Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 03-261
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Thursday, May 29, 2003

                                     
                        MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2003
                                     

   Employers initiated 1,576 mass layoff actions in April 2003, as measured 
by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, accord-
ing 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 161,095.  (See table 1.)  Compared with 
April 2002, the number of layoff events increased slightly, while the number 
of workers involved declined.  April 2003 marked the 11th consecutive month 
the number of mass layoff initial claims declined over the year.  From 
January through April 2003, the total number of events, at 6,460, and initial 
claims, at 624,401, were lower than in January-April 2002 (6,496 and 730,002, 
respectively).

   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 (re-
ferred to as "extended mass layoffs") and provides more information on the in-
dustry classification and location of the establishment and on the demograph-
ics of the laid-off workers.  Because monthly figures include short-term lay-
offs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter 
will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.  
(See table 1.)  See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
   
Industry Distribution

   School and employee bus transportation, with 10,086 claims, and temporary 
help services, with 9,784, each had over 6 percent of all initial claims in 
April.  (See table A.)
   
   Manufacturing industries accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff
events and 39 percent of all initial claims filed in April.  In April 2002,
manufacturing accounted for 31 percent of events and initial claims.  The
number of initial claimants was highest in transportation equipment (15,454, 
mainly in automobile manufacturing), followed by food production (8,468) and 
computer and electronic products (4,985).  (See table 2.)
   
   The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 12 percent of 
events and 10 percent of initial claims filed during the month, with layoffs 
mostly in temporary help services.  Eight percent of all layoff events and 
9 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in transportation and 
warehousing, primarily in school and employee bus transportation.  Eight per-

                                  - 2 - 

Table A.  Industries with largest mass layoff initial claims in April 2003p
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        |              |       April peak
                Industry                |Initial claims|----------------------
                                        |              | Year | Initial claims
----------------------------------------|--------------|------|---------------
School and employee bus transportation..|    10,086    | 2002 |     13,056
Temporary help services.................|     9,784    | 2001 |     17,507
Motion picture and video production.....|     7,142    | 1997 |     15,908
Automobile manufacturing................|     5,268    | 1996 |     14,744
Discount department stores .............|     3,902    | 2003 |      3,902
Food service contractors................|     2,930    | 1998 |      3,574
Professional employer organizations ....|     2,673    | 2001 |      3,280
Tax preparation services................|     2,578    | 2002 |      2,904
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels.|     2,556    | 2003 |      2,556
Scheduled passenger air transportation..|     2,197    | 2003 |      2,197
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   p=preliminary.

cent of the events and 7 percent of the initial claims were from retail trade, 
mostly from general merchandise stores, largely in discount department stores.  
The information sector accounted for 3 percent of events and 7 of percent ini-
tial claims, largely in motion picture and video production.  Construction ac-
counted for 10 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims during the 
month, mostly among specialty trade contractors.
   
   Government establishments accounted for 3 percent of events and 2 percent 
of initial claims filed during the month, particularly in executive, legisla-
tive, and general government agencies.
   
   Compared with April 2002, the largest decreases in initial claims were re-
ported in transit and ground passenger transportation (-3,118), telecommuni-
cations (-2,803), and agriculture and forestry support activities (-2,712).  
The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in transpor-
tation equipment manufacturing (+8,026).
   
Geographic Distribution

   Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in April
due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 51,815.  (See table 3.)
Administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording
accounted for 31 percent of all initial claims in that region during the
month.  The Midwest followed, with 43,466 initial claims, then the South,
with 34,922, and the Northeast, with 30,892.
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year
in three of the four regions, with the largest decrease in the Northeast 
(-7,684).  The Midwest had the only over-the-year increase (+6,347).  Six 
of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number 
of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decline in
the Middle Atlantic (-6,635).  The East North Central division had the largest 
increase (+5,847).
   
   California recorded the largest number of initial claims filed in mass lay-
off events this April, 39,040, mostly in motion picture and sound recording 
and in administrative and support services.  Pennsylvania reported 11,004, 
followed by Ohio (10,704) and New York (9,151).  These four states accounted 
for 47 percent of all layoff events and 43 percent of initial claims for un-
employment insurance.  (See table 4.)
   
   New York reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of
initial claims (-8,738), followed by Texas (-3,497) and Illinois (-2,373).
The largest over-the-year increases occurred in Indiana (+3,828) and
Georgia (+2,613).
   
   From January to April 2003, California reported 163,082 mass layoff initial 
claims, 26 percent of the national total.  The states with the next largest 
number of claims over this period were Pennsylvania (44,209), New York (36,793), 
and Ohio (36,478).
   
                      ______________________________
   
   The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the First Quarter of 2003 will be 
issued on Wednesday, June 18, 2003.





Technical Note
 
 
 
 The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that
uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and
tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's
unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
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, April 2001 to April 2003
                            
                                                            Extended mass layoffs 
                                Total mass layoffs        lasting more than 30 days        Realization rates(1)
             Date           

                                           Initial                        Initial                      Initial
                                Events    claimants       Events         claimants         Events     claimants
                            
             2001           

April ......................     1,450     176,265
May ........................     1,434     159,365
June .......................     2,107     253,826

Second Quarter .............     4,991     589,456         2,072          401,270           41.5         68.1

July .......................     2,117     273,807
August .....................     1,490     166,148
September ..................     1,327     160,402

Third Quarter ..............     4,934     600,357         1,815          370,942           36.8         61.8

October ....................     1,831     215,483
November ...................     2,721     295,956
December ...................     2,440     268,893

Fourth Quarter .............     6,992     780,332         2,698          502,662           38.6         64.4

             2002           

January ....................     2,146     263,821
February ...................     1,383     138,984
March ......................     1,460     161,336

First Quarter ..............     4,989     564,141         1,748          315,819           35.0         56.0

April ......................     1,507     165,861
May ........................     1,726     180,007
June .......................     1,580     161,928

Second Quarter .............     4,813     507,796         1,905          352,183           39.6         69.4

July .......................     2,041     245,211
August .....................     1,247     128,080
September ..................     1,062     124,512

Third Quarter ..............     4,350     497,803         1,383          274,576           31.8         55.2

October ....................     1,497     171,088
November ...................     2,150     240,028
December ...................     2,470     263,775

Fourth Quarter .............     6,117     674,891   (2)(p)2,127    (2)(p)305,208        (p)34.8      (p)45.2

             2003           

January (r) ................     2,315     225,415
February ...................     1,363     124,977
March (p) ..................     1,206     112,914

First Quarter (p) ..........     4,884     463,306

April (3)(p) ...............     1,576     161,095


    1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 
    2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become avaliable.
Recent experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less
than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. 
    3 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Wyoming. 
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised. 
     
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
                                                 
                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                    

                                                     April  February   March    April       April    February     March      April 
                                                     2002     2003     2003p    2003p       2002       2003       2003p      2003p 


     Total(1) ...................................    1,507    1,363    1,206    1,576      165,861    124,977    112,914    161,095

Total, private ..................................    1,458    1,322    1,162    1,529      161,342    121,902    109,305    157,244

  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ....       79      100       64       64        8,079      5,626      4,949      4,624
  Mining ........................................       15        8        7    ( 2 )        1,409        788        708      ( 2 )
  Utilities .....................................    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        5        ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )        326
  Construction ..................................      105      196      125      150        9,135     13,434      7,640     10,042
  Manufacturing .................................      461      435      390      500       50,897     48,182     41,063     62,429
      Food ......................................       80       59       72       85        9,291      5,475      7,607      8,468
      Beverage and tobacco products .............        8        9    ( 2 )        7          899        458      ( 2 )        450
      Textile mills .............................        9       16        9       17        1,120      1,958        764      2,725
      Textile product mills .....................    ( 2 )        7        5        9        ( 2 )        571        432        697
      Apparel ...................................       30       20       11       19        3,742      1,525        950      2,385
      Leather and allied products ...............        5    ( 2 )        -        5          437      ( 2 )          -        398
      Wood products .............................       19       29       35       30        1,637      2,372      3,104      2,858
      Paper .....................................       15       15        9       14        1,330      1,436        937      1,083
      Printing and related support activities ...       10       13        7        8          874        793        658        848
      Petroleum and coal products ...............    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        -        -        ( 2 )      ( 2 )          -          -

      Chemicals .................................       10        9    ( 2 )        6          664      1,185      ( 2 )      1,752
      Plastics and rubber products ..............       11       16        6       24          857      1,136        552      3,789
      Nonmetallic mineral products ..............        9       18       19       14          717      1,652      1,882      1,190
      Primary metals ............................       22       17       21       27        1,979      1,678      1,766      3,195
      Fabricated metal products .................       22       34       24       35        1,781      2,622      1,734      2,478
      Machinery .................................       35       22       35       35        5,045      4,207      3,761      4,368
      Computer and electronic products ..........       74       41       41       53        7,336      3,690      5,077      4,985
      Electrical equipment and appliances .......       19       19       26       17        2,427      3,159      3,787      1,836
      Transportation equipment ..................       53       53       44       67        7,428     10,535      5,061     15,454
      Furniture and related products ............       18       24       14       22        1,919      2,702      1,727      2,829
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ...............        7        9        8        6          735        613        830        641

  Wholesale trade ...............................       27       19       21       31        2,212      1,321      1,811      2,425
  Retail trade ..................................      122      110      102      121       13,715     10,015     10,480     11,656
  Transportation and warehousing ................      104       34       37      132       15,442      4,650      4,382     14,386
  Information ...................................       86       61       50       51       12,127      5,689      6,971     11,131
  Finance and insurance .........................       34       24       33       34        3,142      1,778      2,130      2,061
  Real estate and rental and leasing ............        4       10        8       10          684        795        483        569
  Professional and technical services ...........       62       33       40       60        7,767      4,224      3,187      5,852
  Management of companies and enterprises .......    ( 2 )        5    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        ( 2 )        431      ( 2 )      ( 2 )
  Administrative and waste services .............      177      176      163      186       18,110     15,898     15,062     16,593
  Educational services ..........................        5    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        6          356      ( 2 )      ( 2 )        463
  Health care and social assistance .............       29       22       24       24        2,406      1,619      1,569      1,695
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...........       33       15       12       33        3,507      1,447        663      2,551
  Accommodation and food services ...............       74       52       71       95        7,378      4,746      7,111      8,014
  Other services, except public administration ..       26       11        4       17        3,279        629        280      1,504

  Unclassified ..................................       10        6        3        5        1,106        361        284        389

Government ......................................       49       41       44       47        4,519      3,075      3,609      3,851
  Federal .......................................        7        7        6        4          543        421        570        318
  State .........................................       15       14        9       13        1,717      1,054        614      1,470
  Local .........................................       27       20       29       30        2,259      1,600      2,425      2,063


    1 For April 2003, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Wyoming.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE: Industry data reflect the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 2002. Dash represents zero. 

  
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division
                            
                                                                                       Initial claimants for            
                                           Mass layoff events                          unemployment insurance           
  Census region and division

                                April    February     March      April        April     February      March       April 
                                2002       2003       2003p      2003p        2002        2003        2003p       2003p 

      United States(1) .....    1,507      1,363      1,206      1,576       165,861     124,977     112,914     161,095

Northeast ..................      306        225        157        326        38,576      23,291      15,230      30,892

  New England ..............       62         26         29         59         7,263       2,758       2,987       6,214
  Middle Atlantic ..........      244        199        128        267        31,313      20,533      12,243      24,678

South ......................      331        307        263        323        35,740      32,877      24,630      34,922

  South Atlantic ...........      158        142        109        151        16,451      15,410       9,362      14,851
  East South Central .......       58         45         55         74         6,629       5,249       4,752       9,550
  West South Central .......      115        120         99         98        12,660      12,218      10,516      10,521

Midwest ....................      314        235        237        334        37,119      23,244      26,239      43,466

  East North Central .......      260        181        174        271        31,127      16,279      18,946      36,974
  West North Central .......       54         54         63         63         5,992       6,965       7,293       6,492

West .......................      556        596        549        593        54,426      45,565      46,815      51,815

  Mountain .................       61         27         47         68         7,382       2,857       4,251       6,109
  Pacific ..................      495        569        502        525        47,044      42,708      42,564      45,706


    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           

                                April     February      March       April        April     February      March       April 
                                2002        2003        2003p       2003p        2002        2003        2003p       2003p 

   Total(1) ................    1,507       1,363       1,206       1,576       165,861     124,977     112,914     161,095

Alabama ....................       25           9          11          24         2,529       1,547       1,108       4,048
Alaska .....................        4       ( 2 )           -           6           361       ( 2 )           -         489
Arizona ....................       24           7          13          22         3,649         537       1,148       2,193
Arkansas ...................        7           4           5           3           509         288         381         326
California .................      436         525         438         455        39,943      38,769      36,360      39,040
Colorado ...................       11           6           9          14         1,121         535       1,126       1,318
Connecticut ................        4           3           5           3           232         190         412         206
Delaware ...................        3       ( 2 )           -           3           508       ( 2 )           -         180
District of Columbia .......    ( 2 )           -           -           -         ( 2 )           -           -           -
Florida ....................       69          59          60          64         6,303       4,459       4,188       4,451
Georgia ....................       16          23          15          31         1,686       3,627       1,224       4,299
Hawaii .....................        7           3       ( 2 )           8           512         186       ( 2 )         621
Idaho ......................        6           4          13           8           625         996       1,187         778

Illinois ...................       61          44          35          64         9,583       4,956       3,161       7,210
Indiana ....................       24          28          37          37         2,998       2,267       4,826       6,826
Iowa .......................       12          15          14          13         1,530       1,191       1,572       1,249
Kansas .....................        9           5           9           5           797       2,056       1,449         406
Kentucky ...................       20          14          21          29         2,315       2,174       2,124       4,186
Louisiana ..................       19          16           8          20         1,982       1,043         402       2,777
Maine ......................        7       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           6           822       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         575
Maryland ...................        3           6       ( 2 )           9           218         562       ( 2 )         859
Massachusetts ..............       24          18          16          29         2,891       1,620       1,263       3,307
Michigan ...................       30          21          10          32         2,714       1,719         848       4,704
Minnesota ..................       14           8          13          21         1,936         614       1,041       2,848
Mississippi ................        5          10           8           9           287         732         509         547
Missouri ...................       11          15          23          18           974       1,922       2,930       1,441

Montana ....................        3       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           4           224       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         443
Nebraska ...................        6           6       ( 2 )           4           499         830       ( 2 )         348
Nevada .....................        9           8           7          13         1,169         659         475         961
New Hampshire ..............       10           -       ( 2 )           3         1,099           -       ( 2 )         205
New Jersey .................       35          31          17          47         4,439       3,772       1,253       4,523
New Mexico .................    ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )           3         ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )         178
New York ...................      126          42          40          91        17,889       5,265       3,571       9,151
North Carolina .............       25          17          12          21         2,832       1,385       1,273       1,990
North Dakota ...............    ( 2 )           3       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         229       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Ohio .......................       80          46          40          62         9,034       4,097       4,988      10,704
Oklahoma ...................        5           7          10           6           324         553       1,606       1,070
Oregon .....................       24          24          41          22         3,118       2,036       4,336       2,238
Pennsylvania ...............       83         126          71         129         8,985      11,496       7,419      11,004

Rhode Island ...............        8       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           9         1,431       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       1,137
South Carolina .............       21          20           6           8         2,450       2,159         986       1,228
South Dakota ...............        -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )             -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Tennessee ..................        8          12          15          12         1,498         796       1,011         769
Texas ......................       84          93          76          69         9,845      10,334       8,127       6,348
Utah .......................        6           -       ( 2 )           4           460           -       ( 2 )         238
Vermont ....................        9       ( 2 )           3           9           788       ( 2 )         833         784
Virginia ...................       17          13          14          13         1,959       1,263       1,392       1,719
Washington .................       24          15          21          34         3,110       1,511       1,745       3,318
West Virginia ..............        3       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           346       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Wisconsin ..................       65          42          52          76         6,798       3,240       5,123       7,530
Wyoming ....................        -       ( 2 )           -       ( 1 )             -       ( 2 )           -       ( 1 )

Puerto Rico ................       12          10           5          13         1,591       1,336         378       1,833


    1 See footnote 1, table 2.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.