For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, August 23, 2011 USDL-11-1245 

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

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

MASS LAYOFFS — JULY 2011 

Employers took 1,579 mass layoff actions in July involving 145,000 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 mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. 

The number of mass layoff events in July increased by 47, or 3 percent, from June, and the number of 

associated initial claims increased by 1,556, or 1 percent. In July, 342 mass layoff events were reported 

in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 35,460 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 2006-July 2011

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 2006-July 2011

Private nonfarm

The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in July, essentially unchanged from the prior month but 

down from 9.5 percent a year earlier. In July, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 117,000 

over the month and by 1,258,000 over the year. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in July was 2,176, not seasonally adjusted, resulting in 216,774 initial 

claims for unemployment insurance. The number of mass layoff events increased by 52, or 2 percent, 

from July 2010, and associated initial claims increased by 10,520, or 5 percent. (See table 2.) Eight of 

the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year increases in initial claims, 

with the largest increases occurring in manufacturing and administrative and waste services. The sixdigit industry with the largest number of initial claims in July 2011 was temporary help services. (See 

table A. The table includes both publicly and privately owned entities.) 
- 2 - 

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in July 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

Year Initial claims

Temporary help services 1

 ................................... 18,495 1998 24,601 

Elementary and secondary schools ...................... 14,264 2009 20,769 

School and employee bus transportation ............. 5,967 2010 13,011 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................ 4,646 2009 8,240 

Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ............. 4,088 1998 6,142 

Discount department stores ................................. 3,663 2009 3,995 

Food service contractors ...................................... 3,464 2011 3,464 

All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing ....... 3,448 2004 9,691 

Motion picture and video production .................. 3,313 1998 12,310 

Highway, street, and bridge construction ............ 3,153 2011 3,153 

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

Industry Initial claims July peak

The manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of all mass layoff events and 33 percent of initial 

claims filed in July. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 25 percent of events and 31 percent of initial 

claims. Within this sector, the number of claimants in July 2011 was greatest in the transportation 

equipment subsector. Fourteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year increases 

in initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in textile mills. (See table 3.) 

Government layoffs reached a July series high in terms of average weekly initial claims, largely due to a 

partial state government shutdown in Minnesota. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of 

differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note.) 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

Three of the 4 regions and 6 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims for 

unemployment insurance due to mass layoffs in July. Among the census regions, the South registered 

the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims. Of the geographic divisions, the West North Central 

had the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims. (See table 5.) 

California recorded the highest number of mass layoff initial claims in July, followed by New York, 

Michigan, and Florida. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia experienced over-the-year 

increases in initial claims, led by Minnesota. Minnesota recorded a July series high level of mass layoff 

initial claims during 2011, mostly due to a partial shutdown of the state government. (See table 6.) 

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 
- 3 - 

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 22, 2011, 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 2007 to July 2011,

seasonally adjusted

2007

August .......................................................... 1,217 122,450 1,126 115,305 312 34,877 

September ................................................... 1,233 121,998 1,140 115,675 430 51,731 

October ........................................................ 1,330 133,063 1,210 124,455 439 56,970 

November .................................................... 1,397 145,339 1,269 135,651 408 56,985 

December .................................................... 1,553 154,275 1,435 144,785 463 59,445 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,437 146,900 1,302 135,622 431 55,562 

February ....................................................... 1,604 175,128 1,441 163,475 471 59,118 

March ........................................................... 1,500 150,502 1,388 140,424 435 56,156 

April .............................................................. 1,292 128,901 1,162 118,016 449 58,402 

May .............................................................. 1,582 161,944 1,444 152,230 468 62,452 

June ............................................................. 1,631 164,508 1,488 153,014 491 68,198 

July ............................................................... 1,581 164,497 1,443 153,720 463 62,425 

August .......................................................... 1,791 181,107 1,653 171,705 583 77,874 

September ................................................... 2,192 233,034 2,024 219,532 635 82,471 

October ........................................................ 2,221 229,254 2,062 215,787 697 92,408 

November .................................................... 2,415 228,107 2,256 214,631 900 102,284 

December .................................................... 2,443 245,661 2,264 231,138 927 114,280 

2009

January ........................................................ 2,272 238,717 2,103 224,850 756 100,927 

February ....................................................... 2,801 315,507 2,636 300,042 1,194 138,583 

March ........................................................... 2,950 295,543 2,758 279,027 1,205 144,713 

April .............................................................. 2,579 251,032 2,368 234,796 997 121,435 

May .............................................................. 2,758 288,319 2,557 271,425 1,187 147,548 

June ............................................................. 2,506 250,275 2,293 232,814 1,048 135,389 

July ............................................................... 2,192 223,697 1,977 203,365 620 72,932 

August .......................................................... 2,419 220,262 2,177 201,951 778 83,837 

September ................................................... 2,305 219,924 2,095 204,596 799 91,665 

October ........................................................ 1,975 195,347 1,780 177,977 570 63,646 

November .................................................... 1,754 154,223 1,585 141,439 464 51,891 

December .................................................... 1,725 156,274 1,545 141,649 420 43,584 

2010

January ........................................................ 1,716 171,633 1,541 157,597 494 60,059 

February ....................................................... 1,492 149,369 1,318 135,490 351 40,564 

March ........................................................... 1,635 146,901 1,436 131,953 347 37,273 

April .............................................................. 1,675 159,358 1,498 143,814 371 48,646 

May .............................................................. 1,665 155,352 1,405 133,913 314 30,967 

June ............................................................. 1,729 153,937 1,504 134,837 326 32,646 

July ............................................................... 1,528 138,581 1,316 121,378 296 30,752 

August .......................................................... 1,658 163,325 1,453 141,489 409 47,668 

September ................................................... 1,541 137,941 1,331 119,654 336 34,641 

October ........................................................ 1,649 147,204 1,445 130,264 353 37,394 

November .................................................... 1,579 148,800 1,397 133,845 350 39,072 

December .................................................... 1,483 137,992 1,272 122,688 319 35,977 

2011

January ........................................................ 1,534 149,799 1,344 132,730 341 39,189 

February ....................................................... 1,421 130,818 1,220 116,190 291 26,060 

March ........................................................... 1,286 118,523 1,128 105,636 253 27,619 

April .............................................................. 1,564 143,927 1,401 129,702 327 35,022 

May .............................................................. 1,599 143,540 1,405 127,494 373 38,673 

June ............................................................. 1,532 143,444 1,348 128,105 341 35,693 

July ............................................................... 1,579 145,000 1,363 124,745 342 35,460 

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 2007 to July 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

2007

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 

August .......................................................... 976 92,435 897 83,021 230 23,088 

September ................................................... 920 77,654 806 67,987 187 19,403 

October ........................................................ 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 351 40,861 

November .................................................... 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 389 41,383 

December .................................................... 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 465 52,816 

2011

January ........................................................ 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 693 75,006 

February ....................................................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 222 18,471 

March ........................................................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 191 20,869 

April .............................................................. 1,750 189,919 1,625 176,478 397 47,104 

May .............................................................. 1,367 119,911 1,221 108,531 270 25,199 

June ............................................................. 1,661 159,930 1,238 122,821 226 22,986 

July ............................................................... 2,176 216,774 1,759 174,078 602 71,814 

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

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 1,528 1,599 1,532 1,579 138,581 143,540 143,444 145,000 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,316 1,405 1,348 1,363 121,378 127,494 128,105 124,745 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 296 373 341 342 30,752 38,673 35,693 35,460 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 2,124 1,367 1,661 2,176 206,254 119,911 159,930 216,774 

Total, private ........................................................ 1,832 1,243 1,282 1,867 179,524 109,881 125,944 182,960 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 100 22 44 108 7,276 1,350 3,123 8,882 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,732 1,221 1,238 1,759 172,248 108,531 122,821 174,078 

 Mining .............................................................. 5 5 ( 2 ) – 394 308 ( 2 ) –

 Utilities ............................................................. 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 689 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Construction .................................................... 135 137 84 118 9,570 9,875 6,847 8,990 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 532 270 226 602 64,200 25,199 22,986 71,814 

 Food ............................................................ 75 64 51 84 9,535 6,036 5,011 9,998 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. 4 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 290 ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Textile mills .................................................. 8 12 8 29 959 1,045 1,131 3,341 

 Textile product mills ..................................... 3 ( 2 ) 6 9 347 ( 2 ) 420 1,107 

 Apparel ........................................................ 18 10 10 14 1,576 1,174 1,119 1,526 

 Leather and allied products ......................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 332 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 869 

 Wood products ............................................ 24 10 12 28 2,051 755 1,083 2,826 

 Paper ........................................................... 4 9 5 4 311 934 427 298 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 10 14 5 9 790 1,182 383 930 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 294 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Chemicals .................................................... 18 8 ( 2

 ) 12 1,808 503 ( 2 ) 935 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 31 14 11 36 3,027 1,082 880 3,359 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 22 6 5 13 1,846 635 380 1,612 

 Primary metals ............................................. 24 11 11 24 2,752 1,053 914 2,450 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 27 11 10 27 2,497 848 607 2,980 

 Machinery .................................................... 26 12 16 34 4,463 2,054 2,042 4,799 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 18 12 10 19 1,492 731 716 1,735 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 17 7 9 19 1,692 1,049 915 2,628 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 171 45 34 193 25,863 4,146 4,871 26,488 

 Furniture and related products .................... 19 12 7 31 1,916 888 771 2,770 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 6 5 9 9 359 456 826 726 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 33 21 18 21 2,691 1,777 1,440 1,594 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 142 108 82 165 14,907 8,244 7,177 17,189 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 148 38 144 114 17,270 3,371 19,513 9,326 

 Information ....................................................... 55 36 41 52 7,341 5,394 5,721 5,289 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 47 24 18 43 3,391 1,616 1,158 2,769 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 15 7 7 10 883 457 779 856 

 Professional and technical services ................ 59 50 32 51 4,366 4,062 3,378 4,372 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 5 ( 2 ) 5 5 419 ( 2 ) 351 654 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 292 203 170 320 25,234 15,938 16,582 31,193 

 Educational services ........................................ 30 15 26 29 2,912 1,201 1,604 1,993 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 90 102 177 104 6,716 11,059 14,975 7,079 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 31 24 30 30 2,559 1,835 1,664 2,867 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 89 148 120 74 7,184 15,483 14,179 6,445 

 Other services, except public administration ... 18 28 53 17 1,522 2,361 4,129 1,336 

 Unclassified ..................................................... – – – ( 2 ) – – – ( 2 )

Government ......................................................... 292 124 379 309 26,730 10,030 33,986 33,814 

 Federal ............................................................ 25 12 18 10 3,243 1,160 1,942 784 

 State ................................................................ 29 32 29 78 2,589 2,136 2,086 12,220 

 Local ................................................................ 238 80 332 221 20,898 6,734 29,958 20,810 

 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 2009 to July 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2009

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 2,034 406,823 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 2,416 468,577 43.7 88.9 

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 1,870 r

 368,664 38.3 79.0 

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 2,008 r

 396,441 47.6 r 94.5 

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

August ........................................ 976 92,435 897 83,021 

September ................................. 920 77,654 806 67,987 

Third Quarter ............................. 4,020 376,343 3,435 323,256 1,370 r

 260,030 39.9 80.4 

October ...................................... 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 

November .................................. 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 

December .................................. 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 5,249 490,816 4,613 443,337 1,999 r

 390,445 43.3 r 88.1 

2011

January ...................................... 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 

February .................................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 

March ......................................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 

First Quarter ............................... 4,490 417,143 4,135 388,497 r

 1,490 r 257,031 r 36.0 r 66.2 

April ............................................ 1,750 189,919 1,625 176,478 

May ............................................ 1,367 119,911 1,221 108,531 

June ........................................... 1,661 159,930 1,238 122,821 

Second Quarter ......................... 4,778 469,760 4,084 407,830 2,p 1,624 2,p 231,643 p

 39.8 p 56.8 

July ............................................ 2,176 216,774 1,759 174,078 

 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

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 United States 1

 ......................................... 2,124 1,367 1,661 2,176 206,254 119,911 159,930 216,774 

Northeast .......................................................... 434 210 276 363 44,132 17,726 30,513 34,691 

 New England ................................................ 40 30 53 44 3,136 2,505 5,004 3,808 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 394 180 223 319 40,996 15,221 25,509 30,883 

South ................................................................ 512 468 482 624 48,848 43,457 45,180 62,261 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 280 234 273 358 26,937 18,785 24,626 33,888 

 East South Central ....................................... 142 131 60 164 13,640 14,830 5,603 17,365 

 West South Central ...................................... 90 103 149 102 8,271 9,842 14,951 11,008 

Midwest ............................................................ 490 288 326 505 56,377 26,017 33,813 62,114 

 East North Central ........................................ 397 217 236 359 46,473 18,948 26,402 41,262 

 West North Central ....................................... 93 71 90 146 9,904 7,069 7,411 20,852 

West ................................................................. 688 401 577 684 56,897 32,711 50,424 57,708 

 Mountain ....................................................... 71 68 64 67 6,593 5,948 6,011 6,339 

 Pacific ........................................................... 617 333 513 617 50,304 26,763 44,413 51,369 

 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

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 Total 1

 ................................................ 2,124 1,367 1,661 2,176 206,254 119,911 159,930 216,774 

Alabama ............................................... 57 37 20 60 5,642 3,604 1,922 6,904 

Alaska ................................................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 489 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Arizona ................................................. 16 15 18 23 1,710 1,394 1,561 2,137 

Arkansas ............................................... 8 15 29 17 765 1,647 3,185 1,607 

California .............................................. 558 285 462 571 44,343 22,874 39,788 46,009 

Colorado ............................................... 16 10 9 8 1,552 1,171 708 704 

Connecticut ........................................... 13 11 10 8 977 769 807 713 

Delaware .............................................. ( 2 ) 5 6 3 ( 2 ) 334 415 233 

District of Columbia .............................. ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 276 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Florida ................................................... 137 102 114 147 10,581 6,363 9,161 12,098 

Georgia ................................................. 27 40 43 45 4,020 4,038 4,789 5,152 

Hawaii ................................................... 5 5 4 ( 2 ) 471 351 275 ( 2 )

Idaho ..................................................... 5 6 8 9 480 370 832 1,220 

Illinois .................................................... 92 47 61 48 10,969 4,749 6,436 5,599 

Indiana .................................................. 38 28 28 31 5,905 2,189 2,722 5,700 

Iowa ...................................................... 25 6 14 19 3,463 1,069 1,359 2,397 

Kansas .................................................. 5 12 8 12 416 1,365 682 1,372 

Kentucky ............................................... 50 33 22 54 5,491 3,431 2,003 6,294 

Louisiana .............................................. 23 29 28 21 2,174 2,531 2,056 1,936 

Maine .................................................... 3 4 7 9 249 318 458 667 

Maryland ............................................... 20 5 12 13 1,844 462 1,102 1,486 

Massachusetts ...................................... 16 10 16 16 1,403 1,068 1,133 1,632 

Michigan ............................................... 107 38 55 130 12,383 3,368 5,413 14,164 

Minnesota ............................................. 14 10 17 68 1,462 932 1,249 11,406 

Mississippi ............................................ 12 40 5 25 1,094 5,957 240 1,853 

Missouri ................................................ 34 32 42 36 3,005 2,620 3,176 4,068 

Montana ................................................ 4 4 6 4 322 414 531 306 

Nebraska .............................................. 10 8 5 8 835 860 441 1,026 

Nevada ................................................. 20 13 12 10 1,644 1,133 1,292 875 

New Hampshire .................................... ( 2 ) 3 3 5 ( 2 ) 233 614 363 

New Jersey ........................................... 113 34 44 81 10,486 2,937 6,432 7,381 

New Mexico .......................................... 4 10 8 9 247 783 663 568 

New York .............................................. 201 56 55 142 23,920 4,743 5,185 14,892 

North Carolina 3

 .................................... 19 40 45 80 1,264 3,928 4,871 8,083 

North Dakota ........................................ 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 666 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 583 

Ohio ...................................................... 87 63 42 67 9,564 5,170 6,150 7,739 

Oklahoma ............................................. 8 9 6 6 665 902 481 1,206 

Oregon .................................................. 32 21 28 27 3,582 1,586 2,967 3,435 

Pennsylvania ........................................ 80 90 124 96 6,590 7,541 13,892 8,610 

Rhode Island ........................................ 6 ( 2

 ) 10 4 396 ( 2 ) 1,276 323 

South Carolina ...................................... 36 11 23 28 5,430 949 1,878 2,724 

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

Tennessee ............................................ 23 21 13 25 1,413 1,838 1,438 2,314 

Texas .................................................... 51 50 86 58 4,667 4,762 9,229 6,259 

Utah ...................................................... 6 8 3 4 638 554 424 529 

Vermont ................................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 716 ( 2 )

Virginia .................................................. 36 21 25 41 3,427 2,050 2,071 4,028 

Washington ........................................... 21 16 17 15 1,848 1,463 1,231 1,537 

West Virginia ........................................ ( 2 ) 5 3 – ( 2 ) 385 189 –

Wisconsin ............................................. 73 41 50 83 7,652 3,472 5,681 8,060 

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

Puerto Rico ........................................... 18 24 10 19 2,344 2,815 941 2,333 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. data due to a change in MLS unemployment insurance 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. input procedures. 3

 Data starting in November 2010 may not be comparable to prior NOTE: Dash represents zero.

State