Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 01-446 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, November 30, 2001 MASS LAYOFFS IN OCTOBER 2001 In October 2001, there were 1,816 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 212,695. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance were the highest for the month of October since the series began in April 1995. Over the January-October 2001 period, the total number of events, at 16,221, and initial claims, at 1,935,871, were substantially higher than in January-October 2000, at 11,364 and 1,292,335, respectively. The BLS also tabulated data through October 13 on the direct and indirect effects of the September 11 attacks on plant closings and mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days. See page 2. Industry Distribution Manufacturing industries accounted for 40 percent of all mass layoff events and 50 percent of all initial claims filed in October 2001. A year earlier, layoffs in manufacturing accounted for 37 percent of events and 47 percent of initial claims. Manufacturing industries with the highest number of initial claimants were transportation equipment (25,524, mostly in motor vehicles and car bodies), electronic and other electrical equipment (13,080, primarily in semiconductors and related devices), and industrial machinery and equipment (11,988, largely in refrigeration and heating equipment). (See table 2.) Services accounted for 25 percent of events and 22 percent of initial claims filed during the month. The number of initial claim filings from services nearly tripled over the year, rising to 46,731. These layoffs in services were concentrated in business services (particularly help supply services), in hotels and other lodging places, and in motion pictures. Eight percent of all layoff events and 7 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in transportation and public utilities, largely in scheduled air transportation and in telephone communications. Retail trade accounted for 8 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims in October, mostly in department stores and in eating places. Construction accounted for an additional 5 percent of events and 4 percent of initial claims, primarily in special trade contractors. Compared with October 2000, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in business services (+13,936), electronic and other electrical equipment (+11,215), transportation equipment (+7,876), and transportation by air (+7,252). The largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims was reported in agricultural services (-4,027). Geographic Distribution In October, the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was in the Midwest--68,814--largely in transportation equipment. (See table 3.) This industry accounted for 27 percent of all claimants in the region. The Northeast region continued to register the lowest number of mass layoff- related initial claims, 29,900. Over the year, all four regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, and West) reported increases in mass layoff events and initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in the Midwest (+38,767). Each 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 and Pacific divisions. - 2 - California registered the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events, 48,316, mostly in business services and in motion pictures, followed by Texas (14,229, primarily in business services ), Ohio (13,435, largely in transportation equipment), and Illinois (12,717, mostly in fabricated metal products). These four states accounted for 43 percent of all layoff events and 42 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) California reported the largest over-the-year increase (+17,738) in initial claims, followed by Missouri (+7,722) and Illinois (+7,025). The largest over-the-year decrease occurred in Louisiana (-1,017). Impact of the September 11 Attacks After the events of September 11, BLS added a new code for reason for layoff, "non-natural disaster," for use in the quarterly reporting of extended mass layoffs (those lasting more than 30 days). This allows for the identification of workers separated from companies as a direct or indirect effect of situations such as the September 11 attacks. BLS also implemented interim reporting of extended mass layoffs in order to analyze the layoff impact of those attacks on a more timely basis. In the five weeks following the September 11 attacks (the weeks ending September 15 through October 13), employers reported 292 events involving 88,508 workers separated as a direct or indirect effect of the attacks. Twenty-seven states reported extended mass layoff activity related to the September 11 incidents. However, 68 percent of these events and 72 percent of the associated separations occurred in just six states' California, Nevada, New York, Illinois, Texas, and Hawaii. Among the workers laid off because of the terrorist attacks, 43 percent, or 37,730, had been employed in the scheduled air transportation industry. An additional 36 percent, or 32,161 workers, had been employed in hotels and motels. Thirty-two percent of the employers reporting extended mass layoffs related to the attacks indicated they anticipated some type of recall. 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 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 November 2001 will be issued in the week of December 24-28. A report on extended layoff events resulting from the September 11 attacks and identified through November 17 also will be included. 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, October 1999 to October 2001 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Realization rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 1999 October .................... 1,098 118,938 November ................... 1,336 139,508 December ................... 1,509 162,381 Fourth Quarter ............. 3,943 420,827 1,625 287,685 41.2 68.4 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 (r)189,250 33.6 (r)51.3 October .................... 874 103,755 November ................... 1,697 216,514 December ................... 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter ............. 5,248 647,012 2,005 (r)376,362 38.2 (r)58.2 2001 January .................... 1,522 200,343 February ................... 1,501 172,908 March ...................... 1,527 171,466 First Quarter .............. 4,550 544,717 (r)1,765 (r)338,596 (r)38.8 (r)62.2 April ...................... 1,450 175,911 May ........................ 1,426 157,759 June ....................... 2,081 250,359 Second Quarter ............. 4,957 584,029 (r)2,055 (r)387,880 (r)41.5 (r)66.4 July ....................... 2,108 272,308 August ..................... 1,474 163,263 September(p) ............... 1,316 158,859 Third Quarter(p) ........... 4,898 594,430 (2)1,689 (2)233,780 34.5 39.3 October(p) ................. 1,816 212,695 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. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry October August September October October August September October 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ........................................ 874 1,474 1,316 1,816 103,755 163,263 158,859 212,695 Total, private ....................................... 826 1,444 1,281 1,753 98,349 160,685 154,697 206,622 Agriculture ........................................ 145 74 77 99 13,631 5,247 5,033 8,134 Nonagriculture ..................................... 670 1,367 1,200 1,653 82,285 155,244 149,273 198,431 Manufacturing .................................... 321 607 485 729 48,588 79,663 58,953 105,505 Durable goods .................................. 175 415 315 503 34,544 59,811 39,270 78,371 Lumber and wood products ..................... 19 11 6 28 1,819 882 499 3,205 Furniture and fixtures ....................... 10 30 24 27 944 4,102 2,496 3,193 Stone, clay, and glass products .............. ( 2 ) 8 11 20 ( 2 ) 1,233 1,068 2,596 Primary metal industries ..................... 20 35 28 58 2,857 3,448 2,820 8,334 Fabricated metal products .................... 20 42 38 49 1,737 3,402 3,181 6,858 Industrial machinery and equipment ........... 22 93 62 91 6,567 11,347 10,479 11,988 Electronic and other electrical equipment .... 14 119 77 101 1,865 16,820 7,159 13,080 Transportation equipment ..................... 57 56 48 99 17,704 15,357 9,960 25,524 Instruments and related products ............. 6 15 14 21 480 2,529 989 2,677 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ....... ( 2 ) 6 7 9 ( 2 ) 691 619 916 Nondurable goods ............................... 146 192 170 226 14,044 19,852 19,683 27,134 Food and kindred products .................... 64 53 50 73 6,729 5,291 6,175 8,467 Tobacco products ............................. - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - Textile mill products ........................ 14 29 35 30 1,696 3,315 5,216 6,073 Apparel and other textile products ........... 30 34 36 43 2,281 3,534 3,547 5,078 Paper and allied products .................... 8 16 8 13 695 2,876 727 1,315 Printing and publishing ...................... ( 2 ) 18 12 14 ( 2 ) 1,182 1,233 1,063 Chemicals and allied products ................ 6 11 10 16 438 910 684 1,429 Petroleum and coal products .................. ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products ... 14 21 13 34 1,185 1,860 1,534 3,401 Leather and leather products ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 567 ( 2 ) Nonmanufacturing ................................. 349 760 715 924 33,697 75,581 90,320 92,926 Mining ......................................... ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 10 ( 2 ) 514 ( 2 ) 1,191 Construction ................................... 58 75 67 99 4,929 6,058 4,657 8,692 Transportation and public utilities ............ 29 111 95 141 3,116 10,272 11,698 15,950 Wholesale and retail trade ..................... 87 181 141 182 7,815 16,742 13,584 16,742 Wholesale trade ............................. 17 37 33 39 1,191 2,800 2,599 3,228 Retail trade ................................ 70 144 108 143 6,624 13,942 10,985 13,514 Finance, insurance, and real estate ............ ( 2 ) 31 ( 2 ) 43 ( 2 ) 2,667 ( 2 ) 3,620 Services ....................................... 155 355 385 449 15,842 39,328 58,110 46,731 Not identified ..................................... 11 3 4 1 2,433 194 391 57 Government ........................................... 48 30 35 63 5,406 2,578 4,162 6,073 Federal ............................................ 18 5 9 20 2,397 480 901 2,151 State .............................................. 12 12 10 18 1,355 1,094 1,078 1,890 Local .............................................. 18 13 16 25 1,654 1,004 2,183 2,032 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: 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 October August September October October August September October 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) United States(1) ... 874 1,474 1,316 1,816 103,755 163,263 158,859 212,695 Northeast .................. 110 224 220 273 9,040 24,891 23,678 29,900 New England ............ 16 34 30 57 1,293 3,180 2,785 7,258 Middle Atlantic ........ 94 190 190 216 7,747 21,711 20,893 22,642 South ...................... 217 302 298 433 26,981 30,929 30,703 49,275 South Atlantic ......... 91 149 170 238 12,727 14,245 17,272 24,849 East South Central ..... 42 52 54 64 3,868 5,444 5,591 7,944 West South Central ..... 84 101 74 131 10,386 11,240 7,840 16,482 Midwest .................... 180 315 221 450 30,047 44,617 31,437 68,814 East North Central ..... 144 245 182 360 24,434 35,511 26,358 51,022 West North Central ..... 36 70 39 90 5,613 9,106 5,079 17,792 West ....................... 367 633 577 660 37,687 62,826 73,041 64,706 Mountain ............... 35 53 61 68 4,185 4,883 13,245 6,361 Pacific ................ 332 580 516 592 33,502 57,943 59,796 58,345 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 October August September October October August September October 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ................ 874 1,474 1,316 1,816 103,755 163,263 158,859 212,695 Alabama .................... 7 10 12 9 450 678 1,067 1,113 Alaska ..................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 381 Arizona .................... 9 10 7 12 959 655 506 823 Arkansas ................... 5 6 8 5 558 854 807 734 California ................. 302 519 465 516 30,578 50,343 54,267 48,316 Colorado ................... 4 5 8 16 380 492 787 1,594 Connecticut ................ 3 3 ( 2 ) 6 247 308 ( 2 ) 366 Delaware ................... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 8 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 970 District of Columbia ....... ( 2 ) - 5 3 ( 2 ) - 704 350 Florida .................... 32 71 75 119 2,880 5,822 5,575 9,065 Georgia .................... 14 16 14 16 1,233 1,368 1,505 1,742 Hawaii ..................... 3 ( 2 ) 16 20 174 ( 2 ) 2,108 2,130 Idaho ...................... 6 8 6 11 801 804 763 1,638 Illinois ................... 39 56 60 83 5,692 6,441 9,708 12,717 Indiana .................... 11 24 20 43 1,216 3,291 3,241 5,845 Iowa ....................... 9 15 13 26 736 1,373 2,041 3,598 Kansas ..................... 3 11 4 5 2,488 1,104 706 2,940 Kentucky ................... 15 24 26 28 1,565 3,422 3,033 4,078 Louisiana .................. 13 3 ( 2 ) 5 1,299 220 ( 2 ) 282 Maine ...................... 3 3 - ( 2 ) 171 211 - ( 2 ) Maryland ................... 4 ( 2 ) 3 7 354 ( 2 ) 175 651 Massachusetts .............. 5 15 21 39 507 1,246 1,910 4,612 Michigan ................... 23 57 43 88 3,537 12,914 6,062 10,349 Minnesota .................. 10 11 6 19 1,104 1,421 507 1,989 Mississippi ................ 12 3 5 11 950 182 335 1,288 Missouri ................... 13 27 15 36 1,122 4,474 1,672 8,844 Montana .................... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Nebraska ................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Nevada ..................... 13 23 34 23 1,578 1,958 10,762 1,797 New Hampshire .............. ( 2 ) 7 3 3 ( 2 ) 840 182 1,213 New Jersey ................. 14 30 23 40 1,229 3,108 2,348 6,229 New Mexico ................. 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 467 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New York ................... 12 53 77 47 1,020 6,178 9,427 4,546 North Carolina ............. 15 22 10 29 3,717 1,732 805 3,997 North Dakota ............... - 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 430 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio ....................... 34 50 30 73 9,611 6,153 3,983 13,435 Oklahoma ................... ( 2 ) 3 6 11 ( 2 ) 211 1,479 1,237 Oregon ..................... 7 33 14 30 638 4,986 1,291 5,009 Pennsylvania ............... 68 107 90 129 5,498 12,425 9,118 11,867 Rhode Island ............... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 525 ( 2 ) 464 South Carolina ............. 11 26 45 36 2,812 3,583 5,904 5,361 South Dakota ............... - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - Tennessee .................. 8 15 11 16 903 1,162 1,156 1,465 Texas ...................... 65 89 58 110 8,477 9,955 5,417 14,229 Utah ....................... - 4 ( 2 ) 3 - 242 ( 2 ) 307 Vermont .................... 3 ( 2 ) 3 3 236 ( 2 ) 487 462 Virginia ................... 12 10 14 20 1,432 1,372 2,282 2,713 Washington ................. 18 25 19 22 1,968 2,337 1,986 2,509 West Virginia .............. ( 2 ) - 3 - ( 2 ) - 209 - Wisconsin .................. 37 58 29 73 4,378 6,712 3,364 8,676 Wyoming .................... - - - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) Puerto Rico ................ 9 9 9 12 1,141 862 831 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.