Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 07-0284
               http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                691-5902     Friday, February 23, 2007


                       MASS LAYOFFS IN JANUARY 2007

   In January, employers took 1,237 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 126,368,
on a seasonally adjusted basis.  The number of mass layoff events increased
by 36 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims de-
creased by 7,450.  During January, 389 mass layoff events were reported in 
the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 51,141 initial 
claims.  Compared with the prior month, mass layoff activity in manufac-
turing decreased by 1 event and by 2,687 initial claims.  (See table 1.)
   
   The national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in January, seasonally
adjusted, essentially unchanged from the prior month (4.5 percent) and from
a year earlier (4.7 percent).  Total nonfarm payroll employment, seasonally
adjusted, increased by 111,000 over the month and by 2.1 million over the
year.
   
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 34 percent of the total
initial claims in January.  The industry with the highest number of initial
claims was temporary help services with 10,332, followed by heavy duty
truck manufacturing with 6,238, and motion picture and video production
with 5,122.  Together, these three industries accounted for 16 percent of
all initial claims due to mass layoffs during the month.  (See table A.)
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff
events and 40 percent of all related initial claims filed in January; a
year earlier, manufacturing made up 27 percent of events and 30 percent of
initial claims.  In January 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was
highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (22,315, mostly in motor
vehicle manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (4,525), and wood
product manufacturing (4,342).  (See table 3.)
   
   Administrative and waste services comprised 12 percent of events and
initial claims filed over the month, with the majority of layoffs in
temporary help services.  Construction accounted for 14 percent of mass
layoff events and 9 percent of initial claims in January, largely from
specialty trade contractors.  Eight percent of all mass layoff events and 
7 percent of related initial claims filed were from retail trade, primarily
from general merchandise stores.  Transportation and warehousing made up 
6 percent of events and 7 percent of associated initial claims, primarily
from the school and employee bus transportation industry.  Government
establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and initial claims,
largely from executive, legislative, and general government.
    
                                     - 2 -
   
Table A.  Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in January 2007
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                          |        |      January peak
                   Industry               |Initial |-------------------------
                                          | claims |         |  
                                          |        |   Year  | Initial claims
------------------------------------------|--------|---------|---------------
                                          |        |         |
Temporary help services...................| 10,332 |   1998  |     26,224
Heavy duty truck manufacturing............|  6,238 |   2007  |      6,238
Motion picture and video production.......|  5,122 |   1998  |     12,038
School and employee bus transportation....|  4,738 |   2005  |     14,526
Professional employer organizations ......|  3,542 |   2005  |      5,258
Light truck and utility vehicle           |        |         |
   manufacturing..........................|  3,477 |   2001  |      8,450
Highway, street, and bridge construction..|  3,436 |   2000  |      9,680
Automobile manufacturing..................|  3,391 |   2001  |     21,093
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders ..|  2,906 |   1999  |      5,859
Department stores, except discount .......|  2,071 |   1998  |      5,773
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


   
   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in
January, at 1,407, was up by 162 from a year earlier, and the number of
associated initial claims increased by 17,038 to 134,984.  (See table 2.)
The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in
transportation equipment manufacturing (+10,894), administrative and sup-
port services (+4,538), and specialty trade contractors (+2,285).  For
transportation equipment manufacturing, states with the largest over-the-
year increases in initial claims were Kentucky (+4,255), Illinois (+2,390),
Ohio (+1,526), and Louisiana (+1,467).  The largest over-the-year decreases 
in mass layoff initial claims were reported in general merchandise stores 
(-4,527), motion picture and sound recording industries (-2,528), and elec-
trical equipment and appliance manufacturing (-1,451).
   
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
January due to mass layoffs was in the West, 41,239.  Administrative and
support services and motion picture and sound recording industries together
accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region
during the month.  The Midwest had the second largest number of initial
claims among the regions, 38,412, followed by the South, 29,870, and the
Northeast, 25,463.  (See table 5.)
                                        
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year
in three of the four regions--the South (+7,676), the West (+5,014), and the
Midwest (+4,662).  The Northeast region was almost unchanged, with initial
claims declining by 314.  Eight geographic divisions had over-the-year
increases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass layoffs,
with the largest increases in the Pacific (+3,843), the East South Central
(+3,822), and the East North Central (+3,039).  The only division with an
over-the-year decrease was the Middle Atlantic (-1,898).

                                  - 3 -   
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial
claims filed due to mass layoff events in January (33,560), followed by 
New York (10,678), Ohio (8,883), Pennsylvania (8,699), and Michigan (7,914).
These five states accounted for 52 percent of all mass layoff events and
associated initial claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 6.)
   
   Kentucky had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial
claims (+3,934), mostly due to layoffs in transportation equipment manufac-
turing.  States having the next largest increases in initial claims were 
California (+3,172), Ohio (+2,399), Illinois (+2,025), and Florida (+1,829).  
The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in New York (-2,612), 
Virginia (-1,378), Michigan (-872), and Tennessee (-850).    

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 February 2007 is scheduled to be released
on Thursday, March 22.
   




                                  - 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, February 2003 to
January 2007, seasonally adjusted
                                                                                               
                                       Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
                                                                                               
             Date                                                                              
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial 
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events  claimants

            2003                                                                              

February ...................     1,848     192,197     1,664     178,963       650      81,370
March ......................     1,787     174,936     1,592     159,242       610      73,015
April ......................     1,707     172,348     1,557     162,117       634      82,756
May ........................     1,731     184,479     1,550     170,984       635      87,049
June .......................     1,733     164,442     1,523     147,609       638      68,976
July .......................     1,649     164,146     1,443     148,650       567      72,023
August .....................     1,498     169,799     1,362     156,687       546      74,509
September ..................     1,562     147,054     1,370     132,262       479      57,332
October ....................     1,536     158,137     1,328     140,298       420      52,105
November ...................     1,366     138,079     1,223     126,597       377      49,716
December ...................     1,412     139,423     1,243     127,356       445      50,923

            2004                                                                              

January ....................     1,428     146,692     1,232     128,191       394      45,544
February ...................     1,320     134,626     1,170     122,329       367      40,849
March ......................     1,372     139,716     1,237     130,737       401      59,987
April ......................     1,374     140,190     1,202     124,962       349      38,197
May ........................     1,209     113,091     1,047      99,615       330      38,965
June .......................     1,403     141,048     1,231     128,137       366      47,015
July .......................     1,330     137,484     1,180     126,106       372      51,424
August .....................     1,394     127,671     1,224     113,376       345      36,963
September ..................     1,277     125,351     1,154     115,343       338      46,955
October ....................     1,288     132,250     1,172     122,831       362      47,571
November ...................     1,314     130,558     1,171     118,904       378      46,276
December ...................     1,170     114,641     1,013     103,434       301      33,022

            2005                                                                              

January ....................     1,489     160,986     1,353     150,640       383      56,133
February ...................     1,172     123,377     1,045     112,752       358      45,794
March ......................     1,219     132,035     1,079     122,013       377      55,061
April ......................     1,263     137,381     1,132     126,747       398      60,826
May ........................     1,226     133,221     1,085     120,899       382      54,886
June .......................     1,194     126,834     1,074     117,712       359      57,018
July .......................     1,248     131,500     1,101     118,800       353      47,136
August .....................     1,109     123,125       986     111,879       338      46,915
September ..................     2,217     292,177     1,998     246,227       419      56,289
October ....................     1,098     108,665       977      99,402       321      44,666
November ...................     1,167     115,803     1,036     104,576       330      43,307
December ...................     1,253     135,721     1,125     124,632       372      48,592

            2006                                                                              

January ....................     1,112     109,429       984      99,277       282      29,911
February ...................     1,065     112,742       973     105,055       329      46,548
March ......................     1,105     120,954     1,003     112,730       335      50,149
April ......................     1,175     121,376     1,041     111,369       365      48,038
May ........................     1,098     113,195       982     103,839       297      42,993
June .......................     1,130     123,558     1,007     113,037       331      40,500
July .......................     1,160     118,843     1,038     109,509       372      49,069
August .....................     1,218     131,105     1,083     120,923       367      58,983
September ..................     1,158     120,795     1,043     111,876       392      46,802
October ....................     1,186     119,914     1,069     111,036       401      55,795
November ...................     1,220     136,340     1,111     127,286       411      60,599
December ...................     1,201     133,818     1,099     124,526       390      53,828

            2007                                                                              

January ....................     1,237     126,368     1,095     115,615       389      51,141





Table 2.  Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,  February 2003 to
January 2007, not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing    

             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants 

            2003                                                                              

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 ......................       806      88,937       733      83,793       246      33,030
April ......................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133       395      59,129
May ........................       986     101,358       891      93,332       249      30,424
June .......................     1,157     120,463       941     103,307       216      32,783
July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December ...................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382

            2006                                                                              

January ....................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
February ...................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March ......................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688
April ......................     1,140     121,589     1,038     112,964       296      39,538
May ........................       872      84,809       794      78,663       192      23,570
June .......................     1,489     164,761     1,224     140,687       319      41,095
July .......................     1,511     166,857     1,335     154,342       648      96,152
August .....................       708      72,844       656      69,054       203      28,494
September ..................       865      87,699       785      81,274       296      39,076
October ....................       964      98,804       820      88,133       311      46,737
November ...................     1,315     136,186     1,172     125,009       455      58,473
December ...................     2,249     254,503     2,126     244,783       735     105,462

            2007                                                                              

January ....................     1,407     134,984     1,263     124,475       456      53,615





Table 3.  Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for       
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance       
                    Industry                                                                                                     

                                                    January    November December January     January    November December January
                                                      2006       2006     2006     2007        2006       2006     2006     2007 

               Seasonally adjusted                                                                                               

      Total .....................................     1,112      1,220    1,201    1,237     109,429    136,340  133,818  126,368

  Total, private nonfarm ........................       984      1,111    1,099    1,095      99,277    127,286  124,526  115,615
    Manufacturing ...............................       282        411      390      389      29,911     60,599   53,828   51,141

             Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                             

      Total (1) .................................     1,245      1,315    2,249    1,407     117,946    136,186  254,503  134,984

Total, private ..................................     1,185      1,273    2,176    1,344     112,837    132,337  248,383  129,715
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..        62        101       50       81       4,136      7,328    3,600    5,240

  Total, private nonfarm ........................     1,123      1,172    2,126    1,263     108,701    125,009  244,783  124,475
    Mining ......................................         4          7       28       10         309        648    3,048      769
    Utilities ...................................      (2)           3        3     (2)        (2)          161      154     (2) 
    Construction ................................       125        212      423      194       7,942     17,364   36,426   12,426
    Manufacturing ...............................       331        455      735      456      35,097     58,473  105,462   53,615
        Food ....................................        46         59       80       59       3,589      7,222    8,557    4,525
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........         9          8        6        6         599        502      468      456
        Textile mills ...........................        13         14       18       16       1,214      2,247    2,480    1,703
        Textile product mills ...................         7          9        9        9         655      1,325      758    1,132
        Apparel .................................        11          6       21       12         769        820    2,323    1,020
        Leather and allied products .............      (2)        (2)         5      (2)        (2)        (2)       493     (2) 
        Wood products ...........................        27         53       59       46       2,995      5,044    6,359    4,342
        Paper ...................................         6          9       13        7         405        854    1,415      572
        Printing and related support activities .      (2)        (2)        12       13        (2)        (2)     1,178    1,110
        Petroleum and coal products .............        -           8       14      (2)         -          635    1,396     (2) 

        Chemicals ...............................         8          6        7        9         531        489      608      771
        Plastics and rubber products ............        17         24       48       22       1,305      2,716    5,674    1,513
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............        20         17       56       28       1,318      1,991    5,824    2,059
        Primary metals ..........................        11         28       38       13         946      3,154    4,714    1,687
        Fabricated metal products ...............        32         35       57       32       2,305      3,710    5,346    2,581
        Machinery ...............................        12         34       38       24         899      6,563    5,676    2,309
        Computer and electronic products ........        22         21       24       15       1,678      1,711    2,085    1,351
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....        10         11       25        8       1,965      2,588    5,701      514
        Transportation equipment ................        52         79      159      104      11,421     13,352   38,811   22,315
        Furniture and related products ..........        13         21       34       23       1,253      2,075    4,510    2,948
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............         9          9       12        6         821      1,145    1,086      454

    Wholesale trade .............................        24         17       26       22       1,903      1,328    2,119    1,603
    Retail trade ................................       142         54      109      112      14,773      4,681   13,055    9,587
    Transportation and warehousing ..............       102         48      165       88      10,634      3,583   19,172    9,275
    Information .................................        33         20       33       32       8,998      6,096    7,949    6,296
    Finance and insurance .......................        24         23       34       29       1,592      1,376    2,687    2,197
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........      (2)           5        8        6        (2)         270      442      307
    Professional and technical services .........        22         27       50       28       3,258      3,137    5,572    3,088
    Management of companies and enterprises .....         4          5        3      (2)         287        387      130     (2) 
    Administrative and waste services ...........       155        158      258      172      12,157     12,907   22,076   16,699
    Educational services ........................         7          3        4        5         456        200      288      647
    Health care and social assistance ...........        21         21       31       14       1,385      1,696    2,450      776
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........        28         27       26       26       1,888      2,266    1,760    1,897
    Accommodation and food services .............        81         81      175       56       5,898      9,883   20,735    4,124
    Other services, except public administration         13          6       14        8       1,704        553    1,198      772
    Unclassified  ...............................         3         -         1        2         179         -        60      104

Government ......................................        60         42       73       63       5,109      3,849    6,120    5,269
    Federal .....................................        16         10       12       21       1,596        970    1,215    2,311
    State .......................................        10         12       16       15       1,210      1,057    1,517    1,272
    Local .......................................        34         20       45       27       2,303      1,822    3,388    1,686

    1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.   
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.





Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2005 to January 2007,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                               

                                Total mass layoffs                              Extended mass layoffs                            
             Date                                        Mass layoffs         lasting more than 30 days     Realization rates (1)

                                          Initial               Initial                      Initial                    Initial  
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants        Events      claimants       Events     claimants 

           2005                                                                                                                

January .................         2,564    263,952     2,421     253,409                                                       
February ................           810     74,644       722      68,372                                                       
March ...................           806     88,937       733      83,793                                                       

First Quarter ...........         4,180    427,533     3,876     405,574         1,142       185,486          29.5         45.7

April ...................         1,373    158,582     1,263     148,133                                                       
May .....................           986    101,358       891      93,332                                                       
June ....................         1,157    120,463       941     103,307                                                       

Second Quarter ..........         3,516    380,403     3,095     344,772         1,203       212,673          38.9         61.7

July ....................         1,981    244,216     1,745     222,377                                                       
August ..................           645     67,582       598      63,484                                                       
September ...............         1,662    213,281     1,505     179,042                                                       

Third Quarter ...........         4,288    525,079     3,848     464,903         1,136       190,186          29.5         40.9

October .................           905     91,941       757      80,694                                                       
November ................         1,254    116,127     1,079     102,182                                                       
December ................         2,323    254,258     2,168     242,753                                                       

Fourth Quarter ..........         4,482    462,326     4,004     425,629         1,400    (r)246,188          35.0         57.8

           2006                                                                                                                

January .................         1,245    117,946     1,123     108,701                                                       
February ................           719     66,555       658      62,208                                                       
March ...................           921    111,838       856     106,177                                                       

First Quarter ...........         2,885    296,339     2,637     277,086           963    (r)193,102          36.5      (r)69.7

April ...................         1,140    121,589     1,038     112,964                                                       
May .....................           872     84,809       794      78,663                                                       
June ....................         1,489    164,761     1,224     140,687                                                       

Second Quarter ..........         3,501    371,159     3,056     332,314         1,353    (r)264,494          44.3      (r)79.6

July ....................         1,511    166,857     1,335     154,342                                                       
August ..................           708     72,844       656      69,054                                                       
September ...............           865     87,699       785      81,274                                                       

Third Quarter ...........         3,084    327,400     2,776     304,670        (r)929    (r)160,813       (r)33.5      (r)52.8

October .................           964     98,804       820      88,133                                                       
November ................         1,315    136,186     1,172     125,009                                                       
December ................         2,249    254,503     2,126     244,783                                                       

Fourth Quarter ..........         4,528    489,493     4,118     457,925   (2)(p)1,444 (2)(p)217,742       (p)35.1      (p)47.5

           2007                                                                                                                

January .................         1,407    134,984     1,263     124,475                                                       

   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                                                                                      

                                 January     November December January      January     November December January
                                   2006        2006     2006     2007         2006        2006     2006     2007 

        United States (1) ..     1,245       1,315    2,249    1,407       117,946     136,186  254,503  134,984

Northeast ..................       281         207      412      299        25,777      20,723   40,738   25,463

    New England ............        25          25       60       41         1,765       2,090    6,612    3,349
    Middle Atlantic ........       256         182      352      258        24,012      18,633   34,126   22,114

South ......................       228         227      416      283        22,194      27,536   54,023   29,870

    South Atlantic .........       128         113      202      163        12,893      12,800   22,765   14,996
    East South Central .....        61          54      126       71         5,667       6,109   22,085    9,489
    West South Central .....        39          60       88       49         3,634       8,627    9,173    5,385

Midwest ....................       314         429      898      373        33,750      49,067  109,495   38,412

    East North Central .....       264         333      674      295        28,642      39,291   78,466   31,681
    West North Central .....        50          96      224       78         5,108       9,776   31,029    6,731

West .......................       422         452      523      452        36,225      38,860   50,247   41,239

    Mountain ...............        31          49       82       46         2,337       4,457    7,835    3,508
    Pacific ................       391         403      441      406        33,888      34,403   42,412   37,731

   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   NOTE:  The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England:
New York, and Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic:  
New Jersey, 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                                                                                                      
                           January     November   December     January      January     November    December   January
                             2006        2006       2006         2007         2006        2006        2006       2007 
                                                                                                                      
   Total (1) ............   1,245       1,315      2,249        1,407       117,946     136,186     254,503    134,984
                                                                                                                      
Alabama .................       9          12         30           19           821       1,512       3,438      1,792
Alaska ..................     -             6       (2)          (2)            -           716        (2)        (2) 
Arizona .................       4        (2)           5            4           362        (2)          406        409
Arkansas ................       3           5          7         (2)            346       1,014         836       (2) 
California ..............     346         327        374          366        30,388      27,433      34,848     33,560
Colorado ................       8           9         15           11           603         691       1,483        818
Connecticut .............       3           3          4            8           215         318         452        819
Delaware ................    (2)          -          -           (2)           (2)          -           -         (2) 
District of Columbia ....     -           -         (2)          (2)            -           -          (2)        (2) 
Florida .................      30          35         57           60         1,708       2,207       4,697      3,537
Georgia .................      54          28         42           48         5,159       3,904       4,421      4,802
Hawaii ..................       5        (2)        (2)             5           282        (2)         (2)         562
Idaho ...................       6          12         11           10           427         963       1,191        646

Illinois ................      37          55        149           48         3,499       5,849      17,195      5,524
Indiana .................      33          44         82           38         4,053       7,285      10,123      3,388
Iowa ....................      12          19         62           15         1,255       2,352      10,039      1,772
Kansas ..................       6           7         23           11           459         822       2,626        689
Kentucky ................      26          24         64           27         2,152       3,341      15,975      6,086
Louisiana ...............      13          13          9            7           936       1,229         901      1,891
Maine ...................    (2)            4          6            7          (2)          322         452        495
Maryland ................      11           9         28           11           859       1,236       2,825      1,000
Massachusetts ...........      14           9         22           16         1,001         665       2,256      1,235
Michigan ................      89          82        184           88         8,786      10,636      22,842      7,914
Minnesota ...............      17          39         52           15         1,834       3,360       7,545      1,474
Mississippi .............       7           8          6            3           469         443         569        236
Missouri ................      11          26         75           34         1,305       2,448       9,687      2,593

Montana .................    (2)            7          6            5          (2)          789         513        452
Nebraska ................    (2)         (2)           8         (2)           (2)         (2)          815       (2) 
Nevada ..................      10          15         26            7           724       1,704       2,076        547
New Hampshire ...........    (2)         (2)           8         (2)           (2)         (2)          793       (2) 
New Jersey ..............      28          47         91           38         2,550       7,197       7,948      2,737
New Mexico ..............     -             5         10         (2)            -           258       1,180       (2) 
New York ................     129          33        106          113        13,290       2,918      11,731     10,678
North Carolina ..........      10          13         16           10         1,113       1,423       1,511      1,013
North Dakota ............    (2)            4       (2)          (2)           (2)          406        (2)        (2) 
Ohio ....................      50          48        137           61         6,484       4,998      15,848      8,883
Oklahoma ................       5           5         11            7           400         890       1,152        436
Oregon ..................      21          32         41           20         1,719       2,668       4,862      2,006
Pennsylvania ............      99         102        155          107         8,172       8,518      14,447      8,699

Rhode Island ............       4        (2)          11            7           311        (2)        1,885        489
South Carolina ..........       9          16         17           14           822       1,994       2,836      1,466
South Dakota ............    (2)          -         (2)          (2)           (2)          -          (2)        (2) 
Tennessee ...............      19          10         26           22         2,225         813       2,103      1,375
Texas ...................      18          37         61           33         1,952       5,494       6,284      2,845
Utah ....................    (2)          -            9            7          (2)          -           986        494
Vermont .................    (2)            6          9         (2)           (2)          582         774       (2) 
Virginia ................      12          11         35           17         3,084       1,979       5,969      1,706
Washington ..............      19          36         21           14         1,499       3,390       2,350      1,528
West Virginia ...........    (2)         (2)           4          -            (2)         (2)          318        -  
Wisconsin ...............      55         104        122           60         5,820      10,523      12,458      5,972
Wyoming .................     -           -          -            -             -           -           -          -  

Puerto Rico .............      12           7         17           12           964         626       1,977      1,257

   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.  
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.