Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-2168 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, October 21, 2004 MASS LAYOFFS IN SEPTEMBER 2004 In September 2004, employers took 708 mass layoff actions, 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 68,972. (See table 1.) Both the num- ber of events and initial claims were lower than a year ago. From January through September 2004, the total number of events, 11,725, and initial claims, 1,187,546, were lower than in January-September 2003 (14,073 and 1,399,510, respectively). Industry Distribution The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 27,382 initial claims in September, 40 percent of the total. (See table A.) Temporary help services, with 6,789 initial claims, accounted for 10 percent of all initial claims in September. The manufacturing sector had 27 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of all initial claims filed in September. A year ago, manu- facturing reported 31 percent of events and 38 percent of initial claims. The number of manufacturing events this month was the lowest for any September since 1997, and the number of initial claims was the lowest for any September since 1998. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (7,400, mainly automotive-related), followed by food processing (4,848) and electrical equipment and appliances (3,211). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 15 percent of both events and initial claims filed in September, with layoffs mainly in temporary help services. Ten percent of all layoff events and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, primarily in general merchandise stores. Accommodation and food services accounted for 9 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims during the month, mainly in full-service restaurants. Construction also accounted for 9 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims, mostly among specialty trade con- tractors. An additional 4 percent of events and 5 percent of initial claims were from the information sector, largely in motion picture and sound record- ing. Government establishments accounted for 6 percent of events and initial claims filed during the month, mostly in elementary and secondary schools. Compared with September 2003, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in computer and electronic products (-4,078), textile mills (-2,809), professional and technical services (-2,021), and motion picture and sound recording industries (-1,806). The largest over-the-year in- creases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment (+2,575) and electrical equipment and appliances (+2,069). - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in September 2004p -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | September peak Industry | Initial |------------------------ | claims | Year | Initial claims --------------------------------------------|----------|--------|--------------- | | | Temporary help services.....................| 6,789 | 2001 | 12,752 Automobile manufacturing....................| 5,060 | 2004 | 5,060 Household refrigerator and home freezers....| 2,981 | 2004 | 2,981 Motion picture and video production.........| 2,663 | 1997 | 11,176 Elementary and secondary schools............| 2,363 | 2004 | 2,363 Supermarkets and other grocery stores ......| 1,755 | 2004 | 1,755 Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ....| 1,741 | 2001 | 10,886 Professional employer organizations ........| 1,418 | 2001 | 2,435 Men's pants, except work pands, mfg. .......| 1,395 | 1995 | 1,919 Full-service restaurants ...................| 1,217 | 2001 | 1,702 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in September due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 24,324. (See table 3.) Admin- istrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording indus- tries accounted for 35 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The South region was next, with 19,467 initial claims, followed by the Midwest, with 16,380, and the Northeast, with 8,801. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs fell over the year in three of the four regions. The largest decrease was in the West (-10,053), followed by the Northeast (-3,314) and the Midwest (-488). Five of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of ini- tial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decreases in the Pacific (-8,648), New England (-3,922), and West South Central (-2,773) div- sions. The largest over-the-year increases were in the East South Central (+1,499) and South Atlantic (+1,454) divisions. Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in September (21,752), mostly in admin- istrative and support services and in motion picture and sound recording industries. Florida reported 6,349 initial claims, followed by Michigan (5,997) and Pennsylvania (3,584). These four states accounted for 57 per- cent of all layoff events and 55 percent of all initial claims for unemploy- ment insurance. (See table 4.) California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-7,677), followed by Texas (-2,622) and Illinois (-1,943). The largest over-the-year increases occurred in Michigan (+4,136) and Florida (+3,794). From January to September, California reported 292,850 mass layoff initial claims, 25 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were Michigan (79,483), New York (77,502), Ohio (69,128), and Pennsylvania (64,614). - 3 - 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 lay- offs. 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 (referred to as "extended mass lay- offs"). 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 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. ______________________________ The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Third Quarter of 2004 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 18, 2004. The report on Mass Layoffs in October 2004 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 23, 2004. - 4 - 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 establish- ments 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 long- er, 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 ter- minated 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 indi- viduals 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 2002 to September 2004 Private nonfarm Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs Realization Date Mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days rates (1) Initial Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2002 July ....................... 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 August ..................... 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 September .................. 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 Third Quarter .............. 4,352 497,919 3,927 461,502 1,186 254,955 30.2 55.2 October .................... 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 November ................... 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 December ................... 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,124 675,429 5,454 618,371 1,916 370,592 35.1 59.9 2003 January .................... 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 February ................... 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 March ...................... 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 First Quarter .............. 4,885 463,421 4,451 431,650 1,502 297,608 33.7 68.9 April ...................... 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 May ........................ 1,703 174,204 1,538 160,729 June ....................... 1,691 157,552 1,336 127,743 Second Quarter ............. 4,975 493,168 4,344 441,409 1,799 348,966 41.4 79.1 July ....................... 2,087 226,435 1,815 206,901 August ..................... 1,258 133,839 1,163 124,131 September .................. 868 82,647 756 73,914 Third Quarter .............. 4,213 442,921 3,734 404,946 1,190 227,878 31.9 56.3 October .................... 1,523 158,240 1,265 137,706 November ................... 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 December ................... 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,890 489,416 4,292 443,980 1,690 326,261 39.4 73.5 2004 January .................... 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 February ................... 941 84,201 832 76,577 March ...................... 920 92,554 847 87,782 First Quarter .............. 4,289 416,209 3,905 385,046 1,339 236,521 34.3 61.4 April ...................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 May ........................ 988 87,501 878 78,786 June ....................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 Second Quarter ............. 3,825 379,403 3,271 332,247 (2)(p) 1,233 (2)(p) 178,381 (p)37.7 (p)53.7 July ....................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 August(p) .................. 809 69,033 745 63,876 September(p) ............... 708 68,972 637 63,102 Third Quarter(p) ........... 3,611 391,934 3,242 361,855 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry September July August September September July August September 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total(1) .................................. 868 2,094 809 708 82,647 253,929 69,033 68,972 Total, private .................................. 799 1,945 769 669 76,296 241,601 65,294 64,917 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 43 85 24 32 2,382 6,724 1,418 1,815 Total, private nonfarm ......................... 756 1,860 745 637 73,914 234,877 63,876 63,102 Mining ........................................ 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 259 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Utilities ..................................... ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 82 119 75 65 5,205 8,700 5,266 4,160 Manufacturing ................................. 271 885 194 189 31,428 145,895 17,698 25,808 Food ...................................... 44 82 28 56 4,145 7,418 2,797 4,848 Beverage and tobacco products ............. ( 2 ) 6 4 3 ( 2 ) 447 216 271 Textile mills ............................. 21 26 10 6 3,510 2,309 1,313 701 Textile product mills ..................... ( 2 ) 15 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 1,966 ( 2 ) 438 Apparel ................................... 10 46 12 9 1,212 5,521 898 1,878 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 841 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 11 33 7 4 969 5,523 566 268 Paper ..................................... 10 ( 2 ) 3 4 834 ( 2 ) 193 369 Printing and related support activities ... ( 2 ) 10 6 - ( 2 ) 1,195 447 - Petroleum and coal products ............... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Chemicals ................................. 9 17 3 ( 2 ) 602 2,032 189 ( 2 ) Plastics and rubber products .............. 10 98 9 12 886 13,053 614 976 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 5 16 4 8 420 2,242 369 759 Primary metals ............................ 24 50 10 ( 2 ) 2,011 8,177 740 ( 2 ) Fabricated metal products ................. 5 62 21 11 826 6,961 2,031 794 Machinery ................................. 21 39 15 11 2,073 5,426 1,946 1,118 Computer and electronic products .......... 26 31 12 11 4,820 4,012 963 742 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 9 17 4 5 1,142 1,661 293 3,211 Transportation equipment .................. 31 288 30 21 4,825 72,492 2,846 7,400 Furniture and related products ............ 11 23 4 10 1,254 2,331 394 912 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 10 14 7 10 662 1,798 534 842 Wholesale trade ............................... 22 30 11 14 1,808 2,853 749 1,028 Retail trade .................................. 69 104 98 68 5,789 10,541 8,752 5,974 Transportation and warehousing ................ 20 112 52 21 1,723 9,522 5,130 1,692 Information ................................... 26 40 37 26 5,791 6,778 4,909 3,455 Finance and insurance ......................... 35 35 29 16 2,371 2,438 2,117 1,211 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 5 17 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 382 1,580 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Professional and technical services ........... 29 55 21 19 3,730 8,562 1,641 1,709 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Administrative and waste services ............. 109 253 124 106 9,606 22,955 10,220 10,255 Educational services .......................... 8 16 5 ( 2 ) 634 1,219 368 ( 2 ) Health care and social assistance ............. 13 69 32 15 945 4,623 2,117 975 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 19 30 7 21 1,237 2,092 459 1,366 Accommodation and food services ............... 37 68 41 61 2,623 5,100 2,581 4,173 Other services, except public administration .. 3 15 12 8 183 987 1,486 525 Unclassified .................................. 1 6 2 1 50 361 72 71 Government ...................................... 69 149 40 39 6,351 12,328 3,739 4,055 Federal ....................................... 13 19 8 5 1,910 2,122 602 364 State ......................................... 14 24 8 3 1,417 2,247 800 233 Local ......................................... 42 106 24 31 3,024 7,959 2,337 3,458 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: 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 September July August September September July August September 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p United States (1) ... 868 2,094 809 708 82,647 253,929 69,033 68,972 Northeast ................. 107 289 166 101 12,115 27,200 17,163 8,801 New England ............. 19 35 14 9 4,559 2,767 1,274 637 Middle Atlantic ......... 88 254 152 92 7,556 24,433 15,889 8,164 South ..................... 196 487 217 204 19,287 55,404 16,351 19,467 South Atlantic .......... 96 225 116 123 8,698 23,319 7,914 10,152 East South Central ...... 31 151 41 41 4,144 20,698 3,759 5,643 West South Central ...... 69 111 60 40 6,445 11,387 4,678 3,672 Midwest ................... 165 706 151 125 16,868 118,913 14,653 16,380 East North Central ...... 125 604 125 99 12,646 99,614 11,886 13,827 West North Central ...... 40 102 26 26 4,222 19,299 2,767 2,553 West ...................... 400 612 275 278 34,377 52,412 20,866 24,324 Mountain ................ 30 53 17 15 2,568 5,010 1,099 1,163 Pacific ................. 370 559 258 263 31,809 47,402 19,767 23,161 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 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 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State September July August September September July August September 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total (1) ............ 868 2,094 809 708 82,647 253,929 69,033 68,972 Alabama ................. 8 48 10 18 1,164 6,033 1,080 1,793 Alaska .................. 3 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 185 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Arizona ................. 4 19 5 - 423 1,812 353 - Arkansas ................ 3 6 3 ( 2 ) 268 763 261 ( 2 ) California .............. 345 504 246 246 29,429 41,702 18,768 21,752 Colorado ................ 6 3 ( 2 ) 3 439 217 ( 2 ) 199 Connecticut ............. 4 4 4 ( 2 ) 291 255 268 ( 2 ) Delaware ................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - District of Columbia .... - 3 - - - 470 - - Florida ................. 43 90 78 86 2,555 6,491 4,842 6,349 Georgia ................. 19 27 21 11 2,130 2,338 1,827 815 Hawaii .................. 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 196 214 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Idaho ................... 6 11 5 3 463 944 266 331 Illinois ................ 41 71 30 26 4,510 8,625 3,358 2,567 Indiana ................. 13 96 19 19 983 20,435 1,707 2,767 Iowa .................... 9 22 5 6 1,108 3,552 491 764 Kansas .................. 6 17 4 4 547 2,023 587 380 Kentucky ................ 16 79 15 11 2,259 12,944 1,182 2,892 Louisiana ............... 4 22 16 5 231 1,501 1,155 402 Maine ................... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Maryland ................ ( 2 ) 14 ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 1,274 ( 2 ) 529 Massachusetts ........... 10 19 7 6 1,047 1,435 678 439 Michigan ................ 18 253 25 23 1,861 35,562 2,409 5,997 Minnesota ............... 7 13 7 6 511 1,884 897 441 Mississippi ............. ( 2 ) 8 6 3 ( 2 ) 500 613 314 Missouri ................ 13 43 6 3 1,307 10,635 540 195 Montana ................. ( 2 ) 3 - - ( 2 ) 402 - - Nebraska ................ 5 6 ( 2 ) 6 749 1,119 ( 2 ) 646 Nevada .................. 12 11 4 7 879 1,094 302 471 New Hampshire ........... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 530 ( 2 ) - New Jersey .............. 8 46 26 11 691 4,096 2,979 1,630 New Mexico .............. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New York ................ 38 94 73 31 3,384 9,615 8,063 2,950 North Carolina .......... 11 13 9 10 897 1,118 577 712 North Dakota ............ - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio .................... 29 122 23 16 2,979 26,605 1,822 1,352 Oklahoma ................ 5 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 359 1,919 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Oregon .................. 5 32 ( 2 ) 6 375 3,921 ( 2 ) 370 Pennsylvania ............ 42 114 53 50 3,481 10,722 4,847 3,584 Rhode Island ............ ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 381 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) South Carolina .......... 5 51 ( 2 ) 6 1,548 6,843 ( 2 ) 921 South Dakota ............ - - - - - - - - Tennessee ............... 5 16 10 9 608 1,221 884 644 Texas ................... 57 73 40 32 5,587 7,204 3,201 2,965 Utah .................... - 5 - ( 2 ) - 499 - ( 2 ) Vermont ................. ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - - Virginia ................ 14 24 4 5 1,321 2,989 272 826 Washington .............. 14 20 8 7 1,624 1,565 753 819 West Virginia ........... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Wisconsin ............... 24 62 28 15 2,313 8,387 2,590 1,144 Wyoming ................. - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ............. 7 14 9 30 573 1,234 803 4,059 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.