Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0272
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, March 20, 2009
MASS LAYOFFS IN FEBRUARY 2009
Employers took 2,769 mass layoff actions in February that resulted
in the separation of 295,477 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 February increased by 542 from the
prior month, while the number of associated initial claims increased by
57,575. Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by
1,100, and the associated initial claims increased by 112,439. In Feb-
ruary, 1,235 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing
sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 152,618 initial claims. Over
the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing increased by 497, and
initial claims increased by 50,041. (See table 1.) Layoff events for
all industries and for the manufacturing sector rose to their highest
levels on record, with data available back to 1995.
During the 15 months from December 2007 through February 2009, the
total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 28,481,
and the number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 2,927,813.
(December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the
National Bureau of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in February 2009,
seasonally adjusted, up from 7.6 percent the prior month and from 4.8
percent a year earlier. In February, total nonfarm payroll employment
decreased by 651,000 over the month and by 4,168,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in February was 2,262 on a not
seasonally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was
218,438. (See table 2.) Average weekly layoff events rose from 254
in February 2008 to 566 in February 2009, and average weekly initial
claimants increased from 23,902 to 54,610. (Average weekly analysis
mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Techni-
cal Note.) This year, both average weekly events and initial claimants
reached their highest February levels in program history; data are avail-
able back to 1996. Thirteen of the 19 major industry sectors reported
program highs in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the month
of February--mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail
trade; transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance; real estate
and rental and leasing; professional and technical services; management of
companies and enterprises; educational services; accommodation and food
services; and other services, except public administration.
- 2 -
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in February 2009
February peak
Industry
Initial Initial
claims Year claims
Temporary help services (1) .............. 12,477 2001 18,893
Professional employer organizations (1) .. 6,452 2009 6,452
Automobile manufacturing ................. 4,491 2001 13,977
Construction machinery manufacturing ..... 4,063 2009 4,063
Motion picture and video production ...... 3,263 2002 5,844
Payroll services ......................... 3,154 2000 6,590
School and employee bus transportation ... 2,888 2008 4,254
Department stores, except discount ....... 2,648 2001 2,994
Food service contractors ................. 2,580 2009 2,580
Semiconductors and related device mfg. ... 2,472 2009 2,472
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 42 percent of all mass
layoff events and 47 percent of initial claims filed in February
2009; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 28 percent of events and
36 percent of initial claims. This February, the number of manufac-
turing claimants was greatest in transportation equipment (22,440)
and machinery (14,921). (See table 3.) The administrative and waste
services industry accounted for 10 percent of mass layoff events and
11 percent of associated initial claims during the month. The six-
digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims was
temporary help services (12,477). (See table A.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Of the 4 census regions, the West registered the highest number of
initial claims in February due to mass layoffs (65,792), followed by
the Midwest (64,973), the South (55,542), and the Northeast (32,131).
(See table 5.) Average weekly initial claims associated with mass
layoffs increased over the year in all 4 regions, with the Midwest
(+11,055) and the West (+8,012) experiencing the largest increases.
In 2009, the Northeast, Midwest, and South regions reported their
highest February levels of average weekly initial claims in program
history.
Of the 9 geographic divisions, the Pacific (54,411) had the highest
number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in February, followed by
the East North Central (52,690) and the Middle Atlantic (24,387).
(See table 5.) All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in
average weekly initial claims, led by the East North Central (+8,789)
and the Pacific (+5,918). This year, 8 of the 9 divisions reached
February program highs in terms of average weekly initial claims--New
England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central, West North Central,
South Atlantic, East South Central, West South Central, and Mountain.
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due
to mass layoff events in February with 45,557. The states with the
next highest number of mass layoff initial claims were Illinois
(19,469), Pennsylvania (11,683), and Wisconsin (9,988). (See table
6.) In 2009, 30 states reached program highs in average weekly
initial claims for the month of February--Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire,
New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia,
and Wisconsin. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia regis-
tered over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims associated
with mass layoffs, led by California (+4,840), Illinois (+3,598), and
Wisconsin (+1,878). Louisiana and Mississippi were the only states to
experience over-the-year decreases.
- 3 -
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 (refer-
red to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides
more information on the industry classification and location of the
establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because
monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum
of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the
quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 4.)
See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
______________________________
The report on Mass Layoffs in March 2009 is scheduled to be released
on Thursday, April 23.
- 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
could 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).
Industry. Employers are classified according to the 2007 version of the
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For temporary help
services and for professional employer organizations industries, monthly MLS-
related statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client com-
panies 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 services or professional employer organiza-
tions firm, a mass layoff event may be triggered.
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.
- 5 -
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, March 2005 to
February 2009, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
February ................... 2,769 295,477 2,628 281,500 1,235 152,618
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, March 2005 to
February 2009, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
February ................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 945 103,588
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Industry
February December January February February December January February
2008 2008 2009 2009 2008 2008 2009 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 1,669 2,275 2,227 2,769 183,038 226,117 237,902 295,477
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,532 2,100 2,070 2,628 172,013 212,559 225,490 281,500
Manufacturing ............................... 526 871 738 1,235 67,235 105,402 102,577 152,618
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 1,269 3,377 3,806 2,262 119,508 351,305 388,813 218,438
Total, private .................................. 1,232 3,278 3,709 2,215 116,852 343,963 380,158 213,548
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 54 46 76 42 3,265 3,743 4,865 2,793
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,178 3,232 3,633 2,173 113,587 340,220 375,293 210,755
Mining ...................................... 5 43 50 35 335 4,191 4,538 3,379
Utilities ................................... (2) 6 (2) (2) (2) 355 (2) (2)
Construction ................................ 193 544 388 199 13,335 40,579 27,762 14,040
Manufacturing ............................... 361 1,378 1,461 945 42,527 172,529 172,757 103,588
Food .................................... 46 77 84 57 3,916 7,797 8,083 5,379
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 9 12 6 8 795 1,222 511 606
Textile mills ........................... 10 44 35 19 1,373 4,725 4,322 1,833
Textile product mills ................... 5 7 19 8 615 672 2,811 769
Apparel ................................. (2) 22 33 16 (2) 2,479 3,189 1,545
Leather and allied products ............. - 4 6 (2) - 800 504 (2)
Wood products ........................... 50 86 104 57 5,576 8,465 9,870 5,348
Paper ................................... 7 34 38 34 711 4,384 3,977 3,129
Printing and related support activities . 11 20 38 21 714 1,904 4,187 1,758
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) 12 8 (2) (2) 1,124 515 (2)
Chemicals ............................... 6 23 26 20 368 2,046 1,883 1,806
Plastics and rubber products ............ 15 136 110 48 1,081 14,215 11,156 4,878
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 25 89 56 40 1,836 9,104 4,441 2,788
Primary metals .......................... 13 83 98 59 1,480 8,558 9,660 6,523
Fabricated metal products ............... 17 145 151 99 1,155 12,576 13,746 8,735
Machinery ............................... 15 75 121 106 1,129 7,531 14,120 14,921
Computer and electronic products ........ 15 53 76 78 1,204 5,245 6,747 7,439
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 17 51 53 35 5,327 9,049 5,807 5,399
Transportation equipment ................ 66 352 316 171 12,189 64,336 57,173 22,440
Furniture and related products .......... 18 37 48 44 2,043 4,764 6,928 6,333
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 10 16 35 20 638 1,533 3,127 1,607
Wholesale trade ............................. 17 60 86 62 1,248 5,374 7,612 4,243
Retail trade ................................ 123 142 329 193 11,662 12,104 33,622 17,538
Transportation and warehousing .............. 53 196 236 80 7,318 22,751 25,081 7,864
Information ................................. 28 71 69 72 4,229 9,138 9,405 8,476
Finance and insurance ....................... 46 40 88 74 3,397 2,998 7,683 5,685
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 5 16 26 17 261 1,382 1,870 1,083
Professional and technical services ......... 34 76 87 82 2,756 6,280 7,032 7,895
Management of companies and enterprises ..... 3 17 (2) 14 181 2,433 (2) 990
Administrative and waste services ........... 197 348 473 235 17,799 31,069 46,646 23,566
Educational services ........................ 5 11 14 (2) 374 634 1,952 (2)
Health care and social assistance ........... 19 36 41 33 1,407 2,626 4,279 2,032
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 6 23 49 10 330 1,503 4,421 655
Accommodation and food services ............. 78 199 197 95 6,121 22,312 17,360 8,080
Other services, except public administration (2) 24 25 18 (2) 1,821 2,155 1,083
Unclassified ................................ - 2 1 - - 141 49 -
Government ...................................... 37 99 97 47 2,656 7,342 8,655 4,890
Federal ..................................... 3 10 13 7 249 1,011 1,302 533
State ....................................... 11 19 25 17 819 1,296 2,155 1,804
Local ....................................... 23 70 59 23 1,588 5,035 5,198 2,553
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 February 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 1,814 347,151 39.5 70.0
2008
January .................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191
February ................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587
March ...................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147
First Quarter .............. 4,005 388,552 3,737 367,925 1,340 259,084 35.9 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 1,756 339,184 44.7 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 1,582 300,337 37.4 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
February ................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755
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
February December January February February December January February
2008 2008 2009 2009 2008 2008 2009 2009
United States (1) ... 1,269 3,377 3,806 2,262 119,508 351,305 388,813 218,438
Northeast ................... 212 491 787 348 21,554 44,901 77,142 32,131
New England ............. 35 70 97 78 3,999 7,024 8,414 7,744
Middle Atlantic ......... 177 421 690 270 17,555 37,877 68,728 24,387
South ....................... 305 815 1,052 624 29,835 94,307 115,630 55,542
South Atlantic .......... 176 362 574 295 13,912 33,456 58,892 23,842
East South Central ...... 64 296 279 172 8,907 42,388 32,215 17,840
West South Central ...... 65 157 199 157 7,016 18,463 24,523 13,860
Midwest ..................... 232 1,278 1,024 561 25,941 146,155 114,195 64,973
East North Central ...... 184 961 821 434 21,916 108,017 93,852 52,690
West North Central ...... 48 317 203 127 4,025 38,138 20,343 12,283
West ........................ 520 793 943 729 42,178 65,942 81,846 65,792
Mountain ................ 47 139 149 128 3,754 12,780 12,657 11,381
Pacific ................. 473 654 794 601 38,424 53,162 69,189 54,411
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
February December January February February December January February
2008 2008 2009 2009 2008 2008 2009 2009
Total (1) ............ 1,269 3,377 3,806 2,262 119,508 351,305 388,813 218,438
Alabama ................. 17 88 100 33 2,549 14,160 10,588 4,690
Alaska .................. - (2) 10 7 - (2) 788 557
Arizona ................. (2) 13 24 23 (2) 1,213 1,941 2,185
Arkansas ................ 3 25 13 6 364 2,517 1,462 1,156
California .............. 416 546 651 515 32,747 43,265 54,153 45,557
Colorado ................ 4 24 24 15 326 2,023 1,814 1,237
Connecticut ............. (2) 10 14 12 (2) 799 1,349 824
Delaware ................ (2) 8 5 4 (2) 817 1,052 484
District of Columbia .... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Florida ................. 102 104 235 155 6,572 6,931 19,301 9,779
Georgia ................. 26 83 137 45 2,428 8,508 16,654 3,830
Hawaii .................. 9 15 14 15 786 1,650 998 1,211
Idaho ................... 7 25 21 10 497 2,347 1,746 591
Illinois ................ 52 202 130 115 6,344 25,885 13,443 19,469
Indiana ................. 24 156 117 59 3,709 16,762 10,734 6,776
Iowa .................... 16 82 64 33 1,885 10,005 7,353 4,374
Kansas .................. 3 38 21 18 192 7,949 2,447 1,582
Kentucky ................ 24 131 80 78 4,219 21,570 12,492 8,794
Louisiana ............... 13 17 29 19 2,640 2,430 3,396 1,498
Maine ................... 4 7 18 4 245 530 1,618 348
Maryland ................ 5 15 31 11 377 1,002 2,535 800
Massachusetts ........... 9 38 33 32 698 4,289 2,782 2,873
Michigan ................ 32 248 229 79 4,379 24,508 26,453 7,392
Minnesota ............... 5 67 41 24 361 7,374 3,289 1,777
Mississippi ............. 10 27 25 8 897 2,399 2,353 458
Missouri ................ 19 107 62 38 1,127 10,625 5,239 3,538
Montana ................. (2) 8 14 11 (2) 630 1,491 753
Nebraska ................ 5 12 5 7 460 1,334 1,070 500
Nevada .................. 23 41 33 43 1,909 4,303 2,805 3,881
New Hampshire ........... 3 4 7 9 351 255 465 1,020
New Jersey .............. 35 80 90 47 3,439 6,910 7,179 3,777
New Mexico .............. (2) 16 13 13 (2) 1,170 822 1,868
New York ................ 42 111 279 82 5,912 10,511 31,893 8,927
North Carolina .......... 21 33 41 34 2,121 3,314 4,149 3,833
North Dakota ............ - 8 (2) 3 - 666 (2) 207
Ohio .................... 42 224 199 91 4,387 27,836 27,971 9,065
Oklahoma ................ (2) 20 21 19 (2) 3,210 2,772 1,437
Oregon .................. 29 51 76 43 3,125 4,413 9,005 5,321
Pennsylvania ............ 100 230 321 141 8,204 20,456 29,656 11,683
Rhode Island ............ 9 7 17 9 1,448 820 1,526 1,291
South Carolina .......... 10 84 102 33 1,354 9,381 10,703 3,471
South Dakota ............ - 3 6 4 - 185 530 305
Tennessee ............... 13 50 74 53 1,242 4,259 6,782 3,898
Texas ................... 47 95 136 113 3,870 10,306 16,893 9,769
Utah .................... 7 12 19 11 525 1,094 1,978 753
Vermont ................. 8 4 8 12 1,084 331 674 1,388
Virginia ................ 8 27 15 8 742 2,782 3,313 786
Washington .............. 19 40 43 21 1,766 3,663 4,245 1,765
West Virginia ........... (2) 6 7 3 (2) 416 1,127 681
Wisconsin ............... 34 131 146 90 3,097 13,026 15,251 9,988
Wyoming ................. (2) - (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Puerto Rico ............. 23 16 29 28 2,113 1,285 2,992 2,282
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
