1

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 06-695

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally 

adjusted, April 2001-March 2006

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

2006 

Note: Shaded area represents recession period.

2002 2003 2004 2005 

Private nonfarm

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally 

adjusted, April 2001-March 2006

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Manufacturing

Total

Private nonfarm

Note: Shaded area represents recession period.

MASS LAYOFFS IN MARCH 2006

In March 2006, employers took 1,082 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,

and the number of workers involved totaled 118,555, on a seasonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The

number of layoff events rose by 9, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 7,087 from

February 2006. In the manufacturing sector, 328 mass layoff events were reported during March 2006,

seasonally adjusted, resulting in 49,023 initial claims. Both figures were higher than a month earlier. (See

table 1.)

In March 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, compared with

4.8 percent in February 2006 and 5.1 percent in March 2005. Total nonfarm payroll employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 211,000 over the month and by 2.1 million over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted,

accounted for 43,791 initial claims in March, 39 percent of the total. (See table A.) Temporary help
2

Table A. Industries with the largest mass layoff initial claims in March 2006 p

Industry

Initial claims

March peak

Year

Initial claims

Temporary help services........................................ 9,620 2002 14,388

Automobile manufacturing...................................... 8,399 1996 15,411

Food service contractors....................................... 6,466 2005 6,490

School and employee bus transportation................ 5,051 2002 6,064

Motion picture and video production..................... 4,543 2005 7,192

Iron and steel mills ................................................ 2,784 2006 2,784

Professional employer organizations ....................... 2,398 2002 2,987

Highway, street, and bridge construction ............... 1,690 2001 2,640

Department stores, except discount ....................... 1,568 1999 3,799

Discount department stores ................................... 1,272 2,460

p = preliminary.

2003

services, with 9,620 initial claims, and automobile manufacturing, with 8,399, together accounted for

16 percent of all initial claims in March.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 31 percent of all mass layoff events and 40 percent of all initial

claims filed in March; a year earlier, manufacturing comprised 31 percent of events and 37 percent of initial

claims. In March 2006, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment

manufacturing (14,958, mostly automotive-related), followed by food manufacturing (7,519). (See table 3.)

Administrative and waste services accounted for 13 percent of events and initial claims filed in March

2006, with layoffs mainly in temporary help services. Nine percent of all layoff events and initial claims filed

during the month were from accommodation and food services, primarily in food service contractors.

Construction accounted for 13 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims in March, mostly in specialty

trade contractors.

Government establishments accounted for 3 percent of events and 2 percent of initial claims filed in

March, largely in educational services.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in March 2006, at 921, was up by 115

from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 22,901 to 111,838. The largest

over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in administrative and support services (+7,923),

electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing (+2,785), food manufacturing (+2,470), and

primary metal manufacturing (+2,012). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in

motion picture and sound recording industries (-2,685) and in professional and technical services (-1,242).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

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

the Midwest, 40,581. (See table 5.) Transportation equipment manufacturing, primary metal manufacturing,

administrative and support services, and transit and ground passenger transportation accounted for 51 percent

of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The West had the second largest number of

initial claims, 37,301, followed by the South with 21,001, and the Northeast with 12,955.
3

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

largest increase was in the Midwest (+12,168), followed by the West (+4,867), South (+3,830), and the

Northeast (+2,036). Six of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the number of initial

claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest in the East North Central division (+10,289). The West

South Central division reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-719).

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

in March (29,527), followed by Michigan (9,395), Illinois (7,478), Ohio (6,956), and Wisconsin (6,448).

These five states accounted for 50 percent of all mass layoff events and 53 percent of all initial claims for

unemployment insurance. (See table 6.)

Illinois had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+5,443), largely due to layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing and in transit and ground passenger transportation. Michigan

had the next largest increase in initial claims (+4,393), followed by California (+2,800). The largest over-theyear decrease occurred in Ohio (-1,963).

Note

The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given

month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. For private nonfarm establishments, information on the length

of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than

30 days (referred to as “extended mass layoffs”). The quarterly release provides more information on the

industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.

Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months

in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 4.)

See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

______________________________

The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the First Quarter of 2006 is scheduled to be released on

Thursday, May 11, 2006. The report on Mass Layoffs in April 2006 is scheduled to be released on

Tuesday, May 23, 2006.
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, April 2002 to March 2006,

seasonally adjusted

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2002

April ......................................................................... 1,681 186,095 1,494 168,902 590 68,210 

May ......................................................................... 1,723 190,797 1,559 177,743 610 73,953 

June ........................................................................ 1,620 170,724 1,443 156,813 550 70,936 

July ......................................................................... 1,635 179,806 1,460 164,944 564 74,834 

August ..................................................................... 1,478 162,040 1,324 150,118 569 67,779 

September .............................................................. 1,911 218,875 1,747 203,849 617 80,528 

October ................................................................... 1,774 186,940 1,582 169,660 625 73,904 

November ............................................................... 1,652 178,402 1,507 167,335 613 71,693 

December ............................................................... 1,841 198,678 1,659 184,368 661 84,048 

2003

January ................................................................... 1,358 131,963 1,168 117,636 387 48,685 

February ................................................................. 1,825 190,928 1,647 178,363 646 78,819 

March ..................................................................... 1,782 175,671 1,595 160,170 617 72,409 

April ......................................................................... 1,722 174,608 1,564 163,607 640 83,303 

May ......................................................................... 1,719 184,003 1,542 170,961 625 86,535 

June ........................................................................ 1,716 164,299 1,524 148,542 636 68,143 

July ......................................................................... 1,642 163,179 1,442 148,299 580 74,070 

August ..................................................................... 1,517 171,861 1,367 158,049 551 74,602 

September .............................................................. 1,562 147,383 1,374 133,383 484 56,472 

October ................................................................... 1,558 156,814 1,336 138,691 427 52,009 

November ............................................................... 1,393 141,383 1,244 129,231 401 50,460 

December ............................................................... 1,426 144,456 1,265 132,324 434 50,994 

2004

January ................................................................... 1,421 142,704 1,223 124,192 395 48,519 

February ................................................................. 1,293 132,640 1,145 120,811 362 39,360 

March ..................................................................... 1,364 140,957 1,234 132,152 407 60,296 

April ......................................................................... 1,381 141,909 1,207 126,106 341 37,686 

May ......................................................................... 1,189 111,173 1,030 98,230 314 37,405 

June ........................................................................ 1,390 141,948 1,226 129,344 360 45,398 

July ......................................................................... 1,329 137,724 1,185 126,945 371 53,248 

August ..................................................................... 1,436 131,807 1,243 116,672 342 38,192 

September .............................................................. 1,283 125,344 1,155 115,499 344 45,691 

October ................................................................... 1,302 129,237 1,181 119,653 369 47,888 

November ............................................................... 1,350 135,036 1,202 122,954 407 47,517 

December ............................................................... 1,188 120,602 1,038 109,508 293 33,123 

2005

January ................................................................... 1,465 153,676 1,330 143,295 380 58,778 

February ................................................................. 1,135 120,190 1,010 109,964 350 43,966 

March ..................................................................... 1,204 133,935 1,071 124,273 384 56,253 

April ......................................................................... 1,278 139,575 1,145 128,478 390 60,726 

May ......................................................................... 1,194 129,214 1,059 117,660 359 52,055 

June ........................................................................ 1,184 128,430 1,065 119,271 349 53,930 

July ......................................................................... 1,248 131,136 1,107 118,994 356 49,070 

August ..................................................................... 1,145 127,592 1,006 116,011 334 48,904 

September .............................................................. 2,219 283,772 1,975 237,831 438 53,399 

October ................................................................... 1,114 104,584 986 94,798 328 45,475 

November ............................................................... 1,205 120,783 1,074 109,680 359 45,069 

December ............................................................... 1,308 149,565 1,185 138,234 365 49,641 

2006

January ................................................................... 1,113 108,378 985 97,832 274 29,541 

February

p

 ................................................................ 1,073 111,468 973 103,268 321 45,073 

Marchp

 .................................................................... 1,082 118,555 984 110,275 328 49,023 

 p

 = preliminary.
.

.

.

Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2002 to March 2006,

not seasonally adjusted

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2002

April ......................................................................... 1,506 165,814 1,378 153,216 461 50,897 

May ......................................................................... 1,723 179,799 1,571 166,801 488 52,720 

June ........................................................................ 1,584 162,189 1,266 136,424 336 42,130 

July ......................................................................... 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 907 135,271 

August ..................................................................... 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 427 48,668 

September .............................................................. 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 352 43,755 

October ................................................................... 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 493 64,655 

November ............................................................... 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 719 92,712 

December ............................................................... 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 984 126,826 

2003

January ................................................................... 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 822 90,244 

February ................................................................. 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 435 48,161 

March ..................................................................... 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 390 41,063 

April ......................................................................... 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 499 62,349 

May ......................................................................... 1,703 174,204 1,538 160,729 499 61,278 

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

p

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

Marchp

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

 p

 = preliminary.
.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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

Industry

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

March January February March March January February March

2005 2006 2006p 2006p 2005 2006 2006p 2006p

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ...................................................................... 1,204 1,113 1,073 1,082 133,935 108,378 111,468 118,555 

 Total, private nonfarm ............................................... 1,071 985 973 984 124,273 97,832 103,268 110,275 

 Manufacturing ........................................................ 384 274 321 328 56,253 29,541 45,073 49,023 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total1

 .................................................................... 806 1,245 719 921 88,937 117,946 66,555 111,838 

Total, private .............................................................. 777 1,185 689 897 86,306 112,837 64,296 109,302 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ................ 44 62 31 41 2,513 4,136 2,088 3,125 

 Total, private nonfarm ............................................... 733 1,123 658 856 83,793 108,701 62,208 106,177 

 Mining ..................................................................... ( 2 ) 4 – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 309 – ( 2 )

 Utilities .................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Construction ........................................................... 91 125 82 123 6,648 7,942 5,997 9,007 

 Manufacturing ........................................................ 246 331 210 285 33,030 35,097 24,892 44,688 

 Food ................................................................... 50 46 42 73 5,049 3,589 4,255 7,519 

 Beverage and tobacco products ........................ 5 9 ( 2 ) 7 308 599 ( 2 ) 776 

 Textile mills ........................................................ 8 13 6 8 1,162 1,214 373 951 

 Textile product mills ........................................... 4 7 4 ( 2 ) 337 655 301 ( 2 )

 Apparel ............................................................... 9 11 10 10 1,351 769 1,644 1,012 

 Leather and allied products ................................ 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 634 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Wood products ................................................... 17 27 12 18 1,361 2,995 1,230 2,430 

 Paper .................................................................. ( 2 ) 6 4 7 ( 2 ) 405 397 668 

 Printing and related support activities ................. 8 ( 2 ) 6 9 493 ( 2 ) 519 616 

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

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

 ) 8 4 5 ( 2 ) 531 315 436 

 Plastics and rubber products .............................. 9 17 9 15 851 1,305 564 1,492 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ............................. 8 20 9 12 372 1,318 694 837 

 Primary metals .................................................... 10 11 7 11 1,655 946 523 3,667 

 Fabricated metal products .................................. 15 32 12 9 1,245 2,305 972 894 

 Machinery ........................................................... 9 12 14 20 1,101 899 1,029 2,024 

 Computer and electronic products ...................... 11 22 6 11 1,266 1,678 623 1,296 

 Electrical equipment and appliances .................. 10 10 9 11 785 1,965 773 3,570 

 Transportation equipment ................................... 48 52 39 42 13,543 11,421 9,113 14,958 

 Furniture and related products ........................... 9 13 7 5 576 1,253 681 436 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............................. 5 9 4 7 363 821 457 712 

 Wholesale trade ...................................................... 7 24 8 11 481 1,903 416 688 

 Retail trade ............................................................. 64 142 79 65 5,811 14,773 6,781 7,315 

 Transportation and warehousing ............................ 44 102 31 47 5,340 10,634 3,274 6,326 

 Information .............................................................. 30 33 28 28 8,303 8,998 3,611 5,779 

 Finance and insurance ........................................... 22 24 26 22 1,506 1,592 1,752 1,610 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ......................... 6 ( 2 ) 3 5 277 ( 2 ) 194 411 

 Professional and technical services ....................... 22 22 24 22 3,709 3,258 2,124 2,467 

 Management of companies and enterprises .......... 3 4 4 ( 2 ) 315 287 274 ( 2 )

 Administrative and waste services ......................... 89 155 106 120 6,572 12,157 8,492 14,361 

 Educational services ............................................... ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 456 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Health care and social assistance .......................... 16 21 15 18 1,097 1,385 938 1,167 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........................ 7 28 7 14 516 1,888 457 1,187 

 Accommodation and food services ......................... 78 81 26 79 9,666 5,898 2,486 9,792 

 Other services, except public administration .......... ( 2 ) 13 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,704 197 ( 2 )

 Unclassified ........................................................... 2 3 3 7 100 179 162 556 

Government ............................................................... 29 60 30 24 2,631 5,109 2,259 2,536 

 Federal ................................................................... 7 16 4 6 704 1,596 238 757 

 State ....................................................................... 8 10 7 7 802 1,210 764 844 

 Local ....................................................................... 14 34 19 11 1,125 2,303 1,257 935 

 1

 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. p = preliminary.

 2

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

 
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2004 to March 2006,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates1

Events

Initial

claimants Events

Initial

claimants Events

Initial

claimants Events

Initial

claimants

2004

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 941 84,201 832 76,577 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 920 92,554 847 87,782 

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,289 416,209 3,905 385,046 1,339 238,392 34.3 61.9 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 988 87,501 878 78,786 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,825 379,403 3,271 332,247 1,358 254,063 41.5 76.5 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 68,972 637 63,102 

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,611 391,934 3,242 361,855 886 148,575 27.3 41.1 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,255 419,612 3,789 385,016 1,427 262,049 37.7 68.1 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,180 427,533 3,876 405,574 1,142 185,420 29.5 45.7 

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 1,203 212,364 38.9 61.6 

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 1,136 189,443 29.5 40.7 

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 1,299 178,896 32.4 42.0 

2006

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

Februaryp

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

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

First Quarterp .................................................................................................................................................................... 2,885 296,339 2,637 277,086 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards

rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated

associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. with such events increases by 25-40 percent.

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

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

March January February March March January February March

2005 2006 2006p2006p2005 2006 2006p2006p

 United States1

 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 806 1,245 719 921 88,937 117,946 66,555 111,838 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 105 281 115 124 10,919 25,777 12,252 12,955 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 25 23 22 1,147 1,765 3,984 1,849 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 91 256 92 102 9,772 24,012 8,268 11,106 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 154 228 149 176 17,171 22,194 14,941 21,001 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 78 128 66 95 6,642 12,893 7,193 11,298 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 61 38 39 4,926 5,667 4,136 4,819 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 46 39 45 42 5,603 3,634 3,612 4,884 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 214 314 168 259 28,413 33,750 16,622 40,581 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 166 264 136 199 22,547 28,642 12,702 32,836 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 48 50 32 60 5,866 5,108 3,920 7,745 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 333 422 287 362 32,434 36,225 22,740 37,301 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37 31 16 34 3,386 2,337 1,271 3,380 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 296 391 271 328 29,048 33,888 21,469 33,921 

 

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central:

 

 

p

 = preliminary. Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: 

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

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

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: 

Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; 

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

 

Census region and division
.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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

not seasonally adjusted

State

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

March January February March March January February March

2005 2006 2006p 2006p 2005 2006 2006p 2006p

 Total1 ....................................................................... 806 1,245 719 921 88,937 117,946 66,555 111,838 

Alabama ..................................................................... 7 9 7 7 725 821 621 660 

Alaska ......................................................................... – – ( 2 ) – – – ( 2 ) –

Arizona ....................................................................... 10 4 – 7 929 362 – 804 

Arkansas .................................................................... 4 3 ( 2 ) 3 269 346 ( 2 ) 189 

California .................................................................... 274 346 246 283 26,727 30,388 19,455 29,527 

Colorado .................................................................... 3 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 643 603 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Connecticut ................................................................ ( 2 ) 3 3 6 ( 2 ) 215 1,353 390 

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

District of Columbia .................................................... – – – – – – – –

Florida ........................................................................ 36 30 30 44 2,669 1,708 2,055 4,033 

Georgia ....................................................................... 15 54 10 20 1,324 5,159 1,081 1,880 

Hawaii ......................................................................... ( 2 ) 5 3 9 ( 2 ) 282 199 814 

Idaho .......................................................................... 5 6 ( 2 ) 7 460 427 ( 2 ) 523 

Illinois ......................................................................... 21 37 36 44 2,035 3,499 3,385 7,478 

Indiana ........................................................................ 20 33 16 20 2,177 4,053 1,736 2,559 

Iowa ........................................................................... 10 12 8 7 804 1,255 620 1,866 

Kansas ....................................................................... 3 6 ( 2 ) 6 202 459 ( 2 ) 751 

Kentucky ..................................................................... 13 26 20 21 1,912 2,152 2,653 3,310 

Louisiana .................................................................... 4 13 10 8 267 936 624 520 

Maine .......................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 338 ( 2 )

Maryland ..................................................................... – 11 3 5 – 859 233 497 

Massachusetts ........................................................... 8 14 3 4 684 1,001 163 253 

Michigan ..................................................................... 46 89 29 50 5,002 8,786 2,288 9,395 

Minnesota .................................................................. 12 17 11 10 1,110 1,834 2,300 882 

Mississippi .................................................................. – 7 5 ( 2 ) – 469 364 ( 2 )

Missouri ...................................................................... 19 11 7 31 3,469 1,305 541 3,297 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 173 ( 2 ) 

Nebraska .................................................................... 4 ( 2 ) 4 5 281 ( 2 ) 280 774 

Nevada ....................................................................... 9 10 6 9 590 724 487 1,251 

New Hampshire ......................................................... – ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 265 ( 2 )

New Jersey ................................................................. 14 28 24 15 1,326 2,550 2,115 1,817 

New Mexico ............................................................... 5 – ( 2 ) 3 413 – ( 2 ) 161 

New York ................................................................... 35 129 30 36 3,150 13,290 3,144 3,566 

North Carolina ............................................................ 11 10 10 8 879 1,113 786 849 

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

Ohio ........................................................................... 31 50 23 32 8,919 6,484 2,772 6,956 

Oklahoma ................................................................... 3 5 4 6 939 400 437 966 

Oregon ....................................................................... 10 21 9 22 1,337 1,719 802 2,430 

Pennsylvania .............................................................. 42 99 38 51 5,296 8,172 3,009 5,723 

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

 ) 4 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 311 1,746 ( 2 ) 

South Carolina ............................................................ 5 9 6 10 498 822 514 1,359 

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

Tennessee .................................................................. 10 19 6 10 2,289 2,225 498 709 

Texas .......................................................................... 35 18 29 25 4,128 1,952 2,375 3,209 

Utah ........................................................................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 235 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 274 

Vermont ..................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 848 

Virginia ....................................................................... 11 12 7 6 1,272 3,084 2,524 805 

Washington ................................................................ 11 19 12 14 910 1,499 951 1,150 

West Virginia .............................................................. – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

Wisconsin ................................................................... 48 55 32 53 4,414 5,820 2,521 6,448 

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

Puerto Rico ................................................................. 10 12 19 17 1,303 964 1,962 1,742 

 1 See footnote 1, table 3. p = preliminary. 

2

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