For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, November 12, 2010 USDL-10-1548 

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

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

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS – THIRD QUARTER 2010

Employers initiated 1,297 mass layoff events in the third quarter of 2010 that resulted in the separation 

of 187,091 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the year, both events and separations decreased sharply from 

program high third quarter levels (with data available back to 1995). (See table A.) Third quarter 2010 

layoff data are preliminary and are subject to revision. (See the Technical Note.)

Manufacturing accounted for 19 percent of private nonfarm extended layoff events and 18 percent of 

related separations in the quarter, the lowest third quarter proportions in program history. The average 

size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff event) was 144 during the quarter, the smallest 

average size in program history. Forty-seven percent of employers expected to recall at least some laidoff workers, up from 31 percent a year earlier.

The national unemployment rate averaged 9.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the third quarter, 

essentially unchanged from 9.6 percent a year earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, increased by 0.3 percent (337,000) over the year, the first over-the-year increase since 

the first quarter of 2008. 

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs

Fourteen of 18 major industry sectors in the private nonfarm economy registered declines over the year 

in the number of extended mass layoff events. Eighteen of 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced 

over-the-year decreases in the number of layoff events. 

Manufacturing firms reported 249 events involving the separation of 34,221 workers. This sector accounted for 19 percent of private nonfarm extended layoff events and 18 percent of related separations 

in the quarter, the lowest third quarter proportions in program history. A year earlier, manufacturing 

made up 29 percent of events and 28 percent of separations. (See table 1.) The largest numbers of separations in the third quarter of 2010 were associated with food and transportation equipment 

manufacturing.

Construction firms recorded 202 events and 19,005 separations, primarily in specialty trade contracting 

and in heavy and civil engineering construction. Construction layoffs comprised 16 percent of events 

and 10 percent of separations. Both layoff events and separations in this sector decreased over the year. 
- 2 - 

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

2006

January-March..................... 963 183,089 193,510 

April-June............................. 1,353 295,964 264,927 

July-September..................... 929 160,254 161,764 

October-December.............. 1,640 296,662 330,954 

2007

January-March..................... 1,110 225,600 199,250 

April-June............................. 1,421 278,719 259,234 

July-September..................... 1,018 160,024 173,077 

October-December.............. 1,814 301,592 347,151 

2008

January-March..................... 1,340 230,098 259,292 

April-June............................. 1,756 354,713 339,630 

July-September..................... 1,581 290,453 304,340 

October-December.............. 3,582 641,714 766,780 

2009

January-March..................... 3,979 705,141 835,551 

April-June............................. 3,395 651,318 731,049 

July-Septemberr

 ................... 2,034 345,531 406,823 

October-Decemberr ............ 2,416 406,212 468,560 

2010

January-Marchr .................... 1,870 314,296 367,930 

April-Juner ........................... 2,011 382,007 393,435 

July-Septemberp .................. 1,297 187,091 177,807 

 r = revised.

 p = preliminary.

Reasons for Extended Layoffs 

Layoffs due to business demand factors accounted for 36 percent of events and 37 percent of related 

separations during the third quarter, down from 46 percent of events and 39 percent of separations in the 

same period a year earlier. (See table 2.) Within this category, the largest over-the-year decrease in 

separations was due to slack work/insufficient demand. (See chart.)

Movement of Work 

In the third quarter, 47 extended mass layoffs involved movement of work and were associated with 

6,840 separated workers. Over the year, the number of such events decreased by 30, and the number of 

separations decreased by 6,014. Movement of work layoffs accounted for 5 percent of the nonseasonal 

layoff events during the third quarter. (See table 9.) 
- 3 - 

Fifty-seven percent of the extended mass layoff events related to movement of work were from manufacturing industries. (See table 6.) Employers cited organizational changes as an economic reason for 

layoff in 45 percent of the events involving movement of work. (See table 7.) Among the regions, the 

largest proportions of workers affected by the movement of work were in the South and the West. (See 

table 8.) By state, California, New Jersey, and Iowa reported the highest numbers of separations 

associated with movement of work. 

The 47 extended layoff events with movement of work for the third quarter involved 71 identifiable 

relocations of work actions. (See table 9.) Employers were able to provide more complete separation 

information for 38 of these actions. Of these 38 actions, 79 percent involved work moving within the 

same company, and 84 percent were domestic reassignments. (See table 10.)

Recall Expectations

Forty-seven percent of employers reporting an extended mass layoff in the third quarter indicated they 

anticipated some type of recall, up from 31 percent a year earlier. Of those employers expecting to recall 

workers, 39 percent indicated that the offer would be extended to all displaced employees, and 68 

percent of employers anticipated extending the offer to at least half of the workers. Sixty-six percent of 

employers expecting to recall laid-off employees intend to do so within 6 months. Excluding extended 

mass layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period, in which 93 percent of the employers 

expected a recall, employers anticipated recalling laid-off workers in just 29 percent of the events. (See 

table 11.) 

Size of Extended Layoffs

The average size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff event) was 144 during the quarter, 

the smallest average size in program history. (See table 12.) Events were primarily concentrated at the 

lower end of the extended layoff-size spectrum, with an all-time program high 75 percent involving 

fewer than 150 workers, up from 68 percent a year ago. Conversely, only 3 percent of events involved 

500 or more workers, the lowest all-time proportion in program history. (See table 13.) 

Initial Claimant Characteristics

A total of 177,807 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass 

layoffs in the third quarter of 2010. Of these claimants, 16 percent were black, 23 percent were Hispanic, 44 percent were women, and 21 percent were 55 years of age or older. (See table 3.) The percentage of Hispanic claimants reached an all-time program high during the quarter. Among persons in 

the civilian labor force for the same period, 12 percent were black, 15 percent were Hispanic, 47 percent were women, and 20 percent were 55 years of age or older.

Geographic Distribution

Among the four census regions, the West and the Northeast recorded the highest numbers of separations 

due to extended mass layoff events in the third quarter. Among the nine census divisions, the highest 

numbers of separations were in the Pacific and the Middle Atlantic. All regions and divisions registered 

over-the-year decreases in the number of separations. (See table 4.) 
- 4 - 

Table B. Metropolitan areas with the largest number of initial claimants associated with

extended mass layoff events in the third quarter 2010, by residency of claimants

 Total, 372 metropolitan areas ................. 342,152 ... 154,466 ...

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long

 Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ................................ 22,830 2 31,273 1 

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. .... 46,081 1 25,749 2 

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. ....... 16,226 4 7,431 3 

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ......... 16,830 3 5,754 4 

Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. ......... 11,579 5 5,113 5 

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif. ........ 10,174 6 4,289 6 

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla. 4,992 12 2,965 7 

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.

 -N.J.-Del.-Md. .......................................... 4,382 15 2,893 8 

Sacramento—Arden-Arcade—Roseville, Calif. 7,387 9 2,432 9 

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. .......... 6,934 10 2,308 10 

 r

 = revised.

 p = preliminary.

 NOTE: The geographic boundaries of the metropolitan areas shown in this table are defined in

 Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 10-02, December 1, 2009.

Metropolitan area

2009 IIIr 2010 IIIp

Initial 

claimants Rank Initial claimants Rank

California recorded the largest number of worker separations, followed by New York, Florida, and 

Illinois. (See table 5.) Over the year, 43 states reported decreased numbers of laid-off workers, led by 

California, Florida, and Pennsylvania. 

Eighty-seven percent of the initial claimants associated with extended mass layoff events in the third 

quarter resided within metropolitan areas, up from 84 percent a year earlier. Among the 372 metropolitan areas, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., reported the highest number 

of resident initial claimants. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla., and Philadelphia-CamdenWilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md., moved into the top 10 metropolitan areas in terms of initial claims by 

residency of claimant in the third quarter, replacing Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., and Las VegasParadise, Nev., from the third quarter 2009. (See table B.)

Note

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

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

consecutive 5-week period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is triggered, the employer is contacted for additional information. Data for the current quarter are preliminary and subject to revision. 

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

data suggest that there is a seasonal pattern to layoffs. Thus, comparisons between consecutive quarters 
- 5 - 

should not be used as an indicator of trend. For additional information about the program, see the 

Technical Note.

________________ 

The Mass Layoffs in October 2010 news release is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 

23, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 
Technical Note 

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federalstate program which identifies, describes, and tracks the 

effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's 

unemployment insurance database. Employers which have at 

least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 

5-week period are contacted by the state agency to determine 

whether these separations are of at least 31 days duration, 

and, if so, information is obtained on the total number of 

persons separated and the reasons for these separations. 

Employers are identified according to industry classification 

and location, and unemployment insurance claimants are 

identified by such demographic factors as age, race, gender, 

ethnic group, and place of residence. The program yields 

information on an individual's entire spell of unemployment, 

to the point when regular unemployment insurance benefits 

are exhausted. 

Definitions 

Domestic relocation. A movement of work from an 

establishment within the U.S. to a location also inside the 

U.S., either within the same company or to a different 

company altogether (domestic outsourcing). 

Employer. A firm 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). 

Extended mass layoff event. A layoff defined by the 

filing of 50 or more initial claims for unemployment 

insurance benefits from an employer during a 5-week period, 

with at least 50 workers separated for more than 30 days. 

Such layoffs involve both persons subject to recall and those 

who are terminated. 

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. 

Movement of work. The reassignment of work activities 

previously performed at the worksite by the company 

experiencing the layoff (1) to another worksite within the 

company; (2) to another company under formal contractual 

arrangements at the same worksite; or (3) to another company 

under formal contractual arrangements at another worksite 

either within or outside of the U.S. 

Outsourcing. A movement of work that was formerly 

conducted in-house by employees paid directly by a company 

to a different company under a contractual arrangement. 

Overseas relocation. A movement of work from an 

establishment within the U.S. to a location outside of the U.S. 

(offshoring), either within the same company or to a different 

company altogether (offshore outsourcing). 

Relocation of work action. A movement-of-work action 

where the employer provides information on the new location 

of work and/or the number of workers affected by the 

movement. Events may involve more than one action per 

employer if work is moved to more than one location. 

Separations. The number of individuals who have 

become displaced during an extended mass layoff event as 

provided by the employer, regardless of whether they file for 

unemployment insurance or not. 

Worksite closure. The complete closure of an employer 

or the partial closure of an employer with multiple locations 

where entire worksites affected by layoffs are closed. 

Revisions to preliminary data 

The latest quarterly data in this news release are 

considered preliminary. After the initial publication of 

quarterly information, more data are collected as remaining 

employer interviews for the quarter are completed and 

additional initial claimant information associated with 

extended layoff events is received. 

Movement of work concepts and questions 

Beginning in 2004, the economic reasons "domestic 

relocation" and "overseas relocation" were replaced by the 

movement of work concept. The movement of work data are 

not collected in the same way as the relocation reasons in 

releases prior to 2004; therefore, the movement of work data 

are not comparable to the data for those discontinued reasons. 

Questions on movement of work and location are asked 

for all layoff events when the reason for separation is other 

than “seasonal work” or “vacation period,” as these are 

unlikely. Movement of work questions are asked after the 

analyst verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more 

than 30 days. If the reason for layoff is other than seasonal or 

vacation, the employer was asked the following: 

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

from this location(s) to a different geographic location(s) 

within your company?” 

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

that was performed in-house by your employees to a different 

company, through contractual arrangements?” 

A “yes” response to either question is followed by: “Is 
the location inside or outside of the U.S.?” and “How many 

of the layoffs were a result of this relocation?” 

Layoff actions are classified as “domestic relocation” if 

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

indicates the location(s) was inside the U.S.; “overseas 

relocation” indicates that the location(s) was outside the U.S. 

Reliability of the data 

The identification of employers and layoff events in the 

MLS program and associated characteristics of claimants is 

based on administrative data on covered employers and 

unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject 

to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors 

such as typographical errors may occur but are not likely to 

be significant. While the MLS employers and layoff events 

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

asked the interview questions, the employer responses are 

subject to nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur 

for many reasons, including the inability to obtain information for all respondents, inability or unwillingness of 

respondents to provide correct information, and errors made 

in the collection or processing of the data. For the third 

quarter of 2010, outright refusal to participate in the employer 

interview accounted for 5.2 percent of all private nonfarm 

events. Although included in the total number of instances 

involving the movement of work, for the third quarter, 

employers in 33 relocations were unable to provide the 

number of separations specifically associated with the 

movement of work, 10 of which involved out-of-country 

moves. 

Additional information 

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. 
Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

Industry

III II III III II III III II III

 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................. 2,034 2,011 1,297 345,531 382,007 187,091 406,823 393,435 177,807 

 Mining ............................................................. 25 8 ( 2

 ) 4,137 879 ( 2 ) 3,086 883 ( 2 )

 Utilities ............................................................ 5 7 ( 2 ) 628 1,118 ( 2 ) 900 1,363 ( 2 )

 Construction .................................................... 353 285 202 42,349 36,959 19,005 59,294 44,857 19,319 

 Manufacturing ................................................. 584 325 249 98,243 57,850 34,221 127,174 60,617 30,887 

 Food ........................................................... 61 73 62 15,242 13,198 8,390 15,296 13,001 8,055 

 Beverage and tobacco products ................ 8 ( 2 ) 4 1,822 ( 2 ) 317 1,836 ( 2 ) 349 

 Textile mills ................................................ 6 4 – 476 844 – 793 1,972 –

 Textile product mills ................................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 841 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 750 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Apparel ....................................................... 13 9 10 3,471 1,190 1,244 2,369 1,402 1,316 

 Leather and allied products ........................ – – – – – – – – –

 Wood products ........................................... 20 13 12 1,706 1,602 1,124 2,253 1,639 1,255 

 Paper ......................................................... 15 11 ( 2 ) 1,667 1,390 ( 2 ) 1,623 1,134 ( 2 )

 Printing and related support activities ........ 12 11 6 2,029 1,067 484 2,059 1,507 558 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 240 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 223 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Chemicals ................................................. 14 12 15 1,515 1,655 1,795 1,506 1,337 1,792 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................... 23 7 8 2,795 563 611 4,011 707 627 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................... 21 17 13 2,117 1,590 1,369 2,348 2,084 1,382 

 Primary metals ........................................... 47 17 9 6,106 2,266 1,649 7,578 2,471 1,717 

 Fabricated metal products ......................... 56 15 15 6,968 1,314 2,161 8,446 1,768 1,760 

 Machinery .................................................. 64 35 14 10,819 6,400 2,553 21,353 7,737 3,311 

 Computer and electronic products ............. 46 29 22 7,391 4,105 2,399 7,295 4,835 2,337 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ......... 26 6 9 3,798 819 1,005 4,541 752 1,009 

 Transportation equipment .......................... 100 42 34 23,942 11,803 7,397 36,702 14,302 3,895 

 Furniture and related products ................... 29 8 7 3,870 2,237 714 4,726 1,782 690 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing .................... 16 11 5 1,428 1,848 698 1,466 1,577 583 

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 63 30 31 7,229 3,555 3,486 7,786 3,568 2,888 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 96 111 69 21,208 25,855 15,567 27,803 35,191 15,009 

 Transportation and warehousing .................... 151 183 157 26,108 42,875 22,870 26,787 45,568 26,007 

 Information ...................................................... 63 51 52 10,372 13,050 13,130 16,301 17,371 14,533 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 101 71 48 17,582 13,684 7,840 20,887 13,241 7,226 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ................. 9 26 14 1,019 3,476 2,175 1,600 3,588 1,189 

 Professional and technical services ................ 76 98 61 16,788 28,382 10,183 15,268 24,838 8,550 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 11 7 5 1,463 1,667 406 1,427 1,096 414 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 202 167 135 43,424 29,438 23,964 50,792 35,164 21,425 

 Educational services ....................................... 30 39 31 5,018 4,303 3,627 4,805 5,892 4,289 

 Health care and social assistance .................. 89 218 82 11,845 28,200 7,790 10,013 27,946 7,965 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 52 78 50 13,854 20,591 5,747 9,062 9,472 4,734 

 Accommodation and food services ................. 102 223 81 20,983 58,901 13,178 21,101 52,211 10,124 

 Other services, except public administration .. 22 84 24 3,281 11,224 2,610 2,737 10,569 2,428 

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

 1

 For the third quarter of 2010, data on layoffs were reported by employers r = revised.

in all states and the District of Columbia. p

 = preliminary.

 2

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

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

Reason for layoff

III II III III II III III II III

 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 2,034 2,011 1,297 345,531 382,007 187,091 406,823 393,435 177,807 

Business demand ............................................................. 941 631 468 134,654 95,147 69,244 182,021 124,552 63,767 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... 48 50 32 6,530 9,096 4,334 6,812 8,932 3,001 

 Contract completion ....................................................... 283 276 235 48,226 41,441 38,573 65,116 55,241 33,943 

 Domestic competition ..................................................... 4 3 – 258 266 – 380 448 –

 Excess inventory/saturated market ................................ 17 ( 2 ) 3 3,399 ( 2 ) 356 6,771 ( 2 ) 998 

 Import competition ......................................................... 3 ( 2 ) – 310 ( 2 ) – 387 ( 2 ) –

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 586 299 198 75,931 44,135 25,981 102,555 59,625 25,825 

Organizational changes .................................................... 113 119 72 20,251 24,945 11,630 28,812 23,048 9,808 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 21 30 16 4,082 9,424 4,513 2,897 3,724 1,917 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 92 89 56 16,169 15,521 7,117 25,915 19,324 7,891 

Financial issues ................................................................ 172 126 105 26,086 27,539 13,863 40,897 27,399 11,715 

 Bankruptcy ..................................................................... 19 15 13 3,121 5,043 2,355 4,368 2,430 1,134 

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ 99 65 60 15,120 10,850 7,437 26,820 15,382 6,935 

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... 54 46 32 7,845 11,646 4,071 9,709 9,587 3,646 

Production specific ............................................................ 15 12 ( 2

 ) 4,476 2,031 ( 2 ) 3,778 1,295 ( 2 )

 Automation/technological advances .............................. ( 2

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

 Energy related ................................................................ – – – – – – – – –

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... 4 5 6 2,637 1,199 724 1,409 404 681 

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ..................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 422 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 796 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Material or supply shortage ............................................ – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Model changeover ......................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Plant or machine repair/maintenance ............................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 411 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 373 

 Product line discontinued ............................................... 3 – ( 2 ) 537 – ( 2 ) 551 – ( 2 )

Disaster/safety .................................................................. 4 11 ( 2

 ) 1,951 1,681 ( 2 ) 494 1,507 ( 2 )

 Hazardous work environment ........................................ ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Natural disaster (not weather related) ............................ – – – – – – – – –

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Extreme weather-related event ...................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Seasonal ........................................................................... 286 801 364 56,311 171,128 49,078 48,798 156,294 49,742 

 Seasonal ........................................................................ 171 484 204 39,695 115,288 29,587 33,813 96,266 25,955 

 Vacation period–school related or otherwise ................. 115 317 160 16,616 55,840 19,491 14,985 60,028 23,787 

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... 503 311 270 101,802 59,536 41,505 102,023 59,340 41,083 

 Other .............................................................................. 31 10 14 3,878 1,403 1,526 4,085 1,225 1,332 

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. 117 83 68 31,698 19,067 12,902 31,693 19,067 12,897 

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. 355 218 188 66,226 39,066 27,077 66,245 39,048 26,854 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

 2

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

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

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

private nonfarm sector, second and third quarters, 2010

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55and over

II III II III II III II III II III II III

 2010r 2010p 2010r 2010p 2010r 2010p 2010r 2010p 2010r 2010p 2010r 2010p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........... 2,011 1,297 393,435 177,807 17.2 16.5 18.3 22.7 50.4 43.8 22.7 21.1 

Alabama ...................................... 19 9 4,052 1,772 55.9 53.7 2.1 1.4 65.8 50.3 19.2 16.4 

Alaska .......................................... 17 9 3,352 1,674 5.7 7.0 13.6 22.6 37.3 29.6 25.8 28.3 

Arizona ........................................ 33 5 5,642 813 5.5 14.4 46.9 27.4 55.9 61.3 18.6 18.6 

Arkansas ..................................... 14 4 2,294 486 21.6 20.2 5.6 5.3 58.1 38.9 18.7 7.2 

California ..................................... 541 425 116,028 62,460 9.7 8.4 35.1 35.2 43.1 40.6 17.0 16.4 

Colorado ...................................... 24 11 3,713 897 3.8 10.9 23.7 17.4 55.1 51.3 19.2 15.1 

Connecticut ................................. 23 9 3,233 1,218 14.5 20.8 13.5 15.9 61.9 51.1 28.8 21.4 

Delaware ..................................... 7 ( 2 ) 753 ( 2 ) 51.1 42.3 9.3 14.4 70.7 56.7 24.4 25.0 

District of Columbia ..................... 5 ( 2 ) 678 ( 2 ) 72.1 98.4 7.5 – 62.7 79.4 26.7 5.6 

Florida ......................................... 83 57 12,469 8,973 22.2 17.6 30.5 30.6 57.9 37.8 28.5 19.9 

Georgia ........................................ 22 12 4,730 1,841 49.1 56.8 5.7 1.9 52.9 52.5 20.1 14.1 

Hawaii .......................................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 537 .9 1.5 10.0 7.4 34.4 40.4 15.0 27.7 

Idaho ........................................... 9 3 854 222 .1 – 4.6 31.1 51.4 51.8 28.9 25.7 

Illinois .......................................... 119 69 27,038 8,820 23.4 15.8 11.1 15.3 54.3 30.4 21.0 17.6 

Indiana ......................................... 32 11 6,052 1,070 13.5 12.8 2.8 3.6 41.4 29.8 20.8 27.2 

Iowa ............................................. 12 4 3,014 471 5.2 1.7 12.3 2.3 46.6 55.6 20.7 32.1 

Kansas ........................................ 17 8 3,198 960 13.4 11.9 3.0 5.2 52.8 60.4 25.2 17.6 

Kentucky ...................................... 26 14 3,061 2,050 14.6 10.1 .1 .1 40.3 42.5 20.1 14.0 

Louisiana ..................................... 35 12 5,552 978 66.5 74.9 3.4 1.8 65.5 69.0 19.2 19.6 

Maine ........................................... 11 ( 2 ) 1,312 ( 2 ) 1.0 1.0 .3 – 50.6 40.1 23.7 10.7 

Maryland ...................................... 12 13 1,674 2,427 56.2 44.0 2.0 1.2 60.8 40.0 28.9 24.8 

Massachusetts ............................ 15 16 2,811 1,451 16.6 12.5 2.7 1.1 60.7 40.0 27.2 22.4 

Michigan ...................................... 42 13 6,826 1,003 20.7 31.9 3.2 2.2 72.8 44.3 25.2 19.6 

Minnesota .................................... 19 9 2,909 817 9.4 8.0 5.0 3.1 37.9 26.3 22.0 20.7 

Mississippi ................................... 10 11 1,372 970 55.1 69.7 1.6 .5 42.9 62.6 17.5 13.2 

Missouri ....................................... 53 14 9,414 1,571 27.2 19.0 1.4 1.3 66.1 61.0 29.5 27.9 

Montana ...................................... 10 ( 2

 ) 911 ( 2 ) .5 – 3.7 – 59.7 5.3 27.1 21.1 

Nebraska ..................................... 7 4 1,051 414 12.3 6.3 2.2 1.7 69.9 46.1 35.3 26.8 

Nevada ........................................ 16 4 3,155 653 10.1 11.3 21.1 27.0 35.8 25.4 23.0 17.0 

New Hampshire ........................... 11 – 1,766 – .6 – 1.4 – 67.0 – 28.8 –

New Jersey .................................. 71 48 18,777 4,800 20.2 27.6 6.9 7.8 67.7 61.9 35.3 28.3 

New Mexico ................................. 17 7 2,154 674 2.5 3.7 41.8 35.5 50.1 22.1 19.4 24.0 

New York ..................................... 119 227 22,230 36,373 16.2 19.9 13.6 22.3 46.0 51.7 24.9 30.9 

North Carolina ............................. 25 20 6,363 1,902 44.6 43.8 6.0 5.4 46.1 50.4 15.9 13.2 

North Dakota ............................... 5 ( 2 ) 618 ( 2 ) 4.7 – 2.4 – 37.1 34.8 18.4 40.2 

Ohio ............................................. 91 31 15,988 3,429 13.3 14.8 3.4 2.5 42.0 28.5 25.0 20.4 

Oklahoma .................................... 4 ( 2 ) 438 ( 2 ) 8.2 21.3 3.4 6.4 55.3 60.7 13.7 16.9 

Oregon ........................................ 30 19 7,088 2,830 2.2 1.5 13.3 22.6 57.0 47.5 29.1 19.1 

Pennsylvania ............................... 124 62 26,969 7,690 9.2 15.3 3.5 4.2 53.8 45.5 34.9 27.2 

Rhode Island ............................... 15 ( 2

 ) 2,922 ( 2 ) 3.5 5.3 13.9 16.6 76.3 49.7 37.7 25.1 

South Carolina ............................. 27 12 6,054 1,525 66.9 67.7 1.2 2.2 52.5 55.7 12.3 13.1 

South Dakota ............................... – – – – – – – – – – – –

Tennessee ................................... 30 12 5,177 1,184 25.8 28.9 .1 – 52.2 42.1 29.1 18.8 

Texas ........................................... 64 29 15,580 3,722 18.7 17.5 44.5 45.8 42.6 28.6 15.8 15.6 

Utah ............................................. 10 4 1,366 651 .3 1.5 7.2 18.3 36.9 50.2 17.1 14.9 

Vermont ....................................... 12 ( 2 ) 1,785 ( 2 ) .7 – .3 .5 48.2 51.7 25.0 20.2 

Virginia ........................................ 32 11 5,923 1,083 46.1 54.6 7.0 3.9 62.0 54.8 21.1 18.5 

Washington ................................. 29 28 4,899 3,582 6.4 5.5 17.7 15.1 31.5 48.0 17.3 16.0 

West Virginia ............................... 9 ( 2 ) 1,141 ( 2 ) .2 – .1 – 20.5 1.9 13.8 12.7 

Wisconsin .................................... 48 21 8,453 2,280 14.8 11.1 3.9 13.9 63.7 31.2 33.8 23.1 

Wyoming ..................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) .7 1.0 5.4 6.7 20.7 81.7 10.5 16.3 

Puerto Rico .................................. 13 10 3,942 1,543 .1 – 99.7 99.7 60.2 50.9 8.4 9.7 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. r

 = revised.

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

 = preliminary.

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

III II III III II III III II III

 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 

 United States1 .................................. 2,034 2,011 1,297 345,531 382,007 187,091 406,823 393,435 177,807 

Northeast ................................................. 402 401 368 67,260 73,724 47,823 69,473 81,805 52,119 

 New England ........................................ 49 87 31 6,636 16,396 4,885 6,836 13,829 3,256 

 Middle Atlantic ...................................... 353 314 337 60,624 57,328 42,938 62,637 67,976 48,863 

South ........................................................ 322 424 222 60,335 71,057 36,571 65,300 77,311 29,568 

 South Atlantic ....................................... 195 222 129 37,840 35,650 19,068 44,141 39,785 18,139 

 East South Central ............................... 61 85 46 12,305 14,641 9,153 11,417 13,662 5,976 

 West South Central .............................. 66 117 47 10,190 20,766 8,350 9,742 23,864 5,453 

Midwest .................................................... 433 445 185 69,316 83,139 26,184 96,352 84,561 20,947 

 East North Central ............................... 323 332 145 51,230 61,574 17,516 76,755 64,357 16,602 

 West North Central .............................. 110 113 40 18,086 21,565 8,668 19,597 20,204 4,345 

West ......................................................... 877 741 522 148,620 154,087 76,513 175,698 149,758 75,173 

 Mountain .............................................. 108 121 36 17,665 33,215 7,927 21,177 18,071 4,090 

 Pacific .................................................. 769 620 486 130,955 120,872 68,586 154,521 131,687 71,083 

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

 r = revised. Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and

 p = preliminary. Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin;

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

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

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

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

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

State

III II III III II III III II III

 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........................ 2,034 2,011 1,297 345,531 382,007 187,091 406,823 393,435 177,807 

Alabama ................................................... 11 19 9 2,817 3,799 1,720 3,607 4,052 1,772 

Alaska ...................................................... 10 17 9 4,124 4,246 2,629 3,162 3,352 1,674 

Arizona ..................................................... 23 33 5 4,251 7,789 1,132 4,195 5,642 813 

Arkansas .................................................. 4 14 4 343 1,530 459 444 2,294 486 

California .................................................. 685 541 425 116,855 104,841 59,108 135,379 116,028 62,460 

Colorado .................................................. 21 24 11 3,967 10,400 1,453 2,897 3,713 897 

Connecticut .............................................. 12 23 9 2,009 4,205 2,693 2,132 3,233 1,218 

Delaware .................................................. ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 929 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 753 ( 2 ) District of Columbia .................................. – 5 ( 2 ) – 678 ( 2 ) – 678 ( 2 ) Florida ...................................................... 96 83 57 24,697 13,380 9,819 23,949 12,469 8,973 

Georgia .................................................... 23 22 12 3,438 2,926 1,406 5,292 4,730 1,841 

Hawaii ...................................................... 7 ( 2 ) 5 888 ( 2 ) 710 1,031 ( 2 ) 537 

Idaho ........................................................ 7 9 3 826 1,920 226 1,304 854 222 

Illinois ....................................................... 106 119 69 17,820 26,757 9,675 23,505 27,038 8,820 

Indiana ..................................................... 35 32 11 4,011 4,242 870 6,546 6,052 1,070 

Iowa ......................................................... 12 12 4 1,748 2,980 662 3,975 3,014 471 

Kansas ..................................................... 21 17 8 2,633 3,062 975 2,738 3,198 960 

Kentucky .................................................. 22 26 14 4,874 3,579 4,709 2,750 3,061 2,050 

Louisiana .................................................. 20 35 12 3,331 8,575 2,534 2,439 5,552 978 

Maine ....................................................... ( 2 ) 11 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,995 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,312 ( 2 )

Maryland .................................................. 7 12 13 672 1,701 3,445 725 1,674 2,427 

Massachusetts ......................................... 21 15 16 2,815 2,583 1,540 3,013 2,811 1,451 

Michigan ................................................... 59 42 13 7,328 6,920 963 17,904 6,826 1,003 

Minnesota ................................................ 35 19 9 4,983 2,363 965 5,323 2,909 817 

Mississippi ................................................ 7 10 11 552 1,939 1,337 663 1,372 970 

Missouri .................................................... 34 53 14 7,431 10,716 5,259 6,455 9,414 1,571 

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

 ) 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,962 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 911 ( 2 )

Nebraska .................................................. 4 7 4 740 1,937 697 368 1,051 414 

Nevada ..................................................... 37 16 4 6,176 3,916 500 9,812 3,155 653 

New Hampshire ....................................... 4 11 – 431 2,358 – 331 1,766 –

New Jersey .............................................. 65 71 48 11,629 22,459 5,816 9,593 18,777 4,800 

New Mexico ............................................. 10 17 7 1,202 4,388 1,066 1,017 2,154 674 

New York ................................................. 154 119 227 28,216 18,768 30,833 26,172 22,230 36,373 

North Carolina .......................................... 29 25 20 3,694 2,660 1,464 8,823 6,363 1,902 

North Dakota ............................................ 3 5 ( 2 ) 476 507 ( 2 ) 634 618 ( 2 ) Ohio ......................................................... 75 91 31 12,760 15,514 3,766 18,371 15,988 3,429 

Oklahoma ................................................. 8 4 ( 2 ) 872 558 ( 2 ) 616 438 ( 2 ) Oregon ..................................................... 26 30 19 3,001 7,966 2,978 6,126 7,088 2,830 

Pennsylvania ............................................ 134 124 62 20,779 16,101 6,289 26,872 26,969 7,690 

Rhode Island ............................................ 5 15 ( 2

 ) 396 2,989 ( 2 ) 403 2,922 ( 2 )

South Carolina ......................................... 18 27 12 2,376 6,032 1,508 2,701 6,054 1,525 

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

Tennessee ............................................... 21 30 12 4,062 5,324 1,387 4,397 5,177 1,184 

Texas ....................................................... 34 64 29 5,644 10,103 4,934 6,243 15,580 3,722 

Utah ......................................................... 8 10 4 978 1,490 3,200 1,780 1,366 651 

Vermont ................................................... 5 12 ( 2 ) 628 2,266 ( 2 ) 668 1,785 ( 2 )

Virginia ..................................................... 16 32 11 1,898 5,559 970 2,022 5,923 1,083 

Washington .............................................. 41 29 28 6,087 3,534 3,161 8,823 4,899 3,582 

West Virginia ............................................ 5 9 ( 2 ) 665 1,785 ( 2 ) 481 1,141 ( 2 ) Wisconsin ................................................. 48 48 21 9,311 8,141 2,242 10,429 8,453 2,280 

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

Puerto Rico .............................................. 16 13 10 1,529 1,967 692 3,287 3,942 1,543 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

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

 r = revised.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance
Table 6. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

III II III III II III

 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ............................................... 77 57 47 12,854 11,080 6,840 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Utilities ......................................................................... – – – – – –

 Construction ................................................................. – – – – – –

 Manufacturing .............................................................. 46 26 27 7,324 5,843 3,349 

 Food ........................................................................ 4 4 9 672 1,856 988 

 Beverage and tobacco products ............................. ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Textile mills ............................................................. ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Textile product mills ................................................ ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Apparel ................................................................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Leather and allied products .................................... – – – – – –

 Wood products ........................................................ – – – – – –

 Paper ...................................................................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

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

 Petroleum and coal products .................................. ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

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

 )( 2 ) 3 ( 2 )( 2 ) 564 

 Plastics and rubber products .................................. 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 384 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

 Primary metals ........................................................ 3 – – 555 – –

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 477 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Machinery ............................................................... 4 6 ( 2 ) 624 702 ( 2 )

 Computer and electronic products .......................... 7 ( 2 ) 3 1,099 ( 2 ) 289 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Transportation equipment ....................................... 6 4 ( 2 ) 1,107 793 ( 2 )

 Furniture and related products ................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Wholesale trade ........................................................... 5 3 ( 2

 ) 572 235 ( 2 )

 Retail trade .................................................................. 5 4 ( 2 ) 944 695 ( 2 )

 Transportation and warehousing ................................. 4 ( 2 ) 4 552 ( 2 ) 509 

 Information ................................................................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 745 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Finance and insurance ................................................ 3 9 ( 2 ) 302 1,805 ( 2 )

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

 Professional and technical services ............................. 3 – ( 2 ) 1,152 – ( 2 )

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

 Administrative and waste services ............................... – 4 ( 2 ) – 664 ( 2 )

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

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

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

 Accommodation and food services .............................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Other services, except public administration ............... – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

 

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

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

 r = revised.

Industry

Layoff events Separations
Table 7. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, 

selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

Reason for layoff

III II III III II III

 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 77 57 47 12,854 11,080 6,840 

Business demand ............................................................. 21 14 11 3,337 3,560 1,594 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 468 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Contract completion ....................................................... – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Domestic competition ..................................................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Excess inventory/saturated market ................................ ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Import competition ......................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 15 ( 2

 ) 8 2,583 ( 2 ) 1,114 

Organizational changes .................................................... 39 27 21 7,033 5,043 2,968 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 6 4 4 1,329 845 630 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 33 23 17 5,704 4,198 2,338 

Financial issues ................................................................ ( 2

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

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ 12 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,559 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Financial difficulty ........................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Production specific ............................................................ ( 2

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

 Automation/technological advances .............................. ––––––

 Energy related ................................................................ – – – – – –

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ..................... – – – – – –

 Material or supply shortage ............................................ – – – – – –

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

 Plant or machine repair/maintenance ............................ – – – – – –

 Product line discontinued ............................................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

Disaster/safety .................................................................. – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Hazardous work environment ........................................ ––––––

 Natural disaster (not weather related) ............................ – – – – – –

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Extreme weather-related event ...................................... – – – – – –

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... – – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 )

 Other .............................................................................. – – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 )

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. – – – – – –

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. – – – – – –

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

 2

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

 r

 = revised.

Layoff events Separations
Table 8. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations

III II III III II III

 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 

 United States1 ...................................... 77 57 47 12,854 11,080 6,840 

Northeast ..................................................... 9 11 11 1,372 1,916 1,540 

 New England ........................................... 4 4 4 719 400 634 

 Middle Atlantic ......................................... 5 7 7 653 1,516 906 

South ........................................................... 19 25 18 2,622 3,740 2,230 

 South Atlantic .......................................... ( 2

 ) 14 7 ( 2 ) 2,001 777 

 East South Central .................................. 9 7 6 1,039 1,009 614 

 West South Central ................................. ( 2 ) 4 5 ( 2 ) 730 839 

Midwest ....................................................... 22 16 8 3,578 4,815 1,168 

 East North Central ................................... 15 9 4 2,260 2,117 426 

 West North Central .................................. 7 7 4 1,318 2,698 742 

West ............................................................ 27 5 10 5,282 609 1,902 

 Mountain .................................................. 5 ( 2

 )( 2 ) 1,832 ( 2 )( 2 )

 Pacific ...................................................... 22 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3,450 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South 

 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, 

 r = revised. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas,

 p = preliminary. Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, 

 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, 

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

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

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

Table 9. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

III II III III II III

 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p

Total, private nonfarm1 ................................. 2,034 2,011 1,297 345,531 382,007 187,091 

 Total, excluding seasonal

 and vacation events2

 ............................ 1,748 1,210 933 289,220 210,879 138,013 

 Total, movement of work3

 .................... 77 57 47 12,854 11,080 6,840 

 Movement of work actions .............. 109 75 71 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 With separations reported ......... 73 48 38 7,088 4,797 3,074 

 With separations unknown ........ 36 27 33 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 4 Data are not available.

 2 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers r = revised.

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

 3 Movement of work can involve more than one action.

Action

Layoff events Separations
Table 10. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers,

selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

III II III III II III

 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p

With separations reported2 ................................. 73 48 38 7,088 4,797 3,074 

By location

 Out-of-country relocations ................................ 19 11 6 2,006 1,200 737 

 Within company ............................................ 16 10 3 1,786 1,160 279 

 Different company ........................................ 3 1 3 220 40 458 

 Domestic relocations ........................................ 54 37 32 5,082 3,597 2,337 

 Within company ............................................ 42 35 27 3,642 3,138 1,785 

 Different company ........................................ 12 2 5 1,440 459 552 

 Unable to assign place of 

 relocation ....................................................... ––––––

By company

 Within company ................................................ 58 45 30 5,428 4,298 2,064 

 Domestic ....................................................... 42 35 27 3,642 3,138 1,785 

 Out of country ............................................... 16 10 3 1,786 1,160 279 

 Unable to assign ........................................... ––––––

 Different company ............................................ 15 3 8 1,660 499 1,010 

 Domestic ....................................................... 12 2 5 1,440 459 552 

 Out of country ............................................... 3 1 3 220 40 458 

 Unable to assign ........................................... ––––––

 1

 Only actions for which separations associated with the r = revised.

movement of work were reported are shown. p = preliminary.

 2

 See footnote 1, table 1. Note: Dash represents zero.

Table 11. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended mass layoffs, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

III II III III II III III II III

2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p 2009r 2010r 2010p

Anticipate a recall ............................................... 31.1 54.2 46.7 93.7 95.6 92.9 20.9 26.7 28.7

 Timeframe

Within 6 months .................................................. 64.8 74.6 65.5 89.2 90.2 86.7 46.8 37.5 38.8

 Within 3 months ............................................ 48.2 51.1 55.4 65.3 60.4 75.7 35.6 28.8 29.9

 Size of recall

At least half ......................................................... 63.3 78.6 68.2 91.4 95.2 92.0 42.7 39.3 38.1

 All workers .................................................... 31.9 43.7 39.3 58.6 56.7 61.2 12.3 13.0 11.6

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1.

 r

 = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.

Percent of layoff events, excluding those due to 

seasonal and vacation period

Activities

Actions1 Separations

Nature of recall

Percent of total layoff events1 Percent of layoff events due to seasonal work 

and vacation period
measures, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2009 and 2010

III II III

2009r 2010r 2010p

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................................... 170 190 144 

Industry

Mining ................................................................................... 165 110 390 

Utilities .................................................................................. 126 160 128 

Construction .......................................................................... 120 130 94 

Manufacturing ....................................................................... 168 178 137 

Wholesale trade .................................................................... 115 119 112 

Retail trade ............................................................................ 221 233 226 

Transportation and warehousing .......................................... 173 234 146 

Information ............................................................................ 165 256 253 

Finance and insurance .......................................................... 174 193 163 

Real estate and rental and leasing ....................................... 113 134 155 

Professional and technical services ...................................... 221 290 167 

Management of companies and enterprises ......................... 133 238 81 

Administrative and waste services ........................................ 215 176 178 

Educational services ............................................................. 167 110 117 

Health care and social assistance ........................................ 133 129 95 

Arts, entertainment, and recreation ....................................... 266 264 115 

Accommodation and food services ....................................... 206 264 163 

Other services, except public administration ........................ 149 134 109 

Unclassified establishments .................................................. –––

Reason for layoff groupings

Business demand ................................................................. 143 151 148 

Organizational changes ........................................................ 179 210 162 

Financial issues .................................................................... 152 219 132 

Production specific ................................................................ 298 169 101 

Disaster/Safety ...................................................................... 488 153 60 

Seasonal ............................................................................... 197 214 135 

Other/miscellaneous ............................................................. 202 191 154 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

 r

 = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

Table 13. Distribution of extended layoff events by size of layoff, private nonfarm sector, 

third quarter 2010p

Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ........................................................................ 1,297 100.0 187,091 100.0 

 50-99 ..................................................................... 715 55.1 49,339 26.4 

 100-149 ................................................................. 263 20.3 30,586 16.3 

 150-199 .................................................................. 111 8.6 18,417 9.8 

 200-299 .................................................................. 101 7.8 23,731 12.7 

 300-499 .................................................................. 62 4.8 22,372 12.0 

 500-999 .................................................................. 30 2.3 20,782 11.1 

 1,000 or more ......................................................... 15 1.2 21,864 11.7 

 p

 = preliminary.

Table 12. Average number of separations in extended mass layoff events by selected

Measure

Average number of separations

Size Layoff events Separations
Extended Mass Layoff Events by Reason Categories

Third quarters, 2004-10

800

1000

600400200

0

2004:3 2005:3 2006:3 2007:3 2008:3 2009:3 

Seasonal Business demand Organizational changes Financial issues Production specific 

1 The chart excludes information on layoffs due to other/miscellaneous reasons.p = preliminary.