1

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

http://www.bls.gov/mls/

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 07-0878

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Friday, June 22, 2007

MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2007

In May, employers took 1,190 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 establishment; the number

of workers involved totaled 119,089, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events decreased by 28 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims fell by 5,644. During May,

363 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 48,849

initial claims. Compared with the prior month, mass layoff activity in manufacturing decreased by 20 events,

while initial claims increased by 5,076. (See table 1.)

From January through May 2007, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 6,201, and initial

claims (seasonally adjusted), at 644,854, were higher than in January-May 2006 (5,555 and 577,696, respectively).

The national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in May, unchanged from the prior month and down

slightly from 4.6 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 over the

month and by 1.9 million over the year.

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

2003 2004 2005 2006 

Total

Private nonfarm

2007

 Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

June 2002-May 2007

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2003 2004 2005 2006 

Total

Private nonfarm

2007

 Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

June 2002-May 2007
2

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in May 2007

Industry Initial claims

May peak

Year

Initial claims

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 32 percent of the total initial claims in May. The industry with the highest number of initial claims

was food service contractors with 5,236, followed by temporary help services with 5,080, and motion picture and video production with 3,470. Together, these three industries accounted for 16 percent of all initial

claims due to mass layoffs during the month. (See table A.)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 24 percent of all mass layoff events and 31 percent of all related

initial claims filed in May; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 22 percent of events and 28 percent of initial

claims. In May 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (10,321, largely light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing and heavy duty truck manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (2,617) and wood product manufacturing (1,823). (See table 3.)

Administrative and waste services accounted for 13 percent of mass layoff events and 11 percent of initial claims in May, primarily from temporary help services. Accommodation and food services comprised 9

percent of events and 10 percent of initial claims filed over the month, with the majority of layoffs in food service contracting. Nine percent of all mass layoff events and related initial claims filed were from retail trade,

mainly from general merchandise stores. Construction made up 10 percent of events and 7 percent of initial

claims, mostly from the specialty trade contractors industry.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in May, at 930, was up by 58 from

a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 1,669 to 86,478. (See table 2.) The

largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (+2,664),

specialty trade contractors (+1,206), and wood product manufacturing (+970). The largest over-the-year decreases in mass layoff initial claims were reported in administrative and support services (-2,510) and executive, legislative and general government (-1,060).

Food service contractors............................... 5,236 1998 7,267

Temporary help services.............................. 5,080 2002 16,992

Motion picture and video production................. 3,470 1999 8,985

Child day care services................................. 2,957 2002 3,894

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing.......... 2007

Heavy duty truck manufacturing...................... 2007

Discount department stores........................... 1,850 2002 3,981

Motor vehicle seating and interior trim

 manufacturing................................................... 1,431 2007 1,431

Professional employer organizations.................. 1,288 2003 3,446

Full-service restaurants................................. 1,174 2002 1,319

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 1

( 1 )

( 1 ( ) 1

 )

( 1

 )
3

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in May due to mass layoffs was in the

West, with 27,648. Administrative and support services, motion picture and sound recording industries, and

professional and technical services together accounted for 31 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions with

23,747, followed by the South with 22,490 and the Northeast with 12,593. (See table 5.)

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in two of the four regions. The

largest increase was in the South (+3,972), followed by the West (+639). The Midwest (-2,791) reported

the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims. Five of the 9 geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increases in the East

South Central (+2,489), the South Atlantic (+1,276), and the Middle Atlantic (+1,045). The division with

the largest over-the-year decrease was the East North Central (-1,785).

Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in

May (22,244), followed by Missouri (5,459), Pennsylvania (5,412), Kentucky (4,593), and Michigan (4,520).

These five states accounted for 48 percent of all mass layoff events and 49 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 6.)

Missouri had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+3,502), due to more

mass layoff activity in transportation equipment manufacturing. States having the next largest increases in

initial claims were Kentucky (+2,528), Pennsylvania (+1,912), Wisconsin (+1,441), and New Jersey

(+1,345). The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in Illinois (-3,567) and Iowa (-2,758).

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 Mass Layoffs in June 2007 is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 20.
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, 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-theyear 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: 1-800-877-8339.

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.

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 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-12-

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the final

seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 2003 to May 2007,

seasonally adjusted

2003

June ............................................................. 1,733 164,442 1,523 147,609 638 68,976 

July .............................................................. 1,649 164,146 1,443 148,650 567 72,023 

August .......................................................... 1,498 169,799 1,362 156,687 546 74,509 

September ................................................... 1,562 147,054 1,370 132,262 479 57,332 

October ........................................................ 1,536 158,137 1,328 140,298 420 52,105 

November .................................................... 1,366 138,079 1,223 126,597 377 49,716 

December .................................................... 1,412 139,423 1,243 127,356 445 50,923 

2004

January ........................................................ 1,428 146,692 1,232 128,191 394 45,544 

February ...................................................... 1,320 134,626 1,170 122,329 367 40,849 

March ........................................................... 1,372 139,716 1,237 130,737 401 59,987 

April .............................................................. 1,374 140,190 1,202 124,962 349 38,197 

May .............................................................. 1,209 113,091 1,047 99,615 330 38,965 

June ............................................................. 1,403 141,048 1,231 128,137 366 47,015 

July .............................................................. 1,330 137,484 1,180 126,106 372 51,424 

August .......................................................... 1,394 127,671 1,224 113,376 345 36,963 

September ................................................... 1,277 125,351 1,154 115,343 338 46,955 

October ........................................................ 1,288 132,250 1,172 122,831 362 47,571 

November .................................................... 1,314 130,558 1,171 118,904 378 46,276 

December .................................................... 1,170 114,641 1,013 103,434 301 33,022 

2005

January ........................................................ 1,489 160,986 1,353 150,640 383 56,133 

February ...................................................... 1,172 123,377 1,045 112,752 358 45,794 

March ........................................................... 1,219 132,035 1,079 122,013 377 55,061 

April .............................................................. 1,263 137,381 1,132 126,747 398 60,826 

May .............................................................. 1,226 133,221 1,085 120,899 382 54,886 

June ............................................................. 1,194 126,834 1,074 117,712 359 57,018 

July .............................................................. 1,248 131,500 1,101 118,800 353 47,136 

August .......................................................... 1,109 123,125 986 111,879 338 46,915 

September ................................................... 2,217 292,177 1,998 246,227 419 56,289 

October ........................................................ 1,098 108,665 977 99,402 321 44,666 

November .................................................... 1,167 115,803 1,036 104,576 330 43,307 

December .................................................... 1,253 135,721 1,125 124,632 372 48,592 

2006

January ........................................................ 1,112 109,429 984 99,277 282 29,911 

February ...................................................... 1,065 112,742 973 105,055 329 46,548 

March ........................................................... 1,105 120,954 1,003 112,730 335 50,149 

April .............................................................. 1,175 121,376 1,041 111,369 365 48,038 

May .............................................................. 1,098 113,195 982 103,839 297 42,993 

June ............................................................. 1,130 123,558 1,007 113,037 331 40,500 

July .............................................................. 1,160 118,843 1,038 109,509 372 49,069 

August .......................................................... 1,218 131,105 1,083 120,923 367 58,983 

September ................................................... 1,158 120,795 1,043 111,876 392 46,802 

October ........................................................ 1,186 119,914 1,069 111,036 401 55,795 

November .................................................... 1,220 136,340 1,111 127,286 411 60,599 

December .................................................... 1,201 133,818 1,099 124,526 390 53,828 

2007

January ........................................................ 1,237 126,368 1,095 115,615 389 51,141 

February ...................................................... 1,280 143,977 1,166 135,252 419 64,072 

March ........................................................... 1,276 130,687 1,165 122,150 420 54,441 

April r

 ............................................................ 1,218 124,733 1,092 114,570 383 43,773 

May .............................................................. 1,190 119,089 1,084 111,281 363 48,849 

 r = revised.

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 2003 to May 2007,

not seasonally adjusted

2003

June ............................................................. 1,691 157,552 1,336 127,743 389 40,845 

July .............................................................. 2,087 226,435 1,815 206,901 946 136,410 

August .......................................................... 1,258 133,839 1,163 124,131 405 52,620 

September ................................................... 868 82,647 756 73,914 271 31,428 

October ........................................................ 1,523 158,240 1,265 137,706 438 53,741 

November .................................................... 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 408 48,419 

December .................................................... 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 648 77,915 

2004

January ........................................................ 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 848 89,551 

February ...................................................... 941 84,201 832 76,577 240 23,043 

March ........................................................... 920 92,554 847 87,782 258 34,686 

April .............................................................. 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 343 36,172 

May .............................................................. 988 87,501 878 78,786 219 22,141 

June ............................................................. 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 222 27,307 

July .............................................................. 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 885 145,895 

August .......................................................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 194 17,698 

September ................................................... 708 68,972 637 63,102 189 25,808 

October ........................................................ 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 372 48,265 

November .................................................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 412 44,243 

December .................................................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 436 50,726 

2005

January ........................................................ 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 823 108,985 

February ...................................................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 230 24,931 

March ........................................................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 246 33,030 

April .............................................................. 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 395 59,129 

May .............................................................. 986 101,358 891 93,332 249 30,424 

June ............................................................. 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 216 32,783 

July .............................................................. 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 856 136,210 

August .......................................................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 188 22,531 

September ................................................... 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 318 47,497 

October ........................................................ 905 91,941 757 80,694 249 37,276 

November .................................................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 363 41,442 

December .................................................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 706 96,382 

2006

January ........................................................ 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 331 35,097 

February ...................................................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 210 24,892 

March ........................................................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 285 44,688 

April .............................................................. 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 296 39,538 

May .............................................................. 872 84,809 794 78,663 192 23,570 

June ............................................................. 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 319 41,095 

July .............................................................. 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 648 96,152 

August .......................................................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 203 28,494 

September ................................................... 865 87,699 785 81,274 296 39,076 

October ........................................................ 964 98,804 820 88,133 311 46,737 

November .................................................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 455 58,473 

December .................................................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 735 105,462 

2007

January ........................................................ 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 456 53,615 

February ...................................................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 273 36,170 

March ........................................................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 367 49,886 

April r

 ............................................................ 1,190 125,367 1,091 116,167 305 35,061 

May .............................................................. 930 86,478 860 81,551 224 26,521 

 r = revised.

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

May March April May May March April May

2006 2007 2007 r 2007 2006 2007 2007 r 2007

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 1,098 1,276 1,218 1,190 113,195 130,687 124,733 119,089 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 982 1,165 1,092 1,084 103,839 122,150 114,570 111,281 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 297 420 383 363 42,993 54,441 43,773 48,849 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................. 872 1,082 1,190 930 84,809 123,974 125,367 86,478 

Total, private ........................................................ 813 1,046 1,150 886 79,738 120,544 122,678 83,274 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .......... 19 31 59 26 1,075 2,113 6,511 1,723 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 794 1,015 1,091 860 78,663 118,431 116,167 81,551 

 Mining .............................................................. 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 213 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Utilities ............................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 439 

 Construction ..................................................... 90 107 83 94 6,116 7,815 6,227 6,418 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 192 367 305 224 23,570 49,886 35,061 26,521 

 Food ............................................................. 39 67 60 35 3,335 6,087 5,934 2,617 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. ( 2 ) 7 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 778 251 ( 2 )

 Textile mills .................................................. 8 16 15 9 780 1,882 1,234 920 

 Textile product mills ..................................... ( 2 ) 4 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 350 1,030 ( 2 )

 Apparel ......................................................... 6 15 12 5 525 1,355 951 562 

 Leather and allied products .......................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) –

 Wood products ............................................. 12 30 21 20 853 2,674 1,907 1,823 

 Paper ........................................................... 7 10 3 8 527 779 214 680 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 10 8 5 6 860 637 578 496 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Chemicals .................................................... 8 5 7 6 464 310 682 377 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 5 18 10 11 341 1,682 900 809 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ....................... 5 16 11 7 526 1,483 1,021 583 

 Primary metals ............................................. 4 17 12 13 448 1,976 1,415 963 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 8 14 22 10 508 1,567 1,643 699 

 Machinery .................................................... 9 11 16 15 2,432 2,013 2,392 1,389 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 11 26 13 11 1,058 2,562 993 758 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 6 15 5 7 1,449 2,502 996 1,622 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 35 68 62 41 7,657 19,397 11,466 10,321 

 Furniture and related products ..................... 8 16 7 11 709 1,571 518 1,063 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 5 4 10 5 615 281 758 613 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 11 17 16 10 847 1,828 1,672 1,021 

 Retail trade ....................................................... 77 93 94 87 7,570 11,407 7,556 7,854 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 30 55 162 31 2,270 5,896 19,291 2,782 

 Information ....................................................... 33 30 34 23 4,360 4,843 8,084 4,424 

 Finance and insurance ..................................... 24 39 46 33 1,864 2,883 3,960 2,404 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 6 7 5 4 424 400 251 344 

 Professional and technical services ................. 35 29 47 41 3,019 4,391 6,675 3,165 

 Management of companies and enterprises .... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 324 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Administrative and waste services ................... 122 140 138 118 12,323 15,153 10,778 9,708 

 Educational services ........................................ 5 4 7 4 384 192 1,341 204 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 49 16 28 56 4,598 1,160 3,369 4,906 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation .................. 21 10 26 21 1,257 680 1,908 1,185 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 69 86 78 86 7,535 10,895 7,716 8,356 

 Other services, except public administration ... 23 6 17 20 2,078 364 1,823 1,675 

 Unclassified ..................................................... 1 – – – 39 – – –

Government ......................................................... 59 36 40 44 5,071 3,430 2,689 3,204 

 Federal ............................................................. 9 6 9 8 767 501 698 634 

 State ................................................................. 6 11 9 7 308 820 524 594 

 Local ................................................................ 44 19 22 29 3,996 2,109 1,467 1,976 

1

 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. r = revised. 2

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

 

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2005 to May 2007,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2005

April ............................................ 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 

May ............................................. 986 101,358 891 93,332 

June ............................................ 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 

Second Quarter .......................... 3,516 380,403 3,095 344,772 1,203 212,673 38.9 61.7 

July ............................................. 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 

August ........................................ 645 67,582 598 63,484 

September .................................. 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 

Third Quarter .............................. 4,288 525,079 3,848 464,903 1,136 190,186 29.5 40.9 

October ....................................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 

November ................................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 

December ................................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 

Fourth Quarter ............................ 4,482 462,326 4,004 425,629 1,400 246,188 35.0 57.8 

2006

January ....................................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 

February ..................................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 

March ......................................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 

First Quarter ............................... 2,885 296,339 2,637 277,086 963 193,510 36.5 69.8 

April ............................................ 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 

May ............................................. 872 84,809 794 78,663 

June ............................................ 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 

Second Quarter .......................... 3,501 371,159 3,056 332,314 1,353 264,807 44.3 79.7 

July ............................................. 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 

August ........................................ 708 72,844 656 69,054 

September .................................. 865 87,699 785 81,274 

Third Quarter .............................. 3,084 327,400 2,776 304,670 929 161,716 33.5 53.1 

October ....................................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 

November ................................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 

December ................................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 

Fourth Quarter ............................ 4,528 489,493 4,118 457,925 1,640 330,124 39.8 72.1 

2007

January ....................................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 

February ..................................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 

March ......................................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 

First Quarter ............................... 3,424 345,654 3,139 325,003 2,p 965 2,p 122,595 p 30.7 p 37.7 

April r

 .......................................... 1,190 125,367 1,091 116,167 

May ............................................. 930 86,478 860 81,551 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards

mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated

rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants with such events increases by 25-40 percent.

associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. r = revised.

 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more p = preliminary.

data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

Mass layoffs

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

Date
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,

 not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

May March April May May March April May

2006 2007 2007 r 2007 2006 2007 2007 r 2007

 United States 1

 ......................................... 872 1,082 1,190 930 84,809 123,974 125,367 86,478 

Northeast ......................................................... 134 137 315 150 12,744 14,613 35,637 12,593 

 New England ............................................... 30 17 39 25 3,083 1,650 4,637 1,887 

 Middle Atlantic ............................................. 104 120 276 125 9,661 12,963 31,000 10,706 

South ............................................................... 204 238 248 222 18,518 34,812 26,211 22,490 

 South Atlantic .............................................. 100 115 147 113 8,321 13,072 13,763 9,597 

 East South Central ...................................... 51 77 54 55 5,259 15,237 6,813 7,748 

 West South Central ..................................... 53 46 47 54 4,938 6,503 5,635 5,145 

Midwest ........................................................... 220 283 222 217 26,538 33,410 23,045 23,747 

 East North Central ....................................... 157 225 190 153 17,516 27,218 20,560 15,731 

 West North Central ...................................... 63 58 32 64 9,022 6,192 2,485 8,016 

West ................................................................ 314 424 405 341 27,009 41,139 40,474 27,648 

 Mountain ...................................................... 28 41 73 29 2,637 3,200 8,024 2,309 

 Pacific .......................................................... 286 383 332 312 24,372 37,939 32,450 25,339 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: r

 = revised. Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: 

NOTE: The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North 

the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Mass- Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North 

achusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, 

New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and

District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, 

Census region and division
Table 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

May March April May May March April May

2006 2007 2007 r 2007 2006 2007 2007 r 2007

 Total 1

 ................................................ 872 1,082 1,190 930 84,809 123,974 125,367 86,478 

Alabama ................................................ 13 26 17 14 1,347 3,373 1,684 1,379 

Alaska ................................................... ( 2 ) – 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 621 ( 2 )

Arizona .................................................. 5 6 32 6 625 362 4,656 524 

Arkansas ............................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 409 432 

California ............................................... 259 333 285 277 22,138 33,172 26,976 22,244 

Colorado ............................................... 5 4 10 3 443 458 784 276 

Connecticut ........................................... 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 461 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 521 

Delaware ............................................... – – ( 2 ) – – – ( 2 ) –

District of Columbia ............................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

Florida ................................................... 48 51 59 60 3,165 4,562 3,524 4,066 

Georgia ................................................. 17 14 26 21 1,734 1,635 2,369 2,641 

Hawaii ................................................... 4 4 3 3 359 323 185 251 

Idaho ..................................................... 4 8 3 ( 2 ) 255 537 499 ( 2 )

Illinois .................................................... 43 54 34 30 6,641 8,754 4,497 3,074 

Indiana .................................................. 22 19 20 18 1,815 1,927 1,887 1,416 

Iowa ...................................................... 12 11 7 5 3,239 1,285 632 481 

Kansas .................................................. 9 4 3 10 685 930 235 613 

Kentucky ............................................... 17 32 17 19 2,065 6,623 2,936 4,593 

Louisiana .............................................. 12 5 7 8 973 446 1,755 878 

Maine .................................................... 4 3 3 ( 2 ) 314 233 201 ( 2 )

Maryland ............................................... 5 6 9 5 414 462 1,048 426 

Massachusetts ...................................... 13 4 11 9 1,692 268 1,020 649 

Michigan ............................................... 40 51 34 46 4,028 6,508 3,789 4,520 

Minnesota ............................................. 11 15 11 9 2,678 1,231 817 1,090 

Mississippi ............................................ 7 10 4 9 495 4,428 217 461 

Missouri ................................................ 25 22 7 35 1,957 2,347 445 5,459 

Montana ................................................ 3 4 ( 2

 ) 6 182 319 ( 2 ) 419 

Nebraska .............................................. 4 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 324 218 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Nevada ................................................. ( 2 ) 11 14 6 ( 2 ) 842 1,050 429 

New Hampshire .................................... ( 2 ) 3 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 462 631 ( 2 )

New Jersey ........................................... 16 35 50 31 1,591 3,529 4,749 2,936 

New Mexico .......................................... 4 6 8 3 570 548 592 312 

New York .............................................. 40 40 116 29 4,570 4,636 15,254 2,358 

North Carolina ....................................... 12 22 13 8 1,355 3,986 1,210 547 

North Dakota ......................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Ohio ...................................................... 30 43 55 34 3,102 4,444 6,024 3,350 

Oklahoma ............................................. ( 2 ) 4 4 5 ( 2 ) 1,178 354 428 

Oregon .................................................. 16 30 21 15 1,242 3,272 2,790 1,528 

Pennsylvania ........................................ 48 45 110 65 3,500 4,798 10,997 5,412 

Rhode Island ......................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,589 ( 2 )

South Carolina ...................................... 10 10 26 6 988 1,210 3,291 473 

South Dakota ........................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Tennessee ............................................ 14 9 16 13 1,352 813 1,976 1,315 

Texas .................................................... 37 35 32 36 3,688 4,762 3,117 3,407 

Utah ...................................................... 5 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 447 ( 2 ) 315 ( 2 )

Vermont ................................................ 4 4 10 5 404 465 1,052 317 

Virginia .................................................. 7 10 9 12 593 1,091 628 1,370 

Washington ........................................... 6 16 18 15 570 1,172 1,878 1,206 

West Virginia ......................................... – ( 2 ) 4 – – ( 2 ) 305 –

Wisconsin ............................................. 22 58 47 25 1,930 5,585 4,363 3,371 

Wyoming ............................................... – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

Puerto Rico ........................................... 60 15 16 12 14,229 1,355 1,556 978 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. r = revised. 2

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

State