Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6396 USDL 99-71 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 606-5902 Tuesday, March 23, 1999 MASS LAYOFFS IN DECEMBER 1998 In December 1998, there were 1,608 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 190,070. The number of layoff events was about the same as a year earlier, but the number of initial claimants for unemployment insurance was higher in December 1998 than in December 1997. The total of layoff events from January through December 1998, at 15,647, was somewhat higher than in the prior year (14,960), and the total number of initial claimants, at 1,747,338, was also higher than in 1997 (1,542,543). (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 December 1998, manufacturing industries accounted for 37 percent of all mass layoff events and 42 percent of the initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the highest numbers of initial claimants were industrial machinery and equipment (9,598), primarily in refrigeration and heating equipment; electronic and other electrical equipment (9,466), mostly in electron tubes; and food products (9,091), particularly in frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. (See table 3.) In nonmanufacturing industries, services accounted for 17 percent of all mass layoff events and 20 percent of all initial claims filed. The layoffs were predominantly in motion pictures (mostly in motion picture and video- tape production) and business services (particularly in help supply services). Layoffs in the motion picture industry and help supply services industry are more likely than those in other industries to last less than 30 days. Construction accounted for 15 percent of layoff events and 11 percent of initial claimants during the month, and were concentrated primarily in highway and street construction. Retail trade contributed 9 percent to both layoff events and initial claims during the month, largely in eating and drinking places. - 2 - Compared with December 1997, the largest increases in initial claims occurred in motion pictures (6,827), industrial machinery and equipment (5,301), business services (2,991), and automotive dealers and service stations (2,878). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims occurred in the wholesale trade of durable goods (-1,783) and rubber and miscellaneous plastics products (-1,701). State Distribution Among the 49 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for December, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (44,163), primarily in motion pictures, followed by Illinois (15,226), Wisconsin (12,477), and Pennsylvania (12,444). These four states accounted for about 44 percent of all layoff events and initial claims. (See table 2.) From December 1997 to December 1998, California reported the largest over-the-year rise in initial claims (9,537), primarily in motion pictures, followed by South Carolina (7,615) and Texas (5,212). Michigan had the largest over-the-year decline in initial claims (-6,423), mostly in transportation equipment, followed by Virginia (-5,999). 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 December 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 1,915 384,429 42.1 1997 January ...................... 2,139 212,860 February ..................... 755 63,352 March ........................ 783 84,069 First quarter ................ 3,677 360,281 1,317 253,209 35.8 April ........................ 1,269 152,168 May .......................... 1,152 101,476 June ......................... 1,238 121,256 Second quarter ............... 3,659 374,900 1,574 320,265 43.0 July ......................... 1,899 237,410 August ....................... 973 99,513 September .................... 548 59,062 Third quarter ................ 3,420 395,985 1,077 216,844 31.5 October ...................... 1,414 139,297 November ..................... 1,156 100,051 December ..................... 1,634 172,029 Fourth quarter ............... 4,204 411,377 1,677 313,556 39.9 1998 January ...................... 2,360 255,203 February ..................... 970 81,455 March ........................ 762 78,210 First quarter ................ 4,092 414,868 1,299 243,155 31.7 April ........................ 1,253 132,476 May .......................... 1,180 107,952 June ......................... 1,208 183,590 Second quarter ............... 3,641 424,018 1,554 400,579 42.7 July ......................... 2,221 286,097 August ....................... 617 53,665 September .................... 637 79,629 Third quarter ................ 3,475 419,391 1,215 201,522 35.0 October ...................... 1,553 160,830 November(2) .................. 1,278 138,161 December(2) .................. 1,608 190,070 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. 2 Data exclude Wyoming. Table 2. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, December 1997 and December 1998 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State December December December December 1997 1998 1997 1998 Total(1) .................. 1,634 1,608 172,029 190,070 Alabama ...................... 3 6 197 424 Alaska ....................... 3 5 258 340 Arizona ...................... 7 3 579 450 Arkansas ..................... 17 12 1,915 1,493 California ................... 354 397 34,626 44,163 Colorado ..................... 19 14 1,896 1,244 Connecticut .................. 11 - 953 - Delaware ..................... 3 - 171 - District of Columbia ......... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Florida ...................... 39 46 2,431 3,083 Georgia ...................... 17 10 1,545 809 Hawaii ....................... 8 6 576 474 Idaho ........................ 20 17 2,525 1,710 Illinois ..................... 94 104 12,293 15,226 Indiana ...................... 43 47 5,138 7,985 Iowa ......................... 27 38 4,045 4,471 Kansas ....................... 18 8 1,350 743 Kentucky ..................... 13 23 2,598 2,103 Louisiana .................... 15 21 932 1,553 Maine ........................ 11 14 913 1,112 Maryland ..................... 21 4 2,067 302 Massachusetts ................ 48 25 5,319 3,409 Michigan ..................... 91 30 9,400 2,977 Minnesota .................... 39 36 4,755 4,697 Mississippi .................. 3 6 246 522 Missouri ..................... 56 57 7,010 10,428 Montana ...................... 4 - 217 - Nebraska ..................... - 4 - 448 Nevada ....................... 20 24 2,188 2,059 New Hampshire ................ 7 ( 2 ) 521 ( 2 ) New Jersey ................... 59 41 6,539 4,658 New Mexico ................... 3 ( 2 ) 251 ( 2 ) New York ..................... 23 32 2,043 2,888 North Carolina ............... 12 9 866 705 North Dakota ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio ......................... 67 69 6,704 5,813 Oklahoma ..................... 13 14 1,513 1,232 Oregon ....................... 36 37 3,692 4,089 Pennsylvania ................. 126 135 9,960 12,444 Rhode Island ................. 11 4 1,107 661 South Carolina ............... 15 62 1,539 9,154 South Dakota ................. - - - - Tennessee .................... 10 14 893 1,859 Texas ........................ 49 82 5,749 10,961 Utah ......................... 9 7 1,021 708 Vermont ...................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Virginia ..................... 57 34 10,713 4,714 Washington ................... 24 36 2,021 4,629 West Virginia ................ 3 ( 2 ) 175 ( 2 ) Wisconsin .................... 104 68 10,477 12,477 Wyoming ...................... - ( 1 ) - ( 1 ) Puerto Rico .................. 14 5 1,252 622 1 For December 1998, data were reported by the District of Columbia and all states, except Wyoming. 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 December 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, December 1997 and December 1998 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry December December December December 1997 1998 1997 1998 Total(1) ................................................... 1,634 1,608 172,029 190,070 Total, private ................................................... 1,585 1,561 168,055 184,619 Agriculture .................................................... 88 89 6,494 6,043 Nonagriculture ................................................. 1,471 1,437 157,900 175,134 Manufacturing ................................................ 630 598 74,177 79,476 Durable goods .............................................. 309 315 40,290 47,465 Lumber and wood products ................................. 57 41 6,283 4,888 Furniture and fixtures ................................... 15 14 2,652 2,419 Stone, clay, and glass products .......................... 38 28 3,903 3,497 Primary metal industries ................................. 18 27 2,241 3,554 Fabricated metal products ................................ 39 22 4,588 3,121 Industrial machinery and equipment ....................... 26 51 4,297 9,598 Electronic and other electrical equipment ................ 40 53 6,588 9,466 Transportation equipment ................................. 53 36 6,461 5,139 Instruments and related products ......................... 8 16 594 1,765 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ................... 15 27 2,683 4,018 Nondurable goods ........................................... 321 283 33,887 32,011 Food and kindred products ................................ 96 79 9,939 9,091 Tobacco products ......................................... 4 4 275 355 Textile mill products .................................... 41 48 6,238 7,056 Apparel and other textile products ....................... 82 68 7,465 6,559 Paper and allied products ................................ 12 15 999 1,719 Printing and publishing .................................. 10 11 975 1,237 Chemicals and allied products ............................ 6 4 390 302 Petroleum and coal products .............................. 19 11 1,543 1,174 Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products ............... 39 31 3,975 2,274 Leather and leather products ............................. 12 12 2,088 2,244 Nonmanufacturing ............................................. 841 839 83,723 95,658 Mining ..................................................... 14 26 1,040 2,163 Construction ............................................... 275 249 20,248 19,983 Transportation and public utilities ........................ 105 91 12,153 12,409 Wholesale and retail trade ................................. 186 182 20,655 21,103 Wholesale trade ......................................... 36 36 5,894 3,855 Retail trade ............................................ 150 146 14,761 17,248 Finance, insurance, and real estate ........................ 17 16 1,374 1,047 Services ................................................... 244 275 28,253 38,953 Not identified ................................................. 26 35 3,661 3,442 Government ....................................................... 49 47 3,974 5,451 Federal ........................................................ 13 12 1,301 1,084 State .......................................................... 5 9 527 2,223 Local .......................................................... 31 26 2,146 2,144 1 For December 1998, data were reported by the District of Columbia and all states, except Wyoming. NOTE: Data for total mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance have been revised for December 1997 due to the inclusion of new data for Louisiana and Oklahoma.