Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 06-319
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                691-5902     Thursday, February 23, 2006

   
                       MASS LAYOFFS IN JANUARY 2006
   
   In January 2006, employers took 1,113 mass layoff actions, seasonally
adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits
during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor reported today.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from a
single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 108,378,
on a seasonally adjusted basis.  (See table 1.)  The number of layoff
events fell by 195 from December 2005, and was the lowest for any month
since October 2000.  The number of initial claims due to mass layoff ac-
tions declined by 41,187 over the month.  In the manufacturing sector,
274 mass layoff events were reported during January 2006, seasonally ad-
justed, resulting in 29,541 initial claims.  Both figures were the lowest 
ever recorded in the program.  (See table 1.)

   In January 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, sea-
sonally adjusted, down from 4.9 percent in December 2005 and 5.2 percent
in January 2005.  Total nonfarm payroll employment, seasonally adjusted,
increased by 193,000 over the month and by 2.1 million over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 40,900 initial claims in
January, 35 percent of the total.  (See table A.)  Temporary help services,
with 8,579 initial claims, and motion picture and video production, with
7,640, together accounted for 14 percent of all initial claims in January.
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 27 percent of all mass layoff
events and 30 percent of all initial claims filed in January; a year ear-
lier, in January 2005, manufacturing comprised 32 percent of events and
41 percent of initial claims.  In January 2006, the number of manufactur-
ing claimants was highest in transportation equipment (11,421, mostly auto-
motive-related), followed by food processing (3,589).  (See table 3.)
   
   Retail trade accounted for 11 percent of events and 13 percent of
initial claims filed in January 2006, with layoffs mainly in general
merchandise stores.  Twelve percent of all layoff events and 10 percent
of initial claims filed during the month were from administrative and
waste services, primarily among temporary help services.  Transportation
and warehousing accounted for 8 percent of events and 9 percent of initial
claims in January, mostly in transit and ground passenger transportation.
   
   Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and 4 percent
of initial claims filed in January, largely in executive, legislative, and
general government agencies.
   
                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in
January 2006p
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |        |
                                          | Initial|        January peak
                 Industry                 | claims |--------------------------
                                          |        |   Year  | Initial claims
------------------------------------------|--------|---------|----------------
Temporary help services ..................|  8,579 |   1998  |     26,224
Motion picture and video production ......|  7,640 |   1998  |     12,038                                  
School and employee bus transportation ...|  5,188 |   2005  |     14,526                                  
Automobile manufacturing .................|  4,399 |   2001  |     21,093                          
Discount department stores ...............|  4,361 |   2004  |      6,063
Department stores, except discount .......|  2,982 |   1998  |      5,773
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ..|  2,194 |   1997  |      4,460
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ..|  1,868 |   1999  |      5,859
Highway, street, and bridge construction .|  1,858 |   2000  |      9,680
Payroll services .........................|  1,831 |   2002  |      8,686
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   p = preliminary.


   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in January
2006, at 1,245, was down by 1,319 from a year earlier, and the number of as-
sociated initial claims decreased by 146,006 to 117,946.  These were the low-
est event and initial claim totals for any January on record.  This may be
due in part to a calendar effect; January 2006 contained 4 weeks for possible
mass layoffs, compared with 5 weeks in each January of the prior 3 years.
(See the Technical Note for an explanation of how the number of weeks for data
collection can vary from month to month.  Also, note that adjustments are made
for the calendar effects in the previously mentioned seasonally adjusted se-
ries.)  The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in
transportation equipment manufacturing (-23,903), administrative and support
services (-16,766), heavy and civil engineering construction (-11,240), and
specialty trade contractors (-11,039).  The largest over-the-year increases
in initial claims were reported in motion picture and sound recording (+4,828)
and general merchandise stores (+1,754).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
January due to mass layoffs was in the West, 36,225.  (See table 5.)  Motion
picture and sound recording industries, administrative and support services,
and agriculture and forestry support activities accounted for 39 percent of
all mass-layoff initial claims in that region during the month.  The Midwest
had the second largest number of initial claims, 33,750, followed by the
Northeast, with 25,777, and the South, with 22,194.
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year
in each of the four regions.  The largest decrease was in the Midwest
(-57,225), followed by the South (-34,932), the Northeast (-29,089), and
the West (-24,760).  Each of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year
decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with
the largest in the East North Central (-43,958), Middle Atlantic (-22,845),
and Pacific (-21,630) divisions.  (These declines also may be due in part to
January 2006 containing 4 weeks for possible mass layoffs and January 2005
containing 5 weeks.)
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims
filed due to mass layoff events in January (30,388), followed by New York
(13,290), Michigan (8,786), Pennsylvania (8,172), and Ohio (6,484).  These five
states accounted for 57 percent of all mass layoff events and initial claims
for unemployment insurance.  (See table 6.)

   California had the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial
claims (-16,834), largely due to fewer layoffs in administrative and support
services, specialty trade contractors, and heavy and civil engineering con-
struction.  Ohio had the next largest decline in initial claims (-11,648),
followed by Alabama (-11,489) and Michigan (-11,341).
   
                                  - 3 -
   
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 quar-
terly release provides more information on the industry classification and lo-
cation of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.
Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum
of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly
figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.  (See table 4.)  See the Techni-
cal Note for more detailed definitions.
   
                      ______________________________


   The report on Mass Layoffs in February 2006 is scheduled to be released
on Wednesday, March 22, 2006.
   
   
   
   
   
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 con-
tacted 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 quart-
erly 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; 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.
   
Seasonal adjustment

   Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish-
ing 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 expan-
sions and contractions.
   
   The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis.  Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping 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 one 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, February 2002 to January 2006,
seasonally adjusted

                                      Total             Private nonfarm        Manufacturing

             Date
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants  
                            
             2002           

February ...................     1,805     207,097     1,657     195,251       704      93,234
March ......................     1,670     187,811     1,515     175,831       615      74,351
April ......................     1,681     186,095     1,494     168,902       590      68,210
May ........................     1,723     190,797     1,559     177,743       610      73,953
June .......................     1,620     170,724     1,443     156,813       550      70,936
July .......................     1,635     179,806     1,460     164,944       564      74,834
August .....................     1,478     162,040     1,324     150,118       569      67,779
September ..................     1,911     218,875     1,747     203,849       617      80,528
October ....................     1,774     186,940     1,582     169,660       625      73,904
November ...................     1,652     178,402     1,507     167,335       613      71,693
December ...................     1,841     198,678     1,659     184,368       661      84,048

             2003           

January ....................     1,358     131,963     1,168     117,636       387      48,685
February ...................     1,825     190,928     1,647     178,363       646      78,819
March ......................     1,782     175,671     1,595     160,170       617      72,409
April ......................     1,722     174,608     1,564     163,607       640      83,303
May ........................     1,719     184,003     1,542     170,961       625      86,535
June .......................     1,716     164,299     1,524     148,542       636      68,143
July .......................     1,642     163,179     1,442     148,299       580      74,070
August .....................     1,517     171,861     1,367     158,049       551      74,602
September ..................     1,562     147,383     1,374     133,383       484      56,472
October ....................     1,558     156,814     1,336     138,691       427      52,009
November ...................     1,393     141,383     1,244     129,231       401      50,460
December ...................     1,426     144,456     1,265     132,324       434      50,994

             2004           

January ....................     1,421     142,704     1,223     124,192       395      48,519
February ...................     1,293     132,640     1,145     120,811       362      39,360
March ......................     1,364     140,957     1,234     132,152       407      60,296
April ......................     1,381     141,909     1,207     126,106       341      37,686
May ........................     1,189     111,173     1,030      98,230       314      37,405
June .......................     1,390     141,948     1,226     129,344       360      45,398
July .......................     1,329     137,724     1,185     126,945       371      53,248
August .....................     1,436     131,807     1,243     116,672       342      38,192
September ..................     1,283     125,344     1,155     115,499       344      45,691
October ....................     1,302     129,237     1,181     119,653       369      47,888
November ...................     1,350     135,036     1,202     122,954       407      47,517
December ...................     1,188     120,602     1,038     109,508       293      33,123

             2005           

January ....................     1,465     153,676     1,330     143,295       380      58,778
February ...................     1,135     120,190     1,010     109,964       350      43,966
March ......................     1,204     133,935     1,071     124,273       384      56,253
April ......................     1,278     139,575     1,145     128,478       390      60,726
May ........................     1,194     129,214     1,059     117,660       359      52,055
June .......................     1,184     128,430     1,065     119,271       349      53,930
July .......................     1,248     131,136     1,107     118,994       356      49,070
August .....................     1,145     127,592     1,006     116,011       334      48,904
September ..................     2,219     283,772     1,975     237,831       438      53,399
October ....................     1,114     104,584       986      94,798       328      45,475
November ...................     1,205     120,783     1,074     109,680       359      45,069
December(p) ................     1,308     149,565     1,185     138,234       365      49,641

             2006           

January(p) .................     1,113     108,378       985      97,832       274      29,541


    p = preliminary. 





Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, February 2002 to January 2006,
not seasonally adjusted            

                                      Total             Private nonfarm        Manufacturing

             Date
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants
                                
             2002                      

February ....................    1,382     138,808     1,253     129,849       481      58,784
March .......................    1,460     161,316     1,335     151,305       500      59,613
April .......................    1,506     165,814     1,378     153,216       461      50,897
May .........................    1,723     179,799     1,571     166,801       488      52,720
June ........................    1,584     162,189     1,266     136,424       336      42,130
July ........................    2,042     245,294     1,819     226,892       907     135,271
August ......................    1,248     128,103     1,151     119,874       427      48,668
September ...................    1,062     124,522       957     114,736       352      43,755
October .....................    1,497     171,100     1,270     149,327       493      64,655
November ....................    2,153     240,171     1,860     216,237       719      92,712
December ....................    2,474     264,158     2,324     252,807       984     126,826

             2003  

January .....................    2,315     225,430     2,130     210,918       822      90,244
February ....................    1,363     124,965     1,222     116,264       435      48,161
March .......................    1,207     113,026     1,099     104,468       390      41,063
April .......................    1,581     161,412     1,470     152,937       499      62,349
May .........................    1,703     174,204     1,538     160,729       499      61,278
June ........................    1,691     157,552     1,336     127,743       389      40,845
July ........................    2,087     226,435     1,815     206,901       946     136,410
August ......................    1,258     133,839     1,163     124,131       405      52,620
September ...................      868      82,647       756      73,914       271      31,428
October .....................    1,523     158,240     1,265     137,706       438      53,741
November ....................    1,438     138,543     1,234     123,524       408      48,419
December ....................    1,929     192,633     1,793     182,750       648      77,915

             2004  		   

January .....................    2,428     239,454     2,226     220,687       848      89,551
February ....................      941      84,201       832      76,577       240      23,043
March .......................      920      92,554       847      87,782       258      34,686
April .......................    1,458     157,314     1,316     142,657       343      36,172
May .........................      988      87,501       878      78,786       219      22,141
June ........................    1,379     134,588     1,077     110,804       222      27,307
July ........................    2,094     253,929     1,860     234,877       885     145,895
August ......................      809      69,033       745      63,876       194      17,698
September ...................      708      68,972       637      63,102       189      25,808
October .....................    1,242     127,918     1,101     117,375       372      48,265
November ....................    1,399     130,423     1,201     115,549       412      44,243
December ....................    1,614     161,271     1,487     152,092       436      50,726

             2005  		   

January .....................    2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409       823     108,985
February ....................      810      74,644       722      68,372       230      24,931
March .......................      806      88,937       733      83,793       246      33,030
April .......................    1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133       395      59,129
May .........................      986     101,358       891      93,332       249      30,424
June ........................    1,157     120,463       941     103,307       216      32,783
July ........................    1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August ......................      645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ...................    1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October .....................      905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ....................    1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December(p) .................    2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382

             2006  		   

January(p) ..................    1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
					   
					   
    p = preliminary. 			   



					   
 
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                                                 
                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                    

                                                   January  November December  January    January    November   December    January
                                                     2005     2005     2005p    2006p       2005       2005       2005p      2006p 

              Seasonally adjusted 

      Total .....................................    1,465    1,205    1,308    1,113     153,676    120,783     149,565    108,378

 Total, private nonfarm .........................    1,330    1,074    1,185      985     143,295    109,680     138,234     97,832
  Manufacturing .................................      380      359      365      274      58,778     45,069      49,641     29,541
           
            Not seasonally adjusted
     
      Total(1) ..................................    2,564    1,254    2,323    1,245     263,952    116,127     254,258    117,946

Total, private ..................................    2,488    1,187    2,237    1,185     257,761    109,395     246,748    112,837
  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....       67      108       69       62       4,352      7,213       3,995      4,136

 Total, private nonfarm .........................    2,421    1,079    2,168    1,123     253,409    102,182     242,753    108,701
  Mining ........................................       17        7       33        4       1,272        509       2,802        309
  Utilities .....................................    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )       ( 2 )      ( 2 )       ( 2 )      ( 2 )
  Construction ..................................      470      192      478      125      33,590     15,824      40,395      7,942
  Manufacturing .................................      823      363      706      331     108,985     41,442      96,382     35,097
      Food ......................................       88       66       88       46       8,703      7,092      10,681      3,589
      Beverage and tobacco products .............       11        6       11        9         888        416         800        599
      Textile mills .............................       17       19       23       13       2,635      2,734       3,823      1,214
      Textile product mills .....................       19        6        7        7       2,677        444         743        655
      Apparel ...................................       38       13       19       11       3,893      2,125       2,297        769
      Leather and allied products ...............    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        9    ( 2 )       ( 2 )      ( 2 )       1,032      ( 2 )
      Wood products .............................       61       20       54       27       8,243      2,353       5,319      2,995
      Paper .....................................       13        8        8        6       1,048        479         943        405
      Printing and related support activities ...       15        8       16    ( 2 )       1,237        574       1,870      ( 2 )
      Petroleum and coal products ...............    ( 2 )    ( 2 )       14        -       ( 2 )      ( 2 )       1,478          -

      Chemicals .................................       15        7       10        8       1,294        510         862        531
      Plastics and rubber products ..............       58       19       60       17       6,006      1,469       5,605      1,305
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............       55       11       58       20       4,815      1,005       5,756      1,318
      Primary metals ............................       39       17       40       11       4,359      1,475       4,265        946
      Fabricated metal products .................       59       20       38       32       5,796      1,751       3,815      2,305
      Machinery .................................       48       24       31       12       6,828      2,910       3,091        899
      Computer and electronic products ..........       30       12       16       22       2,918      1,001       1,290      1,678
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......       39        5       18       10       5,662        554       3,716      1,965
      Transportation equipment ..................      165       76      144       52      35,324     11,665      34,508     11,421
      Furniture and related products ............       30       15       27       13       4,757      1,804       2,769      1,253
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............       14        6       15        9       1,154        676       1,719        821

  Wholesale trade ...............................       35       21       37       24       2,954      1,687       3,214      1,903
  Retail trade ..................................      198       61      113      142      18,822      5,176      10,856     14,773
  Transportation and warehousing ................      197       45      161      102      22,226      3,479      19,173     10,634
  Information ...................................       47       21       36       33       6,141      2,395       6,572      8,998
  Finance and insurance .........................       35       14       20       24       3,289      1,307       1,284      1,592
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............       16        3        9    ( 2 )       1,491        122       1,203      ( 2 )
  Professional and technical services ...........       48       34       64       22       4,729      3,056       6,663      3,258
  Management of companies and enterprises .......        5    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        4         358      ( 2 )       ( 2 )        287
  Administrative and waste services .............      302      138      259      155      28,865     11,350      27,527     12,157
  Educational services ..........................    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        5        7       ( 2 )      ( 2 )         353        456
  Health care and social assistance .............       35       34       35       21       2,739      2,555       2,731      1,385
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       40       40       26       28       4,558      3,623       1,869      1,888
  Accommodation and food services ...............      117       88      158       81       9,364      8,204      19,293      5,898
  Other services, except public administration ..       28        8       19       13       3,408        668       1,527      1,704
  Unclassified ..................................        3        6        4        3         264        436         295        179

 Government .....................................       76       67       86       60       6,191      6,732       7,510      5,109
  Federal .......................................       23       15       18       16       1,920      1,608       1,568      1,596
  State .........................................       18       24       16       10       1,736      2,527       1,750      1,210
  Local .........................................       35       28       52       34       2,535      2,597       4,192      2,303


    1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE:  Dash represents zero. 





Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2004 to January 2006,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                               

                                 Total mass layoffs                             Extended mass layoffs            Realization
             Date                                       Mass layoffs          lasting more than 30 days           rates (1)   

                                           Initial               Initial                     Initial                     Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants       Events      claimants        Events     claimants 
           2004          

January ....................     2,428     239,454     2,226     220,687
February ...................       941      84,201       832      76,577
March ......................       920      92,554       847      87,782

First Quarter ..............     4,289     416,209     3,905     385,046         1,339       238,392          34.3         61.9

April ......................     1,458     157,314     1,316     142,657
May ........................       988      87,501       878      78,786
June .......................     1,379     134,588     1,077     110,804

Second Quarter .............     3,825     379,403     3,271     332,247         1,358       254,063          41.5         76.5

July .......................     2,094     253,929     1,860     234,877
August .....................       809      69,033       745      63,876
September ..................       708      68,972       637      63,102

Third Quarter ..............     3,611     391,934     3,242     361,855           886       148,575          27.3         41.1

October ....................     1,242     127,918     1,101     117,375
November ...................     1,399     130,423     1,201     115,549
December ...................     1,614     161,271     1,487     152,092

Fourth Quarter .............     4,255     419,612     3,789     385,016         1,427       262,049          37.7         68.1

           2005           

January ....................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409
February ...................       810      74,644       722      68,372
March ......................       806      88,937       733      83,793

First Quarter ..............     4,180     427,533     3,876     405,574         1,142    (r)185,420          29.5         45.7

April ......................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133
May ........................       986     101,358       891      93,332
June .......................     1,157     120,463       941     103,307

Second Quarter .............     3,516     380,403     3,095     344,772         1,203    (r)212,364          38.9      (r)61.6

July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042

Third Quarter ..............     4,288     525,079     3,848     464,903      (r)1,136    (r)189,443       (r)29.5      (r)40.7

October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182
December(p) ................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753

Fourth Quarter(p) ..........     4,482     462,326     4,004     425,629      (2)1,299    (2)178,896          32.4         42.0
 
           2006           

January(p) .................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701


    1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 
    2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available.
Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and
the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. 
    r = revised.
    p = preliminary. 





Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,
not seasonally adjusted

                           
                                                                                     Initial claimants for            
                                          Mass layoff events                         unemployment insurance           
 Census region and division
                             
                              January    November  December    January      January    November    December     January
                                2005       2005      2005p      2006p         2005       2005        2005p       2006p 

      United States(1) ....    2,564      1,254      2,323      1,245       263,952     116,127     254,258     117,946

Northeast .................      556        218        445        281        54,866      19,125      42,897      25,777

  New England .............       88         24         83         25         8,009       2,703       9,110       1,765
  Middle Atlantic .........      468        194        362        256        46,857      16,422      33,787      24,012

South .....................      490        279        371        228        57,126      31,437      46,303      22,194

  South Atlantic ..........      216        165        180        128        22,965      14,596      23,506      12,893
  East South Central ......      173         42        113         61        20,528       5,296      14,562       5,667
  West South Central ......      101         72         78         39        13,633      11,545       8,235       3,634

Midwest ...................      774        355        942        314        90,975      34,901     111,662      33,750

  East North Central ......      601        279        708        264        72,600      27,180      85,681      28,642
  West North Central ......      173         76        234         50        18,375       7,721      25,981       5,108

West ......................      744        402        565        422        60,985      30,664      53,396      36,225

  Mountain ................       60         50         88         31         5,467       4,552       7,995       2,337
  Pacific .................      684        352        477        391        55,518      26,112      45,401      33,888


    1 See footnote 1, table 3.
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania;
South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and
West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana,
Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa,
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. 





Table 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                     Initial claimants for            
                                         Mass layoff events                          unemployment insurance           
           State         
                           January     November    December     January     January     November    December     January
                             2005        2005        2005p       2006p        2005        2005        2005p       2006p 

   Total(1) .............    2,564       1,254       2,323       1,245       263,952     116,127     254,258     117,946

Alabama .................       85           6          24           9        12,310         783       2,119         821
Alaska ..................    ( 2 )           4           -           -         ( 2 )         401           -           -
Arizona .................        7           4           4           4           642         350         387         362
Arkansas ................        6           7           6           3           622       1,866         989         346
California ..............      602         302         415         346        47,222      21,324      38,926      30,388
Colorado ................       10           7          16           8           871         758       1,536         603
Connecticut .............        7           3           9           3           629         235         897         215
Delaware ................    ( 2 )           -           -       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -           -       ( 2 )
District of Columbia ....    ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )           -         ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )           -
Florida .................       62         100          61          30         4,800       7,138       5,288       1,708
Georgia .................       62          24          42          54         6,433       2,511       8,974       5,159
Hawaii ..................        7       ( 2 )           6           5           643       ( 2 )         510         282
Idaho ...................        9          11          17           6           719         976       1,240         427

Illinois ................       91          34         144          37         8,596       3,600      16,869       3,499
Indiana .................       72          29          98          33        11,308       2,811      12,226       4,053
Iowa ....................       48          20          61          12         7,250       1,636       7,058       1,255
Kansas ..................       34           6          18           6         3,061         647       1,779         459
Kentucky ................       52          23          62          26         5,222       3,521       9,866       2,152
Louisiana ...............       24          36          13          13         3,417       4,030         868         936
Maine ...................       10       ( 2 )           7       ( 2 )           776       ( 2 )         449       ( 2 )
Maryland ................       23       ( 2 )           -          11         1,902       ( 2 )           -         859
Massachusetts ...........       44          10          29          14         4,116         650       3,229       1,001
Michigan ................      182          62         222          89        20,127       4,986      30,456       8,786
Minnesota ...............       33          27          64          17         2,857       2,503       6,016       1,834
Mississippi .............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           7         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         469
Missouri ................       44          19          63          11         3,711       2,640       7,912       1,305

Montana .................        6           7           9       ( 2 )           511         770         682       ( 2 )
Nebraska ................       10       ( 2 )          20       ( 2 )         1,212       ( 2 )       2,605       ( 2 )
Nevada ..................       25          13          24          10         2,481       1,144       2,315         724
New Hampshire ...........        7       ( 2 )          12       ( 2 )           741       ( 2 )       1,386       ( 2 )
New Jersey ..............       94          32          96          28         8,505       3,239       8,631       2,550
New Mexico ..............    ( 2 )           3           7           -         ( 2 )         201         766           -
New York ................      180          36          91         129        22,185       3,197       8,907      13,290
North Carolina ..........       21          10          19          10         1,897         841       1,999       1,113
North Dakota ............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           4       ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )         320       ( 2 )
Ohio ....................      140          52         133          50        18,132       5,607      13,059       6,484
Oklahoma ................       14           4           9           5         2,735         596         780         400
Oregon ..................       50          16          32          21         5,427       1,610       3,830       1,719
Pennsylvania ............      194         126         175          99        16,167       9,986      16,249       8,172

Rhode Island ............       14       ( 2 )          17           4         1,357       ( 2 )       2,441         311
South Carolina ..........       13          18          20           9         1,371       2,251       3,376         822
South Dakota ............    ( 2 )           -           4       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -         291       ( 2 )
Tennessee ...............       33          11          25          19         2,771         905       2,408       2,225
Texas ...................       57          25          50          18         6,859       5,053       5,598       1,952
Utah ....................        -           3          11       ( 2 )             -         218       1,069       ( 2 )
Vermont .................        6           7           9       ( 2 )           390       1,285         708       ( 2 )
Virginia ................       30          10          35          12         4,620       1,570       3,638       3,084
Washington ..............       22          29          24          19         1,939       2,695       2,135       1,499
West Virginia ...........    ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Wisconsin ...............      116         102         111          55        14,437      10,176      13,071       5,820
Wyoming .................        -       ( 2 )           -           -             -       ( 2 )           -           -

Puerto Rico .............       25          12          10          12         3,080       1,202       1,698         964

    1 See footnote 1, table 3.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.