Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 02-354

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, June 27, 2002

MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2002

Employers initiated 1,726 mass layoff actions in May 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 180,007. (See table 1.) A year earlier, in May 2001, there were 1,434 mass layoff events involving

159,365 workers. The number of events and initial claims this year were the highest for the month of May

since the series began in 1995. (May 2002 contained 5 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with

4 weeks in each May of the prior 3 years.) From January through May 2002, the total number of events,

at 8,222, and of initial claims, at 910,009, were higher than January-May 2001 (7,434 and 880,347,

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 28 percent of all mass layoff events and 29 percent of all initial

claims filed in May. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 37 percent of events and 41 percent

of initial claims. The number of initial claimants was highest in food production (9,335, mostly in fruit and

vegetable processing), followed by transportation equipment (6,869, primarily in aircraft manufacturing) and

computer and electronic products (5,813, mainly in bare printed circuit board manufacturing). (See table 2.)

The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent of events and 15 percent of initial

claims filed during the month, with layoffs almost entirely in administrative and support services, particularly

temporary help services. Eight percent of all layoff events and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the

month were in retail trade, mostly in general merchandise stores. Ten percent of the events and 8 percent

of initial claims were from construction, primarily among specialty trade contractors. The information sector

accounted for an additional 5 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, largely in motion picture and

sound recording industries.

Compared with May 2001, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in administrative and

support services (+9,232), general merchandise stores (+3,988), and motion pictures and sound recording
2

(+3,607). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in professional and technical

services (-6,493) and computer and electronic product manufacturing (-5,050).

Geographic Distribution

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

61,715. (See table 3.) Temporary help services and motion picture and video production accounted for

31 percent of all initial claims in the West during the month. Following was the South with 48,506 initial

claims (mainly in temporary help services), the Midwest with 44,788 (largely in school and employee bus

transportation), and the Northeast with 24,998 (mostly in food service contractors).

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs rose over the year in all four regions. The South region

had the largest increase in initial claims (+8,405), followed by the Midwest (+5,835). Seven of the nine

geographic divisions experienced over-the-year increases in the number of initial claims associated with mass

layoffs, with the largest increase in the Middle Atlantic (+5,777) division. The New England division had the

largest decrease over the year (-1,780).

California registered the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this May, 50,063,

mostly in temporary help services and motion picture and video production. Texas reported 16,870 initial

claims in mass layoffs, followed by Illinois (10,079), and Pennsylvania (10,064). These four states accounted for 47 percent of all layoff events and 48 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance.

(See table 4.)

Texas reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+5,384), followed by New York

(+4,677). The largest over-the-year decrease occurred in Oklahoma (-2,201).

______________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in June 2002 will be issued on Wednesday, July 24, 2002.

 Change in Industry Classification System

Beginning with the release of January 2002 mass layoff data on February 28, 2002, the

Mass Layoff Statistics program implemented the 2002 version of the North American Industry

Classification System (NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data

by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the statistical agencies

of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and the previously

used Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) structures, data by industry for 2002 will not be

comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry

series from April 1995 through December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases.

NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize economic units. Units with

similar production processes are classified in the same industry. NAICS focuses on how

products and services are created, as opposed to the SIC focus on what is produced. This

approach yields significantly different industry groupings than those produced by the SIC

approach.

Users interested in more information about NAICS can access the BLS Web

page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the Bureau of the Census Web page at

http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html.
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, April 2000 to May 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

April ............................................................................. 924 101,359 

May ............................................................................. 984 92,193 

June ............................................................................ 1,597 192,025 

Second Quarter ........................................................... 3,505 385,577 1,271 231,471 36.3 60.0 

July .............................................................................. 1,333 164,978 

August ......................................................................... 751 97,215 

September .................................................................. 936 106,842 

Third Quarter ............................................................... 3,020 369,035 1,014 189,250 33.6 51.3 

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 1,765 340,151 38.8 62.4 

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

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

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

Second Quarter ........................................................... 4,991 589,456 2,072 401,294 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 1,815 371,124 36.8 61.8 

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

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

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

Fourth Quarter ............................................................ 6,992 780,332 2,700 497,136 38.6 63.7 

2002

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

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

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

First Quarter ................................................................ 4,989 564,141 2, p1,669 2, p236,891 p33.5 p42.0

Aprilp

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

Mayp

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

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff data on these layoffs become avaliable. Recent experience suggests

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

is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants

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

 2

 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more p = preliminary.
Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

Industry

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

May March April May May March April May

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

 Total1 .................................................................... 1,434 1,460 1,507 1,726 159,365 161,336 165,861 180,007 

Total, private ............................................................. 1,398 1,414 1,458 1,635 155,799 157,100 161,342 170,712 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ............... 67 79 79 62 4,613 5,775 8,079 3,802 

 Mining ................................................................... ( 2 ) 22 15 15 ( 2 ) 1,882 1,409 1,553 

 Utilities .................................................................. ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 727 ( 2 ) 597 

 Construction .......................................................... 109 150 105 165 10,558 11,826 9,135 13,521 

 Manufacturing........................................................ 528 500 461 488 64,887 59,644 50,897 52,720 

 Food .................................................................. 69 74 80 79 6,839 9,070 9,291 9,335 

 Beverage and tobacco products ........................ 4 8 8 3 308 802 899 224 

 Textile mills ....................................................... 20 14 9 19 2,514 1,468 1,120 2,072 

 Textile product mills .......................................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 8 226 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 617 

 Apparel .............................................................. 31 17 30 33 3,719 1,536 3,742 2,578 

 Leather and allied products ............................... 3 ( 2 ) 5 – 416 ( 2 ) 437 –

 Wood products .................................................. 12 19 19 23 1,125 2,319 1,637 2,348 

 Paper ................................................................ 9 18 15 10 1,168 2,688 1,330 1,141 

 Printing and related support activities ................ 19 26 10 21 1,818 2,105 874 1,892 

 Petroleum and coal products ............................. – – ( 2 ) 3 – – ( 2 ) 184 

 Chemicals ......................................................... 10 14 10 11 1,025 1,659 664 815 

 Plastics and rubber products ............................. 20 20 11 9 2,047 1,613 857 798 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ............................ 13 21 9 10 1,695 1,537 717 1,190 

 Primary metals .................................................. 21 21 22 27 3,071 3,000 1,979 2,787 

 Fabricated metal products ................................. 38 34 22 25 4,050 3,319 1,781 2,252 

 Machinery .......................................................... 49 43 35 35 6,053 6,588 5,045 3,902 

 Computer and electronic products .................... 94 65 74 69 10,863 6,902 7,336 5,813 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ................. 34 26 19 28 6,133 3,602 2,427 4,490 

 Transportation equipment ................................. 45 46 53 53 8,247 8,531 7,428 6,869 

 Furniture and related products .......................... 24 19 18 12 2,730 1,772 1,919 2,513 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............................ 10 11 7 10 840 837 735 900 

 Wholesale trade .................................................... 23 25 27 35 1,975 2,694 2,212 2,937 

 Retail trade ............................................................ 91 108 122 131 8,802 12,067 13,715 16,192 

 Transportation and warehousing ........................... 33 76 104 52 3,127 10,441 15,442 5,680 

 Information ............................................................ 66 36 86 86 9,268 4,456 12,127 13,036 

 Finance and insurance .......................................... 29 32 34 44 2,462 2,697 3,142 3,327 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ........................ 5 9 4 7 407 629 684 452 

 Professional and technical services ...................... 72 50 62 80 12,692 8,260 7,767 6,199 

 Management of companies and enterprises ......... 5 3 ( 2 ) 4 399 182 ( 2 ) 395 

 Administrative and waste services ........................ 177 185 177 222 16,885 21,704 18,110 26,191 

 Educational services.............................................. 5 3 5 3 423 232 356 190 

 Health care and social assistance ......................... 45 22 29 76 4,490 1,671 2,406 7,006 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ....................... 22 13 33 33 1,809 1,013 3,507 2,267 

 Accommodation and food services ....................... 86 76 74 88 8,877 9,721 7,378 10,807 

 Other services, except public administration.......... 19 7 26 34 2,297 609 3,279 3,228 

 Unclassified .......................................................... 12 11 10 4 1,291 870 1,106 612 

Government .............................................................. 36 46 49 91 3,566 4,236 4,519 9,295 

 Federal .................................................................. 7 7 7 21 720 777 543 2,739 

 State ...................................................................... 10 16 15 14 1,130 1,652 1,717 1,510 

 Local ..................................................................... 19 23 27 56 1,716 1,807 2,259 5,046 

 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

May March April May May March April May

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

 United States1 ..................................................... r1,434 1,460 1,507 1,726 r159,365 161,336 165,861 180,007 

Northeast .................................................................... 192 210 306 266 21,001 20,443 38,576 24,998 

 New England ........................................................... 59 33 62 41 5,545 2,995 7,263 3,765 

 Middle Atlantic ......................................................... 133 177 244 225 15,456 17,448 31,313 21,233 

South ...........................................................................

 r353 347 331 467 r40,101 37,291 35,740 48,506 

 South Atlantic .......................................................... 171 157 158 211 17,312 16,644 16,451 18,633 

 East South Central .................................................. 57 73 58 88 5,783 7,076 6,629 9,448 

 West South Central ................................................. r125 117 115 168 r17,006 13,571 12,660 20,425 

Midwest ....................................................................... 304 327 314 377 38,953 42,491 37,119 44,788 

 East North Central .................................................. 220 253 260 266 29,057 32,058 31,127 31,152 

 West North Central ................................................. 84 74 54 111 9,896 10,433 5,992 13,636 

West ............................................................................ 585 576 556 616 59,310 61,111 54,426 61,715 

 Mountain ................................................................. 47 52 61 48 4,972 4,841 7,382 4,604 

 Pacific ..................................................................... 538 524 495 568 54,338 56,270 47,044 57,111 

 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

May March April May May March April May

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

 Total1 ........................................................................

 r1,434 1,460 1,507 1,726 r159,365 161,336 165,861 180,007 

Alabama ...................................................................... 15 10 25 38 1,568 1,295 2,529 4,352 

Alaska ......................................................................... ( 2 ) – 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 361 ( 2 )

Arizona ........................................................................ 11 12 24 11 1,200 879 3,649 1,256 

Arkansas ..................................................................... 7 5 7 8 533 488 509 629 

California ..................................................................... 488 466 436 517 49,009 48,376 39,943 50,063 

Colorado ..................................................................... 12 10 11 9 1,294 845 1,121 858 

Connecticut ................................................................. 13 4 4 9 1,039 377 232 665 

Delaware ..................................................................... ( 2 ) 4 3 – ( 2 ) 790 508 –

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

Florida ......................................................................... 65 64 69 102 5,328 5,689 6,303 7,045 

Georgia ....................................................................... 15 20 16 30 2,044 2,202 1,686 3,083 

Hawaii ......................................................................... 3 6 7 6 233 658 512 462 

Idaho ........................................................................... 7 13 6 9 1,031 1,628 625 1,014 

Illinois .......................................................................... 55 53 61 67 9,232 7,645 9,583 10,079 

Indiana ........................................................................ 24 21 24 26 2,311 2,212 2,998 3,267 

Iowa ............................................................................ 15 12 12 19 1,739 1,510 1,530 2,203 

Kansas ........................................................................ 6 7 9 14 730 1,357 797 1,620 

Kentucky ..................................................................... 23 31 20 21 2,853 3,354 2,315 2,258 

Louisiana .....................................................................

 r

14 19 19 22 r2,026 1,501 1,982 2,166 

Maine .......................................................................... 5 4 7 5 498 226 822 353 

Maryland ..................................................................... 10 ( 2 ) 3 6 708 ( 2 ) 218 534 

Massachusetts ............................................................ 27 15 24 21 2,686 1,652 2,891 2,065 

Michigan ...................................................................... 40 56 30 44 4,935 6,483 2,714 4,408 

Minnesota ................................................................... 18 16 14 23 2,108 2,238 1,936 2,768 

Mississippi ................................................................... 10 13 5 9 657 890 287 821 

Missouri ....................................................................... 38 29 11 43 4,759 4,109 974 5,656 

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

 ) 3 3 3 ( 2 ) 264 224 212 

Nebraska ..................................................................... – 9 6 ( 2 ) – 1,133 499 ( 2 )

Nevada ........................................................................ 9 6 9 8 848 461 1,169 714 

New Hampshire .......................................................... 6 3 10 ( 2 ) 584 247 1,099 ( 2 )

New Jersey ................................................................. 28 35 35 42 2,797 3,749 4,439 4,384 

New Mexico ................................................................ 3 3 ( 2 ) 5 219 176 ( 2 ) 355 

New York .................................................................... 24 19 126 80 2,108 1,568 17,889 6,785 

North Carolina ............................................................. 23 23 25 21 2,115 2,686 2,832 1,637 

North Dakota ............................................................... 5 – ( 2 ) 5 284 – ( 2 ) 653 

Ohio ............................................................................ 47 52 80 70 5,035 5,780 9,034 7,231 

Oklahoma ................................................................... 9 10 5 7 2,961 1,887 324 760 

Oregon ........................................................................ 25 27 24 25 2,974 3,507 3,118 3,291 

Pennsylvania ............................................................... 81 123 83 103 10,551 12,131 8,985 10,064 

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

 ) 4 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 323 1,431 ( 2 ) 

South Carolina ............................................................ 33 21 21 24 4,247 2,750 2,450 2,492 

South Dakota .............................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 562 

Tennessee .................................................................. 9 19 8 20 705 1,537 1,498 2,017 

Texas .......................................................................... 95 83 84 131 11,486 9,695 9,845 16,870 

Utah ............................................................................ 4 5 6 3 325 588 460 195 

Vermont ...................................................................... 6 3 9 ( 2 ) 612 170 788 ( 2 )

Virginia ........................................................................ 23 16 17 23 2,671 1,794 1,959 3,355 

Washington ................................................................. 20 25 24 18 1,999 3,729 3,110 3,154 

West Virginia ............................................................... – 7 3 4 – 571 346 347 

Wisconsin ................................................................... 54 71 65 59 7,544 9,938 6,798 6,167 

Wyoming ..................................................................... – – – –––––

Puerto Rico ................................................................. 6 9 12 12 1,791 1,082 1,591 1,390 

 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.