Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 03-762
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                691-5902     Wednesday, November 26, 2003

                                     
                       MASS LAYOFFS IN OCTOBER 2003
                                     

   Employers initiated 1,523 mass layoff actions in October 2003, as
measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the
month, according to data from 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 158,240.  (See
table 1.)  Fewer mass-layoff initial claims were filed against employers 
in temporary help services, discount department stores, semiconductors and
related devices, and broadwoven fabric mills compared with October 2002.
The number of initial claims fell to their lowest levels for October since
2000.  From January through October 2003, the total number of events, at
15,596, and the number of initial claims, at 1,557,750, were lower than the
January-October period a year ago (15,650 events and 1,740,722 initial
claims).
   
   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").  The quar-
terly 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 1.)  See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
   
Industry Distribution

   Supermarkets and other grocery stores, with 13,682 initial claimants,
and temporary help services, with 11,964 initial claimants, together ac-
counted for 16 percent of all initial claims in October.  (See table A.)
The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial
claims accounted for 34 percent of the total.
   
   The manufacturing sector recorded 29 percent of all mass layoff events
and 34 percent of all initial claims filed in October.  A year ago, manu-
facturing reported 33 percent of events and 38 percent of initial claims.  
Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation 
equipment (10,229) and food processing (10,034).  (See table 2.)
   
   Retail trade accounted for 8 percent of events and 14 percent of initial 
claims filed in October, with layoffs mostly in supermarkets and other gro-
cery stores.  Administrative and waste services accounted for 15 percent of 
events and 14 percent of initial claims during the month, mainly in temporary 
help services.  Twelve percent of the events and 8 percent of the initial 
claims were from the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector, large-
ly among farm labor contractors and crew leaders.  An additional 9 percent of 
all layoff events and 7 percent of initial claims filed during October were 
from construction firms, primarily among specialty trade contractors.
   
   Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and initial
claims filed during the month, particularly in transit and ground passenger
transportation.  The 7,527 initial claims in government were the most for
an October since 1997.  The total number of events and initial claims in
government from January through October of this year have already exceeded
those for all of 2002.
   
   Compared with October 2002, the largest decreases in initial claims were 
reported in administrative and support services (-5,512) and computer and 
electronic products manufacturing (-4,562).  The largest over-the-year in-
crease in initial claims was in food and beverage stores (+11,257).

                                  - 2 - 

Table A.  Industries with the largest mass layoff initial claims in October 
2003p
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        |              |     October peak
                Industry                |Initial claims|----------------------
                                        |              | Year | Initial claims
----------------------------------------|--------------|------|---------------
Supermarkets and other grocery stores...|    13,682    | 2003 |     13,682
Temporary help services.................|    11,964    | 1998 |     18,760
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders.|     5,824    | 1998 |      9,617
Motion picture and video production.....|     5,403    | 1997 |      7,692
Professional employer organizations.....|     3,478    | 2001 |      3,523
Fruit and vegetable canning.............|     3,394    | 2002 |      4,500
Farm machinery and equipment mfg. ......|     3,061    | 1999 |      3,986
Automobile manufacturing................|     2,441    | 2001 |      7,563
Discount department stores..............|     2,310    | 2002 |      4,959
Other postharvest crop activities.......|     2,191    | 1998 |      2,529
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   p=preliminary.
   
Geographic Distribution

   Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in October
due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 68,376.  (See table 3.)  Admin-
istrative and support services, agriculture and forestry support activities, 
and food and beverage stores accounted for 37 percent of all initial claims 
in that region during the month.  The Midwest region was next, with 43,432 
initial claims, followed by the South, with 29,371, and the Northeast, with 
17,061.
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in 
three of the four regions, with the largest decrease in the West (-8,687).  
Eight of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the 
number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest de-
creases in the Pacific (-8,056) and South Atlantic (-4,549).  The West North 
Central division had the only increase (+8,791).
   
   California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass
layoff events this October, 57,322, mostly in administrative and support
services and in agriculture and forestry support activities.  Pennsylvania
reported 9,143 initial claims, followed by Missouri (8,165) and Illinois
(7,890).  These four states accounted for 53 percent of all layoff events
and 52 percent of initial claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 4.)
   
   California registered the largest over-the-year decrease in the number
of initial claims (-7,722), followed by South Carolina (-3,849).  The
largest over-the-year increase occurred in Missouri (+6,927).
   
   From January through October, California reported 409,420 initial claims, 
26 percent of the national total.  The states with the next highest numbers 
of initial claims were Pennsylvania (93,603), Ohio (85,707), New York (78,487), 
and Texas (78,108).
   
                      ______________________________
   
   Mass Layoffs in November 2003 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday,
December 23, 2003.
 
 

 

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 establish-
ments 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 long-
er, 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 ter-
minated 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 indi-
viduals 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, October 2001 to October 2003
                            
                                                            Extended mass layoffs 
                                Total mass layoffs        lasting more than 30 days        Realization rates(1)
             Date           

                                           Initial                        Initial                      Initial
                                Events    claimants       Events         claimants         Events     claimants
                            
             2001           

October ....................     1,831     215,483
November ...................     2,721     295,956
December ...................     2,440     268,893

Fourth Quarter .............     6,992     780,332         2,697          502,502           38.6         64.4

             2002           

January ....................     2,146     263,777
February ...................     1,382     138,808
March ......................     1,460     161,316

First Quarter ..............     4,988     563,901         1,750          316,489           35.1         56.1

April ......................     1,506     165,814
May ........................     1,723     179,799
June .......................     1,584     162,189

Second Quarter .............     4,813     507,802         1,905          353,017           39.6         69.5

July .......................     2,042     245,294
August .....................     1,248     128,103
September ..................     1,062     124,522

Third Quarter ..............     4,352     497,919         1,383       (r)284,629           31.8      (r)57.2

October ....................     1,497     171,100
November ...................     2,153     240,171
December ...................     2,474     264,158

Fourth Quarter .............     6,124     675,429         2,257       (r)421,570           36.9      (r)62.4

             2003           

January ....................     2,315     225,430
February ...................     1,363     124,965
March ......................     1,207     113,026

First Quarter ..............     4,885     463,421         1,700       (r)333,197           34.8      (r)71.9

April ......................     1,581     161,412
May ........................     1,703     174,204
June .......................     1,691     157,552

Second Quarter .............     4,975     493,168      (r)2,131       (r)415,316        (r)42.8      (r)84.2

July .......................     2,087     226,435
August .....................     1,258     133,839
September (p) ..............       868      82,647

Third Quarter (p) ..........     4,213     442,921      (2)1,375       (2)181,793           32.6         41.0

October (p) ................     1,523     158,240


    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 avaliable.
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. 
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised. 
     
 
 
 

Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                                                 
                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                    

                                                    October  August  September October     October    August    September   October
                                                     2002     2003     2003p    2003p       2002       2003       2003p      2003p 

     Total(1) ...................................    1,497    1,258      868    1,523      171,100    133,839     82,647    158,240

Total, private ..................................    1,448    1,201      799    1,453      165,372    126,266     76,296    150,713

  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....      178       38       43      188       16,045      2,135      2,382     13,007
  Mining ........................................        8        4        4        5          565        283        259        343
  Utilities .....................................        6    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )          532      ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )
  Construction ..................................      116      114       82      143        9,738      7,862      5,205     11,422
  Manufacturing .................................      493      405      271      438       64,655     52,620     31,428     53,741
      Food ......................................       84       42       44       96       12,169      5,803      4,145     10,034
      Beverage and tobacco products .............        8    ( 2 )    ( 2 )       16          477      ( 2 )      ( 2 )      1,237
      Textile mills .............................       24       21       21        9        4,786      7,154      3,510      1,533
      Textile product mills .....................       12        8    ( 2 )        8        1,511        739      ( 2 )        881
      Apparel ...................................       18       25       10       25        2,445      2,255      1,212      2,592
      Leather and allied products ...............        5    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )          384      ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )
      Wood products .............................       22       21       11       15        2,114      1,773        969      1,163
      Paper .....................................       11       13       10       12          968      1,083        834      1,049
      Printing and related support activities ...        8        4    ( 2 )       11          710        231      ( 2 )        998
      Petroleum and coal products ...............        5        -        -    ( 2 )          651          -          -      ( 2 )

      Chemicals .................................        8        7        9        7          598        549        602        546
      Plastics and rubber products ..............       18       24       10       16        1,658      2,203        886      1,390
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............       12        6        5       13          874        463        420      1,193
      Primary metals ............................       24       23       24       29        3,687      1,988      2,011      3,444
      Fabricated metal products .................       21       32        5       23        1,722      2,806        826      2,093
      Machinery .................................       47       39       21       35        8,309      6,606      2,073      7,212
      Computer and electronic products ..........       63       34       26       26        6,923      2,675      4,820      2,361
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......       25       21        9       11        4,879      2,564      1,142      2,493
      Transportation equipment ..................       49       50       31       55        6,856      9,476      4,825     10,229
      Furniture and related products ............       14       21       11       15        1,749      2,513      1,254      1,995
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............       15       11       10       11        1,185      1,351        662        883

  Wholesale trade ...............................       23       18       22       22        1,948      1,322      1,808      1,760
  Retail trade ..................................      112       99       69      115       15,506      9,980      5,789     21,870
  Transportation and warehousing ................       41       86       20       37        5,022      9,025      1,723      3,003
  Information ...................................       53       51       26       52        9,019      9,114      5,791      7,755
  Finance and insurance .........................       25       41       35       35        2,123      3,113      2,371      2,541
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............    ( 2 )        4        5       12        ( 2 )        349        382        718
  Professional and technical services ...........       42       41       29       30        3,525      3,775      3,730      2,447
  Management of companies and enterprises .......    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )
  Administrative and waste services .............      224      168      109      233       26,896     16,242      9,606     21,380
  Educational services ..........................        -        7        8    ( 2 )            -        592        634      ( 2 )
  Health care and social assistance .............       28       32       13       37        1,902      2,427        945      2,407
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       17       19       19       28        1,263      1,386      1,237      2,039
  Accommodation and food services ...............       58       45       37       62        5,057      3,228      2,623      5,176
  Other services, except public administration ..       14       22        3        7          908      2,234        183        459

  Unclassified ..................................        5        4        1        5          369        259         50        343

Government ......................................       49       57       69       70        5,728      7,573      6,351      7,527
  Federal .......................................        9       10       13       20          815      1,287      1,910      1,649
  State .........................................       14       16       14       16        1,991      1,766      1,417      1,383
  Local .........................................       26       31       42       34        2,922      4,520      3,024      4,495


    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: Industry data reflect the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 2002. 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

                              October    August    September   October      October     August     September    October
                               2002       2003       2003p      2003p        2002        2003        2003p       2003p 

      United States(1) ....    1,497      1,258        868      1,523       171,100     133,839      82,647     158,240

Northeast .................      181        220        107        184        20,961      21,272      12,115      17,061

  New England .............       38         25         19         16         4,694       2,151       4,559       1,157
  Middle Atlantic .........      143        195         88        168        16,267      19,121       7,556      15,904

South .....................      304        330        196        278        35,515      34,673      19,287      29,371

  South Atlantic ..........      159        164         96        134        17,819      18,195       8,698      13,270
  East South Central ......       48         68         31         44         6,198       8,033       4,144       5,310
  West South Central ......       97         98         69        100        11,498       8,445       6,445      10,791

Midwest ...................      293        239        165        325        37,561      30,872      16,868      43,432

  East North Central ......      238        199        125        264        30,761      25,707      12,646      27,841
  West North Central ......       55         40         40         61         6,800       5,165       4,222      15,591

West ......................      719        469        400        736        77,063      47,022      34,377      68,376

  Mountain ................       52         42         30         47         4,669       4,080       2,568       4,038
  Pacific .................      667        427        370        689        72,394      42,942      31,809      64,338


    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    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 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                         
                                                                                       Initial claimants for            
                                         Mass layoff events                            unemployment insurance           
           State         

                            October     August     September    October      October      August    September    October
                              2002       2003        2003p       2003p         2002        2003       2003p       2003p 

   Total(1) .............    1,497       1,258         868       1,523       171,100     133,839      82,647     158,240

Alabama .................       17          24           8          13         2,833       3,740       1,164       1,671
Alaska ..................        4       ( 2 )           3           3           301       ( 2 )         185         295
Arizona .................       16          10           4           8         1,169         703         423         700
Arkansas ................       10       ( 2 )           3           6         1,117       ( 2 )         268       1,140
California ..............      612         383         345         616        65,044      37,814      29,429      57,322
Colorado ................       13       ( 2 )           6           8         1,142       ( 2 )         439         581
Connecticut .............        5           3           4           3           516         237         291         200
Delaware ................    ( 2 )           3       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         598       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
District of Columbia ....        -       ( 2 )           -           -             -       ( 2 )           -           -
Florida .................       70          80          43          66         4,604       5,554       2,555       4,608
Georgia .................       35          20          19          23         3,219       2,077       2,130       2,838
Hawaii ..................       10       ( 2 )           3           6           800       ( 2 )         196         462
Idaho ...................        5          11           6          10           708       1,500         463       1,203

Illinois ................       57          50          41          74         8,676       7,996       4,510       7,890
Indiana .................       22          29          13          22         3,629       3,478         983       2,118
Iowa ....................       12          10           9          18         2,339       1,650       1,108       3,680
Kansas ..................        8           6           6           6           768         775         547         738
Kentucky ................       21          21          16          23         2,479       2,377       2,259       3,136
Louisiana ...............       12          17           4          12           954       1,215         231       1,045
Maine ...................        4       ( 2 )           -           3           680       ( 2 )           -         180
Maryland ................       10           5       ( 2 )           4         1,263         422       ( 2 )         256
Massachusetts ...........       21          15          10           9         2,318       1,388       1,047         713
Michigan ................       39          11          18          42         4,111       2,369       1,861       4,263
Minnesota ...............       17           6           7          17         2,000         505         511       2,845
Mississippi .............        5           8       ( 2 )           4           429         571       ( 2 )         200
Missouri ................       16          15          13          18         1,238       1,521       1,307       8,165

Montana .................        3           4       ( 2 )           5           327         599       ( 2 )         360
Nebraska ................    ( 2 )           -           5       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -         749       ( 2 )
Nevada ..................       11          11          12          10         1,043         915         879         835
New Hampshire ...........        5           3       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           543         195       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
New Jersey ..............       23          33           8          27         2,561       2,708         691       2,906
New Mexico ..............    ( 2 )           3       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         127       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
New York ................       41          94          38          44         5,226      10,633       3,384       3,855
North Carolina ..........       12          32          11          19         1,494       6,680         897       2,039
North Dakota ............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -           -         ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -           -
Ohio ....................       58          54          29          66         7,178       6,389       2,979       7,316
Oklahoma ................        5           6           5          12           957         603         359       1,614
Oregon ..................       20          27           5          39         3,123       2,447         375       3,784
Pennsylvania ............       79          68          42          97         8,480       5,780       3,481       9,143

Rhode Island ............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -
South Carolina ..........       19          10           5           7         4,555         870       1,548         706
South Dakota ............        -       ( 2 )           -           -             -       ( 2 )           -           -
Tennessee ...............        5          15           5           4           457       1,345         608         303
Texas ...................       70          74          57          70         8,470       6,571       5,587       6,992
Utah ....................    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )
Vermont .................    ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -
Virginia ................        8          13          14          14           619       1,887       1,321       1,376
Washington ..............       21          14          14          25         3,126       1,714       1,624       2,475
West Virginia ...........        3           -       ( 2 )           -           468           -       ( 2 )           -
Wisconsin ...............       62          55          24          60         7,167       5,475       2,313       6,254
Wyoming .................    ( 2 )           -           -           3         ( 2 )           -           -         216

Puerto Rico .............        4          10           7           7           402       1,035         573         567


    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.