Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 02-106 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, February 28, 2002 MASS LAYOFFS IN JANUARY 2002 Employers initiated 2,146 mass layoff actions in January 2002, 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 sin- gle establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 263,821. (See table 1.) The number of initial claimants for unemployment in- surance was the highest for the month of January since the series began in April 1995. This release uses the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for the assignment and tabulation of layoff data by industry. Previously, the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system was used. Thus, all industry data in this release differ from data previously published. Additional information on this change is provided in the box on page 3 of this release. Industry Distribution Manufacturing industries accounted for 42 percent of all mass layoff events and 49 percent of all initial claims filed in January 2002. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 42 percent of events and 53 percent of initial claims. The number of initial claimants was highest in transportation equipment (30,900, mostly in automobiles), followed by computer and electronic products (14,073, primarily semiconductors and related devices) and apparel manufacturing (11,560). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 11 percent of events and 10 percent of initial claims filed during the month, with layoffs concentrated in administrative and support services, particularly temporary help services. Nine percent of all layoff events and 8 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, mostly in general merchandise stores, especially discount department stores. Con- struction accounted for an additional 9 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims, primarily in businesses engaged in heavy and civil engineering construction and among specialty trade contractors. Three percent of events and 5 percent of initial claims in January were in professional and technical services, mostly in payroll services. Compared with January 2001, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in professional and technical services (+11,810), computer and electronic products manufacturing (+9,831), apparel manufacturing (+7,485), administrative and support services (+6,852), and textile mills (+6,644). The largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims was reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-14,638). - 2 - Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in January was in the West--83,103--largely in professional and tech- nical services and in administrative and support services. (See table 3.) The West region was followed closely by the South (79,608, mainly in apparel manufacturing, administrative and support services, and textile mills) and the Midwest (71,176, largely in transportation equipment manufacturing). The Northeast region continued to have the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims (29,934). The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs rose over the year in the South (+43,601), the West (+28,084), and the Northeast (+7,940). Eight of the nine geographic divisions had January-to-January increases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increases in the East South Central (+25,601) and Pacific (+25,296) divi- sions. Compared with a year ago, only the East North Central division reported a decline in mass-layoff initial claims (-18,474). California registered the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this January, 62,844, mostly in professional and technical services and in administrative and support services. Alabama reported 27,032 claimants, primarily in apparel manufacturing and in textile mills, followed by Ohio (18,614, largely in transportation equipment and in primary metals) and Pennsylvania (14,535, mostly in transportation equipment). These four states accounted for 48 percent of all layoff events and 47 percent of all initial claims for unemploy- ment insurance. (See table 4.) Alabama reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+25,662), followed by California (+21,583). The largest over-the-year decreases occurred in Michigan (-10,472) and Ohio (-10,086). Impact of the September 11 Attacks After the events of September 11, BLS added a new code for reason for layoff, "non-natural disaster," for use in the quarterly reporting of extended mass layoffs (those lasting more than 30 days). This allows for the identification of workers separated from companies as a direct or indirect effect of situations such as the September 11 attacks. BLS also implemented interim reporting of extended mass layoffs in order to analyze the layoff impact of those attacks on a more timely basis. In the 18 weeks following the September 11 attacks (the weeks ending September 15 through January 12), employers reported 430 events involving 125,637 workers separated as a direct or indirect effect of the attacks. A majority of the layoff events took place in the weeks immediately following the attacks, and the number of new events has tapered off since then. (See table A.) Thirty-three states reported extended mass layoff activity related to the September 11 incidents. However, 55 percent of these events and 61 percent of the associated separations occurred in just six states--California, Nevada, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington. Among the workers laid off because of the terrorist attacks, 36 percent, or 44,861, had been employed in the scheduled passenger air transportation industry. An additional 26 percent, or 32,803 workers, had been employed in hotels and motels. Thirty-two percent of the employers reporting extended mass layoffs related to the attacks indicated they anticipated some type of recall. - 3 - Table A. Extended mass layoff events due to September 11 attacks ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weeks ending | Number of events | Number of separations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 15-October 13 | 283 | 87,257 October 20-November 17 | 96 | 24,345 November 24-December 15 | 23 | 2,574 December 22-January 12 | 28 | 11,461 | | Total | 430 | 125,637 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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") and provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establish- ment, on reasons for layoffs, 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 Mass Layoffs in February 2002 will be issued on Thursday, March 28, 2002. ------------------------------------------------------------------ | Change in Industry Classification System | | | | Beginning with this release, the Mass Layoff Statistics pro- | |gram has implemented the 2002 version of the North American In- | |dustry Classification System (NAICS) as the basis for the as- | |signment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is | |the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the statisti- | |cal agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to | |differences in NAICS and the previously used Standard Industrial | |Classification (SIC) structures, data by industry for 2002 will | |not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. How- | |ever, the monthly historical industry series from April 1995 | |through December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. | | | | NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize eco- | |nomic units. Units with similar production processes are clas- | |sified in the same industry. NAICS focuses on how products and | |services are created, as opposed to the SIC focus on what is pro- | |duced. This approach yields significantly different industry | |groupings than those produced by the SIC approach. | | | | Users interested in more information about NAICS can access the| |BLS Web page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the Bureau of | |the Census Web page at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, January 2000 to January 2002 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Realization rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2000 January .................. 1,934 223,322 February ................. 1,045 103,898 March .................... 986 106,748 First Quarter ............ 3,965 433,968 1,330 221,368 33.5 51.0 April .................... 924 101,359 May ...................... 984 92,193 June ..................... 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter ........... 3,505 385,577 1,271 231,471 36.3 60.0 July ..................... 1,333 164,978 August ................... 751 97,215 September ................ 936 106,842 Third Quarter ............ 3,020 369,035 1,014 189,250 33.6 51.3 October .................. 874 103,755 November ................. 1,697 216,514 December ................. 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter ........... 5,248 647,012 2,005 (r)376,588 38.2 58.2 2001 January .................. 1,522 200,343 February ................. 1,501 172,908 March .................... 1,527 171,466 First Quarter ............ 4,550 544,717 1,765 (r)339,766 38.8 (r)62.4 April(r) ................. 1,450 176,265 May(r) ................... 1,434 159,365 June(r) .................. 2,107 253,826 Second Quarter(r) ........ 4,991 589,456 2,072 399,075 41.5 67.7 July(r) .................. 2,117 273,807 August(r) ................ 1,490 166,148 September(r) ............. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter(r) ......... 4,934 600,357 1,816 364,548 36.8 60.7 October(r) ............... 1,831 215,483 November ................. 2,721 295,956 December(p) ............. 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter(p) ....... 6,992 780,332 (2)2,538 (2)358,067 36.3 45.9 2002 January(p) ............... 2,146 263,821 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 available. 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. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry January November December January January November December January 2001 2001 2001(p) 2002(p) 2001 2001 2001(p) 2002(p) Total(1) ..................................... 1,522 2,721 2,440 2,146 200,343 295,956 268,893 263,821 Total, private .................................... 1,468 2,669 2,387 2,093 194,826 291,052 264,225 258,219 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 63 296 68 65 6,322 20,784 4,728 5,950 Mining ........................................ 8 23 32 20 496 2,707 3,581 2,110 Utilities ..................................... ( 2 ) 3 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 191 1,076 ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 140 319 364 199 10,381 29,219 28,637 15,869 Manufacturing.................................. 632 1,122 1,103 892 107,028 151,969 136,820 128,825 Food ...................................... 70 112 99 61 8,435 12,104 11,126 6,949 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 6 14 7 7 449 1,122 725 488 Textile mills ............................. 23 46 35 37 2,804 7,262 4,323 9,448 Textile product mills ..................... 7 10 12 19 663 1,593 1,300 3,109 Apparel ................................... 32 42 43 66 4,075 5,865 4,337 11,560 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) 11 16 5 ( 2 ) 905 1,641 332 Wood products ............................. 46 56 62 63 4,461 7,090 6,316 6,990 Paper ..................................... 14 28 28 22 1,369 4,248 2,458 1,676 Printing and related support activities ... 15 20 18 17 1,330 2,047 1,328 2,173 Petroleum and coal products ............... ( 2 ) 8 7 6 ( 2 ) 832 619 388 Chemicals ................................. 7 15 19 14 555 1,660 2,116 1,026 Plastics and rubber products .............. 35 65 74 39 3,874 9,315 9,156 3,780 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 30 34 47 31 2,585 3,452 4,543 2,597 Primary metals ............................ 35 94 69 44 8,456 11,940 10,388 6,247 Fabricated metal products ................. 43 71 106 75 4,579 7,001 9,458 7,377 Machinery ................................. 34 115 84 69 6,607 17,625 12,584 8,837 Computer and electronic products .......... 34 99 95 103 4,242 12,252 13,346 14,073 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 18 50 42 36 1,713 9,039 5,991 3,835 Transportation equipment .................. 128 155 175 112 45,538 26,582 26,558 30,900 Furniture and related products ............ 31 44 41 43 3,545 4,824 5,972 5,429 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 21 33 24 23 1,530 5,211 2,535 1,611 Wholesale trade ............................... 20 44 26 38 1,899 3,411 1,979 3,962 Retail trade .................................. 131 112 116 185 15,516 10,411 12,298 21,717 Transportation and warehousing ................ 74 79 120 87 6,925 7,832 15,384 8,067 Information ................................... 45 74 46 71 7,894 8,122 8,123 7,809 Finance and insurance ......................... 19 38 26 49 2,245 3,144 1,931 5,005 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 3 12 10 8 298 954 770 676 Professional and technical services ........... 19 70 59 59 1,664 5,537 6,117 13,474 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) 8 4 5 ( 2 ) 1,236 485 804 Administrative and waste services ............. 172 269 219 237 19,062 25,053 23,863 26,181 Educational services........................... 8 3 4 ( 2 ) 812 171 208 ( 2 ) Health care and social assistance ............. 16 28 19 24 1,248 3,310 1,594 1,803 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 16 34 18 27 1,631 3,346 1,228 2,773 Accommodation and food services ............... 67 95 109 87 5,963 9,718 11,733 8,295 Other services, except public administration... 12 13 13 18 1,290 964 1,433 1,756 Unclassified ................................. 20 27 25 16 3,833 2,973 2,237 2,468 Government ........................................ 54 52 53 53 5,517 4,904 4,668 5,602 Federal ....................................... 27 10 7 13 3,182 1,020 651 1,751 State ......................................... 11 22 14 16 1,030 2,070 1,160 1,741 Local ......................................... 16 20 32 24 1,305 1,814 2,857 2,110 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: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division January November December January January November December January 2001 2001 2001(p) 2002(p) 2001 2001 2001(p) 2002(p) United States(1) .... 1,522 2,721 2,440 2,146 200,343 295,956 268,893 263,821 Northeast ................... 227 388 401 274 21,994 41,738 40,843 29,934 New England ............. 37 76 116 58 2,857 8,813 12,809 5,852 Middle Atlantic ......... 190 312 285 216 19,137 32,925 28,034 24,082 South ....................... 323 539 451 581 36,007 69,720 52,331 79,608 South Atlantic .......... 154 287 185 229 15,870 35,748 19,366 33,142 East South Central ...... 68 90 124 227 7,121 13,464 15,232 32,722 West South Central ...... 101 162 142 125 13,016 20,508 17,733 13,744 Midwest ..................... 468 793 1,013 559 87,323 101,147 119,250 71,176 East North Central ...... 376 615 774 437 72,119 79,965 87,719 53,645 West North Central ...... 92 178 239 122 15,204 21,182 31,531 17,531 West ........................ 504 1,001 575 732 55,019 83,351 56,469 83,103 Mountain ................ 72 120 83 83 6,527 14,802 8,547 9,315 Pacific ................. 432 881 492 649 48,492 68,549 47,922 73,788 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 January November December January January November December January 2001 2001 2001(p) 2002(p) 2001 2001 2001(p) 2002(p) Total(1) .............. 1,522 2,721 2,440 2,146 200,343 295,956 268,893 263,821 Alabama .................. 15 23 12 163 1,370 2,402 1,902 27,032 Alaska ................... 5 6 3 7 340 651 237 467 Arizona .................. 7 17 10 12 569 1,663 831 1,252 Arkansas ................. 13 11 10 5 1,515 2,500 1,030 445 California ............... 365 782 406 563 41,261 57,804 39,239 62,844 Colorado ................. 11 29 14 13 1,084 3,044 1,295 1,487 Connecticut .............. 6 9 9 5 424 745 674 428 Delaware ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 521 ( 2 ) District of Columbia ..... 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 496 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 499 Florida .................. 49 102 54 78 3,147 10,138 4,136 9,173 Georgia .................. 15 26 15 46 1,200 3,714 1,268 10,630 Hawaii ................... 6 10 5 14 429 924 494 1,302 Idaho .................... 10 27 17 13 677 3,250 1,914 1,054 Illinois ................. 68 106 130 89 12,163 13,648 15,387 12,951 Indiana .................. 37 65 77 36 4,425 8,775 9,516 5,101 Iowa ..................... 21 50 63 32 2,505 6,647 7,523 3,982 Kansas ................... 10 13 25 16 3,766 1,613 6,065 1,331 Kentucky ................. 9 44 74 30 1,101 8,863 9,912 2,565 Louisiana ................ 23 29 24 20 4,410 3,419 1,619 2,249 Maine .................... 6 7 7 5 434 827 571 616 Maryland ................. 10 11 6 11 1,085 878 451 998 Massachusetts ............ 21 41 52 30 1,723 4,617 5,534 2,867 Michigan ................. 69 158 298 82 19,387 23,102 34,681 8,915 Minnesota ................ 20 62 55 29 3,669 6,934 6,181 2,913 Mississippi .............. 18 7 11 7 2,036 499 740 584 Missouri ................. 37 33 70 39 4,567 3,704 8,799 8,709 Montana .................. 6 5 4 ( 2 ) 484 562 728 ( 2 ) Nebraska ................. 3 10 19 4 284 1,347 2,324 466 Nevada ................... 23 18 30 31 2,195 2,730 3,202 4,133 New Hampshire ............ ( 2 ) 6 17 7 ( 2 ) 1,277 1,930 1,001 New Jersey ............... 35 48 45 49 4,544 5,155 5,416 7,066 New Mexico ............... 4 ( 2 ) 4 4 397 ( 2 ) 246 535 New York ................. 21 51 35 27 2,198 5,384 3,026 2,481 North Carolina ........... 21 46 20 25 3,982 4,764 1,869 3,386 North Dakota ............. ( 2 ) 8 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 809 352 ( 2 ) Ohio ..................... 132 103 123 158 28,700 10,918 11,562 18,614 Oklahoma ................. 8 14 19 8 833 2,648 3,214 778 Oregon ................... 44 54 54 39 5,354 6,674 5,946 5,278 Pennsylvania ............. 134 213 205 140 12,395 22,386 19,592 14,535 Rhode Island ............. ( 2 ) 6 19 7 ( 2 ) 772 2,288 694 South Carolina ........... 28 61 36 33 3,327 10,651 5,049 3,753 South Dakota ............. - ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 287 ( 2 ) Tennessee ................ 26 16 27 27 2,614 1,700 2,678 2,541 Texas .................... 57 108 89 92 6,258 11,941 11,870 10,272 Utah ..................... 11 20 4 7 1,121 3,184 331 551 Vermont .................. ( 2 ) 7 12 4 ( 2 ) 575 1,812 246 Virginia ................. 20 35 47 27 2,210 5,125 5,875 3,303 Washington ............... 12 29 24 26 1,108 2,496 2,006 3,897 West Virginia ............ ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 229 ( 2 ) 258 Wisconsin ................ 70 183 146 72 7,444 23,522 16,573 8,064 Wyoming .................. - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Puerto Rico .............. 17 13 9 8 1,475 1,524 1,281 1,020 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.