From December 2024 to March 2025, Florida’s private sector experienced a net employment gain of 29,630 jobs, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Gross job gains from opening and expanding establishments reached 510,563, while gross job losses from closing and contracting establishments totaled 480,933.
Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee stated that the difference between gross job gains and losses resulted in the net increase during the first quarter of 2025. In contrast, the previous quarter saw gross job losses exceed gains by 19,111.
Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track employment changes at private-sector businesses from one quarter to the next. The BED data reflect both increases and decreases in employment across all private businesses.
In Florida for the first quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.8 percent of private-sector employment compared to a national figure of 5.6 percent. Expanding establishments contributed 379,055 jobs—an increase of over ten thousand from the prior quarter—while opening establishments accounted for another 131,508 jobs gained but marked a decrease compared to the previous period.
Gross job losses made up 5.5 percent of Florida’s private-sector employment; nationally this figure was slightly lower at 5.4 percent. Contracting establishments in Florida lost 358,089 jobs—a reduction in losses compared to last quarter—while closing establishments lost an additional 122,844 jobs.
Eight out of eleven industry sectors in Florida posted net job gains during this period. Education and health services led with a net increase of 13,539 jobs due to higher gross job gains than losses within that sector. Retail trade followed with a net gain of more than eight thousand jobs; professional and business services also recorded growth. Transportation and warehousing had the largest net loss among sectors at over seven thousand jobs lost; leisure and hospitality also experienced a decline.
The BED data series provide detailed information on gross job gains and losses by industry subsector for all states as well as certain U.S. territories and include breakdowns by employer size class.
The next release covering second-quarter data is scheduled for February 26, 2026.
BED data are produced through a federal-state cooperative program using records from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). Further details on definitions, coverage, concepts, and methodology can be found on the BLS website or in technical notes provided with each release.
