1

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 06-1061

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally 

adjusted, June 2001-May 2006

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

2006 

Note: Shaded area represents recession period.

2002 2003 2004 2005 

Private nonfarm

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally 

adjusted, June 2001-May 2006

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Manufacturing

Total

Private nonfarm

Note: Shaded area represents recession period.

MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2006

In May 2006, employers took 1,074 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new

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

Department of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment,

and the number of workers involved totaled 109,858, on a seasonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The

number of layoff events declined by 74, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 8,646 from

April 2006. In the manufacturing sector, 293 mass layoff events were reported during May 2006, seasonally

adjusted, resulting in 42,006 initial claims. Both figures were lower than a month earlier. (See table 1.)

In May 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent, seasonally adjusted, compared with

4.7 percent in April 2006 and 5.1 percent in May 2005. Total nonfarm payroll employment, seasonally

adjusted, increased by 75,000 from April to May 2006 and by 1.9 million over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 29,094 initial claims in May, 34 percent of the total. (See table A.) Temporary help services,

with 8,156 initial claims, and food service contractors, with 5,078 claims, together accounted for 16 percent

of all initial claims in May.
2

Table A. Industries with the largest mass layoff initial claims in May 2006

Industry

Initial claims

May peak

Year

Initial claims

Temporary help services........................................ 8,156 2002 16,992

Food service contractors....................................... 5,078 1998 7,267

Motion picture and video production..................... 3,328 1999 8,985

Child day care services ......................................... 2,824 2002 3,894

Discount department stores ................................... 2,092 2002 3,981

Farm machinery and equipment mfg ...................... 2,004 2003 2,320

Professional employer organizations ....................... 1,783 2003 3,446

Other social advocacy organizations ...................... 1,565 2002 2,500

Department stores, except discount ....................... 1,257 2002 2,391

Industrial building construction................................ 1,007 2003 3,463

The manufacturing sector accounted for 22 percent of all mass layoff events and 28 percent of all initial

claims filed in May; a year earlier, manufacturing comprised 25 percent of events and 30 percent of initial

claims. In May 2006, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment

manufacturing (7,657, mostly automotive-related), followed by food manufacturing (3,335). (See table 3.)

Administrative and waste services accounted for 14 percent of events and 15 percent of initial claims filed

in May 2006, with layoffs mainly in temporary help services. Nine percent of all layoff events and initial

claims filed during the month were from retail trade, primarily in general merchandise stores. Accommodation

and food services accounted for 8 percent of events and 9 percent of initial claims in May, mostly in food

service contractors.

Government establishments accounted for 7 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims filed in May,

largely in executive, legislative, and general government and in educational services.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in May 2006, at 872, was down by 114

from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 16,549 to 84,809. This was the

lowest number of layoff events reported for any May on record. It also was the lowest initial claims total

since 1996. The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in transit and ground

passenger transportation (-3,712), transportation equipment manufacturing (-3,249), motion picture and

sound recording industries (-2,242), and specialty trade contractors (-1,996). The largest over-the-year

increases in initial claims were reported in administrative and support services (+2,950) and machinery

manufacturing (+1,303).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

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

West, 27,009. (See table 5.) Administrative and support services, and motion picture and sound recording

industries accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The

Midwest had the second largest number of initial claims, 26,538, followed by the South with 18,518, and the

Northeast with 12,744.
3

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs decreased over the year in all four of the regions. The

largest decrease was in the Northeast (-6,462), followed by the South (-4,175), the Midwest (-4,150), and

the West (-1,762). Eight of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial

claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decreases in the East North Central (-5,961) and Middle

Atlantic (-5,506) divisions. The West North Central division had the only over-the-year increase (+1,811).

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

in May (22,138), followed by Illinois (6,641), New York (4,570), Michigan (4,028), and Texas (3,688).

These five states accounted for 48 percent of all mass layoff events and initial claims for unemployment

insurance. (See table 6.)

Michigan had the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-5,697), largely due to

fewer layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing and in food manufacturing. New York had the next

largest decrease in initial claims (-4,305), followed by Texas (-2,541). The largest over-the-year increase in

claims occurred in Iowa (+2,754).

From January to May, California reported 126,059 mass layoff initial claims, 25 percent of the national

total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were New York (37,956), Michigan

(31,688), and Ohio (31,496).

Note

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

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

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

30 days (referred to as “extended mass layoffs”). The quarterly release provides more information on the

industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.

Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months

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

See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

______________________________

The report on Mass Layoffs in June 2006 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, July 20, 2006.
Technical Note

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

program that uses a standardized, automated approach to

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job

cutbacks, using data from each state’s unemployment insurance

database. Each month, states report on establishments which

have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a

consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these

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

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on

layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis.

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly

unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through

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

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

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

tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks

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

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

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

calendar effect into consideration.

The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it

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

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

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

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

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

Definitions

Initial claimant . A person who files any notice of

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or

period of eligibility.

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for

unemployment insurance benefits filed against an

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

Seasonal adjustment

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS

began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.

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

layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm, and

manufacturing sectors.

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and

removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring

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

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

seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental

changes in time series, particularly those associated with

general economic expansions and contractions.

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

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis.

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly

estimates, including those for the current month, in developing

seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most recent

5 years of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a

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

seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the

original data to adjust them for differences in the number of

weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly

unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form

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

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

the seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal

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

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the final

seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 2002 to May 2006,

seasonally adjusted

2002

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,620 170,724 1,443 156,813 550 70,936 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,635 179,806 1,460 164,944 564 74,834 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,478 162,040 1,324 150,118 569 67,779 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,911 218,875 1,747 203,849 617 80,528 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,774 186,940 1,582 169,660 625 73,904 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,652 178,402 1,507 167,335 613 71,693 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,841 198,678 1,659 184,368 661 84,048 

2003

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,358 131,963 1,168 117,636 387 48,685 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,825 190,928 1,647 178,363 646 78,819 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,782 175,671 1,595 160,170 617 72,409 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,722 174,608 1,564 163,607 640 83,303 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,719 184,003 1,542 170,961 625 86,535 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,716 164,299 1,524 148,542 636 68,143 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,642 163,179 1,442 148,299 580 74,070 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,517 171,861 1,367 158,049 551 74,602 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,562 147,383 1,374 133,383 484 56,472 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,558 156,814 1,336 138,691 427 52,009 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,393 141,383 1,244 129,231 401 50,460 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,426 144,456 1,265 132,324 434 50,994 

2004

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,421 142,704 1,223 124,192 395 48,519 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,293 132,640 1,145 120,811 362 39,360 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,364 140,957 1,234 132,152 407 60,296 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,381 141,909 1,207 126,106 341 37,686 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,189 111,173 1,030 98,230 314 37,405 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,390 141,948 1,226 129,344 360 45,398 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,329 137,724 1,185 126,945 371 53,248 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,436 131,807 1,243 116,672 342 38,192 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,283 125,344 1,155 115,499 344 45,691 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,302 129,237 1,181 119,653 369 47,888 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,350 135,036 1,202 122,954 407 47,517 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,188 120,602 1,038 109,508 293 33,123 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,465 153,676 1,330 143,295 380 58,778 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,135 120,190 1,010 109,964 350 43,966 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,204 133,935 1,071 124,273 384 56,253 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,278 139,575 1,145 128,478 390 60,726 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,194 129,214 1,059 117,660 359 52,055 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,184 128,430 1,065 119,271 349 53,930 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,248 131,136 1,107 118,994 356 49,070 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,145 127,592 1,006 116,011 334 48,904 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,219 283,772 1,975 237,831 438 53,399 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,114 104,584 986 94,798 328 45,475 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,205 120,783 1,074 109,680 359 45,069 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,308 149,565 1,185 138,234 365 49,641 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,113 108,378 985 97,832 274 29,541 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,073 111,468 973 103,268 321 45,073 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,082 118,555 984 110,275 328 49,023 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,148 118,504 1,023 109,150 358 48,086 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,074 109,858 963 101,080 293 42,006 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 2002 to May 2006,

not seasonally adjusted

2002

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,584 162,189 1,266 136,424 336 42,130 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 907 135,271 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 427 48,668 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 352 43,755 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 493 64,655 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 719 92,712 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 984 126,826 

2003

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 822 90,244 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 435 48,161 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 390 41,063 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 499 62,349 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2004

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2005

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2006

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

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

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

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

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

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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

Industry

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

May March April May May March April May

2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ..................................................................... 1,194 1,082 1,148 1,074 129,214 118,555 118,504 109,858 

 Total, private nonfarm .............................................. 1,059 984 1,023 963 117,660 110,275 109,150 101,080 

 Manufacturing ......................................................... 359 328 358 293 52,055 49,023 48,086 42,006 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total1

 .................................................................... 986 921 1,140 872 101,358 111,838 121,589 84,809 

Total, private ............................................................... 915 897 1,098 813 95,006 109,302 118,236 79,738 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ................ 24 41 60 19 1,674 3,125 5,272 1,075 

 Total, private nonfarm .............................................. 891 856 1,038 794 93,332 106,177 112,964 78,663 

 Mining .................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 385 213 

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

 Construction ........................................................... 104 123 98 90 7,885 9,007 6,324 6,116 

 Manufacturing ......................................................... 249 285 296 192 30,424 44,688 39,538 23,570 

 Food ................................................................... 52 73 80 39 5,057 7,519 8,192 3,335 

 Beverage and tobacco products ......................... ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 776 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Textile mills ......................................................... 5 8 14 8 507 951 2,935 780 

 Textile product mills ............................................ 4 ( 2 ) 9 ( 2 ) 260 ( 2 ) 773 ( 2 )

 Apparel ............................................................... 14 10 12 6 1,007 1,012 1,724 525 

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

 Wood products ................................................... 15 18 24 12 2,191 2,430 2,342 853 

 Paper ................................................................. 9 7 5 7 737 668 333 527 

 Printing and related support activities ................ 11 9 9 10 764 616 804 860 

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

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

 ) 5 4 8 ( 2 ) 436 272 464 

 Plastics and rubber products ............................. 9 15 12 5 686 1,492 912 341 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ............................. 7 12 14 5 537 837 914 526 

 Primary metals ................................................... 6 11 11 4 456 3,667 731 448 

 Fabricated metal products ................................. 19 9 16 8 1,363 894 1,083 508 

 Machinery .......................................................... 14 20 10 9 1,129 2,024 1,387 2,432 

 Computer and electronic products ..................... 17 11 13 11 1,678 1,296 946 1,058 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ................. 12 11 7 6 1,715 3,570 762 1,449 

 Transportation equipment .................................. 40 42 39 35 10,906 14,958 14,093 7,657 

 Furniture and related products ........................... 6 5 8 8 603 436 709 709 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............................ 4 7 5 5 262 712 394 615 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................... 13 11 19 11 1,158 688 1,933 847 

 Retail trade ............................................................. 69 65 86 77 5,519 7,315 7,780 7,570 

 Transportation and warehousing ........................... 67 47 152 30 6,782 6,326 19,558 2,270 

 Information ............................................................. 24 28 30 33 6,479 5,779 4,570 4,360 

 Finance and insurance ........................................... 14 22 26 24 1,048 1,610 1,670 1,864 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ........................ ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 411 ( 2 ) 424 

 Professional and technical services ....................... 35 22 41 35 4,895 2,467 5,776 3,019 

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

 Administrative and waste services ......................... 113 120 134 122 9,384 14,361 10,725 12,323 

 Educational services .............................................. 6 ( 2 ) 5 5 460 ( 2 ) 572 384 

 Health care and social assistance ......................... 61 18 21 49 5,205 1,167 1,676 4,598 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........................ 15 14 25 21 806 1,187 1,895 1,257 

 Accommodation and food services ........................ 78 79 74 69 7,719 9,792 7,937 7,535 

 Other services, except public administration ......... 32 ( 2 ) 17 23 3,290 ( 2 ) 2,000 2,078 

 Unclassified ........................................................... 1 7 4 1 42 556 240 39 

Government ................................................................ 71 24 42 59 6,352 2,536 3,353 5,071 

 Federal ................................................................... 12 6 9 9 1,235 757 796 767 

 State ....................................................................... 12 7 10 6 712 844 909 308 

 Local ...................................................................... 47 11 23 44 4,405 935 1,648 3,996 

 1

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

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

 
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2004 to May 2006,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2004

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 988 87,501 878 78,786 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,825 379,403 3,271 332,247 1,358 254,063 41.5 76.5 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 68,972 637 63,102 

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,611 391,934 3,242 361,855 886 148,575 27.3 41.1 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,255 419,612 3,789 385,016 1,427 262,049 37.7 68.1 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,180 427,533 3,876 405,574 1,142 185,486 29.5 45.7 

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

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

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

Second Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,516 380,403 3,095 344,772 1,203 212,452 38.9 61.6 

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

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

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

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,288 525,079 3,848 464,903 1,136 190,119 29.5 40.9 

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

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

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

Fourth Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4,482 462,326 4,004 425,629 1,400 244,943 35.0 57.5 

2006

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

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

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

First Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,885 296,339 2,637 277,086 2,p 892 2,p 129,607 p

 33.8 p 46.8 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mass layoffs

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

May March April May May March April May

2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006

 United States1

 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 986 921 1,140 872 101,358 111,838 121,589 84,809 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 186 124 308 134 19,206 12,955 34,615 12,744 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 22 52 30 4,039 1,849 6,268 3,083 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 159 102 256 104 15,167 11,106 28,347 9,661 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 232 176 177 204 22,693 21,001 18,283 18,518 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 114 95 98 100 9,445 11,298 10,728 8,321 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 51 39 41 51 5,346 4,819 4,108 5,259 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 67 42 38 53 7,902 4,884 3,447 4,938 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 248 259 243 220 30,688 40,581 34,494 26,538 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 193 199 203 157 23,477 32,836 30,704 17,516 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 55 60 40 63 7,211 7,745 3,790 9,022 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 320 362 412 314 28,771 37,301 34,197 27,009 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 36 34 47 28 2,859 3,380 5,769 2,637 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 284 328 365 286 25,912 33,921 28,428 24,372 

 

 

1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

May March April May May March April May

2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006 2006 2006

 Total1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 986 921 1,140 872 101,358 111,838 121,589 84,809 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 7 9 13 1,204 660 741 1,347 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 694 ( 2 ) 

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 7 17 5 1,015 804 2,709 625 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 3 5 ( 2

 ) 514 189 432 ( 2 ) 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 252 283 321 259 22,741 29,527 24,551 22,138 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 ( 2

 ) 6 5 458 ( 2 ) 768 443 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 6 8 6 847 390 673 461 

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

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) 

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 53 44 34 48 3,192 4,033 2,363 3,165 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 20 20 17 1,998 1,880 4,191 1,734 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 9 6 4 241 814 422 359 

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 7 3 4 223 523 349 255 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 44 29 43 3,940 7,478 3,380 6,641 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 20 22 22 2,327 2,559 2,260 1,815 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 7 7 12 485 1,866 987 3,239 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 6 ( 2

 ) 9 764 751 ( 2 ) 685 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 21 17 17 1,601 3,310 2,174 2,065 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 8 ( 2

 ) 12 998 520 ( 2 ) 973 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 4 234 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 314 

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

 ) 5 15 5 ( 2 ) 497 1,277 414 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 4 17 13 2,676 253 2,001 1,692 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 49 50 41 40 9,725 9,395 7,191 4,028 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 10 12 11 1,314 882 814 2,678 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 ( 2

 ) 6 7 562 ( 2 ) 430 495 

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 31 13 25 3,858 3,297 1,008 1,957 

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

 ) 3 3 358 ( 2 ) 220 182 

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 5 4 4 397 774 495 324 

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 9 11 ( 2

 ) 191 1,251 1,053 ( 2 ) 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) 5 ( 2 ) 227 ( 2 ) 504 ( 2 ) 

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 15 53 16 2,650 1,817 6,259 1,591 

New Mexico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 3 ( 2

 ) 4 348 161 ( 2 ) 570 

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 80 36 102 40 8,875 3,566 13,386 4,570 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 8 7 12 1,094 849 568 1,355 

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

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

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 42 32 53 30 3,349 6,956 12,182 3,102 

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

 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 966 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 22 16 16 1,502 2,430 1,296 1,242 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 49 51 101 48 3,642 5,723 8,702 3,500 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,528 ( 2 ) 

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 10 11 10 1,566 1,359 1,314 988 

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

 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 10 9 14 1,979 709 763 1,352 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 49 25 30 37 6,229 3,209 2,354 3,688 

Utah ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 4 4 5 266 274 381 447 

Vermont ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 8 13 4 – 848 1,311 404 

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 6 9 7 1,365 805 830 593 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 14 17 6 1,365 1,150 1,465 570 

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

 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 40 53 58 22 4,136 6,448 5,691 1,930 

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

 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 17 8 60 1,308 1,742 767 14,229 

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

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

State