Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 02-602 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, October 24, 2002 MASS LAYOFFS IN SEPTEMBER 2002 Employers initiated 1,060 mass layoff actions in September 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 122,277. (See table 1.) A year ear- lier, in September 2001, there were 1,327 mass layoff events involving 160,402 workers. Over 9 percent of the initial claims in September 2002 were in general freight trucking (11,348), and an additional 6 percent were in the temporary help services industry (7,587). In January through Septem- ber 2002, both the total number of events, at 14,150, and initial claims, at 1,567,505, were lower than in January-September 2001 (14,475 and 1,734,530, respectively). 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 lay- offs. 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 demogra- phics 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 quar- ter 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 33 percent of all mass layoff events and 35 percent of all initial claims filed in September. A year earlier, lay- offs in this sector accounted for 37 percent of events and 36 percent of ini- tial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of initial claimants was high- est in computer and electronic products (5,146, primarily in semiconductors and related devices), followed by transportation equipment (4,959) and food manufacturing (4,688). (See table 2.) Six percent of all layoff events and 15 percent of all initial claims filed during the month were in transportation and warehousing, mostly in general long distance freight trucking. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector ac- counted for 5 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims. Thirteen percent of the events and 11 percent of initial claims in September were from administrative and waste services, mostly in temporary help services. Retail trade accounted for 9 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims, pri- marily in general merchandise stores. The information sector accounted for an additional 4 percent of events and 5 percent of initial claims, largely in motion picture and sound recording industries. Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and of initial claims filed during the month, particularly in elementary and secondary schools. - 2 - Compared with September 2001, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in accommodation services (-18,485), administrative and support sevices (-8,293), and transportation equipment manufacturing (-6,926). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in truck trans- portation (+11,026) and in support activities for transportation (+4,117). Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in September due to mass layoffs was in the West, 51,216. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services, support activities for transportation, and trucking accounted for 30 percent of all initial claims in the West during the month. The South followed with 29,643 initial claims (mainly in administrative and support services), then the Midwest, with 25,437 (largely in truck transpor- tation). The Northeast continued to report the lowest number of initial claims, with 15,981 (mostly in truck transportation). The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined over the year in each of the four geographic regions, with the largest decreases occurring in the West (-21,825). The decline in the West was largely in accommodation services (hotels and motels). Six of the nine geographic divisions reported over-the-year declines in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest declines in the Pacific (-12,689) and Mountain (-9,136) divisions. The largest increase (+454) was reported in the West North Central division. California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this September, 39,691, mostly in administrative and support services, followed by Texas (8,280) and Illinois (6,707). These three states accounted for 45 percent of all layoff events and initial claims for unemployment in- surance. (See table 4.) Thus far this year, 406,077 mass layoff initial claims were filed in California, 26 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest number of claims were Texas (96,233) and Pennsylvania (89,726). California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-14,576), followed by Nevada (-9,629). The largest over-the-year increases occurred in Texas (+2,863) and Oregon (+2,674). ______________________________ The report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Third Quarter of 2002 will be issued on Wednesday, November 13, 2002. 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 2000 to September 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 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 1,765 340,210 38.8 62.5 April ...................... 1,450 176,265 May ........................ 1,434 159,365 June ....................... 2,107 253,826 Second Quarter ............. 4,991 589,456 2,072 401,168 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 1,815 370,620 36.8 61.7 October .................... 1,831 215,483 November ................... 2,721 295,956 December ................... 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,992 780,332 2,698 500,925 38.6 64.2 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,821 February ................... 1,383 138,984 March ...................... 1,460 161,336 First Quarter .............. 4,989 564,141 1,749 313,686 35.1 55.6 April ...................... 1,507 165,861 May ........................ 1,726 180,007 June ....................... 1,580 161,928 Second Quarter ............. 4,813 507,796 (2)(p)1,754 (2)(p)256,338 (p)36.4 (p)50.5 July ....................... 2,041 245,211 August (p) ................. 1,247 128,080 September (p) .............. 1,060 122,277 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 September July August September September July August September 2001r 2002 2002p 2002p 2001r 2002 2002p 2002p Total(1) ................................... 1,327 2,041 1,247 1,060 160,402 245,211 128,080 122,277 Total, private .................................. 1,292 1,936 1,189 1,006 156,240 235,558 122,106 116,292 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 78 118 39 51 5,079 8,734 2,255 3,801 Mining ........................................ 3 12 10 7 345 1,450 701 513 Utilities ..................................... ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 320 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 68 74 98 80 4,804 5,675 8,241 5,735 Manufacturing ................................. 485 908 427 350 58,544 135,313 48,733 42,228 Food ...................................... 46 60 47 39 5,605 6,102 5,150 4,688 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 4 ( 2 ) 5 7 251 ( 2 ) 405 454 Textile mills ............................. 26 33 12 17 3,754 4,795 1,177 2,585 Textile product mills ..................... 5 11 ( 2 ) 12 877 2,336 ( 2 ) 1,966 Apparel ................................... 39 34 24 19 3,869 3,196 3,127 2,225 Leather and allied products ............... 7 6 ( 2 ) 3 642 378 ( 2 ) 240 Wood products ............................. 7 28 11 12 636 2,893 1,198 1,312 Paper ..................................... 9 13 8 9 862 1,244 741 1,007 Printing and related support activities ... 9 13 5 7 802 1,331 558 650 Petroleum and coal products ............... - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - Chemicals ................................. 12 14 ( 2 ) 8 951 1,451 ( 2 ) 952 Plastics and rubber products .............. 10 71 16 15 1,257 10,080 1,368 1,322 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 11 18 12 5 1,068 2,813 1,334 410 Primary metals ............................ 25 64 25 20 2,733 7,651 2,862 2,273 Fabricated metal products ................. 34 60 33 22 3,190 7,556 3,136 2,365 Machinery ................................. 51 76 50 28 8,315 12,778 9,197 3,657 Computer and electronic products .......... 71 94 74 47 6,850 11,950 6,202 5,146 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 22 31 23 23 1,916 5,036 3,082 2,679 Transportation equipment .................. 66 234 50 32 11,885 47,583 6,665 4,959 Furniture and related products ............ 18 27 11 17 1,948 4,187 888 2,831 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 13 17 13 8 1,133 1,699 931 507 Wholesale trade ............................... 30 29 23 20 2,297 3,017 2,357 1,708 Retail trade .................................. 74 93 111 93 7,498 10,412 11,322 9,851 Transportation and warehousing ................ 63 71 68 68 8,905 6,658 8,140 18,070 Information ................................... 56 72 45 47 11,736 12,559 4,006 6,585 Finance and insurance ......................... 25 52 26 26 2,163 4,394 2,161 2,530 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 4 11 11 ( 2 ) 249 1,066 647 ( 2 ) Professional and technical services ........... 31 74 47 29 2,943 6,818 6,455 2,811 Management of companies and enterprises ....... ( 2 ) 3 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 323 - ( 2 ) Administrative and waste services ............. 161 233 179 133 22,254 24,762 18,192 13,874 Educational services .......................... ( 2 ) 15 ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 1,239 ( 2 ) 369 Health care and social assistance ............. 11 54 27 18 776 3,652 1,738 1,299 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 18 23 17 19 1,465 1,599 1,422 2,157 Accommodation and food services ............... 163 70 38 48 24,821 5,930 2,702 3,955 Other services, except public administration .. 8 17 13 ( 2 ) 625 1,385 1,745 ( 2 ) Unclassified .................................. 10 3 3 1 1,281 252 737 103 Government ...................................... 35 105 58 54 4,162 9,653 5,974 5,985 Federal ....................................... 9 6 15 9 901 781 2,056 1,703 State ......................................... 10 17 12 10 1,078 1,315 1,596 980 Local ......................................... 16 82 31 35 2,183 7,557 2,322 3,302 1 For September 2002, data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 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 September July August September September July August September 2001 2002 2002p 2002p 2001 2002 2002p 2002p United States(1) ..... (r)1,327 2,041 1,247 1,060 (r)160,402 245,211 128,080 122,277 Northeast .................. 220 315 195 158 23,678 35,012 25,178 15,981 New England .............. 30 68 27 21 2,785 7,000 3,897 1,919 Middle Atlantic .......... 190 247 168 137 20,893 28,012 21,281 14,062 South ...................... (r)309 485 308 257 (r)32,246 56,170 31,764 29,643 South Atlantic ........... 170 202 159 127 17,272 22,290 13,884 14,161 East South Central ....... 54 137 30 51 5,591 16,850 3,574 5,877 West South Central ....... (r)85 146 119 79 (r)9,383 17,030 14,306 9,605 Midwest .................... 221 574 251 177 31,437 89,068 28,016 25,437 East North Central ....... 182 468 186 134 26,358 66,354 21,208 19,904 West North Central ....... 39 106 65 43 5,079 22,714 6,808 5,533 West ....................... 577 667 493 468 73,041 64,961 43,122 51,216 Mountain ................. 61 66 38 35 13,245 6,399 3,933 4,109 Pacific .................. 516 601 455 433 59,796 58,562 39,189 47,107 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 September July August September September July August September 2001 2002 2002p 2002p 2001 2002 2002p 2002p Total(1) ................ (r)1,327 2,041 1,247 1,060 (r)160,402 245,211 128,080 122,277 Alabama .................... 12 56 5 16 1,067 7,290 691 2,174 Alaska ..................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Arizona .................... 7 28 7 9 506 2,528 485 1,618 Arkansas ................... 8 11 ( 2 ) 4 807 999 ( 2 ) 421 California ................. 465 545 415 376 54,267 52,556 34,590 39,691 Colorado ................... 8 15 7 6 787 1,658 573 561 Connecticut ................ ( 2 ) 6 4 4 ( 2 ) 598 588 262 Delaware ................... ( 2 ) 4 - - ( 2 ) 642 - - District of Columbia ....... 5 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 704 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Florida .................... 75 92 72 55 5,575 6,405 5,154 4,143 Georgia .................... 14 9 17 14 1,505 824 1,734 2,404 Hawaii ..................... 16 3 ( 2 ) 4 2,108 256 ( 2 ) 428 Idaho ...................... 6 7 10 4 763 864 1,708 287 Illinois ................... 60 62 51 41 9,708 9,521 6,185 6,707 Indiana .................... 20 72 23 16 3,241 11,367 2,954 2,512 Iowa ....................... 13 25 10 9 2,041 6,494 939 1,673 Kansas ..................... 4 15 11 3 706 3,701 1,378 196 Kentucky ................... 26 59 14 16 3,033 7,580 2,032 1,773 Louisiana .................. (r)13 18 19 12 (r)1,680 1,294 1,513 761 Maine ...................... - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Maryland ................... 3 11 8 7 175 1,225 898 815 Massachusetts .............. 21 44 17 12 1,910 4,130 2,132 988 Michigan ................... 43 144 26 14 6,062 15,700 2,535 1,544 Minnesota .................. 6 16 11 9 507 1,702 1,243 1,142 Mississippi ................ 5 5 3 6 335 583 176 782 Missouri ................... 15 42 28 15 1,672 9,917 2,884 1,886 Montana .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - Nebraska ................... - 8 4 6 - 900 287 583 Nevada ..................... 34 11 11 13 10,762 991 891 1,133 New Hampshire .............. 3 5 3 3 182 696 618 514 New Jersey ................. 23 44 33 29 2,348 5,367 3,371 3,424 New Mexico ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New York ................... 77 88 86 49 9,427 9,715 11,213 5,137 North Carolina ............. 10 23 27 11 805 2,244 3,104 1,208 North Dakota ............... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Ohio ....................... 30 98 47 34 3,983 15,236 5,602 5,468 Oklahoma ................... 6 20 5 ( 2 ) 1,479 2,757 1,008 ( 2 ) Oregon ..................... 14 27 24 30 1,291 2,829 2,603 3,965 Pennsylvania ............... 90 115 49 59 9,118 12,930 6,697 5,501 Rhode Island ............... ( 2 ) 9 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,163 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) South Carolina ............. 45 35 19 18 5,904 6,590 1,238 2,220 South Dakota ............... - - - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) Tennessee .................. 11 17 8 13 1,156 1,397 675 1,148 Texas ...................... 58 97 93 62 5,417 11,980 11,660 8,280 Utah ....................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Vermont .................... 3 3 ( 2 ) - 487 353 ( 2 ) - Virginia ................... 14 24 15 19 2,282 3,974 1,693 3,092 Washington ................. 19 26 14 21 1,986 2,921 1,856 2,889 West Virginia .............. 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 209 308 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin .................. 29 92 39 29 3,364 14,530 3,932 3,673 Wyoming .................... - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ................ 9 11 10 9 831 2,251 772 873 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.