Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-720 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, April 22, 2004 MASS LAYOFFS IN MARCH 2004 In March 2004, there were 920 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 92,554. (See table 1.) Both the number of events and initial claims were sharply lower than a year ago and were the lowest for any March since 1999. From January through March 2004, the total number of events, at 4,289, and initial claims, at 416,209, were lower than in January-March 2003 (4,885 and 463,421, respectively). Industry Distribution Automobile manufacturing, with 6,553 initial claimants, temporary help services, with 5,311 initial claimants, and food service contractors, with 4,975 initial claimants, together accounted for 18 percent of all initial claims in March. The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass- layoff initial claims accounted for 32,411 initial claims in March, 35 per- cent of the total. (See table A.) The manufacturing sector had 28 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of all initial claims filed in March. A year ago, manufacturing reported 32 percent of events and 36 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (13,430, mostly automotive-related), followed by food processing (6,220, mainly in frozen fruits and vegetables). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 14 percent of events and 12 percent of initial claims filed in March, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Nine percent of all layoff events and initial claims filed during the month were in accommodation and food services, especially in food service contractors, which recorded a series peak for March. Construction accounted for 12 percent of events and 8 per- cent of initial claims during the month, primarily among specialty trade contractors. An additional 8 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims were in retail trade, mostly from discount department stores. Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and 3 percent of initial claims filed during the month. Compared with March 2003, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in computer and electronic product manufacturing (-3,803), adminis- trative and support services (-3,286), machinery manufacturing (-3,068), and general merchandise stores (-2,829). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (+8,369). - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in March 2004p ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Initial | March peak Industry | claims |------------------------- | | Year | Initial claims ------------------------------------------|---------|---------|--------------- Automobile manufacturing .................| 6,553 | 1996 | 15,411 Temporary help services ..................| 5,311 | 2002 | 14,338 Food service contractors .................| 4,975 | 2004 | 4,975 Motion picture and video production.......| 3,702 | 2000 | 6,735 Light truck and utility vehicle mfg. .....| 2,624 | 2004 | 2,624 School and employee bus transportation....| 2,589 | 2002 | 6,064 Professional employer organizations.......| 1,895 | 2002 | 2,987 Household refrigerator and home freezer | | | mfg. ....................................| 1,763 | 2001 | 2,279 All other transportation equipment mfg. ..| 1,670 | 2004 | 1,670 Frozen fruit and vegetable | | | manufacturing...........................| 1,329 | 1997 | 2,560 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in March due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 32,508. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording industries accounted for 30 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest region was next, with 25,756 initial claims, followed by the South, with 22,094, and the Northeast, with 12,196. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in all four of the regions, with the largest decrease in the West (-14,419). Eight of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decrease in the Pacific division (-13,202). Among the states, California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in March (25,730), mostly in administra- tive and support services and in motion picture and sound recording indus- tries. Pennsylvania reported 6,682 initial claims, followed by Texas (4,641), Michigan (4,548), and Florida (4,405). These five states accounted for 58 percent of all layoff events and 50 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-10,630), followed by Texas (-3,486), Oregon (-2,478), and Indiana (-2,217). The largest over-the-year increase occurred in Michigan (+3,700). - 3 - Note The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides more information on the industry classification and location of the estab- lishment 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 Extended Mass Layoffs in the First Quarter of 2004 is sched- uled to be released on Tuesday, May 18, 2004. The report on Mass Layoffs in April 2004 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 26, 2004. ------------------------------------------------------------------- | NOTE: Due to budget constraints in the Mass Layoff Statistics | | (MLS) program, beginning with data for the first quarter of 2004, | | the scope of extended mass layoffs and plant closings, regularly | | reported in the quarterly release, Extended Mass Layoffs, has been| | redefined to cover only the private nonfarm economy. Quarterly | | information on layoff events in agriculture and government will | | no longer be collected. However, the monthly reporting of the | | MLS program in the release, Mass Layoffs, which is based only on | | administrative data, will be unaffected and will continue to cover| | the total economy. | ------------------------------------------------------------------- - 4 - Technical Note The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on establish- ments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are contacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted 31 days or long- er, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis. A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the first day of the month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is included in the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks and others 5 weeks, and the number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change should take this calendar effect into consideration. The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been ter- minated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were not available. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired indi- viduals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Definitions Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of eligibility. Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2002 to March 2004 Private nonfarm Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs Realization Date Mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2002 January ............... 2,146 263,777 2,028 252,245 February .............. 1,382 138,808 1,253 129,849 March ................. 1,460 161,316 1,335 151,305 First Quarter ......... 4,988 563,901 4,616 533,399 1,611 292,998 34.9 54.9 April ................. 1,506 165,814 1,378 153,216 May ................... 1,723 179,799 1,571 166,801 June .................. 1,584 162,189 1,266 136,424 Second Quarter ........ 4,813 507,802 4,215 456,441 1,624 299,598 38.5 65.6 July .................. 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 August ................ 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 September ............. 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 Third Quarter ......... 4,352 497,919 3,927 461,502 1,186 254,955 30.2 55.2 October ............... 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 November .............. 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 December .............. 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 Fourth Quarter ........ 6,124 675,429 5,454 618,371 1,916 370,592 35.1 59.9 2003 January ............... 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 February .............. 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 March ................. 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 First Quarter ......... 4,885 463,421 4,451 431,650 1,502 297,524 33.7 68.9 April ................. 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 May ................... 1,703 174,204 1,538 160,729 June .................. 1,691 157,552 1,336 127,743 Second Quarter ........ 4,975 493,168 4,344 441,409 1,799 346,549 41.4 78.5 July .................. 2,087 226,435 1,815 206,901 August ................ 1,258 133,839 1,163 124,131 September ............. 868 82,647 756 73,914 Third Quarter ......... 4,213 442,921 3,734 404,946 1,190 225,609 31.9 55.7 October ............... 1,523 158,240 1,265 137,706 November .............. 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 December .............. 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 Fourth Quarter ........ 4,890 489,416 4,292 443,980 (2)(p) 1,592 (2)(p) 229,014 37.1 51.6 2004 January ............... 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 February (p) .......... 941 84,201 832 76,577 March (p) ............. 920 92,554 847 87,782 First Quarter (p) ..... 4,289 416,209 3,905 385,046 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry March January February March March January February March 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total(1) .................................. 1,207 2,428 941 920 113,026 239,454 84,201 92,554 Total, private .................................. 1,163 2,339 905 884 109,417 228,578 81,093 89,955 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 64 113 73 37 4,949 7,891 4,516 2,173 Total, private nonfarm ......................... 1,099 2,226 832 847 104,468 220,687 76,577 87,782 Mining ........................................ 7 17 4 4 708 1,329 505 206 Utilities ..................................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 345 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 125 324 131 106 7,640 23,405 8,586 7,288 Manufacturing ................................. 390 848 240 258 41,063 89,551 23,043 34,686 Food ...................................... 72 108 62 56 7,607 11,083 6,517 6,220 Beverage and tobacco products ............. ( 2 ) 9 6 9 ( 2 ) 834 557 1,039 Textile mills ............................. 9 48 4 6 764 6,376 310 456 Textile product mills ..................... 5 19 7 ( 2 ) 432 1,933 560 ( 2 ) Apparel ................................... 11 44 5 13 950 5,836 389 1,050 Leather and allied products ............... - 11 ( 2 ) - - 1,195 ( 2 ) - Wood products ............................. 35 46 18 16 3,104 5,651 1,438 1,540 Paper ..................................... 9 20 4 7 937 1,847 391 529 Printing and related support activities ... 7 24 10 7 658 2,147 828 501 Petroleum and coal products ............... - 5 ( 2 ) - - 362 ( 2 ) - Chemicals ................................. ( 2 ) 23 4 7 ( 2 ) 2,384 324 416 Plastics and rubber products .............. 6 50 10 14 552 4,821 917 1,061 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 19 42 5 12 1,882 3,813 312 860 Primary metals ............................ 21 44 9 4 1,766 4,579 913 375 Fabricated metal products ................. 24 72 18 16 1,734 6,960 1,720 1,103 Machinery ................................. 35 39 12 10 3,761 3,017 803 693 Computer and electronic products .......... 41 44 12 15 5,077 3,561 815 1,274 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 26 23 11 12 3,787 2,263 2,109 2,789 Transportation equipment .................. 44 114 23 38 5,061 15,107 2,671 13,430 Furniture and related products ............ 14 36 9 11 1,727 3,541 679 985 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 8 27 8 ( 2 ) 830 2,241 553 ( 2 ) Wholesale trade ............................... 21 27 13 19 1,811 2,391 956 1,518 Retail trade .................................. 102 188 102 77 10,480 22,145 9,383 6,733 Transportation and warehousing ................ 37 128 35 38 4,356 14,038 4,658 4,682 Information ................................... 50 67 19 32 6,971 9,394 4,716 4,912 Finance and insurance ......................... 33 41 25 27 2,130 3,547 1,562 2,228 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 8 15 ( 2 ) 5 483 1,202 ( 2 ) 332 Professional and technical services ........... 40 47 30 29 3,187 4,288 4,247 2,619 Management of companies and enterprises ....... 4 3 6 ( 2 ) 339 895 587 ( 2 ) Administrative and waste services ............. 163 285 139 129 15,062 27,855 11,065 11,546 Educational services .......................... ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 553 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Health care and social assistance ............. 24 35 16 19 1,569 2,991 954 1,039 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 12 41 11 4 663 3,149 677 167 Accommodation and food services ............... 71 113 46 82 7,111 9,614 4,455 8,755 Other services, except public administration .. 4 26 8 9 280 2,992 629 506 Unclassified .................................. 3 10 2 1 284 1,003 191 85 Government ...................................... 44 89 36 36 3,609 10,876 3,108 2,599 Federal ....................................... 6 26 6 5 570 2,725 504 428 State ......................................... 9 13 13 10 614 1,405 1,121 763 Local ......................................... 29 50 17 21 2,425 6,746 1,483 1,408 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 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Census region and division March January February March March January February March 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p United States(1) .... 1,207 2,428 941 920 113,026 239,454 84,201 92,554 Northeast ................. 157 498 117 123 15,230 50,650 12,795 12,196 New England ............. 29 64 26 12 2,987 5,689 3,321 912 Middle Atlantic ......... 128 434 91 111 12,243 44,961 9,474 11,284 South ..................... 263 501 191 207 24,630 53,115 17,770 22,094 South Atlantic .......... 109 244 87 101 9,362 25,490 8,799 8,749 East South Central ...... 55 153 32 41 4,752 17,176 3,602 4,141 West South Central ...... 99 104 72 65 10,516 10,449 5,369 9,204 Midwest ................... 237 688 211 185 26,239 68,404 19,183 25,756 East North Central ...... 174 574 172 138 18,946 58,674 15,385 19,002 West North Central ...... 63 114 39 47 7,293 9,730 3,798 6,754 West ...................... 550 741 422 405 46,927 67,285 34,453 32,508 Mountain ................ 48 63 28 30 4,363 6,292 2,323 3,146 Pacific ................. 502 678 394 375 42,564 60,993 32,130 29,362 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 March January February March March January February March 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total(1) ............. 1,207 2,428 941 920 113,026 239,454 84,201 92,554 Alabama ................. 11 112 ( 2 ) 7 1,108 13,754 ( 2 ) 654 Alaska .................. - 6 ( 2 ) - - 429 ( 2 ) - Arizona ................. 13 7 3 6 1,148 645 214 593 Arkansas ................ 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 381 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 422 California .............. 438 576 365 341 36,360 51,395 29,865 25,730 Colorado ................ 9 11 5 ( 2 ) 1,126 1,043 523 ( 2 ) Connecticut ............. 5 7 5 - 412 669 351 - Delaware ................ - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia .... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Florida ................. 60 60 46 57 4,188 4,044 3,480 4,405 Georgia ................. 15 92 17 11 1,224 10,525 2,448 927 Hawaii .................. ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) 296 ( 2 ) 788 Idaho ................... 13 16 ( 2 ) 10 1,187 1,125 ( 2 ) 1,156 Illinois ................ 35 88 47 29 3,161 9,610 4,108 3,812 Indiana ................. 37 58 24 13 4,826 5,499 2,195 2,609 Iowa .................... 14 29 7 11 1,572 2,267 698 1,330 Kansas .................. 9 14 6 5 1,449 954 517 357 Kentucky ................ 21 10 10 18 2,124 1,030 950 2,164 Louisiana ............... 8 14 13 10 402 908 757 887 Maine ................... ( 2 ) 14 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,463 347 ( 2 ) Maryland ................ ( 2 ) 19 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,009 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Massachusetts ........... 16 30 5 6 1,263 2,375 352 386 Michigan ................ 10 171 23 27 848 16,615 2,150 4,548 Minnesota ............... 13 30 6 9 1,041 2,688 460 2,979 Mississippi ............. 8 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 509 384 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Missouri ................ 23 26 16 14 2,930 2,422 1,479 1,429 Montana ................. ( 2 ) 4 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 270 336 ( 2 ) Nebraska ................ ( 2 ) 11 3 5 ( 2 ) 984 548 363 Nevada .................. 7 14 9 7 475 2,225 594 642 New Hampshire ........... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 480 ( 2 ) New Jersey .............. 17 73 25 23 1,253 7,191 2,749 2,151 New Mexico .............. 3 6 ( 2 ) 3 248 328 ( 2 ) 323 New York ................ 40 194 26 27 3,571 24,376 3,612 2,451 North Carolina .......... 12 18 10 13 1,273 1,829 912 1,261 North Dakota ............ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Ohio .................... 40 141 46 31 4,988 15,169 4,142 4,167 Oklahoma ................ 10 13 5 8 1,606 1,517 413 3,254 Oregon .................. 41 70 13 13 4,336 6,681 986 1,858 Pennsylvania ............ 71 167 40 61 7,419 13,394 3,113 6,682 Rhode Island ............ ( 2 ) 5 7 3 ( 2 ) 332 1,716 219 South Carolina .......... 6 26 3 6 986 3,563 325 863 South Dakota ............ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ............... 15 25 19 14 1,011 2,008 1,723 1,231 Texas ................... 76 74 52 44 8,127 7,571 4,062 4,641 Utah .................... ( 2 ) 5 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 656 295 ( 2 ) Vermont ................. 3 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 833 573 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Virginia ................ 14 24 8 10 1,392 3,061 574 1,010 Washington .............. 21 22 13 13 1,745 2,192 1,023 986 West Virginia ........... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Wisconsin ............... 52 116 32 38 5,123 11,781 2,790 3,866 Wyoming ................. - - - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) Puerto Rico ............. 5 5 9 4 378 511 891 318 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.