BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS – FOURTH QUARTER 2025 - BLS
From September 2025 to December 2025, gross job gains from expanding and opening private-sector establishments were 7.8 million, an increase of 363,000 jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from contracting and closing private-sector establishments were 7.2 million, a decrease of 389,000 jobs from the previous quarter. (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 (BED) 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 fourth quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.9 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. Expanding establishments gained 6.2 million jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025, and opening establishments gained 1.6 million jobs. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Gross Job Losses
In the fourth quarter of 2025, gross job losses represented 5.5 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 5.8 million jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025, and closing establishments lost 1.4 million jobs. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)
Establishment Births and Deaths
In the fourth quarter of 2025, there were 338,000 establishment births which accounted for 1,006,000 jobs. Data for establishment deaths are available through the first quarter of 2025, when 809,000 jobs were lost at 284,000 establishments. (See Technical Note and table 8.)
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