Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 03-394 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, July 24, 2003 MASS LAYOFFS IN JUNE 2003 Employers initiated 1,691 mass layoff actions in June 2003, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, accord- ing 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 157,595. (See table 1.) Elementary and secondary schools, with 17,369 claims, accounted for over 11 percent of all initial claims in June. (See table A.) Compared with June 2002, the number of layoff events increased, while the number of workers involved declined. June 2003 marks the 13th consecutive month in which mass-layoff initial claims declined over the year. Through the first half of 2003, the total number of events, at 9,850, was higher than for the same period a year ago; in contrast, the number of initial claims, at 955,780, was lower. (See table B.) 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"). That quarterly release 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 lay- offs of more than 30 days. (See table 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Industry Distribution The manufacturing sector accounted for 23 percent of all mass layoff events and 26 percent of all initial claims filed in June, little changed from a year ago (21 and 26 percent, respectively). Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (6,367, mainly automotive-related), followed by food production (5,829, mostly in fruit and vegetable processing). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 10 percent of events and initial claims filed in June, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Layoffs in temporary help services this June, at 8,936, were exceeded only in June 2000 (13,815). (The series began in 1995.) Transpor- tation and warehousing accounted for 8 percent of events and 10 percent of initial claims during the month, almost entirely in school and employee bus transportation. Seven percent of the events and initial claims were from the healthcare and social assistance sector, largely child daycare services. Five percent of all layoff events and 6 percent of initial claims filed during this June were in accommodations and food services, primarily among food service contractors. An additional 6 percent of events and initial claims were from the retail trade sector, mostly from general merchandise stores. - 2 - Table A. Industries with largest mass layoff initial claims in June 2003p --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | June peak Industry |Initial |------------------------ | claims | Year | Initial claims -----------------------------------------|--------|--------|---------------- | | | Elementary and secondary schools ........| 17,369 | 2003 | 17,369 School and employee bus transportation ..| 12,716 | 2002 | 15,668 Temporary help services..................| 8,936 | 2000 | 13,815 Food service contractors.................| 6,208 | 1999 | 6,410 Child day care services .................| 6,129 | 1995 | 8,779 Motion picture and video production......| 3,057 | 2000 | 9,435 Tire manufacturing, except retreading....| 2,260 | 2001 | 3,555 Executive and legislative offices........| 2,224 | 2003 | 2,224 Professional employer organizations......| 2,165 | 2001 | 3,358 Other social advocacy organizations......| 2,057 | 2000 | 3,815 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. Government establishments accounted for 17 percent of events and 16 percent of initial claims filed during the month, particularly in educational services, as the school year ended. The 25,376 initial claims in this sector were the most for any June since the series began in 1995. Compared with June 2002, the largest decreases in initial claims were re- ported in professional and technical services (-5,545), transit and ground passenger transportation (-3,647), and electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing (-3,193). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in educational services (+5,370). Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in June due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 53,725. (See table 3.) Educational services and administrative and support services accounted for 36 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The South followed, with 41,019 initial claims, then the Midwest, with 33,819, and the Northeast, with 29,032. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in three of the four regions, with the largest decrease in the West (-3,998). The South had the only over-the-year increase (+3,460). Five of the nine geo- graphic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest declines in the East North Central (-3,341) and Pacific (-2,795). The East South Central (+1,560) and South Atlantic (+1,256) divisions had the largest increases. California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass lay- off events this June, 42,918, mostly in educational services and in administra- tive and support services. Pennsylvania reported 9,665 initial claims, fol- lowed by New Jersey (9,441), Florida (8,488), Texas (8,462), and Ohio (8,361). These six states accounted for 58 percent of all layoff events and 55 percent of initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) Wisconsin reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-2,435). The largest over-the-year increase occurred in Ohio (+3,114). - 3 - Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January-June 1996-2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Year | Layoff events | Initial claimants for | | unemployment insurance ---------------------------|---------------|------------------------ 1996.......................| 6,600 | 653,184 1997.......................| 7,336 | 735,181 1998.......................| 7,733 | 838,886 1999.......................| 7,810 | 779,259 2000.......................| 7,470 | 819,545 2001.......................| 9,541 | 1,134,173 2002.......................| 9,802 | 1,071,937 2003p......................| 9,850 | 955,780 -------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. Review of January through June 2003 During the first half of 2003, the nation experienced 9,850 mass layoff events, resulting in 955,780 initial claims filings for unemployment insurance. The number of events was the highest for any January-June period since such data became available in 1996. The number of initial claimants during January- June 2003 was lower than it had been in 2001 and 2002. (See table B.) Manufacturing accounted for 31 percent of all mass layoff events and 36 percent of initial claims filed thus far this year, about the same as a year earlier. Initial claim filings within manufacturing were most numerous in transportation equipment (62,831), followed by food production (43,142), computer and electronic products (28,622), and machinery (27,539). The number of mass-layoff initial claims filed in January-June 2003 was higher in the West (317,281) than in any other region. Layoffs in administra- tive and support services and in motion picture and sound recording accounted for 25 percent of the claims in the West. The fewest number of mass-layoff initial claims was reported in the Northeast region (169,912). Over the year, the largest decreases in mass-layoff initial claims occurred in the West (-47,372), followed closely by the Midwest (-41,648). The Northeast reported the only over-the-year increase (+5,567). Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events for the first half of the year (279,240) and accounted for 26 percent of the national total. California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-31,383), followed by Illinois (-18,500). New York had the largest over-the- year increase (+18,192). _______________________________ The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2003 will be issued on Wednesday, August 20, 2003. 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 2001 to June 2003 Extended mass layoffs Total mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates(1) Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2001 April ...................... 1,450 176,265 May ........................ 1,434 159,365 June ....................... 2,107 253,826 Second Quarter ............. 4,991 589,456 2,072 401,270 41.5 68.1 July ....................... 2,117 273,807 August ..................... 1,490 166,148 September .................. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter .............. 4,934 600,357 1,815 370,942 36.8 61.8 October .................... 1,831 215,483 November ................... 2,721 295,956 December ................... 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,992 780,332 2,698 502,724 38.6 64.4 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,821 February ................... 1,383 138,984 March ...................... 1,460 161,336 First Quarter .............. 4,989 564,141 1,747 315,781 35.0 56.0 April ...................... 1,507 165,861 May ........................ 1,726 180,007 June ....................... 1,580 161,928 Second Quarter ............. 4,813 507,796 1,905 352,807 39.6 69.5 July ....................... 2,041 245,211 August ..................... 1,247 128,080 September .................. 1,062 124,512 Third Quarter .............. 4,350 497,803 1,382 278,483 31.8 55.9 October .................... 1,497 171,088 November ................... 2,150 240,028 December ................... 2,470 263,775 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,117 674,891 2,259 421,669 36.9 62.5 2003 January .................... 2,315 225,415 February ................... 1,363 124,977 March ...................... 1,206 112,914 First Quarter .............. 4,884 463,306 (2)(p)1,508 (2)(p)210,674 (p)30.9 (p)45.5 April (3) ................. 1,576 161,095 May (3)(p) ................ 1,699 173,784 June (p) ................... 1,691 157,595 Second Quarter (3)(p) ...... 4,966 492,474 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. 3 For April and May 2003, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Wyoming. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry June April May June June April May June 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p Total (1) .................................. 1,580 1,576 1,699 1,691 161,928 161,095 173,784 157,595 Total, private .................................. 1,356 1,529 1,587 1,397 142,567 157,244 163,626 132,219 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 92 64 53 61 6,256 4,624 3,299 4,442 Mining ........................................ 8 ( 2 ) 9 4 1,210 ( 2 ) 1,749 602 Utilities ..................................... 3 5 7 3 303 326 529 315 Construction .................................. 84 150 159 95 5,809 10,042 13,279 6,238 Manufacturing ................................. 336 500 497 389 42,117 62,429 61,174 40,845 Food ...................................... 49 85 69 59 5,851 8,468 7,592 5,829 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 6 7 5 ( 2 ) 452 450 548 ( 2 ) Textile mills ............................. 10 17 21 18 1,118 2,725 2,204 1,970 Textile product mills ..................... 5 9 10 10 663 697 948 1,581 Apparel ................................... 15 19 31 19 1,363 2,385 3,705 1,584 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) 5 7 6 ( 2 ) 398 544 692 Wood products ............................. 18 30 24 9 2,359 2,858 2,361 711 Paper ..................................... 8 14 15 9 1,078 1,083 1,072 1,202 Printing and related support activities ... 13 8 16 14 1,057 848 1,249 1,053 Petroleum and coal products ............... ( 2 ) - 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 190 ( 2 ) Chemicals ................................. 6 6 8 9 606 1,752 930 878 Plastics and rubber products .............. 10 24 21 19 898 3,789 1,439 3,233 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 8 14 13 10 754 1,190 1,080 828 Primary metals ............................ 18 27 27 29 2,681 3,195 3,920 2,226 Fabricated metal products ................. 20 35 34 23 2,103 2,478 2,957 1,728 Machinery ................................. 27 35 39 30 4,543 4,368 6,179 3,062 Computer and electronic products .......... 36 53 46 35 2,959 4,985 4,029 3,464 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 25 17 20 13 5,281 1,836 3,665 2,088 Transportation equipment .................. 34 67 52 51 5,594 15,454 13,288 6,367 Furniture and related products ............ 17 22 21 15 2,005 2,829 1,985 1,363 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 7 6 15 6 527 641 1,289 572 Wholesale trade ............................... 23 31 31 25 2,165 2,425 2,431 1,597 Retail trade .................................. 83 121 118 100 7,257 11,656 12,190 9,640 Transportation and warehousing ................ 141 132 80 135 18,068 14,386 7,755 15,035 Information ................................... 42 51 63 54 4,210 11,131 8,819 5,954 Finance and insurance ......................... 35 34 31 23 2,431 2,061 2,414 1,730 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 7 10 5 7 602 569 478 485 Professional and technical services ........... 36 60 65 36 8,902 5,852 5,542 3,357 Management of companies and enterprises ....... 3 ( 2 ) 5 4 621 ( 2 ) 369 725 Administrative and waste services ............. 165 186 203 175 14,236 16,593 19,518 15,596 Educational services .......................... 18 6 8 12 1,128 463 536 961 Health care and social assistance ............. 117 24 83 123 10,987 1,695 6,948 10,245 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 29 33 32 25 1,983 2,551 2,293 1,383 Accommodation and food services ............... 80 95 98 83 9,966 8,014 10,068 9,979 Other services, except public administration .. 49 17 38 41 3,976 1,504 4,090 2,937 Unclassified .................................. 5 5 2 2 340 389 145 153 Government ...................................... 224 47 112 294 19,361 3,851 10,158 25,376 Federal ....................................... 13 4 14 9 1,791 318 1,736 841 State ......................................... 16 13 17 22 1,665 1,470 1,454 1,699 Local ......................................... 195 30 81 263 15,905 2,063 6,968 22,836 1 For April and May 2003, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Wyoming. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Industry data reflect the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 2002. 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 June April May June June April May June 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p United States (1) ... 1,580 1,576 1,699 1,691 161,928 161,095 173,784 157,595 Northeast ................. 258 326 274 275 30,153 30,892 27,071 29,032 New England ............. 57 59 32 55 6,746 6,214 2,888 5,732 Middle Atlantic ......... 201 267 242 220 23,407 24,678 24,183 23,300 South ..................... 380 323 446 461 37,559 34,922 48,321 41,019 South Atlantic .......... 197 151 214 243 17,657 14,851 21,217 18,913 East South Central ...... 67 74 74 78 7,935 9,550 7,645 9,495 West South Central ...... 116 98 158 140 11,967 10,521 19,459 12,611 Midwest ................... 311 334 373 310 36,493 43,466 46,401 33,819 East North Central ...... 238 271 271 238 27,739 36,974 34,240 24,398 West North Central ...... 73 63 102 72 8,754 6,492 12,161 9,421 West (1) .................. 631 593 606 645 57,723 51,815 51,991 53,725 Mountain (1) ............ 59 68 58 68 7,073 6,109 5,684 5,870 Pacific ................. 572 525 548 577 50,650 45,706 46,307 47,855 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 June April May June June April May June 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p Total (1) ............ 1,580 1,576 1,699 1,691 161,928 161,095 173,784 157,595 Alabama ................. 24 24 21 21 3,415 4,048 1,996 3,882 Alaska .................. 4 6 ( 2 ) 4 401 489 ( 2 ) 439 Arizona ................. 23 22 19 17 2,576 2,193 1,846 1,282 Arkansas ................ 3 3 4 9 210 326 266 653 California .............. 507 455 502 526 43,520 39,040 41,857 42,918 Colorado ................ 3 14 7 11 277 1,318 721 884 Connecticut ............. 14 3 5 9 2,018 206 403 1,296 Delaware ................ ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 180 ( 2 ) 266 District of Columbia .... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Florida ................. 104 64 100 117 7,222 4,451 8,078 8,488 Georgia ................. 20 31 38 43 2,966 4,299 3,807 3,641 Hawaii .................. ( 2 ) 8 6 7 ( 2 ) 621 554 525 Idaho ................... 7 8 11 8 1,571 778 1,444 629 Illinois ................ 58 64 70 44 6,074 7,210 9,525 4,231 Indiana ................. 27 37 34 36 4,628 6,826 4,685 3,912 Iowa .................... 13 13 27 10 1,615 1,249 4,582 1,186 Kansas .................. 4 5 7 11 439 406 811 2,198 Kentucky ................ 20 29 25 28 2,252 4,186 3,100 3,087 Louisiana ............... 28 20 22 28 2,757 2,777 2,005 2,308 Maine ................... 4 6 4 6 225 575 265 388 Maryland ................ 10 9 8 11 1,095 859 969 950 Massachusetts ........... 23 29 16 32 1,851 3,307 1,734 3,230 Michigan ................ 50 32 36 39 5,002 4,704 6,599 3,541 Minnesota ............... 19 21 22 20 2,900 2,848 2,119 1,898 Mississippi ............. 6 9 10 7 405 547 717 547 Missouri ................ 26 18 28 25 2,665 1,441 3,044 3,730 Montana ................. ( 2 ) 4 3 8 ( 2 ) 443 236 528 Nebraska ................ 5 4 9 4 429 348 702 267 Nevada .................. 15 13 14 14 1,933 961 1,099 1,597 New Hampshire ........... 5 3 ( 2 ) 3 1,229 205 ( 2 ) 296 New Jersey .............. 57 47 22 69 9,137 4,523 1,915 9,441 New Mexico .............. 3 3 ( 2 ) 6 168 178 ( 2 ) 648 New York ................ 40 91 110 46 3,072 9,151 11,375 4,194 North Carolina .......... 18 21 27 24 1,771 1,990 2,790 1,918 North Dakota ............ 5 ( 2 ) 5 - 644 ( 2 ) 349 - Ohio .................... 46 62 68 72 5,247 10,704 7,098 8,361 Oklahoma ................ 7 6 23 13 450 1,070 4,653 1,188 Oregon .................. 30 22 22 20 3,446 2,238 2,151 2,022 Pennsylvania ............ 104 129 110 105 11,198 11,004 10,893 9,665 Rhode Island ............ 8 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,246 1,137 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) South Carolina .......... 19 8 11 12 1,848 1,228 1,436 1,039 South Dakota ............ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 554 ( 2 ) Tennessee ............... 17 12 18 22 1,863 769 1,832 1,979 Texas ................... 78 69 109 90 8,550 6,348 12,535 8,462 Utah .................... 6 4 ( 2 ) 4 422 238 ( 2 ) 302 Vermont ................. 3 9 4 ( 2 ) 177 784 315 ( 2 ) Virginia ................ 20 13 26 27 2,193 1,719 2,967 2,189 Washington .............. 29 34 17 20 3,163 3,318 1,684 1,951 West Virginia ........... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin ............... 57 76 63 47 6,788 7,530 6,333 4,353 Wyoming ................. - ( 1 ) ( 1 ) - - ( 1 ) ( 1 ) - Puerto Rico ............. 9 13 7 8 998 1,833 1,098 702 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.