Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6396 USDL 99-01 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 606-5902 Wednesday, January 6, 1999 MASS LAYOFFS IN OCTOBER 1998 In October 1998, there were 1,554 mass layoff actions by employers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 160,888. The number of layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance were higher this October than in October 1997. The total of layoff events from January through October 1998, at 12,762, was about the same as in the prior year (12,170), while the total number of initial claimants, at 1,419,165, was higher (1,270,463). (See table 1.) The monthly series in this release covers mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs") and provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establish- ment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Because the 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. For example, 3,475 layoff events involving 419,391 initial claimants for unemployment insurance occurred in July, August, and September of 1998 combined. The third-quarter 1998 figures for mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days, however, were 1,215 events and 201,522 claimants. Thirty- five percent of all mass layoffs in the July-September period lasted for more than a month. (See table 1.) In all quarters for which data are available, the proportion of mass layoffs that became "extended" mass layoffs varied from about 31 to 47 percent. Industry Distribution In October 1998, manufacturing industries accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of the initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the highest numbers of initial claimants were food products (11,643), primarily in canned and frozen fruits and vegetables; industrial machinery and equipment (8,631), mostly in refrigeration and heating equipment; and apparel and other textile products (7,971), particularly in men's and boys' work clothing. (See table 3.) In nonmanufacturing industries, services accounted for 22 percent of all mass layoff events and 23 percent of all initial claims filed. The layoffs were predominantly in business services (particularly in help - 2 - supply services) and motion pictures (mostly in motion pictures and video production). Layoffs in help supply services and the motion picture industry are more likely than those in other industries to last less than 30 days. Agriculture accounted for 17 percent of layoff events and 14 percent of initial claimants during the month, primarily in farm labor contracting. Retail trade contributed 9 percent to both layoff events and initial claimants during the month, largely in general merchandise stores. Compared with October 1997, the largest increases in initial claims occurred in agricultural production crops (4,107), industrial machinery and equipment (3,949), and business services (3,660). The largest over- the-year decreases in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment (-4,599) and motion pictures (-3,769). State Distribution Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for October, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (75,041), primarily in business services, followed by Texas (13,992) and Pennsylvania (12,506). These three states accounted for about 65 percent of all layoff events and 63 percent of all initial claims. (See table 2.) From October 1997 to October 1998, California reported the largest over-the-year rise in initial claims (12,217), primarily in business services, followed by Texas (7,579). Maryland had the largest over-the- year decline in initial claims (-2,814), mostly in transportation equipment. Technical Note The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These establishments then are contacted by the state agency to determine whether these separations lasted 31 days or longer, and, if so, other information concerning the layoff is collected. States report on layoffs lasting more than 1 month on a quarterly basis. A given month contains an aggregation of the weekly unemployment insurance claims filings for the Sunday through Saturday weeks in that month. All weeks are included for the particular month, except if the first day of the month falls on Saturday. In this case, the week is included in the prior month's tabulations. This means that some months will contain 4 weeks and others 5 weeks, and the number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore, analysis of over-the- month and over-the-year change should take this calendar effect into consideration. The MLS program resumed operations in April 1995 after it had been terminated in November 1992 due to lack of funding. Prior to April 1995, monthly layoff statistics were not available. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. Definitions Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of eligibility. Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 1996 to October 1998 Extended mass layoffs Date lasting more than 30 days Total mass layoffs Event realization Events Initial Events Initial rate(1) claimants claimants 1996 October ...................... 1,289 131,850 November ..................... 1,433 130,774 December ..................... 1,824 204,123 Fourth quarter ............... 4,546 466,747 1,915 (r)384,429 42.1 1997 January ...................... 2,139 212,860 February ..................... 755 63,352 March ........................ 783 84,069 First quarter ................ 3,677 360,281 1,317 (r)253,209 35.8 April ........................ 1,269 152,168 May .......................... 1,152 101,476 June ......................... 1,238 121,256 Second quarter ............... 3,659 374,900 1,574 (r)320,265 43.0 July ......................... 1,899 237,410 August ....................... 973 99,513 September .................... 548 59,062 Third quarter ................ 3,420 395,985 1,077 (r)216,844 31.5 October ...................... 1,414 139,297 November ..................... 1,156 100,051 December ..................... 1,634 172,029 Fourth quarter ............... 4,204 411,377 1,677 (r)313,556 39.9 1998 January ...................... 2,360 255,203 February ..................... 970 81,455 March ........................ 762 78,210 First quarter ................ 4,092 414,868 (r)1,299 (r)243,155 (r)31.7 April ........................ 1,253 132,476 May .......................... 1,180 107,952 June ......................... 1,208 183,590 Second quarter ............... 3,641 424,018 (r)1,554 (r)400,579 (r)42.7 July .........................(r)2,221 (r)286,097 August ....................... (r)617 (r)53,665 September .................... (r)637 (r)79,629 Third quarter ................ 3,475 419,391 (p)1,215 (p)201,522 35.0 October ...................... 1,554 160,888 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. r = revised. p = preliminary. Table 2. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 1997 and October 1998 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State October October October October 1997 1998 1997 1998 Total(1) ................... 1,414 1,554 139,297 160,888 Alabama ....................... 3 13 205 1,492 Alaska ........................ 5 6 376 458 Arizona ....................... 7 5 603 528 Arkansas ...................... 16 10 1,715 1,272 California .................... 698 776 62,824 75,041 Colorado ...................... 12 8 1,623 690 Connecticut ................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Delaware ...................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) District of Columbia .......... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Florida ....................... 63 41 3,963 3,428 Georgia ....................... 10 15 763 1,625 Hawaii ........................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Idaho ......................... 8 11 1,634 817 Illinois ...................... 35 30 3,186 2,527 Indiana ....................... 13 14 1,091 1,153 Iowa .......................... 16 3 1,266 191 Kansas ........................ 6 4 414 517 Kentucky ...................... 8 6 889 816 Louisiana ..................... 12 6 1,219 437 Maine ......................... - 3 - 215 Maryland ...................... 10 6 3,269 455 Massachusetts ................. 3 20 181 1,691 Michigan ...................... 13 8 1,018 566 Minnesota ..................... 12 10 1,164 1,025 Mississippi ................... 3 17 248 2,578 Missouri ...................... 20 16 1,950 1,898 Montana ....................... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 612 Nebraska ...................... - - - - Nevada ........................ 6 ( 2 ) 421 ( 2 ) New Hampshire ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New Jersey .................... 19 27 1,924 2,471 New Mexico .................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 233 New York ...................... 41 31 4,561 3,674 North Carolina ................ 6 13 612 1,121 North Dakota .................. - - - - Ohio .......................... 40 43 7,351 5,330 Oklahoma ...................... 4 5 979 1,007 Oregon ........................ 15 16 1,256 1,136 Pennsylvania .................. 145 134 13,687 12,506 Rhode Island .................. ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 209 South Carolina ................ 4 26 259 3,838 South Dakota .................. - - - - Tennessee ..................... 21 7 1,673 602 Texas ......................... 42 103 6,413 13,992 Utah .......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Vermont ....................... - - - - Virginia ...................... 23 25 2,141 4,712 Washington .................... 16 20 1,425 1,780 West Virginia ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin ..................... 44 52 5,578 6,789 Wyoming ....................... - - - - Puerto Rico ................... 14 68 1,487 8,388 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Data for total mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance have been revised for October 1997 due to the inclusion of new data for Louisiana and Oklahoma. Dash represents zero. Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, October 1997 and October 1998 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry October October October October 1997 1998 1997 1998 Total(1) ............................................... 1,414 1,554 139,297 160,888 Total, private .............................................. 1,328 1,488 130,892 154,482 Agriculture ............................................... 212 263 14,198 21,841 Nonagriculture ............................................ 1,086 1,182 113,894 127,777 Manufacturing ........................................... 407 497 47,478 58,826 Durable goods ......................................... 182 257 26,033 29,913 Lumber and wood products ............................ 25 14 2,363 1,072 Furniture and fixtures .............................. 11 16 1,268 1,279 Stone, clay, and glass products ..................... 8 6 572 909 Primary metal industries ............................ 15 30 1,919 3,080 Fabricated metal products ........................... 19 23 1,933 1,828 Industrial machinery and equipment .................. 27 56 4,682 8,631 Electronic and other electrical equipment ........... 22 50 2,478 5,507 Transportation equipment ............................ 36 30 9,404 4,805 Instruments and related products .................... 10 17 741 1,323 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries .............. 9 15 673 1,479 Nondurable goods ...................................... 225 240 21,445 28,913 Food and kindred products ........................... 112 106 11,080 11,643 Tobacco products .................................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Textile mill products ............................... 15 25 1,582 4,286 Apparel and other textile products .................. 52 61 5,510 7,971 Paper and allied products ........................... 12 8 816 1,134 Printing and publishing ............................. 12 11 779 806 Chemicals and allied products ....................... ( 2 ) 9 ( 2 ) 1,203 Petroleum and coal products ......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products .......... 12 12 811 1,244 Leather and leather products ........................ 6 4 587 289 Nonmanufacturing ........................................ 679 685 66,416 68,951 Mining ................................................ 7 19 404 1,548 Construction .......................................... 100 99 7,300 7,618 Transportation and public utilities ................... 43 31 3,417 2,413 Wholesale and retail trade ............................ 177 167 16,737 17,620 Wholesale trade .................................... 26 27 2,335 2,725 Retail trade ....................................... 151 140 14,402 14,895 Finance, insurance, and real estate ................... 23 33 1,830 2,858 Services .............................................. 329 336 36,728 36,894 Not identified ............................................ 30 43 2,800 4,864 Government .................................................. 86 66 8,405 6,406 Federal ................................................... 21 15 2,135 1,771 State ..................................................... 23 22 2,644 2,119 Local ..................................................... 42 29 3,626 2,516 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Data for total mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance have been revised for October 1997 due to the inclusion of new data for Louisiana and Oklahoma. Dash represents zero.