For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, January 25, 2013 USDL-13-0106 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 • mlsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mls 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

MASS LAYOFFS — DECEMBER 2012 

ANNUAL TOTALS — 2012 

Employers took 1,509 mass layoff actions in December involving 137,839 workers as measured by 

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

reported today. (Data are seasonally adjusted.) Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a 

single employer. Mass layoff events decreased by 240 from November, and the number of associated 

initial claims decreased by 35,040. In December, 330 mass layoff events were reported in the 

manufacturing sector resulting in 35,211 initial claims. Monthly mass layoff data are identified using 

administrative data sources without regard to layoff duration. (See table 1 and the note at the end of this 

release.) 

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Dec‐01 Dec‐02 Dec‐03 Dec‐04 Dec‐05 Dec‐06 Dec‐07 Dec‐08 Dec‐09 Dec‐10 Dec‐11 Dec‐12

Initial Claims Unemployment Rate

Total masslayoff initial claims Manufacturing mass layoff initial claims Unemployment rate

Chart 1. Masslayoff initial claims and unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, December 2001‐December 2012   

Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data 

Seasonally adjusted mass layoffs data have been revised using updated seasonal adjustment 

factors that incorporate 2012 data. Seasonally adjusted estimates back to January 2008 were 

subject to revision. Revised seasonally adjusted data from January 2009 forward are shown in 

table 1. The originally published and revised figures for January 2008-November 2012 will be 

available at www.bls.gov/mls/mlssarevision.htm, along with additional information about the 

revisions. 
- 2 - 

Table A. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims

in December 2012, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

Food service contractors .......................................... 16,517 2011 19,639 

School and employee bus transportation ................... 15,909 2012 15,909 

Temporary help services 1

 ........................................ 12,609 2011 19,987 

Highway, street, and bridge construction ................... 11,478 2005 20,030 

Motion picture and video production ........................ 3,527 1998 16,192 

Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .................... 2,872 2008 3,528 

Landscaping services ................................................ 2,323 2011 3,146 

Wood kitchen cabinet and countertop mfg. ............... 1,960 2006 2,296 

Motor vehicle seating and interior trim mfg. ............... 1,942 2008 3,455 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ....................... 1,927 2008 6,101 

1

 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.

Industry Initial claims

December peak

Year Initial claims

The national unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in December, unchanged from the prior month and 

down from 8.5 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 155,000 over the 

month and by 1,835,000 over the year. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in December was 1,973, not seasonally adjusted, resulting in 187,137 

initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 2.) Over the year, the number of average weekly 

mass layoff events for December increased by 6 to 493, while associated average weekly initial claims 

decreased by 5,949 to 46,784. Ten of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported 

over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest decrease occurring in 

manufacturing. (See table 3.) The six-digit industry with the largest number of private nonfarm initial 

claims due to mass layoffs was food service contractors. (See table A.) 

In December, the manufacturing sector accounted for 25 percent of mass layoff events and 28 percent of 

associated initial claims in the private economy. Within manufacturing, the numbers of mass layoff 

claimants were highest in transportation equipment and in food. Sixteen of the 21 manufacturing 

subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims. (See table 3.) 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

Among the census regions, the Midwest registered the largest number of initial claims due to mass 

layoffs in December. Three of the 4 regions experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly 

initial claims, with the largest decrease occurring in the West. (See table 4.) 

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

followed by Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Twenty-five states experienced over-the-year 
- 3 - 

Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants

for unemployment insurance, 1996-2012, not seasonally adjusted

Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

1996 ........................ 14,111 1,437,628 

1997 ........................ 14,960 1,542,543 

1998 ........................ 15,904 1,771,069 

1999 ........................ 14,909 1,572,399 

2000 ........................ 15,738 1,835,592 

2001 ........................ 21,467 2,514,862 

2002 ........................ 20,277 2,245,051 

2003 ........................ 18,963 1,888,926 

2004 ........................ 15,980 1,607,158 

2005 ........................ 16,466 1,795,341 

2006 ........................ 13,998 1,484,391 

2007 ........................ 15,493 1,598,875 

2008 ........................ 21,137 2,130,220 

2009 ........................ 28,030 2,796,456 

2010 ........................ 19,564 1,854,596 

2011 ........................ 18,521 1,808,451 

2012 ........................ 17,080 1,666,931 

Year Layoff events

decreases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest declines in California and Pennsylvania. 

(See table 4.) 

Review of 2012

In 2012, the annual totals of mass layoff events, at 17,080, and of initial claims, at 1,666,931, declined 

to their lowest levels since 2007. (See table B.) Eleven of the 19 major industry sectors in the private 

economy reported decreases in initial claims in 2012, led by administrative and waste services, 

manufacturing, and information. In 2012, total initial claims in the manufacturing sector declined to a 

series low 448,687. 

The manufacturing sector accounted for 24 percent of all mass layoff events and 29 percent of initial 

claims filed in the private economy in 2012, down slightly from 2011 percentages. The number of 

manufacturing claimants in 2012 was highest in transportation equipment and in food. Total initial 

claims in 17 of the 21 manufacturing subsectors decreased in 2012 from 2011, with transportation 

equipment and wood products experiencing the largest declines. 

The six-digit industry in the private nonfarm sector with the greatest number of initial claims in 2012 

was temporary help services. Casino hotels entered the list of 10 industries with the highest initial claims 

for the entire year and reached a program high. (See table C.) Two other industries among these 10 

reached program highs in 2012—school and employee bus transportation and food service contractors. 
- 4 - 

Table C. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims

in 2012, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

Initial claims Rank Initial claims Rank

Temporary help services 1

 ...................................... 143,938 1 126,304 1

School and employee bus transportation ................. 95,287 2 104,960 2

Food service contractors ........................................ 75,006 3 80,468 3

Motion picture and video production ...................... 47,988 4 40,022 4

Highway, street, and bridge construction ................. 40,349 5 37,848 5

Professional employer organizations 1

 ..................... 31,916 6 26,394 6

Discount department stores .................................... 29,807 7 24,425 7

Child day care services ........................................... 23,237 8 22,180 8

Supermarkets and other grocery stores ................... 19,781 9 19,490 9

Casino hotels ......................................................... 11,148 24 18,722 10

1

 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.

Industry 2011 2012

Three of the 4 census regions reported over-the-year decreases in total annual initial claims from 2011 to 

2012, with the largest decline occurring in the West. Among the states, California recorded the highest 

number of total annual mass layoff initial claims in 2012, followed by New York, Pennsylvania, New 

Jersey, and North Carolina. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-year 

decreases in total initial claims for the year, led by California, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Florida. 

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. The monthly data series in this release are subjected to average weekly analysis, 

which mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note for more detailed 

definitions and for a description of average weekly analysis. 

_____________ 

The Extended Mass Layoffs news release for Fourth Quarter 2012 and Annual Totals for 2012 is 

scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 14, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. (EST) and will include 

information on the impact of Hurricane Sandy on MLS data. The Mass Layoffs new release for 

January 2013 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 
Technical Note 

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federalstate program that uses a standardized automated approach to 

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job 

cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment 

insurance database. Each month, states report on employers 

which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during 

a consecutive 5-week period. These employers then are 

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these 

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

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report 

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

The monthly data present preliminary mass layoff 

activity in the reference month and are not revised in 

subsequent months except in special circumstances (e.g., 

layoffs in states affected by Hurricane Katrina). Counts of 

initial claims associated with mass layoff events reflect 

activity through the end of the reference month. Additional 

mass layoff event and initial claims activity received after 

data for the reference month have been published by BLS are 

not updated in the monthly mass layoff series and, therefore, 

may not match revised mass layoff data issued in state 

publications. However, any additional mass layoff 

information meeting the extended mass layoff criteria will be 

reflected in BLS’ quarterly publication of extended mass 

layoff data. 

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, data 

users who intend to perform analysis of over-the-year change 

in the not seasonally adjusted series should use the average 

weekly mass layoff figures displayed in tables 3 and 4 of this 

release. The average weekly adjustment process produces a 

consistent series for each month across all years, permitting 

over-the-year analysis to be performed using strictly 

comparable data. 

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; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339 

Definitions 

Average weekly mass layoff events and initial claimants. 

The number of events and initial claimants in a given month 

divided by the number of weeks contained within that month.

Employer. Employers in the MLS program include 

those covered by state unemployment insurance laws. 

Information on employers is obtained from the Quarterly 

Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which 

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

Industry. Employers are classified according to the 2007 

version of the North American Industry Classification System 

(NAICS). For temporary help and professional employer 

organization industries, monthly MLS-related statistics 

generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client 

companies in other industries. An individual layoff action at a 

client company can be small, but when initial claimants 

associated with many such layoffs are assigned to a 

temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a 

mass layoff event may trigger. 

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 employer 

during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. 

Seasonal adjustment 

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS 

began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS 

series. The six series are the 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 1 year and 4 weeks in another. The 

effects of these differences could seriously distort the 

seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal 

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

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the 

final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2009 to December 2012,

seasonally adjusted

2009

January ........................................................ 2,256 237,182 2,087 223,230 716 91,179 

February ....................................................... 3,079 334,171 2,921 318,194 1,274 152,592 

March ........................................................... 3,022 304,175 2,827 287,023 1,261 158,119 

April .............................................................. 2,537 246,938 2,332 231,211 1,022 114,682 

May .............................................................. 2,712 286,089 2,522 270,051 1,206 151,114 

June ............................................................. 2,470 248,680 2,261 231,529 1,063 140,105 

July ............................................................... 2,184 222,776 1,976 203,347 639 76,345 

August .......................................................... 2,358 218,380 2,119 198,877 743 75,387 

September ................................................... 2,274 216,959 2,054 200,863 754 90,250 

October ........................................................ 1,970 196,370 1,775 178,648 567 64,681 

November .................................................... 1,764 159,283 1,598 146,802 469 51,887 

December .................................................... 1,720 155,738 1,549 141,699 425 44,455 

2010

January ........................................................ 1,699 169,561 1,522 155,298 461 53,303 

February ....................................................... 1,647 161,694 1,480 147,259 387 47,272 

March ........................................................... 1,703 153,784 1,501 138,188 373 43,022 

April .............................................................. 1,622 154,962 1,442 138,849 378 44,860 

May .............................................................. 1,585 150,959 1,345 131,482 317 31,677 

June ............................................................. 1,701 152,080 1,481 133,366 335 34,653 

July ............................................................... 1,521 137,750 1,315 121,313 303 32,064 

August .......................................................... 1,612 162,455 1,409 138,849 384 41,123 

September ................................................... 1,526 137,074 1,303 117,582 310 33,906 

October ........................................................ 1,661 149,985 1,454 132,373 349 38,157 

November .................................................... 1,584 153,394 1,407 138,925 353 38,097 

December .................................................... 1,476 136,252 1,277 121,849 322 36,611 

2011

January ........................................................ 1,522 150,406 1,335 132,659 327 37,431 

February ....................................................... 1,456 137,938 1,263 123,141 312 30,036 

March ........................................................... 1,307 119,691 1,156 106,721 269 31,699 

April .............................................................. 1,526 145,315 1,366 130,841 352 37,177 

May .............................................................. 1,573 144,824 1,387 129,296 399 42,238 

June ............................................................. 1,522 144,060 1,342 129,136 359 38,630 

July ............................................................... 1,566 144,543 1,347 123,815 342 35,458 

August .......................................................... 1,585 168,266 1,364 153,081 374 46,267 

September ................................................... 1,463 150,165 1,319 136,564 346 37,505 

October ........................................................ 1,349 118,135 1,220 106,478 335 32,310 

November .................................................... 1,312 123,078 1,177 113,239 312 33,715 

December .................................................... 1,392 144,661 1,247 129,994 346 38,469 

2012

January ........................................................ 1,435 129,169 1,298 118,127 325 32,503 

February ....................................................... 1,275 120,199 1,134 109,458 283 28,236 

March ........................................................... 1,290 125,195 1,141 112,889 269 28,300 

April .............................................................. 1,403 138,164 1,235 122,236 294 34,929 

May .............................................................. 1,370 131,603 1,220 119,788 277 31,873 

June ............................................................. 1,320 133,080 1,178 120,857 282 31,737 

July ............................................................... 1,354 138,694 1,217 128,186 355 43,427 

August .......................................................... 1,297 130,266 1,172 120,391 322 39,389 

September ................................................... 1,346 125,692 1,223 116,792 365 40,287 

October ........................................................ 1,400 136,153 1,249 125,026 346 42,927 

November .................................................... 1,749 172,879 1,574 159,872 412 47,171 

December .................................................... 1,509 137,839 1,334 125,505 330 35,211 

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2009 to December 2012,

not seasonally adjusted

2009

January ........................................................ 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 1,461 172,757 

February ....................................................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 945 103,588 

March ........................................................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 940 114,747 

April .............................................................. 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 887 100,872 

May .............................................................. 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 1,005 123,683 

June ............................................................. 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 674 85,726 

July ............................................................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 1,133 154,208 

August .......................................................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 436 41,151 

September ................................................... 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 448 51,126 

October ........................................................ 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 566 69,655 

November .................................................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 517 55,053 

December .................................................... 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 615 64,540 

2010

January ........................................................ 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 962 104,846 

February ....................................................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 282 30,728 

March ........................................................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 273 29,745 

April .............................................................. 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 424 55,178 

May .............................................................. 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 216 19,334 

June ............................................................. 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 212 21,083 

July ............................................................... 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 532 64,200 

August .......................................................... 976 92,435 897 83,021 230 23,088 

September ................................................... 920 77,654 806 67,987 187 19,403 

October ........................................................ 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 351 40,861 

November .................................................... 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 389 41,383 

December .................................................... 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 465 52,816 

2011

January ........................................................ 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 693 75,006 

February ....................................................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 222 18,471 

March ........................................................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 191 20,869 

April .............................................................. 1,750 189,919 1,625 176,478 397 47,104 

May .............................................................. 1,367 119,911 1,221 108,531 270 25,199 

June ............................................................. 1,661 159,930 1,238 122,821 226 22,986 

July ............................................................... 2,176 216,774 1,759 174,078 602 71,814 

August .......................................................... 961 99,213 875 93,159 228 26,916 

September ................................................... 1,189 117,232 1,095 107,300 296 32,058 

October ........................................................ 1,101 96,914 950 83,748 265 28,447 

November .................................................... 1,393 127,750 1,245 117,474 349 37,799 

December .................................................... 2,433 263,665 2,258 247,916 658 75,033 

2012

January ........................................................ 1,705 141,703 1,587 132,754 415 38,021 

February ....................................................... 895 73,974 820 69,076 196 16,555 

March ........................................................... 1,125 117,817 1,040 110,954 242 24,241 

April .............................................................. 1,421 146,358 1,293 132,697 256 32,518 

May .............................................................. 1,201 109,259 1,081 100,434 186 18,800 

June ............................................................. 1,890 198,537 1,485 158,334 255 28,570 

July ............................................................... 1,515 157,753 1,321 144,340 559 74,963 

August .......................................................... 1,063 104,045 992 97,694 251 31,193 

September ................................................... 811 70,570 749 66,214 221 22,748 

October ........................................................ 1,142 109,829 968 97,390 277 37,702 

November .................................................... 2,339 249,949 2,078 228,124 551 72,690 

December .................................................... 1,973 187,137 1,822 177,452 477 50,686 

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally adjusted

December December December December December December December December

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

 Total 2

 ....................................................................... 2,433 1,973 263,665 187,137 487 493 52,733 46,784 

Total, private .................................................................. 2,322 1,882 252,259 180,516 464 471 50,452 45,129 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .................... 64 60 4,343 3,064 13 15 869 766 

 Total, private nonfarm .................................................. 2,258 1,822 247,916 177,452 452 456 49,583 44,363 

 Mining ......................................................................... 26 28 2,404 2,169 5 7 481 542 

 Utilities ........................................................................ 5 4 476 337 1 1 95 84 

 Construction ............................................................... 402 312 32,402 24,737 80 78 6,480 6,184 

 Construction of buildings ........................................ 38 29 3,075 2,119 8 7 615 530 

 Heavy and civil engineering construction ............... 252 184 21,638 15,854 50 46 4,328 3,964 

 Specialty trade contractors ..................................... 112 99 7,689 6,764 22 25 1,538 1,691 

 Manufacturing ............................................................ 658 477 75,033 50,686 132 119 15,007 12,672 

 Food ....................................................................... 99 63 12,340 6,713 20 16 2,468 1,678 

 Beverage and tobacco products ............................ 10 8 1,225 651 2 2 245 163 

 Textile mills ............................................................ 44 10 6,237 846 9 3 1,247 212 

 Textile product mills ............................................... 8 8 1,312 791 2 2 262 198 

 Apparel ................................................................... 17 12 1,586 1,056 3 3 317 264 

 Leather and allied products .................................... 5 ( 3 ) 433 ( 3 ) 1 ( 3 ) 87 ( 3 )

 Wood products ....................................................... 49 23 4,583 1,979 10 6 917 495 

 Paper ...................................................................... 10 ( 3 ) 1,180 ( 3 ) 2 ( 3 ) 236 ( 3 )

 Printing and related support activities .................... 11 7 786 675 2 2 157 169 

 Petroleum and coal products ................................. 14 6 1,298 371 3 2 260 93 

 Chemicals .............................................................. 12 10 1,131 723 2 3 226 181 

 Plastics and rubber products .................................. 44 32 4,720 3,067 9 8 944 767 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ................................. 47 35 4,666 3,377 9 9 933 844 

 Primary metals ....................................................... 28 23 3,104 3,389 6 6 621 847 

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... 41 37 4,047 3,009 8 9 809 752 

 Machinery ............................................................... 38 33 5,472 4,250 8 8 1,094 1,063 

 Computer and electronic products ......................... 27 17 2,223 1,428 5 4 445 357 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... 16 13 2,759 1,510 3 3 552 378 

 Transportation equipment ...................................... 107 103 12,458 12,281 21 26 2,492 3,070 

 Furniture and related products ............................... 22 19 2,712 2,862 4 5 542 716 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ................................. 9 11 761 1,122 2 3 152 281 

 Wholesale trade ......................................................... 29 23 2,411 1,992 6 6 482 498 

 Retail trade 4

 .............................................................. 135 114 14,295 9,654 27 29 2,859 2,414 

 Building material and garden supply stores ........... 15 8 1,797 623 3 2 359 156 

 Food and beverage stores ..................................... 20 12 1,580 851 4 3 316 213 

 Clothing and clothing accessories stores ............... 12 9 958 513 2 2 192 128 

 General merchandise stores .................................. 41 42 5,876 3,850 8 11 1,175 963 

 Transportation and warehousing 4

 ............................. 161 167 21,508 19,556 32 42 4,302 4,889 

 Truck transportation ............................................... 8 13 572 741 2 3 114 185 

 Transit and ground passenger transportation ........ 128 124 18,520 16,621 26 31 3,704 4,155 

 Support activities for transportation ........................ 8 4 819 265 2 1 164 66 

 Information ................................................................. 54 31 14,865 4,026 11 8 2,973 1,007 

 Finance and insurance ............................................... 24 19 1,843 1,242 5 5 369 311 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ............................. 8 7 495 1,001 2 2 99 250 

 Professional and technical services ........................... 67 58 9,581 5,254 13 15 1,916 1,314 

 Management of companies and enterprises .............. 4 3 374 390 1 1 75 98 

 Administrative and waste services ............................. 338 277 32,076 22,425 68 69 6,415 5,606 

 Educational services .................................................. 11 17 860 1,702 2 4 172 426 

 Health care and social assistance .............................. 56 59 4,900 4,804 11 15 980 1,201 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............................ 28 19 2,022 1,325 6 5 404 331 

 Accommodation and food services ............................ 232 188 30,635 24,651 46 47 6,127 6,163 

 Accommodation ..................................................... 67 46 5,876 3,953 13 12 1,175 988 

 Food services and drinking places ......................... 165 142 24,759 20,698 33 36 4,952 5,175 

 Other services, except public administration .............. 19 17 1,681 1,385 4 4 336 346 

 Unclassified ................................................................ 1 2 55 116 - 1 11 29 

Government ................................................................... 111 91 11,406 6,621 22 23 2,281 1,655 

 Federal ....................................................................... 9 5 755 322 2 1 151 81 

 State ........................................................................... 25 19 2,580 1,324 5 5 516 331 

 State government education ................................. 15 11 1,868 773 3 3 374 193 

 Local ........................................................................... 77 67 8,071 4,975 15 17 1,614 1,244 

 Local government education ................................. 46 46 5,123 3,290 9 12 1,025 823 

 1

 Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing 2 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.

 lengths of months. There were 5 weeks in December 2011 3

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

 and 4 weeks in December 2012. Average weekly events 4

 Includes other industries not shown.

 and initial claimants may not sum to subtotals and totals NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 due to rounding.

Industry

Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs1

Events Initial claimants Events Initial claimants
Table 4. Region and state distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

not seasonally adjusted

December December December December December December December December

2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012

 Total 2 ............................................... 2,433 1,973 263,665 187,137 487 493 52,733 46,784

Northeast ............................................ 450 378 47,617 37,544 90 95 9,523 9,386

 Connecticut ..................................... 5 8 578 841 1 2 116 210

 Maine .............................................. 10 4 771 317 2 1 154 79

 Massachusetts ................................ 19 31 1,946 3,408 4 8 389 852

 New Hampshire .............................. 6 7 951 1,051 1 2 190 263

 New Jersey ..................................... 88 78 8,098 8,472 18 20 1,620 2,118

 New York ........................................ 117 100 11,498 9,853 23 25 2,300 2,463

 Pennsylvania .................................. 186 133 20,719 11,575 37 33 4,144 2,894

 Rhode Island ................................... 13 10 2,571 1,338 3 3 514 335

 Vermont .......................................... 6 7 485 689 1 2 97 172

South .................................................. 602 465 67,741 46,148 120 116 13,548 11,537

 Alabama .......................................... 46 15 5,134 1,444 9 4 1,027 361

 Arkansas ......................................... 24 19 2,759 2,322 5 5 552 581

 Delaware ......................................... 9 ( 3 ) 820 ( 3 ) 2 ( 3 ) 164 ( 3 ) District of Columbia ......................... ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Florida ............................................. 70 61 6,239 4,655 14 15 1,248 1,164

 Georgia ........................................... 60 52 7,507 5,006 12 13 1,501 1,252

 Kentucky ......................................... 67 54 8,047 5,197 13 14 1,609 1,299

 Louisiana ........................................ 20 17 1,923 1,644 4 4 385 411

 Maryland 4

 ....................................... 18 31 1,959 3,079 4 8 392 770

 Mississippi ...................................... 21 25 1,812 2,317 4 6 362 579

 North Carolina ................................. 82 52 11,050 5,454 16 13 2,210 1,364

 Oklahoma ....................................... 10 8 981 1,062 2 2 196 266

 South Carolina ................................ 32 19 4,612 2,063 6 5 922 516

 Tennessee ...................................... 24 19 2,157 1,771 5 5 431 443

 Texas .............................................. 52 47 5,033 5,136 10 12 1,007 1,284

 Virginia ............................................ 64 38 7,450 4,364 13 10 1,490 1,091

 West Virginia ................................... ( 3 ) 3 ( 3 ) 249 ( 3 ) 1 ( 3 ) 62

Midwest ............................................... 743 630 78,074 65,155 149 158 15,615 16,289

 Illinois .............................................. 118 114 13,449 11,418 24 29 2,690 2,855

 Indiana ............................................ 49 38 5,758 4,345 10 10 1,152 1,086

 Iowa ................................................ 58 48 6,797 5,663 12 12 1,359 1,416

 Kansas ............................................ 23 20 2,952 2,325 5 5 590 581

 Michigan ......................................... 135 158 12,542 15,726 27 40 2,508 3,932

 Minnesota ....................................... 49 38 5,073 3,197 10 10 1,015 799

 Missouri .......................................... 67 42 6,586 5,167 13 11 1,317 1,292

 Nebraska ........................................ 15 12 2,252 2,006 3 3 450 502

 North Dakota ................................... ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Ohio ................................................ 107 90 11,550 8,941 21 23 2,310 2,235

 South Dakota .................................. ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Wisconsin ....................................... 111 59 10,117 5,218 22 15 2,023 1,305

West .................................................... 638 500 70,233 38,290 128 125 14,047 9,573

 Alaska ............................................. 3 3 447 406 1 1 89 102

 Arizona ............................................ 8 10 750 646 2 3 150 162

 California ......................................... 458 359 53,031 25,405 92 90 10,606 6,351

 Colorado ......................................... 13 12 1,179 1,011 3 3 236 253

 Hawaii ............................................. 4 4 388 220 1 1 78 55

 Idaho ............................................... 20 9 1,584 647 4 2 317 162

 Montana .......................................... 11 4 895 324 2 1 179 81

 Nevada ........................................... 31 22 3,127 2,161 6 6 625 540

 New Mexico .................................... 8 6 590 359 2 2 118 90

 Oregon ............................................ 49 25 4,705 2,923 10 6 941 731

 Utah ................................................ 10 8 693 607 2 2 139 152

 Washington ..................................... 23 38 2,844 3,581 5 10 569 895

 Wyoming ......................................... --------

 Puerto Rico ..................................... 14 10 1,729 1,012 3 3 346 253

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. 4 Data starting in June 2012 may not be comparable to prior data

2

 See footnote 2, table 3. due to a change in MLS unemployment insurance procedures.

3

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

Census region and state

Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs1

Events Initial Claimants Events Initial Claimants