Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2006 and 2007
Initial claimants for
Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance
Reason for layoff
IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV
2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p 2006r 2007r 2007p
Total, private nonfarm (1)...... 1,640 1,019 1,619 296,662 160,806 265,454 330,901 172,508 234,612
Business demand ................... 565 421 548 81,305 49,268 73,241 135,626 72,956 84,227
Contract cancellation ........... 19 15 16 2,159 2,320 3,028 2,311 1,723 2,368
Contract completion ............. 312 201 260 41,797 20,331 29,753 58,169 31,535 31,133
Domestic competition ............ - 3 (2) - 254 (2) - 208 (2)
Excess inventory/saturated
market ........................ - 6 (2) - 1,551 (2) - 1,641 (2)
Import competition .............. 22 16 15 3,245 3,273 2,786 3,318 3,601 2,740
Slack work/insufficient demand/
non-seasonal business slowdown. 212 180 245 34,104 21,539 36,180 71,828 34,248 46,652
Organizational changes ............ 143 99 81 36,117 17,717 21,122 30,333 17,208 15,369
Business-ownership change ....... 25 27 20 11,279 4,990 9,279 4,580 3,472 4,710
Reorganization or restructuring
of company .................... 118 72 61 24,838 12,727 11,843 25,753 13,736 10,659
Financial issues .................. 64 123 111 14,069 29,267 22,238 11,609 24,108 18,698
Bankruptcy ...................... 15 21 14 2,229 6,819 4,480 1,814 2,904 2,265
Cost control/cost cutting/
increase profitability ........ - 36 35 - 6,130 6,915 - 8,023 9,195
Financial difficulty ............ 49 66 62 11,840 16,318 10,843 9,795 13,181 7,238
Production specific ............... 28 (2) 22 9,168 (2) 3,655 5,159 (2) 4,066
Automation/technological
advances ...................... 3 4 (2) 271 1,468 (2) 353 1,293 (2)
Energy related .................. (2) - - (2) - - (2) - -
Governmental regulations/
intervention .................... - 4 (2) - 997 (2) - 604 (2)
Labor dispute/contract
negotiations/strike ........... (2) (2) 7 (2) (2) 1,177 (2) (2) 1,774
Material or supply shortage ..... (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2)
Model changeover ................ (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2)
Plant or machine repair/
maintenance ................... 7 (2) 8 1,714 (2) 1,360 1,094 (2) 815
Product line discontinued ....... 11 - (2) 4,329 - (2) 1,781 - (2)
Disaster/safety ................... 8 (2) 5 733 (2) 692 1,249 (2) 632
Hazardous work environment ...... (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Natural disaster (not weather
related) ...................... - (2) - - (2) - - (2) -
Non-natural disaster ............ - (2) - - (2) - - (2) -
Extreme weather-related event ... (2) - 5 (2) - 692 (2) - 632
Seasonal .......................... 697 218 683 129,532 40,361 119,325 119,430 34,465 86,355
Seasonal ........................ 691 123 679 128,648 23,314 119,043 118,713 20,066 85,959
Vacation period-school related
or otherwise .................. 6 95 4 884 17,047 282 717 14,399 396
Other/miscellaneous ............... 135 140 169 25,738 19,623 25,181 27,495 20,406 25,265
Other ........................... 18 9 10 3,726 1,363 1,642 5,540 2,050 2,069
Data not provided: refusal ...... 49 43 53 9,990 6,003 7,871 9,990 6,000 7,872
Data not provided: does not
know .......................... 68 88 106 12,022 12,257 15,668 11,965 12,356 15,324
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
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