For release 10:00 a.m. EDT USDL-12-1530
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Technical information: (202) 691-6553 * BDMInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/bdm
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FOURTH QUARTER 2011
From September to December 2011 gross job gains from opening and
expanding private sector establishments were 6.9 million, a decrease
of 204,000 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 6.5 million,
an increase of 181,000 from the previous quarter.
The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number
of gross job losses yielded a net employment change of 368,000 jobs
in the private sector during the fourth quarter of 2011.
(See table 1.)
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. (See the Technical Note for more information.)
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.
Gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 5.5 million in
fourth quarter 2011, a decrease of 203,000 from the previous quarter.
Opening establishments accounted for 1.3 million jobs gained in fourth
quarter 2011, essentially unchanged from the previous quarter.
Contracting establishments lost 5.2 million jobs in fourth quarter
2011. This is an increase of 52,000 from the prior quarter.
In fourth quarter 2011, closing establishments lost 1.3 million jobs,
an increase of 129,000 from the previous quarter. (See table 1 and
table 3.)
Gross job gains represented 6.3 percent of private sector employment
in fourth quarter 2011, while gross job losses represented 6.0 percent
of private sector employment. (See table 2.)
In fourth quarter 2011, the number of establishment births (a subset of
the openings data, see the Technical Note for more information) rose by
6,000 to 197,000. These new establishments accounted for 778,000 jobs,
an increase of 15,000 from the previous quarter. (See table 8.)
Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are
available through first quarter 2011, when 613,000 jobs were lost at
185,000 establishments. These figures represent a decrease from the
prior quarter when 691,000 jobs were lost at 186,000 establishments.
During fourth quarter 2011, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains
in the construction, information, leisure and hospitality, and other
services sectors. The construction industry experienced a net employment
loss of 33,000 jobs after two consecutive quarters of positive net growth.
Professional and business services, which include temporary help
services, accounted for 25 percent of the total private sector net job
change in the fourth quarter of 2011. (See table 3.)
Table A. Three-month private sector gross job gains and losses,
seasonally adjusted
Category 3 months ended
Dec. Mar. June Sept. Dec.
2010 2011 2011 2011 2011
Levels (in thousands)
Gross job gains................ 7,009 6,338 6,892 7,058 6,854
At expanding establishments... 5,631 5,230 5,627 5,745 5,542
At opening establishments..... 1,378 1,108 1,265 1,313 1,312
Gross job losses............... 6,427 6,086 6,314 6,305 6,486
At contracting establishments. 5,199 4,969 5,083 5,160 5,212
At closing establishments..... 1,228 1,117 1,231 1,145 1,274
Net employment change(1)....... 582 252 578 753 368
Rates (percent)
Gross job gains................ 6.6 5.9 6.4 6.5 6.3
At expanding establishments... 5.3 4.9 5.2 5.3 5.1
At opening establishments..... 1.3 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.2
Gross job losses............... 6.1 5.7 5.8 5.9 6.0
At contracting establishments. 4.9 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.8
At closing establishments..... 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.2
Net employment change(1)....... .5 .2 .6 .6 .3
(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.
Gross job gains declined in all three major firm size classes compared
to the previous quarter. Firms with 1-49 employees experienced the
largest drop in gross job gains. Firms with 250 or more employees
accounted for 85 percent of the total net change in employment for the
quarter. (See tables 4 and 5.)
In the fourth quarter of 2011, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses
in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. California
had the largest net employment gain of 79,832 jobs, followed by Texas
with 65,886 jobs. (See table 6.) Arizona, Missouri, North Carolina,
South Dakota, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico had both a rate of gross
job gains at or above the U.S average of 6.3 percent, and a rate of
gross job losses that was the same or below the national average of
6.0 percent. (See table 7.)
More Information
Additional information on gross job gains and gross job losses are
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 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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| The Business Employment Dynamics for First Quarter 2012 are scheduled |
| to be released on Friday, November 16, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). |
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