For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, September 22, 2011 USDL-11-1375 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 • mlsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mls 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

MASS LAYOFFS — AUGUST 2011 

Employers took 1,587 mass layoff actions in August involving 165,547 workers, seasonally adjusted, as 

measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. 

The number of mass layoff events in August increased by 8 from July, and the number of associated 

initial claims increased by 20,547. In August, 391 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing 

sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 48,997 initial claims. (See table 1.) 

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

Events

Manufacturing

Chart 1. Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted,

September 2006-August 2011

Total

Private nonfarm

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

Claims

Total

Manufacturing

Chart 2. Mass layoff initial claims, seasonally adjusted,

September 2006-August 2011

Private nonfarm

The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in August, unchanged from the prior month but down 

from 9.6 percent a year earlier. In August, total nonfarm payroll employment was unchanged from the 

prior month at 131.1 million and increased over the year by 1.3 million. 

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

The number of mass layoff events in August was 961, not seasonally adjusted, resulting in 99,213 initial 

claims for unemployment insurance. Mass layoff events decreased by 15 from August 2010, while 

associated initial claims increased by 6,778. (See table 2.) Nine of the 19 major industry sectors in the 

private economy reported over-the-year increases in initial claims, with the largest increases occurring in 

information and manufacturing. The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in 

August 2011 was wired telecommunications carriers. (See table A. The table includes both publicly and 

privately owned entities.) 
- 2 - 

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in August 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

Year Initial claims

Wired telecommunications carriers ..................... 15,014 2011 15,014 

Temporary help services 1

 .................................. 8,557 1999 11,533 

School and employee bus transportation ............. 5,359 2003 6,538 

Motion picture and video production .................. 2,027 2003 6,812 

Food service contractors ................................... 1,868 2011 1,868 

Automobile manufacturing .................................. 1,820 2001 8,166 

Lawn and garden equipment manufacturing ......... ( 2 ) 2011 ( 2 )

Professional employer organizations 1 ................. 1,504 2008 5,252 

Household refrigerator and home freezer mfg. ..... 1,482 2011 1,482 

Warehouse clubs and supercenters ..................... 1,431 2009 1,552 

 1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.

 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Industry Initial claims August peak

The manufacturing sector accounted for 24 percent of all mass layoff events and 27 percent of initial 

claims filed in August. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 24 percent of events and 25 percent of 

initial claims. Within this sector, the number of claimants in August 2011 was greatest in the 

transportation equipment subsector. Eleven of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-theyear increases in initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in machinery. (See table 3.) 

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) 

Three of the 4 regions and 8 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims for 

unemployment insurance due to mass layoffs in August. Among the census regions, the Northeast 

registered the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims. Of the geographic divisions, the Middle 

Atlantic had the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims. (See table 5.) 

California recorded the highest number of mass layoff initial claims in August, followed by 

Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Thirty states and the District of Columbia 

experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by Massachusetts and New Jersey. (See 

table 6.) 

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. 
- 3 - 

____________ 

The Mass Layoffs news release for September is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, October 25, 

2011, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). 

Upcoming Changes to the Mass Layoffs News Release 

The following changes will be introduced in the October 2011 mass layoffs news release scheduled 

to be released on Tuesday, November 22, 2011. 

 Charts 1 and 2 will be replaced with a single chart showing 10 years of mass layoff initial 

claims data. 

 Table A will only show private nonfarm industries. 

 Seasonally adjusted data will be removed from Table 3 since these data are shown in Table 1. 

Select three-digit industry detail will be added to several two-digit industries. Public education 

industry detail will be displayed within the state and local government sections of Table 3. The 

previous two months’ data will be removed; the current month and the previous year’s data 

will be shown. 

 Table 4 will be removed from the monthly release and issued as a supplemental table to the 

quarterly release. Table 5 and Table 6 will be combined to create a new Table 4. The 

geographic divisions shown in Table 5 will be removed, and the states will be grouped into 

their respective Census regions. The previous two months’ data will be removed; the current 

month and previous year’s data will be shown. 

 The new Tables 3 and 4 will include average weekly mass layoff events and average weekly 

initial claims for the current month and previous year. See the Technical Note for a description 

of average weekly analysis.
Technical Note 

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federalstate program that uses a standardized automated approach to 

identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job 

cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment 

insurance database. Each month, states report on employers 

which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during 

a consecutive 5-week period. These employers then are 

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. 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; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339 

Definitions 

Employer. Employers in the MLS program include 

those covered by state unemployment insurance laws. 

Information on employers is obtained from the Quarterly 

Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which 

is administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

Industry. Employers are classified according to the 

2007 version of the North American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). For temporary help and professional 

employer organization industries, monthly MLS-related 

statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client 

companies in other industries. An individual layoff action at 

a client company can be small, but when initial claimants 

associated with many such layoffs are assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a 

mass layoff event may trigger. 

Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of 

entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a 

subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or 

period of eligibility. 

Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for 

unemployment insurance benefits filed against an employer 

during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. 

Seasonal adjustment 

Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS 

began publishing 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 expansions and contractions. 

The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-

ARIMA seasonal adjustment method on a concurrent basis. 

Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available monthly 

estimates, including those for the current month, in developing 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 1 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, September 2007 to August 2011,

seasonally adjusted

2007

September ................................................... 1,233 121,998 1,140 115,675 430 51,731 

October ........................................................ 1,330 133,063 1,210 124,455 439 56,970 

November .................................................... 1,397 145,339 1,269 135,651 408 56,985 

December .................................................... 1,553 154,275 1,435 144,785 463 59,445 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,437 146,900 1,302 135,622 431 55,562 

February ....................................................... 1,604 175,128 1,441 163,475 471 59,118 

March ........................................................... 1,500 150,502 1,388 140,424 435 56,156 

April .............................................................. 1,292 128,901 1,162 118,016 449 58,402 

May .............................................................. 1,582 161,944 1,444 152,230 468 62,452 

June ............................................................. 1,631 164,508 1,488 153,014 491 68,198 

July ............................................................... 1,581 164,497 1,443 153,720 463 62,425 

August .......................................................... 1,791 181,107 1,653 171,705 583 77,874 

September ................................................... 2,192 233,034 2,024 219,532 635 82,471 

October ........................................................ 2,221 229,254 2,062 215,787 697 92,408 

November .................................................... 2,415 228,107 2,256 214,631 900 102,284 

December .................................................... 2,443 245,661 2,264 231,138 927 114,280 

2009

January ........................................................ 2,272 238,717 2,103 224,850 756 100,927 

February ....................................................... 2,801 315,507 2,636 300,042 1,194 138,583 

March ........................................................... 2,950 295,543 2,758 279,027 1,205 144,713 

April .............................................................. 2,579 251,032 2,368 234,796 997 121,435 

May .............................................................. 2,758 288,319 2,557 271,425 1,187 147,548 

June ............................................................. 2,506 250,275 2,293 232,814 1,048 135,389 

July ............................................................... 2,192 223,697 1,977 203,365 620 72,932 

August .......................................................... 2,419 220,262 2,177 201,951 778 83,837 

September ................................................... 2,305 219,924 2,095 204,596 799 91,665 

October ........................................................ 1,975 195,347 1,780 177,977 570 63,646 

November .................................................... 1,754 154,223 1,585 141,439 464 51,891 

December .................................................... 1,725 156,274 1,545 141,649 420 43,584 

2010

January ........................................................ 1,716 171,633 1,541 157,597 494 60,059 

February ....................................................... 1,492 149,369 1,318 135,490 351 40,564 

March ........................................................... 1,635 146,901 1,436 131,953 347 37,273 

April .............................................................. 1,675 159,358 1,498 143,814 371 48,646 

May .............................................................. 1,665 155,352 1,405 133,913 314 30,967 

June ............................................................. 1,729 153,937 1,504 134,837 326 32,646 

July ............................................................... 1,528 138,581 1,316 121,378 296 30,752 

August .......................................................... 1,658 163,325 1,453 141,489 409 47,668 

September ................................................... 1,541 137,941 1,331 119,654 336 34,641 

October ........................................................ 1,649 147,204 1,445 130,264 353 37,394 

November .................................................... 1,579 148,800 1,397 133,845 350 39,072 

December .................................................... 1,483 137,992 1,272 122,688 319 35,977 

2011

January ........................................................ 1,534 149,799 1,344 132,730 341 39,189 

February ....................................................... 1,421 130,818 1,220 116,190 291 26,060 

March ........................................................... 1,286 118,523 1,128 105,636 253 27,619 

April .............................................................. 1,564 143,927 1,401 129,702 327 35,022 

May .............................................................. 1,599 143,540 1,405 127,494 373 38,673 

June ............................................................. 1,532 143,444 1,348 128,105 341 35,693 

July ............................................................... 1,579 145,000 1,363 124,745 342 35,460 

August .......................................................... 1,587 165,547 1,373 150,136 391 48,997 

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants
Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, September 2007 to August 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

2007

September ................................................... 717 67,385 667 64,026 246 29,381 

October ........................................................ 1,083 108,455 929 97,716 338 50,918 

November .................................................... 1,799 198,220 1,593 181,184 514 75,413 

December .................................................... 2,167 224,214 2,071 216,898 699 91,754 

2008

January ........................................................ 1,647 154,503 1,520 144,191 488 54,418 

February ....................................................... 1,269 119,508 1,178 113,587 361 42,527 

March ........................................................... 1,089 114,541 1,039 110,147 333 43,740 

April .............................................................. 1,272 130,810 1,172 121,625 394 48,188 

May .............................................................. 1,552 159,471 1,438 150,462 388 51,698 

June ............................................................. 1,622 166,742 1,315 140,916 309 42,097 

July ............................................................... 1,891 200,382 1,687 186,018 760 108,733 

August .......................................................... 1,427 139,999 1,343 133,146 414 51,912 

September ................................................... 1,292 129,586 1,202 122,505 361 46,391 

October ........................................................ 2,125 221,784 1,917 205,553 689 100,457 

November .................................................... 2,574 241,589 2,389 226,657 997 107,620 

December .................................................... 3,377 351,305 3,232 340,220 1,378 172,529 

2009

January ........................................................ 3,806 388,813 3,633 375,293 1,461 172,757 

February ....................................................... 2,262 218,438 2,173 210,755 945 103,588 

March ........................................................... 2,191 228,387 2,107 221,397 940 114,747 

April .............................................................. 2,547 256,930 2,385 243,321 887 100,872 

May .............................................................. 2,738 289,628 2,572 274,047 1,005 123,683 

June ............................................................. 2,519 256,357 2,051 216,063 674 85,726 

July ............................................................... 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 1,133 154,208 

August .......................................................... 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 436 41,151 

September ................................................... 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 448 51,126 

October ........................................................ 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 566 69,655 

November .................................................... 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 517 55,053 

December .................................................... 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 615 64,540 

2010

January ........................................................ 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 962 104,846 

February ....................................................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 282 30,728 

March ........................................................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 273 29,745 

April .............................................................. 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 424 55,178 

May .............................................................. 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 216 19,334 

June ............................................................. 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 212 21,083 

July ............................................................... 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 532 64,200 

August .......................................................... 976 92,435 897 83,021 230 23,088 

September ................................................... 920 77,654 806 67,987 187 19,403 

October ........................................................ 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 351 40,861 

November .................................................... 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 389 41,383 

December .................................................... 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 465 52,816 

2011

January ........................................................ 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 693 75,006 

February ....................................................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 222 18,471 

March ........................................................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 191 20,869 

April .............................................................. 1,750 189,919 1,625 176,478 397 47,104 

May .............................................................. 1,367 119,911 1,221 108,531 270 25,199 

June ............................................................. 1,661 159,930 1,238 122,821 226 22,986 

July ............................................................... 2,176 216,774 1,759 174,078 602 71,814 

August .......................................................... 961 99,213 875 93,159 228 26,916 

Date

Total Private nonfarm Manufacturing

Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants Events Initial

claimants
Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

August June July August August June July August

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

Seasonally adjusted

 Total ............................................................... 1,658 1,532 1,579 1,587 163,325 143,444 145,000 165,547 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 1,453 1,348 1,363 1,373 141,489 128,105 124,745 150,136 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 409 341 342 391 47,668 35,693 35,460 48,997 

Not seasonally adjusted

 Total 1

 ............................................................ 976 1,661 2,176 961 92,435 159,930 216,774 99,213 

Total, private ........................................................ 923 1,282 1,867 904 84,610 125,944 182,960 94,711 

 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ......... 26 44 108 29 1,589 3,123 8,882 1,552 

 Total, private nonfarm ........................................ 897 1,238 1,759 875 83,021 122,821 174,078 93,159 

 Mining .............................................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Utilities ............................................................. – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Construction .................................................... 105 84 118 65 6,910 6,847 8,990 4,628 

 Manufacturing .................................................. 230 226 602 228 23,088 22,986 71,814 26,916 

 Food ............................................................ 54 51 84 51 4,312 5,011 9,998 4,585 

 Beverage and tobacco products .................. ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) 472 

 Textile mills .................................................. 4 8 29 8 888 1,131 3,341 944 

 Textile product mills ..................................... 3 6 9 3 272 420 1,107 200 

 Apparel ........................................................ 9 10 14 10 573 1,119 1,526 1,024 

 Leather and allied products ......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 869 –

 Wood products ............................................ 17 12 28 11 1,355 1,083 2,826 1,242 

 Paper ........................................................... 7 5 4 7 559 427 298 512 

 Printing and related support activities .......... 3 5 9 6 246 383 930 569 

 Petroleum and coal products ....................... – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Chemicals .................................................... 8 ( 2

 ) 12 6 562 ( 2 ) 935 303 

 Plastics and rubber products ....................... 10 11 36 8 691 880 3,359 705 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ...................... 8 5 13 11 621 380 1,612 685 

 Primary metals ............................................. 7 11 24 5 835 914 2,450 415 

 Fabricated metal products ........................... 12 10 27 11 925 607 2,980 1,051 

 Machinery .................................................... 18 16 34 16 2,077 2,042 4,799 4,407 

 Computer and electronic products ............... 15 10 19 10 999 716 1,735 884 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ........... 8 9 19 12 1,303 915 2,628 2,537 

 Transportation equipment ............................ 32 34 193 30 4,869 4,871 26,488 4,688 

 Furniture and related products .................... 6 7 31 7 1,417 771 2,770 952 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ...................... 4 9 9 10 319 826 726 741 

 Wholesale trade ............................................... 18 18 21 17 1,324 1,440 1,594 1,347 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 108 82 165 79 10,430 7,177 17,189 6,804 

 Transportation and warehousing ..................... 45 144 114 74 4,356 19,513 9,326 7,181 

 Information ....................................................... 36 41 52 58 6,155 5,721 5,289 18,813 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 24 18 43 26 1,945 1,158 2,769 1,647 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .................. 7 7 10 4 514 779 856 235 

 Professional and technical services ................ 43 32 51 24 4,657 3,378 4,372 1,737 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 6 5 5 4 490 351 654 269 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 158 170 320 162 14,605 16,582 31,193 13,158 

 Educational services ........................................ 6 26 29 11 902 1,604 1,993 1,329 

 Health care and social assistance ................... 36 177 104 30 2,532 14,975 7,079 2,279 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 17 30 30 17 1,286 1,664 2,867 1,438 

 Accommodation and food services .................. 50 120 74 65 3,424 14,179 6,445 4,533 

 Other services, except public administration ... ( 2 ) 53 17 8 ( 2 ) 4,129 1,336 654 

 Unclassified ..................................................... – – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Government ......................................................... 53 379 309 57 7,825 33,986 33,814 4,502 

 Federal ............................................................ 18 18 10 10 1,933 1,942 784 833 

 State ................................................................ 12 29 78 15 894 2,086 12,220 1,267 

 Local ................................................................ 23 332 221 32 4,998 29,958 20,810 2,402 

 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Industry
Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2009 to August 2011,

not seasonally adjusted

Extended mass layoffs 

lasting more than 30 days Realization rates 1

Events Initial

claimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants Events Initialclaimants

2009

July ............................................ 3,054 336,654 2,659 296,589 

August ........................................ 1,428 125,024 1,334 117,193 

September ................................. 1,371 123,177 1,258 115,141 

Third Quarter ............................. 5,853 584,855 5,251 528,923 2,034 406,823 38.7 76.9 

October ...................................... 1,934 193,904 1,678 172,883 

November .................................. 1,870 164,496 1,679 150,751 

December .................................. 2,310 214,648 2,166 203,655 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 6,114 573,048 5,523 527,289 2,416 468,577 43.7 88.9 

2010

January ...................................... 2,860 278,679 2,682 265,074 

February .................................... 1,183 102,818 1,091 96,022 

March ......................................... 1,197 111,727 1,111 105,514 

First Quarter ............................... 5,240 493,224 4,884 466,610 1,870 368,664 38.3 79.0 

April ............................................ 1,840 199,690 1,697 184,654 

May ............................................ 1,354 123,333 1,170 109,203 

June ........................................... 1,861 171,190 1,355 125,872 

Second Quarter ......................... 5,055 494,213 4,222 419,729 2,008 396,441 47.6 94.5 

July ............................................ 2,124 206,254 1,732 172,248 

August ........................................ 976 92,435 897 83,021 

September ................................. 920 77,654 806 67,987 

Third Quarter ............................. 4,020 376,343 3,435 323,256 1,370 260,030 39.9 80.4 

October ...................................... 1,642 148,638 1,373 127,865 

November .................................. 1,676 158,048 1,477 142,591 

December .................................. 1,931 184,130 1,763 172,881 

Fourth Quarter ........................... 5,249 490,816 4,613 443,337 1,999 390,445 43.3 88.1 

2011

January ...................................... 2,558 246,463 2,372 229,765 

February .................................... 1,024 85,585 919 78,718 

March ......................................... 908 85,095 844 80,014 

First Quarter ............................... 4,490 417,143 4,135 388,497 1,490 257,031 36.0 66.2 

April ............................................ 1,750 189,919 1,625 176,478 

May ............................................ 1,367 119,911 1,221 108,531 

June ........................................... 1,661 159,930 1,238 122,821 

Second Quarter ......................... 4,778 469,760 4,084 407,830 2,p 1,624 2,p 231,643 p

 39.8 p 56.8 

July ............................................ 2,176 216,774 1,759 174,078 

August ........................................ 961 99,213 875 93,159 

 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the

mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards

rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated

associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. with such events increases by 25-40 percent.

 2

 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more p = preliminary.

Date

Total mass layoffs

Private nonfarm

Mass layoffs
Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

August June July August August June July August

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 United States 1

 ......................................... 976 1,661 2,176 961 92,435 159,930 216,774 99,213 

Northeast .......................................................... 183 276 363 187 16,706 30,513 34,691 29,937 

 New England ................................................ 34 53 44 23 3,743 5,004 3,808 7,784 

 Middle Atlantic .............................................. 149 223 319 164 12,963 25,509 30,883 22,153 

South ................................................................ 274 482 624 277 21,631 45,180 62,261 25,771 

 South Atlantic ............................................... 160 273 358 174 12,404 24,626 33,888 15,565 

 East South Central ....................................... 55 60 164 47 4,584 5,603 17,365 4,879 

 West South Central ...................................... 59 149 102 56 4,643 14,951 11,008 5,327 

Midwest ............................................................ 157 326 505 181 17,140 33,813 62,114 20,541 

 East North Central ........................................ 124 236 359 132 13,603 26,402 41,262 14,839 

 West North Central ....................................... 33 90 146 49 3,537 7,411 20,852 5,702 

West ................................................................. 362 577 684 316 36,958 50,424 57,708 22,964 

 Mountain ....................................................... 31 64 67 36 2,197 6,011 6,339 3,048 

 Pacific ........................................................... 331 513 617 280 34,761 44,413 51,369 19,916 

 1

 See footnote 1, table 3. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, 

 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana,

comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas,

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota;

and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 

Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon,

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington.

Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama,

Census region and division
Table 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

not seasonally adjusted

Mass layoff events Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

August June July August August June July August

2010 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2011 2011

 Total 1

 ................................................ 976 1,661 2,176 961 92,435 159,930 216,774 99,213 

Alabama ............................................... 14 20 60 14 1,407 1,922 6,904 1,310 

Alaska ................................................... 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 884 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 307 

Arizona ................................................. 5 18 23 5 268 1,561 2,137 341 

Arkansas ............................................... 3 29 17 10 275 3,185 1,607 909 

California .............................................. 287 462 571 251 31,007 39,788 46,009 17,552 

Colorado ............................................... 5 9 8 6 355 708 704 547 

Connecticut ........................................... 8 10 8 3 880 807 713 280 

Delaware .............................................. ( 2 ) 6 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 415 233 ( 2 ) District of Columbia .............................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Florida ................................................... 93 114 147 78 6,506 9,161 12,098 5,176 

Georgia ................................................. 30 43 45 30 2,996 4,789 5,152 2,447 

Hawaii ................................................... 5 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 381 275 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Idaho ..................................................... 7 8 9 4 504 832 1,220 255 

Illinois .................................................... 32 61 48 35 3,707 6,436 5,599 5,514 

Indiana .................................................. 14 28 31 13 1,554 2,722 5,700 1,215 

Iowa ...................................................... 9 14 19 9 1,743 1,359 2,397 1,796 

Kansas .................................................. 4 8 12 9 366 682 1,372 1,497 

Kentucky ............................................... 18 22 54 13 1,422 2,003 6,294 1,935 

Louisiana .............................................. 16 28 21 7 1,010 2,056 1,936 378 

Maine .................................................... ( 2 ) 7 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 458 667 ( 2 )

Maryland ............................................... 6 12 13 4 363 1,102 1,486 812 

Massachusetts ...................................... 16 16 16 12 1,464 1,133 1,632 6,030 

Michigan ............................................... 14 55 130 21 2,385 5,413 14,164 1,986 

Minnesota ............................................. 4 17 68 7 307 1,249 11,406 607 

Mississippi ............................................ 14 5 25 10 1,057 240 1,853 613 

Missouri ................................................ 12 42 36 17 864 3,176 4,068 1,145 

Montana ................................................ ( 2

 ) 6 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 531 306 ( 2 )

Nebraska .............................................. 4 5 8 4 257 441 1,026 247 

Nevada ................................................. 7 12 10 11 484 1,292 875 1,158 

New Hampshire .................................... 6 3 5 ( 2 ) 657 614 363 ( 2 )

New Jersey ........................................... 31 44 81 23 2,449 6,432 7,381 6,817 

New Mexico .......................................... ( 2 ) 8 9 5 ( 2 ) 663 568 338 

New York .............................................. 59 55 142 71 5,547 5,185 14,892 7,506 

North Carolina 3

 .................................... 9 45 80 21 698 4,871 8,083 1,624 

North Dakota ........................................ – ( 2 ) 3 3 – ( 2 ) 583 410 

Ohio ...................................................... 27 42 67 25 2,569 6,150 7,739 2,420 

Oklahoma ............................................. ( 2 ) 6 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 481 1,206 ( 2 ) Oregon .................................................. 18 28 27 10 1,671 2,967 3,435 836 

Pennsylvania ........................................ 59 124 96 70 4,967 13,892 8,610 7,830 

Rhode Island ........................................ ( 2

 ) 10 4 4 ( 2 ) 1,276 323 882 

South Carolina ...................................... 11 23 28 20 792 1,878 2,724 2,871 

South Dakota ........................................ – ( 2 ) ––– ( 2 ) – –

Tennessee ............................................ 9 13 25 10 698 1,438 2,314 1,021 

Texas .................................................... 38 86 58 37 3,058 9,229 6,259 3,836 

Utah ...................................................... ( 2 ) 3 4 3 ( 2 ) 424 529 218 

Vermont ................................................ ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 716 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Virginia .................................................. 8 25 41 17 747 2,071 4,028 1,988 

Washington ........................................... 11 17 15 14 818 1,231 1,537 1,170 

West Virginia ........................................ – 3 – ( 2 ) – 189 – ( 2 )

Wisconsin ............................................. 37 50 83 38 3,388 5,681 8,060 3,704 

Wyoming ............................................... ( 2 ) ––– ( 2 ) –––

Puerto Rico ........................................... 12 10 19 12 987 941 2,333 1,282 

1

 See footnote 1, table 3. data due to a change in MLS unemployment insurance 2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. input procedures. 3

 Data starting in November 2010 may not be comparable to prior NOTE: Dash represents zero.

State