Technical information:   (202) 691-6392      USDL 06-695
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

                                             For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                 691-5902      Thursday, April 20, 2006


                        MASS LAYOFFS IN MARCH 2006
   
   In March 2006, employers took 1,082 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 118,555,
on a seasonally adjusted basis.  (See table 1.)  The number of layoff
events rose by 9, and the number of associated initial claims increased
by 7,087 from February 2006.  In the manufacturing sector, 328 mass layoff
events were reported during March 2006, seasonally adjusted, resulting in
49,023 initial claims.  Both figures were higher than a month earlier.
(See table 1.)
   
   In March 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, season-
ally adjusted, compared with 4.8 percent in February 2006 and 5.1 percent
in March 2005.  Total nonfarm payroll employment, seasonally adjusted, in-
creased by 211,000 over the month and by 2.1 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 43,791 initial claims in
March, 39 percent of the total.  (See table A.)  Temporary help services,
with 9,620 initial claims, and automobile manufacturing, with 8,399, to-
gether accounted for 16 percent of all initial claims in March.
   
   The manufacturing sector accounted for 31 percent of all mass layoff
events and 40 percent of all initial claims filed in March; a year earlier,
manufacturing comprised 31 percent of events and 37 percent of initial
claims.  In March 2006, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest
in transportation equipment manufacturing (14,958, mostly automotive-
related), followed by food manufacturing (7,519).  (See table 3.)
   
   Administrative and waste services accounted for 13 percent of events
and initial claims filed in March 2006, with layoffs mainly in temporary
help services.  Nine percent of all layoff events and initial claims filed
during the month were from accommodation and food services, primarily in
food service contractors.  Construction accounted for 13 percent of events
and 8 percent of initial claims in March, mostly in specialty trade con-
tractors.

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Industries with the largest mass layoff initial claims in March 2006p
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------                        |         |             
                                          | Initial |        March peak                   
                 Industry                 |  claims |---------------------------
                                          |         |   Year  |  Initial claims          
------------------------------------------|---------|---------|-----------------                                                                                                          
Temporary help services...................|   9,620 |   2002  |     14,388 
Automobile manufacturing..................|   8,399 |   1996  |     15,411 
Food service contractors..................|   6,466 |   2005  |      6,490 
School and employee bus transportation....|   5,051 |   2002  |      6,064
Motion picture and video production.......|   4,543 |   2005  |      7,192 
Iron and steel mills......................|   2,784 |   2006  |      2,784 
Professional employer organizations.......|   2,398 |   2002  |      2,987 
Highway, street, and bridge construction..|   1,690 |   2001  |      2,640 
Department stores, except discount........|   1,568 |   1999  |      3,799 
Discount department stores................|   1,272 |   2003  |      2,460 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    p = preliminary.              


   Government establishments accounted for 3 percent of events and 2 percent
of initial claims filed in March, largely in educational services.
   
   On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in March
2006, at 921, was up by 115 from a year earlier, and the number of associated
initial claims increased by 22,901 to 111,838.  The largest over-the-year
increases in initial claims were reported in administrative and support ser-
vices (+7,923), electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
(+2,785), food manufacturing (+2,470), and primary metal manufacturing (+2,012).
The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in motion
picture and sound recording industries (-2,685) and in professional and tech-
nical services (-1,242).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
   
   Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in
March due to mass layoffs was in the Midwest, 40,581.  (See table 5.)  Trans-
portation equipment manufacturing, primary metal manufacturing, administrative
and support services, and transit and ground passenger transportation accounted
for 51 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month.
The West had the second largest number of initial claims, 37,301, followed by the
South with 21,001, and the Northeast with 12,955.
   
   The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year
in each of the four regions.  The largest increase was in the Midwest (+12,168),
followed by the West (+4,867), South (+3,830), and the Northeast (+2,036).  Six
of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the number of
initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest in the East North
Central division (+10,289).  The West South Central division reported the largest
over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-719).
   
   Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims
filed due to mass layoff events in March (29,527), followed by Michigan (9,395),
Illinois (7,478), Ohio (6,956), and Wisconsin (6,448).  These five states ac-
counted for 50 percent of all mass layoff events and 53 percent of all initial
claims for unemployment insurance.  (See table 6.)
   
   Illinois had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial
claims (+5,443), largely due to layoffs in transportation equipment manu-
facturing and in transit and ground passenger transportation.  Michigan had
the next largest increase in initial claims (+4,393), followed by California
(+2,800).  The largest over-the-year decrease occurred in Ohio (-1,963).

                                  - 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 layoffs
lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs").  The quar-
terly 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 Extended Mass Layoffs in the First Quarter of 2006 is scheduled
to be released on Thursday, May 11, 2006.  The report on Mass Layoffs in April
2006 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 23, 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 quar-
terly 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, April 2002 to March 2006,
seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing   

             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants     Events  claimants 

            2002                                                                              

April ......................     1,681     186,095     1,494     168,902       590      68,210
May ........................     1,723     190,797     1,559     177,743       610      73,953
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(p) ................     1,073     111,468       973     103,268       321      45,073
March(p) ...................     1,082     118,555       984     110,275       328      49,023


    p = preliminary.






Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,  April 2002 to March 2006,
not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing    

             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                 Events   claimants    Events   claimants    Events   claimants 

            2002                                                                              

April ......................     1,506     165,814     1,378     153,216       461      50,897
May ........................     1,723     179,799     1,571     166,801       488      52,720
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(p) ................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March(p) ...................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688


    p = preliminary.




Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                      Initial claimants for        
                                                             Mass layoff events                      unemployment insurance        
                    Industry                                                                                                      

                                                     March   January   February   March      March     January    February    March  
                                                      2005     2006     2006p     2006p       2005       2006      2006p      2006p  
								      	        			        	    
               Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                  
								      	        			        	    
      Total .....................................    1,204     1,113     1,073     1,082    133,935    108,378    111,468    118,555
							       	        			        	    
  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,071       985       973       984    124,273     97,832    103,268    110,275
    Manufacturing ...............................      384       274       321       328     56,253     29,541     45,073     49,023
							       	        			        	    
             Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                                
							       	        			        	    
      Total(1) ..................................      806     1,245       719       921     88,937    117,946     66,555    111,838
							       	        			        	    
Total, private ..................................      777     1,185       689       897     86,306    112,837     64,296    109,302
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       44        62        31        41      2,513      4,136      2,088      3,125
							       	        			        	    
  Total, private nonfarm ........................      733     1,123       658       856     83,793    108,701     62,208    106,177
    Mining ......................................    ( 2 )         4         -     ( 2 )      ( 2 )        309          -      ( 2 )
    Utilities ...................................    ( 2 )     ( 2 )     ( 2 )     ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )
    Construction ................................       91       125        82       123      6,648      7,942      5,997      9,007
    Manufacturing ...............................      246       331       210       285     33,030     35,097     24,892     44,688
        Food ....................................       50        46        42        73      5,049      3,589      4,255      7,519
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        5         9     ( 2 )         7        308        599      ( 2 )        776
        Textile mills ...........................        8        13         6         8      1,162      1,214        373        951
        Textile product mills ...................        4         7         4     ( 2 )        337        655        301      ( 2 )
        Apparel .................................        9        11        10        10      1,351        769      1,644      1,012
        Leather and allied products .............        4     ( 2 )     ( 2 )     ( 2 )        634      ( 2 )      ( 2 )      ( 2 )
        Wood products ...........................       17        27        12        18      1,361      2,995      1,230      2,430
        Paper ...................................    ( 2 )         6         4         7      ( 2 )        405        397        668
        Printing and related support activities .        8     ( 2 )         6         9        493      ( 2 )        519        616
        Petroleum and coal products .............    ( 2 )         -     ( 2 )         -      ( 2 )          -      ( 2 )          -
							       	        			        	    
        Chemicals ...............................    ( 2 )         8         4         5      ( 2 )        531        315        436
        Plastics and rubber products ............        9        17         9        15        851      1,305        564      1,492
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............        8        20         9        12        372      1,318        694        837
        Primary metals ..........................       10        11         7        11      1,655        946        523      3,667
        Fabricated metal products ...............       15        32        12         9      1,245      2,305        972        894
        Machinery ...............................        9        12        14        20      1,101        899      1,029      2,024
        Computer and electronic products ........       11        22         6        11      1,266      1,678        623      1,296
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       10        10         9        11        785      1,965        773      3,570
        Transportation equipment ................       48        52        39        42     13,543     11,421      9,113     14,958
        Furniture and related products ..........        9        13         7         5        576      1,253        681        436
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............        5         9         4         7        363        821        457        712
							       	        			        	    
    Wholesale trade .............................        7        24         8        11        481      1,903        416        688
    Retail trade ................................       64       142        79        65      5,811     14,773      6,781      7,315
    Transportation and warehousing ..............       44       102        31        47      5,340     10,634      3,274      6,326
    Information .................................       30        33        28        28      8,303      8,998      3,611      5,779
    Finance and insurance .......................       22        24        26        22      1,506      1,592      1,752      1,610
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........        6     ( 2 )         3         5        277      ( 2 )        194        411
    Professional and technical services .........       22        22        24        22      3,709      3,258      2,124      2,467
    Management of companies and enterprises .....        3         4         4     ( 2 )        315        287        274      ( 2 )
    Administrative and waste services ...........       89       155       106       120      6,572     12,157      8,492     14,361
    Educational services ........................    ( 2 )         7     ( 2 )     ( 2 )      ( 2 )        456      ( 2 )      ( 2 )
    Health care and social assistance ...........       16        21        15        18      1,097      1,385        938      1,167
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........        7        28         7        14        516      1,888        457      1,187
    Accommodation and food services .............       78        81        26        79      9,666      5,898      2,486      9,792
    Other services, except public administration     ( 2 )        13         3     ( 2 )      ( 2 )      1,704        197      ( 2 )
    Unclassified  ...............................        2         3         3         7        100        179        162        556
							       	        			        	    
Government ......................................       29        60        30        24      2,631      5,109      2,259      2,536
    Federal .....................................        7        16         4         6        704      1,596        238        757
    State .......................................        8        10         7         7        802      1,210        764        844
    Local .......................................       14        34        19        11      1,125      2,303      1,257        935


    1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.   
    p = preliminary.
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.




Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2004 to March 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                                                                                                                

January .................         2,428    239,454     2,226     220,687                                                       
February ................           941     84,201       832      76,577                                                       
March ...................           920     92,554       847      87,782                                                       

First Quarter ...........         4,289    416,209     3,905     385,046         1,339       238,392          34.3         61.9

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       185,420          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       212,364          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       189,443          29.5         40.7

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         1,299       178,896          32.4         42.0

           2006                                                                                                                

January .................         1,245    117,946     1,123     108,701                                                       
February(p) .............           719     66,555       658      62,208                                                       
March(p) ................           921    111,838       856     106,177                                                       

First Quarter(p) ........         2,885    296,339     2,637     277,086                                                       


  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                                                                                       

                                  March      January  February  March        March      January  February  March  
                                   2005        2006    2006p    2006p         2005        2006    2006p    2006p  

        United States(1) ...       806       1,245      719      921        88,937     117,946   66,555  111,838

Northeast ..................       105         281      115      124        10,919      25,777   12,252   12,955

    New England ............        14          25       23       22         1,147       1,765    3,984    1,849
    Middle Atlantic ........        91         256       92      102         9,772      24,012    8,268   11,106

South ......................       154         228      149      176        17,171      22,194   14,941   21,001

    South Atlantic .........        78         128       66       95         6,642      12,893    7,193   11,298
    East South Central .....        30          61       38       39         4,926       5,667    4,136    4,819
    West South Central .....        46          39       45       42         5,603       3,634    3,612    4,884

Midwest ....................       214         314      168      259        28,413      33,750   16,622   40,581

    East North Central .....       166         264      136      199        22,547      28,642   12,702   32,836
    West North Central .....        48          50       32       60         5,866       5,108    3,920    7,745

West .......................       333         422      287      362        32,434      36,225   22,740   37,301

    Mountain ...............        37          31       16       34         3,386       2,337    1,271    3,380
    Pacific ................       296         391      271      328        29,048      33,888   21,469   33,921


  1 See footnote 1, table 3.
  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 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                         Initial claimants for           
                                         Mass layoff events                             unemployment insurance           
           State                                                                                                         
                             March      January    February      March         March      January     February    March  
                              2005        2006      2006p        2006p          2005        2006       2006p      2006p  

   Total(1) .............     806       1,245        719          921        88,937     117,946      66,555    111,838

Alabama .................       7           9          7            7           725         821         621        660
Alaska ..................       -           -      ( 2 )            -             -           -       ( 2 )          -
Arizona .................      10           4          -            7           929         362           -        804
Arkansas ................       4           3      ( 2 )            3           269         346       ( 2 )        189
California ..............     274         346        246          283        26,727      30,388      19,455     29,527
Colorado ................       3           8      ( 2 )        ( 2 )           643         603       ( 2 )      ( 2 )
Connecticut .............   ( 2 )           3          3            6         ( 2 )         215       1,353        390
Delaware ................       -       ( 2 )          -        ( 2 )             -       ( 2 )           -      ( 2 )
District of Columbia ....       -           -          -            -             -           -           -          -
Florida .................      36          30         30           44         2,669       1,708       2,055      4,033
Georgia .................      15          54         10           20         1,324       5,159       1,081      1,880
Hawaii ..................   ( 2 )           5          3            9         ( 2 )         282         199        814
Idaho ...................       5           6      ( 2 )            7           460         427       ( 2 )        523

Illinois ................      21          37         36           44         2,035       3,499       3,385      7,478
Indiana .................      20          33         16           20         2,177       4,053       1,736      2,559
Iowa ....................      10          12          8            7           804       1,255         620      1,866
Kansas ..................       3           6      ( 2 )            6           202         459       ( 2 )        751
Kentucky ................      13          26         20           21         1,912       2,152       2,653      3,310
Louisiana ...............       4          13         10            8           267         936         624        520
Maine ...................   ( 2 )       ( 2 )          3        ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )         338      ( 2 )
Maryland ................       -          11          3            5             -         859         233        497
Massachusetts ...........       8          14          3            4           684       1,001         163        253
Michigan ................      46          89         29           50         5,002       8,786       2,288      9,395
Minnesota ...............      12          17         11           10         1,110       1,834       2,300        882
Mississippi .............       -           7          5        ( 2 )             -         469         364      ( 2 )
Missouri ................      19          11          7           31         3,469       1,305         541      3,297

Montana .................   ( 2 )       ( 2 )          3        ( 2 )         ( 2 )       ( 2 )         173      ( 2 )
Nebraska ................       4       ( 2 )          4            5           281       ( 2 )         280        774
Nevada ..................       9          10          6            9           590         724         487      1,251
New Hampshire ...........       -       ( 2 )          3        ( 2 )             -       ( 2 )         265      ( 2 )
New Jersey ..............      14          28         24           15         1,326       2,550       2,115      1,817
New Mexico ..............       5           -      ( 2 )            3           413           -       ( 2 )        161
New York ................      35         129         30           36         3,150      13,290       3,144      3,566
North Carolina ..........      11          10         10            8           879       1,113         786        849
North Dakota ............       -       ( 2 )          -        ( 2 )             -       ( 2 )           -      ( 2 )
Ohio ....................      31          50         23           32         8,919       6,484       2,772      6,956
Oklahoma ................       3           5          4            6           939         400         437        966
Oregon ..................      10          21          9           22         1,337       1,719         802      2,430
Pennsylvania ............      42          99         38           51         5,296       8,172       3,009      5,723

Rhode Island ............   ( 2 )           4          9        ( 2 )         ( 2 )         311       1,746      ( 2 )
South Carolina ..........       5           9          6           10           498         822         514      1,359
South Dakota ............       -       ( 2 )      ( 2 )            -             -       ( 2 )       ( 2 )          -
Tennessee ...............      10          19          6           10         2,289       2,225         498        709
Texas ...................      35          18         29           25         4,128       1,952       2,375      3,209
Utah ....................       3       ( 2 )      ( 2 )            4           235       ( 2 )       ( 2 )        274
Vermont .................   ( 2 )       ( 2 )      ( 2 )            8         ( 2 )       ( 2 )       ( 2 )        848
Virginia ................      11          12          7            6         1,272       3,084       2,524        805
Washington ..............      11          19         12           14           910       1,499         951      1,150
West Virginia ...........       -       ( 2 )          -        ( 2 )             -       ( 2 )           -      ( 2 )
Wisconsin ...............      48          55         32           53         4,414       5,820       2,521      6,448
Wyoming .................       -           -          -        ( 2 )             -           -           -      ( 2 )

Puerto Rico .............      10          12         19           17         1,303         964       1,962      1,742

  1  See footnote 1, table 3.
  2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.  
  p  = preliminary.
  NOTE: Dash represents zero.