Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6396 USDL 99-266 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 606-5902 Thursday, September 23, 1999 MASS LAYOFFS IN JULY 1999 In July 1999, there were 1,742 mass layoff actions by employers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 221,605. Both the number of layoff events and the number of initial claimants for unemployment insurance were lower in July 1999 than in July 1998, when there were strike-related plant shutdowns in the transportation equipment and electronic equipment industries. (See table 1.) The monthly series in this release covers mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs") and provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establish- ment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Industry Distribution In July 1999, manufacturing industries accounted for 46 percent of all mass layoff events and 61 percent of all initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the highest numbers of initial claimants were transporta- tion equipment (36,323), primarily in motor vehicles and car bodies and in motor vehicle parts and accessories; industrial machinery and equipment (17,937), mostly in farm machinery and equipment; and rubber and miscel- laneous plastics products (13,645), particularly in miscellaneous plastics products. (See table 2.) In nonmanufacturing industries, services accounted for 18 percent of all mass layoff events and 11 percent of all initial claims filed. The layoffs were predominantly in business services (particularly in help supply services). Layoffs in the help supply services industry are more likely than those in most other industries to last less than 30 days. Retail trade accounted for 6 percent of all layoffs and 4 percent of initial claimants during the month, largely in eating and drinking places. Agriculture accounted for 7 percent of all layoff events and 4 percent of initial claimants during the month, concentrated primarily in the agricultural production of grapes and of vegetables and melons. Transportation and public utilities accounted for 6 percent of layoff events and 5 percent of initial claimants during the month, largely in trucking and warehousing. Compared with July 1998, the largest decreases in initial claims occurred in business services (-19,154) followed by motion pictures (-9,432) and transportation equipment (-8,406). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in industrial machinery and equipment (+5,427). - 2 - Geographic Distribution In July, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was higher in the Midwest (102,174) than in any other region. (See table 3.) The transportation equipment, industrial machinery and equipment, and rubber and miscellaneous plastics products industries contributed to the layoffs in the Midwest. The lowest number of mass layoff initial claims was reported in the Northeast region (31,067). All four regions reported over-the-year decreases in mass layoff-related initial claims, with the largest decrease in the West (-55,865). Lower levels of initial claims this year were reported mainly in the Pacific and Middle Atlantic divisions, with sharply fewer layoffs in business services. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for July, Michigan had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (36,033), primarily in transportation equipment and in rubber and miscellaneous plastics products, followed by California (26,197), Ohio (14,028), Illinois (12,548), and Pennsylvania (11,234). These five states accounted for 47 percent of all layoff events and 45 percent of all initial claimants for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From July 1998 to July 1999, California reported the largest over-the- year decline in initial claims (-57,525), mostly in business services, followed by Ohio (-10,098). Iowa had the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+4,659), mostly in industrial machinery and computer equipment. 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 establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These establishments 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, and the number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore, analysis of over-the- month and over-the-year change 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: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. Definitions 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 establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 1997 to July 1999 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization rate(1) Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants 1997 July ....................... 1,899 237,410 August ..................... 973 99,513 September .................. 548 59,062 Third Quarter .............. 3,420 395,985 1,082 209,019 31.6 October .................... 1,414 139,297 November ................... 1,156 100,051 December ................... 1,634 172,029 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,204 411,377 1,697 316,035 40.4 1998 January .................... 2,360 255,203 February ................... 970 81,455 March ...................... 762 78,210 First Quarter .............. 4,092 414,868 1,320 247,315 32.3 April ...................... 1,253 132,476 May ........................ 1,180 107,952 June ....................... 1,208 183,590 Second Quarter ............. 3,641 424,018 1,563 (r)402,276 42.9 July ....................... 2,220 286,055 August ..................... 617 53,665 September .................. 637 79,629 Third Quarter .............. 3,474 419,349 1,234 (r)256,802 35.5 October .................... 1,557 256,658 November ................... 1,372 162,537 December ................... 1,644 193,072 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,573 612,267 1,736 (r)326,076 38.0 1999 January .................... 2,415 296,404 February ................... 1,076 117,223 March ...................... 850 90,958 First Quarter .............. 4,341 504,585 (r)1,509 (r)255,015 (r)34.8 April ...................... 1,250 161,269 May ........................ 1,033 102,815 June(r) .................... 1,140 130,951 Second Quarter ............. 3,423 395,035 (p)1,430 (p)192,291 (p)41.8 July ....................... 1,742 221,605 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of events lasting more than 30 days. 2 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. r = revised. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 1998 and July 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry July July July July 1998 1999 1998 1999 Total(1) ............................................... 2,220 1,742 286,055 221,605 Total, private .............................................. 2,072 1,633 270,974 212,194 Agriculture ............................................... 164 129 15,363 9,921 Nonagriculture ............................................ 1,851 1,459 248,152 195,479 Manufacturing ........................................... 989 795 149,305 135,767 Durable goods ......................................... 596 475 103,220 90,053 Lumber and wood products ............................ 31 25 3,540 2,652 Furniture and fixtures .............................. 32 36 5,810 5,546 Stone, clay, and glass products ..................... 13 16 1,444 3,640 Primary metal industries ............................ 52 40 7,445 4,986 Fabricated metal products ........................... 106 78 11,550 10,872 Industrial machinery and equipment .................. 84 80 12,510 17,937 Electronic and other electrical equipment ........... 97 49 13,426 6,004 Transportation equipment ............................ 151 123 44,729 36,323 Instruments and related products .................... 17 10 1,421 649 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries .............. 13 18 1,345 1,444 Nondurable goods ...................................... 393 320 46,085 45,714 Food and kindred products ........................... 104 78 11,918 7,645 Tobacco products .................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Textile mill products ............................... 54 55 6,872 9,699 Apparel and other textile products .................. 99 72 10,286 9,125 Paper and allied products ........................... 14 6 1,376 599 Printing and publishing ............................. 6 9 418 1,084 Chemicals and allied products ....................... 10 14 1,454 1,911 Petroleum and coal products ......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products .......... 87 68 11,391 13,645 Leather and leather products ........................ 17 14 2,234 1,426 Nonmanufacturing ........................................ 862 664 98,847 59,712 Mining ................................................ 25 8 1,719 2,150 Construction .......................................... 65 75 5,275 6,510 Transportation and public utilities ................... 103 103 9,957 10,570 Wholesale and retail trade ............................ 192 137 21,414 12,441 Wholesale trade .................................... 43 38 3,677 3,605 Retail trade ....................................... 149 99 17,737 8,836 Finance, insurance, and real estate ................... 27 34 2,290 2,890 Services .............................................. 450 307 58,192 25,151 Not identified ............................................ 57 45 7,459 6,794 Government .................................................. 148 109 15,081 9,411 Federal ................................................... 18 23 3,126 2,782 State ..................................................... 29 17 2,640 1,607 Local ..................................................... 101 69 9,315 5,022 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, July 1998 and July 1999 Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division July July July July 1998 1999 1998 1999 United States(1) ........... 2,220 1,742 286,055 221,605 Northeast .......................... 352 300 38,011 31,067 New England .................... 54 60 5,137 6,103 Middle Atlantic ................ 298 240 32,874 24,964 South .............................. 412 395 50,687 49,985 South Atlantic.................. 229 200 28,627 27,628 East South Central ............. 66 59 8,563 7,132 West South Central ............. 117 136 13,497 15,225 Midwest ............................ 618 559 103,113 102,174 East North Central ............. 531 455 88,229 80,771 West North Central ............. 87 104 14,884 21,403 West ............................... 838 488 94,244 38,379 Mountain ....................... 53 66 6,051 7,734 Pacific ........................ 785 422 88,193 30,645 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the various 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 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 1998 and July 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State July July July July 1998 1999 1998 1999 Total(1) ...................... 2,220 1,742 286,055 221,605 Alabama .......................... 6 9 1,147 788 Alaska ........................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Arizona .......................... 15 21 1,559 3,277 Arkansas ......................... 16 11 1,775 1,442 California ....................... 736 377 83,722 26,197 Colorado ......................... 5 6 643 687 Connecticut ...................... 6 7 423 544 Delaware ......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia ............. ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Florida .......................... 55 64 4,411 4,845 Georgia .......................... 19 23 1,901 1,845 Hawaii ........................... 3 5 209 351 Idaho ............................ 13 12 1,596 1,660 Illinois ......................... 58 54 10,363 12,548 Indiana .......................... 56 54 7,394 9,492 Iowa ............................. 19 30 2,788 7,447 Kansas ........................... 5 14 747 2,108 Kentucky ......................... 31 24 4,200 3,118 Louisiana ........................ 19 18 1,965 1,576 Maine ............................ 11 7 1,222 749 Maryland ......................... 5 5 397 396 Massachusetts .................... 25 25 2,347 2,496 Michigan ......................... 202 198 33,520 36,033 Minnesota ........................ 13 12 1,673 2,507 Mississippi ...................... 17 8 2,176 761 Missouri ......................... 46 42 8,784 8,764 Montana .......................... 3 3 479 239 Nebraska ......................... 3 ( 2 ) 577 ( 2 ) Nevada ........................... 8 17 649 1,389 New Hampshire .................... 8 9 704 1,137 New Jersey ....................... 42 48 3,508 5,776 New Mexico ....................... 4 ( 2 ) 550 ( 2 ) New York ......................... 91 83 10,393 7,954 North Carolina ................... 7 6 1,183 2,035 North Dakota ..................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio ............................. 120 83 24,126 14,028 Oklahoma ......................... 12 12 1,185 1,151 Oregon ........................... 25 22 2,631 2,442 Pennsylvania ..................... 165 109 18,973 11,234 Rhode Island ..................... 4 11 441 1,083 South Carolina ................... 79 61 11,028 10,770 South Dakota ..................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Tennessee ........................ 12 18 1,040 2,465 Texas ............................ 70 95 8,572 11,056 Utah ............................. 5 5 575 381 Vermont .......................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Virginia ......................... 60 39 7,429 5,599 Washington ....................... 20 17 1,564 1,443 West Virginia .................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Wisconsin ........................ 95 66 12,826 8,670 Wyoming .......................... - - - - Puerto Rico ...................... 17 15 1,516 1,767 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.