Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0980
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, August 21, 2009
MASS LAYOFFS IN JULY 2009
Employers took 2,157 mass layoff actions in July that resulted in
the separation of 206,791 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 July decreased by 606 from the prior
month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 72,440.
Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 622, and
associated initial claims increased by 54,292. In July, 621 mass layoff
events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted,
resulting in 72,266 initial claims. Over the year, the number of manu-
facturing events increased by 166, and associated initial claims in-
creased by 14,618. (See table 1.)
During the 20 months from December 2007 through July 2009, the total
number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 41,979, and the
number of initial claims filed (seasonally adjusted) in those events was
4,297,329. (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 July 2009, seasonally
adjusted, little changed from 9.5 percent the prior month but up from 5.8
percent a year earlier. In July, total nonfarm payroll employment de-
creased by 247,000 over the month and by 5,740,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in July was 3,054 on a not seasonally
adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 336,654. (See
table 2.) Over the year, increases were recorded in both the number of
mass layoff events (+1,163) and initial claims (+136,272). This year,
average weekly events reached its highest July level in program history;
data are available back to 1995. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the
effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note.) Nine of
the 19 major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of average
weekly initial claimants for the month of July--construction; wholesale
trade; retail trade; finance and insurance; professional and technical
services; 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 aver-
age weekly initial claimants for the month of July.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 37 percent of all mass layoff
events and 46 percent of initial claims filed in July 2009; a year ear-
lier, manufacturing made up 40 percent of events and 54 percent of initial
claims. This July, the number of manufacturing claimants was greatest in
transportation equipment (47,322) and machinery (29,528). (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 July 2009,
not seasonally adjusted
July peak
Industry
Initial claims Year Initial claims
Elementary and secondary schools .............. 20,769 2009 20,769
Temporary help services (1) ................... 20,377 1998 24,601
Construction machinery manufacturing .......... 13,914 2009 13,914
Professional employer organizations (1) ....... 8,240 2009 8,240
Motion picture and video production ........... 7,950 1998 12,310
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing . 7,713 1997 14,618
All other plastics product manufacturing ...... 6,015 2004 8,864
All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing ... 5,751 2004 9,691
School and employee bus transportation ........ 5,553 1997 8,081
Motor vehicle metal stamping .................. 4,504 2005 8,198
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, 3 reached a series high for July: construction machinery
manufacturing; professional employer organizations; and elementary and
secondary schools. The industry with the largest number of initial claims
was elementary and secondary schools (20,769), which includes both public
and private entities. (See table A.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the four census regions, the Midwest registered the highest number
of initial claims in July due to mass layoffs (117,188), followed by the
West (102,292) and the South (71,648). (See table 5.) Average weekly
initial claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in all
four regions, with the West experiencing the largest increase. In 2009, the
South and the West reported their highest July levels of average weekly ini-
tial claims in program history.
Of the nine geographic divisions, the East North Central (94,516) had the
highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in July, followed by
the Pacific (91,051) and the Middle Atlantic (38,332). (See table 5.) Eight
of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly ini-
tial claims, led by the Pacific. This year, the Mountain and the Pacific divi-
sions reached program highs for July in terms of average weekly initial claims.
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass
layoff events in July with 82,085. The states with the next highest number
of mass layoff initial claims were Illinois (25,119), Michigan (23,929), and
Ohio (19,704). (See table 6.) Over-the-year increases in average weekly ini-
tial claims were highest in California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. In 2009,
seven states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims for the
month of July--Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, and Utah.
- 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 classifica-
tion 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 August 2009 is scheduled to be released on
Wednesday,September 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, August 2005 to
July 2009, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
July ....................... 2,157 206,791 1,928 185,718 621 72,266
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, August 2005 to
July 2009, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
July ....................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 1,133 154,208
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Industry
July May June July July May June July
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 1,535 2,933 2,763 2,157 152,499 312,880 279,231 206,791
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,390 2,736 2,536 1,928 141,239 296,108 260,747 185,718
Manufacturing ............................... 455 1,331 1,235 621 57,648 165,802 159,310 72,266
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 1,891 2,738 2,519 3,054 200,382 289,628 256,357 336,654
Total, private .................................. 1,765 2,599 2,101 2,752 191,309 276,113 219,548 304,108
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 78 27 50 93 5,291 2,066 3,485 7,519
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,687 2,572 2,051 2,659 186,018 274,047 216,063 296,589
Mining ...................................... (2) 32 15 22 (2) 3,057 1,147 1,816
Utilities ................................... (2) 4 4 3 (2) 466 246 446
Construction ................................ 72 255 136 170 4,941 19,684 9,343 12,415
Manufacturing ............................... 760 1,005 674 1,133 108,733 123,683 85,726 154,208
Food .................................... 49 65 48 67 4,844 7,211 4,395 8,076
Beverage and tobacco products ........... (2) 7 (2) 8 (2) 607 (2) 624
Textile mills ........................... 15 13 11 21 1,286 1,059 1,563 2,424
Textile product mills ................... 5 8 4 8 560 775 214 875
Apparel ................................. 24 17 16 26 2,048 1,360 1,683 2,926
Leather and allied products ............. 3 (2) (2) 4 184 (2) (2) 306
Wood products ........................... 38 43 29 42 4,044 4,219 2,435 3,453
Paper ................................... 10 30 13 17 1,239 3,854 968 1,439
Printing and related support activities . 12 34 18 16 947 3,521 1,552 1,950
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) (2) (2) 6 (2) (2) (2) 373
Chemicals ............................... 13 23 13 19 999 2,146 1,013 1,722
Plastics and rubber products ............ 62 52 35 74 6,804 5,187 3,697 9,776
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 16 35 25 29 1,412 2,388 1,645 3,044
Primary metals .......................... 41 77 45 89 4,606 8,785 6,496 9,850
Fabricated metal products ............... 71 100 74 114 7,007 9,483 6,846 10,798
Machinery ............................... 45 118 74 132 5,042 12,472 14,644 29,528
Computer and electronic products ........ 30 60 63 77 2,498 5,732 6,145 7,823
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 21 37 30 45 3,052 3,506 4,344 5,992
Transportation equipment ................ 269 238 139 275 57,761 46,816 24,865 47,322
Furniture and related products .......... 18 24 24 35 2,397 2,568 2,337 3,311
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 15 17 9 29 1,751 1,402 644 2,596
Wholesale trade ............................. 22 64 50 78 1,926 6,022 4,858 6,201
Retail trade ................................ 116 202 155 161 9,450 18,360 15,318 17,388
Transportation and warehousing .............. 107 89 184 131 11,182 7,835 23,792 11,279
Information ................................. 42 67 53 90 4,069 9,132 6,018 13,941
Finance and insurance ....................... 55 71 34 84 4,256 6,374 2,239 6,700
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 11 14 20 12 792 985 1,590 819
Professional and technical services ......... 40 83 53 95 3,147 7,030 4,503 10,555
Management of companies and enterprises ..... 4 12 8 14 313 1,329 1,164 2,289
Administrative and waste services ........... 259 310 239 351 22,921 32,973 19,150 35,419
Educational services ........................ 18 10 28 31 1,388 758 2,295 2,540
Health care and social assistance ........... 65 87 173 101 4,263 8,402 13,948 7,010
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 27 37 45 38 2,136 2,676 2,671 2,611
Accommodation and food services ............. 78 189 136 124 5,803 21,484 18,499 9,651
Other services, except public administration 7 41 42 19 419 3,797 3,424 1,212
Unclassified ................................ - - 2 2 - - 132 89
Government ...................................... 126 139 418 302 9,073 13,515 36,809 32,546
Federal ..................................... 4 37 15 10 306 4,585 1,124 845
State ....................................... 26 25 38 39 2,179 2,185 2,821 3,297
Local ....................................... 96 77 365 253 6,588 6,745 32,864 28,404
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, July 2007 to July 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
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 (r)339,629 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 (r)304,316 37.4 (r)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 (r)3,582 (r)765,019 (r)47.5 (r)99.0
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 (r)3,979 (r)830,028 (r)50.3 (r)102.8
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 (2)(p)2,994 (2)(p)506,533 (p)42.7 (p)69.1
July ....................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589
1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days.
2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available.
Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and
the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, not
seasonally adjusted
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Census region and division
July May June July July May June July
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
United States (1) ... 1,891 2,738 2,519 3,054 200,382 289,628 256,357 336,654
Northeast ................... 281 451 428 511 25,506 41,413 46,593 45,526
New England ............. 34 67 63 82 2,658 5,865 6,516 7,194
Middle Atlantic ......... 247 384 365 429 22,848 35,548 40,077 38,332
South ....................... 450 742 620 725 48,440 72,375 61,962 71,648
South Atlantic .......... 218 370 354 389 17,556 34,117 31,988 34,220
East South Central ...... 161 171 128 213 21,721 18,081 16,589 25,153
West South Central ...... 71 201 138 123 9,163 20,177 13,385 12,275
Midwest ..................... 606 826 592 805 84,535 105,264 76,301 117,188
East North Central ...... 528 649 469 635 75,373 84,281 59,347 94,516
West North Central ...... 78 177 123 170 9,162 20,983 16,954 22,672
West ........................ 554 719 879 1,013 41,901 70,576 71,501 102,292
Mountain ................ 49 135 90 112 4,519 13,290 7,184 11,241
Pacific ................. 505 584 789 901 37,382 57,286 64,317 91,051
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
July May June July July May June July
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Total (1) ............ 1,891 2,738 2,519 3,054 200,382 289,628 256,357 336,654
Alabama ................. 67 40 49 75 7,072 4,037 7,837 8,324
Alaska .................. - 12 6 (2) - 1,230 431 (2)
Arizona ................. 15 28 27 35 1,422 2,484 2,137 3,469
Arkansas ................ 13 18 8 11 1,606 2,319 583 1,033
California .............. 460 487 714 812 33,250 47,091 56,138 82,085
Colorado ................ 4 15 11 15 343 1,762 832 1,536
Connecticut ............. 6 17 15 15 579 1,389 1,487 1,056
Delaware ................ (2) 3 8 5 (2) 172 882 347
District of Columbia .... - (2) (2) - - (2) (2) -
Florida ................. 123 181 182 192 7,555 12,446 15,785 14,929
Georgia ................. 39 56 43 62 3,949 5,187 3,809 7,636
Hawaii .................. 4 8 10 9 271 900 992 670
Idaho ................... 7 9 5 8 619 680 342 759
Illinois ................ 56 135 116 110 7,674 19,717 20,576 25,119
Indiana ................. 67 86 45 87 8,787 10,416 4,643 10,131
Iowa .................... 16 31 33 48 2,068 4,379 3,765 8,730
Kansas .................. 8 31 15 22 731 3,551 4,071 2,088
Kentucky ................ 63 85 49 97 11,907 9,894 6,240 14,128
Louisiana ............... 10 35 26 21 1,645 3,160 3,005 1,768
Maine ................... 5 7 3 4 359 644 280 256
Maryland ................ 5 10 13 11 443 1,201 1,325 987
Massachusetts ........... 16 23 20 31 1,107 2,281 1,777 2,972
Michigan ................ 212 180 121 185 27,672 26,344 12,218 23,929
Minnesota ............... 12 38 26 31 1,452 4,224 2,318 3,229
Mississippi ............. 13 9 11 14 1,330 726 895 803
Missouri ................ 39 54 39 61 3,763 6,336 5,446 7,647
Montana ................. 4 7 6 5 234 856 476 481
Nebraska ................ (2) 13 3 4 (2) 1,306 658 418
Nevada .................. 15 52 18 37 1,637 5,297 1,686 3,212
New Hampshire ........... 4 7 5 17 426 526 630 1,564
New Jersey .............. 56 45 88 101 4,110 4,394 14,033 8,366
New Mexico .............. (2) 13 15 5 (2) 1,089 1,013 252
New York ................ 103 112 83 126 10,764 10,762 7,681 11,886
North Carolina .......... 12 33 28 23 1,128 5,351 2,505 1,950
North Dakota ............ (2) 8 6 4 (2) 869 640 560
Ohio .................... 117 145 94 138 19,402 16,920 10,818 19,704
Oklahoma ................ 5 13 11 16 575 1,772 1,052 2,013
Oregon .................. 25 41 43 49 2,498 4,775 5,525 5,492
Pennsylvania ............ 88 227 194 202 7,974 20,392 18,363 18,080
Rhode Island ............ (2) 7 10 10 (2) 563 1,377 965
South Carolina .......... 29 31 38 59 2,958 3,021 4,087 5,359
South Dakota ............ - (2) (2) - - (2) (2) -
Tennessee ............... 18 37 19 27 1,412 3,424 1,617 1,898
Texas ................... 43 135 93 75 5,337 12,926 8,745 7,461
Utah .................... (2) 10 8 7 (2) 1,020 698 1,532
Vermont ................. (2) 6 10 5 (2) 462 965 381
Virginia ................ 9 49 31 35 1,475 6,168 2,817 2,873
Washington .............. 16 36 16 29 1,363 3,290 1,231 2,549
West Virginia ........... - 5 8 (2) - 429 583 (2)
Wisconsin ............... 76 103 93 115 11,838 10,884 11,092 15,633
Wyoming ................. - (2) - - - (2) - -
Puerto Rico ............. 12 23 17 22 1,227 2,830 1,280 1,826
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
