Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0185
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EST)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, February 25, 2009
MASS LAYOFFS IN JANUARY 2009
Employers took 2,227 mass layoff actions in January that resulted
in the separation of 237,902 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured
by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported
today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer.
The number of mass layoff events in January decreased by 48 from the
prior month, while the number of associated initial claims increased by
11,785. Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by
751, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 88,834.
In January, 738 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing
sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 102,577 initial claims. Over
the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing decreased by 133, and
initial claims decreased by 2,825. (See table 1.)
During the 14 months from December 2007 through January 2009, the
total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 25,712,
and the number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 2,632,336.
(December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the
National Bureau of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in January 2009, sea-
sonally adjusted, up from 7.2 percent the prior month and from 4.9 per-
cent a year earlier. In January, total nonfarm payroll employment de-
creased by 598,000 over the month and by 3,500,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in January was 3,806 on a not season-
ally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 388,813.
(See table 2.) Average weekly layoff events rose from 412 in January
2008 to 761 in January 2009, and average weekly initial claimants more
than doubled from 38,626 to 77,763. This year, both average weekly
events and initial claimants reached their highest January levels in
program history (with data available back to 1996). Eleven major industry
sectors reported program highs in terms of average weekly initial claim-
ants for the month of January--mining; manufacturing; wholesale trade;
retail trade; transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance;
real estate and rental and leasing; administrative and waste services;
educational services; health care and social assistance; and accommoda-
tion and food services.
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Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in January 2009
January peak
Industry
Initial Year Initial
claims claims
Temporary help services ...................... 25,467 1998 26,224
School and employee bus transportation ....... 12,071 2005 14,526
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing 11,404 2009 11,404
Professional employer organizations .......... 11,345 2009 11,345
Automobile manufacturing ..................... 7,770 2001 21,093
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ...... 6,592 2009 6,592
Motion picture and video production .......... 6,020 1998 12,038
Discount department stores ................... 5,561 2004 6,063
All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing .. 5,397 2009 5,397
All other plastics product manufacturing ..... 4,478 2009 4,478
The manufacturing sector accounted for 38 percent of all mass lay-
off events and 44 percent of initial claims filed in January 2009;
a year earlier, manufacturing made up 30 percent of events and 35
percent of initial claims. This January, the number of manufacturing
claimants was greatest in transportation equipment (57,173) and
machinery (14,120). (See table 3.) The administrative and waste ser-
vices industry accounted for 12 percent of mass layoff events and
associated initial claims during the month.
The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial
claims was temporary help services (25,467). Among the 10 industries
with the highest levels of initial claims, 5 reached program highs for
the month of January--all other plastics product manufacturing; light
truck and utility vehicle manufacturing; all other motor vehicle
parts manufacturing; professional employer organizations; and hotels
and motels, except casino hotels. (See table A.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Of the 4 census regions, the South registered the highest number of
initial claims in January due to mass layoffs (115,630), followed by
the Midwest (114,195), the West (81,846), and the Northeast (77,142).
(See table 5.) Average weekly initial claims associated with mass
layoffs increased over the year in all 4 regions, with the South
(+14,934) and the Midwest (+12,282) experiencing the largest increases.
In 2009, the Northeast, Midwest, and the South regions reported their
highest January levels of average weekly initial claims in program his-
tory.
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Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central (93,852) had
the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in January,
followed by the Pacific (69,189) and the Middle Atlantic (68,728).
(See table 5.) All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in
average weekly initial claims, led by the East North Central (+10,279)
and the South Atlantic (+7,779). This year, 6 of the 9 divisions
reached January program highs in terms of average weekly initial
claims--New England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central, South
Atlantic, West South Central, and Mountain.
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due
to mass layoff events in January with 54,153. The states with the
next highest number of mass layoff initial claims were New York
(31,893), Pennsylvania (29,656), and Ohio (27,971). (See table 6.)
In 2009, 18 states reached program highs in average weekly initial
claims for the month of January--Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,
Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and West
Virginia. Forty-eight states registered over-the-year increases in
average weekly initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by
Michigan (+3,540), Pennsylvania (+3,520), and Ohio (+3,256).
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 re-
lease 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 estab-
lishment 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 report on Mass Layoffs in February 2009 is scheduled to be released
on Friday, March 20.
- 4 -
Technical Note
The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on
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; TDD message referral
phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
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).
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 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.
- 5 -
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 one 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, February 2005 to
January 2009, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
February ................... 1,087 117,129 964 106,399 350 42,747
March ...................... 1,204 129,993 1,056 119,466 368 52,667
April ...................... 1,244 134,425 1,111 123,958 396 60,052
May ........................ 1,264 137,475 1,121 124,468 397 54,998
June ....................... 1,196 126,416 1,082 117,568 367 58,003
July ....................... 1,241 130,331 1,094 117,510 354 46,056
August ..................... 1,143 125,536 1,000 113,465 342 47,255
September .................. 2,250 296,913 2,035 252,291 420 55,974
October .................... 1,109 111,202 991 102,111 320 43,387
November ................... 1,162 113,502 1,027 102,058 325 41,493
December ................... 1,263 136,751 1,135 125,700 358 46,940
2006
January .................... 1,112 111,601 986 102,359 293 35,390
February ................... 960 104,045 872 96,317 317 41,810
March ...................... 1,078 118,270 976 109,842 320 48,026
April ...................... 1,198 123,674 1,062 113,849 366 50,747
May ........................ 1,132 116,808 1,013 106,743 312 42,958
June ....................... 1,156 124,955 1,044 115,491 356 45,280
July ....................... 1,204 123,172 1,077 113,324 381 50,109
August ..................... 1,278 136,289 1,117 125,064 376 60,524
September .................. 1,167 124,083 1,054 115,451 390 46,470
October .................... 1,195 121,439 1,081 112,777 401 53,597
November ................... 1,209 131,459 1,096 122,136 402 57,084
December ................... 1,201 133,311 1,100 124,019 369 51,113
2007
January .................... 1,261 129,190 1,116 118,890 406 55,341
February ................... 1,240 134,524 1,130 126,105 404 58,861
March ...................... 1,261 129,480 1,151 120,923 407 52,356
April ...................... 1,281 130,263 1,145 119,683 381 45,654
May ........................ 1,200 119,259 1,097 111,585 368 48,682
June ....................... 1,256 132,078 1,138 122,726 356 41,135
July ....................... 1,288 131,556 1,182 123,322 405 53,318
August ..................... 1,262 125,334 1,162 117,557 331 36,577
September .................. 1,279 125,527 1,183 118,917 440 54,006
October .................... 1,346 133,514 1,224 124,666 436 57,527
November ................... 1,352 143,419 1,233 134,445 408 56,330
December ................... 1,469 145,916 1,354 136,914 447 56,152
2008
January .................... 1,476 149,068 1,350 139,076 435 56,579
February ................... 1,669 183,038 1,532 172,013 526 67,235
March ...................... 1,585 161,497 1,471 151,550 483 65,252
April ...................... 1,344 135,352 1,215 125,074 487 63,247
May ........................ 1,701 180,558 1,563 170,538 538 75,520
June ....................... 1,717 174,748 1,561 162,071 555 79,744
July ....................... 1,535 152,499 1,390 141,239 455 57,648
August ..................... 1,887 188,951 1,735 178,479 626 80,913
September .................. 2,290 240,721 2,114 226,492 643 86,617
October .................... 2,204 230,330 2,042 216,095 687 92,256
November ................... 2,333 225,639 2,185 213,288 868 100,643
December ................... 2,275 226,117 2,100 212,559 871 105,402
2009
January .................... 2,227 237,902 2,070 225,490 738 102,577
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, February 2005 to
January 2009, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
February ................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 230 24,931
March ...................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 246 33,030
April ...................... 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 395 59,129
May ........................ 986 101,358 891 93,332 249 30,424
June ....................... 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 216 32,783
July ....................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 856 136,210
August ..................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 188 22,531
September .................. 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 318 47,497
October .................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 249 37,276
November ................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 363 41,442
December ................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 706 96,382
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
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
2008 2008 2008 2009 2008 2008 2008 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 1,476 2,333 2,275 2,227 149,068 225,639 226,117 237,902
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,350 2,185 2,100 2,070 139,076 213,288 212,559 225,490
Manufacturing ............................... 435 868 871 738 56,579 100,643 105,402 102,577
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 1,647 2,574 3,377 3,806 154,503 241,589 351,305 388,813
Total, private .................................. 1,592 2,502 3,278 3,709 148,901 235,560 343,963 380,158
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 72 113 46 76 4,710 8,903 3,743 4,865
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,520 2,389 3,232 3,633 144,191 226,657 340,220 375,293
Mining ...................................... 8 22 43 50 550 2,004 4,191 4,538
Utilities ................................... (2) 3 6 (2) (2) 332 355 (2)
Construction ................................ 198 382 544 388 13,532 29,775 40,579 27,762
Manufacturing ............................... 488 997 1,378 1,461 54,418 107,620 172,529 172,757
Food .................................... 57 71 77 84 5,024 7,123 7,797 8,083
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 7 9 12 6 531 620 1,222 511
Textile mills ........................... 13 19 44 35 1,258 2,558 4,725 4,322
Textile product mills ................... 8 10 7 19 950 669 672 2,811
Apparel ................................. 17 16 22 33 1,630 1,783 2,479 3,189
Leather and allied products ............. (2) 3 4 6 (2) 270 800 504
Wood products ........................... 46 93 86 104 4,780 9,439 8,465 9,870
Paper ................................... 6 28 34 38 469 2,645 4,384 3,977
Printing and related support activities . 11 14 20 38 766 1,527 1,904 4,187
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) 11 12 8 (2) 929 1,124 515
Chemicals ............................... 10 20 23 26 898 2,042 2,046 1,883
Plastics and rubber products ............ 37 74 136 110 2,855 7,013 14,215 11,156
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 38 55 89 56 2,602 4,937 9,104 4,441
Primary metals .......................... 16 74 83 98 1,491 7,813 8,558 9,660
Fabricated metal products ............... 40 104 145 151 3,144 8,905 12,576 13,746
Machinery ............................... 23 62 75 121 2,901 9,019 7,531 14,120
Computer and electronic products ........ 18 40 53 76 1,222 3,592 5,245 6,747
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 7 27 51 53 784 2,891 9,049 5,807
Transportation equipment ................ 86 190 352 316 17,920 25,042 64,336 57,173
Furniture and related products .......... 34 55 37 48 4,127 6,716 4,764 6,928
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 9 22 16 35 721 2,087 1,533 3,127
Wholesale trade ............................. 30 65 60 86 2,848 4,779 5,374 7,612
Retail trade ................................ 119 155 142 329 12,839 13,429 12,104 33,622
Transportation and warehousing .............. 124 99 196 236 13,031 7,749 22,751 25,081
Information ................................. 43 48 71 69 4,668 5,390 9,138 9,405
Finance and insurance ....................... 50 48 40 88 4,285 3,591 2,998 7,683
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 8 18 16 26 462 1,084 1,382 1,870
Professional and technical services ......... 41 66 76 87 3,829 6,695 6,280 7,032
Management of companies and enterprises ..... (2) 10 17 (2) (2) 656 2,433 (2)
Administrative and waste services ........... 232 280 348 473 20,639 26,341 31,069 46,646
Educational services ........................ 7 5 11 14 851 365 634 1,952
Health care and social assistance ........... 27 33 36 41 1,767 2,775 2,626 4,279
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 38 33 23 49 2,445 2,642 1,503 4,421
Accommodation and food services ............. 88 115 199 197 6,064 10,682 22,312 17,360
Other services, except public administration 13 10 24 25 1,381 748 1,821 2,155
Unclassified ................................ - - 2 1 - - 141 49
Government ...................................... 55 72 99 97 5,602 6,029 7,342 8,655
Federal ..................................... 13 11 10 13 1,106 860 1,011 1,302
State ....................................... 9 21 19 25 804 1,797 1,296 2,155
Local ....................................... 33 40 70 59 3,692 3,372 5,035 5,198
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 2007 to January 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
January .................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475
February ................... 935 86,696 861 82,097
March ...................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431
First Quarter .............. 3,424 345,654 3,139 325,003 1,110 199,250 35.4 61.3
April ...................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040
May ........................ 923 85,816 856 81,153
June ....................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669
Second Quarter ............. 3,741 386,070 3,289 347,862 1,421 259,234 43.2 74.5
July ....................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939
August ..................... 963 93,458 908 88,345
September .................. 717 67,385 667 64,026
Third Quarter .............. 3,279 336,262 3,025 317,310 1,018 173,077 33.7 54.5
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 (r)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 (r)259,084 35.9 (r)70.4
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 (r)339,184 44.7 (r)82.1
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 (r)1,582 (r)300,337 (r)37.4 (r)68.0
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 (2)(p)3,140 (2)(p)463,715 (p)41.7 (p)60.0
2009
January .................... 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293
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
2008 2008 2008 2009 2008 2008 2008 2009
United States (1) ... 1,647 2,574 3,377 3,806 154,503 241,589 351,305 388,813
Northeast ................... 349 314 491 787 32,949 28,791 44,901 77,142
New England ............. 30 40 70 97 2,056 3,505 7,024 8,414
Middle Atlantic ......... 319 274 421 690 30,893 25,286 37,877 68,728
South ....................... 324 616 815 1,052 32,769 56,608 94,307 115,630
South Atlantic .......... 157 304 362 574 15,997 25,648 33,456 58,892
East South Central ...... 129 196 296 279 13,585 19,725 42,388 32,215
West South Central ...... 38 116 157 199 3,187 11,235 18,463 24,523
Midwest ..................... 416 824 1,278 1,024 42,229 85,730 146,155 114,195
East North Central ...... 324 645 961 821 33,964 65,287 108,017 93,852
West North Central ...... 92 179 317 203 8,265 20,443 38,138 20,343
West ........................ 558 820 793 943 46,556 70,460 65,942 81,846
Mountain ................ 44 126 139 149 3,757 11,050 12,780 12,657
Pacific ................. 514 694 654 794 42,799 59,410 53,162 69,189
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
January November December January January November December January
2008 2008 2008 2009 2008 2008 2008 2009
Total (1) ............ 1,647 2,574 3,377 3,806 154,503 241,589 351,305 388,813
Alabama ................. 82 48 88 100 10,160 5,289 14,160 10,588
Alaska .................. (2) (2) (2) 10 (2) (2) (2) 788
Arizona ................. 4 20 13 24 290 1,603 1,213 1,941
Arkansas ................ 4 21 25 13 293 2,026 2,517 1,462
California .............. 468 580 546 651 38,715 47,690 43,265 54,153
Colorado ................ 7 15 24 24 654 1,162 2,023 1,814
Connecticut ............. (2) 3 10 14 (2) 186 799 1,349
Delaware ................ (2) 6 8 5 (2) 415 817 1,052
District of Columbia .... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Florida ................. 70 151 104 235 5,366 10,582 6,931 19,301
Georgia ................. 51 51 83 137 4,718 4,970 8,508 16,654
Hawaii .................. 3 9 15 14 217 641 1,650 998
Idaho ................... 7 27 25 21 496 2,298 2,347 1,746
Illinois ................ 68 126 202 130 9,106 11,564 25,885 13,443
Indiana ................. 34 111 156 117 2,955 13,420 16,762 10,734
Iowa .................... 26 49 82 64 3,163 8,213 10,005 7,353
Kansas .................. 8 14 38 21 490 1,321 7,949 2,447
Kentucky ................ 28 78 131 80 2,304 9,210 21,570 12,492
Louisiana ............... 7 13 17 29 739 1,093 2,430 3,396
Maine ................... (2) 4 7 18 (2) 451 530 1,618
Maryland ................ 9 7 15 31 708 828 1,002 2,535
Massachusetts ........... 11 18 38 33 791 1,459 4,289 2,782
Michigan ................ 86 157 248 229 7,004 14,657 24,508 26,453
Minnesota ............... 19 60 67 41 1,751 5,442 7,374 3,289
Mississippi ............. 6 34 27 25 324 2,736 2,399 2,353
Missouri ................ 37 44 107 62 2,664 3,087 10,625 5,239
Montana ................. 6 11 8 14 579 1,226 630 1,491
Nebraska ................ (2) 4 12 5 (2) 450 1,334 1,070
Nevada .................. 15 33 41 33 1,151 2,992 4,303 2,805
New Hampshire ........... (2) 4 4 7 (2) 311 255 465
New Jersey .............. 35 46 80 90 2,613 5,665 6,910 7,179
New Mexico .............. 4 9 16 13 473 554 1,170 822
New York ................ 152 79 111 279 18,636 7,366 10,511 31,893
North Carolina .......... 3 34 33 41 350 3,410 3,314 4,149
North Dakota ............ (2) 5 8 (2) (2) 1,631 666 (2)
Ohio .................... 71 120 224 199 9,352 11,680 27,836 27,971
Oklahoma ................ 4 18 20 21 317 1,708 3,210 2,772
Oregon .................. 28 60 51 76 2,769 7,259 4,413 9,005
Pennsylvania ............ 132 149 230 321 9,644 12,255 20,456 29,656
Rhode Island ............ 9 - 7 17 562 - 820 1,526
South Carolina .......... 12 36 84 102 1,991 3,916 9,381 10,703
South Dakota ............ - 3 3 6 - 299 185 530
Tennessee ............... 13 36 50 74 797 2,490 4,259 6,782
Texas ................... 23 64 95 136 1,838 6,408 10,306 16,893
Utah .................... (2) 10 12 19 (2) 1,161 1,094 1,978
Vermont ................. 4 11 4 8 248 1,098 331 674
Virginia ................ 8 16 27 15 1,027 1,316 2,782 3,313
Washington .............. 14 44 40 43 1,047 3,724 3,663 4,245
West Virginia ........... (2) (2) 6 7 (2) (2) 416 1,127
Wisconsin ............... 65 131 131 146 5,547 13,966 13,026 15,251
Wyoming ................. - (2) - (2) - (2) - (2)
Puerto Rico ............. 10 14 16 29 1,120 1,686 1,285 2,992
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
