For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, November 10, 2009 USDL-09-1358 

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

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

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS – THIRD QUARTER OF 2009 

Employers initiated 1,776 mass layoff events in the third quarter of 2009 that resulted in the separation 

of 277,924 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of extended mass layoff events reached a record high for 

any third quarter (with data available back to 1995). (See table A.) Third quarter program highs in the 

number of events were also recorded in half of the 18 major industry sectors, 2 of the 4 geographic 

regions, 4 of the 9 divisions, and 15 states. 

Separations due to business demand reasons increased by 27 percent from the same period a year ago. 

Thirty-three percent of employers reporting an extended mass layoff event in the third quarter of 2009 

indicated they anticipated some type of recall, up slightly from 29 percent a year earlier. Third quarter 

2009 layoff data are preliminary and are subject to revision. (See the Technical Note.) 

The national unemployment rate averaged 9.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the third quarter of 

2009, up from 6.0 percent a year earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, 

decreased by 5 percent (-5,765,000) over the year. 

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs 

Manufacturing firms reported 511 extended mass layoff events involving 80,135 separations in third 

quarter 2009 and were responsible for 29 percent of private nonfarm extended layoff events and related 

separations. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 31 percent of events and 33 percent of separations. 

(See table 1.) The largest numbers of separations within manufacturing were associated with transportation equipment manufacturing (mostly from light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing, and railroad 

rolling stock manufacturing) and food manufacturing (mostly related to fresh and frozen seafood processing, and fruit and vegetable canning). 

Nine major industry sectors reported third quarter program highs in 2009 in terms of the number of extended mass layoff events in the private nonfarm sector—construction; wholesale trade; transportation 

and warehousing; professional and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; educational services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and other services, except public administration. 
- 2 - 

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

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.............. 1,640 296,662 330,954 

2007

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

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

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

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

2008

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

April-June r

 .......................... 1,756 354,713 339,630 

July-September r

 ................. 1,581 290,453 304,340 

October-December r

 ........... 3,582 641,714 766,592 

2009

January-March r

 .................. 3,979 705,133 835,017 

April-June r

 ......................... 3,396 650,679 727,494 

July-September p

 ................. 1,776 277,924 266,938 

r

= revised.

 p = preliminary.

Reasons for Extended Layoffs 

Among the seven categories of economic reasons for extended mass layoffs, business demand factors 

accounted for 48 percent of events and 44 percent of separations during the third quarter of 2009; up 

from 41 percent of events and 33 percent of separations in the same period a year earlier. (See table 2.) 

Separations related to business demand factors increased by 26,286, or 27 percent, over the year. Within 

the business demand category, the largest over-the-year increases in separations were due to slack 

work/insufficient demand (+14,661) and contract completion (+14,267). 

Extended mass layoff separations decreased from a year ago in all economic reason categories except 

business demand and seasonal. The largest decrease was in organizational changes (-15,463), largely in 

the business-ownership change reason. The financial issues economic category also saw a large decrease 

(-12,686), with the largest decline associated with bankruptcy. (See chart.) 
- 3 - 

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

extended mass layoff events in the third quarter 2009, by residency of claimants

 Total, 372 metropolitan areas ................. 241,350 223,684 

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. .... 24,944 1 29,853 1 

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long

 Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ................................ 19,198 2 15,767 2 

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ......... 9,745 5 10,975 3 

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. ....... 11,217 4 9,845 4 

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. ......... 13,812 3 9,256 5 

Peoria, Ill. ...................................................... 216 153 8,947 6 

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif. ........ 5,734 7 6,374 7 

Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. ............................. 4,690 10 5,022 8 

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. .......... 4,040 12 4,307 9 

Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, Calif. 4,856 8 4,293 10 

r

 = revised.

p

 = preliminary.

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

Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 09-01, November 20, 2008.

Metropolitan area

2008 III r 2009 III p

Rank Rank Initial 

claimants

Initial 

claimants

Movement of Work 

In the third quarter of 2009, 75 extended mass layoffs involved the movement of work and were associated with 12,107 separated workers. The number of such events was down 11 percent from the third 

quarter of 2008, while the number of separations was down 19 percent. Movement of work layoffs 

accounted for 5 percent of nonseasonal layoff events in the third quarter of 2009. (See table 9.) 

 Six out of 10 extended mass layoff events related to movement of work were from manufacturing 

industries. In comparison, manufacturing accounted for less than 3 out of 10 events in the total private 

nonfarm economy. (See table 6.) Employers cited an organizational change in more than half and business demand in more than a quarter of extended mass layoff events involving movement of work. (See 

table 7.) Among the regions, the largest proportions of workers affected by movement of work were in 

the West and Midwest. (See table 8.) 

The 75 extended layoff events with movement of work for the third quarter of 2009 involved 107 identifiable relocations of work actions. Employers were able to provide more complete separations information for 72 of the actions. (See table 9.) Of these 72 actions, 81 percent involved work moving within the 

same company, and 75 percent were domestic reassignments. (See table 10.) information for 72 of the 

actions. (See table 9.) Of these 72 actions, 81 percent involved work moving within the same company, 

and 75 percent were domestic reassignments. (See table 10.) 
- 4 - 

Recall Expectations 

About 33 percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the third quarter of 2009 indicated they 

anticipated some type of recall, up from 29 percent a year earlier. (See table 11.) Of those employers 

expecting to recall workers, about one-third indicated that the offer would be extended to all displaced 

employees. Less than two-thirds of employers anticipated extending the offer to at least half of the 

workers. Two-thirds of employers expecting to recall laid-off employees intend to do so within 6 

months, a lower proportion than the same period a year earlier. Excluding layoff events due to seasonal 

work and vacation period, in which 95 percent of the employers expected a recall, employers anticipated 

recalling laid-off workers in just 22 percent of extended mass layoff events. 

Size of Extended Layoffs 

The average size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff event) in the third quarter of 2009 

was 156, down 28 from the third quarter a year earlier. Three of the 18 major industry sectors registered 

average layoff sizes of 200 or more workers per event in the third quarter--arts, entertainment, and 

recreation; professional and technical services; and administrative and waste services. (See table 12.) 

Nearly half of all events involved between 50 and 99 workers and 73 percent of events affected less than 

150 workers. Layoffs involving between 50 and 99 workers accounted for 22 percent of all separations 

during the period, and layoffs with less than 150 separated workers accounted for 40 percent. Both these 

proportions are up from a year earlier. Extended mass layoffs involving 500 or more workers accounted 

for only 4 percent of events but 25 percent of the separated workers in the third quarter of 2009, down 

from 6 percent of events and 31 percent of separations last year. (See table 13.) 

Initial Claimant Characteristics 

A total of 266,938 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass 

layoffs in the third quarter of 2009. Of these claimants, 13 percent were black, 18 percent were Hispanic, 36 percent were women, 35 percent were 30 to 44 years of age, and 19 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, 15 percent were Hispanic, 47 percent were women, 33 percent were age 30 to 44, and 19 

percent were 55 years of age or older. 

Geographic Distribution 

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

due to extended mass layoff events in the third quarter of 2009. All regions except the West reported 

over-the-year decreases in the number of separations. (See table 4.) Among the nine census divisions, 

the highest numbers of separations during the third quarter of 2009 were in the Middle Atlantic, East 

North Central, South Atlantic, and Pacific. (See table 4.) Only three divisions reported over-the-year 

increases in terms of the numbers of separations—New England, West North Central, and Mountain. 

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

Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, and New Jersey. (See table 5.) After excluding the impact of seasonal 

reasons, California still reported the highest number of job cuts (81,079), followed by Florida (24,066) 

and Pennsylvania (16,833). Four states reported third quarter program highs in terms of numbers of 

separations—California, Kentucky, Missouri, and New Jersey. 
- 5 - 

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

quarter of 2009 resided within metropolitan areas, an increase of more than 4 percentage points from a 

year earlier. Among the 372 metropolitan areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., reported 

the highest number of resident initial claimants in the third quarter of 2009. The next highest were New 

York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif., and 

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. Both Peoria, Ill., and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., 

moved into the top 10 metropolitan areas in terms of initial claims by residency of claimant in the third 

quarter of 2009, replacing Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla., and Tampa-St. PetersburgClearwater, Fla., from the previous year. (See table B.) 

Note 

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

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

consecutive 5-week period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is triggered, the employer is 

contacted for additional information. Data for the 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. 

_____________ 

Mass Layoffs in October 2009 is scheduled to be released on Friday, November 20, 2009, 

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

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

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

unemployment insurance database. Employers which have at 

least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 

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

whether these separations are of at least 31 days duration, 

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

persons separated and the reasons for these separations. 

Employers are identified according to industry classification 

and location, and unemployment insurance claimants are 

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

ethnic group, and place of residence. The program yields 

information on an individual's entire spell of unemployment, 

to the point when regular unemployment insurance benefits 

are exhausted. 

Definitions 

Domestic relocation. A movement of work from an 

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

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

company altogether (domestic outsourcing). 

Employer. A firm covered by state unemployment 

insurance laws. Information on employers is obtained from 

the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) 

program, which is administered by the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS). 

Extended mass layoff event. A layoff defined by the 

filing of 50 or more initial claims for unemployment 

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

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

Such layoffs involve both persons subject to recall and those 

who are terminated. 

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of 

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination 

of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a 

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or 

period of eligibility. 

Movement of work. The reassignment of work activities 

previously performed at the worksite by the company 

experiencing the layoff (1) to another worksite within the 

company; (2) to another company under formal contractual 

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

under formal contractual arrangements at another worksite 

either within or outside of the U.S. 

Outsourcing. A movement of work that was formerly 

conducted in-house by employees paid directly by a company 

to a different company under a contractual arrangement. 

Overseas relocation. A movement of work from an 

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

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

company altogether (offshore outsourcing). 

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

where the employer provides information on the new location 

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

movement. Events may involve more than one action per 

employer if work is moved to more than one location. 

Separations. The number of individuals who have 

become displaced during an extended mass layoff event as 

provided by the employer, regardless of whether they file for 

unemployment insurance or not. 

Worksite closure. The complete closure of an employer 

or the partial closure of an employer with multiple locations 

where entire worksites affected by layoffs are closed. 

Revisions to preliminary data 

The latest quarterly data in this news release are 

considered preliminary. After the initial publication of 

quarterly information, more data are collected as remaining 

employer interviews for the quarter are completed and 

additional initial claimant information associated with 

extended layoff events is received. 

Movement of work concepts and questions 

Beginning in 2004, the economic reasons "domestic 

relocation" and "overseas relocation" were replaced by the 

movement of work concept. The movement of work data are 

not collected in the same way as the relocation reasons in 

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

are not comparable to the data for those discontinued reasons. 

Questions on movement of work and location are asked 

for all layoff events when the reason for separation is other 

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

unlikely. Movement of work questions are asked after the 

analyst verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more 

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

vacation, the employer was asked the following: 

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

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

within your company?” 

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

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

company, through contractual arrangements?” 

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

of the layoffs were a result of this relocation?” 

Layoff actions are classified as “domestic relocation” if 

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

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

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

Reliability of the data 

The identification of employers and layoff events in the 

MLS program and associated characteristics of claimants is 

based on administrative data on covered employers and 

unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject 

to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors 

such as typographical errors may occur but are not likely to 

be significant. While the MLS employers and layoff events 

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

asked the interview questions, the employer responses are 

subject to nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur 

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

respondents to provide correct information, and errors made 

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

quarter of 2009, outright refusal to participate in the employer 

interview accounted for 5.3 percent of all private nonfarm 

events. Although included in the total number of instances 

involving the movement of work, for the third quarter, 

employers in 35 relocations were unable to provide the 

number of separations specifically associated with the 

movement of work, 15 of which involved out-of-country 

moves. 

Additional information 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339. 
Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Industry

III II III III II III III II III

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................. 1,581 3,396 1,776 290,453 650,679 277,924 304,340 727,494 266,938 

 Mining ............................................................. 4 50 22 1,014 8,393 3,724 834 7,505 2,230 

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

 ) 4 4 ( 2 ) 902 500 ( 2 ) 980 588 

 Construction .................................................... 229 380 302 26,955 44,342 34,354 37,497 56,806 34,135 

 Manufacturing ................................................. 498 1,063 511 95,423 195,719 80,135 106,161 265,891 90,610 

 Food ........................................................... 48 82 53 13,058 15,973 11,057 8,409 17,372 7,189 

 Beverage and tobacco products ................ 5 4 6 684 421 1,528 784 622 1,216 

 Textile mills ................................................ 7 15 6 1,593 2,268 476 2,405 4,573 572 

 Textile product mills ................................... 5 7 4 779 734 837 884 1,034 732 

 Apparel ....................................................... 13 28 12 1,482 4,563 3,345 1,785 4,419 1,729 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Wood products ........................................... 38 41 19 6,080 4,542 1,604 6,184 5,977 1,690 

 Paper ......................................................... 10 29 11 3,544 3,626 1,161 2,527 3,588 968 

 Printing and related support activities ........ 11 31 9 1,336 3,103 1,415 955 5,057 1,251 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................... ( 2

 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) 315 240 ( 2 ) 330 221 

 Chemicals ................................................. 15 26 13 1,502 2,646 1,089 1,567 3,459 1,071 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................... 23 56 21 3,723 7,355 2,483 3,567 9,410 2,706 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................... 16 42 18 2,080 5,374 1,687 2,381 5,330 1,440 

 Primary metals ........................................... 14 83 46 1,647 15,853 5,715 2,366 18,890 5,925 

 Fabricated metal products ......................... 33 97 48 3,969 13,217 5,085 5,609 14,563 4,904 

 Machinery .................................................. 35 110 54 9,127 23,796 9,066 11,739 40,139 25,026 

 Computer and electronic products ............. 47 96 40 8,296 13,917 5,834 7,118 15,209 4,969 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ......... 16 35 25 3,066 5,981 3,625 2,868 6,973 3,921 

 Transportation equipment .......................... 124 217 84 27,610 64,320 19,367 37,632 97,171 20,728 

 Furniture and related products ................... 24 37 24 4,180 4,380 3,182 5,332 7,944 3,088 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing .................... 11 24 15 1,306 3,335 1,339 1,748 3,831 1,264 

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 33 89 53 4,543 15,261 5,864 3,740 14,676 5,626 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 92 199 81 20,896 44,986 12,198 22,767 53,604 13,938 

 Transportation and warehousing .................... 131 259 137 24,199 59,121 22,136 23,515 57,550 19,968 

 Information ...................................................... 54 92 57 10,553 16,854 7,425 10,945 18,584 9,600 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 104 128 87 19,812 29,383 13,607 20,762 26,340 13,455 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ................. 11 27 8 1,458 4,733 642 1,850 4,463 740 

 Professional and technical services ................ 50 141 67 8,877 34,472 14,749 9,442 27,357 10,595 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... ( 2

 ) 13 10 ( 2 ) 3,809 1,245 ( 2 ) 3,735 1,097 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 142 300 182 31,785 64,656 39,451 33,329 73,741 33,606 

 Educational services ....................................... 18 29 27 2,635 3,650 4,474 2,545 4,317 3,903 

 Health care and social assistance .................. 74 218 84 8,360 28,861 10,467 6,609 26,796 7,787 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 38 89 38 11,261 17,914 8,514 5,637 10,999 4,337 

 Accommodation and food services ................. 84 241 85 20,187 68,191 15,629 15,859 64,292 12,669 

 Other services, except public administration .. 15 74 21 1,980 9,432 2,810 2,095 9,858 2,054 

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

1

 For the second quarter of 2009, data on layoffs were reported by employers r = revised.

in all states and the District of Columbia. p

 = preliminary.

2

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

Separations Initial claimants for

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Reason for layoff

III II III III II III III II III

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 1,581 3,396 1,776 290,453 650,679 277,924 304,340 727,494 266,938 

Business demand ............................................................. 642 1,457 850 97,187 228,472 123,473 127,524 319,603 132,626 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... 44 78 45 7,298 12,837 5,989 6,984 14,963 5,208 

 Contract completion ....................................................... 195 310 254 32,262 51,258 46,529 41,847 63,573 39,237 

 Domestic competition ..................................................... ( 2

 ) – 4 ( 2 ) – 258 ( 2 ) – 231 

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

 ) 25 17 ( 2 ) 7,263 3,394 ( 2 ) 17,517 16,094 

 Import competition ......................................................... 12 8 3 3,197 1,261 310 3,356 1,130 349 

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 382 1,036 527 52,332 155,853 66,993 72,408 222,420 71,507 

Organizational changes .................................................... 122 171 106 33,572 36,228 18,109 29,965 37,184 13,601 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 20 33 21 14,033 12,835 3,590 4,906 7,703 2,105 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 102 138 85 19,539 23,393 14,519 25,059 29,481 11,496 

Financial issues ................................................................ 192 295 165 37,198 74,300 24,512 31,683 76,236 27,707 

 Bankruptcy ..................................................................... 42 51 19 13,032 32,265 3,121 8,490 29,416 3,780 

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ 92 169 97 12,326 24,116 14,507 13,056 32,363 17,063 

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... 58 75 49 11,840 17,919 6,884 10,137 14,457 6,864 

Production specific ............................................................ 30 14 14 5,998 2,014 4,161 7,034 2,243 3,076 

 Automation/technological advances .............................. 4 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 760 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 843 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Energy related ................................................................ 6 – – 720 – – 2,656 – –

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... 5 3 4 806 598 2,637 475 279 1,179 

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ..................... 4 – 4 1,880 – 422 1,169 – 745 

 Material or supply shortage ............................................ 4 ( 2

 ) – 466 ( 2 ) – 371 ( 2 ) –

 Model changeover ......................................................... ( 2

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

 Plant or machine repair/maintenance ............................ 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 685 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 433 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Product line discontinued ............................................... ( 2

 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 577 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 777 ( 2 )

Disaster/safety .................................................................. 32 3 4 4,988 508 1,941 4,233 231 463 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... ( 2

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

 Extreme weather-related event ...................................... ( 2

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

Seasonal ........................................................................... 216 757 258 43,921 160,021 46,701 36,587 140,248 31,290 

 Seasonal ........................................................................ 116 387 143 27,567 87,539 30,133 21,450 71,113 16,666 

 Vacation period–school related or otherwise ................. 100 370 115 16,354 72,482 16,568 15,137 69,135 14,624 

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... 347 699 379 67,589 149,136 59,027 67,314 151,749 58,175 

 Other .............................................................................. 22 38 27 3,943 5,953 3,558 4,355 8,465 2,915 

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. 53 170 96 13,696 42,582 16,711 13,651 42,576 16,685 

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. 272 491 256 49,950 100,601 38,758 49,308 100,708 38,575 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

2

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

 = revised.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

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

private nonfarm sector, second and third quarters, 2009

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55and over

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

 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........... 3,396 1,776 727,494 266,938 15.7 12.5 15.2 18.0 41.5 36.4 20.5 19.2 

Alabama ...................................... 35 10 11,110 1,514 43.0 32.7 2.3 5.9 39.2 37.5 15.3 22.0 

Alaska .......................................... 14 7 2,901 1,415 4.7 4.9 10.0 24.2 32.5 34.3 23.6 30.5 

Arizona ........................................ 41 20 7,456 2,432 5.4 6.3 42.9 32.4 51.4 49.3 18.2 17.0 

Arkansas ..................................... 21 3 3,567 229 35.3 24.5 3.9 10.9 43.3 41.5 20.0 17.9 

California ..................................... 804 577 154,900 83,661 9.7 9.4 36.0 33.9 43.2 38.7 16.1 15.6 

Colorado ...................................... 34 13 4,882 1,649 5.6 4.3 20.1 13.8 46.1 32.9 18.1 17.7 

Connecticut ................................. 27 12 4,895 1,162 14.5 15.1 14.7 12.0 61.1 48.2 26.4 19.4 

Delaware ..................................... 11 ( 2

 ) 1,376 ( 2 ) 32.2 25.0 5.5 – 53.8 22.4 24.8 62.1 

District of Columbia ..................... 4 – 405 – 64.2 – 4.7 – 51.6 – 23.2 –

Florida ......................................... 190 87 38,857 16,186 18.9 14.9 28.9 28.1 45.3 41.0 20.8 18.5 

Georgia ........................................ 34 20 11,685 2,933 42.4 47.3 4.2 1.1 42.3 37.3 15.7 16.0 

Hawaii .......................................... 10 6 1,315 725 1.0 1.0 11.1 12.8 43.5 26.2 16.3 14.2 

Idaho ........................................... 7 7 828 1,034 .1 .4 2.8 17.7 35.9 42.6 19.9 22.1 

Illinois .......................................... 196 106 52,248 26,712 15.7 13.2 9.8 7.0 38.8 30.4 20.9 18.9 

Indiana ......................................... 87 34 19,375 5,017 7.9 4.7 3.0 2.5 30.9 33.7 20.2 22.8 

Iowa ............................................. 25 12 7,237 3,050 2.2 3.5 1.3 1.0 28.8 15.3 19.4 22.7 

Kansas ........................................ 25 21 10,206 2,315 6.8 17.5 5.3 3.2 27.8 35.8 18.3 15.7 

Kentucky ...................................... 62 19 8,386 1,867 4.3 4.4 .2 – 18.8 16.3 18.5 23.9 

Louisiana ..................................... 52 20 8,503 2,153 61.6 59.9 2.2 3.4 52.8 44.1 20.4 15.5 

Maine ........................................... 11 ( 2

 ) 1,861 ( 2 ) .8 2.2 .2 – 36.8 41.8 24.9 21.3 

Maryland ...................................... 19 3 2,239 294 42.2 59.5 2.2 3.4 52.0 67.7 28.6 20.4 

Massachusetts ............................ 30 21 5,895 2,422 13.4 9.5 1.7 2.3 56.4 49.4 28.0 25.2 

Michigan ...................................... 121 59 56,049 6,954 22.9 13.3 2.6 3.9 30.4 35.4 17.4 18.5 

Minnesota .................................... 73 35 12,732 4,140 5.2 4.8 2.5 2.8 31.7 29.4 20.8 24.2 

Mississippi ................................... 16 7 1,937 607 75.3 49.1 1.3 4.9 49.5 26.0 19.1 10.9 

Missouri ....................................... 75 32 13,741 4,631 21.7 15.9 .9 .9 59.9 34.1 28.3 21.1 

Montana ...................................... 12 ( 2

 ) 1,564 ( 2 ) .1 1.2 3.5 2.3 30.4 9.3 21.0 18.6 

Nebraska ..................................... 9 4 1,622 360 3.6 – 7.5 4.2 43.6 51.1 30.3 24.7 

Nevada ........................................ 55 32 12,278 5,582 9.4 8.2 30.2 32.5 35.7 33.0 19.8 17.2 

New Hampshire ........................... 7 4 1,354 331 .8 1.5 2.9 1.8 57.0 36.0 28.7 19.6 

New Jersey .................................. 112 63 24,096 6,670 20.5 25.9 8.3 7.5 65.9 51.3 32.9 24.2 

New Mexico ................................. 29 9 3,338 608 2.0 3.9 49.4 32.9 43.3 46.2 19.8 18.1 

New York ..................................... 162 108 33,173 16,692 14.5 18.4 11.7 18.4 48.1 53.6 25.0 28.5 

North Carolina ............................. 51 29 17,289 4,470 35.1 33.6 6.7 4.0 40.9 44.3 18.4 20.8 

North Dakota ............................... 10 3 2,160 536 1.9 .7 1.5 1.3 20.0 22.0 18.9 21.6 

Ohio ............................................. 178 75 39,713 13,812 11.7 10.3 3.7 3.2 32.4 23.6 23.9 21.9 

Oklahoma .................................... 17 7 2,950 493 11.4 16.2 8.4 4.3 30.8 31.0 18.2 13.6 

Oregon ........................................ 57 26 13,707 4,505 1.8 1.7 13.4 20.5 48.5 40.3 22.8 17.4 

Pennsylvania ............................... 248 123 50,117 19,768 6.7 5.1 3.5 2.6 43.1 25.5 27.6 26.0 

Rhode Island ............................... 7 3 835 193 8.9 1.6 17.1 51.8 83.8 61.7 35.2 22.3 

South Carolina ............................. 34 14 7,671 1,571 66.9 45.6 1.0 3.1 55.7 44.0 9.9 8.4 

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

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1.7 – 3.4 3.0 22.4 30.0 8.6 14.0 

Tennessee ................................... 41 19 7,122 1,950 29.1 37.0 – – 46.5 37.1 23.3 17.3 

Texas ........................................... 93 34 17,073 4,332 16.4 16.2 44.8 39.8 34.1 24.9 16.4 14.1 

Utah ............................................. 14 8 2,201 1,724 1.5 1.1 7.2 13.3 36.3 37.1 11.4 11.7 

Vermont ....................................... 12 5 1,642 567 .7 .4 .4 .2 36.1 31.4 19.5 30.0 

Virginia ........................................ 47 13 10,377 1,330 39.2 39.2 4.2 1.7 47.8 34.4 21.8 23.5 

Washington ................................. 55 41 10,607 5,610 6.3 5.6 8.8 11.9 39.3 36.6 16.8 13.4 

West Virginia ............................... 23 5 2,841 452 .1 – .1 – 14.6 22.1 17.8 13.3 

Wisconsin .................................... 96 14 18,732 1,624 11.3 5.8 5.4 4.0 41.3 30.6 22.1 20.3 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) – 1.8 – 4.4 – 19.3 – 11.1 –

Puerto Rico .................................. 10 14 2,526 1,853 – .1 99.3 99.6 49.2 53.9 13.3 9.6 

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.
Table 4. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

III II III III II III III II III

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 United States1 .................................. 1,581 3,396 1,776 290,453 650,679 277,924 304,340 727,494 266,938 

Northeast ................................................. 304 616 341 60,443 113,540 52,313 56,314 123,868 48,073 

 New England ........................................ 39 94 47 5,043 17,226 6,026 4,897 16,482 4,943 

 Middle Atlantic ...................................... 265 522 294 55,400 96,314 46,287 51,417 107,386 43,130 

South ........................................................ 373 750 291 76,138 145,808 54,330 77,419 153,388 40,497 

 South Atlantic ....................................... 193 413 172 42,491 84,079 35,908 40,495 92,740 27,352 

 East South Central ............................... 76 154 55 12,825 27,807 9,085 15,620 28,555 5,938 

 West South Central .............................. 104 183 64 20,822 33,922 9,337 21,304 32,093 7,207 

Midwest .................................................... 322 896 396 59,738 181,930 58,025 69,957 233,873 69,251 

 East North Central ............................... 259 678 288 50,322 142,155 40,831 59,240 186,117 54,119 

 West North Central .............................. 63 218 108 9,416 39,775 17,194 10,717 47,756 15,132 

West ......................................................... 582 1,134 748 94,134 209,401 113,256 100,650 216,365 109,117 

 Mountain .............................................. 67 194 91 11,415 37,582 12,607 11,152 32,935 13,201 

 Pacific .................................................. 515 940 657 82,719 171,819 100,649 89,498 183,430 95,916 

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, 2008 and 2009

State

III II III III II III III II III

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........................ 1,581 3,396 1,776 290,453 650,679 277,924 304,340 727,494 266,938 

Alabama ................................................... 9 35 10 2,769 10,345 1,506 3,044 11,110 1,514 

Alaska ...................................................... 3 14 7 3,460 3,901 3,406 1,331 2,901 1,415 

Arizona ..................................................... 9 41 20 1,255 7,656 3,271 1,211 7,456 2,432 

Arkansas .................................................. 7 21 3 1,398 4,190 168 1,357 3,567 229 

California .................................................. 465 804 577 70,397 143,313 87,904 79,585 154,900 83,661 

Colorado .................................................. 7 34 13 1,229 8,928 2,012 686 4,882 1,649 

Connecticut .............................................. 11 27 12 1,724 5,433 1,625 1,394 4,895 1,162 

Delaware .................................................. – 11 ( 2

 ) – 1,354 ( 2 ) – 1,376 ( 2 )

District of Columbia .................................. – 4 – – 405 – – 405 –

Florida ...................................................... 127 190 87 31,391 42,566 25,263 26,565 38,857 16,186 

Georgia .................................................... 22 34 20 3,635 6,137 2,998 4,614 11,685 2,933 

Hawaii ...................................................... 7 10 6 840 1,343 740 1,112 1,315 725 

Idaho ........................................................ 14 7 7 2,111 1,447 826 2,020 828 1,034 

Illinois ....................................................... 97 196 106 19,992 42,599 16,263 18,565 52,248 26,712 

Indiana ..................................................... 57 87 34 10,363 16,931 3,811 15,216 19,375 5,017 

Iowa ......................................................... 10 25 12 1,220 3,091 1,748 3,466 7,237 3,050 

Kansas ..................................................... 8 25 21 710 7,549 2,305 754 10,206 2,315 

Kentucky .................................................. 22 62 19 3,578 7,759 4,363 3,079 8,386 1,867 

Louisiana .................................................. 41 52 20 6,540 9,699 3,134 6,085 8,503 2,153 

Maine ....................................................... 3 11 ( 2

 ) 267 2,729 ( 2 ) 187 1,861 ( 2 )

Maryland .................................................. 10 19 3 1,238 2,530 264 1,132 2,239 294 

Massachusetts ......................................... 21 30 21 2,553 5,326 2,815 2,897 5,895 2,422 

Michigan ................................................... 41 121 59 5,852 23,040 6,695 7,933 56,049 6,954 

Minnesota ................................................ 11 73 35 2,219 10,113 4,983 2,128 12,732 4,140 

Mississippi ................................................ 14 16 7 2,330 2,845 550 1,660 1,937 607 

Missouri .................................................... 31 75 32 4,746 14,530 6,867 4,127 13,741 4,631 

Montana ................................................... 4 12 ( 2

 ) 390 2,145 ( 2 ) 348 1,564 ( 2 )

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

 ) 9 4 ( 2 ) 2,237 740 ( 2 ) 1,622 360 

Nevada ..................................................... 22 55 32 4,421 9,430 4,557 4,979 12,278 5,582 

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

 ) 7 4 ( 2 ) 1,275 431 ( 2 ) 1,354 331 

New Jersey .............................................. 49 112 63 8,784 27,423 10,009 6,741 24,096 6,670 

New Mexico ............................................. 8 29 9 1,431 4,316 698 1,429 3,338 608 

New York ................................................. 118 162 108 27,856 31,221 18,955 22,463 33,173 16,692 

North Carolina .......................................... 14 51 29 1,378 13,137 3,694 3,421 17,289 4,470 

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

 ) 10 3 ( 2 ) 2,160 476 ( 2 ) 2,160 536 

Ohio ......................................................... 49 178 75 10,187 43,243 12,533 9,847 39,713 13,812 

Oklahoma ................................................. 5 17 7 2,549 2,996 805 1,179 2,950 493 

Oregon ..................................................... 19 57 26 4,494 11,445 2,791 4,627 13,707 4,505 

Pennsylvania ............................................ 98 248 123 18,760 37,670 17,323 22,213 50,117 19,768 

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

 ) 7 3 ( 2 ) 821 186 ( 2 ) 835 193 

South Carolina ......................................... 12 34 14 3,743 7,104 1,571 3,659 7,671 1,571 

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Tennessee ............................................... 31 41 19 4,148 6,858 2,666 7,837 7,122 1,950 

Texas ....................................................... 51 93 34 10,335 17,037 5,230 12,683 17,073 4,332 

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

 ) 14 8 ( 2 ) 2,725 978 ( 2 ) 2,201 1,724 

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

 ) 12 5 ( 2 ) 1,642 628 ( 2 ) 1,642 567 

Virginia ..................................................... 6 47 13 862 7,130 1,364 936 10,377 1,330 

Washington .............................................. 21 55 41 3,528 11,817 5,808 2,843 10,607 5,610 

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

 ) 23 5 ( 2 ) 3,716 638 ( 2 ) 2,841 452 

Wisconsin ................................................. 15 96 14 3,928 16,342 1,529 7,679 18,732 1,624 

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

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

Puerto Rico .............................................. 12 10 14 1,118 1,184 915 2,477 2,526 1,853 

1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

2

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

r

 = revised.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

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

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

III II III III II III

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ............................................... 84 117 75 14,943 21,720 12,107 

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

 )( 2 ) – ( 2 )( 2 )

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

 Construction ................................................................. – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Manufacturing .............................................................. 56 76 45 10,949 12,838 6,661 

 Food ........................................................................ 4 10 4 1,302 2,000 672 

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

 ) – – ( 2 )

 Textile mills ............................................................. 3 ( 2

 )( 2 ) 314 ( 2 )( 2 )

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

 )( 2 ) – ( 2 )( 2 )

 Apparel ................................................................... ( 2

 ) 4 ( 2 )( 2 ) 565 ( 2 )

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

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

 Paper ...................................................................... 3 ( 2

 )( 2 ) 391 ( 2 )( 2 )

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

 ) 4 ( 2 )( 2 ) 594 ( 2 )

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

 ) – – ( 2 )

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

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

 Plastics and rubber products .................................. 3 6 3 292 838 384 

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

 Primary metals ........................................................ – 3 3 – 257 555 

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... ( 2

 ) 8 3 ( 2 ) 924 477 

 Machinery ............................................................... 4 5 4 776 1,138 624 

 Computer and electronic products .......................... 9 12 7 1,527 1,945 1,099 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... 6 ( 2

 )( 2 ) 1,278 ( 2 )( 2 )

 Transportation equipment ....................................... 13 8 5 3,378 1,540 792 

 Furniture and related products ................................ ( 2

 ) 4 ( 2 )( 2 ) 612 ( 2 )

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

 ) 5 ( 2 )( 2 ) 1,206 ( 2 )

 Wholesale trade ........................................................... 3 6 5 539 459 572 

 Retail trade .................................................................. ( 2

 ) 6 4 ( 2 ) 2,426 874 

 Transportation and warehousing ................................. 4 3 4 684 315 541 

 Information ................................................................... 4 3 4 557 464 745 

 Finance and insurance ................................................ 8 5 3 938 1,380 299 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Professional and technical services ............................. ( 2

 )( 2 ) 3 ( 2 )( 2 ) 1,152 

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

 )( 2 ) – ( 2 )( 2 )

 Administrative and waste services ............................... 3 7 – 479 1,072 –

 Educational services .................................................... – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) –

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

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

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

 ) – ( 2 )( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Accommodation and food services .............................. – ( 2

 )( 2 ) – ( 2 )( 2 )

 Other services, except public administration ............... ––––––

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

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

2

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

r

 = revised.

Layoff events Separations

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

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Reason for layoff

III II III III II III

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 84 117 75 14,943 21,720 12,107 

Business demand ............................................................. ( 2

 ) 38 21 ( 2 ) 5,848 3,337 

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

 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 555 ( 2 )

 Contract completion ....................................................... ––––––

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

 ) – – ( 2 )

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

 ) – – ( 2 )

 Import competition ......................................................... ( 2

 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 831 ( 2 )

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 12 29 15 3,130 4,462 2,583 

Organizational changes .................................................... 47 47 39 8,450 7,982 6,671 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 6 4 6 1,628 1,256 1,329 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 41 43 33 6,822 6,726 5,342 

Financial issues ................................................................ 19 24 ( 2

 ) 2,669 6,497 ( 2 )

 Bankruptcy ..................................................................... – 4 ( 2

 ) – 1,254 ( 2 )

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ ( 2

 ) 14 11 ( 2 ) 2,587 1,489 

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... ( 2

 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,656 ( 2 )

Production specific ............................................................ – 5 ( 2

 ) – 558 ( 2 )

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Disaster/safety .................................................................. ––––––

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

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

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

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

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

 ) 3 – ( 2 ) 835 –

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

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

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) –

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

2

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

r

 = revised.

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

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations

III II III III II III

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 United States1 ...................................... 84 117 75 14,943 21,720 12,107 

Northeast ..................................................... 14 16 10 2,306 3,056 1,421 

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

 ) 8 4 ( 2 ) 1,313 719 

 Middle Atlantic ......................................... ( 2

 ) 8 6 ( 2 ) 1,743 702 

South ........................................................... 13 41 17 2,238 6,088 1,896 

 South Atlantic ........................................... 5 19 ( 2

 ) 704 3,303 ( 2 )

 East South Central ................................... 4 16 8 472 1,446 713 

 West South Central .................................. 4 6 ( 2

 ) 1,062 1,339 ( 2 )

Midwest ........................................................ 42 35 22 8,167 5,684 3,578 

 East North Central ................................... 32 24 15 6,105 4,107 2,260 

 West North Central .................................. 10 11 7 2,062 1,577 1,318 

West ............................................................. 15 25 26 2,232 6,892 5,212 

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

 )( 2 ) 5 ( 2 )( 2 ) 1,832 

 Pacific ...................................................... ( 2

 )( 2 ) 21 ( 2 )( 2 ) 3,380 

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

2

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

r

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

p

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

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

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

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

New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.
Table 9. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

III II III III II III

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p

Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 1,581 3,396 1,776 290,453 650,679 277,924 

 Total, excluding seasonal

 and vacation events2

 .............................................. 1,365 2,639 1,518 246,532 490,658 231,223 

 Total, movement of work3

 ....................................... 84 117 75 14,943 21,720 12,107 

 Movement of work actions ................................. 106 160 107 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 With separations reported ............................ 78 104 72 9,631 11,533 6,755 

 With separations unknown ........................... 28 56 35 ( 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 10. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers,

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

III II III III II III

2008 2009r 2009p 2008 2009r 2009p

With separations reported2 ................................. 78 104 72 9,631 11,533 6,755 

By location

 Out-of-country relocations ................................ 19 22 18 2,312 2,849 1,691 

 Within company ............................................ 17 21 15 2,135 2,759 1,471 

 Different company ........................................ 2 1 3 177 90 220 

 Domestic relocations ........................................ 59 82 54 7,319 8,684 5,064 

 Within company ............................................ 50 75 43 6,522 7,461 3,694 

 Different company ........................................ 9 7 11 797 1,223 1,370 

 Unable to assign place of 

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

By company

 Within company ................................................ 67 96 58 8,657 10,220 5,165 

 Domestic ....................................................... 50 75 43 6,522 7,461 3,694 

 Out of country ............................................... 17 21 15 2,135 2,759 1,471 

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

 Different company ............................................ 11 8 14 974 1,313 1,590 

 Domestic ....................................................... 9 7 11 797 1,223 1,370 

 Out of country ............................................... 2 1 3 177 90 220 

 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
Table 11. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended mass layoffs, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

III II III III II III III II III

2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p

Anticipate a recall .................................. 28.6 37.3 32.6 92.6 95.2 95.0 18.5 20.7 22.0

 Timeframe

Within 6 months ..................................... 71.0 77.3 66.1 89.0 90.8 91.0 56.7 59.4 47.9

 Within 3 months ............................... 53.8 56.9 50.4 67.5 65.9 69.0 42.9 45.0 36.8

 Size of recall

At least half ............................................ 77.0 78.6 65.1 96.5 94.0 92.7 61.5 58.2 44.9

 All workers ....................................... 37.6 41.7 33.7 61.0 57.6 61.6 19.0 20.7 13.2

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1.

 r

 = revised.

 p = preliminary.

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

and vacation period

Percent of layoff events, excluding those due 

to seasonal and vacation period Nature of recall
measures, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

III II III

2008r 2009r 2009p

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................................... 184 192 156 

Industry

Mining ................................................................................... 254 168 169 

Utilities .................................................................................. 200 226 125 

Construction .......................................................................... 118 117 114 

Manufacturing ....................................................................... 192 184 157 

Wholesale trade .................................................................... 138 171 111 

Retail trade ............................................................................ 227 226 151 

Transportation and warehousing .......................................... 185 228 162 

Information ............................................................................ 195 183 130 

Finance and insurance .......................................................... 191 230 156 

Real estate and rental and leasing ....................................... 133 175 80 

Professional and technical services ...................................... 178 244 220 

Management of companies and enterprises ......................... 105 293 125 

Administrative and waste services ........................................ 224 216 217 

Educational services ............................................................. 146 126 166 

Health care and social assistance ........................................ 113 132 125 

Arts, entertainment, and recreation ....................................... 296 201 224 

Accommodation and food services ....................................... 240 283 184 

Other services, except public administration ........................ 132 127 134 

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

Reason for layoff groupings

Business demand ................................................................. 151 157 145 

Organizational changes ........................................................ 275 212 171 

Financial issues .................................................................... 194 252 149 

Production specific ................................................................ 200 144 297 

Disaster/Safety ...................................................................... 156 169 485 

Seasonal ............................................................................... 203 211 181 

Other/miscellaneous ............................................................. 195 213 156 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

r

 = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

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

Measure

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

third quarter 2009p

Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ...................................................... 1,776 100.0 277,924 100.0 

 50-99 ................................................... 877 49.4 62,010 22.3 

 100-149 ............................................... 412 23.2 47,790 17.2 

 150-199 ................................................ 181 10.2 29,947 10.8 

 200-299 ................................................ 154 8.7 35,753 12.9 

 300-499 ................................................ 87 4.9 32,110 11.6 

 500-999 ................................................ 42 2.4 27,849 10.0 

 1,000 or more ....................................... 23 1.3 42,465 15.3 

p

 = preliminary.

Layoff events Separations Size
Extended Mass Layoff Events by Reason Categories1

Third quarters, 2003-09

900800700600500400300200

0

100

2003:3 2004:3 2005:3 2006:3 2007:3 2008:3 2009:3 p

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.