Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 06-122
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                691-5902     Wednesday, January 25, 2006


        MASS LAYOFFS IN DECEMBER 2005 AND ANNUAL AVERAGES FOR 2005
   
   In December 2005, employers took 1,308 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 149,565.
(See table 1.)  The number of layoff events in December rose by 103 from
November, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 28,782.
In the manufacturing sector, 365 mass layoff events were reported during
December 2005, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 49,641 initial claims.
Both figures were higher than a month earlier.  (See table 1.)
   
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   In December, the 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-
layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 91,499 ini-
tial claims, 36 percent of the total.  (See table A.)  Seven of these in-
dustries reached a series peak for December, on a not seasonally adjusted
basis, in 2005.  The two industries with the highest number of initial
claims were highway, street, and bridge construction, with 20,088, and
temporary help services, with 16,656.  Together, these two industries ac-
counted for 14 percent of the 254,258 initial claims filed during the
month.
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 30 percent of all mass layoff e-
vents and 38 percent of all initial claims filed in December 2005.  A year
earlier, manufacturing comprised 27 percent of events and 31 percent of
initial claims.  Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in December
2005 was highest in transportation equipment (34,508, largely automotive-
related), followed by food manufacturing (10,681).  (See table 3.)
   
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
   |         Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data          |
   |                                                                   |
   |    Seasonally adjusted mass layoff data have been revised using   |
   | updated seasonal adjustment factors that incorporate 2005 data.   |
   | Seasonally adjusted estimates back to January 2001 were subject   |
   | to revision.  The totals for each of the six seasonally adjusted  |
   | series for January-December 2005 (as originally published and as  |
   | revised) will be available at http://www.bls.gov/mls/home.htm,    |
   | along with additional information about the revisions.            |
    -------------------------------------------------------------------

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in
December 2005p
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          | Initial|      December peak
                 Industry                 | claims |--------------------------
                                          |        |   Year  | Initial claims
------------------------------------------|--------|---------|----------------
Highway, street, and bridge construction .| 20,088 |    2005 |     20,088
Temporary help services ..................| 16,656 |    2005 |     16,656
School and employee bus transportation ...| 14,464 |    2005 |     14,464
Food service contractors .................| 12,926 |    2005 |     12,926
Automobile manufacturing .................|  9,021 |    2005 |      9,021
Motion picture and video production ......|  5,286 |    1998 |     16,192
Professional employer organizations ......|  3,534 |    2000 |      4,032
All other plastics product manufacturing .|  3,322 |    2002 |      5,563
Ready-mix concrete manufacturing .........|  3,232 |    2005 |      3,232
Travel trailer and camper manufacturing ..|  2,970 |    2005 |      2,970
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  p = preliminary.


   Construction accounted for 21 percent of events and 16 percent of ini-
tial claims filed in December, with layoffs mainly from highway, street,
and bridge construction.  Eleven percent of all layoff events and initial
claims filed during the month were from administrative and waste services,
largely from temporary help services.  Accommodation and food services ac-
counted for 7 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims in December,
mostly from food service and drinking places.  Transportation and warehousing
accounted for 7 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims during the
month, largely in transit and ground passenger transportation.  An additional
5 percent of events and 4 percent of initial claims were from retail trade,
primarily from general merchandise stores.
   
   Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and 3 percent
of initial claims filed in December, mostly from educational services and
executive, legislative, and general government agencies.
   
   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in December
2005, at 2,323, was up by 709 from a year earlier, and the number of associ-
ated initial claims rose by 92,987 to 254,258.  These were the highest event
and initial claim totals for December since 2002.  The largest over-the-year
increases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manu-
facturing (+21,961), administrative and support services (+14,365), heavy and
civil engineering construction (+8,849), and transit and ground passenger
transportation (+5,684).  The largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims
was in motion picture and sound recording industries (-1,164).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   Among the four census regions, the largest number of initial claims in
December due to mass layoffs was in the Midwest (111,662).  (See table 5.)
Transportation equipment manufacturing and heavy and civil engineering
construction accounted for 34 percent of the Midwest total.  The West had
the next largest number of initial claims (53,396), followed by the South
(46,303) and the Northeast (42,897).
   
   The number of initial claimants from mass layoffs increased over the year
in all of the four regions.  The largest increase occurred in the Midwest
(+50,385), followed by the South (+16,355), the Northeast (+15,510), and the
West (+10,737).  Each of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year in-
creases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with
the largest in the East North Central (+43,083), Middle Atlantic (+11,294),
and the South Atlantic (+9,886) divisions.
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims
filed due to mass layoff events in December (38,926), mostly in administra-
tive and support services and in motion picture and sound recording indus-
tries.  Michigan had the next highest initial claims total, with 30,456, fol-
lowed by Illinois (16,869), Pennsylvania (16,249), and Wisconsin (13,071).
These five states accounted for 46 percent of all mass layoff events and 45
percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 6.)
   
   Michigan had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial
claims (+19,615), followed by Ohio (+7,749) and Pennsylvania (+6,836).  The
largest over-the-year decrease occurred in Maryland (-924).

                                  - 3 - 

Table B.  Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for
unemployment insurance, 1996-2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------
         Year         |  Layoff events |   Initial claimants for
                      |                |   unemployment insurance
----------------------|----------------|---------------------------
1996 .................|     14,111     |         1,437,628
1997 .................|     14,960     |         1,542,543
1998 .................|     15,904     |         1,771,069
1999 .................|     14,909     |         1,572,399
2000 .................|     15,738     |         1,835,592
2001 .................|     21,467     |         2,514,862
2002 .................|     20,277     |         2,245,051
2003 .................|     18,963     |         1,888,926
2004 .................|     15,980     |         1,607,158
2005p ................|     16,466     |         1,795,341
-------------------------------------------------------------------
  p = preliminary.

Review of 2005
   
   During 2005, 16,466 layoff events occurred in the nation, resulting in
1,795,341 initial claims filings for unemployment insurance.  In 2004,
there were 15,980 events and 1,607,158 initial claimants.  (See table B.)
   
   The 10 industries with the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims
accounted for 29 percent of the total in 2005.  (See table C.)  In 2004,
they comprised 27 percent of the total.  Temporary help services and school
and employee bus transportation were ranked one and two among the 10 indus-
tries in both 2005 and 2004.  Automobile manufacturing ranked three in 2005,
as compared to six in the previous year.
   
   Manufacturing accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff events and 37
percent of initial claims filed during 2005.  A year earlier, manufacturing
accounted for 29 percent of events and 35 percent of initial claims.  Initial
claim filings were most numerous in transportation equipment, 253,681, fol-
lowed by food manufacturing, 76,926, and machinery manufacturing, 33,713.
During 2005, the largest increase in initial claims occurred in transporta-
tion equipment manufacturing (+90,655) and wood product manufacturing (+6,370).
The largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims occurred in food manu-
facturing (-5,188).
   
   The number of initial claims filed in 2005 due to mass layoffs was higher
in the Midwest (571,950) than in any other region.  Layoffs in transportation
equipment manufacturing accounted for 30 percent of the claims in the Midwest.
Administrative and support services, heavy and civil engineering construction,
and food manufacturing accounted for an additional 16 percent of layoffs in
that region in 2005.  The fewest number of mass-layoff initial claims was re-
ported in the Northeast region (280,628).  In 2005, increases in mass-layoff
initial claims occurred in three of the four regions.  The largest increases
were in the South (+129,944) and Midwest (+86,695).  The West had the only
over-the-year decrease (-38,296).
   
   Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California recorded
the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in 2005
(360,138), 20 percent of the national total.  The states with the next
highest numbers of initial claims were Michigan (131,411), Louisiana
(120,600), Ohio (113,165), and Pennsylvania (99,183).  Forty-eight percent
of events and 46 percent of all initial claims were from these five states.
   
   Louisiana reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims
(+104,081), largely due to the impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  The
next largest increase occurred in Michigan (+32,287), followed by Ohio
(+26,315) and Mississippi (+25,587).  The largest over-the-year decreases
were reported in California (-33,976) and Florida (-11,552).

                                  - 4 -

Table C.  Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in 2005p
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------          
                                        |       2005       |         2004
             Industry                   |------------------|-------------------
                                        | Initial |  Rank  |  Initial |  Rank
                                        | claims  |        |  claims  |
----------------------------------------|---------|--------|----------|--------
Temporary help services ................| 111,110 |    1   |  103,868 |    1
School and employee bus transportation .|  73,797 |    2   |   64,663 |    2
Automobile manufacturing ...............|  54,800 |    3   |   35,520 |    6
Motion picture and video production ....|  54,769 |    4   |   50,030 |    3
Food service contractors ...............|  49,942 |    5   |   42,920 |    4
Highway, street, and bridge construction|  45,581 |    6   |   36,853 |    5
Elementary and secondary schools .......|  36,743 |    7   |   27,648 |    8
Light truck and utility vehicle mfg. ...|  34,378 |    8   |   18,742 |   13
Professional employer organizations ....|  30,882 |    9   |   31,434 |    7
Motor vehicle seating and interior      |         |        |          |
 trim mfg. .............................|  22,329 |   10   |   14,459 |   18
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  p = preliminary.

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 lay-
offs.  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 lay-
offs").  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 lay-
offs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quar-
ter 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 defini-
tions.
   
                      ______________________________


   The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Fourth Quarter of 2005 is
scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 9, 2006.  The report on
Mass Layoffs in January 2006 is scheduled to be released on Thursday,
February 23, 2006.





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, January 2002 to December 2005,
seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing   

             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events  claimants 

            2002                                                                              

January ....................     1,815     210,217     1,670     197,065       733     100,182
February ...................     1,805     207,097     1,657     195,251       704      93,234
March ......................     1,670     187,811     1,515     175,831       615      74,351
April ......................     1,681     186,095     1,494     168,902       590      68,210
May ........................     1,723     190,797     1,559     177,743       610      73,953
June .......................     1,620     170,724     1,443     156,813       550      70,936
July .......................     1,635     179,806     1,460     164,944       564      74,834
August .....................     1,478     162,040     1,324     150,118       569      67,779
September ..................     1,911     218,875     1,747     203,849       617      80,528
October ....................     1,774     186,940     1,582     169,660       625      73,904
November ...................     1,652     178,402     1,507     167,335       613      71,693
December ...................     1,841     198,678     1,659     184,368       661      84,048

            2003                                                                              

January ....................     1,358     131,963     1,168     117,636       387      48,685
February ...................     1,825     190,928     1,647     178,363       646      78,819
March ......................     1,782     175,671     1,595     160,170       617      72,409
April ......................     1,722     174,608     1,564     163,607       640      83,303
May ........................     1,719     184,003     1,542     170,961       625      86,535
June .......................     1,716     164,299     1,524     148,542       636      68,143
July .......................     1,642     163,179     1,442     148,299       580      74,070
August .....................     1,517     171,861     1,367     158,049       551      74,602
September ..................     1,562     147,383     1,374     133,383       484      56,472
October ....................     1,558     156,814     1,336     138,691       427      52,009
November ...................     1,393     141,383     1,244     129,231       401      50,460
December ...................     1,426     144,456     1,265     132,324       434      50,994

            2004                                                                              

January ....................     1,421     142,704     1,223     124,192       395      48,519
February ...................     1,293     132,640     1,145     120,811       362      39,360
March ......................     1,364     140,957     1,234     132,152       407      60,296
April ......................     1,381     141,909     1,207     126,106       341      37,686
May ........................     1,189     111,173     1,030      98,230       314      37,405
June .......................     1,390     141,948     1,226     129,344       360      45,398
July .......................     1,329     137,724     1,185     126,945       371      53,248
August .....................     1,436     131,807     1,243     116,672       342      38,192
September ..................     1,283     125,344     1,155     115,499       344      45,691
October ....................     1,302     129,237     1,181     119,653       369      47,888
November ...................     1,350     135,036     1,202     122,954       407      47,517
December ...................     1,188     120,602     1,038     109,508       293      33,123

            2005                                                                              

January ....................     1,465     153,676     1,330     143,295       380      58,778
February ...................     1,135     120,190     1,010     109,964       350      43,966
March ......................     1,204     133,935     1,071     124,273       384      56,253
April ......................     1,278     139,575     1,145     128,478       390      60,726
May ........................     1,194     129,214     1,059     117,660       359      52,055
June .......................     1,184     128,430     1,065     119,271       349      53,930
July .......................     1,248     131,136     1,107     118,994       356      49,070
August .....................     1,145     127,592     1,006     116,011       334      48,904
September ..................     2,219     283,772     1,975     237,831       438      53,399
October ....................     1,114     104,584       986      94,798       328      45,475
November(p) ................     1,205     120,783     1,074     109,680       359      45,069
December(p) ................     1,308     149,565     1,185     138,234       365      49,641


    p = preliminary.
    NOTE:  Data have been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.





Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2002 to December 2005,
not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing    

             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants 

            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 ....................     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(p) ................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December(p) ................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382


    p = preliminary.





Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for        
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance        
                    Industry                                                                                                      

                                                    December  October  November   December   December  October  November  December
                                                      2004      2005     2005p      2005p      2004      2005     2005p     2005p  

               Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                

      Total .....................................     1,188     1,114     1,205     1,308    120,602   104,584   120,783   149,565

  Total, private nonfarm ........................     1,038       986     1,074     1,185    109,508    94,798   109,680   138,234
    Manufacturing ...............................       293       328       359       365     33,123    45,475    45,069    49,641

             Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total(1) ..................................     1,614       905     1,254     2,323    161,271    91,941   116,127   254,258

Total, private ..................................     1,527       850     1,187     2,237    154,496    87,226   109,395   246,748
  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....        40        93       108        69      2,404     6,532     7,213     3,995

 Total, private nonfarm .........................     1,487       757     1,079     2,168    152,092    80,694   102,182   242,753
  Mining ........................................        18     ( 2 )         7        33      1,492     ( 2 )       509     2,802
  Utilities .....................................         6     ( 2 )     ( 2 )     ( 2 )      1,395     ( 2 )     ( 2 )     ( 2 )
  Construction ..................................       342        88       192       478     27,433     5,755    15,824    40,395
  Manufacturing .................................       436       249       363       706     50,726    37,276    41,442    96,382
      Food ......................................        59        61        66        88      6,309     5,666     7,092    10,681
      Beverage and tobacco products .............         7         4         6        11        497       261       416       800
      Textile mills .............................        15        11        19        23      1,249     1,296     2,734     3,823
      Textile product mills .....................         8         5         6         7        932       531       444       743
      Apparel ...................................        16        11        13        19      2,720     2,589     2,125     2,297
      Leather and allied products ...............         4         -     ( 2 )         9        757         -     ( 2 )     1,032
      Wood products .............................        25     ( 2 )        20        54      2,346     ( 2 )     2,353     5,319
      Paper .....................................         7         9         8         8        575       748       479       943
      Printing and related support activities ...         3         -         8        16        331         -       574     1,870
      Petroleum and coal products ...............        11     ( 2 )     ( 2 )        14      1,126     ( 2 )     ( 2 )     1,478

      Chemicals .................................         8         8         7        10        669       682       510       862
      Plastics and rubber products ..............        30        11        19        60      2,327     1,097     1,469     5,605
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............        32         8        11        58      3,168       759     1,005     5,756
      Primary metals ............................        23         9        17        40      2,246     1,037     1,475     4,265
      Fabricated metal products .................        34        12        20        38      2,546       863     1,751     3,815
      Machinery .................................        16         9        24        31      2,218     1,288     2,910     3,091
      Computer and electronic products ..........        19        20        12        16      2,039     1,764     1,001     1,290
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......        13         4         5        18      3,741     1,061       554     3,716
      Transportation equipment ..................        85        49        76       144     12,547    15,841    11,665    34,508
      Furniture and related products ............        13         8        15        27      1,096       762     1,804     2,769
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............         8         6         6        15      1,287       688       676     1,719

  Wholesale trade ...............................        18        10        21        37      1,853       812     1,687     3,214
  Retail trade ..................................        80        72        61       113      8,092     5,666     5,176    10,856
  Transportation and warehousing ................        96        29        45       161     10,687     2,697     3,479    19,173
  Information ...................................        30        26        21        36      8,002     5,300     2,395     6,572
  Finance and insurance .........................        18        24        14        20      1,455     1,656     1,307     1,284
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............         4         4         3         9        249       244       122     1,203
  Professional and technical services ...........        48        28        34        64      5,955     2,967     3,056     6,663
  Management of companies and enterprises .......         3     ( 2 )     ( 2 )     ( 2 )        296     ( 2 )     ( 2 )     ( 2 )
  Administrative and waste services .............       163       132       138       259     13,192    11,017    11,350    27,527
  Educational services ..........................         4     ( 2 )     ( 2 )         5        245     ( 2 )     ( 2 )       353
  Health care and social assistance .............        28         7        34        35      2,539       621     2,555     2,731
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........        30        22        40        26      1,967     1,568     3,623     1,869
  Accommodation and food services ...............       146        53        88       158     14,923     4,168     8,204    19,293
  Other services, except public administration ..        13         3         8        19      1,342       173       668     1,527
  Unclassified  .................................         4         5         6         4        249       356       436       295

Government ......................................        87        55        67        86      6,775     4,715     6,732     7,510
  Federal .......................................         8        16        15        18        842     1,551     1,608     1,568
  State .........................................        16        12        24        16      1,472       992     2,527     1,750
  Local .........................................        63        27        28        52      4,461     2,172     2,597     4,192


    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.  Seasonally adjusted data have been revised to reflect updated seasonal adjustment factors.





Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2003 to December 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                                                                                                             

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         238,392        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         254,063        41.5        76.5

July ....................         2,094    253,929     1,860     234,877                                                    
August ..................           809     69,033       745      63,876                                                    
September ...............           708     68,972       637      63,102                                                    

Third Quarter ...........         3,611    391,934     3,242     361,855         886         148,575        27.3        41.1

October .................         1,242    127,918     1,101     117,375                                                    
November ................         1,399    130,423     1,201     115,549                                                    
December ................         1,614    161,271     1,487     152,092                                                    

Fourth Quarter ..........         4,255    419,612     3,789     385,016       1,427         262,049        37.7        68.1

           2005                                                                                                             

January .................         2,564    263,952     2,421     253,409                                                    
February ................           810     74,644       722      68,372                                                    
March ...................           806     88,937       733      83,793                                                    

First Quarter ...........         4,180    427,533     3,876     405,574       1,142         185,374        29.5        45.7

April ...................         1,373    158,582     1,263     148,133                                                    
May .....................           986    101,358       891      93,332                                                    
June ....................         1,157    120,463       941     103,307                                                    

Second Quarter ..........         3,516    380,403     3,095     344,772       1,203         212,671        38.9        61.7

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  (2)(p) 742  (2)(p) 108,647     (p)19.3     (p)23.4

October .................           905     91,941       757      80,694                                                    
November(p) .............         1,254    116,127     1,079     102,182                                                    
December(p) .............         2,323    254,258     2,168     242,753                                                    

Fourth Quarter(p) .......         4,482    462,326     4,004     425,629                                                    


    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                                                                                       

                                December  October  November  December     December     October    November     December
                                  2004      2005     2005p     2005p        2004         2005       2005p       2005p  

        United States(1) ...     1,614       905     1,254     2,323       161,271      91,941     116,127     254,258

Northeast ..................       285       175       218       445        27,387      15,362      19,125      42,897

    New England ............        47        12        24        83         4,894       1,233       2,703       9,110
    Middle Atlantic ........       238       163       194       362        22,493      14,129      16,422      33,787

South ......................       288       158       279       371        29,948      17,616      31,437      46,303

    South Atlantic .........       140        85       165       180        13,620       8,903      14,596      23,506
    East South Central .....        76        25        42       113         8,995       4,194       5,296      14,562
    West South Central .....        72        48        72        78         7,333       4,519      11,545       8,235

Midwest ....................       588       199       355       942        61,277      27,841      34,901     111,662

    East North Central .....       414       154       279       708        42,598      21,404      27,180      85,681
    West North Central .....       174        45        76       234        18,679       6,437       7,721      25,981

West .......................       453       373       402       565        42,659      31,122      30,664      53,396

    Mountain ...............        60        32        50        88         5,295       3,285       4,552       7,995
    Pacific ................       393       341       352       477        37,364      27,837      26,112      45,401


    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                                                                                                         
                          December    October   November   December    December    October    November    December
                            2004        2005      2005p      2005p       2004        2005       2005p       2005p  

   Total(1) .............   1,614        905      1,254      2,323     161,271      91,941     116,127     254,258

Alabama .................      22          4          6         24       2,244         569         783       2,119
Alaska ..................   ( 2 )          4          4          -       ( 2 )         264         401           -
Arizona .................       5          6          4          4         358         606         350         387
Arkansas ................       3          4          7          6         218         767       1,866         989
California ..............     344        315        302        415      32,279      25,317      21,324      38,926
Colorado ................      13          6          7         16       1,347         510         758       1,536
Connecticut .............       5          -          3          9         510           -         235         897
Delaware ................       -      ( 2 )          -          -           -       ( 2 )           -           -
District of Columbia ....   ( 2 )          -          -      ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -           -       ( 2 )
Florida .................      44         36        100         61       3,567       2,706       7,138       5,288
Georgia .................      37         16         24         42       3,082       1,739       2,511       8,974
Hawaii ..................       -      ( 2 )      ( 2 )          6           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         510
Idaho ...................      10          5         11         17         736         476         976       1,240

Illinois ................      99         35         34        144      10,222       5,717       3,600      16,869
Indiana .................      68         14         29         98       9,331       1,940       2,811      12,226
Iowa ....................      36         13         20         61       3,442       2,473       1,636       7,058
Kansas ..................      16      ( 2 )          6         18       1,864       ( 2 )         647       1,779
Kentucky ................      38         10         23         62       5,474       2,710       3,521       9,866
Louisiana ...............      16          3         36         13       1,297         215       4,030         868
Maine ...................       7      ( 2 )      ( 2 )          7         570       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         449
Maryland ................       7          5      ( 2 )          -         924         451       ( 2 )           -
Massachusetts ...........      15          6         10         29       2,085         669         650       3,229
Michigan ................     115         41         62        222      10,841       6,276       4,986      30,456
Minnesota ...............      55         18         27         64       6,064       1,579       2,503       6,016
Mississippi .............   ( 2 )          4      ( 2 )      ( 2 )       ( 2 )         356       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Missouri ................      41          8         19         63       5,231       1,773       2,640       7,912

Montana .................       6          6          7          9         474         695         770         682
Nebraska ................      18          4      ( 2 )         20       1,375         447       ( 2 )       2,605
Nevada ..................      17          6         13         24       1,630         764       1,144       2,315
New Hampshire ...........       5      ( 2 )      ( 2 )         12         423       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       1,386
New Jersey ..............      46         30         32         96       4,979       2,248       3,239       8,631
New Mexico ..............       5      ( 2 )          3          7         319       ( 2 )         201         766
New York ................      88         52         36         91       8,101       4,806       3,197       8,907
North Carolina ..........      16         16         10         19       1,187       1,423         841       1,999
North Dakota ............       6          -      ( 2 )          4         526           -       ( 2 )         320
Ohio ....................      67         33         52        133       5,310       4,820       5,607      13,059
Oklahoma ................      13          3          4          9       1,041         500         596         780
Oregon ..................      23          5         16         32       2,798         675       1,610       3,830
Pennsylvania ............     104         81        126        175       9,413       7,075       9,986      16,249

Rhode Island ............       7      ( 2 )      ( 2 )         17         628       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       2,441
South Carolina ..........      11          4         18         20       1,679         428       2,251       3,376
South Dakota ............   ( 2 )          -          -          4       ( 2 )           -           -         291
Tennessee ...............      15          7         11         25       1,219         559         905       2,408
Texas ...................      40         38         25         50       4,777       3,037       5,053       5,598
Utah ....................       4          -          3         11         431           -         218       1,069
Vermont .................       8          3          7          9         678         212       1,285         708
Virginia ................      21          7         10         35       2,836         573       1,570       3,638
Washington ..............      24         16         29         24       2,149       1,527       2,695       2,135
West Virginia ...........       3          -      ( 2 )      ( 2 )         276           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Wisconsin ...............      65         31        102        111       6,894       2,651      10,176      13,071
Wyoming .................       -      ( 2 )      ( 2 )          -           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -

Puerto Rico .............      10         11         12         10         706         854       1,202       1,698

    1  See footnote 1, table 3.
    2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.  
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE:  Dash represents zero.