Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0703
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Tuesday, June 23, 2009
MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2009
Employers took 2,933 mass layoff actions in May that resulted in the
separation of 312,880 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 May increased by 221 from the prior month, and
the number of associated initial claims increased by 41,654. Over the
year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 1,232 and associated
initial claims increased by 132,322. Initial claims rose to its highest
level on record, while events matched the peak level from March 2009,
with data available back to 1995. In May, 1,331 mass layoff events were
reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in
165,802 initial claims. Over the year, manufacturing events and initial
claims more than doubled. (See table 1.)
During the 18 months from December 2007 through May 2009, the total
number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 37,059, and the
number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 3,811,307. (December
2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau
of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in May 2009, seasonally
adjusted, up from 8.9 percent the prior month and from 5.5 percent a year
earlier. In May, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 345,000
over the month and by 5,366,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in May was 2,738, and the number of
associated initial claims was 289,628. (See table 2.) Over the year,
increases were recorded in both the number of mass layoff events (+1,186)
and initial claims (+130,157). This year, both average weekly events and
initial claimants reached their highest May levels in program history;
data are available back to 1995. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the
effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note.) Eleven
of the 19 major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of aver-
age weekly initial claimants for the month of May--mining; construction;
manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance and insurance; real
estate and rental and leasing; management of companies and enterprises;
administrative and waste services; health care and social assistance; and
accommodation and food services. Government also reported a program high
in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the month of May.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 37 percent of all mass layoff
events and 43 percent of initial claims filed in May 2009; a year earlier,
manufacturing made up 25 percent of events and 32 percent of initial claims.
This May, the number of manufacturing claimants was greatest in transpor-
tation equipment (46,816) and machinery (12,472). (See table 3.) The
administrative and waste services sector accounted for 11 percent of mass
layoff events and associated initial claims during the month.
- 2 -
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in May 2009,
not seasonally adjusted
May peak
Industry
Initial claims Year Initial claims
Temporary help services (1) ................... 16,658 2002 16,992
Automobile manufacturing ...................... 14,004 2009 14,004
Food service contractors ...................... 11,216 2009 11,216
Professional employer organizations (1) ....... 5,898 2009 5,898
Child day care services ....................... 4,396 2008 4,541
All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing ... 3,985 2009 3,985
Motor vehicle power train components mfg. ..... 3,900 2009 3,900
Motion picture and video production ........... 3,602 1999 8,985
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing . 3,570 2009 3,570
Department stores, except discount ............ 3,379 2009 3,379
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, 7 reached their May peak: automobile manufacturing; light
truck and utility vehicle manufacturing; motor vehicle power train com-
ponents manufacturing; all other motor vehicle parts manufacturing; de-
partment stores, except discount; professional employer organizations;
and food service contractors. The industry with the largest number of
initial claims was temporary help services (16,658). (See table A.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Of the 4 census regions, the Midwest registered the highest number of
initial claims in May due to mass layoffs (105,264), followed by the South
(72,375) and the West (70,576). (See table 5.) Initial claims associated
with mass layoffs increased over the year in all 4 regions, with the Midwest
(+59,802) and the South (+29,543) experiencing the largest increases. In
2009, all regions except the West reported their highest May levels of aver-
age weekly initial claims in program history.
Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central (84,281) had the
highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in May, followed by
the Pacific (57,286) and the Middle Atlantic (35,548). (See table 5.) All
divisions experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by the
East North Central (+47,949), the South Atlantic (+18,356), and the Pacific
(+17,276). This year, 6 of the 9 divisions--all except New England, West
South Central, and Pacific--reached May program highs in terms of average
weekly initial claims.
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to
mass layoff events in May with 47,091. The states with the next highest
number of mass layoff initial claims were Michigan (26,344), Pennsylvania
(20,392), and Illinois (19,717). (See table 6.) Forty-four states and
the District of Columbia registered over-the-year increases in initial
claims associated with mass layoffs, led by Michigan (+18,205), California
(+13,006), Illinois (+11,659), and Pennsylvania (+11,417). In 2009, 30
states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims for the month
of May--Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska,
Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, 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 quar-
terly release provides more information on the industry classification and
location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.
Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum
of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly
figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 4.) See the Technical
Note for more detailed definitions.
______________________________
The report on Mass Layoffs in June 2009 is scheduled to be released on
Thursday, July 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, June 2005 to May 2009,
seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
May ........................ 2,933 312,880 2,736 296,108 1,331 165,802
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 2005 to May 2009,
not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
May ........................ 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 1,005 123,683
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Industry
May March April May May March April May
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 1,701 2,933 2,712 2,933 180,558 299,388 271,226 312,880
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,563 2,751 2,519 2,736 170,538 283,989 256,111 296,108
Manufacturing ............................... 538 1,259 1,111 1,331 75,520 155,909 135,252 165,802
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 1,552 2,191 2,547 2,738 159,471 228,387 256,930 289,628
Total, private .................................. 1,467 2,140 2,464 2,599 152,510 223,981 250,548 276,113
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 29 33 79 27 2,048 2,584 7,227 2,066
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,438 2,107 2,385 2,572 150,462 221,397 243,321 274,047
Mining ...................................... 5 31 39 32 458 3,751 3,267 3,057
Utilities ................................... 4 3 (2) 4 475 234 (2) 466
Construction ................................ 167 166 194 255 12,411 11,612 13,490 19,684
Manufacturing ............................... 388 940 887 1,005 51,698 114,747 100,872 123,683
Food .................................... 48 63 81 65 4,800 6,077 8,371 7,211
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 5 9 (2) 7 273 1,305 (2) 607
Textile mills ........................... 6 29 16 13 520 3,108 2,409 1,059
Textile product mills ................... 8 6 9 8 580 554 765 775
Apparel ................................. 14 9 19 17 1,171 883 1,610 1,360
Leather and allied products ............. (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Wood products ........................... 24 62 39 43 2,455 5,799 3,437 4,219
Paper ................................... 11 27 26 30 1,091 2,749 2,584 3,854
Printing and related support activities . 9 23 25 34 833 2,124 2,275 3,521
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Chemicals ............................... 9 21 21 23 696 1,746 1,453 2,146
Plastics and rubber products ............ 21 60 51 52 1,793 6,151 6,393 5,187
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 14 46 34 35 1,175 4,095 3,192 2,388
Primary metals .......................... 9 71 70 77 1,217 8,681 8,636 8,785
Fabricated metal products ............... 29 88 97 100 2,596 8,186 7,698 9,483
Machinery ............................... 25 110 100 118 3,758 18,081 18,614 12,472
Computer and electronic products ........ 14 68 69 60 1,250 8,130 5,770 5,732
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 13 47 43 37 1,845 6,476 5,169 3,506
Transportation equipment ................ 101 155 148 238 21,667 26,012 19,246 46,816
Furniture and related products .......... 20 24 21 24 3,285 3,020 1,783 2,568
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 5 19 14 17 445 1,354 1,118 1,402
Wholesale trade ............................. 21 59 55 64 1,513 4,696 4,343 6,022
Retail trade ................................ 109 178 153 202 10,090 19,491 16,211 18,360
Transportation and warehousing .............. 99 91 231 89 11,176 8,809 28,962 7,835
Information ................................. 56 75 75 67 9,251 8,559 7,934 9,132
Finance and insurance ....................... 38 57 67 71 2,666 4,469 6,220 6,374
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 6 16 13 14 407 980 1,078 985
Professional and technical services ......... 66 81 97 83 6,924 7,191 10,085 7,030
Management of companies and enterprises ..... 4 10 10 12 383 923 854 1,329
Administrative and waste services ........... 192 227 300 310 16,175 18,762 25,498 32,973
Educational services ........................ 6 8 (2) 10 383 467 (2) 758
Health care and social assistance ........... 85 24 49 87 7,643 1,820 3,343 8,402
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 32 17 47 37 1,993 1,259 4,074 2,676
Accommodation and food services ............. 122 115 134 189 13,212 13,090 13,168 21,484
Other services, except public administration 38 9 23 41 3,604 537 2,168 3,797
Unclassified ................................ - - 1 - - - 86 -
Government ...................................... 85 51 83 139 6,961 4,406 6,382 13,515
Federal ..................................... 16 5 6 37 1,656 470 461 4,585
State ....................................... 14 11 20 25 867 1,066 1,631 2,185
Local ....................................... 55 35 57 77 4,438 2,870 4,290 6,745
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 May 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 1,340 259,292 35.9 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 1,756 339,574 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 1,582 303,774 37.4 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 3,585 762,737 47.6 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
May ........................ 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047
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.
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
May March April May May March April May
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
United States (1) ... 1,552 2,191 2,547 2,738 159,471 228,387 256,930 289,628
Northeast ................... 266 317 504 451 25,619 29,493 56,253 41,413
New England ............. 32 68 88 67 3,218 7,021 9,192 5,865
Middle Atlantic ......... 234 249 416 384 22,401 22,472 47,061 35,548
South ....................... 402 589 655 742 42,832 61,432 62,714 72,375
South Atlantic .......... 199 276 368 370 15,761 27,819 33,338 34,117
East South Central ...... 116 158 160 171 16,810 15,629 16,166 18,081
West South Central ...... 87 155 127 201 10,261 17,984 13,210 20,177
Midwest ..................... 390 607 608 826 45,462 81,957 72,383 05,264
East North Central ...... 312 466 482 649 36,332 64,595 60,241 84,281
West North Central ...... 78 141 126 177 9,130 17,362 12,142 20,983
West ........................ 494 678 780 719 45,558 55,505 65,580 70,576
Mountain ................ 62 109 125 135 5,548 10,991 11,993 13,290
Pacific ................. 432 569 655 584 40,010 44,514 53,587 57,286
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
May March April May May March April May
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Total (1) ............ 1,552 2,191 2,547 2,738 159,471 228,387 256,930 289,628
- - - - - - - -
Alabama ................. 35 45 27 40 4,044 4,985 2,745 4,037
Alaska .................. (2) (2) 5 12 (2) (2) 828 1,230
Arizona ................. 9 22 41 28 872 2,483 4,985 2,484
Arkansas ................ 7 10 12 18 648 806 1,057 2,319
California .............. 382 498 567 487 34,085 38,130 43,675 47,091
Colorado ................ 8 13 19 15 930 1,578 1,696 1,762
Connecticut ............. 11 11 11 17 924 928 884 1,389
Delaware ................ 3 4 11 3 203 509 988 172
District of Columbia .... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Florida ................. 125 107 152 181 8,841 8,594 11,010 12,446
Georgia ................. 32 46 50 56 3,170 4,152 6,006 5,187
Hawaii .................. 11 5 10 8 1,118 376 934 900
Idaho ................... 12 16 10 9 1,131 1,664 754 680
Illinois ................ 59 109 105 135 8,058 18,096 17,550 19,717
Indiana ................. 44 68 80 86 4,943 10,781 9,659 10,416
Iowa .................... 12 38 30 31 3,033 6,140 2,636 4,379
Kansas .................. 12 19 7 31 893 2,259 737 3,551
Kentucky ................ 39 72 83 85 8,666 7,861 9,194 9,894
Louisiana ............... 22 16 27 35 3,101 1,411 2,670 3,160
Maine ................... - 9 6 7 - 835 493 644
Maryland ................ 4 8 12 10 318 531 1,115 1,201
Massachusetts ........... 9 25 38 23 946 2,422 3,770 2,281
Michigan ................ 85 87 74 180 8,139 11,121 7,139 26,344
Minnesota ............... 10 30 35 38 1,075 3,665 3,103 4,224
Mississippi ............. 18 12 15 9 1,682 745 1,350 726
Missouri ................ 35 42 46 54 3,298 3,430 4,719 6,336
Montana ................. 6 7 4 7 437 667 335 856
Nebraska ................ 5 (2) 4 13 413 (2) 390 1,306
Nevada .................. 14 27 26 52 1,057 2,351 2,123 5,297
New Hampshire ........... 5 9 10 7 384 1,213 848 526
New Jersey .............. 38 39 66 45 3,813 3,217 7,334 4,394
New Mexico .............. 9 9 14 13 690 858 909 1,089
New York ................ 95 70 182 112 9,613 6,974 24,349 10,762
North Carolina .......... 9 44 28 33 1,163 6,277 2,582 5,351
North Dakota ............ (2) 4 (2) 8 (2) 1,259 (2) 869
Ohio .................... 67 93 115 145 7,621 13,067 14,791 16,920
Oklahoma ................ 3 17 14 13 624 1,483 2,464 1,772
Oregon .................. 24 42 43 41 3,449 4,118 5,554 4,775
Pennsylvania ............ 101 140 168 227 8,975 12,281 15,378 20,392
Rhode Island ............ 3 9 8 7 243 889 1,649 563
South Carolina .......... 11 48 60 31 809 6,157 6,482 3,021
South Dakota ............ (2) 5 (2) (2) (2) 323 (2) (2)
Tennessee ............... 24 29 35 37 2,418 2,038 2,877 3,424
Texas ................... 55 112 74 135 5,888 14,284 7,019 12,926
Utah .................... 4 14 10 10 431 1,313 1,055 1,020
Vermont ................. 4 5 15 6 721 734 1,548 462
Virginia ................ 11 14 42 49 904 1,229 4,052 6,168
Washington .............. 13 23 30 36 1,211 1,833 2,596 3,290
West Virginia ........... 3 4 12 5 277 301 1,028 429
Wisconsin ............... 57 109 108 103 7,571 11,530 11,102 10,884
Wyoming ................. - (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2)
Puerto Rico ............. 17 22 13 23 2,626 2,035 1,321 2,830
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
