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Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
MLS MLS Program Links

Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, May 21, 2010                 USDL-10-0688

Technical information:  (202) 691-6392  *  mlsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

(NOTE: Monthly national Mass Layoffs data for April through September 2010 
have been found to contain errors in each of the 6 seasonally adjusted series
appearing in the charts, the text, and tables 1 and 3. Not seasonally adjusted
data and regional office news releases are not affected. The corrected 
seasonally adjusted estimates for April through September are located in the 
Mass Layoffs database at www.bls.gov/mls/#data.)


                             MASS LAYOFFS -- APRIL 2010


Employers took 1,856 mass layoff actions in April that resulted in the sepa-
ration of 200,870 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 action involved at least 50 persons 
from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in April increased 
by 228 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims in-
creased by 50,006. In April, 448 mass layoff events were reported in the manu-
facturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 63,616 initial claims. 
(See table 1.)

During the 29 months from December 2007 through April 2010, the total number 
of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 58,793, and the associated 
number of initial claims was 5,932,553. (December 2007 was the start of a re-
cession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)

The national unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in April 2010, seasonally ad-
justed, up from 9.7 percent the prior month and from 8.9 percent a year earlier. 
In April, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 290,000 over the month but 
was down by 1,381,000 from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in April was 1,840 on a not seasonally ad-
justed basis; the number of associated initial claims was 199,690. (See 
table 2.) Over the year, the number of average weekly mass layoff events 
decreased by 269, and associated average weekly initial claims decreased 
by 24,295. Sixteen of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy 
reported over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims, led by 
manufacturing. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing 
numbers of weeks in a month. See the Technical Note.) However, the health 
care and social assistance industry and the real estate and rental and 
leasing industry reported program highs in terms of average weekly initial
claims for the month of April.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 23 percent of all mass layoff events 
and 28 percent of initial claims filed in April 2010. A year earlier, manu-
facturing made up 35 percent of events and 39 percent of initial claims. 
Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in April 2010 was greatest in 
transportation equipment and food. (See table 3.) All 21 manufacturing sub-
sectors experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims, 
with the largest decrease in machinery manufacturing.



Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in 
April 2010, not seasonally adjusted 


                                                                April peak
                  Industry
                                                  Initial     Year    Initial
                                                  claims              claims 

School and employee bus transportation ........   19,007      2009     22,324
Temporary help services (1) ...................   11,691      2001     17,507
Automobile manufacturing ......................    9,670      1996     14,744
Food service contractors ......................    9,195      2010      9,195
Tax preparation services ......................    6,514      2010      6,514
Motion picture and video production ...........    5,905      1997     15,908
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .......    4,130      2010      4,130
Professional employer organizations (1) .......    4,006      2009      4,372
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing .    3,593      1997      4,978
Discount department stores ....................    3,581      2009      4,462

   1  See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.       



The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in April 
2010 was school and employee bus transportation. (See table A.) Of the 10 
detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims, 
food service contractors and tax preparation services reached program highs 
for the month of April, irrespective of the number of weeks in the month. 
(Data begin in 1995.)

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

All four regions and all nine divisions experienced over-the-year decreases 
in average weekly initial claims due to mass layoffs in April. Among the 
four census regions, the Midwest and South registered the largest over-the-
year declines in average weekly initial claims. Of the nine geographic divi-
sions, the East North Central and the South Atlantic had the largest over-
the-year declines.

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in April, followed 
by New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New Jersey. (See table 6.) Forty-
one states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-year decreases 
in average weekly initial claims, led by Illinois, New York, California, and 
Ohio. However, six states reached April program highs for average weekly ini-
tial claims in 2010: Alaska, Colorado, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, 
and Wyoming.

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 lay-
offs 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. 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 Mass Layoffs in May 2010 news release is scheduled to be released on Thursday, 
June 24, 2010, 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, 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; Federal Relay
Service:  (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
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 insur-
ance 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 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, May 2006 to 
April 2010, seasonally adjusted 

                                      Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2006                                                                             

May ........................     1,121     117,834     1,003     107,929       302      40,703
June .......................     1,150     125,318     1,039     115,883       349      43,476
July .......................     1,182     121,056     1,056     111,432       373      51,691
August .....................     1,238     135,707     1,104     125,704       372      58,962
September ..................     1,154     124,200     1,043     115,261       393      45,972
October ....................     1,208     123,691     1,094     115,102       409      53,957
November ...................     1,244     135,465     1,128     125,976       413      58,509
December ...................     1,227     134,176     1,123     124,570       376      51,403

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,264     130,834     1,113     119,874       404      55,217
February ...................     1,191     121,289     1,075     112,607       374      54,581
March ......................     1,225     126,391     1,113     117,760       386      48,298
April ......................     1,268     129,098     1,135     118,175       362      43,205
May ........................     1,172     118,648     1,070     111,103       345      44,391
June .......................     1,241     131,394     1,125     122,123       338      37,931
July .......................     1,274     130,331     1,169     122,381       403      55,973
August .....................     1,247     126,108     1,158     118,575       323      34,902
September ..................     1,255     123,632     1,160     116,744       436      51,814
October ....................     1,370     137,108     1,248     128,387       449      58,360
November ...................     1,415     148,952     1,289     139,665       424      58,543
December ...................     1,569     155,095     1,448     145,666       483      60,368

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,481     151,269     1,348     140,570       436      57,147
February ...................     1,578     162,152     1,432     150,712       470      60,276
March ......................     1,487     151,539     1,372     141,574       436      56,919
April ......................     1,327     133,318     1,201     122,651       460      59,377
May ........................     1,604     170,619     1,465     160,529       468      62,345
June .......................     1,674     170,329     1,523     158,084       501      68,403
July .......................     1,531     152,447     1,389     141,707       461      61,417
August .....................     1,845     189,798     1,711     179,737       607      78,172
September ..................     2,222     235,755     2,049     220,832       634      81,989
October ....................     2,287     239,768     2,125     226,098       721      95,301
November ...................     2,489     240,181     2,334     227,368       929     107,072
December ...................     2,461     243,505     2,277     229,171       962     115,961

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     2,279     251,807     2,115     238,990       764     109,124
February ...................     2,737     289,162     2,592     274,040     1,186     141,264
March ......................     2,913     295,970     2,715     279,671     1,202     146,381
April ......................     2,663     263,162     2,461     247,329     1,033     125,093
May ........................     2,794     306,788     2,589     289,012     1,183     145,166
June .......................     2,598     260,596     2,371     241,864     1,072     135,844
July .......................     2,039     196,578     1,818     176,542       565      66,918
August .....................     2,480     238,911     2,244     218,425       798      87,201
September ..................     2,326     221,639     2,109     204,462       783      90,440
October ....................     2,055     205,502     1,856     187,880       594      65,801
November ...................     1,813     163,823     1,650     151,810       485      54,858
December ...................     1,726     153,127     1,542     138,747       433      44,072

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     1,761     182,261     1,585     168,466       486      62,556
February ...................     1,570     155,718     1,406     142,240       376      43,100
March ......................     1,628     150,864     1,432     136,446       356      39,290
April ......................     1,856     200,870     1,686     185,150       448      63,616




Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, May 2006 to 
April 2010, not seasonally adjusted 

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2006                                                                             

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
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




Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance  


                                                                                                     Initial claimants for           
                                                              Mass layoff events                    unemployment insurance          
                     Industry                                                                                                      
                                                     April   February   March     April      April    February    March      April 
                                                     2009      2010     2010      2010       2009       2010      2010       2010  
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                


      Total .....................................    2,663     1,570    1,628     1,856     263,162    155,718   150,864    200,870

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    2,461     1,406    1,432     1,686     247,329    142,240   136,446    185,150
    Manufacturing ...............................    1,033       376      356       448     125,093     43,100    39,290     63,616

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    2,547     1,183    1,197     1,840     256,930    102,818   111,727    199,690

Total, private ..................................    2,464     1,128    1,149     1,761     250,548     98,241   107,880    191,664
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       79        37       38        64       7,227      2,219     2,366      7,010

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    2,385     1,091    1,111     1,697     243,321     96,022   105,514    184,654
    Mining ......................................       39         5        5         7       3,267        761       374        399
    Utilities ...................................      (2)         -      (2)       (2)         (2)          -       (2)        (2)
    Construction ................................      194       166      117       163      13,490     12,200     8,206     11,947
    Manufacturing ...............................      887       282      273       424     100,872     30,728    29,745     55,178
        Food ....................................       81        45       53       100       8,371      4,031     6,122     10,200
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........      (2)         6        4       (2)         (2)        407       716        (2)
        Textile mills ...........................       16         5        4         7       2,409        431       350      1,296
        Textile product mills ...................        9         5        3         5         765        557       172        414
        Apparel .................................       19         4       10        16       1,610        265       578      1,428
        Leather and allied products .............      (2)       (2)        -         -         (2)        (2)         -          -
        Wood products ...........................       39        27       16        17       3,437      1,850     1,445      1,591
        Paper ...................................       26        10        5        14       2,584        721       313      1,134
        Printing and related support activities .       25        12       14         9       2,275        960     1,224        860
        Petroleum and coal products .............      (2)       (2)        3       (2)         (2)        (2)       185        (2)

        Chemicals ...............................       21         9       13         7       1,453        872     1,064        400
        Plastics and rubber products ............       51        10        9        10       6,393      1,014       686        719
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       34        12       11        22       3,192        794       785      1,882
        Primary metals ..........................       70         9        8        18       8,636        981       773      1,473
        Fabricated metal products ...............       97        12       18        21       7,698        681     1,361      1,581
        Machinery ...............................      100        20       22        41      18,614      2,466     2,373      4,456
        Computer and electronic products ........       69        18       16        27       5,770      1,538     1,278      1,964
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       43        12        6        12       5,169      1,386     1,195      1,756
        Transportation equipment ................      148        45       43        73      19,246     10,104     7,128     22,071
        Furniture and related products ..........       21        16       10        12       1,783      1,346     1,625        919
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............       14       (2)        5        10       1,118        (2)       372        833

    Wholesale trade .............................       55        27       29        25       4,343      1,754     2,016      2,224
    Retail trade ................................      153       128      124       156      16,211     10,802    13,337     16,188
    Transportation and warehousing ..............      231        51       62       178      28,962      5,372     6,444     23,013
    Information .................................       75        40       52        50       7,934      3,753     5,715      8,383
    Finance and insurance .......................       67        32       43        64       6,220      2,671     3,636      4,579
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........       13         9        8        22       1,078        622       409      1,388
    Professional and technical services .........       97        33       45        90      10,085      2,292     4,610     11,110
    Management of companies and enterprises .....       10         6      (2)       (2)         854      1,990       (2)        (2)
    Administrative and waste services ...........      300       191      163       241      25,498     13,594    13,281     21,073
    Educational services ........................      (2)         4       10         7         (2)        242       824        958
    Health care and social assistance ...........       49        31       33        58       3,343      2,118     2,066      4,991
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       47        16       20        57       4,074      1,419     1,558      4,838
    Accommodation and food services .............      134        61      112       131      13,168      5,044    12,269     16,214
    Other services, except public administration        23         8       10        16       2,168        552       670      1,434
    Unclassified ................................        1         1        -         -          86        108         -          -

Government ......................................       83        55       48        79       6,382      4,577     3,847      8,026
    Federal .....................................        6         8        8        16         461        631       636      1,393
    State .......................................       20        12       15        18       1,631        947     1,324      2,188
    Local .......................................       57        35       25        45       4,290      2,999     1,887      4,445
                                                                                                                                   

    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, April 2008 to April 2010, 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
             2008                                                                                                                 

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         339,630             44.7       82.2

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         1,581         304,340             37.4       68.9

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         3,582         766,780             47.5       99.3

             2009                                                                                                                 

January ....................    3,806      388,813     3,633     375,293                                                          
February ...................    2,262      218,438     2,173     210,755                                                          
March ......................    2,191      228,387     2,107     221,397                                                          

First Quarter ..............    8,259      835,638     7,913     807,445         3,979      (r)835,551             50.3      103.5

April ......................    2,547      256,930     2,385     243,321                                                          
May ........................    2,738      289,628     2,572     274,047                                                          
June .......................    2,519      256,357     2,051     216,063                                                          

Second Quarter .............    7,804      802,915     7,008     733,431         3,395      (r)731,035             48.4       99.7

July .......................    3,054      336,654     2,659     296,589                                                          
August .....................    1,428      125,024     1,334     117,193                                                          
September ..................    1,371      123,177     1,258     115,141                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    5,853      584,855     5,251     528,923      (r)2,034      (r)406,715          (r)38.7    (r)76.9

October ....................    1,934      193,904     1,678     172,883                                                          
November ...................    1,870      164,496     1,679     150,751                                                          
December ...................    2,310      214,648     2,166     203,655                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    6,114      573,048     5,523     527,289      (r)2,419      (r)466,539          (r)43.8    (r)88.5

             2010                                                                                                                 

January ....................    2,860      278,679     2,682     265,074                                                          
February ...................    1,183      102,818     1,091      96,022                                                          
March ......................    1,197      111,727     1,111     105,514                                                          

First Quarter ..............    5,240      493,224     4,884     466,610   (2)(p)1,564   (2)(p)214,204          (p)32.0    (p)45.9

April ......................    1,840      199,690     1,697     184,654                                                          
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
   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.
   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                                                                                        
  
                                   April   February    March     April      April     February     March      April 
                                   2009      2010      2010      2010       2009        2010       2010       2010  
                                                                                                                    
        United States (1) ...      2,547     1,183     1,197     1,840     256,930    102,818     111,727    199,690

Northeast ...................        504       215       195       397      56,253     21,705      19,419     48,396
    New England .............         88        39        26        81       9,192      4,682       2,168      9,523
    Middle Atlantic .........        416       176       169       316      47,061     17,023      17,251     38,873

South .......................        655       319       262       412      62,714     29,681      26,591     43,503
    South Atlantic ..........        368       178       136       214      33,338     13,052      10,762     20,768
    East South Central ......        160        69        54        80      16,166      9,917       5,470     11,005
    West South Central ......        127        72        72       118      13,210      6,712      10,359     11,730

Midwest .....................        608       221       252       364      72,383     21,128      27,591     44,740
    East North Central ......        482       169       184       290      60,241     16,776      21,613     37,448
    West North Central ......        126        52        68        74      12,142      4,352       5,978      7,292

West ........................        780       428       488       667      65,580     30,304      38,126     63,051
    Mountain ................        125        58        77       101      11,993      4,276       6,324     11,433
    Pacific .................        655       370       411       566      53,587     26,028      31,802     51,618
                                                                                                                    
 
   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                                                                                                      
                             April       February    March      April       April       February     March      April 
                             2009          2010      2010       2010        2009          2010       2010       2010  

   Total (1) ............    2,547        1,183      1,197      1,840      256,930      102,818     111,727    199,690
                                                                                                                      
Alabama .................       27           17         18         17        2,745        1,758       1,517      2,148
Alaska ..................        5            3        (2)         11          828          267         (2)      1,252
Arizona .................       41            8         17         33        4,985          700       1,417      4,943
Arkansas ................       12          (2)          3          8        1,057          (2)         214      1,039
California ..............      567          335        373        477       43,675       23,191      28,180     42,426
Colorado ................       19           10          7         20        1,696          706         626      2,269
Connecticut .............       11           10          9          9          884          847         746        891
Delaware ................       11            5          -          8          988          378           -        611
District of Columbia ....      (2)          (2)          -          -          (2)          (2)           -          -
Florida .................      152           87         68        118       11,010        5,523       4,311      9,139
Georgia .................       50           34         13         31        6,006        2,708       1,202      3,375
Hawaii ..................       10          (2)          7          7          934          (2)         534        672
Idaho ...................       10           11          9          8          754          709         661        533

Illinois ................      105           40         60         60       17,550        4,311       7,479      7,059
Indiana .................       80           22         22         32        9,659        1,907       3,057      4,786
Iowa ....................       30           13         13         20        2,636        1,122       2,135      2,876
Kansas ..................        7            -          4          5          737            -         313        296
Kentucky ................       83           32         25         40        9,194        6,844       3,276      6,573
Louisiana ...............       27           12         16         32        2,670        1,442       1,615      2,967
Maine ...................        6          (2)          3          8          493          (2)         233        754
Maryland ................       12            7          6          6        1,115          724         557        496
Massachusetts ...........       38            8          7         20        3,770          646         725      2,202
Michigan ................       74           32         29         44        7,139        3,694       4,729      7,624
Minnesota ...............       35           13         13          8        3,103        1,456         921        576
Mississippi .............       15            5          5          5        1,350          282         241        461
Missouri ................       46           24         31         28        4,719        1,667       2,112      2,393

Montana .................        4            4        (2)          7          335          258         (2)        528
Nebraska ................        4          (2)          6         10          390          (2)         409        948
Nevada ..................       26           16         26         15        2,123        1,331       2,131      1,432
New Hampshire ...........       10            7          5         14          848        1,095         297      1,663
New Jersey ..............       66           16         28         69        7,334        1,408       3,024      9,700
New Mexico ..............       14            6          9          8          909          391         847        594
New York ................      182           52         60        114       24,349        6,833       6,046     15,919
North Carolina ..........       28            5         16         13        2,582          451       1,610      1,438
North Dakota ............      (2)          (2)          -        (2)          (2)          (2)           -        (2)
Ohio ....................      115           35         34         61       14,791        3,790       2,927      8,014
Oklahoma ................       14            3          4          5        2,464          306       1,287        608
Oregon ..................       43           19         18         42        5,554        1,571       2,080      4,603
Pennsylvania ............      168          108         81        133       15,378        8,782       8,181     13,254

Rhode Island ............        8            7        (2)         16        1,649        1,545         (2)      2,525
South Carolina ..........       60           11         14         19        6,482          886       1,513      3,832
South Dakota ............      (2)            -        (2)          -          (2)            -         (2)          -
Tennessee ...............       35           15          6         18        2,877        1,033         436      1,823
Texas ...................       74           56         49         73        7,019        4,894       7,243      7,116
Utah ....................       10          (2)          5          8        1,055          (2)         393        889
Vermont .................       15            6        (2)         14        1,548          483         (2)      1,488
Virginia ................       42           22         18         15        4,052        1,704       1,416      1,489
Washington ..............       30           11         12         29        2,596          769         949      2,665
West Virginia ...........       12            5        (2)          4        1,028          509         (2)        388
Wisconsin ...............      108           40         39         93       11,102        3,074       3,421      9,965
Wyoming .................      (2)          (2)        (2)        (2)          (2)          (2)         (2)        (2)

Puerto Rico .............       13           21         21         19        1,321        2,459       1,702      2,252

   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.     
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.  




Last Modified Date: November 16, 2010