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Economic News Release
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MLS MLS Program Links

Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, March 22, 2011                    USDL-11-0394

Technical information:  (202) 691-6392  *  mlsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                             MASS LAYOFFS -- FEBRUARY 2011


Employers took 1,421 mass layoff actions in February involving 130,818 workers,
seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits
during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass 
layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. The number of mass 
layoff events in February decreased by 113 from January, and the number of associated
initial claims decreased by 18,981. In February, 291 mass layoff events were reported
in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 26,060 initial claims.
Both figures decreased over the month, with manufacturing initial claims reaching 
its lowest level in program history (data begin in April 1995). (See table 1.)

The national unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in February, essentially unchanged
from the prior month and down from 9.7 percent a year earlier. In February, total
nonfarm payroll employment increased by 192,000 over the month and by 1,269,000
from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in February was 1,024, not seasonally adjusted,
resulting in 85,585 initial claims. (See table 2.) The number of mass layoff events
was down by 159 from February 2010, and associated initial claims decreased by 17,233.
Eleven of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year
declines in initial claims, with manufacturing and construction having the largest 
decreases. The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in February
2011 was temporary help services. (See table A. The table includes both publicly and
privately owned entities.)


Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in
February 2011, not seasonally adjusted 


                                                              February peak
                                                                             
                  Industry                        Initial             Initial
                                                  claims     Year     claims

Temporary help services (1) ...................    8,334     2001      18,893
Motion picture and video production ...........    6,260     2011       6,260
School and employee bus transportation ........    2,935     2008       4,254
Professional employer organizations (1) .......    2,286     2009       6,452
Discount department stores ....................    2,214     2004       2,669
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders .......    1,642     2000      12,516
Food service contractors ......................    1,503     2009       2,580
Fruit and vegetable canning ...................    1,281     2001       2,561
Supermarkets and other grocery stores .........    1,273     2010       2,470
Department stores, except discount ............    1,252     2001       2,994

   1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.


The manufacturing sector accounted for 22 percent of all mass layoff events and initial
claims filed in February. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 24 percent of events and
30 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in February
was greatest in the food subsector. (See table 3.) Fourteen of the 21 manufacturing 
subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, with the largest declines
in transportation equipment and in machinery.

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Three of the 4 regions and 8 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in
initial claims due to mass layoffs in February. Among the census regions, the South
registered the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims. Of the geographic 
divisions, the East South Central had the largest over-the-year decline in initial claims.
(See table 5.)

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in February, followed by
Pennsylvania and Florida. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia experienced
over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by Kentucky and Pennsylvania. 
(See table 6.)

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 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 Mass Layoffs news release for March is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 22,
2011, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).




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
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during
a consecutive 5-week period.  These employers 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.  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; Federal Relay
Service:  (800) 877-8339.

Definitions

   Employer.  Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state
unemployment insurance laws.  Information on employers is obtained from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is adminis-
tered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

   Industry.  Employers are classified according to the 2007 version of the 
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).  For temporary help
and professional employers organization industries, monthly MLS-related 
statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client companies 
in other industries.  An individual layoff action at a client company can
be small, but when initial claimants associated with many such layoffs are
assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a
mass layoff event may trigger.

   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 insur-
ance benefits filed against an employer 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 1 year and 4 weeks in 
another.  The effects of these differences could seriously distort the sea-
sonal 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, March 2007 to
February 2011, seasonally adjusted 

                                      Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2007                                                                             

March ......................     1,202     124,521     1,092     115,835       384      47,658
April ......................     1,238     126,334     1,102     115,271       358      42,989
May ........................     1,159     113,578     1,064     106,573       347      44,637
June .......................     1,207     127,776     1,097     119,007       342      37,552
July .......................     1,295     136,168     1,193     128,208       401      55,906
August .....................     1,217     122,450     1,126     115,305       312      34,877
September ..................     1,233     121,998     1,140     115,675       430      51,731
October ....................     1,330     133,063     1,210     124,455       439      56,970
November ...................     1,397     145,339     1,269     135,651       408      56,985
December ...................     1,553     154,275     1,435     144,785       463      59,445

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,437     146,900     1,302     135,622       431      55,562
February ...................     1,604     175,128     1,441     163,475       471      59,118
March ......................     1,500     150,502     1,388     140,424       435      56,156
April ......................     1,292     128,901     1,162     118,016       449      58,402
May ........................     1,582     161,944     1,444     152,230       468      62,452
June .......................     1,631     164,508     1,488     153,014       491      68,198
July .......................     1,581     164,497     1,443     153,720       463      62,425
August .....................     1,791     181,107     1,653     171,705       583      77,874
September ..................     2,192     233,034     2,024     219,532       635      82,471
October ....................     2,221     229,254     2,062     215,787       697      92,408
November ...................     2,415     228,107     2,256     214,631       900     102,284
December ...................     2,443     245,661     2,264     231,138       927     114,280

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     2,272     238,717     2,103     224,850       756     100,927
February ...................     2,801     315,507     2,636     300,042     1,194     138,583
March ......................     2,950     295,543     2,758     279,027     1,205     144,713
April ......................     2,579     251,032     2,368     234,796       997     121,435
May ........................     2,758     288,319     2,557     271,425     1,187     147,548
June .......................     2,506     250,275     2,293     232,814     1,048     135,389
July .......................     2,192     223,697     1,977     203,365       620      72,932
August .....................     2,419     220,262     2,177     201,951       778      83,837
September ..................     2,305     219,924     2,095     204,596       799      91,665
October ....................     1,975     195,347     1,780     177,977       570      63,646
November ...................     1,754     154,223     1,585     141,439       464      51,891
December ...................     1,725     156,274     1,545     141,649       420      43,584

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     1,716     171,633     1,541     157,597       494      60,059
February ...................     1,492     149,369     1,318     135,490       351      40,564
March ......................     1,635     146,901     1,436     131,953       347      37,273
April ......................     1,675     159,358     1,498     143,814       371      48,646
May ........................     1,665     155,352     1,405     133,913       314      30,967
June .......................     1,729     153,937     1,504     134,837       326      32,646
July .......................     1,528     138,581     1,316     121,378       296      30,752
August .....................     1,658     163,325     1,453     141,489       409      47,668
September ..................     1,541     137,941     1,331     119,654       336      34,641
October ....................     1,649     147,204     1,445     130,264       353      37,394
November ...................     1,579     148,800     1,397     133,845       350      39,072
December ...................     1,483     137,992     1,272     122,688       319      35,977

             2011                                                                             

January ....................     1,534     149,799     1,344     132,730       341      39,189
February ...................     1,421     130,818     1,220     116,190       291      26,060




Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, March 2007 to
February 2011, not seasonally adjusted 

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2007                                                                             

March ......................     1,082     123,974     1,015     118,431       367      49,886
April ......................     1,219     127,444     1,115     118,040       309      35,229
May ........................       923      85,816       856      81,153       224      26,527
June .......................     1,599     172,810     1,318     148,669       313      36,571
July .......................     1,599     175,419     1,450     164,939       684     101,390
August .....................       963      93,458       908      88,345       220      23,361
September ..................       717      67,385       667      64,026       246      29,381
October ....................     1,083     108,455       929      97,716       338      50,918
November ...................     1,799     198,220     1,593     181,184       514      75,413
December ...................     2,167     224,214     2,071     216,898       699      91,754

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,647     154,503     1,520     144,191       488      54,418
February ...................     1,269     119,508     1,178     113,587       361      42,527
March ......................     1,089     114,541     1,039     110,147       333      43,740
April ......................     1,272     130,810     1,172     121,625       394      48,188
May ........................     1,552     159,471     1,438     150,462       388      51,698
June .......................     1,622     166,742     1,315     140,916       309      42,097
July .......................     1,891     200,382     1,687     186,018       760     108,733
August .....................     1,427     139,999     1,343     133,146       414      51,912
September ..................     1,292     129,586     1,202     122,505       361      46,391
October ....................     2,125     221,784     1,917     205,553       689     100,457
November ...................     2,574     241,589     2,389     226,657       997     107,620
December ...................     3,377     351,305     3,232     340,220     1,378     172,529

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     3,806     388,813     3,633     375,293     1,461     172,757
February ...................     2,262     218,438     2,173     210,755       945     103,588
March ......................     2,191     228,387     2,107     221,397       940     114,747
April ......................     2,547     256,930     2,385     243,321       887     100,872
May ........................     2,738     289,628     2,572     274,047     1,005     123,683
June .......................     2,519     256,357     2,051     216,063       674      85,726
July .......................     3,054     336,654     2,659     296,589     1,133     154,208
August .....................     1,428     125,024     1,334     117,193       436      41,151
September ..................     1,371     123,177     1,258     115,141       448      51,126
October ....................     1,934     193,904     1,678     172,883       566      69,655
November ...................     1,870     164,496     1,679     150,751       517      55,053
December ...................     2,310     214,648     2,166     203,655       615      64,540

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     2,860     278,679     2,682     265,074       962     104,846
February ...................     1,183     102,818     1,091      96,022       282      30,728
March ......................     1,197     111,727     1,111     105,514       273      29,745
April ......................     1,840     199,690     1,697     184,654       424      55,178
May ........................     1,354     123,333     1,170     109,203       216      19,334
June .......................     1,861     171,190     1,355     125,872       212      21,083
July .......................     2,124     206,254     1,732     172,248       532      64,200
August .....................       976      92,435       897      83,021       230      23,088
September ..................       920      77,654       806      67,987       187      19,403
October ....................     1,642     148,638     1,373     127,865       351      40,861
November ...................     1,676     158,048     1,477     142,591       389      41,383
December ...................     1,931     184,130     1,763     172,881       465      52,816

             2011                                                                             

January ....................     2,558     246,463     2,372     229,765       693      75,006
February ...................     1,024      85,585       919      78,718       222      18,471




Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance 

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for          
                                                              Mass layoff events                    unemployment insurance          
                     Industry                                                                                                       
                                                    February  December January   February   February   December  January    February
                                                      2010      2010     2011      2011       2010       2010      2011       2011  
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                

      Total .....................................    1,492     1,483    1,534     1,421     149,369    137,992   149,799    130,818

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,318     1,272    1,344     1,220     135,490    122,688   132,730    116,190
    Manufacturing ...............................      351       319      341       291      40,564     35,977    39,189     26,060

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    1,183     1,931    2,558     1,024     102,818    184,130   246,463     85,585

Total, private ..................................    1,128     1,830    2,438       976      98,241    176,405   234,708     82,230
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       37        67       66        57       2,219      3,524     4,943      3,512

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,091     1,763    2,372       919      96,022    172,881   229,765     78,718
    Mining ......................................        5        29       15         4         761      2,439     1,188        322
    Utilities ...................................        -       (2)        5       (2)           -        (2)       390        (2)
    Construction ................................      166       379      325       104      12,200     29,458    23,906      7,003
    Manufacturing ...............................      282       465      693       222      30,728     52,816    75,006     18,471
        Food ....................................       45        52       94        58       4,031      6,590     9,313      5,115
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        6         8        5         5         407        856       752        287
        Textile mills ...........................        5        21       31         5         431      2,239     4,455        468
        Textile product mills ...................        5         8        9         4         557        981       793        270
        Apparel .................................        4        18       20         5         265      1,294     1,776        693
        Leather and allied products .............      (2)         3      (2)       (2)         (2)        850       (2)        (2)
        Wood products ...........................       27        39       43        22       1,850      3,623     4,930      1,872
        Paper ...................................       10        14       14        12         721      1,055     1,049        750
        Printing and related support activities .       12        13       12         6         960        934       983        679
        Petroleum and coal products .............      (2)        10      (2)       (2)         (2)        892       (2)        (2)

        Chemicals ...............................        9         8       18         7         872        561     1,612        759
        Plastics and rubber products ............       10        25       51         5       1,014      2,392     4,569        262
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       12        48       56        16         794      4,212     4,239      1,141
        Primary metals ..........................        9        21       23         8         981      1,919     3,046        794
        Fabricated metal products ...............       12        29       51         8         681      2,380     4,174        446
        Machinery ...............................       20        18       46        11       2,466      2,724     5,446        897
        Computer and electronic products ........       18        13       14        13       1,538      1,214     1,020        847
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       12        12       15         4       1,386      2,372     1,572      1,078
        Transportation equipment ................       45        78      128        19      10,104     12,534    19,478      1,275
        Furniture and related products ..........       16        20       44         9       1,346      2,521     4,263        533
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............      (2)         7       14       (2)         (2)        673     1,073        (2)

    Wholesale trade .............................       27        23       32        24       1,754      1,706     2,839      2,187
    Retail trade ................................      128       105      241       114      10,802      9,985    27,038      9,346
    Transportation and warehousing ..............       51       114      212        49       5,372     13,341    22,440      5,630
    Information .................................       40        25       53        58       3,753      2,818     7,915      8,959
    Finance and insurance .......................       32        29       31        22       2,671      2,151     2,758      1,407
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........        9        13       17         7         622      1,408     1,150        369
    Professional and technical services .........       33        44       52        43       2,292      3,549     4,019      3,729
    Management of companies and enterprises .....        6       (2)        6       (2)       1,990        (2)       439        (2)
    Administrative and waste services ...........      191       225      381       166      13,594     17,203    34,996     13,894
    Educational services ........................        4         9       19         8         242        958     2,672        474
    Health care and social assistance ...........       31        46       56        28       2,118      3,904     3,880      1,685
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       16        24       55        11       1,419      1,843     5,494        629
    Accommodation and food services .............       61       208      158        50       5,044     27,239    12,107      4,088
    Other services, except public administration         8        15       21         4         552      1,153     1,528        161
    Unclassified ................................        1         1        -         -         108         92         -          -

Government ......................................       55       101      120        48       4,577      7,725    11,755      3,355
    Federal .....................................        8        10       23         5         631      1,215     2,922        384
    State .......................................       12        22       32        17         947      1,724     3,272      1,029
    Local .......................................       35        69       65        26       2,999      4,786     5,561      1,942
                                                                                                                                   
 
   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, January 2009 to February 2011, 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
             2009                                                                                                                 

January ....................    3,806      388,813     3,633     375,293                                                          
February ...................    2,262      218,438     2,173     210,755                                                          
March ......................    2,191      228,387     2,107     221,397                                                          

First Quarter ..............    8,259      835,638     7,913     807,445         3,979         835,551             50.3      103.5

April ......................    2,547      256,930     2,385     243,321                                                          
May ........................    2,738      289,628     2,572     274,047                                                          
June .......................    2,519      256,357     2,051     216,063                                                          

Second Quarter .............    7,804      802,915     7,008     733,431         3,395         731,049             48.4       99.7

July .......................    3,054      336,654     2,659     296,589                                                          
August .....................    1,428      125,024     1,334     117,193                                                          
September ..................    1,371      123,177     1,258     115,141                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    5,853      584,855     5,251     528,923         2,034         406,823             38.7       76.9

October ....................    1,934      193,904     1,678     172,883                                                          
November ...................    1,870      164,496     1,679     150,751                                                          
December ...................    2,310      214,648     2,166     203,655                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    6,114      573,048     5,523     527,289         2,416         468,577             43.7       88.9

             2010                                                                                                                 

January ....................    2,860      278,679     2,682     265,074                                                          
February ...................    1,183      102,818     1,091      96,022                                                          
March ......................    1,197      111,727     1,111     105,514                                                          

First Quarter ..............    5,240      493,224     4,884     466,610         1,870         368,459             38.3       79.0

April ......................    1,840      199,690     1,697     184,654                                                          
May ........................    1,354      123,333     1,170     109,203                                                          
June .......................    1,861      171,190     1,355     125,872                                                          

Second Quarter .............    5,055      494,213     4,222     419,729         2,008         395,224             47.6       94.2

July .......................    2,124      206,254     1,732     172,248                                                          
August .....................      976       92,435       897      83,021                                                          
September ..................      920       77,654       806      67,987                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    4,020      376,343     3,435     323,256         1,370         256,636             39.9       79.4

October ....................    1,642      148,638     1,373     127,865                                                          
November ...................    1,676      158,048     1,477     142,591                                                          
December ...................    1,931      184,130     1,763     172,881                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    5,249      490,816     4,613     443,337   (2)(p)1,910   (2)(p)268,431          (p)41.4    (p)60.5

             2011                                                                                                                 

January ....................    2,558      246,463     2,372     229,765                                                          
February ...................    1,024       85,585       919      78,718                                                          
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
   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                                                                                         
                                                                                                                     
                                  February  December  January   February   February   December    January    February
                                    2010      2010      2011      2011       2010       2010        2011       2011  
                                                                                                                     
        United States (1) ...      1,183     1,931     2,558     1,024     102,818    184,130     246,463     85,585

Northeast ...................        215       356       591       173      21,705     35,601      58,802     16,047
    New England .............         39        50        81        32       4,682      5,278       7,047      4,259
    Middle Atlantic .........        176       306       510       141      17,023     30,323      51,755     11,788

South .......................        319       493       687       260      29,681     51,554      66,552     19,998
    South Atlantic ..........        178       287       431       166      13,052     27,744      40,880     11,371
    East South Central ......         69       110       156        44       9,917     12,784      16,508      4,343
    West South Central ......         72        96       100        50       6,712     11,026       9,164      4,284

Midwest .....................        221       565       613       180      21,128     58,560      63,468     15,075
    East North Central ......        169       394       464       130      16,776     42,375      45,790     11,550
    West North Central ......         52       171       149        50       4,352     16,185      17,678      3,525

West ........................        428       517       667       411      30,304     38,415      57,641     34,465
    Mountain ................         58        90        66        35       4,276      7,274       6,046      2,440
    Pacific .................        370       427       601       376      26,028     31,141      51,595     32,025
                                                                                                                    

   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                                                                                                       
                            February     December   January    February    February     December    January    February
                              2010         2010       2011       2011        2010         2010        2011       2011  

   Total (1) ............    1,183        1,931      2,558      1,024      102,818      184,130     246,463     85,585
                                                                                                                      
Alabama .................       17           34         70         12        1,758        3,758       7,730      1,583
Alaska ..................        3            9          4        (2)          267          915         392        (2)
Arizona .................        8            9         13         12          700          940       1,075        838
Arkansas ................      (2)            6          6          3          (2)          563         768        283
California ..............      335          365        530        349       23,191       25,602      44,274     29,769
Colorado ................       10           14         11          4          706          964       1,126        383
Connecticut .............       10            7         11          4          847          576       1,048        331
Delaware ................        5            6          5          3          378          429         411        239
District of Columbia ....      (2)          (2)          4        (2)          (2)          (2)         452        (2)
Florida .................       87           92        128         85        5,523        7,554       9,464      5,071
Georgia .................       34           42         84         28        2,708        4,306       8,952      2,221
Hawaii ..................      (2)            -          6          3          (2)            -         388        232
Idaho ...................       11           15          8          4          709        1,006         698        225

Illinois ................       40          110         86         35        4,311       13,672       7,516      3,508
Indiana .................       22           49         43         15        1,907        5,314       6,487      1,471
Iowa ....................       13           39         39          9        1,122        3,897       4,007        870
Kansas ..................        -           23         23          5            -        2,923       5,440        308
Kentucky ................       32           38         47         13        6,844        5,003       5,472      1,682
Louisiana ...............       12           21         29          6        1,442        1,741       2,309        518
Maine ...................      (2)            6         11        (2)          (2)          431         900        (2)
Maryland ................        7            9         25          4          724          611       1,888        306
Massachusetts ...........        8           19         34          6          646        2,372       3,225        534
Michigan ................       32           67        127         17        3,694        8,985      10,398      1,091
Minnesota ...............       13           34         19         10        1,456        2,932       1,988        675
Mississippi .............        5           19         13          8          282        2,128       1,163        446
Missouri ................       24           54         55         17        1,667        4,763       4,713      1,038

Montana .................        4            8          6        (2)          258          470         560        (2)
Nebraska ................      (2)           14          9          9          (2)        1,157       1,086        634
Nevada ..................       16           26         12          5        1,331        2,449       1,299        394
New Hampshire ...........        7            3          9          4        1,095          326         722        537
New Jersey ..............       16           49        109         19        1,408        6,036       9,853      2,243
New Mexico ..............        6            8          7          3          391          640         467        164
New York ................       52          115        207         45        6,833       12,383      24,950      4,161
North Carolina (3) ......        5           80        100         27          451        8,876       9,865      1,984
North Dakota ............      (2)            5          3          -          (2)          375         390          -
Ohio ....................       35           87         93         30        3,790        7,826       9,241      2,473
Oklahoma ................        3            6         11          9          306        1,410       1,048      1,015
Oregon ..................       19           25         36          9        1,571        2,234       4,390        896
Pennsylvania ............      108          142        194         77        8,782       11,904      16,952      5,384

Rhode Island ............        7           10          8         10        1,545        1,264         555      2,125
South Carolina ..........       11           26         41          5          886        2,648       5,124        340
South Dakota ............        -          (2)        (2)          -            -          (2)         (2)          -
Tennessee ...............       15           19         26         11        1,033        1,895       2,143        632
Texas ...................       56           63         54         32        4,894        7,312       5,039      2,468
Utah ....................      (2)           10          7          6          (2)          805         720        370
Vermont .................        6            5          8          6          483          309         597        558
Virginia ................       22           30         42         10        1,704        3,177       4,497        899
Washington ..............       11           28         25         13          769        2,390       2,151        955
West Virginia ...........        5            -        (2)          3          509            -         (2)        216
Wisconsin ...............       40           81        115         33        3,074        6,578      12,148      3,007
Wyoming .................      (2)            -        (2)          -          (2)            -         (2)          -

Puerto Rico .............       21           10         25         16        2,459          940       2,854      1,808
 
   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   3 Data starting in November 2010 may not be comparable to prior data due to a change in MLS unemployment insurance
input procedures.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.




Last Modified Date: March 22, 2011