Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 00-133 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, May 10, 2000 MASS LAYOFFS IN MARCH 2000 In March 2000, there were 986 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 106,748. Although the number of layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance were the highest for March since March 1996, this was due in part to a calendar effect. This year, 5 weeks of mass layoff activities were reported in March versus 4 weeks in 1996-1999. The total number of initial claimants during January-March of this year, at 433,968, was the highest since data collection for this program began in April 1995. (See table 1.) 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 March 2000, manufacturing industries accounted for 33 percent of all mass layoff events and 35 percent of all initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the highest numbers of initial claimants were food and kindred products (8,713), primarily in canned and frozen fruits and vege- tables; and transportation equipment (5,293), mostly in motor vehicles and car bodies. (See table 2.) Services accounted for 19 percent of all layoffs and 23 percent of initial claimants during the month, mainly in business services (especially help supply services) and motion pictures. Layoffs in these two industries, however, are more likely than those in most other industries to last less than 30 days. Agriculture accounted for 13 percent of all mass layoff events and 11 percent of initial claimants during the month, largely in agricultural services (farm labor contractors). Retail trade accounted for 11 percent of all layoff events and 11 percent of initial claimants during the month, mostly in eating and drinking places and general merchandise stores (department stores). Compared with March 1999, the largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in motion pictures (+3,720), agricultural services (+3,320), and food and kindred products (+3,048). The largest decreases in initial claims occurred in business services (-2,708) and general merchandise stores (-2,502). - 2 - Geographic Distribution In March, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was higher in the West (51,609) than in any other region. (See table 3.) Layoffs in business services, agricultural services, and motion pictures accounted for 47 percent of the claims in the West. The fewest number of mass-layoff initial claims continued to be reported in the Northeast region (10,686). Over-the-year increases in mass layoff-related initial claims were reported in the Midwest (+8,217), West (+6,325), and South (+1,111), while the Northeast experienced a moderate decrease (-795). Among the geographic divisions, higher levels of initial claims over the year were reported mainly in the West North Central and Pacific. Six of the nine divisions reported over-the-year increases. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for March, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (43,357), primarily in business services, motion pictures, and agricultural services, followed by Pennsylvania (5,546), Illinois (5,110), and Wisconsin (5,085). California accounted for 42 percent of all layoff events and 41 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From March 1999 to March 2000, California reported the largest over-the- year increase in initial claims (+3,626), mostly in motion pictures. New York had the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-1,891), mostly in general merchandise stores. 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 1998 to March 2000 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization rate(1) Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants 1998 January .................... 2,360 255,203 February ................... 970 81,455 March ...................... 762 78,210 First Quarter .............. 4,092 414,868 1,320 247,315 32.3 April ...................... 1,253 132,476 May ........................ 1,180 107,952 June ....................... 1,208 183,590 Second Quarter ............. 3,641 424,018 1,563 402,276 42.9 July ....................... 2,220 286,055 August ..................... 617 53,665 September .................. 637 79,629 Third Quarter .............. 3,474 419,349 1,234 256,803 35.5 October .................... 1,553 160,830 November ................... 1,368 144,343 December ................... 1,776 207,661 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,697 512,834 1,736 326,122 37.0 1999 January .................... 2,421 226,995 February ................... 1,067 89,800 March ...................... 880 91,890 First Quarter .............. 4,368 408,685 1,509 252,060 34.5 April ...................... 1,270 136,885 May ........................ 1,032 102,738 June ....................... 1,140 130,951 Second Quarter ............. 3,442 370,574 1,445 242,197 42.0 July ....................... 1,741 221,334 August ..................... 698 75,691 September .................. 717 75,288 Third Quarter .............. 3,156 372,313 1,099 189,366 34.8 October .................... 1,098 118,938 November ................... 1,336 139,508 December ................... 1,509 162,381 Fourth Quarter ............. 3,943 420,827 (p)1,571 (p)212,196 (p)39.8 2000 January .................... 1,934 223,322 February(p)................. 1,045 103,898 March(p).................... 986 106,748 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. 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 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) Total(1) ....................................... 880 1,934 1,045 986 91,890 223,322 103,898 106,748 Total, private ...................................... 837 1,878 1,022 958 88,430 218,232 101,817 104,069 Agriculture ....................................... 99 72 245 131 8,288 5,401 20,938 11,530 Nonagriculture .................................... 725 1,769 769 812 79,272 207,602 80,212 90,412 Manufacturing ................................... 296 737 260 327 30,608 97,271 29,907 37,624 Durable goods ................................. 150 420 125 163 17,174 63,521 16,945 19,238 Lumber and wood products .................... 23 56 18 33 1,872 9,228 2,198 3,252 Furniture and fixtures ...................... 6 37 10 13 484 4,536 856 1,060 Stone, clay, and glass products ............. 11 39 7 10 903 3,378 382 716 Primary metal industries .................... 16 23 8 5 1,537 2,870 663 708 Fabricated metal products ................... 15 54 21 21 1,462 4,993 1,892 2,453 Industrial machinery and equipment .......... 28 45 17 26 3,863 8,281 1,724 3,089 Electronic and other electrical equipment ... 23 53 16 17 2,659 7,804 1,366 1,478 Transportation equipment .................... 17 75 23 24 3,173 18,923 7,438 5,293 Instruments and related products ............ 6 17 5 7 621 1,272 426 426 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ...... 5 21 - 7 600 2,236 - 763 Nondurable goods .............................. 146 317 135 164 13,434 33,750 12,962 18,386 Food and kindred products ................... 61 99 73 73 5,665 10,287 6,490 8,713 Tobacco products ............................ 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 792 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,168 Textile mill products ....................... 19 46 9 11 2,013 7,157 1,502 1,498 Apparel and other textile products .......... 31 82 21 33 2,668 7,946 2,342 2,561 Paper and allied products ................... 7 19 5 12 706 1,814 317 823 Printing and publishing ..................... 10 12 6 9 718 829 490 808 Chemicals and allied products ............... 4 7 7 6 259 752 508 1,461 Petroleum and coal products ................. - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products .. 8 33 8 11 451 3,066 599 1,076 Leather and leather products ................ 3 13 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 162 1,315 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Nonmanufacturing ................................ 429 1,032 509 485 48,664 110,331 50,305 52,788 Mining ........................................ 19 25 8 5 1,660 2,034 726 338 Construction .................................. 79 283 156 86 5,845 22,277 12,045 6,003 Transportation and public utilities ........... 34 129 31 44 3,397 11,228 2,957 5,414 Wholesale and retail trade .................... 118 204 114 138 14,867 24,006 10,081 14,755 Wholesale trade ............................ 18 41 26 29 1,292 5,775 2,054 3,346 Retail trade ............................... 100 163 88 109 13,575 18,231 8,027 11,409 Finance, insurance, and real estate ........... 15 26 25 21 929 2,193 1,510 2,032 Services ...................................... 164 365 175 191 21,966 48,593 22,986 24,246 Not identified .................................... 13 37 8 15 870 5,229 667 2,127 Government .......................................... 43 56 23 28 3,460 5,090 2,081 2,679 Federal ........................................... 4 16 4 4 524 1,561 242 606 State ............................................. 18 8 12 12 1,385 633 1,120 1,112 Local ............................................. 21 32 7 12 1,551 2,896 719 961 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 March January February March March January February March 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) United States(1) ...... 880 1,934 1,045 986 91,890 223,322 103,898 106,748 Northeast ..................... 103 397 100 99 11,481 39,178 8,920 10,686 New England ............... 18 78 14 20 1,766 8,146 1,665 2,834 Middle Atlantic ........... 85 319 86 79 9,715 31,032 7,255 7,852 South ......................... 171 369 135 179 16,865 43,938 12,418 17,976 South Atlantic ............ 72 185 58 91 7,146 25,391 5,754 9,419 East South Central ........ 27 70 28 27 2,855 8,156 2,433 2,459 West South Central ........ 72 114 49 61 6,864 10,391 4,231 6,098 Midwest ....................... 154 601 127 199 18,260 73,753 12,971 26,477 East North Central ........ 120 470 101 144 14,675 60,165 10,046 17,973 West North Central ........ 34 131 26 55 3,585 13,588 2,925 8,504 West .......................... 452 567 683 509 45,284 66,453 69,589 51,609 Mountain .................. 31 75 34 45 2,499 6,378 3,237 4,052 Pacific ................... 421 492 649 464 42,785 60,075 66,352 47,557 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the various 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 Februray March 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) Total(1) ................ 880 1,934 1,045 986 91,890 223,322 103,898 106,748 Alabama .................... 6 9 8 3 468 929 777 394 Alaska ..................... - 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 212 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Arizona .................... 7 11 4 18 487 743 381 1,901 Arkansas ................... 3 10 ( 2 ) 4 182 874 ( 2 ) 291 California ................. 389 426 627 418 39,731 54,083 60,111 43,357 Colorado ................... 4 8 3 5 324 755 286 503 Connecticut ................ ( 2 ) 10 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,031 - ( 2 ) Delaware ................... ( 2 ) 3 - - ( 2 ) 1,710 - - District of Columbia ....... - 3 - ( 2 ) - 253 - ( 2 ) Florida .................... 26 42 15 28 1,636 3,193 1,038 2,453 Georgia .................... 5 9 10 14 462 871 1,390 1,010 Hawaii ..................... 5 12 ( 2 ) 4 483 1,086 ( 2 ) 341 Idaho ...................... 8 10 11 9 714 904 1,192 524 Illinois ................... 30 70 22 37 5,705 14,210 2,330 5,110 Indiana .................... 10 31 15 9 1,100 2,750 1,467 984 Iowa ....................... 7 46 6 6 894 5,832 555 696 Kansas ..................... ( 2 ) 14 4 5 ( 2 ) 989 301 2,720 Kentucky ................... 9 23 10 13 1,637 2,725 836 1,280 Louisiana .................. 10 21 5 12 658 1,558 242 774 Maine ...................... 3 5 ( 2 ) 4 338 618 ( 2 ) 954 Maryland ................... ( 2 ) 17 4 3 ( 2 ) 1,156 254 199 Massachusetts .............. 9 36 7 6 832 3,789 580 903 Michigan ................... 22 128 20 24 2,021 13,643 1,805 3,690 Minnesota .................. 4 21 ( 2 ) 13 339 2,399 ( 2 ) 1,394 Mississippi ................ 3 10 6 6 178 1,659 468 431 Missouri ................... 19 37 14 28 1,975 3,281 1,888 3,459 Montana .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Nebraska ................... - 12 - ( 2 ) - 988 - ( 2 ) Nevada ..................... 8 35 10 11 735 3,263 923 974 New Hampshire .............. - 7 - ( 2 ) - 790 - ( 2 ) New Jersey ................. 24 73 25 22 2,422 7,270 2,489 1,955 New Mexico ................. ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 441 ( 2 ) - New York ................... 8 37 9 5 2,242 3,570 671 351 North Carolina ............. 14 14 10 13 1,751 2,818 882 1,889 North Dakota ............... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Ohio ....................... 23 118 18 28 2,156 16,153 1,604 3,104 Oklahoma ................... 4 7 6 5 409 536 652 801 Oregon ..................... 16 39 12 29 1,480 3,816 1,029 2,908 Pennsylvania ............... 53 209 52 52 5,051 20,192 4,095 5,546 Rhode Island ............... 3 18 5 4 194 1,728 928 341 South Carolina ............. 14 38 8 20 1,757 5,526 1,203 1,992 South Dakota ............... 3 - - - 322 - - - Tennessee .................. 9 28 4 5 572 2,843 352 354 Texas ...................... 55 76 37 40 5,615 7,423 3,216 4,232 Utah ....................... - 3 4 ( 2 ) - 205 320 ( 2 ) Vermont .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 280 Virginia ................... 9 55 7 11 939 9,568 504 1,617 Washington ................. 11 12 7 12 1,091 878 4,994 889 West Virginia .............. ( 2 ) 4 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 296 483 ( 2 ) Wisconsin .................. 35 123 26 46 3,693 13,409 2,840 5,085 Wyoming .................... ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - - Puerto Rico ................ 5 14 13 8 682 1,055 1,105 668 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.