Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 02-238 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, April 24, 2002 MASS LAYOFFS IN MARCH 2002 Employers initiated 1,460 mass layoff actions in March 2002, 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 161,336. (See table 1.) Compared with March 2001, the number of layoff events declined by 4 percent and the number of claimants fell by 6 percent. This was the third time in the last four months that layoff events and related initial claims declined over the year. However, from January through March 2002, the total number of events, at 4,989, and initial claims, at 564,141, were higher than in January-March 2001 (4,550 and 544,717, respectively). This release uses the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) for the assignment and tabulation of layoff data by industry. Prior to 2002, the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system was used. Additional information on this change is provided in the box on page 3 of this release. Industry Distribution Manufacturing industries accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of all initial claims filed in March. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 43 percent of events and 51 percent of initial claims. The number of initial claimants was highest in food production (9,070, mostly in frozen fruits and vegetables), followed by transportation equipment (8,531, primarily in aircraft manufacturing), computer and electronic products (6,902, mainly in semiconductors and related devices), and machinery manufacturing (6,588). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent of events and initial claims filed during the month, with layoffs almost entirely in administrative and support services, particularly temporary help services. Seven percent of all layoff events and initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, mostly in general merchan- dise stores. Ten percent of the events and 7 percent of the initial claims were from construction, primarily among specialty trade contrac- tors. The transportation and warehousing sector (mostly in transit and ground passenger transportation) accounted for an additional 5 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims, as did accommodation and food services (largely in food services and drinking places). Compared with March 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-8,782), primary metals (-3,540), and computer and electronic products (-3,378). The largest over- the-year increases in initial claims were reported in administrative and support services (+7,348) and transit and ground passenger transportation (+4,093). - 2 - Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in March due to mass layoffs was in the West, 61,111. (See table 3.) Temporary help services and payroll services accounted for 22 percent of all initial claims in the West during the month. The Midwest followed with 42,491 initial claims (mainly in school and employee bus transportation and in temporary help services) and the South with 37,291 (largely in temporary help services and in food service contractors). The Northeast region continued to have the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims, 20,443. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in each of the four regions, with the largest decrease occurring in the Midwest (-5,979). Eight of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decline in the East North Central division (-7,562). Only the West North Central had an increase (+1,583). California registered the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this March, 48,376, mostly in temporary help services and in payroll services. Pennsylvania reported 12,131, fol- lowed by Wisconsin (9,938) and Texas (9,695). These four states ac- counted for 51 percent of all layoff events and 50 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) Indiana reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-4,257), followed by Ohio (-3,371) and South Carolina (-3,120). The lar- gest over-the-year increase occurred in Wisconsin (+3,253). 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. 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. ______________________________ The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2002 will be issued on Thursday, May 16, 2002. - 3 - --------------------------------------------------------------- | Change in Industry Classification System | | | | Beginning with the January 2002 release, the Mass Layoff | |Statistics program switched to the 2002 version of the North | |American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as the basis | |for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry.| |NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the| |statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. | |Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by indus- | |try for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for | |earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series| |from April 1995 through December 2001 are available on both SIC| |and NAICS bases. | | | | NAICS uses a production-oriented approach to categorize eco-| |nomic units. Units with similar production processes are clas-| |sified in the same industry. NAICS focuses on how products and| |services are created, as opposed to the SIC focus on what is | |produced. This approach yields significantly different indus- | |try groupings than those produced by the SIC approach. | | | | Users interested in more information about NAICS can access | |the BLS Web page at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm or the | |Bureau of the Census Web page at | |http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. | --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2000 to March 2002 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Realization rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2000 January ................... 1,934 223,322 February .................. 1,045 103,898 March ..................... 986 106,748 First Quarter ............. 3,965 433,968 1,330 221,368 33.5 51.0 April ..................... 924 101,359 May ....................... 984 92,193 June ...................... 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter ............ 3,505 385,577 1,271 231,471 36.3 60.0 July ...................... 1,333 164,978 August .................... 751 97,215 September ................. 936 106,842 Third Quarter ............. 3,020 369,035 1,014 189,250 33.6 51.3 October ................... 874 103,755 November .................. 1,697 216,514 December .................. 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter ............ 5,248 647,012 2,005 376,588 38.2 58.2 2001 January ................... 1,522 200,343 February .................. 1,501 172,908 March ..................... 1,527 171,466 First Quarter ............. 4,550 544,717 1,765 339,766 38.8 62.4 April ..................... 1,450 176,265 May ....................... 1,434 159,365 June ...................... 2,107 253,826 Second Quarter ............ 4,991 589,456 2,072 399,075 41.5 67.7 July ...................... 2,117 273,807 August .................... 1,490 166,148 September ................. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter ............. 4,934 600,357 1,816 364,548 36.8 60.7 October ................... 1,831 215,483 November .................. 2,721 295,956 December .................. 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............ 6,992 780,332 (2)(p)2,538 (2)(p)358,067 (p)36.3 (p)45.9 2002 January ................... 2,146 263,821 February(p) ............... 1,383 138,984 March(p) ................. 1,460 161,336 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 March January February March March January February March 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) Total(1) ..................................... 1,527 2,146 1,383 1,460 171,466 263,821 138,984 161,336 Total, private .................................... 1,493 2,093 1,351 1,414 168,095 258,219 135,518 157,100 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 122 65 97 79 9,987 5,950 5,493 5,775 Mining ........................................ ( 2 ) 20 15 22 ( 2 ) 2,110 1,802 1,882 Utilities ..................................... 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 7 388 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 727 Construction .................................. 139 199 140 150 10,678 15,869 10,277 11,826 Manufacturing.................................. 659 892 482 500 86,874 128,825 58,842 59,644 Food ...................................... 76 61 63 74 7,209 6,949 6,991 9,070 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 9 7 7 8 1,141 488 409 802 Textile mills ............................. 30 37 21 14 4,425 9,448 2,380 1,468 Textile product mills ..................... ( 2 ) 19 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3,109 873 ( 2 ) Apparel ................................... 32 66 26 17 4,122 11,560 2,190 1,536 Leather and allied products ............... 7 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 962 332 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 37 63 37 19 3,338 6,990 3,854 2,319 Paper ..................................... 12 22 16 18 1,379 1,676 1,636 2,688 Printing and related support activities ... 13 17 12 26 1,154 2,173 1,321 2,105 Petroleum and coal products ............... ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 388 ( 2 ) - Chemicals ................................. 10 14 12 14 959 1,026 780 1,659 Plastics and rubber products .............. 41 39 15 20 3,775 3,780 1,472 1,613 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 15 31 10 21 985 2,597 976 1,537 Primary metals ............................ 45 44 24 21 6,540 6,247 2,829 3,000 Fabricated metal products ................. 47 75 36 34 4,814 7,377 3,471 3,319 Machinery ................................. 56 69 28 43 8,558 8,837 6,027 6,588 Computer and electronic products .......... 74 103 58 65 10,280 14,073 6,025 6,902 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 26 36 16 26 5,158 3,835 2,162 3,602 Transportation equipment .................. 79 112 56 46 17,313 30,900 11,424 8,531 Furniture and related products ............ 24 43 20 19 2,477 5,429 2,593 1,772 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 19 23 14 11 1,511 1,611 1,172 837 Wholesale trade ............................... 17 38 24 25 1,489 3,962 1,569 2,694 Retail trade .................................. 97 185 105 108 10,987 21,717 10,605 12,067 Transportation and warehousing ................ 46 87 45 76 5,001 8,067 5,179 10,441 Information ................................... 57 71 69 36 4,999 7,809 9,902 4,456 Finance and insurance ......................... 24 49 38 32 2,029 5,005 2,539 2,697 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 7 8 8 9 601 676 469 629 Professional and technical services ........... 45 59 45 50 8,484 13,474 2,956 8,260 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) 5 8 3 ( 2 ) 804 699 182 Administrative and waste services ............. 155 237 185 185 14,225 26,181 17,306 21,704 Educational services........................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 232 Health care and social assistance ............. 13 24 18 22 858 1,803 1,115 1,671 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 7 27 ( 2 ) 13 1,063 2,773 ( 2 ) 1,013 Accommodation and food services ............... 78 87 49 76 8,188 8,295 4,091 9,721 Other services, except public administration... ( 2 ) 18 9 7 ( 2 ) 1,756 481 609 Unclassified ................................. 12 16 6 11 1,451 2,468 1,563 870 Government ........................................ 34 53 32 46 3,371 5,602 3,466 4,236 Federal ....................................... 7 13 8 7 1,136 1,751 1,002 777 State ......................................... 17 16 7 16 1,508 1,741 449 1,652 Local ......................................... 10 24 17 23 727 2,110 2,015 1,807 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: Beginning with data for January 2002, the 2002 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data by industry. NAICS is the product of a cooperative effort on the part of the statistical agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Due to differences in NAICS and SIC structures, data by industry for 2002 will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. However, the monthly historical industry series from April 1995 to December 2001 are available on both SIC and NAICS bases. 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 March January February March March January February March 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) United States(1) .... 1,527 2,146 1,383 1,460 171,466 263,821 138,984 161,336 Northeast ................... 194 274 175 210 20,783 29,934 20,241 20,443 New England ............. 33 58 38 33 3,200 5,852 4,107 2,995 Middle Atlantic ......... 161 216 137 177 17,583 24,082 16,134 17,448 South ....................... 317 581 350 347 39,088 79,608 37,256 37,291 South Atlantic .......... 148 229 176 157 16,715 33,142 16,633 16,644 East South Central ...... 67 227 67 73 8,295 32,722 7,024 7,076 West South Central ...... 102 125 107 117 14,078 13,744 13,599 13,571 Midwest ..................... 368 559 284 327 48,470 71,176 34,912 42,491 East North Central ...... 292 437 217 253 39,620 53,645 27,662 32,058 West North Central ...... 76 122 67 74 8,850 17,531 7,250 10,433 West ........................ 648 732 574 576 63,125 83,103 46,575 61,111 Mountain ................ 64 83 60 52 6,422 9,315 5,782 4,841 Pacific ................. 584 649 514 524 56,703 73,788 40,793 56,270 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 March January February March March January February March 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) 2001 2002 2002(p) 2002(p) Total(1) ............... 1,527 2,146 1,383 1,460 171,466 263,821 138,984 161,336 Alabama ................... 10 163 21 10 1,075 27,032 2,129 1,295 Alaska .................... - 7 ( 2 ) - - 467 ( 2 ) - Arizona ................... 20 12 11 12 2,136 1,252 939 879 Arkansas .................. 3 5 4 5 316 445 299 488 California ................ 522 563 460 466 48,576 62,844 34,494 48,376 Colorado .................. 5 13 10 10 460 1,487 976 845 Connecticut ............... 3 5 ( 2 ) 4 172 428 ( 2 ) 377 Delaware .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 790 District of Columbia ...... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 499 ( 2 ) - Florida ................... 59 78 86 64 5,160 9,173 5,903 5,689 Georgia ................... 8 46 20 20 646 10,630 2,396 2,202 Hawaii .................... 3 14 10 6 253 1,302 1,090 658 Idaho ..................... 13 13 13 13 1,396 1,054 1,579 1,628 Illinois .................. 54 89 58 53 7,940 12,951 10,045 7,645 Indiana ................... 30 36 25 21 6,469 5,101 2,319 2,212 Iowa ...................... 16 32 13 12 2,561 3,982 1,869 1,510 Kansas .................... 7 16 4 7 600 1,331 431 1,357 Kentucky .................. 34 30 27 31 5,303 2,565 2,963 3,354 Louisiana ................. 13 20 13 19 1,176 2,249 2,409 1,501 Maine ..................... 3 5 ( 2 ) 4 392 616 ( 2 ) 226 Maryland .................. 4 11 6 ( 2 ) 307 998 606 ( 2 ) Massachusetts ............. 14 30 25 15 1,430 2,867 2,406 1,652 Michigan .................. 72 82 41 56 9,375 8,915 4,235 6,483 Minnesota ................. 19 29 24 16 2,325 2,913 2,662 2,238 Mississippi ............... 8 7 5 13 773 584 757 890 Missouri .................. 31 39 20 29 3,086 8,709 1,510 4,109 Montana ................... 3 ( 2 ) 3 3 215 ( 2 ) 225 264 Nebraska .................. - 4 5 9 - 466 564 1,133 Nevada .................... 17 31 14 6 1,647 4,133 1,122 461 New Hampshire ............. 4 7 ( 2 ) 3 339 1,001 ( 2 ) 247 New Jersey ................ 21 49 39 35 2,086 7,066 6,074 3,749 New Mexico ................ ( 2 ) 4 3 3 ( 2 ) 535 279 176 New York .................. 18 27 26 19 1,756 2,481 2,375 1,568 North Carolina ............ 19 25 18 23 2,104 3,386 2,628 2,686 North Dakota .............. - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - Ohio ...................... 70 158 50 52 9,151 18,614 4,966 5,780 Oklahoma .................. 10 8 15 10 1,108 778 1,810 1,887 Oregon .................... 36 39 24 27 5,454 5,278 2,576 3,507 Pennsylvania .............. 122 140 72 123 13,741 14,535 7,685 12,131 Rhode Island .............. 5 7 6 4 536 694 942 323 South Carolina ............ 32 33 25 21 5,870 3,753 2,808 2,750 South Dakota .............. 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 278 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ................. 15 27 14 19 1,144 2,541 1,175 1,537 Texas ..................... 76 92 75 83 11,478 10,272 9,081 9,695 Utah ...................... 4 7 6 5 409 551 662 588 Vermont ................... 4 4 ( 2 ) 3 331 246 ( 2 ) 170 Virginia .................. 20 27 17 16 2,068 3,303 2,061 1,794 Washington ................ 23 26 18 25 2,420 3,897 2,495 3,729 West Virginia ............. 3 4 3 7 275 258 166 571 Wisconsin ................. 66 72 43 71 6,685 8,064 6,097 9,938 Wyoming ................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - Puerto Rico ............... 7 8 7 9 806 1,020 827 1,082 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.