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Economic News Release
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MLS MLS Program Links

Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release

Technical information: (202) 691-6392     USDL 09-0547
              http://www.bls.gov/mls/
                                          For release:  10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902     Friday, May 22, 2009
                                   
                                   
                      MASS LAYOFFS IN APRIL 2009


   Employers took 2,712 mass layoff actions in April that resulted in
the separation of 271,226 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by
new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported
today.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer.  
The number of mass layoff events in April decreased by 221 from the prior 
month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 28,162.  
Compared to last year, the number of mass layoff events and associated 
initial claims more than doubled.  In April, the manufacturing sector 
reported 1,111 mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 
135,252 initial claims.  Over the month, mass layoff events in  manu-
facturing decreased by 148, and initial claims decreased by 20,657.  
(See table 1.)

   During the 17 months from December 2007 to April 2009, the total
number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 34,126, and the
number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 3,498,427.  (December 
2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau 
of Economic Research.)


   The national unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in April 2009, season-
ally adjusted, up from 8.5 percent the prior month and from 5.0 percent 
a year earlier.  In April, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 
539,000 over the month and by 5,240,000 from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   The number of mass layoff events in April was 2,547 on a not season-
ally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 256,930.  
(See table 2.)  Over the year, increases were recorded in both the number 
of mass layoff events (+1,275) and initial claims (+126,120).  This year, 
both average weekly events and initial claimants reached their highest 
April levels in program history; data are available back to 1995.  (Aver-
age weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months.  
See the Technical Note.)  Twelve of the 19 major industry sectors report-
ed program highs in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the 
month of April--mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; 
transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance; real estate and
rental and leasing; professional and technical services; management of
companies and enterprises; educational services; arts, entertainment, and 
recreation; and accommodation and food services.

   The manufacturing sector accounted for 35 percent of all mass layoff 
events and 39 percent of initial claims filed in April 2009; a year ear-
lier, manufacturing made up 31 percent of events and 37 percent of ini-
tial claims.  This April, the number of manufacturing claimants was great-
est in transportation equipment (19,246) and machinery (18,614).  (See 
table 3.)  The transportation and warehousing industry accounted for 9 
percent of mass layoff events and 11 percent of associated initial claims 
during the month.

                                  - 2 -

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in April 2009, 
 not seasonally adjusted

                                                                        April peak
                  Industry                         
                                                 Initial claims    Year  Initial claims
                                                                    
School and employee bus transportation ........      22,324        2009      22,324
Temporary help services (1) ...................      13,705        2001      17,507
Construction machinery manufacturing ..........       6,901        2009       6,901
Food service contractors ......................       5,430        2004       5,496
Tax preparation services ......................       4,519        2009       4,519
Discount department stores ....................       4,462        2009       4,462
Professional employer organizations (1) .......       4,372        2009       4,372
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels .......       4,064        2009       4,064
Motion picture and video production ...........       3,595        1997      15,908
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders .......       3,594        1998       4,054
                                                                                        
  1  See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.


   Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff 
initial claims, 6 reached their April peak:  school and employee bus 
transportation; construction machinery manufacturing; tax preparation 
services; discount department stores; professional employer organizations; 
and hotels and motels, except casino hotels.  The industry with the larg-
est number of initial claims was school and employee bus transportation 
(22,324).  (See table A.)
 
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   Of the 4 census regions, the Midwest registered the highest number
of initial claims in April due to mass layoffs (72,383), followed by
the West (65,580) and the South (62,714).  (See table 5.)  Initial
claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in all 4
regions, with the South (+35,415) and the Midwest (+35,214) experi-
encing the largest increases.  In 2009, all regions except the West 
reported their highest April levels of average weekly initial claims 
in program history.

   Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central (60,241) had
the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in April,
followed by the Pacific (53,587) and the Middle Atlantic (47,061).
(See table 5.)  All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in
initial claims, led by the East North Central (+29,069) and the Middle
Atlantic (+28,946).  This year, 7 of the 9 divisions--all except the
Pacific and West South Central--reached April program highs in terms of
average weekly initial claims.

   California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due
to mass layoff events in April with 43,675.  The states with the next
highest number of mass layoff initial claims were New York (24,349),
Illinois (17,550), and Pennsylvania (15,378).  (See table 6.)  Forty-
five states and the District of Columbia registered over-the-year
increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by New
York (+16,810), California (+15,503), and Illinois (+12,904).  In
2009, 25 states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims
for the month of April--Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, 
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missis-
sippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, 
South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and 
Wyoming.

                                  - 3 -

Note

   The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or
more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of
the layoffs.  For private nonfarm establishments, information on the
length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release 
that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as 
"extended mass layoffs").  The quarterly release provides more informa-
tion on the industry classification and location of the establishment 
and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.  Because monthly figures 
include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures 
for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure 
for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.  (See table 4.)  See the Technical 
Note for more detailed definitions.


                    ______________________________


   The report on Mass Layoffs in May 2009 is scheduled to be released on 
Tuesday, June 23.




                                - 4 - 


Technical Note

   The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program
that uses a standardized automated approach to identifying, describing,
and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database.  Each month, states report on
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; TDD message referral
phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

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.
   
   
                                - 5 - 


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 2005 to April 2009, 
seasonally adjusted 

                                      Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2005                                                                             

May ........................     1,264     137,475     1,121     124,468       397      54,998
June .......................     1,196     126,416     1,082     117,568       367      58,003
July .......................     1,241     130,331     1,094     117,510       354      46,056
August .....................     1,143     125,536     1,000     113,465       342      47,255
September ..................     2,250     296,913     2,035     252,291       420      55,974
October ....................     1,109     111,202       991     102,111       320      43,387
November ...................     1,162     113,502     1,027     102,058       325      41,493
December ...................     1,263     136,751     1,135     125,700       358      46,940

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,112     111,601       986     102,359       293      35,390
February ...................       960     104,045       872      96,317       317      41,810
March ......................     1,078     118,270       976     109,842       320      48,026
April ......................     1,198     123,674     1,062     113,849       366      50,747
May ........................     1,132     116,808     1,013     106,743       312      42,958
June .......................     1,156     124,955     1,044     115,491       356      45,280
July .......................     1,204     123,172     1,077     113,324       381      50,109
August .....................     1,278     136,289     1,117     125,064       376      60,524
September ..................     1,167     124,083     1,054     115,451       390      46,470
October ....................     1,195     121,439     1,081     112,777       401      53,597
November ...................     1,209     131,459     1,096     122,136       402      57,084
December ...................     1,201     133,311     1,100     124,019       369      51,113

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,261     129,190     1,116     118,890       406      55,341
February ...................     1,240     134,524     1,130     126,105       404      58,861
March ......................     1,261     129,480     1,151     120,923       407      52,356
April ......................     1,281     130,263     1,145     119,683       381      45,654
May ........................     1,200     119,259     1,097     111,585       368      48,682
June .......................     1,256     132,078     1,138     122,726       356      41,135
July .......................     1,288     131,556     1,182     123,322       405      53,318
August .....................     1,262     125,334     1,162     117,557       331      36,577
September ..................     1,279     125,527     1,183     118,917       440      54,006
October ....................     1,346     133,514     1,224     124,666       436      57,527
November ...................     1,352     143,419     1,233     134,445       408      56,330
December ...................     1,469     145,916     1,354     136,914       447      56,152

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,476     149,068     1,350     139,076       435      56,579
February ...................     1,669     183,038     1,532     172,013       526      67,235
March ......................     1,585     161,497     1,471     151,550       483      65,252
April ......................     1,344     135,352     1,215     125,074       487      63,247
May ........................     1,701     180,558     1,563     170,538       538      75,520
June .......................     1,717     174,748     1,561     162,071       555      79,744
July .......................     1,535     152,499     1,390     141,239       455      57,648
August .....................     1,887     188,951     1,735     178,479       626      80,913
September ..................     2,290     240,721     2,114     226,492       643      86,617
October ....................     2,204     230,330     2,042     216,095       687      92,256
November ...................     2,333     225,639     2,185     213,288       868     100,643
December ...................     2,275     226,117     2,100     212,559       871     105,402

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     2,227     237,902     2,070     225,490       738     102,577
February ...................     2,769     295,477     2,628     281,500     1,235     152,618
March ......................     2,933     299,388     2,751     283,989     1,259     155,909
April ......................     2,712     271,226     2,519     256,111     1,111     135,252




Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,  May 2005 to April 2009, 
not seasonally adjusted 

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants
                                                                                              
             2005                                                                             

May ........................       986     101,358       891      93,332       249      30,424
June .......................     1,157     120,463       941     103,307       216      32,783
July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December ...................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
February ...................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March ......................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688
April ......................     1,140     121,589     1,038     112,964       296      39,538
May ........................       872      84,809       794      78,663       192      23,570
June .......................     1,489     164,761     1,224     140,687       319      41,095
July .......................     1,511     166,857     1,335     154,342       648      96,152
August .....................       708      72,844       656      69,054       203      28,494
September ..................       865      87,699       785      81,274       296      39,076
October ....................       964      98,804       820      88,133       311      46,737
November ...................     1,315     136,186     1,172     125,009       455      58,473
December ...................     2,249     254,503     2,126     244,783       735     105,462

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,407     134,984     1,263     124,475       456      53,615
February ...................       935      86,696       861      82,097       273      36,170
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




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  
                                                    2008       2009     2009      2009      2008        2009      2009      2009   
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                


      Total .....................................    1,344     2,769    2,933     2,712     135,352    295,477   299,388    271,226

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,215     2,628    2,751     2,519     125,074    281,500   283,989    256,111
    Manufacturing ...............................      487     1,235    1,259     1,111      63,247    152,618   155,909    135,252

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    1,272     2,262    2,191     2,547     130,810    218,438   228,387    256,930

Total, private ..................................    1,234     2,215    2,140     2,464     127,631    213,548   223,981    250,548
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       62        42       33        79       6,006      2,793     2,584      7,227

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,172     2,173    2,107     2,385     121,625    210,755   221,397    243,321
    Mining ......................................     (2)         35       31        39       (2)        3,379     3,751      3,267
    Utilities ...................................     (2)       (2)         3      (2)        (2)        (2)         234      (2)  
    Construction ................................      112       199      166       194       8,106     14,040    11,612     13,490
    Manufacturing ...............................      394       945      940       887      48,188    103,588   114,747    100,872
        Food ....................................       66        57       63        81       7,085      5,379     6,077      8,371
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        4         8        9      (2)          422        606     1,305      (2)  
        Textile mills ...........................       10        19       29        16       1,065      1,833     3,108      2,409
        Textile product mills ...................        5         8        6         9         700        769       554        765
        Apparel .................................       10        16        9        19         872      1,545       883      1,610
        Leather and allied products .............     (2)       (2)      (2)       (2)        (2)        (2)       (2)        (2)  
        Wood products ...........................       33        57       62        39       3,973      5,348     5,799      3,437
        Paper ...................................        7        34       27        26         419      3,129     2,749      2,584
        Printing and related support activities .       11        21       23        25       1,136      1,758     2,124      2,275
        Petroleum and coal products .............     (2)       (2)      (2)       (2)        (2)        (2)       (2)        (2)  

        Chemicals ...............................        8        20       21        21         621      1,806     1,746      1,453
        Plastics and rubber products ............       28        48       60        51       2,522      4,878     6,151      6,393
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       14        40       46        34       1,251      2,788     4,095      3,192
        Primary metals ..........................       14        59       71        70       1,386      6,523     8,681      8,636
        Fabricated metal products ...............       22        99       88        97       1,612      8,735     8,186      7,698
        Machinery ...............................       19       106      110       100       2,393     14,921    18,081     18,614
        Computer and electronic products ........       15        78       68        69       1,544      7,439     8,130      5,770
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       13        35       47        43       1,153      5,399     6,476      5,169
        Transportation equipment ................       89       171      155       148      17,617     22,440    26,012     19,246
        Furniture and related products ..........       18        44       24        21       1,746      6,333     3,020      1,783
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............        3        20       19        14         395      1,607     1,354      1,118

    Wholesale trade .............................       26        62       59        55       2,649      4,243     4,696      4,343
    Retail trade ................................       95       193      178       153       7,933     17,538    19,491     16,211
    Transportation and warehousing ..............      108        80       91       231      12,228      7,864     8,809     28,962
    Information .................................       33        72       75        75       3,446      8,476     8,559      7,934
    Finance and insurance .......................       43        74       57        67       2,978      5,685     4,469      6,220
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........        7        17       16        13         864      1,083       980      1,078
    Professional and technical services .........       59        82       81        97       7,282      7,895     7,191     10,085
    Management of companies and enterprises .....     (2)         14       10        10       (2)          990       923        854
    Administrative and waste services ...........      168       235      227       300      16,831     23,566    18,762     25,498
    Educational services ........................        5      (2)         8      (2)          464      (2)         467      (2)  
    Health care and social assistance ...........       16        33       24        49       1,016      2,032     1,820      3,343
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       28        10       17        47       2,078        655     1,259      4,074
    Accommodation and food services .............       68        95      115       134       6,743      8,080    13,090     13,168
    Other services, except public administration         5        18        9        23         310      1,083       537      2,168
    Unclassified ................................      -         -        -           1        -          -         -            86

Government ......................................       38        47       51        83       3,179      4,890     4,406      6,382
    Federal .....................................        7         7        5         6         490        533       470        461
    State .......................................       10        17       11        20         748      1,804     1,066      1,631
    Local .......................................       21        23       35        57       1,941      2,553     2,870      4,290
                                                                                                                                   
 
   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 2007 to April 2009, 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
             2007                                                                                                                 

April ......................    1,219      127,444     1,115     118,040                                                          
May ........................      923       85,816       856      81,153                                                          
June .......................    1,599      172,810     1,318     148,669                                                          

Second Quarter .............    3,741      386,070     3,289     347,862         1,421         259,234             43.2       74.5

July .......................    1,599      175,419     1,450     164,939                                                          
August .....................      963       93,458       908      88,345                                                          
September ..................      717       67,385       667      64,026                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    3,279      336,262     3,025     317,310         1,018         173,077             33.7       54.5

October ....................    1,083      108,455       929      97,716                                                          
November ...................    1,799      198,220     1,593     181,184                                                          
December ...................    2,167      224,214     2,071     216,898                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    5,049      530,889     4,593     495,798         1,814         347,151             39.5       70.0

             2008                                                                                                                 

January ....................    1,647      154,503     1,520     144,191                                                          
February ...................    1,269      119,508     1,178     113,587                                                          
March ......................    1,089      114,541     1,039     110,147                                                          

First Quarter ..............    4,005      388,552     3,737     367,925         1,340      (r)259,292             35.9    (r)70.5

April ......................    1,272      130,810     1,172     121,625                                                          
May ........................    1,552      159,471     1,438     150,462                                                          
June .......................    1,622      166,742     1,315     140,916                                                          

Second Quarter .............    4,446      457,023     3,925     413,003         1,756      (r)339,574             44.7    (r)82.2

July .......................    1,891      200,382     1,687     186,018                                                          
August .....................    1,427      139,999     1,343     133,146                                                          
September ..................    1,292      129,586     1,202     122,505                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    4,610      469,967     4,232     441,669         1,582      (r)303,774             37.4    (r)68.8

October ....................    2,125      221,784     1,917     205,553                                                          
November ...................    2,574      241,589     2,389     226,657                                                          
December ...................    3,377      351,305     3,232     340,220                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    8,076      814,678     7,538     772,430      (r)3,585      (r)762,737          (r)47.6    (r)98.7

             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   (2)(p)3,489   (2)(p)542,023          (p)44.1    (p)67.1

April ......................    2,547      256,930     2,385     243,321                                                          
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
   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.
   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 
                                   2008       2009     2009     2009       2008        2009       2009       2009 
                                                                                                                   
        United States (1) ...      1,272     2,262     2,191    2,547     130,810    218,438     228,387    256,930

Northeast ...................        244       348       317      504      24,621     32,131      29,493     56,253
    New England .............         59        78        68       88       6,506      7,744       7,021      9,192
    Middle Atlantic .........        185       270       249      416      18,115     24,387      22,472     47,061

South .......................        256       624       589      655      27,299     55,542      61,432     62,714
    South Atlantic ..........        139       295       276      368      11,989     23,842      27,819     33,338
    East South Central ......         59       172       158      160       8,783     17,840      15,629     16,166
    West South Central ......         58       157       155      127       6,527     13,860      17,984     13,210

Midwest .....................        330       561       607      608      37,169     64,973      81,957     72,383
    East North Central ......        267       434       466      482      31,172     52,690      64,595     60,241
    West North Central ......         63       127       141      126       5,997     12,283      17,362     12,142

West ........................        442       729       678      780      41,721     65,792      55,505     65,580
    Mountain ................         67       128       109      125       7,701     11,381      10,991     11,993
    Pacific .................        375       601       569      655      34,020     54,411      44,514     53,587
                                                                                                                   
 
   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 
                             2008          2009     2009        2009        2008         2009        2009       2009  

   Total (1) ............    1,272        2,262      2,191      2,547      130,810      218,438     228,387    256,930
                                                                                                                      
Alabama .................       21           33         45         27        2,789        4,690       4,985      2,745
Alaska ..................        4            7       (2)           5          499          557       (2)          828
Arizona .................       30           23         22         41        4,424        2,185       2,483      4,985
Arkansas ................        3            6         10         12          330        1,156         806      1,057
California ..............      321          515        498        567       28,172       45,557      38,130     43,675
Colorado ................        5           15         13         19          455        1,237       1,578      1,696
Connecticut .............        7           12         11         11          535          824         928        884
Delaware ................        3            4          4         11          920          484         509        988
District of Columbia ....      -           (2)        (2)        (2)          -           (2)         (2)        (2)  
Florida .................       65          155        107        152        4,130        9,779       8,594     11,010
Georgia .................       29           45         46         50        2,606        3,830       4,152      6,006
Hawaii ..................        5           15          5         10        1,583        1,211         376        934
Idaho ...................        3           10         16         10          206          591       1,664        754

Illinois ................       47          115        109        105        4,646       19,469      18,096     17,550
Indiana .................       40           59         68         80        4,031        6,776      10,781      9,659
Iowa ....................       13           33         38         30        1,474        4,374       6,140      2,636
Kansas ..................        5           18         19          7          359        1,582       2,259        737
Kentucky ................       21           78         72         83        4,651        8,794       7,861      9,194
Louisiana ...............        5           19         16         27          396        1,498       1,411      2,670
Maine ...................        3            4          9          6          184          348         835        493
Maryland ................        6           11          8         12          531          800         531      1,115
Massachusetts ...........       18           32         25         38        1,936        2,873       2,422      3,770
Michigan ................       65           79         87         74       11,156        7,392      11,121      7,139
Minnesota ...............       15           24         30         35        1,148        1,777       3,665      3,103
Mississippi .............        9            8         12         15          773          458         745      1,350
Missouri ................       24           38         42         46        2,205        3,538       3,430      4,719

Montana .................        3           11          7          4          212          753         667        335
Nebraska ................        3            7       (2)           4          453          500       (2)          390
Nevada ..................       16           43         27         26        1,558        3,881       2,351      2,123
New Hampshire ...........        5            9          9         10          451        1,020       1,213        848
New Jersey ..............       34           47         39         66        3,070        3,777       3,217      7,334
New Mexico ..............        4           13          9         14          316        1,868         858        909
New York ................       64           82         70        182        7,539        8,927       6,974     24,349
North Carolina ..........        6           34         44         28          555        3,833       6,277      2,582
North Dakota ............     (2)             3          4       (2)         (2)            207       1,259      (2)  
Ohio ....................       67           91         93        115        6,951        9,065      13,067     14,791
Oklahoma ................     (2)            19         17         14          (2)        1,437       1,483      2,464
Oregon ..................       20           43         42         43        1,563        5,321       4,118      5,554
Pennsylvania ............       87          141        140        168        7,506       11,683      12,281     15,378

Rhode Island ............       11            9          9          8        1,641        1,291         889      1,649
South Carolina ..........       22           33         48         60        2,563        3,471       6,157      6,482
South Dakota ............     (2)             4          5       (2)         (2)            305         323      (2)  
Tennessee ...............        8           53         29         35          570        3,898       2,038      2,877
Texas ...................       48          113        112         74        5,594        9,769      14,284      7,019
Utah ....................        5           11         14         10          464          753       1,313      1,055
Vermont .................       15           12          5         15        1,759        1,388         734      1,548
Virginia ................        6            8         14         42          494          786       1,229      4,052
Washington ..............       25           21         23         30        2,203        1,765       1,833      2,596
West Virginia ...........     (2)             3          4         12        (2)            681         301      1,028
Wisconsin ...............       48           90        109        108        4,388        9,988      11,530     11,102
Wyoming .................     (2)          (2)        (2)        (2)         (2)          (2)         (2)        (2)  

Puerto Rico .............       17           28         22         13        1,437        2,282       2,035      1,321

   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE:  Dash represents zero.




Last Modified Date: May 22, 2009