1

Technical information: (202) 691-6392

 http://www.bls.gov/mls/

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 07-1807

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Events

2003 2004 2005 2006 

Total

Private nonfarm

2007

 Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

November 2002-October 2007

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Claims

2003 2004 2005 2006 

Total

Private nonfarm

2007

 Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

November 2002-October 2007

MASS LAYOFFS IN OCTOBER 2007

In October, employers took 1,320 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings

for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department

of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer; the number of

workers involved totaled 131,780, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events in

October increased by 49 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims rose by 8,124.

Over the month, 424 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted,

resulting in 56,293 initial claims. Compared with September, mass layoff activity in manufacturing decreased

by 4 events, while initial claims increased by 5,657. (See table 1.)

From January through October 2007, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 12,434, and

initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,271,928, were higher than in January-October 2006 when the totals

were 11,407 and 1,191,911, respectively.

The national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in October, unchanged from the prior month and up

from October 2006 (4.4 percent). Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 166,000 in October

2007 and by 1.7 million from a year earlier.

News

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212

United States

Department 

of Labor
2

Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing ........... 7,162 2001 8,763

Temporary help services........................................ 6,118 1998 18,760

Automobile manufacturing...................................... 3,692 2001 7,563

Farm labor contractors and crew leaders .............. 2,996 1998 9,617

Motion picture and video production..................... 2,685 1997 7,692

Air-conditioning, refrigeration, and forced

 air heating .......................................................... 2,588 2007 2,588

Motor vehicle seating and interior trim

 manufacturing..................................................... 2,550 2007 2,550

Motor vehicle body manufacturing ......................... 1,909 2007 1,909

Fruit and vegetable canning ................................... 1,889 2002 4,500

Professional employer organizations ....................... 1,852 2001 3,523

Industry

Initial claims

October peak

Year

Initial claims

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in October 2007

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted,

accounted for 31 percent of all such initial claims in October. The industry with the highest number of initial

claims was light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing with 7,162, followed by temporary help services with

6,118 and automobile manufacturing with 3,692. 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 31 percent of all mass layoff events and 47 percent of all related

initial claims filed in October; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 32 percent of events and 47 percent of

initial claims. In October 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (23,399, largely in light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing, automobile manufacturing,

and motor vehicle seating and interior trim manufacturing), followed by machinery manufacturing (5,459) and

food manufacturing (5,264). (See table 3.)

Administrative and waste services accounted for 13 percent of mass layoff events and 10 percent of

initial claims in October, primarily from temporary help services and professional employer organizations.

Construction made up 11 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, mostly from heavy and civil

engineering construction and specialty trade contractors. Ten percent of all mass layoff events and 6 percent of related initial claims filed were from the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry, primarily

from farm labor contractors and crew leaders. Retail trade comprised 6 percent of all mass layoff events

and 5 percent of related initial claims, mainly from general merchandise stores.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in October, at 1,083, was up by

119 from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 9,651 to 108,455. (See

table 2.) The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment

manufacturing (+4,175) and credit intermediation and related activities (+1,910). The largest over-the-year

decrease in mass layoff initial claims was reported in administrative and support services (-1,823).
3

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Among the 4 census regions, the highest number of initial claims in October due to mass layoffs was in

the Midwest, with 38,853. Transportation equipment manufacturing and administrative and support services

together accounted for 56 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The West

had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions with 34,270, followed by the South with

23,180 and the Northeast with 12,152. (See table 5.)

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in 2 of the 4 regions—the Midwest (+10,020) and the West (+1,490). The Northeast reported the largest over-the-year decrease

(-1,352). Four 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 North Central (+10,194) and South

Atlantic (+2,724) divisions. The division with the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims was the

East South Central (-4,726).

California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in October

(28,004), reflecting layoffs in agriculture and forestry support activities, administrative and support services,

and motion picture and sound recording industries. Other states with large numbers of mass layoff related

claims were Ohio (10,896), Illinois (7,710), Pennsylvania (7,009), Michigan (5,187), Indiana (5,129), and

Florida (5,082). These seven states accounted for 66 percent of all mass layoff events and 64 percent of all

initial claims for unemployment insurance in October. (See table 6.)

In October, Ohio had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+8,006), primarily concentrated in transportation equipment manufacturing. States having the next largest increases in

initial claims were Missouri (+2,264), Illinois (+2,202), California (+2,073), and Florida (+1,793). The

largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in Kentucky (-6,196), New York (-1,373), and Michigan

(-1,245).

Note

The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given

month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. For private nonfarm employers, information on the length

of the layoff is obtained later and 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

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 November 2007 is scheduled to be released on Friday, December 21.
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 contacted 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 quarterly 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-theyear 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

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 publishing 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 expansions and contractions.

The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis.

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly

estimates, including those for the current month, in developing

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, November 2003 to October 2007,

seasonally adjusted

2003

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,366 138,079 1,223 126,597 377 49,716 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,412 139,423 1,243 127,356 445 50,923 

2004

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,428 146,692 1,232 128,191 394 45,544 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,320 134,626 1,170 122,329 367 40,849 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,372 139,716 1,237 130,737 401 59,987 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,374 140,190 1,202 124,962 349 38,197 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,209 113,091 1,047 99,615 330 38,965 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,403 141,048 1,231 128,137 366 47,015 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,330 137,484 1,180 126,106 372 51,424 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,394 127,671 1,224 113,376 345 36,963 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,277 125,351 1,154 115,343 338 46,955 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,288 132,250 1,172 122,831 362 47,571 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,314 130,558 1,171 118,904 378 46,276 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,170 114,641 1,013 103,434 301 33,022 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,489 160,986 1,353 150,640 383 56,133 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,172 123,377 1,045 112,752 358 45,794 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,219 132,035 1,079 122,013 377 55,061 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,263 137,381 1,132 126,747 398 60,826 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,226 133,221 1,085 120,899 382 54,886 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,194 126,834 1,074 117,712 359 57,018 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,248 131,500 1,101 118,800 353 47,136 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,109 123,125 986 111,879 338 46,915 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,217 292,177 1,998 246,227 419 56,289 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,098 108,665 977 99,402 321 44,666 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,167 115,803 1,036 104,576 330 43,307 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,253 135,721 1,125 124,632 372 48,592 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,112 109,429 984 99,277 282 29,911 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,065 112,742 973 105,055 329 46,548 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,105 120,954 1,003 112,730 335 50,149 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,175 121,376 1,041 111,369 365 48,038 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,098 113,195 982 103,839 297 42,993 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,130 123,558 1,007 113,037 331 40,500 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,160 118,843 1,038 109,509 372 49,069 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,218 131,105 1,083 120,923 367 58,983 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,158 120,795 1,043 111,876 392 46,802 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,186 119,914 1,069 111,036 401 55,795 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,220 136,340 1,111 127,286 411 60,599 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,201 133,818 1,099 124,526 390 53,828 

2007

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,237 126,368 1,095 115,615 389 51,141 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,280 143,977 1,166 135,252 419 64,072 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,276 130,687 1,165 122,150 420 54,441 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,239 126,194 1,109 115,870 387 43,939 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,182 118,414 1,079 110,880 365 48,872 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,219 127,897 1,094 117,787 340 39,273 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,221 124,835 1,115 116,744 383 50,036 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,189 118,120 1,092 110,946 325 35,676 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,271 123,656 1,173 116,775 428 50,636 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,320 131,780 1,201 123,051 424 56,293 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, November 2003 to October 2007,

not seasonally adjusted

2003

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 408 48,419 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 648 77,915 

2004

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 848 89,551 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 941 84,201 832 76,577 240 23,043 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 920 92,554 847 87,782 258 34,686 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 343 36,172 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 988 87,501 878 78,786 219 22,141 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 222 27,307 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 885 145,895 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 809 69,033 745 63,876 194 17,698 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 68,972 637 63,102 189 25,808 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,242 127,918 1,101 117,375 372 48,265 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,399 130,423 1,201 115,549 412 44,243 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,614 161,271 1,487 152,092 436 50,726 

2005

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,564 263,952 2,421 253,409 823 108,985 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 810 74,644 722 68,372 230 24,931 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 806 88,937 733 83,793 246 33,030 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,373 158,582 1,263 148,133 395 59,129 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 986 101,358 891 93,332 249 30,424 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,157 120,463 941 103,307 216 32,783 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,981 244,216 1,745 222,377 856 136,210 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 645 67,582 598 63,484 188 22,531 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,662 213,281 1,505 179,042 318 47,497 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 905 91,941 757 80,694 249 37,276 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,254 116,127 1,079 102,182 363 41,442 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,323 254,258 2,168 242,753 706 96,382 

2006

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,245 117,946 1,123 108,701 331 35,097 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 719 66,555 658 62,208 210 24,892 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 921 111,838 856 106,177 285 44,688 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,140 121,589 1,038 112,964 296 39,538 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 872 84,809 794 78,663 192 23,570 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,489 164,761 1,224 140,687 319 41,095 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,511 166,857 1,335 154,342 648 96,152 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 708 72,844 656 69,054 203 28,494 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 865 87,699 785 81,274 296 39,076 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 964 98,804 820 88,133 311 46,737 

November ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,315 136,186 1,172 125,009 455 58,473 

December ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2,249 254,503 2,126 244,783 735 105,462 

2007

January ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,407 134,984 1,263 124,475 456 53,615 

February ..................................................................................................................................................................... 935 86,696 861 82,097 273 36,170 

March ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,082 123,974 1,015 118,431 367 49,886 

April ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,219 127,444 1,115 118,040 309 35,229 

May ..................................................................................................................................................................... 923 85,816 856 81,153 224 26,527 

June ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 172,810 1,318 148,669 313 36,571 

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 684 101,390 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 220 23,361 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381 

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918 

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Date

Events Events Events Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants

Initial

claimants
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

October August September October October August September October

2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007 2007 2007

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,186 1,189 1,271 1,320 119,914 118,120 123,656 131,780 

 Total, private nonfarm ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,069 1,092 1,173 1,201 111,036 110,946 116,775 123,051 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 401 325 428 424 55,795 35,676 50,636 56,293 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 964 963 717 1,083 98,804 93,458 67,385 108,455 

Total, private ..................................................................................................................................................................... 913 927 688 1,033 93,939 89,793 65,205 103,897 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..................................................................................................................................................................... 93 19 21 104 5,806 1,448 1,179 6,181 

 Total, private nonfarm ..................................................................................................................................................................... 820 908 667 929 88,133 88,345 64,026 97,716 

 Mining ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Utilities ..................................................................................................................................................................... – ( 2

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

 Construction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 100 106 70 114 6,445 7,282 4,283 7,126 

 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 311 220 246 338 46,737 23,361 29,381 50,918 

 Food ..................................................................................................................................................................... 56 27 31 50 5,246 2,912 2,873 5,264 

 Beverage and tobacco products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 3 ( 2

 ) 8 711 243 ( 2 ) 603 

 Textile mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 7 4 8 1,388 805 448 732 

 Textile product mills ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 5 4 4 272 376 410 232 

 Apparel ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 10 12 6 667 1,362 1,180 408 

 Leather and allied products ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Wood products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 19 27 31 3,548 1,562 2,461 3,582 

 Paper ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 ( 2

 ) 5 10 456 ( 2 ) 389 708 

 Printing and related support activities ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 6 ( 2

 ) 7 315 389 ( 2 ) 434 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Chemicals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 4 3 6 332 228 186 907 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 11 13 11 1,295 898 1,066 1,133 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 5 9 8 787 309 941 440 

 Primary metals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 11 15 16 1,349 1,399 1,678 1,579 

 Fabricated metal products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 10 16 18 1,395 689 1,473 1,367 

 Machinery ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 16 19 18 5,167 1,846 3,021 5,459 

 Computer and electronic products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 16 15 10 631 1,252 1,381 674 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 10 10 12 1,879 1,238 2,881 1,516 

 Transportation equipment ..................................................................................................................................................................... 55 39 51 88 19,224 5,596 7,759 23,399 

 Furniture and related products ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11 12 7 18 1,040 855 791 1,504 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 6 ( 2

 ) 5 629 745 ( 2 ) 538 

 Wholesale trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 16 17 13 829 1,247 1,053 1,571 

 Retail trade ..................................................................................................................................................................... 75 101 67 66 6,557 10,680 5,657 5,881 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 31 63 17 31 3,053 5,968 1,415 3,153 

 Information ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 19 32 33 2,516 3,432 5,420 3,645 

 Finance and insurance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 93 40 60 2,123 9,631 2,649 4,640 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 6 3 8 416 625 285 616 

 Professional and technical services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 25 23 26 1,325 3,037 2,683 1,968 

 Management of companies and enterprises ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 5 ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 390 ( 2 ) 382 

 Administrative and waste services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 140 153 85 140 12,596 15,114 6,325 10,778 

 Educational services ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 579 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 15 13 20 546 914 998 1,708 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 22 16 11 21 1,475 1,218 716 1,521 

 Accommodation and food services ..................................................................................................................................................................... 40 46 37 47 2,583 3,346 2,681 3,346 

 Other services, except public administration ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 12 ( 2

 ) 3 287 1,064 ( 2 ) 175 

 Unclassified ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 1 – 1 – 78 – 74 

Government ..................................................................................................................................................................... 51 36 29 50 4,865 3,665 2,180 4,558 

 Federal ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 15 5 16 1,721 1,642 408 1,412 

 State ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 3 7 16 1,489 248 777 1,431 

 Local ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 18 17 18 1,655 1,775 995 1,715 

1

 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

 

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2005 to October 2007,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2005

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 r

 161,764 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 r

 330,887 39.8 r 72.3

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 r

 198,991 35.4 r 61.2

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 r 1,421 r 258,256 r 43.2 r 74.2

July ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,599 175,419 1,450 164,939 

August ..................................................................................................................................................................... 963 93,458 908 88,345 

September ..................................................................................................................................................................... 717 67,385 667 64,026 

Third Quarter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3,279 336,262 3,025 317,310 2,p 931 2,p 115,742 p

 30.8 p 36.5

October ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards

mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated

rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants with such events increases by 25-40 percent.

associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. r = revised.

 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more p = preliminary.

data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

Mass layoffs

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

Date
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,

 not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

October August September October October August September October

2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007 2007 2007

 United States 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 964 963 717 1,083 98,804 93,458 67,385 108,455 

Northeast ..................................................................................................................................................................... 143 173 96 141 13,504 16,396 8,660 12,152 

 New England ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 15 10 9 966 1,128 756 614 

 Middle Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 129 158 86 132 12,538 15,268 7,904 11,538 

South ..................................................................................................................................................................... 183 227 160 230 23,687 21,452 15,913 23,180 

 South Atlantic ..................................................................................................................................................................... 111 128 78 131 9,228 10,632 6,303 11,952 

 East South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 46 54 38 51 11,517 6,426 5,018 6,791 

 West South Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 26 45 44 48 2,942 4,394 4,592 4,437 

Midwest ..................................................................................................................................................................... 223 181 156 261 28,833 18,319 17,273 38,853 

 East North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 177 149 119 215 22,646 15,584 13,995 32,840 

 West North Central ..................................................................................................................................................................... 46 32 37 46 6,187 2,735 3,278 6,013 

West ..................................................................................................................................................................... 415 382 305 451 32,780 37,291 25,539 34,270 

 Mountain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 29 23 38 3,180 3,162 2,166 2,905 

 Pacific ..................................................................................................................................................................... 380 353 282 413 29,600 34,129 23,373 31,365 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: 

NOTE: The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: 

the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Mass- Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North 

achusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North 

New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, 

District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and

Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Census region and division
Table 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

October August September October October August September October

2006 2007 2007 2007 2006 2007 2007 2007

 Total 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 964 963 717 1,083 98,804 93,458 67,385 108,455 

Alabama ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 16 18 10 467 2,433 1,836 1,037 

Alaska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – 266 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

Arizona ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 8 ( 2

 ) 7 295 1,192 ( 2 ) 610 

Arkansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... – ( 2

 ) 6 10 – ( 2 ) 565 1,486 

California ..................................................................................................................................................................... 336 320 256 380 25,931 31,066 21,144 28,004 

Colorado ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 3 3 4 517 220 261 322 

Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

District of Columbia ..................................................................................................................................................................... – – – – – – – –

Florida ..................................................................................................................................................................... 56 70 47 79 3,289 5,175 2,985 5,082 

Georgia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 25 18 21 2,207 2,493 1,633 2,835 

Hawaii ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 422 169 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Idaho ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 5 3 3 664 393 222 192 

Illinois ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 35 31 39 5,508 3,702 3,486 7,710 

Indiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 18 11 29 4,281 1,911 2,826 5,129 

Iowa ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 5 8 15 2,664 526 840 1,662 

Kansas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 3 4 3 176 538 295 347 

Kentucky ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 23 14 28 9,645 3,048 2,611 3,449 

Louisiana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 5 8 7 365 902 563 453 

Maine ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) –

Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 10 6 7 574 828 431 702 

Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 8 3 4 707 569 196 234 

Michigan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 43 28 24 51 6,432 2,693 2,844 5,187 

Minnesota ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 8 4 9 880 553 524 745 

Mississippi ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 6 4 ( 2

 ) 202 371 471 ( 2 )

Missouri ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 13 16 18 901 941 1,141 3,165 

Montana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 5 672 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 430 

Nebraska ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) 5 ( 2 ) 345 ( 2 ) 478 ( 2 )

Nevada ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 7 7 14 274 819 529 1,027 

New Hampshire ..................................................................................................................................................................... – ( 2

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 32 19 16 1,043 2,398 1,985 1,327 

New Mexico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 ( 2

 ) 3 ( 2 ) 465 ( 2 ) 644 ( 2 )

New York ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 74 24 28 4,575 8,776 1,914 3,202 

North Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 6 ( 2

 ) 3 592 636 ( 2 ) 212 

North Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – –

Ohio ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 29 29 53 2,890 3,064 2,579 10,896 

Oklahoma ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 3 5 ( 2

 ) 691 300 858 ( 2 )

Oregon ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 13 15 17 1,818 1,502 1,324 2,106 

Pennsylvania ..................................................................................................................................................................... 75 52 43 88 6,920 4,094 4,005 7,009 

Rhode Island ..................................................................................................................................................................... – 3 – 3 – 337 – 249 

South Carolina ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 10 3 13 1,837 940 242 2,504 

South Dakota ..................................................................................................................................................................... – ( 2

 ) – – – ( 2 ) – –

Tennessee ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14 9 ( 2

 ) 11 1,203 574 ( 2 ) 2,122 

Texas ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18 36 25 30 1,886 3,085 2,606 2,414 

Utah ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 327 220 ( 2 )

Vermont ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 331 ( 2 )

Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 7 ( 2

 ) 6 598 560 ( 2 ) 465 

Washington ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 16 8 14 1,163 1,341 616 1,058 

West Virginia ..................................................................................................................................................................... ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

Wisconsin ..................................................................................................................................................................... 41 39 24 43 3,535 4,214 2,260 3,918 

Wyoming ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 – – ( 2

 ) 179 – – ( 2 )

Puerto Rico ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 15 8 11 729 1,751 750 894 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

State