From March 2021 to June 2021, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in California were 1,111,041, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 924,896, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 186,145 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2021. During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 248,054. (See chart 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 the Technical Note.)

Gross job gains

In the second quarter of 2021, gross job gains represented 7.8 percent of private-sector employment in California; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 6.7 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) 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. In California, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 897,169 in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 23,384 jobs compared to the previous quarter. (See table 1.) Opening establishments accounted for 213,872 jobs gained in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 6,029 jobs from the previous quarter.

Gross job losses

In the second quarter of 2021, gross job losses represented 6.4 percent of private-sector employment in California; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.9 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In California, contracting establishments lost 735,331 jobs in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 74,136 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 189,565 jobs, an increase of 17,186 jobs from the previous quarter.

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 8 of 11 industry sectors in California in the second quarter of 2021. Leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 171,644 jobs. This was the result of 255,916 gross job gains and 84,272 gross job losses. Other services had the second-largest net gain in jobs at 20,013, followed by education and health services with 18,985. Transportation and warehousing had a net loss of 23,419 jobs.

For more information

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. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Third Quarter 2021 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.

Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records. Most employers in the U.S. are required to file quarterly reports on the employment and wages of workers covered by unemployment insurance (UI) laws, and to pay quarterly UI taxes. The QCEW is based largely on quarterly UI reports which are sent by businesses to the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). These UI reports are supplemented by two additional BLS data collections to render administrative data into economic statistics. Together these data comprise the QCEW and form the basis of the Bureau’s establishment universe sampling frame.

In the BED program, the QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and expanding units and jobs lost at closing and contracting units.

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. BED statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments 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 establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment in the current and previous quarters. The rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:

Openings. These are either units with positive third month employment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.

Expansions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.

Closings. These are either units with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions. These are units with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

The full Technical Note for the Business Employment Dynamics program, which includes information on coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the current quarterly news release online at www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, California, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and job losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	June 2020	Sept 2020	Dec. 2020	Mar. 2021	June 2021	June 2020	Sept 2020	Dec. 2020	Mar. 2021	June 2021
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	751,485	1,201,754	1,171,574	1,081,628	1,111,041	5.3	8.9	8.5	7.7	7.8
At expanding establishments	571,061	945,393	890,031	873,785	897,169	4.0	7.0	6.5	6.2	6.3
At opening establishments	180,424	256,361	281,543	207,843	213,872	1.3	1.9	2.0	1.5	1.5
Gross job losses	2,664,100	965,425	848,243	833,574	924,896	18.6	7.1	6.1	5.9	6.4
At contracting establishments	2,221,526	746,580	665,427	661,195	735,331	15.5	5.5	4.8	4.7	5.1
At closing establishments	442,574	218,845	182,816	172,379	189,565	3.1	1.6	1.3	1.2	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-1,912,615	236,329	323,331	248,054	186,145	-13.3	1.8	2.4	1.8	1.4
Construction
Gross job gains	66,784	74,352	87,966	83,279	72,327	7.6	8.8	10.3	9.5	8.2
At expanding establishments	50,749	58,162	69,975	68,539	58,928	5.8	6.9	8.2	7.8	6.7
At opening establishments	16,035	16,190	17,991	14,740	13,399	1.8	1.9	2.1	1.7	1.5
Gross job losses	114,700	82,918	62,295	67,429	80,990	13.1	9.8	7.3	7.6	9.2
At contracting establishments	96,367	66,869	50,180	54,894	65,408	11.0	7.9	5.9	6.2	7.4
At closing establishments	18,333	16,049	12,115	12,535	15,582	2.1	1.9	1.4	1.4	1.8
Net employment change (2)	-47,916	-8,566	25,671	15,850	-8,663	-5.5	-1.0	3.0	1.9	-1.0
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	39,434	58,274	57,151	55,562	51,134	3.1	4.7	4.6	4.4	4.0
At expanding establishments	33,283	49,890	50,006	49,182	45,805	2.6	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.6
At opening establishments	6,151	8,384	7,145	6,380	5,329	0.5	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.4
Gross job losses	123,793	59,917	47,986	48,728	46,484	9.6	4.8	3.8	3.8	3.6
At contracting establishments	110,436	52,702	41,864	42,097	38,522	8.6	4.2	3.3	3.3	3.0
At closing establishments	13,357	7,215	6,122	6,631	7,962	1.0	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.6
Net employment change (2)	-84,359	-1,643	9,165	6,834	4,650	-6.5	-0.1	0.8	0.6	0.4
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	25,399	39,564	39,033	32,135	34,555	3.9	6.3	6.1	5.0	5.4
At expanding establishments	18,941	30,811	29,661	26,053	28,207	2.9	4.9	4.6	4.1	4.4
At opening establishments	6,458	8,753	9,372	6,082	6,348	1.0	1.4	1.5	0.9	1.0
Gross job losses	82,253	34,519	28,018	29,788	32,991	12.5	5.4	4.3	4.7	5.1
At contracting establishments	69,227	26,698	22,002	22,850	23,992	10.5	4.2	3.4	3.6	3.7
At closing establishments	13,026	7,821	6,016	6,938	8,999	2.0	1.2	0.9	1.1	1.4
Net employment change (2)	-56,854	5,045	11,015	2,347	1,564	-8.6	0.9	1.8	0.3	0.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	91,870	164,973	105,698	100,023	104,379	5.8	11.0	6.8	6.4	6.5
At expanding establishments	80,310	143,097	88,611	85,023	89,596	5.1	9.5	5.7	5.4	5.6
At opening establishments	11,560	21,876	17,087	15,000	14,783	0.7	1.5	1.1	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	324,433	87,106	89,087	76,257	105,003	20.7	5.8	5.8	4.8	6.6
At contracting establishments	286,779	72,546	75,459	66,392	91,031	18.3	4.8	4.9	4.2	5.7
At closing establishments	37,654	14,560	13,628	9,865	13,972	2.4	1.0	0.9	0.6	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-232,563	77,867	16,611	23,766	-624	-14.9	5.2	1.0	1.6	-0.1
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	60,717	57,779	90,960	45,048	38,463	9.4	8.9	13.2	6.3	5.5
At expanding establishments	52,524	48,747	58,851	37,146	30,167	8.1	7.5	8.5	5.2	4.3
At opening establishments	8,193	9,032	32,109	7,902	8,296	1.3	1.4	4.7	1.1	1.2
Gross job losses	92,088	38,586	35,203	46,779	61,882	14.2	5.9	5.1	6.5	8.8
At contracting establishments	82,573	32,696	30,738	41,857	55,741	12.7	5.0	4.5	5.8	7.9
At closing establishments	9,515	5,890	4,465	4,922	6,141	1.5	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.9
Net employment change (2)	-31,371	19,193	55,757	-1,731	-23,419	-4.8	3.0	8.1	-0.2	-3.3
Information
Gross job gains	22,799	43,879	45,824	45,461	41,369	4.3	8.7	8.9	8.5	7.7
At expanding establishments	17,968	37,250	38,795	41,342	34,500	3.4	7.4	7.5	7.7	6.4
At opening establishments	4,831	6,629	7,029	4,119	6,869	0.9	1.3	1.4	0.8	1.3
Gross job losses	96,815	27,470	24,143	22,852	40,151	18.2	5.4	4.7	4.2	7.4
At contracting establishments	84,901	21,723	19,206	17,969	34,616	16.0	4.3	3.7	3.3	6.4
At closing establishments	11,914	5,747	4,937	4,883	5,535	2.2	1.1	1.0	0.9	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-74,016	16,409	21,681	22,609	1,218	-13.9	3.3	4.2	4.3	0.3
Financial activities
Gross job gains	37,906	51,513	53,271	42,585	48,167	4.6	6.4	6.6	5.1	5.9
At expanding establishments	25,484	38,721	34,799	32,445	35,143	3.1	4.8	4.3	3.9	4.3
At opening establishments	12,422	12,792	18,472	10,140	13,024	1.5	1.6	2.3	1.2	1.6
Gross job losses	84,832	46,178	39,742	43,217	47,145	10.4	5.7	4.9	5.3	5.8
At contracting establishments	68,714	32,246	28,426	30,427	34,178	8.4	4.0	3.5	3.7	4.2
At closing establishments	16,118	13,932	11,316	12,790	12,967	2.0	1.7	1.4	1.6	1.6
Net employment change (2)	-46,926	5,335	13,529	-632	1,022	-5.8	0.7	1.7	-0.2	0.1
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	138,654	205,475	222,023	187,452	179,803	5.3	8.1	8.5	7.1	6.7
At expanding establishments	99,357	165,230	171,811	153,601	144,197	3.8	6.5	6.6	5.8	5.4
At opening establishments	39,297	40,245	50,212	33,851	35,606	1.5	1.6	1.9	1.3	1.3
Gross job losses	361,891	168,585	133,557	151,967	173,268	13.8	6.7	5.1	5.7	6.5
At contracting establishments	311,277	128,386	101,640	116,682	134,045	11.9	5.1	3.9	4.4	5.0
At closing establishments	50,614	40,199	31,917	35,285	39,223	1.9	1.6	1.2	1.3	1.5
Net employment change (2)	-223,237	36,890	88,466	35,485	6,535	-8.5	1.4	3.4	1.4	0.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	104,132	174,151	170,789	146,388	155,014	3.9	6.7	6.5	5.4	5.8
At expanding establishments	66,691	121,563	118,237	102,187	109,974	2.5	4.7	4.5	3.8	4.1
At opening establishments	37,441	52,588	52,552	44,201	45,040	1.4	2.0	2.0	1.6	1.7
Gross job losses	302,640	137,544	122,036	124,245	136,029	11.3	5.3	4.6	4.7	5.0
At contracting establishments	233,223	93,275	82,364	85,223	92,698	8.7	3.6	3.1	3.2	3.4
At closing establishments	69,417	44,269	39,672	39,022	43,331	2.6	1.7	1.5	1.5	1.6
Net employment change (2)	-198,508	36,607	48,753	22,143	18,985	-7.4	1.4	1.9	0.7	0.8
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	57,089	209,132	153,990	210,613	255,916	3.5	15.6	11.3	15.0	16.4
At expanding establishments	34,155	159,734	114,197	171,959	210,845	2.1	11.9	8.4	12.2	13.5
At opening establishments	22,934	49,398	39,793	38,654	45,071	1.4	3.7	2.9	2.8	2.9
Gross job losses	821,741	163,835	146,663	106,150	84,272	49.6	12.3	10.9	7.6	5.5
At contracting establishments	682,895	122,792	114,517	82,890	64,702	41.2	9.2	8.5	5.9	4.2
At closing establishments	138,846	41,043	32,146	23,260	19,570	8.4	3.1	2.4	1.7	1.3
Net employment change (2)	-764,652	45,297	7,327	104,463	171,644	-46.1	3.3	0.4	7.4	10.9
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	19,621	53,142	47,917	49,225	48,848	4.3	13.8	12.1	11.9	11.2
At expanding establishments	12,700	32,046	28,456	29,297	36,205	2.8	8.3	7.2	7.1	8.3
At opening establishments	6,921	21,096	19,461	19,928	12,643	1.5	5.5	4.9	4.8	2.9
Gross job losses	165,214	38,723	36,590	29,354	28,835	37.0	10.0	9.2	7.1	6.6
At contracting establishments	112,174	25,868	22,201	20,989	19,743	25.1	6.7	5.6	5.1	4.5
At closing establishments	53,040	12,855	14,389	8,365	9,092	11.9	3.3	3.6	2.0	2.1
Net employment change (2)	-145,593	14,419	11,327	19,871	20,013	-32.7	3.8	2.9	4.8	4.6
Footnotes: (1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately. (2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical Note for further information. (3) Except public administration.