Technical information: (202) 691-6392     USDL 07-1807
              http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                          For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:               691-5902     Wednesday, November 21, 2007
   
   
                       MASS LAYOFFS IN OCTOBER 2007
   
   
   In October, employers took 1,320 mass layoff actions, seasonally ad-
justed, 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 manu-
facturing 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.
   
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.)
   
                                  - 2 -
   
Table A.  Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in October 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              |        |    October peak    
                   Industry                   |Initial |----------------------
                                              | claims |      |               
                                              |        | Year | Initial claims
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
           
   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 machin-
ery 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 as-
sociated initial claims increased by 9,651 to 108,455.  (See table 2.)  The 
largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transpor-
tation 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 ac-
counted 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 ob-
tained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs 
lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs").  The quar-
terly 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.
   






                              - 4 -

Technical Note
   
   
   The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them
during a consecutive 5-week period.  These employers then are con-
tacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted
31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is
collected.  States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quart-
erly basis.
   
   A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month.  All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday.  In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations.  This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks, the number of weeks in a
given month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in
a year may vary.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year
change in not seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect
into consideration.
   
   The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding.  Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number:  1-800-877-8339.
   
Definitions

   Employer.  Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state
unemployment insurance laws.  Information on employers is obtained from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is
administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
   
   Initial claimant.  A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
   
   Mass layoff event.  Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits filed against an employer during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
   
Seasonal adjustment

   Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish-
ing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.  The six series are the
numbers of mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total,
private nonfarm, and manufacturing sectors.
   
   Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expan-
sions and contractions.
   
   The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis.  Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping seasonal adjustment factors.  Revisions to the most recent 5 years
of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a year with the issuance of
December data.  Before the data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments
are made to the original data to adjust them for differences in the number
of weeks used to calculate the monthly data.  Because weekly unemployment
insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data, a particular month's
value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in one year and 4 weeks
in another.  The effects of these differences could seriously distort the
seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process.
These effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently
removed from the final seasonally adjusted series.





Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, November 2003 to 
October 2007, seasonally adjusted

                                      Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                          Initial               Initial                 Initial
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events    claimants
                                                                                              
             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





Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, November 2003 to 
October 2007, not seasonally adjusted

                                     Total             Private nonfarm         Manufacturing
             Date                                                                             
                                          Initial               Initial                Initial
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             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





Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                   Initial claimants for           
                                                            Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance          
                     Industry                                                                                                      
                                                  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.
     2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.    
     NOTE: Dash represents zero.





Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 2005 to October 2007, not seasonally
adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm

                               Total mass layoffs                            Extended mass layoffs                              
             Date                                       Mass layoffs       lasting more than 30 days      Realization rates (1) 

                                          Initial               Initial                      Initial                    Initial 
                               Events    claimants    Events   claimants       Events       claimants       Events     claimants
             2005                                                                                                               

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 mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days.
   2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available.
Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and
the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
   r = revised.
   p = preliminary.





Table 5.  Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, not
seasonally adjusted

                                                                                       Initial claimants for         
                                            Mass layoff events                         unemployment insurance        
  Census region and division

                                   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.
   NOTE:  The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are:  New England:
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic:  New Jersey, New York, 
and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic:  Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central:  Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South
Central:  Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central:  Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and 
Wisconsin; West North Central:  Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain:
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii,
Oregon, and Washington.





Table 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally
adjusted

                                                                                    Initial claimants for            
                                       Mass layoff events                          unemployment insurance            
           State                                                                                                     
                            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.
   2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.