Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 01-196 http://www.bls.gov/mlshome.htm For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, June 28, 2001 MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 2001 In May 2001, there were 1,426 mass layoff actions by employers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according 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 157,759. (See table 1.) In January 2001 through May 2001, the total number of events, at 7,426, and initial claims, at 878,387, were higher than in January-May 2000 (5,873 and 627,520, 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 quart- er 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 In May 2001, manufacturing industries accounted for 37 percent of all mass layoff events and 41 percent of all initial claims filed. A year earlier, layoffs in manufacturing accounted for 26 percent of events and 27 percent of initial claims. Manufacturing industries with the highest number of initial claimants were electronic and other electrical equipment (15,410, largely in semiconductors), transportation equipment (7,768, mostly in motor vehicles and car bodies), and industrial machinery and equipment (7,303, primarily in construction machinery). (See table 2.) Services accounted for 28 percent of events and 29 percent of initial claims filed during the month. Layoffs in services were highly concentrated in business services (particularly in help supply services) and motion pic- tures. These industries are more likely than most other industries to lay off workers for fewer than 30 days. Eleven percent of all layoff events and 10 percent of initial claims during the month were in retail trade, mostly in eating and drinking places and in general merchandise stores (department stores). Construction accounted for 7 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims for the month, largely in heavy construction, except buildings and special trade contractors. Four percent of events and 3 percent of initial claims were in transportation and public utilities, primarily in communications and in transportation by air. - 2 - Compared with May 2000, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in electronic and other electrical equipment (+12,643), followed by motion pictures (+9,899) and business services (+9,508). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims occurred in agricultural production crops (-1,285) and in social services (-904). Geographic Distribution In May, the West region reported the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs (59,310), largely in motion pictures and in business services. (See table 3.) These two industries accounted for 38 percent of all claimants in the West. The Northeast region continued to report the lowest number of mass layoff-related initial claims (21,001). The West reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+27,020), followed by the Midwest (+18,169), the South (+12,802), and the Northeast (+7,575). Among the nine geographic divisions, eight reported over-the-year increases in the number of initial claimants associated with mass layoff events, with the largest increases reported in the Pacific, East North Central, and South Atlantic divisions. At the state level, California reported the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (49,009), mostly in motion pictures and business services, followed by Texas (11,486) and Pennsylvania (10,551). These three states accounted for 47 percent of all layoff events and 45 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) Compared with a year earlier, 38 states and the District of Columbia reported higher levels of initial claims in May 2001. California reported the largest increase in initial claims (+22,941), followed by Illinois (+5,171). Eleven states reported over-the-year decreases in initial claims activity, led by Louisiana (-1,387). 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, April 1999 to May 2001 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Realization rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 1999 April ...................... 1,270 136,885 May ........................ 1,032 102,738 June ....................... 1,140 130,951 Second Quarter ............. 3,442 370,574 1,444 242,464 42.0 65.4 July ....................... 1,741 221,334 August ..................... 698 75,691 September .................. 717 75,288 Third Quarter .............. 3,156 372,313 1,097 189,973 34.8 51.0 October .................... 1,098 118,938 November ................... 1,336 139,508 December ................... 1,509 162,381 Fourth Quarter ............. 3,943 420,827 1,625 287,685 41.2 68.4 2000 January .................... 1,934 223,322 February ................... 1,045 103,898 March ...................... 986 106,748 First Quarter .............. 3,965 433,968 1,331 221,534 33.6 51.0 April ...................... 924 101,359 May ........................ 984 92,193 June ....................... 1,597 192,025 Second Quarter ............. 3,505 385,577 1,272 231,253 36.3 60.0 July ....................... 1,333 164,978 August ..................... 751 97,215 September .................. 936 106,842 Third Quarter .............. 3,020 369,035 1,014 188,371 33.6 51.0 October .................... 874 103,755 November ................... 1,697 216,514 December ................... 2,677 326,743 Fourth Quarter ............. 5,248 647,012 2,005 375,774 38.2 58.1 2001 January .................... 1,522 200,343 February ................... 1,501 172,908 March ...................... 1,527 171,466 First Quarter .............. 4,550 544,717 (2)(p)1,664 (2)(p)244,000 (p)36.6 (p)44.8 April(r).................... 1,450 175,911 May(p)...................... 1,426 157,759 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 May March April May May March April May 2000 2001 2001(r) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(r) 2001(p) Total(1) ........................................ 984 1,527 1,450 1,426 92,193 171,466 175,911 157,759 Total, private ....................................... 928 1,493 1,418 1,393 86,882 168,095 172,341 154,549 Agriculture ........................................ 83 120 62 68 5,356 9,868 6,043 4,714 Nonagriculture ..................................... 825 1,358 1,353 1,312 78,439 156,466 165,718 148,406 Manufacturing .................................... 253 659 603 528 25,160 86,789 77,836 65,317 Durable goods .................................. 124 418 398 334 14,006 60,439 54,349 44,279 Lumber and wood products ..................... 18 40 27 12 1,668 3,577 2,663 1,125 Furniture and fixtures ....................... 10 26 18 23 966 2,610 2,044 2,566 Stone, clay, and glass products .............. 4 15 17 13 546 985 1,666 1,695 Primary metal industries ..................... 9 49 40 23 656 7,502 5,930 3,439 Fabricated metal products .................... 11 47 45 34 1,338 4,958 4,391 3,724 Industrial machinery and equipment ........... 16 69 79 61 1,285 8,838 11,511 7,303 Electronic and other electrical equipment .... 16 86 89 114 2,767 14,473 11,552 15,410 Transportation equipment ..................... 25 62 63 38 3,148 15,216 12,583 7,768 Instruments and related products ............. 6 14 16 9 541 1,414 1,407 706 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ....... 9 10 4 7 1,091 866 602 543 Nondurable goods ............................... 129 241 205 194 11,154 26,350 23,487 21,038 Food and kindred products .................... 58 80 66 66 5,009 7,565 7,320 6,523 Tobacco products ............................. - ( 2 ) - 3 - ( 2 ) - 235 Textile mill products ........................ 6 34 28 26 536 4,732 4,887 3,344 Apparel and other textile products ........... 35 35 33 29 2,929 4,706 2,972 3,180 Paper and allied products .................... 9 13 25 10 1,001 1,721 2,971 1,248 Printing and publishing ...................... 9 14 11 27 754 949 921 3,024 Chemicals and allied products ................ ( 2 ) 7 12 8 ( 2 ) 732 910 908 Petroleum and coal products .................. - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products ... 8 48 24 22 628 4,629 2,907 2,160 Leather and leather products ................. ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 616 ( 2 ) 416 Nonmanufacturing ................................. 572 699 750 784 53,279 69,677 87,882 83,089 Mining ......................................... 5 ( 2 ) 4 3 409 ( 2 ) 266 488 Construction ................................... 77 140 70 105 6,394 10,499 6,002 9,483 Transportation and public utilities ............ 33 76 111 53 4,185 7,446 11,950 4,907 Wholesale and retail trade ..................... 146 173 172 190 14,841 18,917 18,026 18,823 Wholesale trade ............................. 28 26 24 31 2,311 2,214 2,156 2,614 Retail trade ................................ 118 147 148 159 12,530 16,703 15,870 16,209 Finance, insurance, and real estate ............ 30 ( 2 ) 25 34 2,211 ( 2 ) 2,094 2,910 Services ....................................... 281 280 368 399 25,239 30,360 49,544 46,478 Not identified ..................................... 20 15 3 13 3,087 1,761 580 1,429 Government ........................................... 56 34 32 33 5,311 3,371 3,570 3,210 Federal ............................................ 15 7 9 7 1,977 1,136 1,069 720 State .............................................. 8 17 5 9 930 1,508 778 996 Local .............................................. 33 10 18 17 2,404 727 1,723 1,494 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. r = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero. Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division May March April May May March April May 2000 2001 2001(r) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(r) 2001(p) United States(1) ...... 984 1,527 1,450 1,426 92,193 171,466 175,911 157,759 Northeast ................... 140 194 244 192 13,426 20,783 25,656 21,001 New England ............. 25 33 69 59 2,297 3,200 7,487 5,545 Middle Atlantic ......... 115 161 175 133 11,129 17,583 18,169 15,456 South ....................... 234 317 305 345 25,693 39,088 32,516 38,495 South Atlantic .......... 85 148 131 171 9,702 16,715 15,156 17,312 East South Central ...... 49 67 71 57 6,205 8,295 6,678 5,783 West South Central ...... 100 102 103 117 9,786 14,078 10,682 15,400 Midwest ..................... 187 368 361 304 20,784 48,470 52,177 38,953 East North Central ...... 133 292 288 220 14,752 39,620 41,160 29,057 West North Central ...... 54 76 73 84 6,032 8,850 11,017 9,896 West ........................ 423 648 540 585 32,290 63,125 65,562 59,310 Mountain ................ 31 64 66 47 3,211 6,422 7,439 4,972 Pacific ................. 392 584 474 538 29,079 56,703 58,123 54,338 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. r = revised. 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 May March April May May March April May 2000 2001 2001(r) 2001(p) 2000 2001 2001(r) 2001(p) Total(1).................. 984 1,527 1,450 1,426 92,193 171,466 175,911 157,759 Alabama ..................... 20 10 9 15 2,065 1,075 1,020 1,568 Alaska ...................... - - 4 ( 2 ) - - 404 ( 2 ) Arizona ..................... 6 20 21 11 917 2,136 2,848 1,200 Arkansas .................... 6 3 9 7 613 316 1,104 533 California .................. 358 522 413 488 26,068 48,576 51,022 49,009 Colorado .................... 7 5 13 12 669 460 1,234 1,294 Connecticut ................. 5 3 6 13 473 172 511 1,039 Delaware .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) District of Columbia ........ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) Florida ..................... 38 59 43 65 3,508 5,160 3,553 5,328 Georgia ..................... 9 8 14 15 951 646 1,207 2,044 Hawaii ...................... ( 2 ) 3 5 3 ( 2 ) 253 421 233 Idaho ....................... 7 13 10 7 639 1,396 802 1,031 Illinois .................... 35 54 54 55 4,061 7,940 9,785 9,232 Indiana ..................... 11 30 26 24 1,947 6,469 2,995 2,311 Iowa ........................ 8 16 25 15 864 2,561 5,971 1,739 Kansas ...................... 7 7 4 6 570 600 374 730 Kentucky .................... 11 34 31 23 2,587 5,303 3,388 2,853 Louisiana ................... 23 13 8 6 1,807 1,176 411 420 Maine ....................... 4 3 8 5 290 392 633 498 Maryland .................... 3 4 ( 2 ) 10 291 307 ( 2 ) 708 Massachusetts ............... 10 14 28 27 1,078 1,430 2,731 2,686 Michigan .................... 39 72 47 40 4,038 9,375 6,200 4,935 Minnesota ................... 5 19 19 18 490 2,325 2,124 2,108 Mississippi ................. 11 8 15 10 779 773 1,087 657 Missouri .................... 29 31 19 38 3,665 3,086 2,109 4,759 Montana ..................... 3 3 5 ( 2 ) 381 215 847 ( 2 ) Nebraska .................... ( 2 ) - 3 - ( 2 ) - 240 - Nevada ...................... 7 17 9 9 523 1,647 1,097 848 New Hampshire ............... ( 2 ) 4 10 6 ( 2 ) 339 1,370 584 New Jersey .................. 30 21 38 28 3,325 2,086 3,790 2,797 New Mexico .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 304 219 New York .................... 13 18 21 24 1,167 1,756 2,744 2,108 North Carolina .............. 12 19 25 23 2,467 2,104 3,086 2,115 North Dakota ................ ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 284 Ohio ........................ 20 70 78 47 1,770 9,151 12,674 5,035 Oklahoma .................... 4 10 7 9 500 1,108 1,116 2,961 Oregon ...................... 24 36 32 25 2,232 5,454 4,310 2,974 Pennsylvania ................ 72 122 116 81 6,637 13,741 11,635 10,551 Rhode Island ................ ( 2 ) 5 12 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 536 1,726 ( 2 ) South Carolina .............. 6 32 33 33 631 5,870 5,562 4,247 South Dakota ................ 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 318 278 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Tennessee ................... 7 15 16 9 774 1,144 1,183 705 Texas ....................... 67 76 79 95 6,866 11,478 8,051 11,486 Utah ........................ - 4 4 4 - 409 307 325 Vermont ..................... 3 4 5 6 277 331 516 612 Virginia .................... 13 20 12 23 1,627 2,068 1,442 2,671 Washington .................. 8 23 20 20 623 2,420 1,966 1,999 West Virginia ............... ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 275 ( 2 ) - Wisconsin ................... 28 66 83 54 2,936 6,685 9,506 7,544 Wyoming ..................... - ( 2 ) - - - ( 2 ) - - Puerto Rico ................. 9 7 15 6 636 806 1,670 1,791 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. r = revised. NOTE: Dash represents zero.