For release 3:00 p.m. (EST) Wednesday, February 17, 2010 USDL-10-0171 

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

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

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS – FOURTH QUARTER 2009 

ANNUAL TOTALS – 2009 

Employers initiated 2,043 mass layoff events in the fourth quarter of 2009 that resulted in the separation 

of 321,569 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of fourth quarter 2009 events decreased from last year, 

following 12 consecutive quarters of over-the-year increases. A year earlier, the number of events, at 

3,582, reached a record high for any fourth quarter (with data available back to 1995). (See table A.) 

Permanent worksite closures accounted for 8 percent of all events and separations, the lowest proportion 

of separations due to closures in program history. Manufacturing firms reported their lowest percentage 

of separations (26 percent) for any fourth quarter on record. The proportion of women who filed for 

notice of unemployment during the quarter recorded a program low 29 percent. Fourth quarter 2009 

layoff data are preliminary and are subject to revision. (See the Technical Note.) 

The national unemployment rate averaged 9.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the fourth quarter of 

2009, up from 6.6 percent a year earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, 

decreased by 4.7 percent (-5,346,000) over the year. 

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs 

Manufacturing firms reported 504 events involving the separation of 83,691 workers and were responsible for 25 percent of private nonfarm extended layoff events and 26 percent of related separations in 

the fourth quarter of 2009, the lowest proportion of separations for any fourth quarter. A year earlier, 

manufacturing made up 36 percent of events and 37 percent of separations. (See table 1.) The largest 

numbers of separations within the manufacturing sector were associated with transportation equipment 

(mostly from automobile manufacturing) and food (mostly related to fruit and vegetable canning). 

Construction firms recorded 659 events and 82,504 separations. Layoffs in this sector comprised 32 

percent of events and 26 percent of separations, primarily in heavy and civil engineering construction 

(largely from highway, street, and bridge construction). 

Reasons for Extended Layoffs 

Layoffs due to the completion of seasonal work accounted for 37 percent of the extended mass layoff 

events and 39 percent of related separations during the fourth quarter of 2009. This compared to 24 
- 2 - 

percent of events and 23 percent of separations in the same period a year earlier. (See table 2.) Among 

the seven categories of economic reasons for layoff, extended mass layoff events decreased from a year 

ago in all categories. The largest decreases were related to business demand factors (-854) and financial 

issues (-176). (See chart.) 

Movement of Work 

In the fourth quarter of 2009, 58 extended mass layoffs involved movement of work and were associated 

with 10,477 separated workers. The number of events decreased 51 percent from the fourth quarter of 

2008, and the number of separations decreased 49 percent. Movement of work layoffs accounted for 5 

percent of both nonseasonal layoff events and separations in the fourth quarter of 2009. (See table 9.) 

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

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.............. 1,640 296,662 330,954 

2007

January-March..................... 1,110 225,600 199,250 

April-June............................ 1,421 278,719 259,234 

July-September.................... 1,018 160,024 173,077 

October-December.............. 1,814 301,592 347,151 

2008

January-March..................... 1,340 230,098 259,292 

April-June............................ 1,756 354,713 339,630 

July-September.................... 1,581 290,453 304,340 

October-December.............. 3,582 641,714 766,780 

2009

January-Marchr

.................... 3,979 705,138 835,420 

April-Juner

........................... 3,395 651,318 730,946 

July-Septemberr

 .................. 2,035 345,367 402,927 

October-Decemberp

 ............ 2,043 321,569 292,696 

 r

 = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.
- 3 - 

Nearly 6 out of 10 extended mass layoff events related to movement of work were from manufacturing 

industries. In comparison, manufacturing accounted for more than 2 out of 10 events in the total private 

nonfarm economy. (See table 6.) Employers cited financial issues in 34 percent of the extended mass 

layoff events involving the movement of work. (See table 7.) The largest proportions of workers 

affected by the movement of work among the regions were in the South and West. (See table 8.) Among 

the states, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee reported the highest numbers of separations 

associated with movement of work. 

The 58 extended layoff events with movement of work for the fourth quarter of 2009 involved 89 

identifiable relocations of work actions. Employers were able to provide more complete separations 

information for 50 of the actions. Of these, 86 percent involved work moving within the same company, 

and 66 percent were domestic reassignments. (See table 10.) 

Recall Expectations 

About half of employers reporting an extended mass layoff event during the quarter indicated they 

anticipated some type of recall, up from 43 percent a year earlier. Excluding extended mass layoff 

events due to seasonal work and vacation period, in which 96 percent of the employers expected a recall, 

employers anticipated recalling laid-off workers in just 24 percent of the events. Of those employers 

Table B. Metropolitan areas with the largest number of initial claimants associated with

extended mass layoff events in the fourth quarter 2009, by residency of claimants

 Total, 372 metropolitan areas ................. 579,260 ... 225,365 ...

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. .... 36,283 2 18,751 1 

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. ......... 36,027 3 16,967 2 

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long

 Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ................................ 24,877 4 11,422 3 

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. ....... 17,228 5 6,658 4 

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ......... 15,602 6 6,258 5 

Pittsburgh, Pa. ............................................... 5,147 19 4,569 6 

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif. ........ 10,111 8 4,381 7 

Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. ............................. 11,421 7 3,918 8 

St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. .......................................... 8,940 9 3,900 9 

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington,

 Minn.-Wis. ................................................ 7,776 12 3,779 10 

 r

 = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.

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

 Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 09-01, November 20, 2008.

Metropolitan area

2008 IVr 2009 IVp

Rank Rank Initial 

claimants

Initial 

claimants
- 4 - 

expecting to recall workers, 39 percent indicated that the offer would be extended to all displaced 

employees, and 83 percent of employers anticipated extending the offer to at least half of the workers. 

Eighty-one percent of employers expecting to recall laid-off employees intend to do so within 6 months. 

(See table 11.) 

Size of Extended Layoffs 

In the fourth quarter of 2009, the average size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff event) 

was 157, the smallest fourth quarter average size in program history. (See table 12.) Extended mass 

layoffs involving 500 or more workers accounted for only 4 percent of events but resulted in 23 percent 

of all separations. (See table 13.) 

Three major industry sectors reported fourth quarter program lows in terms of the average size of a 

layoff—mining, manufacturing, and retail trade. Three categories of economic reasons for layoff—

financial issues, production specific, and seasonal factors—also recorded fourth quarter program lows. 

Initial Claimant Characteristics 

A total of 292,696 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass 

layoffs in the fourth quarter of 2009. Of these claimants, 11 percent were black, 18 percent were 

Hispanic, 29 percent were women, and 18 percent were 55 years of age or older. (See table 3.) The 

proportion of women who filed for notice of unemployment recorded a program low. Among persons in 

the civilian labor force for the same period, 11 percent were black, 15 percent were Hispanic, 47 percent 

were women, and 19 percent were 55 years of age or older. 

 

Table C. Selected measures of mass layoff activity, 1996-2009

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

 1996 ....................... 4,760 948,122 805,810 

 1997 ....................... 4,671 947,843 879,831 

 1998 ....................... 4,859 991,245 1,056,462 

 1999 ....................... 4,556 901,451 796,917 

 2000 ....................... 4,591 915,962 846,267 

 2001 ....................... 7,375 1,524,832 1,457,512 

 2002 ....................... 6,337 1,272,331 1,218,143 

 2003 ....................... 6,181 1,216,886 1,200,811 

 2004 ....................... 5,010 993,909 903,079 

 2005 ....................... 4,881 884,661 834,533 

 2006 ....................... 4,885 935,969 951,155 

 2007 ....................... 5,363 965,935 978,712 

 2008r

 ...................... 8,259 1,516,978 1,670,042 

 2009p

 ..................... 11,452 2,023,392 2,261,989 

 r

 = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.
- 5 - 

Geographic Distribution 

Among the four census regions, the Midwest and the West recorded the highest numbers of separations 

due to extended mass layoff events in the fourth quarter of 2009. Among the nine census divisions, the 

highest numbers of separations were in the East North Central and Pacific. All regions and divisions 

reported over-the-year decreases in the number of separations. (See table 4.) 

California recorded the largest number of worker separations, followed by Illinois, New York, Ohio, and 

Pennsylvania. (See table 5.) Over the year, forty-one states reported decreased numbers of workers laid 

off, led by California and Michigan. Four states reported fourth quarter program highs in terms of 

numbers of separations—Alaska, Delaware, Vermont, and Wyoming, while three states reported fourth 

quarter program lows—Maine, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. After excluding the impact of seasonal 

reasons, California still reported the highest number of job cuts (53,425), followed by Illinois (18,387) 

and Florida (12,946). 

Seventy-seven percent of the initial claimants associated with extended mass layoff events in the fourth 

quarter of 2009 resided within metropolitan areas, nearly the same as a year earlier (76 percent). Among 

the 372 metropolitan areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., reported the highest number of 

resident initial claimants in the fourth quarter of 2009. The next highest were Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, 

Ill.-Ind.-Wis., New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., and Riverside-San 

Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. Both Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis., and Pittsburgh, Pa., 

moved into the top 10 metropolitan areas in terms of initial claims by residency of claimant in the fourth 

quarter of 2009, replacing Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, 

Fla., from the previous year. (See table B.) 

Review of 2009 

For all of 2009, employers reported 11,452 extended mass layoff actions, affecting 2,023,392 workers. 

Both layoff events and separations reached record highs (with annual data available back to 1996). 

Compared to 2008, the number of events increased by 39 percent and the number of separations increased by 33 percent. (See table C.) The annual average national unemployment rate increased from 5.8 

percent in 2008 to 9.3 percent in 2009, and private nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 5.2 

percent, or 5,912,000. 

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs 

In the private nonfarm economy, all major industry sectors, except utilities and information, reported 

program highs in terms of events and separations in 2009. Manufacturing firms reported the highest 

number of separations, with 652,886, followed by administrative and waste services (232,817), 

construction (232,279), and retail trade (166,763). Within manufacturing, the largest number of 

separations was associated with transportation equipment, followed by food and machinery. 

Reasons for Extended Layoffs 

Among the seven categories of economic reasons for layoff, business demand factors accounted for 46 

percent of the events and 40 percent of separations during 2009, both program high proportions. The 

largest increases in events were related to business demand factors (+1,896) and financial issues (+285). 

 
- 6 - 

Movement of Work 

In 2009, 344 extended mass layoffs involved movement of work and were associated with 60,249 

separated workers, compared with 332 events and 60,956 separations in 2008. More than 6 out of 10 

events related to movement of work were from manufacturing industries. California and Illinois reported 

the highest numbers of separations associated with movement of work. Employers cited organizational 

issues in 37 percent of the layoffs involving the movement of work, the highest among the reason 

categories. 

The 344 extended layoff events with movement of work for 2009 involved 481 identifiable relocations 

of work actions. Employers were able to provide more complete separations information for 313 of the 

actions. Of these, 88 percent involved work moving within the same company, and 73 percent were 

domestic reassignments. 

Recall Expectations 

About 34 percent of employers reporting an extended mass layoff in 2009 indicated they anticipated 

some type of recall, down from 41 percent a year earlier and the lowest proportion on record. Excluding 

events due to seasonal work and vacation period, employers anticipated recalling laid-off workers in just 

21 percent of the events. Of those employers expecting to recall workers, 34 percent indicated that the 

offer would be extended to all displaced employees, and 72 percent intended to do so within 6 months; 

both proportions were program lows. 

Size of Extended Layoffs 

In 2009, the average size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff event) was 177, registering 

the smallest annual average size in program history. Extended mass layoffs involving 500 or more 

workers accounted for only 5 percent of events but resulted in 29 percent of all separations. 

Initial Claimant Characteristics 

A total of 2,261,989 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass 

layoffs in 2009. Of these claimants, 14 percent were black and 16 percent were Hispanic. The 55 years 

of age or older demographic reached an annual program high at 19 percent, while the proportion of 

women who filed for notice of unemployment recorded a program low 36 percent. Among persons in 

the civilian labor force for the same period, 11 percent were black, 15 percent were Hispanic, 47 percent 

were women, and 19 percent were 55 years of age or older.

Geographic Distribution 

Compared to 2008, all census regions, divisions, and 45 states and the District of Columbia reported 

increased numbers of laid-off workers. Among the states, the largest increases were reported by 

California (+115,779), Pennsylvania (+44,960), and New York (+33,790). Twenty-five states reported 

program highs in terms of numbers of separations in 2009. 

Among the 372 metropolitan areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., reported the highest 

number of resident initial claimants (164,472) in 2009. The next highest were New York-Northern New 

Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (102,851), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (87,600), and ChicagoNaperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (82,224). 
- 7 - 

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 current quarter are preliminary and subject to revision. This release also 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 Mass Layoffs in January 2010 news release is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, 

February 23, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 
Technical Note 

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federalstate 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 

Domestic relocation. A movement of work from an 

establishment within the U.S. to a location also inside the 

U.S., either within the same company or to a different 

company altogether (domestic outsourcing). 

Employer. A firm 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 mass layoff event. A layoff defined by the 

filing of 50 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. 

Such layoffs involve both persons subject to recall and those 

who are terminated. 

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. 

Movement of work. The reassignment of work activities 

previously performed at the worksite by the company 

experiencing the layoff (1) to another worksite within the 

company; (2) to another company under formal contractual 

arrangements at the same worksite; or (3) to another company 

under formal contractual arrangements at another worksite 

either within or outside of the U.S. 

Outsourcing. A movement of work that was formerly 

conducted in-house by employees paid directly by a company 

to a different company under a contractual arrangement. 

Overseas relocation. A movement of work from an 

establishment within the U.S. to a location outside of the U.S. 

(offshoring), either within the same company or to a different 

company altogether (offshore outsourcing). 

Relocation of work action. A movement-of-work action 

where the employer provides information on the new location 

of work and/or the number of workers affected by the 

movement. Events may involve more than one action per 

employer if work is moved to more than one location. 

Separations. The number of individuals who have 

become displaced during an extended mass layoff event as 

provided by the employer, regardless of whether they file for 

unemployment insurance or not. 

Worksite closure. The complete closure of an employer 

or the partial closure of an employer with multiple locations 

where entire worksites affected by layoffs are closed. 

Revisions to preliminary data 

The latest quarterly data in this news release are 

considered preliminary. After the initial publication of 

quarterly information, more data are collected as remaining 

employer interviews for the quarter are completed and 

additional initial claimant information associated with 

extended layoff events is received. 

Movement of work concepts and questions 

Beginning in 2004, the economic reasons "domestic 

relocation" and "overseas relocation" were replaced by the 

movement of work concept. The movement of work data are 

not collected in the same way as the relocation reasons in 

releases prior to 2004; therefore, the movement of work data 

are not comparable to the data for those discontinued reasons. 

Questions on movement of work and location are asked 

for all layoff events when the reason for separation is other 

than “seasonal work” or “vacation period,” as these are 

unlikely. Movement of work questions are asked after the 

analyst verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more 

than 30 days. 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 “domestic relocation” if 

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

indicates the location(s) was inside the U.S.; “overseas 

relocation” indicates that the location(s) was outside the U.S. 

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 employers 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 fourth 

quarter of 2009, outright refusal to participate in the employer 

interview accounted for 4.0 percent of all private nonfarm 

events. Although included in the total number of instances 

involving the movement of work, for the fourth quarter, 

employers in 39 relocations were unable to provide the 

number of separations specifically associated with the 

movement of work, 9 of which involved out-of-country 

moves. 

Additional information 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339. 
Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Industry

IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................. 3,582 2,035 2,043 641,714 345,367 321,569 766,780 402,927 292,696 

 Mining ............................................................. 43 25 34 7,013 4,137 4,193 8,138 3,085 3,819 

 Utilities ............................................................ 5 5 7 977 628 964 897 900 669 

 Construction .................................................... 915 353 659 114,108 42,299 82,504 138,143 58,938 79,397 

 Manufacturing ................................................. 1,284 585 504 238,950 98,211 83,691 339,518 126,769 83,233 

 Food ........................................................... 106 61 86 24,532 15,241 17,415 25,410 15,291 15,612 

 Beverage and tobacco products ................ ( 2 ) 8 6 ( 2 ) 1,822 706 ( 2 ) 1,798 720 

 Textile mills ................................................ 28 6 8 5,763 476 1,635 12,383 784 3,290 

 Textile product mills ................................... 12 4 – 1,584 841 – 2,103 747 –

 Apparel ....................................................... 14 13 15 2,094 3,471 1,911 2,660 2,369 1,441 

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

 Wood products ........................................... 99 20 30 14,482 1,704 4,002 19,658 2,251 4,134 

 Paper ......................................................... 31 15 10 4,393 1,667 1,037 5,543 1,622 873 

 Printing and related support activities ........ 14 12 7 2,135 2,001 1,962 3,232 2,031 1,038 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................... 18 3 17 2,508 240 2,326 2,746 223 2,239 

 Chemicals ................................................. 30 15 20 4,849 1,567 2,743 5,477 1,571 1,867 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................... 83 23 14 9,961 2,795 1,559 14,201 4,008 1,377 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................... 109 21 50 16,133 2,084 6,745 18,810 2,314 6,643 

 Primary metals ........................................... 80 47 32 14,601 6,106 3,826 18,473 7,577 5,167 

 Fabricated metal products ......................... 124 56 35 15,230 6,953 4,752 22,505 8,430 4,424 

 Machinery .................................................. 67 64 40 10,970 10,819 5,201 19,084 21,310 6,887 

 Computer and electronic products ............. 69 46 33 11,778 7,391 4,112 14,187 7,237 3,798 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ......... 38 26 13 7,720 3,798 1,612 11,498 4,492 1,320 

 Transportation equipment .......................... 288 100 65 78,869 23,942 19,210 125,837 36,623 19,013 

 Furniture and related products ................... 42 29 12 6,854 3,870 1,446 10,455 4,630 2,181 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing .................... 19 16 11 2,910 1,423 1,491 3,578 1,461 1,209 

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 90 63 47 11,919 7,229 5,673 13,464 7,690 4,875 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 202 96 70 61,492 21,158 10,143 56,231 27,562 9,096 

 Transportation and warehousing .................... 118 151 75 23,156 26,108 11,957 22,474 26,392 9,070 

 Information ...................................................... 73 63 45 10,350 10,372 7,976 11,949 16,280 7,555 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 113 101 57 22,743 17,552 9,616 23,989 20,597 9,013 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ................. 27 9 18 3,592 1,019 2,016 4,061 1,600 1,741 

 Professional and technical services ................ 88 76 60 12,803 16,788 11,257 13,909 15,090 9,184 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 17 11 8 3,138 1,463 893 3,122 1,423 1,560 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 319 202 224 72,042 43,423 39,346 78,212 49,907 39,960 

 Educational services ....................................... 4 30 6 630 5,018 543 474 4,659 560 

 Health care and social assistance .................. 39 89 34 6,765 11,845 4,071 5,385 10,011 3,451 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 63 52 60 14,609 13,854 17,421 8,696 8,240 7,805 

 Accommodation and food services ................. 153 102 116 33,908 20,982 26,440 34,368 21,048 19,746 

 Other services, except public administration .. 28 22 19 3,446 3,281 2,865 3,677 2,736 1,962 

 Unclassified ..................................................... 1 – – 73 – – 73 – –

 1

 For the fourth quarter of 2009, 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, 2008 and 2009

Reason for layoff

IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 3,582 2,035 2,043 641,714 345,367 321,569 766,780 402,927 292,696 

Business demand ............................................................. 1,580 941 726 248,222 134,654 105,378 372,717 180,574 112,305 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... 57 48 29 11,692 6,530 4,888 13,346 6,809 3,822 

 Contract completion ....................................................... 313 283 252 45,608 48,226 38,970 63,474 64,145 39,762 

 Domestic competition ..................................................... 4 4 ( 2 ) 470 258 ( 2 ) 639 367 ( 2 ) Excess inventory/saturated market ................................ 18 17 9 4,021 3,399 1,124 4,218 6,762 1,100 

 Import competition ......................................................... 14 3 ( 2 ) 1,855 310 ( 2 ) 2,671 387 ( 2 )

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 1,174 586 430 184,576 75,931 59,721 288,369 102,104 67,147 

Organizational changes .................................................... 159 114 73 31,012 20,303 13,501 33,740 28,547 8,101 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 31 21 24 8,430 4,082 6,677 5,987 2,896 2,091 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 128 93 49 22,582 16,221 6,824 27,753 25,651 6,010 

Financial issues ................................................................ 329 172 153 73,370 26,086 26,167 70,806 39,879 21,808 

 Bankruptcy ..................................................................... 45 19 18 12,022 3,121 4,724 7,295 4,335 3,986 

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ 165 99 96 24,679 15,120 14,521 33,147 25,990 12,152 

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... 119 54 39 36,669 7,845 6,922 30,364 9,554 5,670 

Production specific ............................................................ 24 15 14 4,644 4,476 1,693 4,130 3,778 1,332 

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

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

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

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... 7 4 5 1,549 2,637 576 915 1,409 484 

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ..................... 5 4 ( 2 ) 630 422 ( 2 ) 588 796 ( 2 ) Material or supply shortage ............................................ – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) Model changeover ......................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Plant or machine repair/maintenance ............................ 5 ( 2 ) 3 1,357 ( 2 ) 540 1,248 ( 2 ) 281 

 Product line discontinued ............................................... 3 3 ( 2 ) 590 537 ( 2 ) 705 551 ( 2 )

Disaster/safety .................................................................. 12 4 5 1,346 1,951 790 1,325 494 673 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

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

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Extreme weather-related event ...................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Seasonal ........................................................................... 869 286 763 149,773 56,301 124,781 147,899 47,838 100,279 

 Seasonal ........................................................................ 863 171 754 148,449 39,685 122,529 146,518 32,853 97,548 

 Vacation period–school related or otherwise ................. 6 115 9 1,324 16,616 2,252 1,381 14,985 2,731 

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... 609 503 309 133,347 101,596 49,259 136,163 101,817 48,198 

 Other .............................................................................. 26 31 16 4,243 3,873 2,828 6,844 4,080 2,028 

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. 129 117 82 40,398 31,560 14,286 40,384 31,555 14,280 

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. 454 355 211 88,706 66,163 32,145 88,935 66,182 31,890 

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

private nonfarm sector, third and fourth quarters, 2009

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55and over

III IV III IV III IV III IV III IV III IV

 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........... 2,035 2,043 402,927 292,696 12.9 11.3 19.4 17.9 36.0 28.9 18.3 18.0 

Alabama ...................................... 11 12 3,607 1,592 42.6 46.0 4.3 1.6 44.6 49.1 15.4 14.4 

Alaska .......................................... 10 9 3,161 1,656 6.4 4.3 20.9 11.6 28.7 33.3 25.2 21.9 

Arizona ........................................ 23 18 4,090 1,992 6.4 5.7 34.5 37.7 49.3 36.6 16.0 16.1 

Arkansas ..................................... 4 10 444 1,574 27.9 32.2 8.1 5.8 50.7 28.1 15.8 17.1 

California ..................................... 685 392 135,126 58,935 9.2 7.5 35.0 38.9 38.1 37.9 15.3 16.2 

Colorado ...................................... 21 32 2,897 3,607 3.7 4.1 20.4 29.9 26.7 24.1 18.8 19.0 

Connecticut ................................. 12 15 1,990 1,484 13.3 13.0 10.5 17.4 42.7 31.5 19.1 24.5 

Delaware ..................................... ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 444 23.0 23.0 – 4.7 21.6 23.0 64.9 21.6 

District of Columbia ..................... – 5 – 471 – 65.0 – 14.4 – 50.3 – 15.5 

Florida ......................................... 96 87 23,917 13,312 14.6 14.1 27.9 27.4 39.8 37.4 18.5 20.2 

Georgia ........................................ 23 19 5,292 5,609 49.0 45.9 1.3 6.7 35.5 48.5 15.9 19.0 

Hawaii .......................................... 7 5 1,031 496 1.0 1.0 13.1 7.3 27.8 19.0 13.5 10.5 

Idaho ........................................... 7 13 1,304 1,954 .3 .2 15.1 13.4 40.4 28.0 20.7 15.6 

Illinois .......................................... 106 203 23,468 27,703 17.8 12.4 10.7 19.5 34.6 22.8 16.9 15.2 

Indiana ......................................... 35 41 6,541 5,276 4.4 5.6 2.2 4.0 30.5 18.3 22.1 15.5 

Iowa ............................................. 12 10 3,975 1,448 3.6 2.7 .9 5.9 14.5 11.0 23.0 19.5 

Kansas ........................................ 21 18 2,738 3,082 17.1 10.5 3.2 4.8 37.6 27.3 16.0 18.4 

Kentucky ...................................... 22 25 2,750 2,512 4.0 2.8 – .1 15.2 9.4 20.8 17.8 

Louisiana ..................................... 20 27 2,439 3,129 61.3 43.8 3.1 4.5 45.6 20.2 14.4 22.0 

Maine ........................................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 998 2.1 2.3 – .5 42.9 20.2 21.1 22.1 

Maryland ...................................... 7 ( 2 ) 722 ( 2 ) 55.8 26.4 3.3 4.7 51.4 27.0 14.5 35.1 

Massachusetts ............................ 21 14 3,011 1,285 9.1 7.5 3.6 2.3 45.6 35.6 25.9 20.1 

Michigan ...................................... 59 78 17,871 9,034 16.6 10.6 3.4 8.4 30.4 24.5 17.0 15.3 

Minnesota .................................... 35 93 5,323 10,897 4.3 2.8 2.7 9.4 27.8 16.2 22.6 17.6 

Mississippi ................................... 7 8 663 547 47.8 49.0 5.1 2.4 25.8 28.7 11.5 16.5 

Missouri ....................................... 34 57 6,440 5,492 15.0 15.5 .9 1.7 32.5 32.6 23.7 19.9 

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

 ) 11 ( 2 ) 1,158 1.2 .1 2.3 2.9 9.3 18.8 18.6 20.1 

Nebraska ..................................... 4 7 368 800 – 1.0 4.1 10.1 50.8 25.3 25.0 29.8 

Nevada ........................................ 37 21 9,812 5,016 8.6 6.8 30.3 34.5 29.8 33.1 17.8 16.6 

New Hampshire ........................... 4 4 331 439 1.5 .9 1.8 .7 36.0 17.1 19.6 22.6 

New Jersey .................................. 66 49 9,567 5,562 23.7 19.2 8.7 10.6 49.4 35.3 22.6 18.4 

New Mexico ................................. 10 12 1,017 1,437 3.3 1.6 32.1 55.8 36.4 37.0 16.0 17.1 

New York ..................................... 154 142 26,172 18,731 17.2 11.8 15.8 12.9 47.8 31.4 25.6 21.4 

North Carolina ............................. 29 40 6,973 5,302 38.0 42.4 4.3 4.7 46.1 39.6 17.7 14.8 

North Dakota ............................... 3 9 634 902 .6 1.7 1.3 3.7 22.9 17.7 23.3 22.2 

Ohio ............................................. 75 96 18,003 16,984 9.6 9.5 2.9 3.7 23.6 21.7 21.1 20.3 

Oklahoma .................................... 8 8 616 996 15.9 9.0 4.4 4.1 26.5 26.0 12.8 16.2 

Oregon ........................................ 26 32 6,126 6,493 1.7 1.3 24.2 22.1 40.0 36.3 18.2 18.9 

Pennsylvania ............................... 134 128 26,872 24,370 6.2 4.0 2.9 2.3 27.2 18.1 25.2 20.9 

Rhode Island ............................... 5 4 403 314 2.5 2.2 30.8 15.0 48.4 46.2 31.5 22.0 

South Carolina ............................. 18 12 2,701 1,323 42.3 51.2 2.5 .8 41.8 45.0 7.7 14.6 

South Dakota ............................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – 3.8 3.6 28.8 14.5 13.5 25.5 

Tennessee ................................... 21 22 3,373 3,435 36.0 21.4 – – 40.3 27.5 19.9 27.5 

Texas ........................................... 34 41 6,243 6,364 14.3 15.7 41.5 47.4 22.8 25.1 14.3 14.2 

Utah ............................................. 8 14 1,780 2,388 1.1 .8 13.0 9.7 36.1 13.2 11.4 15.6 

Vermont ....................................... 5 8 668 1,254 .3 1.0 .1 .6 33.1 34.9 28.9 23.5 

Virginia ........................................ 16 30 2,022 4,408 37.9 40.5 1.7 5.0 37.3 42.0 21.7 17.2 

Washington ................................. 41 62 8,823 8,144 5.5 5.3 15.5 20.8 38.0 33.2 13.1 17.4 

West Virginia ............................... 5 5 481 449 – – – .2 21.2 3.1 12.9 16.9 

Wisconsin .................................... 48 73 10,429 10,955 7.0 3.9 9.4 7.6 30.0 14.9 18.5 15.6 

Wyoming ..................................... – 4 – 592 – 1.7 – 7.6 – 36.5 – 22.5 

Puerto Rico .................................. 16 5 3,286 491 .2 .2 99.4 99.2 56.3 28.3 7.5 11.8 

 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.
Table 4. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 United States1 .................................. 3,582 2,035 2,043 641,714 345,367 321,569 766,780 402,927 292,696 

Northeast ................................................. 517 403 370 91,113 67,268 52,088 101,637 69,303 54,437 

 New England ........................................ 76 49 51 11,454 6,601 7,287 12,400 6,692 5,774 

 Middle Atlantic ...................................... 441 354 319 79,659 60,667 44,801 89,237 62,611 48,663 

South ........................................................ 682 322 362 124,275 60,164 54,766 146,158 62,391 51,763 

 South Atlantic ....................................... 371 195 209 71,902 37,837 31,801 78,626 42,256 31,614 

 East South Central ............................... 169 61 67 26,768 12,137 10,064 36,003 10,393 8,086 

 West South Central .............................. 142 66 86 25,605 10,190 12,901 31,529 9,742 12,063 

Midwest .................................................... 1,236 433 686 234,691 69,316 109,033 305,085 95,894 92,628 

 East North Central ............................... 924 323 491 183,967 51,230 78,582 248,346 76,312 69,952 

 West North Central .............................. 312 110 195 50,724 18,086 30,451 56,739 19,582 22,676 

West ......................................................... 1,147 877 625 191,635 148,619 105,682 213,900 175,339 93,868 

 Mountain .............................................. 210 108 125 40,530 17,665 20,956 40,591 21,072 18,144 

 Pacific .................................................. 937 769 500 151,105 130,954 84,726 173,309 154,267 75,724 

 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, 2008 and 2009

State

IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........................ 3,582 2,035 2,043 641,714 345,367 321,569 766,780 402,927 292,696 

Alabama ................................................... 17 11 12 5,086 2,817 1,799 8,642 3,607 1,592 

Alaska ...................................................... 12 10 9 3,345 4,123 5,326 2,363 3,161 1,656 

Arizona ..................................................... 30 23 18 6,365 4,251 1,925 5,611 4,090 1,992 

Arkansas .................................................. 20 4 10 3,167 343 1,623 3,169 444 1,574 

California .................................................. 765 685 392 117,835 116,855 65,152 134,969 135,126 58,935 

Colorado .................................................. 31 21 32 5,384 3,967 4,494 4,142 2,897 3,607 

Connecticut .............................................. 11 12 15 2,445 1,974 2,602 2,519 1,990 1,484 

Delaware .................................................. 7 ( 2 ) 7 976 ( 2 ) 1,346 986 ( 2 ) 444 

District of Columbia .................................. ( 2 ) – 5 ( 2 ) – 471 ( 2 ) – 471 

Florida ...................................................... 180 96 87 42,222 24,697 14,671 37,576 23,917 13,312 

Georgia .................................................... 59 23 19 8,373 3,438 3,709 16,008 5,292 5,609 

Hawaii ...................................................... 10 7 5 1,233 888 467 1,318 1,031 496 

Idaho ........................................................ 51 7 13 7,791 826 2,404 8,397 1,304 1,954 

Illinois ....................................................... 286 106 203 55,805 17,820 35,879 60,449 23,468 27,703 

Indiana ..................................................... 154 35 41 22,553 4,011 4,227 44,383 6,541 5,276 

Iowa ......................................................... 45 12 10 5,828 1,748 1,125 10,735 3,975 1,448 

Kansas ..................................................... 25 21 18 3,857 2,633 3,366 4,238 2,738 3,082 

Kentucky .................................................. 65 22 25 9,376 4,874 3,678 12,247 2,750 2,512 

Louisiana .................................................. 22 20 27 4,586 3,331 4,424 4,429 2,439 3,129 

Maine ....................................................... 7 ( 2 ) 6 1,040 ( 2 ) 822 1,249 ( 2 ) 998 

Maryland .................................................. 24 7 4 3,280 669 417 3,498 722 296 

Massachusetts ......................................... 43 21 14 6,237 2,815 1,417 6,712 3,011 1,285 

Michigan ................................................... 212 59 78 47,602 7,328 10,899 77,701 17,871 9,034 

Minnesota ................................................ 120 35 93 20,893 4,983 14,483 21,625 5,323 10,897 

Mississippi ................................................ 24 7 8 4,343 552 645 4,512 663 547 

Missouri .................................................... 101 34 57 17,641 7,431 9,306 17,882 6,440 5,492 

Montana ................................................... 14 ( 2

 ) 11 1,775 ( 2 ) 1,194 2,432 ( 2 ) 1,158 

Nebraska .................................................. 8 4 7 1,015 740 1,085 755 368 800 

Nevada ..................................................... 46 37 21 9,438 6,176 3,845 13,222 9,812 5,016 

New Hampshire ....................................... ( 2 ) 4 4 ( 2 ) 431 588 ( 2 ) 331 439 

New Jersey .............................................. 89 66 49 16,459 11,672 8,359 16,382 9,567 5,562 

New Mexico ............................................. 17 10 12 2,729 1,202 1,769 2,805 1,017 1,437 

New York ................................................. 147 154 142 30,582 28,216 19,033 31,868 26,172 18,731 

North Carolina .......................................... 32 29 40 3,718 3,694 4,039 6,110 6,973 5,302 

North Dakota ............................................ 10 3 9 1,253 476 1,013 1,253 634 902 

Ohio ......................................................... 189 75 96 39,950 12,760 17,115 45,689 18,003 16,984 

Oklahoma ................................................. 21 8 8 3,846 872 1,554 4,443 616 996 

Oregon ..................................................... 73 26 32 13,668 3,001 5,962 19,492 6,126 6,493 

Pennsylvania ............................................ 205 134 128 32,618 20,779 17,409 40,987 26,872 24,370 

Rhode Island ............................................ 6 5 ( 2

 ) 612 396 ( 2 ) 615 403 ( 2 )

South Carolina ......................................... 47 18 12 10,129 2,376 1,363 11,661 2,701 1,323 

South Dakota ........................................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 237 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 251 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Tennessee ............................................... 63 21 22 7,963 3,894 3,942 10,602 3,373 3,435 

Texas ....................................................... 79 34 41 14,006 5,644 5,300 19,488 6,243 6,364 

Utah ......................................................... 18 8 14 3,704 978 1,695 3,714 1,780 2,388 

Vermont ................................................... 7 5 8 825 628 1,522 1,096 668 1,254 

Virginia ..................................................... 14 16 30 2,104 1,898 5,341 1,712 2,022 4,408 

Washington .............................................. 77 41 62 15,024 6,087 7,819 15,167 8,823 8,144 

West Virginia ............................................ 7 5 5 915 665 444 890 481 449 

Wisconsin ................................................. 83 48 73 18,057 9,311 10,462 20,124 10,429 10,955 

Wyoming .................................................. 3 – 4 3,344 – 3,630 268 – 592 

Puerto Rico .............................................. 12 16 5 1,304 1,529 299 2,020 3,286 491 

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

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

IV III IV IV III IV

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ............................................... 118 78 58 20,382 12,906 10,477 

 Mining .......................................................................... – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) –

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

 Construction ................................................................. ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Manufacturing .............................................................. 80 47 33 15,238 7,376 5,993 

 Food ........................................................................ 3 4 ( 2 ) 425 672 ( 2 )

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

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

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

 Apparel ................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

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

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

 Paper ...................................................................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 602 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

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

 Chemicals .............................................................. 4 ( 2

 ) 4 1,125 ( 2 ) 760 

 Plastics and rubber products .................................. 4 3 ( 2 ) 542 384 ( 2 )

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

 Primary metals ........................................................ 3 3 ( 2 ) 1,795 555 ( 2 )

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... 6 3 ( 2 ) 752 477 ( 2 )

 Machinery ............................................................... 5 4 4 1,118 624 890 

 Computer and electronic products .......................... 10 7 9 1,534 1,099 930 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 836 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Transportation equipment ....................................... 19 6 6 4,301 1,107 2,046 

 Furniture and related products ................................ 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 456 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ................................. 3 ( 2 ) – 509 ( 2 ) –

 Wholesale trade ........................................................... 7 5 6 804 572 772 

 Retail trade .................................................................. 6 5 ( 2 ) 682 944 ( 2 )

 Transportation and warehousing ................................. 4 4 ( 2 ) 686 552 ( 2 )

 Information ................................................................... 4 4 5 871 745 696 

 Finance and insurance ................................................ 8 3 ( 2 ) 926 302 ( 2 )

 Real estate and rental and leasing .............................. – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Professional and technical services ............................. ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,152 ( 2 )

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

 Administrative and waste services ............................... 4 – 3 545 – 650 

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

 Health care and social assistance ............................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

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

 Accommodation and food services .............................. – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

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

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Reason for layoff

IV III IV IV III IV

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 118 78 58 20,382 12,906 10,477 

Business demand ............................................................. 36 21 16 6,080 3,337 2,831 

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Contract completion ....................................................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Domestic competition ..................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Excess inventory/saturated market ................................ – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Import competition ......................................................... 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,504 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 22 15 11 4,227 2,583 2,394 

Organizational changes .................................................... 49 40 18 8,966 7,085 2,514 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 9 6 ( 2

 ) 1,498 1,329 ( 2 )

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 40 34 ( 2 ) 7,468 5,756 ( 2 )

Financial issues ................................................................ 29 15 20 4,554 2,107 4,372 

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

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

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ 25 12 17 3,392 1,559 3,564 

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

Production specific ............................................................ 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 592 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Automation/technological advances .............................. ––––––

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

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

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

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

 Model changeover ......................................................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

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

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

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

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

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

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... – – – – – –

 Extreme weather-related event ...................................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... – – 3 – – 670 

 Other .............................................................................. – – 3 – – 670 

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

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. – – – – – –

 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
Table 8. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations

IV III IV IV III IV

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 United States1 ...................................... 118 78 58 20,382 12,906 10,477 

Northeast ..................................................... 13 10 12 1,828 1,424 2,020 

 New England ........................................... 4 4 6 686 719 1,280 

 Middle Atlantic ......................................... 9 6 6 1,142 705 740 

South ........................................................... 29 19 21 4,917 2,622 4,022 

 South Atlantic ........................................... 9 ( 2

 ) 12 1,220 ( 2 ) 1,960 

 East South Central ................................... 12 9 6 1,650 1,039 1,362 

 West South Central .................................. 8 ( 2 ) 3 2,047 ( 2 ) 700 

Midwest ........................................................ 48 22 13 9,534 3,578 1,758 

 East North Central ................................... 33 15 ( 2

 ) 6,652 2,260 ( 2 )

 West North Central .................................. 15 7 ( 2 ) 2,882 1,318 ( 2 )

West ............................................................. 28 27 12 4,103 5,282 2,677 

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

 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,832 ( 2 )

 Pacific ...................................................... ( 2 ) 22 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3,450 ( 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 9. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

IV III IV IV III IV

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p

Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 3,582 2,035 2,043 641,714 345,367 321,569 

 Total, excluding seasonal

 and vacation events2

 .............................................. 2,713 1,749 1,280 491,941 289,066 196,788 

 Total, movement of work3

 ....................................... 118 78 58 20,382 12,906 10,477 

 Movement of work actions ................................. 161 110 89 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 With separations reported ............................ 122 74 50 11,919 7,140 4,198 

 With separations unknown ........................... 39 36 39 ( 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 10. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers,

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

IV III IV IV III IV

2008 2009r 2009p 2008 2009r 2009p

With separations reported2 ................................. 122 74 50 11,919 7,140 4,198 

By location

 Out-of-country relocations ................................ 36 19 15 4,059 2,006 1,807 

 Within company ............................................ 31 16 12 3,720 1,786 1,542 

 Different company ........................................ 5 3 3 339 220 265 

 Domestic relocations ........................................ 86 55 33 7,860 5,134 2,096 

 Within company ............................................ 79 43 29 7,363 3,694 1,734 

 Different company ........................................ 7 12 4 497 1,440 362 

 Unable to assign place of 

 relocation ....................................................... – – 2 – – 295 

By company

 Within company ................................................ 110 59 43 11,083 5,480 3,571 

 Domestic ....................................................... 79 43 29 7,363 3,694 1,734 

 Out of country ............................................... 31 16 12 3,720 1,786 1,542 

 Unable to assign ........................................... – – 2 – – 295 

 Different company ............................................ 12 15 7 836 1,660 627 

 Domestic ....................................................... 7 12 4 497 1,440 362 

 Out of country ............................................... 5 3 3 339 220 265 

 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
Table 11. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended mass layoffs, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV

2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p

Anticipate a recall ................................... 42.8 31.1 50.7 96.0 93.7 96.1 25.7 20.9 23.7

 Timeframe

Within 6 months ...................................... 77.3 64.8 80.5 88.2 89.2 89.8 64.3 46.8 58.1

 Within 3 months ................................ 33.9 48.2 32.8 24.7 65.3 29.2 45.0 35.6 41.6

 Size of recall

At least half ............................................. 77.5 63.3 83.3 89.3 91.4 91.8 63.5 42.7 62.7

 All workers ........................................ 35.4 31.9 38.6 45.1 58.6 46.2 23.8 12.3 20.1

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1.

 r = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.

Percent of total layoff events1 Percent of layoff events due to seasonal work 

and vacation period

Percent of layoff events, excluding those due 

to seasonal and vacation period Nature of recall
measures, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

IV III IV

2008r 2009r 2009p

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................................... 179 170 157 

Industry

Mining ................................................................................... 163 165 123 

Utilities .................................................................................. 195 126 138 

Construction .......................................................................... 125 120 125 

Manufacturing ....................................................................... 186 168 166 

Wholesale trade .................................................................... 132 115 121 

Retail trade ............................................................................ 304 220 145 

Transportation and warehousing .......................................... 196 173 159 

Information ............................................................................ 142 165 177 

Finance and insurance .......................................................... 201 174 169 

Real estate and rental and leasing ....................................... 133 113 112 

Professional and technical services ...................................... 145 221 188 

Management of companies and enterprises ......................... 185 133 112 

Administrative and waste services ........................................ 226 215 176 

Educational services ............................................................. 158 167 91 

Health care and social assistance ........................................ 173 133 120 

Arts, entertainment, and recreation ....................................... 232 266 290 

Accommodation and food services ....................................... 222 206 228 

Other services, except public administration ........................ 123 149 151 

Unclassified establishments .................................................. 73 – –

Reason for layoff groupings

Business demand ................................................................. 157 143 145 

Organizational changes ........................................................ 195 178 185 

Financial issues .................................................................... 223 152 171 

Production specific ................................................................ 194 298 121 

Disaster/Safety ...................................................................... 112 488 158 

Seasonal ............................................................................... 172 197 164 

Other/miscellaneous ............................................................. 219 202 159 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

 r

 = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

Table 12. Average number of separations in extended mass layoff events by selected

Measure

Average number of separations
Table 13. Distribution of extended layoff events by size of layoff, private nonfarm sector, 

fourth quarter 2009p

Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ...................................................... 2,043 100.0 321,569 100.0 

 50-99 ................................................... 939 46.0 66,198 20.6 

 100-149 ............................................... 485 23.7 56,286 17.5 

 150-199 ................................................ 231 11.3 38,605 12.0 

 200-299 ................................................ 200 9.8 45,861 14.3 

 300-499 ................................................ 113 5.5 41,204 12.8 

 500-999 ................................................ 47 2.3 30,499 9.5 

 1,000 or more ....................................... 28 1.4 42,916 13.3 

 p

 = preliminary.

Layoff events Separations Size
Extended Mass Layoff Events by Reason Categories1

Fourth quarters, 2003-09

1600140012001000

800600400

0

200

2003:4 2004:4 2005:4 2006:4 2007:4 2008:4 2009:4p 2003:4 2004:4 2005:4 2006:4 2007:4 2008:4 2009:4

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.