Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6396 USDL 98-471 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 606-5902 Tuesday, December 1, 1998 MASS LAYOFFS IN SEPTEMBER 1998 In September 1998, there were 638 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 79,700. The number of layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance were higher this September than in 1997. The total of layoff events from January through September 1998, at 10,785, was about the same as a year earlier (10,756), while the total number of initial claimants, at 1,203,587, was somewhat higher than in January-September 1997 (1,131,166). (See table 1.) The monthly series in this release covers 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. See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Because the 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. For example, 3,641 layoff events involving 424,018 initial claimants for unemployment insurance occurred in April, May, and June of 1998 combined. The second-quarter 1998 figures for mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days, however, were 1,500 events and 260,837 claimants. Forty-one percent of all mass layoffs in the April-June period lasted for more than a month. (See table 1.) In all quarters for which data are available, the proportion of mass layoffs that became "extended" mass layoffs varied from about 31 to 47 percent. Industry Distribution In September 1998, manufacturing industries accounted for 39 percent of all mass layoff events and 32 percent of the initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the highest numbers of initial claimants were industrial machinery and equipment (3,840), primarily in farm machinery and equipment; electronic and other electrical equipment (3,769), mostly in semiconductors and related devices; and food products (3,258), particularly in canned fruits and vegetables. (See table 3.) In nonmanufacturing industries, services accounted for 22 percent of all mass layoff events and 20 percent of all initial claims filed. The layoffs were predominantly in motion pictures (mostly in motion pictures and video production) and business services (particularly in help supply services). - 2 - Layoffs in help supply services and the motion picture industry are more likely than those in other industries to last less than 30 days. Transportation and public utilities accounted for 8 percent of layoff events and 31 percent of initial claimants during the month, primarily in transportation by air. Over 90 percent of the initial claims in this sector were due to labor disputes in the airline industry. Retail trade contributed 8 percent of layoff events and 5 percent of initial claimants during the month, largely in general merchandise stores. Compared with September 1997, the largest increases in initial claims occurred in transportation by air (22,311), electronic and other electrical equipment (2,989), and industrial machinery and equipment (1,861). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims occurred in motion pictures (-3,786) and transportation equipment (-1,516). State Distribution Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for September, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (24,718), primarily in motion pictures, followed by Minnesota (10,028) and Michigan (7,042). These three states accounted for about 44 percent of all layoff events and 52 percent of all initial claims. (See table 2.) From September 1997 to September 1998, Minnesota reported the largest over-the-year rise in initial claims (9,795), primarily in transportation by air, followed by Michigan (6,740). California had the largest over-the- year decline in initial claims (-5,696), mostly in motion pictures. 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: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. 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 1996 to September 1998 Extended mass layoffs Date lasting more than 30 days Total mass layoffs Event realization Events Initial Events Initial rate(1) claimants claimants 1996 July ......................... 1,534 192,155 August ....................... 918 83,166 September .................... 513 42,376 Third quarter ................ 2,965 317,697 1,020 200,423 34.4 October ...................... 1,289 131,850 November ..................... 1,433 130,774 December ..................... 1,824 204,123 Fourth quarter ............... 4,546 466,747 1,915 384,161 42.1 1997 January ...................... 2,139 212,860 February ..................... 755 63,352 March ........................ 783 84,069 First quarter ................ 3,677 360,281 1,317 253,424 35.8 April ........................ 1,269 152,168 May .......................... 1,152 101,476 June ......................... 1,238 121,256 Second quarter ............... 3,659 374,900 1,574 319,617 43.0 July ......................... 1,899 237,410 August ....................... 973 99,513 September .................... 548 59,062 Third quarter ................ 3,420 395,985 1,077 216,474 31.5 October ...................... 1,414 139,297 November ..................... 1,156 100,051 December ..................... 1,634 172,029 Fourth quarter ............... 4,204 411,377 1,677 311,536 39.9 1998 January ...................... 2,360 255,203 February ..................... 970 81,455 March ........................ 762 78,210 First quarter ................ 4,092 414,868 1,289 237,528 31.5 April ........................ 1,253 132,476 May .......................... 1,180 107,952 June ......................... 1,208 183,590 Second quarter ............... 3,641 424,018 1,500 260,837 41.2 July ......................... 1,862 235,996 August ....................... 552 48,955 September .................... 638 79,700 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. Table 2. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, September 1997 and September 1998 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State September September September September 1997 1998 1997 1998 Total(1) ............................ 548 638 59,062 79,700 Alabama ................................ - 6 - 668 Alaska ................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Arizona ................................ 4 3 294 250 Arkansas ............................... 6 7 633 783 California ............................. 258 257 30,414 24,718 Colorado ............................... - - - - Connecticut ............................ - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Delaware ............................... - - - - District of Columbia ................... - - - - Florida ................................ 26 38 1,676 2,679 Georgia ................................ 8 7 594 1,658 Hawaii ................................. 4 6 363 938 Idaho .................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Illinois ............................... 18 22 1,733 3,267 Indiana ................................ 9 4 752 453 Iowa ................................... 4 7 549 880 Kansas ................................. 3 4 175 355 Kentucky ............................... 3 4 206 284 Louisiana .............................. 7 10 1,073 787 Maine .................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Maryland ............................... 4 4 263 352 Massachusetts .......................... 3 9 299 1,442 Michigan ............................... 5 17 302 7,042 Minnesota .............................. 3 5 233 10,028 Mississippi ............................ ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 375 Missouri ............................... 13 13 3,171 1,418 Montana ................................ - ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Nebraska ............................... - - - - Nevada ................................. 4 4 356 268 New Hampshire .......................... - - - - New Jersey ............................. 12 17 1,037 1,503 New Mexico ............................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) New York ............................... 16 20 1,284 1,988 North Carolina ......................... 6 3 911 297 North Dakota ........................... - - - - Ohio ................................... 12 15 1,085 1,482 Oklahoma ............................... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 280 Oregon ................................. 7 13 996 1,248 Pennsylvania ........................... 43 43 3,061 3,627 Rhode Island ........................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) South Carolina ......................... 8 17 1,210 1,741 South Dakota ........................... - - - - Tennessee .............................. ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 2,392 Texas .................................. 27 24 2,547 2,131 Utah ................................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Vermont ................................ ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Virginia ............................... 5 4 1,467 334 Washington ............................. 6 9 664 1,609 West Virginia .......................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin .............................. 10 19 852 1,557 Wyoming ................................ - - - - Puerto Rico ............................ 9 6 745 478 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Data for total mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance have been revised for September 1997 due to the inclusion of new data for Louisiana and Oklahoma. Dash represents zero. Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, September 1997 and September 1998 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry September September September September 1997 1998 1997 1998 Total(1) ......................................................... 548 638 59,062 79,700 Total, private ........................................................ 515 614 56,406 77,663 Agriculture ......................................................... 67 47 4,031 2,530 Nonagriculture ...................................................... 440 560 51,420 74,653 Manufacturing ..................................................... 182 247 18,963 25,126 Durable goods ................................................... 76 139 9,702 14,218 Lumber and wood products ...................................... 5 5 347 321 Furniture and fixtures ........................................ 4 4 388 220 Stone, clay, and glass products ............................... 8 5 550 626 Primary metal industries ...................................... 8 13 671 1,036 Fabricated metal products ..................................... 7 10 545 702 Industrial machinery and equipment ............................ 10 29 1,979 3,840 Electronic and other electrical equipment ..................... 8 34 780 3,769 Transportation equipment ...................................... 17 19 3,804 2,288 Instruments and related products .............................. 3 12 159 849 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ........................ 6 8 479 567 Nondurable goods ................................................ 106 108 9,261 10,908 Food and kindred products ..................................... 36 33 2,896 3,258 Tobacco products .............................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Textile mill products ......................................... 9 13 1,691 1,593 Apparel and other textile products ............................ 34 27 2,487 2,305 Paper and allied products ..................................... 8 13 535 1,310 Printing and publishing ....................................... 5 6 402 515 Chemicals and allied products ................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Petroleum and coal products ................................... - - - - Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products .................... 9 6 527 606 Leather and leather products .................................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Nonmanufacturing .................................................. 258 313 32,457 49,527 Mining .......................................................... ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 848 Construction .................................................... 39 35 2,584 2,046 Transportation and public utilities ............................. 16 53 1,446 25,047 Wholesale and retail trade ...................................... 54 68 5,218 4,985 Wholesale trade .............................................. ( 2 ) 17 ( 2 ) 1,065 Retail trade ................................................. 45 51 4,623 3,920 Finance, insurance, and real estate ............................. 14 12 1,015 938 Services ........................................................ 133 138 22,033 15,663 Not identified ...................................................... 8 7 955 480 Government ............................................................ 33 24 2,656 2,037 Federal ............................................................. 5 4 723 470 State ............................................................... 13 7 954 501 Local ............................................................... 15 13 979 1,066 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. NOTE: Data for total mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance have been revised for September 1997 due to the inclusion of new data for Louisiana and Oklahoma. Dash represents zero.