Full text of Third Quarter 2004 : Text File, USDL 05-875
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Technical Information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 05-875
http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
For release: 10:00 AM EDT
Media Contact: 691-5902 Tuesday, May 24, 2005
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: THIRD QUARTER 2004
From June to September 2004, the number of job gains from opening and
expanding private sector establishments was 7.8 million, and the number
of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was 7.6 million,
according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor. The gap between job gains and job losses nar-
rowed during the third quarter of 2004, after widening over the previous
four quarters.
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 7.8
million jobs in the third quarter of 2004, or 68,000 less than in the pre-
vious quarter. Over the quarter, expanding establishments added 6.1 million
jobs, while opening establishments added 1.7 million jobs.
Gross job losses totaled 7.6 million, up by 335,000 from the second
quarter of 2004. The increase in gross job losses in the third quarter
of 2004 represents a reversal of the downward trend in gross job losses.
In the third quarter of 2004, contracting establishments lost 6.0 million
jobs, while closing establishments accounted for a loss of 1.6 million
jobs. (See tables A, 1, and 3.)
From June to September 2004, gross job gains represented 7.2 percent
of private sector employment, unchanged from the previous three quarters.
Gross job losses were at 7.0 percent of private sector employment, an in-
crease of 0.3 percentage point from the previous quarter. (See tables A
and 2.) These gross job gain and loss statistics demonstrate that a siz-
able number of jobs appear and disappear in the relatively short time
frame of one quarter.
- 2 -
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses,
seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|--------------------------------------
Category | Sept. | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept.
| 2003 | 2003 | 2004 | 2004 | 2004
|--------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
----------------------------------|--------------------------------------
| | | | |
Gross job gains...................| 7,396 | 7,646 | 7,745 | 7,857 | 7,789
At expanding establishments.....| 5,897 | 6,063 | 6,231 | 6,292 | 6,123
At opening establishments.......| 1,499 | 1,583 | 1,514 | 1,565 | 1,666
Gross job losses..................| 7,324 | 7,302 | 7,310 | 7,263 | 7,598
At contracting establishments...| 5,893 | 5,816 | 5,871 | 5,726 | 5,953
At closing establishments.......| 1,431 | 1,486 | 1,439 | 1,537 | 1,645
|--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........| 72 | 344 | 435 | 594 | 191
|--------------------------------------
| As a percent of employment
|--------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 6.9 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.2
At expanding establishments.....| 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.7
At opening establishments.......| 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5
Gross job losses..................| 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 7.0
At contracting establishments...| 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.5
At closing establishments.......| 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
|--------------------------------------
Net employment change(1)..........| 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Good-producing. The third quarter of 2004 saw gross job losses in the
goods-producing sector increase by 44,000 from the prior quarter to a total
of 1,691,000. This was the first time since the first quarter of 2003 that
gross job losses have increased in this sector. The increasing gross job
loss figure, combined with the fact that expanding and opening establish-
ments only gained 1,667,000 jobs, led to a net loss of 24,000 jobs over the
quarter among the goods-producing industries. (See tables B and 3.)
Manufacturing. Gross job gains in the manufacturing sector totaled
597,000 in the third quarter of 2004, down by 7,000 from the previous
quarter. This decline, together with an increase in gross job losses of
26,000 to 612,000, led to a net decrease of 15,000 factory jobs. This
sector returned to a net loss of jobs in the third quarter after it had
recorded its first net employment gain in four years during the second
quarter.
Construction. In construction, gross job gains fell to 799,000 dur-
ing the quarter, while gross job losses rose to 789,000, for a net gain
of 10,000. The net job gain in this sector was 20,000 less than in the
previous quarter and was 12,000 less than the net increase in the third
quarter of 2003.
- 3 -
Table B. Three-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
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------
|Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.
|2003 |2003 |2004 |2004 |2004 |2003 |2003 |2004 |2004 |2004
-------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
Total | | | | | | | | | |
private(1).......|7,396|7,646|7,745|7,857|7,789|7,324|7,302|7,310|7,263|7,598
Goods-producing....|1,605|1,665|1,764|1,696|1,667|1,755|1,697|1,670|1,647|1,691
Natural resources| | | | | | | | | |
and mining.....| 272| 286| 314| 283| 271| 292| 285| 282| 282| 290
Construction.....| 784| 793| 837| 809| 799| 762| 761| 759| 779| 789
Manufacturing....| 549| 586| 613| 604| 597| 701| 651| 629| 586| 612
Service- | | | | | | | | | |
providing(1).....|5,791|5,981|5,981|6,161|6,122|5,569|5,605|5,640|5,616|5,907
Wholesale | | | | | | | | | |
trade..........| 308| 317| 319| 325| 329| 323| 320| 314| 302| 327
Retail trade.....|1,019|1,061|1,059|1,058|1,044| 989|1,016|1,011| 974|1,126
Transportation | | | | | | | | | |
and ware- | | | | | | | | | |
housing........| 235| 227| 244| 241| 244| 239| 237| 228| 236| 235
Utilities........| 16| 14| 15| 13| 14| 19| 16| 16| 14| 16
Information......| 149| 172| 156| 151| 163| 185| 166| 169| 182| 194
Financial | | | | | | | | | |
activities.....| 444| 436| 442| 461| 469| 417| 462| 433| 457| 452
Professional | | | | | | | | | |
and business | | | | | | | | | |
services.......|1,356|1,438|1,411|1,509|1,416|1,287|1,302|1,378|1,321|1,366
Education and | | | | | | | | | |
health | | | | | | | | | |
services.......| 731| 744| 751| 753| 757| 670| 659| 672| 696| 704
Leisure and | | | | | | | | | |
hospitality....|1,125|1,161|1,138|1,164|1,169|1,095|1,097|1,091|1,090|1,135
Other services...| 286| 288| 307| 301| 297| 309| 293| 291| 304| 308
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Service-providing. The combined service-providing sector had gross
job gains of 6.1 million in the third quarter of 2004, exceeding gross job
losses by 215,000. Although gross job gains decreased only slightly, an
increase of 291,000 in gross job losses led to a considerably smaller net
employment change (+215,000) than was registered in the second quarter in
this sector (+545,000).
Retail trade. Among the service-providing industries, retail trade had
the sharpest turnaround in net job change from the second to the third quar-
ters. Gross job gains in retail trade decreased slightly to 1,044,000. How-
ever, a large increase (152,000) in the number of gross job losses led to a
net employment loss of 82,000. This was the first negative net change in
jobs experienced in retail trade since the first quarter of 2003.
Information. The information sector gained 163,000 and lost 194,000
jobs in the third quarter of 2004, for a net loss of 31,000 jobs. This
makes 14 out of the past 15 quarters that this sector has recorded a net
job loss.
Professional and business services. Establishments in the professional
and businesses services sector had gross job gains of 1,416,000 in the
third quarter of 2004, down from gross job gains of 1,509,000 in the pre-
vious quarter. Conversely, gross job losses in this industry increased from
1,321,000 in the second quarter to 1,366,000 this quarter. The net gain of
50,000 jobs represents the fifth 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 |---------------------------------------
| Sept. | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept.
| 2003 | 2003 | 2004 | 2004 | 2004
----------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
| | | | |
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,791 | 1,815 | 1,854 | 1,847 | 1,840
Expanding establishments........| 1,463 | 1,467 | 1,505 | 1,504 | 1,486
Opening establishments..........| 328 | 348 | 349 | 343 | 354
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Establishments losing jobs .......| 1,772 | 1,775 | 1,794 | 1,792 | 1,814
Contracting establishments......| 1,454 | 1,453 | 1,466 | 1,462 | 1,469
Closing establishments..........| 318 | 322 | 328 | 330 | 345
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Net establishment change(1).......| 10 | 26 | 21 | 13 | 9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 third quarter of 2004, the number of opening establishments exceeded
the number of closing establishments, leading to a net addition of 9,000
units to the number of total active private sector establishments. In ad-
dition, the number of establishments gaining jobs continued to surpass the
number of establishments losing jobs. Out of 6.5 million active private
sector establishments, a total of 1.8 million establishments gained jobs
from June to September 2004. (See table C.) Of these, 1.5 million were
expanding establishments and 354,000 were opening establishments. During
the third quarter of 2004, 1.8 million establishments lost jobs and of
these, 1.5 million were contracting establishments and 345,000 were closing
establishments.
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 establishments, while gross |
| job gains and gross job losses are based on a quarterly census of adminis-|
| trative 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 em- |
| ployment 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 Employ-|
| ment and Wages (QCEW) data. The data in this release, in contrast to the |
| QCEW data, exclude government employees, private households (NAICS814110),|
| 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 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
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
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
Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept. Sept. Dec. Mar. June Sept.
2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004
Total private(1)
Gross job gains 7,396 7,646 7,745 7,857 7,789 6.9 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2
At expanding establishments 5,897 6,063 6,231 6,292 6,123 5.5 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.7
At opening establishments 1,499 1,583 1,514 1,565 1,666 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5
Gross job losses 7,324 7,302 7,310 7,263 7,598 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.7 7.0
At contracting establishments 5,893 5,816 5,871 5,726 5,953 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.5
At closing establishments 1,431 1,486 1,439 1,537 1,645 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.5
Net employment change 72 344 435 594 191 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.2
Goods-producing
Gross job gains 1,605 1,665 1,764 1,696 1,667 7.1 7.3 7.7 7.4 7.3
At expanding establishments 1,343 1,391 1,487 1,444 1,403 5.9 6.1 6.5 6.3 6.1
At opening establishments 262 274 277 252 264 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2
Gross job losses 1,755 1,697 1,670 1,647 1,691 7.7 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.4
At contracting establishments 1,443 1,391 1,372 1,334 1,366 6.3 6.1 6.0 5.8 6.0
At closing establishments 312 306 298 313 325 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.4
Net employment change -150 -32 94 49 -24 -0.6 -0.1 0.4 0.2 -0.1
Natural resources and mining
Gross job gains 272 286 314 283 271 16.4 17.3 18.5 16.8 16.3
At expanding establishments 225 233 266 243 230 13.6 14.1 15.7 14.4 13.8
At opening establishments 47 53 48 40 41 2.8 3.2 2.8 2.4 2.5
Gross job losses 292 285 282 282 290 17.7 17.2 16.6 16.7 17.4
At contracting establishments 243 239 234 235 243 14.7 14.4 13.8 13.9 14.6
At closing establishments 49 46 48 47 47 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8
Net employment change -20 1 32 1 -19 -1.3 0.1 1.9 0.1 -1.1
Construction
Gross job gains 784 793 837 809 799 11.7 11.8 12.3 11.7 11.6
At expanding establishments 636 641 669 655 643 9.5 9.5 9.8 9.5 9.3
At opening establishments 148 152 168 154 156 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.2 2.3
Gross job losses 762 761 759 779 789 11.4 11.3 11.1 11.3 11.4
At contracting establishments 601 599 602 609 616 9.0 8.9 8.8 8.8 8.9
At closing establishments 161 162 157 170 173 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.5
Net employment change 22 32 78 30 10 0.3 0.5 1.2 0.4 0.2
Manufacturing
Gross job gains 549 586 613 604 597 3.8 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.2
At expanding establishments 482 517 552 546 530 3.3 3.6 3.9 3.8 3.7
At opening establishments 67 69 61 58 67 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5
Gross job losses 701 651 629 586 612 4.9 4.6 4.5 4.1 4.2
At contracting establishments 599 553 536 490 507 4.2 3.9 3.8 3.4 3.5
At closing establishments 102 98 93 96 105 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
Net employment change -152 -65 -16 18 -15 -1.1 -0.5 -0.2 0.1 0.0
Service-providing(1)
Gross job gains 5,791 5,981 5,981 6,161 6,122 6.9 7.1 7.1 7.2 7.1
At expanding establishments 4,554 4,672 4,744 4,848 4,720 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.5
At opening establishments 1,237 1,309 1,237 1,313 1,402 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.6
Gross job losses 5,569 5,605 5,640 5,616 5,907 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.9
At contracting establishments 4,450 4,425 4,499 4,392 4,587 5.3 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.4
At closing establishments 1,119 1,180 1,141 1,224 1,320 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.5
Net employment change 222 376 341 545 215 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.2
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains 308 317 319 325 329 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.8
At expanding establishments 249 257 258 266 267 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.7
At opening establishments 59 60 61 59 62 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.1
Gross job losses 323 320 314 302 327 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.3 5.8
At contracting establishments 250 245 243 226 243 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.0 4.3
At closing establishments 73 75 71 76 84 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.5
Net employment change -15 -3 5 23 2 -0.2 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.0
Retail trade
Gross job gains 1,019 1,061 1,059 1,058 1,044 6.7 7.1 7.0 6.9 6.9
At expanding establishments 848 886 890 885 845 5.6 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.6
At opening establishments 171 175 169 173 199 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.3
Gross job losses 989 1,016 1,011 974 1,126 6.6 6.8 6.7 6.4 7.5
At contracting establishments 839 857 857 820 920 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.4 6.1
At closing establishments 150 159 154 154 206 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.4
Net employment change 30 45 48 84 -82 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.5 -0.6
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains 235 227 244 241 244 6.0 5.7 6.1 6.0 6.0
At expanding establishments 193 191 205 202 203 4.9 4.8 5.1 5.0 5.0
At opening establishments 42 36 39 39 41 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0
Gross job losses 239 237 228 236 235 6.1 6.0 5.7 5.9 5.8
At contracting establishments 193 188 183 192 190 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.8 4.7
At closing establishments 46 49 45 44 45 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1
Net employment change -4 -10 16 5 9 -0.1 -0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2
Utilities
Gross job gains 16 14 15 13 14 2.7 2.4 2.7 2.3 2.5
At expanding establishments 14 12 13 11 13 2.4 2.1 2.3 1.9 2.3
At opening establishments 2 2 2 2 1 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2
Gross job losses 19 16 16 14 16 3.3 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.8
At contracting establishments 15 14 14 12 13 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.1 2.3
At closing establishments 4 2 2 2 3 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5
Net employment change -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -0.6 -0.3 -0.2 -0.2 -0.3
Information
Gross job gains 149 172 156 151 163 4.7 5.5 5.0 4.8 5.3
At expanding establishments 120 131 132 125 135 3.8 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.4
At opening establishments 29 41 24 26 28 0.9 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.9
Gross job losses 185 166 169 182 194 5.8 5.2 5.4 5.9 6.3
At contracting establishments 150 121 138 146 148 4.7 3.8 4.4 4.7 4.8
At closing establishments 35 45 31 36 46 1.1 1.4 1.0 1.2 1.5
Net employment change -36 6 -13 -31 -31 -1.1 0.3 -0.4 -1.1 -1.0
Financial activities
Gross job gains 444 436 442 461 469 5.7 5.5 5.7 5.9 5.9
At expanding establishments 344 333 343 362 364 4.4 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.6
At opening establishments 100 103 99 99 105 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3
Gross job losses 417 462 433 457 452 5.3 5.9 5.5 5.8 5.7
At contracting establishments 321 354 325 324 334 4.1 4.5 4.1 4.1 4.2
At closing establishments 96 108 108 133 118 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.7 1.5
Net employment change 27 -26 9 4 17 0.4 -0.4 0.2 0.1 0.2
Professional and business services
Gross job gains 1,356 1,438 1,411 1,509 1,416 8.5 9.0 8.8 9.3 8.7
At expanding establishments 1,085 1,136 1,156 1,214 1,124 6.8 7.1 7.2 7.5 6.9
At opening establishments 271 302 255 295 292 1.7 1.9 1.6 1.8 1.8
Gross job losses 1,287 1,302 1,378 1,321 1,366 8.1 8.2 8.5 8.2 8.3
At contracting establishments 996 1,000 1,080 988 1,035 6.3 6.3 6.7 6.1 6.3
At closing establishments 291 302 298 333 331 1.8 1.9 1.8 2.1 2.0
Net employment change 69 136 33 188 50 0.4 0.8 0.3 1.1 0.4
Education and health services
Gross job gains 731 744 751 753 757 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7
At expanding establishments 607 616 633 635 626 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.0 3.9
At opening establishments 124 128 118 118 131 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8
Gross job losses 670 659 672 696 704 4.3 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.4
At contracting establishments 548 529 551 560 562 3.5 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.5
At closing establishments 122 130 121 136 142 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9
Net employment change 61 85 79 57 53 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains 1,125 1,161 1,138 1,164 1,169 9.3 9.5 9.2 9.3 9.4
At expanding establishments 849 866 854 889 883 7.0 7.1 6.9 7.1 7.1
At opening establishments 276 295 284 275 286 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.3
Gross job losses 1,095 1,097 1,091 1,090 1,135 9.0 8.9 8.8 8.7 9.1
At contracting establishments 879 875 870 873 888 7.2 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.1
At closing establishments 216 222 221 217 247 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.7 2.0
Net employment change 30 64 47 74 34 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.3
Other services
Gross job gains 286 288 307 301 297 7.6 7.6 8.1 7.9 7.8
At expanding establishments 227 227 242 236 235 6.0 6.0 6.4 6.2 6.2
At opening establishments 59 61 65 65 62 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.6
Gross job losses 309 293 291 304 308 8.2 7.8 7.6 8.0 8.2
At contracting establishments 246 229 225 235 237 6.5 6.1 5.9 6.2 6.3
At closing establishments 63 64 66 69 71 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.9
Net employment change -23 -5 16 -3 -11 -0.6 -0.2 0.5 -0.1 -0.4
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.