Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 01-279 http://www.bls.gov/mlshome.htm For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, August 30, 2001 MASS LAYOFFS IN JULY 2001 In July 2001, there were 2,108 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 272,308. (See table 1.) In January-July 2001, the total number of events, at 11,615, and initial claims, at 1,401,054, were higher than in January-July 2000 (8,803 and 984,523, 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 establishment and on the demogra- phics 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 July 2001, manufacturing industries accounted for 54 percent of all mass layoff events and 61 percent of all initial claims filed. A year earlier, layoffs in manufacturing accounted for 49 percent of events and 60 percent of initial claims. Manufacturing industries with the highest number of initial claimants were transportation equipment (34,976, mostly in motor vehicle parts and accessories and in motor vehicles and car bodies), industrial machinery and equipment (24,895, primarily in internal combustion engines and in construction machinery), and electronic and other electrical equipment (20,502, largely in semiconductors). (See table 2.) Compared with July 2000, 18 of the 20 manufacturing industry groups had increases in the number of initial claims. Services accounted for 19 percent of events and 18 percent of initial claims filed during the month. Forty-five percent of those claimants were in help supply services, which usually has high turnover, but is more likely than other industries to lay off workers for fewer than 30 days. Six percent of all layoff events and 5 percent of initial claims during the month were in retail trade industries, largely in general merchandise stores (department stores). Transportation and public utilities accounted for 5 percent of events and 4 percent of initial claims during the month, mostly in trucking and warehousing. An additional 4 percent of events and 3 percent of initial claims each were in agriculture and government. Layoffs in agricultural industries were mostly in agricultural services (farm labor contractors). Layoffs in government were most prevalent in educational services (elementary and secondary schools). Compared with July 2000, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in business services (+20,062), industrial machinery and equipment (+15,663), and electronic and other electrical equipment (+14,663). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in motion pictures (-2,069) and in interurban passenger transit, largely school busing (-1,436). - 2 - Geographic Distribution In July, the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs were in the Midwest--116,117, largely in transportation equipment, industrial machinery and equipment, and fabricated metal products. (See table 3.) These three industries accounted for 47 percent of all claimants in the region. The Northeast region continued to register the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims (33,490). Over the year, all four regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, and West) reported increases in mass layoff events and initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in the Midwest (+45,068). The number of initial claimants associated with mass layoff events increased in each of the nine geographic divisions, with the largest increases in the East North Central and Pacific divisions. California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (51,198), mostly in business services and in motion pictures, followed by Michigan (28,650) and Ohio (23,143). These three states accounted for 38 percent of all layoff events and initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) Compared with a year earlier, 38 states experienced increases in the levels of initial claims in July 2001. California reported the largest over-the-year increase (+23,763), followed by Michigan (+11,453) and Illinois (+10,050). Nine states and the District of Columbia had over- the-year decreases in the number of initial claimants for unemployment insurance, led by Virginia (-2,003). 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, July 1999 to July 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 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 (r)1,330 (r)221,368 (r)33.5 51.0 April ....................... 924 101,359 May ......................... 984 92,193 June ........................ 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter .............. 3,505 385,577 (r)1,271 (r)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 (r)188,641 33.6 (r)51.1 October ..................... 874 103,755 November .................... 1,697 216,514 December .................... 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter .............. 5,248 647,012 2,005 (r)376,024 38.2 58.1 2001 January ..................... 1,522 200,343 February .................... 1,501 172,908 March ....................... 1,527 171,466 First Quarter ............... 4,550 544,717 (r)1,768 (r)335,877 (r)38.9 (r)61.7 April ....................... 1,450 175,911 May ......................... 1,426 157,759 June(p) ..................... 2,081 250,359 Second Quarter(p) ........... 4,957 584,029 (2)1,911 (2)268,809 38.6 46.0 July(p) ..................... 2,108 272,308 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. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry July May June July July May June July 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ....................................... 1,333 1,426 2,081 2,108 164,978 157,759 250,359 272,308 Total, private ...................................... 1,252 1,393 1,892 2,034 158,672 154,549 233,470 264,922 Agriculture ....................................... 91 68 118 92 6,038 4,714 9,360 7,396 Nonagriculture .................................... 1,136 1,312 1,762 1,935 149,693 148,406 222,500 256,578 Manufacturing ................................... 652 528 745 1,144 99,807 65,317 116,626 167,427 Durable goods ................................. 425 334 484 802 71,405 44,279 78,747 126,136 Lumber and wood products .................... 32 12 19 28 3,487 1,125 1,631 3,375 Furniture and fixtures ...................... 25 23 44 41 3,955 2,566 6,237 5,962 Stone, clay, and glass products ............. 10 13 16 20 1,158 1,695 1,788 2,796 Primary metal industries .................... 35 23 44 85 4,230 3,439 5,639 13,746 Fabricated metal products ................... 70 34 66 137 8,797 3,724 7,055 16,156 Industrial machinery and equipment .......... 63 61 66 146 9,232 7,303 9,662 24,895 Electronic and other electrical equipment ... 38 114 115 130 5,839 15,410 18,636 20,502 Transportation equipment .................... 133 38 91 174 33,094 7,768 26,431 34,976 Instruments and related products ............ 8 9 12 21 663 706 925 2,210 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ...... 11 7 11 20 950 543 743 1,518 Nondurable goods .............................. 227 194 261 342 28,402 21,038 37,879 41,291 Food and kindred products ................... 74 66 65 82 7,584 6,523 5,989 9,239 Tobacco products ............................ ( 2 ) 3 - - ( 2 ) 235 - - Textile mill products ....................... 22 26 39 50 2,970 3,344 11,104 7,323 Apparel and other textile products .......... 44 29 50 48 5,711 3,180 5,941 6,009 Paper and allied products ................... ( 2 ) 10 16 20 ( 2 ) 1,248 1,766 2,436 Printing and publishing ..................... 9 27 20 16 631 3,024 1,690 1,471 Chemicals and allied products ............... ( 2 ) 8 12 17 ( 2 ) 908 1,390 2,071 Petroleum and coal products ................. - - - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products .. 51 22 54 97 8,597 2,160 9,588 11,586 Leather and leather products ................ 10 3 5 ( 2 ) 822 416 411 ( 2 ) Nonmanufacturing ................................ 484 784 1,017 791 49,886 83,089 105,874 89,151 Mining ........................................ ( 2 ) 3 4 8 ( 2 ) 488 1,519 1,259 Construction .................................. 52 105 88 64 4,040 9,483 6,375 5,022 Transportation and public utilities ........... 79 53 146 114 8,538 4,907 21,002 11,387 Wholesale and retail trade .................... 103 190 230 170 9,488 18,823 26,030 18,352 Wholesale trade ............................ 30 31 58 48 3,055 2,614 5,747 5,016 Retail trade ............................... 73 159 172 122 6,433 16,209 20,283 13,336 Finance, insurance, and real estate ........... ( 2 ) 34 33 44 ( 2 ) 2,910 3,059 3,409 Services ...................................... 235 399 516 391 26,158 46,478 47,889 49,722 Not identified .................................... 25 13 12 7 2,941 1,429 1,610 948 Government .......................................... 81 33 189 74 6,306 3,210 16,889 7,386 Federal ........................................... 16 7 17 18 1,851 720 2,870 2,020 State ............................................. 13 9 28 7 1,063 996 2,419 592 Local ............................................. 52 17 144 49 3,392 1,494 11,600 4,774 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 Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division July May June July July May June July 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) United States(1) .... 1,333 1,426 2,081 2,108 164,978 157,759 250,359 272,308 Northeast ................... 176 192 299 319 18,226 21,001 38,111 33,490 New England ............. 36 59 67 70 3,953 5,545 7,145 8,574 Middle Atlantic ......... 140 133 232 249 14,273 15,456 30,966 24,916 South ....................... 312 345 479 453 39,032 38,495 62,023 54,895 South Atlantic .......... 166 171 249 236 22,269 17,312 34,834 28,391 East South Central ...... 66 57 110 89 6,881 5,783 14,057 10,772 West South Central ...... 80 117 120 128 9,882 15,400 13,132 15,732 Midwest ..................... 481 304 569 763 71,049 38,953 87,401 116,117 East North Central ...... 399 220 452 618 60,565 29,057 65,836 96,509 West North Central ...... 82 84 117 145 10,484 9,896 21,565 19,608 West ........................ 364 585 734 573 36,671 59,310 62,824 67,806 Mountain ................ 36 47 77 74 4,374 4,972 8,012 8,156 Pacific ................. 328 538 657 499 32,297 54,338 54,812 59,650 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 July May June July July May June July 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ................. 1,333 1,426 2,081 2,108 164,978 157,759 250,359 272,308 Alabama ..................... 4 15 26 13 305 1,568 2,649 1,312 Alaska ...................... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Arizona ..................... 9 11 17 22 912 1,200 2,215 2,149 Arkansas .................... 10 7 5 13 1,158 533 489 1,043 California .................. 287 488 590 444 27,435 49,009 46,675 51,198 Colorado .................... 3 12 14 12 234 1,294 1,274 1,248 Connecticut ................. 5 13 8 ( 2 ) 490 1,039 783 ( 2 ) Delaware .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,021 District of Columbia ........ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 338 - Florida ..................... 68 65 106 80 4,711 5,328 8,319 6,692 Georgia ..................... 8 15 44 15 574 2,044 4,361 1,413 Hawaii ...................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 233 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Idaho ....................... 7 7 11 12 824 1,031 1,084 2,104 Illinois .................... 54 55 85 68 5,981 9,232 13,605 16,031 Indiana ..................... 50 24 42 83 9,562 2,311 8,600 12,304 Iowa ........................ 23 15 14 49 3,004 1,739 1,789 8,154 Kansas ...................... 10 6 8 9 836 730 1,972 883 Kentucky .................... 40 23 41 52 4,888 2,853 7,560 7,227 Louisiana ................... 13 6 10 6 1,236 420 745 610 Maine ....................... 6 5 ( 2 ) 5 457 498 ( 2 ) 586 Maryland .................... 7 10 9 7 896 708 649 691 Massachusetts ............... 15 27 36 44 1,472 2,686 3,613 5,051 Michigan .................... 138 40 181 231 17,197 4,935 26,714 28,650 Minnesota ................... 12 18 38 24 1,663 2,108 6,327 2,792 Mississippi ................. 10 10 15 12 757 657 1,276 1,171 Missouri .................... 33 38 46 57 4,614 4,759 9,019 6,939 Montana ..................... 4 ( 2 ) 5 - 915 ( 2 ) 355 - Nebraska .................... ( 2 ) - 6 4 ( 2 ) - 1,098 434 Nevada ...................... 10 9 17 20 1,290 848 2,067 2,095 New Hampshire ............... 5 6 7 11 768 584 698 1,846 New Jersey .................. 28 28 52 43 2,950 2,797 9,745 4,963 New Mexico .................. ( 2 ) 3 7 5 ( 2 ) 219 564 252 New York .................... 45 24 32 39 4,373 2,108 3,045 4,071 North Carolina .............. 10 23 23 28 1,933 2,115 2,505 3,705 North Dakota ................ ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 284 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio ........................ 104 47 77 127 20,416 5,035 9,401 23,143 Oklahoma .................... 5 9 11 14 848 2,961 1,355 1,720 Oregon ...................... 30 25 32 33 4,063 2,974 4,572 6,336 Pennsylvania ................ 67 81 148 167 6,950 10,551 18,176 15,882 Rhode Island ................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 11 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,700 338 South Carolina .............. 36 33 39 63 6,517 4,247 12,225 9,790 South Dakota ................ - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Tennessee ................... 12 9 28 12 931 705 2,572 1,062 Texas ....................... 52 95 94 95 6,640 11,486 10,543 12,359 Utah ........................ ( 2 ) 4 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 325 453 ( 2 ) Vermont ..................... 4 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 688 612 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Virginia .................... 33 23 21 35 6,974 2,671 4,233 4,971 Washington .................. 9 20 29 20 649 1,999 2,944 1,928 West Virginia ............... ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) Wisconsin ................... 53 54 67 109 7,409 7,544 7,516 16,381 Wyoming ..................... - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ................. 17 6 17 8 1,909 1,791 1,816 896 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.