From December 2024 to March 2025, Florida’s private sector saw gross job gains of 510,563 and gross job losses of 480,933, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee stated that this resulted in a net employment gain of 29,630 jobs during the first quarter of 2025. In contrast, the previous quarter saw more job losses than gains by 19,111.
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track changes in employment at private-sector establishments from one quarter to the next. The net change is calculated as the difference between gross job gains and gross job losses.
In Florida for the first quarter of 2025, gross job gains accounted for 5.8 percent of private-sector employment, slightly higher than the national rate of 5.6 percent. Gross job gains include increases from expanding businesses and new jobs from opening establishments. Expanding establishments in Florida added 379,055 jobs—an increase compared to the prior quarter—while opening establishments contributed 131,508 jobs, which was a decrease from the previous period.
Gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in Florida; nationally this figure was 5.4 percent. Contracting establishments lost 358,089 jobs in Florida—a decrease compared to the previous quarter—and closing establishments accounted for a loss of 122,844 jobs.
Eight out of eleven industry sectors in Florida experienced more job gains than losses during this period. Education and health services led with a net increase of 13,539 jobs after accounting for both gains and losses within that sector. Retail trade followed with a net gain of 8,509 jobs and professional and business services added a net total of 6,965 jobs. Transportation and warehousing had the largest net loss among sectors at 7,585 jobs lost; leisure and hospitality also recorded a net loss.
The BED data series provide details on gross job gains and losses by industry subsector across all states as well as at different employer size classes. More information is available on the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and Business Employment Dynamics Summary.
The next release covering second quarter data is scheduled for February 26, 2026.
“The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records,” according to BLS materials.
For further details about definitions or methodology used in these statistics, readers can consult the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.
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