1

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-1432

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally 

adjusted, July 2000-June 2005

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

2001 

Note: Shaded area represents recession period.

2002 2003 2004 2005 

Manufacturing

Private nonfarm

Total

MASS LAYOFFS IN JUNE 2005

In June 2005, employers took 1,175 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings

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

of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 127,887, on a seasonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The number of

layoff events fell by 21 from May, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 884. In the

manufacturing sector, 347 mass layoff events were reported during June 2005, seasonally adjusted, resulting

in 55,820 initial claims. The number of mass layoff events was somewhat lower than a month earlier, while

the number of initial claims was higher. (See table 1.)

From January through June 2005, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 7,424, and initial

claims (seasonally adjusted), at 793,017, were lower than in January-June 2004 (8,018 and 819,644, respectively).

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 55,800 initial claims in June, 46 percent of the total. (See table A.) The two industries with the

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally 

adjusted, July 2000-June 2005

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 

Private nonfarm

Total

Manufacturing

Note: Shaded area represents recession period.
2

Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in June 2005 p

Industry

Initial claims

June peak

Year

Initial claims

School and employee bus transportation ............... 12,952 2002 15,668

Elementary and secondary schools ........................ 8,950 2003 17,360

Food service contractors ...................................... 7,574 2005 7,574

Child day care services ......................................... 6,911 1995 8,779

Automobile manufacturing ...................................... 6,270 1998 41,501

Temporary help services ........................................ 4,663 2000 13,815

Motion picture and video production ..................... 2,635 2000 9,435

Other individual and family services ....................... 2,030 2004 2,637

Household refrigerator and home freezer mfg. ....... 1,946 2002 1,982

Other social advocacy organizations ...................... 1,869 3,815

p=preliminary.

2000

highest number of initial claims were school and employee bus transportation, with 12,952, and elementary and secondary schools with 8,950. Together, these two industries accounted for 18 percent of all

initial claims in June.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 19 percent of all mass layoff events and 27 percent of all initial claims filed in June 2005. A year earlier, manufacturing comprised 16 percent of events and 20 percent

of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in June 2005 was highest in transportation

equipment (12,268, mostly automotive-related), followed by food processing (4,245) and electrical

equipment and appliances (4,010). (See table 3.)

Transportation and warehousing accounted for 11 percent of events and 13 percent of initial claims filed

in June, with layoffs mostly from school and employee bus transportation. Eleven percent of all layoff events

and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the month were from healthcare and social assistance, mainly from

child day care services. Accommodation and food services accounted for 6 percent of events and 8 percent

of initial claims in June, primarily from food service contractors. Administrative and waste services accounted

for 9 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims during the month, largely from temporary help services.

An additional 4 percent of events and initial claims were from the information sector, mainly from motion

picture and video production.

Government establishments accounted for 14 percent of events and 12 percent of initial claims filed in

June, mostly from educational services as the school year ended.

Over the year, the number of layoff events declined by 222 and the number of associated initial claims

fell by 14,125 (not seasonally adjusted). The largest decreases in initial claims were reported in administrative and support services (-5,007) and educational services, including government (-3,869). The largest

over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (+2,965)

and in electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing (+2,788).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

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

Midwest (38,985). (See table 5.) Transportation equipment manufacturing and transit and ground passenger
3

transportation accounted for 37 percent of all mass-layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The

West had the next largest number of initial claims (33,078), followed by the South (25,679) and the Northeast (22,721).

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

The largest decrease occurred in the West (-13,822) followed by the South (-5,695) and the Northeast

(-2,326). The Midwest had the only over-the-year increase (+7,718). Seven of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest in the Pacific division, -13,846. Over-the-year increases occurred in the East North Central (+9,077)

and Mountain (+24) divisions.

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

events in June (24,652), mostly in educational services and in administrative and support services. Ohio

was next, with 11,541 initial claims, followed by Pennsylvania (8,605) and New Jersey (7,495). These

four states accounted for 43 percent of all mass layoff events and initial claims for unemployment insurance.

(See table 6.)

California had the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-14,527), followed by

Oklahoma (-2,394). The largest over-the-year increases occurred in Ohio (+4,786) and Indiana (+3,207).

From January to June, California reported 188,684 mass layoff initial claims, 23 percent of the national

total. This was California’s lowest share for a January-to-June period since 1996. Ohio had the next largest number of claims over this period (59,084), followed by New York (49,129) and Michigan (49,059).

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 laidoff workers. Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures

for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.

(See table 4.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

______________________________

The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2005 is scheduled to be released

on Thursday, August 11, 2005. 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 that uses a standardized, automated approach to

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job

cutbacks, using data from each state’s unemployment insurance

database. Each month, states report on establishments which

have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a

consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these

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

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on

layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly

unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through

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

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

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

tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks

and others, 5 weeks, the number of weeks in a given month may

be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in a year

may vary. Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-theyear change in not seasonally adjusted series should take this

calendar effect into consideration.

The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it

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

Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were not available.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

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

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

Definitions

Initial claimant . A person who files any notice of

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or

period of eligibility.

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for

unemployment insurance benefits filed against an

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

Seasonal adjustment

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS

began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.

The six series are the numbers of mass layoff events and mass

layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm, and

manufacturing sectors.

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and

removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring

seasonal events such as changes in the weather, holidays, and

the beginning and ending of the school year. The use of

seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental

changes in time series, particularly those associated with

general economic expansions and contractions.

The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis.

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly

estimates, including those for the current month, in developing

seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most recent

5 years of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a

year with the issuance of December data. Before the data are

seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the

original data to adjust them for differences in the number of

weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly

unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form

monthly data, a particular month’s value could be calculated

with 5 weeks of data in one year and 4 weeks in another. The effects of these differences could seriously distort

the seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal

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

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the final

seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2001 to June 2005,

seasonally adjusted

Initial Initial Initial

 claimants claimants claimants

2001

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,704 200,376 1,568 188,468 719 93,867 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,744 206,528 1,586 195,051 788 106,632 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,409 277,214 2,235 263,192 834 108,615 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,109 233,569 1,986 223,808 897 118,136 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,094 218,273 1,935 207,129 944 114,556 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,799 194,759 1,658 183,178 722 93,193 

2002

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,801 208,835 1,659 195,862 739 96,689 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,773 204,089 1,620 192,450 701 91,285 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,674 187,924 1,517 175,998 610 75,367 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,685 186,574 1,497 169,228 591 69,481 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,720 191,841 1,558 178,993 611 74,809 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,615 170,307 1,438 156,759 551 73,064 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,637 179,165 1,457 164,398 568 73,230 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,475 160,855 1,330 149,148 562 65,564 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,909 217,475 1,742 202,640 607 79,413 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,716 178,860 1,524 162,411 598 71,765 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,644 176,462 1,500 165,578 607 70,640 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,825 193,627 1,661 179,368 638 86,714 

2003

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,383 134,258 1,193 120,033 402 49,440 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,771 185,502 1,589 173,392 643 75,331 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,773 176,540 1,577 161,662 618 75,289 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,735 176,645 1,574 165,416 646 86,857 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,709 186,158 1,532 173,123 624 87,615 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,704 163,646 1,515 148,547 636 70,888 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,653 163,061 1,444 147,883 590 71,203 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,502 170,353 1,364 156,731 540 71,944 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,559 145,961 1,370 132,233 471 56,274 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,541 154,908 1,312 136,604 412 49,518 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,400 137,651 1,241 125,115 397 46,955 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,425 141,780 1,281 129,464 420 53,436 

2004

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,458 146,147 1,257 127,917 413 50,074 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,237 126,421 1,091 115,302 358 36,783 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,348 142,480 1,211 134,118 409 63,380 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,422 149,049 1,239 132,180 360 43,158 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,178 114,247 1,016 100,499 314 37,950 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,375 141,300 1,215 129,466 361 47,548 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,363 139,374 1,200 127,011 390 49,276 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,392 130,483 1,208 115,035 330 36,422 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,281 123,761 1,153 114,223 332 45,917 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,274 125,414 1,145 116,042 350 44,908 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,361 130,168 1,201 117,545 402 43,504 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,211 119,649 1,064 108,157 283 34,940 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,457 150,990 1,321 140,826 379 58,908 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,128 117,684 1,001 107,415 345 43,186 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,194 130,848 1,060 121,408 371 55,377 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,274 136,837 1,142 126,807 395 63,121 

Mayp ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,196 128,771 1,060 117,036 359 53,243 

Junep ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,175 127,887 1,059 118,736 347 55,820 

 

p

 = preliminary.

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2001 to June 2005,

not seasonally adjusted

Initial Initial Initial 

claimants claimants claimants

2001

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,117 273,807 1,952 259,128 1,144 168,877 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,490 166,148 1,386 158,307 603 79,515 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,327 160,402 1,214 151,161 485 58,544 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,831 215,483 1,676 202,053 742 107,030 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,721 295,956 2,373 270,268 1,122 151,969 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,440 268,893 2,319 259,497 1,103 136,820 

2002

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,146 263,777 2,028 252,245 892 128,825 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,382 138,808 1,253 129,849 481 58,784 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,460 161,316 1,335 151,305 500 59,613 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,506 165,814 1,378 153,216 461 50,897 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,723 179,799 1,571 166,801 488 52,720 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,584 162,189 1,266 136,424 336 42,130 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 907 135,271 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 427 48,668 

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

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

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

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

2003

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2004

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 194 17,698 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 68,972 637 63,102 189 25,808 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 372 48,265 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 412 44,243 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 436 50,726 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 823 108,985 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 230 24,931 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 246 33,030 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 395 59,129 

May p ..................................................................................................................................................................... 986 101,358 891 93,332 249 30,424 

Junep ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 216 32,783 

 

p

 = preliminary.

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

June April May June June April May June

2004 2005 2005p2005p2004 2005 2005p2005p

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ..................................................................................... 1,375 1,274 1,196 1,175 141,300 136,837 128,771 127,887 

 Total, private nonfarm ...................................................... 1,215 1,142 1,060 1,059 129,466 126,807 117,036 118,736 

 Manufacturing .................................................................... 361 395 359 347 47,548 63,121 53,243 55,820 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,379 1,373 986 1,157 134,588 158,582 101,358 120,463 

Total, private ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,156 1,324 915 990 115,626 154,339 95,006 106,219 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..................................................................................................................................................................... 79 61 24 49 4,822 6,206 1,674 2,912 

 Total, private nonfarm....................................................... 1,077 1,263 891 941 110,804 148,133 93,332 103,307 

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

 ) 3 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 187 ( 2 ) –

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

 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 277 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Construction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 77 126 104 61 4,924 9,652 7,885 4,304 

 Manufacturing..................................................................................................................................................................... 222 395 249 216 27,307 59,129 30,424 32,783 

 Food ..................................................................................................................................................................... 38 84 52 43 2,677 9,653 5,057 4,245 

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

 ) 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 660 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Textile mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 15 5 8 1,957 2,912 507 1,089 

 Textile product mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 6 4 4 ( 2 ) 626 260 486 

 Apparel ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 14 14 7 641 1,346 1,007 789 

 Leather and allied products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) 459 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 

 Wood products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 17 15 ( 2

 ) 634 3,252 2,191 ( 2 ) 

 Paper ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 9 9 7 ( 2 ) 769 737 633 

 Printing and related support activities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 10 11 7 1,324 789 764 569 

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

 Chemicals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 803 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 18 9 6 360 1,931 686 544 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 13 7 ( 2

 ) 304 1,252 537 ( 2 ) 

 Primary metals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 16 6 11 1,078 2,644 456 1,478 

 Fabricated metal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 28 19 12 1,464 2,220 1,363 963 

 Machinery ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 16 14 18 1,362 2,028 1,129 2,365 

 Computer and electronic products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 21 17 13 1,418 1,959 1,678 1,074 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 16 12 16 1,222 3,888 1,715 4,010 

 Transportation equipment ..................................................................................................................................................................... 51 77 40 41 9,303 20,879 10,906 12,268 

 Furniture and related products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 14 6 9 1,323 1,270 603 1,084 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 6 4 ( 2 ) 265 503 262 ( 2 ) 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 17 13 12 2,142 1,406 1,158 1,340 

 Retail trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 76 109 69 58 7,410 12,287 5,519 4,656 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 120 92 67 126 14,557 11,395 6,782 15,593 

 Information ..................................................................................................................................................................... 48 38 24 41 6,748 8,630 6,479 4,687 

 Finance and insurance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 32 14 23 1,502 2,107 1,048 1,637 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 9 ( 2 ) 5 231 793 ( 2 ) 239 

 Professional and technical services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 65 35 17 3,174 7,778 4,895 1,978 

 Management of companies and enterprises ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 935 540 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Administrative and waste services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 148 206 113 102 14,058 19,862 9,384 9,051 

 Educational services.................................................................................................................. 11 4 6 10 692 260 460 551 

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 149 27 61 133 12,457 1,921 5,205 11,354 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 32 15 25 1,390 2,689 806 1,338 

 Accommodation and food services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 85 75 78 71 10,549 7,253 7,719 10,150 

 Other services, except public administration..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 21 32 35 2,278 1,838 3,290 3,079 

 Unclassified ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2 2 1 – 181 129 42 –

Government ..................................................................................................................................................................... 223 49 71 167 18,962 4,243 6,352 14,244 

 Federal ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 9 12 10 1,040 696 1,235 964 

 State ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 12 12 15 1,058 1,054 712 1,009 

 Local ..................................................................................................................................................................... 196 28 47 142 16,864 2,493 4,405 12,271 

 

1

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

 

2

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

 

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2003 to June 2005,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates1

Events

Initial

claimants Events

Initial

claimants Events

Initial

claimants Events

Initial

claimants

2003

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,213 442,921 3,734 404,946 1,190 227,909 31.9 56.3 

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

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

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

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,890 489,416 4,292 443,980 1,690 326,328 39.4 73.5 

2004

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

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

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

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,289 416,209 3,905 385,046 1,339 238,392 34.3 61.9 

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

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

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

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,825 379,403 3,271 332,247 1,358 253,787 41.5 76.4 

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

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

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

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,611 391,934 3,242 361,855 886 148,180 27.3 41.0 

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

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

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

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,255 419,612 3,789 385,016 1,427 262,006 37.7 68.1 

2005

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

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

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

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,180 427,533 3,876 405,574 2.p 989 2,p 127,950 p25.5 p31.5

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

May p

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

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

Second Quarter p .................................................................................................................................................................... 3,516 380,403 3,095 344,772 

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

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

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

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

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

Mass layoffs

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

June April May June June April May June

2004 2005 2005p2005p2004 2005 2005p2005p

 United States1

 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,379 1,373 986 1,157 134,588 158,582 101,358 120,463 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 204 255 186 183 25,047 28,268 19,206 22,721 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 54 27 26 4,263 6,114 4,039 3,158 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 165 201 159 157 20,784 22,154 15,167 19,563 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 337 268 232 269 31,374 35,412 22,693 25,679 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 183 142 114 164 16,796 14,586 9,445 15,133 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 48 55 51 41 3,702 9,490 5,346 3,656 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 106 71 67 64 10,876 11,336 7,902 6,890 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 300 314 248 299 31,267 42,151 30,688 38,985 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 234 269 193 246 24,316 36,185 23,477 33,393 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 66 45 55 53 6,951 5,966 7,211 5,592 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 538 536 320 406 46,900 52,751 28,771 33,078 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 53 64 36 44 3,979 7,514 2,859 4,003 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 485 472 284 362 42,921 45,237 25,912 29,075 

 

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central:

 

 

p

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Census region and division
Table 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

June April May June June April May June

2004 2005 2005p2005p2004 2005 2005p2005p

 Total1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,379 1,373 986 1,157 134,588 158,582 101,358 120,463 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 10 9 8 579 1,314 1,204 833 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 5 ( 2

 ) 3 256 719 ( 2 ) 238 

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 32 12 7 1,307 4,574 1,015 475 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 5 6 ( 2

 ) 440 309 514 ( 2 ) 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 438 421 252 319 39,179 39,775 22,741 24,652 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 8 6 ( 2

 ) 431 753 458 ( 2 ) 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3 10 6 1,117 234 847 734 

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 – – 4 801 – – 1,674 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) –

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 93 62 53 93 6,466 5,192 3,192 6,661 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 27 22 19 2,873 3,444 1,998 1,924 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) 3 3 205 ( 2 ) 241 210 

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 5 4 4 291 503 223 301 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 52 55 39 56 5,869 6,502 3,940 5,273 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 33 23 34 2,564 4,251 2,327 5,771 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 11 6 7 1,417 1,466 485 847 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 4 9 6 1,042 315 764 822 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 28 18 11 1,210 6,696 1,601 962 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31 16 10 21 2,686 1,437 998 1,965 

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

 ) 7 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 665 234 ( 2 ) 

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 8 ( 2

 ) 4 480 748 ( 2 ) 478 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 16 10 7 1,573 1,339 2,676 592 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 55 49 49 55 5,277 5,355 9,725 6,580 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 14 9 14 2,258 2,273 1,314 1,314 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 3 5 7 427 201 562 391 

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 10 21 16 2,138 1,349 3,858 1,719 

Montana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3 3 6 171 299 358 378 

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 3 6 7 ( 2 ) 272 397 556 

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 6 3 12 1,152 567 191 1,713 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 4 3 3 391 379 227 661 

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 50 44 30 39 9,167 4,232 2,650 7,495 

New Mexico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 4 4 8 268 319 348 623 

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 36 65 80 37 4,031 8,072 8,875 3,463 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 25 9 13 1,014 2,588 1,094 1,127 

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

 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 61 80 42 62 6,755 15,288 3,349 11,541 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 5 ( 2

 ) 4 2,690 2,174 ( 2 ) 296 

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 22 12 20 1,772 2,349 1,502 2,253 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 79 92 49 81 7,586 9,850 3,642 8,605 

Rhode Island ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 12 ( 2

 ) 7 992 2,191 ( 2 ) 948 

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 11 16 17 3,438 1,659 1,566 1,564 

South Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – 291 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 14 19 15 1,486 1,279 1,979 1,470 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 59 45 49 37 5,060 7,416 6,229 3,329 

Utah ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 5 4 5 359 428 266 338 

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

 ) 12 – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,306 – ( 2 ) 

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 7 11 11 1,318 716 1,365 1,495 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 22 16 17 1,509 2,221 1,365 1,722 

West Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) – 3 277 ( 2 ) – 210 

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 40 52 40 39 3,851 4,789 4,136 4,228 

Wyoming ..................................................................................................................................................................... – ( 2

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 19 15 12 896 2,342 1,308 2,023 

 1 See footnote 1, table 3. p = preliminary. 

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

State