Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 02-660

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Tuesday, November 26, 2002

MASS LAYOFFS IN OCTOBER 2002

Employers initiated 1,497 mass layoff actions in October 2002, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor

Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers

involved totaled 171,088. (See table 1.) Almost 10 percent of the initial claims in October 2002 (16,548)

were in the temporary help services industry. In October 2001, which included the initial direct and indirect

effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks, there were 1,831 mass layoff events involving 215,483

workers. In January through October 2002, both the total number of events, 15,649, and initial claims,

1,740,828, were lower than in January-October 2001 (16,306 and 1,950,013, respectively).

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. 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”) and 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 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

Industry Distribution

Manufacturing industries accounted for 33 percent of all mass layoff events and 38 percent of all initial

claims filed in October. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 41 percent of events and 50 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of initial claimants was highest in food processing

(12,111, mostly in fruits and vegetables) and machinery (8,309, largely in construction machinery), followed

by computer and electronic products (6,926) and transportation equipment (6,856). (See table 2.)

Fifteen percent of all layoff events and 16 percent of all initial claims filed during the month were in

administrative and waste services, mostly in temporary help services. Twelve percent of the events and

9 percent of initial claims in October were from agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, largely among farm

labor contractors and crew leaders. Retail trade accounted for 7 percent of events and 9 percent of initial

claims, primarily in general merchandise stores. Construction contributed 8 percent to all events and 6 percent to all initial claims this October, mainly from specialty trade contractors. An additional 4 percent of

events and 5 percent of initial claims were from the information sector, mostly in the motion picture and

sound recording industries.

Government establishments accounted for 3 percent of events and of initial claims filed during the month,

particularly in elementary and secondary schools.
2

Compared with October 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in transportation

equipment manufacturing (-24,780), professional and technical services (-5,522), air transportation (-5,366),

and accommodation services (-5,365). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in

agriculture and forestry support activities (+7,179).

Geographic Distribution

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

West, 77,051. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services and agricultural support activities accounted for 36 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest followed with

37,561 initial claims (mainly in machinery manufacturing), then the South, with 35,515 (largely in administrative and support services). The Northeast continued to report the lowest number of initial claims,

20,961, mostly in general merchandise stores.

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in three of the four geographic regions. The largest decrease occurred in the Midwest (-31,253), largely in transportation equipment manufacturing. Eight of the nine geographic divisions reported over-the-year decreases in the number of initial

claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest declines in the East North Central (-20,261) and West

North Central (-10,992) divisions. Only the Pacific division reported an increase (+14,049).

California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this October, 65,044, mostly

in administrative and support services and in agriculture and forestry support activities, followed by Illinois

(8,676), Pennsylvania (8,480), and Texas (8,470). These four states accounted for 55 percent of all layoff

events and 53 percent of initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) Thus far this year,

471,121 mass layoff initial claims were filed in California, 27 percent of the national total. The states with the

next largest number of claims were Texas (104,703) and Pennsylvania (98,206).

Missouri reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-7,606), followed by Ohio (-6,257)

and Michigan (-6,238). The largest over-the-year increase occurred in California (+16,728).

______________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in November 2002 will be issued on Tuesday, December 24, 2002.
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, and the number of

weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore,

analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change 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.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2000 to October 2002

Date

Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants

2000

October ....................................................................... 874 103,755 

November ................................................................... 1,697 216,514 

December ................................................................... 2,677 326,743 

Fourth Quarter ............................................................ 5,248 647,012 2,005 376,611 38.2 58.2 

2001

January ....................................................................... 1,522 200,343 

February ..................................................................... 1,501 172,908 

March ......................................................................... 1,527 171,466 

First Quarter ............................................................... 4,550 544,717 1,765 340,210 38.8 62.5 

April ............................................................................ 1,450 176,265 

May ............................................................................. 1,434 159,365 

June ............................................................................ 2,107 253,826 

Second Quarter .......................................................... 4,991 589,456 2,072 r401,270 41.5 68.1 

July ............................................................................. 2,117 273,807 

August ........................................................................ 1,490 166,148 

September .................................................................. 1,327 160,402 

Third Quarter .............................................................. 4,934 600,357 1,815 r370,942 36.8 r61.8

October ....................................................................... 1,831 215,483 

November ................................................................... 2,721 295,956 

December ................................................................... 2,440 268,893 

Fourth Quarter ............................................................ 6,992 780,332 2,698 r502,287 38.6 r64.4

2002

January ....................................................................... 2,146 263,821 

February ..................................................................... 1,383 138,984 

March ......................................................................... 1,460 161,336 

First Quarter ............................................................... 4,989 564,141 r1,748 r314,966 r35.0 r55.8

April ............................................................................ 1,507 165,861 

May ............................................................................. 1,726 180,007 

June ............................................................................ 1,580 161,928 

Second Quarter .......................................................... 4,813 507,796 r1,905 r347,321 r39.6 r68.4

July ............................................................................. 2,041 245,211 

August ........................................................................ 1,247 128,080 

September

p

 ................................................................ 1,062 124,512 

Third Quarterp

 ............................................................. 4,350 497,803 2 1,309 2 193,385 30.1 38.8 

Octoberp

 ..................................................................... 1,497 171,088 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised

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

is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.

layoffs lasting more than 30 days. p = preliminary.

 2

 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more r = revised.

data on these layoffs become available. Recent experience suggests
Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

Industry

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

October August September October October August September October

2001r 2002 2002p 2002p 2001r 2002 2002p 2002p

 Total1 ..................................................................... 1,831 1,247 1,062 1,497 215,483 128,080 124,512 171,088 

Total, private ............................................................... 1,767 1,189 1,008 1,448 209,350 122,106 118,527 165,360 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ................ 91 39 51 178 7,297 2,255 3,801 16,045 

 Mining ..................................................................... 12 10 7 8 1,524 701 513 565 

 Utilities .................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 575 

 Construction ........................................................... 101 98 80 116 9,761 8,241 5,735 9,738 

 Manufacturing.......................................................... 742 427 351 492 107,030 48,733 43,679 64,600 

 Food ................................................................... 65 47 39 83 7,944 5,150 4,688 12,111 

 Beverage and tobacco products ........................ 11 5 7 8 809 405 454 477 

 Textile mills ......................................................... 24 12 17 24 4,847 1,177 3,406 4,786 

 Textile product mills ............................................ 8 ( 2 ) 13 12 681 ( 2 ) 2,543 1,511 

 Apparel ............................................................... 38 24 19 18 4,923 3,127 2,225 2,445 

 Leather and allied products ................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 240 384 

 Wood products ................................................... 26 11 12 22 2,920 1,198 1,312 2,114 

 Paper .................................................................. 14 8 9 11 1,450 741 1,007 968 

 Printing and related support activities ................ 15 5 7 8 1,094 558 650 710 

 Petroleum and coal products ............................. ( 2 ) – – 5 ( 2 ) – – 651 

 Chemicals ........................................................... 17 ( 2

 ) 8 8 1,548 ( 2 ) 977 598 

 Plastics and rubber products .............................. 29 16 15 18 2,846 1,368 1,322 1,658 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ............................. 21 12 5 12 2,647 1,334 410 874 

 Primary metals ................................................... 49 25 20 24 7,235 2,862 2,273 3,687 

 Fabricated metal products .................................. 56 33 22 21 5,776 3,136 2,365 1,722 

 Machinery ........................................................... 70 50 28 47 9,164 9,197 3,657 8,309 

 Computer and electronic products ..................... 96 74 47 63 11,417 6,202 5,146 6,926 

 Electrical equipment and appliances .................. 35 23 23 25 5,370 3,082 2,679 4,879 

 Transportation equipment .................................. 127 50 32 49 31,580 6,665 4,984 6,856 

 Furniture and related products ........................... 25 11 17 14 3,119 888 2,834 1,749 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............................. 11 13 8 15 1,020 931 507 1,185 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................... 27 23 20 23 2,077 2,357 1,708 1,948 

 Retail trade ............................................................. 97 111 93 112 9,324 11,322 10,095 15,506 

 Transportation and warehousing ............................ 85 68 68 41 11,158 8,140 18,128 5,022 

 Information ............................................................. 71 45 47 53 7,674 4,006 6,585 9,019 

 Finance and insurance ........................................... 33 26 26 25 2,798 2,161 2,530 2,123 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ......................... 21 11 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,528 647 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Professional and technical services ....................... 57 47 29 42 9,047 6,455 2,811 3,525 

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

 Administrative and waste services ......................... 227 179 133 224 22,995 18,192 14,255 26,896 

 Educational services............................................... 4 ( 2 ) 5 – 246 ( 2 ) 369 –

 Health care and social assistance .......................... 13 27 18 28 1,031 1,738 1,299 1,902 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........................ 24 17 19 17 2,166 1,422 2,157 1,263 

 Accommodation and food services ........................ 135 38 49 58 11,374 2,702 4,056 5,057 

 Other services, except public administration........... 9 13 ( 2 ) 14 680 1,745 ( 2 ) 908 

 Unclassified ........................................................... 13 3 1 5 1,226 737 103 369 

Government ................................................................ 64 58 54 49 6,133 5,974 5,985 5,728 

 Federal ................................................................... 20 15 9 9 2,151 2,056 1,703 815 

 State ....................................................................... 19 12 10 14 2,039 1,596 980 1,991 

 Local ....................................................................... 25 31 35 26 1,943 2,322 3,302 2,922 

 1

 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by industry

 p

 = preliminary. for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier r = revised. years. However, the monthly historical industry series from April 

 NOTE: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the basis for the assignment and tabulation of bases. Dash represents zero.

economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of
Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division

Census region and division

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

October August September October October August September October

2001 2002 2002p 2002p 2001 2002 2002p 2002p

 United States1 .................................................... r1,831 1,247 1,062 1,497 r215,483 128,080 124,512 171,088 

Northeast .................................................................... 273 195 158 181 29,900 25,178 15,981 20,961 

 New England .......................................................... 57 27 21 38 7,258 3,897 1,919 4,694 

 Middle Atlantic ........................................................ 216 168 137 143 22,642 21,281 14,062 16,267 

South .......................................................................... r448 308 259 304 r52,063 31,764 31,878 35,515 

 South Atlantic ......................................................... 238 159 129 159 24,849 13,884 16,396 17,819 

 East South Central ................................................. 64 30 51 48 7,944 3,574 5,877 6,198 

 West South Central ................................................ r146 119 79 97 r19,270 14,306 9,605 11,498 

Midwest ...................................................................... 450 251 177 293 68,814 28,016 25,437 37,561 

 East North Central .................................................. 360 186 134 238 51,022 21,208 19,904 30,761 

 West North Central ................................................. 90 65 43 55 17,792 6,808 5,533 6,800 

West ........................................................................... 660 493 468 719 64,706 43,122 51,216 77,051 

 Mountain ................................................................. 68 38 35 52 6,361 3,933 4,109 4,657 

 Pacific ..................................................................... 592 455 433 667 58,345 39,189 47,107 72,394 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 2. Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: p

 = preliminary. Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, r = revised. Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, 

the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, 

Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington

Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North

 
Table 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

State Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

October August September October October August September October

2001 2002 2002p 2002p 2001 2002 2002p 2002p

 Total1 ....................................................................... r1,831 1,247 1,062 1,497 r215,483 128,080 124,512 171,088 

Alabama ..................................................................... 9 5 16 17 1,113 691 2,174 2,833 

Alaska ......................................................................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 381 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 301 

Arizona ....................................................................... 12 7 9 16 823 485 1,618 1,169 

Arkansas .................................................................... 5 ( 2 ) 4 10 734 ( 2 ) 421 1,117 

California .................................................................... 516 415 376 612 48,316 34,590 39,691 65,044 

Colorado ..................................................................... 16 7 6 13 1,594 573 561 1,142 

Connecticut ................................................................ 6 4 4 5 366 588 262 516 

Delaware .................................................................... 8 – – ( 2 ) 970 – – ( 2 )

District of Columbia .................................................... 3 – ( 2 ) – 350 – ( 2 ) –

Florida ........................................................................ 119 72 55 70 9,065 5,154 4,143 4,604 

Georgia ....................................................................... 16 17 16 35 1,742 1,734 4,639 3,219 

Hawaii ......................................................................... 20 ( 2 ) 4 10 2,130 ( 2 ) 428 800 

Idaho .......................................................................... 11 10 4 5 1,638 1,708 287 708 

Illinois ......................................................................... 83 51 41 57 12,717 6,185 6,707 8,676 

Indiana ........................................................................ 43 23 16 22 5,845 2,954 2,512 3,629 

Iowa ............................................................................ 26 10 9 12 3,598 939 1,673 2,339 

Kansas ....................................................................... 5 11 3 8 2,940 1,378 196 768 

Kentucky ..................................................................... 28 14 16 21 4,078 2,032 1,773 2,479 

Louisiana .................................................................... r

20 19 12 12 r3,070 1,513 761 954 

Maine .......................................................................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 680 

Maryland ..................................................................... 7 8 7 10 651 898 815 1,263 

Massachusetts ........................................................... 39 17 12 21 4,612 2,132 988 2,318 

Michigan ..................................................................... 88 26 14 39 10,349 2,535 1,544 4,111 

Minnesota ................................................................... 19 11 9 17 1,989 1,243 1,142 2,000 

Mississippi .................................................................. 11 3 6 5 1,288 176 782 429 

Missouri ...................................................................... 36 28 15 16 8,844 2,884 1,886 1,238 

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

 ) – – 3 ( 2 ) – – 327 

Nebraska .................................................................... ( 2 ) 4 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 287 583 ( 2 )

Nevada ....................................................................... 23 11 13 11 1,797 891 1,133 1,043 

New Hampshire .......................................................... 3 3 3 5 1,213 618 514 543 

New Jersey ................................................................. 40 33 29 23 6,229 3,371 3,424 2,561 

New Mexico ................................................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

New York .................................................................... 47 86 49 41 4,546 11,213 5,137 5,226 

North Carolina ............................................................ 29 27 11 12 3,997 3,104 1,208 1,494 

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

Ohio ............................................................................ 73 47 34 58 13,435 5,602 5,468 7,178 

Oklahoma ................................................................... 11 5 ( 2 ) 5 1,237 1,008 ( 2 ) 957 

Oregon ....................................................................... 30 24 30 20 5,009 2,603 3,965 3,123 

Pennsylvania .............................................................. 129 49 59 79 11,867 6,697 5,501 8,480 

Rhode Island .............................................................. 4 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 464 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

South Carolina ............................................................ 36 19 18 19 5,361 1,238 2,220 4,555 

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

Tennessee .................................................................. 16 8 13 5 1,465 675 1,148 457 

Texas .......................................................................... 110 93 62 70 14,229 11,660 8,280 8,470 

Utah ............................................................................ 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 307 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Vermont ...................................................................... 3 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 462 ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

Virginia ....................................................................... 20 15 19 8 2,713 1,693 3,092 619 

Washington ................................................................ 22 14 21 21 2,509 1,856 2,889 3,126 

West Virginia .............................................................. – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 468 

Wisconsin ................................................................... 73 39 29 62 8,676 3,932 3,673 7,167 

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

Puerto Rico ................................................................. 12 10 9 4 1,035 772 873 402 

 1 See footnote 1, table 2. r

 = revised.

2

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