Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 06-895
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Tuesday, May 23, 2006


                        MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2006
   
   In April 2006, employers took 1,148 mass layoff actions, seasonally
adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits
during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor reported today.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from a
single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 118,504,
on a seasonally adjusted basis.  (See table 1.)  The number of layoff
events rose by 66, and the number of associated initial claims decreased
by 51 from March 2006.  In the manufacturing sector, 358 mass layoff events
were reported during April 2006, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 48,086
initial claims.  The number of events in manufacturing was higher than a
month earlier, while the number of initial claims decreased.  (See table 1.)
   
   In April 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent,  season-
ally adjusted, unchanged from March and down from 5.1 percent in April 2005.
Total nonfarm payroll employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 138,000
over the month and by 2.0 million over the year.
   
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 54,547 initial claims in
April, 45 percent of the total.  (See table A.)  School and employee bus
transportation, with 17,621 initial claims, and automobile manufacturing,
with 9,913, together accounted for 23 percent of all initial claims in
April.
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 26 percent of all mass layoff events
and 33 percent of all initial claims filed in April; a year earlier, manufac-
turing comprised 29 percent of events and 37 percent of initial claims.  In
April 2006, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation
equipment manufacturing (14,093, mostly automotive-related), followed by food
manufacturing (8,192).  (See table 3.)
   
   Transportation and warehousing accounted for 13 percent of events and
16 percent of initial claims filed in April 2006, with layoffs mainly in
transit and ground passenger transportation. Twelve percent of all layoff
events and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the month were from
administrative and waste services, primarily in temporary help services.
Accommodation and food services accounted for 6 percent of events and 7
percent of initial claims in April, mostly in food service contractors.
   
                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest mass layoff initial claims in
April 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |        |
                                          | Initial|        April peak
                 Industry                 | claims |--------------------------
                                          |        |   Year  | Initial claims
------------------------------------------|--------|---------|----------------
School and employee bus transportation ...| 17,621 |   2006  |     17,621
Automobile manufacturing .................|  9,913 |   1996  |     14,744                                  
Temporary help services ..................|  6,289 |   2001  |     18,271                                  
Food service contractors .................|  4,701 |   2004  |      5,496                          
Tax preparation services .................|  3,791 |   2006  |      3,791
Motion picture and video production.......|  3,015 |   1997  |     15,937
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ..|  2,777 |   1998  |      4,198
Professional employer organizations ......|  2,392 |   2001  |      3,413
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ..|  2,147 |   2003  |      2,660
Yarn spinning mills ......................|  1,901 |   2006  |      1,901
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

   Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and 3 per-
cent of initial claims filed in April, largely in executive, legislative,
and general government.
   
   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in
April 2006, at 1,140, decreased by 233 from a year earlier, and the number
of associated initial claims decreased by 36,993 to 121,589.  The largest
over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transit and
ground passenger transportation (+8,703), food services and drinking places
(+993), personal and laundry services (+953), and crop production (+540).
The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in ad-
ministrative and support services (-9,076) and transportation equipment
manufacturing (-6,786).
   
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
April due to mass layoffs was in the Northeast, 34,615.  (See table 5.)
Transit and ground passenger transportation, and food services and drinking
places accounted for 52 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that
region during the month.  The Midwest had the second largest number of
initial claims, 34,494, followed by the West with 34,197, and the South
with 18,283.
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs decreased over the year in
three of the four regions.  The largest decrease was in the West (-18,554),
followed by the South (-17,129), and the Midwest (-7,657).  The Northeast had
the only over-the-year increase (+6,347).  Seven of the nine geographic divi-
sions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated
with mass layoffs, with the largest decline in the Pacific division (-16,809).
The Middle Atlantic division reported the largest over-the-year increase in
initial claims (+6,193).
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial
claims filed due to mass layoff events in April (24,551), followed by New
York (13,386), Ohio (12,182), Pennsylvania (8,702), and Michigan (7,191).
These five states accounted for 54 percent of all mass layoff events and
initial claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 6.)
   
   New York had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial
claims (+5,314), largely due to layoffs in transit and ground passenger trans-
portation and in personal and laundry services.  New Jersey had the next larg-
est increase in initial claims (+2,027), followed by Michigan (+1,836).  The
largest over-the-year decrease in claims occurred in California (-15,224).

                                  - 3 -

Note
   
   The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more
workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs.
For private nonfarm establishments, information on the length of the layoff is
obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs
lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs").  The quar-
terly release provides more information on the industry classification and lo-
cation of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.
Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum
of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly
figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.  (See table 4.)  See the Techni-
cal Note for more detailed definitions.
   
                      ______________________________
   
   
   The report on Mass Layoffs in May 2006 is scheduled to be released on
Thursday, June 22, 2006.
   
   
   
   
   
                                  - 4 -

Technical Note
   
   
   The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them
during a consecutive 5-week period.  These establishments then are con-
tacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted
31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is
collected.  States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quart-
erly basis.
   
   A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month.  All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday.  In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations.  This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks, the number of weeks in a
given month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in
a year may vary.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year
change in not seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect
into consideration.
   
   The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding.  Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number:  1-800-877-8339.
   
Definitions
   
   Initial claimant.  A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
   
   Mass layoff event.  Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
   
Seasonal adjustment

   Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish-
ing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.  The six series are the
numbers of mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total,
private nonfarm, and manufacturing sectors.
   
   Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expan-
sions and contractions.
   
   The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis.  Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping seasonal adjustment factors.  Revisions to the most recent 5 years
of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a year with the issuance of
December data.  Before the data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments
are made to the original data to adjust them for differences in the number
of weeks used to calculate the monthly data.  Because weekly unemployment
insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data, a particular month's
value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in one year and 4 weeks
in another.  The effects of these differences could seriously distort the
seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process.
These effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently
removed from the final seasonally adjusted series.





Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, May 2002 to April 2006,
seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing   

             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events  claimants 

            2002                                                                              

May ........................     1,723     190,797     1,559     177,743       610      73,953
June .......................     1,620     170,724     1,443     156,813       550      70,936
July .......................     1,635     179,806     1,460     164,944       564      74,834
August .....................     1,478     162,040     1,324     150,118       569      67,779
September ..................     1,911     218,875     1,747     203,849       617      80,528
October ....................     1,774     186,940     1,582     169,660       625      73,904
November ...................     1,652     178,402     1,507     167,335       613      71,693
December ...................     1,841     198,678     1,659     184,368       661      84,048

            2003                                                                              

January ....................     1,358     131,963     1,168     117,636       387      48,685
February ...................     1,825     190,928     1,647     178,363       646      78,819
March ......................     1,782     175,671     1,595     160,170       617      72,409
April ......................     1,722     174,608     1,564     163,607       640      83,303
May ........................     1,719     184,003     1,542     170,961       625      86,535
June .......................     1,716     164,299     1,524     148,542       636      68,143
July .......................     1,642     163,179     1,442     148,299       580      74,070
August .....................     1,517     171,861     1,367     158,049       551      74,602
September ..................     1,562     147,383     1,374     133,383       484      56,472
October ....................     1,558     156,814     1,336     138,691       427      52,009
November ...................     1,393     141,383     1,244     129,231       401      50,460
December ...................     1,426     144,456     1,265     132,324       434      50,994

            2004                                                                              

January ....................     1,421     142,704     1,223     124,192       395      48,519
February ...................     1,293     132,640     1,145     120,811       362      39,360
March ......................     1,364     140,957     1,234     132,152       407      60,296
April ......................     1,381     141,909     1,207     126,106       341      37,686
May ........................     1,189     111,173     1,030      98,230       314      37,405
June .......................     1,390     141,948     1,226     129,344       360      45,398
July .......................     1,329     137,724     1,185     126,945       371      53,248
August .....................     1,436     131,807     1,243     116,672       342      38,192
September ..................     1,283     125,344     1,155     115,499       344      45,691
October ....................     1,302     129,237     1,181     119,653       369      47,888
November ...................     1,350     135,036     1,202     122,954       407      47,517
December ...................     1,188     120,602     1,038     109,508       293      33,123

            2005                                                                              

January ....................     1,465     153,676     1,330     143,295       380      58,778
February ...................     1,135     120,190     1,010     109,964       350      43,966
March ......................     1,204     133,935     1,071     124,273       384      56,253
April ......................     1,278     139,575     1,145     128,478       390      60,726
May ........................     1,194     129,214     1,059     117,660       359      52,055
June .......................     1,184     128,430     1,065     119,271       349      53,930
July .......................     1,248     131,136     1,107     118,994       356      49,070
August .....................     1,145     127,592     1,006     116,011       334      48,904
September ..................     2,219     283,772     1,975     237,831       438      53,399
October ....................     1,114     104,584       986      94,798       328      45,475
November ...................     1,205     120,783     1,074     109,680       359      45,069
December ...................     1,308     149,565     1,185     138,234       365      49,641

            2006                                                                              

January ....................     1,113     108,378       985      97,832       274      29,541
February ...................     1,073     111,468       973     103,268       321      45,073
March ......................     1,082     118,555       984     110,275       328      49,023
April ......................     1,148     118,504     1,023     109,150       358      48,086




  
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,  May 2002 to April 2006,
not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing    

             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants 

            2002                                                                              

May ........................     1,723     179,799     1,571     166,801       488      52,720
June .......................     1,584     162,189     1,266     136,424       336      42,130
July .......................     2,042     245,294     1,819     226,892       907     135,271
August .....................     1,248     128,103     1,151     119,874       427      48,668
September ..................     1,062     124,522       957     114,736       352      43,755
October ....................     1,497     171,100     1,270     149,327       493      64,655
November ...................     2,153     240,171     1,860     216,237       719      92,712
December ...................     2,474     264,158     2,324     252,807       984     126,826

            2003                                                                              

January ....................     2,315     225,430     2,130     210,918       822      90,244
February ...................     1,363     124,965     1,222     116,264       435      48,161
March ......................     1,207     113,026     1,099     104,468       390      41,063
April ......................     1,581     161,412     1,470     152,937       499      62,349
May ........................     1,703     174,204     1,538     160,729       499      61,278
June .......................     1,691     157,552     1,336     127,743       389      40,845
July .......................     2,087     226,435     1,815     206,901       946     136,410
August .....................     1,258     133,839     1,163     124,131       405      52,620
September ..................       868      82,647       756      73,914       271      31,428
October ....................     1,523     158,240     1,265     137,706       438      53,741
November ...................     1,438     138,543     1,234     123,524       408      48,419
December ...................     1,929     192,633     1,793     182,750       648      77,915

            2004                                                                              

January ....................     2,428     239,454     2,226     220,687       848      89,551
February ...................       941      84,201       832      76,577       240      23,043
March ......................       920      92,554       847      87,782       258      34,686
April ......................     1,458     157,314     1,316     142,657       343      36,172
May ........................       988      87,501       878      78,786       219      22,141
June .......................     1,379     134,588     1,077     110,804       222      27,307
July .......................     2,094     253,929     1,860     234,877       885     145,895
August .....................       809      69,033       745      63,876       194      17,698
September ..................       708      68,972       637      63,102       189      25,808
October ....................     1,242     127,918     1,101     117,375       372      48,265
November ...................     1,399     130,423     1,201     115,549       412      44,243
December ...................     1,614     161,271     1,487     152,092       436      50,726

            2005                                                                              

January ....................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409       823     108,985
February ...................       810      74,644       722      68,372       230      24,931
March ......................       806      88,937       733      83,793       246      33,030
April ......................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133       395      59,129
May ........................       986     101,358       891      93,332       249      30,424
June .......................     1,157     120,463       941     103,307       216      32,783
July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December ...................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382

            2006                                                                              

January ....................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
February ...................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March ......................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688
April ......................     1,140     121,589     1,038     112,964       296      39,538





Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for        
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance        
                    Industry                                                                                                      

                                                     April   February   March    April       April   February     March     April  
                                                      2005     2006      2006     2006        2005     2006        2006      2006  
								      				 	       		 
               Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                 
								      				 	       		 
      Total .....................................    1,278    1,073     1,082    1,148     139,575    111,468    118,555   118,504
								      				 	       		 
  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,145      973       984    1,023     128,478    103,268    110,275   109,150
    Manufacturing ...............................      390      321       328      358      60,726     45,073     49,023    48,086
								      				 	       		 
             Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              
								      				 	       		 
      Total(1) ..................................    1,373      719       921    1,140     158,582     66,555    111,838   121,589
								      				 	       		 
Total, private ..................................    1,324      689       897    1,098     154,339     64,296    109,302   118,236
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       61       31        41       60       6,206      2,088      3,125     5,272
								      				 	       		 
  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,263      658       856    1,038     148,133     62,208    106,177   112,964
    Mining ......................................        3        -     ( 2 )        5         187          -      ( 2 )       385
    Utilities ...................................        4    ( 2 )     ( 2 )    ( 2 )         277      ( 2 )      ( 2 )     ( 2 )
    Construction ................................      126       82       123       98       9,652      5,997      9,007     6,324
    Manufacturing ...............................      395      210       285      296      59,129     24,892     44,688    39,538
        Food ....................................       84       42        73       80       9,653      4,255      7,519     8,192
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        9    ( 2 )         7    ( 2 )         660      ( 2 )        776     ( 2 )
        Textile mills ...........................       15        6         8       14       2,912        373        951     2,935
        Textile product mills ...................        6        4     ( 2 )        9         626        301      ( 2 )       773
        Apparel .................................       14       10        10       12       1,346      1,644      1,012     1,724
        Leather and allied products .............    ( 2 )    ( 2 )     ( 2 )    ( 2 )       ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )     ( 2 )
        Wood products ...........................       17       12        18       24       3,252      1,230      2,430     2,342
        Paper ...................................        9        4         7        5         769        397        668       333
        Printing and related support activities .       10        6         9        9         789        519        616       804
        Petroleum and coal products .............        -    ( 2 )         -        -           -      ( 2 )          -         -
								      				 	       		 
        Chemicals ...............................    ( 2 )        4         5        4       ( 2 )        315        436       272
        Plastics and rubber products ............       18        9        15       12       1,931        564      1,492       912
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       13        9        12       14       1,252        694        837       914
        Primary metals ..........................       16        7        11       11       2,644        523      3,667       731
        Fabricated metal products ...............       28       12         9       16       2,220        972        894     1,083
        Machinery ...............................       16       14        20       10       2,028      1,029      2,024     1,387
        Computer and electronic products ........       21        6        11       13       1,959        623      1,296       946
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       16        9        11        7       3,888        773      3,570       762
        Transportation equipment ................       77       39        42       39      20,879      9,113     14,958    14,093
        Furniture and related products ..........       14        7         5        8       1,270        681        436       709
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............        6        4         7        5         503        457        712       394
								      				 	       		 
    Wholesale trade .............................       17        8        11       19       1,406        416        688     1,933
    Retail trade ................................      109       79        65       86      12,287      6,781      7,315     7,780
    Transportation and warehousing ..............       92       31        47      152      11,395      3,274      6,326    19,558
    Information .................................       38       28        28       30       8,630      3,611      5,779     4,570
    Finance and insurance .......................       32       26        22       26       2,107      1,752      1,610     1,670
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........        9        3         5    ( 2 )         793        194        411     ( 2 )
    Professional and technical services .........       65       24        22       41       7,778      2,124      2,467     5,776
    Management of companies and enterprises .....        6        4     ( 2 )    ( 2 )         540        274      ( 2 )     ( 2 )
    Administrative and waste services ...........      206      106       120      134      19,862      8,492     14,361    10,725
    Educational services ........................        4    ( 2 )     ( 2 )        5         260      ( 2 )      ( 2 )       572
    Health care and social assistance ...........       27       15        18       21       1,921        938      1,167     1,676
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       32        7        14       25       2,689        457      1,187     1,895
    Accommodation and food services .............       75       26        79       74       7,253      2,486      9,792     7,937
    Other services, except public administration        21        3     ( 2 )       17       1,838        197      ( 2 )     2,000
    Unclassified  ...............................        2        3         7        4         129        162        556       240
								      				 	       		 
Government ......................................       49       30        24       42       4,243      2,259      2,536     3,353
    Federal .....................................        9        4         6        9         696        238        757       796
    State .......................................       12        7         7       10       1,054        764        844       909
    Local .......................................       28       19        11       23       2,493      1,257        935     1,648


    1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.   
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.





Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2004 to April 2006,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                               

                                Total mass layoffs                              Extended mass layoffs                            
             Date                                        Mass layoffs         lasting more than 30 days     Realization rates(1) 

                                          Initial               Initial                      Initial                    Initial  
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants        Events      claimants       Events     claimants 


           2004                                                                                                                

April ...................         1,458    157,314     1,316     142,657                                                       
May .....................           988     87,501       878      78,786                                                       
June ....................         1,379    134,588     1,077     110,804                                                       

Second Quarter ..........         3,825    379,403     3,271     332,247         1,358       254,063          41.5         76.5

July ....................         2,094    253,929     1,860     234,877                                                       
August ..................           809     69,033       745      63,876                                                       
September ...............           708     68,972       637      63,102                                                       

Third Quarter ...........         3,611    391,934     3,242     361,855           886       148,575          27.3         41.1

October .................         1,242    127,918     1,101     117,375                                                       
November ................         1,399    130,423     1,201     115,549                                                       
December ................         1,614    161,271     1,487     152,092                                                       

Fourth Quarter ..........         4,255    419,612     3,789     385,016         1,427       262,049          37.7         68.1

           2005                                                                                                                

January .................         2,564    263,952     2,421     253,409                                                       
February ................           810     74,644       722      68,372                                                       
March ...................           806     88,937       733      83,793                                                       

First Quarter ...........         4,180    427,533     3,876     405,574         1,142    (r)185,486          29.5         45.7

April ...................         1,373    158,582     1,263     148,133                                                       
May .....................           986    101,358       891      93,332                                                       
June ....................         1,157    120,463       941     103,307                                                       

Second Quarter ..........         3,516    380,403     3,095     344,772         1,203    (r)212,452          38.9         61.6

July ....................         1,981    244,216     1,745     222,377                                                       
August ..................           645     67,582       598      63,484                                                       
September ...............         1,662    213,281     1,505     179,042                                                       

Third Quarter ...........         4,288    525,079     3,848     464,903         1,136    (r)190,119          29.5      (r)40.9

October .................           905     91,941       757      80,694                                                       
November ................         1,254    116,127     1,079     102,182                                                       
December ................         2,323    254,258     2,168     242,753                                                       

Fourth Quarter ..........         4,482    462,326     4,004     425,629      (r)1,400    (r)244,943       (r)35.0      (r)57.5

           2006                                                                                                                

January .................         1,245    117,946     1,123     108,701                                                       
February ................           719     66,555       658      62,208                                                       
March ...................           921    111,838       856     106,177                                                       

First Quarter ...........         2,885    296,339     2,637     277,086    (2)(p) 892(2)(p) 129,607       (p)33.8      (p)46.8

April ...................         1,140    121,589     1,038     112,964                                                       

    1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days.
    2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available.
Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and
the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised.





Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,
not seasonally adjusted


                                                                                    Initial claimants for         
                                           Mass layoff events                       unemployment insurance        
 Census region and division                                                                                       

                                 April      February  March    April        April      February  March    April  
                                  2005        2006     2006     2006         2005        2006     2006     2006  

        United States(1) ...     1,373         719      921    1,140       158,582      66,555  111,838  121,589

Northeast ..................       255         115      124      308        28,268      12,252   12,955   34,615

    New England ............        54          23       22       52         6,114       3,984    1,849    6,268
    Middle Atlantic ........       201          92      102      256        22,154       8,268   11,106   28,347

South ......................       268         149      176      177        35,412      14,941   21,001   18,283

    South Atlantic .........       142          66       95       98        14,586       7,193   11,298   10,728
    East South Central .....        55          38       39       41         9,490       4,136    4,819    4,108
    West South Central .....        71          45       42       38        11,336       3,612    4,884    3,447

Midwest ....................       314         168      259      243        42,151      16,622   40,581   34,494

    East North Central .....       269         136      199      203        36,185      12,702   32,836   30,704
    West North Central .....        45          32       60       40         5,966       3,920    7,745    3,790

West .......................       536         287      362      412        52,751      22,740   37,301   34,197

    Mountain ...............        64          16       34       47         7,514       1,271    3,380    5,769
    Pacific ................       472         271      328      365        45,237      21,469   33,921   28,428


    1 See footnote 1, table 3.
    NOTE:  The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England:
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and
Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central:
Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North
Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.





Table 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                         Initial claimants for           
                                         Mass layoff events                             unemployment insurance           
           State                                                                                                         
                            April      February    March        April        April      February     March      April  
                             2005        2006       2006         2006         2005        2006        2006       2006  

   Total(1) .............   1,373         719        921        1,140       158,582      66,555     111,838    121,589

Alabama .................      10           7          7            9         1,314         621         660        741
Alaska ..................       5       ( 2 )          -            5           719       ( 2 )           -        694
Arizona .................      32           -          7           17         4,574           -         804      2,709
Arkansas ................       5       ( 2 )          3            5           309       ( 2 )         189        432
California ..............     421         246        283          321        39,775      19,455      29,527     24,551
Colorado ................       8       ( 2 )      ( 2 )            6           753       ( 2 )       ( 2 )        768
Connecticut .............       3           3          6            8           234       1,353         390        673
Delaware ................       -           -      ( 2 )            -             -           -       ( 2 )          -
District of Columbia ....       -           -          -            -             -           -           -          -
Florida .................      62          30         44           34         5,192       2,055       4,033      2,363
Georgia .................      27          10         20           20         3,444       1,081       1,880      4,191
Hawaii ..................   ( 2 )           3          9            6         ( 2 )         199         814        422
Idaho ...................       5       ( 2 )          7            3           503       ( 2 )         523        349

Illinois ................      55          36         44           29         6,502       3,385       7,478      3,380
Indiana .................      33          16         20           22         4,251       1,736       2,559      2,260
Iowa ....................      11           8          7            7         1,466         620       1,866        987
Kansas ..................       4       ( 2 )          6        ( 2 )           315       ( 2 )         751      ( 2 )
Kentucky ................      28          20         21           17         6,696       2,653       3,310      2,174
Louisiana ...............      16          10          8        ( 2 )         1,437         624         520      ( 2 )
Maine ...................       7           3      ( 2 )        ( 2 )           665         338       ( 2 )      ( 2 )
Maryland ................       8           3          5           15           748         233         497      1,277
Massachusetts ...........      16           3          4           17         1,339         163         253      2,001
Michigan ................      49          29         50           41         5,355       2,288       9,395      7,191
Minnesota ...............      14          11         10           12         2,273       2,300         882        814
Mississippi .............       3           5      ( 2 )            6           201         364       ( 2 )        430
Missouri ................      10           7         31           13         1,349         541       3,297      1,008

Montana .................       3           3      ( 2 )            3           299         173       ( 2 )        220
Nebraska ................       3           4          5            4           272         280         774        495
Nevada ..................       6           6          9           11           567         487       1,251      1,053
New Hampshire ...........       4           3      ( 2 )            5           379         265       ( 2 )        504
New Jersey ..............      44          24         15           53         4,232       2,115       1,817      6,259
New Mexico ..............       4       ( 2 )          3        ( 2 )           319       ( 2 )         161      ( 2 )
New York ................      65          30         36          102         8,072       3,144       3,566     13,386
North Carolina ..........      25          10          8            7         2,588         786         849        568
North Dakota ............       -           -      ( 2 )        ( 2 )             -           -       ( 2 )      ( 2 )
Ohio ....................      80          23         32           53        15,288       2,772       6,956     12,182
Oklahoma ................       5           4          6        ( 2 )         2,174         437         966      ( 2 )
Oregon ..................      22           9         22           16         2,349         802       2,430      1,296
Pennsylvania ............      92          38         51          101         9,850       3,009       5,723      8,702

Rhode Island ............      12           9      ( 2 )            7         2,191       1,746       ( 2 )      1,528
South Carolina ..........      11           6         10           11         1,659         514       1,359      1,314
South Dakota ............       3       ( 2 )          -        ( 2 )           291       ( 2 )           -      ( 2 )
Tennessee ...............      14           6         10            9         1,279         498         709        763
Texas ...................      45          29         25           30         7,416       2,375       3,209      2,354
Utah ....................       5       ( 2 )          4            4           428       ( 2 )         274        381
Vermont .................      12       ( 2 )          8           13         1,306       ( 2 )         848      1,311
Virginia ................       7           7          6            9           716       2,524         805        830
Washington ..............      22          12         14           17         2,221         951       1,150      1,465
West Virginia ...........   ( 2 )           -      ( 2 )        ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )      ( 2 )
Wisconsin ...............      52          32         53           58         4,789       2,521       6,448      5,691
Wyoming .................   ( 2 )           -      ( 2 )        ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )      ( 2 )

Puerto Rico .............      19          19         17            8         2,342       1,962       1,742        767

    1  See footnote 1, table 3.
    2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.  
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.