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   Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, January 25, 2012                 USDL-12-0093

Technical information: (202) 691-6392  *  mlsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                     MASS LAYOFFS -- DECEMBER 2011
                         ANNUAL TOTALS -- 2011
                                   
                                   
Employers took 1,384 mass layoff actions in December involving 145,648
workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for
unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50
workers from a single employer. Mass layoff events in December increased
by 52 from November, and associated initial claims increased by 14,021.
In December, 351 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing
sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 39,081 initial claims.
(See table 1.)

  ___________________________________________________________________
 |                                  				    |
 |                                  				    |
 |         Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data	    |
 |                                  				    |
 |   Seasonally adjusted mass layoff data have been revised using   |
 |   updated seasonal adjustment factors that incorporate 2011	    |
 |   data. Seasonally adjusted estimates back to January 2007	    |
 |   were subject to revision. Revised seasonally adjusted data     |
 |   from January 2008 forward are shown in table 1. The	    |     
 |   originally published and revised figures for January 2007-     |
 |   November 2011 will be available at			            |
 |   www.bls.gov/mls/mlssarevision.htm, along with additional	    |
 |   information about the revisions.				    |
 |								    |
 |__________________________________________________________________|


The national unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in December, down from
8.7 percent the prior month and from 9.4 percent a year earlier. Total
nonfarm payroll employment increased by 200,000 over the month and by
1,640,000 over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in December was 2,433, not seasonally
adjusted, resulting in 263,665 initial claims for unemployment insurance.
(See table 2.) Over the year, average weekly mass layoff events increased
by 4 to 487, and associated average weekly initial claims increased by
6,700 to 52,733. Ten of the 19 major industry sectors in the private
economy reported over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims,
with the largest increases occurring in information, administrative and
waste services, and manufacturing. (See table 3.) The six-digit industry
with the largest number of private nonfarm initial claims in December
2011 was temporary help services. (See table A.)


Table A. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in December 2011, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

                 Industry                                                  December peak
                                                     Initial Claims     Year  Initial claims
                                                                                            
Temporary help services (1) ...............              19,987         2011      19,987
Food service contractors ..................              19,639         2011      19,639
Highway, street, and bridge construction ..              15,919         2005      20,030
School and employee bus transportation ....              15,849         2011      15,849
Motion picture and video production .......              11,109         1998      16,192
Payroll services ..........................               4,588         2000       6,268
Landscaping services ......................               3,146         2011       3,146
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ...               3,045         2008       3,528
Casino hotels .............................               2,831         2011       2,831
Professional employer organizations (1) ...               2,668         2008       6,101
                                                                                            
   1  See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.


In December, the manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of mass
layoff events and 30 percent of associated initial claims in the private
economy. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 25 percent of events and
30 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the numbers of mass
layoff claimants in December 2011 were greatest in transportation equipment,
food, and textile mills. Twelve of the 21 manufacturing subsectors 
experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, with
the largest increases occurring in food and in textile mills. (See table 3.)


Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Among the census regions, the Midwest registered the greatest number
of initial claims in December. All four regions experienced over-the-
year increases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest
increase occurring in the West. (See table 4.)

Among the states, California recorded the highest number of mass
layoff initial claims in December, followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio, and New York. Twenty-nine states experienced over-the-
year increases in average weekly initial claims, led by California and
Pennsylvania. (See table 4.)


Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
1996-2011, not seasonally adjusted


Year                 Layoff events    Initial claimants for
                                      unemployment insurance

1996 .............       14,111             1,437,628
1997 .............       14,960             1,542,543
1998 .............       15,904             1,771,069
1999 .............       14,909             1,572,399
2000 .............       15,738             1,835,592
2001 .............       21,467             2,514,862
2002 .............       20,277             2,245,051
2003 .............       18,963             1,888,926
2004 .............       15,980             1,607,158
2005 .............       16,466             1,795,341

2006 .............       13,998             1,484,391
2007 .............       15,493             1,598,875
2008 .............       21,137             2,130,220
2009 .............       28,030             2,796,456
2010 .............       19,564             1,854,596
2011 .............       18,521             1,808,451


Review of 2011

For all of 2011, the total numbers of mass layoff events, at 18,521,
and initial claims, at 1,808,451, declined to their lowest levels
since 2007. (See table B.) Twelve of the 19 major industry sectors in
the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in initial
claims, led by manufacturing, construction, and retail trade. In 2011,
total initial claims in the manufacturing sector declined to a series
low 481,702.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 26 percent of mass layoff events
and 29 percent of associated initial claims in the private economy in
2011, about the same percentages as in 2010. The number of manufacturing
claimants in 2011 was highest in transportation equipment and in food.
Total initial claims in 14 of the 21 manufacturing subsectors decreased
between 2010 and 2011, with transportation equipment and machinery
experiencing the largest declines.


Table C. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in 2011, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

                                                          2010                 2011
                  Industry 
                                                    Initial   Rank       Initial   Rank
                                                     claims               claims 
                                                     
Temporary help services (1) ..................      117,391     1        143,938     1
School and employee bus transportation .......       90,887     2         95,287     2
Food service contractors .....................       74,873     3         75,006     3
Motion picture and video production ..........       45,856     4         47,988     4
Highway, street, and bridge construction .....       41,662     5         40,349     5
Professional employer organizations (1) ......       40,396     6         31,916     6
Discount department stores ...................       29,986     8         29,807     7
Child day care services ......................       19,141    12         23,237     8
Supermarkets and other grocery stores ........       24,534     9         19,781     9
Wired telecommunications carriers ............        8,236    37         19,116    10

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


The six-digit industry in the private nonfarm sector with the greatest
number of initial claims in 2011 was temporary help services. Child
day care services and wired telecommunications carriers entered the
list of 10 industries with the highest initial claims for the entire
year. (See table C.) Four industries among these 10 reached program
highs in 2011--school and employee bus transportation, food service
contractors, child day care centers, and wired telecommunications
carriers. (Annual data began in 1996.)

Two of the 4 census regions reported over-the-year decreases in
initial claims from 2010 to 2011, with the largest decline occurring
in the West. Among the states, California recorded the highest number
of mass layoff initial claims in 2011, followed by Pennsylvania, New
York, Florida, and Wisconsin. Twenty-nine states experienced over-the-
year decreases in total initial claims for the year, led by California,
Illinois, and Florida.

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.
The monthly data series in this release are subjected to average
weekly analysis, which mitigates the effect of differing lengths of
months. See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions and for a
description of average weekly analysis.

____________
The Extended Mass Layoffs news release for the Fourth Quarter 2011 and
Annual Totals for 2011 is scheduled to be released on Friday, February
10, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
The Mass Layoffs news release for January 2012 is scheduled to be
released on Thursday, February 23, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).


  __________________________________________________________________   
 |                                  				    |
 |               Upcoming Changes to Mass Layoff Data		    |
 |    								    |
 |   With the release of January 2012 data on February 23, 2012,    |
 |   the Mass Layoff Statistics program will update the basis for   |
 |   industry classification from the 2007 North American	    |
 |   Industry Classification System (NAICS) to the 2012 NAICS.	    |
 |   The new conversion reflects definitional changes within the    |
 |   utilities, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, and   |
 |   retail trade sectors. Several industry titles and		    |
 |   descriptions will also be updated. For more information on	    |
 |   the 2012 NAICS update, visit				    |
 |   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
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, data users who intend to perform analysis of over-the-year
change in the not seasonally adjusted series should use the average weekly
mass layoff figures displayed in tables 3 and 4 of this release.  The average
weekly adjustment process produces a consistent series for each month across
all years, permitting over-the-year analysis to be performed using strictly
comparable data.

   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

   Average weekly mass layoff events and initial claimants. The number of
events and initial claimants in a given month divided by the number of weeks
contained within that month.

   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 employers 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, January 2008 to 
December 2011, seasonally adjusted

                                      Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial 
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,439     146,850     1,300     135,422       421      53,254
February ...................     1,724     179,955     1,567     168,003       485      60,752
March ......................     1,515     151,628     1,400     141,316       441      58,254
April ......................     1,290     128,643     1,157     117,639       453      57,044
May ........................     1,567     160,475     1,432     150,893       470      62,776
June .......................     1,612     163,425     1,471     152,133       491      68,862
July .......................     1,589     163,572     1,452     153,060       465      62,210
August .....................     1,763     181,853     1,632     172,147       578      77,464
September ..................     2,159     229,180     1,990     215,749       629      82,011
October ....................     2,201     226,853     2,043     213,454       698      93,252
November ...................     2,406     239,239     2,247     225,404       907     103,836
December ...................     2,437     244,889     2,261     230,621       935     116,181

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     2,254     235,371     2,083     221,653       726      92,293
February ...................     3,059     326,392     2,901     310,378     1,251     145,839
March ......................     2,999     299,322     2,800     282,414     1,230     154,168
April ......................     2,566     249,129     2,349     232,632     1,007     116,051
May ........................     2,710     284,468     2,516     267,869     1,181     147,184
June .......................     2,466     247,597     2,257     230,502     1,048     137,649
July .......................     2,186     222,941     1,979     203,911       636      75,728
August .....................     2,340     216,047     2,115     197,172       751      77,894
September ..................     2,261     214,018     2,048     198,761       786      91,125
October ....................     1,969     195,752     1,772     178,172       571      65,217
November ...................     1,757     164,454     1,588     151,172       472      52,855
December ...................     1,719     155,056     1,543     140,835       424      44,096

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     1,707     168,044     1,529     154,187       471      53,817
February ...................     1,631     156,292     1,465     141,831       374      43,620
March ......................     1,676     149,816     1,469     134,518       356      40,705
April ......................     1,637     154,558     1,452     138,503       368      44,506
May ........................     1,608     150,996     1,357     130,273       302      29,932
June .......................     1,695     151,435     1,475     132,742       325      33,298
July .......................     1,519     138,091     1,316     122,162       304      32,253
August .....................     1,588     159,329     1,399     136,697       390      43,154
September ..................     1,510     133,576     1,295     115,349       328      34,333
October ....................     1,654     149,589     1,446     132,146       354      38,937
November ...................     1,592     161,145     1,410     145,494       360      39,977
December ...................     1,477     135,849     1,271     121,171       322      36,267

             2011                                                                             

January ....................     1,536     148,952     1,348     131,869       337      37,477
February ...................     1,434     131,569     1,242     116,745       297      26,696
March ......................     1,275     115,391     1,118     102,722       251      28,988
April ......................     1,548     145,836     1,383     131,317       341      37,053
May ........................     1,600     144,412     1,404     127,793       374      39,180
June .......................     1,513     143,384     1,334     128,410       344      36,265
July .......................     1,562     145,078     1,348     125,285       346      36,312
August .....................     1,551     164,275     1,347     149,874       382      49,194
September ..................     1,447     147,353     1,306     134,038       364      38,026
October ....................     1,335     118,924     1,205     107,330       341      33,926
November ...................     1,332     131,627     1,192     120,760       324      36,563
December ...................     1,384     145,648     1,238     130,583       351      39,081  Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2008 to 
December 2011, not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial 
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,647     154,503     1,520     144,191       488      54,418
February ...................     1,269     119,508     1,178     113,587       361      42,527
March ......................     1,089     114,541     1,039     110,147       333      43,740
April ......................     1,272     130,810     1,172     121,625       394      48,188
May ........................     1,552     159,471     1,438     150,462       388      51,698
June .......................     1,622     166,742     1,315     140,916       309      42,097
July .......................     1,891     200,382     1,687     186,018       760     108,733
August .....................     1,427     139,999     1,343     133,146       414      51,912
September ..................     1,292     129,586     1,202     122,505       361      46,391
October ....................     2,125     221,784     1,917     205,553       689     100,457
November ...................     2,574     241,589     2,389     226,657       997     107,620
December ...................     3,377     351,305     3,232     340,220     1,378     172,529

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     3,806     388,813     3,633     375,293     1,461     172,757
February ...................     2,262     218,438     2,173     210,755       945     103,588
March ......................     2,191     228,387     2,107     221,397       940     114,747
April ......................     2,547     256,930     2,385     243,321       887     100,872
May ........................     2,738     289,628     2,572     274,047     1,005     123,683
June .......................     2,519     256,357     2,051     216,063       674      85,726
July .......................     3,054     336,654     2,659     296,589     1,133     154,208
August .....................     1,428     125,024     1,334     117,193       436      41,151
September ..................     1,371     123,177     1,258     115,141       448      51,126
October ....................     1,934     193,904     1,678     172,883       566      69,655
November ...................     1,870     164,496     1,679     150,751       517      55,053
December ...................     2,310     214,648     2,166     203,655       615      64,540

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     2,860     278,679     2,682     265,074       962     104,846
February ...................     1,183     102,818     1,091      96,022       282      30,728
March ......................     1,197     111,727     1,111     105,514       273      29,745
April ......................     1,840     199,690     1,697     184,654       424      55,178
May ........................     1,354     123,333     1,170     109,203       216      19,334
June .......................     1,861     171,190     1,355     125,872       212      21,083
July .......................     2,124     206,254     1,732     172,248       532      64,200
August .....................       976      92,435       897      83,021       230      23,088
September ..................       920      77,654       806      67,987       187      19,403
October ....................     1,642     148,638     1,373     127,865       351      40,861
November ...................     1,676     158,048     1,477     142,591       389      41,383
December ...................     1,931     184,130     1,763     172,881       465      52,816

             2011                                                                             

January ....................     2,558     246,463     2,372     229,765       693      75,006
February ...................     1,024      85,585       919      78,718       222      18,471
March ......................       908      85,095       844      80,014       191      20,869
April ......................     1,750     189,919     1,625     176,478       397      47,104
May ........................     1,367     119,911     1,221     108,531       270      25,199
June .......................     1,661     159,930     1,238     122,821       226      22,986
July .......................     2,176     216,774     1,759     174,078       602      71,814
August .....................       961      99,213       875      93,159       228      26,916
September ..................     1,189     117,232     1,095     107,300       296      32,058
October ....................     1,101      96,914       950      83,748       265      28,447
November ...................     1,393     127,750     1,245     117,474       349      37,799
December ...................     2,433     263,665     2,258     247,916       658      75,033  Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally adjusted

                      Industry                                   Mass layoff totals                    Average weekly mass layoffs (1)
                      
                                                             Events         Initial claimants            Events         Initial claimants  
                                                       December   December  December   December    December   December  December   December
                                                         2010       2011      2010       2011        2010       2011      2010       2011

      Total (2) ..................................      1,931      2,433    184,130    263,665        483        487     46,033     52,733
      
Total, private ...................................      1,830      2,322    176,405    252,259        458        464     44,101     50,452
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ...         67         64      3,524      4,343         17         13        881        869

  Total, private nonfarm .........................      1,763      2,258    172,881    247,916        441        452     43,220     49,583
    Mining .......................................         29         26      2,439      2,404          7          5        610        481
    Utilities ....................................        (3)          5        (3)        476        (3)          1        (3)         95
    Construction .................................        379        402     29,458     32,402         95         80      7,365      6,480
        Construction of buildings ................         42         38      3,379      3,075         11          8        845        615
        Heavy and civil engineering construction .        211        252     16,878     21,638         53         50      4,220      4,328
        Specialty trade contractors ..............        126        112      9,201      7,689         32         22      2,300      1,538
    Manufacturing ................................        465        658     52,816     75,033        116        132     13,204     15,007
        Food .....................................         52         99      6,590     12,340         13         20      1,648      2,468
        Beverage and tobacco products ............          8         10        856      1,225          2          2        214        245
        Textile mills ............................         21         44      2,239      6,237          5          9        560      1,247
        Textile product mills ....................          8          8        981      1,312          2          2        245        262
        Apparel ..................................         18         17      1,294      1,586          5          3        324        317
        Leather and allied products ..............          3          5        850        433          1          1        213         87
        Wood products ............................         39         49      3,623      4,583         10         10        906        917
        Paper ....................................         14         10      1,055      1,180          4          2        264        236
        Printing and related support activities ..         13         11        934        786          3          2        234        157
        Petroleum and coal products ..............         10         14        892      1,298          3          3        223        260

        Chemicals ................................          8         12        561      1,131          2          2        140        226
        Plastics and rubber products .............         25         44      2,392      4,720          6          9        598        944
        Nonmetallic mineral products .............         48         47      4,212      4,666         12          9      1,053        933
        Primary metals ...........................         21         28      1,919      3,104          5          6        480        621
        Fabricated metal products ................         29         41      2,380      4,047          7          8        595        809
        Machinery ................................         18         38      2,724      5,472          5          8        681      1,094
        Computer and electronic products .........         13         27      1,214      2,223          3          5        304        445
        Electrical equipment and appliances ......         12         16      2,372      2,759          3          3        593        552
        Transportation equipment .................         78        107     12,534     12,458         20         21      3,134      2,492
        Furniture and related products ...........         20         22      2,521      2,712          5          4        630        542
        Miscellaneous manufacturing ..............          7          9        673        761          2          2        168        152

    Wholesale trade ..............................         23         29      1,706      2,411          6          6        427        482
    Retail trade (4) .............................        105        135      9,985     14,295         26         27      2,496      2,859
        Building material and garden supply stores          8         15        779      1,797          2          3        195        359
        Food and beverage stores .................         27         20      2,394      1,580          7          4        599        316
        Clothing and clothing accessories stores .          4         12        289        958          1          2         72        192
        General merchandise stores ...............         33         41      3,735      5,876          8          8        934      1,175
    Transportation and warehousing (4) ...........        114        161     13,341     21,508         29         32      3,335      4,302
        Truck transportation .....................         14          8        879        572          4          2        220        114
        Transit and ground passenger 
          transportation .........................         90        128     11,354     18,520         23         26      2,839      3,704
        Support activities for transportation ....        (3)          8        (3)        819        (3)          2        (3)        164
    Information ..................................         25         54      2,818     14,865          6         11        705      2,973
    Finance and insurance ........................         29         24      2,151      1,843          7          5        538        369
    Real estate and rental and leasing ...........         13          8      1,408        495          3          2        352         99
    Professional and technical services ..........         44         67      3,549      9,581         11         13        887      1,916
    Management of companies and enterprises ......        (3)          4        (3)        374        (3)          1        (3)         75
    Administrative and waste services ............        225        338     17,203     32,076         56         68      4,301      6,415
    Educational services .........................          9         11        958        860          2          2        240        172
    Health care and social assistance ............         46         56      3,904      4,900         12         11        976        980
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..........         24         28      1,843      2,022          6          6        461        404
    Accommodation and food services ..............        208        232     27,239     30,635         52         46      6,810      6,127
        Accommodation ............................         45         67      3,729      5,876         11         13        932      1,175
        Food services and drinking places ........        163        165     23,510     24,759         41         33      5,878      4,952
    Other services, except public administration .         15         19      1,153      1,681          4          4        288        336
    Unclassified .................................          1          1         92         55          -          -         23         11

Government .......................................        101        111      7,725     11,406         25         22      1,931      2,281
    Federal ......................................         10          9      1,215        755          3          2        304        151
    State ........................................         22         25      1,724      2,580          6          5        431        516
         State government education ..............          8         15        583      1,868          2          3        146        374
    Local ........................................         69         77      4,786      8,071         17         15      1,197      1,614
         Local government education ..............         39         46      2,436      5,123         10          9        609      1,025

   1 Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months.  There were 4 weeks in December 2010 and 5 weeks in 
December 2011.  Average weekly events and initial claimants may not sum to subtotals and totals due to rounding.
   2 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
   3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   4 Includes other industries not shown.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.  Table 4. Region and state distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted
										   
     Census region and state               Mass layoff totals                    Average weekly mass layoffs (1)   
     
                                       Events         Initial Claimants            Events         Initial Claimants  
                                 December   December  December   December    December   December  December   December
                                   2010       2011      2010       2011        2010       2011      2010       2011

   Total (2) ...............      1,931      2,433    184,130    263,665        483        487     46,033     52,733
   
Northeast ..................        356        450     35,601     47,617         89         90      8,900      9,523
    Connecticut ............          7          5        576        578          2          1        144        116
    Maine ..................          6         10        431        771          2          2        108        154
    Massachusetts ..........         19         19      2,372      1,946          5          4        593        389
    New Hampshire ..........          3          6        326        951          1          1         82        190
    New Jersey .............         49         88      6,036      8,098         12         18      1,509      1,620
    New York ...............        115        117     12,383     11,498         29         23      3,096      2,300
    Pennsylvania ...........        142        186     11,904     20,719         36         37      2,976      4,144
    Rhode Island ...........         10         13      1,264      2,571          3          3        316        514
    Vermont ................          5          6        309        485          1          1         77         97

South ......................        493        602     51,554     67,741        123        120     12,889     13,548
    Alabama ................         34         46      3,758      5,134          9          9        940      1,027
    Arkansas ...............          6         24        563      2,759          2          5        141        552
    Delaware ...............        (3)          9        (3)        820        (3)          2        (3)        164
    District of Columbia ...        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)
    Florida ................         92         70      7,554      6,239         23         14      1,889      1,248
    Georgia ................         42         60      4,306      7,507         11         12      1,077      1,501
    Kentucky ...............         38         67      5,003      8,047         10         13      1,251      1,609
    Louisiana ..............         21         20      1,741      1,923          5          4        435        385
    Maryland ...............          9         18        611      1,959          2          4        153        392
    Mississippi ............         19         21      2,128      1,812          5          4        532        362
    North Carolina .........         80         82      8,876     11,050         20         16      2,219      2,210
    Oklahoma ...............          6         10      1,410        981          2          2        353        196
    South Carolina .........         26         32      2,648      4,612          7          6        662        922
    Tennessee ..............         19         24      1,895      2,157          5          5        474        431
    Texas ..................         63         52      7,312      5,033         16         10      1,828      1,007
    Virginia ...............         30         64      3,177      7,450          8         13        794      1,490
    West Virginia ..........          -        (3)          -        (3)          -        (3)          -        (3)

Midwest ....................        565        743     58,560     78,074        141        149     14,640     15,615
    Illinois ...............        110        118     13,672     13,449         28         24      3,418      2,690
    Indiana ................         49         49      5,314      5,758         12         10      1,329      1,152
    Iowa ...................         39         58      3,897      6,797         10         12        974      1,359
    Kansas .................         23         23      2,923      2,952          6          5        731        590
    Michigan ...............         67        135      8,985     12,542         17         27      2,246      2,508
    Minnesota ..............         34         49      2,932      5,073          9         10        733      1,015
    Missouri ...............         54         67      4,763      6,586         14         13      1,191      1,317
    Nebraska ...............         14         15      1,157      2,252          4          3        289        450
    North Dakota ...........        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)
    Ohio ...................         87        107      7,826     11,550         22         21      1,957      2,310
    South Dakota ...........        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)
    Wisconsin ..............         81        111      6,578     10,117         20         22      1,645      2,023

West .......................        517        638     38,415     70,233        129        128      9,604     14,047
    Alaska .................          9          3        915        447          2          1        229         89
    Arizona ................          9          8        940        750          2          2        235        150
    California .............        365        458     25,602     53,031         91         92      6,401     10,606
    Colorado ...............         14         13        964      1,179          4          3        241        236
    Hawaii .................          -          4          -        388          -          1          -         78
    Idaho ..................         15         20      1,006      1,584          4          4        252        317
    Montana ................          8         11        470        895          2          2        118        179
    Nevada .................         26         31      2,449      3,127          7          6        612        625
    New Mexico .............          8          8        640        590          2          2        160        118
    Oregon .................         25         49      2,234      4,705          6         10        559        941
    Utah ...................         10         10        805        693          3          2        201        139
    Washington .............         28         23      2,390      2,844          7          5        598        569
    Wyoming ................          -          -          -          -          -          -          -          -
    
    Puerto Rico ............         10         14        940      1,729          3          3        235        346
                                                                                                                    
   1 See footnote 1, table 3
   2 See footnote 2, table 3.
   3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.
  Last Modified Date:
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