News
United States
Department
of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Washington, D.C. 20212
Technical information:
(202) 691-6392
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
USDL 09-0094
Media contact:
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EST)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
(202) 691-5902
MASS LAYOFFS IN DECEMBER 2008 AND ANNUAL TOTALS FOR 2008
In December, employers took 2,275 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new
filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer;
the number of workers involved totaled 226,117 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass
layoff events in December decreased by 58 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial
claims increased slightly by 478. Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 806, and
the number of associated initial claims increased by 80,201. In December, 871 mass layoff events were
reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 105,402 initial claims. Over the
month, mass layoff events in manufacturing increased by 3, and initial claims increased by 4,759, the
fifth consecutive over-the-month increase for both measures. (See table 1.)
Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,
January 2004-December 2008
Events
3,000
Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,
January 2004-December 2008
Claims
300,000
2,500
250,000
200,000
2,000
Total
Total
1,500
150,000
100,000
1,000
Manufacturing
Private nonfarm
Manufacturing
Private nonfarm
50,000
500
0
0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data
Seasonally adjusted mass layoff data have been revised using updated seasonal
adjustment factors that incorporate 2008 data. Seasonally adjusted estimates back to
January 2004 were subject to revision. Revised seasonally adjusted data from January
2004 forward are shown in table 1. The originally published and revised figures for
January 2004-November 2008 are available at http://www.bls.gov/mls/home.htm, along
with additional information about the revisions.
2
Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in December 2008
Industry
Initial claims
Temporary help services ......................................
School and employee bus transportation .............
Highway, street, and bridge construction ............
Food service contractors ......................................
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing .....
Motor vehicle metal stamping .............................
All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing .......
Automobile manufacturing ..................................
Professional employer organizations ...................
All other plastics product manufacturing ............
15,246
13,999
13,035
12,673
11,835
7,523
6,757
6,208
6,101
5,789
December peak
Year
Initial claims
2005
2006
2005
2006
2008
2008
2008
2005
2008
2008
16,656
14,747
20,088
13,903
11,835
7,523
6,757
9,021
6,101
5,789
From the start of the recession in December 2007 through December 2008, the total number of mass
layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 23,485, and the number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted)
was 2,394,434.
For all of 2008, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, the total numbers of mass layoff events at
21,137, and initial claims at 2,130,220, reached their highest annual levels since 2001 and 2002,
respectively. Among the twenty-one major industry sectors, six registered series highs for both mass
layoff events and initial claims for all of 2008—construction; transportation and warehousing; finance
and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; management of companies and enterprises; and
accommodation and food services. Eleven states recorded series highs in mass layoff initial claims
activity (with data available back to 1996).
The national unemployment rate was 7.2 percent in December, seasonally adjusted, up from 6.8
percent the prior month and from 4.9 percent a year earlier. In December, total nonfarm payroll
employment decreased by 524,000 over the month and by 2,589,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in December was 3,377 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the
number of associated initial claims was 351,305. (See table 2.) Both the number of events and initial
claimants reached their highest December levels in program history (with data available back to 1995).
Twelve major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of initial claimants for the month of
December—mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing;
finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; management of companies and enterprises;
administrative and waste services; educational services; accommodation and food services; and other
services, except public administration.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 41 percent of all mass layoff events and 49 percent of
initial claims filed in December 2008; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 32 percent of events and 41
percent of initial claims. This December, the number of manufacturing claimants was greatest in
transportation equipment (64,336), followed by plastics and rubber products (14,215) and fabricated
3
Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for
unemployment insurance, 1996-2008
Year
1996 ........................
1997 ........................
1998 ........................
1999 ........................
2000 ........................
2001 ........................
2002 ........................
2003 ........................
2004 ........................
2005 ........................
2006 ........................
2007 ........................
2008 ........................
Layoff events
Initial claimants for
unemployment insurance
14,111
14,960
15,904
14,909
15,738
21,467
20,277
18,963
15,980
16,466
13,998
15,493
21,137
1,437,628
1,542,543
1,771,069
1,572,399
1,835,592
2,514,862
2,245,051
1,888,926
1,607,158
1,795,341
1,484,391
1,598,875
2,130,220
metal products (12,576). (See table 3.) The construction industry accounted for 16 percent of mass
layoff events and 12 percent of associated initial claims during the month.
The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims was temporary help services
(15,246), followed by school and employee bus transportation (13,999) and highway, street, and bridge
construction (13,035). Among the 10 industries with the highest levels of initial claims, 5 of the 10—
all other plastics product manufacturing, light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing, motor vehicle
metal stamping, all other motor vehicle parts manufacturing, and professional employer organizations—
reached program highs in 2008 for the month of December (with data available back to 1995). (See
table A.)
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Of the 4 census regions, the Midwest had the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in
December (146,155), followed by the South (94,307), the West (65,942), and the Northeast (44,901).
(See table 5.) Initial claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in all 4 regions, with
the Midwest (+48,809) and the South (+46,802) experiencing the largest increases. In 2008, the
Northeast and the South regions reported their highest December levels of initial claims in program
history (with data available back to 1995).
Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central (108,017) and the Pacific (53,162) had the
highest numbers of initial claims due to mass layoffs in December. (See table 5.) All 9 divisions
experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by the East North Central (+33,643) and the
East South Central (+23,850). This year, the Middle Atlantic, West North Central, East South Central,
West South Central, and Mountain divisions reached their highest levels of initial claims for December
in program history.
4
Table C. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in 2008
Industry
Temporary help services ..........................................
School and employee bus transportation ..................
Food service contractors ..........................................
Professional employer organizations .......................
Automobile manufacturing ......................................
Motion picture and video production .......................
Highway, street, and bridge construction .................
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ..........
Heavy duty truck manufacturing ..............................
Elementary and secondary schools ...........................
2008
Initial claims Rank
134,699
79,083
54,677
54,016
51,804
45,394
39,467
38,450
36,788
28,996
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2007
Initial claims Rank
96,991
76,230
57,131
31,062
51,746
51,133
40,804
16,522
31,076
20,385
1
2
3
8
4
5
6
14
7
10
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in December
with 43,265. The states with the next highest number of mass layoff initial claims were Ohio (27,836),
Illinois (25,885), and Michigan (24,508). (See table 6.) In 2008, 13 states reached program highs in
initial claims for the month of December—Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, and Tennessee. Forty-two states
and the District of Columbia registered over-the-year increases in initial claims associated with mass
layoffs, led by Ohio (+12,927), California (+12,675), Illinois (+10,873), and Alabama (+10,483).
Review of 2008
For all of 2008, the total numbers of mass layoff events at 21,137, and initial claims, at 2,130,220,
reached their highest annual levels since 2001 and 2002, respectively. (See table B.)
The 10 detailed industries with the highest number of mass layoff initial claims in 2008 accounted
for 26 percent of the total for the year. (See table C.) Temporary help services, school and employee
bus transportation, and food service contractors ranked first, second, and third among the 10 industries
in both 2008 and 2007. In 2008, light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing entered the top 10
industries in terms of initial claims, displacing discount department stores.
Manufacturing accounted for 33 percent of all mass layoff events and 41 percent of initial claims
filed during 2008, up slightly from 2007 (30 and 38 percent, respectively). The number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing, 323,676, followed by food
manufacturing, 72,081, and wood product manufacturing, 56,374.
Among the major industry sectors, manufacturing had the largest over-the-year increase in mass
layoff-related initial claims (+260,213) from 2007 to 2008. Within manufacturing, transportation
equipment (+95,463), plastics and rubber products (+24,638), and fabricated metal products (+23,083)
experienced the largest increases from the previous year. Administrative and waste services had the
second largest increase (+78,183) among the major industry sectors, due to more layoff activity in
administrative and support services (+77,864).
5
Among the twenty-one major industry sectors, six registered series highs for both mass layoff
events and initial claims for all of 2008—construction; transportation and warehousing; finance and
insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; management of companies and enterprises; and
accommodation and food services.
The Midwest reported the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoffs during 2008
(676,591). Layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing accounted for 30 percent of the claims in
the Midwest. Fabricated metal product manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, and administrative
and support services, together accounted for an additional 17 percent of layoffs in that region in 2008.
The fewest number of mass layoff initial claims during 2008 was reported in the Northeast (316,191).
From 2007 to 2008, all 4 regions had over-the-year increases in the number of initial claims from
mass layoffs, led by the South (+176,875) and Midwest (+167,160). All 9 geographic divisions also
experienced higher claimant activity in mass layoffs when compared with 2007, with the largest
increases occurring in the East North Central (+123,510), the Pacific (+117,939), and the East South
Central (+65,588).
Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California recorded the largest number of initial
claims (446,480) filed in mass layoff events during 2008, accounting for 21 percent of the national total.
The states with the next highest numbers of initial claims were Michigan (132,468), Ohio (131,813),
Pennsylvania (128,041), and Illinois (103,685). Eleven states—Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky,
Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wyoming—recorded series
highs in mass layoff claimant activity in 2008, while two states—Maine and Virginia—reported series
lows.
For all of 2008, California reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+88,486),
followed by Ohio (+48,384) and Florida (+38,960). The largest over-the-year decreases were reported
in Maryland (-5,056), Virginia (-4,758), and New Jersey (-1,115).
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. For private nonfarm establishments, 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 quarterly 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 4.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
_________________________
The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in Fourth Quarter 2008 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, February 13. The report on Mass Layoffs in January 2009 is scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, February 25.
Technical Note
The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federalstate 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 employers
which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during
a consecutive 5-week period. These employers 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, the number of
weeks in a given month may be different from year to year,
and the number of weeks in a year may vary. Therefore,
analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change in not
seasonally adjusted series 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:
202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800877-8339.
Definitions
Employer. Employers in the MLS program include those
covered by state unemployment insurance laws. Information
on employers is obtained from the Quarterly Census of
Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is
administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unem-
ployment 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 employer
during a 5-week period, regardless of duration.
Seasonal adjustment
Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS
began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS
series. The six series are the numbers of mass layoff events
and mass layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm,
and manufacturing sectors.
Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and
removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring
seasonal events such as changes in the weather, holidays, and
the beginning and ending of the school year. The use of
seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental
changes in time series, particularly those associated with
general economic expansions and contractions.
The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis.
Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly
estimates, including those for the current month, in
developing seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the
most recent 5 years of seasonally adjusted data will be made
once a year with the issuance of December data. Before the
data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to
the original data to adjust them for differences in the number
of weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly
unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form
monthly data, a particular month's value could be calculated
with 5 weeks of data in one year and 4 weeks in another. The
effects of these differences could seriously distort the
seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal
adjustment process. These effects are modeled in the X-12ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the
final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2005 to December 2008,
seasonally adjusted
Total
Date
Private nonfarm
Manufacturing
Events
Initial
claimants
Events
Initial
claimants
2005
January ........................................................
February .......................................................
March ...........................................................
April ..............................................................
May ..............................................................
June .............................................................
July ...............................................................
August ..........................................................
September ...................................................
October ........................................................
November ....................................................
December ....................................................
1,474
1,087
1,204
1,244
1,264
1,196
1,241
1,143
2,250
1,109
1,162
1,263
159,945
117,129
129,993
134,425
137,475
126,416
130,331
125,536
296,913
111,202
113,502
136,751
1,341
964
1,056
1,111
1,121
1,082
1,094
1,000
2,035
991
1,027
1,135
150,403
106,399
119,466
123,958
124,468
117,568
117,510
113,465
252,291
102,111
102,058
125,700
387
350
368
396
397
367
354
342
420
320
325
358
60,842
42,747
52,667
60,052
54,998
58,003
46,056
47,255
55,974
43,387
41,493
46,940
2006
January ........................................................
February .......................................................
March ...........................................................
April ..............................................................
May ..............................................................
June .............................................................
July ...............................................................
August ..........................................................
September ...................................................
October ........................................................
November ....................................................
December ....................................................
1,112
960
1,078
1,198
1,132
1,156
1,204
1,278
1,167
1,195
1,209
1,201
111,601
104,045
118,270
123,674
116,808
124,955
123,172
136,289
124,083
121,439
131,459
133,311
986
872
976
1,062
1,013
1,044
1,077
1,117
1,054
1,081
1,096
1,100
102,359
96,317
109,842
113,849
106,743
115,491
113,324
125,064
115,451
112,777
122,136
124,019
293
317
320
366
312
356
381
376
390
401
402
369
35,390
41,810
48,026
50,747
42,958
45,280
50,109
60,524
46,470
53,597
57,084
51,113
2007
January ........................................................
February .......................................................
March ...........................................................
April ..............................................................
May ..............................................................
June .............................................................
July ...............................................................
August ..........................................................
September ...................................................
October ........................................................
November ....................................................
December ....................................................
1,261
1,240
1,261
1,281
1,200
1,256
1,288
1,262
1,279
1,346
1,352
1,469
129,190
134,524
129,480
130,263
119,259
132,078
131,556
125,334
125,527
133,514
143,419
145,916
1,116
1,130
1,151
1,145
1,097
1,138
1,182
1,162
1,183
1,224
1,233
1,354
118,890
126,105
120,923
119,683
111,585
122,726
123,322
117,557
118,917
124,666
134,445
136,914
406
404
407
381
368
356
405
331
440
436
408
447
55,341
58,861
52,356
45,654
48,682
41,135
53,318
36,577
54,006
57,527
56,330
56,152
2008
January ........................................................
February .......................................................
March ...........................................................
April ..............................................................
May ..............................................................
June .............................................................
July ...............................................................
August ..........................................................
September ...................................................
October ........................................................
November ....................................................
December ....................................................
1,476
1,669
1,585
1,344
1,701
1,717
1,535
1,887
2,290
2,204
2,333
2,275
149,068
183,038
161,497
135,352
180,558
174,748
152,499
188,951
240,721
230,330
225,639
226,117
1,350
1,532
1,471
1,215
1,563
1,561
1,390
1,735
2,114
2,042
2,185
2,100
139,076
172,013
151,550
125,074
170,538
162,071
141,239
178,479
226,492
216,095
213,288
212,559
435
526
483
487
538
555
455
626
643
687
868
871
56,579
67,235
65,252
63,247
75,520
79,744
57,648
80,913
86,617
92,256
100,643
105,402
Events
Initial
claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2005 to December 2008,
not seasonally adjusted
Total
Date
Private nonfarm
Manufacturing
Events
Initial
claimants
Events
Initial
claimants
2005
January ........................................................
February .......................................................
March ...........................................................
April ..............................................................
May ..............................................................
June .............................................................
July ...............................................................
August ..........................................................
September ...................................................
October ........................................................
November ....................................................
December ....................................................
2,564
810
806
1,373
986
1,157
1,981
645
1,662
905
1,254
2,323
263,952
74,644
88,937
158,582
101,358
120,463
244,216
67,582
213,281
91,941
116,127
254,258
2,421
722
733
1,263
891
941
1,745
598
1,505
757
1,079
2,168
253,409
68,372
83,793
148,133
93,332
103,307
222,377
63,484
179,042
80,694
102,182
242,753
823
230
246
395
249
216
856
188
318
249
363
706
108,985
24,931
33,030
59,129
30,424
32,783
136,210
22,531
47,497
37,276
41,442
96,382
2006
January ........................................................
February .......................................................
March ...........................................................
April ..............................................................
May ..............................................................
June .............................................................
July ...............................................................
August ..........................................................
September ...................................................
October ........................................................
November ....................................................
December ....................................................
1,245
719
921
1,140
872
1,489
1,511
708
865
964
1,315
2,249
117,946
66,555
111,838
121,589
84,809
164,761
166,857
72,844
87,699
98,804
136,186
254,503
1,123
658
856
1,038
794
1,224
1,335
656
785
820
1,172
2,126
108,701
62,208
106,177
112,964
78,663
140,687
154,342
69,054
81,274
88,133
125,009
244,783
331
210
285
296
192
319
648
203
296
311
455
735
35,097
24,892
44,688
39,538
23,570
41,095
96,152
28,494
39,076
46,737
58,473
105,462
2007
January ........................................................
February .......................................................
March ...........................................................
April ..............................................................
May ..............................................................
June .............................................................
July ...............................................................
August ..........................................................
September ...................................................
October ........................................................
November ....................................................
December ....................................................
1,407
935
1,082
1,219
923
1,599
1,599
963
717
1,083
1,799
2,167
134,984
86,696
123,974
127,444
85,816
172,810
175,419
93,458
67,385
108,455
198,220
224,214
1,263
861
1,015
1,115
856
1,318
1,450
908
667
929
1,593
2,071
124,475
82,097
118,431
118,040
81,153
148,669
164,939
88,345
64,026
97,716
181,184
216,898
456
273
367
309
224
313
684
220
246
338
514
699
53,615
36,170
49,886
35,229
26,527
36,571
101,390
23,361
29,381
50,918
75,413
91,754
2008
January ........................................................
February .......................................................
March ...........................................................
April ..............................................................
May ..............................................................
June .............................................................
July ...............................................................
August ..........................................................
September ...................................................
October ........................................................
November ....................................................
December ....................................................
1,647
1,269
1,089
1,272
1,552
1,622
1,891
1,427
1,292
2,125
2,574
3,377
154,503
119,508
114,541
130,810
159,471
166,742
200,382
139,999
129,586
221,784
241,589
351,305
1,520
1,178
1,039
1,172
1,438
1,315
1,687
1,343
1,202
1,917
2,389
3,232
144,191
113,587
110,147
121,625
150,462
140,916
186,018
133,146
122,505
205,553
226,657
340,220
488
361
333
394
388
309
760
414
361
689
997
1,378
54,418
42,527
43,740
48,188
51,698
42,097
108,733
51,912
46,391
100,457
107,620
172,529
Events
Initial
claimants
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Initial claimants for
unemployment insurance
Mass layoff events
Industry
December
2007
October
2008
November
2008
December
2008
December
2007
October
2008
November
2008
December
2008
1,469
1,354
447
2,204
2,042
687
2,333
2,185
868
2,275
2,100
871
145,916
136,914
56,152
230,330
216,095
92,256
225,639
213,288
100,643
226,117
212,559
105,402
Total ............................................................
2,167
2,125
2,574
3,377
224,214
221,784
241,589
351,305
Total, private .......................................................
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .........
Total, private nonfarm .......................................
Mining ..............................................................
Utilities .............................................................
Construction ....................................................
Manufacturing .................................................
Food ............................................................
Beverage and tobacco products .................
Textile mills .................................................
Textile product mills 3 ..................................
Apparel 3 .....................................................
Leather and allied products .........................
Wood products ............................................
Paper ...........................................................
Printing and related support activities .........
Petroleum and coal products ......................
2,102
31
2,071
28
4
461
699
68
7
12
8
16
4
59
5
11
12
2,502
113
2,389
22
3
382
997
71
9
19
10
16
3
93
28
14
11
3,278
46
3,232
43
6
544
1,378
77
12
44
7
22
4
86
34
20
12
219,227
2,329
216,898
2,136
225
35,564
91,754
10,267
640
2,281
848
1,311
435
5,698
571
830
1,163
343,963
3,743
340,220
4,191
355
40,579
172,529
7,797
1,222
4,725
672
2,479
800
8,465
4,384
1,904
1,124
12
57
61
37
55
37
21
16
171
19
11
20
74
55
74
104
62
40
27
190
55
22
23
136
89
83
145
75
53
51
352
37
16
995
5,069
5,979
4,022
5,252
6,864
1,559
1,495
31,910
2,868
1,697
213,602
8,049
205,553
449
2
( )
14,864
100,457
11,144
(2)
2,925
792
914
(2)
6,932
1,392
1,042
(2)
1,394
4,903
1,755
6,038
4,632
7,897
3,705
3,873
36,110
2,902
1,210
235,560
8,903
226,657
2,004
332
29,775
107,620
7,123
620
2,558
669
1,783
270
9,439
2,645
1,527
929
Chemicals ...................................................
Plastics and rubber products 3 ....................
Nonmetallic mineral products ......................
Primary metals ............................................
Fabricated metal products ..........................
Machinery 3 .................................................
Computer and electronic products ..............
Electrical equipment and appliances ..........
Transportation equipment 3 .........................
Furniture and related products 3 ..................
Miscellaneous manufacturing 3 ...................
2,034
117
1,917
6
2
( )
206
689
75
(2)
20
10
9
(2)
68
17
10
(2)
13
47
21
48
47
43
36
21
149
32
13
2,042
7,013
4,937
7,813
8,905
9,019
3,592
2,891
25,042
6,716
2,087
2,046
14,215
9,104
8,558
12,576
7,531
5,245
9,049
64,336
4,764
1,533
Wholesale trade ..............................................
Retail trade ......................................................
Transportation and warehousing ....................
Information ......................................................
Finance and insurance 3 .................................
3
Real estate and rental and leasing ...............
Professional and technical services 3 ..............
Management of companies and enterprises ...
Administrative and waste services 3 ................
Educational services .......................................
Health care and social assistance ..................
Arts, entertainment, and recreation .................
Accommodation and food services .................
Other services, except public administration ..
Unclassified ....................................................
24
103
150
51
36
6
50
5
218
8
31
20
158
19
–
38
161
75
49
63
15
46
2
( )
334
5
39
42
125
16
2
65
155
99
48
48
18
66
10
280
5
33
33
115
10
–
60
142
196
71
40
16
76
17
348
11
36
23
199
24
2
1,762
8,839
15,573
8,770
2,311
322
5,303
448
19,367
487
2,484
1,238
18,717
1,598
–
2,573
15,328
6,007
7,820
5,025
1,014
3,022
2
( )
30,945
292
2,823
3,106
10,278
962
136
4,779
13,429
7,749
5,390
3,591
1,084
6,695
656
26,341
365
2,775
2,642
10,682
748
–
5,374
12,104
22,751
9,138
2,998
1,382
6,280
2,433
31,069
634
2,626
1,503
22,312
1,821
141
Government ........................................................
Federal ............................................................
State ................................................................
Local ................................................................
65
10
12
43
91
19
30
42
72
11
21
40
99
10
19
70
4,987
841
1,016
3,130
8,182
1,746
2,985
3,451
6,029
860
1,797
3,372
7,342
1,011
1,296
5,035
Seasonally adjusted
Total ..............................................................
Total, private nonfarm .......................................
Manufacturing .................................................
Not seasonally adjusted
1
1
Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
3
Data beginning in 2008 are not strictly comparable to prior years
2
due to a change in NAICS versions.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2006 to December 2008,
not seasonally adjusted
Private nonfarm
Total mass layoffs
Date
Mass layoffs
Events
Initial
claimants
Events
Initial
claimants
Extended mass layoffs
lasting more than 30 days
Realization rates 1
Initial
claimants
Events
Initial
claimants
1,640
330,954
39.8
72.3
1,110
199,250
35.4
61.3
1,421
259,234
43.2
74.5
1,018
173,077
33.7
54.5
1,814
347,149
39.5
70.0
1,340
258,767
35.9
70.3
1,756
335,854
44.7
81.3
Events
2006
October ......................................
November ..................................
December ..................................
964
1,315
2,249
98,804
136,186
254,503
820
1,172
2,126
88,133
125,009
244,783
Fourth Quarter ...........................
4,528
489,493
4,118
457,925
January ......................................
February ....................................
March .........................................
1,407
935
1,082
134,984
86,696
123,974
1,263
861
1,015
124,475
82,097
118,431
First Quarter ...............................
3,424
345,654
3,139
325,003
April ............................................
May ............................................
June ...........................................
1,219
923
1,599
127,444
85,816
172,810
1,115
856
1,318
118,040
81,153
148,669
Second Quarter .........................
3,741
386,070
3,289
347,862
July ............................................
August ........................................
September .................................
1,599
963
717
175,419
93,458
67,385
1,450
908
667
164,939
88,345
64,026
Third Quarter .............................
3,279
336,262
3,025
317,310
October ......................................
November ..................................
December ..................................
1,083
1,799
2,167
108,455
198,220
224,214
929
1,593
2,071
97,716
181,184
216,898
Fourth Quarter ...........................
5,049
530,889
4,593
495,798
January ......................................
February ....................................
March .........................................
1,647
1,269
1,089
154,503
119,508
114,541
1,520
1,178
1,039
144,191
113,587
110,147
First Quarter ...............................
4,005
388,552
3,737
367,925
April ............................................
May ............................................
June ...........................................
1,272
1,552
1,622
130,810
159,471
166,742
1,172
1,438
1,315
121,625
150,462
140,916
Second Quarter .........................
4,446
457,023
3,925
413,003
July ............................................
August ........................................
September .................................
1,891
1,427
1,292
200,382
139,999
129,586
1,687
1,343
1,202
186,018
133,146
122,505
Third Quarter .............................
4,610
469,967
4,232
441,669
October ......................................
November ..................................
December ..................................
2,125
2,574
3,377
221,784
241,589
351,305
1,917
2,389
3,232
205,553
226,657
340,220
Fourth Quarter ...........................
8,076
814,678
7,538
772,430
2007
2008
1
The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm
2,p
1,330
2,p
181,386
p
31.4
p
41.1
data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the
mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization
number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards
rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants
by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated
associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days.
2
These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more
with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
p
= preliminary.
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,
not seasonally adjusted
Initial claimants for
unemployment insurance
Mass layoff events
Census region and division
December
2007
October
2008
November
2008
December
2008
United States 1 .........................................
2,167
2,125
2,574
3,377
224,214
Northeast ..........................................................
New England ................................................
Middle Atlantic ..............................................
392
56
336
270
25
245
314
40
274
491
70
421
South ................................................................
South Atlantic ...............................................
East South Central .......................................
West South Central ......................................
388
192
120
76
538
295
111
132
616
304
196
116
Midwest ............................................................
East North Central ........................................
West North Central .......................................
884
667
217
511
406
105
West .................................................................
Mountain .......................................................
Pacific ...........................................................
503
67
436
806
98
708
1
See footnote 1, table 3.
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,
December
2007
October
2008
November
2008
December
2008
221,784
241,589
351,305
36,859
5,777
31,082
23,945
2,522
21,423
28,791
3,505
25,286
44,901
7,024
37,877
815
362
296
157
47,505
18,797
18,538
10,170
53,087
25,535
15,162
12,390
56,608
25,648
19,725
11,235
94,307
33,456
42,388
18,463
824
645
179
1,278
961
317
97,346
74,374
22,972
75,210
60,196
15,014
85,730
65,287
20,443
146,155
108,017
38,138
820
126
694
793
139
654
42,504
4,968
37,536
69,542
9,191
60,351
70,460
11,050
59,410
65,942
12,780
53,162
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 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted
Initial claimants for
unemployment insurance
Mass layoff events
State
December
2007
October
2008
November
2008
December
2008
Total ..............................................
2,167
2,125
2,574
3,377
224,214
Alabama ..............................................
Alaska .................................................
Arizona ................................................
Arkansas .............................................
California .............................................
Colorado .............................................
Connecticut .........................................
Delaware .............................................
District of Columbia .............................
Florida .................................................
Georgia ...............................................
Hawaii .................................................
Idaho ...................................................
33
2
( )
4
8
370
12
10
4
(2)
62
36
12
12
26
13
13
18
621
11
4
2
( )
176
61
9
22
48
2
( )
20
21
580
15
3
6
(2)
151
51
9
27
88
2
( )
13
25
546
24
10
8
(2)
104
83
15
25
Illinois ..................................................
Indiana ................................................
Iowa ....................................................
Kansas ................................................
Kentucky .............................................
Louisiana ............................................
Maine ..................................................
Maryland .............................................
Massachusetts ....................................
Michigan .............................................
Minnesota ...........................................
Mississippi ..........................................
Missouri ..............................................
140
64
52
27
62
15
4
29
22
213
46
9
77
64
63
23
18
46
22
2
( )
11
11
81
23
17
35
126
111
49
14
78
13
4
7
18
157
60
34
44
Montana ..............................................
Nebraska ............................................
Nevada ...............................................
New Hampshire ..................................
New Jersey .........................................
New Mexico ........................................
New York ............................................
North Carolina .....................................
North Dakota .......................................
Ohio ....................................................
Oklahoma ...........................................
Oregon ................................................
Pennsylvania ......................................
4
9
19
6
93
7
72
7
5
149
13
32
171
5
5
29
3
45
5
54
18
(2)
118
6
36
146
Rhode Island .......................................
South Carolina ....................................
South Dakota ......................................
Tennessee ..........................................
Texas ..................................................
Utah ....................................................
Vermont ..............................................
Virginia ................................................
Washington .........................................
West Virginia .......................................
Wisconsin ...........................................
Wyoming .............................................
10
29
(2)
16
40
8
4
21
21
(2)
101
(2)
3
23
22
86
9
(2)
4
29
80
4
36
3
36
64
10
11
16
44
(2)
131
(2)
Puerto Rico .........................................
3
13
14
1
1
2
–
–
–
See footnote 1, table 3.
Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
November
2008
December
2008
221,784
241,589
351,305
3,677
2
( )
263
680
30,590
767
854
241
(2)
5,088
3,111
1,161
844
3,865
1,631
979
1,877
51,286
1,143
540
2
( )
12,946
6,825
910
2,682
5,289
2
( )
1,603
2,026
47,690
1,162
186
415
(2)
10,582
4,970
641
2,298
14,160
2
( )
1,213
2,517
43,265
2,023
799
817
(2)
6,931
8,508
1,650
2,347
202
156
82
38
131
17
7
15
38
248
67
27
107
15,012
7,654
6,337
3,441
12,727
1,274
278
2,628
2,131
25,005
4,386
640
7,517
7,842
7,961
3,818
2,543
8,327
1,662
2
( )
885
980
16,851
1,880
1,513
5,877
11,564
13,420
8,213
1,321
9,210
1,093
451
828
1,459
14,657
5,442
2,736
3,087
25,885
16,762
10,005
7,949
21,570
2,430
530
1,002
4,289
24,508
7,374
2,399
10,625
11
4
33
4
46
9
79
34
5
120
18
60
149
8
12
41
4
80
16
111
33
8
224
20
51
230
264
864
1,370
560
8,389
702
6,700
789
356
14,909
1,732
3,763
15,993
573
819
2,421
310
3,670
396
4,725
1,838
(2)
17,764
1,137
3,883
13,028
1,226
450
2,992
311
5,665
554
7,366
3,410
1,631
11,680
1,708
7,259
12,255
630
1,334
4,303
255
6,910
1,170
10,511
3,314
666
27,836
3,210
4,413
20,456
–
7
84
3
50
95
12
4
27
40
6
131
1,465
4,236
(2)
1,494
6,484
706
489
2,390
1,940
(2)
11,794
(2)
325
2,268
1,457
7,714
721
(2)
655
2,641
9,778
276
3,916
299
2,490
6,408
1,161
1,098
1,316
3,724
(2)
13,966
(2)
279
1,117
1,686
–
16
December
2007
October
2008
–
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
–
–
–
820
9,381
185
4,259
10,306
1,094
331
2,782
3,663
416
13,026
–
1,285