For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, October 25, 2011 USDL-11-1545 

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

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

MASS LAYOFFS — SEPTEMBER 2011 

Employers took 1,495 mass layoff actions in September involving 153,229 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 September decreased by 92 from August, and the number of 

associated initial claims decreased by 12,318. In September, 376 mass layoff events were reported in the 

manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 39,929 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,

October 2006-September 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,

October 2006-September 2011

Private nonfarm

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

down from 9.6 percent a year earlier. In September, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 

103,000 over the month and by 1,490,000 over the year. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in September was 1,189, not seasonally adjusted, resulting in 117,232 

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

mass layoff events increased by 8, and associated average weekly initial claims increased by 4,032. Ten 

of the 19 major industry sectors in the private sector reported over-the-year increases in average weekly 

initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in manufacturing. (Average weekly analysis mitigates 

the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical Note.) The six-digit industry with the largest 

number of initial claims in September 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 

September 2011, not seasonally adjusted

Year Initial claims

Temporary help services 1

 .................................. 10,040 2001 12,752 

Elementary and secondary schools ..................... 3,650 2005 15,815 

Motion picture and video production .................. 3,034 1997 11,176 

Payroll services .................................................. 3,027 1999 4,737 

Discount department stores ................................ 2,973 2005 3,550 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................. 2,246 2008 4,520 

Highway, street, and bridge construction ............ 1,992 2011 1,992 

Supermarkets and other grocery stores .............. 1,872 2005 4,873 

Teleproduction and postproduction services ....... ( 2 ) 2011 ( 2 )

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ......... ( 2 ) 2000 3,688 

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

 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Industry Initial claims September peak

The manufacturing sector accounted for 25 percent of all mass layoff events and 27 percent of initial 

claims filed in September. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 20 percent of events and 25 percent of 

initial claims. Within this sector, the numbers of mass layoff claimants in September 2011 was greatest 

in the food and transportation equipment subsectors. (See table 3.) Fifteen of the 21 manufacturing 

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

increases occurring in food and textile mills. 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

All 4 regions and 6 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial 

claims for unemployment insurance due to mass layoffs in September. Among the census regions, the 

Northeast had the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly initial claims. Of the geographic 

divisions, the Pacific and Middle Atlantic registered the largest over-the-year increases in average 

weekly initial claims. 

California recorded the highest number of mass layoff initial claims in September, followed by 

Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, and Illinois. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia 

experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, led by California and 

Pennsylvania. (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 Extended Mass Layoffs news release for the Third Quarter 2011 is scheduled to be released 

on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The Mass Layoffs news release for 

October is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 22, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). 

Upcoming Changes to the Mass Layoffs News Release 

The following changes will be introduced in the October 2011 mass layoffs news release 

scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, November 22, 2011. 

 Charts 1 and 2 will be replaced with a single chart showing 10 years of mass layoff 

initial claims data. 

 Table A will only show private nonfarm industries. 

 Seasonally adjusted data will be removed from Table 3 since these data are shown in 

Table 1. Select three-digit industry detail will be added to several two-digit industries. 

Public education industry detail will be displayed within the state and local 

government sections of Table 3. The previous two months’ data will be removed; the 

current month and the previous year’s data will be shown. 

 Table 4 will be removed from the monthly release and issued as a supplemental table 

to the quarterly release. Table 5 and Table 6 will be combined to create a new Table 

4. The geographic divisions shown in Table 5 will be removed, and the states will be 

grouped into their respective Census regions. The previous two months’ data will be 

removed; the current month and previous year’s data will be shown. 

 The new Tables 3 and 4 will include average weekly mass layoff events and average 

weekly initial claims for the current month and previous year. See the Technical Note 

for a description of average weekly analysis.
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, October 2007 to September

2011, seasonally adjusted

2007

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 

August .......................................................... 1,587 165,547 1,373 150,136 391 48,997 

September ................................................... 1,495 153,229 1,347 139,151 376 39,929 

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, October 2007 to September

2011, not seasonally adjusted

2007

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 

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

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

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

September July August September September July August September

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 1,541 1,579 1,587 1,495 137,941 145,000 165,547 153,229 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,331 1,363 1,373 1,347 119,654 124,745 150,136 139,151 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 336 342 391 376 34,641 35,460 48,997 39,929 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 920 2,176 961 1,189 77,654 216,774 99,213 117,232 

Total, private ........................................................ 823 1,867 904 1,108 68,913 182,960 94,711 108,119 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 17 108 29 13 926 8,882 1,552 819 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 806 1,759 875 1,095 67,987 174,078 93,159 107,300 

 Mining .............................................................. 4 – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 447 – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Utilities ............................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 159 

 Construction .................................................... 89 118 65 150 6,137 8,990 4,628 10,813 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 187 602 228 296 19,403 71,814 26,916 32,058 

 Food ............................................................ 31 84 51 58 3,216 9,998 4,585 6,532 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 472 656 

 Textile mills .................................................. 3 29 8 11 277 3,341 944 1,784 

 Textile product mills ..................................... ( 2 ) 9 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,107 200 ( 2 )

 Apparel ........................................................ 3 14 10 11 194 1,526 1,024 993 

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

 Wood products ............................................ 22 28 11 21 1,726 2,826 1,242 1,662 

 Paper ........................................................... 4 4 7 6 239 298 512 544 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 3 9 6 6 277 930 569 451 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... 3 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 180 ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Chemicals .................................................... ( 2

 ) 12 6 5 ( 2 ) 935 303 376 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... ( 2 ) 36 8 14 ( 2 ) 3,359 705 1,011 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 7 13 11 3 609 1,612 685 363 

 Primary metals ............................................. 13 24 5 8 1,381 2,450 415 869 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 13 27 11 20 1,006 2,980 1,051 2,010 

 Machinery .................................................... 11 34 16 22 1,787 4,799 4,407 3,069 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 8 19 10 19 562 1,735 884 1,235 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 10 19 12 17 1,793 2,628 2,537 1,872 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 30 193 30 38 4,166 26,488 4,688 6,006 

 Furniture and related products .................... 11 31 7 18 792 2,770 952 1,342 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 8 9 10 7 573 726 741 912 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 16 21 17 16 1,011 1,594 1,347 1,316 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 99 165 79 120 9,764 17,189 6,804 12,805 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 31 114 74 49 2,268 9,326 7,181 4,611 

 Information ....................................................... 24 52 58 36 2,365 5,289 18,813 6,431 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 29 43 26 22 2,602 2,769 1,647 1,821 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 4 10 4 ( 2 ) 267 856 235 ( 2 )

 Professional and technical services ................ 23 51 24 39 1,504 4,372 1,737 6,476 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... ( 2 ) 5 4 3 ( 2 ) 654 269 182 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 133 320 162 186 10,059 31,193 13,158 17,285 

 Educational services ........................................ 13 29 11 12 786 1,993 1,329 791 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 26 104 30 39 1,660 7,079 2,279 2,711 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 39 30 17 27 2,799 2,867 1,438 2,092 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 72 74 65 82 5,735 6,445 4,533 6,357 

 Other services, except public administration ... 12 17 8 12 864 1,336 654 1,067 

 Unclassified ..................................................... 1 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – 78 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Government ......................................................... 97 309 57 81 8,741 33,814 4,502 9,113 

 Federal ............................................................ 19 10 10 17 1,898 784 833 1,685 

 State ................................................................ 22 78 15 33 1,575 12,220 1,267 2,857 

 Local ................................................................ 56 221 32 31 5,268 20,810 2,402 4,571 

 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 September 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 1,870 368,664 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 2,008 396,441 47.6 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 1,370 260,030 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 1,999 390,445 43.3 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 1,490 257,031 36.0 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 

August ........................................ 961 99,213 875 93,159 

September ................................. 1,189 117,232 1,095 107,300 

Third Quarter ............................. 4,326 433,219 3,729 374,537 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards

rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated

associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. with such events increases by 25-40 percent.

 2

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

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

September July August September September July August September

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 United States 1

 ......................................... 920 2,176 961 1,189 77,654 216,774 99,213 117,232 

Northeast .......................................................... 160 363 187 286 14,411 34,691 29,937 26,131 

 New England ................................................ 15 44 23 23 1,357 3,808 7,784 2,245 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 145 319 164 263 13,054 30,883 22,153 23,886 

South ................................................................ 259 624 277 311 21,507 62,261 25,771 28,956 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 153 358 174 183 11,811 33,888 15,565 16,747 

 East South Central ....................................... 41 164 47 52 3,633 17,365 4,879 4,988 

 West South Central ...................................... 65 102 56 76 6,063 11,008 5,327 7,221 

Midwest ............................................................ 155 505 181 219 14,964 62,114 20,541 21,885 

 East North Central ........................................ 115 359 132 178 11,280 41,262 14,839 18,293 

 West North Central ....................................... 40 146 49 41 3,684 20,852 5,702 3,592 

West ................................................................. 346 684 316 373 26,772 57,708 22,964 40,260 

 Mountain ....................................................... 47 67 36 43 4,461 6,339 3,048 3,678 

 Pacific ........................................................... 299 617 280 330 22,311 51,369 19,916 36,582 

 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

September July August September September July August September

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 Total 1

 .............................................. 920 2,176 961 1,189 77,654 216,774 99,213 117,232 

Alabama .............................................. 13 60 14 14 1,021 6,904 1,310 1,419 

Alaska ................................................. 4 ( 2 ) 4 6 492 ( 2 ) 307 532 

Arizona ................................................ 6 23 5 9 477 2,137 341 678 

Arkansas ............................................. 3 17 10 9 301 1,607 909 825 

California ............................................. 264 571 251 297 19,288 46,009 17,552 33,690 

Colorado ............................................. 10 8 6 7 827 704 547 680 

Connecticut ......................................... ( 2 ) 8 3 4 ( 2 ) 713 280 242 

Delaware ............................................. ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 233 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia ............................. – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Florida ................................................. 91 147 78 69 6,001 12,098 5,176 4,538 

Georgia ............................................... 24 45 30 28 2,438 5,152 2,447 3,256 

Hawaii ................................................. 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 182 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Idaho ................................................... 7 9 4 5 1,011 1,220 255 365 

Illinois .................................................. 35 48 35 48 5,053 5,599 5,514 5,092 

Indiana ................................................ 10 31 13 22 846 5,700 1,215 2,179 

Iowa .................................................... 3 19 9 8 362 2,397 1,796 741 

Kansas ................................................ 8 12 9 3 1,245 1,372 1,497 334 

Kentucky ............................................. 10 54 13 20 1,454 6,294 1,935 2,202 

Louisiana ............................................ 11 21 7 16 688 1,936 378 1,554 

Maine .................................................. ( 2 ) 9 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 667 ( 2 ) 194 

Maryland ............................................. 6 13 4 9 528 1,486 812 617 

Massachusetts .................................... 7 16 12 8 476 1,632 6,030 617 

Michigan ............................................. 11 130 21 31 758 14,164 1,986 2,186 

Minnesota ........................................... 5 68 7 6 412 11,406 607 419 

Mississippi .......................................... 12 25 10 8 741 1,853 613 521 

Missouri .............................................. 19 36 17 21 1,115 4,068 1,145 1,520 

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

 ) 3 332 306 ( 2 ) 228 

Nebraska ............................................ 5 8 4 3 550 1,026 247 578 

Nevada ............................................... 13 10 11 13 1,238 875 1,158 1,274 

New Hampshire .................................. ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 363 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New Jersey ......................................... 22 81 23 40 1,665 7,381 6,817 3,922 

New Mexico ........................................ 3 9 5 ( 2 ) 238 568 338 ( 2 ) New York ............................................ 52 142 71 91 5,499 14,892 7,506 7,664 

North Carolina 3

 .................................. 13 80 21 44 1,372 8,083 1,624 5,449 

North Dakota ....................................... – 3 3 – – 583 410 –

Ohio .................................................... 22 67 25 37 1,638 7,739 2,420 4,985 

Oklahoma ........................................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 1,206 ( 2 ) 372 

Oregon ................................................ 17 27 10 14 1,635 3,435 836 1,178 

Pennsylvania ...................................... 71 96 70 132 5,890 8,610 7,830 12,300 

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

 ) 4 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 323 882 ( 2 )

South Carolina .................................... 7 28 20 20 724 2,724 2,871 1,944 

South Dakota ...................................... ––––––––

Tennessee .......................................... 6 25 10 10 417 2,314 1,021 846 

Texas .................................................. 49 58 37 48 4,814 6,259 3,836 4,470 

Utah .................................................... 4 4 3 4 338 529 218 329 

Vermont .............................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 537 

Virginia ................................................ 11 41 17 8 689 4,028 1,988 569 

Washington ......................................... 11 15 14 11 714 1,537 1,170 1,006 

West Virginia ....................................... – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin ........................................... 37 83 38 40 2,985 8,060 3,704 3,851 

Wyoming ............................................. ––––––––

Puerto Rico ......................................... 16 19 12 33 1,382 2,333 1,282 2,823 

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