For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, February 23, 2010 USDL-10-0229 

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

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

MASS LAYOFFS – JANUARY 2010 

Employers took 1,761 mass layoff actions in January that resulted in the separation of 182,261 workers, 

seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, 

the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a 

single employer. Both mass layoff events and initial claims increased from the prior month after four 

consecutive over-the-month decreases. In January, 486 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 62,556 initial claims. Both figures increased over the 

month—the first increases since August 2009 for events and since September 2009 for initial claims. 

(See table 1.) 

During the 26 months from December 2007 through January 2010, the total number of mass layoff 

events (seasonally adjusted) was 53,739, and the associated number of initial claims was 5,425,101. 

(December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic 

Research.) 

The national unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in January 2010, seasonally adjusted, down from 10.0 

percent the prior month but up from 7.7 percent a year earlier. In January, nonfarm payroll employment 

decreased by 20,000 over the month and by 4,022,000 from a year earlier. 

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

Events

Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

February 2005-January 2010

Total

Private nonfarm

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Claims

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

February 2005-January 2010

Private nonfarm
- 2 - 

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in January 2010, not seasonally adjusted

Year Initial claims

Temporary help services 1

 ................................... 16,575 1998 26,224 

School and employee bus transportation ............. 15,131 2010 15,131 

Discount department stores ................................. 8,065 2010 8,065 

Motion picture and video production .................. 7,966 1998 12,038 

Professional employer organizations 1

 ................ 6,462 2009 11,345 

Highway, street, and bridge construction ............ 5,094 2000 9,680 

Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .............. 4,248 2009 6,592 

Automobile manufacturing .................................. 4,173 2001 21,093 

Supermarkets and other grocery stores ................ 3,371 2009 3,978 

Nonresidential electrical contractors ................... 3,299 2010 3,299 

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

Industry Initial claims January peak

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in January was 2,860 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number 

of associated initial claims was 278,679. Over the year, the number of mass layoff events decreased by 

946, and associated initial claims decreased by 110,134. (See table 2.) Sixteen of the 19 major industry 

sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in initial claimants, led by manufacturing (-67,911). (See table 3.) Management of companies and educational services reported January 

program highs in terms of average weekly initial claimants while utilities reached a January program 

low. (Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. See the Technical 

Note.)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff events and 38 percent of initial 

claims filed in January 2010. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 38 percent of events and 44 percent 

of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in January was greatest in transportation equipment, followed by food, fabricated metal products, and machinery. Eighteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by transportation equipment (-34,023). (See table 3.) 

The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in January 2010 was temporary help 

services. Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims, school and 

employee bus transportation, discount department stores, and nonresidential electrical contractors 

reached program highs for the month of January. (See table A.) 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

All regions and all divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims due to mass layoffs in 

January. Among the 4 census regions, the South (-41,525) and Midwest (-31,010) registered the largest 

over-the-year decreases in initial claims. Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central (-30,146) 

and the South Atlantic (-21,046) had the largest over-the-year decreases of initial claims. (See table 5.) 
- 3 - 

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in January, followed by New York and 

Pennsylvania. Forty states experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by Ohio (-13,850), 

Pennsylvania (-13,226), and Michigan (-10,418). (See table 6.) In 2010, three states reached January 

program highs for average weekly initial claims: North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. 

Note 

The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given 

month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. For private nonfarm establishments, information on the 

length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting 

more than 30 days (referred to as “extended mass layoffs”). The quarterly release provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the 

laid-off workers. Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the 

figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more 

than 30 days. (See table 4.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. 

____________ 

The Mass Layoffs in February 2010 news release is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, 

March 23, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). 
Technical Note 

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federalstate program that uses a standardized automated approach to 

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job 

cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment 

insurance database. Each month, states report on employers 

which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during 

a consecutive 5-week period. These employers then are 

contacted by the state agency to determine whether these 

separations lasted 31 days or longer, and, if so, other 

information concerning the layoff is collected. States report 

on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis. 

A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly 

unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday 

through Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are 

included for the particular month, except if the first day of the 

month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is included in 

the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months 

will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks. The number of 

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

and the number of weeks in a year may vary. Therefore, 

analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change in not 

seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect into 

consideration. 

The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 

after it had been terminated in November 1992 due to lack of 

funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were 

not available. 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339 

Definitions 

Employer. Employers in the MLS program include 

those covered by state unemployment insurance laws. 

Information on employers is obtained from the Quarterly 

Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which 

is administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

Industry. Employers are classified according to the 

2007 version of the North American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). For temporary help and professional 

employer organization industries, monthly MLS-related 

statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client 

companies in other industries. An individual layoff action at 

a client company can be small, but when initial claimants 

associated with many such layoffs are assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a 

mass layoff event may trigger. 

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of 

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a 

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or 

period of eligibility. 

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for 

unemployment insurance benefits filed against an employer 

during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. 

Seasonal adjustment 

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS 

began publishing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS 

series. The six series are the numbers of mass layoff events 

and mass layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm, 

and manufacturing sectors. 

Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and 

removing the effect on time series data of regularly recurring 

seasonal events such as changes in the weather, holidays, and 

the beginning and ending of the school year. The use of 

seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental 

changes in time series, particularly those associated with 

general economic expansions and contractions. 

The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis. 

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly 

estimates, including those for the current month, in developing seasonal adjustment factors. Revisions to the most 

recent 5 years of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a 

year with the issuance of December data. Before the data are 

seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the 

original data to adjust them for differences in the number of 

weeks used to calculate the monthly data. Because weekly 

unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form 

monthly data, a particular month's value could be calculated 

with 5 weeks of data in 1 year and 4 weeks in another. The 

effects of these differences could seriously distort the 

seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal 

adjustment process. These effects are modeled in the X-12-

ARIMA program and are permanently removed from the 

final seasonally adjusted series.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, February 2006 to January 2010,

seasonally adjusted

2006

February ............................................................ 938 96,542 846 88,629 304 40,029 

March ................................................................ 1,069 117,725 965 109,241 312 45,687 

April ................................................................... 1,189 123,056 1,055 112,922 352 48,731 

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

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

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

August ............................................................... 1,238 135,707 1,104 125,704 372 58,962 

September ......................................................... 1,154 124,200 1,043 115,261 393 45,972 

October ............................................................. 1,208 123,691 1,094 115,102 409 53,957 

November .......................................................... 1,244 135,465 1,128 125,976 413 58,509 

December .......................................................... 1,227 134,176 1,123 124,570 376 51,403 

2007

January ............................................................. 1,264 130,834 1,113 119,874 404 55,217 

February ............................................................ 1,191 121,289 1,075 112,607 374 54,581 

March ................................................................ 1,225 126,391 1,113 117,760 386 48,298 

April ................................................................... 1,268 129,098 1,135 118,175 362 43,205 

May ................................................................... 1,172 118,648 1,070 111,103 345 44,391 

June .................................................................. 1,241 131,394 1,125 122,123 338 37,931 

July .................................................................... 1,274 130,331 1,169 122,381 403 55,973 

August ............................................................... 1,247 126,108 1,158 118,575 323 34,902 

September ......................................................... 1,255 123,632 1,160 116,744 436 51,814 

October ............................................................. 1,370 137,108 1,248 128,387 449 58,360 

November .......................................................... 1,415 148,952 1,289 139,665 424 58,543 

December .......................................................... 1,569 155,095 1,448 145,666 483 60,368 

2008

January ............................................................. 1,481 151,269 1,348 140,570 436 57,147 

February ............................................................ 1,578 162,152 1,432 150,712 470 60,276 

March ................................................................ 1,487 151,539 1,372 141,574 436 56,919 

April ................................................................... 1,327 133,318 1,201 122,651 460 59,377 

May ................................................................... 1,604 170,619 1,465 160,529 468 62,345 

June .................................................................. 1,674 170,329 1,523 158,084 501 68,403 

July .................................................................... 1,531 152,447 1,389 141,707 461 61,417 

August ............................................................... 1,845 189,798 1,711 179,737 607 78,172 

September ......................................................... 2,222 235,755 2,049 220,832 634 81,989 

October ............................................................. 2,287 239,768 2,125 226,098 721 95,301 

November .......................................................... 2,489 240,181 2,334 227,368 929 107,072 

December .......................................................... 2,461 243,505 2,277 229,171 962 115,961 

2009

January ............................................................. 2,279 251,807 2,115 238,990 764 109,124 

February ............................................................ 2,737 289,162 2,592 274,040 1,186 141,264 

March ................................................................ 2,913 295,970 2,715 279,671 1,202 146,381 

April ................................................................... 2,663 263,162 2,461 247,329 1,033 125,093 

May ................................................................... 2,794 306,788 2,589 289,012 1,183 145,166 

June .................................................................. 2,598 260,596 2,371 241,864 1,072 135,844 

July .................................................................... 2,039 196,578 1,818 176,542 565 66,918 

August ............................................................... 2,480 238,911 2,244 218,425 798 87,201 

September ......................................................... 2,326 221,639 2,109 204,462 783 90,440 

October ............................................................. 2,055 205,502 1,856 187,880 594 65,801 

November .......................................................... 1,813 163,823 1,650 151,810 485 54,858 

December .......................................................... 1,726 153,127 1,542 138,747 433 44,072 

2010

January ............................................................. 1,761 182,261 1,585 168,466 486 62,556 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, February 2006 to January 2010,

not seasonally adjusted

2006

February ............................................................ 719 66,555 658 62,208 210 24,892 

March ................................................................ 921 111,838 856 106,177 285 44,688 

April ................................................................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 296 39,538 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

August ............................................................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 436 41,151 

September ......................................................... 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 448 51,126 

October ............................................................. 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 566 69,655 

November .......................................................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 517 55,053 

December .......................................................... 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 615 64,540 

2010

January ............................................................. 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 962 104,846 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

January November December January January November December January

2009 2009 2009 2010 2009 2009 2009 2010

Seasonally adjusted

 Total .................................................................... 2,279 1,813 1,726 1,761 251,807 163,823 153,127 182,261 

 Total, private nonfarm ............................................. 2,115 1,650 1,542 1,585 238,990 151,810 138,747 168,466 

 Manufacturing ....................................................... 764 485 433 486 109,124 54,858 44,072 62,556 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ................................................................. 3,806 1,870 2,310 2,860 388,813 164,496 214,648 278,679 

Total, private ............................................................. 3,709 1,791 2,219 2,739 380,158 158,146 206,930 268,595 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .............. 76 112 53 57 4,865 7,395 3,275 3,521 

 Total, private nonfarm ............................................. 3,633 1,679 2,166 2,682 375,293 150,751 203,655 265,074 

 Mining ................................................................... 50 22 34 20 4,538 1,551 2,807 1,561 

 Utilities .................................................................. ( 2 ) 3 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 206 444 ( 2 )

 Construction ......................................................... 388 308 485 328 27,762 23,902 35,718 24,148 

 Manufacturing ....................................................... 1,461 517 615 962 172,757 55,053 64,540 104,846 

 Food ................................................................. 84 61 63 93 8,083 6,631 6,447 9,134 

 Beverage and tobacco products ....................... 6 9 5 13 511 682 396 839 

 Textile mills ....................................................... 35 12 14 28 4,322 1,337 2,242 3,807 

 Textile product mills .......................................... 19 – 3 18 2,811 – 300 2,503 

 Apparel ............................................................. 33 17 19 23 3,189 1,361 1,661 2,128 

 Leather and allied products .............................. 6 ( 2 ) 5 3 504 ( 2 ) 324 499 

 Wood products ................................................. 104 40 40 62 9,870 3,505 3,218 6,657 

 Paper ................................................................ 38 ( 2 ) 12 16 3,977 ( 2 ) 850 1,421 

 Printing and related support activities ............... 38 10 14 23 4,187 888 1,659 2,415 

 Petroleum and coal products ............................ 8 11 10 7 515 852 866 469 

 Chemicals ......................................................... 26 13 10 23 1,883 1,239 768 2,058 

 Plastics and rubber products ............................ 110 29 35 62 11,156 2,802 3,487 5,466 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ........................... 56 30 59 44 4,441 2,514 4,990 3,131 

 Primary metals .................................................. 98 38 34 56 9,660 3,426 3,456 5,734 

 Fabricated metal products ................................ 151 36 54 99 13,746 2,764 4,387 9,256 

 Machinery ......................................................... 121 44 53 89 14,120 5,080 6,827 12,322 

 Computer and electronic products .................... 76 25 23 37 6,747 2,788 1,429 4,239 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ................ 53 18 19 33 5,807 1,379 2,191 3,360 

 Transportation equipment ................................. 316 86 106 175 57,173 13,806 13,537 23,150 

 Furniture and related products ......................... 48 19 28 48 6,928 2,407 4,617 5,088 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ........................... 35 11 9 10 3,127 931 888 1,170 

 Wholesale trade .................................................... 86 33 50 67 7,612 2,389 3,858 5,310 

 Retail trade ........................................................... 329 99 121 259 33,622 7,083 12,300 28,109 

 Transportation and warehousing .......................... 236 83 157 212 25,081 6,651 17,909 23,788 

 Information ............................................................ 69 52 51 84 9,405 5,414 7,042 12,581 

 Finance and insurance ......................................... 88 33 30 47 7,683 2,691 2,357 3,681 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ....................... 26 13 12 ( 2 ) 1,870 963 763 ( 2 )

 Professional and technical services ..................... 87 55 47 71 7,032 4,651 3,746 6,390 

 Management of companies and enterprises ........ ( 2 ) 3 5 15 ( 2 ) 290 545 1,462 

 Administrative and waste services ....................... 473 220 253 326 46,646 18,219 21,653 30,020 

 Educational services ............................................. 14 6 12 18 1,952 453 755 2,460 

 Health care and social assistance ........................ 41 38 38 46 4,279 2,886 2,653 3,019 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...................... 49 45 19 35 4,421 3,705 1,734 2,860 

 Accommodation and food services ....................... 197 129 214 163 17,360 13,264 23,507 12,838 

 Other services, except public administration ........ 25 20 16 20 2,155 1,380 1,171 1,458 

 Unclassified ......................................................... 1 – 1 – 49 – 153 –

Government .............................................................. 97 79 91 121 8,655 6,350 7,718 10,084 

 Federal ................................................................. 13 12 11 8 1,302 1,155 921 698 

 State ..................................................................... 25 25 26 37 2,155 2,213 2,560 3,278 

 Local ..................................................................... 59 42 54 76 5,198 2,982 4,237 6,108 

 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, January 2008 to January 2010,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2008

January ...................................... 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 

February .................................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 

March ......................................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 

First Quarter ............................... 4,005 388,552 3,737 367,925 1,340 259,292 35.9 70.5 

April ............................................ 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 

May ............................................ 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 

June ........................................... 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 

Second Quarter ......................... 4,446 457,023 3,925 413,003 1,756 339,630 44.7 82.2 

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

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

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

Third Quarter ............................. 4,610 469,967 4,232 441,669 1,581 304,340 37.4 68.9 

October ...................................... 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 

November .................................. 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 

December .................................. 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 8,076 814,678 7,538 772,430 3,582 r

 766,780 47.5 r 99.3

2009

January ...................................... 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 

February .................................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 

March ......................................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 

First Quarter ............................... 8,259 835,638 7,913 807,445 3,979 r

 835,420 50.3 r 103.5

April ............................................ 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 

May ............................................ 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 

June ........................................... 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 

Second Quarter ......................... 7,804 802,915 7,008 733,431 r

 3,395 r 730,946 r 48.4 r 99.7

July ............................................ 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 

August ........................................ 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 

September ................................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 

Third Quarter ............................. 5,853 584,855 5,251 528,923 r

 2,035 r 402,927 r 38.8 r 76.2

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,p 2,043 2,p 292,696 p

 37.0 p 55.5 

2010

January ...................................... 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 

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

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

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

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

 2

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

data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

Mass layoffs

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

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

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

January November December January January November December January

2009 2009 2009 2010 2009 2009 2009 2010

 United States 1

 ............. 3,806 1,870 2,310 2,860 388,813 164,496 214,648 278,679 

Northeast .............................. 787 285 461 593 77,142 26,974 41,913 58,748 

 New England .................... 97 40 71 70 8,414 3,750 6,743 6,503 

 Middle Atlantic .................. 690 245 390 523 68,728 23,224 35,170 52,245 

South .................................... 1,052 413 494 753 115,630 37,708 48,248 74,105 

 South Atlantic ................... 574 207 284 404 58,892 19,029 25,236 37,846 

 East South Central ........... 279 83 115 220 32,215 6,656 13,749 23,085 

 West South Central .......... 199 123 95 129 24,523 12,023 9,263 13,174 

Midwest ................................ 1,024 530 739 807 114,195 51,989 76,826 83,185 

 East North Central ............ 821 382 508 604 93,852 39,265 51,903 63,706 

 West North Central ........... 203 148 231 203 20,343 12,724 24,923 19,479 

West ..................................... 943 642 616 707 81,846 47,825 47,661 62,641 

 Mountain ........................... 149 98 126 94 12,657 9,393 10,700 8,992 

 Pacific ............................... 794 544 490 613 69,189 38,432 36,961 53,649 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 3. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, 

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

comprise the census divisions are: New England: Conne 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, an Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 

Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Colum Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon,

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolin 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

January November December January January November December January

2009 2009 2009 2010 2009 2009 2009 2010

 Total 1

 .................................... 3,806 1,870 2,310 2,860 388,813 164,496 214,648 278,679 

Alabama ................................... 100 16 36 93 10,588 1,266 4,592 11,204 

Alaska ....................................... 10 3 7 9 788 361 650 713 

Arizona ..................................... 24 9 9 17 1,941 709 817 1,502 

Arkansas .................................. 13 9 7 9 1,462 973 581 1,433 

California .................................. 651 472 412 533 54,153 31,922 30,229 46,474 

Colorado ................................... 24 14 24 13 1,814 1,064 1,941 1,301 

Connecticut .............................. 14 5 8 6 1,349 424 890 406 

Delaware .................................. 5 6 5 4 1,052 347 266 287 

District of Columbia .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 301 ( 2 ) Florida ...................................... 235 86 96 141 19,301 6,010 7,715 9,909 

Georgia ..................................... 137 26 56 83 16,654 3,225 5,244 8,861 

Hawaii ....................................... 14 7 7 9 998 488 637 735 

Idaho ........................................ 21 19 16 11 1,746 2,071 1,099 1,068 

Illinois ....................................... 130 101 142 112 13,443 10,794 17,639 11,615 

Indiana ...................................... 117 43 57 59 10,734 4,323 6,256 6,470 

Iowa .......................................... 64 25 51 54 7,353 2,648 6,087 6,647 

Kansas ..................................... 21 8 28 27 2,447 741 4,878 2,432 

Kentucky ................................... 80 41 44 76 12,492 3,649 5,013 8,044 

Louisiana .................................. 29 35 22 18 3,396 2,795 1,641 1,566 

Maine ........................................ 18 6 3 8 1,618 674 204 789 

Maryland ................................... 31 6 16 29 2,535 486 1,251 2,586 

Massachusetts ......................... 33 11 28 27 2,782 803 2,990 2,341 

Michigan ................................... 229 78 119 144 26,453 8,549 10,913 16,035 

Minnesota ................................. 41 55 45 36 3,289 4,905 3,690 3,614 

Mississippi ................................ 25 9 12 11 2,353 512 1,000 735 

Missouri .................................... 62 48 86 74 5,239 3,195 8,373 5,567 

Montana ................................... 14 10 12 9 1,491 758 896 1,012 

Nebraska .................................. 5 6 12 7 1,070 611 1,166 548 

Nevada ..................................... 33 33 36 26 2,805 3,891 3,677 2,463 

New Hampshire ........................ 7 4 11 12 465 279 867 962 

New Jersey ............................... 90 52 67 87 7,179 5,277 6,716 7,506 

New Mexico .............................. 13 7 12 8 822 476 954 560 

New York .................................. 279 75 126 236 31,893 6,281 12,704 28,309 

North Carolina .......................... 41 30 18 27 4,149 4,273 1,455 2,072 

North Dakota ............................ ( 2 ) 5 7 4 ( 2 ) 557 595 595 

Ohio .......................................... 199 59 91 145 27,971 5,233 8,888 14,121 

Oklahoma ................................. 21 10 10 17 2,772 1,438 893 1,666 

Oregon ..................................... 76 35 29 35 9,005 3,464 2,617 3,730 

Pennsylvania ............................ 321 118 197 200 29,656 11,666 15,750 16,430 

Rhode Island ............................ 17 3 6 13 1,526 297 713 1,696 

South Carolina .......................... 102 20 45 67 10,703 1,456 4,780 7,274 

South Dakota ............................ 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 530 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ................................ 74 17 23 40 6,782 1,229 3,144 3,102 

Texas ........................................ 136 69 56 85 16,893 6,817 6,148 8,509 

Utah .......................................... 19 4 16 10 1,978 256 1,256 1,086 

Vermont .................................... 8 11 15 4 674 1,273 1,079 309 

Virginia ..................................... 15 31 40 49 3,313 3,021 3,903 6,570 

Washington .............................. 43 27 35 27 4,245 2,197 2,828 1,997 

West Virginia ............................ 7 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 1,127 ( 2 ) 321 ( 2 ) Wisconsin ................................. 146 101 99 144 15,251 10,366 8,207 15,465 

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

Puerto Rico ............................... 29 22 11 19 2,992 2,177 1,093 1,892 

1

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

State