Technical Information: (202) 691-6553 USDL 09-0184
http://www.bls.gov/bdm/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 Tuesday, February 24, 2009
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: SECOND QUARTER 2008
From March 2008 to June 2008, the number of job gains from opening
and expanding private sector establishments was 7.3 million, and the
number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was
7.8 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, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in all
but five industry sectors: natural resources and mining, utilities,
information, education and health services, and other services. (See
tables B and 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
|-------------------------------------
| June | Sept.| Dec. | Mar. | June
Category | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2008 | 2008
|-------------------------------------
| Levels (in thousands)
----------------------------------|-------------------------------------
| | | | |
Gross job gains...................| 7,665| 7,323| 7,676| 7,130| 7,258
At expanding establishments.....| 6,250| 5,849| 6,220| 5,731| 5,858
At opening establishments.......| 1,415| 1,474| 1,456| 1,399| 1,400
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 7,473| 7,564| 7,366| 7,400| 7,751
At contracting establishments...| 6,066| 6,209| 6,010| 6,047| 6,277
At closing establishments.......| 1,407| 1,355| 1,356| 1,353| 1,474
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| 192| -241| 310| -270| -493
|-------------------------------------
| Rates (percent)
|-------------------------------------
Gross job gains...................| 6.7| 6.4| 6.8| 6.2| 6.4
At expanding establishments.....| 5.5| 5.1| 5.5| 5.0| 5.2
At opening establishments.......| 1.2| 1.3| 1.3| 1.2| 1.2
| | | | |
Gross job losses..................| 6.5| 6.7| 6.5| 6.5| 6.8
At contracting establishments...| 5.3| 5.5| 5.3| 5.3| 5.5
At closing establishments.......| 1.2| 1.2| 1.2| 1.2| 1.3
| | | | |
Net employment change (1).........| .2| -.3| .3| -.3| -.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.
Private Sector Establishment-Level Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
Opening and expanding private sector business establishments gained
7.3 million jobs in the second quarter of 2008, an increase of 128,000
from the previous quarter. Over the quarter, expanding establishments
added 5.9 million jobs while opening establishments added 1.4 million
jobs.
Gross job losses totaled 7.8 million, an increase of 351,000 from the
previous quarter. During the quarter, contracting establishments lost
6.3 million jobs, while closing establishments lost 1.5 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 -493,000 jobs in the
private sector for second quarter 2008.
Gross job gains represented 6.4 percent of private sector employment,
while gross job losses represented 6.8 percent of private sector
employment. (See tables A and 2.)
Major Industry Sector Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses
From March 2008 to June 2008, gross job losses exceeded gross job
gains in all but five industry sectors: natural resources and mining,
utilities, information, education and health services, and other
services. (See tables B and 3.)
Goods-producing. Expanding and opening establishments in the goods-
producing sectors accounted for 1,494,000 jobs gained, and contracting
and closing establishments accounted for 1,778,000 jobs lost. This
net loss of 284,000 jobs results in the eighth consecutive quarter of
net loss for these sectors of the economy.
Construction. In construction, gross job gains fell over the quarter
to 737,000. Gross job losses increased to 922,000, resulting in a net
loss of 185,000 jobs. This is the lowest level of gross job gains since
the first quarter of 1994, and the highest level of gross job losses
this sector has experienced since this time series began in 1992.
Manufacturing. Gross job gains grew to 477,000 while gross job
losses fell to 588,000. The net loss of 111,000 jobs is the eighth
consecutive quarter of net job losses in the manufacturing sector.
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 |-----------------------------|-----------------------------
|June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June |June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June
|2007 |2007 |2007 |2008 |2008 |2007 |2007 |2007 |2008 |2008
-----------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
Total private (1)....|7,665|7,323|7,676|7,130|7,258|7,473|7,564|7,366|7,400|7,751
Goods-Producing.......|1,633|1,504|1,573|1,493|1,494|1,713|1,725|1,701|1,758|1,778
Natural resources | | | | | | | | | |
and mining.........| 290| 262| 292| 274| 280| 274| 274| 261| 293| 268
Construction ........| 820| 772| 784| 763| 737| 865| 882| 875| 869| 922
Manufacturing .......| 523| 470| 497| 456| 477| 574| 569| 565| 596| 588
Service-Providing (1).|6,032|5,819|6,103|5,637|5,764|5,760|5,839|5,665|5,642|5,973
Wholesale trade......| 321| 310| 321| 294| 295| 304| 308| 301| 306| 314
Retail trade ........|1,029|1,007|1,022| 954| 939|1,042|1,064|1,011| 979|1,080
Transportation and | | | | | | | | | |
warehousing..........| 246| 224| 254| 208| 225| 223| 233| 229| 250| 253
Utilities............| 15| 14| 15| 13| 16| 12| 12| 11| 10| 12
Information..........| 161| 155| 145| 154| 162| 139| 154| 155| 153| 161
Financial activities.| 433| 418| 432| 412| 394| 463| 479| 486| 436| 455
Professional and | | | | | | | | | |
business services..|1,403|1,316|1,440|1,239|1,345|1,347|1,339|1,337|1,358|1,433
Education and | | | | | | | | | |
health services....| 795| 810| 814| 785| 788| 696| 685| 666| 667| 715
Leisure and | | | | | | | | | |
hospitality........|1,228|1,179|1,247|1,158|1,183|1,206|1,224|1,148|1,154|1,218
Other services.......| 308| 293| 296| 290| 300| 289| 307| 287| 289| 293
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Includes unclassified sector, not shown separately.
Service-providing. In the service-providing sectors, gross job gains
increased to 5,764,000 and gross job losses increased to 5,973,000.
Job gains at expanding establishments increased to 4,590,000 jobs,
while job losses at contracting establishments increased to 4,791,000
jobs, resulting in a net loss of 209,000 jobs.
Retail Trade. In retail trade, gross job gains decreased to
939,000 and gross job losses increased to 1,080,000 for a net loss of
141,000 jobs. This is the second highest net loss in this industry
since the series began in 1992, second to only the third quarter of
2001.
Education and Health Services. Gross job gains increased slightly to
788,000 jobs in the second quarter, while gross job losses increased to
715,000. This industry sector is the only one which has experienced a
net positive change in every quarter since this series began in 1992.
Financial Activities. Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in
the financial sector for the fifth consecutive quarter. Gross job gains
fell to 394,000, while gross job losses increased to 455,000.
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 second quarter of 2008, the number of
establishments losing jobs exceeded the number of establishments
gaining jobs.
Out of 7 million active private-sector establishments, a total of
2,024,000 establishments lost jobs from March 2008 to June 2008.
(See table C.) Of these establishments, 1,633,000 were contracting
establishments and 391,000 were closing establishments. Of the
establishments gaining jobs, 1,479,000 establishments were expanding
and 355,000 establishments were opening, resulting in 1,834,000
establishments gaining jobs.
The number of closing establishments exceeded the number of opening
establishments, resulting in a net loss of 36,000 private-sector
establishments during the quarter. This is the highest net decline in
establishments that has been observed since the time series began in
1992, and the first time that the net number of establishments has
declined for two consecutive quarters.
Table C. Number of private sector establishments by direction of
employment change, seasonally adjusted
(In thousands)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 months ended
|--------------------------------------
Category | June | Sept.| Dec. | Mar. | June
| 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2008 | 2008
----------------------------------|-------|-------|------|------|--------
Establishments gaining jobs.......| 1,919| 1,901| 1,940| 1,874| 1,834
Expanding establishments........| 1,559| 1,525| 1,558| 1,517| 1,479
Opening establishments..........| 360| 376| 382| 357| 355
| | | | |
Establishments losing jobs........| 1,952| 1,956| 1,935| 1,976| 2,024
Contracting establishments......| 1,582| 1,595| 1,575| 1,596| 1,633
Closing establishments..........| 370| 361| 360| 380| 391
| | | | |
Net establishment change (1)......| -10| 15| 22| -23| -36
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 March 2008 to June 2008, firms with 1,000 or more employees
experienced an increase in their share of gross job gains with 16.8
percent, and experienced an even larger increase in gross job losses
with 18.2 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)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Share of gross job gains | Share of gross job losses
| (3 months ended) | (3 months ended)
Firm size |------------------------------|------------------------------
| June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June | June |Sept.|Dec. |Mar. |June
| 2007 |2007 |2007 |2008 |2008 | 2007 |2007 |2007 |2008 |2008
-----------------------|------|-----|-----|-----|-----|------|-----|-----|-----|-----
| | | | | | | | | |
1 - 4 employees..| 14.9| 16.2| 15.6| 16.2| 15.4| 16.1| 15.8| 16.0| 16.7| 15.9
5 - 9 employees..| 11.6| 12.2| 11.4| 12.4| 11.8| 12.3| 12.1| 12.3| 12.4| 11.9
10 - 19 employees..| 12.1| 12.2| 11.6| 12.6| 12.1| 12.3| 12.3| 12.4| 12.4| 12.0
20 - 49 employees..| 14.5| 14.3| 13.8| 14.7| 14.4| 14.3| 14.5| 14.4| 14.3| 13.9
50 - 99 employees..| 9.1| 8.9| 8.7| 9.1| 9.1| 8.6| 8.9| 8.9| 8.7| 8.6
100 - 249 employees..| 9.8| 9.2| 9.3| 9.4| 9.7| 8.9| 9.4| 9.1| 8.9| 8.9
250 - 499 employees..| 5.9| 5.6| 5.5| 5.6| 5.6| 5.2| 5.5| 5.3| 5.3| 5.4
500 - 999 employees..| 4.7| 4.6| 4.5| 4.4| 4.6| 4.4| 4.5| 4.5| 4.2| 4.7
1,000 or more employees| 16.9| 16.4| 19.1| 15.2| 16.8| 17.4| 16.6| 16.7| 16.8| 18.2
| | | | | | | | | |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 second quarter of 2008, 11 states and the District of Columbia
experienced net employment growth while 39 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin
Islands experienced net job losses. Alaska and Wyoming had both the
highest rates of gross job gains (11.5 and 8.7 percent, respectively)
as well as the highest rates of gross job losses (9.7 and 10.4 percent,
respectively). (See tables 5 and 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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