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Economic News Release
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MLS MLS Program Links

Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release

Technical information:   (202) 691-6392      USDL 08-0384
                http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                             For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact:           (202) 691-5902      Friday, March 21, 2008


                       MASS LAYOFFS IN FEBRUARY 2008

   In February, employers took 1,672 mass layoff actions, seasonally 
adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits
during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor reported today.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from a
single employer; the number of workers involved totaled 177,374, on a
seasonally adjusted basis.  February layoff events and associated initial
claimants were the highest since September 2005 (which reflected the impact
of Hurricane Katrina) and were the highest for the month of February since
2003.  The number of mass layoff events in February 2008 increased by 234
from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims in-
creased by 33,263.  In February, 529 mass layoff events were reported in
the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 66,913 initial
claims.  Over the month, mass layoff activity in manufacturing increased by
102 events, and initial claims increased by 11,425.  (See table 1.)

   The national unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in February, seasonally
adjusted, essentially unchanged from 4.9 percent the prior month and up
from 4.5 percent a year earlier.  Total nonfarm payroll employment de-
creased by 63,000 in February from the previous month, but increased by
860,000 from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   The number of mass layoff events in February, at 1,269 on a not sea-
sonally adjusted basis, was up by 334 from a year earlier.  The number of
associated initial claims increased by 32,812 over the year to 119,508,
due, in part, to a calendar effect.  (See table 2.)  (February 2008 con-
tained 5 weeks compared with 4 weeks in February 2007.  The seasonal ad-
justment process adjusts for this effect.)  The average weekly number of
events in February 2007 compared with February 2008 increased from 234
to 254, and the average weekly initial claimants increased from 21,674
to 23,902.  Both weekly averages reached the highest levels for the month
of February since 2003.

   The largest over-the-year increases in February 2008 average weekly ini-
tial claims associated with mass layoffs occurred in administrative and sup-
port services (+1,259), electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing
(+995), and motion picture and sound recording industries (+366).  The larg-
est decreases occurred in transportation equipment manufacturing (-1,190),
machinery manufacturing (-511), and construction of buildings (-386).

   The manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of all mass layoff
events and 36 percent of all related initial claims filed in February; a
year earlier, manufacturing made up 29 percent of events and 42 percent
of initial claims.  In February 2008, the number of manufacturing claim-
ants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (12,189, larg-
ely in automobile manufacturing), followed by wood product manufacturing
(5,576), and electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing (5,327).
(See table 3.)

   Administrative and waste services accounted for 16 percent of mass
layoff events and 15 percent of initial claims in February, primarily from
temporary help services.  Construction comprised 15 percent of events and
11 percent of initial claims, primarily from highway, street, and bridge
construction.  Retail trade made up 10 percent of all mass layoff events
and associated initial claims, mainly from discount department stores.


                                   - 2 -


Table A.  Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in February 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |        |    February peak     
                 Industry                 |Initial |----------------------
                                          | claims |      |               
                                          |        | Year |Initial claims 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |        |      |               
Temporary help services ..................|  8,858 | 2001 |     18,893    
Professional employer organizations ......|  5,151 | 2008 |      5,151    
Automobile manufacturing .................|  4,265 | 2001 |     13,977    
School and employee bus transportation ...|  4,254 | 2008 |      4,254    
Household refrigerator and home freezer   |        |      |               
 manufacturing ...........................|  3,839 | 2008 |      3,839    
Motion picture and video production ......|  3,428 | 2002 |      5,844    
Highway, street, and bridge construction..|  2,437 | 2003 |      3,316    
Food service contractors .................|  2,430 | 2008 |      2,430    
Discount department stores ...............|  2,019 | 2004 |      2,669    
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ..|  1,782 | 2000 |     12,516    
                                          |        |      |               
--------------------------------------------------------------------------


   The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 32 percent of all such
claims in February.  The industry with the highest number of initial claims
was temporary help services with 8,858, followed by professional employer
organizations (5,151), automobile manufacturing (4,265), and school and
employee bus transportation (4,254).  Together, these four industries
accounted for 19 percent of all initial claims due to mass layoffs during
the month.  (See table A.)

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   Among the 4 census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
February due to mass layoffs was in the West, 42,178.  Administrative and
support services accounted for 19 percent of all mass layoff initial claims
in that region during the month.  The South had the second largest number
of initial claims among the regions, 29,835, followed by the Midwest with
25,941 and the Northeast with 21,554.  (See table 5.)

   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year
in 3 of the 4 regions and 8 of the 9 divisions, due, in part, to a calendar
effect.  However, only 2 of the 4 regions experienced over-the-year increases
in average weekly initial claims--the West (+2,443) and the South (+1,505). 
Six of the 9 divisions had over-the-year increases in average weekly initial
claims, led by the Pacific (+2,150).

   California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to 
mass layoff events in February (32,747), followed by Pennsylvania (8,204),
Florida (6,572), Illinois (6,344), and New York (5,912).  These five states
accounted for 56 percent of all mass layoff events and 50 percent of all
initial claims for unemployment insurance in February.  (See table 6.)

   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year
in 35 states and the District of Columbia, due, in part, to a calendar ef-
fect.  Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia reported over-the-year
increases in average weekly initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led
by California (+1,597) and Florida (+660).  For both California and Florida,
the largest increases in initial claims occurred in administrative and sup-
port services.  States with the largest over-the-year decreases in average
weekly claims were Pennsylvania (-1,091), Wisconsin (-889), Michigan (-751),
and Virginia (-721).


                       _____________________________


   The report on Mass Layoffs in March 2008 is scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, April 23.






                              - 3 -


Technical Note

   The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during
a consecutive 5-week period.  These employers then are contacted by the
state agency to determine whether these separations lasted 31 days or
longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is collected.
States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.

   A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month.  All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday.  In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations.  This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks, the number of weeks in a given 
month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in a
year may vary.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year
change in not seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect
into consideration.

   The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding.  Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

Definitions

   Employer.  Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state
unemployment insurance laws.  Information on employers is obtained from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is adminis-
tered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

   Initial claimant.  A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
   
   Mass layoff event.  Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment 
insurance benefits filed against an employer during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
   
Seasonal adjustment

   Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish-
ing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.  The six series are the
numbers of mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total,
private nonfarm, and manufacturing sectors.
   
   Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expan-
sions and contractions.
   
   The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis.  Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping seasonal adjustment factors.  Revisions to the most recent 5 years
of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a year with the issuance of
December data.  Before the data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments
are made to the original data to adjust them for differences in the number
of weeks used to calculate the monthly data.  Because weekly unemployment
insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data, a particular month's
value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in one year and 4 weeks
in another.  The effects of these differences could seriously distort the
seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process.
These effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently
removed from the final seasonally adjusted series.






Table 1.  Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, March 2004 to
February 2008, seasonally adjusted

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial              Initial               Initial 
                                Events    claimants   Events   claimants     Events  claimants
                                                                                              
             2004                                                                             

March ......................     1,364     139,304     1,228     130,123       398      58,980
April ......................     1,360     139,185     1,193     124,432       351      37,760
May ........................     1,224     114,810     1,059     100,854       339      39,045
June .......................     1,400     141,168     1,231     128,245       371      47,243
July .......................     1,329     137,805     1,178     126,301       376      50,799
August .....................     1,426     128,759     1,233     113,809       343      36,539
September ..................     1,285     127,833     1,154     116,843       336      45,690
October ....................     1,283     132,766     1,169     123,471       363      47,046
November ...................     1,320     130,873     1,174     119,029       380      45,416
December ...................     1,148     111,060       991      99,784       287      31,935

             2005                                                                             

January ....................     1,475     160,725     1,346     151,028       382      61,324
February ...................     1,146     121,455     1,020     110,480       353      43,568
March ......................     1,207     131,271     1,066     120,945       372      53,673
April ......................     1,252     136,752     1,125     126,550       401      60,681
May ........................     1,248     136,420     1,104     123,495       398      54,999
June .......................     1,196     127,084     1,078     118,012       368      58,300
July .......................     1,250     132,445     1,103     119,566       357      46,602
August .....................     1,144     125,686     1,000     113,762       341      47,598
September ..................     2,248     297,544     2,028     251,185       417      55,304
October ....................     1,101     110,035       982     100,934       321      43,230
November ...................     1,176     114,965     1,042     103,535       332      42,071
December ...................     1,261     134,461     1,132     123,418       360      46,863

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,107     110,800       988     101,494       283      34,037
February ...................     1,031     109,798       940     101,828       322      43,147
March ......................     1,084     119,049       983     110,668       323      48,119
April ......................     1,171     121,580     1,043     112,175       368      49,568
May ........................     1,124     117,115     1,005     107,181       314      43,087
June .......................     1,146     123,827     1,030     114,080       352      44,869
July .......................     1,179     121,017     1,051     111,336       372      48,534
August .....................     1,270     135,400     1,107     124,427       377      60,906
September ..................     1,173     123,767     1,056     114,677       385      45,767
October ....................     1,191     121,827     1,076     113,123       399      53,601
November ...................     1,232     133,803     1,121     124,559       414      58,385
December ...................     1,194     131,062     1,092     121,796       374      51,408

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,254     128,223     1,118     117,824       391      52,858
February ...................     1,352     143,837     1,238     135,066       416      61,749
March ......................     1,277     130,981     1,169     122,488       412      52,606
April ......................     1,243     126,977     1,116     116,926       382      43,930
May ........................     1,199     120,587     1,096     113,069       370      48,910
June .......................     1,238     129,858     1,116     120,165       351      40,670
July .......................     1,247     127,687     1,140     119,614       392      51,333
August .....................     1,228     121,886     1,128     114,628       335      36,518
September ..................     1,307     128,487     1,204     121,294       430      53,432
October ....................     1,347     136,124     1,224     127,163       430      57,695
November ...................     1,329     139,671     1,215     131,390       414      56,965
December ...................     1,433     141,750     1,315     133,024       462      58,108

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,438     144,111     1,317     134,347       427      55,488
February ...................     1,672     177,374     1,539     166,782       529      66,913






Table 2.  Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,  March 2004 to
February 2008, not seasonally adjusted

                                     Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing   
             Date                                                                             
                                          Initial               Initial               Initial 
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2004                                                                             

March ......................       920      92,554       847      87,782       258      34,686
April ......................     1,458     157,314     1,316     142,657       343      36,172
May ........................       988      87,501       878      78,786       219      22,141
June .......................     1,379     134,588     1,077     110,804       222      27,307
July .......................     2,094     253,929     1,860     234,877       885     145,895
August .....................       809      69,033       745      63,876       194      17,698
September ..................       708      68,972       637      63,102       189      25,808
October ....................     1,242     127,918     1,101     117,375       372      48,265
November ...................     1,399     130,423     1,201     115,549       412      44,243
December ...................     1,614     161,271     1,487     152,092       436      50,726

             2005                                                                             

January ....................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409       823     108,985
February ...................       810      74,644       722      68,372       230      24,931
March ......................       806      88,937       733      83,793       246      33,030
April ......................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133       395      59,129
May ........................       986     101,358       891      93,332       249      30,424
June .......................     1,157     120,463       941     103,307       216      32,783
July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December ...................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
February ...................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March ......................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688
April ......................     1,140     121,589     1,038     112,964       296      39,538
May ........................       872      84,809       794      78,663       192      23,570
June .......................     1,489     164,761     1,224     140,687       319      41,095
July .......................     1,511     166,857     1,335     154,342       648      96,152
August .....................       708      72,844       656      69,054       203      28,494
September ..................       865      87,699       785      81,274       296      39,076
October ....................       964      98,804       820      88,133       311      46,737
November ...................     1,315     136,186     1,172     125,009       455      58,473
December ...................     2,249     254,503     2,126     244,783       735     105,462

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,407     134,984     1,263     124,475       456      53,615
February ...................       935      86,696       861      82,097       273      36,170
March ......................     1,082     123,974     1,015     118,431       367      49,886
April ......................     1,219     127,444     1,115     118,040       309      35,229
May ........................       923      85,816       856      81,153       224      26,527
June .......................     1,599     172,810     1,318     148,669       313      36,571
July .......................     1,599     175,419     1,450     164,939       684     101,390
August .....................       963      93,458       908      88,345       220      23,361
September ..................       717      67,385       667      64,026       246      29,381
October ....................     1,083     108,455       929      97,716       338      50,918
November ...................     1,799     198,220     1,593     181,184       514      75,413
December ...................     2,167     224,214     2,071     216,898       699      91,754

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,647     154,503     1,520     144,191       488      54,418
February ...................     1,269     119,508     1,178     113,587       361      42,527






Table 3.  Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                            Mass layoff events                      unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                                                                                                      
                                                   February  December  January  February   February   December   January   February
                                                     2007      2007     2008      2008       2007       2007       2008      2008  
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                

      Total .....................................    1,352     1,433    1,438     1,672     143,837    141,750   144,111    177,374

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,238     1,315    1,317     1,539     135,066    133,024   134,347    166,782
    Manufacturing ...............................      416       462      427       529      61,749     58,108    55,488     66,913

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................      935     2,167    1,647     1,269      86,696    224,214   154,503    119,508

Total, private ..................................      913     2,102    1,592     1,232      85,170    219,227   148,901    116,852
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       52        31       72        54       3,073      2,329     4,710      3,265

  Total, private nonfarm ........................      861     2,071    1,520     1,178      82,097    216,898   144,191    113,587
    Mining ......................................     (2)         28        8         5        (2)       2,136       550        335
    Utilities ...................................     (2)          4     (2)       (2)         (2)         225      (2)        (2) 
    Construction ................................      203       461      198       193      13,191     35,564    13,532     13,335
    Manufacturing ...............................      273       699      488       361      36,170     91,754    54,418     42,527
        Food ....................................       40        68       57        46       4,188     10,267     5,024      3,916
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        4         7        7         9         280        640       531        795
        Textile mills ...........................        6        12       13        10         998      2,281     1,258      1,373
        Textile product mills (3) ...............        4         8        8         5         383        848       950        615
        Apparel (3) .............................        5        16       17      (2)          286      1,311     1,630       (2) 
        Leather and allied products .............     (2)          4     (2)        -          (2)         435       (2)        -  
        Wood products ...........................       47        59       46        50       4,497      5,698     4,780      5,576
        Paper ...................................        7         5        6         7         397        571       469        711
        Printing and related support activities .        4        11       11        11         358        830       766        714
        Petroleum and coal products .............     (2)         12     (2)       (2)         (2)       1,163      (2)        (2) 

        Chemicals ...............................        4        12       10         6         348        995       898        368
        Plastics and rubber products (3) ........        9        57       37        15         469      5,069     2,855      1,081
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       24        61       38        25       1,624      5,979     2,602      1,836
        Primary metals ..........................       13        37       16        13       1,411      4,022     1,491      1,480
        Fabricated metal products ...............       14        55       40        17       1,315      5,252     3,144      1,155
        Machinery(3) ............................       17        37       23        15       2,946      6,864     2,901      1,129
        Computer and electronic products ........        9        21       18        15         667      1,559     1,222      1,204
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....        4        16        7        17         281      1,495       784      5,327
        Transportation equipment (3) ............       43       171       86        66      14,510     31,910    17,920     12,189
        Furniture and related products (3) ......       15        19       34        18         994      2,868     4,127      2,043
        Miscellaneous manufacturing (3) ..........    (2)         11        9        10        (2)       1,697       721        638

    Wholesale trade .............................        5        24       30        17         278      1,762     2,848      1,248
    Retail trade ................................       71       103      119       123       5,869      8,839    12,839     11,662
    Transportation and warehousing ..............       40       150      124        53       4,254     15,573    13,031      7,318
    Information .................................       24        51       43        28       2,966      8,770     4,668      4,229
    Finance and insurance (3) ...................       21        36       50        46       1,511      2,311     4,285      3,397
    Real estate and rental and leasing (3) ......        4         6        8         5         275        322       462        261
    Professional and technical services (3) .....       25        50       41        34       2,403      5,303     3,829      2,756
    Management of companies and enterprises .....     (2)         5      (2)          3        (2)         448      (2)         181
    Administrative and waste services (3) .......      114       218      232       197       9,156     19,367    20,639     17,799
    Educational services ........................        4         8        7         5         322        487       851        374
    Health care and social assistance ...........       18        31       27        19       1,099      2,484     1,767      1,407
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........        5        20       38         6         289      1,238     2,445        330
    Accommodation and food services .............       42       158       88        78       3,555     18,717     6,064      6,121
    Other services, except public administration         5        19       13       (2)         310      1,598     1,381       (2) 
    Unclassified ................................        1       -        -          -           71        -         -          -  

Government ......................................       22        65       55        37       1,526      4,987     5,602      2,656
    Federal .....................................        5        10       13         3         339        841     1,106        249
    State .......................................        6        12        9        11         482      1,016       804        819
    Local .......................................       11        43       33        23         705      3,130     3,692      1,588
                                                                                                                                   

   1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   3 Data beginning in 2008 are not strictly comparable to prior years due to a change in NAICS versions.
   NOTE:  Dash represents zero.






Table 4.  Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2006 to February 2008,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                                
                                                                                                                                  
                                Total mass layoffs                              Extended mass layoffs                             
             Date                                        Mass layoffs         lasting more than 30 days         Realization rates (1)

                                           Initial               Initial                       Initial                       Initial 
                               Events     claimants   Events    claimants       Events        claimants          Events     claimants
             2006                                                                                                                    

January ....................    1,245      117,946     1,123     108,701                                                             
February ...................      719       66,555       658      62,208                                                             
March ......................      921      111,838       856     106,177                                                             

First Quarter ..............    2,885      296,339     2,637     277,086           963         193,510             36.5        69.8  

April ......................    1,140      121,589     1,038     112,964                                                             
May ........................      872       84,809       794      78,663                                                             
June .......................    1,489      164,761     1,224     140,687                                                             

Second Quarter .............    3,501      371,159     3,056     332,314         1,353         264,927             44.3        79.7  

July .......................    1,511      166,857     1,335     154,342                                                             
August .....................      708       72,844       656      69,054                                                             
September ..................      865       87,699       785      81,274                                                             

Third Quarter ..............    3,084      327,400     2,776     304,670           929         161,764             33.5        53.1  

October ....................      964       98,804       820      88,133                                                             
November ...................    1,315      136,186     1,172     125,009                                                             
December ...................    2,249      254,503     2,126     244,783                                                             

Fourth Quarter .............    4,528      489,493     4,118     457,925         1,640         330,901             39.8        72.3  

             2007                                                                                                                    

January ....................    1,407      134,984     1,263     124,475                                                             
February ...................      935       86,696       861      82,097                                                             
March ......................    1,082      123,974     1,015     118,431                                                             

First Quarter ..............    3,424      345,654     3,139     325,003         1,111         199,295             35.4        61.3  

April ......................    1,219      127,444     1,115     118,040                                                             
May ........................      923       85,816       856      81,153                                                             
June .......................    1,599      172,810     1,318     148,669                                                             

Second Quarter .............    3,741      386,070     3,289     347,862         1,421         258,812             43.2        74.4  

July .......................    1,599      175,419     1,450     164,939                                                             
August .....................      963       93,458       908      88,345                                                             
September ..................      717       67,385       667      64,026                                                             

Third Quarter ..............    3,279      336,262     3,025     317,310         1,019         172,508             33.7        54.4  

October ....................    1,083      108,455       929      97,716                                                             
November ...................    1,799      198,220     1,593     181,184                                                             
December ...................    2,167      224,214     2,071     216,898                                                             

Fourth Quarter .............    5,049      530,889     4,593     495,798  (2)(p) 1,619  (2)(p) 234,612          (p)35.2     (p)47.3  

             2008                                                                                                                    

January ....................    1,647      154,503     1,520     144,191                                                             
February ...................    1,269      119,508     1,178     113,587                                                             

   1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial
claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more
than 30 days.
   2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available.  Experience suggests
that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claim-
ants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
   p = preliminary. 






Table 5.  Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                       Initial claimants for            
                                           Mass layoff events                         unemployment insurance            

  Census region and division                                                                                            

                                 February   December  January     February    February   December    January     February
                                   2007       2007      2008        2008        2007       2007        2008        2008  
                                                                                                                        
        United States (1) ...        935     2,167     1,647        1,269      86,696    224,214     154,503     119,508

Northeast ...................        179       392       349          212      18,272     36,859      32,949      21,554
    New England .............         25        56        30           35       2,602      5,777       2,056       3,999
    Middle Atlantic .........        154       336       319          177      15,670     31,082      30,893      17,555

South .......................        168       388       324          305      17,850     47,505      32,769      29,835
    South Atlantic ..........         84       192       157          176       9,938     18,797      15,997      13,912
    East South Central ......         42       120       129           64       4,336     18,538      13,585       8,907
    West South Central ......         42        76        38           65       3,576     10,170       3,187       7,016

Midwest .....................        239       884       416          232      26,603     97,346      42,229      25,941
    East North Central ......        198       667       324          184      23,364     74,374      33,964      21,916
    West North Central ......         41       217        92           48       3,239     22,972       8,265       4,025

West ........................        349       503       558          520      23,971     42,504      46,556      42,178
    Mountain ................         25        67        44           47       1,833      4,968       3,757       3,754
    Pacific .................        324       436       514          473      22,138     37,536      42,799      38,424
                                                                                                                        

   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   NOTE:  The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England:
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic:  New Jersey, New York,
and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central:  Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South
Central:  Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central:  Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and
Wisconsin; West North Central:  Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain:
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific:  Alaska, California, Hawaii,  
Oregon, and Washington.






Table 6.  State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                      Initial claimants for            
                                         Mass layoff events                          unemployment insurance            
           State                                                                                                       
                            February     December    January   February    February     December    January    February
                              2007         2007       2008       2008        2007         2007        2008       2008  

   Total (1) ............      935        2,167      1,647      1,269       86,696      224,214     154,503    119,508

Alabama .................       16           33         82         17        1,757        3,677      10,160      2,549
Alaska ..................       -          (2)        (2)         -            -           (2)         (2)         -  
Arizona .................      (2)            4          4       (2)          (2)           263         290       (2) 
Arkansas ................      (2)            8          4          3         (2)           680         293        364
California ..............      299          370        468        416       19,809       30,590      38,715     32,747
Colorado ................      (2)           12          7          4         (2)           767         654        326
Connecticut .............        3           10       (2)        (2)          309           854        (2)        (2) 
Delaware ................      (2)            4       (2)        (2)          (2)           241        (2)        (2) 
District of Columbia ....       -          (2)        (2)        (2)           -           (2)         (2)        (2) 
Florida .................       39           62         70        102        2,616        5,088       5,366      6,572
Georgia .................       15           36         51         26        1,831        3,111       4,718      2,428
Hawaii ..................       -            12          3          9          -          1,161         217        786
Idaho ...................       10           12          7          7          615          844         496        497

Illinois ................       44          140         68         52        4,684       15,012       9,106      6,344
Indiana .................       21           64         34         24        1,963        7,654       2,955      3,709
Iowa ....................       14           52         26         16        1,469        6,337       3,163      1,885
Kansas ..................        3           27          8          3          215        3,441         490        192
Kentucky ................       16           62         28         24        1,333       12,727       2,304      4,219
Louisiana ...............        8           15          7         13          492        1,274         739      2,640
Maine ...................        3            4       (2)           4          303          278        (2)         245
Maryland ................        8           29          9          5          747        2,628         708        377
Massachusetts ...........        7           22         11          9          442        2,131         791        698
Michigan ................       38          213         86         32        6,507       25,005       7,004      4,379
Minnesota ...............        9           46         19          5          615        4,386       1,751        361
Mississippi .............        4            9          6         10          254          640         324        897
Missouri ................       14           77         37         19          801        7,517       2,664      1,127

Montana .................      (2)            4          6       (2)          (2)           264         579       (2) 
Nebraska ................       -             9       (2)           5          -            864        (2)         460
Nevada ..................        6           19         15         23          638        1,370       1,151      1,909
New Hampshire ...........      (2)            6       (2)           3         (2)           560        (2)         351
New Jersey ..............       27           93         35         35        2,558        8,389       2,613      3,439
New Mexico ..............        4            7          4       (2)           229          702         473       (2) 
New York ................       20           72        152         42        2,184        6,700      18,636      5,912
North Carolina ..........        5            7          3         21          518          789         350      2,121
North Dakota ............      (2)            5       (2)         -           (2)           356        (2)         -  
Ohio ....................       41          149         71         42        4,175       14,909       9,352      4,387
Oklahoma ................       13           13          4       (2)         1,377        1,732         317       (2) 
Oregon ..................       12           32         28         29        1,264        3,763       2,769      3,125
Pennsylvania ............      107          171        132        100       10,928       15,993       9,644      8,204

Rhode Island ............        7           10          9          9        1,249        1,465         562      1,448
South Carolina ..........        7           29         12         10          641        4,236       1,991      1,354
South Dakota ............       -          (2)         -          -            -           (2)          -          -
Tennessee ...............        6           16         13         13          992        1,494         797      1,242
Texas ...................       20           40         23         47        1,656        6,484       1,838      3,870
Utah ....................       -             8       (2)           7          -            706        (2)         525
Vermont .................        4            4          4          8          240          489         248      1,084
Virginia ................        8           21          8          8        3,476        2,390       1,027        742
Washington ..............       13           21         14         19        1,065        1,940       1,047      1,766
West Virginia ...........      (2)         (2)        (2)        (2)          (2)          (2)         (2)        (2) 
Wisconsin ...............       54          101         65         34        6,035       11,794       5,547      3,097
Wyoming .................       -          (2)         -         (2)           -           (2)          -         (2) 

Puerto Rico .............        8            3         10         23          535          279       1,120      2,113

   1  See footnote 1, table 3.
   2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE:  Dash represents zero.






Last Modified Date: March 21, 2008