BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

11/04/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/04/2026 14:10

Business Employment Dynamics in Kentucky —First Quarter 2026

News Release Information

26-1677-ATL
Wednesday, November 04, 2026

From December 2025 to March 2026, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Kentucky were 90,166, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 87,844, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment loss of 2,322 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2026. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 3,865. (See chart 1.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Period Gross job losses Gross job gains

Mar 2021

83,831 114,739

Jun 2021

99,115 101,417

Sep 2021

100,382 106,080

Dec 2021

78,466 117,246

Mar 2022

92,168 107,896

Jun 2022

106,368 103,033

Sep 2022

87,842 108,700

Dec 2022

87,616 97,754

Mar 2023

82,493 103,302

Jun 2023

98,783 93,890

Sep 2023

92,560 95,663

Dec 2023

87,993 95,533

Mar 2024

86,246 98,498

Jun 2024

97,173 89,217

Sep 2024

91,879 91,158

Dec 2024

92,768 89,237

Mar 2025

82,712 89,945

Jun 2025

90,350 85,828

Sep 2025

93,622 90,144

Dec 2025

86,255 90,120

Mar 2026

90,166 87,844

View Chart Data

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2026, gross job losses represented 5.3 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.5 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In Kentucky, contracting establishments lost 74,559 jobs in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 2,561 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 15,607 jobs, an increase of 1,350 jobs from the previous quarter.

Period United States Kentucky

Mar 2021

5.5 5.4

Jun 2021

5.9 6.3

Sep 2021

6.0 6.4

Dec 2021

5.4 4.9

Mar 2022

5.5 5.7

Jun 2022

6.2 6.5

Sep 2022

5.9 5.4

Dec 2022

5.9 5.3

Mar 2023

5.5 4.9

Jun 2023

5.9 5.9

Sep 2023

5.9 5.5

Dec 2023

5.7 5.2

Mar 2024

5.5 5.1

Jun 2024

5.9 5.8

Sep 2024

5.8 5.4

Dec 2024

5.7 5.5

Mar 2025

5.5 4.9

Jun 2025

6.0 5.3

Sep 2025

5.7 5.6

Dec 2025

5.5 5.1

Mar 2026

5.5 5.3

View Chart Data

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2026, gross job gains represented 5.2 percent of private-sector employment in Kentucky; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.5 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In Kentucky, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 70,453 in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 3,758 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 17,391 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 1,482 jobs from the previous quarter.

Period United States Kentucky

Mar 2021

7.0 7.4

Jun 2021

6.8 6.5

Sep 2021

7.3 6.7

Dec 2021

7.7 7.4

Mar 2022

6.7 6.7

Jun 2022

6.6 6.3

Sep 2022

6.9 6.7

Dec 2022

6.3 5.9

Mar 2023

6.3 6.1

Jun 2023

6.2 5.6

Sep 2023

5.9 5.7

Dec 2023

5.9 5.7

Mar 2024

5.9 5.8

Jun 2024

5.8 5.3

Sep 2024

5.8 5.4

Dec 2024

5.9 5.3

Mar 2025

5.7 5.3

Jun 2025

5.7 5.0

Sep 2025

5.7 5.3

Dec 2025

6.0 5.3

Mar 2026

5.5 5.2

View Chart Data

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 5 of the 11 published industry sectors in Kentucky in the first quarter of 2026. Manufacturing industry had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 3,455 jobs. This was the result of 9,719 gross job losses and 6,264 gross job gains. Construction showed a net increase of 1,476 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state. Kentucky's retail trade industry sector had a net gain of 1,428 jobs.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and the Business Employment Dynamics Summary.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2026 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

Data in this release contain annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. These revisions include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.


Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Dec.
2025
Mar.
2026
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Dec.
2025
Mar.
2026

Total private

Gross job gains

89,945 85,828 90,144 90,120 87,844 5.3 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.2

At expanding establishments

74,326 70,091 71,365 74,211 70,453 4.4 4.1 4.2 4.4 4.2

At opening establishments

15,619 15,737 18,779 15,909 17,391 0.9 0.9 1.1 0.9 1.0

Gross job losses

82,712 90,350 93,622 86,255 90,166 4.9 5.3 5.6 5.1 5.3

At contracting establishments

69,294 75,298 75,765 71,998 74,559 4.1 4.4 4.5 4.3 4.4

At closing establishments

13,418 15,052 17,857 14,257 15,607 0.8 0.9 1.1 0.8 0.9

Net employment change

7,233 -4,522 -3,478 3,865 -2,322 0.4 -0.3 -0.3 0.2 -0.1

Construction

Gross job gains

7,198 7,073 7,814 8,143 8,606 7.7 7.6 8.4 8.7 8.9

At expanding establishments

5,812 5,686 6,398 6,665 7,021 6.2 6.1 6.9 7.1 7.3

At opening establishments

1,386 1,387 1,416 1,478 1,585 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6

Gross job losses

7,092 7,236 6,975 6,833 7,130 7.6 7.8 7.5 7.3 7.4

At contracting establishments

5,894 5,961 5,362 5,648 5,704 6.3 6.4 5.8 6.0 5.9

At closing establishments

1,198 1,275 1,613 1,185 1,426 1.3 1.4 1.7 1.3 1.5

Net employment change

106 -163 839 1,310 1,476 0.1 -0.2 0.9 1.4 1.5

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

6,465 5,592 5,771 5,865 6,264 2.6 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.6

At expanding establishments

5,797 5,081 4,824 5,099 5,580 2.3 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.3

At opening establishments

668 511 947 766 684 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3

Gross job losses

6,241 7,632 8,471 7,378 9,719 2.4 3.0 3.4 2.9 3.9

At contracting establishments

5,865 6,784 7,329 6,768 9,256 2.3 2.7 2.9 2.7 3.7

At closing establishments

376 848 1,142 610 463 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.2

Net employment change

224 -2,040 -2,700 -1,513 -3,455 0.2 -0.8 -1.1 -0.6 -1.3

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

4,335 3,070 3,187 3,140 2,901 5.3 3.8 3.9 3.9 3.6

At expanding establishments

3,653 2,671 2,631 2,814 2,583 4.5 3.3 3.2 3.5 3.2

At opening establishments

682 399 556 326 318 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.4

Gross job losses

3,107 3,339 3,385 2,815 2,808 3.9 4.1 4.1 3.5 3.5

At contracting establishments

2,643 2,753 2,694 2,344 2,397 3.3 3.4 3.3 2.9 3.0

At closing establishments

464 586 691 471 411 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.5

Net employment change

1,228 -269 -198 325 93 1.4 -0.3 -0.2 0.4 0.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains

11,910 10,663 12,683 9,809 11,055 5.6 5.1 6.0 4.6 5.3

At expanding establishments

10,423 9,063 10,835 8,455 9,471 4.9 4.3 5.1 4.0 4.5

At opening establishments

1,487 1,600 1,848 1,354 1,584 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.6 0.8

Gross job losses

10,111 13,395 11,101 11,782 9,627 4.8 6.4 5.2 5.6 4.6

At contracting establishments

8,426 11,547 9,526 10,424 8,401 4.0 5.5 4.5 5.0 4.0

At closing establishments

1,685 1,848 1,575 1,358 1,226 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.6

Net employment change

1,799 -2,732 1,582 -1,973 1,428 0.8 -1.3 0.8 -1.0 0.7

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

4,910 4,261 4,523 6,964 5,960 3.8 3.3 3.6 5.6 4.8

At expanding establishments

4,289 3,693 3,723 6,514 4,732 3.3 2.9 3.0 5.2 3.8

At opening establishments

621 568 800 450 1,228 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.4 1.0

Gross job losses

6,359 6,496 6,035 5,586 6,583 4.9 5.1 4.8 4.4 5.3

At contracting establishments

5,806 5,864 5,156 4,931 5,844 4.5 4.6 4.1 3.9 4.7

At closing establishments

553 632 879 655 739 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.6

Net employment change

-1,449 -2,235 -1,512 1,378 -623 -1.1 -1.8 -1.2 1.2 -0.5

Information

Gross job gains

971 1,027 1,211 986 855 4.7 5.0 6.0 4.9 4.2

At expanding establishments

747 783 709 712 556 3.6 3.8 3.5 3.5 2.7

At opening establishments

224 244 502 274 299 1.1 1.2 2.5 1.4 1.5

Gross job losses

1,124 1,295 1,393 1,027 987 5.4 6.3 6.8 5.1 4.8

At contracting establishments

855 855 1,039 670 764 4.1 4.2 5.1 3.3 3.7

At closing establishments

269 440 354 357 223 1.3 2.1 1.7 1.8 1.1

Net employment change

-153 -268 -182 -41 -132 -0.7 -1.3 -0.8 -0.2 -0.6

Financial activities

Gross job gains

3,874 4,329 4,056 3,849 4,660 4.1 4.6 4.2 4.1 4.9

At expanding establishments

2,987 3,321 3,070 2,902 3,286 3.2 3.5 3.2 3.1 3.5

At opening establishments

887 1,008 986 947 1,374 0.9 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.4

Gross job losses

3,803 3,658 4,219 3,953 4,160 4.0 3.8 4.5 4.1 4.4

At contracting establishments

2,929 2,773 3,207 3,051 3,108 3.1 2.9 3.4 3.2 3.3

At closing establishments

874 885 1,012 902 1,052 0.9 0.9 1.1 0.9 1.1

Net employment change

71 671 -163 -104 500 0.1 0.8 -0.3 0.0 0.5

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

17,902 16,915 17,826 15,050 15,192 8.0 7.5 7.9 6.7 6.7

At expanding establishments

14,925 13,554 13,418 12,002 11,962 6.7 6.0 5.9 5.3 5.3

At opening establishments

2,977 3,361 4,408 3,048 3,230 1.3 1.5 2.0 1.4 1.4

Gross job losses

13,747 16,436 17,586 16,023 15,180 6.2 7.3 7.8 7.1 6.8

At contracting establishments

11,106 13,331 13,782 13,240 12,315 5.0 5.9 6.1 5.9 5.5

At closing establishments

2,641 3,105 3,804 2,783 2,865 1.2 1.4 1.7 1.2 1.3

Net employment change

4,155 479 240 -973 12 1.8 0.2 0.1 -0.4 -0.1

Education and health services

Gross job gains

12,456 13,328 13,324 13,536 11,455 4.0 4.3 4.2 4.3 3.7

At expanding establishments

9,980 10,615 10,377 10,908 9,087 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.5 2.9

At opening establishments

2,476 2,713 2,947 2,628 2,368 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8

Gross job losses

10,422 11,300 13,193 11,934 12,356 3.4 3.7 4.2 3.8 4.0

At contracting establishments

8,099 8,897 10,375 8,842 9,283 2.6 2.9 3.3 2.8 3.0

At closing establishments

2,323 2,403 2,818 3,092 3,073 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.0

Net employment change

2,034 2,028 131 1,602 -901 0.6 0.6 0.0 0.5 -0.3

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

14,922 14,794 14,858 17,692 15,576 7.1 7.1 7.2 8.5 7.4

At expanding establishments

12,141 12,046 11,730 14,563 12,410 5.8 5.8 5.7 7.0 5.9

At opening establishments

2,781 2,748 3,128 3,129 3,166 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.5

Gross job losses

16,125 14,918 16,334 14,159 16,908 7.7 7.2 7.9 6.8 8.1

At contracting establishments

13,958 12,751 13,609 12,308 14,017 6.7 6.2 6.6 5.9 6.7

At closing establishments

2,167 2,167 2,725 1,851 2,891 1.0 1.0 1.3 0.9 1.4

Net employment change

-1,203 -124 -1,476 3,533 -1,332 -0.6 -0.1 -0.7 1.7 -0.7

Other services

Gross job gains

3,422 3,295 3,466 3,202 3,321 7.3 7.1 7.4 6.8 7.1

At expanding establishments

2,493 2,608 2,725 2,437 2,526 5.3 5.6 5.8 5.2 5.4

At opening establishments

929 687 741 765 795 2.0 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7

Gross job losses

3,104 3,286 3,464 3,310 3,245 6.6 7.0 7.4 7.1 6.9

At contracting establishments

2,547 2,663 2,612 2,674 2,430 5.4 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.2

At closing establishments

557 623 852 636 815 1.2 1.3 1.8 1.4 1.7

Net employment change

318 9 2 -108 76 0.7 0.1 0.0 -0.3 0.2
Category Gross job gains as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Gross job losses as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Dec.
2025
Mar.
2026
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Dec.
2025
Mar.
2026

United States

5.7 5.7 5.7 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.5

Alabama

5.5 5.5 5.5 5.9 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.2

Alaska

10.4 10.0 7.4 11.9 9.6 8.3 9.9 10.0 9.4 9.4

Arizona

5.8 5.2 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.3 6.2 5.3 5.4 5.6

Arkansas

5.1 5.1 5.4 6.0 5.3 5.1 5.6 5.4 5.3 5.4

California

6.1 6.4 6.3 6.9 6.3 6.4 6.7 6.1 6.1 6.0

Colorado

6.4 6.5 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.6 6.7 6.4 6.2 6.5

Connecticut

5.7 5.8 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.7 5.7 5.5 5.4

Delaware

6.0 6.0 5.3 5.5 5.5 5.4 6.1 6.0 5.6 5.4

District of Columbia

4.9 5.7 4.6 5.5 5.0 5.8 6.1 6.0 5.1 4.9

Florida

5.8 5.7 6.0 5.9 5.3 5.5 5.8 5.9 5.6 5.5

Georgia

5.6 5.5 5.7 5.9 5.3 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.4 5.5

Hawaii

5.2 4.9 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.2 4.8 4.7 5.1

Idaho

7.5 7.6 6.7 8.0 7.7 7.3 7.1 7.6 6.3 7.0

Illinois

5.0 5.2 4.7 5.3 5.1 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.3 5.0

Indiana

5.4 5.1 5.1 5.5 4.9 5.1 5.4 5.1 5.1 5.1

Iowa

6.0 5.5 4.8 6.2 6.0 5.6 5.8 5.9 5.4 5.4

Kansas

5.5 5.4 5.8 5.8 5.4 5.4 6.3 5.8 5.4 5.3

Kentucky

5.3 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.2 4.9 5.3 5.6 5.1 5.3

Louisiana

5.8 5.6 6.0 6.0 5.7 5.7 6.2 5.9 5.9 5.4

Maine

7.3 7.1 6.4 6.8 6.4 6.4 7.3 7.0 7.0 6.3

Maryland

5.9 5.7 5.8 6.1 5.6 5.8 6.6 6.3 5.5 6.0

Massachusetts

5.0 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.1 5.7 5.9 5.5 5.3

Michigan

5.3 5.8 4.9 5.6 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.9 5.3 4.9

Minnesota

5.1 5.8 5.3 5.5 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.6

Mississippi

6.0 6.2 6.4 6.4 5.7 6.1 6.2 6.0 5.9 6.3

Missouri

5.4 5.6 5.7 6.2 5.6 5.2 6.1 5.9 5.4 5.3

Montana

8.0 7.7 7.1 8.4 7.8 7.6 8.3 7.9 7.4 7.0

Nebraska

5.3 5.4 5.6 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.5 6.0 5.3 5.4

Nevada

5.4 6.1 6.9 6.4 5.7 5.9 6.3 5.3 5.4 5.7

New Hampshire

6.6 6.3 5.6 6.3 6.1 6.1 6.7 6.8 5.7 6.3

New Jersey

5.4 5.7 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.4 5.5

New Mexico

6.1 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.0 5.8 6.0 6.4 6.0 5.9

New York

7.0 6.1 5.9 5.6 5.4 5.2 7.0 5.7 5.5 5.2

North Carolina

5.6 5.7 5.4 6.0 5.8 5.5 5.4 5.7 5.0 5.3

North Dakota

6.7 6.4 6.2 6.9 6.8 6.5 6.8 6.6 6.4 6.7

Ohio

5.2 5.3 5.2 5.3 5.2 4.9 5.4 5.3 5.0 5.1

Oklahoma

5.5 5.6 6.0 6.2 5.3 5.3 6.2 6.3 5.3 5.3

Oregon

6.1 6.1 5.7 5.9 5.7 6.1 6.4 6.6 6.0 5.9

Pennsylvania

5.0 4.9 5.0 5.1 4.7 4.7 5.1 5.1 4.7 4.8

Rhode Island

6.6 6.3 6.0 6.6 5.8 5.9 6.7 6.6 6.2 6.0

South Carolina

6.1 5.9 6.3 6.6 6.0 5.6 6.1 6.1 5.5 5.7

South Dakota

6.3 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.9 6.4 6.0 5.9 6.1

Tennessee

5.5 5.3 5.8 6.0 5.4 5.3 6.5 5.5 5.3 4.9

Texas

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.8 5.4 5.1 5.3 5.2 4.9 5.4

Utah

6.8 6.9 6.9 6.6 6.4 6.2 6.8 6.5 6.2 6.1

Vermont

7.0 6.9 6.7 7.0 6.6 6.8 7.4 7.7 7.0 6.5

Virginia

5.6 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.5 5.2 5.8 6.1 5.2 5.4

Washington

5.7 6.0 5.2 5.6 5.7 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.7 5.5

West Virginia

6.7 5.6 6.1 6.1 6.4 5.9 6.4 6.2 6.2 5.4

Wisconsin

5.1 5.3 4.9 5.5 5.4 5.0 5.4 5.6 5.1 4.9

Wyoming

8.1 8.3 7.7 9.0 8.8 8.8 8.9 8.4 8.0 8.2

Puerto Rico

6.5 7.0 5.2 4.6 4.6 5.2 6.0 5.4 5.3 4.6

Virgin Islands

6.1 11.9 6.9 8.4 7.3 8.8 9.2 7.5 5.7 7.1
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