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Technical information: (202) 691-6392

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 07-0284

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Friday, February 23, 2007

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

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally 

adjusted, February 2002-January 2007

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

 2003 2004 2005 2006 

Private nonfarm

Total

 2007

Manufacturing

MASS LAYOFFS IN JANUARY 2007

In January, employers took 1,237 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings

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

of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the

number of workers involved totaled 126,368, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff

events increased by 36 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 7,450.

During January, 389 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted,

resulting in 51,141 initial claims. Compared with the prior month, mass layoff activity in manufacturing

decreased by 1 event and by 2,687 initial claims. (See table 1.)

The national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in January, seasonally adjusted, essentially unchanged

from the prior month (4.5 percent) and from a year earlier (4.7 percent). Total nonfarm payroll employment,

seasonally adjusted, increased by 111,000 over the month and by 2.1 million over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted,

accounted for 34 percent of the total initial claims in January. The industry with the highest number of initial

claims was temporary help services with 10,332, followed by heavy duty truck manufacturing with 6,238,

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally 

adjusted, February 2002-January 2007

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2003 2004 2005 2006 

Total

Private nonfarm

2007

 Manufacturing
2

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in January 2007

Industry

Initial claims

January peak

Year

Initial claims

Temporary help services........................................ 10,332 1998 26,224

Heavy duty truck manufacturing............................. 6,238 2007 6,238

Motion picture and video production..................... 5,122 1998 12,038

School and employee bus transportation................ 4,738 2005 14,526

Professional employer organizations ....................... 3,542 2005 5,258

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ........... 3,477 2001 8,450

Highway, street, and bridge construction ............... 3,436 2000 9,680

Automobile manufacturing...................................... 3,391 2001 21,093

Farm labor contractors and crew leaders .............. 2,906 1999 5,859

Department stores, except discount ....................... 2,071 1998 5,773

and motion picture and video production with 5,122. Together, these three industries accounted for 16 percent of all initial claims due to mass layoffs during the month. (See table A.)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff events and 40 percent of all related

initial claims filed in January; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 27 percent of events and 30 percent of

initial claims. In January 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (22,315, mostly in motor vehicle manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (4,525),

and wood product manufacturing (4,342). (See table 3.)

Administrative and waste services comprised 12 percent of events and initial claims filed over the month,

with the majority of layoffs in temporary help services. Construction accounted for 14 percent of mass layoff

events and 9 percent of initial claims in January, largely from specialty trade contractors. Eight percent of all

mass layoff events and 7 percent of related initial claims filed were from retail trade, primarily from general

merchandise stores. Transportation and warehousing made up 6 percent of events and 7 percent of associated initial claims, primarily from the school and employee bus transportation industry. Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and initial claims, largely from executive, legislative, and general

government.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in January, at 1,407, was up by

162 from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 17,038 to 134,984. (See

table 2.) The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment

manufacturing (+10,894), administrative and support services (+4,538), and specialty trade contractors

(+2,285). For transportation equipment manufacturing, states with the largest over-the-year increases in

initial claims were Kentucky (+4,255), Illinois (+2,390), Ohio (+1,526), and Louisiana (+1,467). The

largest over-the-year decreases in mass layoff initial claims were reported in general merchandise stores

(-4,527), motion picture and sound recording industries (-2,528), and electrical equipment and appliance

manufacturing (-1,451).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

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

in the West, 41,239. Administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording industries
3

together accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The

Midwest had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions, 38,412, followed by the South,

29,870, and the Northeast, 25,463. (See table 5.)

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in three of the four regions—

the South (+7,676), the West (+5,014), and the Midwest (+4,662). The Northeast region was almost

unchanged, with initial claims declining by 314. Eight geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in

the numbers of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increases in the Pacific (+3,843),

the East South Central (+3,822), and the East North Central (+3,039). The only division with an over-theyear decrease was the Middle Atlantic (-1,898).

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

in January (33,560), followed by New York (10,678), Ohio (8,883), Pennsylvania (8,699), and Michigan

(7,914). These five states accounted for 52 percent of all mass layoff events and associated initial claims for

unemployment insurance. (See table 6.)

Kentucky had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+3,934), mostly due to

layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing. States having the next largest increases in initial claims

were California (+3,172), Ohio (+2,399), Illinois (+2,025), and Florida (+1,829). The largest over-the-year

decreases in claims occurred in New York (-2,612), Virginia (-1,378), Michigan (-872), and Tennessee

(-850).

Note

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

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

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

30 days (referred to as “extended mass layoffs”). The quarterly release provides more information on the

industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.

Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months

in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 4.)

See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

______________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in February 2007 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, March 22.
Technical Note

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

program that uses a standardized, automated approach to

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job

cutbacks, using data from each state’s unemployment insurance

database. Each month, states report on establishments which

have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a

consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these

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

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on

layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly

unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through

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

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

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

tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks

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

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

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

calendar effect into consideration.

The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it

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

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

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

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

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

Definitions

Initial claimant . A person who files any notice of

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or

period of eligibility.

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for

unemployment insurance benefits filed against an

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

Seasonal adjustment

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS

began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.

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

layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm, and

manufacturing sectors.

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and

removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring

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

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

seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental

changes in time series, particularly those associated with

general economic expansions and contractions.

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

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis.

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly

estimates, including those for the current month, in developing

seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most recent

5 years of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a

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

seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the

original data to adjust them for differences in the number of

weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly

unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form

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

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

the seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal

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

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the final

seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, February 2003 to January 2007,

seasonally adjusted

2003

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,848 192,197 1,664 178,963 650 81,370 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,787 174,936 1,592 159,242 610 73,015 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,707 172,348 1,557 162,117 634 82,756 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,731 184,479 1,550 170,984 635 87,049 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,733 164,442 1,523 147,609 638 68,976 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,649 164,146 1,443 148,650 567 72,023 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,498 169,799 1,362 156,687 546 74,509 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,562 147,054 1,370 132,262 479 57,332 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,536 158,137 1,328 140,298 420 52,105 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,366 138,079 1,223 126,597 377 49,716 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,412 139,423 1,243 127,356 445 50,923 

2004

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,428 146,692 1,232 128,191 394 45,544 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,320 134,626 1,170 122,329 367 40,849 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,372 139,716 1,237 130,737 401 59,987 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,374 140,190 1,202 124,962 349 38,197 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,209 113,091 1,047 99,615 330 38,965 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,403 141,048 1,231 128,137 366 47,015 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,330 137,484 1,180 126,106 372 51,424 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,394 127,671 1,224 113,376 345 36,963 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,277 125,351 1,154 115,343 338 46,955 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,288 132,250 1,172 122,831 362 47,571 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,314 130,558 1,171 118,904 378 46,276 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,170 114,641 1,013 103,434 301 33,022 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,489 160,986 1,353 150,640 383 56,133 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,172 123,377 1,045 112,752 358 45,794 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,219 132,035 1,079 122,013 377 55,061 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,263 137,381 1,132 126,747 398 60,826 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,226 133,221 1,085 120,899 382 54,886 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,194 126,834 1,074 117,712 359 57,018 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,248 131,500 1,101 118,800 353 47,136 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,109 123,125 986 111,879 338 46,915 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,217 292,177 1,998 246,227 419 56,289 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,098 108,665 977 99,402 321 44,666 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,167 115,803 1,036 104,576 330 43,307 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,253 135,721 1,125 124,632 372 48,592 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,112 109,429 984 99,277 282 29,911 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,065 112,742 973 105,055 329 46,548 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,105 120,954 1,003 112,730 335 50,149 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,175 121,376 1,041 111,369 365 48,038 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,098 113,195 982 103,839 297 42,993 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,130 123,558 1,007 113,037 331 40,500 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,160 118,843 1,038 109,509 372 49,069 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,218 131,105 1,083 120,923 367 58,983 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,158 120,795 1,043 111,876 392 46,802 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,186 119,914 1,069 111,036 401 55,795 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,220 136,340 1,111 127,286 411 60,599 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,201 133,818 1,099 124,526 390 53,828 

2007

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,237 126,368 1,095 115,615 389 51,141 

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, February 2003 to January 2007,

not seasonally adjusted

2003

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2004

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2005

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

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

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

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

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

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

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 856 136,210 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 188 22,531 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 318 47,497 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 249 37,276 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 363 41,442 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 706 96,382 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 331 35,097 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 210 24,892 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 285 44,688 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 296 39,538 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 872 84,809 794 78,663 192 23,570 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 319 41,095 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 648 96,152 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 203 28,494 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 865 87,699 785 81,274 296 39,076 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 311 46,737 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 455 58,473 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 735 105,462 

2007

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 456 53,615 

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

January November December January January November December January

2006 2006 2006 2007 2006 2006 2006 2007

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,112 1,220 1,201 1,237 109,429 136,340 133,818 126,368 

 Total, private nonfarm ..................................................................................................................................................................... 984 1,111 1,099 1,095 99,277 127,286 124,526 115,615 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 282 411 390 389 29,911 60,599 53,828 51,141 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,245 1,315 2,249 1,407 117,946 136,186 254,503 134,984 

Total, private ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,185 1,273 2,176 1,344 112,837 132,337 248,383 129,715 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..................................................................................................................................................................... 62 101 50 81 4,136 7,328 3,600 5,240 

 Total, private nonfarm ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,123 1,172 2,126 1,263 108,701 125,009 244,783 124,475 

 Mining ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 7 28 10 309 648 3,048 769 

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

 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 161 154 ( 2 )

 Construction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 125 212 423 194 7,942 17,364 36,426 12,426 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 331 455 735 456 35,097 58,473 105,462 53,615 

 Food ..................................................................................................................................................................... 46 59 80 59 3,589 7,222 8,557 4,525 

 Beverage and tobacco products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 8 6 6 599 502 468 456 

 Textile mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 14 18 16 1,214 2,247 2,480 1,703 

 Textile product mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 9 9 9 655 1,325 758 1,132 

 Apparel ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 6 21 12 769 820 2,323 1,020 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 493 ( 2 )

 Wood products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 53 59 46 2,995 5,044 6,359 4,342 

 Paper ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 9 13 7 405 854 1,415 572 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 12 13 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,178 1,110 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 8 14 ( 2

 ) – 635 1,396 ( 2 )

 Chemicals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 6 7 9 531 489 608 771 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 24 48 22 1,305 2,716 5,674 1,513 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 17 56 28 1,318 1,991 5,824 2,059 

 Primary metals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 28 38 13 946 3,154 4,714 1,687 

 Fabricated metal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 35 57 32 2,305 3,710 5,346 2,581 

 Machinery ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 34 38 24 899 6,563 5,676 2,309 

 Computer and electronic products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 21 24 15 1,678 1,711 2,085 1,351 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 11 25 8 1,965 2,588 5,701 514 

 Transportation equipment ..................................................................................................................................................................... 52 79 159 104 11,421 13,352 38,811 22,315 

 Furniture and related products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 21 34 23 1,253 2,075 4,510 2,948 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 9 12 6 821 1,145 1,086 454 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 17 26 22 1,903 1,328 2,119 1,603 

 Retail trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 142 54 109 112 14,773 4,681 13,055 9,587 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 102 48 165 88 10,634 3,583 19,172 9,275 

 Information ..................................................................................................................................................................... 33 20 33 32 8,998 6,096 7,949 6,296 

 Finance and insurance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 23 34 29 1,592 1,376 2,687 2,197 

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

 ) 5 8 6 ( 2 ) 270 442 307 

 Professional and technical services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 27 50 28 3,258 3,137 5,572 3,088 

 Management of companies and enterprises ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 5 3 ( 2

 ) 287 387 130 ( 2 )

 Administrative and waste services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 155 158 258 172 12,157 12,907 22,076 16,699 

 Educational services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 3 4 5 456 200 288 647 

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 21 31 14 1,385 1,696 2,450 776 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 27 26 26 1,888 2,266 1,760 1,897 

 Accommodation and food services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 81 81 175 56 5,898 9,883 20,735 4,124 

 Other services, except public administration ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 6 14 8 1,704 553 1,198 772 

 Unclassified ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 – 1 2 179 – 60 104 

Government ..................................................................................................................................................................... 60 42 73 63 5,109 3,849 6,120 5,269 

 Federal ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 10 12 21 1,596 970 1,215 2,311 

 State ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 12 16 15 1,210 1,057 1,517 1,272 

 Local ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34 20 45 27 2,303 1,822 3,388 1,686 

 

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 2005 to January 2007,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2005

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

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

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

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,180 427,533 3,876 405,574 1,142 185,486 29.5 45.7 

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

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

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

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,516 380,403 3,095 344,772 1,203 212,673 38.9 61.7 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,288 525,079 3,848 464,903 1,136 190,186 29.5 40.9 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,482 462,326 4,004 425,629 1,400 r

 246,188 35.0 57.8 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,885 296,339 2,637 277,086 963 r

 193,102 36.5 r 69.7

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 872 84,809 794 78,663 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,501 371,159 3,056 332,314 1,353 r

 264,494 44.3 r 79.6

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 865 87,699 785 81,274 

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,084 327,400 2,776 304,670 r 929 r

 160,813 r 33.5 r 52.8

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,528 489,493 4,118 457,925 2,p 1,444 2,p 217,742 p 35.1 p

 47.5 

2007

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards

mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated

rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants with such events increases by 25-40 percent.

associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. r = revised.

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

data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

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

January November December January January November December January

2006 2006 2006 2007 2006 2006 2006 2007

 United States 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,245 1,315 2,249 1,407 117,946 136,186 254,503 134,984 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 281 207 412 299 25,777 20,723 40,738 25,463 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 25 60 41 1,765 2,090 6,612 3,349 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 256 182 352 258 24,012 18,633 34,126 22,114 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 228 227 416 283 22,194 27,536 54,023 29,870 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 128 113 202 163 12,893 12,800 22,765 14,996 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 61 54 126 71 5,667 6,109 22,085 9,489 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 60 88 49 3,634 8,627 9,173 5,385 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 314 429 898 373 33,750 49,067 109,495 38,412 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 264 333 674 295 28,642 39,291 78,466 31,681 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 50 96 224 78 5,108 9,776 31,029 6,731 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 422 452 523 452 36,225 38,860 50,247 41,239 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31 49 82 46 2,337 4,457 7,835 3,508 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 391 403 441 406 33,888 34,403 42,412 37,731 

 

 

1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January November December January January November December January

2006 2006 2006 2007 2006 2006 2006 2007

 Total 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,245 1,315 2,249 1,407 117,946 136,186 254,503 134,984 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 12 30 19 821 1,512 3,438 1,792 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 6 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – 716 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) 5 4 362 ( 2 ) 406 409 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 5 7 ( 2

 ) 346 1,014 836 ( 2 )

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 346 327 374 366 30,388 27,433 34,848 33,560 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 9 15 11 603 691 1,483 818 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3 4 8 215 318 452 819 

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

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

 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 35 57 60 1,708 2,207 4,697 3,537 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 54 28 42 48 5,159 3,904 4,421 4,802 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 5 282 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 562 

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 12 11 10 427 963 1,191 646 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37 55 149 48 3,499 5,849 17,195 5,524 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 33 44 82 38 4,053 7,285 10,123 3,388 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 19 62 15 1,255 2,352 10,039 1,772 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 7 23 11 459 822 2,626 689 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 24 64 27 2,152 3,341 15,975 6,086 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 13 9 7 936 1,229 901 1,891 

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

 ) 4 6 7 ( 2 ) 322 452 495 

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 9 28 11 859 1,236 2,825 1,000 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 9 22 16 1,001 665 2,256 1,235 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 89 82 184 88 8,786 10,636 22,842 7,914 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 39 52 15 1,834 3,360 7,545 1,474 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 8 6 3 469 443 569 236 

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 26 75 34 1,305 2,448 9,687 2,593 

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

 ) 7 6 5 ( 2 ) 789 513 452 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 815 ( 2 )

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 15 26 7 724 1,704 2,076 547 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 793 ( 2 )

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 47 91 38 2,550 7,197 7,948 2,737 

New Mexico ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 5 10 ( 2

 ) – 258 1,180 ( 2 )

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 129 33 106 113 13,290 2,918 11,731 10,678 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 13 16 10 1,113 1,423 1,511 1,013 

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

 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 406 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 50 48 137 61 6,484 4,998 15,848 8,883 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 5 11 7 400 890 1,152 436 

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 32 41 20 1,719 2,668 4,862 2,006 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 99 102 155 107 8,172 8,518 14,447 8,699 

Rhode Island ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) 11 7 311 ( 2 ) 1,885 489 

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 16 17 14 822 1,994 2,836 1,466 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 10 26 22 2,225 813 2,103 1,375 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 37 61 33 1,952 5,494 6,284 2,845 

Utah ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – 9 7 ( 2 ) – 986 494 

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

 ) 6 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 582 774 ( 2 )

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 11 35 17 3,084 1,979 5,969 1,706 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 36 21 14 1,499 3,390 2,350 1,528 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 4 – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 318 –

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 55 104 122 60 5,820 10,523 12,458 5,972 

Wyoming ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 7 17 12 964 626 1,977 1,257 

 1 See footnote 1, table 3. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

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

State