Technical information:   (202) 691-6392      USDL 07-1446
                http://www.bls.gov/mls/


                                             For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                 691-5902      Friday, September 21, 2007


                        MASS LAYOFFS IN AUGUST 2007

   In August, employers took 1,189 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 report-
ed today.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer;
the number of workers involved totaled 118,120, on a seasonally adjusted
basis.  The number of mass layoff events in August decreased by 32 from the
prior month, and the number of associated initial claims fell by 6,715.  Over
the month, 325 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector,
seasonally adjusted, resulting in 35,676 initial claims.  Compared with July,
mass layoff activity in manufacturing decreased by 58 events, and initial
claims declined by 14,360.  (See table 1.)

   
   From January through August 2007, the total number of events (seasonally
adjusted), at 9,843, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,016,492,
were higher than in January-August 2006 (9,063 and 951,202, respectively).

   The national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in August, unchanged from
the prior month and little changed from a year earlier.  Total nonfarm pay-
roll employment decreased by 4,000 over the month; over the year, payroll
employment increased by 1.6 million.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 35 percent of the total
initial claims in August.  The industry with the highest number of initial
claims was temporary help services with 8,621, followed by school and em-
ployee bus transportation with 5,134, and real estate credit with 5,126.
Together, these three industries accounted for 20 percent of all initial
claims due to mass layoffs during the month.  (See table A.)  Real estate
credit and mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers from the credit interme-
diation industry had the third and seventh highest number of mass layoff
initial claims, respectively, in August.  This month, credit intermedia-
tion and related activities reported its highest number of events and
initial claims in program history.

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in August 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              |        |       August peak    
                   Industry                   |Initial |----------------------
                                              | claims |      |               
                                              |        | Year | Initial claims
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Temporary help services ......................|  8,621 | 1999 |      11,533   
School and employee bus transportation .......|  5,134 | 2003 |       6,538   
Real estate credit ...........................|  5,126 | 2007 |       5,126   
Discount department stores ...................|  2,953 | 2007 |       2,953   
Motion picture and video production ..........|  2,913 | 2003 |       6,812   
Professional employer organizations ..........|  2,550 | 2002 |       2,855   
Mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers ........|  1,864 | 2007 |       1,864   
Payroll services .............................|  1,348 | 2001 |       8,173   
Employment placement agencies ................|  1,284 | 2007 |       1,284   
Department stores, except discount ...........|  1,203 | 1996 |       2,151   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     

   The manufacturing sector accounted for 23 percent of all mass layoff
events and 25 percent of all related initial claims filed in August; a
year earlier, manufacturing made up 29 percent of events and 39 percent
of initial claims.  In August 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants
was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (5,596, largely in
truck trailer manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, and heavy duty truck
manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (2,912) and machinery manu-
facturing (1,846).  (See table 3.)

   Administrative and waste services accounted for 16 percent of mass
layoff events and initial claims in August, primarily from temporary help
services and professional employer organizations.  Retail trade made up
10 percent of events and 11 percent of initial claims, mostly from general
merchandise stores.  Finance and insurance comprised 10 percent of events
and initial claims filed over the month, with the majority of layoffs in 
credit intermediation and related activities.  Eleven percent of all mass 
layoff events and 8 percent of related initial claims filed were in con-
struction, mainly from the specialty trade contractors industry.

   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events
in August, at 963, was up by 255 from a year earlier, and the number of
associated initial claims increased by 20,614 to 93,458.  (See table 2.)
While these were the highest number of events and initial claims reported
for any August since 2003, this is due in part to a calendar effect.  Au-
gust 2007 contained 5 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with 4
weeks in each August of the prior 3 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 calen-
dar effects in the previously mentioned seasonally adjusted series.)  The
largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in credit
intermediation and related activities (+7,910), administrative and support
services (+4,204), and general merchandise stores (+2,871).  The largest
over-the-year decrease in mass layoff initial claims was reported in trans-
portation equipment manufacturing (-6,832).

                                  - 3 -

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
August due to mass layoffs was in the West, with 37,291.  Administrative
and support services, credit intermediation and related activities, and
motion picture and sound recording industries together accounted for 40
percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month.
The South had the second largest number of initial claims among the re-
gions with 21,452, followed by the Midwest with 18,319 and the Northeast
with 16,396.  (See table 5.)

   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year
in all four regions--the West (+13,150), the Midwest (+5,235), the North-
east (+1,890), and the South (+339).  Seven of the 9 geographic divisions
had over-the-year increases in the numbers of initial claims associated
with mass layoffs, with the largest increases in the Pacific (+11,006),
East North Central (+4,610), and Mountain (+2,144) divisions.  The divi-
sion with the largest over-the-year decrease was the East South Central
(-800).

   Reflecting administrative and support services layoffs, California re-
corded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events
in August (31,066).  Other states with large numbers of mass layoff related
claims were New York (8,776), Florida (5,175), Wisconsin (4,214), and Penn-
sylvania (4,094).  These five states accounted for 58 percent of all mass
layoff events and 57 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insur-
ance in August.  (See table 6.)

   California had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of ini-
tial claims (+10,727); this was partially due to more mass layoff activity
in credit intermediation and related activities.  States having the next
largest increases in initial claims were Florida (+2,678), Wisconsin
(+2,641), New York (+1,734), and Alabama (+1,671).  The largest over-the-
year decreases in claims occurred in Virginia (-2,806), Kentucky (-2,737),
and North Carolina (-1,076).

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 employers, information on the length of the lay-
off 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 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 September 2007 is scheduled to be released
on Tuesday, October 23.





                                  - 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, September 2003 to
August 2007, seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm          Manufacturing

             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2003                                                                             

September ..................     1,562     147,054     1,370     132,262       479      57,332
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





Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, September 2003 to
August 2007, not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing  

             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants

             2003                                                                             

September ..................       868      82,647       756      73,914       271      31,428
October ....................     1,523     158,240     1,265     137,706       438      53,741
November ...................     1,438     138,543     1,234     123,524       408      48,419
December ...................     1,929     192,633     1,793     182,750       648      77,915

             2004                                                                             

January ....................     2,428     239,454     2,226     220,687       848      89,551
February ...................       941      84,201       832      76,577       240      23,043
March ......................       920      92,554       847      87,782       258      34,686
April ......................     1,458     157,314     1,316     142,657       343      36,172
May ........................       988      87,501       878      78,786       219      22,141
June .......................     1,379     134,588     1,077     110,804       222      27,307
July .......................     2,094     253,929     1,860     234,877       885     145,895
August .....................       809      69,033       745      63,876       194      17,698
September ..................       708      68,972       637      63,102       189      25,808
October ....................     1,242     127,918     1,101     117,375       372      48,265
November ...................     1,399     130,423     1,201     115,549       412      44,243
December ...................     1,614     161,271     1,487     152,092       436      50,726

             2005                                                                             

January ....................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409       823     108,985
February ...................       810      74,644       722      68,372       230      24,931
March ......................       806      88,937       733      83,793       246      33,030
April ......................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133       395      59,129
May ........................       986     101,358       891      93,332       249      30,424
June .......................     1,157     120,463       941     103,307       216      32,783
July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December ...................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
February ...................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March ......................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688
April ......................     1,140     121,589     1,038     112,964       296      39,538
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





Table 3. Industry distribution:  Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for        
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance        
                     Industry                                                                                                     

                                                   August     June      July     August     August       June     July     August 
                                                    2006      2007      2007      2007       2006        2007     2007      2007  
                                                                                                                                  
               Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                  
      Total .....................................    1,218     1,219    1,221     1,189     131,105   127,897   124,835    118,120

                                                                                                                                  
  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,083     1,094    1,115     1,092     120,923   117,787   116,744    110,946
    Manufacturing ...............................      367       340      383       325      58,983    39,273    50,036     35,676
                                                                                                                                  
              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                  
      Total(1) ..................................      708     1,599    1,599       963      72,844   172,810   175,419     93,458

Total, private ..................................      675     1,372    1,503       927      70,352   152,740   168,280     89,793
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       19        54       53        19       1,298     4,071     3,341      1,448

  Total, private nonfarm ........................      656     1,318    1,450       908      69,054   148,669   164,939     88,345
    Mining ......................................      -         -       (2)       (2)          -         -        (2)        (2) 
    Utilities ...................................     (2)       (2)      (2)       (2)         (2)       (2)       (2)        (2) 
    Construction ................................       50       106       88       106       3,473     8,157     5,844      7,282
    Manufacturing ...............................      203       313      684       220      28,494    36,571   101,390     23,361
        Food ....................................       26        50       46        27       1,559     5,901     4,927      2,912
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........     (2)       (2)         5         3        (2)       (2)        316        243
        Textile mills ...........................       11         7       19         7       1,302       871     2,272        805
        Textile product mills ...................        4      (2)         8         5         328      (2)        857        376
        Apparel .................................        4         9       19        10         264       770     1,678      1,362
        Leather and allied products .............     (2)          4        7      (2)         (2)        435     1,212       (2) 
        Wood products ...........................       19        22       27        19       2,240     2,063     2,901      1,562
        Paper ...................................        6         8        4      (2)          425       592       259       (2) 
        Printing and related support activities .        5        11        5         6         325     1,033       499        389
        Petroleum and coal products .............      -         -        -         -           -         -         -          -  

        Chemicals ...............................        4         5        8         4         373       367       826        228
        Plastics and rubber products ............        9        10       65        11         645       971     7,487        898
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............     (2)         12       10         5        (2)        899     1,373        309
        Primary metals ..........................        9        15       36        11         816     1,613     6,318      1,399
        Fabricated metal products ...............       10        15       63        10         673     1,377     6,364        689
        Machinery ...............................       14        24       49        16       2,210     4,268     6,994      1,846
        Computer and electronic products ........       16        20       20        16       1,590     1,668     2,549      1,252
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....        8        13       20        10       1,517     1,540     3,271      1,238
        Transportation equipment ................       44        59      249        39      12,428     9,438    48,795      5,596
        Furniture and related products ..........        6        19       14        12         935     1,840     1,394        855
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............     (2)          4       10         6        (2)        314     1,098        745

    Wholesale trade .............................       17        21       18        16       1,076     1,398     1,347      1,247
    Retail trade ................................       69        77       83       101       5,975     8,548     6,663     10,680
    Transportation and warehousing ..............       61       173       90        63       5,513    24,861     9,132      5,968
    Information .................................       29        39       37        19       4,477     6,323     4,253      3,432
    Finance and insurance .......................       15        31       39        93       1,007     2,323     2,499      9,631
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........     (2)          8        7         6        (2)        570       605        625
    Professional and technical services .........       24        29       45        25       2,202     4,960     4,072      3,037
    Management of companies and enterprises .....      -        (2)         5         5         -        (2)        329        390
    Administrative and waste services ...........      113       146      216       153      10,961    14,846    18,257     15,114
    Educational services ........................     (2)         17        7         7        (2)      1,144       486        579
    Health care and social assistance ...........       17       166       49        15       1,133    15,124     3,911        914
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       12        30       17        16         649     1,620     1,007      1,218
    Accommodation and food services .............       33       109       50        46       2,281    17,231     3,967      3,346
    Other services, except public administration         7        47        7        12         854     4,441       578      1,064
    Unclassified ................................        1       -          3         1          54       -         218         78

Government ......................................       33       227       96        36       2,492    20,070     7,139      3,665
    Federal .....................................        8        12        8        15         839     1,337       925      1,642
    State .......................................        6        20       10         3         339     1,438       901        248
    Local .......................................       19       195       78        18       1,314    17,295     5,313      1,775

   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 August 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                                                       
December ...................    2,249      254,503     2,126     244,783                                                       

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                                                       

   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                                                                                          

                                   August      June     July      August     August      June       July        August
                                    2006       2007     2007       2007       2006       2007       2007         2007 
                                                                                                                      
        United States (1) ...        708     1,599     1,599        963      72,844    172,810     175,419      93,458

Northeast ...................        150       297       241        173      14,506     36,633      21,035      16,396

    New England .............         10        44        39         15         783      5,098       3,608       1,128
    Middle Atlantic .........        140       253       202        158      13,723     31,535      17,427      15,268

South .......................        163       386       360        227      21,113     39,627      35,763      21,452

    South Atlantic ..........         96       216       180        128      10,808     18,926      15,861      10,632
    East South Central ......         31        82       122         54       7,226     10,813      14,074       6,426
    West South Central ......         36        88        58         45       3,079      9,888       5,828       4,394

Midwest .....................        117       386       573        181      13,084     44,703      85,557      18,319

    East North Central ......         94       296       485        149      10,974     35,106      72,514      15,584
    West North Central ......         23        90        88         32       2,110      9,597      13,043       2,735

West ........................        278       530       425        382      24,141     51,847      33,064      37,291

    Mountain ................         16        67        44         29       1,018      5,642       4,698       3,162
    Pacific .................        262       463       381        353      23,123     46,205      28,366      34,129

   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                                                                                                      
                             August        June       July      August      August         June       July      August
                              2006         2007       2007       2007        2006          2007       2007        2007

   Total (1) ............      708        1,599      1,599        963       72,844      172,810     175,419     93,458

Alabama .................        6           19         59         16          762        2,148       6,510      2,433
Alaska ..................      (2)           -          -         (2)         (2)           -           -         (2) 
Arizona .................        3           16         10          8          196        1,605         808      1,192
Arkansas ................        3            8         10        (2)          577          776       1,133       (2) 
California ..............      227          416        351        320       20,339       40,833      25,054     31,066
Colorado ................       -            11       (2)          3           -            978        (2)         220
Connecticut .............        3           11          5        (2)          232        1,452         357       (2) 
Delaware ................       -             3       (2)          -           -            181        (2)         -  
District of Columbia ....      (2)         (2)        (2)          -          (2)          (2)         (2)         -  
Florida .................       40          116         79         70        2,497        9,348       5,214      5,175
Georgia .................       11           37         50         25        1,255        3,641       5,133      2,493
Hawaii ..................      (2)            5       (2)           3         (2)           413        (2)         169
Idaho ...................        4            9          6          5          237          696       1,395        393

Illinois ................       23           66         53         35        2,128        8,155       8,175      3,702
Indiana .................       14           30         55         18        2,227        4,348       7,836      1,911
Iowa ....................        4           17         20          5          306        2,499       3,631        526
Kansas ..................        5            9         14          3          279          971       2,294        538
Kentucky ................       15           31         43         23        5,785        5,288       5,958      3,048
Louisiana ...............        4           22          9          5          282        2,112         604        902
Maine ...................       -             6          4         -            -           447         266         - 
Maryland ................        5           22          4         10          547        1,999         455        828
Massachusetts ...........        4            6         20          8          277          373       2,173        569
Michigan ................       14           73        211         28        1,274        9,041      36,356      2,693
Minnesota ...............      (2)           22         10          8         (2)         1,923       1,558        553
Mississippi .............      (2)            9          8          6         (2)          725          822        371
Missouri ................       11           36         38         13          930        3,217       3,619        941

Montana .................       -             6          4        (2)          -            361         379       (2) 
Nebraska ................      (2)         (2)           3        (2)         (2)          (2)          682       (2) 
Nevada ..................        6           11         15          7          392          942       1,438        819
New Hampshire ...........        -            4          5        (2)          -            581         391       (2) 
New Jersey ..............       24           70         42         32        1,866       12,720       3,176      2,398
New Mexico ..............      (2)           11          6        (2)         (2)           756         392       (2) 
New York ................       63           47         88         74        7,042        5,818       8,175      8,776
North Carolina ..........       14           11          3          6        1,712        1,011         219        636
North Dakota ............        -            3          3        (2)          -            344       1,259       (2) 
Ohio ....................       23           68         86         29        3,772        7,301      10,435      3,064
Oklahoma ................      (2)            4          4          3         (2)         1,375         307        300
Oregon ..................       15           26         20         13        1,130        3,507       2,463      1,502
Pennsylvania ............       53          136         72         52        4,815       12,997       6,076      4,094

Rhode Island ............      (2)           10          3          3         (2)         1,541         222        337
South Carolina ..........       12            7         24         10        1,267          652       3,094        940
South Dakota ............       -          (2)          -         (2)          -           (2)           -        (2) 
Tennessee ...............        8           23         12          9          501        2,652         784        574
Texas ...................       28           54         35         36        2,127        5,625       3,784      3,085
Utah ....................      (2)            3       (2)           3         (2)           304        (2)         327
Vermont .................      (2)            7       (2)         (2)         (2)           704        (2)         (2)
Virginia ................       12           17         15          7        3,366        1,834       1,400        560
Washington ..............       18           16          8         16        1,517        1,452         722      1,341
West Virginia ...........      (2)         (2)        (2)          -          (2)          (2)         (2)          - 
Wisconsin ...............       20           59         80         39        1,573        6,261       9,712      4,214
Wyoming .................       -           -          -           -           -            -           -           - 

Puerto Rico .............       14           17         13         15        1,555        2,417       1,221      1,751

   1  See footnote 1, table 3.
   2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE:  Dash represents zero.