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 jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.
The 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.
Contracting establishments lost 7.0 million jobs, in the first quarter of 2009, an increase of 7,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Expanding establishments gained 4.6 million jobs, a sharp decrease from the previous quarter when expanding establishments gained 5.4 million jobs.
Closing establishments lost 1.4 million jobs, a decrease of 60,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
Opening establishments gained 1.1 million jobs, a decrease from the previous quarter when opening establishments gained 1.4 million jobs
The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost yielded a net change of -2,740,000 jobs in the private sector for first quarter 2009. This is the largest quarterly net loss since the series began in 1992.
Gross job gains represented 5.2 percent of private sector employment, while gross job losses represented 7.7 percent of private sector employment.
Establishment births, a subset of the openings data, gained 697,000 jobs at 171,000 establishments in first quarter 2009, the lowest level of gains since the series began in June 1993. Data for establishment deaths, a subset of the closings data, are now available for June 2008, when 936,000 jobs were lost at 227,000 establishments.
From December 2008 to March 2009, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in all but two industry sectors: utilities and education and
health services. Gross job gains in the education and health services sector decreased to 731,000 jobs in the first quarter, while gross job losses increased to 723,000. This industry sector is the only one which has experienced a net positive change in every quarter since this series began in 1992.
From December 2008 to March 2009, the share of gross job gains accounted for by firms with 1 to 4 employees rose from 17.1 to 18.2 percent. Firms with 1,000 or more employees experienced a decrease in the share of gross job gains from 17.8 to 13.7 percent.
In the first quarter of 2009, the rate of gross job gains increased slightly in the District of Columbia (5.8 percent). Levels of gross job gains fell in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Levels of gross job losses increased in 20 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and fell in 30 states and the District of Columbia.
