Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 05-1980 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Tuesday, October 25, 2005 MASS LAYOFFS IN SEPTEMBER 2005 Mass layoff data for September 2005 reflect the impact of Hurricane Katrina on workers in Louisiana and Mississippi and, to a lesser extent, the impact of Hurricane Rita on workers in Texas. In September 2005, employers took 2,069 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 257,454, on a seasonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events in September rose by 927 to 2,069, the highest number of events for any month since November 2001 and the fourth highest number of events since the program began in April 1995. The number of associated initial claims increased by 129,988 from August to 257,544 and was at its highest total for any month since the series high in September 2001. In the manufacturing sector, 422 mass layoff events were reported during September 2005, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 54,245 initial claims; both figures were higher than a month earlier. (See table 1.) From January through September 2005, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 11,884, was lower than in January-September 2004 (12,054), while the number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,309,263, was higher (1,213,262). Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) In September, the 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass- layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 70,955 ini- tial claims, 37 percent of the total. (See table A.) More than 4 out of 5 of these claims were filed against employers located in Louisiana (59 percent) and Mississippi (23 percent). In 7 of these 10 industries, the share of initial claims accounted for by Louisiana or Mississippi employers was 90 percent or higher. ---------------------------------------------------------------- | Hurricanes Katrina and Rita | | | | Data for September are the first from the Mass Layoff | | Statistics (MLS) program to reflect the initial job losses | | associated with Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf | | Coast on August 29, and Hurricane Rita, which made landfall | | on September 24. In the MLS program, the September 2005 | | reference period includes the Sunday through Saturday calen- | | dar weeks from August 28 through October 1. | | | | For additional information on the storms' impacts on MLS | | data, including questions and answers on concepts and defini- | | tions, data collection, and future publication plans, please | | see http://www.bls.gov/katrina/mlsquestions.htm or call | | (202) 691-6392. | ---------------------------------------------------------------- - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in September 2005p ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Initial claims | September peak |--------------------| Industry | | Percent |------------------- | Total | in La. | | Initial | U.S. | and Miss.| Year | claim -----------------------------------------|---------|----------|---------|--------- Elementary and secondary schools.........| 14,126 | 91.8 | 2005 | 14,126 Temporary help services .................| 11,057 | 29.0 | 2001 | 12,752 General medical and surgical hospitals...| 9,943 | 92.6 | 2005 | 9,943 Casino hotels............................| 6,404 | 90.0 | 2001 | 9,453 Ship building and repairing..............| 6,168 | 98.0 | 2005 | 6,168 Hotels and motels, except casino hotels..| 5,148 | 87.7 | 2001 | 10,886 Limited-service restaurants..............| 4,867 | 95.9 | 2005 | 4,867 Full-service restaurants.................| 4,625 | 94.8 | 2005 | 4,625 Supermarkets and other grocery stores....| 4,325 | 68.9 | 2005 | 4,325 Casinos, except casino hotels............| 4,292 | 94.2 | 2005 | 4,292 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p = preliminary. In the U.S. as a whole, the manufacturing sector accounted for 20 percent of all mass layoff events and 24 percent of all initial claims filed in September 2005. A year earlier, manufacturing comprised 27 percent of events and 37 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in September 2005 was highest in transportation equipment (14,934, largely in the ship building and repairing industry in the Katrina-affected areas), followed by food manufacturing (5,584). (See table 3.) Accommodation and food services accounted for 13 percent of events and 12 percent of initial claims filed in September, with layoffs mostly from restaurants. Twelve percent of all layoff events and 11 percent of initial claims filed during the month were from retail trade, primarily from general merchandise stores. Administrative and waste services accounted for 12 percent of events and 10 percent of initial claims in September, mainly from temporary help services. Healthcare and social assistance accounted for 8 percent of events and initial claims during the month, largely from hospitals. An additional 7 percent of events and 4 percent of initial claims were from construction, largely among specialty trade contractors. Government establishments accounted for 8 percent of events and 15 per- cent of initial claims filed in September, mostly from educational services. Over the year, the number of layoff events increased by 840 to 1,548 and the number of associated initial claims rose by 121,934 to 190,906, the highest totals for any September on record (not seasonally adjusted). In addition to the impact of the hurricanes, September 2005 contained 5 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with 4 weeks in each September of the prior 2 years. (See the Technical Note for an explanation of how the number of weeks for data collection can vary from month to month.) The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in educa- tional services (+15,186), hospitals (+10,839), food services and drinking places (+9,893), and accommodation (+9,534). The largest over-the-year de- creases in initial claims were reported in agriculture and forestry support activities (-549). Excluding layoffs in Louisiana and Mississippi, the number of mass layoff events rose over-the-year by 68, and the number of associated initial claims rose by 16,103. These increases were most likely due to the additional week present in September 2005. The over-the-year increases in initial claims excluding those in Louisiana and Mississippi were mostly in machinery manufacturing (+3,353), general merchandise stores (+2,863), and textile mills (+1,935). The largest over-the-year decrease was in food services and drinking places (-1,260). - 3 - Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in September due to mass layoffs was in the South (129,647). (See table 5.) Eighty-one percent of events and 82 percent of initial claims in the South were from Louisiana and Mississippi. The number of mass layoff events and initial claims in the South was the highest for any September since the program began. Educational services, food services and drinking places, hospitals, and accommodation accounted for 37 percent of the South total. The West had the next largest number of initial claims (28,517), followed by the Midwest (22,952) and the Northeast (9,790). The number of initial claimants from mass layoffs increased over the year in each of the four regions. The largest increase occurred in the South (+110,180), followed by the Midwest (+6,572), the West (+4,193), and the Northeast (+989). Each of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest in the West South Central (+89,195), which includes Louisiana, followed by the East South Central division (+20,890), which includes Mississippi. Among the states, Louisiana recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in September (87,449). Fifteen detailed industries in the state each had more than 1,000 initial claims; five had more than 4,000 each. California had the next highest initial claims total, with 24,865 initial claims, followed by Mississippi (19,098). Four detailed industries in Mississippi each had more than 1,000 initial claims. These three states accounted for 67 percent of all mass layoff events and 69 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 6.) The weekly initial claims data by state provide a clearer picture of the impact of the two hurricanes. As shown in table B, mass layoff initial claims in Louisiana were highest in the first week of the September 2005 reference period, the first week following Hurricane Katrina's landfall. In Mississippi, they peaked in the second week. The significant rise in initial claims in Texas occurred in the last week of the reporting period, which followed Hurricane Rita's landfall. Louisiana also reported an increase in that week. Louisiana had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+87,047), with the greatest rises occurring in educational services, food services and drinking places, hospitals, and administrative and support services. Mississippi had the next highest over-the-year increase (+18,784). The largest over-the-year decreases occurred in Florida (-3,035) and Michigan (-2,762). - 4 - Table B. Mass-layoff initial claims by week, selected states, September 2005p -------------------------------------------------------------- Week | Initial claims ending |----------------------------------------------- | Louisiana | Mississippi | Texas --------------|-------------|-------------|------------------- | | | Sept. 3 ......| 73,101 | 7,936 | 353 Sept. 10 .....| 8,010 | 10,482 | 381 Sept. 17 .....| 1,282 | 399 | 568 Sept. 24 .....| 214 | 201 | 809 Oct. 1 .......| 4,842 | 80 | 2,947 | | | Total ........| 87,449 | 19,098 | 5,058 ------------------------------------------------------------- p = preliminary From January to September, California reported 274,820 mass-layoff initial claims, 21 percent of the national total. Louisiana had the next largest number of claims over this period (98,548), followed by Ohio (91,624) and Michigan (89,693). 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 layoffs 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 4.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. ______________________________ The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Third Quarter of 2005 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 17, 2005. The report on Mass Layoffs in October 2005 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 23, 2005. - 5 - 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 con- tacted 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 quart- erly 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, the number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in a year may vary. Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change in not seasonally adjusted series 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. Seasonal adjustment Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish- ing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series. The six series are the numbers of mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm, and manufacturing sectors. Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year. The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expan- sions and contractions. The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust- ment method on a concurrent basis. Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel- oping seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most recent 5 years of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a year with the issuance of December data. Before the data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the original data to adjust them for differences in the number of weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data, a particular month's value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in one year and 4 weeks in another. The effects of these differences could seriously distort the seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process. These effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the final seasonally adjusted series. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2001 to September 2005, seasonally adjusted Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2001 October .................... 2,109 233,569 1,986 223,808 897 118,136 November ................... 2,094 218,273 1,935 207,129 944 114,556 December ................... 1,799 194,759 1,658 183,178 722 93,193 2002 January .................... 1,801 208,835 1,659 195,862 739 96,689 February ................... 1,773 204,089 1,620 192,450 701 91,285 March ...................... 1,674 187,924 1,517 175,998 610 75,367 April ...................... 1,685 186,574 1,497 169,228 591 69,481 May ........................ 1,720 191,841 1,558 178,993 611 74,809 June ....................... 1,615 170,307 1,438 156,759 551 73,064 July ....................... 1,637 179,165 1,457 164,398 568 73,230 August ..................... 1,475 160,855 1,330 149,148 562 65,564 September .................. 1,909 217,475 1,742 202,640 607 79,413 October .................... 1,716 178,860 1,524 162,411 598 71,765 November ................... 1,644 176,462 1,500 165,578 607 70,640 December ................... 1,825 193,627 1,661 179,368 638 86,714 2003 January .................... 1,383 134,258 1,193 120,033 402 49,440 February ................... 1,771 185,502 1,589 173,392 643 75,331 March ...................... 1,773 176,540 1,577 161,662 618 75,289 April ...................... 1,735 176,645 1,574 165,416 646 86,857 May ........................ 1,709 186,158 1,532 173,123 624 87,615 June ....................... 1,704 163,646 1,515 148,547 636 70,888 July ....................... 1,653 163,061 1,444 147,883 590 71,203 August ..................... 1,502 170,353 1,364 156,731 540 71,944 September .................. 1,559 145,961 1,370 132,233 471 56,274 October .................... 1,541 154,908 1,312 136,604 412 49,518 November ................... 1,400 137,651 1,241 125,115 397 46,955 December ................... 1,425 141,780 1,281 129,464 420 53,436 2004 January .................... 1,458 146,147 1,257 127,917 413 50,074 February ................... 1,237 126,421 1,091 115,302 358 36,783 March ...................... 1,348 142,480 1,211 134,118 409 63,380 April ...................... 1,422 149,049 1,239 132,180 360 43,158 May ........................ 1,178 114,247 1,016 100,499 314 37,950 June ....................... 1,375 141,300 1,215 129,466 361 47,548 July ....................... 1,363 139,374 1,200 127,011 390 49,276 August ..................... 1,392 130,483 1,208 115,035 330 36,422 September .................. 1,281 123,761 1,153 114,223 332 45,917 October .................... 1,274 125,414 1,145 116,042 350 44,908 November ................... 1,361 130,168 1,201 117,545 402 43,504 December ................... 1,211 119,649 1,064 108,157 283 34,940 2005 January .................... 1,457 150,990 1,321 140,826 379 58,908 February ................... 1,128 117,684 1,001 107,415 345 43,186 March ...................... 1,194 130,848 1,060 121,408 371 55,377 April ...................... 1,274 136,837 1,142 126,807 395 63,121 May ........................ 1,196 128,771 1,060 117,036 359 53,243 June ....................... 1,175 127,887 1,059 118,736 347 55,820 July ....................... 1,249 131,326 1,107 118,835 360 48,967 August(p) .................. 1,142 127,466 1,002 115,674 328 48,155 September(p) ............... 2,069 257,454 1,833 212,725 422 54,245 p = preliminary. Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2001 to September 2005, not seasonally adjusted Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2001 October .................... 1,831 215,483 1,676 202,053 742 107,030 November ................... 2,721 295,956 2,373 270,268 1,122 151,969 December ................... 2,440 268,893 2,319 259,497 1,103 136,820 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,777 2,028 252,245 892 128,825 February ................... 1,382 138,808 1,253 129,849 481 58,784 March ...................... 1,460 161,316 1,335 151,305 500 59,613 April ...................... 1,506 165,814 1,378 153,216 461 50,897 May ........................ 1,723 179,799 1,571 166,801 488 52,720 June ....................... 1,584 162,189 1,266 136,424 336 42,130 July ....................... 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 907 135,271 August ..................... 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 427 48,668 September .................. 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 352 43,755 October .................... 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 493 64,655 November ................... 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 719 92,712 December ................... 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 984 126,826 2003 January .................... 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 822 90,244 February ................... 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 435 48,161 March ...................... 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 390 41,063 April ...................... 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 499 62,349 May ........................ 1,703 174,204 1,538 160,729 499 61,278 June ....................... 1,691 157,552 1,336 127,743 389 40,845 July ....................... 2,087 226,435 1,815 206,901 946 136,410 August ..................... 1,258 133,839 1,163 124,131 405 52,620 September .................. 868 82,647 756 73,914 271 31,428 October .................... 1,523 158,240 1,265 137,706 438 53,741 November ................... 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 408 48,419 December ................... 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 648 77,915 2004 January .................... 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 848 89,551 February ................... 941 84,201 832 76,577 240 23,043 March ...................... 920 92,554 847 87,782 258 34,686 April ...................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 343 36,172 May ........................ 988 87,501 878 78,786 219 22,141 June ....................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 222 27,307 July ....................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 885 145,895 August ..................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 194 17,698 September .................. 708 68,972 637 63,102 189 25,808 October .................... 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 372 48,265 November ................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 412 44,243 December ................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 436 50,726 2005 January .................... 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 823 108,985 February ................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 230 24,931 March ...................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 246 33,030 April ...................... 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 395 59,129 May ........................ 986 101,358 891 93,332 249 30,424 June ....................... 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 216 32,783 July ....................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 856 136,210 August(p) .................. 645 67,582 598 63,484 188 22,531 September(p) ............... 1,548 190,906 1,400 160,630 315 46,353 p = preliminary. Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry September July August September September July August September 2004 2005 2005p 2005p 2004 2005 2005p 2005p Seasonally adjusted Total ..................................... 1,281 1,249 1,142 2,069 123,761 131,326 127,466 257,454 Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,153 1,107 1,002 1,833 114,223 118,835 115,674 212,725 Manufacturing ............................... 332 360 328 422 45,917 48,967 48,155 54,245 Not seasonally adjusted Total(1) .................................. 708 1,981 645 1,548 68,972 244,216 67,582 190,906 Total, private .................................. 669 1,849 610 1,423 64,917 231,250 64,211 162,013 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 32 104 12 23 1,815 8,873 727 1,383 Total, private nonfarm ........................ 637 1,745 598 1,400 63,102 222,377 63,484 160,630 Mining ...................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Utilities ................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Construction ................................ 65 80 51 109 4,160 6,252 3,458 8,203 Manufacturing................................ 189 856 188 315 25,808 136,210 22,531 46,353 Food .................................... 56 72 28 56 4,848 6,874 2,762 5,584 Beverage and tobacco products ........... 3 7 ( 2 ) 4 271 377 ( 2 ) 261 Textile mills ........................... 6 16 13 20 701 1,682 1,177 2,636 Textile product mills ................... 4 12 3 6 438 1,597 268 956 Apparel ................................. 9 27 10 12 1,878 2,666 560 2,286 Leather and allied products ............. ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,426 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wood products ........................... 4 39 7 20 268 5,109 547 2,058 Paper ................................... 4 9 7 10 369 582 615 1,206 Printing and related support activities . - 4 5 5 - 271 452 312 Petroleum and coal products ............. - - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - Chemicals ............................... ( 2 ) 18 ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 2,164 ( 2 ) 787 Plastics and rubber products ............ 12 77 7 13 976 9,202 588 1,824 Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 8 16 6 9 759 2,178 420 637 Primary metals .......................... ( 2 ) 53 7 11 ( 2 ) 7,984 852 1,112 Fabricated metal products ............... 11 67 13 18 794 7,052 1,012 1,297 Machinery ............................... 11 44 20 30 1,118 5,426 1,815 4,947 Computer and electronic products ........ 11 32 12 17 742 3,729 1,235 1,330 Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 5 24 6 12 3,211 3,409 1,693 3,127 Transportation equipment ................ 21 286 27 52 7,400 69,393 6,855 14,934 Furniture and related products .......... 10 26 3 9 912 2,917 383 567 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 10 20 8 ( 2 ) 842 2,172 910 ( 2 ) Wholesale trade ............................. 14 33 15 29 1,028 2,889 1,259 2,073 Retail trade ................................ 68 102 72 190 5,974 10,765 5,434 20,202 Transportation and warehousing .............. 21 123 50 46 1,692 11,543 5,878 5,641 Information ................................. 26 32 21 40 3,455 5,599 6,889 5,871 Finance and insurance ....................... 16 18 14 29 1,211 1,416 1,493 2,242 Real estate and rental and leasing .......... ( 2 ) 12 ( 2 ) 13 ( 2 ) 1,083 ( 2 ) 782 Professional and technical services ......... 19 51 18 28 1,709 7,387 3,104 2,495 Management of companies and enterprises ..... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Administrative and waste services ........... 106 239 84 192 10,255 23,794 6,764 18,794 Educational services......................... ( 2 ) 16 6 10 ( 2 ) 1,118 454 1,467 Health care and social assistance ........... 15 56 19 128 975 4,000 1,227 14,460 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 21 34 7 33 1,366 2,517 486 5,528 Accommodation and food services ............. 61 73 35 200 4,173 5,857 2,436 23,548 Other services, except public administration. 8 10 9 28 525 619 1,400 2,101 Unclassified ............................... 1 4 1 3 71 354 96 154 Government ...................................... 39 132 35 125 4,055 12,966 3,371 28,893 Federal ..................................... 5 19 8 10 364 2,243 1,041 957 State ....................................... 3 20 11 34 233 1,553 862 4,895 Local ....................................... 31 93 16 81 3,458 9,170 1,468 23,041 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 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2003 to September 2005, not seasonally adjusted 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 2003 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 1,190 227,909 31.9 56.3 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 1,690 326,328 39.4 73.5 2004 January ................. 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 February ................ 941 84,201 832 76,577 March ................... 920 92,554 847 87,782 First Quarter ........... 4,289 416,209 3,905 385,046 1,339 238,392 34.3 61.9 April ................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 May ..................... 988 87,501 878 78,786 June .................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 Second Quarter .......... 3,825 379,403 3,271 332,247 1,358 254,063 41.5 76.5 July .................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 August .................. 809 69,033 745 63,876 September ............... 708 68,972 637 63,102 Third Quarter ........... 3,611 391,934 3,242 361,855 886 148,549 27.3 41.1 October ................. 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 November ................ 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 December ................ 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 Fourth Quarter .......... 4,255 419,612 3,789 385,016 1,427 262,049 37.7 68.1 2005 January ................. 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 February ................ 810 74,644 722 68,372 March ................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 First Quarter ........... 4,180 427,533 3,876 405,574 1,144 186,030 29.5 45.9 April ................... 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 May ..................... 986 101,358 891 93,332 June .................... 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 Second Quarter .......... 3,516 380,403 3,095 344,772 (2)(p) 1,056 (2)(p) 150,140 (p)34.1 (p)43.5 July .................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 August(p) ............... 645 67,582 598 63,484 September(p) ............ 1,548 190,906 1,400 160,630 Third Quarter(p) ........ 4,174 502,704 3,743 446,491 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. Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, not seasonally adjusted Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Census region and division September July August September September July August September 2004 2005 2005p 2005p 2004 2005 2005p 2005p United States(1) ... 708 1,981 645 1,548 68,972 244,216 67,582 190,906 Northeast .................. 101 319 126 118 8,801 32,958 13,090 9,790 New England ............ 9 45 23 14 637 4,353 1,868 1,247 Middle Atlantic ........ 92 274 103 104 8,164 28,605 11,222 8,543 South ...................... 204 415 170 965 19,467 44,995 18,286 129,647 South Atlantic ......... 123 193 92 81 10,152 18,350 8,771 10,247 East South Central ..... 41 136 34 147 5,643 17,428 5,988 26,533 West South Central ..... 40 86 44 737 3,672 9,217 3,527 92,867 Midwest .................... 125 695 138 164 16,380 114,158 14,023 22,952 East North Central ..... 99 581 111 136 13,827 94,359 10,618 19,035 West North Central ..... 26 114 27 28 2,553 19,799 3,405 3,917 West ....................... 278 552 211 301 24,324 52,105 22,183 28,517 Mountain ............... 15 56 17 22 1,163 5,836 1,717 1,901 Pacific ................ 263 496 194 279 23,161 46,269 20,466 26,616 1 See footnote 1, table 3. 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 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally adjusted Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State September July August September September July August September 2004 2005 2005p 2005p 2004 2005 2005p 2005p Total(1) ............. 708 1,981 645 1,548 68,972 244,216 67,582 190,906 Alabama ................. 18 58 5 20 1,793 6,449 709 1,968 Alaska .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 280 Arizona ................. - 22 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 2,288 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Arkansas ................ ( 2 ) 8 3 - ( 2 ) 698 201 - California .............. 246 445 182 260 21,752 41,741 19,530 24,865 Colorado ................ 3 5 ( 2 ) 3 199 434 ( 2 ) 185 Connecticut ............. ( 2 ) 7 4 3 ( 2 ) 553 397 254 Delaware ................ - - - - - - - - District of Columbia .... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Florida ................. 86 86 35 40 6,349 6,526 2,031 3,314 Georgia ................. 11 46 22 14 815 4,374 3,488 3,230 Hawaii .................. ( 2 ) 3 - 3 ( 2 ) 246 - 249 Idaho ................... 3 7 6 3 331 981 684 239 Illinois ................ 26 57 27 46 2,567 6,808 2,128 5,779 Indiana ................. 19 82 10 13 2,767 15,176 1,000 2,336 Iowa .................... 6 23 6 3 764 5,154 1,755 996 Kansas .................. 4 8 5 3 380 720 487 259 Kentucky ................ 11 62 13 24 2,892 9,576 3,954 4,779 Louisiana ............... 5 20 11 684 402 1,916 596 87,449 Maine ................... - 4 ( 2 ) 3 - 303 ( 2 ) 224 Maryland ................ 5 8 3 - 529 811 219 - Massachusetts ........... 6 24 12 4 439 2,333 873 493 Michigan ................ 23 248 29 23 5,997 34,561 2,838 3,235 Minnesota ............... 6 27 6 7 441 4,573 502 741 Mississippi ............. 3 5 6 96 314 374 481 19,098 Missouri ................ 3 49 6 10 195 8,285 404 981 Montana ................. - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Nebraska ................ 6 6 3 4 646 991 200 811 Nevada .................. 7 13 5 12 471 1,084 648 997 New Hampshire ........... - 5 - 3 - 497 - 217 New Jersey .............. 11 37 20 19 1,630 3,325 1,786 1,867 New Mexico .............. ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 287 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New York ................ 31 107 42 40 2,950 12,136 6,164 3,213 North Carolina .......... 10 19 10 6 712 2,121 1,323 601 North Dakota ............ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio .................... 16 115 26 24 1,352 25,306 2,881 4,353 Oklahoma ................ ( 2 ) 7 - 3 ( 2 ) 1,303 - 360 Oregon .................. 6 26 ( 2 ) 3 370 2,399 ( 2 ) 342 Pennsylvania ............ 50 130 41 45 3,584 13,144 3,272 3,463 Rhode Island ............ ( 2 ) 3 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 419 326 ( 2 ) South Carolina .......... 6 11 9 14 921 1,627 678 1,907 South Dakota ............ - - - - - - - - Tennessee ............... 9 11 10 7 644 1,029 844 688 Texas ................... 32 51 30 50 2,965 5,300 2,730 5,058 Utah .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Vermont ................. - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Virginia ................ 5 20 11 6 826 2,589 918 1,086 Washington .............. 7 21 10 10 819 1,809 730 880 West Virginia ........... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin ............... 15 79 19 30 1,144 12,508 1,771 3,332 Wyoming ................. - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ............. 30 12 8 20 4,059 1,270 1,210 2,245 1 See footnote 1, table 3. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.