Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 03-454 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, August 28, 2003 MASS LAYOFFS IN JULY 2003 Employers initiated 2,087 mass layoff actions in July 2003, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, accord- ing 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 226,435. (See table 1.) Of the 10 indus- tries with highest number of initial claims in July, 6 were automotive-related. (See table A.) Compared with July 2002, the number of layoff events increased, while the number of workers involved declined. July 2003 marks the 14th conse- cutive month in which mass-layoff initial claims declined over the year. From January through July 2003, the total number of events, at 11,947, was higher than for the same period a year ago, but the number of initial claims, at 1,183,045, was lower. 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"). The quarterly release provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establish- ment 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 lay- offs of more than 30 days. (See table 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Industry Distribution The manufacturing sector accounted for 45 percent of all mass layoff events and 60 percent of all initial claims filed in July, little changed from a year ago (44 and 55 percent, respectively). Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (60,173, mainly automotive-related), followed by plastics and rubber products (11,122), primary metals (8,676), and machinery (8,669). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 10 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims filed in July, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Retail trade accounted for 5 percent of events and 4 percent of initial claims during the month, mainly in general merchan- dise stores. Six percent of the events and 4 percent of the initial claims were from agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, largely among farm labor contractors and crew leaders. Transportation and warehousing accounted for an additional 4 percent of all layoff events and 3 percent of initial claims filed during July, as did the construction sector. Layoffs in trans- portation and warehousing were primarily in school and employee bus transpor- tation. Layoffs in construction were mostly among specialty trade contractors. Government establishments accounted for 7 percent of events and 5 percent of initial claims filed during the month, particularly in educational services, as the school year ended. The 11,265 initial claims in this sector were the most for any July since 1998. Compared with July 2002, the largest decreases in initial claims were re- ported in administrative and support services (-6,527), computer and elec- tronic products (-6,374), and motion picture and sound recording (-5,878). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in trans- portation equipment manufacturing (+12,590). - 2- Table A. Industries with largest mass layoff initial claims in July 2003p ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industry |Initial| July peak | claims|-------------------------- | | Year | Initial claims -----------------------------------------|-------|--------|----------------- Temporary help services..................| 11,444| 1998 | 24,601 Motor vehicle power train components.....| 8,905| 2003 | 8,905 Light truck and utility vehicles.........| 8,348| 1997 | 14,618 All other motor vehicle parts............| 7,349| 1998 | 8,590 Elementary and secondary schools ........| 7,069| 2003 | 7,069 All other plastics products..............| 6,778| 2003 | 6,778 Motor vehicle metal stamping ............| 6,702| 1999 | 6,932 Automobiles..............................| 4,502| 1996 | 22,644 Motor vehicle seating and interior trim..| 3,849| 1999 | 6,702 Professional employer organizations......| 2,926| 2002 | 3,569 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in July due to mass layoffs was reported in the Midwest, 101,533. (See table 3.) Transportation equipment manufacturing accounted for 44 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The South followed, with 48,895 initial claims, then the West, with 45,820, and the Northeast, with 30,187. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in three of the four regions, with the largest decrease in the West (-19,224). The Midwest had the only over-the-year increase (+12,465). Eight of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest declines in the Pacific (-16,921). The East North Central division had the only increase (+13,007). California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this July, 37,033, mostly in administrative and support services and in educational services. Michigan reported 21,647 initial claims, followed by Indiana (18,688) and Ohio (17,086). These four states accounted for 44 percent of all layoff events and 42 percent of initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-15,523). The largest over-the-year increases occurred in Indiana (+7,321), Georgia (+7,011), and Michigan (+5,947). From January through July, California reported 284,855 initial claims, 24 percent of the national total. The states with the next highest numbers of initial claims were Pennsylvania (75,199), Ohio (69,023), New York (60,615), and Texas (58,958). ______________________________ The report on Mass Layoffs in August 2003 will be issued on Thursday, September 25, 2003. 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: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Definitions Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of eligibility. Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2001 to July 2003 Extended mass layoffs Total mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates(1) Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2001 July ....................... 2,117 273,807 August ..................... 1,490 166,148 September .................. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter .............. 4,934 600,357 1,815 (r)371,541 36.8 (r)61.9 October .................... 1,831 215,483 November ................... 2,721 295,956 December ................... 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,992 780,332 (r)2,697 (r)502,502 38.6 64.4 2002 January .................... 2,146 (r)263,777 February (r) ............... 1,382 138,808 March ...................... 1,460 (r)161,316 First Quarter (r) .......... 4,988 563,901 1,750 316,489 35.1 56.1 April (r) .................. 1,506 165,814 May (r) .................... 1,723 179,799 June (r) ................... 1,584 162,189 Second Quarter ............. 4,813 (r)507,802 1,905 (r)353,017 39.6 69.5 July (r) ................... 2,042 245,294 August (r) ................. 1,248 128,103 September .................. 1,062 (r)124,522 Third Quarter .............. (r)4,352 (r)497,919 (r)1,383 (r)284,511 31.8 (r)57.1 October .................... 1,497 (r)171,100 November (r) ............... 2,152 240,151 December (r) ............... 2,474 264,158 Fourth Quarter ............. (r)6,123 (r)675,409 (r)2,257 (r)421,025 36.9 (r)62.3 2003 January .................... 2,315 (r)225,430 February ................... 1,363 (r)124,986 March (r) .................. 1,207 113,026 First Quarter .............. (r)4,885 (r)463,442 1,700 329,153 34.8 71.0 April (2)(r) ............... 1,581 161,412 May (2) .................... 1,703 174,204 June (p) ................... 1,691 157,552 Second Quarter (p) ......... 4,975 493,168 (3)1,894 (3)285,884 38.1 58.0 July (p) ................... 2,087 226,435 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 For April and May 2003, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Wyoming. 3 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become avaliable. Recent experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. p = preliminary. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry July May June July July May June July 2002r 2003 2003p 2003p 2002r 2003 2003p 2003p Total(1) ................................... 2,042 1,703 1,691 2,087 245,294 174,204 157,552 226,435 Total, private .................................. 1,937 1,591 1,397 1,932 235,626 164,028 132,185 215,170 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 118 53 61 117 8,734 3,299 4,442 8,269 Mining ........................................ 13 9 4 7 1,491 1,749 591 505 Utilities ..................................... 4 7 3 - 320 529 315 - Construction .................................. 74 159 95 88 5,675 13,279 6,238 5,970 Manufacturing ................................. 907 499 389 946 135,271 61,278 40,845 136,410 Food ...................................... 60 70 59 74 6,102 7,655 5,829 6,460 Beverage and tobacco products ............. ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) 548 ( 2 ) 614 Textile mills ............................. 33 21 18 27 4,795 2,204 1,970 2,828 Textile product mills ..................... 11 10 10 12 2,336 948 1,581 1,048 Apparel ................................... 34 31 19 36 3,196 3,705 1,584 3,093 Leather and allied products ............... 6 7 6 ( 2 ) 378 544 692 ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 28 24 9 31 2,893 2,361 711 3,976 Paper ..................................... 13 15 9 16 1,244 1,072 1,202 1,035 Printing and related support activities ... 13 16 14 12 1,331 1,249 1,053 723 Petroleum and coal products ............... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 190 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Chemicals ................................. 14 8 9 15 1,451 930 878 1,332 Plastics and rubber products .............. 71 22 19 90 10,080 1,480 3,233 11,122 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 18 13 10 30 2,813 1,080 828 3,954 Primary metals ............................ 64 27 29 66 7,651 3,920 2,226 8,676 Fabricated metal products ................. 60 34 23 59 7,556 2,957 1,728 6,235 Machinery ................................. 76 39 30 65 12,778 6,179 3,062 8,669 Computer and electronic products .......... 93 46 35 60 11,908 4,029 3,464 5,534 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 31 20 13 33 5,036 3,665 2,088 5,445 Transportation equipment .................. 234 52 51 265 47,583 13,288 6,367 60,173 Furniture and related products ............ 27 21 15 20 4,187 1,985 1,363 2,391 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 17 15 6 19 1,699 1,289 572 1,648 Wholesale trade ............................... 29 31 25 36 3,017 2,431 1,597 2,776 Retail trade .................................. 93 117 100 108 10,412 12,107 9,640 9,065 Transportation and warehousing ................ 71 80 135 84 6,658 7,755 15,035 7,489 Information ................................... 72 63 54 44 12,559 8,819 5,954 3,700 Finance and insurance ......................... 52 31 23 35 4,394 2,414 1,730 2,569 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 11 5 7 11 1,066 478 485 751 Professional and technical services ........... 74 65 36 53 6,818 5,542 3,357 4,970 Management of companies and enterprises ....... 3 5 4 4 323 369 725 438 Administrative and waste services ............. 234 204 175 212 24,831 19,751 15,596 18,427 Educational services .......................... 15 8 12 25 1,239 536 961 1,714 Health care and social assistance ............. 54 84 123 59 3,652 7,043 10,226 4,048 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 23 32 25 27 1,599 2,293 1,383 2,559 Accommodation and food services ............... 70 98 83 50 5,930 10,068 9,975 3,764 Other services, except public administration .. 17 39 41 19 1,385 4,143 2,937 1,115 Unclassified .................................. 3 2 2 7 252 145 153 631 Government ...................................... 105 112 294 155 9,668 10,176 25,367 11,265 Federal ....................................... 6 14 9 10 781 1,736 841 899 State ......................................... 17 17 22 24 1,330 1,454 1,699 1,527 Local ......................................... 82 81 263 121 7,557 6,986 22,827 8,839 1 For May 2003, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Wyoming. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. r = revised. NOTE: Industry data reflect the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 2002. Dash represents zero. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Census region and division July May June July July May June July 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p United States(1) .... (r)2,042 1,703 1,691 2,087 (r)245,294 174,204 157,552 226,435 Northeast ................. 315 274 275 336 35,012 27,071 29,032 30,187 New England ............. 68 32 55 69 7,000 2,888 5,732 6,148 Middle Atlantic ......... 247 242 220 267 28,012 24,183 23,300 24,039 South ..................... 485 446 461 440 56,170 48,321 41,019 48,895 South Atlantic .......... 202 214 243 200 22,290 21,217 18,913 22,033 East South Central ...... 137 74 78 128 16,850 7,645 9,495 14,232 West South Central ...... 146 158 140 112 17,030 19,459 12,611 12,630 Midwest ................... 574 373 310 697 89,068 46,401 33,819 101,533 East North Central ...... 468 271 238 589 66,354 34,240 24,398 79,361 West North Central ...... 106 102 72 108 22,714 12,161 9,421 22,172 West (1) .................. (r)668 610 645 614 (r)65,044 52,411 53,682 45,820 Mountain (1) ............ (r)67 62 68 53 (r)6,482 6,104 5,827 4,179 Pacific ................. 601 548 577 561 58,562 46,307 47,855 41,641 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. r = revised. 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 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State July May June July July May June July 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p Total(1) ............. (r)2,042 1,703 1,691 2,087 (r)245,294 174,204 157,552 226,435 Alabama ................. 56 21 21 45 7,290 1,996 3,882 5,466 Alaska .................. - ( 2 ) 4 - - ( 2 ) 439 - Arizona ................. 28 19 17 20 2,528 1,846 1,282 1,634 Arkansas ................ 11 4 9 8 999 266 653 621 California .............. 545 502 526 517 52,556 41,857 42,918 37,033 Colorado ................ 15 7 11 7 1,658 721 884 478 Connecticut ............. 6 5 9 12 598 403 1,296 833 Delaware ................ 4 ( 2 ) 4 3 642 ( 2 ) 266 1,430 District of Columbia .... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Florida ................. 92 100 117 76 6,405 8,078 8,488 5,356 Georgia ................. 9 38 43 53 824 3,807 3,641 7,835 Hawaii .................. 3 6 7 ( 2 ) 256 554 525 ( 2 ) Idaho ................... 7 11 8 9 864 1,444 629 957 Illinois ................ 62 70 44 85 9,521 9,525 4,231 11,117 Indiana ................. 72 34 36 86 11,367 4,685 3,912 18,688 Iowa .................... 25 27 10 24 6,494 4,582 1,186 4,674 Kansas .................. 15 7 11 14 3,701 811 2,198 1,800 Kentucky ................ 59 25 28 57 7,580 3,100 3,087 7,110 Louisiana ............... 18 22 28 20 1,294 2,005 2,308 2,299 Maine ................... ( 2 ) 4 6 3 ( 2 ) 265 388 178 Maryland ................ 11 8 11 16 1,225 969 950 1,149 Massachusetts ........... 44 16 32 43 4,130 1,734 3,230 3,947 Michigan ................ 144 36 39 190 15,700 6,599 3,541 21,647 Minnesota ............... 16 22 20 18 1,702 2,119 1,898 2,127 Mississippi ............. 5 10 7 8 583 717 547 460 Missouri ................ 42 28 25 40 9,917 3,044 3,730 12,137 Montana ................. ( 2 ) 3 8 3 ( 2 ) 236 528 172 Nebraska ................ 8 9 4 9 900 702 267 1,231 Nevada .................. 11 14 14 10 991 1,099 1,597 694 New Hampshire ........... 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 8 696 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 944 New Jersey .............. 44 22 69 59 5,367 1,915 9,441 5,354 New Mexico .............. (r)3 6 6 ( 2 ) (r)172 583 605 ( 2 ) New York ................ 88 110 46 92 9,715 11,375 4,194 8,253 North Carolina .......... 23 27 24 11 2,244 2,790 1,918 1,298 North Dakota ............ - 5 - ( 2 ) - 349 - ( 2 ) Ohio .................... 98 68 72 133 15,236 7,098 8,361 17,086 Oklahoma ................ 20 23 13 9 2,757 4,653 1,188 1,947 Oregon .................. 27 22 20 24 2,829 2,151 2,022 2,891 Pennsylvania ............ 115 110 105 116 12,930 10,893 9,665 10,432 Rhode Island ............ 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 1,163 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 246 South Carolina .......... 35 11 12 17 6,590 1,436 1,039 1,815 South Dakota ............ - 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 554 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ............... 17 18 22 18 1,397 1,832 1,979 1,196 Texas ................... 97 109 90 75 11,980 12,535 8,462 7,763 Utah .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 302 ( 2 ) Vermont ................. 3 4 ( 2 ) - 353 315 ( 2 ) - Virginia ................ 24 26 27 21 3,974 2,967 2,189 2,981 Washington .............. 26 17 20 18 2,921 1,684 1,951 1,579 West Virginia ........... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 308 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin ............... 92 63 47 95 14,530 6,333 4,353 10,823 Wyoming ................. - ( 1 ) - - - ( 1 ) - - Puerto Rico ............. 11 7 8 13 2,251 1,098 702 1,116 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. r = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.