Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 08-1183
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, August 20, 2008
WORKER DISPLACEMENT, 2005-2007
From January 2005 through December 2007, 3.6 million workers were dis-
placed from jobs they had held for at least 3 years, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The number of
displaced workers was about the same as the level (3.8 million) recorded
in the previous survey that covered the period from January 2003 to December
2005. (The Worker Displacement 2003-2005 news release is available online at
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/disp_08172006.pdf.)
Since 1984, the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Depart-
ment of Labor has sponsored surveys that collect information on workers who
were displaced from their jobs. These surveys have been conducted biennially
as supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of
households that is the primary source of information on the nation's labor
force.
Displaced workers are defined as persons 20 years of age and older who
lost or left jobs because their plant or company closed or moved, there was
insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished.
The period covered in this study was 2005-07, the 3 calendar years prior to
the January 2008 survey date. The following analysis focuses primarily on
the 3.6 million persons who had worked for their employer for 3 or more years
at the time of displacement (referred to as long-tenured). An additional 4.6
million persons were displaced from jobs they had held for less than 3 years
(referred to as short-tenured). Combining the short- and long-tenured groups,
the number of displaced workers totaled 8.3 million from 2005-07, about un-
changed from the period covered by the prior survey (2003-05).
Results from the January 2008 survey included the following
highlights:
--Two-thirds of long-tenured displaced workers were reemployed at
the time of the survey, down from the prior survey.
--About 45 percent of long-tenured displaced workers cited plant or
company closings or moves as the reason for their displacement.
--Forty-three percent of displaced workers who had worked for their
employer for 3 or more years had received written advance notifica-
tion that their jobs would be terminated.
--Nearly 1 in 4 long-tenured displaced workers lost a job in
manufacturing.
--Fifty-five percent of long-tenured workers who were displaced
from full-time wage and salary jobs and who were reemployed in such
jobs had earnings that were as much or more than those on the lost
job. One-quarter, however, experienced earnings losses of 20 percent
or more.
Characteristics of the Reemployed
Sixty-seven percent of the 3.6 million long-tenured displaced workers
were reemployed when surveyed in January 2008, down from the proportion in
the January 2006 survey--70 percent. The proportion unemployed at the time
of the most recent survey, 18 percent, was higher than the proportion found
in January 2006 (13 percent). Fifteen percent of long-tenured displaced
workers were not in the labor force in January 2008. (See table 1.)
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Reemployment rates for workers ages 20 to 24 and 25 to 54 were 68 and 73
percent, respectively. Reemployment rates for older workers--ages 55 to 64
and 65 years and over--were 61 and 18 percent, respectively. Among those age
65 years and over, 69 percent were no longer in the labor force when surveyed.
Among the displaced, men were more likely than women to have found a new
job at the time of the survey in January 2008. The reemployment rate for men
(70 percent) declined from the prior survey and the rate for women (64 percent)
was little changed. However, displaced men and women had a similar likelihood
of being unemployed; 19 and 17 percent, respectively. The share of displaced
women who had left the labor force, about 20 percent, was nearly twice that for
men--11 percent.
In January 2008, the reemployment rates for long-tenured displaced whites (68
percent) and Asians (67 percent) were little changed from the rates recorded in
the January 2006 survey, while the rate for blacks (59 percent) declined. The re-
employment rate for Hispanics edged up to 68 percent in January 2008.
Reason for Job Loss and Receipt of Advance Notice
Of the 3.6 million long-tenured workers displaced during the January 2005
through December 2007 period, 45 percent lost or left their jobs due to plant
or company closings or moves, 31 percent reported that their position or shift
was abolished, and 24 percent cited insufficient work as the reason for being
displaced. (See table 2.) The proportion of displaced workers citing plant
closings or moves decreased from the prior survey and the share reporting insuf-
ficient work or an abolished shift or position was about unchanged.
More than 4 in 10 long-tenured displaced workers in the January 2008 survey
had received written advance notice that their jobs would be terminated, similar
to the proportion in the prior survey. Workers who lost jobs due to plant or
company closings or moves were most likely to receive written advance notice. Of
this group, 54 percent received such notice. In contrast, 39 percent of workers
who were displaced because their position or shift was abolished and 29 percent
of those who lost jobs due to insufficient work were notified in advance. For
each of these groups, however, receipt of written advance notice had little impact
on the likelihood of being reemployed at the time of the survey in January 2008.
(See table 3.)
Industry and Occupation
As was the case in prior surveys, manufacturing accounted for a disproportion-
ately large share of displaced workers. During the 2005-07 period, 876,000 fac-
tory workers were displaced from their jobs--24 percent of all long-tenured dis-
placed workers. Manufacturing displacements were again concentrated within the
durable goods component (566,000), particularly in transportation equipment and
in computers and electronic products. Workers in financial activities (387,000)
made up about 11 percent of all long-tenured displaced. (See table 4.)
The reemployment rates for workers displaced from construction (65 percent),fi-
nancial activities (65 percent), and manufacturing (64 percent) were about the same
as the overall reemployment rate for displaced workers (67 percent). (Workers were
not necessarily reemployed in the same industries from which they were displaced.)
By comparison, reemployment rates for workers displaced from jobs in education and
health services (75 percent), professional and business services (74 percent), and
transportation and utilities (73 percent) were above the overall reemployment rate.
In the January 2008 survey, workers displaced from managerial, professional, and
related occupations accounted for 32 percent of all long-tenured displaced workers.
Sales and office occupations comprised about 27 percent of the long-tenured worker
displacements. Workers in production, transportation, and material moving jobs made
up about one-fifth of the long-tenured displaced. (See table 5.)
- 3 -
Geographic Divisions
Compared to the prior survey period, the number of long-tenured workers displaced
during 2005-07 was lower in the East South Central and higher in the Middle Atlantic
geographic divisions of the United States. In January 2008, those residing in the
Mountain and New England divisions had the highest reemployment rates; about three-
quarters of the displaced in each of these divisions were reemployed at the time of
the survey. About one-quarter of displaced manufacturing workers lived in the East
North Central division. (See table 6.)
Earnings
Of the 2.2 million reemployed displaced workers who lost full-time wage and salary
jobs during the 2005-07 period, 1.7 million had found new full-time wage and salary
jobs by January 2008. Of these reemployed full-time workers who reported earnings
on their lost job, 55 percent were earning as much or more than they did prior to
displacement; the proportion was 51 percent in the January 2006 survey. In the most
recent survey, 25 percent reported earnings losses of 20 percent or more, down from
29 percent in the previous survey. (See table 7.)
Total Displaced Workers (With No Tenure Restriction)
The total number of workers displaced between January 2005 and December 2007 (re-
gardless of how long they had held their jobs) was 8.3 million, little different from
the total number in the previous survey period. Of the total number of workers who
lost jobs over the 2005-07 period, 67 percent had found new jobs and 19 percent were
unemployed in January 2008. In the January 2006 survey, 68 percent of the total dis-
placed were reemployed and 16 percent were unemployed. (See table 8.)
In January 2008, short-tenured displaced workers were somewhat more likely than
their long-tenured counterparts to be young and to have lost jobs in construction and
in professional and business services.
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| |
| Imputed Data for Older Veterans |
| |
| Due to a programming error in the January 2008 survey instrument, |
|displacement information was not obtained from respondents who were |
|veterans age 65 and over. Missing data for these individuals were |
|imputed using information collected from respondents who were veterans|
|age 65 and over in the January 2006 Displaced Worker Supplement. This|
|imputation had minimal effect on the overall estimates because older |
|veterans make up a relatively small share of the displaced and because|
|of the similar employment characteristics of veterans age 65 and over |
|in January 2006 and January 2008. |
| |
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Bureau of Labor Statistics
