From December 2024 to March 2025, Kentucky’s private sector saw 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 this net gain followed a previous quarter in which gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 3,285 jobs.
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track quarterly changes in employment at private-sector businesses. The net change in employment is calculated as the difference between gross job gains—due to expansions and openings—and gross job losses—resulting from contractions and closures.
In Kentucky during the first quarter of 2025, gross job gains represented 5.2 percent of private-sector employment. This was slightly lower than the national figure of 5.6 percent. Of these gains in Kentucky, expanding establishments contributed 72,762 jobs—an increase of 186 jobs compared to the previous quarter—while opening establishments added 15,413 jobs—a decrease of 1,394 jobs from the prior period.
Gross job losses accounted for 4.8 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; nationally this figure stood at 5.4 percent. Contracting establishments in Kentucky lost 68,021 jobs—a decline of 10,052 from the previous quarter—while closing establishments shed another 13,237 jobs—a decrease of 1,358 over the same timeframe.
Across industry sectors in Kentucky, eight out of eleven published sectors reported more gross job gains than losses during this period. Professional and business services recorded the largest net increase with a gain of 4,127 jobs (17,587 gained versus 13,460 lost). Retail trade followed with a net gain of 1,733 jobs; education and health services had a net gain of 1,622 jobs. Leisure and hospitality posted the largest net loss among all sectors with a decrease of 1,400 jobs.
BED data provide details on job dynamics by industry subsector across all states and certain territories as well as breakdowns by employer size class. More information can be found on the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and Business Employment Dynamics Summary.
The next BED report for the second quarter of 2025 is scheduled for release on February 26, 2026.
According to BLS statements: “The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.” The data series result from a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).
More details on definitions and methodology are available through the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.
