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

Technical information:  (202) 691-6392     USDL 09-0842
               http://www.bls.gov/mls/
                                           For release:  10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902     Thursday, July 23, 2009
                                   
                                   
                       MASS LAYOFFS IN JUNE 2009

   Employers took 2,763 mass layoff actions in June that resulted in
the separation of 279,231 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by
new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported
today.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer.  
The number of mass layoff events decreased by 170 and associated initial 
claims decreased by 33,649.  Both measures had been at record high levels 
in May.  Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 
1,046, and associated initial claims increased by 104,483.  In June, 
1,235 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, sea-
sonally adjusted, resulting in 159,310 initial claims.  Over the year, 
the number of manufacturing events increased by 680, and associated 
initial claims increased by 79,566.  (See table 1.)

   During the 19 months from December 2007 through June 2009, the
total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 39,822,
and the number of initial claims filed (seasonally adjusted) in those
events was 4,090,538.  (December 2007 was designated as the start of 
a recession by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)

   The national unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in June 2009, season-
ally adjusted, up slightly from 9.4 percent the prior month and up from 
5.6 percent a year earlier.  In June, total nonfarm payroll employment 
decreased by 467,000 over the month and by 5,664,000 from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   The number of mass layoff events in June was 2,519 on a not season-
ally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was
256,357.  (See table 2.)  Over the year, increases were recorded in
both the number of mass layoff events (+897) and initial claims
(+89,615).  This year, both average weekly events and initial
claimants reached their highest June levels in program history; data
are available back to 1995.  (Average weekly analysis mitigates the
effect of differing lengths of months.  See the Technical Note.)  Ten
of the 19 major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of
average weekly initial claimants for the month of June--construction;
wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; real
estate and rental and leasing; management of companies and enterprises; 
administrative and waste services; health care and social assistance; 
arts, entertainment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services.  
Government also reported a program high in terms of average weekly 
initial claimants for the month of June.

   The manufacturing sector accounted for 27 percent of all mass lay-
off events and 33 percent of initial claims filed in June 2009; a
year earlier, manufacturing made up 19 percent of events and 25 per-
cent of initial claims.  This June, the number of manufacturing
claimants was greatest in transportation equipment (24,865) and
machinery (14,644).  (See table 3.)  The transportation and warehous-
ing sector accounted for 7 percent of mass layoff events and 9 percent 
of the associated initial claims during the month.

   Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass lay-
off initial claims, 4 reached a series high for June:  construction
machinery manufacturing; aircraft manufacturing; professional employer
organizations; and elementary and secondary schools.  The industry
with the largest number of initial claims was elementary and secondary
schools (28,751), which includes both publicly- and privately-owned 
entities.  (See table A.)

                                  - 2 -


Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in June 2009,
not seasonally adjusted 

                                                                           June peak
                  Industry                         
                                                   Initial claims     Year  Initial claims
                                                                    
Elementary and secondary schools ..............        28,751         2009      28,751
School and employee bus transportation ........        18,930         2007      21,611
Food service contractors ......................        12,113         2007      14,527
Temporary help services (1) ...................         8,567         2000      13,815
Child day care services .......................         7,911         2007       9,115
Construction machinery manufacturing ..........         7,454         2009       7,454
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing .         7,034         1998       7,608
Professional employer organizations (1) .......         5,303         2009       5,303
Motion picture and video production ...........         3,578         2000       9,435
Aircraft manufacturing ........................         3,365         2009       3,365
                                                                                        
   1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.


Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

   Among the 4 census regions, the Midwest registered the highest
number of initial claims in June due to mass layoffs (76,301),
followed by the West (71,501) and the South (61,962).  (See table 5.)
Initial claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in
all 4 regions, with the Midwest (+36,910) and the South (+23,509)
experiencing the largest increases.  In 2009, all regions except the
Midwest reported their highest June levels of average weekly initial
claims in program history.

   Of the 9 geographic divisions, the Pacific (64,317) had the highest
number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in June, followed by the
East North Central (59,347) and the Middle Atlantic (40,077).  (See
table 5.)  All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in
initial claims, led by the East North Central (+30,798), the Pacific
(+13,043), and the South Atlantic (+13,016).  This year, 4 of the 9
divisions--Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, East South Central, and
Pacific--reached program highs for June in terms of average weekly
initial claims.

   California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due
to mass layoff events in June with 56,138.  The states with the next
highest number of mass layoff initial claims were Illinois (20,576),
Pennsylvania (18,363), and Florida (15,785).  (See table 6.)  Forty-
three states registered over-the-year increases in initial claims
associated with mass layoffs, led by Illinois (+15,809), California
(+11,384), Michigan (+5,895), and Alabama (+5,746).  In 2009, 16
states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims for the
month of June--Alabama, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

                                  - 3 -

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 report on Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2009
is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 12.  The report on
Mass Layoffs in July 2009 is scheduled to be released on Friday,
August 21.




                                - 4 - 


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; TDD message referral
phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

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.
   
   
                                - 5 - 


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, July 2005 to June 2009,
seasonally adjusted

                                     Total            Private nonfarm        Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2005                                                                             

July .......................     1,241     130,331     1,094     117,510       354      46,056
August .....................     1,143     125,536     1,000     113,465       342      47,255
September ..................     2,250     296,913     2,035     252,291       420      55,974
October ....................     1,109     111,202       991     102,111       320      43,387
November ...................     1,162     113,502     1,027     102,058       325      41,493
December ...................     1,263     136,751     1,135     125,700       358      46,940

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,112     111,601       986     102,359       293      35,390
February ...................       960     104,045       872      96,317       317      41,810
March ......................     1,078     118,270       976     109,842       320      48,026
April ......................     1,198     123,674     1,062     113,849       366      50,747
May ........................     1,132     116,808     1,013     106,743       312      42,958
June .......................     1,156     124,955     1,044     115,491       356      45,280
July .......................     1,204     123,172     1,077     113,324       381      50,109
August .....................     1,278     136,289     1,117     125,064       376      60,524
September ..................     1,167     124,083     1,054     115,451       390      46,470
October ....................     1,195     121,439     1,081     112,777       401      53,597
November ...................     1,209     131,459     1,096     122,136       402      57,084
December ...................     1,201     133,311     1,100     124,019       369      51,113

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,261     129,190     1,116     118,890       406      55,341
February ...................     1,240     134,524     1,130     126,105       404      58,861
March ......................     1,261     129,480     1,151     120,923       407      52,356
April ......................     1,281     130,263     1,145     119,683       381      45,654
May ........................     1,200     119,259     1,097     111,585       368      48,682
June .......................     1,256     132,078     1,138     122,726       356      41,135
July .......................     1,288     131,556     1,182     123,322       405      53,318
August .....................     1,262     125,334     1,162     117,557       331      36,577
September ..................     1,279     125,527     1,183     118,917       440      54,006
October ....................     1,346     133,514     1,224     124,666       436      57,527
November ...................     1,352     143,419     1,233     134,445       408      56,330
December ...................     1,469     145,916     1,354     136,914       447      56,152

             2008                                                                             

January ....................     1,476     149,068     1,350     139,076       435      56,579
February ...................     1,669     183,038     1,532     172,013       526      67,235
March ......................     1,585     161,497     1,471     151,550       483      65,252
April ......................     1,344     135,352     1,215     125,074       487      63,247
May ........................     1,701     180,558     1,563     170,538       538      75,520
June .......................     1,717     174,748     1,561     162,071       555      79,744
July .......................     1,535     152,499     1,390     141,239       455      57,648
August .....................     1,887     188,951     1,735     178,479       626      80,913
September ..................     2,290     240,721     2,114     226,492       643      86,617
October ....................     2,204     230,330     2,042     216,095       687      92,256
November ...................     2,333     225,639     2,185     213,288       868     100,643
December ...................     2,275     226,117     2,100     212,559       871     105,402

             2009                                                                             

January ....................     2,227     237,902     2,070     225,490       738     102,577
February ...................     2,769     295,477     2,628     281,500     1,235     152,618
March ......................     2,933     299,388     2,751     283,989     1,259     155,909
April ......................     2,712     271,226     2,519     256,111     1,111     135,252
May ........................     2,933     312,880     2,736     296,108     1,331     165,802
June .......................     2,763     279,231     2,536     260,747     1,235     159,310




Table 2. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,  July 2005 to June 2009,
not seasonally adjusted

                                       Total           Private nonfarm         Manufacturing    
             Date                                                                             
                                           Initial               Initial               Initial  
                                Events    claimants   Events    claimants    Events   claimants 
                                                                                              
             2005                                                                             

July .......................     1,981     244,216     1,745     222,377       856     136,210
August .....................       645      67,582       598      63,484       188      22,531
September ..................     1,662     213,281     1,505     179,042       318      47,497
October ....................       905      91,941       757      80,694       249      37,276
November ...................     1,254     116,127     1,079     102,182       363      41,442
December ...................     2,323     254,258     2,168     242,753       706      96,382

             2006                                                                             

January ....................     1,245     117,946     1,123     108,701       331      35,097
February ...................       719      66,555       658      62,208       210      24,892
March ......................       921     111,838       856     106,177       285      44,688
April ......................     1,140     121,589     1,038     112,964       296      39,538
May ........................       872      84,809       794      78,663       192      23,570
June .......................     1,489     164,761     1,224     140,687       319      41,095
July .......................     1,511     166,857     1,335     154,342       648      96,152
August .....................       708      72,844       656      69,054       203      28,494
September ..................       865      87,699       785      81,274       296      39,076
October ....................       964      98,804       820      88,133       311      46,737
November ...................     1,315     136,186     1,172     125,009       455      58,473
December ...................     2,249     254,503     2,126     244,783       735     105,462

             2007                                                                             

January ....................     1,407     134,984     1,263     124,475       456      53,615
February ...................       935      86,696       861      82,097       273      36,170
March ......................     1,082     123,974     1,015     118,431       367      49,886
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




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


                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                               Mass layoff events                   unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                                                                                                      
                                                     June      April    May       June        June      April      May       June  
                                                     2008      2009     2009      2009        2008      2009       2009      2009  
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                


      Total .....................................    1,717     2,712    2,933     2,763     174,748    271,226   312,880    279,231

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,561     2,519    2,736     2,536     162,071    256,111   296,108    260,747
    Manufacturing ...............................      555     1,111    1,331     1,235      79,744    135,252   165,802    159,310

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    1,622     2,547    2,738     2,519     166,742    256,930   289,628    256,357

Total, private ..................................    1,363     2,464    2,599     2,101     144,732    250,548   276,113    219,548
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..       48        79       27        50       3,816      7,227     2,066      3,485

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,315     2,385    2,572     2,051     140,916    243,321   274,047    216,063
    Mining ......................................     (2)         39       32        15       (2)        3,267     3,057      1,147
    Utilities ...................................     (2)       (2)         4         4       (2)        (2)         466        246
    Construction ................................      114       194      255       136       7,713     13,490    19,684      9,343
    Manufacturing ...............................      309       887    1,005       674      42,097    100,872   123,683     85,726
        Food ....................................       58        81       65        48       6,065      8,371     7,211      4,395
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........     (2)       (2)         7      (2)        (2)        (2)         607      (2)  
        Textile mills ...........................        5        16       13        11         730      2,409     1,059      1,563
        Textile product mills ...................     (2)          9        8         4       (2)          765       775        214
        Apparel .................................        7        19       17        16         534      1,610     1,360      1,683
        Leather and allied products .............        3      (2)      (2)       (2)          862      (2)       (2)        (2)  
        Wood products ...........................       22        39       43        29       2,314      3,437     4,219      2,435
        Paper ...................................        6        26       30        13         411      2,584     3,854        968
        Printing and related support activities .       10        25       34        18       1,116      2,275     3,521      1,552
        Petroleum and coal products .............      -        (2)      (2)       (2)         -         (2)       (2)        (2)  

        Chemicals ...............................        4        21       23        13         228      1,453     2,146      1,013
        Plastics and rubber products ............        8        51       52        35         960      6,393     5,187      3,697
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............        9        34       35        25         516      3,192     2,388      1,645
        Primary metals ..........................       12        70       77        45       1,012      8,636     8,785      6,496
        Fabricated metal products ...............       19        97      100        74       1,716      7,698     9,483      6,846
        Machinery ...............................       22       100      118        74       2,611     18,614    12,472     14,644
        Computer and electronic products ........       13        69       60        63       1,091      5,770     5,732      6,145
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....        8        43       37        30       2,128      5,169     3,506      4,344
        Transportation equipment ................       74       148      238       139      17,597     19,246    46,816     24,865
        Furniture and related products ..........       12        21       24        24       1,076      1,783     2,568      2,337
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............       13        14       17         9         909      1,118     1,402        644

    Wholesale trade .............................       15        55       64        50         908      4,343     6,022      4,858
    Retail trade ................................       89       153      202       155      10,567     16,211    18,360     15,318
    Transportation and warehousing ..............      160       231       89       184      20,647     28,962     7,835     23,792
    Information .................................       47        75       67        53       5,078      7,934     9,132      6,018
    Finance and insurance .......................       40        67       71        34       2,968      6,220     6,374      2,239
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........        7        13       14        20         798      1,078       985      1,590
    Professional and technical services .........       32        97       83        53       3,903     10,085     7,030      4,503
    Management of companies and enterprises .....        4        10       12         8         257        854     1,329      1,164
    Administrative and waste services ...........      164       300      310       239      15,635     25,498    32,973     19,150
    Educational services ........................       18      (2)        10        28       1,275      (2)         758      2,295
    Health care and social assistance ...........      151        49       87       173      11,867      3,343     8,402     13,948
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       26        47       37        45       1,462      4,074     2,676      2,671
    Accommodation and food services .............      102       134      189       136      12,931     13,168    21,484     18,499
    Other services, except public administration        33        23       41        42       2,507      2,168     3,797      3,424
    Unclassified ................................        1         1      -           2          57         86      -           132

Government ......................................      259        83      139       418      22,010      6,382    13,515     36,809
    Federal .....................................       11         6       37        15         928        461     4,585      1,124
    State .......................................       12        20       25        38         953      1,631     2,185      2,821
    Local .......................................      236        57       77       365      20,129      4,290     6,745     32,864
                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                   
   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, April 2007 to June 2009, 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
             2007                                                                                                                 

April ......................    1,219      127,444     1,115     118,040                                                          
May ........................      923       85,816       856      81,153                                                          
June .......................    1,599      172,810     1,318     148,669                                                          

Second Quarter .............    3,741      386,070     3,289     347,862         1,421         259,234             43.2       74.5

July .......................    1,599      175,419     1,450     164,939                                                          
August .....................      963       93,458       908      88,345                                                          
September ..................      717       67,385       667      64,026                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    3,279      336,262     3,025     317,310         1,018         173,077             33.7       54.5

October ....................    1,083      108,455       929      97,716                                                          
November ...................    1,799      198,220     1,593     181,184                                                          
December ...................    2,167      224,214     2,071     216,898                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    5,049      530,889     4,593     495,798         1,814         347,151             39.5       70.0

             2008                                                                                                                 

January ....................    1,647      154,503     1,520     144,191                                                          
February ...................    1,269      119,508     1,178     113,587                                                          
March ......................    1,089      114,541     1,039     110,147                                                          

First Quarter ..............    4,005      388,552     3,737     367,925         1,340         259,292             35.9       70.5

April ......................    1,272      130,810     1,172     121,625                                                          
May ........................    1,552      159,471     1,438     150,462                                                          
June .......................    1,622      166,742     1,315     140,916                                                          

Second Quarter .............    4,446      457,023     3,925     413,003         1,756         339,574             44.7       82.2

July .......................    1,891      200,382     1,687     186,018                                                          
August .....................    1,427      139,999     1,343     133,146                                                          
September ..................    1,292      129,586     1,202     122,505                                                          

Third Quarter ..............    4,610      469,967     4,232     441,669         1,582         303,774             37.4       68.8

October ....................    2,125      221,784     1,917     205,553                                                          
November ...................    2,574      241,589     2,389     226,657                                                          
December ...................    3,377      351,305     3,232     340,220                                                          

Fourth Quarter .............    8,076      814,678     7,538     772,430         3,585         762,737             47.6       98.7

             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   (2)(p)3,489   (2)(p)542,023          (p)44.1    (p)67.1

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                                                          
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                  
  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                                                                                       
  
                                    June     April      May      June       June       April       May        June 
                                    2008      2009      2009     2009       2008       2009        2009       2009 
                                                                                                                   
        United States (1) ...      1,622     2,547     2,738    2,519     166,742    256,930     289,628    256,357

Northeast ...................        282       504       451      428      32,721     56,253      41,413     46,593
    New England .............         49        88        67       63       4,929      9,192       5,865      6,516
    Middle Atlantic .........        233       416       384      365      27,792     47,061      35,548     40,077

South .......................        365       655       742      620      38,453     62,714      72,375     61,962
    South Atlantic ..........        207       368       370      354      18,972     33,338      34,117     31,988
    East South Central ......         63       160       171      128      10,974     16,166      18,081     16,589
    West South Central ......         95       127       201      138       8,507     13,210      20,177     13,385

Midwest .....................        345       608       826      592      39,391     72,383     105,264     76,301
    East North Central ......        257       482       649      469      28,549     60,241      84,281     59,347
    West North Central ......         88       126       177      123      10,842     12,142      20,983     16,954

West ........................        630       780       719      879      56,177     65,580      70,576     71,501
    Mountain ................         63       125       135       90       4,903     11,993      13,290      7,184
    Pacific .................        567       655       584      789      51,274     53,587      57,286     64,317
                                                                                                                   
 
  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                                                                                                      
                              June        April       May        June        June        April        May        June 
                              2008         2009       2009       2009        2008         2009        2009       2009 

   Total (1) ............    1,622        2,547      2,738      2,519      166,742      256,930     289,628    256,357
                                                                                                                      
Alabama .................       13           27         40         49        2,091        2,745       4,037      7,837
Alaska ..................      -              5         12          6         -             828       1,230        431
Arizona .................       17           41         28         27        1,520        4,985       2,484      2,137
Arkansas ................        6           12         18          8          414        1,057       2,319        583
California ..............      516          567        487        714       44,754       43,675      47,091     56,138
Colorado ................        3           19         15         11          177        1,696       1,762        832
Connecticut .............        9           11         17         15          758          884       1,389      1,487
Delaware ................        3           11          3          8          159          988         172        882
District of Columbia ....        3         (2)        (2)        (2)           236        (2)         (2)        (2)  
Florida .................      132          152        181        182       10,751       11,010      12,446     15,785
Georgia .................       32           50         56         43        3,304        6,006       5,187      3,809
Hawaii ..................        6           10          8         10          783          934         900        992
Idaho ...................        9           10          9          5          684          754         680        342

Illinois ................       48          105        135        116        4,767       17,550      19,717     20,576
Indiana .................       40           80         86         45        4,916        9,659      10,416      4,643
Iowa ....................       27           30         31         33        3,682        2,636       4,379      3,765
Kansas ..................       12            7         31         15          927          737       3,551      4,071
Kentucky ................       26           83         85         49        6,706        9,194       9,894      6,240
Louisiana ...............       23           27         35         26        1,767        2,670       3,160      3,005
Maine ...................     (2)             6          7          3        (2)            493         644        280
Maryland ................        8           12         10         13          754        1,115       1,201      1,325
Massachusetts ...........       17           38         23         20        1,467        3,770       2,281      1,777
Michigan ................       61           74        180        121        6,323        7,139      26,344     12,218
Minnesota ...............       16           35         38         26        1,506        3,103       4,224      2,318
Mississippi .............        5           15          9         11          300        1,350         726        895
Missouri ................       28           46         54         39        4,320        4,719       6,336      5,446

Montana .................        4            4          7          6          299          335         856        476
Nebraska ................     (2)             4         13          3        (2)            390       1,306        658
Nevada ..................       17           26         52         18        1,323        2,123       5,297      1,686
New Hampshire ...........        4           10          7          5          657          848         526        630
New Jersey ..............       60           66         45         88        9,512        7,334       4,394     14,033
New Mexico ..............        8           14         13         15          465          909       1,089      1,013
New York ................       38          182        112         83        3,445       24,349      10,762      7,681
North Carolina ..........       10           28         33         28        1,875        2,582       5,351      2,505
North Dakota ............        3         (2)           8          6          248        (2)           869        640
Ohio ....................       55          115        145         94        6,678       14,791      16,920     10,818
Oklahoma ................        6           14         13         11          502        2,464       1,772      1,052
Oregon ..................       24           43         41         43        3,863        5,554       4,775      5,525
Pennsylvania ............      135          168        227        194       14,835       15,378      20,392     18,363

Rhode Island ............       11            8          7         10        1,141        1,649         563      1,377
South Carolina ..........       12           60         31         38        1,139        6,482       3,021      4,087
South Dakota ............      -           (2)        (2)        (2)          -           (2)         (2)        (2)  
Tennessee ...............       19           35         37         19        1,877        2,877       3,424      1,617
Texas ...................       60           74        135         93        5,824        7,019      12,926      8,745
Utah ....................        5           10         10          8          435        1,055       1,020        698
Vermont .................        6           15          6         10          683        1,548         462        965
Virginia ................        5           42         49         31          628        4,052       6,168      2,817
Washington ..............       21           30         36         16        1,874        2,596       3,290      1,231
West Virginia ...........     (2)            12          5          8          (2)        1,028         429        583
Wisconsin ...............       53          108        103         93        5,865       11,102      10,884     11,092
Wyoming .................      -           (2)        (2)         -           -           (2)         (2)         -   

Puerto Rico .............       13           13         23         17        1,265        1,321       2,830      1,280
 
  1 See footnote 1, table 3.
  2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
  NOTE: Dash represents zero.




Last Modified Date: July 23, 2009