Full text of First Quarter 2004 : Text File, USDL 04-2400
The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
Technical Information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 04-2400
http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
For release: 10:00 AM EST
Media Contact: 691-5902 Tuesday, November 30, 2004
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FIRST QUARTER 2004
From December 2003 to March 2004, the number of job gains from opening
and expanding establishments was 7.7 million, and the number of job losses
from closing and contracting establishments was 7.3 million, according to
preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor. During the first quarter of 2004, gross job gains
exceeded gross job losses in both the goods-producing and service-providing
sectors.
Business Employment Dynamics statistics are derived from the Quarterly
Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), also known as the ES-202 program.
Gross job gains are defined as increases in employment resulting from
expansions of employment at existing establishments or from the opening of
establishments. Gross job losses are defined as declines in employment at
existing establishments or from the closing of establishments. The
difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross
jobs lost is the net change in employment.
Private Sector Gross Job Gains and Job Losses
Opening and expanding private sector business establishments gained
7.7 million jobs in the first quarter of 2004, or 99,000 more than in the
fourth quarter of 2003. Over the quarter, expanding establishments added
6.2 million jobs, while opening establishments added 1.5 million.
Gross job losses totaled 7.3 million in the first quarter of 2004, up by
8,000 from the fourth quarter of 2003. Before this slight increase, gross
job losses had been trending down since the third quarter of 2001. In the
first quarter of 2004, contracting establishments lost 5.9 million jobs,
while closing establishments accounted for a loss of 1.4 million jobs.
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)
From December 2003 to March 2004, gross job gains and gross job losses
represented 7.2 and 6.8 percent, respectively, of private sector
employment, unchanged from the previous quarter. (See tables A and 2.)
These gross job gain and loss statistics demonstrate that a sizable number
of jobs appear and disappear in the relatively short time frame of one
quarter.
Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
During the first quarter of 2004, gross job gains exceeded gross job
losses in the goods-producing sector for the first time since the first
quarter of 2000. Expanding and opening establishments in the goods-
producing sector gained 1,764,000 jobs, while contracting and closing
establishments lost 1,670,000 jobs, for a net gain of 94,000 jobs.
Quarterly job gains in manufacturing rose to 613,000, while gross job
losses dropped to a series low of 629,000, narrowing the net job loss
in that sector to 16,000. In construction, gross job gains increased
to 837,000 and gross job losses decreased to 759,000, for a net gain of
78,000. This represents the third consecutive quarter of net employment
gains in the construction sector.
- 2 -
Table A. 3-month private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally
adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|--------------------------------------
Category | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec. | Mar.
| 2003 | 2003 | 2003 | 2003 | 2004
|--------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
----------------------------------|--------------------------------------
| | | | |
Gross job gains...................| 7,472 | 7,560 | 7,396 | 7,646 | 7,745
At expanding establishments.....| 5,932 | 6,033 | 5,897 | 6,063 | 6,231
At opening establishments.......| 1,540 | 1,527 | 1,499 | 1,583 | 1,514
Gross job losses..................| 7,876 | 7,702 | 7,324 | 7,302 | 7,310
At contracting establishments...| 6,321 | 6,138 | 5,893 | 5,816 | 5,871
At closing establishments.......| 1,555 | 1,564 | 1,431 | 1,486 | 1,439
|--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........| -404 | -142 | 72 | 344 | 435
|--------------------------------------
| As a percent of employment
|--------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 7.2
At expanding establishments.....| 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.8
At opening establishments.......| 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.4
Gross job losses..................| 7.4 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.8
At contracting establishments...| 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.5
At closing establishments.......| 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.3
|--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........| -0.5 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 The net employment change is the difference between total gross job
gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical Note for further
information.
Gross job gains in the service-providing sector totaled 6.0 million jobs
in the first quarter of 2004, exceeding gross job losses in that sector by
341,000. There were net job gains in the quarter in all service-providing
sectors except utilities and information. The information sector gained
156,000 jobs and lost 169,000 jobs for a net loss of 13,000 jobs. The net
job loss in this sector marked a resumption of the string of net job losses
that began in the first quarter of 2001 and had been interrupted by a slight
net job increase in the fourth quarter of 2003. (See tables B and 3.)
Number of Establishments Gaining and Losing Employment
In the first quarter of 2004, the number of opening establishments
exceeded the number of closing establishments, leading to a net addition
of 21,000 units in the number of total active private sector establishments.
In addition, the number of establishments gaining jobs surpassed the number
of establishments losing jobs for the third consecutive quarter. A total of
1.9 million establishments out of 6.5 million active private sector establish-
ments gained jobs from December 2003 to March 2004. (See table C.) Of these,
1.5 million were expanding establishments and 349,000 were opening establish-
ments. During the first quarter of 2004, 1.8 million establishments lost jobs.
Of these, 1.5 million were contracting establishments and 328,000 were closing
establishments.
- 3 -
Table B. 3-month private sector job gains and losses by industry,
seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Gross job gains | Gross job losses
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------
Industry | 3 months ended | 3 months ended
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------
|Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar.
|2003 |2003 |2003 |2003 |2004 |2003 |2003 |2003 |2003 |2004
-------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
Total | | | | | | | | | |
private(1).......|7,472|7,560|7,396|7,646|7,745|7,876|7,702|7,324|7,302|7,310
Goods-producing....|1,692|1,657|1,605|1,665|1,764|1,932|1,897|1,755|1,697|1,670
Natural resources| | | | | | | | | |
and mining.....| 310| 299| 272| 286| 314| 309| 294| 292| 285| 282
Construction.....| 782| 811| 784| 793| 837| 829| 822| 762| 761| 759
Manufacturing....| 600| 547| 549| 586| 613| 794| 781| 701| 651| 629
Service- | | | | | | | | | |
providing(1).....|5,780|5,903|5,791|5,981|5,981|5,944|5,805|5,569|5,605|5,640
Wholesale | | | | | | | | | |
trade..........| 320| 314| 308| 317| 319| 348| 334| 323| 320| 314
Retail trade.....| 962|1,039|1,019|1,061|1,059|1,060| 996| 989|1,016|1,011
Transportation | | | | | | | | | |
and ware- | | | | | | | | | |
housing........| 227| 230| 235| 227| 244| 237| 283| 239| 237| 228
Utilities........| 15| 14| 16| 14| 15| 15| 19| 19| 16| 16
Information......| 166| 153| 149| 172| 156| 201| 194| 185| 166| 169
Financial | | | | | | | | | |
activities.....| 442| 455| 444| 436| 442| 428| 418| 417| 462| 433
Professional | | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | | |
services.......|1,406|1,367|1,356|1,438|1,411|1,469|1,416|1,287|1,302|1,378
Education and | | | | | | | | | |
health | | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 760| 745| 731| 744| 751| 680| 698| 670| 659| 672
Leisure and | | | | | | | | | |
hospitality....|1,083|1,166|1,125|1,161|1,138|1,161|1,105|1,095|1,097|1,091
Other services...| 296| 303| 286| 288| 307| 305| 305| 309| 293| 291
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of employ-
ment change, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
Category |---------------------------------------
| Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec. | Mar.
| 2003 | 2003 | 2003 | 2003 | 2004
----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
| | | | |
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,750 | 1,788 | 1,791 | 1,815 | 1,854
Expanding establishments........| 1,418 | 1,457 | 1,463 | 1,467 | 1,505
Opening establishments..........| 322 | 331 | 328 | 348 | 349
|---------------------------------------
Establishments losing jobs .......| 1,847 | 1,801 | 1,772 | 1,775 | 1,794
Contracting establishments......| 1,513 | 1,473 | 1,454 | 1,453 | 1,466
Closing establishments..........| 334 | 328 | 318 | 322 | 328
|---------------------------------------
Net establishment change(1).......| -2 | 3 | 10 | 26 | 21
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 The net establishment change is the difference between the number of
opening establishments and the number of closing establishments. See the
Technical Note for further information.
More Information
For the not seasonally adjusted data and other time series not presented
in this release, please refer to the Business Employment Dynamics Web page
on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/bdm. Additional information
about the Business Employment Dynamics data may be obtained by e-mailing
BDMinfo@bls.gov.
- 4 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Comparing Business Employment Dynamics Data with Current |
| Employment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment |
| and Wages Data |
| |
| The net change in employment from Business Employment Dynamics |
| (BED) data series will not match the net change in employment from |
| the monthly Curent Employment Statistics (CES) survey. The CES |
| estimates are based on monthly surveys from a sample of establish- |
| ments, while gross job gains and gross job losses are based on a |
| quarterly census of administrative records. In addition, the CES |
| has a different coverage, excluding the agriculture sector but |
| including establishments not covered by the unemployment insurance |
| program. The net over-the-quarter changes derived by aggregating |
| component series in the BED data may be different from the net |
| employment change estimated from the CES seasonally adjusted total |
| employment series. The intended use of the BED statistics is to |
| show the dynamic labor market flows that underlie the net changes |
| in aggregate employment levels; data users who want to track net |
| changes in aggregate employment levels over time should refer to |
| CES data. |
| |
| BED data have a more limited scope than the Quarterly Census |
| of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data. The data in this release, in |
| contrast to QCEW data, exclude government employees, private house-|
| holds (NAICS 814110), and establishments with zero employment. |
| |
| See the Technical Note for further information. |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
- 5 -
Technical Note
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-
state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
(QCEW), or the ES-202 program. The BED data are compiled by the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing quarterly state unemployment
insurance (UI) records. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file
quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by UI
laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The quarterly UI reports are sent by
the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to BLS and form the basis of the BLS
establishment universe sampling frame. These reports also are used to pro-
duce the quarterly QCEW data on total employment and wages and the longitu-
dinal BED data on gross job gains and losses. Other important BLS uses
of the UI reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program.
(See table below for differences between QCEW, CES, and BED.)
In the BED program, the quarterly UI records are linked across quarters
to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage
process allows the tracking of net employment changes at the establishment
level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and
expanding establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establish-
ments.
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures
The BLS publishes three different establishment-based employment mea-
sures for any given quarter. Each of these measures--QCEW, BED, and CES--
makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; how-
ever, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, estimation
procedure, and publication product.
Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat
different measures of over-the-quarter employment change. It is important to
understand program differences and the intended uses of the program products.
(See table below.) Additional information on each program can be obtained
from the program Web sites shown in the table.
- 6 -
Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| QCEW | BED | CES
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Source |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey:
| strative recods | nally-linked UI ad- | 400,000 employers
| submitted by 8.4 | ministrative records|
| million employers | submitted by 6.5 |
| | million private sec-|
| | tor employers |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Coverage |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI Coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal-
| age: all employers| ing government, pri-| ary jobs:
| subject to state | vate households, and|--UI Coverage, exclud-
| and federal UI Laws| establishments with | ing agriculture, pri-
| | zero employment | vate households, and
| | | self-employed workers
| | |--Other employment, in-
| | | cluding railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -7 months after the| -8 months after the | -Usually first Friday
| end of each quar- | end of each quarter| of following month
| ter | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|-----------------------
Use of UI |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI |--Uses UI file as a sam-
file | and publishes each | quarter to longitu- | pling frame and annu-
| new quarter of UI | dinal database and | ally realigns (bench-
| data | directly summarizes | marks) sample esti-
| | gross job gains and | mates to first quar-
| | losses | ter UI levels
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly |--Provides current month-
products | ly and annual uni- | employer dynamics | ly estimates of employ-
| verse count of es- | data on establish- | ment, hours, and earn-
| tablishments, em- | ment openings, clos-| ings at the MSA, state,
| ployment, and wages| ings, expansions, | and national level by
| at the county, MSA,| and contractions at | industry
| state, and national| the national level |
| levels by detailed | by NAICS supersector|
| industry |--Future expansions |
| | will include data at|
| | the county, MSA, and|
| | state level and by |
| | size of establish- |
| | ment |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|--------------------------
Principal |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses | -Detailed locality | -Business cycle | -Principal national
| data | analysis | economic indicator
| -Periodic universe | -Analysis of employ-| -Official time series
| counts for bench- | er dynamics under- | for employment change
| marking sample | lying economic ex- | measures
| survey estimates | pansions and con- | -Input into other ma-
| -Sample frame for | tractions | jor economic indi-
| BLS establishment | -Future: employment| cators
| surveys | expansion and con- |
| | traction by size of|
| | establishment |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|--------------------------
Program |--www.bls.gov/cew/ |--www.bls.gov/bdm/ |--www.bls.gov/ces/
Web sites | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- 7 -
Coverage
Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI and Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) laws are compiled from quarterly
contribution reports submitted to the SWAs by employers. In addition to the
quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate multiple establishments
within a state complete a questionnaire, called the "Multiple Worksite Report,"
which provides detailed information on the location of their establishments.
These reports are based on place of employment rather than place of residence.
UI and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable from state to state.
Major exclusions from UI coverage are self-employed workers, religious or-
ganizations, most agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the
Armed Forces, elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads,
some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of cer-
tain small nonprofit organizations.
Gross job gains and gross job losses in this release are derived from lon-
gitudinal histories of over 6.5 million private sector employer reports out
of 8.4 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to
BLS in the first quarter of 2004. Gross job gains and gross job losses data
in this release do not report estimates for government employees or private
households (NAICS 814110) and do not include establishments with zero employ-
ment over three quarters. Data from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also
are excluded from the national data. As an illustration, the table below
shows, in millions of establishments, the number of establishments excluded
from the gross job gains and gross job losses data in the fourth quarter 2002:
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data
Millions
Total establishments QCEW program....................................8.4
Excluded: Public sector.........................................0.3
Private households....................................0.5
Zero employment.......................................1.1
Establishments in Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands..............................0.0*
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data...........................................6.5
*Approximately 54,000 establishments.
Concepts and methodology
The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employment
at the establishment level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A
net increase in employment can come from either opening establishments or ex-
panding establishments. A net decrease in employment can come from either
closing establishments or contracting establishments. Gross job gains include
the sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding establishments. Gross
job losses include the sum of all jobs lost in either closing or contracting
establishments. The net change in employment is the difference between gross
job gains and gross job losses.
- 8 -
The formal definitions of establishment-level employment changes are as
follows:
Openings. These are either establishments with positive third-month em-
ployment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the
prior quarter, or with positive third-month employment in the current quarter,
following zero employment in the previous quarter.
Expansions. These are establishments with positive employment in the third
month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employ-
ment over this period.
Closings. These are either establishments with positive third-month employ-
ment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported
in the current quarter.
Contractions. These are establishments with positive employment in the
third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in
employment over this period.
All establishment-level employment changes are measured from the third
month of each quarter. Not all establishments change their employment levels;
these establishments count towards estimates of total employment, but not for
levels of gross job gains and gross job losses.
Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing
their levels by the average of employment in the current and previous quarters.
This provides a symmetric growth rate. The rates are calculated for the com-
ponents of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to form their
respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels
can. For instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the
gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.
The linkage process matches establishments' unique SWA identification
numbers (SWA-ID). Between 95 to 97 percent of establishments identified as
continuous from quarter to quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are
linked in one of three ways. The first method uses predecessor and successor
information, identified by the states, which relates records with different
SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can come about
for a variety of reasons, including a change in ownership, a firm restructur-
ing, or a UI account restructuring. If a match cannot be attained in this
manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to identify
two establishments with different SWA-IDs as continuous. The match is based
upon comparisons such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an
analyst examines unmatched records individually and makes a possible match.
In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify with
employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and ownership
classification of all establishments on a 3-year cycle. Changes in establish-
ment classification codes resulting from the verification process are intro-
duced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes re-
sulting from improved employer reporting also are introduced in the first
quarter.
- 9 -
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated
job flows undergo sharp fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes
in the weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, major holidays,
and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such seasonal
variation can be very large.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each
year, their influence can be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from
quarter to quarter. These adjustments make nonseasonal developments, such as
declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For example, the large
number of youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes that
have taken place in June relative to March, making it difficult to determine
if the level of economic activity has risen or declined. However, because
the effect of students finishing school in previous years is known, the
statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable
change. The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze
changes in economic activity.
The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contract-
ing establishments are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are
calculated based on the difference between gross job gains and gross job
losses. Similarly, the establishment counts data series for opening, expanding,
closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted, and the
net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of open-
ing and closing establishments. Additionally, establishment and employment
levels are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally ad-
justed rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 ARIMA. Sea-
sonally adjusted data series for the total private sector are calculated by
summing the seasonally adjusted data for all sectors, including the unclassi-
fied sector, which is not published separately.
The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series
will differ from the net employment change estimated from the seasonally ad-
justed total private employment series from the CES program. The intended use
of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market changes that underlie
the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested particu-
larly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying
this change should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment
changes.
Reliability of the data
Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on admini-
strative rather than sample data, there are no issues related to sampling
error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists. Nonsampling errors can oc-
cur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected employment
data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses
when providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distri-
buted randomly throughout the dataset.
Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the
linkage process. This can result in overstating openings and closings while
understating expansions and contractions. The BLS continues to refine methods
for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these compli-
cations.
The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on correc-
tions in QCEW records, updates on predecessors and successors information, and
seasonal adjustment revisions.
- 10 -
Additional statistics and other information
Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information.
The QCEW program, also known as the ES-202 program, provides both quarterly
and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed industry.
News releases on quarterly county employment and wages are available upon
request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20212;
telephone 202-691-6567; (http://www.bls.gov/cew/); (e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).
The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, its net change,
and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part of the Employ-
ment Situation report put out monthly by BLS.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides month-
ly measures of job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired in-
dividuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
number: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
Gross job gains Gross job losses
Year 3 months Net change (1) Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing
ended establishments establishments establishments establishments
1992 September 455 7,377 5,632 1,745 6,922 5,351 1,571
December 216 7,101 5,465 1,636 6,885 5,487 1,398
1993 March 313 7,309 5,410 1,899 6,996 5,354 1,642
June 786 7,330 5,794 1,536 6,544 5,136 1,408
September 874 7,523 5,881 1,642 6,649 5,316 1,333
December 641 7,436 5,840 1,596 6,795 5,420 1,375
1994 March 517 7,400 5,807 1,593 6,883 5,435 1,448
June 1,021 7,807 6,060 1,747 6,786 5,295 1,491
September 1,175 7,972 6,227 1,745 6,797 5,493 1,304
December 507 7,630 5,998 1,632 7,123 5,647 1,476
1995 March 746 7,782 6,129 1,653 7,036 5,660 1,376
June 402 7,714 6,017 1,697 7,312 5,839 1,473
September 771 7,970 6,291 1,679 7,199 5,680 1,519
December 407 7,877 6,153 1,724 7,470 5,934 1,536
1996 March 460 7,943 6,190 1,753 7,483 5,957 1,526
June 642 8,080 6,302 1,778 7,438 5,894 1,544
September 632 8,189 6,326 1,863 7,557 5,998 1,559
December 861 8,278 6,409 1,869 7,417 5,889 1,528
1997 March 799 8,292 6,448 1,844 7,493 5,900 1,593
June 594 8,098 6,342 1,756 7,504 5,925 1,579
September 854 8,593 6,680 1,913 7,739 5,981 1,758
December 702 8,731 6,727 2,004 8,029 6,068 1,961
1998 March 747 8,788 6,633 2,155 8,041 6,107 1,934
June 666 8,722 6,569 2,153 8,056 6,218 1,838
September 659 8,539 6,574 1,965 7,880 6,161 1,719
December 759 8,576 6,778 1,798 7,817 6,060 1,757
1999 March 380 8,744 6,733 2,011 8,364 6,466 1,898
June 569 8,800 6,788 2,012 8,231 6,419 1,812
September 548 8,817 6,871 1,946 8,269 6,397 1,872
December 1,105 9,144 7,112 2,032 8,039 6,264 1,775
2000 March 818 8,906 6,988 1,918 8,088 6,361 1,727
June 541 8,764 6,975 1,789 8,223 6,509 1,714
September 146 8,724 6,834 1,890 8,578 6,719 1,859
December 336 8,690 6,862 1,828 8,354 6,582 1,772
2001 March -101 8,555 6,768 1,787 8,656 6,756 1,900
June -771 8,254 6,439 1,815 9,025 7,149 1,876
September -1,380 7,749 5,990 1,759 9,129 7,174 1,955
December -871 7,893 6,055 1,838 8,764 6,995 1,769
2002 March -1 8,128 6,324 1,804 8,129 6,400 1,729
June -80 8,050 6,246 1,804 8,130 6,411 1,719
September -211 7,763 6,083 1,680 7,974 6,345 1,629
December -175 7,702 6,059 1,643 7,877 6,267 1,610
2003 March -404 7,472 5,932 1,540 7,876 6,321 1,555
June -142 7,560 6,033 1,527 7,702 6,138 1,564
September 72 7,396 5,897 1,499 7,324 5,893 1,431
December 344 7,646 6,063 1,583 7,302 5,816 1,486
2004 March 435 7,745 6,231 1,514 7,310 5,871 1,439
1 Net change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses, as a percent of employment(1), seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
Gross job gains Gross job losses
Year 3 months ended Net change (2) Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing
establishments establishments establishments establishments
1992 September 0.5 8.3 6.3 2.0 7.8 6.0 1.8
December 0.2 7.9 6.1 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6
1993 March 0.3 8.1 6.0 2.1 7.8 6.0 1.8
June 0.8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.7 1.6
September 0.9 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.3 5.8 1.5
December 0.6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5
1994 March 0.5 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.5 5.9 1.6
June 1.1 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.3 5.7 1.6
September 1.2 8.4 6.6 1.8 7.2 5.8 1.4
December 0.6 8.0 6.3 1.7 7.4 5.9 1.5
1995 March 0.8 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.3 5.9 1.4
June 0.5 8.0 6.2 1.8 7.5 6.0 1.5
September 0.8 8.2 6.5 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6
December 0.4 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6
1996 March 0.4 8.1 6.3 1.8 7.7 6.1 1.6
June 0.6 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.6 6.0 1.6
September 0.7 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.6 6.0 1.6
December 0.9 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.4 5.9 1.5
1997 March 0.7 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.5 5.9 1.6
June 0.5 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.4 5.8 1.6
September 0.8 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.6 5.9 1.7
December 0.6 8.4 6.5 1.9 7.8 5.9 1.9
1998 March 0.7 8.5 6.4 2.1 7.8 5.9 1.9
June 0.6 8.4 6.3 2.1 7.8 6.0 1.8
September 0.7 8.2 6.3 1.9 7.5 5.9 1.6
December 0.7 8.1 6.4 1.7 7.4 5.7 1.7
1999 March 0.3 8.2 6.3 1.9 7.9 6.1 1.8
June 0.6 8.3 6.4 1.9 7.7 6.0 1.7
September 0.5 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.7 6.0 1.7
December 1.1 8.5 6.6 1.9 7.4 5.8 1.6
2000 March 0.8 8.2 6.4 1.8 7.4 5.8 1.6
June 0.4 7.9 6.3 1.6 7.5 5.9 1.6
September 0.1 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.8 6.1 1.7
December 0.3 7.9 6.2 1.7 7.6 6.0 1.6
2001 March -0.1 7.7 6.1 1.6 7.8 6.1 1.7
June -0.8 7.4 5.8 1.6 8.2 6.5 1.7
September -1.3 7.1 5.5 1.6 8.4 6.6 1.8
December -0.8 7.3 5.6 1.7 8.1 6.5 1.6
2002 March 0.1 7.6 5.9 1.7 7.5 5.9 1.6
June -0.1 7.5 5.8 1.7 7.6 6.0 1.6
September -0.1 7.3 5.7 1.6 7.4 5.9 1.5
December -0.2 7.1 5.6 1.5 7.3 5.8 1.5
2003 March -0.5 6.9 5.5 1.4 7.4 5.9 1.5
June -0.2 7.0 5.6 1.4 7.2 5.7 1.5
September 0.1 6.9 5.5 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3
December 0.4 7.2 5.7 1.5 6.8 5.4 1.4
2004 March 0.4 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.8 5.5 1.3
1 The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage of the average of the previous
and current employment.
2 See footnote 1, table 1.
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains and job losses (in thousands) Gross job gains and losses as a percent of employment
Category 3 months ended 3 months ended
Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Mar.
2003 2003 2003 2003 2004 2003 2003 2003 2003 2004
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,472 7,560 7,396 7,646 7,745 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.2 7.2
At expanding establishments 5,932 6,033 5,897 6,063 6,231 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.7 5.8
At opening establishments 1,540 1,527 1,499 1,583 1,514 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4
Gross job losses 7,876 7,702 7,324 7,302 7,310 7.4 7.2 6.8 6.8 6.8
At contracting establishments 6,321 6,138 5,893 5,816 5,871 5.9 5.7 5.5 5.4 5.5
At closing establishments 1,555 1,564 1,431 1,486 1,439 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.3
Net employment change -404 -142 72 344 435 -0.5 -0.2 0.1 0.4 0.4
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,692 1,657 1,605 1,665 1,764 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.3 7.7
At expanding establishments 1,395 1,378 1,343 1,391 1,487 6.0 6.0 5.9 6.1 6.5
At opening establishments 297 279 262 274 277 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Gross job losses 1,932 1,897 1,755 1,697 1,670 8.3 8.3 7.7 7.4 7.3
At contracting establishments 1,579 1,558 1,443 1,391 1,372 6.8 6.8 6.3 6.1 6.0
At closing establishments 353 339 312 306 298 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.3
Net employment change -240 -240 -150 -32 94 -1.0 -1.1 -0.6 -0.1 0.4
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 310 299 272 286 314 18.5 17.9 16.4 17.3 18.5
At expanding establishments 256 249 225 233 266 15.3 14.9 13.6 14.1 15.7
At opening establishments 54 50 47 53 48 3.2 3.0 2.8 3.2 2.8
Gross job losses 309 294 292 285 282 18.4 17.6 17.7 17.2 16.6
At contracting establishments 247 240 243 239 234 14.7 14.4 14.7 14.4 13.8
At closing establishments 62 54 49 46 48 3.7 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.8
Net employment change 1 5 -20 1 32 0.1 0.3 -1.3 0.1 1.9
Construction
Gross job gains 782 811 784 793 837 11.7 12.2 11.7 11.8 12.3
At expanding establishments 619 654 636 641 669 9.3 9.8 9.5 9.5 9.8
At opening establishments 163 157 148 152 168 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.3 2.5
Gross job losses 829 822 762 761 759 12.4 12.3 11.4 11.3 11.1
At contracting establishments 660 653 601 599 602 9.9 9.8 9.0 8.9 8.8
At closing establishments 169 169 161 162 157 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.3
Net employment change -47 -11 22 32 78 -0.7 -0.1 0.3 0.5 1.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 600 547 549 586 613 4.0 3.8 3.8 4.1 4.3
At expanding establishments 520 475 482 517 552 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.6 3.9
At opening establishments 80 72 67 69 61 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4
Gross job losses 794 781 701 651 629 5.3 5.4 4.9 4.6 4.5
At contracting establishments 672 665 599 553 536 4.5 4.6 4.2 3.9 3.8
At closing establishments 122 116 102 98 93 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7
Net employment change -194 -234 -152 -65 -16 -1.3 -1.6 -1.1 -0.5 -0.2
Service-providing1
Gross job gains 5,780 5,903 5,791 5,981 5,981 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.1 7.1
At expanding establishments 4,537 4,655 4,554 4,672 4,744 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.6
At opening establishments 1,243 1,248 1,237 1,309 1,237 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.5
Gross job losses 5,944 5,805 5,569 5,605 5,640 7.0 7.0 6.6 6.6 6.6
At contracting establishments 4,742 4,580 4,450 4,425 4,499 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.3
At closing establishments 1,202 1,225 1,119 1,180 1,141 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.3
Net employment change -164 98 222 376 341 -0.1 0.0 0.3 0.5 0.5
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 320 314 308 317 319 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.7
At expanding establishments 251 252 249 257 258 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.6
At opening establishments 69 62 59 60 61 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1
Gross job losses 348 334 323 320 314 6.2 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.6
At contracting establishments 269 256 250 245 243 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.3
At closing establishments 79 78 73 75 71 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3
Net employment change -28 -20 -15 -3 5 -0.5 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.1
Retail trade
Gross job gains 962 1,039 1,019 1,061 1,059 6.4 6.9 6.7 7.1 7.0
At expanding establishments 799 872 848 886 890 5.3 5.8 5.6 5.9 5.9
At opening establishments 163 167 171 175 169 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.1
Gross job losses 1,060 996 989 1,016 1,011 7.0 6.7 6.6 6.8 6.7
At contracting establishments 903 834 839 857 857 6.0 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.7
At closing establishments 157 162 150 159 154 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0
Net employment change -98 43 30 45 48 -0.6 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 227 230 235 227 244 5.6 5.8 6.0 5.7 6.1
At expanding establishments 189 186 193 191 205 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.8 5.1
At opening establishments 38 44 42 36 39 0.9 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.0
Gross job losses 237 283 239 237 228 5.9 7.1 6.1 6.0 5.7
At contracting establishments 189 234 193 188 183 4.7 5.9 4.9 4.8 4.6
At closing establishments 48 49 46 49 45 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1
Net employment change -10 -53 -4 -10 16 -0.3 -1.3 -0.1 -0.3 0.4
Utilities
Gross job gains 15 14 16 14 15 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.4 2.7
At expanding establishments 13 12 14 12 13 2.2 2.1 2.4 2.1 2.3
At opening establishments 2 2 2 2 2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4
Gross job losses 15 19 19 16 16 2.5 3.2 3.3 2.7 2.9
At contracting establishments 13 17 15 14 14 2.2 2.9 2.6 2.4 2.5
At closing establishments 2 2 4 2 2 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.4
Net employment change 0 -5 -3 -2 -1 0.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.3 -0.2
Information
Gross job gains 166 153 149 172 156 5.1 4.8 4.7 5.5 5.0
At expanding establishments 133 125 120 131 132 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.2 4.2
At opening establishments 33 28 29 41 24 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.3 0.8
Gross job losses 201 194 185 166 169 6.2 6.1 5.8 5.2 5.4
At contracting establishments 157 156 150 121 138 4.8 4.9 4.7 3.8 4.4
At closing establishments 44 38 35 45 31 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.4 1.0
Net employment change -35 -41 -36 6 -13 -1.1 -1.3 -1.1 0.3 -0.4
Financial activities
Gross job gains 442 455 444 436 442 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.7
At expanding establishments 340 361 344 333 343 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.2 4.4
At opening establishments 102 94 100 103 99 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3
Gross job losses 428 418 417 462 433 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.9 5.5
At contracting establishments 323 320 321 354 325 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.5 4.1
At closing establishments 105 98 96 108 108 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.4 1.4
Net employment change 14 37 27 -26 9 0.3 0.4 0.4 -0.4 0.2
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,406 1,367 1,356 1,438 1,411 8.8 8.6 8.5 9.0 8.8
At expanding establishments 1,129 1,084 1,085 1,136 1,156 7.1 6.8 6.8 7.1 7.2
At opening establishments 277 283 271 302 255 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.9 1.6
Gross job losses 1,469 1,416 1,287 1,302 1,378 9.2 8.9 8.1 8.2 8.5
At contracting establishments 1,148 1,067 996 1,000 1,080 7.2 6.7 6.3 6.3 6.7
At closing establishments 321 349 291 302 298 2.0 2.2 1.8 1.9 1.8
Net employment change -63 -49 69 136 33 -0.4 -0.3 0.4 0.8 0.3
Education and health services
Gross job gains 760 745 731 744 751 4.8 4.8 4.6 4.7 4.7
At expanding establishments 630 624 607 616 633 4.0 4.0 3.8 3.9 4.0
At opening establishments 130 121 124 128 118 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7
Gross job losses 680 698 670 659 672 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.3
At contracting establishments 553 565 548 529 551 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.3 3.5
At closing establishments 127 133 122 130 121 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
Net employment change 80 47 61 85 79 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.4
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,083 1,166 1,125 1,161 1,138 8.9 9.6 9.3 9.5 9.2
At expanding establishments 807 885 849 866 854 6.6 7.3 7.0 7.1 6.9
At opening establishments 276 281 276 295 284 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3
Gross job losses 1,161 1,105 1,095 1,097 1,091 9.6 9.1 9.0 8.9 8.8
At contracting establishments 934 881 879 875 870 7.7 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.0
At closing establishments 227 224 216 222 221 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8
Net employment change -78 61 30 64 47 -0.7 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.4
Other services
Gross job gains 296 303 286 288 307 7.8 8.0 7.6 7.6 8.1
At expanding establishments 229 239 227 227 242 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.4
At opening establishments 67 64 59 61 65 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7
Gross job losses 305 305 309 293 291 8.0 8.0 8.2 7.8 7.6
At contracting establishments 239 236 246 229 225 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.1 5.9
At closing establishments 66 69 63 64 66 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.7
Net employment change -9 -2 -23 -5 16 -0.2 0.0 -0.6 -0.2 0.5
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.