Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 07-1791

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Friday, November 16, 2007

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2007

In the third quarter of 2007, there were 931 mass layoff events that resulted in the separation of 136,234

workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the total number of layoff events was essentially unchanged from the third quarter of 2006, the number of separations was lower than in the July-September

2006 time period. (See table A.) The largest over-the-year decreases in separations were in administrative

and support services and in transportation equipment manufacturing. Layoff activity in credit intermediation

and related activities quadrupled over the year, mostly due to higher layoff activity in the real estate credit

industry. Thirty-nine percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the third quarter of 2007 indicated

they anticipated some type of recall, the lowest percentage since the third quarter of 2003.

Among the seven categories of economic reasons for layoff, business demand accounted for the highest

share of events (44 percent) and number of separations (45,859) in July-September 2007. Layoffs due to

seasonal factors had the next highest proportion of events (22 percent). (See table B and the chart.) Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 16 percent of all extended mass layoff events and affected 29,846

workers, down from 38,151 separations reported for the third quarter 2006. Sixty-one extended mass

layoffs involved the movement of work within the same company or to a different company, either domestically or outside the U.S. (See table C.) These events accounted for 8 percent of the nonseasonal layoff

events and 11 percent of the nonseasonal separations.

The national unemployment rate averaged 4.7 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the third quarter of

2007, unchanged from a year earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, increased by 1.4 percent, or about 1.6 million, over the year.

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs

Manufacturing industries accounted for 27 percent of private nonfarm extended layoff events and 28 percent of related separations during July-September 2007; in July-September 2006, manufacturing accounted

for 33 percent of events and 36 percent of separations. (See table 1.) In the third quarter of 2007, the

greatest number of separations in the manufacturing sector was in transportation equipment manufacturing

(8,208, mostly associated with motor vehicle parts manufacturing). The next highest industries in terms of

separations were food manufacturing (5,365) and computer and electronic product manufacturing (4,481).

Layoffs in the finance and insurance sector more than tripled over the year, and accounted for 12 percent of all mass layoff events and 15 percent of separations. The layoffs in the finance sector were primarily

in the credit intermediation and related activities industry, which reported its highest number of events and

N

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

ews United States 

Department 

of Labor 
2

 2003

January-March .......... 1,502 286,947 297,608

April-June .................. 1,799 368,273 348,966

July-September .......... 1,190 236,333 227,909

October-December ... 1,690 325,333 326,328

 2004

January-March .......... 1,339 276,503 238,392

April-June .................. 1,358 278,831 254,063

July-September .......... 886 164,608 148,575

October-December ... 1,427 273,967 262,049

 2005

January-March .......... 1,142 186,506 185,486

April-June .................. 1,203 246,099 212,673

July-September .......... 1,136 201,878 190,186

October-December ... 1,400 250,178 246,188

 2006

January-March .......... 963 183,089 193,510

April-June ................. 1,353 295,964 264,927

July-September ....... 929 160,254 161,764

October-December .. 1,640 296,662 330,887

 2007

January-March ........ 1,111 226,062 198,991

April-June .............. 1,421 278,694 258,256

July-September ...... 931 136,234 115,742

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

 Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

r

r

r

r

r

 = revised.

p = preliminary.

separations in program history. Construction accounted for 19 percent of events and 11 percent of separations, largely in specialty trade contracting, heavy and civil engineering construction, and building construction. Cutbacks in transportation and warehousing accounted for 8 percent of events and 10 percent

of separations and were concentrated in the school and employee bus transportation industry.

Information technology-producing industries (communications equipment, communications services, computer hardware, and software and computer services) accounted for 4 percent of extended mass layoff

events and worker separa-tions in the third quarter of 2007, the same proportions as in the third quarter of

2006. (See table 6.)

Reasons for Extended Layoff

Among the seven categories of economic reasons for extended mass layoffs, 44 percent of the events

were related to business demand (contract cancellation, contract completion, domestic competition, excess

inventory, import competition, and slack work). These events resulted in 45,859 separations during the third

quarter. (See table 2.) Business demand job cuts were most numerous in the specialty trade contractors

industry, followed by administrative and support services and in transportation equipment manufacturing.

p
3

 Number Percent Number Category

 Total ............................ 931 100.0 136,234 100.0

Business demand ................ 407 43.7 45,859 33.7

Organizational changes ....... 89 9.6 14,795 10.9

Financial issues ................... 111 11.9 24,197 17.8

Production specific .............

Disaster/safety ....................

Seasonal ............................ 203 21.8 36,410 26.7

Other/miscellaneous ............ 108 11.6 11,988 8.8

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

 p = preliminary.

 Percent

Table B. Distribution of extended layoff events and separations by

economic reason categories, July-September 2007

Layoff events Separations

p

(

1

)

(

1

) (

1

)

(

1

)

(

1

)

(

1

) (

1

)

(

1

)

Seasonal factors (seasonal and vacation period) accounted for 22 percent of the extended layoff events

and resulted in 36,410 separations, primarily in transit and ground passenger transportation and food manufacturing.

Job losses related to financial issues (bankruptcy, cost control, and financial difficulty) accounted for 12

percent of events and resulted in 24,197 separations. These layoffs were most common among workers in

credit intermediation and related activities.

Layoffs associated with organizational changes (business ownership change and reorganization or restructuring) amounted to 10 percent of events and 14,795 separations, largely in credit intermediation and related

activities and in transportation equipment manufacturing. About 70 percent of the separations in the organizational change category were due to company reorganization or restructuring.

Over-the-year decreases in separations were reported in 5 of the 7 categories of economic reasons for

layoffs, with the largest declines in organizational change (-21,212) and in business demand (-13,764). Separations due to financial issues (+12,772) and seasonal factors (+8,719) increased over the year.

Movement of Work

Between July and September of 2007, 61 extended mass layoff events involved the movement of work;

this was 8 percent of total extended mass layoff events, excluding those for seasonal and vacation reasons.

(See table C.) These movements of work were to other U.S. locations or to locations outside of the U.S.,

and they occurred either within the same company or to other companies. The extended mass layoff events

involving movement of work were associated with the separation of 10,887 workers, 11 percent of all separations resulting from nonseasonal and nonvacation mass layoff events. A year earlier, there were 58 layoff

events and 12,840 separations associated with the movement of work. (See table 10.)

Among the 61 extended mass layoff events with reported relocation of work, 70 percent were permanent

closures of worksites, which affected 8,244 workers. In comparison, 16 percent of the total extended mass

layoff events reported for the third quarter of 2007 involved the permanent closure of worksites.
4

Table C. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures,

third quarter 2007

Action Layoff events Separations

Total, private nonfarm ............................ 931 136,234

 Total, excluding seasonal and

 vacation events ........................... 728 99,824

 Total events with movement

 of work ................................. 61 10,887

 Movement of work actions ..... 79

 With separations reported .. 59 7,019

 With separations unknown 20

p

1 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers when the reason for

layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period.

 2 A layoff event can involve more than one movement of work action.

 Data are not available.

1

2

 3

 p = preliminary.

(

3

)

(3

)

Of the layoffs involving the movement of work, 70 percent of the events and 69 percent of the laidoff workers were from manufacturing industries during the third quarter. (See table 7.) Among all private

nonfarm extended layoffs, manufacturing accounted for 27 percent of the events and 28 percent of the

separations.

While 10 percent of the extended mass layoff events in the total private nonfarm economy were because

of organizational change, such changes accounted for 36 percent of layoff events associated with work relocation and resulted in 3,595 separations during the third quarter. (See table 8.) Most of these separations

were due to reorganization or restructuring of the company.

Among the regions, the South accounted for the largest proportion of workers affected by extended mass

layoffs associated with the movement of work (46 percent), followed by the Midwest (24 percent), the West

(17 percent), and the Northeast (13 percent). (See table 9.)

Some extended mass layoff events involve more than one relocation of work action. For example, an

extended mass layoff event at an employer may involve job loss due to movement of work to both another

domestic location of the company and a location out of the country. This would be counted as two movement of work actions. The 61 extended layoff events with movement of work for the third quarter of 2007

involved 79 identifiable relocations of work. (See table C.) An identifiable relocation of work occurs when

the employer provides sufficient information on the new location of work and/or the number of workers affected by the movement. Of the 79 relocations, employers were able to provide information on the specific

number of separations associated with the movement of work component of the layoff in 59 actions involving

7,019 workers. Thus, a range of 7,019 (separations in movement of work actions where the employer was
5

With separations reported ......... 59 7,019

Out-of-country relocations ... 20 3,047

Within company ............... 10 1,364

Different company ............ 10 1,683

Domestic relocations ............ 38 3,793

Within company ............... 34 3,396

Different company ............ 4

Unable to assign place of

 relocation........................... 1

Within company ................... 45 4,939

Domestic .......................... 34 3,396

Out of country .................. 10 1,364

Unable to assign ............... 1

Different company ................ 14 2,080

Domestic .......................... 4

Out of country .................. 10 1,683

Table D. Movement of work actions by type of separation where the number

of separations is known by employers, third quarter 2007

Activities Actions Separations

By location

 1 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of work

were reported are shown.

 p = preliminary.

By company

p

1

 397

 179

179

397

able to provide specific detail) to 10,887 (total separations in all layoff events that included movement of

work) is established for separations due to the movement of work during the third quarter. (See table 10.)

In the 59 actions where employers were able to provide more complete separations information, 76 percent of relocations (45 out of 59) occurred within the same company. (See table D.) In 64 percent of these

movement-of-work relocations (38 out of 59), the work activities were reassigned to places elsewhere in the

U.S. Thirty-four percent of the relocations involved out-of-country moves (20 out of 59). The separation of

3,047 workers was associated with out-of-country relocations, 3 percent of all nonseasonal and nonvacation
6

 Table E. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended

 layoff, third quarter 2006-third quarter 2007

 Anticipate a recall ................ 42.4 56.7 40.1 57.1 38.6

 Timeframe

 Within 6 months .................. 88.3 89.8 83.6 87.5 85.8

 Within 3 months................. 68.8 38.9 51.3 59.7 64.6

 Size

 At least half ......................... 90.6 93.5 87.2 93.3 87.7

 All workers........................ 45.7 53.7 38.6 57.2 46.8

Nature of the recall III

2007

I

2007

II

2007

IV

2006

III

2006 r p

Percentage of events

r

 = revised.

p

 = preliminary.

extended mass layoff separations. Domestic relocation of work—both within the company and to other

companies—affected 3,793 workers. (See table 11.)

Recall Expectations

Thirty-nine percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the third quarter of 2007 indicated they

anticipated some type of recall, the lowest since the third quarter of 2003. (See table E.) Of those employers expecting to recall workers, 47 percent anticipated recalling all of the separated employees, 88 percent anticipated extending the offer to at least half of all laid-off employees, and 86 percent expected a recall

within 6 months.

Excluding layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period (in which 92 percent of the employers expected a recall), employers anticipated recalling laid-off workers in 24 percent of the events. A year

earlier, 31 percent of employers expected a recall in nonseasonal and nonvacation events. In layoff events

due to organizational changes, employers anticipated a recall in only 6 percent of events.

Size of Extended Layoff

The average size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff event) in the third quarter 2007 was

146 compared to 173 per layoff in 2006. (See table A.) The average differed widely by industry, ranging

from a low of 66 in electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing to a high of 1,007 in amusements,

gambling, and recreation.

Layoff events during the third quarter 2007 continued to be concentrated at the lower end of the extended layoff-size spectrum, with 73 percent of the events involving fewer than 150 workers, up from 68

percent a year ago. Forty-two percent of all separations in the third quarter 2007 were in layoffs involving

less then 150 workers compared to 35 percent in 2006. Separations involving 500 or more workers, while
7

 Number Percent Number Size

 Total............ 931 100.0 136,234 100.0

50-99................ 471 50.6 32,113 23.6

100-149............ 211 22.7 24,701 18.1

150-199............ 85 9.1 14,359 10.5

200-299............ 79 8.5 18,378 13.5

300-499............ 50 5.4 17,808 13.1

500-999............ 30 3.2 20,225 14.8

1,000 or more.... 5 .5 8,650 6.3

p

 = preliminary.

 Percent

Table F. Distribution of extended layoff events by size of layoff,

third quarter 2007

Layoff events Separations

p

comprising 4 percent of the events, accounted for 21 percent of all separations in July-September 2007,

down from 27 percent in July-September 2006. (See table F.)

Initial Claimant Characteristics

A total of 115,742 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass

layoffs in the third quarter of 2007. Of these claimants, 16 percent were black, 18 percent were Hispanic,

44 percent were women, 36 percent were 30 to 44 years of age, and 19 percent were 55 years of age or

older. (See table 3.) Among persons in the civilian labor force for the same period, 11 percent were black,

14 percent were Hispanic, 46 percent were women, 33 percent were age 30 to 44, and 17 percent were 55

years of age or older.

Geographic Distribution

In the third quarter, the number of separations due to extended mass layoff events was highest in the

West (42,575), followed by the Northeast (39,406), the Midwest (30,785), and the South (23,468). (See

table 4.) Extended mass layoffs in the West were largely in credit intermediation and related activities and in

specialty trade contractors.

The South region reported the largest over-the-year decrease in separations (-27,831), mainly due to

fewer layoffs in administrative and support services. The number of separations in the Midwest decreased

by 7,258. The Northeast region reported the largest over-the-year increase in separations (+9,688), due in

part to layoffs in transit and ground passenger transportation. Four of the 9 geographic divisions reported

over-the-year decreases in laid-off workers, with the largest declines occurring in the South Atlantic (-22,243)

and East North Central (-7,335) divisions. The Middle Atlantic division reported the largest increase in separations (+6,916), followed by the New England division (+2,772).

Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the largest number of worker separations occurred in

California (34,078), followed by New York (18,308), Illinois (13,333), Massachusetts (7,348), and Florida

(6,990). These five states accounted for 59 percent of total layoff events and separations during the third

quarter of 2007. (See table 5.) After excluding the substantial impact of seasonal reasons, California still
8

Table G. Mass layoff events and separations, selected metropolitan areas

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

 = revised.

 p = preliminary.

 NOTE: The geographic boundaries of the metropolitan areas shown in this table are

defined in Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 07-01, December 18, 2006.

Metropolitan area III

2007

III

2006

III

2007

 III

2006 p

Events Separations

r p r

Total, nonmetropolitan areas.............................. 115 99 15,998 13,289

Total, 369 metropolitan areas............................ 550 489 85,654 70,930

 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. 68 77 10,211 10,738

 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long

 Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ................................ 69 43 10,499

 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. ...... 26 27 5,214

 Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. .................... 15 16 1,678

 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif. ...... 16 22 1,692

 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. ...... 5 6 746

 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ....... 14 19 1,382

 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif....... 23 22 3,024

 Providence-Fall River-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. . (1) 5

 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ........ 12 10 3,511

(

1

)

r

reported the highest number of job cuts (30,782), largely due to layoffs in credit intermediation and related

activities and in specialty trade contractors.

Over the year, Florida reported the greatest decrease in workers laid off during the third quarter (-18,315),

followed by Ohio (-6,302) and Louisiana (-3,275). The largest increases occurred in New York (+7,372),

Massachusetts (+5,120), California (+2,134), and Missouri (+1,515).

Fifty-three percent of events and 52 percent of separations (70,930) occurred in metropolitan areas in the

third quarter of 2007, compared with 59 percent of events and 53 percent of separations (85,654) during the

third quarter of 2006. Among the 369 metropolitan areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., reported the highest number of separations (10,738) in the third quarter of 2007. Next were New YorkNorthern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., with 9,907 separations, and Chicago-Naperville-Joliet,

Ill.-Ind.-Wis., with 4,662 separations. (See table G.) Employers located in nonmetropolitan areas separated

13,289 workers in mass layoffs, down from 15,998 workers in the third quarter of 2006.

Note

The quarterly series on extended mass layoffs cover layoffs of at least 31-days duration that involve 50

or more individuals from a single employer filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a consecutive 5-week period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is triggered, the employer is contacted for

additional information. Data for the third quarter are preliminary and subject to revision. This release also

9,907

4,662

3,562

2,633

2,491

1,843

1,668

1,266

1,026
9

includes revised data for previous quarters. Data are not seasonally adjusted, but survey data suggest that

there is a seasonal pattern to layoffs. Thus, comparisons between consecutive quarters should not be used

as an indicator of trend.

For additional information about the program, see the Technical Note.

______________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in October 2007 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 21.
Technical Note

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state

program which identifies, describes, and tracks the effects of

major job cutbacks, using data from each state’s unemployment

insurance database. Employers which have at least 50 initial

claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period are

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these

separations are of at least 31 days duration, and, if so,

information is obtained on the total number of persons

separated and the reasons for these separations. Employers are

identified according to industry classification and location, and

unemployment insurance claimants are identified by such

demographic factors as age, race, gender, ethnic group, and

place of residence. The program yields information on an

individual’s entire spell of unemployment, to the point when

regular unemployment insurance benefits are exhausted.

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).

Extended layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for

unemployment insurance benefits from an employer during a 5-

week period, with at least 50 workers separated for more than

30 days.

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.

Layoff. The separation of persons from an employer as part

of a mass layoff event. (See below.) Such layoffs involve both

persons subject to recall and those who are terminated by the

establishment.

Mass layoff. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment

insurance benefits from an employer beginning in a given

month, regardless of duration.

Worksite closure. The complete closure of either multi-unit

or single-unit employers or the partial closure of a multi-unit

employer where entire worksites affected by layoffs are closed

or planned to be closed.

Movement of work concepts and questions

Because of the employer interview component, the BLS

decided to use the MLS program as a vehicle for collecting

additional information on offshoring and outsourcing

associated with job loss, by adding questions that address

movement of work. The term “moving work” means that the

company experiencing the layoff has reassigned work activities

that were performed at a worksite by the company’s employees

(1) to another worksite within the company; (2) to another

company under formal arrangements at the same worksite; or (3)

to another company under formal arrangements at another

worksite. The type of work activities subject to movement can

include accounting, customer service, cleaning, warehousing, etc.

 “Overseas relocation” is the movement of work from within

the U.S. to locations outside of the U.S. “Overseas relocation”

can occur within the same company and involve movement of

work to a different location of that company outside of the U.S.,

or to a different company altogether.

“Domestic relocation” is the movement of work to other

locations inside the U.S., either within the same company or to

a different company.

 “Overseas relocation” and “domestic relocation” are no

longer used in the same way as they were in earlier extended

mass layoff news releases. Therefore, the data presented in this

news release are not comparable to those that were presented

in earlier news releases.

 Questions on movement of work and location are asked for

all identified layoff events when the reason for separation is

other than “seasonal work” or “vacation period.” Seasonal and

vacation layoff events were excluded because movement of

work appears unlikely.

Questions on movement of work are asked after the analyst

verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more than 30

days, and obtained the total number of workers separated from

jobs, the date the layoff began, and the economic reason for the

layoff. If the reason for layoff is other than seasonal or vacation,

the employer was asked the following:

(1) “Did this layoff include your company moving work from

this location(s) to a different geographic location(s) within your

company?”

(2) “Did this layoff include your company moving work that

was performed in-house by your employees to a different

company, through contractual arrangements?”

A “yes” response to either question is followed by:

“Is the location inside or outside of the U.S.?” and “How

many of the layoffs were a result of this relocation?”

Layoff actions are classified as “overseas relocation” if the

employer responds “yes” to questions 1 and/or 2, and indicates

that the location(s) was outside of the U.S. Domestic relocation

is determined if the employer responds “yes” to questions 1

and/or 2 and indicates that the location(s) was within the U.S.

After asking the movement of work questions, the employer

interview continues and responses are obtained for questions

on recall expectations and open/closed status of the worksite.

Reliability of the data

The identification of employers and layoff events in the MLS

program and associated characteristics of claimants is based on
administrative data on covered establishments and

unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject

to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors

such as typographical errors may occur but are not likely to be

significant. While the MLS employers and layoff events are not

subject to sampling error, and all such employers are asked the

interview questions, the employer responses are subject to

nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many

reasons, including the inability to obtain information for all

respondents, inability or unwillingness of respondents to

provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or

processing of the data. For the third quarter of 2007, outright

refusal to participate in the employer interview accounted for 3.8

percent of all private nonfarm events. Although included in the

total number of instances involving the movement of work, for

the third quarter, employers in 20 relocations were unable to

provide the number of separations specifically associated with

the movement of work, 7 of which involved out-of-country

moves.

Other information

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200;

TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007

Industry

III II III III II III III II III

 2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................. 929 1,421 931 160,254 278,694 136,234 161,764 258,256 115,742 

 Mining ............................................................. 4 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 1,296 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 607 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

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

 Construction .................................................... 155 191 176 16,118 20,669 15,488 23,051 26,175 17,121 

 Manufacturing ................................................. 302 286 249 56,928 48,649 38,394 60,014 55,395 34,741 

 Food ........................................................... 42 56 26 7,261 10,419 5,365 7,265 10,159 2,509 

 Beverage and tobacco products ................ 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 720 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 453 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Textile mills ................................................ 16 10 9 2,571 1,462 2,729 3,518 1,327 3,016 

 Textile product mills ................................... 6 ( 2 ) 3 613 ( 2 ) 702 804 ( 2 ) 630 

 Apparel ....................................................... 17 9 15 2,791 1,431 1,646 2,065 1,490 1,542 

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

 Wood products ........................................... 21 10 16 2,896 988 1,873 3,048 926 1,838 

 Paper ......................................................... 9 11 3 1,070 1,063 234 1,001 1,036 221 

 Printing and related support activities ........ 6 8 ( 2 ) 1,057 1,197 ( 2 ) 782 1,004 ( 2 )

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

 Chemicals ................................................. 7 10 5 1,160 1,314 361 790 1,105 370 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................... 16 11 10 2,178 1,344 1,044 2,796 1,195 1,361 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................... 6 5 8 919 431 919 979 510 838 

 Primary metals ........................................... 9 9 9 1,454 1,150 1,486 1,408 1,552 1,617 

 Fabricated metal products ......................... 12 16 21 1,309 2,246 3,093 1,829 2,524 3,071 

 Machinery .................................................. 17 20 17 3,002 2,934 3,183 3,073 5,000 2,918 

 Computer and electronic products ............. 21 21 26 4,504 2,512 4,481 3,299 2,730 3,195 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ......... 9 5 5 1,762 698 328 1,487 889 408 

 Transportation equipment .......................... 62 54 50 17,955 15,225 8,208 21,417 20,338 9,028 

 Furniture and related products ................... 14 19 14 2,435 2,551 1,411 2,574 2,129 1,049 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing .................... 6 7 7 1,076 960 791 954 735 714 

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 23 24 19 4,157 3,904 2,313 2,939 3,183 1,383 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 52 64 50 12,992 20,215 8,652 12,530 16,785 7,343 

 Transportation and warehousing .................... 72 172 79 11,098 40,224 13,636 9,639 43,885 12,601 

 Information ...................................................... 29 29 14 6,224 3,271 1,327 3,937 3,699 1,562 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 33 79 115 6,932 13,760 20,600 7,615 13,821 15,445 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ................. ( 2 ) 4 7 ( 2 ) 380 976 ( 2 ) 361 1,057 

 Professional and technical services ................ 37 55 28 5,712 26,456 3,539 6,492 14,855 3,303 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 3 5 7 378 478 618 467 410 607 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 107 77 55 20,057 12,463 7,070 19,716 12,340 6,316 

 Educational services ....................................... 5 14 9 453 1,691 1,319 522 1,465 1,704 

 Health care and social assistance .................. 40 170 46 5,164 23,511 6,083 3,883 20,233 4,387 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 21 45 20 4,505 18,804 5,612 2,466 4,835 1,820 

 Accommodation and food services ................. 33 143 38 6,735 36,075 7,131 6,372 32,720 4,159 

 Other services, except public administration .. 8 59 13 974 7,484 2,560 985 7,504 1,508 

 Unclassified ..................................................... – – 2 – – 239 – – 160 

 1 For the third quarter of 2007, data on layoffs were reported by employers r

 = revised.

in all states and the District of Columbia. p

 = preliminary.

 2

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

Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance Layoff events
Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007

Reason for layoff

III II III III II III III II III

 2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 929 1,421 931 160,254 278,694 136,234 161,764 258,256 115,742 

Business demand ............................................................. 446 417 407 59,623 52,099 45,859 74,043 63,421 49,069 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... 19 18 14 3,614 2,778 1,874 2,917 2,363 1,509 

 Contract completion ....................................................... 255 217 192 34,151 27,921 18,935 42,117 32,739 19,698 

 Domestic competition ..................................................... – 4 3 – 561 254 – 519 177 

 Excess inventory/saturated market ................................ – 6 5 – 892 1,251 – 1,072 1,132 

 Import competition ......................................................... 17 18 16 3,546 2,704 3,067 3,988 2,712 2,999 

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 155 154 177 18,312 17,243 20,478 25,021 24,016 23,554 

Organizational changes .................................................... 135 79 89 36,007 15,469 14,795 34,075 17,100 11,899 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 29 16 23 9,329 3,550 4,414 5,947 1,768 2,733 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 106 63 66 26,678 11,919 10,381 28,128 15,332 9,166 

Financial issues ................................................................ 57 110 111 11,425 26,754 24,197 6,628 21,464 16,329 

 Bankruptcy ..................................................................... 15 17 19 5,304 3,035 3,673 1,723 2,019 2,407 

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ – 44 30 – 8,387 5,002 – 7,634 4,426 

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... 42 49 62 6,121 15,332 15,522 4,905 11,811 9,496 

Production specific ............................................................ 21 20 ( 2

 ) 5,911 5,887 ( 2 ) 5,086 8,249 ( 2 ) 

 Automation/technological advances .............................. ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,248 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 959 

 Energy related ................................................................ – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... – 4 ( 2 ) – 684 ( 2 ) – 335 ( 2 )

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ..................... 4 4 ( 2 ) 1,230 1,395 ( 2 ) 827 1,657 ( 2 )

 Material or supply shortage ............................................ 3 ( 2 ) – 204 ( 2 ) – 770 ( 2 ) –

 Model changeover ......................................................... 4 4 – 2,568 2,286 – 2,040 4,582 –

 Plant or machine repair/maintenance ............................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 865 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 559 

 Product line discontinued ............................................... 7 ( 2 ) – 1,494 ( 2 ) – 1,089 ( 2 ) –

Disaster/safety .................................................................. 4 3 ( 2

 ) 671 306 ( 2 ) 322 248 ( 2 ) 

 Hazardous work environment ........................................ ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 

 Natural disaster (not weather related) ............................ ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... – 3 – – 306 – – 248 –

 Extreme weather-related event ...................................... – – – – – – – – –

Seasonal ........................................................................... 177 649 203 27,691 154,838 36,410 26,225 124,547 24,237 

 Seasonal ........................................................................ 166 349 112 26,693 98,770 20,780 25,268 66,355 10,938 

 Vacation period–school related or otherwise ................. 11 300 91 998 56,068 15,630 957 58,192 13,299 

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... 89 143 108 18,926 23,341 11,988 15,385 23,227 12,263 

 Other .............................................................................. 32 11 8 8,291 1,776 1,237 4,646 1,809 1,609 

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. 47 53 36 9,371 10,875 3,887 9,366 10,830 3,875 

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. 10 79 64 1,264 10,690 6,864 1,373 10,588 6,779 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1. r = revised.

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary.

NOTE: Dash represents zero.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance
Table 3. State and selected claimant characteristics: Extended mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, second and third quarters, 2007

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55and over

II III II III II III II III II III II III

 2007r 2007p 2007r 2007p 2007r 2007p 2007r 2007p 2007r 2007p 2007r 2007p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........... 1,421 931 258,256 115,742 18.4 16.2 14.5 17.9 54.2 44.2 23.1 18.9 

Alabama ...................................... 14 8 2,919 1,168 55.6 71.4 2.8 4.8 61.6 47.6 22.7 17.6 

Alaska .......................................... 7 ( 2 ) 1,328 ( 2 ) 4.4 1.8 16.9 31.5 45.2 23.0 27.4 23.9 

Arizona ........................................ 19 4 2,675 545 3.7 12.5 56.9 30.8 66.4 43.3 18.4 18.7 

Arkansas ..................................... 14 ( 2 ) 1,833 ( 2 ) 29.5 7.0 2.1 4.4 54.1 23.7 15.9 1.8 

California ..................................... 340 294 52,778 32,206 10.4 9.0 36.5 35.2 43.5 39.2 16.2 13.3 

Colorado ...................................... 13 ( 2 ) 1,451 ( 2 ) 2.9 2.9 24.4 12.8 57.5 59.3 22.9 24.4 

Connecticut ................................. 17 ( 2 ) 3,404 ( 2 ) 11.3 13.6 9.7 8.0 67.9 60.0 27.8 16.8 

Delaware ..................................... 3 – 270 – 54.8 – 11.5 – 87.0 – 17.4 –

District of Columbia ..................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 84.4 98.6 7.8 1.4 60.4 84.4 24.0 5.0 

Florida ......................................... 70 50 10,566 4,508 21.6 16.7 30.4 28.7 55.2 46.9 27.4 18.7 

Georgia ........................................ 13 21 1,895 2,962 43.7 46.7 .2 4.5 56.4 58.9 15.6 20.1 

Hawaii .......................................... 7 ( 2 ) 1,076 ( 2 ) 5.4 .9 13.9 8.9 49.6 35.7 18.9 30.5 

Idaho ........................................... 5 ( 2 ) 462 ( 2 ) .2 – 8.7 65.1 74.2 66.3 39.8 38.6 

Illinois .......................................... 89 70 20,615 8,899 26.2 23.0 8.5 11.2 60.8 43.9 20.9 17.0 

Indiana ......................................... 24 14 3,714 2,968 20.2 10.0 3.0 3.4 64.0 42.3 23.8 22.1 

Iowa ............................................. 4 4 509 453 7.3 3.1 1.4 3.3 64.6 38.6 35.2 9.9 

Kansas ........................................ 13 3 1,241 433 22.3 7.2 1.8 .5 67.1 42.0 23.6 30.3 

Kentucky ...................................... 17 13 3,120 1,292 6.8 7.8 .4 .1 30.8 26.5 18.9 21.8 

Louisiana ..................................... 19 ( 2 ) 2,152 ( 2 ) 76.0 77.4 1.1 – 86.4 82.5 21.7 13.9 

Maine ........................................... 9 4 825 278 .5 .7 .2 – 33.8 50.7 15.8 16.2 

Maryland ...................................... 29 12 3,835 1,252 49.6 32.7 .1 .9 53.2 57.5 21.5 16.0 

Massachusetts ............................ 13 22 1,666 4,040 13.9 13.9 3.5 2.0 54.9 47.5 27.0 24.3 

Michigan ...................................... 51 29 15,842 4,480 22.5 22.0 2.8 2.8 54.4 47.2 18.8 12.3 

Minnesota .................................... 28 8 3,600 873 8.8 .7 8.1 2.7 34.6 25.9 19.3 19.9 

Mississippi ................................... 11 5 995 561 57.8 78.6 1.1 1.4 59.6 75.2 18.1 12.7 

Missouri ....................................... 42 18 11,689 1,625 22.2 22.3 .2 .4 53.0 57.2 22.1 20.2 

Montana ...................................... 9 – 713 – .1 – 3.5 – 61.3 – 30.3 –

Nebraska ..................................... 3 ( 2 ) 421 ( 2 ) 18.5 2.1 3.8 1.4 52.0 41.8 38.7 21.3 

Nevada ........................................ 6 ( 2 ) 731 ( 2 ) 30.9 15.5 21.3 25.8 75.8 54.3 20.5 32.8 

New Hampshire ........................... 6 ( 2 ) 779 ( 2 ) .6 – 1.0 1.9 74.6 38.9 27.7 59.3 

New Jersey .................................. 69 23 16,256 2,742 19.2 24.4 8.2 9.6 74.0 50.2 36.3 23.3 

New Mexico ................................. 6 6 705 877 3.1 4.1 36.5 39.9 21.6 34.4 20.7 18.0 

New York ..................................... 77 110 18,145 17,288 15.9 19.9 9.9 18.3 54.6 51.5 30.3 28.6 

North Carolina ............................. 15 6 2,393 645 43.7 22.0 3.5 11.8 50.5 62.2 21.5 23.7 

North Dakota ............................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – – – .8 – 9.3 – 20.2 –

Ohio ............................................. 78 28 12,613 3,089 20.8 15.5 3.0 2.1 53.2 35.7 20.0 17.2 

Oklahoma .................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3.1 13.3 6.2 9.9 49.2 63.5 24.6 22.1 

Oregon ........................................ 22 10 5,856 1,232 2.9 1.1 13.0 25.4 52.3 46.0 23.9 17.2 

Pennsylvania ............................... 84 71 22,107 9,728 9.7 6.7 2.6 4.0 51.3 35.8 32.4 22.0 

Rhode Island ............................... 9 4 1,830 411 4.3 3.2 16.8 27.3 84.9 80.5 32.5 20.0 

South Carolina ............................. 9 6 1,102 905 67.2 65.4 .3 .6 63.7 69.3 1.8 8.5 

South Dakota ............................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2.4 – .6 1.6 70.4 67.2 36.7 39.3 

Tennessee ................................... 21 8 3,120 682 36.1 20.2 – – 57.9 61.7 27.0 19.6 

Texas ........................................... 36 24 6,186 3,308 18.4 22.7 46.2 29.8 59.9 48.0 16.4 13.1 

Utah ............................................. 6 4 674 436 1.2 1.1 7.0 16.5 53.9 12.4 14.5 2.3 

Vermont ....................................... 9 ( 2 ) 1,487 ( 2 ) .8 – .5 – 47.2 35.0 24.3 21.0 

Virginia ........................................ 24 10 4,018 862 46.3 19.7 2.7 2.4 56.9 44.8 22.7 23.1 

Washington ................................. 21 7 3,145 701 8.1 1.0 11.0 13.3 38.3 25.2 16.5 16.0 

West Virginia ............................... 5 ( 2 ) 655 ( 2 ) .3 – – – 26.9 17.6 11.3 16.0 

Wisconsin .................................... 28 11 4,234 1,784 16.0 1.3 5.2 5.2 66.7 29.4 32.9 22.0 

Wyoming ..................................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – – – – – 21.1 – 9.9 –

Puerto Rico .................................. 16 9 4,316 1,477 .2 .1 98.0 96.8 55.7 58.8 8.5 12.8 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. r

 = revised.

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

 = preliminary.

 3 Data are not available. NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 4. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

III II III III II III III II III

 2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p 

 United States1 .................................. 929 1,421 931 160,254 278,694 136,234 161,764 258,256 115,742 

Northeast ................................................. 211 293 238 29,718 59,017 39,406 33,597 66,499 34,820 

 New England ........................................ 26 63 34 5,846 13,777 8,618 3,666 9,991 5,062 

 Middle Atlantic ...................................... 185 230 204 23,872 45,240 30,788 29,931 56,508 29,758 

South ........................................................ 259 303 171 51,299 48,541 23,468 44,755 45,316 18,843 

 South Atlantic ....................................... 184 170 108 36,137 27,927 13,894 31,910 24,926 11,400 

 East South Central ............................... 40 63 34 7,141 10,280 5,372 5,671 10,154 3,703 

 West South Central .............................. 35 70 29 8,021 10,334 4,202 7,174 10,236 3,740 

Midwest .................................................... 196 363 188 38,043 75,305 30,785 40,101 74,776 24,806 

 East North Central ............................... 165 270 152 33,240 58,772 25,905 33,535 57,018 21,220 

 West North Central .............................. 31 93 36 4,803 16,533 4,880 6,566 17,758 3,586 

West ......................................................... 263 462 334 41,194 95,831 42,575 43,311 71,665 37,273 

 Mountain .............................................. 18 65 19 2,578 22,257 3,799 2,110 7,482 2,699 

 Pacific .................................................. 245 397 315 38,616 73,574 38,776 41,201 64,183 34,574 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and 

 r = revised. Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and

 p = preliminary. Texas: East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin;

 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North

census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,

New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California,

New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and
Table 5. State distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007

State

III II III III II III III II III

 2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........................ 929 1,421 931 160,254 278,694 136,234 161,764 258,256 115,742 

Alabama ................................................... 14 14 8 2,652 2,739 1,714 2,188 2,919 1,168 

Alaska ...................................................... 4 7 ( 2 ) 2,114 3,953 ( 2 ) 731 1,328 ( 2 )

Arizona ..................................................... 4 19 4 855 5,141 1,076 445 2,675 545 

Arkansas .................................................. 5 14 ( 2 ) 662 2,191 ( 2 ) 1,206 1,833 ( 2 )

California .................................................. 214 340 294 31,944 59,378 34,078 35,828 52,778 32,206 

Colorado .................................................. 3 13 ( 2 ) 451 13,630 ( 2 ) 413 1,451 ( 2 )

Connecticut .............................................. 9 17 ( 2 ) 3,195 5,489 ( 2 ) 1,374 3,404 ( 2 )

Delaware .................................................. ( 2 ) 3 – ( 2 ) 252 – ( 2 ) 270 –

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

Florida ...................................................... 106 70 50 25,305 12,996 6,990 17,524 10,566 4,508 

Georgia .................................................... 16 13 21 2,423 1,718 2,285 3,905 1,895 2,962 

Hawaii ...................................................... 3 7 ( 2 ) 541 1,396 ( 2 ) 541 1,076 ( 2 )

Idaho ........................................................ 4 5 ( 2 ) 395 543 ( 2 ) 375 462 ( 2 )

Illinois ....................................................... 60 89 70 12,752 22,131 13,333 11,304 20,615 8,899 

Indiana ..................................................... 13 24 14 2,158 3,006 2,211 2,158 3,714 2,968 

Iowa ......................................................... ( 2 ) 4 4 ( 2 ) 358 491 ( 2 ) 509 453 

Kansas ..................................................... 4 13 3 571 1,938 333 521 1,241 433 

Kentucky .................................................. 13 17 13 1,107 2,873 1,975 1,581 3,120 1,292 

Louisiana .................................................. 11 19 ( 2 ) 3,488 2,493 ( 2 ) 2,594 2,152 ( 2 )

Maine ....................................................... ( 2 ) 9 4 ( 2 ) 1,767 341 ( 2 ) 825 278 

Maryland .................................................. 14 29 12 1,683 3,153 1,270 1,613 3,835 1,252 

Massachusetts ......................................... 12 13 22 2,228 2,426 7,348 1,870 1,666 4,040 

Michigan ................................................... 41 51 29 6,718 17,445 5,163 7,824 15,842 4,480 

Minnesota ................................................ 13 28 8 1,571 3,714 1,163 1,559 3,600 873 

Mississippi ................................................ ( 2 ) 11 5 ( 2 ) 1,207 796 ( 2 ) 995 561 

Missouri .................................................... 10 42 18 1,143 9,564 2,658 3,462 11,689 1,625 

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

 ) 9 – ( 2 ) 675 – ( 2 ) 713 –

Nebraska .................................................. ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 550 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 421 ( 2 )

Nevada ..................................................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 768 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 731 ( 2 )

New Hampshire ....................................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 779 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 779 ( 2 )

New Jersey .............................................. 26 69 23 5,132 21,452 5,927 3,517 16,256 2,742 

New Mexico ............................................. 4 6 6 323 705 881 323 705 877 

New York ................................................. 93 77 110 10,936 11,049 18,308 14,563 18,145 17,288 

North Carolina .......................................... 14 15 6 1,812 3,279 761 2,959 2,393 645 

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

Ohio ......................................................... 37 78 28 10,174 12,050 3,872 9,736 12,613 3,089 

Oklahoma ................................................. 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 723 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 725 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Oregon ..................................................... 11 22 10 2,035 5,798 1,516 1,921 5,856 1,232 

Pennsylvania ............................................ 66 84 71 7,804 12,739 6,553 11,851 22,107 9,728 

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

 ) 9 4 ( 2 ) 1,829 443 ( 2 ) 1,830 411 

South Carolina ......................................... 16 9 6 2,231 986 1,265 2,344 1,102 905 

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

Tennessee ............................................... 12 21 8 3,004 3,461 887 1,675 3,120 682 

Texas ....................................................... 15 36 24 3,148 5,490 3,646 2,649 6,186 3,308 

Utah ......................................................... – 6 4 – 724 540 – 674 436 

Vermont ................................................... ( 2 ) 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,487 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,487 ( 2 )

Virginia ..................................................... 12 24 10 1,848 4,038 952 1,654 4,018 862 

Washington .............................................. 13 21 7 1,982 3,049 420 2,180 3,145 701 

West Virginia ............................................ 5 5 ( 2 ) 763 1,313 ( 2 ) 409 655 ( 2 )

Wisconsin ................................................. 14 28 11 1,438 4,140 1,326 2,513 4,234 1,784 

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

Puerto Rico .............................................. 16 16 9 2,368 2,035 635 5,377 4,316 1,477 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

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

 r = revised.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance
Table 6. Information technology-producing industries: Extended mass layoff events and separations, private nonfarm sector, 2000-2007

2000

First quarter ........................................... 1,081 202,500 22 5,195 8 1,931 9 1,402 4 771 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,055 205,861 18 8,862 11 1,580 7 805 7 977 

Third quarter .......................................... 817 174,628 10 1,678 9 1,132 4 1,465 6 1,280 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,638 332,973 16 3,070 20 3,297 5 946 7 1,020 

 Total ................................................... 4,591 915,962 66 18,805 48 7,940 25 4,618 24 4,048 

2001

First quarter ........................................... 1,546 304,171 91 20,991 34 5,710 22 4,441 24 5,312 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,828 430,499 161 38,986 75 10,219 36 12,109 28 6,386 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,629 330,391 142 24,813 45 5,724 39 8,200 36 7,134 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 2,372 459,771 109 17,797 51 7,767 43 10,124 48 11,252 

 Total ................................................... 7,375 1,524,832 503 102,587 205 29,420 140 34,874 136 30,084 

2002

First quarter ........................................... 1,611 299,266 84 18,574 35 3,824 32 8,192 42 6,664 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,624 344,606 69 11,764 39 4,326 27 4,870 53 8,538 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,186 255,152 76 15,017 36 4,359 34 6,529 42 7,945 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,916 373,307 74 14,298 27 6,180 19 3,645 39 8,987 

 Total ................................................... 6,337 1,272,331 303 59,653 137 18,689 112 23,236 176 32,134 

2003

First quarter ........................................... 1,502 286,947 71 11,900 28 5,214 23 4,402 41 6,591 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,799 368,273 54 9,221 20 2,856 21 3,098 29 5,891 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,190 236,333 46 6,488 24 4,189 9 1,289 15 2,604 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,690 325,333 25 5,080 8 1,167 9 1,619 28 6,635 

 Total ................................................... 6,181 1,216,886 196 32,689 80 13,426 62 10,408 113 21,721 

2004

First quarter ........................................... 1,339 276,503 27 3,222 13 2,786 8 894 23 4,197 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,358 278,831 18 2,959 15 2,775 – – 22 5,295 

Third quarter .......................................... 886 164,608 13 2,288 14 1,467 4 430 13 4,317 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,427 273,967 18 3,055 10 1,547 4 563 23 3,457 

 Total ................................................... 5,010 993,909 76 11,524 52 8,575 16 1,887 81 17,266 

2005

First quarter ........................................... 1,142 186,506 13 1,526 9 2,355 4 439 17 3,569 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,203 246,099 20 2,973 13 1,558 4 842 11 1,904 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,136 201,878 23 3,307 7 1,034 ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 11 1,127 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,400 250,178 19 4,122 3 720 ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 8 1,125 

 Total ................................................... 4,881 884,661 75 11,928 32 5,667 13 3,000 47 7,725 

2006

First quarter ........................................... 963 183,089 12 1,159 6 744 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 7 833 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,353 295,964 10 3,294 7 1,564 8 988 7 1,252 

Third quarter .......................................... 929 160,254 14 3,544 6 487 ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 11 1,831 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,640 296,662 12 4,039 4 708 5 1,482 9 1,017 

 Total ................................................... 4,885 935,969 48 12,036 23 3,503 19 3,753 34 4,933 

2007

First quarter ........................................... 1,111 r 226,062 19 3,007 5 875 3 415 5 885 

Second quarterr

 ..................................... 1,421 278,694 22 3,667 4 413 5 433 6 592 

Third quarterp

 ......................................... 931 136,234 20 3,609 5 913 5 590 4 340 

 1

 Information technology-producing industries are defined in Digital Economy 2003 , web search portals; data processing and related services; custom computer programming

(U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, 2003). services; computer systems design services; computer facilities management

In the MLS program, however, computer and software merchant wholesalers and services; other computer related services; office equipment rental and leasing;

computer and software stores are only included in the computer hardware industry. and computer and office machine repair.

Thus, data published in previous news releases for the software and computer 4

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

services industry are not comparable. Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: telephone apparatus manufacturing;

 2

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry audio and video equipment manufacturing; broadcast and wireless communications

Classification System (NAICS), are: semiconductor machinery manufacturing; office equip.; fiber optic cable manufacturing; software reproducing; and magnetic and

machinery manufacturing; electronic computer manufacturing; computer storage optical recording media mfg.

device manufacturing; computer terminal manufacturing; other computer peripheral 5

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

equipment mfg.; electron tube manufacturing; bare printed circuit board manufacturing; Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: wired telecommunications carriers;

semiconductors and related device mfg.; electronic capacitor manufacturing; electronic cellular and other wireless carriers; telecommunications resellers; cable and other

resistor manufacturing; electronic coils, transformers, and inductors; electronic program distribution; satellite telecommunications; other telecommunications;

connector manufacturing; printed circuit assembly manufacturing; other electronic and communication equipment repair.

component manufacturing; industrial process variable instruments; electricity and signal 6

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 

testing instruments; analytical laboratory instrument mfg.; computer and software NOTE: Dash represents zero.

merchant wholesalers; and computer and software stores. r

 = revised. 

 3

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry p = preliminary. 

Classification System (NAICS), are: software publishers; internet service providers;

Layoff

events

equipment4 services5

Layoff

events

Layoff

events

Software and Communications Communications

Separations Layoff

events Separations

Year

Separations Separations Separations

hardware2 computer services 3

Layoff

events

Total extended

mass layoffs

Information technology-producing industries 1

Computer
Table 7. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2006 and 2007

III II III III II III

2006 2007r 2007p 2006 2007r 2007p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ............................................... 58 65 61 12,840 11,352 10,887 

 Mining .......................................................................... ––––––

 Utilities ......................................................................... – – – – – –

 Construction ................................................................. – – – – – –

 Manufacturing .............................................................. 36 48 43 7,311 8,820 7,475 

 Food ........................................................................ 3 5 ( 2 ) 421 1,329 ( 2 )

 Beverage and tobacco products ............................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Textile mills ............................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,505 

 Textile product mills ................................................ – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Apparel ................................................................... 5 3 5 1,250 440 660 

 Leather and allied products .................................... – – – – – –

 Wood products ........................................................ ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Paper ...................................................................... – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Printing and related support activities ..................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Petroleum and coal products .................................. – – – – – –

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Plastics and rubber products .................................. ( 2 ) 5 5 ( 2 ) 542 595 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ................................. – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Primary metals ........................................................ – 3 ( 2 ) – 495 ( 2 )

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... ( 2 ) 4 3 ( 2 ) 1,100 462 

 Machinery ............................................................... 3 ( 2 ) 3 662 ( 2 ) 565 

 Computer and electronic products .......................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 457 ( 2 )

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 805 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Transportation equipment ....................................... 6 7 5 1,365 1,830 891 

 Furniture and related products ................................ 3 3 ( 2 ) 828 612 ( 2 )

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ................................. ( 2 ) 4 3 ( 2 ) 576 188 

 Wholesale trade ........................................................... 7 ( 2

 ) 5 2,069 ( 2 ) 678 

 Retail trade .................................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Transportation and warehousing ................................. 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,616 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Information ................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Finance and insurance ................................................ ( 2 ) 4 7 ( 2 ) 590 1,612 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .............................. – – – – – –

 Professional and technical services ............................. ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Management of companies and enterprises ............... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Administrative and waste services ............................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Educational services .................................................... – – – – – –

 Health care and social assistance ............................... – 3 – – 258 –

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Accommodation and food services .............................. – – – – – –

 Other services, except public administration ............... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Unclassified ................................................................. ––––––

 

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

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

 r = revised.

Layoff events Separations

Industry
Table 8. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, 

selected quarters, 2006 and 2007

Reason for layoff

III II III III II III

2006 2007r 2007p 2006 2007r 2007p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 58 65 61 12,840 11,352 10,887 

Business demand ............................................................. 10 ( 2

 ) 17 2,094 ( 2 ) 3,097 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 

 Contract completion ....................................................... – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Domestic competition ..................................................... – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Excess inventory/saturated market ................................ – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Import competition .......................................................... 6 7 10 1,095 1,236 2,063 

 business slowdown 

................................................. ( 2

 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,005 ( 2 ) 

Organizational changes .................................................... 33 29 22 8,094 4,258 3,595 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 3 ( 2

 ) 4 607 ( 2 ) 903 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 30 ( 2 ) 18 7,487 ( 2 ) 2,692 

Financial issues ................................................................. 6 20 17 1,268 4,141 3,623 

 Bankruptcy ..................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ – 15 ( 2 ) – 3,275 ( 2 )

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Production specific ............................................................ 4 – ( 2

 ) 958 – ( 2 ) 

 Automation/technological advances .............................. ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 

 Energy related ................................................................ – – – – – –

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... – – – – – –

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ..................... – – – – – –

 Material or supply shortage ............................................ – – – – – –

 Model changeover ......................................................... – – – – – –

 Plant or machine repair/maintenance ............................ – – – – – –

 Product line discontinued ............................................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

Disaster/safety .................................................................. – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Hazardous work environment ........................................ ––––––

 Natural disaster (not weather related) ............................ – – – – – –

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Extreme weather-related event ...................................... – – – – – –

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... 5 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 426 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Other .............................................................................. 5 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 426 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. – – – – – –

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1. r = revised.

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary.

 NOTE: Dash represents zero.

Layoff events Separations
Table 9. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2006 and 2007

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations

III II III III II III

2006 2007r 2007p 2006 2007r 2007p 

 United States1 ...................................... 58 65 61 12,840 11,352 10,887 

Northeast ..................................................... 14 13 9 2,580 1,808 1,400 

 New England ........................................... 4 ( 2

 ) 3 1,156 ( 2 ) 514 

 Middle Atlantic ......................................... 10 ( 2 ) 6 1,424 ( 2 ) 886 

South ........................................................... 24 25 29 5,123 4,482 5,058 

 South Atlantic ........................................... 16 10 14 3,017 1,909 2,115 

 East South Central ................................... ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 949 ( 2 )

 West South Central .................................. ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,624 ( 2 )

Midwest ........................................................ 13 17 14 3,260 2,716 2,566 

 East North Central ................................... 9 12 8 2,593 1,810 1,355 

 West North Central .................................. 4 5 6 667 906 1,211 

West ............................................................. 7 10 9 1,877 2,346 1,863 

 Mountain .................................................. ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Pacific ...................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South 

 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, 

 r = revised. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas,

 p = preliminary. Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas: East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, 

 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, 

 the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massa- Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: 

chusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and 

New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.
Table 10. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007

III II III III II III

2006 2007r 2007p 2006 2007r 2007p

Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 929 1,421 931 160,254 278,694 136,234 

 Total, excluding seasonal

 and vacation events2

 .............................................. 752 772 728 132,563 123,856 99,824 

 Total, movement of work3

 ....................................... 58 65 61 12,840 11,352 10,887 

 Movement of work actions ................................. 72 89 79 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 With separations reported ............................ 49 66 59 6,820 7,401 7,019 

 With separations unknown ........................... 23 23 20 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 4 Data are not available.

 2 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers r = revised.

when the reason for layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period. p = preliminary.

 3 Movement of work can involve more than one action.

Layoff events Separations

Action
Table 11. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers,

selected quarters, 2006 and 2007

III II III III II III

2006 2007r 2007p 2006 2007r 2007p

With separations reported2 ................................. 49 66 59 6,820 7,401 7,019 

By location

 Out-of-country relocations ................................ 12 23 20 2,071 3,537 3,047 

 Within company ............................................ 9 22 10 1,030 3,387 1,364 

 Different company ........................................ 3 1 10 1,041 150 1,683 

 Domestic relocations ........................................ 37 43 38 4,749 3,864 3,793 

 Within company ............................................ 31 34 34 4,020 3,254 3,396 

 Different company ........................................ 6 9 4 729 610 397 

 Unable to assign place of 

 relocation ....................................................... – – 1 – – 179 

By company

 Within company ................................................ 40 56 45 5,050 6,641 4,939 

 Domestic ....................................................... 31 34 34 4,020 3,254 3,396 

 Out of country ............................................... 9 22 10 1,030 3,387 1,364 

 Unable to assign ........................................... – – 1 – – 179 

 Different company ............................................ 9 10 14 1,770 760 2,080 

 Domestic ....................................................... 6 9 4 729 610 397 

 Out of country ............................................... 3 1 10 1,041 150 1,683 

 Unable to assign ........................................... ––––––

 1

 Only actions for which separations associated with the r = revised.

movement of work were reported are shown. p = preliminary.

 2

 See footnote 1, table 1. Note: Dash represents zero.

Activities

Actions1 Separations
Extended Mass Layoff Events by Reason Categories1

Third quarters, 2001-07

0

700600500400300200100

2001:3 2002:3 2003:3 2004:3 2005:3 2006:3 2007:3

Seasonal Business demand Organizational changes Financial issues Production specific Disaster/Safety 

1 The chart excludes information on layoffs due to other/miscellaneous reasons.p = preliminary.

p