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Economic News Release
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MLS MLS Program Links

Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, February 23, 2010           USDL-10-0229

Technical information:  (202) 691-6392  *  mlsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                             MASS LAYOFFS -- JANUARY 2010


Employers took 1,761 mass layoff actions in January that resulted in the sepa-
ration of 182,261 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for
unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single
employer. Both mass layoff events and initial claims increased from the prior
month after four consecutive over-the-month decreases. In January, 486 mass
layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted,
resulting in 62,556 initial claims. Both figures increased over the month--the
first increases since August 2009 for events and since September 2009 for ini-
tial claims. (See table 1.)

During the 26 months from December 2007 through January 2010, the total number
of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 53,739, and the associated num-
ber of initial claims was 5,425,101. (December 2007 was the start of a reces-
sion as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)
   
The national unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in January 2010, seasonally ad-
justed, down from 10.0 percent the prior month but up from 7.7 percent a year
earlier. In January, nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 20,000 over the
month and by 4,022,000 from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in January was 2,860 on a not seasonally ad-
justed basis; the number of associated initial claims was 278,679. Over the
year, the number of mass layoff events decreased by 946, and associated ini-
tial claims decreased by 110,134. (See table 2.) Sixteen of the 19 major in-
dustry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in ini-
tial claimants, led by manufacturing (-67,911). (See table 3.) Management of
companies and educational services reported January program highs in terms of
average weekly initial claimants while utilities reached a January program
low. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of
months. See the Technical Note.)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff events and
38 percent of initial claims filed in January 2010. A year earlier, manufac-
turing made up 38 percent of events and 44 percent of initial claims. Within
manufacturing, the number of claimants in January was greatest in transporta-
tion equipment, followed by food, fabricated metal products, and machinery.
Eighteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases
in initial claims, led by transportation equipment (-34,023). (See table 3.)

The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in January 2010
was temporary help services. Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest num-
ber of mass layoff initial claims, school and employee bus transportation, dis-
count department stores, and nonresidential electrical contractors reached pro-
gram highs for the month of January. (See table A.)


Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in
January 2010, not seasonally adjusted
                                                                            
                                                              January peak  
                                                                            
                  Industry                        Initial            Initial
                                                   claims    Year     claims
                                                                            
Temporary help services (1) ....................   16,575    1998     26,224
School and employee bus transportation .........   15,131    2010     15,131
Discount department stores .....................    8,065    2010      8,065
Motion picture and video production ............    7,966    1998     12,038
Professional employer organizations (1) ........    6,462    2009     11,345
Highway, street, and bridge construction .......    5,094    2000      9,680
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ........    4,248    2009      6,592
Automobile manufacturing .......................    4,173    2001     21,093
Supermarkets and other grocery stores ..........    3,371    2009      3,978
Nonresidential electrical contractors ..........    3,299    2010      3,299
                                                                            
   1  See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.      


Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

All regions and all divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in initial
claims due to mass layoffs in January. Among the 4 census regions, the South
(-41,525) and Midwest (-31,010) registered the largest over-the-year decreases
in initial claims. Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central
(-30,146) and the South Atlantic (-21,046) had the largest over-the-year de-
creases of initial claims. (See table 5.)

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in January, followed
by New York and Pennsylvania. Forty states experienced over-the-year decreases
in initial claims, led by Ohio (-13,850), Pennsylvania (-13,226), and Michigan
(-10,418). (See table 6.) In 2010, three states reached January program highs
for average weekly initial claims: North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

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 quar-
terly 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 Mass Layoffs in February 2010 news release is scheduled to be released on
Tuesday, March 23, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).





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, February 2006 to
January 2010, seasonally adjusted 

                                      Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2006                                                                             

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

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     1,761     182,261     1,585     168,466       486      62,556




Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, February 2006 to
January 2010, not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2006                                                                             

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

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     2,860     278,679     2,682     265,074       962     104,846




Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for         
                                                              Mass layoff events                    unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                                                                                                      
                                                   January   November  December  January    January    November  December   January
                                                     2009     2009       2009     2010       2009       2009      2009       2010  
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                

      Total .....................................    2,279     1,813    1,726     1,761     251,807    163,823   153,127    182,261

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    2,115     1,650    1,542     1,585     238,990    151,810   138,747    168,466
    Manufacturing ...............................      764       485      433       486     109,124     54,858    44,072     62,556

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    3,806     1,870    2,310     2,860     388,813    164,496   214,648    278,679

Total, private ..................................    3,709     1,791    2,219     2,739     380,158    158,146   206,930    268,595
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       76       112       53        57       4,865      7,395     3,275      3,521

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    3,633     1,679    2,166     2,682     375,293    150,751   203,655    265,074
    Mining ......................................       50        22       34        20       4,538      1,551     2,807      1,561
    Utilities ...................................      (2)         3        6       (2)         (2)        206       444        (2)
    Construction ................................      388       308      485       328      27,762     23,902    35,718     24,148
    Manufacturing ...............................    1,461       517      615       962     172,757     55,053    64,540    104,846
        Food ....................................       84        61       63        93       8,083      6,631     6,447      9,134
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        6         9        5        13         511        682       396        839
        Textile mills ...........................       35        12       14        28       4,322      1,337     2,242      3,807
        Textile product mills ...................       19         -        3        18       2,811          -       300      2,503
        Apparel .................................       33        17       19        23       3,189      1,361     1,661      2,128
        Leather and allied products .............        6       (2)        5         3         504        (2)       324        499
        Wood products ...........................      104        40       40        62       9,870      3,505     3,218      6,657
        Paper ...................................       38       (2)       12        16       3,977        (2)       850      1,421
        Printing and related support activities .       38        10       14        23       4,187        888     1,659      2,415
        Petroleum and coal products .............        8        11       10         7         515        852       866        469

        Chemicals ...............................       26        13       10        23       1,883      1,239       768      2,058
        Plastics and rubber products ............      110        29       35        62      11,156      2,802     3,487      5,466
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       56        30       59        44       4,441      2,514     4,990      3,131
        Primary metals ..........................       98        38       34        56       9,660      3,426     3,456      5,734
        Fabricated metal products ...............      151        36       54        99      13,746      2,764     4,387      9,256
        Machinery ...............................      121        44       53        89      14,120      5,080     6,827     12,322
        Computer and electronic products ........       76        25       23        37       6,747      2,788     1,429      4,239
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       53        18       19        33       5,807      1,379     2,191      3,360
        Transportation equipment ................      316        86      106       175      57,173     13,806    13,537     23,150
        Furniture and related products ..........       48        19       28        48       6,928      2,407     4,617      5,088
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............       35        11        9        10       3,127        931       888      1,170

    Wholesale trade .............................       86        33       50        67       7,612      2,389     3,858      5,310
    Retail trade ................................      329        99      121       259      33,622      7,083    12,300     28,109
    Transportation and warehousing ..............      236        83      157       212      25,081      6,651    17,909     23,788
    Information .................................       69        52       51        84       9,405      5,414     7,042     12,581
    Finance and insurance .......................       88        33       30        47       7,683      2,691     2,357      3,681
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........       26        13       12       (2)       1,870        963       763        (2)
    Professional and technical services .........       87        55       47        71       7,032      4,651     3,746      6,390
    Management of companies and enterprises .....      (2)         3        5        15         (2)        290       545      1,462
    Administrative and waste services ...........      473       220      253       326      46,646     18,219    21,653     30,020
    Educational services ........................       14         6       12        18       1,952        453       755      2,460
    Health care and social assistance ...........       41        38       38        46       4,279      2,886     2,653      3,019
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       49        45       19        35       4,421      3,705     1,734      2,860
    Accommodation and food services .............      197       129      214       163      17,360     13,264    23,507     12,838
    Other services, except public administration        25        20       16        20       2,155      1,380     1,171      1,458
    Unclassified ................................        1         -        1         -          49          -       153          -

Government ......................................       97        79       91       121       8,655      6,350     7,718     10,084
    Federal .....................................       13        12       11         8       1,302      1,155       921        698
    State .......................................       25        25       26        37       2,155      2,213     2,560      3,278
    Local .......................................       59        42       54        76       5,198      2,982     4,237      6,108
                                                                                                                                   

   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, January 2008 to January 2010, 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
             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      (r)766,780             47.5    (r)99.3

             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      (r)835,420             50.3   (r)103.5

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      (r)3,395      (r)730,946          (r)48.4    (r)99.7

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      (r)2,035      (r)402,927          (r)38.8    (r)76.2

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   (2)(p)2,043   (2)(p)292,696          (p)37.0    (p)55.5

             2010                                                                                                                 

January ....................    2,860      278,679     2,682     265,074                                                          
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
   1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The 
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days.
   2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available.
Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and
the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
   r = revised.
   p = preliminary.




Table 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                                                                                        

                                  January   November  December  January    January    November    December   January
                                    2009      2009      2009      2010       2009       2009        2009       2010 
                                                                                                                    
        United States (1) ...      3,806     1,870     2,310     2,860     388,813    164,496     214,648    278,679

Northeast ...................        787       285       461       593      77,142     26,974      41,913     58,748
    New England .............         97        40        71        70       8,414      3,750       6,743      6,503
    Middle Atlantic .........        690       245       390       523      68,728     23,224      35,170     52,245

South .......................      1,052       413       494       753     115,630     37,708      48,248     74,105
    South Atlantic ..........        574       207       284       404      58,892     19,029      25,236     37,846
    East South Central ......        279        83       115       220      32,215      6,656      13,749     23,085
    West South Central ......        199       123        95       129      24,523     12,023       9,263     13,174

Midwest .....................      1,024       530       739       807     114,195     51,989      76,826     83,185
    East North Central ......        821       382       508       604      93,852     39,265      51,903     63,706
    West North Central ......        203       148       231       203      20,343     12,724      24,923     19,479

West ........................        943       642       616       707      81,846     47,825      47,661     62,641
    Mountain ................        149        98       126        94      12,657      9,393      10,700      8,992
    Pacific .................        794       544       490       613      69,189     38,432      36,961     53,649
                                                                                                                    

   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; Moun-
tain: 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                                                                                                      
                             January     November   December   January     January      November    December   January
                              2009         2009       2009       2010        2009         2009        2009       2010 

   Total (1) ............    3,806        1,870      2,310      2,860      388,813      164,496     214,648    278,679

Alabama .................      100           16         36         93       10,588        1,266       4,592     11,204
Alaska ..................       10            3          7          9          788          361         650        713
Arizona .................       24            9          9         17        1,941          709         817      1,502
Arkansas ................       13            9          7          9        1,462          973         581      1,433
California ..............      651          472        412        533       54,153       31,922      30,229     46,474
Colorado ................       24           14         24         13        1,814        1,064       1,941      1,301
Connecticut .............       14            5          8          6        1,349          424         890        406
Delaware ................        5            6          5          4        1,052          347         266        287
District of Columbia ....      (2)          (2)          4        (2)          (2)          (2)         301        (2)
Florida .................      235           86         96        141       19,301        6,010       7,715      9,909
Georgia .................      137           26         56         83       16,654        3,225       5,244      8,861
Hawaii ..................       14            7          7          9          998          488         637        735
Idaho ...................       21           19         16         11        1,746        2,071       1,099      1,068

Illinois ................      130          101        142        112       13,443       10,794      17,639     11,615
Indiana .................      117           43         57         59       10,734        4,323       6,256      6,470
Iowa ....................       64           25         51         54        7,353        2,648       6,087      6,647
Kansas ..................       21            8         28         27        2,447          741       4,878      2,432
Kentucky ................       80           41         44         76       12,492        3,649       5,013      8,044
Louisiana ...............       29           35         22         18        3,396        2,795       1,641      1,566
Maine ...................       18            6          3          8        1,618          674         204        789
Maryland ................       31            6         16         29        2,535          486       1,251      2,586
Massachusetts ...........       33           11         28         27        2,782          803       2,990      2,341
Michigan ................      229           78        119        144       26,453        8,549      10,913     16,035
Minnesota ...............       41           55         45         36        3,289        4,905       3,690      3,614
Mississippi .............       25            9         12         11        2,353          512       1,000        735
Missouri ................       62           48         86         74        5,239        3,195       8,373      5,567

Montana .................       14           10         12          9        1,491          758         896      1,012
Nebraska ................        5            6         12          7        1,070          611       1,166        548
Nevada ..................       33           33         36         26        2,805        3,891       3,677      2,463
New Hampshire ...........        7            4         11         12          465          279         867        962
New Jersey ..............       90           52         67         87        7,179        5,277       6,716      7,506
New Mexico ..............       13            7         12          8          822          476         954        560
New York ................      279           75        126        236       31,893        6,281      12,704     28,309
North Carolina ..........       41           30         18         27        4,149        4,273       1,455      2,072
North Dakota ............      (2)            5          7          4          (2)          557         595        595
Ohio ....................      199           59         91        145       27,971        5,233       8,888     14,121
Oklahoma ................       21           10         10         17        2,772        1,438         893      1,666
Oregon ..................       76           35         29         35        9,005        3,464       2,617      3,730
Pennsylvania ............      321          118        197        200       29,656       11,666      15,750     16,430

Rhode Island ............       17            3          6         13        1,526          297         713      1,696
South Carolina ..........      102           20         45         67       10,703        1,456       4,780      7,274
South Dakota ............        6          (2)        (2)        (2)          530          (2)         (2)        (2)
Tennessee ...............       74           17         23         40        6,782        1,229       3,144      3,102
Texas ...................      136           69         56         85       16,893        6,817       6,148      8,509
Utah ....................       19            4         16         10        1,978          256       1,256      1,086
Vermont .................        8           11         15          4          674        1,273       1,079        309
Virginia ................       15           31         40         49        3,313        3,021       3,903      6,570
Washington ..............       43           27         35         27        4,245        2,197       2,828      1,997
West Virginia ...........        7          (2)          4        (2)        1,127          (2)         321        (2)
Wisconsin ...............      146          101         99        144       15,251       10,366       8,207     15,465
Wyoming .................      (2)          (2)        (2)          -          (2)          (2)         (2)          -

Puerto Rico .............       29           22         11         19        2,992        2,177       1,093      1,892

   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.




Last Modified Date: February 23, 2010