Technical information:  (202) 691-6392    USDL 02-170
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                          For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact: 691-5902                   Thursday, March 28, 2002

                                     
                       MASS LAYOFFS IN FEBRUARY 2002


   Employers initiated 1,383 mass layoff actions in February 2002, 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 138,984.  (See
table 1.)  Compared with February 2001, the number of layoff events declined 
by 8 percent and the number of claimants fell by 20 percent.  This was the 
second time in the last three months that layoff events and related initial 
claims declined over the year.
   
   This release uses the North American Industrial Classification System
(NAICS) for the assignment and tabulation of layoff data by industry.
Prior to January 2002, the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system
was used.  Additional information on this change is provided in the box on
page 3 of this release.
   
Industry Distribution
   
   Manufacturing industries accounted for 35 percent of all mass layoff
events and 42 percent of all initial claims filed in February.  A year
earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 38 percent of events and 
46 percent of initial claims.  The number of initial claimants was highest 
in transportation equipment (11,424, mostly in automobiles), followed by 
food production (6,991, primarily in frozen fruits and vegetables).  
(See table 2.)
   
   The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent 
of events and 12 percent of initial claims filed during the month, with
layoffs almost entirely in administrative and support services, particularly 
temporary help services.  Eight percent of all layoff events and initial 
claims filed during the month were in retail trade, mostly in general 
merchandise stores, especially discount department stores, and in food and 
beverage stores.  Construction accounted for an additional 10 percent of 
events and 7 percent of initial claims, primarily among specialty trade 
contractors.  Five percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims in 
February were in the information sector, mainly in motion picture and sound 
recording.
   
   Compared with February 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims
were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-12,047), admini-
strative and support services (-9,324), and agriculture and forestry support 
activities (-6,056).  The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was 
reported in telecommunications (+1,952).

                                  - 2 -

Geographic Distribution
   
   Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in February
due to mass layoffs was in the West--46,575--largely in motion picture and
video production and in temporary help services.  (See table 3.)  These two
industries accounted for 23 percent of all initial claims in the West during 
the month.  Closely following was the South (37,256, mainly in temporary help 
services and in motor vehicle-related manufacturing) and the Midwest (34,912, 
largely in motor vehicle-related manufacturing).  The Northeast region con-
tinued to have the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims 
(20,241).
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year
in both the West (-26,183) and the Midwest (-10,979) regions.  Five of the
nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of
initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest declines in
the Pacific (-26,841) and East North Central (-11,459) divisions.  The
Middle Atlantic (+3,603) and the West South Central (+2,136) had the
largest increases.
   
   California registered the largest number of initial claims filed in mass
layoff events this February, 34,494, mostly in motion picture and sound
recording and in administrative and support services.  Illinois reported
10,045 claimants, primarily in machinery manufacturing, followed by Texas
(9,081, largely in administrative and support services) and Pennsylvania
(7,685, mostly in primary metals and in electrical equipment and appliance
manufacturing).  These four states accounted for 48 percent of all layoff
events and 44 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance.
(See table 4.)
   
   California reported the largest over-the-year decrease (-28,297) in
initial claims, followed by Michigan (-9,855).  The largest over-the-year
increase occurred in New Jersey (+3,725).
   
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.  Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later 
and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting 
more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs") and provides 
more information on the industry classification and location of the esta-
blishment 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.
   
                      ______________________________
   
   
   The report on Mass Layoffs in March 2002 will be issued on Wednesday,
April 24, 2002.
   
                                   - 3 -

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                Change in Industry Classification System                    |
|                                                                            |
|    Beginning with the January 2002 release, the Mass Layoff Statistics     |
| program switched to the 2002 version of the North American Industry        |
| Classification System (NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and tabu-    |
| lation of economic data by industry.  NAICS is the product of a cooper-    |
| ative effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the United States, |
| Canada, and Mexico.  Due to differences in NAICS and the previously used   |
| Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) structures, data by industry for  |
| 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years.  How- |
| ever, the monthly historical industry series from April 1995 through       |
| December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases.                   |
|                                                                            |
|    NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize economic units. |
| Units with similar production processes are classified in the same indus-  |
| try.  NAICS focuses on how products and services are created, as opposed   |
| to the SIC focus on what is produced. This approach yields significantly   |
| different industry groupings than those produced by the SIC approach.      |
|                                                                            |
|    Users interested in more information about NAICS can access the BLS     |
| Web page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the Bureau of the Census   |
| Web page at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html.                     |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Technical Note
 
 
 
 The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that
uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and
tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's
unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them
during a consecutive 5-week period.  These establishments then are
contacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted
31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is
collected.  States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a
quarterly basis.
 
 A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month.  All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday.  In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations.  This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others 5 weeks, and the number of weeks in a given
month may be different from year to year.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-
month and over-the-year change should take this calendar effect into
consideration.
 
 The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding.  Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
 
 Information in this release will be made available to sensory
impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; 
TDD message referral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.
 
Definitions
 
 Initial claimant.  A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
 
 Mass layoff event.  Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2000 to February 2002

							  Extended mass layoffs 
							lasting more than 30 days
	     Date                                                                               
			       Total mass layoffs                                         Realization rates(1)
											   
												
					  Initial                        Initial                       Initial 
			      Events     claimants       Events         claimants         Events      claimants        


	      2000

 January ...................   1,934      223,322                 
 February ..................   1,045      103,898                 
 March .....................     986      106,748                 

 First Quarter .............   3,965      433,968         1,330           221,368           33.5           51.0     

 April .....................     924      101,359                 
 May .......................     984       92,193                 
 June ......................   1,597      192,025                 

 Second Quarter ............   3,505      385,577         1,271           231,471           36.3           60.0     

 July ......................   1,333      164,978                 
 August ....................     751       97,215                 
 September .................     936      106,842                 

 Third Quarter .............   3,020      369,035         1,014           189,250           33.6           51.3     

 October ...................     874      103,755                 
 November ..................   1,697      216,514                 
 December ..................   2,677      326,743                 

 Fourth Quarter ............   5,248      647,012         2,005           376,588           38.2           58.2     

	      2001

 January ...................   1,522      200,343                 
 February ..................   1,501      172,908                 
 March .....................   1,527      171,466                 

 First Quarter .............   4,550      544,717         1,765           339,766           38.8           62.4     

 April .....................   1,450      176,265                 
 May .......................   1,434      159,365                 
 June ......................   2,107      253,826                 

 Second Quarter ............   4,991      589,456         2,072           399,075           41.5           67.7     

 July ......................   2,117      273,807                 
 August ....................   1,490      166,148                 
 September .................   1,327      160,402                 

 Third Quarter .............   4,934      600,357         1,816           364,548           36.8           60.7     

 October ...................   1,831      215,483                 
 November ..................   2,721      295,956                 
 December ..................   2,440      268,893                 

 Fourth Quarter ............   6,992      780,332   (2)(p)2,538     (2)(p)358,067        (p)36.3        (p)45.9

	      2002

 January(p) ................   2,146      263,821                 
 February(p) ...............   1,383      138,984                 


    1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days.  The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with 
layoffs lasting more than 30 days.                                          
    2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become available.
Recent experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by 
less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
    p = preliminary.
Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for
                                                             Mass layoff events                      unemployment insurance
                           Industry
                      
                                                      February December  January  February   February  December  January  February
                                                        2001     2001    2002(p)   2002(p)     2001      2001    2002(p)   2002(p)

      Total(1) .....................................   1,501    2,440     2,146     1,383    172,908   268,893   263,821   138,984     

 Total, private ....................................   1,473    2,387     2,093     1,351    170,125   264,225   258,219   135,518     

     Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....     188       68        65        97     13,942     4,728     5,950     5,493     
     Mining ........................................       7       32        20        15      1,761     3,581     2,110     1,802     
     Utilities .....................................   ( 2 )        6     ( 2 )     ( 2 )      ( 2 )     1,076     ( 2 )     ( 2 ) 
     Construction ..................................     137      364       199       140     10,198    28,637    15,869    10,277     
     Manufacturing..................................     576    1,103       892       482     79,784   136,820   128,825    58,842     
         Food ......................................      81       99        61        63     10,395    11,126     6,949     6,991     
         Beverage and tobacco products .............       5        7         7         7        557       725       488       409     
         Textile mills .............................      24       35        37        21      3,391     4,323     9,448     2,380     
         Textile product mills .....................      11       12        19         8      1,233     1,300     3,109       873     
         Apparel ...................................      24       43        66        26      2,122     4,337    11,560     2,190     
         Leather and allied products ...............   ( 2 )       16         5     ( 2 )      ( 2 )     1,641       332     ( 2 ) 
         Wood products .............................      33       62        63        37      3,477     6,316     6,990     3,854     
         Paper .....................................      18       28        22        16      2,058     2,458     1,676     1,636     
         Printing and related support activities ...      10       18        17        12      1,105     1,328     2,173     1,321     
         Petroleum and coal products ...............   ( 2 )        7         6     ( 2 )      ( 2 )       619       388     ( 2 ) 

         Chemicals .................................       9       19        14        12        779     2,116     1,026       780     
         Plastics and rubber products ..............      31       74        39        15      2,952     9,156     3,780     1,472     
         Nonmetallic mineral products ..............       9       47        31        10        933     4,543     2,597       976     
         Primary metals ............................      43       69        44        24      5,109    10,388     6,247     2,829     
         Fabricated metal products .................      44      106        75        36      4,759     9,458     7,377     3,471     
         Machinery .................................      35       84        69        28      5,774    12,584     8,837     6,027     
         Computer and electronic products ..........      49       95       103        58      5,270    13,346    14,073     6,025     
         Electrical equipment and appliances .......      26       42        36        16      3,348     5,991     3,835     2,162     
         Transportation equipment ..................      90      175       112        56     23,523    26,558    30,900    11,424     
         Furniture and related products ............      18       41        43        20      1,651     5,972     5,429     2,593     
         Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............      11       24        23        14        786     2,535     1,611     1,172     

     Wholesale trade ...............................      21       26        38        24      1,658     1,979     3,962     1,569     
     Retail trade ..................................     112      116       185       105     11,694    12,298    21,717    10,605     
     Transportation and warehousing ................      43      120        87        45      4,228    15,384     8,067     5,179     
     Information ...................................      46       46        71        69      7,578     8,123     7,809     9,902     
     Finance and insurance .........................      18       26        49        38      1,324     1,931     5,005     2,539     
     Real estate and rental and leasing ............       8       10         8         8        588       770       676       469     
     Professional and technical services ...........      34       59        59        45      2,868     6,117    13,474     2,956     
     Management of companies and enterprises .......   ( 2 )        4         5         8      ( 2 )       485       804       699     
     Administrative and waste services .............     190      219       237       185     26,482    23,863    26,181    17,306     
     Educational services...........................   ( 2 )        4     ( 2 )         -      ( 2 )       208     ( 2 )         -
     Health care and social assistance .............      18       19        24        18      1,259     1,594     1,803     1,115     
     Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       9       18        27     ( 2 )        574     1,228     2,773     ( 2 )
     Accommodation and food services ...............      40      109        87        49      3,531    11,733     8,295     4,091     
     Other services, except public administration...   ( 2 )       13        18         9      ( 2 )     1,433     1,756       481     

     Unclassified  .................................      12       25        16         6      1,540     2,237     2,468     1,563     

 Government ........................................      28       53        53        32      2,783     4,668     5,602     3,466     
     Federal .......................................       7        7        13         8        665       651     1,751     1,002     
     State .........................................       9       14        16         7        805     1,160     1,741       449     
     Local .........................................      12       32        24        17      1,313     2,857     2,110     2,015    


     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: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is 
the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part
of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by 
industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series 
from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. Dash represents zero.
Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division
												     
					     Mass layoff events                           Initial claimants for
											  unemployment insurance
  Census region and division

				February   December   January   February       February    December    January    February
				  2001       2001     2002(p)    2002(p)         2001        2001      2002(p)     2002(p)

	 United States(1) ....   1,501      2,440      2,146      1,383        172,908     268,893     263,821     138,984     

 Northeast ...................     176        401        274        175         18,161      40,843      29,934      20,241     

     New England .............      43        116         58         38          5,630      12,809       5,852       4,107     
     Middle Atlantic .........     133        285        216        137         12,531      28,034      24,082      16,134     

 South .......................     271        451        581        350         36,098      52,331      79,608      37,256     

     South Atlantic ..........     131        185        229        176         17,355      19,366      33,142      16,633     
     East South Central ......      56        124        227         67          7,280      15,232      32,722       7,024     
     West South Central ......      84        142        125        107         11,463      17,733      13,744      13,599     

 Midwest .....................     320      1,013        559        284         45,891     119,250      71,176      34,912     

     East North Central ......     260        774        437        217         39,121      87,719      53,645      27,662     
     West North Central ......      60        239        122         67          6,770      31,531      17,531       7,250     

 West ........................     734        575        732        574         72,758      56,469      83,103      46,575     

     Mountain ................      51         83         83         60          5,124       8,547       9,315       5,782     
     Pacific .................     683        492        649        514         67,634      47,922      73,788      40,793     


      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       

                                February  December   January   February       February    December    January    February
                                  2001      2001     2002(p)    2002(p)         2001        2001      2002(p)     2002(p)
 
    Total(1) .................   1,501     2,440      2,146      1,383        172,908     268,893     263,821     138,984     

 Alabama .....................      15        12        163         21          2,072       1,902      27,032       2,129     
 Alaska ......................   ( 2 )         3          7      ( 2 )          ( 2 )         237         467       ( 2 )
 Arizona .....................       7        10         12         11            553         831       1,252         939     
 Arkansas ....................       5        10          5          4            403       1,030         445         299     
 California ..................     635       406        563        460         62,791      39,239      62,844      34,494     
 Colorado ....................       4        14         13         10            321       1,295       1,487         976     
 Connecticut .................       5         9          5      ( 2 )            758         674         428       ( 2 )
 Delaware ....................   ( 2 )         4      ( 2 )          -          ( 2 )         521       ( 2 )           -
 District of Columbia ........   ( 2 )     ( 2 )          3      ( 2 )          ( 2 )       ( 2 )         499       ( 2 )
 Florida .....................      47        54         78         86          3,954       4,136       9,173       5,903     
 Georgia .....................      17        15         46         20          1,673       1,268      10,630       2,396     
 Hawaii ......................   ( 2 )         5         14         10          ( 2 )         494       1,302       1,090     
 Idaho .......................      12        17         13         13          1,681       1,914       1,054       1,579     

 Illinois ....................      51       130         89         58          8,469      15,387      12,951      10,045     
 Indiana .....................      26        77         36         25          3,749       9,516       5,101       2,319     
 Iowa ........................      12        63         32         13          1,096       7,523       3,982       1,869     
 Kansas ......................       8        25         16          4            904       6,065       1,331         431     
 Kentucky ....................      23        74         30         27          3,587       9,912       2,565       2,963     
 Louisiana ...................      11        24         20         13            782       1,619       2,249       2,409     
 Maine .......................   ( 2 )         7          5      ( 2 )          ( 2 )         571         616       ( 2 )
 Maryland ....................   ( 2 )         6         11          6          ( 2 )         451         998         606     
 Massachusetts ...............      18        52         30         25          1,540       5,534       2,867       2,406     
 Michigan ....................      75       298         82         41         14,090      34,681       8,915       4,235     
 Minnesota ...................      13        55         29         24          2,362       6,181       2,913       2,662     
 Mississippi .................       6        11          7          5            457         740         584         757     
 Missouri ....................      23        70         39         20          2,054       8,799       8,709       1,510     

 Montana .....................   ( 2 )         4      ( 2 )          3          ( 2 )         728       ( 2 )         225     
 Nebraska ....................   ( 2 )        19          4          5          ( 2 )       2,324         466         564     
 Nevada ......................      23        30         31         14          2,016       3,202       4,133       1,122     
 New Hampshire ...............       4        17          7      ( 2 )            543       1,930       1,001       ( 2 )
 New Jersey ..................      24        45         49         39          2,349       5,416       7,066       6,074     
 New Mexico ..................       3         4          4          3            229         246         535         279     
 New York ....................      23        35         27         26          1,921       3,026       2,481       2,375     
 North Carolina ..............      22        20         25         18          2,357       1,869       3,386       2,628     
 North Dakota ................       -         4      ( 2 )          -              -         352       ( 2 )           -
 Ohio ........................      53       123        158         50          5,063      11,562      18,614       4,966     
 Oklahoma ....................      10        19          8         15          3,204       3,214         778       1,810     
 Oregon ......................      23        54         39         24          2,543       5,946       5,278       2,576     
 Pennsylvania ................      86       205        140         72          8,261      19,592      14,535       7,685     

 Rhode Island ................      11        19          7          6          2,185       2,288         694         942     
 South Carolina ..............      20        36         33         25          3,322       5,049       3,753       2,808     
 South Dakota ................       3         3      ( 2 )      ( 2 )            235         287       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
 Tennessee ...................      12        27         27         14          1,164       2,678       2,541       1,175     
 Texas .......................      58        89         92         75          7,074      11,870      10,272       9,081     
 Utah ........................   ( 2 )         4          7          6          ( 2 )         331         551         662     
 Vermont .....................       3        12          4      ( 2 )            294       1,812         246       ( 2 )
 Virginia ....................      18        47         27         17          2,949       5,875       3,303       2,061     
 Washington ..................      22        24         26         18          2,041       2,006       3,897       2,495     
 West Virginia ...............   ( 2 )     ( 2 )          4          3          ( 2 )       ( 2 )         258         166     
 Wisconsin ...................      55       146         72         43          7,750      16,573       8,064       6,097     
 Wyoming .....................       -         -      ( 2 )          -              -           -       ( 2 )           -

 Puerto Rico .................       8         9          8          7            490       1,281       1,020         827


  1 See footnote 1, table 2.
  2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
  p = preliminary.
  NOTE:  Dash represents zero.