Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-459 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, March 24, 2004 MASS LAYOFFS IN FEBRUARY 2004 In February 2004, there were 941 mass layoff actions by employers, 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 84,201. (See table 1.) The number of events was the lowest for any February since 1997, and the number of initial claims was the lowest for any February since 1998. Both the number of events and initial claims were sharply lower than a year ago, and the over-the-year declines were the largest for a February since the program began in April 1995. Industry Distribution Temporary help services, with 6,953 initial claimants, and motion picture and video production, with 3,967 initial claimants, together accounted for 13 percent of all initial claims in February. (See table A.) The 10 indus- tries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 27,989 initial claims in February, 33 percent of the total. The manufacturing sector had 26 percent of all mass layoff events and 27 percent of all initial claims filed in February, both being the smallest shares for any February on record. A year ago, manufacturing reported 32 percent of events and 39 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in food processing (6,517, mainly in fruit and vegetable canning), followed by transportation equipment (2,671) and electrical equipment and appliances (2,109). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 15 percent of events and 13 percent of initial claims filed in February, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Eleven percent of all layoff events and initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, especially in discount department stores, which recorded a series peak for February. Con- struction accounted for an additional 14 percent of events and 10 percent of initial claims during the month, primarily among specialty trade contractors. Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and initial claims filed during the month, particularly in educational services. Govern- ment accounted for its largest share of events and initial claims for any February on record. Compared with February 2003, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-7,864), admini- strative and support services (-4,648), and machinery manufacturing (-3,404). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in mo- tion picture and sound recording (+1,632) and in general merchandise stores (+1,434). - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in February 2004p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | February peak Industry |Initial claims|---------------------- | | Year | Initial claims ----------------------------------------|--------------|------|--------------- Temporary help services.................| 6,953 | 2001 | 18,893 Motion picture and video production.....| 3,967 | 2002 | 5,844 School and employee bus transportation..| 2,997 | 2004 | 2,997 Payroll services........................| 2,675 | 2000 | 6,590 Discount department stores..............| 2,669 | 2004 | 2,669 Farm labor contractors and crew leaders.| 2,313 | 2000 | 12,516 Department stores, except discount......| 1,814 | 2001 | 2,994 Supermarkets and other grocery stores...| 1,646 | 2002 | 1,982 Food service contractors................| 1,500 | 2003 | 1,700 Professional employer organizations.....| 1,455 | 2001 | 3,241 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in February due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 34,453. (See table 3.) Ad- ministrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording in- dustries accounted for 24 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest region was next, with 19,183 initial claims, followed by the South, with 17,770, and the Northeast, with 12,795. 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 (-15,107). Eight of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest de- creases in the Middle Atlantic (-11,059) and Pacific (-10,543) divisions. The New England division reported the only increase in mass-layoff initial claims (+563). - 3 - Among the states, California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in February, 29,865, mostly in motion picture and sound recording industries and administrative and support ser- vices. Ohio reported 4,142 initial claims, followed by Illinois (4,108) and Texas (4,062). These four states accounted for 54 percent of all lay- off events and 50 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-8,869), followed by Pennsylvania (-8,383) and Texas (-6,272). The largest over-the-year increase occurred in Tennessee (+927). 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 quar- terly 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 Mass Layoffs in March 2004 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, April 22, 2004. -------------------------------------------------------------------- | NOTE: Due to budget constraints in the Mass Layoff Statistics | | (MLS) program, beginning with data for the first quarter of 2004, | | the scope of quarterly extended mass layoffs and plant closings, | | regularly reported in the release, Extended Mass Layoffs in (Quar- | | ter), has been redefined to cover only the private nonfarm economy.| | Quarterly information on layoff events in agriculture and govern- | | ment will no longer be collected. However, the monthly reporting | | of the MLS program in the release, Mass Layoffs in (Month), which | | is based only on administrative data, will be unaffected and will | | continue to cover the total economy. | -------------------------------------------------------------------- - 4 - 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 establish- ments 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 long- er, 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 ter- minated 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 indi- viduals 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 2002 to February 2004 Private nonfarm Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs Realization Date Mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2002 January ............... 2,146 263,777 2,028 252,245 February .............. 1,382 138,808 1,253 129,849 March ................. 1,460 161,316 1,335 151,305 First Quarter ......... 4,988 563,901 4,616 533,399 1,611 292,998 34.9 54.9 April ................. 1,506 165,814 1,378 153,216 May ................... 1,723 179,799 1,571 166,801 June .................. 1,584 162,189 1,266 136,424 Second Quarter ........ 4,813 507,802 4,215 456,441 1,624 299,598 38.5 65.6 July .................. 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 August ................ 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 September ............. 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 Third Quarter ......... 4,352 497,919 3,927 461,502 1,186 254,955 30.2 55.2 October ............... 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 November .............. 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 December .............. 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 Fourth Quarter ........ 6,124 675,429 5,454 618,371 1,916 370,592 35.1 59.9 2003 January ............... 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 February .............. 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 March ................. 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 First Quarter ......... 4,885 463,421 4,451 431,650 1,502 297,524 33.7 68.9 April ................. 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 May ................... 1,703 174,204 1,538 160,729 June .................. 1,691 157,552 1,336 127,743 Second Quarter ........ 4,975 493,168 4,344 441,409 1,799 346,549 41.4 78.5 July .................. 2,087 226,435 1,815 206,901 August ................ 1,258 133,839 1,163 124,131 September ............. 868 82,647 756 73,914 Third Quarter ......... 4,213 442,921 3,734 404,946 1,190 225,609 31.9 55.7 October ............... 1,523 158,240 1,265 137,706 November .............. 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 December .............. 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 Fourth Quarter ........ 4,890 489,416 4,292 443,980 (2)(p) 1,592 (2)(p) 229,014 37.1 51.6 2004 January (p) ........... 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 February (p) .......... 941 84,201 832 76,577 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry February December January February February December January February 2003 2003 2004p 2004p 2003 2003 2004p 2004p Total(1) .................................. 1,363 1,929 2,428 941 124,965 192,633 239,454 84,201 Total, private .................................. 1,322 1,846 2,339 905 121,890 185,928 228,578 81,093 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 100 53 113 73 5,626 3,178 7,891 4,516 Total, private nonfarm ......................... 1,222 1,793 2,226 832 116,264 182,750 220,687 76,577 Mining ........................................ 8 21 17 4 788 1,937 1,329 505 Utilities ..................................... ( 2 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 160 345 ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 195 335 324 131 13,399 25,684 23,405 8,586 Manufacturing ................................. 435 648 848 240 48,161 77,915 89,551 23,043 Food ...................................... 59 89 108 62 5,475 9,285 11,083 6,517 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 9 5 9 6 458 781 834 557 Textile mills ............................. 16 31 48 4 1,958 4,299 6,376 310 Textile product mills ..................... 7 14 19 7 571 2,102 1,933 560 Apparel ................................... 20 32 44 5 1,525 3,232 5,836 389 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) 7 11 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 842 1,195 ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 29 55 46 18 2,351 5,000 5,651 1,438 Paper ..................................... 15 12 20 4 1,436 934 1,847 391 Printing and related support activities ... 13 7 24 10 793 627 2,147 828 Petroleum and coal products ............... ( 2 ) 10 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 863 362 ( 2 ) Chemicals ................................. 9 9 23 4 1,185 735 2,384 324 Plastics and rubber products .............. 16 40 50 10 1,136 3,579 4,821 917 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 18 49 42 5 1,652 4,079 3,813 312 Primary metals ............................ 17 33 44 9 1,678 3,421 4,579 913 Fabricated metal products ................. 34 39 72 18 2,622 4,045 6,960 1,720 Machinery ................................. 22 24 39 12 4,207 3,629 3,017 803 Computer and electronic products .......... 41 19 44 12 3,690 1,408 3,561 815 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 19 20 23 11 3,159 4,726 2,263 2,109 Transportation equipment .................. 53 122 114 23 10,535 21,061 15,107 2,671 Furniture and related products ............ 24 14 36 9 2,702 1,607 3,541 679 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 9 17 27 8 613 1,660 2,241 553 Wholesale trade ............................... 19 27 27 13 1,321 2,443 2,391 956 Retail trade .................................. 110 98 188 102 10,015 9,203 22,145 9,383 Transportation and warehousing ................ 34 131 128 35 4,650 15,528 14,038 4,658 Information ................................... 61 40 67 19 5,689 3,839 9,394 4,716 Finance and insurance ......................... 24 27 41 25 1,778 1,764 3,547 1,562 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 10 4 15 ( 2 ) 795 562 1,202 ( 2 ) Professional and technical services ........... 33 57 47 30 4,224 6,095 4,288 4,247 Management of companies and enterprises ....... 5 3 3 6 431 296 895 587 Administrative and waste services ............. 177 200 285 139 15,942 17,256 27,855 11,065 Educational services .......................... ( 2 ) 6 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 327 553 ( 2 ) Health care and social assistance ............. 22 27 35 16 1,619 2,075 2,991 954 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 15 20 41 11 1,447 1,795 3,149 677 Accommodation and food services ............... 52 131 113 46 4,746 14,701 9,614 4,455 Other services, except public administration .. 11 12 26 8 629 955 2,992 629 Unclassified .................................. 6 3 10 2 361 215 1,003 191 Government ...................................... 41 83 89 36 3,075 6,705 10,876 3,108 Federal ....................................... 7 13 26 6 421 1,419 2,725 504 State ......................................... 14 10 13 13 1,054 830 1,405 1,121 Local ......................................... 20 60 50 17 1,600 4,456 6,746 1,483 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. 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 February December January February February December January February 2003 2003 2004p 2004p 2003 2003 2004p 2004p United States(1) .... 1,363 1,929 2,428 941 124,965 192,633 239,454 84,201 Northeast ................. 225 350 498 117 23,291 34,437 50,650 12,795 New England ............. 26 66 64 26 2,758 6,904 5,689 3,321 Middle Atlantic ......... 199 284 434 91 20,533 27,533 44,961 9,474 South ..................... 307 335 501 191 32,877 32,467 53,115 17,770 South Atlantic .......... 142 192 244 87 15,410 17,903 25,490 8,799 East South Central ...... 45 59 153 32 5,249 6,510 17,176 3,602 West South Central ...... 120 84 104 72 12,218 8,054 10,449 5,369 Midwest ................... 235 780 688 211 23,244 87,806 68,404 19,183 East North Central ...... 181 596 574 172 16,279 64,802 58,674 15,385 West North Central ...... 54 184 114 39 6,965 23,004 9,730 3,798 West ...................... 596 464 741 422 45,553 37,923 67,285 34,453 Mountain ................ 28 63 63 28 2,880 7,025 6,292 2,323 Pacific ................. 568 401 678 394 42,673 30,898 60,993 32,130 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 February December January February February December January February 2003 2003 2004p 2004p 2003 2003 2004p 2004p Total(1) ............. 1,363 1,929 2,428 941 124,965 192,633 239,454 84,201 Alabama ................. 9 27 112 ( 2 ) 1,547 3,728 13,754 ( 2 ) Alaska .................. ( 2 ) 3 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 213 429 ( 2 ) Arizona ................. 7 8 7 3 537 551 645 214 Arkansas ................ 4 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 288 656 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) California .............. 524 346 576 365 38,734 25,953 51,395 29,865 Colorado ................ 6 11 11 5 535 1,107 1,043 523 Connecticut ............. 3 13 7 5 190 1,166 669 351 Delaware ................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia .... - 4 ( 2 ) - - 287 ( 2 ) - Florida ................. 59 63 60 46 4,459 4,826 4,044 3,480 Georgia ................. 23 31 92 17 3,627 3,354 10,525 2,448 Hawaii .................. 3 6 4 ( 2 ) 186 506 296 ( 2 ) Idaho ................... 4 12 16 ( 2 ) 996 1,647 1,125 ( 2 ) Illinois ................ 44 123 88 47 4,956 15,006 9,610 4,108 Indiana ................. 28 108 58 24 2,267 15,330 5,499 2,195 Iowa .................... 15 46 29 7 1,191 5,305 2,267 698 Kansas .................. 5 29 14 6 2,056 3,518 954 517 Kentucky ................ 14 9 10 10 2,174 995 1,030 950 Louisiana ............... 16 15 14 13 1,043 991 908 757 Maine ................... ( 2 ) 5 14 5 ( 2 ) 424 1,463 347 Maryland ................ 6 15 19 ( 2 ) 562 1,119 2,009 ( 2 ) Massachusetts ........... 18 24 30 5 1,620 2,568 2,375 352 Michigan ................ 21 135 171 23 1,719 12,275 16,615 2,150 Minnesota ............... 8 51 30 6 614 6,342 2,688 460 Mississippi ............. 10 8 6 ( 2 ) 732 450 384 ( 2 ) Missouri ................ 15 45 26 16 1,922 6,180 2,422 1,479 Montana ................. ( 2 ) 7 4 3 ( 2 ) 918 270 336 Nebraska ................ 6 10 11 3 830 1,411 984 548 Nevada .................. 8 20 14 9 659 2,351 2,225 594 New Hampshire ........... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 480 New Jersey .............. 31 76 73 25 3,772 6,895 7,191 2,749 New Mexico .............. ( 2 ) 3 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 278 328 ( 2 ) New York ................ 42 88 194 26 5,265 9,448 24,376 3,612 North Carolina .......... 17 23 18 10 1,385 1,857 1,829 912 North Dakota ............ 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 229 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Ohio .................... 46 117 141 46 4,097 10,693 15,169 4,142 Oklahoma ................ 7 12 13 5 553 1,278 1,517 413 Oregon .................. 24 26 70 13 2,036 2,498 6,681 986 Pennsylvania ............ 126 120 167 40 11,496 11,190 13,394 3,113 Rhode Island ............ ( 2 ) 12 5 7 ( 2 ) 1,775 332 1,716 South Carolina .......... 20 17 26 3 2,159 2,713 3,563 325 South Dakota ............ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ............... 12 15 25 19 796 1,337 2,008 1,723 Texas ................... 93 51 74 52 10,334 5,129 7,571 4,062 Utah .................... - ( 2 ) 5 4 - ( 2 ) 656 295 Vermont ................. ( 2 ) 10 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 794 573 ( 2 ) Virginia ................ 13 34 24 8 1,263 3,372 3,061 574 Washington .............. 15 20 22 13 1,511 1,728 2,192 1,023 West Virginia ........... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 176 ( 2 ) - Wisconsin ............... 42 113 116 32 3,240 11,498 11,781 2,790 Wyoming ................. ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - - Puerto Rico ............. 10 6 5 9 1,336 486 511 891 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.