Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2010 and 2011
Initial claimants for
Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance
Reason for layoff
IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV
2010 2011r 2011p 2010r 2011r 2011p 2010r 2011r 2011p
Total, private nonfarm (1) ..... 1,999 1,393 1,638 338,643 235,247 266,971 390,584 289,330 249,692
Business demand ................... 661 629 558 100,547 103,741 94,170 144,801 157,352 100,383
Contract cancellation ........... 24 36 (2) 4,174 5,138 (2) 5,800 5,916 (2)
Contract completion ............. 377 419 380 62,433 75,760 72,446 91,477 121,177 76,196
Domestic competition ............ (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Excess inventory/saturated
market ........................ - 4 (2) - 2,105 (2) - 642 (2)
Import competition .............. (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) -
Slack work/insufficient demand/
non-seasonal/business slowdown 255 166 164 33,262 20,349 20,243 46,872 28,840 22,347
Organizational changes ............ 79 76 59 17,864 12,258 11,770 16,707 12,288 8,799
Business-ownership change ....... 18 18 16 9,311 2,309 3,458 2,973 1,395 2,452
Reorganization or restructuring
of company .................... 61 58 43 8,553 9,949 8,312 13,734 10,893 6,347
Financial issues .................. 110 102 62 15,995 19,232 11,398 17,304 17,855 7,784
Bankruptcy ...................... 14 21 16 3,505 7,544 4,550 1,870 5,050 2,022
Cost control/cost cutting/
increase profitability ........ 65 44 28 7,445 6,572 4,484 11,177 7,707 3,561
Financial difficulty ............ 31 37 18 5,045 5,116 2,364 4,257 5,098 2,201
Production specific ............... 10 17 (2) 1,422 2,074 (2) 2,517 2,363 (2)
Automation/technological
advances ...................... (2) 3 (2) (2) 253 (2) (2) 294 (2)
Energy related .................. (2) - - (2) - - (2) - -
Governmental regulations/
intervention .................. 4 (2) (2) 629 (2) (2) 660 (2) (2)
Labor dispute/contract
negotiations/strike ........... (2) 4 (2) (2) 731 (2) (2) 704 (2)
Material or supply shortage ..... - (2) - - (2) - - (2) -
Model changeover ................ - 4 4 - 467 820 - 618 437
Plant or machine repair/
maintenance ................... (2) 3 (2) (2) 390 (2) (2) 504 (2)
Product line discontinued ....... (2) - 6 (2) - 1,654 (2) - 1,119
Disaster/safety ................... 5 9 (2) 521 1,251 (2) 512 1,127 (2)
Hazardous work environment ...... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Natural disaster (not weather
related) ...................... - (2) - - (2) - - (2) -
Non-natural disaster ............ (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2)
Extreme weather-related event ... - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Seasonal .......................... 826 303 721 137,478 50,093 112,248 143,179 51,989 96,526
Seasonal ........................ 819 185 716 136,837 37,153 111,605 142,263 37,963 95,203
Vacation period-school related
or otherwise .................. 7 118 5 641 12,940 643 916 14,026 1,323
Other/miscellaneous ............... 308 257 219 64,816 46,598 31,186 65,564 46,356 32,239
Other ........................... 19 23 19 2,565 3,812 2,377 3,116 3,549 3,489
Data not provided: refusal ...... 82 54 55 19,083 13,819 8,802 19,081 13,827 8,706
Data not provided: does not
know .......................... 207 180 145 43,168 28,967 20,007 43,367 28,980 20,044
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.
