For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, April 29, 2020 USDL-20-0718 

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

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

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – THIRD QUARTER 2019

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

establishments were 7.3 million, a decrease of 264,000 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 7.3 million, a decrease of 93,000 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 11,000 jobs in the private sector during the third 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 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 - September 2019

Thousands

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

Gross Job Gains 

In the third quarter of 2019, gross job gains represented 5.8 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 6.0 

million in the third quarter of 2019, a decrease of 250,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter. 

Opening establishments accounted for 1.4 million of the jobs gained in the third quarter of 2019, a 

decrease of 14,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 2 and 3, and tables A, 1, 2, and 3.) 

Gross Job Losses 

In the third quarter of 2019, gross job losses represented 5.8 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 6.1 million jobs in the third quarter of 

2019, a decrease of 28,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the third quarter of 2019, closing

establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, a decrease of 65,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See charts 2 

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

Establishment Births and Deaths 

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

decreased by 7,000, to a total of 250,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for 

842,000 jobs, a decrease of 6,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a 

subset of the closings data) are available through the fourth quarter of 2018, when 762,000 jobs were 

lost at 222,000 establishments, a decrease of 25,000 jobs from the third quarter of 2018. (See Technical 

Note and table 8.) 

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 -

September 2019

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents NBER defined recession 

period.

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 -

September 2019

Thousands

NOTE: Shaded area represents NBER defined recession 

period.
- 3 - 

Industries 

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 5 of 13 industries in the third quarter of 2019. The serviceproviding industries experienced a net job increase of 92,000 jobs in the third quarter of 2019. Within 

service-providing industries, education and health services had the largest over-the-quarter net job 

increase, with a gain of 112,000 jobs. This was the result of 1,037,000 gross job gains and 925,000 gross 

job losses. The leisure and hospitality and retail trade sectors showed declines in the third quarter of 

2019, with 87,000 and 86,000 net job losses respectively. The goods-producing industries experienced a 

net job decrease of 81,000 jobs in the third quarter of 2019. Of the goods-producing industries, 

manufacturing experienced a net decrease of 67,000 jobs, the natural resources and mining sector 

declined by 13,000 jobs, and the construction sector showed a net loss of 1,000 jobs. (See table 3.) 

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

 

Category 

3 months ended 

Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. 

2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 

Levels (in thousands) 

Gross job gains............................. 7,499 7,768 7,375 7,605 7,341 

 At expanding establishments... 6,122 6,318 6,038 6,229 5,979 

 At opening establishments.... 1,377 1,450 1,337 1,376 1,362 

Gross job losses............................ 7,432 6,957 6,850 7,423 7,330 

 At contracting establishments 6,113 5,626 5,649 6,078 6,050 

 At closing establishments...... 1,319 1,331 1,201 1,345 1,280 

Net employment change1............. 67 811 525 182 11 

 

Rates (percent) 

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

 At expanding establishments... 4.9 5.1 4.8 4.9 4.7 

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

Gross job losses............................ 6.0 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.8 

 At contracting establishments 4.9 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.8 

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

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

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 third quarter of 2019, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment loss of 55,000. Firms with 

50-249 employees had a net employment loss of 38,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net 

employment gain of 34,000. (See tables 4 and 5.) 

States 

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 21 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the 

Virgin Islands in the third 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 Fourth Quarter 2019 are scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). 
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

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

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

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

2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019

Total private 1

Gross job gains ........................... 7,499 7,768 7,375 7,605 7,341 6.0 6.3 5.9 6.0 5.8

At expanding establishments ......... 6,122 6,318 6,038 6,229 5,979 4.9 5.1 4.8 4.9 4.7

At opening establishments ............ 1,377 1,450 1,337 1,376 1,362 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 7,432 6,957 6,850 7,423 7,330 6.0 5.6 5.5 5.9 5.8

At contracting establishments ......... 6,113 5,626 5,649 6,078 6,050 4.9 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.8

At closing establishments ............ 1,319 1,331 1,201 1,345 1,280 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0

Net employment change .............. 67 811 525 182 11 0.0 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.0

Goods-producing

Gross job gains ........................... 1,314 1,406 1,343 1,363 1,241 6.0 6.4 6.1 6.2 5.7

At expanding establishments ......... 1,118 1,194 1,149 1,169 1,053 5.1 5.4 5.2 5.3 4.8

At opening establishments ............ 196 212 194 194 188 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9

Gross job losses ........................... 1,316 1,255 1,232 1,342 1,322 6.0 5.7 5.5 6.0 6.0

At contracting establishments ......... 1,116 1,052 1,049 1,135 1,133 5.1 4.8 4.7 5.1 5.1

At closing establishments ............ 200 203 183 207 189 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9

Net employment change .............. -2 151 111 21 -81 0.0 0.7 0.6 0.2 -0.3

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains ........................... 240 246 243 265 226 12.5 12.6 12.4 13.6 11.8

At expanding establishments ......... 210 214 213 233 196 10.9 11.0 10.9 12.0 10.2

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

Gross job losses ........................... 247 256 242 249 239 12.8 13.2 12.4 12.8 12.5

At contracting establishments ......... 218 227 213 218 213 11.3 11.7 10.9 11.2 11.1

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

Net employment change .............. -7 -10 1 16 -13 -0.3 -0.6 0.0 0.8 -0.7

Construction

Gross job gains ........................... 651 695 698 683 641 9.0 9.6 9.3 9.1 8.6

At expanding establishments ......... 526 559 569 560 519 7.3 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.0

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

Gross job losses ........................... 657 621 614 668 642 9.1 8.6 8.2 8.9 8.6

At contracting establishments ......... 535 499 500 540 522 7.4 6.9 6.7 7.2 7.0

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

Net employment change .............. -6 74 84 15 -1 -0.1 1.0 1.1 0.2 0.0

Manufacturing

Gross job gains ........................... 423 465 402 415 374 3.3 3.6 3.2 3.2 2.9

At expanding establishments ......... 382 421 367 376 338 3.0 3.3 2.9 2.9 2.6

At opening establishments ............ 41 44 35 39 36 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

Gross job losses ........................... 412 378 376 425 441 3.3 3.0 2.9 3.3 3.4

At contracting establishments ......... 363 326 336 377 398 2.9 2.6 2.6 2.9 3.1

At closing establishments ............ 49 52 40 48 43 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3

Net employment change .............. 11 87 26 -10 -67 0.0 0.6 0.3 -0.1 -0.5

Service-providing 1

Gross job gains ........................... 6,185 6,362 6,032 6,242 6,100 6.1 6.2 5.8 6.0 5.8

At expanding establishments ......... 5,004 5,124 4,889 5,060 4,926 4.9 5.0 4.7 4.9 4.7

At opening establishments ............ 1,181 1,238 1,143 1,182 1,174 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 6,116 5,702 5,618 6,081 6,008 6.0 5.5 5.4 5.9 5.8

At contracting establishments ......... 4,997 4,574 4,600 4,943 4,917 4.9 4.4 4.4 4.8 4.7

At closing establishments ............ 1,119 1,128 1,018 1,138 1,091 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1

Net employment change .............. 69 660 414 161 92 0.1 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.0

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains ........................... 275 279 258 267 255 4.7 4.8 4.3 4.6 4.3

At expanding establishments ......... 223 228 214 222 208 3.8 3.9 3.6 3.8 3.5

At opening establishments ............ 52 51 44 45 47 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8

Gross job losses ........................... 269 245 243 262 265 4.6 4.1 4.2 4.5 4.5

At contracting establishments ......... 211 190 192 204 212 3.6 3.2 3.3 3.5 3.6

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

Net employment change .............. 6 34 15 5 -10 0.1 0.7 0.1 0.1 -0.2

See footnote at end of table.

Category

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

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

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

2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019

Retail trade

Gross job gains ........................... 918 847 905 870 845 5.8 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.4

At expanding establishments ......... 794 737 789 749 729 5.0 4.7 5.0 4.8 4.7

At opening establishments ............ 124 110 116 121 116 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7

Gross job losses ........................... 1,002 918 863 971 931 6.3 5.8 5.5 6.2 6.0

At contracting establishments ......... 852 787 752 830 810 5.4 5.0 4.8 5.3 5.2

At closing establishments ............ 150 131 111 141 121 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8

Net employment change .............. -84 -71 42 -101 -86 -0.5 -0.4 0.2 -0.6 -0.6

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains ........................... 313 421 281 308 338 6.0 7.8 5.2 5.7 6.1

At expanding establishments ......... 270 365 240 263 287 5.2 6.8 4.4 4.9 5.2

At opening establishments ............ 43 56 41 45 51 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9

Gross job losses ........................... 256 239 346 267 253 4.9 4.5 6.3 4.9 4.6

At contracting establishments ......... 219 198 311 227 216 4.2 3.7 5.7 4.2 3.9

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

Net employment change .............. 57 182 -65 41 85 1.1 3.3 -1.1 0.8 1.5

Utilities

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

At expanding establishments ......... 10 11 11 11 12 1.8 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.2

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

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

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

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

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

 Information

Gross job gains ........................... 150 145 175 162 160 5.3 5.1 6.2 5.7 5.6

At expanding establishments ......... 122 116 139 137 129 4.3 4.1 4.9 4.8 4.5

At opening establishments ............ 28 29 36 25 31 1.0 1.0 1.3 0.9 1.1

Gross job losses ........................... 156 150 145 163 155 5.6 5.3 5.2 5.7 5.5

At contracting establishments ......... 129 121 120 135 127 4.6 4.3 4.3 4.7 4.5

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

Net employment change .............. -6 -5 30 -1 5 -0.3 -0.2 1.0 0.0 0.1

Financial activities

Gross job gains ........................... 381 394 362 407 383 4.6 4.8 4.4 4.9 4.6

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

At opening establishments ............ 82 95 72 85 84 1.0 1.2 0.9 1.0 1.0

Gross job losses ........................... 387 376 343 357 364 4.8 4.6 4.2 4.3 4.4

At contracting establishments ......... 300 286 261 276 281 3.7 3.5 3.2 3.3 3.4

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

Net employment change .............. -6 18 19 50 19 -0.2 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,438 1,508 1,318 1,474 1,396 6.8 7.2 6.3 7.0 6.6

At expanding establishments ......... 1,158 1,199 1,074 1,204 1,123 5.5 5.7 5.1 5.7 5.3

At opening establishments ............ 280 309 244 270 273 1.3 1.5 1.2 1.3 1.3

Gross job losses ........................... 1,368 1,352 1,318 1,366 1,373 6.6 6.4 6.2 6.4 6.5

At contracting establishments ......... 1,099 1,061 1,065 1,085 1,106 5.3 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.2

At closing establishments ............ 269 291 253 281 267 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.3

Net employment change .............. 70 156 0 108 23 0.2 0.8 0.1 0.6 0.1

Education and health services

Gross job gains ........................... 1,014 1,004 1,003 1,016 1,037 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.5

At expanding establishments ......... 836 816 823 834 859 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7

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

Gross job losses ........................... 917 868 851 975 925 4.1 3.8 3.7 4.2 4.0

At contracting establishments ......... 739 686 673 785 739 3.3 3.0 2.9 3.4 3.2

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

Net employment change .............. 97 136 152 41 112 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.2 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

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

2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019

 Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains ........................... 1,344 1,406 1,338 1,342 1,321 8.3 8.6 8.2 8.1 8.1

At expanding establishments ......... 1,049 1,110 1,064 1,062 1,040 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.4 6.4

At opening establishments ............ 295 296 274 280 281 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7

Gross job losses ........................... 1,418 1,230 1,198 1,397 1,408 8.7 7.6 7.3 8.4 8.6

At contracting establishments ......... 1,186 1,004 992 1,160 1,172 7.3 6.2 6.0 7.0 7.2

At closing establishments ............ 232 226 206 237 236 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4

Net employment change .............. -74 176 140 -55 -87 -0.4 1.0 0.9 -0.3 -0.5

 Other services

Gross job gains ........................... 301 304 299 310 295 7.1 7.2 7.0 7.3 6.9

At expanding establishments ......... 236 237 235 246 232 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.8 5.4

At opening establishments ............ 65 67 64 64 63 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5

Gross job losses ........................... 308 291 276 289 300 7.3 6.9 6.5 6.8 7.0

At contracting establishments ......... 244 224 216 223 235 5.8 5.3 5.1 5.2 5.5

At closing establishments ............ 64 67 60 66 65 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.5

Net employment change .............. -7 13 23 21 -5 -0.2 0.3 0.5 0.5 -0.1

1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.

Category

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

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

(In thousands)

gains losses gains losses gains losses gains losses

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

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 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 

change

Gross job Net 

change

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

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

2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019

Total private by firm 1

Gross job gains ........................ 5,970 6,132 5,944 6,111 5,816 4.8 4.9 4.7 4.8 4.6

At expanding firms .................. 5,086 5,166 5,019 5,215 4,939 4.1 4.1 4.0 4.1 3.9

At opening firms ..................... 884 966 925 896 877 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7

Gross job losses ........................ 5,960 5,393 5,365 5,924 5,875 4.8 4.3 4.3 4.7 4.7

At contracting firms ............... 5,074 4,508 4,515 5,035 5,010 4.1 3.6 3.6 4.0 4.0

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

Net employment change ............. 10 739 579 187 -59 0.0 0.6 0.4 0.1 -0.1

Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 3,019 3,182 3,159 3,137 2,999 8.8 9.3 9.1 9.1 8.7

At expanding firms .................. 2,169 2,257 2,259 2,279 2,156 6.3 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.3

At opening firms ..................... 850 925 900 858 843 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.4

Gross job losses ........................ 3,121 2,972 2,879 3,082 3,054 9.1 8.7 8.4 8.9 8.8

At contracting firms ............... 2,271 2,122 2,063 2,225 2,218 6.6 6.2 6.0 6.4 6.4

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

Net employment change ............. -102 210 280 55 -55 -0.3 0.6 0.7 0.2 -0.1

Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,026 1,085 1,054 1,119 1,015 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.9 4.5

At expanding firms .................. 995 1,054 1,030 1,086 984 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.8 4.4

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

Gross job losses ........................ 1,059 934 904 1,026 1,053 4.7 4.1 4.0 4.5 4.7

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

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

Net employment change ............. -33 151 150 93 -38 -0.1 0.7 0.7 0.4 -0.2

Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains ........................ 1,925 1,865 1,731 1,855 1,802 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.6

At expanding firms .................. 1,922 1,855 1,730 1,850 1,799 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.6

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

Gross job losses ........................ 1,780 1,487 1,582 1,816 1,768 2.6 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.6

At contracting firms ............... 1,774 1,482 1,574 1,812 1,763 2.6 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.6

At closing firms ................... 6 5 8 4 5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Net employment change ............. 145 378 149 39 34 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.0

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

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

2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019

United States 1 ............ 7,499,000 7,768,000 7,375,000 7,605,000 7,341,000 7,432,000 6,957,000 6,850,000 7,423,000 7,330,000

Alabama .................. 95,605 100,816 96,841 93,715 95,629 94,075 85,914 88,823 97,277 96,709

Alaska ..................... 21,838 27,051 24,748 26,955 23,615 26,246 24,029 22,229 25,350 25,007

Arizona .................. 159,941 154,406 139,196 140,806 160,648 123,519 126,130 136,405 141,783 121,854

Arkansas .................. 61,294 59,915 53,605 50,642 56,518 56,723 50,421 51,893 58,009 56,355

California .................. 966,144 1,019,583 958,690 986,077 939,910 915,540 893,290 918,099 969,001 909,515

Colorado .................. 149,713 155,491 150,523 161,898 150,709 152,379 137,868 143,527 142,841 148,238

Connecticut ............... 76,246 76,068 74,499 82,537 79,052 81,586 71,454 81,433 83,620 82,328

Delaware .................. 21,797 25,620 24,839 23,225 23,718 24,936 21,770 21,612 24,821 23,984

District of Columbia ... 28,183 29,712 29,198 29,227 29,215 29,027 27,027 25,795 29,219 28,952

Florida ..................... 519,828 494,076 470,398 500,836 508,398 440,722 466,878 428,898 487,176 441,736

Georgia .................. 253,968 239,126 257,662 236,211 239,926 231,723 217,509 218,890 246,926 233,652

Hawaii ..................... 27,332 30,742 28,766 25,041 29,020 29,198 27,198 31,811 32,710 28,365

Idaho ..................... 41,300 45,579 46,481 45,151 43,343 41,911 38,775 38,110 41,827 42,680

Illinois ..................... 288,877 286,588 273,000 289,823 255,204 297,620 288,063 268,937 277,708 294,059

Indiana ..................... 139,987 148,866 156,880 140,418 143,721 141,825 133,677 129,593 155,955 152,070

Iowa ........................ 69,079 75,879 67,346 75,896 68,696 74,868 69,658 71,892 73,362 73,262

Kansas ..................... 66,704 69,531 62,736 65,750 64,630 64,414 62,125 64,959 65,932 64,574

Kentucky .................. 90,984 97,782 92,536 91,694 93,509 96,148 87,327 88,220 94,999 90,394

Louisiana .................. 101,284 99,438 95,919 97,369 94,769 100,616 92,940 94,705 105,984 99,020

Maine ..................... 31,809 37,301 37,368 39,623 33,318 38,866 34,444 33,681 39,418 37,768

Maryland .................. 137,468 146,421 139,079 138,324 135,836 144,563 138,449 125,036 140,041 144,488

Massachusetts ............ 175,065 182,975 180,711 192,471 168,540 192,871 167,127 164,915 179,383 187,503

Michigan .................. 191,034 212,257 193,954 211,732 191,346 231,163 196,309 175,917 219,402 225,606

Minnesota ............... 135,956 142,627 129,422 146,506 130,923 142,031 135,392 128,720 136,281 144,232

Mississippi ............... 52,579 58,977 50,681 52,288 49,815 52,352 47,947 55,297 54,217 51,901

Missouri .................. 142,095 137,961 129,371 135,471 138,505 142,563 128,093 126,018 140,045 137,536

Montana .................. 27,396 34,407 29,494 30,766 28,210 30,117 27,518 31,004 29,660 29,657

Nebraska .................. 47,885 47,835 46,491 46,984 45,665 48,225 46,760 45,655 46,493 44,446

Nevada ..................... 81,913 80,193 74,485 73,635 75,445 68,777 67,175 66,481 75,365 70,689

New Hampshire ......... 32,249 37,886 36,640 37,129 33,261 38,996 32,781 32,983 36,876 38,203

New Jersey ............... 208,014 223,239 201,365 216,314 209,706 221,513 199,050 198,569 203,764 216,244

New Mexico ............ 41,563 43,809 41,983 40,861 43,749 40,829 39,424 38,022 41,409 39,943

New York ............... 486,928 504,548 485,292 492,204 469,641 506,220 460,838 433,874 475,470 484,354

North Carolina ............ 209,963 248,759 237,488 230,289 214,705 236,976 197,480 188,107 215,739 223,918

North Dakota ............ 23,039 23,548 24,826 23,575 23,210 22,667 21,746 22,437 23,713 24,814

Ohio ........................ 250,824 261,361 258,396 266,633 251,312 271,299 245,446 241,765 265,147 272,778

Oklahoma ............... 86,152 84,052 74,976 76,968 81,812 78,486 78,597 75,282 80,251 78,936

Oregon ..................... 101,862 110,386 105,038 105,253 102,439 102,384 98,153 95,104 100,367 102,596

Pennsylvania ............ 277,395 277,414 266,704 272,697 274,084 271,106 249,012 249,431 278,287 272,854

Rhode Island ............ 26,185 26,789 24,678 27,100 24,792 27,144 24,229 23,887 28,695 26,368

South Carolina ............ 100,477 128,913 113,237 110,389 106,317 112,911 93,825 106,262 108,448 101,624

South Dakota ............ 21,218 22,202 20,396 22,031 20,592 20,331 20,696 22,444 21,436 21,144

Tennessee ............... 149,585 148,634 138,640 142,792 142,652 135,764 127,807 124,279 131,387 132,694

Texas ..................... 621,424 652,219 584,029 607,026 616,227 565,749 537,389 541,312 562,489 561,642

Utah ........................ 91,311 87,692 92,927 89,306 87,442 80,280 78,369 78,342 83,159 79,494

Vermont .................. 17,596 18,863 17,446 18,074 16,025 19,550 17,285 16,200 18,303 19,579

Virginia .................. 178,662 199,472 201,989 194,478 167,181 198,599 176,271 175,654 187,801 191,833

Washington ............... 172,644 182,294 176,059 190,942 173,654 181,187 160,020 160,092 164,526 171,392

West Virginia ............ 39,104 35,422 33,504 34,404 31,847 35,779 36,511 36,947 36,179 37,289

Wisconsin ............... 126,775 134,830 127,951 139,354 120,048 145,097 122,971 120,014 133,371 145,899

Wyoming .................. 17,117 20,839 18,347 18,043 17,705 17,393 16,307 16,590 20,240 18,349

Puerto Rico ............... 48,405 40,125 47,891 43,684 41,670 38,736 45,122 34,491 39,466 37,553

Virgin Islands ............ 3,030 1,934 2,987 2,303 3,066 1,410 1,736 1,853 1,597 1,792

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

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

2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019

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

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

Alaska ................................. 8.9 11.0 10.0 10.8 9.5 10.7 9.8 9.0 10.2 10.1

Arizona ............................... 6.6 6.2 5.6 5.7 6.4 5.1 5.1 5.5 5.7 4.8

Arkansas .............................. 6.1 5.9 5.2 5.0 5.5 5.6 5.0 5.1 5.7 5.5

California ........................... 6.5 6.9 6.3 6.6 6.3 6.2 5.9 6.2 6.4 6.1

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

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

Delaware .............................. 5.7 6.6 6.4 6.0 6.1 6.5 5.6 5.5 6.3 6.2

District of Columbia ............... 5.3 5.6 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.1 4.9 5.5 5.4

Florida ................................. 6.8 6.4 6.1 6.5 6.5 5.8 6.1 5.6 6.3 5.7

Georgia .............................. 6.7 6.3 6.8 6.2 6.2 6.1 5.8 5.7 6.4 6.1

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

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

Illinois ................................ 5.5 5.5 5.2 5.6 4.9 5.8 5.6 5.1 5.3 5.6

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

Iowa .................................... 5.3 5.8 5.1 5.8 5.3 5.7 5.3 5.4 5.6 5.6

Kansas ................................. 5.9 6.1 5.4 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.4 5.7 5.7 5.6

Kentucky .............................. 5.8 6.1 5.8 5.8 5.8 6.0 5.4 5.5 5.9 5.7

Louisiana .............................. 6.3 6.2 5.9 6.0 5.9 6.3 5.8 5.9 6.5 6.1

Maine ................................ 6.1 7.3 7.2 7.5 6.4 7.5 6.7 6.4 7.5 7.2

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

Massachusetts ....................... 5.6 5.8 5.7 6.0 5.3 6.1 5.3 5.2 5.7 5.9

Michigan ............................. 5.0 5.6 5.1 5.5 5.1 6.2 5.2 4.6 5.8 6.0

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

Mississippi ........................... 5.9 6.5 5.7 5.8 5.5 5.9 5.3 6.2 6.0 5.8

Missouri .............................. 5.9 5.8 5.4 5.6 5.8 6.0 5.4 5.3 5.8 5.8

Montana ............................... 7.2 8.9 7.6 8.0 7.3 7.9 7.2 8.0 7.7 7.7

Nebraska .............................. 5.9 5.9 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.5

Nevada ............................... 6.7 6.6 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.4 6.0 5.7

New Hampshire ..................... 5.7 6.6 6.3 6.4 5.8 6.8 5.7 5.7 6.3 6.6

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

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

New York ........................... 6.1 6.3 6.0 6.0 5.8 6.4 5.7 5.3 5.9 5.9

North Carolina ........................ 5.7 6.7 6.3 6.1 5.7 6.4 5.3 5.1 5.7 5.9

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

Ohio .................................... 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.1 5.7 5.8

Oklahoma ........................... 6.7 6.5 5.8 5.9 6.3 6.1 6.1 5.8 6.2 6.1

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

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

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

South Carolina ........................ 5.8 7.4 6.4 6.3 6.0 6.5 5.4 6.0 6.2 5.7

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

Tennessee ........................... 5.8 5.8 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.3 4.9 4.8 5.0 5.1

Texas ................................. 6.0 6.2 5.5 5.7 5.8 5.4 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.2

Utah .................................... 7.3 6.9 7.3 6.9 6.8 6.4 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.2

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

Virginia .............................. 5.7 6.3 6.4 6.1 5.2 6.3 5.6 5.5 5.9 6.0

Washington ........................... 6.2 6.4 6.2 6.6 6.0 6.5 5.6 5.6 5.7 6.0

West Virginia ........................ 7.0 6.3 6.0 6.2 5.8 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.7

Wisconsin ........................... 5.1 5.4 5.1 5.5 4.8 5.9 5.0 4.8 5.3 5.8

Wyoming .............................. 8.3 10.0 8.6 8.5 8.5 8.4 7.8 7.8 9.6 8.7

Puerto Rico ........................... 7.2 6.0 7.1 6.4 6.1 5.8 6.8 5.1 5.8 5.4

Virgin Islands ........................ 12.8 7.9 11.9 8.8 11.2 5.9 7.1 7.4 6.1 6.6

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

State

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

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

(Levels in thousands)

Level Rate 2 Level Rate Level Rate Level Rate

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 N/A N/A 814 0.6 N/A N/A

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

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