Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 08-1146 

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

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

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, August 15, 2008 

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2008 

In the second quarter of 2008, employers initiated 1,534 mass layoff events that resulted in the 

separation of 299,886 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 layoff events and 

separations reached their highest levels for the second quarter since 2003. The total number of layoff 

events was 113 higher in the second quarter of 2008 than the same period a year earlier, and the number 

of associated separations increased by 21,167. (See table A.) Second quarter 2008 layoff data are 

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

Mass layoff activity in professional and technical services and in finance and insurance reached 

second quarter program highs in 2008. Layoffs in professional and technical services were due largely 

to seasonal job cuts in tax preparation services. Finance and insurance layoffs continued to be 

concentrated in credit intermediation and related activities, largely in the real estate credit industry. 

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

share of events (38 percent) and number of separations (141,562) in April-June 2008. (See table B.) 

These seasonal layoffs were due, in part, to the end of the school year. The largest over-the-year 

increases in the number of separations occurred in layoff events attributed to business demand factors 

(+18,868) and organizational changes (+18,356). Within these 2 categories, layoffs because of slack 

work more than doubled over the year to 40,300 separations, and changes in business ownership more 

than quadrupled to 16,852. 

Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 10 percent of all extended mass layoff events and 

affected 33,695 workers during the second quarter of 2008. Fifty-three percent of employers reporting a 

layoff indicated they anticipate some type of recall, down from 57 percent a year earlier and the lowest 

second quarter proportion since 2003. 

The national unemployment rate averaged 5.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the second 

quarter of 2008, up from 4.4 percent a year earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally 

adjusted, decreased by 0.1 percent (-124,000) over the year. 

News United States 

Department 

of Labor 
2

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

2004

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

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

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

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

2005

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

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

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

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

2006

January-March ..................... 963 183,089 193,510 

April-June ............................ 1,353 295,964 264,927 

July-September .................... 929 160,254 161,764 

October-December

r 

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

2007

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

April-Juner

 ........................... 1,421 278,719 259,234 

July-Septemberr 

.................... 1,018 160,024 173,077 

October-December

r 

.............. 1,814 301,592 347,146 

2008

January-Marchr

 .................... 1,340 229,870 256,697 

April-Junep

 ........................... 1,534 299,886 215,808 

 r

 = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs

Manufacturing industries accounted for 22 percent of private nonfarm extended layoff events and 

19 percent of related separations in the second quarter of 2008; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 20 

percent of events and 17 percent of separations. (See table 1.) Manufacturing had 334 extended layoff 

events in the second quarter of 2008, the highest second quarter total since 2003, and 56,212 separations. 

The largest numbers of separations were in transportation equipment manufacturing (16,073, mostly 

associated with heavy duty truck manufacturing) and food manufacturing (10,569). 

Professional and technical services accounted for 5 percent of events and 12 percent of separations 

in the second quarter of 2008, the highest proportion of separations recorded in the program. These job 

cuts were due largely to seasonal layoffs in the tax preparation industry. Layoffs in transportation and 

warehousing accounted for 10 percent of all events and 12 percent of separations and were concentrated 

in school and employee bus transportation. 
3

Table B. Distribution of extended layoff events and separations by 

economic reason categories, April-June 2008p

Number Percent Number Percent

Total .................................... 1,534 100.0 299,886 100.0

Business demand ................. 528 34.4 70,967 23.7

Organizational changes ....... 107 7.0 33,828 11.3

Financial issues ................... 104 6.8 24,853 8.3

Production specific .............. ( 1 ) ( 1 ) ( 1 ) ( 1 )

Disaster/safety ..................... ( 1 ) ( 1 ) ( 1 ) ( 1 )

Seasonal .............................. 582 37.9 141,562 47.2

Other/miscellaneous ............ 195 12.7 26,211 8.7 

 1

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

 p = preliminary.

Category Layoff events Separations

Reasons for Extended Layoffs

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

seasonal factors (seasonal and vacation period) accounted for 38 percent of the extended layoffs and 47 

percent of separations during the second quarter of 2008. (See table 2.) The numbers of workers 

terminated because of seasonal reasons were highest in tax preparation, school and employee bus 

transportation, skiing facilities, food service contractors, and child daycare services. 

Job losses related to business demand (contract cancellation, contract completion, domestic 

competition, excess inventory, import competition, and slack work) accounted for 34 percent of the 

extended layoff events and resulted in 70,967 separations. Separations associated with business demand 

reasons registered the largest over-the-year increase (+18,868), as those related to slack work/ 

insufficient demand/nonseasonal business slowdown more than doubled. 

Organizational changes (business-ownership change and reorganization or restructuring of company) accounted for 7 percent of events and resulted in 33,828 separations during the second quarter of 

2008, more than double the number of separations due to organizational change for the second quarter of 

2007. This increase was due largely to business-ownership changes in the real estate credit industry. 

Movement of Work

In the second quarter of 2008, 60 extended mass layoffs involved the movement of work and were 

associated with 10,957 separated workers. (See table C.) These movements of work were to other 

domestic locations or to locations outside of the U.S., and they occurred either within the same company 

or to other companies. Movement of work layoffs accounted for 6 percent of nonseasonal layoff events 

in the second quarter of 2008. A year earlier, there were 65 layoff events and 11,352 separations 

associated with the movement of work. (See table 10.) 
4

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

second quarter 2008p

Action Layoff events Separations

 Total, private nonfarm ............................ 1,534 299,886 

 Total, excluding seasonal 

 and vacation events1 ...................... 952 158,324 

 Total events with movement

 of work2 ............................... 60 10,957 

 Movement of work actions ................. 84 ( 3 )

 With separations reported .............. 62 6,516 

 With separations unknown ............ 22 ( 3 )

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

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

 Data are not available.

 p = preliminary.

Among the 60 extended mass layoff events with reported relocation of work in the second quarter 

of 2008, 63 percent were permanent closures of worksites, which affected 6,864 workers. In 

comparison, 10 percent of the total extended mass layoff events reported for the quarter involved the 

permanent closure of worksites affecting 33,695 workers. 

Of the layoffs involving the movement of work, 67 percent of the events and 60 percent of the laidoff workers were from manufacturing industries during the second quarter. (See table 7.) Among all 

private nonfarm extended layoffs, manufacturing accounted for 22 percent of the events and 19 percent 

of separations. 

While only 7 percent of the extended mass layoff events in the total private nonfarm economy were 

because of organizational change, such reasons accounted for 53 percent of layoff events associated with 

work relocation and resulted in 4,798 separations during the second quarter. (See table 8.) 

Among the regions, the South (30 percent) and the West (29 percent) accounted for the largest 

proportions of workers affected by extended mass layoffs associated with the movement of work, 

followed by the Midwest (26 percent) and the Northeast (14 percent). (See table 9.) 

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

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

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

two movement of work actions. The 60 extended layoff events with movement of work for the second 

quarter of 2008 involved 84 identifiable relocations of work. (See table C.) An identifiable relocation 
5

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

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

Activities Actions1 Separations

 With separations reported ......................... 62 6,516 

By location

 Out-of-country relocations ...................... 19 2,761 

 Within company ................................... 17 2,537 

 Different company ................................ 2 224 

 Domestic relocations ............................... 42 3,480 

 Within company ................................... 40 3,338 

 Different company ................................ 2 142 

 Unable to assign place of

 relocation .............................................. 1 275 

By company

 Within company ...................................... 57 5,875 

 Domestic .............................................. 40 3,338 

 Out of country ...................................... 17 2,537 

 Different company ................................... 5 641 

 Domestic .............................................. 2 142 

 Out of country ...................................... 2 224 

 Unable to assign ................................... 1 275 

 1

 Only actions for which separations associated with the movement of 

 work were reported are shown.

 p = preliminary.

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

the number of workers affected by the movement. Of the 84 relocations, employers were able to 

provide information on the specific number of separations associated with the movement of work 

component of the layoff in 62 actions involving 6,516 workers. (See table 10.) 

In the 62 actions where employers were able to provide more complete separations information, 92 

percent of relocations (57 out of 62) occurred within the same company. (See table D.) Sixty-eight 

percent of relocations (42 out of 62) were identified as domestic reassignments, while 31 percent (19 out 

of 62) involved out-of-country moves. Domestic relocation of work–both within the company and to 

other companies–affected 3,480 workers. Out-of-country relocations were associated with the 

separation of 2,761 workers, 2 percent of all nonseasonal and nonvacation extended mass layoff 

separations. (See table 11.) 
6

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

second quarter 2007-second quarter 2008

II III IV I II

2007 2007 2007 2008r 2008p

 Anticipate a recall ...... 57.1 37.9 55.8 40.1 52.6

Timeframe

 Within 6 months...... 87.5 83.9 87.9 69.8 83.6

 Within 3 months ... 59.7 62.7 34.2 45.4 56.9

Size

 At least half ............ 93.3 86.0 90.5 73.2 87.7

 All workers ......... 57.2 45.6 50.5 28.5 50.8

 r

 = revised.

 p = preliminary.

Percentage of events

Nature of the recall

Recall Expectations

Fifty-three percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the second quarter of 2008 

indicated they anticipated some type of recall, down from 57 percent a year earlier and the lowest 

second quarter proportion since 2003. (See table E.) Of those employers expecting to recall workers, 51 

percent indicated that the offer would be extended to all displaced employees, the lowest second quarter 

proportion since 2003, and 88 percent of employers anticipated extending the offer to at least half of the 

workers. Eighty-four percent of employers expecting to recall laid-off employees intend to do so within 

6 months. 

Excluding layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period (in which 97 percent of the 

employers expected a recall), employers anticipated recalling laid-off workers in 25 percent of the 

events, about the same as a year earlier (24 percent). 

Size of Extended Layoffs

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

2008 was 195, compared to 196 per layoff in second quarter 2007. Layoff events continued to be 

concentrated at the lower end of the extended layoff-size spectrum, with 47 percent of events involving 

between 50 and 99 workers and 67 percent of events with less than 150 workers. 

Layoffs involving less than 150 workers accounted for 29 percent of all separations during the 

period, the same percentage recorded a year earlier. Separations involving 500 or more workers, while 
7

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

second quarter 2008p

Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ........................ 1,534 100.0 299,886 100.0 

 50-99 ..................... 716 46.7 49,735 16.6 

 100-149 .................. 319 20.8 37,286 12.4 

 150-199 .................. 150 9.8 25,197 8.4 

 200-299 .................. 163 10.6 37,946 12.7 

 300-499 .................. 94 6.1 34,664 11.6 

 500-999 .................. 64 4.2 43,413 14.5 

 1,000 or more ............ 28 1.8 71,645 23.9 

 p

 = preliminary.

Layoff events Separations Size

comprising only 6 percent of the events, accounted for 38 percent of all separations in the second quarter 

of 2008, up from 36 percent a year earlier. (See table F.) 

Initial Claimant Characteristics

A total of 215,808 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended 

mass layoffs in the second quarter of 2008. Of these claimants, 16 percent were black, 17 percent were 

Hispanic, 52 percent were women, 33 percent were 30 to 44 years of age, and 23 percent were 55 years 

of age or older. (See table 3.) Among persons in the civilian labor force for the same period, 12 percent 

were black, 14 percent were Hispanic, 46 percent were women, 33 percent were 30 to 44 years of age, 

and 18 percent were 55 years of age or older. 

Geographic Distribution

Among the 4 census regions, the West recorded the highest number of separations (119,388) due to 

extended mass layoff events in the second quarter of 2008, followed by the Midwest (86,410). (See 

table 4.) Separations in the West, which reached a program high this quarter, occurred largely in 

amusements, gambling, and recreation and in credit intermediation and related activities. The West 

accounted for 40 percent of all separations, up from 34 percent in the same period last year. 

Among the 9 census divisions, the highest number of separations during the second quarter of 2008 

was in the Pacific (92,614). The East North Central division had the next-highest level of separations 

(72,140). (See table 4.) 

California recorded the largest number of worker separations (77,751), followed by Illinois 

(26,475), Ohio (19,683), and Florida (17,216). (See table 5.) After excluding the substantial impact of 

seasonal reasons, California still reported the highest number of job cuts (59,685), the highest second 

quarter level since 2003. 
8

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

II II II II

2007r 2008p 2007r 2008p

Total, nonmetropolitan areas ..................................... 195 179 32,057 29,857 

Total, 369 metropolitan areas .................................... 718 715 107,310 109,698 

 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. .............. 31 41 6,199 8,603 

 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. ......... 91 75 13,719 8,027 

 Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. ............................. 17 35 3,458 6,459 

 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island,

 N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ................................................... 45 20 6,394 4,139 

 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ................ 19 28 1,518 3,678 

 Salt Lake City, Utah .............................................. 4 6 541 3,245 

 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. ............. 20 25 2,922 3,065 

 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington,

 Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. ............................................ 22 18 2,587 3,030 

 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla. ...... 12 22 2,378 3,022 

 Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio-Ky.-Ind. ................. 3 7 1,000 2,509 

 r

 = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.

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

Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 08-01, November 20, 2007.

Metropolitan area

Events Separations

California accounted for 26 percent of all separations in the second quarter of 2008, up from 21 

percent in 2007. Illinois accounted for 9 percent of the separations in the second quarter of 2008, about 

the same as last year (8 percent). 

Forty-seven percent of events and 37 percent of separations (109,698) occurred in metropolitan 

areas in the second quarter of 2008, compared with 51 percent of events and 39 percent of separations 

(107,310) during the second quarter of 2007. Among the 369 metropolitan areas, Chicago-NapervilleJoliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., reported the highest number of separations (8,603) in the second quarter of 2008. 

Next were Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., with 8,027 separations and Detroit-WarrenLivonia, Mich., with 6,459 separations. (See table G.) Employers located in nonmetropolitan areas 

separated 29,857 workers in extended mass layoffs. 

Note

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

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

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

contacted for additional information. Data for the second quarter are preliminary and subject to 

revision. This release also includes revised data for previous quarters. Data are not seasonally adjusted, 
9

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 July 2008 is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 22.
Technical Note 

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

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

unemployment insurance database. Employers which have at 

least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 

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

whether these separations are of at least 31 days duration, 

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

persons separated and the reasons for these separations. 

Employers are identified according to industry classification 

and location, and unemployment insurance claimants are 

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

ethnic group, and place of residence. The program yields 

information on an individual’s entire spell of unemployment, 

to the point when regular unemployment insurance benefits 

are exhausted. 

Definitions 

Employer. Employers in the MLS program include those 

covered by state unemployment insurance laws. Information 

on employers is obtained from the Quarterly Census of 

Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is 

administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

Extended layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for 

unemployment insurance benefits from an employer during a 

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

than 30 days. 

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of 

unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination 

of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a 

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or 

period of eligibility. 

Layoff. The separation of persons from an employer as 

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

involve both persons subject to recall and those who are 

terminated by the establishment. 

Mass layoff. Fifty or more initial claims for 

unemployment insurance benefits from an employer 

beginning in a given month, regardless of duration. 

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

closed or planned to be closed. 

Revisions to preliminary data 

The latest quarterly data in this news release are 

considered preliminary. After the initial publication of 

quarterly information, more data are collected as remaining 

employer interviews for the quarter are completed and 

additional initial claimant information associated with 

extended layoff events is received. 

Movement of work concepts and questions 

Because of the employer interview component, the BLS 

decided to use the MLS program as a vehicle for collecting 

additional information on offshoring and outsourcing 

associated with job loss, by adding questions that address 

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

company experiencing the layoff has reassigned work 

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

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

another company under formal arrangements at the same 

worksite; or (3) to another company under formal 

arrangements at another worksite. The type of work activities 

subject to movement can include accounting, customer 

service, cleaning, warehousing, etc. 

“Overseas relocation” is the movement of work from 

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

relocation” can occur within the same company and involve 

movement of work to a different location of that company 

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

“Domestic relocation” is the movement of work to other 

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

to a different company. 

“Overseas relocation” and “domestic relocation” are no 

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

mass layoff news releases. Therefore, the data presented in 

this news release are not comparable to those that were 

presented in earlier news releases. 

Questions on movement of work and location are asked 

for all identified layoff events when the reason for separation 

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

and vacation layoff events were excluded because movement 

of work appears unlikely. 

Questions on movement of work are asked after the 

analyst verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more 

than 30 days, and obtained the total number of workers 

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

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

other than seasonal or vacation, the employer was asked the 

following: 

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

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

within your company?” 

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

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

company, through contractual arrangements?” 

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

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

Layoff actions are classified as “overseas relocation” if 

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

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

Domestic relocation is determined if the employer responds 

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

was within the U.S. 

After asking the movement of work questions, the 

employer interview continues and responses are obtained for 

questions on recall expectations and open/closed status of the 

worksite. 

Reliability of the data 

The identification of employers and layoff events in the 

MLS program and associated characteristics of claimants is 

based on administrative data on covered establishments and 

unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject 

to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors 

such as typographical errors may occur but are not likely to 

be significant. While the MLS employers and layoff events 

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

asked the interview questions, the employer responses are 

subject to nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur 

for many reasons, including the inability to obtain 

information for all respondents, inability or unwillingness of 

respondents to provide correct information, and errors made 

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

quarter of 2008, outright refusal to participate in the employer 

interview accounted for 2.6 percent of all private nonfarm 

events. Although included in the total number of instances 

involving the movement of work, for the second quarter, 

employers in 22 relocations were unable to provide the 

number of separations specifically associated with the 

movement of work, 4 of which involved out-of-country 

moves. 

Other information 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

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

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

Industry

II I II II I II II I II

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

 Total, private nonfarm1 .................................. 1,421 1,340 1,534 278,719 229,870 299,886 259,234 256,697 215,808 

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

 ) 5 3 ( 2 ) 474 627 ( 2 ) 428 335 

 Utilities ............................................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 757 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 717 

 Construction .................................................... 191 337 227 20,673 36,917 24,789 26,179 45,227 25,431 

 Manufacturing ................................................. 286 422 334 48,619 84,411 56,212 55,393 105,759 47,168 

 Food ........................................................... 56 65 55 10,419 14,777 10,569 10,159 15,120 6,475 

 Beverage and tobacco products ................ ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,436 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,003 ( 2 )

 Textile mills ................................................ 10 12 ( 2 ) 1,462 1,758 ( 2 ) 1,327 8,042 ( 2 )

 Textile product mills 3

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

 ) ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 720 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 591 

 Apparel 3

 .................................................... 9 10 9 1,431 952 1,164 1,493 1,270 1,088 

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

 Wood products ........................................... 10 41 29 988 5,408 3,728 926 7,583 3,621 

 Paper ......................................................... 11 7 11 1,063 595 1,359 1,036 814 1,138 

 Printing and related support activities ........ 8 6 10 1,197 584 1,230 1,004 620 1,534 

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

 Chemicals ................................................. 10 9 11 1,314 1,289 1,430 1,107 762 1,048 

 Plastics and rubber products 3

 ................... 11 21 17 1,347 2,963 2,651 1,198 2,590 2,328 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................... 5 39 12 431 4,269 1,599 510 4,562 1,101 

 Primary metals ........................................... 9 14 7 1,150 2,659 613 1,552 2,489 949 

 Fabricated metal products ......................... 16 27 16 2,246 3,466 1,753 2,527 4,067 1,669 

 Machinery 3

 ................................................ 20 20 23 2,934 3,152 4,055 4,889 3,371 3,016 

 Computer and electronic products ............. 21 23 16 2,479 3,614 2,136 2,710 3,098 1,674 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ......... 5 11 9 698 1,994 2,666 889 3,192 2,001 

 Transportation equipment 3

 ........................ 54 78 74 15,225 30,245 16,073 20,456 41,582 14,528 

 Furniture and related products 3

 ................. 19 20 17 2,551 3,183 3,136 2,129 3,199 3,249 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing 3

 .................. 7 7 6 960 1,555 625 735 834 613 

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 24 35 30 3,904 3,745 4,218 3,183 3,555 2,789 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 64 107 71 20,215 24,119 12,574 17,061 30,260 11,417 

 Transportation and warehousing .................... 172 49 155 40,230 10,260 35,381 43,915 8,512 30,085 

 Information ...................................................... 29 27 37 3,271 7,330 5,649 3,699 5,697 4,904 

 Finance and insurance 3

 .................................. 79 99 69 13,760 18,548 23,839 14,403 19,473 8,904 

 Real estate and rental and leasing 3

 ............... 4 5 7 380 612 611 361 746 594 

 Professional and technical services 3

 .............. 55 39 73 26,456 7,346 36,411 14,864 5,806 14,847 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 5 ( 2 ) 4 478 ( 2 ) 398 415 ( 2 ) 263 

 Administrative and waste services 3

 ................ 77 96 99 12,504 15,642 15,791 12,410 15,799 14,818 

 Educational services ....................................... 14 5 11 1,691 595 982 1,467 618 883 

 Health care and social assistance .................. 170 20 166 23,511 5,302 20,468 20,235 2,643 16,713 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 45 20 51 18,804 2,504 22,126 4,831 1,833 4,528 

 Accommodation and food services ................. 143 63 141 36,079 10,694 32,309 32,724 8,752 25,790 

 Other services, except public administration .. 59 5 51 7,484 524 6,279 7,504 588 5,448 

 Unclassified ..................................................... – 1 1 – 250 465 – 133 174 

 1

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

in all states and the District of Columbia. r

 = revised.

 2

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

 3

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

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, 2007 and 2008

Reason for layoff

II I II II I II II I II

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

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 1,421 1,340 1,534 278,719 229,870 299,886 259,234 256,697 215,808 

Business demand ............................................................. 417 600 528 52,099 91,595 70,967 63,520 124,330 71,209 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... 18 18 18 2,778 2,417 2,387 2,370 2,201 2,070 

 Contract completion ....................................................... 217 227 199 27,921 28,319 25,479 32,770 36,085 25,184 

 Domestic competition ..................................................... 4 – ( 2 ) 561 – ( 2 ) 519 – ( 2 )

 Excess inventory/saturated market ................................ 6 7 ( 2 ) 892 1,559 ( 2 ) 1,072 876 ( 2 )

 Import competition ......................................................... 18 15 11 2,704 2,796 1,433 2,880 2,558 1,071 

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 154 333 291 17,243 56,504 40,300 23,909 82,610 41,808 

Organizational changes .................................................... 79 114 107 15,472 21,674 33,828 17,161 22,606 13,586 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 16 22 17 3,553 4,990 16,852 1,771 2,796 1,381 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 63 92 90 11,919 16,684 16,976 15,390 19,810 12,205 

Financial issues ................................................................ 110 122 104 26,754 26,681 24,853 22,101 23,856 14,684 

 Bankruptcy ..................................................................... 17 26 21 3,035 6,488 8,546 2,065 3,782 4,277 

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ 44 40 46 8,387 6,509 8,752 7,743 9,833 4,904 

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... 49 56 37 15,332 13,684 7,555 12,293 10,241 5,503 

Production specific ............................................................ 20 29 ( 2

 ) 5,887 11,823 ( 2 ) 8,365 8,459 ( 2 ) 

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

 ) 4 3 ( 2 ) 579 264 ( 2 ) 557 248 

 Energy related ................................................................ ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... 4 5 3 684 2,083 267 335 654 245 

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ..................... 4 5 3 1,395 5,194 704 1,657 3,026 643 

 Material or supply shortage ............................................ ( 2 ) 6 3 ( 2 ) 2,356 215 ( 2 ) 2,826 215 

 Model changeover ......................................................... 4 – ( 2 ) 2,286 – ( 2 ) 4,614 – ( 2 )

 Plant or machine repair/maintenance ............................ ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 507 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 416 ( 2 )

 Product line discontinued ............................................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,104 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 980 ( 2 )

Disaster/safety .................................................................. 3 8 ( 2

 ) 306 1,979 ( 2 ) 248 1,891 ( 2 ) 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

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

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... 3 ( 2 ) – 306 ( 2 ) – 248 ( 2 ) –

 Extreme weather-related event ...................................... – 5 ( 2 ) – 986 ( 2 ) – 1,188 ( 2 )

Seasonal ........................................................................... 649 246 582 154,876 43,107 141,562 124,628 42,230 88,743 

 Seasonal ........................................................................ 349 246 346 98,808 43,107 103,207 66,396 42,230 54,178 

 Vacation period–school related or otherwise ................. 300 – 236 56,068 – 38,355 58,232 – 34,565 

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... 143 221 195 23,325 33,011 26,211 23,211 33,325 25,291 

 Other .............................................................................. 11 23 17 1,776 3,466 2,957 1,809 4,685 2,498 

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. 53 63 42 10,888 12,282 6,715 10,843 11,902 6,476 

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. 79 135 136 10,661 17,263 16,539 10,559 16,738 16,317 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

 2

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

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

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

private nonfarm sector, first and second quarters, 2008

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55and over

I II I II I II I II I II I II

 2008r 2008p 2008r 2008p 2008r 2008p 2008r 2008p 2008r 2008p 2008r 2008p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........... 1,340 1,534 256,697 215,808 14.8 15.9 18.1 17.1 36.1 51.9 18.1 22.7 

Alabama ...................................... 13 20 2,825 3,470 57.2 48.8 4.6 2.1 49.8 61.7 17.3 22.2 

Alaska .......................................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 1,110 8.8 5.0 20.9 17.4 29.3 43.9 26.5 27.6 

Arizona ........................................ 5 12 607 1,546 10.4 1.8 22.2 72.5 38.2 57.2 9.6 21.9 

Arkansas ..................................... 10 6 3,194 521 34.7 34.4 9.6 2.3 51.9 88.7 11.3 19.8 

California ..................................... 467 437 77,332 50,319 9.1 9.5 38.9 38.3 36.4 40.9 13.9 16.1 

Colorado ...................................... 9 12 1,480 1,493 7.0 6.3 18.3 30.5 35.2 65.0 16.2 22.3 

Connecticut ................................. 3 22 320 3,205 10.9 14.8 8.4 12.1 45.3 60.9 29.4 28.4 

Delaware ..................................... – 4 – 215 – 43.3 – 9.3 – 83.3 – 34.9 

District of Columbia ..................... 3 4 185 337 48.1 86.9 16.8 6.2 36.2 68.0 25.9 18.1 

Florida ......................................... 60 109 8,531 13,605 13.9 17.8 29.6 31.8 37.7 48.8 22.5 24.3 

Georgia ........................................ 19 14 8,376 1,266 21.7 49.8 11.4 3.1 46.5 46.8 16.6 18.8 

Hawaii .......................................... 6 9 659 2,461 7.9 3.2 13.1 7.2 12.1 42.1 10.9 18.1 

Idaho ........................................... 8 9 940 769 .2 .1 14.3 4.8 27.7 35.8 17.4 20.8 

Illinois .......................................... 98 110 17,166 21,486 25.4 23.0 15.2 10.3 39.1 58.4 15.1 21.2 

Indiana ......................................... 26 44 7,397 6,399 8.0 9.4 4.4 3.0 32.5 48.1 17.6 22.5 

Iowa ............................................. 10 8 3,445 1,077 2.7 11.6 2.0 1.6 37.2 61.2 17.3 24.8 

Kansas ........................................ 7 15 1,619 1,249 15.3 16.4 5.1 1.8 43.5 62.7 19.1 23.2 

Kentucky ...................................... 18 19 1,886 1,790 12.0 5.1 .3 – 27.4 25.1 17.4 22.4 

Louisiana ..................................... 11 18 2,641 2,024 45.7 70.6 3.0 1.3 28.7 81.1 24.7 22.6 

Maine ........................................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 569 2.8 1.1 .5 .2 53.5 36.2 22.0 25.3 

Maryland ...................................... 10 ( 2 ) 1,206 ( 2 ) 26.7 40.7 4.1 .4 26.0 54.2 27.7 18.3 

Massachusetts ............................ 18 23 2,633 3,134 12.7 14.2 1.4 2.3 45.3 61.7 16.3 31.0 

Michigan ...................................... 57 74 20,781 12,061 19.3 18.8 2.5 3.5 26.2 58.3 25.0 19.5 

Minnesota .................................... 16 22 1,694 2,486 4.5 9.5 3.2 6.4 26.4 46.6 15.2 23.0 

Mississippi ................................... 9 12 796 1,115 62.6 56.4 .9 1.6 32.4 44.8 24.7 15.7 

Missouri ....................................... 26 34 4,650 5,721 19.2 19.0 .6 .3 35.4 71.3 22.5 28.3 

Montana ...................................... 5 9 440 653 .5 – 5.0 3.5 14.5 54.8 20.9 31.4 

Nebraska ..................................... 4 5 565 706 .4 10.9 19.3 6.5 21.2 33.4 21.2 32.3 

Nevada ........................................ 11 13 1,791 1,619 5.8 11.2 29.6 28.4 40.6 48.1 21.0 23.1 

New Hampshire ........................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 337 1.3 – 3.3 .6 41.8 45.7 10.5 34.4 

New Jersey .................................. 33 37 5,326 8,485 26.7 17.7 8.8 5.8 49.1 66.2 21.3 33.9 

New Mexico ................................. 5 8 799 613 2.3 2.6 33.9 40.0 23.9 34.1 33.8 20.6 

New York ..................................... 78 21 12,880 3,197 11.9 11.0 9.5 10.7 30.9 57.0 18.5 36.0 

North Carolina ............................. 13 10 2,669 2,302 61.4 34.9 5.3 2.5 50.2 31.0 25.4 15.4 

North Dakota ............................... – – – – – – – – – – – –

Ohio ............................................. 64 81 16,669 12,250 17.0 14.3 3.0 3.0 32.1 51.9 19.4 20.8 

Oklahoma .................................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 550 15.6 8.9 2.8 2.0 42.6 42.5 4.3 15.8 

Oregon ........................................ 11 23 3,658 4,712 .7 1.5 23.9 10.4 34.6 56.1 20.3 28.8 

Pennsylvania ............................... 75 95 16,182 17,335 6.7 9.5 4.9 3.6 35.3 53.0 23.7 32.9 

Rhode Island ............................... 4 9 345 1,084 1.2 5.5 5.8 18.5 50.4 80.1 36.2 36.3 

South Carolina ............................. 9 14 978 1,661 50.7 70.2 .1 .8 53.9 69.3 7.2 9.8 

South Dakota ............................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4.2 – 16.8 1.0 65.8 86.0 15.3 47.0 

Tennessee ................................... 16 22 2,844 2,728 23.9 29.5 – – 50.3 57.7 18.9 38.7 

Texas ........................................... 22 51 4,363 7,654 17.8 16.2 39.7 49.0 30.3 46.1 18.2 15.0 

Utah ............................................. 5 9 608 1,213 3.6 1.6 22.5 15.7 52.0 41.5 10.7 10.1 

Vermont ....................................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 731 1.0 1.0 – .3 33.2 37.2 20.6 18.7 

Virginia ........................................ 14 14 3,881 1,527 22.1 55.7 1.6 4.8 38.5 74.7 21.5 20.9 

Washington ................................. 21 6 3,072 694 5.7 5.2 9.8 13.4 37.8 73.8 16.3 29.8 

West Virginia ............................... 4 7 712 684 .1 .7 .1 – 38.9 36.1 18.0 12.3 

Wisconsin .................................... 27 35 7,102 5,198 4.8 11.6 10.1 3.5 36.4 59.9 18.9 33.5 

Wyoming ..................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – 1.3 – 32.9 27.0 25.3 2.7 

Puerto Rico .................................. 10 12 2,315 2,590 – .1 97.6 98.1 57.5 58.9 7.3 9.0 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. r

 = revised.

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

 = preliminary.

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

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

II I II II I II II I II

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

 United States1 .................................. 1,421 1,340 1,534 278,719 229,870 299,886 259,234 256,697 215,808 

Northeast ................................................. 293 217 221 59,017 32,465 40,813 66,551 38,511 38,077 

 New England ........................................ 63 31 68 13,777 4,839 13,692 10,036 4,123 9,060 

 Middle Atlantic ...................................... 230 186 153 45,240 27,626 27,121 56,515 34,388 29,017 

South ........................................................ 303 232 330 48,599 42,117 53,275 45,673 45,228 41,722 

 South Atlantic ....................................... 170 132 178 27,930 23,492 28,895 25,125 26,538 21,870 

 East South Central ............................... 63 56 73 10,293 10,277 10,565 10,270 8,351 9,103 

 West South Central .............................. 70 44 79 10,376 8,348 13,815 10,278 10,339 10,749 

Midwest .................................................... 363 336 429 75,305 73,442 86,410 74,665 81,278 68,733 

 East North Central ............................... 270 272 344 58,772 61,305 72,140 57,026 69,115 57,394 

 West North Central .............................. 93 64 85 16,533 12,137 14,270 17,639 12,163 11,339 

West ......................................................... 462 555 554 95,798 81,846 119,388 72,345 91,680 67,276 

 Mountain .............................................. 65 49 73 22,257 7,547 26,774 7,482 6,744 7,980 

 Pacific .................................................. 397 506 481 73,541 74,299 92,614 64,863 84,936 59,296 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and 

 r = revised. Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and

 p = preliminary. Texas: East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin;

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

census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,

New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California,

New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and
Table 5. State distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

State

II I II II I II II I II

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

 Total, private nonfarm1 ........................ 1,421 1,340 1,534 278,719 229,870 299,886 259,234 256,697 215,808 

Alabama ................................................... 14 13 20 2,739 2,182 3,295 2,919 2,825 3,470 

Alaska ...................................................... 7 ( 2 ) 6 3,953 ( 2 ) 3,707 1,328 ( 2 ) 1,110 

Arizona ..................................................... 19 5 12 5,141 474 2,295 2,675 607 1,546 

Arkansas .................................................. 14 10 6 2,233 1,809 521 1,875 3,194 521 

California .................................................. 340 467 437 59,345 66,895 77,751 53,458 77,332 50,319 

Colorado .................................................. 13 9 12 13,630 2,141 14,347 1,451 1,480 1,493 

Connecticut .............................................. 17 3 22 5,489 296 5,008 3,449 320 3,205 

Delaware .................................................. 3 – 4 252 – 239 270 – 215 

District of Columbia .................................. ( 2 ) 3 4 ( 2 ) 340 337 ( 2 ) 185 337 

Florida ...................................................... 70 60 109 12,996 10,358 17,216 10,562 8,531 13,605 

Georgia .................................................... 13 19 14 1,718 2,112 1,384 1,895 8,376 1,266 

Hawaii ...................................................... 7 6 9 1,396 2,019 4,300 1,076 659 2,461 

Idaho ........................................................ 5 8 9 543 783 829 462 940 769 

Illinois ....................................................... 89 98 110 22,131 17,736 26,475 20,615 17,166 21,486 

Indiana ..................................................... 24 26 44 3,006 4,396 8,125 3,714 7,397 6,399 

Iowa ......................................................... 4 10 8 358 1,458 952 509 3,445 1,077 

Kansas ..................................................... 13 7 15 1,938 1,389 2,043 1,241 1,619 1,249 

Kentucky .................................................. 17 18 19 2,873 2,049 2,034 3,120 1,886 1,790 

Louisiana .................................................. 19 11 18 2,493 2,100 2,590 2,152 2,641 2,024 

Maine ....................................................... 9 ( 2 ) 5 1,767 ( 2 ) 1,739 825 ( 2 ) 569 

Maryland .................................................. 29 10 ( 2 ) 3,153 1,255 ( 2 ) 3,835 1,206 ( 2 )

Massachusetts ......................................... 13 18 23 2,426 2,771 4,545 1,666 2,633 3,134 

Michigan ................................................... 51 57 74 17,445 14,915 12,246 15,850 20,781 12,061 

Minnesota ................................................ 28 16 22 3,714 2,107 3,399 3,600 1,694 2,486 

Mississippi ................................................ 11 9 12 1,207 2,207 1,280 995 796 1,115 

Missouri .................................................... 42 26 34 9,564 6,326 6,923 11,570 4,650 5,721 

Montana ................................................... 9 5 9 675 442 670 713 440 653 

Nebraska .................................................. 3 4 5 550 607 745 421 565 706 

Nevada ..................................................... 6 11 13 768 1,708 2,646 731 1,791 1,619 

New Hampshire ....................................... 6 ( 2 ) 4 779 ( 2 ) 426 779 ( 2 ) 337 

New Jersey .............................................. 69 33 37 21,452 6,498 12,308 16,263 5,326 8,485 

New Mexico ............................................. 6 5 8 705 649 624 705 799 613 

New York ................................................. 77 78 21 11,049 13,084 4,380 18,145 12,880 3,197 

North Carolina .......................................... 15 13 10 3,279 2,113 4,384 2,561 2,669 2,302 

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

Ohio ......................................................... 78 64 81 12,050 18,236 19,683 12,613 16,669 12,250 

Oklahoma ................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 923 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 550 

Oregon ..................................................... 22 11 23 5,798 1,913 6,157 5,856 3,658 4,712 

Pennsylvania ............................................ 84 75 95 12,739 8,044 10,433 22,107 16,182 17,335 

Rhode Island ............................................ 9 4 9 1,829 363 1,237 1,830 345 1,084 

South Carolina ......................................... 9 9 14 986 1,125 2,425 1,102 978 1,661 

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

Tennessee ............................................... 21 16 22 3,474 3,839 3,956 3,236 2,844 2,728 

Texas ....................................................... 36 22 51 5,490 4,298 9,781 6,186 4,363 7,654 

Utah ......................................................... 6 5 9 724 1,150 4,563 674 608 1,213 

Vermont ................................................... 9 ( 2 ) 5 1,487 ( 2 ) 737 1,487 ( 2 ) 731 

Virginia ..................................................... 24 14 14 4,041 5,384 1,830 4,053 3,881 1,527 

Washington .............................................. 21 21 6 3,049 2,772 699 3,145 3,072 694 

West Virginia ............................................ 5 4 7 1,313 805 824 655 712 684 

Wisconsin ................................................. 28 27 35 4,140 6,022 5,611 4,234 7,102 5,198 

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

Puerto Rico .............................................. 16 10 12 2,035 659 810 4,316 2,315 2,590 

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

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

 r = revised.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance
Table 6. Information technology-producing industries: Extended mass layoff events and separations, private nonfarm sector, 2001-2008

2001

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

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

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

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

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

2002

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

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

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

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

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

2003

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

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

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

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

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

2004

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

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

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

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

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

2005

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

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

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

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

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

2006

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

 ) ( 6 ) ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 

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

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

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

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

2007

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

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

Third quarter

r

 .......................................... 1,018 160,024 22 5,279 6 1,030 4 403 3 276 

Fourth quarterr

 ....................................... 1,814 301,592 9 1,459 4 473 3 381 7 870 

 Totalr

 .................................................. 5,363 965,935 72 13,379 19 2,791 15 1,632 18 2,346 

2008

First quarterr

 ........................................... 1,340 229,870 19 3,040 9 987 3 330 3 329 

Second quarterp

 ..................................... 1,534 299,886 19 3,181 5 618 ( 6 ) ( 6 ) 13 1,673 

 1

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

(U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, 2003). services; other computer related services; office equipment rental and leasing;

In the MLS program, however, computer and software merchant wholesalers and and computer and office machine repair.

computer and software stores are only included in the computer hardware industry. 4 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

 2

 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American Industry Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: telephone apparatus manufacturing;

Classification System (NAICS), are: semiconductor machinery manufacturing; office audio and video equipment manufacturing; broadcast and wireless communications

machinery manufacturing; electronic computer manufacturing; computer storage equip.; fiber optic cable manufacturing; software reproducing; and magnetic and

device manufacturing; computer terminal manufacturing; other computer peripheral optical recording media mfg.

equipment mfg.; electron tube manufacturing; bare printed circuit board manufacturing; 5 The industries included in this grouping, based on the 2002 North American 

semiconductors and related device mfg.; electronic capacitor manufacturing; electronic Industry Classification System (NAICS), are: wired telecommunications carriers

resistor manufacturing; electronic coils, transformers, and inductors; electronic cellular and other wireless carriers; telecommunications resellers; cable and other

connector manufacturing; printed circuit assembly manufacturing; other electronic program distribution; satellite telecommunications; other telecommunications;

component manufacturing; industrial process variable instruments; electricity and signal and communication equipment repair.

testing instruments; analytical laboratory instrument mfg.; computer and software 6 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 

merchant wholesalers; and computer and software stores. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 3

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

Classification System (NAICS), are: software publishers; internet service providers; p = preliminary. 

web search portals; data processing and related services; custom computer programming

Layoff

events

equipment4 services5

Layoff

events

Layoff

events

Software and Communications Communications

Separations Layoff

events Separations

Year

Separations Separations Separations

hardware2 computer services3

Layoff

events

Total extended

mass layoffs

Information technology-producing industries1

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

selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

II I II II I II

2007 2008r 2008p 2007 2008r 2008p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ............................................... 65 59 60 11,352 13,324 10,957 

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

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

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

 Manufacturing .............................................................. 48 34 40 8,820 6,652 6,575 

 Food ........................................................................ 5 ( 2 ) 4 1,329 ( 2 ) 843 

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

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

 Textile product mills 3 .............................................. – – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) 

 Apparel 3

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

 ) ( 2 ) 440 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

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

 Wood products ........................................................ – 3 – – 390 –

 Paper ...................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

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

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

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

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

 Plastics and rubber products 3

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

 ) ( 2 ) 542 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

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

 Primary metals ........................................................ 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 495 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... 4 ( 2 ) 3 1,100 ( 2 ) 338 

 Machinery 3

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

 ) – 3 ( 2 ) – 366 

 Computer and electronic products .......................... 4 5 ( 2 ) 457 1,195 ( 2 )

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,332 

 Transportation equipment 3

 ..................................... 7 8 8 1,830 1,190 1,013 

 Furniture and related products 3

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

 ) ( 2 ) 612 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing 3

 ............................... 4 – – 576 – –

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

 ) 3 4 ( 2 ) 210 578 

 Retail trade .................................................................. ( 2 ) 4 5 ( 2 ) 1,166 454 

 Transportation and warehousing ................................. ( 2 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) 1,734 1,556 

 Information ................................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Finance and insurance 3

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

 ) 590 2,120 ( 2 ) 

 Real estate and rental and leasing 3

 ............................ ––––––

 Professional and technical services 3

 .......................... – ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Management of companies and enterprises ............... – – – – – –

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

 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,091 

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

 Health care and social assistance ............................... 3 ( 2 ) – 258 ( 2 ) –

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

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

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

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

 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1. r = revised.

 2

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

 3

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

 due to a change in NAICS versions.

Layoff events Separations

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

selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

Reason for layoff

II I II II I II

2007 2008r 2008p 2007 2008r 2008p 

 Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 65 59 60 11,352 13,324 10,957 

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

 ) 16 15 ( 2 ) 4,912 4,058 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... ––––––

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

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

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

 Import competition ......................................................... 7 7 7 1,236 1,724 842 

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 4 9 ( 2

 ) 1,005 3,188 ( 2 ) 

Organizational changes .................................................... 29 22 32 4,258 3,654 4,798 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... ( 2

 ) 6 3 ( 2 ) 1,656 634 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. ( 2 ) 16 29 ( 2 ) 1,998 4,164 

Financial issues ................................................................ 20 17 10 4,141 3,704 1,487 

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

 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ 15 10 ( 2 ) 3,275 1,706 ( 2 )

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

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

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

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

 2

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

 r

 = revised.

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

selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

Census region and division

Layoff events Separations

II I II II I II

2007 2008r 2008p 2007 2008r 2008p 

 United States1 ...................................... 65 59 60 11,352 13,324 10,957 

Northeast ..................................................... 13 6 13 1,808 1,381 1,557 

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

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

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

South ........................................................... 25 26 19 4,482 4,878 3,293 

 South Atlantic ........................................... 10 8 11 1,909 947 1,832 

 East South Central ................................... 8 11 5 949 2,237 734 

 West South Central .................................. 7 7 3 1,624 1,694 727 

Midwest ........................................................ 17 14 16 2,716 3,388 2,899 

 East North Central ................................... 12 11 ( 2

 ) 1,810 2,378 ( 2 ) 

 West North Central .................................. 5 3 ( 2 ) 906 1,010 ( 2 )

West ............................................................. 10 13 12 2,346 3,677 3,208 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.
Table 10. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

II I II II I II

2007 2008r 2008p 2007 2008r 2008p

Total, private nonfarm1 ................................................... 1,421 1,340 1,534 278,719 229,870 299,886 

 Total, excluding seasonal

 and vacation events2

 .............................................. 772 1,094 952 123,843 186,763 158,324 

 Total, movement of work3

 ....................................... 65 59 60 11,352 13,324 10,957 

 Movement of work actions ................................. 89 76 84 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 With separations reported ............................ 66 41 62 7,401 6,180 6,516 

 With separations unknown ........................... 23 35 22 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 4 Data are not available.

 2 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers r = revised.

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

 3 Movement of work can involve more than one action.

Layoff events Separations

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

selected quarters, 2007 and 2008

II I II II I II

2007 2008r 2008p 2007 2008r 2008p

With separations reported2 ................................. 66 41 62 7,401 6,180 6,516 

By location

 Out-of-country relocations ................................ 23 15 19 3,537 1,901 2,761 

 Within company ............................................ 22 12 17 3,387 1,602 2,537 

 Different company ........................................ 1 3 2 150 299 224 

 Domestic relocations ........................................ 43 26 42 3,864 4,279 3,480 

 Within company ............................................ 34 24 40 3,254 3,364 3,338 

 Different company ........................................ 9 2 2 610 915 142 

 Unable to assign place of 

 relocation ....................................................... – – 1 – – 275 

By company

 Within company ................................................ 56 36 57 6,641 4,966 5,875 

 Domestic ....................................................... 34 24 40 3,254 3,364 3,338 

 Out of country ............................................... 22 12 17 3,387 1,602 2,537 

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

 Different company ............................................ 10 5 5 760 1,214 641 

 Domestic ....................................................... 9 2 2 610 915 142 

 Out of country ............................................... 1 3 2 150 299 224 

 Unable to assign ........................................... – – 1 – – 275 

 1

 Only actions for which separations associated with the r = revised.

movement of work were reported are shown. p = preliminary.

 2

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

Activities

Actions1 Separations
Extended Mass Layoff Events by Reason Categories1

Second quarters, 2002-08

0

700600500400300200100

2002:2 2003:2 2004:2 2005:2 2006:2 2007:2 2008:2

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

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

p