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. Business Employment Dynamics (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 job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment.
The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses at the establishment level by industry subsector 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.
Job gains at expanding establishments fell to 5.2 million in first quarter 2011, a decrease from the previous quarter’s gain of 5.6 million.
Opening establishments gained 1.1 million jobs in first quarter 2011, a decrease from the previous quarter when opening establishments created 1.4 million jobs. This is the smallest number of jobs gained at opening establishments since the series began in September 1992.
Contracting establishments lost 5 million jobs in the first quarter of 2011. This is the smallest number of jobs lost at contracting establishments since the series began in September 1992.
In the first quarter of 2011, closing establishments lost 1.1 million jobs, a decline from the previous quarter. This is the smallest number of jobs lost at closing establishments since the series began in September 1992.
The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net change of 252,000 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2011.
Gross job gains represented 5.9 percent of private sector employment in first quarter 2011, while gross job losses represented 5.7 percent of private sector employment.
In first quarter 2011, the number of establishment births fell by 17,000 to 183,000. These new establishments accounted for 660,000 jobs, a decrease of 132,000 from the previous quarter. This is the smallest number of jobs gained at establishment births since the series began in September 1992.
Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through June 2010, when 652,000 jobs were lost at 185,000 establishments. This represents the lowest number of jobs lost at establishment deaths since the series began in third quarter 1992.
From December 2010 to March 2011, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all industry sectors except construction, information, financial activities, retail trade, and transportation and warehousing. This is the fifteenth consecutive quarter of net losses for the information sector. Manufacturing experienced its fourth consecutive
quarter of net employment gains. The leisure and hospitality sector as well as the professional and business services had the largest positive rates of net employment change at 0.5 percent.
Gross job gains declined in all three major firm size classes compared to the previous quarter. Firms with 250 or more employees experienced the largest drop in gross job gains. Firms with less than 250 employees comprised 72 percent of the total net change in employment.
In the first quarter of 2011, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Texas had the largest net employment change of 63,921 jobs, followed by Michigan with 27,251 jobs. The District of Columbia experienced the largest rate of net employment change at 1.8 percent, followed by North Dakota at 1.6 percent.
