Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 08-1497
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, October 22, 2008
MASS LAYOFFS IN SEPTEMBER 2008
In September, employers took 2,269 mass layoff actions, seasonally
adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance bene-
fits 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 workers involved totaled
235,681, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff
events this September increased by 497 from the prior month, while the
number of associated initial claims rose by 61,726. Layoff events
reached their highest level since September 2001, a month that experi-
enced substantial layoff activity due to the September 11 attacks. Mass
layoff initial claims reached their highest level since September 2005,
which was a month with high layoff activity due to Hurricane Katrina.
The effects of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike contributed to the higher
September 2008 layoff activity. In September, 603 mass layoff events
were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, result-
ing in 81,414 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in
manufacturing increased by 4 and initial claims increased by 9,170.
(See table 1.)
From January through September 2008, the total number of events
(seasonally adjusted), at 14,811, and initial claims (seasonally
adjusted), at 1,510,446, were the highest for the January-September
period since 2003 and 2002, respectively.
The national unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in September, sea-
sonally adjusted, unchanged from the prior month and up from 4.7 per-
cent a year earlier. In September, total nonfarm payroll employment
decreased by 159,000 over the month and by 519,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in September was 1,292 on a not
seasonally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was
129,586. (See table 2.) Over the year, increases were recorded in
both the number of layoff events (+575) and initial claims (+62,201).
In 2008, three major sectors reported program highs in terms of mass
layoff initial claims for the month of September--construction, pro-
fessional and technical services, and finance and insurance (with
data available back to 1995).
The manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of all mass layoff
events and 36 percent of initial claims filed in September 2008; a year
earlier, manufacturing made up 34 percent of events and 44 percent of
initial claims. In September, the number of manufacturing claimants was
greatest in transportation equipment manufacturing (19,278), followed by
machinery manufacturing (4,058). (See table 3.) Administrative and
waste services accounted for 14 percent of mass layoff events and associ-
ated initial claims during the month, primarily from temporary help serv-
ices.
The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims
was temporary help services (9,491), followed by professional employer or-
ganizations (4,520). Among the 10 industries with the highest levels of
initial claims, 2 of the 10--professional employer organizations and air-
craft manufacturing--reached program highs in 2008 for the month of
September (with data available back to 1995). (See table A.)
- 2 -
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in
September 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Initial | September peak
Industry | claims |---------------------
| | |
| | Year |Initial claims
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
Temporary help services .......................| 9,491 | 2001 | 12,752
Professional employer organizations ...........| 4,520 | 2008 | 4,520
Aircraft manufacturing ........................| (1) | 2008 | (1)
Payroll services ..............................| 3,707 | 1999 | 4,737
Automobile manufacturing ......................| 3,464 | 2004 | (1)
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing .| 2,877 | 2000 | 3,688
Motion picture and video production ...........| 2,757 | 1997 | 11,176
Elementary and secondary schools ..............| 2,259 | 2005 | 15,815
Limited-service restaurants ...................| 2,042 | 2005 | 6,097
Ship building and repairing ...................| 1,897 | 2005 | 8,811
| | |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Of the 4 census regions, the West had the highest number of initial
claims in September due to mass layoffs (47,522), followed by the South
(43,772). (See table 5.) Initial claimants in mass layoffs increased
over the year in all 4 regions with the South (+27,859) and the West
(+21,983) experiencing the largest increases, followed by the Midwest
(+9,373) and the Northeast (+2,986).
Of the 9 divisions, the Pacific had the highest number of initial
claims in September due to mass layoffs (43,847), followed by the West
South Central (26,693). (See table 5.) Eight of the 9 divisions ex-
perienced over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by the West
South Central (+22,101) and the Pacific (+20,474).
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due
to mass layoff events in September with 34,584. The next highest
states reporting mass layoff initial claims were Louisiana (14,929)
and Texas (10,616). (See table 6.) Six states reached program highs
in 2008 for the month of September--Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Washington,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Thirty-five states registered over-the-year
increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by
Louisiana (+14,366), California (+13,440), and Texas (+8,010). The
effects of Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana and of Hurricane Ike in Texas
contributed to the higher September 2008 layoff activity in those two
states.
______________________________
The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Third Quarter 2008 is
scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 13.
- 3 -
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).
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
insurance benefits filed against an employer during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
- 4 -
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 one year and 4 weeks
in another. The effects of these differences could seriously distort the
seasonal 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, October 2004 to
September 2008, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2004
October .................... 1,283 132,766 1,169 123,471 363 47,046
November ................... 1,320 130,873 1,174 119,029 380 45,416
December ................... 1,148 111,060 991 99,784 287 31,935
2005
January .................... 1,475 160,725 1,346 151,028 382 61,324
February ................... 1,146 121,455 1,020 110,480 353 43,568
March ...................... 1,207 131,271 1,066 120,945 372 53,673
April ...................... 1,252 136,752 1,125 126,550 401 60,681
May ........................ 1,248 136,420 1,104 123,495 398 54,999
June ....................... 1,196 127,084 1,078 118,012 368 58,300
July ....................... 1,250 132,445 1,103 119,566 357 46,602
August ..................... 1,144 125,686 1,000 113,762 341 47,598
September .................. 2,248 297,544 2,028 251,185 417 55,304
October .................... 1,101 110,035 982 100,934 321 43,230
November ................... 1,176 114,965 1,042 103,535 332 42,071
December ................... 1,261 134,461 1,132 123,418 360 46,863
2006
January .................... 1,107 110,800 988 101,494 283 34,037
February ................... 1,031 109,798 940 101,828 322 43,147
March ...................... 1,084 119,049 983 110,668 323 48,119
April ...................... 1,171 121,580 1,043 112,175 368 49,568
May ........................ 1,124 117,115 1,005 107,181 314 43,087
June ....................... 1,146 123,827 1,030 114,080 352 44,869
July ....................... 1,179 121,017 1,051 111,336 372 48,534
August ..................... 1,270 135,400 1,107 124,427 377 60,906
September .................. 1,173 123,767 1,056 114,677 385 45,767
October .................... 1,191 121,827 1,076 113,123 399 53,601
November ................... 1,232 133,803 1,121 124,559 414 58,385
December ................... 1,194 131,062 1,092 121,796 374 51,408
2007
January .................... 1,254 128,223 1,118 117,824 391 52,858
February ................... 1,352 143,837 1,238 135,066 416 61,749
March ...................... 1,277 130,981 1,169 122,488 412 52,606
April ...................... 1,243 126,977 1,116 116,926 382 43,930
May ........................ 1,199 120,587 1,096 113,069 370 48,910
June ....................... 1,238 129,858 1,116 120,165 351 40,670
July ....................... 1,247 127,687 1,140 119,614 392 51,333
August ..................... 1,228 121,886 1,128 114,628 335 36,518
September .................. 1,307 128,487 1,204 121,294 430 53,432
October .................... 1,347 136,124 1,224 127,163 430 57,695
November ................... 1,329 139,671 1,215 131,390 414 56,965
December ................... 1,433 141,750 1,315 133,024 462 58,108
2008
January .................... 1,438 144,111 1,317 134,347 427 55,488
February ................... 1,672 177,374 1,539 166,782 529 66,913
March ...................... 1,571 157,156 1,460 147,537 482 64,088
April ...................... 1,308 133,914 1,186 124,053 483 60,552
May ........................ 1,626 171,387 1,496 161,912 528 72,058
June ....................... 1,643 165,697 1,491 153,568 541 76,514
July ....................... 1,512 151,171 1,368 140,116 443 57,470
August ..................... 1,772 173,955 1,622 163,800 599 72,244
September .................. 2,269 235,681 2,092 221,538 603 81,414
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2004 to
September 2008, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2004
October .................... 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 372 48,265
November ................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 412 44,243
December ................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 436 50,726
2005
January .................... 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 823 108,985
February ................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 230 24,931
March ...................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 246 33,030
April ...................... 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 395 59,129
May ........................ 986 101,358 891 93,332 249 30,424
June ....................... 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 216 32,783
July ....................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 856 136,210
August ..................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 188 22,531
September .................. 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 318 47,497
October .................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 249 37,276
November ................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 363 41,442
December ................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 706 96,382
2006
January .................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 331 35,097
February ................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 210 24,892
March ...................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 285 44,688
April ...................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 296 39,538
May ........................ 872 84,809 794 78,663 192 23,570
June ....................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 319 41,095
July ....................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 648 96,152
August ..................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 203 28,494
September .................. 865 87,699 785 81,274 296 39,076
October .................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 311 46,737
November ................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 455 58,473
December ................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 735 105,462
2007
January .................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 456 53,615
February ................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 273 36,170
March ...................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 367 49,886
April ...................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 309 35,229
May ........................ 923 85,816 856 81,153 224 26,527
June ....................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 313 36,571
July ....................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 684 101,390
August ..................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 220 23,361
September .................. 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381
October .................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918
November ................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 514 75,413
December ................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 699 91,754
2008
January .................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 488 54,418
February ................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 361 42,527
March ...................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 333 43,740
April ...................... 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 394 48,188
May ........................ 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 388 51,698
June ....................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 309 42,097
July ....................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 760 108,733
August ..................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 414 51,912
September .................. 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 361 46,391
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Industry
September July August September September July August September
2007 2008 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 1,307 1,512 1,772 2,269 128,487 151,171 173,955 235,681
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,204 1,368 1,622 2,092 121,294 140,116 163,800 221,538
Manufacturing ............................... 430 443 599 603 53,432 57,470 72,244 81,414
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 717 1,891 1,427 1,292 67,385 200,382 139,999 129,586
Total, private .................................. 688 1,765 1,373 1,227 65,205 191,309 134,871 124,096
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 21 78 30 25 1,179 5,291 1,725 1,591
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 667 1,687 1,343 1,202 64,026 186,018 133,146 122,505
Mining ...................................... (2) (2) 3 6 (2) (2) 207 728
Utilities ................................... - (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2)
Construction ................................ 70 72 142 144 4,283 4,941 9,717 10,763
Manufacturing ............................... 246 760 414 361 29,381 108,733 51,912 46,391
Food .................................... 31 49 40 33 2,873 4,844 3,510 3,068
Beverage and tobacco products ........... (2) (2) 8 7 (2) (2) 630 648
Textile mills ........................... 4 15 10 13 448 1,286 1,013 1,422
Textile product mills (3) ............... 4 5 4 3 410 560 487 347
Apparel (3) ............................. 12 24 10 7 1,180 2,048 981 688
Leather and allied products ............. - 3 (2) (2) - 184 (2) (2)
Wood products ........................... 27 38 35 32 2,461 4,044 2,980 2,901
Paper ................................... 5 10 3 8 389 1,239 516 603
Printing and related support activities . (2) 12 10 5 (2) 947 938 341
Petroleum and coal products ............. - (2) (2) - - (2) (2) -
Chemicals ............................... 3 13 5 8 186 999 268 527
Plastics and rubber products (3) ........ 13 62 30 16 1,066 6,804 3,625 1,224
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 9 16 8 12 941 1,412 1,161 861
Primary metals .......................... 15 41 19 13 1,678 4,606 1,709 1,582
Fabricated metal products ............... 16 71 25 35 1,473 7,007 2,179 2,357
Machinery (3) ........................... 19 45 30 28 3,021 5,042 4,887 4,058
Computer and electronic products ........ 15 30 26 15 1,381 2,498 2,446 1,556
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 10 21 11 22 2,881 3,052 1,485 3,453
Transportation equipment (3) ............ 51 269 112 87 7,759 57,761 19,787 19,278
Furniture and related products (3) ...... 7 18 20 13 791 2,397 2,566 1,153
Miscellaneous manufacturing (3) ......... (2) 15 5 (2) (2) 1,751 520 (2)
Wholesale trade ............................. 17 22 27 20 1,053 1,926 1,765 1,642
Retail trade ................................ 67 116 142 112 5,657 9,450 12,674 10,345
Transportation and warehousing .............. 17 107 100 54 1,415 11,182 9,077 4,383
Information ................................. 32 42 48 45 5,420 4,069 6,640 6,021
Finance and insurance (3) ................... 40 55 45 38 2,649 4,256 3,192 3,104
Real estate and rental and leasing (3) ...... 3 11 13 7 285 792 742 396
Professional and technical services (3) ..... 23 40 45 35 2,683 3,147 4,458 5,623
Management of companies and enterprises ..... (2) 4 (2) (2) (2) 313 (2) (2)
Administrative and waste services (3) ....... 85 259 214 181 6,325 22,921 19,682 18,557
Educational services ........................ (2) 18 9 5 (2) 1,388 1,462 346
Health care and social assistance ........... 13 65 35 54 998 4,263 2,584 4,021
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 11 27 18 30 716 2,136 1,320 2,043
Accommodation and food services ............. 37 78 74 99 2,681 5,803 6,221 7,552
Other services, except public administration (2) 7 9 6 (2) 419 1,185 297
Unclassified ................................ - - - 2 - - - 73
Government ...................................... 29 126 54 65 2,180 9,073 5,128 5,490
Federal ..................................... 5 4 8 9 408 306 800 764
State ....................................... 7 26 13 12 777 2,179 1,464 922
Local ....................................... 17 96 33 44 995 6,588 2,864 3,804
1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
3 Data beginning in 2008 are not strictly comparable to prior years due to a change in NAICS versions.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2006 to September 2008, 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
2006
July ....................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342
August ..................... 708 72,844 656 69,054
September .................. 865 87,699 785 81,274
Third Quarter .............. 3,084 327,400 2,776 304,670 929 161,764 33.5 53.1
October .................... 964 98,804 820 88,133
November ................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009
December ................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783
Fourth Quarter ............. 4,528 489,493 4,118 457,925 1,640 330,954 39.8 72.3
2007
January .................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475
February ................... 935 86,696 861 82,097
March ...................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431
First Quarter .............. 3,424 345,654 3,139 325,003 1,110 199,250 35.4 61.3
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 1,814 347,146 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 1,340 256,697 35.9 69.8
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 (2)(p)1,534 (2)(p)215,808 (p)39.1 (p)52.3
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 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
September July August September September July August September
2007 2008 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008
United States (1) ... 717 1,891 1,427 1,292 67,385 200,382 139,999 129,586
Northeast ................... 96 281 226 142 8,660 25,506 22,736 11,646
New England ............. 10 34 24 15 756 2,658 2,304 1,180
Middle Atlantic ......... 86 247 202 127 7,904 22,848 20,432 10,466
South ....................... 160 450 362 475 15,913 48,440 38,188 43,772
South Atlantic .......... 78 218 212 153 6,303 17,556 20,313 12,291
East South Central ...... 38 161 90 54 5,018 21,721 11,179 4,788
West South Central ...... 44 71 60 268 4,592 9,163 6,696 26,693
Midwest ..................... 156 606 307 225 17,273 84,535 33,238 26,646
East North Central ...... 119 528 254 189 13,995 75,373 26,689 23,087
West North Central ...... 37 78 53 36 3,278 9,162 6,549 3,559
West ........................ 305 554 532 450 25,539 41,901 45,837 47,522
Mountain ................ 23 49 50 43 2,166 4,519 4,688 3,675
Pacific ................. 282 505 482 407 23,373 37,382 41,149 43,847
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
September July August September September July August September
2007 2008 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008
Total (1) ............ 717 1,891 1,427 1,292 67,385 200,382 139,999 129,586
Alabama ................. 18 67 24 12 1,836 7,072 3,288 1,090
Alaska .................. (2) - - 3 (2) - - 241
Arizona ................. (2) 15 7 8 (2) 1,422 488 586
Arkansas ................ 6 13 8 3 565 1,606 613 359
California .............. 256 460 439 358 21,144 33,250 36,120 34,584
Colorado ................ 3 4 3 3 261 343 258 196
Connecticut ............. (2) 6 4 6 (2) 579 368 402
Delaware ................ (2) (2) 3 (2) (2) (2) 694 (2)
District of Columbia .... - - (2) - - - (2) -
Florida ................. 47 123 126 96 2,985 7,555 9,849 5,988
Georgia ................. 18 39 32 20 1,633 3,949 2,938 1,885
Hawaii .................. (2) 4 4 9 (2) 271 408 919
Idaho ................... 3 7 10 4 222 619 1,120 324
Illinois ................ 31 56 55 43 3,486 7,674 6,164 4,941
Indiana ................. 11 67 40 34 2,826 8,787 4,359 4,314
Iowa .................... 8 16 18 10 840 2,068 3,727 1,455
Kansas .................. 4 8 4 6 295 731 291 478
Kentucky ................ 14 63 34 24 2,611 11,907 5,487 2,351
Louisiana ............... 8 10 10 163 563 1,645 851 14,929
Maine ................... (2) 5 3 (2) (2) 359 217 (2)
Maryland ................ 6 5 8 5 431 443 762 349
Massachusetts ........... 3 16 6 4 196 1,107 495 310
Michigan ................ 24 212 48 40 2,844 27,672 3,669 4,130
Minnesota ............... 4 12 5 4 524 1,452 334 430
Mississippi ............. 4 13 15 6 471 1,330 908 463
Missouri ................ 16 39 21 16 1,141 3,763 1,490 1,196
Montana ................. (2) 4 (2) (2) (2) 234 (2) (2)
Nebraska ................ 5 (2) 3 - 478 (2) 271 -
Nevada .................. 7 15 23 18 529 1,637 1,912 1,604
New Hampshire ........... - 4 3 (2) - 426 170 (2)
New Jersey .............. 19 56 38 17 1,985 4,110 3,151 1,663
New Mexico .............. 3 (2) 5 4 644 (2) 728 440
New York ................ 24 103 94 36 1,914 10,764 10,760 2,905
North Carolina .......... (2) 12 25 9 (2) 1,128 3,123 793
North Dakota ............ - (2) (2) - - (2) (2) -
Ohio .................... 29 117 62 32 2,579 19,402 7,994 5,912
Oklahoma ................ 5 5 (2) 5 858 575 (2) 789
Oregon .................. 15 25 28 21 1,324 2,498 3,741 2,942
Pennsylvania ............ 43 88 70 74 4,005 7,974 6,521 5,898
Rhode Island ............ - (2) 5 (2) - (2) 390 (2)
South Carolina .......... 3 29 12 16 242 2,958 2,232 1,793
South Dakota ............ - - - - - - - -
Tennessee ............... (2) 18 17 12 (2) 1,412 1,496 884
Texas ................... 25 43 40 97 2,606 5,337 5,124 10,616
Utah .................... 3 (2) (2) 3 220 (2) (2) 243
Vermont ................. 4 (2) 3 (2) 331 (2) 664 (2)
Virginia ................ (2) 9 4 4 (2) 1,475 361 546
Washington .............. 8 16 11 16 616 1,363 880 5,161
West Virginia ........... - - (2) (2) - - (2) (2)
Wisconsin ............... 24 76 49 40 2,260 11,838 4,503 3,790
Wyoming ................. - - - (2) - - - (2)
Puerto Rico ............. 8 12 18 18 750 1,227 1,958 1,715
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
