For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, April 24, 2024 USDL-24-0744
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 2023
From June 2023 to September 2023, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector
establishments were 7.8 million, a decrease of 37,000 jobs 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 7.6 million, a decrease of 561,000 jobs from the
previous quarter. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross
job losses yielded a net employment decline of 192,000 jobs in the private sector during the third
quarter of 2023. (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 Gains
In the third quarter of 2023, gross job gains represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment. Gross
job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the
addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 6.0
million in the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of 510,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.6 million of the jobs gained in the third quarter of 2023, a
decrease of 51,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the third quarter of 2023, gross job losses represented 5.9 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 6.2 million jobs in the third quarter
of 2023, a decrease of 122,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the third quarter of 2023, closing
establishments lost 1.6 million jobs, an increase of 85,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See
tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the third quarter of 2023, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
decreased by 21,000 to a total of 311,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
972,000 jobs, a decrease of 43,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the fourth quarter of 2022, when 899,000 jobs were
lost at 289,000 establishments, a decrease of 14,000 jobs from the third quarter of 2022. (See
Technical Note and table 8.)
Table A. Three-month private-sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally adjusted
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| 3 months ended
Category | Sept. | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept.
| 2022 | 2022 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 8,841 | 8,108 | 8,041 | 8,120 | 7,559
At expanding establishments...... | 7,183 | 6,447 | 6,515 | 6,511 | 6,001
At opening establishments........ | 1,658 | 1,661 | 1,526 | 1,609 | 1,558
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 7,500 | 7,630 | 7,065 | 7,788 | 7,751
At contracting establishments.... | 5,995 | 6,113 | 5,646 | 6,296 | 6,174
At closing establishments........ | 1,505 | 1,517 | 1,419 | 1,492 | 1,577
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 1,341 | 478 | 976 | 332 | -192
| | | | |
|--------------------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------------------
Gross job gains......................... | 6.9 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 5.8
At expanding establishments...... | 5.6 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.6
At opening establishments........ | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses........................ | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 5.9
At contracting establishments.... | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.7
At closing establishments........ | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2
| | | | |
Net employment change (1)............... | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | -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 2023, firms with 1 to 49 employees had a net employment decrease of 204,000. Firms
with 50 to 249 employees had a net employment loss of 26,000. Firms with 250 or more employees had a net
employment decrease of 16,000. (See tables 4 and 5.)
Industries
Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 8 out of the 13 industry sectors in the third quarter of
2023. The service-providing industries experienced a net job loss of 94,000. The goods-producing
industries had a net job decrease of 98,000. (See table 3.)
States
Gross job losses surpassed gross job gains in 35 states in the third quarter of 2023.
(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 for the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm
size, not seasonally adjusted data and seasonally adjusted time series not presented in this release,
charts of gross job gains and gross job losses by industry and firm size, and answers to frequently asked
questions. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found
in the Technical Note of this release or can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.
_____________
The Business Employment Dynamics for Fourth Quarter 2023 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, July 24, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
United States Department of Labor
