Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 02-493
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Thursday, August 22, 2002

                                     
                         MASS LAYOFFS IN JULY 2002

   
   Employers initiated 2,041 mass layoff actions in July 2002, as mea-
sured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month,
according to 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 245,457.  (See table 1.)  A year
earlier, in July 2001, there were 2,117 mass layoff events involving
273,807 workers.  From January through July 2002, the total number of
initial claims, at 1,317,394, was lower than January-July 2001 (1,407,980),
while the number of events, at 11,843, was somewhat higher (11,658).
   
   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 establish-
ment 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
   
   Manufacturing industries accounted for 44 percent of all mass layoff
events and 55 percent of all initial claims filed in July.  A year earlier,
layoffs in this sector accounted for 54 percent of events and 62 percent of
initial claims.  The number of initial claimants was highest in transporta-
tion equipment (47,583, mostly in light truck and utility vehicles), followed 
by machinery manufacturing (12,778, largely in construction machinery), com-
puter and electronic products (11,987, primarily in semiconductors and re-
lated devices), and plastics and rubber products (10,080, mainly in miscel-
laneous plastic products).  (See table 2.)
   
   Eleven percent of all layoff events and 10 percent of initial claims
filed during the month were in administrative and waste services, mostly in
temporary help services.  From January through July, 91,480 mass layoff
initial claims were filed from this industry.  Four percent of the events
and 5 percent of initial claims were from the information sector, mainly in
motion picture and sound recording.  Retail trade accounted for an
additional 5 percent of events and 4 percent of initial claims, primarily
in general merchandise stores.
   
   Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and 4 percent 
of initial claims filed during the month, largely in educational services, 
particularly elementary and secondary schools.
   
   Compared with July 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were
reported in manufacturing industries--machinery manufacturing (-7,052),
primary metals (-5,397), and computer and electronic products (-4,973).
The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in
educational services (+2,940), food services and drinking places (+2,408),
and general merchandise stores (+2,185).

                                  - 2 -

Geographic Distribution
   
   Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in July
due to mass layoffs was in the Midwest, 89,068.  (See table 3.)  The
manufacture of transportation equipment, machinery, and plastics and rub-
ber products accounted for 56 percent of all initial claims in the Midwest
during the month.  The West followed with 64,961 initial claims (mainly in
administrative and waste services), then the South, with 56,416 (largely in
transportation equipment manufacturing), and the Northeast, with 35,012
(mostly in fabricated metal product manufacturing).
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year
in 2 of the 4 geographic regions, with the largest decrease occurring in
the Midwest (-27,049).  The largest over-the-year increase was reported in
the Northeast (+1,522).  Six of the nine geographic divisions reported over-
the-year declines in the number of initial claims associated with mass lay-
offs, with the largest decline in the East North Central (-30,155).  The 
largest increase was reported in the East South Central (+6,078).
   
   California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass
layoff events this July, 52,556, mostly in administrative and support
services and in motion picture and sound recording industries.  Michigan
reported 15,700 initial claims in mass layoffs, followed by Ohio (15,236),
Wisconsin (14,530), and Pennsylvania (12,930).  These five states accounted
for 49 percent of all layoff events and 45 percent of all initial claims
for unemployment insurance.  (See table 4.)  Thus far this year, 331,796
mass layoff initial claims were filed in California, 25 percent of the
national total.  The states with the next largest number of claims were
Pennsylvania (77,528) and Texas (76,293).
   
   Michigan reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims
(-12,950), followed by Ohio (-7,907) and Illinois (-6,510).  The largest
over-the-year increases occurred in Alabama (+5,978) and New York (+5,644).
   
                      ______________________________
   
   The report on Mass Layoffs in August 2002 will be issued on Wednesday,
September 25, 2002.
   
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
 |             Change in Industry Classification System               |
 |                                                                    |
 |   Beginning with the release of January 2002 mass layoff data      |
 | on February 28, 2002, the Mass Layoff Statistics program imple-    |
 | mented the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classifi-   |
 | cation System (NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and tabu-    |
 | lation of economic data by industry.  NAICS is the product of a    |
 | cooperative effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the  |
 | United States, Canada, and Mexico.  Due to differences in NAICS    |
 | and the previously used Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)   |
 | structures, data by industry for 2002 will not be comparable to    |
 | the SIC-based data for earlier years.  However, the monthly his-   |
 | torical industry series from April 1995 through December 2001 are  |
 | available on both SIC and NAICS bases.                             |
 |                                                                    |
 |   NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize economic |
 | units.  Units with similar production processes are classified in  |
 | the same industry.  NAICS focuses on how products and services are |
 | created, as opposed to the SIC focus on what is produced. This ap- |
 | proach yields significantly different industry groupings than those|
 | produced by the SIC approach.                                      |
 |                                                                    |
 |   Users interested in more information about NAICS can access the  |
 | BLS Web page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the Bureau of  |
 | the Census Web page at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html.  |
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
   
 
 
 

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, July 2000 to July 2002
                            
                                                            Extended mass layoffs 
                                Total mass layoffs        lasting more than 30 days        Realization rates(1)
             Date           

                                           Initial                        Initial                      Initial
                                Events    claimants       Events         claimants         Events     claimants
                            
             2000           

July .......................     1,333     164,978
August .....................       751      97,215
September ..................       936     106,842

Third Quarter ..............     3,020     369,035         1,014          189,250           33.6         51.3

October ....................       874     103,755
November ...................     1,697     216,514
December ...................     2,677     326,743

Fourth Quarter .............     5,248     647,012         2,005          376,611           38.2         58.2

             2001           

January ....................     1,522     200,343
February ...................     1,501     172,908
March ......................     1,527     171,466

First Quarter ..............     4,550     544,717         1,765       (r)340,210           38.8      (r)62.5

April ......................     1,450     176,265
May ........................     1,434     159,365
June .......................     2,107     253,826

Second Quarter .............     4,991     589,456         2,072       (r)401,168           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       (r)370,620           36.8      (r)61.7

October ....................     1,831     215,483
November ...................     2,721     295,956
December ...................     2,440     268,893

Fourth Quarter .............     6,992     780,332      (r)2,698       (r)500,925           38.6      (r)64.2

             2002           

January ....................     2,146     263,821
February ...................     1,383     138,984
March ......................     1,460     161,336

First Quarter ..............     4,989     564,141      (r)1,749       (r)313,686        (r)35.1      (r)55.6

April ......................     1,507     165,861
May ........................     1,726     180,007
June(p) ....................     1,580     161,928

Second Quarter(p) ..........     4,813     507,796      (2)1,754       (2)256,338           36.4         50.5

July(p) ....................     2,041     245,457

    1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 
    2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become available.
Recent 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. 
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised. 
 
 
 
 

Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                                                 
                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                    

                                                     July     May      June     July        July       May        June       July  
                                                     2001r    2002     2002p    2002p       2001r      2002       2002p      2002p 


     Total(1) ...................................    2,117    1,726    1,580    2,041      273,807    180,007    161,928    245,457

Total, private ..................................    2,042    1,635    1,356    1,936      266,358    170,712    142,567    235,792

  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....       90       62       92      118        7,230      3,802      6,256      8,734
  Mining ........................................        8       15        8       12        1,308      1,553      1,210      1,450
  Utilities .....................................        3        6        3        4        1,019        597        303        320
  Construction ..................................       65      165       84       74        5,167     13,521      5,809      5,675
  Manufacturing .................................    1,144      488      336      908      168,877     52,720     42,117    135,392
      Food ......................................       81       79       49       60        9,832      9,335      5,851      6,102
      Beverage and tobacco products .............    ( 2 )        3        6    ( 2 )        ( 2 )        224        452      ( 2 )
      Textile mills .............................       41       19       10       33        5,807      2,072      1,118      4,801
      Textile product mills .....................       10        8        5       11          933        617        663      2,336
      Apparel ...................................       46       33       15       34        7,116      2,578      1,363      3,196
      Leather and allied products ...............       11        -    ( 2 )        6        1,056          -      ( 2 )        378
      Wood products .............................       26       23       18       28        3,239      2,348      2,359      2,893
      Paper .....................................       19       10        8       13        2,362      1,141      1,078      1,244
      Printing and related support activities ...       10       21       13       13        1,023      1,892      1,057      1,331
      Petroleum and coal products ...............    ( 2 )        3    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        ( 2 )        184      ( 2 )      ( 2 )

      Chemicals .................................       22       11        6       14        2,690        815        606      1,473
      Plastics and rubber products ..............       83        9       10       71        9,333        798        898     10,080
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............       21       10        8       18        2,871      1,190        754      2,813
      Primary metals ............................       79       27       18       64       13,048      2,787      2,681      7,651
      Fabricated metal products .................       96       25       20       60       10,190      2,252      2,103      7,556
      Machinery .................................      101       35       27       76       19,830      3,902      4,543     12,778
      Computer and electronic products ..........      129       69       36       94       16,960      5,813      2,959     11,987
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......       47       28       25       31        7,949      4,490      5,281      5,046
      Transportation equipment ..................      258       53       34      234       47,285      6,869      5,594     47,583
      Furniture and related products ............       33       12       17       27        4,639      2,513      2,005      4,191
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............       26       10        7       17        2,427        900        527      1,699

  Wholesale trade ...............................       31       35       23       29        2,591      2,937      2,165      3,017
  Retail trade ..................................       96      131       83       93       10,996     16,192      7,257     10,447
  Transportation and warehousing ................       86       52      141       71        7,378      5,680     18,068      6,691
  Information ...................................       59       86       42       72       11,329     13,036      4,210     12,555
  Finance and insurance .........................       34       44       35       52        2,814      3,327      2,431      4,394
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............       13        7        7       11          939        452        602      1,066
  Professional and technical services ...........       59       80       36       74        6,597      6,199      8,902      6,818
  Management of companies and enterprises .......        4        4        3        3          595        395        621        323
  Administrative and waste services .............      205      222      165      233       28,056     26,191     14,236     24,853
  Educational services ..........................        6        3       18       15          435        190      1,128      1,239
  Health care and social assistance .............       38       76      117       54        2,406      7,006     10,987      3,652
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       13       33       29       23        1,038      2,267      1,983      1,599
  Accommodation and food services ...............       53       88       80       70        4,271     10,807      9,966      5,930
  Other services, except public administration ..       10       34       49       17          596      3,228      3,976      1,385

  Unclassified ..................................       25        4        5        3        2,716        612        340        252

Government ......................................       75       91      224      105        7,449      9,295     19,361      9,665
  Federal .......................................       18       21       13        6        2,020      2,739      1,791        787
  State .........................................        7       14       16       17          592      1,510      1,665      1,321
  Local .........................................       50       56      195       82        4,837      5,046     15,905      7,557

    1 For July 2002, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised.
    NOTE: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is
the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part
of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by
industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series
from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. Dash represents zero. 
 
 
 
 

Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division
                            
                                                                                       Initial claimants for            
                                           Mass layoff events                          unemployment insurance           
  Census region and division

                                July       May        June       July         July        May         June        July  
                                2001       2002       2002p      2002p        2001        2002        2002p       2002p 

      United States(1) ..... (r)2,117      1,726      1,580      2,041    (r)273,807     180,007     161,928     245,457

Northeast ..................      319        266        258        315        33,490      24,998      30,153      35,012

  New England ..............       70         41         57         68         8,574       3,765       6,746       7,000
  Middle Atlantic ..........      249        225        201        247        24,916      21,233      23,407      28,012

South ......................   (r)462        467        380        485     (r)56,394      48,506      37,559      56,416

  South Atlantic ...........      236        211        197        202        28,391      18,633      17,657      22,536
  East South Central .......       89         88         67        137        10,772       9,448       7,935      16,850
  West South Central .......   (r)137        168        116        146     (r)17,231      20,425      11,967      17,030

Midwest ....................      763        377        311        574       116,117      44,788      36,493      89,068

  East North Central .......      618        266        238        468        96,509      31,152      27,739      66,354
  West North Central .......      145        111         73        106        19,608      13,636       8,754      22,714

West .......................      573        616        631        667        67,806      61,715      57,723      64,961

  Mountain .................       74         48         59         66         8,156       4,604       7,073       6,399
  Pacific ..................      499        568        572        601        59,650      57,111      50,650      58,562


    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised.
    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 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                            
                                                                                          Initial claimants for            
                                            Mass layoff events                            unemployment insurance           
            State           

                                July        May         June        July         July        May         June        July  
                                2001        2002        2002p       2002p        2001        2002        2002p       2002p 

   Total(1) ................ (r)2,117       1,726       1,580       2,041    (r)273,807     180,007     161,928     245,457

Alabama ....................       13          38          24          56         1,312       4,352       3,415       7,290
Alaska .....................        -       ( 2 )           4           -             -       ( 2 )         401           -
Arizona ....................       22          11          23          28         2,149       1,256       2,576       2,528
Arkansas ...................       13           8           3          11         1,043         629         210         999
California .................      444         517         507         545        51,198      50,063      43,520      52,556
Colorado ...................       12           9           3          15         1,248         858         277       1,658
Connecticut ................    ( 2 )           9          14           6         ( 2 )         665       2,018         598
Delaware ...................        6           -       ( 2 )           4         1,021           -       ( 2 )         642
District of Columbia .......        -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )             -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Florida ....................       80         102         104          92         6,692       7,045       7,222       6,405
Georgia ....................       15          30          20           9         1,413       3,083       2,966         824
Hawaii .....................    ( 2 )           6       ( 2 )           3         ( 2 )         462       ( 2 )         256
Idaho ......................       12           9           7           7         2,104       1,014       1,571         864

Illinois ...................       68          67          58          62        16,031      10,079       6,074       9,521
Indiana ....................       83          26          27          72        12,304       3,267       4,628      11,367
Iowa .......................       49          19          13          25         8,154       2,203       1,615       6,494
Kansas .....................        9          14           4          15           883       1,620         439       3,701
Kentucky ...................       52          21          20          59         7,227       2,258       2,252       7,580
Louisiana ..................    (r)15          22          28          18      (r)2,109       2,166       2,757       1,294
Maine ......................        5           5           4       ( 2 )           586         353         225       ( 2 )
Maryland ...................        7           6          10          11           691         534       1,095       1,225
Massachusetts ..............       44          21          23          44         5,051       2,065       1,851       4,130
Michigan ...................      231          44          50         144        28,650       4,408       5,002      15,700
Minnesota ..................       24          23          19          16         2,792       2,768       2,900       1,702
Mississippi ................       12           9           6           5         1,171         821         405         583
Missouri ...................       57          43          26          42         6,939       5,656       2,665       9,917

Montana ....................        -           3       ( 2 )       ( 2 )             -         212       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Nebraska ...................        4       ( 2 )           5           8           434       ( 2 )         429         900
Nevada .....................       20           8          15          11         2,095         714       1,933         991
New Hampshire ..............       11       ( 2 )           5           5         1,846       ( 2 )       1,229         696
New Jersey .................       43          42          57          44         4,963       4,384       9,137       5,367
New Mexico .................        5           5           3       ( 2 )           252         355         168       ( 2 )
New York ...................       39          80          40          88         4,071       6,785       3,072       9,715
North Carolina .............       28          21          18          23         3,705       1,637       1,771       2,490
North Dakota ...............    ( 2 )           5           5           -         ( 2 )         653         644           -
Ohio .......................      127          70          46          98        23,143       7,231       5,247      15,236
Oklahoma ...................       14           7           7          20         1,720         760         450       2,757
Oregon .....................       33          25          30          27         6,336       3,291       3,446       2,829
Pennsylvania ...............      167         103         104         115        15,882      10,064      11,198      12,930

Rhode Island ...............        4       ( 2 )           8           9           338       ( 2 )       1,246       1,163
South Carolina .............       63          24          19          35         9,790       2,492       1,848       6,590
South Dakota ...............        -           5       ( 2 )           -             -         562       ( 2 )           -
Tennessee ..................       12          20          17          17         1,062       2,017       1,863       1,397
Texas ......................       95         131          78          97        12,359      16,870       8,550      11,980
Utah .......................    ( 2 )           3           6       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         195         422       ( 2 )
Vermont ....................    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           3           3         ( 2 )       ( 2 )         177         353
Virginia ...................       35          23          20          24         4,971       3,355       2,193       3,974
Washington .................       20          18          29          26         1,928       3,154       3,163       2,921
West Virginia ..............    ( 2 )           4       ( 2 )           3         ( 2 )         347       ( 2 )         308
Wisconsin ..................      109          59          57          92        16,381       6,167       6,788      14,530
Wyoming ....................        -           -           -           -             -           -           -           -

Puerto Rico ................        8          12           9          11           896       1,390         998       2,251

    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
    p = preliminary. 
    r = revised.
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.