Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 09-0934 

 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ 

 For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT) 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, August 12, 2009 

EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2009 

Employers initiated 2,994 mass layoff events in the second quarter of 2009 that resulted in the 

separation of 534,881 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures 

released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both the numbers of extended 

mass layoff events and associated separations were record highs for a second quarter (with data available back to 1995). (See table A.) 

Second quarter program highs in the number of separations were recorded in 7 of 18 major industry 

sectors, all four geographic regions, and fourteen states. Separations due to business demand reasons 

(especially slack work/insufficient demand) set a second quarter program high, while separations for 

financial reasons reached its highest second quarter level since 2001. Thirty-eight percent of employers 

reporting an extended layoff in the second quarter of 2009 indicated they anticipated some type of recall, 

this was down from 51 percent a year earlier, and was the lowest proportion of anticipated recalls for a 

second quarter in program history (with data available back to 1995). Second quarter 2009 layoff data 

are preliminary and are subject to revision. (See the Technical Note.) 

The national unemployment rate averaged 9.1 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the second quarter of 2009, up from 5.2 percent a year earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally 

adjusted, decreased by 5 percent (-5,607,000) over the year. 

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs

Manufacturing firms reported 932 extended mass layoff events involving 166,240 separations in the 

second quarter of 2009. The number of events in manufacturing reached a second quarter program high, 

while associated worker separations for this industry sector were at its highest second quarter level since 

1998 (with data available back to 1995). Manufacturing industries were responsible for 31 percent of 

private nonfarm extended layoff events and related separations in the second quarter of 2009. A year 

Changes to the Extended Mass Layoffs News Release 

Effective with this release, changes have been made to the tables and Technical 

Note. For further information on these changes, see the note on page 6. 

News United States 

Department 

of Labor 
2

Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity

Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants

2005

January-March...................... 1,142 186,506 185,486 

April-June............................. 1,203 246,099 212,673 

July-September..................... 1,136 201,878 190,186 

October-December................ 1,400 250,178 246,188 

2006

January-March...................... 963 183,089 193,510 

April-June............................. 1,353 295,964 264,927 

July-September..................... 929 160,254 161,764 

October-December................ 1,640 296,662 330,954 

2007

January-March...................... 1,110 225,600 199,250 

April-June............................. 1,421 278,719 259,234 

July-September..................... 1,018 160,024 173,077 

October-December................ 1,814 301,592 347,151 

2008

January-March...................... 1,340 230,098 259,292 

April-June r 

........................... 1,756 354,713 339,629 

July-September r 

................... 1,582 290,900 304,316 

October-December r 

............. 3,582 641,578 765,019 

2009

January-March r

 ................... 3,979 704,618 830,028 

April-June p

 .......................... 2,994 534,881 506,533 

 r

 = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.

earlier, manufacturing made up 22 percent of events and 18 percent of separations. (See table 1.) The 

largest numbers of separations within manufacturing were associated with transportation equipment 

manufacturing (57,136, mostly associated with automobile and light truck manufacturing) and machinery manufacturing (18,096). Six of the 21 manufacturing industry sub-sectors reached second 

quarter program highs in terms of the numbers of separations—printing and related support activities; 

plastics and rubber products; nonmetallic mineral products; primary metals; fabricated metal products; 

and machinery. 

In the second quarter of 2009, seven major industry sectors reported second quarter program highs in 

terms of the number of worker separations—mining; construction; wholesale trade; transportation and 

warehousing; real estate and rental and leasing; health care and social assistance; and accommodation 

and food services. 
3

Table B. Metropolitan areas with the largest number of initial claimants associated with

extended mass layoff events in the second quarter 2009, by residency of claimants

 Total, 372 metropolitan areas .................. 276,640 404,966 

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. .... 27,159 1 31,813 1 

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. ......... 16,908 3 20,922 2 

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long

 Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ................................... 17,680 2 19,891 3 

Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. ....................... 15,282 4 19,193 4 

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. .......... 9,852 6 14,031 5 

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. ....... 11,868 5 12,492 6 

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif. ......... 6,189 8 8,653 7 

Peoria, Ill. ........................................................ 590 90 8,295 8 

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-

 N.J.-Del.-Md. ............................................... 7,198 7 7,903 9 

Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. ................................ 2,261 21 7,874 10 

r

 = revised.

p

 = preliminary.

NOTE: The geographic boundaries of the metropolitan areas shown in this table are defined in

Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 09-01, November 20, 2008.

Metropolitan area

2008 II r 2009 II p

Rank Rank Initial 

claimants

Initial 

claimants

Reasons for Extended Layoffs

Among the seven categories of economic reasons for extended mass layoffs, business demand factors 

accounted for 45 percent of the events and 38 percent of separations during the second quarter of 2009, 

this was up from 32 percent of events and 23 percent of separations in the same period a year earlier. 

(See table 2.) Separations related to business demand factors more than doubled over the year from 

79,925 to 202,151, a second quarter program high for this category. Within the business demand 

category, employers citing slack work/insufficient demand/nonseasonal business slowdown had the largest over-the-year increase in separations (+92,546), largely in transportation equipment manufacturing. 

Extended mass layoffs stemming from financial issues sharply increased from 120 events associated 

with 27,999 separations in the second quarter of 2008 to 264 events and 68,017 separations in the 

second quarter of 2009. (See the chart.) Manufacturing accounted for the largest number of separations 

due to financial issues, mostly in transportation equipment manufacturing. 

Movement of Work

Ninety-nine extended mass layoffs involved the movement of work and were associated with 

18,242 separated workers in the second quarter of 2009. A year earlier, there were 71 layoff events and 

12,317 separations associated with the movement of work. Movement of work layoffs accounted for 4 

percent of nonseasonal layoff events in the second quarter of 2009. (See table 9.) Sixty percent of 
4

movement of work layoff events involved the permanent closure of worksites—affecting 11,647 

workers—compared to 9 percent of total layoff events. 

Sixty-four percent of extended mass layoff events and 56 percent of the laid-off workers related to 

the movement of work were from manufacturing industries. In comparison, manufacturing accounted 

for 31 percent of events and separations in the total private nonfarm economy. (See table 6.) Employers 

cited an organizational change or a business demand reason in most extended layoff events involving 

movement of work. (See table 7.) Among the regions, the largest proportions of workers affected by 

movement of work were in the West (31 percent) and Midwest (30 percent). (See table 8.) 

The 99 extended layoff events with movement of work for the second quarter of 2009 involved 137 

identifiable relocation of work actions, of which employers were able to provide more complete separations information for 86 of the actions. (See table 9.) In these 86 actions, 91 percent involved work 

moving within the same company, while 79 percent were domestic reassignments. (See table 10.) 

Recall Expectations

Thirty-eight percent of employers reporting an extended layoff in the second quarter of 2009 indicated they anticipated some type of recall, down from 51 percent a year earlier and the lowest second 

quarter proportion in program history (with data available back to 1995). (See table 11.) Of those 

employers expecting to recall workers, 41 percent indicated that the offer would be extended to all displaced employees, and 79 percent of employers anticipated extending the offer to at least half of the 

workers, the lowest proportions on record for a second quarter. Seventy-seven percent of employers 

expecting to recall laid-off employees intend to do so within 6 months. Excluding layoff events due to 

seasonal work and vacation period, in which 95 percent of the employers expected a recall, employers 

anticipated recalling laid-off workers in 22 percent of the events. 

Size of Extended Layoffs

The average size of a layoff (as measured by separations per layoff event) in the second quarter of 

2009 was 179, compared to 202 per layoff in second quarter 2008. Three of 18 major industry sectors 

registered average layoff sizes of 250 or more workers per event in the second quarter—accommodation 

and food services (256 workers), utilities (255 workers), and professional and technical services (253 

workers). Among the seven categories of economic reasons for extended mass layoffs, financial issues 

recorded the largest average size of layoff in the second quarter of 2009, at 258 workers per event. (See 

table 12.) 

Layoff events continued to be concentrated at the lower end of the extended layoff-size spectrum, 

with 45 percent of events involving between 50 and 99 workers and 68 percent of events with less than 

150 workers. Layoffs involving between 50 and 99 workers accounted for 18 percent of all separations 

during the period, and layoffs with less than 150 separated workers accounted for 32 percent. These 

proportions are up from 14 and 28 percent respectively from a year earlier. Separations involving 500 or 

more workers accounted for 31 percent of all separations in the second quarter of 2009, down from 37 

percent a year earlier. (See table 13.) 
5

Initial Claimant Characteristics

A total of 506,533 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended 

mass layoffs in the second quarter of 2009. Of these claimants, 15 percent were black, 15 percent were 

Hispanic, 41 percent were women, 34 percent were 30 to 44 years of age, and 21 percent were 55 years 

of age or older. (See table 3.) Among persons in the civilian labor force for the same period, 11 percent 

were black, 14 percent were Hispanic, 47 percent were women, 33 percent were age 30 to 44, and 19 

percent were 55 years of age or older. 

Geographic Distribution

Among the 4 census regions, the West (173,840) and the Midwest (171,053) recorded the highest 

numbers of separations due to extended mass layoff events in the second quarter of 2009. All regions 

reported second quarter program highs in terms of the numbers of worker separations (with data 

available back to 1995). (See table 4.) Among the 9 census divisions, the highest numbers of separations during the second quarter of 2009 were in the Pacific (141,608) and East North Central (133,588). 

(See table 4.) Five divisions reported second quarter program highs in terms of the numbers of separations—the Middle Atlantic, East South Central, West North Central, Mountain, and Pacific. 

California recorded the largest number of worker separations (116,207), followed by Ohio (42,578) 

and Illinois (42,325). (See table 5.) After excluding the impact of seasonal reasons, California still 

reported the highest number of job cuts (104,761). Fourteen states reported second quarter program 

highs in terms of numbers of separations—Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Louisiana, 

Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and 

West Virginia. 

Eighty percent of the initial claimants associated with extended mass layoff events in the second 

quarter of 2009 resided within metropolitan areas, about the same as a year earlier (81 percent). Among 

the 372 metropolitan areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., reported the highest number of 

resident initial claimants (31,813) associated with extended mass layoff events in the second quarter of 

2009. Next were Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., with 20,922 resident claimants, New YorkNorthern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., with 19,891 resident claimants, and Detroit-WarrenLivonia, Mich., with 19,193 resident claimants. In the second quarter of 2009, Peoria, Ill., and Las 

Vegas-Paradise, Nev., entered the list of the 10 metropolitan areas with the most resident initial 

claimants associated with extended mass layoffs, replacing Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, 

Fla., and St. Louis, Mo.-Ill., which were on the list in the second quarter of 2008. (See table B.) 

Note

The quarterly series on extended mass layoffs cover layoffs of at least 31-days duration that involve 

50 or more individuals from a single employer filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a 

consecutive 5-week period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is triggered, the employer is 

contacted for additional information. Data for the first quarter are preliminary and subject to revision. 

This release also includes revised data for previous quarters. Data are not seasonally adjusted, but 

survey data suggest that there is a seasonal pattern to layoffs. Thus, comparisons between consecutive 

quarters should not be used as an indicator of trend. 

For additional information about the program, see the Technical Note. 
6

_____________________________ 

The report on Mass Layoffs in July 2009 is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 21. 

Changes to the Extended Mass Layoffs News Release 

Effective with this release, the following changes have been implemented: 

 The original tables B-D were dropped, as this information is replicated within tables 

2, 10, and 11, respectively. 

 Table E has become the new table 11. This table has been expanded to show the 

recall expectations of employers disaggregated by whether extended layoff events 

were due to seasonal/vacation factors or nonseasonal factors. 

 Table F has become table 13. 

 Table G has undergone a conceptual change and has become a new table B. 

Previously, this table reflected a concept of "worksite location," where the numbers of 

extended layoff events and associated separated workers were displayed by the 

metropolitan statistical area where the event occurred. The concept of "worksite 

location" has been replaced by a "separated worker residence" concept, where the 

number of initial claimants associated with extended layoffs will be displayed by the 

metropolitan statistical area where the separated workers reside. This conceptual 

change will result in more complete information on layoffs in metropolitan areas. 

 The original table 6 has been dropped from the news release as there was often only a 

small amount of layoff activity in the IT-producing industries. The table will be 

provided as a supplemental table on the Mass Layoff Statistics Web site at 

http://www.bls.gov/mls/#tables. The original tables 7-11 have been renumbered as 

tables 6-10. 

 A new table, table 12, has been added to the release displaying the average size of 

layoff events by industry and by reason for layoff. 

 The explanatory language in the body of the news release regarding movement of 

work data has been transferred to the Technical Note. 
Technical Note 

The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federalstate program which identifies, describes, and tracks the 

effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's 

unemployment insurance database. Employers which have at 

least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 

5-week period are contacted by the state agency to determine 

whether these separations are of at least 31 days duration, 

and, if so, information is obtained on the total number of 

persons separated and the reasons for these separations. 

Employers are identified according to industry classification 

and location, and unemployment insurance claimants are 

identified by such demographic factors as age, race, gender, 

ethnic group, and place of residence. The program yields 

information on an individual's entire spell of unemployment, 

to the point when regular unemployment insurance benefits 

are exhausted. 

Definitions 

Domestic relocation. A movement of work from an 

establishment within the U.S. to a location also inside the 

U.S., either within the same company or to a different 

company altogether (domestic outsourcing). 

Employer. A firm covered by state unemployment 

insurance laws. Information on employers is obtained from 

the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) 

program, which is administered by the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS). 

Extended mass layoff event. A layoff defined by the 

filing of 50 or more initial claims for unemployment 

insurance benefits from an employer during a 5-week period, 

with at least 50 workers separated for more than 30 days. 

Such layoffs involve both persons subject to recall and those 

who are terminated. 

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. 

Movement of work. The reassignment of work activities 

previously performed at the worksite by the company 

experiencing the layoff (1) to another worksite within the 

company; (2) to another company under formal contractual 

arrangements at the same worksite; or (3) to another company 

under formal contractual arrangements at another worksite 

either within or outside of the U.S. 

Outsourcing. A movement of work that was formerly 

conducted in-house by employees paid directly by a company 

to a different company under a contractual arrangement. 

Overseas relocation. A movement of work from an 

establishment within the U.S. to a location outside of the U.S. 

(offshoring), either within the same company or to a different 

company altogether (offshore outsourcing). 

Relocation of work action. A movement-of-work action 

where the employer provides information on the new location 

of work and/or the number of workers affected by the 

movement. Events may involve more than one action per 

employer if work is moved to more than one location. 

Separations. The number of individuals who have 

become displaced during an extended mass layoff event as 

provided by the employer, regardless of whether they file for 

unemployment insurance or not. 

Worksite closure. The complete closure of an employer 

or the partial closure of an employer with multiple locations 

where entire worksites affected by layoffs are closed. 

Revisions to preliminary data 

The latest quarterly data in this news release are 

considered preliminary. After the initial publication of 

quarterly information, more data are collected as remaining 

employer interviews for the quarter are completed and 

additional initial claimant information associated with 

extended layoff events is received. 

Movement of work concepts and questions 

Beginning in 2004, the economic reasons "domestic 

relocation" and "overseas relocation" were replaced by the 

movement of work concept. The movement of work data are 

not collected in the same way as the relocation reasons in 

releases prior to 2004; therefore, the movement of work data 

are not comparable to the data for those discontinued reasons. 

Questions on movement of work and location are asked 

for all layoff events when the reason for separation is other 

than “seasonal work” or “vacation period,” as these are 

unlikely. Movement of work questions are asked after the 

analyst verifies that a layoff in fact occurred and lasted more 

than 30 days. If the reason for layoff is other than seasonal or 

vacation, the employer was asked the following: 

(1) “Did this layoff include your company moving work 

from this location(s) to a different geographic location(s) 

within your company?” 

(2) “Did this layoff include your company moving work 

that was performed in-house by your employees to a different 

company, through contractual arrangements?” 

A “yes” response to either question is followed by: 
“Is the location inside or outside of the U.S.?” and 

“How many of the layoffs were a result of this relocation?” 

Layoff actions are classified as “domestic relocation” if 

the employer responds “yes” to questions 1 and/or 2 and 

indicates the location(s) was inside the U.S.; “overseas 

relocation” indicates that the location(s) was outside the U.S. 

Reliability of the data 

The identification of employers and layoff events in the 

MLS program and associated characteristics of claimants is 

based on administrative data on covered employers and 

unemployment insurance claims, and, therefore, is not subject 

to issues associated with sampling error. Nonsampling errors 

such as typographical errors may occur but are not likely to 

be significant. While the MLS employers and layoff events 

are not subject to sampling error, and all such employers are 

asked the interview questions, the employer responses are 

subject to nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur 

for many reasons, including the inability to obtain 

information for all respondents, inability or unwillingness of 

respondents to provide correct information, and errors made 

in the collection or processing of the data. For the second 

quarter of 2009, outright refusal to participate in the employer 

interview accounted for 4.9 percent of all private nonfarm 

events. Although included in the total number of instances 

involving the movement of work, for the second quarter, 

employers in 51 relocations were unable to provide the 

number of separations specifically associated with the 

movement of work, 7 of which involved out-of-country 

moves. 

Additional information 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339. 
Table 1. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

II I II II I II II I II

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm 1 ................................. 1,756 3,979 2,994 354,713 704,618 534,881 339,629 830,028 506,533 

 Mining ............................................................. 3 82 48 627 14,408 7,782 357 15,112 6,547 

 Utilities ............................................................ 4 3 3 758 480 765 738 799 764 

 Construction .................................................... 243 526 352 27,477 63,072 39,800 35,492 76,153 42,751 

 Manufacturing ................................................. 382 1,597 932 65,293 276,536 166,240 87,835 376,289 186,241 

 Food ........................................................... 61 85 76 11,597 13,924 14,633 9,020 16,214 13,557 

 Beverage and tobacco products ................ ( 2 ) 14 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,141 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3,020 ( 2 )

 Textile mills ................................................ ( 2 ) 27 12 ( 2 ) 3,137 2,050 ( 2 ) 6,188 4,040 

 Textile product mills ................................... 6 9 6 728 1,315 659 805 2,356 737 

 Apparel ....................................................... 11 24 22 1,589 3,250 3,113 1,544 3,280 2,501 

 Leather and allied products ........................ ( 2 ) 5 – ( 2 ) 680 – ( 2 ) 679 –

 Wood products ........................................... 37 91 34 5,003 11,039 3,556 5,571 14,604 3,742 

 Paper ......................................................... 12 41 27 1,426 5,309 3,103 1,284 6,045 2,927 

 Printing and related support activities ........ 12 43 27 1,548 5,580 2,747 1,954 6,232 4,221 

 Petroleum and coal products ..................... 3 6 ( 2 ) 378 809 ( 2 ) 218 631 ( 2 )

 Chemicals ................................................. 13 30 20 1,817 4,795 2,304 1,573 4,791 2,449 

 Plastics and rubber products ..................... 20 82 52 3,272 8,913 6,765 3,290 10,226 6,446 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ..................... 13 82 38 1,846 8,476 4,594 1,499 11,235 4,088 

 Primary metals ........................................... 8 106 73 728 16,205 13,382 1,360 21,410 13,696 

 Fabricated metal products ......................... 19 159 90 2,178 18,176 11,282 3,294 27,093 10,212 

 Machinery .................................................. 25 157 92 4,356 28,061 18,096 5,998 38,182 28,691 

 Computer and electronic products ............. 20 147 79 2,783 25,482 11,289 2,712 30,494 10,795 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ......... 9 66 31 1,739 9,001 5,069 1,481 12,588 4,829 

 Transportation equipment .......................... 84 322 197 19,381 95,238 57,136 40,401 142,052 64,665 

 Furniture and related products ................... 17 63 31 3,366 10,182 3,381 4,024 14,297 5,381 

 Miscellaneous manufacturing .................... 8 38 20 895 4,823 2,633 1,100 4,672 2,817 

 Wholesale trade .............................................. 32 131 77 5,050 16,945 10,484 4,038 17,749 9,968 

 Retail trade ...................................................... 81 382 163 15,044 90,379 31,653 19,704 82,415 32,347 

 Transportation and warehousing .................... 191 157 233 44,637 28,741 45,612 44,000 28,355 37,320 

 Information ...................................................... 50 98 81 9,815 14,688 14,058 10,651 21,254 11,875 

 Finance and insurance .................................... 89 175 108 31,417 36,478 23,730 20,909 37,299 18,159 

 Real estate and rental and leasing ................. 8 39 18 723 4,325 3,010 883 4,445 2,303 

 Professional and technical services ................ 80 154 122 38,374 21,862 30,884 21,451 24,142 21,546 

 Management of companies and enterprises ... 6 21 10 658 2,753 1,343 529 2,641 1,260 

 Administrative and waste services .................. 114 327 278 21,435 85,362 51,409 23,526 91,258 51,442 

 Educational services ....................................... 16 10 24 1,644 1,288 3,059 1,986 1,194 2,314 

 Health care and social assistance .................. 186 44 187 23,803 6,937 24,923 21,613 7,478 19,813 

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................. 57 45 76 23,768 7,147 16,402 5,830 7,183 8,766 

 Accommodation and food services ................. 158 158 215 36,853 29,854 55,013 32,980 32,421 45,338 

 Other services, except public administration .. 54 29 67 6,819 3,294 8,714 6,816 3,772 7,779 

 Unclassified ..................................................... 2 1 – 518 69 – 291 69 –

1

 For the second quarter of 2009, data on layoffs were reported by employers r = revised.

in all states and the District of Columbia. p

 = preliminary.

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance Layoff events

Industry
Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

II I II II I II II I II

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm 1 ................................................ 1,756 3,979 2,994 354,713 704,618 534,881 339,629 830,028 506,533 

Business demand ............................................................ 566 2,160 1,342 79,925 334,971 202,151 108,157 457,706 234,409 

 Contract cancellation .................................................... 22 87 71 2,854 12,783 10,799 3,245 16,953 11,415 

 Contract completion ...................................................... 211 327 292 27,716 64,033 44,317 35,666 78,142 44,896 

 Domestic competition .................................................... ( 2 ) 6 – ( 2 ) 822 – ( 2 ) 988 –

 Excess inventory/saturated market ............................... ( 2 ) 32 25 ( 2 ) 4,096 7,263 ( 2 ) 6,750 16,851 

 Import competition ........................................................ 13 6 6 1,831 1,016 1,081 1,800 1,022 908 

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown .............................................. 311 1,702 948 46,145 252,221 138,691 66,082 353,851 160,339 

Organizational changes ................................................... 122 201 149 37,097 46,365 32,069 33,583 54,161 26,531 

 Business-ownership change ......................................... 20 31 26 17,922 9,313 11,211 4,311 6,070 5,863 

 Reorganization or restructuring of company ................. 102 170 123 19,175 37,052 20,858 29,272 48,091 20,668 

Financial issues ............................................................... 120 428 264 27,999 98,770 68,017 21,355 90,914 48,951 

 Bankruptcy .................................................................... 23 87 48 9,011 28,675 31,625 5,246 16,831 16,571 

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ............... 55 234 147 10,267 36,859 19,678 8,165 51,811 20,066 

 Financial difficulty .......................................................... 42 107 69 8,721 33,236 16,714 7,944 22,272 12,314 

Production specific ........................................................... 24 17 8 4,716 4,394 1,362 5,766 3,015 1,082 

 Automation/technological advances ............................. 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 264 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 545 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Energy related ............................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Governmental regulations/intervention ......................... 4 3 ( 2 ) 1,067 1,043 ( 2 ) 436 998 ( 2 )

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike .................... 5 ( 2 ) – 1,430 ( 2 ) – 1,421 ( 2 ) –

 Material or supply shortage ........................................... 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 624 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 614 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Model changeover ........................................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Plant or machine repair/maintenance ........................... 3 ( 2 ) – 802 ( 2 ) – 733 ( 2 ) –

 Product line discontinued .............................................. ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,165 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 804 ( 2 )

Disaster/safety ................................................................. 6 6 3 852 686 508 989 646 226 

 Hazardous work environment ....................................... – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Natural disaster (not weather related) ........................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Non-natural disaster ...................................................... – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Extreme weather-related event ..................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Seasonal .......................................................................... 651 340 671 156,324 56,225 139,231 122,035 61,252 102,623 

 Seasonal ....................................................................... 364 ( 2

 ) 363 107,485 ( 2 ) 81,541 70,302 ( 2 ) 57,685 

 Vacation period–school related or otherwise ................ 287 ( 2 ) 308 48,839 ( 2 ) 57,690 51,733 ( 2 ) 44,938 

Other/miscellaneous ........................................................ 267 827 557 47,800 163,207 91,543 47,744 162,334 92,711 

 Other ............................................................................. 18 35 31 3,176 6,207 4,938 3,183 5,332 6,583 

 Data not provided: refusal ............................................. 54 162 147 12,775 38,270 25,175 12,543 38,200 25,077 

 Data not provided: does not know ................................ 195 630 379 31,849 118,730 61,430 32,018 118,802 61,051 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero. r

 = revised.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

Reason for layoff
Table 3. State and selected claimant characteristics: Extended mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, first and second quarters, 2009

Total Percent of total

State

Layoff events initial

claimants Black Hispanic

origin Women Persons age 55

and over

I II I II I II I II I II I II

 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm 1 .......... 3,979 2,994 830,028 506,533 13.1 14.8 14.7 14.9 33.4 41.4 18.2 20.9 

Alabama ...................................... 21 34 6,114 9,206 42.2 42.1 1.9 2.4 38.8 38.2 14.1 15.2 

Alaska .......................................... 8 13 1,523 2,462 2.5 5.0 10.5 11.2 22.4 34.6 23.6 24.9 

Arizona ........................................ 45 30 7,250 4,745 5.4 4.8 37.4 45.9 36.5 51.1 15.6 17.9 

Arkansas ..................................... 12 16 3,526 2,647 27.4 38.4 5.3 3.5 38.1 44.0 13.4 21.2 

California ..................................... 879 729 157,595 105,901 8.0 9.2 35.6 35.4 36.8 42.1 15.6 16.4 

Colorado ...................................... 36 32 5,102 4,266 5.8 4.6 17.4 18.8 33.5 45.6 18.3 18.6 

Connecticut ................................. 30 27 4,702 3,404 13.8 14.1 15.1 14.5 47.5 62.6 22.4 28.0 

Delaware ..................................... 7 10 1,385 1,148 12.1 28.4 1.5 4.8 14.9 50.1 11.9 25.3 

District of Columbia ..................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 270 37.0 73.0 14.0 5.6 56.8 64.8 5.8 25.2 

Florida ......................................... 243 124 49,348 23,993 16.5 18.1 27.8 29.5 37.5 45.2 18.7 20.6 

Georgia ........................................ 59 34 13,015 7,939 43.0 46.6 4.6 5.6 45.0 47.2 16.7 16.4 

Hawaii .......................................... 12 9 1,181 1,149 3.6 .9 11.9 11.3 28.1 39.7 13.9 15.4 

Idaho ........................................... 24 7 4,115 659 .3 .2 10.5 3.0 36.7 37.3 18.5 19.6 

Illinois .......................................... 240 197 47,072 45,907 17.4 14.6 13.5 9.4 33.5 38.3 17.3 21.1 

Indiana ......................................... 112 85 21,064 13,635 8.0 7.9 2.1 3.0 31.1 32.4 17.6 19.1 

Iowa ............................................. 37 24 10,985 4,511 2.4 2.5 1.9 1.4 30.4 29.0 16.8 19.5 

Kansas ........................................ 26 25 8,691 5,596 8.6 8.3 7.9 3.7 32.1 30.6 14.9 20.0 

Kentucky ...................................... 88 41 19,789 4,829 6.6 3.8 .5 .1 17.6 20.9 14.6 18.2 

Louisiana ..................................... 29 47 4,626 6,666 36.0 67.1 4.2 2.0 18.6 58.6 21.9 17.3 

Maine ........................................... 13 9 2,092 1,499 1.1 .8 .3 .3 24.8 37.8 21.4 27.1 

Maryland ...................................... 40 9 4,938 947 38.0 44.4 3.1 2.3 35.8 41.2 19.5 28.3 

Massachusetts ............................ 63 29 11,337 4,541 7.9 12.1 .9 1.7 44.0 58.3 20.9 28.7 

Michigan ...................................... 183 121 78,489 34,858 20.0 19.0 2.7 2.6 29.1 31.4 18.9 19.2 

Minnesota .................................... 73 73 11,243 10,149 4.9 4.9 3.6 2.4 26.6 31.9 19.0 21.5 

Mississippi ................................... 19 13 1,740 1,369 60.1 75.3 .5 .9 39.5 50.7 19.6 22.0 

Missouri ....................................... 78 74 13,996 10,919 13.3 19.5 .7 .8 37.1 59.8 19.7 29.3 

Montana ...................................... 9 4 1,300 531 .1 .4 2.6 3.2 13.5 28.1 23.3 17.3 

Nebraska ..................................... 5 9 844 1,502 1.2 3.8 10.3 7.9 36.8 44.1 26.5 30.8 

Nevada ........................................ 74 51 14,416 9,164 8.4 9.0 31.6 30.8 38.3 36.1 17.2 19.8 

New Hampshire ........................... 8 5 1,433 678 .4 1.2 4.0 4.7 41.2 40.4 25.5 27.3 

New Jersey .................................. 110 92 18,121 17,191 18.6 18.1 9.7 8.2 45.9 68.0 21.5 34.9 

New Mexico ................................. 14 26 3,158 2,387 2.1 1.9 36.8 53.7 18.9 48.7 15.4 21.5 

New York ..................................... 213 99 39,320 15,291 12.2 13.3 11.2 11.3 40.5 41.5 21.5 21.4 

North Carolina ............................. 86 46 19,994 9,400 38.5 34.2 7.4 6.2 40.9 40.5 16.8 19.5 

North Dakota ............................... 9 10 1,010 1,346 1.2 2.9 1.9 1.9 6.4 20.4 9.2 19.3 

Ohio ............................................. 212 184 56,283 33,596 12.4 12.5 3.2 3.7 28.0 33.4 21.3 24.1 

Oklahoma .................................... 31 16 6,768 2,165 7.6 11.6 6.9 7.3 21.2 31.3 15.7 18.0 

Oregon ........................................ 73 52 18,237 10,930 1.5 1.8 13.2 14.3 29.4 49.0 19.5 23.2 

Pennsylvania ............................... 244 217 50,375 34,444 4.3 5.6 3.6 3.1 26.1 42.3 24.3 28.0 

Rhode Island ............................... 11 8 1,090 627 3.3 10.2 14.1 13.2 50.2 74.0 30.6 35.2 

South Carolina ............................. 50 19 9,183 2,276 43.8 61.2 1.1 1.9 40.0 53.8 7.6 14.2 

South Dakota ............................... 6 ( 2 ) 546 ( 2 ) 5.1 1.7 1.8 3.4 25.3 22.4 17.6 8.6 

Tennessee ................................... 86 41 13,230 5,706 15.8 27.5 .1 – 39.4 47.0 17.7 24.4 

Texas ........................................... 140 82 33,513 12,343 16.4 16.4 35.5 45.9 27.9 36.8 13.9 16.3 

Utah ............................................. 27 14 4,510 2,036 1.8 1.3 15.2 7.5 33.9 36.6 12.1 11.5 

Vermont ....................................... 10 12 1,906 1,609 .3 .7 .2 .4 30.2 36.0 29.9 19.4 

Virginia ........................................ 14 47 3,261 8,480 25.2 39.7 2.1 4.3 31.4 47.0 19.3 22.3 

Washington ................................. 59 54 13,668 7,484 5.9 6.3 9.1 8.6 37.3 38.4 15.7 17.1 

West Virginia ............................... 14 17 2,589 2,259 .5 .1 .1 .1 23.3 10.4 16.1 17.8 

Wisconsin .................................... 91 71 23,796 11,449 3.2 12.6 4.1 5.4 29.0 44.9 21.6 23.5 

Wyoming ..................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2.2 1.4 8.2 4.6 13.0 20.2 8.2 10.4 

Puerto Rico .................................. 20 6 4,712 1,381 .1 – 99.4 99.4 54.6 42.7 11.4 13.5 

1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

r

 = revised.
Table 4. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance

II I II II I II II I II

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 United States 1 ................................. 1,756 3,979 2,994 354,713 704,618 534,881 339,629 830,028 506,533 

Northeast ................................................. 317 702 498 62,131 121,167 83,390 64,001 130,376 79,284 

 New England ........................................ 73 135 90 15,480 22,121 15,221 12,480 22,560 12,358 

 Middle Atlantic ...................................... 244 567 408 46,651 99,046 68,169 51,521 107,816 66,926 

South ........................................................ 358 941 599 63,062 176,631 106,598 60,125 193,262 101,643 

 South Atlantic ....................................... 192 515 309 35,724 88,266 54,789 33,506 103,956 56,712 

 East South Central ............................... 73 214 129 10,863 38,118 22,511 11,089 40,873 21,110 

 West South Central .............................. 93 212 161 16,475 50,247 29,298 15,530 48,433 23,821 

Midwest .................................................... 455 1,072 874 92,768 202,887 171,053 106,019 274,019 173,526 

 East North Central ............................... 355 838 658 75,631 167,882 133,588 90,292 226,704 139,445 

 West North Central .............................. 100 234 216 17,137 35,005 37,465 15,727 47,315 34,081 

West ......................................................... 626 1,264 1,023 136,752 203,933 173,840 109,484 232,371 152,080 

 Mountain .............................................. 94 233 166 30,318 39,469 32,232 12,413 40,167 24,154 

 Pacific .................................................. 532 1,031 857 106,434 164,464 141,608 97,071 192,204 127,926 

1 See footnote 1, table 1. West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and 

 r = revised. Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and

 p = preliminary. Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin;

NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North

census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,

New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California,

New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and

Census region and division
Table 5. State distribution: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,

private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

State

II I II II I II II I II

 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm 1 ....................... 1,756 3,979 2,994 354,713 704,618 534,881 339,629 830,028 506,533 

Alabama ................................................... 21 21 34 3,200 5,822 9,375 3,703 6,114 9,206 

Alaska ...................................................... 6 8 13 3,707 2,437 3,467 1,207 1,523 2,462 

Arizona ..................................................... 20 45 30 3,484 7,287 5,377 2,741 7,250 4,745 

Arkansas .................................................. 11 12 16 1,381 3,144 3,444 1,278 3,526 2,647 

California .................................................. 464 879 729 88,740 134,681 116,207 82,770 157,595 105,901 

Colorado .................................................. 12 36 32 14,369 5,919 8,514 1,576 5,102 4,266 

Connecticut .............................................. 22 30 27 5,256 4,862 4,638 4,470 4,702 3,404 

Delaware .................................................. ( 2 ) 7 10 ( 2 ) 1,548 1,232 ( 2 ) 1,385 1,148 

District of Columbia .................................. 4 ( 2 ) 3 566 ( 2 ) 270 566 ( 2 ) 270 

Florida ...................................................... 113 243 124 21,648 49,572 26,189 20,439 49,348 23,993 

Georgia .................................................... 14 59 34 1,384 7,180 6,137 1,612 13,015 7,939 

Hawaii ...................................................... 9 12 9 4,333 1,086 1,241 2,522 1,181 1,149 

Idaho ........................................................ 20 24 7 2,219 3,378 1,447 2,135 4,115 659 

Illinois ....................................................... 110 240 197 26,735 43,738 42,325 26,197 47,072 45,907 

Indiana ..................................................... 52 112 85 9,504 14,323 16,121 13,556 21,064 13,635 

Iowa ......................................................... 14 37 24 1,702 4,347 3,011 2,280 10,985 4,511 

Kansas ..................................................... 15 26 25 2,086 5,773 7,335 1,577 8,691 5,596 

Kentucky .................................................. 20 88 41 2,320 19,234 4,442 2,058 19,789 4,829 

Louisiana .................................................. 26 29 47 4,022 5,789 7,854 3,300 4,626 6,666 

Maine ....................................................... 5 13 9 1,953 3,630 2,380 788 2,092 1,499 

Maryland .................................................. 10 40 9 1,445 4,699 981 1,406 4,938 947 

Massachusetts ......................................... 25 63 29 5,123 9,336 5,256 4,320 11,337 4,541 

Michigan ................................................... 75 183 121 13,357 47,872 21,155 29,235 78,489 34,858 

Minnesota ................................................ 22 73 73 3,399 10,220 10,102 2,803 11,243 10,149 

Mississippi ................................................ 12 19 13 1,296 1,855 2,341 1,548 1,740 1,369 

Missouri .................................................... 43 78 74 8,992 12,587 13,459 8,252 13,996 10,919 

Montana ................................................... 9 9 4 671 1,241 1,275 683 1,300 531 

Nebraska .................................................. 5 5 9 750 362 2,117 715 844 1,502 

Nevada ..................................................... 15 74 51 3,359 12,772 8,292 2,550 14,416 9,164 

New Hampshire ....................................... 7 8 5 1,172 1,292 427 897 1,433 678 

New Jersey .............................................. 77 110 92 21,546 18,709 23,302 17,656 18,121 17,191 

New Mexico ............................................. 8 14 26 853 3,704 3,667 853 3,158 2,387 

New York ................................................. 70 213 99 14,492 41,333 15,669 12,901 39,320 15,291 

North Carolina .......................................... 10 86 46 4,384 10,804 8,088 2,822 19,994 9,400 

North Dakota ............................................ – 9 10 – 1,010 1,346 – 1,010 1,346 

Ohio ......................................................... 83 212 184 20,134 41,636 42,578 15,110 56,283 33,596 

Oklahoma ................................................. 5 31 16 1,134 6,192 2,711 786 6,768 2,165 

Oregon ..................................................... 27 73 52 6,541 12,897 10,332 6,775 18,237 10,930 

Pennsylvania ............................................ 97 244 217 10,613 39,004 29,198 20,964 50,375 34,444 

Rhode Island ............................................ 9 11 8 1,239 1,068 911 1,274 1,090 627 

South Carolina ......................................... 16 50 19 3,077 7,152 2,147 3,678 9,183 2,276 

South Dakota ........................................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 706 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 546 ( 2 )

Tennessee ............................................... 20 86 41 4,047 11,207 6,353 3,780 13,230 5,706 

Texas ....................................................... 51 140 82 9,938 35,122 15,289 10,166 33,513 12,343 

Utah ......................................................... 9 27 14 4,563 4,582 2,725 1,801 4,510 2,036 

Vermont ................................................... 5 10 12 737 1,933 1,609 731 1,906 1,609 

Virginia ..................................................... 14 14 47 1,997 3,141 6,559 1,861 3,261 8,480 

Washington .............................................. 26 59 54 3,113 13,363 10,361 3,797 13,668 7,484 

West Virginia ............................................ 7 14 17 894 3,927 3,186 763 2,589 2,259 

Wisconsin ................................................. 35 91 71 5,901 20,313 11,409 6,194 23,796 11,449 

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

Puerto Rico .............................................. 13 20 6 1,310 2,623 597 3,469 4,712 1,381 

1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

r

 = revised.

Layoff events Separations Initial claimants for

unemployment insurance
Table 6. Industry distribution: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

II I II II I II

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm 1 .............................................. 71 92 99 12,317 15,501 18,242 

 Mining .......................................................................... – 3 ( 2

 ) – 543 ( 2 )

 Utilities ......................................................................... – – – – – –

 Construction ................................................................. ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 )

 Manufacturing .............................................................. 49 65 63 7,699 11,138 10,296 

 Food ........................................................................ 5 ( 2 ) 10 1,025 ( 2 ) 2,000 

 Beverage and tobacco products ............................. – – – – – –

 Textile mills ............................................................. – – – – – –

 Textile product mills ................................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Apparel ................................................................... 3 ( 2 ) 4 599 ( 2 ) 565 

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

 Wood products ........................................................ – 3 – – 577 –

 Paper ...................................................................... 3 3 ( 2 ) 256 312 ( 2 )

 Printing and related support activities ..................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 594 

 Petroleum and coal products .................................. – – – – – –

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

 )( 2 )( 2 )( 2 )( 2 )( 2 )

 Plastics and rubber products .................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 623 

 Nonmetallic mineral products ................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Primary metals ........................................................ ( 2 ) 4 3 ( 2 ) 603 257 

 Fabricated metal products ...................................... 3 6 8 338 629 924 

 Machinery ............................................................... 4 4 5 541 464 1,138 

 Computer and electronic products .......................... 4 12 10 408 2,930 1,265 

 Electrical equipment and appliances ...................... 5 6 – 1,432 987 –

 Transportation equipment ....................................... 9 11 5 1,125 2,036 1,058 

 Furniture and related products ................................ ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 647 ( 2 )

 Miscellaneous manufacturing ................................. ( 2 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) 460 876 

 Wholesale trade ........................................................... 4 ( 2

 ) 6 578 ( 2 ) 459 

 Retail trade .................................................................. 5 4 5 454 828 2,361 

 Transportation and warehousing ................................. 3 5 3 1,589 761 315 

 Information ................................................................... ( 2 ) 5 3 ( 2 ) 906 464 

 Finance and insurance ................................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 822 

 Real estate and rental and leasing .............................. – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Professional and technical services ............................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Management of companies and enterprises ............... – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Administrative and waste services ............................... 5 ( 2 ) 6 1,206 ( 2 ) 822 

 Educational services .................................................... – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Health care and social assistance ............................... – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............................. – – – – – –

 Accommodation and food services .............................. – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Other services, except public administration ............... – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Unclassified ................................................................. ––––––

 

1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

r

 = revised.

Layoff events Separations

Industry
Table 7. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work, 

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

II I II II I II

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 Total, private nonfarm 1 .................................................. 71 92 99 12,317 15,501 18,242 

Business demand ............................................................. 19 44 33 4,560 6,374 4,927 

 Contract cancellation ..................................................... – ( 2

 ) 3 – ( 2 ) 555 

 Contract completion ....................................................... – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) –

 Domestic competition ..................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Excess inventory/saturated market ................................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ( 2 ) –

 Import competition ......................................................... ( 2 ) 5 4 ( 2 ) 868 651 

 Slack work/insufficient demand/non-seasonal

 business slowdown ................................................. 9 33 26 2,810 4,385 3,721 

Organizational changes .................................................... 34 24 41 5,154 3,564 6,824 

 Business-ownership change .......................................... 3 ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) 634 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Reorganization or restructuring of company .................. 31 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4,520 ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Financial issues ................................................................ 12 18 20 1,691 4,514 5,496 

 Bankruptcy ..................................................................... – – 4 – – 1,254 

 Cost control/cost cutting/increase profitability ................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 10 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,586 

 Financial difficulty ........................................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,656 

Production specific ............................................................ ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Automation/technological advances .............................. – – ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 )

 Energy related ................................................................ – – – – – –

 Governmental regulations/intervention .......................... – – – – – –

 Labor dispute/contract negotiations/strike ..................... – – – – – –

 Material or supply shortage ............................................ – – – – – –

 Model changeover ......................................................... – – – – – –

 Plant or machine repair/maintenance ............................ – – – – – –

 Product line discontinued ............................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

Disaster/safety .................................................................. ( 2

 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Hazardous work environment ........................................ ––––––

 Natural disaster (not weather related) ............................ – – – – – –

 Non-natural disaster ....................................................... – – – – – –

 Extreme weather-related event ...................................... ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

Other/miscellaneous ......................................................... ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Other .............................................................................. ( 2

 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )

 Data not provided: refusal .............................................. ( 2 ) – – ( 2 ) – –

 Data not provided: does not know ................................. – – ( 2 ) – – ( 2 )

1 See footnote 1, table 1. p

 = preliminary.

2

 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

r

 = revised.

Layoff events Separations

Reason for layoff
Table 8. Census region and division: Extended mass layoff events and separations associated with the movement of work,

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

Layoff events Separations

II I II II I II

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 

 United States 1 ..................................... 71 92 99 12,317 15,501 18,242 

Northeast ..................................................... 15 9 14 1,839 1,729 2,340 

 New England ........................................... ( 2

 ) 4 7 ( 2 ) 721 1,179 

 Middle Atlantic ......................................... ( 2 ) 5 7 ( 2 ) 1,008 1,161 

South ........................................................... 20 25 31 3,406 4,786 4,738 

 South Atlantic ........................................... 12 10 14 1,899 1,667 2,534 

 East South Central ................................... 5 9 11 734 1,276 868 

 West South Central .................................. 3 6 6 773 1,843 1,336 

Midwest ........................................................ 22 40 34 3,569 6,009 5,469 

 East North Central ................................... 17 30 23 2,959 4,708 3,892 

 West North Central .................................. 5 10 11 610 1,301 1,577 

West ............................................................. 14 18 20 3,503 2,977 5,695 

 Mountain .................................................. ( 2

 ) 3 ( 2 )( 2 ) 669 ( 2 )

 Pacific ...................................................... ( 2 ) 15 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 2,308 ( 2 )

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South 

 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, 

 r = revised. Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas,

 p = preliminary. Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, 

 NOTE: The states (including the District of Columbia) that comprise Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, 

 the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massa- Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: 

chusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and 

New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Census region and division
Table 9. Extended mass layoff events and separations, selected measures, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

II I II II I II

2008 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p

Total, private nonfarm 1 .................................................. 1,756 3,979 2,994 354,713 704,618 534,881 

 Total, excluding seasonal

 and vacation events 2

 ............................................. 1,105 3,639 2,323 198,389 648,393 395,650 

 Total, movement of work 3

 ...................................... 71 92 99 12,317 15,501 18,242 

 Movement of work actions ................................. 100 124 137 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 With separations reported ............................ 78 87 86 7,346 9,089 9,790 

 With separations unknown ........................... 22 37 51 ( 4 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )

 1 See footnote 1, table 1. 4 Data are not available.

 2 The questions on movement of work were not asked of employers r = revised.

when the reason for layoff was either seasonal work or vacation period. p = preliminary.

 3 Movement of work can involve more than one action.

Layoff events Separations

Action
Table 10. Movement of work actions by type of separation where number of separations is known by employers,

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

II I II II I II

2008 2009r 2009p 2008 2009r 2009p

With separations reported 2 ................................. 78 87 86 7,346 9,089 9,790 

By location

 Out-of-country relocations ................................ 25 25 18 3,159 3,967 2,355 

 Within company ............................................ 23 23 17 2,935 3,794 2,265 

 Different company ........................................ 2 2 1 224 173 90 

 Domestic relocations ........................................ 52 62 68 3,912 5,122 7,435 

 Within company ............................................ 47 57 61 3,694 4,776 6,212 

 Different company ........................................ 5 5 7 218 346 1,223 

 Unable to assign place of 

 relocation ....................................................... 1 – – 275 – –

By company

 Within company ................................................ 70 80 78 6,629 8,570 8,477 

 Domestic ....................................................... 47 57 61 3,694 4,776 6,212 

 Out of country ............................................... 23 23 17 2,935 3,794 2,265 

 Unable to assign ........................................... ––––––

 Different company ............................................ 8 7 8 717 519 1,313 

 Domestic ....................................................... 5 5 7 218 346 1,223 

 Out of country ............................................... 2 2 1 224 173 90 

 Unable to assign ........................................... 1 – – 275 – –

1

 Only actions for which separations associated with the r = revised.

movement of work were reported are shown. p

 = preliminary.

2

 See footnote 1, table 1. Note: Dash represents zero.

Activities

Actions1 Separations
Table 11. Summary of employer expectations of a recall from extended mass layoffs, private nonfarm sector, 

selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

II I II II I II II I II

2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p 2008r 2009r 2009p

Anticipate a recall ............................... 51.1 25.2 38.3 97.4 87.6 95.1 23.8 19.3 21.9

 Timeframe

Within 6 months .................................. 84.5 61.5 77.1 90.5 77.9 90.4 70.0 54.6 60.3

 Within 3 months ............................ 59.1 39.2 55.9 60.4 43.6 64.3 55.9 37.3 45.4

 Size of recall

At least half ......................................... 88.3 62.6 78.7 96.1 80.2 94.7 69.6 55.2 58.7

 All workers .................................... 51.7 19.8 41.2 62.1 30.5 57.7 26.6 15.2 20.4

 1

 See footnote 1, table 1.

 r

 = revised.

 p

 = preliminary.

Percent of total layoff events1

Percent of layoff events 

due to seasonal work 

and vacation period

Percent of layoff events, 

excluding those due to 

seasonal and vacation period Nature of recall
measures, private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2008 and 2009

II I II

2008r 2009r 2009p

 Total, private nonfarm 1 ................................................... 202 177 179 

Industry

Mining ................................................................................... 209 176 162 

Utilities .................................................................................. 190 160 255 

Construction .......................................................................... 113 120 113 

Manufacturing ....................................................................... 171 173 178 

Wholesale trade .................................................................... 158 129 136 

Retail trade ............................................................................ 186 237 194 

Transportation and warehousing .......................................... 234 183 196 

Information ............................................................................ 196 150 174 

Finance and insurance .......................................................... 353 208 220 

Real estate and rental and leasing ....................................... 90 111 167 

Professional and technical services ...................................... 480 142 253 

Management of companies and enterprises ......................... 110 131 134 

Administrative and waste services ........................................ 188 261 185 

Educational services ............................................................. 103 129 127 

Health care and social assistance ........................................ 128 158 133 

Arts, entertainment, and recreation ....................................... 417 159 216 

Accommodation and food services ....................................... 233 189 256 

Other services, except public administration ........................ 126 114 130 

Unclassified establishments .................................................. 259 69 –

Reason for layoff groupings

Business demand ................................................................. 141 155 151 

Organizational changes ........................................................ 304 231 215 

Financial issues .................................................................... 233 231 258 

Production specific ................................................................ 197 258 170 

Disaster/Safety ...................................................................... 142 114 169 

Seasonal ............................................................................... 240 165 207 

Other/miscellaneous ............................................................. 179 197 164 

1

 See footnote 1, table 1. p = preliminary.

r

 = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.

Table 12. Average number of separations in extended mass layoff events by selected

Measure

Average number of separations
Table 13. Distribution of extended layoff events by size of layoff, private nonfarm sector, 

second quarter 2009p

Number Percent Number Percent

 Total ...................................................... 2,994 100.0 534,881 100.0 

 50-99 ................................................... 1,360 45.4 95,540 17.9 

 100-149 ............................................... 671 22.4 78,131 14.6 

 150-199 ................................................ 306 10.2 51,010 9.5 

 200-299 ................................................ 298 10.0 69,544 13.0 

 300-499 ................................................ 200 6.7 72,961 13.6 

 500-999 ................................................ 114 3.8 75,286 14.1 

 1,000 or more ....................................... 45 1.5 92,409 17.3 

p

 = preliminary.

Layoff events Separations

Size
Extended Mass Layoff Events by Reason Categories1

Second quarters, 2003-09

0

800600400200

1600140012001000

2003:2 2004:2 2005:2 2006:2 2007:2 2008:2 2009:2

Seasonal Business demand Organizational changes Financial issues Production specific Disaster/Safety 

1 The chart excludes information on layoffs due to other/miscellaneous reasons.p = preliminary.

p