Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 03-201 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, April 30, 2003 MASS LAYOFFS IN MARCH 2003 Employers initiated 1,170 mass layoff actions in March 2003, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, accord- ing to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 109,838. (See table 1.) These were the lowest levels for the month of March since 2000. Over 8 percent of the initial claims in March were from the temporary help services industry (9,138). Compared with March 2002, the number of layoff events declined by 20 percent and the number of workers involved fell by 32 percent. (March 2003 contained 4 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with 5 weeks in each March of the prior 3 years.) This was the 10th consecutive month that the number of mass layoff initial claims has declined over the year. From January through March 2003, the total number of events, at 4,767, and initial claims, at 450,312, were lower than in January-March 2002 (4,989 and 564,141, respectively). 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. 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") and provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demo- graphics 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 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Industry Distribution The 10 industries in table A accounted for 30,955, or 28 percent, of mass-layoff initial claims in March. Temporary help services, with 9,138 claims, had over 8 percent. Manufacturing industries accounted for 33 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of all initial claims filed in March, little changed from a year earlier (34 percent and 37 percent, respectively). The number of initial claimants was highest in food production (7,520, largely in frozen fruits and vegetables), followed by computer and electronic products (5,298) and transportation equipment (5,061). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent of events and initial claims filed during the month, with layoffs mostly in temporary help services. Eight percent of all layoff events and 9 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, primarily in general merchandise stores. Ten percent of the events and 7 percent of the initial claims were from construction, most often among specialty trade contractors. The accommodation and food services sector accounted for 6 percent of events and initial claims, mostly from food service contractors. The information sector accounted for an additional 4 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims during the month, largely in motion picture and video production. Government establishments accounted for 4 percent of events and 3 percent of initial claims filed during the month, particularly in educational services. Compared with March 2002, the largest decreases in initial claims were reported in administrative and support services (-7,475) and professional and technical services (-5,206). The largest over-the-year increase in initial claims was reported in motion picture and sound industries (+2,590). - 2 - Table A. Industries with largest mass layoff initial claims in March 2003p ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | March peak Industry |Initial claims|--------------------- | | Year|Initial claims ----------------------------------------|--------------|-----|--------------- Temporary help services ................| 9,138 | 2002| 14,338 Motion picture and video production ....| 4,751 | 2000| 6,735 Food service contractors ...............| 3,011 | 2002| 4,304 School and employee bus transportation | 2,633 | 2002| 6,158 Discount department stores .............| 2,460 | 2003| 2,460 Farm labor contractors and crew leaders | 2,131 | 2000| 6,500 Professional employer organizations ....| 2,017 | 2002| 2,987 Frozen fruit and vegetable manufacturing| 1,673 | 1997| 2,560 Supermarkets and other grocery stores ..| 1,593 | 2002| 1,884 Department stores, except discount .....| 1,548 | 1999| 3,799 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- p=preliminary. Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in March due to mass layoffs was reported in the West, 46,815. (See table 3.) Administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording accounted for 28 percent of all initial claims in the West during the month. The Midwest followed with 26,239 initial claims. These were the lowest March totals for both the West and Midwest since 1999. The South, at 21,554, and the Northeast, at 15,230, each had the lowest levels of initial claims for a March since 2000. For the second consecutive year, the number of initial claimants in mass layoffs declined in each of the four regions. The largest decrease occurred in the Midwest (-16,252), followed closely by the South (-15,737) and West (-14,296) regions. Each of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest declines in the Pacific (-13,706) and East North Central divi- sions (-13,112). California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events this March, 36,360, mostly in temporary help services and in motion picture and video production. This was the lowest March total since 1998. Pennsylvania reported 7,419, followed by Wisconsin (5,123) and Texas (5,051). These four states accounted for 51 percent of all layoff events and 49 percent of initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) California reported the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-12,016), followed by Michigan (-5,635), Wisconsin (-4,815), Pennsylvania (-4,712), and Texas (-4,644). The largest over-the-year in- creases occurred in Indiana (+2,614) and New York (+2,003). ______________________________ The report on Mass Layoffs in April 2003 will be issued on Thursday, May 29, 2003. 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 establishments which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These establishments 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, and the number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year. Therefore, analysis of over-the- month and over-the-year change 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 Initial claimant. A person who files any notice of unemployment to initiate a request either for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation, or for a subsequent period of unemployment within a benefit year or period of eligibility. Mass layoff event. Fifty or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against an establishment during a 5-week period, regardless of duration. Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, January 2001 to March 2003 Extended mass layoffs Total mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Realization rates(1) Date Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2001 January .................... 1,522 200,343 February ................... 1,501 172,908 March ...................... 1,527 171,466 First Quarter .............. 4,550 544,717 1,765 340,210 38.8 62.5 April ...................... 1,450 176,265 May ........................ 1,434 159,365 June ....................... 2,107 253,826 Second Quarter ............. 4,991 589,456 2,072 401,270 41.5 68.1 July ....................... 2,117 273,807 August ..................... 1,490 166,148 September .................. 1,327 160,402 Third Quarter .............. 4,934 600,357 1,815 370,942 36.8 61.8 October .................... 1,831 215,483 November ................... 2,721 295,956 December ................... 2,440 268,893 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,992 780,332 2,698 (r)502,662 38.6 64.4 2002 January .................... 2,146 263,821 February ................... 1,383 138,984 March ...................... 1,460 161,336 First Quarter .............. 4,989 564,141 1,748 (r)315,819 35.0 (r)56.0 April ...................... 1,507 165,861 May ........................ 1,726 180,007 June ....................... 1,580 161,928 Second Quarter ............. 4,813 507,796 1,905 (r)352,183 39.6 (r)69.4 July ....................... 2,041 245,211 August ..................... 1,247 128,080 September .................. 1,062 124,512 Third Quarter .............. 4,350 497,803 (r)1,383 (r)274,576 (r)31.8 (r)55.2 October .................... 1,497 171,088 November ................... 2,150 240,028 December ................... 2,470 263,775 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,117 674,891 (2)(p)2,127 (2)(p)305,208 (p)34.8 (p)45.2 2003 January .................... 2,286 222,186 February(p) ................ 1,311 118,288 March(p) ................... 1,170 109,838 First Quarter(p) ........... 4,767 450,312 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of total mass-layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will increase as more data on these layoffs become available. Recent 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. r = revised. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry March January February March March January February March 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p Total(1) ................................... 1,460 2,286 1,311 1,170 161,336 222,186 118,288 109,838 Total, private .................................. 1,414 2,199 1,271 1,126 157,100 214,197 115,286 106,229 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 79 96 100 64 5,775 6,407 5,626 4,949 Mining ........................................ 22 19 7 6 1,882 1,559 724 652 Utilities ..................................... 7 8 - ( 2 ) 727 561 - ( 2 ) Construction .................................. 150 263 194 122 11,826 18,571 13,282 7,431 Manufacturing ................................. 500 817 427 385 59,644 89,525 45,290 40,617 Food ...................................... 74 89 59 71 9,070 8,111 5,475 7,520 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 8 11 8 ( 2 ) 802 755 407 ( 2 ) Textile mills ............................. 14 42 16 9 1,468 7,611 1,958 764 Textile product mills ..................... ( 2 ) 18 7 5 ( 2 ) 1,890 571 432 Apparel ................................... 17 53 20 11 1,536 6,085 1,525 950 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 294 ( 2 ) - Wood products ............................. 19 56 28 34 2,319 6,702 2,291 2,982 Paper ..................................... 18 19 13 8 2,688 2,510 999 659 Printing and related support activities ... 26 21 13 7 2,105 1,803 793 658 Petroleum and coal products ............... - 5 ( 2 ) - - 339 ( 2 ) - Chemicals ................................. 14 14 8 ( 2 ) 1,659 1,202 1,098 ( 2 ) Plastics and rubber products .............. 20 34 15 6 1,613 3,599 1,086 552 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 21 35 18 18 1,537 3,201 1,652 1,824 Primary metals ............................ 21 48 16 21 3,000 5,846 1,613 1,766 Fabricated metal products ................. 34 58 34 23 3,319 5,664 2,622 1,680 Machinery ................................. 43 53 21 34 6,588 6,031 2,105 3,693 Computer and electronic products .......... 65 78 41 42 6,902 6,800 3,671 5,298 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 26 30 19 26 3,602 2,920 3,159 3,787 Transportation equipment .................. 46 85 53 44 8,531 12,057 10,535 5,061 Furniture and related products ............ 19 36 24 14 1,772 4,003 2,702 1,727 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 11 27 9 8 837 2,102 613 830 Wholesale trade ............................... 25 42 17 21 2,694 3,229 1,170 1,811 Retail trade .................................. 108 205 103 95 12,067 21,251 9,338 9,708 Transportation and warehousing ................ 76 143 32 37 10,441 16,016 4,249 4,382 Information ................................... 36 67 53 49 4,456 5,902 5,133 6,855 Finance and insurance ......................... 32 46 23 32 2,697 3,854 1,723 2,074 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 9 7 9 8 629 408 745 483 Professional and technical services ........... 50 44 31 38 8,260 6,269 4,084 3,054 Management of companies and enterprises ....... 3 ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 182 ( 2 ) 431 ( 2 ) Administrative and waste services ............. 185 269 164 153 21,704 26,190 14,776 14,242 Educational services .......................... 3 ( 2 ) 4 ( 2 ) 232 ( 2 ) 201 ( 2 ) Health care and social assistance ............. 22 26 19 21 1,671 1,811 1,401 1,381 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 13 29 15 12 1,013 2,060 1,447 663 Accommodation and food services ............... 76 86 51 69 9,721 7,035 4,676 6,933 Other services, except public administration .. 7 27 11 4 609 3,097 629 280 Unclassified .................................. 11 2 6 3 870 172 361 284 Government ...................................... 46 87 40 44 4,236 7,989 3,002 3,609 Federal ....................................... 7 19 7 6 777 2,303 421 570 State ......................................... 16 28 14 9 1,652 2,630 1,054 614 Local ......................................... 23 40 19 29 1,807 3,056 1,527 2,425 1 Data were reported by all states and the District of Columbia. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Industry data reflect the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 2002. Dash represents zero. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Census region and division March January February March March January February March 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p United States(1) ..... 1,460 2,286 1,311 1,170 161,336 222,186 118,288 109,838 Northeast .................. 210 475 225 157 20,443 44,396 23,291 15,230 New England .............. 33 68 26 29 2,995 6,928 2,758 2,987 Middle Atlantic .......... 177 407 199 128 17,448 37,468 20,533 12,243 South ...................... 347 525 255 227 37,291 58,258 26,188 21,554 South Atlantic ........... 157 288 142 109 16,644 32,616 15,410 9,362 East South Central ....... 73 167 45 55 7,076 19,318 5,249 4,752 West South Central ....... 117 70 68 63 13,571 6,324 5,529 7,440 Midwest .................... 327 523 235 237 42,491 52,162 23,244 26,239 East North Central ....... 253 401 181 174 32,058 41,608 16,279 18,946 West North Central ....... 74 122 54 63 10,433 10,554 6,965 7,293 West ....................... 576 763 596 549 61,111 67,370 45,565 46,815 Mountain ................. 52 73 27 47 4,841 6,136 2,857 4,251 Pacific .................. 524 690 569 502 56,270 61,234 42,708 42,564 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. 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 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State March January February March March January February March 2002 2003 2003p 2003p 2002 2003 2003p 2003p Total(1) ................ 1,460 2,286 1,311 1,170 161,336 222,186 118,288 109,838 Alabama .................... 10 119 9 11 1,295 14,789 1,547 1,108 Alaska ..................... - 7 ( 2 ) - - 471 ( 2 ) - Arizona .................... 12 14 7 13 879 1,292 537 1,148 Arkansas ................... 5 8 4 5 488 699 288 381 California ................. 466 579 525 438 48,376 48,913 38,769 36,360 Colorado ................... 10 16 6 9 845 1,540 535 1,126 Connecticut ................ 4 16 3 5 377 1,508 190 412 Delaware ................... 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 790 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - District of Columbia ....... - 4 - - - 350 - - Florida .................... 64 83 59 60 5,689 5,767 4,459 4,188 Georgia .................... 20 89 23 15 2,202 12,406 3,627 1,224 Hawaii ..................... 6 8 3 ( 2 ) 658 773 186 ( 2 ) Idaho ...................... 13 19 4 13 1,628 1,478 996 1,187 Illinois ................... 53 88 44 35 7,645 8,794 4,956 3,161 Indiana .................... 21 34 28 37 2,212 3,011 2,267 4,826 Iowa ....................... 12 34 15 14 1,510 3,083 1,191 1,572 Kansas ..................... 7 15 5 9 1,357 1,108 2,056 1,449 Kentucky ................... 31 20 14 21 3,354 2,512 2,174 2,124 Louisiana .................. 19 19 16 8 1,501 1,240 1,043 402 Maine ...................... 4 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 226 1,201 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Maryland ................... ( 2 ) 8 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 592 562 ( 2 ) Massachusetts .............. 15 33 18 16 1,652 3,162 1,620 1,263 Michigan ................... 56 22 21 10 6,483 1,982 1,719 848 Minnesota .................. 16 33 8 13 2,238 3,026 614 1,041 Mississippi ................ 13 4 10 8 890 228 732 509 Missouri ................... 29 30 15 23 4,109 2,351 1,922 2,930 Montana .................... 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 264 204 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Nebraska ................... 9 7 6 ( 2 ) 1,133 539 830 ( 2 ) Nevada ..................... 6 15 8 7 461 1,276 659 475 New Hampshire .............. 3 5 - ( 2 ) 247 623 - ( 2 ) New Jersey ................. 35 49 31 17 3,749 4,372 3,772 1,253 New Mexico ................. 3 5 - ( 2 ) 176 294 - ( 2 ) New York ................... 19 188 42 40 1,568 18,806 5,265 3,571 North Carolina ............. 23 26 17 12 2,686 3,215 1,385 1,273 North Dakota ............... - ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 229 ( 2 ) Ohio ....................... 52 151 46 40 5,780 16,689 4,097 4,988 Oklahoma ................... 10 15 7 10 1,887 2,225 553 1,606 Oregon ..................... 27 66 24 41 3,507 7,672 2,036 4,336 Pennsylvania ............... 123 170 126 71 12,131 14,290 11,496 7,419 Rhode Island ............... 4 4 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 323 310 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) South Carolina ............. 21 50 20 6 2,750 5,954 2,159 986 South Dakota ............... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee .................. 19 24 12 15 1,537 1,789 796 1,011 Texas ...................... 83 28 41 40 9,695 2,160 3,645 5,051 Utah ....................... 5 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 588 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Vermont .................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 170 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 833 Virginia ................... 16 24 13 14 1,794 3,266 1,263 1,392 Washington ................. 25 30 15 21 3,729 3,405 1,511 1,745 West Virginia .............. 7 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 571 174 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Wisconsin .................. 71 106 42 52 9,938 11,132 3,240 5,123 Wyoming .................... - - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - Puerto Rico ................ 9 14 10 5 1,082 1,371 1,336 378 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.