Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 07-0757
               http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Wednesday, May 23, 2007


                        MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2007
   
   In April, employers took 1,243 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 establishment; the number of workers involved totaled 126,047, 
on a seasonally adjusted basis.  The number of mass layoff events de-
creased by 33 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial 
claims fell by 4,640.  During April, 383 mass layoff events were reported 
in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 43,753 ini-
tial claims.  Compared with March, mass layoff activity in manufacturing 
decreased by 37 events and by 10,688 initial claims.  (See table 1.)
   
   The national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in April, essentially un-
changed from 4.4 percent the prior month and down from 4.7 percent a year
earlier.  Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 88,000 over the 
month and by 1.9 million over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 42 percent of the total
initial claims in April.  The industry with the highest number of initial
claims was school and employee bus transportation with 17,135, followed by
motion picture and video production with 7,647, and temporary help services
with 7,330.  Together, these three industries accounted for 25 percent of
all initial claims due to mass layoffs during the month.  (See table A.)
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 25 percent of all mass layoff 
events and 28 percent of all related initial claims filed in April; a year
earlier, manufacturing made up 26 percent of events and 33 percent of
initial claims.  In April 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was
highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (11,466, largely heavy
duty truck manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (5,925), and
machinery manufacturing (2,392).  (See table 3.)
   
   Transportation and warehousing accounted for 13 percent of mass layoff
events and 15 percent of initial claims in April, primarily from school and
employee bus transportation.  Administrative and waste services comprised
12 percent of events and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the month,
with the majority of layoffs in temporary help services.  Three percent of
all mass layoff events and 7 percent of related initial claims filed were
from information, primarily from motion picture and video production.  Ac-
commodation and food services made up 6 percent of events and initial claims, 
largely from the food service contractors industry.

                                  - 2 -
                                  
Table A.  Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in April 2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          |        |        April peak      
                 Industry                 |Initial |------------------------
                                          | claims |      |                 
                                          |        | Year |  Initial claims 
------------------------------------------|---------------------------------
School and employee bus transportation ...| 17,135 | 2006 |      17,621     
Motion picture and video production ......|  7,647 | 1997 |      15,908     
Temporary help services ..................|  7,330 | 2001 |      17,507     
Food service contractors .................|  4,110 | 2004 |       5,496     
Heavy duty truck manufacturing ...........|  3,451 | 2007 |       3,451     
Automobile manufacturing .................|  3,340 | 1996 |      14,744     
Tax preparation services .................|  3,309 | 2006 |       3,791     
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ..|  3,250 | 1998 |       4,054     
Professional employer organizations ......|  2,043 | 2001 |       3,280     
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ..|  1,911 | 2004 |       2,647     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------



   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events 
in April, at 1,224, was up by 84 from a year earlier, and the number of
associated initial claims increased by 5,685 to 127,274.  (See table 2.)
The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in
motion picture and sound recording industries (+4,620), credit intermedi-
ation and related activities (+2,543), and hospitals (+1,360).  The larg-
est over-the-year decreases in mass layoff initial claims were reported 
in transportation equipment manufacturing (-2,693) and food manufacturing 
(-2,267).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   Among the 4 census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
April due to mass layoffs was in the West with 42,381.  Motion picture and
sound recording, administrative and support services, and agriculture and
forestry support activities together accounted for 42 percent of all mass
layoff initial claims in that region during the month.  The Northeast had
the second largest number of initial claims among the regions with 35,637,
followed by the South with 26,211, and the Midwest with 23,045.  (See 
table 5.)
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year
in three of the four regions--the West (+8,184), the South (+7,928), and 
the Northeast (+1,022).  The Midwest region experienced the only decrease 
(-11,449), primarily due to fewer initial claimants in transportation
equipment manufacturing.  Six of the 9 geographic divisions had over-the-
year increases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass lay-
offs, with the largest increases in the Pacific (+5,929), the South Atlantic 
(+3,035), and the East South Central (+2,705).  The division with the largest 
over-the-year decrease in mass layoff initial claims was the East North Central 
(-10,144).
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial
claims filed due to mass layoff events in April (28,883), followed by New
York (15,254), Pennsylvania (10,997), Ohio (6,024), and New Jersey (4,749).
These five states accounted for 53 percent of all mass layoff events and 52
percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 6.)

   California had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial 
claims (+4,332).  States having the next largest increases in initial claims 
were Pennsylvania (+2,295), South Carolina (+1,977), Arizona (+1,947), and New 
York (+1,868).  The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in Ohio 
(-6,158) and Michigan (-3,402).
   
Note
   
   The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or
more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the
layoffs.  For private nonfarm establishments, information on the length of
the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports
on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass
layoffs").  The quarterly release provides more information on the industry
classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of
the laid-off workers.  Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs
of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter
will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30
days.  (See table 4.)  See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
   
                      ______________________________
                                     
                                     
   The report on Mass Layoffs in May 2007 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, June 22.
   
   
   
   
   
                                  - 3 -

Technical Note
   
   
   The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them
during a consecutive 5-week period.  These establishments then are con-
tacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted
31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is
collected.  States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quart-
erly basis.
   
   A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month.  All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday.  In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations.  This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks, the number of weeks in a
given month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in
a year may vary.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year
change in not seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect
into consideration.
   
   The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding.  Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number:  1-800-877-8339.
   
Definitions
   
   Initial claimant.  A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
   
   Mass layoff event.  Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
   
Seasonal adjustment

   Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish-
ing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.  The six series are the
numbers of mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total,
private nonfarm, and manufacturing sectors.
   
   Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expan-
sions and contractions.
   
   The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis.  Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping seasonal adjustment factors.  Revisions to the most recent 5 years
of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a year with the issuance of
December data.  Before the data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments
are made to the original data to adjust them for differences in the number
of weeks used to calculate the monthly data.  Because weekly unemployment
insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data, a particular month's
value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in one year and 4 weeks
in another.  The effects of these differences could seriously distort the
seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process.
These effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently
removed from the final seasonally adjusted series.





Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, May 2003 to
April 2007, seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants
             2003                                                                             

May ........................     1,731     184,479     1,550     170,984       635      87,049
June .......................     1,733     164,442     1,523     147,609       638      68,976
July .......................     1,649     164,146     1,443     148,650       567      72,023
August .....................     1,498     169,799     1,362     156,687       546      74,509
September ..................     1,562     147,054     1,370     132,262       479      57,332
October ....................     1,536     158,137     1,328     140,298       420      52,105
November ...................     1,366     138,079     1,223     126,597       377      49,716
December ...................     1,412     139,423     1,243     127,356       445      50,923

             2004                                                                             

January ....................     1,428     146,692     1,232     128,191       394      45,544
February ...................     1,320     134,626     1,170     122,329       367      40,849
March ......................     1,372     139,716     1,237     130,737       401      59,987
April ......................     1,374     140,190     1,202     124,962       349      38,197
May ........................     1,209     113,091     1,047      99,615       330      38,965
June .......................     1,403     141,048     1,231     128,137       366      47,015
July .......................     1,330     137,484     1,180     126,106       372      51,424
August .....................     1,394     127,671     1,224     113,376       345      36,963
September ..................     1,277     125,351     1,154     115,343       338      46,955
October ....................     1,288     132,250     1,172     122,831       362      47,571
November ...................     1,314     130,558     1,171     118,904       378      46,276
December ...................     1,170     114,641     1,013     103,434       301      33,022

             2005                                                                             

January ....................     1,489     160,986     1,353     150,640       383      56,133
February ...................     1,172     123,377     1,045     112,752       358      45,794
March ......................     1,219     132,035     1,079     122,013       377      55,061
April ......................     1,263     137,381     1,132     126,747       398      60,826
May ........................     1,226     133,221     1,085     120,899       382      54,886
June .......................     1,194     126,834     1,074     117,712       359      57,018
July .......................     1,248     131,500     1,101     118,800       353      47,136
August .....................     1,109     123,125       986     111,879       338      46,915
September ..................     2,217     292,177     1,998     246,227       419      56,289
October ....................     1,098     108,665       977      99,402       321      44,666
November ...................     1,167     115,803     1,036     104,576       330      43,307
December ...................     1,253     135,721     1,125     124,632       372      48,592

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,112     109,429       984      99,277       282      29,911
February ...................     1,065     112,742       973     105,055       329      46,548
March ......................     1,105     120,954     1,003     112,730       335      50,149
April ......................     1,175     121,376     1,041     111,369       365      48,038
May ........................     1,098     113,195       982     103,839       297      42,993
June .......................     1,130     123,558     1,007     113,037       331      40,500
July .......................     1,160     118,843     1,038     109,509       372      49,069
August .....................     1,218     131,105     1,083     120,923       367      58,983
September ..................     1,158     120,795     1,043     111,876       392      46,802
October ....................     1,186     119,914     1,069     111,036       401      55,795
November ...................     1,220     136,340     1,111     127,286       411      60,599
December ...................     1,201     133,818     1,099     124,526       390      53,828

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,237     126,368     1,095     115,615       389      51,141
February ...................     1,280     143,977     1,166     135,252       419      64,072
March ......................     1,276     130,687     1,165     122,150       420      54,441
April ......................     1,243     126,047     1,116     115,968       383      43,753
                                                                                              





Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,  May 2003 to 
April 2007, not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants
             2003                                                                             

May ........................     1,703     174,204     1,538     160,729       499      61,278
June .......................     1,691     157,552     1,336     127,743       389      40,845
July .......................     2,087     226,435     1,815     206,901       946     136,410
August .....................     1,258     133,839     1,163     124,131       405      52,620
September ..................       868      82,647       756      73,914       271      31,428
October ....................     1,523     158,240     1,265     137,706       438      53,741
November ...................     1,438     138,543     1,234     123,524       408      48,419
December ...................     1,929     192,633     1,793     182,750       648      77,915

             2004                                                                             

January ....................     2,428     239,454     2,226     220,687       848      89,551
February ...................       941      84,201       832      76,577       240      23,043
March ......................       920      92,554       847      87,782       258      34,686
April ......................     1,458     157,314     1,316     142,657       343      36,172
May ........................       988      87,501       878      78,786       219      22,141
June .......................     1,379     134,588     1,077     110,804       222      27,307
July .......................     2,094     253,929     1,860     234,877       885     145,895
August .....................       809      69,033       745      63,876       194      17,698
September ..................       708      68,972       637      63,102       189      25,808
October ....................     1,242     127,918     1,101     117,375       372      48,265
November ...................     1,399     130,423     1,201     115,549       412      44,243
December ...................     1,614     161,271     1,487     152,092       436      50,726

             2005                                                                             

January ....................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409       823     108,985
February ...................       810      74,644       722      68,372       230      24,931
March ......................       806      88,937       733      83,793       246      33,030
April ......................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133       395      59,129
May ........................       986     101,358       891      93,332       249      30,424
June .......................     1,157     120,463       941     103,307       216      32,783
July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December ...................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
February ...................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March ......................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688
April ......................     1,140     121,589     1,038     112,964       296      39,538
May ........................       872      84,809       794      78,663       192      23,570
June .......................     1,489     164,761     1,224     140,687       319      41,095
July .......................     1,511     166,857     1,335     154,342       648      96,152
August .....................       708      72,844       656      69,054       203      28,494
September ..................       865      87,699       785      81,274       296      39,076
October ....................       964      98,804       820      88,133       311      46,737
November ...................     1,315     136,186     1,172     125,009       455      58,473
December ...................     2,249     254,503     2,126     244,783       735     105,462

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,407     134,984     1,263     124,475       456      53,615
February ...................       935      86,696       861      82,097       273      36,170
March ......................     1,082     123,974     1,015     118,431       367      49,886
April ......................     1,224     127,274     1,124     118,181       305      35,041
                                                                                              





Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for          
                                                              Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance         
                     Industry

                                                     April   February   March     April       April    February    March     April  
                                                      2006      2007     2007      2007        2006       2007      2007      2007  

                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                

      Total .....................................    1,175     1,280    1,276     1,243     121,376    143,977   130,687    126,047

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,041     1,166    1,165     1,116     111,369    135,252   122,150    115,968
    Manufacturing ...............................      365       419      420       383      48,038     64,072    54,441     43,753

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    1,140       935    1,082     1,224     121,589     86,696   123,974    127,274

Total, private ..................................    1,098       913    1,046     1,184     118,236     85,170   120,544    124,615
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       60        52       31        60       5,272      3,073     2,113      6,434

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,038       861    1,015     1,124     112,964     82,097   118,431    118,181
    Mining ......................................        5      (2)      (2)       (2)          385       (2)       (2)        (2) 
    Utilities ...................................     (2)       (2)      (2)        -          (2)        (2)       (2)         -
    Construction ................................       98       203      107        84       6,324     13,191     7,815      6,259
    Manufacturing ...............................      296       273      367       305      39,538     36,170    49,886     35,041
        Food ....................................       80        40       67        60       8,192      4,188     6,087      5,925
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........     (2)          4        7         3        (2)         280       778        251
        Textile mills ...........................       14         6       16        15       2,935        998     1,882      1,234
        Textile product mills ...................        9         4        4         8         773        383       350      1,030
        Apparel .................................       12         5       15        12       1,724        286     1,355        944
        Leather and allied products .............     (2)       (2)       -        (2)         (2)        (2)        -         (2) 
        Wood products ...........................       24        47       30        21       2,342      4,497     2,674      1,907
        Paper ...................................        5         7       10         3         333        397       779        214
        Printing and related support activities .        9         4        8         5         804        358       637        578
        Petroleum and coal products .............        -      (2)       -        (2)          -         (2)        -         (2) 

        Chemicals ...............................        4         4        5         7         272        348       310        682
        Plastics and rubber products ............       12         9       18        10         912        469     1,682        900
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       14        24       16        11         914      1,624     1,483      1,021
        Primary metals ..........................       11        13       17        12         731      1,411     1,976      1,415
        Fabricated metal products ...............       16        14       14        22       1,083      1,315     1,567      1,639
        Machinery ...............................       10        17       11        16       1,387      2,946     2,013      2,392
        Computer and electronic products ........       13         9       26        13         946        667     2,562        993
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....        7         4       15         5         762        281     2,502        996
        Transportation equipment ................       39        43       68        62      14,093     14,510    19,397     11,466
        Furniture and related products ..........        8        15       16         7         709        994     1,571        518
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............        5      (2)         4        10         394       (2)        281        758

    Wholesale trade .............................       19         5       17        16       1,933        278     1,828      1,668
    Retail trade ................................       86        71       93        98       7,780      5,869    11,407      7,626
    Transportation and warehousing ..............      152        40       55       164      19,558      4,254     5,896     19,456
    Information .................................       30        24       30        42       4,570      2,966     4,843      8,480
    Finance and insurance .......................       26        21       39        49       1,670      1,511     2,883      4,061
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........     (2)          4        7         5        (2)         275       400        251
    Professional and technical services .........       41        25       29        50       5,776      2,403     4,391      7,033
    Management of companies and enterprises .....     (2)       (2)         5      (2)         (2)        (2)        324       (2) 
    Administrative and waste services ...........      134       114      140       149      10,725      9,156    15,153     11,746
    Educational services ........................        5         4        4         7         572        322       192      1,341
    Health care and social assistance ...........       21        18       16        28       1,676      1,099     1,160      3,344
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       25         5       10        26       1,895        289       680      1,905
    Accommodation and food services .............       74        42       86        78       7,937      3,555    10,895      7,653
    Other services, except public administration        17         5        6        17       2,000        310       364      1,823
    Unclassified ................................        4         1       -         -         240         71         -          -

Government ......................................       42        22       36        40       3,353      1,526     3,430      2,659
    Federal .....................................        9         5        6         9         796        339       501        698
    State .......................................       10         6       11         9         909        482       820        524
    Local .......................................       23        11       19        22       1,648        705     2,109      1,437
                                                                                                                                   
   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, April 2005 to April 2007,not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                               
                               Total mass layoffs                                Extended mass layoffs                           
             Date                                       Mass layoffs          lasting more than 30 days     Realization rates (1)

                                           Initial               Initial                      Initial                    Initial 
                               Events     claimants   Events    claimants       Events       claimants       Events     claimants
             2005

April ......................    1,373      158,582     1,263     148,133                                                       
May ........................      986      101,358       891      93,332                                                       
June .......................    1,157      120,463       941     103,307                                                       

Second Quarter .............    3,516      380,403     3,095     344,772         1,203        212,673          38.9         61.7

July .......................    1,981      244,216     1,745     222,377                                                       
August .....................      645       67,582       598      63,484                                                       
September ..................    1,662      213,281     1,505     179,042                                                       

Third Quarter ..............    4,288      525,079     3,848     464,903         1,136        190,186          29.5         40.9

October ....................      905       91,941       757      80,694                                                       
November ...................    1,254      116,127     1,079     102,182                                                       
December ...................    2,323      254,258     2,168     242,753                                                       

Fourth Quarter .............    4,482      462,326     4,004     425,629         1,400        246,188          35.0         57.8

             2006                                                                                                              

January ....................    1,245      117,946     1,123     108,701                                                       
February ...................      719       66,555       658      62,208                                                       
March ......................      921      111,838       856     106,177                                                       

First Quarter ..............    2,885      296,339     2,637     277,086           963     (r)193,510          36.5      (r)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     (r)264,807          44.3      (r)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)161,716          33.5      (r)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      (r)1,640     (r)330,124       (r)39.8      (r)72.1

             2007                                                                                                              

January ....................    1,407      134,984     1,263     124,475                                                       
February ...................      935       86,696       861      82,097                                                       
March ......................    1,082      123,974     1,015     118,431                                                       

First Quarter ..............    3,424      345,654     3,139     325,003     (2)(p)965  (2)(p)122,595       (p)30.7      (p)37.7

April ......................    1,224      127,274     1,124     118,181                                                        
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
   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                                                                                            
                                   April    February   March     April       April     February     March       April   
                                    2006      2007      2007      2007        2006       2007        2007        2007   
                                                                                                                     
        United States (1) ...      1,140       935     1,082     1,224     121,589     86,696     123,974     127,274

Northeast ...................        308       179       137       315      34,615     18,272      14,613      35,637
    
    New England .............         52        25        17        39       6,268      2,602       1,650       4,637
    Middle Atlantic .........        256       154       120       276      28,347     15,670      12,963      31,000

South .......................        177       168       238       248      18,283     17,850      34,812      26,211

    South Atlantic ..........         98        84       115       147      10,728      9,938      13,072      13,763
    East South Central ......         41        42        77        54       4,108      4,336      15,237       6,813
    West South Central ......         38        42        46        47       3,447      3,576       6,503       5,635

Midwest .....................        243       239       283       222      34,494     26,603      33,410      23,045

    East North Central ......        203       198       225       190      30,704     23,364      27,218      20,560
    West North Central ......         40        41        58        32       3,790      3,239       6,192       2,485

West ........................        412       349       424       439      34,197     23,971      41,139      42,381

    Mountain ................         47        25        41        73       5,769      1,833       3,200       8,024
    Pacific .................        365       324       383       366      28,428     22,138      37,939      34,357
                                                                                                                        
 
   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                                                                                                   
                             April     February    March      April        April      February     March      April
                              2006       2007       2007       2007         2006        2007        2007       2007
                            
   Total (1) ............    1,140        935      1,082      1,224      121,589      86,696     123,974    127,274

Alabama .................        9         16         26         17          741       1,757       3,373      1,684
Alaska ..................        5         -         -            5          694         -           -          621
Arizona .................       17        (2)          6         32        2,709        (2)          362      4,656
Arkansas ................        5        (2)       (2)           4          432        (2)         (2)         409
California ..............      321        299        333        319       24,551      19,809      33,172     28,883
Colorado ................        6        (2)          4         10          768        (2)          458        784
Connecticut .............        8          3       (2)        (2)           673         309        (2)        (2) 
Delaware ................       -         (2)        -         (2)           -          (2)          -         (2) 
District of Columbia ....       -          -         -          -            -           -           -          -  
Florida .................       34         39         51         59        2,363       2,616       4,562      3,524
Georgia .................       20         15         14         26        4,191       1,831       1,635      2,369
Hawaii ..................        6         -           4          3          422         -           323        185
Idaho ...................        3         10          8          3          349         615         537        499

Illinois ................       29         44         54         34        3,380       4,684       8,754      4,497
Indiana .................       22         21         19         20        2,260       1,963       1,927      1,887
Iowa ....................        7         14         11          7          987       1,469       1,285        632
Kansas ..................     (2)           3          4          3         (2)          215         930        235
Kentucky ................       17         16         32         17        2,174       1,333       6,623      2,936
Louisiana ...............     (2)           8          5          7         (2)          492         446      1,755
Maine ...................     (2)           3          3          3         (2)          303         233        201
Maryland ................       15          8          6          9        1,277         747         462      1,048
Massachusetts ...........       17          7          4         11        2,001         442         268      1,020
Michigan ................       41         38         51         34        7,191       6,507       6,508      3,789
Minnesota ...............       12          9         15         11          814         615       1,231        817
Mississippi .............        6          4         10          4          430         254       4,428        217
Missouri ................       13         14         22          7        1,008         801       2,347        445

Montana .................        3        (2)          4       (2)           220        (2)          319       (2) 
Nebraska ................        4         -           3       (2)           495         -           218       (2) 
Nevada ..................       11          6         11         14        1,053         638         842      1,050
New Hampshire ...........        5        (2)          3          6          504        (2)          462        631
New Jersey ..............       53         27         35         50        6,259       2,558       3,529      4,749
New Mexico ..............     (2)           4          6          8         (2)          229         548        592
New York ................      102         20         40        116       13,386       2,184       4,636     15,254
North Carolina ..........        7          5         22         13          568         518       3,986      1,210
North Dakota ............     (2)         (2)       (2)        (2)          (2)         (2)         (2)        (2) 
Ohio ....................       53         41         43         55       12,182       4,175       4,444      6,024
Oklahoma ................     (2)          13          4          4         (2)        1,377       1,178        354
Oregon ..................       16         12         30         21        1,296       1,264       3,272      2,790
Pennsylvania ............      101        107         45        110        8,702      10,928       4,798     10,997

Rhode Island ............        7          7       (2)           8        1,528       1,249        (2)       1,589
South Carolina ..........       11          7         10         26        1,314         641       1,210      3,291
South Dakota ............     (2)          -        (2)        (2)          (2)           -         (2)        (2) 
Tennessee ...............        9          6          9         16          763         992         813      1,976
Texas ...................       30         20         35         32        2,354       1,656       4,762      3,117
Utah ....................        4         -        (2)           4          381           -        (2)         315
Vermont .................       13          4          4         10        1,311         240         465      1,052
Virginia ................        9          8         10          9          830       3,476       1,091        628
Washington ..............       17         13         16         18        1,465       1,065       1,172      1,878
West Virginia ...........     (2)         (2)       (2)           4         (2)         (2)         (2)         305
Wisconsin ...............       58         54         58         47        5,691       6,035       5,585      4,363
Wyoming .................     (2)          -        (2)         -           (2)          -          (2)         -  

Puerto Rico .............        8          8         15         16          767         535       1,355      1,556
                                                                                                                   
   1  See footnote 1, table 3.
   2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE:  Dash represents zero.