Gross job gains and losses in the first quarter of 2009

November 23, 2009

In the first quarter of 2009, the difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost yielded a net loss of 2,740,000 jobs in the private sector. This is the largest quarterly net loss since this data series began in 1992.

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The number of job gains from opening and expanding private sector establishments was 5.7 million in the first quarter of 2009, the lowest level since the series began.

• Opening establishments gained 1.1 million jobs, a decrease from the previous quarter when opening establishments gained 1.4 million jobs.
• Expanding establishments gained 4.6 million jobs, a sharp decrease from the previous quarter when expanding establishments gained 5.4 million jobs.

The number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was 8.5 million in the first quarter of 2009.

• Contracting establishments lost 7.0 million jobs, an increase of 7,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.
• Closing establishments lost 1.4 million jobs, a decrease of 60,000 jobs compared to the previous quarter.

These data are from the Business Employment Dynamics program. See "Business Employment Dynamics — First Quarter 2009" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL 09-1403, to learn more.