For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, January 27, 2010 USDL-10-0098
Technical information: (202) 691-6392 * mlsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
MASS LAYOFFS -- DECEMBER 2009
ANNUAL TOTALS -- 2009
Employers took 1,726 mass layoff actions in December that resulted in the
separation of 153,127 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new fil-
ings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. Each action involved at least 50 per-
sons from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in December
decreased by 87 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial
claims decreased by 10,696. Both figures reached their lowest level since
July 2008. In December, 433 mass layoff events were reported in the manu-
facturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 44,072 initial claims.
Both figures decreased over the month to their lowest levels since November
and August 2007, respectively. (See table 1.)
During the 25 months from December 2007 through December 2009, the total
number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 51,978, and the as-
sociated number of initial claims was 5,242,840. (December 2007 was the
start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Re-
search.)
In 2009, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, the total numbers of mass
layoff events, at 28,030, and initial claims, at 2,796,456, reached
their highest annual levels on record. (Annual data began in 1996. See
table B.) Among the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy,
12 registered annual program highs for both mass layoff events and ini-
tial claims. All 4 regions, all 9 divisions, and 43 states and the
District of Columbia experienced increases in total annual initial
claims from 2008 to 2009. In addition, 3 of the 4 regions, 6 of the 9
divisions, and 26 states recorded program highs in terms of initial
claims activity in 2009.
The national unemployment rate was 10.0 percent in December 2009, sea-
sonally adjusted, unchanged from the prior month but up from 7.4 per-
cent a year earlier. In December, nonfarm payroll employment decreased
by 85,000 over the month and by 4,164,000 from a year earlier.
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| |
| Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data |
| |
| Seasonally adjusted mass layoff data have been revised using updated |
| seasonal adjustment factors that incorporate 2009 data. Seasonally |
| adjusted estimates back to January 2005 were subject to revision. Re- |
| vised seasonally adjusted data from January 2006 forward are shown in |
| table 1. The originally published and revised figures for January 2006- |
| November 2009 are available at www.bls.gov/mls/mlssarevision.htm, along |
| with additional information about the revisions. |
| |
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Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial
claims in December 2009, not seasonally adjusted
December peak
Industry
Initial Year Initial
claims claims
Food service contractors ................... 14,565 2009 14,565
Highway, street, and bridge construction ... 13,893 2005 20,088
School and employee bus transportation ..... 13,206 2006 14,747
Temporary help services (1) ................ 10,339 2005 16,656
Motion picture and video production ........ 4,439 1998 16,192
Professional employer organizations (1) .... 3,630 2008 6,101
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .... 3,460 2008 3,528
Commercial building construction ........... 3,120 2009 3,120
Discount department stores ................. 2,720 2006 3,255
Ready-mix concrete manufacturing ........... 2,683 2005 3,232
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in December was 2,310 on a not season-
ally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 214,648.
Over the year, the number of mass layoff events decreased by 1,067, and
associated initial claims decreased by 136,657. (See table 2.) Thirteen
of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-
the-year decreases in initial claimants, led by manufacturing (-107,989).
(See table 3.) Three sectors reported December program highs in terms of
average weekly initial claimants: retail trade; educational services;
and accommodation and food services. (Average weekly analysis mitigates
the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note.)
The manufacturing sector accounted for 27 percent of all mass layoff
events and 30 percent of initial claims filed in December 2009. A year
earlier, manufacturing made up 41 percent of events and 49 percent of
initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in
December was greatest in transportation equipment, machinery, and food.
All 21 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) manufac-
turing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims,
led by transportation equipment (-50,799) and plastics and rubber pro-
ducts (-10,728). (See table 3.)
The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims
in December 2009 was food service contractors. Of the 10 six-digit in-
dustries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims, food
service contractors and commercial building construction reached pro-
gram highs for the month of December. (See table A.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the four census regions, the Midwest registered the highest num-
ber of initial claims in December due to mass layoffs, followed by
the South and the West. Initial claims decreased over the year in all
of the regions, with the Midwest (-69,329) and the South (-46,059)
experiencing the largest decreases. Of the nine geographic divisions,
the East North Central had the highest number of initial claims due to
mass layoffs in December, followed by the Pacific and Middle Atlantic.
All 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims,
led by the East North Central (-56,114). (See table 5.)
Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for
unemployment insurance, 1996-2009, not seasonally adjusted
Year Layoff events Initial claimants for
unemployment insurance
1996 ............. 14,111 1,437,628
1997 ............. 14,960 1,542,543
1998 ............. 15,904 1,771,069
1999 ............. 14,909 1,572,399
2000 ............. 15,738 1,835,592
2001 ............. 21,467 2,514,862
2002 ............. 20,277 2,245,051
2003 ............. 18,963 1,888,926
2004 ............. 15,980 1,607,158
2005 ............. 16,466 1,795,341
2006 ............. 13,998 1,484,391
2007 ............. 15,493 1,598,875
2008 ............. 21,137 2,130,220
2009 ............. 28,030 2,796,456
California recorded the highest number of initial claims in December,
followed by Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan. Thirty-
nine states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-year
decreases in initial claims, led by Ohio (-18,948) and Kentucky
(-16,557). (See table 6.) In 2009, three states reached December pro-
gram highs for average weekly initial claims: Florida, New York, and
Utah.
Review of 2009
For all of 2009, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, the total numbers
of mass layoff events, at 28,030, and initial claims, at 2,796,456,
reached their highest annual levels on record. (See table B.) Among
the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy, manufacturing
had the most initial claims in 2009 (1,137,106), followed by adminis-
trative and waste services (294,709) and construction (205,765). Manu-
facturing also had the largest over-the-year increase in total annual
initial claims (+266,796), with retail trade (+57,283) and administra-
tive and waste services (+48,039) experiencing the next largest in-
creases. Among the major industry sectors, 12 registered series highs
for both mass layoff events and initial claims in 2009: mining; con-
struction; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and ware-
housing; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing;
management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste ser-
vices; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and
recreation; and accommodation and food services.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 36 percent of all mass layoff
events and 43 percent of initial claims filed in the private economy
in 2009; in 2008, manufacturing made up 34 percent of events and 43
percent of initial claims. The number of manufacturing claimants in
2009 was highest in transportation equipment (304,693), followed by
machinery (164,176) and fabricated metal products (84,702). Total
initial claims for 18 of the 21 manufacturing subsectors increased
from 2008 to 2009, with machinery experiencing the largest change
(+110,503). Transportation equipment recorded the largest over-the-
year decrease (-18,929).
The six-digit NAICS industries with the largest total number of ini-
tial claims in 2009 were temporary help services, school and employee
bus transportation, and food service contractors. Construction ma-
chinery manufacturing entered the top 10 in terms of initial claims,
displacing heavy duty truck manufacturing. (See table C.) Of the top
10 industries, 6 reached program highs in 2009: construction machinery
manufacturing; light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing; school
and employee bus transportation; professional employer organizations;
elementary and secondary schools; and food service contractors.
Among the 4 census regions, the Midwest reported the highest number
of mass layoff initial claims filed during 2009 (892,202), followed
by the West and the South. All 4 regions experienced over-the-year an-
nual increases, with the largest increases taking place in the Midwest
(+215,611). The Midwest, Northeast, and South also reached program
highs for total initial claims in 2009. All 9 geographic divisions
also experienced higher claimant activity in 2009 when compared with
2008, with the largest increases occurring in the East North Central
(+167,804)--which also had the largest number of claims in 2009, the
Middle Atlantic (+119,644), and the South Atlantic (+118,688). Six of
the 9 divisions reached program highs for total annual claims in 2009:
East North Central, East South Central, Middle Atlantic, Mountain,
South Atlantic, and West North Central.
California recorded the largest number of initial claims during 2009
followed by Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ohio. Forty-three
states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-year annual
increases in initial claims; Illinois reported the largest over-the-
year increase in 2009 (+89,810), followed by California (+85,548) and
Pennsylvania (+54,483). Of the 7 states with over-the-year decreases
in initial claims in 2009, the largest were reported in Louisiana
(-5,566), Mississippi (-3,702), and Kentucky (-2,632). Twenty-six states
recorded series highs in mass layoff claimant activity in 2009: Alaska,
Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Table C. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in
2009, not seasonally adjusted
2009 2008
Industry
Initial Rank Initial Rank
claims claims
Temporary help services (1) ................... 151,957 1 134,699 1
School and employee bus transportation ........ 92,324 2 79,083 2
Food service contractors ...................... 68,888 3 54,677 3
Professional employer organizations (1) ....... 65,280 4 54,016 4
Elementary and secondary schools .............. 62,774 5 28,996 10
Construction machinery manufacturing .......... 55,334 6 4,496 102
Motion picture and video production ........... 53,275 7 45,394 6
Automobile manufacturing ...................... 46,306 8 51,804 5
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing . 40,422 9 38,450 8
Highway, street, and bridge construction ...... 40,186 10 39,467 7
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
Note
The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or
more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration
of the layoffs. For private nonfarm establishments, information on
the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly
release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (re-
ferred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides
more information on the industry classification and location of the
establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because
monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum
of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the
quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 4.)
See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
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The Extended Mass Layoffs in the Fourth Quarter 2009 news release is
scheduled to be released on Friday, February 12, 2010, at 10:00 a.m.
(EST). The Mass Layoffs in January news release is scheduled to be
released on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
