Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 02-170 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, March 28, 2002 MASS LAYOFFS IN FEBRUARY 2002 Employers initiated 1,383 mass layoff actions in February 2002, 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 138,984. (See table 1.) Compared with February 2001, the number of layoff events declined by 8 percent and the number of claimants fell by 20 percent. This was the second time in the last three months that layoff events and related initial claims declined over the year. This release uses the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) for the assignment and tabulation of layoff data by industry. Prior to January 2002, the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system was used. Additional information on this change is provided in the box on page 3 of this release. Industry Distribution Manufacturing industries accounted for 35 percent of all mass layoff events and 42 percent of all initial claims filed in February. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 38 percent of events and 46 percent of initial claims. The number of initial claimants was highest in transportation equipment (11,424, mostly in automobiles), followed by food production (6,991, primarily in frozen fruits and vegetables). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent of events and 12 percent of initial claims filed during the month, with layoffs almost entirely in administrative and support services, particularly temporary help services. Eight percent of all layoff events and initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, mostly in general merchandise stores, especially discount department stores, and in food and beverage stores. Construction accounted for an additional 10 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, primarily among specialty trade contractors. Five percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims in February were in the information sector, mainly in motion picture and sound recording. Compared with February 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-12,047), admini- strative and support services (-9,324), and agriculture and forestry support activities (-6,056). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in telecommunications (+1,952). - 2 - Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in February due to mass layoffs was in the West--46,575--largely in motion picture and video production and in temporary help services. (See table 3.) These two industries accounted for 23 percent of all initial claims in the West during the month. Closely following was the South (37,256, mainly in temporary help services and in motor vehicle-related manufacturing) and the Midwest (34,912, largely in motor vehicle-related manufacturing). The Northeast region con- tinued to have the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims (20,241). The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in both the West (-26,183) and the Midwest (-10,979) regions. Five of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest declines in the Pacific (-26,841) and East North Central (-11,459) divisions. The Middle Atlantic (+3,603) and the West South Central (+2,136) had the largest increases. California registered the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this February, 34,494, mostly in motion picture and sound recording and in administrative and support services. Illinois reported 10,045 claimants, primarily in machinery manufacturing, followed by Texas (9,081, largely in administrative and support services) and Pennsylvania (7,685, mostly in primary metals and in electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing). These four states accounted for 48 percent of all layoff events and 44 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) California reported the largest over-the-year decrease (-28,297) in initial claims, followed by Michigan (-9,855). The largest over-the-year increase occurred in New Jersey (+3,725). 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") and provides more information on the industry classification and location of the esta- blishment 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 March 2002 will be issued on Wednesday, April 24, 2002. - 3 - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Change in Industry Classification System | | | | Beginning with the January 2002 release, the Mass Layoff Statistics | | program switched to the 2002 version of the North American Industry | | Classification System (NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and tabu- | | lation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooper- | | ative effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the United States, | | Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and the previously used | | Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) structures, data by industry for | | 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. How- | | ever, the monthly historical industry series from April 1995 through | | December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. | | | | NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize economic units. | | Units with similar production processes are classified in the same indus- | | try. NAICS focuses on how products and services are created, as opposed | | to the SIC focus on what is produced. This approach yields significantly | | different industry groupings than those produced by the SIC approach. | | | | Users interested in more information about NAICS can access the BLS | | Web page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the Bureau of the Census | | Web page at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: 202-691-5200; 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 2000 to February 2002 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Realization rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2000 January ................... 1,934 223,322 February .................. 1,045 103,898 March ..................... 986 106,748 First Quarter ............. 3,965 433,968 1,330 221,368 33.5 51.0 April ..................... 924 101,359 May ....................... 984 92,193 June ...................... 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter ............ 3,505 385,577 1,271 231,471 36.3 60.0 July ...................... 1,333 164,978 August .................... 751 97,215 September ................. 936 106,842 Third Quarter ............. 3,020 369,035 1,014 189,250 33.6 51.3 October ................... 874 103,755 November .................. 1,697 216,514 December .................. 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter ............ 5,248 647,012 2,005 376,588 38.2 58.2 2001 January ................... 1,522 200,343 February .................. 1,501 172,908 March ..................... 1,527 171,466 First Quarter ............. 4,550 544,717 1,765 339,766 38.8 62.4 April ..................... 1,450 176,265 May ....................... 1,434 159,365 June ...................... 2,107 253,826 Second Quarter ............ 4,991 589,456 2,072 399,075 41.5 67.7 July ...................... 2,117 273,807 August .................... 1,490 166,148 September ................. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter ............. 4,934 600,357 1,816 364,548 36.8 60.7 October ................... 1,831 215,483 November .................. 2,721 295,956 December .................. 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............ 6,992 780,332 (2)(p)2,538 (2)(p)358,067 (p)36.3 (p)45.9 2002 January(p) ................ 2,146 263,821 February(p) ............... 1,383 138,984 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become available. Recent 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 February December January February February December January February 2001 2001 2002(p) 2002(p) 2001 2001 2002(p) 2002(p) Total(1) ..................................... 1,501 2,440 2,146 1,383 172,908 268,893 263,821 138,984 Total, private .................................... 1,473 2,387 2,093 1,351 170,125 264,225 258,219 135,518 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 188 68 65 97 13,942 4,728 5,950 5,493 Mining ........................................ 7 32 20 15 1,761 3,581 2,110 1,802 Utilities ..................................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,076 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 137 364 199 140 10,198 28,637 15,869 10,277 Manufacturing.................................. 576 1,103 892 482 79,784 136,820 128,825 58,842 Food ...................................... 81 99 61 63 10,395 11,126 6,949 6,991 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 5 7 7 7 557 725 488 409 Textile mills ............................. 24 35 37 21 3,391 4,323 9,448 2,380 Textile product mills ..................... 11 12 19 8 1,233 1,300 3,109 873 Apparel ................................... 24 43 66 26 2,122 4,337 11,560 2,190 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) 16 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,641 332 ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 33 62 63 37 3,477 6,316 6,990 3,854 Paper ..................................... 18 28 22 16 2,058 2,458 1,676 1,636 Printing and related support activities ... 10 18 17 12 1,105 1,328 2,173 1,321 Petroleum and coal products ............... ( 2 ) 7 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 619 388 ( 2 ) Chemicals ................................. 9 19 14 12 779 2,116 1,026 780 Plastics and rubber products .............. 31 74 39 15 2,952 9,156 3,780 1,472 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 9 47 31 10 933 4,543 2,597 976 Primary metals ............................ 43 69 44 24 5,109 10,388 6,247 2,829 Fabricated metal products ................. 44 106 75 36 4,759 9,458 7,377 3,471 Machinery ................................. 35 84 69 28 5,774 12,584 8,837 6,027 Computer and electronic products .......... 49 95 103 58 5,270 13,346 14,073 6,025 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 26 42 36 16 3,348 5,991 3,835 2,162 Transportation equipment .................. 90 175 112 56 23,523 26,558 30,900 11,424 Furniture and related products ............ 18 41 43 20 1,651 5,972 5,429 2,593 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 11 24 23 14 786 2,535 1,611 1,172 Wholesale trade ............................... 21 26 38 24 1,658 1,979 3,962 1,569 Retail trade .................................. 112 116 185 105 11,694 12,298 21,717 10,605 Transportation and warehousing ................ 43 120 87 45 4,228 15,384 8,067 5,179 Information ................................... 46 46 71 69 7,578 8,123 7,809 9,902 Finance and insurance ......................... 18 26 49 38 1,324 1,931 5,005 2,539 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 8 10 8 8 588 770 676 469 Professional and technical services ........... 34 59 59 45 2,868 6,117 13,474 2,956 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) 4 5 8 ( 2 ) 485 804 699 Administrative and waste services ............. 190 219 237 185 26,482 23,863 26,181 17,306 Educational services........................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 208 ( 2 ) - Health care and social assistance ............. 18 19 24 18 1,259 1,594 1,803 1,115 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 9 18 27 ( 2 ) 574 1,228 2,773 ( 2 ) Accommodation and food services ............... 40 109 87 49 3,531 11,733 8,295 4,091 Other services, except public administration... ( 2 ) 13 18 9 ( 2 ) 1,433 1,756 481 Unclassified ................................. 12 25 16 6 1,540 2,237 2,468 1,563 Government ........................................ 28 53 53 32 2,783 4,668 5,602 3,466 Federal ....................................... 7 7 13 8 665 651 1,751 1,002 State ......................................... 9 14 16 7 805 1,160 1,741 449 Local ......................................... 12 32 24 17 1,313 2,857 2,110 2,015 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. Note: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. Dash represents zero. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division February December January February February December January February 2001 2001 2002(p) 2002(p) 2001 2001 2002(p) 2002(p) United States(1) .... 1,501 2,440 2,146 1,383 172,908 268,893 263,821 138,984 Northeast ................... 176 401 274 175 18,161 40,843 29,934 20,241 New England ............. 43 116 58 38 5,630 12,809 5,852 4,107 Middle Atlantic ......... 133 285 216 137 12,531 28,034 24,082 16,134 South ....................... 271 451 581 350 36,098 52,331 79,608 37,256 South Atlantic .......... 131 185 229 176 17,355 19,366 33,142 16,633 East South Central ...... 56 124 227 67 7,280 15,232 32,722 7,024 West South Central ...... 84 142 125 107 11,463 17,733 13,744 13,599 Midwest ..................... 320 1,013 559 284 45,891 119,250 71,176 34,912 East North Central ...... 260 774 437 217 39,121 87,719 53,645 27,662 West North Central ...... 60 239 122 67 6,770 31,531 17,531 7,250 West ........................ 734 575 732 574 72,758 56,469 83,103 46,575 Mountain ................ 51 83 83 60 5,124 8,547 9,315 5,782 Pacific ................. 683 492 649 514 67,634 47,922 73,788 40,793 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 February December January February February December January February 2001 2001 2002(p) 2002(p) 2001 2001 2002(p) 2002(p) Total(1) ................. 1,501 2,440 2,146 1,383 172,908 268,893 263,821 138,984 Alabama ..................... 15 12 163 21 2,072 1,902 27,032 2,129 Alaska ...................... ( 2 ) 3 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 237 467 ( 2 ) Arizona ..................... 7 10 12 11 553 831 1,252 939 Arkansas .................... 5 10 5 4 403 1,030 445 299 California .................. 635 406 563 460 62,791 39,239 62,844 34,494 Colorado .................... 4 14 13 10 321 1,295 1,487 976 Connecticut ................. 5 9 5 ( 2 ) 758 674 428 ( 2 ) Delaware .................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 521 ( 2 ) - District of Columbia ........ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 499 ( 2 ) Florida ..................... 47 54 78 86 3,954 4,136 9,173 5,903 Georgia ..................... 17 15 46 20 1,673 1,268 10,630 2,396 Hawaii ...................... ( 2 ) 5 14 10 ( 2 ) 494 1,302 1,090 Idaho ....................... 12 17 13 13 1,681 1,914 1,054 1,579 Illinois .................... 51 130 89 58 8,469 15,387 12,951 10,045 Indiana ..................... 26 77 36 25 3,749 9,516 5,101 2,319 Iowa ........................ 12 63 32 13 1,096 7,523 3,982 1,869 Kansas ...................... 8 25 16 4 904 6,065 1,331 431 Kentucky .................... 23 74 30 27 3,587 9,912 2,565 2,963 Louisiana ................... 11 24 20 13 782 1,619 2,249 2,409 Maine ....................... ( 2 ) 7 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 571 616 ( 2 ) Maryland .................... ( 2 ) 6 11 6 ( 2 ) 451 998 606 Massachusetts ............... 18 52 30 25 1,540 5,534 2,867 2,406 Michigan .................... 75 298 82 41 14,090 34,681 8,915 4,235 Minnesota ................... 13 55 29 24 2,362 6,181 2,913 2,662 Mississippi ................. 6 11 7 5 457 740 584 757 Missouri .................... 23 70 39 20 2,054 8,799 8,709 1,510 Montana ..................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 728 ( 2 ) 225 Nebraska .................... ( 2 ) 19 4 5 ( 2 ) 2,324 466 564 Nevada ...................... 23 30 31 14 2,016 3,202 4,133 1,122 New Hampshire ............... 4 17 7 ( 2 ) 543 1,930 1,001 ( 2 ) New Jersey .................. 24 45 49 39 2,349 5,416 7,066 6,074 New Mexico .................. 3 4 4 3 229 246 535 279 New York .................... 23 35 27 26 1,921 3,026 2,481 2,375 North Carolina .............. 22 20 25 18 2,357 1,869 3,386 2,628 North Dakota ................ - 4 ( 2 ) - - 352 ( 2 ) - Ohio ........................ 53 123 158 50 5,063 11,562 18,614 4,966 Oklahoma .................... 10 19 8 15 3,204 3,214 778 1,810 Oregon ...................... 23 54 39 24 2,543 5,946 5,278 2,576 Pennsylvania ................ 86 205 140 72 8,261 19,592 14,535 7,685 Rhode Island ................ 11 19 7 6 2,185 2,288 694 942 South Carolina .............. 20 36 33 25 3,322 5,049 3,753 2,808 South Dakota ................ 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 235 287 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ................... 12 27 27 14 1,164 2,678 2,541 1,175 Texas ....................... 58 89 92 75 7,074 11,870 10,272 9,081 Utah ........................ ( 2 ) 4 7 6 ( 2 ) 331 551 662 Vermont ..................... 3 12 4 ( 2 ) 294 1,812 246 ( 2 ) Virginia .................... 18 47 27 17 2,949 5,875 3,303 2,061 Washington .................. 22 24 26 18 2,041 2,006 3,897 2,495 West Virginia ............... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 258 166 Wisconsin ................... 55 146 72 43 7,750 16,573 8,064 6,097 Wyoming ..................... - - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - Puerto Rico ................. 8 9 8 7 490 1,281 1,020 827 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.