1

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 04-2168

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, October 21, 2004

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

MASS LAYOFFS IN SEPTEMBER 2004

In September 2004, employers took 708 mass layoff actions, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s

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

number of workers involved totaled 68,972. (See table 1.) Both the number of events and initial claims

were lower than a year ago. From January through September 2004, the total number of events, 11,725,

and initial claims, 1,187,546, were lower than in January-September 2003 (14,073 and 1,399,510, respectively).

Industry Distribution

The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 27,382 initial

claims in September, 40 percent of the total. (See table A.) Temporary help services, with 6,789 initial

claims, accounted for 10 percent of all initial claims in September.

The manufacturing sector had 27 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of all initial claims

filed in September. A year ago, manufacturing reported 31 percent of events and 38 percent of initial

claims. The number of manufacturing events this month was the lowest for any September since 1997,

and the number of initial claims was the lowest for any September since 1998. Within manufacturing, the

number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (7,400, mainly automotive-related), followed

by food processing (4,848) and electrical equipment and appliances (3,211). (See table 2.)

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

filed in September, with layoffs mainly in temporary help services. Ten percent of all layoff events and 9

percent of initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, primarily in general merchandise stores.

Accommodation and food services accounted for 9 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims during

the month, mainly in full-service restaurants. Construction also accounted for 9 percent of events and 6

percent of initial claims, mostly among specialty trade contractors. An additional 4 percent of events and

5 percent of initial claims were from the information sector, largely in motion picture and sound recording.

Government establishments accounted for 6 percent of events and initial claims filed during the month,

mostly in elementary and secondary schools.

Compared with September 2003, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in computer and

electronic products (-4,078), textile mills (-2,809), professional and technical services (-2,021), and motion
2

Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in September 2004p

Industry Initial claims

September peak

Year

Initial claims

Temporary help services........................................ 2001 12,752

Automobile manufacturing...................................... 2004 5,060

Household refrigerator and home freezers.............. 2,981 2004 2,981

Motion picture and video production ..................... 2,663 1997 11,176

Elementary and secondary schools ........................ 2,363 2004 2,363

Supermarkets and other grocery stores ................. 1,755 2004 1,755

Hotels and motels, except casino hotels................. 1,741 2001 10,886

Professional employer organizations ....................... 1,418 2001 2,435

Men's pants, except work pants, mfg. ................... 1,395 1995 1,919

Full-service restaurants .......................................... 1,217 2001 1,702

p=preliminary.

 5,060

 6,789

picture and sound recording industries (-1,806). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were

reported in transportation equipment (+2,575) and electrical equipment and appliances (+2,069).

Geographic Distribution

Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in September due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 24,324. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services and motion picture and

sound recording industries accounted for 35 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The

South region was next, with 19,467 initial claims, followed by the Midwest, with 16,380, and the Northeast,

with 8,801.

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

decrease was in the West (-10,053), followed by the Northeast (-3,314) and the Midwest (-488). Five of

the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass

layoffs, with the largest decreases in the Pacific (-8,648), New England (-3,922), and West South Central

(-2,773) divisions. The largest over-the-year increases were in the East South Central (+1,499) and South

Atlantic (+1,454) divisions.

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

September (21,752), mostly in administrative and support services and in motion picture and sound recording industries. Florida reported 6,349 initial claims, followed by Michigan (5,997) and Pennsylvania (3,584).

These four states accounted for 57 percent of all layoff events and 55 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.)

California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-7,677), followed

by Texas (-2,622) and Illinois (-1,943). The largest over-the-year increases occurred in Michigan (+4,136)

and Florida (+3,794).

From January to September, California reported 292,850 mass layoff initial claims, 25 percent of the

national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were Michigan (79,483),

New York (77,502), Ohio (69,128), and Pennsylvania (64,614).
3

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 1.)

See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

______________________________

The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Third Quarter of 2004 is scheduled to be released on

Thursday, November 18, 2004. The report on Mass Layoffs in October 2004 is scheduled to be released

on Tuesday, November 23, 2004.
Technical Note

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

program that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying,

describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data

from each state’s unemployment insurance database. Each month,

states report on establishments which have at least 50 initial claims

filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These

establishments then are contacted by the state agency to determine

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

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on layoffs

lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment

insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that

month. All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the

first day of the month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is

included in the prior month's tabulations. This means that some

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

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

analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change should take this

calendar effect into consideration.

The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it

had been terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior

to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were not available.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200;

TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

Definitions

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent

period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of

eligibility.

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment

insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week

period, regardless of duration.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2002 to September 2004

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants

2002

July ..................................................... 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 

August ................................................ 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 

September ......................................... 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 

Third Quarter ...................................... 4,352 497,919 3,927 461,502 1,186 254,955 30.2 55.2 

October .............................................. 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 

November .......................................... 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 

December .......................................... 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 

Fourth Quarter ................................... 6,124 675,429 5,454 618,371 1,916 370,592 35.1 59.9 

2003

January .............................................. 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 

February ............................................. 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 

March ................................................. 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 

First Quarter ....................................... 4,885 463,421 4,451 431,650 1,502 297,608 33.7 68.9 

April .................................................... 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 

May .................................................... 1,703 174,204 1,538 160,729 

June ................................................... 1,691 157,552 1,336 127,743 

Second Quarter .................................. 4,975 493,168 4,344 441,409 1,799 348,966 41.4 79.1 

July ..................................................... 2,087 226,435 1,815 206,901 

August ................................................ 1,258 133,839 1,163 124,131 

September ......................................... 868 82,647 756 73,914 

Third Quarter ...................................... 4,213 442,921 3,734 404,946 1,190 227,878 31.9 56.3 

October .............................................. 1,523 158,240 1,265 137,706 

November .......................................... 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 

December .......................................... 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 

Fourth Quarter ................................... 4,890 489,416 4,292 443,980 1,690 326,261 39.4 73.5 

2004

January .............................................. 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 

February ............................................. 941 84,201 832 76,577 

March ................................................. 920 92,554 847 87,782 

First Quarter ....................................... 4,289 416,209 3,905 385,046 1,339 236,521 34.3 61.4 

April .................................................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 

May .................................................... 988 87,501 878 78,786 

June ................................................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 

Second Quarter .................................. 3,825 379,403 3,271 332,247 2.p 1,233 2,p 178,381 p37.7 p53.7

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

August

p

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

September

p

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

Third Quarterp

 ................................... 3,611 391,934 3,242 361,855 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

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

rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated

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

 2

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

Mass layoffs Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

Date
Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

Industry

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

September July August September September July August September

2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p

 Total1 .................................................................... 868 2,094 809 708 82,647 253,929 69,033 68,972 

Total, private ............................................................... 799 1,945 769 669 76,296 241,601 65,294 64,917 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ................ 43 85 24 32 2,382 6,724 1,418 1,815 

 Total, private nonfarm.............................................. 756 1,860 745 637 73,914 234,877 63,876 63,102 

 Mining ..................................................................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 259 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Utilities .................................................................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Construction ........................................................... 82 119 75 65 5,205 8,700 5,266 4,160 

 Manufacturing.......................................................... 271 885 194 189 31,428 145,895 17,698 25,808 

 Food ................................................................... 44 82 28 56 4,145 7,418 2,797 4,848 

 Beverage and tobacco products ......................... ( 2 ) 6 4 3 ( 2 ) 447 216 271 

 Textile mills ......................................................... 21 26 10 6 3,510 2,309 1,313 701 

 Textile product mills ............................................ ( 2 ) 15 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 1,966 ( 2 ) 438 

 Apparel ............................................................... 10 46 12 9 1,212 5,521 898 1,878 

 Leather and allied products ................................ ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 841 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Wood products ................................................... 11 33 7 4 969 5,523 566 268 

 Paper .................................................................. 10 ( 2 ) 3 4 834 ( 2 ) 193 369 

 Printing and related support activities ................ ( 2 ) 10 6 – ( 2 ) 1,195 447 –

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

 Chemicals ........................................................... 9 17 3 ( 2

 ) 602 2,032 189 ( 2 ) 

 Plastics and rubber products .............................. 10 98 9 12 886 13,053 614 976 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ............................. 5 16 4 8 420 2,242 369 759 

 Primary metals ................................................... 24 50 10 ( 2 ) 2,011 8,177 740 ( 2 )

 Fabricated metal products .................................. 5 62 21 11 826 6,961 2,031 794 

 Machinery ........................................................... 21 39 15 11 2,073 5,426 1,946 1,118 

 Computer and electronic products ..................... 26 31 12 11 4,820 4,012 963 742 

 Electrical equipment and appliances .................. 9 17 4 5 1,142 1,661 293 3,211 

 Transportation equipment .................................. 31 288 30 21 4,825 72,492 2,846 7,400 

 Furniture and related products ........................... 11 23 4 10 1,254 2,331 394 912 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............................. 10 14 7 10 662 1,798 534 842 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................... 22 30 11 14 1,808 2,853 749 1,028 

 Retail trade ............................................................. 69 104 98 68 5,789 10,541 8,752 5,974 

 Transportation and warehousing ............................ 20 112 52 21 1,723 9,522 5,130 1,692 

 Information ............................................................. 26 40 37 26 5,791 6,778 4,909 3,455 

 Finance and insurance ........................................... 35 35 29 16 2,371 2,438 2,117 1,211 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ......................... 5 17 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 382 1,580 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Professional and technical services ....................... 29 55 21 19 3,730 8,562 1,641 1,709 

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

 Administrative and waste services ......................... 109 253 124 106 9,606 22,955 10,220 10,255 

 Educational services............................................... 8 16 5 ( 2 ) 634 1,219 368 ( 2 )

 Health care and social assistance .......................... 13 69 32 15 945 4,623 2,117 975 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........................ 19 30 7 21 1,237 2,092 459 1,366 

 Accommodation and food services ........................ 37 68 41 61 2,623 5,100 2,581 4,173 

 Other services, except public administration........... 3 15 12 8 183 987 1,486 525 

 Unclassified ........................................................... 1 6 2 1 50 361 72 71 

Government ................................................................ 69 149 40 39 6,351 12,328 3,739 4,055 

 Federal ................................................................... 13 19 8 5 1,910 2,122 602 364 

 State ....................................................................... 14 24 8 3 1,417 2,247 800 233 

 Local ....................................................................... 42 106 24 31 3,024 7,959 2,337 3,458 

 1

 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. p = preliminary.

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division

Census region and division

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

September July August September September July August September

2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p

 United States1 ..................................................... 868 2,094 809 708 82,647 253,929 69,033 68,972 

Northeast ..................................................................... 107 289 166 101 12,115 27,200 17,163 8,801 

 New England ........................................................... 19 35 14 9 4,559 2,767 1,274 637 

 Middle Atlantic ......................................................... 88 254 152 92 7,556 24,433 15,889 8,164 

South ........................................................................... 196 487 217 204 19,287 55,404 16,351 19,467 

 South Atlantic .......................................................... 96 225 116 123 8,698 23,319 7,914 10,152 

 East South Central .................................................. 31 151 41 41 4,144 20,698 3,759 5,643 

 West South Central ................................................. 69 111 60 40 6,445 11,387 4,678 3,672 

Midwest ....................................................................... 165 706 151 125 16,868 118,913 14,653 16,380 

 East North Central ................................................... 125 604 125 99 12,646 99,614 11,886 13,827 

 West North Central .................................................. 40 102 26 26 4,222 19,299 2,767 2,553 

West ............................................................................ 400 612 275 278 34,377 52,412 20,866 24,324 

 Mountain ................................................................. 30 53 17 15 2,568 5,010 1,099 1,163 

 Pacific ...................................................................... 370 559 258 263 31,809 47,402 19,767 23,161 

 1

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

 = preliminary. Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, 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.

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

State Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

September July August September September July August September

2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p

 Total1 ....................................................................... 868 2,094 809 708 82,647 253,929 69,033 68,972 

Alabama ..................................................................... 8 48 10 18 1,164 6,033 1,080 1,793 

Alaska ......................................................................... 3 – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 185 – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Arizona ....................................................................... 4 19 5 – 423 1,812 353 –

Arkansas .................................................................... 3 6 3 ( 2 ) 268 763 261 ( 2 )

California .................................................................... 345 504 246 246 29,429 41,702 18,768 21,752 

Colorado ..................................................................... 6 3 ( 2 ) 3 439 217 ( 2 ) 199 

Connecticut ................................................................ 4 4 4 ( 2 ) 291 255 268 ( 2 )

Delaware .................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – –

District of Columbia .................................................... – 3 – – – 470 – –

Florida ........................................................................ 43 90 78 86 2,555 6,491 4,842 6,349 

Georgia ....................................................................... 19 27 21 11 2,130 2,338 1,827 815 

Hawaii ......................................................................... 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 196 214 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Idaho .......................................................................... 6 11 5 3 463 944 266 331 

Illinois ......................................................................... 41 71 30 26 4,510 8,625 3,358 2,567 

Indiana ........................................................................ 13 96 19 19 983 20,435 1,707 2,767 

Iowa ............................................................................ 9 22 5 6 1,108 3,552 491 764 

Kansas ....................................................................... 6 17 4 4 547 2,023 587 380 

Kentucky ..................................................................... 16 79 15 11 2,259 12,944 1,182 2,892 

Louisiana .................................................................... 4 22 16 5 231 1,501 1,155 402 

Maine .......................................................................... – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Maryland ..................................................................... ( 2 ) 14 ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 1,274 ( 2 ) 529 

Massachusetts ........................................................... 10 19 7 6 1,047 1,435 678 439 

Michigan ..................................................................... 18 253 25 23 1,861 35,562 2,409 5,997 

Minnesota ................................................................... 7 13 7 6 511 1,884 897 441 

Mississippi .................................................................. ( 2 ) 8 6 3 ( 2 ) 500 613 314 

Missouri ...................................................................... 13 43 6 3 1,307 10,635 540 195 

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

 ) 3 – – ( 2 ) 402 – –

Nebraska .................................................................... 5 6 ( 2 ) 6 749 1,119 ( 2 ) 646 

Nevada ....................................................................... 12 11 4 7 879 1,094 302 471 

New Hampshire .......................................................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 530 ( 2 ) –

New Jersey ................................................................. 8 46 26 11 691 4,096 2,979 1,630 

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

New York .................................................................... 38 94 73 31 3,384 9,615 8,063 2,950 

North Carolina ............................................................ 11 13 9 10 897 1,118 577 712 

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

Ohio ............................................................................ 29 122 23 16 2,979 26,605 1,822 1,352 

Oklahoma ................................................................... 5 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 359 1,919 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Oregon ....................................................................... 5 32 ( 2 ) 6 375 3,921 ( 2 ) 370 

Pennsylvania .............................................................. 42 114 53 50 3,481 10,722 4,847 3,584 

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

 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 381 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

South Carolina ............................................................ 5 51 ( 2 ) 6 1,548 6,843 ( 2 ) 921 

South Dakota .............................................................. ––––––––

Tennessee .................................................................. 5 16 10 9 608 1,221 884 644 

Texas .......................................................................... 57 73 40 32 5,587 7,204 3,201 2,965 

Utah ............................................................................ – 5 – ( 2 ) – 499 – ( 2 )

Vermont ...................................................................... ( 2 ) ––– ( 2 ) –––

Virginia ....................................................................... 14 24 4 5 1,321 2,989 272 826 

Washington ................................................................ 14 20 8 7 1,624 1,565 753 819 

West Virginia .............................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Wisconsin ................................................................... 24 62 28 15 2,313 8,387 2,590 1,144 

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

Puerto Rico ................................................................. 7 14 9 30 573 1,234 803 4,059 

 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p

 = preliminary.

2

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