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Economic News Release
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MLS MLS Program Links

Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, January 25, 2013          USDL-13-0106

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 * mlsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov


                         MASS LAYOFFS -- DECEMBER 2012
                             ANNUAL TOTALS -- 2012


Employers took 1,509 mass layoff actions in December involving 137,839 
workers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits 
during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. 
(Data are seasonally adjusted.) Each mass layoff involved at least 50 
workers from a single employer. Mass layoff events decreased by 240 from 
November, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 35,040. 
In December, 330 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing 
sector resulting in 35,211 initial claims. Monthly mass layoff data are
identified using administrative data sources without regard to layoff
duration. (See table 1 and the note at the end of this release.)


    __________________________________________________________________
   |                                                                  |
   |         Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Mass Layoff Data         |
   |                                                                  |
   | Seasonally adjusted mass layoffs data have been revised using    |
   | updated seasonal adjustment factors that incorporate 2012 data.  |
   | Seasonally adjusted estimates back to January 2008 were subject  |
   | to revision. Revised seasonally adjusted data from January 2009  |
   | forward are shown in table 1. The originally published and       |
   | revised figures for January 2008-November 2012 will be available |
   | at www.bls.gov/mls/mlssarevision.htm, along with additional      |
   | information about the revisions.                                 |
   |__________________________________________________________________|


The national unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in December, unchanged from 
the prior month and down from 8.5 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm 
payroll employment increased by 155,000 over the month and by 1,835,000 
over the year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in December was 1,973, not seasonally
adjusted, resulting in 187,137 initial claims for unemployment insurance. 
(See table 2.) Over the year, the number of average weekly mass layoff 
events for December increased by 6 to 493, while associated average weekly 
initial claims decreased by 5,949 to 46,784. Ten of the 19 major industry 
sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in average 
weekly initial claims, with the largest decrease occurring in manufacturing. 
(See table 3.) The six-digit industry with the largest number of private 
nonfarm initial claims due to mass layoffs was food service contractors. 
(See table A.)


Table A. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims
in December 2012, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

                 Industry                                                   December peak      
                                                      Initial claims     Year  Initial claims
                                                                                           
Food service contractors ...................               16,517        2011      19,639
School and employee bus transportation .....               15,909        2012      15,909
Temporary help services (1) ................               12,609        2011      19,987
Highway, street, and bridge construction ...               11,478        2005      20,030
Motion picture and video production ........                3,527        1998      16,192
Hotels and motels, except casino hotels ....                2,872        2008       3,528
Landscaping services .......................                2,323        2011       3,146
Wood kitchen cabinet and countertop mfg. ...                1,960        2006       2,296
Motor vehicle seating and interior trim mfg.                1,942        2008       3,455
Professional employer organizations (1) ....                1,927        2008       6,101
                                                                                           
    1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.


In December, the manufacturing sector accounted for 25 percent of mass
layoff events and 28 percent of associated initial claims in the private 
economy. Within manufacturing, the numbers of mass layoff claimants were 
highest in transportation equipment and in food. Sixteen of the 21 
manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in average 
weekly initial claims. (See table 3.)

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Among the census regions, the Midwest registered the largest number of 
initial claims due to mass layoffs in December. Three of the 4 regions
experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims,
with the largest decrease occurring in the West. (See table 4.)

Among the states, California recorded the highest number of mass layoff 
initial claims in December, followed by Michigan, Pennsylvania, and 
Illinois. Twenty-five states experienced over-the-year decreases
in average weekly initial claims, with the largest declines in California
and Pennsylvania. (See table 4.)


Table B. Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for
unemployment insurance, 1996-2012, not seasonally adjusted 

        Year         Layoff events    Initial claimants for
                                      unemployment insurance

1996 .............       14,111             1,437,628
1997 .............       14,960             1,542,543
1998 .............       15,904             1,771,069
1999 .............       14,909             1,572,399
2000 .............       15,738             1,835,592
2001 .............       21,467             2,514,862
2002 .............       20,277             2,245,051
2003 .............       18,963             1,888,926
2004 .............       15,980             1,607,158
2005 .............       16,466             1,795,341

2006 .............       13,998             1,484,391
2007 .............       15,493             1,598,875
2008 .............       21,137             2,130,220
2009 .............       28,030             2,796,456
2010 .............       19,564             1,854,596
2011 .............       18,521             1,808,451
2012 .............       17,080             1,666,931


Review of 2012

In 2012, the annual totals of mass layoff events, at 17,080, and of initial 
claims, at 1,666,931, declined to their lowest levels since 2007. 
(See table B.) Eleven of the 19 major industry sectors in the private 
economy reported decreases in initial claims in 2012, led by administrative
and waste services, manufacturing, and information. In 2012, total initial
claims in the manufacturing sector declined to a series low 448,687.


Table C. Six-digit NAICS industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims 
in 2012, private nonfarm, not seasonally adjusted

                                                          2011                 2012    
                  Industry
                                                    Initial   Rank       Initial   Rank
                                                     claims               claims      
                                                                                      
Temporary help services (1) ..................      143,938     1        126,304     1
School and employee bus transportation .......       95,287     2        104,960     2
Food service contractors .....................       75,006     3         80,468     3
Motion picture and video production ..........       47,988     4         40,022     4
Highway, street, and bridge construction .....       40,349     5         37,848     5
Professional employer organizations (1) ......       31,916     6         26,394     6
Discount department stores ...................       29,807     7         24,425     7
Child day care services ......................       23,237     8         22,180     8
Supermarkets and other grocery stores ........       19,781     9         19,490     9
Casino hotels ................................       11,148    24         18,722    10
                                                                                      
1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.


The manufacturing sector accounted for 24 percent of all mass layoff events 
and 29 percent of initial claims filed in the private economy in 2012, down 
slightly from 2011 percentages. The number of manufacturing claimants in 
2012 was highest in transportation equipment and in food. Total initial 
claims in 17 of the 21 manufacturing subsectors decreased in 2012 from 2011,
with transportation equipment and wood products experiencing the largest
declines.

The six-digit industry in the private nonfarm sector with the greatest 
number of initial claims in 2012 was temporary help services. Casino hotels 
entered the list of 10 industries with the highest initial claims for the 
entire year and reached a program high. (See table C.) Two other industries 
among these 10 reached program highs in 2012--school and employee bus 
transportation and food service contractors.

Three of the 4 census regions reported over-the-year decreases in total 
annual initial claims from 2011 to 2012, with the largest decline occurring 
in the West. Among the states, California recorded the highest number of 
total annual mass layoff initial claims in 2012, followed by New York, 
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Thirty-six states and the 
District of Columbia experienced over-the-year decreases in total initial 
claims for the year, led by California, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and 
Florida.

Note

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. For private nonfarm establishments, 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"). The quarterly release provides more information on the industry 
classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of 
the laid-off workers. The monthly data series in this release are subjected 
to average weekly analysis, which mitigates the effect of differing lengths 
of months. See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions and for a
description of average weekly analysis.

_____________
The Extended Mass Layoffs news release for Fourth Quarter 2012 and Annual 
Totals for 2012 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 14, 2013, 
at 10:00 a.m. (EST) and will include information on the impact of Hurricane 
Sandy on MLS data. The Mass Layoffs new release for January 2013 is 
scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).




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
employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during
a consecutive 5-week period. These employers 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.

   The monthly data present preliminary mass layoff activity in the 
reference month and are not revised in subsequent months except in special 
circumstances (e.g., layoffs in states affected by Hurricane Katrina).  
Counts of initial claims associated with mass layoff events reflect 
activity through the end of the reference month. Additional mass layoff 
event and initial claims activity received after data for the reference 
month have been published by BLS are not updated in the monthly mass layoff 
series and, therefore, may not match revised mass layoff data issued in 
state publications. However, any additional mass layoff information 
meeting the extended mass layoff criteria will be reflected in BLS’ 
quarterly publication of extended mass layoff data.

   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.  The number of weeks in a given
month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in a year
may vary.  Therefore, data users who intend to perform analysis of over-the-year
change in the not seasonally adjusted series should use the average weekly
mass layoff figures displayed in tables 3 and 4 of this release.  The average
weekly adjustment process produces a consistent series for each month across
all years, permitting over-the-year analysis to be performed using strictly
comparable data.

   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; Federal Relay
Service:  (800) 877-8339.

Definitions

   Average weekly mass layoff events and initial claimants. The number of
events and initial claimants in a given month divided by the number of weeks
contained within that month.

   Employer. Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state
unemployment insurance laws. Information on employers is obtained from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is administered
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

   Industry. Employers are classified according to the 2007 version of the 
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For temporary help
and professional employers organization industries, monthly MLS-related 
statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client companies 
in other industries. An individual layoff action at a client company can
be small, but when initial claimants associated with many such layoffs are
assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a
mass layoff event may trigger.

   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 employer during a 5-week period, regardless of
duration.

Seasonal adjustment

   Effective with the release of data for January 2005, BLS began publishing
six seasonally adjusted monthly MLS series. The six series are the numbers of
mass layoff events and mass layoff initial claims for the total, private nonfarm,
and manufacturing sectors.
   
   Seasonal adjustment is the process of estimating and removing the effect
on time series data of regularly recurring seasonal events such as changes
in the weather, holidays, and the beginning and ending of the school year.
The use of seasonal adjustment makes it easier to observe fundamental changes
in time series, particularly those associated with general economic expansions
and contractions.

   The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjustment
method on a concurrent basis. Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all available
monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in developing seasonal
adjustment factors. Revisions to the most recent 5 years of seasonally adjusted
data will be made once a year with the issuance of December data. Before the data
are seasonally adjusted, prior adjustments are made to the original data to adjust
them for differences in the number of weeks used to calculate the monthly data.
Because weekly unemployment insurance claims are aggregated to form monthly data,
a particular month's value could be calculated with 5 weeks of data in 1 year and
4 weeks in another. The effects of these differences could seriously distort the
seasonal factors if they were ignored in the seasonal adjustment process. These 
effects are modeled in the X-12-ARIMA program and are permanently removed from 
the final seasonally adjusted series.




Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2009 to
December 2012, seasonally adjusted

                                      Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                               
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2009                                                                             

January ....................     2,256     237,182     2,087     223,230       716      91,179
February ...................     3,079     334,171     2,921     318,194     1,274     152,592
March ......................     3,022     304,175     2,827     287,023     1,261     158,119
April ......................     2,537     246,938     2,332     231,211     1,022     114,682
May ........................     2,712     286,089     2,522     270,051     1,206     151,114
June .......................     2,470     248,680     2,261     231,529     1,063     140,105
July .......................     2,184     222,776     1,976     203,347       639      76,345
August .....................     2,358     218,380     2,119     198,877       743      75,387
September ..................     2,274     216,959     2,054     200,863       754      90,250
October ....................     1,970     196,370     1,775     178,648       567      64,681
November ...................     1,764     159,283     1,598     146,802       469      51,887
December ...................     1,720     155,738     1,549     141,699       425      44,455

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     1,699     169,561     1,522     155,298       461      53,303
February ...................     1,647     161,694     1,480     147,259       387      47,272
March ......................     1,703     153,784     1,501     138,188       373      43,022
April ......................     1,622     154,962     1,442     138,849       378      44,860
May ........................     1,585     150,959     1,345     131,482       317      31,677
June .......................     1,701     152,080     1,481     133,366       335      34,653
July .......................     1,521     137,750     1,315     121,313       303      32,064
August .....................     1,612     162,455     1,409     138,849       384      41,123
September ..................     1,526     137,074     1,303     117,582       310      33,906
October ....................     1,661     149,985     1,454     132,373       349      38,157
November ...................     1,584     153,394     1,407     138,925       353      38,097
December ...................     1,476     136,252     1,277     121,849       322      36,611

             2011                                                                             

January ....................     1,522     150,406     1,335     132,659       327      37,431
February ...................     1,456     137,938     1,263     123,141       312      30,036
March ......................     1,307     119,691     1,156     106,721       269      31,699
April ......................     1,526     145,315     1,366     130,841       352      37,177
May ........................     1,573     144,824     1,387     129,296       399      42,238
June .......................     1,522     144,060     1,342     129,136       359      38,630
July .......................     1,566     144,543     1,347     123,815       342      35,458
August .....................     1,585     168,266     1,364     153,081       374      46,267
September ..................     1,463     150,165     1,319     136,564       346      37,505
October ....................     1,349     118,135     1,220     106,478       335      32,310
November ...................     1,312     123,078     1,177     113,239       312      33,715
December ...................     1,392     144,661     1,247     129,994       346      38,469

             2012                                                                             

January ....................     1,435     129,169     1,298     118,127       325      32,503
February ...................     1,275     120,199     1,134     109,458       283      28,236
March ......................     1,290     125,195     1,141     112,889       269      28,300
April ......................     1,403     138,164     1,235     122,236       294      34,929
May ........................     1,370     131,603     1,220     119,788       277      31,873
June .......................     1,320     133,080     1,178     120,857       282      31,737
July .......................     1,354     138,694     1,217     128,186       355      43,427
August .....................     1,297     130,266     1,172     120,391       322      39,389
September ..................     1,346     125,692     1,223     116,792       365      40,287
October ....................     1,400     136,153     1,249     125,026       346      42,927
November ...................     1,749     172,879     1,574     159,872       412      47,171
December ...................     1,509     137,839     1,334     125,505       330      35,211




Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2009 to 
December 2012, not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants   Events    claimants 
                                                                                              
             2009                                                                             

January ....................     3,806     388,813     3,633     375,293     1,461     172,757
February ...................     2,262     218,438     2,173     210,755       945     103,588
March ......................     2,191     228,387     2,107     221,397       940     114,747
April ......................     2,547     256,930     2,385     243,321       887     100,872
May ........................     2,738     289,628     2,572     274,047     1,005     123,683
June .......................     2,519     256,357     2,051     216,063       674      85,726
July .......................     3,054     336,654     2,659     296,589     1,133     154,208
August .....................     1,428     125,024     1,334     117,193       436      41,151
September ..................     1,371     123,177     1,258     115,141       448      51,126
October ....................     1,934     193,904     1,678     172,883       566      69,655
November ...................     1,870     164,496     1,679     150,751       517      55,053
December ...................     2,310     214,648     2,166     203,655       615      64,540

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     2,860     278,679     2,682     265,074       962     104,846
February ...................     1,183     102,818     1,091      96,022       282      30,728
March ......................     1,197     111,727     1,111     105,514       273      29,745
April ......................     1,840     199,690     1,697     184,654       424      55,178
May ........................     1,354     123,333     1,170     109,203       216      19,334
June .......................     1,861     171,190     1,355     125,872       212      21,083
July .......................     2,124     206,254     1,732     172,248       532      64,200
August .....................       976      92,435       897      83,021       230      23,088
September ..................       920      77,654       806      67,987       187      19,403
October ....................     1,642     148,638     1,373     127,865       351      40,861
November ...................     1,676     158,048     1,477     142,591       389      41,383
December ...................     1,931     184,130     1,763     172,881       465      52,816

             2011                                                                             

January ....................     2,558     246,463     2,372     229,765       693      75,006
February ...................     1,024      85,585       919      78,718       222      18,471
March ......................       908      85,095       844      80,014       191      20,869
April ......................     1,750     189,919     1,625     176,478       397      47,104
May ........................     1,367     119,911     1,221     108,531       270      25,199
June .......................     1,661     159,930     1,238     122,821       226      22,986
July .......................     2,176     216,774     1,759     174,078       602      71,814
August .....................       961      99,213       875      93,159       228      26,916
September ..................     1,189     117,232     1,095     107,300       296      32,058
October ....................     1,101      96,914       950      83,748       265      28,447
November ...................     1,393     127,750     1,245     117,474       349      37,799
December ...................     2,433     263,665     2,258     247,916       658      75,033

             2012                                                                             

January ....................     1,705     141,703     1,587     132,754       415      38,021
February ...................       895      73,974       820      69,076       196      16,555
March ......................     1,125     117,817     1,040     110,954       242      24,241
April ......................     1,421     146,358     1,293     132,697       256      32,518
May ........................     1,201     109,259     1,081     100,434       186      18,800
June .......................     1,890     198,537     1,485     158,334       255      28,570
July .......................     1,515     157,753     1,321     144,340       559      74,963
August .....................     1,063     104,045       992      97,694       251      31,193
September ..................       811      70,570       749      66,214       221      22,748
October ....................     1,142     109,829       968      97,390       277      37,702
November ...................     2,339     249,949     2,078     228,124       551      72,690
December ...................     1,973     187,137     1,822     177,452       477      50,686




Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, not seasonally adjusted

                      Industry                                   Mass layoff totals                    Average weekly mass layoffs (1)

                                                             Events         Initial claimants            Events         Initial claimants 
                                                       December   December  December   December    December   December  December   December 
                                                         2011       2012      2011       2012        2011       2012      2011       2012   
                                                                                                                                   
      Total (2) ..................................      2,433      1,973    263,665    187,137        487        493     52,733     46,784

Total, private ...................................      2,322      1,882    252,259    180,516        464        471     50,452     45,129
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ...         64         60      4,343      3,064         13         15        869        766
                                                                                                                                          
  Total, private nonfarm .........................      2,258      1,822    247,916    177,452        452        456     49,583     44,363
    Mining .......................................         26         28      2,404      2,169          5          7        481        542
    Utilities ....................................          5          4        476        337          1          1         95         84
    Construction .................................        402        312     32,402     24,737         80         78      6,480      6,184
        Construction of buildings ................         38         29      3,075      2,119          8          7        615        530
        Heavy and civil engineering construction .        252        184     21,638     15,854         50         46      4,328      3,964
        Specialty trade contractors ..............        112         99      7,689      6,764         22         25      1,538      1,691
    Manufacturing ................................        658        477     75,033     50,686        132        119     15,007     12,672
        Food .....................................         99         63     12,340      6,713         20         16      2,468      1,678
        Beverage and tobacco products ............         10          8      1,225        651          2          2        245        163
        Textile mills ............................         44         10      6,237        846          9          3      1,247        212
        Textile product mills ....................          8          8      1,312        791          2          2        262        198
        Apparel ..................................         17         12      1,586      1,056          3          3        317        264
        Leather and allied products ..............          5        (3)        433        (3)          1        (3)         87        (3)
        Wood products ............................         49         23      4,583      1,979         10          6        917        495
        Paper ....................................         10        (3)      1,180        (3)          2        (3)        236        (3)
        Printing and related support activities ..         11          7        786        675          2          2        157        169
        Petroleum and coal products ..............         14          6      1,298        371          3          2        260         93

        Chemicals ................................         12         10      1,131        723          2          3        226        181
        Plastics and rubber products .............         44         32      4,720      3,067          9          8        944        767
        Nonmetallic mineral products .............         47         35      4,666      3,377          9          9        933        844
        Primary metals ...........................         28         23      3,104      3,389          6          6        621        847
        Fabricated metal products ................         41         37      4,047      3,009          8          9        809        752
        Machinery ................................         38         33      5,472      4,250          8          8      1,094      1,063
        Computer and electronic products .........         27         17      2,223      1,428          5          4        445        357
        Electrical equipment and appliances ......         16         13      2,759      1,510          3          3        552        378
        Transportation equipment .................        107        103     12,458     12,281         21         26      2,492      3,070
        Furniture and related products ...........         22         19      2,712      2,862          4          5        542        716
        Miscellaneous manufacturing ..............          9         11        761      1,122          2          3        152        281

    Wholesale trade ..............................         29         23      2,411      1,992          6          6        482        498
    Retail trade (4) .............................        135        114     14,295      9,654         27         29      2,859      2,414
        Building material and garden supply stores         15          8      1,797        623          3          2        359        156
        Food and beverage stores .................         20         12      1,580        851          4          3        316        213
        Clothing and clothing accessories stores .         12          9        958        513          2          2        192        128
        General merchandise stores ...............         41         42      5,876      3,850          8         11      1,175        963
    Transportation and warehousing (4) ...........        161        167     21,508     19,556         32         42      4,302      4,889
        Truck transportation .....................          8         13        572        741          2          3        114        185
        Transit and ground passenger
          transportation .........................        128        124     18,520     16,621         26         31      3,704      4,155
        Support activities for transportation ....          8          4        819        265          2          1        164         66
    Information ..................................         54         31     14,865      4,026         11          8      2,973      1,007
    Finance and insurance ........................         24         19      1,843      1,242          5          5        369        311
    Real estate and rental and leasing ...........          8          7        495      1,001          2          2         99        250
    Professional and technical services ..........         67         58      9,581      5,254         13         15      1,916      1,314
    Management of companies and enterprises ......          4          3        374        390          1          1         75         98
    Administrative and waste services ............        338        277     32,076     22,425         68         69      6,415      5,606
    Educational services .........................         11         17        860      1,702          2          4        172        426
    Health care and social assistance ............         56         59      4,900      4,804         11         15        980      1,201
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation ..........         28         19      2,022      1,325          6          5        404        331
    Accommodation and food services ..............        232        188     30,635     24,651         46         47      6,127      6,163
        Accommodation ............................         67         46      5,876      3,953         13         12      1,175        988
        Food services and drinking places ........        165        142     24,759     20,698         33         36      4,952      5,175
    Other services, except public administration .         19         17      1,681      1,385          4          4        336        346
    Unclassified .................................          1          2         55        116          -          1         11         29
                                                                                                                                          
Government .......................................        111         91     11,406      6,621         22         23      2,281      1,655
    Federal ......................................          9          5        755        322          2          1        151         81
    State ........................................         25         19      2,580      1,324          5          5        516        331
         State government education ..............         15         11      1,868        773          3          3        374        193
    Local ........................................         77         67      8,071      4,975         15         17      1,614      1,244
         Local government education ..............         46         46      5,123      3,290          9         12      1,025        823
                                                                                                                                   
   1 Average weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. There were 5 weeks in December 2011 and 4 weeks in 
December 2012. Average weekly events and initial claimants may not sum to subtotals and totals due to rounding.
   2 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
   3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   4 Includes other industries not shown.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero. 




Table 4. Region and state distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
not seasonally adjusted

     Census region and state               Mass layoff totals                    Average weekly mass layoffs (1)     
                                                                                                                     
                                        Events         Initial Claimants            Events         Initial Claimants 
                                 December   December  December   December    December   December  December   December
                                   2011       2012      2011       2012        2011       2012      2011       2012  
                                                                                                                     
   Total (2) ...............      2,433      1,973    263,665    187,137        487        493    52,733     46,784
Northeast ..................        450        378     47,617     37,544         90         95     9,523      9,386
    Connecticut ............          5          8        578        841          1          2       116        210
    Maine ..................         10          4        771        317          2          1       154         79
    Massachusetts ..........         19         31      1,946      3,408          4          8       389        852
    New Hampshire ..........          6          7        951      1,051          1          2       190        263
    New Jersey .............         88         78      8,098      8,472         18         20     1,620      2,118
    New York ...............        117        100     11,498      9,853         23         25     2,300      2,463
    Pennsylvania ...........        186        133     20,719     11,575         37         33     4,144      2,894
    Rhode Island ...........         13         10      2,571      1,338          3          3       514        335
    Vermont ................          6          7        485        689          1          2        97        172

South ......................        602        465     67,741     46,148        120        116    13,548     11,537
    Alabama ................         46         15      5,134      1,444          9          4     1,027        361
    Arkansas ...............         24         19      2,759      2,322          5          5       552        581
    Delaware ...............          9        (3)        820        (3)          2        (3)       164        (3)
    District of Columbia ...        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)       (3)        (3)
    Florida ................         70         61      6,239      4,655         14         15     1,248      1,164
    Georgia ................         60         52      7,507      5,006         12         13     1,501      1,252
    Kentucky ...............         67         54      8,047      5,197         13         14     1,609      1,299
    Louisiana ..............         20         17      1,923      1,644          4          4       385        411
    Maryland (4) ...........         18         31      1,959      3,079          4          8       392        770
    Mississippi ............         21         25      1,812      2,317          4          6       362        579
    North Carolina .........         82         52     11,050      5,454         16         13     2,210      1,364
    Oklahoma ...............         10          8        981      1,062          2          2       196        266
    South Carolina .........         32         19      4,612      2,063          6          5       922        516
    Tennessee ..............         24         19      2,157      1,771          5          5       431        443
    Texas ..................         52         47      5,033      5,136         10         12     1,007      1,284
    Virginia ...............         64         38      7,450      4,364         13         10     1,490      1,091
    West Virginia ..........        (3)          3        (3)        249        (3)          1       (3)         62

Midwest ....................        743        630     78,074     65,155        149        158    15,615     16,289
    Illinois ...............        118        114     13,449     11,418         24         29     2,690      2,855
    Indiana ................         49         38      5,758      4,345         10         10     1,152      1,086
    Iowa ...................         58         48      6,797      5,663         12         12     1,359      1,416
    Kansas .................         23         20      2,952      2,325          5          5       590        581
    Michigan ...............        135        158     12,542     15,726         27         40     2,508      3,932
    Minnesota ..............         49         38      5,073      3,197         10         10     1,015        799
    Missouri ...............         67         42      6,586      5,167         13         11     1,317      1,292
    Nebraska ...............         15         12      2,252      2,006          3          3       450        502
    North Dakota ...........        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)       (3)        (3)
    Ohio ...................        107         90     11,550      8,941         21         23     2,310      2,235
    South Dakota ...........        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)        (3)       (3)        (3)
    Wisconsin ..............        111         59     10,117      5,218         22         15     2,023      1,305

West .......................        638        500     70,233     38,290        128        125    14,047      9,573
    Alaska .................          3          3        447        406          1          1        89        102
    Arizona ................          8         10        750        646          2          3       150        162
    California .............        458        359     53,031     25,405         92         90    10,606      6,351
    Colorado ...............         13         12      1,179      1,011          3          3       236        253
    Hawaii .................          4          4        388        220          1          1        78         55
    Idaho ..................         20          9      1,584        647          4          2       317        162
    Montana ................         11          4        895        324          2          1       179         81
    Nevada .................         31         22      3,127      2,161          6          6       625        540
    New Mexico .............          8          6        590        359          2          2       118         90
    Oregon .................         49         25      4,705      2,923         10          6       941        731
    Utah ...................         10          8        693        607          2          2       139        152
    Washington .............         23         38      2,844      3,581          5         10       569        895
    Wyoming ................          -          -          -          -          -          -         -          -
   
    Puerto Rico ............         14         10      1,729      1,012          3          3       346        253
                                                                                                                                  
   1 See footnote 1, table 3
   2 See footnote 2, table 3.
   3 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   4 Data starting in June 2012 may not be comparable to prior data due to a change in MLS unemployment insurance 
procedures.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.




Last Modified Date: January 25, 2013