For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, January 27, 2010 USDL-10-0098
Technical information: (202) 691-6392 * mlsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
MASS LAYOFFS -- DECEMBER 2009
ANNUAL TOTALS -- 2009
Employers took 1,726 mass layoff actions in December that resulted in the
separation of 153,127 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new fil-
ings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. Each action involved at least 50 per-
sons from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in December
decreased by 87 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial
claims decreased by 10,696. Both figures reached their lowest level since
July 2008. In December, 433 mass layoff events were reported in the manu-
facturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 44,072 initial claims.
Both figures decreased over the month to their lowest levels since November
and August 2007, respectively. (See table 1.)
During the 25 months from December 2007 through December 2009, the total
number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 51,978, and the as-
sociated number of initial claims was 5,242,840. (December 2007 was the
start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Re-
search.)
In 2009, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, the total numbers of mass
layoff events, at 28,030, and initial claims, at 2,796,456, reached
their highest annual levels on record. (Annual data began in 1996. See
table B.) Among the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy,
12 registered annual program highs for both mass layoff events and ini-
tial claims. All 4 regions, all 9 divisions, and 43 states and the
District of Columbia experienced increases in total annual initial
claims from 2008 to 2009. In addition, 3 of the 4 regions, 6 of the 9
divisions, and 26 states recorded program highs in terms of initial
claims activity in 2009.
The national unemployment rate was 10.0 percent in December 2009, sea-
sonally adjusted, unchanged from the prior month but up from 7.4 per-
cent a year earlier. In December, nonfarm payroll employment decreased
by 85,000 over the month and by 4,164,000 from a year earlier.
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| |
| Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data |
| |
| Seasonally adjusted mass layoff data have been revised using updated |
| seasonal adjustment factors that incorporate 2009 data. Seasonally |
| adjusted estimates back to January 2005 were subject to revision. Re- |
| vised seasonally adjusted data from January 2006 forward are shown in |
| table 1. The originally published and revised figures for January 2006- |
| November 2009 are available at www.bls.gov/mls/mlssarevision.htm, along |
| with additional information about the revisions. |
| |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial
claims in December 2009, not seasonally adjusted
December peak
Industry
Initial Year Initial
claims claims
Food service contractors ................... 14,565 2009 14,565
Highway, street, and bridge construction ... 13,893 2005 20,088
School and employee bus transportation ..... 13,206 2006 14,747
Temporary help services (1) ................ 10,339 2005 16,656
Motion picture and video production ........ 4,439 1998 16,192
Professional employer organizations (1) .... 3,630 2008 6,101
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .... 3,460 2008 3,528
Commercial building construction ........... 3,120 2009 3,120
Discount department stores ................. 2,720 2006 3,255
Ready-mix concrete manufacturing ........... 2,683 2005 3,232
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in December was 2,310 on a not season-
ally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 214,648.
Over the year, the number of mass layoff events decreased by 1,067, and
associated initial claims decreased by 136,657. (See table 2.) Thirteen
of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-
the-year decreases in initial claimants, led by manufacturing (-107,989).
(See table 3.) Three sectors reported December program highs in terms of
average weekly initial claimants: retail trade; educational services;
and accommodation and food services. (Average weekly analysis mitigates
the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note.)
The manufacturing sector accounted for 27 percent of all mass layoff
events and 30 percent of initial claims filed in December 2009. A year
earlier, manufacturing made up 41 percent of events and 49 percent of
initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in
December was greatest in transportation equipment, machinery, and food.
All 21 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) manufac-
turing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims,
led by transportation equipment (-50,799) and plastics and rubber pro-
ducts (-10,728). (See table 3.)
The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims
in December 2009 was food service contractors. Of the 10 six-digit in-
dustries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims, food
service contractors and commercial building construction reached pro-
gram highs for the month of December. (See table A.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the four census regions, the Midwest registered the highest num-
ber of initial claims in December due to mass layoffs, followed by
the South and the West. Initial claims decreased over the year in all
of the regions, with the Midwest (-69,329) and the South (-46,059)
experiencing the largest decreases. Of the nine geographic divisions,
the East North Central had the highest number of initial claims due to
mass layoffs in December, followed by the Pacific and Middle Atlantic.
All 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims,
led by the East North Central (-56,114). (See table 5.)
Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for
unemployment insurance, 1996-2009, 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
California recorded the highest number of initial claims in December,
followed by Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan. Thirty-
nine states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-year
decreases in initial claims, led by Ohio (-18,948) and Kentucky
(-16,557). (See table 6.) In 2009, three states reached December pro-
gram highs for average weekly initial claims: Florida, New York, and
Utah.
Review of 2009
For all of 2009, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, the total numbers
of mass layoff events, at 28,030, and initial claims, at 2,796,456,
reached their highest annual levels on record. (See table B.) Among
the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy, manufacturing
had the most initial claims in 2009 (1,137,106), followed by adminis-
trative and waste services (294,709) and construction (205,765). Manu-
facturing also had the largest over-the-year increase in total annual
initial claims (+266,796), with retail trade (+57,283) and administra-
tive and waste services (+48,039) experiencing the next largest in-
creases. Among the major industry sectors, 12 registered series highs
for both mass layoff events and initial claims in 2009: mining; con-
struction; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and ware-
housing; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing;
management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste ser-
vices; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and
recreation; and accommodation and food services.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 36 percent of all mass layoff
events and 43 percent of initial claims filed in the private economy
in 2009; in 2008, manufacturing made up 34 percent of events and 43
percent of initial claims. The number of manufacturing claimants in
2009 was highest in transportation equipment (304,693), followed by
machinery (164,176) and fabricated metal products (84,702). Total
initial claims for 18 of the 21 manufacturing subsectors increased
from 2008 to 2009, with machinery experiencing the largest change
(+110,503). Transportation equipment recorded the largest over-the-
year decrease (-18,929).
The six-digit NAICS industries with the largest total number of ini-
tial claims in 2009 were temporary help services, school and employee
bus transportation, and food service contractors. Construction ma-
chinery manufacturing entered the top 10 in terms of initial claims,
displacing heavy duty truck manufacturing. (See table C.) Of the top
10 industries, 6 reached program highs in 2009: construction machinery
manufacturing; light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing; school
and employee bus transportation; professional employer organizations;
elementary and secondary schools; and food service contractors.
Among the 4 census regions, the Midwest reported the highest number
of mass layoff initial claims filed during 2009 (892,202), followed
by the West and the South. All 4 regions experienced over-the-year an-
nual increases, with the largest increases taking place in the Midwest
(+215,611). The Midwest, Northeast, and South also reached program
highs for total initial claims in 2009. All 9 geographic divisions
also experienced higher claimant activity in 2009 when compared with
2008, with the largest increases occurring in the East North Central
(+167,804)--which also had the largest number of claims in 2009, the
Middle Atlantic (+119,644), and the South Atlantic (+118,688). Six of
the 9 divisions reached program highs for total annual claims in 2009:
East North Central, East South Central, Middle Atlantic, Mountain,
South Atlantic, and West North Central.
California recorded the largest number of initial claims during 2009
followed by Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ohio. Forty-three
states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-year annual
increases in initial claims; Illinois reported the largest over-the-
year increase in 2009 (+89,810), followed by California (+85,548) and
Pennsylvania (+54,483). Of the 7 states with over-the-year decreases
in initial claims in 2009, the largest were reported in Louisiana
(-5,566), Mississippi (-3,702), and Kentucky (-2,632). Twenty-six states
recorded series highs in mass layoff claimant activity in 2009: Alaska,
Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Table C. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in
2009, not seasonally adjusted
2009 2008
Industry
Initial Rank Initial Rank
claims claims
Temporary help services (1) ................... 151,957 1 134,699 1
School and employee bus transportation ........ 92,324 2 79,083 2
Food service contractors ...................... 68,888 3 54,677 3
Professional employer organizations (1) ....... 65,280 4 54,016 4
Elementary and secondary schools .............. 62,774 5 28,996 10
Construction machinery manufacturing .......... 55,334 6 4,496 102
Motion picture and video production ........... 53,275 7 45,394 6
Automobile manufacturing ...................... 46,306 8 51,804 5
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing . 40,422 9 38,450 8
Highway, street, and bridge construction ...... 40,186 10 39,467 7
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
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 (re-
ferred 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 4.)
See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
____________
The Extended Mass Layoffs in the Fourth Quarter 2009 news release is
scheduled to be released on Friday, February 12, 2010, at 10:00 a.m.
(EST). The Mass Layoffs in January news release is scheduled to be
released on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
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, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year
change in not seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect
into consideration.
The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay
Service: (800) 877-8339.
Definitions
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 adminis-
tered 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 insur-
ance 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 publish-
ing 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 expan-
sions and contractions.
The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis. Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping 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 sea-
sonal 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 2006 to
December 2009, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2006
January .................... 1,110 112,550 979 102,802 289 34,737
February ................... 938 96,542 846 88,629 304 40,029
March ...................... 1,069 117,725 965 109,241 312 45,687
April ...................... 1,189 123,056 1,055 112,922 352 48,731
May ........................ 1,121 117,834 1,003 107,929 302 40,703
June ....................... 1,150 125,318 1,039 115,883 349 43,476
July ....................... 1,182 121,056 1,056 111,432 373 51,691
August ..................... 1,238 135,707 1,104 125,704 372 58,962
September .................. 1,154 124,200 1,043 115,261 393 45,972
October .................... 1,208 123,691 1,094 115,102 409 53,957
November ................... 1,244 135,465 1,128 125,976 413 58,509
December ................... 1,227 134,176 1,123 124,570 376 51,403
2007
January .................... 1,264 130,834 1,113 119,874 404 55,217
February ................... 1,191 121,289 1,075 112,607 374 54,581
March ...................... 1,225 126,391 1,113 117,760 386 48,298
April ...................... 1,268 129,098 1,135 118,175 362 43,205
May ........................ 1,172 118,648 1,070 111,103 345 44,391
June ....................... 1,241 131,394 1,125 122,123 338 37,931
July ....................... 1,274 130,331 1,169 122,381 403 55,973
August ..................... 1,247 126,108 1,158 118,575 323 34,902
September .................. 1,255 123,632 1,160 116,744 436 51,814
October .................... 1,370 137,108 1,248 128,387 449 58,360
November ................... 1,415 148,952 1,289 139,665 424 58,543
December ................... 1,569 155,095 1,448 145,666 483 60,368
2008
January .................... 1,481 151,269 1,348 140,570 436 57,147
February ................... 1,578 162,152 1,432 150,712 470 60,276
March ...................... 1,487 151,539 1,372 141,574 436 56,919
April ...................... 1,327 133,318 1,201 122,651 460 59,377
May ........................ 1,604 170,619 1,465 160,529 468 62,345
June ....................... 1,674 170,329 1,523 158,084 501 68,403
July ....................... 1,531 152,447 1,389 141,707 461 61,417
August ..................... 1,845 189,798 1,711 179,737 607 78,172
September .................. 2,222 235,755 2,049 220,832 634 81,989
October .................... 2,287 239,768 2,125 226,098 721 95,301
November ................... 2,489 240,181 2,334 227,368 929 107,072
December ................... 2,461 243,505 2,277 229,171 962 115,961
2009
January .................... 2,279 251,807 2,115 238,990 764 109,124
February ................... 2,737 289,162 2,592 274,040 1,186 141,264
March ...................... 2,913 295,970 2,715 279,671 1,202 146,381
April ...................... 2,663 263,162 2,461 247,329 1,033 125,093
May ........................ 2,794 306,788 2,589 289,012 1,183 145,166
June ....................... 2,598 260,596 2,371 241,864 1,072 135,844
July ....................... 2,039 196,578 1,818 176,542 565 66,918
August ..................... 2,480 238,911 2,244 218,425 798 87,201
September .................. 2,326 221,639 2,109 204,462 783 90,440
October .................... 2,055 205,502 1,856 187,880 594 65,801
November ................... 1,813 163,823 1,650 151,810 485 54,858
December ................... 1,726 153,127 1,542 138,747 433 44,072
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2006 to
December 2009, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2006
January .................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 331 35,097
February ................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 210 24,892
March ...................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 285 44,688
April ...................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 296 39,538
May ........................ 872 84,809 794 78,663 192 23,570
June ....................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 319 41,095
July ....................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 648 96,152
August ..................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 203 28,494
September .................. 865 87,699 785 81,274 296 39,076
October .................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 311 46,737
November ................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 455 58,473
December ................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 735 105,462
2007
January .................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 456 53,615
February ................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 273 36,170
March ...................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 367 49,886
April ...................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 309 35,229
May ........................ 923 85,816 856 81,153 224 26,527
June ....................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 313 36,571
July ....................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 684 101,390
August ..................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 220 23,361
September .................. 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381
October .................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918
November ................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 514 75,413
December ................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 699 91,754
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
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Industry
December October November December December October November December
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 2,461 2,055 1,813 1,726 243,505 205,502 163,823 153,127
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 2,277 1,856 1,650 1,542 229,171 187,880 151,810 138,747
Manufacturing ............................... 962 594 485 433 115,961 65,801 54,858 44,072
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 3,377 1,934 1,870 2,310 351,305 193,904 164,496 214,648
Total, private .................................. 3,278 1,806 1,791 2,219 343,963 181,476 158,146 206,930
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 46 128 112 53 3,743 8,593 7,395 3,275
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 3,232 1,678 1,679 2,166 340,220 172,883 150,751 203,655
Mining ...................................... 43 15 22 34 4,191 1,038 1,551 2,807
Utilities ................................... 6 6 3 6 355 550 206 444
Construction ................................ 544 205 308 485 40,579 15,258 23,902 35,718
Manufacturing ............................... 1,378 566 517 615 172,529 69,655 55,053 64,540
Food .................................... 77 91 61 63 7,797 8,999 6,631 6,447
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 12 12 9 5 1,222 1,001 682 396
Textile mills ........................... 44 9 12 14 4,725 1,407 1,337 2,242
Textile product mills ................... 7 3 - 3 672 419 - 300
Apparel ................................. 22 7 17 19 2,479 438 1,361 1,661
Leather and allied products ............. 4 - (2) 5 800 - (2) 324
Wood products ........................... 86 41 40 40 8,465 4,326 3,505 3,218
Paper ................................... 34 14 (2) 12 4,384 1,216 (2) 850
Printing and related support activities . 20 17 10 14 1,904 1,337 888 1,659
Petroleum and coal products ............. 12 3 11 10 1,124 312 852 866
Chemicals ............................... 23 8 13 10 2,046 533 1,239 768
Plastics and rubber products ............ 136 35 29 35 14,215 2,672 2,802 3,487
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 89 16 30 59 9,104 1,172 2,514 4,990
Primary metals .......................... 83 44 38 34 8,558 4,703 3,426 3,456
Fabricated metal products ............... 145 49 36 54 12,576 4,702 2,764 4,387
Machinery ............................... 75 51 44 53 7,531 10,892 5,080 6,827
Computer and electronic products ........ 53 29 25 23 5,245 2,169 2,788 1,429
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 51 29 18 19 9,049 3,394 1,379 2,191
Transportation equipment ................ 352 72 86 106 64,336 17,069 13,806 13,537
Furniture and related products .......... 37 22 19 28 4,764 1,865 2,407 4,617
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 16 14 11 9 1,533 1,029 931 888
Wholesale trade ............................. 60 50 33 50 5,374 4,645 2,389 3,858
Retail trade ................................ 142 124 99 121 12,104 12,914 7,083 12,300
Transportation and warehousing .............. 196 61 83 157 22,751 5,541 6,651 17,909
Information ................................. 71 57 52 51 9,138 9,567 5,414 7,042
Finance and insurance ....................... 40 49 33 30 2,998 3,716 2,691 2,357
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 16 13 13 12 1,382 870 963 763
Professional and technical services ......... 76 57 55 47 6,280 5,974 4,651 3,746
Management of companies and enterprises ..... 17 6 3 5 2,433 812 290 545
Administrative and waste services ........... 348 260 220 253 31,069 25,694 18,219 21,653
Educational services ........................ 11 3 6 12 634 226 453 755
Health care and social assistance ........... 36 37 38 38 2,626 2,165 2,886 2,653
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 23 34 45 19 1,503 2,435 3,705 1,734
Accommodation and food services ............. 199 126 129 214 22,312 11,346 13,264 23,507
Other services, except public administration 24 9 20 16 1,821 477 1,380 1,171
Unclassified ................................ 2 - - 1 141 - - 153
Government ...................................... 99 128 79 91 7,342 12,428 6,350 7,718
Federal ..................................... 10 28 12 11 1,011 2,550 1,155 921
State ....................................... 19 32 25 26 1,296 3,433 2,213 2,560
Local ....................................... 70 68 42 54 5,035 6,445 2,982 4,237
1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2007 to December 2009, not seasonally adjusted
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
2007
October .................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716
November ................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184
December ................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898
Fourth Quarter ............. 5,049 530,889 4,593 495,798 1,814 347,151 39.5 70.0
2008
January .................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191
February ................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587
March ...................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147
First Quarter .............. 4,005 388,552 3,737 367,925 1,340 259,292 35.9 70.5
April ...................... 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625
May ........................ 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462
June ....................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916
Second Quarter ............. 4,446 457,023 3,925 413,003 1,756 339,630 44.7 82.2
July ....................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018
August ..................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146
September .................. 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505
Third Quarter .............. 4,610 469,967 4,232 441,669 1,581 304,340 37.4 68.9
October .................... 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553
November ................... 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657
December ................... 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220
Fourth Quarter ............. 8,076 814,678 7,538 772,430 3,582 766,592 47.5 99.2
2009
January .................... 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293
February ................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755
March ...................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397
First Quarter .............. 8,259 835,638 7,913 807,445 3,979 835,017 50.3 103.4
April ...................... 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321
May ........................ 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047
June ....................... 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063
Second Quarter ............. 7,804 802,915 7,008 733,431 3,396 727,494 48.5 99.2
July ....................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589
August ..................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193
September .................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141
Third Quarter .............. 5,853 584,855 5,251 528,923 (2)(p)1,776 (2)(p)266,938 (p)33.8 (p)50.5
October .................... 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883
November ................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751
December ................... 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655
Fourth Quarter ............. 6,114 573,048 5,523 527,289
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 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, not
seasonally adjusted
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Census region and division
December October November December December October November December
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
United States (1) ... 3,377 1,934 1,870 2,310 351,305 193,904 164,496 214,648
Northeast ................... 491 260 285 461 44,901 22,709 26,974 41,913
New England ............. 70 30 40 71 7,024 2,134 3,750 6,743
Middle Atlantic ......... 421 230 245 390 37,877 20,575 23,224 35,170
South ....................... 815 499 413 494 94,307 45,772 37,708 48,248
South Atlantic .......... 362 279 207 284 33,456 23,144 19,029 25,236
East South Central ...... 296 87 83 115 42,388 9,545 6,656 13,749
West South Central ...... 157 133 123 95 18,463 13,083 12,023 9,263
Midwest ..................... 1,278 483 530 739 146,155 60,792 51,989 76,826
East North Central ...... 961 375 382 508 108,017 49,277 39,265 51,903
West North Central ...... 317 108 148 231 38,138 11,515 12,724 24,923
West ........................ 793 692 642 616 65,942 64,631 47,825 47,661
Mountain ................ 139 103 98 126 12,780 9,020 9,393 10,700
Pacific ................. 654 589 544 490 53,162 55,611 38,432 36,961
1 See footnote 1, table 3.
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 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally adjusted
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
State
December October November December December October November December
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Total (1) ............ 3,377 1,934 1,870 2,310 351,305 193,904 164,496 214,648
Alabama ................. 88 27 16 36 14,160 3,179 1,266 4,592
Alaska .................. (2) 8 3 7 (2) 755 361 650
Arizona ................. 13 20 9 9 1,213 1,666 709 817
Arkansas ................ 25 17 9 7 2,517 1,954 973 581
California .............. 546 514 472 412 43,265 48,169 31,922 30,229
Colorado ................ 24 19 14 24 2,023 1,554 1,064 1,941
Connecticut ............. 10 9 5 8 799 671 424 890
Delaware ................ 8 3 6 5 817 251 347 266
District of Columbia .... (2) (2) (2) 4 (2) (2) (2) 301
Florida ................. 104 167 86 96 6,931 11,851 6,010 7,715
Georgia ................. 83 39 26 56 8,508 3,880 3,225 5,244
Hawaii .................. 15 7 7 7 1,650 630 488 637
Idaho ................... 25 10 19 16 2,347 1,088 2,071 1,099
Illinois ................ 202 93 101 142 25,885 12,917 10,794 17,639
Indiana ................. 156 37 43 57 16,762 4,759 4,323 6,256
Iowa .................... 82 35 25 51 10,005 4,732 2,648 6,087
Kansas .................. 38 13 8 28 7,949 1,562 741 4,878
Kentucky ................ 131 36 41 44 21,570 4,656 3,649 5,013
Louisiana ............... 17 24 35 22 2,430 2,169 2,795 1,641
Maine ................... 7 3 6 3 530 177 674 204
Maryland ................ 15 6 6 16 1,002 479 486 1,251
Massachusetts ........... 38 9 11 28 4,289 596 803 2,990
Michigan ................ 248 70 78 119 24,508 9,543 8,549 10,913
Minnesota ............... 67 24 55 45 7,374 1,985 4,905 3,690
Mississippi ............. 27 10 9 12 2,399 602 512 1,000
Missouri ................ 107 31 48 86 10,625 2,556 3,195 8,373
Montana ................. 8 11 10 12 630 1,062 758 896
Nebraska ................ 12 4 6 12 1,334 559 611 1,166
Nevada .................. 41 19 33 36 4,303 1,361 3,891 3,677
New Hampshire ........... 4 3 4 11 255 263 279 867
New Jersey .............. 80 37 52 67 6,910 2,850 5,277 6,716
New Mexico .............. 16 11 7 12 1,170 761 476 954
New York ................ 111 68 75 126 10,511 6,961 6,281 12,704
North Carolina .......... 33 19 30 18 3,314 1,672 4,273 1,455
North Dakota ............ 8 (2) 5 7 666 (2) 557 595
Ohio .................... 224 75 59 91 27,836 10,569 5,233 8,888
Oklahoma ................ 20 7 10 10 3,210 582 1,438 893
Oregon .................. 51 35 35 29 4,413 3,936 3,464 2,617
Pennsylvania ............ 230 125 118 197 20,456 10,764 11,666 15,750
Rhode Island ............ 7 (2) 3 6 820 (2) 297 713
South Carolina .......... 84 19 20 45 9,381 2,692 1,456 4,780
South Dakota ............ 3 - (2) (2) 185 - (2) (2)
Tennessee ............... 50 14 17 23 4,259 1,108 1,229 3,144
Texas ................... 95 85 69 56 10,306 8,378 6,817 6,148
Utah .................... 12 9 4 16 1,094 1,058 256 1,256
Vermont ................. 4 3 11 15 331 254 1,273 1,079
Virginia ................ 27 22 31 40 2,782 1,955 3,021 3,903
Washington .............. 40 25 27 35 3,663 2,121 2,197 2,828
West Virginia ........... 6 3 (2) 4 416 250 (2) 321
Wisconsin ............... 131 100 101 99 13,026 11,489 10,366 8,207
Wyoming ................. - 4 (2) (2) - 470 (2) (2)
Puerto Rico ............. 16 12 22 11 1,285 1,079 2,177 1,093
1 See footnote 1, table 3.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
United States Department of Labor
