Technical information:   (202) 691-6392         USDL 05-486
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                                For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                 691-5902         Thursday, March 24, 2005

                                                
                       MASS LAYOFFS IN FEBRUARY 2005
                                                       
   In February 2005, employers took 1,128 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
117,684, on a seasonally adjusted basis.  (See table 1.)  The number of
layoff events fell by 329 from January and was the lowest for any month
since October 2000.  The number of initial claims due to mass layoff
actions declined by 33,306 over the month and was the lowest for any month
since May 2004.  There were 345 mass layoff events in the manufacturing
sector during February 2005, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 43,186
initial claims, both numbers lower than a month earlier.             
                                                   
   Over the full historical seasonally adjusted series, the total number
of mass layoff events was at its lowest level of 938 in October 2000.
The total number of mass layoff initial claims had its low of 89,262 in
September 1996.  For the manufacturing sector, the seasonally adjusted
numbers of events and initial claims reached their lows in December 2004
(283 and 34,940, respectively).  
   
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 27,314 initial claims in
February, 37 percent of the total.  (See table A.)  Temporary help ser-
vices, with 8,817 initial claims, and motion picture and video produc-
tion, with 4,359, together accounted for 18 percent of all initial claims
in February.
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of all mass layoff
events and 33 percent of all initial claims filed in February.  A year
earlier, in February 2004, manufacturing comprised 26 percent of events
and 27 percent of initial claims.  Within manufacturing in February 2005,
the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (6,915,
mostly automotive-related), followed by food processing (5,237).
(See table 3.)
   
   Administrative and waste services accounted for 15 percent of events
and 17 percent of initial claims filed in February 2005, with layoffs
mainly in temporary help services.  Fifteen percent of all layoff events
and 10 percent of initial claims filed during the month were from con-
struction, primarily among specialty trade contractors.  Retail trade
accounted for 9 percent of events and initial claims in February, mostly
in general merchandise stores.  An additional 3 percent of events and
7 percent of initial claims were from the information sector, largely
from motion picture and sound recording industries.
   
   Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and 3 per-
cent of initial claims filed in February, mostly in executive, legislative,
and general government agencies.
   
   Over the year, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported
in professional and technical services (-3,449), general merchandise stores
(-2,748), transit and ground passenger transportation (-1,528), food process-
ing (-1,280), and food services and drinking places (-1,060).  The largest
over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transportation
equipment manufacturing (+4,244) and administrative and support services
(+1,156).

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in
February 2005p
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          | Initial|      February peak
                 Industry                 | claims |--------------------------
                                          |        |   Year  | Initial claims
------------------------------------------|--------|---------|----------------
Temporary help services ..................|  8,817 |   2001  |     18,893
Motion picture and video production ......|  4,359 |   2002  |      5,844
Heavy duty truck manufacturing ...........|  2,627 |   2005  |      2,627
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ..|  2,416 |   2000  |     12,516
Professional employer organizations ......|  1,655 |   2001  |      3,241
Supermarket and other grocery stores .....|  1,579 |   2002  |      1,982
School and employee bus transportation ...|  1,572 |   2004  |      2,997
Light truck and utility vehicle mfg. .....|  1,523 |   1998  |      2,133
Food service contractors .................|  1,499 |   2003  |      1,700
Highway, street, and bridge construction .|  1,267 |   2003  |      3,316
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  p=preliminary.
   
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
February due to mass layoffs was in the West (31,501).  (See table 5.)
Administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording
industries accounted for 38 percent of all mass-layoff initial claims in
that region during the month.  The Midwest had the second largest number
of initial claims (17,129), followed by the South (14,788) and the North-
east (11,226).
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year
in each of the four regions.  The largest decrease was in the South (-2,982),
followed by the West (-2,952), the Midwest (-2,054), and the Northeast
(-1,569).  Seven of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases
in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest
decreases in the Pacific (-2,944) and South Atlantic (-2,812) divisions.  The
largest over-the-year increase occurred in the East South Central division
(+2,176).
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial
claims filed due to mass layoff events in February (27,567), mostly in
administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording
industries.  Kentucky had the next highest with 4,585 initial claims
reported, followed by Illinois (4,138), Wisconsin (3,530), New York (3,384),
and New Jersey (3,282).  These six states accounted for 60 percent of all
mass layoff events and 62 percent of all initial claims for unemployment
insurance.  (See table 6.)
   
   California had the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial
claims (-2,298), followed by Ohio (-2,287) and Texas (-1,864).  The largest
over-the-year increases occurred in Kentucky (+3,635) and Minnesota (+1,447).


Note
   
   The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more
workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the
layoffs.  For private nonfarm establishments, information on the length of
the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports
on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass
layoffs").  The quarterly release provides more information on the industry
classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of
the laid-off workers.  Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs
of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter
will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30
days.  (See table 4.)  See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
                                   
                   ____________________________________
   

   The report on Mass Layoffs in March 2005 is scheduled to be released on
Tuesday, April 26, 2005.




    
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, March 2001 to
February 2005, seasonally adjusted

                                      Total             Private nonfarm        Manufacturing

             Date
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events  claimants  

             2001           

March ......................     1,771     202,154     1,578     186,283       797     108,244
April ......................     1,620     199,764     1,483     186,013       773     106,045
May ........................     1,679     207,811     1,523     193,998       755     110,133
June .......................     1,610     195,617     1,433     180,821       739     104,155
July .......................     1,704     200,376     1,568     188,468       719      93,867
August .....................     1,744     206,528     1,586     195,051       788     106,632
September ..................     2,409     277,214     2,235     263,192       834     108,615
October ....................     2,109     233,569     1,986     223,808       897     118,136
November ...................     2,094     218,273     1,935     207,129       944     114,556
December ...................     1,799     194,759     1,658     183,178       722      93,193

             2002           

January ....................     1,801     208,835     1,659     195,862       739      96,689
February ...................     1,773     204,089     1,620     192,450       701      91,285
March ......................     1,674     187,924     1,517     175,998       610      75,367
April ......................     1,685     186,574     1,497     169,228       591      69,481
May ........................     1,720     191,841     1,558     178,993       611      74,809
June .......................     1,615     170,307     1,438     156,759       551      73,064
July .......................     1,637     179,165     1,457     164,398       568      73,230
August .....................     1,475     160,855     1,330     149,148       562      65,564
September ..................     1,909     217,475     1,742     202,640       607      79,413
October ....................     1,716     178,860     1,524     162,411       598      71,765
November ...................     1,644     176,462     1,500     165,578       607      70,640
December ...................     1,825     193,627     1,661     179,368       638      86,714

             2003           

January ....................     1,383     134,258     1,193     120,033       402      49,440
February ...................     1,771     185,502     1,589     173,392       643      75,331
March ......................     1,773     176,540     1,577     161,662       618      75,289
April ......................     1,735     176,645     1,574     165,416       646      86,857
May ........................     1,709     186,158     1,532     173,123       624      87,615
June .......................     1,704     163,646     1,515     148,547       636      70,888
July .......................     1,653     163,061     1,444     147,883       590      71,203
August .....................     1,502     170,353     1,364     156,731       540      71,944
September ..................     1,559     145,961     1,370     132,233       471      56,274
October ....................     1,541     154,908     1,312     136,604       412      49,518
November ...................     1,400     137,651     1,241     125,115       397      46,955
December ...................     1,425     141,780     1,281     129,464       420      53,436

             2004           

January ....................     1,458     146,147     1,257     127,917       413      50,074
February ...................     1,237     126,421     1,091     115,302       358      36,783
March ......................     1,348     142,480     1,211     134,118       409      63,380
April ......................     1,422     149,049     1,239     132,180       360      43,158
May ........................     1,178     114,247     1,016     100,499       314      37,950
June .......................     1,375     141,300     1,215     129,466       361      47,548
July .......................     1,363     139,374     1,200     127,011       390      49,276
August .....................     1,392     130,483     1,208     115,035       330      36,422
September ..................     1,281     123,761     1,153     114,223       332      45,917
October ....................     1,274     125,414     1,145     116,042       350      44,908
November ...................     1,361     130,168     1,201     117,545       402      43,504
December ...................     1,211     119,649     1,064     108,157       283      34,940

             2005           

January(p) .................     1,457     150,990     1,321     140,826       379      58,908
February(p) ................     1,128     117,684     1,001     107,415       345      43,186


    p = preliminary. 



        

Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, March 2001 to
February 2005, not seasonally adjusted            

                                      Total             Private nonfarm        Manufacturing

             Date
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants
                                
             2001 

March ......................     1,527     171,466     1,371     158,108       659      86,874
April ......................     1,450     176,265     1,353     166,167       608      78,845
May ........................     1,434     159,365     1,331     151,186       528      64,887
June .......................     2,107     253,826     1,784     226,022       737     116,005
July .......................     2,117     273,807     1,952     259,128     1,144     168,877
August .....................     1,490     166,148     1,386     158,307       603      79,515
September ..................     1,327     160,402     1,214     151,161       485      58,544
October ....................     1,831     215,483     1,676     202,053       742     107,030
November ...................     2,721     295,956     2,373     270,268     1,122     151,969
December ...................     2,440     268,893     2,319     259,497     1,103     136,820

             2002 

January ....................     2,146     263,777     2,028     252,245       892     128,825
February ...................     1,382     138,808     1,253     129,849       481      58,784
March ......................     1,460     161,316     1,335     151,305       500      59,613
April ......................     1,506     165,814     1,378     153,216       461      50,897
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(p) .................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409       823     108,985
February(p) ................       810      74,644       722      68,372       230      24,931


    p = preliminary. 




           
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                           
                                                                                                     Initial claimants for          
                                                             Mass layoff events                      unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                    

                                                   February  December  January  February    February   December  January   February
                                                     2004      2004     2005p     2005p       2004       2004     2005p      2005p 
                                                     
              Seasonally adjusted 

      Total .....................................    1,237     1,211    1,457     1,128     126,421    119,649   150,990    117,684

 Total, private nonfarm .........................    1,091     1,064    1,321     1,001     115,302    108,157   140,826    107,415
  Manufacturing .................................      358       283      379       345      36,783     34,940    58,908     43,186
           
            Not seasonally adjusted
     
      Total(1) ..................................      941     1,614    2,564       810      84,201    161,271   263,952     74,644

Total, private ..................................      905     1,527    2,488       779      81,093    154,496   257,761     72,331
  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....       73        40       67        57       4,516      2,404     4,352      3,959

 Total, private nonfarm .........................      832     1,487    2,421       722      76,577    152,092   253,409     68,372
  Mining ........................................        4        18       17     ( 2 )         505      1,492     1,272      ( 2 )
  Utilities .....................................    ( 2 )         6    ( 2 )     ( 2 )       ( 2 )      1,395     ( 2 )      ( 2 )
  Construction ..................................      131       342      470       118       8,586     27,433    33,590      7,245
  Manufacturing .................................      240       436      823       230      23,043     50,726   108,985     24,931
      Food ......................................       62        59       88        60       6,517      6,309     8,703      5,237
      Beverage and tobacco products .............        6         7       11         4         557        497       888        384
      Textile mills .............................        4        15       17         5         310      1,249     2,635        560
      Textile product mills .....................        7         8       19        10         560        932     2,677        874
      Apparel ...................................        5        16       38         7         389      2,720     3,893      1,083
      Leather and allied products ...............    ( 2 )         4    ( 2 )     ( 2 )       ( 2 )        757     ( 2 )      ( 2 )
      Wood products .............................       18        25       61        16       1,438      2,346     8,243      1,606
      Paper .....................................        4         7       13         6         391        575     1,048        493
      Printing and related support activities ...       10         3       15         9         828        331     1,237        668
      Petroleum and coal products ...............    ( 2 )        11    ( 2 )         -       ( 2 )      1,126     ( 2 )          -

      Chemicals .................................        4         8       15     ( 2 )         324        669     1,294      ( 2 )
      Plastics and rubber products ..............       10        30       58        13         917      2,327     6,006        902
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............        5        32       55        10         312      3,168     4,815        877
      Primary metals ............................        9        23       39     ( 2 )         913      2,246     4,359      ( 2 )
      Fabricated metal products .................       18        34       59        11       1,720      2,546     5,796        833
      Machinery .................................       12        16       48         9         803      2,218     6,828        765
      Computer and electronic products ..........       12        19       30        15         815      2,039     2,918        897
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......       11        13       39         6       2,109      3,741     5,662      1,352
      Transportation equipment ..................       23        85      165        29       2,671     12,547    35,324      6,915
      Furniture and related products ............        9        13       30         8         679      1,096     4,757        644
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............        8         8       14         5         553      1,287     1,154        316

  Wholesale trade ...............................       13        18       35        18         956      1,853     2,954      1,229
  Retail trade ..................................      102        80      198        75       9,383      8,092    18,822      6,398
  Transportation and warehousing ................       35        96      197        26       4,658     10,687    22,226      2,955
  Information ...................................       19        30       47        26       4,716      8,002     6,141      5,059
  Finance and insurance .........................       25        18       35        24       1,562      1,455     3,289      1,561
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............    ( 2 )         4       16     ( 2 )       ( 2 )        249     1,491      ( 2 )
  Professional and technical services ...........       30        48       48        14       4,247      5,955     4,729        798
  Management of companies and enterprises .......        6         3        5         -         587        296       358          -
  Administrative and waste services .............      139       163      302       119      11,065     13,192    28,865     12,354
  Educational services ..........................    ( 2 )         4    ( 2 )     ( 2 )       ( 2 )        245     ( 2 )      ( 2 )
  Health care and social assistance .............       16        28       35        12         954      2,539     2,739        662
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       11        30       40         8         677      1,967     4,558        430
  Accommodation and food services ...............       46       146      117        37       4,455     14,923     9,364      3,475
  Other services, except public administration ..        8        13       28         5         629      1,342     3,408        300
  Unclassified ..................................        2         4        3         1         191        249       264         56

 Government .....................................       36        87       76        31       3,108      6,775     6,191      2,313
  Federal .......................................        6         8       23         7         504        842     1,920        591
  State .........................................       13        16       18        11       1,121      1,472     1,736        784
  Local .........................................       17        63       35        13       1,483      4,461     2,535        938


    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:  Dash represents zero.




        
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2003 to February 2005,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                               

                                 Total mass layoffs                             Extended mass layoffs           Realization
             Date                                       Mass layoffs          lasting more than 30 days          rates (1)   

                                          Initial               Initial                     Initial                      Initial  
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants        Events     claimants        Events      claimants 
             2003           

January ....................     2,315     225,430     2,130     210,918
February ...................     1,363     124,965     1,222     116,264
March ......................     1,207     113,026     1,099     104,468

First Quarter ..............     4,885     463,421     4,451     431,650         1,502       297,608          33.7         68.9

April ......................     1,581     161,412     1,470     152,937
May ........................     1,703     174,204     1,538     160,729
June .......................     1,691     157,552     1,336     127,743

Second Quarter .............     4,975     493,168     4,344     441,409         1,799       348,966          41.4         79.1

July .......................     2,087     226,435     1,815     206,901
August .....................     1,258     133,839     1,163     124,131
September ..................       868      82,647       756      73,914

Third Quarter ..............     4,213     442,921     3,734     404,946         1,190       227,909          31.9         56.3

October ....................     1,523     158,240     1,265     137,706
November ...................     1,438     138,543     1,234     123,524
December ...................     1,929     192,633     1,793     182,750

Fourth Quarter .............     4,890     489,416     4,292     443,980         1,690       326,328          39.4         73.5

           2004             

January ....................     2,428     239,454     2,226     220,687
February ...................       941      84,201       832      76,577
March ......................       920      92,554       847      87,782

First Quarter ..............     4,289     416,209     3,905     385,046         1,339       238,305          34.3         61.9

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       253,231          41.5         76.2

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           887       145,889          27.4         40.3

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   (2)(p)1,295 (2)(p)178,834       (p)34.2      (p)46.4

           2005          

January(p) .................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409
February(p) ................       810      74,644       722      68,372


    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. 




        
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
 
                              February   December   January     February     February   December     January     February
                                2004       2004      2005p        2005p        2004       2004        2005p        2005p 

      United States(1) ....      941      1,614      2,564         810        84,201     161,271     263,952      74,644

Northeast .................      117        285        556         120        12,795      27,387      54,866      11,226

  New England .............       26         47         88          17         3,321       4,894       8,009       2,126
  Middle Atlantic .........       91        238        468         103         9,474      22,493      46,857       9,100

South .....................      191        288        490         143        17,770      29,948      57,126      14,788

  South Atlantic ..........       87        140        216          75         8,799      13,620      22,965       5,987
  East South Central ......       32         76        173          32         3,602       8,995      20,528       5,778
  West South Central ......       72         72        101          36         5,369       7,333      13,633       3,023

Midwest ...................      211        588        774         173        19,183      61,277      90,975      17,129

  East North Central ......      172        414        601         144        15,385      42,598      72,600      13,041
  West North Central ......       39        174        173          29         3,798      18,679      18,375       4,088

West ......................      422        453        744         374        34,453      42,659      60,985      31,501

  Mountain ................       28         60         60          31         2,323       5,295       5,467       2,315
  Pacific .................      394        393        684         343        32,130      37,364      55,518      29,186


    1 See footnote 1, table 3.
    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 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                     Initial claimants for            
                                         Mass layoff events                          unemployment insurance           
           State         
                           February    December     January    February      February    December    January     February
                             2004        2004        2005p       2005p         2004       2004        2005p        2005p 

   Total(1) .............      941       1,614       2,564         810        84,201     161,271     263,952      74,644

Alabama .................    ( 2 )          22          85           8         ( 2 )       2,244      12,310         620
Alaska ..................    ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -
Arizona .................        3           5           7       ( 2 )           214         358         642       ( 2 )
Arkansas ................    ( 2 )           3           6       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         218         622       ( 2 )
California ..............      365         344         602         321        29,865      32,279      47,222      27,567
Colorado ................        5          13          10           4           523       1,347         871         307
Connecticut .............        5           5           7       ( 2 )           351         510         629       ( 2 )
Delaware ................    ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
District of Columbia ....        -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )             -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Florida .................       46          44          62          36         3,480       3,567       4,800       2,018
Georgia .................       17          37          62          14         2,448       3,082       6,433       1,415
Hawaii ..................    ( 2 )           -           7           3         ( 2 )           -         643         210
Idaho ...................    ( 2 )          10           9           6         ( 2 )         736         719         431

Illinois ................       47          99          91          42         4,108      10,222       8,596       4,138
Indiana .................       24          68          72          15         2,195       9,331      11,308       1,248
Iowa ....................        7          36          48           4           698       3,442       7,250         367
Kansas ..................        6          16          34           5           517       1,864       3,061         519
Kentucky ................       10          38          52          15           950       5,474       5,222       4,585
Louisiana ...............       13          16          24           7           757       1,297       3,417         503
Maine ...................        5           7          10       ( 2 )           347         570         776       ( 2 )
Maryland ................    ( 2 )           7          23       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         924       1,902       ( 2 )
Massachusetts ...........        5          15          44           8           352       2,085       4,116         450
Michigan ................       23         115         182          26         2,150      10,841      20,127       2,270
Minnesota ...............        6          55          33           6           460       6,064       2,857       1,907
Mississippi .............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           5         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         308
Missouri ................       16          41          44          11         1,479       5,231       3,711         904

Montana .................        3           6           6           3           336         474         511         157
Nebraska ................        3          18          10           3           548       1,375       1,212         391
Nevada ..................        9          17          25          10           594       1,630       2,481         730
New Hampshire ...........        3           5           7       ( 2 )           480         423         741       ( 2 )
New Jersey ..............       25          46          94          29         2,749       4,979       8,505       3,282
New Mexico ..............    ( 2 )           5       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         319       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
New York ................       26          88         180          41         3,612       8,101      22,185       3,384
North Carolina ..........       10          16          21           7           912       1,187       1,897         777
North Dakota ............        -           6       ( 2 )           -             -         526       ( 2 )           -
Ohio ....................       46          67         140          26         4,142       5,310      18,132       1,855
Oklahoma ................        5          13          14           4           413       1,041       2,735         246
Oregon ..................       13          23          50           4           986       2,798       5,427         301
Pennsylvania ............       40         104         194          33         3,113       9,413      16,167       2,434

Rhode Island ............        7           7          14           3         1,716         628       1,357       1,135
South Carolina ..........        3          11          13           4           325       1,679       1,371         525
South Dakota ............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -
Tennessee ...............       19          15          33           4         1,723       1,219       2,771         265
Texas ...................       52          40          57          24         4,062       4,777       6,859       2,198
Utah ....................        4           4           -           3           295         431           -         252
Vermont .................    ( 2 )           8           6       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         678         390       ( 2 )
Virginia ................        8          21          30          11           574       2,836       4,620       1,085
Washington ..............       13          24          22          15         1,023       2,149       1,939       1,108
West Virginia ...........        -           3       ( 2 )           -             -         276       ( 2 )           -
Wisconsin ...............       32          65         116          35         2,790       6,894      14,437       3,530
Wyoming .................        -           -           -       ( 2 )             -           -           -       ( 2 )

Puerto Rico .............        9          10          25          15           891         706       3,080       1,494


    1 See footnote 1, table 3.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE:  Dash represents zero.