Technical information: (202) 691-6392

http://www.bls.gov/mls/

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 03-261

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, May 29, 2003

MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2003

Employers initiated 1,576 mass layoff actions in April 2003, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau

of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number

of workers involved totaled 161,095. (See table 1.) Compared with April 2002, the number of layoff

events increased slightly, while the number of workers involved declined. April 2003 marked the 11th

consecutive month the number of mass layoff initial claims declined over the year. From January through

April 2003, the total number of events, at 6,460, and initial claims, at 624,401, were lower than in JanuaryApril 2002 (6,496 and 730,002, respectively).

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. 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”) and 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 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

Industry Distribution

School and employee bus transportation, with 10,086 claims, and temporary help services, with 9,784,

each had over 6 percent of all initial claims in April. (See table A.)

Manufacturing industries accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff events and 39 percent of all initial

claims filed in April. In April 2002, manufacturing accounted for 31 percent of events and initial claims. The

number of initial claimants was highest in transportation equipment (15,454, mainly in automobile manufacturing), followed by food production (8,468) and computer and electronic products (4,985). (See table 2.)

The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 12 percent of events and 10 percent of initial claims filed during the month, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Eight percent of all layoff

events and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in transportation and warehousing, primarily

in school and employee bus transportation. Eight percent of the events and 7 percent of the initial claims

were from retail trade, mostly from general merchandise stores, largely in discount department stores. The

information sector accounted for 3 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, largely in motion picture

and video production. Construction accounted for 10 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims during

the month, mostly among specialty trade contractors.
2

School and employee bus transportation ........ 10,086 2002 13,056

Temporary help services ................................ 9,784 2001 17,507

Motion picture and video production ............. 7,142 1997 15,908

Automobile manufacturing .............................. 5,268 1996 14,744

Discount department stores............................ 3,902 2003 3,902

Food service contractors ............................... 2,930 1998 3,574

Professional employer organizations ............... 2,673 2001 3,280

Tax preparation services ................................ 2,578 2002 2,904

Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ......... 2,556 2003 2,556

Scheduled passenger air transportation........... 2,197 2003 2,197

Table A. Industries with largest mass layoff initial claims in April 2003p

Industry

 p=preliminary.

Initial claims

April peak

Year Initial claims

Government establishments accounted for 3 percent of events and 2 percent of initial claims filed during

the month, particularly in executive, legislative, and general government agencies.

Compared with April 2002, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in transit and ground

passenger transportation (-3,118), telecommunications (-2,803), and agriculture and forestry support activities (-2,712). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in transportation equipment

manufacturing (+8,026).

Geographic Distribution

Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in April due to mass layoffs was reported in

the West, 51,815. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording accounted for 31 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest followed, with

43,466 initial claims, then the South, with 34,922, and the Northeast, with 30,892.

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in three of the four regions, with the

largest decrease in the Northeast (-7,684). The Midwest had the only over-the-year increase (+6,347). Six

of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with

mass layoffs, with the largest decline in the Middle Atlantic (-6,635). The East North Central division had

the largest increase (+5,847).

California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this April, 39,040,

mostly in motion picture and sound recording and in administrative and support services. Pennsylvania

reported 11,004, followed by Ohio (10,704) and New York (9,151). These four states accounted for

47 percent of all layoff events and 43 percent of initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.)

New York reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-8,738), followed

by Texas (-3,497) and Illinois (-2,373). The largest over-the-year increases occurred in Indiana (+3,828)

and Georgia (+2,613).
3

From January to April 2003, California reported 163,082 mass layoff initial claims, 26 percent of the

national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were Pennsylvania (44,209),

New York (36,793), and Ohio (36,478).

______________________________

The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the First Quarter of 2003 will be issued on Wednesday,

June 18, 2003.
Technical Note

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state

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 establishments which have at least 50 initial claims

filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These

establishments 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, and the number of

weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore,

analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change 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;

TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

Definitions

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 establishment during a 5-week

period, regardless of duration.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2001 to April 2003

Date

Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants

2001

April ............................................................................ 1,450 176,265 

May ............................................................................. 1,434 159,365 

June ............................................................................ 2,107 253,826 

Second Quarter .......................................................... 4,991 589,456 2,072 401,270 41.5 68.1 

July ............................................................................. 2,117 273,807 

August ........................................................................ 1,490 166,148 

September .................................................................. 1,327 160,402 

Third Quarter .............................................................. 4,934 600,357 1,815 370,942 36.8 61.8 

October ....................................................................... 1,831 215,483 

November ................................................................... 2,721 295,956 

December ................................................................... 2,440 268,893 

Fourth Quarter ............................................................ 6,992 780,332 2,698 502,662 38.6 64.4 

2002

January ....................................................................... 2,146 263,821 

February ..................................................................... 1,383 138,984 

March ......................................................................... 1,460 161,336 

First Quarter ............................................................... 4,989 564,141 1,748 315,819 35.0 56.0 

April ............................................................................ 1,507 165,861 

May ............................................................................. 1,726 180,007 

June ............................................................................ 1,580 161,928 

Second Quarter .......................................................... 4,813 507,796 1,905 352,183 39.6 69.4 

July ............................................................................. 2,041 245,211 

August ........................................................................ 1,247 128,080 

September .................................................................. 1,062 124,512 

Third Quarter .............................................................. 4,350 497,803 1,383 274,576 31.8 55.2 

October ....................................................................... 1,497 171,088 

November ................................................................... 2,150 240,028 

December ................................................................... 2,470 263,775 

Fourth Quarter ............................................................ 6,117 674,891 2, p2,127 2, p305,208 p34.8 p45.2

2003

January r

 ..................................................................... 2,315 225,415 

February ..................................................................... 1,363 124,977 

March p

 ....................................................................... 1,206 112,914 

First Quarter p ............................................................ 4,884 463,306 

April 3, p ....................................................................... 1,576 161,095 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants

events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.

is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with 3 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia,

layoffs lasting more than 30 days. except Wyoming.

 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more p = preliminary.

data on these layoffs become avaliable. Recent experience suggests r = revised.

that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised
Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

Industry

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

April February March April April February March April

2002 2003 2003p2003p2002 2003 2003p2003p

 Total1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,507 1,363 1,206 1,576 165,861 124,977 112,914 161,095 

Total, private ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,458 1,322 1,162 1,529 161,342 121,902 109,305 157,244 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..................................................................................................................................................................... 79 100 64 64 8,079 5,626 4,949 4,624 

 Mining ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 8 7 ( 2

 ) 1,409 788 708 ( 2 ) 

 Utilities ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 326 

 Construction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 105 196 125 150 9,135 13,434 7,640 10,042 

 Manufacturing..................................................................................................................................................................... 461 435 390 500 50,897 48,182 41,063 62,429 

 Food ..................................................................................................................................................................... 80 59 72 85 9,291 5,475 7,607 8,468 

 Beverage and tobacco products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 9 ( 2

 ) 7 899 458 ( 2 ) 450 

 Textile mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 16 9 17 1,120 1,958 764 2,725 

 Textile product mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 7 5 9 ( 2 ) 571 432 697 

 Apparel ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 20 11 19 3,742 1,525 950 2,385 

 Leather and allied products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 ( 2

 ) – 5 437 ( 2 ) – 398 

 Wood products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 29 35 30 1,637 2,372 3,104 2,858 

 Paper ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 15 9 14 1,330 1,436 937 1,083 

 Printing and related support activities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 13 7 8 874 793 658 848 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – –

 Chemicals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 9 ( 2 ) 6 664 1,185 ( 2 ) 1,752 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 16 6 24 857 1,136 552 3,789 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 18 19 14 717 1,652 1,882 1,190 

 Primary metals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 17 21 27 1,979 1,678 1,766 3,195 

 Fabricated metal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 34 24 35 1,781 2,622 1,734 2,478 

 Machinery ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 22 35 35 5,045 4,207 3,761 4,368 

 Computer and electronic products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 74 41 41 53 7,336 3,690 5,077 4,985 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 19 26 17 2,427 3,159 3,787 1,836 

 Transportation equipment ..................................................................................................................................................................... 53 53 44 67 7,428 10,535 5,061 15,454 

 Furniture and related products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 24 14 22 1,919 2,702 1,727 2,829 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 9 8 6 735 613 830 641 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 19 21 31 2,212 1,321 1,811 2,425 

 Retail trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 122 110 102 121 13,715 10,015 10,480 11,656 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 104 34 37 132 15,442 4,650 4,382 14,386 

 Information ..................................................................................................................................................................... 86 61 50 51 12,127 5,689 6,971 11,131 

 Finance and insurance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34 24 33 34 3,142 1,778 2,130 2,061 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 10 8 10 684 795 483 569 

 Professional and technical services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 62 33 40 60 7,767 4,224 3,187 5,852 

 Management of companies and enterprises ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 431 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

 Administrative and waste services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 177 176 163 186 18,110 15,898 15,062 16,593 

 Educational services.................................................................................................................. 5 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 6 356 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 463 

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 29 22 24 24 2,406 1,619 1,569 1,695 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 33 15 12 33 3,507 1,447 663 2,551 

 Accommodation and food services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 74 52 71 95 7,378 4,746 7,111 8,014 

 Other services, except public administration..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 11 4 17 3,279 629 280 1,504 

 Unclassified ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 6 3 5 1,106 361 284 389 

Government ..................................................................................................................................................................... 49 41 44 47 4,519 3,075 3,609 3,851 

 Federal ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 7 6 4 543 421 570 318 

 State ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 14 9 13 1,717 1,054 614 1,470 

 Local ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 20 29 30 2,259 1,600 2,425 2,063 

 

1

 For April 2003, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, 

p

 = preliminary.

except Wyoming. NOTE: Industry data reflect the North American Industry

 

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. Classification System (NAICS), 2002. Dash represents zero.
Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division

Census region and division

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

April February March April April February March April

2002 2003 2003p2003p2002 2003 2003p2003p

 United States1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,507 1,363 1,206 1,576 165,861 124,977 112,914 161,095 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 306 225 157 326 38,576 23,291 15,230 30,892 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 62 26 29 59 7,263 2,758 2,987 6,214 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 244 199 128 267 31,313 20,533 12,243 24,678 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 331 307 263 323 35,740 32,877 24,630 34,922 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 158 142 109 151 16,451 15,410 9,362 14,851 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 58 45 55 74 6,629 5,249 4,752 9,550 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 115 120 99 98 12,660 12,218 10,516 10,521 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 314 235 237 334 37,119 23,244 26,239 43,466 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 260 181 174 271 31,127 16,279 18,946 36,974 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 54 54 63 63 5,992 6,965 7,293 6,492 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 556 596 549 593 54,426 45,565 46,815 51,815 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 61 27 47 68 7,382 2,857 4,251 6,109 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 495 569 502 525 47,044 42,708 42,564 45,706 

 

 

1

 See footnote 1, table 2. Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central:

 

 

p

 = preliminary. Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, 

 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, 

the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, 

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, 

Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, 

Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

 
Table 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

State

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

April February March April April February March April

2002 2003 2003p2003p2002 2003 2003p2003p

 Total1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,507 1,363 1,206 1,576 165,861 124,977 112,914 161,095 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 9 11 24 2,529 1,547 1,108 4,048 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) – 6 361 ( 2 ) – 489 

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 7 13 22 3,649 537 1,148 2,193 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 4 5 3 509 288 381 326 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 436 525 438 455 39,943 38,769 36,360 39,040 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 6 9 14 1,121 535 1,126 1,318 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 3 5 3 232 190 412 206 

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) – 3 508 ( 2 ) – 180 

District of Columbia ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – – –

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 69 59 60 64 6,303 4,459 4,188 4,451 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 23 15 31 1,686 3,627 1,224 4,299 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 3 ( 2

 ) 8 512 186 ( 2 ) 621 

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 4 13 8 625 996 1,187 778 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 61 44 35 64 9,583 4,956 3,161 7,210 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 28 37 37 2,998 2,267 4,826 6,826 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 15 14 13 1,530 1,191 1,572 1,249 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 5 9 5 797 2,056 1,449 406 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 14 21 29 2,315 2,174 2,124 4,186 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 16 8 20 1,982 1,043 402 2,777 

Maine ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 6 822 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 575 

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 6 ( 2

 ) 9 218 562 ( 2 ) 859 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 18 16 29 2,891 1,620 1,263 3,307 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 21 10 32 2,714 1,719 848 4,704 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 8 13 21 1,936 614 1,041 2,848 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 10 8 9 287 732 509 547 

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 15 23 18 974 1,922 2,930 1,441 

Montana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 4 224 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 443 

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 6 ( 2

 ) 4 499 830 ( 2 ) 348 

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 8 7 13 1,169 659 475 961 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 – ( 2

 ) 3 1,099 – ( 2 ) 205 

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 31 17 47 4,439 3,772 1,253 4,523 

New Mexico ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 178 

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 126 42 40 91 17,889 5,265 3,571 9,151 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 17 12 21 2,832 1,385 1,273 1,990 

North Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 229 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 80 46 40 62 9,034 4,097 4,988 10,704 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 7 10 6 324 553 1,606 1,070 

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 24 41 22 3,118 2,036 4,336 2,238 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 83 126 71 129 8,985 11,496 7,419 11,004 

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

 ) ( 2 ) 9 1,431 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,137 

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 20 6 8 2,450 2,159 986 1,228 

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

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 12 15 12 1,498 796 1,011 769 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 84 93 76 69 9,845 10,334 8,127 6,348 

Utah ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 – ( 2

 ) 4 460 – ( 2 ) 238 

Vermont ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 ( 2

 ) 3 9 788 ( 2 ) 833 784 

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 13 14 13 1,959 1,263 1,392 1,719 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 15 21 34 3,110 1,511 1,745 3,318 

West Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 346 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 65 42 52 76 6,798 3,240 5,123 7,530 

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

 ) – ( 1 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 1 ) 

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 10 5 13 1,591 1,336 378 1,833 

 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p

 = preliminary.

 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.