For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, May 20, 2011 USDL-11-0724 

 

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

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

MASS LAYOFFS — APRIL 2011 

Employers took 1,564 mass layoff actions in April involving 143,927 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. 

The number of mass layoff events in April increased by 278 from March, and the number of associated 

initial claims increased by 25,404. In April, 327 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing 

sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 35,022 initial claims; both figures increased over the month. 

(See table 1.) 

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

Events

Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

May 2006-April 2011

Total

Private nonfarm

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Claims

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

May 2006-April 2011

Private nonfarm

The national unemployment rate was 9.0 percent in April, up from 8.8 percent the prior month but down 

from 9.8 percent a year earlier. In April, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 244,000 over 

the month and by 1,313,000 from a year earlier. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in April was 1,750, not seasonally adjusted, resulting in 189,919 

initial claims. The number of mass layoff events was down by 90 from April 2010, and associated initial 

claims decreased by 9,771. (See table 2.) Eleven of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy 

reported over-the-year declines in initial claims, with the largest decreases occurring in manufacturing, 

information, and professional and technical services. The six-digit industry with the largest number of 
- 2 - 

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in April 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

Industry Initial claims April peak

Year Initial claims

School and employee bus transportation ............. 23,573 2011 23,573 

Temporary help services 1

 ................................. 13,445 2001 17,507 

Food service contractors ................................... 11,002 2011 11,002 

Motion picture and video production .................. 4,440 1997 15,908 

Tax preparation services .................................... 4,316 2010 6,514 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................. 4,289 2009 4,372 

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ......... ( 2 ) 1997 4,978 

Discount department stores ................................ 3,273 2009 4,462 

Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .............. 3,102 2010 4,130 

All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing ......... 3,093 2011 3,093 

 1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.

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

initial claims in April 2011 was school and employee bus transportation. (See table A. The table 

includes both publicly and privately owned entities.) 

The manufacturing sector accounted for 23 percent of all mass layoff events and 25 percent of initial 

claims filed in April. A year earlier, manufacturing also made up 23 percent of events but covered 28 

percent of all initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in April was greatest in the 

transportation equipment and food subsectors. Thirteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced 

over-the-year decreases in initial claims, with the largest declines occurring in transportation equipment 

and machinery. (See table 3.) 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

Three of the 4 regions and 6 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims due 

to mass layoffs in April. Among the census regions, the West registered the largest over-the-year 

decrease in initial claims. Of the geographic divisions, the Pacific had the largest over-the-year decline 

in initial claims. (See table 5.) The Middle Atlantic and East South Central divisions registered the 

largest over-the-year increases in initial claims. The over-the-year increase in the Middle Atlantic 

followed eight consecutive months of over-the-year decreases in initial claims. 

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in April, followed by New York, New Jersey, 

Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Twenty-nine states experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by 

California, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and South Carolina. (See table 6.) 

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 
- 3 - 

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 Mass Layoffs news release for May is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 22, 2011, 

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. 

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; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339 

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). 

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, May 2007 to April 2011,

seasonally adjusted

2007

May .............................................................. 1,159 113,578 1,064 106,573 347 44,637 

June ............................................................. 1,207 127,776 1,097 119,007 342 37,552 

July ............................................................... 1,295 136,168 1,193 128,208 401 55,906 

August .......................................................... 1,217 122,450 1,126 115,305 312 34,877 

September ................................................... 1,233 121,998 1,140 115,675 430 51,731 

October ........................................................ 1,330 133,063 1,210 124,455 439 56,970 

November .................................................... 1,397 145,339 1,269 135,651 408 56,985 

December .................................................... 1,553 154,275 1,435 144,785 463 59,445 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,437 146,900 1,302 135,622 431 55,562 

February ....................................................... 1,604 175,128 1,441 163,475 471 59,118 

March ........................................................... 1,500 150,502 1,388 140,424 435 56,156 

April .............................................................. 1,292 128,901 1,162 118,016 449 58,402 

May .............................................................. 1,582 161,944 1,444 152,230 468 62,452 

June ............................................................. 1,631 164,508 1,488 153,014 491 68,198 

July ............................................................... 1,581 164,497 1,443 153,720 463 62,425 

August .......................................................... 1,791 181,107 1,653 171,705 583 77,874 

September ................................................... 2,192 233,034 2,024 219,532 635 82,471 

October ........................................................ 2,221 229,254 2,062 215,787 697 92,408 

November .................................................... 2,415 228,107 2,256 214,631 900 102,284 

December .................................................... 2,443 245,661 2,264 231,138 927 114,280 

2009

January ........................................................ 2,272 238,717 2,103 224,850 756 100,927 

February ....................................................... 2,801 315,507 2,636 300,042 1,194 138,583 

March ........................................................... 2,950 295,543 2,758 279,027 1,205 144,713 

April .............................................................. 2,579 251,032 2,368 234,796 997 121,435 

May .............................................................. 2,758 288,319 2,557 271,425 1,187 147,548 

June ............................................................. 2,506 250,275 2,293 232,814 1,048 135,389 

July ............................................................... 2,192 223,697 1,977 203,365 620 72,932 

August .......................................................... 2,419 220,262 2,177 201,951 778 83,837 

September ................................................... 2,305 219,924 2,095 204,596 799 91,665 

October ........................................................ 1,975 195,347 1,780 177,977 570 63,646 

November .................................................... 1,754 154,223 1,585 141,439 464 51,891 

December .................................................... 1,725 156,274 1,545 141,649 420 43,584 

2010

January ........................................................ 1,716 171,633 1,541 157,597 494 60,059 

February ....................................................... 1,492 149,369 1,318 135,490 351 40,564 

March ........................................................... 1,635 146,901 1,436 131,953 347 37,273 

April .............................................................. 1,675 159,358 1,498 143,814 371 48,646 

May .............................................................. 1,665 155,352 1,405 133,913 314 30,967 

June ............................................................. 1,729 153,937 1,504 134,837 326 32,646 

July ............................................................... 1,528 138,581 1,316 121,378 296 30,752 

August .......................................................... 1,658 163,325 1,453 141,489 409 47,668 

September ................................................... 1,541 137,941 1,331 119,654 336 34,641 

October ........................................................ 1,649 147,204 1,445 130,264 353 37,394 

November .................................................... 1,579 148,800 1,397 133,845 350 39,072 

December .................................................... 1,483 137,992 1,272 122,688 319 35,977 

2011

January ........................................................ 1,534 149,799 1,344 132,730 341 39,189 

February ....................................................... 1,421 130,818 1,220 116,190 291 26,060 

March ........................................................... 1,286 118,523 1,128 105,636 253 27,619 

April .............................................................. 1,564 143,927 1,401 129,702 327 35,022 

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, May 2007 to April 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

2007

May .............................................................. 923 85,816 856 81,153 224 26,527 

June ............................................................. 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 313 36,571 

July ............................................................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 684 101,390 

August .......................................................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 220 23,361 

September ................................................... 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381 

October ........................................................ 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918 

November .................................................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 514 75,413 

December .................................................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 699 91,754 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 488 54,418 

February ....................................................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 361 42,527 

March ........................................................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 333 43,740 

April .............................................................. 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 394 48,188 

May .............................................................. 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 388 51,698 

June ............................................................. 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 309 42,097 

July ............................................................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 760 108,733 

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 

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

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

April February March April April February March April

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 1,675 1,421 1,286 1,564 159,358 130,818 118,523 143,927 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,498 1,220 1,128 1,401 143,814 116,190 105,636 129,702 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 371 291 253 327 48,646 26,060 27,619 35,022 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 1,840 1,024 908 1,750 199,690 85,585 85,095 189,919 

Total, private ........................................................ 1,761 976 874 1,685 191,664 82,230 82,046 183,436 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 64 57 30 60 7,010 3,512 2,032 6,958 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,697 919 844 1,625 184,654 78,718 80,014 176,478 

 Mining .............................................................. 7 4 3 4 399 322 247 270 

 Utilities ............................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 547 ( 2 )

 Construction .................................................... 163 104 99 161 11,947 7,003 7,569 12,121 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 424 222 191 397 55,178 18,471 20,869 47,104 

 Food ............................................................ 100 58 45 84 10,200 5,115 4,338 9,064 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. ( 2 ) 5 4 6 ( 2 ) 287 242 438 

 Textile mills .................................................. 7 5 3 5 1,296 468 328 792 

 Textile product mills ..................................... 5 4 3 6 414 270 481 536 

 Apparel ........................................................ 16 5 4 10 1,428 693 374 964 

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

 Wood products ............................................ 17 22 24 19 1,591 1,872 2,354 1,681 

 Paper ........................................................... 14 12 7 6 1,134 750 622 590 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 9 6 5 8 860 679 359 858 

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

 Chemicals .................................................... 7 7 ( 2

 ) 5 400 759 ( 2 ) 453 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 10 5 4 21 719 262 321 2,113 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 22 16 5 9 1,882 1,141 404 926 

 Primary metals ............................................. 18 8 8 12 1,473 794 536 944 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 21 8 12 21 1,581 446 916 1,758 

 Machinery .................................................... 41 11 11 16 4,456 897 1,077 2,552 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 27 13 10 18 1,964 847 808 1,675 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 12 4 8 16 1,756 1,078 2,886 1,736 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 73 19 19 117 22,071 1,275 2,887 18,328 

 Furniture and related products .................... 12 9 10 9 919 533 1,099 831 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 10 ( 2 ) 5 9 833 ( 2 ) 530 865 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 25 24 18 27 2,224 2,187 1,393 2,005 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 156 114 89 147 16,188 9,346 9,012 16,501 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 178 49 44 194 23,013 5,630 5,133 26,537 

 Information ....................................................... 50 58 36 42 8,383 8,959 3,788 5,689 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 64 22 19 42 4,579 1,407 1,354 3,482 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 22 7 6 15 1,388 369 452 1,389 

 Professional and technical services ................ 90 43 35 80 11,110 3,729 3,771 8,572 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 194 550 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 241 166 151 262 21,073 13,894 11,303 23,380 

 Educational services ........................................ 7 8 4 17 958 474 265 2,522 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 58 28 33 46 4,991 1,685 2,038 3,397 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 57 11 13 45 4,838 629 893 4,650 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 131 50 88 127 16,214 4,088 10,491 17,269 

 Other services, except public administration ... 16 4 8 9 1,434 161 695 845 

 Unclassified ..................................................... – – – ( 2 ) – – – ( 2 )

Government ......................................................... 79 48 34 65 8,026 3,355 3,049 6,483 

 Federal ............................................................ 16 5 5 6 1,393 384 532 582 

 State ................................................................ 18 17 10 18 2,188 1,029 1,389 1,714 

 Local ................................................................ 45 26 19 41 4,445 1,942 1,128 4,187 

 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2009 to April 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2009

April ............................................ 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 

May ............................................ 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 

June ........................................... 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 

Second Quarter ......................... 7,804 802,915 7,008 733,431 3,395 731,049 48.4 99.7 

July ............................................ 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 

August ........................................ 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 

September ................................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 

Third Quarter ............................. 5,853 584,855 5,251 528,923 2,034 406,823 38.7 76.9 

October ...................................... 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 

November .................................. 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 

December .................................. 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 6,114 573,048 5,523 527,289 2,416 468,577 43.7 88.9 

2010

January ...................................... 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 

February .................................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 

March ......................................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 

First Quarter ............................... 5,240 493,224 4,884 466,610 1,870 r

 368,642 38.3 79.0 

April ............................................ 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 

May ............................................ 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 

June ........................................... 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 

Second Quarter ......................... 5,055 494,213 4,222 419,729 2,008 r

 395,573 47.6 94.2 

July ............................................ 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 

August ........................................ 976 92,435 897 83,021 

September ................................. 920 77,654 806 67,987 

Third Quarter ............................. 4,020 376,343 3,435 323,256 1,370 r

 259,886 39.9 r 80.4 

October ...................................... 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 

November .................................. 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 

December .................................. 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 5,249 490,816 4,613 443,337 r

 1,999 r 388,285 r 43.3 r 87.6

2011

January ...................................... 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 

February .................................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 

March ......................................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 

First Quarter ............................... 4,490 417,143 4,135 388,497 2,p 1,397 2,p 179,686 p

 33.8 p 46.3 

April ............................................ 1,750 189,919 1,625 176,478 

 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

Date

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

Mass layoffs
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

April February March April April February March April

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 United States 1

 ......................................... 1,840 1,024 908 1,750 199,690 85,585 85,095 189,919 

Northeast .......................................................... 397 173 169 402 48,396 16,047 15,540 54,129 

 New England ................................................ 81 32 22 67 9,523 4,259 1,883 8,926 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 316 141 147 335 38,873 11,788 13,657 45,203 

South ................................................................ 412 260 250 431 43,503 19,998 26,112 42,685 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 214 166 116 210 20,768 11,371 9,765 17,371 

 East South Central ....................................... 80 44 61 125 11,005 4,343 6,539 16,048 

 West South Central ...................................... 118 50 73 96 11,730 4,284 9,808 9,266 

Midwest ............................................................ 364 180 172 383 44,740 15,075 17,168 44,126 

 East North Central ........................................ 290 130 124 310 37,448 11,550 11,640 37,250 

 West North Central ....................................... 74 50 48 73 7,292 3,525 5,528 6,876 

West ................................................................. 667 411 317 534 63,051 34,465 26,275 48,979 

 Mountain ....................................................... 101 35 46 118 11,433 2,440 4,292 12,547 

 Pacific ........................................................... 566 376 271 416 51,618 32,025 21,983 36,432 

 1

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

 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana,

comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas,

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota;

and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 

Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon,

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington.

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

April February March April April February March April

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 Total 1

 .............................................. 1,840 1,024 908 1,750 199,690 85,585 85,095 189,919 

Alabama .............................................. 17 12 18 28 2,148 1,583 2,072 3,080 

Alaska ................................................. 11 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 9 1,252 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,137 

Arizona ................................................ 33 12 11 40 4,943 838 1,045 5,635 

Arkansas ............................................. 8 3 3 ( 2 ) 1,039 283 232 ( 2 ) California ............................................. 477 349 230 348 42,426 29,769 17,478 29,264 

Colorado ............................................. 20 4 5 15 2,269 383 557 1,750 

Connecticut ......................................... 9 4 5 10 891 331 410 1,056 

Delaware ............................................. 8 3 – 8 611 239 – 551 

District of Columbia ............................. – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Florida ................................................. 118 85 56 98 9,139 5,071 4,060 7,600 

Georgia ............................................... 31 28 16 40 3,375 2,221 1,593 3,380 

Hawaii ................................................. 7 3 5 6 672 232 659 420 

Idaho ................................................... 8 4 10 10 533 225 886 896 

Illinois .................................................. 60 35 37 56 7,059 3,508 3,495 6,701 

Indiana ................................................ 32 15 12 41 4,786 1,471 1,336 4,689 

Iowa .................................................... 20 9 10 17 2,876 870 2,060 2,143 

Kansas ................................................ 5 5 5 5 296 308 727 381 

Kentucky ............................................. 40 13 20 56 6,573 1,682 2,387 9,722 

Louisiana ............................................ 32 6 11 22 2,967 518 1,239 1,669 

Maine .................................................. 8 ( 2 ) 5 7 754 ( 2 ) 575 818 

Maryland ............................................. 6 4 4 5 496 306 431 365 

Massachusetts .................................... 20 6 7 17 2,202 534 624 2,040 

Michigan ............................................. 44 17 21 50 7,624 1,091 2,359 6,813 

Minnesota ........................................... 8 10 9 16 576 675 707 1,023 

Mississippi .......................................... 5 8 14 27 461 446 1,413 1,987 

Missouri .............................................. 28 17 21 23 2,393 1,038 1,755 2,259 

Montana .............................................. 7 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 7 528 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 438 

Nebraska ............................................ 10 9 3 9 948 634 279 768 

Nevada ............................................... 15 5 7 23 1,432 394 524 1,703 

New Hampshire .................................. 14 4 ( 2 ) 7 1,663 537 ( 2 ) 1,107 

New Jersey ......................................... 69 19 19 70 9,700 2,243 1,494 11,776 

New Mexico ........................................ 8 3 7 9 594 164 640 711 

New York ............................................ 114 45 49 153 15,919 4,161 5,159 22,636 

North Carolina 3

 .................................. 13 27 18 14 1,438 1,984 1,917 1,240 

North Dakota ....................................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) Ohio .................................................... 61 30 22 87 8,014 2,473 1,891 11,082 

Oklahoma ........................................... 5 9 5 6 608 1,015 367 392 

Oregon ................................................ 42 9 20 25 4,603 896 2,337 2,886 

Pennsylvania ...................................... 133 77 79 112 13,254 5,384 7,004 10,791 

Rhode Island ....................................... 16 10 ( 2

 ) 9 2,525 2,125 ( 2 ) 2,105 

South Carolina .................................... 19 5 7 19 3,832 340 489 1,913 

South Dakota ...................................... ––– ( 2 ) ––– ( 2 ) Tennessee .......................................... 18 11 9 14 1,823 632 667 1,259 

Texas .................................................. 73 32 54 67 7,116 2,468 7,970 7,118 

Utah .................................................... 8 6 3 13 889 370 423 1,232 

Vermont .............................................. 14 6 ( 2 ) 17 1,488 558 ( 2 ) 1,800 

Virginia ................................................ 15 10 13 23 1,489 899 1,102 2,063 

Washington ......................................... 29 13 14 28 2,665 955 1,099 2,725 

West Virginia ....................................... 4 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 388 216 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin ........................................... 93 33 32 76 9,965 3,007 2,559 7,965 

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

Puerto Rico ......................................... 19 16 11 17 2,252 1,808 1,114 1,676 

 1 See footnote 1, table 3. data due to a change in MLS unemployment insurance

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

 3 Data starting in November 2010 may not be comparable to prior NOTE: Dash represents zero.

State