NOTE: With this release, BLS resumes quarterly publication of data on worker separations

specifically associated with the movement of work within the same company or to other companies,

domestically or outside the U.S. Such instances of movement of work are referred to as “actions,”

and, along with actions where movement of work does not occur, are components of layoff events.

BLS first issued movement of work information on June 10, 2004, with data for the first quarter of

2004. Data collected for subsequent quarters included responses where employers could not

disaggregate separations due to movement of work within or out of the country. BLS suspended

publication of such information, pending review to determine if the quantity and quality of data

available from employers were sufficient to meet the Bureau’s statistical publication criteria.

After completing this review, BLS decided that the data collected on this topic meet sufficient

statistical standards for publication. Beginning with this release, BLS will publish a range for

separations associated with movement of work each quarter. The data provided by respondents on

the number of separations associated with specific movement of work actions establish a lower bound

(12,152 in the fourth quarter of 2004). The upper bound is the total number of separations in

extended mass layoff events where there was some movement of work (16,361 in the fourth quarter).

(See Table B.) The difference between the lower and upper bounds includes an unknown number of

separations that were not due to movement of work and an unknown number of separations from

movement of work actions where employers could not provide detail.

Table 11 of this release contains data, published for the first time for the second, third, and fourth

quarters of 2004, on separations associated with specific movement of work actions. The figures in

Table 11 are only for those movement of work actions where specific counts of separations were

known. See the Technical Note later in this news release for information on movement of work

concepts and definitions.

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-264

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2004

AND ANNUAL AVERAGES FOR 2004

In the fourth quarter of 2004, 1,295 mass layoff actions were taken by employers that resulted in the

separation of 236,637 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released

by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both the total number of layoff events and

the number of separations were sharply lower than in October-December 2003, with separations at its lowest

level for any fourth quarter since the program began in 1995. (See table A.) The declines over the year

were most notable in food and beverage stores, administrative and support services, heavy and civil

engineering construction, and transportation equipment manufacturing. Extended mass layoffs that involve the
2

 2000

January-March ........... 1,081 202,500 180,205

April-June .................. 1,055 205,861 186,759

July-September .......... 817 174,628 158,394

October-December .... 1,638 332,973 320,909

 2001

January-March ........... 1,546 304,171 306,535

April-June .................. 1,828 430,499 358,611

July-September .......... 1,629 330,391 336,298

October-December .... 2,372 459,771 456,068

 2002

January-March ........... 1,611 299,266 292,998

April-June .................. 1,624 344,606 299,598

July-September .......... 1,186 255,152 254,955

October-December .... 1,916 373,307 370,592

 2003

January-March ........... 1,502 286,947 297,608

April-June .................. 1,799 368,273 348,966

July-September .......... 1,190 236,333 227,909

October-December .... 1,690 325,333 326,328

 2004

January-March r......... 1,339 276,448 238,305

April-June .................. 1,358 278,380 253,231

July-September .......... 887 164,822 145,889

October-December .... 1,295 236,637 178,834

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

r = revised.

p = preliminary.

r

p

r

movement of work within the same company or to a different company, domestically or outside the U.S.,

occurred in about 11 percent of the nonseasonal layoff events and accounted for about 14 percent of the

worker separations in nonseasonal events. (See table B.) Forty-eight percent of the employers anticipating

a recall expected to extend the offer to all laid-off workers, the highest proportion for a fourth quarter since

2000.

In the fourth quarter of 2004, the national unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, not seasonally adjusted;

a year earlier it was 5.5 percent. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, increased by

1.8 percent or about 2 million jobs from October-December 2003 to October-December 2004.

The completion of seasonal work accounted for 47 percent of all events and resulted in 118,684

separations during the period—the lowest level for any fourth quarter since 1999. Layoffs due to internal

company restructuring (bankruptcy, business ownership change, financial difficulty, and reorganization)

represented 15 percent of events and resulted in 36,266 separations, the lowest level for a fourth quarter

since 1995. Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 12 percent of all events and affected 32,733

workers, the fewest number of workers for any fourth quarter.
3

For all of 2004, the total of extended mass layoff events was 4,879 and the total number of worker

separations was 956,327. These annual totals were significantly lower than in 2003 (6,181 and 1,216,886,

respectively). Since reaching a peak in 2001, the annual number of extended layoff events has fallen by

2,496, or 34 percent, and the number of separations has declined by 568,505, or 37 percent. Additional

information on the annual data is available starting on page 8 of this release.

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs

Extended mass layoff separations occurred in 356 of the 1,197 detailed industries for which data are

available for the fourth quarter 2004. This is the fewest number of industries to have at least one extended

mass layoff event in a fourth quarter since 1995.

Manufacturing industries accounted for 31 percent of private nonfarm layoff events and 30 percent of

separations during October-December 2004. (See table 1.) The 69,922 worker separations in manufacturing were the fewest for manufacturing for any fourth quarter since the series began in 1995. In the

fourth quarter of 2004, layoff activity in this sector was concentrated in food manufacturing (23,882), followed by transportation equipment manufacturing (7,939) and computer and electronic products manufacturing (4,679).

The construction sector had 29 percent of events and 23 percent of separations, mostly in heavy and civil

engineering construction. Administrative and waste services accounted for 11 percent of private nonfarm

layoff events and separations, primarily in temporary help services. Layoffs in the retail trade sector comprised 4 percent of events and 8 percent of separations, mostly among general merchandise stores and

nonstore retailers. Layoffs in accommodation and food services accounted for 6 percent of events and

8 percent of separations, mainly in hotels and motels, except casino hotels.

Information technology-producing industries (communication equipment, communications services, computer hardware, and software and computer services) accounted for 4 percent of layoff events and 7,857

worker separations in the fourth quarter of 2004. A year earlier these industries accounted for 4 percent of

layoff events and 15,318 separations. (See table 6.) This also marked the fewest number of separations in

this industry grouping for a fourth quarter since 1999. Layoffs in the information technology-producing

industries were most numerous in communications services with 3,082 separations, followed by the computer

hardware industry.

Reasons for Extended Layoff

Layoffs due to the completion of seasonal work accounted for 47 percent of the extended layoff events

and resulted in 118,684 separations in the fourth quarter, 50 percent of the total. This marked the first time

that as much as half of the separations were due to seasonal layoffs. (See table 2.) Seasonal layoffs were

most numerous among workers in heavy and civil engineering construction, in food manufacturing, and in

general merchandise stores.

Internal company restructuring (due to bankruptcy, business ownership change, financial difficulty, and

reorganization) accounted for 15 percent of layoff events and resulted in 36,266 separations. These layoffs

were mostly among workers in credit intermediation and related activities, transportation equipment manufacturing, and food manufacturing. Over half of both the internal company restructuring layoff events and

separations were due to reorganization within the company.
4

Movement of Work

Between October and December of 2004, 74 extended mass layoff events involved the movement of

work; this was about 11 percent of total extended mass layoff events, excluding those for seasonal and

vacation reasons. (See table B.) These movements of work were to other U.S. locations or to locations

outside of the U.S., and they occurred either within the same company or to other companies. The extended

mass layoff events involving movement of work were associated with the separation of 16,361 workers,

about 14 percent of all separations resulting from nonseasonal/nonvacation mass layoff events. Revised data

from the third quarter of 2004 show that there were 84 extended mass layoff events and 17,400 separations

involving the movement of work. (See table 10.) The first quarter of 2004 marked the initial reporting of

job loss data relating to the movement of work in the Bureau’s Mass Layoff Statistics program.

Among the 74 extended mass layoff events with reported relocation of work in the fourth quarter of

2004, 74 percent were permanent closures of worksites, which affected 12,623 workers. In comparison,

for the 1,295 total layoff events reported for the fourth quarter of 2004, only 12 percent involved the

permanent closure of worksites.

Of the layoffs involving the movement of work, 70 percent of the events and 72 percent of the laid-off

workers were from manufacturing industries during the fourth quarter of 2004. (See table 7.) Among all

private nonfarm extended layoffs, manufacturing accounted for 31 percent of the events and 30 percent of

the separations.

Internal company restructuring (bankruptcy, business ownership change, financial difficulty, and

reorganization) accounted for 68 percent of layoff events associated with work relocation and resulted in

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

fourth quarter 2004

Action Layoff events Separations

Total private nonfarm ............................ 1,295 236,637

 Total, excluding seasonal and

 vacation events .............................. 690 117,953

 Total events with movement

 of work ..................................... 74 16,361

 Movement of work actions ........ 124 (3)

With separations reported ...... 88 12,152

With separations unknown ..... 36 (3)

p

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

layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period.

A layoff event can involve more than one action.

Data not available.

= preliminary.

1

2

 1

 2

 3

p
5

10,369 separations during the fourth quarter. (See table 8.) Most of these were due to reorganization

within the company. In contrast, only 15 percent of the layoff events in the total private nonfarm economy

were because of internal company restructuring.

Among the regions, the South accounted for the largest proportion of workers in extended mass layoffs

associated with the movement of work (42 percent) in the fourth quarter of 2004, followed by the Midwest

(22 percent), the Northeast (19 percent), and the West (17 percent). (See table 9.)

As noted in table B, the 74 extended layoff events for the fourth quarter of 2004 discussed above involve

124 identifiable relocations of work. (An identifiable relocation of work occurs when the employer provides

sufficient information on the new location of work and/or the number of workers affected by the movement.

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

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

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

relocation of work actions.) Of the 124 relocations, employers were able to provide information on the

Table C. Movement of work actions by type of separation where the number

of separations is known by employers, fourth quarter 2004

With separations reported ........... 88 12,152

Out of country............................ 31 5,134

 Within company .................... 28 4,701

 Different company ................. 3 433

Domestic relocations .................. 57 7,018

 Within company .................... 50 6,310

 Different company ................. 7 708

Within company ......................... 78 11,011

 Domestic ............................... 50 6,310

 Out of country....................... 28 4,701

Different company ...................... 10 1,141

 Domestic ............................... 7 708

 Out of country....................... 3 433

Action Layoff events Separations

By location

 1 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of work

were reported are shown.

 p = preliminary.

By company

p

1
6

specific separations (12,152 workers) associated with the movement of work component of the layoff in 88

actions, or 71 percent of the total actions for the fourth quarter of 2004. Thus, a range of 12,152

(separations in movement of work actions where the employer was able to provide specific detail) to 16,361

(total separations in all layoff events that included movement of work) is established for separations due to

the movement of work in the fourth quarter. (See table 10 for similar data for earlier quarters.)

In the 88 actions where employers were able to provide more complete separation information, 9 in

10 worker separations associated with the movement of work (11,011 out of 12,152) occurred among

establishments within the same company. (See table C.) In 57 percent of these separations, the work

activities were reassigned to places elsewhere in the U.S. Just over one-third of the movement-of-work

situations involved out-of-country moves (31 out of 88). The separation of 5,134 workers was associated

with out-of-country relocations—slightly more than two-fifths of all separations related to the movement of

work and about 4 percent of all nonseasonal/nonvacation extended mass layoff separations. Domestic

relocation of work—both within the company and to other companies—affected 7,018 workers. (See

table 11.)

Recall Expectations

Sixty-five percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the fourth quarter of 2004 indicated

they anticipated some type of recall. This compares with 58 percent of the employers anticipating a recall

a year earlier and is the highest proportion for a fourth quarter since 1997. (See table D.) Most of the

employers not expecting a recall were in administrative and support services, transportation equipment

manufacturing, and computer and electronic product manufacturing.

Among establishments expecting a recall, most employers expected to recall over one-half of the

separated employees and to do so within 6 months. Forty-eight percent of the employers expected to

extend the offer to all laid-off workers, the highest proportion for a fourth quarter since 2000.

Table D. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended

 layoff, fourth quarter 2003-fourth quarter 2004

 Anticipate a recall .............. 58.2 39.6 55.2 41.0 65.1

 Timeframe

 Within 6 months .................. 85.5 82.5 84.6 84.1 84.3

 Within 3 months................. 37.3 48.7 55.5 66.8 33.0

 Size

 At least half......................... 91.7 86.4 91.3 86.0 93.1

 All workers........................ 45.0 35.3 52.3 46.7 48.2

Nature of the recall IV

2004

II

2004

III

2004

I

2004

IV

2003 r p

Percentage of events

r = revised.

p = prelimary.

r
7

Excluding layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period (in which 98 percent of the employers

expected a recall), employers expected to recall laid-off workers in 36 percent of the events. A year earlier,

29 percent of employers expected a recall in nonseasonal and nonvacation events. In layoff events due to

internal company restructuring, employers anticipated a recall in only 4 percent of the events.

Size of Extended Layoff

Layoff events during the fourth quarter continued to be concentrated at the lower end of the extended

layoff-size spectrum, with 61 percent involving fewer than 150 workers. These events, however, accounted

for only 30 percent of all separations. (See table E.) Separations involving 500 or more workers accounted

for 25 percent of all separations, not very different from a year earlier. The average size of layoffs (as

measured by separations per layoff event) differed widely by industry, ranging from a low of 93 separations

in chemical manufacturing to a high of 781 in nonstore retailers.

Initial Claimant Characteristics

A total of 178,834 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass

layoffs in the fourth quarter of 2004. Of these claimants, 11 percent were black, 17 percent were Hispanic,

34 percent were women, and 16 percent were 55 years of age or older. (See table 3.) Thirty-eight percent

of claimants were 30 to 44 years of age. Among the civilian labor force for the same period, 11 percent

were black, 13 percent were Hispanic, 46 percent were women, and 16 percent were 55 years of age or

older. Thirty-six percent of the civilian labor force were ages 30 to 44.

Geographic Distribution

In the fourth quarter, the number of separations due to extended mass layoff events was highest in the

Midwest (94,478), followed by the West (61,731), the South (41,776), and the Northeast (38,652).

(See table 4.) Extended mass layoffs in the Midwest were mainly in heavy and civil engineering construction,

administrative and support services, and specialty trade contractors.

All four regions reported over-the-year decreases in separations, with the largest decrease occurring in

the Midwest (-36,520), followed by the West (-32,741), the Northeast (-10,638), and the South (-8,797).

 Number Percent Number

Size

 Total........... 1,295 100.0 236,637 100.0

50-99............... 478 36.9 34,696 14.7

100-149........... 307 23.7 36,536 15.4

150-199........... 157 12.1 26,765 11.3

200-299........... 187 14.4 43,874 18.5

300-499........... 99 7.6 35,480 15.0

500-999........... 50 3.9 31,697 13.4

1,000 or more... 17 1.3 27,589 11.7

p = preliminary.

 Percent

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

October-December 2004

Layoff events Separations

p
8

Seven of the nine geographic divisions reported over-the-year declines in laid-off workers, with the largest

declines occurring in the East North Central (-32,937) and Pacific division (-32,454). The over-the-year

increases were in the East South Central (+2,753) and West South Central (+908) divisions.

Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the largest number of worker separations occurred in

California (37,864), followed by Illinois (36,232) and Florida (16,463). These three states accounted for 29

percent of total layoff events and 38 percent of the separations during the fourth quarter of 2004. They were

followed by Minnesota (12,433), New York (11,525), Pennsylvania (11,182), Michigan (10,912), and Ohio

(10,740). (See table 5.) After excluding the substantial impact of seasonal work, Illinois reported the most

laid-off workers (17,429), largely due to layoffs in administrative and support services.

Over the year, California reported the greatest decrease in workers laid off during the fourth quarter

(-26,539), followed by Wisconsin (-13,063), Michigan (-8,740), and Ohio (-7,354). The largest increases

occurred in Tennessee (+1,530) and Pennsylvania (+1,455).

Fifty-seven percent of events and 53 percent of separations occurred in metropolitan areas in the fourth

quarter of 2004, compared to 51 percent of events and 47 percent of separations during the fourth quarter

of 2003. Among the 331 metropolitan areas, Chicago, Ill., reported the highest number of separations,

17,159. Next were Detroit Mich., with 5,060 separations, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.-Wis., with 4,794,

and Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif., with 4,649. (See table F.) Employers located in nonmetropolitan

areas separated 32,774 workers in mass layoffs, down from 42,481 workers in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Review of 2004

For all of 2004, employers reported 4,879 extended mass layoff actions, affecting 956,327 workers.

These totals were compare to 6,181 events and 1,216,886 separations in 2003. Compared with their peak

levels in 2001, the number of events was down by 34 percent and the number of separations was down by

37 percent. (See table G.) The annual average national unemployment rate decreased from 6.0 percent in

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

 p = preliminary.

Metropolitan area IV

2004

IV

2003

IV

2004

IV

2003 p

Events Separations

Total, nonmetropolitan areas .......................... 260 194 42,481 32,774

Total, 331 metropolitan areas......................... 862 732 153,539 126,274

Chicago, Ill. .............................................. 90 84 17,613 17,159

Detroit, Mich. ........................................... 36 36 4,537 5,060

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.-Wis. ............. 41 33 5,413 4,794

Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif. ............... 28 15 10,275 4,649

New York, N.Y. ...................................... 28 22 4,999 3,685

San Francisco, Calif. ................................. 6 11 1,253 2,866

Philadelphia, Pa.-N.J. ............................... 11 19 1,610 2,663

Fresno, Calif. ............................................ 13 7 2,399 2,095

Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. ................ 10 7 1,228 2,085

Rockford, Ill. ............................................ 6 7 1,112 1,928

p
9

2003 to 5.5 percent in 2004, while private nonfarm payroll employment increased by 1.3 percent, or

1,447,000 jobs.

Fifteen percent of extended events in 2004 were permanent closures, accounting for 157,512 worker

separations. When compared with 2003, the number of permanent closures declined by 20 percent, resulting in 53,391 fewer separations. Since 2001, when permanent closures were at their highest, the number

of closures was down by 41 percent and the number of associated separations was down by 58 percent.

During 2004, permanent closures were most numerous in the manufacturing sector, primarily in food

manufacturing. Reorganization within the company was most often cited as the reason for closures in

manufacturing during 2004, accounting for 34 percent of the total.

In 2004, employers expected a recall in 51 percent of the mass layoff actions, higher than a year

earlier when employers expected a recall in 43 percent of events. In 6 of the past 9 years, a recall had

been expected in about 50 percent of all layoff events. Employers in arts, entertainment, and recreation

(82 percent), construction (76 percent), mining (76 percent), and health care and social assistance (70

percent), were more likely to have some type of recall than were those in other industries. Employers in

the finance and insurance sector had the lowest percentage of recall expectation (5 percent), followed by

those in information (12 percent). Manufacturing industries accounted for 34 percent of events and 27

percent of separations for which the employer did not expect to have a recall. These occurred primarily in

transportation equipment, computer and electronic products, and food manufacturing.

Industry. Manufacturing had the largest share of extended events and separations in 2004—29 and 25

percent, respectively. However, these were the smallest shares on record for this industry group. Since

reaching a peak in 2001, the number of manufacturing events has declined by 56 percent and the number of

separations has declined by 62 percent. In 2004, within manufacturing, separations were most numerous in

food manufacturing (61,459), transportation equipment (36,759), and computer and electronic products

(14,867). Compared with 2003, 17 of the 21 manufacturing subgroups had declines in the number of

separations, with the largest occurring in computer and electronic products (-27,503) and transportation

equipment (-21,969). Plastics and rubber products manufacturing had the largest increase (+1,265).

Reason. In 2004, seasonal work continued to be the most frequently cited reason for layoff, accounting

for 33 percent of all layoff events and 34 percent of all separations. A year earlier, seasonal layoffs

accounted for 26 percent of events and 27 percent of separations. The seasonal layoffs in 2004 occurred

1996 ......................... 4,760 948,122 805,810

1997 ......................... 4,671 947,843 879,831

1998 ......................... 4,859 991,245 1,056,462

1999 ......................... 4,556 901,451 796,917

2000 ......................... 4,591 915,962 846,267

2001 ......................... 7,375 1,524,832 1,457,512

2002 ......................... 6,337 1,272,331 1,218,143

2003 ......................... 6,181 1,216,886 1,200,811

2004 ......................... 4,879 956,327 816,259

Table G. Selected measures of mass layoff activity, 1996-2004

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

p = preliminary.

p
10

primarily in establishments engaged in food manufacturing, heavy and civil engineering construction, and in

transit and ground passenger transportation.

Layoff activity due to internal company restructuring occurred largely among general credit intermediation

and related activities, food manufacturing, and telecommunications. Employers cited this reason in 967 events

(20 percent of the total), resulting in the separation of 192,784 workers (20 percent of the total).

Movement of work. In 2004, there were 357 extended mass layoff events that involved movement of

work, either within the same company or to a different company, domestically or out of the U.S. The events

involving movement of work were associated with the separation of 69,979 workers, about 11 percent of all

separations resulting from nonseasonal/nonvacation mass layoff events. Sixty-two percent of events with

movement-of-work involved the permanent closure of a worksite, affecting 48,144 workers. About twothirds of the events and separations were in manufacturing industries, mostly in computer and electronic

products and in transportation equipment. Employers citing internal company restructuring (bankruptcy,

business ownership change, financial difficulty, and reorganization) accounted for over two-thirds of the

movement-of-work events and separations. Among the regions, the Midwest accounted for the largest

proportion of laid-off workers associated with the movement of work (34 percent), followed by the South

(32 percent), the West (21 percent), and the Northeast (14 percent).

As part of the 357 layoff events involving movement of work, 466 specific movement-of-work actions

were taken by employers. Employers were able to provide information on specific separations (53,923 laidoff workers) associated with the movement of work component of the layoff in 375 of the 466 actions.

Thus, the number of separations due to the movement of work ranges between 53,923 (separations in

movement-of-work actions where the employer was able to provide specific detail) up to 69,979 (total

separations in all layoff events that included movement of work) for 2004.

Of the 375 movement-of-work actions for which complete information is available, 7 in 10 relocations

were to other locations within the U.S., and more than 8 in 10 involved moving work within the company.

The separation of 16,073 of the 53,923 workers was associated with out-of-country relocations, accounting

for 30 percent of the separations related to the movement of work and 3 percent of all separations in nonseasonal/nonvacation extended mass layoff events. In out-of-country relocations, Mexico and China were

cited 52 percent of the time as the destination to which work moved. Domestic relocation of work—both

within the company and to other companies—affected 35,171 workers. California and North Carolina led

the list of states to which work was being moved.

Geographic distribution. Among all private-sector nonfarm employers, those in the Midwest reported

more laid-off workers in 2004 than any other region, 295,454. Layoffs in the Midwest were mainly in

administrative and support services and heavy and civil engineering construction and were primarily attributed

to seasonal factors. The Northeast region continued to report the lowest annual number of separations

(177,013). The largest decline occurred in the West (-92,253).

Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California continued to report the largest number of

separated workers in 2004 (204,298). After California were Illinois (107,071), Florida (82,637), and New

York (68,166). These four states accounted for 39 percent of events and 48 percent of separations in 2004

for the year. California (-60,878) had the largest over-the-year decline in the number of separations; Ohio

recorded the largest over-the-year increase (+5,563).
11

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 establishment filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a consecutive 5-week period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is triggered at an establishment, the

employer is contacted for additional information. Data for the fourth quarter are preliminary and subject to

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

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

quarters should not be used as an indicator of trend.

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

The report on Mass Layoffs in January 2005 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 24,

2005.

______________________________
Technical Note

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

program which identifies, describes, and tracks the effects of

major job cutbacks, using data from each state’s unemployment

insurance database. Establishments 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.

Establishments 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

Establishment. A unit at a single physical location at which

predominantly one type of economic activity is conducted.

Extended layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for

unemployment insurance benefits from an establishment during

a 5-week period, with at least 50 workers separated for more than

30 days.

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or

period of eligibility.

Layoff. The separation of persons from an employer as part

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

persons subject to recall and those who are terminated by the

establishment.

Mass layoff. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment

insurance benefits from an establishment beginning in a given

month, regardless of duration.

Worksite closure. The complete closure of either multi-unit

or single-unit establishments or the partial closure of a multiunit establishment where entire worksites affected by layoffs

are closed or planned to be closed.

Movement of work concepts and questions

Because of the employer interview component, the BLS

decided to use the MLS program as a vehicle for collecting

additional information on offshoring and outsourcing

associated with job loss, by adding questions that address

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

company experiencing the layoff has reassigned work activities

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

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

company under formal arrangements at the same worksite; or (3)

to another company under formal arrangements at another

worksite. The type of work activities subject to movement can

include accounting, customer service, cleaning, warehousing, etc.

 “Overseas relocation” is the movement of work from within

the U.S. to locations outside of the U.S. “Overseas relocation”

can occur within the same company and involve movement of

work to a different location of that company outside of the U.S.,

or to a different company altogether.

“Domestic relocation” is the movement of work to other

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

a different company.

 “Overseas relocation” and “domestic relocation” are no

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

mass layoff news releases. Therefore, the data presented in this

news release are not comparable to those that were presented

in earlier news releases.

 Questions on movement of work and location are asked for

all identified layoff events when the reason for separation is

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

vacation layoff events were excluded because movement of

work appears unlikely.

Questions on movement of work are asked after the analyst

verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more than 30

days, and obtained the total number of workers separated from

jobs, the date the layoff began, and the economic reason for the

layoff. If the reason for layoff is other than seasonal or vacation,

the employer was asked the following:

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

this location(s) to a different geographic location(s) within your

company?”

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

was performed in-house by your employees to a different

company, through contractual arrangements?”

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

“Is the location inside or outside of the U.S.?” and “How

many of the layoffs were a result of this relocation?”

Layoff actions are classified as “overseas relocation” if the

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

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

is determined if the employer responds “yes” to questions 1

and/or 2 and indicates that the location(s) was within the U.S.

After asking the movement of work questions, the employer

interview continues and responses are obtained for questions

on recall expectations and open/closed status of the worksite.

Reliability of the data

The identification of establishments and layoff events in the

MLS program and associated characteristics of claimants is
based on administrative data on covered establishments and

unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject

to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors

such as typographical errors may occur but are not likely to be

significant. While the MLS establishments and layoff events

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

asked the employer 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 fourth quarter

of 2004, outright refusal to participate in the employer interview

accounted for 2.1 percent of all private nonfarm events.

Although included in the total number of instances involving

the movement of work, for the fourth quarter, employers in 36

relocations were unable to provide the number of separations

specifically associated with the movement of work, 13 of which

involved out-of-country moves.

Other information

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

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

TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2003 and 2004

Industry

IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV

2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,690 887 1,295 325,333 164,822 236,637 326,328 145,889 178,834 

 Mining ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 – 22 2,479 – 3,588 2,893 – 2,704 

 Utilities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 – 4 859 – 1,840 861 – 1,324 

 Construction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 473 83 376 69,124 10,962 53,421 74,936 12,954 45,872 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 532 305 398 100,175 52,223 69,922 107,344 48,662 58,392 

 Food ..................................................................................................................................................................... 121 54 101 28,315 12,587 23,882 22,682 10,997 17,155 

 Beverage and tobacco products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 ( 2

 ) 7 2,459 ( 2 ) 1,486 2,358 ( 2 ) 753 

 Textile mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 7 7 3,230 1,206 874 3,291 1,372 1,687 

 Textile product mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 7 3 931 812 341 1,135 1,232 321 

 Apparel ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 19 15 4,426 2,925 3,534 3,760 2,276 2,020 

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

 ) 3 423 ( 2 ) 386 306 ( 2 ) 469 

 Wood products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 5 7 2,906 450 704 3,887 608 1,120 

 Paper ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 6 11 1,039 1,079 1,344 1,026 886 1,040 

 Printing and related support activities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 8 4 1,473 1,260 611 1,991 1,298 492 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 – 15 2,280 – 2,263 2,299 – 1,927 

 Chemicals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 9 7 1,762 1,134 653 1,579 1,108 662 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 25 17 2,746 3,602 1,592 3,168 3,008 1,743 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 52 12 28 7,722 2,503 4,265 9,103 2,240 3,597 

 Primary metals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 10 13 4,582 1,085 2,063 6,128 1,076 1,325 

 Fabricated metal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31 31 21 3,794 4,135 2,969 3,925 4,125 2,700 

 Machinery ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 11 15 4,544 2,199 1,997 5,627 1,386 2,429 

 Computer and electronic products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 19 27 5,922 2,967 4,679 5,396 2,825 3,339 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 9 17 3,067 2,219 3,263 2,745 3,074 3,757 

 Transportation equipment ..................................................................................................................................................................... 48 50 48 14,041 8,402 7,939 22,792 8,234 7,543 

 Furniture and related products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 12 23 2,201 2,217 3,540 1,928 1,688 2,876 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 7 9 2,312 1,102 1,537 2,218 880 1,437 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 41 24 15 9,780 3,222 3,771 6,650 2,780 2,067 

 Retail trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 85 62 49 32,092 14,910 19,964 33,944 12,944 7,468 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 45 66 32 9,546 10,127 5,430 9,626 9,050 5,026 

 Information ..................................................................................................................................................................... 50 27 42 14,588 6,717 6,974 15,938 5,730 6,948 

 Finance and insurance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 47 36 28 7,319 11,272 5,443 8,394 7,904 3,583 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 3 ( 2

 ) 903 844 ( 2 ) 422 852 ( 2 ) 

 Professional and technical services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 42 26 25 8,369 5,792 4,996 7,235 4,601 3,641 

 Management of companies and enterprises ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 4 ( 2

 ) 1,384 547 ( 2 ) 1,314 449 ( 2 ) 

 Administrative and waste services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 192 112 145 37,051 26,174 24,954 34,490 23,640 19,427 

 Educational services ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 8 – – 693 – – 792 –

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 33 60 29 4,039 9,893 5,439 4,050 5,979 3,762 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 20 39 11,377 2,605 8,122 4,793 2,649 4,048 

 Accommodation and food services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 62 42 75 13,441 7,801 18,242 11,101 6,000 11,934 

 Other services, except public administration ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 9 9 2,562 1,040 2,275 2,260 903 1,299 

 Unclassified ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 – 2 245 – 399 77 – 104 

 

 

1

 For the fourth quarter of 2004, data on layoffs were reported by employers administrative data, will be unaffected and will continue to cover the

in all states and the District of Columbia. Due to budget constraints in the MLS total economy.

program, beginning with data for the first quarter of 2004, the scope of quarterly 

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

extended mass layoffs and plant closings has been redefined to cover only the 

r

 = revised.

private nonfarm economy. Quarterly information on layoff events in agriculture 

p

 = preliminary.

and government are no longer being collected. However, the monthly reporting NOTE: Dash represents zero.

of the MLS program in the release, Mass Layoffs , which is based only on

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, 2003 and 2004

Reason for layoff

IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV

2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,690 887 1,295 325,333 164,822 236,637 326,328 145,889 178,834 

Automation ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

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

Bankruptcy ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 19 24 4,347 3,620 3,885 2,860 2,601 2,412 

Business ownership change ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 38 21 6,346 12,840 3,300 3,345 6,329 2,320 

Contract cancellation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 26 20 4,211 4,301 3,493 2,169 3,356 1,980 

Contract completed ..................................................................................................................................................................... 207 164 174 38,782 29,340 31,001 44,500 32,468 27,027 

Domestic relocation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 ( 3

 ) ( 3 ) 3,130 ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 4,768 ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 

Environment-related ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

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

Financial difficulty ..................................................................................................................................................................... 56 45 42 12,769 9,619 7,637 9,799 6,441 5,791 

Import competition ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 14 11 4,910 3,240 1,398 5,507 2,744 969 

Labor dispute ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 ( 2

 ) 12 10,568 ( 2 ) 4,424 8,524 ( 2 ) 4,155 

Material shortage ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

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

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

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

Natural disaster ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) – 741 ( 2 ) – 603 ( 2 ) –

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Overseas relocation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 ( 3

 ) ( 3 ) 901 ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 989 ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 

Plant or machine repair ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 4 5 815 633 600 689 496 540 

Product line discontinued ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 9 5 507 1,551 1,276 600 1,369 976 

Reorganization within company ..................................................................................................................................................................... 161 122 107 34,711 27,587 21,444 38,049 23,588 16,819 

Seasonal work ..................................................................................................................................................................... 726 177 605 138,558 29,774 118,684 123,079 24,883 75,821 

Slack work ..................................................................................................................................................................... 190 118 159 25,900 14,501 19,879 40,686 19,334 24,920 

Vacation period ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 14 – 1,293 1,512 – 1,586 1,378 –

Weather-related ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 13 28 3,508 1,864 3,494 4,312 1,869 2,541 

Other ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 35 35 4,755 9,438 7,933 6,494 4,380 5,159 

Not reported ..................................................................................................................................................................... 124 79 42 27,958 13,393 7,104 27,263 12,970 6,901 

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. r = revised.

 

2

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

 

3

 Beginning with data for 2004, these reasons for layoff are no longer used. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

Initial claimants for

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

private nonfarm sector, third and fourth quarters, 2004

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55and over

III IV III IV III IV III IV III IV III IV

 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 2004r 2004p 

 Total, private nonfarm1

 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 887 1,295 145,889 178,834 16.6 11.4 16.8 16.9 48.5 33.8 16.6 16.0 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 4 422 586 72.0 57.7 4.0 2.9 73.7 58.7 14.0 16.4 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 10 370 1,415 1.4 3.4 24.1 22.3 27.8 28.1 18.4 14.0 

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 6 606 915 6.3 5.7 45.7 22.2 53.0 49.8 13.2 16.0 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 4 – 307 – 15.6 – .3 – 30.0 – 17.9 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 108 123 19,851 18,938 10.0 5.8 42.7 43.2 55.0 48.9 16.0 17.9 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 21 ( 2 ) 2,043 17.2 5.3 21.1 32.7 49.7 28.7 7.5 15.7 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 6 1,040 669 19.2 7.3 8.8 7.8 61.0 17.8 21.0 17.6 

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – – – – – –

District of Columbia ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) – 79.1 – – – 90.1 – 3.3 –

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 115 101 20,327 12,202 16.5 13.6 32.2 30.4 52.2 48.2 16.5 16.0 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 13 1,847 1,722 52.1 61.0 2.6 1.8 47.6 53.1 14.4 16.6 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 5 ( 2 ) 414 2.0 2.9 22.6 26.8 37.2 19.6 7.0 12.3 

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 5 1,070 927 .5 .3 27.4 24.7 58.2 45.4 21.4 18.1 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 77 155 13,556 22,391 25.9 14.8 11.0 21.2 44.6 23.8 14.7 13.1 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 34 4,572 4,139 7.9 5.2 1.5 2.3 50.8 26.7 19.5 15.8 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 28 1,445 4,232 6.2 1.4 8.1 4.3 51.1 20.9 13.5 15.2 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 9 808 1,281 13.5 14.5 2.5 8.0 48.8 33.8 13.2 12.4 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 24 1,674 2,362 8.2 9.0 .1 .2 54.3 22.7 16.5 15.0 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 14 1,173 1,398 52.6 51.6 1.4 1.6 36.4 28.0 11.0 13.8 

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

 ) 7 ( 2 ) 956 .7 .5 – .4 10.8 22.4 13.7 13.7 

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 39.8 28.4 1.6 1.9 49.9 45.4 9.4 14.1 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 22 3,828 2,513 9.0 5.1 6.6 3.0 46.4 43.1 15.1 16.2 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 56 91 7,500 11,477 18.8 11.2 3.9 10.0 47.4 31.9 13.7 11.8 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 80 775 9,546 10.6 2.9 2.7 11.8 39.1 17.4 23.6 15.5 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 4 589 261 75.4 53.3 .3 .8 58.9 62.1 14.9 11.1 

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 19 2,384 2,661 22.8 8.6 .7 .6 61.1 38.7 24.1 29.1 

Montana ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 5 – 428 – .2 – 2.3 – 15.0 – 18.7 

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 10 695 780 10.1 2.8 2.9 19.5 36.7 12.6 15.3 18.7 

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 4 – 326 – 20.6 – 18.7 – 39.9 – 14.7 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 5 434 484 1.6 1.0 4.6 1.9 61.8 25.6 18.0 22.3 

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34 44 4,769 5,888 26.0 12.1 14.1 9.6 62.1 32.9 25.0 21.2 

New Mexico ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6.1 3.9 69.2 56.3 57.7 66.0 7.2 12.6 

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 97 78 14,402 10,901 15.9 9.6 9.2 7.0 47.6 31.5 20.0 17.2 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 18 1,924 1,923 41.8 41.4 3.3 8.8 52.1 52.0 15.8 18.2 

North Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 8 – 925 – .3 – 3.0 – 5.9 – 14.4 

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 48 80 6,848 9,887 11.5 10.7 1.7 2.9 40.3 20.2 16.0 11.5 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 4 ( 2 ) 570 22.3 7.5 2.6 44.9 40.5 36.0 19.7 11.1 

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 20 1,397 3,540 1.6 1.0 26.9 36.5 58.7 47.3 24.5 17.8 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 66 77 12,860 14,679 7.6 10.1 2.1 2.0 36.0 41.2 18.5 21.5 

Rhode Island ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 6 389 554 1.5 4.2 49.9 8.3 51.7 42.6 17.0 20.0 

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3 1,224 515 40.3 64.3 .2 .2 57.6 60.8 3.1 1.2 

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

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 8 1,293 1,041 13.5 32.0 – – 36.5 39.2 20.6 17.2 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 32 5,704 6,376 18.8 19.1 39.1 37.3 34.5 34.7 11.0 11.5 

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

 ) 3 ( 2 ) 275 1.6 5.8 4.8 16.7 76.2 28.0 4.8 7.6 

Vermont ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 3 – 183 – .5 – 1.1 – 27.3 – 23.5 

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 12 2,389 2,312 40.3 59.3 6.4 3.2 53.1 64.6 13.6 16.8 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 30 2,309 4,317 6.2 4.8 16.1 38.1 44.8 38.2 16.6 13.7 

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

 ) 8 ( 2 ) 1,004 .4 .7 – – 46.7 36.4 7.6 13.9 

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 47 3,340 7,891 9.2 3.3 6.1 12.5 54.9 19.6 13.1 16.4 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) – .8 – .4 – 40.5 – 38.3 

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 4 3,709 904 ( 3

 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) 60.1 56.0 6.8 3.7 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. r

 = revised.

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

 = preliminary.

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2003 and 2004

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV

2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 

 United States1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,690 887 1,295 325,333 164,822 236,637 326,328 145,889 178,834 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 296 235 248 49,290 33,570 38,652 56,760 37,861 36,827 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 61 38 49 10,237 4,560 9,285 9,919 5,830 5,359 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 235 197 199 39,053 29,010 29,367 46,841 32,031 31,468 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 283 245 251 50,573 42,324 41,776 48,029 39,653 32,892 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 202 169 157 39,475 31,692 27,017 34,188 28,452 19,991 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 36 40 3,032 5,137 5,785 2,308 3,978 4,250 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 59 40 54 8,066 5,495 8,974 11,533 7,223 8,651 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 713 258 561 130,998 49,416 94,478 140,254 41,923 75,210 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 547 220 407 103,955 41,397 71,018 116,233 35,816 55,785 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 166 38 154 27,043 8,019 23,460 24,021 6,107 19,425 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 398 149 235 94,472 39,512 61,731 81,285 26,452 33,905 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 60 15 47 12,697 2,640 12,410 10,471 2,326 5,281 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 338 134 188 81,775 36,872 49,321 70,814 24,126 28,624 

 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, 2003 and 2004

State

IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV

2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 2003 2004r 2004p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,690 887 1,295 325,333 164,822 236,637 326,328 145,889 178,834 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 3 4 513 350 586 498 422 586 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3 10 1,419 370 1,415 1,419 370 1,415 

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 4 6 1,232 548 1,604 1,278 606 915 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – 4 ( 2 ) – 651 ( 2 ) – 307 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 251 108 123 64,403 33,308 37,864 54,183 19,851 18,938 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 ( 2

 ) 21 4,526 ( 2 ) 5,073 3,092 ( 2 ) 2,043 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 7 6 2,987 1,312 1,498 2,181 1,040 669 

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – – –

District of Columbia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) – 486 ( 2 ) – 486 ( 2 ) –

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 107 115 101 21,341 22,124 16,463 17,867 20,327 12,202 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 13 13 4,193 2,267 1,236 3,909 1,847 1,722 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 ( 2

 ) 5 776 ( 2 ) 487 670 ( 2 ) 414 

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 7 5 2,104 1,120 790 3,094 1,070 927 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 184 77 155 38,846 16,086 36,232 33,037 13,556 22,391 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 49 22 34 6,187 6,921 5,021 13,209 4,572 4,139 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 9 28 4,120 908 3,625 4,022 1,445 4,232 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 5 9 2,231 1,659 1,780 2,119 808 1,281 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 17 24 1,554 2,345 2,813 1,024 1,674 2,362 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 12 14 1,966 1,538 2,915 1,502 1,173 1,398 

Maine ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 ( 2

 ) 7 2,263 ( 2 ) 3,558 2,108 ( 2 ) 956 

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

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

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 22 22 3,634 2,364 2,886 4,168 3,828 2,513 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 97 56 91 19,652 8,545 10,912 27,027 7,500 11,477 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 89 7 80 12,600 856 12,433 11,509 775 9,546 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 4 4 374 593 265 266 589 261 

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 12 19 5,658 2,345 3,675 4,084 2,384 2,661 

Montana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 – 5 1,615 – 647 1,163 – 428 

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 5 10 1,315 2,251 1,022 1,187 695 780 

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 – 4 1,058 – 410 900 – 326 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 4 5 513 434 484 513 434 484 

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 62 34 44 11,677 4,266 6,660 12,067 4,769 5,888 

New Mexico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 172 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 172 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 93 97 78 17,649 16,712 11,525 16,549 14,402 10,901 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34 15 18 5,735 2,196 3,133 4,919 1,924 1,923 

North Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 – 8 1,119 – 925 1,100 – 925 

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 114 48 80 18,094 7,527 10,740 20,962 6,848 9,887 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 ( 2

 ) 4 435 ( 2 ) 407 602 ( 2 ) 570 

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 8 20 4,027 1,722 4,138 5,392 1,397 3,540 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 80 66 77 9,727 8,032 11,182 18,225 12,860 14,679 

Rhode Island ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 4 6 737 395 676 846 389 554 

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 10 3 512 1,527 466 564 1,224 515 

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

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 12 8 591 1,849 2,121 520 1,293 1,041 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37 26 32 5,040 3,609 5,001 9,083 5,704 6,376 

Utah ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) 3 1,190 ( 2 ) 433 630 ( 2 ) 275 

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

 ) – 3 ( 2 ) – 183 ( 2 ) – 183 

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 11 12 5,947 2,843 3,198 5,177 2,389 2,312 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 45 13 30 11,150 1,260 5,417 9,150 2,309 4,317 

West Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 ( 2

 ) 8 1,137 ( 2 ) 1,756 1,206 ( 2 ) 1,004 

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 103 17 47 21,176 2,318 8,113 21,998 3,340 7,891 

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

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

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 14 4 516 1,350 284 1,361 3,709 904 

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

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

 r = revised.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance
Table 6. Information technology-producing industries: Extended mass layoff events and separations, private nonfarm sector, 1996-2004

Layoff 

events Separations Layoff events Separations Layoff events Separations Layoff events Separations Layoff events Separations

1996

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,263 246,820 27 6,377 11 9,008 6 900 15 3,541 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,130 209,688 23 4,475 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 10 1,359 4 615 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 847 181,569 28 3,818 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 8 1,710 5 1,290 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,520 310,045 22 3,214 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 8 1,354 9 1,166 

 Total ........................................................................................... 4,760 948,122 100 17,884 20 10,724 32 5,323 33 6,612 

1997

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,141 226,735 15 2,644 7 899 7 504 9 1,602 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,303 280,255 16 2,532 8 863 4 553 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 851 172,392 15 3,091 6 682 6 983 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,376 268,461 18 3,667 4 762 6 475 4 819 

 Total ........................................................................................... 4,671 947,843 64 11,934 25 3,206 23 2,515 18 3,237 

1998

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,115 178,251 29 5,212 8 1,550 7 725 9 1,685 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,333 336,536 37 8,455 5 357 7 1,317 5 650 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 1,028 201,186 63 11,066 5 1,175 12 3,031 5 1,051 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,383 275,272 37 11,336 5 974 7 1,898 6 764 

 Total ........................................................................................... 4,859 991,245 166 36,069 23 4,056 33 6,971 25 4,150 

1999

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,262 230,711 35 4,363 10 1,796 10 1,600 6 1,002 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,194 246,251 28 3,891 7 1,731 8 1,097 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 898 184,429 22 11,546 7 1,141 5 840 ( 6

 ) ( 6 ) 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,202 240,060 18 2,757 5 526 4 807 6 1,430 

 Total ........................................................................................... 4,556 901,451 103 22,557 29 5,194 27 4,344 18 3,930 

2000

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,081 202,500 22 5,195 14 2,717 9 1,402 4 771 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,055 205,861 18 8,862 22 9,114 7 805 7 977 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 817 174,628 10 1,678 12 1,422 4 1,465 6 1,280 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,638 332,973 16 3,070 22 3,521 5 946 7 1,020 

 Total ........................................................................................... 4,591 915,962 66 18,805 70 16,774 25 4,618 24 4,048 

2001

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,546 304,171 91 20,991 44 7,963 22 4,441 24 5,312 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,828 430,499 161 38,986 87 12,943 36 12,109 28 6,386 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 1,629 330,391 142 24,813 55 6,820 39 8,200 36 7,134 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 2,372 459,771 109 17,797 56 8,290 43 10,124 48 11,252 

 Total ........................................................................................... 7,375 1,524,832 503 102,587 242 36,016 140 34,874 136 30,084 

2002

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,611 299,266 84 18,574 39 4,442 32 8,192 42 6,664 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,624 344,606 69 11,764 49 5,454 27 4,870 53 8,538 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 1,186 255,152 76 15,017 42 5,415 34 6,529 42 7,945 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,916 373,307 74 14,298 32 7,071 19 3,645 39 8,987 

 Total ........................................................................................... 6,337 1,272,331 303 59,653 162 22,382 112 23,236 176 32,134 

2003

First quarter ......................................................................................... 1,502 286,947 71 11,900 33 5,689 23 4,402 41 6,591 

Second quarter ................................................................................. 1,799 368,273 54 9,221 27 4,124 21 3,098 29 5,891 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 1,190 236,333 46 6,488 26 4,433 9 1,289 15 2,604 

Fourth quarter ........................................................................................... 1,690 325,333 25 5,080 14 1,984 9 1,619 28 6,635 

 Total ........................................................................................... 6,181 1,216,886 196 32,689 100 16,230 62 10,408 113 21,721 

2004

First quarter ............................................................................................................. 1,339 

r 276,488 27 3,222 16 2,992 8 894 23 4,197 

Second quarter ............................................................................................................. 

r

 1,358 

r 278,380 18 2,959 21 3,576 – – 22 5,295 

Third quarter .................................................................................... 

r

 887 

r 164,822 r 13 r 2,288 r 15 r 1,617 4 430 r 13 r 4,317

Fourth quarterp ........................................................................................... 1,295 236,637 18 2,943 8 1,269 4 563 21 3,082 

 Totalp ........................................................................................... 4,879 956,327 76 11,412 60 9,454 16 1,887 79 16,891 

 

1

 Information technology-producing industries are defined in Digital Economy 2003 , services; computer systems design services; computer facilities management 

Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. services; other computer related services; office equipment rental and leasing; 

 

2

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry and computer and office machine repair.

Classification System (NAICS), are: semiconductor machinery manufacturing; office 

4

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

machinery manufacturing; electronic computer manufacturing; computer storage Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: telephone apparatus manufacturing; 

device manufacturing; computer terminal manufacturing; other computer peripheral audio and video equipment manufacturing; broadcast and wireless communications 

equipment mfg.; electron tube manufacturing; bare printed circuit board manufacturing; equip.; fiber optic cable manufacturing; software reproducing; and magnetic and 

semiconductors and related device mfg.; electronic capacitor manufacturing; electronic optical recording media mfg.

resistor manufacturing; electronic coils, transformers, and inductors; electronic 

5

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

connector manufacturing; printed circuit assembly manufacturing; other electronic Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: wired telecommunications carriers; 

component manufacturing; industrial process variable instruments; electricity and signal cellular and other wireless carriers; telecommunications resellers; cable and other 

testing instruments; analytical laboratory instrument mfg.; computer and software program distribution; satellite telecommunications; other telecommunications; 

merchant wholesalers; and computer and software stores. and communication equipment repair.

 

3

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry 

6

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Classification System (NAICS), are: software publishers; internet service providers; NOTE: Dash represents zero.

web search portals; data processing and related services; computer and software 

r

 = revised.

merchant wholesalers; computer and software stores; custom computer programming 

p

 = preliminary.

Communications 

services5

Information technology-producing industries1

Total extended 

mass layoffs

Year

Computer 

hardware2

Software and 

computer services3

Communications 

equipment4
Table 7. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, 2004

I 

2004

II 

2004

III 

2004r

IV 

2004p

I 

2004

II 

2004

III 

2004r

IV 

2004p

 Total, private nonfarm1

 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 113 86 84 74 19,978 16,240 17,400 16,361 

 Mining.................................................................................................. – – – – – – – –

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

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – – –

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

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

 Manufacturing.................................................................................. 75 57 58 52 12,827 10,999 11,575 11,778 

 Food.............................................................................................. 8 ( 2

 ) 4 4 1,478 ( 2 ) 924 1,221 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) –

 Textile mills................................................................................... 3 4 – ( 2

 ) 810 537 – ( 2 )

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

 ) 4 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 874 ( 2 ) –

 Apparel........................................................................................... 5 4 4 3 1,237 847 613 1,405 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Wood products............................................................................. ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Paper.............................................................................................. 4 3 4 3 295 453 761 380 

 Printing and related support activities.............................. 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 264 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

 Chemicals.................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – 634 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Plastics and rubber products................................................ 5 5 7 ( 2

 ) 1,134 632 1,235 ( 2 )

 Nonmetallic mineral products................................................ – – 3 – – – 467 –

 Primary metal.............................................................................. ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

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

 ) 5 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,010 755 ( 2 )

 Machinery.................................................................................... 6 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 870 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Computer and electronic products...................................... 7 7 6 7 785 1,975 1,331 2,390 

 Electrical equipment and appliance................................... 6 ( 2

 ) 4 4 1,079 ( 2 ) 1,660 960 

 Transportation equipment.................................................... 8 4 7 8 1,977 1,013 1,793 1,440 

 Furniture and related products.............................................. 4 8 ( 2

 ) 8 497 1,026 ( 2 ) 1,863 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing............................................. 4 ( 2

 ) 3 3 739 ( 2 ) 540 692 

 Wholesale trade............................................................................... 3 4 5 ( 2

 ) 675 410 704 ( 2 )

 Retail trade........................................................................................ 4 6 11 ( 2

 ) 540 1,039 2,290 ( 2 )

 Transportation and warehousing.............................................. 5 ( 2

 ) – 3 1,152 ( 2 ) – 619 

 Information......................................................................................... 8 4 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 1,780 771 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Finance and insurance.................................................................. 5 ( 2

 ) 5 6 684 ( 2 ) 735 699 

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

 ) – – – ( 2 )

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

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

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

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – – –

 Administrative and waste services.......................................... 4 5 – 4 647 1,372 – 513 

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

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

 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) –

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

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

 ) – – – ( 2 )

 Other services, except public administration....................... 3 – – – 311 – – –

 Unknown ................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. 

r

 = revised.

 

2

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

 

p

 = preliminary.

Separations

Industry

Layoff events
Table 8. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, 2004

I 

2004

II 

2004

III 

2004r

IV 

2004p

I 

2004

II 

2004

III 

2004r

IV 

2004p

 Total, private nonfarm1

 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 113 86 84 74 19,978 16,240 17,400 16,361 

Automation ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

Bankruptcy ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

Business ownership change ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 7 9 ( 2

 ) 669 1,380 1,391 ( 2 )

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

 ) 3 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 493 ( 2 ) 424 

Contract completed ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 4 – – ( 2 ) 571 – –

Environment-related ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

Financial difficulty ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 ( 2

 ) 5 ( 2 ) 3,492 ( 2 ) 882 ( 2 )

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

 ) 4 4 4 ( 2 ) 913 1,296 515 

Labor dispute ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

Material shortage ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

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

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

Natural disaster ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

Plant or machine repair ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

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

 ) 3 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 373 ( 2 ) 1,033 

Reorganization within company ..................................................................................................................................................................... 58 49 44 47 9,759 8,717 10,491 9,859 

Seasonal work ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 3

 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

Slack work ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 4 4 3 735 1,260 887 515 

Vacation period ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 3

 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 )

Weather-related ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

Other ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 9 13 10 4,191 1,798 2,102 3,217 

Not reported ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. 

p = preliminary.

 

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 

r

 = revised.

 

3

 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers NOTE: Dash represents zero.

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

Separations

Reason for layoff

Layoff events
Table 9. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of

 work, 2004

I 

2004

II 

2004

III 

2004r

IV 

2004p

I 

2004

II 

2004

III 

2004r

IV 

2004p

 United States1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 113 86 84 74 19,978 16,240 17,400 16,361 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 10 11 14 2,691 1,342 2,366 3,126 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 4 3 5 508 613 932 1,211 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 6 8 9 2,183 729 1,434 1,915 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 35 19 23 5,889 6,421 3,116 6,830 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 18 11 17 3,172 3,251 1,853 4,276 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 12 8 ( 2

 ) 956 2,253 1,263 ( 2 )

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 5 – ( 2

 ) 1,761 917 – ( 2 )

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37 22 40 20 6,442 4,503 9,224 3,679 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31 19 36 ( 2 ) 5,165 3,427 8,043 ( 2 )

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 3 4 ( 2

 ) 1,277 1,076 1,181 ( 2 )

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 19 14 17 4,956 3,974 2,694 2,726 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 514 

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

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 13 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,212 

 

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, Kentucky,

 

p

= preliminary. Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, 

 

r = revised. Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Iliinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio,

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

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

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

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

Separations

Region and division

Layoff events
Table 10. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, 2004 

I II III IV I II III IV

2004 2004r

2004r2004p2004r2004r2004r2004p

Total private nonfarm1.................................... 1,339 1,358 887 1,295 276,488 278,380 164,822 236,637 

 Total, excluding seasonal

 and vacation events2................................ 980 787 696 690 213,016 151,010 133,536 117,953 

 Total, movement of work3 ....................... 113 86 84 74 19,978 16,240 17,400 16,361 

 Movement of work actions.................127 112 103 124 ( 4

 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 With separations reported................. 117 82 88 88 16,674 11,098 13,999 12,152 

 With separations unknown................ 10 30 15 36 ( 4

 ) ( 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

Measure
Table 11. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers, 2004

I II III IV I II III IV

2004 2004 2004r

2004p

2004 2004 2004 2004p

With separations reported2......................................... 117 82 88 88 16,674 11,098 13,999 12,152 

 By location

 Out-of-country relocations............ 34 19 18 31 4,906 2,415 3,618 5,134 

 Within company......................................... 21 13 13 28 2,976 1,882 3,222 4,701 

 Different company.............................. 13 6 5 3 1,930 533 396 433 

 Domestic relocations............................... 80 59 68 57 10,815 8,257 9,081 7,018 

 Within company........................................... 64 46 63 50 8,671 5,982 8,831 6,310 

 Different company..................................... 16 13 5 7 2,144 2,275 250 708 

 Unable to assign place of 

 relocation..................................................... 3 4 2 – 953 426 1,300 –

 By company

 Within company.............................................. 87 63 78 78 11,947 8,290 13,353 11,011 

 Domestic...................................................... 64 46 63 50 8,671 5,982 8,831 6,310 

 Out of country........................................... 21 13 13 28 2,976 1,882 3,222 4,701 

 Unable to assign...........................2 4 2 – 300 426 1,300 –

 Different company........................ 30 19 10 10 4,727 2,808 646 1,141 

 Domestic....................................16 13 5 7 2,144 2,275 250 708 

 Out of country..............................13 6 5 3 1,930 533 396 433 

 Unable to assign...........................1 – – – 653 – – –

 

1

 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of 

r = revised.

work were reported are shown. 

p

 = preliminary.

 

2

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

Layoff events1 Separations

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