Technical Information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 08-1715
http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, November 20, 2008
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FIRST QUARTER 2008
From December 2007 to March 2008, the number of job gains from opening
and expanding private sector establishments was 7.1 million, and the
number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was
7.4 million, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. (See tables A and 3.)
Over this period, firms with 1,000 or more employees experienced a
decline in their share of gross job gains with 15.2 percent, down from
19.1 percent in the prior quarter. (See tables D and 4.)
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data series include gross job
gains and gross job losses at the establishment level by major
industry sector and for the 50 states, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and
gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class.
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| Changes to Business Employment Dynamics Data |
| |
| Data in this release incorporates annual revisions to the BED |
| series. Annual revisions are published each year with the release|
| of first quarter data. These revisions cover the last four |
| quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and 5 years of |
| seasonally adjusted data. |
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The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of
increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in
the economy. BED statistics track these changes in employment at
private business units from the third month of one quarter to the
third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in
employment from expansions at existing units and the addition of new
jobs at opening units. Gross job losses are the result of
contractions in employment at existing units and the loss of jobs at
closing units. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained
and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.
(See the Technical Note for more information.)
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses,
seasonally adjusted
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|-------------------------------------
| Mar. | June | Sept.| Dec. | Mar.
Category | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2008
|-------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
----------------------------------|-------------------------------------
| | | | |
Gross job gains...................| 7,627| 7,665| 7,323| 7,676| 7,130
At expanding establishments.....| 6,228| 6,250| 5,849| 6,220| 5,731
At opening establishments.......| 1,399| 1,415| 1,474| 1,456| 1,399
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 7,157| 7,473| 7,564| 7,366| 7,400
At contracting establishments...| 5,872| 6,066| 6,209| 6,010| 6,047
At closing establishments.......| 1,285| 1,407| 1,355| 1,356| 1,353
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| 470| 192| -241| 310| -270
|-------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|-------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 6.7| 6.7| 6.4| 6.8| 6.2
At expanding establishments.....| 5.5| 5.5| 5.1| 5.5| 5.0
At opening establishments.......| 1.2| 1.2| 1.3| 1.3| 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 6.3| 6.5| 6.7| 6.5| 6.5
At contracting establishments...| 5.2| 5.3| 5.5| 5.3| 5.3
At closing establishments.......| 1.1| 1.2| 1.2| 1.2| 1.2
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| .4| .2| -.3| .3| -.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Private Sector Establishment-Level Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
Opening and expanding private sector business establishments gained
7.1 million jobs in the first quarter of 2008, a decrease of 546,000
from the previous quarter. Over the quarter, expanding establishments
added 5.7 million jobs while opening establishments added 1.4 million
jobs.
Gross job losses totaled 7.4 million, an increase of 34,000 from the
previous quarter. During the quarter, contracting establishments lost
6.0 million jobs, while closing establishments lost 1.4 million jobs.
(See tables A, 1, and 3.)
The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number
of gross jobs lost yielded a net change of -270,000 jobs in the
private sector for first quarter 2008. This is the second time in the
past three quarters that there has been a net job loss.
From December 2007 to March 2008, gross job gains represented 6.2
percent of private sector employment, while gross job losses
represented 6.5 percent of private sector employment.
(See tables A and 2.)
Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in the following major
industry sectors: natural resources and mining, construction,
manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and
warehousing, financial activities, and professional and business
services. Education and health services was the only sector that had
gross job gains noticeably higher than gross job losses.
(See tables B and 3.)
Goods-producing. Expanding and opening establishments in the goods-
producing sectors accounted for 1,493,000 jobs gained, and contracting
and closing establishments accounted for 1,758,000 jobs lost. This
net loss of 265,000 jobs results in the seventh consecutive quarter of
net loss.
Construction. In construction, gross job gains fell over the quarter
to 763,000. Although gross job losses also decreased slightly to
869,000, this sector lost a net of 106,000 jobs. This sector
experienced net losses in seven of the previous eight quarters.
Manufacturing. Gross job gains declined to 456,000 while gross job
losses grew to 596,000. This reverses the recent downward trend in
gross job losses. This sector has experienced net losses in all but six
quarters since the beginning of 1998.
Table B. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses by industry,
seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Gross job gains | Gross job losses
| (3 months ended) | (3 months ended)
Industry |-----------------------------|-----------------------------
|Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar.
|2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2008 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2008
-----------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
Total private (1)....|7,627|7,665|7,323|7,676|7,130|7,157|7,473|7,564|7,366|7,400
Goods-Producing.......|1,665|1,633|1,504|1,573|1,493|1,702|1,713|1,725|1,701|1,758
Natural resources | | | | | | | | | |
and mining.........| 286| 290| 262| 292| 274| 288| 274| 274| 261| 293
Construction ........| 867| 820| 772| 784| 763| 828| 865| 882| 875| 869
Manufacturing .......| 512| 523| 470| 497| 456| 586| 574| 569| 565| 596
Service-Providing (1).|5,962|6,032|5,819|6,103|5,637|5,455|5,760|5,839|5,665|5,642
Wholesale trade......| 320| 321| 310| 321| 294| 297| 304| 308| 301| 306
Retail trade ........|1,099|1,029|1,007|1,022| 954| 979|1,042|1,064|1,011| 979
Transportation and | | | | | | | | | |
warehousing..........| 234| 246| 224| 254| 208| 250| 223| 233| 229| 250
Utilities............| 12| 15| 14| 15| 13| 11| 12| 12| 11| 10
Information..........| 140| 161| 155| 145| 154| 136| 139| 154| 155| 153
Financial activities.| 434| 433| 418| 432| 412| 423| 463| 479| 486| 436
Professional and | | | | | | | | | |
business services..|1,310|1,403|1,316|1,440|1,239|1,254|1,347|1,339|1,337|1,358
Education and | | | | | | | | | |
health services....| 818| 795| 810| 814| 785| 669| 696| 685| 666| 667
Leisure and | | | | | | | | | |
hospitality........|1,194|1,228|1,179|1,247|1,158|1,117|1,206|1,224|1,148|1,154
Other services.......| 299| 308| 293| 296| 290| 283| 289| 307| 287| 289
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1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Service-providing. In the service-providing sectors, gross job gains
decreased to 5,637,000 and gross job losses decreased to 5,642,000.
Job gains at expanding establishments decreased to 4,473,000 jobs,
while job losses at contracting establishments decreased to 4,566,000
jobs.
Education and Health Services. In the education and health services
sector, gross job gains decreased to 785,000 jobs in the first
quarter, while gross job losses remained virtually unchanged at 667,000.
Gross job gains have exceeded gross job losses every quarter since this
series began in 1992.
Retail Trade. In retail trade, gross job gains decreased to
954,000. This is only the second quarter since the series began in 1992
that gross job gains for this sector have been less than one million.
Leisure and Hospitality. Despite the decrease in gross job gains in
first quarter, the leisure and hospitality industry managed to show net
job growth. Other than the four quarters in 2001, this sector has
experienced a net job loss in only two quarters since 1992.
Financial Activities. For the fourth consecutive quarter gross job
losses exceeded gross job gains in this sector. The number of gross job
losses declined to 436,000, and the number of gross job gains also
decreased to 412,000.
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 first quarter of 2008, the number of
establishments losing jobs exceeded the number of establishments
gaining jobs.
Out of 7.3 million active private-sector establishments, a total of
1,976,000 establishments lost jobs from December 2007 to March 2008.
(See table C.) Of these establishments, 1,596,000 were contracting
establishments and 380,000 were closing establishments. Of the
establishments gaining jobs, 1,517,000 establishments were expanding
and 357,000 establishments were opening, resulting in 1,874,000
establishments gaining jobs.
The number of closing establishments exceeded the number of opening
establishments, resulting in a net loss of 23,000 private sector
establishments during the quarter.
Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of
employment change, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|--------------------------------------
Category | Mar. | June | Sept.| Dec. | Mar.
| 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2008
----------------------------------|-------|-------|------|------|--------
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,950| 1,919| 1,901| 1,940| 1,874
Expanding establishments........| 1,582| 1,559| 1,525| 1,558| 1,517
Opening establishments..........| 368| 360| 376| 382| 357
| | | | |
Establishments losing jobs........| 1,914| 1,952| 1,956| 1,935| 1,976
Contracting establishments......| 1,552| 1,582| 1,595| 1,575| 1,596
Closing establishments..........| 362| 370| 361| 360| 380
| | | | |
Net establishment change (1)......| 6| -10| 15| 22| -23
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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.
Firm-level Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses by Size Class
From December 2007 to March 2008, firms with 1 to 4 employees
accounted for the largest share of gross job gains at 16.2 percent.
Firms with 1,000 or more employees had the highest share of gross job
losses with 16.8 percent, followed closely by firms with 1 to 4
employees with 16.7 percent. (See tables D and 4.)
Table D. Three-month private sector share (1) of gross job gains and losses by firm
size, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
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| Share of gross job gains | Share of gross job losses
| (3 months ended) | (3 months ended)
Firm size |------------------------------|------------------------------
| Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. | Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar.
| 2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2008 | 2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2008
-----------------------|------|-----|-----|-----|-----|------|-----|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
1 - 4 employees..| 15.9| 14.9| 16.2| 15.6| 16.2| 16.7| 16.1| 15.8| 16.0| 16.7
5 - 9 employees..| 12.2| 11.6| 12.2| 11.4| 12.4| 12.5| 12.3| 12.1| 12.3| 12.4
10 - 19 employees..| 12.4| 12.1| 12.2| 11.6| 12.6| 12.5| 12.3| 12.3| 12.4| 12.4
20 - 49 employees..| 14.5| 14.5| 14.3| 13.8| 14.7| 14.3| 14.3| 14.5| 14.4| 14.3
50 - 99 employees..| 8.9| 9.1| 8.9| 8.7| 9.1| 8.8| 8.6| 8.9| 8.9| 8.7
100 - 249 employees..| 9.4| 9.8| 9.2| 9.3| 9.4| 9.0| 8.9| 9.4| 9.1| 8.9
250 - 499 employees..| 5.5| 5.9| 5.6| 5.5| 5.6| 5.3| 5.2| 5.5| 5.3| 5.3
500 - 999 employees..| 4.5| 4.7| 4.6| 4.5| 4.4| 4.0| 4.4| 4.5| 4.5| 4.2
1,000 or more employees| 16.4| 16.9| 16.4| 19.1| 15.2| 16.5| 17.4| 16.6| 16.7| 16.8
| | | | | | | | | |
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1 Shares measure the percent of the category represented by firm size,
and rates may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.
Gross Job Gains and Losses by State
In the first quarter, 19 states, the District of Columbia and the
Virgin Islands had net employment growth. However, 31 states and
Puerto Rico experienced net job losses. Although the number of gross
job gains in Texas declined from fourth quarter, it had the largest net
job growth with 51,572. This is the ninth consecutive quarter that Texas
has had the highest net job gains. After experiencing high net job
growth from third quarter 2003 to third quarter 2006, Florida and Arizona
have had net job losses in five of the past seven quarters. Gross job
gains in California are at the lowest level in the history of the data
series spanning back to 1992. (See table 5.) Connecticut had the
lowest rate of gross job losses and Wyoming had the highest rate of
gross job gains. (See table 6.)
More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses are
available at the Business Employment Dynamics Web page on the BLS Web
site at http://www.bls.gov/bdm. This information includes data on the
levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm size,
the not seasonally adjusted data and other seasonally adjusted time
series not presented in this release, charts of gross job gains and
gross job losses by industry and firm size, and frequently asked
questions on firm-size data. 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.
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| 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 administrative records.|
| In addition, the CES has a different coverage, excluding the |
| agriculture sector but including establishments not covered by |
| the unemployment insurance program. The net over-the-quarter |
| changes derived by aggregating component series in the BED data |
| may be different from the net employment change estimated from |
| the CES seasonally adjusted total employment series. The in- |
| tended use of the BED statistics is to show the dynamic labor |
| market flows that underlie the net changes in aggregate employ- |
| ment levels; data users who want to track net changes in aggre- |
| gate 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. |
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Bureau of Labor Statistics
