Technical Information: (202) 691-6467 USDL 08-1141
http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 Tuesday, August 12, 2008
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FOURTH QUARTER 2007
From September to December 2007, the number of job gains from opening
and expanding private sector establishments was 7.7 million, and the
number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was
7.3 million, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. (See charts 1 and 2 and
table 3.) Over this period, firms with 1,000 or more employees
experienced a significant increase in their share of gross job gains
(19.3 percent). (See tables D and 4 and chart 3.)
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.
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
|-------------------------------------
| Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept.| Dec.
Category | 2006 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007
|-------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
----------------------------------|-------------------------------------
| | | | |
Gross job gains...................| 7,809| 7,509| 7,644| 7,249| 7,650
At expanding establishments.....| 6,271| 6,158| 6,257| 5,821| 6,213
At opening establishments.......| 1,538| 1,351| 1,387| 1,428| 1,437
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 7,297| 7,071| 7,403| 7,484| 7,333
At contracting establishments...| 5,943| 5,796| 6,008| 6,134| 5,985
At closing establishments.......| 1,354| 1,275| 1,395| 1,350| 1,348
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| 512| 438| 241| -235| 317
|-------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|-------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 7.0| 6.6| 6.7| 6.4| 6.8
At expanding establishments.....| 5.6| 5.4| 5.5| 5.1| 5.5
At opening establishments.......| 1.4| 1.2| 1.2| 1.3| 1.3
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 6.5| 6.2| 6.5| 6.6| 6.5
At contracting establishments...| 5.3| 5.1| 5.3| 5.4| 5.3
At closing establishments.......| 1.2| 1.1| 1.2| 1.2| 1.2
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| .5| .4| .2| -.2| .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
7.7 million jobs in the fourth quarter of 2007, an increase of 401,000
from the previous quarter. Over the quarter, expanding establishments
added 6.2 million jobs while opening establishments added 1.4 million
jobs.
Gross job losses totaled 7.3 million, a decrease of 151,000 from the
previous quarter. During the quarter, contracting establishments lost
6.0 million jobs, while closing establishments lost 1.3 million jobs.
(See tables A, 1, and 3, and chart 2.)
The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number
of gross jobs lost yielded a net change of 317,000 jobs in the private
sector for fourth quarter 2007. This marks a return to positive net
job gains after a net job loss (-235,000) in third quarter 2007.
From September to December 2007, gross job gains represented 6.8
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 gains exceeded gross job losses at the following sectors:
natural resources and mining, wholesale trade, retail trade,
transportation and warehousing, utilities, professional and business
services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and
other services. Gross job gains at expanding establishments increased
for all major industry sectors except information (117,000). (See
tables B and 3.)
Goods-producing. Expanding and opening establishments in the goods-
producing sectors accounted for 1,561,000 jobs gained, and contracting
and closing establishments accounted for 1,690,000 jobs lost. This
net loss of 129,000 jobs was the sixth consecutive quarter of net
loss.
Construction. In construction, gross job gains rose over the quarter
to 777,000 and gross job losses increased slightly to 870,000,
resulting in a net loss of 93,000 jobs. This sector experienced net
losses in five of the previous six quarters including the record net
loss of -107,000 in the third quarter 2007.
Manufacturing. Gross job gains rose to 495,000 while gross job losses
fell slightly to 561,000. Despite the recent downward trend in gross
job losses, this sector continues to experience a net loss of -66,000
jobs, the sixth consecutive quarter of net job losses.
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 |-----------------------------|-----------------------------
|Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. |Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec.
|2006 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2006 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2007
-----------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
Total private (1)....|7,809|7,509|7,644|7,249|7,650|7,297|7,071|7,403|7,484|7,333
Goods-Producing.......|1,636|1,629|1,622|1,486|1,561|1,719|1,682|1,691|1,703|1,690
Natural resources | | | | | | | | | |
and mining.........| 287| 279| 286| 257| 289| 266| 287| 269| 270| 259
Construction ........| 825| 850| 814| 762| 777| 845| 816| 855| 869| 870
Manufacturing .......| 524| 500| 522| 467| 495| 608| 579| 567| 564| 561
Service-Providing (1).|6,173|5,880|6,022|5,763|6,089|5,578|5,389|5,712|5,781|5,643
Wholesale trade......| 322| 314| 318| 305| 320| 303| 296| 300| 303| 300
Retail trade ........|1,081|1,087|1,023| 996|1,019|1,004| 971|1,028|1,055|1,007
Transportation and | | | | | | | | | |
warehousing........| 269| 224| 242| 220| 252| 225| 245| 222| 228| 228
Utilities............| 19| 11| 14| 13| 15| 18| 11| 12| 12| 10
Information..........| 167| 138| 160| 153| 145| 146| 132| 137| 155| 155
Financial activities.| 457| 421| 436| 408| 432| 444| 418| 467| 470| 486
Professional and | | | | | | | | | |
business services..|1,427|1,276|1,389|1,301|1,438|1,313|1,242|1,322|1,315|1,327
Education and | | | | | | | | | |
health services....| 795| 799| 785| 797| 810| 692| 655| 697| 684| 667
Leisure and | | | | | | | | | |
hospitality........|1,223|1,165|1,219|1,158|1,240|1,105|1,096|1,196|1,215|1,144
Other services.......| 299| 292| 304| 288| 293| 291| 278| 287| 307| 285
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Service-providing. In the service-providing sectors, gross job gains
increased to 6,089,000 and gross job losses decreased to 5,643,000.
Job gains at expanding establishments increased to 4,881,000 jobs,
while job losses at contracting establishments decreased to 4,567,000
jobs.
Education and Health Services. In the education and health services
sector, gross job gains increased to 810,000 jobs in the fourth
quarter. Job gains at opening establishments decreased to 115,000
jobs, while job gains at expanding establishments increased to
695,000. Gross job losses decreased to 667,000. Gross job losses
have not been larger than gross job gains since this series began in
1992.
Retail Trade. In retail trade, gross job gains increased to
1,019,000; this is the first increase in gross gains since March 2007.
Gross job losses dropped to 1,007,000.
Leisure and Hospitality. The leisure and hospitality industry gained
1,240,000 jobs and lost 1,144,000 jobs. The increase in job gains and
decrease in job losses returned this sector to positive net change
(96,000) in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Financial Activities. For the third consecutive quarter, gross job
losses (486,000) exceeded gross job gains (432,000).
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 fourth quarter of 2007, the number of
establishments gaining jobs exceeded the number of establishments
losing jobs.
Out of 7.1 million active private-sector establishments, a total of
1,923,000 establishments lost jobs from September to December 2007.
(See table C.) Of these establishments, 1,566,000 were contracting
establishments and 357,000 were closing establishments. Of the
establishments gaining jobs, 1,556,000 establishments were expanding
and 380,000 establishments were opening, resulting in 1,936,000
establishments gaining jobs.
The number of opening establishments (380,000) increased while the
number of closing establishments (357,000) decreased, resulting in a
net addition of 23,000 establishments during the quarter.
Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of
employment change, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|--------------------------------------
Category | Dec. | Mar. | June | Sept.| Dec.
| 2006 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007
----------------------------------|-------|-------|------|------|--------
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,954| 1,935| 1,907| 1,886| 1,936
Expanding establishments........| 1,562| 1,577| 1,555| 1,519| 1,556
Opening establishments..........| 392| 358| 352| 367| 380
| | | | |
Establishments losing jobs........| 1,892| 1,900| 1,938| 1,944| 1,923
Contracting establishments......| 1,542| 1,545| 1,574| 1,585| 1,566
Closing establishments..........| 350| 355| 364| 359| 357
| | | | |
Net establishment change (1)......| 42| 3| -12| 8| 23
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Table D. Three-month private sector share (1) of gross job gains and losses by firm
size, seasonally adjusted
(Percent)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Share of gross job gains | Share of gross job losses
| (3 months ended) | (3 months ended)
Firm size |------------------------------|------------------------------
| Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec. | Dec. |Mar. |June |Sept.|Dec.
| 2006 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2007 | 2006 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2007
-----------------------|------|-----|-----|-----|-----|------|-----|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
1 - 4 employees..| 15.8 | 15.7| 14.8| 16.0| 15.5| 15.9| 16.7| 16.2| 15.8| 16.1
5 - 9 employees..| 11.6 | 12.3| 11.6| 12.1| 11.4| 12.4| 12.6| 12.4| 12.2| 12.3
10 - 19 employees..| 11.7 | 12.5| 12.1| 12.2| 11.7| 12.4| 12.5| 12.5| 12.4| 12.4
20 - 49 employees..| 13.8 | 14.6| 14.6| 14.3| 13.8| 14.4| 14.4| 14.3| 14.6| 14.5
50 - 99 employees..| 8.7 | 9.0| 9.2| 8.9| 8.8| 8.9| 8.8| 8.7| 9.0| 9.0
100 - 249 employees..| 9.2 | 9.4| 9.9| 9.3| 9.3| 9.3| 9.0| 8.8| 9.5| 9.1
250 - 499 employees..| 5.5 | 5.5| 5.9| 5.6| 5.6| 5.8| 5.3| 5.3| 5.6| 5.4
500 - 999 employees..| 4.5 | 4.5| 4.8| 4.7| 4.6| 4.6| 4.1| 4.4| 4.5| 4.5
1,000 or more employees| 19.2 | 16.5| 17.1| 16.9| 19.3| 16.3| 16.6| 17.4| 16.4| 16.7
| | | | | | | | | |
Total...............| 100.0|100.0|100.0|100.0|100.0| 100.0|100.0|100.0|100.0|100.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Share measures the percent of the category represented by firm size.
Firm-level Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses by Size Class
From September to December 2007, firms with 1,000 or more employees
accounted for the largest share of gross job gains (19.3 percent).
This was a significant increase in the share of gross job gains for
the largest size class over the fourth quarter. Shares of gross job
gains fell or remained the same at all other size classes. (See tables
D and 4, and chart 3.)
Firms with 1,000 or more employees had the largest share of gross job
losses (16.7 percent), followed by firms with 1 to 4 employees with
16.1 percent.
Gross Job Gains and Losses by State
Over the fourth quarter, Nevada had the largest increase in rate of
gross job gains (7.6 percent, up from 6.1 percent in third quarter
2007), while Minnesota and Missouri saw the largest decreases in rate
of gross job gains. (See table 6.) Gross job gains increased in 42
states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands, and gross
job losses decreased in 38 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico and the Virgin Islands. (See table 5.)
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
