Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 05-878
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Friday, May 27, 2005
                                         

                        MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2005
   
   In April 2005, employers took 1,274 mass layoff actions, seasonally
adjusted, 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, and the number of workers involved totaled 136,837,
on a seasonally adjusted basis.  (See table 1.)  The number of layoff
events rose by 80, and the number of associated initial claims increased by
5,989 from March.  In the manufacturing sector, 395 mass layoff events were
reported during April 2005, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 63,121 initial
claims; both figures were higher than a month earlier.  (See table 1.)
   
   From January through April 2005, the total number of events (seasonally
adjusted), at 5,053, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 536,359,
were lower than in January-April 2004 (5,465 and 564,097, respectively).
   
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 55,332 initial claims in
April, 35 percent of the total.  (See table A.)  Temporary help services,
with 12,663 initial claims, and school and employee bus transportation,
with 9,046, together accounted for 14 percent of all initial claims in
April.
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff
events and 37 percent of all initial claims filed in April 2005.  A year
earlier, manufacturing comprised 24 percent of events and 23 percent of
initial claims.  Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in April
2005 was highest in transportation equipment (20,879, mostly automotive-
related), followed by food processing (9,653).  (See table 3.)

   Administrative and waste services accounted for 15 percent of events and
13 percent of initial claims filed in April, with layoffs mainly from tem-
porary help services.  Eight percent of all layoff events and initial claims
filed during the month were from the retail trade sector, primarily from
general merchandise stores.  Transportation and warehousing accounted for
7 percent of events and initial claims in April, mostly from school and
employee bus transportation.  Construction accounted for 9 percent of events
and 6 percent of initial claims during the month, largely among specialty
trade contractors.  An additional 3 percent of events and 5 percent of ini-
tial claims were from the information sector, mainly from motion picture and
video production.

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in
April 2005p
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          | Initial|      April peak
                 Industry                 | claims |--------------------------
                                          |        |   Year  | Initial claims
------------------------------------------|--------|---------|----------------
Temporary help services...................| 12,663 |   2001  |     17,507
School and employee bus transportation....|  9,046 |   2004  |     16,589
Automobile manufacturing .................|  6,976 |   1996  |     14,744
Motion picture and video production.......|  6,558 |   1997  |     15,908
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders...|  3,762 |   1998  |      4,054
Tax preparation services..................|  3,743 |   2005  |      3,743
Food service contractors..................|  3,414 |   2004  |      5,496
Discount department stores................|  3,294 |   2003  |      3,945
Professional employer organizations.......|  2,991 |   2001  |      3,280
Heavy duty truck manufacturing............|  2,885 |   2005  |      2,885
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  p=preliminary.
   

   Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and 3 percent
of initial claims filed in April, mostly in executive, legislative, and gen-
eral government agencies and educational services.
   
   Over the year, the number of layoff events declined by 85, while the
number of associated initial claims rose by 1,268.  The largest increases
in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing
(+16,123) and electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing (+2,636).
The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in
transit and ground passenger transportation (-7,900) and food manufacturing
(-3,929).
   
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims
in April due to mass layoffs was in the West (52,751).  (See table 5.)
Administrative and support services, motion picture and sound recording
industries, and agriculture and forestry support activities accounted for
43 percent of all mass-layoff initial claims in that region during the
month.  The Midwest had the second largest number of initial claims
(42,151), followed by the South (35,412) and the Northeast (28,268).
   
   The number of initial claimants from mass layoffs increased over the
year in two of the four regions.  The increases occurred in the Midwest
(+10,532) and in the South (+7,859).  The Northeast (-12,460) and the West
(-4,663) reported the over-the-year declines in initial claims.  Seven of
the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the number of
initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest in the East
North Central division (+8,430).  Over-the-year decreases occurred in the
Middle Atlantic (-12,661) and Pacific (-6,215) divisions.
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial
claims filed due to mass layoff events in April (39,775), mostly in ad-
ministrative and support services.  Ohio had the next highest, with 15,288
initial claims reported, followed by Pennsylvania (9,850), New York (8,072),
and Texas (7,416).  These five states accounted for 51 percent of all mass
layoff events and initial claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 6.)
   
   Ohio had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial
claims (+9,477), followed by Kentucky (+4,137).  The largest over-the-year
decreases occurred in New York (-10,984) and California (-4,536).

                                  - 3 -

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 2005 is scheduled to be released on
Thursday, June 23, 2005.
   
   
   

                                  - 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
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 2001 to April 2005,
seasonally adjusted

                                      Total             Private nonfarm        Manufacturing

             Date
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events  claimants
                            
             2001           

May ........................     1,679     207,811     1,523     193,998       755     110,133
June .......................     1,610     195,617     1,433     180,821       739     104,155
July .......................     1,704     200,376     1,568     188,468       719      93,867
August .....................     1,744     206,528     1,586     195,051       788     106,632
September ..................     2,409     277,214     2,235     263,192       834     108,615
October ....................     2,109     233,569     1,986     223,808       897     118,136
November ...................     2,094     218,273     1,935     207,129       944     114,556
December ...................     1,799     194,759     1,658     183,178       722      93,193
             
             2002           

January ....................     1,801     208,835     1,659     195,862       739      96,689
February ...................     1,773     204,089     1,620     192,450       701      91,285
March ......................     1,674     187,924     1,517     175,998       610      75,367
April ......................     1,685     186,574     1,497     169,228       591      69,481
May ........................     1,720     191,841     1,558     178,993       611      74,809
June .......................     1,615     170,307     1,438     156,759       551      73,064
July .......................     1,637     179,165     1,457     164,398       568      73,230
August .....................     1,475     160,855     1,330     149,148       562      65,564
September ..................     1,909     217,475     1,742     202,640       607      79,413
October ....................     1,716     178,860     1,524     162,411       598      71,765
November ...................     1,644     176,462     1,500     165,578       607      70,640
December ...................     1,825     193,627     1,661     179,368       638      86,714
             
             2003           

January ....................     1,383     134,258     1,193     120,033       402      49,440
February ...................     1,771     185,502     1,589     173,392       643      75,331
March ......................     1,773     176,540     1,577     161,662       618      75,289
April ......................     1,735     176,645     1,574     165,416       646      86,857
May ........................     1,709     186,158     1,532     173,123       624      87,615
June .......................     1,704     163,646     1,515     148,547       636      70,888
July .......................     1,653     163,061     1,444     147,883       590      71,203
August .....................     1,502     170,353     1,364     156,731       540      71,944
September ..................     1,559     145,961     1,370     132,233       471      56,274
October ....................     1,541     154,908     1,312     136,604       412      49,518
November ...................     1,400     137,651     1,241     125,115       397      46,955
December ...................     1,425     141,780     1,281     129,464       420      53,436
             
             2004           

January ....................     1,458     146,147     1,257     127,917       413      50,074
February ...................     1,237     126,421     1,091     115,302       358      36,783
March ......................     1,348     142,480     1,211     134,118       409      63,380
April ......................     1,422     149,049     1,239     132,180       360      43,158
May ........................     1,178     114,247     1,016     100,499       314      37,950
June .......................     1,375     141,300     1,215     129,466       361      47,548
July .......................     1,363     139,374     1,200     127,011       390      49,276
August .....................     1,392     130,483     1,208     115,035       330      36,422
September ..................     1,281     123,761     1,153     114,223       332      45,917
October ....................     1,274     125,414     1,145     116,042       350      44,908
November ...................     1,361     130,168     1,201     117,545       402      43,504
December ...................     1,211     119,649     1,064     108,157       283      34,940
             
             2005           

January ....................     1,457     150,990     1,321     140,826       379      58,908
February ...................     1,128     117,684     1,001     107,415       345      43,186
March(p) ...................     1,194     130,848     1,060     121,408       371      55,377
April(p) ...................     1,274     136,837     1,142     126,807       395      63,121

   
    p = preliminary. 






Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,  May 2001 to April 2005,
not seasonally adjusted            

                                      Total             Private nonfarm        Manufacturing

             Date
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants             
             2001                      

May ........................     1,434     159,365     1,331     151,186       528      64,887
June .......................     2,107     253,826     1,784     226,022       737     116,005
July .......................     2,117     273,807     1,952     259,128     1,144     168,877
August .....................     1,490     166,148     1,386     158,307       603      79,515
September ..................     1,327     160,402     1,214     151,161       485      58,544
October ....................     1,831     215,483     1,676     202,053       742     107,030
November ...................     2,721     295,956     2,373     270,268     1,122     151,969
December ...................     2,440     268,893     2,319     259,497     1,103     136,820
                       
             2002           

January ....................     2,146     263,777     2,028     252,245       892     128,825
February ...................     1,382     138,808     1,253     129,849       481      58,784
March ......................     1,460     161,316     1,335     151,305       500      59,613
April ......................     1,506     165,814     1,378     153,216       461      50,897
May ........................     1,723     179,799     1,571     166,801       488      52,720
June .......................     1,584     162,189     1,266     136,424       336      42,130
July .......................     2,042     245,294     1,819     226,892       907     135,271
August .....................     1,248     128,103     1,151     119,874       427      48,668
September ..................     1,062     124,522       957     114,736       352      43,755
October ....................     1,497     171,100     1,270     149,327       493      64,655
November ...................     2,153     240,171     1,860     216,237       719      92,712
December ...................     2,474     264,158     2,324     252,807       984     126,826
                       
             2003           

January ....................     2,315     225,430     2,130     210,918       822      90,244
February ...................     1,363     124,965     1,222     116,264       435      48,161
March ......................     1,207     113,026     1,099     104,468       390      41,063
April ......................     1,581     161,412     1,470     152,937       499      62,349
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(p) ...................       806      88,937       733      83,793       246      33,030
April(p) ...................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133       395      59,129


    p = preliminary. 





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 
                                                     2004      2005     2005p     2005p      2004       2005      2005p      2005p 

	       Seasonally adjusted

      Total .....................................    1,422     1,128    1,194     1,274     149,049    117,684   130,848    136,837     
    
 Total, private nonfarm .........................    1,239     1,001    1,060     1,142     132,180    107,415   121,408    126,807
  Manufacturing .................................      360       345      371       395      43,158     43,186    55,377     63,121     

      	    Not seasonally adjusted
      
      Total(1) ..................................    1,458       810      806     1,373     157,314     74,644    88,937    158,582

Total, private ..................................    1,396       779      777     1,324     149,806     72,331    86,306    154,339
  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....       80        57       44        61       7,149      3,959     2,513      6,206

 Total, private nonfarm .........................    1,316       722      733     1,263     142,657     68,372    83,793    148,133
  Mining ........................................    ( 2 )     ( 2 )    ( 2 )         3       ( 2 )      ( 2 )     ( 2 )        187
  Utilities .....................................    ( 2 )     ( 2 )    ( 2 )         4       ( 2 )      ( 2 )     ( 2 )        277
  Construction ..................................      149       118       91       126      11,904      7,245     6,648      9,652
  Manufacturing .................................      343       230      246       395      36,172     24,931    33,030     59,129
      Food ......................................      112        60       50        84      13,582      5,237     5,049      9,653
      Beverage and tobacco products .............        5         4        5         9         319        384       308        660
      Textile mills .............................        8         5        8        15       1,091        560     1,162      2,912
      Textile product mills .....................        5        10        4         6         420        874       337        626
      Apparel ...................................       12         7        9        14         922      1,083     1,351      1,346
      Leather and allied products ...............        5     ( 2 )        4     ( 2 )         399      ( 2 )       634      ( 2 )
      Wood products .............................       16        16       17        17       1,684      1,606     1,361      3,252
      Paper .....................................        7         6    ( 2 )         9         499        493     ( 2 )        769
      Printing and related support activities ...       15         9        8        10       1,618        668       493        789
      Petroleum and coal products ...............        -         -    ( 2 )         -           -          -     ( 2 )          -

      Chemicals .................................       11     ( 2 )    ( 2 )     ( 2 )         677      ( 2 )     ( 2 )      ( 2 )
      Plastics and rubber products ..............       12        13        9        18         936        902       851      1,931
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............        7        10        8        13         452        877       372      1,252
      Primary metals ............................        9     ( 2 )       10        16         920      ( 2 )     1,655      2,644
      Fabricated metal products .................       22        11       15        28       2,030        833     1,245      2,220
      Machinery .................................       19         9        9        16       1,658        765     1,101      2,028
      Computer and electronic products ..........       17        15       11        21       1,375        897     1,266      1,959
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......        7         6       10        16       1,252      1,352       785      3,888
      Transportation equipment ..................       32        29       48        77       4,625      6,915    13,543     20,879
      Furniture and related products ............       11         8        9        14         835        644       576      1,270
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............       11         5        5         6         878        316       363        503

  Wholesale trade ...............................       21        18        7        17       1,944      1,229       481      1,406
  Retail trade ..................................      118        75       64       109      12,659      6,398     5,811     12,287
  Transportation and warehousing ................      145        26       44        92      20,292      2,955     5,340     11,395
  Information ...................................       42        26       30        38       7,851      5,059     8,303      8,630
  Finance and insurance .........................       31        24       22        32       2,594      1,561     1,506      2,107
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............       11     ( 2 )        6         9       1,214      ( 2 )       277        793
  Professional and technical services ...........       54        14       22        65       6,939        798     3,709      7,778
  Management of companies and enterprises .......        4         -        3         6         269          -       315        540
  Administrative and waste services .............      194       119       89       206      20,812     12,354     6,572     19,862
  Educational services ..........................        4     ( 2 )    ( 2 )         4         374      ( 2 )     ( 2 )        260
  Health care and social assistance .............       31        12       16        27       2,118        662     1,097      1,921
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       40         8        7        32       3,368        430       516      2,689
  Accommodation and food services ...............       93        37       78        75      10,067      3,475     9,666      7,253
  Other services, except public administration ..       26         5    ( 2 )        21       3,240        300     ( 2 )      1,838
  Unclassified ..................................        6         1        2         2         563         56       100        129

 Government .....................................       62        31       29        49       7,508      2,313     2,631      4,243
  Federal .......................................       14         7        7         9       1,173        591       704        696
  State .........................................       11        11        8        12         884        784       802      1,054
  Local .........................................       37        13       14        28       5,451        938     1,125      2,493


   1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   p = preliminary.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero. 





Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2003 to April 2005,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                               

                                 Total mass layoffs                             Extended mass layoffs           Realization
             Date                                       Mass layoffs          lasting more than 30 days          rates (1)   

                                          Initial               Initial                     Initial                      Initial 
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants        Events     claimants        Events      claimants
           2003          

April ......................     1,581     161,412     1,470     152,937
May ........................     1,703     174,204     1,538     160,729
June .......................     1,691     157,552     1,336     127,743

Second Quarter .............     4,975     493,168     4,344     441,409         1,799       348,966          41.4         79.1

July .......................     2,087     226,435     1,815     206,901
August .....................     1,258     133,839     1,163     124,131
September ..................       868      82,647       756      73,914

Third Quarter ..............     4,213     442,921     3,734     404,946         1,190       227,909          31.9         56.3

October ....................     1,523     158,240     1,265     137,706
November ...................     1,438     138,543     1,234     123,524
December ...................     1,929     192,633     1,793     182,750

Fourth Quarter .............     4,890     489,416     4,292     443,980         1,690       326,328          39.4         73.5

           2004             

January ....................     2,428     239,454     2,226     220,687
February ...................       941      84,201       832      76,577
March ......................       920      92,554       847      87,782

First Quarter ..............     4,289     416,209     3,905     385,046         1,339    (r)238,392          34.3         61.9

April ......................     1,458     157,314     1,316     142,657
May ........................       988      87,501       878      78,786
June .......................     1,379     134,588     1,077     110,804

Second Quarter .............     3,825     379,403     3,271     332,247         1,358    (r)253,787          41.5      (r)76.4

July .......................     2,094     253,929     1,860     234,877
August .....................       809      69,033       745      63,876
September ..................       708      68,972       637      63,102

Third Quarter ..............     3,611     391,934     3,242     361,855        (r)886    (r)148,180       (r)27.3      (r)41.0

October ....................     1,242     127,918     1,101     117,375
November ...................     1,399     130,423     1,201     115,549
December ...................     1,614     161,271     1,487     152,092

Fourth Quarter .............     4,255     419,612     3,789     385,016      (r)1,427    (r)262,006       (r)37.7      (r)68.1

           2005             

January ....................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409
February ...................       810      74,644       722      68,372
March(p) ...................       806      88,937       733      83,793

First Quarter(p) ...........     4,180     427,533     3,876     405,574        (2)989    (2)127,950          25.5         31.5

April(p)  ..................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133


    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 
                                2004       2005       2005p     2005p       2004         2005       2005p       2005p 

        United States(1) ....   1,458       810        806      1,373      157,314      74,644      88,937     158,582

Northeast ...................     332       120        105        255       40,728      11,226      10,919      28,268
    
    New England .............      49        17         14         54        5,913       2,126       1,147       6,114
    Middle Atlantic .........     283       103         91        201       34,815       9,100       9,772      22,154

South .......................     292       143        154        268       27,553      14,788      17,171      35,412
    
    South Atlantic ..........     139        75         78        142       12,141       5,987       6,642      14,586
    East South Central ......      52        32         30         55        5,936       5,778       4,926       9,490
    West South Central ......     101        36         46         71        9,476       3,023       5,603      11,336

Midwest .....................     275       173        214        314       31,619      17,129      28,413      42,151
    
    East North Central ......     235       144        166        269       27,755      13,041      22,547      36,185
    West North Central ......      40        29         48         45        3,864       4,088       5,866       5,966

West ........................     559       374        333        536       57,414      31,501      32,434      52,751
    
    Mountain ................      52        31         37         64        5,962       2,315       3,386       7,514
    Pacific .................     507       343        296        472       51,452      29,186      29,048      45,237


    1 See footnote 1, table 3.
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: 
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and 
Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: 
Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North 
Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, 
Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. 





Table 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 
                              2004        2005       2005p     2005p         2004         2005        2005p      2005p 

   Total(1) .............    1,458         810         806     1,373       157,314       74,644      88,937    158,582

Alabama .................       15           8           7        10         2,051          620         725      1,314
Alaska ..................        5           -           -         5           633            -           -        719
Arizona .................       20       ( 2 )          10        32         3,177        ( 2 )         929      4,574
Arkansas ................        6       ( 2 )           4         5           513        ( 2 )         269        309
California ..............      440         321         274       421        44,311       27,567      26,727     39,775
Colorado ................        9           4           3         8           973          307         643        753
Connecticut .............        6       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         3           513        ( 2 )       ( 2 )        234
Delaware ................        3       ( 2 )           -         -           165        ( 2 )           -          -
District of Columbia ....        -       ( 2 )           -         -             -        ( 2 )           -          -
Florida .................       69          36          36        62         5,447        2,018       2,669      5,192
Georgia .................       21          14          15        27         2,111        1,415       1,324      3,444
Hawaii ..................        7           3       ( 2 )     ( 2 )           570          210       ( 2 )      ( 2 )
Idaho ...................        6           6           5         5           559          431         460        503

Illinois ................       54          42          21        55         7,471        4,138       2,035      6,502
Indiana .................       25          15          20        33         2,227        1,248       2,177      4,251
Iowa ....................        8           4          10        11           846          367         804      1,466
Kansas ..................        9           5           3         4         1,222          519         202        315
Kentucky ................       20          15          13        28         2,559        4,585       1,912      6,696
Louisiana ...............       28           7           4        16         2,554          503         267      1,437
Maine ...................        7       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         7           662        ( 2 )       ( 2 )        665
Maryland ................        9       ( 2 )           -         8           906        ( 2 )           -        748
Massachusetts ...........       16           8           8        16         1,759          450         684      1,339
Michigan ................       38          26          46        49         3,556        2,270       5,002      5,355
Minnesota ...............        5           6          12        14           327        1,907       1,110      2,273
Mississippi .............        6           5           -         3           419          308           -        201
Missouri ................       15          11          19        10         1,242          904       3,469      1,349

Montana .................    ( 2 )           3       ( 2 )         3         ( 2 )          157       ( 2 )        299
Nebraska ................        3           3           4         3           227          391         281        272
Nevada ..................        6          10           9         6           420          730         590        567
New Hampshire ...........    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -         4         ( 2 )        ( 2 )           -        379
New Jersey ..............       47          29          14        44         4,862        3,282       1,326      4,232
New Mexico ..............        4       ( 2 )           5         4           346        ( 2 )         413        319
New York ................      120          41          35        65        19,056        3,384       3,150      8,072
North Carolina ..........       20           7          11        25         1,768          777         879      2,588
North Dakota ............        -           -           -         -             -            -           -          -
Ohio ....................       51          26          31        80         5,811        1,855       8,919     15,288
Oklahoma ................        5           4           3         5           425          246         939      2,174
Oregon ..................       33           4          10        22         3,899          301       1,337      2,349
Pennsylvania ............      116          33          42        92        10,897        2,434       5,296      9,850

Rhode Island ............        8           3       ( 2 )        12         1,624        1,135       ( 2 )      2,191
South Carolina ..........        6           4           5        11           796          525         498      1,659
South Dakota ............        -           -           -         3             -            -           -        291
Tennessee ...............       11           4          10        14           907          265       2,289      1,279
Texas ...................       62          24          35        45         5,984        2,198       4,128      7,416
Utah ....................        4           3           3         5           248          252         235        428
Vermont .................       10       ( 2 )       ( 2 )        12         1,177        ( 2 )       ( 2 )      1,306
Virginia ................       10          11          11         7           849        1,085       1,272        716
Washington ..............       22          15          11        22         2,039        1,108         910      2,221
West Virginia ...........    ( 2 )           -           -     ( 2 )         ( 2 )            -           -      ( 2 )
Wisconsin ...............       67          35          48        52         8,690        3,530       4,414      4,789
Wyoming .................    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -     ( 2 )         ( 2 )        ( 2 )           -      ( 2 )

Puerto Rico .............       11          15          10        19         1,147        1,494       1,303      2,342

    
    1 See footnote 1, table 3.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.