Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 00-283 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, October 4, 2000 MASS LAYOFFS IN AUGUST 2000 In August 2000, there were 751 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 97,215. (See table 1.) From January through August 2000, the total number of layoff events (9,554) was lower than in January-August 1999, while the total number of initial claims (1,081,738) was about the same. 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 August 2000, manufacturing industries accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff events and 36 percent of all initial claims filed. The highest number of initial claimants was in transportation equipment (6,038), primarily in motor vehicles and car bodies and in motor vehicle parts and accessories. Other manufacturing industries with high numbers of initial claimants were industrial machinery and equipment (4,726), mostly in refrigeration and heating equipment; electronic and other electrical equipment (3,284); and food and kindred products (3,264). (See table 2.) Services accounted for 24 percent of all layoffs and 31 percent of initial claimants during the month, mainly in business services (especially help supply services) and engineering and management services. Layoffs in the help supply services industry are more likely than in most other industries to last less than 30 days. Thirteen percent of all layoff events and 9 percent of initial claimants during the month were from retail trade, mostly in department stores and in furniture stores. Transportation and public utilities accounted for 8 percent of all mass layoff events and of all initial claimants during the month, largely in communications and local and interurban passenger transit. An additional 7 percent of all events and 4 percent of all initial claimants were from construction, mostly in heavy construction, except building. - 2 - Compared with August 1999, the largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in engineering and management services (+5,597), motion pictures (+3,671), and communications (+3,141). The largest decrease in initial claims occurred in business services (-2,509). Geographic Distribution In August, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was higher in the West (38,004) than in any other region. (See table 3.) Layoffs in business services, motion pictures, and food and kindred products accounted for 46 percent of the claims in the West. The fewest number of mass-layoff initial claims were reported in the Midwest region (18,187). Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (30,706), primarily in business services and motion pictures, followed by Illinois (6,582), Massachusetts (6,527), and Pennsylvania (5,175). These four states accounted for 44 percent of all layoff events and 50 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From August 1999 to August 2000, Massachusetts reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+5,869). Among the 15 states that reported over-the-year decreases in initial claims, New York had the largest decrease (-2,148), mostly in local and interurban transit. 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, July 1998 to August 2000 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization rate(1) Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants 1998 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 1,734 325,990 36.9 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 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 July .......................... 1,741 221,334 August ........................ 698 75,691 September ..................... 717 75,288 Third Quarter ................. 3,156 372,313 1,097 189,948 34.8 October ....................... 1,098 118,938 November ...................... 1,336 139,508 December ...................... 1,509 162,381 Fourth Quarter ................ 3,943 420,827 1,625 287,078 41.2 2000 January ....................... 1,934 223,322 February ...................... 1,045 103,898 March ......................... 986 106,748 First Quarter ................. 3,965 433,968 1,332 219,603 33.6 April ......................... 924 101,359 May ........................... 984 92,193 June .......................... 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter ................ 3,505 385,577 (p)1,187 (p)162,726 (p)33.9 July(p) ....................... 1,333 164,978 August(p) ..................... 751 97,215 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 August June July August August June July August 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) Total(1) ........................................ 698 1,597 1,333 751 75,691 192,025 164,978 97,215 Total, private ....................................... 675 1,435 1,252 717 73,042 175,973 158,672 93,717 Agriculture ........................................ 36 161 91 38 2,668 15,057 6,038 2,898 Nonagriculture ..................................... 624 1,235 1,136 668 69,178 157,034 149,693 89,554 Manufacturing .................................... 245 398 652 252 27,061 60,269 99,807 35,370 Durable goods .................................. 130 235 425 147 15,721 41,753 71,405 22,823 Lumber and wood products ..................... 9 21 32 17 684 2,063 3,487 1,882 Furniture and fixtures ....................... 4 19 25 12 443 2,808 3,955 1,853 Stone, clay, and glass products .............. 3 11 10 ( 2 ) 231 1,320 1,158 ( 2 ) Primary metal industries ..................... 9 12 35 16 857 1,277 4,230 3,118 Fabricated metal products .................... 12 36 70 11 1,075 4,659 8,797 1,098 Industrial machinery and equipment ........... 27 30 63 29 5,330 5,918 9,232 4,726 Electronic and other electrical equipment .... 21 29 38 20 2,690 3,451 5,839 3,284 Transportation equipment ..................... 29 66 133 32 3,161 19,529 33,094 6,038 Instruments and related products ............. 10 7 8 5 817 433 663 380 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ....... 6 4 11 ( 2 ) 433 295 950 ( 2 ) Nondurable goods ............................... 115 163 227 105 11,340 18,516 28,402 12,547 Food and kindred products .................... 43 53 74 28 4,461 6,563 7,584 3,264 Tobacco products ............................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Textile mill products ........................ 18 10 22 17 2,250 953 2,970 2,656 Apparel and other textile products ........... 27 29 44 20 2,046 2,966 5,711 1,719 Paper and allied products .................... 8 11 ( 2 ) 13 800 946 ( 2 ) 2,019 Printing and publishing ...................... 7 15 9 ( 2 ) 693 1,301 631 ( 2 ) Chemicals and allied products ................ 3 4 ( 2 ) 5 444 371 ( 2 ) 358 Petroleum and coal products .................. - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products ... 6 31 51 14 428 4,504 8,597 1,822 Leather and leather products ................. ( 2 ) 5 10 4 ( 2 ) 395 822 419 Nonmanufacturing ................................. 379 837 484 416 42,117 96,765 49,886 54,184 Mining ......................................... 9 4 ( 2 ) 3 2,122 363 ( 2 ) 311 Construction ................................... 31 64 52 52 2,139 4,919 4,040 4,361 Transportation and public utilities ............ 46 129 79 57 4,319 14,925 8,538 7,311 Wholesale and retail trade ..................... 103 180 103 109 9,957 20,838 9,488 10,594 Wholesale trade ............................. 21 33 30 14 1,641 2,694 3,055 1,562 Retail trade ................................ 82 147 73 95 8,316 18,144 6,433 9,032 Finance, insurance, and real estate ............ 22 24 ( 2 ) 17 1,504 1,710 ( 2 ) 1,649 Services ....................................... 168 436 235 178 22,076 54,010 26,158 29,958 Not identified ..................................... 15 39 25 11 1,196 3,882 2,941 1,265 Government ........................................... 23 162 81 34 2,649 16,052 6,306 3,498 Federal ............................................ 9 31 16 14 928 3,834 1,851 1,646 State .............................................. 3 18 13 7 276 1,435 1,063 916 Local .............................................. 11 113 52 13 1,445 10,783 3,392 936 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 August June July August August June July August 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) United States(1) ..... 698 1,597 1,333 751 75,691 192,025 164,978 97,215 Northeast .................... 114 216 176 112 9,930 22,824 18,226 18,394 New England .............. 11 40 36 13 1,045 3,797 3,953 7,882 Middle Atlantic .......... 103 176 140 99 8,885 19,027 14,273 10,512 South ........................ 178 360 312 199 15,658 34,187 39,032 22,630 South Atlantic ........... 91 196 166 110 8,669 17,754 22,269 12,435 East South Central ....... 24 52 66 29 1,676 4,846 6,881 4,192 West South Central ....... 63 112 80 60 5,313 11,587 9,882 6,003 Midwest ...................... 115 386 481 139 15,947 59,287 71,049 18,187 East North Central ....... 85 307 399 112 11,708 48,307 60,565 15,263 West North Central ....... 30 79 82 27 4,239 10,980 10,484 2,924 West ......................... 291 635 364 301 34,156 75,727 36,671 38,004 Mountain ................. 16 58 36 44 1,259 5,919 4,374 5,623 Pacific .................. 275 577 328 257 32,897 69,808 32,297 32,381 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 August June July August August June July August 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) 1999 2000 2000(p) 2000(p) Total(1) .................. 698 1,597 1,333 751 75,691 192,025 164,978 97,215 Alabama ...................... 10 16 4 7 750 1,308 305 1,981 Alaska ....................... - 5 - - - 708 - - Arizona ...................... 4 20 9 4 289 2,029 912 406 Arkansas ..................... 4 8 10 5 589 890 1,158 356 California ................... 253 532 287 244 30,870 64,697 27,435 30,706 Colorado ..................... - 4 3 3 - 445 234 333 Connecticut .................. ( 2 ) 7 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 738 490 ( 2 ) Delaware ..................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) District of Columbia ......... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Florida ...................... 36 105 68 38 2,440 6,580 4,711 3,073 Georgia ...................... 11 26 8 13 1,318 2,998 574 1,616 Hawaii ....................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Idaho ........................ 5 10 7 15 428 919 824 2,404 Illinois ..................... 21 50 54 33 3,440 8,900 5,981 6,582 Indiana ...................... 10 25 50 14 1,110 4,813 9,562 1,359 Iowa ......................... 8 18 23 4 1,204 4,187 3,004 431 Kansas ....................... 3 8 10 ( 2 ) 431 1,052 836 ( 2 ) Kentucky ..................... 7 14 40 12 465 1,337 4,888 1,450 Louisiana .................... 7 32 13 13 358 2,940 1,236 844 Maine ........................ ( 2 ) 3 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 161 457 ( 2 ) Maryland ..................... ( 2 ) 8 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 639 896 ( 2 ) Massachusetts ................ 6 21 15 5 658 2,227 1,472 6,527 Michigan ..................... 17 148 138 12 2,869 26,171 17,197 1,235 Minnesota .................... ( 2 ) 12 12 8 ( 2 ) 1,053 1,663 812 Mississippi .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 10 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 757 301 Missouri ..................... 17 37 33 13 1,936 4,299 4,614 1,442 Montana ...................... - ( 2 ) 4 3 - ( 2 ) 915 625 Nebraska ..................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Nevada ....................... 6 13 10 16 475 1,795 1,290 1,533 New Hampshire ................ - 3 5 ( 2 ) - 199 768 ( 2 ) New Jersey ................... 12 50 28 25 1,038 6,431 2,950 3,562 New Mexico ................... ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 438 ( 2 ) - New York ..................... 43 16 45 22 3,923 1,517 4,373 1,775 North Carolina ............... 11 12 10 26 1,077 1,054 1,933 2,383 North Dakota ................. - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Ohio ......................... 16 35 104 28 1,896 4,076 20,416 2,992 Oklahoma ..................... ( 2 ) 4 5 3 ( 2 ) 286 848 209 Oregon ....................... 13 20 30 7 1,320 2,423 4,063 1,252 Pennsylvania ................. 48 110 67 52 3,924 11,079 6,950 5,175 Rhode Island ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 336 South Carolina ............... 17 24 36 16 1,814 2,467 6,517 2,242 South Dakota ................. - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - Tennessee .................... 6 20 12 5 403 1,912 931 460 Texas ........................ 51 68 52 39 4,310 7,471 6,640 4,594 Utah ......................... - 3 ( 2 ) 3 - 242 ( 2 ) 322 Vermont ...................... - 4 4 ( 2 ) - 287 688 ( 2 ) Virginia ..................... 11 17 33 11 1,507 1,518 6,974 2,604 Washington ................... 7 19 9 5 562 1,904 649 322 West Virginia ................ - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 272 Wisconsin .................... 21 49 53 25 2,393 4,347 7,409 3,095 Wyoming ...................... - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico .................. 11 9 17 10 1,009 1,461 1,909 879 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.