Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6396 USDL 98-368 Media contact: 606-5902 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Monday, September 14, 1998 MASS LAYOFFS IN JUNE 1998 In June 1998, there were 1,208 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 183,590. Though the number of layoff events was lower than in June 1997, the number of initial claimants for unemployment insurance was significantly higher than a year ago, mostly due to large strike-related layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing. (See table 1.) The monthly series in this release covers 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 establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Because the 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. For example, 4,092 layoff events involving 414,868 initial claimants for unemployment insurance occurred in January, February, and March of 1998 combined. The first-quarter 1998 figures for mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days, however, were 1,276 events and 169,008 claimants. Thirty-one percent of all mass layoffs in the January-March period lasted for more than a month. (See table 1.) In all quarters for which data are available, the proportion of mass layoffs that became "extended" mass layoffs varied from about 29 to 47 percent. Industry Distribution In June 1998, manufacturing industries accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff events and 55 percent of all initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the largest numbers of initial claimants were transportation equipment (62,507), primarily in motor vehicles and car bodies and motor vehicle parts and accessories; electronic equipment (9,174), mostly in miscellaneous electrical machinery; and food products (4,314), particularly in canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. (See table 3.) Most initial claimants associated with layoff events in both transportation equipment and electronic equipment were involved in strike- related plant shutdowns. In nonmanufacturing industries, services accounted for 26 percent of all mass layoff events and 15 percent of all initial claims filed, and the - 2 - layoffs occurred primarily in social services (largely child day care services) and in motion pictures (mostly in motion pictures and video production). Layoffs in motion pictures are more likely than those in other industries to last less than 30 days. Layoffs in transportation and public utilities accounted for 9 percent of all events and 8 percent of all initial claimants and occurred almost exclusively among school bus drivers. Retail trade contributed 8 percent to layoff events and 7 percent to initial claims during the month, largely in eating places and department stores. Layoffs in government establishments accounted for 10 percent of all mass layoff events and 5 percent of all initial claimants and were most prevalent among elementary and secondary schools and coincided with the end of the school year. Compared with June 1997, the largest increases in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment (56,157), electronic equipment (7,510), and wholesale trade of durable goods (3,899). The largest over- the-year decreases in initial claims occurred in motion pictures (-3,233), business services (-3,169), agricultural services (-2,903), and educational services (-2,816). State Distribution Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for June, Michigan had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (38,290), mostly due to strike-related layoffs in transportation equipment, followed by California (26,605) and Wisconsin (10,223). These three states accounted for 36 percent of all layoff events and 41 percent of all initial claims. (See table 2.) From June 1997 to June 1998, Michigan reported the largest over-the- year rise in initial claims (35,744), mostly in transportation equipment, followed by Indiana (7,075), Wisconsin (6,375), and New York (5,824). California had the largest over-the-year decline in initial claims (-16,219), mostly in business services and motion pictures. 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 one month on a quarterly basis. 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: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. 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, April 1996 to June 1998 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization Events Initial Events Initial rate (1) claimants claimants 1996 April ................... 1,030 109,572 May ..................... 942 80,366 June .................... 924 80,232 Second quarter .......... 2,896 270,170 1,350 207,859 46.6 July .................... 1,534 192,155 August .................. 918 83,166 September ............... 513 42,376 Third quarter ........... 2,965 317,697 1,020 200,396 34.4 October ................. 1,289 131,850 November ................ 1,433 130,774 December ................ 1,824 204,123 Fourth quarter .......... 4,546 466,747 1,915 383,816 42.1 1997 January ................. 2,139 212,860 February ................ 755 63,352 March ................... 783 84,069 First quarter ........... 3,677 360,281 1,317 253,385 35.8 April ................... 1,269 152,168 May ..................... 1,152 101,476 June .................... 1,238 121,256 Second quarter .......... 3,659 374,900 1,574 318,725 43.0 July .................... 1,899 237,410 August .................. 973 99,513 September ............... 548 59,062 Third quarter ........... 3,420 395,985 1,077 215,672 31.5 October ................. 1,414 139,297 November ................ 1,156 100,051 December ................ 1,634 172,029 Fourth quarter .......... 4,204 411,377 1,677 304,173 39.9 1998 January ................. 2,360 255,203 February ................ 970 81,455 March ................... 762 78,210 First quarter ........... 4,092 414,868 1,276 169,008 31.2 April ................... 1,253 132,476 May ..................... 1,180 107,952 June .................... 1,208 183,590 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. Table 2. State distribution: Mass layoff events, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 1997 and June 1998 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State June June June June 1997 1998 1997 1998 Total( 1 )................... 1,238 1,208 121,256 183,590 Alabama ........................ 4 13 516 1,857 Alaska ......................... 3 3 442 420 Arizona ........................ 11 12 1,155 1,195 Arkansas ....................... 9 9 721 883 California ..................... 437 301 42,824 26,605 Colorado ....................... 3 ( 2 ) 250 ( 2 ) Connecticut .................... 6 6 384 621 Delaware ....................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia ........... - 3 - 408 Florida ........................ 82 98 5,786 6,602 Georgia ........................ 16 19 1,830 4,025 Hawaii ......................... 7 8 566 577 Idaho .......................... 5 7 329 540 Illinois ....................... 51 45 8,009 6,762 Indiana ........................ 16 24 1,247 8,322 Iowa ........................... - 13 - 1,183 Kansas ......................... 5 7 546 3,333 Kentucky ....................... 5 7 555 825 Louisiana ...................... 17 19 1,550 3,516 Maine .......................... 4 ( 2 ) 257 ( 2 ) Maryland ....................... 18 6 1,876 2,532 Massachusetts .................. 12 11 994 822 Michigan ....................... 25 95 2,546 38,290 Minnesota ...................... 16 19 1,609 1,659 Mississippi .................... 3 6 185 662 Missouri ....................... 41 36 5,382 5,922 Montana ........................ ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 198 Nebraska ....................... 4 3 267 244 Nevada ......................... 7 5 506 450 New Hampshire .................. - 6 - 693 New Jersey ..................... 58 49 8,663 8,791 New Mexico ..................... 7 7 470 620 New York ....................... 31 25 2,622 8,446 North Carolina ................. 5 9 357 667 North Dakota ................... 4 ( 2 ) 448 ( 2 ) Ohio ........................... 34 45 3,214 4,246 Oklahoma ....................... 4 6 286 2,835 Oregon ......................... 20 18 2,017 2,111 Pennsylvania ................... 93 92 7,557 9,477 Rhode Island ................... 6 4 890 946 South Carolina ................. 9 19 1,030 1,745 South Dakota ................... 3 ( 2 ) 209 ( 2 ) Tennessee ...................... 18 14 1,452 1,479 Texas .......................... 49 53 4,049 6,538 Utah ........................... 3 4 277 583 Vermont ........................ ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Virginia ....................... 13 16 1,049 2,925 Washington ..................... 21 11 1,941 873 West Virginia .................. 3 3 185 251 Wisconsin ...................... 46 40 3,848 10,223 Wyoming ........................ - - - - Puerto Rico .................... 5 12 372 1,279 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Data for total mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance have been revised for June 1997 due to the inclusion of new data for Louisiana and Oklahoma. Dash represents zero. Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 1997 and June 1998 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry June June June June 1997 1998 1997 1998 Total( 1 )........................................ 1,238 1,208 121,256 183,590 Total, private ........................................ 1,082 1,085 109,233 174,251 Agriculture ......................................... 123 67 9,572 4,351 Nonagriculture ...................................... 933 996 97,724 164,709 Manufacturing ..................................... 281 407 29,362 100,239 Durable goods ................................... 133 244 16,488 85,477 Lumber and wood products ...................... ( 2 ) 10 ( 2 ) 796 Furniture and fixtures ........................ 19 15 1,319 3,690 Stone, clay, and glass products ............... 9 10 1,198 1,132 Primary metal industries ...................... 5 10 293 899 Fabricated metal products ..................... 11 23 889 2,920 Industrial machinery and equipment ............ 28 28 3,938 2,702 Electronic and other electrical equipment ..... 20 35 1,664 9,174 Transportation equipment ...................... 31 94 6,350 62,507 Instruments and related products .............. 5 8 365 884 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ........ ( 2 ) 11 ( 2 ) 773 Nondurable goods ................................ 148 163 12,874 14,762 Food and kindred products ..................... 59 48 5,507 4,314 Textile mill products ......................... 7 15 674 1,537 Apparel and other textile products ............ 40 38 3,449 3,143 Paper and allied products ..................... 3 5 215 388 Printing and publishing ....................... 15 13 1,169 1,006 Chemicals and allied products ................. 3 4 253 256 Petroleum and coal products ................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products .... 14 36 1,110 3,718 Leather and leather products .................. 5 ( 2 ) 311 ( 2 ) Nonmanufacturing .................................. 652 589 68,362 64,470 Mining .......................................... 4 4 420 272 Construction .................................... 58 46 3,688 3,289 Transportation and public utilities ............. 108 104 15,335 14,545 Wholesale and retail trade ...................... 137 116 13,610 17,515 Wholesale trade .............................. 29 21 2,037 5,185 Retail trade ................................. 108 95 11,573 12,330 Finance, insurance, and real estate ............. 14 8 1,173 763 Services ........................................ 331 311 34,136 28,086 Not identified ...................................... 26 22 1,937 5,191 Government ............................................ 156 123 12,023 9,339 Federal ............................................. 7 8 601 668 State ............................................... 10 15 719 1,259 Local ............................................... 139 100 10,703 7,412 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Data for total mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance have been revised for June 1997 due to the inclusion of new data for Louisiana and Oklahoma. Dash represents zero.