Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-70 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, January 22, 2004 MASS LAYOFFS IN DECEMBER 2003 AND ANNUAL AVERAGES FOR 2003 Employers initiated 1,929 mass layoff actions in December 2003, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 192,633. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events and initial claims were sharply lower than a year ago, with both measures at the lowest levels for December since 1999. Fewer mass-layoff initial claims were filed against employers in motion picture and video production, in highway, street, and bridge construction, and in temporary help services in December 2003 compared with December 2002. The total of layoff events for all of 2003 was 18,963 and the total of initial claimants was 1,888,926. The annual totals were lower than in 2002 (20,277 and 2,245,051, respectively). Additional information on the annual data is provided starting on page 3 of this release. Industry Distribution School and employee bus transportation, with 12,178 initial claimants, and highway, street, and bridge construction, with 11,254 initial claimants, together accounted for 12 percent of all initial claims in December. (See table A.) The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 29 percent of the total. The manufacturing sector recorded 34 percent of all mass layoff events and 40 percent of all initial claims filed in December. A year ago, manufacturing reported 40 percent of events and 48 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (21,061) and food processing (9,285). (See table 2.) Construction accounted for 17 percent of events and 13 percent of initial claims filed in December, with layoffs mostly in highway, street, and bridge construction. Administrative and waste services accounted for 10 percent of events and 9 percent of initial claims during the month, mainly in temporary help services. Seven percent of the events and 8 percent of the initial claims were from the transportation and ware- housing sector, largely among school and employee bus transportation. An additional 7 percent of all layoff events and 8 percent of initial claims filed during December were from accommodation and food services, primarily among food services contractors. Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and 3 percent of initial claims filed during the month, particularly in executive, legislative and general government. Compared with December 2002, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in plastics and rubber products manufacturing (-8,197), motion picture and sound recording industries (-5,454), and computer and electronic product manufacturing (-5,294). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was in professional and technical services (+1,500). - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in December 2003p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Initial| December peak Industry | claims |-------------------------- | | Year | Initial claims ------------------------------------------|--------|---------|---------------- School and employee bus transportation ...| 12,178 | 1996 | 13,146 Highway, street, and bridge construction. | 11,254 | 2000 | 17,277 Food service contractors .................| 9,229 | 2003 | 9,229 Temporary help services ................. | 7,661 | 2001 | 14,929 Professional employer organizations.......| 2,822 | 2000 | 4,032 Misc. plastics product manufacturing .....| 2,713 | 2002 | 5,563 Misc. transportation equipment mfg. ......| 2,659 | 2003 | 2,659 Light truck and utility vehicle mfg. .....| 2,597 | 2000 | 7,338 Manufactured home, mobile home, mfg. .....| 2,380 | 2002 | 2,601 Household refrigerator and home freezer | | | manufacturing......................... | 2,324 | 2000 | 5,758 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in December due to mass layoffs was reported in the Midwest, 87,806. (See table 3.) Transportation equipment manufacturing and heavy and civil engineering con- struction accounted for 33 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The West region was next, with 37,923 initial claims, followed by the Northeast, with 34,437, and the South, with 32,467. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in all four of the regions, with the largest decrease in the South (-28,193). This was the first December in which all four regions had over-the-year declines since the mass layoffs program began in 1995. Eight of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decreases in the Pacific (-20,430) and South Atlantic (-14,776) divisions. The Mountain division had the only increase (+144). Among the states, California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in December, 25,953, mostly in administrative and support services, followed by professional and technical services and educa- tional services. Indiana reported 15,330 initial claims, followed by Illinois (15,006) and Michigan (12,275). These four states accounted for 37 percent of all layoff events and 36 percent of initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) California registered the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-16,272), followed by South Carolina (-11,205). The largest over-the-year increase occurred in Michigan (+5,775). - 3 - Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 1996-2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Year | Layoff events | Initial claimants for | | unemployment insurance ----------------------|----------------|--------------------------- 1996 .................| 14,111 | 1,437,628 1997 .................| 14,960 | 1,542,543 1998 .................| 15,904 | 1,771,069 1999 .................| 14,909 | 1,572,399 2000 .................| 15,738 | 1,835,592 2001 .................| 21,467 | 2,514,862 2002r ................| 20,277 | 2,245,051 2003 .................| 18,963 | 1,888,926 ------------------------------------------------------------------- r=revised. Review of 2003 During 2003, 18,963 layoff events occurred, resulting in 1,888,926 initial claim filings for unemployment insurance. In 2002, there were 20,277 events and 2,245,051 initial claimants. (See table B.) The 10 industries with the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 25 percent of the total in 2003. (See table C.) In 2002, they comprised 23 percent of the total. The top five industries had the same rankings in both years. Manufacturing accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff events and 39 percent of initial claims filed during 2003. A year earlier, manufacturing accounted for 35 percent of events and 40 percent of initial claims. Initial claim filings were most numerous in transportation equipment, 178,282, fol- lowed by food processing, 87,353, and machinery manufacturing, 60,370. Com- pared with 2002, the largest decrease in initial claims occurred in computer and electronic products (-39,070) and machinery manufacturing (-27,340). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment (+1,777). The number of initial claims filed in 2003 due to mass layoffs was higher in the West, 594,937, than in any other region. Layoffs in administrative and support services, motion picture and sound recording, and agricultural and forestry support activities accounted for 32 percent of the claims in the West. The fewest number of mass-layoff initial claims was reported in the Northeast region, 306,462. For the second consecutive year, over-the-year decreases in mass-layoff initial claims occurred in each of the four regions. The largest decreases in initial claims were in the West (-151,121) and South (-110,520). Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events for the period (467,573), 25 percent of the national total. The states with the next highest numbers of initial claims were Pennsylvania (112,356), Ohio (102,864), New York (93,583), and Illinois (90,181). Half of all events and 46 percent of all initial claims were from these five states. California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-108,537), followed by Texas (-36,208), and South Carolina (-30,005). The largest over-the-year increases occurred in New York (+8,005) and Georgia (+7,121). - 4 - Table C. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in 2003p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | 2003 | 2002 Industry |------------------|------------------- | Initial | Rank | Initial | Rank | claims | | claims | ----------------------------------------|---------|--------|----------|-------- Temporary help services ................| 119,738 | 1 | 154,797 | 1 School and employee bus transportation..| 61,465 | 2 | 64,559 | 2 Motion picture and video production ....| 46,006 | 3 | 51,255 | 3 Highway, street, and bridge construction| 38,635 | 4 | 42,700 | 4 Food service contractors ...............| 37,446 | 5 | 37,363 | 5 Automobile manufacturing ...............| 36,152 | 6 | 24,464 | 11 Elementary and secondary schools .......| 35,494 | 7 | 27,443 | 10 Professional employer organizations ....| 32,031 | 8 | 36,951 | 6 Supermarkets and other grocery stores ..| 31,713 | 9 | 20,183 | 15 Farm labor contractors and crew leaders | 28,967 | 10 | 35,926 | 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. 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. Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. ______________________________ The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Fourth Quarter of 2003 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 12, 2004. The report on Mass Layoffs in January 2004 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 25, 2004. 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 establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These establishments 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, and the number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore, analysis of over-the- month and over-the-year change should take this calendar effect into consideration. The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were not available. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Definitions Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of eligibility. Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2001 to December 2003 Extended mass layoffs Total mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates(1) Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2001 October .................... 1,831 215,483 November ................... 2,721 295,956 December ................... 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,992 780,332 2,697 502,502 38.6 64.4 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,777 February ................... 1,382 138,808 March ...................... 1,460 161,316 First Quarter .............. 4,988 563,901 1,750 316,489 35.1 56.1 April ...................... 1,506 165,814 May ........................ 1,723 179,799 June ....................... 1,584 162,189 Second Quarter ............. 4,813 507,802 1,905 353,017 39.6 69.5 July ....................... 2,042 245,294 August ..................... 1,248 128,103 September .................. 1,062 124,522 Third Quarter .............. 4,352 497,919 1,383 284,629 31.8 57.2 October .................... 1,497 171,100 November ................... 2,153 240,171 December ................... 2,474 264,158 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,124 675,429 2,257 421,570 36.9 62.4 2003 January .................... 2,315 225,430 February ................... 1,363 124,965 March ...................... 1,207 113,026 First Quarter .............. 4,885 463,421 1,700 333,197 34.8 71.9 April ...................... 1,581 161,412 May ........................ 1,703 174,204 June ....................... 1,691 157,552 Second Quarter ............. 4,975 493,168 2,131 415,316 42.8 84.2 July ....................... 2,087 226,435 August ..................... 1,258 133,839 September .................. 868 82,647 Third Quarter .............. 4,213 442,921 (2)(p)1,375 (2)(p)181,793 (p)32.6 (p)41.0 October .................... 1,523 158,240 November (p) ............... 1,438 138,543 December (p) ............... 1,929 192,633 Fourth Quarter (p) ......... 4,890 489,416 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become avaliable. Recent 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 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry December October November December December October November December 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p Total(1) ................................... 2,474 1,523 1,438 1,929 264,158 158,240 138,543 192,633 Total, private .................................. 2,396 1,453 1,380 1,846 257,470 150,713 133,818 185,928 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 72 188 146 53 4,663 13,007 10,294 3,178 Mining ........................................ 26 5 8 21 1,981 343 568 1,937 Utilities ..................................... 4 ( 2 ) 4 3 401 ( 2 ) 308 160 Construction .................................. 408 143 263 335 31,998 11,422 20,999 25,684 Manufacturing ................................. 984 438 408 648 126,826 53,741 48,419 77,915 Food ...................................... 89 96 70 89 10,597 10,034 8,410 9,285 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 9 16 9 5 1,032 1,237 938 781 Textile mills ............................. 46 9 13 31 6,676 1,533 1,178 4,299 Textile product mills ..................... 23 8 8 14 3,014 881 483 2,102 Apparel ................................... 42 25 14 32 5,101 2,592 1,269 3,232 Leather and allied products ............... 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 7 854 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 842 Wood products ............................. 64 15 29 55 7,219 1,163 3,852 5,000 Paper ..................................... 21 12 12 12 1,540 1,049 856 934 Printing and related support activities ... 11 11 8 7 1,186 998 570 627 Petroleum and coal products ............... 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 10 932 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 863 Chemicals ................................. 11 7 10 9 1,523 546 908 735 Plastics and rubber products .............. 77 16 27 40 11,776 1,390 2,085 3,579 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 54 13 21 49 5,366 1,193 2,089 4,079 Primary metals ............................ 65 29 22 33 7,179 3,444 2,470 3,421 Fabricated metal products ................. 72 23 31 39 8,249 2,093 2,696 4,045 Machinery ................................. 57 35 28 24 7,547 7,212 4,642 3,629 Computer and electronic products .......... 69 26 19 19 6,702 2,361 1,468 1,408 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 39 11 12 20 8,304 2,493 2,671 4,726 Transportation equipment .................. 158 55 51 122 25,408 10,229 9,696 21,061 Furniture and related products ............ 35 15 10 14 3,868 1,995 856 1,607 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 23 11 8 17 2,753 883 891 1,660 Wholesale trade ............................... 36 22 23 27 2,748 1,760 2,421 2,443 Retail trade .................................. 113 115 76 98 11,417 21,870 6,877 9,203 Transportation and warehousing ................ 141 37 42 131 15,874 3,003 4,127 15,528 Information ................................... 54 52 37 40 10,396 7,755 5,918 3,839 Finance and insurance ......................... 27 35 19 27 2,095 2,541 1,485 1,764 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 7 12 8 4 431 718 432 562 Professional and technical services ........... 56 30 33 57 4,595 2,447 3,175 6,095 Management of companies and enterprises ....... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 1,458 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 296 Administrative and waste services ............. 228 233 163 200 20,106 21,380 13,925 17,256 Educational services .......................... 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 475 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 327 Health care and social assistance ............. 28 37 28 27 3,337 2,407 2,243 2,075 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 25 28 26 20 1,724 2,039 1,920 1,795 Accommodation and food services ............... 155 62 75 131 15,302 5,176 7,348 14,701 Other services, except public administration .. 15 7 15 12 1,174 459 1,081 955 Unclassified .................................. 6 5 2 3 469 343 1,646 215 Government ...................................... 78 70 58 83 6,688 7,527 4,725 6,705 Federal ....................................... 6 20 9 13 672 1,649 820 1,419 State ......................................... 14 16 22 10 1,031 1,383 1,917 830 Local ......................................... 58 34 27 60 4,985 4,495 1,988 4,456 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Industry data reflect the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 2002. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Census region and division December October November December December October November December 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p United States(1) .... 2,474 1,523 1,438 1,929 264,158 158,240 138,543 192,633 Northeast ................. 444 184 210 350 43,796 17,061 21,478 34,437 New England ............. 119 16 29 66 13,823 1,157 2,282 6,904 Middle Atlantic ......... 325 168 181 284 29,973 15,904 19,196 27,533 South ..................... 557 278 265 335 60,660 29,371 27,438 32,467 South Atlantic .......... 290 134 135 192 32,679 13,270 13,822 17,903 East South Central ...... 140 44 35 59 16,041 5,310 4,212 6,510 West South Central ...... 127 100 95 84 11,940 10,791 9,404 8,054 Midwest ................... 830 325 426 780 101,493 43,432 46,298 87,806 East North Central ...... 609 264 313 596 71,477 27,841 31,687 64,802 West North Central ...... 221 61 113 184 30,016 15,591 14,611 23,004 West ...................... 643 736 537 464 58,209 68,376 43,329 37,923 Mountain ................ 76 47 51 63 6,881 4,038 4,606 7,025 Pacific ................. 567 689 486 401 51,328 64,338 38,723 30,898 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 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 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State December October November December December October November December 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p Total(1) ............. 2,474 1,523 1,438 1,929 264,158 158,240 138,543 192,633 Alabama ................. 32 13 10 27 3,532 1,671 1,384 3,728 Alaska .................. 3 3 6 3 175 295 561 213 Arizona ................. 10 8 4 8 852 700 257 551 Arkansas ................ 8 6 3 6 773 1,140 777 656 California .............. 485 616 420 346 42,225 57,322 32,200 25,953 Colorado ................ 9 8 7 11 1,013 581 549 1,107 Connecticut ............. 8 3 4 13 801 200 312 1,166 Delaware ................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia .... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 287 Florida ................. 77 66 55 63 5,377 4,608 3,533 4,826 Georgia ................. 58 23 18 31 5,417 2,838 1,771 3,354 Hawaii .................. 7 6 ( 2 ) 6 1,448 462 ( 2 ) 506 Idaho ................... 18 10 11 12 1,339 1,203 1,408 1,647 Illinois ................ 122 74 57 123 15,469 7,890 5,785 15,006 Indiana ................. 119 22 42 108 20,385 2,118 4,269 15,330 Iowa .................... 65 18 29 46 8,024 3,680 3,464 5,305 Kansas .................. 22 6 6 29 3,942 738 696 3,518 Kentucky ................ 79 23 14 9 9,849 3,136 1,649 995 Louisiana ............... 27 12 23 15 1,691 1,045 1,773 991 Maine ................... 8 3 4 5 604 180 306 424 Maryland ................ 4 4 9 15 472 256 843 1,119 Massachusetts ........... 63 9 17 24 7,495 713 1,373 2,568 Michigan ................ 71 42 48 135 6,500 4,263 5,058 12,275 Minnesota ............... 51 17 44 51 6,748 2,845 3,849 6,342 Mississippi ............. 10 4 3 8 788 200 165 450 Missouri ................ 58 18 22 45 8,606 8,165 5,651 6,180 Montana ................. 4 5 5 7 538 360 428 918 Nebraska ................ 18 ( 2 ) 7 10 2,015 ( 2 ) 412 1,411 Nevada .................. 26 10 14 20 2,426 835 1,156 2,351 New Hampshire ........... 11 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,210 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New Jersey .............. 74 27 43 76 7,315 2,906 5,985 6,895 New Mexico .............. 9 ( 2 ) 4 3 713 ( 2 ) 212 278 New York ................ 101 44 59 88 9,599 3,855 5,648 9,448 North Carolina .......... 10 19 23 23 793 2,039 3,635 1,857 North Dakota ............ 5 - 4 ( 2 ) 483 - 474 ( 2 ) Ohio .................... 124 66 75 117 11,472 7,316 6,464 10,693 Oklahoma ................ 23 12 3 12 2,910 1,614 406 1,278 Oregon .................. 45 39 26 26 5,250 3,784 3,058 2,498 Pennsylvania ............ 150 97 79 120 13,059 9,143 7,563 11,190 Rhode Island ............ 21 - ( 2 ) 12 2,921 - ( 2 ) 1,775 South Carolina .......... 91 7 7 17 13,918 706 547 2,713 South Dakota ............ ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ............... 19 4 8 15 1,872 303 1,014 1,337 Texas ................... 69 70 66 51 6,566 6,992 6,448 5,129 Utah .................... - ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 596 ( 2 ) Vermont ................. 8 - ( 2 ) 10 792 - ( 2 ) 794 Virginia ................ 45 14 16 34 6,298 1,376 2,644 3,372 Washington .............. 27 25 32 20 2,230 2,475 2,751 1,728 West Virginia ........... ( 2 ) - 5 3 ( 2 ) - 556 176 Wisconsin ............... 173 60 91 113 17,651 6,254 10,111 11,498 Wyoming ................. - 3 - - - 216 - - Puerto Rico ............. 6 7 - 6 698 567 - 486 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.