Full text of Fourth Quarter 2004 : Text File, USDL 05-1562
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Technical Information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 05-1562
http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
For release: 10:00 AM EDT
Media Contact: 691-5902 Thursday, August 18, 2005
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FOURTH QUARTER 2004
From September to December 2004, the number of job gains from opening
and expanding private sector establishments was 8.1 million, and the number
of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was 7.2 million,
according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor. Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all
sectors, except manufacturing, utilities, and other services.
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 differ-
ence 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 8.1
million jobs in the fourth quarter of 2004, an increase of 292,000 jobs
from the previous quarter. This was the largest gross job gain since the
first quarter of 2002. Over the quarter, expanding establishments added
6.4 million jobs and opening establishments added 1.7 million jobs from
the third to the fourth quarter.
Gross job losses totaled 7.2 million, a smaller loss than the 7.6 million
in the third quarter of 2004. In the fourth quarter of 2004, contracting es-
tablishments lost 5.7 million jobs and closing establishments lost 1.5 million
jobs. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)
From September to December 2004, gross job gains represented 7.4 percent
of private sector employment, which was the highest percent since the second
quarter of 2002. Gross job losses were at 6.7 percent of private sector em-
ployment, a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from the previous quarter. (See
tables A and 2.) These gross job gain and loss statistics demonstrate that
sizable numbers of jobs appear and disappear in the relatively short time
frame of one quarter.
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Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses,
seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|--------------------------------------
Category | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec.
| 2003 | 2004 | 2004 | 2004 | 2004
|--------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
----------------------------------|--------------------------------------
| | | | |
Gross job gains...................| 7,646 | 7,745 | 7,857 | 7,789 | 8,081
At expanding establishments.....| 6,063 | 6,231 | 6,292 | 6,123 | 6,365
At opening establishments.......| 1,583 | 1,514 | 1,565 | 1,666 | 1,716
Gross job losses..................| 7,302 | 7,310 | 7,263 | 7,598 | 7,212
At contracting establishments...| 5,816 | 5,871 | 5,726 | 5,953 | 5,727
At closing establishments.......| 1,486 | 1,439 | 1,537 | 1,645 | 1,485
|--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........| 344 | 435 | 594 | 191 | 869
|--------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|--------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.4
At expanding establishments.....| 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.8
At opening establishments.......| 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6
Gross job losses..................| 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 6.7
At contracting establishments...| 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.3
At closing establishments.......| 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.4
|--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........| 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 The net employment change is the difference between total gross job
gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical Note for further
information.
Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
Goods-producing. The fourth quarter of 2004 saw gross job losses in the
goods-producing sector fall to a total of 1,637,000. This is a return to
the downward trend in job losses in this sector following an increase in
the previous quarter. Expanding and opening establishments gained 1,734,000
jobs, which led to a net gain of 97,000 jobs over the quarter among goods-
producing industries. (See tables B and 3.)
Manufacturing. Gross job gains in the manufacturing sector totaled
590,000 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2004, down by 7,000 from the previous
quarter. This decline, together with a small increase in gross job losses
to 615,000, led to a net decrease of 25,000 factory jobs. This represents
18 quarters of net employment loss in manufacturing over the last 5 years.
Construction. In construction, gross job gains rose to 848,000 during
the quarter, while gross job losses fell to 747,000, resulting in a net
gain of 101,000 jobs. This is the largest net job gain in this sector
since March 2001, and the sixth consecutive quarter of net job gains.
- 3 -
Table B. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses by industry,
seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Gross job gains | Gross job losses
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------
Industry | 3 months ended | 3 months ended
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------
|Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec.
|2003 |2004 |2004 |2004 |2004 |2003 |2004 |2004 |2004 |2004
-------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
Total | | | | | | | | | |
private(1).......|7,646|7,745|7,857|7,789|8,081|7,302|7,310|7,263|7,598|7,212
Goods-producing....|1,665|1,764|1,696|1,667|1,734|1,697|1,670|1,647|1,691|1,637
Natural resources| | | | | | | | | |
and mining.....| 286| 314| 283| 271| 296| 285| 282| 282| 290| 275
Construction.....| 793| 837| 809| 799| 848| 761| 759| 779| 789| 747
Manufacturing....| 586| 613| 604| 597| 590| 651| 629| 586| 612| 615
Service- | | | | | | | | | |
providing(1).....|5,981|5,981|6,161|6,122|6,347|5,605|5,640|5,616|5,907|5,575
Wholesale | | | | | | | | | |
trade..........| 317| 319| 325| 329| 329| 320| 314| 302| 327| 294
Retail trade.....|1,061|1,059|1,058|1,044|1,090|1,016|1,011| 974|1,126| 992
Transportation | | | | | | | | | |
and ware- | | | | | | | | | |
housing........| 227| 244| 241| 244| 255| 237| 228| 236| 235| 217
Utilities........| 14| 15| 13| 14| 11| 16| 16| 14| 16| 15
Information......| 172| 156| 151| 163| 188| 166| 169| 182| 194| 169
Financial | | | | | | | | | |
activities.....| 436| 442| 461| 469| 497| 462| 433| 457| 452| 451
Professional | | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | | |
services.......|1,438|1,411|1,509|1,416|1,512|1,302|1,378|1,321|1,366|1,300
Education and | | | | | | | | | |
health | | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 744| 751| 753| 757| 802| 659| 672| 696| 704| 647
Leisure and | | | | | | | | | |
hospitality....|1,161|1,138|1,164|1,169|1,204|1,097|1,091|1,090|1,135|1,134
Other services...| 288| 307| 301| 297| 299| 293| 291| 304| 308| 310
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Service-providing. The combined service-providing sector experienced
gross job gains of 6.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2004. Although
gross job gains increased only slightly, a decrease in the number of gross
job losses led to a considerably larger net employment change (+772,000)
than was registered in the third quarter in this sector (+215,000).
Retail trade. Gross job gains in retail trade increased by 46,000 to
1,090,000 in the fourth quarter of 2004. A larger decrease in gross job
losses (134,000) led to a net employment gain of 98,000.
Information. The information sector gained 188,000 and lost 169,000
jobs in the fourth quarter of 2004, for a net gain of 19,000 jobs. This
sector has recorded a net quarterly job gain only twice in the last 4
years.
Professional and business services. Establishments in the professional
and businesses services sector reported gross job gains of 1,512,000 in the
fourth quarter of 2004, up from 1,416,000 in the previous quarter. Gross
job losses in this industry decreased from 1,366,000 in the third quarter
to 1,300,000 this quarter. The resulting net gain of 212,000 jobs repre-
sents the sixth consecutive quarter of positive employment growth in this
industry.
- 4 -
Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of
employment change, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
Category |---------------------------------------
| Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec.
| 2003 | 2004 | 2004 | 2004 | 2004
----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
| | | | |
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,815 | 1,854 | 1,847 | 1,840 | 1,909
Expanding establishments........| 1,467 | 1,505 | 1,504 | 1,486 | 1,530
Opening establishments..........| 348 | 349 | 343 | 354 | 379
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Establishments losing jobs .......| 1,775 | 1,794 | 1,792 | 1,814 | 1,787
Contracting establishments......| 1,453 | 1,466 | 1,462 | 1,469 | 1,467
Closing establishments..........| 322 | 328 | 330 | 345 | 320
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Net establishment change(1).......| 26 | 21 | 13 | 9 | 59
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Number of Establishments Gaining and Losing Employment
Another way to look at the dynamics of business activities is to monitor
the number and proportion of business units that are growing and declining.
In the fourth quarter of 2004, the number of opening establishments exceeded
the number of closing establishments, leading to a net addition of 59,000
units to the total number of active establishments. In addition, the number
of establishments gaining jobs continued to surpass the number of establish-
ments losing jobs. Out of 6.6 million active private sector establishments,
a total of 1.9 million establishments gained jobs from September to December
2004. (See table C.) Of these, 1.5 million were expanding establishments
and 379,000 were opening establishments. During the fourth quarter, 1.8
million establishments lost jobs and of these 1.5 million establishments
contracted and 320,000 establishments closed.
More Information
For the not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time
series not presented in this release, as well as charts of gross job gains
and gross job losses by industry, please refer to the Business Employment
Dynamics Web page on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/bdm. Additional
information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found in the
Technical Note of this release or may be obtained by e-mailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Comparing Business Employment Dynamics Data with Current Employment |
| Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Data |
| |
| The net change in employment from Business Employment Dynamics |
| (BED) data series will not match the net change in employment from |
| the monthly Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey. The CES |
| estimates are based on monthly surveys from a sample of establish- |
| ments, while gross job gains and gross job losses are based on a |
| quarterly census of administrative records. In addition, the CES |
| has a different coverage, excluding the agriculture sector but in- |
| cluding establishments not covered by the unemployment insurance |
| program. The net over-the-quarter changes derived by aggregating |
| component series in the BED data may be different from the net em- |
| ployment change estimated from the CES seasonally adjusted total |
| employment series. The intended use of the BED statistics is to |
| show the dynamic labor market flows that underlie the net changes |
| in aggregate employment levels; data users who want to track net |
| changes in aggregate employment levels over time should refer to |
| CES data. |
| BED data have a more limited scope than the Quarterly Census of |
| Employment and Wages (QCEW) data. The data in this release, in |
| contrast to the QCEW data, exclude government employees, private |
| households (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 8.5 | ministrative records|
| million employers | submitted by 6.6 |
| | 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 third 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 third quarter of
2004:
Number of active establishments included in
Business Employment Dynamics data
Millions
Total establishments QCEW program....................................8.4
Excluded: Public sector.........................................0.3
Private households....................................0.5
Zero employment.......................................1.0
Establishments in Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands..............................0.1
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data...........................................6.5
Concepts and methodology
The Business Employment Dynamics data measure the net change in employment
at the establishment level. These changes come about in one of four ways. A
net increase in employment can come from either opening establishments or ex-
panding establishments. A net decrease in employment can come from either
closing establishments or contracting establishments. Gross job gains include
the sum of all jobs added at either opening or expanding establishments. Gross
job losses include the sum of all jobs lost in either closing or contracting
establishments. The net change in employment is the difference between gross
job gains and gross job losses.
- 8 -
The formal definitions of establishment-level employment changes are as
follows:
Openings. These are either establishments with positive third-month em-
ployment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the
prior quarter, or with positive third-month employment in the current quarter,
following zero employment in the previous quarter.
Expansions. These are establishments with positive employment in the third
month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employ-
ment over this period.
Closings. These are establishments with positive third-month employment
in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in
the current quarter.
Contractions. These are establishments with positive employment in the
third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in
employment over this period.
All establishment-level employment changes are measured from the third
month of each quarter. Not all establishments change their employment levels;
these establishments count towards estimates of total employment, but not for
levels of gross job gains and gross job losses.
Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing
their levels by the average of employment in the current and previous quarters.
This provides a symmetric growth rate. The rates are calculated for the com-
ponents of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to form their
respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels
can. For instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the
gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.
The linkage process matches establishments' unique SWA identification
numbers (SWA-ID). Between 95 to 97 percent of establishments identified as
continuous from quarter to quarter are matched by SWA-ID. The rest are
linked in one of three ways. The first method uses predecessor and successor
information, identified by the states, which relates records with different
SWA-IDs across quarters. Predecessor and successor relations can come about
for a variety of reasons, including a change in ownership, a firm restructur-
ing, or a UI account restructuring. If a match cannot be attained in this
manner, a probability-based match is used. This match attempts to identify
two establishments with different SWA-IDs as continuous. The match is based
upon comparisons such as the same name, address, and phone number. Third, an
analyst examines unmatched records individually and makes a possible match.
In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SWAs verify with
employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and ownership
classification of all establishments on a 3-year cycle. Changes in establish-
ment classification codes resulting from the verification process are intro-
duced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes re-
sulting from improved employer reporting also are introduced in the first
quarter.
- 9 -
Seasonal adjustment
Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and the associated
job flows undergo sharp fluctuations due to such seasonal events as changes
in the weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, major holidays,
and the opening and closing of schools. The effect of such seasonal
variation can be very large.
Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each
year, their influence can be eliminated by adjusting these statistics from
quarter to quarter. These adjustments make nonseasonal developments, such as
declines in economic activity, easier to recognize. For example, the large
number of youths taking summer jobs is likely to obscure other changes that
have taken place in June relative to March, making it difficult to determine
if the level of economic activity has risen or declined. However, because
the effect of students finishing school in previous years is known, the
statistics for the current year can be adjusted to allow for a comparable
change. The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze
changes in economic activity.
The employment data series for opening, expanding, closing, and contract-
ing establishments are independently seasonally adjusted; net changes are
calculated based on the difference between gross job gains and gross job
losses. Similarly, the establishment counts data series for opening, expanding,
closing, and contracting establishments are independently adjusted, and the
net changes are calculated based on the difference between the number of open-
ing and closing establishments. Additionally, establishment and employment
levels are independently seasonally adjusted to calculate the seasonally ad-
justed rates. Concurrent seasonal adjustment is run using X-12 ARIMA. Sea-
sonally adjusted data series for the total private sector are calculated by
summing the seasonally adjusted data for all sectors, including the unclassi-
fied sector, which is not published separately.
The net over-the-quarter change derived by summing the BED component series
will differ from the net employment change estimated from the seasonally ad-
justed total private employment series from the CES program. The intended use
of BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor market changes that underlie
the net employment change statistic. As such, data users interested particu-
larly in the net employment change and not in the gross job flows underlying
this change should refer to CES data for over-the-quarter net employment
changes.
Reliability of the data
Since the data series on Business Employment Dynamics are based on admini-
strative rather than sample data, there are no issues related to sampling
error. Nonsampling error, however, still exists. Nonsampling errors can oc-
cur for many reasons, such as the employer submitting corrected employment
data after the end of the quarter or typographical errors made by businesses
when providing information. Such errors, however, are likely to be distri-
buted randomly throughout the dataset.
Changes in administrative data sometimes create complications for the
linkage process. This can result in overstating openings and closings while
understating expansions and contractions. The BLS continues to refine methods
for improving the linkage process to alleviate the effects of these compli-
cations.
The BED data series are subject to periodic minor changes based on correc-
tions in QCEW records, updates on predecessors and successors information, and
seasonal adjustment revisions.
- 10 -
Additional statistics and other information
Several other programs within BLS produce closely related information.
The QCEW program, also known as the ES-202 program, provides both quarterly
and annual estimates of employment by state, county, and detailed industry.
News releases on quarterly county employment and wages are available upon
request from the Division of Administrative Statistics and Labor Turnover,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20212;
telephone 202-691-6567; (http://www.bls.gov/cew/); (e-mail: QCEWInfo@bls.gov).
The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, its net change,
and earnings by detailed industry. These estimates are part of the Employ-
ment Situation report put out monthly by BLS.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program provides month-
ly measures of job openings, as well as employee hires and separations.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired in-
dividuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
number: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
Gross job gains Gross job losses
Year 3 months Net change (1) Total Expanding Opening Total Contracting Closing
ended establishments establishments establishments establishments
1992 September 455 7,377 5,632 1,745 6,922 5,351 1,571
December 216 7,101 5,465 1,636 6,885 5,487 1,398
1993 March 313 7,309 5,410 1,899 6,996 5,354 1,642
June 786 7,330 5,794 1,536 6,544 5,136 1,408
September 874 7,523 5,881 1,642 6,649 5,316 1,333
December 641 7,436 5,840 1,596 6,795 5,420 1,375
1994 March 517 7,400 5,807 1,593 6,883 5,435 1,448
June 1,021 7,807 6,060 1,747 6,786 5,295 1,491
September 1,175 7,972 6,227 1,745 6,797 5,493 1,304
December 507 7,630 5,998 1,632 7,123 5,647 1,476
1995 March 746 7,782 6,129 1,653 7,036 5,660 1,376
June 402 7,714 6,017 1,697 7,312 5,839 1,473
September 771 7,970 6,291 1,679 7,199 5,680 1,519
December 407 7,877 6,153 1,724 7,470 5,934 1,536
1996 March 460 7,943 6,190 1,753 7,483 5,957 1,526
June 642 8,080 6,302 1,778 7,438 5,894 1,544
September 632 8,189 6,326 1,863 7,557 5,998 1,559
December 861 8,278 6,409 1,869 7,417 5,889 1,528
1997 March 799 8,292 6,448 1,844 7,493 5,900 1,593
June 594 8,098 6,342 1,756 7,504 5,925 1,579
September 854 8,593 6,680 1,913 7,739 5,981 1,758
December 702 8,731 6,727 2,004 8,029 6,068 1,961
1998 March 747 8,788 6,633 2,155 8,041 6,107 1,934
June 666 8,722 6,569 2,153 8,056 6,218 1,838
September 659 8,539 6,574 1,965 7,880 6,161 1,719
December 759 8,576 6,778 1,798 7,817 6,060 1,757
1999 March 380 8,744 6,733 2,011 8,364 6,466 1,898
June 569 8,800 6,788 2,012 8,231 6,419 1,812
September 548 8,817 6,871 1,946 8,269 6,397 1,872
December 1,105 9,144 7,112 2,032 8,039 6,264 1,775
2000 March 818 8,906 6,988 1,918 8,088 6,361 1,727
June 541 8,764 6,975 1,789 8,223 6,509 1,714
September 146 8,724 6,834 1,890 8,578 6,719 1,859
December 336 8,690 6,862 1,828 8,354 6,582 1,772
2001 March -101 8,555 6,768 1,787 8,656 6,756 1,900
June -771 8,254 6,439 1,815 9,025 7,149 1,876
September -1,380 7,749 5,990 1,759 9,129 7,174 1,955
December -871 7,893 6,055 1,838 8,764 6,995 1,769
2002 March -1 8,128 6,324 1,804 8,129 6,400 1,729
June -80 8,050 6,246 1,804 8,130 6,411 1,719
September -211 7,763 6,083 1,680 7,974 6,345 1,629
December -175 7,702 6,059 1,643 7,877 6,267 1,610
2003 March -404 7,472 5,932 1,540 7,876 6,321 1,555
June -142 7,560 6,033 1,527 7,702 6,138 1,564
September 72 7,396 5,897 1,499 7,324 5,893 1,431
December 344 7,646 6,063 1,583 7,302 5,816 1,486
2004 March 435 7,745 6,231 1,514 7,310 5,871 1,439
June 594 7,857 6,292 1,565 7,263 5,726 1,537
September 191 7,789 6,123 1,666 7,598 5,953 1,645
December 869 8,081 6,365 1,716 7,212 5,727 1,485
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
June 0.5 7.2 5.8 1.4 6.7 5.3 1.4
September 0.2 7.2 5.7 1.5 7.0 5.5 1.5
December 0.7 7.4 5.8 1.6 6.7 5.3 1.4
1 The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage of the average
of the previous and current employment.
2 See footnote 1, table 1.
Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, seasonally adjusted
Gross job gains and job losses Gross job gains and losses
(in thousands) as a percent of employment
Category 3 months ended 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,646 7,745 7,857 7,789 8,081 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.4
At expanding establishments 6,063 6,231 6,292 6,123 6,365 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.8
At opening establishments 1,583 1,514 1,565 1,666 1,716 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.6
Gross job losses 7,302 7,310 7,263 7,598 7,212 6.8 6.8 6.7 7.0 6.7
At contracting establishments 5,816 5,871 5,726 5,953 5,727 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.5 5.3
At closing establishments 1,486 1,439 1,537 1,645 1,485 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4
Net employment change 344 435 594 191 869 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.7
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,665 1,764 1,696 1,667 1,734 7.3 7.7 7.4 7.3 7.6
At expanding establishments 1,391 1,487 1,444 1,403 1,440 6.1 6.5 6.3 6.1 6.3
At opening establishments 274 277 252 264 294 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.3
Gross job losses 1,697 1,670 1,647 1,691 1,637 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.4 7.1
At contracting establishments 1,391 1,372 1,334 1,366 1,340 6.1 6.0 5.8 6.0 5.8
At closing establishments 306 298 313 325 297 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.3
Net employment change -32 94 49 -24 97 -0.1 0.4 0.2 -0.1 0.5
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 286 314 283 271 296 17.3 18.5 16.8 16.3 17.6
At expanding establishments 233 266 243 230 244 14.1 15.7 14.4 13.8 14.5
At opening establishments 53 48 40 41 52 3.2 2.8 2.4 2.5 3.1
Gross job losses 285 282 282 290 275 17.2 16.6 16.7 17.4 16.4
At contracting establishments 239 234 235 243 233 14.4 13.8 13.9 14.6 13.9
At closing establishments 46 48 47 47 42 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.5
Net employment change 1 32 1 -19 21 0.1 1.9 0.1 -1.1 1.2
Construction
Gross job gains 793 837 809 799 848 11.8 12.3 11.7 11.6 12.2
At expanding establishments 641 669 655 643 676 9.5 9.8 9.5 9.3 9.7
At opening establishments 152 168 154 156 172 2.3 2.5 2.2 2.3 2.5
Gross job losses 761 759 779 789 747 11.3 11.1 11.3 11.4 10.7
At contracting establishments 599 602 609 616 592 8.9 8.8 8.8 8.9 8.5
At closing establishments 162 157 170 173 155 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.2
Net employment change 32 78 30 10 101 0.5 1.2 0.4 0.2 1.5
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 586 613 604 597 590 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.1
At expanding establishments 517 552 546 530 520 3.6 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6
At opening establishments 69 61 58 67 70 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5
Gross job losses 651 629 586 612 615 4.6 4.5 4.1 4.2 4.3
At contracting establishments 553 536 490 507 515 3.9 3.8 3.4 3.5 3.6
At closing establishments 98 93 96 105 100 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
Net employment change -65 -16 18 -15 -25 0.5 -0.2 0.1 0.0 -0.2
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 5,981 5,981 6,161 6,122 6,347 7.1 7.1 7.2 7.1 7.4
At expanding establishments 4,672 4,744 4,848 4,720 4,925 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.7
At opening establishments 1,309 1,237 1,313 1,402 1,422 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.7
Gross job losses 5,605 5,640 5,616 5,907 5,575 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.9 6.5
At contracting establishments 4,425 4,499 4,392 4,587 4,387 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.1
At closing establishments 1,180 1,141 1,224 1,320 1,188 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4
Net employment change 376 341 545 215 772 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.2 0.9
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 317 319 325 329 329 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.7
At expanding establishments 257 258 266 267 264 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.6
At opening establishments 60 61 59 62 65 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.1
Gross job losses 320 314 302 327 294 5.7 5.6 5.3 5.8 5.2
At contracting establishments 245 243 226 243 226 4.4 4.3 4.0 4.3 4.0
At closing establishments 75 71 76 84 68 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.2
Net employment change -3 5 23 2 35 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.5
Retail trade
Gross job gains 1,061 1,059 1,058 1,044 1,090 7.1 7.0 6.9 6.9 7.2
At expanding establishments 886 890 885 845 899 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.9
At opening establishments 175 169 173 199 191 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.3
Gross job losses 1,016 1,011 974 1,126 992 6.8 6.7 6.4 7.5 6.5
At contracting establishments 857 857 820 920 834 5.7 5.7 5.4 6.1 5.5
At closing establishments 159 154 154 206 158 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.0
Net employment change 45 48 84 -82 98 0.3 0.3 0.5 -0.6 0.7
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 227 244 241 244 255 5.7 6.1 6.0 6.0 6.3
At expanding establishments 191 205 202 203 211 4.8 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.2
At opening establishments 36 39 39 41 44 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1
Gross job losses 237 228 236 235 217 6.0 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.3
At contracting establishments 188 183 192 190 171 4.8 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.2
At closing establishments 49 45 44 45 46 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1
Net employment change -10 16 5 9 38 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 1.0
Utilities
Gross job gains 14 15 13 14 11 2.4 2.7 2.3 2.5 2.0
At expanding establishments 12 13 11 13 10 2.1 2.3 1.9 2.3 1.8
At opening establishments 2 2 2 1 1 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2
Gross job losses 16 16 14 16 15 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.8 2.7
At contracting establishments 14 14 12 13 13 2.4 2.5 2.1 2.3 2.3
At closing establishments 2 2 2 3 2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4
Net employment change -2 -1 -1 -2 -4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.2 -0.3 -0.7
Information
Gross job gains 172 156 151 163 188 5.5 5.0 4.8 5.3 6.1
At expanding establishments 131 132 125 135 152 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.4 4.9
At opening establishments 41 24 26 28 36 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.2
Gross job losses 166 169 182 194 169 5.2 5.4 5.9 6.3 5.5
At contracting establishments 121 138 146 148 124 3.8 4.4 4.7 4.8 4.0
At closing establishments 45 31 36 46 45 1.4 1.0 1.2 1.5 1.5
Net employment change 6 -13 -31 -31 19 0.3 -0.4 -1.1 -1.0 0.6
Financial activities
Gross job gains 436 442 461 469 497 5.5 5.7 5.9 5.9 0.6
At expanding establishments 333 343 362 364 373 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.6 6.3
At opening establishments 103 99 99 105 124 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 4.7
Gross job losses 462 433 457 452 451 5.9 5.5 5.8 5.7 1.6
At contracting establishments 354 325 324 334 338 4.5 4.1 4.1 4.2 5.7
At closing establishments 108 108 133 118 113 1.4 1.4 1.7 1.5 4.3
Net employment change -26 9 4 17 46 -0.4 0.2 0.1 0.2 1.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,438 1,411 1,509 1,416 1,512 9.0 8.8 9.3 8.7 9.2
At expanding establishments 1,136 1,156 1,214 1,124 1,198 7.1 7.2 7.5 6.9 7.3
At opening establishments 302 255 295 292 314 1.9 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.9
Gross job losses 1,302 1,378 1,321 1,366 1,300 8.2 8.5 8.2 8.3 7.9
At contracting establishments 1,000 1,080 988 1,035 1,001 6.3 6.7 6.1 6.3 6.1
At closing establishments 302 298 333 331 299 1.9 1.8 2.1 2.0 1.8
Net employment change 136 33 188 50 212 0.8 0.3 1.1 0.4 1.3
Education and health services
Gross job gains 744 751 753 757 802 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 5.0
At expanding establishments 616 633 635 626 658 3.9 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.1
At opening establishments 128 118 118 131 144 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.9
Gross job losses 659 672 696 704 647 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.0
At contracting establishments 529 551 560 562 521 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.2
At closing establishments 130 121 136 142 126 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8
Net employment change 85 79 57 53 155 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 1.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,161 1,138 1,164 1,169 1,204 9.5 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5
At expanding establishments 866 854 889 883 900 7.1 6.9 7.1 7.1 7.1
At opening establishments 295 284 275 286 304 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.4
Gross job losses 1,097 1,091 1,090 1,135 1,134 8.9 8.8 8.7 9.1 9.0
At contracting establishments 875 870 873 888 900 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.1 7.1
At closing establishments 222 221 217 247 234 1.8 1.8 1.7 2.0 1.9
Net employment change 64 47 74 34 70 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.5
Other services
Gross job gains 288 307 301 297 299 7.6 8.1 7.9 7.8 7.9
At expanding establishments 227 242 236 235 235 6.0 6.4 6.2 6.2 6.2
At opening establishments 61 65 65 62 64 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.7
Gross job losses 293 291 304 308 310 7.8 7.6 8.0 8.2 8.2
At contracting establishments 229 225 235 237 241 6.1 5.9 6.2 6.3 6.4
At closing establishments 64 66 69 71 69 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.8
Net employment change -5 16 -3 -11 -11 -0.2 0.5 -0.1 -0.4 -0.3
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.