Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2012 and 2013
Initial claimants for
Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance
Reason for layoff
I IV I I IV I I IV I
2012 2012r 2013p 2012 2012r 2013p 2012 2012r 2013p
Total, private nonfarm (1) ..... 1,294 2,123 914 246,956 424,492 154,374 291,174 432,792 133,294
Business demand ................... 519 704 361 107,736 145,269 64,307 152,217 175,403 62,800
Contract cancellation ........... 20 24 (2) 4,694 6,309 (2) 3,891 3,279 (2)
Contract completion ............. 359 500 235 83,506 115,802 48,394 124,771 146,598 48,196
Domestic competition ............ (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Excess inventory/saturated
market ........................ (2) 6 (2) (2) 1,002 (2) (2) 932 (2)
Import competition .............. - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Slack work/insufficient demand/
non-seasonal business slowdown. 135 169 108 17,797 20,713 13,620 19,533 23,477 12,797
Organizational changes ............ 75 69 49 15,277 24,614 8,435 13,857 11,963 5,825
Business-ownership change ....... 15 23 9 3,844 13,922 2,149 1,623 3,111 1,045
Reorganization or restructuring
of company .................... 60 46 40 11,433 10,692 6,286 12,234 8,852 4,780
Financial issues .................. 115 117 59 22,056 31,173 10,324 17,915 25,940 6,557
Bankruptcy ...................... 16 44 7 2,557 19,152 1,201 1,514 14,182 679
Cost control/cost cutting/
increase profitability ........ 53 40 28 10,230 6,530 5,634 9,832 7,586 3,602
Financial difficulty ............ 46 33 24 9,269 5,491 3,489 6,569 4,172 2,276
Production specific ............... 16 20 12 2,469 3,960 2,660 2,785 3,744 2,129
Automation/technological
advances ...................... 3 3 (2) 626 427 (2) 911 359 (2)
Energy related .................. - - - - - - - - -
Governmental regulations/
intervention .................. 3 5 5 528 1,020 1,686 479 768 1,266
Labor dispute/contract
negotiations/strike ........... (2) 3 (2) (2) 675 (2) (2) 330 (2)
Material or supply shortage ..... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Model changeover ................ (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Plant or machine repair/
maintenance ................... 3 (2) (2) 265 (2) (2) 447 (2) (2)
Product line discontinued ....... (2) 4 (2) (2) 860 (2) (2) 869 (2)
Disaster/safety ................... 4 36 3 676 6,181 600 715 7,897 359
Hazardous work environment ...... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Natural disaster (not weather
related) ...................... - - - - - - - - -
Non-natural disaster ............ - (2) - - (2) - - (2) -
Extreme weather-related event ... (2) 32 (2) (2) 5,555 (2) (2) 7,486 (2)
Seasonal .......................... 325 851 253 54,324 150,186 42,388 60,130 145,243 31,670
Seasonal ........................ (2) 823 246 (2) 145,306 41,461 (2) 140,394 30,895
Vacation period-school related
or otherwise .................. (2) 28 7 (2) 4,880 927 (2) 4,849 775
Other/miscellaneous ............... 240 326 177 44,418 63,109 25,660 43,555 62,602 23,954
Other ........................... 24 20 14 4,905 2,815 3,447 4,564 2,329 1,777
Data not provided: refusal ...... 70 83 51 13,369 19,679 7,945 13,369 19,679 7,945
Data not provided: does not
know .......................... 146 223 112 26,144 40,615 14,268 25,622 40,594 14,232
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
United States Department of Labor
