Technical information:  (202) 691-6392       USDL 02-697
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                             For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                691-5902       Tuesday, December 24, 2002

                                     
                       MASS LAYOFFS IN NOVEMBER 2002
   
   Employers initiated 2,150 mass layoff actions in November 2002, as mea-
sured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, 
according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.  
Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and 
the number of workers involved totaled 240,028.  (See table 1.)  In November 
2001, there were 2,721 mass layoff events involving 295,956 workers.  In 
January through November 2002, both the total number of events, 17,799, and 
initial claims, 1,980,856, were lower than in January-November 2001 (19,027 
and 2,245,969, respectively).
   
   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.  Information on the length of the layoff was obtained later and
issued in a quarterly release that reported on mass layoffs lasting more 
than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass lay-offs") and provided 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 are higher than the quarterly figure for mass 
layoffs of more than 30 days.  (See table 1.)  See the Technical Note for 
more detailed definitions.

Industry Distribution
   
   Manufacturing industries accounted for 33 percent of all mass layoff
events and 39 percent of all initial claims filed in November.  A year
earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 41 percent of events and 
51 percent of initial claims.  Within manufacturing, the number of initial
claimants was highest in transportation equipment (14,322, mainly in light
truck and utility vehicle manufacturing), followed by food processing 
(12,149, mostly in frozen fruits and vegetables) and machinery (11,280,
largely in construction machinery).  (See table 2.)
   
   Fifteen percent of all layoff events and 13 percent of all initial
claims filed during the month were in construction, mostly in highway,
street, and bridge construction.  Twelve percent of the events and initial
claims in November were from administrative and waste services, largely
temporary help services.  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
accounted for 11 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, pri-
marily among farm labor contractors and crew leaders.  Professional and
technical services contributed an additional 3 percent to all events and 
4 percent to all initial claims this November, mainly from payroll services.
   
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  |            Mass Layoff Statistics Program Is Discontinued            |
  |                                                                      |
  |     This is the final news release for the Mass Layoff Statistics    |
  | (MLS) program.  Since 1994, the Department of Labor's Employment     |
  | and Training Administration has funded the program.  That funding    |
  | will end on December 31, 2002.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) | 
  | has been unable to acquire funding from alternative sources and must | 
  | discontinue the MLS program.                                         |
  |                                                                      |
  |     Limited historical data will continue to be available at         |
  | http://www.bls.gov/mls/ on the BLS Web site.                         |
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   
                                  - 2 -
   
   Government establishments accounted for 3 percent of events and of initial 
claims filed during the month, particularly in educational services.
   
   Compared with November 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were 
reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-12,260).  The largest 
over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in professional and 
technical services (+5,042).

Geographic Distribution
   
   Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in November 
due to mass layoffs was in the West, 86,809.  (See table 3.) Administrative 
and support services and agricultural support activities accounted for 
26 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month.  The 
Midwest followed with 65,567 initial claims (mainly in heavy and civil 
engineering construction), then the South, with 53,960 (largely in admin-
istrative and support services).  The Northeast continued to report the 
lowest number of initial claims, 33,692, mostly in food services and drink-
ing places.
   
   From November 2001 to November 2002, the number of initial claimants in
mass layoffs declined in three of the four geographic regions.  The largest
decrease occurred in the Midwest (-35,580), largely in transportation equip-
ment manufacturing.  Six of the nine geographic divisions reported over-the-
year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, 
with the largest declines in the East North Central (-36,050) and South 
Atlantic (-10,623) divisions.  The Pacific division reported the largest 
increase (+6,789).
   
   California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff 
events this November, 62,764, mostly in administrative and support services 
and in agriculture and forestry support activities, followed by Wisconsin 
(15,544), Texas (14,624), and Illinois (13,657).  These four states accounted 
for 47 percent of all layoff events and 44 percent of initial claims for 
unemployment insurance.  (See table 4.)  Thus far this year, 533,885 mass 
layoff initial claims were filed in California, 27 percent of the national 
total.  The states with the next largest number of claims in that 11-month 
period were Texas (119,327) and Pennsylvania (109,113).
   
   Michigan reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims
(-21,899), followed by Pennsylvania (-11,479).  The largest over-the-year
increases occurred in Missouri (+5,515) and New York (+5,134).
     
   

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
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, and the number of weeks in a given
month may be different from year to year.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-
month and over-the-year change 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.
  
   

Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2000 to November 2002
                            
                                                            Extended mass layoffs 
                                Total mass layoffs        lasting more than 30 days        Realization rates(1)
             Date           

                                           Initial                        Initial                      Initial
                                Events    claimants       Events         claimants         Events     claimants
                            
             2000           

October ....................       874     103,755
November ...................     1,697     216,514
December ...................     2,677     326,743

Fourth Quarter .............     5,248     647,012         2,005          376,611           38.2         58.2

             2001           

January ....................     1,522     200,343
February ...................     1,501     172,908
March ......................     1,527     171,466

First Quarter ..............     4,550     544,717         1,765          340,210           38.8         62.5

April ......................     1,450     176,265
May ........................     1,434     159,365
June .......................     2,107     253,826

Second Quarter .............     4,991     589,456         2,072          401,270           41.5         68.1

July .......................     2,117     273,807
August .....................     1,490     166,148
September ..................     1,327     160,402

Third Quarter ..............     4,934     600,357         1,815          370,942           36.8         61.8

October ....................     1,831     215,483
November ...................     2,721     295,956
December ...................     2,440     268,893

Fourth Quarter .............     6,992     780,332         2,698          502,287           38.6         64.4

             2002           

January ....................     2,146     263,821
February ...................     1,383     138,984
March ......................     1,460     161,336

First Quarter ..............     4,989     564,141         1,748          314,966           35.0         55.8

April ......................     1,507     165,861
May ........................     1,726     180,007
June .......................     1,580     161,928

Second Quarter .............     4,813     507,796         1,905          347,321           39.6         68.4

July .......................     2,041     245,211
August .....................     1,247     128,080
September ..................     1,062     124,512

Third Quarter ..............     4,350     497,803   (2)(p)1,309    (2)(p)193,385        (p)30.1      (p)38.8

October (p) ................     1,497     171,088
November (p) ...............     2,150     240,028

    1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 
    2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become avaliable.
Recent experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less
than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. 
    p = preliminary. 
       
   
   

Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                                                 
                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                    

                                                   November September October  November   November   September   October    November
                                                     2001     2002     2002p    2002p       2001       2002       2002p      2002p 


     Total(1) ...................................    2,721    1,062    1,497    2,150      295,956    124,512    171,088    240,028

Total, private ..................................    2,669    1,008    1,448    2,090      291,052    118,527    165,360    234,002

  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....      296       51      178      232       20,784      3,801     16,045     17,867
  Mining ........................................       23        7        8       17        2,707        513        565      1,477
  Utilities .....................................        3    ( 2 )        7        3          191      ( 2 )        575        246
  Construction ..................................      319       80      116      321       29,219      5,735      9,738     30,604
  Manufacturing .................................    1,122      351      492      719      151,969     43,679     64,600     92,740
      Food ......................................      112       39       83      102       12,104      4,688     12,111     12,149
      Beverage and tobacco products .............       14        7        8        8        1,122        454        477        733
      Textile mills .............................       46       17       24       30        7,262      3,406      4,786      5,065
      Textile product mills .....................       10       13       12        6        1,593      2,543      1,511        655
      Apparel ...................................       42       19       18       22        5,865      2,225      2,445      2,257
      Leather and allied products ...............       11        3        5        5          905        240        384        645
      Wood products .............................       56       12       22       61        7,090      1,312      2,114      7,934
      Paper .....................................       28        9       11       16        4,248      1,007        968      2,116
      Printing and related support activities ...       20        7        8       14        2,047        650        710      1,212
      Petroleum and coal products ...............        8        -        5       10          832          -        651        902

      Chemicals .................................       15        8        8       12        1,660        977        598        928
      Plastics and rubber products ..............       65       15       18       30        9,315      1,322      1,658      2,974
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............       34        5       12       28        3,452        410        874      3,089
      Primary metals ............................       94       20       24       45       11,940      2,273      3,687      5,502
      Fabricated metal products .................       71       22       21       62        7,001      2,365      1,722      5,897
      Machinery .................................      115       28       47       60       17,625      3,657      8,309     11,280
      Computer and electronic products ..........       99       47       63       65       12,252      5,146      6,926      5,911
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......       50       23       25       22        9,039      2,679      4,879      2,636
      Transportation equipment ..................      155       32       49       84       26,582      4,984      6,856     14,322
      Furniture and related products ............       44       17       14       22        4,824      2,834      1,749      4,986
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............       33        8       15       15        5,211        507      1,185      1,547

  Wholesale trade ...............................       44       20       23       33        3,411      1,708      1,948      3,907
  Retail trade ..................................      112       93      112       96       10,411     10,095     15,506      9,094
  Transportation and warehousing ................       79       68       41       55        7,832     18,128      5,022      8,094
  Information ...................................       74       47       53       58        8,122      6,585      9,019      6,884
  Finance and insurance .........................       38       26       25       44        3,144      2,530      2,123      3,655
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............       12    ( 2 )    ( 2 )       13          954      ( 2 )      ( 2 )      1,231
  Professional and technical services ...........       70       29       42       54        5,537      2,811      3,525     10,579
  Management of companies and enterprises .......        8    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        3        1,236      ( 2 )      ( 2 )        503
  Administrative and waste services .............      269      133      224      258       25,053     14,255     26,896     29,463
  Educational services ..........................        3        5        -        4          171        369          -        267
  Health care and social assistance .............       28       18       28       38        3,310      1,299      1,902      3,390
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       34       19       17       34        3,346      2,157      1,263      3,323
  Accommodation and food services ...............       95       49       58       91        9,718      4,056      5,057      9,206
  Other services, except public administration ..       13    ( 2 )       14       15          964      ( 2 )        908      1,289

  Unclassified ..................................       27        1        5        2        2,973        103        369        183

Government ......................................       52       54       49       60        4,904      5,985      5,728      6,026
  Federal .......................................       10        9        9       11        1,020      1,703        815        879
  State .........................................       22       10       14       20        2,070        980      1,991      2,195
  Local .........................................       20       35       26       29        1,814      3,302      2,922      2,952

    1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE:  Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is
the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part
of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by
industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series
from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. Dash represents zero. 
   
   

Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division
                            
                                                                                       Initial claimants for            
                                           Mass layoff events                          unemployment insurance           
  Census region and division

                              November   September   October    November    November    September    October     November
                                2001       2002       2002p      2002p        2001        2002        2002p       2002p 

      United States(1) .....    2,721      1,062      1,497      2,150       295,956     124,512     171,088     240,028

Northeast ..................      388        158        181        291        41,738      15,981      20,961      33,692

  New England ..............       76         21         38         53         8,813       1,919       4,694       5,785
  Middle Atlantic ..........      312        137        143        238        32,925      14,062      16,267      27,907

South ......................      539        259        304        460        69,720      31,878      35,515      53,960

  South Atlantic ...........      287        129        159        208        35,748      16,396      17,819      25,125
  East South Central .......       90         51         48         74        13,464       5,877       6,198       8,103
  West South Central .......      162         79         97        178        20,508       9,605      11,498      20,732

Midwest ....................      793        177        293        531       101,147      25,437      37,561      65,567

  East North Central .......      615        134        238        373        79,965      19,904      30,761      43,915
  West North Central .......      178         43         55        158        21,182       5,533       6,800      21,652

West .......................    1,001        468        719        868        83,351      51,216      77,051      86,809

  Mountain .................      120         35         52         92        14,802       4,109       4,657      11,471
  Pacific ..................      881        433        667        776        68,549      47,107      72,394      75,338


    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE:  The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania;
South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and
West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana,
Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa,
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. 
   
   

Table 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                            
                                                                                          Initial claimants for            
                                            Mass layoff events                            unemployment insurance           
            State           

                              November    September    October     November    November    September    October     November
                                2001        2002        2002p       2002p        2001        2002        2002p       2002p 

   Total(1) ................    2,721       1,062       1,497       2,150       295,956     124,512     171,088     240,028

Alabama ....................       23          16          17          21         2,402       2,174       2,833       2,549
Alaska .....................        6       ( 2 )           4           7           651       ( 2 )         301         662
Arizona ....................       17           9          16           7         1,663       1,618       1,169         572
Arkansas ...................       11           4          10           9         2,500         421       1,117         853
California .................      782         376         612         663        57,804      39,691      65,044      62,764
Colorado ...................       29           6          13          20         3,044         561       1,142       2,090
Connecticut ................        9           4           5           8           745         262         516         706
Delaware ...................    ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
District of Columbia .......    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )
Florida ....................      102          55          70          67        10,138       4,143       4,604       4,617
Georgia ....................       26          16          35          23         3,714       4,639       3,219       3,092
Hawaii .....................       10           4          10           4           924         428         800         317
Idaho ......................       27           4           5          21         3,250         287         708       3,202

Illinois ...................      106          41          57         105        13,648       6,707       8,676      13,657
Indiana ....................       65          16          22          49         8,775       2,512       3,629       5,762
Iowa .......................       50           9          12          29         6,647       1,673       2,339       3,282
Kansas .....................       13           3           8          16         1,613         196         768       2,226
Kentucky ...................       44          16          21          25         8,863       1,773       2,479       2,674
Louisiana ..................       29          12          12          32         3,419         761         954       2,836
Maine ......................        7       ( 2 )           4           4           827       ( 2 )         680         534
Maryland ...................       11           7          10           7           878         815       1,263       1,100
Massachusetts ..............       41          12          21          30         4,617         988       2,318       2,910
Michigan ...................      158          14          39          15        23,102       1,544       4,111       1,203
Minnesota ..................       62           9          17          50         6,934       1,142       2,000       5,096
Mississippi ................        7           6           5           8           499         782         429         660
Missouri ...................       33          15          16          47         3,704       1,886       1,238       9,219

Montana ....................        5           -           3           8           562           -         327       1,363
Nebraska ...................       10           6       ( 2 )          12         1,347         583       ( 2 )       1,264
Nevada .....................       18          13          11          23         2,730       1,133       1,043       3,099
New Hampshire ..............        6           3           5           6         1,277         514         543         531
New Jersey .................       48          29          23          49         5,155       3,424       2,561       6,482
New Mexico .................    ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
New York ...................       51          49          41          82         5,384       5,137       5,226      10,518
North Carolina .............       46          11          12          32         4,764       1,208       1,494       3,541
North Dakota ...............        8           -       ( 2 )           4           809           -       ( 2 )         565
Ohio .......................      103          34          58          84        10,918       5,468       7,178       7,749
Oklahoma ...................       14       ( 2 )           5          16         2,648       ( 2 )         957       2,419
Oregon .....................       54          30          20          53         6,674       3,965       3,123       5,958
Pennsylvania ...............      213          59          79         107        22,386       5,501       8,480      10,907

Rhode Island ...............        6       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           772       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
South Carolina .............       61          18          19          39        10,651       2,220       4,555       6,384
South Dakota ...............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -           -         ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -           -
Tennessee ..................       16          13           5          20         1,700       1,148         457       2,220
Texas ......................      108          62          70         121        11,941       8,280       8,470      14,624
Utah .......................       20       ( 2 )       ( 2 )          11         3,184       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         919
Vermont ....................        7           -       ( 2 )           3           575           -       ( 2 )         957
Virginia ...................       35          19           8          32         5,125       3,092         619       5,718
Washington .................       29          21          21          49         2,496       2,889       3,126       5,637
West Virginia ..............        3       ( 2 )           3           5           229       ( 2 )         468         439
Wisconsin ..................      183          29          62         120        23,522       3,673       7,167      15,544
Wyoming ....................    ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )

Puerto Rico ................       13           9           4           4         1,524         873         402         399

    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE:  Dash represents zero.