Gross job gains 7.6 million and gross job losses 7.4 million in the 2nd quarter of 2019

Economic News Release USDL-20-0137

Business Employment Dynamics Summary
For release 10:00 a.m. (EST), Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Technical Information: (202) 691-6553 * BDMInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/bdm
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – SECOND QUARTER 2019

From March 2019 to June 2019, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector
establishments were 7.6 million, an increase of 230,000 jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting
private-sector establishments were 7.4 million, an increase of 573,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net
employment gain of 182,000 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2019. (See tables A and
1.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment
that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics statistics track
these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the
third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross
job losses is the net change in employment. (See Technical Note.) The BED data series include gross job
gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, 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.

Gross Job Gains

In the second quarter of 2019, gross job gains represented 6.0 percent of private-sector employment. Gross
job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the
addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 6.2
million in the second quarter of 2019, an increase of 191,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.4 million of the jobs gained in the second quarter of 2019, an
increase of 39,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Gross Job Losses

In the second quarter of 2019, gross job losses represented 5.9 percent of private-sector employment.
Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of
jobs at closing establishments. Contracting establishments lost 6.1 million jobs in the second quarter of
2019, an increase of 429,000 jobs from the prior quarter. In the second quarter of 2019, closing
establishments lost 1.3 million jobs, an increase of 144,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (See tables A,
1, 2, and 3.)

Establishment Births and Deaths

In the second quarter of 2019, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data)
increased by 1,000, to a total of 257,000 establishments. These new establishments accounted for
848,000 jobs, an increase of 34,000 jobs from the previous quarter. Data for establishment deaths (a
subset of the closings data) are available through the third quarter of 2018, when 787,000 jobs were
lost at 231,000 establishments, an increase of 13,000 jobs from the second quarter of 2018. (See Technical
Note and table 8.)

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For More Information

Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm.
This information includes data on the levels and rates of gross job gains and gross job losses by firm
size, 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 answers to frequently asked
questions. Additional information about the Business Employment Dynamics data can be found
in the Technical Note of this release or can be obtained by emailing BDMinfo@bls.gov.

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The Business Employment Dynamics for Third Quarter 2019 are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).