Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0842
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, July 23, 2009
MASS LAYOFFS IN JUNE 2009
Employers took 2,763 mass layoff actions in June that resulted in
the separation of 279,231 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 decreased by 170 and associated initial
claims decreased by 33,649. Both measures had been at record high levels
in May. Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by
1,046, and associated initial claims increased by 104,483. In June,
1,235 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, sea-
sonally adjusted, resulting in 159,310 initial claims. Over the year,
the number of manufacturing events increased by 680, and associated
initial claims increased by 79,566. (See table 1.)
During the 19 months from December 2007 through June 2009, the
total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 39,822,
and the number of initial claims filed (seasonally adjusted) in those
events was 4,090,538. (December 2007 was designated as the start of
a recession by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in June 2009, season-
ally adjusted, up slightly from 9.4 percent the prior month and up from
5.6 percent a year earlier. In June, total nonfarm payroll employment
decreased by 467,000 over the month and by 5,664,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in June was 2,519 on a not season-
ally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was
256,357. (See table 2.) Over the year, increases were recorded in
both the number of mass layoff events (+897) and initial claims
(+89,615). This year, both average weekly events and initial
claimants reached their highest June 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.) Ten
of the 19 major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of
average weekly initial claimants for the month of June--construction;
wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; real
estate and rental and leasing; management of companies and enterprises;
administrative and waste services; health care and social assistance;
arts, entertainment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services.
Government also reported a program high in terms of average weekly
initial claimants for the month of June.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 27 percent of all mass lay-
off events and 33 percent of initial claims filed in June 2009; a
year earlier, manufacturing made up 19 percent of events and 25 per-
cent of initial claims. This June, the number of manufacturing
claimants was greatest in transportation equipment (24,865) and
machinery (14,644). (See table 3.) The transportation and warehous-
ing sector accounted for 7 percent of mass layoff events and 9 percent
of the associated initial claims during the month.
Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass lay-
off initial claims, 4 reached a series high for June: construction
machinery manufacturing; aircraft manufacturing; professional employer
organizations; and elementary and secondary schools. The industry
with the largest number of initial claims was elementary and secondary
schools (28,751), which includes both publicly- and privately-owned
entities. (See table A.)
- 2 -
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in June 2009,
not seasonally adjusted
June peak
Industry
Initial claims Year Initial claims
Elementary and secondary schools .............. 28,751 2009 28,751
School and employee bus transportation ........ 18,930 2007 21,611
Food service contractors ...................... 12,113 2007 14,527
Temporary help services (1) ................... 8,567 2000 13,815
Child day care services ....................... 7,911 2007 9,115
Construction machinery manufacturing .......... 7,454 2009 7,454
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing . 7,034 1998 7,608
Professional employer organizations (1) ....... 5,303 2009 5,303
Motion picture and video production ........... 3,578 2000 9,435
Aircraft manufacturing ........................ 3,365 2009 3,365
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the 4 census regions, the Midwest registered the highest
number of initial claims in June due to mass layoffs (76,301),
followed by the West (71,501) and the South (61,962). (See table 5.)
Initial claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in
all 4 regions, with the Midwest (+36,910) and the South (+23,509)
experiencing the largest increases. In 2009, all regions except the
Midwest reported their highest June levels of average weekly initial
claims in program history.
Of the 9 geographic divisions, the Pacific (64,317) had the highest
number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in June, followed by the
East North Central (59,347) and the Middle Atlantic (40,077). (See
table 5.) All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in
initial claims, led by the East North Central (+30,798), the Pacific
(+13,043), and the South Atlantic (+13,016). This year, 4 of the 9
divisions--Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, East South Central, and
Pacific--reached program highs for June in terms of average weekly
initial claims.
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due
to mass layoff events in June with 56,138. The states with the next
highest number of mass layoff initial claims were Illinois (20,576),
Pennsylvania (18,363), and Florida (15,785). (See table 6.) Forty-
three states registered over-the-year increases in initial claims
associated with mass layoffs, led by Illinois (+15,809), California
(+11,384), Michigan (+5,895), and Alabama (+5,746). In 2009, 16
states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims for the
month of June--Alabama, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
- 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 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 Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2009
is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 12. The report on
Mass Layoffs in July 2009 is scheduled to be released on Friday,
August 21.
- 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, July 2005 to June 2009,
seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
June ....................... 2,763 279,231 2,536 260,747 1,235 159,310
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2005 to June 2009,
not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
June ....................... 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 674 85,726
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Industry
June April May June June April May June
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 1,717 2,712 2,933 2,763 174,748 271,226 312,880 279,231
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,561 2,519 2,736 2,536 162,071 256,111 296,108 260,747
Manufacturing ............................... 555 1,111 1,331 1,235 79,744 135,252 165,802 159,310
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 1,622 2,547 2,738 2,519 166,742 256,930 289,628 256,357
Total, private .................................. 1,363 2,464 2,599 2,101 144,732 250,548 276,113 219,548
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 48 79 27 50 3,816 7,227 2,066 3,485
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,315 2,385 2,572 2,051 140,916 243,321 274,047 216,063
Mining ...................................... (2) 39 32 15 (2) 3,267 3,057 1,147
Utilities ................................... (2) (2) 4 4 (2) (2) 466 246
Construction ................................ 114 194 255 136 7,713 13,490 19,684 9,343
Manufacturing ............................... 309 887 1,005 674 42,097 100,872 123,683 85,726
Food .................................... 58 81 65 48 6,065 8,371 7,211 4,395
Beverage and tobacco products ........... (2) (2) 7 (2) (2) (2) 607 (2)
Textile mills ........................... 5 16 13 11 730 2,409 1,059 1,563
Textile product mills ................... (2) 9 8 4 (2) 765 775 214
Apparel ................................. 7 19 17 16 534 1,610 1,360 1,683
Leather and allied products ............. 3 (2) (2) (2) 862 (2) (2) (2)
Wood products ........................... 22 39 43 29 2,314 3,437 4,219 2,435
Paper ................................... 6 26 30 13 411 2,584 3,854 968
Printing and related support activities . 10 25 34 18 1,116 2,275 3,521 1,552
Petroleum and coal products ............. - (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2)
Chemicals ............................... 4 21 23 13 228 1,453 2,146 1,013
Plastics and rubber products ............ 8 51 52 35 960 6,393 5,187 3,697
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 9 34 35 25 516 3,192 2,388 1,645
Primary metals .......................... 12 70 77 45 1,012 8,636 8,785 6,496
Fabricated metal products ............... 19 97 100 74 1,716 7,698 9,483 6,846
Machinery ............................... 22 100 118 74 2,611 18,614 12,472 14,644
Computer and electronic products ........ 13 69 60 63 1,091 5,770 5,732 6,145
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 8 43 37 30 2,128 5,169 3,506 4,344
Transportation equipment ................ 74 148 238 139 17,597 19,246 46,816 24,865
Furniture and related products .......... 12 21 24 24 1,076 1,783 2,568 2,337
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 13 14 17 9 909 1,118 1,402 644
Wholesale trade ............................. 15 55 64 50 908 4,343 6,022 4,858
Retail trade ................................ 89 153 202 155 10,567 16,211 18,360 15,318
Transportation and warehousing .............. 160 231 89 184 20,647 28,962 7,835 23,792
Information ................................. 47 75 67 53 5,078 7,934 9,132 6,018
Finance and insurance ....................... 40 67 71 34 2,968 6,220 6,374 2,239
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 7 13 14 20 798 1,078 985 1,590
Professional and technical services ......... 32 97 83 53 3,903 10,085 7,030 4,503
Management of companies and enterprises ..... 4 10 12 8 257 854 1,329 1,164
Administrative and waste services ........... 164 300 310 239 15,635 25,498 32,973 19,150
Educational services ........................ 18 (2) 10 28 1,275 (2) 758 2,295
Health care and social assistance ........... 151 49 87 173 11,867 3,343 8,402 13,948
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 26 47 37 45 1,462 4,074 2,676 2,671
Accommodation and food services ............. 102 134 189 136 12,931 13,168 21,484 18,499
Other services, except public administration 33 23 41 42 2,507 2,168 3,797 3,424
Unclassified ................................ 1 1 - 2 57 86 - 132
Government ...................................... 259 83 139 418 22,010 6,382 13,515 36,809
Federal ..................................... 11 6 37 15 928 461 4,585 1,124
State ....................................... 12 20 25 38 953 1,631 2,185 2,821
Local ....................................... 236 57 77 365 20,129 4,290 6,745 32,864
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 June 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
June ....................... 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063
Second Quarter ............. 7,804 802,915 7,008 733,431
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
June April May June June April May June
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
United States (1) ... 1,622 2,547 2,738 2,519 166,742 256,930 289,628 256,357
Northeast ................... 282 504 451 428 32,721 56,253 41,413 46,593
New England ............. 49 88 67 63 4,929 9,192 5,865 6,516
Middle Atlantic ......... 233 416 384 365 27,792 47,061 35,548 40,077
South ....................... 365 655 742 620 38,453 62,714 72,375 61,962
South Atlantic .......... 207 368 370 354 18,972 33,338 34,117 31,988
East South Central ...... 63 160 171 128 10,974 16,166 18,081 16,589
West South Central ...... 95 127 201 138 8,507 13,210 20,177 13,385
Midwest ..................... 345 608 826 592 39,391 72,383 105,264 76,301
East North Central ...... 257 482 649 469 28,549 60,241 84,281 59,347
West North Central ...... 88 126 177 123 10,842 12,142 20,983 16,954
West ........................ 630 780 719 879 56,177 65,580 70,576 71,501
Mountain ................ 63 125 135 90 4,903 11,993 13,290 7,184
Pacific ................. 567 655 584 789 51,274 53,587 57,286 64,317
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
June April May June June April May June
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Total (1) ............ 1,622 2,547 2,738 2,519 166,742 256,930 289,628 256,357
Alabama ................. 13 27 40 49 2,091 2,745 4,037 7,837
Alaska .................. - 5 12 6 - 828 1,230 431
Arizona ................. 17 41 28 27 1,520 4,985 2,484 2,137
Arkansas ................ 6 12 18 8 414 1,057 2,319 583
California .............. 516 567 487 714 44,754 43,675 47,091 56,138
Colorado ................ 3 19 15 11 177 1,696 1,762 832
Connecticut ............. 9 11 17 15 758 884 1,389 1,487
Delaware ................ 3 11 3 8 159 988 172 882
District of Columbia .... 3 (2) (2) (2) 236 (2) (2) (2)
Florida ................. 132 152 181 182 10,751 11,010 12,446 15,785
Georgia ................. 32 50 56 43 3,304 6,006 5,187 3,809
Hawaii .................. 6 10 8 10 783 934 900 992
Idaho ................... 9 10 9 5 684 754 680 342
Illinois ................ 48 105 135 116 4,767 17,550 19,717 20,576
Indiana ................. 40 80 86 45 4,916 9,659 10,416 4,643
Iowa .................... 27 30 31 33 3,682 2,636 4,379 3,765
Kansas .................. 12 7 31 15 927 737 3,551 4,071
Kentucky ................ 26 83 85 49 6,706 9,194 9,894 6,240
Louisiana ............... 23 27 35 26 1,767 2,670 3,160 3,005
Maine ................... (2) 6 7 3 (2) 493 644 280
Maryland ................ 8 12 10 13 754 1,115 1,201 1,325
Massachusetts ........... 17 38 23 20 1,467 3,770 2,281 1,777
Michigan ................ 61 74 180 121 6,323 7,139 26,344 12,218
Minnesota ............... 16 35 38 26 1,506 3,103 4,224 2,318
Mississippi ............. 5 15 9 11 300 1,350 726 895
Missouri ................ 28 46 54 39 4,320 4,719 6,336 5,446
Montana ................. 4 4 7 6 299 335 856 476
Nebraska ................ (2) 4 13 3 (2) 390 1,306 658
Nevada .................. 17 26 52 18 1,323 2,123 5,297 1,686
New Hampshire ........... 4 10 7 5 657 848 526 630
New Jersey .............. 60 66 45 88 9,512 7,334 4,394 14,033
New Mexico .............. 8 14 13 15 465 909 1,089 1,013
New York ................ 38 182 112 83 3,445 24,349 10,762 7,681
North Carolina .......... 10 28 33 28 1,875 2,582 5,351 2,505
North Dakota ............ 3 (2) 8 6 248 (2) 869 640
Ohio .................... 55 115 145 94 6,678 14,791 16,920 10,818
Oklahoma ................ 6 14 13 11 502 2,464 1,772 1,052
Oregon .................. 24 43 41 43 3,863 5,554 4,775 5,525
Pennsylvania ............ 135 168 227 194 14,835 15,378 20,392 18,363
Rhode Island ............ 11 8 7 10 1,141 1,649 563 1,377
South Carolina .......... 12 60 31 38 1,139 6,482 3,021 4,087
South Dakota ............ - (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2)
Tennessee ............... 19 35 37 19 1,877 2,877 3,424 1,617
Texas ................... 60 74 135 93 5,824 7,019 12,926 8,745
Utah .................... 5 10 10 8 435 1,055 1,020 698
Vermont ................. 6 15 6 10 683 1,548 462 965
Virginia ................ 5 42 49 31 628 4,052 6,168 2,817
Washington .............. 21 30 36 16 1,874 2,596 3,290 1,231
West Virginia ........... (2) 12 5 8 (2) 1,028 429 583
Wisconsin ............... 53 108 103 93 5,865 11,102 10,884 11,092
Wyoming ................. - (2) (2) - - (2) (2) -
Puerto Rico ............. 13 13 23 17 1,265 1,321 2,830 1,280
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
