Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 03-506 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, September 25, 2003 MASS LAYOFFS IN AUGUST 2003 Employers initiated 1,258 mass layoff actions in August 2003, 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 133,839. (See table 1.) Compared with August 2002, both the number of layoff events and the number of initial claims increased, marking the first over-the-year increase in mass-layoff initial claims since May 2002. From January through August 2003, the total number of events, at 13,205, was higher than for the same period a year ago, while the number of initial claims, at 1,316,863, was lower. 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 quarterly 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. Industry Distribution Temporary help services, with 9,787 claims, accounted for over 7 percent of all initial claims in August. (See table A.) Five of the 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims recorded their peak level for August this year. The manufacturing sector accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff events and 39 percent of all initial claims filed in August, little changed from a year ago (34 and 38 percent, respectively). Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (9,476, mainly automotive-related), followed by textile mills (7,154), machinery (6,606), and food manufacturing (5,803). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent of events and 12 percent of initial claims filed in August, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Retail trade accounted for 8 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims during the month, mainly in general merchandise stores. Four percent of the events and 7 percent of the initial claims were from the information sector, largely from motion picture and sound recording. Transportation and warehousing accounted for 7 percent of all layoff events and initial claims filed during August, primarily from school and employee bus transportation. Layoffs in construction accounted for an additional 9 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims, mostly from specialty trade contractors. - 2 - Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims filed during the month, particularly in local executive, legislative, and general government agencies. The 7,573 initial claims in this sector were the most for any August since the program began in 1995. Compared with August 2002, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in textile mills (+5,977) and motion picture and sound recording (+5,409). The largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims was reported in computer and electronic products (-3,527). Table A. Industries with largest mass layoff initial claims in August 2003p ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Initial | August peak Industry | claims |------------------------- | | Year | Initial claims -----------------------------------------|---------|-------|----------------- Temporary help services .................| 9,787 | 1999 | 11,533 Motion picture and video production......| 6,812 | 2003 | 6,812 School and employee bus transportation...| 6,538 | 2003 | 6,538 Broadwoven fabric mills..................| 5,803 | 2003 | 5,803 Automobile manufacturing.................| 3,216 | 2001 | 8,166 Professional employer organizations......| 2,303 | 2002 | 2,855 Discount department stores...............| 2,193 | 2002 | 2,271 Elementary and secondary schools.........| 2,020 | 2003 | 2,020 Department stores, except discount.......| 1,844 | 1996 | 2,151 Farm machinery and equipment.............| 1,661 | 2003 | 1,661 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in August due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 47,022. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording accounted for 35 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The South followed, with 34,673 initial claims, then the Midwest, with 30,872, and the Northeast, with 21,272. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs rose over the year in three of the four regions, with the largest increase in the West (+3,877). The Northeast had the only over-the-year decrease (-3,906). Five 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 (+4,499) and East South Central (+4,459). The West South Central division had the largest decrease (-5,861). California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this August, 37,814, mostly in administrative and support services and in motion picture and sound recording. New York reported 10,633 initial claims, followed by Illinois (7,996), North Carolina (6,680), Texas (6,571), and Ohio (6,389). These six states accounted for 55 percent of all layoff events and 57 percent of initial claims for unemployment in- surance. (See table 4.) - 3 - North Carolina reported the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+3,576), followed by California (+3,224) and Alabama (+3,049). The largest over-the-year decrease occurred in Texas (-5,089). From January through August, California reported 322,669 initial claims, 25 percent of the national total. The states with the next highest numbers of initial claims were Pennsylvania (80,979), Ohio (75,412), New York (71,248), and Texas (65,529). ______________________________ The report on Mass Layoffs in September 2003 is schedule to be released on Thursday, October 23, 2003. 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, July 2001 to August 2003 Extended mass layoffs Total mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates(1) Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2001 July ....................... 2,117 273,807 August ..................... 1,490 166,148 September .................. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter .............. 4,934 600,357 1,815 371,541 36.8 61.9 October .................... 1,831 215,483 November ................... 2,721 295,956 December ................... 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,992 780,332 2,697 502,502 38.6 64.4 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,777 February ................... 1,382 138,808 March ...................... 1,460 161,316 First Quarter .............. 4,988 563,901 1,750 316,489 35.1 56.1 April ...................... 1,506 165,814 May ........................ 1,723 179,799 June ....................... 1,584 162,189 Second Quarter ............. 4,813 507,802 1,905 353,017 39.6 69.5 July ....................... 2,042 245,294 August ..................... 1,248 128,103 September .................. 1,062 124,522 Third Quarter .............. 4,352 497,919 1,383 284,511 31.8 57.1 October .................... 1,497 171,100 November ................... (r)2,153 (r)240,171 December ................... 2,474 264,158 Fourth Quarter ............. (r)6,124 (r)675,429 2,257 421,025 36.9 62.3 2003 January .................... 2,315 225,430 February ................... 1,363 (r)124,965 March ...................... 1,207 113,026 First Quarter .............. 4,885 (r)463,421 1,700 329,153 34.8 71.0 April ...................... 1,581 161,412 May ........................ 1,703 174,204 June ....................... 1,691 157,552 Second Quarter ............. 4,975 493,168 (2)(p)1,894 (2)(p) 285,884 (p)38.1 (p)58.0 July (p) ................... 2,087 226,435 August (p) ................. 1,258 133,839 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 avaliable. 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. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry August June July August August June July August 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p Total (1) .................................. 1,248 1,691 2,087 1,258 128,103 157,552 226,435 133,839 Total, private .................................. 1,190 1,397 1,932 1,201 122,129 132,185 215,170 126,266 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 39 61 117 38 2,255 4,442 8,269 2,135 Mining ........................................ 10 4 7 4 701 591 505 283 Utilities ..................................... ( 2 ) 3 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 315 - ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 98 95 88 114 8,241 6,238 5,970 7,862 Manufacturing ................................. 427 389 946 405 48,668 40,845 136,410 52,620 Food ...................................... 47 59 74 42 5,150 5,829 6,460 5,803 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 5 ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) 405 ( 2 ) 614 ( 2 ) Textile mills ............................. 12 18 27 21 1,177 1,970 2,828 7,154 Textile product mills ..................... ( 2 ) 10 12 8 ( 2 ) 1,581 1,048 739 Apparel ................................... 24 19 36 25 3,127 1,584 3,093 2,255 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 692 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 11 9 31 21 1,198 711 3,976 1,773 Paper ..................................... 8 9 16 13 741 1,202 1,035 1,083 Printing and related support activities ... 5 14 12 4 558 1,053 723 231 Petroleum and coal products ............... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Chemicals ................................. ( 2 ) 9 15 7 ( 2 ) 878 1,332 549 Plastics and rubber products .............. 16 19 90 24 1,368 3,233 11,122 2,203 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 12 10 30 6 1,334 828 3,954 463 Primary metals ............................ 25 29 66 23 2,856 2,226 8,676 1,988 Fabricated metal products ................. 33 23 59 32 3,136 1,728 6,235 2,806 Machinery ................................. 50 30 65 39 9,197 3,062 8,669 6,606 Computer and electronic products .......... 74 35 60 34 6,202 3,464 5,534 2,675 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 23 13 33 21 3,082 2,088 5,445 2,564 Transportation equipment .................. 50 51 265 50 6,606 6,367 60,173 9,476 Furniture and related products ............ 11 15 20 21 888 1,363 2,391 2,513 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 13 6 19 11 931 572 1,648 1,351 Wholesale trade ............................... 23 25 36 18 2,357 1,597 2,776 1,322 Retail trade .................................. 112 100 108 99 11,410 9,640 9,065 9,980 Transportation and warehousing ................ 68 135 84 86 8,140 15,035 7,489 9,025 Information ................................... 45 54 44 51 4,006 5,954 3,700 9,114 Finance and insurance ......................... 26 23 35 41 2,161 1,730 2,569 3,113 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 11 7 11 4 647 485 751 349 Professional and technical services ........... 47 36 53 41 6,455 3,357 4,970 3,775 Management of companies and enterprises ....... - 4 4 ( 2 ) - 725 438 ( 2 ) Administrative and waste services ............. 179 175 212 168 18,192 15,596 18,427 16,242 Educational services .......................... ( 2 ) 12 25 7 ( 2 ) 961 1,714 592 Health care and social assistance ............. 27 123 59 32 1,738 10,226 4,048 2,427 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 17 25 27 19 1,422 1,383 2,559 1,386 Accommodation and food services ............... 38 83 50 45 2,702 9,975 3,764 3,228 Other services, except public administration .. 13 41 19 22 1,745 2,937 1,115 2,234 Unclassified .................................. 3 2 7 4 737 153 631 259 Government ...................................... 58 294 155 57 5,974 25,367 11,265 7,573 Federal ....................................... 15 9 10 10 2,056 841 899 1,287 State ......................................... 12 22 24 16 1,596 1,699 1,527 1,766 Local ......................................... 31 263 121 31 2,322 22,827 8,839 4,520 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: Industry data reflect the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 2002. Dash represents zero. 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 August June July August August June July August 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p United States (1) ... 1,248 1,691 2,087 1,258 128,103 157,552 226,435 133,839 Northeast ................. 195 275 336 220 25,178 29,032 30,187 21,272 New England ............. 27 55 69 25 3,897 5,732 6,148 2,151 Middle Atlantic ......... 168 220 267 195 21,281 23,300 24,039 19,121 South ..................... 308 461 440 330 31,764 41,019 48,895 34,673 South Atlantic .......... 159 243 200 164 13,884 18,913 22,033 18,195 East South Central ...... 30 78 128 68 3,574 9,495 14,232 8,033 West South Central ...... 119 140 112 98 14,306 12,611 12,630 8,445 Midwest ................... 251 310 697 239 28,016 33,819 101,533 30,872 East North Central ...... 186 238 589 199 21,208 24,398 79,361 25,707 West North Central ...... 65 72 108 40 6,808 9,421 22,172 5,165 West ...................... 494 645 614 469 43,145 53,682 45,820 47,022 Mountain ................ 39 68 53 42 3,956 5,827 4,179 4,080 Pacific ................. 455 577 561 427 39,189 47,855 41,641 42,942 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 August June July August August June July August 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p Total (1) ............ 1,248 1,691 2,087 1,258 128,103 157,552 226,435 133,839 Alabama ................. 5 21 45 24 691 3,882 5,466 3,740 Alaska .................. ( 2 ) 4 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 439 - ( 2 ) Arizona ................. 7 17 20 10 485 1,282 1,634 703 Arkansas ................ ( 2 ) 9 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 653 621 ( 2 ) California .............. 415 526 517 383 34,590 42,918 37,033 37,814 Colorado ................ 7 11 7 ( 2 ) 573 884 478 ( 2 ) Connecticut ............. 4 9 12 3 588 1,296 833 237 Delaware ................ - 4 3 3 - 266 1,430 598 District of Columbia .... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Florida ................. 72 117 76 80 5,154 8,488 5,356 5,554 Georgia ................. 17 43 53 20 1,734 3,641 7,835 2,077 Hawaii .................. ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 525 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Idaho ................... 10 8 9 11 1,708 629 957 1,500 Illinois ................ 51 44 85 50 6,185 4,231 11,117 7,996 Indiana ................. 23 36 86 29 2,954 3,912 18,688 3,478 Iowa .................... 10 10 24 10 939 1,186 4,674 1,650 Kansas .................. 11 11 14 6 1,378 2,198 1,800 775 Kentucky ................ 14 28 57 21 2,032 3,087 7,110 2,377 Louisiana ............... 19 28 20 17 1,513 2,308 2,299 1,215 Maine ................... - 6 3 ( 2 ) - 388 178 ( 2 ) Maryland ................ 8 11 16 5 898 950 1,149 422 Massachusetts ........... 17 32 43 15 2,132 3,230 3,947 1,388 Michigan ................ 26 39 190 11 2,535 3,541 21,647 2,369 Minnesota ............... 11 20 18 6 1,243 1,898 2,127 505 Mississippi ............. 3 7 8 8 176 547 460 571 Missouri ................ 28 25 40 15 2,884 3,730 12,137 1,521 Montana ................. - 8 3 4 - 528 172 599 Nebraska ................ 4 4 9 - 287 267 1,231 - Nevada .................. 11 14 10 11 891 1,597 694 915 New Hampshire ........... 3 ( 2 ) 8 3 618 ( 2 ) 944 195 New Jersey .............. 33 69 59 33 3,371 9,441 5,354 2,708 New Mexico .............. 3 6 ( 2 ) 3 190 605 ( 2 ) 127 New York ................ 86 46 92 94 11,213 4,194 8,253 10,633 North Carolina .......... 27 24 11 32 3,104 1,918 1,298 6,680 North Dakota ............ ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio .................... 47 72 133 54 5,602 8,361 17,086 6,389 Oklahoma ................ 5 13 9 6 1,008 1,188 1,947 603 Oregon .................. 24 20 24 27 2,603 2,022 2,891 2,447 Pennsylvania ............ 49 105 116 68 6,697 9,665 10,432 5,780 Rhode Island ............ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 246 ( 2 ) South Carolina .......... 19 12 17 10 1,238 1,039 1,815 870 South Dakota ............ - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ............... 8 22 18 15 675 1,979 1,196 1,345 Texas ................... 93 90 75 74 11,660 8,462 7,763 6,571 Utah .................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 302 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Vermont ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Virginia ................ 15 27 21 13 1,693 2,189 2,981 1,887 Washington .............. 14 20 18 14 1,856 1,951 1,579 1,714 West Virginia ........... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Wisconsin ............... 39 47 95 55 3,932 4,353 10,823 5,475 Wyoming ................. - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ............. 10 8 13 10 772 702 1,116 1,035 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.