For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, August 20, 2010 USDL-10-1143 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 • mlsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mls 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

(NOTE: Monthly national Mass Layoffs data for April through September 2010 have been found 

to contain errors in each of the 6 seasonally adjusted series appearing in the charts, the text, and 

tables 1 and 3. Not seasonally adjusted data and regional office news releases are not affected. 

The corrected seasonally adjusted estimates for April through September are located in the Mass 

Layoffs database at www.bls.gov/mls/#data.)

MASS LAYOFFS – JULY 2010 

Employers took 1,609 mass layoff actions in July that resulted in the separation of 143,703 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single 

employer. The number of mass layoff events in July decreased by 38 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 1,835. In July, 307 mass layoff events were reported in the 

manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 33,381 initial claims. (See table 1.) 

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

Events

Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

August 2005-July 2010

Total

Private nonfarm

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Claims

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

August 2005-July 2010

Private nonfarm

During the 32 months from December 2007 through July 2010, the total number of mass layoff events 

(seasonally adjusted) was 63,461, and the associated number of initial claims was 6,357,583. (December 

2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.) 

The national unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in July 2010, seasonally adjusted, unchanged from the 

prior month and essentially unchanged from 9.4 percent a year earlier. In July, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 131,000 over the month and by 52,000 from a year earlier. 
- 2 - 

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in July 2010,

not seasonally adjusted

Year Initial claims

Elementary and secondary schools ..................... 15,685 2009 20,769 

Temporary help services 1

 .................................. 14,716 1998 24,601 

School and employee bus transportation ............. 13,011 2010 13,011 

Motion picture and video production .................. 4,957 1998 12,310 

Automobile manufacturing .................................. 3,901 1996 22,644 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................. 3,866 2009 8,240 

Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ............ 3,100 1998 6,142 

Discount department stores ................................ 3,076 2009 3,995 

Executive and legislative offices, combined ......... 2,987 2009 3,798 

Food service contractors ................................... 2,917 1997 3,016 

 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 2,124 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number of 

associated initial claims was 206,254. (See table 2.) Over the year, the number of mass layoff events decreased by 930, and associated initial claims decreased by 130,400. Fourteen of the 19 major industry 

sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by manufacturing, 

which reached a program low of 64,200 claims for the month of July. (Data began in 1995.) 

The manufacturing sector accounted for 25 percent of all mass layoff events and 31 percent of initial 

claims filed in July. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 37 percent of events and 46 percent of initial 

claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in July was greatest in transportation equipment 

and food. (See table 3.) Eighteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by transportation equipment and machinery. 

The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in July was elementary and secondary 

schools. (See table A.) Of the 10 detailed industries in table A, school and employee bus transportation 

reached a program high number of claims for the month of July. This table includes both publicly and 

privately owned entities. 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

All 4 regions and 8 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims due to mass 

layoffs in July. Among the census regions, the Midwest and West registered the largest over-the-year 

declines in initial claims. Of the geographic divisions, the East North Central and the Pacific had the 

largest over-the-year declines. (See table 5.) 

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in July, followed by New York, Michigan, and 

Illinois. Thirty-eight states experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by California and 

Illinois. (See table 6.) In 2010, Indiana, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Wyoming reached or matched 
- 3 - 

program lows for July in terms of initial claimants, while New Jersey and New York reached program 

highs for the month. 

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 Mass Layoffs news release for August is scheduled to be released on Thursday, September 23, 

2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). 
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; Federal Relay Service: (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 2006 to July 2010,

seasonally adjusted

2006

August .......................................................... 1,238 135,707 1,104 125,704 372 58,962 

September ................................................... 1,154 124,200 1,043 115,261 393 45,972 

October ........................................................ 1,208 123,691 1,094 115,102 409 53,957 

November .................................................... 1,244 135,465 1,128 125,976 413 58,509 

December .................................................... 1,227 134,176 1,123 124,570 376 51,403 

2007

January ........................................................ 1,264 130,834 1,113 119,874 404 55,217 

February ....................................................... 1,191 121,289 1,075 112,607 374 54,581 

March ........................................................... 1,225 126,391 1,113 117,760 386 48,298 

April .............................................................. 1,268 129,098 1,135 118,175 362 43,205 

May .............................................................. 1,172 118,648 1,070 111,103 345 44,391 

June ............................................................. 1,241 131,394 1,125 122,123 338 37,931 

July ............................................................... 1,274 130,331 1,169 122,381 403 55,973 

August .......................................................... 1,247 126,108 1,158 118,575 323 34,902 

September ................................................... 1,255 123,632 1,160 116,744 436 51,814 

October ........................................................ 1,370 137,108 1,248 128,387 449 58,360 

November .................................................... 1,415 148,952 1,289 139,665 424 58,543 

December .................................................... 1,569 155,095 1,448 145,666 483 60,368 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,481 151,269 1,348 140,570 436 57,147 

February ....................................................... 1,578 162,152 1,432 150,712 470 60,276 

March ........................................................... 1,487 151,539 1,372 141,574 436 56,919 

April .............................................................. 1,327 133,318 1,201 122,651 460 59,377 

May .............................................................. 1,604 170,619 1,465 160,529 468 62,345 

June ............................................................. 1,674 170,329 1,523 158,084 501 68,403 

July ............................................................... 1,531 152,447 1,389 141,707 461 61,417 

August .......................................................... 1,845 189,798 1,711 179,737 607 78,172 

September ................................................... 2,222 235,755 2,049 220,832 634 81,989 

October ........................................................ 2,287 239,768 2,125 226,098 721 95,301 

November .................................................... 2,489 240,181 2,334 227,368 929 107,072 

December .................................................... 2,461 243,505 2,277 229,171 962 115,961 

2009

January ........................................................ 2,279 251,807 2,115 238,990 764 109,124 

February ....................................................... 2,737 289,162 2,592 274,040 1,186 141,264 

March ........................................................... 2,913 295,970 2,715 279,671 1,202 146,381 

April .............................................................. 2,663 263,162 2,461 247,329 1,033 125,093 

May .............................................................. 2,794 306,788 2,589 289,012 1,183 145,166 

June ............................................................. 2,598 260,596 2,371 241,864 1,072 135,844 

July ............................................................... 2,039 196,578 1,818 176,542 565 66,918 

August .......................................................... 2,480 238,911 2,244 218,425 798 87,201 

September ................................................... 2,326 221,639 2,109 204,462 783 90,440 

October ........................................................ 2,055 205,502 1,856 187,880 594 65,801 

November .................................................... 1,813 163,823 1,650 151,810 485 54,858 

December .................................................... 1,726 153,127 1,542 138,747 433 44,072 

2010

January ........................................................ 1,761 182,261 1,585 168,466 486 62,556 

February ....................................................... 1,570 155,718 1,406 142,240 376 43,100 

March ........................................................... 1,628 150,864 1,432 136,446 356 39,290 

April .............................................................. 1,856 200,870 1,686 185,150 448 63,616 

May .............................................................. 1,412 135,789 1,200 119,822 266 22,577 

June ............................................................. 1,647 145,538 1,436 127,928 298 29,384 

July ............................................................... 1,609 143,703 1,369 121,770 307 33,381 

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, August 2006 to July 2010,

not seasonally adjusted

2006

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 

August .......................................................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 436 41,151 

September ................................................... 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 448 51,126 

October ........................................................ 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 566 69,655 

November .................................................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 517 55,053 

December .................................................... 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 615 64,540 

2010

January ........................................................ 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 962 104,846 

February ....................................................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 282 30,728 

March ........................................................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 273 29,745 

April .............................................................. 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 424 55,178 

May .............................................................. 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 216 19,334 

June ............................................................. 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 212 21,083 

July ............................................................... 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 532 64,200 

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events 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

2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 2,039 1,412 1,647 1,609 196,578 135,789 145,538 143,703 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,818 1,200 1,436 1,369 176,542 119,822 127,928 121,770 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 565 266 298 307 66,918 22,577 29,384 33,381 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 3,054 1,354 1,861 2,124 336,654 123,333 171,190 206,254 

Total, private ........................................................ 2,752 1,197 1,398 1,832 304,108 110,968 128,691 179,524 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 93 27 43 100 7,519 1,765 2,819 7,276 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 2,659 1,170 1,355 1,732 296,589 109,203 125,872 172,248 

 Mining .............................................................. 22 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 1,816 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 394 

 Utilities ............................................................. 3 5 5 6 446 449 343 689 

 Construction .................................................... 170 159 121 135 12,415 12,129 8,405 9,570 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 1,133 216 212 532 154,208 19,334 21,083 64,200 

 Food ............................................................ 67 47 46 75 8,076 4,015 3,315 9,535 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. 8 5 5 4 624 386 259 290 

 Textile mills .................................................. 21 3 4 8 2,424 391 584 959 

 Textile product mills ..................................... 8 3 ( 2 ) 3 875 407 ( 2 ) 347 

 Apparel ........................................................ 26 8 7 18 2,926 498 737 1,576 

 Leather and allied products ......................... 4 – ( 2 ) 3 306 – ( 2 ) 332 

 Wood products ............................................ 42 11 20 24 3,453 913 2,012 2,051 

 Paper ........................................................... 17 3 4 4 1,439 277 382 311 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 16 12 12 10 1,950 1,065 878 790 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... 6 3 – 4 373 205 – 294 

 Chemicals .................................................... 19 8 3 18 1,722 530 375 1,808 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 74 6 5 31 9,776 329 353 3,027 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 29 5 9 22 3,044 342 492 1,846 

 Primary metals ............................................. 89 12 9 24 9,850 1,147 762 2,752 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 114 12 8 27 10,798 910 621 2,497 

 Machinery .................................................... 132 20 16 26 29,528 1,971 2,329 4,463 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 77 13 8 18 7,823 1,015 654 1,492 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 45 11 5 17 5,992 865 734 1,692 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 275 20 34 171 47,322 2,860 4,474 25,863 

 Furniture and related products .................... 35 5 11 19 3,311 409 1,560 1,916 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 29 9 3 6 2,596 799 232 359 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 78 18 14 33 6,201 1,183 955 2,691 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 161 121 107 142 17,388 9,982 10,102 14,907 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 131 47 159 148 11,279 4,781 19,790 17,270 

 Information ....................................................... 90 41 41 55 13,941 6,310 4,321 7,341 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 84 23 39 47 6,700 1,761 2,621 3,391 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 12 9 8 15 819 698 437 883 

 Professional and technical services ................ 95 61 30 59 10,555 5,534 2,970 4,366 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 14 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 2,289 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 419 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 351 175 175 292 35,419 17,363 14,283 25,234 

 Educational services ........................................ 31 10 40 30 2,540 766 2,588 2,912 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 101 84 174 90 7,010 7,337 14,283 6,716 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 38 32 29 31 2,611 2,063 1,764 2,559 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 124 129 141 89 9,651 16,045 18,121 7,184 

 Other services, except public administration ... 19 34 54 18 1,212 2,933 3,284 1,522 

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

Government ......................................................... 302 157 463 292 32,546 12,365 42,499 26,730 

 Federal ............................................................ 10 19 22 25 845 1,864 2,076 3,243 

 State ................................................................ 39 39 37 29 3,297 2,904 2,813 2,589 

 Local ................................................................ 253 99 404 238 28,404 7,597 37,610 20,898 

 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 2008 to July 2010,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2008

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 1,581 304,340 37.4 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 3,582 766,780 47.5 99.3 

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 3,979 835,551 50.3 103.5 

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 3,395 r

 731,049 48.4 99.7 

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

August ........................................ 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 

September ................................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 

Third Quarter ............................. 5,853 584,855 5,251 528,923 2,034 r

 406,802 38.7 76.9 

October ...................................... 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 

November .................................. 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 

December .................................. 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 6,114 573,048 5,523 527,289 r

 2,416 r 468,368 r 43.7 r 88.8 

2010

January ...................................... 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 

February .................................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 

March ......................................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 

First Quarter ............................... 5,240 493,224 4,884 466,610 r

 1,870 r 360,208 r 38.3 r 77.2 

April ............................................ 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 

May ............................................ 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 

June ........................................... 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 

Second Quarter ......................... 5,055 494,213 4,222 419,729 2,p 1,851 2,p 273,860 p

 43.8 p 65.2 

July ............................................ 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 

 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

Date

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

Mass layoffs
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

2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010

 United States 1

 ......................................... 3,054 1,354 1,861 2,124 336,654 123,333 171,190 206,254 

Northeast .......................................................... 511 203 288 434 45,526 17,575 32,587 44,132 

 New England ................................................ 82 29 54 40 7,194 2,421 6,003 3,136 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 429 174 234 394 38,332 15,154 26,584 40,996 

South ................................................................ 725 428 442 512 71,648 38,299 39,969 48,848 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 389 216 267 280 34,220 19,282 23,150 26,937 

 East South Central ....................................... 213 94 73 142 25,153 8,431 7,108 13,640 

 West South Central ...................................... 123 118 102 90 12,275 10,586 9,711 8,271 

Midwest ............................................................ 805 261 390 490 117,188 26,176 39,201 56,377 

 East North Central ........................................ 635 175 290 397 94,516 17,981 29,931 46,473 

 West North Central ....................................... 170 86 100 93 22,672 8,195 9,270 9,904 

West ................................................................. 1,013 462 741 688 102,292 41,283 59,433 56,897 

 Mountain ....................................................... 112 73 105 71 11,241 6,357 9,136 6,593 

 Pacific ........................................................... 901 389 636 617 91,051 34,926 50,297 50,304 

 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

2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010

 Total 1

 .............................................. 3,054 1,354 1,861 2,124 336,654 123,333 171,190 206,254 

Alabama ............................................. 75 24 32 57 8,324 2,171 3,783 5,642 

Alaska ................................................. ( 2 ) 11 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,259 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Arizona ............................................... 35 24 28 16 3,469 2,369 2,197 1,710 

Arkansas ............................................. 11 6 7 8 1,033 553 521 765 

California ............................................ 812 345 590 558 82,085 31,197 44,939 44,343 

Colorado ............................................. 15 10 14 16 1,536 1,024 1,237 1,552 

Connecticut ......................................... 15 10 11 13 1,056 823 968 977 

Delaware ............................................ 5 ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 347 ( 2 ) 477 ( 2 ) District of Columbia ............................ – 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 301 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Florida ................................................. 192 104 123 137 14,929 7,027 9,037 10,581 

Georgia ............................................... 62 39 46 27 7,636 4,227 4,398 4,020 

Hawaii ................................................. 9 4 7 5 670 264 562 471 

Idaho ................................................... 8 6 8 5 759 367 481 480 

Illinois .................................................. 110 56 88 92 25,119 6,699 8,046 10,969 

Indiana ................................................ 87 21 30 38 10,131 1,931 2,977 5,905 

Iowa .................................................... 48 16 13 25 8,730 1,984 1,686 3,463 

Kansas ................................................ 22 15 14 5 2,088 1,464 1,815 416 

Kentucky ............................................. 97 28 15 50 14,128 2,758 1,417 5,491 

Louisiana ............................................ 21 29 26 23 1,768 2,646 1,985 2,174 

Maine .................................................. 4 3 5 3 256 204 320 249 

Maryland ............................................. 11 12 11 20 987 816 1,172 1,844 

Massachusetts .................................... 31 9 13 16 2,972 865 948 1,403 

Michigan ............................................. 185 24 54 107 23,929 2,924 5,047 12,383 

Minnesota ........................................... 31 11 18 14 3,229 965 1,526 1,462 

Mississippi .......................................... 14 11 13 12 803 922 768 1,094 

Missouri .............................................. 61 30 48 34 7,647 2,396 3,679 3,005 

Montana .............................................. 5 4 10 4 481 267 659 322 

Nebraska ............................................ 4 6 6 10 418 593 504 835 

Nevada ............................................... 37 13 24 20 3,212 994 2,956 1,644 

New Hampshire .................................. 17 3 8 ( 2 ) 1,564 264 1,277 ( 2 ) New Jersey ......................................... 101 34 56 113 8,366 2,685 9,675 10,486 

New Mexico ........................................ 5 8 13 4 252 673 997 247 

New York ............................................ 126 67 50 201 11,886 6,338 5,201 23,920 

North Carolina .................................... 23 13 21 19 1,950 2,462 2,378 1,264 

North Dakota ...................................... 4 7 – 4 560 681 – 666 

Ohio .................................................... 138 47 58 87 19,704 3,909 6,056 9,564 

Oklahoma ........................................... 16 6 6 8 2,013 350 494 665 

Oregon ................................................ 49 18 27 32 5,492 1,324 3,758 3,582 

Pennsylvania ...................................... 202 73 128 80 18,080 6,131 11,708 6,590 

Rhode Island ...................................... 10 4 9 6 965 265 1,723 396 

South Carolina .................................... 59 10 31 36 5,359 839 3,414 5,430 

South Dakota ...................................... – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee .......................................... 27 31 13 23 1,898 2,580 1,140 1,413 

Texas .................................................. 75 77 63 51 7,461 7,037 6,711 4,667 

Utah .................................................... 7 8 6 6 1,532 663 461 638 

Vermont .............................................. 5 – 8 ( 2 ) 381 – 767 ( 2 ) Virginia ................................................ 35 26 24 36 2,873 3,151 1,999 3,427 

Washington ......................................... 29 11 10 21 2,549 882 839 1,848 

West Virginia ...................................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 297 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin ........................................... 115 27 60 73 15,633 2,518 7,805 7,652 

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

Puerto Rico ......................................... 22 19 24 18 1,826 1,735 1,763 2,344 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. NOTE: Dash represents zero. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

State