1

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 06-1998

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Friday, November 24, 2006

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally 

adjusted, November 2001-October 2006

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 

Private nonfarm

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally 

adjusted, November 2001-October 2006

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Manufacturing

Total

Private nonfarm

MASS LAYOFFS IN OCTOBER 2006

In October 2006, employers took 1,171 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 113,724, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of layoff

events increased by 39 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims decreased by

3,049. During October 2006, 398 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally

adjusted, resulting in 54,852 initial claims. Both the number of events and the number of initial claims in manufacturing were higher than a month earlier. (See table 1.)

In October 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, down from 4.6

percent the prior month and 4.9 percent in October 2005. Total nonfarm payroll employment, seasonally

adjusted, increased by 92,000 over the month and by about 2.0 million over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 36 percent of the total initial claims in October. The industry with the highest number of mass

layoff initial claims was temporary help services with 8,283, followed by heavy duty truck manufacturing and
2

Temporary help services ........................................ 8,283 1998 18,760

Heavy duty truck manufacturing ............................. 2006

Automobile manufacturing ...................................... (1) 2001 7,563

Farm labor contractors and crew leaders .............. 3,255 1998 9,617

Farm machinery and equipment manufacturing ....... 2,380 1999 3,986

Fruit and vegetable canning .................................... 2,060 2002 4,500

Motor vehicle power train components

 manufacturing ...................................................... 1,948 2006 1,948

Motion picture and video production ..................... 1,904 1997 7,692

Discount department stores .................................... 1,866 2002 4,959

Professional employer organizations ....................... 1,859 2001

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in October 2006

Industry Initial claims

October peak

Year

Initial claims

3,523

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 1

(

1

) (1)

automobile manufacturing. Together, these three industries accounted for 21 percent of all initial claims due

to mass layoffs in October. (See table A.)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff events and 47 percent of all related

initial claims filed in October; a year earlier, manufacturing comprised 28 percent of events and 41 percent of

initial claims. In the current month, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (19,224, mostly in motor vehicle manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (5,246)

and machinery manufacturing (5,167). (See table 3.)

Administrative and waste services accounted for 15 percent of events and 13 percent of initial claims

filed in October, with the majority of layoffs in temporary help services and professional employer organizations. Retail trade accounted for 8 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims during the month,

largely from general merchandise stores. Construction accounted for 10 percent of events and 7 percent

of initial claims in October, largely from specialty trade contractors. Ten percent of all layoff events and 6

percent of initial claims filed during the month were from agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, mostly in

the farm labor contractors and crew leaders industry.

Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of both mass layoff events and initial claims filed in

the current month, largely from educational services and from executive, legislative, and general government.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in October 2006, at 964, was up 59

from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 6,863 to 98,804. (See table 2.)

The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in machinery manufacturing (+3,879), wood

product manufacturing (+3,440), and transportation equipment manufacturing (+3,383). The largest over-theyear decreases in initial claims were reported in motion picture and sound recording industries (-2,224), apparel manufacturing (-1,922), and professional and technical services (-1,642).

From January through October 2006, the total number of initial claims, at 1,093,702, was the lowest

reported for any January-October period in program history. Collection of comparable mass layoff data

for the January-October period began in 1996.
3

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

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

in the West, 32,780. Administrative and support services and agriculture and forestry support activities accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest had the

second largest number of initial claims, 28,833, followed by the South, 23,687. Transportation equipment

manufacturing accounted for 35 percent of initial claims in both the Midwest and the South regions. The

Northeast, with 13,504, had the lowest number of initial claims. (See table 5.)

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

South (+6,071), the West (+1,658), and the Midwest (+992). The Northeast experienced the only regional

decrease (-1,858). Four geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass layoffs. The largest increase was in the East South Central division (+7,323), followed

by the Pacific (+1,763) and East North Central (+1,242). Of the five divisions with over-the-year decreases,

the largest declines were in the Middle Atlantic (-1,591) and West South Central (-1,577).

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

in October (25,931), followed by Kentucky (9,645), Pennsylvania (6,920), Michigan (6,432), and Illinois

(5,508). These five states accounted for 54 percent of all mass layoff events and 55 percent of all initial

claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 6.)

Kentucky had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+6,935), largely due

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

(+2,341), followed by South Carolina (+1,409). The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred

in Ohio (-1,930) and Delaware (-1,583).

From January to October, California reported 255,626 mass layoff initial claims, 23 percent of the

national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were Michigan (94,486),

Pennsylvania (66,594), New York (61,989), and Ohio (59,445).

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 November 2006 is scheduled to be released on Thursday,

December 21, 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, November 2002 to October 2006,

seasonally adjusted

2002

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 

September .............................................................. 1,132 116,773 1,008 107,431 381 45,040 

October ................................................................... 1,171 113,724 1,045 104,126 398 54,852 

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, November 2002 to October 2006,

not seasonally adjusted

2002

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 

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

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

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

October August September October October August September October

2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ...................................................................... 1,114 1,193 1,132 1,171 104,584 127,944 116,773 113,724 

 Total, private nonfarm ............................................... 986 1,060 1,008 1,045 94,798 117,993 107,431 104,126 

 Manufacturing ......................................................... 328 357 381 398 45,475 59,256 45,040 54,852 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 .................................................................... 905 708 865 964 91,941 72,844 87,699 98,804 

Total, private ............................................................... 850 675 819 913 87,226 70,352 83,317 93,939 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ................. 93 19 34 93 6,532 1,298 2,043 5,806 

 Total, private nonfarm ............................................... 757 656 785 820 80,694 69,054 81,274 88,133 

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

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

 Construction ............................................................ 88 50 99 100 5,755 3,473 6,643 6,445 

 Manufacturing ......................................................... 249 203 296 311 37,276 28,494 39,076 46,737 

 Food .................................................................... 61 26 32 56 5,666 1,559 2,763 5,246 

 Beverage and tobacco products ......................... 4 ( 2 ) 6 9 261 ( 2 ) 581 711 

 Textile mills ......................................................... 11 11 12 11 1,296 1,302 1,751 1,388 

 Textile product mills ............................................ 5 4 5 ( 2 ) 531 328 465 ( 2 )

 Apparel ................................................................ 11 4 9 9 2,589 264 1,073 667 

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

 Wood products .................................................... ( 2 ) 19 28 35 ( 2 ) 2,240 2,645 3,548 

 Paper .................................................................. 9 6 6 6 748 425 741 456 

 Printing and related support activities ................. – 5 ( 2 ) 5 – 325 ( 2 ) 315 

 Petroleum and coal products .............................. ( 2 ) – 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 235 ( 2 )

 Chemicals ........................................................... 8 4 4 4 682 373 284 332 

 Plastics and rubber products .............................. 11 9 16 13 1,097 645 1,786 1,295 

 Nonmetallic mineral products .............................. 8 ( 2 ) 6 11 ( 2 ) 140 835 787 

 Primary metals .................................................... 9 9 7 15 1,037 816 876 1,349 

 Fabricated metal products .................................. 12 10 22 16 863 673 2,149 1,395 

 Machinery ........................................................... 9 14 24 24 1,288 2,210 4,772 5,167 

 Computer and electronic products ...................... 20 16 8 8 1,764 1,590 451 631 

 Electrical equipment and appliances .................. 4 8 11 9 1,061 1,517 1,395 1,879 

 Transportation equipment ................................... 49 44 69 55 15,841 12,428 13,330 19,224 

 Furniture and related products ............................ 8 6 15 11 762 935 1,919 1,040 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............................. 6 ( 2 ) 7 6 688 ( 2 ) 571 629 

 Wholesale trade ...................................................... 10 17 12 13 812 1,076 908 829 

 Retail trade .............................................................. 72 69 72 75 5,666 5,975 6,619 6,557 

 Transportation and warehousing ............................ 29 61 24 31 2,697 5,513 1,965 3,053 

 Information .............................................................. 26 29 31 23 5,300 4,477 3,337 2,516 

 Finance and insurance ............................................ 24 15 26 26 1,656 1,007 1,937 2,123 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ......................... 4 ( 2 ) 4 3 244 ( 2 ) 311 416 

 Professional and technical services ........................ 28 24 22 17 2,967 2,202 3,222 1,325 

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

 Administrative and waste services .......................... 132 113 110 140 11,017 10,961 9,950 12,596 

 Educational services ............................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 436 ( 2 )

 Health care and social assistance .......................... 7 17 21 9 621 1,133 2,383 546 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......................... 22 12 15 22 1,568 649 944 1,475 

 Accommodation and food services ......................... 53 33 36 40 4,168 2,281 2,728 2,583 

 Other services, except public administration .......... 3 7 6 5 173 854 453 287 

 Unclassified ............................................................ 5 1 – – 356 54 – –

Government ................................................................ 55 33 46 51 4,715 2,492 4,382 4,865 

 Federal .................................................................... 16 8 8 16 1,551 839 852 1,721 

 State ........................................................................ 12 6 10 17 992 339 1,272 1,489 

 Local ....................................................................... 27 19 28 18 2,172 1,314 2,258 1,655 

 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, October 2004 to October 2006,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants

2004

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 r 190,186 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 r 246,181 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 r 192,793 36.5 r 69.6

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 r 1,353 r 263,787 r 44.3 r 79.4

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

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

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

Third Quarter ...................................... 3,084 327,400 2,776 304,670 2,p 836 2,p 104,458 p 30.1 p 34.3 

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

 1

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

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

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

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

 2

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

data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

Mass layoffs Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

October August September October October August September October

2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006

 United States 1

 .................................................... 905 708 865 964 91,941 72,844 87,699 98,804 

Northeast .................................................................... 175 150 126 143 15,362 14,506 12,451 13,504 

 New England .......................................................... 12 10 20 14 1,233 783 2,532 966 

 Middle Atlantic ........................................................ 163 140 106 129 14,129 13,723 9,919 12,538 

South .......................................................................... 158 163 209 183 17,616 21,113 23,990 23,687 

 South Atlantic ......................................................... 85 96 98 111 8,903 10,808 10,807 9,228 

 East South Central ................................................. 25 31 50 46 4,194 7,226 7,830 11,517 

 West South Central ................................................ 48 36 61 26 4,519 3,079 5,353 2,942 

Midwest ...................................................................... 199 117 208 223 27,841 13,084 25,348 28,833 

 East North Central .................................................. 154 94 167 177 21,404 10,974 19,269 22,646 

 West North Central ................................................. 45 23 41 46 6,437 2,110 6,079 6,187 

West ........................................................................... 373 278 322 415 31,122 24,141 25,910 32,780 

 Mountain ................................................................. 32 16 18 35 3,285 1,018 2,092 3,180 

 Pacific ..................................................................... 341 262 304 380 27,837 23,123 23,818 29,600 

 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

October August September October October August September October

2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006

 Totat 1

 ...................................................................... 905 708 865 964 91,941 72,844 87,699 98,804 

Alabama ..................................................................... 4 6 13 5 569 762 1,015 467 

Alaska ......................................................................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 264 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 266 

Arizona ....................................................................... 6 3 ( 2 ) 3 606 196 ( 2 ) 295 

Arkansas .................................................................... 4 3 ( 2 ) – 767 577 ( 2 ) –

California .................................................................... 315 227 281 336 25,317 20,339 21,642 25,931 

Colorado ..................................................................... 6 – 3 6 510 – 294 517 

Connecticut ................................................................ – 3 4 ( 2 ) – 232 414 ( 2 )

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

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

Florida ........................................................................ 36 40 46 56 2,706 2,497 3,627 3,289 

Georgia ....................................................................... 16 11 20 16 1,739 1,255 1,555 2,207 

Hawaii ......................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 422 

Idaho .......................................................................... 5 4 ( 2 ) 6 476 237 ( 2 ) 664 

Illinois ......................................................................... 35 23 38 39 5,717 2,128 3,578 5,508 

Indiana ........................................................................ 14 14 25 19 1,940 2,227 3,166 4,281 

Iowa ............................................................................ 13 4 8 15 2,473 306 817 2,664 

Kansas ....................................................................... ( 2 ) 5 8 3 ( 2 ) 279 986 176 

Kentucky ..................................................................... 10 15 23 24 2,710 5,785 5,133 9,645 

Louisiana .................................................................... 3 4 26 4 215 282 2,041 365 

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

Maryland ..................................................................... 5 5 4 6 451 547 433 574 

Massachusetts ........................................................... 6 4 10 10 669 277 937 707 

Michigan ..................................................................... 41 14 34 43 6,276 1,274 4,072 6,432 

Minnesota ................................................................... 18 ( 2 ) 9 10 1,579 ( 2 ) 2,377 880 

Mississippi .................................................................. 4 ( 2 ) 7 3 356 ( 2 ) 847 202 

Missouri ...................................................................... 8 11 12 13 1,773 930 1,254 901 

Montana ..................................................................... 6 – ( 2

 ) 5 695 – ( 2 ) 672 

Nebraska .................................................................... 4 ( 2 ) 4 4 447 ( 2 ) 645 345 

Nevada ....................................................................... 6 6 7 4 764 392 1,018 274 

New Hampshire .......................................................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) –

New Jersey ................................................................. 30 24 12 15 2,248 1,866 1,898 1,043 

New Mexico ................................................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 175 465 

New York .................................................................... 52 63 33 39 4,806 7,042 3,126 4,575 

North Carolina ............................................................ 16 14 7 7 1,423 1,712 842 592 

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

Ohio ............................................................................ 33 23 39 35 4,820 3,772 5,276 2,890 

Oklahoma ................................................................... 3 ( 2 ) 3 4 500 ( 2 ) 269 691 

Oregon ....................................................................... 5 15 9 19 675 1,130 958 1,818 

Pennsylvania .............................................................. 81 53 61 75 7,075 4,815 4,895 6,920 

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

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

South Carolina ............................................................ 4 12 9 16 428 1,267 1,645 1,837 

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

Tennessee .................................................................. 7 8 7 14 559 501 835 1,203 

Texas .......................................................................... 38 28 30 18 3,037 2,127 2,916 1,886 

Utah ............................................................................ – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

Vermont ...................................................................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 212 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Virginia ....................................................................... 7 12 8 9 573 3,366 1,748 598 

Washington ................................................................ 16 18 10 16 1,527 1,517 909 1,163 

West Virginia .............................................................. – ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 207 ( 2 )

Wisconsin ................................................................... 31 20 31 41 2,651 1,573 3,177 3,535 

Wyoming .................................................................... ( 2 ) – – 3 ( 2 ) – – 179 

Puerto Rico ................................................................. 11 14 12 6 854 1,555 1,714 729 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. NOTE: Dash represents zero. 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

State