Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 00-49 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, February 23, 2000 MASS LAYOFFS IN DECEMBER 1999 In December 1999, there were 1,509 mass layoff actions by employers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 162,381. Both the number of layoff events and the number of initial claimants for unemployment insurance were lower than in December 1998. The total of layoff events for 1999, at 14,909, and the total number of initial claimants, at 1,572,399, were lower than in 1998 (15,904 and 1,771,069, respectively). (See table 1.) Additional information on the annual data is provided in the Review of 1999 section on page 2 of this release. 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. Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs") and provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Industry Distribution In December 1999, manufacturing industries accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff events and 36 percent of all initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the highest numbers of initial claimants were food and kindred products (8,105), primarily in candy and other confectionery products and in canned and frozen fruits and vegetables; and transportation equipment (7,642), mostly in motor vehicle parts and accessories. (See table 2.) Services accounted for 19 percent of all mass layoff events and 17 percent of initial claimants during the month, largely in business services (especially help supply services). Layoffs in help supply services are more likely than those in most other industries to last less than 30 days. Construction accounted for 18 percent of all layoffs and 14 percent of initial claimants during the month, mainly in heavy construction. Retail trade accounted for 11 percent of all layoff events and 10 percent of initial claims during the month, mostly in eating and drinking places. Compared with December 1998, the largest decreases in initial claims occurred in motion pictures (-14,170). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment (+2,422) and special trade contractors (+2,273). - 2 - Geographic Distribution In December, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was higher in the Midwest (67,805) than in any other region. (See table 3.) Layoffs in heavy construction, transportation equipment, special trade contractors, and electronic and other electrical equipment accounted for 35 percent of the claims in the Midwest. The fewest number of mass-layoff initial claims continued to be reported in the Northeast region (21,597). Over-the-year decreases in mass layoff-related initial claims were reported in the West, South, and Northeast, with the largest decrease in the West (-31,099). Among the divisions, lower levels of initial claims over the year were reported mainly in the Pacific division, with sharply lower numbers of layoffs in motion pictures. Seven of the nine divisions reported over-the-year declines; increases occurred in the East North Central and Mountain divisions. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for December, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (33,517), primarily in business services and agricultural services, followed by Michigan (17,255), Illinois (12,107), and Pennsylvania (11,186). These four states accounted for 48 percent of all layoff events and 46 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From December 1998 to December 1999, California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-28,161), mostly in motion pictures. Michigan had the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+14,278). Review of 1999 In all of 1999, there were 14,909 layoff events and 1,572,399 initial claimants for unemployment insurance in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. After increasing in 1997 and 1998, both the number of layoff events and initial claimants returned to around 1997 levels. (See table A.) In 1999, manufacturing accounted for 33 percent of all mass layoff events and 40 percent of initial claims filed, essentially the same as in 1998 (35 percent and 42 percent, respectively). Initial claims filings were most numerous in transportation equipment (98,746) and industrial machinery and equipment (87,363). Compared with 1998, the largest decrease in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment (-77,087). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims occurred in industrial machinery and equipment (+31,048). In 1999, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs continued to be higher in the West (576,654) than in any other region. Layoffs in business services, agricultural services, and motion pictures accounted for 41 percent of the claims in the West. The fewest number of mass-layoff initial claims continued to be reported in the Northeast region (207,057). Over-the-year decreases in mass layoff-related initial claims were reported in all four regions, with the largest decrease in the West (-78,607), particularly in the Pacific division, and the smallest in the Midwest (-30,281). Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (469,814), which reflected an over-the-year decline of -86,264. Illinois had the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+12,562), followed by Iowa (+11,312). - 3 - Table A. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 1996-1999 --------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------- Technical Note The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are contacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted 31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis. A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the first day of the month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is included in the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks and others 5 weeks, and the number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore, analysis of over-the- month and over-the-year change should take this calendar effect into consideration. The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were not available. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. Definitions Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of eligibility. Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 1997 to December 1999 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization rate(1) Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants 1997 October .......................... 1,414 139,297 November ......................... 1,156 100,051 December ......................... 1,634 172,029 Fourth Quarter ................... 4,204 411,377 1,697 316,035 40.4 1998 January .......................... 2,360 255,203 February ......................... 970 81,455 March ............................ 762 78,210 First Quarter .................... 4,092 414,868 1,320 247,315 32.3 April ............................ 1,253 132,476 May .............................. 1,180 107,952 June ............................. 1,208 183,590 Second Quarter ................... 3,641 424,018 1,563 402,276 42.9 July ............................. 2,220 286,055 August ........................... 617 53,665 September ........................ 637 79,629 Third Quarter .................... 3,474 419,349 1,234 256,805 35.5 October .......................... 1,553 160,830 November(r)....................... 1,368 144,343 December(r)....................... 1,776 207,661 Fourth Quarter ................... (r)4,697 (r)512,834 1,736 326,109 (r)37.0 1999 January(r)........................ 2,421 226,995 February(r)....................... 1,067 89,800 March(r).......................... 880 91,890 First Quarter .................... (r)4,368 (r)408,685 1,509 251,332 (r)34.5 April(r) ......................... 1,270 136,885 May(r)............................ 1,032 102,738 June ............................. 1,140 130,951 Second Quarter ................... (r)3,442 (r)370,574 1,445 241,828 (r)42.0 July ............................. 1,741 221,334 August ........................... 698 75,691 September ........................ 717 75,288 Third Quarter .................... 3,156 372,313 (p)1,072 (p)153,142 (p)34.0 October .......................... 1,098 118,938 November ......................... 1,336 139,508 December ......................... 1,509 162,381 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. p = preliminary. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, December 1998 and December 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry December December December December 1998(r) 1999 1998(r) 1999 Total(1) ....................................... 1,776 1,509 207,661 162,381 Total, private ...................................... 1,671 1,458 196,793 157,932 Agriculture ....................................... 126 120 8,665 8,730 Nonagriculture .................................... 1,505 1,314 184,322 146,160 Manufacturing ................................... 610 444 80,459 59,141 Durable goods ................................. 321 237 47,873 35,086 Lumber and wood products .................... 41 37 4,892 3,170 Furniture and fixtures ...................... 14 9 2,425 1,076 Stone, clay, and glass products ............. 28 32 3,535 3,817 Primary metal industries .................... 27 15 3,554 2,183 Fabricated metal products ................... 24 16 3,237 1,290 Industrial machinery and equipment .......... 51 34 9,629 6,581 Electronic and other electrical equipment ... 55 24 9,555 6,477 Transportation equipment .................... 37 44 5,220 7,642 Instruments and related products ............ 17 8 1,805 759 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ...... 27 18 4,021 2,091 Nondurable goods .............................. 289 207 32,586 24,055 Food and kindred products ................... 83 70 9,515 8,105 Tobacco products ............................ 4 3 355 367 Textile mill products ....................... 48 18 7,056 2,741 Apparel and other textile products .......... 68 42 6,608 4,193 Paper and allied products ................... 15 5 1,719 422 Printing and publishing ..................... 12 8 1,273 672 Chemicals and allied products ............... 4 4 323 227 Petroleum and coal products ................. 11 12 1,174 1,208 Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products .. 32 36 2,319 4,145 Leather and leather products ................ 12 9 2,244 1,975 Nonmanufacturing ................................ 895 870 103,863 87,019 Mining ........................................ 27 19 2,242 2,231 Construction .................................. 265 269 21,013 23,467 Transportation and public utilities ........... 90 77 12,610 11,644 Wholesale and retail trade .................... 185 200 21,557 20,806 Wholesale trade ............................ 35 35 3,819 4,503 Retail trade ............................... 150 165 17,738 16,303 Finance, insurance, and real estate ........... 22 24 1,497 1,804 Services ...................................... 306 281 44,944 27,067 Not identified .................................... 40 24 3,806 3,042 Government .......................................... 105 51 10,868 4,449 Federal ........................................... 14 5 1,162 688 State ............................................. 35 18 5,375 1,761 Local ............................................. 56 28 4,331 2,000 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. r = revised. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, December 1998 and December 1999 Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division December December December December 1998(r) 1999 1998(r) 1999 United States(1) .............. 1,776 1,509 207,661 162,381 Northeast ............................. 253 197 25,355 21,597 New England ....................... 45 41 5,365 4,598 Middle Atlantic ................... 208 156 19,990 16,999 South ................................. 344 245 38,942 26,449 South Atlantic .................... 167 119 18,882 12,019 East South Central ................ 49 36 4,908 3,652 West South Central ................ 128 90 15,152 10,778 Midwest ............................... 463 531 65,735 67,805 East North Central ................ 318 385 44,478 47,465 West North Central ................ 145 146 21,257 20,340 West .................................. 716 536 77,629 46,530 Mountain .......................... 64 70 6,153 6,733 Pacific ........................... 652 466 71,476 39,797 1 See footnote 1, table 2. r = revised. NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the various census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. Table 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, December 1998 and December 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State December December December December 1998(r) 1999 1998(r) 1999 Total(1) ...................... 1,776 1,509 207,661 162,381 Alabama .......................... 6 7 424 768 Alaska ........................... 5 ( 2 ) 340 ( 2 ) Arizona .......................... 3 4 450 279 Arkansas ......................... 12 17 1,493 2,187 California ....................... 568 410 61,678 33,517 Colorado ......................... 14 10 1,244 943 Connecticut ...................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Delaware ......................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) District of Columbia ............. ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 590 Florida .......................... 46 34 3,083 2,504 Georgia .......................... 10 18 809 1,378 Hawaii ........................... 6 3 740 342 Idaho ............................ 17 13 1,710 1,202 Illinois ......................... 104 98 15,226 12,107 Indiana .......................... 47 37 7,985 7,911 Iowa ............................. 38 37 4,471 4,931 Kansas ........................... 8 10 743 1,023 Kentucky ......................... 23 10 2,103 936 Louisiana ........................ 21 12 1,553 801 Maine ............................ 14 7 1,112 494 Maryland ......................... 4 5 302 507 Massachusetts .................... 25 20 3,409 2,169 Michigan ......................... 30 132 2,977 17,255 Minnesota ........................ 36 41 4,697 5,209 Mississippi ...................... 6 ( 2 ) 522 ( 2 ) Missouri ......................... 57 55 10,428 8,654 Montana .......................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Nebraska ......................... 4 ( 2 ) 448 ( 2 ) Nevada ........................... 22 31 1,956 3,267 New Hampshire .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New Jersey ....................... 41 33 4,658 3,063 New Mexico ....................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New York ......................... 32 33 2,888 2,750 North Carolina ................... 9 14 705 1,466 North Dakota ..................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio ............................. 69 57 5,813 4,852 Oklahoma ......................... 14 10 1,232 1,736 Oregon ........................... 37 33 4,089 4,052 Pennsylvania ..................... 135 90 12,444 11,186 Rhode Island ..................... 4 9 661 1,413 South Carolina ................... 62 20 9,154 1,944 South Dakota ..................... - - - - Tennessee ........................ 14 17 1,859 1,691 Texas ............................ 81 51 10,874 6,054 Utah ............................. 7 8 708 745 Vermont .......................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 223 Virginia ......................... 34 22 4,714 3,585 Washington ....................... 36 18 4,629 1,674 West Virginia .................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Wisconsin ........................ 68 61 12,477 5,340 Wyoming .......................... - - - - Puerto Rico ...................... 5 11 622 1,132 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. r = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.