Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
MLS MLS Program Links

Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, September 23, 2010               USDL-10-1317

Technical information:  (202) 691-6392  *  mlsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

(NOTE: Monthly national Mass Layoffs data for April through September 2010 
have been found to contain errors in each of the 6 seasonally adjusted series
appearing in the charts, the text, and tables 1 and 3. Not seasonally adjusted
data and regional office news releases are not affected. The corrected 
seasonally adjusted estimates for April through September are located in the 
Mass Layoffs database at www.bls.gov/mls/#data.)


                             MASS LAYOFFS -- AUGUST 2010


Employers took 1,546 mass layoff actions in August that resulted in the separation
of 150,192 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment
insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. The number
of mass layoff events in August decreased by 63 from the prior month, while the number
of associated initial claims increased by 6,489. In August, 403 mass layoff events
were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 46,540
initial claims. (See table 1.)

The national unemployment rate was 9.6 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, essen-
tially unchanged from the prior month and from a year earlier. In August, total non-
farm payroll employment decreased by 54,000 over the month but increased by 229,000
from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in August was 976 on a not seasonally adjusted 
basis; the number of associated initial claims was 92,435. (See table 2.) Over
the year, the number of mass layoff events decreased by 452, and associated initial
claims decreased by 32,589. Thirteen of the 19 major industry sectors in the private
economy reported over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by manufacturing.
Retail trade and management of companies reached August program highs in terms of
average weekly claims. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing
lengths of months. See the Technical Note. Data began in 1995.)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 24 percent of all mass layoff events and
25 percent of initial claims filed in August. A year earlier, manufacturing made
up 31 percent of events and 33 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing,
the number of claimants in August was greatest in transportation equipment
and food. (See table 3.) Sixteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced
over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by machinery and transportation
equipment.

The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in August was
temporary help services. (See table A.) Of the 10 detailed industries in table A,
elementary and secondary schools and home centers each reached a program high
number of claims for the month of August. The table includes both publicly and
privately owned entities.


Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in August 2010,
not seasonally adjusted 

                                                                   August peak
                  Industry
                                             Initial claims     Year  Initial claims

Temporary help services (1) ..............        7,936         1999      11,533
Elementary and secondary schools .........        4,093         2010       4,093
Professional employer organizations (1) ..        3,454         2008       5,252
Motion picture and video production ......        3,026         2003       6,812
Discount department stores ...............        2,542         2007       2,953
School and employee bus transportation ...        2,429         2003       6,538
Payroll services .........................        2,284         2001       8,173
Automobile manufacturing .................        2,279         2001       8,166
Home centers .............................        1,857         2010       1,857
Supermarkets and other grocery stores ....        1,656         2001       2,357

    1  See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.


Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Three of the 4 regions and 7 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases
in initial claims due to mass layoffs in August. Among the census regions, the
Midwest registered the largest over-the-year declines in initial claims. Of the
geographic divisions, the East North Central and the Middle Atlantic had the
largest over-the-year declines in initial claims. (See table 5.)

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in August, followed by Florida
and New York. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-
year decreases in initial claims, led by New York and Pennsylvania. (See table 6.)

Note

The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers begin-
ning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. For private nonfarm
establishments, 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 4.) See the Technical Note for
more detailed definitions.

____________
The Mass Layoffs news release for September is scheduled to be released on Friday,
October 22, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).




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
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during
a consecutive 5-week period.  These employers 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.  The number of weeks in a given 
month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in a
year may vary.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year
change in not seasonally adjusted series 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; Federal Relay
Service:  (800) 877-8339.

Definitions

   Employer.  Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state
unemployment insurance laws.  Information on employers is obtained from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is adminis-
tered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

   Industry.  Employers are classified according to the 2007 version of the 
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).  For temporary help
and professional employers organization industries, monthly MLS-related 
statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client companies 
in other industries.  An individual layoff action at a client company can
be small, but when initial claimants associated with many such layoffs are
assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a
mass layoff event may trigger.

   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 insur-
ance benefits filed against an employer during a 5-week period, regardless 
of duration.

Seasonal adjustment

   Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish-
ing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.  The six series are the
numbers of mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total,
private nonfarm, and manufacturing sectors.
   
   Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expan-
sions and contractions.

   The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis.  Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping seasonal adjustment factors.  Revisions to the most recent 5 years
of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a year with the issuance of
December data.  Before the data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments
are made to the original data to adjust them for differences in the number
of weeks used to calculate the monthly data.  Because weekly unemployment
insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data, a particular month's
value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in 1 year and 4 weeks in 
another.  The effects of these differences could seriously distort the sea-
sonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process.  These 
effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently removed from 
the final seasonally adjusted series.




Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, September 2006 to August 2010,
seasonally adjusted

                                      Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2006                                                                             

September ..................     1,154     124,200     1,043     115,261       393      45,972
October ....................     1,208     123,691     1,094     115,102       409      53,957
November ...................     1,244     135,465     1,128     125,976       413      58,509
December ...................     1,227     134,176     1,123     124,570       376      51,403

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,264     130,834     1,113     119,874       404      55,217
February ...................     1,191     121,289     1,075     112,607       374      54,581
March ......................     1,225     126,391     1,113     117,760       386      48,298
April ......................     1,268     129,098     1,135     118,175       362      43,205
May ........................     1,172     118,648     1,070     111,103       345      44,391
June .......................     1,241     131,394     1,125     122,123       338      37,931
July .......................     1,274     130,331     1,169     122,381       403      55,973
August .....................     1,247     126,108     1,158     118,575       323      34,902
September ..................     1,255     123,632     1,160     116,744       436      51,814
October ....................     1,370     137,108     1,248     128,387       449      58,360
November ...................     1,415     148,952     1,289     139,665       424      58,543
December ...................     1,569     155,095     1,448     145,666       483      60,368

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,481     151,269     1,348     140,570       436      57,147
February ...................     1,578     162,152     1,432     150,712       470      60,276
March ......................     1,487     151,539     1,372     141,574       436      56,919
April ......................     1,327     133,318     1,201     122,651       460      59,377
May ........................     1,604     170,619     1,465     160,529       468      62,345
June .......................     1,674     170,329     1,523     158,084       501      68,403
July .......................     1,531     152,447     1,389     141,707       461      61,417
August .....................     1,845     189,798     1,711     179,737       607      78,172
September ..................     2,222     235,755     2,049     220,832       634      81,989
October ....................     2,287     239,768     2,125     226,098       721      95,301
November ...................     2,489     240,181     2,334     227,368       929     107,072
December ...................     2,461     243,505     2,277     229,171       962     115,961

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     2,279     251,807     2,115     238,990       764     109,124
February ...................     2,737     289,162     2,592     274,040     1,186     141,264
March ......................     2,913     295,970     2,715     279,671     1,202     146,381
April ......................     2,663     263,162     2,461     247,329     1,033     125,093
May ........................     2,794     306,788     2,589     289,012     1,183     145,166
June .......................     2,598     260,596     2,371     241,864     1,072     135,844
July .......................     2,039     196,578     1,818     176,542       565      66,918
August .....................     2,480     238,911     2,244     218,425       798      87,201
September ..................     2,326     221,639     2,109     204,462       783      90,440
October ....................     2,055     205,502     1,856     187,880       594      65,801
November ...................     1,813     163,823     1,650     151,810       485      54,858
December ...................     1,726     153,127     1,542     138,747       433      44,072

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     1,761     182,261     1,585     168,466       486      62,556
February ...................     1,570     155,718     1,406     142,240       376      43,100
March ......................     1,628     150,864     1,432     136,446       356      39,290
April ......................     1,856     200,870     1,686     185,150       448      63,616
May ........................     1,412     135,789     1,200     119,822       266      22,577
June .......................     1,647     145,538     1,436     127,928       298      29,384
July .......................     1,609     143,703     1,369     121,770       307      33,381
August .....................     1,546     150,192     1,359     130,660       403      46,540




Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, September 2006 to August 2010,
not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                          Initial                Initial                Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2006                                                                             

September ..................       865      87,699       785      81,274       296      39,076
October ....................       964      98,804       820      88,133       311      46,737
November ...................     1,315     136,186     1,172     125,009       455      58,473
December ...................     2,249     254,503     2,126     244,783       735     105,462

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,407     134,984     1,263     124,475       456      53,615
February ...................       935      86,696       861      82,097       273      36,170
March ......................     1,082     123,974     1,015     118,431       367      49,886
April ......................     1,219     127,444     1,115     118,040       309      35,229
May ........................       923      85,816       856      81,153       224      26,527
June .......................     1,599     172,810     1,318     148,669       313      36,571
July .......................     1,599     175,419     1,450     164,939       684     101,390
August .....................       963      93,458       908      88,345       220      23,361
September ..................       717      67,385       667      64,026       246      29,381
October ....................     1,083     108,455       929      97,716       338      50,918
November ...................     1,799     198,220     1,593     181,184       514      75,413
December ...................     2,167     224,214     2,071     216,898       699      91,754

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,647     154,503     1,520     144,191       488      54,418
February ...................     1,269     119,508     1,178     113,587       361      42,527
March ......................     1,089     114,541     1,039     110,147       333      43,740
April ......................     1,272     130,810     1,172     121,625       394      48,188
May ........................     1,552     159,471     1,438     150,462       388      51,698
June .......................     1,622     166,742     1,315     140,916       309      42,097
July .......................     1,891     200,382     1,687     186,018       760     108,733
August .....................     1,427     139,999     1,343     133,146       414      51,912
September ..................     1,292     129,586     1,202     122,505       361      46,391
October ....................     2,125     221,784     1,917     205,553       689     100,457
November ...................     2,574     241,589     2,389     226,657       997     107,620
December ...................     3,377     351,305     3,232     340,220     1,378     172,529

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     3,806     388,813     3,633     375,293     1,461     172,757
February ...................     2,262     218,438     2,173     210,755       945     103,588
March ......................     2,191     228,387     2,107     221,397       940     114,747
April ......................     2,547     256,930     2,385     243,321       887     100,872
May ........................     2,738     289,628     2,572     274,047     1,005     123,683
June .......................     2,519     256,357     2,051     216,063       674      85,726
July .......................     3,054     336,654     2,659     296,589     1,133     154,208
August .....................     1,428     125,024     1,334     117,193       436      41,151
September ..................     1,371     123,177     1,258     115,141       448      51,126
October ....................     1,934     193,904     1,678     172,883       566      69,655
November ...................     1,870     164,496     1,679     150,751       517      55,053
December ...................     2,310     214,648     2,166     203,655       615      64,540

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     2,860     278,679     2,682     265,074       962     104,846
February ...................     1,183     102,818     1,091      96,022       282      30,728
March ......................     1,197     111,727     1,111     105,514       273      29,745
April ......................     1,840     199,690     1,697     184,654       424      55,178
May ........................     1,354     123,333     1,170     109,203       216      19,334
June .......................     1,861     171,190     1,355     125,872       212      21,083
July .......................     2,124     206,254     1,732     172,248       532      64,200
August .....................       976      92,435       897      83,021       230      23,088




Table 3. 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  
                                                     2009      2010     2010      2010       2009       2010      2010       2010   
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                


      Total .....................................    2,480     1,647    1,609      1546     238,911    145,538   143,703    150,192

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    2,244     1,436    1,369      1359     218,425    127,928   121,770    130,660
    Manufacturing ...............................      798       298      307       403      87,201     29,384    33,381     46,540
    
              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    1,428     1,861    2,124       976     125,024    171,190   206,254     92,435
      
Total, private ..................................    1,356     1,398    1,832       923     118,920    128,691   179,524     84,610
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       22        43      100        26       1,727      2,819     7,276      1,589

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,334     1,355    1,732       897     117,193    125,872   172,248     83,021
    Mining ......................................        9       (2)        5       (2)         603        (2)       394        (2)
    Utilities ...................................      (2)         5        6         -         (2)        343       689          -
    Construction ................................      160       121      135       105      11,904      8,405     9,570      6,910
    Manufacturing ...............................      436       212      532       230      41,151     21,083    64,200     23,088
        Food ....................................       41        46       75        54       3,632      3,315     9,535      4,312
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        5         5        4       (2)         937        259       290        (2)
        Textile mills ...........................      (2)         4        8         4         (2)        584       959        888
        Textile product mills ...................        5       (2)        3         3         557        (2)       347        272
        Apparel .................................       15         7       18         9       1,317        737     1,576        573
        Leather and allied products .............      (2)       (2)        3       (2)         (2)        (2)       332        (2)
        Wood products ...........................       19        20       24        17       1,423      2,012     2,051      1,355
        Paper ...................................        8         4        4         7         576        382       311        559
        Printing and related support activities .        9        12       10         3         714        878       790        246
        Petroleum and coal products .............        -         -        4         -           -          -       294          -

        Chemicals ...............................       10         3       18         8         843        375     1,808        562
        Plastics and rubber products ............       17         5       31        10       1,532        353     3,027        691
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       18         9       22         8       1,147        492     1,846        621
        Primary metals ..........................       31         9       24         7       2,742        762     2,752        835
        Fabricated metal products ...............       43         8       27        12       3,501        621     2,497        925
        Machinery ...............................       74        16       26        18       6,608      2,329     4,463      2,077
        Computer and electronic products ........       30         8       18        15       2,535        654     1,492        999
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       18         5       17         8       1,853        734     1,692      1,303
        Transportation equipment ................       68        34      171        32       9,076      4,474    25,863      4,869
        Furniture and related products ..........       13        11       19         6         941      1,560     1,916      1,417
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............        6         3        6         4         577        232       359        319

    Wholesale trade .............................       34        14       33        18       2,714        955     2,691      1,324
    Retail trade ................................      111       107      142       108      10,173     10,102    14,907     10,430
    Transportation and warehousing ..............      101       159      148        45       9,131     19,790    17,270      4,356
    Information .................................       46        41       55        36       6,067      4,321     7,341      6,155
    Finance and insurance .......................       47        39       47        24       4,434      2,621     3,391      1,945
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........        7         8       15         7         404        437       883        514
    Professional and technical services .........       32        30       59        43       2,302      2,970     4,366      4,657
    Management of companies and enterprises .....      (2)       (2)        5         6         (2)        (2)       419        490
    Administrative and waste services ...........      195       175      292       158      15,604     14,283    25,234     14,605
    Educational services ........................       13        40       30         6       1,796      2,588     2,912        902
    Health care and social assistance ...........       31       174       90        36       1,947     14,283     6,716      2,532
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       19        29       31        17       1,403      1,764     2,559      1,286
    Accommodation and food services .............       74       141       89        50       6,034     18,121     7,184      3,424
    Other services, except public administration        13        54       18       (2)       1,076      3,284     1,522        (2)
    Unclassified ................................        -         -        -         -           -          -         -          -

Government ......................................       72       463      292        53       6,104     42,499    26,730      7,825
    Federal .....................................       14        22       25        18       1,381      2,076     3,243      1,933
    State .......................................       19        37       29        12       1,717      2,813     2,589        894
    Local .......................................       39       404      238        23       3,006     37,610    20,898      4,998
                                                                                                                                   
 
   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.

Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2008 to August 2010, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                                
                                                                                   
                                Total mass layoffs                              Extended mass layoffs                                                   
             Date                                        Mass layoffs          lasting more than 30 days        Realization rates (1)   
             
                                          Initial                Initial                     Initial                        Initial 
                               Events     claimants   Events    claimants      Events       claimants           Events     claimants
             2008                                                                                                                 

July .......................    1,891      200,382     1,687     186,018                                                          
August .....................    1,427      139,999     1,343     133,146                                                          
September ..................    1,292      129,586     1,202     122,505                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    4,610      469,967     4,232     441,669         1,581         304,340             37.4       68.9

October ....................    2,125      221,784     1,917     205,553                                                          
November ...................    2,574      241,589     2,389     226,657                                                          
December ...................    3,377      351,305     3,232     340,220                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    8,076      814,678     7,538     772,430         3,582         766,780             47.5       99.3

             2009                                                                                                                 

January ....................    3,806      388,813     3,633     375,293                                                          
February ...................    2,262      218,438     2,173     210,755                                                          
March ......................    2,191      228,387     2,107     221,397                                                          

First Quarter ..............    8,259      835,638     7,913     807,445         3,979         835,551             50.3      103.5

April ......................    2,547      256,930     2,385     243,321                                                          
May ........................    2,738      289,628     2,572     274,047                                                          
June .......................    2,519      256,357     2,051     216,063                                                          

Second Quarter .............    7,804      802,915     7,008     733,431         3,395         731,049             48.4       99.7

July .......................    3,054      336,654     2,659     296,589                                                          
August .....................    1,428      125,024     1,334     117,193                                                          
September ..................    1,371      123,177     1,258     115,141                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    5,853      584,855     5,251     528,923         2,034         406,802             38.7       76.9

October ....................    1,934      193,904     1,678     172,883                                                          
November ...................    1,870      164,496     1,679     150,751                                                          
December ...................    2,310      214,648     2,166     203,655                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    6,114      573,048     5,523     527,289         2,416         468,368             43.7       88.8

             2010                                                                                                                 

January ....................    2,860      278,679     2,682     265,074                                                          
February ...................    1,183      102,818     1,091      96,022                                                          
March ......................    1,197      111,727     1,111     105,514                                                          

First Quarter ..............    5,240      493,224     4,884     466,610         1,870         360,208             38.3       77.2

April ......................    1,840      199,690     1,697     184,654                                                          
May ........................    1,354      123,333     1,170     109,203                                                          
June .......................    1,861      171,190     1,355     125,872                                                          

Second Quarter .............    5,055      494,213     4,222     419,729   (2)(p)1,851   (2)(p)273,860          (p)43.8    (p)65.2

July .......................    2,124      206,254     1,732     172,248                                                          
August .....................      976       92,435       897      83,021                                                          


   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 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, not seasonally adjusted 

                                                                                   Initial claimants for            
                                           Mass layoff events                      unemployment insurance            
                                           
  Census region and division                                                                                            
  
                                   August     June      July    August     August      June        July      August  
                                    2009      2010      2010     2010       2009       2010        2010       2010   
                                                                                                                   
        United States (1) ...      1,428     1,861     2,124      976     125,024    171,190     206,254     92,435
        
Northeast ...................        279       288       434      183      26,444     32,587      44,132     16,706
    New England .............         32        54        40       34       2,953      6,003       3,136      3,743
    Middle Atlantic .........        247       234       394      149      23,491     26,584      40,996     12,963

South .......................        342       442       512      274      29,486     39,969      48,848     21,631
    South Atlantic ..........        204       267       280      160      17,732     23,150      26,937     12,404
    East South Central ......         57        73       142       55       4,820      7,108      13,640      4,584
    West South Central ......         81       102        90       59       6,934      9,711       8,271      4,643

Midwest .....................        350       390       490      157      32,197     39,201      56,377     17,140
    East North Central ......        273       290       397      124      25,962     29,931      46,473     13,603
    West North Central ......         77       100        93       33       6,235      9,270       9,904      3,537

West ........................        457       741       688      362      36,897     59,433      56,897     36,958
    Mountain ................         63       105        71       31       6,116      9,136       6,593      2,197
    Pacific .................        394       636       617      331      30,781     50,297      50,304     34,761
                                                                                                                   
 
   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   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 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                      Initial claimants for             
                                         Mass layoff events                           unemployment insurance             
           State                                                                                                      
                             August        June       July      August      August        June        July      August  
                              2009         2010       2010       2010        2009         2010        2010       2010   
                                 
   Total (1) ............    1,428        1,861      2,124        976      125,024      171,190     206,254     92,435
                                                                                                                      
Alabama .................       23           32         57         14        1,997        3,783       5,642      1,407
Alaska ..................        4          (2)        (2)         10          295          (2)         (2)        884
Arizona .................       10           28         16          5          977        2,197       1,710        268
Arkansas ................        4            7          8          3          260          521         765        275
California ..............      340          590        558        287       26,082       44,939      44,343     31,007
Colorado ................        5           14         16          5          374        1,237       1,552        355
Connecticut .............        4           11         13          8          334          968         977        880
Delaware ................      (2)            7        (2)        (2)          (2)          477         (2)        (2)
District of Columbia ....      (2)          (2)        (2)        (2)          (2)          (2)         (2)        (2)
Florida .................      104          123        137         93        7,795        9,037      10,581      6,506
Georgia .................       23           46         27         30        2,202        4,398       4,020      2,996
Hawaii ..................        8            7          5          5          872          562         471        381
Idaho ...................        9            8          5          7        1,305          481         480        504

Illinois ................       82           88         92         32        7,432        8,046      10,969      3,707
Indiana .................       30           30         38         14        3,182        2,977       5,905      1,554
Iowa ....................       17           13         25          9        1,359        1,686       3,463      1,743
Kansas ..................       14           14          5          4          945        1,815         416        366
Kentucky ................       22           15         50         18        2,006        1,417       5,491      1,422
Louisiana ...............       18           26         23         16        1,698        1,985       2,174      1,010
Maine ...................      (2)            5          3        (2)          (2)          320         249        (2)
Maryland ................       10           11         20          6          759        1,172       1,844        363
Massachusetts ...........       13           13         16         16        1,357          948       1,403      1,464
Michigan ................       43           54        107         14        3,593        5,047      12,383      2,385
Minnesota ...............       13           18         14          4          948        1,526       1,462        307
Mississippi .............        5           13         12         14          349          768       1,094      1,057
Missouri ................       28           48         34         12        2,549        3,679       3,005        864

Montana .................        3           10          4        (2)          258          659         322        (2)
Nebraska ................      (2)            6         10          4          (2)          504         835        257
Nevada ..................       30           24         20          7        2,879        2,956       1,644        484
New Hampshire ...........        6            8        (2)          6          454        1,277         (2)        657
New Jersey ..............       27           56        113         31        2,162        9,675      10,486      2,449
New Mexico ..............        4           13          4        (2)          191          997         247        (2)
New York ................      106           50        201         59       11,405        5,201      23,920      5,547
North Carolina ..........       19           21         19          9        2,523        2,378       1,264        698
North Dakota ............      (2)            -          4          -          (2)            -         666          -
Ohio ....................       58           58         87         27        5,941        6,056       9,564      2,569
Oklahoma ................        8            6          8        (2)          679          494         665        (2)
Oregon ..................       21           27         32         18        1,691        3,758       3,582      1,671
Pennsylvania ............      114          128         80         59        9,924       11,708       6,590      4,967

Rhode Island ............        5            9          6        (2)          456        1,723         396        (2)
South Carolina ..........       20           31         36         11        2,133        3,414       5,430        792
South Dakota ............      (2)          (2)        (2)          -          (2)          (2)         (2)          -
Tennessee ...............        7           13         23          9          468        1,140       1,413        698
Texas ...................       51           63         51         38        4,297        6,711       4,667      3,058
Utah ....................      (2)            6          6        (2)          (2)          461         638        (2)
Vermont .................      (2)            8        (2)        (2)          (2)          767         (2)        (2)
Virginia ................       21           24         36          8        1,652        1,999       3,427        747
Washington ..............       21           10         21         11        1,841          839       1,848        818
West Virginia ...........        4          (2)        (2)          -          272          (2)         (2)          -
Wisconsin ...............       60           60         73         37        5,814        7,805       7,652      3,388
Wyoming .................        -          (2)          -        (2)            -          (2)           -        (2)

Puerto Rico .............       15           24         18         12        1,326        1,763       2,344        987
 
   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.
   
   
   

Last Modified Date: November 16, 2010