For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, June 24, 2010 USDL-10-0856
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 -- MAY 2010
Employers took 1,412 mass layoff actions in May that resulted in the separa-
tion of 135,789 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 May decreased by 444
from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by
65,081. In May, 266 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sec-
tor, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 22,577 initial claims. Both figures de-
clined over the month to their lowest levels in program history. (Data begin
in 1995. See table 1.)
During the 30 months from December 2007 through May 2010, the total number of
mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 60,205, and the associated number
of initial claims was 6,068,342. (December 2007 was the start of a recession
as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in May 2010, seasonally adjusted,
down from 9.9 percent the prior month and up from 9.4 percent a year earlier. In
May, total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 431,000 over the month, reflecting
the hiring of 411,000 temporary employees to work on Census 2010, but down by
585,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in May was 1,354 on a not seasonally adjusted
basis; the number of associated initial claims was 123,333. (See table 2.) Over
the year, the number of average weekly mass layoff events decreased by 209, and
associated average weekly initial claims decreased by 27,092. Fifteen 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 anal-
ysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical
Note.) Both average weekly events and initial claimants reached their highest
May levels in program history in 2009.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 16 percent of all mass layoff events and
initial claims filed in May 2010. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 37 per-
cent of events and 43 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number
of claimants in May 2010 was greatest in food and transportation equipment. (See
table 3.) All 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in
average weekly initial claims, led by transportation equipment.
The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in May 2010 was
food service contractors. (See table A.) Of the 10 detailed industries with the
largest number of mass layoff initial claims, teleproduction and postproduction
services, elementary and secondary schools, junior colleges, and colleges and
universities reached program highs for the month of May. This table includes both
publicly- and privately-owned entities.
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in
May 2010, not seasonally adjusted
May peak
Industry Initial Initial
claims Year claims
Food service contractors ...................... 10,887 2009 11,216
Temporary help services (1) ................... 9,425 2002 16,992
Child day care services ....................... 3,922 2008 4,541
Professional employer organizations (1) ....... 3,738 2009 5,898
Elementary and secondary schools .............. 2,713 2010 2,713
Motion picture and video production ........... 2,644 1999 8,985
Teleproduction and postproduction services .... 2,236 2010 2,236
School and employee bus transportation ........ 2,115 2008 6,323
Junior colleges ............................... 2,049 2010 2,049
Colleges and universities ..................... 1,958 2010 1,958
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
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 May. 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 divisions, the East North
Central and the Middle Atlantic had the largest over-the-year declines.
California recorded the highest number of initial claims in May, followed by
Texas, Florida, and Illinois. (See table 6.) Forty-four states experienced over-
the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims, led by Michigan, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, and Illinois.
Note
The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers
beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. For private
nonfarm establishments, information on the length of the layoff is obtained later
and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than
30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides
more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment
and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. 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 June 2010 news release is scheduled to be released on Friday,
July 23, 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, June 2006 to
May 2010, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2006
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
May ........................ 1,412 135,789 1,200 119,822 266 22,577
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 2006 to
May 2010, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2006
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
May ........................ 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 216 19,334
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
2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 2,794 1,628 1,856 1,412 306,788 150,864 200,870 135,789
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 2,589 1,432 1,686 1,200 289,012 136,446 185,150 119,822
Manufacturing ............................... 1,183 356 448 266 145,166 39,290 63,616 22,577
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 2,738 1,197 1,840 1,354 289,628 111,727 199,690 123,333
Total, private .................................. 2,599 1,149 1,761 1,197 276,113 107,880 191,664 110,968
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 27 38 64 27 2,066 2,366 7,010 1,765
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 2,572 1,111 1,697 1,170 274,047 105,514 184,654 109,203
Mining ...................................... 32 5 7 (2) 3,057 374 399 (2)
Utilities ................................... 4 (2) (2) 5 466 (2) (2) 449
Construction ................................ 255 117 163 159 19,684 8,206 11,947 12,129
Manufacturing ............................... 1,005 273 424 216 123,683 29,745 55,178 19,334
Food .................................... 65 53 100 47 7,211 6,122 10,200 4,015
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 7 4 (2) 5 607 716 (2) 386
Textile mills ........................... 13 4 7 3 1,059 350 1,296 391
Textile product mills ................... 8 3 5 3 775 172 414 407
Apparel ................................. 17 10 16 8 1,360 578 1,428 498
Leather and allied products ............. (2) - - - (2) - - -
Wood products ........................... 43 16 17 11 4,219 1,445 1,591 913
Paper ................................... 30 5 14 3 3,854 313 1,134 277
Printing and related support activities . 34 14 9 12 3,521 1,224 860 1,065
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) 3 (2) 3 (2) 185 (2) 205
Chemicals ............................... 23 13 7 8 2,146 1,064 400 530
Plastics and rubber products ............ 52 9 10 6 5,187 686 719 329
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 35 11 22 5 2,388 785 1,882 342
Primary metals .......................... 77 8 18 12 8,785 773 1,473 1,147
Fabricated metal products ............... 100 18 21 12 9,483 1,361 1,581 910
Machinery ............................... 118 22 41 20 12,472 2,373 4,456 1,971
Computer and electronic products ........ 60 16 27 13 5,732 1,278 1,964 1,015
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 37 6 12 11 3,506 1,195 1,756 865
Transportation equipment ................ 238 43 73 20 46,816 7,128 22,071 2,860
Furniture and related products .......... 24 10 12 5 2,568 1,625 919 409
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 17 5 10 9 1,402 372 833 799
Wholesale trade ............................. 64 29 25 18 6,022 2,016 2,224 1,183
Retail trade ................................ 202 124 156 121 18,360 13,337 16,188 9,982
Transportation and warehousing .............. 89 62 178 47 7,835 6,444 23,013 4,781
Information ................................. 67 52 50 41 9,132 5,715 8,383 6,310
Finance and insurance ....................... 71 43 64 23 6,374 3,636 4,579 1,761
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 14 8 22 9 985 409 1,388 698
Professional and technical services ......... 83 45 90 61 7,030 4,610 11,110 5,534
Management of companies and enterprises ..... 12 (2) (2) (2) 1,329 (2) (2) (2)
Administrative and waste services ........... 310 163 241 175 32,973 13,281 21,073 17,363
Educational services ........................ 10 10 7 10 758 824 958 766
Health care and social assistance ........... 87 33 58 84 8,402 2,066 4,991 7,337
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 37 20 57 32 2,676 1,558 4,838 2,063
Accommodation and food services ............. 189 112 131 129 21,484 12,269 16,214 16,045
Other services, except public administration 41 10 16 34 3,797 670 1,434 2,933
Unclassified ................................ - - - - - - - -
Government ...................................... 139 48 79 157 13,515 3,847 8,026 12,365
Federal ..................................... 37 8 16 19 4,585 636 1,393 1,864
State ....................................... 25 15 18 39 2,185 1,324 2,188 2,904
Local ....................................... 77 25 45 99 6,745 1,887 4,445 7,597
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 May 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 3,979 835,551 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 3,395 731,035 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 2,034 406,715 38.7 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 2,419 466,539 43.8 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
May ........................ 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203
1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial
claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting
more than 30 days.
2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests
that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claim-
ants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
p = preliminary.
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, not
seasonally adjusted
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Census region and division
May March April May May March April May
2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010
United States (1) ... 2,738 1,197 1,840 1,354 289,628 111,727 199,690 123,333
Northeast ................... 451 195 397 203 41,413 19,419 48,396 17,575
New England ............. 67 26 81 29 5,865 2,168 9,523 2,421
Middle Atlantic ......... 384 169 316 174 35,548 17,251 38,873 15,154
South ....................... 742 262 412 428 72,375 26,591 43,503 38,299
South Atlantic .......... 370 136 214 216 34,117 10,762 20,768 19,282
East South Central ...... 171 54 80 94 18,081 5,470 11,005 8,431
West South Central ...... 201 72 118 118 20,177 10,359 11,730 10,586
Midwest ..................... 826 252 364 261 105,264 27,591 44,740 26,176
East North Central ...... 649 184 290 175 84,281 21,613 37,448 17,981
West North Central ...... 177 68 74 86 20,983 5,978 7,292 8,195
West ........................ 719 488 667 462 70,576 38,126 63,051 41,283
Mountain ................ 135 77 101 73 13,290 6,324 11,433 6,357
Pacific ................. 584 411 566 389 57,286 31,802 51,618 34,926
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 Wis-
consin; 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
2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010
Total (1) ............ 2,738 1,197 1,840 1,354 289,628 111,727 199,690 123,333
Alabama ................. 40 18 17 24 4,037 1,517 2,148 2,171
Alaska .................. 12 (2) 11 11 1,230 (2) 1,252 1,259
Arizona ................. 28 17 33 24 2,484 1,417 4,943 2,369
Arkansas ................ 18 3 8 6 2,319 214 1,039 553
California .............. 487 373 477 345 47,091 28,180 42,426 31,197
Colorado ................ 15 7 20 10 1,762 626 2,269 1,024
Connecticut ............. 17 9 9 10 1,389 746 891 823
Delaware ................ 3 - 8 (2) 172 - 611 (2)
District of Columbia .... (2) - - 4 (2) - - 301
Florida ................. 181 68 118 104 12,446 4,311 9,139 7,027
Georgia ................. 56 13 31 39 5,187 1,202 3,375 4,227
Hawaii .................. 8 7 7 4 900 534 672 264
Idaho ................... 9 9 8 6 680 661 533 367
Illinois ................ 135 60 60 56 19,717 7,479 7,059 6,699
Indiana ................. 86 22 32 21 10,416 3,057 4,786 1,931
Iowa .................... 31 13 20 16 4,379 2,135 2,876 1,984
Kansas .................. 31 4 5 15 3,551 313 296 1,464
Kentucky ................ 85 25 40 28 9,894 3,276 6,573 2,758
Louisiana ............... 35 16 32 29 3,160 1,615 2,967 2,646
Maine ................... 7 3 8 3 644 233 754 204
Maryland ................ 10 6 6 12 1,201 557 496 816
Massachusetts ........... 23 7 20 9 2,281 725 2,202 865
Michigan ................ 180 29 44 24 26,344 4,729 7,624 2,924
Minnesota ............... 38 13 8 11 4,224 921 576 965
Mississippi ............. 9 5 5 11 726 241 461 922
Missouri ................ 54 31 28 30 6,336 2,112 2,393 2,396
Montana ................. 7 (2) 7 4 856 (2) 528 267
Nebraska ................ 13 6 10 6 1,306 409 948 593
Nevada .................. 52 26 15 13 5,297 2,131 1,432 994
New Hampshire ........... 7 5 14 3 526 297 1,663 264
New Jersey .............. 45 28 69 34 4,394 3,024 9,700 2,685
New Mexico .............. 13 9 8 8 1,089 847 594 673
New York ................ 112 60 114 67 10,762 6,046 15,919 6,338
North Carolina .......... 33 16 13 13 5,351 1,610 1,438 2,462
North Dakota ............ 8 - (2) 7 869 - (2) 681
Ohio .................... 145 34 61 47 16,920 2,927 8,014 3,909
Oklahoma ................ 13 4 5 6 1,772 1,287 608 350
Oregon .................. 41 18 42 18 4,775 2,080 4,603 1,324
Pennsylvania ............ 227 81 133 73 20,392 8,181 13,254 6,131
Rhode Island ............ 7 (2) 16 4 563 (2) 2,525 265
South Carolina .......... 31 14 19 10 3,021 1,513 3,832 839
South Dakota ............ (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2) - (2)
Tennessee ............... 37 6 18 31 3,424 436 1,823 2,580
Texas ................... 135 49 73 77 12,926 7,243 7,116 7,037
Utah .................... 10 5 8 8 1,020 393 889 663
Vermont ................. 6 (2) 14 - 462 (2) 1,488 -
Virginia ................ 49 18 15 26 6,168 1,416 1,489 3,151
Washington .............. 36 12 29 11 3,290 949 2,665 882
West Virginia ........... 5 (2) 4 5 429 (2) 388 297
Wisconsin ............... 103 39 93 27 10,884 3,421 9,965 2,518
Wyoming ................. (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2) -
Puerto Rico ............. 23 21 19 19 2,830 1,702 2,252 1,735
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
