For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, August 23, 2012 USDL-12-1718 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 • mlsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mls 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

MASS LAYOFFS — JULY 2012 

Employers took 1,340 mass layoff actions in July involving 137,420 workers, seasonally adjusted, as 

measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. 

Mass layoff events in July increased by 23 from June, and the number of associated initial claims 

increased by 6,014. Year-to-date mass layoff events (9,425) and initial claims (905,310) both recorded 

their lowest figures for a January-July period since 2007. In July, 364 mass layoff events were reported 

in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 44,920 initial claims. Mass layoff data are 

identified using administrative data sources without regard to layoff duration. (See table 1 and the note 

at the end of this release.) 

The national unemployment rate was 8.3 percent in July, essentially unchanged from the prior month but 

down from 9.1 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 163,000 over the 

month and by 1,838,000 over the year. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in July was 1,515, not seasonally adjusted, resulting in 157,753 initial 

claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 2.) Over the year, the number of average weekly mass 

layoff events in July decreased by 56 to 379, and associated average weekly initial claims decreased by 

3,917 to 39,438. Thirteen of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year 

decreases in average weekly initial claims for July, with the largest decrease occurring in administrative 

and waste services. (See table 3.) In July 2012, the six-digit industry with the largest number of private 

nonfarm initial claims was temporary help services. (See table A.) 

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Jul‐01 Jul‐02 Jul‐03 Jul‐04 Jul‐05 Jul‐06 Jul‐07 Jul‐08 Jul‐09 Jul‐10 Jul‐11 Jul‐12

Initial Claims Unemployment Rate

Total masslayoffinitial claims Manufacturingmasslayoffinitial claims Unemploymentrate

Chart 1. Masslayoff initial claims and unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, July 2001‐July 2012   
- 2 - 

Table A. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims

in July 2012, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

Temporary help services 1

 ........................................ 11,750 1998 24,601 

Automobile manufacturing ........................................ 7,497 1996 22,644 

Fossil fuel electric power generation .......................... ( 2 ) 2012 ( 2 )

Motor vehicle seating and interior trim mfg. ............... 3,456 2005 9,238 

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ............... ( 2 ) 1997 14,618 

Other motor vehicle parts manufacturing ................... 3,108 2004 9,954 

Motor vehicle metal stamping ................................... 2,952 2005 8,198 

Discount department stores ...................................... 2,810 2009 3,995 

Heavy duty truck manufacturing ................................ 2,467 2008 6,790 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ....................... 2,273 2009 8,240 

1

 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.

2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Industry Initial Claims

July peak

Year Initial claims

In July, the manufacturing sector accounted for 40 percent of mass layoff events and 51 percent of 

associated initial claims in the private economy. Within manufacturing, the number of mass layoff 

claimants was highest in transportation equipment. Thirteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors 

experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims. (See table 3.) 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

Among the census regions, the South registered the largest number of initial claims in July. Two of the 4 

regions experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest decrease 

occurring in the West. (See table 4.) 

Among the states, California recorded the highest number of mass layoff initial claims in July, followed 

by Michigan and New York. Thirty states experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial 

claims, led by California, Minnesota, and Florida. (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. 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. 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. 

____________ 

The Mass Layoffs news release for August is scheduled to be released on Friday, 

September 21, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). 
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. 

The monthly data present preliminary mass layoff 

activity in the reference month and are not revised in 

subsequent months except in special circumstances (e.g., 

layoffs in states affected by Hurricane Katrina). Counts of 

initial claims associated with mass layoff events reflect 

activity through the end of the reference month. Additional 

mass layoff event and initial claims activity received after 

data for the reference month have been published by BLS are 

not updated in the monthly mass layoff series and, therefore, 

may not match revised mass layoff data issued in state 

publications. However, any additional mass layoff 

information meeting the extended mass layoff criteria will be 

reflected in BLS’ quarterly publication of extended mass 

layoff data. 

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, data 

users who intend to perform analysis of over-the-year change 

in the not seasonally adjusted series should use the average 

weekly mass layoff figures displayed in tables 3 and 4 of this 

release. The average weekly adjustment process produces a 

consistent series for each month across all years, permitting 

over-the-year analysis to be performed using strictly 

comparable data. 

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; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339 

Definitions 

Average weekly mass layoff events and initial claimants. 

The number of events and initial claimants in a given month 

divided by the number of weeks contained within that month.

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). 

Industry. Employers are classified according to the 2007 

version of the North American Industry Classification System 

(NAICS). For temporary help and professional employer 

organization industries, monthly MLS-related statistics 

generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client 

companies in other industries. An individual layoff action at a 

client company can be small, but when initial claimants 

associated with many such layoffs are assigned to a 

temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a 

mass layoff event may trigger. 

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 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-12-

ARIMA 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 1 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-12-

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the 

final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, August 2008 to July 2012,

seasonally adjusted

2008

August .......................................................... 1,763 181,853 1,632 172,147 578 77,464 

September ................................................... 2,159 229,180 1,990 215,749 629 82,011 

October ........................................................ 2,201 226,853 2,043 213,454 698 93,252 

November .................................................... 2,406 239,239 2,247 225,404 907 103,836 

December .................................................... 2,437 244,889 2,261 230,621 935 116,181 

2009

January ........................................................ 2,254 235,371 2,083 221,653 726 92,293 

February ....................................................... 3,059 326,392 2,901 310,378 1,251 145,839 

March ........................................................... 2,999 299,322 2,800 282,414 1,230 154,168 

April .............................................................. 2,566 249,129 2,349 232,632 1,007 116,051 

May .............................................................. 2,710 284,468 2,516 267,869 1,181 147,184 

June ............................................................. 2,466 247,597 2,257 230,502 1,048 137,649 

July ............................................................... 2,186 222,941 1,979 203,911 636 75,728 

August .......................................................... 2,340 216,047 2,115 197,172 751 77,894 

September ................................................... 2,261 214,018 2,048 198,761 786 91,125 

October ........................................................ 1,969 195,752 1,772 178,172 571 65,217 

November .................................................... 1,757 164,454 1,588 151,172 472 52,855 

December .................................................... 1,719 155,056 1,543 140,835 424 44,096 

2010

January ........................................................ 1,707 168,044 1,529 154,187 471 53,817 

February ....................................................... 1,631 156,292 1,465 141,831 374 43,620 

March ........................................................... 1,676 149,816 1,469 134,518 356 40,705 

April .............................................................. 1,637 154,558 1,452 138,503 368 44,506 

May .............................................................. 1,608 150,996 1,357 130,273 302 29,932 

June ............................................................. 1,695 151,435 1,475 132,742 325 33,298 

July ............................................................... 1,519 138,091 1,316 122,162 304 32,253 

August .......................................................... 1,588 159,329 1,399 136,697 390 43,154 

September ................................................... 1,510 133,576 1,295 115,349 328 34,333 

October ........................................................ 1,654 149,589 1,446 132,146 354 38,937 

November .................................................... 1,592 161,145 1,410 145,494 360 39,977 

December .................................................... 1,477 135,849 1,271 121,171 322 36,267 

2011

January ........................................................ 1,536 148,952 1,348 131,869 337 37,477 

February ....................................................... 1,434 131,569 1,242 116,745 297 26,696 

March ........................................................... 1,275 115,391 1,118 102,722 251 28,988 

April .............................................................. 1,548 145,836 1,383 131,317 341 37,053 

May .............................................................. 1,600 144,412 1,404 127,793 374 39,180 

June ............................................................. 1,513 143,384 1,334 128,410 344 36,265 

July ............................................................... 1,562 145,078 1,348 125,285 346 36,312 

August .......................................................... 1,551 164,275 1,347 149,874 382 49,194 

September ................................................... 1,447 147,353 1,306 134,038 364 38,026 

October ........................................................ 1,335 118,924 1,205 107,330 341 33,926 

November .................................................... 1,332 131,627 1,192 120,760 324 36,563 

December .................................................... 1,384 145,648 1,238 130,583 351 39,081 

2012

January ........................................................ 1,434 129,920 1,298 119,102 341 33,597 

February ....................................................... 1,293 119,463 1,153 108,577 282 27,388 

March ........................................................... 1,273 121,310 1,125 109,421 261 26,348 

April .............................................................. 1,388 135,600 1,222 120,213 287 33,243 

May .............................................................. 1,380 130,191 1,222 117,654 264 29,675 

June ............................................................. 1,317 131,406 1,171 118,451 267 29,093 

July ............................................................... 1,340 137,420 1,208 127,092 364 44,920 

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, August 2008 to July 2012,

not seasonally adjusted

2008

August .......................................................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 414 51,912 

September ................................................... 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 361 46,391 

October ........................................................ 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 689 100,457 

November .................................................... 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 997 107,620 

December .................................................... 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 1,378 172,529 

2009

January ........................................................ 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 1,461 172,757 

February ....................................................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 945 103,588 

March ........................................................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 940 114,747 

April .............................................................. 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 887 100,872 

May .............................................................. 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 1,005 123,683 

June ............................................................. 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 674 85,726 

July ............................................................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 1,133 154,208 

August .......................................................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 436 41,151 

September ................................................... 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 448 51,126 

October ........................................................ 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 566 69,655 

November .................................................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 517 55,053 

December .................................................... 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 615 64,540 

2010

January ........................................................ 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 962 104,846 

February ....................................................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 282 30,728 

March ........................................................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 273 29,745 

April .............................................................. 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 424 55,178 

May .............................................................. 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 216 19,334 

June ............................................................. 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 212 21,083 

July ............................................................... 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 532 64,200 

August .......................................................... 976 92,435 897 83,021 230 23,088 

September ................................................... 920 77,654 806 67,987 187 19,403 

October ........................................................ 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 351 40,861 

November .................................................... 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 389 41,383 

December .................................................... 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 465 52,816 

2011

January ........................................................ 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 693 75,006 

February ....................................................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 222 18,471 

March ........................................................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 191 20,869 

April .............................................................. 1,750 189,919 1,625 176,478 397 47,104 

May .............................................................. 1,367 119,911 1,221 108,531 270 25,199 

June ............................................................. 1,661 159,930 1,238 122,821 226 22,986 

July ............................................................... 2,176 216,774 1,759 174,078 602 71,814 

August .......................................................... 961 99,213 875 93,159 228 26,916 

September ................................................... 1,189 117,232 1,095 107,300 296 32,058 

October ........................................................ 1,101 96,914 950 83,748 265 28,447 

November .................................................... 1,393 127,750 1,245 117,474 349 37,799 

December .................................................... 2,433 263,665 2,258 247,916 658 75,033 

2012

January ........................................................ 1,705 141,703 1,587 132,754 415 38,021 

February ....................................................... 895 73,974 820 69,076 196 16,555 

March ........................................................... 1,125 117,817 1,040 110,954 242 24,241 

April .............................................................. 1,421 146,358 1,293 132,697 256 32,518 

May .............................................................. 1,201 109,259 1,081 100,434 186 18,800 

June ............................................................. 1,890 198,537 1,485 158,334 255 28,570 

July ............................................................... 1,515 157,753 1,321 144,340 559 74,963 

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally adjusted

July July July July July July July July

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

 Total 2

 ....................................................................... 2,176 1,515 216,774 157,753 435 379 43,355 39,438 

Total, private .................................................................. 1,867 1,385 182,960 148,561 373 346 36,592 37,140 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .................... 108 64 8,882 4,221 22 16 1,776 1,055 

 Total, private nonfarm .................................................. 1,759 1,321 174,078 144,340 352 330 34,816 36,085 

 Mining.

......................................................................... - 6 - 401 - 2 - 100 

 Utilities ........................................................................ ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

 Construction ............................................................... 118 86 8,990 6,583 24 22 1,798 1,646 

 Construction of buildings ........................................ 24 16 2,050 1,129 5 4 410 282 

 Heavy and civil engineering construction ............... 32 34 2,823 2,678 6 9 565 670 

 Specialty trade contractors ..................................... 62 36 4,117 2,776 12 9 823 694 

 Manufacturing ............................................................ 602 559 71,814 74,963 120 140 14,363 18,741 

 Food ....................................................................... 84 77 9,998 8,647 17 19 2,000 2,162 

 Beverage and tobacco products ............................ ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

 Textile mills ............................................................ 29 27 3,341 2,821 6 7 668 705 

 Textile product mills ............................................... 9 9 1,107 813 2 2 221 203 

 Apparel ................................................................... 14 23 1,526 2,375 3 6 305 594 

 Leather and allied products .................................... 3 4 869 506 1 1 174 127 

 Wood products ....................................................... 28 24 2,826 3,047 6 6 565 762 

 Paper ...................................................................... 4 10 298 700 1 3 60 175 

 Printing and related support activities .................... 9 6 930 571 2 2 186 143 

 Petroleum and coal products ................................. ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

 Chemicals .............................................................. 12 6 935 402 2 2 187 101 

 Plastics and rubber products .................................. 36 38 3,359 3,999 7 10 672 1,000 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ................................. 13 11 1,612 1,183 3 3 322 296 

 Primary metals ....................................................... 24 24 2,450 2,802 5 6 490 701 

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... 27 33 2,980 2,991 5 8 596 748 

 Machinery ............................................................... 34 38 4,799 4,891 7 10 960 1,223 

 Computer and electronic products ......................... 19 16 1,735 1,210 4 4 347 303 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... 19 15 2,628 2,185 4 4 526 546 

 Transportation equipment ...................................... 193 158 26,488 31,786 39 40 5,298 7,947 

 Furniture and related products ............................... 31 24 2,770 2,567 6 6 554 642 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ................................. 9 13 726 1,287 2 3 145 322 

 Wholesale trade ......................................................... 21 20 1,594 1,316 4 5 319 329 

 Retail trade 4

 .............................................................. 165 92 17,189 8,589 33 23 3,438 2,147 

 Building material and garden supply stores ........... 16 7 1,358 606 3 2 272 152 

 Food and beverage stores ..................................... 32 15 3,343 1,021 6 4 669 255 

 Clothing and clothing accessories stores ............... 19 9 1,149 634 4 2 230 159 

 General merchandise stores .................................. 59 33 8,412 4,487 12 8 1,682 1,122 

 Transportation and warehousing 4

 ............................. 114 65 9,326 5,924 23 16 1,865 1,481 

 Truck transportation ............................................... 10 11 657 761 2 3 131 190 

 Transit and ground passenger transportation ........ 80 32 6,566 2,750 16 8 1,313 688 

 Support activities for transportation ........................ 6 8 518 849 1 2 104 212 

 Information ................................................................. 52 32 5,289 4,303 10 8 1,058 1,076 

 Finance and insurance ............................................... 43 24 2,769 1,656 9 6 554 414 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ............................. 10 4 856 255 2 1 171 64 

 Professional and technical services ........................... 51 41 4,372 3,438 10 10 874 860 

 Management of companies and enterprises .............. 5 ( 3 ) 654 ( 3 ) 1 ( 3 ) 131 ( 3 )

 Administrative and waste services ............................. 320 213 31,193 17,369 64 53 6,239 4,342 

 Educational services .................................................. 29 25 1,993 1,710 6 6 399 428 

 Health care and social assistance .............................. 104 56 7,079 4,113 21 14 1,416 1,028 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............................ 30 14 2,867 774 6 4 573 194 

 Accommodation and food services ............................ 74 66 6,445 4,431 15 17 1,289 1,108 

 Accommodation ..................................................... 12 20 839 1,403 2 5 168 351 

 Food services and drinking places ......................... 62 46 5,606 3,028 12 12 1,121 757 

 Other services, except public administration .............. 17 13 1,336 850 3 3 267 213 

 Unclassified ................................................................ ( 3 ) - ( 3 ) - ( 3 ) - ( 3 ) - 

Government ................................................................... 309 130 33,814 9,192 62 33 6,763 2,298 

 Federal ....................................................................... 10 8 784 672 2 2 157 168 

 State ........................................................................... 78 25 12,220 2,106 16 6 2,444 527 

 State government education ................................. 7 13 644 935 1 3 129 234 

 Local ........................................................................... 221 97 20,810 6,414 44 24 4,162 1,604 

 Local government education ................................. 173 71 14,505 4,469 35 18 2,901 1,117 

 1

 Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing 2 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.

 lengths of months. There were 5 weeks in July 2011 3

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

 and 4 weeks in July 2012. Average weekly events 4

 Includes other industries not shown.

 and initial claimants may not sum to subtotals and totals NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 due to rounding.

Industry

Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs1

Events Initial claimants Events Initial claimants
Table 4. Region and state distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

not seasonally adjusted

July July July July July July July July

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

 Total 2 ............................................... 2,176 1,515 216,774 157,753 435 379 43,355 39,438

Northeast ............................................ 363 268 34,691 30,266 73 67 6,938 7,567

 Connecticut ..................................... 8 15 713 1,137 2 4 143 284

 Maine .............................................. 9 10 667 1,263 2 3 133 316

 Massachusetts ................................ 16 13 1,632 1,026 3 3 326 257

 New Hampshire .............................. 5 ( 3 ) 363 ( 3 ) 1 ( 3 ) 73 ( 3 ) New Jersey ..................................... 81 35 7,381 2,667 16 9 1,476 667

 New York ........................................ 142 101 14,892 16,306 28 25 2,978 4,077

 Pennsylvania .................................. 96 86 8,610 7,154 19 22 1,722 1,789

 Rhode Island ................................... ( 3 ) 4 ( 3 ) 251 ( 3 ) 1 ( 3 ) 63

 Vermont .......................................... ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

South .................................................. 624 494 62,261 52,296 125 124 12,452 13,074

 Alabama .......................................... 60 55 6,904 6,119 12 14 1,381 1,530

 Arkansas ......................................... 17 15 1,607 1,416 3 4 321 354

 Delaware ......................................... ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) District of Columbia ......................... ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Florida ............................................. 147 78 12,098 5,203 29 20 2,420 1,301

 Georgia ........................................... 45 32 5,152 2,844 9 8 1,030 711

 Kentucky ......................................... 54 51 6,294 10,614 11 13 1,259 2,654

 Louisiana ........................................ 21 16 1,936 1,189 4 4 387 297

 Maryland 4

 ....................................... 13 11 1,486 886 3 3 297 222

 Mississippi ...................................... 25 9 1,853 887 5 2 371 222

 North Carolina ................................. 80 98 8,083 10,695 16 25 1,617 2,674

 Oklahoma ....................................... 6 ( 3 ) 1,206 ( 3 ) 1 ( 3 ) 241 ( 3 ) South Carolina ................................ 28 35 2,724 4,144 6 9 545 1,036

 Tennessee ...................................... 25 16 2,314 1,590 5 4 463 398

 Texas .............................................. 58 40 6,259 3,333 12 10 1,252 833

 Virginia ............................................ 41 30 4,028 2,719 8 8 806 680

 West Virginia ................................... --------

Midwest ............................................... 505 373 62,114 46,431 101 93 12,423 11,608

 Illinois .............................................. 48 39 5,599 4,036 10 10 1,120 1,009

 Indiana ............................................ 31 23 5,700 2,307 6 6 1,140 577

 Iowa ................................................ 19 16 2,397 2,210 4 4 479 553

 Kansas ............................................ 12 14 1,372 1,596 2 4 274 399

 Michigan ......................................... 130 123 14,164 17,118 26 31 2,833 4,280

 Minnesota ....................................... 68 15 11,406 1,678 14 4 2,281 420

 Missouri .......................................... 36 27 4,068 2,433 7 7 814 608

 Nebraska ........................................ 8 ( 3 ) 1,026 ( 3 ) 2 ( 3 ) 205 ( 3 ) North Dakota ................................... 3 ( 3 ) 583 ( 3 ) 1 ( 3 ) 117 ( 3 ) Ohio ................................................ 67 65 7,739 9,720 13 16 1,548 2,430

 South Dakota .................................. --------

 Wisconsin ....................................... 83 44 8,060 4,488 17 11 1,612 1,122

West .................................................... 684 380 57,708 28,760 137 95 11,542 7,190

 Alaska ............................................. ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Arizona ............................................ 23 19 2,137 1,594 5 5 427 399

 California ......................................... 571 297 46,009 21,608 114 74 9,202 5,402

 Colorado ......................................... 8 10 704 765 2 3 141 191

 Hawaii ............................................. ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Idaho ............................................... 9 ( 3 ) 1,220 ( 3 ) 2 ( 3 ) 244 ( 3 ) Montana .......................................... 4 - 306 - 1 - 61 -

 Nevada ........................................... 10 8 875 758 2 2 175 190

 New Mexico .................................... 9 7 568 492 2 2 114 123

 Oregon ............................................ 27 21 3,435 2,118 5 5 687 530

 Utah ................................................ 4 4 529 332 1 1 106 83

 Washington ..................................... 15 8 1,537 711 3 2 307 178

 Wyoming ......................................... - ( 3 ) - ( 3 ) - ( 3 ) - ( 3 )

 Puerto Rico ..................................... 19 7 2,333 588 4 2 467 147

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. 4 Data starting in June 2012 may not be comparable to prior data 2

 See footnote 2, table 3. due to a change in MLS unemployment insurance procedures. 3

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

Census region and state

Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs1

Events Initial Claimants Events Initial Claimants