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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. - 2 - 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. - 3 - 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.