The latest quarterly employment report shows a wave of corporate downsizings.
Data is via a download from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) release for 2025 Q1.
Business Expansion Highlights
- The change in the number of businesses with 5 or more employees from 2021 to 2022 was 137,016.
- The change in the number of businesses with 5 or more employees from 2024 to 2025 was 2,617
- Of the total change in the number of businesses from 2024 Q1 to 2025 Q1, firms with fewer that 5 employees accounted for 337,890 of the total increase of 340,507 firms.
- In2025, firms fewer than 5 accounted for 99.2 percent of the increase in the total number of firms.
- In2022, firms fewer than 5 accounted for only 77.8 percent of the increase in the total number of firms.
Changes in Number of Businesses Detail
Changes in Number of Businesses by Number of Employees
- 5 to 9: 3,468
- 10 to 19: 1,862
- 20 to 49: -2,348
- 50 to 99: -741
- 100 to 249: 197
- 250 to 499: 4
- 500-999: 46
- 1000+: 129
Major Changes
The number of businesses with 50-99 employees decreased by 741.
The number of businesses with 20-49 employees decreased by a whopping 2,340.
The chart shows those drops are due to downsizing, not upsizing.
However, the very largest firms did get bigger, likely pushing a number of firms from 500-999 to 1000+.
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September 3, 2025: The Unemployment Level Is Now Greater than Job Openings
Openings vs Unemployment Level
- Job Openings: 7.18 million
- Unemployment Level: 7.24 million
The trends in openings and unemployment are not good. Yet, Fed Chair Jerome Powell cites a strong labor market.
September 4, 2025: Year-Over-Year Small Business Employment Growth Barely Above Zero
ADP reports the total YOY small business growth as +19,000.
September 5, 2025: Jobs Report Misery: Only 22,000 Gain in August, June Revised to -13,000
August was a bad month for job seekers. Here are the grim details.
September 9, 2025: New QCEW Data Indicates More Big Negative Revisions Coming to Job Reports
The discrepancy between jobs reports and quarterly data widens again.
The labor market is much weaker than most economists understand.
A large component of freedom is the freedom to transact business with the lowest cost provider. The freedom to compete is implied in this equation.
Trump interferes with the freedom of all Americans to buy from the lowest cost providers. His regulations are draconian, inappropriate and manipulative.
Forcing Americans to buy from his selected corporations is corporatism and corporatism is just another word for fascism.
No wonder our allies are turning away from us as we are no longer a free people represented by a government “Of the people, by the people, for the people”
Trumps government is “Of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations”
Trampling our right to buy from small businesses goes hand in hand with trumps predations on and trafficking of under age females. It is a perversion of power.
Who does Trump work for?
American farmers lost over $100 billion is sales because of Trumps first term tariffs and $80 billion in subsidies were paid out to them. Farmers lost and ate the other $20 billion and many lost their farms.
This time, hundreds of billions are being lost and already $50 billion is slated to be paid to farmers that have lost markets for their products due to Trumps new tariffs.
It is projected that $200 billion will be lost by farmers in 2025 as Brazil, Russia, Canada, Argentina, Australia all take market share because of the boycotting of American farm products due to Trumps trade war and tariffs.
Family farms are in trouble and Trumps abusive tariffs could not come at a worse time. Many farm families will see their land taken by the banks and financiers of seed and fertilizers.
Who the fuck does Trump work for?
???
Perhaps he works for the companies that will take over those bankrupt farms.
Canada is not taking any market share…we stupidly put tariffs on China in a vain effort to curry favor with Trump, and China stopped buying from Canada as well.
So American and Canadians farmers can all meet at the food kitchen, after they pick up their welfare checks.
Interesting, I had not seen that. Do you have a citation?
Regards…
Tons of stories in Canadian media, probably not mentioned in the US. Mostly farmers in Saskatchewan and Alberta, some Manitoba and Ontario, who were growing canola this year – China stopped buying, as a reaction to tariffs Canada put on China EV’s a while back.
Liberal Government in Ottawa does not care, and they said so publicly, as these are not their voters.
Canada is now attempting to negotiate something with China, like elimination or reduction of Canda EV tariffs in return for removal of China 87% tariff on Canadian canola. Probably too late to save this years crop sales, and farmers are facing bankruptcy, next year looking bleak. And I doubt China will switch back to Canada canola, when they have switched to Brazil or whomever, and likely signed contracts there.
Next year surviving farmers will probably have to switch to another crop, though I don’t know what, maybe wheat, corn is over-produced, IDK.
Canola is a useless crop anyway, not a healthy food, used in China to feed pigs as I understand it. Better fior our health to stop grwoing it anyway, though IDK what farmers can do instead, I used to have contacts in farming industries, but not recently.
Canola oil is used for human consumption and canola meal is used in animal feed (roughly 40% protein). Contrary to your local tik tok health guru, canola oil is actually healthy despite the bad rap fake gures give it.
Brazil crushes pretty much nil canola, grows nil canola and would take MINIMUM 10 years to develop any canola crush business.
“Next year surviving farmers will probably have to switch to another crop, though I don’t know what, maybe wheat, corn is over-produced, IDK.”
Did you pull that out your ass? Next year surviving farmers? I live in canola country and there is ABSOLUTELY no mention of what you say. Also it is common for crop rotation for numerous reasons.
You are correct Roadrunner. Canola is an excellent crop. Though I am surprised that China imports it from Canada as China grows a fair bit of it themselves. Lots grown in Europe as well.
So farmers who could not sell this year’s canola crop are going to grow it again next year? Are you sure? Rotation is a routine soil managment technique, I am talking about market forces – no market, no income, no profit, no farm there next year after the Bank forecloses.
If you can’t sell this years crop, which many farmers finance, what money is left for next year? Another, larger loan?
Logic would say, if you can’t sell canola from this year, you would grow something else next year, if you can financially survive this debacle.
“Human consumption” – mostly “vegetable oil” no, which I see many Dr’s saying is bad for you, use olive oil or sunflower oil instead. I keep reading it’s not good for you, I personally don’t use it, you go ahead if you want to.
Why are you complaining. I thought Americans do not want to do manufacturing or faming type of jobs. That is what the main stream news media tells me.
Also, China is not a good trading friend. The U.S. is usually getting the short straw in all trading with China.
The farmers will be bailed out. Everyone gets bailed out in the U.S.
“as we are no longer a free people represented by a government “Of the people, by the people, for the people”
LOL
This has been ongoing since the CIA killed JFK (at least, probably longer)…nice of you to finally notice.
How about the other 99% of Americans who stumble forward oblivious to all this – it’s all your fault, collectively, truly, because this happened in your time, on your watch, and you (Americans in general) didn’t notice, and probably most didn’t care then, or do now. Sure, a few voices spoke up, and were ignored.
You get the Government you fully deserve.
And it’s not Trump, by himself, you have the Neo-Con War-Monger Uni-Party in Washington in permanent power, doesn’t matter who is the fake President in name only.
Ignoring the difference between what came before vs what we’ve seen in the last 6 months is just another form of ignorant denial.
I guess your all for the Chinese displacement strategy of the U.S. — quietly blunting American power. China’s long-term goal is to reduce the U.S. to a deindustrialized, English-speaking version of a Latin American republic specializing in commodities, real estate, and tourism. China is pursuing both regional and global hegemony.
Your good with the Chines working in tandem to fund Mexico Drug lords to establish more cartel operation bases in the U.S. so cartels can start to corrupt politicians.
Most of the Allies turning away from us do not have are best interest in mind.
We are falling behind in manufacturing innovation because we all want to be coffee barista.
If Harris was elected, we would we be even further down the road to a deindustrialized nation and not able to make anything for the military, our people infrastructure or the energy infrastructure.
Woohoo! Trump announces new tariffs. Which can affect both small and large businesses.
100% on imported pharmaceuticals, unless that foreign pharma company is BUILDING a plant in the US.
25% on imported heavy duty trucks. This is because American truck manufacturers like Peterbilt, Kenworth etc are suffering a competitive disadvantage due to tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper, and parts that they import.
He will need to put tariffs on a lot more items to protect all US manufacturing who are paying his tariffs on so many of their inputs.
What a show!
– Woohoo! Trump announces new tariffs. > Maybe they should limit it to days when Trump doesn’t announce Tariffs.
– 100% on imported pharmaceuticals, unless that foreign pharma company is BUILDING a plant in the US. > Well according to the NYP, Eli Lilly was planning on investing $27 Billion to Build 4 New U.S. Pharmaceutical Plants. Unless this has changed, so we got that going for us…
– 25% on imported heavy duty trucks. > So basically doing what many Foreign companies were doing, as in “Self Protection” of their own Countries Corporations. Hmm…
– He will need to put tariffs on a lot more items to protect all US manufacturing. > Unless they use a system that allows the ones to fail, where products can easily and competitively be duplicated elsewhere perhaps?
2025 Key Highlights:
– The year 2025 is witnessing a surge in downsizing trends. > Absolutely, and it’s directly tied to “Affordability” which Inflation destroyed for Many! We are downsizing Homes, Children, Transportation, Eating out, Travel, Entertainment, and so much more. The affects are not even close to being felt just yet.
– The biggest time of year for companies to downsize. > End of Year Assessments / Review’s are coming up. With so much uncertainty around, deeper cuts are ripe, with the knowledge they can get them or others back if truly needed. Not many can afford to hold onto the good ones, that are no longer required, but for potential upcoming projects.
– What a show! > You truly are enjoying this! Good for You, and I hope you make Tons!!
Yes. Eli Lilly is still “planning” those 4 new facilities. That makes 1 out of 30+ pharma companies that export to the US who have plans to build here.
25% tariffs on heavy trucks was not done to help our companies export. It was done because Trump’s tariffs on their inputs was raising their costs and making them uncompetitive. And either way, it will make heavy trucks more expensive to buy in the US. Whether a large trucking company or an independent.
Now, what about the thousands of other products that our manufacturers make?
Yes. I am enjoying this immensely. And I am profiting from the opportunities.
Two other ways to protect our national security: 50% tariffs on imported kitchen cabinets and 30% on upholstered furniture.
Nice!
C’mon man, if 100% tariff is good, 1,000% is obviously better! – why not go all the way, and just put 10,000% tariffs on everything?
That will surely MAGA, won’t it? Asking for a friend.
Let’s not Forget about:
– In the U.S., the Danish pharma’s splashiest deal was its $16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent.
– Novo also funneled $4.1 billion into building a second fill-finish facility in North Carolina.
– J&J is shelling out in the notorious biotech innovation state with a $2 billion plan to build a biologics manufacturing site in Wilson
– Amgen is expanding its production prowess in North Carolina, the company announced in December. The $1 billion investment
Amongst others gearing up as well perhaps…
The Eightth Day of every week is when Trump does not announce a new tariff of sime kind.
Well he’s trying then, but not familiar with days of the week I guess…
So if Trump decrease drug prices by 1,500%, like he recently claimed, and then increase the price 100% via a tariff we will still get our drugs 1,400% cheaper than before Trump took office. Art of the deal baby….winning…..
Wait 1,500% decrease…..scratches head….hmmmm….
Please don’t try and do Trump Math at home, you can cause yourself a severe brain injury
I have listened to some speeches from global manufacturers. Some had completely moved out of the U.S. until covid hit and realized they had supply chain issues.
They started moving some Manufactuing back to the U.S. and the tariffs are helping business tremendously as it is more cost effective for his customers to buy U.S. produced goods. On the flip side, he is losing some business to his Chinese customers to Chinese companies in China as because of Chinese recipical tariffs. But he said most of his customers were in the U.S. so it is a win-win and the Chinese markets are cut throat anyway.
ma and pa businesses got taxed out of the free market or was muscled out by the machine as is the case more often than not
5 years ago – “…if even one life is saved, it’s worth it. After all, we’re all in this together!”
How many of the small[er] firms were NGO’s that lost their government support pipelines under Trump?
How many large companies will get huge tax relief under the BBB, or other subsidies that help them. Trump just gave several a huge windfall with TikTok deal- no bidding – just a hand out to some of his BFFs so he can use and abuse them later.
Too many large businesses and not enough small ones.
Antitrust law needs to be properly enforced to break up the huge monopolies.
What if I like buying products from Amazon, Wal-Mart or Microsoft? If it’s what I like (and millions other like me), what’s the problem? Why do we need government interference in where I buy my stuff?
(one company with the only cancer-curing drug is different)
What if I like heroin?
Yeah, we’ll all draw the line in different POV places.
You’re ‘right’; I could care less if you use heroin (and look at how many states have legalized recreational marijuana to see this same POV).
But IF your heroin use directly affects me, too, watch how quickly I take ‘your freedom’ away. Are you shooting up and discarding needles in the playground my kids will use tomorrow? Do you expect ‘free’ ambulance and ER services from my taxpayer $ when you overdose? Did your drug dealer kill three people yesterday in a gunfight to get you your heroin?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you your purchasing choices should be restricted somehow.
But whether I personally want to use Google (a near monopoly) for my Internet searches isn’t in the same ballpark as to whether you impose costs on me for your heroin
It could be argued that your support of these companies contributes to their capacity to put idiot puppets into high-ranking government positions and use them to eliminate competition and enslave the populace.
A bit more abstract than needles on the ground, but still pretty serious.
So my purchase of an online tchotchke from Amazon serves to “enslave the populace”? Thanks for the good laugh (and your super-strong theoretical argument) LOL
If nobody bought them, amazon wouldn’t be an issue.
No snowflake in an avalanche feels responsible.
Easy. Monopolies can set prices if there is no competition. Almost all the profits leaves your state and goes to Bentonville Arkansas to a handful executives and stock investors. So in the past, local companies invest in their local communities as it was good for them and thier customers. Do you think some VP in Bentonville or a hedge fun guy in New York cares if the local baseball team has a sponsor.
First, I didn’t mention buying anything from a monopoly – just big companies that excel in what they are doing (at least as evidenced by customer sales)
Second, we all should only buy from businesses that sponsor a local baseball team? Have you ever heard of the usefulness of the concept of economies of scale? (BTW that leaves people like me extra money – for the same products – that I can choose myself to donate to wherever I want instead of some random CEO)
Third, it’s also called a market system that many people around the world desire
If you’ve only got one choice, you cannot know that there isn’t a better path, one that simply isn’t being explored because it would disadvantage the current monopoly.
Progress requires competition not monopolization.
Sorry ‘Wisdom’ but not your strongest comment on this blog – to be sure
How did you go from Mish’s post about bigger companies expanding to “monopolies” being the/a problem? How many actual monopolies exist in the US that aren’t already government-sanctioned (like a trademarked movie or a patented pharmaceutical)? You don’t mention a specific one that gives any bearing on how many people are working or being downsized – per Mish’s post here? Or how using anti-trust government policy will ensure more jobs? And whether more jobs for the same products (supposedly by more numerous, competitive businesses) is actually a positive result?
And “Progress requires…” Are you actually the Dalai Lama or is this a hubris-laden opinion?
American company (headquartered in Maryland) just offered transfers to everyone in their Bay Area office to their Canadian R&D office in Montreal. About 380 employees. Bay Area office is closing. Many employees (many of whom are American citizens) are happy they can leave America and work in Canada.
Fools who have obviously never been to Canada, they’ll find out the hard way.
The Peoples Republic of Canada is a Communist shithole, full of woketard morons who vote for Globalist WEF puppets like Mark Carny or Trudeau.
The cost of living is very high in Montreal, though housing is relatively cheap, everything else is much more expensive than the US, and Quebec is generally a Socialist Province, where they give out huge welfare and social benefits, until their economy implodes, which it will do soon, as they have enormous public debt cased by stupidly generous social programs that are not at all affordable (just like France).
Smart private businesses flee Quebec for other cheaper parts of Canada(Alberta) if they can. And Quebecers are massive snobs, if they think you speak only English, a lot of them won’t talk to you at all, or only in French, pretending they don’t understand you, even though most can speak English.
Why do you call it a “communist” shit hole instead of a “capitalist” shit hole? Or an “oligarch” shit hole? Or just a “corrupt” shit hole?
Have you seen how much better healthcare works in China?
Even without looking for that, did healthcare work better in Canada decades ago or even a decade ago? I bet it did. I heard from locals in a couple EU countries how their systems have deteriorated. They’re being encouraged to switch to private healthcare. Who benefits? Has it ever occurred to you that a wealthy community of interest controls the politics of their and your shit holes and sabotage programs that worked, so they can steer you to their higher-fee services? That’s how I see it. That’s not “communism”.
I can make an argument that it’s not “capitalism” either.
Neither system works well (maybe not at all) when corruption breaks above a certain threshold.
There is little corruption in Canada, but vast amounts of Government stupidity. I call it Communism, tingue in cheek, as its more like “aggressive socialism”, if you want to split hairs.
Anyone with money in Canada is planning to leave, or most I talk to, anyway. Of course I don’t speak to the whole population.
Most Canadians are sheeple who are perfectly fine with huge Government spending, which is why Canada and our Provinces and Cities are drwoning in deep pools of debt. Think more of Europe, but in North America.
There is nothing wrong with social programs, in theory, if the economy can support them. But they inevitably lead to huge over-spending and giant mountains of debt that can’t be sustained, causing the whole pile of garbage to collapse eventually, which is what is happening now.
Capital has been fleeing Canada since 2015, by some coincidence I’m sure, starting at exactly the moment Trudea was elected. Standard of living is falling daily, food prices rising weekly, cost of living spiralling upwards…..it’s a typical socialist paradis, for those who receive Govenment checks, but even they are starting to notice now, as their check doesn’t increase near enough to keep up with inflation. Real estate markets are crashing, as homes are unaffordable by 95% of the people, and interest rrate cust won’t help that much, until home prices go down maybe 70%, which will wipe out most homeowners who bought in the last 10+ years.
Othere than these minor issues, Canda is great…in the Summer.
Downsizing is the new normal. As I have mentioned a friends machine tooling company is moving one of their factories to Canada and closing one of two US locations. 9 homes in the US are listed for sale and the building that they work out of will close in two months to become a storage facility.
17 US jobs lost due to the tariffs on aluminum. 14 Jobs created in Canada because that is where the majority of the customers are.
Just one example of t~rumps version of “winning”.
Trump is full of shit!
Again, fools moving to Canada – out of the frying pan, into the fire.
I’m in Canada, it’s a high-cost Commnunist hell-hole.
Medicial costs are roughly half than US. What costs are you referring to ?
Cost of living is out of control here, every one I talk to is saying they can’t afford anything, and can barely keep some food on the table – and these people have jobs.
Having “free” healthcare, paid for through high taxes may help a bit, but taxes are insanely high here, so Candians may be marginally better off that Americans in that repsect, but the extreme costs of everything else balance that out. If you compared Canda to US tax rates in detail, I would say Americans are better off, in most respects. You would be shocked at how high taxes and costs are here.
even if what you say is true you’re completely missing the point — Trump’s tariffs are driving jobs and manufacturing out of the US. if they’re moving to communist shitholes, well that actually makes the point even more strongly
What point? I woujld say that nyone who leaves the US for Canada is an idiot, or a socialist, or rich and don’t care.
That leaves out about 180 other countries you could re-locate to. I would choose almost BRICS nation, myself, as they are the future, the West is the past. I’m p;aning on fleeing Canada soon, if I can get out with any money left, which is dubious, our Goverments are so stupidly liberal and icnompetent that Canada is in a race with AMerica to see who collapses first – al roads lead to higher costs and lower standards of living.
Fewer immigrants, fewer workers, smaller businesses. It’s just getting started.
Tariff is destroying American consumer’s ability to consume, and the size of the US economy basically
Small business don’t have the money to bribe the appropriate officials to waive the policies that are wrecking them.
Tough luck for them. Should have been born to rich parents.
Government keeps picking billionaires over small businesses. Small businesses have never had it worse. It is time to break up big corporations in every industry in America. Many of them are double dealing or have outright monopolies. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders understood this well in the 2015/16 and 2019/2020 primary cycles. Biden and Trump have been a boon to big corporations.
Or at least take a look at campaign finance reform.
Large corporations pay for our Senators and Representatives electoral campaigns. They create great jobs for their spouses and children. No way they will push for action to break up these organizations. Citizen’s United was the coup d’etat that overthrew the Republic. Now, we’re just Mexico with more inherited wealth.
I have never understood why major corporations give money to both political parties / campaigns. If I was a stockholder, I would be mad. Make up your mind. Give to one party (or candidate) or don’t vide at all. What a waste of money.
Corporations win no matter which side gets elected. They have both sides in their pocket.
This way, only corporate sponsored candidates can ever win.
That way, the system is ‘fixed’.
Agree. We don’;t have capitalism or socialism. We have corporatism. The intersection of private corporations and government up for sale to highest bidder.
All rise for the corporate anthem…
“Hail to the Thief” plays as Trump rides the elevator down.
I remember laughing so hard at that pathetic little performance. Little did I know that my future was to be filled with pathetic performances just like it.
Suck won.