Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-964 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, May 26, 2004 MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2004 In April 2004, employers took 1,458 mass layoff actions, 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 157,314. (See table 1.) The number of events was the lowest for any April since 2001, and the number of initial claims was the lowest for April since 2000. From January through April 2004, the total number of events, at 5,747, and of initial claims, at 573,523, were lower than in January-April 2003 (6,466 and 624,833, respectively). Industry Distribution School and employee bus transportation, with 16,589 initial claims, and temporary help services, with 12,254 initial claims, together accounted for over 18 percent of all initial claims in April. The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 57,329 initial claims in April, 36 percent of the total. (See table A.) The manufacturing sector had 24 percent of all mass layoff events and 23 percent of all initial claims filed in April--the lowest shares for any April since 1995, when the monthly series began. A year ago, manufacturing reported 32 percent of events and 39 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in food processing (13,582, mainly in frozen fruits and vegetables and in fresh and frozen seafood processing), followed by transportation equipment (4,625, largely automotive-related). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent of events and initial claims filed in April, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Ten percent of all layoff events and 13 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in transportation and warehousing, mainly in school and employee bus transportation. Retail trade accounted for 8 per- cent of events and initial claims, largely in general merchandise stores. Construction accounted for 10 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims during the month, primarily among specialty trade contractors. An additional 6 percent of events and initial claims were in accommodation and food services, mostly among food service contractors. Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and 5 percent of initial claims filed during the month. The number of mass-layoff initial claims in government was 7,508. In April 2003, there were 3,851 such claims filed. Compared with April 2003, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-10,689), computer and electronic product manufacturing (-3,610), plastic and rubber products manufacturing (-2,853), and machinery manufacturing (-2,710). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims was reported in transit and ground passenger transportation (+7,015), and food processing (+5,185). - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in April 2004p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | April peak Industry | Initial |----------------------- | claims | Year |Initial claims ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | School and employee bus transportation ....| 16,589 | 2004 | 16,589 Temporary help services....................| 12,254 | 2001 | 17,507 Motion picture and video production .......| 6,007 | 1997 | 15,908 Food service contractors...................| 5,496 | 2004 | 5,496 Tax preparation services...................| 3,329 | 2004 | 3,329 Professional employer organizations .......| 3,262 | 2001 | 3,280 Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ...| 3,103 | 1998 | 4,054 Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ...| 2,647 | 2004 | 2,647 Supermarkets and other grocery stores......| 2,405 | 1995 | 11,633 Industrial building construction...........| 2,237 | 2002 | 2,558 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in April due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 57,414. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording industries accounted for 31 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The Northeast region was next, with 40,728 initial claims, followed by the Midwest, with 31,619, and the South, with 27,553. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in two of the four regions, with the larger decrease in the Midwest (-11,847). The Northeast had the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+9,836). Seven 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 East North Central division (-9,219). The Middle Atlantic division had the largest over-the-year increase (+10,137). Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in April (44,311), mostly in administrative and support services and in motion picture and sound recording industries. New York reported 19,056 initial claims, followed by Pennsylvania (10,897), Wisconsin (8,690), and Illinois (7,471). These five states accounted for 55 percent of all layoff events and 57 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) Ohio reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-4,893), followed by Indiana (-4,599), Minnesota (-2,521), and Georgia (-2,188). The largest over-the-year increases occurred in New York (+9,905) and California (+5,271). - 3 - From January to April, California reported 151,301 mass layoff initial claims, 26 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were New York (49,495), Pennsylvania (34,086), and Ohio (29,289). 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. For private nonfarm establishments, information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass lay- offs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 1.) See the Tech- nical Note for more detailed definitions. _____________________________ A special report on offshoring and outsourcing associated with mass layoffs is planned for June. The report on Mass Layoffs in May 2004 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 23, 2004. - 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, April 2002 to April 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 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 (r)297,607 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 (r)348,890 41.4 (r)79.0 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 (r)227,568 31.9 (r)56.2 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 (r)1,690 (r)325,765 (r)39.4 (r)73.4 2004 January .................... 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 February ................... 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 (2)1,204 (2)165,272 30.8 42.9 April (p) .................. 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 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. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry April February March April April February March April 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total(1) .................................. 1,581 941 920 1,458 161,412 84,201 92,554 157,314 Total, private .................................. 1,534 905 884 1,396 157,561 81,093 89,955 149,806 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 64 73 37 80 4,624 4,516 2,173 7,149 Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,470 832 847 1,316 152,937 76,577 87,782 142,657 Mining ........................................ ( 2 ) 4 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 505 206 ( 2 ) Utilities ..................................... 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 326 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 150 131 106 149 10,042 8,586 7,288 11,904 Manufacturing ................................. 499 240 258 343 62,349 23,043 34,686 36,172 Food ...................................... 84 62 56 112 8,397 6,517 6,220 13,582 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 7 6 9 5 450 557 1,039 319 Textile mills ............................. 17 4 6 8 2,725 310 456 1,091 Textile product mills ..................... 9 7 ( 2 ) 5 697 560 ( 2 ) 420 Apparel ................................... 19 5 13 12 2,385 389 1,050 922 Leather and allied products ............... 5 ( 2 ) - 5 398 ( 2 ) - 399 Wood products ............................. 30 18 16 16 2,858 1,438 1,540 1,684 Paper ..................................... 14 4 7 7 1,083 391 529 499 Printing and related support activities ... 8 10 7 15 848 828 501 1,618 Petroleum and coal products ............... - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - Chemicals ................................. 6 4 7 11 1,752 324 416 677 Plastics and rubber products .............. 24 10 14 12 3,789 917 1,061 936 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 14 5 12 7 1,190 312 860 452 Primary metals ............................ 27 9 4 9 3,195 913 375 920 Fabricated metal products ................. 35 18 16 22 2,478 1,720 1,103 2,030 Machinery ................................. 35 12 10 19 4,368 803 693 1,658 Computer and electronic products .......... 53 12 15 17 4,985 815 1,274 1,375 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 17 11 12 7 1,836 2,109 2,789 1,252 Transportation equipment .................. 67 23 38 32 15,445 2,671 13,430 4,625 Furniture and related products ............ 22 9 11 11 2,829 679 985 835 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 6 8 ( 2 ) 11 641 553 ( 2 ) 878 Wholesale trade ............................... 31 13 19 21 2,425 956 1,518 1,944 Retail trade .................................. 124 102 77 118 11,839 9,383 6,733 12,659 Transportation and warehousing ................ 132 35 38 145 14,386 4,658 4,682 20,292 Information ................................... 51 19 32 42 11,131 4,716 4,912 7,851 Finance and insurance ......................... 35 25 27 31 2,121 1,562 2,228 2,594 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 10 ( 2 ) 5 11 569 ( 2 ) 332 1,214 Professional and technical services ........... 60 30 29 54 5,852 4,247 2,619 6,939 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 587 ( 2 ) 269 Administrative and waste services ............. 188 139 129 194 16,693 11,065 11,546 20,812 Educational services .......................... 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 463 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 374 Health care and social assistance ............. 24 16 19 31 1,695 954 1,039 2,118 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 33 11 4 40 2,605 677 167 3,368 Accommodation and food services ............... 95 46 82 93 8,014 4,455 8,755 10,067 Other services, except public administration .. 17 8 9 26 1,504 629 506 3,240 Unclassified .................................. 5 2 1 6 389 191 85 563 Government ...................................... 47 36 36 62 3,851 3,108 2,599 7,508 Federal ....................................... 4 6 5 14 318 504 428 1,173 State ......................................... 13 13 10 11 1,470 1,121 763 884 Local ......................................... 30 17 21 37 2,063 1,483 1,408 5,451 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 April February March April April February March April 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p United States(1) .... 1,581 941 920 1,458 161,412 84,201 92,554 157,314 Northeast ................. 326 117 123 332 30,892 12,795 12,196 40,728 New England ............. 59 26 12 49 6,214 3,321 912 5,913 Middle Atlantic ......... 267 91 111 283 24,678 9,474 11,284 34,815 South ..................... 323 191 207 292 34,922 17,770 22,094 27,553 South Atlantic .......... 151 87 101 139 14,851 8,799 8,749 12,141 East South Central ...... 74 32 41 52 9,550 3,602 4,141 5,936 West South Central ...... 98 72 65 101 10,521 5,369 9,204 9,476 Midwest ................... 334 211 185 275 43,466 19,183 25,756 31,619 East North Central ...... 271 172 138 235 36,974 15,385 19,002 27,755 West North Central ...... 63 39 47 40 6,492 3,798 6,754 3,864 West ...................... 598 422 405 559 52,132 34,453 32,508 57,414 Mountain ................ 73 28 30 52 6,426 2,323 3,146 5,962 Pacific ................. 525 394 375 507 45,706 32,130 29,362 51,452 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 April February March April April February March April 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total(1) ............. 1,581 941 920 1,458 161,412 84,201 92,554 157,314 Alabama ................. 24 ( 2 ) 7 15 4,048 ( 2 ) 654 2,051 Alaska .................. 6 ( 2 ) - 5 489 ( 2 ) - 633 Arizona ................. 22 3 6 20 2,193 214 593 3,177 Arkansas ................ 3 ( 2 ) 3 6 326 ( 2 ) 422 513 California .............. 455 365 341 440 39,040 29,865 25,730 44,311 Colorado ................ 14 5 ( 2 ) 9 1,318 523 ( 2 ) 973 Connecticut ............. 3 5 - 6 206 351 - 513 Delaware ................ 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 180 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 165 District of Columbia .... - - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - Florida ................. 64 46 57 69 4,451 3,480 4,405 5,447 Georgia ................. 31 17 11 21 4,299 2,448 927 2,111 Hawaii .................. 8 ( 2 ) 8 7 621 ( 2 ) 788 570 Idaho ................... 8 ( 2 ) 10 6 778 ( 2 ) 1,156 559 Illinois ................ 64 47 29 54 7,210 4,108 3,812 7,471 Indiana ................. 37 24 13 25 6,826 2,195 2,609 2,227 Iowa .................... 13 7 11 8 1,249 698 1,330 846 Kansas .................. 5 6 5 9 406 517 357 1,222 Kentucky ................ 29 10 18 20 4,186 950 2,164 2,559 Louisiana ............... 20 13 10 28 2,777 757 887 2,554 Maine ................... 6 5 ( 2 ) 7 575 347 ( 2 ) 662 Maryland ................ 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 9 859 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 906 Massachusetts ........... 29 5 6 16 3,307 352 386 1,759 Michigan ................ 32 23 27 38 4,704 2,150 4,548 3,556 Minnesota ............... 21 6 9 5 2,848 460 2,979 327 Mississippi ............. 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 547 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 419 Missouri ................ 18 16 14 15 1,441 1,479 1,429 1,242 Montana ................. 4 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 443 336 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Nebraska ................ 4 3 5 3 348 548 363 227 Nevada .................. 13 9 7 6 961 594 642 420 New Hampshire ........... 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 205 480 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New Jersey .............. 47 25 23 47 4,523 2,749 2,151 4,862 New Mexico .............. 8 ( 2 ) 3 4 495 ( 2 ) 323 346 New York ................ 91 26 27 120 9,151 3,612 2,451 19,056 North Carolina .......... 21 10 13 20 1,990 912 1,261 1,768 North Dakota ............ ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Ohio .................... 62 46 31 51 10,704 4,142 4,167 5,811 Oklahoma ................ 6 5 8 5 1,070 413 3,254 425 Oregon .................. 22 13 13 33 2,238 986 1,858 3,899 Pennsylvania ............ 129 40 61 116 11,004 3,113 6,682 10,897 Rhode Island ............ 9 7 3 8 1,137 1,716 219 1,624 South Carolina .......... 8 3 6 6 1,228 325 863 796 South Dakota ............ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Tennessee ............... 12 19 14 11 769 1,723 1,231 907 Texas ................... 69 52 44 62 6,348 4,062 4,641 5,984 Utah .................... 4 4 ( 2 ) 4 238 295 ( 2 ) 248 Vermont ................. 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 10 784 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,177 Virginia ................ 13 8 10 10 1,719 574 1,010 849 Washington .............. 34 13 13 22 3,318 1,023 986 2,039 West Virginia ........... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin ............... 76 32 38 67 7,530 2,790 3,866 8,690 Wyoming ................. - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Puerto Rico ............. 13 9 4 11 1,833 891 318 1,147 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.