For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, April 22, 2011 USDL-11-0555 

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

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

MASS LAYOFFS — MARCH 2011 

Employers took 1,286 mass layoff actions in March involving 118,523 workers, seasonally adjusted, as 

measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. 

The number of mass layoff events in March decreased by 135 from February, and the number of 

associated initial claims decreased by 12,295. These were their lowest levels since September 2007 and 

May 2007, respectively. In March 253 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, 

seasonally adjusted, resulting in 27,619 initial claims. Manufacturing events decreased by 38 from the 

prior month to the lowest level on record, while associated initial claims increased by 1,559 from a 

program low in February (data begin in April 1995). (See table 1.) 

  

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

Events

Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

April 2006-March 2011

Total

Private nonfarm

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Claims

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

April 2006-March 2011

Private nonfarm

The national unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in March, essentially unchanged from the prior month 

and down from 9.7 percent a year earlier. In March total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 

216,000 over the month and by 1,300,000 from a year earlier. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in March was 908, not seasonally adjusted, resulting in 85,095 initial 

claims. (See table 2.) The number of mass layoff events was down by 289 from March 2010, and 

associated initial claims decreased by 26,632. Fifteen of the 19 major industry sectors in the private 
- 2 - 

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in March 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

Year Initial claims

Food service contractors ................................... 7,089 2007 7,636 

Temporary help services 1

 ................................. 6,424 2002 14,338 

School and employee bus transportation ............. 3,459 2008 8,073 

Household refrigerator and home freezer mfg. ..... 2,718 2011 2,718 

Discount department stores ................................ 1,930 2007 3,670 

Warehouse clubs and supercenters ..................... 1,575 2010 1,897 

Motion picture and video production .................. 1,488 2005 7,192 

Process and logistics consulting services ............. ( 2 ) 2009 1,846 

Highway, street, and bridge construction ............ 1,283 2001 2,640 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................. 1,160 2009 4,892 

 1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.

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

Industry Initial claims March peak

economy reported over-the-year declines in initial claims, with manufacturing and retail trade having the 

largest decreases. The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in March 2011 was 

food service contractors. (See table A. The table includes both publicly and privately owned entities.) 

The manufacturing sector accounted for 21 percent of all mass layoff events and 25 percent of initial 

claims filed in March. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 23 percent of events and 27 percent of 

initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in March 2011 was greatest in the food 

subsector. (See table 3.) Fourteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year 

decreases in initial claims, with the largest declines in transportation equipment and food. 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

All 4 regions and 8 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims due to mass 

layoffs in March. Among the census regions, the West registered the largest over-the-year decrease in 

initial claims. Of the geographic divisions, the East North Central and the Pacific had the largest overthe-year declines in initial claims. (See table 5.) 

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in March, followed by Texas, Pennsylvania, and 

New York. Thirty states experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by California, Illinois, 

and Michigan. (See table 6.) 

Note 

The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given 

month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. For private nonfarm establishments, information on the 

length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting 

more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides more 
- 3 - 

information on the industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of 

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

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

than 30 days. (See table 4.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. 

____________ 

The Extended Mass Layoffs news release for the First Quarter 2011 is scheduled to be released on 

Wednesday, May 11, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). The Mass Layoffs news release for April is 

scheduled to be released on Friday, May 20, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). 
Technical Note 

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

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job 

cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment 

insurance database. Each month, states report on employers 

which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during 

a consecutive 5-week period. These employers then are 

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these 

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

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report 

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

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly 

unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday 

through Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are 

included for the particular month, except if the first day of the 

month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is included in 

the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months 

will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks. The number of 

weeks in a given month may be different from year to year, 

and the number of weeks in a year may vary. Therefore, 

analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change in not 

seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect into 

consideration. 

The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 

after it had been terminated in November 1992 due to lack of 

funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were 

not available. 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339 

Definitions 

Employer. Employers in the MLS program include 

those covered by state unemployment insurance laws. 

Information on employers is obtained from the Quarterly 

Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which 

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

Industry. Employers are classified according to the 

2007 version of the North American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). For temporary help and professional 

employer organization industries, monthly MLS-related 

statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client 

companies in other industries. An individual layoff action at 

a client company can be small, but when initial claimants 

associated with many such layoffs are assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a 

mass layoff event may trigger. 

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of 

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a 

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or 

period of eligibility. 

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for 

unemployment insurance benefits filed against an employer 

during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. 

Seasonal adjustment 

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS 

began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS 

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

and mass layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm, 

and manufacturing sectors. 

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and 

removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring 

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

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

seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental 

changes in time series, particularly those associated with 

general economic expansions and contractions. 

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

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis. 

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly 

estimates, including those for the current month, in developing seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most 

recent 5 years of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a 

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

seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the 

original data to adjust them for differences in the number of 

weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly 

unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form 

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

with 5 weeks of data in 1 year and 4 weeks in another. The 

effects of these differences could seriously distort the 

seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal 

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

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the 

final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2007 to March 2011,

seasonally adjusted

2007

April .............................................................. 1,238 126,334 1,102 115,271 358 42,989 

May .............................................................. 1,159 113,578 1,064 106,573 347 44,637 

June ............................................................. 1,207 127,776 1,097 119,007 342 37,552 

July ............................................................... 1,295 136,168 1,193 128,208 401 55,906 

August .......................................................... 1,217 122,450 1,126 115,305 312 34,877 

September ................................................... 1,233 121,998 1,140 115,675 430 51,731 

October ........................................................ 1,330 133,063 1,210 124,455 439 56,970 

November .................................................... 1,397 145,339 1,269 135,651 408 56,985 

December .................................................... 1,553 154,275 1,435 144,785 463 59,445 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,437 146,900 1,302 135,622 431 55,562 

February ....................................................... 1,604 175,128 1,441 163,475 471 59,118 

March ........................................................... 1,500 150,502 1,388 140,424 435 56,156 

April .............................................................. 1,292 128,901 1,162 118,016 449 58,402 

May .............................................................. 1,582 161,944 1,444 152,230 468 62,452 

June ............................................................. 1,631 164,508 1,488 153,014 491 68,198 

July ............................................................... 1,581 164,497 1,443 153,720 463 62,425 

August .......................................................... 1,791 181,107 1,653 171,705 583 77,874 

September ................................................... 2,192 233,034 2,024 219,532 635 82,471 

October ........................................................ 2,221 229,254 2,062 215,787 697 92,408 

November .................................................... 2,415 228,107 2,256 214,631 900 102,284 

December .................................................... 2,443 245,661 2,264 231,138 927 114,280 

2009

January ........................................................ 2,272 238,717 2,103 224,850 756 100,927 

February ....................................................... 2,801 315,507 2,636 300,042 1,194 138,583 

March ........................................................... 2,950 295,543 2,758 279,027 1,205 144,713 

April .............................................................. 2,579 251,032 2,368 234,796 997 121,435 

May .............................................................. 2,758 288,319 2,557 271,425 1,187 147,548 

June ............................................................. 2,506 250,275 2,293 232,814 1,048 135,389 

July ............................................................... 2,192 223,697 1,977 203,365 620 72,932 

August .......................................................... 2,419 220,262 2,177 201,951 778 83,837 

September ................................................... 2,305 219,924 2,095 204,596 799 91,665 

October ........................................................ 1,975 195,347 1,780 177,977 570 63,646 

November .................................................... 1,754 154,223 1,585 141,439 464 51,891 

December .................................................... 1,725 156,274 1,545 141,649 420 43,584 

2010

January ........................................................ 1,716 171,633 1,541 157,597 494 60,059 

February ....................................................... 1,492 149,369 1,318 135,490 351 40,564 

March ........................................................... 1,635 146,901 1,436 131,953 347 37,273 

April .............................................................. 1,675 159,358 1,498 143,814 371 48,646 

May .............................................................. 1,665 155,352 1,405 133,913 314 30,967 

June ............................................................. 1,729 153,937 1,504 134,837 326 32,646 

July ............................................................... 1,528 138,581 1,316 121,378 296 30,752 

August .......................................................... 1,658 163,325 1,453 141,489 409 47,668 

September ................................................... 1,541 137,941 1,331 119,654 336 34,641 

October ........................................................ 1,649 147,204 1,445 130,264 353 37,394 

November .................................................... 1,579 148,800 1,397 133,845 350 39,072 

December .................................................... 1,483 137,992 1,272 122,688 319 35,977 

2011

January ........................................................ 1,534 149,799 1,344 132,730 341 39,189 

February ....................................................... 1,421 130,818 1,220 116,190 291 26,060 

March ........................................................... 1,286 118,523 1,128 105,636 253 27,619 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2007 to March 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

2007

April .............................................................. 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 309 35,229 

May .............................................................. 923 85,816 856 81,153 224 26,527 

June ............................................................. 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 313 36,571 

July ............................................................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 684 101,390 

August .......................................................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 220 23,361 

September ................................................... 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381 

October ........................................................ 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918 

November .................................................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 514 75,413 

December .................................................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 699 91,754 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 488 54,418 

February ....................................................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 361 42,527 

March ........................................................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 333 43,740 

April .............................................................. 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 394 48,188 

May .............................................................. 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 388 51,698 

June ............................................................. 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 309 42,097 

July ............................................................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 760 108,733 

August .......................................................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 414 51,912 

September ................................................... 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 361 46,391 

October ........................................................ 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 689 100,457 

November .................................................... 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 997 107,620 

December .................................................... 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 1,378 172,529 

2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2011

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

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

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

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

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

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

March January February March March January February March

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 1,635 1,534 1,421 1,286 146,901 149,799 130,818 118,523 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,436 1,344 1,220 1,128 131,953 132,730 116,190 105,636 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 347 341 291 253 37,273 39,189 26,060 27,619 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 1,197 2,558 1,024 908 111,727 246,463 85,585 85,095 

Total, private ........................................................ 1,149 2,438 976 874 107,880 234,708 82,230 82,046 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 38 66 57 30 2,366 4,943 3,512 2,032 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,111 2,372 919 844 105,514 229,765 78,718 80,014 

 Mining .............................................................. 5 15 4 3 374 1,188 322 247 

 Utilities ............................................................. ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 390 ( 2 ) 547 

 Construction .................................................... 117 325 104 99 8,206 23,906 7,003 7,569 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 273 693 222 191 29,745 75,006 18,471 20,869 

 Food ............................................................ 53 94 58 45 6,122 9,313 5,115 4,338 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. 4 5 5 4 716 752 287 242 

 Textile mills .................................................. 4 31 5 3 350 4,455 468 328 

 Textile product mills ..................................... 3 9 4 3 172 793 270 481 

 Apparel ........................................................ 10 20 5 4 578 1,776 693 374 

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

 Wood products ............................................ 16 43 22 24 1,445 4,930 1,872 2,354 

 Paper ........................................................... 5 14 12 7 313 1,049 750 622 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 14 12 6 5 1,224 983 679 359 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 185 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Chemicals .................................................... 13 18 7 ( 2 ) 1,064 1,612 759 ( 2 )

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 9 51 5 4 686 4,569 262 321 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 11 56 16 5 785 4,239 1,141 404 

 Primary metals ............................................. 8 23 8 8 773 3,046 794 536 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 18 51 8 12 1,361 4,174 446 916 

 Machinery .................................................... 22 46 11 11 2,373 5,446 897 1,077 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 16 14 13 10 1,278 1,020 847 808 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 6 15 4 8 1,195 1,572 1,078 2,886 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 43 128 19 19 7,128 19,478 1,275 2,887 

 Furniture and related products .................... 10 44 9 10 1,625 4,263 533 1,099 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 5 14 ( 2 ) 5 372 1,073 ( 2 ) 530 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 29 32 24 18 2,016 2,839 2,187 1,393 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 124 241 114 89 13,337 27,038 9,346 9,012 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 62 212 49 44 6,444 22,440 5,630 5,133 

 Information ....................................................... 52 53 58 36 5,715 7,915 8,959 3,788 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 43 31 22 19 3,636 2,758 1,407 1,354 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 8 17 7 6 409 1,150 369 452 

 Professional and technical services ................ 45 52 43 35 4,610 4,019 3,729 3,771 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 439 ( 2 ) 194 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 163 381 166 151 13,281 34,996 13,894 11,303 

 Educational services ........................................ 10 19 8 4 824 2,672 474 265 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 33 56 28 33 2,066 3,880 1,685 2,038 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 20 55 11 13 1,558 5,494 629 893 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 112 158 50 88 12,269 12,107 4,088 10,491 

 Other services, except public administration ... 10 21 4 8 670 1,528 161 695 

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

Government ......................................................... 48 120 48 34 3,847 11,755 3,355 3,049 

 Federal ............................................................ 8 23 5 5 636 2,922 384 532 

 State ................................................................ 15 32 17 10 1,324 3,272 1,029 1,389 

 Local ................................................................ 25 65 26 19 1,887 5,561 1,942 1,128 

 1

 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2009 to March 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2009

January ...................................... 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 

February .................................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 

March ......................................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 

First Quarter ............................... 8,259 835,638 7,913 807,445 3,979 835,551 50.3 103.5 

April ............................................ 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 

May ............................................ 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 

June ........................................... 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 

Second Quarter ......................... 7,804 802,915 7,008 733,431 3,395 731,049 48.4 99.7 

July ............................................ 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 

August ........................................ 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 

September ................................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 

Third Quarter ............................. 5,853 584,855 5,251 528,923 2,034 406,823 38.7 76.9 

October ...................................... 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 

November .................................. 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 

December .................................. 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 6,114 573,048 5,523 527,289 2,416 468,577 43.7 88.9 

2010

January ...................................... 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 

February .................................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 

March ......................................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 

First Quarter ............................... 5,240 493,224 4,884 466,610 1,870 368,459 38.3 79.0 

April ............................................ 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 

May ............................................ 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 

June ........................................... 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 

Second Quarter ......................... 5,055 494,213 4,222 419,729 2,008 395,224 47.6 94.2 

July ............................................ 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 

August ........................................ 976 92,435 897 83,021 

September ................................. 920 77,654 806 67,987 

Third Quarter ............................. 4,020 376,343 3,435 323,256 1,370 256,636 39.9 79.4 

October ...................................... 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 

November .................................. 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 

December .................................. 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 5,249 490,816 4,613 443,337 2,p 1,910 2,p 268,431 p

 41.4 p 60.5 

2011

January ...................................... 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 

February .................................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 

March ......................................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 

First Quarter ............................... 4,490 417,143 4,135 388,497 

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

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

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

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

 2

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

Mass layoffs

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

March January February March March January February March

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 United States 1

 ......................................... 1,197 2,558 1,024 908 111,727 246,463 85,585 85,095 

Northeast .......................................................... 195 591 173 169 19,419 58,802 16,047 15,540 

 New England ................................................ 26 81 32 22 2,168 7,047 4,259 1,883 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 169 510 141 147 17,251 51,755 11,788 13,657 

South ................................................................ 262 687 260 250 26,591 66,552 19,998 26,112 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 136 431 166 116 10,762 40,880 11,371 9,765 

 East South Central ....................................... 54 156 44 61 5,470 16,508 4,343 6,539 

 West South Central ...................................... 72 100 50 73 10,359 9,164 4,284 9,808 

Midwest ............................................................ 252 613 180 172 27,591 63,468 15,075 17,168 

 East North Central ........................................ 184 464 130 124 21,613 45,790 11,550 11,640 

 West North Central ....................................... 68 149 50 48 5,978 17,678 3,525 5,528 

West ................................................................. 488 667 411 317 38,126 57,641 34,465 26,275 

 Mountain ....................................................... 77 66 35 46 6,324 6,046 2,440 4,292 

 Pacific ........................................................... 411 601 376 271 31,802 51,595 32,025 21,983 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 3. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, 

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

comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas,

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota;

and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 

Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon,

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington.

Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama,

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

March January February March March January February March

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 Total 1

 ............................................... 1,197 2,558 1,024 908 111,727 246,463 85,585 85,095 

Alabama ............................................... 18 70 12 18 1,517 7,730 1,583 2,072 

Alaska .................................................. ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 392 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Arizona ................................................. 17 13 12 11 1,417 1,075 838 1,045 

Arkansas .............................................. 3 6 3 3 214 768 283 232 

California .............................................. 373 530 349 230 28,180 44,274 29,769 17,478 

Colorado .............................................. 7 11 4 5 626 1,126 383 557 

Connecticut .......................................... 9 11 4 5 746 1,048 331 410 

Delaware .............................................. – 5 3 – – 411 239 –

District of Columbia .............................. – 4 ( 2 ) – – 452 ( 2 ) –

Florida .................................................. 68 128 85 56 4,311 9,464 5,071 4,060 

Georgia ................................................ 13 84 28 16 1,202 8,952 2,221 1,593 

Hawaii .................................................. 7 6 3 5 534 388 232 659 

Idaho .................................................... 9 8 4 10 661 698 225 886 

Illinois ................................................... 60 86 35 37 7,479 7,516 3,508 3,495 

Indiana ................................................. 22 43 15 12 3,057 6,487 1,471 1,336 

Iowa ..................................................... 13 39 9 10 2,135 4,007 870 2,060 

Kansas ................................................. 4 23 5 5 313 5,440 308 727 

Kentucky .............................................. 25 47 13 20 3,276 5,472 1,682 2,387 

Louisiana ............................................. 16 29 6 11 1,615 2,309 518 1,239 

Maine ................................................... 3 11 ( 2 ) 5 233 900 ( 2 ) 575 

Maryland .............................................. 6 25 4 4 557 1,888 306 431 

Massachusetts ..................................... 7 34 6 7 725 3,225 534 624 

Michigan .............................................. 29 127 17 21 4,729 10,398 1,091 2,359 

Minnesota ............................................ 13 19 10 9 921 1,988 675 707 

Mississippi ........................................... 5 13 8 14 241 1,163 446 1,413 

Missouri ............................................... 31 55 17 21 2,112 4,713 1,038 1,755 

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

 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 560 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Nebraska ............................................. 6 9 9 3 409 1,086 634 279 

Nevada ................................................ 26 12 5 7 2,131 1,299 394 524 

New Hampshire ................................... 5 9 4 ( 2 ) 297 722 537 ( 2 ) New Jersey .......................................... 28 109 19 19 3,024 9,853 2,243 1,494 

New Mexico ......................................... 9 7 3 7 847 467 164 640 

New York ............................................. 60 207 45 49 6,046 24,950 4,161 5,159 

North Carolina 3

 ................................... 16 100 27 18 1,610 9,865 1,984 1,917 

North Dakota ........................................ – 3 ––– 390 – –

Ohio ..................................................... 34 93 30 22 2,927 9,241 2,473 1,891 

Oklahoma ............................................ 4 11 9 5 1,287 1,048 1,015 367 

Oregon ................................................. 18 36 9 20 2,080 4,390 896 2,337 

Pennsylvania ....................................... 81 194 77 79 8,181 16,952 5,384 7,004 

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

 ) 8 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 555 2,125 ( 2 )

South Carolina ..................................... 14 41 5 7 1,513 5,124 340 489 

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

Tennessee ........................................... 6 26 11 9 436 2,143 632 667 

Texas ................................................... 49 54 32 54 7,243 5,039 2,468 7,970 

Utah ..................................................... 5 7 6 3 393 720 370 423 

Vermont ............................................... ( 2 ) 8 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 597 558 ( 2 ) Virginia ................................................. 18 42 10 13 1,416 4,497 899 1,102 

Washington .......................................... 12 25 13 14 949 2,151 955 1,099 

West Virginia ........................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 216 ( 2 ) Wisconsin ............................................ 39 115 33 32 3,421 12,148 3,007 2,559 

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

Puerto Rico .......................................... 21 25 16 11 1,702 2,854 1,808 1,114 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. data due to a change in MLS unemployment insurance

 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. input procedures. 3 Data starting in November 2010 may not be comparable to prior NOTE: Dash represents zero.

State