Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 01-73 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, March 29, 2001 MASS LAYOFFS IN FEBRUARY 2001 In February 2001, there were 1,501 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 172,908. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events and initial claims for unem- ployment insurance were the highest for any February since the series began in April 1995. 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 establish- ment 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 February 2001, manufacturing industries accounted for 38 percent of all mass layoff events and 46 percent of all initial claims filed. A year earlier, layoffs in manufacturing accounted for 25 percent of events and 29 percent of initial claims. Manufacturing industries with the highest number of initial claimants were transportation equipment (21,138), mostly in motor vehicles and car bodies and in motor vehicle parts and accessories, and food and kindred products (10,034), primarily in frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. (See table 2.) Services accounted for 21 percent of events and 23 percent of initial claims filed during the month. Layoffs in services were highly concen- trated in business services (particularly help supply services). Histori- cally, this industry is more likely than most other industries to lay off workers for fewer than 30 days. Thirteen percent of all layoff events and 8 percent of initial claims during the month were from agriculture, mostly in agricultural services (farm labor contractors). Retail trade accounted for 9 percent of events and 8 percent of claims, largely in general merchandise stores (department stores). Construction accounted for 9 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims, mostly in special trade contractors. Compared with February 2000, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in business services (+19,007) and transportation equipment (+13,700). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims occurred in agricultural services (-4,368) and motion pictures (-4,252). - 2 - Geographic Distribution In February, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was highest in the West (72,758). Layoffs in business services and agri- cultural services accounted for 41 percent of all claimants in the West. (See table 3.) The Northeast region (18,161) continued to report the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims. The Midwest reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims filings (+32,920) followed by the South (+23,680), the Northeast (+9,241), and the West (+3,169). All nine geographic divisions reported over-the-year increases in the number of initial claimants generated in mass layoff actions. The largest of these increases was reported in the East North Central (primarily in transportation equipment). Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California reported the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (62,791), mostly in business services and in agricultural services, followed by Michigan (14,090). These two states accounted for 47 percent of all layoff events and 44 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From February 2000 to February 2001, 42 states and the District of Columbia reported over-the-year increases in initial claims. Michigan reported the largest increase in initial claims filings (+12,285), fol- lowed by Illinois (+6,139). Six states reported over-the-year decreases in initial claims activity, led by Washington (-2,953). 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 February 2001 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Realization rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Events claimants 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 61.7 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 65.4 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 51.0 October ................... 1,098 118,938 November .................. 1,336 139,508 December .................. 1,509 162,381 Fourth Quarter ............ 3,943 420,827 1,625 287,685 41.2 68.4 2000 January ................... 1,934 223,322 February .................. 1,045 103,898 March ..................... 986 106,748 First Quarter ............. 3,965 433,968 1,331 220,997 33.6 50.9 April ..................... 924 101,359 May ....................... 984 92,193 June ...................... 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter ............ 3,505 385,577 1,272 230,696 36.3 59.8 July ...................... 1,333 164,978 August .................... 751 97,215 September ................. 936 106,842 Third Quarter ............. 3,020 369,035 1,014 187,865 33.6 50.9 October ................... 874 103,755 November .................. 1,697 216,514 December .................. 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter ............ 5,248 647,012 (2)(p)1,905 (2)(p)271,126 (p)36.3 (p)41.9 2001 January(p) ................ 1,522 200,343 February(p) ............... 1,501 172,908 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become available. Recent 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. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry February December January February February December January February 2000 2000 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2000 2001(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ...................................... 1,045 2,677 1,522 1,501 103,898 326,743 200,343 172,908 Total, private ..................................... 1,022 2,605 1,469 1,474 101,817 320,875 194,889 170,185 Agriculture ...................................... 245 152 65 190 20,938 11,007 6,371 13,998 Nonagriculture ................................... 769 2,388 1,372 1,269 80,212 301,367 183,453 154,424 Manufacturing .................................. 260 1,056 628 575 29,907 164,578 106,977 79,294 Durable goods ................................ 125 676 414 353 16,945 118,984 82,785 53,691 Lumber and wood products ................... 18 88 54 35 2,198 9,636 5,396 3,598 Furniture and fixtures ..................... 10 43 30 24 856 5,735 3,193 2,358 Stone, clay, and glass products ............ 7 56 30 9 382 7,397 2,585 933 Primary metal industries ................... 8 75 37 43 663 12,796 8,620 5,109 Fabricated metal products .................. 21 89 50 54 1,892 9,500 5,427 5,416 Industrial machinery and equipment ......... 17 88 47 45 1,724 14,979 7,961 6,967 Electronic and other electrical equipment .. 16 65 49 65 1,366 15,035 5,955 7,315 Transportation equipment ................... 23 139 92 66 7,438 40,342 41,715 21,138 Instruments and related products ........... 5 10 6 6 426 1,080 494 483 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ..... - 23 19 6 - 2,484 1,439 374 Nondurable goods ............................. 135 380 214 222 12,962 45,594 24,192 25,603 Food and kindred products .................. 73 98 72 78 6,490 11,932 8,620 10,034 Tobacco products ........................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 338 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Textile mill products ...................... 9 50 30 33 1,502 7,874 4,336 4,422 Apparel and other textile products ......... 21 66 35 29 2,342 6,395 3,402 2,730 Paper and allied products .................. 5 27 15 19 317 2,876 1,445 2,120 Printing and publishing .................... 6 16 16 14 490 1,788 1,686 1,386 Chemicals and allied products .............. 7 14 5 9 508 1,201 384 779 Petroleum and coal products ................ ( 2 ) 14 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,437 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products . 8 81 37 33 599 10,498 4,036 3,250 Leather and leather products ............... ( 2 ) 10 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 1,255 ( 2 ) 269 Nonmanufacturing ............................... 509 1,332 744 694 50,305 136,789 76,476 75,130 Mining ....................................... 8 26 8 7 726 2,379 496 1,761 Construction ................................. 156 433 139 134 12,045 37,175 10,236 9,991 Transportation and public utilities .......... 31 152 91 52 2,957 17,514 8,761 4,720 Wholesale and retail trade ................... 114 247 190 164 10,081 26,324 20,828 16,690 Wholesale trade ........................... 26 48 28 31 2,054 4,796 2,622 2,841 Retail trade .............................. 88 199 162 133 8,027 21,528 18,206 13,849 Finance, insurance, and real estate .......... 25 26 21 24 1,510 2,177 2,464 1,812 Services ..................................... 175 448 295 313 22,986 51,220 33,691 40,156 Not identified ................................... 8 65 32 15 667 8,501 5,065 1,763 Government ......................................... 23 72 53 27 2,081 5,868 5,454 2,723 Federal .......................................... 4 6 27 7 242 583 3,182 665 State ............................................ 12 20 11 8 1,120 1,705 1,030 737 Local ............................................ 7 46 15 12 719 3,580 1,242 1,321 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 February December January February February December January February 2000 2000 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2000 2001(p) 2001(p) United States(1) ..... 1,045 2,677 1,522 1,501 103,898 326,743 200,343 172,908 Northeast .................... 100 397 227 176 8,920 40,688 21,994 18,161 New England .............. 14 95 37 43 1,665 10,739 2,857 5,630 Middle Atlantic .......... 86 302 190 133 7,255 29,949 19,137 12,531 South ........................ 135 487 323 271 12,418 56,297 36,007 36,098 South Atlantic ........... 58 246 154 131 5,754 29,409 15,870 17,355 East South Central ....... 28 119 68 56 2,433 14,617 7,121 7,280 West South Central ....... 49 122 101 84 4,231 12,271 13,016 11,463 Midwest ...................... 127 1,079 468 320 12,971 157,486 87,323 45,891 East North Central ....... 101 837 376 260 10,046 125,559 72,119 39,121 West North Central ....... 26 242 92 60 2,925 31,927 15,204 6,770 West ......................... 683 714 504 734 69,589 72,272 55,019 72,758 Mountain ................. 34 94 72 51 3,237 9,093 6,527 5,124 Pacific .................. 649 620 432 683 66,352 63,179 48,492 67,634 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 February December January February February December January February 2000 2000 2001(p) 2001(p) 2000 2000 2001(p) 2001(p) Total(1) ................. 1,045 2,677 1,522 1,501 103,898 326,743 200,343 172,908 Alabama ..................... 8 17 15 15 777 2,086 1,370 2,072 Alaska ...................... ( 2 ) 7 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 619 340 ( 2 ) Arizona ..................... 4 6 7 7 381 408 569 553 Arkansas .................... ( 2 ) 14 13 5 ( 2 ) 1,765 1,515 403 California .................. 627 534 365 635 60,111 52,576 41,261 62,791 Colorado .................... 3 12 11 4 286 983 1,084 321 Connecticut ................. - 7 6 5 - 677 424 758 Delaware .................... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia ........ - 3 7 ( 2 ) - 265 496 ( 2 ) Florida ..................... 15 66 49 47 1,038 4,956 3,147 3,954 Georgia ..................... 10 29 15 17 1,390 2,965 1,200 1,673 Hawaii ...................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 429 ( 2 ) Idaho ....................... 11 17 10 12 1,192 2,201 677 1,681 Illinois .................... 22 157 68 51 2,330 29,157 12,163 8,469 Indiana ..................... 15 95 37 26 1,467 17,391 4,425 3,749 Iowa ........................ 6 67 21 12 555 9,619 2,505 1,096 Kansas ...................... 4 19 10 8 301 1,949 3,766 904 Kentucky .................... 10 68 9 23 836 9,418 1,101 3,587 Louisiana ................... 5 20 23 11 242 1,345 4,410 782 Maine ....................... ( 2 ) 10 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,168 434 ( 2 ) Maryland .................... 4 9 10 ( 2 ) 254 709 1,085 ( 2 ) Massachusetts ............... 7 41 21 18 580 3,887 1,723 1,540 Michigan .................... 20 301 69 75 1,805 43,436 19,387 14,090 Minnesota ................... ( 2 ) 55 20 13 ( 2 ) 7,140 3,669 2,362 Mississippi ................. 6 11 18 6 468 1,110 2,036 457 Missouri .................... 14 93 37 23 1,888 12,435 4,567 2,054 Montana ..................... ( 2 ) 4 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 585 484 ( 2 ) Nebraska .................... - 4 3 ( 2 ) - 367 284 ( 2 ) Nevada ...................... 10 44 23 23 923 4,091 2,195 2,016 New Hampshire ............... - 10 ( 2 ) 4 - 1,445 ( 2 ) 543 New Jersey .................. 25 51 35 24 2,489 5,250 4,544 2,349 New Mexico .................. ( 2 ) 5 4 3 ( 2 ) 292 397 229 New York .................... 9 41 21 23 671 3,980 2,198 1,921 North Carolina .............. 10 25 21 22 882 2,893 3,982 2,357 North Dakota ................ - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Ohio ........................ 18 142 132 53 1,604 18,623 28,700 5,063 Oklahoma .................... 6 13 8 10 652 937 833 3,204 Oregon ...................... 12 42 44 23 1,029 5,545 5,354 2,543 Pennsylvania ................ 52 210 134 86 4,095 20,719 12,395 8,261 Rhode Island ................ 5 19 ( 2 ) 11 928 2,522 ( 2 ) 2,185 South Carolina .............. 8 51 28 20 1,203 8,404 3,327 3,322 South Dakota ................ - 3 - 3 - 362 - 235 Tennessee ................... 4 23 26 12 352 2,003 2,614 1,164 Texas ....................... 37 75 57 58 3,216 8,224 6,258 7,074 Utah ........................ 4 6 11 ( 2 ) 320 533 1,121 ( 2 ) Vermont ..................... - 8 ( 2 ) 3 - 1,040 ( 2 ) 294 Virginia .................... 7 59 20 18 504 8,561 2,210 2,949 Washington .................. 7 36 12 22 4,994 4,379 1,108 2,041 West Virginia ............... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 483 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin ................... 26 142 70 55 2,840 16,952 7,444 7,750 Wyoming ..................... - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ................. 13 18 17 8 1,105 2,413 1,475 490 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.