Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0980 

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

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

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, August 21, 2009 

MASS LAYOFFS IN JULY 2009 

Employers took 2,157 mass layoff actions in July that resulted in the separation of 206,791 workers, 

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 employer. The number of mass layoff events in July decreased by 606 

from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 72,440. Over the year, 

the number of mass layoff events increased by 622, and associated initial claims increased by 54,292. In 

July, 621 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 

72,266 initial claims. Over the year, the number of manufacturing events increased by 166, and associated initial claims increased by 14,618. (See table 1.) 

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Events

Total

Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

 August 2004-July 2009

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Claims

Total

Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

 August 2004-July 2009

During the 20 months from December 2007 through July 2009, the total number of mass layoff 

events (seasonally adjusted) was 41,979, and the number of initial claims filed (seasonally adjusted) in 

those events was 4,297,329. (December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National 

Bureau of Economic Research.) 

The national unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in July 2009, seasonally adjusted, little changed 

from 9.5 percent the prior month but up from 5.8 percent a year earlier. In July, total nonfarm payroll 

employment decreased by 247,000 over the month and by 5,740,000 from a year earlier. 

News United States 

Department 

of Labor 
2

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in July 2009,

not seasonally adjusted

Year Initial claims

Elementary and secondary schools ...................... 20,769 2009 20,769 

Temporary help services 1

 ................................... 20,377 1998 24,601 

Construction machinery manufacturing .............. 13,914 2009 13,914 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................ 8,240 2009 8,240 

Motion picture and video production .................. 7,950 1998 12,310 

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ..... 7,713 1997 14,618 

All other plastics product manufacturing ............ 6,015 2004 8,864 

All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing ....... 5,751 2004 9,691 

School and employee bus transportation ............. 5,553 1997 8,081 

Motor vehicle metal stamping ............................. 4,504 2005 8,198 

 1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.

Industry Initial claims July peak

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in July was 3,054 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number 

of associated initial claims was 336,654. (See table 2.) Over the year, increases were recorded in both 

the number of mass layoff events (+1,163) and initial claims (+136,272). This year, average weekly 

events reached its highest July level in program history; data are available back to 1995. (Average 

weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note.) Nine of 

the 19 major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the 

month of July—construction; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance and insurance; professional and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; health care 

and social assistance; and accommodation and food services. Government also reported a program high 

in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the month of July. 

The manufacturing sector accounted for 37 percent of all mass layoff events and 46 percent of 

initial claims filed in July 2009; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 40 percent of events and 54 

percent of initial claims. This July, the number of manufacturing claimants was greatest in transportation equipment (47,322) and machinery (29,528). (See table 3.) The administrative and waste 

services sector accounted for 11 percent of mass layoff events and associated initial claims during 

the month. 

Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims, 3 reached a series 

high for July: construction machinery manufacturing; professional employer organizations; and elementary and secondary schools. The industry with the largest number of initial claims was elementary and 

secondary schools (20,769), which includes both public and private entities. (See table A.) 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Among the four census regions, the Midwest registered the highest number of initial claims in July 

due to mass layoffs (117,188), followed by the West (102,292) and the South (71,648). (See table 5.) 

Average weekly initial claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in all four regions, 
3

with the West experiencing the largest increase. In 2009, the South and the West reported their highest 

July levels of average weekly initial claims in program history. 

Of the nine geographic divisions, the East North Central (94,516) had the highest number of initial 

claims due to mass layoffs in July, followed by the Pacific (91,051) and the Middle Atlantic (38,332). 

(See table 5.) Eight of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial 

claims, led by the Pacific. This year, the Mountain and the Pacific divisions reached program highs for 

July in terms of average weekly initial claims.

California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in July 

with 82,085. The states with the next highest number of mass layoff initial claims were Illinois 

(25,119), Michigan (23,929), and Ohio (19,704). (See table 6.) Over-the-year increases in average 

weekly initial claims were highest in California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. In 2009, seven states 

reached program highs in average weekly initial claims for the month of July—Arizona, Florida, 

Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, and Utah.

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 August 2009 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, 

September 23.
Technical Note 

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federalstate 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 employers 

which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during 

a consecutive 5-week period. These employers 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-the-year 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 

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). 

Industry. Employers are classified according to the 

2007 version of the North American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). For temporary help and professional 

employer organization industries, monthly MLS-related 

statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client 

companies in other industries. An individual layoff action at 

a client company can be small, but when initial claimants 

associated with many such layoffs are assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a 

mass layoff event may trigger. 

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 employer 

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 1 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, August 2005 to July 2009,

seasonally adjusted

2005

August .......................................................... 1,143 125,536 1,000 113,465 342 47,255 

September ................................................... 2,250 296,913 2,035 252,291 420 55,974 

October ........................................................ 1,109 111,202 991 102,111 320 43,387 

November .................................................... 1,162 113,502 1,027 102,058 325 41,493 

December .................................................... 1,263 136,751 1,135 125,700 358 46,940 

2006

January ........................................................ 1,112 111,601 986 102,359 293 35,390 

February ....................................................... 960 104,045 872 96,317 317 41,810 

March ........................................................... 1,078 118,270 976 109,842 320 48,026 

April .............................................................. 1,198 123,674 1,062 113,849 366 50,747 

May .............................................................. 1,132 116,808 1,013 106,743 312 42,958 

June ............................................................. 1,156 124,955 1,044 115,491 356 45,280 

July ............................................................... 1,204 123,172 1,077 113,324 381 50,109 

August .......................................................... 1,278 136,289 1,117 125,064 376 60,524 

September ................................................... 1,167 124,083 1,054 115,451 390 46,470 

October ........................................................ 1,195 121,439 1,081 112,777 401 53,597 

November .................................................... 1,209 131,459 1,096 122,136 402 57,084 

December .................................................... 1,201 133,311 1,100 124,019 369 51,113 

2007

January ........................................................ 1,261 129,190 1,116 118,890 406 55,341 

February ....................................................... 1,240 134,524 1,130 126,105 404 58,861 

March ........................................................... 1,261 129,480 1,151 120,923 407 52,356 

April .............................................................. 1,281 130,263 1,145 119,683 381 45,654 

May .............................................................. 1,200 119,259 1,097 111,585 368 48,682 

June ............................................................. 1,256 132,078 1,138 122,726 356 41,135 

July ............................................................... 1,288 131,556 1,182 123,322 405 53,318 

August .......................................................... 1,262 125,334 1,162 117,557 331 36,577 

September ................................................... 1,279 125,527 1,183 118,917 440 54,006 

October ........................................................ 1,346 133,514 1,224 124,666 436 57,527 

November .................................................... 1,352 143,419 1,233 134,445 408 56,330 

December .................................................... 1,469 145,916 1,354 136,914 447 56,152 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,476 149,068 1,350 139,076 435 56,579 

February ....................................................... 1,669 183,038 1,532 172,013 526 67,235 

March ........................................................... 1,585 161,497 1,471 151,550 483 65,252 

April .............................................................. 1,344 135,352 1,215 125,074 487 63,247 

May .............................................................. 1,701 180,558 1,563 170,538 538 75,520 

June ............................................................. 1,717 174,748 1,561 162,071 555 79,744 

July ............................................................... 1,535 152,499 1,390 141,239 455 57,648 

August .......................................................... 1,887 188,951 1,735 178,479 626 80,913 

September ................................................... 2,290 240,721 2,114 226,492 643 86,617 

October ........................................................ 2,204 230,330 2,042 216,095 687 92,256 

November .................................................... 2,333 225,639 2,185 213,288 868 100,643 

December .................................................... 2,275 226,117 2,100 212,559 871 105,402 

2009

January ........................................................ 2,227 237,902 2,070 225,490 738 102,577 

February ....................................................... 2,769 295,477 2,628 281,500 1,235 152,618 

March ........................................................... 2,933 299,388 2,751 283,989 1,259 155,909 

April .............................................................. 2,712 271,226 2,519 256,111 1,111 135,252 

May .............................................................. 2,933 312,880 2,736 296,108 1,331 165,802 

June ............................................................. 2,763 279,231 2,536 260,747 1,235 159,310 

July ............................................................... 2,157 206,791 1,928 185,718 621 72,266 

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, August 2005 to July 2009,

not seasonally adjusted

2005

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

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

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

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

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

2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2007

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

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

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

April .............................................................. 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 309 35,229 

May .............................................................. 923 85,816 856 81,153 224 26,527 

June ............................................................. 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 313 36,571 

July ............................................................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 684 101,390 

August .......................................................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 220 23,361 

September ................................................... 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381 

October ........................................................ 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918 

November .................................................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 514 75,413 

December .................................................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 699 91,754 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 488 54,418 

February ....................................................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 361 42,527 

March ........................................................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 333 43,740 

April .............................................................. 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 394 48,188 

May .............................................................. 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 388 51,698 

June ............................................................. 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 309 42,097 

July ............................................................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 760 108,733 

August .......................................................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 414 51,912 

September ................................................... 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 361 46,391 

October ........................................................ 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 689 100,457 

November .................................................... 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 997 107,620 

December .................................................... 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 1,378 172,529 

2009

January ........................................................ 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 1,461 172,757 

February ....................................................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 945 103,588 

March ........................................................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 940 114,747 

April .............................................................. 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 887 100,872 

May .............................................................. 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 1,005 123,683 

June ............................................................. 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 674 85,726 

July ............................................................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 1,133 154,208 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

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

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

July May June July July May June July

2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 1,535 2,933 2,763 2,157 152,499 312,880 279,231 206,791 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,390 2,736 2,536 1,928 141,239 296,108 260,747 185,718 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 455 1,331 1,235 621 57,648 165,802 159,310 72,266 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 1,891 2,738 2,519 3,054 200,382 289,628 256,357 336,654 

Total, private ........................................................ 1,765 2,599 2,101 2,752 191,309 276,113 219,548 304,108 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 78 27 50 93 5,291 2,066 3,485 7,519 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,687 2,572 2,051 2,659 186,018 274,047 216,063 296,589 

 Mining .............................................................. ( 2 ) 32 15 22 ( 2 ) 3,057 1,147 1,816 

 Utilities ............................................................. ( 2 ) 4 4 3 ( 2 ) 466 246 446 

 Construction .................................................... 72 255 136 170 4,941 19,684 9,343 12,415 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 760 1,005 674 1,133 108,733 123,683 85,726 154,208 

 Food ............................................................ 49 65 48 67 4,844 7,211 4,395 8,076 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) 607 ( 2 ) 624 

 Textile mills .................................................. 15 13 11 21 1,286 1,059 1,563 2,424 

 Textile product mills ..................................... 5 8 4 8 560 775 214 875 

 Apparel ........................................................ 24 17 16 26 2,048 1,360 1,683 2,926 

 Leather and allied products ......................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 184 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 306 

 Wood products ............................................ 38 43 29 42 4,044 4,219 2,435 3,453 

 Paper ........................................................... 10 30 13 17 1,239 3,854 968 1,439 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 12 34 18 16 947 3,521 1,552 1,950 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 373 

 Chemicals .................................................... 13 23 13 19 999 2,146 1,013 1,722 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 62 52 35 74 6,804 5,187 3,697 9,776 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 16 35 25 29 1,412 2,388 1,645 3,044 

 Primary metals ............................................. 41 77 45 89 4,606 8,785 6,496 9,850 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 71 100 74 114 7,007 9,483 6,846 10,798 

 Machinery .................................................... 45 118 74 132 5,042 12,472 14,644 29,528 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 30 60 63 77 2,498 5,732 6,145 7,823 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 21 37 30 45 3,052 3,506 4,344 5,992 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 269 238 139 275 57,761 46,816 24,865 47,322 

 Furniture and related products .................... 18 24 24 35 2,397 2,568 2,337 3,311 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 15 17 9 29 1,751 1,402 644 2,596 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 22 64 50 78 1,926 6,022 4,858 6,201 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 116 202 155 161 9,450 18,360 15,318 17,388 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 107 89 184 131 11,182 7,835 23,792 11,279 

 Information ....................................................... 42 67 53 90 4,069 9,132 6,018 13,941 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 55 71 34 84 4,256 6,374 2,239 6,700 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 11 14 20 12 792 985 1,590 819 

 Professional and technical services ................ 40 83 53 95 3,147 7,030 4,503 10,555 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 4 12 8 14 313 1,329 1,164 2,289 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 259 310 239 351 22,921 32,973 19,150 35,419 

 Educational services ........................................ 18 10 28 31 1,388 758 2,295 2,540 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 65 87 173 101 4,263 8,402 13,948 7,010 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 27 37 45 38 2,136 2,676 2,671 2,611 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 78 189 136 124 5,803 21,484 18,499 9,651 

 Other services, except public administration ... 7 41 42 19 419 3,797 3,424 1,212 

 Unclassified .................................................... – – 2 2 – – 132 89 

Government ......................................................... 126 139 418 302 9,073 13,515 36,809 32,546 

 Federal ............................................................ 4 37 15 10 306 4,585 1,124 845 

 State ................................................................ 26 25 38 39 2,179 2,185 2,821 3,297 

 Local ................................................................ 96 77 365 253 6,588 6,745 32,864 28,404 

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

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2007 to July 2009,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants

2007

July ............................................ 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 

August ........................................ 963 93,458 908 88,345 

September ................................. 717 67,385 667 64,026 

Third Quarter ............................. 3,279 336,262 3,025 317,310 1,018 173,077 33.7 54.5 

October ...................................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 

November .................................. 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 

December .................................. 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 5,049 530,889 4,593 495,798 1,814 347,151 39.5 70.0 

2008

January ...................................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 

February .................................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 

March ......................................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 

First Quarter ............................... 4,005 388,552 3,737 367,925 1,340 259,292 35.9 70.5 

April ............................................ 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 

May ............................................ 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 

June ........................................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 

Second Quarter ......................... 4,446 457,023 3,925 413,003 1,756 r

 339,629 44.7 82.2 

July ............................................ 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 

August ........................................ 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 

September ................................. 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 

Third Quarter ............................. 4,610 469,967 4,232 441,669 1,582 r

 304,316 37.4 r 68.9

October ...................................... 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 

November .................................. 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 

December .................................. 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 8,076 814,678 7,538 772,430 r

 3,582 r 765,019 r 47.5 r 99.0

2009

January ...................................... 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 

February .................................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 

March ......................................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 

First Quarter ............................... 8,259 835,638 7,913 807,445 r

 3,979 r 830,028 r 50.3 r 102.8

April ............................................ 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 

May ............................................ 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 

June ........................................... 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 

Second Quarter ......................... 7,804 802,915 7,008 733,431 2,p 2,994 2,p 506,533 p

 42.7 p 69.1 

July ............................................ 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 

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

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

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

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

 2

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

data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

Mass layoffs

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

July May June July July May June July

2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009

 United States 1

 ......................................... 1,891 2,738 2,519 3,054 200,382 289,628 256,357 336,654 

Northeast .......................................................... 281 451 428 511 25,506 41,413 46,593 45,526 

 New England ................................................ 34 67 63 82 2,658 5,865 6,516 7,194 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 247 384 365 429 22,848 35,548 40,077 38,332 

South ................................................................ 450 742 620 725 48,440 72,375 61,962 71,648 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 218 370 354 389 17,556 34,117 31,988 34,220 

 East South Central ....................................... 161 171 128 213 21,721 18,081 16,589 25,153 

 West South Central ...................................... 71 201 138 123 9,163 20,177 13,385 12,275 

Midwest ............................................................ 606 826 592 805 84,535 105,264 76,301 117,188 

 East North Central ........................................ 528 649 469 635 75,373 84,281 59,347 94,516 

 West North Central ....................................... 78 177 123 170 9,162 20,983 16,954 22,672 

West ................................................................. 554 719 879 1,013 41,901 70,576 71,501 102,292 

 Mountain ....................................................... 49 135 90 112 4,519 13,290 7,184 11,241 

 Pacific ........................................................... 505 584 789 901 37,382 57,286 64,317 91,051 

 1

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

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

comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas,

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota;

and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 

Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon,

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington.

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

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

July May June July July May June July

2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009

 Total 1

 .............................................. 1,891 2,738 2,519 3,054 200,382 289,628 256,357 336,654 

Alabama ............................................. 67 40 49 75 7,072 4,037 7,837 8,324 

Alaska ................................................. – 12 6 ( 2 ) – 1,230 431 ( 2 )

Arizona ............................................... 15 28 27 35 1,422 2,484 2,137 3,469 

Arkansas ............................................. 13 18 8 11 1,606 2,319 583 1,033 

California ............................................ 460 487 714 812 33,250 47,091 56,138 82,085 

Colorado ............................................. 4 15 11 15 343 1,762 832 1,536 

Connecticut ......................................... 6 17 15 15 579 1,389 1,487 1,056 

Delaware ............................................ ( 2 ) 3 8 5 ( 2 ) 172 882 347 

District of Columbia ............................ – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Florida ................................................. 123 181 182 192 7,555 12,446 15,785 14,929 

Georgia ............................................... 39 56 43 62 3,949 5,187 3,809 7,636 

Hawaii ................................................. 4 8 10 9 271 900 992 670 

Idaho ................................................... 7 9 5 8 619 680 342 759 

Illinois .................................................. 56 135 116 110 7,674 19,717 20,576 25,119 

Indiana ................................................ 67 86 45 87 8,787 10,416 4,643 10,131 

Iowa .................................................... 16 31 33 48 2,068 4,379 3,765 8,730 

Kansas ................................................ 8 31 15 22 731 3,551 4,071 2,088 

Kentucky ............................................. 63 85 49 97 11,907 9,894 6,240 14,128 

Louisiana ............................................ 10 35 26 21 1,645 3,160 3,005 1,768 

Maine .................................................. 5 7 3 4 359 644 280 256 

Maryland ............................................. 5 10 13 11 443 1,201 1,325 987 

Massachusetts .................................... 16 23 20 31 1,107 2,281 1,777 2,972 

Michigan ............................................. 212 180 121 185 27,672 26,344 12,218 23,929 

Minnesota ........................................... 12 38 26 31 1,452 4,224 2,318 3,229 

Mississippi .......................................... 13 9 11 14 1,330 726 895 803 

Missouri .............................................. 39 54 39 61 3,763 6,336 5,446 7,647 

Montana .............................................. 4 7 6 5 234 856 476 481 

Nebraska ............................................ ( 2 ) 13 3 4 ( 2 ) 1,306 658 418 

Nevada ............................................... 15 52 18 37 1,637 5,297 1,686 3,212 

New Hampshire .................................. 4 7 5 17 426 526 630 1,564 

New Jersey ......................................... 56 45 88 101 4,110 4,394 14,033 8,366 

New Mexico ........................................ ( 2 ) 13 15 5 ( 2 ) 1,089 1,013 252 

New York ............................................ 103 112 83 126 10,764 10,762 7,681 11,886 

North Carolina .................................... 12 33 28 23 1,128 5,351 2,505 1,950 

North Dakota ...................................... ( 2 ) 8 6 4 ( 2 ) 869 640 560 

Ohio .................................................... 117 145 94 138 19,402 16,920 10,818 19,704 

Oklahoma ........................................... 5 13 11 16 575 1,772 1,052 2,013 

Oregon ................................................ 25 41 43 49 2,498 4,775 5,525 5,492 

Pennsylvania ...................................... 88 227 194 202 7,974 20,392 18,363 18,080 

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

 ) 7 10 10 ( 2 ) 563 1,377 965 

South Carolina .................................... 29 31 38 59 2,958 3,021 4,087 5,359 

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

Tennessee .......................................... 18 37 19 27 1,412 3,424 1,617 1,898 

Texas .................................................. 43 135 93 75 5,337 12,926 8,745 7,461 

Utah .................................................... ( 2 ) 10 8 7 ( 2 ) 1,020 698 1,532 

Vermont .............................................. ( 2 ) 6 10 5 ( 2 ) 462 965 381 

Virginia ................................................ 9 49 31 35 1,475 6,168 2,817 2,873 

Washington ......................................... 16 36 16 29 1,363 3,290 1,231 2,549 

West Virginia ...................................... – 5 8 ( 2 ) – 429 583 ( 2 )

Wisconsin ........................................... 76 103 93 115 11,838 10,884 11,092 15,633 

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

Puerto Rico ......................................... 12 23 17 22 1,227 2,830 1,280 1,826 

1

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

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

State