Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-287 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, February 25, 2004 MASS LAYOFFS IN JANUARY 2004 In January 2004, there were 2,428 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 239,454. (See table 1.) This marked the most events for a January and the third highest January level of mass-layoff initial claims since the series began. Both the number of layoff events and initial claims were higher than a year ago. January 2004 marked only the third time in the last two years that initial claims had increased over the year. Industry Distribution Temporary help services, with 17,544 initial claimants, and school and employee bus transportation, with 8,631 initial claimants, together accounted for 11 percent of all initial claims in January. The latter industry reached a peak for a January this month. (See table A.) The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 62,597 initial claims in January, 26 percent of the total. The manufacturing sector recorded 35 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of all initial claims filed in January. A year ago, manu- facturing reported 36 percent of events and 40 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (15,107, mostly automotive-related) and in food processing (11,083, mainly in fruits and vegetables). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 12 percent of both events and initial claims filed in January, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Construction accounted for 13 percent of events and 10 percent of initial claims during the month, primarily in heavy and civil engineering construction and among specialty trade contractors. Eight percent of all layoff events and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, mainly in general merchandise stores, especially in discount department stores, which recorded a series peak for January. An additional 5 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims in January were in transportation and warehousing. Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and 5 percent of initial claims filed during the month, particularly in the administration of economic programs and in educational services. The number of initial claims in government was the highest for a January since 1998. Compared with January 2003, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in motion picture and sound recording (+3,838), transit and ground passenger transportation (+3,096), transportation equipment (+2,927), food manufacturing (+2,830), and heavy and civil engineering construction (+2,711). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in com- puter and electronic products (-3,816) and in air transportation (-3,695). - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in January 2004p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | January peak Industry | Initial |----------------------- | claims | Year |Initial claims ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | Temporary help services ...................| 17,544 | 1998 | 26,224 School and employee bus transportation ....| 8,631 | 2004 | 8,631 Highway, street, and bridge construction ..| 6,075 | 2000 | 9,680 Discount department stores ................| 6,063 | 2004 | 6,063 Motion picture and video production .......| 5,439 | 1998 | 12,038 Professional employer organizations .......| 4,736 | 2002 | 5,033 Automobile manufacturing ..................| 4,378 | 2001 | 21,093 Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ...| 3,694 | 1999 | 5,859 Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ...| 3,355 | 1997 | 4,460 Broadwoven fabric mills ...................| 2,682 | 2002 | 5,419 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in January due to mass layoffs was reported in the Midwest, 68,404. (See table 3.) Transportation equipment manufacturing and administrative and waste ser- vices accounted for 23 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The West region was next, with 67,285 initial claims, followed by the South, with 53,115, and the Northeast, with 50,650. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs rose over the year in the Midwest (+16,242) and the Northeast (+6,254), and declined in the South (-8,372) and the West (-100). Four of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increases in the East North Central (+17,066) and Middle Atlantic (+7,493) divisions. The South Atlantic (-7,126) and East South Central (-2,142) divisions reported the largest declines in mass-layoff initial claims. Among the states, California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in January, 51,395, mostly in admin- istrative and support services. New York reported 24,376 initial claims, followed by Michigan (16,615) and Ohio (15,169). These four states ac- counted for 45 percent of both layoff events and initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) Michigan reported the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+14,633), followed by New York (+5,570). The largest over- the-year decrease occurred in South Carolina (-2,391). - 3- Note The monthly data series in this release cover 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"). The quar- terly release provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment 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. _____________________________ The report on Mass Layoffs in February 2004 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 24, 2004. ----------------------------------------------------------- | NOTE: Due to budget constraints in the Mass Layoff | | Statistics (MLS) program, beginning with data for the | | first quarter of 2004, the scope of quarterly extended | | mass layoffs and plant closings, regularly reported in | | the release, Extended Mass Layoffs in (Quarter), has been | | redefined to cover only the private nonfarm economy. | | Quarterly information on layoff events in agriculture | | and government will no longer be collected. However, | | the monthly reporting of the MLS program in the release, | | Mass Layoffs in (Month), which is based only on admini- | | strative data, will be unaffected and will continue to | | cover the total economy. | ----------------------------------------------------------- - 4 - 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 establish- ments 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 long- er, 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 ter- minated 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 indi- viduals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. 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, January 2002 to January 2004 Date Private nonfarm Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs Realization Mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,777 2,028 252,245 February ................... 1,382 138,808 1,253 129,849 March ...................... 1,460 161,316 1,335 151,305 First Quarter .............. 4,988 563,901 4,616 533,399 1,611 292,998 34.9 54.9 April ...................... 1,506 165,814 1,378 153,216 May ........................ 1,723 179,799 1,571 166,801 June ....................... 1,584 162,189 1,266 136,424 Second Quarter ............. 4,813 507,802 4,215 456,441 1,624 299,598 38.5 65.6 July ....................... 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 August ..................... 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 September .................. 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 Third Quarter .............. 4,352 497,919 3,927 461,502 1,186 254,955 30.2 55.2 October .................... 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 November ................... 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 December ................... 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,124 675,429 5,454 618,371 1,916 370,592 35.1 59.9 2003 January .................... 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 February ................... 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 March ...................... 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 First Quarter .............. 4,885 463,421 4,451 431,650 1,502 297,524 33.7 68.9 April ...................... 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 May ........................ 1,703 174,204 1,538 160,729 June ....................... 1,691 157,552 1,336 127,743 Second Quarter ............. 4,975 493,168 4,344 441,409 1,799 346,549 41.4 78.5 July ....................... 2,087 226,435 1,815 206,901 August ..................... 1,258 133,839 1,163 124,131 September .................. 868 82,647 756 73,914 Third Quarter .............. 4,213 442,921 3,734 404,946 1,190 225,609 31.9 55.7 October .................... 1,523 158,240 1,265 137,706 November ................... 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 December (p) ............... 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 Fourth Quarter (p) ......... 4,890 489,416 4,292 443,980 (2)1,592 (2)229,014 37.1 51.6 2004 January (p) ................ 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 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 claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry January November December January January November December January 2003 2003 2003p 2004p 2003 2003 2003p 2004p Total(1) .................................. 2,315 1,438 1,929 2,428 225,430 138,543 192,633 239,454 Total, private .................................. 2,228 1,380 1,846 2,339 217,441 133,818 185,928 228,578 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 98 146 53 113 6,523 10,294 3,178 7,891 Total, private nonfarm ......................... 2,130 1,234 1,793 2,226 210,918 123,524 182,750 220,687 Mining ........................................ 20 8 21 17 1,697 568 1,937 1,329 Utilities ..................................... 10 4 3 3 745 308 160 345 Construction .................................. 264 263 335 324 18,862 20,999 25,684 23,405 Manufacturing ................................. 822 408 648 848 90,244 48,419 77,915 89,551 Food ...................................... 91 70 89 108 8,253 8,410 9,285 11,083 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 11 9 5 9 755 938 781 834 Textile mills ............................. 42 13 31 48 7,611 1,178 4,299 6,376 Textile product mills ..................... 18 8 14 19 1,890 483 2,102 1,933 Apparel ................................... 53 14 32 44 6,085 1,269 3,232 5,836 Leather and allied products ............... 5 ( 2 ) 7 11 294 ( 2 ) 842 1,195 Wood products ............................. 56 29 55 46 6,702 3,852 5,000 5,651 Paper ..................................... 19 12 12 20 2,510 856 934 1,847 Printing and related support activities ... 21 8 7 24 1,803 570 627 2,147 Petroleum and coal products ............... 5 ( 2 ) 10 5 339 ( 2 ) 863 362 Chemicals ................................. 14 10 9 23 1,202 908 735 2,384 Plastics and rubber products .............. 34 27 40 50 3,599 2,085 3,579 4,821 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 35 21 49 42 3,201 2,089 4,079 3,813 Primary metals ............................ 48 22 33 44 5,846 2,470 3,421 4,579 Fabricated metal products ................. 58 31 39 72 5,664 2,696 4,045 6,960 Machinery ................................. 52 28 24 39 5,962 4,642 3,629 3,017 Computer and electronic products .......... 81 19 19 44 7,377 1,468 1,408 3,561 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 30 12 20 23 2,920 2,671 4,726 2,263 Transportation equipment .................. 86 51 122 114 12,126 9,696 21,061 15,107 Furniture and related products ............ 36 10 14 36 4,003 856 1,607 3,541 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 27 8 17 27 2,102 891 1,660 2,241 Wholesale trade ............................... 43 23 27 27 3,307 2,421 2,443 2,391 Retail trade .................................. 209 76 98 188 21,592 6,877 9,203 22,145 Transportation and warehousing ................ 147 42 131 128 16,422 4,127 15,528 14,038 Information ................................... 69 37 40 67 6,034 5,918 3,839 9,394 Finance and insurance ......................... 46 19 27 41 3,854 1,485 1,764 3,547 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 7 8 4 15 408 432 562 1,202 Professional and technical services ........... 45 33 57 47 6,346 3,175 6,095 4,288 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 296 895 Administrative and waste services ............. 274 163 200 285 26,885 13,925 17,256 27,855 Educational services .......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 327 553 Health care and social assistance ............. 26 28 27 35 1,811 2,243 2,075 2,991 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 29 26 20 41 2,060 1,920 1,795 3,149 Accommodation and food services ............... 87 75 131 113 7,102 7,348 14,701 9,614 Other services, except public administration .. 27 15 12 26 3,097 1,081 955 2,992 Unclassified .................................. 2 2 3 10 172 1,646 215 1,003 Government ...................................... 87 58 83 89 7,989 4,725 6,705 10,876 Federal ....................................... 19 9 13 26 2,303 820 1,419 2,725 State ......................................... 28 22 10 13 2,630 1,917 830 1,405 Local ......................................... 40 27 60 50 3,056 1,988 4,456 6,746 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Census region and division January November December January January November December January 2003 2003 2003p 2004p 2003 2003 2003p 2004p United States(1) .... 2,315 1,438 1,929 2,428 225,430 138,543 192,633 239,454 Northeast ................. 475 210 350 498 44,396 21,478 34,437 50,650 New England ............. 68 29 66 64 6,928 2,282 6,904 5,689 Middle Atlantic ......... 407 181 284 434 37,468 19,196 27,533 44,961 South ..................... 554 265 335 501 61,487 27,438 32,467 53,115 South Atlantic .......... 288 135 192 244 32,616 13,822 17,903 25,490 East South Central ...... 167 35 59 153 19,318 4,212 6,510 17,176 West South Central ...... 99 95 84 104 9,553 9,404 8,054 10,449 Midwest ................... 523 426 780 688 52,162 46,298 87,806 68,404 East North Central ...... 401 313 596 574 41,608 31,687 64,802 58,674 West North Central ...... 122 113 184 114 10,554 14,611 23,004 9,730 West ...................... 763 537 464 741 67,385 43,329 37,923 67,285 Mountain ................ 73 51 63 63 6,151 4,606 7,025 6,292 Pacific ................. 690 486 401 678 61,234 38,723 30,898 60,993 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. 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 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State January November December January January November December January 2003 2003 2003p 2004p 2003 2003 2003p 2004p Total(1) ............. 2,315 1,438 1,929 2,428 225,430 138,543 192,633 239,454 Alabama ................. 119 10 27 112 14,789 1,384 3,728 13,754 Alaska .................. 7 6 3 6 471 561 213 429 Arizona ................. 14 4 8 7 1,292 257 551 645 Arkansas ................ 8 3 6 ( 2 ) 699 777 656 ( 2 ) California .............. 579 420 346 576 48,913 32,200 25,953 51,395 Colorado ................ 16 7 11 11 1,540 549 1,107 1,043 Connecticut ............. 16 4 13 7 1,508 312 1,166 669 Delaware ................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia .... 4 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 350 ( 2 ) 287 ( 2 ) Florida ................. 83 55 63 60 5,767 3,533 4,826 4,044 Georgia ................. 89 18 31 92 12,406 1,771 3,354 10,525 Hawaii .................. 8 ( 2 ) 6 4 773 ( 2 ) 506 296 Idaho ................... 19 11 12 16 1,478 1,408 1,647 1,125 Illinois ................ 88 57 123 88 8,794 5,785 15,006 9,610 Indiana ................. 34 42 108 58 3,011 4,269 15,330 5,499 Iowa .................... 34 29 46 29 3,083 3,464 5,305 2,267 Kansas .................. 15 6 29 14 1,108 696 3,518 954 Kentucky ................ 20 14 9 10 2,512 1,649 995 1,030 Louisiana ............... 19 23 15 14 1,240 1,773 991 908 Maine ................... 8 4 5 14 1,201 306 424 1,463 Maryland ................ 8 9 15 19 592 843 1,119 2,009 Massachusetts ........... 33 17 24 30 3,162 1,373 2,568 2,375 Michigan ................ 22 48 135 171 1,982 5,058 12,275 16,615 Minnesota ............... 33 44 51 30 3,026 3,849 6,342 2,688 Mississippi ............. 4 3 8 6 228 165 450 384 Missouri ................ 30 22 45 26 2,351 5,651 6,180 2,422 Montana ................. 3 5 7 4 204 428 918 270 Nebraska ................ 7 7 10 11 539 412 1,411 984 Nevada .................. 15 14 20 14 1,276 1,156 2,351 2,225 New Hampshire ........... 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 623 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New Jersey .............. 49 43 76 73 4,372 5,985 6,895 7,191 New Mexico .............. 5 4 3 6 309 212 278 328 New York ................ 188 59 88 194 18,806 5,648 9,448 24,376 North Carolina .......... 26 23 23 18 3,215 3,635 1,857 1,829 North Dakota ............ ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 474 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio .................... 151 75 117 141 16,689 6,464 10,693 15,169 Oklahoma ................ 15 3 12 13 2,225 406 1,278 1,517 Oregon .................. 66 26 26 70 7,672 3,058 2,498 6,681 Pennsylvania ............ 170 79 120 167 14,290 7,563 11,190 13,394 Rhode Island ............ 4 ( 2 ) 12 5 310 ( 2 ) 1,775 332 South Carolina .......... 50 7 17 26 5,954 547 2,713 3,563 South Dakota ............ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ............... 24 8 15 25 1,789 1,014 1,337 2,008 Texas ................... 57 66 51 74 5,389 6,448 5,129 7,571 Utah .................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 596 ( 2 ) 656 Vermont ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 10 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 794 573 Virginia ................ 24 16 34 24 3,266 2,644 3,372 3,061 Washington .............. 30 32 20 22 3,405 2,751 1,728 2,192 West Virginia ........... 3 5 3 ( 2 ) 174 556 176 ( 2 ) Wisconsin ............... 106 91 113 116 11,132 10,111 11,498 11,781 Wyoming ................. - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ............. 14 - 6 5 1,371 - 486 511 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.