Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0506
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Tuesday, May 12, 2009
EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2009
Employers initiated 3,489 mass layoff events in the first quarter
of 2009 that resulted in the separation of 558,909 workers from their
jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released
by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both
the number of extended mass layoff events and associated separations
reached their highest first quarter levels in program history (with
data available back to 1996), and both measures more than doubled
from the first quarter of 2008. (See table A.)
The number of separations reached first quarter program highs in 12
of 18 major industry sectors, all 4 geographic regions, and 32 states.
Separations due to business demand reasons (especially slack work/in-
sufficient demand) set a program high, while those associated with fi-
nancial issues reached a high for the first quarter. Each category
more than tripled over the year. Twenty-seven percent of employers
reporting an extended layoff in the first quarter of 2009 indicated
they anticipated some recall of workers, the lowest proportion in pro-
gram history. First quarter 2009 layoff data are preliminary and are
subject to revision. (See the Technical Note.)
The national unemployment rate averaged 8.8 percent, not seasonally
adjusted, in the first quarter of 2009, up from 5.3 percent a year
earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted,
decreased by 3.1 percent (-4,342,000) over the year.
Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs
Manufacturing firms reported 1,380 extended mass layoff events
involving 215,281 separations, the highest first quarter levels for
____________________________________________________________
| |
| Upcoming Changes to the Extended Mass Layoffs Release |
| |
| Changes will be introduced with the issuance of 2nd |
| quarter 2009 preliminary extended mass layoff data sched- |
| uled for release on Wednesday, August 12, 2009. For fur- |
| ther information on these changes, see the note on page 9. |
| |
|____________________________________________________________|
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Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity
Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants
2005
January-March .......... 1,142 186,506 185,486
April-June ............. 1,203 246,099 212,673
July-September ......... 1,136 201,878 190,186
October-December ....... 1,400 250,178 246,188
2006
January-March .......... 963 183,089 193,510
April-June ............. 1,353 295,964 264,927
July-September ......... 929 160,254 161,764
October-December ....... 1,640 296,662 330,954
2007
January-March .......... 1,110 225,600 199,250
April-June ............. 1,421 278,719 259,234
July-September ......... 1,018 160,024 173,077
October-December ....... 1,814 301,592 347,151
2008
January-March (r) ...... 1,340 230,098 259,292
April-June (r) ......... 1,756 354,713 339,574
July-September (r) ..... 1,582 290,892 303,774
October-December (r) ... 3,585 642,154 762,737
2009
January-March (p) ...... 3,489 558,909 542,023
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
the industry on record (with data available back to 1996). Manufac-
turing industries were responsible for 40 percent of private nonfarm
extended layoff events and 39 percent of related separations in the
first quarter of 2009. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 31 per-
cent of events and 37 percent of separations. (See table 1.) The
largest numbers of separations within manufacturing were associated
with transportation equipment manufacturing (65,304, mostly associated
with automobile manufacturing) and computer and electronic products
manufacturing (23,706).
In the first quarter of 2009, 12 major industry sectors reported
first quarter program highs in terms of the number of worker separa-
tions--mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transpor-
tation and warehousing; finance and insurance; real estate and rental
and leasing; professional and technical services; management of com-
panies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational
services; and accommodation and food services.
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Table B. Distribution of extended layoff events and separations by
economic reason categories, January-March 2009(p)
Layoff events Separations
Category
Number Percent Number Percent
Total .................. 3,489 100.0 558,909 100.0
Business demand ............. 1,921 55.1 279,022 49.9
Organizational changes ...... 183 5.2 41,409 7.4
Financial issues ............ 392 11.2 89,487 16.0
Production specific ......... 15 0.4 3,944 0.7
Disaster/safety ............. 5 0.1 478 0.1
Seasonal .................... 316 9.1 47,598 8.5
Other/miscellaneous ......... 657 18.8 96,971 17.4
p = preliminary.
Reasons for Extended Layoffs
Among the seven categories of economic reasons for extended mass
layoffs, business demand factors (contract cancellation, contract
completion, domestic competition, excess inventory, import competition,
and slack work) accounted for 55 percent of the events and 50 percent
of separations during the first quarter of 2009. This compared to 45
percent of events and 40 percent of separations in the same period a
year earlier. (See table 2.) Separations related to these business
demand factors more than tripled over the year from 91,585 to 279,022,
with those due to slack work/insufficient demand/nonseasonal business
slowdown increasing from 56,494 to 211,168.
Extended mass layoffs stemming from financial issues (bankruptcy,
cost control, and financial difficulty) sharply increased from 122
events associated with 26,859 separations in the first quarter 2008
to 392 events and 89,487 separations in the first quarter 2009. Re-
tail trade accounted for the largest number of separations due to fi-
nancial issues, mostly in electronics and appliance stores and in gen-
eral merchandise stores.
Movement of Work
In the first quarter of 2009, 77 extended mass layoffs involved
the movement of work and were associated with 12,736 separated workers.
(See table C.) A year earlier, there were 59 layoff events and 13,314
separations associated with the movement of work. These movements of
work were to other domestic locations or to locations outside of the
U.S., and they occurred either within the same company or to other com-
panies. Movement of work layoffs accounted for 2 percent of nonseasonal
layoff events in the first quarter of 2009. (See table 10.)
Among the 77 extended mass layoff events with reported relocation
of work in the first quarter of 2009, 45 percent were permanent clo-
sures of worksites, which affected 5,711 workers. In comparison,
10 percent of the total extended mass layoff events reported for the
quarter involved the permanent closure of worksites and affected
90,960 workers.
Of the layoffs involving the movement of work, 75 percent of the
events and 77 percent of the laid-off workers were from manufacturing
industries during the first quarter. (See table 7.) Among all pri-
vate nonfarm extended layoffs, manufacturing accounted for 40 percent
of the events and 39 percent of separations.
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Table C. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures,
first quarter 2009(p)
Action Layoff events Separations
Total, private nonfarm ................ 3,489 558,909
Total, excluding seasonal and
vacation events (1) ............... 3,173 511,311
Total events with movement
of work (2) ................... 77 12,736
Movement of work actions ...... 105 (3)
With separations reported .. 70 7,295
With separations unknown ... 35 (3)
1 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers when the reason
for layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period.
2 A layoff event can involve more than one movement of work action.
3 Data are not available.
p = preliminary.
In the total private nonfarm sector, 55 percent of the extended mass
layoff events were because of business demand changes. Similarly, such
reasons accounted for 49 percent of layoff events associated with work
relocation and resulted in 5,345 separations during the first quarter.
(See table 8.)
Among the regions, the Midwest accounted for the largest proportion
of workers affected by extended mass layoffs associated with the move-
ment of work (44 percent) followed by the South (26 percent) and the
West (21 percent). (See table 9.) Among the 50 states and the District
of Columbia, Illinois accounted for the largest proportion of workers af-
fected by extended mass layoffs associated with the movement of work
(18 percent), followed by California (11 percent) and Texas (9 percent).
Some extended mass layoff events involve more than one relocation
of work action. For example, an extended mass layoff event at an
employer may involve job loss due to movement of work to both another
domestic location of the company and a location out of the country;
this would be counted as two movement of work actions. The 77 extended
layoff events with movement of work for the first quarter of 2009 in-
volved 105 identifiable relocations of work. An identifiable reloca-
tion of work occurs when the employer provides sufficient information
on the new location of work and/or the number of workers affected by
the movement. Of the 105 relocations, employers were able to provide
information on the specific number of separations associated with the
movement of work component of the layoff in 70 actions involving 7,295
workers. (See table 10.)
Of the 70 actions where employers were able to provide more complete
separations information, 93 percent of relocations occurred within the
same company and 71 percent were domestic reassignments. (See table D.)
Domestic relocation of work affected 3,829 workers, and out-of-country
relocations were associated with 3,466 separations, less than 1 percent
of all nonseasonal and nonvacation extended mass layoff separations.
(See table 11.)
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Table D. Movement of work actions by type of separation where the
number of separations is known by employers, first quarter 2009(p)
Activities Actions(1) Separations
With separations reported .......... 70 7,295
By location
Out-of-country relocations ....... 20 3,466
Within company ................ 20 3,466
Different company ............. - -
Domestic relocations ............. 50 3,829
Within company ................ 45 3,483
Different company ............. 5 346
By company
Within company ................... 65 6,949
Domestic ...................... 45 3,483
Out of country ................ 20 3,466
Different company ................ 5 346
Domestic ...................... 5 346
Out of country ................ - -
1 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of
work were reported are shown.
p = preliminary.
Recall Expectations
Twenty-seven percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in
the first quarter of 2009 indicated they anticipated some type of
recall, down from 40 percent a year earlier and the lowest proportion
in program history (with data available back to 1995). (See table E.)
Of those employers expecting to recall workers, a program low 20 percent
indicated that the offer would be extended to all displaced employees,
and 63 percent of employers anticipated extending the offer to at least
half of the workers. Sixty-one percent of employers expecting to recall
laid-off employees intend to do so within 6 months. Excluding layoff
events due to seasonal work and vacation period, in which 89 percent of
the employers expected a recall, employers anticipated recalling laid-off
workers in 21 percent of the events.
Size of Extended Layoffs
The average size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff
event) in the first quarter of 2009 was 160, compared to 172 per layoff
in first quarter 2008. Layoff events continued to be concentrated at
the lower end of the extended layoff-size spectrum, with 49 percent of
events involving between 50 and 99 workers and 71 percent of events with
less than 150 workers. Similarly, the proportion of events involving
more than 500 workers, less than 4 percent, is the lowest proportion
for any quarter since the program began.
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Table E. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended layoff,
first quarter 2008 - first quarter 2009
Percentage of events
Nature of the recall I II III IV I
2008 2008 2008 2008(r) 2009(p)
Anticipate a recall ............. 40.1 51.1 28.6 42.8 26.9
Timeframe
Within 6 months ............. 69.8 84.5 71.0 77.4 60.7
Within 3 months .......... 45.4 59.1 53.8 34.0 38.8
Size
At least half ............... 73.2 88.3 77.0 77.6 62.6
All workers .............. 28.5 51.7 37.6 35.4 19.7
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
Layoffs involving between 50 and 99 workers accounted for 21 percent
of all separations during the period, and layoffs with less than 150 sep-
arated workers accounted for 37 percent. These proportions are up from
18 and 35 percent respectively from a year earlier. Separations involving
500 or more workers accounted for 25 percent of all separations in the
first quarter of 2009, down slightly from a year earlier. (See table F.)
Initial Claimant Characteristics
A total of 542,023 initial claimants for unemployment insurance
were associated with extended mass layoffs in the first quarter of
2009. Of these claimants, 13 percent were black, 15 percent were
Hispanic, 33 percent were women, 34 percent were 30 to 44 years of
age, and 18 percent were 55 years of age or older. (See table 3.)
Among persons in the civilian labor force for the same period, 11
percent were black, 14 percent were Hispanic, 47 percent were women,
33 percent were age 30 to 44, and 19 percent were 55 years of age or
older.
Geographic Distribution
Among the 4 census regions, the West recorded the highest number of
separations (174,526) due to extended mass layoff events in the first
quarter of 2009, followed by the Midwest with 170,062. All regions
reported first quarter program highs in terms of the number of worker
separations (with data available back to 1996). (See table 4.) Among
the 9 census divisions, the highest number of separations during the
first quarter of 2009 was in the Pacific division (140,311). The East
North Central division had the next highest level of separations, with
139,795. (See table 4.) All divisions, except the East South Central,
reported their highest first quarter number of separations in program
history.
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Table F. Distribution of extended layoff events by size of layoff,
first quarter 2009(p)
Layoff events Separations
Size
Number Percent Number Percent
Total ..................... 3,489 100.0 558,909 100.0
50-99 ................... 1,725 49.4 120,085 21.5
100-149 ................. 742 21.3 87,518 15.7
150-199 ................. 366 10.5 61,373 11.0
200-299 ................. 343 9.8 79,657 14.3
300-499 ................. 188 5.4 68,369 12.2
500-999 ................. 86 2.5 58,626 10.5
1,000 or more ........... 39 1.1 83,281 14.9
p = preliminary.
California recorded the largest number of worker separations
(115,014), followed by Michigan (46,817), Illinois (41,887), and Texas
(33,005). (See table 5.) After excluding the impact of seasonal rea-
sons, California still reported the highest number of job cuts (108,899).
Thirty-two states reported first quarter program highs in terms of num-
bers of separations--Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida,
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Forty-three percent of extended mass layoff events and 39 percent
of separations (218,194) occurred in metropolitan areas in the first
quarter of 2009, compared with 49 percent of events and 45 percent of
separations (104,617) during the first quarter of 2008. Among the 372
metropolitan areas, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., reported the highest
number of separations (14,781) in the first quarter of 2009. Next were
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., with 13,647 separations and
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., with 10,594 separations. (See
table G.) Employers located in nonmetropolitan areas separated 50,262
workers in extended mass layoffs.
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Table G. Mass layoff events and separations, selected metropolitan areas
Events Separations
Metropolitan area I I I I
2008(r) 2009(p) 2008(r) 2009(p)
Total, nonmetropolitan areas .................... 122 392 19,690 50,262
Total, 372 metropolitan areas ................... 661 1,513 104,617 218,194
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. ............... 26 57 4,426 14,781
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. ... 47 87 7,711 13,647
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. .... 86 100 13,416 10,594
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island,
N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ......................... 47 61 9,204 8,688
Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. ....... 6 55 1,126 8,367
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ....... 39 50 4,764 7,736
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas ........... (1) 26 (1) 7,184
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas .......... 6 18 1,159 4,784
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington,
Minn.-Wis. ............................ 9 37 1,250 4,172
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. .... 19 38 2,250 4,107
1 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: The geographic boundaries of the metropolitan areas shown in this table are
defined in Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 09-01, November 20, 2008.
Note
The quarterly series on extended mass layoffs cover layoffs of at
least 31-days duration that involve 50 or more individuals from a single
employer filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a con-
secutive 5-week period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is
triggered, the employer is contacted for additional information. Data
for the first quarter are preliminary and subject to revision. This
release also includes revised data for previous quarters. Data are not
seasonally adjusted, but survey data suggest that there is a seasonal
pattern to layoffs. Thus, comparisons between consecutive quarters
should not be used as an indicator of trend.
For additional information about the program, see the Technical Note.
______________________________
The report on Mass Layoffs in April 2009 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, May 22, 2009.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Upcoming Changes to the Extended |
| Mass Layoffs News Release |
| |
| The following changes will be introduced with the issuance of 2nd quarter |
| 2009 preliminary extended mass layoff data scheduled for release on Wednesday, |
| August 12, 2009. |
| |
| --Tables B-D will be dropped, as the information is replicated within the |
| current numbered tables 2, 10, and 11, respectively. |
| |
| --Table E will become the new table 11. This table will be expanded to show |
| the recall expectations of employers disaggregated by whether extended lay- |
| off events were due to seasonal/vacation factors or nonseasonal factors. |
| |
| --Table F will become table 13. |
| |
| --Table G will undergo a conceptual change and will become a new table B. |
| Currently this table reflects a concept of "worksite location," where the |
| numbers of extended layoff events and associated separated workers are |
| displayed by the metropolitan statistical area where the event occurred. |
| This concept of "worksite location" will be replaced by a "separated worker |
| residence" concept, where the number of initial claimants associated with |
| extended layoffs will be displayed by the metropolitan statistical area |
| where the separated workers reside. This conceptual change will result in |
| more complete information on layoffs in metropolitan areas. |
| |
| --Table 6 will be dropped from the news release as there is often only a small |
| amount of layoff activity in these IT-producing industries. This table |
| will be provided as a supplemental table on the Mass Layoff Statistics |
| Web site at http://www.bls.gov/mls/#tables. Tables 7-11 will be renum- |
| bered tables 6-10. |
| |
| --A new table, table 12, will be added to the release displaying the average |
| size of layoff events by industry and reason for layoff. |
| |
| --The explanatory language in the body of the news release regarding movement |
| of work data will be transferred to the Technical Note. |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- 10 -
Technical Note
The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
which identifies, describes, and tracks the effects of major job cutbacks,
using data from each state's unemployment insurance database. Employers
which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a con-
secutive 5-week period are contacted by the state agency to determine
whether these separations are of at least 31 days duration, and, if so,
information is obtained on the total number of persons separated and the
reasons for these separations. Employers are identified according to in-
dustry classification and location, and unemployment insurance claimants
are identified by such demographic factors as age, race, gender, ethnic
group, and place of residence. The program yields information on an
individual's entire spell of unemployment, to the point when regular
unemployment insurance benefits are exhausted.
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 admini-
stered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Extended layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits from an employer during a 5-week period, with at least
50 workers separated for more than 30 days.
Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligi-
bility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within
a benefit year or period of eligibility.
Layoff. The separation of persons from an employer as part of a mass
layoff event. (See below.) Such layoffs involve both persons subject to
recall and those who are terminated by the establishment.
Mass layoff. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance
benefits from an employer beginning in a given month, regardless of dura-
tion.
Worksite closure. The complete closure of either multi-unit or single-
unit employers or the partial closure of a multi-unit employer where entire
worksites affected by layoffs are closed or planned to be closed.
- 11 -
Revisions to preliminary data
The latest quarterly data in this news release are considered preliminary.
After the initial publication of quarterly information, more data are col-
lected as remaining employer interviews for the quarter are completed and
additional initial claimant information associated with extended layoff
events is received.
Movement of work concepts and questions
Because of the employer interview component, the BLS decided to use
the MLS program as a vehicle for collecting additional information on
offshoring and outsourcing associated with job loss, by adding questions
that address movement of work. The term "moving work" means that the
company experiencing the layoff has reassigned work activities that were
performed at a worksite by the company's employees (1) to another work-
site within the company; (2) to another company under formal arrangements
at the same worksite; or (3) to another company under formal arrangements
at another worksite. The type of work activities subject to movement can
include accounting, customer service, cleaning, warehousing, etc.
"Overseas relocation" is the movement of work from within the U.S. to
locations outside of the U.S. "Overseas relocation" can occur within the
same company and involve movement of work to a different location of that
company outside of the U.S., or to a different company altogether.
"Domestic relocation" is the movement of work to other locations inside
the U.S., either within the same company or to a different company.
"Overseas relocation" and "domestic relocation" are no longer used in the
same way as they were in earlier extended mass layoff news releases. There-
fore, the data presented in this news release are not comparable to those
that were presented in earlier news releases.
Questions on movement of work and location are asked for all identified
layoff events when the reason for separation is other than "seasonal work"
or "vacation period." Seasonal and vacation layoff events were excluded
because movement of work appears unlikely.
Questions on movement of work are asked after the analyst verifies that
a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more than 30 days, and obtained the
total number of workers separated from jobs, the date the layoff began, and
the economic reason for the layoff. If the reason for layoff is other than
seasonal or vacation, the employer was asked the following:
(1) "Did this layoff include your company moving work from this loca-
tion(s) to a different geographic location(s) within your company?"
(2) "Did this layoff include your company moving work that was performed
in-house by your employees to a different company, through contractual ar-
rangements?"
A "yes" response to either question is followed by:
"Is the location inside or outside of the U.S.?" and "How many of the
layoffs were a result of this relocation?"
Layoff actions are classified as "overseas relocation" if the employer
responds "yes" to questions 1 and/or 2, and indicates that the location(s)
was outside of the U.S. Domestic relocation is determined if the employer
responds "yes" to questions 1 and/or 2 and indicates that the location(s)
was within the U.S.
After asking the movement of work questions, the employer interview
continues and responses are obtained for questions on recall expectations
and open/closed status of the worksite.
- 12 -
Reliability of the data
The identification of employers and layoff events in the MLS program
and associated characteristics of claimants is based on administrative
data on covered establishments and unemployment insurance claims, and,
therefore, is not subject to issues associated with sampling error.
Nonsampling errors such as typographical errors may occur but are not
likely to be significant. While the MLS employers and layoff events
are not subject to sampling error, and all such employers are asked the
interview questions, the employer responses are subject to nonsampling
error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the in-
ability to obtain information for all respondents, inability or unwill-
ingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made
in the collection or processing of the data. For the first quarter of
2009, outright refusal to participate in the employer interview accounted
for 4.0 percent of all private nonfarm events. Although included in the
total number of instances involving the movement of work, for the first
quarter, employers in 35 relocations were unable to provide the number of
separations specifically associated with the movement of work, 7 of which
involved out-of-country moves.
Other information
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009
Initial claimants for
Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance
Industry
I IV I I IV I I IV I
2008r 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p
Total, private nonfarm(1) .................. 1,340 3,585 3,489 230,098 642,154 558,909 259,292 762,737 542,023
Mining ....................................... 5 43 79 474 7,013 13,051 428 8,137 11,465
Utilities .................................... (2) 5 (2) (2) 977 (2) (2) 897 (2)
Construction ................................. 337 915 492 36,917 113,978 56,321 45,231 137,894 52,969
Manufacturing ................................ 422 1,287 1,380 84,318 239,215 215,281 106,177 338,237 238,792
Food .................................... 65 106 73 14,777 24,532 10,840 15,207 25,402 10,216
Beverage and tobacco products ........... 8 (2) 12 1,436 (2) 1,728 2,040 (2) 2,192
Textile mills ........................... 12 28 17 1,758 5,763 1,859 8,054 12,225 4,377
Textile product mills ................... (2) 12 8 (2) 1,584 985 (2) 2,103 1,971
Apparel ................................. 10 14 17 952 2,094 1,833 1,316 2,387 1,709
Leather and allied products ............. (2) (2) 5 (2) (2) 643 (2) (2) 561
Wood products ........................... 41 99 82 5,408 14,481 9,803 7,590 19,602 11,336
Paper ................................... 7 31 35 595 4,351 4,360 814 5,451 4,548
Printing and related support activities . 6 14 38 584 2,135 4,733 620 3,207 4,107
Petroleum and coal products ............. (2) 18 6 (2) 2,508 784 (2) 2,746 555
Chemicals ............................... 9 30 27 1,289 4,845 3,956 762 5,463 3,410
Plastics and rubber products ............ 21 83 76 2,963 9,955 7,576 2,660 14,102 7,852
Nonmetallic mineral products ............ 39 109 71 4,274 16,131 6,631 4,568 18,805 7,291
Primary metals .......................... 14 80 91 2,659 14,599 13,472 2,489 18,452 14,343
Fabricated metal products ............... 27 126 143 3,468 15,611 14,976 4,198 22,588 18,259
Machinery ............................... 20 67 138 3,155 10,967 23,494 3,378 18,857 27,990
Computer and electronic products ........ 23 69 138 3,614 11,778 23,706 3,109 14,158 22,471
Electrical equipment and appliances ..... 11 38 52 1,994 7,714 6,654 3,192 11,436 7,534
Transportation equipment ................ 78 289 265 30,142 78,819 65,304 41,534 125,639 73,425
Furniture and related products .......... 20 42 56 3,183 6,854 8,445 3,251 10,358 11,237
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............. 7 19 30 1,555 2,910 3,499 834 3,578 3,408
Wholesale trade .............................. 35 90 118 3,745 11,909 14,373 3,847 13,432 12,776
Retail trade ................................. 107 202 347 24,119 61,326 78,394 30,444 53,466 58,636
Transportation and warehousing ............... 49 118 136 10,250 23,001 23,197 8,552 21,839 19,174
Information .................................. 27 73 80 7,330 10,290 11,705 5,784 11,887 12,294
Finance and insurance ........................ 99 113 135 18,811 22,742 23,574 20,411 24,568 21,254
Real estate and rental and leasing ........... 5 27 30 612 3,592 3,041 746 4,023 2,840
Professional and technical services .......... 39 88 130 7,346 12,803 15,318 6,313 13,865 13,497
Management of companies and enterprises ...... (2) 17 19 (2) 3,138 2,551 (2) 3,119 1,741
Administrative and waste services ............ 96 319 296 15,710 72,104 64,697 15,885 78,130 61,672
Educational services ......................... 5 4 (2) 595 630 (2) 618 474 (2)
Health care and social assistance ............ 20 39 33 5,302 6,764 3,931 2,643 5,384 3,547
Arts, entertainment, and recreation .......... 20 63 41 2,504 14,609 5,701 1,833 8,696 4,464
Accommodation and food services .............. 63 153 141 10,694 34,591 24,637 8,772 34,994 23,735
Other services, except public administration . 5 28 23 524 3,399 2,027 590 3,622 2,311
Unclassified ................................. 1 1 - 250 73 - 133 73 -
1 For the first quarter of 2009, data on layoffs were reported by employers in all states and the District of Columbia.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009
Initial claimants for
Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance
Reason for layoff
I IV I I IV I I IV I
2008r 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p
Total, private nonfarm(1) ...... 1,340 3,585 3,489 230,098 642,154 558,909 259,292 762,737 542,023
Business demand ................... 600 1,581 1,921 91,585 248,225 279,022 124,840 371,289 303,941
Contract cancellation ........... 18 57 80 2,417 11,692 11,297 2,201 12,981 11,141
Contract completion ............. 227 313 302 28,319 45,504 51,372 36,097 63,253 50,182
Domestic competition ............ - 4 4 - 470 445 - 636 420
Excess inventory/saturated
market ........................ 7 18 29 1,559 4,021 3,724 876 4,203 3,578
Import competition .............. 15 14 6 2,796 1,855 1,016 2,640 2,603 991
Slack work/insufficient demand/
non-seasonal business slowdown. 333 1,175 1,500 56,494 184,683 211,168 83,026 287,613 237,629
Organizational changes ............ 114 159 183 21,674 31,006 41,409 22,911 33,471 34,402
Business-ownership change ....... 22 31 32 4,990 8,430 9,270 2,986 5,981 5,076
Reorganization or restructuring
of company .................... 92 128 151 16,684 22,576 32,139 19,925 27,490 29,326
Financial issues .................. 122 330 392 26,859 73,604 89,487 25,068 68,258 63,386
Bankruptcy ...................... 26 45 80 6,488 12,022 26,978 3,782 7,268 13,087
Cost control/cost cutting/
increase profitability ........ 40 165 212 6,509 24,679 32,471 10,363 33,251 33,454
Financial difficulty ............ 56 120 100 13,862 36,903 30,038 10,923 27,739 16,845
Production specific ............... 29 24 15 11,823 4,644 3,944 8,589 4,123 2,388
Automation/technological
advances ...................... 4 (2) (2) 579 (2) (2) 557 (2) (2)
Energy related .................. - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Governmental regulations/
intervention .................. 5 7 (2) 2,083 1,549 (2) 654 913 (2)
Labor dispute/contract
negotiations/strike ........... 5 5 (2) 5,194 630 (2) 3,027 588 (2)
Material or supply shortage ..... 6 - (2) 2,356 - (2) 2,955 - (2)
Model changeover ................ - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Plant or machine repair/
maintenance ................... 5 5 (2) 507 1,357 (2) 416 1,248 (2)
Product line discontinued ....... 4 3 6 1,104 590 1,165 980 700 735
Disaster/safety ................... 8 12 5 1,979 1,346 478 1,895 1,325 451
Hazardous work environment ...... (2) - - (2) - - (2) - -
Natural disaster (not weather
related) ...................... - - (2) - - (2) - - (2)
Non-natural disaster ............ (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Extreme weather-related event ... 5 (2) (2) 986 (2) (2) 1,188 (2) (2)
Seasonal .......................... 246 869 316 43,107 149,757 47,598 42,330 147,883 42,738
Seasonal ........................ 246 863 316 43,107 148,433 47,598 42,330 146,502 42,738
Vacation period-school related
or otherwise .................. - 6 - - 1,324 - - 1,381 -
Other/miscellaneous ............... 221 610 657 33,071 133,572 96,971 33,659 136,388 94,717
Other ........................... 23 26 32 3,466 4,243 5,171 4,737 6,844 4,291
Data not provided: refusal ...... 63 129 142 12,339 40,046 24,618 11,959 40,032 24,382
Data not provided: does not
know .......................... 135 455 483 17,266 89,283 67,182 16,963 89,512 66,044
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 3. State and selected claimant characteristics: Extended mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, fourth quarter 2008 and first quarter 2009
Total Percent of total
initial Hispanic Persons age 55
Layoff events claimants Black origin Women and over
State
IV I IV I IV I IV I IV I IV I
2008r 2009p 2008r 2009p 2008r 2009p 2008r 2009p 2008r 2009p 2008r 2009p
Total, private nonfarm(1) .. 3,585 3,489 762,737 542,023 12.6 12.8 15.5 15.3 30.7 33.4 16.7 17.8
Alabama ........................ 17 21 8,447 4,149 42.6 42.2 2.4 1.9 40.2 34.8 13.3 13.6
Alaska ......................... 12 7 2,363 1,120 3.9 2.3 12.8 12.0 28.9 25.3 22.3 26.1
Arizona ........................ 30 36 5,611 5,123 5.7 5.3 33.1 35.7 35.8 33.3 14.2 15.3
Arkansas ....................... 20 9 3,159 1,658 17.2 29.4 4.0 4.9 39.2 26.8 16.9 14.4
California ..................... 766 842 132,375 107,072 7.2 7.6 41.1 36.0 36.7 36.0 14.8 15.4
Colorado ....................... 31 33 4,142 4,317 3.9 6.0 36.6 17.3 17.6 33.8 19.2 16.4
Connecticut .................... 11 30 2,278 3,684 10.2 13.7 10.7 15.1 18.4 49.4 19.8 23.0
Delaware ....................... 7 7 973 1,332 21.3 11.8 4.6 1.4 19.1 14.5 22.0 12.1
District of Columbia ........... (2) (2) (2) (2) 97.8 38.8 .5 12.4 63.2 58.4 9.7 6.2
Florida ........................ 180 137 37,472 26,389 14.4 15.6 26.7 27.8 36.1 35.0 18.4 19.4
Georgia ........................ 59 59 16,008 11,381 36.5 42.7 6.5 4.9 37.3 44.8 15.8 16.5
Hawaii ......................... 10 12 1,318 1,103 3.0 3.8 12.7 11.9 22.1 26.1 15.2 14.1
Idaho .......................... 51 24 8,397 3,216 .3 .2 11.8 10.9 34.1 35.6 15.2 18.3
Illinois ....................... 286 240 60,441 36,253 17.1 16.5 16.0 13.8 28.4 32.0 14.7 17.1
Indiana ........................ 154 104 44,383 15,133 6.7 8.5 4.0 2.0 27.2 31.2 14.8 17.4
Iowa ........................... 45 36 10,735 9,270 1.6 2.3 3.6 1.9 24.6 31.7 18.7 17.1
Kansas ......................... 25 27 4,238 3,009 8.3 10.2 5.4 4.6 30.4 31.5 13.9 16.2
Kentucky ....................... 67 26 12,602 3,464 5.8 3.9 .3 .2 17.2 10.6 13.8 19.0
Louisiana ...................... 22 29 4,429 3,974 51.9 36.0 1.9 3.9 26.8 19.5 18.5 23.1
Maine .......................... 7 11 1,249 1,479 .6 1.6 .2 .4 20.4 34.0 23.5 22.9
Maryland ....................... 24 23 3,491 3,149 39.4 32.3 2.5 2.9 36.0 29.2 22.7 22.0
Massachusetts .................. 43 54 7,288 7,696 8.8 7.2 1.0 .8 35.6 43.8 21.4 20.5
Michigan ....................... 212 182 77,433 53,380 18.3 20.1 4.3 2.8 26.2 29.3 17.3 18.4
Minnesota ...................... 120 73 21,625 8,109 4.0 4.8 6.5 3.9 19.0 26.4 16.1 18.2
Mississippi .................... 24 18 4,512 1,569 48.8 60.1 3.2 .5 38.9 40.3 14.4 20.3
Missouri ....................... 101 75 17,713 8,417 11.8 9.8 .2 .3 34.1 40.2 18.8 18.9
Montana ........................ 14 7 2,432 916 - .1 3.3 2.5 14.1 13.6 18.5 26.5
Nebraska ....................... 8 (2) 755 (2) 1.6 1.5 7.9 12.3 15.0 35.6 29.5 26.7
Nevada ......................... 46 68 13,222 10,381 9.1 7.9 34.9 32.5 45.6 39.8 17.2 17.3
New Hampshire .................. (2) 8 (2) 1,369 1.0 .4 - 4.1 18.2 41.0 33.0 25.5
New Jersey ..................... 89 105 16,252 13,141 19.2 17.9 8.7 10.1 39.3 45.6 19.5 21.7
New Mexico ..................... 17 14 2,805 2,418 2.6 2.2 50.2 39.0 28.8 19.5 17.5 16.0
New York ....................... 147 148 31,866 21,500 10.8 11.7 10.3 13.9 33.2 35.7 18.1 18.7
North Carolina ................. 32 78 5,619 12,979 33.0 36.4 6.5 7.4 33.6 40.1 20.8 17.1
North Dakota ................... 10 9 1,253 959 2.2 1.1 3.4 2.0 18.7 6.2 17.9 8.9
Ohio ........................... 189 155 45,092 21,735 10.5 12.0 3.4 3.2 26.3 32.4 17.3 17.7
Oklahoma ....................... 21 29 4,443 4,885 7.0 8.4 6.2 7.7 27.2 24.6 15.3 16.0
Oregon ......................... 73 69 19,492 15,510 .8 1.5 16.0 13.2 27.2 28.0 18.5 19.9
Pennsylvania ................... 205 216 40,987 33,824 5.0 4.5 3.9 4.0 25.7 28.1 21.7 24.0
Rhode Island ................... 6 10 615 978 1.8 3.1 21.3 14.3 19.8 48.7 25.0 32.1
South Carolina ................. 47 31 12,440 5,841 59.3 45.3 1.1 1.1 42.7 41.9 7.7 7.5
South Dakota ................... 3 6 251 433 .4 4.4 2.0 1.8 31.1 18.0 21.9 15.9
Tennessee ...................... 63 81 9,751 9,837 21.7 14.9 .1 - 36.9 40.0 19.7 17.6
Texas .......................... 79 139 19,488 23,174 17.4 16.1 40.0 34.9 27.8 29.0 13.5 14.0
Utah ........................... 18 27 3,714 3,983 1.4 1.9 15.6 15.8 25.9 34.4 10.7 12.7
Vermont ........................ 7 9 1,096 1,177 .7 .3 .3 .2 23.8 31.9 20.9 27.3
Virginia ....................... 14 12 1,699 2,521 27.1 26.8 6.0 2.1 35.2 33.4 22.5 19.1
Washington ..................... 77 56 15,107 10,028 4.1 5.9 14.5 7.5 31.3 36.9 17.5 14.1
West Virginia .................. 7 14 890 2,410 .1 .5 - .1 10.7 22.7 12.9 16.2
Wisconsin ...................... 83 74 20,124 15,475 3.2 3.2 8.3 3.8 23.3 28.2 18.2 21.6
Wyoming ........................ 3 4 268 273 1.5 2.2 1.1 7.3 32.8 15.0 34.0 9.2
Puerto Rico .................... 12 15 2,020 2,646 .2 - 98.5 99.2 48.0 59.1 14.9 10.3
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
3 Data are not available.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 4. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009
Initial claimants for
Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance
Census region and division
I IV I I IV I I IV I
2008r 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p
United States(1) ...... 1,340 3,585 3,489 230,098 642,154 558,909 259,292 762,737 542,023
Northeast ..................... 217 517 591 32,643 90,853 89,285 38,963 101,840 84,848
New England ............... 31 76 122 4,839 11,217 17,100 4,244 12,735 16,383
Middle Atlantic ........... 186 441 469 27,804 79,636 72,185 34,719 89,105 68,465
South ......................... 232 684 715 42,175 124,851 125,036 45,991 145,608 118,890
South Atlantic ............ 132 371 363 23,495 72,557 60,606 27,021 78,777 66,180
East South Central ........ 56 171 146 10,332 26,692 18,996 8,604 35,312 19,019
West South Central ........ 44 142 206 8,348 25,602 45,434 10,366 31,519 33,691
Midwest ....................... 336 1,236 984 73,444 234,641 170,062 81,892 304,043 172,825
East North Central ........ 272 924 755 61,307 183,945 139,795 69,303 247,473 141,976
West North Central ........ 64 312 229 12,137 50,696 30,267 12,589 56,570 30,849
West .......................... 555 1,148 1,199 81,836 191,809 174,526 92,446 211,246 165,460
Mountain .................. 49 210 213 7,547 40,530 34,215 6,744 40,591 30,627
Pacific ................... 506 938 986 74,289 151,279 140,311 85,702 170,655 134,833
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
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 5. State distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009
Initial claimants for
Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance
State
I IV I I IV I I IV I
2008r 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p
Total, private nonfarm(1) .. 1,340 3,585 3,489 230,098 642,154 558,909 259,292 762,737 542,023
Alabama ........................ 13 17 21 2,182 5,086 5,010 2,825 8,447 4,149
Alaska ......................... (2) 12 7 (2) 3,345 2,110 (2) 2,363 1,120
Arizona ........................ 5 30 36 474 6,365 5,825 607 5,611 5,123
Arkansas ....................... 10 20 9 1,809 3,164 1,471 3,221 3,159 1,658
California ..................... 467 766 842 66,895 118,069 115,014 78,098 132,375 107,072
Colorado ....................... 9 31 33 2,141 5,384 5,339 1,480 4,142 4,317
Connecticut .................... 3 11 30 296 2,208 4,127 441 2,278 3,684
Delaware ....................... - 7 7 - 976 1,509 - 973 1,332
District of Columbia ........... 3 (2) (2) 340 (2) (2) 185 (2) (2)
Florida ........................ 60 180 137 10,358 42,118 27,109 8,531 37,472 26,389
Georgia ........................ 19 59 59 2,112 8,373 7,124 8,376 16,008 11,381
Hawaii ......................... 6 10 12 2,009 1,233 1,034 659 1,318 1,103
Idaho .......................... 8 51 24 783 7,791 3,248 940 8,397 3,216
Illinois ....................... 98 286 240 17,736 55,805 41,887 17,169 60,441 36,253
Indiana ........................ 26 154 104 4,396 22,553 13,057 7,467 44,383 15,133
Iowa ........................... 10 45 36 1,458 5,828 4,288 3,445 10,735 9,270
Kansas ......................... 7 25 27 1,389 3,857 4,625 1,619 4,238 3,009
Kentucky ....................... 18 67 26 2,049 9,742 2,970 1,886 12,602 3,464
Louisiana ...................... 11 22 29 2,100 4,586 5,720 2,641 4,429 3,974
Maine .......................... (2) 7 11 (2) 1,040 2,579 (2) 1,249 1,479
Maryland ....................... 10 24 23 1,255 3,274 2,949 1,210 3,491 3,149
Massachusetts .................. 18 43 54 2,771 6,237 6,934 2,633 7,288 7,696
Michigan ....................... 57 212 182 14,917 47,580 46,817 20,859 77,433 53,380
Minnesota ...................... 16 120 73 2,107 20,893 10,133 1,694 21,625 8,109
Mississippi .................... 9 24 18 2,207 4,343 1,755 796 4,512 1,569
Missouri ....................... 26 101 75 6,326 17,613 9,386 5,076 17,713 8,417
Montana ........................ 5 14 7 442 1,775 899 440 2,432 916
Nebraska ....................... 4 8 (2) 607 1,015 (2) 565 755 (2)
Nevada ......................... 11 46 68 1,708 9,438 10,390 1,791 13,222 10,381
New Hampshire .................. (2) (2) 8 (2) (2) 1,292 (2) (2) 1,369
New Jersey ..................... 33 89 105 6,676 16,438 16,054 5,657 16,252 13,141
New Mexico ..................... 5 17 14 649 2,729 3,388 799 2,805 2,418
New York ....................... 78 147 148 13,084 30,580 23,958 12,880 31,866 21,500
North Carolina ................. 13 32 78 2,116 3,704 9,916 3,147 5,619 12,979
North Dakota ................... - 10 9 - 1,253 959 - 1,253 959
Ohio ........................... 64 189 155 18,236 39,950 23,813 16,706 45,092 21,735
Oklahoma ....................... (2) 21 29 (2) 3,846 5,238 (2) 4,443 4,885
Oregon ......................... 11 73 69 1,913 13,668 11,757 3,658 19,492 15,510
Pennsylvania ................... 75 205 216 8,044 32,618 32,173 16,182 40,987 33,824
Rhode Island ................... 4 6 10 363 612 963 345 615 978
South Carolina ................. 9 47 31 1,125 10,908 5,065 978 12,440 5,841
South Dakota ................... (2) 3 6 (2) 237 706 (2) 251 433
Tennessee ...................... 16 63 81 3,894 7,521 9,261 3,097 9,751 9,837
Texas .......................... 22 79 139 4,298 14,006 33,005 4,363 19,488 23,174
Utah ........................... 5 18 27 1,150 3,704 4,540 608 3,714 3,983
Vermont ........................ (2) 7 9 (2) 825 1,205 (2) 1,096 1,177
Virginia ....................... 14 14 12 5,384 2,104 2,900 3,882 1,699 2,521
Washington ..................... 21 77 56 2,772 14,964 10,396 3,072 15,107 10,028
West Virginia .................. 4 7 14 805 915 3,856 712 890 2,410
Wisconsin ...................... 27 83 74 6,022 18,057 14,221 7,102 20,124 15,475
Wyoming ........................ (2) 3 4 (2) 3,344 586 (2) 268 273
Puerto Rico .................... 10 12 15 659 1,304 1,683 2,315 2,020 2,646
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 6. Information technology-producing industries: Extended mass layoff events and separations, private nonfarm sector, 2002-2009
Information technology-producing industries(1)
Total extended
Year mass layoffs
Computer Software and Communications Communications
hardware(2) computer services(3) equipment(4) services(5)
Layoff Layoff Layoff Layoff Layoff
events Separations events Separations events Separations events Separations events Separations
2002
First quarter .... 1,611 299,266 84 18,574 34 3,770 32 8,192 28 4,346
Second quarter ... 1,624 344,606 69 11,764 39 4,326 27 4,870 34 5,643
Third quarter .... 1,186 255,152 76 15,017 36 4,359 34 6,529 33 5,496
Fourth quarter ... 1,916 373,307 74 14,298 26 5,709 19 3,645 31 7,643
Total ........ 6,337 1,272,331 303 59,653 135 18,164 112 23,236 126 23,128
2003
First quarter .... 1,502 286,947 71 11,900 27 5,097 23 4,402 26 4,513
Second quarter ... 1,799 368,273 54 9,221 19 2,741 21 3,098 22 4,169
Third quarter .... 1,190 236,333 46 6,488 24 4,189 9 1,289 8 842
Fourth quarter ... 1,690 325,333 25 5,080 8 1,167 9 1,619 23 5,774
Total ........ 6,181 1,216,886 196 32,689 78 13,194 62 10,408 79 15,298
2004
First quarter .... 1,339 276,503 27 3,222 13 2,786 8 894 14 2,832
Second quarter ... 1,358 278,831 18 2,959 15 2,775 - - 15 3,250
Third quarter .... 886 164,608 13 2,288 14 1,467 4 430 11 3,792
Fourth quarter ... 1,427 273,967 18 3,055 10 1,547 4 563 20 3,143
Total ........ 5,010 993,909 76 11,524 52 8,575 16 1,887 60 13,017
2005
First quarter .... 1,142 186,506 13 1,526 9 2,355 4 439 12 2,400
Second quarter ... 1,203 246,099 20 2,973 13 1,558 4 842 7 1,331
Third quarter .... 1,136 201,878 23 3,307 7 1,034 (2) (2) 3 304
Fourth quarter ... 1,400 250,178 19 4,122 3 720 (2) (2) 5 845
Total ........ 4,881 884,661 75 11,928 32 5,667 13 3,000 27 4,880
2006
First quarter .... 963 183,089 12 1,159 6 744 (2) (2) (2) (2)
Second quarter ... 1,353 295,964 10 3,294 7 1,564 8 988 (2) (2)
Third quarter .... 929 160,254 14 3,544 6 487 (2) (2) 8 1,222
Fourth quarter ... 1,640 296,662 12 4,039 4 708 5 1,482 8 947
Total ........ 4,885 935,969 48 12,036 23 3,503 19 3,753 23 3,406
2007
First quarter .... 1,110 225,600 19 3,007 5 875 3 415 5 885
Second quarter ... 1,421 278,719 22 3,634 4 413 5 433 3 315
Third quarter .... 1,018 160,024 22 5,279 6 1,030 4 403 3 276
Fourth quarter ... 1,814 301,592 9 1,459 4 473 3 381 7 870
Total ........ 5,363 965,935 72 13,379 19 2,791 15 1,632 18 2,346
2008
First quarter(r) . 1,340 230,098 19 3,040 9 987 (2) (2) 3 329
Second quarter(r). 1,756 354,713 25 4,018 7 969 (2) (2) 16 2,545
Third quarter(r) . 1,582 290,892 37 6,781 20 3,015 6 1,331 11 1,906
Fourth quarter(r). 3,585 642,154 58 10,289 18 1,995 8 1,131 18 2,657
Total ........ 8,263 1,517,857 139 24,128 54 6,966 18 3,147 48 7,437
2009
First quarter(p) . 3,489 558,909 124 22,172 18 3,250 16 2,729 11 1,870
1 Information technology-producing industries are defined in Digital Economy 2003, (U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics
and Statistics Administration, 2003). In the MLS program, however, computer and software merchant wholesalers and computer and
software stores are only included in the computer hardware industry.
2 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), are:
semiconductor machinery manufacturing; office machinery manufacturing; electronic computer manufacturing; computer storage device
manufacturing; computer terminal manufacturing; other computer peripheral equipment mfg.; electron tube manufacturing; bare
printed circuit board manufacturing; semiconductors and related device mfg.; electronic capacitor manufacturing; electronic
resistor manufacturing; electronic coils, transformers, and inductors; electronic connector manufacturing; printed circuit
assembly manufacturing; other electronic component manufacturing; industrial process variable instruments; electricity and signal
testing instruments; analytical laboratory instrument mfg.; computer and software merchant wholesalers; and computer and software
stores.
3 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), are:
software publishers; internet service providers; web search portals; data processing and related services; custom computer
programming services; computer systems design services; computer facilities management services; other computer related services;
office equipment rental and leasing; and computer and office machine repair.
4 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), are:
telephone apparatus manufacturing; audio and video equipment manufacturing; broadcast and wireless communications equip.; fiber
optic cable manufacturing; software reproducing; and magnetic and optical recording media mfg.
5 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), are:
wired telecommunications carriers; cellular and other wireless carriers; telecommunications resellers; cable and other program
distribution; satellite telecommunications; other telecommunications; and communication equipment repair.
6 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 7. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,
selected quarters, 2008 and 2009
Layoff events Separations
Industry
I IV I I IV I
2008 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p
Total, private nonfarm(1) ................. 59 118 77 13,314 20,376 12,736
Mining ...................................... - - (2) - - (2)
Utilities ................................... - - - - - -
Construction ................................ - (2) - - (2) -
Manufacturing ............................... 34 80 58 6,652 15,232 9,833
Food ................................... (2) 3 (2) (2) 425 (2)
Beverage and tobacco products .......... (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Textile mills .......................... (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Textile product mills .................. - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Apparel ................................ (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Leather and allied products ............ (2) - (2) (2) - (2)
Wood products .......................... 3 (2) (2) 390 (2) (2)
Paper .................................. (2) 4 (2) (2) 602 (2)
Printing and related support activities (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Petroleum and coal products ............ - - - - - -
Chemicals .............................. (2) 4 (2) (2) 1,125 (2)
Plastics and rubber products ........... (2) 4 (2) (2) 542 (2)
Nonmetallic mineral products ........... - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Primary metals ......................... (2) 3 4 (2) 1,795 603
Fabricated metal products .............. (2) 6 3 (2) 752 255
Machinery .............................. - 5 4 - 1,118 464
Computer and electronic products ....... 5 10 12 1,195 1,534 2,958
Electrical equipment and appliances .... (2) 7 6 (2) 830 987
Transportation equipment ............... 8 19 11 1,190 4,301 1,781
Furniture and related products ......... (2) 3 3 (2) 456 647
Miscellaneous manufacturing ............ - 3 (2) - 509 (2)
Wholesale trade ............................. 3 7 (2) 210 804 (2)
Retail trade ................................ 4 6 3 1,166 682 532
Transportation and warehousing .............. 3 4 (2) 1,724 686 (2)
Information ................................. (2) 4 3 (2) 871 576
Finance and insurance ....................... 8 8 (2) 2,120 926 (2)
Real estate and rental and leasing .......... - - - - - -
Professional and technical services ......... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Management of companies and enterprises ..... - - (2) - - (2)
Administrative and waste services ........... (2) 4 (2) (2) 545 (2)
Educational services ........................ - - - - - -
Health care and social assistance ........... (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......... - - - - - -
Accommodation and food services ............. - - (2) - - (2)
Other services, except public administration - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Unclassified ................................ - - - - - -
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 8. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,
selected quarters, 2008 and 2009
Layoff events Separations
Reason for layoff I IV I I IV I
2008 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p
Total, private nonfarm(1) ..... 59 118 77 13,314 20,376 12,736
Business demand .................. 16 36 38 4,902 6,080 5,345
Contract cancellation .......... - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Contract completion ............ - (2) - - (2) -
Domestic competition ........... - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Excess inventory/saturated
market ....................... - - (2) - - (2)
Import competition ............. 7 10 (2) 1,724 1,504 (2)
Slack work/insufficient demand/
non-seasonal business slowdown 9 22 30 3,178 4,227 3,813
Organizational changes ........... 22 49 19 3,654 8,960 2,654
Business-ownership change ...... 6 9 (2) 1,656 1,498 (2)
Reorganization or restructuring
of company ................... 16 40 (2) 1,998 7,462 (2)
Financial issues ................. 17 29 15 3,704 4,554 3,746
Bankruptcy ..................... - (2) - - (2) -
Cost control/cost cutting/
increase profitability ....... 10 25 (2) 1,706 3,392 (2)
Financial difficulty ........... 7 (2) (2) 1,998 (2) (2)
Production specific .............. (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Automation/technological
advances ..................... - - - - - -
Energy related ................. - - - - - -
Governmental regulations/
intervention ................. - (2) - - (2) -
Labor dispute/contract
negotiations/strike .......... - - - - - -
Material or supply shortage .... (2) - - (2) - -
Model changeover ............... - (2) - - (2) -
Plant or machine repair/
maintenance .................. - - - - - -
Product line discontinued ...... - - (2) - - (2)
Disaster/safety .................. (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Hazardous work environment ..... - - - - - -
Natural disaster (not weather
related) ..................... - - - - - -
Non-natural disaster ........... (2) - - (2) - -
Extreme weather-related event .. - (2) - - (2) -
Other/miscellaneous .............. (2) - (2) (2) - (2)
Other .......................... (2) - (2) (2) - (2)
Data not provided: refusal ..... - - - - - -
Data not provided: does not
know ......................... - - - - - -
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 9. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,
selected quarters, 2008 and 2009
Layoff events Separations
Census region and division
I IV I I IV I
2008 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p
United States(1) .. 59 118 77 13,314 20,376 12,736
Northeast ................. 6 13 7 1,381 1,828 1,091
New England ........... (2) 4 3 (2) 686 463
Middle Atlantic ....... (2) 9 4 (2) 1,142 628
South ..................... 26 29 16 4,878 4,917 3,362
South Atlantic ........ 8 9 7 947 1,220 1,343
East South Central .... 11 12 5 2,237 1,650 521
West South Central .... 7 8 4 1,694 2,047 1,498
Midwest ................... 14 48 38 3,388 9,534 5,549
East North Central .... 11 33 27 2,378 6,652 4,189
West North Central .... 3 15 11 1,010 2,882 1,360
West ...................... 13 28 16 3,667 4,097 2,734
Mountain .............. (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Pacific ............... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
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 10. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009
Layoff events Separations
Action
I IV I I IV I
2008 2008r 2009p 2008r 2008r 2009p
Total, private nonfarm (1) ......... 1,340 3,585 3,489 230,098 642,154 558,909
Total, excluding seasonal
and vacation events (2) .... 1,094 2,716 3,173 186,991 492,397 511,311
Total, movement of work (3) 59 118 77 13,314 20,376 12,736
Movement of work
actions ............. 76 161 105 (4) (4) (4)
With separations
reported ....... 41 122 70 6,180 11,919 7,295
With separations
unknown ........ 35 39 35 (4) (4) (4)
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers when the reason for layoff was either seasonal work
or vacation period.
3 Movement of work can involve more than one action.
4 Data are not available.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
Table 11. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers,
selected quarters, 2008 and 2009
Actions(1) Separations
Activities
I IV I I IV I
2008 2008r 2009p 2008 2008r 2009p
With separations reported(2) .. 41 122 70 6,180 11,919 7,295
By location
Out-of-country relocations .. 15 36 20 1,901 4,059 3,466
Within company .......... 12 31 20 1,602 3,720 3,466
Different company ....... 3 5 - 299 339 -
Domestic relocations ........ 26 86 50 4,279 7,860 3,829
Within company .......... 24 79 45 3,364 7,363 3,483
Different company ....... 2 7 5 915 497 346
Unable to assign place of
relocation ............... - - - - - -
By company
Within company .............. 36 110 65 4,966 11,083 6,949
Domestic ................ 24 79 45 3,364 7,363 3,483
Out of country .......... 12 31 20 1,602 3,720 3,466
Unable to assign ........ - - - - - -
Different company ........... 5 12 5 1,214 836 346
Domestic ................ 2 7 5 915 497 346
Out of country .......... 3 5 - 299 339 -
Unable to assign ........ - - - - - -
1 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of work were reported are
shown.
2 See footnote 1, table 1.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
Note: Dash represents zero.
United States Department of Labor
