For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, September 23, 2010 USDL-10-1317 

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

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

(NOTE: Monthly national Mass Layoffs data for April through September 2010 have been found 

to contain errors in each of the 6 seasonally adjusted series appearing in the charts, the text, and 

tables 1 and 3. Not seasonally adjusted data and regional office news releases are not affected. 

The corrected seasonally adjusted estimates for April through September are located in the Mass 

Layoffs database at www.bls.gov/mls/#data.)

MASS LAYOFFS – AUGUST 2010 

Employers took 1,546 mass layoff actions in August that resulted in the separation of 150,192 workers, 

seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, 

the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a 

single employer. The number of mass layoff events in August decreased by 63 from the prior month, 

while the number of associated initial claims increased by 6,489. In August, 403 mass layoff events 

were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 46,540 initial claims. (See 

table 1.) 

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

Events

Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

September 2005-August 2010

Total

Private nonfarm

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Claims

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

September 2005-August 2010

Private nonfarm

The national unemployment rate was 9.6 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, essentially unchanged 

from the prior month and from a year earlier. In August, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 

54,000 over the month but increased by 229,000 from a year earlier. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in August was 976 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number of 

associated initial claims was 92,435. (See table 2.) Over the year, the number of mass layoff events 
- 2 - 

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in August 2010,

not seasonally adjusted

Year Initial claims

Temporary help services 1

 .................................. 7,936 1999 11,533 

Elementary and secondary schools ..................... 4,093 2010 4,093 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................. 3,454 2008 5,252 

Motion picture and video production .................. 3,026 2003 6,812 

Discount department stores ................................ 2,542 2007 2,953 

School and employee bus transportation ............. 2,429 2003 6,538 

Payroll services .................................................. 2,284 2001 8,173 

Automobile manufacturing .................................. 2,279 2001 8,166 

Home centers .................................................... 1,857 2010 1,857 

Supermarkets and other grocery stores .............. 1,656 2001 2,357 

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

Industry Initial claims August peak

decreased by 452, and associated initial claims decreased by 32,589. Thirteen of the 19 major industry 

sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by manufacturing. 

Retail trade and management of companies reached August program highs in terms of average weekly 

claims. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical 

Note. Data began in 1995.) The manufacturing sector accounted for 24 percent of all mass layoff events 

and 25 percent of initial claims filed in August. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 31 percent of 

events and 33 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in August 2010 

was greatest in trans-portation equipment and food. (See table 3.) Sixteen of the 21 manufacturing 

subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by machinery and transportation 

equipment. 

The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in August was temporary help services. 

(See table A.) Of the 10 detailed industries in table A, elementary and secondary schools and retail home 

centers each reached a program high number of claims for the month of August. The table includes both 

publicly and privately owned entities. 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

Three of the 4 regions and 7 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims due 

to mass layoffs in August. Among the census regions, the Midwest registered the largest over-the-year 

declines in initial claims. Of the geographic divisions, the East North Central and the Middle Atlantic 

had the largest over-the-year declines in initial claims. (See table 5.) 

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in August, followed by Florida and New York. 

Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led 

by New York and Pennsylvania. (See table 6.) 

Note 
- 3 - 

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 Mass Layoffs news release for September is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, 

October 22, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). 
Technical Note 

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

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job 

cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment 

insurance database. Each month, states report on employers 

which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during 

a consecutive 5-week period. These employers then are 

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these 

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

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report 

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

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly 

unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday 

through Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect into 

consideration. 

The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 

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

funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were 

not available. 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

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

Definitions 

Employer. Employers in the MLS program include 

those covered by state unemployment insurance laws. 

Information on employers is obtained from the Quarterly 

Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which 

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

Industry. Employers are classified according to the 

2007 version of the North American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). For temporary help and professional 

employer organization industries, monthly MLS-related 

statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client 

companies in other industries. An individual layoff action at 

a client company can be small, but when initial claimants 

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

mass layoff event may trigger. 

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

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a 

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or 

period of eligibility. 

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for 

unemployment insurance benefits filed against an employer 

during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. 

Seasonal adjustment 

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS 

began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS 

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

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

and manufacturing sectors. 

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and 

removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring 

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

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

seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental 

changes in time series, particularly those associated with 

general economic expansions and contractions. 

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

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis. 

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly 

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

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

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

seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the 

original data to adjust them for differences in the number of 

weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly 

unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form 

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

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

effects of these differences could seriously distort the 

seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal 

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

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the 

final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, September 2006 to August 2010,

seasonally adjusted

2006

September ................................................... 1,154 124,200 1,043 115,261 393 45,972 

October ........................................................ 1,208 123,691 1,094 115,102 409 53,957 

November .................................................... 1,244 135,465 1,128 125,976 413 58,509 

December .................................................... 1,227 134,176 1,123 124,570 376 51,403 

2007

January ........................................................ 1,264 130,834 1,113 119,874 404 55,217 

February ....................................................... 1,191 121,289 1,075 112,607 374 54,581 

March ........................................................... 1,225 126,391 1,113 117,760 386 48,298 

April .............................................................. 1,268 129,098 1,135 118,175 362 43,205 

May .............................................................. 1,172 118,648 1,070 111,103 345 44,391 

June ............................................................. 1,241 131,394 1,125 122,123 338 37,931 

July ............................................................... 1,274 130,331 1,169 122,381 403 55,973 

August .......................................................... 1,247 126,108 1,158 118,575 323 34,902 

September ................................................... 1,255 123,632 1,160 116,744 436 51,814 

October ........................................................ 1,370 137,108 1,248 128,387 449 58,360 

November .................................................... 1,415 148,952 1,289 139,665 424 58,543 

December .................................................... 1,569 155,095 1,448 145,666 483 60,368 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,481 151,269 1,348 140,570 436 57,147 

February ....................................................... 1,578 162,152 1,432 150,712 470 60,276 

March ........................................................... 1,487 151,539 1,372 141,574 436 56,919 

April .............................................................. 1,327 133,318 1,201 122,651 460 59,377 

May .............................................................. 1,604 170,619 1,465 160,529 468 62,345 

June ............................................................. 1,674 170,329 1,523 158,084 501 68,403 

July ............................................................... 1,531 152,447 1,389 141,707 461 61,417 

August .......................................................... 1,845 189,798 1,711 179,737 607 78,172 

September ................................................... 2,222 235,755 2,049 220,832 634 81,989 

October ........................................................ 2,287 239,768 2,125 226,098 721 95,301 

November .................................................... 2,489 240,181 2,334 227,368 929 107,072 

December .................................................... 2,461 243,505 2,277 229,171 962 115,961 

2009

January ........................................................ 2,279 251,807 2,115 238,990 764 109,124 

February ....................................................... 2,737 289,162 2,592 274,040 1,186 141,264 

March ........................................................... 2,913 295,970 2,715 279,671 1,202 146,381 

April .............................................................. 2,663 263,162 2,461 247,329 1,033 125,093 

May .............................................................. 2,794 306,788 2,589 289,012 1,183 145,166 

June ............................................................. 2,598 260,596 2,371 241,864 1,072 135,844 

July ............................................................... 2,039 196,578 1,818 176,542 565 66,918 

August .......................................................... 2,480 238,911 2,244 218,425 798 87,201 

September ................................................... 2,326 221,639 2,109 204,462 783 90,440 

October ........................................................ 2,055 205,502 1,856 187,880 594 65,801 

November .................................................... 1,813 163,823 1,650 151,810 485 54,858 

December .................................................... 1,726 153,127 1,542 138,747 433 44,072 

2010

January ........................................................ 1,761 182,261 1,585 168,466 486 62,556 

February ....................................................... 1,570 155,718 1,406 142,240 376 43,100 

March ........................................................... 1,628 150,864 1,432 136,446 356 39,290 

April .............................................................. 1,856 200,870 1,686 185,150 448 63,616 

May .............................................................. 1,412 135,789 1,200 119,822 266 22,577 

June ............................................................. 1,647 145,538 1,436 127,928 298 29,384 

July ............................................................... 1,609 143,703 1,369 121,770 307 33,381 

August .......................................................... 1,546 150,192 1,359 130,660 403 46,540 

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, September 2006 to August 2010,

not seasonally adjusted

2006

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 

February ....................................................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 273 36,170 

March ........................................................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 367 49,886 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

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

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

August June July August August June July August

2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 2,480 1,647 1,609 1546 238,911 145,538 143,703 150,192 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 2,244 1,436 1,369 1359 218,425 127,928 121,770 130,660 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 798 298 307 403 87,201 29,384 33,381 46,540 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 1,428 1,861 2,124 976 125,024 171,190 206,254 92,435 

Total, private ........................................................ 1,356 1,398 1,832 923 118,920 128,691 179,524 84,610 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 22 43 100 26 1,727 2,819 7,276 1,589 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,334 1,355 1,732 897 117,193 125,872 172,248 83,021 

 Mining .............................................................. 9 ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 603 ( 2 ) 394 ( 2 )

 Utilities ............................................................. ( 2 ) 5 6 – ( 2 ) 343 689 –

 Construction .................................................... 160 121 135 105 11,904 8,405 9,570 6,910 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 436 212 532 230 41,151 21,083 64,200 23,088 

 Food ............................................................ 41 46 75 54 3,632 3,315 9,535 4,312 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. 5 5 4 ( 2 ) 937 259 290 ( 2 )

 Textile mills .................................................. ( 2 ) 4 8 4 ( 2 ) 584 959 888 

 Textile product mills ..................................... 5 ( 2 ) 3 3 557 ( 2 ) 347 272 

 Apparel ........................................................ 15 7 18 9 1,317 737 1,576 573 

 Leather and allied products ......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 332 ( 2 )

 Wood products ............................................ 19 20 24 17 1,423 2,012 2,051 1,355 

 Paper ........................................................... 8 4 4 7 576 382 311 559 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 9 12 10 3 714 878 790 246 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... – – 4 – – – 294 –

 Chemicals .................................................... 10 3 18 8 843 375 1,808 562 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 17 5 31 10 1,532 353 3,027 691 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 18 9 22 8 1,147 492 1,846 621 

 Primary metals ............................................. 31 9 24 7 2,742 762 2,752 835 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 43 8 27 12 3,501 621 2,497 925 

 Machinery .................................................... 74 16 26 18 6,608 2,329 4,463 2,077 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 30 8 18 15 2,535 654 1,492 999 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 18 5 17 8 1,853 734 1,692 1,303 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 68 34 171 32 9,076 4,474 25,863 4,869 

 Furniture and related products .................... 13 11 19 6 941 1,560 1,916 1,417 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 6 3 6 4 577 232 359 319 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 34 14 33 18 2,714 955 2,691 1,324 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 111 107 142 108 10,173 10,102 14,907 10,430 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 101 159 148 45 9,131 19,790 17,270 4,356 

 Information ....................................................... 46 41 55 36 6,067 4,321 7,341 6,155 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 47 39 47 24 4,434 2,621 3,391 1,945 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 7 8 15 7 404 437 883 514 

 Professional and technical services ................ 32 30 59 43 2,302 2,970 4,366 4,657 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 419 490 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 195 175 292 158 15,604 14,283 25,234 14,605 

 Educational services ........................................ 13 40 30 6 1,796 2,588 2,912 902 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 31 174 90 36 1,947 14,283 6,716 2,532 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 19 29 31 17 1,403 1,764 2,559 1,286 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 74 141 89 50 6,034 18,121 7,184 3,424 

 Other services, except public administration ... 13 54 18 ( 2 ) 1,076 3,284 1,522 ( 2 )

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

Government ......................................................... 72 463 292 53 6,104 42,499 26,730 7,825 

 Federal ............................................................ 14 22 25 18 1,381 2,076 3,243 1,933 

 State ................................................................ 19 37 29 12 1,717 2,813 2,589 894 

 Local ................................................................ 39 404 238 23 3,006 37,610 20,898 4,998 

 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, July 2008 to August 2010,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2008

July ............................................ 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 

August ........................................ 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 

September ................................. 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 

Third Quarter ............................. 4,610 469,967 4,232 441,669 1,581 304,340 37.4 68.9 

October ...................................... 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 

November .................................. 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 

December .................................. 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 8,076 814,678 7,538 772,430 3,582 766,780 47.5 99.3 

2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Third Quarter ............................. 5,853 584,855 5,251 528,923 2,034 406,802 38.7 76.9 

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

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

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

Fourth Quarter ........................... 6,114 573,048 5,523 527,289 2,416 468,368 43.7 88.8 

2010

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

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

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

First Quarter ............................... 5,240 493,224 4,884 466,610 1,870 360,208 38.3 77.2 

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

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

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

Second Quarter ......................... 5,055 494,213 4,222 419,729 2,p 1,851 2,p 273,860 p

 43.8 p 65.2 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 2

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

Date

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

Mass layoffs
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

August June July August August June July August

2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010

 United States 1

 ......................................... 1,428 1,861 2,124 976 125,024 171,190 206,254 92,435 

Northeast .......................................................... 279 288 434 183 26,444 32,587 44,132 16,706 

 New England ................................................ 32 54 40 34 2,953 6,003 3,136 3,743 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 247 234 394 149 23,491 26,584 40,996 12,963 

South ................................................................ 342 442 512 274 29,486 39,969 48,848 21,631 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 204 267 280 160 17,732 23,150 26,937 12,404 

 East South Central ....................................... 57 73 142 55 4,820 7,108 13,640 4,584 

 West South Central ...................................... 81 102 90 59 6,934 9,711 8,271 4,643 

Midwest ............................................................ 350 390 490 157 32,197 39,201 56,377 17,140 

 East North Central ........................................ 273 290 397 124 25,962 29,931 46,473 13,603 

 West North Central ....................................... 77 100 93 33 6,235 9,270 9,904 3,537 

West ................................................................. 457 741 688 362 36,897 59,433 56,897 36,958 

 Mountain ....................................................... 63 105 71 31 6,116 9,136 6,593 2,197 

 Pacific ........................................................... 394 636 617 331 30,781 50,297 50,304 34,761 

 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

August June July August August June July August

2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010

 Total 1

 .............................................. 1,428 1,861 2,124 976 125,024 171,190 206,254 92,435 

Alabama ............................................. 23 32 57 14 1,997 3,783 5,642 1,407 

Alaska ................................................. 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 10 295 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 884 

Arizona ............................................... 10 28 16 5 977 2,197 1,710 268 

Arkansas ............................................. 4 7 8 3 260 521 765 275 

California ............................................ 340 590 558 287 26,082 44,939 44,343 31,007 

Colorado ............................................. 5 14 16 5 374 1,237 1,552 355 

Connecticut ......................................... 4 11 13 8 334 968 977 880 

Delaware ............................................ ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 477 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia ............................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Florida ................................................. 104 123 137 93 7,795 9,037 10,581 6,506 

Georgia ............................................... 23 46 27 30 2,202 4,398 4,020 2,996 

Hawaii ................................................. 8 7 5 5 872 562 471 381 

Idaho ................................................... 9 8 5 7 1,305 481 480 504 

Illinois .................................................. 82 88 92 32 7,432 8,046 10,969 3,707 

Indiana ................................................ 30 30 38 14 3,182 2,977 5,905 1,554 

Iowa .................................................... 17 13 25 9 1,359 1,686 3,463 1,743 

Kansas ................................................ 14 14 5 4 945 1,815 416 366 

Kentucky ............................................. 22 15 50 18 2,006 1,417 5,491 1,422 

Louisiana ............................................ 18 26 23 16 1,698 1,985 2,174 1,010 

Maine .................................................. ( 2 ) 5 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 320 249 ( 2 ) Maryland ............................................. 10 11 20 6 759 1,172 1,844 363 

Massachusetts .................................... 13 13 16 16 1,357 948 1,403 1,464 

Michigan ............................................. 43 54 107 14 3,593 5,047 12,383 2,385 

Minnesota ........................................... 13 18 14 4 948 1,526 1,462 307 

Mississippi .......................................... 5 13 12 14 349 768 1,094 1,057 

Missouri .............................................. 28 48 34 12 2,549 3,679 3,005 864 

Montana .............................................. 3 10 4 ( 2

 ) 258 659 322 ( 2

 )

Nebraska ............................................ ( 2 ) 6 10 4 ( 2 ) 504 835 257 

Nevada ............................................... 30 24 20 7 2,879 2,956 1,644 484 

New Hampshire .................................. 6 8 ( 2 ) 6 454 1,277 ( 2 ) 657 

New Jersey ......................................... 27 56 113 31 2,162 9,675 10,486 2,449 

New Mexico ........................................ 4 13 4 ( 2 ) 191 997 247 ( 2 ) New York ............................................ 106 50 201 59 11,405 5,201 23,920 5,547 

North Carolina .................................... 19 21 19 9 2,523 2,378 1,264 698 

North Dakota ...................................... ( 2 ) – 4 – ( 2 ) – 666 –

Ohio .................................................... 58 58 87 27 5,941 6,056 9,564 2,569 

Oklahoma ........................................... 8 6 8 ( 2 ) 679 494 665 ( 2 ) Oregon ................................................ 21 27 32 18 1,691 3,758 3,582 1,671 

Pennsylvania ...................................... 114 128 80 59 9,924 11,708 6,590 4,967 

Rhode Island ...................................... 5 9 6 ( 2

 ) 456 1,723 396 ( 2 )

South Carolina .................................... 20 31 36 11 2,133 3,414 5,430 792 

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

Tennessee .......................................... 7 13 23 9 468 1,140 1,413 698 

Texas .................................................. 51 63 51 38 4,297 6,711 4,667 3,058 

Utah .................................................... ( 2 ) 6 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 461 638 ( 2 ) Vermont .............................................. ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 767 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Virginia ................................................ 21 24 36 8 1,652 1,999 3,427 747 

Washington ......................................... 21 10 21 11 1,841 839 1,848 818 

West Virginia ...................................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 272 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Wisconsin ........................................... 60 60 73 37 5,814 7,805 7,652 3,388 

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

Puerto Rico ......................................... 15 24 18 12 1,326 1,763 2,344 987 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. NOTE: Dash represents zero. 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

State