For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, January 25, 2012 USDL-12-0093 

 

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

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

MASS LAYOFFS – DECEMBER 2011 

ANNUAL TOTALS – 2011 

Employers took 1,384 mass layoff actions in December involving 145,648 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. 

Mass layoff events in December increased by 52 from November, and associated initial claims increased 

by 14,021. In December, 351 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally 

adjusted, resulting in 39,081 initial claims. (See table 1.) 

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100,000

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Dec‐00 Dec‐01 Dec‐02 Dec‐03 Dec‐04 Dec‐05 Dec‐06 Dec‐07 Dec‐08 Dec‐09 Dec‐10 Dec‐11

Initial Claims Unemployment Rate

Total masslayoffinitial claims Manufacturingmasslayoffinitial claims Unemploymentrate

Chart 1. Masslayoff initial claims and unemployment rate,seasonally adjusted, December 2000‐December 2011   

Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data 

Seasonally adjusted mass layoff data have been revised using updated seasonal 

adjustment factors that incorporate 2011 data. Seasonally adjusted estimates back to 

January 2007 were subject to revision. Revised seasonally adjusted data from January 

2008 forward are shown in table 1. The originally published and revised figures for 

January 2007-November 2011 will be available at www.bls.gov/mls/mlssarevision.htm, 

along with additional information about the revisions. 
- 2 - 

Table A. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims

in December 2011, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

Temporary help services 1 ........................................ 19,987 2011 19,987 

Food service contractors .......................................... 19,639 2011 19,639 

Highway, street, and bridge construction ................... 15,919 2005 20,030 

School and employee bus transportation ................... 15,849 2011 15,849 

Motion picture and video production ........................ 11,109 1998 16,192 

Payroll services ........................................................ 4,588 2000 6,268 

Landscaping services ................................................ 3,146 2011 3,146 

Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .................... 3,045 2008 3,528 

Casino hotels ........................................................... 2,831 2011 2,831 

Professional employer organizations 1 ....................... 2,668 2008 6,101 

1

 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.

Industry Initial Claims

December peak

Year Initial claims

The national unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in December, down from 8.7 percent the prior month 

and from 9.4 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 200,000 over the 

month and by 1,640,000 over the year. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in December was 2,433, not seasonally adjusted, resulting in 263,665 

initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 2.) Over the year, average weekly mass layoff 

events increased by 4 to 487, and associated average weekly initial claims increased by 6,700 to 52,733. 

Ten of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year increases in average 

weekly initial claims, with the largest increases occurring in information, administrative and waste 

services, and manufacturing. (See table 3.) The six-digit industry with the largest number of private 

nonfarm initial claims in December 2011 was temporary help services. (See table A.) 

In December, the manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of mass layoff events and 30 percent of 

associated initial claims in the private economy. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 25 percent of 

events and 30 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the numbers of mass layoff claimants in 

December 2011 were greatest in transportation equipment, food, and textile mills. Twelve of the 21 

manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, with the 

largest increases occurring in food and in textile mills. (See table 3.) 
- 3 - 

Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for

unemployment insurance, 1996-2011, not seasonally adjusted

Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

1996 ........................ 14,111 1,437,628 

1997 ........................ 14,960 1,542,543 

1998 ........................ 15,904 1,771,069 

1999 ........................ 14,909 1,572,399 

2000 ........................ 15,738 1,835,592 

2001 ........................ 21,467 2,514,862 

2002 ........................ 20,277 2,245,051 

2003 ........................ 18,963 1,888,926 

2004 ........................ 15,980 1,607,158 

2005 ........................ 16,466 1,795,341 

2006 ........................ 13,998 1,484,391 

2007 ........................ 15,493 1,598,875 

2008 ........................ 21,137 2,130,220 

2009 ........................ 28,030 2,796,456 

2010 ........................ 19,564 1,854,596 

2011 ........................ 18,521 1,808,451 

Year Layoff events

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

Among the census regions, the Midwest registered the greatest number of initial claims in December. 

All four regions experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest 

increase occurring in the West. (See table 4.) 

Among the states, California recorded the highest number of mass layoff initial claims in December, 

followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and New York. Twenty-nine states experienced 

over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, led by California and Pennsylvania. (See 

table 4.) 

Review of 2011

For all of 2011, the total numbers of mass layoff events, at 18,521, and initial claims, at 1,808,451, 

declined to their lowest levels since 2007. (See table B.) Twelve of the 19 major industry sectors in the 

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

and retail trade. In 2011, total initial claims in the manufacturing sector declined to a series low 481,702. 

The manufacturing sector accounted for 26 percent of mass layoff events and 29 percent of associated 

initial claims in the private economy in 2011, about the same percentages as in 2010. The number of 

manufacturing claimants in 2011 was highest in transportation equipment and in food. Total initial 
- 4 - 

Table C. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims

in 2011, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

Initial claims Rank Initial claims Rank

Temporary help services 1

 ...................................... 117,391 1 143,938 1

School and employee bus transportation ................. 90,887 2 95,287 2

Food service contractors ........................................ 74,873 3 75,006 3

Motion picture and video production ...................... 45,856 4 47,988 4

Highway, street, and bridge construction ................. 41,662 5 40,349 5

Professional employer organizations 1

 ..................... 40,396 6 31,916 6

Discount department stores .................................... 29,986 8 29,807 7

Child day care services ........................................... 19,141 12 23,237 8

Supermarkets and other grocery stores ................... 24,534 9 19,781 9

Wired telecommunications carriers .......................... 8,236 37 19,116 10

1

 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.

Industry 2010 2011

claims in 14 of the 21 manufacturing subsectors decreased between 2010 and 2011, with transportation 

equipment and machinery experiencing the largest declines. 

The six-digit industry in the private nonfarm sector with the greatest number of initial claims in 2011 

was temporary help services. Child day care services and wired telecommunications carriers entered the 

list of 10 industries with the highest initial claims for the entire year. (See table C.) Four industries 

among these 10 reached program highs in 2011–school and employee bus transportation, food service 

contractors, child day care centers, and wired telecommunications carriers. (Annual data began in 1996.) 

Two of the 4 census regions reported over-the-year decreases in initial claims from 2010 to 2011, with 

the largest decline occurring in the West. Among the states, California recorded the highest number of 

mass layoff initial claims in 2011, followed by Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, and Wisconsin. 

Twenty-nine states experienced over-the-year decreases in total initial claims for the year, led by 

California, Illinois, and Florida. 

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. The monthly data series in this release are subjected to average weekly analysis, 

which mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note for more detailed 

definitions and for a description of average weekly analysis. 

____________ 

The Extended Mass Layoffs news release for the Fourth Quarter 2011 and Annual Totals for 2011 

is scheduled to be released on Friday, February 10, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 
- 5 - 

The Mass Layoffs news release for January 2012 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, 

February 23, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 

Upcoming Changes to Mass Layoff Data 

With the release of January 2012 data on February 23, 2012, the Mass Layoff Statistics 

program will update the basis for industry classification from the 2007 North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) to the 2012 NAICS. The new conversion reflects 

definitional changes within the utilities, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, 

and retail trade sectors. Several industry titles and descriptions will also be updated. For 

more information on the 2012 NAICS update, visit 

www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. 
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, data 

users who intend to perform analysis of over-the-year change 

in the not seasonally adjusted series should use the average 

weekly mass layoff figures displayed in tables 3 and 4 of this 

release. The average weekly adjustment process produces a 

consistent series for each month across all years, permitting 

over-the-year analysis to be performed using strictly 

comparable data. 

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 

Average weekly mass layoff events and initial claimants. 

The number of events and initial claimants in a given month 

divided by the number of weeks contained within that month.

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, January 2008 to 

December 2011, seasonally adjusted

2008

January ........................................................ 1,439 146,850 1,300 135,422 421 53,254 

February ....................................................... 1,724 179,955 1,567 168,003 485 60,752 

March ........................................................... 1,515 151,628 1,400 141,316 441 58,254 

April .............................................................. 1,290 128,643 1,157 117,639 453 57,044 

May .............................................................. 1,567 160,475 1,432 150,893 470 62,776 

June ............................................................. 1,612 163,425 1,471 152,133 491 68,862 

July ............................................................... 1,589 163,572 1,452 153,060 465 62,210 

August .......................................................... 1,763 181,853 1,632 172,147 578 77,464 

September ................................................... 2,159 229,180 1,990 215,749 629 82,011 

October ........................................................ 2,201 226,853 2,043 213,454 698 93,252 

November .................................................... 2,406 239,239 2,247 225,404 907 103,836 

December .................................................... 2,437 244,889 2,261 230,621 935 116,181 

2009

January ........................................................ 2,254 235,371 2,083 221,653 726 92,293 

February ....................................................... 3,059 326,392 2,901 310,378 1,251 145,839 

March ........................................................... 2,999 299,322 2,800 282,414 1,230 154,168 

April .............................................................. 2,566 249,129 2,349 232,632 1,007 116,051 

May .............................................................. 2,710 284,468 2,516 267,869 1,181 147,184 

June ............................................................. 2,466 247,597 2,257 230,502 1,048 137,649 

July ............................................................... 2,186 222,941 1,979 203,911 636 75,728 

August .......................................................... 2,340 216,047 2,115 197,172 751 77,894 

September ................................................... 2,261 214,018 2,048 198,761 786 91,125 

October ........................................................ 1,969 195,752 1,772 178,172 571 65,217 

November .................................................... 1,757 164,454 1,588 151,172 472 52,855 

December .................................................... 1,719 155,056 1,543 140,835 424 44,096 

2010

January ........................................................ 1,707 168,044 1,529 154,187 471 53,817 

February ....................................................... 1,631 156,292 1,465 141,831 374 43,620 

March ........................................................... 1,676 149,816 1,469 134,518 356 40,705 

April .............................................................. 1,637 154,558 1,452 138,503 368 44,506 

May .............................................................. 1,608 150,996 1,357 130,273 302 29,932 

June ............................................................. 1,695 151,435 1,475 132,742 325 33,298 

July ............................................................... 1,519 138,091 1,316 122,162 304 32,253 

August .......................................................... 1,588 159,329 1,399 136,697 390 43,154 

September ................................................... 1,510 133,576 1,295 115,349 328 34,333 

October ........................................................ 1,654 149,589 1,446 132,146 354 38,937 

November .................................................... 1,592 161,145 1,410 145,494 360 39,977 

December .................................................... 1,477 135,849 1,271 121,171 322 36,267 

2011

January ........................................................ 1,536 148,952 1,348 131,869 337 37,477 

February ....................................................... 1,434 131,569 1,242 116,745 297 26,696 

March ........................................................... 1,275 115,391 1,118 102,722 251 28,988 

April .............................................................. 1,548 145,836 1,383 131,317 341 37,053 

May .............................................................. 1,600 144,412 1,404 127,793 374 39,180 

June ............................................................. 1,513 143,384 1,334 128,410 344 36,265 

July ............................................................... 1,562 145,078 1,348 125,285 346 36,312 

August .......................................................... 1,551 164,275 1,347 149,874 382 49,194 

September ................................................... 1,447 147,353 1,306 134,038 364 38,026 

October ........................................................ 1,335 118,924 1,205 107,330 341 33,926 

November .................................................... 1,332 131,627 1,192 120,760 324 36,563 

December .................................................... 1,384 145,648 1,238 130,583 351 39,081 

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, January 2008 to 

December 2011, not seasonally adjusted

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 

August .......................................................... 961 99,213 875 93,159 228 26,916 

September ................................................... 1,189 117,232 1,095 107,300 296 32,058 

October ........................................................ 1,101 96,914 950 83,748 265 28,447 

November .................................................... 1,393 127,750 1,245 117,474 349 37,799 

December .................................................... 2,433 263,665 2,258 247,916 658 75,033 

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, not seasonally adjusted

December December December December December December December December

2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011

 Total 2

 ........................................................................ 1,931 2,433 184,130 263,665 483 487 46,033 52,733 

Total, private .................................................................... 1,830 2,322 176,405 252,259 458 464 44,101 50,452 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..................... 67 64 3,524 4,343 17 13 881 869 

 Total, private nonfarm ................................................... 1,763 2,258 172,881 247,916 441 452 43,220 49,583 

 Mining .......................................................................... 29 26 2,439 2,404 7 5 610 481 

 Utilities ......................................................................... ( 3 ) 5 ( 3 ) 476 ( 3 ) 1 ( 3 ) 95 

 Construction ................................................................ 379 402 29,458 32,402 95 80 7,365 6,480 

 Construction of buildings ......................................... 42 38 3,379 3,075 11 8 845 615 

 Heavy and civil engineering construction ................ 211 252 16,878 21,638 53 50 4,220 4,328 

 Specialty trade contractors ...................................... 126 112 9,201 7,689 32 22 2,300 1,538 

 Manufacturing .............................................................. 465 658 52,816 75,033 116 132 13,204 15,007 

 Food ........................................................................ 52 99 6,590 12,340 13 20 1,648 2,468 

 Beverage and tobacco products .............................. 8 10 856 1,225 2 2 214 245 

 Textile mills .............................................................. 21 44 2,239 6,237 5 9 560 1,247 

 Textile product mills ................................................. 8 8 981 1,312 2 2 245 262 

 Apparel .................................................................... 18 17 1,294 1,586 5 3 324 317 

 Leather and allied products ..................................... 3 5 850 433 1 1 213 87 

 Wood products ........................................................ 39 49 3,623 4,583 10 10 906 917 

 Paper ....................................................................... 14 10 1,055 1,180 4 2 264 236 

 Printing and related support activities ..................... 13 11 934 786 3 2 234 157 

 Petroleum and coal products ................................... 10 14 892 1,298 3 3 223 260 

 Chemicals ................................................................ 8 12 561 1,131 2 2 140 226 

 Plastics and rubber products ................................... 25 44 2,392 4,720 6 9 598 944 

 Nonmetallic mineral products .................................. 48 47 4,212 4,666 12 9 1,053 933 

 Primary metals ........................................................ 21 28 1,919 3,104 5 6 480 621 

 Fabricated metal products ....................................... 29 41 2,380 4,047 7 8 595 809 

 Machinery ................................................................ 18 38 2,724 5,472 5 8 681 1,094 

 Computer and electronic products .......................... 13 27 1,214 2,223 3 5 304 445 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ....................... 12 16 2,372 2,759 3 3 593 552 

 Transportation equipment ....................................... 78 107 12,534 12,458 20 21 3,134 2,492 

 Furniture and related products ................................ 20 22 2,521 2,712 5 4 630 542 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing .................................. 7 9 673 761 2 2 168 152 

 Wholesale trade .......................................................... 23 29 1,706 2,411 6 6 427 482 

 Retail trade 4

 .............................................................. 105 135 9,985 14,295 26 27 2,496 2,859 

 Building material and garden supply stores ............ 8 15 779 1,797 2 3 195 359 

 Food and beverage stores ...................................... 27 20 2,394 1,580 7 4 599 316 

 Clothing and clothing accessories stores ................ 4 12 289 958 1 2 72 192 

 General merchandise stores ................................... 33 41 3,735 5,876 8 8 934 1,175 

 Transportation and warehousing 4

 ............................... 114 161 13,341 21,508 29 32 3,335 4,302 

 Truck transportation ................................................ 14 8 879 572 4 2 220 114 

 Transit and ground passenger transportation ......... 90 128 11,354 18,520 23 26 2,839 3,704 

 Support activities for transportation ......................... ( 3 ) 8 ( 3 ) 819 ( 3 ) 2 ( 3 ) 164 

 Information .................................................................. 25 54 2,818 14,865 6 11 705 2,973 

 Finance and insurance ................................................ 29 24 2,151 1,843 7 5 538 369 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .............................. 13 8 1,408 495 3 2 352 99 

 Professional and technical services ............................ 44 67 3,549 9,581 11 13 887 1,916 

 Management of companies and enterprises ............... ( 3 ) 4 ( 3 ) 374 ( 3 ) 1 ( 3 ) 75 

 Administrative and waste services .............................. 225 338 17,203 32,076 56 68 4,301 6,415 

 Educational services ................................................... 9 11 958 860 2 2 240 172 

 Health care and social assistance ............................... 46 56 3,904 4,900 12 11 976 980 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............................. 24 28 1,843 2,022 6 6 461 404 

 Accommodation and food services ............................. 208 232 27,239 30,635 52 46 6,810 6,127 

 Accommodation ....................................................... 45 67 3,729 5,876 11 13 932 1,175 

 Food services and drinking places .......................... 163 165 23,510 24,759 41 33 5,878 4,952 

 Other services, except public administration ............... 15 19 1,153 1,681 4 4 288 336 

 Unclassified ................................................................ 1 1 92 55 - - 23 11 

Government ..................................................................... 101 111 7,725 11,406 25 22 1,931 2,281 

 Federal ........................................................................ 10 9 1,215 755 3 2 304 151 

 State ............................................................................ 22 25 1,724 2,580 6 5 431 516 

 State government education .................................. 8 15 583 1,868 2 3 146 374 

 Local ............................................................................ 69 77 4,786 8,071 17 15 1,197 1,614 

 Local government education .................................. 39 46 2,436 5,123 10 9 609 1,025 

 1

 Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing 2 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.

 lengths of months. There were 4 weeks in December 2010 3

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

 and 5 weeks in December 2011. Average weekly events 4

 Includes other industries not shown.

 and initial claimants may not sum to subtotals and totals NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 due to rounding.

Industry

Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs1

Events Initial claimants Events Initial claimants
Table 4. Region and state distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

not seasonally adjusted

December December December December December December December December

2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011

 Total 2 ............................................... 1,931 2,433 184,130 263,665 483 487 46,033 52,733

Northeast ............................................. 356 450 35,601 47,617 89 90 8,900 9,523

 Connecticut ..................................... 7 5 576 578 2 1 144 116

 Maine .............................................. 6 10 431 771 2 2 108 154

 Massachusetts ................................ 19 19 2,372 1,946 5 4 593 389

 New Hampshire ............................... 3 6 326 951 1 1 82 190

 New Jersey ..................................... 49 88 6,036 8,098 12 18 1,509 1,620

 New York ......................................... 115 117 12,383 11,498 29 23 3,096 2,300

 Pennsylvania ................................... 142 186 11,904 20,719 36 37 2,976 4,144

 Rhode Island ................................... 10 13 1,264 2,571 3 3 316 514

 Vermont ........................................... 5 6 309 485 1 1 77 97

South ................................................... 493 602 51,554 67,741 123 120 12,889 13,548

 Alabama .......................................... 34 46 3,758 5,134 9 9 940 1,027

 Arkansas ......................................... 6 24 563 2,759 2 5 141 552

 Delaware ......................................... ( 3 ) 9 ( 3 ) 820 ( 3 ) 2 ( 3 ) 164

 District of Columbia ......................... ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Florida ............................................. 92 70 7,554 6,239 23 14 1,889 1,248

 Georgia ........................................... 42 60 4,306 7,507 11 12 1,077 1,501

 Kentucky ......................................... 38 67 5,003 8,047 10 13 1,251 1,609

 Louisiana ......................................... 21 20 1,741 1,923 5 4 435 385

 Maryland ......................................... 9 18 611 1,959 2 4 153 392

 Mississippi ....................................... 19 21 2,128 1,812 5 4 532 362

 North Carolina ................................. 80 82 8,876 11,050 20 16 2,219 2,210

 Oklahoma ........................................ 6 10 1,410 981 2 2 353 196

 South Carolina ................................ 26 32 2,648 4,612 7 6 662 922

 Tennessee ...................................... 19 24 1,895 2,157 5 5 474 431

 Texas .............................................. 63 52 7,312 5,033 16 10 1,828 1,007

 Virginia ............................................ 30 64 3,177 7,450 8 13 794 1,490

 West Virginia ................................... - ( 3 ) - ( 3 ) - ( 3 ) - ( 3 )

Midwest ............................................... 565 743 58,560 78,074 141 149 14,640 15,615

 Illinois .............................................. 110 118 13,672 13,449 28 24 3,418 2,690

 Indiana ............................................ 49 49 5,314 5,758 12 10 1,329 1,152

 Iowa ................................................. 39 58 3,897 6,797 10 12 974 1,359

 Kansas ............................................ 23 23 2,923 2,952 6 5 731 590

 Michigan .......................................... 67 135 8,985 12,542 17 27 2,246 2,508

 Minnesota ........................................ 34 49 2,932 5,073 9 10 733 1,015

 Missouri ........................................... 54 67 4,763 6,586 14 13 1,191 1,317

 Nebraska ......................................... 14 15 1,157 2,252 4 3 289 450

 North Dakota ................................... ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Ohio ................................................. 87 107 7,826 11,550 22 21 1,957 2,310

 South Dakota .................................. ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) ( 3 ) Wisconsin ........................................ 81 111 6,578 10,117 20 22 1,645 2,023

West .................................................... 517 638 38,415 70,233 129 128 9,604 14,047

 Alaska ............................................. 9 3 915 447 2 1 229 89

 Arizona ............................................ 9 8 940 750 2 2 235 150

 California ......................................... 365 458 25,602 53,031 91 92 6,401 10,606

 Colorado .......................................... 14 13 964 1,179 4 3 241 236

 Hawaii ............................................. - 4 - 388 - 1 - 78

 Idaho ............................................... 15 20 1,006 1,584 4 4 252 317

 Montana .......................................... 8 11 470 895 2 2 118 179

 Nevada ............................................ 26 31 2,449 3,127 7 6 612 625

 New Mexico ..................................... 8 8 640 590 2 2 160 118

 Oregon ............................................ 25 49 2,234 4,705 6 10 559 941

 Utah ................................................. 10 10 805 693 3 2 201 139

 Washington ..................................... 28 23 2,390 2,844 7 5 598 569

 Wyoming ......................................... - - - -----

 Puerto Rico ..................................... 10 14 940 1,729 3 3 235 346

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. 3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 2

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

Census region and state

Mass layoff totals Average weekly mass layoffs1

Events Initial Claimants Events Initial Claimants