For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, September 23, 2009 USDL-09-1156
Technical information: (202) 691-6392 * mlsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
(NOTE: This release was reissued on Friday, September 25, 2009,
to correct the number of initial claims for the temporary help
services industry mentioned in the last paragraph of the "Indus-
try Distribution" section from 11,533 to 6,721. This correction
did not affect any tables in the release.)
MASS LAYOFFS -- AUGUST 2009
Employers took 2,690 mass layoff actions in August that resulted in the separa-
tion of 259,307 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 August increased by 533
from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims increased by
52,516. Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 803, and
associated initial claims increased by 70,356. Year-to-date mass layoff events
(21,184) and initial claims (2,162,202) both recorded program highs through
August. In August, 900 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing
sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 93,892 initial claims. Over the
month, the number of manufacturing events increased by 279, and associated
initial claims increased by 21,626. (See table 1.)
During the 21 months from December 2007 through August 2009, the total number
of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 44,669, and the number of
initial claims filed (seasonally adjusted) in those events was 4,556,636.
(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 August 2009, seasonally ad-
justed, up from 9.4 per-cent the prior month and up from 6.2 percent a year
earlier. In August, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 216,000 over
the month and by 5,830,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in August was 1,428 on a not seasonally adjusted
basis; the number of associated initial claims was 125,024. (See table 2.) Aver-
age weekly layoff events rose from 285 in August 2008 to 357 in August 2009, and
average weekly initial claims increased from 28,000 to 31,256. Seven of the 19
major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of average weekly initial
claimants for the month of August: construction; wholesale trade; retail trade;
management of companies and enterprises; educational services; arts, entertain-
ment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services. (Average weekly analy-
sis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note.)
The manufacturing sector accounted for 31 percent of all mass layoff events and
33 percent of initial claims filed in August 2009. A year earlier, manufacturing
made up 29 percent of events and 37 percent of initial claims. Within manufac-
turing, transportation equipment comprised the largest number of aver-age weekly
claims (2,269) despite experiencing the largest decrease in average weekly ini-
tial claims over the year (-1,688) among three-digit NAICS industries. (See
table 3.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 14 percent
of mass layoff events and 12 percent of initial claims, down from 15 and 14 per-
cent, respectively, the previous August. Construction accounted for 11 percent of
events and 10 percent of initial claims, an increase from 10 percent of events
and 7 percent of claims in August 2008.
Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial
claims, 3 reached a series high for August: motorcycle, bicycle, and parts manu-
facturing; warehouse clubs and supercenters; and casino hotels. The industry with
the largest number of initial claims was temporary help services (6,721). (See
table A.)
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in
August 2009
August peak
Industry
Initial Year Initial
claims claims
Temporary help services ....................... 6,721 1999 11,533
School and employee bus transportation ........ 5,850 2003 6,538
Motion picture and video production ........... 4,275 2003 6,812
Professional employer organizations ........... 3,692 2008 5,252
Motorcycle, bicycle, and parts manufacturing .. 2,518 2009 2,518
Supermarkets and other grocery stores ......... 1,734 2001 2,357
Warehouse clubs and supercenters .............. 1,552 2009 1,552
Discount department stores .................... 1,538 2007 2,953
Casino hotels ................................. 1,415 2009 1,415
Commercial building construction .............. 1,375 2008 1,579
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the 4 census regions, the West registered the highest number of initial
claims in August due to mass layoffs (36,897), followed by the Midwest (32,197)
and the South (29,486). (See table 5.) Average weekly initial claims associated
with mass layoffs increased over the year in 3 of the 4 regions, with the North-
east experiencing the largest increase (+2,064). In 2009, the Northeast reported
its highest August level of average weekly initial claims (6,611) in program
history.
Of the 9 geographic divisions, the Pacific (30,781) had the highest number of
initial claims due to mass layoffs in August, followed by the East North Central
(25,962) and the Middle Atlantic (23,491). (See table 5.) Seven of the 9 divi-
sions experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, led by
the Middle Atlantic (+1,786). This year, the Middle Atlantic, Mountain, and South
Atlantic divisions reached program highs for August in terms of average weekly ini-
tial claims.
California recorded the highest number of average weekly initial claims in August,
with 6,521, even though it had the largest over-the-year decrease in average weekly
claims (-704). The over-the-year decrease was largely due to a drop in claims from
the administrative and support services industry. The states with the next highest
number of average weekly initial claims were New York (2,851), Pennsylvania (2,481),
and Florida (1,949). Thirty states and the District of Columbia experienced over-
the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, led by Pennsylvania, New York,
and Illinois. In 2009, eight states reached program highs in average weekly initial
claims for the month of August: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New York,
Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
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 inform-at ion 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.
_____________
Mass Layoffs in September 2009 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 22,
2009, 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; 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.
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, September 2005
to August 2009, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
August ..................... 2,690 259,307 2,428 237,302 900 93,892
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, September 2005
to August 2009, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
August ..................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 436 41,151
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Industry
August June July August August June July August
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 1,887 2,763 2,157 2,690 188,951 279,231 206,791 259,307
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,735 2,536 1,928 2,428 178,479 260,747 185,718 237,302
Manufacturing ............................... 626 1,235 621 900 80,913 159,310 72,266 93,892
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 1,427 2,519 3,054 1,428 139,999 256,357 336,654 125,024
Total, private .................................. 1,373 2,101 2,752 1,356 134,871 219,548 304,108 118,920
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 30 50 93 22 1,725 3,485 7,519 1,727
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,343 2,051 2,659 1,334 133,146 216,063 296,589 117,193
Mining ...................................... 3 15 22 9 207 1,147 1,816 603
Utilities ................................... (2) 4 3 (2) (2) 246 446 (2)
Construction ................................ 142 136 170 160 9,717 9,343 12,415 11,904
Manufacturing ............................... 414 674 1,133 436 51,912 85,726 154,208 41,151
Food .................................... 40 48 67 41 3,510 4,395 8,076 3,632
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 8 (2) 8 5 630 (2) 624 937
Textile mills ........................... 10 11 21 (2) 1,013 1,563 2,424 (2)
Textile product mills ................... 4 4 8 5 487 214 875 557
Apparel ................................. 10 16 26 15 981 1,683 2,926 1,317
Leather and allied products ............. (2) (2) 4 (2) (2) (2) 306 (2)
Wood products ........................... 35 29 42 19 2,980 2,435 3,453 1,423
Paper ................................... 3 13 17 8 516 968 1,439 576
Printing and related support activities . 10 18 16 9 938 1,552 1,950 714
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) (2) 6 - (2) (2) 373 -
Chemicals ............................... 5 13 19 10 268 1,013 1,722 843
Plastics and rubber products ............ 30 35 74 17 3,625 3,697 9,776 1,532
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 8 25 29 18 1,161 1,645 3,044 1,147
Primary metals .......................... 19 45 89 31 1,709 6,496 9,850 2,742
Fabricated metal products ............... 25 74 114 43 2,179 6,846 10,798 3,501
Machinery ............................... 30 74 132 74 4,887 14,644 29,528 6,608
Computer and electronic products ........ 26 63 77 30 2,446 6,145 7,823 2,535
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 11 30 45 18 1,485 4,344 5,992 1,853
Transportation equipment ................ 112 139 275 68 19,787 24,865 47,322 9,076
Furniture and related products .......... 20 24 35 13 2,566 2,337 3,311 941
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 5 9 29 6 520 644 2,596 577
Wholesale trade ............................. 27 50 78 34 1,765 4,858 6,201 2,714
Retail trade ................................ 142 155 161 111 12,674 15,318 17,388 10,173
Transportation and warehousing .............. 100 184 131 101 9,077 23,792 11,279 9,131
Information ................................. 48 53 90 46 6,640 6,018 13,941 6,067
Finance and insurance ....................... 45 34 84 47 3,192 2,239 6,700 4,434
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 13 20 12 7 742 1,590 819 404
Professional and technical services ......... 45 53 95 32 4,458 4,503 10,555 2,302
Management of companies and enterprises ..... (2) 8 14 (2) (2) 1,164 2,289 (2)
Administrative and waste services ........... 214 239 351 195 19,682 19,150 35,419 15,604
Educational services ........................ 9 28 31 13 1,462 2,295 2,540 1,796
Health care and social assistance ........... 35 173 101 31 2,584 13,948 7,010 1,947
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 18 45 38 19 1,320 2,671 2,611 1,403
Accommodation and food services ............. 74 136 124 74 6,221 18,499 9,651 6,034
Other services, except public administration 9 42 19 13 1,185 3,424 1,212 1,076
Unclassified ................................ - 2 2 - - 132 89 -
Government ...................................... 54 418 302 72 5,128 36,809 32,546 6,104
Federal ..................................... 8 15 10 14 800 1,124 845 1,381
State ....................................... 13 38 39 19 1,464 2,821 3,297 1,717
Local ....................................... 33 365 253 39 2,864 32,864 28,404 3,006
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 August 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 1,756 339,629 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 1,582 304,316 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 3,582 765,019 47.5 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 3,979 830,028 50.3 102.8
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
August ..................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193
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
August June July August August June July August
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
United States (1) ... 1,427 2,519 3,054 1,428 139,999 256,357 336,654 125,024
Northeast ................... 226 428 511 279 22,736 46,593 45,526 26,444
New England ............. 24 63 82 32 2,304 6,516 7,194 2,953
Middle Atlantic ......... 202 365 429 247 20,432 40,077 38,332 23,491
South ....................... 362 620 725 342 38,188 61,962 71,648 29,486
South Atlantic .......... 212 354 389 204 20,313 31,988 34,220 17,732
East South Central ...... 90 128 213 57 11,179 16,589 25,153 4,820
West South Central ...... 60 138 123 81 6,696 13,385 12,275 6,934
Midwest ..................... 307 592 805 350 33,238 76,301 117,188 32,197
East North Central ...... 254 469 635 273 26,689 59,347 94,516 25,962
West North Central ...... 53 123 170 77 6,549 16,954 22,672 6,235
West ........................ 532 879 1,013 457 45,837 71,501 102,292 36,897
Mountain ................ 50 90 112 63 4,688 7,184 11,241 6,116
Pacific ................. 482 789 901 394 41,149 64,317 91,051 30,781
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
August June July August August June July August
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Total (1) ............ 1,427 2,519 3,054 1,428 139,999 256,357 336,654 125,024
Alabama ................. 24 49 75 23 3,288 7,837 8,324 1,997
Alaska .................. - 6 (2) 4 - 431 (2) 295
Arizona ................. 7 27 35 10 488 2,137 3,469 977
Arkansas ................ 8 8 11 4 613 583 1,033 260
California .............. 439 714 812 340 36,120 56,138 82,085 26,082
Colorado ................ 3 11 15 5 258 832 1,536 374
Connecticut ............. 4 15 15 4 368 1,487 1,056 334
Delaware ................ 3 8 5 (2) 694 882 347 (2)
District of Columbia .... (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2) - (2)
Florida ................. 126 182 192 104 9,849 15,785 14,929 7,795
Georgia ................. 32 43 62 23 2,938 3,809 7,636 2,202
Hawaii .................. 4 10 9 8 408 992 670 872
Idaho ................... 10 5 8 9 1,120 342 759 1,305
Illinois ................ 55 116 110 82 6,164 20,576 25,119 7,432
Indiana ................. 40 45 87 30 4,359 4,643 10,131 3,182
Iowa .................... 18 33 48 17 3,727 3,765 8,730 1,359
Kansas .................. 4 15 22 14 291 4,071 2,088 945
Kentucky ................ 34 49 97 22 5,487 6,240 14,128 2,006
Louisiana ............... 10 26 21 18 851 3,005 1,768 1,698
Maine ................... 3 3 4 (2) 217 280 256 (2)
Maryland ................ 8 13 11 10 762 1,325 987 759
Massachusetts ........... 6 20 31 13 495 1,777 2,972 1,357
Michigan ................ 48 121 185 43 3,669 12,218 23,929 3,593
Minnesota ............... 5 26 31 13 334 2,318 3,229 948
Mississippi ............. 15 11 14 5 908 895 803 349
Missouri ................ 21 39 61 28 1,490 5,446 7,647 2,549
Montana ................. (2) 6 5 3 (2) 476 481 258
Nebraska ................ 3 3 4 (2) 271 658 418 (2)
Nevada .................. 23 18 37 30 1,912 1,686 3,212 2,879
New Hampshire ........... 3 5 17 6 170 630 1,564 454
New Jersey .............. 38 88 101 27 3,151 14,033 8,366 2,162
New Mexico .............. 5 15 5 4 728 1,013 252 191
New York ................ 94 83 126 106 10,760 7,681 11,886 11,405
North Carolina .......... 25 28 23 19 3,123 2,505 1,950 2,523
North Dakota ............ (2) 6 4 (2) (2) 640 560 (2)
Ohio .................... 62 94 138 58 7,994 10,818 19,704 5,941
Oklahoma ................ (2) 11 16 8 (2) 1,052 2,013 679
Oregon .................. 28 43 49 21 3,741 5,525 5,492 1,691
Pennsylvania ............ 70 194 202 114 6,521 18,363 18,080 9,924
Rhode Island ............ 5 10 10 5 390 1,377 965 456
South Carolina .......... 12 38 59 20 2,232 4,087 5,359 2,133
South Dakota ............ - (2) - (2) - (2) - (2)
Tennessee ............... 17 19 27 7 1,496 1,617 1,898 468
Texas ................... 40 93 75 51 5,124 8,745 7,461 4,297
Utah .................... (2) 8 7 (2) (2) 698 1,532 (2)
Vermont ................. 3 10 5 (2) 664 965 381 (2)
Virginia ................ 4 31 35 21 361 2,817 2,873 1,652
Washington .............. 11 16 29 21 880 1,231 2,549 1,841
West Virginia ........... (2) 8 (2) 4 (2) 583 (2) 272
Wisconsin ............... 49 93 115 60 4,503 11,092 15,633 5,814
Wyoming ................. - - - - - - - -
Puerto Rico ............. 18 17 22 15 1,958 1,280 1,826 1,326
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
