For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, May 21, 2010 USDL-10-0688 

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 – APRIL 2010 

Employers took 1,856 mass layoff actions in April that resulted in the separation of 200,870 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 April increased by 228 from the prior month, and the 

number of associated initial claims increased by 50,006. In April, 448 mass layoff events were reported 

in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 63,616 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,

May 2005-April 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,

May 2005-April 2010

Private nonfarm

During the 29 months from December 2007 through April 2010, the total number of mass layoff events 

(seasonally adjusted) was 58,793, and the associated number of initial claims was 5,932,553. (December 

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

The national unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in April 2010, seasonally adjusted, up from 9.7 percent 

the prior month and from 8.9 percent a year earlier. In April, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 

290,000 over the month but was down by 1,381,000 from a year earlier. 

 
- 2 - 

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

not seasonally adjusted

Year Initial claims

School and employee bus transportation ............. 19,007 2009 22,324 

Temporary help services 1

 .................................. 11,691 2001 17,507 

Automobile manufacturing .................................. 9,670 1996 14,744 

Food service contractors ................................... 9,195 2010 9,195 

Tax preparation services .................................... 6,514 2010 6,514 

Motion picture and video production .................. 5,905 1997 15,908 

Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .............. 4,130 2010 4,130 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................. 4,006 2009 4,372 

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ......... 3,593 1997 4,978 

Discount department stores ................................ 3,581 2009 4,462 

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

Industry Initial claims April peak

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in April was 1,840 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number of 

associated initial claims was 199,690. (See table 2.) Over the year, the number of average weekly mass 

layoff events decreased by 269, and associated average weekly initial claims decreased by 24,295. Sixteen of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in average 

weekly initial claims, led by manufacturing. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing 

numbers of weeks in a month. See the Technical Note.) However, the health care and social assistance 

industry and the real estate and rental and leasing industry reported program highs in terms of average 

weekly initial claims for the month of April.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 23 percent of all mass layoff events and 28 percent of initial 

claims filed in April 2010. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 35 percent of events and 39 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in April 2010 was greatest in 

transportation equipment and food. (See table 3.) All 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-theyear decreases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest decrease in machinery manufacturing. 

The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in April 2010 was school and employee 

bus transportation. (See table A.) Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff 

initial claims, food service contractors and tax preparation services reached program highs for the month 

of April, irrespective of the number of weeks in the month. (Data begin in 1995.) 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

All four regions and all nine divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial 

claims due to mass layoffs in April. Among the four census regions, the Midwest and South registered 

the largest over-the-year declines in average weekly initial claims. Of the nine geographic divisions, the 

East North Central and the South Atlantic had the largest over-the-year declines. 
- 3 - 

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in April, followed by New York, Pennsylvania, 

Wisconsin, and New Jersey. (See table 6.) Forty-one states and the District of Columbia experienced 

over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims, led by Illinois, New York, California, and 

Ohio. However, six states reached April program highs for average weekly initial claims in 2010: 

Alaska, Colorado, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. 

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 in May 2010 news release is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 24, 

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, May 2006 to April 2010,

seasonally adjusted

2006

May .............................................................. 1,121 117,834 1,003 107,929 302 40,703 

June ............................................................. 1,150 125,318 1,039 115,883 349 43,476 

July ............................................................... 1,182 121,056 1,056 111,432 373 51,691 

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 

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, May 2006 to April 2010,

not seasonally adjusted

2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 

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

April February March April April February March April

2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 2,663 1,570 1,628 1,856 263,162 155,718 150,864 200,870 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 2,461 1,406 1,432 1,686 247,329 142,240 136,446 185,150 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 1,033 376 356 448 125,093 43,100 39,290 63,616 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 2,547 1,183 1,197 1,840 256,930 102,818 111,727 199,690 

Total, private ........................................................ 2,464 1,128 1,149 1,761 250,548 98,241 107,880 191,664 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 79 37 38 64 7,227 2,219 2,366 7,010 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 2,385 1,091 1,111 1,697 243,321 96,022 105,514 184,654 

 Mining .............................................................. 39 5 5 7 3,267 761 374 399 

 Utilities ............................................................. ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Construction .................................................... 194 166 117 163 13,490 12,200 8,206 11,947 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 887 282 273 424 100,872 30,728 29,745 55,178 

 Food ............................................................ 81 45 53 100 8,371 4,031 6,122 10,200 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. ( 2 ) 6 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 407 716 ( 2 )

 Textile mills .................................................. 16 5 4 7 2,409 431 350 1,296 

 Textile product mills ..................................... 9 5 3 5 765 557 172 414 

 Apparel ........................................................ 19 4 10 16 1,610 265 578 1,428 

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

 Wood products ............................................ 39 27 16 17 3,437 1,850 1,445 1,591 

 Paper ........................................................... 26 10 5 14 2,584 721 313 1,134 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 25 12 14 9 2,275 960 1,224 860 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 185 ( 2 )

 Chemicals .................................................... 21 9 13 7 1,453 872 1,064 400 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 51 10 9 10 6,393 1,014 686 719 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 34 12 11 22 3,192 794 785 1,882 

 Primary metals ............................................. 70 9 8 18 8,636 981 773 1,473 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 97 12 18 21 7,698 681 1,361 1,581 

 Machinery .................................................... 100 20 22 41 18,614 2,466 2,373 4,456 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 69 18 16 27 5,770 1,538 1,278 1,964 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 43 12 6 12 5,169 1,386 1,195 1,756 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 148 45 43 73 19,246 10,104 7,128 22,071 

 Furniture and related products .................... 21 16 10 12 1,783 1,346 1,625 919 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 14 ( 2 ) 5 10 1,118 ( 2 ) 372 833 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 55 27 29 25 4,343 1,754 2,016 2,224 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 153 128 124 156 16,211 10,802 13,337 16,188 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 231 51 62 178 28,962 5,372 6,444 23,013 

 Information ....................................................... 75 40 52 50 7,934 3,753 5,715 8,383 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 67 32 43 64 6,220 2,671 3,636 4,579 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 13 9 8 22 1,078 622 409 1,388 

 Professional and technical services ................ 97 33 45 90 10,085 2,292 4,610 11,110 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 10 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 854 1,990 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Administrative and waste services .................. 300 191 163 241 25,498 13,594 13,281 21,073 

 Educational services ........................................ ( 2 ) 4 10 7 ( 2 ) 242 824 958 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 49 31 33 58 3,343 2,118 2,066 4,991 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 47 16 20 57 4,074 1,419 1,558 4,838 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 134 61 112 131 13,168 5,044 12,269 16,214 

 Other services, except public administration ... 23 8 10 16 2,168 552 670 1,434 

 Unclassified .................................................... 1 1 – – 86 108 – –

Government ......................................................... 83 55 48 79 6,382 4,577 3,847 8,026 

 Federal ............................................................ 6 8 8 16 461 631 636 1,393 

 State ................................................................ 20 12 15 18 1,631 947 1,324 2,188 

 Local ................................................................ 57 35 25 45 4,290 2,999 1,887 4,445 

 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, April 2008 to April 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

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 1,756 339,630 44.7 82.2 

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

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

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

Third Quarter ............................. 4,610 469,967 4,232 441,669 1,581 304,340 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 r

 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

 731,035 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 r

 2,034 r 406,715 r 38.7 r 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

 2,419 r 466,539 r 43.8 r 88.5

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 2,p 1,564 2,p 214,204 p

 32.0 p 45.9 

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

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

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

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

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

 2

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

data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

Mass layoffs

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

April February March April April February March April

2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010

 United States 1

 ......................................... 2,547 1,183 1,197 1,840 256,930 102,818 111,727 199,690 

Northeast .......................................................... 504 215 195 397 56,253 21,705 19,419 48,396 

 New England ................................................ 88 39 26 81 9,192 4,682 2,168 9,523 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 416 176 169 316 47,061 17,023 17,251 38,873 

South ................................................................ 655 319 262 412 62,714 29,681 26,591 43,503 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 368 178 136 214 33,338 13,052 10,762 20,768 

 East South Central ....................................... 160 69 54 80 16,166 9,917 5,470 11,005 

 West South Central ...................................... 127 72 72 118 13,210 6,712 10,359 11,730 

Midwest ............................................................ 608 221 252 364 72,383 21,128 27,591 44,740 

 East North Central ........................................ 482 169 184 290 60,241 16,776 21,613 37,448 

 West North Central ....................................... 126 52 68 74 12,142 4,352 5,978 7,292 

West ................................................................. 780 428 488 667 65,580 30,304 38,126 63,051 

 Mountain ....................................................... 125 58 77 101 11,993 4,276 6,324 11,433 

 Pacific ........................................................... 655 370 411 566 53,587 26,028 31,802 51,618 

 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

April February March April April February March April

2009 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2010 2010

 Total 1

 .............................................. 2,547 1,183 1,197 1,840 256,930 102,818 111,727 199,690 

Alabama ............................................. 27 17 18 17 2,745 1,758 1,517 2,148 

Alaska ................................................. 5 3 ( 2 ) 11 828 267 ( 2 ) 1,252 

Arizona ............................................... 41 8 17 33 4,985 700 1,417 4,943 

Arkansas ............................................. 12 ( 2 ) 3 8 1,057 ( 2 ) 214 1,039 

California ............................................ 567 335 373 477 43,675 23,191 28,180 42,426 

Colorado ............................................. 19 10 7 20 1,696 706 626 2,269 

Connecticut ......................................... 11 10 9 9 884 847 746 891 

Delaware ............................................ 11 5 – 8 988 378 – 611 

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

Florida ................................................. 152 87 68 118 11,010 5,523 4,311 9,139 

Georgia ............................................... 50 34 13 31 6,006 2,708 1,202 3,375 

Hawaii ................................................. 10 ( 2 ) 7 7 934 ( 2 ) 534 672 

Idaho ................................................... 10 11 9 8 754 709 661 533 

Illinois .................................................. 105 40 60 60 17,550 4,311 7,479 7,059 

Indiana ................................................ 80 22 22 32 9,659 1,907 3,057 4,786 

Iowa .................................................... 30 13 13 20 2,636 1,122 2,135 2,876 

Kansas ................................................ 7 – 4 5 737 – 313 296 

Kentucky ............................................. 83 32 25 40 9,194 6,844 3,276 6,573 

Louisiana ............................................ 27 12 16 32 2,670 1,442 1,615 2,967 

Maine .................................................. 6 ( 2 ) 3 8 493 ( 2 ) 233 754 

Maryland ............................................. 12 7 6 6 1,115 724 557 496 

Massachusetts .................................... 38 8 7 20 3,770 646 725 2,202 

Michigan ............................................. 74 32 29 44 7,139 3,694 4,729 7,624 

Minnesota ........................................... 35 13 13 8 3,103 1,456 921 576 

Mississippi .......................................... 15 5 5 5 1,350 282 241 461 

Missouri .............................................. 46 24 31 28 4,719 1,667 2,112 2,393 

Montana .............................................. 4 4 ( 2

 ) 7 335 258 ( 2 ) 528 

Nebraska ............................................ 4 ( 2 ) 6 10 390 ( 2 ) 409 948 

Nevada ............................................... 26 16 26 15 2,123 1,331 2,131 1,432 

New Hampshire .................................. 10 7 5 14 848 1,095 297 1,663 

New Jersey ......................................... 66 16 28 69 7,334 1,408 3,024 9,700 

New Mexico ........................................ 14 6 9 8 909 391 847 594 

New York ............................................ 182 52 60 114 24,349 6,833 6,046 15,919 

North Carolina .................................... 28 5 16 13 2,582 451 1,610 1,438 

North Dakota ...................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Ohio .................................................... 115 35 34 61 14,791 3,790 2,927 8,014 

Oklahoma ........................................... 14 3 4 5 2,464 306 1,287 608 

Oregon ................................................ 43 19 18 42 5,554 1,571 2,080 4,603 

Pennsylvania ...................................... 168 108 81 133 15,378 8,782 8,181 13,254 

Rhode Island ...................................... 8 7 ( 2

 ) 16 1,649 1,545 ( 2 ) 2,525 

South Carolina .................................... 60 11 14 19 6,482 886 1,513 3,832 

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

Tennessee .......................................... 35 15 6 18 2,877 1,033 436 1,823 

Texas .................................................. 74 56 49 73 7,019 4,894 7,243 7,116 

Utah .................................................... 10 ( 2 ) 5 8 1,055 ( 2 ) 393 889 

Vermont .............................................. 15 6 ( 2 ) 14 1,548 483 ( 2 ) 1,488 

Virginia ................................................ 42 22 18 15 4,052 1,704 1,416 1,489 

Washington ......................................... 30 11 12 29 2,596 769 949 2,665 

West Virginia ...................................... 12 5 ( 2 ) 4 1,028 509 ( 2 ) 388 

Wisconsin ........................................... 108 40 39 93 11,102 3,074 3,421 9,965 

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

Puerto Rico ......................................... 13 21 21 19 1,321 2,459 1,702 2,252 

1

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

State