Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 07-1924 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, December 21, 2007 MASS LAYOFFS IN NOVEMBER 2007 In November, employers took 1,300 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 employer; the number of workers involved totaled 136,924, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events in November decreased by 20 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims rose by 5,144. Over the month, 402 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 55,926 initial claims. Compared with October, mass layoff activity in manufacturing decreased by 22 events, and initial claims decreased by 367. (See table 1.) From January through November 2007, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 13,734, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,408,852, were higher than in January-November 2006 when the totals were 12,627 and 1,328,251, respectively. The national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in November, unchanged from the prior month and up from November 2006 (4.5 percent). Total nonfarm pay- roll employment increased by 94,000 in November 2007 and by 1.5 million from a year earlier. Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 32 percent of all such initial claims in November. The industry with the highest number of initial claims was highway, street, and bridge construction with 13,305, followed by temporary help services (12,079) and automobile manufacturing (8,416). Together, these three industries accounted for 17 percent of all initial claims due to mass layoffs during the month. (See table A.) The manufacturing sector accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff events and 38 percent of all related initial claims filed in November; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 35 percent of events and 43 percent of initial claims. In November 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (23,323, largely in automobile manufacturing), followed by wood product manufacturing (8,094) and food manufacturing (6,642). (See table 3.) - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in November 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | November peak Industry |Initial |---------------------- | claims | | | | Year |Initial claims -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Highway, street, and bridge construction..| 13,305 | 2001 | 14,805 Temporary help services ..................| 12,079 | 2000 | 19,023 Automobile manufacturing .................| 8,416 | 2007 | 8,416 Food service contractors .................| 6,163 | 2007 | 6,163 Motion picture and video production ......| 4,565 | 2000 | 8,664 School and employee bus transportation ...| 4,547 | 2007 | 4,547 Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ..| 4,062 | 1999 | 11,613 Air-conditioning, refrigeration, and | | | forced air heating ......................| 3,768 | 2007 | 3,768 Professional employer organizations ......| 3,419 | 2002 | 4,088 Household refrigerator and home freeze | | | manufacturing ...........................| (1) | 1999 | 5,602 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. Construction accounted for 18 percent of events and 14 percent of initial claims in November, primarily from highway, street, and bridge construction. Administrative and waste services made up 12 percent of mass layoff events and 11 percent of initial claims, primarily from temporary help services and professional employer organizations. Accom- modation and food services comprised 6 percent of all mass layoff events and 5 percent of related initial claims, mainly from food service contrac- tors. Eight percent of all mass layoff events and 5 percent of related initial claims filed were from the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry, largely from farm labor contractors and crew leaders. On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in November, at 1,799, was up by 484 from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 62,034 to 198,220. (See table 2.) This is due in part to a calendar effect; November 2007 contained 5 weeks for possible mass layoffs compared with 4 weeks in November last year. (See the Technical Note for an explanation of how the number of weeks for data collection can vary from month to month. Also, note that adjustments are made for the calendar effects in the previously mentioned seasonally adjusted series.) The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (+9,971) and administrative and support services (+9,145). The largest over-the-year decrease in mass layoff initial claims was reported in fabricated metal product manufacturing (-1,369). Layoff activity in credit intermediation and related activities registered an over-the-year increase for the ninth consecutive month. Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in November due to mass layoffs was in the Midwest, with 62,163. Transporta- tion equipment manufacturing and heavy and civil engineering construction together accounted for 45 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The West had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions with 59,152, followed by the South with 42,139 and the Northeast with 34,766. (See table 5.) The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in all four regions--the West (+20,292), the South (+14,603), the Northeast (+14,043), and the Midwest (+13,096)--although this may be due, in part, to the calendar effect. All 9 geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increases in the Pacific (+17,856), East North Central (+12,661), and Middle Atlantic (+12,379) divisions. - 3 - California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in November (44,127), reflecting layoffs in administrative and support services and in agriculture and forestry support activities. Other states with large numbers of mass layoff related claims were Pennsylvania (17,120), Michigan (15,578), and Wisconsin (13,663). These four states accounted for 47 percent of all mass layoff events and 46 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance in November. (See table 6.) California had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+16,694); this was partially due to more mass layoff activity in ad- ministrative and support services. States having the next largest increases in initial claims were Pennsylvania (+8,602), Michigan (+4,942), New York (+4,740), and Georgia (+3,596). The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in North Carolina (-966) and New Jersey (-963). 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 employers, 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 nature of the layoff and the location of the employer, 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 Mass Layoffs in December 2007 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, January 24, 2008. The reference months and release dates for the balance of 2008 are as follows: Jan. - Feb. 27 April - May 22 July - Aug. 22 Oct. - Nov. 21 Feb. - March 21 May - June 20 Aug. - Sept. 23 Nov. - Dec. 19 March - April 23 June - July 23 Sept. - Oct. 22 - 4 - -------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data | | | | In accordance with usual practice, the Mass Layoffs release| |for December 2007, scheduled for January 24, 2008, will incor-| |porate annual updating of seasonal adjustment factors. Sea- | |sonally adjusted estimates back to January 2003 are subject | |to revision. | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Upcoming Changes to Mass Layoff Data | | | | With the release of January 2008 data on February 27, | |2008, the Mass Layoff Statistics program will revise the basis| |for industry classification from the 2002 North American In- | |dustry Classification System (NAICS) to the 2007 NAICS. The | |new classification reflects minor definitional changes within | |manufacturing, telecommunications, financial activities, and | |professional, scientific, and technical services. Several | |industry titles and descriptions will also be updated. | | | | For additional information on the 2007 NAICS, see | |http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- - 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 employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These employers 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 Employer. Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state unemployment insurance laws. Information on employers is obtained from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 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 employer 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, December 2003 to November 2007, seasonally adjusted Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2003 December ................... 1,412 139,423 1,243 127,356 445 50,923 2004 January .................... 1,428 146,692 1,232 128,191 394 45,544 February ................... 1,320 134,626 1,170 122,329 367 40,849 March ...................... 1,372 139,716 1,237 130,737 401 59,987 April ...................... 1,374 140,190 1,202 124,962 349 38,197 May ........................ 1,209 113,091 1,047 99,615 330 38,965 June ....................... 1,403 141,048 1,231 128,137 366 47,015 July ....................... 1,330 137,484 1,180 126,106 372 51,424 August ..................... 1,394 127,671 1,224 113,376 345 36,963 September .................. 1,277 125,351 1,154 115,343 338 46,955 October .................... 1,288 132,250 1,172 122,831 362 47,571 November ................... 1,314 130,558 1,171 118,904 378 46,276 December ................... 1,170 114,641 1,013 103,434 301 33,022 2005 January .................... 1,489 160,986 1,353 150,640 383 56,133 February ................... 1,172 123,377 1,045 112,752 358 45,794 March ...................... 1,219 132,035 1,079 122,013 377 55,061 April ...................... 1,263 137,381 1,132 126,747 398 60,826 May ........................ 1,226 133,221 1,085 120,899 382 54,886 June ....................... 1,194 126,834 1,074 117,712 359 57,018 July ....................... 1,248 131,500 1,101 118,800 353 47,136 August ..................... 1,109 123,125 986 111,879 338 46,915 September .................. 2,217 292,177 1,998 246,227 419 56,289 October .................... 1,098 108,665 977 99,402 321 44,666 November ................... 1,167 115,803 1,036 104,576 330 43,307 December ................... 1,253 135,721 1,125 124,632 372 48,592 2006 January .................... 1,112 109,429 984 99,277 282 29,911 February ................... 1,065 112,742 973 105,055 329 46,548 March ...................... 1,105 120,954 1,003 112,730 335 50,149 April ...................... 1,175 121,376 1,041 111,369 365 48,038 May ........................ 1,098 113,195 982 103,839 297 42,993 June ....................... 1,130 123,558 1,007 113,037 331 40,500 July ....................... 1,160 118,843 1,038 109,509 372 49,069 August ..................... 1,218 131,105 1,083 120,923 367 58,983 September .................. 1,158 120,795 1,043 111,876 392 46,802 October .................... 1,186 119,914 1,069 111,036 401 55,795 November ................... 1,220 136,340 1,111 127,286 411 60,599 December ................... 1,201 133,818 1,099 124,526 390 53,828 2007 January .................... 1,237 126,368 1,095 115,615 389 51,141 February ................... 1,280 143,977 1,166 135,252 419 64,072 March ...................... 1,276 130,687 1,165 122,150 420 54,441 April ...................... 1,239 126,194 1,109 115,870 387 43,939 May ........................ 1,182 118,414 1,079 110,880 365 48,872 June ....................... 1,219 127,897 1,094 117,787 340 39,273 July ....................... 1,221 124,835 1,115 116,744 383 50,036 August ..................... 1,189 118,120 1,092 110,946 325 35,676 September .................. 1,271 123,656 1,173 116,775 428 50,636 October .................... 1,320 131,780 1,201 123,051 424 56,293 November ................... 1,300 136,924 1,188 128,807 402 55,926 Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, December 2003 to November 2007, not seasonally adjusted Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2003 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 ..................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 188 22,531 September .................. 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 318 47,497 October .................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 249 37,276 November ................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 363 41,442 December ................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 706 96,382 2006 January .................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 331 35,097 February ................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 210 24,892 March ...................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 285 44,688 April ...................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 296 39,538 May ........................ 872 84,809 794 78,663 192 23,570 June ....................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 319 41,095 July ....................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 648 96,152 August ..................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 203 28,494 September .................. 865 87,699 785 81,274 296 39,076 October .................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 311 46,737 November ................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 455 58,473 December ................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 735 105,462 2007 January .................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 456 53,615 February ................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 273 36,170 March ...................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 367 49,886 April ...................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 309 35,229 May ........................ 923 85,816 856 81,153 224 26,527 June ....................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 313 36,571 July ....................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 684 101,390 August ..................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 220 23,361 September .................. 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381 October .................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918 November ................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 514 75,413 Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry November September October November November September October November 2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007 2007 2007 Seasonally adjusted Total ..................................... 1,220 1,271 1,320 1,300 136,340 123,656 131,780 136,924 Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,111 1,173 1,201 1,188 127,286 116,775 123,051 128,807 Manufacturing ............................... 411 428 424 402 60,599 50,636 56,293 55,926 Not seasonally adjusted Total (1) ................................. 1,315 717 1,083 1,799 136,186 67,385 108,455 198,220 Total, private .................................. 1,273 688 1,033 1,729 132,337 65,205 103,897 191,917 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 101 21 104 136 7,328 1,179 6,181 10,733 Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,172 667 929 1,593 125,009 64,026 97,716 181,184 Mining ...................................... 7 (2) (2) 11 648 (2) (2) 928 Utilities ................................... 3 - - (2) 161 - - (2) Construction ................................ 212 70 114 324 17,364 4,283 7,126 28,277 Manufacturing ............................... 455 246 338 514 58,473 29,381 50,918 75,413 Food .................................... 59 31 50 62 7,222 2,873 5,264 6,642 Beverage and tobacco products ........... 8 (2) 8 9 502 (2) 603 746 Textile mills ........................... 14 4 8 27 2,247 448 732 5,381 Textile product mills ................... 9 4 4 5 1,325 410 232 608 Apparel ................................. 6 12 6 10 820 1,180 408 625 Leather and allied products ............. (2) - (2) 4 (2) - (2) 376 Wood products ........................... 53 27 31 69 5,044 2,461 3,582 8,094 Paper ................................... 9 5 10 9 854 389 708 696 Printing and related support activities . (2) (2) 7 11 (2) (2) 434 763 Petroleum and coal products ............. 8 - (2) 8 635 - (2) 624 Chemicals ............................... 6 3 6 6 489 186 907 668 Plastics and rubber products ............ 24 13 11 27 2,716 1,066 1,133 2,568 Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 17 9 8 24 1,991 941 440 2,493 Primary metals .......................... 28 15 16 27 3,154 1,678 1,579 2,955 Fabricated metal products ............... 35 16 18 24 3,710 1,473 1,367 2,341 Machinery ............................... 34 19 18 40 6,563 3,021 5,459 6,289 Computer and electronic products ........ 21 15 10 13 1,711 1,381 674 987 Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 11 10 12 15 2,588 2,881 1,516 5,418 Transportation equipment ................ 79 51 88 93 13,352 7,759 23,399 23,323 Furniture and related products .......... 21 7 18 23 2,075 791 1,504 3,164 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 9 (2) 5 8 1,145 (2) 538 652 Wholesale trade ............................. 17 17 13 40 1,328 1,053 1,571 3,095 Retail trade ................................ 54 67 66 93 4,681 5,657 5,881 8,199 Transportation and warehousing .............. 48 17 31 82 3,583 1,415 3,153 7,499 Information ................................. 20 32 33 28 6,096 5,420 3,645 5,386 Finance and insurance ....................... 23 40 60 43 1,376 2,649 4,640 3,898 Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 5 3 8 7 270 285 616 539 Professional and technical services ......... 27 23 26 51 3,137 2,683 1,968 7,435 Management of companies and enterprises ..... 5 (2) 5 (2) 387 (2) 382 (2) Administrative and waste services ........... 158 85 140 217 12,907 6,325 10,778 22,050 Educational services ........................ 3 (2) (2) - 200 (2) (2) - Health care and social assistance ........... 21 13 20 24 1,696 998 1,708 2,522 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 27 11 21 36 2,266 716 1,521 3,543 Accommodation and food services ............. 81 37 47 107 9,883 2,681 3,346 10,865 Other services, except public administration 6 (2) 3 10 553 (2) 175 1,062 Unclassified ................................ - - 1 1 - - 74 57 Government ...................................... 42 29 50 70 3,849 2,180 4,558 6,303 Federal ..................................... 10 5 16 19 970 408 1,412 1,928 State ....................................... 12 7 16 20 1,057 777 1,431 1,786 Local ....................................... 20 17 18 31 1,822 995 1,715 2,589 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 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2005 to November 2007, not seasonally adjusted Private nonfarm Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs Date Mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates (1) Initial Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2005 October .................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 November ................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 December ................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,482 462,326 4,004 425,629 1,400 246,188 35.0 57.8 2006 January .................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 February ................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 March ...................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 First Quarter .............. 2,885 296,339 2,637 277,086 963 193,510 36.5 69.8 April ...................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 May ........................ 872 84,809 794 78,663 June ....................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 Second Quarter ............. 3,501 371,159 3,056 332,314 1,353 264,927 44.3 79.7 July ....................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 August ..................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 September .................. 865 87,699 785 81,274 Third Quarter .............. 3,084 327,400 2,776 304,670 929 161,764 33.5 53.1 October .................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 November ................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 December ................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,528 489,493 4,118 457,925 1,640 330,887 39.8 72.3 2007 January .................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 February ................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 March ...................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 First Quarter .............. 3,424 345,654 3,139 325,003 1,111 198,991 35.4 61.2 April ...................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 May ........................ 923 85,816 856 81,153 June ....................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 Second Quarter ............. 3,741 386,070 3,289 347,862 1,421 258,256 43.2 74.2 July ....................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 August ..................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 September .................. 717 67,385 667 64,026 Third Quarter .............. 3,279 336,262 3,025 317,310 (2)(p)931 (2)(p)115,742 (p)30.8 (p)36.5 October .................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 November ................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 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 November September October November November September October November 2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007 2007 2007 United States (1) ... 1,315 717 1,083 1,799 136,186 67,385 108,455 198,220 Northeast ................... 207 96 141 355 20,723 8,660 12,152 34,766 New England ............. 25 10 9 38 2,090 756 614 3,754 Middle Atlantic ......... 182 86 132 317 18,633 7,904 11,538 31,012 South ....................... 227 160 230 350 27,536 15,913 23,180 42,139 South Atlantic .......... 113 78 131 180 12,800 6,303 11,952 19,924 East South Central ...... 54 38 51 91 6,109 5,018 6,791 9,831 West South Central ...... 60 44 48 79 8,627 4,592 4,437 12,384 Midwest ..................... 429 156 261 483 49,067 17,273 38,853 62,163 East North Central ...... 333 119 215 389 39,291 13,995 32,840 51,952 West North Central ...... 96 37 46 94 9,776 3,278 6,013 10,211 West ........................ 452 305 451 611 38,860 25,539 34,270 59,152 Mountain ................ 49 23 38 76 4,457 2,166 2,905 6,893 Pacific ................. 403 282 413 535 34,403 23,373 31,365 52,259 1 See footnote 1, table 3. 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 November September October November November September October November 2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007 2007 2007 Total (1) ............ 1,315 717 1,083 1,799 136,186 67,385 108,455 198,220 Alabama ................. 12 18 10 29 1,512 1,836 1,037 2,917 Alaska .................. 6 (2) - 8 716 (2) - 780 Arizona ................. (2) (2) 7 3 (2) (2) 610 197 Arkansas ................ 5 6 10 12 1,014 565 1,486 2,678 California .............. 327 256 380 455 27,433 21,144 28,004 44,127 Colorado ................ 9 3 4 14 691 261 322 1,244 Connecticut ............. 3 (2) (2) 3 318 (2) (2) 232 Delaware ................ - (2) (2) 3 - (2) (2) 356 District of Columbia .... - - - - - - - - Florida ................. 35 47 79 73 2,207 2,985 5,082 4,499 Georgia ................. 28 18 21 39 3,904 1,633 2,835 7,500 Hawaii .................. (2) (2) (2) 5 (2) (2) (2) 390 Idaho ................... 12 3 3 21 963 222 192 2,101 Illinois ................ 55 31 39 67 5,849 3,486 7,710 7,704 Indiana ................. 44 11 29 52 7,285 2,826 5,129 7,638 Iowa .................... 19 8 15 23 2,352 840 1,662 2,503 Kansas .................. 7 4 3 (2) 822 295 347 (2) Kentucky ................ 24 14 28 34 3,341 2,611 3,449 4,747 Louisiana ............... 13 8 7 6 1,229 563 453 1,672 Maine ................... 4 (2) - 6 322 (2) - 467 Maryland ................ 9 6 7 11 1,236 431 702 1,446 Massachusetts ........... 9 3 4 18 665 196 234 1,495 Michigan ................ 82 24 51 92 10,636 2,844 5,187 15,578 Minnesota ............... 39 4 9 41 3,360 524 745 4,315 Mississippi ............. 8 4 (2) 12 443 471 183 839 Missouri ................ 26 16 18 19 2,448 1,141 3,165 2,312 Montana ................. 7 (2) 5 8 789 (2) 430 760 Nebraska ................ (2) 5 (2) 4 (2) 478 (2) 402 Nevada .................. 15 7 14 18 1,704 529 1,027 1,713 New Hampshire ........... (2) - - (2) (2) - - (2) New Jersey .............. 47 19 16 50 7,197 1,985 1,327 6,234 New Mexico .............. 5 3 (2) (2) 258 644 (2) (2) New York ................ 33 24 28 82 2,918 1,914 3,202 7,658 North Carolina .......... 13 (2) 3 4 1,423 (2) 212 457 North Dakota ............ 4 - - 4 406 - - 444 Ohio .................... 48 29 53 68 4,998 2,579 10,896 7,369 Oklahoma ................ 5 5 (2) 6 890 858 (2) 1,198 Oregon .................. 32 15 17 37 2,668 1,324 2,106 3,866 Pennsylvania ............ 102 43 88 185 8,518 4,005 7,009 17,120 Rhode Island ............ (2) - 3 - (2) - 249 - South Carolina .......... 16 3 13 28 1,994 242 2,504 3,038 South Dakota ............ - - - (2) - - - (2) Tennessee ............... 10 (2) 11 16 813 (2) 2,122 1,328 Texas ................... 37 25 30 55 5,494 2,606 2,414 6,836 Utah .................... - 3 (2) 9 - 220 (2) 658 Vermont ................. 6 4 (2) 10 582 331 (2) 1,500 Virginia ................ 11 (2) 6 18 1,979 (2) 465 2,384 Washington .............. 36 8 14 30 3,390 616 1,058 3,096 West Virginia ........... (2) - (2) 4 (2) - (2) 244 Wisconsin ............... 104 24 43 110 10,523 2,260 3,918 13,663 Wyoming ................. - - (2) (2) - - (2) (2) Puerto Rico ............. 7 8 11 15 626 750 894 1,385 1 See footnote 1, table 3. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.