Technical Information:  (202) 691-6467     USDL 05-875
               http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
                                           For release: 10:00 AM EDT
Media Contact:                691-5902     Tuesday, May 24, 2005


             BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS:  THIRD QUARTER 2004

   From June to September 2004, the number of job gains from opening and
expanding private sector establishments was 7.8 million, and the number
of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was 7.6 million,
according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor.  The gap between job gains and job losses nar-
rowed during the third quarter of 2004, after widening over the previous
four quarters.

   Gross job gains are defined as increases in employment resulting from
expansions of employment at existing establishments or from the opening of
establishments.  Gross job losses are defined as declines in employment at
existing establishments or from the closing of establishments.  The differ-
ence between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs
lost is the net change in employment.
   
Private Sector Gross Job Gains and Job Losses
   
   Opening and expanding private sector business establishments gained 7.8
million jobs in the third quarter of 2004, or 68,000 less than in the pre-
vious quarter.  Over the quarter, expanding establishments added 6.1 million
jobs, while opening establishments added 1.7 million jobs.
   
   Gross job losses totaled 7.6 million, up by 335,000 from the second
quarter of 2004.  The increase in gross job losses in the third quarter
of 2004 represents a reversal of the downward trend in gross job losses.
In the third quarter of 2004, contracting establishments lost 6.0 million
jobs, while closing establishments accounted for a loss of 1.6 million
jobs.  (See tables A, 1, and 3.)
   
   From June to September 2004, gross job gains represented 7.2 percent
of private sector employment, unchanged from the previous three quarters.
Gross job losses were at 7.0 percent of private sector employment, an in-
crease of 0.3 percentage point from the previous quarter.  (See tables A
and 2.)  These gross job gain and loss statistics demonstrate that a siz-
able number of jobs appear and disappear in the relatively short time
frame of one quarter.

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses,
seasonally adjusted
              
-------------------------------------------------------------------------     
                                  |             3 months ended
                                  |--------------------------------------
            Category              | Sept. | Dec.  | Mar.  | June  | Sept.
                                  | 2003  | 2003  | 2004  | 2004  | 2004
                                  |--------------------------------------                                                                              
                                  |         Levels (in thousands)     
----------------------------------|--------------------------------------    
                                  |       |       |       |       |
Gross job gains...................| 7,396 | 7,646 | 7,745 | 7,857 | 7,789                      
  At expanding establishments.....| 5,897 | 6,063 | 6,231 | 6,292 | 6,123
  At opening establishments.......| 1,499 | 1,583 | 1,514 | 1,565 | 1,666
Gross job losses..................| 7,324 | 7,302 | 7,310 | 7,263 | 7,598
  At contracting establishments...| 5,893 | 5,816 | 5,871 | 5,726 | 5,953
  At closing establishments.......| 1,431 | 1,486 | 1,439 | 1,537 | 1,645
                                  |--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........|    72 |   344 |   435 |   594 |   191
                                  |--------------------------------------                                                                              
                                  |       As a percent of employment     
                                  |--------------------------------------                                                                                                                                                                                       
Gross job gains...................|  6.9  |  7.2  |   7.2 |   7.2 |   7.2
  At expanding establishments.....|  5.5  |  5.7  |   5.8 |   5.8 |   5.7
  At opening establishments.......|  1.4  |  1.5  |   1.4 |   1.4 |   1.5
Gross job losses..................|  6.8  |  6.8  |   6.8 |   6.7 |   7.0
  At contracting establishments...|  5.5  |  5.4  |   5.5 |   5.3 |   5.5
  At closing establishments.......|  1.3  |  1.4  |   1.3 |   1.4 |   1.5
                                  |--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........|  0.1  |  0.4  |   0.4 |   0.5 |   0.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  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.

Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
  
   Good-producing.  The third quarter of 2004 saw gross job losses in the
goods-producing sector increase by 44,000 from the prior quarter to a total
of 1,691,000.  This was the first time since the first quarter of 2003 that
gross job losses have increased in this sector.  The increasing gross job
loss figure, combined with the fact that expanding and opening establish-
ments only gained 1,667,000 jobs, led to a net loss of 24,000 jobs over the
quarter among the goods-producing industries.  (See tables B and 3.)
   
   Manufacturing.  Gross job gains in the manufacturing sector totaled
597,000 in the third quarter of 2004, down by 7,000 from the previous
quarter.  This decline, together with an increase in gross job losses of
26,000 to 612,000, led to a net decrease of 15,000 factory jobs.  This
sector returned to a net loss of jobs in the third quarter after it had
recorded its first net employment gain in four years during the second
quarter.

   Construction.  In construction, gross job gains fell to 799,000 dur-
ing the quarter, while gross job losses rose to 789,000, for a net gain
of 10,000.  The net job gain in this sector was 20,000 less than in the
previous quarter and was 12,000 less than the net increase in the third
quarter of 2003.
   
                                  - 3 -                                 

Table B.  Three-month private sector job gains and losses by industry,
seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   |       Gross job gains       |       Gross job losses
                   |-----------------------------|-----------------------------
     Industry      |        3 months ended       |        3 months ended
                   |-----------------------------|-----------------------------
                   |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.
                   |2003 |2003 |2004 |2004 |2004 |2003 |2003 |2004 |2004 |2004
-------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
Total              |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
  private(1).......|7,396|7,646|7,745|7,857|7,789|7,324|7,302|7,310|7,263|7,598
Goods-producing....|1,605|1,665|1,764|1,696|1,667|1,755|1,697|1,670|1,647|1,691
  Natural resources|     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     
    and mining.....|  272|  286|  314|  283|  271|  292|  285|  282|  282|  290
  Construction.....|  784|  793|  837|  809|  799|  762|  761|  759|  779|  789 
  Manufacturing....|  549|  586|  613|  604|  597|  701|  651|  629|  586|  612
Service-           |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
  providing(1).....|5,791|5,981|5,981|6,161|6,122|5,569|5,605|5,640|5,616|5,907
  Wholesale        |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    trade..........|  308|  317|  319|  325|  329|  323|  320|  314|  302|  327
  Retail trade.....|1,019|1,061|1,059|1,058|1,044|  989|1,016|1,011|  974|1,126
  Transportation   |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    and ware-      |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    housing........|  235|  227|  244|  241|  244|  239|  237|  228|  236|  235
  Utilities........|   16|   14|   15|   13|   14|   19|   16|   16|   14|   16
  Information......|  149|  172|  156|  151|  163|  185|  166|  169|  182|  194
  Financial        |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    activities.....|  444|  436|  442|  461|  469|  417|  462|  433|  457|  452
  Professional     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    and business   |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    services.......|1,356|1,438|1,411|1,509|1,416|1,287|1,302|1,378|1,321|1,366
  Education and    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |  
    health         |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    services.......|  731|  744|  751|  753|  757|  670|  659|  672|  696|  704
  Leisure and      |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    hospitality....|1,125|1,161|1,138|1,164|1,169|1,095|1,097|1,091|1,090|1,135
  Other services...|  286|  288|  307|  301|  297|  309|  293|  291|  304|  308
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.                                                          

   Service-providing.  The combined service-providing sector had gross
job gains of 6.1 million in the third quarter of 2004, exceeding gross job
losses by 215,000.  Although gross job gains decreased only slightly, an
increase of 291,000 in gross job losses led to a considerably smaller net
employment change (+215,000) than was registered in the second quarter in
this sector (+545,000).
   
   Retail trade.  Among the service-providing industries, retail trade had
the sharpest turnaround in net job change from the second to the third quar-
ters.  Gross job gains in retail trade decreased slightly to 1,044,000.  How-
ever, a large increase (152,000) in the number of gross job losses led to a
net employment loss of 82,000.  This was the first negative net change in
jobs experienced in retail trade since the first quarter of 2003.

   Information.  The information sector gained 163,000 and lost 194,000
jobs in the third quarter of 2004, for a net loss of 31,000 jobs.  This
makes 14 out of the past 15 quarters that this sector has recorded a net
job loss.
   
   Professional and business services.  Establishments in the professional
and businesses services sector had gross job gains of 1,416,000 in the 
third quarter of 2004, down from gross job gains of 1,509,000 in the pre-
vious quarter.  Conversely, gross job losses in this industry increased from
1,321,000 in the second quarter to 1,366,000 this quarter.  The net gain of
50,000 jobs represents the fifth consecutive quarter of positive employment
growth in this industry.

                                  - 4 -

Table C.  Number of private sector establishments by direction of
employment change, seasonally adjusted
       
(In thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------     
                                  |             3 months ended
             Category             |---------------------------------------
                                  | Sept. | Dec.  | Mar.  | June  | Sept.
                                  | 2003  | 2003  | 2004  | 2004  | 2004
----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------    
                                  |       |       |       |       |
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,791 | 1,815 | 1,854 | 1,847 | 1,840
  Expanding establishments........| 1,463 | 1,467 | 1,505 | 1,504 | 1,486
  Opening establishments..........|   328 |   348 |   349 |   343 |   354
                                  |-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Establishments losing jobs .......| 1,772 | 1,775 | 1,794 | 1,792 | 1,814
  Contracting establishments......| 1,454 | 1,453 | 1,466 | 1,462 | 1,469
  Closing establishments..........|   318 |   322 |   328 |   330 |   345
                                  |-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Net establishment change(1).......|    10 |    26 |    21 |    13 |     9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1 The net establishment change is the difference between the number of 
opening establishments and the number of closing establishments.  See the
Technical Note for further information.

Number of Establishments Gaining and Losing Employment

   Another way to look at the dynamics of business activities is to monitor
the number and proportion of business units that are growing and declining.
In the third quarter of 2004, the number of opening establishments exceeded
the number of closing establishments, leading to a net addition of 9,000
units to the number of total active private sector establishments.  In ad-
dition, the number of establishments gaining jobs continued to surpass the
number of establishments losing jobs.  Out of 6.5 million active private
sector establishments, a total of 1.8 million establishments gained jobs
from June to September 2004.  (See table C.)  Of these, 1.5 million were
expanding establishments and 354,000 were opening establishments.  During
the third quarter of 2004, 1.8 million establishments lost jobs and of
these, 1.5 million were contracting establishments and 345,000 were closing
establishments.

More Information

   For the not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time
series not presented in this release, as well as charts of gross job gains
and gross job losses by industry, please refer to the Business Employment
Dynamics Web page on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/bdm.  Additional
information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found in the
Technical Note of this release or may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.


  --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 |  Comparing Business Employment Dynamics Data with Current Employment      |
 |     Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Data          |
 |                                                                           |
 |    The net change in employment from Business Employment Dynamics         |
 | (BED) data series will not match the net change in employment from the    |
 | monthly Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey.  The CES estimates    |
 | are based on monthly surveys from a sample of establishments, while gross |
 | job gains and gross job losses are based on a quarterly census of adminis-|
 | trative records. In addition, the CES has a different coverage, excluding |
 | the agriculture sector but including establishments not covered by the    |
 | unemployment insurance program.  The net over-the-quarter changes derived |
 | by aggregating component series in the BED data may be different from the |
 | net employment change estimated from the CES seasonally adjusted total    |
 | employment series.  The intended use of the BED statistics is to show the |
 | dynamic labor market flows that underlie the net changes in aggregate em- |
 | ployment levels; data users who want to track net changes in aggregate    |
 | employment levels over time should refer to CES data.                     |
 |                                                                           |
 |    BED data have a more limited scope than the Quarterly Census of Employ-|
 | ment and Wages (QCEW) data. The data in this release, in contrast to the  |
 | QCEW data, exclude government employees, private households (NAICS814110),|
 | and establishments with zero employment.                                  |
 |                                                                           |
 |    See the Technical Note for further information.                        |
 |                                                                           |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------




   


                                  - 5 -

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), or the ES-202 program.  The BED data are compiled by the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing quarterly state unemployment
insurance (UI) records.  Most employers in the U.S. are required to file
quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by UI
laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes.  The quarterly UI reports are sent by
the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to BLS and form the basis of the BLS 
establishment universe sampling frame.  These reports also are used to pro-
duce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and the longitu-
dinal BED data on gross job gains and losses.  Other important BLS uses 
of the UI reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. 
(See table below for differences between QCEW, CES, and BED.)
                                     
   In the BED program, the quarterly UI records are linked across quarters
to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment.  The linkage
process allows the tracking of net employment changes at the establishment
level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and
expanding establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establish-
ments.

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures

   The BLS publishes three different establishment-based employment mea-
sures for any given quarter.  Each of these measures--QCEW, BED, and CES--
makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; how-
ever, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, estimation 
procedure, and publication product.

   Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat 
different measures of over-the-quarter employment change.  It is important to 
understand program differences and the intended uses of the program products.  
(See table below.)  Additional information on each program can be obtained 
from the program Web sites shown in the table.

                                  - 6 -

Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                     
           |         QCEW        |         BED          |         CES
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Source     |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey: 
           |  strative recods    |  nally-linked UI ad- |  400,000 employers
           |  submitted by 8.4   |  ministrative records|
           |  million employers  |  submitted by 6.5    |
           |                     |  million private sec-|
           |                     |  tor employers       |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Coverage   |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal-
           |  age:  all employers|  ing government, pri-|  ary jobs:
           |  subject to state   |  vate households, and|--UI Coverage, exclud-
           |  and federal UI Laws|  establishments with |  ing agriculture, pri-
           |                     |  zero employment     |  vate households, and
           |                     |                      |  self-employed workers
           |                     |                      |--Other employment, in-
           |                     |                      |  cluding railroads, 
           |                     |                      |  religious organiza-
           |                     |                      |  tions, and other non-
           |                     |                      |  UI-covered jobs
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Publication|--Quarterly          |--Quarterly           |--Monthly 
frequency  |  -7 months after the|  -8 months after the |  -Usually first Friday
           |   end of each quar- |   end of each quarter|   of following month
           |   ter               |                      |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Use of UI  |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI   |--Uses UI file as a sam-
file       |  and publishes each |  quarter to longitu- |  pling frame and annu-
           |  new quarter of UI  |  dinal database and  |  ally realigns (bench-
           |  data               |  directly summarizes |  marks) sample esti-    
           |                     |  gross job gains and |  mates to first quar-  
           |                     |  losses              |  ter UI levels
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal  |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly  |--Provides current month-
products   |  ly and annual uni- |  employer dynamics   |  ly estimates of employ-
           |  verse count of es- |  data on establish-  |  ment, hours, and earn-
           |  tablishments, em-  |  ment openings, clos-|  ings at the MSA, state,
           |  ployment, and wages|  ings, expansions,   |  and national level by
           |  at the county, MSA,|  and contractions at |  industry
           |  state, and national|  the national level  |
           |  levels by detailed |  by NAICS supersector|
           |  industry           |--Future expansions   |
           |                     |  will include data at|
           |                     |  the county, MSA, and|
           |                     |  state level and by  |
           |                     |  size of establish-  |
           |                     |  ment                |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|--------------------------
Principal  |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses       |  -Detailed locality |  -Business cycle     |  -Principal national
           |   data              |   analysis           |   economic indicator
           |  -Periodic universe |  -Analysis of employ-|  -Official time series 
           |   counts for bench- |   er dynamics under- |   for employment change
           |   marking sample    |   lying economic ex- |   measures
           |   survey estimates  |   pansions and con-  |  -Input into other ma-
           |  -Sample frame for  |   tractions          |   jor economic indi-
           |   BLS establishment |  -Future:  employment|   cators
           |   surveys           |   expansion and con- |
           |                     |   traction by size of|
           |                     |   establishment      |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|--------------------------
Program    |--www.bls.gov/cew/   |--www.bls.gov/bdm/    |--www.bls.gov/ces/
Web sites  |                     |                      |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  
                                  - 7 -

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 or-
ganizations, 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 cer-
tain small nonprofit organizations.
   
   Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from lon-
gitudinal histories of over 6.5 million private sector employer reports out 
of 8.4 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to 
BLS in the third quarter of 2004.  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 employ-
ment over three quarters.  Data from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also
are excluded from the national data.  As an illustration, the table below 
shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establishments excluded 
from the gross job gains and gross job losses data in the third quarter of
2004:


             Number of active establishments included in 
                  Business Employment Dynamics data

                                                                   Millions

Total establishments QCEW program....................................8.4

    Excluded:  Public sector.........................................0.3 
               Private households....................................0.5
               Zero employment.......................................1.0      
               Establishments in Puerto Rico 
                 and the Virgin Islands..............................0.1 
         
Total establishments included in Business
  Employment Dynamics data...........................................6.5
   
Concepts and methodology

   The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employment 
at the establishment level.  These changes come about in one of four ways.  A 
net increase in employment can come from either opening establishments or ex-
panding establishments.  A net decrease in employment can come from either 
closing establishments or contracting establishments.  Gross job gains include 
the sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding establishments.  Gross 
job losses include the sum of all jobs lost in either closing or contracting 
establishments.  The net change in employment is the difference between gross 
job gains and gross job losses.
                                  
                                  - 8 -
   
   The formal definitions of establishment-level employment changes are as 
follows:                          

   Openings.  These are either establishments with positive third-month em-
ployment 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 establishments with positive employment in the third 
month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employ-
ment over this period.
   
   Closings.  These are establishments with positive third-month employment
in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in
the current quarter.
   
   Contractions.  These are establishments with positive employment in the 
third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in 
employment over this period.

   All establishment-level employment changes are measured from the third 
month of each quarter.  Not all establishments change their employment levels; 
these establishments 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 com-
ponents 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.

   The linkage process matches establishments' unique SWA identification 
numbers (SWA-ID).  Between 95 to 97 percent of establishments identified as 
continuous from quarter to quarter are matched by SWA-ID.  The rest are 
linked in one of three ways.  The first method uses predecessor and successor 
information, identified by the states, which relates records with different 
SWA-IDs across quarters.  Predecessor and successor relations can come about 
for a variety of reasons, including a change in ownership, a firm restructur-
ing, 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 establish-
ment classification codes resulting from the verification process are intro-
duced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year.  Changes re-
sulting from improved employer reporting also are introduced in the first 
quarter.   

                                  - 9 -

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 contract-
ing establishments are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are 
calculated based on the difference between gross job gains and gross job 
losses.  Similarly, 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 open-
ing and closing establishments.  Additionally, establishment and employment 
levels are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally ad-
justed rates.  Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 ARIMA.  Sea-
sonally adjusted data series for the total private sector are calculated by 
summing the seasonally adjusted data for all sectors, including the unclassi-
fied sector, which is not published separately.
   
   The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series 
will differ from the net employment change estimated from the seasonally ad-
justed 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 particu-
larly 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 admini-
strative rather than sample data, there are no issues related to sampling 
error.  Nonsampling error, however, still exists.  Nonsampling errors can oc-
cur 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 distri-
buted 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 compli-
cations.
   
   The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on correc-
tions in QCEW records, updates on predecessors and successors information, and
seasonal adjustment revisions.

                                  - 10 -

Additional statistics and other information
   
   Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information.  
The QCEW program, also known as the ES-202 program, provides both quarterly 
and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed industry. 
News releases on quarterly county employment and wages are available upon 
request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover, 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20212; 
telephone 202-691-6567; (http://www.bls.gov/cew/); (e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).
                                     
   The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, its net change, 
and earnings by detailed industry.  These estimates are part of the Employ-
ment Situation report put out monthly by BLS.
                                     
   The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides month-
ly measures of job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired in-
dividuals upon request.  Voice phone:  202-691-5200; TDD message referral 
number: 1-800-877-8339.
 
 

     
 
Table 1.  Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)

                                                 Gross job gains                        Gross job losses
Year  3 months     Net change (1) Total      Expanding      Opening     Total        Contracting     Closing
       ended                              establishments establishments            establishments establishments

1992  September          455      7,377        5,632        1,745       6,922           5,351        1,571
      December           216      7,101        5,465        1,636       6,885           5,487        1,398

1993  March              313      7,309        5,410        1,899       6,996           5,354        1,642
      June               786      7,330        5,794        1,536       6,544           5,136        1,408
      September          874      7,523        5,881        1,642       6,649           5,316        1,333
      December           641      7,436        5,840        1,596       6,795           5,420        1,375

1994  March              517      7,400        5,807        1,593       6,883           5,435        1,448
      June             1,021      7,807        6,060        1,747       6,786           5,295        1,491
      September        1,175      7,972        6,227        1,745       6,797           5,493        1,304
      December           507      7,630        5,998        1,632       7,123           5,647        1,476

1995  March              746      7,782        6,129        1,653       7,036           5,660        1,376
      June               402      7,714        6,017        1,697       7,312           5,839        1,473
      September          771      7,970        6,291        1,679       7,199           5,680        1,519
      December           407      7,877        6,153        1,724       7,470           5,934        1,536

1996  March              460      7,943        6,190        1,753       7,483           5,957        1,526
      June               642      8,080        6,302        1,778       7,438           5,894        1,544
      September          632      8,189        6,326        1,863       7,557           5,998        1,559
      December           861      8,278        6,409        1,869       7,417           5,889        1,528

1997  March              799      8,292        6,448        1,844       7,493           5,900        1,593
      June               594      8,098        6,342        1,756       7,504           5,925        1,579
      September          854      8,593        6,680        1,913       7,739           5,981        1,758
      December           702      8,731        6,727        2,004       8,029           6,068        1,961

1998  March              747      8,788        6,633        2,155       8,041           6,107        1,934
      June               666      8,722        6,569        2,153       8,056           6,218        1,838
      September          659      8,539        6,574        1,965       7,880           6,161        1,719
      December           759      8,576        6,778        1,798       7,817           6,060        1,757

1999  March              380      8,744        6,733        2,011       8,364           6,466        1,898
      June               569      8,800        6,788        2,012       8,231           6,419        1,812
      September          548      8,817        6,871        1,946       8,269           6,397        1,872
      December         1,105      9,144        7,112        2,032       8,039           6,264        1,775

2000  March              818      8,906        6,988        1,918       8,088           6,361        1,727
      June               541      8,764        6,975        1,789       8,223           6,509        1,714
      September          146      8,724        6,834        1,890       8,578           6,719        1,859
      December           336      8,690        6,862        1,828       8,354           6,582        1,772

2001  March             -101      8,555        6,768        1,787       8,656           6,756        1,900
      June              -771      8,254        6,439        1,815       9,025           7,149        1,876
      September       -1,380      7,749        5,990        1,759       9,129           7,174        1,955
      December          -871      7,893        6,055        1,838       8,764           6,995        1,769

2002  March               -1      8,128        6,324        1,804       8,129           6,400        1,729
      June               -80      8,050        6,246        1,804       8,130           6,411        1,719
      September         -211      7,763        6,083        1,680       7,974           6,345        1,629
      December          -175      7,702        6,059        1,643       7,877           6,267        1,610

2003  March             -404      7,472        5,932        1,540       7,876           6,321        1,555
      June              -142      7,560        6,033        1,527       7,702           6,138        1,564
      September           72      7,396        5,897        1,499       7,324           5,893        1,431
      December           344      7,646        6,063        1,583       7,302           5,816        1,486

2004  March              435      7,745        6,231        1,514       7,310           5,871        1,439
      June               594      7,857        6,292        1,565       7,263           5,726        1,537
      September          191      7,789        6,123        1,666       7,598           5,953        1,645

 1  Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.







Table 2.  Private sector gross job gains and losses, as a percent of employment (1),  seasonally adjusted
(Percent)

                                                    Gross job gains                      Gross job losses
Year  3 months ended    Net change (2) Total     Expanding      Opening    Total      Contracting     Closing
                                              establishments establishments         establishments establishments

1992      September          0.5       8.3          6.3          2.0        7.8           6.0          1.8
          December           0.2       7.9          6.1          1.8        7.7           6.1          1.6

1993      March              0.3       8.1          6.0          2.1        7.8           6.0          1.8
          June               0.8       8.1          6.4          1.7        7.3           5.7          1.6
          September          0.9       8.2          6.4          1.8        7.3           5.8          1.5
          December           0.6       8.0          6.3          1.7        7.4           5.9          1.5

1994      March              0.5       8.0          6.3          1.7        7.5           5.9          1.6
          June               1.1       8.4          6.5          1.9        7.3           5.7          1.6
          September          1.2       8.4          6.6          1.8        7.2           5.8          1.4
          December           0.6       8.0          6.3          1.7        7.4           5.9          1.5

1995      March              0.8       8.1          6.4          1.7        7.3           5.9          1.4
          June               0.5       8.0          6.2          1.8        7.5           6.0          1.5
          September          0.8       8.2          6.5          1.7        7.4           5.8          1.6
          December           0.4       8.1          6.3          1.8        7.7           6.1          1.6

1996      March              0.4       8.1          6.3          1.8        7.7           6.1          1.6
          June               0.6       8.2          6.4          1.8        7.6           6.0          1.6
          September          0.7       8.3          6.4          1.9        7.6           6.0          1.6
          December           0.9       8.3          6.4          1.9        7.4           5.9          1.5

1997      March              0.7       8.2          6.4          1.8        7.5           5.9          1.6
          June               0.5       7.9          6.2          1.7        7.4           5.8          1.6
          September          0.8       8.4          6.5          1.9        7.6           5.9          1.7
          December           0.6       8.4          6.5          1.9        7.8           5.9          1.9

1998      March              0.7       8.5          6.4          2.1        7.8           5.9          1.9
          June               0.6       8.4          6.3          2.1        7.8           6.0          1.8
          September          0.7       8.2          6.3          1.9        7.5           5.9          1.6
          December           0.7       8.1          6.4          1.7        7.4           5.7          1.7

1999      March              0.3       8.2          6.3          1.9        7.9           6.1          1.8
          June               0.6       8.3          6.4          1.9        7.7           6.0          1.7
          September          0.5       8.2          6.4          1.8        7.7           6.0          1.7
          December           1.1       8.5          6.6          1.9        7.4           5.8          1.6

2000      March              0.8       8.2          6.4          1.8        7.4           5.8          1.6
          June               0.4       7.9          6.3          1.6        7.5           5.9          1.6
          September          0.1       7.9          6.2          1.7        7.8           6.1          1.7
          December           0.3       7.9          6.2          1.7        7.6           6.0          1.6

2001      March             -0.1       7.7          6.1          1.6        7.8           6.1          1.7
          June              -0.8       7.4          5.8          1.6        8.2           6.5          1.7
          September         -1.3       7.1          5.5          1.6        8.4           6.6          1.8
          December          -0.8       7.3          5.6          1.7        8.1           6.5          1.6

2002      March              0.1       7.6          5.9          1.7        7.5           5.9          1.6
          June              -0.1       7.5          5.8          1.7        7.6           6.0          1.6
          September         -0.1       7.3          5.7          1.6        7.4           5.9          1.5
          December          -0.2       7.1          5.6          1.5        7.3           5.8          1.5

2003      March             -0.5       6.9          5.5          1.4        7.4           5.9          1.5
          June              -0.2       7.0          5.6          1.4        7.2           5.7          1.5
          September          0.1       6.9          5.5          1.4        6.8           5.5          1.3
          December           0.4       7.2          5.7          1.5        6.8           5.4          1.4

2004      March              0.4       7.2          5.8          1.4        6.8           5.5          1.3
          June               0.5       7.2          5.8          1.4        6.7           5.3          1.4
          September          0.2       7.2          5.7          1.5        7.0           5.5          1.5

 1 The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage of the average
of the previous and current employment.
 2 See footnote 1, table 1.




     
Table 3.  Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted

                                     Gross job gains and job losses          Gross job gains and losses
                                             (in thousands)                  as a percent of employment

    Category                                3 months ended                        3 months ended

                                 Sept.   Dec.    Mar.    June    Sept.   Sept.  Dec.   Mar.   June   Sept.
                                 2003    2003    2004    2004    2004    2003   2003   2004   2004   2004
Total private(1)

Gross job gains                  7,396   7,646   7,745   7,857   7,789    6.9    7.2    7.2    7.2    7.2
 At expanding establishments     5,897   6,063   6,231   6,292   6,123    5.5    5.7    5.8    5.8    5.7
 At opening establishments       1,499   1,583   1,514   1,565   1,666    1.4    1.5    1.4    1.4    1.5
Gross job losses                 7,324   7,302   7,310   7,263   7,598    6.8    6.8    6.8    6.7    7.0
 At contracting establishments   5,893   5,816   5,871   5,726   5,953    5.5    5.4    5.5    5.3    5.5
 At closing establishments       1,431   1,486   1,439   1,537   1,645    1.3    1.4    1.3    1.4    1.5
Net employment change               72     344     435     594     191    0.1    0.4    0.4    0.5    0.2

Goods-producing

Gross job gains                  1,605   1,665   1,764   1,696   1,667    7.1    7.3    7.7    7.4    7.3
 At expanding establishments     1,343   1,391   1,487   1,444   1,403    5.9    6.1    6.5    6.3    6.1
 At opening establishments         262     274     277     252     264    1.2    1.2    1.2    1.1    1.2
Gross job losses                 1,755   1,697   1,670   1,647   1,691    7.7    7.4    7.3    7.2    7.4
 At contracting establishments   1,443   1,391   1,372   1,334   1,366    6.3    6.1    6.0    5.8    6.0
 At closing establishments         312     306     298     313     325    1.4    1.3    1.3    1.4    1.4
Net employment change             -150     -32      94      49     -24   -0.6   -0.1    0.4    0.2   -0.1

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains                    272     286     314     283     271   16.4   17.3   18.5   16.8   16.3
 At expanding establishments       225     233     266     243     230   13.6   14.1   15.7   14.4   13.8
 At opening establishments          47      53      48      40      41    2.8    3.2    2.8    2.4    2.5
Gross job losses                   292     285     282     282     290   17.7   17.2   16.6   16.7   17.4
 At contracting establishments     243     239     234     235     243   14.7   14.4   13.8   13.9   14.6
 At closing establishments          49      46      48      47      47    3.0    2.8    2.8    2.8    2.8
Net employment change              -20       1      32       1     -19   -1.3    0.1    1.9    0.1   -1.1

Construction

Gross job gains                    784     793     837     809     799   11.7   11.8   12.3   11.7   11.6
 At expanding establishments       636     641     669     655     643    9.5    9.5    9.8    9.5    9.3
 At opening establishments         148     152     168     154     156    2.2    2.3    2.5    2.2    2.3
Gross job losses                   762     761     759     779     789   11.4   11.3   11.1   11.3   11.4
 At contracting establishments     601     599     602     609     616    9.0    8.9    8.8    8.8    8.9
 At closing establishments         161     162     157     170     173    2.4    2.4    2.3    2.5    2.5
Net employment change               22      32      78      30      10    0.3    0.5    1.2    0.4    0.2

Manufacturing

Gross job gains                    549     586     613     604     597    3.8    4.1    4.3    4.2    4.2
 At expanding establishments       482     517     552     546     530    3.3    3.6    3.9    3.8    3.7
 At opening establishments          67      69      61      58      67    0.5    0.5    0.4    0.4    0.5
Gross job losses                   701     651     629     586     612    4.9    4.6    4.5    4.1    4.2
 At contracting establishments     599     553     536     490     507    4.2    3.9    3.8    3.4    3.5
 At closing establishments         102      98      93      96     105    0.7    0.7    0.7    0.7    0.7
Net employment change             -152     -65     -16      18     -15   -1.1   -0.5   -0.2    0.1    0.0

Service-providing(1)

Gross job gains                  5,791   5,981   5,981   6,161   6,122    6.9    7.1    7.1    7.2    7.1
 At expanding establishments     4,554   4,672   4,744   4,848   4,720    5.4    5.5    5.6    5.7    5.5
 At opening establishments       1,237   1,309   1,237   1,313   1,402    1.5    1.6    1.5    1.5    1.6
Gross job losses                 5,569   5,605   5,640   5,616   5,907    6.6    6.6    6.6    6.6    6.9
 At contracting establishments   4,450   4,425   4,499   4,392   4,587    5.3    5.2    5.3    5.2    5.4
 At closing establishments       1,119   1,180   1,141   1,224   1,320    1.3    1.4    1.3    1.4    1.5
Net employment change              222     376     341     545     215    0.3    0.5    0.5    0.6    0.2

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains                    308     317     319     325     329    5.6    5.7    5.7    5.7    5.8
 At expanding establishments       249     257     258     266     267    4.5    4.6    4.6    4.7    4.7
 At opening establishments          59      60      61      59      62    1.1    1.1    1.1    1.0    1.1
Gross job losses                   323     320     314     302     327    5.8    5.7    5.6    5.3    5.8
 At contracting establishments     250     245     243     226     243    4.5    4.4    4.3    4.0    4.3
 At closing establishments          73      75      71      76      84    1.3    1.3    1.3    1.3    1.5
Net employment change              -15      -3       5      23       2   -0.2    0.0    0.1    0.4    0.0

Retail trade

Gross job gains                  1,019   1,061   1,059   1,058   1,044    6.7    7.1    7.0    6.9    6.9
 At expanding establishments       848     886     890     885     845    5.6    5.9    5.9    5.8    5.6
 At opening establishments         171     175     169     173     199    1.1    1.2    1.1    1.1    1.3
Gross job losses                   989   1,016   1,011     974   1,126    6.6    6.8    6.7    6.4    7.5
 At contracting establishments     839     857     857     820     920    5.6    5.7    5.7    5.4    6.1
 At closing establishments         150     159     154     154     206    1.0    1.1    1.0    1.0    1.4
Net employment change               30      45      48      84     -82    0.1    0.3    0.3    0.5   -0.6

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains                    235     227     244     241     244    6.0    5.7    6.1    6.0    6.0
 At expanding establishments       193     191     205     202     203    4.9    4.8    5.1    5.0    5.0
 At opening establishments          42      36      39      39      41    1.1    0.9    1.0    1.0    1.0
Gross job losses                   239     237     228     236     235    6.1    6.0    5.7    5.9    5.8
 At contracting establishments     193     188     183     192     190    4.9    4.8    4.6    4.8    4.7
 At closing establishments          46      49      45      44      45    1.2    1.2    1.1    1.1    1.1
Net employment change               -4     -10      16       5       9   -0.1   -0.3    0.4    0.1    0.2

Utilities

Gross job gains                     16      14      15      13      14    2.7    2.4    2.7    2.3    2.5
 At expanding establishments        14      12      13      11      13    2.4    2.1    2.3    1.9    2.3
 At opening establishments           2       2       2       2       1    0.3    0.3    0.4    0.4    0.2
Gross job losses                    19      16      16      14      16    3.3    2.7    2.9    2.5    2.8
 At contracting establishments      15      14      14      12      13    2.6    2.4    2.5    2.1    2.3
 At closing establishments           4       2       2       2       3    0.7    0.3    0.4    0.4    0.5
Net employment change               -3      -2      -1      -1      -2   -0.6   -0.3   -0.2   -0.2   -0.3

Information

Gross job gains                    149     172     156     151     163    4.7    5.5    5.0    4.8    5.3
 At expanding establishments       120     131     132     125     135    3.8    4.2    4.2    4.0    4.4
 At opening establishments          29      41      24      26      28    0.9    1.3    0.8    0.8    0.9
Gross job losses                   185     166     169     182     194    5.8    5.2    5.4    5.9    6.3
 At contracting establishments     150     121     138     146     148    4.7    3.8    4.4    4.7    4.8
 At closing establishments          35      45      31      36      46    1.1    1.4    1.0    1.2    1.5
Net employment change              -36       6     -13     -31     -31   -1.1    0.3   -0.4   -1.1   -1.0

Financial activities

Gross job gains                    444     436     442     461     469    5.7    5.5    5.7    5.9    5.9
 At expanding establishments       344     333     343     362     364    4.4    4.2    4.4    4.6    4.6
 At opening establishments         100     103      99      99     105    1.3    1.3    1.3    1.3    1.3
Gross job losses                   417     462     433     457     452    5.3    5.9    5.5    5.8    5.7
 At contracting establishments     321     354     325     324     334    4.1    4.5    4.1    4.1    4.2
 At closing establishments          96     108     108     133     118    1.2    1.4    1.4    1.7    1.5
Net employment change               27     -26       9       4      17    0.4   -0.4    0.2    0.1    0.2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains                  1,356   1,438   1,411   1,509   1,416    8.5    9.0    8.8    9.3    8.7
 At expanding establishments     1,085   1,136   1,156   1,214   1,124    6.8    7.1    7.2    7.5    6.9
 At opening establishments         271     302     255     295     292    1.7    1.9    1.6    1.8    1.8
Gross job losses                 1,287   1,302   1,378   1,321   1,366    8.1    8.2    8.5    8.2    8.3
 At contracting establishments     996   1,000   1,080     988   1,035    6.3    6.3    6.7    6.1    6.3
 At closing establishments         291     302     298     333     331    1.8    1.9    1.8    2.1    2.0
Net employment change               69     136      33     188      50    0.4    0.8    0.3    1.1    0.4

Education and health services

Gross job gains                    731     744     751     753     757    4.6    4.7    4.7    4.7    4.7
 At expanding establishments       607     616     633     635     626    3.8    3.9    4.0    4.0    3.9
 At opening establishments         124     128     118     118     131    0.8    0.8    0.7    0.7    0.8
Gross job losses                   670     659     672     696     704    4.3    4.1    4.3    4.3    4.4
 At contracting establishments     548     529     551     560     562    3.5    3.3    3.5    3.5    3.5
 At closing establishments         122     130     121     136     142    0.8    0.8    0.8    0.8    0.9
Net employment change               61      85      79      57      53    0.3    0.6    0.4    0.4    0.3

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains                  1,125   1,161   1,138   1,164   1,169    9.3    9.5    9.2    9.3    9.4
 At expanding establishments       849     866     854     889     883    7.0    7.1    6.9    7.1    7.1
 At opening establishments         276     295     284     275     286    2.3    2.4    2.3    2.2    2.3
Gross job losses                 1,095   1,097   1,091   1,090   1,135    9.0    8.9    8.8    8.7    9.1
 At contracting establishments     879     875     870     873     888    7.2    7.1    7.0    7.0    7.1
 At closing establishments         216     222     221     217     247    1.8    1.8    1.8    1.7    2.0
Net employment change               30      64      47      74      34    0.3    0.6    0.4    0.6    0.3

Other services

Gross job gains                    286     288     307     301     297    7.6    7.6    8.1    7.9    7.8
 At expanding establishments       227     227     242     236     235    6.0    6.0    6.4    6.2    6.2
 At opening establishments          59      61      65      65      62    1.6    1.6    1.7    1.7    1.6
Gross job losses                   309     293     291     304     308    8.2    7.8    7.6    8.0    8.2
 At contracting establishments     246     229     225     235     237    6.5    6.1    5.9    6.2    6.3
 At closing establishments          63      64      66      69      71    1.7    1.7    1.7    1.8    1.9
Net employment change              -23      -5      16      -3     -11   -0.6   -0.2    0.5   -0.1   -0.4

1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.