Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 01-53 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, March 2, 2001 MASS LAYOFFS IN JANUARY 2001 In January 2001, there were 1,522 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 200,343. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events was the lowest for January since the series began in April 1995, while the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance was the lowest since January 1996. These lower levels were due, in part, to a calendar effect, since January in both 1996 and 2001 contained 4 weeks that ended in the month compared with 5 weeks in each of the other four Januarys. 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. 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 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 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Industry Distribution In January 2001, manufacturing industries accounted for 41 percent of all mass layoff events and 53 percent of all initial claims filed. A year earlier, layoffs in manufacturing accounted for 44 percent of initial claims. Manufacturing industries with the highest number of initial claimants were transportation equipment (41,715), primarily in motor vehicles and car bodies, food and kindred products (8,620), primary metal industries (8,620), and industrial machinery and equipment (7,961). (See table 2.) Services accounted for 19 percent of events and 17 percent of initial claims filed during the month. Layoffs in services were highly concentrated in business services (particularly help supply services). This industry, however, is more likely than most other industries to layoff workers for fewer than 30 days. Retail trade accounted for 11 percent of all layoff events and 9 percent of initial claimants during the month, mostly in general merchandise stores (department stores). Construction accounted for 9 percent of events and 5 percent of claims, largely in heavy construction, excluding buildings (highway and street construction). Transportation and public utilities accounted for 6 percent of events and 4 percent of all initial claimants, primarily in trucking and warehousing and in transportation by air. - 2 - Over the year, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in heavy construction (-8,412), business services (-6,378), and motion pictures (-5,300). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in transportation equipment (+22,792). Geographic Distribution In January, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was highest in the Midwest (87,323), primarily in transportation equipment. (See table 3.) Initial claimants from transportation equipment industries accounted for 40 percent of all claimants in the Midwest. The Northeast region (21,994) continued to report the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims. The Northeast reported the highest over-the-year decrease in initial claims filings (-17,184), followed by the West (-11,434) and the South (-7,931). The Midwest was the only region to report an over-the-year increase in initial claimants (+13,570). Five of the nine geographic divisions reported over-the-year declines in the number of initial claimants generated in mass layoff actions. These decreases were most prevalent in the Middle Atlantic (mainly in heavy construction) and Pacific divisions (primarily in business services and motion pictures). Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California reported the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (41,261), mostly in business services, agricultural services, and motion pictures. Other states with large numbers of mass-layoff initial claims were Ohio (28,700) and Michigan (19,387). These three states accounted for 37 percent of all layoff events and 45 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From January 2000 to January 2001, 28 states reported over-the-year declines in initial claims, led by California (-12,822). Twenty states and the District of Columbia reported over-the-year increases in initial claims, with Ohio reporting the largest increase (+12,547). 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: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Definitions Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of eligibility. Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 1999 to January 2001 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization rate(1) Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants 1999 January .................... 2,421 226,995 February ................... 1,067 89,800 March ...................... 880 91,890 First Quarter .............. 4,368 408,685 1,509 252,122 34.5 April ...................... 1,270 136,885 May ........................ 1,032 102,738 June ....................... 1,140 130,951 Second Quarter ............. 3,442 370,574 1,444 242,464 42.0 July ....................... 1,741 221,334 August ..................... 698 75,691 September .................. 717 75,288 Third Quarter .............. 3,156 372,313 1,097 189,973 34.8 October .................... 1,098 118,938 November ................... 1,336 139,508 December ................... 1,509 162,381 Fourth Quarter ............. 3,943 420,827 1,625 (r)287,685 41.2 2000 January .................... 1,934 223,322 February ................... 1,045 103,898 March ...................... 986 106,748 First Quarter .............. 3,965 433,968 1,331 (r)220,997 33.6 April ...................... 924 101,359 May ........................ 984 92,193 June ....................... 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter ............. 3,505 385,577 1,272 (r)230,696 36.3 July ....................... 1,333 164,978 August ..................... 751 97,215 September .................. 936 106,842 Third Quarter .............. 3,020 369,035 (r)1,014 (r)187,865 (r)33.6 October .................... 874 103,755 November ................... 1,697 216,514 December(p) ................ 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter(p) .......... 5,248 647,012 1,905 271,126 36.3 2001 January(p) ................. 1,522 200,343 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. p = preliminary. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry January November December January January November December January 2000 2000 2000(p) 2001(p) 2000 2000 2000(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ...................................... 1,934 1,697 2,677 1,522 223,322 216,514 326,743 200,343 Total, private ..................................... 1,877 1,651 2,605 1,469 218,041 212,318 320,875 194,889 Agriculture ...................................... 72 254 152 65 5,401 21,916 11,007 6,371 Nonagriculture ................................... 1,768 1,374 2,388 1,372 207,411 186,788 301,367 183,453 Manufacturing .................................. 737 607 1,056 628 97,271 92,805 164,578 106,977 Durable goods ................................ 420 363 676 414 63,521 59,217 118,984 82,785 Lumber and wood products ................... 56 61 88 54 9,228 7,725 9,636 5,396 Furniture and fixtures ..................... 37 20 43 30 4,536 2,576 5,735 3,193 Stone, clay, and glass products ............ 39 26 56 30 3,378 2,559 7,397 2,585 Primary metal industries ................... 23 35 75 37 2,870 4,643 12,796 8,620 Fabricated metal products .................. 54 44 89 50 4,993 4,332 9,500 5,427 Industrial machinery and equipment ......... 45 48 88 47 8,281 9,899 14,979 7,961 Electronic and other electrical equipment .. 53 32 65 49 7,804 7,218 15,035 5,955 Transportation equipment ................... 75 77 139 92 18,923 18,322 40,342 41,715 Instruments and related products ........... 17 8 10 6 1,272 769 1,080 494 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ..... 21 12 23 19 2,236 1,174 2,484 1,439 Nondurable goods ............................. 317 244 380 214 33,750 33,588 45,594 24,192 Food and kindred products .................. 99 84 98 72 10,287 9,927 11,932 8,620 Tobacco products ........................... ( 2 ) - 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 338 ( 2 ) Textile mill products ...................... 46 48 50 30 7,157 9,379 7,874 4,336 Apparel and other textile products ......... 82 37 66 35 7,946 4,147 6,395 3,402 Paper and allied products .................. 19 16 27 15 1,814 2,243 2,876 1,445 Printing and publishing .................... 12 7 16 16 829 585 1,788 1,686 Chemicals and allied products .............. 7 6 14 5 752 420 1,201 384 Petroleum and coal products ................ ( 2 ) 6 14 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 548 1,437 ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products . 33 31 81 37 3,066 5,182 10,498 4,036 Leather and leather products ............... 13 9 10 ( 2 ) 1,315 1,157 1,255 ( 2 ) Nonmanufacturing ............................... 1,031 767 1,332 744 110,140 93,983 136,789 76,476 Mining ....................................... 25 9 26 8 2,034 984 2,379 496 Construction ................................. 283 241 433 139 22,277 22,983 37,175 10,236 Transportation and public utilities .......... 128 45 152 91 11,037 4,811 17,514 8,761 Wholesale and retail trade ................... 204 139 247 190 24,006 15,743 26,324 20,828 Wholesale trade ........................... 41 32 48 28 5,775 2,649 4,796 2,622 Retail trade .............................. 163 107 199 162 18,231 13,094 21,528 18,206 Finance, insurance, and real estate .......... 26 18 26 21 2,193 1,562 2,177 2,464 Services ..................................... 365 315 448 295 48,593 47,900 51,220 33,691 Not identified ................................... 37 23 65 32 5,229 3,614 8,501 5,065 Government ......................................... 57 46 72 53 5,281 4,196 5,868 5,454 Federal .......................................... 17 15 6 27 1,752 1,275 583 3,182 State ............................................ 8 20 20 11 633 2,002 1,705 1,030 Local ............................................ 32 11 46 15 2,896 919 3,580 1,242 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division January November December January January November December January 2000 2000 2000(p) 2001(p) 2000 2000 2000(p) 2001(p) United States(1) ..... 1,934 1,697 2,677 1,522 223,322 216,514 326,743 200,343 Northeast .................... 397 187 397 227 39,178 21,489 40,688 21,994 New England .............. 78 30 95 37 8,146 2,926 10,739 2,857 Middle Atlantic .......... 319 157 302 190 31,032 18,563 29,949 19,137 South ........................ 369 329 487 323 43,938 44,026 56,297 36,007 South Atlantic ........... 185 154 246 154 25,391 24,888 29,409 15,870 East South Central ....... 70 68 119 68 8,156 7,936 14,617 7,121 West South Central ....... 114 107 122 101 10,391 11,202 12,271 13,016 Midwest ...................... 601 464 1,079 468 73,753 65,286 157,486 87,323 East North Central ....... 470 361 837 376 60,165 52,987 125,559 72,119 West North Central ....... 131 103 242 92 13,588 12,299 31,927 15,204 West ......................... 567 717 714 504 66,453 85,713 72,272 55,019 Mountain ................. 75 66 94 72 6,378 7,552 9,093 6,527 Pacific .................. 492 651 620 432 60,075 78,161 63,179 48,492 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. Table 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State January November December January January November December January 2000 2000 2000(p) 2001(p) 2000 2000 2000(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ................ 1,934 1,697 2,677 1,522 223,322 216,514 326,743 200,343 Alabama .................... 9 13 17 15 929 2,039 2,086 1,370 Alaska ..................... 3 6 7 5 212 399 619 340 Arizona .................... 11 3 6 7 743 274 408 569 Arkansas ................... 10 13 14 13 874 1,254 1,765 1,515 California ................. 426 581 534 365 54,083 71,002 52,576 41,261 Colorado ................... 8 8 12 11 755 850 983 1,084 Connecticut ................ 10 3 7 6 1,031 233 677 424 Delaware ................... 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,710 2,368 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia ....... 3 - 3 7 253 - 265 496 Florida .................... 42 34 66 49 3,193 2,240 4,956 3,147 Georgia .................... 9 19 29 15 871 2,187 2,965 1,200 Hawaii ..................... 12 3 ( 2 ) 6 1,086 285 ( 2 ) 429 Idaho ...................... 10 14 17 10 904 1,795 2,201 677 Illinois ................... 70 70 157 68 14,210 16,382 29,157 12,163 Indiana .................... 31 48 95 37 2,750 6,698 17,391 4,425 Iowa ....................... 46 25 67 21 5,832 4,355 9,619 2,505 Kansas ..................... 14 13 19 10 989 1,212 1,949 3,766 Kentucky ................... 23 24 68 9 2,725 3,711 9,418 1,101 Louisiana .................. 21 24 20 23 1,558 2,214 1,345 4,410 Maine ...................... 5 ( 2 ) 10 6 618 ( 2 ) 1,168 434 Maryland ................... 17 6 9 10 1,156 724 709 1,085 Massachusetts .............. 36 16 41 21 3,789 1,284 3,887 1,723 Michigan ................... 128 90 301 69 13,643 9,558 43,436 19,387 Minnesota .................. 21 45 55 20 2,399 4,711 7,140 3,669 Mississippi ................ 10 16 11 18 1,659 1,041 1,110 2,036 Missouri ................... 37 17 93 37 3,281 1,730 12,435 4,567 Montana .................... ( 2 ) 4 4 6 ( 2 ) 455 585 484 Nebraska ................... 12 ( 2 ) 4 3 988 ( 2 ) 367 284 Nevada ..................... 35 23 44 23 3,263 2,847 4,091 2,195 New Hampshire .............. 7 ( 2 ) 10 ( 2 ) 790 ( 2 ) 1,445 ( 2 ) New Jersey ................. 73 31 51 35 7,270 4,912 5,250 4,544 New Mexico ................. 7 - 5 4 441 - 292 397 New York ................... 37 22 41 21 3,570 2,287 3,980 2,198 North Carolina ............. 14 15 25 21 2,818 1,987 2,893 3,982 North Dakota ............... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio ....................... 118 53 142 132 16,153 6,756 18,623 28,700 Oklahoma ................... 7 9 13 8 536 2,155 937 833 Oregon ..................... 39 30 42 44 3,816 3,293 5,545 5,354 Pennsylvania ............... 209 104 210 134 20,192 11,364 20,719 12,395 Rhode Island ............... 18 5 19 ( 2 ) 1,728 518 2,522 ( 2 ) South Carolina ............. 38 46 51 28 5,526 9,339 8,404 3,327 South Dakota ............... - - 3 - - - 362 - Tennessee .................. 28 15 23 26 2,843 1,145 2,003 2,614 Texas ...................... 76 61 75 57 7,423 5,579 8,224 6,258 Utah ....................... 3 13 6 11 205 1,276 533 1,121 Vermont .................... ( 2 ) 3 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 281 1,040 ( 2 ) Virginia ................... 55 29 59 20 9,568 5,889 8,561 2,210 Washington ................. 12 31 36 12 878 3,182 4,379 1,108 West Virginia .............. 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 296 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin .................. 123 100 142 70 13,409 13,593 16,952 7,444 Wyoming .................... - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - Puerto Rico ................ 14 7 18 17 1,055 537 2,413 1,475 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.