Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-1712 http://www.bls.gov/mls/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Tuesday, August 31, 2004 MASS LAYOFFS IN JULY 2004 In July 2004, employers took 2,094 mass layoff actions, 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 253,929. (See table 1.) Both the number of events and initial claims were higher than a year ago, with the number of mass layoff events and the number of associated initial claims higher than any July since 2001. However, July 2004 contained 5 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with 4 weeks in each July of the prior 4 years. From January through July 2004, the total number of events, at 10,208, and of initial claims, at 1,049,541, were lower than in January- July 2003 (11,947 and 1,183,024, respectively). Industry Distribution The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 82,562 initial claims in July, 33 percent of the total. (See table A.) The manufacturing sector had 42 percent of all mass layoff events and 57 percent of all initial claims filed in July. A year ago, manufacturing reported 45 percent of events and 60 percent of initial claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (72,492, mainly automotive-related), followed by plastics and rubber products manufacturing (13,053) and primary metals (8,177). (See table 2.) The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 12 percent of events and 9 percent of initial claims filed in July, with layoffs mainly in temporary help services. Temporary help services, with 13,227 initial claims, accounted for 5 percent of all initial claims in July. Five percent of all layoff events and 4 percent of initial claims filed during the month were in retail trade, primarily in general merchandise stores. Transportation and warehousing accounted for 5 percent of events and 4 percent of initial claims, mostly in school and employee bus transportation. Construction accounted for an additional 6 percent of events and 3 percent of initial claims during the month, primarily among specialty trade contractors. Government establishments accounted for 7 percent of events and 5 percent of initial claims filed during the month, mostly in elementary and secondary schools. - 2 - Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in July 2004p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Initial | July peak Industry | claims |------------------------- | | Year | Initial claims ------------------------------------------|---------|---------|--------------- Temporary help services ..................| 13,227 | 1998 | 24,601 All other motor vehicle parts mfg. .......| 9,691 | 2004 | 9,691 Light truck and utility vehicle mfg. .....| 9,467 | 1997 | 14,618 All other plastics product mfg. ..........| 8,864 | 2004 | 8,864 Automobile manufacturing mfg. ............| 8,417 | 1996 | 22,644 Motor vehicle power train components | | | mfg. ...................................| 8,407 | 2003 | 8,905 Motor vechicle seating and interior trim | | | mfg. ...................................| 7,807 | 2004 | 7,807 Motor vehicle metal stamping .............| 7,061 | 2004 | 7,061 Elementary and secondary schools .........| 4,963 | 2003 | 7,069 Motion picture and video production ......| 4,658 | 1998 | 12,310 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ p=preliminary. Compared with July 2003, the largest increases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (+12,383), administrative and support services (+4,657), motion picture and sound recording (+3,754), and professional and technical services (+3,592). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in electrical equipment and ap- pliance manufacturing (-3,784) and machinery manufacturing (-3,243). Geographic Distribution Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in July due to mass layoffs was reported in the Midwest, 118,913. (See table 3.) Transportation equipment manufacturing accounted for 48 percent of all initial claims in that region during the month. The South region was next, with 55,404 initial claims, followed closely by the West, with 52,412, and the Northeast, with 27,200. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs rose over the year in three of the four regions. The largest increase was in the Midwest (+17,380), followed by the West (+6,592) and the South (+6,509). The Northeast had the only over-the-year decline (-2,987). Six of the nine geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increase in the East North Central division (+20,253). The largest over-the-year decreases occurred in the New England (-3,381) and West North Central (-2,873) divisions. Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events in July (41,702), mostly in administrative and support services and motion picture and sound recording industries. Michigan reported 35,562 initial claims, followed by Ohio (26,605), and Indiana (20,435). These four states accounted for 47 percent of all layoff events and 49 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) Michigan reported the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+13,915), followed by Ohio (+9,519), Kentucky (+5,834), and South Carolina (+5,028). The largest over-the-year decrease occurred in Georgia (-5,497). From January to July, California reported 252,330 mass layoff initial claims, 24 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were Michigan (71,077), New York (66,849), and Ohio (65,954). - 3 - Note The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs. For private nonfarm establishments, information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly release provides more information on the industry classification and location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers. Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See table 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions. ______________________________ The report on Mass Layoffs in August 2004 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, September 23, 2004. - 4 - Technical Note The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each state's unemployment insurance database. Each month, states report on establish- ments 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 long- er, 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 ter- minated 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 indi- viduals 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, July 2002 to July 2004 Private nonfarm Total mass layoffs Extended mass layoffs Realization Date Mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days rates(1) Initial Initial Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants Events claimants 2002 July ....................... 2,042 245,294 1,819 226,892 August ..................... 1,248 128,103 1,151 119,874 September .................. 1,062 124,522 957 114,736 Third Quarter .............. 4,352 497,919 3,927 461,502 1,186 254,955 30.2 55.2 October .................... 1,497 171,100 1,270 149,327 November ................... 2,153 240,171 1,860 216,237 December ................... 2,474 264,158 2,324 252,807 Fourth Quarter ............. 6,124 675,429 5,454 618,371 1,916 370,592 35.1 59.9 2003 January .................... 2,315 225,430 2,130 210,918 February ................... 1,363 124,965 1,222 116,264 March ...................... 1,207 113,026 1,099 104,468 First Quarter .............. 4,885 463,421 4,451 431,650 1,502 (r)297,608 33.7 68.9 April ...................... 1,581 161,412 1,470 152,937 May ........................ 1,703 174,204 1,538 160,729 June ....................... 1,691 157,552 1,336 127,743 Second Quarter ............. 4,975 493,168 4,344 441,409 1,799 (r)348,966 41.4 (r)79.1 July ....................... 2,087 226,435 1,815 206,901 August ..................... 1,258 133,839 1,163 124,131 September .................. 868 82,647 756 73,914 Third Quarter .............. 4,213 442,921 3,734 404,946 1,190 (r)227,878 31.9 (r)56.3 October .................... 1,523 158,240 1,265 137,706 November ................... 1,438 138,543 1,234 123,524 December ................... 1,929 192,633 1,793 182,750 Fourth Quarter ............. 4,890 489,416 4,292 443,980 1,690 (r)326,261 39.4 (r)73.5 2004 January .................... 2,428 239,454 2,226 220,687 February ................... 941 84,201 832 76,577 March ...................... 920 92,554 847 87,782 First Quarter .............. 4,289 416,209 3,905 385,046 (r)1,339 (r)236,521 (r)34.3 (r)61.4 April ...................... 1,458 157,314 1,316 142,657 May ........................ 988 87,501 878 78,786 June(p) .................... 1,379 134,588 1,077 110,804 Second Quarter(p) .......... 3,825 379,403 3,271 332,247 (2)1,233 (2)178,381 37.7 53.7 July(p) .................... 2,094 253,929 1,860 234,877 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. The initial claimant realization rate is the percentage of all private nonfarm mass layoff initial claimants associated with layoffs lasting more than 30 days. 2 These quarterly numbers are provisional and will be revised as more data on these layoffs become available. Experience suggests that the number of extended mass layoff events is generally revised upwards by less than 10 percent and the number of initial claimants associated with such events increases by 25-40 percent. r = revised. p = preliminary. Table 2. 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 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total (1) ................................. 2,087 988 1,379 2,094 226,435 87,501 134,588 253,929 Total, private .................................. 1,932 915 1,156 1,945 215,170 81,381 115,626 241,601 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting .... 117 37 79 85 8,269 2,595 4,822 6,724 Total, private nonfarm ......................... 1,815 878 1,077 1,860 206,901 78,786 110,804 234,877 Mining ........................................ 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 505 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Utilities ..................................... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Construction .................................. 88 76 77 119 5,970 5,424 4,924 8,700 Manufacturing ................................. 946 219 222 885 136,410 22,141 27,307 145,895 Food ...................................... 74 41 38 82 6,460 3,897 2,677 7,418 Beverage and tobacco products ............. 8 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 6 614 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 447 Textile mills ............................. 27 12 9 26 2,828 1,099 1,957 2,309 Textile product mills ..................... 12 13 ( 2 ) 15 1,048 2,820 ( 2 ) 1,966 Apparel ................................... 36 18 7 46 3,093 1,382 641 5,521 Leather and allied products ............... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 4 6 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 459 841 Wood products ............................. 31 5 7 33 3,976 389 634 5,523 Paper ..................................... 16 7 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,035 665 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Printing and related support activities ... 12 13 13 10 723 985 1,324 1,195 Petroleum and coal products ............... ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) Chemicals ................................. 15 ( 2 ) 11 17 1,332 ( 2 ) 803 2,032 Plastics and rubber products .............. 90 8 4 98 11,122 508 360 13,053 Nonmetallic mineral products .............. 30 ( 2 ) 4 16 3,954 ( 2 ) 304 2,242 Primary metals ............................ 66 ( 2 ) 9 50 8,676 ( 2 ) 1,078 8,177 Fabricated metal products ................. 59 9 11 62 6,235 660 1,464 6,961 Machinery ................................. 65 14 16 39 8,669 1,359 1,362 5,426 Computer and electronic products .......... 60 13 11 31 5,534 1,081 1,418 4,012 Electrical equipment and appliances ....... 33 10 5 17 5,445 1,572 1,222 1,661 Transportation equipment .................. 265 28 51 288 60,173 2,911 9,303 72,492 Furniture and related products ............ 20 12 11 23 2,391 1,098 1,323 2,331 Miscellaneous manufacturing ............... 19 5 4 14 1,648 376 265 1,798 Wholesale trade ............................... 36 11 23 30 2,776 819 2,142 2,853 Retail trade .................................. 108 91 76 104 9,065 7,851 7,410 10,541 Transportation and warehousing ................ 84 40 120 112 7,489 3,822 14,557 9,522 Information ................................... 44 32 48 40 3,700 2,966 6,748 6,778 Finance and insurance ......................... 35 23 22 35 2,569 1,944 1,502 2,438 Real estate and rental and leasing ............ 11 ( 2 ) 4 17 751 ( 2 ) 231 1,580 Professional and technical services ........... 53 44 27 55 4,970 4,116 3,174 8,562 Management of companies and enterprises ....... 4 4 4 ( 2 ) 438 232 935 ( 2 ) Administrative and waste services ............. 212 119 148 253 18,427 9,839 14,058 22,955 Educational services .......................... 25 4 11 16 1,714 309 692 1,219 Health care and social assistance ............. 59 67 149 69 4,048 5,500 12,457 4,623 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ........... 27 23 25 30 2,559 2,006 1,390 2,092 Accommodation and food services ............... 50 82 85 68 3,764 8,145 10,549 5,100 Other services, except public administration .. 19 35 30 15 1,115 3,112 2,278 987 Unclassified .................................. 7 1 2 6 631 62 181 361 Government ...................................... 155 73 223 149 11,265 6,120 18,962 12,328 Federal ....................................... 10 8 9 19 899 1,033 1,040 2,122 State ......................................... 24 17 18 24 1,527 1,389 1,058 2,247 Local ......................................... 121 48 196 106 8,839 3,698 16,864 7,959 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: 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 July May June July July May June July 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p United States (1) ... 2,087 988 1,379 2,094 226,435 87,501 134,588 253,929 Northeast ................. 336 128 204 289 30,187 11,912 25,047 27,200 New England ............. 69 21 39 35 6,148 2,007 4,263 2,767 Middle Atlantic ......... 267 107 165 254 24,039 9,905 20,784 24,433 South ..................... 440 285 337 487 48,895 27,666 31,374 55,404 South Atlantic .......... 200 138 183 225 22,033 12,730 16,796 23,319 East South Central ...... 128 63 48 151 14,232 7,512 3,702 20,698 West South Central ...... 112 84 106 111 12,630 7,424 10,876 11,387 Midwest ................... 697 237 300 706 101,533 22,294 31,267 118,913 East North Central ...... 589 172 234 604 79,361 17,057 24,316 99,614 West North Central ...... 108 65 66 102 22,172 5,237 6,951 19,299 West ...................... 614 338 538 612 45,820 25,629 46,900 52,412 Mountain ................ 53 39 53 53 4,179 3,580 3,979 5,010 Pacific ................. 561 299 485 559 41,641 22,049 42,921 47,402 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 July May June July July May June July 2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Total (1) ............ 2,087 988 1,379 2,094 226,435 87,501 134,588 253,929 Alabama ................. 45 11 8 48 5,466 2,586 579 6,033 Alaska .................. - ( 2 ) 4 - - ( 2 ) 256 - Arizona ................. 20 14 17 19 1,634 1,438 1,307 1,812 Arkansas ................ 8 7 6 6 621 525 440 763 California .............. 517 272 438 504 37,033 20,148 39,179 41,702 Colorado ................ 7 5 5 3 478 502 431 217 Connecticut ............. 12 5 10 4 833 327 1,117 255 Delaware ................ 3 - 4 ( 2 ) 1,430 - 801 ( 2 ) District of Columbia .... ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 470 Florida ................. 76 67 93 90 5,356 5,152 6,466 6,491 Georgia ................. 53 25 26 27 7,835 2,674 2,873 2,338 Hawaii .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 205 214 Idaho ................... 9 4 4 11 957 347 291 944 Illinois ................ 85 48 52 71 11,117 5,640 5,869 8,625 Indiana ................. 86 22 26 96 18,688 2,155 2,564 20,435 Iowa .................... 24 6 13 22 4,674 515 1,417 3,552 Kansas .................. 14 5 11 17 1,800 348 1,042 2,023 Kentucky ................ 57 26 16 79 7,110 2,452 1,210 12,944 Louisiana ............... 20 21 31 22 2,299 1,869 2,686 1,501 Maine ................... 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 178 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Maryland ................ 16 7 6 14 1,149 488 480 1,274 Massachusetts ........... 43 11 16 19 3,947 1,333 1,573 1,435 Michigan ................ 190 33 55 253 21,647 3,369 5,277 35,562 Minnesota ............... 18 12 20 13 2,127 959 2,258 1,884 Mississippi ............. 8 10 8 8 460 879 427 500 Missouri ................ 40 27 21 43 12,137 2,227 2,138 10,635 Montana ................. 3 ( 2 ) 3 3 172 ( 2 ) 171 402 Nebraska ................ 9 8 ( 2 ) 6 1,231 556 ( 2 ) 1,119 Nevada .................. 10 3 14 11 694 291 1,152 1,094 New Hampshire ........... 8 - 4 6 944 - 391 530 New Jersey .............. 59 25 50 46 5,354 2,768 9,167 4,096 New Mexico .............. ( 2 ) 9 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 715 268 ( 2 ) New York ................ 92 40 36 94 8,253 3,348 4,031 9,615 North Carolina .......... 11 16 13 13 1,298 1,346 1,014 1,118 North Dakota ............ ( 2 ) 4 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 290 - ( 2 ) Ohio .................... 133 38 61 122 17,086 3,305 6,755 26,605 Oklahoma ................ 9 4 10 10 1,947 347 2,690 1,919 Oregon .................. 24 9 21 32 2,891 562 1,772 3,921 Pennsylvania ............ 116 42 79 114 10,432 3,789 7,586 10,722 Rhode Island ............ 3 ( 2 ) 6 4 246 ( 2 ) 992 381 South Carolina .......... 17 7 19 51 1,815 1,429 3,438 6,843 South Dakota ............ ( 2 ) 3 - - ( 2 ) 342 - - Tennessee ............... 18 16 16 16 1,196 1,595 1,486 1,221 Texas ................... 75 52 59 73 7,763 4,683 5,060 7,204 Utah .................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 5 5 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 359 499 Vermont ................. - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Virginia ................ 21 14 17 24 2,981 1,536 1,318 2,989 Washington .............. 18 15 19 20 1,579 1,146 1,509 1,565 West Virginia ........... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 277 ( 2 ) Wisconsin ............... 95 31 40 62 10,823 2,588 3,851 8,387 Wyoming ................. - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ............. 13 4 10 14 1,116 640 896 1,234 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.