Technical information:  (202) 691-6392      USDL 02-354
               http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                            For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                691-5902      Thursday, June 27, 2002

                                     
                         MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2002


   Employers initiated 1,726 mass layoff actions in May 2002, as measured
by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, accord-
ing to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Each ac-
tion involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number 
of workers involved totaled 180,007.  (See table 1.)  A year earlier, in 
May 2001, there were 1,434 mass layoff events involving 159,365 workers.  The 
number of events and initial claims this year were the highest for the month 
of May since the series began in 1995.  (May 2002 contained 5 weeks for pos-
sible mass layoffs, compared with 4 weeks in each May of the prior 3 years.)  
From January through May 2002, the total number of events, at 8,222, and of 
initial claims, at 910,009, were higher than January-May 2001 (7,434 and 
880,347, 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 (referred to as "extended mass layoffs") and 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 1.)  
See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

Industry Distribution
   
   Manufacturing industries accounted for 28 percent of all mass layoff
events and 29 percent of all initial claims filed in May.  A year earlier,
layoffs in this sector accounted for 37 percent of events and 41 percent 
of initial claims.  The number of initial claimants was highest in food
production (9,335, mostly in fruit and vegetable processing), followed by
transportation equipment (6,869, primarily in aircraft manufacturing) and
computer and electronic products (5,813, mainly in bare printed circuit
board manufacturing).  (See table 2.)
   
   The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent
of events and 15 percent of initial claims filed during the month, with
layoffs almost entirely in administrative and support services, particu-
larly temporary help services.  Eight percent of all layoff events and 
9 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, 
mostly in general merchandise stores.  Ten percent of the events and 
8 percent of initial claims were from construction, primarily among
specialty trade contractors.  The information sector accounted for an
additional 5 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, largely 
in motion picture and sound recording industries.
   
   Compared with May 2001, the largest increases in initial claims were
reported in administrative and support services (+9,232), general merchan-
dise stores (+3,988), and motion pictures and sound recording (+3,607).  
The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in 
professional and technical services (-6,493) and computer and electronic 
product manufacturing (-5,050).

                                  - 2 -

Geographic Distribution
   
   Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in May due
to mass layoffs was in the West, 61,715.  (See table 3.)  Temporary help
services and motion picture and video production accounted for 31 percent
of all initial claims in the West during the month.  Following was the
South with 48,506 initial claims (mainly in temporary help services), the
Midwest with 44,788 (largely in school and employee bus transportation),
and the Northeast with 24,998 (mostly in food service contractors).
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs rose over the year in
all four regions. The South region had the largest increase in initial
claims (+8,405), followed by the Midwest (+5,835).  Seven of the nine
geographic divisions experienced over-the-year increases in the number of
initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increase in
the Middle Atlantic (+5,777) division.  The New England division had the
largest decrease over the year (-1,780).
   
   California registered the largest number of initial claims filed in
mass layoff events this May, 50,063, mostly in temporary help services 
and motion picture and video production.  Texas reported 16,870 initial 
claims in mass layoffs, followed by Illinois (10,079), and Pennsylvania 
(10,064).  These four states accounted for 47 percent of all layoff events 
and 48 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance.  
(See table 4.)
   
   Texas reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims
(+5,384), followed by New York (+4,677).  The largest over-the-year
decrease occurred in Oklahoma (-2,201).
   
                      ______________________________
   
   The report on Mass Layoffs in June 2002 will be issued on Wednesday, July
24, 2002.

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |               Change in Industry Classification System                   |
 |                                                                          |
 |  Beginning with the release of January 2002 mass layoff data on          |
 |February 28, 2002, the Mass Layoff Statistics program implemented the     |
 |2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) |
 |as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by indus- |
 |try.  NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the     |
 |statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.  Due to    |
 |differences in NAICS and the previously used Standard Industrial Classi-  |
 |fication (SIC) structures, data by industry for 2002 will not be compara- |
 |ble to the SIC-based data for earlier years.  However, the monthly histor-|
 |ical industry series from April 1995 through December 2001 are available  |
 |on both SIC and NAICS bases.                                              |
 |                                                                          |
 |  NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize economic units. |
 |Units with similar production processes are classified in the same indus- |
 |try.  NAICS focuses on how products and services are created, as opposed  |
 |to the SIC focus on what is produced.  This approach yields significantly |
 |different industry groupings than those produced by the SIC approach.     |
 |                                                                          |
 |  Users interested in more information about NAICS can access the BLS Web |
 |page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the Bureau of the Census Web  |
 |page at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html.                        |
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical Note
 
 
 
 The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that
uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and
tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's
unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them
during a consecutive 5-week period.  These establishments then are
contacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted
31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is
collected.  States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a
quarterly basis.
 
 A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment
insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that
month.  All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the
first day of the month falls on Saturday.  In this case, the week is
included in the prior month's tabulations.  This means that some months
will contain 4 weeks and others 5 weeks, and the number of weeks in a given
month may be different from year to year.  Therefore, analysis of over-the-
month and over-the-year change should take this calendar effect into
consideration.
 
 The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been
terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding.  Prior to April 1995,
monthly layoff statistics were not available.
 
 Information in this release will be made available to sensory
impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; 
TDD message referral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.
 
Definitions
 
 Initial claimant.  A person who files any notice of unemployment to
initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and
eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment
within a benefit year or period of eligibility.
 
 Mass layoff event.  Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment
insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period,
regardless of duration.
 
 
 
 
 

Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2000 to May 2002
                            
                                                            Extended mass layoffs 
                                                          lasting more than 30 days    
             Date           
                                Total mass layoffs                                        Realization rates(1)  


                                           Initial                        Initial                      Initial 
                                Events    claimants       Events         claimants         Events     claimants
                            
             2000           

April ......................       924     101,359
May ........................       984      92,193
June .......................     1,597     192,025

Second Quarter .............     3,505     385,577         1,271          231,471           36.3         60.0

July .......................     1,333     164,978
August .....................       751      97,215
September ..................       936     106,842

Third Quarter ..............     3,020     369,035         1,014          189,250           33.6         51.3

October ....................       874     103,755
November ...................     1,697     216,514
December ...................     2,677     326,743

Fourth Quarter .............     5,248     647,012         2,005          376,611           38.2         58.2

             2001           

January ....................     1,522     200,343
February ...................     1,501     172,908
March ......................     1,527     171,466

First Quarter ..............     4,550     544,717         1,765          340,151           38.8         62.4

April ......................     1,450     176,265
May ........................     1,434     159,365
June .......................     2,107     253,826

Second Quarter .............     4,991     589,456         2,072          401,294           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          371,124           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         2,700          497,136           38.6         63.7

             2002           

January ....................     2,146     263,821
February ...................     1,383     138,984
March ......................     1,460     161,336

First Quarter ..............     4,989     564,141   (2)(p)1,669    (2)(p)236,891        (p)33.5      (p)42.0

April(p) ...................     1,507     165,861
May(p) .....................     1,726     180,007


    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. 
    p = preliminary. 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 2. 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  
                                                     2001(r)   2002    2002(p)  2002(p)     2001(r)     2002      2002(p)    2002(p)

     Total(1) ....................................    1,434    1,460    1,507    1,726      159,365    161,336    165,861    180,007

Total, private ...................................    1,398    1,414    1,458    1,635      155,799    157,100    161,342    170,712

  Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .....       67       79       79       62        4,613      5,775      8,079      3,802
  Mining .........................................    ( 2 )       22       15       15        ( 2 )      1,882      1,409      1,553
  Utilities ......................................    ( 2 )        7    ( 2 )        6        ( 2 )        727      ( 2 )        597
  Construction ...................................      109      150      105      165       10,558     11,826      9,135     13,521
  Manufacturing ..................................      528      500      461      488       64,887     59,644     50,897     52,720
      Food .......................................       69       74       80       79        6,839      9,070      9,291      9,335
      Beverage and tobacco products ..............        4        8        8        3          308        802        899        224
      Textile mills ..............................       20       14        9       19        2,514      1,468      1,120      2,072
      Textile product mills ......................        3    ( 2 )    ( 2 )        8          226      ( 2 )      ( 2 )        617
      Apparel ....................................       31       17       30       33        3,719      1,536      3,742      2,578
      Leather and allied products ................        3    ( 2 )        5        -          416      ( 2 )        437          -
      Wood products ..............................       12       19       19       23        1,125      2,319      1,637      2,348
      Paper ......................................        9       18       15       10        1,168      2,688      1,330      1,141
      Printing and related support activities ....       19       26       10       21        1,818      2,105        874      1,892
      Petroleum and coal products ................        -        -    ( 2 )        3            -          -      ( 2 )        184

      Chemicals ..................................       10       14       10       11        1,025      1,659        664        815
      Plastics and rubber products ...............       20       20       11        9        2,047      1,613        857        798
      Nonmetallic mineral products ...............       13       21        9       10        1,695      1,537        717      1,190
      Primary metals .............................       21       21       22       27        3,071      3,000      1,979      2,787
      Fabricated metal products ..................       38       34       22       25        4,050      3,319      1,781      2,252
      Machinery ..................................       49       43       35       35        6,053      6,588      5,045      3,902
      Computer and electronic products ...........       94       65       74       69       10,863      6,902      7,336      5,813
      Electrical equipment and appliances ........       34       26       19       28        6,133      3,602      2,427      4,490
      Transportation equipment ...................       45       46       53       53        8,247      8,531      7,428      6,869
      Furniture and related products .............       24       19       18       12        2,730      1,772      1,919      2,513
      Miscellaneous manufacturing ................       10       11        7       10          840        837        735        900

  Wholesale trade ................................       23       25       27       35        1,975      2,694      2,212      2,937
  Retail trade ...................................       91      108      122      131        8,802     12,067     13,715     16,192
  Transportation and warehousing .................       33       76      104       52        3,127     10,441     15,442      5,680
  Information ....................................       66       36       86       86        9,268      4,456     12,127     13,036
  Finance and insurance ..........................       29       32       34       44        2,462      2,697      3,142      3,327
  Real estate and rental and leasing .............        5        9        4        7          407        629        684        452
  Professional and technical services ............       72       50       62       80       12,692      8,260      7,767      6,199
  Management of companies and enterprises ........        5        3    ( 2 )        4          399        182      ( 2 )        395
  Administrative and waste services ..............      177      185      177      222       16,885     21,704     18,110     26,191
  Educational services ...........................        5        3        5        3          423        232        356        190
  Health care and social assistance ..............       45       22       29       76        4,490      1,671      2,406      7,006
  Arts, entertainment, and recreation ............       22       13       33       33        1,809      1,013      3,507      2,267
  Accommodation and food services ................       86       76       74       88        8,877      9,721      7,378     10,807
  Other services, except public administration ...       19        7       26       34        2,297        609      3,279      3,228

  Unclassified  ..................................       12       11       10        4        1,291        870      1,106        612

Government .......................................       36       46       49       91        3,566      4,236      4,519      9,295
  Federal ........................................        7        7        7       21          720        777        543      2,739
  State ..........................................       10       16       15       14        1,130      1,652      1,717      1,510
  Local ..........................................       19       23       27       56        1,716      1,807      2,259      5,046


    1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
    p = preliminary.
    r = revised.
    NOTE: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is 
the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part 
of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by 
industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series 
from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. Dash represents zero.
 
 
 
 
 

Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division
                            
                                                                                        Initial claimants for       
                                         Mass layoff events                             unemployment insurance      
 Census region and division

                                May        March      April       May          May         March       April        May  
                                2001       2002      2002(p)    2002(p)        2001        2002       2002(p)     2002(p)

      United States(1) ..... (r)1,434      1,460      1,507      1,726     (r)159,365     161,336     165,861     180,007

Northeast ..................      192        210        306        266         21,001      20,443      38,576      24,998

  New England ..............       59         33         62         41          5,545       2,995       7,263       3,765
  Middle Atlantic ..........      133        177        244        225         15,456      17,448      31,313      21,233

South ......................   (r)353        347        331        467      (r)40,101      37,291      35,740      48,506

  South Atlantic ...........      171        157        158        211         17,312      16,644      16,451      18,633
  East South Central .......       57         73         58         88          5,783       7,076       6,629       9,448
  West South Central .......   (r)125        117        115        168      (r)17,006      13,571      12,660      20,425

Midwest ....................      304        327        314        377         38,953      42,491      37,119      44,788

  East North Central .......      220        253        260        266         29,057      32,058      31,127      31,152
  West North Central .......       84         74         54        111          9,896      10,433       5,992      13,636

West .......................      585        576        556        616         59,310      61,111      54,426      61,715

  Mountain .................       47         52         61         48          4,972       4,841       7,382       4,604
  Pacific ..................      538        524        495        568         54,338      56,270      47,044      57,111


   1 See footnote 1, table 2.
   p = preliminary.
   r = revised.
   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           

                                May         March       April        May         May         March       April        May  
                                2001        2002       2002(p)     2002(p)       2001        2002       2002(p)     2002(p)

   Total(1) ................ (r)1,434       1,460       1,507       1,726    (r)159,365     161,336     165,861     180,007

Alabama ....................       15          10          25          38         1,568       1,295       2,529       4,352
Alaska .....................    ( 2 )           -           4       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -         361       ( 2 )
Arizona ....................       11          12          24          11         1,200         879       3,649       1,256
Arkansas ...................        7           5           7           8           533         488         509         629
California .................      488         466         436         517        49,009      48,376      39,943      50,063
Colorado ...................       12          10          11           9         1,294         845       1,121         858
Connecticut ................       13           4           4           9         1,039         377         232         665
Delaware ...................    ( 2 )           4           3           -         ( 2 )         790         508           -
District of Columbia .......    ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )         ( 2 )           -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )
Florida ....................       65          64          69         102         5,328       5,689       6,303       7,045
Georgia ....................       15          20          16          30         2,044       2,202       1,686       3,083
Hawaii .....................        3           6           7           6           233         658         512         462
Idaho ......................        7          13           6           9         1,031       1,628         625       1,014

Illinois ...................       55          53          61          67         9,232       7,645       9,583      10,079
Indiana ....................       24          21          24          26         2,311       2,212       2,998       3,267
Iowa .......................       15          12          12          19         1,739       1,510       1,530       2,203
Kansas .....................        6           7           9          14           730       1,357         797       1,620
Kentucky ...................       23          31          20          21         2,853       3,354       2,315       2,258
Louisiana ..................    (r)14          19          19          22      (r)2,026       1,501       1,982       2,166
Maine ......................        5           4           7           5           498         226         822         353
Maryland ...................       10       ( 2 )           3           6           708       ( 2 )         218         534
Massachusetts ..............       27          15          24          21         2,686       1,652       2,891       2,065
Michigan ...................       40          56          30          44         4,935       6,483       2,714       4,408
Minnesota ..................       18          16          14          23         2,108       2,238       1,936       2,768
Mississippi ................       10          13           5           9           657         890         287         821
Missouri ...................       38          29          11          43         4,759       4,109         974       5,656

Montana ....................    ( 2 )           3           3           3         ( 2 )         264         224         212
Nebraska ...................        -           9           6       ( 2 )             -       1,133         499       ( 2 )
Nevada .....................        9           6           9           8           848         461       1,169         714
New Hampshire ..............        6           3          10       ( 2 )           584         247       1,099       ( 2 )
New Jersey .................       28          35          35          42         2,797       3,749       4,439       4,384
New Mexico .................        3           3       ( 2 )           5           219         176       ( 2 )         355
New York ...................       24          19         126          80         2,108       1,568      17,889       6,785
North Carolina .............       23          23          25          21         2,115       2,686       2,832       1,637
North Dakota ...............        5           -       ( 2 )           5           284           -       ( 2 )         653
Ohio .......................       47          52          80          70         5,035       5,780       9,034       7,231
Oklahoma ...................        9          10           5           7         2,961       1,887         324         760
Oregon .....................       25          27          24          25         2,974       3,507       3,118       3,291
Pennsylvania ...............       81         123          83         103        10,551      12,131       8,985      10,064

Rhode Island ...............    ( 2 )           4           8       ( 2 )         ( 2 )         323       1,431       ( 2 )
South Carolina .............       33          21          21          24         4,247       2,750       2,450       2,492
South Dakota ...............    ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -           5         ( 2 )       ( 2 )           -         562
Tennessee ..................        9          19           8          20           705       1,537       1,498       2,017
Texas ......................       95          83          84         131        11,486       9,695       9,845      16,870
Utah .......................        4           5           6           3           325         588         460         195
Vermont ....................        6           3           9       ( 2 )           612         170         788       ( 2 )
Virginia ...................       23          16          17          23         2,671       1,794       1,959       3,355
Washington .................       20          25          24          18         1,999       3,729       3,110       3,154
West Virginia ..............        -           7           3           4             -         571         346         347
Wisconsin ..................       54          71          65          59         7,544       9,938       6,798       6,167
Wyoming ....................        -           -           -           -             -           -           -           -

Puerto Rico ................        6           9          12          12         1,791       1,082       1,591       1,390


 1 See footnote 1, table 2.
 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
 p = preliminary. 
 r = revised.
 NOTE: Dash represents zero.