Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 00-106 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Tuesday, April 18, 2000 MASS LAYOFFS IN FEBRUARY 2000 In February 2000, there were 1,045 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 103,898. A year earlier, the number of mass layoff-related initial claims was 89,800. (See table 1.) 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 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 February 2000, manufacturing industries accounted for 25 percent of all mass layoff events and 29 percent of all initial claims filed. Manufacturing industries that had the highest numbers of initial claimants were transportation equipment (7,438), primarily in aircraft; and food and kindred products (6,490), mostly in canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. (See table 2.) Agriculture accounted for 23 percent of all mass layoff events and 20 percent of initial claimants during the month, largely in agricultural services. Services accounted for 17 percent of all layoffs and 22 percent of initial claimants during the month, mainly in motion pictures and business services (especially help supply services). Layoffs in these two industries, however, are more likely than those in most other industries to last less than 30 days. Construction accounted for 15 percent of all layoff events and 12 percent of initial claimants during the month, mostly in heavy construction and special trade contractors. Compared with February 1999, the largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in agricultural services (+4,758), transportation equipment (+3,260), and agricultural production crops (+3,040). The largest decreases in initial claims occurred in primary metal industries (-1,915). - 2 - Geographic Distribution In February, the number of initial claims due to mass layoffs was higher in the West (69,589) than in any other region. (See table 3.) Layoffs in agricultural services and motion pictures accounted for 34 percent of the claims in the West. The fewest number of mass-layoff initial claims continued to be reported in the Northeast region (8,920). An over-the-year increase in mass layoff-related initial claims was reported only in the West (+22,272), while the other three regions experienced moderate decreases: South (-4,706), Northeast (-1,959) and Midwest (-1,509). Among the divisions, higher levels of initial claims over the year were reported mainly in the Pacific. Seven of the nine divisions reported over-the-year declines. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia reporting data for February, California had the largest number of initial claims filed in mass layoff events (60,111), primarily in agricultural services and motion pictures, followed by Washington (4,994) and Pennsylvania (4,095). California accounted for 60 percent of all layoff events and 58 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. (See table 4.) From February 1999 to February 2000, California reported the largest over-the-year increase in initial claims (+17,226), mostly in agricultural services. Texas had the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims (-2,603). 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 1998 to February 2000 Extended mass layoffs lasting more than 30 days Date Total mass layoffs Event realization rate(1) Initial Initial Events claimants Events claimants 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 1,563 402,276 42.9 July ............................. 2,220 286,055 August ........................... 617 53,665 September ........................ 637 79,629 Third Quarter .................... 3,474 419,349 1,234 256,803 35.5 October .......................... 1,553 160,830 November ......................... 1,368 144,343 December ......................... 1,776 207,661 Fourth Quarter ................... 4,697 512,834 1,736 326,122 37.0 1999 January .......................... 2,421 226,995 February ......................... 1,067 89,800 March ............................ 880 91,890 First Quarter .................... 4,368 408,685 1,509 252,060 34.5 April ............................ 1,270 136,885 May .............................. 1,032 102,738 June ............................. 1,140 130,951 Second Quarter ................... 3,442 370,574 1,445 242,197 42.0 July ............................. 1,741 221,334 August ........................... 698 75,691 September ........................ 717 75,288 Third Quarter .................... 3,156 372,313 1,099 189,366 34.8 October .......................... 1,098 118,938 November ......................... 1,336 139,508 December ......................... 1,509 162,381 Fourth Quarter ................... 3,943 420,827 (p)1,571 (p)212,196 (p)39.8 2000 January(p) ....................... 1,934 223,322 February(p) ...................... 1,045 103,898 1 The event realization rate is the percentage of total mass layoff events lasting more than 30 days. p = preliminary. Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance Industry February December January February February December January February 1999 1999 2000(p) 2000(p) 1999 1999 2000(p) 2000(p) Total(1) ....................................... 1,067 1,509 1,934 1,045 89,800 162,381 223,322 103,898 Total, private ...................................... 1,038 1,458 1,878 1,022 87,177 157,932 218,232 101,817 Agriculture ....................................... 227 120 72 245 13,278 8,730 5,401 20,938 Nonagriculture .................................... 792 1,314 1,769 769 72,572 146,160 207,602 80,212 Manufacturing ................................... 295 444 737 260 28,782 59,141 97,271 29,907 Durable goods ................................. 157 237 420 125 16,480 35,086 63,521 16,945 Lumber and wood products .................... 28 37 56 18 2,940 3,170 9,228 2,198 Furniture and fixtures ...................... 7 9 37 10 399 1,076 4,536 856 Stone, clay, and glass products ............. 8 32 39 7 540 3,817 3,378 382 Primary metal industries .................... 11 15 23 8 2,578 2,183 2,870 663 Fabricated metal products ................... 12 16 54 21 937 1,290 4,993 1,892 Industrial machinery and equipment .......... 28 34 45 17 1,979 6,581 8,281 1,724 Electronic and other electrical equipment ... 27 24 53 16 2,121 6,477 7,804 1,366 Transportation equipment .................... 25 44 75 23 4,178 7,642 18,923 7,438 Instruments and related products ............ 8 8 17 5 625 759 1,272 426 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ...... 3 18 21 - 183 2,091 2,236 - Nondurable goods .............................. 138 207 317 135 12,302 24,055 33,750 12,962 Food and kindred products ................... 66 70 99 73 5,505 8,105 10,287 6,490 Tobacco products ............................ 6 3 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 832 367 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Textile mill products ....................... 13 18 46 9 1,111 2,741 7,157 1,502 Apparel and other textile products .......... 21 42 82 21 2,078 4,193 7,946 2,342 Paper and allied products ................... 6 5 19 5 825 422 1,814 317 Printing and publishing ..................... 14 8 12 6 1,027 672 829 490 Chemicals and allied products ............... 4 4 7 7 336 227 752 508 Petroleum and coal products ................. - 12 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - 1,208 ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products .. 5 36 33 8 416 4,145 3,066 599 Leather and leather products ................ 3 9 13 ( 2 ) 172 1,975 1,315 ( 2 ) Nonmanufacturing ................................ 497 870 1,032 509 43,790 87,019 110,331 50,305 Mining ........................................ 15 19 25 8 1,355 2,231 2,034 726 Construction .................................. 120 269 283 156 7,062 23,467 22,277 12,045 Transportation and public utilities ........... 29 77 129 31 2,247 11,644 11,228 2,957 Wholesale and retail trade .................... 91 200 204 114 7,154 20,806 24,006 10,081 Wholesale trade ............................ 28 35 41 26 1,857 4,503 5,775 2,054 Retail trade ............................... 63 165 163 88 5,297 16,303 18,231 8,027 Finance, insurance, and real estate ........... 20 24 26 25 1,449 1,804 2,193 1,510 Services ...................................... 222 281 365 175 24,523 27,067 48,593 22,986 Not identified .................................... 19 24 37 8 1,327 3,042 5,229 667 Government .......................................... 29 51 56 23 2,623 4,449 5,090 2,081 Federal ........................................... 7 5 16 4 690 688 1,561 242 State ............................................. 11 18 8 12 1,243 1,761 633 1,120 Local ............................................. 11 28 32 7 690 2,000 2,896 719 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 Mass layoff events Initial claimants for unemployment insurance Census region and division February December January February February December January February 1999 1999 2000(p) 2000(p) 1999 1999 2000(p) 2000(p) United States(1) .... 1,067 1,509 1,934 1,045 89,800 162,381 223,322 103,898 Northeast ................... 108 197 397 100 10,879 21,597 39,178 8,920 New England ............. 26 41 78 14 2,672 4,598 8,146 1,665 Middle Atlantic ......... 82 156 319 86 8,207 16,999 31,032 7,255 South ....................... 193 245 369 135 17,124 26,449 43,938 12,418 South Atlantic .......... 80 119 185 58 7,060 12,019 25,391 5,754 East South Central ...... 36 36 70 28 3,443 3,652 8,156 2,433 West South Central ...... 77 90 114 49 6,621 10,778 10,391 4,231 Midwest ..................... 144 531 601 127 14,480 67,805 73,753 12,971 East North Central ...... 113 385 470 101 10,412 47,465 60,165 10,046 West North Central ...... 31 146 131 26 4,068 20,340 13,588 2,925 West ........................ 622 536 567 683 47,317 46,530 66,453 69,589 Mountain ................ 28 70 75 34 2,384 6,733 6,378 3,237 Pacific ................. 594 466 492 649 44,933 39,797 60,075 66,352 1 See footnote 1, table 2. p = preliminary. 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 Initial claimants for Mass layoff events unemployment insurance State February December January February February December January February 1999 1999 2000(p) 2000(p) 1999 1999 2000(p) 2000(p) Total(1) ................... 1,067 1,509 1,934 1,045 89,800 162,381 223,322 103,898 Alabama ....................... 7 7 9 8 956 768 929 777 Alaska ........................ - ( 2 ) 3 ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) 212 ( 2 ) Arizona ....................... ( 2 ) 4 11 4 ( 2 ) 279 743 381 Arkansas ...................... 3 17 10 ( 2 ) 281 2,187 874 ( 2 ) California .................... 569 410 426 627 42,885 33,517 54,083 60,111 Colorado ...................... 4 10 8 3 311 943 755 286 Connecticut ................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 10 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 1,031 - Delaware ...................... - ( 2 ) 3 - - ( 2 ) 1,710 - District of Columbia .......... ( 2 ) 5 3 - ( 2 ) 590 253 - Florida ....................... 34 34 42 15 2,710 2,504 3,193 1,038 Georgia ....................... 10 18 9 10 730 1,378 871 1,390 Hawaii ........................ 3 3 12 ( 2 ) 194 342 1,086 ( 2 ) Idaho ......................... 8 13 10 11 781 1,202 904 1,192 Illinois ...................... 16 98 70 22 1,240 12,107 14,210 2,330 Indiana ....................... 10 37 31 15 1,058 7,911 2,750 1,467 Iowa .......................... 6 37 46 6 402 4,931 5,832 555 Kansas ........................ ( 2 ) 10 14 4 ( 2 ) 1,023 989 301 Kentucky ...................... 8 10 23 10 824 936 2,725 836 Louisiana ..................... 7 12 21 5 465 801 1,558 242 Maine ......................... 7 7 5 ( 2 ) 722 494 618 ( 2 ) Maryland ...................... ( 2 ) 5 17 4 ( 2 ) 507 1,156 254 Massachusetts ................. 14 20 36 7 1,554 2,169 3,789 580 Michigan ...................... 26 132 128 20 2,648 17,255 13,643 1,805 Minnesota ..................... 5 41 21 ( 2 ) 502 5,209 2,399 ( 2 ) Mississippi ................... 5 ( 2 ) 10 6 529 ( 2 ) 1,659 468 Missouri ...................... 16 55 37 14 2,904 8,654 3,281 1,888 Montana ....................... - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) Nebraska ...................... ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 12 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 988 - Nevada ........................ 9 31 35 10 709 3,267 3,263 923 New Hampshire ................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 7 - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) 790 - New Jersey .................... 14 33 73 25 1,455 3,063 7,270 2,489 New Mexico .................... 4 ( 2 ) 7 ( 2 ) 260 ( 2 ) 441 ( 2 ) New York ...................... 7 33 37 9 1,521 2,750 3,570 671 North Carolina ................ 12 14 14 10 1,311 1,466 2,818 882 North Dakota .................. ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - ( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 ) - Ohio .......................... 22 57 118 18 1,873 4,852 16,153 1,604 Oklahoma ...................... ( 2 ) 10 7 6 ( 2 ) 1,736 536 652 Oregon ........................ 14 33 39 12 1,251 4,052 3,816 1,029 Pennsylvania .................. 61 90 209 52 5,231 11,186 20,192 4,095 Rhode Island .................. ( 2 ) 9 18 5 ( 2 ) 1,413 1,728 928 South Carolina ................ 9 20 38 8 691 1,944 5,526 1,203 South Dakota .................. - - - - - - - - Tennessee ..................... 16 17 28 4 1,134 1,691 2,843 352 Texas ......................... 66 51 76 37 5,819 6,054 7,423 3,216 Utah .......................... ( 2 ) 8 3 4 ( 2 ) 745 205 320 Vermont ....................... - 3 ( 2 ) - - 223 ( 2 ) - Virginia ...................... 12 22 55 7 1,350 3,585 9,568 504 Washington .................... 8 18 12 7 603 1,674 878 4,994 West Virginia ................. - - 4 4 - - 296 483 Wisconsin ..................... 39 61 123 26 3,593 5,340 13,409 2,840 Wyoming ....................... - - - - - - - - Puerto Rico ................... 14 11 14 13 1,201 1,132 1,055 1,105 1 See footnote 1, table 2. 2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. p = preliminary. NOTE: Dash represents zero.