Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-1515

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, August 11, 2005

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2005

In the second quarter of 2005, 1,056 mass layoff actions were taken by employers that resulted in

the separation of 211,009 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures

released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both the total number of layoff

events and the number of separations were sharply lower than in April-June 2004. Both figures were at

their lowest levels for any second quarter since 2000. (See table A.) The declines over the year were

most notable in administrative and support services, transit and ground passenger transportation, and food

manufacturing. Extended mass layoffs that involve the movement of work within the same company or to a

different company, domestically or outside the U.S., occurred in 11 percent of the nonseasonal layoff events

and worker separations. (See table B.) Among employers who anticipated recalling laid-off workers, 49

percent expected to extend the offer to all laid-off workers. This is a lower proportion than a year earlier.

The completion of seasonal work accounted for 41 percent of all events and resulted in 111,931 separations during the period—the highest share and second highest level of private nonfarm seasonal separations for any second quarter since the program began in the second quarter of 1995. Layoffs due to internal

company restructuring (bankruptcy, business ownership change, financial difficulty, and reorganization) represented 14 percent of events and resulted in 25,927 separations, the lowest level for any second quarter.

Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 10 percent of all events and affected 20,565 workers, the fewest number of separations due to permanent closures for any second quarter.

In the second quarter of 2005, the national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted;

a year earlier it was 5.5 percent. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, increased by

1.8 percent or about 2 million jobs from April-June 2004 to April-June 2005.

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs

Extended mass layoff separations occurred in 300 of the 1,105 detailed industries for which data are

available for the second quarter of 2005. This is the fewest number of industries to have at least one extended mass layoff event in a second quarter.

Manufacturing industries accounted for 22 percent of private nonfarm layoff events and 18 percent of

separations during April-June 2005. (See table 1.) The 37,075 worker separations in manufacturing were

the fewest for manufacturing for any second quarter. In the second quarter of 2005, separations in this sector were concentrated in transportation equipment manufacturing (9,534), followed by food manufacturing

(6,964).
2

 2001

January-March ........... 1,546 304,171 306,535

April-June .................. 1,828 430,499 358,611

July-September .......... 1,629 330,391 336,298

October-December .... 2,372 459,771 456,068

 2002

January-March ........... 1,611 299,266 292,998

April-June .................. 1,624 344,606 299,598

July-September .......... 1,186 255,152 254,955

October-December .... 1,916 373,307 370,592

 2003

January-March ........... 1,502 286,947 297,608

April-June .................. 1,799 368,273 348,966

July-September .......... 1,190 236,333 227,909

October-December .... 1,690 325,333 326,328

 2004

January-March ........... 1,339 276,503 238,392

April-June .................. 1,358 278,831 254,063

July-September .......... 886 164,598 148,549

October-December .... 1,427 273,967 262,049

 2005

January-March ........... 1,144 188,397 186,030

April-June .................. 1,056 211,009 150,140

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

 Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

r

 = revised.

p

 = preliminary.

r

r

r

r

p

The accommodation and food services sector had 10 percent of events and 13 percent of separations,

mostly in food service contractors. Layoffs in the professional and technical services sector comprised 5

percent of events and 12 percent of separations, mostly among tax preparation services. Transportation

and warehousing accounted for 11 percent of private nonfarm layoff events and 12 percent of separations,

primarily in school and employee bus transportation. Cutbacks in arts, entertainment, and recreation accounted for 3 percent of events and 10 percent of separations, mainly in skiing facilities.

Information technology-producing industries (communication equipment, communications services, computer hardware, and software and computer services) accounted for 4 percent of layoff events and 6,211

worker separations in the second quarter of 2005, the fewest number of separations in the industry grouping

for a second quarter since 1995. (See table 6.) In the second quarter of 2004, these industries accounted

for 4 percent of layoff events and 11,830 separations. Layoffs in the information technology-producing industries in the second quarter of 2005 were most numerous in computer hardware with 1,811 separations,

followed by communication services.

Reasons for Extended Layoff

Layoffs due to the completion of seasonal work accounted for 41 percent of the extended layoff events

and resulted in 111,931 separations in the second quarter, over half of the total separations. (See table 2.)
3

Table B. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures,

second quarter 2005

Action Layoff events Separations

Total private nonfarm ............................. 1,056 211,009

 Total, excluding seasonal and

 vacation events ............................. 550 86,368

 Total events with movement

 of work ................................... 62 9,720

 Movement of work actions ...... 84 (3)

With separations reported .. 66 7,736

With separations unknown . 18 (3)

p

The questions on movement of work were not ask employers when the reason for

layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period.

A layoff event can involve more than one movement of work action.

Data not available.

= preliminary.

1

2

 1

 2

 3

p

Seasonal layoffs were most numerous among workers in professional and technical services, in amusement,

gambling, and recreation, and in food services and drinking places. Contract completion accounted for 18

percent of events and resulted in 26,703 separations during the second quarter. These layoffs were primarily

in administrative and support services, followed by specialty trade contractors and building construction.

Internal company restructuring (due to bankruptcy, business ownership change, financial difficulty, and

reorganization) accounted for 14 percent of layoff events and resulted in 25,927 separations. These layoffs

were mostly among workers in computer and electronic product manufacturing, in transportation equipment

manufacturing, and in credit intermediation and related activities. Over half of both the internal company restructuring layoff events and separations were due to reorganization within the company.

Movement of Work

Between April and June of 2005, 62 extended mass layoff events involved the movement of work; this

was about 11 percent of total extended mass layoff events, excluding those for seasonal and vacation reasons. (See table B.) These movements of work were to other U.S. locations or to locations outside of the

U.S., and they occurred either within the same company or to other companies. The extended mass layoff

events involving movement of work were associated with the separation of 9,720 workers, about 11 percent

of all separations resulting from nonseasonal/nonvacation mass layoff events. A year earlier, there were 86

layoff events and 16,240 separations associated with the movement of work. (See table 10.)

Among the 62 extended mass layoff events with reported relocation of work, 56 percent were permanent closures of worksites, which affected 5,476 workers. In comparison, for the 1,056 total layoff events

reported for the second quarter of 2005, only 10 percent involved the permanent closure of worksites.
4

Table C. Movement of work actions by type of separation where the number

of separations is known by employers, second quarter 2005

With separations reported .......... 66 7,736

Out of country ............................ 26 2,582

 Within company .................... 19 1,938

 Different company ................. 7 644

Domestic relocations .................. 37 4,560

 Within company .................... 31 3,907

 Different company ................. 6 653

Unable to assign place of

 relocation .............................. 3 594

Within company ......................... 53 6,439

 Domestic ............................... 31 3,907

 Out of country....................... 19 1,938

 Unable to assign .................... 3 594

Different company ...................... 13 1,297

 Domestic ............................... 6 653

 Out of country....................... 7 644

Action Layoff events Separations

By location

 1 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of work

were reported are shown.

 p = preliminary.

By company

p

1

Of the layoffs involving the movement of work, 65 percent of the events and 58 percent of the laid-off

workers were from manufacturing industries during the second quarter of 2005. (See table 7.) Among all

private nonfarm extended layoffs, manufacturing accounted for 22 percent of the events and 18 percent of

the separations.

Internal company restructuring (bankruptcy, business ownership change, financial difficulty, and reorganization) accounted for 77 percent of layoff events associated with work relocation and resulted in 7,886 separations during the second quarter. (See table 8.) Most of these were due to reorganization within the company. Only 14 percent of the layoff events in the total private nonfarm economy were because of internal

company restructuring.
5

 Table D. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended

 layoff, second quarter 2004-second quarter 2005

 Anticipate a recall ............... 55.2 41.1 64.2 51.4 63.6

 Timeframe

 Within 6 months .................. 84.6 84.1 84.8 85.5 88.4

 Within 3 months................. 55.5 66.8 33.1 53.4 57.7

 Size

 At least half ......................... 91.3 86.0 92.9 92.5 92.3

 All workers ........................ 52.3 46.7 49.8 43.2 49.3

Nature of the recall II

2005

IV

2004

I

2005

III

2004

II

2004 r p

Percentage of events

r

 = revised.

p

 = preliminary.

Among the regions, the Midwest and the Northeast each accounted for the largest proportion of workers

in extended mass layoffs associated with the movement of work in the second quarter of 2005 (26 percent

each), followed by the West (25 percent), and the South (22 percent).

As noted in table B, the 62 extended layoff events for the second quarter of 2005 discussed above

involve 84 identifiable relocations of work. An identifiable relocation of work occurs when the employer

provides sufficient information on the new location of work and/or the number of workers affected by the

movement. Some extended mass layoff events involve more than one relocation of work action. For example, an extended mass layoff event at an establishment may involve job loss due to movement of work

to both another domestic location of the company and a location out of the country. This would be counted as two movement of work actions. Of the 84 relocations, employers were able to provide information

on the specific separations (7,736 workers) associated with the movement of work component of the layoff in 66 actions, or 79 percent of the total actions for the second quarter of 2005. Thus, a range of 7,736

(separations in movement of work actions where the employer was able to provide specific detail) to 9,720

(total separations in all layoff events that included movement of work) is established for separations due to

the movement of work in the second quarter. (See table 10.)

In the 66 actions where employers were able to provide more complete separations information, 80 percent of relocations (53 out of 66) occurred among establishments within the same company. (See table C.)

In 58 percent of these relocations, the work activities were reassigned to places elsewhere in the U.S.

Almost 40 percent of the movement-of-work relocations involved out-of-country moves (26 out of 66).

The separation of 2,582 workers was associated with out-of-country relocations, about 3 percent of all

nonseasonal/nonvacation extended mass layoff separations. Domestic relocation of work—both within the

company and to other companies—affected 4,560 workers. (See table 11.)
6

 Number Percent Number

Size

 Total............ 1,056 100.0 211,009 100.0

50-99................ 408 38.6 29,071 13.8

100-149............ 244 23.1 28,420 13.5

150-199............ 134 12.7 22,415 10.6

200-299............ 125 11.8 28,866 13.7

300-499............ 76 7.2 27,416 13.0

500-999............ 49 4.6 31,382 14.9

1,000 or more.... 20 1.9 41,439 20.6

p

 = preliminary.

 Percent

Table E. Distribution of extended layoff events by size of layoff,

April-June 2005

Layoff events Separations

p

Recall Expectations

Sixty-four percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the second quarter of 2005 indicated they

anticipated some type of recall. This compares with 55 percent of the employers anticipating a recall a year

earlier and is the highest such proportion for a second quarter since 1998. (See table D.)

Among establishments expecting a recall, most employers expected to recall over one-half of the separated employees and to do so within 6 months. Forty-nine percent of the employers expected to extend the

offer to all laid-off workers.

Excluding layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period (in which 98 percent of the employers

expected a recall), employers expected to recall laid-off workers in 32 percent of the events. A year earlier

26 percent of employers expected a recall in nonseasonal and nonvacation events. In layoff events due to

internal company restructuring, employers anticipated a recall in only 3 percent of the events.

Size of Extended Layoff

Layoff events during the second quarter continued to be concentrated at the lower end of the extended

layoff-size spectrum, with 62 percent involving fewer than 150 workers. These events, however, accounted

for only 27 percent of all separations. (See table E.) Separations involving 500 or more workers accounted

for 35 percent of all separations, up from 33 percent in April-June 2004. The average size of layoffs (as

measured by separations per layoff event) differed widely by industry, ranging from a low of 63 separations

in paper manufacturing to a high of 1,041 in amusements, gambling, and recreation.

Initial Claimant Characteristics

A total of 150,140 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass layoffs in the second quarter of 2005. Of these claimants, 17 percent were black, 13 percent were Hispanic,

55 percent were women, 35 percent were 30 to 44 years of age, and 21 percent were 55 years of age or

older. (See table 3.) Among persons in the civilian labor force for the same period, 11 percent were

black, 13 percent were Hispanic, 46 percent were women, 35 percent were age 30 to 44, and 16 percent

were 55 years of age or older.
7

Table F. Mass layoff events and separations, selected metropolitan areas

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

 p = preliminary.

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

defined in Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 04-03, February 18, 2004.

Metropolitan area II

2005

II

2004

II

2005

II

2004 p

Events Separations

Total, nonmetropolitan areas............................. 176 139 33,885 25,545

Total, 367 metropolitan areas........................... 766 564 133,341 91,443

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. ....... 49 40 11,561 9,236

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana,

 Calif. ....................................................... 35 36 5,227 7,518

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long

 Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ............................. 62 39 12,594 7,276

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, Fla. .. 18 14 4,145 3,366

Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. ..................... 22 26 2,732 3,065

Salt Lake City, Utah .................................... 3 5 2,300 2,620

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington,

 Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. .................................. 25 21 3,432 2,193

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. ..... 13 7 4,427 2,139

Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas ......... 20 18 2,387 2,133

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. ................... 14 (1) 2,939 (1)

p

Geographic Distribution

In the second quarter, the number of separations due to extended mass layoff events was highest in the

Midwest (69,280), followed by the West (57,673), the Northeast (45,760), and the South (38,296). (See

table 4.) Extended mass layoffs in the Midwest were mainly in transit and ground passenger transportation,

food services and drinking places, and professional and technical services.

All four regions reported over-the-year decreases in separations, with the largest decrease occurring in

the South (-29,265), followed by the West (-15,386), the Northeast (-13,632), and the Midwest (-9,539).

Eight of the nine geographic divisions reported over-the-year declines in laid-off workers, with the largest

declines occurring in the South Atlantic (-22,471), Pacific (-17,929), and the Middle Atlantic (-8,753) divisions. The Mountain division reported the only increase in separations (+2,543).

Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the largest number of worker separations occurred in

Illinois (27,990), followed by California (23,736), and New Jersey (16,069). These three states accounted

for 26 percent of total layoff events and 32 percent of the separations during the second quarter of 2005.

They were followed by Colorado (14,766), Florida (14,259), New York (11,707), Michigan (11,587), and

Ohio (10,378). (See table 5.) After excluding the substantial impact of seasonal work, California reported

the most laid-off workers (17,562), largely due to layoffs in social assistance and in professional and technical

services.
8

Over the year, California reported the greatest decrease in workers laid off for all reasons during the

second quarter (-17,975), followed by Florida (-12,809), and New York (-7,664). The largest increases

occurred in New Jersey (+3,874) and Colorado (+3,750).

Fifty-three percent of events and 43 percent of separations (91,443) occurred in metropolitan areas in

the second quarter of 2005, compared with 56 percent of events and 48 percent of separations (133,341)

during the second quarter of 2004. Among the 367 metropolitan areas, Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-

Wis., reported the highest number of separations, 9,236. Next were Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana,

Calif., with 7,518 separations, and New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., with

7,276 separations. (See table F.) Employers located in nonmetropolitan areas separated 25,545 workers

in mass layoffs, down from 33,885 workers in the second quarter of 2004.

Note

The quarterly series on extended mass layoffs cover layoffs of at least 31-days duration that involve 50

or more individuals from a single establishment filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a consecutive 5-week period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is triggered at an establishment, the employer is contacted for additional information. Data for the second quarter are preliminary and subject to revision. This release also includes revised data for previous quarters. Data are not seasonally adjusted, but

survey data suggest that there is a seasonal pattern to layoffs. Thus, comparisons between consecutive

quarters should not be used as an indicator of trend.

For additional information about the program, see the Technical Note.

______________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in July 2005 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, August 23, 2005.
Technical Note

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

program which identifies, describes, and tracks the effects of

major job cutbacks, using data from each state’s unemployment

insurance database. Establishments which have at least 50

initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week

period are contacted by the state agency to determine whether

these separations are of at least 31 days duration, and, if so,

information is obtained on the total number of persons

separated and the reasons for these separations.

Establishments are identified according to industry

classification and location, and unemployment insurance

claimants are identified by such demographic factors as age,

race, gender, ethnic group, and place of residence. The program

yields information on an individual’s entire spell of

unemployment, to the point when regular unemployment

insurance benefits are exhausted.

Definitions

Establishment. A unit at a single physical location at which

predominantly one type of economic activity is conducted.

Extended layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for

unemployment insurance benefits from an establishment during

a 5-week period, with at least 50 workers separated for more than

30 days.

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.

Layoff. The separation of persons from an employer as part

of a mass layoff event. (See below.) Such layoffs involve both

persons subject to recall and those who are terminated by the

establishment.

Mass layoff. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment

insurance benefits from an establishment beginning in a given

month, regardless of duration.

Worksite closure. The complete closure of either multi-unit

or single-unit establishments or the partial closure of a multiunit establishment where entire worksites affected by layoffs

are closed or planned to be closed.

Movement of work concepts and questions

Because of the employer interview component, the BLS

decided to use the MLS program as a vehicle for collecting

additional information on offshoring and outsourcing

associated with job loss, by adding questions that address

movement of work. The term “moving work” means that the

company experiencing the layoff has reassigned work activities

that were performed at a worksite by the company’s employees

(1) to another worksite within the company; (2) to another

company under formal arrangements at the same worksite; or (3)

to another company under formal arrangements at another

worksite. The type of work activities subject to movement can

include accounting, customer service, cleaning, warehousing, etc.

 “Overseas relocation” is the movement of work from within

the U.S. to locations outside of the U.S. “Overseas relocation”

can occur within the same company and involve movement of

work to a different location of that company outside of the U.S.,

or to a different company altogether.

“Domestic relocation” is the movement of work to other

locations inside the U.S., either within the same company or to

a different company.

 “Overseas relocation” and “domestic relocation” are no

longer used in the same way as they were in earlier extended

mass layoff news releases. Therefore, the data presented in this

news release are not comparable to those that were presented

in earlier news releases.

 Questions on movement of work and location are asked for

all identified layoff events when the reason for separation is

other than “seasonal work” or “vacation period.” Seasonal and

vacation layoff events were excluded because movement of

work appears unlikely.

Questions on movement of work are asked after the analyst

verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more than 30

days, and obtained the total number of workers separated from

jobs, the date the layoff began, and the economic reason for the

layoff. If the reason for layoff is other than seasonal or vacation,

the employer was asked the following:

(1) “Did this layoff include your company moving work from

this location(s) to a different geographic location(s) within your

company?”

(2) “Did this layoff include your company moving work that

was performed in-house by your employees to a different

company, through contractual arrangements?”

A “yes” response to either question is followed by:

“Is the location inside or outside of the U.S.?” and “How

many of the layoffs were a result of this relocation?”

Layoff actions are classified as “overseas relocation” if the

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

that the location(s) was outside of the U.S. Domestic relocation

is determined if the employer responds “yes” to questions 1

and/or 2 and indicates that the location(s) was within the U.S.

After asking the movement of work questions, the employer

interview continues and responses are obtained for questions

on recall expectations and open/closed status of the worksite.

Reliability of the data

The identification of establishments and layoff events in the

MLS program and associated characteristics of claimants is
based on administrative data on covered establishments and

unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject

to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors

such as typographical errors may occur but are not likely to be

significant. While the MLS establishments and layoff events

are not subject to sampling error, and all such employers are

asked the employer interview questions, the employer

responses are subject to nonsampling error. Nonsampling error

can occur for many reasons, including the inability to obtain

information for all respondents, inability or unwillingness of

respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in

the collection or processing of the data. For the second quarter

of 2005, outright refusal to participate in the employer interview

accounted for 2.4 percent of all private nonfarm events.

Although included in the total number of instances involving

the movement of work, for the second quarter, employers in 18

relocations were unable to provide the number of separations

specifically associated with the movement of work, 6 of which

involved out-of-country moves.

Other information

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

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

TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2004 and 2005

Industry

II I II II I II II I II

 2004r 2005r 2005p 2004r 2005r 2005p 2004r 2005r 2005p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................. 1,358 1,144 1,056 278,831 188,397 211,009 254,063 186,030 150,140 

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

 ) 12 – ( 2 ) 1,138 – ( 2 ) 1,108 –

 Utilities ............................................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 771 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 606 

 Construction .................................................... 119 275 102 17,915 29,734 13,635 22,435 32,656 13,546 

 Manufacturing ................................................. 302 335 237 52,255 51,052 37,075 55,334 55,973 33,303 

 Food ........................................................... 69 73 50 10,916 13,180 6,964 11,801 14,773 6,826 

 Beverage and tobacco products ................ ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,221 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,073 ( 2 )

 Textile mills ................................................ 13 8 ( 2 ) 2,089 1,531 ( 2 ) 2,044 1,391 ( 2 )

 Textile product mills ................................... 9 11 3 2,285 1,619 243 2,319 2,002 203 

 Apparel ....................................................... 15 11 10 2,204 1,610 945 1,836 1,396 984 

 Leather and allied products ........................ ( 2 ) 3 – ( 2 ) 313 – ( 2 ) 265 –

 Wood products ........................................... 7 17 6 758 2,037 690 577 2,348 645 

 Paper ......................................................... 9 7 3 1,127 710 189 989 935 251 

 Printing and related support activities ........ 15 13 10 2,027 1,307 1,551 1,784 1,683 1,291 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................... – 3 – – 228 – – 255 –

 Chemicals ................................................. 12 8 ( 2

 ) 1,694 1,475 ( 2 ) 1,601 1,014 ( 2 ) 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................... 13 19 11 1,957 2,756 1,161 1,756 2,571 1,203 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................... ( 2 ) 24 9 ( 2 ) 3,088 1,236 ( 2 ) 2,319 923 

 Primary metals ........................................... 9 8 10 1,651 1,013 1,768 2,105 1,111 1,611 

 Fabricated metal products ......................... 18 20 17 3,496 2,778 3,022 2,864 3,248 1,916 

 Machinery .................................................. 14 17 18 2,204 2,157 2,337 2,289 3,362 2,026 

 Computer and electronic products ............. 16 14 20 3,101 1,892 2,712 4,087 2,500 2,040 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ......... 9 13 11 1,614 1,280 2,333 1,905 2,121 3,040 

 Transportation equipment .......................... 43 41 41 10,463 7,643 9,534 12,867 9,291 8,175 

 Furniture and related products ................... 18 13 10 2,260 2,074 1,229 2,516 1,776 1,288 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing .................... 8 6 3 1,551 1,140 212 1,030 539 242 

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 22 26 14 4,386 2,357 2,304 3,090 2,737 1,560 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 81 114 39 15,326 28,202 9,054 16,399 24,560 6,791 

 Transportation and warehousing .................... 141 49 114 35,933 12,203 25,275 34,673 8,477 18,994 

 Information ...................................................... 47 36 29 10,969 9,192 5,105 11,671 8,763 4,037 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 40 44 22 7,642 7,886 2,846 7,811 7,453 2,651 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 896 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 790 

 Professional and technical services ................ 63 25 57 16,644 4,233 25,778 14,973 3,597 12,705 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 8 ( 2 ) 4 1,045 ( 2 ) 473 1,108 ( 2 ) 346 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 133 123 93 29,651 25,302 13,844 26,029 24,870 11,870 

 Educational services ....................................... 6 ( 2 ) 4 497 ( 2 ) 278 556 ( 2 ) 299 

 Health care and social assistance .................. 162 24 143 22,330 3,952 17,598 18,294 2,649 13,758 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 52 24 31 23,660 3,796 20,167 5,780 2,343 3,059 

 Accommodation and food services ................. 120 42 104 30,044 7,127 28,012 27,334 8,207 19,575 

 Other services, except public administration .. 54 5 53 8,536 843 7,898 7,120 928 6,250 

 Unclassified ..................................................... 1 – – 52 – – 52 – –

 

 1

 For the second quarter of 2005, data on layoffs were reported by employers administrative data, will be unaffected and will continue to cover the

in all states and the District of Columbia. Due to budget constraints in the MLS total economy.

program, beginning with data for the first quarter of 2004, the scope of quarterly 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

extended mass layoffs and plant closings has been redefined to cover only the r

 = revised.

private nonfarm economy. Quarterly information on layoff events in agriculture p

 = preliminary.

and government are no longer being collected. However, the monthly reporting NOTE: Dash represents zero.

of the MLS program in the release, Mass Layoffs , which is based only on

Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance Layoff events
Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2004 and 2005

Reason for layoff

II I II II I II II I II

 2004r 2005r 2005p 2004r 2005r 2005p 2004r 2005r 2005p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ......................... 1,358 1,144 1,056 278,831 188,397 211,009 254,063 186,030 150,140 

Automation .............................................. – – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) 

Bankruptcy ............................................... 17 29 12 3,342 5,976 3,591 2,597 4,115 2,080 

Business ownership change .................... 27 43 15 7,370 10,623 3,386 5,268 7,076 1,592 

Contract cancellation ............................... 33 17 17 5,171 3,247 2,082 4,042 3,032 1,868 

Contract completed ................................. 223 162 188 42,129 29,200 26,703 44,262 34,082 24,586 

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

Environment-related ................................ ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

Financial difficulty .................................... 40 35 30 7,456 5,915 4,607 4,290 4,545 2,756 

Import competition ................................... 8 13 9 1,606 2,186 1,465 1,051 1,657 842 

Labor dispute ........................................... 11 8 4 2,160 1,648 615 1,842 1,167 496 

Material shortage ..................................... ( 2

 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 497 ( 2 ) ( 2

 ) 433 ( 2

 ) 

Model changeover ................................... 4 – – 932 – – 950 – –

Natural disaster ....................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Non-natural disaster ................................ – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

Plant or machine repair ........................... 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,336 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,240 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Product line discontinued ........................ 10 8 6 2,036 874 2,355 2,145 1,014 1,093 

Reorganization within company ............... 143 133 89 24,862 24,684 14,343 27,242 23,699 11,367 

Seasonal work ......................................... 478 372 430 111,711 57,121 111,931 88,530 51,447 64,467 

Slack work ............................................... 122 186 116 18,886 20,684 16,574 24,389 29,608 19,903 

Vacation period ........................................ 93 ( 2 ) 76 15,673 ( 2 ) 12,710 14,255 ( 2 ) 9,108 

Weather-related ....................................... ( 2 ) 29 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3,417 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,576 ( 2 )

Other ........................................................ 35 28 16 7,081 5,305 2,342 5,625 5,011 2,014 

Not reported ............................................. 101 72 43 26,232 15,843 7,461 24,601 15,513 7,106 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

 2

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

 r

 = revised.

Initial claimants for

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

private nonfarm sector, first and second quarters, 2005

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55and over

I II I II I II I II I II I II

 2005r 2005p 2005r 2005p 2005r 2005p 2005r 2005p 2005r 2005p 2005r 2005p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........... 1,144 1,056 186,030 150,140 14.5 17.0 13.5 12.8 38.9 55.2 16.1 21.1 

Alabama ...................................... ( 2

 ) 3 ( 2 ) 279 – 47.7 – 2.9 5.7 81.7 8.1 22.6 

Alaska .......................................... ( 2 ) 9 ( 2 ) 1,181 – 3.7 2.9 20.3 31.7 40.1 8.6 21.3 

Arizona ........................................ 3 5 585 862 5.5 .8 19.8 77.7 40.5 46.1 8.9 18.1 

Arkansas ..................................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 635 21.7 56.5 18.3 .9 34.2 85.4 .8 20.2 

California ..................................... 133 129 26,678 14,695 9.3 8.3 37.1 33.7 48.7 55.9 14.8 17.9 

Colorado ...................................... 8 12 1,003 1,431 3.9 4.5 38.7 25.1 40.4 57.4 14.1 19.1 

Connecticut ................................. 6 13 691 1,697 13.6 9.6 13.5 5.5 35.5 68.9 18.7 24.7 

Delaware ..................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 25.8 14.4 11.3 1.7 4.8 20.4 24.2 14.7 

District of Columbia ..................... – – – – – – – – – – – –

Florida ......................................... 70 93 12,971 10,493 14.1 19.0 30.6 31.9 46.7 47.1 20.0 21.3 

Georgia ........................................ 18 25 3,387 3,223 48.6 59.1 1.7 1.4 56.8 66.7 19.6 18.7 

Hawaii .......................................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 434 .9 1.2 12.1 15.2 22.5 47.9 12.6 16.4 

Idaho ........................................... 6 – 572 – .7 – 13.6 – 45.1 – 16.6 –

Illinois .......................................... 112 104 17,708 18,408 22.5 23.1 11.0 9.8 34.9 59.3 13.6 20.5 

Indiana ......................................... 29 24 4,896 3,669 7.6 16.2 5.2 1.9 27.9 53.9 12.8 21.3 

Iowa ............................................. 8 6 1,159 710 .9 1.8 .8 .6 20.7 83.7 13.5 31.0 

Kansas ........................................ 10 – 968 – 10.8 – 1.4 – 44.8 – 11.4 –

Kentucky ...................................... 18 19 2,723 2,007 12.8 12.7 .2 1.1 37.2 46.4 14.5 18.7 

Louisiana ..................................... 16 19 1,754 2,659 54.0 57.6 3.9 1.4 30.2 61.3 13.4 20.2 

Maine ........................................... 7 6 911 806 3.1 .7 .4 .4 41.3 43.3 16.1 15.1 

Maryland ...................................... – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – 60.4 – – – 75.2 – 24.8 

Massachusetts ............................ 29 16 3,904 2,696 9.5 13.7 1.5 3.5 39.4 60.5 16.4 22.3 

Michigan ...................................... 76 73 11,043 10,726 14.7 15.2 3.4 3.8 35.7 54.6 11.6 18.1 

Minnesota .................................... 29 23 2,768 3,722 4.8 10.0 5.3 6.1 29.7 43.2 16.4 20.4 

Mississippi ................................... 5 ( 2 ) 509 ( 2 ) 49.7 64.9 .4 – 50.9 5.2 22.2 16.0 

Missouri ....................................... 23 20 3,991 2,419 16.6 25.2 .4 .4 36.4 76.5 20.5 24.2 

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

 ) 5 ( 2 ) 377 .8 .3 7.3 4.0 16.9 59.2 30.6 18.3 

Nebraska ..................................... ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) 740 3.5 14.3 2.6 6.9 4.3 58.5 21.7 27.0 

Nevada ........................................ ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 299 14.7 28.4 11.9 18.7 46.9 67.2 22.0 28.8 

New Hampshire ........................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 318 1.4 – 2.8 .6 48.6 42.1 9.3 28.3 

New Jersey .................................. 35 39 4,647 8,791 16.6 16.2 7.3 8.6 41.6 69.4 18.8 34.9 

New Mexico ................................. 3 4 232 471 1.7 1.3 71.6 43.1 41.8 39.3 10.3 14.6 

New York ..................................... 139 54 23,009 7,678 11.2 8.8 8.5 8.4 30.2 39.4 17.5 20.2 

North Carolina ............................. 22 8 3,021 753 49.4 32.7 4.2 8.0 52.7 65.7 19.6 24.0 

North Dakota ............................... – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – – – .7 – 11.6 – 13.0 

Ohio ............................................. 87 75 9,952 9,153 10.1 18.0 1.5 2.4 22.0 56.6 12.5 17.4 

Oklahoma .................................... 5 ( 2 ) 574 ( 2 ) 11.1 14.5 8.0 4.0 17.1 23.4 15.0 15.3 

Oregon ........................................ 14 18 2,713 2,752 1.9 2.5 15.9 16.7 47.1 75.1 18.6 29.5 

Pennsylvania ............................... 69 72 12,990 11,512 9.8 10.9 3.4 3.1 40.3 55.2 21.8 26.6 

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

 ) 3 ( 2 ) 285 2.2 2.8 7.9 7.0 2.2 62.1 15.1 29.8 

South Carolina ............................. 7 7 1,307 1,122 40.7 78.9 2.0 .1 57.6 78.7 10.3 2.6 

South Dakota ............................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2.3 2.2 2.3 1.1 11.4 80.2 22.0 38.5 

Tennessee ................................... 11 7 1,663 886 36.4 23.7 – – 59.5 55.3 17.6 24.0 

Texas ........................................... 24 40 5,405 7,104 17.0 18.5 38.5 43.3 32.7 42.9 11.9 14.3 

Utah ............................................. 3 9 393 752 3.6 .9 24.4 20.6 57.0 62.1 7.4 11.7 

Vermont ....................................... ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 1,370 – .7 – .2 41.4 44.1 19.0 18.1 

Virginia ........................................ 23 10 5,559 1,549 32.9 62.8 .9 1.4 46.7 70.6 17.0 14.5 

Washington ................................. 24 29 3,526 3,658 7.9 5.3 14.6 13.1 39.1 46.3 11.3 18.3 

West Virginia ............................... – 4 – 461 – .7 – – – 26.2 – 16.7 

Wisconsin .................................... 51 33 10,985 5,048 4.0 9.8 9.3 3.6 41.5 57.9 19.3 27.8 

Wyoming ..................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – 13.5 – 26.2 30.0 20.6 3.8 

Puerto Rico .................................. 9 19 2,547 3,795 ( 3

 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 62.2 58.0 6.4 8.2 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. r

 = revised.

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

 = preliminary.

 3 Data are not available. NOTE: Dash represents zero.
Table 4. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2004 and 2005

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

II I II II I II II I II

 2004r 2005r 2005p 2004r 2005r 2005p 2004r 2005r 2005p 

 United States1 ................................... 1,358 1,144 1,056 278,831 188,397 211,009 254,063 186,030 150,140 

Northeast .................................................. 299 290 214 59,392 39,426 45,760 68,344 46,621 35,153 

 New England ........................................ 76 47 49 14,358 5,390 9,479 14,638 5,975 7,172 

 Middle Atlantic ...................................... 223 243 165 45,034 34,036 36,281 53,706 40,646 27,981 

South ........................................................ 363 222 245 67,561 38,862 38,296 61,479 39,178 33,163 

 South Atlantic ....................................... 231 141 150 45,621 26,249 23,150 39,364 26,307 19,275 

 East South Central ............................... 43 35 30 8,746 4,931 3,719 6,407 5,018 3,366 

 West South Central .............................. 89 46 65 13,194 7,682 11,427 15,708 7,853 10,522 

Midwest .................................................... 416 429 368 78,819 66,008 69,280 77,158 63,717 54,832 

 East North Central ................................ 339 355 309 65,795 56,776 61,117 65,905 54,584 47,004 

 West North Central ............................... 77 74 59 13,024 9,232 8,163 11,253 9,133 7,828 

West ......................................................... 280 203 229 73,059 44,101 57,673 47,082 36,514 26,992 

 Mountain ............................................... 56 29 39 20,951 4,615 23,494 8,065 3,227 4,272 

 Pacific ................................................... 224 174 190 52,108 39,486 34,179 39,017 33,287 22,720 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and 

 r = revised. Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and

 p = preliminary. Texas: East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin;

 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North

census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,

New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California,

New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and
Table 5. State distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2004 and 2005

State

II I II II I II II I II

 2004r 2005r 2005p 2004r 2005r 2005p 2004r 2005r 2005p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........................ 1,358 1,144 1,056 278,831 188,397 211,009 254,063 186,030 150,140 

Alabama ................................................... 7 ( 2

 ) 3 1,351 ( 2 ) 232 1,391 ( 2 ) 279 

Alaska ...................................................... 10 ( 2 ) 9 1,301 ( 2 ) 1,181 1,301 ( 2 ) 1,181 

Arizona ..................................................... 20 3 5 4,015 605 2,737 3,294 585 862 

Arkansas .................................................. 9 ( 2 ) 5 1,724 ( 2 ) 1,166 722 ( 2 ) 635 

California .................................................. 169 133 129 41,711 23,838 23,736 31,214 26,678 14,695 

Colorado .................................................. 15 8 12 11,016 1,844 14,766 2,525 1,003 1,431 

Connecticut .............................................. 21 6 13 6,507 1,098 2,161 4,739 691 1,697 

Delaware .................................................. 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 908 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 885 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

Florida ...................................................... 129 70 93 27,068 14,571 14,259 22,463 12,971 10,493 

Georgia .................................................... 30 18 25 7,164 2,269 3,205 6,536 3,387 3,223 

Hawaii ...................................................... 5 ( 2 ) 5 657 ( 2 ) 478 533 ( 2 ) 434 

Idaho ........................................................ 6 6 – 1,010 782 – 706 572 –

Illinois ....................................................... 111 112 104 30,405 23,287 27,990 26,230 17,708 18,408 

Indiana ..................................................... 24 29 24 4,244 3,815 5,419 4,106 4,896 3,669 

Iowa ......................................................... 7 8 6 1,198 644 1,024 922 1,159 710 

Kansas ..................................................... 15 10 – 3,176 1,014 – 2,342 968 –

Kentucky .................................................. 21 18 19 3,663 2,509 2,036 2,323 2,723 2,007 

Louisiana .................................................. 28 16 19 4,557 3,131 3,180 3,250 1,754 2,659 

Maine ....................................................... 6 7 6 1,768 1,468 2,020 828 911 806 

Maryland .................................................. 4 – ( 2 ) 651 – ( 2 ) 523 – ( 2 )

Massachusetts ......................................... 28 29 16 2,205 2,360 3,311 5,233 3,904 2,696 

Michigan ................................................... 64 76 73 10,461 9,550 11,587 13,759 11,043 10,726 

Minnesota ................................................ 23 29 23 3,312 3,155 3,051 2,673 2,768 3,722 

Mississippi ................................................ 6 5 ( 2 ) 1,362 512 ( 2 ) 642 509 ( 2 )

Missouri .................................................... 24 23 20 4,540 4,031 3,059 4,382 3,991 2,419 

Montana ................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) 5 951 ( 2 ) 1,112 332 ( 2 ) 377 

Nebraska .................................................. 6 ( 2 ) 8 657 ( 2 ) 788 757 ( 2 ) 740 

Nevada ..................................................... 4 ( 2 ) 3 824 ( 2 ) 299 611 ( 2 ) 299 

New Hampshire ....................................... 5 ( 2 ) 4 573 ( 2 ) 318 573 ( 2 ) 318 

New Jersey .............................................. 55 35 39 12,195 5,181 16,069 13,860 4,647 8,791 

New Mexico ............................................. ( 2 ) 3 4 ( 2 ) 242 475 ( 2 ) 232 471 

New York ................................................. 79 139 54 19,371 21,083 11,707 18,741 23,009 7,678 

North Carolina .......................................... 19 22 8 2,828 3,680 623 2,342 3,021 753 

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

Ohio ......................................................... 82 87 75 11,281 9,663 10,378 12,264 9,952 9,153 

Oklahoma ................................................. 5 5 ( 2 ) 449 397 ( 2 ) 558 574 ( 2 )

Oregon ..................................................... 22 14 18 4,558 8,875 3,970 3,525 2,713 2,752 

Pennsylvania ............................................ 89 69 72 13,468 7,772 8,505 21,105 12,990 11,512 

Rhode Island ............................................ 9 ( 2

 ) 3 2,057 ( 2 ) 299 2,017 ( 2 ) 285 

South Carolina ......................................... 11 7 7 1,615 1,173 1,090 1,878 1,307 1,122 

South Dakota ........................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Tennessee ............................................... 9 11 7 2,370 1,850 1,228 2,051 1,663 886 

Texas ....................................................... 47 24 40 6,464 3,939 6,218 11,178 5,405 7,104 

Utah ......................................................... 5 3 9 2,465 404 3,305 407 393 752 

Vermont ................................................... 7 ( 2 ) 7 1,248 ( 2 ) 1,370 1,248 ( 2 ) 1,370 

Virginia ..................................................... 28 23 10 4,774 4,494 1,840 4,156 5,559 1,549 

Washington .............................................. 18 24 29 3,881 6,403 4,814 2,444 3,526 3,658 

West Virginia ............................................ 5 – 4 541 – 459 509 – 461 

Wisconsin ................................................. 58 51 33 9,404 10,461 5,743 9,546 10,985 5,048 

Wyoming .................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Puerto Rico .............................................. 14 9 19 2,005 999 2,423 2,811 2,547 3,795 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

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

 r = revised.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance
Table 6. Information technology-producing industries: Extended mass layoff events and separations, private nonfarm sector, 1998-2005

Layoff Layoff Layoff Layoff Layoff

events events events events events

1998

First quarter ............................................ 1,115 178,251 29 5,212 8 1,550 7 725 9 1,685 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,333 336,536 37 8,455 5 357 7 1,317 5 650 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,028 201,186 63 11,066 5 1,175 12 3,031 5 1,051 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,383 275,272 37 11,336 5 974 7 1,898 6 764 

 Total ................................................... 4,859 991,245 166 36,069 23 4,056 33 6,971 25 4,150 

1999

First quarter ............................................ 1,262 230,711 35 4,363 10 1,796 10 1,600 6 1,002 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,194 246,251 28 3,891 7 1,731 8 1,097 ( 6 ) ( 6 )

Third quarter .......................................... 898 184,429 22 11,546 7 1,141 5 840 ( 6 ) ( 6 )

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,202 240,060 18 2,757 5 526 4 807 6 1,430 

 Total ................................................... 4,556 901,451 103 22,557 29 5,194 27 4,344 18 3,930 

2000

First quarter ............................................ 1,081 202,500 22 5,195 14 2,717 9 1,402 4 771 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,055 205,861 18 8,862 22 9,114 7 805 7 977 

Third quarter .......................................... 817 174,628 10 1,678 12 1,422 4 1,465 6 1,280 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,638 332,973 16 3,070 22 3,521 5 946 7 1,020 

 Total ................................................... 4,591 915,962 66 18,805 70 16,774 25 4,618 24 4,048 

2001

First quarter ............................................ 1,546 304,171 91 20,991 44 7,963 22 4,441 24 5,312 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,828 430,499 161 38,986 87 12,943 36 12,109 28 6,386 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,629 330,391 142 24,813 55 6,820 39 8,200 36 7,134 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 2,372 459,771 109 17,797 56 8,290 43 10,124 48 11,252 

 Total ................................................... 7,375 1,524,832 503 102,587 242 36,016 140 34,874 136 30,084 

2002

First quarter ............................................ 1,611 299,266 84 18,574 39 4,442 32 8,192 42 6,664 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,624 344,606 69 11,764 49 5,454 27 4,870 53 8,538 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,186 255,152 76 15,017 42 5,415 34 6,529 42 7,945 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,916 373,307 74 14,298 32 7,071 19 3,645 39 8,987 

 Total ................................................... 6,337 1,272,331 303 59,653 162 22,382 112 23,236 176 32,134 

2003

First quarter ............................................ 1,502 286,947 71 11,900 33 5,689 23 4,402 41 6,591 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,799 368,273 54 9,221 27 4,124 21 3,098 29 5,891 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,190 236,333 46 6,488 26 4,433 9 1,289 15 2,604 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,690 325,333 25 5,080 14 1,984 9 1,619 28 6,635 

 Total ................................................... 6,181 1,216,886 196 32,689 100 16,230 62 10,408 113 21,721 

2004

First quarter ............................................ 1,339 276,503 27 3,222 16 2,992 8 894 23 4,197 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,358 r 278,831 18 2,959 21 3,576 – – 22 5,295 

Third quarter .......................................... 886 r 164,598 13 2,288 15 1,617 4 430 13 4,317 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,427 r 273,967 18 3,055 10 1,547 4 563 23 3,457 

 Total ................................................... 5,010 r 993,899 76 11,524 62 9,732 16 1,887 81 17,266 

2005

First quarter ............................................ r

 1,144 r 188,397 r 13 r 1,526 r 13 r 2,679 4 r 439 r 17 r 3,839

Second quarterp ..................................... 1,056 211,009 16 1,811 16 1,758 4 842 11 1,800 

 1

 Information technology-producing industries are defined in Digital Economy 2003 , services; computer systems design services; computer facilities management

Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. services; other computer related services; office equipment rental and leasing;

 2

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry and computer and office machine repair.

Classification System (NAICS), are: semiconductor machinery manufacturing; office 4 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

machinery manufacturing; electronic computer manufacturing; computer storage Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: telephone apparatus manufacturing;

device manufacturing; computer terminal manufacturing; other computer peripheral audio and video equipment manufacturing; broadcast and wireless communications

equipment mfg.; electron tube manufacturing; bare printed circuit board manufacturing; equip.; fiber optic cable manufacturing; software reproducing; and magnetic and

semiconductors and related device mfg.; electronic capacitor manufacturing; electronic optical recording media mfg.

resistor manufacturing; electronic coils, transformers, and inductors; electronic 5 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

connector manufacturing; printed circuit assembly manufacturing; other electronic Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: wired telecommunications carriers

component manufacturing; industrial process variable instruments; electricity and signal cellular and other wireless carriers; telecommunications resellers; cable and other

testing instruments; analytical laboratory instrument mfg.; computer and software program distribution; satellite telecommunications; other telecommunications;

merchant wholesalers; and computer and software stores. and communication equipment repair.

 3

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry 6 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 

Classification System (NAICS), are: software publishers; internet service providers; NOTE: Dash represents zero.

web search portals; data processing and related services; computer and software r = revised. 

merchant wholesalers; computer and software stores; custom computer programming p = preliminary. 

Separations

Year

Separations Separations Separations Separations

hardware2 computer services3 equipment4 services5

Communications Communications

Information technology-producing industries1

Total extended

mass layoffs Computer Software and
Table 7. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2004 and 2005

II I II II I II

2004 2005r 2005p 2004 2005r 2005p

 Total, private nonfarm1 ............................................... 86 71 62 16,240 14,600 9,720 

 Mining .......................................................................... ––––––

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

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

 Manufacturing .............................................................. 57 44 40 10,999 9,070 5,602 

 Food ........................................................................ ( 2 ) 4 3 ( 2 ) 1,122 350 

 Beverage and tobacco products ............................. – – – – – –

 Textile mills ............................................................. 4 ( 2 ) – 537 ( 2 ) –

 Textile product mills ................................................ 4 4 – 874 745 –

 Apparel ................................................................... 4 3 3 847 549 213 

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

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

 Paper ...................................................................... 3 ( 2 ) – 453 ( 2 ) –

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

 Petroleum and coal products .................................. – – – – – –

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Plastics and rubber products .................................. 5 5 3 632 1,243 476 

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

 Primary metals ........................................................ ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... 5 5 6 1,010 1,330 1,175 

 Machinery ............................................................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Computer and electronic products .......................... 7 ( 2 ) 6 1,975 ( 2 ) 1,004 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 715 

 Transportation equipment ....................................... 4 5 8 1,013 789 880 

 Furniture and related products ................................ 8 4 3 1,026 697 286 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Wholesale trade ........................................................... 4 7 ( 2

 ) 410 577 ( 2 ) 

 Retail trade .................................................................. 6 5 4 1,039 769 1,092 

 Transportation and warehousing ................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 689 

 Information ................................................................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 771 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Finance and insurance ................................................ ( 2 ) 4 6 ( 2 ) 1,233 847 

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

 Professional and technical services ............................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 475 

 Management of companies and enterprises ............... – – – – – –

 Administrative and waste services ............................... 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,372 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

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

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............................. – – – – – –

 Accommodation and food services .............................. – – – – – –

 Other services, except public administration ............... – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Unclassified ................................................................. ––––––

 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

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

 r = revised.

Layoff events Separations

Industry
Table 8. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, 

selected quarters, 2004 and 2005

II I II II I II

2004 2005r 2005p 2004 2005r 2005p

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................. 86 71 62 16,240 14,600 9,720 

Automation ....................................................... ––––––

Bankruptcy ....................................................... – – – – – –

Business ownership change ............................ 7 5 ( 2 ) 1,380 1,719 ( 2 )

Contract cancellation ........................................ 3 4 ( 2 ) 493 580 ( 2 )

Contract completed .......................................... 4 – – 571 – –

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

Environment-related ......................................... – – – – – –

Financial difficulty ............................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 682 

Import competition ............................................ 4 7 6 913 1,187 434 

Labor dispute ................................................... – – – – – –

Material shortage ............................................. – – – – – –

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

Natural disaster ................................................ ––––––

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

Plant or machine repair .................................... – – – – – –

Product line discontinued ................................. 3 4 ( 2 ) 373 470 ( 2 )

Reorganization within company ....................... 49 40 42 8,717 8,318 6,904 

Seasonal work .................................................. ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

Slack work ........................................................ 4 ( 2 ) 3 1,260 ( 2 ) 645 

Vacation period ................................................ ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

Weather-related ............................................... – – – – – –

Other ................................................................ 9 7 ( 2 ) 1,798 1,718 ( 2 )

Not reported ..................................................... – – – – – –

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. r = revised.

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary.

 3

 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers NOTE: Dash represents zero.

when the reason for layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period.

Layoff events Separations

Reason for layoff
Table 9. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2004 and 2005

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations

II I II II I II

2004 2005r 2005p 2004 2005r 2005p 

 United States1 ...................................... 86 71 62 16,240 14,600 9,720 

Northeast ..................................................... 10 7 15 1,342 1,749 2,524 

 New England ........................................... 4 4 7 613 1,124 1,112 

 Middle Atlantic ......................................... 6 3 8 729 625 1,412 

South ........................................................... 35 29 17 6,421 6,162 2,166 

 South Atlantic ........................................... 18 15 11 3,251 2,671 1,141 

 East South Central ................................... 12 9 ( 2 ) 2,253 2,216 ( 2 )

 West South Central .................................. 5 5 ( 2 ) 917 1,275 ( 2 )

Midwest ........................................................ 22 16 14 4,503 2,742 2,566 

 East North Central ................................... 19 ( 2

 ) 14 3,427 ( 2 ) 2,566 

 West North Central .................................. 3 ( 2 ) – 1,076 ( 2 ) –

West ............................................................. 19 19 16 3,974 3,947 2,464 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 

 Pacific ...................................................... ( 2 ) 19 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3,947 ( 2 )

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

 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas,

 r = revised. Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas: East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, 

 p = preliminary. Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, 

 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: 

 the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massa- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and 

chusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, Dash represents zero.

District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South 
Table 10. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2004 and 2005

II I II II I II

2004 2005r 2005p 2005 2005r 2005p

Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 1,358 1,144 1,056 278,831 188,397 211,009 

 Total, excluding seasonal

 and vacation events2

 .............................................. 787 771 550 151,447 131,151 86,368 

 Total, movement of work3

 ....................................... 86 71 62 16,240 14,600 9,720 

 Movement of work actions ................................. 112 90 84 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 With separations reported ............................ 82 66 66 11,098 9,422 7,736 

 With separations unknown ........................... 30 24 18 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 4 Data are not available.

 2 The question on movement of work were not asked of employers r = revised.

when the reason for layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period. p = preliminary.

 3 Movement of work can involve more than one action.

Layoff events Separations

Action
Table 11. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers,

selected quarters, 2004 and 2005

II I II II I II

2004 2005r 2005p 2004 2005r 2005p

With separations reported2.............................. 82 66 66 11,098 9,422 7,736 

 By location

 Out-of-country relocations.............................. 19 21 26 2,415 3,811 2,582 

 Within company....................................... 13 17 19 1,882 3,353 1,938 

 Different company....................................... 6 4 7 533 458 644 

Domestic relocations......................................... 59 45 37 8,257 5,611 4,560 

 Within company....................................... 46 37 31 5,982 4,626 3,907 

 Different company.................................... 13 8 6 2,275 985 653 

 Unable to assign place of 

 relocation................................................... 4 – 3 426 – 594 

By company

 Within company............................................. 63 54 53 8,290 7,979 6,439 

 Domestic................................................... 46 37 31 5,982 4,626 3,907 

 Out of country........................................... 13 17 19 1,882 3,353 1,938 

 Unable to assign.................................... 4 – 3 426 – 594 

 Different company....................................... 19 12 13 2,808 1,443 1,297 

 Domestic................................................ 13 8 6 2,275 985 653 

 Out of country.......................................... 6 4 7 533 458 644 

 Unable to assign....................................... ––––––

 1 Only actions for which separations associated with the r = revised.

movement of work were reported are shown. p = preliminary.

 2

 See footnote 1, table 1. Note: Dash represents zero.

Actions

Layoff events1 Separations