Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 02-402
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Wednesday, July 24, 2002

                                     
                         MASS LAYOFFS IN JUNE 2002

   
   Employers initiated 1,557 mass layoff actions in June 2002, as mea-
sured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month,
according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and
the number of workers involved totaled 159,352.  (See table 1.)  A year
earlier, in June 2001, there were 2,107 mass layoff events involving
253,826 workers.  (June 2002 contained 4 weeks for possible mass layoffs,
compared with 5 weeks in each June of the prior 2 years.)  From January
through June 2002, the total number of initial claims, at 1,069,361, was
lower than January-June 2001 (1,134,173), while the number of events, at
9,779, was somewhat higher (9,541).
   
   The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or
more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of 
the layoffs.  Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later 
and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting 
more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs") and provides 
more information on the industry classification and location of the 
establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.  Because 
monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum 
of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the 
quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.  (See table 1.)  
See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

Industry Distribution
   
   Manufacturing industries accounted for 22 percent of all mass layoff
events and 26 percent of all initial claims filed in June.  A year earlier,
layoffs in this sector accounted for 35 percent of events and 46 percent of
initial claims.  The number of initial claimants was highest in food pro-
duction (5,851, mostly in fruit and vegetable processing), followed by trans-
portation equipment (5,594), electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing 
(5,171), and machinery manufacturing (4,543).  (See table 2.)
   
   Nine percent of all layoff events and 11 percent of initial claims
filed during the month were in transportation and warehousing, mostly in
school and employee bus transportation.  Eleven percent of the events and 
9 percent of initial claims were from administrative and waste services,
mainly in temporary help services.  The healthcare and social assistance
sector accounted for an additional 7 percent of events and initial claims,
primarily in child daycare services.
   
   Government establishments accounted for 14 percent of events and 11
percent of initial claims filed during the month, largely in educational
services, particularly elementary and secondary schools.
   
   Compared with June 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were
reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-28,790), computer and
electronic products (-11,359), textile mills (-9,408), and plastics and 
rubber products (-8,778).  The largest over-the-year increases in initial 
claims were reported in professional and technical services (+4,589) and ed-
ucational services (+2,855).

Geographic Distribution
   
   Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in June
due to mass layoffs was in the West, 55,147.  (See table 3.)  Professional
and technical services, administrative and support services, and educational 
services accounted for 39 percent of all initial claims in the West during 
the month.  Following was the South with 37,559 initial claims (mainly in 
educational services), the Midwest with 36,493 (largely in machinery manu-
facturing), and the Northeast with 30,153 (mostly in transit and ground 
passenger transportation).
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year
in all four regions. The Midwest region had the largest decrease in initial
claims (-50,908), followed by the South (-27,931).  Each of the nine geo-
graphic divisions reported over-the-year declines in the number of initial 
claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decreases in the East 
North Central (-38,097), South Atlantic (-17,177), and West North Central 
(-12,811) divisions.
   
   California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass
layoff events this June, 43,520, mostly in professional and technical
services and administrative and support services.  Pennsylvania reported
11,198 initial claims in mass layoffs, followed by New Jersey (9,137),
Texas (8,550), and Florida (7,222).  These five states accounted for 55
percent of all layoff events and 50 percent of all initial claims for
unemployment insurance.  (See table 4.)
   
                                  - 2 -

   Michigan reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims
(-21,712), followed by South Carolina (-10,377).  The largest over-the-year
increase occurred in Connecticut (+1,235).
   
                      ______________________________
   
   The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2002 will
be issued on Wednesday, August 14, 2002.
   
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |                Change in Industry Classification System                |
 |                                                                        |
 |    Beginning with the release of January 2002 mass layoff data on      |
 | February 28, 2002, the Mass Layoff Statistics program implemented      |
 | the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System  |
 | (NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data|
 | by industry.  NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the      |
 | part of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and     |
 | Mexico.  Due to differences in NAICS and the previously used Standard  |
 | Industrial Classification (SIC) structures, data by industry for 2002  |
 | will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years.  How-  |
 | ever, the monthly historical industry series from April 1995 through   |
 | December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases.               |
 |                                                                        |
 |    NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize economic    |
 | units.  Units with similar production processes are classified in the  |
 | same industry.  NAICS focuses on how products and services are created,|
 | as opposed to the SIC focus on what is produced.  This approach yields | 
 | significantly different industry groupings than those produced by the  |
 | SIC approach.                                                          |
 |                                                                        |
 |    Users interested in more information about NAICS can access the BLS |
 | Web page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the Bureau of the Cen- |
 | sus Web page at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html.             |
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical Note
 
 
 
 The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that
uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and
tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's
unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them
during a consecutive 5-week period.  These establishments then are
contacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted
31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is
collected.  States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a
quarterly basis.
 
 A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month.  All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday.  In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations.  This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others 5 weeks, and the number of weeks in a given
month may be different from year to year.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-
month and over-the-year change should take this calendar effect into
consideration.
 
 The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding.  Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
 
 Information in this release will be made available to sensory
impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; 
TDD message referral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.
 
Definitions
 
 Initial claimant.  A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
 
 Mass layoff event.  Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2000 to June 2002
                            
                                                            Extended mass layoffs 
                                Total mass layoffs        lasting more than 30 days        Realization rates(1)
             Date           

                                           Initial                        Initial                      Initial
                                Events    claimants       Events         claimants         Events     claimants
                            
             2000           

April ......................       924     101,359
May ........................       984      92,193
June .......................     1,597     192,025

Second Quarter .............     3,505     385,577         1,271          231,471           36.3         60.0

July .......................     1,333     164,978
August .....................       751      97,215
September ..................       936     106,842

Third Quarter ..............     3,020     369,035         1,014          189,250           33.6         51.3

October ....................       874     103,755
November ...................     1,697     216,514
December ...................     2,677     326,743

Fourth Quarter .............     5,248     647,012         2,005          376,611           38.2         58.2

             2001           

January ....................     1,522     200,343
February ...................     1,501     172,908
March ......................     1,527     171,466

First Quarter ..............     4,550     544,717         1,765          340,151           38.8         62.4

April ......................     1,450     176,265
May ........................     1,434     159,365
June .......................     2,107     253,826

Second Quarter .............     4,991     589,456         2,072          401,294           41.5         68.1

July .......................     2,117     273,807
August .....................     1,490     166,148
September ..................     1,327     160,402

Third Quarter ..............     4,934     600,357         1,815          371,124           36.8         61.8

October ....................     1,831     215,483
November ...................     2,721     295,956
December ...................     2,440     268,893

Fourth Quarter .............     6,992     780,332         2,700          497,136           38.6         63.7

             2002           

January ....................     2,146     263,821
February ...................     1,383     138,984
March ......................     1,460     161,336

First Quarter ..............     4,989     564,141   (2)(p)1,669    (2)(p)236,891        (p)33.5      (p)42.0

April ......................     1,507     165,861
May(p) .....................     1,726     180,007
June(3)(p) .................     1,557     159,352

    1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. 
The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated 
with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 
    2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become available. 
Recent experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less 
than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. 
    3 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Arizona. 
    p = preliminary. 
Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                                                 
                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                    

                                                     June     April     May     June        June       April       May       June  
                                                     2001r    2002     2002p    2002p       2001r      2002       2002p      2002p 


     Total(1) ...................................    2,107    1,507    1,726    1,557      253,826    165,861    180,007    159,352

Total, private ..................................    1,902    1,458    1,635    1,340      235,463    161,342    170,712    141,095

  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....      118       79       62       90        9,441      8,079      3,802      6,038
  Mining ........................................        5       15       15        8        1,569      1,409      1,553      1,210
  Utilities .....................................    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        6        3        ( 2 )      ( 2 )        597        303
  Construction ..................................       89      105      165       84        6,888      9,135     13,521      5,809
  Manufacturing .................................      737      461      488      335      116,005     50,897     52,720     42,007
      Food ......................................       66       80       79       49        6,061      9,291      9,335      5,851
      Beverage and tobacco products .............    ( 2 )        8        3        6        ( 2 )        899        224        452
      Textile mills .............................       33        9       19       10       10,526      1,120      2,072      1,118
      Textile product mills .....................        9    ( 2 )        8        5        1,151      ( 2 )        617        663
      Apparel ...................................       38       30       33       15        3,208      3,742      2,578      1,363
      Leather and allied products ...............    ( 2 )        5        -    ( 2 )        ( 2 )        437          -      ( 2 )
      Wood products .............................       16       19       23       18        1,448      1,637      2,348      2,359
      Paper .....................................       19       15       10        8        2,065      1,330      1,141      1,078
      Printing and related support activities ...       10       10       21       13          875        874      1,892      1,057
      Petroleum and coal products ...............        -    ( 2 )        3    ( 2 )            -      ( 2 )        184      ( 2 )

      Chemicals .................................       13       10       11        6        1,641        664        815        606
      Plastics and rubber products ..............       50       11        9       10        9,676        857        798        898
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............       16        9       10        8        1,788        717      1,190        754
      Primary metals ............................       37       22       27       18        4,920      1,979      2,787      2,681
      Fabricated metal products .................       46       22       25       20        4,212      1,781      2,252      2,103
      Machinery .................................       57       35       35       27        8,342      5,045      3,902      4,543
      Computer and electronic products ..........       96       74       69       36       14,318      7,336      5,813      2,959
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......       31       19       28       24        5,580      2,427      4,490      5,171
      Transportation equipment ..................      145       53       53       34       34,384      7,428      6,869      5,594
      Furniture and related products ............       32       18       12       17        4,111      1,919      2,513      2,005
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............       18        7       10        7        1,309        735        900        527

  Wholesale trade ...............................       45       27       35       22        4,419      2,212      2,937      2,076
  Retail trade ..................................      106      122      131       79       10,425     13,715     16,192      6,937
  Transportation and warehousing ................      126      104       52      141       19,525     15,442      5,680     18,068
  Information ...................................       70       86       86       42        7,807     12,127     13,036      4,210
  Finance and insurance .........................       30       34       44       34        2,781      3,142      3,327      2,379
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............    ( 2 )        4        7        7        ( 2 )        684        452        602
  Professional and technical services ...........       48       62       80       36        4,313      7,767      6,199      8,902
  Management of companies and enterprises .......    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        4        3        ( 2 )      ( 2 )        395        621
  Administrative and waste services .............      181      177      222      164       16,840     18,110     26,191     14,175
  Educational services ..........................        9        5        3       18          529        356        190      1,128
  Health care and social assistance .............      131       29       76      113       11,841      2,406      7,006     10,475
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       28       33       33       28        2,251      3,507      2,267      1,928
  Accommodation and food services ...............       86       74       88       79       11,545      7,378     10,807      9,911
  Other services, except public administration ..       53       26       34       49        4,645      3,279      3,228      3,976

  Unclassified ..................................       29       10        4        5        3,249      1,106        612        340

Government ......................................      205       49       91      217       18,363      4,519      9,295     18,257
  Federal .......................................       17        7       21       10        2,870        543      2,739      1,093
  State .........................................       28       15       14       16        2,419      1,717      1,510      1,665
  Local .........................................      160       27       56      191       13,074      2,259      5,046     15,499


    1 For June 2002, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Arizona. 
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised.
    NOTE: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is
the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part
of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by
industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series
from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. Dash represents zero. 
Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division
                            
                                                                                       Initial claimants for            
                                           Mass layoff events                          unemployment insurance           
  Census region and division

                                June       April       May       June         June        April        May        June  
                                2001       2002       2002p      2002p        2001        2002        2002p       2002p 

      United States(1) ..... (r)2,107      1,507      1,726      1,557    (r)253,826     165,861     180,007     159,352

Northeast ..................      299        306        266        258        38,111      38,576      24,998      30,153

  New England ..............       67         62         41         57         7,145       7,263       3,765       6,746
  Middle Atlantic ..........      232        244        225        201        30,966      31,313      21,233      23,407

South ......................   (r)505        331        467        380     (r)65,490      35,740      48,506      37,559

  South Atlantic ...........      249        158        211        197        34,834      16,451      18,633      17,657
  East South Central .......      110         58         88         67        14,057       6,629       9,448       7,935
  West South Central .......   (r)146        115        168        116     (r)16,599      12,660      20,425      11,967

Midwest ....................      569        314        377        311        87,401      37,119      44,788      36,493

  East North Central .......      452        260        266        238        65,836      31,127      31,152      27,739
  West North Central .......      117         54        111         73        21,565       5,992      13,636       8,754

West .......................      734        556        616        608        62,824      54,426      61,715      55,147

  Mountain .................       77         61         48         36         8,012       7,382       4,604       4,497
  Pacific ..................      657        495        568        572        54,812      47,044      57,111      50,650


    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised.
    NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, 
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; 
South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, 
and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, 
Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: 
Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, 
Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. 

Table 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                            
                                                                                          Initial claimants for            
                                            Mass layoff events                            unemployment insurance           
            State           

                                June        April        May        June         June        April        May        June  
                                2001        2002        2002p       2002p        2001        2002        2002p       2002p 

   Total(1) ................ (r)2,107       1,507       1,726       1,557    (r)253,826     165,861     180,007     159,352

Alabama ....................       26          25          38          24         2,649       2,529       4,352       3,415
Alaska .....................    ( 2 )           4       ( 2 )           4         ( 2 )         361       ( 2 )         401
Arizona ....................       17          24          11       ( 1 )         2,215       3,649       1,256       ( 1 )
Arkansas ...................        5           7           8           3           489         509         629         210
California .................      590         436         517         507        46,675      39,943      50,063      43,520
Colorado ...................       14          11           9           3         1,274       1,121         858         277
Connecticut ................        8           4           9          14           783         232         665       2,018
Delaware ...................    ( 2 )           3           -       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         508           -       ( 2 )
District of Columbia .......        4       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           338       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Florida ....................      106          69         102         104         8,319       6,303       7,045       7,222
Georgia ....................       44          16          30          20         4,361       1,686       3,083       2,966
Hawaii .....................    ( 2 )           7           6       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         512         462       ( 2 )
Idaho ......................       11           6           9           7         1,084         625       1,014       1,571

Illinois ...................       85          61          67          58        13,605       9,583      10,079       6,074
Indiana ....................       42          24          26          27         8,600       2,998       3,267       4,628
Iowa .......................       14          12          19          13         1,789       1,530       2,203       1,615
Kansas .....................        8           9          14           4         1,972         797       1,620         439
Kentucky ...................       41          20          21          20         7,560       2,315       2,258       2,252
Louisiana ..................    (r)36          19          22          28      (r)4,212       1,982       2,166       2,757
Maine ......................    ( 2 )           7           5           4         ( 2 )         822         353         225
Maryland ...................        9           3           6          10           649         218         534       1,095
Massachusetts ..............       36          24          21          23         3,613       2,891       2,065       1,851
Michigan ...................      181          30          44          50        26,714       2,714       4,408       5,002
Minnesota ..................       38          14          23          19         6,327       1,936       2,768       2,900
Mississippi ................       15           5           9           6         1,276         287         821         405
Missouri ...................       46          11          43          26         9,019         974       5,656       2,665

Montana ....................        5           3           3       ( 2 )           355         224         212       ( 2 )
Nebraska ...................        6           6       ( 2 )           5         1,098         499       ( 2 )         429
Nevada .....................       17           9           8          15         2,067       1,169         714       1,933
New Hampshire ..............        7          10       ( 2 )           5           698       1,099       ( 2 )       1,229
New Jersey .................       52          35          42          57         9,745       4,439       4,384       9,137
New Mexico .................        7       ( 2 )           5           3           564       ( 2 )         355         168
New York ...................       32         126          80          40         3,045      17,889       6,785       3,072
North Carolina .............       23          25          21          18         2,505       2,832       1,637       1,771
North Dakota ...............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           5           5         ( 2 )       ( 2 )         653         644
Ohio .......................       77          80          70          46         9,401       9,034       7,231       5,247
Oklahoma ...................       11           5           7           7         1,355         324         760         450
Oregon .....................       32          24          25          30         4,572       3,118       3,291       3,446
Pennsylvania ...............      148          83         103         104        18,176       8,985      10,064      11,198

Rhode Island ...............       11           8       ( 2 )           8         1,700       1,431       ( 2 )       1,246
South Carolina .............       39          21          24          19        12,225       2,450       2,492       1,848
South Dakota ...............    ( 2 )           -           5       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -         562       ( 2 )
Tennessee ..................       28           8          20          17         2,572       1,498       2,017       1,863
Texas ......................       94          84         131          78        10,543       9,845      16,870       8,550
Utah .......................        6           6           3           6           453         460         195         422
Vermont ....................    ( 2 )           9       ( 2 )           3         ( 2 )         788       ( 2 )         177
Virginia ...................       21          17          23          20         4,233       1,959       3,355       2,193
Washington .................       29          24          18          29         2,944       3,110       3,154       3,163
West Virginia ..............        -           3           4       ( 2 )             -         346         347       ( 2 )
Wisconsin ..................       67          65          59          57         7,516       6,798       6,167       6,788
Wyoming ....................        -           -           -           -             -           -           -           -

Puerto Rico ................       17          12          12           9         1,816       1,591       1,390         998

    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
    p = preliminary. 
    r = revised.
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.