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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) Friday, May 20, 2011                        USDL-11-0724

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


                             MASS LAYOFFS -- APRIL 2011


Employers took 1,564 mass layoff actions in April involving 143,927 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 April
increased by 278 from March, and the number of associated initial claims increased by
25,404. In April, 327 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector,
seasonally adjusted, resulting in 35,022 initial claims; both figures increased over
the month. (See table 1.)

The national unemployment rate was 9.0 percent in April, up from 8.8 percent the prior
month but down from 9.8 percent a year earlier. In April, total nonfarm payroll
employment increased by 244,000 over the month and by 1,313,000 from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in April was 1,750, not seasonally adjusted, resulting
in 189,919 initial claims. The number of mass layoff events was down by 90 from April
2010, and associated initial claims decreased by 9,771. (See table 2.) Eleven of the 
19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year declines in
initial claims, with the largest decreases occurring in manufacturing, information, and
professional and technical services. The six-digit industry with the largest number of
initial claims in April 2011 was school and employee bus transportation. (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 April 2011,
not seasonally adjusted 


                                                                            April peak
                  Industry                
                                                     Initial claims     Year  Initial claims

School and employee bus transportation ........          23,573         2011      23,573
Temporary help services (1) ...................          13,445         2001      17,507
Food service contractors ......................          11,002         2011      11,002
Motion picture and video production ...........           4,440         1997      15,908
Tax preparation services ......................           4,316         2010       6,514
Professional employer organizations (1) .......           4,289         2009       4,372
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing .             (2)         1997       4,978
Discount department stores ....................           3,273         2009       4,462
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .......           3,102         2010       4,130
All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing ...           3,093         2011       3,093

   1  See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
   2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.


The manufacturing sector accounted for 23 percent of all mass layoff events and 25
percent of initial claims filed in April. A year earlier, manufacturing also made up 23
percent of events but covered 28 percent of all initial claims. Within manufacturing,
the number of claimants in April was greatest in the transportation equipment and food
subsectors. Thirteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year
decreases in initial claims, with the largest declines occurring in transportation
equipment and machinery. (See table 3.)

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Three of the 4 regions and 6 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in
initial claims due to mass layoffs in April. Among the census regions, the West
registered the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims. Of the geographic
divisions, the Pacific had the largest over-the-year decline in initial claims.
(See table 5.)The Middle Atlantic and East South Central divisions registered the
largest over-the-year increases in initial claims. The over-the-year increase in the
Middle Atlantic followed eight consecutive months of over-the-year decreases in initial
claims.

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in April, followed by New York,
New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Twenty-nine states experienced over-the-year decreases
in initial claims, led by California, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and South Carolina.
(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 May is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 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, May 2007 to 
April 2011, seasonally adjusted

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

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
March ......................     1,286     118,523     1,128     105,636       253      27,619
April ......................     1,564     143,927     1,401     129,702       327      35,022




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

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

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
March ......................       908      85,095       844      80,014       191      20,869
April ......................     1,750     189,919     1,625     176,478       397      47,104




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


                                                                                                     Initial claimants for         
                                                              Mass layoff events                    unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                                                                                                      
                                                     April   February   March     April      April    February    March      April 
                                                      2010      2011     2011      2011       2010      2011       2011       2011 
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                


      Total .....................................    1,675     1,421    1,286     1,564     159,358    130,818   118,523    143,927

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,498     1,220    1,128     1,401     143,814    116,190   105,636    129,702
    Manufacturing ...............................      371       291      253       327      48,646     26,060    27,619     35,022

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    1,840     1,024      908     1,750     199,690     85,585    85,095    189,919

Total, private ..................................    1,761       976      874     1,685     191,664     82,230    82,046    183,436
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       64        57       30        60       7,010      3,512     2,032      6,958

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,697       919      844     1,625     184,654     78,718    80,014    176,478
    Mining ......................................        7         4        3         4         399        322       247        270
    Utilities ...................................      (2)       (2)        4       (2)         (2)        (2)       547        (2)
    Construction ................................      163       104       99       161      11,947      7,003     7,569     12,121
    Manufacturing ...............................      424       222      191       397      55,178     18,471    20,869     47,104
        Food ....................................      100        58       45        84      10,200      5,115     4,338      9,064
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........      (2)         5        4         6         (2)        287       242        438
        Textile mills ...........................        7         5        3         5       1,296        468       328        792
        Textile product mills ...................        5         4        3         6         414        270       481        536
        Apparel .................................       16         5        4        10       1,428        693       374        964
        Leather and allied products .............        -       (2)        -         -           -        (2)         -          -
        Wood products ...........................       17        22       24        19       1,591      1,872     2,354      1,681
        Paper ...................................       14        12        7         6       1,134        750       622        590
        Printing and related support activities .        9         6        5         8         860        679       359        858
        Petroleum and coal products .............      (2)       (2)      (2)         -         (2)        (2)       (2)          -

        Chemicals ...............................        7         7      (2)         5         400        759       (2)        453
        Plastics and rubber products ............       10         5        4        21         719        262       321      2,113
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       22        16        5         9       1,882      1,141       404        926
        Primary metals ..........................       18         8        8        12       1,473        794       536        944
        Fabricated metal products ...............       21         8       12        21       1,581        446       916      1,758
        Machinery ...............................       41        11       11        16       4,456        897     1,077      2,552
        Computer and electronic products ........       27        13       10        18       1,964        847       808      1,675
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       12         4        8        16       1,756      1,078     2,886      1,736
        Transportation equipment ................       73        19       19       117      22,071      1,275     2,887     18,328
        Furniture and related products ..........       12         9       10         9         919        533     1,099        831
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............       10       (2)        5         9         833        (2)       530        865

    Wholesale trade .............................       25        24       18        27       2,224      2,187     1,393      2,005
    Retail trade ................................      156       114       89       147      16,188      9,346     9,012     16,501
    Transportation and warehousing ..............      178        49       44       194      23,013      5,630     5,133     26,537
    Information .................................       50        58       36        42       8,383      8,959     3,788      5,689
    Finance and insurance .......................       64        22       19        42       4,579      1,407     1,354      3,482
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........       22         7        6        15       1,388        369       452      1,389
    Professional and technical services .........       90        43       35        80      11,110      3,729     3,771      8,572
    Management of companies and enterprises .....      (2)       (2)        3         7         (2)        (2)       194        550
    Administrative and waste services ...........      241       166      151       262      21,073     13,894    11,303     23,380
    Educational services ........................        7         8        4        17         958        474       265      2,522
    Health care and social assistance ...........       58        28       33        46       4,991      1,685     2,038      3,397
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       57        11       13        45       4,838        629       893      4,650
    Accommodation and food services .............      131        50       88       127      16,214      4,088    10,491     17,269
    Other services, except public administration        16         4        8         9       1,434        161       695        845
    Unclassified ................................        -         -        -       (2)           -          -         -        (2)

Government ......................................       79        48       34        65       8,026      3,355     3,049      6,483
    Federal .....................................       16         5        5         6       1,393        384       532        582
    State .......................................       18        17       10        18       2,188      1,029     1,389      1,714
    Local .......................................       45        26       19        41       4,445      1,942     1,128      4,187
                                                                                                                                   
 
    1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 
    2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.   
    NOTE: Dash represents zero.
 
 
 

Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2009 to April 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                                                                                                                 

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      (r)368,642             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      (r)395,573             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      (r)259,886             39.9    (r)80.4

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      (r)1,999      (r)388,285          (r)43.3    (r)87.6

             2011                                                                                                                 

January ....................    2,558      246,463     2,372     229,765                                                          
February ...................    1,024       85,585       919      78,718                                                          
March ......................      908       85,095       844      80,014                                                          

First Quarter ..............    4,490      417,143     4,135     388,497   (2)(p)1,397   (2)(p)179,686          (p)33.8    (p)46.3

April ......................    1,750      189,919     1,625     176,478                                                          
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
   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 suggest
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.
   r = revised.
   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                                                                                          
  
                                   April   February    March     April      April     February     March      April   
                                    2010      2011      2011      2011       2010        2011       2011       2011   
                                                                                                                      
        United States (1) ...      1,840     1,024       908     1,750     199,690     85,585      85,095    189,919
        
Northeast ...................        397       173       169       402      48,396     16,047      15,540     54,129
    New England .............         81        32        22        67       9,523      4,259       1,883      8,926
    Middle Atlantic .........        316       141       147       335      38,873     11,788      13,657     45,203

South .......................        412       260       250       431      43,503     19,998      26,112     42,685
    South Atlantic ..........        214       166       116       210      20,768     11,371       9,765     17,371
    East South Central ......         80        44        61       125      11,005      4,343       6,539     16,048
    West South Central ......        118        50        73        96      11,730      4,284       9,808      9,266

Midwest .....................        364       180       172       383      44,740     15,075      17,168     44,126
    East North Central ......        290       130       124       310      37,448     11,550      11,640     37,250
    West North Central ......         74        50        48        73       7,292      3,525       5,528      6,876

West ........................        667       411       317       534      63,051     34,465      26,275     48,979
    Mountain ................        101        35        46       118      11,433      2,440       4,292     12,547
    Pacific .................        566       376       271       416      51,618     32,025      21,983     36,432
                                                                                                                    
 
   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                                                                                                      
                             April       February    March      April       April       February     March      April 
                              2010         2011       2011       2011        2010         2011        2011       2011 

   Total (1) ............    1,840        1,024        908      1,750      199,690       85,585      85,095    189,919
                                                                                                                      
Alabama .................       17           12         18         28        2,148        1,583       2,072      3,080
Alaska ..................       11          (2)        (2)          9        1,252          (2)         (2)      1,137
Arizona .................       33           12         11         40        4,943          838       1,045      5,635
Arkansas ................        8            3          3        (2)        1,039          283         232        (2)
California ..............      477          349        230        348       42,426       29,769      17,478     29,264
Colorado ................       20            4          5         15        2,269          383         557      1,750
Connecticut .............        9            4          5         10          891          331         410      1,056
Delaware ................        8            3          -          8          611          239           -        551
District of Columbia ....        -          (2)          -        (2)            -          (2)           -        (2)
Florida .................      118           85         56         98        9,139        5,071       4,060      7,600
Georgia .................       31           28         16         40        3,375        2,221       1,593      3,380
Hawaii ..................        7            3          5          6          672          232         659        420
Idaho ...................        8            4         10         10          533          225         886        896

Illinois ................       60           35         37         56        7,059        3,508       3,495      6,701
Indiana .................       32           15         12         41        4,786        1,471       1,336      4,689
Iowa ....................       20            9         10         17        2,876          870       2,060      2,143
Kansas ..................        5            5          5          5          296          308         727        381
Kentucky ................       40           13         20         56        6,573        1,682       2,387      9,722
Louisiana ...............       32            6         11         22        2,967          518       1,239      1,669
Maine ...................        8          (2)          5          7          754          (2)         575        818
Maryland ................        6            4          4          5          496          306         431        365
Massachusetts ...........       20            6          7         17        2,202          534         624      2,040
Michigan ................       44           17         21         50        7,624        1,091       2,359      6,813
Minnesota ...............        8           10          9         16          576          675         707      1,023
Mississippi .............        5            8         14         27          461          446       1,413      1,987
Missouri ................       28           17         21         23        2,393        1,038       1,755      2,259

Montana .................        7          (2)        (2)          7          528          (2)         (2)        438
Nebraska ................       10            9          3          9          948          634         279        768
Nevada ..................       15            5          7         23        1,432          394         524      1,703
New Hampshire ...........       14            4        (2)          7        1,663          537         (2)      1,107
New Jersey ..............       69           19         19         70        9,700        2,243       1,494     11,776
New Mexico ..............        8            3          7          9          594          164         640        711
New York ................      114           45         49        153       15,919        4,161       5,159     22,636
North Carolina (3) ......       13           27         18         14        1,438        1,984       1,917      1,240
North Dakota ............      (2)            -          -        (2)          (2)            -           -        (2)
Ohio ....................       61           30         22         87        8,014        2,473       1,891     11,082
Oklahoma ................        5            9          5          6          608        1,015         367        392
Oregon ..................       42            9         20         25        4,603          896       2,337      2,886
Pennsylvania ............      133           77         79        112       13,254        5,384       7,004     10,791

Rhode Island ............       16           10        (2)          9        2,525        2,125         (2)      2,105
South Carolina ..........       19            5          7         19        3,832          340         489      1,913
South Dakota ............        -            -          -        (2)            -            -           -        (2)
Tennessee ...............       18           11          9         14        1,823          632         667      1,259
Texas ...................       73           32         54         67        7,116        2,468       7,970      7,118
Utah ....................        8            6          3         13          889          370         423      1,232
Vermont .................       14            6        (2)         17        1,488          558         (2)      1,800
Virginia ................       15           10         13         23        1,489          899       1,102      2,063
Washington ..............       29           13         14         28        2,665          955       1,099      2,725
West Virginia ...........        4            3        (2)        (2)          388          216         (2)        (2)
Wisconsin ...............       93           33         32         76        9,965        3,007       2,559      7,965
Wyoming .................      (2)            -        (2)        (2)          (2)            -         (2)        (2)

Puerto Rico .............       19           16         11         17        2,252        1,808       1,114      1,676

   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: May 20, 2011