Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 08-1185

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

For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, August 22, 2008

MASS LAYOFFS IN JULY 2008

In July, employers took 1,512 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings 

for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. 

Department of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer; 

the number of workers involved totaled 151,171, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass 

layoff events this July decreased by 131 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial 

claims decreased by 14,526. In July, 443 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, 

seasonally adjusted, resulting in 57,470 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing decreased by 98 and initial claims decreased by 19,044. (See table 1.)

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2004 2005 2006 

Total

Private nonfarm

2007

 Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

August 2003-July 2008

2008

From January through July 2008, the total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted), at 

10,770, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,100,810, were the highest for the January-July 

period since 2003.

The national unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, up from 5.5 percent in 

the prior month and up from 4.6 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 

51,000 in July from the previous month and decreased by 67,000 from a year earlier.

News United States

Department 

of Labor

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

August 2003-July 2008

2004 2005 2006 

Total

Private nonfarm

2007

 Manufacturing

2008
2

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in July 2008

Year Initial claims

Temporary help services ................................................................................................................................................ 14,068 1998 24,601 

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ...........................................................................................................................8,825 1997 14,618 

Motor vehicle metal stamping ................................................................................................................................................ 7,033 2005 8,198 

Heavy duty truck manufacturing ................................................................................................................................................ 6,790 2008 6,790 

Automobile manufacturing ................................................................................................................................................ 6,636 1996 22,644 

All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing .............................................................................................................................5,986 2004 9,691 

School and employee bus transportation ...................................................................................................................................5,156 1997 8,081 

Motor vehicle seating and interior trim mfg. .............................................................................................................................4,459 2005 9,238 

Elementary and secondary schools ............................................................................................................................................4,172 2005 7,104 

Professional employer organizations .........................................................................................................................................3,949 2004 4,425 

Industry Initial claims July peak

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in July was 1,891 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number 

of associated initial claims was 200,382. (See table 2.) Over the year, there were increases in both the 

number of layoff events (+292) and initial claims (+24,963). The largest over-the-year increases in 

initial claims occurred in transportation equipment manufacturing (+8,966) and administrative and 

support services (+5,174). The largest decreases occurred in machinery manufacturing (-1,952) and 

primary metal manufacturing (-1,712).

The manufacturing sector accounted for 40 percent of all mass layoff events and 54 percent of

initial claims filed in July; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 43 percent of the events and 58 percent 

of initial claims. In July 2008, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation 

equipment manufacturing (57,761), followed by fabricated metal products (7,007). (See table 3.) 

Administrative and waste services accounted for 14 percent of mass layoff events and 11 percent of 

associated initial claims in July, primarily from temporary help services.

The six-digit NAICS industry with the highest number of initial claims was temporary help services

with 14,068, followed by light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing with 8,825. Among the industries 

with the highest levels of initial claims, heavy duty truck manufacturing reached a program high for the 

month of July (data are available back to 1995). (See table A.)

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Of the 4 census regions, the highest number of initial claims in July due to mass layoffs was in the 

Midwest (84,535). The South had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions with 

48,440, followed by the West with 41,901 and the Northeast with 25,506. (See table 5.)

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in 3 of the 4 regions—the 

South (+12,677), the West (+8,837), and the Northeast (+4,471). Six of the 9 divisions had over-theyear increases in initial claims, with the largest increase in the Pacific (+9,016).

California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in July with 

33,250, largely due to layoffs in administrative and support services and in educational services. (See 
3

table 6.) The next highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims were in Michigan (27,672), Ohio 

(19,402), and Kentucky (11,907).

Twenty-nine states reported over-the-year increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, 

led by Ohio (+8,967), California (+8,196), and Kentucky (+5,949). States with the largest over-the-year 

decreases in claims were Michigan (-8,684) and Kansas and Iowa (-1,563 each).

___________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in August 2008 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 23.
Technical Note

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federalstate 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 employers 

which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during

a consecutive 5-week period. These employers then are

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these

separations lasted 31 days or longer, and, if so, other

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report 

on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly 

unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday

through Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are

included for the particular month, except if the first day of the 

month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is included in 

the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months

will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks, the number of 

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

and the number of weeks in a year may vary. Therefore, 

analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change in not 

seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect into 

consideration.

The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 

after it had been terminated in November 1992 due to lack of 

funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were 

not available.

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-

800-877-8339.

Definitions

Employer. Employers in the MLS program include

those covered by state unemployment insurance laws. 

Information on employers is obtained from the Quarterly 

Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which 

is administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of ununemployment 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 employer 

during a 5-week period, regardless of duration.

 

Seasonal adjustment

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS 

began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS

series. The six series are the numb ers of mass layoff events 

and mass layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm, 

and manufacturing sectors.

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and 

removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring 

seasonal events such as changes in the weather, holidays, and 

the beginning and ending of the school year. The use of 

seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental 

changes in time series, particularly those associated with 

general economic expansions and contractions.

The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis. 

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly 

estimates, including those for the current month, in developing seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most 

recent 5 years of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a 

year with the issuance of December data. Before the data are 

seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the

original data to adjust them for differences in the number of 

weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly 

unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form

monthly data, a particular month's value could be calculated 

with 5 weeks of data in 1 year and 4 weeks in another. The 

effects of these differences could seriously distort the

seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal

adjustment process. These effects are modeled in the X-12-

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the 

final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, August 2004 to July 2008,

seasonally adjusted

2004

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,426 128,759 1,233 113,809 343 36,539 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,285 127,833 1,154 116,843 336 45,690 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,283 132,766 1,169 123,471 363 47,046 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,320 130,873 1,174 119,029 380 45,416 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,148 111,060 991 99,784 287 31,935 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,475 160,725 1,346 151,028 382 61,324 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,146 121,455 1,020 110,480 353 43,568 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,207 131,271 1,066 120,945 372 53,673 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,252 136,752 1,125 126,550 401 60,681 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,248 136,420 1,104 123,495 398 54,999 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,196 127,084 1,078 118,012 368 58,300 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,250 132,445 1,103 119,566 357 46,602 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,144 125,686 1,000 113,762 341 47,598 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,248 297,544 2,028 251,185 417 55,304 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,101 110,035 982 100,934 321 43,230 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,176 114,965 1,042 103,535 332 42,071 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,261 134,461 1,132 123,418 360 46,863 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,107 110,800 988 101,494 283 34,037 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,031 109,798 940 101,828 322 43,147 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,084 119,049 983 110,668 323 48,119 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,171 121,580 1,043 112,175 368 49,568 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,124 117,115 1,005 107,181 314 43,087 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,146 123,827 1,030 114,080 352 44,869 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,179 121,017 1,051 111,336 372 48,534 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,270 135,400 1,107 124,427 377 60,906 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,173 123,767 1,056 114,677 385 45,767 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,191 121,827 1,076 113,123 399 53,601 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,232 133,803 1,121 124,559 414 58,385 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,194 131,062 1,092 121,796 374 51,408 

2007

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,254 128,223 1,118 117,824 391 52,858 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,352 143,837 1,238 135,066 416 61,749 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,277 130,981 1,169 122,488 412 52,606 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,243 126,977 1,116 116,926 382 43,930 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,199 120,587 1,096 113,069 370 48,910 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,238 129,858 1,116 120,165 351 40,670 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,247 127,687 1,140 119,614 392 51,333 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,228 121,886 1,128 114,628 335 36,518 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,307 128,487 1,204 121,294 430 53,432 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,347 136,124 1,224 127,163 430 57,695 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,329 139,671 1,215 131,390 414 56,965 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,433 141,750 1,315 133,024 462 58,108 

2008

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,438 144,111 1,317 134,347 427 55,488 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,672 177,374 1,539 166,782 529 66,913 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,571 157,156 1,460 147,537 482 64,088 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,308 133,914 1,186 124,053 483 60,552 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,626 171,387 1,496 161,912 528 72,058 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,643 165,697 1,491 153,568 541 76,514 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,512 151,171 1,368 140,116 443 57,470 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, August 2004 to July 2008,

not seasonally adjusted

2004

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 194 17,698 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 68,972 637 63,102 189 25,808 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 372 48,265 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 412 44,243 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 436 50,726 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 823 108,985 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 230 24,931 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 246 33,030 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 395 59,129 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 986 101,358 891 93,332 249 30,424 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 216 32,783 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 856 136,210 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 188 22,531 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 318 47,497 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 249 37,276 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 363 41,442 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 706 96,382 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 331 35,097 

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

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

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 296 39,538 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 872 84,809 794 78,663 192 23,570 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 319 41,095 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 648 96,152 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 203 28,494 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 865 87,699 785 81,274 296 39,076 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 311 46,737 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 455 58,473 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 735 105,462 

2007

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 456 53,615 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 273 36,170 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 367 49,886 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 309 35,229 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 923 85,816 856 81,153 224 26,527 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 313 36,571 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 684 101,390 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 220 23,361 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 514 75,413 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 699 91,754 

2008

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 488 54,418 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 361 42,527 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 333 43,740 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 394 48,188 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 388 51,698 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 309 42,097 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 760 108,733 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

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

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

July May June July July May June July

2007 2008 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,247 1,626 1,643 1,512 127,687 171,387 165,697 151,171 

 Total, private nonfarm ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,140 1,496 1,491 1,368 119,614 161,912 153,568 140,116 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 392 528 541 443 51,333 72,058 76,514 57,470 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 1,552 1,622 1,891 175,419 159,471 166,742 200,382 

Total, private ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,503 1,467 1,363 1,765 168,280 152,510 144,732 191,309 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..................................................................................................................................................................... 53 29 48 78 3,341 2,048 3,816 5,291 

 Total, private nonfarm ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,450 1,438 1,315 1,687 164,939 150,462 140,916 186,018 

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

 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 458 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 475 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Construction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 88 167 114 72 5,844 12,411 7,713 4,941 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 684 388 309 760 101,390 51,698 42,097 108,733 

 Food ..................................................................................................................................................................... 46 48 58 49 4,927 4,800 6,065 4,844 

 Beverage and tobacco products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 5 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 316 273 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Textile mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 6 5 15 2,272 520 730 1,286 

 Textile product mills 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 8 ( 2

 ) 5 857 580 ( 2 ) 560 

 Apparel 3 

..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 14 7 24 1,678 1,171 534 2,048 

 Leather and allied products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 ( 2

 ) 3 3 1,212 ( 2 ) 862 184 

 Wood products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 24 22 38 2,901 2,455 2,314 4,044 

 Paper ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 11 6 10 259 1,091 411 1,239 

 Printing and related support activities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 9 10 12 499 833 1,116 947 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Chemicals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 9 4 13 826 696 228 999 

 Plastics and rubber products 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 65 21 8 62 7,487 1,793 960 6,804 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 14 9 16 1,373 1,175 516 1,412 

 Primary metals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 36 9 12 41 6,318 1,217 1,012 4,606 

 Fabricated metal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 63 29 19 71 6,364 2,596 1,716 7,007 

 Machinery 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 49 25 22 45 6,994 3,758 2,611 5,042 

 Computer and electronic products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 14 13 30 2,549 1,250 1,091 2,498 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 13 8 21 3,271 1,845 2,128 3,052 

 Transportation equipment 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 249 101 74 269 48,795 21,667 17,597 57,761 

 Furniture and related products 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 20 12 18 1,394 3,285 1,076 2,397 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing 3 

..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 5 13 15 1,098 445 909 1,751 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 21 15 22 1,347 1,513 908 1,926 

 Retail trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 83 109 89 116 6,663 10,090 10,567 9,450 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 90 99 160 107 9,132 11,176 20,647 11,182 

 Information ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37 56 47 42 4,253 9,251 5,078 4,069 

 Finance and insurance 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 38 40 55 2,499 2,666 2,968 4,256 

 Real estate and rental and leasing 3 

..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 6 7 11 605 407 798 792 

 Professional and technical services 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 45 66 32 40 4,072 6,924 3,903 3,147 

 Management of companies and enterprises ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 4 4 4 329 383 257 313 

 Administrative and waste services 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 216 192 164 259 18,257 16,175 15,635 22,921 

 Educational services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 6 18 18 486 383 1,275 1,388 

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 49 85 151 65 3,911 7,643 11,867 4,263 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 32 26 27 1,007 1,993 1,462 2,136 

 Accommodation and food services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 50 122 102 78 3,967 13,212 12,931 5,803 

 Other services, except public administration ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 38 33 7 578 3,604 2,507 419 

 Unclassified ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 – 1 – 218 – 57 –

Government ..................................................................................................................................................................... 96 85 259 126 7,139 6,961 22,010 9,073 

 Federal ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 16 11 4 925 1,656 928 306 

 State ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 14 12 26 901 867 953 2,179 

 Local ..................................................................................................................................................................... 78 55 236 96 5,313 4,438 20,129 6,588 

 

1

 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. due to a change in NAICS versions.

 

2

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

 

3

 Data beginning in 2008 are not strictly comparable to prior years

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2006 to July 2008,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants

2006

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 865 87,699 785 81,274 

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,084 327,400 2,776 304,670 929 161,764 33.5 53.1 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,528 489,493 4,118 457,925 1,640 r

 330,954 39.8 72.3 

2007

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,424 345,654 3,139 325,003 1,110 199,250 35.4 61.3 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 923 85,816 856 81,153 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,741 386,070 3,289 347,862 1,421 r

 259,234 43.2 74.5 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 717 67,385 667 64,026 

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,279 336,262 3,025 317,310 r

 1,018 r 173,077 33.7 r 54.5 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5,049 530,889 4,593 495,798 1,814 r

 347,146 39.5 r 70.0 

2008

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,005 388,552 3,737 367,925 r

 1,340 r 256,697 r 35.9 r 69.8 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,446 457,023 3,925 413,003 2,p 1,534 2,p 215,808 p

 39.1 p 52.3 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards

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

rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants with such events increases by 25-40 percent.

associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. r = revised.

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

data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

Mass layoffs

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

Date
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

July May June July July May June July

2007 2008 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008

 United States 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 1,552 1,622 1,891 175,419 159,471 166,742 200,382 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 241 266 282 281 21,035 25,619 32,721 25,506 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 32 49 34 3,608 3,218 4,929 2,658 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 202 234 233 247 17,427 22,401 27,792 22,848 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 360 402 365 450 35,763 42,832 38,453 48,440 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 180 199 207 218 15,861 15,761 18,972 17,556 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 122 116 63 161 14,074 16,810 10,974 21,721 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 58 87 95 71 5,828 10,261 8,507 9,163 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 573 390 345 606 85,557 45,462 39,391 84,535 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 485 312 257 528 72,514 36,332 28,549 75,373 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 88 78 88 78 13,043 9,130 10,842 9,162 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 425 494 630 554 33,064 45,558 56,177 41,901 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 44 62 63 49 4,698 5,548 4,903 4,519 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 381 432 567 505 28,366 40,010 51,274 37,382 

 

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, 

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

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

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota;

and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 

Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon,

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington.

Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama,

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

July May June July July May June July

2007 2008 2008 2008 2007 2008 2008 2008

– – – – – – – –

 Total 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 1,552 1,622 1,891 175,419 159,471 166,742 200,382 

– – – – – – – –

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 59 35 13 67 6,510 4,044 2,091 7,072 

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

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 9 17 15 808 872 1,520 1,422 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 7 6 13 1,133 648 414 1,606 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 351 382 516 460 25,054 34,085 44,754 33,250 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 8 3 4 ( 2 ) 930 177 343 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 11 9 6 357 924 758 579 

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 203 159 ( 2 )

District of Columbia ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 3 – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 236 –

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 79 125 132 123 5,214 8,841 10,751 7,555 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 50 32 32 39 5,133 3,170 3,304 3,949 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 11 6 4 ( 2 ) 1,118 783 271 

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 12 9 7 1,395 1,131 684 619 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 53 59 48 56 8,175 8,058 4,767 7,674 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 55 44 40 67 7,836 4,943 4,916 8,787 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 12 27 16 3,631 3,033 3,682 2,068 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 12 12 8 2,294 893 927 731 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 43 39 26 63 5,958 8,666 6,706 11,907 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 22 23 10 604 3,101 1,767 1,645 

Maine ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 – ( 2

 ) 5 266 – ( 2 ) 359 

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 4 8 5 455 318 754 443 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 9 17 16 2,173 946 1,467 1,107 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 211 85 61 212 36,356 8,139 6,323 27,672 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 10 16 12 1,558 1,075 1,506 1,452 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 18 5 13 822 1,682 300 1,330 

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 38 35 28 39 3,619 3,298 4,320 3,763 

Montana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 6 4 4 379 437 299 234 

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 5 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 682 413 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 14 17 15 1,438 1,057 1,323 1,637 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 5 4 4 391 384 657 426 

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 42 38 60 56 3,176 3,813 9,512 4,110 

New Mexico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 9 8 ( 2

 ) 392 690 465 ( 2 )

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 88 95 38 103 8,175 9,613 3,445 10,764 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 9 10 12 219 1,163 1,875 1,128 

North Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) 3 ( 2 ) 1,259 ( 2 ) 248 ( 2 )

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 86 67 55 117 10,435 7,621 6,678 19,402 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 3 6 5 307 624 502 575 

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 24 24 25 2,463 3,449 3,863 2,498 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 72 101 135 88 6,076 8,975 14,835 7,974 

Rhode Island ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3 11 ( 2

 ) 222 243 1,141 ( 2 )

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 11 12 29 3,094 809 1,139 2,958 

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

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 24 19 18 784 2,418 1,877 1,412 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 55 60 43 3,784 5,888 5,824 5,337 

Utah ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 4 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 431 435 ( 2 )

Vermont ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 4 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 721 683 ( 2 )

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 11 5 9 1,400 904 628 1,475 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 13 21 16 722 1,211 1,874 1,363 

West Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 3 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 277 ( 2 ) –

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 80 57 53 76 9,712 7,571 5,865 11,838 

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

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 17 13 12 1,221 2,626 1,265 1,227 

 1 See footnote 1, table 3. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

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

State