Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
MLS MLS Program Links

Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, April 22, 2011                          USDL-11-0555

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


                             MASS LAYOFFS -- MARCH 2011


Employers took 1,286 mass layoff actions in March involving 118,523 workers,
seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance
benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. The number
of mass layoff events in March decreased by 135 from February, and the number of
associated initial claims decreased by 12,295. These were their lowest levels since
September 2007 and May 2007, respectively. In March 253 mass layoff events were
reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 27,619 initial
claims. Manufacturing events decreased by 38 from the prior month to the lowest level
on record, while associated initial claims increased by 1,559 from a program low in
February (data begin in April 1995). (See table 1.)

The national unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in March, essentially unchanged
from the prior month and down from 9.7 percent a year earlier. In March total
nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216,000 over the month and by 1,300,000
from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in March was 908, not seasonally adjusted,
resulting in 85,095 initial claims. (See table 2.) The number of mass layoff
events was down by 289 from March 2010, and associated initial claims decreased
by 26,632. Fifteen of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy
reported over-the-year declines in initial claims, with manufacturing and retail
trade having the largest decreases. The six-digit industry with the largest number
of initial claims in March 2011 was food service contractors. (See table A. The
table includes both publicly and privately owned entities.)

Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in
March 2011, not seasonally adjusted 
                                                                             
                                                                 March peak  
                                                                             
                  Industry                          Initial           Initial
                                                     claims    Year    claims
                                                                             
Food service contractors ......................       7,089    2007     7,636
Temporary help services (1) ....................      6,424    2002    14,338
School and employee bus transportation ........       3,459    2008     8,073
Household refrigerator and home freezer mfg. ..       2,718    2011     2,718
Discount department stores ....................       1,930    2007     3,670
Warehouse clubs and supercenters ..............       1,575    2010     1,897
Motion picture and video production ...........       1,488    2005     7,192
Process and logistics consulting services .....        (2)     2009     1,846
Highway, street, and bridge construction ......       1,283    2001     2,640
Professional employer organizations (1) .......       1,160    2009     4,892

   1  See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.
   2  Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.


The manufacturing sector accounted for 21 percent of all mass layoff events and
25 percent of initial claims filed in March. A year earlier, manufacturing made up
23 percent of events and 27 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the
number of claimants in March 2011 was greatest in the food subsector. (See table 3.)
Fourteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in
initial claims, with the largest declines in transportation equipment and food.

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

All 4 regions and 8 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year decreases in
initial claims due to mass layoffs in March. Among the census regions, the
West registered the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims. Of the
geographic divisions, the East North Central and the Pacific had the largest
over-the-year declines in initial claims. (See table 5.)

California recorded the highest number of initial claims in March, followed by
Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York. Thirty states experienced over-the-year
decreases in initial claims, led by California, Illinois, and Michigan. (See
table 6.)

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. Because 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. (See table 4.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

____________

The Extended Mass Layoffs news release for the First Quarter 2011 is scheduled
to be released on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). The Mass Layoffs
news release for April is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 20, 2011, at
10:00 a.m. (EDT).


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.

   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, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year
change in not seasonally adjusted series 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; Federal Relay
Service:  (800) 877-8339.

Definitions

   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 adminis-
tered 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 insur-
ance 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 publish-
ing 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 expan-
sions and contractions.

   The MLS data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjust-
ment method on a concurrent basis.  Concurrent seasonal adjustment uses all
available monthly estimates, including those for the current month, in devel-
oping 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 sea-
sonal 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, April 2007 to 
March 2011, seasonally adjusted 

                                      Total            Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2007                                                                             

April ......................     1,238     126,334     1,102     115,271       358      42,989
May ........................     1,159     113,578     1,064     106,573       347      44,637
June .......................     1,207     127,776     1,097     119,007       342      37,552
July .......................     1,295     136,168     1,193     128,208       401      55,906
August .....................     1,217     122,450     1,126     115,305       312      34,877
September ..................     1,233     121,998     1,140     115,675       430      51,731
October ....................     1,330     133,063     1,210     124,455       439      56,970
November ...................     1,397     145,339     1,269     135,651       408      56,985
December ...................     1,553     154,275     1,435     144,785       463      59,445

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,437     146,900     1,302     135,622       431      55,562
February ...................     1,604     175,128     1,441     163,475       471      59,118
March ......................     1,500     150,502     1,388     140,424       435      56,156
April ......................     1,292     128,901     1,162     118,016       449      58,402
May ........................     1,582     161,944     1,444     152,230       468      62,452
June .......................     1,631     164,508     1,488     153,014       491      68,198
July .......................     1,581     164,497     1,443     153,720       463      62,425
August .....................     1,791     181,107     1,653     171,705       583      77,874
September ..................     2,192     233,034     2,024     219,532       635      82,471
October ....................     2,221     229,254     2,062     215,787       697      92,408
November ...................     2,415     228,107     2,256     214,631       900     102,284
December ...................     2,443     245,661     2,264     231,138       927     114,280

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     2,272     238,717     2,103     224,850       756     100,927
February ...................     2,801     315,507     2,636     300,042     1,194     138,583
March ......................     2,950     295,543     2,758     279,027     1,205     144,713
April ......................     2,579     251,032     2,368     234,796       997     121,435
May ........................     2,758     288,319     2,557     271,425     1,187     147,548
June .......................     2,506     250,275     2,293     232,814     1,048     135,389
July .......................     2,192     223,697     1,977     203,365       620      72,932
August .....................     2,419     220,262     2,177     201,951       778      83,837
September ..................     2,305     219,924     2,095     204,596       799      91,665
October ....................     1,975     195,347     1,780     177,977       570      63,646
November ...................     1,754     154,223     1,585     141,439       464      51,891
December ...................     1,725     156,274     1,545     141,649       420      43,584

             2010                                                                             

January ....................     1,716     171,633     1,541     157,597       494      60,059
February ...................     1,492     149,369     1,318     135,490       351      40,564
March ......................     1,635     146,901     1,436     131,953       347      37,273
April ......................     1,675     159,358     1,498     143,814       371      48,646
May ........................     1,665     155,352     1,405     133,913       314      30,967
June .......................     1,729     153,937     1,504     134,837       326      32,646
July .......................     1,528     138,581     1,316     121,378       296      30,752
August .....................     1,658     163,325     1,453     141,489       409      47,668
September ..................     1,541     137,941     1,331     119,654       336      34,641
October ....................     1,649     147,204     1,445     130,264       353      37,394
November ...................     1,579     148,800     1,397     133,845       350      39,072
December ...................     1,483     137,992     1,272     122,688       319      35,977

             2011                                                                             

January ....................     1,534     149,799     1,344     132,730       341      39,189
February ...................     1,421     130,818     1,220     116,190       291      26,060
March ......................     1,286     118,523     1,128     105,636       253      27,619




Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, April 2007 to 
March 2011, not seasonally adjusted 

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing  
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2007                                                                             

April ......................     1,219     127,444     1,115     118,040       309      35,229
May ........................       923      85,816       856      81,153       224      26,527
June .......................     1,599     172,810     1,318     148,669       313      36,571
July .......................     1,599     175,419     1,450     164,939       684     101,390
August .....................       963      93,458       908      88,345       220      23,361
September ..................       717      67,385       667      64,026       246      29,381
October ....................     1,083     108,455       929      97,716       338      50,918
November ...................     1,799     198,220     1,593     181,184       514      75,413
December ...................     2,167     224,214     2,071     216,898       699      91,754

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,647     154,503     1,520     144,191       488      54,418
February ...................     1,269     119,508     1,178     113,587       361      42,527
March ......................     1,089     114,541     1,039     110,147       333      43,740
April ......................     1,272     130,810     1,172     121,625       394      48,188
May ........................     1,552     159,471     1,438     150,462       388      51,698
June .......................     1,622     166,742     1,315     140,916       309      42,097
July .......................     1,891     200,382     1,687     186,018       760     108,733
August .....................     1,427     139,999     1,343     133,146       414      51,912
September ..................     1,292     129,586     1,202     122,505       361      46,391
October ....................     2,125     221,784     1,917     205,553       689     100,457
November ...................     2,574     241,589     2,389     226,657       997     107,620
December ...................     3,377     351,305     3,232     340,220     1,378     172,529

             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




Table 3. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

                                                                                                     Initial claimants for         
                                                              Mass layoff events                    unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                                                                                                      
                                                     March    January  February   March      March     January   February    March 
                                                      2010      2011     2011      2011       2010       2011      2011       2011 
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                

      Total .....................................    1,635     1,534    1,421     1,286     146,901    149,799   130,818    118,523

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,436     1,344    1,220     1,128     131,953    132,730   116,190    105,636
    Manufacturing ...............................      347       341      291       253      37,273     39,189    26,060     27,619

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    1,197     2,558    1,024       908     111,727    246,463    85,585     85,095

Total, private ..................................    1,149     2,438      976       874     107,880    234,708    82,230     82,046
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       38        66       57        30       2,366      4,943     3,512      2,032

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,111     2,372      919       844     105,514    229,765    78,718     80,014
    Mining ......................................        5        15        4         3         374      1,188       322        247
    Utilities ...................................      (2)         5      (2)         4         (2)        390       (2)        547
    Construction ................................      117       325      104        99       8,206     23,906     7,003      7,569
    Manufacturing ...............................      273       693      222       191      29,745     75,006    18,471     20,869
        Food ....................................       53        94       58        45       6,122      9,313     5,115      4,338
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        4         5        5         4         716        752       287        242
        Textile mills ...........................        4        31        5         3         350      4,455       468        328
        Textile product mills ...................        3         9        4         3         172        793       270        481
        Apparel .................................       10        20        5         4         578      1,776       693        374
        Leather and allied products .............        -       (2)      (2)         -           -        (2)       (2)          -
        Wood products ...........................       16        43       22        24       1,445      4,930     1,872      2,354
        Paper ...................................        5        14       12         7         313      1,049       750        622
        Printing and related support activities .       14        12        6         5       1,224        983       679        359
        Petroleum and coal products .............        3       (2)      (2)       (2)         185        (2)       (2)        (2)

        Chemicals ...............................       13        18        7       (2)       1,064      1,612       759        (2)
        Plastics and rubber products ............        9        51        5         4         686      4,569       262        321
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       11        56       16         5         785      4,239     1,141        404
        Primary metals ..........................        8        23        8         8         773      3,046       794        536
        Fabricated metal products ...............       18        51        8        12       1,361      4,174       446        916
        Machinery ...............................       22        46       11        11       2,373      5,446       897      1,077
        Computer and electronic products ........       16        14       13        10       1,278      1,020       847        808
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....        6        15        4         8       1,195      1,572     1,078      2,886
        Transportation equipment ................       43       128       19        19       7,128     19,478     1,275      2,887
        Furniture and related products ..........       10        44        9        10       1,625      4,263       533      1,099
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............        5        14      (2)         5         372      1,073       (2)        530

    Wholesale trade .............................       29        32       24        18       2,016      2,839     2,187      1,393
    Retail trade ................................      124       241      114        89      13,337     27,038     9,346      9,012
    Transportation and warehousing ..............       62       212       49        44       6,444     22,440     5,630      5,133
    Information .................................       52        53       58        36       5,715      7,915     8,959      3,788
    Finance and insurance .......................       43        31       22        19       3,636      2,758     1,407      1,354
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........        8        17        7         6         409      1,150       369        452
    Professional and technical services .........       45        52       43        35       4,610      4,019     3,729      3,771
    Management of companies and enterprises .....      (2)         6      (2)         3         (2)        439       (2)        194
    Administrative and waste services ...........      163       381      166       151      13,281     34,996    13,894     11,303
    Educational services ........................       10        19        8         4         824      2,672       474        265
    Health care and social assistance ...........       33        56       28        33       2,066      3,880     1,685      2,038
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       20        55       11        13       1,558      5,494       629        893
    Accommodation and food services .............      112       158       50        88      12,269     12,107     4,088     10,491
    Other services, except public administration        10        21        4         8         670      1,528       161        695
    Unclassified ................................        -         -        -         -           -          -         -          -

Government ......................................       48       120       48        34       3,847     11,755     3,355      3,049
    Federal .....................................        8        23        5         5         636      2,922       384        532
    State .......................................       15        32       17        10       1,324      3,272     1,029      1,389
    Local .......................................       25        65       26        19       1,887      5,561     1,942      1,128
                                                                                                                                   
 
   1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.




Table 4. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2009 to March 2011, not seasonally adjusted

                                                                                   Private nonfarm                               
                                                                                                                                 
                                Total mass layoffs                              Extended mass layoffs                            
             Date                                        Mass layoffs          lasting more than 30 days    Realization rates (1)
                                                                                                                                 
                                           Initial               Initial                       Initial                   Initial 
                               Events     claimants   Events    claimants       Events        claimants        Events   claimants
             2009                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                 
January ....................    3,806      388,813     3,633     375,293                                                         
February ...................    2,262      218,438     2,173     210,755                                                         
March ......................    2,191      228,387     2,107     221,397                                                         
                                                                                                                                 
First Quarter ..............    8,259      835,638     7,913     807,445         3,979         835,551           50.3      103.5 
                                                                                                                                 
April ......................    2,547      256,930     2,385     243,321                                                         
May ........................    2,738      289,628     2,572     274,047                                                         
June .......................    2,519      256,357     2,051     216,063                                                         

Second Quarter .............    7,804      802,915     7,008     733,431         3,395         731,049           48.4       99.7 

July .......................    3,054      336,654     2,659     296,589                                                         
August .....................    1,428      125,024     1,334     117,193                                                         
September ..................    1,371      123,177     1,258     115,141                                                         

Third Quarter ..............    5,853      584,855     5,251     528,923         2,034         406,823           38.7       76.9 

October ....................    1,934      193,904     1,678     172,883                                                         
November ...................    1,870      164,496     1,679     150,751                                                         
December ...................    2,310      214,648     2,166     203,655                                                         

Fourth Quarter .............    6,114      573,048     5,523     527,289         2,416         468,577           43.7       88.9 

             2010                                                                                                                

January ....................    2,860      278,679     2,682     265,074                                                         
February ...................    1,183      102,818     1,091      96,022                                                         
March ......................    1,197      111,727     1,111     105,514                                                         

First Quarter ..............    5,240      493,224     4,884     466,610         1,870         368,459           38.3       79.0 

April ......................    1,840      199,690     1,697     184,654                                                         
May ........................    1,354      123,333     1,170     109,203                                                         
June .......................    1,861      171,190     1,355     125,872                                                         

Second Quarter .............    5,055      494,213     4,222     419,729         2,008         395,224           47.6       94.2

July .......................    2,124      206,254     1,732     172,248                                                          
August .....................      976       92,435       897      83,021                                                          
September ..................      920       77,654       806      67,987                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    4,020      376,343     3,435     323,256         1,370         256,636           39.9       79.4

October ....................    1,642      148,638     1,373     127,865                                                          
November ...................    1,676      158,048     1,477     142,591                                                          
December ...................    1,931      184,130     1,763     172,881                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    5,249      490,816     4,613     443,337   (2)(p)1,910   (2)(p)268,431        (p)41.4    (p)60.5

             2011                                                                                                                 

January ....................    2,558      246,463     2,372     229,765                                                          
February ...................    1,024       85,585       919      78,718                                                          
March ......................      908       85,095       844      80,014                                                          

First Quarter...............    4,490      417,143     4,135     388,497                                                          
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
   1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial
claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting
more than 30 days.
   2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available. 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 5. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, not 
seasonally adjusted 

                                                                                     Initial claimants for          
                                            Mass layoff events                      unemployment insurance          

  Census region and division                                                                                        

                                   March    January   February   March      March     January     February    March 
                                    2010      2011      2011      2011       2010       2011        2011       2011 
                                                                                                                    
        United States (1) ...      1,197     2,558     1,024       908     111,727    246,463      85,585     85,095

Northeast ...................        195       591       173       169      19,419     58,802      16,047     15,540
    New England .............         26        81        32        22       2,168      7,047       4,259      1,883
    Middle Atlantic .........        169       510       141       147      17,251     51,755      11,788     13,657

South .......................        262       687       260       250      26,591     66,552      19,998     26,112
    South Atlantic ..........        136       431       166       116      10,762     40,880      11,371      9,765
    East South Central ......         54       156        44        61       5,470     16,508       4,343      6,539
    West South Central ......         72       100        50        73      10,359      9,164       4,284      9,808

Midwest .....................        252       613       180       172      27,591     63,468      15,075     17,168
    East North Central ......        184       464       130       124      21,613     45,790      11,550     11,640
    West North Central ......         68       149        50        48       5,978     17,678       3,525      5,528

West ........................        488       667       411       317      38,126     57,641      34,465     26,275
    Mountain ................         77        66        35        46       6,324      6,046       2,440      4,292
    Pacific .................        411       601       376       271      31,802     51,595      32,025     21,983
                                                                                                                    
 
   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   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 6. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 
not seasonally adjusted 

                                                                                      Initial claimants for           
                                       Mass layoff events                            unemployment insurance           
           State                                                                                                      
                              March      January    February     March      March       January     February    March 
                               2010        2011       2011        2011       2010         2011         2011      2011 

   Total (1) ............    1,197        2,558      1,024        908      111,727      246,463      85,585     85,095
                                                                                                                      
Alabama .................       18           70         12         18        1,517        7,730       1,583      2,072
Alaska ..................      (2)            4        (2)        (2)          (2)          392         (2)        (2)
Arizona .................       17           13         12         11        1,417        1,075         838      1,045
Arkansas ................        3            6          3          3          214          768         283        232
California ..............      373          530        349        230       28,180       44,274      29,769     17,478
Colorado ................        7           11          4          5          626        1,126         383        557
Connecticut .............        9           11          4          5          746        1,048         331        410
Delaware ................        -            5          3          -            -          411         239          -
District of Columbia ....        -            4        (2)          -            -          452         (2)          -
Florida .................       68          128         85         56        4,311        9,464       5,071      4,060
Georgia .................       13           84         28         16        1,202        8,952       2,221      1,593
Hawaii ..................        7            6          3          5          534          388         232        659
Idaho ...................        9            8          4         10          661          698         225        886

Illinois ................       60           86         35         37        7,479        7,516       3,508      3,495
Indiana .................       22           43         15         12        3,057        6,487       1,471      1,336
Iowa ....................       13           39          9         10        2,135        4,007         870      2,060
Kansas ..................        4           23          5          5          313        5,440         308        727
Kentucky ................       25           47         13         20        3,276        5,472       1,682      2,387
Louisiana ...............       16           29          6         11        1,615        2,309         518      1,239
Maine ...................        3           11        (2)          5          233          900         (2)        575
Maryland ................        6           25          4          4          557        1,888         306        431
Massachusetts ...........        7           34          6          7          725        3,225         534        624
Michigan ................       29          127         17         21        4,729       10,398       1,091      2,359
Minnesota ...............       13           19         10          9          921        1,988         675        707
Mississippi .............        5           13          8         14          241        1,163         446      1,413
Missouri ................       31           55         17         21        2,112        4,713       1,038      1,755

Montana .................      (2)            6        (2)        (2)          (2)          560         (2)        (2)
Nebraska ................        6            9          9          3          409        1,086         634        279
Nevada ..................       26           12          5          7        2,131        1,299         394        524
New Hampshire ...........        5            9          4        (2)          297          722         537        (2)
New Jersey ..............       28          109         19         19        3,024        9,853       2,243      1,494
New Mexico ..............        9            7          3          7          847          467         164        640
New York ................       60          207         45         49        6,046       24,950       4,161      5,159
North Carolina (3) ......       16          100         27         18        1,610        9,865       1,984      1,917
North Dakota ............        -            3          -          -            -          390           -          -
Ohio ....................       34           93         30         22        2,927        9,241       2,473      1,891
Oklahoma ................        4           11          9          5        1,287        1,048       1,015        367
Oregon ..................       18           36          9         20        2,080        4,390         896      2,337
Pennsylvania ............       81          194         77         79        8,181       16,952       5,384      7,004

Rhode Island ............      (2)            8         10        (2)          (2)          555       2,125        (2)
South Carolina ..........       14           41          5          7        1,513        5,124         340        489
South Dakota ............      (2)          (2)          -          -          (2)          (2)           -          -
Tennessee ...............        6           26         11          9          436        2,143         632        667
Texas ...................       49           54         32         54        7,243        5,039       2,468      7,970
Utah ....................        5            7          6          3          393          720         370        423
Vermont .................      (2)            8          6        (2)          (2)          597         558        (2)
Virginia ................       18           42         10         13        1,416        4,497         899      1,102
Washington ..............       12           25         13         14          949        2,151         955      1,099
West Virginia ...........      (2)          (2)          3        (2)          (2)          (2)         216        (2)
Wisconsin ...............       39          115         33         32        3,421       12,148       3,007      2,559
Wyoming .................      (2)          (2)          -        (2)          (2)          (2)           -        (2)

Puerto Rico.............        21           25         16         11        1,702        2,854       1,808      1,114

   1 See footnote 1, table 3.
   2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
   3 Data starting in November 2010 may not be comparable to prior data due to a change in MLS uenmployment insurance 
     input procedures
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.




Last Modified Date: April 22, 2011