1

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 06-1639

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, September 21, 2006

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

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally 

adjusted, September 2001-August 2006

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

2006 

Note: Shaded area represents recession period.

2002 2003 2004 2005 

Private nonfarm

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally 

adjusted, September 2001-August 2006

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Manufacturing

Total

Private nonfarm

Note: Shaded area represents recession period.

MASS LAYOFFS IN AUGUST 2006

In August 2006, employers took 1,193 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 establishment, and

the number of workers involved totaled 127,944, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of layoff

events increased by 68, and the number of associated initial claims rose by 13,049 from July 2006. In the

manufacturing sector, 357 mass layoff events were reported during August 2006, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 59,256 initial claims. The number of events in manufacturing was lower than a month earlier, while the

number of initial claims increased. (See table 1.)

In August 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, essentially unchanged from July 2006 and down from 4.9 percent in August 2005. Total nonfarm payroll employment,

seasonally adjusted, increased by 128,000 over the month and by about 1.7 million over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 26,689 initial claims in August, 37 percent of the total. The three industries with the highest

number of initial claims were temporary help services with 7,109, heavy duty truck manufacturing with 4,896,
2

Table A. Industries with the largest mass layoff initial claims in August 2006

Industry

Initial claims

August peak

Year

Initial claims

Temporary help services........................................ 7,109 1999 11,533

Heavy duty truck manufacturing............................. 4,896 2006 4,896

School and employee bus transportation................ 4,268 2003 6,538

Motion picture and video production..................... 3,327 2003 6,812

Professional employer organizations ....................... 2,155 2002 2,855

Department stores, except discount ....................... 1,330 1996 2,151

Discount department stores ................................... 981 2002 2,271

Supermarkets and other grocery stores ................. 944 2001 2,357

Motor home manufacturing .................................... 848 2006 848

Farm machinery and equipment manufacturing ....... 831 2003 1,661

and school and employee bus transportation with 4,268. Together, these three industries accounted for

22 percent of all initial claims in August. (See table A.)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff events and 39 percent of all initial

claims filed in August. A year earlier, manufacturing comprised 29 percent of events and 33 percent of

initial claims. In August 2006, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (12,428, mostly automotive-related), followed by wood product manufacturing (2,240)

and machinery manufacturing (2,210). (See table 3.)

Administrative and waste services accounted for 16 percent of events and 15 percent of initial claims filed

in August, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Retail trade accounted for 10 percent of events

and 8 percent of initial claims during the month, primarily from general merchandise stores. Transportation

and warehousing accounted for 9 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims filed in August 2006, with

layoffs mainly in school and employee bus transportation. Four percent of all layoff events and 6 percent of

initial claims filed during the month were from the information sector, mainly from motion picture and video

production.

Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and 3 percent of initial claims filed in

August, mostly from executive, legislative, and general government and educational services.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in August 2006, at 708, was up by 63

from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 5,262 to 72,844. (See table 2.)

The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing

(+5,573) and administrative and support services (+4,150). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial

claims were reported in motion picture and sound recording industries (-2,959) and food manufacturing

(-1,203).

From January through August 2006, the total number of events, at 8,605, and the total number of initial

claims, at 907,199, were lower than any January-August period in program history. The availability of annual

mass layoff data begins in 1996.
3

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

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

the West, 24,141. Layoffs in administrative and support services and in motion picture and sound recording

industries accounted for 40 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The South

had the second largest number of initial claims, 21,113, followed by the Northeast, 14,506, and the Midwest

with 13,084. (See table 5.)

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in three of the four regions. The

largest increase was in the South (+2,827), followed by the West (+1,958) and the Northeast (+1,416).

The Midwest had the only regional decrease in initial claimants (-939). Five geographic divisions had overthe-year increases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increases in the

Pacific (+2,657) and Middle Atlantic (+2,501). Of the four divisions with over-the-year decreases, the

largest were in West North Central (-1,295) and New England (-1,085).

Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events

in August (20,339), followed by New York (7,042), Kentucky (5,785), Pennsylvania (4,815), and Ohio

(3,772). These five states accounted for 54 percent of all mass layoff events and 57 percent of all initial

claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 6.)

Virginia had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+2,448), largely due to

layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing. Kentucky had the next largest increase in initial claims

(+1,831), followed by Pennsylvania (+1,543). The largest over-the-year decrease in claims occurred in

Georgia (-2,233).

From January to August, California reported 208,053 mass layoff initial claims, 23 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were Michigan (83,982), Pennsylvania (54,779), New York (54,288), and Ohio (51,279).

Note

The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given

month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. For private nonfarm establishments, information on the length

of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than

30 days (referred to as “extended mass layoffs”). The quarterly release provides more information on the

industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.

Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months

in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 4.)

See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

______________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in September 2006 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday,

October 25, 2006.
Technical Note

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

program that uses a standardized, automated approach to

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job

cutbacks, using data from each state’s unemployment insurance

database. Each month, states report on establishments which

have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a

consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these

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

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on

layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly

unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through

Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are included for the

particular month, except if the first day of the month falls on

Saturday. In this case, the week is included in the prior month’s

tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks

and others, 5 weeks, 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-theyear 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

Initial claimant . A person who files any notice of

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or

period of eligibility.

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for

unemployment insurance benefits filed against an

establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration.

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 numbers 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 one 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, September 2002 to August 2006,

seasonally adjusted

2002

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,911 218,875 1,747 203,849 617 80,528 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,774 186,940 1,582 169,660 625 73,904 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,652 178,402 1,507 167,335 613 71,693 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,841 198,678 1,659 184,368 661 84,048 

2003

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,358 131,963 1,168 117,636 387 48,685 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,825 190,928 1,647 178,363 646 78,819 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,782 175,671 1,595 160,170 617 72,409 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,722 174,608 1,564 163,607 640 83,303 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,719 184,003 1,542 170,961 625 86,535 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,716 164,299 1,524 148,542 636 68,143 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,642 163,179 1,442 148,299 580 74,070 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,517 171,861 1,367 158,049 551 74,602 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,562 147,383 1,374 133,383 484 56,472 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,558 156,814 1,336 138,691 427 52,009 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,393 141,383 1,244 129,231 401 50,460 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,426 144,456 1,265 132,324 434 50,994 

2004

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,421 142,704 1,223 124,192 395 48,519 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,293 132,640 1,145 120,811 362 39,360 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,364 140,957 1,234 132,152 407 60,296 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,381 141,909 1,207 126,106 341 37,686 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,189 111,173 1,030 98,230 314 37,405 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,390 141,948 1,226 129,344 360 45,398 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,329 137,724 1,185 126,945 371 53,248 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,436 131,807 1,243 116,672 342 38,192 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,283 125,344 1,155 115,499 344 45,691 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,302 129,237 1,181 119,653 369 47,888 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,350 135,036 1,202 122,954 407 47,517 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,188 120,602 1,038 109,508 293 33,123 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,465 153,676 1,330 143,295 380 58,778 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,135 120,190 1,010 109,964 350 43,966 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,204 133,935 1,071 124,273 384 56,253 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,278 139,575 1,145 128,478 390 60,726 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,194 129,214 1,059 117,660 359 52,055 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,184 128,430 1,065 119,271 349 53,930 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,248 131,136 1,107 118,994 356 49,070 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,145 127,592 1,006 116,011 334 48,904 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,219 283,772 1,975 237,831 438 53,399 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,114 104,584 986 94,798 328 45,475 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,205 120,783 1,074 109,680 359 45,069 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,308 149,565 1,185 138,234 365 49,641 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,113 108,378 985 97,832 274 29,541 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,073 111,468 973 103,268 321 45,073 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,082 118,555 984 110,275 328 49,023 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,148 118,504 1,023 109,150 358 48,086 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,074 109,858 963 101,080 293 42,006 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,097 119,662 974 109,041 311 37,570 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,125 114,895 1,009 105,829 363 47,287 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,193 127,944 1,060 117,993 357 59,256 

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, September 2002 to August 2006,

not seasonally adjusted

2002

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 352 43,755 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 493 64,655 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 719 92,712 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 984 126,826 

2003

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 822 90,244 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 435 48,161 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 390 41,063 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 499 62,349 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,703 174,204 1,538 160,729 499 61,278 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,691 157,552 1,336 127,743 389 40,845 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,087 226,435 1,815 206,901 946 136,410 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,258 133,839 1,163 124,131 405 52,620 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 868 82,647 756 73,914 271 31,428 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,523 158,240 1,265 137,706 438 53,741 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 408 48,419 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 648 77,915 

2004

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 848 89,551 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 941 84,201 832 76,577 240 23,043 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 920 92,554 847 87,782 258 34,686 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 343 36,172 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 988 87,501 878 78,786 219 22,141 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 222 27,307 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 885 145,895 

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 

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

August June July August August June July August

2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,145 1,097 1,125 1,193 127,592 119,662 114,895 127,944 

 Total, private nonfarm ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,006 974 1,009 1,060 116,011 109,041 105,829 117,993 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 334 311 363 357 48,904 37,570 47,287 59,256 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 645 1,489 1,511 708 67,582 164,761 166,857 72,844 

Total, private ..................................................................................................................................................................... 610 1,286 1,414 675 64,211 145,567 160,148 70,352 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 62 79 19 727 4,880 5,806 1,298 

 Total, private nonfarm ..................................................................................................................................................................... 598 1,224 1,335 656 63,484 140,687 154,342 69,054 

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

 ) 4 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 347 ( 2 ) –

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

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

 Construction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 51 75 69 50 3,458 6,089 4,457 3,473 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 188 319 648 203 22,531 41,095 96,152 28,494 

 Food ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 55 60 26 2,762 5,008 5,607 1,559 

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

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

 Textile mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 12 16 11 1,177 1,432 2,217 1,302 

 Textile product mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3 9 4 268 240 663 328 

 Apparel ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 11 19 4 560 1,340 2,009 264 

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

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

 Wood products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 17 35 19 547 1,562 3,480 2,240 

 Paper ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 10 7 6 615 725 522 425 

 Printing and related support activities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 4 5 5 452 382 418 325 

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

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

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

 ) 4 11 4 ( 2 ) 557 1,503 373 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 25 57 9 588 2,526 6,842 645 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 ( 2

 ) 19 ( 2 ) 420 ( 2 ) 2,070 ( 2 )

 Primary metals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 11 32 9 852 997 3,645 816 

 Fabricated metal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 17 54 10 1,012 1,506 5,549 673 

 Machinery ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 23 33 14 1,815 3,194 4,716 2,210 

 Computer and electronic products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 13 20 16 1,235 1,278 1,979 1,590 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 10 19 8 1,693 961 1,943 1,517 

 Transportation equipment ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 79 233 44 6,855 15,822 51,048 12,428 

 Furniture and related products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 15 7 6 383 2,742 490 935 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 6 7 ( 2 ) 910 552 508 ( 2 )

 Wholesale trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 9 17 17 1,259 591 1,218 1,076 

 Retail trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 72 78 85 69 5,434 8,353 7,540 5,975 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 50 155 88 61 5,878 23,033 8,327 5,513 

 Information ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 25 37 29 6,889 8,398 4,274 4,477 

 Finance and insurance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 38 26 15 1,493 2,900 1,695 1,007 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2 ) 6 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 392 895 ( 2 )

 Professional and technical services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 28 40 24 3,104 4,107 4,530 2,202 

 Management of companies and enterprises ..................................................................................................................................................................... – ( 2 ) 3 – – ( 2 ) 204 –

 Administrative and waste services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 84 135 190 113 6,764 10,992 16,115 10,961 

 Educational services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 16 8 ( 2 ) 454 1,057 533 ( 2 )

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 152 40 17 1,227 12,932 3,068 1,133 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 30 18 12 486 1,735 1,018 649 

 Accommodation and food services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 104 46 33 2,436 14,670 3,419 2,281 

 Other services, except public administration ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 44 8 7 1,400 3,577 442 854 

 Unclassified ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 2 1 1 96 102 192 54 

Government ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 203 97 33 3,371 19,194 6,709 2,492 

 Federal ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 14 7 8 1,041 1,521 685 839 

 State ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 17 12 6 862 1,758 826 339 

 Local ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 172 78 19 1,468 15,915 5,198 1,314 

 

1

 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

 

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2004 to August 2006,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2004

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 68,972 637 63,102 

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,611 391,934 3,242 361,855 886 148,575 27.3 41.1 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,255 419,612 3,789 385,016 1,427 262,049 37.7 68.1 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,180 427,533 3,876 405,574 1,142 185,486 29.5 45.7 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 986 101,358 891 93,332 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,516 380,403 3,095 344,772 1,203 212,673 38.9 61.7 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,288 525,079 3,848 464,903 1,136 190,180 29.5 40.9 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,482 462,326 4,004 425,629 1,400 246,169 35.0 57.8 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,885 296,339 2,637 277,086 963 189,634 36.5 68.4 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 872 84,809 794 78,663 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,501 371,159 3,056 332,314 2,p 1,213 2,p 184,534 p 39.7 p 55.5 

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

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

 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. p = preliminary.

 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more

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

August June July August August June July August

2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006

 United States1

 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 645 1,489 1,511 708 67,582 164,761 166,857 72,844 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 126 296 218 150 13,090 37,376 17,043 14,506 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 48 23 10 1,868 5,809 1,618 783 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 103 248 195 140 11,222 31,567 15,425 13,723 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 170 344 313 163 18,286 36,740 30,866 21,113 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 92 190 178 96 8,771 20,426 15,176 10,808 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34 80 82 31 5,988 8,564 8,541 7,226 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 44 74 53 36 3,527 7,750 7,149 3,079 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 138 378 569 117 14,023 44,200 86,786 13,084 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 111 292 487 94 10,618 36,225 77,161 10,974 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 86 82 23 3,405 7,975 9,625 2,110 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 211 471 411 278 22,183 46,445 32,162 24,141 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 55 32 16 1,717 5,396 2,324 1,018 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 194 416 379 262 20,466 41,049 29,838 23,123 

 

 

1

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

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

 the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, 

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, 

Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, 

Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

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

 

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

August June July August August June July August

2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006

 Total1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 645 1,489 1,511 708 67,582 164,761 166,857 72,844 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 15 12 6 709 1,636 1,510 762 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 4 3 ( 2

 ) – 375 217 ( 2 )

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 12 14 3 ( 2 ) 1,262 1,101 196 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 4 4 3 201 819 414 577 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 182 361 341 227 19,530 35,270 26,385 20,339 

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

 ) 4 5 – ( 2 ) 355 375 –

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 14 5 3 397 1,735 297 232 

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 5 ( 2

 ) – – 1,671 ( 2 ) –

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 92 81 40 2,031 7,581 5,371 2,497 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 40 39 11 3,488 4,456 4,104 1,255 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 6 3 ( 2

 ) – 408 183 ( 2 )

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 5 3 4 684 393 262 237 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 61 46 23 2,128 9,144 7,333 2,128 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 40 66 14 1,000 6,786 10,104 2,227 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 12 22 4 1,755 813 2,846 306 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 10 8 5 487 880 1,757 279 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 26 53 15 3,954 3,246 5,767 5,785 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 22 12 4 596 2,361 2,629 282 

Maine ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 4 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 287 ( 2 ) –

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 16 13 5 219 1,455 1,421 547 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 10 7 4 873 795 441 277 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 29 88 228 14 2,838 9,298 41,722 1,274 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 21 11 ( 2

 ) 502 1,971 922 ( 2 )

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 13 6 ( 2

 ) 481 1,023 364 ( 2 )

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 33 32 11 404 3,017 2,979 930 

Montana ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 7 ( 2

 ) – – 559 ( 2 ) –

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 6 5 ( 2

 ) 200 615 685 ( 2 )

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 14 7 6 648 1,597 439 392 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 4 ( 2

 ) – – 625 ( 2 ) –

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 85 42 24 1,786 13,182 3,662 1,866 

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

 ) 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 891 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 42 44 62 63 6,164 4,453 4,837 7,042 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 14 11 14 1,323 1,332 1,233 1,712 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 4 – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 436 –

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 59 79 23 2,881 5,903 10,108 3,772 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 4 8 ( 2

 ) – 288 1,290 ( 2 )

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 26 20 15 ( 2 ) 3,275 2,186 1,130 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 41 119 91 53 3,272 13,932 6,926 4,815 

Rhode Island ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 11 4 ( 2

 ) 326 1,825 272 ( 2 )

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 11 13 12 678 1,190 1,143 1,267 

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

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 26 11 8 844 2,659 900 501 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 44 29 28 2,730 4,282 2,816 2,127 

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

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

 ) 5 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 542 235 ( 2 )

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 9 18 12 918 2,480 1,666 3,366 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 19 12 18 730 1,721 867 1,517 

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

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

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 44 68 20 1,771 5,094 7,894 1,573 

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

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 19 10 14 1,210 2,071 860 1,555 

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

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

State