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Economic News Release
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Mass Layoffs Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, June 21, 2013                           USDL-13-1179

Technical information: (202) 691-6392  *  mlsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                          MASS LAYOFFS -- MAY 2013
                                   
                                   
Employers took 1,301 mass layoff actions in May involving 127,821 workers as measured
by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. (Data are seasonally adjusted.) Each mass layoff
involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. Mass layoff events increased by
102 from April, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 10,972. In
May, 276 mass layoff events occurred in the manufacturing sector resulting in 33,527
initial claims. Monthly mass layoff events are identified using administrative data
sources without regard to layoff duration. (See table 1 and the note at the end of this
release.)



 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
|                                   					 |
|                    Mass Layoffs Data Discontinued			 |
|                                   					 |
| On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the-	 |
| board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required	 |
| by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended.	 |
| Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its	 |
| current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 |
| appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these	 |
| savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two		 |
| programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all "measuring green	 |
| jobs" products. This news release is the final publication of monthly	 |
| mass layoff survey data.						 |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------



The national unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in May, essentially unchanged from the
prior month and down from 8.2 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment
increased by 175,000 over the month, and increased by 2,115,000 over the year.
   
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
The number of mass layoff events in May was 1,383, not seasonally adjusted, resulting
in 134,483 initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 2.) Over the year,
the number of average weekly mass layoff events for May decreased by 23 to 277, and
associated average weekly initial claims decreased by 418 to 26,897. Ten of the 19
major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in
average weekly initial claims, with the largest decrease occurring in retail trade
and information. (See table 3.) Temporary help services was the six-digit industry
with the largest number of private nonfarm initial claims due to mass layoffs in May.
(See table A.)


Table A. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in May 2013, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

                 Industry                                           May peak
                                               Initial claims     Year  Initial claims
                                                                                      
Temporary help services (1) ...............        11,779         2002      16,992
Food service contractors ..................        10,421         2009      11,216
Child day care services ...................        10,327         2013      10,327
Construction machinery manufacturing ......         4,084         2013       4,084
School and employee bus transportation ....         2,783         2008       6,323
Other individual and family services ......         2,427         2013       2,427
Motion picture and video production .......         2,222         1999       8,985
Professional employer organizations (1) ...         2,189         2009       5,898
Discount department stores ................         1,880         2002       3,981
Supermarkets and other grocery stores .....         1,851         1996       4,492
                                                                                      
   1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.


The manufacturing sector accounted for 18 percent of mass layoff events and 21 percent of the
associated initial claims in the private economy in May. Within manufacturing, the numbers of
mass layoff claimants were highest in machinery and in food. Eleven of the 21 manufacturing
subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims. (See table 3.)

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Among the census regions, the South had the largest number of initial claims due to mass
layoffs in May. Three of the 4 regions experienced over-the-year increases in average
weekly initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in the South. (See table 4.)

Among the states, California had the highest number of mass layoff initial claims in May,
followed by Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Twenty-eight states and the District of
Columbia experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims, led by
Missouri and New York. (See table 4.)

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. The monthly data series in this
release are subjected to average weekly analysis, which mitigates the effect of differing
lengths of months. See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions and for a description
of average weekly analysis.



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Last Modified Date: June 21, 2013