Technical Information:  (202) 691-6467     USDL 05-207
               http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media Contact:                691-5902     Tuesday, February 15, 2005



            BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS:  SECOND QUARTER 2004


   From March to June 2004, the number of job gains from opening and
expanding establishments was 7.9 million, and the number of job losses
from closing and contracting establishments was 7.3 million, according to
preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor.  During the second quarter of 2004, the continued
rise in gross job gains and a drop in gross job losses led to the fourth
consecutive quarterly net gain in private sector employment.

   Business Employment Dynamics statistics are derived from the Quarterly
Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), also known as the ES-202 program.
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
difference 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
7.9 million jobs, or 112,000 more than in the first quarter of 2004.  Over
the quarter, expanding establishments added 6.3 million jobs, while opening
establishments added 1.6 million.
   
   Gross job losses totaled 7.3 million in the second quarter of 2004, down
by 47,000 from the first quarter of 2004.  Gross job losses continued the
downward trend that started in the third quarter of 2001.  In the second
quarter of 2004, contracting establishments lost 5.7 million jobs, while
closing establishments accounted for a loss of 1.5 million jobs.  (See
tables A, 1, and 3.) 

   From March to June 2004, gross job gains represented 7.2 percent of
private sector employment, unchanged from the previous quarter.  Gross job
losses were at 6.7 percent of private sector employment, a drop of 0.1 per-
centage point from the previous quarter.  (See tables A and 2.)  These gross
job gain and loss statistics demonstrate that a sizable 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              | June  | Sept. | Dec.  | Mar.  | June
                                  | 2003  | 2003  | 2003  | 2004  | 2004
                                  |--------------------------------------                                                                              
                                  |         Levels (in thousands)     
----------------------------------|--------------------------------------    
                                  |       |       |       |       |
Gross job gains...................| 7,560 | 7,396 | 7,646 | 7,745 | 7,857                              
  At expanding establishments.....| 6,033 | 5,897 | 6,063 | 6,231 | 6,292
  At opening establishments.......| 1,527 | 1,499 | 1,583 | 1,514 | 1,565 
Gross job losses..................| 7,702 | 7,324 | 7,302 | 7,310 | 7,263
  At contracting establishments...| 6,138 | 5,893 | 5,816 | 5,871 | 5,726
  At closing establishments.......| 1,564 | 1,431 | 1,486 | 1,439 | 1,537
                                  |--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........|  -142 |    72 |   344 |   435 |   594
                                  |--------------------------------------                                                                              
                                  |       As a percent of employment     
                                  |--------------------------------------                                                                                                                                                                                       
Gross job gains...................|   7.0 |  6.9  |  7.2  |   7.2 |   7.2
  At expanding establishments.....|   5.6 |  5.5  |  5.7  |   5.8 |   5.8
  At opening establishments.......|   1.4 |  1.4  |  1.5  |   1.4 |   1.4
Gross job losses..................|   7.2 |  6.8  |  6.8  |   6.8 |   6.7
  At contracting establishments...|   5.7 |  5.5  |  5.4  |   5.5 |   5.3
  At closing establishments.......|   1.5 |  1.3  |  1.4  |   1.3 |   1.4
                                  |--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........|  -0.2 |  0.1  |  0.4  |   0.4 |   0.5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  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

  During the second quarter of 2004, gross job gains exceeded gross job
losses in the goods-producing sector for the second straight quarter. This
was the first consecutive quarterly net gain in this sector since March 2000.
Expanding and opening establishments in the goods-producing sector gained
1,696,000 jobs, while contracting and closing establishments lost 1,647,000
jobs, for a net gain of 49,000 jobs.  Quarterly job gains in manufacturing
dropped to 604,000, while gross job losses fell to a new low of 586,000,
leading to the first quarterly net gain in that sector since March 2000.
In construction, gross job gains decreased to 809,000 and gross job losses
increased to 779,000, for a net gain of 30,000.  This represents the fourth
consecutive quarter of net employment gains for this sector.
  
  Gross job gains in the service-providing sector totaled 6.2 million
jobs, exceeding gross job losses in that sector by 545,000 jobs.  During
the quarter, gross job gains rose strongly in professional and business
services, financial activities, and leisure and hospitality, while they
were little changed in other service-providing sectors.  The information
sector gained 151,000 jobs and lost 182,000 jobs for a net loss of 31,000
jobs.  The information sector has experienced a net job loss in 13 of the
last 14 quarters.  (See tables B and 3.)
  
                                  - 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
                   |-----------------------------|-----------------------------
                   |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June
                   |2003 |2003 |2003 |2004 |2004 |2003 |2003 |2003 |2004 |2004
-------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
Total              |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
  private(1).......|7,560|7,396|7,646|7,745|7,857|7,702|7,324|7,302|7,310|7,263
Goods-producing....|1,657|1,605|1,665|1,764|1,696|1,897|1,755|1,697|1,670|1,647
  Natural resources|     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     
    and mining.....|  299|  272|  286|  314|  283|  294|  292|  285|  282|  282
  Construction.....|  811|  784|  793|  837|  809|  822|  762|  761|  759|  779
  Manufacturing....|  547|  549|  586|  613|  604|  781|  701|  651|  629|  586
Service-           |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
  providing(1).....|5,903|5,791|5,981|5,981|6,161|5,805|5,569|5,605|5,640|5,616
  Wholesale        |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    trade..........|  314|  308|  317|  319|  325|  334|  323|  320|  314|  302
  Retail trade.....|1,039|1,019|1,061|1,059|1,058|  996|  989|1,016|1,011|  974
  Transportation   |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    and ware-      |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    housing........|  230|  235|  227|  244|  241|  283|  239|  237|  228|  236
  Utilities........|   14|   16|   14|   15|   13|   19|   19|   16|   16|   14
  Information......|  153|  149|  172|  156|  151|  194|  185|  166|  169|  182
  Financial        |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    activities.....|  455|  444|  436|  442|  461|  418|  417|  462|  433|  457
  Professional     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    and business   |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    services.......|1,367|1,356|1,438|1,411|1,509|1,416|1,287|1,302|1,378|1,321
  Education and    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    health         |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    services.......|  745|  731|  744|  751|  753|  698|  670|  659|  672|  696
  Leisure and      |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
    hospitality....|1,166|1,125|1,161|1,138|1,164|1,105|1,095|1,097|1,091|1,090
  Other services...|  303|  286|  288|  307|  301|  305|  309|  293|  291|  304
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.                                                          
                                  

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 second quarter of 2004, the number of opening establishments
exceeded the number of closing establishments, leading to a net addition of
13,000 units to the number of total active private sector establishments.
In addition, the number of establishments gaining jobs continued to surpass
the number of establishments losing jobs.  A total of 1.8 million
establishments out of 6.5 million active private sector establishments
gained jobs from March to June 2004.  (See table C.)  Of these, 1.5 million
were expanding establishments and 343,000 were opening establishments.
During the second quarter of 2004, 1.8 million establishments lost jobs.
Of these, 1.5 million were contracting establishments and 330,000 were
closing establishments.

                                  - 4 -

Table C.  Number of private sector establishments by direction of
employment change, seasonally adjusted
       
(In thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------     
                                  |             3 months ended
             Category             |---------------------------------------
                                  | June  | Sept. | Dec.  | Mar.  | June
                                  | 2003  | 2003  | 2003  | 2004  | 2004
----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------    
                                  |       |       |       |       |
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,788 | 1,791 | 1,815 | 1,854 | 1,847
  Expanding establishments........| 1,457 | 1,463 | 1,467 | 1,505 | 1,504
  Opening establishments..........|   331 |   328 |   348 |   349 |   343
                                  |-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Establishments losing jobs .......| 1,801 | 1,772 | 1,775 | 1,794 | 1,792
  Contracting establishments......| 1,473 | 1,454 | 1,453 | 1,466 | 1,462
  Closing establishments..........|   328 |   318 |   322 |   328 |   330
                                  |-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Net establishment change(1).......|     3 |    10 |    26 |    21 |    13
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
  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.


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 second 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 second quarter 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 either establishments with positive third-month employ-
ment 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


 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 employment1,  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


        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

                                 June   Sept.   Dec.    Mar.    June    June   Sept.  Dec.    Mar.   June
                                 2003   2003    2003    2004    2004    2003   2003   2003    2004   2004
Total private(1)
												
Gross job gains                   7,560  7,396  7,646   7,745   7,857   7.0     6.9    7.2    7.2    7.2
  At expanding establishments     6,033  5,897  6,063   6,231   6,292   5.6     5.5    5.7    5.8    5.8
  At opening establishments       1,527  1,499  1,583   1,514   1,565   1.4     1.4    1.5    1.4    1.4
Gross job losses                  7,702  7,324  7,302   7,310   7,263   7.2     6.8    6.8    6.8    6.7
  At contracting establishments   6,138  5,893  5,816   5,871   5,726   5.7     5.5    5.4    5.5    5.3
  At closing establishments       1,564  1,431  1,486   1,439   1,537   1.5     1.3    1.4    1.3    1.4
Net employment change              -142     72    344     435     594  -0.2     0.1    0.4    0.4    0.5

Goods-producing
												
Gross job gains                   1,657  1,605  1,665   1,764   1,696   7.2     7.1    7.3    7.7    7.4
  At expanding establishments     1,378  1,343  1,391   1,487   1,444   6.0     5.9    6.1    6.5    6.3
  At opening establishments         279    262    274     277     252   1.2     1.2    1.2    1.2    1.1
Gross job losses                  1,897  1,755  1,697   1,670   1,647   8.3     7.7    7.4    7.3    7.2
  At contracting establishments   1,558  1,443  1,391   1,372   1,334   6.8     6.3    6.1    6.0    5.8
  At closing establishments         339    312    306     298     313   1.5     1.4    1.3    1.3    1.4
Net employment change              -240   -150    -32      94      49  -1.1    -0.6   -0.1    0.4    0.2

Natural resources and mining 
												
Gross job gains                     299    272    286     314     283  17.9    16.4   17.3   18.5   16.8
  At expanding establishments       249    225    233     266     243  14.9    13.6    4.1   15.7   14.4
  At opening establishments          50     47     53      48      40   3.0     2.8    3.2    2.8    2.4
Gross job losses                    294    292    285     282     282  17.6    17.7   17.2   16.6   16.7
  At contracting establishments     240    243    239     234     235  14.4    14.7   14.4   13.8   13.9
  At closing establishments          54     49     46      48      47   3.2     3.0    2.8    2.8    2.8
Net employment change                 5    -20      1      32       1   0.3    -1.3    0.1    1.9    0.1

Construction
												
Gross job gains                     811    784    793     837     809  12.2    11.7   11.8   12.3   11.7
  At expanding establishments       654    636    641     669     655   9.8     9.5    9.5    9.8    9.5
  At opening establishments         157    148    152     168     154   2.4     2.2    2.3    2.5    2.2
Gross job losses                    822    762    761     759     779  12.3    11.4   11.3   11.1   11.3
  At contracting establishments     653    601    599     602     609   9.8     9.0    8.9    8.8    8.8
  At closing establishments         169    161    162     157     170   2.5     2.4    2.4    2.3    2.5
Net employment change               -11     22     32      78      30  -0.1     0.3    0.5    1.2    0.4

Manufacturing
												
Gross job gains                     547    549    586     613     604   3.8     3.8    4.1    4.3    4.2
  At expanding establishments       475    482    517     552     546   3.3     3.3    3.6    3.9    3.8
  At opening establishments          72     67     69      61      58   0.5     0.5    0.5    0.4    0.4
Gross job losses                    781    701    651     629     586   5.4     4.9    4.6    4.5    4.1
  At contracting establishments     665    599    553     536     490   4.6     4.2    3.9    3.8    3.4
  At closing establishments         116    102     98      93      96   0.8     0.7    0.7    0.7    0.7
Net employment change              -234   -152    -65     -16      18  -1.6    -1.1   -0.5   -0.2    0.1

Service-providing(1)
												
Gross job gains                   5,903  5,791  5,981   5,981   6,161   7.0     6.9    7.1    7.1    7.2
  At expanding establishments     4,655  4,554  4,672   4,744   4,848   5.5     5.4    5.5    5.6    5.7
  At opening establishments       1,248  1,237  1,309   1,237   1,313   1.5     1.5    1.6    1.5    1.5
Gross job losses                  5,805  5,569  5,605   5,640   5,616   7.0     6.6    6.6    6.6    6.6
  At contracting establishments   4,580  4,450  4,425   4,499   4,392   5.5     5.3    5.2    5.3    5.2
  At closing establishments       1,225  1,119  1,180   1,141   1,224   1.5     1.3    1.4    1.3    1.4
Net employment change                98    222    376     341     545   0.0     0.3    0.5    0.5    0.6

Wholesale trade
												
Gross job gains                     314   308     317     319     325   5.6     5.6    5.7    5.7    5.7
  At expanding establishments       252   249     257     258     266   4.5     4.5    4.6    4.6    4.7
  At opening establishments          62    59      60      61      59   1.1     1.1    1.1    1.1    1.0
Gross job losses                    334   323     320     314     302   6.0     5.8    5.7    5.6    5.3
  At contracting establishments     256   250     245     243     226   4.6     4.5    4.4    4.3    4.0
  At closing establishments          78    73      75      71      76   1.4     1.3    1.3    1.3    1.3
Net employment change               -20   -15      -3       5      23  -0.4    -0.2    0.0    0.1    0.4

Retail trade
                                                                                        
Gross job gains                   1,039 1,019   1,061   1,059   1,058   6.9     6.7    7.1    7.0    6.9
  At expanding establishments       872   848     886     890     885   5.8     5.6    5.9    5.9    5.8
  At opening establishments         167   171     175     169     173   1.1     1.1    1.2    1.1    1.1
Gross job losses                    996   989   1,016   1,011     974   6.7     6.6    6.8    6.7    6.4
  At contracting establishments     834   839     857     857     820   5.6     5.6    5.7    5.7    5.4
  At closing establishments         162   150     159     154     154   1.1     1.0    1.1    1.0    1.0
Net employment change                43    30      45      48      84   0.2     0.1    0.3    0.3    0.5

Transportation and warehousing
												
Gross job gains                     230   235     227     244     241   5.8     6.0    5.7    6.1    6.0
  At expanding establishments       186   193     191     205     202   4.7     4.9    4.8    5.1    5.0
  At opening establishments          44    42      36      39      39   1.1     1.1    0.9    1.0    1.0
Gross job losses                    283   239     237     228     236   7.1     6.1    6.0    5.7    5.9
  At contracting establishments     234   193     188     183     192   5.9     4.9    4.8    4.6    4.8
  At closing establishments          49    46      49      45      44   1.2     1.2    1.2    1.1    1.1
Net employment change               -53    -4     -10      16       5  -1.3    -0.1   -0.3    0.4    0.1
                                                
Utilities
												
Gross job gains                      14    16      14      15      13   2.4     2.7    2.4    2.7    2.3
  At expanding establishments        12    14      12      13      11   2.1     2.4    2.1    2.3    1.9
  At opening establishments           2     2       2       2       2   0.3     0.3    0.3    0.4    0.4
Gross job losses                     19    19      16      16      14   3.2     3.3    2.7    2.9    2.5
  At contracting establishments      17    15      14      14      12   2.9     2.6    2.4    2.5    2.1
  At closing establishments           2     4       2       2       2   0.3     0.7    0.3    0.4    0.4
Net employment change                -5    -3      -2      -1      -1  -0.8    -0.6    0.3   -0.2   -0.2

Information
												
Gross job gains                     153   149     172     156     151   4.8     4.7    5.5    5.0    4.8
  At expanding establishments       125   120     131     132     125   3.9     3.8    4.2    4.2    4.0
  At opening establishments          28    29      41      24      26   0.9     0.9    1.3    0.8    0.8
Gross job losses                    194   185     166     169     182   6.1     5.8    5.2    5.4    5.9
  At contracting establishments     156   150     121     138     146   4.9     4.7    3.8    4.4    4.7
  At closing establishments          38    35      45      31      36   1.2     1.1    1.4    1.0    1.2
Net employment change               -41   -36       6     -13     -31  -1.3    -1.1    0.3   -0.4   -1.1

Financial activities
												
Gross job gains                     455   444     436     442     461   5.8     5.7    5.5    5.7    5.9
  At expanding establishments       361   344     333     343     362   4.6     4.4    4.2    4.4    4.6
  At opening establishments          94   100     103      99      99   1.2     1.3    1.3    1.3    1.3
Gross job losses                    418   417     462     433     457   5.4     5.3    5.9    5.5    5.8
  At contracting establishments     320   321     354     325     324   4.1     4.1    4.5    4.1    4.1
  At closing establishments          98    96     108     108     133   1.3     1.2    1.4    1.4    1.7
Net employment change                37    27     -26       9       4   0.4     0.4   -0.4    0.2    0.1
 
Professional and business services	
											
Gross job gains                   1,367 1,356   1,438   1,411   1,509   8.6     8.5    9.0    8.8    9.3
  At expanding establishments     1,084 1,085   1,136   1,156   1,214   6.8     6.8    7.1    7.2    7.5
  At opening establishments         283   271     302     255     295   1.8     1.7    1.9    1.6    1.8
Gross job losses                  1,416 1,287   1,302   1,378   1,321   8.9     8.1    8.2    8.5    8.2
  At contracting establishments   1,067   996   1,000   1,080     988   6.7     6.3    6.3    6.7    6.1
  At closing establishments         349   291     302     298     333   2.2     1.8    1.9    1.8    2.1
Net employment change               -49    69     136      33     188  -0.3     0.4    0.8    0.3    1.1

Education and health services	
											
Gross job gains                     745   731     744     751     753   4.8     4.6    4.7    4.7    4.7
  At expanding establishments       624   607     616     633     635   4.0     3.8    3.9    4.0    4.0
  At opening establishments         121   124     128     118     118   0.8     0.8    0.8    0.7    0.7
Gross job losses                    698   670     659     672     696   4.4     4.3    4.1    4.3    4.3
  At contracting establishments     565   548     529     551     560   3.6     3.5    3.3    3.5    3.5
  At closing establishments         133   122     130     121     136   0.8     0.8    0.8    0.8    0.8
Net employment change                47    61      85      79      57   0.4     0.3    0.6    0.4    0.4

Leisure and hospitality
												
Gross job gains                   1,166 1,125   1,161   1,138   1,164   9.6     9.3    9.5    9.2    9.3
  At expanding establishments       885   849     866     854     889   7.3     7.0    7.1    6.9    7.1
  At opening establishments         281   276     295     284     275   2.3     2.3    2.4    2.3    2.2
Gross job losses                  1,105 1,095   1,097   1,091   1,090   9.1     9.0    8.9    8.8    8.7
  At contracting establishments     881   879     875     870     873   7.3     7.2    7.1    7.0    7.0
  At closing establishments         224   216     222     221     217   1.8     1.8    1.8    1.8    1.7
Net employment change                61    30      64      47      74   0.5     0.3    0.6    0.4    0.6

Other services
											
Gross job gains                     303   286     288     307     301   8.0     7.6    7.6    8.1    7.9
  At expanding establishments       239   227     227     242     236   6.3     6.0    6.0    6.4    6.2
  At opening establishments          64    59      61      65      65   1.7     1.6    1.6    1.7    1.7
Gross job losses                    305   309     293     291     304   8.0     8.2    7.8    7.6    8.0
  At contracting establishments     236   246     229     225     235   6.2     6.5    6.1    5.9    6.2
  At closing establishments          69    63      64      66      69   1.8     1.7    1.7    1.7    1.8
Net employment change                -2   -23      -5      16      -3   0.0    -0.6   -0.2    0.5   -0.1

  1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.