Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 04-1679

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, August 26, 2004

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2004

In the second quarter of 2004, 1,233 mass layoff actions were taken by employers that resulted in the

separation of 233,852 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released

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

the number of separations were sharply lower than in April-June 2003 and were the lowest for a second

quarter since 2000. (See table A.) The decline over the year was most notable in transportation equipment

manufacturing, administrative and support services, air transportation, and general merchandise stores. In the

second quarter of 2004, the national unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted; a year

earlier it was 6.1 percent. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, increased by 1.3

percent or 1,383,000 jobs from April-June 2003 to April-June 2004. Extended mass layoffs that involve

the movement of work within the same company or to a different company, domestically or outside the U.S.,

occurred in over 11 percent of the nonseasonal layoff events and accounted for about 12 percent of the

worker separations. (See table B.)

The completion of seasonal work accounted for 37 percent of all events and 43 percent of separations

during the period—the highest share of total separations for any second quarter since data became available

in 1995. Layoffs due to internal company restructuring represented 16 percent of events and resulted in

35,119 separations, the lowest level for a second quarter since 1998. Permanent closure of worksites

occurred in 13 percent of all events and affected 30,263 workers, the lowest second-quarter level since

1995.

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs

Extended mass layoff separations occurred in 348 of the 1,197 detailed industries for which data are

available for the second quarter 2004. This is the fewest number of industries to have at least one extended

mass layoff event in a second quarter since 2000.

Manufacturing industries accounted for 21 percent of private nonfarm layoff events and 17 percent of

separations during April-June 2004. (See table 1.) The 39,865 worker separations in manufacturing were

the fewest for manufacturing for any quarter since 1995. Layoff activity in this sector was concentrated in

food manufacturing (9,830), followed by transportation equipment manufacturing (6,620) and fabricated

metal products (3,054).

Transportation and warehousing accounted for 11 percent of private nonfarm layoff events and 13 percent of separations, primarily in school and employee bus transportation (21,383). Layoffs in the accommodation and food services sector comprised 9 percent of events and 11 percent of separations, mostly
2

 2000

January-March ........... 1,081 202,500 180,205

April-June .................. 1,055 205,861 186,759

July-September .......... 817 174,628 158,394

October-December .... 1,638 332,973 320,909

 2001

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

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

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

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

 2002

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

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

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

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

 2003

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

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

July-September .......... 1,190 236,322 227,878

October-December .... 1,690 325,302 326,261

 2004

January-March r......... 1,339 276,302 236,521

April-June .................. 1,233 233,852 178,381

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

r

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

r

r

p

r = revised.

p = preliminary.

among food service contractors. Cutbacks in arts, entertainment, and recreation accounted for 4 percent

of events and 10 percent of separations, mainly in skiing facilities. The administrative and waste services

sector accounted for an additional 10 percent of events and 9 percent of separations during the quarter,

mostly in temporary help services and professional employer organizations. Health care and social assistance

accounted for an additional 13 percent of events and 9 percent of separations during the quarter, primarily in

child day care services.

Information technology-producing industries (communication equipment, communications services,

computer hardware, and software and computer services) accounted for 4 percent of layoff events and

8,578 worker separations in the second quarter, down from 7 percent of layoff events and 22,334

separations for the same period a year ago. (See table 6.) This also marked the fewest number of

separations in the industry grouping for a second quarter since 1999. Layoffs in the information technologyproducing industries were most numerous in communications services, 3,588 separations, followed by those

in software and computer services.

Reasons for Extended Layoff

Layoffs due to the completion of seasonal work accounted for 37 percent of the extended layoff events

and resulted in 101,457 separations in the second quarter. (See table 2.) Seasonal layoffs were most
3

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

Measure I

2004

I

2004

II

2004

II

2004

Layoff events Separations

Total private nonfarm ............................ 1,339 1,233 276,302 233,852

 Total, excluding seasonal and ............

 vacation events .............................. 980 701 212,830 118,720

 Total, movement of work ............. 113 80 19,978 14,450

r p r p

 1 

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

was either seasonal work or vacation period.

 r = revised.

 p = preliminary.

1

numerous among workers in amusements, gambling, and recreation, in transit and ground passenger

transportation, and in food services and drinking places.

Contract completion accounted for 17 percent of events and resulted in 33,447 separations during the

second quarter. These layoffs were primarily in administrative and support services, followed by those in

specialty trade contractors and building construction.

Internal company restructuring (bankruptcy, business ownership change, financial difficulty, and reorganization) accounted for 16 percent of layoff events and resulted in 35,119 separations. The number of such

separations was the lowest for a second quarter since 1998. These layoffs were mostly among workers in

hospitals, in credit intermediation and related activities, and in telecommunications. In the second quarter of

2003, layoff events for these reasons represented 20 percent of events and involved 80,753 workers.

Movement of Work

In the second quarter of 2004, 80 extended mass layoff events involved the movement of work; this was

about 11 percent of total extended mass layoff events, excluding seasonal and vacation events. These movements of work could have been to other U.S. locations or to locations outside of the U.S., and they could

have occurred either within the same company or to other companies. The extended mass layoff events

involving movements of work were associated with the separation of 14,450 workers, about 12 percent of

all separations resulting from nonseasonal/nonvacation mass layoff events. Revised data from the first quarter

of 2004 show there were 113 extended mass layoff events and 19,978 separations involving the movement

of work. (See table B.) (First quarter 2004 marked the initial reporting of job loss data relating to the

movement of work in the Bureau’s Mass Layoff Statistics program. In the first issuance of data, BLS was

able to provide the number of separations specifically associated with the movement of work within the same

company or to other companies, both domestically or outside the U.S. However, BLS is unable to report

similar information with the issuance of second quarter 2004 data because a high percentage of employers

were not able to provide such data. See the box note at the end of the release for more information.)

Among the 80 extended mass layoff events with reported relocation of work, 66 percent were permanent

closures of worksites, which affected 10,215 workers. In comparison, for the 1,233 total layoff events reported for the second quarter of 2004, only 13 percent involved permanent closure of worksites.
4

Of the layoffs involving movement of work, sixty-four percent of the events and 62 percent of the laid-off

workers were from manufacturing industries during the second quarter of 2004. (See table 7.) Among all

private nonfarm extended layoffs, manufacturing accounted for 21 percent of the events and 17 percent of the

separations.

Internal company restructuring (bankruptcy, business ownership change, financial difficulty, and reorganization) accounted for 68 percent of layoff events associated with work relocation and resulted in 9,186

separations during the second quarter. (See table 8.) Most of these were due to reorganization within the

company. In contrast, only 16 percent of the layoff events in the total private nonfarm economy were

because of internal company restructuring.

Table C. Relocations of work actions by employers

Movement of work ..................... 126 98

 Out-of-country relocations .. 38 30

 Within company ............... 21 17

 Different company ............. 17 13

Domestic relocations............... 84 63

Within company .................. 66 51

Different company............... 18 12

Unable to assign place of

relocation............................ 4 5

Within company...................... 89 71

Domestic ............................ 66 51

Out of country .................... 21 17

Unable to assign ................. 2 3

Different company .................. 37 27

Domestic ............................ 18 12

Out of country .................... 17 13

Unable to assign ................. 2 2

Actions

Relocations of work

I

2004

II

2004 r p

By location

 r = revised.

By company

 p = preliminary.
5

Among the regions, the South accounted for the largest proportion of workers in extended mass layoffs

associated with the movement of work (40 percent) in the second quarter of 2004, followed by the Midwest

(31 percent), the West (20 percent), and the Northeast (9 percent). (See table 9.)

The 80 extended mass layoff events discussed above generated 98 identifiable relocations of work. (An

identifiable relocation of work occurs when the employer could provide sufficient information on both the new

location of work and/or the number of workers affected by the movement. Some extended mass layoff

events generate more than one relocation of work. For example, when an employer moves work to two

new locations that would be counted as two relocations of work.) More than 7 in 10 relocations (71 out of

98) associated with movement of work occurred among establishments within the same company. (See table

C.) In 72 percent of these relocations, the work activities were reassigned to places elsewhere in the U.S.

About one-third of the movement-of-work situations involved out-of-country moves (30 out of 98). More

than half (17 events) of these out-of-country moves were within the same company. In the 27 events where

work activities were reassigned to another company under contractual arrangements, half of the instances

involved relocation of work to companies within the U.S. and half to companies outside of the U.S.

Recall Expectations

Fifty-six percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the second quarter of 2004 indicated they

anticipated some type of recall. This compares with 43 percent of the employers anticipating a recall a year

earlier. (See table D.) Most of the employers not expecting a recall were in administrative and support

services, professional and technical services, and credit intermediation and related activities.

Among establishments expecting a recall, most employers expected to recall over one-half of the

separated employees and to do so within 6 months. Fifty-two percent of the employers expected to extend

the offer to all laid-off workers, the highest proportion for a second quarter since 2000.

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

 layoff, second quarter 2003-second quarter 2004

 Anticipate a recall ............... 43.2 32.0 58.2 39.6 56.0

 Timeframe

 Within 6 months ................... 84.3 84.5 85.5 82.5 84.6

 Within 3 months................... 55.1 58.3 37.3 48.7 56.2

 Size

 At least half........................... 87.6 86.9 91.7 86.4 92.0

 All workers.......................... 49.2 44.1 45.0 35.3 52.3

Nature of the recall II

2004

IV

2003

I

2004

III

2003

II

2003

p

r

Percentage of events

 r = revised.

 p = preliminary.
6

 Number Percent Number

Size

 Total........... 1,233 100.0 233,852 100.0

50-99............... 491 39.8 34,622 14.8

100-149........... 266 21.6 31,537 13.5

150-199........... 152 12.3 25,789 11.0

200-299........... 137 11.1 32,546 13.9

300-499........... 115 9.3 42,632 18.2

500-999........... 53 4.3 25,480 15.2

1,000 or more... 19 1.5 31,246 13.4

p = preliminary.

 Percent

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

April-June 2004

Layoff events Separations

p

Excluding layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period (in which 95 percent of the employers

expected a recall), employers expected to recall laid-off workers in 26 percent of the events, higher than a

year earlier when 21 percent of employers expected a recall. In layoff events due to internal company

restructuring, employers anticipated a recall in only 4 percent of the events.

Size of Extended Layoff

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

layoff-size spectrum, with 61 percent involving fewer than 150 workers. These events, however, accounted

for only 28 percent of all separations. (See table E.) Separations involving 500 or more workers accounted

for 29 percent of all separations, down from 34 percent a year earlier. The average size of layoffs (as

measured by separations per layoff event) differed widely by industry, ranging from a low of 72 separations

in educational services to a high of 646 in amusements, gambling, and recreation.

Initial Claimant Characteristics

A total of 178,381 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass

layoffs in the second quarter of 2004. Of these claimants, 18 percent were black, 14 percent were Hispanic,

55 percent were women, and 20 percent were 55 years of age or older. (See table 3.) Thirty-six percent

of claimants were 30 to 44 years of age. Among the civilian labor force for the same period, 11 percent

were black, 13 percent were Hispanic, 46 percent were women, and 15 percent were 55 years of age or

older. Thirty-six percent of the civilian labor force were ages 30 to 44.

Geographic Distribution

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

Midwest (71,457), followed by the West (67,070), the South (54,954), and the Northeast (40,371). (See

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

and in food services and drinking places.

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

the West (-40,148), followed by the Northeast (-37,917), the South (-36,022), and the Midwest (-20,334).
7

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

 p = preliminary.

Metropolitan area II

2004

II

2003

II

2004

II

2003

p

Events Separations

Total, nonmetropolitan areas ....................... 280 173 47,043 31,890

Total, 331 metropolitan areas...................... 957 676 173,065 111,748

Chicago, Ill. ................................................ 57 45 11,637 10,587

Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif. .................. 51 28 13,934 4,658

Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. ................. 14 13 2,107 4,427

Sacramento, Calif. ...................................... 7 9 3,336 4,355

New York, N.Y. ........................................ 23 18 4,509 3,467

Philadelphia, Pa.-N.J. ................................. 20 20 2,181 2,433

Jacksonville, Fla. ........................................ 6 9 964 2,186

Houston, Texas .......................................... 17 16 2,537 2,127

Detroit, Mich. ............................................. 25 21 5,378 2,092

West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla. ............ 9 7 2,215 1,980

p

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

declines in the Pacific (-35,011), Middle Atlantic (-26,472), and South Atlantic (-23,887) divisions.

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

California (39,472), followed by Illinois (29,572) and Florida (20,578). These three states accounted for

32 percent of total layoff events and 38 percent of the separations during the second quarter of 2004. They

were followed by Pennsylvania (11,277), Ohio (11,246), Colorado (10,903), and New Jersey (10,057).

(See table 5.) After excluding the substantial impact of seasonal work, California still reported the most laidoff workers (25,167), largely due to layoffs in administrative and support services, social assistance, hospitals,

and professional and technical services.

Over the year, California reported the greatest decrease in laid-off workers (-28,779), followed by New

York (-19,725), Massachusetts (-12,236), and Florida (-11,642). The largest increase occurred in Ohio

(+4,938).

Fifty-five percent of events and 48 percent of separations occurred in metropolitan areas in the second

quarter of 2004, compared with 53 percent of events and 47 percent of separations during the second

quarter of 2003. Among the 331 metropolitan areas, Chicago, Ill., reported the highest number of

separations, 10,587. Next were Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif., with 4,658 separations, Riverside-San

Bernardino, Calif., with 4,427, and Sacramento, Calif., with 4,355. (See table F.) Employers located in

nonmetropolitan areas separated 31,890 workers in mass layoffs, down from 47,043 workers in the second

quarter of 2003.

Note

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

or more individuals from a single establishment filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a
8

NOTE: The fourth quarter of 2003 marked the final release of extended mass layoff data

for the total economy. Due to budget constraints in the Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS)

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

mass layoffs and plant closings has been redefined to cover only the private nonfarm

economy. Quarterly information on layoff events in agriculture and government is no longer

collected. However, the monthly reporting of the MLS program, which is based only on

administrative data, is unaffected and will continue to cover the total economy.

Also beginning with first quarter 2004, the reasons for layoff presented in table 2 of this

release have been revised. “Domestic relocation” and “overseas relocation” are no longer

being collected or reported. Rather, information on domestic and out-of-country moves is

collected and reported as part of additional questions that address the movement of work.

The initial report on movement of work for the first quarter of 2004 contained estimates of

worker separations or job loss specifically associated with the movement of work within the

same company or to other companies, domestically or outside the U.S. (See USDL 04-1038,

June 10, 2004.) While the total number of separations in extended mass layoff events

associated with the movement of work is known for the second quarter (14,450 laid-off

workers in 80 events), it is not possible to disaggregate the number of separations due to

relocations domestically or outside the U.S., within the same company or to other companies.

The reason for this is that employers were unable to provide such information in 31 of the 98

relocations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is exploring ways to obtain more detailed

responses so that resumption of the publication of job loss specifically associated with the

movement of work within the same company or to other companies, domestically or outside

the U.S., may resume in the future.

consecutive 5-week period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is triggered at an establishment, the

employer is contacted for additional information. Data for the second quarter are preliminary and subject to

revision. This release also includes revised data for previous quarters. Data are not seasonally adjusted, but

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

quarters should not be used as an indicator of trend.

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

______________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in July 2004 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, August 31, 2004.
Technical Note

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

program which identifies, describes, and tracks the effects of

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

insurance database. Establishments which have at least 50

initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week

period are contacted by the state agency to determine whether

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

information is obtained on the total number of persons

separated and the reasons for these separations.

Establishments are identified according to industry

classification and location, and unemployment insurance

claimants are identified by such demographic factors as age,

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

yields information on an individual’s entire spell of

unemployment, to the point when regular unemployment

insurance benefits are exhausted.

Definitions

Establishment. A unit at a single physical location at which

predominantly one type of economic activity is conducted.

Extended layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for

unemployment insurance benefits from an establishment during

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

30 days.

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or

period of eligibility.

Layoff. The separation of persons from an employer as part

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

persons subject to recall and those who are terminated by the

establishment.

Mass layoff. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment

insurance benefits from an establishment beginning in a given

month, regardless of duration.

Worksite closure. The complete closure of either multi-unit

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

are closed or planned to be closed.

Movement of work concepts and questions

Because of the employer interview component, the BLS

decided to use the MLS program as a vehicle for collecting

additional information on offshoring and outsourcing

associated with job loss, by adding questions that address

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

company experiencing the layoff has reassigned work activities

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

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

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

to another company under formal arrangements at another

worksite. The type of work activities subject to movement can

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

 “Overseas relocation” is the movement of work from within

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

can occur within the same company and involve movement of

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

or to a different company altogether.

“Domestic relocation” is the movement of work to other

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

a different company.

 “Overseas relocation” and “domestic relocation” are no

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

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

news release are not comparable to those that were presented

in earlier news releases.

 Questions on movement of work and location are asked for

all identified layoff events when the reason for separation is

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

vacation layoff events were excluded because movement of

work appears unlikely.

Questions on movement of work are asked after the analyst

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

days, and obtained the total number of workers separated from

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

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

the employer was asked the following:

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

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

company?”

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

was performed in-house by your employees to a different

company, through contractual arrangements?”

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

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

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

Layoff actions are classified as “overseas relocation” if the

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

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

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

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

After asking the movement of work questions, the employer

interview continues and responses are obtained for questions

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

Reliability of the data

The identification of establishments and layoff events in the

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

unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject

to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors

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

significant. While the MLS establishments and layoff events

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

asked the employer interview questions, the employer

responses are subject to nonsampling error. Nonsampling error

can occur for many reasons, including the inability to obtain

information for all respondents, inability or unwillingness of

respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in

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

of 2004, outright refusal to participate in the employer interview

accounted for 4.8 percent of all private nonfarm events.

Although included in the total number of relocations involving

the movement of work, for the second quarter, employers in 31

relocations were unable to provide the number of separations

specifically associated with the movement of work, 14 of which

involved out-of-country moves.

Other information

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

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

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2003 and 2004

Industry

II I II II I II II I II

2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 2003r 2004r 2004p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,799 1,339 1,233 368,273 276,302 233,852 348,966 236,521 178,381 

 Mining ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 14 ( 2

 ) 2,705 1,421 ( 2 ) 2,701 1,681 ( 2 ) 

 Utilities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 5 ( 2

 ) 924 620 ( 2 ) 996 664 ( 2 ) 

 Construction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 143 250 108 20,741 29,055 15,018 23,194 33,065 15,205 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 549 421 265 104,737 65,705 39,865 109,950 66,889 35,026 

 Food ..................................................................................................................................................................... 93 78 64 18,018 14,074 9,830 17,712 13,258 9,509 

 Beverage and tobacco products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 10 ( 2

 ) 1,082 1,788 ( 2 ) 1,000 1,693 ( 2 ) 

 Textile mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 14 12 4,199 2,074 1,727 4,642 2,155 1,247 

 Textile product mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 7 8 604 1,099 1,462 678 1,070 1,433 

 Apparel ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 19 11 3,535 2,514 1,584 3,700 2,128 1,026 

 Leather and allied products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 4 ( 2

 ) 947 689 ( 2 ) 839 612 ( 2 ) 

 Wood products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 16 7 2,357 2,021 758 4,146 2,438 543 

 Paper ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 16 9 1,689 2,121 1,108 1,850 2,514 882 

 Printing and related support activities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 14 12 1,858 1,866 1,551 2,046 1,574 1,062 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 5 – 559 392 – 574 455 –

 Chemicals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 16 6 4,463 2,321 887 3,272 1,887 735 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 20 12 1,712 2,690 1,149 2,514 2,364 915 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 22 ( 2

 ) 1,815 3,022 ( 2 ) 1,712 2,521 ( 2 ) 

 Primary metals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 29 15 6 7,270 3,086 1,067 6,501 2,950 974 

 Fabricated metal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 22 18 5,261 2,550 3,054 5,547 2,674 2,018 

 Machinery ..................................................................................................................................................................... 36 21 13 7,373 2,264 1,526 6,417 3,090 1,407 

 Computer and electronic products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 71 33 13 11,109 4,120 1,697 11,379 5,015 1,537 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 14 8 2,922 2,414 1,466 3,572 2,752 1,457 

 Transportation equipment ..................................................................................................................................................................... 65 41 37 21,336 9,715 6,620 25,332 10,544 7,055 

 Furniture and related products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34 21 17 4,914 3,273 2,134 4,801 3,780 1,814 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 13 7 1,714 1,612 1,461 1,716 1,415 657 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 47 32 19 7,060 4,521 2,973 5,444 3,891 2,078 

 Retail trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 114 148 75 26,100 91,984 13,012 24,544 45,660 11,882 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 162 38 130 42,355 7,034 30,902 44,604 6,896 23,888 

 Information ..................................................................................................................................................................... 76 50 41 22,359 10,491 7,463 21,754 11,328 6,630 

 Finance and insurance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 52 51 35 9,776 8,942 5,930 8,866 10,454 5,085 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 915 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 864 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Professional and technical services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 75 34 57 16,433 4,574 14,301 13,681 5,100 11,477 

 Management of companies and enterprises ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 5 8 1,775 515 1,045 2,064 841 705 

 Administrative and waste services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 172 147 119 35,295 28,944 21,782 31,157 29,194 16,655 

 Educational services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 ( 2

 ) 4 3,200 ( 2 ) 289 2,548 ( 2 ) 247 

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 139 31 155 20,981 4,522 21,473 17,651 3,824 15,486 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 55 20 50 16,877 2,547 22,939 6,256 2,426 4,847 

 Accommodation and food services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 117 69 105 28,491 11,228 26,595 25,523 11,861 21,734 

 Other services, except public administration ..................................................................................................................................................................... 51 15 54 7,055 2,973 8,353 6,675 1,557 6,212 

 Unclassified ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3 1 494 293 51 494 345 51 

 

 

1

 For the second quarter of 2004, data on layoffs were reported by employers administrative data, will be unaffected and will continue to cover the

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

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

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

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

p

 = preliminary.

private nonfarm economy. Quarterly information on layoff events in agriculture 

r

 = revised.

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

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

Separations Initial claimants for

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2003 and 2004

Reason for layoff

II I II II I II II I II

2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 2003r 2004r 2004p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,799 1,339 1,233 368,273 276,302 233,852 348,966 236,521 178,381 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

Bankruptcy ..................................................................................................................................................................... 65 29 15 16,458 9,135 2,451 13,358 6,342 1,574 

Business ownership change ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 35 24 9,789 5,298 5,484 5,530 5,449 4,084 

Contract cancellation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 29 28 5,595 4,762 4,598 6,840 3,477 2,863 

Contract completed ..................................................................................................................................................................... 246 198 209 42,104 62,127 33,447 45,570 42,301 30,389 

Domestic relocation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 ( 3

 ) ( 3 ) 4,170 ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 3,844 ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 

Energy-related ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

Environment-related ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 – ( 2

 ) 884 – ( 2 ) 711 – ( 2 ) 

Financial difficulty ..................................................................................................................................................................... 98 87 33 24,188 16,301 6,722 20,695 14,762 2,799 

Import competition ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 15 8 5,660 1,439 1,606 5,571 1,781 753 

Labor dispute ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 4 10 1,085 21,271 1,854 992 3,042 1,439 

Material shortage ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 618 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,041 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Model changeover ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Natural disaster ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Non-natural disaster ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

Overseas relocation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 ( 3

 ) ( 3 ) 4,205 ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 3,296 ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 

Plant or machine repair ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 ( 2

 ) 6 1,161 ( 2 ) 916 808 ( 2 ) 923 

Product line discontinued ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 10 8 1,829 2,060 1,403 2,454 1,575 1,259 

Reorganization within company ..................................................................................................................................................................... 174 172 121 30,318 29,158 20,462 30,544 33,284 16,864 

Seasonal work ..................................................................................................................................................................... 465 356 452 108,517 63,045 101,457 87,838 56,814 68,037 

Slack work ..................................................................................................................................................................... 263 173 104 40,363 21,060 15,461 51,566 28,769 16,829 

Vacation period ..................................................................................................................................................................... 71 3 80 14,439 427 13,675 13,395 526 10,090 

Weather-related ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 16 ( 2

 ) 2,456 1,465 ( 2 ) 2,463 1,724 ( 2 ) 

Other ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37 65 32 7,828 12,638 5,119 6,137 10,553 3,527 

Not reported ..................................................................................................................................................................... 197 140 96 44,295 24,407 18,102 43,684 24,358 16,108 

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

 

2

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

 

3

 Beginning with data for 2004, these reasons for layoff are no longer used. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

Initial claimants for

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

private nonfarm sector, first and second quarters, 2004

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55and over

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

 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 

 Total, private nonfarm1

 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,339 1,233 236,521 178,381 13.8 18.2 15.5 14.0 40.7 55.0 15.2 19.6 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 7 882 1,224 35.5 60.0 6.9 3.8 38.0 39.5 9.1 16.7 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 9 426 1,140 2.6 3.0 10.8 21.4 27.9 39.3 10.8 19.5 

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 8 1,915 1,476 5.9 2.7 32.5 57.6 47.2 61.5 12.0 11.7 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 9 ( 2 ) 650 37.6 56.3 1.6 1.4 75.5 78.0 14.6 11.2 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 234 164 47,240 23,700 10.8 9.7 30.3 34.4 48.5 54.4 11.3 16.5 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 15 1,053 2,107 4.9 7.7 34.1 21.3 25.9 59.6 15.3 17.5 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 20 1,853 2,296 19.9 12.2 18.3 6.8 53.3 66.5 17.9 18.7 

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3 1,119 238 6.9 49.6 4.0 10.1 17.5 84.0 10.8 12.6 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) – 59.4 – 6.3 – 42.2 – 14.1 

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 94 116 16,066 15,306 15.4 19.8 33.3 31.9 47.2 49.7 18.6 21.4 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 28 5,896 4,218 44.0 65.8 2.6 3.3 38.0 68.4 20.6 14.3 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 5 661 494 1.2 1.4 26.8 15.0 9.7 55.9 10.1 9.7 

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 3 474 207 1.1 1.0 4.6 3.9 19.0 26.6 16.7 16.4 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 118 111 19,706 21,574 21.1 23.4 15.2 8.5 40.3 53.1 14.0 18.8 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 24 5,140 3,112 6.8 19.8 3.2 2.7 34.6 57.6 18.0 25.0 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 3 1,777 286 2.3 .3 2.4 .3 40.2 69.2 12.8 31.8 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 13 832 1,853 12.6 15.5 4.6 2.4 47.5 53.5 16.2 11.9 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 21 1,692 2,266 23.6 7.7 .1 .9 53.0 48.9 12.4 14.4 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 26 823 2,695 47.4 63.8 3.5 1.8 24.4 73.8 13.5 17.5 

Maine ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 6 1,706 810 .6 .7 .2 .2 28.1 34.4 19.6 13.5 

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 4 ( 2 ) 460 8.0 21.3 – 2.0 50.0 41.5 13.8 30.2 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 28 3,026 4,051 8.4 12.4 2.8 3.9 43.8 57.2 13.8 23.5 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 78 64 17,204 8,520 12.3 17.5 4.2 2.8 41.7 63.6 14.2 18.8 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 23 2,880 2,125 4.3 8.4 4.5 8.5 38.9 53.4 14.9 19.0 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 6 254 585 85.4 73.7 .4 .3 47.6 55.2 17.3 17.6 

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 14 1,822 1,783 9.0 18.3 .9 .3 24.5 70.1 14.2 26.9 

Montana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 4 346 322 – .3 1.2 4.7 9.5 58.7 18.8 9.3 

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 6 617 652 17.2 20.9 16.2 4.4 29.5 55.1 11.2 25.6 

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 4 2,642 593 11.0 23.9 15.2 15.3 35.8 54.8 27.3 19.2 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) 679 ( 2 ) 7.4 2.3 25.2 – 43.9 60.2 16.6 29.5 

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 48 43 7,425 9,545 23.6 13.5 10.8 9.2 44.4 72.9 25.6 34.6 

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

 ) 3 ( 2 ) 295 1.1 3.7 25.8 49.2 13.5 35.6 5.6 7.5 

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 124 42 21,620 6,362 11.5 16.3 6.7 7.2 34.8 45.4 15.0 16.3 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 19 2,048 1,971 49.0 41.7 4.5 2.1 48.2 53.7 23.7 21.6 

North Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 – 360 – .3 – .3 – 11.7 – 20.8 –

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 78 82 10,446 9,708 12.8 17.6 1.5 2.0 27.9 50.8 13.5 15.7 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 5 1,234 485 5.0 6.8 9.2 5.6 33.4 45.4 21.1 14.2 

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 22 3,837 3,222 1.9 2.5 19.3 16.0 54.3 62.2 17.5 25.5 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 77 79 16,596 14,452 9.2 8.9 2.1 1.8 38.9 53.0 18.7 25.0 

Rhode Island ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 8 562 1,170 1.6 5.8 12.6 7.4 45.6 76.1 28.5 23.4 

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 11 1,109 1,590 57.2 55.6 1.4 – 56.3 80.3 4.4 1.8 

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

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1.2 1.1 2.3 1.7 28.7 59.9 11.7 28.2 

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 9 1,435 903 18.2 22.7 – – 51.8 57.0 20.1 21.2 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 44 47 11,707 8,706 16.0 14.0 42.6 46.6 34.4 31.2 11.2 10.9 

Utah ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 5 622 399 1.0 1.0 10.0 8.8 37.5 71.9 11.9 12.5 

Vermont ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 7 167 1,236 – .8 1.2 .2 25.7 41.1 12.6 16.2 

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 23 2,071 2,704 42.8 58.9 1.5 1.6 56.4 67.0 22.0 16.5 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 16 4,197 1,536 4.3 6.1 14.4 12.1 37.1 37.0 16.5 12.4 

West Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 5 877 459 .7 .4 – – 27.6 29.0 13.2 19.2 

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 63 58 10,558 8,502 4.7 11.4 8.1 3.5 31.3 59.8 14.3 26.1 

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

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3.8 – 5.1 – 78.3 28.1 14.0 1.6 

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 14 1,474 2,230 ( 3

 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 63.6 51.4 11.0 8.3 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

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

 = revised.

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2003 and 2004

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

II I II II I II II I II

2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 2003r 2004r 2004p 

 United States1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,799 1,339 1,233 368,273 276,302 233,852 348,966 236,521 178,381 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 366 309 234 78,288 45,746 40,371 78,496 53,634 40,010 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 97 60 70 23,348 8,360 11,903 14,325 7,993 9,651 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 269 249 164 54,940 37,386 28,468 64,171 45,641 30,359 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 490 260 340 90,976 46,739 54,954 85,914 47,715 44,524 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 299 165 210 58,903 32,238 35,016 49,670 29,324 27,010 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 67 31 43 10,036 4,424 7,684 8,983 4,263 4,978 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 124 64 87 22,037 10,077 12,254 27,261 14,128 12,536 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 447 437 400 91,791 72,741 71,457 97,103 71,513 58,292 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 354 365 339 73,719 62,030 61,300 78,620 63,054 51,416 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 93 72 61 18,072 10,711 10,157 18,483 8,459 6,876 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 496 333 259 107,218 111,076 67,070 87,453 63,659 35,555 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 96 42 43 22,858 7,911 17,721 13,713 7,298 5,463 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 400 291 216 84,360 103,165 49,349 73,740 56,361 30,092 

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

 p = preliminary. Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and

 r = revised. Texas: East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin;

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

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

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

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

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2003 and 2004

State

II I II II I II II I II

2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 2003r 2004r 2004p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,799 1,339 1,233 368,273 276,302 233,852 348,966 236,521 178,381 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 4 7 2,440 882 1,200 2,440 882 1,224 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 5 9 1,129 426 1,140 1,070 426 1,140 

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 11 8 4,422 1,918 1,236 4,026 1,915 1,476 

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

 ) 9 1,239 ( 2 ) 1,724 588 ( 2 ) 650 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 313 234 164 68,251 91,415 39,472 60,544 47,240 23,700 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 9 15 8,245 904 10,903 3,130 1,053 2,107 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 13 20 3,695 2,545 4,800 3,512 1,853 2,296 

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3 3 256 1,127 285 256 1,119 238 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 157 94 116 32,220 16,982 20,578 24,564 16,066 15,306 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 27 28 10,309 7,354 5,281 8,580 5,896 4,218 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 5 5 690 562 822 710 661 494 

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 5 3 1,900 672 510 1,926 474 207 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 136 118 111 32,809 24,348 29,572 29,163 19,706 21,574 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 45 28 24 10,243 5,125 4,244 10,635 5,140 3,112 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 11 3 486 1,879 513 354 1,777 286 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 9 13 2,385 1,688 2,762 4,802 832 1,853 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 13 21 3,636 1,919 3,663 3,122 1,692 2,266 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 29 9 26 3,971 1,333 3,756 3,529 823 2,695 

Maine ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 11 6 2,753 1,849 1,768 1,378 1,706 810 

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 ( 2

 ) 4 2,222 ( 2 ) 651 1,951 ( 2 ) 460 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 45 23 28 14,441 2,552 2,205 6,850 3,026 4,051 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 66 78 64 14,990 10,862 7,591 17,537 17,204 8,520 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37 23 23 5,960 3,339 3,312 5,880 2,880 2,125 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3 6 1,434 369 1,342 956 254 585 

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 18 14 7,948 2,468 2,786 6,460 1,822 1,783 

Montana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 4 4 1,903 335 951 1,185 346 322 

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 6 6 708 852 643 594 617 652 

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 6 4 932 2,853 810 784 2,642 593 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 3 ( 2

 ) 543 672 ( 2 ) 635 679 ( 2 ) 

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 67 48 43 13,467 7,252 10,057 14,228 7,425 9,545 

New Mexico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 ( 2

 ) 3 2,329 ( 2 ) 746 1,637 ( 2 ) 295 

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 108 124 42 26,859 20,558 7,134 23,537 21,620 6,362 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 45 16 19 7,410 2,457 2,828 7,446 2,048 1,971 

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

 ) 3 – ( 2 ) 350 – ( 2 ) 360 –

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 52 78 82 6,308 11,837 11,246 11,749 10,446 9,708 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 9 5 5,189 1,072 449 5,918 1,234 485 

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 23 22 3,300 6,625 4,558 3,763 3,837 3,222 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 94 77 79 14,614 9,576 11,277 26,406 16,596 14,452 

Rhode Island ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 7 8 840 552 1,806 874 562 1,170 

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 8 11 1,442 1,069 1,512 1,734 1,109 1,590 

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

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 11 9 2,526 1,254 1,479 2,465 1,435 903 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 69 44 47 11,638 6,842 6,325 17,226 11,707 8,706 

Utah ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 5 5 3,127 900 2,465 1,025 622 399 

Vermont ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3 7 1,076 190 1,236 1,076 167 1,236 

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 12 23 4,056 1,731 3,276 4,569 2,071 2,704 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 45 24 16 10,990 4,137 3,357 7,653 4,197 1,536 

West Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 4 5 937 1,410 541 519 877 459 

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 55 63 58 9,369 9,858 8,647 9,536 10,558 8,502 

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 8 14 1,333 1,229 2,005 2,661 1,474 2,230 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. r

 = revised.

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

 p = preliminary.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance
Table 6. Information technology-producing industries: Extended mass layoff events and separations, private nonfarm sector, 1996-2004

Layoff 

events Separations Layoff 

events Separations Layoff 

events Separations Layoff 

events Separations Layoff 

events Separations

1996

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,263 246,820 27 6,377 11 9,008 6 900 15 3,541 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,130 209,688 23 4,475 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 10 1,359 4 615 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 847 181,569 28 3,818 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 8 1,710 5 1,290 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,520 310,045 22 3,214 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 8 1,354 9 1,166 

 Total ........................................................................................... 4,760 948,122 100 17,884 20 10,724 32 5,323 33 6,612 

1997

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,141 226,735 15 2,644 7 899 7 504 9 1,602 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,303 280,255 16 2,532 8 863 4 553 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 851 172,392 15 3,091 6 682 6 983 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,376 268,461 18 3,667 4 762 6 475 4 819 

 Total ........................................................................................... 4,671 947,843 64 11,934 25 3,206 23 2,515 18 3,237 

1998

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

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

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

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

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

1999

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

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

 ) ( 6 ) 

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

 ) ( 6 ) 

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

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

2000

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

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

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

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

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

2001

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

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

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

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

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

2002

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

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

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

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

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

2003

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

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

Third quarter .................................................................................... 1,190 

r 236,322 46 6,488 26 4,433 9 1,289 15 r 2,593

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,690 

r 325,302 25 5,080 14 1,984 9 1,619 28 6,635 

 Total ........................................................................................... 6,181 r 1,216,844 196 32,689 100 16,230 62 10,408 113 

 r 21,710

2004

First quarterr 

............................................................................................................. 1,339 276,302 27 3,222 16 2,992 8 894 23 4,197 

Second quarterp ............................................................................................................. 1,233 233,852 16 1,862 20 3,128 – – 17 3,588 

 

1

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

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

 

2

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

Classification System (NAICS), are: semiconductor machinery manufacturing; office 

4

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

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

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

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

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

resistor manufacturing; electronic coils, transformers, and inductors; electronic 

5

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

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

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

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

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

 

3

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry 

6

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

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

web search portals; data processing and related services; computer and software 

p

 = preliminary.

merchant wholesalers; computer and software stores; custom computer programming 

r

 = revised.

Communications 

services5

Information technology-producing industries1

Total extended 

mass layoffs

Year

Computer 

hardware2

Software and 

computer services3

Communications 

equipment4
Table 7. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the 

movement of work, first and second quarters 2004

First quarterr Second quarterpFirst quarterr Second quarterp

 Total, private nonfarm1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 113 80 19,978 14,450 

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

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

 ) – ( 2 ) –

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

 ) – ( 2 )

 Manufacturing.................................................................................. 74 51 12,587 8,937 

 Food.............................................................................................. 8 ( 2

 ) 1,478 ( 2 )

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

 ) – ( 2 ) –

 Textile mills................................................................................... 3 4 810 537 

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

 ) 4 ( 2 ) 868 

 Apparel........................................................................................... 5 4 1,237 847 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) –

 Wood products............................................................................. ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) –

 Paper.............................................................................................. 4 ( 2

 ) 295 ( 2 )

 Printing and related support activities.............................. 3 ( 2

 ) 264 ( 2 )

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

 Chemicals.................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) 634 ( 2 )

 Plastics and rubber products................................................ 5 5 1,134 632 

 Nonmetallic mineral products................................................ – – – –

 Primary metal.............................................................................. ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) –

 Fabricated metal products...................................................... ( 2

 ) 6 ( 2 ) 1,079 

 Machinery.................................................................................... 6 ( 2

 ) 870 ( 2 )

 Computer and electronic products...................................... 7 5 785 953 

 Electrical equipment and appliance................................... 6 ( 2

 ) 1,079 ( 2 )

 Transportation equipment.................................................... 7 3 1,737 396 

 Furniture and related products.............................................. 4 8 497 1,026 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing............................................. 4 ( 2

 ) 739 ( 2 )

 Wholesale trade............................................................................... 4 5 915 610 

 Retail trade........................................................................................ 4 6 540 1,039 

 Transportation and warehousing.............................................. 5 ( 2

 ) 1,152 ( 2 )

 Information......................................................................................... 8 4 1,780 771 

 Finance and insurance.................................................................. 5 ( 2

 ) 684 ( 2 )

 Real estate and rental and leasing................................................... – – – –

 Professional and technical services......................................( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

 ) – ( 2 ) –

 Administrative and waste services.......................................... 4 ( 2

 ) 647 ( 2 )

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

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

 ) – ( 2 ) –

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation..........................................– ( 2

 ) – ( 2 )

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

 Other services, except public administration....................... 3 – 311 –

 Unknown ................................................................................................................................... – – – –

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. 

r

 = revised.

 

2

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

 

p

 = preliminary.

Industry

Layoff events Separations
Table 8. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement 

of work, first and second quarters 2004

First quarterr Second quarterp First quarterr Second quarterp

 Total, private nonfarm1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 113 80 19,978 14,450 

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

Bankruptcy ..................................................................................................................................................................... – ( 2

 ) – ( 2 )

Business ownership change ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 8 669 1,580 

Contract cancellation ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Contract completed ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

Financial difficulty ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 ( 2

 ) 3,492 ( 2 )

Import competition ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 4 ( 2 ) 913 

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

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

Model changeover ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – –

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

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

Product line discontinued ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Reorganization within company ..................................................................................................................................................................... 59 42 9,829 7,324 

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

 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

Slack work ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 5 735 1,374 

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

 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

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

Other ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 9 4,191 1,798 

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

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. 

p = preliminary.

 

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 

r = revised.

 

3

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

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

Reason for layoff

Layoff events Separations
Table 9. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the 

movement of work, first and second quarters 2004

First quarterr Second quarterp First quarterr Second quarterp

 United States1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 113 80 19,978 14,450 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 9 2,691 1,335 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 4 508 613 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 5 2,183 722 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 33 5,889 5,712 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 17 3,172 2,634 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 11 956 2,161 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 5 1,761 917 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37 22 6,442 4,442 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31 19 5,165 3,427 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 3 1,277 1,015 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 16 4,956 2,961 

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

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 

1

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

 

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South 

 

p

= preliminary. Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East 

 

r = revised. North Central: Iliinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; 

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

the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massa- Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: 

chusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 

New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, 

District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Oregon, and Washington.

Region and division

Layoff events Separations