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 Mississippi —First Quarter 2026

News Release Information

26-1678-ATL
Wednesday, November 04, 2026

From December 2025 to March 2026, gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments in Mississippi were 59,272, while gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments were 53,490, 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 5,782 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 5,789. (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

57,053 50,678

Jun 2021

57,833 57,540

Sep 2021

54,501 66,850

Dec 2021

50,765 70,965

Mar 2022

56,251 57,577

Jun 2022

60,953 59,849

Sep 2022

58,148 66,052

Dec 2022

57,383 63,346

Mar 2023

56,329 59,765

Jun 2023

60,376 59,483

Sep 2023

57,670 57,753

Dec 2023

52,671 56,980

Mar 2024

53,915 55,391

Jun 2024

58,841 53,378

Sep 2024

53,688 58,118

Dec 2024

57,838 58,862

Mar 2025

57,544 56,269

Jun 2025

58,321 57,490

Sep 2025

56,113 60,161

Dec 2025

54,975 60,764

Mar 2026

59,272 53,490

View Chart Data

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2026, gross job losses represented 6.3 percent of private-sector employment in Mississippi; 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 Mississippi, contracting establishments lost 49,805 jobs in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 4,996 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 9,467 jobs, a decrease of 699 jobs from the previous quarter.

Period Mississippi United States

Mar 2021

6.5 5.5

Jun 2021

6.6 5.9

Sep 2021

6.1 6.0

Dec 2021

5.6 5.4

Mar 2022

6.1 5.5

Jun 2022

6.6 6.2

Sep 2022

6.3 5.9

Dec 2022

6.2 5.9

Mar 2023

6.1 5.5

Jun 2023

6.4 5.9

Sep 2023

6.1 5.9

Dec 2023

5.7 5.7

Mar 2024

5.8 5.5

Jun 2024

6.3 5.9

Sep 2024

5.7 5.8

Dec 2024

6.2 5.7

Mar 2025

6.1 5.5

Jun 2025

6.2 6.0

Sep 2025

6.0 5.7

Dec 2025

5.9 5.5

Mar 2026

6.3 5.5

View Chart Data

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2026, gross job gains represented 5.7 percent of private-sector employment in Mississippi; 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 Mississippi, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 43,000 in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 5,525 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 10,490 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 1,749 jobs from the previous quarter.

Period Mississippi United States

Mar 2021

5.8 7.0

Jun 2021

6.5 6.8

Sep 2021

7.6 7.3

Dec 2021

7.9 7.7

Mar 2022

6.3 6.7

Jun 2022

6.6 6.6

Sep 2022

7.2 6.9

Dec 2022

6.8 6.3

Mar 2023

6.5 6.3

Jun 2023

6.4 6.2

Sep 2023

6.2 5.9

Dec 2023

6.1 5.9

Mar 2024

6.0 5.9

Jun 2024

5.7 5.8

Sep 2024

6.3 5.8

Dec 2024

6.3 5.9

Mar 2025

6.0 5.7

Jun 2025

6.2 5.7

Sep 2025

6.4 5.7

Dec 2025

6.4 6.0

Mar 2026

5.7 5.5

View Chart Data

Industries

Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 7 of the 10 published industry sectors in Mississippi in the first quarter of 2026. Professional and business services had the largest over-the-quarter net job decrease, with a loss of 2,076 jobs. This was the result of 12,938 gross job losses and 10,862 gross job gains. The leisure and hospitality industry had a net loss of 1,270 jobs, followed by transportation and warehousing with a net loss of 1,034 jobs. Wholesale trade showed a net increase of 393 jobs, the largest gain of any sector in the state.

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 First Quarter 2026 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 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

56,269 57,490 60,161 60,764 53,490 6.0 6.2 6.4 6.4 5.7

At expanding establishments

43,069 46,582 48,660 48,525 43,000 4.6 5.0 5.2 5.1 4.6

At opening establishments

13,200 10,908 11,501 12,239 10,490 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.1

Gross job losses

57,544 58,321 56,113 54,975 59,272 6.1 6.2 6.0 5.9 6.3

At contracting establishments

49,595 48,681 44,885 44,809 49,805 5.3 5.2 4.8 4.8 5.3

At closing establishments

7,949 9,640 11,228 10,166 9,467 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.1 1.0

Net employment change

-1,275 -831 4,048 5,789 -5,782 -0.1 0.0 0.4 0.5 -0.6

Construction

Gross job gains

5,911 4,148 4,722 5,270 4,569 11.1 7.8 8.8 9.8 8.4

At expanding establishments

4,781 3,350 3,895 4,083 3,649 9.0 6.3 7.3 7.6 6.7

At opening establishments

1,130 798 827 1,187 920 2.1 1.5 1.5 2.2 1.7

Gross job losses

4,034 4,262 4,423 4,867 4,393 7.6 7.9 8.3 9.0 8.1

At contracting establishments

3,350 3,598 3,786 3,993 3,580 6.3 6.7 7.1 7.4 6.6

At closing establishments

684 664 637 874 813 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.5

Net employment change

1,877 -114 299 403 176 3.5 -0.1 0.5 0.8 0.3

Manufacturing

Gross job gains

3,324 4,586 3,458 3,362 3,074 2.4 3.3 2.4 2.4 2.2

At expanding establishments

3,032 4,276 3,254 3,201 2,893 2.2 3.1 2.3 2.3 2.1

At opening establishments

292 310 204 161 181 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1

Gross job losses

4,746 4,786 4,132 3,795 3,959 3.4 3.5 2.9 2.7 2.9

At contracting establishments

4,504 4,428 3,796 3,507 3,452 3.2 3.2 2.7 2.5 2.5

At closing establishments

242 358 336 288 507 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.4

Net employment change

-1,422 -200 -674 -433 -885 -1.0 -0.2 -0.5 -0.3 -0.7

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

1,857 1,767 1,654 1,716 1,890 5.0 4.8 4.5 4.8 5.2

At expanding establishments

1,516 1,466 1,394 1,320 1,577 4.1 4.0 3.8 3.7 4.3

At opening establishments

341 301 260 396 313 0.9 0.8 0.7 1.1 0.9

Gross job losses

1,679 1,976 1,815 2,056 1,497 4.6 5.4 5.0 5.7 4.1

At contracting establishments

1,415 1,602 1,463 1,686 1,161 3.9 4.4 4.0 4.7 3.2

At closing establishments

264 374 352 370 336 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.9

Net employment change

178 -209 -161 -340 393 0.4 -0.6 -0.5 -0.9 1.1

Retail trade

Gross job gains

7,903 8,437 8,106 7,047 7,415 5.7 6.1 5.8 5.1 5.4

At expanding establishments

6,606 7,069 6,934 5,930 6,228 4.8 5.1 5.0 4.3 4.5

At opening establishments

1,297 1,368 1,172 1,117 1,187 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9

Gross job losses

7,257 8,430 7,813 8,185 7,450 5.2 6.1 5.7 6.0 5.4

At contracting establishments

6,110 7,406 6,854 6,977 6,479 4.4 5.4 5.0 5.1 4.7

At closing establishments

1,147 1,024 959 1,208 971 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.7

Net employment change

646 7 293 -1,138 -35 0.5 0.0 0.1 -0.9 0.0

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

2,636 3,257 3,661 4,998 3,072 4.3 5.4 6.1 7.9 4.8

At expanding establishments

2,136 2,928 2,723 4,106 2,561 3.5 4.9 4.5 6.5 4.0

At opening establishments

500 329 938 892 511 0.8 0.5 1.6 1.4 0.8

Gross job losses

4,202 3,591 3,130 3,175 4,106 6.8 6.0 5.2 5.0 6.4

At contracting establishments

3,687 3,249 2,606 2,650 3,577 6.0 5.4 4.3 4.2 5.6

At closing establishments

515 342 524 525 529 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.8

Net employment change

-1,566 -334 531 1,823 -1,034 -2.5 -0.6 0.9 2.9 -1.6

Financial activities

Gross job gains

2,327 2,584 2,636 2,568 2,262 5.1 5.7 5.8 5.7 4.9

At expanding establishments

1,690 2,074 2,115 1,857 1,715 3.7 4.6 4.7 4.1 3.7

At opening establishments

637 510 521 711 547 1.4 1.1 1.1 1.6 1.2

Gross job losses

2,196 2,695 2,174 2,285 2,725 4.9 6.0 4.8 5.0 5.9

At contracting establishments

1,702 1,994 1,635 1,843 2,064 3.8 4.4 3.6 4.0 4.5

At closing establishments

494 701 539 442 661 1.1 1.6 1.2 1.0 1.4

Net employment change

131 -111 462 283 -463 0.2 -0.3 1.0 0.7 -1.0

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

9,843 10,806 13,500 12,571 10,862 8.3 9.2 11.4 10.5 9.0

At expanding establishments

7,562 8,109 11,734 10,301 8,475 6.4 6.9 9.9 8.6 7.0

At opening establishments

2,281 2,697 1,766 2,270 2,387 1.9 2.3 1.5 1.9 2.0

Gross job losses

11,643 10,873 9,803 10,018 12,938 9.8 9.3 8.3 8.3 10.8

At contracting establishments

10,002 8,859 7,714 7,813 11,173 8.4 7.6 6.5 6.5 9.3

At closing establishments

1,641 2,014 2,089 2,205 1,765 1.4 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.5

Net employment change

-1,800 -67 3,697 2,553 -2,076 -1.5 -0.1 3.1 2.2 -1.8

Education and health services

Gross job gains

8,724 7,969 6,683 7,678 7,300 5.6 5.0 4.2 4.8 4.6

At expanding establishments

6,447 6,574 5,395 5,785 5,994 4.1 4.1 3.4 3.6 3.8

At opening establishments

2,277 1,395 1,288 1,893 1,306 1.5 0.9 0.8 1.2 0.8

Gross job losses

6,528 6,375 7,118 6,485 7,964 4.2 4.0 4.4 4.0 5.0

At contracting establishments

5,755 5,310 5,330 5,455 6,765 3.7 3.3 3.3 3.4 4.2

At closing establishments

773 1,065 1,788 1,030 1,199 0.5 0.7 1.1 0.6 0.8

Net employment change

2,196 1,594 -435 1,193 -664 1.4 1.0 -0.2 0.8 -0.4

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

9,373 10,468 11,664 11,732 9,670 6.9 7.7 8.7 8.6 7.2

At expanding establishments

6,146 8,015 8,044 9,411 7,399 4.5 5.9 6.0 6.9 5.5

At opening establishments

3,227 2,453 3,620 2,321 2,271 2.4 1.8 2.7 1.7 1.7

Gross job losses

11,439 10,533 11,865 10,038 10,940 8.4 7.8 8.8 7.4 8.1

At contracting establishments

9,946 8,365 8,919 8,093 9,019 7.3 6.2 6.6 6.0 6.7

At closing establishments

1,493 2,168 2,946 1,945 1,921 1.1 1.6 2.2 1.4 1.4

Net employment change

-2,066 -65 -201 1,694 -1,270 -1.5 -0.1 -0.1 1.2 -0.9

Other services

Gross job gains

1,596 1,473 2,183 1,594 1,623 7.3 6.8 10.0 7.3 7.5

At expanding establishments

1,076 1,167 1,794 1,103 1,205 4.9 5.4 8.2 5.1 5.6

At opening establishments

520 306 389 491 418 2.4 1.4 1.8 2.2 1.9

Gross job losses

1,478 1,747 1,554 2,182 1,488 6.8 8.1 7.1 10.0 6.9

At contracting establishments

1,225 1,321 1,156 1,348 1,108 5.6 6.1 5.3 6.2 5.1

At closing establishments

253 426 398 834 380 1.2 2.0 1.8 3.8 1.8

Net employment change

118 -274 629 -588 135 0.5 -1.3 2.9 -2.7 0.6
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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