Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6396 USDL 99-227 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 606-5902 Thursday, August 19, 1999 MASS LAYOFFS IN MAY 1999 In May 1999, there were 1,033 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 102,815. Both the number of layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance were lower in May 1999 than in May 1998. (See table 1.) The monthly series in this release covers 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 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 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. Industry Distribution In May 1999, manufacturing industries accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff events and 32 percent of initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries with the highest numbers of initial claimants were food products (6,513), primarily in canned fruits and vegetables and in frozen specialties; industrial machinery and equipment (5,439), mostly in farm machinery and equipment; and transportation equipment (3,786), particularly in motor vehicles and car bodies. (See table 2.) In nonmanufacturing industries, services accounted for 27 percent of all mass layoff events and 32 percent of all initial claims filed. The layoffs were predominantly in business services (particularly in help supply services) and motion pictures (mostly in motion pictures and video production). Layoffs in the motion picture and help supply services industries are more likely than most other industries to last less than 30 days. Retail trade accounted for 14 percent of layoff events and 13 percent of initial claims during the month, largely in eating and drinking places. Agriculture accounted for 8 percent of layoff events and 5 percent of initial claims during the month, concentrated primarily in agricultural services. - 2 - Compared with May 1998, the largest decreases in initial claims occurred in apparel and other textile products (-3,379) and textile mill products (-2,498). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in motion pictures (+6,107), industrial machinery and equipment (+3,869), and business services (+3,396). Geographic Distribution In May, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was higher in the West (40,942) than in any other region; a year earlier, the West also had the largest number of initial claimants involved in mass layoffs. (See table 3.) The motion picture, business services, food products, and agricultural services industries contributed to the layoffs in the West. The lowest number of mass layoff initial claims was reported in the Northeast region (10,163). The largest over-the-year decrease in mass layoff-related initial claims occurred in the Northeast (-9,129), followed by the South (-4,451). The lower levels of initial claims were reported mainly in the Middle Atlantic and West South Central divisions, with fewer layoffs in apparel and other textile products and in eating and drinking places. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for May, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (33,097), primarily in motion pictures, followed by Illinois (7,903), Texas (6,932), and Pennsylvania (6,290). These four states accounted for 53 percent of all layoff events and initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From May 1998 to May 1999, Texas had the largest over-the-year decline in initial claims (-3,778), mostly in eating and drinking places, followed by Pennsylvania (-3,063) and New York (-2,841). California reported the largest over-the-year rise in initial claims (+6,675), primarily in motion pictures and business services, followed by Illinois (+2,938). 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: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. 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 1997 to May 1999 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization rate(1) Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants 1997 April ...................... 1,269 152,168 May ........................ 1,152 101,476 June ....................... 1,238 121,256 Second Quarter ............. 3,659 374,900 1,587 292,673 43.4 July ....................... 1,899 237,410 August ..................... 973 99,513 September .................. 548 59,062 Third Quarter .............. 3,420 395,985 1,082 209,019 31.6 October .................... 1,414 139,297 November ................... 1,156 100,051 December ................... 1,634 172,029 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,204 411,377 1,697 316,035 40.4 1998 January .................... 2,360 255,203 February ................... 970 81,455 March ...................... 762 78,210 First Quarter .............. 4,092 414,868 1,320 247,315 32.3 April ...................... 1,253 132,476 May ........................ 1,180 107,952 June ....................... 1,208 183,590 Second Quarter ............. 3,641 424,018 1,563 402,259 42.9 July ....................... 2,220 286,055 August ..................... 617 53,665 September .................. 637 79,629 Third Quarter .............. 3,474 419,349 1,234 256,790 35.5 October .................... 1,557 256,658 November ................... 1,372 162,537 December ................... 1,644 193,072 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,573 612,267 1,736 327,039 38.0 1999 January .................... 2,415 296,404 February ................... 1,077 117,274 March ...................... 850 90,958 First Quarter .............. 4,342 504,636 1,484 200,677 34.2 April ...................... 1,250 161,269 May ........................ 1,033 102,815 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, May 1998 and May 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry May May May May 1998 1999 1998 1999 Total(1) .......................................... 1,180 1,033 107,952 102,815 Total, private ......................................... 1,130 978 103,437 98,107 Agriculture .......................................... 85 83 5,407 5,031 Nonagriculture ....................................... 1,018 885 95,429 92,236 Manufacturing ...................................... 365 298 38,247 32,406 Durable goods .................................... 149 145 15,545 18,374 Lumber and wood products ....................... 13 ( 2 ) 877 ( 2 ) Furniture and fixtures ......................... 12 12 1,171 1,324 Stone, clay, and glass products ................ 10 ( 2 ) 950 ( 2 ) Primary metal industries ....................... 13 14 1,314 1,052 Fabricated metal products ...................... 14 16 1,439 1,580 Industrial machinery and equipment ............. 18 25 1,570 5,439 Electronic and other electrical equipment ...... 37 27 4,900 2,874 Transportation equipment ....................... 19 26 2,200 3,786 Instruments and related products ............... 8 10 705 716 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ......... 5 7 419 776 Nondurable goods ................................. 216 153 22,702 14,032 Food and kindred products ...................... 89 62 8,409 6,513 Tobacco products ............................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Textile mill products .......................... 24 13 3,707 1,209 Apparel and other textile products ............. 55 36 6,346 2,967 Paper and allied products ...................... 10 14 719 1,109 Printing and publishing ........................ 21 8 1,663 619 Chemicals and allied products .................. ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 493 Petroleum and coal products .................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products ..... 11 10 1,279 789 Leather and leather products ................... ( 2 ) 5 ( 2 ) 333 Nonmanufacturing ................................... 653 587 57,182 59,830 Mining ........................................... 6 9 586 774 Construction ..................................... 112 85 8,512 6,288 Transportation and public utilities .............. 33 33 2,804 3,841 Wholesale and retail trade ....................... 182 166 17,014 14,904 Wholesale trade ............................... 36 22 2,694 1,404 Retail trade .................................. 146 144 14,320 13,500 Finance, insurance, and real estate .............. 19 17 1,329 1,179 Services ......................................... 301 277 26,937 32,844 Not identified ....................................... 27 10 2,601 840 Government ............................................. 50 55 4,515 4,708 Federal .............................................. 7 10 1,192 1,452 State ................................................ 17 12 1,716 967 Local ................................................ 26 33 1,607 2,289 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 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division, May 1998 and May 1999 Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division May May May May 1998 1999 1998 1999 United States ........... 1,180 1,033 107,952 102,815 Northeast ....................... 208 124 19,292 10,163 New England ................. 32 25 2,815 2,038 Middle Atlantic ............. 176 99 16,477 8,125 South ........................... 283 271 28,968 24,517 South Atlantic .............. 149 132 13,059 11,119 East South Central .......... 22 41 2,241 4,046 West South Central .......... 112 98 13,668 9,352 Midwest ......................... 231 206 24,989 27,193 East North Central .......... 176 154 18,565 19,581 West North Central .......... 55 52 6,424 7,612 West ............................ 458 432 34,703 40,942 Mountain .................... 49 42 4,373 4,336 Pacific ..................... 409 390 30,330 36,606 NOTE: The States (including the District of Columbia) that comprise the various 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, May 1998 and May 1999 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State May May May May 1998 1999 1998 1999 Total(1) ......................... 1,180 1,033 107,952 102,815 Alabama ............................. 4 16 490 1,904 Alaska .............................. 3 4 207 296 Arizona ............................. 8 15 941 1,549 Arkansas ............................ 13 7 1,223 630 California .......................... 364 349 26,422 33,097 Colorado ............................ 7 8 561 1,328 Connecticut ......................... 3 ( 2 ) 312 ( 2 ) Delaware ............................ 3 - 164 - District of Columbia ................ ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) 267 Florida ............................. 76 67 4,972 4,792 Georgia ............................. 11 14 767 1,404 Hawaii .............................. 5 6 538 443 Idaho ............................... 12 5 1,097 393 Illinois ............................ 40 44 4,965 7,903 Indiana ............................. 16 8 1,370 899 Iowa ................................ - 11 - 1,189 Kansas .............................. 5 6 346 486 Kentucky ............................ 5 4 512 334 Louisiana ........................... 13 14 1,147 1,174 Maine ............................... 7 5 790 332 Maryland ............................ ( 2 ) 6 ( 2 ) 426 Massachusetts ....................... 13 17 996 1,498 Michigan ............................ 17 40 2,037 4,067 Minnesota ........................... 10 6 967 691 Mississippi ......................... 3 5 225 334 Missouri ............................ 38 24 4,664 4,490 Montana ............................. 4 ( 2 ) 296 ( 2 ) Nebraska ............................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Nevada .............................. 6 6 429 480 New Hampshire ....................... 3 ( 2 ) 258 ( 2 ) New Jersey .......................... 39 14 3,816 1,368 New Mexico .......................... 9 4 506 267 New York ............................ 36 5 3,308 467 North Carolina ...................... 12 8 1,250 965 North Dakota ........................ ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Ohio ................................ 51 32 5,125 3,857 Oklahoma ............................ 3 7 588 616 Oregon .............................. 24 18 2,216 1,814 Pennsylvania ........................ 101 80 9,353 6,290 Rhode Island ........................ 5 - 352 - South Carolina ...................... 22 22 3,621 2,146 South Dakota ........................ - 3 - 320 Tennessee ........................... 10 16 1,014 1,474 Texas ............................... 83 70 10,710 6,932 Utah ................................ 3 ( 2 ) 543 ( 2 ) Vermont ............................. ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Virginia ............................ 20 12 1,832 1,119 Washington .......................... 13 13 947 956 West Virginia ....................... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) - Wisconsin ........................... 52 30 5,068 2,855 Wyoming ............................. - - - - Puerto Rico ......................... 6 7 724 797 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.