Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 06-1061
               http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                           For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902     Thursday, June 22, 2006


                         MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2006
   
   In May 2006, employers took 1,074 mass layoff actions, seasonally
adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits
during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor reported today.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from a
single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 109,858,
on a seasonally adjusted basis.  (See table 1.)  The number of layoff
events declined by 74, and the number of associated initial claims de-
creased by 8,646 from April 2006.  In the manufacturing sector, 293 mass
layoff events were reported during May 2006, seasonally adjusted, resulting
in 42,006 initial claims.  Both figures were lower than a month earlier.
(See table 1.)
   
   In May 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent, seasonally
adjusted, compared with 4.7 percent in April 2006 and 5.1 percent in May
2005.  Total nonfarm payroll employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by
75,000 from April to May 2006 and by 1.9 million over the year.
   
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass layoff initial
claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 29,094 initial claims in
May, 34 percent of the total.  (See table A.)  Temporary help services,
with 8,156 initial claims, and food service contractors, with 5,078
claims, together accounted for 16 percent of all initial claims in May.
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 22 percent of all mass layoff
events and 28 percent of all initial claims filed in May; a year earlier,
manufacturing comprised 25 percent of events and 30 percent of initial
claims.  In May 2006, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in
transportation equipment manufacturing (7,657, mostly automotive-related),
followed by food manufacturing (3,335).  (See table 3.)
   
   Administrative and waste services accounted for 14 percent of events
and 15 percent of initial claims filed in May 2006, with layoffs mainly
in temporary help services.  Nine percent of all layoff events and initial
claims filed during the month were from retail trade, primarily in general
merchandise stores.  Accommodation and food services accounted for 8 percent
of events and 9 percent of initial claims in May, mostly in food service
contractors.

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest mass layoff initial claims in
May 2006
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       | Initial |        May peak
                 Industry              | claims  |-------------------------
                                       |         |   Year  | Initial claims
---------------------------------------|---------|---------|---------------
                                       |         |         |
Temporary help services ...............|  8,156  |   2002  |    16,992
Food service contractors ..............|  5,078  |   1998  |     7,267
Motion picture and video production ...|  3,328  |   1999  |     8,985
Child day care services ...............|  2,824  |   2002  |     3,894
Discount department stores ............|  2,092  |   2002  |     3,981
Farm machinery and equipment mfg. .... |  2,004  |   2003  |     2,320
Professional employer organizations ...|  1,783  |   2003  |     3,446
Other social advocacy organizations ...|  1,565  |   2002  |     2,500
Department stores, except discount ....|  1,257  |   2002  |     2,391
Industrial building construction ......|  1,007  |   2003  |     3,463
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   

   Government establishments accounted for 7 percent of events and 6 percent
of initial claims filed in May, largely in executive, legislative, and gen-
eral government and in educational services.
   
   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in May
2006, at 872, was down by 114 from a year earlier, and the number of as-
sociated initial claims decreased by 16,549 to 84,809.  This was the
lowest number of layoff events reported for any May on record.  It also
was the lowest initial claims total since 1996.  The largest over-the-year
decreases in initial claims were reported in transit and ground passenger
transportation (-3,712), transportation equipment manufacturing (-3,249),
motion picture and sound recording industries (-2,242), and specialty trade
contractors (-1,996).  The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims
were reported in administrative and support services (+2,950) and machinery
manufacturing (+1,303).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in May
due to mass layoffs was in the West, 27,009.  (See table 5.)  Administrative
and support services, and motion picture and sound recording industries ac-
counted for 34 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during
the month.  The Midwest had the second largest number of initial claims, 26,538,
followed by the South with 18,518, and the Northeast with 12,744.
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs decreased over the year in
all four of the regions.  The largest decrease was in the Northeast (-6,462),
followed by the South (-4,175), the Midwest (-4,150), and the West (-1,762).
Eight of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the num-
ber of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decreases
in the East North Central (-5,961) and Middle Atlantic (-5,506) divisions.  The
West North Central division had the only over-the-year increase (+1,811).
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial
claims filed due to mass layoff events in May (22,138), followed by
Illinois (6,641), New York (4,570), Michigan (4,028), and Texas (3,688).
These five states accounted for 48 percent of all mass layoff events and
initial claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 6.)
   
   Michigan had the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial
claims (-5,697), largely due to fewer layoffs in transportation equipment
manufacturing and in food manufacturing.  New York had the next largest
decrease in initial claims (-4,305), followed by Texas (-2,541).  The
largest over-the-year increase in claims occurred in Iowa (+2,754).
   
   From January to May, California reported 126,059 mass layoff initial
claims, 25 percent of the national total.  The states with the next largest
number of claims over this period were New York (37,956), Michigan (31,688),
and Ohio (31,496).
   
                                  - 3 -

Note
   
   The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more
workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs.
For private nonfarm establishments, information on the length of the layoff
is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass lay-
offs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs").  The
quarterly release provides more information on the industry classification and
location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.
Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum
of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly
figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.  (See table 4.)  See the Technical
Note for more detailed definitions.


                      ______________________________


   The report on Mass Layoffs in June 2006 is scheduled to be released on
Thursday, July 20, 2006.





                                  - 4 -

Technical Note
   
   
   The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them
during a consecutive 5-week period.  These establishments then are con-
tacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted
31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is
collected.  States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quart-
erly basis.
   
   A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month.  All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday.  In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations.  This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others, 5 weeks, the number of weeks in a
given month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in
a year may vary.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year
change in not seasonally adjusted series should take this calendar effect
into consideration.
   
   The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding.  Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number:  1-800-877-8339.
   
Definitions
   
   Initial claimant.  A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
   
   Mass layoff event.  Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
   
Seasonal adjustment

   Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publish-
ing six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series.  The six series are the
numbers of mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total,
private nonfarm, and manufacturing sectors.
   
   Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expan-
sions and contractions.
   
   The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis.  Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping seasonal adjustment factors.  Revisions to the most recent 5 years
of seasonally adjusted data will be made once a year with the issuance of
December data.  Before the data are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments
are made to the original data to adjust them for differences in the number
of weeks used to calculate the monthly data.  Because weekly unemployment
insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data, a particular month's
value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in one year and 4 weeks
in another.  The effects of these differences could seriously distort the
seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process.
These effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently
removed from the final seasonally adjusted series.




Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 2002 to May 2006,
seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing   

             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events  claimants 

             2002                                                                              

June .......................     1,620     170,724     1,443     156,813       550      70,936
July .......................     1,635     179,806     1,460     164,944       564      74,834
August .....................     1,478     162,040     1,324     150,118       569      67,779
September ..................     1,911     218,875     1,747     203,849       617      80,528
October ....................     1,774     186,940     1,582     169,660       625      73,904
November ...................     1,652     178,402     1,507     167,335       613      71,693
December ...................     1,841     198,678     1,659     184,368       661      84,048

             2003           

January ....................     1,358     131,963     1,168     117,636       387      48,685
February ...................     1,825     190,928     1,647     178,363       646      78,819
March ......................     1,782     175,671     1,595     160,170       617      72,409
April ......................     1,722     174,608     1,564     163,607       640      83,303
May ........................     1,719     184,003     1,542     170,961       625      86,535
June .......................     1,716     164,299     1,524     148,542       636      68,143
July .......................     1,642     163,179     1,442     148,299       580      74,070
August .....................     1,517     171,861     1,367     158,049       551      74,602
September ..................     1,562     147,383     1,374     133,383       484      56,472
October ....................     1,558     156,814     1,336     138,691       427      52,009
November ...................     1,393     141,383     1,244     129,231       401      50,460
December ...................     1,426     144,456     1,265     132,324       434      50,994

             2004           

January ....................     1,421     142,704     1,223     124,192       395      48,519
February ...................     1,293     132,640     1,145     120,811       362      39,360
March ......................     1,364     140,957     1,234     132,152       407      60,296
April ......................     1,381     141,909     1,207     126,106       341      37,686
May ........................     1,189     111,173     1,030      98,230       314      37,405
June .......................     1,390     141,948     1,226     129,344       360      45,398
July .......................     1,329     137,724     1,185     126,945       371      53,248
August .....................     1,436     131,807     1,243     116,672       342      38,192
September ..................     1,283     125,344     1,155     115,499       344      45,691
October ....................     1,302     129,237     1,181     119,653       369      47,888
November ...................     1,350     135,036     1,202     122,954       407      47,517
December ...................     1,188     120,602     1,038     109,508       293      33,123

             2005           

January ....................     1,465     153,676     1,330     143,295       380      58,778
February ...................     1,135     120,190     1,010     109,964       350      43,966
March ......................     1,204     133,935     1,071     124,273       384      56,253
April ......................     1,278     139,575     1,145     128,478       390      60,726
May ........................     1,194     129,214     1,059     117,660       359      52,055
June .......................     1,184     128,430     1,065     119,271       349      53,930
July .......................     1,248     131,136     1,107     118,994       356      49,070
August .....................     1,145     127,592     1,006     116,011       334      48,904
September ..................     2,219     283,772     1,975     237,831       438      53,399
October ....................     1,114     104,584       986      94,798       328      45,475
November ...................     1,205     120,783     1,074     109,680       359      45,069
December ...................     1,308     149,565     1,185     138,234       365      49,641

             2006           

January ....................     1,113     108,378       985      97,832       274      29,541
February ...................     1,073     111,468       973     103,268       321      45,073
March ......................     1,082     118,555       984     110,275       328      49,023
April ......................     1,148     118,504     1,023     109,150       358      48,086
May ........................     1,074     109,858       963     101,080       293      42,006






Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, June 2002 to May 2006,
not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing    

             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants 

            2002                                                                              

June .......................     1,584     162,189     1,266     136,424       336      42,130
July .......................     2,042     245,294     1,819     226,892       907     135,271
August .....................     1,248     128,103     1,151     119,874       427      48,668
September ..................     1,062     124,522       957     114,736       352      43,755
October ....................     1,497     171,100     1,270     149,327       493      64,655
November ...................     2,153     240,171     1,860     216,237       719      92,712
December ...................     2,474     264,158     2,324     252,807       984     126,826
			     	         	   	       			   
            2003            
            
January ....................     2,315     225,430     2,130     210,918       822      90,244
February ...................     1,363     124,965     1,222     116,264       435      48,161
March ......................     1,207     113,026     1,099     104,468       390      41,063
April ......................     1,581     161,412     1,470     152,937       499      62,349
May ........................     1,703     174,204     1,538     160,729       499      61,278
June .......................     1,691     157,552     1,336     127,743       389      40,845
July .......................     2,087     226,435     1,815     206,901       946     136,410
August .....................     1,258     133,839     1,163     124,131       405      52,620
September ..................       868      82,647       756      73,914       271      31,428
October ....................     1,523     158,240     1,265     137,706       438      53,741
November ...................     1,438     138,543     1,234     123,524       408      48,419
December ...................     1,929     192,633     1,793     182,750       648      77,915
			     	         	   	       			   
            2004  	         	   	       			   
            
January ....................     2,428     239,454     2,226     220,687       848      89,551
February ...................       941      84,201       832      76,577       240      23,043
March ......................       920      92,554       847      87,782       258      34,686
April ......................     1,458     157,314     1,316     142,657       343      36,172
May ........................       988      87,501       878      78,786       219      22,141
June .......................     1,379     134,588     1,077     110,804       222      27,307
July .......................     2,094     253,929     1,860     234,877       885     145,895
August .....................       809      69,033       745      63,876       194      17,698
September ..................       708      68,972       637      63,102       189      25,808
October ....................     1,242     127,918     1,101     117,375       372      48,265
November ...................     1,399     130,423     1,201     115,549       412      44,243
December ...................     1,614     161,271     1,487     152,092       436      50,726
			     	         	   	       			   
            2005  	         	   	       			   
            
January ....................     2,564     263,952     2,421     253,409       823     108,985
February ...................       810      74,644       722      68,372       230      24,931
March ......................       806      88,937       733      83,793       246      33,030
April ......................     1,373     158,582     1,263     148,133       395      59,129
May ........................       986     101,358       891      93,332       249      30,424
June .......................     1,157     120,463       941     103,307       216      32,783
July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December ...................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382
			     	         	   	       			   
            2006  	         	   	       			   
            
January ....................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
February ...................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March ......................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688
April ......................     1,140     121,589     1,038     112,964       296      39,538
May ........................       872      84,809       794      78,663       192      23,570
			     	         	   	       			   
			     	         	   	       			   
			     	         	   	       			   
			     	         	   	       			   















Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
 
                                                                                                     Initial claimants for        
                                                             Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance        
                    Industry                                                                                                      

                                                     May      March    April    May        May        March      April     May  
                                                     2005     2006     2006     2006       2005       2006       2006      2006  
								     				 	       		 
               Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                
								     				 	       		 
      Total .....................................    1,194    1,082    1,148    1,074     129,214    118,555    118,504   109,858
						
  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,059      984    1,023      963     117,660    110,275    109,150   101,080
    Manufacturing ...............................      359      328      358      293      52,055     49,023     48,086    42,006
						
             Not seasonally adjusted             
						
      Total(1) ..................................      986      921    1,140      872     101,358    111,838    121,589    84,809
						
Total, private ..................................      915      897    1,098      813      95,006    109,302    118,236    79,738
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       24       41       60       19       1,674      3,125      5,272     1,075
						
  Total, private nonfarm ........................      891      856    1,038      794      93,332    106,177    112,964    78,663
    Mining ......................................    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        5        3       ( 2 )      ( 2 )        385       213
    Utilities ...................................    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )       ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )     ( 2 )
    Construction ................................      104      123       98       90       7,885      9,007      6,324     6,116
    Manufacturing ...............................      249      285      296      192      30,424     44,688     39,538    23,570
        Food ....................................       52       73       80       39       5,057      7,519      8,192     3,335
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........    ( 2 )        7    ( 2 )    ( 2 )       ( 2 )        776      ( 2 )     ( 2 )
        Textile mills ...........................        5        8       14        8         507        951      2,935       780
        Textile product mills ...................        4    ( 2 )        9    ( 2 )         260      ( 2 )        773     ( 2 )
        Apparel .................................       14       10       12        6       1,007      1,012      1,724       525
        Leather and allied products .............        -    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )           -      ( 2 )      ( 2 )     ( 2 )
        Wood products ...........................       15       18       24       12       2,191      2,430      2,342       853
        Paper ...................................        9        7        5        7         737        668        333       527
        Printing and related support activities .       11        9        9       10         764        616        804       860
        Petroleum and coal products .............        -        -        -    ( 2 )           -          -          -     ( 2 )
						
        Chemicals ...............................    ( 2 )        5        4        8       ( 2 )        436        272       464
        Plastics and rubber products ............        9       15       12        5         686      1,492        912       341
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............        7       12       14        5         537        837        914       526
        Primary metals ..........................        6       11       11        4         456      3,667        731       448
        Fabricated metal products ...............       19        9       16        8       1,363        894      1,083       508
        Machinery ...............................       14       20       10        9       1,129      2,024      1,387     2,432
        Computer and electronic products ........       17       11       13       11       1,678      1,296        946     1,058
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       12       11        7        6       1,715      3,570        762     1,449
        Transportation equipment ................       40       42       39       35      10,906     14,958     14,093     7,657
        Furniture and related products ..........        6        5        8        8         603        436        709       709
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............        4        7        5        5         262        712        394       615
						
    Wholesale trade .............................       13       11       19       11       1,158        688      1,933       847
    Retail trade ................................       69       65       86       77       5,519      7,315      7,780     7,570
    Transportation and warehousing ..............       67       47      152       30       6,782      6,326     19,558     2,270
    Information .................................       24       28       30       33       6,479      5,779      4,570     4,360
    Finance and insurance .......................       14       22       26       24       1,048      1,610      1,670     1,864
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........    ( 2 )        5    ( 2 )        6       ( 2 )        411      ( 2 )       424
    Professional and technical services .........       35       22       41       35       4,895      2,467      5,776     3,019
    Management of companies and enterprises .....    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )    ( 2 )       ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )     ( 2 )
    Administrative and waste services ...........      113      120      134      122       9,384     14,361     10,725    12,323
    Educational services ........................        6    ( 2 )        5        5         460      ( 2 )        572       384
    Health care and social assistance ...........       61       18       21       49       5,205      1,167      1,676     4,598
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       15       14       25       21         806      1,187      1,895     1,257
    Accommodation and food services .............       78       79       74       69       7,719      9,792      7,937     7,535
    Other services, except public administration        32    ( 2 )       17       23       3,290      ( 2 )      2,000     2,078
    Unclassified  ...............................        1        7        4        1          42        556        240        39
						
Government ......................................       71       24       42       59       6,352      2,536      3,353     5,071
    Federal .....................................       12        6        9        9       1,235        757        796       767
    State .......................................       12        7       10        6         712        844        909       308
    Local .......................................       47       11       23       44       4,405        935      1,648     3,996


    1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    NOTE:  Dash represents zero.




Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2004 to May 2006,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                               

                                Total mass layoffs                              Extended mass layoffs                            
             Date                                        Mass layoffs         lasting more than 30 days     Realization rates(1) 

                                          Initial               Initial                      Initial                    Initial  
                                Events   claimants    Events   claimants        Events      claimants       Events     claimants 


           2004                                                                                                                

April ...................         1,458    157,314     1,316     142,657                                           
May .....................           988     87,501       878      78,786                                           
June ....................         1,379    134,588     1,077     110,804                                           

Second Quarter ..........         3,825    379,403     3,271     332,247         1,358       254,063          41.5         76.5

July ....................         2,094    253,929     1,860     234,877		     	      
August ..................           809     69,033       745      63,876		     	      
September ...............           708     68,972       637      63,102		     	      

Third Quarter ...........         3,611    391,934     3,242     361,855           886       148,575          27.3         41.1

October .................         1,242    127,918     1,101     117,375		     	      
November ................         1,399    130,423     1,201     115,549		     	      
December ................         1,614    161,271     1,487     152,092		     	      

Fourth Quarter ..........         4,255    419,612     3,789     385,016         1,427       262,049          37.7         68.1

           2005               								     	      
           
January .................         2,564    263,952     2,421     253,409		     	      
February ................           810     74,644       722      68,372		     	      
March ...................           806     88,937       733      83,793		     	      

First Quarter ...........         4,180    427,533     3,876     405,574         1,142       185,486          29.5         45.7

April ...................         1,373    158,582     1,263     148,133		     	      
May .....................           986    101,358       891      93,332		     	      
June ....................         1,157    120,463       941     103,307		     	      

Second Quarter ..........         3,516    380,403     3,095     344,772         1,203       212,452          38.9         61.6

July ....................         1,981    244,216     1,745     222,377		     	      
August ..................           645     67,582       598      63,484		     	      
September ...............         1,662    213,281     1,505     179,042		     	      

Third Quarter ...........         4,288    525,079     3,848     464,903         1,136       190,119          29.5         40.9

October .................           905     91,941       757      80,694		     	      
November ................         1,254    116,127     1,079     102,182		     	      
December ................         2,323    254,258     2,168     242,753		     	      

Fourth Quarter ..........         4,482    462,326     4,004     425,629         1,400       244,943          35.0         57.5

           2006               								     	      
           
January .................         1,245    117,946     1,123     108,701		     	      
February ................           719     66,555       658      62,208		     	      
March ...................           921    111,838       856     106,177		     	      

First Quarter ...........         2,885    296,339     2,637     277,086     (2)(p)892 (2)(p)129,607       (p)33.8      (p)46.8

April ...................         1,140    121,589     1,038     112,964		     	      
May .....................           872     84,809       794      78,663


    1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The
initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with
layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 
    2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available.
Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and
the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. 
    p = preliminary. 





Table 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division,
not seasonally adjusted


                                                                                  Initial claimants for         
                                           Mass layoff events                     unemployment insurance        
 Census region and division                                                                                       

                                   May     March    April     May         May        March       April        May  
                                   2005    2006     2006      2006        2005       2006        2006         2006 

        United States(1) ...       986      921     1,140      872      101,358     111,838     121,589      84,809

Northeast ..................       186      124       308      134       19,206      12,955      34,615      12,744

    New England ............        27       22        52       30        4,039       1,849       6,268       3,083
    Middle Atlantic ........       159      102       256      104       15,167      11,106      28,347       9,661

South ......................       232      176       177      204       22,693      21,001      18,283      18,518

    South Atlantic .........       114       95        98      100        9,445      11,298      10,728       8,321
    East South Central .....        51       39        41       51        5,346       4,819       4,108       5,259
    West South Central .....        67       42        38       53        7,902       4,884       3,447       4,938

Midwest ....................       248      259       243      220       30,688      40,581      34,494      26,538

    East North Central .....       193      199       203      157       23,477      32,836      30,704      17,516
    West North Central .....        55       60        40       63        7,211       7,745       3,790       9,022

West .......................       320      362       412      314       28,771      37,301      34,197      27,009

    Mountain ...............        36       34        47       28        2,859       3,380       5,769       2,637
    Pacific ................       284      328       365      286       25,912      33,921      28,428      24,372


    1 See footnote 1, table 3.
    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 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                         Initial claimants for           
                                         Mass layoff events                             unemployment insurance           
           State                                                                                                         
                              May        March      April        May         May         March       April       May  
                              2005       2006       2006         2006        2005        2006        2006        2006 

   Total(1) .............     986         921       1,140         872       101,358     111,838     121,589     84,809

Alabama .................       9           7           9          13         1,204         660         741      1,347
Alaska ..................   ( 2 )           -           5       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -         694      ( 2 )
Arizona .................      12           7          17           5         1,015         804       2,709        625
Arkansas ................       6           3           5       ( 2 )           514         189         432      ( 2 )
California ..............     252         283         321         259        22,741      29,527      24,551     22,138
Colorado ................       6       ( 2 )           6           5           458       ( 2 )         768        443
Connecticut .............      10           6           8           6           847         390         673        461
Delaware ................       -       ( 2 )           -           -             -       ( 2 )           -          -
District of Columbia ....   ( 2 )           -           -       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -           -      ( 2 )
Florida .................      53          44          34          48         3,192       4,033       2,363      3,165
Georgia .................      22          20          20          17         1,998       1,880       4,191      1,734
Hawaii ..................       3           9           6           4           241         814         422        359
Idaho ...................       4           7           3           4           223         523         349        255

Illinois ................      39          44          29          43         3,940       7,478       3,380      6,641
Indiana .................      23          20          22          22         2,327       2,559       2,260      1,815
Iowa ....................       6           7           7          12           485       1,866         987      3,239
Kansas ..................       9           6       ( 2 )           9           764         751       ( 2 )        685
Kentucky ................      18          21          17          17         1,601       3,310       2,174      2,065
Louisiana ...............      10           8       ( 2 )          12           998         520       ( 2 )        973
Maine ...................       3       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           4           234       ( 2 )       ( 2 )        314
Maryland ................   ( 2 )           5          15           5         ( 2 )         497       1,277        414
Massachusetts ...........      10           4          17          13         2,676         253       2,001      1,692
Michigan ................      49          50          41          40         9,725       9,395       7,191      4,028
Minnesota ...............       9          10          12          11         1,314         882         814      2,678
Mississippi .............       5       ( 2 )           6           7           562       ( 2 )         430        495
Missouri ................      21          31          13          25         3,858       3,297       1,008      1,957

Montana .................       3       ( 2 )           3           3           358       ( 2 )         220        182
Nebraska ................       6           5           4           4           397         774         495        324
Nevada ..................       3           9          11       ( 2 )           191       1,251       1,053      ( 2 )
New Hampshire ...........       3       ( 2 )           5       ( 2 )           227       ( 2 )         504      ( 2 )
New Jersey ..............      30          15          53          16         2,650       1,817       6,259      1,591
New Mexico ..............       4           3       ( 2 )           4           348         161       ( 2 )        570
New York ................      80          36         102          40         8,875       3,566      13,386      4,570
North Carolina ..........       9           8           7          12         1,094         849         568      1,355
North Dakota ............   ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )      ( 2 )
Ohio ....................      42          32          53          30         3,349       6,956      12,182      3,102
Oklahoma ................   ( 2 )           6       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         966       ( 2 )      ( 2 )
Oregon ..................      12          22          16          16         1,502       2,430       1,296      1,242
Pennsylvania ............      49          51         101          48         3,642       5,723       8,702      3,500

Rhode Island ............   ( 2 )       ( 2 )           7       ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       1,528      ( 2 )
South Carolina ..........      16          10          11          10         1,566       1,359       1,314        988
South Dakota ............   ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )      ( 2 )
Tennessee ...............      19          10           9          14         1,979         709         763      1,352
Texas ...................      49          25          30          37         6,229       3,209       2,354      3,688
Utah ....................       4           4           4           5           266         274         381        447
Vermont .................       -           8          13           4             -         848       1,311        404
Virginia ................      11           6           9           7         1,365         805         830        593
Washington ..............      16          14          17           6         1,365       1,150       1,465        570
West Virginia ...........       -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -             -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )          -
Wisconsin ...............      40          53          58          22         4,136       6,448       5,691      1,930
Wyoming .................       -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -             -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )          -

Puerto Rico .............      15          17           8          60         1,308       1,742         767     14,229

    1 See footnote 1, table 3.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. 
    NOTE:  Dash represents zero.