Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-2533 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, December 23, 2004 MASS LAYOFFS IN NOVEMBER 2004 In November 2004, employers took 1,399 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 130,423. (See table 1.) The number of events was the lowest for any November since 1999 and the number of initial claims was the lowest for any November since 1997. From January through November 2004, the total numbers of events, 14,366, and initial claims, 1,445,887, were lower than in January-November 2003 (17,034 and 1,696,293, respectively). Industry Distribution The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 39,291 initial claims in November, 30 percent of the total. (See table A.) Temporary help services, with 8,873 initial claims, and highway, street, and bridge construction, with 8,566 initial claims, together accounted for 13 percent of all initial claims in November. The manufacturing sector had 29 percent of all mass layoff events and 34 percent of all initial claims filed in November. These were about the same proportions as a year earlier. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in food processing (7,717, mainly in fruits and vegetables), followed by transportation equipment (6,961) and machinery (4,583). (See table 2.) Construction accounted for 17 percent of events and 14 percent of initial claims filed in November, with layoffs mainly in highway, street, and bridge construction. Thirteen percent of all layoff events and initial claims filed during the month were in the administrative and waste services sector, pri- marily in temporary help services. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunt- ing accounted for 10 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims,large- ly among farm labor contractors. Accommodation and food services accounted for 6 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, mostly among food service contractors. An additional 5 percent of events and initial claims were from retail trade, mostly from general merchandise stores. Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and 4 per- cent of initial claims filed in November, mostly in the administration of economic programs. Compared with November 2003, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-2,735), heavy and civil engineering construction (-2,433), and telecommunications (-1,979). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in administra- tive and support services (+3,579). - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in November 2004p --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | November peak Industry | Initial |------------------------- | claims | Year | Initial claims --------------------------------------------|----------|---------|--------------- Temporary help services.....................| 8,873 | 2000 | 19,023 Highway, street, and bridge construction....| 8,566 | 2001 | 14,805 Food service contractors....................| 4,356 | 2004 | 4,356 Motion picture and video production ........| 3,453 | 2000 | 8,664 Farm labor contractors and crew leaders.....| 3,277 | 1999 | 11,613 AC, refrigeration, and forced air heating...| 3,019 | 2001 | 3,028 Professional employer organizations.........| 2,447 | 2002 | 4,088 Discount department stores..................| 2,050 | 2004 | 2,050 Fruit and vegetable canning.................| 1,675 | 2000 | 2,208 Light truck and utility vehicle mfg. .......| 1,575 | 1998 | 3,813 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four Census regions, the highest number of initial claims in November due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 46,854. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services and agriculture and forestry support ac- tivities accounted for 27 percent of all mass-layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest region was the next largest, with 39,650 initial claims, followed by the South, with 24,573, and the Northeast, with 19,346. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs fell over the year in three of the four regions. The largest decrease was in the Midwest (-6,648), fol- lowed by the South (-2,865) and the Northeast (-2,132). The West reported an over-the-year increase in initial claims (+3,525). Five of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associ- ated with mass layoffs, with the largest decreases in the West North Central (-4,947) and South Atlantic (-3,489) divisions. The largest over-the-year in- creases were in the Mountain (+1,864) and Pacific (+1,661) divisions. Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in November (34,089), mostly in administrative and support services and agriculture and forestry support activities. Wis- consin was next highest with 9,144 initial claims reported, followed by Penn- sylvania (7,600) and Illinois (6,462). These four states accounted for 47 percent of all layoff events and 44 percent of all initial claims for unem- ployment insurance. (See table 4.) Missouri reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of ini- tial claims (-2,878), followed by Iowa (-2,305) and Ohio (-2,245). The lar- gest over-the-year increase occurred in California (+1,889). From January to November 2004, California reported 361,835 mass layoff initial claims, 25 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were Michigan (88,283), New York (87,127), Ohio (81,540), and Pennsylvania (79,875). - 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 Mass Layoffs in December 2004 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 26, 2005. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | 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 November 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 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 1,190 227,909 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 1,690 326,328 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 1,339 238,056 34.3 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 1,359 251,970 41.5 75.8 July ....................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 August ..................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 September .................. 708 68,972 637 63,102 Third Quarter .............. 3,611 391,934 3,242 361,855 (2)(p)780 (2)(p)101,456 (p)24.1 (p)28.0 October(p) ................. 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 November(p) ................ 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 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 November September October November November September October November 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total (1) ................................. 1,438 708 1,242 1,399 138,543 68,972 127,918 130,423 Total, private .................................. 1,380 669 1,177 1,336 133,818 64,917 122,402 125,008 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 146 32 76 135 10,294 1,815 5,027 9,459 Total, private nonfarm ......................... 1,234 637 1,101 1,201 123,524 63,102 117,375 115,549 Mining ........................................ 8 ( 2 ) 8 7 568 ( 2 ) 946 701 Utilities ..................................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 308 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 263 65 126 231 20,999 4,160 9,512 17,884 Manufacturing ................................. 408 189 372 412 48,419 25,808 48,265 44,243 Food ...................................... 70 56 78 77 8,410 4,848 9,049 7,717 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 9 3 16 6 938 271 1,316 387 Textile mills ............................. 13 6 10 15 1,178 701 1,041 1,767 Textile product mills ..................... 8 4 8 7 483 438 732 638 Apparel ................................... 14 9 18 20 1,269 1,878 1,338 2,154 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 29 4 16 32 3,852 268 2,744 3,437 Paper ..................................... 12 4 9 7 856 369 580 530 Printing and related support activities ... 8 - 8 9 570 - 548 610 Petroleum and coal products ............... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Chemicals ................................. 10 ( 2 ) 6 7 908 ( 2 ) 380 525 Plastics and rubber products .............. 27 12 18 17 2,085 976 1,451 1,385 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 21 8 10 24 2,089 759 779 2,126 Primary metals ............................ 22 ( 2 ) 15 18 2,470 ( 2 ) 2,312 1,616 Fabricated metal products ................. 31 11 18 28 2,696 794 1,855 2,548 Machinery ................................. 28 11 19 25 4,642 1,118 4,224 4,583 Computer and electronic products .......... 19 11 18 27 1,468 742 1,416 2,534 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 12 5 17 13 2,671 3,211 2,573 1,757 Transportation equipment .................. 51 21 58 53 9,696 7,400 12,733 6,961 Furniture and related products ............ 10 10 13 16 856 912 1,637 1,548 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 8 10 11 5 891 842 1,027 975 Wholesale trade ............................... 23 14 11 24 2,421 1,028 1,412 2,196 Retail trade .................................. 76 68 98 65 6,877 5,974 8,550 6,498 Transportation and warehousing ................ 42 21 34 32 4,127 1,692 2,608 2,900 Information ................................... 37 26 36 45 5,918 3,455 7,597 5,492 Finance and insurance ......................... 19 16 33 22 1,485 1,211 2,914 1,442 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 8 ( 2 ) 10 ( 2 ) 432 ( 2 ) 697 ( 2 ) Professional and technical services ........... 33 19 24 22 3,175 1,709 3,994 2,303 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Administrative and waste services ............. 163 106 188 187 13,925 10,255 15,202 17,370 Educational services .......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Health care and social assistance ............. 28 15 34 27 2,243 975 2,793 2,012 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 26 21 30 25 1,920 1,366 2,424 2,126 Accommodation and food services ............... 75 61 82 81 7,348 4,173 9,152 8,995 Other services, except public administration .. 15 8 6 10 1,081 525 482 647 Unclassified .................................. 2 1 3 1 1,646 71 309 40 Government ...................................... 58 39 65 63 4,725 4,055 5,516 5,415 Federal ....................................... 9 5 22 12 820 364 2,185 1,290 State ......................................... 22 3 19 25 1,917 233 1,648 2,342 Local ......................................... 27 31 24 26 1,988 3,458 1,683 1,783 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 November September October November November September October November 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p United States (1) ... 1,438 708 1,242 1,399 138,543 68,972 127,918 130,423 Northeast ................. 210 101 189 198 21,478 8,801 17,563 19,346 New England ............. 29 9 17 26 2,282 637 1,345 1,998 Middle Atlantic ......... 181 92 172 172 19,196 8,164 16,218 17,348 South ..................... 265 204 323 255 27,438 19,467 30,246 24,573 South Atlantic .......... 135 123 190 116 13,822 10,152 15,237 10,333 East South Central ...... 35 41 58 42 4,212 5,643 5,750 4,651 West South Central ...... 95 40 75 97 9,404 3,672 9,259 9,589 Midwest ................... 426 125 280 389 46,298 16,380 35,859 39,650 East North Central ...... 313 99 219 306 31,687 13,827 26,965 29,986 West North Central ...... 113 26 61 83 14,611 2,553 8,894 9,664 West ...................... 537 278 450 557 43,329 24,324 44,250 46,854 Mountain ................ 51 15 43 59 4,606 1,163 3,610 6,470 Pacific ................. 486 263 407 498 38,723 23,161 40,640 40,384 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 November September October November November September October November 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total (1) ............ 1,438 708 1,242 1,399 138,543 68,972 127,918 130,423 Alabama ................. 10 18 12 9 1,384 1,793 1,477 915 Alaska .................. 6 ( 2 ) 5 7 561 ( 2 ) 423 686 Arizona ................. 4 - 11 3 257 - 868 255 Arkansas ................ 3 ( 2 ) 3 11 777 ( 2 ) 642 1,477 California .............. 420 246 346 429 32,200 21,752 34,896 34,089 Colorado ................ 7 3 10 7 549 199 829 533 Connecticut ............. 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 312 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Delaware ................ ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - - District of Columbia .... ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - - Florida ................. 55 86 143 43 3,533 6,349 9,737 3,107 Georgia ................. 18 11 16 19 1,771 815 1,977 1,809 Hawaii .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 260 ( 2 ) Idaho ................... 11 3 3 16 1,408 331 281 1,888 Illinois ................ 57 26 56 63 5,785 2,567 8,019 6,462 Indiana ................. 42 19 24 40 4,269 2,767 2,235 5,129 Iowa .................... 29 6 12 14 3,464 764 1,645 1,159 Kansas .................. 6 4 5 6 696 380 398 1,090 Kentucky ................ 14 11 27 19 1,649 2,892 2,792 2,160 Louisiana ............... 23 5 11 19 1,773 402 714 1,789 Maine ................... 4 - 3 4 306 - 207 328 Maryland ................ 9 5 5 4 843 529 544 347 Massachusetts ........... 17 6 6 15 1,373 439 437 1,108 Michigan ................ 48 23 40 63 5,058 5,997 3,768 5,032 Minnesota ............... 44 6 15 35 3,849 441 1,390 4,260 Mississippi ............. 3 3 10 - 165 314 615 - Missouri ................ 22 3 21 23 5,651 195 4,723 2,773 Montana ................. 5 - 5 7 428 - 545 1,023 Nebraska ................ 7 6 7 ( 2 ) 412 646 666 ( 2 ) Nevada .................. 14 7 10 19 1,156 471 755 2,219 New Hampshire ........... ( 2 ) - 4 - ( 2 ) - 292 - New Jersey .............. 43 11 35 42 5,985 1,630 3,294 5,386 New Mexico .............. 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 212 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 384 New York ................ 59 31 52 55 5,648 2,950 5,263 4,362 North Carolina .......... 23 10 5 24 3,635 712 417 2,294 North Dakota ............ 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 474 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 238 Ohio .................... 75 16 54 49 6,464 1,352 8,193 4,219 Oklahoma ................ 3 ( 2 ) 6 9 406 ( 2 ) 1,382 845 Oregon .................. 26 6 29 31 3,058 370 2,536 2,886 Pennsylvania ............ 79 50 85 75 7,563 3,584 7,661 7,600 Rhode Island ............ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 372 South Carolina .......... 7 6 10 13 547 921 688 1,619 South Dakota ............ ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) Tennessee ............... 8 9 9 14 1,014 644 866 1,576 Texas ................... 66 32 55 58 6,448 2,965 6,521 5,478 Utah .................... 6 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 596 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Vermont ................. ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Virginia ................ 16 5 9 10 2,644 826 1,555 976 Washington .............. 32 7 23 29 2,751 819 2,525 2,536 West Virginia ........... 5 - ( 2 ) 3 556 - ( 2 ) 181 Wisconsin ............... 91 15 45 91 10,111 1,144 4,750 9,144 Wyoming ................. - - 3 ( 2 ) - - 268 ( 2 ) Puerto Rico ............. - 30 8 6 - 4,059 693 562 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.