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Technical Information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 04-1458
http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media Contact: 691-5902 Tuesday, August 3, 2004
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FOURTH QUARTER 2003
From September to December 2003, the number of job gains from opening
and expanding establishments in the private sector was 7.6 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 fourth quarter
of 2003, job gains rose in most major industry sectors, while job losses
declined.
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 private sector 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
7.6 million jobs in the fourth quarter of 2003, or 250,000 more than in
the third quarter of 2003. Over the quarter, expanding establishments
added 6.1 million jobs, while opening establishments added 1.6 million.
Job losses totaled 7.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2003, down
by 22,000 from the third quarter of 2003. In the fourth quarter of 2003,
contracting establishments lost 5.8 million jobs, while closing establish-
ments accounted for a loss of 1.5 million jobs. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)
From September to December 2003, gross job gains represented 7.2 percent
of private sector employment, an increase of 0.3 percentage point over the
previous quarter, while gross job losses remained unchanged at 6.8 percent
of private sector employment. (See tables A and 2.) These statistics
demonstrate that a sizable number of jobs appear and disappear in the rel-
atively short time frame of one quarter.
- 2 -
Table A. 3-month private sector gross job gains and losses, seasonally
adjusted
(In thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|--------------------------------------
Category | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec.
| 2002 | 2003 | 2003 | 2003 | 2003
|--------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
----------------------------------|--------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 7,702 | 7,472 | 7,560 | 7,396| 7,646
At expanding establishments.....| 6,059 | 5,932 | 6,033 | 5,897| 6,063
At opening establishments.......| 1,643 | 1,540 | 1,527 | 1,499| 1,583
Gross job losses..................| 7,877 | 7,876 | 7,702 | 7,324| 7,302
At contracting establishments...| 6,267 | 6,321 | 6,138 | 5,893| 5,816
At closing establishments.......| 1,610 | 1,555 | 1,564 | 1,431| 1,486
|--------------------------------------
Net employment change 1/..........| -175 | -404 | -142 | 72| 344
|--------------------------------------
| As a percent of employment
|--------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 7.1 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 7.2
At expanding establishments.....| 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.7
At opening establishments.......| 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5
Gross job losses..................| 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.8
At contracting establishments...| 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.4
At closing establishments.......| 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.4
|--------------------------------------
Net employment change 1/..........| -0.2 | -0.5 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 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.
Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
During the fourth quarter of 2003, expanding and opening establishments
in the goods-producing sector gained 1,665,000 jobs, while contracting and
closing establishments lost 1,697,000 jobs, for a net loss of 32,000 jobs.
Quarterly job gains in manufacturing rose to 586,000, while job losses
dropped to 651,000 jobs, narrowing the net loss in that sector to 65,000
jobs. In construction, job gains increased to 793,000 and job losses
decreased to 761,000 for a net gain of 32,000.
Job gains in the service-providing sector totaled 6.0 million jobs,
exceeding job losses in that sector by 376,000 jobs. Job gains rose in
the fourth quarter in all service-providing sectors except in transpor-
tation and warehousing, in utilities, and in financial activities. The
information sector gained 172,000 jobs and lost 166,000 jobs for a net
increase of 6,000 jobs, the first net job gain since December 2000.
(See tables 3 and B.)
- 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
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------
|Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec.
|2002 |2003 |2003 |2003 |2003 |2002 |2003 |2003 |2003 |2003
-------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
Total | | | | | | | | | |
private 1/.......|7,702|7,472|7,560|7,396|7,646|7,877|7,876|7,702|7,324|7,302
Goods-producing....|1,652|1,692|1,657|1,605|1,665|1,889|1,932|1,897|1,755|1,697
Natural resources| | | | | | | | | |
and mining.....| 294| 310| 299| 272| 286| 297| 309| 294| 292| 285
Construction.....| 778| 782| 811| 784| 793| 800| 829| 822| 762| 761
Manufacturing....| 580| 600| 547| 549| 586| 792| 794| 781| 701| 651
Service- | | | | | | | | | |
providing 1/.....|6,050|5,780|5,903|5,791|5,981|5,988|5,944|5,805|5,569|5,605
Wholesale | | | | | | | | | |
trade..........| 321| 320| 314| 308| 317| 348| 348| 334| 323| 320
Retail trade.....|1,057| 962|1,039|1,019|1,061|1,109|1,060| 996| 989|1,016
Transportation | | | | | | | | | |
and ware- | | | | | | | | | |
housing........| 239| 227| 230| 235| 227| 270| 237| 283| 239| 237
Utilities........| 13| 15| 14| 16| 14| 23| 15| 19| 19| 16
Information......| 174| 166| 153| 149| 172| 208| 201| 194| 185| 166
Financial | | | | | | | | | |
activities.....| 488| 442| 455| 444| 436| 451| 428| 418| 417| 462
Professional | | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | | |
services.......|1,422|1,406|1,367|1,356|1,438|1,450|1,469|1,416|1,287|1,302
Education and | | | | | | | | | |
health | | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 776| 760| 745| 731| 744| 659| 680| 698| 670| 659
Leisure and | | | | | | | | | |
hospitality....|1,151|1,083|1,166|1,125|1,161|1,126|1,161|1,105|1,095|1,097
Other services...| 300| 296| 303| 286| 288| 308| 305| 305| 309| 293
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Number of Establishments Gaining and Losing Employment
In the fourth quarter of 2003, the number of opening establishments
exceeded the number of closing establishments, leading to a net addition
of 26,000 units to the number of total active private sector establishments.
In the third and fourth quarters of 2003, the number of establishments
gaining jobs surpassed the number of establishments losing jobs for the
first time since March 2001. During the fourth quarter of 2003, over 1.8
million establishments out of 6.4 million active private sector establish-
ments gained jobs. (See table C.) Of these, 1.5 million were expanding
establishments and 348,000 were opening establishments. During the fourth
quarter of 2003, nearly 1.8 million establishments lost jobs. Of these,
1.5 million were contracting establishments and 322,000 were closing estab-
lishments.
- 4 -
Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of employ-
ment change, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
Category |---------------------------------------
| Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept. | Dec.
| 2002 | 2003 | 2003 | 2003 | 2003
----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
| | | | |
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,801 | 1,750 | 1,788 | 1,791 | 1,815
Expanding establishments........| 1,452 | 1,418 | 1,457 | 1,463 | 1,467
Opening establishments..........| 349 | 332 | 331 | 328 | 348
|---------------------------------------
Establishments losing jobs .......| 1,813 | 1,847 | 1,801 | 1,772 | 1,775
Contracting establishments......| 1,484 | 1,513 | 1,473 | 1,454 | 1,453
Closing establishments..........| 329 | 334 | 328 | 318 | 322
|---------------------------------------
Net establishment change 1/.......| 20 | -2 | 3 | 10 | 26
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 seasonally unadjusted data and seasonally adjusted series not
presented in this release, please refer to the BLS Web site at
http://www.bls.gov. For more information, please see the Technical Note
of this release or the Business Employment Dynamics Web page at the BLS
Web site http://www.bls.gov/bdm. Additional information about the Business
Employment Dynamics data 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 estab-|
| lishments, 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 unemploy- |
| ment insurance program. BED data have a more limited scope than |
| the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data. The data in |
| this release exclude government employees, private households |
| (NAICS 814110), and establishments with zero employment. |
| |
| The net over-the-quarter changes derived by aggregating com- |
| ponent 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. |
| |
| 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 Bureau's
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 Bureau 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 Bureau 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 records | nally-linked UI ad- | 400,000 employers
| submitted by 8.2 | ministrative records|
| million employers | submitted by 6.4 |
| | 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
| | |--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 quarter- |--Provides quarterly |--Provides current month-
products | ly and annual uni- | employer dynamics | ly estimates of employ-
| verse counts 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 6.4 million private sector employer reports out
of 8.2 million total reports of employment and wages submitted by states to
BLS in the first quarter of 2003. 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 ES-202 program..................................8.2
Excluded: Public sector.........................................0.3
Private households....................................0.5
Zero employment.......................................1.0
Establishments in Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands..............................0.0*
Total establishments included in Business
Employment Dynamics data...........................................6.4
*Approximately 48,000 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
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
1 The rates measure gross job gains and gross job losses as a percentage of the average of 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
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2002 2003 2003 2003 2003 2002 2003 2003 2003 2003
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,702 7,472 7,560 7,396 7,646 7.1 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.2
At expanding establishments 6,059 5,932 6,033 5,897 6,063 5.6 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.7
At opening establishments 1,643 1,540 1,527 1,499 1,583 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5
Gross job losses 7,877 7,876 7,702 7,324 7,302 7.3 7.4 7.2 6.8 6.8
At contracting establishments 6,267 6,321 6,138 5,893 5,816 5.8 5.9 5.7 5.5 5.4
At closing establishments 1,610 1,555 1,564 1,431 1,486 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.4
Net employment change -175 -404 -142 72 344 -0.2 -0.5 -0.2 0.1 0.4
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,652 1,692 1,657 1,605 1,665 7.1 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.3
At expanding establishments 1,359 1,395 1,378 1,343 1,391 5.8 6.0 6.0 5.9 6.1
At opening establishments 293 297 279 262 274 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2
Gross job losses 1,889 1,932 1,897 1,755 1,697 8.0 8.3 8.3 7.7 7.4
At contracting establishments 1,551 1,579 1,558 1,443 1,391 6.6 6.8 6.8 6.3 6.1
At closing establishments 338 353 339 312 306 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.3
Net employment change -237 -240 -240 -150 -32 -0.9 -1.0 -1.1 -0.6 -0.1
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 294 310 299 272 286 17.6 18.5 17.9 16.4 17.3
At expanding establishments 240 256 249 225 233 14.4 15.3 14.9 13.6 14.1
At opening establishments 54 54 50 47 53 3.2 3.2 3.0 2.8 3.2
Gross job losses 297 309 294 292 285 17.8 18.4 17.6 17.7 17.2
At contracting establishments 245 247 240 243 239 14.7 14.7 14.4 14.7 14.4
At closing establishments 52 62 54 49 46 3.1 3.7 3.2 3.0 2.8
Net employment change -3 1 5 -20 1 -0.2 0.1 0.3 -1.3 0.1
Construction
Gross job gains 778 782 811 784 793 11.6 11.7 12.2 11.7 11.8
At expanding establishments 616 619 654 636 641 9.2 9.3 9.8 9.5 9.5
At opening establishments 162 163 157 148 152 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.3
Gross job losses 800 829 822 762 761 12.0 12.4 12.3 11.4 11.3
At contracting establishments 637 660 653 601 599 9.6 9.9 9.8 9.0 8.9
At closing establishments 163 169 169 161 162 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.4
Net employment change -22 -47 -11 22 32 -0.4 -0.7 -0.1 0.3 0.5
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 580 600 547 549 586 3.8 4.0 3.8 3.8 4.1
At expanding establishments 503 520 475 482 517 3.3 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.6
At opening establishments 77 80 72 67 69 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Gross job losses 792 794 781 701 651 5.2 5.3 5.4 4.9 4.6
At contracting establishments 669 672 665 599 553 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.2 3.9
At closing establishments 123 122 116 102 98 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7
Net employment change -212 -194 -234 -152 -65 -1.4 -1.3 -1.6 -1.1 -0.5
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 6,050 5,780 5,903 5,791 5,981 7.2 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.1
At expanding establishments 4,700 4,537 4,655 4,554 4,672 5.6 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.5
At opening establishments 1,350 1,243 1,248 1,237 1,309 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6
Gross job losses 5,988 5,944 5,805 5,569 5,605 7.1 7.0 7.0 6.6 6.6
At contracting establishments4,716 4,742 4,580 4,450 4,425 5.6 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.2
At closing establishments 1,272 1,202 1,225 1,119 1,180 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.4
Net employment change 62 -164 98 222 376 0.1 -0.1 0.0 0.3 0.5
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 321 320 314 308 317 5.7 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.7
At expanding establishments 255 251 252 249 257 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6
At opening establishments 66 69 62 59 60 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1
Gross job losses 348 348 334 323 320 6.2 6.2 6.0 5.8 5.7
At contracting establishments 266 269 256 250 245 4.7 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.4
At closing establishments 82 79 78 73 75 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3
Net employment change -27 -28 -20 -15 -3 -0.5 -0.5 -0.4 -0.2 0.0
Retail trade
Gross job gains 1,057 962 1,039 1,019 1,061 7.0 6.4 6.9 6.7 7.1
At expanding establishments 884 799 872 848 886 5.9 5.3 5.8 5.6 5.9
At opening establishments 173 163 167 171 175 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2
Gross job losses 1,109 1,060 996 989 1,016 7.3 7.0 6.7 6.6 6.8
At contracting establishments 924 903 834 839 857 6.1 6.0 5.6 5.6 5.7
At closing establishments 185 157 162 150 159 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.1
Net employment change -52 -98 43 30 45 -0.3 -0.6 0.2 0.1 0.3
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 239 227 230 235 227 6.0 5.6 5.8 6.0 5.7
At expanding establishments 191 189 186 193 191 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.8
At opening establishments 48 38 44 42 36 1.2 0.9 1.1 1.1 0.9
Gross job losses 270 237 283 239 237 6.8 5.9 7.1 6.1 6.0
At contracting establishments 208 189 234 193 188 5.2 4.7 5.9 4.9 4.8
At closing establishments 62 48 49 46 49 1.6 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Net employment change -31 -10 -53 -4 -10 -0.8 -0.3 -1.3 -0.1 -0.3
Utilities
Gross job gains 13 15 14 16 14 2.2 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.4
At expanding establishments 11 13 12 14 12 1.9 2.2 2.1 2.4 2.1
At opening establishments 2 2 2 2 2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Gross job losses 23 15 19 19 16 3.9 2.5 3.2 3.3 2.7
At contracting establishments 20 13 17 15 14 3.4 2.2 2.9 2.6 2.4
At closing establishments 3 2 2 4 2 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.3
Net employment change -10 0 -5 -3 -2 -1.7 0.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.3
Information
Gross job gains 174 166 153 149 172 5.2 5.1 4.8 4.7 5.5
At expanding establishments 133 133 125 120 131 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.2
At opening establishments 41 33 28 29 41 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.3
Gross job losses 208 201 194 185 166 6.3 6.2 6.1 5.8 5.2
At contracting establishments 157 157 156 150 121 4.8 4.8 4.9 4.7 3.8
At closing establishments 51 44 38 35 45 1.5 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.4
Net employment change -34 -35 -41 -36 6 -1.1 -1.1 -1.3 -1.1 0.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains 488 442 455 444 436 6.3 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.5
At expanding establishments 365 340 361 344 333 4.7 4.4 4.6 4.4 4.2
At opening establishments 123 102 94 100 103 1.6 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.3
Gross job losses 451 428 418 417 462 5.8 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.9
At contracting establishments 329 323 320 321 354 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.5
At closing establishments 122 105 98 96 108 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.4
Net employment change 37 14 37 27 -26 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.4 -0.4
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,422 1,406 1,367 1,356 1,438 8.9 8.8 8.6 8.5 9.0
At expanding establishments 1,104 1,129 1,084 1,085 1,136 6.9 7.1 6.8 6.8 7.1
At opening establishments 318 277 283 271 302 2.0 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.9
Gross job losses 1,450 1,469 1,416 1,287 1,302 9.0 9.2 8.9 8.1 8.2
At contracting establishments1,127 1,148 1,067 996 1,000 7.0 7.2 6.7 6.3 6.3
At closing establishments 323 321 349 291 302 2.0 2.0 2.2 1.8 1.9
Net employment change -28 -63 -49 69 136 -0.1 -0.4 -0.3 0.4 0.8
Education and health services
Gross job gains 776 760 745 731 744 5.0 4.8 4.8 4.6 4.7
At expanding establishments 641 630 624 607 616 4.1 4.0 4.0 3.8 3.9
At opening establishments 135 130 121 124 128 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
Gross job losses 659 680 698 670 659 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.1
At contracting establishments 529 553 565 548 529 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.5 3.3
At closing establishments 130 127 133 122 130 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
Net employment change 117 80 47 61 85 0.8 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.6
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,151 1,083 1,166 1,125 1,161 9.5 8.9 9.6 9.3 9.5
At expanding establishments 862 807 885 849 866 7.1 6.6 7.3 7.0 7.1
At opening establishments 289 276 281 276 295 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4
Gross job losses 1,126 1,161 1,105 1,095 1,097 9.3 9.6 9.1 9.0 8.9
At contracting establishments 904 934 881 879 875 7.5 7.7 7.3 7.2 7.1
At closing establishments 222 227 224 216 222 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8
Net employment change 25 -78 61 30 64 0.2 -0.7 0.5 0.3 0.6
Other services
Gross job gains 300 296 303 286 288 7.9 7.8 8.0 7.6 7.6
At expanding establishments 237 229 239 227 227 6.2 6.0 6.3 6.0 6.0
At opening establishments 63 67 64 59 61 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.6
Gross job losses 308 305 305 309 293 8.1 8.0 8.0 8.2 7.8
At contracting establishments 239 239 236 246 229 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.5 6.1
At closing establishments 69 66 69 63 64 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.7
Net employment change -8 -9 -2 -23 -5 -0.2 -0.2 0.0 -0.6 -0.2
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.