Here’s a breakdown of BLS Business Employment Dynamics (BED) by sector.
This data is from the current BLS Business Employment Dynamics (BED) report.
Business Employment Dynamics is a set of statistics generated from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program.
Chart Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Concepts
CES stands for Current Employment Statistics (the monthly job reports). It is plagued by poor samples, small sample sizes, response rate bias, and non responses.
Net BED Job Gains and Losses by Sector 5-Quarter Total
Net Total: +94,000
Natural Resources and Mining: -21,000
Construction: +21,000
Manufacturing: -340,000
Wholesale Trade: -66,000
Retail Trade: -222,000
Transportation: +119,000
Utilities: +15,000
Information: -106,000
Financial Activities: -20,000
Professional and Business Services: -247,000
Education and Health Services: +862,000
Leisure and Hospitality: -186,000
Other Services: -18,000
I used 5 quarters because that is how the report summarized things. Going forward, I will maintain the charts from here.
Education and Health Services was the only sector to gain jobs in every quarter. It took a massive 862,000 net gain to hold the overall net total barely positive at 94,000.
On average, that is 18,800 jobs per quarter, only 6,267 jobs per month on average.
Manufacturing, and Professional and Business Services are the only sectors that lost jobs every quarter.
Note that the sum of the parts usually does not match the totals. Also, this data severely lags. The chart is through the third quarter of 2025.
Net BED Job Gains and Losses by Sector
BED Manufacturing Jobs Gains and Losses
BED Manufacturing Jobs Gains and Losses by Quarter Details
2024 Q3: -79,000
2024 Q4: -55,000
2025 Q1: -37,000
2025 Q2: -69,000
2025 Q3: -100,000
In contrast to monthly jobs reports, this lagging data is very accurate.
Were it not for AI and boomer health care, this economy would be in the gutter.
Reflections on Tariffs
Trump’s tariffs are an expansion of Biden’s tariffs, which were themselves a continuation of Trump’s tariffs.
So regarding manufacturing, please give Trump credit for 2024 as well.
There is no doubt Trump’s tariffs have clobbered small businesses.
Job Creation Negative Again
Yesterday, I commented Net Job Creation by New Businesses Is Negative Once Again
From June 2025 to September 2025, gross job losses from contracting and closing private-sector establishments were 7.6 million, a decrease of 272,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
Over this period, gross job gains from expanding and opening private-sector establishments were 7.5 million, a decrease of 110,000 jobs from the previous quarter.
For more details and chart, please click the above link.
This update is from a reader request for sector-specific changes. I frequently take such requests as time permits.
Firm Size
Firms with 1 to 49 employees had a net employment decrease of 138,000.
Firms with 50 to 249 employees experienced a net employment loss of 75,000.
Firms with 250 or more employees added 4,000 net jobs.
Trump’s tariffs are destroying small businesses. There’s no doubt about that. But he’s too stubborn and too economically illiterate to admit it.
This looks incredibly stagflationary, but for now, AI is keeping the economy in expansion.
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