Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2007 and 2008
Initial claimants for
Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance
Reason for layoff
IV III IV IV III IV IV III IV
2007r 2008r 2008p 2007r 2008r 2008p 2007r 2008r 2008p
Total, private nonfarm (1) ..... 1,814 1,582 3,140 301,592 290,052 508,859 347,151 300,337 463,715
Business demand ................... 613 642 1,387 83,996 97,183 207,609 137,912 125,986 219,894
Contract cancellation ........... 17 44 46 2,564 7,298 11,059 3,292 6,984 6,247
Contract completion ............. 286 195 280 34,838 32,262 38,617 49,165 41,736 39,291
Domestic competition ............ (2) (2) 5 (2) (2) 752 (2) (2) 735
Excess inventory/saturated
market ........................ (2) (2) 13 (2) (2) 3,134 (2) (2) 2,687
Import competition .............. 16 12 13 2,868 3,197 1,768 6,203 3,223 2,010
Slack work/insufficient demand/
non-seasonal business slowdown. 282 382 1,030 42,201 52,328 152,279 77,221 71,164 168,924
Organizational changes ............ 92 122 139 22,626 33,567 26,434 20,648 29,498 20,320
Business-ownership change ....... 24 20 29 9,673 14,033 7,939 5,695 4,849 4,105
Reorganization or restructuring
of company .................... 68 102 110 12,953 19,534 18,495 14,953 24,649 16,215
Financial issues .................. 124 192 300 24,652 37,051 65,034 25,849 30,421 44,005
Bankruptcy ...................... 15 42 40 4,665 13,032 9,087 2,598 7,858 5,295
Cost control/cost cutting/
increase profitability ........ 42 92 156 8,254 12,179 23,227 13,322 12,764 23,222
Financial difficulty ............ 67 58 104 11,733 11,840 32,720 9,929 9,799 15,488
Production specific ............... 25 30 21 3,935 5,998 3,694 4,864 7,013 3,011
Automation/technological
advances ...................... (2) 4 (2) (2) 760 (2) (2) 822 (2)
Energy related .................. - 6 (2) - 720 (2) - 2,656 (2)
Governmental regulations/
intervention .................. (2) 5 6 (2) 806 1,395 (2) 475 795
Labor dispute/contract
negotiations/strike ........... 10 4 4 1,457 1,880 520 2,386 1,169 478
Material or supply shortage ..... (2) 4 - (2) 466 - (2) 371 -
Model changeover ................ (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Plant or machine repair/
maintenance ................... 8 3 4 1,360 685 671 972 433 480
Product line discontinued ....... (2) (2) 3 (2) (2) 590 (2) (2) 623
Disaster/safety ................... 6 32 12 778 4,988 1,346 809 4,233 1,076
Hazardous work environment ...... - - - - - - - - -
Natural disaster (not weather
related) ...................... - (2) - - (2) - - (2) -
Non-natural disaster ............ - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Extreme weather-related event ... 6 (2) (2) 778 (2) (2) 809 (2) (2)
Seasonal .......................... 752 216 808 129,784 43,920 135,500 119,288 36,532 105,091
Seasonal ........................ 747 116 803 129,368 27,566 134,237 118,724 21,395 103,926
Vacation period-school related
or otherwise .................. 5 100 5 416 16,354 1,263 564 15,137 1,165
Other/miscellaneous ............... 202 348 473 35,821 67,345 69,242 37,781 66,654 70,318
Other ........................... 12 23 23 2,091 4,444 2,991 3,150 4,440 4,622
Data not provided: refusal ...... 57 53 104 11,259 13,033 20,838 11,273 12,988 20,639
Data not provided: does not
know .......................... 133 272 346 22,471 49,868 45,413 23,358 49,226 45,057
1 See footnote 1, table 1.
2 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: Dash represents zero.
