1

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 07-0757

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2007

In April, employers took 1,243 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for

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

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

of workers involved totaled 126,047, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events decreased by 33 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims fell by 4,640. During April,

383 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 43,753

initial claims. Compared with March, mass layoff activity in manufacturing decreased by 37 events and by

10,688 initial claims. (See table 1.)

The national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in April, essentially unchanged from 4.4 percent the

prior month and down from 4.7 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by

88,000 over the month and by 1.9 million over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

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

accounted for 42 percent of the total initial claims in April. The industry with the highest number of initial

claims was school and employee bus transportation with 17,135, followed by motion picture and video

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2003 2004 2005 2006 

Total

Private nonfarm

2007

 Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

May 2002-April 2007

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

2003 2004 2005 2006 

Total

Private nonfarm

2007

 Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

May 2002-April 2007
2

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

Industry Initial claims

April peak

Year

Initial claims

production with 7,647, and temporary help services with 7,330. Together, these three industries accounted

for 25 percent of all initial claims due to mass layoffs during the month. (See table A.)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 25 percent of all mass layoff events and 28 percent of all related

initial claims filed in April; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 26 percent of events and 33 percent of initial

claims. In April 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (11,466, largely heavy duty truck manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (5,925), and machinery manufacturing (2,392). (See table 3.)

Transportation and warehousing accounted for 13 percent of mass layoff events and 15 percent of initial

claims in April, primarily from school and employee bus transportation. Administrative and waste services

comprised 12 percent of events and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the month, with the majority of layoffs in temporary help services. Three percent of all mass layoff events and 7 percent of related initial claims

filed were from information, primarily from motion picture and video production. Accommodation and food

services made up 6 percent of events and initial claims, largely from the food service contractors industry.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in April, at 1,224, was up by 84

from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 5,685 to 127,274. (See table 2.)

The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in motion picture and sound recording industries (+4,620), credit intermediation and related activities (+2,543), and hospitals (+1,360). The largest

over-the-year decreases in mass layoff initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing

(-2,693) and food manufacturing (-2,267).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Among the 4 census regions, the highest number of initial claims in April due to mass layoffs was in the

West with 42,381. Motion picture and sound recording, administrative and support services, and agriculture

and forestry support activities together accounted for 42 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region

during the month. The Northeast had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions with

35,637, followed by the South with 26,211, and the Midwest with 23,045. (See table 5.)

School and employee bus transportation ............... 17,135 2006 17,621

Motion picture and video production ..................... 7,647 1997 15,908

Temporary help services ...................................... 7,330 2001 17,507

Food service contractors ..................................... 4,110 2004 5,496

Heavy duty truck manufacturing ............................ 3,451 2007 3,451

Automobile manufacturing ..................................... 3,340 1996 14,744

Tax preparation services ....................................... 3,309 2006 3,791

Farm labor contractors and crew leaders .............. 3,250 1998 4,054

Professional employer organizations ...................... 2,043 2001 3,280

Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ................ 1,911 2004 2,647
3

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

West (+8,184), the South (+7,928), and the Northeast (+1,022). The Midwest region experienced the only

decrease (-11,449), primarily due to fewer initial claimants in transportation equipment manufacturing. Six of

the 9 geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass

layoffs, with the largest increases in the Pacific (+5,929), the South Atlantic (+3,035), and the East South

Central (+2,705). The division with the largest over-the-year decrease in mass layoff initial claims was the

East North Central (-10,144).

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

in April (28,883), followed by New York (15,254), Pennsylvania (10,997), Ohio (6,024), and New Jersey

(4,749). These five states accounted for 53 percent of all mass layoff events and 52 percent of all initial

claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 6.)

California had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+4,332). States having

the next largest increases in initial claims were Pennsylvania (+2,295), South Carolina (+1,977), Arizona

(+1,947), and New York (+1,868). The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in Ohio (-6,158)

and Michigan (-3,402).

Note

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

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

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

30 days (referred to as “extended mass layoffs”). The quarterly release provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in

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

the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

______________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in May 2007 is scheduled to be released on Friday, June 22.
Technical Note

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

program that uses a standardized, automated approach to

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job

cutbacks, using data from each state’s unemployment insurance

database. Each month, states report on establishments which

have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a

consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these

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

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on

layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly

unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through

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

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

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

tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks

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

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

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

calendar effect into consideration.

The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it

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

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

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

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

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

Definitions

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or

period of eligibility.

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for

unemployment insurance benefits filed against an

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

Seasonal adjustment

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS

began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.

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

layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm, and

manufacturing sectors.

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and

removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring

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

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

seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental

changes in time series, particularly those associated with

general economic expansions and contractions.

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

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis.

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly

estimates, including those for the current month, in developing

seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most recent

5 years of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a

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

seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the

original data to adjust them for differences in the number of

weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly

unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form

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

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

the seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal

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

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the final

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

seasonally adjusted

2003

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2004

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2005

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2007

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

February ................................................................. 1,280 143,977 1,166 135,252 419 64,072 

March ...................................................................... 1,276 130,687 1,165 122,150 420 54,441 

April ......................................................................... 1,243 126,047 1,116 115,968 383 43,753 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, May 2003 to April 2007,

not seasonally adjusted

2003

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2004

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2005

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2007

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

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

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

April ......................................................................... 1,224 127,274 1,124 118,181 305 35,041 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

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

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

April February March April April February March April

2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007 2007 2007

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ..................................................................... 1,175 1,280 1,276 1,243 121,376 143,977 130,687 126,047 

 Total, private nonfarm .............................................. 1,041 1,166 1,165 1,116 111,369 135,252 122,150 115,968 

 Manufacturing ........................................................ 365 419 420 383 48,038 64,072 54,441 43,753 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total1

 .................................................................... 1,140 935 1,082 1,224 121,589 86,696 123,974 127,274 

Total, private .............................................................. 1,098 913 1,046 1,184 118,236 85,170 120,544 124,615 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ................ 60 52 31 60 5,272 3,073 2,113 6,434 

 Total, private nonfarm .............................................. 1,038 861 1,015 1,124 112,964 82,097 118,431 118,181 

 Mining .................................................................... 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 385 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

 Construction ........................................................... 98 203 107 84 6,324 13,191 7,815 6,259 

 Manufacturing ........................................................ 296 273 367 305 39,538 36,170 49,886 35,041 

 Food ................................................................... 80 40 67 60 8,192 4,188 6,087 5,925 

 Beverage and tobacco products ........................ ( 2 ) 4 7 3 ( 2 ) 280 778 251 

 Textile mills ........................................................ 14 6 16 15 2,935 998 1,882 1,234 

 Textile product mills ........................................... 9 4 4 8 773 383 350 1,030 

 Apparel ............................................................... 12 5 15 12 1,724 286 1,355 944 

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

 Wood products ................................................... 24 47 30 21 2,342 4,497 2,674 1,907 

 Paper ................................................................. 5 7 10 3 333 397 779 214 

 Printing and related support activities ................ 9 4 8 5 804 358 637 578 

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

 Chemicals .......................................................... 4 4 5 7 272 348 310 682 

 Plastics and rubber products ............................. 12 9 18 10 912 469 1,682 900 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ............................. 14 24 16 11 914 1,624 1,483 1,021 

 Primary metals ................................................... 11 13 17 12 731 1,411 1,976 1,415 

 Fabricated metal products ................................. 16 14 14 22 1,083 1,315 1,567 1,639 

 Machinery .......................................................... 10 17 11 16 1,387 2,946 2,013 2,392 

 Computer and electronic products ..................... 13 9 26 13 946 667 2,562 993 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ................. 7 4 15 5 762 281 2,502 996 

 Transportation equipment .................................. 39 43 68 62 14,093 14,510 19,397 11,466 

 Furniture and related products ........................... 8 15 16 7 709 994 1,571 518 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............................ 5 ( 2 ) 4 10 394 ( 2 ) 281 758 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................... 19 5 17 16 1,933 278 1,828 1,668 

 Retail trade ............................................................. 86 71 93 98 7,780 5,869 11,407 7,626 

 Transportation and warehousing ........................... 152 40 55 164 19,558 4,254 5,896 19,456 

 Information ............................................................. 30 24 30 42 4,570 2,966 4,843 8,480 

 Finance and insurance ........................................... 26 21 39 49 1,670 1,511 2,883 4,061 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ........................ ( 2 ) 4 7 5 ( 2 ) 275 400 251 

 Professional and technical services ....................... 41 25 29 50 5,776 2,403 4,391 7,033 

 Management of companies and enterprises .......... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 324 ( 2 )

 Administrative and waste services ......................... 134 114 140 149 10,725 9,156 15,153 11,746 

 Educational services .............................................. 5 4 4 7 572 322 192 1,341 

 Health care and social assistance ......................... 21 18 16 28 1,676 1,099 1,160 3,344 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........................ 25 5 10 26 1,895 289 680 1,905 

 Accommodation and food services ........................ 74 42 86 78 7,937 3,555 10,895 7,653 

 Other services, except public administration ......... 17 5 6 17 2,000 310 364 1,823 

 Unclassified ........................................................... 4 1 – – 240 71 – –

Government ............................................................... 42 22 36 40 3,353 1,526 3,430 2,659 

 Federal ................................................................... 9 5 6 9 796 339 501 698 

 State ....................................................................... 10 6 11 9 909 482 820 524 

 Local ...................................................................... 23 11 19 22 1,648 705 2,109 1,437 

 1

 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

 

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2005 to April 2007,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2005

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fourth Quarter ................................... 4,482 462,326 4,004 425,629 1,400 246,188 35.0 57.8 

2006

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

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

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

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

 193,510 36.5 r 69.8

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

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

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

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

 264,807 44.3 r 79.7

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

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

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

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

 161,716 33.5 r 53.1

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

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

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

Fourth Quarter ................................... 4,528 489,493 4,118 457,925 r

 1,640 r 330,124 r 39.8 r 72.1

2007

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

February ............................................. 935 86,696 861 82,097 

March ................................................. 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 

First Quarter ....................................... 3,424 345,654 3,139 325,003 2,p 965 2,p 122,595 p 30.7 p

 37.7

April .................................................... 1,224 127,274 1,124 118,181 

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

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

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

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

 2

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

data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

Mass layoffs Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

Date
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

April February March April April February March April

2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007 2007 2007

 United States1

 .................................................... 1,140 935 1,082 1,224 121,589 86,696 123,974 127,274 

Northeast .................................................................... 308 179 137 315 34,615 18,272 14,613 35,637 

 New England .......................................................... 52 25 17 39 6,268 2,602 1,650 4,637 

 Middle Atlantic ........................................................ 256 154 120 276 28,347 15,670 12,963 31,000 

South .......................................................................... 177 168 238 248 18,283 17,850 34,812 26,211 

 South Atlantic ......................................................... 98 84 115 147 10,728 9,938 13,072 13,763 

 East South Central ................................................. 41 42 77 54 4,108 4,336 15,237 6,813 

 West South Central ................................................ 38 42 46 47 3,447 3,576 6,503 5,635 

Midwest ...................................................................... 243 239 283 222 34,494 26,603 33,410 23,045 

 East North Central .................................................. 203 198 225 190 30,704 23,364 27,218 20,560 

 West North Central ................................................. 40 41 58 32 3,790 3,239 6,192 2,485 

West ........................................................................... 412 349 424 439 34,197 23,971 41,139 42,381 

 Mountain ................................................................. 47 25 41 73 5,769 1,833 3,200 8,024 

 Pacific ..................................................................... 365 324 383 366 28,428 22,138 37,939 34,357 

 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

April February March April April February March April

2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007 2007 2007

 Total1

 ....................................................................... 1,140 935 1,082 1,224 121,589 86,696 123,974 127,274 

Alabama ..................................................................... 9 16 26 17 741 1,757 3,373 1,684 

Alaska ......................................................................... 5 – – 5 694 – – 621 

Arizona ....................................................................... 17 ( 2 ) 6 32 2,709 ( 2 ) 362 4,656 

Arkansas .................................................................... 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 432 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 409 

California .................................................................... 321 299 333 319 24,551 19,809 33,172 28,883 

Colorado ..................................................................... 6 ( 2 ) 4 10 768 ( 2 ) 458 784 

Connecticut ................................................................ 8 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 673 309 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Delaware .................................................................... – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

District of Columbia .................................................... ––––––––

Florida ........................................................................ 34 39 51 59 2,363 2,616 4,562 3,524 

Georgia ....................................................................... 20 15 14 26 4,191 1,831 1,635 2,369 

Hawaii ......................................................................... 6 – 4 3 422 – 323 185 

Idaho .......................................................................... 3 10 8 3 349 615 537 499 

Illinois ......................................................................... 29 44 54 34 3,380 4,684 8,754 4,497 

Indiana ........................................................................ 22 21 19 20 2,260 1,963 1,927 1,887 

Iowa ............................................................................ 7 14 11 7 987 1,469 1,285 632 

Kansas ....................................................................... ( 2 ) 3 4 3 ( 2 ) 215 930 235 

Kentucky ..................................................................... 17 16 32 17 2,174 1,333 6,623 2,936 

Louisiana .................................................................... ( 2 ) 8 5 7 ( 2 ) 492 446 1,755 

Maine .......................................................................... ( 2 ) 3 3 3 ( 2 ) 303 233 201 

Maryland ..................................................................... 15 8 6 9 1,277 747 462 1,048 

Massachusetts ........................................................... 17 7 4 11 2,001 442 268 1,020 

Michigan ..................................................................... 41 38 51 34 7,191 6,507 6,508 3,789 

Minnesota ................................................................... 12 9 15 11 814 615 1,231 817 

Mississippi .................................................................. 6 4 10 4 430 254 4,428 217 

Missouri ...................................................................... 13 14 22 7 1,008 801 2,347 445 

Montana ..................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) 4 ( 2 ) 220 ( 2 ) 319 ( 2 )

Nebraska .................................................................... 4 – 3 ( 2 ) 495 – 218 ( 2 )

Nevada ....................................................................... 11 6 11 14 1,053 638 842 1,050 

New Hampshire .......................................................... 5 ( 2 ) 3 6 504 ( 2 ) 462 631 

New Jersey ................................................................. 53 27 35 50 6,259 2,558 3,529 4,749 

New Mexico ................................................................ ( 2 ) 4 6 8 ( 2 ) 229 548 592 

New York .................................................................... 102 20 40 116 13,386 2,184 4,636 15,254 

North Carolina ............................................................ 7 5 22 13 568 518 3,986 1,210 

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

Ohio ............................................................................ 53 41 43 55 12,182 4,175 4,444 6,024 

Oklahoma ................................................................... ( 2 ) 13 4 4 ( 2 ) 1,377 1,178 354 

Oregon ....................................................................... 16 12 30 21 1,296 1,264 3,272 2,790 

Pennsylvania .............................................................. 101 107 45 110 8,702 10,928 4,798 10,997 

Rhode Island .............................................................. 7 7 ( 2

 ) 8 1,528 1,249 ( 2 ) 1,589 

South Carolina ............................................................ 11 7 10 26 1,314 641 1,210 3,291 

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

Tennessee .................................................................. 9 6 9 16 763 992 813 1,976 

Texas .......................................................................... 30 20 35 32 2,354 1,656 4,762 3,117 

Utah ............................................................................ 4 – ( 2 ) 4 381 – ( 2 ) 315 

Vermont ...................................................................... 13 4 4 10 1,311 240 465 1,052 

Virginia ....................................................................... 9 8 10 9 830 3,476 1,091 628 

Washington ................................................................ 17 13 16 18 1,465 1,065 1,172 1,878 

West Virginia .............................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 305 

Wisconsin ................................................................... 58 54 58 47 5,691 6,035 5,585 4,363 

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

Puerto Rico ................................................................. 8 8 15 16 767 535 1,355 1,556 

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

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

State