Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0547
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, May 22, 2009
MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2009
Employers took 2,712 mass layoff actions in April that resulted in
the separation of 271,226 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by
new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported
today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer.
The number of mass layoff events in April decreased by 221 from the prior
month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 28,162.
Compared to last year, the number of mass layoff events and associated
initial claims more than doubled. In April, the manufacturing sector
reported 1,111 mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted, resulting in
135,252 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manu-
facturing decreased by 148, and initial claims decreased by 20,657.
(See table 1.)
During the 17 months from December 2007 to April 2009, the total
number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 34,126, and the
number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 3,498,427. (December
2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau
of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in April 2009, season-
ally adjusted, up from 8.5 percent the prior month and from 5.0 percent
a year earlier. In April, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by
539,000 over the month and by 5,240,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in April was 2,547 on a not season-
ally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 256,930.
(See table 2.) Over the year, increases were recorded in both the number
of mass layoff events (+1,275) and initial claims (+126,120). This year,
both average weekly events and initial claimants reached their highest
April levels in program history; data are available back to 1995. (Aver-
age weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months.
See the Technical Note.) Twelve of the 19 major industry sectors report-
ed program highs in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the
month of April--mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade;
transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance; real estate and
rental and leasing; professional and technical services; management of
companies and enterprises; educational services; arts, entertainment, and
recreation; and accommodation and food services.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 35 percent of all mass layoff
events and 39 percent of initial claims filed in April 2009; a year ear-
lier, manufacturing made up 31 percent of events and 37 percent of ini-
tial claims. This April, the number of manufacturing claimants was great-
est in transportation equipment (19,246) and machinery (18,614). (See
table 3.) The transportation and warehousing industry accounted for 9
percent of mass layoff events and 11 percent of associated initial claims
during the month.
- 2 -
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in April 2009,
not seasonally adjusted
April peak
Industry
Initial claims Year Initial claims
School and employee bus transportation ........ 22,324 2009 22,324
Temporary help services (1) ................... 13,705 2001 17,507
Construction machinery manufacturing .......... 6,901 2009 6,901
Food service contractors ...................... 5,430 2004 5,496
Tax preparation services ...................... 4,519 2009 4,519
Discount department stores .................... 4,462 2009 4,462
Professional employer organizations (1) ....... 4,372 2009 4,372
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ....... 4,064 2009 4,064
Motion picture and video production ........... 3,595 1997 15,908
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ....... 3,594 1998 4,054
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff
initial claims, 6 reached their April peak: school and employee bus
transportation; construction machinery manufacturing; tax preparation
services; discount department stores; professional employer organizations;
and hotels and motels, except casino hotels. The industry with the larg-
est number of initial claims was school and employee bus transportation
(22,324). (See table A.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Of the 4 census regions, the Midwest registered the highest number
of initial claims in April due to mass layoffs (72,383), followed by
the West (65,580) and the South (62,714). (See table 5.) Initial
claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in all 4
regions, with the South (+35,415) and the Midwest (+35,214) experi-
encing the largest increases. In 2009, all regions except the West
reported their highest April levels of average weekly initial claims
in program history.
Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central (60,241) had
the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in April,
followed by the Pacific (53,587) and the Middle Atlantic (47,061).
(See table 5.) All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in
initial claims, led by the East North Central (+29,069) and the Middle
Atlantic (+28,946). This year, 7 of the 9 divisions--all except the
Pacific and West South Central--reached April program highs in terms of
average weekly initial claims.
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due
to mass layoff events in April with 43,675. The states with the next
highest number of mass layoff initial claims were New York (24,349),
Illinois (17,550), and Pennsylvania (15,378). (See table 6.) Forty-
five states and the District of Columbia registered over-the-year
increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by New
York (+16,810), California (+15,503), and Illinois (+12,904). In
2009, 25 states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims
for the month of April--Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida,
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missis-
sippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and
Wyoming.
- 3 -
Note
The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or
more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of
the layoffs. For private nonfarm establishments, information on the
length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release
that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as
"extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides more informa-
tion on the industry classification and location of the establishment
and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because monthly figures
include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures
for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure
for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 4.) See the Technical
Note for more detailed definitions.
______________________________
The report on Mass Layoffs in May 2009 is scheduled to be released on
Tuesday, June 23.
- 4 -
Technical Note
The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during
a consecutive 5-week period. These employers then are contacted by the
state agency to determine whether these separations lasted 31 days or
longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is collected.
States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.
A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month. All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months
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).
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.
- 5 -
Seasonal adjustment
Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish-
ing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series. The six series are the
numbers of mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total,
private nonfarm, and manufacturing sectors.
Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expan-
sions and contractions.
The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis. Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most recent 5 years
of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a year with the issuance of
December data. Before the data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments
are made to the original data to adjust them for differences in the number
of weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly unemployment
insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data, a particular month's
value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in 1 year and 4 weeks in
another. The effects of these differences could seriously distort the sea-
sonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process. These
effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently removed from
the final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, May 2005 to April 2009,
seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
May ........................ 1,264 137,475 1,121 124,468 397 54,998
June ....................... 1,196 126,416 1,082 117,568 367 58,003
July ....................... 1,241 130,331 1,094 117,510 354 46,056
August ..................... 1,143 125,536 1,000 113,465 342 47,255
September .................. 2,250 296,913 2,035 252,291 420 55,974
October .................... 1,109 111,202 991 102,111 320 43,387
November ................... 1,162 113,502 1,027 102,058 325 41,493
December ................... 1,263 136,751 1,135 125,700 358 46,940
2006
January .................... 1,112 111,601 986 102,359 293 35,390
February ................... 960 104,045 872 96,317 317 41,810
March ...................... 1,078 118,270 976 109,842 320 48,026
April ...................... 1,198 123,674 1,062 113,849 366 50,747
May ........................ 1,132 116,808 1,013 106,743 312 42,958
June ....................... 1,156 124,955 1,044 115,491 356 45,280
July ....................... 1,204 123,172 1,077 113,324 381 50,109
August ..................... 1,278 136,289 1,117 125,064 376 60,524
September .................. 1,167 124,083 1,054 115,451 390 46,470
October .................... 1,195 121,439 1,081 112,777 401 53,597
November ................... 1,209 131,459 1,096 122,136 402 57,084
December ................... 1,201 133,311 1,100 124,019 369 51,113
2007
January .................... 1,261 129,190 1,116 118,890 406 55,341
February ................... 1,240 134,524 1,130 126,105 404 58,861
March ...................... 1,261 129,480 1,151 120,923 407 52,356
April ...................... 1,281 130,263 1,145 119,683 381 45,654
May ........................ 1,200 119,259 1,097 111,585 368 48,682
June ....................... 1,256 132,078 1,138 122,726 356 41,135
July ....................... 1,288 131,556 1,182 123,322 405 53,318
August ..................... 1,262 125,334 1,162 117,557 331 36,577
September .................. 1,279 125,527 1,183 118,917 440 54,006
October .................... 1,346 133,514 1,224 124,666 436 57,527
November ................... 1,352 143,419 1,233 134,445 408 56,330
December ................... 1,469 145,916 1,354 136,914 447 56,152
2008
January .................... 1,476 149,068 1,350 139,076 435 56,579
February ................... 1,669 183,038 1,532 172,013 526 67,235
March ...................... 1,585 161,497 1,471 151,550 483 65,252
April ...................... 1,344 135,352 1,215 125,074 487 63,247
May ........................ 1,701 180,558 1,563 170,538 538 75,520
June ....................... 1,717 174,748 1,561 162,071 555 79,744
July ....................... 1,535 152,499 1,390 141,239 455 57,648
August ..................... 1,887 188,951 1,735 178,479 626 80,913
September .................. 2,290 240,721 2,114 226,492 643 86,617
October .................... 2,204 230,330 2,042 216,095 687 92,256
November ................... 2,333 225,639 2,185 213,288 868 100,643
December ................... 2,275 226,117 2,100 212,559 871 105,402
2009
January .................... 2,227 237,902 2,070 225,490 738 102,577
February ................... 2,769 295,477 2,628 281,500 1,235 152,618
March ...................... 2,933 299,388 2,751 283,989 1,259 155,909
April ...................... 2,712 271,226 2,519 256,111 1,111 135,252
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, May 2005 to April 2009,
not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
May ........................ 986 101,358 891 93,332 249 30,424
June ....................... 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 216 32,783
July ....................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 856 136,210
August ..................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 188 22,531
September .................. 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 318 47,497
October .................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 249 37,276
November ................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 363 41,442
December ................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 706 96,382
2006
January .................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 331 35,097
February ................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 210 24,892
March ...................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 285 44,688
April ...................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 296 39,538
May ........................ 872 84,809 794 78,663 192 23,570
June ....................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 319 41,095
July ....................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 648 96,152
August ..................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 203 28,494
September .................. 865 87,699 785 81,274 296 39,076
October .................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 311 46,737
November ................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 455 58,473
December ................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 735 105,462
2007
January .................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 456 53,615
February ................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 273 36,170
March ...................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 367 49,886
April ...................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 309 35,229
May ........................ 923 85,816 856 81,153 224 26,527
June ....................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 313 36,571
July ....................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 684 101,390
August ..................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 220 23,361
September .................. 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381
October .................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918
November ................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 514 75,413
December ................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 699 91,754
2008
January .................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 488 54,418
February ................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 361 42,527
March ...................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 333 43,740
April ...................... 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 394 48,188
May ........................ 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 388 51,698
June ....................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 309 42,097
July ....................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 760 108,733
August ..................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 414 51,912
September .................. 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 361 46,391
October .................... 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 689 100,457
November ................... 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 997 107,620
December ................... 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 1,378 172,529
2009
January .................... 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 1,461 172,757
February ................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 945 103,588
March ...................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 940 114,747
April ...................... 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 887 100,872
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
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 1,344 2,769 2,933 2,712 135,352 295,477 299,388 271,226
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,215 2,628 2,751 2,519 125,074 281,500 283,989 256,111
Manufacturing ............................... 487 1,235 1,259 1,111 63,247 152,618 155,909 135,252
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 1,272 2,262 2,191 2,547 130,810 218,438 228,387 256,930
Total, private .................................. 1,234 2,215 2,140 2,464 127,631 213,548 223,981 250,548
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 62 42 33 79 6,006 2,793 2,584 7,227
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,172 2,173 2,107 2,385 121,625 210,755 221,397 243,321
Mining ...................................... (2) 35 31 39 (2) 3,379 3,751 3,267
Utilities ................................... (2) (2) 3 (2) (2) (2) 234 (2)
Construction ................................ 112 199 166 194 8,106 14,040 11,612 13,490
Manufacturing ............................... 394 945 940 887 48,188 103,588 114,747 100,872
Food .................................... 66 57 63 81 7,085 5,379 6,077 8,371
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 4 8 9 (2) 422 606 1,305 (2)
Textile mills ........................... 10 19 29 16 1,065 1,833 3,108 2,409
Textile product mills ................... 5 8 6 9 700 769 554 765
Apparel ................................. 10 16 9 19 872 1,545 883 1,610
Leather and allied products ............. (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Wood products ........................... 33 57 62 39 3,973 5,348 5,799 3,437
Paper ................................... 7 34 27 26 419 3,129 2,749 2,584
Printing and related support activities . 11 21 23 25 1,136 1,758 2,124 2,275
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Chemicals ............................... 8 20 21 21 621 1,806 1,746 1,453
Plastics and rubber products ............ 28 48 60 51 2,522 4,878 6,151 6,393
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 14 40 46 34 1,251 2,788 4,095 3,192
Primary metals .......................... 14 59 71 70 1,386 6,523 8,681 8,636
Fabricated metal products ............... 22 99 88 97 1,612 8,735 8,186 7,698
Machinery ............................... 19 106 110 100 2,393 14,921 18,081 18,614
Computer and electronic products ........ 15 78 68 69 1,544 7,439 8,130 5,770
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 13 35 47 43 1,153 5,399 6,476 5,169
Transportation equipment ................ 89 171 155 148 17,617 22,440 26,012 19,246
Furniture and related products .......... 18 44 24 21 1,746 6,333 3,020 1,783
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 3 20 19 14 395 1,607 1,354 1,118
Wholesale trade ............................. 26 62 59 55 2,649 4,243 4,696 4,343
Retail trade ................................ 95 193 178 153 7,933 17,538 19,491 16,211
Transportation and warehousing .............. 108 80 91 231 12,228 7,864 8,809 28,962
Information ................................. 33 72 75 75 3,446 8,476 8,559 7,934
Finance and insurance ....................... 43 74 57 67 2,978 5,685 4,469 6,220
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 7 17 16 13 864 1,083 980 1,078
Professional and technical services ......... 59 82 81 97 7,282 7,895 7,191 10,085
Management of companies and enterprises ..... (2) 14 10 10 (2) 990 923 854
Administrative and waste services ........... 168 235 227 300 16,831 23,566 18,762 25,498
Educational services ........................ 5 (2) 8 (2) 464 (2) 467 (2)
Health care and social assistance ........... 16 33 24 49 1,016 2,032 1,820 3,343
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 28 10 17 47 2,078 655 1,259 4,074
Accommodation and food services ............. 68 95 115 134 6,743 8,080 13,090 13,168
Other services, except public administration 5 18 9 23 310 1,083 537 2,168
Unclassified ................................ - - - 1 - - - 86
Government ...................................... 38 47 51 83 3,179 4,890 4,406 6,382
Federal ..................................... 7 7 5 6 490 533 470 461
State ....................................... 10 17 11 20 748 1,804 1,066 1,631
Local ....................................... 21 23 35 57 1,941 2,553 2,870 4,290
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 2007 to April 2009, not seasonally adjusted
Private nonfarm
Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs
Date Mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates (1)
Initial Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2007
April ...................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040
May ........................ 923 85,816 856 81,153
June ....................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669
Second Quarter ............. 3,741 386,070 3,289 347,862 1,421 259,234 43.2 74.5
July ....................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939
August ..................... 963 93,458 908 88,345
September .................. 717 67,385 667 64,026
Third Quarter .............. 3,279 336,262 3,025 317,310 1,018 173,077 33.7 54.5
October .................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716
November ................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184
December ................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898
Fourth Quarter ............. 5,049 530,889 4,593 495,798 1,814 347,151 39.5 70.0
2008
January .................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191
February ................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587
March ...................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147
First Quarter .............. 4,005 388,552 3,737 367,925 1,340 (r)259,292 35.9 (r)70.5
April ...................... 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625
May ........................ 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462
June ....................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916
Second Quarter ............. 4,446 457,023 3,925 413,003 1,756 (r)339,574 44.7 (r)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 1,582 (r)303,774 37.4 (r)68.8
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 (r)3,585 (r)762,737 (r)47.6 (r)98.7
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 (2)(p)3,489 (2)(p)542,023 (p)44.1 (p)67.1
April ...................... 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321
1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days.
2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available.
Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and
the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,
not seasonally adjusted
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Census region and division
April February March April April February March April
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
United States (1) ... 1,272 2,262 2,191 2,547 130,810 218,438 228,387 256,930
Northeast ................... 244 348 317 504 24,621 32,131 29,493 56,253
New England ............. 59 78 68 88 6,506 7,744 7,021 9,192
Middle Atlantic ......... 185 270 249 416 18,115 24,387 22,472 47,061
South ....................... 256 624 589 655 27,299 55,542 61,432 62,714
South Atlantic .......... 139 295 276 368 11,989 23,842 27,819 33,338
East South Central ...... 59 172 158 160 8,783 17,840 15,629 16,166
West South Central ...... 58 157 155 127 6,527 13,860 17,984 13,210
Midwest ..................... 330 561 607 608 37,169 64,973 81,957 72,383
East North Central ...... 267 434 466 482 31,172 52,690 64,595 60,241
West North Central ...... 63 127 141 126 5,997 12,283 17,362 12,142
West ........................ 442 729 678 780 41,721 65,792 55,505 65,580
Mountain ................ 67 128 109 125 7,701 11,381 10,991 11,993
Pacific ................. 375 601 569 655 34,020 54,411 44,514 53,587
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
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Total (1) ............ 1,272 2,262 2,191 2,547 130,810 218,438 228,387 256,930
Alabama ................. 21 33 45 27 2,789 4,690 4,985 2,745
Alaska .................. 4 7 (2) 5 499 557 (2) 828
Arizona ................. 30 23 22 41 4,424 2,185 2,483 4,985
Arkansas ................ 3 6 10 12 330 1,156 806 1,057
California .............. 321 515 498 567 28,172 45,557 38,130 43,675
Colorado ................ 5 15 13 19 455 1,237 1,578 1,696
Connecticut ............. 7 12 11 11 535 824 928 884
Delaware ................ 3 4 4 11 920 484 509 988
District of Columbia .... - (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2)
Florida ................. 65 155 107 152 4,130 9,779 8,594 11,010
Georgia ................. 29 45 46 50 2,606 3,830 4,152 6,006
Hawaii .................. 5 15 5 10 1,583 1,211 376 934
Idaho ................... 3 10 16 10 206 591 1,664 754
Illinois ................ 47 115 109 105 4,646 19,469 18,096 17,550
Indiana ................. 40 59 68 80 4,031 6,776 10,781 9,659
Iowa .................... 13 33 38 30 1,474 4,374 6,140 2,636
Kansas .................. 5 18 19 7 359 1,582 2,259 737
Kentucky ................ 21 78 72 83 4,651 8,794 7,861 9,194
Louisiana ............... 5 19 16 27 396 1,498 1,411 2,670
Maine ................... 3 4 9 6 184 348 835 493
Maryland ................ 6 11 8 12 531 800 531 1,115
Massachusetts ........... 18 32 25 38 1,936 2,873 2,422 3,770
Michigan ................ 65 79 87 74 11,156 7,392 11,121 7,139
Minnesota ............... 15 24 30 35 1,148 1,777 3,665 3,103
Mississippi ............. 9 8 12 15 773 458 745 1,350
Missouri ................ 24 38 42 46 2,205 3,538 3,430 4,719
Montana ................. 3 11 7 4 212 753 667 335
Nebraska ................ 3 7 (2) 4 453 500 (2) 390
Nevada .................. 16 43 27 26 1,558 3,881 2,351 2,123
New Hampshire ........... 5 9 9 10 451 1,020 1,213 848
New Jersey .............. 34 47 39 66 3,070 3,777 3,217 7,334
New Mexico .............. 4 13 9 14 316 1,868 858 909
New York ................ 64 82 70 182 7,539 8,927 6,974 24,349
North Carolina .......... 6 34 44 28 555 3,833 6,277 2,582
North Dakota ............ (2) 3 4 (2) (2) 207 1,259 (2)
Ohio .................... 67 91 93 115 6,951 9,065 13,067 14,791
Oklahoma ................ (2) 19 17 14 (2) 1,437 1,483 2,464
Oregon .................. 20 43 42 43 1,563 5,321 4,118 5,554
Pennsylvania ............ 87 141 140 168 7,506 11,683 12,281 15,378
Rhode Island ............ 11 9 9 8 1,641 1,291 889 1,649
South Carolina .......... 22 33 48 60 2,563 3,471 6,157 6,482
South Dakota ............ (2) 4 5 (2) (2) 305 323 (2)
Tennessee ............... 8 53 29 35 570 3,898 2,038 2,877
Texas ................... 48 113 112 74 5,594 9,769 14,284 7,019
Utah .................... 5 11 14 10 464 753 1,313 1,055
Vermont ................. 15 12 5 15 1,759 1,388 734 1,548
Virginia ................ 6 8 14 42 494 786 1,229 4,052
Washington .............. 25 21 23 30 2,203 1,765 1,833 2,596
West Virginia ........... (2) 3 4 12 (2) 681 301 1,028
Wisconsin ............... 48 90 109 108 4,388 9,988 11,530 11,102
Wyoming ................. (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Puerto Rico ............. 17 28 22 13 1,437 2,282 2,035 1,321
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
