Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-2392 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, November 24, 2004 MASS LAYOFFS IN OCTOBER 2004 In October 2004, employers took 1,241 mass layoff actions, 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 127,774. (See table 1.) Both the number of events and initial claims were the lowest for any October since October 2000. Data for October 2004 were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Vermont. From January through October 2004, the total num- bers of events, 12,966, and initial claims, 1,315,320, were lower than in January-October 2003 (15,596 and 1,557,750, respectively). Industry Distribution The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 37,670 initial claims in October, 29 percent of the total. (See table A.) Temporary help services, with 8,113 initial claims, and motion picture and video production, with 5,673 initial claims, together accounted for 11 percent of all initial claims in October. The manufacturing sector had 30 percent of all mass layoff events and 38 percent of all initial claims filed in October. A year ago, manufac- turing comprised 29 percent of events and 34 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (12,733, mainly automotive-related), followed by food processing (9,049) and machinery (4,224). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 15 percent of events and 12 percent of initial claims filed in October, with layoffs mainly in temporary help services. Ten percent of all layoff events and 7 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in construction, primarily among specialty trade contractors. Accommodation and food services accounted for 7 percent of events and initial claims during the month, mainly in hotels and motels, except casino hotels. Retail trade accounted for 8 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, mostly in general merchandise stores. An additional 3 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims were from the information sector, largely in motion picture and sound recording. Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and 4 percent of initial claims filed during the month, mostly in executive, legislative, and general government agencies. Compared with October 2003, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in food and beverage stores (-12,161), administrative and support services (-6,147), and agriculture and forestry support activities (-5,450). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in accommodation (+3,383) and transportation equipment (+2,463). - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in October 2004p --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | October peak Industry | Initial |------------------------- | claims | Year | Initial claims --------------------------------------------|----------|---------|--------------- | | | Temporary help services.....................| 8,113 | 1998 | 18,760 Motion picture and video production.........| 5,673 | 1997 | 7,692 Hotels and motels, except casino hotels.....| 4,282 | 2001 | 5,795 Light truck and utility vehicle mfg. .......| 3,859 | 2001 | 8,763 Professional employer organizations.........| 3,477 | 2001 | 3,523 Fruit and vegetable canning.................| 2,901 | 2002 | 4,500 Automobile manufacturing....................| 2,837 | 2001 | 7,563 Payroll services............................| 2,388 | 2001 | 4,995 Farm labor contractors and crew leaders.....| 2,117 | 1998 | 9,617 Highway, street, and bridge construction....| 2,023 |2003,2004| 2,023 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four Census regions, the highest number of initial claims in October due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 44,250. (See table 3.) Motion picture and sound recording industries, administrative and support services, and food manufacturing accounted for 32 percent of all mass-layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest region was the next largest, with 35,859 initial claims, followed by the South, with 30,246, and the Northeast, with 17,419. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs fell over the year in two of the four regions. The largest decrease was in the West (-24,126), followed by the Midwest (-7,573). The South reported an over-the-year increase of 875 initial claims, followed by the Northeast (+358). Five of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims asso- ciated with mass layoffs, with the largest decreases in the Pacific (-23,698) and West North Central (-6,697) divisions. The largest over-the-year increase was in the South Atlantic division (+1,967). Among the states reporting data this month (Vermont did not provide data), California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in October (34,896), mostly in motion picture and sound recording industries and in administrative and support services. Florida reported 9,737 initial claims, followed by Ohio (8,193), Illinois (8,019), and Pennsylvania (7,661). These five states accounted for 55 percent of all layoff events and 54 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-22,426), followed by Missouri (-3,442) and Iowa (-2,035). The largest over-the-year increase occurred in Florida (+5,129). From January to October 2004, California reported 327,746 mass layoff initial claims, 25 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were Michigan (83,251), New York (82,765), Ohio (77,321), and Pennsylvania (72,275). - 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 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 (referred 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 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. ______________________________ The report on Mass Layoffs in November 2004 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 23, 2004. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Addition of Seasonally Adjusted Data | | | | Beginning with the release of data for January 2005 in February | | 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish seasonally adjusted | | mass layoff data series as well as an analysis of significant over- | | the-month changes in those series. Seasonal adjustment accounts for | | the effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each | | year, making it easier to observe the cyclical and other nonseasonal | | movements. Initially, six mass layoff series will be seasonally ad- | | justed--the number of layoff events and the number of associated in- | | itial claims for unemployment insurance for the U.S. total, the pri- | | vate nonfarm sector, and the manufacturing sector. Historical data | | for each of these series will be available from April 1995 forward. | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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, October 2002 to October 2004 Private nonfarm Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs Date Mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2002 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 (r)227,909 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 (r)326,328 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 (r)238,056 34.3 (r)61.8 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 (r)1,359 (r)251,970 (r)41.5 (r)75.8 July ....................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 August ..................... 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 (2)780 (2)101,456 24.1 28.0 October(p) ................. 1,241 127,774 1,100 117,231 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. r = revised. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry October August September October October August September October 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total(1) .................................. 1,523 809 708 1,241 158,240 69,033 68,972 127,774 Total, private .................................. 1,453 769 669 1,176 150,713 65,294 64,917 122,258 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 188 24 32 76 13,007 1,418 1,815 5,027 Total, private nonfarm ......................... 1,265 745 637 1,100 137,706 63,876 63,102 117,231 Mining ........................................ 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 8 343 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 946 Utilities ..................................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 143 75 65 126 11,422 5,266 4,160 9,512 Manufacturing ................................. 438 194 189 371 53,741 17,698 25,808 48,121 Food ...................................... 96 28 56 78 10,034 2,797 4,848 9,049 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 16 4 3 16 1,237 216 271 1,316 Textile mills ............................. 9 10 6 10 1,533 1,313 701 1,041 Textile product mills ..................... 8 ( 2 ) 4 8 881 ( 2 ) 438 732 Apparel ................................... 25 12 9 18 2,592 898 1,878 1,338 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 15 7 4 15 1,163 566 268 2,600 Paper ..................................... 12 3 4 9 1,049 193 369 580 Printing and related support activities ... 11 6 - 8 998 447 - 548 Petroleum and coal products ............... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Chemicals ................................. 7 3 ( 2 ) 6 546 189 ( 2 ) 380 Plastics and rubber products .............. 16 9 12 18 1,390 614 976 1,451 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 13 4 8 10 1,193 369 759 779 Primary metals ............................ 29 10 ( 2 ) 15 3,444 740 ( 2 ) 2,312 Fabricated metal products ................. 23 21 11 18 2,093 2,031 794 1,855 Machinery ................................. 35 15 11 19 7,212 1,946 1,118 4,224 Computer and electronic products .......... 26 12 11 18 2,361 963 742 1,416 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 11 4 5 17 2,493 293 3,211 2,573 Transportation equipment .................. 55 30 21 58 10,229 2,846 7,400 12,733 Furniture and related products ............ 15 4 10 13 1,995 394 912 1,637 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 11 7 10 11 883 534 842 1,027 Wholesale trade ............................... 22 11 14 11 1,760 749 1,028 1,412 Retail trade .................................. 115 98 68 98 21,870 8,752 5,974 8,550 Transportation and warehousing ................ 37 52 21 34 3,003 5,130 1,692 2,608 Information ................................... 52 37 26 36 7,755 4,909 3,455 7,597 Finance and insurance ......................... 35 29 16 33 2,541 2,117 1,211 2,914 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 12 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 10 718 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 697 Professional and technical services ........... 30 21 19 24 2,447 1,641 1,709 3,994 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Administrative and waste services ............. 233 124 106 188 21,380 10,220 10,255 15,202 Educational services .......................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 368 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Health care and social assistance ............. 37 32 15 34 2,407 2,117 975 2,793 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 28 7 21 30 2,039 459 1,366 2,424 Accommodation and food services ............... 62 41 61 82 5,176 2,581 4,173 9,152 Other services, except public administration .. 7 12 8 6 459 1,486 525 482 Unclassified .................................. 5 2 1 3 343 72 71 309 Government ...................................... 70 40 39 65 7,527 3,739 4,055 5,516 Federal ....................................... 20 8 5 22 1,649 602 364 2,185 State ......................................... 16 8 3 19 1,383 800 233 1,648 Local ......................................... 34 24 31 24 4,495 2,337 3,458 1,683 1 For October 2004, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Vermont. 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 October August September October October August September October 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p United States (1) ... 1,523 809 708 1,241 158,240 69,033 68,972 127,774 Northeast ................. 184 166 101 188 17,061 17,163 8,801 17,419 New England ............. 16 14 9 16 1,157 1,274 637 1,201 Middle Atlantic ......... 168 152 92 172 15,904 15,889 8,164 16,218 South ..................... 278 217 204 323 29,371 16,351 19,467 30,246 South Atlantic .......... 134 116 123 190 13,270 7,914 10,152 15,237 East South Central ...... 44 41 41 58 5,310 3,759 5,643 5,750 West South Central ...... 100 60 40 75 10,791 4,678 3,672 9,259 Midwest ................... 325 151 125 280 43,432 14,653 16,380 35,859 East North Central ...... 264 125 99 219 27,841 11,886 13,827 26,965 West North Central ...... 61 26 26 61 15,591 2,767 2,553 8,894 West ...................... 736 275 278 450 68,376 20,866 24,324 44,250 Mountain ................ 47 17 15 43 4,038 1,099 1,163 3,610 Pacific ................. 689 258 263 407 64,338 19,767 23,161 40,640 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 October August September October October August September October 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total (1) ............ 1,523 809 708 1,241 158,240 69,033 68,972 127,774 Alabama ................. 13 10 18 12 1,671 1,080 1,793 1,477 Alaska .................. 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 295 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 423 Arizona ................. 8 5 - 11 700 353 - 868 Arkansas ................ 6 3 ( 2 ) 3 1,140 261 ( 2 ) 642 California .............. 616 246 246 346 57,322 18,768 21,752 34,896 Colorado ................ 8 ( 2 ) 3 10 581 ( 2 ) 199 829 Connecticut ............. 3 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 200 268 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Delaware ................ ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - - District of Columbia .... - - - - - - - - Florida ................. 66 78 86 143 4,608 4,842 6,349 9,737 Georgia ................. 23 21 11 16 2,838 1,827 815 1,977 Hawaii .................. 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 462 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 260 Idaho ................... 10 5 3 3 1,203 266 331 281 Illinois ................ 74 30 26 56 7,890 3,358 2,567 8,019 Indiana ................. 22 19 19 24 2,118 1,707 2,767 2,235 Iowa .................... 18 5 6 12 3,680 491 764 1,645 Kansas .................. 6 4 4 5 738 587 380 398 Kentucky ................ 23 15 11 27 3,136 1,182 2,892 2,792 Louisiana ............... 12 16 5 11 1,045 1,155 402 714 Maine ................... 3 ( 2 ) - 3 180 ( 2 ) - 207 Maryland ................ 4 ( 2 ) 5 5 256 ( 2 ) 529 544 Massachusetts ........... 9 7 6 6 713 678 439 437 Michigan ................ 42 25 23 40 4,263 2,409 5,997 3,768 Minnesota ............... 17 7 6 15 2,845 897 441 1,390 Mississippi ............. 4 6 3 10 200 613 314 615 Missouri ................ 18 6 3 21 8,165 540 195 4,723 Montana ................. 5 - - 5 360 - - 545 Nebraska ................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 646 666 Nevada .................. 10 4 7 10 835 302 471 755 New Hampshire ........... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 292 New Jersey .............. 27 26 11 35 2,906 2,979 1,630 3,294 New Mexico .............. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New York ................ 44 73 31 52 3,855 8,063 2,950 5,263 North Carolina .......... 19 9 10 5 2,039 577 712 417 North Dakota ............ - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio .................... 66 23 16 54 7,316 1,822 1,352 8,193 Oklahoma ................ 12 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 1,614 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,382 Oregon .................. 39 ( 2 ) 6 29 3,784 ( 2 ) 370 2,536 Pennsylvania ............ 97 53 50 85 9,143 4,847 3,584 7,661 Rhode Island ............ - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) South Carolina .......... 7 ( 2 ) 6 10 706 ( 2 ) 921 688 South Dakota ............ - - - - - - - - Tennessee ............... 4 10 9 9 303 884 644 866 Texas ................... 70 40 32 55 6,992 3,201 2,965 6,521 Utah .................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Vermont ................. - - - ( 1 ) - - - ( 1 ) Virginia ................ 14 4 5 9 1,376 272 826 1,555 Washington .............. 25 8 7 23 2,475 753 819 2,525 West Virginia ........... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Wisconsin ............... 60 28 15 45 6,254 2,590 1,144 4,750 Wyoming ................. 3 - - 3 216 - - 268 Puerto Rico ............. 7 9 30 8 567 803 4,059 693 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.