For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, November 20, 2009 USDL-09-1404
Technical information: (202) 691-6392 * mlsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
MASS LAYOFFS -- OCTOBER 2009
Employers took 2,127 mass layoff actions in October that resulted in the
separation of 217,182 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new fil-
ings 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 October decreased
by 434 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims de-
creased by 30,824. Over the year, the number of mass layoff events decreased
by 77, and associated initial claims decreased by 13,148. Year-to-date mass
layoff events (25,872) and initial claims (2,627,390) both recorded program
highs. (Data begin in April 1995.) In October, 619 mass layoff events were
reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in
70,572 initial claims. Over the month, the number of manufacturing events de-
creased by 237, and associated initial claims decreased by 26,494. (See
table 1.)
During the 23 months from December 2007 through October 2009, the total num-
ber of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 49,357, and the number
of initial claims filed (seasonally adjusted) in those events was 5,021,824.
(December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National
Bureau of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 10.2 percent in October 2009, seasonally
adjusted, up from 9.8 percent the prior month and from 6.6 percent a year
earlier. In October, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 190,000
over the month and by 5,504,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in October was 1,934 on a not seasonally
adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 193,904. (See
table 2.) Over the year, the number of mass layoff events decreased by 191,
and associated initial claims decreased by 27,880. Three of the 19 major
industry sectors in the private economy reported program highs in terms of
average weekly initial claimants for the month of October: construction;
wholesale trade; and management of companies and enterprises. Both state
and local government reached October highs in terms of average weekly claims.
(Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months.
See the Technical Note.)
The manufacturing sector accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff events
and 36 percent of initial claims filed in October 2009. A year earlier, man-
ufacturing made up 32 percent of events and 45 percent of initial claims.
Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in October was greatest in
transportation equipment (17,069) and machinery (10,892). Transportation
equipment had the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-19,041),
while machinery had the highest increase (+2,995) among all three-digit NAICS
industries. (See table 3.)
The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent of both
mass layoff events and initial claims, down slightly from 16 percent of events
and 14 percent of initial claims in October 2008. The construction sector ac-
counted for 11 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims, about the
same as a year earlier (10 percent and 7 percent, respectively).
The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims in
October 2009 was temporary help services. Of the 10 detailed industries with
the largest number of mass layoff initial claims, 3 reached a series high for
any October: construction machinery manufacturing; highway, street, and bridge
construction; and food service contractors. (See table A.)
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial
claims in October 2009, not seasonally adjusted
October peak
Industry
Initial Year Initial
claims claims
Temporary help services (1) .................. 14,056 1998 18,760
Motion picture and video production .......... 6,566 1997 7,692
Professional employer organizations (1) ...... 6,402 2008 7,242
Automobile manufacturing ..................... 5,041 2008 10,508
Construction machinery manufacturing ......... 4,770 2009 4,770
Highway, street, and bridge construction ..... 3,870 2009 3,870
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ...... 3,399 1998 9,617
Food service contractors ..................... 3,233 2009 3,233
Discount department stores ................... 3,193 2002 4,959
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ...... 3,032 2001 5,795
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the four census regions, the West registered the highest number of in-
itial claims in October due to mass layoffs, followed by the Midwest and the
South. (See table 5.) Initial claims associated with mass layoffs decreased
over the year in all of the regions, with the Midwest experiencing the largest
decrease (-14,418), mostly in transportation equipment manufacturing.
Of the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific had the highest number of ini-
tial claims due to mass layoffs in October, followed by the East North Central,
the South Atlantic, and the Middle Atlantic. (See table 5.) Eight of the 9 di-
visions experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by the
East North Central (-10,919).
California recorded the highest number of initial claims in October, followed
by Illinois, Florida, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. (See table 6.)
Twenty-six states experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led
by Michigan (-7,308), Ohio (-7,195), and Kentucky (-3,671); all three exper-
ienced the largest decreases in initial claims in transportation equipment
manufacturing. In 2009, eight states reached program highs in average weekly
initial claims for the month of October: Arizona, Iowa, Montana, New Mexico,
New York, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Note
The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more work-
ers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. For
private nonfarm establishments, information on the length of the layoff is ob-
tained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs
lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quart-
erly release provides more information on the industry classification and lo-
cation 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 November is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, December 22,
2009, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
Technical Note
The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during
a consecutive 5-week period. These employers then are contacted by the
state agency to determine whether these separations lasted 31 days or
longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is collected.
States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.
A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month. All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks. The number of weeks in a given
month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in a
year may vary. Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year
change in not seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect
into consideration.
The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay
Service: (800) 877-8339.
Definitions
Employer. Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state
unemployment insurance laws. Information on employers is obtained from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is adminis-
tered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Industry. Employers are classified according to the 2007 version of the
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For temporary help
and professional employers organization industries, monthly MLS-related
statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client companies
in other industries. An individual layoff action at a client company can
be small, but when initial claimants associated with many such layoffs are
assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a
mass layoff event may trigger.
Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insur-
ance benefits filed against an employer during a 5-week period, regardless
of duration.
Seasonal adjustment
Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish-
ing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series. The six series are the
numbers of mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total,
private nonfarm, and manufacturing sectors.
Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expan-
sions and contractions.
The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis. Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most recent 5 years
of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a year with the issuance of
December data. Before the data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments
are made to the original data to adjust them for differences in the number
of weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly unemployment
insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data, a particular month's
value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in 1 year and 4 weeks in
another. The effects of these differences could seriously distort the sea-
sonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process. These
effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently removed from
the final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, November 2005 to
October 2009, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
September .................. 2,561 248,006 2,324 229,371 856 97,066
October .................... 2,127 217,182 1,918 198,453 619 70,572
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, November 2005 to
October 2009, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
September .................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 448 51,126
October .................... 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 566 69,655
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Industry
October August September October October August September October
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 2,204 2,690 2,561 2,127 230,330 259,307 248,006 217,182
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 2,042 2,428 2,324 1,918 216,095 237,302 229,371 198,453
Manufacturing ............................... 687 900 856 619 92,256 93,892 97,066 70,572
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 2,125 1,428 1,371 1,934 221,784 125,024 123,177 193,904
Total, private .................................. 2,034 1,356 1,285 1,806 213,602 118,920 116,813 181,476
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 117 22 27 128 8,049 1,727 1,672 8,593
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 1,917 1,334 1,258 1,678 205,553 117,193 115,141 172,883
Mining ...................................... 6 9 10 15 449 603 918 1,038
Utilities ................................... (2) (2) 6 6 (2) (2) 448 550
Construction ................................ 206 160 167 205 14,864 11,904 10,637 15,258
Manufacturing ............................... 689 436 448 566 100,457 41,151 51,126 69,655
Food .................................... 75 41 50 91 11,144 3,632 5,044 8,999
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 7 5 5 12 488 937 306 1,001
Textile mills ........................... 20 (2) 12 9 2,925 (2) 1,197 1,407
Textile product mills ................... 10 5 (2) 3 792 557 (2) 419
Apparel ................................. 9 15 7 7 914 1,317 572 438
Leather and allied products ............. (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2) (2) -
Wood products ........................... 68 19 36 41 6,932 1,423 2,653 4,326
Paper ................................... 17 8 15 14 1,392 576 1,287 1,216
Printing and related support activities . 10 9 10 17 1,042 714 828 1,337
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) - - 3 (2) - - 312
Chemicals ............................... 13 10 9 8 1,394 843 540 533
Plastics and rubber products ............ 47 17 13 35 4,903 1,532 1,195 2,672
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 21 18 12 16 1,755 1,147 763 1,172
Primary metals .......................... 48 31 30 44 6,038 2,742 3,330 4,703
Fabricated metal products ............... 47 43 44 49 4,632 3,501 3,856 4,702
Machinery ............................... 43 74 63 51 7,897 6,608 12,389 10,892
Computer and electronic products ........ 36 30 28 29 3,705 2,535 1,986 2,169
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 21 18 23 29 3,873 1,853 2,740 3,394
Transportation equipment ................ 149 68 53 72 36,110 9,076 7,331 17,069
Furniture and related products .......... 32 13 22 22 2,902 941 3,481 1,865
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 13 6 11 14 1,210 577 1,117 1,029
Wholesale trade ............................. 38 34 32 50 2,573 2,714 2,422 4,645
Retail trade ................................ 161 111 139 124 15,328 10,173 13,094 12,914
Transportation and warehousing .............. 75 101 47 61 6,007 9,131 4,807 5,541
Information ................................. 49 46 45 57 7,820 6,067 4,572 9,567
Finance and insurance ....................... 63 47 43 49 5,025 4,434 3,308 3,716
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 15 7 (2) 13 1,014 404 (2) 870
Professional and technical services ......... 46 32 31 57 3,022 2,302 1,998 5,974
Management of companies and enterprises ..... 4 (2) 5 6 337 (2) 495 812
Administrative and waste services ........... 334 195 142 260 30,945 15,604 11,525 25,694
Educational services ........................ 5 13 7 3 292 1,796 371 226
Health care and social assistance ........... 39 31 23 37 2,823 1,947 1,573 2,165
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 42 19 29 34 3,106 1,403 2,209 2,435
Accommodation and food services ............. 125 74 73 126 10,278 6,034 4,981 11,346
Other services, except public administration 16 13 7 9 962 1,076 409 477
Unclassified ................................ (2) - (2) - (2) - (2) -
Government ...................................... 91 72 86 128 8,182 6,104 6,364 12,428
Federal ..................................... 19 14 8 28 1,746 1,381 603 2,550
State ....................................... 30 19 28 32 2,985 1,717 2,082 3,433
Local ....................................... 42 39 50 68 3,451 3,006 3,679 6,445
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, October 2007 to October 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
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)339,630 44.7 82.2
July ....................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018
August ..................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146
September .................. 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505
Third Quarter .............. 4,610 469,967 4,232 441,669 (r)1,581 (r)304,340 37.4 68.9
October .................... 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553
November ................... 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657
December ................... 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220
Fourth Quarter ............. 8,076 814,678 7,538 772,430 3,582 (r)766,592 47.5 (r)99.2
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 (r)835,017 50.3 (r)103.4
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 (r)3,396 (r)727,494 (r)48.5 (r)99.2
July ....................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589
August ..................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193
September .................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141
Third Quarter .............. 5,853 584,855 5,251 528,923 (2)(p)1,776 (2)(p)266,938 (p)33.8 (p)50.5
October .................... 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883
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
October August September October October August September October
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
United States (1) ... 2,125 1,428 1,371 1,934 221,784 125,024 123,177 193,904
Northeast ................... 270 279 233 260 23,945 26,444 18,617 22,709
New England ............. 25 32 29 30 2,522 2,953 2,762 2,134
Middle Atlantic ......... 245 247 204 230 21,423 23,491 15,855 20,575
South ....................... 538 342 334 499 53,087 29,486 28,943 45,772
South Atlantic .......... 295 204 182 279 25,535 17,732 14,927 23,144
East South Central ...... 111 57 71 87 15,162 4,820 6,844 9,545
West South Central ...... 132 81 81 133 12,390 6,934 7,172 13,083
Midwest ..................... 511 350 309 483 75,210 32,197 38,137 60,792
East North Central ...... 406 273 240 375 60,196 25,962 30,304 49,277
West North Central ...... 105 77 69 108 15,014 6,235 7,833 11,515
West ........................ 806 457 495 692 69,542 36,897 37,480 64,631
Mountain ................ 98 63 53 103 9,191 6,116 3,924 9,020
Pacific ................. 708 394 442 589 60,351 30,781 33,556 55,611
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
October August September October October August September October
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Total (1) ............ 2,125 1,428 1,371 1,934 221,784 125,024 123,177 193,904
Alabama ................. 26 23 22 27 3,865 1,997 2,044 3,179
Alaska .................. 13 4 7 8 1,631 295 849 755
Arizona ................. 13 10 7 20 979 977 463 1,666
Arkansas ................ 18 4 (2) 17 1,877 260 (2) 1,954
California .............. 621 340 395 514 51,286 26,082 28,797 48,169
Colorado ................ 11 5 14 19 1,143 374 1,036 1,554
Connecticut ............. 4 4 4 9 540 334 323 671
Delaware ................ (2) (2) (2) 3 (2) (2) (2) 251
District of Columbia .... - (2) - (2) - (2) - (2)
Florida ................. 176 104 91 167 12,946 7,795 5,975 11,851
Georgia ................. 61 23 35 39 6,825 2,202 2,817 3,880
Hawaii .................. 9 8 6 7 910 872 465 630
Idaho ................... 22 9 4 10 2,682 1,305 306 1,088
Illinois ................ 64 82 71 93 7,842 7,432 10,743 12,917
Indiana ................. 63 30 21 37 7,961 3,182 2,895 4,759
Iowa .................... 23 17 18 35 3,818 1,359 2,384 4,732
Kansas .................. 18 14 15 13 2,543 945 2,880 1,562
Kentucky ................ 46 22 32 36 8,327 2,006 3,394 4,656
Louisiana ............... 22 18 10 24 1,662 1,698 887 2,169
Maine ................... (2) (2) 3 3 (2) (2) 268 177
Maryland ................ 11 10 7 6 885 759 463 479
Massachusetts ........... 11 13 12 9 980 1,357 985 596
Michigan ................ 81 43 40 70 16,851 3,593 6,167 9,543
Minnesota ............... 23 13 15 24 1,880 948 1,122 1,985
Mississippi ............. 17 5 5 10 1,513 349 323 602
Missouri ................ 35 28 16 31 5,877 2,549 1,018 2,556
Montana ................. 5 3 3 11 573 258 227 1,062
Nebraska ................ 5 (2) 3 4 819 (2) 210 559
Nevada .................. 29 30 15 19 2,421 2,879 1,201 1,361
New Hampshire ........... 3 6 (2) 3 310 454 (2) 263
New Jersey .............. 45 27 31 37 3,670 2,162 2,844 2,850
New Mexico .............. 5 4 7 11 396 191 487 761
New York ................ 54 106 58 68 4,725 11,405 4,424 6,961
North Carolina .......... 18 19 8 19 1,838 2,523 918 1,672
North Dakota ............ (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Ohio .................... 118 58 47 75 17,764 5,941 4,745 10,569
Oklahoma ................ 6 8 4 7 1,137 679 401 582
Oregon .................. 36 21 15 35 3,883 1,691 1,402 3,936
Pennsylvania ............ 146 114 115 125 13,028 9,924 8,587 10,764
Rhode Island ............ 3 5 3 (2) 325 456 260 (2)
South Carolina .......... 23 20 18 19 2,268 2,133 2,831 2,692
South Dakota ............ - (2) - - - (2) - -
Tennessee ............... 22 7 12 14 1,457 468 1,083 1,108
Texas ................... 86 51 65 85 7,714 4,297 5,715 8,378
Utah .................... 9 (2) 3 9 721 (2) 204 1,058
Vermont ................. (2) (2) 5 3 (2) (2) 507 254
Virginia ................ 4 21 22 22 655 1,652 1,868 1,955
Washington .............. 29 21 19 25 2,641 1,841 2,043 2,121
West Virginia ........... - 4 - 3 - 272 - 250
Wisconsin ............... 80 60 61 100 9,778 5,814 5,754 11,489
Wyoming ................. 4 - - 4 276 - - 470
Puerto Rico ............. 13 15 17 12 1,117 1,326 1,563 1,079
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
