Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 07-0711 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, May 16, 2007 EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2007 In the first quarter of 2007, there were 965 mass layoff events that resulted in the separation of 139,269 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total number of layoff events was essentially unchanged from the January-March 2006 time period, while the number of separations was sharply lower. (See table A.) Over-the-year decreases in separations were largest in general merchandise stores, admin- istrative and support services, and transportation equipment manufacturing. Extended layoffs in the first quarter of 2007 averaged 144 separations, down significantly from 190 reported in the first quarter of 2006. Much of the decline reflects a reduction in layoffs involving 500 or more workers. Among the 7 categories of economic reasons for layoff, activity related to business demand factors accounted for the highest share of events (41 percent) and separations (50,621) in January-March 2007. Layoffs due to seasonal rea- sons had the next highest proportion of events (24 percent). (See table B.) Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 13 percent of all events and af- fected 24,865 workers, the lowest number of separations due to permanent closures for any first quarter since the program began in April 1995. Ex- tended mass layoffs that involve the movement of work within the same company or to a different company, either domestically or outside the U.S., occurred in 8 percent of the nonseasonal layoff events, accounting for 9 percent of worker separations related to nonseasonal events. (See table C.) Job loss due to domestic relocation of work (either within the company or to another company) accounted for nearly three-quarters of separations associated with movement of work. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Changes to Mass Layoff Data | | | | Beginning with data for the first quarter of 2007,the Bureau | | of Labor Statistics is introducing improvements to the collection | | and presentation of data on economic reasons for extended mass | | layoffs. Clearer definitions and titles for many of the current | | reasons are being used, and four new reasons are being added. | | Moreover, seven higher-level categories--business demand, disaster/ | | safety, financial, organizational, production, seasonal, and other/ | | miscellaneous--are used to aggregate and report the detailed econo- | | mic reasons for layoff. Because of these changes, data beginning | | with the first quarter of 2007 are not strictly comparable to pre- | | vious quarters. For additional information on the changes to the | | MLS reasons, including detailed definitions of each reason and a | | crosswalk of the old to the new reasons, please see http://www. | | bls.gov/mls/home.htm or call (202) 691-6392. | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 2 - Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Period | Layoff events | Separations | Initial claimants | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | 2003 | | | | | | January-March ........| 1,502 | 286,947 | 297,608 April-June ...........| 1,799 | 368,273 | 348,966 July-September .......| 1,190 | 236,333 | 227,909 October-December .....| 1,690 | 325,333 | 326,328 | | | 2004 | | | | | | January-March ........| 1,339 | 276,503 | 238,392 April-June ...........| 1,358 | 278,831 | 254,063 July-September .......| 886 | 164,608 | 148,575 October-December .....| 1,427 | 273,967 | 262,049 | | | 2005 | | | | | | January-March ........| 1,142 | 186,506 | 185,486 April-June ...........| 1,203 | 246,099 | 212,673 July-September........| 1,136 | 201,878 | 190,186 October-December .....| 1,400 | 250,178 | 246,188 | | | 2006 | | | | | | January-March (r).....| 963 | 183,089 | 193,510 April-June (r) .......| 1,353 | 295,886 | 264,807 July-September (r)....| 929 | 160,252 | 161,716 October-December (r)..| 1,640 | 296,578 | 330,124 | | | 2007 | | | | | | January-March (p).....| 965 | 139,269 | 122,595 | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- r = revised. p = preliminary. The national unemployment rate averaged 4.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the first quarter of 2007; a year earlier it was 5.0 percent. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, increased by 1.6 percent, or about 1.8 million, from January-March 2006 to January-March 2007. Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs Manufacturing industries accounted for 33 percent of private nonfarm ex- tended layoff events and 37 percent of related separations during January- March 2007, slightly higher proportions when compared with first quarter 2006. (See table 1.) In the first quarter of 2007, the greatest number of separations in the manufacturing sector was in transportation equipment manufacturing (14,722, mostly associated with motor vehicles). The next highest number of separations was in food manufacturing (8,919). The construction sector accounted for 29 percent of the extended lay- off events and 20 percent of the separations, mostly in specialty trade contractors and in heavy and civil engineering construction. Layoffs in the retail trade sector comprised 8 percent of events and 14 percent of separations, mostly in general merchandise stores and in nonstore re- tailers. Administrative and waste services accounted for 7 percent of private nonfarm layoff events and separations, largely in temporary help services. Cutbacks in finance and insurance accounted for 5 percent of events and separations and were concentrated in credit intermediation and related activities. - 3 - Table B. Distribution of extended layoff events and separations by economic reason categories, January-March 2007p ---------------------------------------------------------------- | Layoff events | Separations Category |--------------------------------------- | Number | Percent | Number | Percent ------------------------|--------------------------------------- | | | | Total ................| 965 | 100.0 | 139,269 | 100.0 | | | | Business demand.........| 392 | 40.6 | 50,621 | 36.3 Organizational changes .| 102 | 10.6 | 15,737 | 11.3 Financial issues .......| 87 | 9.0 | 17,188 | 12.3 Production specific ....| 20 | 2.1 | 3,458 | 2.5 Disaster/safety ........| 20 | 2.1 | 1,639 | 1.2 Seasonal ...............| 235 | 24.4 | 35,929 | 25.8 Other/miscellaneous ....| 109 | 11.3 | 14,697 | 10.6 | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------- p = preliminary. Information technology-producing industries (communications equipment, communications services, computer hardware, and software and computer services) accounted for 3 percent of layoff events and 2 percent of worker separations in the first quarter of 2007, the same percentages as a year earlier. (See table 6.) Reasons for Extended Layoff Among the 7 categories of economic reasons for extended mass lay- offs, events related to business demand factors (contract cancellation, contract completion, domestic competition, excess inventory, import competition, and slack work) accounted for 41 percent of the extended layoffs and resulted in 50,621 separations in the first quarter of 2007. (See table 2.) These reasons were often cited in layoffs within trans- portation equipment manufacturing and in specialty trade contractors. Seasonal reasons (seasonal and vacation period) accounted for 24 per- cent of events, and resulted in 35,929 separations during the first quarter. Seasonal layoffs were most numerous in layoffs from general merchandise stores, followed by food manufacturing. Layoffs associated with organizational changes (business ownership change and reorganization or restructuring) amounted to about 11 percent of both events and separations. About 70 percent of the 15,737 separations for this category was due to company reorganization or restructuring. - 4 - Table C. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, first quarter 2007p ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Action | Layoff events | Separations | | -----------------------------------|-----------------|----------------- | | Total, private nonfarm ............| 965 | 139,269 | | Total, excluding seasonal | | and vacation events (1) ......| 722 | 102,767 | | Total events with movement | | of work (2) ................| 58 | 9,447 | | Movement of work actions ...| 71 | (3) With separations reported.| 53 | 7,407 With separations unknown .| 18 | (3) | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers when the reason for layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period. 2 A layoff event can involve more than one movement of work action. 3 Data are not available. p = preliminary. Job losses related to financial issues (bankruptcy, cost control, and financial difficulty) accounted for 9 percent of events and resulted in 17,188 separations. These layoffs were mostly among workers in credit intermediation and related activities and in food manufacturing. Over-the-year decreases in separations were reported in 6 of the 7 categories of reasons for layoffs, with the largest decline occurring in organizational change (-21,703), followed by production specific factors (-6,042), and seasonal reasons (-5,712). Separations due to financial issues registered the only over-the-year increase (+2,687). Movement of Work Between January and March of 2007, 58 extended mass layoff events involved the movement of work; this was 8 percent of total extended mass layoff events, excluding those for seasonal and vacation reasons. (See table C.) These movements of work were to other U.S. locations or to locations outside of the U.S., and they occurred either within the same company or to other companies. The extended mass layoff events involving movement of work were associated with the separation of 9,447 workers, 9 percent of all separations resulting from nonseasonal/nonvacation mass layoff events. A year earlier, there were 53 layoff events and 10,519 separations associated with the movement of work. (See table 10.) - 5 - Table D. Movement of work actions by type of separation where the number of separations is known by employers, first quarter 2007p -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Activities | Actions (1) | Separations | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | With separations reported ......| 53 | 7,407 | | By location | | | | Out-of-country relocations ..| 12 | 1,830 Within company ............| 11 | 1,781 Different company .........| 1 | 49 | | Domestic relocations ........| 40 | 5,506 Within company ............| 35 | 4,466 Different company .........| 5 | 1,040 | | Unable to assign place of | | relocation ................| 1 | 71 | | By company | | | | Within company ..............| 47 | 6,318 Domestic ..................| 35 | 4,466 Out of country ............| 11 | 1,781 Unable to assign | 1 | 71 | | Different company ...........| 6 | 1,089 Domestic ..................| 5 | 1,040 Out of country ............| 1 | 49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of work were reported are shown. p = preliminary. Among the 58 extended mass layoff events with reported relocation of work, 71 percent were permanent closures of worksites, which affected 7,412 workers. In comparison, 13 percent of the total extended mass lay- off events reported for the first quarter of 2007 involved the permanent closure of worksites. Of the layoffs involving the movement of work, 74 percent of the events and 75 percent of the laid-off workers were from manufacturing industries during the first quarter. (See table 7.) Among all private nonfarm ex- tended layoffs, manufacturing accounted for 33 percent of the events and 37 percent of separations. While 11 percent of the extended mass layoff events in the total private nonfarm economy were because of organizational change (business ownership change and reorganization or restructuring of company), such changes ac- counted for 52 percent of layoff events associated with work relocation and resulted in 5,392 separations during the first quarter. (See table 8.) Most of these were due to reorganization or restructuring of company. - 6 - Table E. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended layoff, first quarter 2006-first quarter 2007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Percentage of events Nature of the recall |__________________________________________ | | | | | | I | II | III | IV | I | 2006 | 2006 | 2006 | 2006(r)| 2007(p) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | Anticipate a recall .......| 43.1 | 59.6 | 42.4 | 56.7 | 41.9 | | | | | Timeframe | | | | | | | | | | Within 6 months ...........| 83.9 | 90.1 | 88.3 | 89.8 | 84.2 Within 3 months .........| 55.2 | 62.0 | 68.8 | 38.9 | 53.2 | | | | | Size | | | | | | | | | | At least half .............| 88.0 | 93.7 | 90.6 | 93.5 | 87.1 All workers .............| 38.1 | 52.2 | 45.7 | 53.7 | 39.1 | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- r = revised. p = preliminary. Among the regions, the Midwest accounted for the largest proportion of workers affected by extended mass layoffs associated with the movement of work (29 percent), followed by the South (26 percent), the Northeast (23 percent), and the West (22 percent). (See table 9.) Some extended mass layoff events involve more than one relocation of work action. For example, an extended mass layoff event at an establish- ment may involve job loss due to movement of work to both another domestic location of the company and a location out of the country. This would be counted as two movement of work actions. The 58 extended layoff events with movement of work for the first quarter of 2007 involved 71 identifi- able relocations of work. (See table C.) An identifiable relocation of work occurs when the employer provides sufficient information on the new location of work and/or the number of workers affected by the movement. Of the 71 relocations, employers were able to provide information on the specific number of separations associated with the movement of work com- ponent of the layoff in 53 actions involving 7,407 workers. Thus, a range of 7,407 (separations in movement of work actions where the employer was able to provide specific detail) to 9,447 (total separations in all layoff events that included movement of work) is established for separations due to the movement of work in the first quarter. (See table 10.) In the 53 actions where employers were able to provide more complete separations information, 89 percent of relocations (47 out of 53) occurred among establishments within the same company. (See table D.) In 74 percent of these relocations (35 out of 47), the work activities were reassigned to places elsewhere in the U.S. - 7 - Table F. Distribution of extended layoff events by size of layoff, January-March 2007p ------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Layoff events | Separations Size |--------------------------------------- | | | | | Number | Percent | Number | Percent ------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | Total ..................| 965 | 100.0 | 139,269 | 100.0 | | | | 50-99 .....................| 510 | 52.8 | 35,652 | 25.6 100-149 ...................| 201 | 20.8 | 23,288 | 16.7 150-199 ...................| 93 | 9.6 | 15,532 | 11.2 200-299 ...................| 87 | 9.0 | 20,287 | 14.6 300-499 ...................| 48 | 5.0 | 17,128 | 12.3 500-999 ...................| 15 | 1.6 | 9,826 | 7.1 1,000 or more .............| 11 | 1.1 | 17,556 | 12.6 ------------------------------------------------------------------- p = preliminary. Twenty-three percent of the movement-of-work relocations involved out-of- country moves (12 out of 53). The separation of 1,830 workers was associated with out-of-country relocations, 2 percent of all nonseasonal/nonvacation ex- tended mass layoff separations. Domestic relocation of work--both within the company and to other companies--affected 5,506 workers. (See table 11.) Recall Expectations Forty-two percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the first quarter of 2007 indicated they anticipated some type of recall, virtually the same as the 43 percent of employers who expected a recall during the first quarter of 2006. (See table E.) Among establishments expecting a recall, most employers anticipated recalling over one-half of the separated employees and to do so within 6 months. Thirty-nine percent of the employers expected to extend the offer to all laid-off workers. Excluding layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period (in which 84 percent of the employers expected a recall), employers anticipated recalling laid-off workers in 28 percent of the events. A year earlier, 30 percent of employers expected a recall in nonseasonal and nonvacation events. In layoff events due to organizational changes, employers anticipated a recall in only 5 percent of events. Size of Extended Layoff The average size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff event) in the first quarter of 2007 was 144 compared to 190 per layoff in 2006. The average differed widely by industry, ranging from a low of 76 in amusement, gambling, and recreation industries to a high of 532 in nonstore retailers. Layoff events during the first quarter of 2007 continued to be concentrated at the lower end of the extended layoff-size spectrum, with 74 percent in- volving fewer than 150 workers, up from 67 percent a year ago. Forty-two percent of all first quarter 2007 separations were in layoffs of this size compared to 31 percent in 2006. Separations involving 500 or more workers, while comprising 3 percent of the events, accounted for 20 percent of all separations, down from 33 percent in January-March 2006. Initial Claimant Characteristics A total of 122,595 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass layoffs in the first quarter of 2007. Of these claimants, 14 percent were black, 18 percent were Hispanic, 35 per- cent were women, 37 percent were 30 to 44 years of age, and 16 percent were 55 years of age or older. (See table 3.) Among persons in the civilian labor force for the same period, 11 percent were black, 14 per- cent were Hispanic, 47 percent were women, 34 percent were age 30 to 44, and 17 percent were 55 years of age or older. - 8 - Table G. Mass layoff events and separations, selected metropolitan areas ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Events | Separations Metropolitan area |-----------------|----------------- | | | | | I | I | I | I | 2006(r)| 2007(p)| 2006(r)| 2007(p) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | Total, nonmetropolitan areas ..............| 123 | 107 | 17,683| 13,830 | | | | Total, 369 metropolitan areas .............| 551 | 558 | 92,520| 75,784 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. | 37 | 58 | 7,521| 8,639 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. .| 49 | 70 | 5,665| 8,588 Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind. ....| 3 | 4 | 273| 4,498 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long | | | | Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ...................| 64 | 31 | 6,993| 3,740 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ....| 24 | 30 | 3,720| 2,855 Detriot-Warren-Livonia, Mich. ............| 31 | 22 | 8,078| 2,766 St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. ......................| 8 | 9 | 1,346| 2,704 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. .| 6 | 21 | 532| 2,265 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, | | | | Calif. .................................| 8 | 11 | 643| 1,974 York-Hanover, Pa. ........................| (1) | 4 | (1) | 1,855 | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. r = revised. p = preliminary. NOTE: The geographic boundaries of the metropolitan areas shown in this table are defined in Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 07-01, December 18, 2006. Geographic Distribution In the first quarter, the number of separations due to extended mass layoff events was highest in the Midwest (44,882), followed by the West (43,583), the South (29,144), and the Northeast (21,660). (See table 4.) Extended mass layoffs in the Midwest were mainly in transportation equip- ment manufacturing and in administrative and support services. All 4 regions reported over-the-year decreases in separations, with the largest decreases occurring in the Midwest (-20,502), followed by the South (-11,478), the Northeast (-11,135), and the West (-705). Six of the 9 geographic divisions reported over-the-year declines in laid-off workers, with the largest declines occurring in the East North Central (-22,194) and South Atlantic (-10,723) divisions. The West North Central division reported the largest increase in separations (+1,692), followed by the Pacific division (+1,563). Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the largest number of worker separations occurred in California (35,159), followed by Illinois (15,558), Ohio (7,748), and Michigan (7,477). These four states accounted for 51 percent of total layoff events and 47 percent of separations during the first quarter of 2007. Other states with high numbers of separations were Pennsylvania (6,459), Kentucky (5,502), Florida (4,800), and New Jersey (4,108). (See table 5.) After excluding the substantial impact of seasonal reasons, California reported the most laid-off workers (25,116), largely due to layoffs in specialty trade contractors and in heavy and civil engineering construction. - 9 - Over the year, Michigan reported the greatest decrease in workers laid off for all reasons during the first quarter (-11,570), followed by New York (-8,051) and Ohio (-6,447). The largest increases occurred in California (+3,112), Missouri (+1,718), and Kentucky (+1,661). Fifty-eight percent of extended layoff events and 54 percent of separa- tions (75,784) occurred in metropolitan areas in the first quarter of 2007, compared with 57 percent of events and 51 percent of separations (95,520) during the first quarter of 2006. Among the 369 metropolitan areas, Chicago- Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., reported the highest number of separations (8,639) in the first quarter of 2007. Next were Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., with 8,588 separations, and Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind., with 4,498 separations. (See table G.) Employers located in nonmetropolitan areas separated 13,830 workers in extended mass layoffs, down from 17,683 workers in the first quarter of 2006. Note The quarterly series on extended mass layoffs cover layoffs of at least 31-days duration that involve 50 or more individuals from a single establish- ment filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a consecutive 5-week period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is triggered at an establishment, the employer is contacted for additional information. Data for the first quarter are preliminary and subject to revision. This release also includes revised data for previous quarters. Data are not seasonally adjusted, but survey data suggest that there is a seasonal pattern to layoffs. Thus, comparisons between consecutive quarters should not be used as an indi- cator of trend. For additional information about the program, see the Technical Note. ______________________________ The report on Mass Layoffs in April 2007 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 23. - 10 - Technical Note The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program which identifies, describes, and tracks the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment insurance database. Establish- ments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period are contacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations are of at least 31 days duration, and, if so, information is obtained on the total number of persons separated and the reasons for these separations. Establishments are identified according to industry classification and location, and unemployment insurance claimants are identified by such demographic factors as age, race, gender, ethnic group, and place of residence. The program yields information on an individual's entire spell of unemployment, to the point when regular unemployment insurance benefits are exhausted. Definitions Establishment. A unit at a single physical location at which predomi- nantly one type of economic activity is conducted. Extended layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits from an establishment during a 5-week period, with at least 50 workers separated for more than 30 days. 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. Layoff. The separation of persons from an employer as part of a mass layoff event. (See below.) Such layoffs involve both persons subject to recall and those who are terminated by the establishment. Mass layoff. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits from an establishment beginning in a given month, regardless of duration. Worksite closure. The complete closure of either multi-unit or single- unit establishments or the partial closure of a multi-unit establishment where entire worksites affected by layoffs are closed or planned to be closed. - 11 - Movement of work concepts and questions Because of the employer interview component, the BLS decided to use the MLS program as a vehicle for collecting additional information on offshoring and outsourcing associated with job loss, by adding questions that address movement of work. The term "moving work" means that the company experiencing the layoff has reassigned work activities that were performed at a worksite by the company's employees (1) to another work- site within the company; (2) to another company under formal arrangements at the same worksite; or (3) to another company under formal arrangements at another worksite. The type of work activities subject to movement can include accounting, customer service, cleaning, warehousing, etc. "Overseas relocation" is the movement of work from within the U.S. to locations outside of the U.S. "Overseas relocation" can occur within the same company and involve movement of work to a different location of that company outside of the U.S., or to a different company altogether. "Domestic relocation" is the movement of work to other locations inside the U.S., either within the same company or to a different company. "Overseas relocation" and "domestic relocation" are no longer used in the same way as they were in earlier extended mass layoff news releases. There- fore, the data presented in this news release are not comparable to those that were presented in earlier news releases. Questions on movement of work and location are asked for all identified layoff events when the reason for separation is other than "seasonal work" or "vacation period." Seasonal and vacation layoff events were excluded because movement of work appears unlikely. Questions on movement of work are asked after the analyst verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more than 30 days, and obtained the total number of workers separated from jobs, the date the layoff began, and the economic reason for the layoff. If the reason for layoff is other than seasonal or vacation, the employer was asked the following: (1) "Did this layoff include your company moving work from this lo- cation(s) to a different geographic location(s) within your company?" (2) "Did this layoff include your company moving work that was performed in-house by your employees to a different company, through contractual ar- rangements?" A "yes" response to either question is followed by: "Is the location inside or outside of the U.S.?" and "How many of the layoffs were a result of this relocation?" Layoff actions are classified as "overseas relocation" if the employer responds "yes" to questions 1 and/or 2, and indicates that the location(s) was outside of the U.S. Domestic relocation is determined if the employer responds "yes" to questions 1 and/or 2 and indicates that the location(s) was within the U.S. After asking the movement of work questions, the employer interview continues and responses are obtained for questions on recall expectations and open/closed status of the worksite. - 12 - Reliability of the data The identification of establishments and layoff events in the MLS program and associated characteristics of claimants is based on admin- istrative data on covered establishments and unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors such as typographical errors may occur but are not likely to be significant. While the MLS establishments and layoff events are not subject to sampling error, and all such employers are asked the employer interview questions, the employer responses are subject to non- sampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the inability to obtain information for all respondents, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. For the first quarter of 2007, outright refusal to participate in the employer interview accounted for 4.2 percent of all private nonfarm events. Although included in the total number of instances involving the movement of work, for the first quarter, employers in 18 relocations were unable to provide the number of separations specifically associated with the movement of work, 7 of which involved out-of-country moves. Other information Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339. Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007 Initial claimants for Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance Industry I IV I I IV I I IV I 2006r 2006r 2007p 2006r 2006r 2007p 2006r 2006r 2007p Total, private nonfarm (1) .................. 963 1,640 965 183,089 296,578 139,269 193,510 330,124 122,595 Mining ....................................... 3 29 7 379 4,632 843 276 4,798 550 Utilities .................................... (2) 3 (2) (2) 454 (2) (2) 517 (2) Construction ................................. 192 567 281 21,341 72,481 27,457 25,865 87,619 27,660 Manufacturing ................................ 301 479 314 63,136 93,789 51,424 77,201 130,403 46,742 Food .................................... 58 78 53 10,916 18,402 8,919 12,300 20,256 6,727 Beverage and tobacco products ........... 9 11 9 1,515 971 1,084 1,540 1,065 1,115 Textile mills ........................... 9 13 10 849 2,504 1,715 1,001 3,135 2,082 Textile product mills ................... 4 6 4 285 743 441 496 1,370 432 Apparel ................................. 16 9 12 2,290 836 1,333 2,355 892 1,050 Leather and allied products ............. (2) 3 (2) (2) 408 (2) (2) 227 (2) Wood products ........................... 12 44 19 1,255 5,134 3,185 1,680 7,963 4,018 Paper ................................... 7 6 8 951 631 900 896 689 790 Printing and related support activities . 10 8 11 1,252 1,004 1,605 1,245 1,192 1,116 Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) 20 (2) (2) 2,931 (2) (2) 3,146 (2) Chemicals .............................. 7 4 8 758 521 1,475 670 439 800 Plastics and rubber products ............ 20 24 14 2,475 3,838 1,736 2,834 4,514 1,286 Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 14 39 28 1,426 6,319 2,965 1,713 7,585 2,806 Primary metals .......................... 11 16 9 4,769 1,678 1,216 3,834 2,187 1,217 Fabricated metal products ............... 14 28 15 1,595 3,512 1,731 1,950 4,387 1,858 Machinery ............................... 19 20 12 3,066 2,563 1,104 1,738 3,922 980 Computer and electronic products ........ 18 20 20 2,740 5,912 2,983 4,276 3,204 1,925 Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 13 14 5 3,680 4,492 516 3,772 7,301 624 Transportation equipment ................ 36 84 46 20,360 25,955 14,722 32,035 51,834 14,662 Furniture and related products .......... 11 23 22 1,557 3,333 2,816 1,688 3,535 2,479 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 9 9 4 892 2,102 555 737 1,560 281 Wholesale trade .............................. 15 26 13 2,279 3,140 1,933 1,488 3,145 1,111 Retail trade ................................. 115 70 77 35,129 27,329 19,017 28,474 22,419 13,443 Transportation and warehousing ............... 44 33 30 11,616 4,964 4,233 9,559 4,833 3,838 Information .................................. 28 23 11 4,212 2,724 1,080 6,204 4,141 1,198 Finance and insurance ........................ 30 52 46 4,696 11,269 6,580 4,835 7,948 5,318 Real estate and rental and leasing ........... (2) 5 6 (2) 401 945 (2) 412 736 Professional and technical services .......... 28 33 22 3,619 5,434 4,305 4,841 7,114 3,562 Management of companies and enterprises ...... 5 6 5 680 1,182 833 614 1,129 425 Administrative and waste services ............ 99 165 64 20,682 30,030 9,654 20,099 31,236 8,970 Educational services ......................... (2) 3 (2) (2) 266 (2) (2) 458 (2) Health care and social assistance ............ 22 20 16 2,626 3,348 2,214 2,036 2,512 1,456 Arts, entertainment, and recreation .......... 23 41 20 3,432 13,589 2,260 2,853 5,283 1,868 Accommodation and food services .............. 46 73 44 7,386 20,071 5,378 7,612 14,751 4,958 Other services, except public administration . 5 12 6 866 1,475 703 653 1,406 411 Unclassified ................................. - - - - - - - - - 1 For the fourth quarter of 2006, data on layoffs were reported by employers in all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. r = revised. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, private arm sector, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007 Initial claimants for Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance Reason for layoff I IV I I IV I I IV I 2006r 2006r 2007(1,p) 2006r 2006r 2007(1,p) 2006r 2006r 2007(1,p) Total, private nonfarm (2) ..... 963 1,640 965 183,089 296,578 139,269 193,510 330,124 122,595 Business demand ................... 361 565 392 55,599 81,305 50,621 67,797 135,498 49,225 Contract cancellation ........... 16 19 19 2,233 2,159 2,580 2,735 2,309 1,880 Contract completion ............. 214 312 180 30,849 41,797 21,122 36,773 58,154 21,640 Domestic competition ............ (3) (3) 7 (3) (3) 885 (3) (3) 714 Excess inventory/saturated market ........................ (3) (3) 14 (3) (3) 3,344 (3) (3) 3,368 Import competition .............. 9 22 22 1,398 3,245 2,474 1,367 3,208 2,029 Slack work/insufficient demand/ non-seasonal business slowdown 122 212 150 21,119 34,104 20,216 26,922 71,827 19,594 Organizational changes ............ 147 143 102 37,440 36,114 15,737 41,240 29,846 10,810 Business-ownership change ....... 31 25 24 8,755 11,277 4,677 7,517 4,546 2,438 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................... 116 118 78 28,685 24,837 11,060 33,723 25,300 8,372 Financial issues .................. 60 64 87 14,501 14,069 17,188 12,922 11,466 13,141 Bankruptcy ...................... 18 15 11 3,999 2,229 2,216 3,158 1,813 1,519 Cost control/cost cutting/ increase profitability ........ (3) (3) 49 (3) (3) 10,890 (3) (3) 8,367 Financial difficulty ............ 42 49 27 10,502 11,840 4,082 9,764 9,653 3,255 Production specific ............... 22 28 20 9,500 9,168 3,458 7,439 5,234 4,182 Automation/technological advances ...................... (4) 3 (4) (4) 271 (4) (4) 353 (4) Energy related .................. - (4) - - (4) - - (4) - Governmental regulations/ intervention .. ............... (3) (3) 4 (3) (3) 568 (3) (3) 342 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ........... 3 (4) (4) 6,470 (4) (4) 3,969 (4) (4) Material or supply shortage ..... - (4) 9 - (4) 791 - (4) 941 Model changeover ................ 3 (4) - 610 (4) - 362 (4) - Plant or machine repair/ maintenance ................... (4) 7 3 (4) 1,714 249 (4) 1,094 177 Product line discontinued ....... 11 11 (4) 1,728 4,329 (4) 2,290 1,929 (4) Disaster/safety ................... 38 8 20 4,111 733 1,639 4,208 1,249 1,389 Hazardous work environment ...... - (4) (4) - (4) (4) - (4) (4) Natural disaster (not weather related) ...................... (4) - (4) (4) - (4) (4) - (4) Non-natural disaster ............ - - (4) - - (4) - - (4) Extreme weather-related event ... (4) (4) 16 (4) (4) 1,290 (4) (4) 1,107 Seasonal .......................... 248 697 235 41,641 129,532 35,929 41,288 119,417 29,277 Seasonal ........................ (4) 691 (4) (4) 128,648 (4) (4) 118,700 (4) Vacation period-school related or otherwise .................. (4) 6 (4) (4) 884 (4) (4) 717 (4) Other/miscellaneous ............... 87 135 109 20,297 25,657 14,697 18,616 27,414 14,571 Other ........................... 21 18 5 3,227 3,699 722 2,477 5,513 566 Data not provided: Refusal ...... 45 49 42 12,339 9,983 6,930 12,557 9,983 6,927 Data not provided: Does not know .......................... 21 68 62 4,731 11,975 7,045 3,582 11,918 7,078 1 Beginning with data for the first quarter 2007, the collection and presentation of data on economic reasons for extended mass layoffs were improved. Clearer definitions and titles for many current reasons were introduced and four new reasons were added. Therefore, these data are not strictly comparable to previous quarters. For additional information on the changes to MLS reasons, including detailed definitions of each reason and a crosswalk of the old to the new reasons, please see http://www.bls.gov/mls/home.htm. 2 See footnote 1, table 1. 3 Use of this reason began with the first quarter 2007 data. 4 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. r = revised. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 3. State and selected claimant characteristics: Extended mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, private nonfarm sector, fourth quarter, 2006 and first quarter, 2007 Total Percent of total initial Hispanic Persons age 55 Layoff events claimants Black origin Women and over State IV I IV I IV I IV I IV I IV I 2006r 2007p 2006r 2007p 2006r 2007p 2006r 2007p 2006r 2007p 2006r 2007p Total, private nonfarm (1)... 1,640 965 330,124 122,595 13.2 14.4 15.2 18.4 30.0 35.0 16.7 15.6 Alabama ........................ 15 8 2,721 1,021 42.5 45.9 2.7 5.7 40.4 52.3 18.0 22.7 Alaska ......................... 12 - 2,088 - 3.7 - 17.8 - 23.9 - 17.5 - Arizona ........................ 4 3 524 230 5.9 2.6 36.3 7.0 58.8 37.4 19.7 8.7 Arkansas ....................... 5 (2) 1,361 (2) 25.6 34.0 1.6 4.6 41.5 52.6 22.9 15.5 California ..................... 288 285 50,110 33,620 6.9 9.2 41.9 40.8 35.9 36.5 14.4 13.2 Colorado ....................... 17 7 2,316 558 3.1 3.4 40.7 43.5 20.3 15.9 22.7 14.2 Connecticut .................... 9 6 1,687 1,286 7.1 12.4 4.9 12.4 23.2 55.9 21.3 11.2 Delaware ....................... - - - - - - - - - - - - District of Columbia ........... (2) - (2) - 40.1 - 17.3 - 62.4 - 21.3 - Florida ........................ 82 31 14,812 3,869 13.0 15.2 30.4 33.5 36.5 28.0 16.2 17.9 Georgia ........................ 22 14 4,233 2,249 59.0 49.3 1.2 5.0 41.4 48.8 16.1 18.8 Hawaii ......................... 6 (2) 794 (2) 4.3 13.0 24.1 27.4 19.3 41.9 8.7 15.9 Idaho .......................... 13 4 1,818 331 .3 1.2 11.7 6.0 18.3 44.7 16.8 14.8 Illinois ....................... 181 94 30,596 10,221 14.6 24.0 20.7 15.4 25.3 39.2 13.8 15.6 Indiana ........................ 48 24 9,943 3,464 7.9 7.1 3.9 3.6 26.6 23.4 14.2 12.1 Iowa ........................... 17 6 5,238 769 2.0 2.0 3.2 13.3 25.7 41.0 14.7 13.7 Kansas ......................... 9 (2) 1,372 (2) 5.8 30.0 7.2 2.7 15.0 32.2 17.6 16.1 Kentucky ....................... 23 13 2,645 3,239 4.9 12.1 .2 .3 30.1 22.0 15.8 11.6 Louisiana ...................... 9 4 1,151 376 55.8 60.9 1.9 .5 28.8 29.0 12.8 21.8 Maine .......................... 8 9 1,293 823 1.2 1.3 .5 .2 30.9 40.3 19.1 24.9 Maryland ....................... 20 12 3,088 1,007 38.2 42.9 1.0 .2 40.5 25.2 18.6 20.5 Massachusetts .................. 24 19 3,717 1,789 9.4 9.2 3.1 .3 39.0 33.5 21.9 18.2 Michigan ....................... 105 55 47,949 7,227 25.2 13.9 4.5 3.8 26.0 29.6 16.7 13.3 Minnesota ...................... 83 22 13,355 2,643 2.9 1.3 9.1 2.1 16.0 21.3 16.3 13.6 Mississippi .................... 5 8 594 716 74.6 81.1 .7 1.0 29.8 51.1 18.2 12.4 Missouri ....................... 36 18 6,167 1,968 12.2 22.2 .3 .3 39.3 38.0 23.5 12.2 Montana ........................ 12 (2) 1,727 (2) .2 1.8 1.8 1.8 9.7 21.1 18.2 28.1 Nebraska ....................... (2) - (2) - .5 - 9.2 - 7.1 - 22.8 - Nevada ......................... 3 9 1,328 1,186 15.0 8.7 23.3 24.9 49.9 41.2 31.6 24.9 New Hampshire .................. 5 (2) 540 (2) 1.1 1.5 .9 3.0 11.5 44.0 26.5 6.7 New Jersey ..................... 45 27 7,092 3,002 15.8 16.5 13.3 12.2 41.0 46.8 21.1 25.0 New Mexico ..................... 9 3 1,501 174 4.4 .6 53.2 64.9 45.2 40.8 14.3 20.1 New York ....................... 105 35 19,966 3,625 9.2 7.8 8.6 15.3 28.1 25.7 20.2 21.0 North Carolina ................. 12 19 1,441 3,614 39.1 43.9 3.3 2.5 47.6 43.8 22.2 19.9 North Dakota ................... 5 - 982 - - - 2.6 - 6.4 - 19.1 - Ohio ........................... 96 55 18,386 7,119 10.5 10.4 3.1 2.7 24.2 29.1 13.7 12.8 Oklahoma ....................... 5 (2) 1,360 (2) 19.8 12.2 5.7 33.2 22.9 46.7 12.3 24.0 Oregon ......................... 19 10 6,215 1,551 .5 .6 27.6 38.6 38.7 48.9 18.7 17.5 Pennsylvania ................... 91 61 23,746 10,029 6.3 5.9 2.1 3.4 32.5 29.4 19.9 18.0 Rhode Island ................... (2) (2) (2) (2) 2.2 .6 9.3 29.4 4.9 37.5 15.9 23.1 South Carolina ................. 9 5 1,571 443 64.4 77.0 .3 - 51.6 63.7 4.6 7.9 South Dakota ................... (2) (2) (2) (2) 2.8 - 8.5 4.9 7.0 8.2 12.7 27.9 Tennessee ...................... 12 6 1,390 386 15.6 30.6 - 1.0 47.8 41.5 28.3 20.2 Texas .......................... 34 20 6,822 2,578 21.0 20.2 39.4 39.3 33.2 47.6 12.7 15.7 Utah ........................... 8 5 1,243 470 .8 2.8 12.8 18.5 15.6 36.2 13.0 4.7 Vermont ........................ 4 (2) 472 (2) .2 - - - 15.7 23.6 24.2 19.1 Virginia ....................... 17 16 4,049 4,082 39.2 22.0 2.4 1.7 36.9 34.5 17.9 18.0 Washington ..................... 18 13 2,823 1,626 2.8 4.1 21.6 19.7 28.8 51.0 17.4 15.0 West Virginia .................. 7 (2) 1,636 (2) 1.2 - - - 28.7 2.4 18.0 12.2 Wisconsin ...................... 74 24 15,377 3,546 2.4 6.2 9.7 13.4 26.3 29.3 17.5 21.0 Wyoming ........................ (2) - (2) - .8 - .4 - 45.9 - 53.7 - Puerto Rico .................... 14 12 2,916 2,171 (3) (3) (3) (3) 53.8 59.5 8.1 5.6 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 3 Data are not available. r = revised. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 4. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007 Initial claimants for Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance Census region and division I IV I I IV I I IV I 2006r 2006r 2007p 2006r 2006r 2007p 2006r 2006r 2007p United States (1) ...... 963 1,640 965 183,089 296,578 139,269 193,510 330,124 122,595 Northeast ..................... 216 293 161 32,795 45,197 21,660 42,842 58,695 21,005 New England ............... 42 52 38 10,545 9,957 6,996 7,103 7,891 4,349 Middle Atlantic ........... 174 241 123 22,250 35,240 14,664 35,739 50,804 16,656 South ......................... 210 279 161 40,622 50,068 29,144 36,723 49,076 24,126 South Atlantic ............ 124 171 99 25,687 32,136 14,964 24,365 31,032 15,387 East South Central ........ 53 55 35 9,056 8,514 9,740 6,709 7,350 5,362 West South Central ........ 33 53 27 5,879 9,418 4,440 5,649 10,694 3,377 Midwest ....................... 289 657 301 65,384 131,099 44,882 72,822 149,620 37,391 East North Central ........ 243 504 252 59,266 105,524 37,072 66,775 122,251 31,577 West North Central ........ 46 153 49 6,118 25,575 7,810 6,047 27,369 5,814 West .......................... 248 411 342 44,288 70,214 43,583 41,123 72,733 40,073 Mountain .................. 27 68 32 5,835 14,289 3,567 3,078 10,703 3,006 Pacific ................... 221 343 310 38,453 55,925 40,016 38,045 62,030 37,067 1 See footnote 1, table 1. r = revised. 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 5. State distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007 Initial claimants for Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance State I IV I I IV I I IV I 2006r 2006r 2007p 2006r 2006r 2007p 2006r 2006r 2007p Total, private nonfarm (1) . 963 1,640 965 183,089 296,578 139,269 193,510 330,124 122,595 Alabama ........................ 7 15 8 907 3,183 1,442 1,018 2,721 1,021 Alaska ......................... (2) 12 - (2) 4,548 - (2) 2,088 - Arizona ........................ 4 4 3 1,202 554 222 733 524 230 Arkansas ....................... - 5 (2) - 2,407 (2) - 1,361 (2) California ..................... 185 288 285 32,047 40,439 35,159 33,326 50,110 33,620 Colorado ....................... 8 17 7 2,379 3,067 567 927 2,316 558 Connecticut .................... 9 9 6 5,405 2,135 1,775 3,334 1,687 1,286 Delaware ....................... - - - - - - - - - District of Columbia ........... - (2) - - (2) - - (2) - Florida ........................ 52 82 31 10,230 16,355 4,800 8,904 14,812 3,869 Georgia ........................ 18 22 14 2,442 2,811 2,115 2,715 4,233 2,249 Hawaii ......................... 4 6 (2) 464 836 (2) 451 794 (2) Idaho .......................... 5 13 4 430 1,800 476 397 1,818 331 Illinois ....................... 76 181 94 16,954 33,328 15,558 14,642 30,596 10,221 Indiana ........................ 25 48 24 3,698 8,264 2,579 4,066 9,943 3,464 Iowa ........................... (2) 17 6 (2) 1,448 1,034 (2) 5,238 769 Kansas ......................... 3 9 (2) 550 1,096 (2) 431 1,372 (2) Kentucky ....................... 25 23 13 3,841 2,959 5,502 2,909 2,645 3,239 Louisiana ...................... 12 9 4 2,618 2,143 445 1,356 1,151 376 Maine .......................... 5 8 9 1,457 1,459 2,760 963 1,293 823 Maryland ....................... 14 20 12 1,707 2,280 987 1,712 3,088 1,007 Massachusetts .................. 18 24 19 2,664 5,215 1,841 1,957 3,717 1,789 Michigan ....................... 71 105 55 19,047 25,368 7,477 33,490 47,949 7,227 Minnesota ...................... 23 83 22 2,811 12,921 2,999 3,002 13,355 2,643 Mississippi .................... 7 5 8 920 702 2,119 787 594 716 Missouri ....................... 13 36 18 1,774 8,607 3,492 1,813 6,167 1,968 Montana ........................ 3 12 (2) 257 1,676 (2) 257 1,727 (2) Nebraska ....................... 3 (2) - 566 (2) - 445 (2) - Nevada ......................... (2) 3 9 (2) 1,139 1,317 (2) 1,328 1,186 New Hampshire .................. 3 5 (2) 286 490 (2) 286 540 (2) New Jersey ..................... 17 45 27 3,666 9,711 4,108 2,581 7,092 3,002 New Mexico ..................... (2) 9 3 (2) 1,501 205 (2) 1,501 174 New York ....................... 98 105 35 12,148 13,690 4,097 18,521 19,966 3,625 North Carolina ................. 18 12 19 2,053 1,086 2,489 2,831 1,441 3,614 North Dakota ................... - 5 - - 1,128 - - 982 - Ohio ........................... 45 96 55 14,195 22,570 7,748 9,205 18,386 7,119 Oklahoma ....................... 4 5 (2) 339 603 (2) 500 1,360 (2) Oregon ......................... 7 19 10 2,604 7,514 1,957 1,000 6,215 1,551 Pennsylvania ................... 59 91 61 6,436 11,839 6,459 14,637 23,746 10,029 Rhode Island ................... 5 (2) (2) 472 (2) (2) 401 (2) (2) South Carolina ................. 7 9 5 1,067 1,713 564 1,182 1,571 443 South Dakota ................... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) Tennessee ...................... 14 12 6 3,388 1,670 677 1,995 1,390 386 Texas .......................... 17 34 20 2,922 4,265 3,313 3,793 6,822 2,578 Utah ........................... 3 8 5 430 1,507 721 296 1,243 470 Vermont ........................ (2) 4 (2) (2) 472 (2) (2) 472 (2) Virginia ....................... 13 17 16 7,235 6,673 3,867 6,620 4,049 4,082 Washington ..................... 24 18 13 3,255 2,588 2,553 3,185 2,823 1,626 West Virginia .................. (2) 7 (2) (2) 1,016 (2) (2) 1,636 (2) Wisconsin ...................... 26 74 24 5,372 15,994 3,710 5,372 15,377 3,546 Wyoming ........................ (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - Puerto Rico .................... 13 14 12 1,231 2,038 902 3,497 2,916 2,171 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. r = revised. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 6. Information technology-producing industries: Extended mass layoff events and separations, private nonfarm sector, 2000-2007 Information technology-producing industries (1) Total extended Year mass layoffs Computer Software and Communications Communications hardware (2) computer services (3) equipment (4) services (5) Layoff Layoff Layoff Layoff Layoff events Separations events Separations events Separations events Separations events Separations 2000 First quarter .... 1,081 202,500 22 5,195 14 2,717 9 1,402 4 771 Second quarter ... 1,055 205,861 18 8,862 22 9,114 7 805 7 977 Third quarter .... 817 174,628 10 1,678 12 1,422 4 1,465 6 1,280 Fourth quarter ... 1,638 332,973 16 3,070 22 3,521 5 946 7 1,020 Total ........ 4,591 915,962 66 18,805 70 16,774 25 4,618 24 4,048 2001 First quarter .... 1,546 304,171 91 20,991 44 7,963 22 4,441 24 5,312 Second quarter ... 1,828 430,499 161 38,986 87 12,943 36 12,109 28 6,386 Third quarter .... 1,629 330,391 142 24,813 55 6,820 39 8,200 36 7,134 Fourth quarter ... 2,372 459,771 109 17,797 56 8,290 43 10,124 48 11,252 Total ........ 7,375 1,524,832 503 102,587 242 36,016 140 34,874 136 30,084 2002 First quarter .... 1,611 299,266 84 18,574 39 4,442 32 8,192 42 6,664 Second quarter ... 1,624 344,606 69 11,764 49 5,454 27 4,870 53 8,538 Third quarter .... 1,186 255,152 76 15,017 42 5,415 34 6,529 42 7,945 Fourth quarter ... 1,916 373,307 74 14,298 32 7,071 19 3,645 39 8,987 Total ........ 6,337 1,272,331 303 59,653 162 22,382 112 23,236 176 32,134 2003 First quarter .... 1,502 286,947 71 11,900 33 5,689 23 4,402 41 6,591 Second quarter ... 1,799 368,273 54 9,221 27 4,124 21 3,098 29 5,891 Third quarter .... 1,190 236,333 46 6,488 26 4,433 9 1,289 15 2,604 Fourth quarter ... 1,690 325,333 25 5,080 14 1,984 9 1,619 28 6,635 Total ........ 6,181 1,216,886 196 32,689 100 16,230 62 10,408 113 21,721 2004 First quarter .... 1,339 276,503 27 3,222 16 2,992 8 894 23 4,197 Second quarter ... 1,358 278,831 18 2,959 21 3,576 - - 22 5,295 Third quarter .... 886 164,608 13 2,288 15 1,617 4 430 13 4,317 Fourth quarter ... 1,427 273,967 18 3,055 10 1,547 4 563 23 3,457 Total ........ 5,010 993,909 76 11,524 62 9,732 16 1,887 81 17,266 2005 First quarter .... 1,142 186,506 13 1,526 13 2,679 4 439 17 3,569 Second quarter ... 1,203 246,099 20 2,973 17 2,106 4 842 11 1,904 Third quarter .... 1,136 201,878 23 3,307 12 1,742 (6) (6) 11 1,127 Fourth quarter ... 1,400 250,178 19 4,122 7 1,331 (6) (6) 8 1,125 Total ........ 4,881 884,661 75 11,928 49 7,858 13 3,000 47 7,725 2006 First quarter .... 963 183,089 12 1,159 6 744 (6) (6) 7 833 Second quarter ... 1,353 (r)295,886 10 3,294 9 1,723 8 988 7 1,252 Third quarter .... 929 (r)160,252 14 3,544 9 699 (6) (6) 11 1,831 Fourth quarter(r) 1,640 296,578 12 4,039 6 896 5 1,481 9 1,017 Total(r) ..... 4,885 935,805 48 12,036 30 4,062 19 3,752 34 4,933 2007 First quarter(p) . 965 139,269 17 1,937 5 617 3 415 (6) (6) 1 Information technology-producing industries are defined in Digital Economy 2003, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. 2 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: semiconductor machinery manufacturing; office machinery manufacturing; electronic computer manufacturing; computer storage device manufacturing; computer terminal manufacturing; other computer peripheral equipment mfg.; electron tube manufacturing; bare printed circuit board manufacturing; semiconductors and related device mfg.; electronic capacitor manufacturing; electronic resistor manufacturing; electronic coils, transformers, and inductors; electronic connector manufacturing; printed circuit assembly manufacturing; other electronic component manufacturing; industrial process variable instruments; electricity and signal testing instruments; analytical laboratory instrument mfg.; computer and software merchant wholesalers; and computer and software stores. 3 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: software publishers; internet service providers; web search portals; data processing and related services; computer and software merchant wholesalers; computer and software stores; custom computer programming services; computer systems design services; computer facilities management services; other computer related services; office equipment rental and leasing; and computer and office machine repair. 4 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: telephone apparatus manufacturing; audio and video equipment manufacturing; broadcast and wireless communications equip.; fiber optic cable manufacturing; software reproducing; and magnetic and optical recording media mfg. 5 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: wired telecommunications carriers; cellular and other wireless carriers; telecommunications resellers; cable and other program distribution; satellite telecommunications; other telecommunications; and communication equipment repair. 6 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero. r = revised. p = preliminary. Table 7. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007 Layoff events Separations Industry I IV I I IV I 2006 2006r 2007p 2006 2006r 2007p Total, private nonfarm (1) ................. 53 69 58 10,519 15,782 9,447 Mining ...................................... - - (2) - - (2) Utilities ................................... - - - - - - Construction ................................ - - - - - - Manufacturing ............................... 39 50 43 7,646 12,775 7,043 Food ................................... 3 3 3 1,230 559 304 Beverage and tobacco products .......... (2) - (2) (2) - (2) Textile mills .......................... - 4 - - 1,120 - Textile product mills .................. - (2) (2) - (2) (2) Apparel ................................ 4 (2) 8 636 (2) 1,023 Leather and allied products ............ (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) Wood products .......................... - - (2) - - (2) Paper .................................. (2) - 3 (2) - 405 Printing and related support activities - (2) 4 - (2) 667 Petroleum and coal products ............ - - - - - - Chemicals ............................. (2) - (2) (2) - (2) Plastics and rubber products ........... 4 3 (2) 508 468 (2) Nonmetallic mineral products ........... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) Primary metals ......................... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) Fabricated metal products .............. - 3 (2) - 525 (2) Machinery .............................. (2) 4 (2) (2) 515 (2) Computer and electronic products ....... 6 (2) (2) 820 (2) (2) Electrical equipment and appliances .... 4 7 (2) 756 3,198 (2) Transportation equipment ............... 3 9 5 417 1,664 775 Furniture and related products ......... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) Miscellaneous manufacturing ............ 4 3 (2) 502 842 (2) Wholesale trade ............................. 3 (2) (2) 432 (2) (2) Retail trade ................................ (2) (2) - (2) (2) - Transportation and warehousing .............. 4 3 3 581 754 538 Information ................................. (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) Finance and insurance ....................... (2) 7 4 (2) 1,028 985 Real estate and rental and leasing .......... - (2) - - (2) - Professional and technical services ......... (2) (2) - (2) (2) - Management of companies and enterprises ..... - - (2) - - (2) Administrative and waste services ........... - 3 (2) - 427 (2) Educational services ........................ - - - - - - Health care and social assistance ........... - - - - - - Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... (2) - - (2) - - Accommodation and food services ............. - - - - - - Other services, except public administration - - (2) - - (2) Unclassified ................................ - - - - - - 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. r = revised. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 8. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007 Layoff events Separations Reason for layoff I IV I I IV I 2006r 2006r 2007(1,p) 2006r 2006r 2007(1,p) Total, private nonfarm (2) ...... 53 69 58 10,519 15,782 9,447 Business demand ................... 10 12 (3) 1,863 2,129 (3) Contract cancellation ........... (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) Contract completion ............. (3) (3) - (3) (3) - Domestic competition ............ (4) (4) (3) (4) (4) (3) Excess inventory/saturated market ........................ (4) (4) (3) (4) (4) (3) Import competition .............. 3 7 9 496 1,463 1,120 Slack work/insufficient demand/ non-seasonal business slowdown. 3 (3) (3) 809 (3) (3) Organizational changes ............ 30 43 30 6,799 8,340 5,392 Business-ownership change ....... (3) 5 5 (3) 1,160 1,701 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................... (3) 38 25 (3) 7,180 3,691 Financial issues .................. 7 (3) 13 822 (3) 2,058 Bankruptcy ...................... (3) - (3) (3) - (3) Cost control/cost cutting/ increase profitability ........ (4) (4) (3) (4) (4) (3) Financial difficulty ............ (3) (3) - (3) (3) - Production specific ............... 3 8 (3) 450 4,016 (3) Automation/technological advances ...................... - - - - - - Energy related .................. - - - - - - Governmental regulations/ intervention .................. (4) (4) - (4) (4) - Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ........... - - - - - - Material or supply shortage ..... - - - - - - Model changeover ................ - - - - - - Plant or machine repair/ maintenance ................... - - - - - - Product line discontinued ...... 3 8 (3) 450 4,016 (3) Disaster/safety ................... - - - - - - Hazardous work environment ...... - - - - - - Natural disaster (not weather related) ...................... - - - - - - Non-natural disaster ............ - - - - - - Extreme weather-related event ... - - - - - - Other/miscellaneous ............... 3 (3) (3) 585 (3) (3) Other ........................... 3 (3) (3) 585 (3) (3) Data not provided: Refusal ...... - - - - - - Data not provided: Does not know .......................... - - - - - - 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 See footnote 1, table 1. 3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 4 Use of this reason began with the first quarter 2007 data. r = revised. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 9. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007 Layoff events Separations Census region and division I IV I I IV I 2006 2006r 2007p 2006 2006r 2007p United States (1).. 53 69 58 10,519 15,782 9,447 Northeast ................. 12 10 13 2,821 2,006 2,141 New England ........... 5 (2) (2) 1,259 (2) (2) Middle Atlantic ....... 7 (2) (2) 1,562 (2) (2) South ..................... 19 20 21 3,965 5,292 2,461 South Atlantic ........ (2) 10 14 (2) 2,086 1,547 East South Central .... 12 7 (2) 2,821 1,206 (2) West South Central .... (2) 3 (2) (2) 2,000 (2) Midwest ................... 13 28 16 2,299 5,933 2,781 East North Central .... 9 20 13 1,539 4,469 2,416 West North Central .... 4 8 3 760 1,464 365 West ...................... 9 11 8 1,434 2,551 2,064 Mountain .............. 3 (2) 3 360 (2) 686 Pacific ............... 6 (2) 5 1,074 (2) 1,378 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. r = revised. 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 10. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007 Layoff events Separations Action I IV I I IV I 2006 2006r 2007p 2006 2006r 2007p Total, private nonfarm (1) .......... 963 1,640 965 183,089 296,578 139,269 Total, excluding seasonal and vacation events (2) ..... 715 943 722 141,448 167,046 102,767 Total, movement of work (3).. 53 69 58 10,519 15,782 9,447 Movement of work actions ............... 80 94 71 (4) (4) (4) With separations reported ......... 51 66 53 7,080 10,462 7,407 With separations unknown .......... 29 28 18 (4) (4) (4) 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 2 The question on movement of work were not asked of employers when the reason for layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period. 3 Movement of work can involve more than one action. 4 Data are not available. r = revised. p = preliminary. Table 11. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007 Actions (1) Separations Activities I IV I I IV I 2006 2006r 2007p 2006 2006r 2007p With separations reported (2).. 51 66 53 7,080 10,462 7,407 By location Out-of-country relocations .. 22 27 12 2,682 5,581 1,830 Within company .......... 17 24 11 2,408 5,426 1,781 Different company ....... 5 3 1 274 155 49 Domestic relocations ........ 29 39 40 4,398 4,881 5,506 Within company .......... 24 35 35 3,873 4,494 4,466 Different company ....... 5 4 5 525 387 1,040 Unable to assign place of relocation ............... - - 1 - - 71 By company Within company .............. 41 59 47 6,281 9,920 6,318 Domestic ................ 24 35 35 3,873 4,494 4,466 Out of country .......... 17 24 11 2,408 5,426 1,781 Unable to assign ........ - - 1 - - 71 Different company ........... 10 7 6 799 542 1,089 Domestic ................ 5 4 5 525 387 1,040 Out of country .......... 5 3 1 274 155 49 Unable to assign ........ - - - - - - 1 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of work were reported are shown. 2 See footnote 1, table 1. r = revised. p = preliminary. Note: Dash represents zero.