Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 03-331
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Thursday, June 26, 2003

                                     
                         MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2003
                                     

   Employers initiated 1,699 mass layoff actions in May 2003, as mea-
sured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the 
month, according to data from 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 173,784.  (See
table 1.)  Compared with a year ago, both the number of layoff events and
the number of workers involved declined slightly.  From January through 
May 2003, the total number of events, at 8,159, and initial claims, at 
798,185, were lower than in January-May 2002--8,222 and 910,009, respec-
tively.

   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 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") and provides 
more information on the industry classification and location of the
establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.  Because
monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum 
of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the 
quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.  (See table 1.)  
See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
   
Industry Distribution

   Temporary help services, with 11,087 claims, accounted for over 6 per-
cent of all initial claims in May.  (See table A.)  Despite declining mass 
layoff activity in 2003, 5 of the 10 industries with the highest number of 
mass-layoff initial claims recorded their peak May level this year.
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff
events and 35 percent of all initial claims filed in May.  A year ago,
manufacturing accounted for 28 percent of events and 29 percent of initial
claims.  The total number of initial claims in the sector this May, at
61,174, has only been exceeded in May 2001.  The number of claimants was
highest in transportation equipment (13,288, mainly in automobile manufac-
turing), followed by food production (7,592) and machinery manufacturing 
(6,179).  (See table 2.)
   
   The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 12 percent
of events and 11 percent of initial claims filed in May, with layoffs
mostly in temporary help services.  Construction accounted for 9 percent 
of events and 8 percent of initial claims during the month, primarily 
among specialty trade contractors.  Seven percent of the events and ini-
tial claims were from retail trade, mostly from general merchandise stores,
largely in discount department stores.  Six percent of all layoff events
and initial claims filed during this May were in accommodations and food
services, mostly in food services and drinking places.
   
   Government establishments accounted for 7 percent of events and 6 percent 
of initial claims filed during the month; layoffs were largely in educational 
services.  The 10,158 initial claims in this sector were the most for any May 
since the series began in 1995.
   
   Compared with May 2002, the largest decreases in initial claims were report-
ed in administrative and support services (-6,651), motion picture and sound 
recording (-2,347), and general merchandise stores (-2,249).  The largest over
-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in transportation equipment 
manufacturing (+6,474).

                                  - 2 - 

Table A.  Industries with largest mass layoff initial claims in May 2003p
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        |              |       May peak
                Industry                |Initial claims|----------------------
                                        |              | Year | Initial claims
----------------------------------------|--------------|------|---------------
Temporary help services.................|    11,087    | 2002 |     16,992
Automobile manufacturing................|     7,851    | 2003 |      7,851
Food service contractors................|     5,711    | 1998 |      7,267
Motion picture and video production.....|     5,577    | 1999 |      8,985
School and employee bus transportation..|     3,747    | 2003 |      3,747
Child day care services.................|     3,720    | 2002 |      3,894
Industrial building construction........|     3,463    | 2003 |      3,463
Professional employer organizations ....|     3,446    | 2003 |      3,446
Iron and steel mills....................|     2,487    | 2003 |      2,487
Other social advocacy organizations.....|     2,363    | 2002 |      2,500
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   p=preliminary.

Geographic Distribution

   Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in May due
to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 51,991.  (See table 3.)  Admini-
strative and support services and motion picture and sound recording account-
ed for 28 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month.  The 
South followed, with 48,321 initial claims, then the Midwest, with 46,401, 
and the Northeast, with 27,071.
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year
in two of the four regions, with the largest decrease in the West (-9,724).
The Northeast had the largest over-the-year increase (+2,073).  Five of the
nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of ini-
tial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decline in the 
Pacific (-10,804).  The East North Central division had the largest increase 
(+3,088).
   
   California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass
layoff events this May, 41,857, mostly in administrative and support ser-
vices and in motion picture and sound recording.  Texas reported 12,535,
followed by New York (11,375) and Pennsylvania (10,893).  These four states
accounted for 49 percent of all layoff events and 44 percent of initial
claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 4.)
   
   California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of
initial claims (-8,206), followed by Texas (-4,335).  The largest over-the-
year increases occurred in New York (+4,590) and Oklahoma (+3,893).
   
   From January to May 2003, California registered 204,939 mass layoff ini-
tial claims, 26 percent of the national total.  The states with the next
largest number of claims during this period were Pennsylvania (55,102), New
York (48,168), Ohio (43,576), and Texas (42,733).
   
                      ______________________________
   
   The report on Mass Layoffs in June 2003 will be issued on Thursday,
July 24, 2003.
 
 
 

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, April 2001 to May 2003
                            
                                                            Extended mass layoffs 
                                Total mass layoffs        lasting more than 30 days        Realization rates(1)
             Date           

                                           Initial                        Initial                      Initial
                                Events    claimants       Events         claimants         Events     claimants
                            
             2001           

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       (r)502,724           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      (r)1,747       (r)315,781           35.0         56.0

April ......................     1,507     165,861
May ........................     1,726     180,007
June .......................     1,580     161,928

Second Quarter .............     4,813     507,796         1,905       (r)352,807           39.6      (r)69.5

July .......................     2,041     245,211
August .....................     1,247     128,080
September ..................     1,062     124,512

Third Quarter ..............     4,350     497,803      (r)1,382       (r)278,483           31.8      (r)55.9

October ....................     1,497     171,088
November ...................     2,150     240,028
December ...................     2,470     263,775

Fourth Quarter .............     6,117     674,891         2,259          421,669           36.9         62.5

             2003           

January ....................     2,315     225,415
February ...................     1,363     124,977
March ......................     1,206     112,914

First Quarter ..............     4,884     463,306   (2)(p)1,508    (2)(p)210,674        (p)30.9      (p)45.5

April (3)(p) ...............     1,576     161,095
May (3)(p)..................     1,699     173,784

    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. 
    3 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Wyoming. 
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised. 
     
 
 
 

Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                                                 
                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                    

                                                     May      March    April     May        May        March      April       May  
                                                     2002      2003    2003p    2003p       2002        2003      2003p      2003p 


     Total(1) ...................................    1,726    1,206    1,576    1,699      180,007    112,914    161,095    173,784

Total, private ..................................    1,635    1,162    1,529    1,587      170,712    109,305    157,244    163,626

  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....       62       64       64       53        3,802      4,949      4,624      3,299
  Mining ........................................       15        7    ( 2 )        9        1,553        708      ( 2 )      1,749
  Utilities .....................................        6    ( 2 )        5        7          597      ( 2 )        326        529
  Construction ..................................      165      125      150      159       13,521      7,640     10,042     13,279
  Manufacturing .................................      488      390      500      497       52,720     41,063     62,429     61,174
      Food ......................................       79       72       85       69        9,335      7,607      8,468      7,592
      Beverage and tobacco products .............        3    ( 2 )        7        5          224      ( 2 )        450        548
      Textile mills .............................       19        9       17       21        2,072        764      2,725      2,204
      Textile product mills .....................        8        5        9       10          617        432        697        948
      Apparel ...................................       33       11       19       31        2,578        950      2,385      3,705
      Leather and allied products ...............        -        -        5        7            -          -        398        544
      Wood products .............................       23       35       30       24        2,348      3,104      2,858      2,361
      Paper .....................................       10        9       14       15        1,141        937      1,083      1,072
      Printing and related support activities ...       21        7        8       16        1,892        658        848      1,249
      Petroleum and coal products ...............        3        -        -        3          184          -          -        190

      Chemicals .................................       11    ( 2 )        6        8          815      ( 2 )      1,752        930
      Plastics and rubber products ..............        9        6       24       21          798        552      3,789      1,439
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............       10       19       14       13        1,190      1,882      1,190      1,080
      Primary metals ............................       27       21       27       27        2,787      1,766      3,195      3,920
      Fabricated metal products .................       25       24       35       34        2,252      1,734      2,478      2,957
      Machinery .................................       35       35       35       39        3,902      3,761      4,368      6,179
      Computer and electronic products ..........       69       41       53       46        5,813      5,077      4,985      4,029
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......       28       26       17       20        4,490      3,787      1,836      3,665
      Transportation equipment ..................       53       44       67       52        6,869      5,061     15,454     13,288
      Furniture and related products ............       12       14       22       21        2,513      1,727      2,829      1,985
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............       10        8        6       15          900        830        641      1,289

  Wholesale trade ...............................       35       21       31       31        2,937      1,811      2,425      2,431
  Retail trade ..................................      131      102      121      118       16,192     10,480     11,656     12,190
  Transportation and warehousing ................       52       37      132       80        5,680      4,382     14,386      7,755
  Information ...................................       86       50       51       63       13,036      6,971     11,131      8,819
  Finance and insurance .........................       44       33       34       31        3,327      2,130      2,061      2,414
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............        7        8       10        5          452        483        569        478
  Professional and technical services ...........       80       40       60       65        6,199      3,187      5,852      5,542
  Management of companies and enterprises .......        4    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        5          395      ( 2 )      ( 2 )        369
  Administrative and waste services .............      222      163      186      203       26,191     15,062     16,593     19,518
  Educational services ..........................        3    ( 2 )        6        8          190      ( 2 )        463        536
  Health care and social assistance .............       76       24       24       83        7,006      1,569      1,695      6,948
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       33       12       33       32        2,267        663      2,551      2,293
  Accommodation and food services ...............       88       71       95       98       10,807      7,111      8,014     10,068
  Other services, except public administration ..       34        4       17       38        3,228        280      1,504      4,090

  Unclassified ..................................        4        3        5        2          612        284        389        145

Government ......................................       91       44       47      112        9,295      3,609      3,851     10,158
  Federal .......................................       21        6        4       14        2,739        570        318      1,736
  State .........................................       14        9       13       17        1,510        614      1,470      1,454
  Local .........................................       56       29       30       81        5,046      2,425      2,063      6,968


    1 For April and May 2003, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Wyoming. 
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE: Industry data reflect the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 2002. 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

                                May        March      April       May         May         March       April        May  
                                2002        2003      2003p      2003p        2002         2003       2003p       2003p 

      United States(1) .....    1,726      1,206      1,576      1,699       180,007     112,914     161,095     173,784

Northeast ..................      266        157        326        274        24,998      15,230      30,892      27,071

  New England ..............       41         29         59         32         3,765       2,987       6,214       2,888
  Middle Atlantic ..........      225        128        267        242        21,233      12,243      24,678      24,183

South ......................      467        263        323        446        48,506      24,630      34,922      48,321

  South Atlantic ...........      211        109        151        214        18,633       9,362      14,851      21,217
  East South Central .......       88         55         74         74         9,448       4,752       9,550       7,645
  West South Central .......      168         99         98        158        20,425      10,516      10,521      19,459

Midwest ....................      377        237        334        373        44,788      26,239      43,466      46,401

  East North Central .......      266        174        271        271        31,152      18,946      36,974      34,240
  West North Central .......      111         63         63        102        13,636       7,293       6,492      12,161

West(1) ....................      616        549        593        606        61,715      46,815      51,815      51,991

  Mountain(1) ..............       48         47         68         58         4,604       4,251       6,109       5,684
  Pacific ..................      568        502        525        548        57,111      42,564      45,706      46,307


    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        

                             May         March       April        May         May         March       April        May  
                             2002         2003       2003p       2003p        2002         2003       2003p       2003p 

   Total(1) .............    1,726       1,206       1,576       1,699       180,007     112,914     161,095     173,784

Alabama .................       38          11          24          21         4,352       1,108       4,048       1,996
Alaska ..................    ( 2 )           -           6       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -         489       ( 2 )
Arizona .................       11          13          22          19         1,256       1,148       2,193       1,846
Arkansas ................        8           5           3           4           629         381         326         266
California ..............      517         438         455         502        50,063      36,360      39,040      41,857
Colorado ................        9           9          14           7           858       1,126       1,318         721
Connecticut .............        9           5           3           5           665         412         206         403
Delaware ................        -           -           3       ( 2 )             -           -         180       ( 2 )
District of Columbia ....    ( 2 )           -           -       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -           -       ( 2 )
Florida .................      102          60          64         100         7,045       4,188       4,451       8,078
Georgia .................       30          15          31          38         3,083       1,224       4,299       3,807
Hawaii ..................        6       ( 2 )           8           6           462       ( 2 )         621         554
Idaho ...................        9          13           8          11         1,014       1,187         778       1,444

Illinois ................       67          35          64          70        10,079       3,161       7,210       9,525
Indiana .................       26          37          37          34         3,267       4,826       6,826       4,685
Iowa ....................       19          14          13          27         2,203       1,572       1,249       4,582
Kansas ..................       14           9           5           7         1,620       1,449         406         811
Kentucky ................       21          21          29          25         2,258       2,124       4,186       3,100
Louisiana ...............       22           8          20          22         2,166         402       2,777       2,005
Maine ...................        5       ( 2 )           6           4           353       ( 2 )         575         265
Maryland ................        6       ( 2 )           9           8           534       ( 2 )         859         969
Massachusetts ...........       21          16          29          16         2,065       1,263       3,307       1,734
Michigan ................       44          10          32          36         4,408         848       4,704       6,599
Minnesota ...............       23          13          21          22         2,768       1,041       2,848       2,119
Mississippi .............        9           8           9          10           821         509         547         717
Missouri ................       43          23          18          28         5,656       2,930       1,441       3,044

Montana .................        3       ( 2 )           4           3           212       ( 2 )         443         236
Nebraska ................    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           4           9         ( 2 )       ( 2 )         348         702
Nevada ..................        8           7          13          14           714         475         961       1,099
New Hampshire ...........    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           3       ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )         205       ( 2 )
New Jersey ..............       42          17          47          22         4,384       1,253       4,523       1,915
New Mexico ..............        5       ( 2 )           3       ( 2 )           355       ( 2 )         178       ( 2 )
New York ................       80          40          91         110         6,785       3,571       9,151      11,375
North Carolina ..........       21          12          21          27         1,637       1,273       1,990       2,790
North Dakota ............        5       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           5           653       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         349
Ohio ....................       70          40          62          68         7,231       4,988      10,704       7,098
Oklahoma ................        7          10           6          23           760       1,606       1,070       4,653
Oregon ..................       25          41          22          22         3,291       4,336       2,238       2,151
Pennsylvania ............      103          71         129         110        10,064       7,419      11,004      10,893

Rhode Island ............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           9       ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       1,137       ( 2 )
South Carolina ..........       24           6           8          11         2,492         986       1,228       1,436
South Dakota ............        5       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           4           562       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         554
Tennessee ...............       20          15          12          18         2,017       1,011         769       1,832
Texas ...................      131          76          69         109        16,870       8,127       6,348      12,535
Utah ....................        3       ( 2 )           4       ( 2 )           195       ( 2 )         238       ( 2 )
Vermont .................    ( 2 )           3           9           4         ( 2 )         833         784         315
Virginia ................       23          14          13          26         3,355       1,392       1,719       2,967
Washington ..............       18          21          34          17         3,154       1,745       3,318       1,684
West Virginia ...........        4       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           347       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Wisconsin ...............       59          52          76          63         6,167       5,123       7,530       6,333
Wyoming .................        -           -       ( 1 )       ( 1 )             -           -       ( 1 )       ( 1 )

Puerto Rico .............       12           5          13           7         1,390         378       1,833       1,098

    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
    p = preliminary. 
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.