May 24, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Gross job gains and losses in the third quarter of 2003

From June to September 2003, the number of job gains from opening and expanding establishments was 7.4 million, and the number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was 7.3 million.

[Chart data—TXT]

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in goods-producing sectors, while gross job gains surpassed gross job losses in service-providing sectors. In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing job losses exceeded job gains during the third quarter for a net loss of 152,000 jobs. However, gross job losses in manufacturing declined to 701,000 in the third quarter of 2003, the lowest level since the third quarter of 1992.

In the service-providing sectors, gross job gains in education and health services have exceeded gross job losses continuously since the beginning of the series on Business Employment Dynamics in September 1992. In the third quarter of 2003, this sector gained 731,000 jobs and lost 670,000 for a net gain of 61,000 jobs.

These data are from Business Employment Dynamics. Data presented here are for workers in private industry covered by State unemployment insurance programs. Find more in "Business Employment Dynamics: Third Quarter 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04–896; this release of Business Employment Dynamics data includes major industry sectors for the first time.