For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, January 25, 2012 USDL-12-0093
Technical information: (202) 691-6392 * mlsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
MASS LAYOFFS -- DECEMBER 2011
ANNUAL TOTALS -- 2011
Employers took 1,384 mass layoff actions in December involving 145,648
workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for
unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50
workers from a single employer. Mass layoff events in December increased
by 52 from November, and associated initial claims increased by 14,021.
In December, 351 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing
sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 39,081 initial claims.
(See table 1.)
___________________________________________________________________
| |
| |
| Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data |
| |
| Seasonally adjusted mass layoff data have been revised using |
| updated seasonal adjustment factors that incorporate 2011 |
| data. Seasonally adjusted estimates back to January 2007 |
| were subject to revision. Revised seasonally adjusted data |
| from January 2008 forward are shown in table 1. The |
| originally published and revised figures for January 2007- |
| November 2011 will be available at |
| www.bls.gov/mls/mlssarevision.htm, along with additional |
| information about the revisions. |
| |
|__________________________________________________________________|
The national unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in December, down from
8.7 percent the prior month and from 9.4 percent a year earlier. Total
nonfarm payroll employment increased by 200,000 over the month and by
1,640,000 over the year.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in December was 2,433, not seasonally
adjusted, resulting in 263,665 initial claims for unemployment insurance.
(See table 2.) Over the year, average weekly mass layoff events increased
by 4 to 487, and associated average weekly initial claims increased by
6,700 to 52,733. Ten of the 19 major industry sectors in the private
economy reported over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims,
with the largest increases occurring in information, administrative and
waste services, and manufacturing. (See table 3.) The six-digit industry
with the largest number of private nonfarm initial claims in December
2011 was temporary help services. (See table A.)
Table A. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in December 2011, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted
Industry December peak
Initial Claims Year Initial claims
Temporary help services (1) ............... 19,987 2011 19,987
Food service contractors .................. 19,639 2011 19,639
Highway, street, and bridge construction .. 15,919 2005 20,030
School and employee bus transportation .... 15,849 2011 15,849
Motion picture and video production ....... 11,109 1998 16,192
Payroll services .......................... 4,588 2000 6,268
Landscaping services ...................... 3,146 2011 3,146
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ... 3,045 2008 3,528
Casino hotels ............................. 2,831 2011 2,831
Professional employer organizations (1) ... 2,668 2008 6,101
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
In December, the manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of mass
layoff events and 30 percent of associated initial claims in the private
economy. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 25 percent of events and
30 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the numbers of mass
layoff claimants in December 2011 were greatest in transportation equipment,
food, and textile mills. Twelve of the 21 manufacturing subsectors
experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, with
the largest increases occurring in food and in textile mills. (See table 3.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the census regions, the Midwest registered the greatest number
of initial claims in December. All four regions experienced over-the-
year increases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest
increase occurring in the West. (See table 4.)
Among the states, California recorded the highest number of mass
layoff initial claims in December, followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio, and New York. Twenty-nine states experienced over-the-
year increases in average weekly initial claims, led by California and
Pennsylvania. (See table 4.)
Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
1996-2011, not seasonally adjusted
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
2000 ............. 15,738 1,835,592
2001 ............. 21,467 2,514,862
2002 ............. 20,277 2,245,051
2003 ............. 18,963 1,888,926
2004 ............. 15,980 1,607,158
2005 ............. 16,466 1,795,341
2006 ............. 13,998 1,484,391
2007 ............. 15,493 1,598,875
2008 ............. 21,137 2,130,220
2009 ............. 28,030 2,796,456
2010 ............. 19,564 1,854,596
2011 ............. 18,521 1,808,451
Review of 2011
For all of 2011, the total numbers of mass layoff events, at 18,521,
and initial claims, at 1,808,451, declined to their lowest levels
since 2007. (See table B.) Twelve of the 19 major industry sectors in
the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in initial
claims, led by manufacturing, construction, and retail trade. In 2011,
total initial claims in the manufacturing sector declined to a series
low 481,702.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 26 percent of mass layoff events
and 29 percent of associated initial claims in the private economy in
2011, about the same percentages as in 2010. The number of manufacturing
claimants in 2011 was highest in transportation equipment and in food.
Total initial claims in 14 of the 21 manufacturing subsectors decreased
between 2010 and 2011, with transportation equipment and machinery
experiencing the largest declines.
Table C. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in 2011, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted
2010 2011
Industry
Initial Rank Initial Rank
claims claims
Temporary help services (1) .................. 117,391 1 143,938 1
School and employee bus transportation ....... 90,887 2 95,287 2
Food service contractors ..................... 74,873 3 75,006 3
Motion picture and video production .......... 45,856 4 47,988 4
Highway, street, and bridge construction ..... 41,662 5 40,349 5
Professional employer organizations (1) ...... 40,396 6 31,916 6
Discount department stores ................... 29,986 8 29,807 7
Child day care services ...................... 19,141 12 23,237 8
Supermarkets and other grocery stores ........ 24,534 9 19,781 9
Wired telecommunications carriers ............ 8,236 37 19,116 10
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
The six-digit industry in the private nonfarm sector with the greatest
number of initial claims in 2011 was temporary help services. Child
day care services and wired telecommunications carriers entered the
list of 10 industries with the highest initial claims for the entire
year. (See table C.) Four industries among these 10 reached program
highs in 2011--school and employee bus transportation, food service
contractors, child day care centers, and wired telecommunications
carriers. (Annual data began in 1996.)
Two of the 4 census regions reported over-the-year decreases in
initial claims from 2010 to 2011, with the largest decline occurring
in the West. Among the states, California recorded the highest number
of mass layoff initial claims in 2011, followed by Pennsylvania, New
York, Florida, and Wisconsin. Twenty-nine states experienced over-the-
year decreases in total initial claims for the year, led by California,
Illinois, and Florida.
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.
The monthly data series in this release are subjected to average
weekly analysis, which mitigates the effect of differing lengths of
months. See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions and for a
description of average weekly analysis.
____________
The Extended Mass Layoffs news release for the Fourth Quarter 2011 and
Annual Totals for 2011 is scheduled to be released on Friday, February
10, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
The Mass Layoffs news release for January 2012 is scheduled to be
released on Thursday, February 23, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
__________________________________________________________________
| |
| Upcoming Changes to Mass Layoff Data |
| |
| With the release of January 2012 data on February 23, 2012, |
| the Mass Layoff Statistics program will update the basis for |
| industry classification from the 2007 North American |
| Industry Classification System (NAICS) to the 2012 NAICS. |
| The new conversion reflects definitional changes within the |
| utilities, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, and |
| retail trade sectors. Several industry titles and |
| descriptions will also be updated. For more information on |
| the 2012 NAICS update, visit |
| www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. |
| |
|__________________________________________________________________|
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
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during
a consecutive 5-week period. These employers 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. The number of weeks in a given
month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in a year
may vary. Therefore, data users who intend to perform analysis of over-the-year
change in the not seasonally adjusted series should use the average weekly
mass layoff figures displayed in tables 3 and 4 of this release. The average
weekly adjustment process produces a consistent series for each month across
all years, permitting over-the-year analysis to be performed using strictly
comparable data.
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; Federal Relay
Service: (800) 877-8339.
Definitions
Average weekly mass layoff events and initial claimants. The number of
events and initial claimants in a given month divided by the number of weeks
contained within that month.
Employer. Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state
unemployment insurance laws. Information on employers is obtained from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is administered
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Industry. Employers are classified according to the 2007 version of the
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For temporary help
and professional employers organization industries, monthly MLS-related
statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client companies
in other industries. An individual layoff action at a client company can
be small, but when initial claimants associated with many such layoffs are
assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a
mass layoff event may trigger.
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 employer during a 5-week period, regardless of
duration.
Seasonal adjustment
Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publishing
six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series. The six series are the numbers of
mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm,
and manufacturing sectors.
Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expansions
and contractions.
The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjustment
method on a concurrent basis. Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available
monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in developing seasonal
adjustment factors. Revisions to the most recent 5 years of seasonally adjusted
data will be made once a year with the issuance of December data. Before the data
are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the original data to adjust
them for differences in the number of weeks used to calculate the monthly data.
Because weekly unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data,
a particular month's value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in 1 year and
4 weeks in another. The effects of these differences could seriously distort the
seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process. These
effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently removed from
the final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2008 to
December 2011, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2008
January .................... 1,439 146,850 1,300 135,422 421 53,254
February ................... 1,724 179,955 1,567 168,003 485 60,752
March ...................... 1,515 151,628 1,400 141,316 441 58,254
April ...................... 1,290 128,643 1,157 117,639 453 57,044
May ........................ 1,567 160,475 1,432 150,893 470 62,776
June ....................... 1,612 163,425 1,471 152,133 491 68,862
July ....................... 1,589 163,572 1,452 153,060 465 62,210
August ..................... 1,763 181,853 1,632 172,147 578 77,464
September .................. 2,159 229,180 1,990 215,749 629 82,011
October .................... 2,201 226,853 2,043 213,454 698 93,252
November ................... 2,406 239,239 2,247 225,404 907 103,836
December ................... 2,437 244,889 2,261 230,621 935 116,181
2009
January .................... 2,254 235,371 2,083 221,653 726 92,293
February ................... 3,059 326,392 2,901 310,378 1,251 145,839
March ...................... 2,999 299,322 2,800 282,414 1,230 154,168
April ...................... 2,566 249,129 2,349 232,632 1,007 116,051
May ........................ 2,710 284,468 2,516 267,869 1,181 147,184
June ....................... 2,466 247,597 2,257 230,502 1,048 137,649
July ....................... 2,186 222,941 1,979 203,911 636 75,728
August ..................... 2,340 216,047 2,115 197,172 751 77,894
September .................. 2,261 214,018 2,048 198,761 786 91,125
October .................... 1,969 195,752 1,772 178,172 571 65,217
November ................... 1,757 164,454 1,588 151,172 472 52,855
December ................... 1,719 155,056 1,543 140,835 424 44,096
2010
January .................... 1,707 168,044 1,529 154,187 471 53,817
February ................... 1,631 156,292 1,465 141,831 374 43,620
March ...................... 1,676 149,816 1,469 134,518 356 40,705
April ...................... 1,637 154,558 1,452 138,503 368 44,506
May ........................ 1,608 150,996 1,357 130,273 302 29,932
June ....................... 1,695 151,435 1,475 132,742 325 33,298
July ....................... 1,519 138,091 1,316 122,162 304 32,253
August ..................... 1,588 159,329 1,399 136,697 390 43,154
September .................. 1,510 133,576 1,295 115,349 328 34,333
October .................... 1,654 149,589 1,446 132,146 354 38,937
November ................... 1,592 161,145 1,410 145,494 360 39,977
December ................... 1,477 135,849 1,271 121,171 322 36,267
2011
January .................... 1,536 148,952 1,348 131,869 337 37,477
February ................... 1,434 131,569 1,242 116,745 297 26,696
March ...................... 1,275 115,391 1,118 102,722 251 28,988
April ...................... 1,548 145,836 1,383 131,317 341 37,053
May ........................ 1,600 144,412 1,404 127,793 374 39,180
June ....................... 1,513 143,384 1,334 128,410 344 36,265
July ....................... 1,562 145,078 1,348 125,285 346 36,312
August ..................... 1,551 164,275 1,347 149,874 382 49,194
September .................. 1,447 147,353 1,306 134,038 364 38,026
October .................... 1,335 118,924 1,205 107,330 341 33,926
November ................... 1,332 131,627 1,192 120,760 324 36,563
December ................... 1,384 145,648 1,238 130,583 351 39,081
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2008 to
December 2011, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2008
January .................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 488 54,418
February ................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 361 42,527
March ...................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 333 43,740
April ...................... 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 394 48,188
May ........................ 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 388 51,698
June ....................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 309 42,097
July ....................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 760 108,733
August ..................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 414 51,912
September .................. 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 361 46,391
October .................... 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 689 100,457
November ................... 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 997 107,620
December ................... 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 1,378 172,529
2009
January .................... 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 1,461 172,757
February ................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 945 103,588
March ...................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 940 114,747
April ...................... 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 887 100,872
May ........................ 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 1,005 123,683
June ....................... 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 674 85,726
July ....................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 1,133 154,208
August ..................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 436 41,151
September .................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 448 51,126
October .................... 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 566 69,655
November ................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 517 55,053
December ................... 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 615 64,540
2010
January .................... 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 962 104,846
February ................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 282 30,728
March ...................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 273 29,745
April ...................... 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 424 55,178
May ........................ 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 216 19,334
June ....................... 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 212 21,083
July ....................... 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 532 64,200
August ..................... 976 92,435 897 83,021 230 23,088
September .................. 920 77,654 806 67,987 187 19,403
October .................... 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 351 40,861
November ................... 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 389 41,383
December ................... 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 465 52,816
2011
January .................... 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 693 75,006
February ................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 222 18,471
March ...................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 191 20,869
April ...................... 1,750 189,919 1,625 176,478 397 47,104
May ........................ 1,367 119,911 1,221 108,531 270 25,199
June ....................... 1,661 159,930 1,238 122,821 226 22,986
July ....................... 2,176 216,774 1,759 174,078 602 71,814
August ..................... 961 99,213 875 93,159 228 26,916
September .................. 1,189 117,232 1,095 107,300 296 32,058
October .................... 1,101 96,914 950 83,748 265 28,447
November ................... 1,393 127,750 1,245 117,474 349 37,799
December ................... 2,433 263,665 2,258 247,916 658 75,033
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally adjusted
Industry Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs (1)
Events Initial claimants Events Initial claimants
December December December December December December December December
2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011
Total (2) .................................. 1,931 2,433 184,130 263,665 483 487 46,033 52,733
Total, private ................................... 1,830 2,322 176,405 252,259 458 464 44,101 50,452
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ... 67 64 3,524 4,343 17 13 881 869
Total, private nonfarm ......................... 1,763 2,258 172,881 247,916 441 452 43,220 49,583
Mining ....................................... 29 26 2,439 2,404 7 5 610 481
Utilities .................................... (3) 5 (3) 476 (3) 1 (3) 95
Construction ................................. 379 402 29,458 32,402 95 80 7,365 6,480
Construction of buildings ................ 42 38 3,379 3,075 11 8 845 615
Heavy and civil engineering construction . 211 252 16,878 21,638 53 50 4,220 4,328
Specialty trade contractors .............. 126 112 9,201 7,689 32 22 2,300 1,538
Manufacturing ................................ 465 658 52,816 75,033 116 132 13,204 15,007
Food ..................................... 52 99 6,590 12,340 13 20 1,648 2,468
Beverage and tobacco products ............ 8 10 856 1,225 2 2 214 245
Textile mills ............................ 21 44 2,239 6,237 5 9 560 1,247
Textile product mills .................... 8 8 981 1,312 2 2 245 262
Apparel .................................. 18 17 1,294 1,586 5 3 324 317
Leather and allied products .............. 3 5 850 433 1 1 213 87
Wood products ............................ 39 49 3,623 4,583 10 10 906 917
Paper .................................... 14 10 1,055 1,180 4 2 264 236
Printing and related support activities .. 13 11 934 786 3 2 234 157
Petroleum and coal products .............. 10 14 892 1,298 3 3 223 260
Chemicals ................................ 8 12 561 1,131 2 2 140 226
Plastics and rubber products ............. 25 44 2,392 4,720 6 9 598 944
Nonmetallic mineral products ............. 48 47 4,212 4,666 12 9 1,053 933
Primary metals ........................... 21 28 1,919 3,104 5 6 480 621
Fabricated metal products ................ 29 41 2,380 4,047 7 8 595 809
Machinery ................................ 18 38 2,724 5,472 5 8 681 1,094
Computer and electronic products ......... 13 27 1,214 2,223 3 5 304 445
Electrical equipment and appliances ...... 12 16 2,372 2,759 3 3 593 552
Transportation equipment ................. 78 107 12,534 12,458 20 21 3,134 2,492
Furniture and related products ........... 20 22 2,521 2,712 5 4 630 542
Miscellaneous manufacturing .............. 7 9 673 761 2 2 168 152
Wholesale trade .............................. 23 29 1,706 2,411 6 6 427 482
Retail trade (4) ............................. 105 135 9,985 14,295 26 27 2,496 2,859
Building material and garden supply stores 8 15 779 1,797 2 3 195 359
Food and beverage stores ................. 27 20 2,394 1,580 7 4 599 316
Clothing and clothing accessories stores . 4 12 289 958 1 2 72 192
General merchandise stores ............... 33 41 3,735 5,876 8 8 934 1,175
Transportation and warehousing (4) ........... 114 161 13,341 21,508 29 32 3,335 4,302
Truck transportation ..................... 14 8 879 572 4 2 220 114
Transit and ground passenger
transportation ......................... 90 128 11,354 18,520 23 26 2,839 3,704
Support activities for transportation .... (3) 8 (3) 819 (3) 2 (3) 164
Information .................................. 25 54 2,818 14,865 6 11 705 2,973
Finance and insurance ........................ 29 24 2,151 1,843 7 5 538 369
Real estate and rental and leasing ........... 13 8 1,408 495 3 2 352 99
Professional and technical services .......... 44 67 3,549 9,581 11 13 887 1,916
Management of companies and enterprises ...... (3) 4 (3) 374 (3) 1 (3) 75
Administrative and waste services ............ 225 338 17,203 32,076 56 68 4,301 6,415
Educational services ......................... 9 11 958 860 2 2 240 172
Health care and social assistance ............ 46 56 3,904 4,900 12 11 976 980
Arts, entertainment, and recreation .......... 24 28 1,843 2,022 6 6 461 404
Accommodation and food services .............. 208 232 27,239 30,635 52 46 6,810 6,127
Accommodation ............................ 45 67 3,729 5,876 11 13 932 1,175
Food services and drinking places ........ 163 165 23,510 24,759 41 33 5,878 4,952
Other services, except public administration . 15 19 1,153 1,681 4 4 288 336
Unclassified ................................. 1 1 92 55 - - 23 11
Government ....................................... 101 111 7,725 11,406 25 22 1,931 2,281
Federal ...................................... 10 9 1,215 755 3 2 304 151
State ........................................ 22 25 1,724 2,580 6 5 431 516
State government education .............. 8 15 583 1,868 2 3 146 374
Local ........................................ 69 77 4,786 8,071 17 15 1,197 1,614
Local government education .............. 39 46 2,436 5,123 10 9 609 1,025
1 Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. There were 4 weeks in December 2010 and 5 weeks in
December 2011. Average weekly events and initial claimants may not sum to subtotals and totals due to rounding.
2 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
4 Includes other industries not shown.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 4. Region and state distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted
Census region and state Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs (1)
Events Initial Claimants Events Initial Claimants
December December December December December December December December
2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011
Total (2) ............... 1,931 2,433 184,130 263,665 483 487 46,033 52,733
Northeast .................. 356 450 35,601 47,617 89 90 8,900 9,523
Connecticut ............ 7 5 576 578 2 1 144 116
Maine .................. 6 10 431 771 2 2 108 154
Massachusetts .......... 19 19 2,372 1,946 5 4 593 389
New Hampshire .......... 3 6 326 951 1 1 82 190
New Jersey ............. 49 88 6,036 8,098 12 18 1,509 1,620
New York ............... 115 117 12,383 11,498 29 23 3,096 2,300
Pennsylvania ........... 142 186 11,904 20,719 36 37 2,976 4,144
Rhode Island ........... 10 13 1,264 2,571 3 3 316 514
Vermont ................ 5 6 309 485 1 1 77 97
South ...................... 493 602 51,554 67,741 123 120 12,889 13,548
Alabama ................ 34 46 3,758 5,134 9 9 940 1,027
Arkansas ............... 6 24 563 2,759 2 5 141 552
Delaware ............... (3) 9 (3) 820 (3) 2 (3) 164
District of Columbia ... (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Florida ................ 92 70 7,554 6,239 23 14 1,889 1,248
Georgia ................ 42 60 4,306 7,507 11 12 1,077 1,501
Kentucky ............... 38 67 5,003 8,047 10 13 1,251 1,609
Louisiana .............. 21 20 1,741 1,923 5 4 435 385
Maryland ............... 9 18 611 1,959 2 4 153 392
Mississippi ............ 19 21 2,128 1,812 5 4 532 362
North Carolina ......... 80 82 8,876 11,050 20 16 2,219 2,210
Oklahoma ............... 6 10 1,410 981 2 2 353 196
South Carolina ......... 26 32 2,648 4,612 7 6 662 922
Tennessee .............. 19 24 1,895 2,157 5 5 474 431
Texas .................. 63 52 7,312 5,033 16 10 1,828 1,007
Virginia ............... 30 64 3,177 7,450 8 13 794 1,490
West Virginia .......... - (3) - (3) - (3) - (3)
Midwest .................... 565 743 58,560 78,074 141 149 14,640 15,615
Illinois ............... 110 118 13,672 13,449 28 24 3,418 2,690
Indiana ................ 49 49 5,314 5,758 12 10 1,329 1,152
Iowa ................... 39 58 3,897 6,797 10 12 974 1,359
Kansas ................. 23 23 2,923 2,952 6 5 731 590
Michigan ............... 67 135 8,985 12,542 17 27 2,246 2,508
Minnesota .............. 34 49 2,932 5,073 9 10 733 1,015
Missouri ............... 54 67 4,763 6,586 14 13 1,191 1,317
Nebraska ............... 14 15 1,157 2,252 4 3 289 450
North Dakota ........... (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Ohio ................... 87 107 7,826 11,550 22 21 1,957 2,310
South Dakota ........... (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Wisconsin .............. 81 111 6,578 10,117 20 22 1,645 2,023
West ....................... 517 638 38,415 70,233 129 128 9,604 14,047
Alaska ................. 9 3 915 447 2 1 229 89
Arizona ................ 9 8 940 750 2 2 235 150
California ............. 365 458 25,602 53,031 91 92 6,401 10,606
Colorado ............... 14 13 964 1,179 4 3 241 236
Hawaii ................. - 4 - 388 - 1 - 78
Idaho .................. 15 20 1,006 1,584 4 4 252 317
Montana ................ 8 11 470 895 2 2 118 179
Nevada ................. 26 31 2,449 3,127 7 6 612 625
New Mexico ............. 8 8 640 590 2 2 160 118
Oregon ................. 25 49 2,234 4,705 6 10 559 941
Utah ................... 10 10 805 693 3 2 201 139
Washington ............. 28 23 2,390 2,844 7 5 598 569
Wyoming ................ - - - - - - - -
Puerto Rico ............ 10 14 940 1,729 3 3 235 346
1 See footnote 1, table 3
2 See footnote 2, table 3.
3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
United States Department of Labor
