Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 07-0878
               http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Friday, June 22, 2007


                         MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2007
   
   In May, employers took 1,190 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; the number of workers involved totaled 119,089, on a sea-
sonally adjusted basis.  The number of mass layoff events decreased by
28 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims fell
by 5,644.  During May, 363 mass layoff events were reported in the manu-
facturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 48,849 initial claims.  
Compared with the prior month, mass layoff activity in manufacturing de-
creased by 20 events, while initial claims increased by 5,076.  (See table 1.)
   
   From January through May 2007, the total number of events (seasonally
adjusted), at 6,201, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 644,854,
were higher than in January-May 2006 (5,555 and 577,696, respectively).
   
   The national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in May, unchanged from
the prior month and down slightly from 4.6 percent a year earlier.  Total
nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 over the month and by 1.9
million over the year.
   
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 32 percent of the total
initial claims in May.  The industry with the highest number of initial
claims was food service contractors with 5,236, followed by temporary help
services with 5,080, and motion picture and video production with 3,470.
Together, these three industries accounted for 16 percent of all initial
claims due to mass layoffs during the month.  (See table A.)
     
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 24 percent of all mass layoff
events and 31 percent of all related initial claims filed in May; a year
earlier, manufacturing made up 22 percent of events and 28 percent of
initial claims.  In May 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was
highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (10,321, largely light
truck and utility vehicle manufacturing and heavy duty truck manufacturing), 
followed by food manufacturing (2,617) and wood product manufacturing (1,823).  
(See table 3.)
   
   Administrative and waste services accounted for 13 percent of mass
layoff events and 11 percent of initial claims in May, primarily from
temporary help services.  Accommodation and food services comprised 9
percent of events and 10 percent of initial claims filed over the month,
with the majority of layoffs in food service contracting.  Nine percent 
of all mass layoff events and related initial claims filed were from re-
tail trade, mainly from general merchandise stores.  Construction made 
up 10 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, mostly from the
specialty trade contractors industry.

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in May 2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |        |         May peak       
                 Industry                 |Initial |------------------------
                                          | claims |      |                 
                                          |        | Year |  Initial claims 
------------------------------------------|---------------------------------
Food service contractors .................|  5,236 | 1998 |       7,267     
Temporary help services ..................|  5,080 | 2002 |      16,992     
Motion picture and video production ......|  3,470 | 1999 |       8,985     
Child day care services ..................|  2,957 | 2002 |       3,894     
Light truck and utility vehicle           |        |      |                 
 manufacturing ...........................|   (1)  | 2007 |        (1)      
Heavy duty truck manufacturing ...........|   (1)  | 2007 |        (1)      
Discount department stores ...............|  1,850 | 2002 |       3,981     
Motor vehicle seating and interior trim   |        |      |                 
 manufacturing ...........................|  1,431 | 2007 |       1,431     
Professional employer organizations ......|  1,288 | 2003 |       3,446     
Full-service restaurants .................|  1,174 | 2002 |       1,319     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   1 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.


   
   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in
May, at 930, was up by 58 from a year earlier, and the number of associated
initial claims increased by 1,669 to 86,478.  (See table 2.)  The largest
over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transportation
equipment manufacturing (+2,664), specialty trade contractors (+1,206), and
wood product manufacturing (+970).  The largest over-the-year decreases in
mass layoff initial claims were reported in administrative and support ser-
vices (-2,510) and executive, legislative and general government (-1,060).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
May due to mass layoffs was in the West, with 27,648.  Administrative and
support services, motion picture and sound recording industries, and pro-
fessional and technical services together accounted for 31 percent of all 
mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month.  The Midwest 
had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions with 
23,747, followed by the South with 22,490 and the Northeast with 12,593.  
(See table 5.)
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year
in two of the four regions.  The largest increase was in the South (+3,972), 
followed by the West (+639).  The Midwest (-2,791) reported the largest over-
the-year decrease in initial claims.  Five 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 East South Central (+2,489), the 
South Atlantic (+1,276), and the Middle Atlantic (+1,045).  The division with 
the largest over-the-year decrease was the East North Central (-1,785).
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims 
filed due to mass layoff events in May (22,244), followed by Missouri (5,459), 
Pennsylvania (5,412), Kentucky (4,593), and Michigan (4,520).  These five 
states accounted for 48 percent of all mass layoff events and 49 percent of all 
initial claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 6.)

   Missouri had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial 
claims (+3,502), due to more mass layoff activity in transportation equipment 
manufacturing.  States having the next largest increases in initial claims were 
Kentucky (+2,528), Pennsylvania (+1,912), Wisconsin (+1,441), and New Jersey 
(+1,345).  The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in Illinois 
(-3,567) and Iowa (-2,758).
   
Note
   
   The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or
more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the
layoffs.  For private nonfarm establishments, information on the length of
the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports
on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass
layoffs").  The quarterly release provides more information on the industry
classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of
the laid-off workers.  Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs
of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter
will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30
days.  (See table 4.)  See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
   
                      ______________________________
                                     

   The report on Mass Layoffs in June 2007 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, July 20.





                                  - 3 -

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, June 2003 to 
May 2007, seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  

            Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial 
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events  claimants

            2003                                                                              

June .......................     1,733     164,442     1,523     147,609       638      68,976
July .......................     1,649     164,146     1,443     148,650       567      72,023
August .....................     1,498     169,799     1,362     156,687       546      74,509
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 (r) ..................     1,218     124,733     1,092     114,570       383      43,773
May ........................     1,190     119,089     1,084     111,281       363      48,849

   r = revised.





Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 2003 to 
May 2007, not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing   

            Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial 
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants

            2003                                                                              

June .......................     1,691     157,552     1,336     127,743       389      40,845
July .......................     2,087     226,435     1,815     206,901       946     136,410
August .....................     1,258     133,839     1,163     124,131       405      52,620
September ..................       868      82,647       756      73,914       271      31,428
October ....................     1,523     158,240     1,265     137,706       438      53,741
November ...................     1,438     138,543     1,234     123,524       408      48,419
December ...................     1,929     192,633     1,793     182,750       648      77,915

            2004                                                                              

January ....................     2,428     239,454     2,226     220,687       848      89,551
February ...................       941      84,201       832      76,577       240      23,043
March ......................       920      92,554       847      87,782       258      34,686
April ......................     1,458     157,314     1,316     142,657       343      36,172
May ........................       988      87,501       878      78,786       219      22,141
June .......................     1,379     134,588     1,077     110,804       222      27,307
July .......................     2,094     253,929     1,860     234,877       885     145,895
August .....................       809      69,033       745      63,876       194      17,698
September ..................       708      68,972       637      63,102       189      25,808
October ....................     1,242     127,918     1,101     117,375       372      48,265
November ...................     1,399     130,423     1,201     115,549       412      44,243
December ...................     1,614     161,271     1,487     152,092       436      50,726

            2005                                                                              

January ....................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409       823     108,985
February ...................       810      74,644       722      68,372       230      24,931
March ......................       806      88,937       733      83,793       246      33,030
April ......................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133       395      59,129
May ........................       986     101,358       891      93,332       249      30,424
June .......................     1,157     120,463       941     103,307       216      32,783
July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December ...................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382

            2006                                                                              

January ....................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
February ...................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March ......................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688
April ......................     1,140     121,589     1,038     112,964       296      39,538
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 (r) ..................     1,190     125,367     1,091     116,167       305      35,061
May ........................       930      86,478       860      81,551       224      26,521

   r = revised.





Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for        
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance        
                    Industry                                                                                                      

                                                      May       March    April     May         May       March    April     May   
                                                      2006       2007    2007r     2007        2006       2007    2007r     2007  

               Seasonally adjusted                                                                                               

      Total .....................................     1,098      1,276    1,218    1,190     113,195    130,687  124,733  119,089

  Total, private nonfarm ........................       982      1,165    1,092    1,084     103,839    122,150  114,570  111,281
    Manufacturing ...............................       297        420      383      363      42,993     54,441   43,773   48,849

             Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                             

      Total (1) .................................       872      1,082    1,190      930      84,809    123,974  125,367   86,478

Total, private ..................................       813      1,046    1,150      886      79,738    120,544  122,678   83,274
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..        19         31       59       26       1,075      2,113    6,511    1,723

  Total, private nonfarm ........................       794      1,015    1,091      860      78,663    118,431  116,167   81,551
    Mining ......................................         3       (2)      (2)      (2)          213       (2)      (2)      (2) 
    Utilities ...................................      (2)        (2)       -          5        (2)        (2)       -        439
    Construction ................................        90        107       83       94       6,116      7,815    6,227    6,418
    Manufacturing ...............................       192        367      305      224      23,570     49,886   35,061   26,521
        Food ....................................        39         67       60       35       3,335      6,087    5,934    2,617
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........      (2)          7        3      (2)          (2)        778      251     (2) 
        Textile mills ...........................         8         16       15        9         780      1,882    1,234      920
        Textile product mills ...................      (2)          4        8      (2)          (2)        350    1,030     (2) 
        Apparel .................................         6         15       12        5         525      1,355      951      562
        Leather and allied products .............      (2)         -       (2)       -          (2)         -       (2)       -  
        Wood products ...........................        12         30       21       20         853      2,674    1,907    1,823
        Paper ...................................         7         10        3        8         527        779      214      680
        Printing and related support activities .        10          8        5        6         860        637      578      496
        Petroleum and coal products .............      (2)         -       (2)      (2)         (2)         -       (2)      (2) 

        Chemicals ...............................         8          5        7        6         464        310      682      377
        Plastics and rubber products ............         5         18       10       11         341      1,682      900      809
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............         5         16       11        7         526      1,483    1,021      583
        Primary metals ..........................         4         17       12       13         448      1,976    1,415      963
        Fabricated metal products ...............         8         14       22       10         508      1,567    1,643      699
        Machinery ...............................         9         11       16       15       2,432      2,013    2,392    1,389
        Computer and electronic products ........        11         26       13       11       1,058      2,562      993      758
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....         6         15        5        7       1,449      2,502      996    1,622
        Transportation equipment ................        35         68       62       41       7,657     19,397   11,466   10,321
        Furniture and related products ..........         8         16        7       11         709      1,571      518    1,063
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............         5          4       10        5         615        281      758      613

    Wholesale trade .............................        11         17       16       10         847      1,828    1,672    1,021
    Retail trade ................................        77         93       94       87       7,570     11,407    7,556    7,854
    Transportation and warehousing ..............        30         55      162       31       2,270      5,896   19,291    2,782
    Information .................................        33         30       34       23       4,360      4,843    8,084    4,424
    Finance and insurance .......................        24         39       46       33       1,864      2,883    3,960    2,404
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........         6          7        5        4         424        400      251      344
    Professional and technical services .........        35         29       47       41       3,019      4,391    6,675    3,165
    Management of companies and enterprises .....      (2)           5     (2)      (2)         (2)         324     (2)      (2) 
    Administrative and waste services ...........       122        140      138      118      12,323     15,153   10,778    9,708
    Educational services ........................         5          4        7        4         384        192    1,341      204
    Health care and social assistance ...........        49         16       28       56       4,598      1,160    3,369    4,906
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........        21         10       26       21       1,257        680    1,908    1,185
    Accommodation and food services .............        69         86       78       86       7,535     10,895    7,716    8,356
    Other services, except public administration         23          6       17       20       2,078        364    1,823    1,675
    Unclassified  ...............................         1        -        -        -            39        -        -        -  

Government ......................................        59         36       40       44       5,071      3,430    2,689    3,204
    Federal .....................................         9          6        9        8         767        501      698      634
    State .......................................         6         11        9        7         308        820      524      594
    Local .......................................        44         19       22       29       3,996      2,109    1,467    1,976

   1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.   
   r = revised.
   NOTE:  Dash represents zero.





Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2005 to May 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                                                                                                                

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       212,673          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         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       264,807          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       161,716          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       330,124          39.8         72.1

           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    (2)(p) 965(2)(p) 122,595       (p)30.7      (p)37.7

April (r) ...............         1,190    125,367     1,091     116,167                                                       
May .....................           930     86,478       860      81,551                                                       

   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.
   r = revised.
   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                                                                                      

                                   May        March    April     May          May        March    April     May  
                                   2006        2007    2007r     2007         2006        2007    2007r     2007 

        United States (1) ..       872       1,082    1,190      930        84,809     123,974  125,367   86,478

Northeast ..................       134         137      315      150        12,744      14,613   35,637   12,593

    New England ............        30          17       39       25         3,083       1,650    4,637    1,887
    Middle Atlantic ........       104         120      276      125         9,661      12,963   31,000   10,706

South ......................       204         238      248      222        18,518      34,812   26,211   22,490

    South Atlantic .........       100         115      147      113         8,321      13,072   13,763    9,597
    East South Central .....        51          77       54       55         5,259      15,237    6,813    7,748
    West South Central .....        53          46       47       54         4,938       6,503    5,635    5,145

Midwest ....................       220         283      222      217        26,538      33,410   23,045   23,747

    East North Central .....       157         225      190      153        17,516      27,218   20,560   15,731
    West North Central .....        63          58       32       64         9,022       6,192    2,485    8,016

West .......................       314         424      405      341        27,009      41,139   40,474   27,648

    Mountain ...............        28          41       73       29         2,637       3,200    8,024    2,309
    Pacific ................       286         383      332      312        24,372      37,939   32,450   25,339

   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.
   r = revised.





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                                                                                                   
                             May        March      April      May           May         March      April       May 
                             2006       2007       2007r      2007          2006        2007       2007r       2007

   Total (1) ............     872       1,082      1,190       930        84,809     123,974     125,367     86,478

Alabama .................      13          26         17        14         1,347       3,373       1,684      1,379
Alaska ..................     (2)         -            5       (2)          (2)          -           621       (2) 
Arizona .................       5           6         32         6           625         362       4,656        524
Arkansas ................     (2)        (2)           4         5          (2)         (2)          409        432
California ..............     259         333        285       277        22,138      33,172      26,976     22,244
Colorado ................       5           4         10         3           443         458         784        276
Connecticut .............       6        (2)        (2)          6           461        (2)         (2)         521
Delaware ................      -          -         (2)         -            -           -          (2)         -  
District of Columbia ....     (2)         -          -         (2)          (2)          -           -         (2) 
Florida .................      48          51         59        60         3,165       4,562       3,524      4,066
Georgia .................      17          14         26        21         1,734       1,635       2,369      2,641
Hawaii ..................       4           4          3         3           359         323         185        251
Idaho ...................       4           8          3       (2)           255         537         499       (2) 

Illinois ................      43          54         34        30         6,641       8,754       4,497      3,074
Indiana .................      22          19         20        18         1,815       1,927       1,887      1,416
Iowa ....................      12          11          7         5         3,239       1,285         632        481
Kansas ..................       9           4          3        10           685         930         235        613
Kentucky ................      17          32         17        19         2,065       6,623       2,936      4,593
Louisiana ...............      12           5          7         8           973         446       1,755        878
Maine ...................       4           3          3       (2)           314         233         201       (2) 
Maryland ................       5           6          9         5           414         462       1,048        426
Massachusetts ...........      13           4         11         9         1,692         268       1,020        649
Michigan ................      40          51         34        46         4,028       6,508       3,789      4,520
Minnesota ...............      11          15         11         9         2,678       1,231         817      1,090
Mississippi .............       7          10          4         9           495       4,428         217        461
Missouri ................      25          22          7        35         1,957       2,347         445      5,459

Montana .................       3           4       (2)          6           182         319        (2)         419
Nebraska ................       4           3       (2)        (2)           324         218        (2)        (2) 
Nevada ..................     (2)          11         14         6          (2)          842       1,050        429
New Hampshire ...........     (2)           3          6       (2)          (2)          462         631       (2) 
New Jersey ..............      16          35         50        31         1,591       3,529       4,749      2,936
New Mexico ..............       4           6          8         3           570         548         592        312
New York ................      40          40        116        29         4,570       4,636      15,254      2,358
North Carolina ..........      12          22         13         8         1,355       3,986       1,210        547
North Dakota ............     (2)        (2)        (2)        (2)          (2)         (2)         (2)        (2) 
Ohio ....................      30          43         55        34         3,102       4,444       6,024      3,350
Oklahoma ................     (2)           4          4         5          (2)        1,178         354        428
Oregon ..................      16          30         21        15         1,242       3,272       2,790      1,528
Pennsylvania ............      48          45        110        65         3,500       4,798      10,997      5,412

Rhode Island ............     (2)        (2)           8       (2)          (2)         (2)        1,589       (2) 
South Carolina ..........      10          10         26         6           988       1,210       3,291        473
South Dakota ............     (2)        (2)        (2)        (2)          (2)         (2)         (2)        (2) 
Tennessee ...............      14           9         16        13         1,352         813       1,976      1,315
Texas ...................      37          35         32        36         3,688       4,762       3,117      3,407
Utah ....................       5        (2)           4       (2)           447        (2)          315       (2) 
Vermont .................       4           4         10         5           404         465       1,052        317
Virginia ................       7          10          9        12           593       1,091         628      1,370
Washington ..............       6          16         18        15           570       1,172       1,878      1,206
West Virginia ...........      -         (2)          4         -            -          (2)          305        -  
Wisconsin ...............      22          58         47        25         1,930       5,585       4,363      3,371
Wyoming .................      -         (2)         -         (2)           -          (2)          -         (2) 

Puerto Rico .............      60          15         16        12        14,229       1,355       1,556        978

   1  See footnote 1, table 3.
   2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.  
   r = revised.
   NOTE:  Dash represents zero.