Technical Information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 07-1244 http://www.bls.gov/bdm/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media Contact: 691-5902 Thursday, August 16, 2007 BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FOURTH QUARTER 2006 From September 2006 to December 2006, the number of job gains from opening and expanding private sector establishments was 7.7 million, and the number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was 7.2 million, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. (See table 3.) Over this period, firms with 1,000 or more employees accounted for the largest share of gross job gains (19.5 percent) and firms with 1 to 4 employees had the largest share of gross job losses (16.0 percent). (See tables D and 4.) The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data series include gross job gains and gross job losses at the establishment level by major industry sector, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of in- creases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. BED statistics track these changes in employment at private business units from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing units and the addition of new jobs at opening units. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing units and the loss of jobs at closing units. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.) Private Sector Establishment-Level Gross Job Gains and Job Losses Opening and expanding private sector business establishments gained 7.7 million jobs in the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of 370,000 from the previous quarter. Over the fourth quarter, expanding establishments added 6.3 million jobs while opening establishments added 1.5 million jobs. Gross job losses totaled 7.2 million, a decrease of 127,000 from the previous quarter. During the quarter, contracting establishments lost 5.9 million jobs while closing establishments lost 1.3 million jobs. (See tables A, 1, and 3.) ------------------------------------------------------------- | New Business Employment Dynamics State Level Data | | | | On August 30, 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will | | release for the first time new Business Employment Dynamics | | (BED) data for all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto | | Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The news release will con- | | tain data from the third quarter of 1992 through the fourth | | quarter of 2006. Thereafter, state data will be included | | in each regular quarterly BED news release. | ------------------------------------------------------------- - 2 - Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | 3 months ended |------------------------------------- | Dec. | March| June | Sept.| Dec. Category | 2005 | 2006 | 2006 | 2006 | 2006 |------------------------------------- | Levels (in thousands) ----------------------------------|------------------------------------- | | | | | Gross job gains...................| 7,818| 7,556| 7,761| 7,364| 7,734 At expanding establishments.....| 6,293| 6,205| 6,286| 5,985| 6,255 At opening establishments.......| 1,525| 1,351| 1,475| 1,379| 1,479 | | | | | Gross job losses..................| 7,267| 6,772| 7,295| 7,345| 7,218 At contracting establishments...| 5,888| 5,536| 5,937| 6,010| 5,885 At closing establishments.......| 1,379| 1,236| 1,358| 1,335| 1,333 | | | | | Net employment change (1).........| 551| 784| 466| 19| 516 |------------------------------------- | Rates (percent) |------------------------------------- Gross job gains...................| 7.1| 6.7| 6.9| 6.5| 6.8 At expanding establishments.....| 5.7| 5.5| 5.6| 5.3| 5.5 At opening establishments.......| 1.4| 1.2| 1.3| 1.2| 1.3 | | | | | Gross job losses..................| 6.5| 6.0| 6.5| 6.5| 6.4 At contracting establishments...| 5.3| 4.9| 5.3| 5.3| 5.2 At closing establishments.......| 1.2| 1.1| 1.2| 1.2| 1.2 | | | | | Net employment change (1).........| .6| .7| .4| .0| .4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost yielded a net change of 516,000 jobs in the private sector for fourth quarter 2006. From September 2006 to December 2006, gross job gains represented 6.8 percent of private sector employment while gross job losses repre- sented 6.4 percent of private sector employment. (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. Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses Goods-producing. Expanding and opening establishments in the goods- producing sector accounted for 1,616,000 jobs gained, and contracting and closing establishments accounted for 1,697,000 jobs lost. This net loss of 81,000 jobs is the second consecutive quarter of net loss in this sector. (See tables B and 3.) Construction. In construction, gross job gains over the quarter rose to 809,000 and gross job losses fell to 835,000, resulting in a net loss of 26,000 jobs. This is the third consecutive quarter of net losses in this industry. - 3 - Table B. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted (In thousands) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Gross job gains | Gross job losses | (3 months ended) | (3 months ended) Industry |-----------------------------|----------------------------- |Dec. |March|June |Sept.|Dec. |Dec. |March|June |Sept.|Dec. |2005 |2006 |2006 |2006 |2006 |2005 |2006 |2006 |2006 |2006 ----------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|----- | | | | | | | | | | Total private (1)...|7,818|7,556|7,761|7,364|7,734|7,267|6,772|7,295|7,345|7,218 Goods-producing.......|1,722|1,713|1,673|1,537|1,616|1,606|1,545|1,644|1,706|1,697 Natural resources | | | | | | | | | | and mining.........| 279| 279| 286| 261| 283| 265| 275| 265| 258| 261 Construction ........| 862| 910| 828| 771| 809| 774| 742| 830| 848| 835 Manufacturing .......| 581| 524| 559| 505| 524| 567| 528| 549| 600| 601 Service-providing (1).|6,096|5,843|6,088|5,827|6,118|5,661|5,227|5,651|5,639|5,521 Wholesale trade......| 320| 311| 328| 304| 318| 302| 288| 288| 302| 299 Retail trade.........|1,058|1,048|1,053|1,010|1,070|1,015| 971|1,074|1,063|1,003 Transportation and...| | | | | | | | | | warehousing.........| 268| 232| 242| 236| 266| 231| 228| 227| 221| 223 Utilities ...........| 14| 11| 13| 13| 17| 16| 11| 13| 12| 16 Information .........| 152| 139| 146| 148| 156| 156| 142| 140| 167| 142 Financial | | | | | | | | | | activities..........| 472| 408| 447| 436| 452| 434| 404| 432| 435| 442 Professional and | | | | | | | | | | business services...|1,432|1,279|1,428|1,305|1,409|1,303|1,169|1,272|1,259|1,297 Education and | | | | | | | | | | health services.....| 766| 771| 776| 772| 785| 699| 645| 713| 670| 675 Leisure and | | | | | | | | | | hospitality.........|1,175|1,194|1,200|1,154|1,205|1,165|1,046|1,169|1,168|1,095 Other services.......| 289| 293| 307| 285| 293| 296| 281| 284| 302| 288 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately. Manufacturing. Gross job gains in manufacturing increased to a level of 524,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2006 and gross job losses inched up to 601,000, resulting in a net loss of 77,000 jobs. Service-providing. In the service-providing sector, gross job gains totaled 6,118,000 and gross job losses totaled 5,521,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006, resulting in a net gain of 597,000 jobs. Retail trade. Gross job gains in the retail trade sector rose to 1,070,000 and gross job losses fell to 1,003,000, resulting in a net gain of 67,000 jobs. This net gain followed two consecutive quarters of net losses in this sector. Leisure and hospitality. The leisure and hospitality sector gained 1,205,000 jobs and lost 1,095,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2006, for a net gain of 110,000. 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 fourth quarter of 2006, the number of establishments gaining jobs exceeded the number of establishments losing jobs. Out of 6.9 million active private sector establishments, a total of 1,939,000 establishments gained jobs from September 2006 to December 2006. (See table C.) Of these, 1,558,000 were expanding establishments and 381,000 were opening establishments. During the quarter, 1,539,000 establishments contracted and 345,000 establishments closed, resulting in 1,884,000 establishments losing jobs. Overall, the number of active private sector establishments increased by 36,000 during the quarter. This change is the difference between the number of opening establishments and the number of closing establishments. - 4 - Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of employment change, seasonally adjusted (In thousands) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 3 months ended |-------------------------------------- Category | Dec. | March | June | Sept. | Dec. | 2005 | 2006 | 2006 | 2006 | 2006 ----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|------ Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,921 | 1,938 | 1,918 | 1,865 | 1,939 Expanding establishments........| 1,546 | 1,585 | 1,558 | 1,524 | 1,558 Opening establishments..........| 375 | 353 | 360 | 341 | 381 | | | | | Establishments losing jobs........| 1,849 | 1,839 | 1,884 | 1,891 | 1,884 Contracting establishments......| 1,520 | 1,498 | 1,543 | 1,542 | 1,539 Closing establishments..........| 329 | 341 | 341 | 349 | 345 | | | | | Net establishment change (1)......| 46 | 12 | 19 | -8 | 36 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Firm-Level Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses by Size Class From September 2006 to December 2006, firms with 1,000 or more employees accounted for the largest share of gross job gains (19.5 percent) and firms with 1 - 4 employees had the largest share of gross job losses (16.0 percent). (See tables D and 4.) In the fourth quarter of 2006, firms with 500 or more employees repre- sented 24.1 percent of gross job gains and 20.3 percent of gross job losses. (See table D.) Historically, from September 1992 through December 2006, firms with 500 or more employees have accounted for, on average, 35.4 per- cent of quarterly net employment growth. (See table E.) Firms with 1 - 4 employees continued to have the largest shares of both job gains at opening firms and job losses at closing firms, with 61.2 and 59.2 percent respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2006. (See table 4.) More Information Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses are available at the Business Employment Dynamics Web page on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/bdm. This information includes data on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm size, the not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time series not presented in this release, charts of gross job gains and gross job losses by industry and firm size, and frequently asked questions on firm-size data. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found in the Technical Note of this release or may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov. - 5 - Table D. Three-month private sector share (1) of gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted (Percent) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Share of gross job gains | Share of gross job losses | (3 months ended) | (3 months ended) Firm size |------------------------------|------------------------------ | Dec.|March| June| Sept.| Dec.| Dec.|March| June| Sept.| Dec. | 2005|2006 | 2006| 2006 | 2006| 2005|2006 | 2006| 2006 | 2006 -----------------------|-----------|-----|------------|-----|-----|-----|------|----- | | | | | | | | | | 1 - 4 employees..| 15.5| 15.7| 15.0| 15.2 | 15.5| 15.6| 17.0| 16.0| 15.8 | 16.0 5 - 9 employees..| 11.7| 12.3| 11.9| 12.0 | 11.5| 12.6| 13.0| 12.6| 12.3 | 12.5 10 - 19 employees..| 12.0| 12.7| 12.2| 12.3 | 11.7| 12.8| 13.0| 12.7| 12.4 | 12.5 20 - 49 employees..| 13.9| 14.9| 14.6| 14.5 | 13.8| 14.7| 14.4| 14.4| 14.5 | 14.5 50 - 99 employees..| 8.7| 9.3| 9.1| 9.1 | 8.7| 9.1| 8.7| 8.9| 8.9 | 9.0 100 - 249 employees..| 9.1| 9.7| 9.8| 9.5 | 9.2| 9.6| 8.8| 9.1| 9.3 | 9.3 250 - 499 employees..| 5.5| 5.7| 5.9| 5.9 | 5.5| 5.7| 5.1| 5.3| 5.5 | 5.9 500 - 999 employees..| 4.5| 4.5| 4.8| 4.7 | 4.6| 4.7| 3.9| 4.4| 4.5 | 4.5 1,000 or more employees| 19.1| 15.2| 16.7| 16.8 | 19.5| 15.2| 16.1| 16.6| 16.8 | 15.8 | | | | | | | | | | Total...............|100.0|100.0|100.0|100.0 |100.0|100.0|100.0|100.0|100.0 |100.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Share measures the percent of the category represented by firm size. Table E. Average percentage share (1) of gross job gains and losses by firm size, third quarter 1992-fourth quarter 2006, seasonally adjusted (Percent) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Firm size (number of employees) |----------------------------------------------------------------------- Category | | | | | | | | | | 1,000 | | | | | | | 100- | 250- | 500- | or | Total | 1-4 | 5-9 | 10-19| 20-49| 50-99| 249 | 499 | 999 | more ----------------------|-------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------- Gross job gains.......| 100.0 | 14.4 | 11.5 | 11.9 | 14.3 | 9.1 | 9.7 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 18.3 Expanding firms.....| 100.0 | 7.0 | 10.6 | 12.0 | 15.2 | 10.0 | 11.1 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 21.6 Opening firms.......| 100.0 | 52.3 | 16.0 | 11.6 | 9.7 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 1.3 | .8 | 1.1 | | | | | | | | | | Gross job losses......| 100.0 | 14.7 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 14.4 | 9.1 | 9.6 | 5.8 | 4.8 | 17.5 Contracting firms...| 100.0 | 7.5 | 11.1 | 12.3 | 15.3 | 10.0 | 10.8 | 6.7 | 5.5 | 20.8 Closing firms.......| 100.0 | 49.8 | 15.6 | 11.6 | 10.1 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.5 | | | | | | | | | | Net change............| 100.0 | 9.5 | 6.3 | 8.0 | 12.3 | 9.4 | 11.7 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 29.2 | | | | | | | | | | Cumulative share of | | | | | | | | | | net change..........| - | 9.5 | 15.8 | 23.8 | 36.1 | 45.5 | 57.2 | 64.6 | 70.8 | 100.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Share measures the percent of the category represented by firm size. - 6 - ------------------------------------------------------------------- | 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 establish- | | ments, while gross job gains and gross job losses are based on a | | quarterly census of administrative records. In addition, the CES | | has a different coverage, excluding the agriculture sector but in- | | cluding 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 employment 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 Employment and Wages (QCEW) data. The data in this release, | | in contrast to the QCEW data, exclude government employees, pri- | | vate households (NAICS 814110), and establishments with zero em- | | ployment. | | | | See the Technical Note for further information. | -------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Upcoming Changes to Business Employment Dynamics Data | | | | With the release of first quarter 2007 Business Employment | | Dynamics (BED) data in November 2007, the BED program will im- | | plement a policy of revising the previous year's not seasonally | | adjusted data and the last 5 years of seasonally adjusted data. | | These revisions will occur annually with the release of first | | quarter data. In addition, there will be a one-time update to | | national historical BED data to reflect updated information | | from the QCEW program. | | | | At the same time, the BED program will start using the 2007 | | version of the North American Industry Classification System as | | the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by | | industry. | ----------------------------------------------------------------- - 7 - 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. - 8 - 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 records | nally-linked UI ad- | 400,000 establish- | submitted by 8.9 | ministrative records| ments | million employers | submitted by 6.9 | | | 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 | and by size of firm | | |--Future expansions | | | will include data at| | | the county, MSA, and| | | state level | -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------ 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 | An analysis of em- | cators | surveys | ployment expansion | | | and contraction by | | | size of firm | | | | -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------ Program |--www.bls.gov/cew/ |--www.bls.gov/bdm/ |--www.bls.gov/ces/ Web sites | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 9 - 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 6.9 million private sector employer reports out of 8.9 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to BLS in the fourth quarter of 2006. 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 fourth quarter of 2006: Number of active establishments included in Business Employment Dynamics data Millions Total establishments QCEW program....................................8.9 Excluded: Public sector.........................................0.3 Private households....................................0.6 Zero employment.......................................1.0 Establishments in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands..............................0.1 Total establishments included in Business Employment Dynamics data...........................................6.9 Unit of analysis Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by in- dustry and firms are used in the tabulation of the BED size class sta- tistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either corporate or otherwise, and may consist of several establishments. Firm- level data are compiled based on an aggregation of establishments under common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification numbers. The firm-level aggregation, which is consistent with the role of corporations as the economic decision makers, is used for the measurement of the BED data elements by size class. Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job gains and gross job losses by size class are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. However, the total net changes in employment are the same for not seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally adjusted data. - 10 - Concepts and methodology The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employ- ment at the establishment or firm level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A net increase in employment can come from either opening units or expanding units. A net decrease in employment can come from either closing units or contracting units. Gross job gains include the sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include the sum of all jobs lost in either closing or contracting units. The net change in employment is the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows: Openings. These are either units with positive third-month employment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third-month employment in the current quarter, following zero em- ployment in the previous quarter. Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period. Closings. These are units with positive third-month employment in the pre- vious quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter. Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period. All establishment-level employment changes are measured from the third month of each quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their em- ployment levels. Units with no change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, but not for levels of gross employment 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 quar- ters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. The rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net growth rate. Linkage methodology Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, QCEW records are linked across two quarters. The linkage process matches esta- blishments' 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 restructuring, or a UI account restructuring. If a match cannot be attained in this manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to identify two establishments with different SWA- IDs as continuous. The match is based upon comparisons such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst examines unmatched re- cords 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. - 11 - Sizing methodology The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED size- class data series. Dynamic sizing allocates each firm's employment gain or loss during a quarter to each respective size class in which the change occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38 employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be al- located to the first size class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49. Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm-size estimates and eliminates any systematic effects which may be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms' sizes over time. Additionally, it allocates each job gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred. 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 vari- ation 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 ana- lyze changes in economic activity. The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contract- ing units are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses. Simi- larly, for industry data, the establishment counts data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted, and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of opening and closing establishments. Additionally, establishment and em- ployment levels are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the sea- sonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 ARIMA. Seasonally adjusted data series for the total private sector are cal- culated by summing the seasonally adjusted data for all sectors, including the unclassified 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. - 12 - 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 losses, seasonally adjusted (In thousands) Gross job gains Gross job losses Year 3 months ended Net Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing change (1) 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 December ...... 869 8,081 6,365 1,716 7,212 5,727 1,485 2005 March ......... 325 7,635 6,171 1,464 7,310 5,852 1,458 June .......... 574 7,932 6,311 1,621 7,358 5,873 1,485 September ..... 628 8,055 6,423 1,632 7,427 5,915 1,512 December ...... 551 7,818 6,293 1,525 7,267 5,888 1,379 2006 March ......... 784 7,556 6,205 1,351 6,772 5,536 1,236 June .......... 466 7,761 6,286 1,475 7,295 5,937 1,358 September ..... 19 7,364 5,985 1,379 7,345 6,010 1,335 DDecember ..... 516 7,734 6,255 1,479 7,218 5,885 1,333 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 Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing change (2) establishments establishments establishments establishments 1992 September ...... 0.5 8.3 6.3 2.0 7.8 6.0 1.8 December ....... .2 7.9 6.1 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6 1993 March .......... .3 8.1 6.0 2.1 7.8 6.0 1.8 June ........... .8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.7 1.6 September ...... .9 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.3 5.8 1.5 December ....... .6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5 1994 March .......... .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 ....... .6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5 1995 March .......... .8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.9 1.4 June ........... .5 8.0 6.2 1.8 7.5 6.0 1.5 September ...... .8 8.2 6.5 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6 December ....... .4 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6 1996 March .......... .4 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6 June ........... .6 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.6 6.0 1.6 September ...... .7 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.6 6.0 1.6 December ....... .9 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.4 5.9 1.5 1997 March .......... .7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 5.9 1.6 June ........... .5 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6 September ...... .8 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.6 5.9 1.7 December ....... .6 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.8 5.9 1.9 1998 March .......... .7 8.5 6.4 2.1 7.8 5.9 1.9 June ........... .6 8.4 6.3 2.1 7.8 6.0 1.8 September ...... .7 8.2 6.3 1.9 7.5 5.9 1.6 December ....... .7 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.4 5.7 1.7 1999 March .......... .3 8.2 6.3 1.9 7.9 6.1 1.8 June ........... .6 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.7 6.0 1.7 September ...... .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 .......... .8 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6 June ........... .4 7.9 6.3 1.6 7.5 5.9 1.6 September ...... .1 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.8 6.1 1.7 December ....... .3 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.6 6.0 1.6 2001 March .......... -.1 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.8 6.1 1.7 June ........... -.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 ....... -.8 7.3 5.6 1.7 8.1 6.5 1.6 2002 March .......... .1 7.6 5.9 1.7 7.5 5.9 1.6 June ........... -.1 7.5 5.8 1.7 7.6 6.0 1.6 September ...... -.1 7.3 5.7 1.6 7.4 5.9 1.5 December ....... -.2 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5 2003 March .......... -.5 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.4 5.9 1.5 June ........... -.2 7.0 5.6 1.4 7.2 5.7 1.5 September ...... .1 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3 December ....... .4 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4 2004 March .......... .4 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3 June ........... .5 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.7 5.3 1.4 September ...... .2 7.2 5.7 1.5 7.0 5.5 1.5 December ....... .7 7.4 5.8 1.6 6.7 5.3 1.4 2005 March .......... .3 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.6 5.3 1.3 June ........... .6 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.6 5.3 1.3 September ...... .5 7.3 5.8 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4 December ....... .6 7.1 5.7 1.4 6.5 5.3 1.2 2006 March .......... .7 6.7 5.5 1.2 6.0 4.9 1.1 June ........... .4 6.9 5.6 1.3 6.5 5.3 1.2 September ...... .0 6.5 5.3 1.2 6.5 5.3 1.2 December ....... .4 6.8 5.5 1.3 6.4 5.2 1.2 1 The rates measure gross job gains and 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 losses Gross job gains and losses (in thousands) as a percent of employment Category (3 months ended) (3 months ended) Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 Total private (1) Gross job gains ................ 7,818 7,556 7,761 7,364 7,734 7.1 6.7 6.9 6.5 6.8 At expanding establishments ... 6,293 6,205 6,286 5,985 6,255 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.3 5.5 At opening establishments ..... 1,525 1,351 1,475 1,379 1,479 1.4 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.3 Gross job losses ............... 7,267 6,772 7,295 7,345 7,218 6.5 6.0 6.5 6.5 6.4 At contracting establishments . 5,888 5,536 5,937 6,010 5,885 5.3 4.9 5.3 5.3 5.2 At closing establishments ..... 1,379 1,236 1,358 1,335 1,333 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 Net employment change .......... 551 784 466 19 516 .6 .7 .4 .0 .4 Goods-producing Gross job gains ................ 1,722 1,713 1,673 1,537 1,616 7.4 7.2 7.1 6.5 6.9 At expanding establishments ... 1,463 1,466 1,434 1,317 1,375 6.3 6.2 6.1 5.6 5.9 At opening establishments ..... 259 247 239 220 241 1.1 1.0 1.0 .9 1.0 Gross job losses ............... 1,606 1,545 1,644 1,706 1,697 6.8 6.5 6.9 7.2 7.2 At contracting establishments . 1,338 1,302 1,373 1,436 1,433 5.7 5.5 5.8 6.1 6.1 At closing establishments ..... 268 243 271 270 264 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 Net employment change .......... 116 168 29 -169 -81 .6 .7 .2 -.7 -.3 Natural resources and mining Gross job gains ................ 279 279 286 261 283 16.1 15.7 16.2 14.7 15.6 At expanding establishments ... 238 240 246 226 243 13.7 13.5 13.9 12.7 13.4 At opening establishments ..... 41 39 40 35 40 2.4 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.2 Gross job losses ............... 265 275 265 258 261 15.2 15.6 15.0 14.6 14.4 At contracting establishments . 226 235 228 218 225 13.0 13.3 12.9 12.3 12.4 At closing establishments ..... 39 40 37 40 36 2.2 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.0 Net employment change .......... 14 4 21 3 22 .9 .1 1.2 .1 1.2 Construction Gross job gains ................ 862 910 828 771 809 11.6 11.9 10.7 10.1 10.7 At expanding establishments ... 699 747 678 631 658 9.4 9.8 8.8 8.3 8.7 At opening establishments ..... 163 163 150 140 151 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.8 2.0 Gross job losses ............... 774 742 830 848 835 10.5 9.7 10.8 11.1 11.0 At contracting establishments . 618 596 668 686 675 8.4 7.8 8.7 9.0 8.9 At closing establishments ..... 156 146 162 162 160 2.1 1.9 2.1 2.1 2.1 Net employment change .......... 88 168 -2 -77 -26 1.1 2.2 -.1 -1.0 -.3 Manufacturing Gross job gains ................ 581 524 559 505 524 4.1 3.7 3.9 3.6 3.8 At expanding establishments ... 526 479 510 460 474 3.7 3.4 3.6 3.3 3.4 At opening establishments ..... 55 45 49 45 50 .4 .3 .3 .3 .4 Gross job losses ............... 567 528 549 600 601 4.0 3.7 3.9 4.3 4.3 At contracting establishments . 494 471 477 532 533 3.5 3.3 3.4 3.8 3.8 At closing establishments ..... 73 57 72 68 68 .5 .4 .5 .5 .5 Net employment change .......... 14 -4 10 -95 -77 .1 .0 .0 -.7 -.5 Service-providing (1) Gross job gains ................ 6,096 5,843 6,088 5,827 6,118 6.9 6.6 6.9 6.5 6.9 At expanding establishments ... 4,830 4,739 4,852 4,668 4,880 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.2 5.5 At opening establishments ..... 1,266 1,104 1,236 1,159 1,238 1.4 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.4 Gross job losses ............... 5,661 5,227 5,651 5,639 5,521 6.5 5.9 6.3 6.3 6.2 At contracting establishments . 4,550 4,234 4,564 4,574 4,452 5.2 4.8 5.1 5.1 5.0 At closing establishments ..... 1,111 993 1,087 1,065 1,069 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 Net employment change .......... 435 616 437 188 597 .4 .7 .6 .2 .7 Wholesale trade Gross job gains ................ 320 311 328 304 318 5.5 5.3 5.6 5.1 5.3 At expanding establishments ... 263 262 270 251 262 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.2 4.4 At opening establishments ..... 57 49 58 53 56 1.0 .8 1.0 .9 .9 Gross job losses ............... 302 288 288 302 299 5.2 4.9 4.9 5.1 5.0 At contracting establishments . 234 223 223 235 234 4.0 3.8 3.8 4.0 3.9 At closing establishments ..... 68 65 65 67 65 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 Net employment change .......... 18 23 40 2 19 .3 .4 .7 .0 .3 Retail trade Gross job gains ................ 1,058 1,048 1,053 1,010 1,070 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.5 6.9 At expanding establishments ... 884 905 870 841 899 5.8 5.9 5.6 5.4 5.8 At opening establishments ..... 174 143 183 169 171 1.1 .9 1.2 1.1 1.1 Gross job losses ............... 1,015 971 1,074 1,063 1,003 6.6 6.3 7.0 6.9 6.5 At contracting establishments . 865 828 926 906 858 5.6 5.4 6.0 5.9 5.6 At closing establishments ..... 150 143 148 157 145 1.0 .9 1.0 1.0 .9 Net employment change .......... 43 77 -21 -53 67 .3 .5 -.2 -.4 .4 Transportation and warehousing Gross job gains ................ 268 232 242 236 266 6.4 5.5 5.8 5.5 6.2 At expanding establishments ... 226 201 205 205 231 5.4 4.8 4.9 4.8 5.4 At opening establishments ..... 42 31 37 31 35 1.0 .7 .9 .7 .8 Gross job losses ............... 231 228 227 221 223 5.5 5.4 5.4 5.2 5.2 At contracting establishments . 188 194 188 183 183 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.3 At closing establishments ..... 43 34 39 38 40 1.0 .8 .9 .9 .9 Net employment change .......... 37 4 15 15 43 .9 .1 .4 .3 1.0 Utilities Gross job gains ................ 14 11 13 13 17 2.6 2.0 2.4 2.4 3.1 At expanding establishments ... 13 10 12 12 13 2.4 1.8 2.2 2.2 2.4 At opening establishments ..... 1 1 1 1 4 .2 .2 .2 .2 .7 Gross job losses ............... 16 11 13 12 16 2.9 2.0 2.4 2.2 2.9 At contracting establishments . 11 9 11 10 11 2.0 1.6 2.0 1.8 2.0 At closing establishments ..... 5 2 2 2 5 .9 .4 .4 .4 .9 Net employment change .......... -2 0 0 1 1 -.3 .0 .0 .2 .2 Information Gross job gains ................ 152 139 146 148 156 4.9 4.6 4.8 4.9 5.1 At expanding establishments ... 127 121 123 124 129 4.1 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.2 At opening establishments ..... 25 18 23 24 27 .8 .6 .8 .8 .9 Gross job losses ............... 156 142 140 167 142 5.1 4.6 4.6 5.5 4.7 At contracting establishments . 121 117 112 140 109 4.0 3.8 3.7 4.6 3.6 At closing establishments ..... 35 25 28 27 33 1.1 .8 .9 .9 1.1 Net employment change .......... -4 -3 6 -19 14 -.2 .0 .2 -.6 .4 Financial activities Gross job gains ................ 472 408 447 436 452 5.8 5.0 5.5 5.3 5.5 At expanding establishments ... 359 331 352 345 345 4.4 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.2 At opening establishments ..... 113 77 95 91 107 1.4 .9 1.2 1.1 1.3 Gross job losses ............... 434 404 432 435 442 5.4 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.4 At contracting establishments . 329 315 333 335 336 4.1 3.9 4.1 4.1 4.1 At closing establishments ..... 105 89 99 100 106 1.3 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 Net employment change .......... 38 4 15 1 10 .4 .0 .2 .0 .1 Professional and business services Gross job gains ................ 1,432 1,279 1,428 1,305 1,409 8.4 7.4 8.2 7.5 8.0 At expanding establishments ... 1,163 1,060 1,169 1,083 1,146 6.8 6.1 6.7 6.2 6.5 At opening establishments ..... 269 219 259 222 263 1.6 1.3 1.5 1.3 1.5 Gross job losses ............... 1,303 1,169 1,272 1,259 1,297 7.6 6.7 7.3 7.2 7.3 At contracting establishments . 1,041 945 992 1,014 1,043 6.1 5.4 5.7 5.8 5.9 At closing establishments ..... 262 224 280 245 254 1.5 1.3 1.6 1.4 1.4 Net employment change .......... 129 110 156 46 112 .8 .7 .9 .3 .7 Education and health services Gross job gains ................ 766 771 776 772 785 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.6 At expanding establishments ... 645 659 658 662 664 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 At opening establishments ..... 121 112 118 110 121 .7 .7 .7 .6 .7 Gross job losses ............... 699 645 713 670 675 4.2 3.9 4.2 4.0 3.9 At contracting establishments . 572 529 594 554 552 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.2 At closing establishments ..... 127 116 119 116 123 .8 .7 .7 .7 .7 Net employment change .......... 67 126 63 102 110 .4 .7 .4 .5 .7 Leisure and hospitality Gross job gains ................ 1,175 1,194 1,200 1,154 1,205 9.2 9.3 9.2 8.8 9.2 At expanding establishments ... 893 927 926 891 932 7.0 7.2 7.1 6.8 7.1 At opening establishments ..... 282 267 274 263 273 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.1 Gross job losses ............... 1,165 1,046 1,169 1,168 1,095 9.0 8.1 9.0 8.9 8.3 At contracting establishments . 941 842 949 945 887 7.3 6.5 7.3 7.2 6.7 At closing establishments ..... 224 204 220 223 208 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.6 Net employment change .......... 10 148 31 -14 110 .2 1.2 .2 -.1 .9 Other services Gross job gains ................ 289 293 307 285 293 7.6 7.7 8.0 7.4 7.5 At expanding establishments ... 231 240 247 232 237 6.1 6.3 6.4 6.0 6.1 At opening establishments ..... 58 53 60 53 56 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.4 Gross job losses ............... 296 281 284 302 288 7.8 7.4 7.3 7.9 7.5 At contracting establishments . 231 217 221 238 224 6.1 5.7 5.7 6.2 5.8 At closing establishments ..... 65 64 63 64 64 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7 Net employment change .......... -7 12 23 -17 5 -.2 .3 .7 -.5 .0 1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately. Table 4. Private sector percentage share (1) of gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted (Percent) 3 months ended Category Dec. March June Sept. Dec. 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 Total Private Gross job gains .................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Expanding firms ................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Opening firms .................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Gross job losses ................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Contracting firms .............. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Closing firms .................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Firm size 1 - 4 employees Gross job gains .................. 15.5 15.7 15.0 15.2 15.5 Expanding firms ................ 7.2 7.4 7.1 7.3 7.1 Opening firms .................. 60.0 59.4 57.5 59.1 61.2 Gross job losses ................. 15.6 17.0 16.0 15.8 16.0 Contracting firms .............. 8.1 8.4 8.1 7.7 8.0 Closing firms .................. 55.9 60.0 57.8 59.2 59.2 Firm size 5 - 9 employees Gross job gains .................. 11.7 12.3 11.9 12.0 11.5 Expanding firms ................ 10.9 11.5 11.0 11.2 10.7 Opening firms .................. 16.2 16.9 16.6 16.5 15.7 Gross job losses ................. 12.6 13.0 12.6 12.3 12.5 Contracting firms .............. 11.9 12.4 11.9 11.5 11.7 Closing firms .................. 16.5 16.5 16.4 16.3 16.5 Firm size 10 - 19 employees Gross job gains .................. 12.0 12.7 12.2 12.3 11.7 Expanding firms ................ 12.2 13.0 12.4 12.5 12.0 Opening firms .................. 10.7 11.0 11.2 10.8 10.2 Gross job losses ................. 12.8 13.0 12.7 12.4 12.5 Contracting firms .............. 13.0 13.4 13.0 12.7 12.8 Closing firms .................. 11.3 10.8 10.9 10.5 10.7 Firm size 20 - 49 employees Gross job gains .................. 13.9 14.9 14.6 14.5 13.8 Expanding firms ................ 15.1 16.3 15.7 15.6 14.9 Opening firms .................. 7.9 7.7 8.5 8.2 7.7 Gross job losses ................. 14.7 14.4 14.4 14.5 14.5 Contracting firms .............. 15.9 15.8 15.6 15.8 15.8 Closing firms .................. 8.4 7.7 8.4 7.9 7.9 Firm size 50 - 99 employees Gross job gains .................. 8.7 9.3 9.1 9.1 8.7 Expanding firms ................ 9.7 10.6 10.3 10.3 9.8 Opening firms .................. 3.0 2.5 3.1 3.0 2.9 Gross job losses ................. 9.1 8.7 8.9 8.9 9.0 Contracting firms .............. 10.2 9.9 9.9 10.0 10.1 Closing firms .................. 3.1 2.8 3.2 3.0 3.1 Firm size 100 - 249 employees Gross job gains .................. 9.1 9.7 9.8 9.5 9.2 Expanding firms ................ 10.5 11.2 11.3 10.9 10.6 Opening firms .................. 1.5 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.4 Gross job losses ................. 9.6 8.8 9.1 9.3 9.3 Contracting firms .............. 10.9 10.2 10.5 10.7 10.7 Closing firms .................. 2.2 1.5 2.2 1.8 1.9 Firm size 250 - 499 employees Gross job gains .................. 5.5 5.7 5.9 5.9 5.5 Expanding firms ................ 6.4 6.7 6.9 6.9 6.4 Opening firms .................. .4 .4 .4 .4 .4 Gross job losses ................. 5.7 5.1 5.3 5.5 5.9 Contracting firms .............. 6.6 6.0 6.2 6.4 6.8 Closing firms .................. .9 .4 .7 .6 .5 Firm size 500 - 999 employees Gross job gains .................. 4.5 4.5 4.8 4.7 4.6 Expanding firms ................ 5.3 5.3 5.7 5.5 5.4 Opening firms .................. .2 .3 .2 .4 .3 Gross job losses ................. 4.7 3.9 4.4 4.5 4.5 Contracting firms .............. 5.5 4.6 5.1 5.1 5.3 Closing firms .................. .7 .2 .3 .2 .2 Firm size 1,000 or more employees Gross job gains .................. 19.1 15.2 16.7 16.8 19.5 Expanding firms ................ 22.7 18.0 19.6 19.8 23.1 Opening firms .................. .1 .5 1.0 .1 .2 Gross job losses ................. 15.2 16.1 16.6 16.8 15.8 Contracting firms .............. 17.9 19.3 19.7 19.9 18.8 Closing firms .................. 1.0 .1 .1 .5 .0 1 Share measures the percent of the category represented by each firm size class