Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 08-0384
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, March 21, 2008
MASS LAYOFFS IN FEBRUARY 2008
In February, employers took 1,672 mass layoff actions, 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 workers involved totaled 177,374, on a
seasonally adjusted basis. February layoff events and associated initial
claimants were the highest since September 2005 (which reflected the impact
of Hurricane Katrina) and were the highest for the month of February since
2003. The number of mass layoff events in February 2008 increased by 234
from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims in-
creased by 33,263. In February, 529 mass layoff events were reported in
the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 66,913 initial
claims. Over the month, mass layoff activity in manufacturing increased by
102 events, and initial claims increased by 11,425. (See table 1.)
The national unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in February, seasonally
adjusted, essentially unchanged from 4.9 percent the prior month and up
from 4.5 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment de-
creased by 63,000 in February from the previous month, but increased by
860,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in February, at 1,269 on a not sea-
sonally adjusted basis, was up by 334 from a year earlier. The number of
associated initial claims increased by 32,812 over the year to 119,508,
due, in part, to a calendar effect. (See table 2.) (February 2008 con-
tained 5 weeks compared with 4 weeks in February 2007. The seasonal ad-
justment process adjusts for this effect.) The average weekly number of
events in February 2007 compared with February 2008 increased from 234
to 254, and the average weekly initial claimants increased from 21,674
to 23,902. Both weekly averages reached the highest levels for the month
of February since 2003.
The largest over-the-year increases in February 2008 average weekly ini-
tial claims associated with mass layoffs occurred in administrative and sup-
port services (+1,259), electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing
(+995), and motion picture and sound recording industries (+366). The larg-
est decreases occurred in transportation equipment manufacturing (-1,190),
machinery manufacturing (-511), and construction of buildings (-386).
The manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of all mass layoff
events and 36 percent of all related initial claims filed in February; a
year earlier, manufacturing made up 29 percent of events and 42 percent
of initial claims. In February 2008, the number of manufacturing claim-
ants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (12,189, larg-
ely in automobile manufacturing), followed by wood product manufacturing
(5,576), and electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing (5,327).
(See table 3.)
Administrative and waste services accounted for 16 percent of mass
layoff events and 15 percent of initial claims in February, primarily from
temporary help services. Construction comprised 15 percent of events and
11 percent of initial claims, primarily from highway, street, and bridge
construction. Retail trade made up 10 percent of all mass layoff events
and associated initial claims, mainly from discount department stores.
- 2 -
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in February 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | February peak
Industry |Initial |----------------------
| claims | |
| | Year |Initial claims
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
Temporary help services ..................| 8,858 | 2001 | 18,893
Professional employer organizations ......| 5,151 | 2008 | 5,151
Automobile manufacturing .................| 4,265 | 2001 | 13,977
School and employee bus transportation ...| 4,254 | 2008 | 4,254
Household refrigerator and home freezer | | |
manufacturing ...........................| 3,839 | 2008 | 3,839
Motion picture and video production ......| 3,428 | 2002 | 5,844
Highway, street, and bridge construction..| 2,437 | 2003 | 3,316
Food service contractors .................| 2,430 | 2008 | 2,430
Discount department stores ...............| 2,019 | 2004 | 2,669
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ..| 1,782 | 2000 | 12,516
| | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 32 percent of all such
claims in February. The industry with the highest number of initial claims
was temporary help services with 8,858, followed by professional employer
organizations (5,151), automobile manufacturing (4,265), and school and
employee bus transportation (4,254). Together, these four industries
accounted for 19 percent of all initial claims due to mass layoffs during
the month. (See table A.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the 4 census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
February due to mass layoffs was in the West, 42,178. Administrative and
support services accounted for 19 percent of all mass layoff initial claims
in that region during the month. The South had the second largest number
of initial claims among the regions, 29,835, followed by the Midwest with
25,941 and the Northeast with 21,554. (See table 5.)
The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year
in 3 of the 4 regions and 8 of the 9 divisions, due, in part, to a calendar
effect. However, only 2 of the 4 regions experienced over-the-year increases
in average weekly initial claims--the West (+2,443) and the South (+1,505).
Six of the 9 divisions had over-the-year increases in average weekly initial
claims, led by the Pacific (+2,150).
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to
mass layoff events in February (32,747), followed by Pennsylvania (8,204),
Florida (6,572), Illinois (6,344), and New York (5,912). These five states
accounted for 56 percent of all mass layoff events and 50 percent of all
initial claims for unemployment insurance in February. (See table 6.)
The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year
in 35 states and the District of Columbia, due, in part, to a calendar ef-
fect. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia reported over-the-year
increases in average weekly initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led
by California (+1,597) and Florida (+660). For both California and Florida,
the largest increases in initial claims occurred in administrative and sup-
port services. States with the largest over-the-year decreases in average
weekly claims were Pennsylvania (-1,091), Wisconsin (-889), Michigan (-751),
and Virginia (-721).
_____________________________
The report on Mass Layoffs in March 2008 is scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, April 23.
- 3 -
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.
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, March 2004 to
February 2008, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2004
March ...................... 1,364 139,304 1,228 130,123 398 58,980
April ...................... 1,360 139,185 1,193 124,432 351 37,760
May ........................ 1,224 114,810 1,059 100,854 339 39,045
June ....................... 1,400 141,168 1,231 128,245 371 47,243
July ....................... 1,329 137,805 1,178 126,301 376 50,799
August ..................... 1,426 128,759 1,233 113,809 343 36,539
September .................. 1,285 127,833 1,154 116,843 336 45,690
October .................... 1,283 132,766 1,169 123,471 363 47,046
November ................... 1,320 130,873 1,174 119,029 380 45,416
December ................... 1,148 111,060 991 99,784 287 31,935
2005
January .................... 1,475 160,725 1,346 151,028 382 61,324
February ................... 1,146 121,455 1,020 110,480 353 43,568
March ...................... 1,207 131,271 1,066 120,945 372 53,673
April ...................... 1,252 136,752 1,125 126,550 401 60,681
May ........................ 1,248 136,420 1,104 123,495 398 54,999
June ....................... 1,196 127,084 1,078 118,012 368 58,300
July ....................... 1,250 132,445 1,103 119,566 357 46,602
August ..................... 1,144 125,686 1,000 113,762 341 47,598
September .................. 2,248 297,544 2,028 251,185 417 55,304
October .................... 1,101 110,035 982 100,934 321 43,230
November ................... 1,176 114,965 1,042 103,535 332 42,071
December ................... 1,261 134,461 1,132 123,418 360 46,863
2006
January .................... 1,107 110,800 988 101,494 283 34,037
February ................... 1,031 109,798 940 101,828 322 43,147
March ...................... 1,084 119,049 983 110,668 323 48,119
April ...................... 1,171 121,580 1,043 112,175 368 49,568
May ........................ 1,124 117,115 1,005 107,181 314 43,087
June ....................... 1,146 123,827 1,030 114,080 352 44,869
July ....................... 1,179 121,017 1,051 111,336 372 48,534
August ..................... 1,270 135,400 1,107 124,427 377 60,906
September .................. 1,173 123,767 1,056 114,677 385 45,767
October .................... 1,191 121,827 1,076 113,123 399 53,601
November ................... 1,232 133,803 1,121 124,559 414 58,385
December ................... 1,194 131,062 1,092 121,796 374 51,408
2007
January .................... 1,254 128,223 1,118 117,824 391 52,858
February ................... 1,352 143,837 1,238 135,066 416 61,749
March ...................... 1,277 130,981 1,169 122,488 412 52,606
April ...................... 1,243 126,977 1,116 116,926 382 43,930
May ........................ 1,199 120,587 1,096 113,069 370 48,910
June ....................... 1,238 129,858 1,116 120,165 351 40,670
July ....................... 1,247 127,687 1,140 119,614 392 51,333
August ..................... 1,228 121,886 1,128 114,628 335 36,518
September .................. 1,307 128,487 1,204 121,294 430 53,432
October .................... 1,347 136,124 1,224 127,163 430 57,695
November ................... 1,329 139,671 1,215 131,390 414 56,965
December ................... 1,433 141,750 1,315 133,024 462 58,108
2008
January .................... 1,438 144,111 1,317 134,347 427 55,488
February ................... 1,672 177,374 1,539 166,782 529 66,913
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, March 2004 to
February 2008, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2004
March ...................... 920 92,554 847 87,782 258 34,686
April ...................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 343 36,172
May ........................ 988 87,501 878 78,786 219 22,141
June ....................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 222 27,307
July ....................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 885 145,895
August ..................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 194 17,698
September .................. 708 68,972 637 63,102 189 25,808
October .................... 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 372 48,265
November ................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 412 44,243
December ................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 436 50,726
2005
January .................... 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 823 108,985
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
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
2007 2007 2008 2008 2007 2007 2008 2008
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 1,352 1,433 1,438 1,672 143,837 141,750 144,111 177,374
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,238 1,315 1,317 1,539 135,066 133,024 134,347 166,782
Manufacturing ............................... 416 462 427 529 61,749 58,108 55,488 66,913
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 935 2,167 1,647 1,269 86,696 224,214 154,503 119,508
Total, private .................................. 913 2,102 1,592 1,232 85,170 219,227 148,901 116,852
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 52 31 72 54 3,073 2,329 4,710 3,265
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 861 2,071 1,520 1,178 82,097 216,898 144,191 113,587
Mining ...................................... (2) 28 8 5 (2) 2,136 550 335
Utilities ................................... (2) 4 (2) (2) (2) 225 (2) (2)
Construction ................................ 203 461 198 193 13,191 35,564 13,532 13,335
Manufacturing ............................... 273 699 488 361 36,170 91,754 54,418 42,527
Food .................................... 40 68 57 46 4,188 10,267 5,024 3,916
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 4 7 7 9 280 640 531 795
Textile mills ........................... 6 12 13 10 998 2,281 1,258 1,373
Textile product mills (3) ............... 4 8 8 5 383 848 950 615
Apparel (3) ............................. 5 16 17 (2) 286 1,311 1,630 (2)
Leather and allied products ............. (2) 4 (2) - (2) 435 (2) -
Wood products ........................... 47 59 46 50 4,497 5,698 4,780 5,576
Paper ................................... 7 5 6 7 397 571 469 711
Printing and related support activities . 4 11 11 11 358 830 766 714
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) 12 (2) (2) (2) 1,163 (2) (2)
Chemicals ............................... 4 12 10 6 348 995 898 368
Plastics and rubber products (3) ........ 9 57 37 15 469 5,069 2,855 1,081
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 24 61 38 25 1,624 5,979 2,602 1,836
Primary metals .......................... 13 37 16 13 1,411 4,022 1,491 1,480
Fabricated metal products ............... 14 55 40 17 1,315 5,252 3,144 1,155
Machinery(3) ............................ 17 37 23 15 2,946 6,864 2,901 1,129
Computer and electronic products ........ 9 21 18 15 667 1,559 1,222 1,204
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 4 16 7 17 281 1,495 784 5,327
Transportation equipment (3) ............ 43 171 86 66 14,510 31,910 17,920 12,189
Furniture and related products (3) ...... 15 19 34 18 994 2,868 4,127 2,043
Miscellaneous manufacturing (3) .......... (2) 11 9 10 (2) 1,697 721 638
Wholesale trade ............................. 5 24 30 17 278 1,762 2,848 1,248
Retail trade ................................ 71 103 119 123 5,869 8,839 12,839 11,662
Transportation and warehousing .............. 40 150 124 53 4,254 15,573 13,031 7,318
Information ................................. 24 51 43 28 2,966 8,770 4,668 4,229
Finance and insurance (3) ................... 21 36 50 46 1,511 2,311 4,285 3,397
Real estate and rental and leasing (3) ...... 4 6 8 5 275 322 462 261
Professional and technical services (3) ..... 25 50 41 34 2,403 5,303 3,829 2,756
Management of companies and enterprises ..... (2) 5 (2) 3 (2) 448 (2) 181
Administrative and waste services (3) ....... 114 218 232 197 9,156 19,367 20,639 17,799
Educational services ........................ 4 8 7 5 322 487 851 374
Health care and social assistance ........... 18 31 27 19 1,099 2,484 1,767 1,407
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 5 20 38 6 289 1,238 2,445 330
Accommodation and food services ............. 42 158 88 78 3,555 18,717 6,064 6,121
Other services, except public administration 5 19 13 (2) 310 1,598 1,381 (2)
Unclassified ................................ 1 - - - 71 - - -
Government ...................................... 22 65 55 37 1,526 4,987 5,602 2,656
Federal ..................................... 5 10 13 3 339 841 1,106 249
State ....................................... 6 12 9 11 482 1,016 804 819
Local ....................................... 11 43 33 23 705 3,130 3,692 1,588
1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
3 Data beginning in 2008 are not strictly comparable to prior years due to a change in NAICS versions.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2006 to February 2008,
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
2006
January .................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701
February ................... 719 66,555 658 62,208
March ...................... 921 111,838 856 106,177
First Quarter .............. 2,885 296,339 2,637 277,086 963 193,510 36.5 69.8
April ...................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964
May ........................ 872 84,809 794 78,663
June ....................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687
Second Quarter ............. 3,501 371,159 3,056 332,314 1,353 264,927 44.3 79.7
July ....................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342
August ..................... 708 72,844 656 69,054
September .................. 865 87,699 785 81,274
Third Quarter .............. 3,084 327,400 2,776 304,670 929 161,764 33.5 53.1
October .................... 964 98,804 820 88,133
November ................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009
December ................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783
Fourth Quarter ............. 4,528 489,493 4,118 457,925 1,640 330,901 39.8 72.3
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 1,111 199,295 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 1,421 258,812 43.2 74.4
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 1,019 172,508 33.7 54.4
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 (2)(p) 1,619 (2)(p) 234,612 (p)35.2 (p)47.3
2008
January .................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191
February ................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587
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 claim-
ants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
p = preliminary.
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,
not seasonally adjusted
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Census region and division
February December January February February December January February
2007 2007 2008 2008 2007 2007 2008 2008
United States (1) ... 935 2,167 1,647 1,269 86,696 224,214 154,503 119,508
Northeast ................... 179 392 349 212 18,272 36,859 32,949 21,554
New England ............. 25 56 30 35 2,602 5,777 2,056 3,999
Middle Atlantic ......... 154 336 319 177 15,670 31,082 30,893 17,555
South ....................... 168 388 324 305 17,850 47,505 32,769 29,835
South Atlantic .......... 84 192 157 176 9,938 18,797 15,997 13,912
East South Central ...... 42 120 129 64 4,336 18,538 13,585 8,907
West South Central ...... 42 76 38 65 3,576 10,170 3,187 7,016
Midwest ..................... 239 884 416 232 26,603 97,346 42,229 25,941
East North Central ...... 198 667 324 184 23,364 74,374 33,964 21,916
West North Central ...... 41 217 92 48 3,239 22,972 8,265 4,025
West ........................ 349 503 558 520 23,971 42,504 46,556 42,178
Mountain ................ 25 67 44 47 1,833 4,968 3,757 3,754
Pacific ................. 324 436 514 473 22,138 37,536 42,799 38,424
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
2007 2007 2008 2008 2007 2007 2008 2008
Total (1) ............ 935 2,167 1,647 1,269 86,696 224,214 154,503 119,508
Alabama ................. 16 33 82 17 1,757 3,677 10,160 2,549
Alaska .................. - (2) (2) - - (2) (2) -
Arizona ................. (2) 4 4 (2) (2) 263 290 (2)
Arkansas ................ (2) 8 4 3 (2) 680 293 364
California .............. 299 370 468 416 19,809 30,590 38,715 32,747
Colorado ................ (2) 12 7 4 (2) 767 654 326
Connecticut ............. 3 10 (2) (2) 309 854 (2) (2)
Delaware ................ (2) 4 (2) (2) (2) 241 (2) (2)
District of Columbia .... - (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2)
Florida ................. 39 62 70 102 2,616 5,088 5,366 6,572
Georgia ................. 15 36 51 26 1,831 3,111 4,718 2,428
Hawaii .................. - 12 3 9 - 1,161 217 786
Idaho ................... 10 12 7 7 615 844 496 497
Illinois ................ 44 140 68 52 4,684 15,012 9,106 6,344
Indiana ................. 21 64 34 24 1,963 7,654 2,955 3,709
Iowa .................... 14 52 26 16 1,469 6,337 3,163 1,885
Kansas .................. 3 27 8 3 215 3,441 490 192
Kentucky ................ 16 62 28 24 1,333 12,727 2,304 4,219
Louisiana ............... 8 15 7 13 492 1,274 739 2,640
Maine ................... 3 4 (2) 4 303 278 (2) 245
Maryland ................ 8 29 9 5 747 2,628 708 377
Massachusetts ........... 7 22 11 9 442 2,131 791 698
Michigan ................ 38 213 86 32 6,507 25,005 7,004 4,379
Minnesota ............... 9 46 19 5 615 4,386 1,751 361
Mississippi ............. 4 9 6 10 254 640 324 897
Missouri ................ 14 77 37 19 801 7,517 2,664 1,127
Montana ................. (2) 4 6 (2) (2) 264 579 (2)
Nebraska ................ - 9 (2) 5 - 864 (2) 460
Nevada .................. 6 19 15 23 638 1,370 1,151 1,909
New Hampshire ........... (2) 6 (2) 3 (2) 560 (2) 351
New Jersey .............. 27 93 35 35 2,558 8,389 2,613 3,439
New Mexico .............. 4 7 4 (2) 229 702 473 (2)
New York ................ 20 72 152 42 2,184 6,700 18,636 5,912
North Carolina .......... 5 7 3 21 518 789 350 2,121
North Dakota ............ (2) 5 (2) - (2) 356 (2) -
Ohio .................... 41 149 71 42 4,175 14,909 9,352 4,387
Oklahoma ................ 13 13 4 (2) 1,377 1,732 317 (2)
Oregon .................. 12 32 28 29 1,264 3,763 2,769 3,125
Pennsylvania ............ 107 171 132 100 10,928 15,993 9,644 8,204
Rhode Island ............ 7 10 9 9 1,249 1,465 562 1,448
South Carolina .......... 7 29 12 10 641 4,236 1,991 1,354
South Dakota ............ - (2) - - - (2) - -
Tennessee ............... 6 16 13 13 992 1,494 797 1,242
Texas ................... 20 40 23 47 1,656 6,484 1,838 3,870
Utah .................... - 8 (2) 7 - 706 (2) 525
Vermont ................. 4 4 4 8 240 489 248 1,084
Virginia ................ 8 21 8 8 3,476 2,390 1,027 742
Washington .............. 13 21 14 19 1,065 1,940 1,047 1,766
West Virginia ........... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Wisconsin ............... 54 101 65 34 6,035 11,794 5,547 3,097
Wyoming ................. - (2) - (2) - (2) - (2)
Puerto Rico ............. 8 3 10 23 535 279 1,120 2,113
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
