From December 2024 to March 2025, private-sector businesses in Washington added 172,479 jobs through openings and expansions, while losing 165,224 jobs from closures and contractions, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This resulted in a net gain of 7,255 jobs for the first quarter of 2025. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund stated that this difference represents the net employment change in the state’s private sector for the period.
Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics measure changes in employment at private-sector establishments from one quarter to the next. The BED program tracks both job gains from new and expanding businesses and job losses from contracting or closing businesses.
In Washington, gross job gains made up 5.7 percent of private-sector employment during this period, slightly above the national rate of 5.6 percent. Expanding establishments contributed 148,495 jobs to these gains—an amount similar to the previous quarter—while newly opened businesses accounted for 23,984 jobs gained, which was a decrease compared to earlier figures.
Gross job losses represented 5.5 percent of private-sector employment in Washington; nationally, this figure was 5.4 percent. Contracting establishments were responsible for most losses with a reduction of 154,512 jobs—a rise compared to the prior quarter—while closing establishments accounted for a loss of 10,712 jobs, which marked a significant decrease from previous numbers.
Of the eleven industry sectors analyzed in Washington during the first quarter of 2025, seven saw gross job gains outpace losses. Retail trade led with a net increase of 6,204 jobs after accounting for both gains and losses within that sector. Education and health services followed with a net gain of 4,514 jobs; construction had an increase of 2,906 jobs. Manufacturing recorded the largest net loss among all sectors at -2,993 jobs.
The BED data series offer information on gross job gains and losses by industry subsector across all states as well as territories such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Data is also broken down by employer size class at the firm level.
The Business Employment Dynamics data are produced through cooperation between federal and state agencies under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program using existing records collected by BLS.
Additional details about methodology and coverage can be found on the BLS website or in accompanying technical notes provided by BLS.
“The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 7,255 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2025,” said Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund.
The next release covering second quarter results is scheduled for February 26, 2026.
Information from this release is available in accessible formats upon request via phone or telecommunications relay service.
