Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 02-317 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, May 30, 2002 MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2002 Employers initiated 1,507 mass layoff actions in April 2002, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to 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 165,861. (See table 1.) Compared with April 2001, the number of initial claims declined by 6 percent, while the number of layoff events increased by 4 percent. This was the third consecutive month of over- the-year declines in initial claims due to mass layoffs. However, because of high levels in January 2002, the total number of events and initial claims was higher in January-April 2002 than in January-April 2001. The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs") and provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demo- graphics 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 Manufacturing industries accounted for 31 percent of all mass layoff events and initial claims filed in April. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 42 percent of events and 45 percent of initial claims. The number of initial claimants was highest in food production (9,291, mostly in fruit and vegetable canning and in fresh and frozen seafood processing), followed by transportation equipment (7,428, primarily in aircraft manu- facturing and railroad rolling stock manufacturing) and computer and electronic products (7,336, mainly in semiconductors and related devices). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 12 percent of events and 11 percent of initial claims filed during the month, with layoffs almost entirely in administrative and support services, particularly temporary help services. Seven percent of all layoff events and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in transportation and warehousing, mostly in transit and ground passenger transportation (school and employee bus transportation). Eight percent of the events and initial claims were from retail trade, mainly in general merchandise stores. The information sector accounted for an additional 6 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, largely in motion picture and sound recording and in telecom- munications. Compared with April 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in administrative and support services (-7,598) and transportation equipment manufacturing (-6,660). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in transit and ground passenger transportation (+5,605). - 2 - Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in April due to mass layoffs was in the West, 54,426. (See table 3.) Temporary help services, motion picture and video production, and farm labor contractors and crew leaders accounted for 23 percent of all initial claims in the West during the month. Following was the Northeast with 38,576 initial claims (mainly in school and employee bus transportation), the Midwest with 37,119 (largely in temporary help services), and the South with 35,740 (mostly in temporary help services and industrial building construction). The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in the Midwest (-15,058) and West (-11,136) regions. Over-the-year increases were reported in the Northeast (+12,920) and South (+2,870) regions. Six of the nine geographic divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest declines in the Pacific (-11,079) and East North Central (-10,033) divisions. The Middle Atlantic division had the largest increase over the year (+13,144). California registered the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this April, 39,943, mostly in temporary help services and motion picture and video production. New York reported 17,889 initial claims in mass layoffs, followed by Texas (9,845), Illinois (9,583), Ohio (9,034), and Pennsylvania (8,985). These six states accounted for 58 percent of all layoff events and 57 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-11,079), followed by Iowa (-4,441), Ohio (-3,640), and Michigan (-3,486). The largest over-the-year increase occurred in New York (+15,145). ____________________________ The report on Mass Layoffs in May 2002 will be issued on Thursday, June 27, 2002. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Change in Industry Classification System | | | | Beginning with the release of January 2002 mass layoff data on | | February 28, 2002, the Mass Layoff Statistics program implemented | | the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification | | System (NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of | | economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative | | effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the United States,| | Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and the previously | | used Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) structures, data by | | industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for | | earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series from| | April 1995 through December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS| | bases. | | | | NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize economic | | units. Units with similar production processes are classified in | | the same industry. NAICS focuses on how products and services are | | created, as opposed to the SIC focus on what is produced. This | | approach yields significantly different industry groupings than | | those produced by the SIC approach. | | | | Users interested in more information about NAICS can access the | | BLS Web page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the Bureau of | | the Census Web page at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 2000 to April 2002 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Realization rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2000 April ...................... 924 101,359 May ........................ 984 92,193 June ....................... 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter ............. 3,505 385,577 1,271 231,471 36.3 60.0 July ....................... 1,333 164,978 August ..................... 751 97,215 September .................. 936 106,842 Third Quarter .............. 3,020 369,035 1,014 189,250 33.6 51.3 October .................... 874 103,755 November ................... 1,697 216,514 December ................... 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter ............. 5,248 647,012 2,005 (r)376,611 38.2 58.2 2001 January .................... 1,522 200,343 February ................... 1,501 172,908 March ...................... 1,527 171,466 First Quarter .............. 4,550 544,717 1,765 (r)340,151 38.8 62.4 April ...................... 1,450 176,265 May ........................ 1,434 159,365 June ....................... 2,107 253,826 Second Quarter ............. 4,991 589,456 2,072 (r)401,294 41.5 (r)68.1 July ....................... 2,117 273,807 August ..................... 1,490 166,148 September .................. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter .............. 4,934 600,357 (r)1,815 (r)371,124 36.8 (r)61.8 October .................... 1,831 215,483 November ................... 2,721 295,956 December ................... 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,992 780,332 (r)2,700 (r)497,136 (r)38.6 (r)63.7 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,821 February ................... 1,383 138,984 March(p) ................... 1,460 161,336 First Quarter(p) ........... 4,989 564,141 (2)1,669 (2)236,891 33.5 42.0 April(p) ................... 1,507 165,861 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 avaliable. Recent experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. p = preliminary. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry April February March April April February March April 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) 2001(r) 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) Total(1) ....................................... 1,450 1,383 1,460 1,507 176,265 138,984 161,336 165,861 Total, private ................................... 1,413 1,351 1,414 1,458 172,117 135,518 157,100 161,342 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..... 60 97 79 79 5,950 5,493 5,775 8,079 Mining ......................................... 4 15 22 15 266 1,802 1,882 1,409 Utilities ...................................... 4 ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 312 ( 2 ) 727 ( 2 ) Construction ................................... 74 140 150 105 6,315 10,277 11,826 9,135 Manufacturing .................................. 608 482 500 461 78,845 58,842 59,644 50,897 Food ......................................... 65 63 74 80 7,381 6,991 9,070 9,291 Beverage and tobacco products ................ ( 2 ) 7 8 8 ( 2 ) 409 802 899 Textile mills ................................ 23 21 14 9 4,190 2,380 1,468 1,120 Textile product mills ........................ 4 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 496 873 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Apparel ...................................... 35 26 17 30 3,521 2,190 1,536 3,742 Leather and allied products .................. 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 524 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 437 Wood products ................................ 25 37 19 19 2,537 3,854 2,319 1,637 Paper ........................................ 26 16 18 15 3,050 1,636 2,688 1,330 Printing and related support activities ...... 7 12 26 10 600 1,321 2,105 874 Petroleum and coal products .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Chemicals .................................... 12 12 14 10 910 780 1,659 664 Plastics and rubber products ................. 24 15 20 11 2,959 1,472 1,613 857 Nonmetallic mineral products ................. 14 10 21 9 1,446 976 1,537 717 Primary metals ............................... 39 24 21 22 4,894 2,829 3,000 1,979 Fabricated metal products .................... 50 36 34 22 4,663 3,471 3,319 1,781 Machinery .................................... 58 28 43 35 9,871 6,027 6,588 5,045 Computer and electronic products ............. 95 58 65 74 12,166 6,025 6,902 7,336 Electrical equipment and appliances .......... 24 16 26 19 2,926 2,162 3,602 2,427 Transportation equipment ..................... 78 56 46 53 14,088 11,424 8,531 7,428 Furniture and related products ............... 15 20 19 18 1,701 2,593 1,772 1,919 Miscellaneous manufacturing .................. 6 14 11 7 717 1,172 837 735 Wholesale trade ................................ 20 24 25 27 1,892 1,569 2,694 2,212 Retail trade ................................... 104 105 108 122 11,752 10,605 12,067 13,715 Transportation and warehousing ................. 82 45 76 104 9,536 5,179 10,441 15,442 Information .................................... 66 69 36 86 11,650 9,902 4,456 12,127 Finance and insurance .......................... 25 38 32 34 2,073 2,539 2,697 3,142 Real estate and rental and leasing ............. 4 8 9 ( 2 ) 385 469 629 ( 2 ) Professional and technical services ............ 51 45 50 62 5,982 2,956 8,260 7,767 Management of companies and enterprises ........ ( 2 ) 8 3 3 ( 2 ) 699 182 397 Administrative and waste services .............. 185 185 185 177 25,659 17,306 21,704 18,110 Educational services ........................... ( 2 ) - 3 5 ( 2 ) - 232 356 Health care and social assistance .............. 22 18 22 29 1,868 1,115 1,671 2,406 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............ 26 ( 2 ) 13 33 2,489 ( 2 ) 1,013 3,507 Accommodation and food services ................ 64 49 76 74 5,740 4,091 9,721 7,378 Other services, except public administration ... 10 9 7 26 1,144 481 609 3,279 Unclassified ................................... 1 6 11 10 84 1,563 870 1,106 Government ....................................... 37 32 46 49 4,148 3,466 4,236 4,519 Federal ...................................... 9 8 7 7 1,069 1,002 777 543 State ........................................ 5 7 16 15 778 449 1,652 1,717 Local ........................................ 23 17 23 27 2,301 2,015 1,807 2,259 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. r = revised. NOTE: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. 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 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) United States(1) ..... 1,450 1,383 1,460 1,507 (r)176,265 138,984 161,336 165,861 Northeast .................. 244 175 210 306 25,656 20,241 20,443 38,576 New England .............. 69 38 33 62 7,487 4,107 2,995 7,263 Middle Atlantic .......... 175 137 177 244 18,169 16,134 17,448 31,313 South ...................... 305 350 347 331 (r)32,870 37,256 37,291 35,740 South Atlantic ........... 131 176 157 158 15,156 16,633 16,644 16,451 East South Central ....... 71 67 73 58 6,678 7,024 7,076 6,629 West South Central ....... 103 107 117 115 (r)11,036 13,599 13,571 12,660 Midwest .................... 361 284 327 314 52,177 34,912 42,491 37,119 East North Central ....... 288 217 253 260 41,160 27,662 32,058 31,127 West North Central ....... 73 67 74 54 11,017 7,250 10,433 5,992 West ....................... 540 574 576 556 65,562 46,575 61,111 54,426 Mountain ................. 66 60 52 61 7,439 5,782 4,841 7,382 Pacific .................. 474 514 524 495 58,123 40,793 56,270 47,044 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. r = revised. 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 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) Total(1)................ 1,450 1,383 1,460 1,507 (r)176,265 138,984 161,336 165,861 Alabama ................... 9 21 10 25 1,020 2,129 1,295 2,529 Alaska .................... 4 ( 2 ) - 4 404 ( 2 ) - 361 Arizona ................... 21 11 12 24 2,848 939 879 3,649 Arkansas .................. 9 4 5 7 1,104 299 488 509 California ................ 413 460 466 436 51,022 34,494 48,376 39,943 Colorado .................. 13 10 10 11 1,234 976 845 1,121 Connecticut ............... 6 ( 2 ) 4 4 511 ( 2 ) 377 232 Delaware .................. - - 4 3 - - 790 508 District of Columbia ...... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Florida ................... 43 86 64 69 3,553 5,903 5,689 6,303 Georgia ................... 14 20 20 16 1,207 2,396 2,202 1,686 Hawaii .................... 5 10 6 7 421 1,090 658 512 Idaho ..................... 10 13 13 6 802 1,579 1,628 625 Illinois .................. 54 58 53 61 9,785 10,045 7,645 9,583 Indiana ................... 26 25 21 24 2,995 2,319 2,212 2,998 Iowa ...................... 25 13 12 12 5,971 1,869 1,510 1,530 Kansas .................... 4 4 7 9 374 431 1,357 797 Kentucky .................. 31 27 31 20 3,388 2,963 3,354 2,315 Louisiana ................. 8 13 19 19 (r)765 2,409 1,501 1,982 Maine ..................... 8 ( 2 ) 4 7 633 ( 2 ) 226 822 Maryland .................. ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 606 ( 2 ) 218 Massachusetts ............. 28 25 15 24 2,731 2,406 1,652 2,891 Michigan .................. 47 41 56 30 6,200 4,235 6,483 2,714 Minnesota ................. 19 24 16 14 2,124 2,662 2,238 1,936 Mississippi ............... 15 5 13 5 1,087 757 890 287 Missouri .................. 19 20 29 11 2,109 1,510 4,109 974 Montana ................... 5 3 3 3 847 225 264 224 Nebraska .................. 3 5 9 6 240 564 1,133 499 Nevada .................... 9 14 6 9 1,097 1,122 461 1,169 New Hampshire ............. 10 ( 2 ) 3 10 1,370 ( 2 ) 247 1,099 New Jersey ................ 38 39 35 35 3,790 6,074 3,749 4,439 New Mexico ................ 4 3 3 ( 2 ) 304 279 176 ( 2 ) New York .................. 21 26 19 126 2,744 2,375 1,568 17,889 North Carolina ............ 25 18 23 25 3,086 2,628 2,686 2,832 North Dakota .............. ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) Ohio ...................... 78 50 52 80 12,674 4,966 5,780 9,034 Oklahoma .................. 7 15 10 5 1,116 1,810 1,887 324 Oregon .................... 32 24 27 24 4,310 2,576 3,507 3,118 Pennsylvania .............. 116 72 123 83 11,635 7,685 12,131 8,985 Rhode Island .............. 12 6 4 8 1,726 942 323 1,431 South Carolina ............ 33 25 21 21 5,562 2,808 2,750 2,450 South Dakota .............. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Tennessee ................. 16 14 19 8 1,183 1,175 1,537 1,498 Texas ..................... 79 75 83 84 8,051 9,081 9,695 9,845 Utah ...................... 4 6 5 6 307 662 588 460 Vermont ................... 5 ( 2 ) 3 9 516 ( 2 ) 170 788 Virginia .................. 12 17 16 17 1,442 2,061 1,794 1,959 Washington ................ 20 18 25 24 1,966 2,495 3,729 3,110 West Virginia ............. ( 2 ) 3 7 3 ( 2 ) 166 571 346 Wisconsin ................. 83 43 71 65 9,506 6,097 9,938 6,798 Wyoming ................... - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ............... 15 7 9 12 1,670 827 1,082 1,591 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. r = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.