Analysis

Gross Job Gains and Gross Job Losses Increased in Second Quarter 2012


Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—January 29, 2013. From March 2012 to June 2012 gross job gains from opening and expanding private sector establishments were 7.0 million, an increase of 69,000 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 6.4 million, an increase of 301,000 from the previous quarter.

The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 582,000 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2012. (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 5.7 million in second quarter 2012, an increase of 38,000 from the previous quarter.

Opening establishments accounted for 1.3 million jobs gained in second quarter 2012, an increase of 31,000 from the previous quarter.

Contracting establishments lost 5.2 million jobs in second quarter 2012. This is an increase of 278,000 from the prior quarter.

In second quarter 2012, closing establishments lost 1.2 million jobs, an increase of 23,000 from the previous quarter. (See tables 1 and 3.)

Gross job gains represented 6.3 percent of private sector employment in second quarter 2012, while gross job losses represented 5.8 percent of private sector employment. (See table 2.)

In second quarter 2012, the number of establishment births (a subset of the openings data, see the Technical Note for more information) fell by 2,000 to 191,000. These new establishments accounted for 759,000 jobs, an increase of 11,000 from the previous quarter. (See table 8.)

Data for establishment deaths (a subset of the closings data) are available through third quarter 2011, when 674,000 jobs were lost at 187,000 establishments. These figures represent decreases from the prior quarter when 677,000 jobs were lost at 190,000 establishments.

During second quarter 2012, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all industry sectors except construction, information, and utilities. Manufacturing experienced its ninth consecutive quarter of net employment gains. The manufacturing industry experienced a net job gain of 85,000 jobs, representing the largest increase in net job creation in that industry since fourth quarter 1997. (See table 3.)

Gross job losses increased in all three major firm size classes during the second quarter 2012. Additionally, gross job gains in the smallest size class, firms with 1-49 employees, decreased by 115,000. Firms with 250 or more employees accounted for 44 percent of the total net change in employment for second quarter 2012. (See tables 4 and 5.)

In the second quarter of 2012, 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 108,383 jobs, followed by Texas with 89,160 jobs and New York with 33,889 jobs. (See table 6.)

Alaska had the largest rate of gross job gains as a percent of employment at 11.1 percent, well above the U.S. average of 6.3 percent. Massachusetts had the lowest rate of gross job losses as a percent of employment at 4.9 percent, well below the U.S. average of 5.8 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 [email protected].

To view the tables referenced above, see: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.nr0.htm

Source: bls.gov

 

 


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