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Economic News Release
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Quarterly Data Series on Business Employment Dynamics News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, April 25, 2018                                  USDL-18-0634

Technical Information:  (202) 691-6553  *  BDMInfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/bdm
Media Contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – THIRD QUARTER 2017

From June 2017 to September 2017, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector 
establishments were 7.4 million, an increase of 268,000 jobs lost from the previous quarter, the U.S. 
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job gains from opening and expanding 
private-sector establishments were 7.3 million, a decrease of 348,000 jobs gained over the quarter. The 
difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net 
employment loss of 140,000 jobs in the private sector during the third quarter of 2017. (See tables A 
and 1.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment 
that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics 
track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter 
to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of 
gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See Technical Note.) The BED data series include 
gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by 
employer size class.

Gross Job Losses

In the third quarter of 2017, gross job losses represented 6.1 percent of private-sector employment. 
Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of 
jobs at closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 6.1 million jobs in the third quarter of 
2017, an increase of 203,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the third quarter of 2017, closing 
establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, an increase of 65,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 
1, 2, and 3.)

Gross Job Gains

In the third quarter of 2017, gross job gains represented 6.0 percent of private-sector employment. Gross 
job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the 
addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 5.9 
million in the third quarter of 2017, a decrease of 311,000 compared to the previous quarter. Opening 
establishments accounted for 1.3 million of the jobs gained in the third quarter of 2017, a decrease of 
37,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the third quarter of 2017, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data) increased 
by 1,000, to a total of 240,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for 837,000 jobs, a 
decrease of 9,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings 
data) are available through the fourth quarter of 2016, when 729,000 jobs were lost at 217,000 
establishments, a decrease of 20,000 jobs from the third quarter of 2016. (See Technical Note and table 8.)

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 9 of 13 industries in the third quarter of 2017. The service-
providing industries experienced a net job decrease of 71,000 jobs in the third quarter of 2017. Within 
service-providing industries, leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, 
with a loss of 147,000 jobs. The net job decrease in leisure and hospitality was the result of 1.4 million 
gross job losses and offset by 1.3 million gross job gains. The education and health services industry had 
the largest net job increase over the quarter, with a gain of 78,000 jobs. The goods-producing industries 
experienced a net job decrease of 69,000 jobs in the third quarter of 2017. Of the goods-producing 
industries, construction lost 49,000 jobs, manufacturing lost 31,000 jobs, and natural resources and 
mining added 11,000 jobs. (See table 3.)

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

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |                  3 months ended                 
                 Category                 |   Sept. |    Dec. |    Mar. |    June |   Sept.
                                          |    2016 |    2016 |    2017 |    2017 |    2017
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |              Levels (in thousands)              
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |   7,689 |   7,455 |   7,328 |   7,604 |   7,256
        At expanding establishments...... |   6,232 |   6,040 |   6,019 |   6,246 |   5,935
        At opening establishments........ |   1,457 |   1,415 |   1,309 |   1,358 |   1,321
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |   7,008 |   7,065 |   6,674 |   7,128 |   7,396
        At contracting establishments.... |   5,760 |   5,760 |   5,521 |   5,879 |   6,082
        At closing establishments........ |   1,248 |   1,305 |   1,153 |   1,249 |   1,314
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     681 |     390 |     654 |     476 |    -140
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
                                          |                 Rates (percent)                 
                                          |--------------------------------------------------
 Gross job gains......................... |     6.4 |     6.2 |     6.0 |     6.2 |     6.0
        At expanding establishments...... |     5.2 |     5.0 |     4.9 |     5.1 |     4.9
        At opening establishments........ |     1.2 |     1.2 |     1.1 |     1.1 |     1.1
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Gross job losses........................ |     5.8 |     5.9 |     5.4 |     5.8 |     6.1
        At contracting establishments.... |     4.8 |     4.8 |     4.5 |     4.8 |     5.0
        At closing establishments........ |     1.0 |     1.1 |     0.9 |     1.0 |     1.1
                                          |         |         |         |         |        
 Net employment change (1)............... |     0.6 |     0.3 |     0.6 |     0.4 |    -0.1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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.

Firm Size

In the third quarter of 2017, firms with 1-49 employees had a net employment decrease of 176,000. 
Firms with 50-249 employees had a net employment decrease of 57,000. Firms with 250 or more 
employees had a net employment increase of 36,000. Of the 1.3 million net jobs created over the last 
four quarters, firms with 1-49 employees contributed 32.0 percent of net job growth, firms with 50-249 
employees contributed 26.0 percent, and firms with 250 or more employees contributed 42.0 percent. 
(See tables 4 and 5.)

States

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 27 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, in the third 
quarter of 2017. Alaska had the highest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 10.5 
percent, above the national rate of 6.1 percent. Pennsylvania and Tennessee had the lowest rate of gross 
job losses as a percent of employment at 5.2 percent. Wyoming had the highest rate of gross job gains as 
a percent of employment at 8.7 percent, above the national rate of 6.0 percent. Puerto Rico had the 
lowest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 4.1 percent. (See tables 6 and 7.)

For More Information

Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm. 
This information includes data on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm 
size, not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time series not presented in this release, 
charts of gross job gains and gross job losses by industry and firm size, and 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 can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.

_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for Fourth Quarter 2017 are scheduled to be released on 
Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                                                                          |
|           Effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on the Business Employment Dynamics                       |
|                                                                                                          |
|  Hurricanes Irma and Maria made landfall in the United States on September 7 and September 20, 2017,     |
|  respectively, during the BED third quarter reference period. These events did not cause changes to BED  |
|  methodology. However, they did affect data collection in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. For more   |
|  information, please visit the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) section of the following  |
|  webpage: www.bls.gov/bls/hurricanes-harvey-irma-maria.htm.                                              |
|                                                                                                          |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative 
program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are 
compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most 
employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of 
workers covered by unemployment insurance (UI) laws and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW 
is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to the State Workforce 
Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to 
render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW and 
form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame.

These reports are used to produce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and 
the longitudinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. The QCEW is also the employment 
benchmark for the Current Employment Statistics (CES), Occupational Employment Statistics 
(OES), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) programs and is a major input to 
the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Personal Income Accounts.

In the BED program, the quarterly QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a 
longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net 
employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained 
at opening and expanding units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures

The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for any given 
quarter. Each of these measures—Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Business 
Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)—makes use of the 
quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; however, each measure has a somewhat 
different universe coverage, estimation procedure, and publication product.

Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat different measures of 
employment change over time. It is important to understand program differences and the intended 
uses of the program products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be obtained 
from the program websites shown in the table.

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- |  634,000 establish-
           |  submitted by 9.9   |  ministrative records|  ments
           |  million establish- |  submitted by 7.9    |
           |  ments              |  million private sec-|
           |                     |  tor establishments  |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage   |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and salary
           |  age:  all employers|  ing government, pri-|  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, 
           |                     |                      |  including railroads,
           |                     |                      |  religious organiza-
           |                     |                      |  tions, and other non-
           |                     |                      |  UI-covered jobs
           |                     |                      |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly          |--Quarterly           |--Monthly 
frequency  |  -6 months after the|  -7 months after the |  -—Usually the 3rd 
           |   end of each quar- |   end of each quarter|   Friday after the end 
           |   ter               |                      |   of the week including 
           |                     |                      |   the 12th of the month
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
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 to ann-
           |  new quarter of UI  |  dinal database and  |  ually realign sample-
           |  data               |  directly summarizes |  based estimates to pop-
           |                     |  gross job gains and |  ulation counts (bench-
           |                     |  losses              |  marking)
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
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 super-     |
           |  industry           |  sectors,3-digit     |
           |                     |  NAICS, and by size  |
           |                     |  of firm, and at the |
           |                     |  state private-sector|
           |                     |  total level         |
           |                     |--Future expansions   |
           |                     |  will include        |
           |                     |  data with greater   |
           |                     |  industry detail and |
           |                     |  data at the county  |
           |                     |  and MSA level       |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal  |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses       |  -Detailed locality |  -Business cycle     |  -Principal federal
           |   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 |  -Analysis of employ-|   cators
           |   surveys           |   ment expansion and |
           |                     |   contraction by size|
           |                     |   of firm            |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Program    |--www.bls.gov/cew/   |--www.bls.gov/bdm/    |--www.bls.gov/ces/
Web sites  |                     |                      |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coverage

Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and Unemployment Compensation for 
Federal Employees (UCFE) laws are compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the 
SWAs by employers. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate 
multiple establishments within a state complete a questionnaire, called the “Multiple Worksite 
Report,” which provides detailed information on the location of their establishments. These reports 
are based on place of employment rather than place of residence. UI and UCFE coverage is broad 
and basically comparable from state to state. 

Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, religious organizations, most 
agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, elected officials in most 
states, most employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and 
employees of certain small nonprofit organizations.

Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from longitudinal histories of 7.9 
million private sector employer reports out of 9.9 million total reports of employment and wages 
submitted by states to BLS in the first quarter of 2017. Gross job gains and gross job losses data in 
this release do not report estimates for government employees or private households (NAICS 
814110) and do not include establishments with zero employment in both previous and current 
quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are also excluded from the national data. 
The table below shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establishments excluded from 
the national gross job gains and gross job losses data in the first quarter 2017.

                         Number of active establishments included in                       
                   Business Employment Dynamics data at the national level                 

 Total establishments QCEW program.................................................... 9.9

   Excluded: Public sector............................................................ 0.3
           Private households......................................................... 0.2
           Zero employment............................................................ 1.5

 Total establishments included in Business
 Employment Dynamics data............................................................. 7.9

Unit of analysis

Establishments are used in the tabulation of the BED statistics by industry and firms are used in the 
tabulation of the BED size class statistics. An establishment is defined as an economic unit that 
produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or 
predominantly one activity. A firm is a legal business, either corporate or otherwise, and may 
consist of several establishments. Firm-level data are compiled based on an aggregation of 
establishments under common ownership by a corporate parent using employer tax identification 
numbers. The firm level aggregation which is consistent with the role of corporations as the 
economic decision makers are used for the measurement of the BED data elements by size class.

Because of the difference in the unit of analysis, total gross job gains and gross job losses by size 
class are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by industry, as some establishment 
gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process. However, the total net 
changes in employment are the same for not seasonally adjusted data and are similar for seasonally 
adjusted data.

Concepts and methodology

The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employment at the 
establishment or firm level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A net increase in 
employment can come from either opening units or expanding units. A net decrease in 
employment can come from either closing units or contracting units. Gross job gains include the 
sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding units. Gross job losses include the sum of all 
jobs lost in either closing or contracting units. The net change in employment is the difference 
between gross job gains and gross job losses.

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:

Openings. These are either units with positive third month employment for the first time in the 
current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the 
current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.

Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and 
current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.

Closings. These are either units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with 
no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and 
current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

Births. These are units with positive third month employment for the first time in the current 
quarter with no links to the prior quarter, or units with positive third month employment in the 
current quarter and zero employment in the third month of the previous four quarters. Births are a 
subset of openings not including re-openings of seasonal businesses.

Deaths. These are units with no employment or zero employment reported in the third month of 
four consecutive quarters following the last quarter with positive employment. Deaths are a subset 
of closings not including temporary shutdowns of seasonal businesses. A unit that closes during the 
quarter may be a death, but we wait three quarters to determine whether it is a permanent closing 
or a temporary shutdown. Therefore, there is always a lag of three quarters for the publication of 
death statistics.

All employment changes are measured from the third month of the previous quarter to the third 
month of the current quarter. Not all establishments and firms change their employment levels. 
Units with no change in employment count towards estimates of total employment, but not for 
levels of gross job gains and gross job losses.

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average 
of employment in the current and previous quarters. This provides a symmetric growth rate. The 
rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to 
form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For 
instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net 
growth rate.

Establishment Births and Deaths

For the purpose of BED statistics, births are defined as establishments that appear in the 
longitudinal database for the first time with positive employment in the third month of a quarter, or 
showed four consecutive quarters of zero employment in the third month followed by a quarter in 
which it shows positive employment in the third month. Similarly, deaths are defined as 
establishments that either drop out of the longitudinal database or an establishment that had 
positive employment in the third month of a given quarter followed by four consecutive quarters of 
showing zero employment in the third month. Although the data for establishment births and 
deaths are tabulated independently from the data for openings and closings, the concepts are not 
mutually exclusive. An establishment that is defined as a birth in a given quarter is necessarily an 
opening as well, and an establishment defined as a death in a quarter must also be a closing. Since 
openings include seasonal and other re-openings and closings include temporary shutdowns, the 
not seasonally adjusted values for births and deaths must be less than those for openings and 
closings. However, because some BED series do not have many re-openings or temporary 
shutdowns, as well as the fact that births and deaths are independently seasonally adjusted from 
openings and closings, there may be instances in which the seasonally adjusted value of the former 
is greater than the latter.

Linkage methodology

Prior to the measurement of gross job gains and gross job losses, QCEW records are linked across 
two quarters. The linkage process matches establishments' unique SWA identification numbers 
(SWA-ID). Between 95 and 97 percent of establishments identified as continuous from quarter to 
quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are linked in one of three ways. The first method uses 
predecessor and successor information, identified by the states, which relates records with different 
SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can come about for a variety of 
reasons, including a change in ownership, a firm restructuring, or a UI account restructuring. If a 
match cannot be attained in this manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to 
identify two establishments with different SWA-IDs as continuous. The match is based upon 
comparisons such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an analyst examines 
unmatched records individually and makes a possible match.

In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify with employers and update, if 
necessary, the industry, location, and ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-year 
cycle. Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from the verification process are 
introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from improved 
employer reporting also are introduced in the first quarter.

Sizing methodology

The method of dynamic sizing is used in calculations for the BED size class data series. Dynamic 
sizing allocates each firm’s employment gain or loss during a quarter to each respective size class 
in which the change occurred. For example, if a firm grew from 2 employees in quarter 1 to 38 
employees in quarter 2, then, of the 36-employee increase, 2 would be allocated to the first size 
class, 5 to the size class 5 to 9, 10 to size class 10 to 19, and 19 to size class 20 to 49.

Dynamic sizing provides symmetrical firm-size estimates and eliminates any systematic effects 
which may be caused by the transitory and reverting changes in firms’ sizes over time. 
Additionally, it allocates each job gain or loss to the actual size class where it occurred.

Annual Data

The annual gross job gains and gross job losses measure the net change in employment at the 
establishment level from the third month of a quarter in the previous year to the third month of the 
same quarter in the current year. The BLS publishes annual BED data based on March-to-March 
changes once a year with the release of the first quarter BED data. The annual data based on over-
the-year changes for other quarters of the year are available upon request. The definitions and 
methodology in measuring annual gross job gains and gross job losses are similar to the quarterly 
measures. The linkage method considers all predecessor and successor relations that may come 
about due to changes in ownership and corporate restructuring over the entire year. At the 
establishment level, some of the quarterly job gains and job losses are offset during the estimation 
over the year. Therefore, the sum of four quarters of gross job gains and gross job losses are not 
equal to annual gross job gains and gross job losses. The net change in employment over the year, 
however, is equal to the sum of four quarterly net changes on a not seasonally adjusted basis.

Seasonal adjustment

Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated job flows undergo sharp 
fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes in the weather, reduced or expanded 
production, harvests, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such 
seasonal variation can be very large.

Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence can 
be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from quarter to quarter. These adjustments make 
nonseasonal developments, such as declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For 
example, the large number of youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes that 
have taken place in June relative to March, making it difficult to determine if the level of economic 
activity has risen or declined. However, because the effect of students finishing school in previous 
years is known, the statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable change. 
The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in economic 
activity.

The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting units are 
independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are calculated based on the difference between 
gross job gains and gross job losses. Similarly, for industry data, the establishment counts data 
series for opening, expanding, closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted, 
and the net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of opening and 
closing establishments. Additionally establishment and employment levels are independently 
seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally adjusted rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is 
run using X-13 ARIMA-SEATS. Seasonally adjusted data series for total private are the sum of 
seasonally adjusted data of all sectors including the unclassified sector, which is not separately 
published.

The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series will differ from 
the net employment change estimated from the seasonally adjusted total private employment series 
from the CES program. The intended use of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market 
changes that underlie the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested 
particularly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying this change 
should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment changes.

Reliability of the data

Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on administrative rather than 
sample data, there are no issues related to sampling error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists. 
Nonsampling errors can occur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected 
employment data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses when 
providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distributed randomly throughout the 
dataset.

Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the linkage process. This can 
result in overstating openings and closings while understating expansions and contractions. The 
BLS continues to refine methods for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these 
complications.

The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on corrections in QCEW records, 
updates on predecessors and successors information, and seasonal adjustment revisions.

Annual revisions are published each year with the release of the first quarter data. These revisions 
cover the last four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of seasonally adjusted data.

Additional statistics and other information

Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information. The QCEW program 
provides both quarterly and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed 
industry. News releases on quarterly county employment and wages and the annual bulletin also 
are available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover 
(Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), telephone (202) 691-6567; (www.bls.gov/cew/); 
(e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).

The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program produces monthly estimates of employment, its 
net change, hours, and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part of the Employment 
Situation report put out monthly by BLS.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides monthly measures of 
job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. 
Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1 (800) 877-8339.






Table 1.  Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted

Total private

(In thousands)

                                                  Gross job gains                       Gross job losses
Year  3 months ended  Net change(1) Total     Expanding      Opening      Total     Contracting      Closing
                                           establishments establishments           establishments establishments

2007  March                584      7,815       6,331         1,484       7,231       5,894           1,337
      June                 132      7,647       6,205         1,442       7,515       6,084           1,431
      September           -209      7,376       5,870         1,506       7,585       6,190           1,395
      December             268      7,687       6,181         1,506       7,419       6,040           1,379

2008  March               -199      7,320       5,860         1,460       7,519       6,111           1,408
      June                -593      7,281       5,833         1,448       7,874       6,363           1,511
      September           -913      6,944       5,535         1,409       7,857       6,436           1,421
      December          -1,838      6,738       5,345         1,393       8,576       7,056           1,520

2009  March             -2,680      5,918       4,675         1,243       8,598       7,142           1,456
      June              -1,667      6,425       5,080         1,345       8,092       6,674           1,418
      September           -849      6,399       5,139         1,260       7,248       5,854           1,394
      December            -264      6,665       5,308         1,357       6,929       5,605           1,324

2010  March               -247      6,325       5,108         1,217       6,572       5,324           1,248
      June                 698      6,995       5,674         1,321       6,297       5,090           1,207
      September            237      6,741       5,438         1,303       6,504       5,231           1,273
      December             566      7,052       5,639         1,413       6,486       5,219           1,267

2011  March                334      6,540       5,322         1,218       6,206       5,025           1,181
      June                 582      6,966       5,625         1,341       6,384       5,115           1,269
      September            841      7,205       5,810         1,395       6,364       5,172           1,192
      December             335      6,865       5,503         1,362       6,530       5,273           1,257

2012  March                948      7,080       5,746         1,334       6,132       5,005           1,127
      June                 616      7,051       5,724         1,327       6,435       5,266           1,169
      September            252      6,881       5,571         1,310       6,629       5,430           1,199
      December             695      7,110       5,753         1,357       6,415       5,225           1,190

2013  March                560      6,933       5,701         1,232       6,373       5,194           1,179
      June                 674      7,155       5,834         1,321       6,481       5,275           1,206
      September            476      7,048       5,708         1,340       6,572       5,425           1,147
      December             717      7,267       5,936         1,331       6,550       5,346           1,204

2014  March                433      6,947       5,680         1,267       6,514       5,365           1,149
      June                 884      7,459       6,118         1,341       6,575       5,355           1,220
      September            522      7,226       5,900         1,326       6,704       5,516           1,188
      December           1,084      7,642       6,268         1,374       6,558       5,323           1,235

2015  March                226      7,032       5,722         1,310       6,806       5,606           1,200
      June                 833      7,589       6,245         1,344       6,756       5,563           1,193
      September            414      7,324       5,964         1,360       6,910       5,695           1,215
      December           1,010      7,851       6,387         1,464       6,841       5,573           1,268

2016  March                256      7,139       5,855         1,284       6,883       5,685           1,198
      June                 296      7,453       6,083         1,370       7,157       5,847           1,310
      September            681      7,689       6,232         1,457       7,008       5,760           1,248
      December             390      7,455       6,040         1,415       7,065       5,760           1,305

2017  March                654      7,328       6,019         1,309       6,674       5,521           1,153
      June                 476      7,604       6,246         1,358       7,128       5,879           1,249
      September           -140      7,256       5,935         1,321       7,396       6,082           1,314

(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

Total private

(Percent)

                                                  Gross job gains                       Gross job losses
Year  3 months ended  Net change(2) Total     Expanding      Opening      Total     Contracting      Closing
                                           establishments establishments           establishments establishments

2007  March                0.5       6.9         5.6           1.3         6.4          5.2            1.2
      June                 0.1       6.7         5.4           1.3         6.6          5.3            1.3
      September           -0.2       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.6          5.4            1.2
      December             0.2       6.7         5.4           1.3         6.5          5.3            1.2

2008  March               -0.1       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.5          5.3            1.2
      June                -0.5       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.9          5.6            1.3
      September           -0.9       6.1         4.9           1.2         7.0          5.7            1.3
      December            -1.7       6.0         4.8           1.2         7.7          6.3            1.4

2009  March               -2.4       5.4         4.3           1.1         7.8          6.5            1.3
      June                -1.5       6.0         4.7           1.3         7.5          6.2            1.3
      September           -0.8       6.0         4.8           1.2         6.8          5.5            1.3
      December            -0.3       6.3         5.0           1.3         6.6          5.3            1.3

2010  March               -0.2       6.0         4.8           1.2         6.2          5.0            1.2
      June                 0.7       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.9          4.8            1.1
      September            0.2       6.3         5.1           1.2         6.1          4.9            1.2
      December             0.5       6.6         5.3           1.3         6.1          4.9            1.2

2011  March                0.3       6.1         5.0           1.1         5.8          4.7            1.1
      June                 0.5       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.9          4.7            1.2
      September            0.8       6.7         5.4           1.3         5.9          4.8            1.1
      December             0.4       6.4         5.1           1.3         6.0          4.8            1.2

2012  March                0.8       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.6          4.6            1.0
      June                 0.5       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.9          4.8            1.1
      September            0.2       6.2         5.0           1.2         6.0          4.9            1.1
      December             0.6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1

2013  March                0.5       6.2         5.1           1.1         5.7          4.6            1.1
      June                 0.6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1
      September            0.5       6.3         5.1           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December             0.6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1

2014  March                0.4       6.1         5.0           1.1         5.7          4.7            1.0
      June                 0.7       6.5         5.3           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1
      September            0.4       6.2         5.1           1.1         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December             0.9       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.7          4.6            1.1

2015  March                0.2       6.0         4.9           1.1         5.8          4.8            1.0
      June                 0.7       6.4         5.3           1.1         5.7          4.7            1.0
      September            0.4       6.2         5.0           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December             0.8       6.6         5.4           1.2         5.8          4.7            1.1

2016  March                0.3       6.0         4.9           1.1         5.7          4.7            1.0
      June                 0.2       6.2         5.1           1.1         6.0          4.9            1.1
      September            0.6       6.4         5.2           1.2         5.8          4.8            1.0
      December             0.3       6.2         5.0           1.2         5.9          4.8            1.1

2017  March                0.6       6.0         4.9           1.1         5.4          4.5            0.9
      June                 0.4       6.2         5.1           1.1         5.8          4.8            1.0
      September           -0.1       6.0         4.9           1.1         6.1          5.0            1.1

(1) The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage of the average previous and current 
    quarter employment levels.
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.






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

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

    Category                                 3 months ended                      3 months ended

                                   Sept.   Dec.    Mar.    June    Sept.  Sept.  Dec.   Mar.   June   Sept. 
                                   2016    2016    2017    2017    2017   2016   2016   2017   2017   2017
Total private(1)

Gross job gains                   7,689   7,455   7,328   7,604   7,256    6.4    6.2    6.0    6.2    6.0
 At expanding establishments      6,232   6,040   6,019   6,246   5,935    5.2    5.0    4.9    5.1    4.9
 At opening establishments        1,457   1,415   1,309   1,358   1,321    1.2    1.2    1.1    1.1    1.1
Gross job losses                  7,008   7,065   6,674   7,128   7,396    5.8    5.9    5.4    5.8    6.1
 At contracting establishments    5,760   5,760   5,521   5,879   6,082    4.8    4.8    4.5    4.8    5.0
 At closing establishments        1,248   1,305   1,153   1,249   1,314    1.0    1.1    0.9    1.0    1.1
Net employment change               681     390     654     476    -140    0.6    0.3    0.6    0.4   -0.1

Goods-producing

Gross job gains                   1,313   1,319   1,394   1,394   1,257    6.3    6.3    6.6    6.6    5.9
 At expanding establishments      1,107   1,126   1,206   1,207   1,079    5.3    5.4    5.7    5.7    5.1
 At opening establishments          206     193     188     187     178    1.0    0.9    0.9    0.9    0.8
Gross job losses                  1,308   1,297   1,191   1,277   1,326    6.3    6.2    5.7    6.0    6.3
 At contracting establishments    1,113   1,101   1,009   1,081   1,121    5.4    5.3    4.8    5.1    5.3
 At closing establishments          195     196     182     196     205    0.9    0.9    0.9    0.9    1.0
Net employment change                 5      22     203     117     -69    0.0    0.1    0.9    0.6   -0.4

Natural resources and mining

Gross job gains                     248     252     287     270     251   13.4   13.6   15.3   14.3   13.4
 At expanding establishments        216     220     253     238     219   11.7   11.9   13.5   12.6   11.7
 At opening establishments           32      32      34      32      32    1.7    1.7    1.8    1.7    1.7
Gross job losses                    257     269     232     258     240   13.9   14.6   12.4   13.7   12.8
 At contracting establishments      225     238     199     221     210   12.2   12.9   10.6   11.7   11.2
 At closing establishments           32      31      33      37      30    1.7    1.7    1.8    2.0    1.6
Net employment change                -9     -17      55      12      11   -0.5   -1.0    2.9    0.6    0.6

Construction

Gross job gains                     665     654     707     680     613   10.0    9.7   10.3    9.8    8.9
 At expanding establishments        532     533     584     562     501    8.0    7.9    8.5    8.1    7.3
 At opening establishments          133     121     123     118     112    2.0    1.8    1.8    1.7    1.6
Gross job losses                    622     635     582     634     662    9.3    9.5    8.5    9.1    9.6
 At contracting establishments      507     515     474     521     537    7.6    7.7    6.9    7.5    7.8
 At closing establishments          115     120     108     113     125    1.7    1.8    1.6    1.6    1.8
Net employment change                43      19     125      46     -49    0.7    0.2    1.8    0.7   -0.7

Manufacturing

Gross job gains                     400     413     400     444     393    3.2    3.3    3.3    3.6    3.2
 At expanding establishments        359     373     369     407     359    2.9    3.0    3.0    3.3    2.9
 At opening establishments           41      40      31      37      34    0.3    0.3    0.3    0.3    0.3
Gross job losses                    429     393     377     385     424    3.5    3.2    3.0    3.1    3.4
 At contracting establishments      381     348     336     339     374    3.1    2.8    2.7    2.7    3.0
 At closing establishments           48      45      41      46      50    0.4    0.4    0.3    0.4    0.4
Net employment change               -29      20      23      59     -31   -0.3    0.1    0.3    0.5   -0.2

Service-providing(1)

Gross job gains                   6,376   6,136   5,934   6,210   5,999    6.4    6.1    5.9    6.2    5.9
 At expanding establishments      5,125   4,914   4,813   5,039   4,856    5.1    4.9    4.8    5.0    4.8
 At opening establishments        1,251   1,222   1,121   1,171   1,143    1.3    1.2    1.1    1.2    1.1
Gross job losses                  5,700   5,768   5,483   5,851   6,070    5.8    5.8    5.5    5.8    6.0
 At contracting establishments    4,647   4,659   4,512   4,798   4,961    4.7    4.7    4.5    4.8    4.9
 At closing establishments        1,053   1,109     971   1,053   1,109    1.1    1.1    1.0    1.0    1.1
Net employment change               676     368     451     359     -71    0.6    0.3    0.4    0.4   -0.1

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains                     277     272     263     282     265    4.8    4.6    4.4    4.8    4.5
 At expanding establishments        226     225     220     236     223    3.9    3.8    3.7    4.0    3.8
 At opening establishments           51      47      43      46      42    0.9    0.8    0.7    0.8    0.7
Gross job losses                    262     256     249     246     268    4.5    4.3    4.2    4.2    4.5
 At contracting establishments      209     201     196     194     213    3.6    3.4    3.3    3.3    3.6
 At closing establishments           53      55      53      52      55    0.9    0.9    0.9    0.9    0.9
Net employment change                15      16      14      36      -3    0.3    0.3    0.2    0.6    0.0

Retail trade

Gross job gains                     957     895     927     920     875    6.0    5.6    5.9    5.8    5.5
 At expanding establishments        817     777     805     797     754    5.1    4.9    5.1    5.0    4.7
 At opening establishments          140     118     122     123     121    0.9    0.7    0.8    0.8    0.8
Gross job losses                    960     923     881     924     977    6.1    5.9    5.6    5.8    6.1
 At contracting establishments      836     803     775     799     849    5.3    5.1    4.9    5.0    5.3
 At closing establishments          124     120     106     125     128    0.8    0.8    0.7    0.8    0.8
Net employment change                -3     -28      46      -4    -102   -0.1   -0.3    0.3    0.0   -0.6

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains                     290     383     245     266     305    6.0    7.8    5.0    5.4    6.2
 At expanding establishments        250     339     215     231     266    5.2    6.9    4.4    4.7    5.4
 At opening establishments           40      44      30      35      39    0.8    0.9    0.6    0.7    0.8
Gross job losses                    229     232     323     253     232    4.8    4.8    6.6    5.2    4.6
 At contracting establishments      190     194     290     216     195    4.0    4.0    5.9    4.4    3.9
 At closing establishments           39      38      33      37      37    0.8    0.8    0.7    0.8    0.7
Net employment change                61     151     -78      13      73    1.2    3.0   -1.6    0.2    1.6

Utilities

Gross job gains                      11      12      11      12      11    2.0    2.2    2.0    2.2    2.0
 At expanding establishments         10      10      10      11      10    1.8    1.8    1.8    2.0    1.8
 At opening establishments            1       2       1       1       1    0.2    0.4    0.2    0.2    0.2
Gross job losses                     14      13      10      13      13    2.6    2.4    1.8    2.4    2.4
 At contracting establishments       12      11       9      12      12    2.2    2.0    1.6    2.2    2.2
 At closing establishments            2       2       1       1       1    0.4    0.4    0.2    0.2    0.2
Net employment change                -3      -1       1      -1      -2   -0.6   -0.2    0.2   -0.2   -0.4

Information

Gross job gains                     153     142     142     157     151    5.4    5.1    5.1    5.6    5.4
 At expanding establishments        124     115     120     132     125    4.4    4.1    4.3    4.7    4.5
 At opening establishments           29      27      22      25      26    1.0    1.0    0.8    0.9    0.9
Gross job losses                    152     150     139     191     153    5.4    5.3    4.9    6.8    5.5
 At contracting establishments      126     121     116     166     129    4.5    4.3    4.1    5.9    4.6
 At closing establishments           26      29      23      25      24    0.9    1.0    0.8    0.9    0.9
Net employment change                 1      -8       3     -34      -2    0.0   -0.2    0.2   -1.2   -0.1

Financial activities

Gross job gains                     391     382     353     390     370    4.9    4.8    4.4    4.8    4.6
 At expanding establishments        311     298     289     315     298    3.9    3.7    3.6    3.9    3.7
 At opening establishments           80      84      64      75      72    1.0    1.1    0.8    0.9    0.9
Gross job losses                    350     356     336     343     362    4.4    4.4    4.2    4.2    4.5
 At contracting establishments      276     274     262     267     283    3.5    3.4    3.3    3.3    3.5
 At closing establishments           74      82      74      76      79    0.9    1.0    0.9    0.9    1.0
Net employment change                41      26      17      47       8    0.5    0.4    0.2    0.6    0.1

Professional and business services

Gross job gains                   1,474   1,395   1,285   1,437   1,363    7.4    7.0    6.3    7.0    6.7
 At expanding establishments      1,199   1,121   1,058   1,185   1,120    6.0    5.6    5.2    5.8    5.5
 At opening establishments          275     274     227     252     243    1.4    1.4    1.1    1.2    1.2
Gross job losses                  1,282   1,359   1,265   1,331   1,390    6.4    6.7    6.3    6.6    6.8
 At contracting establishments    1,022   1,075   1,026   1,074   1,117    5.1    5.3    5.1    5.3    5.5
 At closing establishments          260     284     239     257     273    1.3    1.4    1.2    1.3    1.3
Net employment change               192      36      20     106     -27    1.0    0.3    0.0    0.4   -0.1

Education and health services

Gross job gains                   1,044     966     948     983     981    4.8    4.4    4.3    4.5    4.5
 At expanding establishments        872     774     786     812     814    4.0    3.5    3.6    3.7    3.7
 At opening establishments          172     192     162     171     167    0.8    0.9    0.7    0.8    0.8
Gross job losses                    824     905     813     901     903    3.8    4.1    3.7    4.1    4.1
 At contracting establishments      656     709     656     729     724    3.0    3.2    3.0    3.3    3.3
 At closing establishments          168     196     157     172     179    0.8    0.9    0.7    0.8    0.8
Net employment change               220      61     135      82      78    1.0    0.3    0.6    0.4    0.4

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains                   1,350   1,308   1,321   1,333   1,277    8.7    8.4    8.4    8.4    8.0
 At expanding establishments      1,056   1,016   1,054   1,054   1,003    6.8    6.5    6.7    6.6    6.3
 At opening establishments          294     292     267     279     274    1.9    1.9    1.7    1.8    1.7
Gross job losses                  1,304   1,240   1,149   1,324   1,424    8.4    8.0    7.2    8.3    9.0
 At contracting establishments    1,086   1,027     955   1,106   1,187    7.0    6.6    6.0    6.9    7.5
 At closing establishments          218     213     194     218     237    1.4    1.4    1.2    1.4    1.5
Net employment change                46      68     172       9    -147    0.3    0.4    1.2    0.1   -1.0

Other services

Gross job gains                     309     281     286     306     278    7.6    6.8    6.9    7.4    6.7
 At expanding establishments        241     219     228     243     220    5.9    5.3    5.5    5.9    5.3
 At opening establishments           68      62      58      63      58    1.7    1.5    1.4    1.5    1.4
Gross job losses                    286     293     272     281     304    7.0    7.1    6.6    6.8    7.3
 At contracting establishments      222     231     212     220     238    5.4    5.6    5.1    5.3    5.7
 At closing establishments           64      62      60      61      66    1.6    1.5    1.5    1.5    1.6
Net employment change                23     -12      14      25     -26    0.6   -0.3    0.3    0.6   -0.6

(1) Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately






Table 4.  Private sector gross job gains and losses by firm size, seasonally adjusted

(In thousands)

                      Total private by firm(1)       Firm size 1 - 49 employees      Firm size 50 - 249 employees      Firm size 250 or more employees
Year  3 months        Net        Gross job            Net          Gross job          Net           Gross job           Net           Gross job
        ended      change(2,3)  gains   losses       change      gains   losses      change       gains   losses       change       gains   losses

2007  March            478      6,333    5,855         173       3,445    3,272         98        1,158    1,060         207        1,730    1,523
      June             163      6,239    6,076         -33       3,330    3,363         99        1,171    1,072          97        1,738    1,641
      September       -215      5,920    6,135        -116       3,263    3,379        -34        1,079    1,113         -65        1,578    1,643
      December         270      6,251    5,981          10       3,317    3,307         56        1,139    1,083         204        1,795    1,591

2008  March           -274      5,831    6,105        -152       3,235    3,387        -11        1,079    1,090        -111        1,517    1,628
      June            -548      5,850    6,398        -287       3,174    3,461        -44        1,090    1,134        -217        1,586    1,803
      September       -956      5,532    6,488        -343       3,051    3,394       -140        1,020    1,160        -473        1,461    1,934
      December      -1,886      5,338    7,224        -689       2,910    3,599       -375          947    1,322        -822        1,481    2,303

2009  March         -2,638      4,617    7,255        -983       2,721    3,704       -616          810    1,426      -1,039        1,086    2,125
      June          -1,763      5,169    6,932        -474       2,946    3,420       -281          950    1,231      -1,008        1,273    2,281
      September       -906      5,164    6,070        -372       2,826    3,198       -110          932    1,042        -424        1,406    1,830
      December        -317      5,403    5,720        -159       2,940    3,099        -45          962    1,007        -113        1,501    1,614

2010  March           -234      5,115    5,349        -195       2,863    3,058         -2          914      916         -37        1,338    1,375
      June             664      5,805    5,141         235       3,093    2,858        204        1,071      867         225        1,641    1,416
      September        226      5,525    5,299          26       2,946    2,920         87          998      911         113        1,581    1,468
      December         502      5,781    5,279          92       3,051    2,959         92        1,034      942         318        1,696    1,378

2011  March            340      5,375    5,035          99       2,983    2,884        122          971      849         119        1,421    1,302
      June             537      5,746    5,209         190       3,073    2,883        169        1,063      894         178        1,610    1,432
      September        852      5,974    5,122         272       3,137    2,865        171        1,066      895         409        1,771    1,362
      December         297      5,585    5,288          45       2,970    2,925         44          981      937         208        1,634    1,426

2012  March            972      5,904    4,932         388       3,173    2,785        220        1,054      834         364        1,677    1,313
      June             612      5,828    5,216         174       3,039    2,865        158        1,074      916         280        1,715    1,435
      September        226      5,581    5,355          55       2,963    2,908         54        1,006      952         117        1,612    1,495
      December         637      5,779    5,142         180       3,025    2,845         94        1,014      920         363        1,740    1,377

2013  March            588      5,743    5,155         221       3,078    2,857        155        1,027      872         212        1,638    1,426
      June             649      5,912    5,263         221       3,084    2,863        137        1,074      937         291        1,754    1,463
      September        439      5,748    5,309         208       3,054    2,846         62        1,017      955         169        1,677    1,508
      December         651      5,894    5,243         131       3,026    2,895        108        1,036      928         412        1,832    1,420

2014  March            459      5,662    5,203         248       3,077    2,829        153        1,034      881          58        1,551    1,493
      June             888      6,142    5,254         299       3,179    2,880        216        1,123      907         373        1,840    1,467
      September        502      5,845    5,343         168       3,051    2,883        102        1,058      956         232        1,736    1,504
      December         987      6,166    5,179         225       3,111    2,886        157        1,087      930         605        1,968    1,363

2015  March            237      5,664    5,427         181       3,102    2,921         79        1,022      943         -23        1,540    1,563
      June             834      6,256    5,422         316       3,197    2,881        189        1,135      946         329        1,924    1,595
      September        381      5,884    5,503         113       3,038    2,925         59        1,038      979         209        1,808    1,599
      December         895      6,270    5,375         250       3,183    2,933        101        1,078      977         544        2,009    1,465

2016  March            273      5,743    5,470         220       3,124    2,904         60        1,015      955          -7        1,604    1,611
      June             300      6,051    5,751          64       3,125    3,061        116        1,109      993         120        1,817    1,697
      September        665      6,229    5,564         147       3,135    2,988         80        1,080    1,000         438        2,014    1,576
      December         326      5,920    5,594          88       3,076    2,988         52        1,033      981         186        1,811    1,625

2017  March            686      5,952    5,266         369       3,206    2,837        197        1,077      880         120        1,669    1,549
      June             511      6,193    5,682         143       3,135    2,992        153        1,133      980         215        1,925    1,710
      September       -197      5,786    5,983        -176       2,948    3,124        -57        1,010    1,067          36        1,828    1,792

(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job losses by establishment, as some 
    establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the aggregation process.
(2) Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
(3) Net change totals for firm-level data shown differ from the establishment-level data due to independent seasonal adjustment of the series.
NOTE: See http://www.bls.gov/bdm/bdmfirmsize.htm for additional firm size class data.






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

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

    Category                                 3 months ended                      3 months ended

                                   Sept.   Dec.    Mar.    June    Sept.  Sept.  Dec.   Mar.   June   Sept. 
                                   2016    2016    2017    2017    2017   2016   2016   2017   2017   2017
Total private by firm(1)

Gross job gains                   6,229   5,920   5,952   6,193   5,786    5.2    4.9    4.9    5.0    4.7
 At expanding firms               5,271   4,976   5,026   5,302   4,933    4.4    4.1    4.1    4.3    4.0
 At opening firms                   958     944     926     891     853    0.8    0.8    0.8    0.7    0.7

Gross job losses                  5,564   5,594   5,266   5,682   5,983    4.6    4.6    4.4    4.7    4.9
 At contracting firms             4,713   4,734   4,442   4,847   5,083    3.9    3.9    3.7    4.0    4.2
 At closing firms                   851     860     824     835     900    0.7    0.7    0.7    0.7    0.7

Net employment change               665     326     686     511    -197    0.6    0.3    0.5    0.3   -0.2


Firm size 1 to 49 employees

Gross job gains                   3,135   3,076   3,206   3,135   2,948    9.3    9.1    9.4    9.2    8.7
 At expanding firms               2,219   2,171   2,316   2,288   2,131    6.6    6.4    6.8    6.7    6.3
 At opening firms                   916     905     890     847     817    2.7    2.7    2.6    2.5    2.4

Gross job losses                  2,988   2,988   2,837   2,992   3,124    8.8    8.8    8.3    8.8    9.2
 At contracting firms             2,171   2,163   2,042   2,187   2,260    6.4    6.4    6.0    6.4    6.7
 At closing firms                   817     825     795     805     864    2.4    2.4    2.3    2.4    2.5

Net employment change               147      88     369     143    -176    0.5    0.3    1.1    0.4   -0.5


Firm size 50 to 249 employees

Gross job gains                   1,080   1,033   1,077   1,133   1,010    5.0    4.8    4.9    5.2    4.5
 At expanding firms               1,042     997   1,046   1,095     978    4.8    4.6    4.8    5.0    4.4
 At opening firms                    38      36      31      38      32    0.2    0.2    0.1    0.2    0.1

Gross job losses                  1,000     981     880     980   1,067    4.6    4.5    4.0    4.4    4.8
 At contracting firms               970     951     854     954   1,037    4.5    4.4    3.9    4.3    4.7
 At closing firms                    30      30      26      26      30    0.1    0.1    0.1    0.1    0.1

Net employment change                80      52     197     153     -57    0.4    0.3    0.9    0.8   -0.3


Firm size 250 or more employees

Gross job gains                   2,014   1,811   1,669   1,925   1,828    3.1    2.8    2.5    2.9    2.8
 At expanding firms               2,010   1,808   1,664   1,919   1,824    3.1    2.8    2.5    2.9    2.8
 At opening firms                     4       3       5       6       4    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0

Gross job losses                  1,576   1,625   1,549   1,710   1,792    2.4    2.5    2.4    2.6    2.7
 At contracting firms             1,572   1,620   1,546   1,706   1,786    2.4    2.5    2.4    2.6    2.7
 At closing firms                     4       5       3       4       6    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0    0.0

Net employment change               438     186     120     215      36    0.7    0.3    0.1    0.3    0.1


(1) Total gross job gains and gross job losses by firm are lower than total gross job gains and gross job 
    losses by establishment, as some establishment gains and losses within a firm are offset during the 
    aggregation process.






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

                                         Gross job gains                                          Gross job losses
State                                    (3 months ended)                                         (3 months ended)
                        Sept.      Dec.       Mar.        June      Sept.      Sept.        Dec.       Mar.        June      Sept.
                        2016       2016       2017        2017      2017       2016         2016       2017        2017      2017

United States(1)...  7,689,000  7,455,000  7,328,000   7,604,000  7,256,000  7,008,000   7,065,000   6,674,000  7,128,000  7,396,000

Alabama.....            96,889     91,681     95,018      87,409     94,500     90,051      90,287      81,340     88,801     91,500
Alaska.....             22,603     24,029     23,211      27,146     21,147     27,693      24,699      24,169     24,590     26,106
Arizona.....           164,484    138,291    136,971     145,129    156,480    120,568     126,313     126,704    134,184    124,785
Arkansas.....           61,522     58,062     56,151      52,890     56,574     54,893      53,892      50,773     56,758     54,500
California.....        990,473    980,183    962,840   1,008,489    945,420    880,241     910,192     872,313    963,220    921,087
Colorado.....          153,653    143,107    147,416     154,090    146,525    134,971     140,926     133,241    138,475    142,005
Connecticut.....        74,841     72,719     79,177      82,321     75,866     76,198      75,033      73,288     73,239     81,660
Delaware.....           23,909     23,338     24,976      25,141     24,514     24,652      23,351      22,313     26,277     25,233
District of Columbia    31,846     28,788     29,705      29,308     28,084     29,467      28,695      24,377     28,802     27,580
Florida.....           539,960    487,710    445,222     487,806    417,099    427,925     445,725     409,290    450,987    550,590

Georgia.....           243,716    239,884    230,965     229,623    224,926    213,118     211,569     212,760    225,490    228,351
Hawaii.....             31,080     26,673     27,379      27,647     28,750     25,354      26,775      25,523     28,656     28,034
Idaho.....              45,011     42,845     45,963      43,250     39,216     41,174      38,897      37,152     39,124     39,172
Illinois.....          294,960    309,191    298,256     295,556    287,491    291,637     290,285     276,590    283,177    309,665
Indiana.....           149,878    142,574    149,579     148,779    143,839    133,516     137,206     131,859    143,482    144,972
Iowa.....               79,033     73,955     78,764      73,448     70,162     75,042      76,993      71,324     73,959     73,416
Kansas.....             69,905     67,413     66,295      61,932     70,689     63,576      64,801      63,041     74,435     64,182
Kentucky.....          107,152     95,679     90,878      95,401     92,556     98,989      90,662      85,832     94,425     91,789
Louisiana.....         107,420     94,259    102,536      98,856     97,543    103,707     103,469      93,274    104,081     96,361
Maine.....              33,988     37,196     36,582      39,612     32,989     37,257      35,905      32,852     39,786     38,313

Maryland.....          139,923    140,769    131,540     137,552    133,359    127,394     131,349     126,358    133,284    134,027
Massachusetts.....     174,563    171,192    168,627     190,672    169,666    167,415     165,880     156,939    161,748    174,731
Michigan.....          208,459    204,720    211,095     214,607    196,743    202,265     200,138     184,414    198,700    221,387
Minnesota.....         148,763    140,520    142,651     140,705    131,688    133,973     138,963     117,302    129,066    140,788
Mississippi.....        56,026     56,611     51,514      52,591     51,045     49,476      50,218      52,216     53,075     52,367
Missouri.....          132,102    134,067    138,174     133,946    140,239    125,330     133,207     116,324    132,611    138,472
Montana.....            28,377     29,076     30,348      29,692     26,807     28,603      27,842      26,801     29,106     29,737
Nebraska.....           51,489     46,158     48,350      45,258     47,480     47,315      49,989      42,036     48,966     47,756
Nevada.....             77,042     71,548     75,922      73,628     73,242     63,229      64,782      59,528     69,752     68,063
New Hampshire.....      36,134     35,405     32,723      37,609     31,928     35,328      33,335      32,020     34,154     37,103

New Jersey.....        212,548    217,599    191,080     231,222    207,174    200,091     200,514     198,940    187,345    213,365
New Mexico.....         43,313     41,275     40,142      42,206     40,887     38,844      40,739      39,132     39,683     39,637
New York.....          490,500    472,712    482,960     512,229    488,700    458,750     461,337     446,567    452,251    485,909
North Carolina.....    221,742    225,601    222,190     228,495    215,246    208,519     205,302     199,056    214,667    218,341
North Dakota.....       27,990     23,021     26,128      23,242     23,088     24,632      26,535      22,998     23,826     23,383
Ohio.....              263,761    260,009    260,122     266,532    239,333    261,433     249,754     236,913    248,853    262,346
Oklahoma.....           79,254     81,574     78,427      82,854     81,713     75,254      78,496      81,448     74,136     75,734
Oregon.....            106,360    103,156    108,577     103,951    102,766     99,322      96,506      89,507     94,764     99,294
Pennsylvania.....      285,638    274,781    268,559     281,457    279,310    258,739     260,840     254,346    263,822    264,139
Rhode Island.....       23,258     23,989     26,217      27,377     24,892     24,390      23,904      24,785     24,775     26,563

South Carolina.....    104,404    108,676    100,891     102,376     96,040     93,113      90,148      92,823     99,787    106,344
South Dakota.....       22,238     21,044     22,209      21,870     19,852     21,398      21,233      20,656     21,953     20,797
Tennessee.....         147,480    144,675    128,481     136,278    134,472    130,083     126,150     123,277    129,537    128,703
Texas.....             617,457    588,802    580,416     588,070    595,615    541,252     538,726     519,376    539,188    579,631
Utah.....               86,460     79,259     91,646      81,427     82,619     77,794      75,963      72,367     74,004     75,903
Vermont.....            18,354     17,998     16,827      20,084     17,066     18,795      17,636      17,258     17,430     20,080
Virginia.....          192,072    194,325    186,996     196,028    182,441    189,545     180,449     172,727    183,875    193,605
Washington.....        177,681    191,782    185,519     193,086    172,479    175,845     179,259     152,983    167,385    170,855
West Virginia.....      35,225     34,777     34,065      35,135     37,743     34,886      33,887      34,690     35,391     35,798
Wisconsin.....         133,986    134,052    143,931     139,680    122,392    134,840     131,290     116,833    136,434    140,307

Wyoming.....            17,147     17,940     17,837      17,344     17,516     17,942      17,692      16,484     18,378     16,028
Puerto Rico.....        39,088     38,952     34,349      34,820     27,179     38,609      36,267      38,301     35,043     41,788
Virgin Islands.....      1,722      1,644      1,463       1,707      1,132      1,856       1,665       1,497      1,285      2,266

The sum of the states will not necessarily add to the U.S. total because of the independent seasonal adjustment of each state.
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.






Table 7.  Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted

                        Gross job gains as a percent of employment    Gross job losses as a percent of employment
State                              (3 months ended)                               (3 months ended)

                        Sept.   Dec.     Mar.     June    Sept.       Sept.    Dec.      Mar.    June     Sept.
                        2016    2016     2017     2017    2017        2016     2016      2017    2017     2017

United States(1)...      6.4     6.2      6.0      6.2     6.0         5.8      5.9       5.4      5.8     6.1

Alabama.....             6.2     5.8      6.1      5.5     6.0         5.8      5.8       5.2      5.6     5.8
Alaska.....              9.1     9.8      9.4     11.0     8.5        11.2     10.0       9.8      9.9    10.5
Arizona.....             7.2     6.0      5.8      6.2     6.6         5.2      5.5       5.4      5.7     5.3
Arkansas.....            6.2     5.9      5.6      5.2     5.7         5.6      5.4       5.0      5.6     5.5
California.....          6.9     6.9      6.7      6.9     6.5         6.2      6.3       6.0      6.6     6.4
Colorado.....            7.1     6.6      6.8      7.1     6.6         6.2      6.5       6.2      6.3     6.4
Connecticut.....         5.2     5.1      5.5      5.7     5.2         5.4      5.2       5.1      5.1     5.7
Delaware.....            6.3     6.2      6.6      6.6     6.5         6.6      6.2       5.9      7.0     6.6
District of Columbia..   6.2     5.6      5.7      5.7     5.4         5.8      5.6       4.7      5.6     5.3
Florida.....             7.4     6.7      6.1      6.6     5.6         5.8      6.1       5.5      6.1     7.5

Georgia.....             6.7     6.6      6.3      6.2     6.1         5.9      5.8       5.8      6.1     6.2
Hawaii.....              6.0     5.0      5.1      5.2     5.4         4.8      5.0       4.8      5.4     5.3
Idaho.....               7.9     7.5      7.9      7.3     6.7         7.3      6.7       6.3      6.6     6.6
Illinois.....            5.7     6.1      5.8      5.7     5.6         5.7      5.6       5.4      5.5     6.0
Indiana.....             5.8     5.4      5.7      5.7     5.5         5.1      5.2       5.1      5.5     5.5
Iowa.....                6.1     5.7      6.1      5.6     5.4         5.8      5.9       5.5      5.7     5.7
Kansas.....              6.2     5.9      5.8      5.5     6.3         5.6      5.7       5.6      6.6     5.7
Kentucky.....            6.8     6.1      5.7      6.1     5.9         6.3      5.8       5.4      5.9     5.8
Louisiana.....           6.8     5.9      6.4      6.2     6.1         6.5      6.5       5.9      6.5     6.1
Maine.....               6.7     7.4      7.2      7.7     6.5         7.4      7.1       6.4      7.7     7.5

Maryland.....            6.6     6.6      6.1      6.4     6.1         5.9      6.2       5.9      6.2     6.2
Massachusetts.....       5.7     5.6      5.5      6.1     5.5         5.4      5.4       5.1      5.2     5.6
Michigan.....            5.7     5.5      5.6      5.7     5.3         5.5      5.4       5.0      5.3     6.0
Minnesota.....           6.1     5.7      5.8      5.7     5.4         5.5      5.7       4.7      5.3     5.7
Mississippi.....         6.3     6.3      5.7      5.9     5.7         5.5      5.6       5.9      6.0     5.9
Missouri.....            5.7     5.7      5.9      5.6     5.9         5.4      5.6       4.9      5.6     5.9
Montana.....             7.6     7.8      8.1      7.9     7.2         7.7      7.5       7.1      7.7     8.0
Nebraska.....            6.4     5.7      5.9      5.6     5.9         5.9      6.2       5.2      6.1     5.9
Nevada.....              6.8     6.2      6.6      6.3     6.3         5.5      5.6       5.2      6.0     5.8
New Hampshire.....       6.4     6.3      5.7      6.6     5.6         6.3      5.9       5.6      5.9     6.5

New Jersey.....          6.3     6.4      5.5      6.7     6.0         5.9      5.9       5.8      5.5     6.2
New Mexico.....          7.0     6.6      6.4      6.7     6.5         6.2      6.5       6.2      6.3     6.3
New York.....            6.3     6.1      6.2      6.5     6.2         5.9      5.9       5.7      5.7     6.1
North Carolina.....      6.3     6.3      6.2      6.3     6.0         5.9      5.7       5.5      5.9     6.0
North Dakota.....        8.2     6.7      7.6      6.8     6.7         7.1      7.7       6.7      6.9     6.8
Ohio.....                5.7     5.7      5.7      5.8     5.1         5.7      5.4       5.1      5.4     5.6
Oklahoma.....            6.3     6.5      6.3      6.6     6.5         6.0      6.3       6.5      5.9     6.0
Oregon.....              6.9     6.6      6.9      6.5     6.5         6.4      6.3       5.7      5.9     6.3
Pennsylvania.....        5.6     5.4      5.2      5.5     5.4         5.1      5.1       5.0      5.2     5.2
Rhode Island.....        5.6     5.7      6.3      6.5     5.9         5.9      5.8       5.9      5.9     6.3

South Carolina.....      6.3     6.5      6.0      6.1     5.7         5.6      5.4       5.6      6.0     6.4
South Dakota.....        6.4     6.0      6.4      6.3     5.7         6.2      6.1       5.9      6.3     6.0
Tennessee.....           5.9     5.8      5.1      5.4     5.4         5.2      5.1       4.9      5.1     5.2
Texas.....               6.2     5.9      5.8      5.8     5.9         5.5      5.4       5.2      5.4     5.7
Utah.....                7.4     6.8      7.7      6.8     6.8         6.7      6.4       6.1      6.2     6.3
Vermont.....             7.2     7.0      6.6      7.9     6.7         7.4      7.0       6.8      6.8     7.8
Virginia.....            6.2     6.2      6.0      6.2     5.8         6.1      5.9       5.6      5.9     6.2
Washington.....          6.7     7.1      6.8      7.1     6.3         6.6      6.7       5.6      6.1     6.3
West Virginia.....       6.5     6.4      6.3      6.4     6.9         6.4      6.2       6.4      6.5     6.5
Wisconsin.....           5.5     5.5      5.9      5.6     5.0         5.6      5.3       4.8      5.5     5.7

Wyoming.....             8.5     8.8      8.8      8.5     8.7         8.8      8.7       8.1      9.0     7.9
Puerto Rico.....         5.8     5.8      5.1      5.2     4.1         5.7      5.4       5.7      5.2     6.2
Virgin Islands.....      6.2     6.0      5.3      6.2     4.2         6.8      6.0       5.5      4.7     8.3

(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.






Table 8.  Private sector establishment births and deaths, seasonally adjusted

Total private

(Levels in thousands)

                              Number of Establishments                     Employment
                             Births             Deaths(1)            Births             Deaths
Year  3 months ended     Level    Rate(2)   Level    Rate       Level      Rate    Level      Rate

2007  March               232      3.2       205     2.8          918       0.8      787       0.7
      June                225      3.1       215     3.0          898       0.8      859       0.8
      September           233      3.2       216     3.0          952       0.8      845       0.7
      December            228      3.1       218     3.0          922       0.8      836       0.7
  
2008  March               226      3.1       224     3.1          919       0.8      832       0.7
      June                221      3.0       238     3.3          876       0.8      913       0.8
      September           216      3.0       233     3.2          849       0.8      881       0.8
      December            211      2.9       253     3.5          819       0.7      951       0.9
  
2009  March               197      2.7       247     3.4          738       0.7      869       0.8
      June                201      2.8       238     3.3          767       0.7      837       0.8
      September           192      2.7       227     3.2          725       0.7      793       0.7
      December            202      2.8       218     3.1          728       0.7      749       0.7
  
2010  March               193      2.7       211     3.0          706       0.7      687       0.7
      June                193      2.7       202     2.9          730       0.7      665       0.6
      September           207      2.9       204     2.9          754       0.7      701       0.7
      December            216      3.0       201     2.8          805       0.8      700       0.7
  
2011  March               204      2.9       200     2.8          715       0.7      632       0.6
      June                210      2.9       205     2.9          767       0.7      689       0.6
      September           206      2.9       196     2.7          794       0.7      675       0.6
      December            214      3.0       198     2.8          800       0.7      700       0.6
  
2012  March               236      3.3       188     2.6          787       0.7      614       0.6
      June                217      3.0       194     2.7          799       0.7      673       0.6
      September           210      2.9       196     2.7          804       0.7      692       0.6
      December            218      3.0       183     2.5          809       0.7      673       0.6
  
2013  March               205      2.8       192     2.6          748       0.7      646       0.6
      June                222      3.0       215     2.9          791       0.7      696       0.6
      September           219      2.9       195     2.6          823       0.7      678       0.6
      December            216      2.9       187     2.5          804       0.7      670       0.6
  
2014  March               221      2.9       189     2.5          782       0.7      633       0.6
      June                220      2.9       205     2.7          806       0.7      718       0.6
      September           224      3.0       200     2.6          828       0.7      706       0.6
      December            223      2.9       197     2.6          837       0.7      708       0.6
  
2015  March               234      3.1       206     2.7          814       0.7      691       0.6
      June                234      3.1       212     2.8          839       0.7      732       0.6
      September           242      3.1       207     2.7          880       0.7      704       0.6
      December            246      3.2       208     2.7          894       0.8      732       0.6
  
2016  March               236      3.0       202     2.6          787       0.7      660       0.6
      June                242      3.1       214     2.7          838       0.7      724       0.6
      September           240      3.1       215     2.7          872       0.7      749       0.6
      December            239      3.0       217     2.8          868       0.7      729       0.6
  
2017  March               240      3.0       N/A     N/A          800       0.7      N/A       N/A
      June                239      3.0       N/A     N/A          846       0.7      N/A       N/A
      September           240      3.0       N/A     N/A          837       0.7      N/A       N/A

(1) Values for deaths are not available for the most recent three quarters by definition. See the 
    Technical Note for more information.
(2) The rates measure births and deaths as a percentage of the average of the previous and current 
    quarter employment levels or total number of establishments.






Last Modified Date: April 25, 2018