Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6396 USDL 99-236 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 606-5902 Tuesday, August 31, 1999 MASS LAYOFFS IN JUNE 1999 In June 1999, there were 1,141 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 131,062. Both the number of layoff events and the number of initial claimants for unemployment insurance were lower in June 1999 than in June 1998, when there were strike-related plant shutdowns in the transportation equipment and electronic equipment industries. (See table 1.) The monthly series in this release covers 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 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 June 1999, manufacturing industries accounted for 23 percent of all mass layoff events and 24 percent of all initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the highest numbers of initial claimants were food products (5,597), primarily in frozen fruits and vegetables; transportation equipment (5,109), mostly in motor vehicles and car bodies and in motor vehicle parts and accessories; and industrial machinery and equipment (3,768), particularly in refrigeration and heating equipment. (See table 2.) In nonmanufacturing industries, services accounted for 30 percent of all mass layoff events and 29 percent of all initial claims filed. The layoffs were predominantly in social services (mostly in child day care services) and business services (particularly in help supply services). Layoffs in the help supply services industry are more likely than those in most other industries to last less than 30 days. Transportation and public utilities accounted for 9 percent of layoff events and 12 percent of initial claimants during the month, largely in local and interurban transit. Agriculture accounted for 9 percent of all layoff events and initial claimants during the month, concentrated primarily in agricultural services. Compared with June 1998, the largest decreases in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment (-57,398). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in business services (+5,803) and agricultural services (+4,833). - 2 - Geographic Distribution In June, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was higher in the West (50,702) than in any other region. (See table 3.) The motion picture, business services, and agricultural services industries contributed to the layoffs in the West. The lowest number of mass layoff initial claims was reported in the Northeast region (18,687). The largest over-the-year decrease in mass layoff-related initial claims (-45,300) occurred in the Midwest, followed by the South (-12,357). Lower levels of initial claims this year were reported mainly in the East North Central and Middle Atlantic divisions, with sharply fewer layoffs in transportation equipment. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for June, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (40,163), primarily in motion pictures and agricultural services, followed by Pennsylvania (11,150), Illinois (7,547), Michigan (7,302), and Missouri (6,984). These five states accounted for 50 percent of all layoff events and 56 percent of all initial claimants for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From June 1998 to June 1999, Michigan reported the largest over-the- year decline in initial claims (-30,988), mostly in transportation equipment, followed by New York (-7,949). California had the largest over- the-year increase in initial claims (+13,558), mostly in agricultural services. 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: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. 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 1997 to June 1999 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization rate(1) Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants 1997 April .......................... 1,269 152,168 May ............................ 1,152 101,476 June ........................... 1,238 121,256 Second Quarter ................. 3,659 374,900 1,587 292,673 43.4 July ........................... 1,899 237,410 August ......................... 973 99,513 September ...................... 548 59,062 Third Quarter .................. 3,420 395,985 1,082 209,019 31.6 October ........................ 1,414 139,297 November ....................... 1,156 100,051 December ....................... 1,634 172,029 Fourth Quarter ................. 4,204 411,377 1,697 316,035 40.4 1998 January ........................ 2,360 255,203 February ....................... 970 81,455 March .......................... 762 78,210 First Quarter .................. 4,092 414,868 1,320 247,315 32.3 April .......................... 1,253 132,476 May ............................ 1,180 107,952 June ........................... 1,208 183,590 Second Quarter ................. 3,641 424,018 1,563 402,259 42.9 July ........................... 2,220 286,055 August ......................... 617 53,665 September ...................... 637 79,629 Third Quarter .................. 3,474 419,349 1,234 256,790 35.5 October ........................ 1,557 256,658 November ....................... 1,372 162,537 December ....................... 1,644 193,072 Fourth Quarter ................. 4,573 612,267 1,736 327,039 38.0 1999 January ........................ 2,415 296,404 February(r)..................... 1,076 117,223 March .......................... 850 90,958 First Quarter ..................(r)4,341 (r)504,585 1,484 200,677 34.2 April .......................... 1,250 161,269 May ............................ 1,033 102,815 June............................ 1,141 131,062 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 1998 and June 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry June June June June 1998 1999 1998 1999 Total(1) .................................... 1,208 1,141 183,590 131,062 Total, private ................................... 1,085 1,036 174,251 122,304 Agriculture .................................... 67 103 4,351 11,848 Nonagriculture ................................. 996 908 164,709 107,233 Manufacturing ................................ 407 266 100,239 32,054 Durable goods .............................. 244 128 85,477 17,842 Lumber and wood products ................. 10 9 796 867 Furniture and fixtures ................... 15 9 3,690 1,349 Stone, clay, and glass products .......... 10 4 1,132 194 Primary metal industries ................. 10 8 899 1,217 Fabricated metal products ................ 23 18 2,920 1,737 Industrial machinery and equipment ....... 28 19 2,702 3,768 Electronic and other electrical equipment 35 17 9,174 2,314 Transportation equipment ................. 94 28 62,507 5,109 Instruments and related products ......... 8 6 884 453 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ... 11 10 773 834 Nondurable goods ........................... 163 138 14,762 14,212 Food and kindred products ................ 48 51 4,314 5,597 Tobacco products ......................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Textile mill products .................... 15 13 1,537 1,737 Apparel and other textile products ....... 38 28 3,143 2,629 Paper and allied products ................ 5 ( 2 ) 388 ( 2 ) Printing and publishing .................. 13 14 1,006 1,249 Chemicals and allied products ............ 4 4 256 344 Petroleum and coal products .............. ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products 36 20 3,718 2,111 Leather and leather products ............. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Nonmanufacturing ............................. 589 642 64,470 75,179 Mining ..................................... 4 9 272 693 Construction ............................... 46 57 3,289 4,707 Transportation and public utilities ........ 104 100 14,545 16,258 Wholesale and retail trade ................. 116 114 17,515 13,597 Wholesale trade ......................... 21 19 5,185 2,070 Retail trade ............................ 95 95 12,330 11,527 Finance, insurance, and real estate ........ 8 18 763 1,337 Services ................................... 311 344 28,086 38,372 Not identified ................................. 22 25 5,191 3,223 Government ....................................... 123 105 9,339 8,758 Federal ........................................ 8 7 668 816 State .......................................... 15 15 1,259 1,266 Local .......................................... 100 83 7,412 6,676 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, June 1998 and June 1999 Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division June June June June 1998 1999 1998 1999 United States ........... 1,208 1,141 183,590 131,062 Northeast ....................... 195 160 29,939 18,687 New England ................. 29 25 3,225 3,253 Middle Atlantic ............. 166 135 26,714 15,434 South ........................... 302 280 38,880 26,523 South Atlantic .............. 175 153 20,285 12,867 East South Central .......... 40 41 4,823 4,464 West South Central .......... 87 86 13,772 9,192 Midwest ......................... 331 269 80,450 35,150 East North Central .......... 249 195 67,843 25,087 West North Central .......... 82 74 12,607 10,063 West ............................ 380 432 34,321 50,702 Mountain .................... 39 45 3,735 5,001 Pacific ..................... 341 387 30,586 45,701 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the various 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, June 1998 and June 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State June June June June 1998 1999 1998 1999 Total(1) .................... 1,208 1,141 183,590 131,062 Alabama ........................ 13 16 1,857 1,483 Alaska ......................... 3 5 420 521 Arizona ........................ 12 8 1,195 852 Arkansas ....................... 9 6 883 627 California ..................... 301 333 26,605 40,163 Colorado ....................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 323 Connecticut .................... 6 5 621 653 Delaware ....................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia ........... 3 3 408 392 Florida ........................ 98 78 6,602 5,156 Georgia ........................ 19 16 4,025 1,610 Hawaii ......................... 8 11 577 977 Idaho .......................... 7 7 540 1,081 Illinois ....................... 45 39 6,762 7,547 Indiana ........................ 24 20 8,322 2,223 Iowa ........................... 13 7 1,183 539 Kansas ......................... 7 7 3,333 680 Kentucky ....................... 7 7 825 891 Louisiana ...................... 19 11 3,516 1,100 Maine .......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Maryland ....................... 6 6 2,532 387 Massachusetts .................. 11 11 822 924 Michigan ....................... 95 60 38,290 7,302 Minnesota ...................... 19 17 1,659 1,324 Mississippi .................... 6 5 662 575 Missouri ....................... 36 37 5,922 6,984 Montana ........................ 3 ( 2 ) 198 ( 2 ) Nebraska ....................... 3 ( 2 ) 244 ( 2 ) Nevada ......................... 5 12 450 1,496 New Hampshire .................. 6 ( 2 ) 693 ( 2 ) New Jersey ..................... 49 28 8,791 3,787 New Mexico ..................... 7 9 620 784 New York ....................... 25 7 8,446 497 North Carolina ................. 9 8 667 744 North Dakota ................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 391 Ohio ........................... 45 39 4,246 4,130 Oklahoma ....................... 6 7 2,835 1,522 Oregon ......................... 18 22 2,111 2,111 Pennsylvania ................... 92 100 9,477 11,150 Rhode Island ................... 4 7 946 1,084 South Carolina ................. 19 24 1,745 2,830 South Dakota ................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ...................... 14 13 1,479 1,515 Texas .......................... 53 62 6,538 5,943 Utah ........................... 4 3 583 271 Vermont ........................ - - - - Virginia ....................... 16 15 2,925 1,546 Washington ..................... 11 16 873 1,929 West Virginia .................. 3 ( 2 ) 251 ( 2 ) Wisconsin ...................... 40 37 10,223 3,885 Wyoming ........................ - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Puerto Rico .................... 12 13 1,279 1,557 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.