640

2017 March 663 5,994 5,331 359 3,239 2,880 187 1,078 891 117 1,677 1,560

June 516 6,193 5,677 143 3,158 3,015 146 1,127 981 227 1,908 1,681

September -120 5,821 5,941 -121 2,992 3,113 -51 1,012 1,063 52 1,817 1,765

December 871 6,222 5,351 240 3,192 2,952 159 1,092 933 472 1,938 1,466

2018 March 729 6,050 5,321 310 3,212 2,902 159 1,064 905 260 1,774 1,514

June 426 6,179 5,753 128 3,189 3,061 150 1,132 982 148 1,858 1,710

September 10 5,970 5,960 -102 3,019 3,121 -33 1,026 1,059 145 1,925 1,780

December 739 6,132 5,393 210 3,182 2,972 151 1,085 934 378 1,865 1,487

2019 March 579 5,944 5,365 280 3,159 2,879 150 1,054 904 149 1,731 1,582

June 187 6,111 5,924 55 3,137 3,082 93 1,119 1,026 39 1,855 1,816

September -59 5,816 5,875 -55 2,999 3,054 -38 1,015 1,053 34 1,802 1,768

December 694 6,211 5,517 192 3,167 2,975 107 1,073 966 395 1,971 1,576

Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job

establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail. See

www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more detailed firm size class data.

Net 

change

Gross job Net 

change

Gross job

NOTE: Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. Net change totals for the firm-level data differ from the

Year 3 months ended

Total private by firm 1 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
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.

2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 6,132 5,944 6,111 5,816 6,211 4.9 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.9

At expanding firms .................. 5,166 5,019 5,215 4,939 5,220 4.1 4.0 4.1 3.9 4.1

At opening firms ..................... 966 925 896 877 991 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8

Gross job losses ........................ 5,393 5,365 5,924 5,875 5,517 4.3 4.3 4.7 4.7 4.4

At contracting firms ............... 4,508 4,515 5,035 5,010 4,631 3.6 3.6 4.0 4.0 3.7

At closing firms ................... 885 850 889 865 886 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7

Net employment change ............. 739 579 187 -59 694 0.6 0.4 0.1 -0.1 0.5

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 3,182 3,159 3,137 2,999 3,167 9.3 9.1 9.1 8.7 9.2

At expanding firms .................. 2,257 2,259 2,279 2,156 2,216 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.3 6.4

At opening firms ..................... 925 900 858 843 951 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.8

Gross job losses ........................ 2,972 2,879 3,082 3,054 2,975 8.7 8.4 8.9 8.8 8.7

At contracting firms ............... 2,122 2,063 2,225 2,218 2,128 6.2 6.0 6.4 6.4 6.2

At closing firms ................... 850 816 857 836 847 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.5

Net employment change ............. 210 280 55 -55 192 0.6 0.7 0.2 -0.1 0.5

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,085 1,054 1,119 1,015 1,073 4.8 4.7 4.9 4.5 4.8

At expanding firms .................. 1,054 1,030 1,086 984 1,038 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.4 4.6

At opening firms ..................... 31 24 33 31 35 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2

Gross job losses ........................ 934 904 1,026 1,053 966 4.1 4.0 4.5 4.7 4.2

At contracting firms ............... 904 878 998 1,029 934 4.0 3.9 4.4 4.6 4.1

At closing firms ................... 30 26 28 24 32 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

Net employment change ............. 151 150 93 -38 107 0.7 0.7 0.4 -0.2 0.6

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,865 1,731 1,855 1,802 1,971 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.8

At expanding firms .................. 1,855 1,730 1,850 1,799 1,966 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.8

At opening firms ..................... 10 1 5 3 5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Gross job losses ........................ 1,487 1,582 1,816 1,768 1,576 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.3

At contracting firms ............... 1,482 1,574 1,812 1,763 1,569 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.6 2.3

At closing firms ................... 5 8 4 5 7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Net employment change ............. 378 149 39 34 395 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.5

NOTE: Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. Net change totals for the firm-level data differ from the

establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment. The unit of analysis section in the technical note provides additional detail. See

www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for more detailed firm size class data.

Category

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

(3 months ended) (3 months ended)

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. 
Table 6. Private sector gross job gains and losses by state, seasonally adjusted

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

2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019

United States 1 ............ 7,768,000 7,375,000 7,605,000 7,341,000 7,831,000 6,957,000 6,850,000 7,423,000 7,330,000 7,039,000

Alabama .................. 100,816 96,841 93,715 95,629 102,098 85,914 88,823 97,277 96,709 91,736

Alaska ..................... 27,051 24,748 26,955 23,615 25,548 24,029 22,229 25,350 25,007 25,427

Arizona .................. 154,406 139,196 140,806 160,648 161,299 126,130 136,405 141,783 121,854 131,054

Arkansas .................. 59,915 53,605 50,642 56,518 65,621 50,421 51,893 58,009 56,355 48,857

California .................. 1,019,583 958,690 986,077 939,910 1,023,895 893,290 918,099 969,001 909,515 900,745

Colorado .................. 155,491 150,523 161,898 150,709 154,783 137,868 143,527 142,841 148,238 142,901

Connecticut ............... 76,068 74,499 82,537 79,052 78,090 71,454 81,433 83,620 82,328 79,474

Delaware .................. 25,620 24,839 23,225 23,718 25,359 21,770 21,612 24,821 23,984 24,302

District of Columbia ... 29,712 29,198 29,227 29,215 28,990 27,027 25,795 29,219 28,952 25,251

Florida ..................... 494,076 470,398 500,836 508,398 515,379 466,878 428,898 487,176 441,736 460,815

Georgia .................. 239,126 257,662 236,211 239,926 252,323 217,509 218,890 246,926 233,652 216,151

Hawaii ..................... 30,742 28,766 25,041 29,020 29,795 27,198 31,811 32,710 28,365 28,557

Idaho ..................... 45,579 46,481 45,151 43,343 49,087 38,775 38,110 41,827 42,680 40,017

Illinois ..................... 286,588 273,000 289,823 255,204 289,245 288,063 268,937 277,708 294,059 270,172

Indiana ..................... 148,866 156,880 140,418 143,721 159,789 133,677 129,593 155,955 152,070 134,514

Iowa ........................ 75,879 67,346 75,896 68,696 75,734 69,658 71,892 73,362 73,262 69,937

Kansas ..................... 69,531 62,736 65,750 64,630 72,572 62,125 64,959 65,932 64,574 64,957

Kentucky .................. 97,782 92,536 91,694 93,509 97,814 87,327 88,220 94,999 90,394 92,757

Louisiana .................. 99,438 95,919 97,369 94,769 94,434 92,940 94,705 105,984 99,020 92,766

Maine ..................... 37,301 37,368 39,623 33,318 38,217 34,444 33,681 39,418 37,768 36,432

Maryland .................. 146,421 139,079 138,324 135,836 143,545 138,449 125,036 140,041 144,488 128,911

Massachusetts ............ 182,975 180,711 192,471 168,540 187,199 167,127 164,915 179,383 187,503 174,790

Michigan .................. 212,257 193,954 211,732 191,346 219,196 196,309 175,917 219,402 225,606 200,837

Minnesota ............... 142,627 129,422 146,506 130,923 147,059 135,392 128,720 136,281 144,232 140,048

Mississippi ............... 58,977 50,681 52,288 49,815 56,037 47,947 55,297 54,217 51,901 50,013

Missouri .................. 137,961 129,371 135,471 138,505 146,875 128,093 126,018 140,045 137,536 124,878

Montana .................. 34,407 29,494 30,766 28,210 33,309 27,518 31,004 29,660 29,657 27,863

Nebraska .................. 47,835 46,491 46,984 45,665 51,026 46,760 45,655 46,493 44,446 47,528

Nevada ..................... 80,193 74,485 73,635 75,445 85,109 67,175 66,481 75,365 70,689 63,896

New Hampshire ......... 37,886 36,640 37,129 33,261 38,349 32,781 32,983 36,876 38,203 34,225

New Jersey ............... 223,239 201,365 216,314 209,706 229,309 199,050 198,569 203,764 216,244 204,300

New Mexico ............ 43,809 41,983 40,861 43,749 44,407 39,424 38,022 41,409 39,943 41,340

New York ............... 504,548 485,292 492,204 469,641 480,900 460,838 433,874 475,470 484,354 466,096

North Carolina ............ 248,759 237,488 230,289 214,705 233,918 197,480 188,107 215,739 223,918 203,371

North Dakota ............ 23,548 24,826 23,575 23,210 23,548 21,746 22,437 23,713 24,814 23,415

Ohio ........................ 261,361 258,396 266,633 251,312 267,740 245,446 241,765 265,147 272,778 246,532

Oklahoma ............... 84,052 74,976 76,968 81,812 82,766 78,597 75,282 80,251 78,936 80,110

Oregon ..................... 110,386 105,038 105,253 102,439 111,604 98,153 95,104 100,367 102,596 96,619

Pennsylvania ............ 277,414 266,704 272,697 274,084 282,335 249,012 249,431 278,287 272,854 254,386

Rhode Island ............ 26,789 24,678 27,100 24,792 27,498 24,229 23,887 28,695 26,368 25,056

South Carolina ............ 128,913 113,237 110,389 106,317 114,803 93,825 106,262 108,448 101,624 104,992

South Dakota ............ 22,202 20,396 22,031 20,592 22,895 20,696 22,444 21,436 21,144 20,517

Tennessee ............... 148,634 138,640 142,792 142,652 147,133 127,807 124,279 131,387 132,694 130,443

Texas ..................... 652,219 584,029 607,026 616,227 644,021 537,389 541,312 562,489 561,642 547,280

Utah ........................ 87,692 92,927 89,306 87,442 88,214 78,369 78,342 83,159 79,494 81,328

Vermont .................. 18,863 17,446 18,074 16,025 17,627 17,285 16,200 18,303 19,579 16,328

Virginia .................. 199,472 201,989 194,478 167,181 213,332 176,271 175,654 187,801 191,833 176,376

Washington ............... 182,294 176,059 190,942 173,654 188,423 160,020 160,092 164,526 171,392 162,672

West Virginia ............ 35,422 33,504 34,404 31,847 33,825 36,511 36,947 36,179 37,289 39,080

Wisconsin ............... 134,830 127,951 139,354 120,048 136,339 122,971 120,014 133,371 145,899 124,583

Wyoming .................. 20,839 18,347 18,043 17,705 19,692 16,307 16,590 20,240 18,349 18,206

Puerto Rico ............... 40,125 47,891 43,684 41,670 37,232 45,122 34,491 39,466 37,553 33,897

Virgin Islands ............ 1,934 2,987 2,303 3,066 2,881 1,736 1,853 1,597 1,792 2,003

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 

(3 months ended)

Gross job losses

(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.

2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019

United States .......................... 6.3 5.9 6.0 5.8 6.2 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.8 5.6

Alabama ............................. 6.3 6.0 5.8 5.9 6.3 5.3 5.5 6.0 5.9 5.7

Alaska ................................. 11.0 10.0 10.8 9.5 10.2 9.8 9.0 10.2 10.1 10.2

Arizona ............................... 6.2 5.6 5.7 6.4 6.4 5.1 5.5 5.7 4.8 5.2

Arkansas .............................. 5.9 5.2 5.0 5.5 6.4 5.0 5.1 5.7 5.5 4.8

California ........................... 6.9 6.3 6.6 6.3 6.7 5.9 6.2 6.4 6.1 5.9

Colorado .............................. 6.8 6.6 7.0 6.6 6.7 6.0 6.3 6.2 6.4 6.2

Connecticut ......................... 5.3 5.2 5.8 5.5 5.5 4.9 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.5

Delaware .............................. 6.6 6.4 6.0 6.1 6.5 5.6 5.5 6.3 6.2 6.2

District of Columbia ............... 5.6 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.1 4.9 5.5 5.4 4.7

Florida ................................. 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.5 6.6 6.1 5.6 6.3 5.7 5.9

Georgia .............................. 6.3 6.8 6.2 6.2 6.5 5.8 5.7 6.4 6.1 5.6

Hawaii ............................... 5.8 5.4 4.7 5.5 5.6 5.1 5.9 6.1 5.3 5.4

Idaho .................................... 7.4 7.5 7.1 6.9 7.7 6.3 6.1 6.7 6.8 6.3

Illinois ................................ 5.5 5.2 5.6 4.9 5.6 5.6 5.1 5.3 5.6 5.2

Indiana ............................... 5.6 5.9 5.2 5.4 6.0 5.0 4.8 5.8 5.7 5.1

Iowa .................................... 5.8 5.1 5.8 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.3

Kansas ................................. 6.1 5.4 5.7 5.7 6.3 5.4 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.7

Kentucky .............................. 6.1 5.8 5.8 5.8 6.1 5.4 5.5 5.9 5.7 5.8

Louisiana .............................. 6.2 5.9 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.9 6.5 6.1 5.8

Maine ................................ 7.3 7.2 7.5 6.4 7.4 6.7 6.4 7.5 7.2 7.0

Maryland ............................ 6.8 6.4 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.4 5.7 6.4 6.6 5.8

Massachusetts ....................... 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.2 5.7 5.9 5.5

Michigan ............................. 5.6 5.1 5.5 5.1 5.8 5.2 4.6 5.8 6.0 5.3

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

Mississippi ........................... 6.5 5.7 5.8 5.5 6.2 5.3 6.2 6.0 5.8 5.5

Missouri .............................. 5.8 5.4 5.6 5.8 6.1 5.4 5.3 5.8 5.8 5.2

Montana ............................... 8.9 7.6 8.0 7.3 8.6 7.2 8.0 7.7 7.7 7.2

Nebraska .............................. 5.9 5.7 5.7 5.6 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.8

Nevada ............................... 6.6 6.0 5.9 6.0 6.8 5.5 5.4 6.0 5.7 5.0

New Hampshire ..................... 6.6 6.3 6.4 5.8 6.6 5.7 5.7 6.3 6.6 5.9

New Jersey ........................... 6.4 5.7 6.2 6.0 6.5 5.7 5.6 5.8 6.1 5.8

New Mexico ........................ 6.8 6.4 6.3 6.7 6.7 6.1 5.8 6.3 6.1 6.2

New York ........................... 6.3 6.0 6.0 5.8 6.0 5.7 5.3 5.9 5.9 5.7

North Carolina ........................ 6.7 6.3 6.1 5.7 6.2 5.3 5.1 5.7 5.9 5.3

North Dakota ........................ 6.8 7.1 6.7 6.6 6.7 6.2 6.4 6.7 7.1 6.7

Ohio .................................... 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.7 5.3 5.1 5.7 5.8 5.3

Oklahoma ........................... 6.5 5.8 5.9 6.3 6.4 6.1 5.8 6.2 6.1 6.2

Oregon ................................. 6.7 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.7 6.0 5.8 6.1 6.2 5.8

Pennsylvania ........................ 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.4 4.8 4.8 5.3 5.2 4.9

Rhode Island ........................ 6.4 5.8 6.4 5.8 6.5 5.7 5.6 6.7 6.2 5.9

South Carolina ........................ 7.4 6.4 6.3 6.0 6.5 5.4 6.0 6.2 5.7 5.9

South Dakota ........................ 6.3 5.7 6.2 5.8 6.4 5.8 6.4 6.0 6.0 5.7

Tennessee ........................... 5.8 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.6 4.9 4.8 5.0 5.1 5.0

Texas ................................. 6.2 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.0 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.1

Utah .................................... 6.9 7.3 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.2 6.3

Vermont .............................. 7.4 6.7 6.9 6.3 6.9 6.8 6.3 7.1 7.6 6.4

Virginia .............................. 6.3 6.4 6.1 5.2 6.6 5.6 5.5 5.9 6.0 5.5

Washington ........................... 6.4 6.2 6.6 6.0 6.6 5.6 5.6 5.7 6.0 5.7

West Virginia ........................ 6.3 6.0 6.2 5.8 6.2 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.7 7.1

Wisconsin ........................... 5.4 5.1 5.5 4.8 5.5 5.0 4.8 5.3 5.8 5.0

Wyoming .............................. 10.0 8.6 8.5 8.5 9.3 7.8 7.8 9.6 8.7 8.6

Puerto Rico ........................... 6.0 7.1 6.4 6.1 5.4 6.8 5.1 5.8 5.4 4.9

Virgin Islands ........................ 7.9 11.9 8.8 11.2 10.2 7.1 7.4 6.1 6.6 7.1

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

2009 March 197 2.7 247 3.4 738 0.7 869 0.8

June 201 2.8 238 3.3 767 0.7 837 0.8

September 192 2.7 227 3.2 725 0.7 793 0.7

December 202 2.8 218 3.1 728 0.7 749 0.7

2010 March 193 2.7 211 3.0 706 0.7 687 0.7

June 193 2.7 202 2.9 730 0.7 665 0.6

September 207 2.9 204 2.9 754 0.7 701 0.7

December 216 3.0 201 2.8 805 0.8 700 0.7

2011 March 204 2.9 200 2.8 715 0.7 632 0.6

June 210 2.9 205 2.9 767 0.7 689 0.6

September 206 2.9 196 2.7 794 0.7 675 0.6

December 214 3.0 198 2.8 800 0.7 700 0.6

2012 March 236 3.3 188 2.6 787 0.7 614 0.6

June 217 3.0 194 2.7 799 0.7 673 0.6

September 210 2.9 196 2.7 804 0.7 692 0.6

December 218 3.0 183 2.5 809 0.7 673 0.6

2013 March 205 2.8 193 2.6 748 0.7 648 0.6

June 222 3.0 215 2.9 789 0.7 695 0.6

September 219 2.9 195 2.6 818 0.7 678 0.6

December 215 2.9 187 2.5 803 0.7 670 0.6

2014 March 220 2.9 190 2.5 784 0.7 635 0.6

June 221 2.9 204 2.7 806 0.7 711 0.6

September 225 3.0 199 2.6 825 0.7 703 0.6

December 224 2.9 198 2.6 836 0.7 705 0.6

2015 March 233 3.0 206 2.7 817 0.7 694 0.6

June 234 3.1 212 2.8 836 0.7 731 0.6

September 242 3.1 207 2.7 880 0.7 702 0.6

December 247 3.2 208 2.7 896 0.8 732 0.6

2016 March 236 3.0 203 2.6 789 0.7 668 0.6

June 241 3.1 213 2.7 838 0.7 720 0.6

September 239 3.0 214 2.7 869 0.7 746 0.6

December 238 3.0 217 2.8 868 0.7 727 0.6

2017 March 241 3.0 203 2.6 803 0.7 663 0.5

June 240 3.0 225 2.8 848 0.7 756 0.6

September 242 3.0 225 2.8 849 0.7 762 0.6

December 246 3.1 216 2.7 854 0.7 732 0.6

2018 March 248 3.1 214 2.7 811 0.7 663 0.5

June 265 3.3 231 2.9 880 0.7 774 0.6

September 251 3.1 231 2.8 867 0.7 787 0.6

December 249 3.1 222 2.7 863 0.7 762 0.6

2019 March 256 3.1 222 2.7 814 0.6 698 0.6

June 257 3.1 N/A N/A 848 0.7 N/A N/A

September 250 3.0 N/A N/A 842 0.7 N/A N/A

December 266 3.2 N/A N/A 897 0.7 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