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Economic News Release
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MLS MLS Program Links

Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, August 23, 2011                      USDL-11-1245

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


                             MASS LAYOFFS -- JULY 2011


Employers took 1,579 mass layoff actions in July involving 145,000 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 July increased by 47, or 3 percent, from June, and the number of
associated initial claims increased by 1,556, or 1 percent. In July, 342 mass layoff
events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in
35,460 initial claims. (See table 1.)

The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in July, essentially unchanged from
the prior month but down from 9.5 percent a year earlier. In July, total nonfarm 
payroll employment increased by 117,000 over the month and by 1,258,000 over the 
year.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in July was 2,176, not seasonally adjusted, 
resulting in 216,774 initial claims for unemployment insurance. The number of mass
layoff events increased by 52, or 2 percent, from July 2010, and associated initial
claims increased by 10,520, or 5 percent. (See table 2.) Eight of the 19 major 
industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year increases in initial
claims, with the largest increases occurring in manufacturing and administrative and
waste services. The six-digit industry with the largest number of initial claims in
July 2011 was temporary help services. (See table A. The table includes both 
publicly and privately owned entities.)

The manufacturing sector accounted for 28 percent of all mass layoff events and 33 
percent of initial claims filed in July. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 25 
percent of events and 31 percent of initial claims. Within this sector, the number 
of claimants in July 2011 was greatest in the transportation equipment subsector. 
Fourteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year increases in
initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in textile mills. (See table 3.)

Government layoffs reached a July series high in terms of average weekly initial 
claims, largely due to a partial state government shutdown in Minnesota. (Average 
weekly analysis mitigates the effect of differing lengths of months. See the 
Technical Note.)

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Three of the 4 regions and 6 of the 9 divisions experienced over-the-year increases 
in initial claims for unemployment insurance due to mass layoffs in July. Among the 
census regions, the South registered the largest over-the-year increase in initial 
claims. Of the geographic divisions, the West North Central had the largest 
over-the-year increase in initial claims. (See table 5.)

California recorded the highest number of mass layoff initial claims in July, 
followed by New York, Michigan, and Florida. Twenty-eight states and the District of
Columbia experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by Minnesota. 
Minnesota recorded a July series high level of mass layoff initial claims during 
2011, mostly due to a partial shutdown of the state government. (See table 6.)


Table A. Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in
July 2011, not seasonally adjusted
                                                                           
                                                              July peak    
                  Industry                                                 
                                                 Initial            Initial
                                                  claims    Year     claims
                                                                           
Temporary help services (1) ...................   18,495    1998     24,601
Elementary and secondary schools ..............   14,264    2009     20,769
School and employee bus transportation ........    5,967    2010     13,011
Professional employer organizations (1) .......    4,646    2009      8,240
Farm labor contractors and crew leaders .......    4,088    1998      6,142
Discount department stores ....................    3,663    2009      3,995
Food service contractors ......................    3,464    2011      3,464
All other motor vehicle parts manufacturing ...    3,448    2004      9,691
Motion picture and video production ...........    3,313    1998     12,310
Highway, street, and bridge construction ......    3,153    2011      3,153

   1 See the Technical Note for more information on these industries.


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 Mass Layoffs news release for August is scheduled to be released on Thursday,
September 22, 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, August 2007 to
July 2011, seasonally adjusted

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

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
April ......................     1,564     143,927     1,401     129,702       327      35,022
May ........................     1,599     143,540     1,405     127,494       373      38,673
June .......................     1,532     143,444     1,348     128,105       341      35,693
July .......................     1,579     145,000     1,363     124,745       342      35,460




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

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

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
April ......................     1,750     189,919     1,625     176,478       397      47,104
May ........................     1,367     119,911     1,221     108,531       270      25,199
June .......................     1,661     159,930     1,238     122,821       226      22,986
July .......................     2,176     216,774     1,759     174,078       602      71,814




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

                                                                                                    Initial claimants for          
                                                               Mass layoff events                   unemployment insurance         
                     Industry                                                                                                      
                                                      July      May      June      July       July       May       June       July 
                                                      2010      2011     2011      2011       2010       2011      2011       2011 
                                                                                                                                   
                Seasonally adjusted                                                                                                

      Total .....................................    1,528     1,599    1,532     1,579     138,581    143,540   143,444    145,000

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,316     1,405    1,348     1,363     121,378    127,494   128,105    124,745
    Manufacturing ...............................      296       373      341       342      30,752     38,673    35,693     35,460

              Not seasonally adjusted                                                                                              

      Total (1) .................................    2,124     1,367    1,661     2,176     206,254    119,911   159,930    216,774

Total, private ..................................    1,832     1,243    1,282     1,867     179,524    109,881   125,944    182,960
    Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting ..      100        22       44       108       7,276      1,350     3,123      8,882

  Total, private nonfarm ........................    1,732     1,221    1,238     1,759     172,248    108,531   122,821    174,078
    Mining ......................................        5         5      (2)         -         394        308       (2)          -
    Utilities ...................................        6       (2)      (2)       (2)         689        (2)       (2)        (2)
    Construction ................................      135       137       84       118       9,570      9,875     6,847      8,990
    Manufacturing ...............................      532       270      226       602      64,200     25,199    22,986     71,814
        Food ....................................       75        64       51        84       9,535      6,036     5,011      9,998
        Beverage and tobacco products ...........        4       (2)        -       (2)         290        (2)         -        (2)
        Textile mills ...........................        8        12        8        29         959      1,045     1,131      3,341
        Textile product mills ...................        3       (2)        6         9         347        (2)       420      1,107
        Apparel .................................       18        10       10        14       1,576      1,174     1,119      1,526
        Leather and allied products .............        3       (2)      (2)         3         332        (2)       (2)        869
        Wood products ...........................       24        10       12        28       2,051        755     1,083      2,826
        Paper ...................................        4         9        5         4         311        934       427        298
        Printing and related support activities .       10        14        5         9         790      1,182       383        930
        Petroleum and coal products .............        4       (2)      (2)       (2)         294        (2)       (2)        (2)

        Chemicals ...............................       18         8      (2)        12       1,808        503       (2)        935
        Plastics and rubber products ............       31        14       11        36       3,027      1,082       880      3,359
        Nonmetallic mineral products ............       22         6        5        13       1,846        635       380      1,612
        Primary metals ..........................       24        11       11        24       2,752      1,053       914      2,450
        Fabricated metal products ...............       27        11       10        27       2,497        848       607      2,980
        Machinery ...............................       26        12       16        34       4,463      2,054     2,042      4,799
        Computer and electronic products ........       18        12       10        19       1,492        731       716      1,735
        Electrical equipment and appliances .....       17         7        9        19       1,692      1,049       915      2,628
        Transportation equipment ................      171        45       34       193      25,863      4,146     4,871     26,488
        Furniture and related products ..........       19        12        7        31       1,916        888       771      2,770
        Miscellaneous manufacturing .............        6         5        9         9         359        456       826        726

    Wholesale trade .............................       33        21       18        21       2,691      1,777     1,440      1,594
    Retail trade ................................      142       108       82       165      14,907      8,244     7,177     17,189
    Transportation and warehousing ..............      148        38      144       114      17,270      3,371    19,513      9,326
    Information .................................       55        36       41        52       7,341      5,394     5,721      5,289
    Finance and insurance .......................       47        24       18        43       3,391      1,616     1,158      2,769
    Real estate and rental and leasing ..........       15         7        7        10         883        457       779        856
    Professional and technical services .........       59        50       32        51       4,366      4,062     3,378      4,372
    Management of companies and enterprises .....        5       (2)        5         5         419        (2)       351        654
    Administrative and waste services ...........      292       203      170       320      25,234     15,938    16,582     31,193
    Educational services ........................       30        15       26        29       2,912      1,201     1,604      1,993
    Health care and social assistance ...........       90       102      177       104       6,716     11,059    14,975      7,079
    Arts, entertainment, and recreation .........       31        24       30        30       2,559      1,835     1,664      2,867
    Accommodation and food services .............       89       148      120        74       7,184     15,483    14,179      6,445
    Other services, except public administration        18        28       53        17       1,522      2,361     4,129      1,336
    Unclassified ................................        -         -        -       (2)           -          -         -        (2)

Government ......................................      292       124      379       309      26,730     10,030    33,986     33,814
    Federal .....................................       25        12       18        10       3,243      1,160     1,942        784
    State .......................................       29        32       29        78       2,589      2,136     2,086     12,220
    Local .......................................      238        80      332       221      20,898      6,734    29,958     20,810
                                                                                                                                   

   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, July 2009 to July 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                                                                                                                 

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      (r)368,664             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      (r)396,441             47.6    (r)94.5

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      (r)260,030             39.9       80.4

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         1,999      (r)390,445             43.3    (r)88.1

             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      (r)1,490      (r)257,031          (r)36.0    (r)66.2

April ......................    1,750      189,919     1,625     176,478                                                          
May ........................    1,367      119,911     1,221     108,531                                                          
June .......................    1,661      159,930     1,238     122,821                                                          

Second Quarter .............    4,778      469,760     4,084     407,830   (2)(p)1,624   2)(p) 231,643          (p)39.8    (p)56.8

July .......................    2,176      216,774     1,759     174,078                                                          

   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 claim-
ants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent.
   r = revised.
   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                                                                                       

                                    July      May       June      July       July       May         June       July
                                    2010      2011      2011      2011       2010       2011        2011       2011
                                                                                                                   
        United States (1) ...      2,124     1,367     1,661     2,176     206,254    119,911     159,930    216,774

Northeast ...................        434       210       276       363      44,132     17,726      30,513     34,691
    New England .............         40        30        53        44       3,136      2,505       5,004      3,808
    Middle Atlantic .........        394       180       223       319      40,996     15,221      25,509     30,883

South .......................        512       468       482       624      48,848     43,457      45,180     62,261
    South Atlantic ..........        280       234       273       358      26,937     18,785      24,626     33,888
    East South Central ......        142       131        60       164      13,640     14,830       5,603     17,365
    West South Central ......         90       103       149       102       8,271      9,842      14,951     11,008

Midwest .....................        490       288       326       505      56,377     26,017      33,813     62,114
    East North Central ......        397       217       236       359      46,473     18,948      26,402     41,262
    West North Central ......         93        71        90       146       9,904      7,069       7,411     20,852

West ........................        688       401       577       684      56,897     32,711      50,424     57,708
    Mountain ................         71        68        64        67       6,593      5,948       6,011      6,339
    Pacific .................        617       333       513       617      50,304     26,763      44,413     51,369
                                                                                                                   

   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                                                                                                      
                              July         May        June       July        July         May         June       July 
                              2010         2011       2011       2011        2010         2011        2011       2011 

   Total (1) ............    2,124        1,367      1,661      2,176      206,254      119,911     159,930    216,774
                                                                                                                      
Alabama .................       57           37         20         60        5,642        3,604       1,922      6,904
Alaska ..................      (2)            6        (2)        (2)          (2)          489         (2)        (2)
Arizona .................       16           15         18         23        1,710        1,394       1,561      2,137
Arkansas ................        8           15         29         17          765        1,647       3,185      1,607
California ..............      558          285        462        571       44,343       22,874      39,788     46,009
Colorado ................       16           10          9          8        1,552        1,171         708        704
Connecticut .............       13           11         10          8          977          769         807        713
Delaware ................      (2)            5          6          3          (2)          334         415        233
District of Columbia ....      (2)            5        (2)        (2)          (2)          276         (2)        (2)
Florida .................      137          102        114        147       10,581        6,363       9,161     12,098
Georgia .................       27           40         43         45        4,020        4,038       4,789      5,152
Hawaii ..................        5            5          4        (2)          471          351         275        (2)
Idaho ...................        5            6          8          9          480          370         832      1,220

Illinois ................       92           47         61         48       10,969        4,749       6,436      5,599
Indiana .................       38           28         28         31        5,905        2,189       2,722      5,700
Iowa ....................       25            6         14         19        3,463        1,069       1,359      2,397
Kansas ..................        5           12          8         12          416        1,365         682      1,372
Kentucky ................       50           33         22         54        5,491        3,431       2,003      6,294
Louisiana ...............       23           29         28         21        2,174        2,531       2,056      1,936
Maine ...................        3            4          7          9          249          318         458        667
Maryland ................       20            5         12         13        1,844          462       1,102      1,486
Massachusetts ...........       16           10         16         16        1,403        1,068       1,133      1,632
Michigan ................      107           38         55        130       12,383        3,368       5,413     14,164
Minnesota ...............       14           10         17         68        1,462          932       1,249     11,406
Mississippi .............       12           40          5         25        1,094        5,957         240      1,853
Missouri ................       34           32         42         36        3,005        2,620       3,176      4,068

Montana .................        4            4          6          4          322          414         531        306
Nebraska ................       10            8          5          8          835          860         441      1,026
Nevada ..................       20           13         12         10        1,644        1,133       1,292        875
New Hampshire ...........      (2)            3          3          5          (2)          233         614        363
New Jersey ..............      113           34         44         81       10,486        2,937       6,432      7,381
New Mexico ..............        4           10          8          9          247          783         663        568
New York ................      201           56         55        142       23,920        4,743       5,185     14,892
North Carolina (3) ......       19           40         45         80        1,264        3,928       4,871      8,083
North Dakota ............        4          (2)        (2)          3          666          (2)         (2)        583
Ohio ....................       87           63         42         67        9,564        5,170       6,150      7,739
Oklahoma ................        8            9          6          6          665          902         481      1,206
Oregon ..................       32           21         28         27        3,582        1,586       2,967      3,435
Pennsylvania ............       80           90        124         96        6,590        7,541      13,892      8,610

Rhode Island ............        6          (2)         10          4          396          (2)       1,276        323
South Carolina ..........       36           11         23         28        5,430          949       1,878      2,724
South Dakota ............      (2)          (2)        (2)          -          (2)          (2)         (2)          -
Tennessee ...............       23           21         13         25        1,413        1,838       1,438      2,314
Texas ...................       51           50         86         58        4,667        4,762       9,229      6,259
Utah ....................        6            8          3          4          638          554         424        529
Vermont .................      (2)          (2)          7        (2)          (2)          (2)         716        (2)
Virginia ................       36           21         25         41        3,427        2,050       2,071      4,028
Washington ..............       21           16         17         15        1,848        1,463       1,231      1,537
West Virginia ...........      (2)            5          3          -          (2)          385         189          -
Wisconsin ...............       73           41         50         83        7,652        3,472       5,681      8,060
Wyoming .................        -          (2)          -          -            -          (2)           -          -

Puerto Rico ............        18           24         10         19        2,344        2,815         941      2,333

   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 unemployment insurance
input procedures.
   NOTE: Dash represents zero.




Last Modified Date: August 23, 2011