Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 08-0668 

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

 For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT) 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, May 15, 2008 

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2008 

In the first quarter of 2008, there were 1,111 mass layoff events that resulted in the separation of 

188,326 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the 

U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. A strike at a transportation equipment manufacturer was a contributing factor in 31 extended layoff events affecting 19,887 workers at other firms. 

The total number of layoff events was essentially unchanged from the January-March 2007 time period, 

while the number of associated separations was lower. (See table A.) First quarter 2008 layoff data are 

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

Among the 7 categories of economic reasons for layoff, business demand accounted for the highest 

share of events (47 percent) and number of separations (79,358) in January-March 2008. (See table B 

and the chart.) Layoff activity attributed to business demand factors increased from the same period 

in 2007, when these reasons were cited in 39 percent of layoff events and involved 62,693 laid-off 

workers. 

Changes to Extended Mass Layoff Data 

Effective with this news release, the Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program has 

switched the basis for their industry classification from the 2002 North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) to the 2007 NAICS for extended mass layoff 

data. The new classification includes minor definitional changes within manufacturing; 

telecommunications; financial activities; and professional, scientific, and technical 

services. Several industry titles and descriptions also were updated. For more information on the MLS program’s change to NAICS 2007, see http://www.bls.gov/mls/ 

mls2007naics.htm. 

For additional information on the 2007 NAICS, see http://www.census.gov/epcd/ 

www/naics.html. 

News United States 

Department 

of Labor 
2

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

2004

January-March...................... 1,339 276,503 238,392 

April-June............................. 1,358 278,831 254,063 

July-September..................... 886 164,608 148,575 

October-December................ 1,427 273,967 262,049 

2005

January-March...................... 1,142 186,506 185,486 

April-June............................. 1,203 246,099 212,673 

July-September..................... 1,136 201,878 190,186 

October-December................ 1,400 250,178 246,188 

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................ 1,640 296,662 330,901 

2007

January-Marchr

..................... 1,110 225,600 199,250 

April-Juner

............................ 1,421 278,719 259,082 

July-Septemberr

..................... 1,019 160,830 173,518 

October-December

r

 .............. 1,814 301,377 346,030 

2008

January-Marchp

 .................... 1,111 188,326 165,933 

 r

 = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.

Since the collection of movement of work data began in 2004, a series low 47 extended mass layoff 

events associated with 8,856 separated workers were recorded in the first quarter of 2008. (See table C.) 

These events accounted for 5 percent of the nonseasonal layoff events and 6 percent of the nonseasonal 

separations. 

Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 12 percent of all extended mass layoff events and affected 33,103 workers during the first quarter of 2008. Forty-three percent of the employers reporting 

a layoff indicated they anticipated some type of recall. Of those employers expecting to recall workers, 

a record low 30 percent indicated that the offer would be extended to all employees. Extended mass 

layoffs without an expectation of recall occurred mainly in credit intermediation and related activities 

and in transportation equipment manufacturing. 

The national unemployment rate averaged 5.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the first quarter of 

2008, up from 4.8 percent a year earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, 

increased by 0.4 percent, or 507,000 over the year. 
3

Table B. Distribution of extended layoff events and separations by 

economic reason categories, January-March 2008p

Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ................................ 1,111 100.0 188,326 100.0

Business demand.................. 520 46.8 79,358 42.1

Organizational changes ....... 91 8.2 18,675 9.9

Financial issues ................... 106 9.5 22,972 12.2

Production specific .............. 24 2.2 11,760 6.2

Disaster/safety ..................... 6 .5 968 .5

Seasonal .............................. 226 20.3 38,540 20.5

Other/miscellaneous ............ 138 12.4 16,053 8.5

p

 = preliminary.

Category Layoff events Separations

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs

Manufacturing industries accounted for 31 percent of private nonfarm extended mass layoff events 

and 40 percent of related separations in the first quarter of 2008. (See table 1.) The largest number of 

separations was in transportation equipment manufacturing (31,340, mostly associated with automobile 

manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (9,478). A strike involving a transportation equipment 

manufacturer was a contributing factor in 55 percent of the separations in that industry. 

The construction sector accounted for 26 percent of events and 16 percent of separations during 

January-March 2008, largely in specialty trade contracting and heavy and civil engineering construction. Layoffs in the retail trade sector accounted for 8 percent of all extended mass layoff events and 

11 percent of separations and were concentrated in general merchandise stores. 

Reasons for Extended Layoffs

Among the 7 categories of economic reasons for extended mass layoffs, events related to business 

demand factors (contract cancellation, contract completion, domestic competition, excess inventory, 

import competition, and slack work) accounted for 47 percent of the extended layoffs and resulted in 

79,358 separations during the first quarter of 2008. (See table 2.) Business demand job cuts were most 

numerous in transportation equipment manufacturing (motor vehicle manufacturing) and in specialty 

trade contracting (building equipment contractors). About one-quarter of all layoff events and separations were due to slack work, the highest proportion of events since first quarter 2002 and the highest 

proportion of separations since third quarter 2001. However, 11 percent of these slack work events and 

42 percent of the associated separations were strike-related cutbacks in the transportation equipment 

manufacturing sector. 

Job losses related to seasonal factors (seasonal and vacation period) accounted for 20 percent of the 

extended layoff events and resulted in 38,540 separations, primarily in food manufacturing and general 

merchandise stores. 
4

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

first quarter 2008p

Action Layoff events Separations

 Total, private nonfarm ............................ 1,111 188,326 

 Total, excluding seasonal 

and vacation events1 ...................... 885 149,786 

 Total events with movement

of work2 ............................... 47 8,856 

 Movement of work actions ................. 59 ( 3 )

 With separations reported .............. 36 5,297 

 With separations unknown ............ 23 ( 3 )

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

for layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period. 2 A layoff event can involve more than one movement of work action. 3

 Data are not available.

 p = preliminary.

Financial issues (bankruptcy, cost control, and financial difficulty) accounted for 10 percent of events 

and resulted in 22,972 separations. These layoffs were most common among workers in credit intermediation and related activities and in furniture and home furnishings stores. 

Movement of Work

Since the collection of movement of work data began in 2004, a series low 47 extended mass layoff 

events associated with 8,856 separated workers were recorded in the first quarter of 2008. (See table C.) 

These movements of work were to other domestic locations or to locations outside of the U.S., and they 

occurred either within the same company or to other companies. A year earlier, there were 70 layoff 

events and 11,438 separations associated with the movement of work. (See table 10.) 

Among the 47 extended mass layoff events with reported relocation of work in the first quarter of 

2008, 64 percent were permanent closures of worksites, which affected 6,566 workers. In comparison, 

12 percent of the total extended mass layoff events reported for the quarter involved the permanent 

closure of worksites affecting 33,103 workers. 

Of the layoffs involving the movement of work, 60 percent of the events and 53 percent of the laidoff workers were from manufacturing industries during the first quarter. (See table 7.) Among all 

private nonfarm extended layoffs, manufacturing accounted for 31 percent of the events and 40 percent 

of the separations. 

While 18 percent of the extended mass layoff events in the total private nonfarm economy were 

because of either financial issues or organizational changes, such reasons accounted for 66 percent of 
5

Table D. Movement of work actions by type of separation where the

number of separations is known by employers, first quarter 2008p

Activities Actions1 Separations

 With separations reported ......................... 36 5,297 

By location

 Out-of-country relocations ...................... 13 1,181 

 Within company ................................... 10 882 

 Different company ................................ 3 299 

 Domestic relocations ............................... 23 4,116 

 Within company ................................... 21 3,201 

 Different company ................................ 2 915 

By company

 Within company ...................................... 31 4,083 

 Domestic .............................................. 21 3,201 

 Out of country ...................................... 10 882 

 Different company ................................... 5 1,214 

 Domestic .............................................. 2 915 

 Out of country ...................................... 3 299 

 1

 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of 

 work were reported are shown.

 p = preliminary.

layoff events associated with work relocation and resulted in 6,012 separations during the first quarter. 

(See table 8.) 

Among the regions, the South accounted for the largest proportion of workers affected by extended 

mass layoffs associated with the movement of work (38 percent), followed by the West (28 percent), the 

Midwest (26 percent), and the Northeast (9 percent). (See table 9.) 

Some extended mass layoff events involve more than one relocation of work action. For example, 

an extended mass layoff event at an employer may involve job loss due to movement of work to both 

another domestic location of the company and a location out of the country. This would be counted as 

two movement of work actions. The 47 extended layoff events with movement of work for the first 

quarter of 2008 involved 59 identifiable relocations of work. (See table C.) An identifiable relocation 

of work occurs when the employer provides sufficient information on the new location of work and/or 

the number of workers affected by the movement. Of the 59 relocations, employers were able to provide information on the specific number of separations associated with the movement of work component of the layoff in 36 actions involving 5,297 workers. (See table 10.) 
6

Table E. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended layoff,

first quarter 2007-first quarter 2008

I II III IV I

2007 2007 2007 2007r 2008p

 Anticipate a recall ...... 40.2 57.1 37.9 55.8 43.2

Timeframe

 Within 6 months......... 83.6 87.5 83.9 87.9 71.7

 Within 3 months ...... 51.3 59.7 62.7 34.2 46.7

Size

 At least half ............... 87.2 93.3 86.0 90.5 74.6

 All workers ............ 38.6 57.2 45.6 50.5 29.6

 r

 = revised.

 p = preliminary.

Percentage of events

Nature of the recall

In the 36 actions where employers were able to provide more complete separations information, 86 

percent of relocations (31 out of 36) occurred within the same company. (See table D.) Sixty-four 

percent of these relocations (23 out of 36) were domestic reassignments, while 36 percent involved outof-country moves (13 out of 36). Domestic relocation of work—both within the company and to other 

companies—affected 4,116 workers. Out-of-country relocations were associated with the separation of 

1,181 workers, 1 percent of all nonseasonal and nonvacation extended mass layoff separations. (See 

table 11.) 

Recall Expectations

Forty-three percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the first quarter of 2008 indicated 

they anticipated some type of recall, up slightly from a year earlier. (See table E.) However, of those 

employers expecting to recall workers, a record low 30 percent indicated that the offer would be extended to all displaced employees. For events without an expectation of recall, the highest number of 

separations occurred in credit intermediation and related activities, in transportation equipment manufacturing, and in general merchandise stores. Seventy-two percent of employers expected to recall the 

laid-off employees within 6 months, a record low for the series. Seventy-five percent of employers 

anticipated extending the offer to at least half of the workers. 

Excluding layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period (in which 89 percent of the employers expected a recall), employers anticipated recalling laid-off workers in 32 percent of the events, 

up from 27 percent a year earlier. 
7

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

first quarter 2008p

Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ..................... 1,111 100.0 188,326 100.0 

 50-99 ........................ 519 46.7 36,653 19.5 

 100-149 ..................... 268 24.1 31,555 16.8 

 150-199 ..................... 102 9.2 17,092 9.1 

 200-299 ..................... 106 9.5 24,500 13.0 

 300-499 ..................... 67 6.0 25,165 13.4 

 500-999 ..................... 33 3.0 20,132 10.7 

 1,000 or more ............ 16 1.4 33,229 17.6 

 

p

 = preliminary.

Layoff events Separations Size

Size of Extended Layoffs

The average size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff event) in the first quarter of 2008 

was 170, compared to 203 per layoff in the first quarter of 2007. The average differed widely by industry, ranging from a low of 67 in leather and allied products to a high of 776 in motion picture and 

sound recording industries. 

Layoff events during January-March 2008 continued to be concentrated at the lower end of the extended layoff-size spectrum, with 71 percent of the events involving fewer than 150 workers. Layoffs 

involving less than 150 workers accounted for 36 percent of all separations during the period, compared 

to 29 percent in the first quarter of 2007. Separations involving 500 or more workers, while comprising 

only 4 percent of the events, accounted for 28 percent of all separations in the first quarter of 2008, 

down from 41 percent a year earlier. (See table F.) 

Initial Claimant Characteristics

A total of 165,933 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass 

layoffs in the first quarter of 2008. Of these claimants, 14 percent were black, 18 percent were Hispanic, 

35 percent were women, 35 percent were 30 to 44 years of age, and 18 percent were 55 years of age or 

older. (See table 3.) Among persons in the civilian labor force for the same period, 11 percent were 

black, 14 percent were Hispanic, 47 percent were women, 33 percent were age 30 to 44, and 18 percent 

were 55 years of age or older. 

Geographic Distribution

Among the 4 census regions, the highest number of separations due to extended mass layoff events in 

the first quarter of 2008 was in the Midwest, with 71,890, followed by the West, with 65,141. (See table 

4.) Extended mass layoffs in the Midwest were largely in transportation equipment manufacturing and 

in administrative and support services. The Midwest region accounted for 38 percent of all separations, 
8

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

II I I

2007r 2008p 2007r 2008p

Total, nonmetropolitan areas ..................................... 120 105 17,422 15,688 

Total, 369 metropolitan areas .................................... 624 587 86,443 92,165 

 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. ......... 72 78 9,304 11,454 

 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. .............. 59 47 8,689 7,746 

 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island,

 N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ................................................... 47 35 6,886 5,660 

 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ................ 31 37 3,245 4,523 

 Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. ............................. 22 26 2,766 4,426 

 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ................ 9 15 768 2,758 

 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, Va. .............. (

1 ) ( 1 ) ( 1 ) (1 )

 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. ............. 23 19 2,746 2,250 

 St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. .................................................. 9 7 2,704 1,902 

 Shreveport-Bossier City, La. ................................. (

1 ) 3 ( 1 ) 1,840 

 1

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

 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 08-01, November 20, 2007.

Metropolitan area

Events Separations

up from 25 percent in the same period last year. Thirty-five percent of the extended layoffs were reported by the West, a decrease from 46 percent in the first quarter of 2007. 

Among the 9 census regions, the highest number of separations during the first quarter of 2008 was in 

the East North Central, with 63,758, followed by the Pacific, with 59,012. (See table 4.) Extended mass 

layoffs in the East North Central division were largely in transportation equipment manufacturing. 

California recorded the largest number of worker separations (55,469), followed by Ohio (19,420), 

Illinois (17,771), and Michigan (14,149). These four states accounted for 56 percent of total extended 

mass layoff events and 57 percent of total separations during the first quarter of 2008. (See table 5.) 

After excluding the substantial impact of seasonal reasons, California still reported the highest number 

of job cuts (46,437), largely due to layoffs in specialty trade contractors and in heavy and civil 

engineering construction. 

California accounted for 29 percent of all separations in January-March 2008, down sharply from 41 

percent in 2007. Ohio accounted for 10 percent of the separations in the first quarter of 2008, up from 4 

percent in 2007. 
9

In the first quarter of 2008, Michigan reported the largest number of separations related to the transportation equipment manufacturing strike (7,107), followed by Ohio (6,760) and Indiana (4,580). 

Fifty-three percent of events and 49 percent of separations (92,165) occurred in metropolitan areas in 

the first quarter of 2008, compared with 56 percent of events and 38 percent of separations (86,443) 

during the first quarter of 2007. Among the 369 metropolitan areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa 

Ana, Calif., reported the highest number of separations (11,454) in the first quarter of 2008. Next were 

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., with 7,746 separations and New York-Northern New JerseyLong Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., with 5,660 separations. (See table G.) Employers located in nonmetropolitan areas separated 15,688 workers in extended mass layoffs. 

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 first quarter are preliminary and subject to revision. 

This release also includes revised data for previous quarters. Data are not seasonally adjusted, but survey data suggest that there is a seasonal pattern to layoffs. Thus, comparisons between consecutive 

quarters should not be used as an indicator of trend. 

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

______________________________ 

The report on Mass Layoffs in April 2008 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, May 22. 
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 

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). 

Extended layoff event. Fifty 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. 

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of 

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination 

of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a 

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or 

period of eligibility. 

Layoff. The separation of persons from an employer as 

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

involve both persons subject to recall and those who are 

terminated by the establishment. 

Mass layoff. Fifty or more initial claims for 

unemployment insurance benefits from an employer 

beginning in a given month, regardless of duration. 

Worksite closure. The complete closure of either multiunit or single-unit employers or the partial closure of a multiunit employer where entire worksites affected by layoffs are 

closed or planned to be 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 

Because of the employer interview component, the BLS 

decided to use the MLS program as a vehicle for collecting 

additional information on offshoring and outsourcing 

associated with job loss, by adding questions that address 

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

company experiencing the layoff has reassigned work 

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

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

another company under formal arrangements at the same 

worksite; or (3) to another company under formal 

arrangements at another worksite. The type of work activities 

subject to movement can include accounting, customer 

service, cleaning, warehousing, etc. 

“Overseas relocation” is the movement of work from 

within the U.S. to locations outside of the U.S. “Overseas 

relocation” can occur within the same company and involve 

movement of work to a different location of that company 

outside of the U.S., or to a different company altogether. 

“Domestic relocation” is the movement of work to other 

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

to a different company. 

“Overseas relocation” and “domestic relocation” are no 

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

mass layoff news releases. Therefore, the data presented in 

this news release are not comparable to those that were 

presented in earlier news releases. 

Questions on movement of work and location are asked 

for all identified layoff events when the reason for separation 

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

and vacation layoff events were excluded because movement 

of work appears unlikely. 

Questions on movement of work are asked after the 

analyst verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more 

than 30 days, and obtained the total number of workers 

separated from jobs, the date the layoff began, and the 

economic reason for the layoff. If the reason for layoff is 

other than seasonal or vacation, the employer was asked the 

following: 

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

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

within your company?” 

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

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

company, through contractual arrangements?” 

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

“Is the location inside or outside of the U.S.?” and “How 
many of the layoffs were a result of this relocation?” 

Layoff actions are classified as “overseas relocation” if 

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

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

Domestic relocation is determined if the employer responds 

“yes” to questions 1 and/or 2 and indicates that the location(s) 

was within the U.S. 

After asking the movement of work questions, the 

employer interview continues and responses are obtained for 

questions on recall expectations and open/closed status of the 

worksite. 

Reliability of the data 

The identification of employers and layoff events in the 

MLS program and associated characteristics of claimants is 

based on administrative data on covered establishments and 

unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject 

to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors 

such as typographical errors may occur but are not likely to 

be significant. While the MLS 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 first 

quarter of 2008, outright refusal to participate in the employer 

interview accounted for 3.9 percent of all private nonfarm 

events. Although included in the total number of instances 

involving the movement of work, for the first quarter, 

employers in 23 relocations were unable to provide the 

number of separations specifically associated with the 

movement of work, 7 of which involved out-of-country 

moves. 

Other information 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-

8339. 
Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

Industry

I IV I I IV I I IV I

 2007r 2007r 2008p 2007r 2007r 2008p 2007r 2007r 2008p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................. 1,110 1,814 1,111 225,600 301,377 188,326 199,250 346,030 165,933 

 Mining ............................................................. 7 27 ( 2

 ) 843 3,584 ( 2 ) 557 3,491 ( 2 ) 

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

 Construction .................................................... 305 682 291 30,513 86,848 30,767 37,493 100,624 30,585 

 Manufacturing ................................................. 369 442 343 68,797 80,539 74,453 82,529 117,512 68,254 

 Food ........................................................... 64 71 43 10,176 17,131 9,478 11,999 16,912 6,535 

 Beverage and tobacco products ................ 9 ( 2 ) 8 1,084 ( 2 ) 1,416 1,569 ( 2 ) 1,392 

 Textile mills ................................................ 10 10 11 1,716 1,799 1,063 2,992 4,834 2,558 

 Textile product mills 3

 ................................. 4 5 ( 2

 ) 603 968 ( 2 ) 785 1,806 ( 2 ) 

 Apparel 3

 .................................................... 14 10 10 1,583 1,524 952 1,698 1,379 987 

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

 Wood products ........................................... 22 49 31 3,688 6,553 4,271 4,528 7,628 5,923 

 Paper ......................................................... 7 6 5 820 899 457 724 1,045 472 

 Printing and related support activities ........ 13 14 4 1,989 2,323 346 1,579 2,272 381 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................... ( 2 ) 18 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,760 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,925 ( 2 )

 Chemicals ................................................. 9 11 5 1,610 2,892 933 995 2,354 425 

 Plastics and rubber products 3

 ................... 15 19 18 3,167 2,998 2,799 1,542 2,724 1,981 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................... 29 56 32 2,984 7,773 3,296 3,346 9,755 3,117 

 Primary metals ........................................... 9 14 11 1,282 2,456 2,451 1,650 3,131 1,801 

 Fabricated metal products ......................... 16 21 23 1,831 2,774 2,795 2,367 3,317 2,429 

 Machinery 3

 ................................................ 16 22 19 3,304 4,364 3,040 3,346 6,548 2,704 

 Computer and electronic products ............. 24 12 21 4,326 1,857 3,444 3,687 1,738 2,538 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ......... 7 16 10 733 3,616 1,897 1,327 8,524 2,632 

 Transportation equipment 3

 ........................ 63 55 67 23,131 12,858 31,340 33,601 35,566 29,117 

 Furniture and related products 3

 ................. 27 19 16 3,527 2,490 2,775 3,775 3,100 2,360 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing 3

 .................. 6 7 5 803 1,648 1,229 482 1,028 447 

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 17 38 29 2,249 4,442 2,914 1,615 5,470 2,155 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 89 76 89 70,086 19,152 21,102 22,642 21,129 19,213 

 Transportation and warehousing .................... 35 43 42 5,711 9,719 6,895 5,513 8,752 6,163 

 Information ...................................................... 17 29 20 2,640 5,061 5,845 3,177 7,215 3,511 

 Finance and insurance 3

 .................................. 57 104 74 8,993 18,575 12,190 9,692 18,927 11,457 

 Real estate and rental and leasing 3

 ............... 7 9 5 806 1,461 453 901 1,176 456 

 Professional and technical services 3

 .............. 31 50 29 7,990 9,634 5,397 7,808 9,675 2,697 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 6 9 5 1,183 1,642 700 668 1,226 434 

 Administrative and waste services 3

 ................ 72 136 82 13,448 21,525 12,142 13,808 24,702 10,181 

 Educational services ....................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 393 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 349 

 Health care and social assistance .................. 19 22 14 2,432 4,697 3,412 1,843 3,476 1,675 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 22 50 19 2,427 17,859 2,398 2,318 7,218 1,680 

 Accommodation and food services ................. 47 73 52 6,267 12,843 7,940 7,389 11,819 5,971 

 Other services, except public administration .. 7 14 5 805 2,220 441 664 1,945 401 

 Unclassified ..................................................... – 3 3 – 696 404 – 514 259 

 1 For the first quarter of 2008, data on layoffs were reported by employers due to a change in NAICS versions.

in all states and the District of Columbia. r

 = revised.

 2

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

 3

 Data beginning in 2008 are not strictly comparable to prior years 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, 2007 and 2008

Reason for layoff

I IV I I IV I I IV I

 2007r 2007r 2008p 2007r 2007r 2008p 2007r 2007r 2008p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 1,110 1,814 1,111 225,600 301,377 188,326 199,250 346,030 165,933 

Business demand ............................................................. 437 613 520 62,693 83,995 79,358 84,844 137,224 80,248 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... 23 17 16 3,503 2,564 2,264 3,269 3,384 1,775 

 Contract completion ....................................................... 193 286 212 24,371 34,838 25,769 31,181 49,155 25,782 

 Domestic competition ..................................................... 7 ( 2 ) – 885 ( 2 ) – 728 ( 2 ) –

 Excess inventory/saturated market ................................ 15 ( 2 ) 6 3,525 ( 2 ) 1,380 3,834 ( 2 ) 653 

 Import competition ......................................................... 23 16 14 2,744 2,868 2,096 2,791 6,065 1,644 

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 176 282 272 27,665 42,200 47,849 43,041 76,589 50,394 

Organizational changes .................................................... 127 92 91 68,354 22,626 18,675 18,814 20,535 13,602 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 34 24 18 54,698 9,673 5,626 5,260 5,693 1,489 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 93 68 73 13,656 12,953 13,049 13,554 14,842 12,113 

Financial issues ................................................................ 99 124 106 21,689 24,652 22,972 20,939 25,800 16,611 

 Bankruptcy ..................................................................... 12 15 22 2,858 4,665 5,433 1,670 2,597 2,974 

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ 54 42 34 11,672 8,254 5,297 12,216 13,274 5,878 

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... 33 67 50 7,159 11,733 12,242 7,053 9,929 7,759 

Production specific ............................................................ 24 25 24 5,959 3,935 11,760 7,295 4,864 8,051 

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

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

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

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 568 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 388 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ..................... ( 2 ) 10 4 ( 2 ) 1,457 5,054 ( 2 ) 2,386 2,186 

 Material or supply shortage ............................................ 9 ( 2 ) 5 803 ( 2 ) 4,289 955 ( 2 ) 3,977 

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

 Plant or machine repair/maintenance ............................ ( 2 ) 8 5 ( 2 ) 1,360 507 ( 2 ) 972 399 

 Product line discontinued ............................................... 4 ( 2 ) 4 642 ( 2 ) 1,104 397 ( 2 ) 908 

Disaster/safety .................................................................. 20 6 6 1,639 778 968 1,615 809 568 

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

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

 Natural disaster (not weather related) ............................ ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

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

 Extreme weather-related event ...................................... 16 6 ( 2 ) 1,290 778 ( 2 ) 1,237 809 ( 2 )

Seasonal ........................................................................... 261 752 226 39,255 129,733 38,540 40,110 119,180 31,356 

 Seasonal ........................................................................ ( 2

 ) 747 226 ( 2 ) 129,317 38,540 ( 2 ) 118,616 31,356 

 Vacation period–school related or otherwise ................. ( 2 ) 5 – ( 2 ) 416 – ( 2 ) 564 –

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... 142 202 138 26,011 35,658 16,053 25,633 37,618 15,497 

 Other .............................................................................. 9 12 15 1,454 2,091 1,363 950 3,150 1,691 

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. 52 57 46 9,922 11,227 6,535 9,903 11,241 6,494 

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. 81 133 77 14,635 22,340 8,155 14,780 23,227 7,312 

 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, fourth quarter, 2007 and first quarter, 2008

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55and over

IV I IV I IV I IV I IV I IV I

 2007r 2008p 2007r 2008p 2007r 2008p 2007r 2008p 2007r 2008p 2007r 2008p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........... 1,814 1,111 346,030 165,933 12.4 14.3 16.4 18.1 29.5 34.7 16.7 17.9 

Alabama ...................................... 9 11 1,867 1,730 59.4 51.3 2.5 5.2 46.7 46.8 20.4 16.2 

Alaska .......................................... 8 ( 2 ) 1,373 ( 2 ) 3.4 3.8 14.2 15.4 25.9 25.0 17.0 21.2 

Arizona ........................................ 7 3 1,079 287 11.6 15.0 30.7 31.0 40.6 35.2 9.6 11.1 

Arkansas ..................................... 8 3 3,229 331 19.5 41.4 1.2 2.4 36.5 65.9 24.1 20.2 

California ..................................... 435 402 79,551 52,822 7.1 8.6 38.0 39.3 34.7 34.7 13.8 14.0 

Colorado ...................................... 18 9 2,308 1,324 2.3 7.2 41.9 17.5 12.3 34.2 18.4 16.9 

Connecticut ................................. 8 3 1,231 246 13.2 8.9 7.4 8.5 33.5 43.9 22.4 32.9 

Delaware ..................................... 3 – 209 – 29.7 – 9.1 – 23.9 – 41.1 –

District of Columbia ..................... ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – 50.0 – 18.0 – 51.6 – 13.9 –

Florida ......................................... 61 15 7,122 1,329 13.9 12.9 25.2 24.5 40.4 31.9 21.6 22.0 

Georgia ........................................ 15 19 6,450 3,149 28.7 29.2 11.2 9.3 42.3 47.3 16.0 17.6 

Hawaii .......................................... 4 6 495 603 7.9 8.1 10.7 12.8 19.0 12.3 12.7 10.6 

Idaho ........................................... 14 6 2,041 683 .4 .3 18.2 14.6 23.2 23.7 15.6 16.5 

Illinois .......................................... 178 98 27,605 13,287 14.4 24.8 21.6 15.9 21.5 37.3 13.0 15.4 

Indiana ......................................... 54 23 17,360 7,658 10.1 9.1 4.5 4.3 24.3 27.4 15.8 20.4 

Iowa ............................................. 27 9 6,287 2,321 2.3 1.2 3.8 1.6 24.0 37.5 17.5 16.4 

Kansas ........................................ 8 6 1,335 663 12.7 14.9 6.3 2.9 26.7 46.9 18.3 18.1 

Kentucky ...................................... 18 16 2,179 1,660 2.2 13.3 – .3 11.2 30.5 16.7 17.9 

Louisiana ..................................... 12 7 1,296 2,252 62.7 42.7 1.9 3.2 26.5 27.0 15.3 25.9 

Maine ........................................... 8 ( 2 ) 1,388 ( 2 ) 3.2 3.1 .3 .3 35.1 52.9 20.0 21.8 

Maryland ...................................... 25 6 3,285 853 34.9 19.6 .5 4.5 38.0 33.2 18.8 29.0 

Massachusetts ............................ 26 18 3,554 2,008 9.1 12.1 .7 1.4 31.1 43.3 21.6 16.7 

Michigan ...................................... 95 56 32,411 14,190 22.6 19.5 6.0 2.7 24.4 27.7 17.4 22.5 

Minnesota .................................... 75 15 11,285 1,252 3.1 3.7 9.1 3.4 16.1 25.8 16.3 15.7 

Mississippi ................................... 5 7 747 558 67.1 54.3 .3 1.1 32.3 36.4 20.3 19.5 

Missouri ....................................... 40 19 5,015 1,634 7.7 14.5 .4 .4 33.6 43.1 26.9 17.7 

Montana ...................................... 10 3 1,379 280 .4 – 3.6 2.5 9.9 18.2 17.8 26.8 

Nebraska ..................................... 6 ( 2 ) 580 ( 2 ) 2.1 .6 9.0 23.6 7.8 2.5 31.6 18.0 

Nevada ........................................ 13 9 3,121 1,200 9.5 4.3 17.5 32.3 28.6 35.9 19.2 19.6 

New Hampshire ........................... 3 ( 2 ) 369 ( 2 ) 1.1 .7 1.6 3.7 5.7 41.5 29.0 9.6 

New Jersey .................................. 54 28 7,609 3,152 17.4 22.5 9.2 11.1 42.3 44.4 23.5 22.8 

New Mexico ................................. 3 5 428 660 1.4 2.7 79.7 37.4 50.5 26.8 29.7 36.8 

New York ..................................... 106 47 19,864 6,329 9.6 10.8 8.6 7.9 24.0 28.6 19.3 17.5 

North Carolina ............................. 6 13 992 1,795 39.9 61.6 3.9 4.2 40.5 52.0 25.6 24.7 

North Dakota ............................... 8 – 1,166 – .5 – 3.9 – 13.2 – 18.2 –

Ohio ............................................. 116 64 22,436 13,598 13.3 17.0 2.8 3.1 24.1 30.4 14.5 18.2 

Oklahoma .................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3.5 17.4 5.3 3.1 29.8 56.7 5.3 8.7 

Oregon ........................................ 24 10 6,795 3,009 1.2 .5 26.7 26.4 40.8 35.5 18.2 21.2 

Pennsylvania ............................... 78 61 21,399 9,125 7.1 6.9 4.2 5.0 36.9 34.2 19.6 23.3 

Rhode Island ............................... 6 3 726 218 2.8 1.4 12.5 7.8 31.4 34.9 16.0 40.4 

South Carolina ............................. 13 7 1,942 728 69.8 43.3 .1 .1 58.9 47.7 8.4 3.7 

South Dakota ............................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 5.6 14.7 16.7 34.7 68.9 37.3 10.0 

Tennessee ................................... 28 16 6,770 1,462 33.9 21.5 .1 – 40.8 58.2 28.8 19.3 

Texas ........................................... 29 22 5,552 2,456 21.6 18.6 39.7 33.3 36.5 34.6 11.7 20.4 

Utah ............................................. 11 5 2,105 465 1.0 3.9 13.8 24.1 9.5 50.1 12.5 8.4 

Vermont ....................................... 4 ( 2 ) 423 ( 2 ) – 1.0 .5 – 27.4 31.6 22.9 20.7 

Virginia ........................................ 21 14 2,656 2,819 42.0 26.0 5.0 1.3 52.5 44.4 19.5 23.1 

Washington ................................. 25 5 3,907 550 4.1 4.7 24.3 4.4 31.9 42.4 16.8 18.0 

West Virginia ............................... 8 4 921 551 .4 .2 – – 11.7 44.6 14.9 18.3 

Wisconsin .................................... 76 26 13,802 5,321 4.1 4.1 8.2 11.6 16.8 35.6 15.4 20.6 

Wyoming ..................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2.3 – – 1.5 25.8 35.4 30.3 26.2 

Puerto Rico .................................. 9 8 2,088 1,741 – .1 98.0 97.8 54.1 58.5 11.1 6.3 

 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, 2007 and 2008

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

I IV I I IV I I IV I

 2007r 2007r 2008p 2007r 2007r 2008p 2007r 2007r 2008p 

 United States1 .................................. 1,110 1,814 1,111 225,600 301,377 188,326 199,250 346,030 165,933 

Northeast ................................................. 198 293 165 28,100 49,004 21,741 32,564 56,563 21,695 

 New England ........................................ 39 55 29 7,381 11,348 4,264 4,964 7,691 3,089 

 Middle Atlantic ...................................... 159 238 136 20,719 37,656 17,477 27,600 48,872 18,606 

South ........................................................ 196 263 162 37,709 45,153 29,554 37,962 45,396 22,063 

 South Atlantic ....................................... 109 153 78 18,113 24,182 13,454 20,970 23,699 11,224 

 East South Central ............................... 51 60 50 10,752 12,757 8,202 10,221 11,563 5,410 

 West South Central .............................. 36 50 34 8,844 8,214 7,898 6,771 10,134 5,429 

Midwest .................................................... 314 684 319 55,894 114,726 71,890 65,252 139,357 60,175 

 East North Central ............................... 256 519 267 46,550 88,794 63,758 56,418 113,614 54,054 

 West North Central .............................. 58 165 52 9,344 25,932 8,132 8,834 25,743 6,121 

West ......................................................... 402 574 465 103,897 92,494 65,141 63,472 104,714 62,000 

 Mountain .............................................. 39 78 41 4,705 16,135 6,129 3,970 12,593 4,964 

 Pacific .................................................. 363 496 424 99,192 76,359 59,012 59,502 92,121 57,036 

 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, 2007 and 2008

State

I IV I I IV I I IV I

 2007r 2007r 2008p 2007r 2007r 2008p 2007r 2007r 2008p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........................ 1,110 1,814 1,111 225,600 301,377 188,326 199,250 346,030 165,933 

Alabama ................................................... 8 9 11 1,448 1,693 1,267 1,335 1,867 1,730 

Alaska ...................................................... – 8 ( 2 ) – 1,916 ( 2 ) – 1,373 ( 2 )

Arizona ..................................................... 4 7 3 538 1,364 253 382 1,079 287 

Arkansas .................................................. 3 8 3 821 1,193 500 562 3,229 331 

California .................................................. 321 435 402 92,008 64,718 55,469 53,242 79,551 52,822 

Colorado .................................................. 7 18 9 567 3,588 2,098 573 2,308 1,324 

Connecticut .............................................. 6 8 3 1,895 1,624 247 1,509 1,231 246 

Delaware .................................................. – 3 – – 231 – – 209 –

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

Florida ...................................................... 38 61 15 6,989 9,110 1,506 6,384 7,122 1,329 

Georgia .................................................... 14 15 19 2,115 2,813 2,112 2,743 6,450 3,149 

Hawaii ...................................................... 4 4 6 602 563 555 525 495 603 

Idaho ........................................................ 9 14 6 1,073 2,218 610 799 2,041 683 

Illinois ....................................................... 94 178 98 15,633 30,467 17,771 15,171 27,605 13,287 

Indiana ..................................................... 27 54 23 3,429 8,797 7,485 4,859 17,360 7,658 

Iowa ......................................................... 9 27 9 1,352 4,559 1,404 1,326 6,287 2,321 

Kansas ..................................................... 3 8 6 925 1,066 810 1,163 1,335 663 

Kentucky .................................................. 12 18 16 1,224 2,716 1,812 1,187 2,179 1,660 

Louisiana .................................................. 6 12 7 875 2,080 2,975 629 1,296 2,252 

Maine ....................................................... 9 8 ( 2 ) 2,769 1,827 ( 2 ) 908 1,388 ( 2 )

Maryland .................................................. 12 25 6 1,071 3,115 986 1,105 3,285 853 

Massachusetts ......................................... 19 26 18 2,025 6,181 2,486 2,024 3,554 2,008 

Michigan ................................................... 58 95 56 14,826 16,433 14,149 21,743 32,411 14,190 

Minnesota ................................................ 22 75 15 3,004 12,047 1,957 3,284 11,285 1,252 

Mississippi ................................................ 9 5 7 2,234 782 1,834 1,695 747 558 

Missouri .................................................... 19 40 19 3,569 6,019 3,371 2,602 5,015 1,634 

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

 ) 10 3 ( 2 ) 1,385 280 ( 2 ) 1,379 280 

Nebraska .................................................. – 6 ( 2 ) – 859 ( 2 ) – 580 ( 2 )

Nevada ..................................................... 9 13 9 1,412 2,780 1,020 1,390 3,121 1,200 

New Hampshire ....................................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 415 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 369 ( 2 )

New Jersey .............................................. 37 54 28 6,205 9,257 5,344 5,630 7,609 3,152 

New Mexico ............................................. 3 3 5 219 434 518 224 428 660 

New York ................................................. 53 106 47 6,615 17,570 6,377 6,592 19,864 6,329 

North Carolina .......................................... 20 6 13 2,629 553 2,101 5,140 992 1,795 

North Dakota ............................................ 3 8 – 319 1,166 – 319 1,166 –

Ohio ......................................................... 55 116 64 7,940 20,000 19,420 9,673 22,436 13,598 

Oklahoma ................................................. 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3,129 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,899 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Oregon ..................................................... 16 24 10 3,035 6,535 1,752 2,901 6,795 3,009 

Pennsylvania ............................................ 69 78 61 7,899 10,829 5,756 15,378 21,399 9,125 

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

 ) 6 3 ( 2 ) 779 243 ( 2 ) 726 218 

South Carolina ......................................... 5 13 7 565 2,001 910 528 1,942 728 

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

Tennessee ............................................... 22 28 16 5,846 7,566 3,289 6,004 6,770 1,462 

Texas ....................................................... 20 29 22 4,019 4,840 3,949 3,681 5,552 2,456 

Utah ......................................................... 5 11 5 724 2,004 1,150 486 2,105 465 

Vermont ................................................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 522 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 423 ( 2 )

Virginia ..................................................... 17 21 14 4,494 5,250 5,136 4,846 2,656 2,819 

Washington .............................................. 22 25 5 3,547 2,627 536 2,834 3,907 550 

West Virginia ............................................ 3 8 4 250 987 703 224 921 551 

Wisconsin ................................................. 22 76 26 4,722 13,097 4,933 4,972 13,802 5,321 

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

Puerto Rico .............................................. 12 9 8 902 755 493 3,022 2,088 1,741 

 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. Information technology-producing industries: Extended mass layoff events and separations, private nonfarm sector, 2001-2008

2001

First quarter ............................................ 1,546 304,171 91 20,991 32 5,558 22 4,441 13 3,317 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,828 430,499 161 38,986 69 9,563 36 12,109 15 3,519 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,629 330,391 142 24,813 45 5,724 39 8,200 21 5,350 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 2,372 459,771 109 17,797 50 7,667 43 10,124 38 9,889 

 Total ................................................... 7,375 1,524,832 503 102,587 196 28,512 140 34,874 87 22,075 

2002

First quarter ............................................ 1,611 299,266 84 18,574 34 3,770 32 8,192 28 4,346 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,624 344,606 69 11,764 39 4,326 27 4,870 34 5,643 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,186 255,152 76 15,017 36 4,359 34 6,529 33 5,496 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,916 373,307 74 14,298 26 5,709 19 3,645 31 7,643 

 Total ................................................... 6,337 1,272,331 303 59,653 135 18,164 112 23,236 126 23,128 

2003

First quarter ............................................ 1,502 286,947 71 11,900 27 5,097 23 4,402 26 4,513 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,799 368,273 54 9,221 19 2,741 21 3,098 22 4,169 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,190 236,333 46 6,488 24 4,189 9 1,289 8 842 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,690 325,333 25 5,080 8 1,167 9 1,619 23 5,774 

 Total ................................................... 6,181 1,216,886 196 32,689 78 13,194 62 10,408 79 15,298 

2004

First quarter ............................................ 1,339 276,503 27 3,222 13 2,786 8 894 14 2,832 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,358 278,831 18 2,959 15 2,775 – – 15 3,250 

Third quarter .......................................... 886 164,608 13 2,288 14 1,467 4 430 11 3,792 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,427 273,967 18 3,055 10 1,547 4 563 20 3,143 

 Total ................................................... 5,010 993,909 76 11,524 52 8,575 16 1,887 60 13,017 

2005

First quarter ............................................ 1,142 186,506 13 1,526 9 2,355 4 439 12 2,400 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,203 246,099 20 2,973 13 1,558 4 842 7 1,331 

Third quarter .......................................... 1,136 201,878 23 3,307 7 1,034 ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 3 304 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,400 250,178 19 4,122 3 720 ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 5 845 

 Total ................................................... 4,881 884,661 75 11,928 32 5,667 13 3,000 27 4,880 

2006

First quarter ............................................ 963 183,089 12 1,159 6 744 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,353 295,964 10 3,294 7 1,564 8 988 ( 6 ) ( 6 )

Third quarter .......................................... 929 160,254 14 3,544 6 487 ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 8 1,222 

Fourth quarter ........................................ 1,640 296,662 12 4,039 4 708 5 1,482 8 947 

 Total ................................................... 4,885 935,969 48 12,036 23 3,503 19 3,753 23 3,406 

2007

First quarterr 

........................................... 1,110 225,600 19 3,007 5 875 3 415 5 885 

Second quarter ...................................... 1,421 278,719 22 3,634 4 413 5 433 3 315 

Third quarter

r

 .......................................... 1,019 160,830 22 5,279 6 1,030 4 403 3 276 

Fourth quarterr ....................................... 1,814 301,377 9 1,459 4 473 3 381 7 870 

 Totalr

 .................................................. 5,364 966,526 72 13,379 19 2,791 15 1,632 18 2,346 

2008

First quarterp

 .......................................... 1,111 188,326 18 2,921 5 543 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 

 1

 Information technology-producing industries are defined in Digital Economy 2003 , Classification System (NAICS), are: software publishers; internet service providers;

(U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, 2003). web search portals; data processing and related services; custom computer programming

In the MLS program, however, computer and software merchant wholesalers and services; computer systems design services; computer facilities management

computer and software stores are only included in the computer hardware industry. services; other computer related services; office equipment rental and leasing;

Beginning with first quarter 2008 data, the MLS program switched to the 2007 NAICS. and computer and office machine repair.

The industry groups defined by the Digital Economy 2003 are based on 2002 NAICS. 4 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

Due to these differences, historical data were subject to revision. Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: telephone apparatus manufacturing;

 2 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry audio and video equipment manufacturing; broadcast and wireless communications

Classification System (NAICS), are: semiconductor machinery manufacturing; office equip.; fiber optic cable manufacturing; software reproducing; and magnetic and

machinery manufacturing; electronic computer manufacturing; computer storage optical recording media mfg.

device manufacturing; computer terminal manufacturing; other computer peripheral 5 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

equipment mfg.; electron tube manufacturing; bare printed circuit board manufacturing; Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: wired telecommunications carriers

semiconductors and related device mfg.; electronic capacitor manufacturing; electronic cellular and other wireless carriers; telecommunications resellers; cable and other

resistor manufacturing; electronic coils, transformers, and inductors; electronic program distribution; satellite telecommunications; other telecommunications;

connector manufacturing; printed circuit assembly manufacturing; other electronic and communication equipment repair.

component manufacturing; industrial process variable instruments; electricity and signal 6 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 

testing instruments; analytical laboratory instrument mfg.; computer and software NOTE: Dash represents zero.

merchant wholesalers; and computer and software stores. r = revised. 

 3

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry p = preliminary. 

Year

Separations Separations Separationsr

hardware2 computer services3

Layoff

events

Total extended

mass layoffs

Information technology-producing industries1

Computer Software and Communications Communications

Separations Layoff r

events Separations Layoffevents

equipment4 services5

Layoff

eventsr

Layoff

eventsr
Table 7. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

I IV I I IV I

2007 2007r 2008p 2007 2007r 2008p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ............................................... 70 69 47 11,438 11,302 8,856 

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

 ) – – ( 2

 ) – –

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

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

 Manufacturing .............................................................. 50 48 28 8,147 7,980 4,735 

 Food ........................................................................ 4 5 – 374 1,232 –

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

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

 Textile product mills 3

 .............................................. ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Apparel 3

 ................................................................. 8 – ( 2

 ) 1,023 – ( 2 ) 

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

 Wood products ........................................................ ( 2 ) – 3 ( 2 ) – 390 

 Paper ...................................................................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 405 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Printing and related support activities ..................... 5 3 ( 2 ) 913 411 ( 2 )

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

 Chemicals .............................................................. 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 998 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 

 Plastics and rubber products 3

 ................................ ( 2

 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 382 ( 2 ) 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Primary metals ........................................................ ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 390 ( 2 )

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 879 ( 2 )

 Machinery 3 ............................................................. ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Computer and electronic products .......................... 3 3 5 916 620 1,195 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,360 ( 2 )

 Transportation equipment 3

 ..................................... 5 10 6 775 1,438 958 

 Furniture and related products 3

 .............................. ( 2

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

 Miscellaneous manufacturing 3

 ............................... 3 – – 524 – –

 Wholesale trade ........................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 244 

 Retail trade .................................................................. ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 334 ( 2 )

 Transportation and warehousing ................................. 3 ( 2 ) 3 538 ( 2 ) 284 

 Information ................................................................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 252 ( 2 )

 Finance and insurance 3 .............................................. 6 5 6 1,230 861 1,312 

 Real estate and rental and leasing 3

 ............................ ––––––

 Professional and technical services 3

 .......................... – 4 ( 2

 ) – 647 ( 2 ) 

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

 Administrative and waste services 3 ............................ 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 495 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

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

 Health care and social assistance ............................... – – – – – –

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............................. – – – – – –

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

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

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

 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. r

 = revised.

 2

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

 3

 Data beginning in 2008 are not strictly comparable to prior years NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 due to a change in NAICS versions.

Layoff events Separations

Industry
Table 8. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, 

selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

Reason for layoff

I IV I I IV I

 2007r 2007r 2008p 2007r 2007r 2008p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 70 69 47 11,438 11,302 8,856 

Business demand ............................................................. 13 17 ( 2

 ) 1,684 2,492 ( 2 ) 

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Contract completion ....................................................... – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Domestic competition ..................................................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

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

 Import competition ......................................................... ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,167 ( 2 )

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

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

 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 950 ( 2 ) 

Organizational changes .................................................... 39 30 15 6,766 5,110 2,958 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 7 5 5 2,091 1,326 1,495 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 32 25 10 4,675 3,784 1,463 

Financial issues ................................................................ 14 21 16 2,425 3,600 3,054 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,056 

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,998 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 

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

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

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... – – – – – –

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

 Material or supply shortage ............................................ – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

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

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

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

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) 

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

 Natural disaster (not weather related) ............................ – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... – – – – – –

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

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

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

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

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 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 9. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations

I IV I I IV I

2007 2007r 2008p 2007 2007r 2008p 

 United States1 ...................................... 70 69 47 11,438 11,302 8,856 

Northeast ..................................................... 17 11 4 2,834 1,726 1,176 

 New England ........................................... ( 2

 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 562 ( 2 ) 

 Middle Atlantic ......................................... ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,164 ( 2 )

South ........................................................... 26 16 18 3,466 2,105 2,753 

 South Atlantic ........................................... 15 8 8 1,827 903 947 

 East South Central ................................... ( 2 ) 5 7 ( 2 ) 512 1,140 

 West South Central .................................. ( 2 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) 690 666 

Midwest ........................................................ 16 30 12 2,781 5,847 2,700 

 East North Central ................................... 13 23 ( 2

 ) 2,416 4,190 ( 2 ) 

 West North Central .................................. 3 7 ( 2 ) 365 1,657 ( 2 )

West ............................................................. 11 12 13 2,357 1,624 2,227 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 844 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Pacific ...................................................... 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,513 ( 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 10. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

I IV I I IV I

2007 2007r 2008p 2007 2007r 2008p

Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 1,110 1,814 1,111 225,600 301,377 188,326 

 Total, excluding seasonal

 and vacation events2

 .............................................. 849 1,062 885 186,345 171,644 149,786 

 Total, movement of work3

 ....................................... 70 69 47 11,438 11,302 8,856 

 Movement of work actions ................................. 86 90 59 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 With separations reported ............................ 61 66 36 8,467 7,152 5,297 

 With separations unknown ........................... 25 24 23 ( 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.

Layoff events Separations

Action
Table 11. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers,

selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

I IV I I IV I

2007 2007r 2008p 2007 2007r 2008p

With separations reported2 ................................. 61 66 36 8,467 7,152 5,297 

By location

 Out-of-country relocations ................................ 14 27 13 2,135 2,997 1,181 

 Within company ............................................ 13 26 10 2,086 2,910 882 

 Different company ........................................ 1 1 3 49 87 299 

 Domestic relocations ........................................ 46 39 23 6,261 4,155 4,116 

 Within company ............................................ 41 38 21 5,221 3,975 3,201 

 Different company ........................................ 5 1 2 1,040 180 915 

 Unable to assign place of 

 relocation ....................................................... 1 – – 71 – –

By company

 Within company ................................................ 55 64 31 7,378 6,885 4,083 

 Domestic ....................................................... 41 38 21 5,221 3,975 3,201 

 Out of country ............................................... 13 26 10 2,086 2,910 882 

 Unable to assign ........................................... 1 – – 71 – –

 Different company ............................................ 6 2 5 1,089 267 1,214 

 Domestic ....................................................... 5 1 2 1,040 180 915 

 Out of country ............................................... 1 1 3 49 87 299 

 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.

Activities

Actions1 Separations
Extended Mass Layoff Events by Reason Categories1

First quarters, 2002-08

0

800700600500400300200100

2002:1 2003:1 2004:1 2005:1 2006:1 2007:1 2008:1

Seasonal Business demand Organizational changes Financial issues Production specific Disaster/Safety 

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

p