Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 99-365 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, December 23, 1999 MASS LAYOFFS IN OCTOBER 1999 In October 1999, there were 1,098 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 118,938. Both the number of layoff events and the number of initial claimants for unemployment insurance were lower this October than in October 1998. The total of layoff events from January through October 1999, at 12,018, and the total number of initial claimants, at 1,390,871, were lower than in January-October 1998 (12,760 and 1,419,065, respectively). (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. 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. Industry Distribution In October 1999, manufacturing industries accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff events and 47 percent of all initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the highest numbers of initial claimants were industrial machinery and equipment (12,985), primarily in construction machinery and in farm machinery and equipment; transportation equipment (11,206), mostly in motor vehicles and car bodies; and food and kindred products (8,253), particularly in canned fruits and vegetables. (See table 2.) Agriculture accounted for 22 percent of all layoffs and 14 percent of initial claimants during the month, largely in agricultural services and agricultural production crops. Services accounted for 18 percent of all mass layoff events and initial claims filed. These layoffs were predominantly in business services (particularly in help supply services) and motion pictures. Layoffs in these two industries, however, are more likely than those in most other industries to last less than 30 days. Retail trade accounted for 8 percent of layoff events and 6 percent of initial claims during the month, largely in general merchandise stores and eating and drinking places. Compared with October 1998, the largest decreases in initial claims occurred in business services (-11,117). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment (+6,401), followed by industrial machinery and equipment (+4,354). Geographic Distribution In October, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was higher in the West (48,037) than in any other region. (See table 3.) Job losses - 2 - in agricultural services accounted for 21 percent of the claims in the West. The fewest number of mass layoff initial claims was reported in the Northeast region (12,495). Over-the-year decreases in mass layoff-related initial claims were reported in the West, South, and Northeast regions, with the largest decrease in the West (-33,640). Among the divisions, lower levels of initial claims over the year were reported mainly in the Pacific, with sharply lower numbers of layoffs in business services. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for October, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (41,919), primarily in agricultural services and business services, followed by Illinois (9,682), Texas (9,409), Pennsylvania (7,129), and Wisconsin (7,050). These five states accounted for 67 percent of all layoff events and 63 percent of all initial claimants for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From October 1998 to October 1999, California had the largest over-the- year decrease in initial claims (-33,122). Illinois reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+7,155), mostly in industrial machinery and equipment. 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: 202-606-5886; 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 1997 to October 1999 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization rate(1) Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants 1997 October .................... 1,414 139,297 November ................... 1,156 100,051 December ................... 1,634 172,029 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,204 411,377 1,697 316,035 40.4 1998 January .................... 2,360 255,203 February ................... 970 81,455 March ...................... 762 78,210 First Quarter .............. 4,092 414,868 1,320 247,315 32.3 April ...................... 1,253 132,476 May ........................ 1,180 107,952 June ....................... 1,208 183,590 Second Quarter ............. 3,641 424,018 1,563 402,276 42.9 July ....................... 2,220 286,055 August ..................... 617 53,665 September .................. 637 79,629 Third Quarter .............. 3,474 419,349 1,234 (r)256,805 35.5 October(r) ................. 1,553 160,830 November ................... 1,372 162,537 December ................... 1,644 193,072 Fourth Quarter ............(r)4,569 (r)516,439 1,736 (r)326,109 38.0 1999 January .................... 2,415 296,404 February ................... 1,076 117,223 March ...................... 850 90,958 First Quarter .............. 4,341 504,585 1,509 (r)251,332 34.8 April ...................... 1,250 161,269 May ........................ 1,033 102,815 June ....................... 1,140 130,951 Second Quarter ............. 3,423 395,035 (r)1,445 (r)241,828 (r)42.2 July ....................... 1,741 221,334 August ..................... 698 75,691 September .................. 717 75,288 Third Quarter .............. 3,156 372,313 (p)1,072 (p)153,142 (p)34.0 October .................... 1,098 118,938 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of events lasting more than 30 days. p = preliminary. r = revised.Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 1998 and October 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry October October October October 1998(r) 1999 1998(r) 1999 Total(1) ....................................... 1,553 1,098 160,830 118,938 Total, private ...................................... 1,487 1,047 154,424 114,389 Agriculture ....................................... 262 237 21,783 16,626 Nonagriculture .................................... 1,182 797 127,777 96,803 Manufacturing ................................... 497 374 58,826 55,679 Durable goods ................................. 257 211 29,913 36,245 Lumber and wood products .................... 14 18 1,072 1,575 Furniture and fixtures ...................... 16 18 1,279 2,660 Stone, clay, and glass products ............. 6 ( 2 ) 909 ( 2 ) Primary metal industries .................... 30 16 3,080 2,216 Fabricated metal products ................... 23 19 1,828 1,698 Industrial machinery and equipment .......... 56 49 8,631 12,985 Electronic and other electrical equipment ... 50 26 5,507 2,536 Transportation equipment .................... 30 48 4,805 11,206 Instruments and related products ............ 17 ( 2 ) 1,323 ( 2 ) Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ...... 15 ( 2 ) 1,479 ( 2 ) Nondurable goods .............................. 240 163 28,913 19,434 Food and kindred products ................... 106 73 11,643 8,253 Tobacco products ............................ ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Textile mill products ....................... 25 18 4,286 3,203 Apparel and other textile products .......... 61 36 7,971 4,950 Paper and allied products ................... 8 8 1,134 613 Printing and publishing ..................... 11 7 806 501 Chemicals and allied products ............... 9 5 1,203 442 Petroleum and coal products ................. ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 230 Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products .. 12 8 1,244 759 Leather and leather products ................ 4 5 289 483 Nonmanufacturing ................................ 685 423 68,951 41,124 Mining ........................................ 19 6 1,548 632 Construction .................................. 99 78 7,618 6,464 Transportation and public utilities ........... 31 20 2,413 2,099 Wholesale and retail trade .................... 167 106 17,620 8,780 Wholesale trade ............................ 27 22 2,725 1,416 Retail trade ............................... 140 84 14,895 7,364 Finance, insurance, and real estate ........... 33 19 2,858 1,534 Services ...................................... 336 194 36,894 21,615 Not identified .................................... 43 13 4,864 960 Government .......................................... 66 51 6,406 4,549 Federal ........................................... 15 16 1,771 1,607 State ............................................. 22 20 2,119 1,697 Local ............................................. 29 15 2,516 1,245 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. r = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, October 1998 and October 1999 Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division October October October October 1998(r) 1999 1998(r) 1999 United States(1) ........1,553 1,098 160,830 118,938 Northeast ....................... 222 134 21,125 12,495 New England ................. 30 23 2,474 2,317 Middle Atlantic ............. 192 111 18,651 10,178 South ........................... 295 210 38,032 24,089 South Atlantic .............. 129 89 15,894 9,830 East South Central .......... 43 25 5,488 2,327 West South Central .......... 123 96 16,650 11,932 Midwest ......................... 180 189 19,996 34,317 East North Central .......... 147 151 16,365 27,819 West North Central .......... 33 38 3,631 6,498 West ............................ 856 565 81,677 48,037 Mountain .................... 36 31 3,120 2,738 Pacific ..................... 820 534 78,557 45,299 1 See footnote 1, table 2. r = revised. NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the various 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, October 1998 and October 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State October October October October 1998(r) 1999 1998(r) 1999 Total(1) .................... 1,553 1,098 160,830 118,938 Alabama ........................ 13 12 1,492 1,302 Alaska ......................... 6 3 458 198 Arizona ........................ 5 7 528 546 Arkansas ....................... 10 16 1,272 1,821 California ..................... 776 499 75,041 41,919 Colorado ....................... 8 4 690 336 Connecticut .................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 300 Delaware ....................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - District of Columbia ........... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Florida ........................ 41 34 3,428 2,215 Georgia ........................ 15 12 1,625 1,257 Hawaii ......................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 417 Idaho .......................... 11 6 817 588 Illinois ....................... 30 43 2,527 9,682 Indiana ........................ 14 11 1,153 947 Iowa ........................... 3 9 191 3,560 Kansas ......................... 4 ( 2 ) 517 ( 2 ) Kentucky ....................... 6 3 816 243 Louisiana ...................... 6 5 437 477 Maine .......................... 3 5 215 549 Maryland ....................... 6 4 455 250 Massachusetts .................. 20 12 1,691 1,279 Michigan ....................... 8 30 566 3,345 Minnesota ...................... 10 7 1,025 869 Mississippi .................... 17 6 2,578 459 Missouri ....................... 16 21 1,898 1,979 Montana ........................ 6 ( 2 ) 612 ( 2 ) Nebraska ....................... - - - - Nevada ......................... ( 2 ) 10 ( 2 ) 921 New Hampshire .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New Jersey ..................... 27 19 2,471 2,075 New Mexico ..................... 3 ( 2 ) 233 ( 2 ) New York ....................... 31 11 3,674 974 North Carolina ................. 13 12 1,121 1,457 North Dakota ................... - - - - Ohio ........................... 43 23 5,330 6,795 Oklahoma ....................... 5 3 1,007 225 Oregon ......................... 16 18 1,136 1,818 Pennsylvania ................... 134 81 12,506 7,129 Rhode Island ................... 3 - 209 - South Carolina ................. 26 14 3,838 2,696 South Dakota ................... - - - - Tennessee ...................... 7 4 602 323 Texas .......................... 102 72 13,934 9,409 Utah ........................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Vermont ........................ - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Virginia ....................... 25 12 4,712 1,821 Washington ..................... 20 10 1,780 947 West Virginia .................. ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Wisconsin ...................... 52 44 6,789 7,050 Wyoming ........................ - - - - Puerto Rico .................... 68 8 8,388 673 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. r = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.