Technical information:   (202) 691-6392     USDL 07-1642
                http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                            For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                 691-5902     Tuesday, October 23, 2007


                      MASS LAYOFFS IN SEPTEMBER 2007
   
   In September, employers took 1,271 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 employer; the number of workers involved totaled 123,656, on a
seasonally adjusted basis.  The number of mass layoff events in September
increased by 82 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial
claims rose by 5,536.  Over the month, 428 mass layoff events were reported
in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 50,636 ini-
tial claims.  Compared with August, mass layoff activity in manufacturing 
increased by 103 events, and initial claims increased by 14,960.  (See 
table 1.)
   
   From January through September 2007, the total number of events (seasonally 
adjusted), at 11,114, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,140,148, 
were higher than in January-September 2006 when the totals were 10,221 and 
1,071,997, respectively.
   
   The national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in September, essentially
unchanged from the prior month (4.6 percent) and from September 2006 (4.6 per-
cent).  Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 110,000 in September 
2007 and by 1.6 million from a year earlier.
   
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 29 percent of all such ini-
tial claims in September.  The industry with the highest number of initial 
claims was motion picture and video production, followed by temporary help 
services and household refrigerator and home freezer manufacturing.  (See 
table A.)
   
                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in September 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              |        |    September peak    
                   Industry                   |Initial |----------------------
                                              | claims |      |               
                                              |        | Year | Initial claims
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Motion picture and video production ..........|  4,615 | 1997 |      11,176   
Temporary help services ......................|  3,647 | 2001 |      12,752   
Household refrigerator and home freezer mfg. .|   (1)  | 2004 |       2,981   
Discount department stores ...................|  1,593 | 2005 |       3,550   
Professional employer organizations ..........|  1,590 | 2006 |       2,623   
Motor vehicle power train components mfg. ....|   (1)  | 2007 |        (1)    
Motor vehicle seating and interior trim mfg. .|  1,323 | 2006 |       1,920   
Payroll services .............................|  1,195 | 1999 |       4,737   
All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing ..|  1,070 | 2007 |       1,070   
Real estate credit ...........................|    979 | 2007 |         979   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   1 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff
events and 44 percent of all related initial claims filed in September; a
year earlier, manufacturing made up 34 percent of events and 45 percent of
initial claims.  In September 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants
was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (7,759, largely in
motor vehicle power train components manufacturing, motor vehicle seating
and interior trim manufacturing, and all other motor vehicle parts manu-
facturing), followed by machinery manufacturing (3,021) and electrical
equipment and appliance manufacturing (2,881).  (See table 3.)
   
   Administrative and waste services accounted for 12 percent of mass lay-
off events and 9 percent of initial claims in September, primarily from
temporary help services and professional employer organizations.  Retail
trade made up 9 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims, mostly
from general merchandise stores.  Four percent of all mass layoff events
and 8 percent of related initial claims filed were from the information
industry, primarily from motion picture and sound recording industries.
Construction comprised 10 percent of all mass layoff events and 6 percent
of related initial claims, mainly from the specialty trade contractors
industry.
   
   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in
September, at 717, was down by 148 from a year earlier, and the number of
associated initial claims decreased by 20,314 to 67,385.  (See table 2.)
This is due in part to a calendar effect; September 2007 contained 4 weeks
for possible mass layoffs, compared with 5 weeks in each September of the
prior 2 years.  (See the Technical Note for an explanation of how the
number of weeks for data collection can vary from month to month.  Also,
note that adjustments are made for the calendar effects in the previously
mentioned seasonally adjusted series.)  The largest over-the-year decreases
in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing 
(-5,571), administrative and support services (-3,625), and machinery manu-
facturing (-1,751).  The largest over-the-year increase in mass layoff ini-
tial claims was reported in motion picture and sound recording industries 
(+2,315).  The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs also increased in 
credit intermediation and related activities (+664).

                                  - 3 -

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
September due to mass layoffs was in the West with 25,539.  Motion picture
and sound recording industries, administrative and support services, and
specialty trade contractors together accounted for 37 percent of all mass
layoff initial claims in that region during the month.  The Midwest had the
second largest number of initial claims among the regions with 17,273, fol-
lowed by the South with 15,913, and the Northeast with 8,660.  (See table 5.)
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs decreased over the year
in all four regions--the South (-8,077), the Midwest (-8,075), the Northeast
(-3,791), and the West (-371).  Eight of the 9 geographic divisions had over-
the-year decreases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass lay-
offs, with the largest decreases in the East North Central (-5,274) and South 
Atlantic (-4,504) divisions.  The only division with an over-the-year increase 
in mass layoff initial claims was the Mountain (+74).
   
   Reflecting motion picture and sound recording industry layoffs, California 
recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events 
in September (21,144).  Other states with large numbers of mass layoff related 
claims were Pennsylvania (4,005), Illinois (3,486), Florida (2,985), and Michi-
gan (2,844).  These five states accounted for 56 percent of all mass layoff 
events and 51 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance in Sep-
tember.  (See table 6.)
   
   Ohio had the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims 
(-2,697), primarily concentrated in transportation equipment manufacturing.  
States having the next largest decreases in initial claims were Kentucky (-2,522), 
Minnesota (-1,853), Virginia (-1,556), and Louisiana (-1,478).  The largest over-
the-year increases in claims occurred in Alabama (+821), Oklahoma (+589), and New 
Mexico (+469).
   
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 employers, information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and is-
sued 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 in-
formation on the nature of the layoff and the location of the employer, 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 October 2007 is scheduled to be released
on Wednesday, November 21.
   
   
   
   
   

                                  - 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
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them
during a consecutive 5-week period.  These employers 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

   Employer.  Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state
unemployment insurance laws.  Information on employers is obtained from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is
administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
   
   Initial claimant.  A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
   
   Mass layoff event.  Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits filed against an employer during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
   
Seasonal adjustment

   Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began 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, October 2003 to
September 2007, seasonally adjusted

                                      Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                              
                                          Initial               Initial                 Initial
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events    claimants
                                                                                              
             2003                                                                             

October ....................     1,536     158,137     1,328     140,298       420      52,105
November ...................     1,366     138,079     1,223     126,597       377      49,716
December ...................     1,412     139,423     1,243     127,356       445      50,923

             2004                                                                             

January ....................     1,428     146,692     1,232     128,191       394      45,544
February ...................     1,320     134,626     1,170     122,329       367      40,849
March ......................     1,372     139,716     1,237     130,737       401      59,987
April ......................     1,374     140,190     1,202     124,962       349      38,197
May ........................     1,209     113,091     1,047      99,615       330      38,965
June .......................     1,403     141,048     1,231     128,137       366      47,015
July .......................     1,330     137,484     1,180     126,106       372      51,424
August .....................     1,394     127,671     1,224     113,376       345      36,963
September ..................     1,277     125,351     1,154     115,343       338      46,955
October ....................     1,288     132,250     1,172     122,831       362      47,571
November ...................     1,314     130,558     1,171     118,904       378      46,276
December ...................     1,170     114,641     1,013     103,434       301      33,022

             2005                                                                             

January ....................     1,489     160,986     1,353     150,640       383      56,133
February ...................     1,172     123,377     1,045     112,752       358      45,794
March ......................     1,219     132,035     1,079     122,013       377      55,061
April ......................     1,263     137,381     1,132     126,747       398      60,826
May ........................     1,226     133,221     1,085     120,899       382      54,886
June .......................     1,194     126,834     1,074     117,712       359      57,018
July .......................     1,248     131,500     1,101     118,800       353      47,136
August .....................     1,109     123,125       986     111,879       338      46,915
September ..................     2,217     292,177     1,998     246,227       419      56,289
October ....................     1,098     108,665       977      99,402       321      44,666
November ...................     1,167     115,803     1,036     104,576       330      43,307
December ...................     1,253     135,721     1,125     124,632       372      48,592

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,112     109,429       984      99,277       282      29,911
February ...................     1,065     112,742       973     105,055       329      46,548
March ......................     1,105     120,954     1,003     112,730       335      50,149
April ......................     1,175     121,376     1,041     111,369       365      48,038
May ........................     1,098     113,195       982     103,839       297      42,993
June .......................     1,130     123,558     1,007     113,037       331      40,500
July .......................     1,160     118,843     1,038     109,509       372      49,069
August .....................     1,218     131,105     1,083     120,923       367      58,983
September ..................     1,158     120,795     1,043     111,876       392      46,802
October ....................     1,186     119,914     1,069     111,036       401      55,795
November ...................     1,220     136,340     1,111     127,286       411      60,599
December ...................     1,201     133,818     1,099     124,526       390      53,828

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,237     126,368     1,095     115,615       389      51,141
February ...................     1,280     143,977     1,166     135,252       419      64,072
March ......................     1,276     130,687     1,165     122,150       420      54,441
April ......................     1,239     126,194     1,109     115,870       387      43,939
May ........................     1,182     118,414     1,079     110,880       365      48,872
June .......................     1,219     127,897     1,094     117,787       340      39,273
July .......................     1,221     124,835     1,115     116,744       383      50,036
August .....................     1,189     118,120     1,092     110,946       325      35,676
September ..................     1,271     123,656     1,173     116,775       428      50,636





Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2003 to
September 2007, not seasonally adjusted

                                     Total             Private nonfarm        Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                              
                                          Initial               Initial                Initial 
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2003                                                                             

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
May ........................       872      84,809       794      78,663       192      23,570
June .......................     1,489     164,761     1,224     140,687       319      41,095
July .......................     1,511     166,857     1,335     154,342       648      96,152
August .....................       708      72,844       656      69,054       203      28,494
September ..................       865      87,699       785      81,274       296      39,076
October ....................       964      98,804       820      88,133       311      46,737
November ...................     1,315     136,186     1,172     125,009       455      58,473
December ...................     2,249     254,503     2,126     244,783       735     105,462

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,407     134,984     1,263     124,475       456      53,615
February ...................       935      86,696       861      82,097       273      36,170
March ......................     1,082     123,974     1,015     118,431       367      49,886
April ......................     1,219     127,444     1,115     118,040       309      35,229
May ........................       923      85,816       856      81,153       224      26,527
June .......................     1,599     172,810     1,318     148,669       313      36,571
July .......................     1,599     175,419     1,450     164,939       684     101,390
August .....................       963      93,458       908      88,345       220      23,361
September ..................       717      67,385       667      64,026       246      29,381





Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                   Initial claimants for           
                                                            Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance          
                     Industry                                                                                                      
                                                  September   July    August  September  September     July      August   September
                                                    2006      2007     2007      2007       2006       2007       2007      2007   
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                   
      Total .....................................    1,158     1,221    1,189    1,271     120,795    124,835   118,120    123,656

                                                                                                                                  
  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,043     1,115    1,092    1,173     111,876    116,744   110,946    116,775
    Manufacturing ...............................      392       383      325      428      46,802     50,036    35,676     50,636
                                                                                                                                  
              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                  
      Total (1) .................................      865     1,599      963      717      87,699    175,419    93,458     67,385

Total, private ..................................      819     1,503      927      688      83,317    168,280    89,793     65,205
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       34        53       19       21       2,043      3,341     1,448      1,179

  Total, private nonfarm ........................      785     1,450      908      667      81,274    164,939    88,345     64,026
    Mining ......................................     (2)       (2)      (2)      (2)         (2)        (2)       (2)        (2) 
    Utilities ...................................     (2)       (2)      (2)       -          (2)        (2)       (2)         -  
    Construction ................................       99        88      106       70       6,643      5,844     7,282      4,283
    Manufacturing ...............................      296       684      220      246      39,076    101,390    23,361     29,381
        Food ....................................       32        46       27       31       2,763      4,927     2,912      2,873
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        6         5        3     (2)          581        316       243       (2) 
        Textile mills ...........................       12        19        7        4       1,751      2,272       805        448
        Textile product mills ...................        5         8        5        4         465        857       376        410
        Apparel .................................        9        19       10       12       1,073      1,678     1,362      1,180
        Leather and allied products .............     (2)          7     (2)       -          (2)       1,212      (2)         -  
        Wood products ...........................       28        27       19       27       2,645      2,901     1,562      2,461
        Paper ...................................        6         4     (2)         5         741        259      (2)        389 
        Printing and related support activities .     (2)          5        6     (2)         (2)         499       389       (2) 
        Petroleum and coal products .............        4       -        -        -          235         -         -          -  

        Chemicals ...............................        4         8        4        3         284        826       228        186
        Plastics and rubber products ............       16        65       11       13       1,786      7,487       898      1,066
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............        6        10        5        9         835      1,373       309        941
        Primary metals ..........................        7        36       11       15         876      6,318     1,399      1,678
        Fabricated metal products ...............       22        63       10       16       2,149      6,364       689      1,473
        Machinery ...............................       24        49       16       19       4,772      6,994     1,846      3,021
        Computer and electronic products ........        8        20       16       15         451      2,549     1,252      1,381
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       11        20       10       10       1,395      3,271     1,238      2,881
        Transportation equipment ................       69       249       39       51      13,330     48,795     5,596      7,759
        Furniture and related products ..........       15        14       12        7       1,919      1,394       855        791
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............        7        10        6      (2)         571      1,098       745       (2) 

    Wholesale trade .............................       12        18       16       17         908      1,347     1,247      1,053
    Retail trade ................................       72        83      101       67       6,619      6,663    10,680      5,657
    Transportation and warehousing ..............       24        90       63       17       1,965      9,132     5,968      1,415
    Information .................................       31        37       19       32       3,337      4,253     3,432      5,420
    Finance and insurance .......................       26        39       93       40       1,937      2,499     9,631      2,649
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........        4         7        6        3         311        605       625        285
    Professional and technical services .........       22        45       25       23       3,222      4,072     3,037      2,683
    Management of companies and enterprises .....     (2)          5        5      (2)        (2)         329       390       (2) 
    Administrative and waste services ...........      110       216      153       85       9,950     18,257    15,114      6,325
    Educational services ........................        6         7        7      (2)         436        486       579       (2) 
    Health care and social assistance ...........       21        49       15       13       2,383      3,911       914        998
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       15        17       16       11         944      1,007     1,218        716
    Accommodation and food services .............       36        50       46       37       2,728      3,967     3,346      2,681
    Other services, except public administration         6         7       12      (2)         453        578     1,064       (2) 
    Unclassified ................................        -         3        1       -           -         218        78        -  

Government ......................................       46        96       36       29       4,382      7,139     3,665      2,180
    Federal .....................................        8         8       15        5         852        925     1,642        408
    State .......................................       10        10        3        7       1,272        901       248        777
    Local .......................................       28        78       18       17       2,258      5,313     1,775        995

   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, July 2005 to September 2007, 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
             2005                                                                                                               

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       190,186          29.5         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         1,400       246,188          35.0         57.8

             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           963       193,510          36.5         69.8

April ......................    1,140      121,589     1,038     112,964                                                       
May ........................      872       84,809       794      78,663                                                       
June .......................    1,489      164,761     1,224     140,687                                                       

Second Quarter .............    3,501      371,159     3,056     332,314         1,353       264,927          44.3         79.7

July .......................    1,511      166,857     1,335     154,342                                                       
August .....................      708       72,844       656      69,054                                                       
September ..................      865       87,699       785      81,274                                                       

Third Quarter ..............    3,084      327,400     2,776     304,670           929       161,743          33.5         53.1

October ....................      964       98,804       820      88,133                                                       
November ...................    1,315      136,186     1,172     125,009                                                       

Fourth Quarter .............    4,528      489,493     4,118     457,925         1,640       330,848          39.8         72.2

             2007                                                                                                              

January ....................    1,407      134,984     1,263     124,475                                                       
February ...................      935       86,696       861      82,097                                                       
March ......................    1,082      123,974     1,015     118,431                                                       

First Quarter ..............    3,424      345,654     3,139     325,003         1,111       197,623          35.4         60.8

April ......................    1,219      127,444     1,115     118,040                                                       
May ........................      923       85,816       856      81,153                                                       
June .......................    1,599      172,810     1,318     148,669                                                       

Second Quarter .............    3,741      386,070     3,289     347,862   (2)(p)1,249 (2)(p)173,487       (p)38.0      (p)49.9

July .......................    1,599      175,419     1,450     164,939                                                       
August .....................      963       93,458       908      88,345                                                       
September ..................      717       67,385       667      64,026                                                       

Third Quarter ..............    3,279      336,262     3,025     317,310                                                       

   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                                                                                         

                                 September    July     August  September   September     July       August    September
                                    2006      2007      2007      2007        2006       2007        2007        2007
                                                                                                                       
        United States (1) ...        865     1,599       963       717      87,699    175,419      93,458      67,385

Northeast ...................        126       241       173        96      12,451     21,035      16,396       8,660

    New England .............         20        39        15        10       2,532      3,608       1,128         756
    Middle Atlantic .........        106       202       158        86       9,919     17,427      15,268       7,904

South .......................        209       360       227       160      23,990     35,763      21,452      15,913

    South Atlantic ..........         98       180       128        78      10,807     15,861      10,632       6,303
    East South Central ......         50       122        54        38       7,830     14,074       6,426       5,018
    West South Central ......         61        58        45        44       5,353      5,828       4,394       4,592

Midwest .....................        208       573       181       156      25,348     85,557      18,319      17,273

    East North Central ......        167       485       149       119      19,269     72,514      15,584      13,995
    West North Central ......         41        88        32        37       6,079     13,043       2,735       3,278

West ........................        322       425       382       305      25,910     33,064      37,291      25,539

    Mountain ................         18        44        29        23       2,092      4,698       3,162       2,166
    Pacific .................        304       381       353       282      23,818     28,366      34,129      23,373

   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                                                                                                      
                          September       July      August    September   September      July       August    September
                             2006         2007       2007       2007        2006         2007        2007       2007   
                                                                                                                     
   Total (1) ............      865       1,599        963        717       87,699      175,419     93,458     67,385
                                                                                                                    
Alabama .................       13          59         16         18        1,015        6,510      2,433      1,836
Alaska ..................      (2)         -          (2)        (2)         (2)           -         (2)        (2) 
Arizona .................      (2)          10          8        (2)         (2)           808      1,192       (2) 
Arkansas ................      (2)          10        (2)          6         (2)         1,133       (2)         565
California ..............      281         351        320        256       21,642       25,054     31,066     21,144
Colorado ................        3        (2)           3          3          294         (2)        220         261
Connecticut .............        4           5        (2)        (2)          414          357       (2)        (2) 
Delaware ................      (2)        (2)          -         (2)         (2)          (2)         -         (2) 
District of Columbia ....       -         (2)          -          -           -           (2)         -          -  
Florida .................       46          79         70         47        3,627        5,214      5,175      2,985
Georgia .................       20          50         25         18        1,555        5,133      2,493      1,633
Hawaii ..................      (2)        (2)           3        (2)         (2)          (2)         169       (2) 
Idaho ...................      (2)           6          5          3         (2)         1,395         393       222

Illinois ................       38          53         35         31        3,578        8,175      3,702      3,486
Indiana .................       25          55         18         11        3,166        7,836      1,911      2,826
Iowa ....................        8          20          5          8          817        3,631        526        840
Kansas ..................        8          14          3          4          986        2,294        538        295
Kentucky ................       23          43         23         14        5,133        5,958      3,048      2,611
Louisiana ...............       26           9          5          8        2,041          604        902        563
Maine ...................      (2)           4         -         (2)         (2)           266          -       (2) 
Maryland ................        4           4         10          6          433          455        828        431
Massachusetts ...........       10          20          8          3          937        2,173        569        196
Michigan ................       34         211         28         24        4,072       36,356      2,693      2,844
Minnesota ...............        9          10          8          4        2,377        1,558        553        524
Mississippi .............        7           8          6          4          847          822        371        471
Missouri ................       12          38         13         16        1,254        3,619        941      1,141

Montana .................      (2)           4        (2)        (2)         (2)           379       (2)        (2) 
Nebraska ................        4           3        (2)          5          645          682       (2)        478 
Nevada ..................        7          15          7          7        1,018        1,438        819       529 
New Hampshire ...........      (2)           5        (2)         -          (2)           391       (2)         -  
New Jersey ..............       12          42         32         19        1,898        3,176      2,398      1,985
New Mexico ..............        3           6        (2)          3          175          392       (2)         644
New York ................       33          88         74         24        3,126        8,175      8,776      1,914
North Carolina ..........        7           3          6        (2)          842          219        636       (2) 
North Dakota ............       -            3        (2)         -           -          1,259       (2)         -  
Ohio ....................       39          86         29         29        5,276       10,435      3,064      2,579
Oklahoma ................        3           4          3          5          269          307        300        858
Oregon ..................        9          20         13         15          958        2,463      1,502      1,324
Pennsylvania ............       61          72         52         43        4,895        6,076      4,094      4,005

Rhode Island ............      (2)           3          3         -          (2)           222        337        -  
South Carolina ..........        9          24         10          3        1,645        3,094        940        242
South Dakota ............       -          -          (2)         -           -            -         (2)         -  
Tennessee ...............        7          12          9        (2)          835          784        574       (2) 
Texas ...................       30          35         36         25        2,916        3,784      3,085      2,606
Utah ....................       -         (2)           3          3          -           (2)        327         220
Vermont .................      (2)        (2)         (2)          4         (2)          (2)        (2)         331
Virginia ................        8          15          7        (2)        1,748        1,400        560       (2) 
Washington ..............       10           8         16          8          909          722      1,341        616
West Virginia ...........        3        (2)          -          -           207         (2)         -          -  
Wisconsin ...............       31          80         39         24        3,177        9,712      4,214      2,260
Wyoming .................        -         -           -          -           -            -          -          -  

Puerto Rico .............       12          13         15          8        1,714        1,221      1,751        750

   1  See footnote 1, table 3.
   2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.