Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0416 

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

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

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, April 23, 2009 

MASS LAYOFFS IN MARCH 2009 

Employers took 2,933 mass layoff actions in March that resulted in the separation of 299,388 

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 March increased by 164 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims increased by 3,911. 

Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 1,348, and the number of associated initial 

claims increased by 137,891. In March, the manufacturing sector experienced 1,259 mass layoff events, 

seasonally adjusted, resulting in 155,909 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing increased by 24, and initial claims increased by 3,291. (See table 1.) Layoff events and initial 

claims rose to their highest levels on record, with data available back to 1995; events in the manufacturing sector also reached its highest level. 

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Events

Total

Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

 April 2004-March 2009

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Claims

Total

Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

 April 2004-March 2009

During the 16 months from December 2007 through March 2009, the total number of mass layoff 

events (seasonally adjusted) was 31,414, and the number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 

3,227,201. (December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of 

Economic Research.) 

News United States 

Department 

of Labor 
2

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

Year Initial claims

Temporary help services 1 ................................... 9,964 2002 14,338 

Construction machinery manufacturing .............. 7,933 2009 7,933 

Food service contractors ...................................... 6,475 2007 7,636 

Radio, TV, and other electronics stores ............... 5,867 2009 5,867 

Motion picture and video production .................. 4,919 2005 7,192 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................ 4,892 2009 4,892 

Motor vehicle power train components mfg. ...... 4,843 2009 4,843 

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ..... 4,446 2009 4,446 

School and employee bus transportation ............. 4,070 2008 8,073 

Semiconductors and related device mfg. ............. 3,476 2009 3,476 

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

Industry Initial claims March peak

The national unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in March 2009, seasonally adjusted, up from 8.1 

percent the prior month and from 5.1 percent a year earlier. In March, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 663,000 over the month and by 4,795,000 from a year earlier. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in March was 2,191 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the 

number of associated initial claims was 228,387. (See table 2.) Over the year, increases were recorded 

in both the number of mass layoff events (+1,102) and initial claims (+113,846). This year, both average weekly events and initial claimants reached their highest March levels in program history; data are 

available back to 1996. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. 

See the Technical Note.) Thirteen of the 19 major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of 

average weekly initial claimants for the month of March—mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste 

services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services. 

The manufacturing sector accounted for 43 percent of all mass layoff events and 50 percent of 

initial claims filed in March 2009; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 31 percent of events and 38 

percent of initial claims. This March, the number of manufacturing claimants was greatest in transportation equipment (26,012) and machinery (18,081). (See table 3.) The retail trade industry accounted for 8 percent of mass layoff events and 9 percent of associated initial claims during the month. 

Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims, 6 reached their 

March peak. The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims was temporary help 

services (9,964). (See table A.) 
3

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Of the 4 census regions, the Midwest registered the highest number of initial claims in March due 

to mass layoffs (81,957), followed by the South (61,432) and the West (55,505). (See table 5.) Initial 

claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in all 4 regions, with the Midwest (+47,072) 

and the South (+33,335) experiencing the largest increases. In 2009, all four regions reported their 

highest March levels of average weekly initial claims in program history. 

Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central (64,595) had the highest number of initial 

claims due to mass layoffs in March, followed by the Pacific (44,514) and the South Atlantic (27,819). 

(See table 5.) All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by the East North 

Central (+36,748) and the Pacific (+18,158). This year, all divisions except the Pacific reached March 

program highs in terms of initial claims. 

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

with 38,130. The states with the next highest number of mass layoff initial claims were Illinois 

(18,096), Texas (14,284), and Ohio (13,067). (See table 6.) Forty-three states registered over-the-year 

increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by California (+16,318), Illinois (+11,402), 

and Texas (+9,179). In 2009, 26 states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims for the 

month of March—Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, 

Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North 

Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and 

Wisconsin. 

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 Extended Mass Layoffs in the First Quarter of 2009 is scheduled to be released on 

Tuesday, May 12. The report on Mass Layoffs in April 2009 is scheduled to be released on Friday, 

May 22. 
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, April 2005 to March 2009,

seasonally adjusted

2005

April .............................................................. 1,244 134,425 1,111 123,958 396 60,052 

May .............................................................. 1,264 137,475 1,121 124,468 397 54,998 

June ............................................................. 1,196 126,416 1,082 117,568 367 58,003 

July .............................................................. 1,241 130,331 1,094 117,510 354 46,056 

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 

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, April 2005 to March 2009,

not seasonally adjusted

2005

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2007

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

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

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

April .............................................................. 1,219 127,444 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 

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

March January February March March January February March

2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 1,585 2,227 2,769 2,933 161,497 237,902 295,477 299,388 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,471 2,070 2,628 2,751 151,550 225,490 281,500 283,989 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 483 738 1,235 1,259 65,252 102,577 152,618 155,909 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 1,089 3,806 2,262 2,191 114,541 388,813 218,438 228,387 

Total, private ........................................................ 1,063 3,709 2,215 2,140 111,984 380,158 213,548 223,981 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 24 76 42 33 1,837 4,865 2,793 2,584 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,039 3,633 2,173 2,107 110,147 375,293 210,755 221,397 

 Mining .............................................................. ( 2 ) 50 35 31 ( 2 ) 4,538 3,379 3,751 

 Utilities ............................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 234 

 Construction .................................................... 119 388 199 166 7,891 27,762 14,040 11,612 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 333 1,461 945 940 43,740 172,757 103,588 114,747 

 Food ............................................................ 58 84 57 63 7,705 8,083 5,379 6,077 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. 6 6 8 9 540 511 606 1,305 

 Textile mills .................................................. 14 35 19 29 2,745 4,322 1,833 3,108 

 Textile product mills ..................................... ( 2 ) 19 8 6 ( 2 ) 2,811 769 554 

 Apparel ........................................................ 8 33 16 9 544 3,189 1,545 883 

 Leather and allied products ......................... – 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 504 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Wood products ............................................ 30 104 57 62 2,419 9,870 5,348 5,799 

 Paper ........................................................... 9 38 34 27 827 3,977 3,129 2,749 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 9 38 21 23 736 4,187 1,758 2,124 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... ( 2 ) 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 515 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Chemicals .................................................... 3 26 20 21 140 1,883 1,806 1,746 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 27 110 48 60 2,201 11,156 4,878 6,151 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 15 56 40 46 1,224 4,441 2,788 4,095 

 Primary metals ............................................. 10 98 59 71 873 9,660 6,523 8,681 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 20 151 99 88 1,878 13,746 8,735 8,186 

 Machinery .................................................... 15 121 106 110 2,447 14,120 14,921 18,081 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 10 76 78 68 917 6,747 7,439 8,130 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 9 53 35 47 2,692 5,807 5,399 6,476 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 72 316 171 155 14,318 57,173 22,440 26,012 

 Furniture and related products .................... 11 48 44 24 842 6,928 6,333 3,020 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 4 35 20 19 301 3,127 1,607 1,354 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 22 86 62 59 1,624 7,612 4,243 4,696 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 94 329 193 178 9,788 33,622 17,538 19,491 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 92 236 80 91 10,629 25,081 7,864 8,809 

 Information ....................................................... 35 69 72 75 4,316 9,405 8,476 8,559 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 46 88 74 57 3,692 7,683 5,685 4,469 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 5 26 17 16 552 1,870 1,083 980 

 Professional and technical services ................ 24 87 82 81 3,225 7,032 7,895 7,191 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 14 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 990 923 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 130 473 235 227 10,076 46,646 23,566 18,762 

 Educational services ........................................ 6 14 ( 2 ) 8 1,191 1,952 ( 2 ) 467 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 20 41 33 24 1,347 4,279 2,032 1,820 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 8 49 10 17 492 4,421 655 1,259 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 90 197 95 115 10,328 17,360 8,080 13,090 

 Other services, except public administration ... 10 25 18 9 906 2,155 1,083 537 

 Unclassified .................................................... – 1 – – – 49 – –

Government ......................................................... 26 97 47 51 2,557 8,655 4,890 4,406 

 Federal ............................................................ 7 13 7 5 569 1,302 533 470 

 State ................................................................ 7 25 17 11 618 2,155 1,804 1,066 

 Local ................................................................ 12 59 23 35 1,370 5,198 2,553 2,870 

 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, January 2007 to March 2009,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2007

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

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

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

First Quarter ............................... 3,424 345,654 3,139 325,003 1,110 199,250 35.4 61.3 

April ............................................ 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 

May ............................................ 923 85,816 856 81,153 

June ........................................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 

Second Quarter ......................... 3,741 386,070 3,289 347,862 1,421 259,234 43.2 74.5 

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 1,340 259,084 35.9 70.4 

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 1,756 339,184 44.7 82.1 

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 1,582 300,337 37.4 68.0 

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 2,p 3,140 2,p 463,715 p

 41.7 p 60.0 

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 

 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. p = preliminary.

 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more

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

March January February March March January February March

2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009

 United States 1

 ......................................... 1,089 3,806 2,262 2,191 114,541 388,813 218,438 228,387 

Northeast .......................................................... 180 787 348 317 21,202 77,142 32,131 29,493 

 New England ................................................ 14 97 78 68 1,014 8,414 7,744 7,021 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 166 690 270 249 20,188 68,728 24,387 22,472 

South ................................................................ 245 1,052 624 589 28,097 115,630 55,542 61,432 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 139 574 295 276 14,166 58,892 23,842 27,819 

 East South Central ....................................... 53 279 172 158 6,680 32,215 17,840 15,629 

 West South Central ...................................... 53 199 157 155 7,251 24,523 13,860 17,984 

Midwest ............................................................ 287 1,024 561 607 34,885 114,195 64,973 81,957 

 East North Central ........................................ 224 821 434 466 27,847 93,852 52,690 64,595 

 West North Central ....................................... 63 203 127 141 7,038 20,343 12,283 17,362 

West ................................................................. 377 943 729 678 30,357 81,846 65,792 55,505 

 Mountain ....................................................... 43 149 128 109 4,001 12,657 11,381 10,991 

 Pacific ........................................................... 334 794 601 569 26,356 69,189 54,411 44,514 

 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

March January February March March January February March

2008 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009 2009 2009

 Total 1

 .............................................. 1,089 3,806 2,262 2,191 114,541 388,813 218,438 228,387 

Alabama ............................................. 11 100 33 45 927 10,588 4,690 4,985 

Alaska ................................................. ( 2 ) 10 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 788 557 ( 2 )

Arizona ............................................... 9 24 23 22 808 1,941 2,185 2,483 

Arkansas ............................................. 5 13 6 10 867 1,462 1,156 806 

California ............................................ 296 651 515 498 21,812 54,153 45,557 38,130 

Colorado ............................................. 6 24 15 13 533 1,814 1,237 1,578 

Connecticut ......................................... ( 2 ) 14 12 11 ( 2 ) 1,349 824 928 

Delaware ............................................ 4 5 4 4 298 1,052 484 509 

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

Florida ................................................. 63 235 155 107 5,145 19,301 9,779 8,594 

Georgia ............................................... 20 137 45 46 3,302 16,654 3,830 4,152 

Hawaii ................................................. 4 14 15 5 304 998 1,211 376 

Idaho ................................................... 12 21 10 16 1,187 1,746 591 1,664 

Illinois .................................................. 51 130 115 109 6,694 13,443 19,469 18,096 

Indiana ................................................ 27 117 59 68 3,870 10,734 6,776 10,781 

Iowa .................................................... 11 64 33 38 1,051 7,353 4,374 6,140 

Kansas ................................................ 8 21 18 19 1,069 2,447 1,582 2,259 

Kentucky ............................................. 26 80 78 72 4,555 12,492 8,794 7,861 

Louisiana ............................................ 6 29 19 16 411 3,396 1,498 1,411 

Maine .................................................. – 18 4 9 – 1,618 348 835 

Maryland ............................................. ( 2 ) 31 11 8 ( 2 ) 2,535 800 531 

Massachusetts .................................... 5 33 32 25 433 2,782 2,873 2,422 

Michigan ............................................. 41 229 79 87 3,980 26,453 7,392 11,121 

Minnesota ........................................... 9 41 24 30 617 3,289 1,777 3,665 

Mississippi .......................................... 7 25 8 12 493 2,353 458 745 

Missouri .............................................. 28 62 38 42 3,799 5,239 3,538 3,430 

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

 ) 14 11 7 ( 2 ) 1,491 753 667 

Nebraska ............................................ 6 5 7 ( 2 ) 412 1,070 500 ( 2 )

Nevada ............................................... 7 33 43 27 522 2,805 3,881 2,351 

New Hampshire .................................. 3 7 9 9 167 465 1,020 1,213 

New Jersey ......................................... 34 90 47 39 4,007 7,179 3,777 3,217 

New Mexico ........................................ 5 13 13 9 685 822 1,868 858 

New York ............................................ 29 279 82 70 3,436 31,893 8,927 6,974 

North Carolina .................................... 16 41 34 44 1,367 4,149 3,833 6,277 

North Dakota ...................................... – ( 2 ) 3 4 – ( 2 ) 207 1,259 

Ohio .................................................... 52 199 91 93 6,236 27,971 9,065 13,067 

Oklahoma ........................................... 6 21 19 17 868 2,772 1,437 1,483 

Oregon ................................................ 21 76 43 42 3,275 9,005 5,321 4,118 

Pennsylvania ...................................... 103 321 141 140 12,745 29,656 11,683 12,281 

Rhode Island ...................................... 4 17 9 9 303 1,526 1,291 889 

South Carolina .................................... 17 102 33 48 1,659 10,703 3,471 6,157 

South Dakota ...................................... ( 2 ) 6 4 5 ( 2 ) 530 305 323 

Tennessee .......................................... 9 74 53 29 705 6,782 3,898 2,038 

Texas .................................................. 36 136 113 112 5,105 16,893 9,769 14,284 

Utah .................................................... ( 2 ) 19 11 14 ( 2 ) 1,978 753 1,313 

Vermont .............................................. ( 2 ) 8 12 5 ( 2 ) 674 1,388 734 

Virginia ................................................ 14 15 8 14 1,808 3,313 786 1,229 

Washington ......................................... 12 43 21 23 913 4,245 1,765 1,833 

West Virginia ...................................... 3 7 3 4 428 1,127 681 301 

Wisconsin ........................................... 53 146 90 109 7,067 15,251 9,988 11,530 

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

Puerto Rico ......................................... 4 29 28 22 344 2,992 2,282 2,035 

1

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

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

State