Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 02-402 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, July 24, 2002 MASS LAYOFFS IN JUNE 2002 Employers initiated 1,557 mass layoff actions in June 2002, as mea- sured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to 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 159,352. (See table 1.) A year earlier, in June 2001, there were 2,107 mass layoff events involving 253,826 workers. (June 2002 contained 4 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with 5 weeks in each June of the prior 2 years.) From January through June 2002, the total number of initial claims, at 1,069,361, was lower than January-June 2001 (1,134,173), while the number of events, at 9,779, was somewhat higher (9,541). 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 Manufacturing industries accounted for 22 percent of all mass layoff events and 26 percent of all initial claims filed in June. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 35 percent of events and 46 percent of initial claims. The number of initial claimants was highest in food pro- duction (5,851, mostly in fruit and vegetable processing), followed by trans- portation equipment (5,594), electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing (5,171), and machinery manufacturing (4,543). (See table 2.) Nine percent of all layoff events and 11 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in transportation and warehousing, mostly in school and employee bus transportation. Eleven percent of the events and 9 percent of initial claims were from administrative and waste services, mainly in temporary help services. The healthcare and social assistance sector accounted for an additional 7 percent of events and initial claims, primarily in child daycare services. Government establishments accounted for 14 percent of events and 11 percent of initial claims filed during the month, largely in educational services, particularly elementary and secondary schools. Compared with June 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-28,790), computer and electronic products (-11,359), textile mills (-9,408), and plastics and rubber products (-8,778). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in professional and technical services (+4,589) and ed- ucational services (+2,855). Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in June due to mass layoffs was in the West, 55,147. (See table 3.) Professional and technical services, administrative and support services, and educational services accounted for 39 percent of all initial claims in the West during the month. Following was the South with 37,559 initial claims (mainly in educational services), the Midwest with 36,493 (largely in machinery manu- facturing), and the Northeast with 30,153 (mostly in transit and ground passenger transportation). The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in all four regions. The Midwest region had the largest decrease in initial claims (-50,908), followed by the South (-27,931). Each of the nine geo- graphic divisions reported over-the-year declines in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decreases in the East North Central (-38,097), South Atlantic (-17,177), and West North Central (-12,811) divisions. California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this June, 43,520, mostly in professional and technical services and administrative and support services. Pennsylvania reported 11,198 initial claims in mass layoffs, followed by New Jersey (9,137), Texas (8,550), and Florida (7,222). These five states accounted for 55 percent of all layoff events and 50 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) - 2 - Michigan reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-21,712), followed by South Carolina (-10,377). The largest over-the-year increase occurred in Connecticut (+1,235). ______________________________ The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2002 will be issued on Wednesday, August 14, 2002. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Change in Industry Classification System | | | | Beginning with the release of January 2002 mass layoff data on | | February 28, 2002, the Mass Layoff Statistics program implemented | | 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 the previously used Standard | | Industrial Classification (SIC) structures, data by industry for 2002 | | will not be comparable to the SIC-based data for earlier years. How- | | ever, 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 economic | | units. Units with similar production processes are classified 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 industry 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 Cen- | | sus 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, April 2000 to June 2002 Extended mass layoffs Total mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates(1) Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2000 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 2,005 376,611 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 1,765 340,151 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 2,072 401,294 41.5 68.1 July ....................... 2,117 273,807 August ..................... 1,490 166,148 September .................. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter .............. 4,934 600,357 1,815 371,124 36.8 61.8 October .................... 1,831 215,483 November ................... 2,721 295,956 December ................... 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,992 780,332 2,700 497,136 38.6 63.7 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,821 February ................... 1,383 138,984 March ...................... 1,460 161,336 First Quarter .............. 4,989 564,141 (2)(p)1,669 (2)(p)236,891 (p)33.5 (p)42.0 April ...................... 1,507 165,861 May(p) ..................... 1,726 180,007 June(3)(p) ................. 1,557 159,352 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. 3 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Arizona. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry June April May June June April May June 2001r 2002 2002p 2002p 2001r 2002 2002p 2002p Total(1) ................................... 2,107 1,507 1,726 1,557 253,826 165,861 180,007 159,352 Total, private .................................. 1,902 1,458 1,635 1,340 235,463 161,342 170,712 141,095 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 118 79 62 90 9,441 8,079 3,802 6,038 Mining ........................................ 5 15 15 8 1,569 1,409 1,553 1,210 Utilities ..................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 597 303 Construction .................................. 89 105 165 84 6,888 9,135 13,521 5,809 Manufacturing ................................. 737 461 488 335 116,005 50,897 52,720 42,007 Food ...................................... 66 80 79 49 6,061 9,291 9,335 5,851 Beverage and tobacco products ............. ( 2 ) 8 3 6 ( 2 ) 899 224 452 Textile mills ............................. 33 9 19 10 10,526 1,120 2,072 1,118 Textile product mills ..................... 9 ( 2 ) 8 5 1,151 ( 2 ) 617 663 Apparel ................................... 38 30 33 15 3,208 3,742 2,578 1,363 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) 5 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 437 - ( 2 ) Wood products ............................. 16 19 23 18 1,448 1,637 2,348 2,359 Paper ..................................... 19 15 10 8 2,065 1,330 1,141 1,078 Printing and related support activities ... 10 10 21 13 875 874 1,892 1,057 Petroleum and coal products ............... - ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 184 ( 2 ) Chemicals ................................. 13 10 11 6 1,641 664 815 606 Plastics and rubber products .............. 50 11 9 10 9,676 857 798 898 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 16 9 10 8 1,788 717 1,190 754 Primary metals ............................ 37 22 27 18 4,920 1,979 2,787 2,681 Fabricated metal products ................. 46 22 25 20 4,212 1,781 2,252 2,103 Machinery ................................. 57 35 35 27 8,342 5,045 3,902 4,543 Computer and electronic products .......... 96 74 69 36 14,318 7,336 5,813 2,959 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 31 19 28 24 5,580 2,427 4,490 5,171 Transportation equipment .................. 145 53 53 34 34,384 7,428 6,869 5,594 Furniture and related products ............ 32 18 12 17 4,111 1,919 2,513 2,005 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 18 7 10 7 1,309 735 900 527 Wholesale trade ............................... 45 27 35 22 4,419 2,212 2,937 2,076 Retail trade .................................. 106 122 131 79 10,425 13,715 16,192 6,937 Transportation and warehousing ................ 126 104 52 141 19,525 15,442 5,680 18,068 Information ................................... 70 86 86 42 7,807 12,127 13,036 4,210 Finance and insurance ......................... 30 34 44 34 2,781 3,142 3,327 2,379 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ ( 2 ) 4 7 7 ( 2 ) 684 452 602 Professional and technical services ........... 48 62 80 36 4,313 7,767 6,199 8,902 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 395 621 Administrative and waste services ............. 181 177 222 164 16,840 18,110 26,191 14,175 Educational services .......................... 9 5 3 18 529 356 190 1,128 Health care and social assistance ............. 131 29 76 113 11,841 2,406 7,006 10,475 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 28 33 33 28 2,251 3,507 2,267 1,928 Accommodation and food services ............... 86 74 88 79 11,545 7,378 10,807 9,911 Other services, except public administration .. 53 26 34 49 4,645 3,279 3,228 3,976 Unclassified .................................. 29 10 4 5 3,249 1,106 612 340 Government ...................................... 205 49 91 217 18,363 4,519 9,295 18,257 Federal ....................................... 17 7 21 10 2,870 543 2,739 1,093 State ......................................... 28 15 14 16 2,419 1,717 1,510 1,665 Local ......................................... 160 27 56 191 13,074 2,259 5,046 15,499 1 For June 2002, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia, except Arizona. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. r = revised. 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 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Census region and division June April May June June April May June 2001 2002 2002p 2002p 2001 2002 2002p 2002p United States(1) ..... (r)2,107 1,507 1,726 1,557 (r)253,826 165,861 180,007 159,352 Northeast .................. 299 306 266 258 38,111 38,576 24,998 30,153 New England .............. 67 62 41 57 7,145 7,263 3,765 6,746 Middle Atlantic .......... 232 244 225 201 30,966 31,313 21,233 23,407 South ...................... (r)505 331 467 380 (r)65,490 35,740 48,506 37,559 South Atlantic ........... 249 158 211 197 34,834 16,451 18,633 17,657 East South Central ....... 110 58 88 67 14,057 6,629 9,448 7,935 West South Central ....... (r)146 115 168 116 (r)16,599 12,660 20,425 11,967 Midwest .................... 569 314 377 311 87,401 37,119 44,788 36,493 East North Central ....... 452 260 266 238 65,836 31,127 31,152 27,739 West North Central ....... 117 54 111 73 21,565 5,992 13,636 8,754 West ....................... 734 556 616 608 62,824 54,426 61,715 55,147 Mountain ................. 77 61 48 36 8,012 7,382 4,604 4,497 Pacific .................. 657 495 568 572 54,812 47,044 57,111 50,650 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. r = revised. 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 June April May June June April May June 2001 2002 2002p 2002p 2001 2002 2002p 2002p Total(1) ................ (r)2,107 1,507 1,726 1,557 (r)253,826 165,861 180,007 159,352 Alabama .................... 26 25 38 24 2,649 2,529 4,352 3,415 Alaska ..................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 361 ( 2 ) 401 Arizona .................... 17 24 11 ( 1 ) 2,215 3,649 1,256 ( 1 ) Arkansas ................... 5 7 8 3 489 509 629 210 California ................. 590 436 517 507 46,675 39,943 50,063 43,520 Colorado ................... 14 11 9 3 1,274 1,121 858 277 Connecticut ................ 8 4 9 14 783 232 665 2,018 Delaware ................... ( 2 ) 3 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 508 - ( 2 ) District of Columbia ....... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 338 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Florida .................... 106 69 102 104 8,319 6,303 7,045 7,222 Georgia .................... 44 16 30 20 4,361 1,686 3,083 2,966 Hawaii ..................... ( 2 ) 7 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 512 462 ( 2 ) Idaho ...................... 11 6 9 7 1,084 625 1,014 1,571 Illinois ................... 85 61 67 58 13,605 9,583 10,079 6,074 Indiana .................... 42 24 26 27 8,600 2,998 3,267 4,628 Iowa ....................... 14 12 19 13 1,789 1,530 2,203 1,615 Kansas ..................... 8 9 14 4 1,972 797 1,620 439 Kentucky ................... 41 20 21 20 7,560 2,315 2,258 2,252 Louisiana .................. (r)36 19 22 28 (r)4,212 1,982 2,166 2,757 Maine ...................... ( 2 ) 7 5 4 ( 2 ) 822 353 225 Maryland ................... 9 3 6 10 649 218 534 1,095 Massachusetts .............. 36 24 21 23 3,613 2,891 2,065 1,851 Michigan ................... 181 30 44 50 26,714 2,714 4,408 5,002 Minnesota .................. 38 14 23 19 6,327 1,936 2,768 2,900 Mississippi ................ 15 5 9 6 1,276 287 821 405 Missouri ................... 46 11 43 26 9,019 974 5,656 2,665 Montana .................... 5 3 3 ( 2 ) 355 224 212 ( 2 ) Nebraska ................... 6 6 ( 2 ) 5 1,098 499 ( 2 ) 429 Nevada ..................... 17 9 8 15 2,067 1,169 714 1,933 New Hampshire .............. 7 10 ( 2 ) 5 698 1,099 ( 2 ) 1,229 New Jersey ................. 52 35 42 57 9,745 4,439 4,384 9,137 New Mexico ................. 7 ( 2 ) 5 3 564 ( 2 ) 355 168 New York ................... 32 126 80 40 3,045 17,889 6,785 3,072 North Carolina ............. 23 25 21 18 2,505 2,832 1,637 1,771 North Dakota ............... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 653 644 Ohio ....................... 77 80 70 46 9,401 9,034 7,231 5,247 Oklahoma ................... 11 5 7 7 1,355 324 760 450 Oregon ..................... 32 24 25 30 4,572 3,118 3,291 3,446 Pennsylvania ............... 148 83 103 104 18,176 8,985 10,064 11,198 Rhode Island ............... 11 8 ( 2 ) 8 1,700 1,431 ( 2 ) 1,246 South Carolina ............. 39 21 24 19 12,225 2,450 2,492 1,848 South Dakota ............... ( 2 ) - 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 562 ( 2 ) Tennessee .................. 28 8 20 17 2,572 1,498 2,017 1,863 Texas ...................... 94 84 131 78 10,543 9,845 16,870 8,550 Utah ....................... 6 6 3 6 453 460 195 422 Vermont .................... ( 2 ) 9 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 788 ( 2 ) 177 Virginia ................... 21 17 23 20 4,233 1,959 3,355 2,193 Washington ................. 29 24 18 29 2,944 3,110 3,154 3,163 West Virginia .............. - 3 4 ( 2 ) - 346 347 ( 2 ) Wisconsin .................. 67 65 59 57 7,516 6,798 6,167 6,788 Wyoming .................... - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ................ 17 12 12 9 1,816 1,591 1,390 998 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. r = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.