Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 01-112 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, April 25, 2001 MASS LAYOFFS IN MARCH 2001 In March 2001, there were 1,527 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 171,466. (See table 1.) In January 2001 through March 2001, the total number of events, at 4,550, and initial claims, at 544,717, were higher than January-March 2000 (3,965 and 433,968, respectively). 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 establish- ment 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 In March 2001, manufacturing industries accounted for 43 percent of all mass layoff events and 51 percent of all initial claims filed. A year earlier, layoffs in manufacturing accounted for 33 percent of events and 35 percent of initial claims. Manufacturing industries with the highest number of initial claimants were transportation equipment (15,216), mostly in motor vehicles and car bodies and in motor vehicle parts and accessories, and electronic and other electrical equipment (14,473), largely in printed circuit boards and in semiconductors. (See table 2.) Services accounted for 18 percent of events and initial claims filed during the month. Layoffs in services were highly concentrated in business services (particularly help supply services) and motion pictures. Histori- cally, these industries are more likely than most other industries to lay off workers for fewer than 30 days. Ten percent of all layoff events and initial claims during the month were from retail trade, mostly in eating and drinking places and general merchandise stores (department stores). Construction accounted for 9 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims for the month, mostly in heavy construction, except buildings. Agriculture accounted for 8 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims filings for the month, primarily in agricultural services (farm labor contractors). - 2 - Compared with March 2000, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in electronic and other electrical equipment (+12,995), in trans- portation equipment (+9,923), and in primary metal industries (+6,794). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims occurred in agricul- tural services (-2,002) and in wholesale trade of nondurable goods (-1,681). Geographic Distribution In March, the West region reported the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs (63,125), largely in business services, motion pictures, and agricultural services. (See table 3.) These industries accounted for 37 percent of all claimants in the West. The Northeast region (20,783) continued to report the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims. Among the four regions, the Midwest reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+21,993), followed by the South (+21,112), the West (+11,516), and the Northeast (+10,097). All nine geographic divisions also reported over-the-year increases in the number of initial claimants from mass layoff actions. The largest increase was reported in the East North Central (primarily in transportation equipment). Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California reported the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (48,576), mostly in business services and motion pictures, followed by Pennsylvania (13,741) and Texas (11,478). These three states accounted for 47 percent of all layoff events and 43 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From March 2000 to March 2001, 40 states reported over-the-year increases in initial claims. Pennsylvania reported the largest increase in initial claims (+8,195), followed by Texas (+7,246) and Ohio (+6,047). Ten states and the District of Columbia reported over-the-year decreases in initial claims activity, led by Kansas (-2,120). Technical Note The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are contacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted 31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis. A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the first day of the month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is included in the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks and others 5 weeks, and the number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore, analysis of over-the- month and over-the-year change should take this calendar effect into consideration. The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were not available. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Definitions Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of eligibility. Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 1999 to March 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 January .................... 2,421 226,995 February ................... 1,067 89,800 March ...................... 880 91,890 First Quarter .............. 4,368 408,685 1,509 252,122 34.5 61.7 April ...................... 1,270 136,885 May ........................ 1,032 102,738 June ....................... 1,140 130,951 Second Quarter ............. 3,442 370,574 1,444 242,464 42.0 65.4 July ....................... 1,741 221,334 August ..................... 698 75,691 September .................. 717 75,288 Third Quarter .............. 3,156 372,313 1,097 189,973 34.8 51.0 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 1,331 220,997 33.6 50.9 April ...................... 924 101,359 May ........................ 984 92,193 June ....................... 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter ............. 3,505 385,577 1,272 230,696 36.3 59.8 July ....................... 1,333 164,978 August ..................... 751 97,215 September .................. 936 106,842 Third Quarter .............. 3,020 369,035 1,014 187,865 33.6 50.9 October .................... 874 103,755 November ................... 1,697 216,514 December ................... 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter ............. 5,248 647,012 (2)(p)1,905 (2)(p)271,126 (p)36.3 (p)41.9 2001 January .................... 1,522 200,343 February(p)................. 1,501 172,908 March(p).................... 1,527 171,466 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become available. Recent experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry March January February March March January February March 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ........................................ 986 1,522 1,501 1,527 106,748 200,343 172,908 171,466 Total, private ....................................... 958 1,469 1,474 1,493 104,069 194,889 170,185 168,095 Agriculture ........................................ 131 65 190 120 11,530 6,371 13,998 9,868 Nonagriculture ..................................... 812 1,372 1,269 1,358 90,412 183,453 154,424 156,466 Manufacturing .................................... 327 628 575 659 37,624 106,977 79,294 86,789 Durable goods .................................. 163 414 353 418 19,238 82,785 53,691 60,439 Lumber and wood products ..................... 33 54 35 40 3,252 5,396 3,598 3,577 Furniture and fixtures ....................... 13 30 24 26 1,060 3,193 2,358 2,610 Stone, clay, and glass products .............. 10 30 9 15 716 2,585 933 985 Primary metal industries ..................... 5 37 43 49 708 8,620 5,109 7,502 Fabricated metal products .................... 21 50 54 47 2,453 5,427 5,416 4,958 Industrial machinery and equipment ........... 26 47 45 69 3,089 7,961 6,967 8,838 Electronic and other electrical equipment .... 17 49 65 86 1,478 5,955 7,315 14,473 Transportation equipment ..................... 24 92 66 62 5,293 41,715 21,138 15,216 Instruments and related products ............. 7 6 6 14 426 494 483 1,414 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ....... 7 19 6 10 763 1,439 374 866 Nondurable goods ............................... 164 214 222 241 18,386 24,192 25,603 26,350 Food and kindred products .................... 73 72 78 80 8,713 8,620 10,034 7,565 Tobacco products ............................. 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,168 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Textile mill products ........................ 11 30 33 34 1,498 4,336 4,422 4,732 Apparel and other textile products ........... 33 35 29 35 2,561 3,402 2,730 4,706 Paper and allied products .................... 12 15 19 13 823 1,445 2,120 1,721 Printing and publishing ...................... 9 16 14 14 808 1,686 1,386 949 Chemicals and allied products ................ 6 5 9 7 1,461 384 779 732 Petroleum and coal products .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products ... 11 37 33 48 1,076 4,036 3,250 4,629 Leather and leather products ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 269 616 Nonmanufacturing ................................. 485 744 694 699 52,788 76,476 75,130 69,677 Mining ......................................... 5 8 7 ( 2 ) 338 496 1,761 ( 2 ) Construction ................................... 86 139 134 140 6,003 10,236 9,991 10,499 Transportation and public utilities ............ 44 91 52 76 5,414 8,761 4,720 7,446 Wholesale and retail trade ..................... 138 190 164 173 14,755 20,828 16,690 18,917 Wholesale trade ............................. 29 28 31 26 3,346 2,622 2,841 2,214 Retail trade ................................ 109 162 133 147 11,409 18,206 13,849 16,703 Finance, insurance, and real estate ............ 21 21 24 ( 2 ) 2,032 2,464 1,812 ( 2 ) Services ....................................... 191 295 313 280 24,246 33,691 40,156 30,360 Not identified ..................................... 15 32 15 15 2,127 5,065 1,763 1,761 Government ........................................... 28 53 27 34 2,679 5,454 2,723 3,371 Federal ............................................ 4 27 7 7 606 3,182 665 1,136 State .............................................. 12 11 8 17 1,112 1,030 737 1,508 Local .............................................. 12 15 12 10 961 1,242 1,321 727 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. 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 March January February March March January February March 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) United States(1) ..... 986 1,522 1,501 1,527 106,748 200,343 172,908 171,466 Northeast .................... 99 227 176 194 10,686 21,994 18,161 20,783 New England .............. 20 37 43 33 2,834 2,857 5,630 3,200 Middle Atlantic .......... 79 190 133 161 7,852 19,137 12,531 17,583 South ........................ 179 323 271 317 17,976 36,007 36,098 39,088 South Atlantic ........... 91 154 131 148 9,419 15,870 17,355 16,715 East South Central ....... 27 68 56 67 2,459 7,121 7,280 8,295 West South Central ....... 61 101 84 102 6,098 13,016 11,463 14,078 Midwest ...................... 199 468 320 368 26,477 87,323 45,891 48,470 East North Central ....... 144 376 260 292 17,973 72,119 39,121 39,620 West North Central ....... 55 92 60 76 8,504 15,204 6,770 8,850 West ......................... 509 504 734 648 51,609 55,019 72,758 63,125 Mountain ................. 45 72 51 64 4,052 6,527 5,124 6,422 Pacific .................. 464 432 683 584 47,557 48,492 67,634 56,703 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 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ............... 986 1,522 1,501 1,527 106,748 200,343 172,908 171,466 Alabama ................... 3 15 15 10 394 1,370 2,072 1,075 Alaska .................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 340 ( 2 ) - Arizona ................... 18 7 7 20 1,901 569 553 2,136 Arkansas .................. 4 13 5 3 291 1,515 403 316 California ................ 418 365 635 522 43,357 41,261 62,791 48,576 Colorado .................. 5 11 4 5 503 1,084 321 460 Connecticut ............... ( 2 ) 6 5 3 ( 2 ) 424 758 172 Delaware .................. - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia ...... ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 496 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Florida ................... 28 49 47 59 2,453 3,147 3,954 5,160 Georgia ................... 14 15 17 8 1,010 1,200 1,673 646 Hawaii .................... 4 6 ( 2 ) 3 341 429 ( 2 ) 253 Idaho ..................... 9 10 12 13 524 677 1,681 1,396 Illinois .................. 37 68 51 54 5,110 12,163 8,469 7,940 Indiana ................... 9 37 26 30 984 4,425 3,749 6,469 Iowa ...................... 6 21 12 16 696 2,505 1,096 2,561 Kansas .................... 5 10 8 7 2,720 3,766 904 600 Kentucky .................. 13 9 23 34 1,280 1,101 3,587 5,303 Louisiana ................. 12 23 11 13 774 4,410 782 1,176 Maine ..................... 4 6 ( 2 ) 3 954 434 ( 2 ) 392 Maryland .................. 3 10 ( 2 ) 4 199 1,085 ( 2 ) 307 Massachusetts ............. 6 21 18 14 903 1,723 1,540 1,430 Michigan .................. 24 69 75 72 3,690 19,387 14,090 9,375 Minnesota ................. 13 20 13 19 1,394 3,669 2,362 2,325 Mississippi ............... 6 18 6 8 431 2,036 457 773 Missouri .................. 28 37 23 31 3,459 4,567 2,054 3,086 Montana ................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 484 ( 2 ) 215 Nebraska .................. ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 284 ( 2 ) - Nevada .................... 11 23 23 17 974 2,195 2,016 1,647 New Hampshire ............. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 543 339 New Jersey ................ 22 35 24 21 1,955 4,544 2,349 2,086 New Mexico ................ - 4 3 ( 2 ) - 397 229 ( 2 ) New York .................. 5 21 23 18 351 2,198 1,921 1,756 North Carolina ............ 13 21 22 19 1,889 3,982 2,357 2,104 North Dakota .............. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - Ohio ...................... 28 132 53 70 3,104 28,700 5,063 9,151 Oklahoma .................. 5 8 10 10 801 833 3,204 1,108 Oregon .................... 29 44 23 36 2,908 5,354 2,543 5,454 Pennsylvania .............. 52 134 86 122 5,546 12,395 8,261 13,741 Rhode Island .............. 4 ( 2 ) 11 5 341 ( 2 ) 2,185 536 South Carolina ............ 20 28 20 32 1,992 3,327 3,322 5,870 South Dakota .............. - - 3 3 - - 235 278 Tennessee ................. 5 26 12 15 354 2,614 1,164 1,144 Texas ..................... 40 57 58 76 4,232 6,258 7,074 11,478 Utah ...................... ( 2 ) 11 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 1,121 ( 2 ) 409 Vermont ................... 3 ( 2 ) 3 4 280 ( 2 ) 294 331 Virginia .................. 11 20 18 20 1,617 2,210 2,949 2,068 Washington ................ 12 12 22 23 889 1,108 2,041 2,420 West Virginia ............. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 275 Wisconsin ................. 46 70 55 66 5,085 7,444 7,750 6,685 Wyoming ................... - - - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) Puerto Rico ............... 8 17 8 7 668 1,475 490 806 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.