From December 2024 to March 2025, private-sector businesses in Kentucky experienced a net employment gain of 6,917 jobs, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Gross job gains from opening and expanding establishments totaled 88,175, while gross job losses from closing and contracting establishments reached 81,258.
Victoria G. Lee, Regional Commissioner for the BLS, stated that “the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 6,917 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2025.” In comparison, the previous quarter saw gross job losses exceed gross job gains by 3,285.
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track changes in employment at private-sector establishments each quarter. The net change in employment is calculated as the difference between gross job gains and losses.
During the first quarter of 2025, gross job gains accounted for 5.2 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky. Nationally, this figure was slightly higher at 5.6 percent. Expanding establishments contributed 72,762 jobs to Kentucky’s total gross job gains—an increase of 186 jobs over the prior quarter—while new openings added another 15,413 jobs but represented a decrease of 1,394 jobs compared to the previous period.
Gross job losses represented 4.8 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky during this period; nationally they were at 5.4 percent. Contracting establishments in Kentucky lost a total of 68,021 jobs—a decrease of 10,052 from the previous quarter—and closing establishments lost an additional 13,237 jobs, down by 1,358 from before.
Eight out of eleven major industry sectors reported more gross job gains than losses in Kentucky for this period. Professional and business services led with a net increase of 4,127 jobs after recording both significant gains (17,587) and losses (13,460). Retail trade had a net gain of 1,733 jobs; education and health services followed with a net gain of 1,622 jobs. Leisure and hospitality was an exception with a net loss totaling 1,400 jobs—the largest sector loss statewide.
The BED data provide detailed information on employment changes by industry subsector across all states and territories as well as by employer size class at the firm level. More information is available on the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and through related summaries.
The next release covering second-quarter data is scheduled for February 26, 2026.
The BED program is part of a federal-state cooperative initiative known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), with data compiled by BLS using existing QCEW records.
For details about definitions or methodology used in these reports see the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.
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