For release 3:00 p.m. (EST) Tuesday, December 22, 2009 USDL-09-1561
Technical information: (202) 691-6392 * mlsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
MASS LAYOFFS -- NOVEMBER 2009
Employers took 1,797 mass layoff actions in November that resulted in
the separation of 165,346 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 November decreased by 330 from the prior month, and the num-
ber of associated initial claims decreased by 51,836, to their lowest
levels since July 2008. However, year-to-date mass layoff events
(27,669) and initial claims (2,792,736) both recorded program highs
for a January to November period. (Data begin in April 1995.) In No-
vember, 481 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing
sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 56,243 initial claims. Both
the number of events and initial claims in manufacturing decreased
over the month. (See table 1.)
During the 24 months from December 2007 through November 2009, the
total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 51,154,
and the number of initial claims filed (seasonally adjusted) in those
events was 5,187,170. (December 2007 was the start of a recession as
designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 10.0 percent in November 2009, sea-
sonally adjusted, down from 10.2 percent the prior month but up from
6.8 percent a year earlier. In November, total nonfarm payroll employ-
ment decreased by 11,000 over the month and by 4,759,000 from a year
earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in November was 1,870 on a not sea-
sonally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was
164,496. (See table 2.) Over the year, the number of mass layoff
events decreased by 704, and associated initial claims decreased by
77,093. Thirteen of the 19 major industry sectors in the private
economy reported over-the-year decreases in initial claimants for the
month of November, led by manufacturing (-52,567), administrative and
waste services (-8,122), retail trade (-6,346), and construction
(-5,873).
Three of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy report-
ed program highs in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the
month of November: arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation
and food services; and other services, except public administration.
(Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of
months. See the Technical Note.)
The manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of all mass layoff
events and 33 percent of initial claims filed in November 2009. A year
earlier, manufacturing made up 39 percent of events and 45 percent of
initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in Novem-
ber was greatest in transportation equipment and food. Transportation
equipment manufacturing had the largest over-the-year decrease in ini-
tial claims (-11,236), while food services and drinking places had the
highest increase (+2,862) among all three-digit North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) industries. (See table 3.)
The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims
in November 2009 was highway, street, and bridge construction. Of the
10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial
claims, only the motorcycle, bicycle, and parts manufacturing indus-
try reached a series high for the month of November. (See table A.)
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial
claims in November 2009, not seasonally adjusted
November peak
Industry
Initial Year Initial
claims claims
Highway, street, and bridge construction ...... 8,933 2001 14,805
Temporary help services (1) ................... 7,991 2000 19,023
Food service contractors ...................... 6,004 2007 6,163
School and employee bus transportation ........ 3,447 2007 4,547
Automobile manufacturing ...................... 2,867 2007 8,416
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ....... 2,807 1999 11,613
Motorcycle, bicycle, and parts manufacturing... 2,644 2009 2,644
Motion picture and video production ........... 2,637 2000 8,664
Professional employer organizations (1) ....... 2,506 2008 5,873
Casino hotels ................................. 2,436 2006 2,706
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the four census regions, the Midwest registered the highest num-
ber of initial claims in November due to mass layoffs, followed by the
West 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 (-33,741), mostly in transportation
equipment manufacturing.
Of the nine geographic divisions, the East North Central had the high-
est number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in November, followed
by the Pacific, the Middle Atlantic, and the South Atlantic. (See
table 5.) Seven of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases
in initial claims, led by the East North Central (-26,022).
California recorded the highest number of initial claims in November,
followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. (See
table 6.) Thirty-seven states experienced over-the-year decreases in
initial claims, led by California (-15,768), Indiana (-9,097), Ohio
(-6,447), and Michigan (-6,108). In 2009, three states reached program
highs in average weekly initial claims for the month of November:
Nevada, North Carolina, and Wyoming.
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 re-
lease that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (refer-
red to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides
more information on the industry classification and location of the
establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Be-
cause monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less,
the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher
than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.
(See table 4.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
_____________
The Mass Layoffs in December 2009 and Annual Totals for 2009 news
release is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2010,
at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
--------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data |
| |
|In accordance with usual practice, the release of mass layoff |
|data for December 2009, scheduled for January 27, 2010, will |
|incorporate annual updating of seasonal adjustment factors. |
|Seasonally adjusted estimates back to January 2005 are sub- |
|ject to revision. |
| |
--------------------------------------------------------------
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, December 2005 to
November 2009, seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
November ................... 1,797 165,346 1,636 153,297 481 56,243
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, December 2005 to
November 2009, not seasonally adjusted
Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing
Date
Initial Initial Initial
Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants
2005
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
November ................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 517 55,053
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
Mass layoff events unemployment insurance
Industry
November September October November November September October November
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..................................... 2,333 2,561 2,127 1,797 225,639 248,006 217,182 165,346
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 2,185 2,324 1,918 1,636 213,288 229,371 198,453 153,297
Manufacturing ............................... 868 856 619 481 100,643 97,066 70,572 56,243
Not seasonally adjusted
Total (1) ................................. 2,574 1,371 1,934 1,870 241,589 123,177 193,904 164,496
Total, private .................................. 2,502 1,285 1,806 1,791 235,560 116,813 181,476 158,146
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .. 113 27 128 112 8,903 1,672 8,593 7,395
Total, private nonfarm ........................ 2,389 1,258 1,678 1,679 226,657 115,141 172,883 150,751
Mining ...................................... 22 10 15 22 2,004 918 1,038 1,551
Utilities ................................... 3 6 6 3 332 448 550 206
Construction ................................ 382 167 205 308 29,775 10,637 15,258 23,902
Manufacturing ............................... 997 448 566 517 107,620 51,126 69,655 55,053
Food .................................... 71 50 91 61 7,123 5,044 8,999 6,631
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 9 5 12 9 620 306 1,001 682
Textile mills ........................... 19 12 9 12 2,558 1,197 1,407 1,337
Textile product mills ................... 10 (2) 3 - 669 (2) 419 -
Apparel ................................. 16 7 7 17 1,783 572 438 1,361
Leather and allied products ............. 3 (2) - (2) 270 (2) - (2)
Wood products ........................... 93 36 41 40 9,439 2,653 4,326 3,505
Paper ................................... 28 15 14 (2) 2,645 1,287 1,216 (2)
Printing and related support activities . 14 10 17 10 1,527 828 1,337 888
Petroleum and coal products ............. 11 - 3 11 929 - 312 852
Chemicals ............................... 20 9 8 13 2,042 540 533 1,239
Plastics and rubber products ............ 74 13 35 29 7,013 1,195 2,672 2,802
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 55 12 16 30 4,937 763 1,172 2,514
Primary metals .......................... 74 30 44 38 7,813 3,330 4,703 3,426
Fabricated metal products ............... 104 44 49 36 8,905 3,856 4,702 2,764
Machinery ............................... 62 63 51 44 9,019 12,389 10,892 5,080
Computer and electronic products ........ 40 28 29 25 3,592 1,986 2,169 2,788
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 27 23 29 18 2,891 2,740 3,394 1,379
Transportation equipment ................ 190 53 72 86 25,042 7,331 17,069 13,806
Furniture and related products .......... 55 22 22 19 6,716 3,481 1,865 2,407
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 22 11 14 11 2,087 1,117 1,029 931
Wholesale trade ............................. 65 32 50 33 4,779 2,422 4,645 2,389
Retail trade ................................ 155 139 124 99 13,429 13,094 12,914 7,083
Transportation and warehousing .............. 99 47 61 83 7,749 4,807 5,541 6,651
Information ................................. 48 45 57 52 5,390 4,572 9,567 5,414
Finance and insurance ....................... 48 43 49 33 3,591 3,308 3,716 2,691
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... 18 (2) 13 13 1,084 (2) 870 963
Professional and technical services ......... 66 31 57 55 6,695 1,998 5,974 4,651
Management of companies and enterprises ..... 10 5 6 3 656 495 812 290
Administrative and waste services ........... 280 142 260 220 26,341 11,525 25,694 18,219
Educational services ........................ 5 7 3 6 365 371 226 453
Health care and social assistance ........... 33 23 37 38 2,775 1,573 2,165 2,886
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... 33 29 34 45 2,642 2,209 2,435 3,705
Accommodation and food services ............. 115 73 126 129 10,682 4,981 11,346 13,264
Other services, except public administration 10 7 9 20 748 409 477 1,380
Unclassified ................................ - (2) - - - (2) - -
Government ...................................... 72 86 128 79 6,029 6,364 12,428 6,350
Federal ..................................... 11 8 28 12 860 603 2,550 1,155
State ....................................... 21 28 32 25 1,797 2,082 3,433 2,213
Local ....................................... 40 50 68 42 3,372 3,679 6,445 2,982
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 November 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 1,756 339,630 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 1,581 304,340 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 3,582 766,592 47.5 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 3,979 835,017 50.3 103.4
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 3,396 727,494 48.5 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
November ................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751
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
November September October November November September October November
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
United States (1) ... 2,574 1,371 1,934 1,870 241,589 123,177 193,904 164,496
Northeast ................... 314 233 260 285 28,791 18,617 22,709 26,974
New England ............. 40 29 30 40 3,505 2,762 2,134 3,750
Middle Atlantic ......... 274 204 230 245 25,286 15,855 20,575 23,224
South ....................... 616 334 499 413 56,608 28,943 45,772 37,708
South Atlantic .......... 304 182 279 207 25,648 14,927 23,144 19,029
East South Central ...... 196 71 87 83 19,725 6,844 9,545 6,656
West South Central ...... 116 81 133 123 11,235 7,172 13,083 12,023
Midwest ..................... 824 309 483 530 85,730 38,137 60,792 51,989
East North Central ...... 645 240 375 382 65,287 30,304 49,277 39,265
West North Central ...... 179 69 108 148 20,443 7,833 11,515 12,724
West ........................ 820 495 692 642 70,460 37,480 64,631 47,825
Mountain ................ 126 53 103 98 11,050 3,924 9,020 9,393
Pacific ................. 694 442 589 544 59,410 33,556 55,611 38,432
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
November September October November November September October November
2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009
Total (1) ............ 2,574 1,371 1,934 1,870 241,589 123,177 193,904 164,496
Alabama ................. 48 22 27 16 5,289 2,044 3,179 1,266
Alaska .................. (2) 7 8 3 (2) 849 755 361
Arizona ................. 20 7 20 9 1,603 463 1,666 709
Arkansas ................ 21 (2) 17 9 2,026 (2) 1,954 973
California .............. 580 395 514 472 47,690 28,797 48,169 31,922
Colorado ................ 15 14 19 14 1,162 1,036 1,554 1,064
Connecticut ............. 3 4 9 5 186 323 671 424
Delaware ................ 6 (2) 3 6 415 (2) 251 347
District of Columbia .... (2) - (2) (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Florida ................. 151 91 167 86 10,582 5,975 11,851 6,010
Georgia ................. 51 35 39 26 4,970 2,817 3,880 3,225
Hawaii .................. 9 6 7 7 641 465 630 488
Idaho ................... 27 4 10 19 2,298 306 1,088 2,071
Illinois ................ 126 71 93 101 11,564 10,743 12,917 10,794
Indiana ................. 111 21 37 43 13,420 2,895 4,759 4,323
Iowa .................... 49 18 35 25 8,213 2,384 4,732 2,648
Kansas .................. 14 15 13 8 1,321 2,880 1,562 741
Kentucky ................ 78 32 36 41 9,210 3,394 4,656 3,649
Louisiana ............... 13 10 24 35 1,093 887 2,169 2,795
Maine ................... 4 3 3 6 451 268 177 674
Maryland ................ 7 7 6 6 828 463 479 486
Massachusetts ........... 18 12 9 11 1,459 985 596 803
Michigan ................ 157 40 70 78 14,657 6,167 9,543 8,549
Minnesota ............... 60 15 24 55 5,442 1,122 1,985 4,905
Mississippi ............. 34 5 10 9 2,736 323 602 512
Missouri ................ 44 16 31 48 3,087 1,018 2,556 3,195
Montana ................. 11 3 11 10 1,226 227 1,062 758
Nebraska ................ 4 3 4 6 450 210 559 611
Nevada .................. 33 15 19 33 2,992 1,201 1,361 3,891
New Hampshire ........... 4 (2) 3 4 311 (2) 263 279
New Jersey .............. 46 31 37 52 5,665 2,844 2,850 5,277
New Mexico .............. 9 7 11 7 554 487 761 476
New York ................ 79 58 68 75 7,366 4,424 6,961 6,281
North Carolina .......... 34 8 19 30 3,410 918 1,672 4,273
North Dakota ............ 5 (2) (2) 5 1,631 (2) (2) 557
Ohio .................... 120 47 75 59 11,680 4,745 10,569 5,233
Oklahoma ................ 18 4 7 10 1,708 401 582 1,438
Oregon .................. 60 15 35 35 7,259 1,402 3,936 3,464
Pennsylvania ............ 149 115 125 118 12,255 8,587 10,764 11,666
Rhode Island ............ - 3 (2) 3 - 260 (2) 297
South Carolina .......... 36 18 19 20 3,916 2,831 2,692 1,456
South Dakota ............ 3 - - (2) 299 - - (2)
Tennessee ............... 36 12 14 17 2,490 1,083 1,108 1,229
Texas ................... 64 65 85 69 6,408 5,715 8,378 6,817
Utah .................... 10 3 9 4 1,161 204 1,058 256
Vermont ................. 11 5 3 11 1,098 507 254 1,273
Virginia ................ 16 22 22 31 1,316 1,868 1,955 3,021
Washington .............. 44 19 25 27 3,724 2,043 2,121 2,197
West Virginia ........... (2) - 3 (2) (2) - 250 (2)
Wisconsin ............... 131 61 100 101 13,966 5,754 11,489 10,366
Wyoming ................. (2) - 4 (2) (2) - 470 (2)
Puerto Rico ............. 14 17 12 22 1,686 1,563 1,079 2,177
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
