For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, March 23, 2012 USDL-12-0496
Technical information: (202) 691-6392 * mlsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
MASS LAYOFFS -- FEBRUARY 2012
Employers took 1,293 mass layoff actions in February involving 119,463
workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for
unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50
workers from a single employer. Mass layoff events in February
decreased by 141 from January, and the number of associated initial
claims decreased by 10,457. In February, 282 mass layoff events were
reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting
in 27,388 initial claims. Both manufacturing figures were lower when
compared to January. (See table 1.)
The national unemployment rate was 8.3 percent in February, the same
as the prior month and down from 9.0 percent a year earlier. Total
nonfarm payroll employment increased by 227,000 over the month and by
2,021,000 over the year.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in February was 895, not seasonally
adjusted, resulting in 73,974 initial claims for unemployment
insurance. (See table 2.) Over the year, the number of average weekly
mass layoff events decreased by 32 to 224, and associated average
weekly initial claims decreased by 2,902 to 18,494. Twelve of the 19
major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year
decreases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest decrease
occurring in information. (See table 3.) Over the month, the six-digit
industry with the largest number of private nonfarm initial claims in
February was temporary help services. (See table A.)
Table A. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in February 2012, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted
Industry February peak
Initial Claims Year Initial claims
Temporary help services (1) ............... 6,381 2001 18,893
Supermarkets and other grocery stores ..... 2,685 2012 2,685
School and employee bus transportation .... 2,507 2008 4,254
Department stores, except discount ........ 2,445 2001 2,994
Food service contractors .................. 2,434 2009 2,580
Motion picture and video production ....... 2,341 2011 6,260
Professional employer organizations (1) ... 2,012 2009 6,452
Discount department stores ................ 1,701 2004 2,669
Warehouse clubs and supercenters .......... 1,480 2012 1,480
Nonresidential electrical contractors ..... 967 2009 2,113
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
In February, the manufacturing sector accounted for 23 percent of mass
layoff events and associated initial claims in the private economy.
Within manufacturing, the numbers of mass layoff claimants were
greatest in food and in transportation equipment. Twelve of the 21
manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in
average weekly initial claims, with the largest decrease occurring in
food. (See table 3.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the census regions, the West registered the largest number of
initial claims in February. Three of the 4 regions experienced over-
the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest
decline occurring in the West. (See table 4.)
Among the states, California recorded the highest number of mass
layoff initial claims in February, followed by New York, Pennsylvania,
and Florida. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia
experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly initial claims,
led by California, Florida, and Indiana. (See table 4.)
Note
The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or
more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of
the layoffs. For private nonfarm establishments, information on the
length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly
release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days
(referred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release
provides more information on the industry classification and location
of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.
The monthly data series in this release are subjected to average
weekly analysis, which mitigates the effect of differing lengths of
months. See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions and for a
description of average weekly analysis.
____________
The Mass Layoffs news release for March is scheduled to be released on
Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
Technical Note
The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during
a consecutive 5-week period. These employers then are contacted by the
state agency to determine whether these separations lasted 31 days or
longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is collected.
States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.
A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month. All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks. The number of weeks in a given
month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in a year
may vary. Therefore, data users who intend to perform analysis of over-the-year
change in the not seasonally adjusted series should use the average weekly
mass layoff figures displayed in tables 3 and 4 of this release. The average
weekly adjustment process produces a consistent series for each month across
all years, permitting over-the-year analysis to be performed using strictly
comparable data.
The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay
Service: (800) 877-8339.
Definitions
Average weekly mass layoff events and initial claimants. The number of
events and initial claimants in a given month divided by the number of weeks
contained within that month.
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 administered
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Industry. Employers are classified according to the 2007 version of the
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For temporary help
and professional employers organization industries, monthly MLS-related
statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client companies
in other industries. An individual layoff action at a client company can
be small, but when initial claimants associated with many such layoffs are
assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a
mass layoff event may trigger.
Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment 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 publishing
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 expansions
and contractions.
The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjustment
method on a concurrent basis. Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available
monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in developing 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
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 2008 to
February 2012, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2008
March ...................... 1,515 151,628 1,400 141,316 441 58,254
April ...................... 1,290 128,643 1,157 117,639 453 57,044
May ........................ 1,567 160,475 1,432 150,893 470 62,776
June ....................... 1,612 163,425 1,471 152,133 491 68,862
July ....................... 1,589 163,572 1,452 153,060 465 62,210
August ..................... 1,763 181,853 1,632 172,147 578 77,464
September .................. 2,159 229,180 1,990 215,749 629 82,011
October .................... 2,201 226,853 2,043 213,454 698 93,252
November ................... 2,406 239,239 2,247 225,404 907 103,836
December ................... 2,437 244,889 2,261 230,621 935 116,181
2009
January .................... 2,254 235,371 2,083 221,653 726 92,293
February ................... 3,059 326,392 2,901 310,378 1,251 145,839
March ...................... 2,999 299,322 2,800 282,414 1,230 154,168
April ...................... 2,566 249,129 2,349 232,632 1,007 116,051
May ........................ 2,710 284,468 2,516 267,869 1,181 147,184
June ....................... 2,466 247,597 2,257 230,502 1,048 137,649
July ....................... 2,186 222,941 1,979 203,911 636 75,728
August ..................... 2,340 216,047 2,115 197,172 751 77,894
September .................. 2,261 214,018 2,048 198,761 786 91,125
October .................... 1,969 195,752 1,772 178,172 571 65,217
November ................... 1,757 164,454 1,588 151,172 472 52,855
December ................... 1,719 155,056 1,543 140,835 424 44,096
2010
January .................... 1,707 168,044 1,529 154,187 471 53,817
February ................... 1,631 156,292 1,465 141,831 374 43,620
March ...................... 1,676 149,816 1,469 134,518 356 40,705
April ...................... 1,637 154,558 1,452 138,503 368 44,506
May ........................ 1,608 150,996 1,357 130,273 302 29,932
June ....................... 1,695 151,435 1,475 132,742 325 33,298
July ....................... 1,519 138,091 1,316 122,162 304 32,253
August ..................... 1,588 159,329 1,399 136,697 390 43,154
September .................. 1,510 133,576 1,295 115,349 328 34,333
October .................... 1,654 149,589 1,446 132,146 354 38,937
November ................... 1,592 161,145 1,410 145,494 360 39,977
December ................... 1,477 135,849 1,271 121,171 322 36,267
2011
January .................... 1,536 148,952 1,348 131,869 337 37,477
February ................... 1,434 131,569 1,242 116,745 297 26,696
March ...................... 1,275 115,391 1,118 102,722 251 28,988
April ...................... 1,548 145,836 1,383 131,317 341 37,053
May ........................ 1,600 144,412 1,404 127,793 374 39,180
June ....................... 1,513 143,384 1,334 128,410 344 36,265
July ....................... 1,562 145,078 1,348 125,285 346 36,312
August ..................... 1,551 164,275 1,347 149,874 382 49,194
September .................. 1,447 147,353 1,306 134,038 364 38,026
October .................... 1,335 118,924 1,205 107,330 341 33,926
November ................... 1,332 131,627 1,192 120,760 324 36,563
December ................... 1,384 145,648 1,238 130,583 351 39,081
2012
January .................... 1,434 129,920 1,298 119,102 341 33,597
February ................... 1,293 119,463 1,153 108,577 282 27,388
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, March 2008 to
February 2012, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2008
March ...................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 333 43,740
April ...................... 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 394 48,188
May ........................ 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 388 51,698
June ....................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 309 42,097
July ....................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 760 108,733
August ..................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 414 51,912
September .................. 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 361 46,391
October .................... 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 689 100,457
November ................... 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 997 107,620
December ................... 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 1,378 172,529
2009
January .................... 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 1,461 172,757
February ................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 945 103,588
March ...................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 940 114,747
April ...................... 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 887 100,872
May ........................ 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 1,005 123,683
June ....................... 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 674 85,726
July ....................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 1,133 154,208
August ..................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 436 41,151
September .................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 448 51,126
October .................... 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 566 69,655
November ................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 517 55,053
December ................... 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 615 64,540
2010
January .................... 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 962 104,846
February ................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 282 30,728
March ...................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 273 29,745
April ...................... 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 424 55,178
May ........................ 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 216 19,334
June ....................... 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 212 21,083
July ....................... 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 532 64,200
August ..................... 976 92,435 897 83,021 230 23,088
September .................. 920 77,654 806 67,987 187 19,403
October .................... 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 351 40,861
November ................... 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 389 41,383
December ................... 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 465 52,816
2011
January .................... 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 693 75,006
February ................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 222 18,471
March ...................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 191 20,869
April ...................... 1,750 189,919 1,625 176,478 397 47,104
May ........................ 1,367 119,911 1,221 108,531 270 25,199
June ....................... 1,661 159,930 1,238 122,821 226 22,986
July ....................... 2,176 216,774 1,759 174,078 602 71,814
August ..................... 961 99,213 875 93,159 228 26,916
September .................. 1,189 117,232 1,095 107,300 296 32,058
October .................... 1,101 96,914 950 83,748 265 28,447
November ................... 1,393 127,750 1,245 117,474 349 37,799
December ................... 2,433 263,665 2,258 247,916 658 75,033
2012
January .................... 1,705 141,703 1,587 132,754 415 38,021
February ................... 895 73,974 820 69,076 196 16,555
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally adjusted
Industry Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs (1)
Events Initial claimants Events Initial claimants
February February February February February February February February
2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012
Total (2) .................................. 1,024 895 85,585 73,974 256 224 21,396 18,494
Total, private ................................... 976 865 82,230 71,884 244 216 20,558 17,971
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ... 57 45 3,512 2,808 14 11 878 702
Total, private nonfarm ......................... 919 820 78,718 69,076 230 205 19,680 17,269
Mining ....................................... 4 7 322 510 1 2 81 128
Utilities .................................... (3) - (3) - (3) - (3) -
Construction ................................. 104 81 7,003 5,395 26 20 1,751 1,349
Construction of buildings ................ 23 12 1,751 760 6 3 438 190
Heavy and civil engineering construction . 35 19 2,302 1,319 9 5 576 330
Specialty trade contractors .............. 46 50 2,950 3,316 12 13 738 829
Manufacturing ................................ 222 196 18,471 16,555 56 49 4,618 4,139
Food ..................................... 58 45 5,115 4,208 15 11 1,279 1,052
Beverage and tobacco products ............ 5 4 287 199 1 1 72 50
Textile mills ............................ 5 7 468 638 1 2 117 160
Textile product mills .................... 4 4 270 512 1 1 68 128
Apparel .................................. 5 4 693 379 1 1 173 95
Leather and allied products .............. (3) - (3) - (3) - (3) -
Wood products ............................ 22 13 1,872 1,292 6 3 468 323
Paper .................................... 12 6 750 397 3 2 188 99
Printing and related support activities .. 6 9 679 634 2 2 170 159
Petroleum and coal products .............. (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Chemicals ................................ 7 (3) 759 (3) 2 (3) 190 (3)
Plastics and rubber products ............. 5 9 262 547 1 2 66 137
Nonmetallic mineral products ............. 16 7 1,141 505 4 2 285 126
Primary metals ........................... 8 6 794 428 2 2 199 107
Fabricated metal products ................ 8 10 446 699 2 3 112 175
Machinery ................................ 11 9 897 994 3 2 224 249
Computer and electronic products ......... 13 15 847 1,008 3 4 212 252
Electrical equipment and appliances ...... 4 7 1,078 590 1 2 270 148
Transportation equipment ................. 19 20 1,275 1,725 5 5 319 431
Furniture and related products ........... 9 13 533 1,095 2 3 133 274
Miscellaneous manufacturing .............. (3) 4 (3) 467 (3) 1 (3) 117
Wholesale trade .............................. 24 17 2,187 1,594 6 4 547 399
Retail trade (4) ............................. 114 135 9,346 12,716 29 34 2,337 3,179
Building material and garden supply stores 12 7 1,102 494 3 2 276 124
Food and beverage stores ................. 19 26 1,450 2,735 5 7 363 684
Clothing and clothing accessories stores . 16 19 1,137 1,390 4 5 284 348
General merchandise stores ............... 42 57 4,182 6,096 11 14 1,046 1,524
Transportation and warehousing (4) ........... 49 32 5,630 3,506 12 8 1,408 877
Truck transportation ..................... 12 3 1,052 154 3 1 263 39
Transit and ground passenger
transportation ......................... 20 17 3,272 2,561 5 4 818 640
Support activities for transportation .... 3 3 198 184 1 1 50 46
Information .................................. 58 42 8,959 4,456 15 11 2,240 1,114
Finance and insurance ........................ 22 22 1,407 1,891 6 6 352 473
Real estate and rental and leasing ........... 7 5 369 305 2 1 92 76
Professional and technical services .......... 43 25 3,729 1,931 11 6 932 483
Management of companies and enterprises ...... (3) 5 (3) 344 (3) 1 (3) 86
Administrative and waste services ............ 166 155 13,894 11,920 42 39 3,474 2,980
Educational services ......................... 8 6 474 341 2 2 119 85
Health care and social assistance ............ 28 26 1,685 1,686 7 7 421 422
Arts, entertainment, and recreation .......... 11 19 629 1,442 3 5 157 361
Accommodation and food services .............. 50 37 4,088 3,814 13 9 1,022 954
Accommodation ............................ 15 8 1,115 493 4 2 279 123
Food services and drinking places ........ 35 29 2,973 3,321 9 7 743 830
Other services, except public administration . 4 7 161 526 1 2 40 132
Unclassified ................................. - 3 - 144 - 1 - 36
Government ....................................... 48 30 3,355 2,090 12 8 839 523
Federal ...................................... 5 5 384 337 1 1 96 84
State ........................................ 17 10 1,029 715 4 3 257 179
State government education .............. 6 7 383 531 2 2 96 133
Local ........................................ 26 15 1,942 1,038 7 4 486 260
Local government education .............. 10 6 1,032 377 3 2 258 94
1 Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. There were 4 weeks in February 2011 and 4 weeks in
February 2012. Average weekly events and initial claimants may not sum to subtotals and totals due to rounding.
2 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
4 Includes other industries not shown.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 4. Region and state distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted
Census region and state Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs (1)
Events Initial Claimants Events Initial Claimants
February February February February February February February February
2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012
Total (2) ............... 1,024 895 85,585 73,974 256 224 21,396 18,494
Northeast .................. 173 203 16,047 18,074 43 51 4,012 4,519
Connecticut ............ (3) 5 (3) 505 (3) 1 (3) 126
Maine .................. (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Massachusetts .......... 6 5 534 358 2 1 134 90
New Hampshire .......... 4 3 537 209 1 1 134 52
New Jersey ............. 19 26 2,243 2,246 5 7 561 562
New York ............... 45 91 4,161 8,124 11 23 1,040 2,031
Pennsylvania ........... 77 61 5,384 4,448 19 15 1,346 1,112
Rhode Island ........... 10 7 2,125 1,883 3 2 531 471
Vermont ................ 6 (3) 558 (3) 2 (3) 140 (3)
South ...................... 260 242 19,998 19,704 65 61 5,000 4,926
Alabama ................ 12 7 1,583 541 3 2 396 135
Arkansas ............... 3 11 283 1,163 1 3 71 291
Delaware ............... 3 (3) 239 (3) 1 (3) 60 (3)
District of Columbia ... (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Florida ................ 85 65 5,071 3,742 21 16 1,268 936
Georgia ................ 28 20 2,221 2,195 7 5 555 549
Kentucky ............... 13 18 1,682 1,338 3 5 421 335
Louisiana .............. 6 13 518 1,294 2 3 130 324
Maryland ............... 4 10 306 825 1 3 77 206
Mississippi ............ 8 6 446 353 2 2 112 88
North Carolina ......... 27 27 1,984 2,604 7 7 496 651
Oklahoma ............... 9 5 1,015 315 2 1 254 79
South Carolina ......... 5 8 340 700 1 2 85 175
Tennessee .............. 11 4 632 584 3 1 158 146
Texas .................. 32 33 2,468 2,714 8 8 617 679
Virginia ............... 10 10 899 1,027 3 3 225 257
West Virginia .......... (3) - (3) - (3) - (3) -
Midwest .................... 180 152 15,075 13,591 45 38 3,769 3,398
Illinois ............... 35 40 3,508 3,291 9 10 877 823
Indiana ................ 15 4 1,471 314 4 1 368 79
Iowa ................... 9 11 870 1,246 2 3 218 312
Kansas ................. 5 4 308 447 1 1 77 112
Michigan ............... 17 28 1,091 2,639 4 7 273 660
Minnesota .............. 10 3 675 237 3 1 169 59
Missouri ............... 17 7 1,038 449 4 2 260 112
Nebraska ............... 9 8 634 610 2 2 159 153
North Dakota ........... - - - - - - - -
Ohio ................... 30 25 2,473 2,381 8 6 618 595
South Dakota ........... - - - - - - - -
Wisconsin .............. 33 22 3,007 1,977 8 6 752 494
West ....................... 411 298 34,465 22,605 103 75 8,616 5,651
Alaska ................. (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) (3)
Arizona ................ 12 13 838 1,023 3 3 210 256
California ............. 349 225 29,769 16,919 87 56 7,442 4,230
Colorado ............... 4 6 383 478 1 2 96 120
Hawaii ................. 3 (3) 232 (3) 1 (3) 58 (3)
Idaho .................. 4 6 225 399 1 2 56 100
Montana ................ (3) - (3) - (3) - (3) -
Nevada ................. 5 5 394 427 1 1 99 107
New Mexico ............. 3 5 164 348 1 1 41 87
Oregon ................. 9 19 896 1,497 2 5 224 374
Utah ................... 6 3 370 228 2 1 93 57
Washington ............. 13 13 955 1,084 3 3 239 271
Wyoming ................ - - - - - - - -
Puerto Rico ............ 16 13 1,808 1,131 4 3 452 283
1 See footnote 1, table 3
2 See footnote 2, table 3.
3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
United States Department of Labor
