Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 02-238
http://www.bls.gov/mls/
                         
                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Wednesday, April 24, 2002


                        MASS LAYOFFS IN MARCH 2002


   Employers initiated 1,460 mass layoff actions in March 2002, as
measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the
month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of
Labor Statistics.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single
establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 161,336.  (See
table 1.)  Compared with March 2001, the number of layoff events declined
by 4 percent and the number of claimants fell by 6 percent.  This was the
third time in the last four months that layoff events and related initial
claims declined over the year.  However, from January through March 2002,
the total number of events, at 4,989, and initial claims, at 564,141, were
higher than in January-March 2001 (4,550 and 544,717, respectively).
   
   This release uses the North American Industrial Classification System
(NAICS) for the assignment and tabulation of layoff data by industry.
Prior to 2002, the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system was
used.  Additional information on this change is provided in the box on 
page 3 of this release.

Industry Distribution

   Manufacturing industries accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff
events and 37 percent of all initial claims filed in March.  A year
earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 43 percent of events and 
51 percent of initial claims.  The number of initial claimants was highest 
in food production (9,070, mostly in frozen fruits and vegetables), followed
by transportation equipment (8,531, primarily in aircraft manufacturing),
computer and electronic products (6,902, mainly in semiconductors and
related devices), and machinery manufacturing (6,588).  (See table 2.)
   
   The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent
of events and initial claims filed during the month, with layoffs almost
entirely in administrative and support services, particularly temporary
help services.  Seven percent of all layoff events and initial claims 
filed during the month were in retail trade, mostly in general merchan-
dise stores.  Ten percent of the events and 7 percent of the initial 
claims were from construction, primarily among specialty trade contrac-
tors.  The transportation and warehousing sector (mostly in transit and 
ground passenger transportation) accounted for an additional 5 percent of 
events and 6 percent of initial claims, as did accommodation and food 
services (largely in food services and drinking places).
   
   Compared with March 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were
reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-8,782), primary metals
(-3,540), and computer and electronic products (-3,378).  The largest over-
the-year increases in initial claims were reported in administrative and
support services (+7,348) and transit and ground passenger transportation
(+4,093).
   
                                  - 2 -

Geographic Distribution

   Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in March
due to mass layoffs was in the West, 61,111.  (See table 3.)  Temporary
help services and payroll services accounted for 22 percent of all initial
claims in the West during the month.  The Midwest followed with 42,491
initial claims (mainly in school and employee bus transportation and in
temporary help services) and the South with 37,291 (largely in temporary
help services and in food service contractors).  The Northeast region
continued to have the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims,
20,443.
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year
in each of the four regions, with the largest decrease occurring in the
Midwest (-5,979).  Eight of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year
decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs,
with the largest decline in the East North Central division (-7,562).
Only the West North Central had an increase (+1,583).
   
   California registered the largest number of initial claims filed 
in mass layoff events this March, 48,376, mostly in temporary help 
services and in payroll services.  Pennsylvania reported 12,131, fol-
lowed by Wisconsin (9,938) and Texas (9,695).  These four states ac-
counted for 51 percent of all layoff events and 50 percent of all 
initial claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 4.)
   
   Indiana reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims 
(-4,257), followed by Ohio (-3,371) and South Carolina (-3,120).  The lar-
gest over-the-year increase occurred in Wisconsin (+3,253).

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.  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.
   
                      ______________________________
   
   The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2002 will
be issued on Thursday, May 16, 2002.

                                  - 3 -

  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 |           Change in Industry Classification System            |
 |                                                               |
 |   Beginning with the January 2002 release, the Mass Layoff    |
 |Statistics program switched to the 2002 version of the North   |
 |American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as 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 indus- |
 |try for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for  |
 |earlier years.  However, the monthly historical industry series|
 |from April 1995 through December 2001 are available on both SIC|
 |and NAICS bases.                                               |
 |                                                               |
 |   NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize eco-|
 |nomic units.  Units with similar production processes are clas-|
 |sified in the same industry.  NAICS focuses on how products and|
 |services are created, as opposed to the SIC focus on what is   |
 |produced.  This approach yields significantly different indus- |
 |try 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, January 2000 to March 2002

                                                          Extended mass layoffs 
                                                        lasting more than 30 days
             Date                                                                               
                               Total mass layoffs                                         Realization rates(1)
                                                                                           
                                                                                                
                                          Initial                        Initial                       Initial 
                              Events     claimants       Events         claimants         Events      claimants        
            2000
 January ...................   1,934      223,322      	            		    
 February ..................   1,045      103,898      	            		    
 March .....................     986      106,748      	            		    

 First Quarter .............   3,965      433,968         1,330           221,368           33.5         51.0     

 April .....................     924      101,359      	            		    
 May .......................     984       92,193      	            		    
 June ......................   1,597      192,025      	            		    

 Second Quarter ............   3,505      385,577         1,271           231,471           36.3         60.0     

 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           376,588           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           339,766           38.8         62.4     

 April .....................   1,450      176,265      	            		    
 May .......................   1,434      159,365      	            		    
 June ......................   2,107      253,826      	            		    

 Second Quarter ............   4,991      589,456         2,072           399,075           41.5         67.7     

 July ......................   2,117      273,807      	            		    
 August ....................   1,490      166,148      	            		    
 September .................   1,327      160,402      	            		    

 Third Quarter .............   4,934      600,357         1,816           364,548           36.8         60.7     

 October ...................   1,831      215,483      	            		    
 November ..................   2,721      295,956      	            		    
 December ..................   2,440      268,893      	            		    

 Fourth Quarter ............   6,992      780,332   (2)(p)2,538     (2)(p)358,067        (p)36.3      (p)45.9

            2002

 January ...................   2,146      263,821      	            		    
 February(p) ...............   1,383      138,984      	            		    
 March(p)  .................   1,460      161,336      	            		    


    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.
Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                      Initial claimants for
                                                              Mass layoff events                      unemployment insurance
                           Industry
                                                                                                                                                           

                                                       March   January  February  March       March     January    February    March
                                                        2001     2002   2002(p)  2002(p)       2001       2002      2002(p)   2002(p)
 

      Total(1) .....................................   1,527    2,146    1,383    1,460      171,466    263,821    138,984    161,336     

 Total, private ....................................   1,493    2,093    1,351    1,414      168,095    258,219    135,518    157,100     

     Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....     122       65       97       79        9,987      5,950      5,493      5,775     
     Mining ........................................   ( 2 )       20       15       22        ( 2 )      2,110      1,802      1,882     
     Utilities .....................................       5    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        7          388      ( 2 )      ( 2 )        727     
     Construction ..................................     139      199      140      150       10,678     15,869     10,277     11,826     
     Manufacturing..................................     659      892      482      500       86,874    128,825     58,842     59,644     
         Food ......................................      76       61       63       74        7,209      6,949      6,991      9,070     
         Beverage and tobacco products .............       9        7        7        8        1,141        488        409        802     
         Textile mills .............................      30       37       21       14        4,425      9,448      2,380      1,468     
         Textile product mills .....................   ( 2 )       19        8    ( 2 )        ( 2 )      3,109        873      ( 2 )  
         Apparel ...................................      32       66       26       17        4,122     11,560      2,190      1,536     
         Leather and allied products ...............       7        5    ( 2 )    ( 2 )          962        332      ( 2 )      ( 2 ) 
         Wood products .............................      37       63       37       19        3,338      6,990      3,854      2,319     
         Paper .....................................      12       22       16       18        1,379      1,676      1,636      2,688     
         Printing and related support activities ...      13       17       12       26        1,154      2,173      1,321      2,105     
         Petroleum and coal products ...............   ( 2 )        6    ( 2 )        -        ( 2 )        388      ( 2 )          -

         Chemicals .................................      10       14       12       14          959      1,026        780      1,659     
         Plastics and rubber products ..............      41       39       15       20        3,775      3,780      1,472      1,613     
         Nonmetallic mineral products ..............      15       31       10       21          985      2,597        976      1,537     
         Primary metals ............................      45       44       24       21        6,540      6,247      2,829      3,000     
         Fabricated metal products .................      47       75       36       34        4,814      7,377      3,471      3,319     
         Machinery .................................      56       69       28       43        8,558      8,837      6,027      6,588     
         Computer and electronic products ..........      74      103       58       65       10,280     14,073      6,025      6,902     
         Electrical equipment and appliances .......      26       36       16       26        5,158      3,835      2,162      3,602     
         Transportation equipment ..................      79      112       56       46       17,313     30,900     11,424      8,531     
         Furniture and related products ............      24       43       20       19        2,477      5,429      2,593      1,772     
         Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............      19       23       14       11        1,511      1,611      1,172        837     
  
     Wholesale trade ...............................      17       38       24       25        1,489      3,962      1,569      2,694     
     Retail trade ..................................      97      185      105      108       10,987     21,717     10,605     12,067     
     Transportation and warehousing ................      46       87       45       76        5,001      8,067      5,179     10,441     
     Information ...................................      57       71       69       36        4,999      7,809      9,902      4,456     
     Finance and insurance .........................      24       49       38       32        2,029      5,005      2,539      2,697     
     Real estate and rental and leasing ............       7        8        8        9          601        676        469        629     
     Professional and technical services ...........      45       59       45       50        8,484     13,474      2,956      8,260     
     Management of companies and enterprises .......   ( 2 )        5        8        3        ( 2 )        804        699        182     
     Administrative and waste services .............     155      237      185      185       14,225     26,181     17,306     21,704     
     Educational services...........................   ( 2 )    ( 2 )        -        3        ( 2 )      ( 2 )          -        232     
     Health care and social assistance .............      13       24       18       22          858      1,803      1,115      1,671     
     Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       7       27    ( 2 )       13        1,063      2,773      ( 2 )      1,013     
     Accommodation and food services ...............      78       87       49       76        8,188      8,295      4,091      9,721     
     Other services, except public administration...   ( 2 )       18        9        7        ( 2 )      1,756        481        609     

     Unclassified  .................................      12       16        6       11        1,451      2,468      1,563        870     

 Government ........................................      34       53       32       46        3,371      5,602      3,466      4,236     
     Federal .......................................       7       13        8        7        1,136      1,751      1,002        777     
     State .........................................      17       16        7       16        1,508      1,741        449      1,652     
     Local .........................................      10       24       17       23          727      2,110      2,015      1,807     


     1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.       
     2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.           
     p = preliminary.
     NOTE: 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
                                                                                                     
                                             Mass layoff events                           Initial claimants for
                                                                                          unemployment insurance
  Census region and division
                                 March     January   February     March         March      January    February      March
                                  2001       2002     2002(p)    2002(p)         2001        2002      2002(p)     2002(p)

         United States(1) ....   1,527      2,146      1,383      1,460        171,466     263,821     138,984     161,336     

 Northeast ...................     194        274        175        210         20,783      29,934      20,241      20,443     

     New England .............      33         58         38         33          3,200       5,852       4,107       2,995     
     Middle Atlantic .........     161        216        137        177         17,583      24,082      16,134      17,448     

 South .......................     317        581        350        347         39,088      79,608      37,256      37,291     

     South Atlantic ..........     148        229        176        157         16,715      33,142      16,633      16,644     
     East South Central ......      67        227         67         73          8,295      32,722       7,024       7,076     
     West South Central ......     102        125        107        117         14,078      13,744      13,599      13,571     

 Midwest .....................     368        559        284        327         48,470      71,176      34,912      42,491     

     East North Central ......     292        437        217        253         39,620      53,645      27,662      32,058     
     West North Central ......      76        122         67         74          8,850      17,531       7,250      10,433     

 West ........................     648        732        574        576         63,125      83,103      46,575      61,111     

     Mountain ................      64         83         60         52          6,422       9,315       5,782       4,841     
     Pacific .................     584        649        514        524         56,703      73,788      40,793      56,270     


      1 See footnote 1, table 2. 							  
      p = preliminary. 									  
      NOTE:  The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, 
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania;
South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, 
and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, 
Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central:
Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.  

Table 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                           Initial claimants for
                                          Mass layoff events                               unemployment insurance

              State       
                               March       January     February       March       March       January      February      March
                                2001         2002       2002(p)      2002(p)       2001         2002        2002(p)     2002(p)

    Total(1) ...............   1,527        2,146        1,383        1,460      171,466      263,821      138,984      161,336     

 Alabama ...................      10          163           21           10        1,075       27,032        2,129        1,295     
 Alaska ....................       -            7        ( 2 )            -            -          467        ( 2 )            -
 Arizona ...................      20           12           11           12        2,136        1,252          939          879     
 Arkansas ..................       3            5            4            5          316          445          299          488     
 California ................     522          563          460          466       48,576       62,844       34,494       48,376     
 Colorado ..................       5           13           10           10          460        1,487          976          845     
 Connecticut ...............       3            5        ( 2 )            4          172          428        ( 2 )          377     
 Delaware ..................   ( 2 )        ( 2 )            -            4        ( 2 )        ( 2 )            -          790     
 District of Columbia ......   ( 2 )            3        ( 2 )            -        ( 2 )          499        ( 2 )            -
 Florida ...................      59           78           86           64        5,160        9,173        5,903        5,689     
 Georgia ...................       8           46           20           20          646       10,630        2,396        2,202     
 Hawaii ....................       3           14           10            6          253        1,302        1,090          658     
 Idaho .....................      13           13           13           13        1,396        1,054        1,579        1,628     

 Illinois ..................      54           89           58           53        7,940       12,951       10,045        7,645     
 Indiana ...................      30           36           25           21        6,469        5,101        2,319        2,212     
 Iowa ......................      16           32           13           12        2,561        3,982        1,869        1,510     
 Kansas ....................       7           16            4            7          600        1,331          431        1,357     
 Kentucky ..................      34           30           27           31        5,303        2,565        2,963        3,354     
 Louisiana .................      13           20           13           19        1,176        2,249        2,409        1,501     
 Maine .....................       3            5        ( 2 )            4          392          616        ( 2 )          226     
 Maryland ..................       4           11            6        ( 2 )          307          998          606        ( 2 ) 
 Massachusetts .............      14           30           25           15        1,430        2,867        2,406        1,652     
 Michigan ..................      72           82           41           56        9,375        8,915        4,235        6,483     
 Minnesota .................      19           29           24           16        2,325        2,913        2,662        2,238     
 Mississippi ...............       8            7            5           13          773          584          757          890     
 Missouri ..................      31           39           20           29        3,086        8,709        1,510        4,109     

 Montana ...................       3        ( 2 )            3            3          215        ( 2 )          225          264     
 Nebraska ..................       -            4            5            9            -          466          564        1,133     
 Nevada ....................      17           31           14            6        1,647        4,133        1,122          461     
 New Hampshire .............       4            7        ( 2 )            3          339        1,001        ( 2 )          247     
 New Jersey ................      21           49           39           35        2,086        7,066        6,074        3,749     
 New Mexico ................   ( 2 )            4            3            3        ( 2 )          535          279          176     
 New York ..................      18           27           26           19        1,756        2,481        2,375        1,568     
 North Carolina ............      19           25           18           23        2,104        3,386        2,628        2,686     
 North Dakota ..............       -        ( 2 )            -            -            -        ( 2 )            -            -
 Ohio ......................      70          158           50           52        9,151       18,614        4,966        5,780     
 Oklahoma ..................      10            8           15           10        1,108          778        1,810        1,887     
 Oregon ....................      36           39           24           27        5,454        5,278        2,576        3,507     
 Pennsylvania ..............     122          140           72          123       13,741       14,535        7,685       12,131     

 Rhode Island ..............       5            7            6            4          536          694          942          323     
 South Carolina ............      32           33           25           21        5,870        3,753        2,808        2,750     
 South Dakota ..............       3        ( 2 )        ( 2 )        ( 2 )          278        ( 2 )        ( 2 )        ( 2 ) 
 Tennessee .................      15           27           14           19        1,144        2,541        1,175        1,537     
 Texas .....................      76           92           75           83       11,478       10,272        9,081        9,695     
 Utah ......................       4            7            6            5          409          551          662          588     
 Vermont ...................       4            4        ( 2 )            3          331          246        ( 2 )          170     
 Virginia ..................      20           27           17           16        2,068        3,303        2,061        1,794     
 Washington ................      23           26           18           25        2,420        3,897        2,495        3,729     
 West Virginia .............       3            4            3            7          275          258          166          571     
 Wisconsin .................      66           72           43           71        6,685        8,064        6,097        9,938     
 Wyoming ...................   ( 2 )        ( 2 )            -            -        ( 2 )        ( 2 )            -            -

 Puerto Rico ...............       7            8            7            9          806        1,020          827        1,082     


  1 See footnote 1, table 2.
  2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
  p = preliminary.
  NOTE: Dash represents zero.