News Release Information
12-424-PHI
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Contacts
Technical information:
- (215) 597-3282
- BLSInfoPhiladelphia@bls.gov
- www.bls.gov/ro3
Media contact:
- (215) 861-5600
- BLSMediaPhiladelphia@bls.gov
Mass Layoffs in Pennsylvania – 2011 Annual Totals
Employers in Pennsylvania took 1,332 mass layoff actions in 2011 that resulted in the separation of 124,838 workers, as measured by new filings of unemployment insurance benefits during the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1.) Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the number of claims rose by 12,270 or 10.9 percent from the previous year’s level. Despite increasing over the year, the number of mass layoff initial claims in 2011 was still 31.6 percent below the peak of 182,524 reached in 2009.
Industry distribution
Of all the industry sectors in Pennsylvania, manufacturing experienced the most mass layoff events in 2011 with 421. (See table 1.) This sector also had the largest number of initial claimants for unemployment insurance at 37,088, or 29.7 percent of the Commonwealth’s total—more than twice the count for any other industry. The construction sector was second with 215 mass layoff events, but the 17,336 associated initial claims for unemployment insurance ranked third. Transportation and warehousing, with 164 events, ranked second in claims with 18,067, the highest annual total for this industry since the series began in 1996. Four other industry sectors also reached series highs for initial claimants in 2011. (See table A.)
Sector | Initial claimants for unemployment insurance |
---|---|
Transportation and warehousing |
18,067 |
Accommodation and food services |
9,926 |
Information |
3,187 |
Local government |
2,661 |
Arts, entertainment, and recreation |
1,616 |
Transportation and warehousing had the largest increase in mass layoff-related initial claims over the year, up 4,711 in 2011. (See table B.) Information had the second-largest rise (2,180), followed by administrative and waste services (1,862). Two other sectors finished 2011 with at least 1,000 more initial claimants than in 2010. All five of these industries had posted over-the-year decreases in 2010; however, only two—transportation and warehousing and information—experienced increases in claims in 2011 that offset the declines from one year earlier. The largest percent increase in initial claims from 2010 to 2011 occurred in information (216.5 percent), followed by federal government (72.3 percent).
Sector | Net change | |
---|---|---|
2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
Transportation and warehousing |
-1,814 | 4,711 |
Information |
-211 | 2,180 |
Administrative and waste services |
-2,664 | 1,862 |
Construction |
-1,448 | 1,249 |
Retail trade |
-2,277 | 1,178 |
In contrast, three sectors saw a decline in the number of initial claims associated with mass layoff events in 2011, led by professional and technical services, down 1,297 or 40.6 percent. Finance and insurance followed, down 725 (-41.9 percent), then mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, down 277 (-40.9 percent).
Among the states, California recorded the highest number of mass layoff initial claims, 377,413, in 2011. Pennsylvania ranked second with 124,838, followed by New York (119,398) and Florida (79,766). Twenty-nine states experienced over-the-year decreases in total initial claims for the year, led by California (-42,396), Illinois (-19,191), and Florida (-9,010). One state, South Dakota, experienced no change in its initial claims count, while twenty states and the District of Columbia had increases in initial claims from 2010 to 2011, led by North Carolina (22,393) and Pennsylvania (12,270). In three of these states, Arkansas, Nebraska, and North Carolina, initial claims reached a series high in 2011.
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 employers which have at least 50 initial claims filed against them during a consecutive 5-week period. These employers 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. The number of weeks in a given month may be different from year to year, and the number of weeks in a year may vary. Therefore, analysis of over-the-month and over-the-year change in not seasonally adjusted series 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.
For personal assistance or further information on mass layoffs, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at 215-597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Definitions
Employer. Employers in the MLS program include those covered by state unemployment insurance laws. Information on employers is obtained from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which is administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Industry. Employers are classified according to the 2007 version of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For temporary help and professional employer organization industries, monthly MLS-related statistics generally reflect layoffs related to underlying client companies in other industries. An individual layoff action at a client company can be small, but when initial claimants associated with many such layoffs are assigned to a temporary help or professional employer organization firm, a mass layoff event may trigger.
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 employer during a 5-week period, regardless of duration.
Industry | Mass layoff events | Initial claims for unemployment insurance | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Historical data |
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | Historical data |
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
Total, all industries (1) |
1,415 | 2,062 | 1,299 | 1,332 | 128,041 | 182,524 | 112,568 | 124,838 | ||
Total private (1) |
1,394 | 2,031 | 1,262 | 1,282 | 125,461 | 179,776 | 108,336 | 119,015 | ||
Total private nonfarm (1) |
1,393 | 2,028 | 1,260 | 1,281 | 125,413 | 179,546 | 108,212 | 118,941 | ||
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (1) |
8 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 558 | 1,795 | 677 | 400 | ||
Mining, except oil and gas |
7 | 18 | 7 | (3) | 491 | 1,498 | 677 | (3) | ||
Construction |
215 | 242 | 203 | 215 | 16,276 | 17,535 | 16,087 | 17,336 | ||
Construction of buildings |
25 | 27 | 21 | 22 | 1,683 | 2,073 | 1,737 | 1,630 | ||
Heavy and civil engineering construction |
86 | 94 | 93 | 115 | 7,173 | 6,829 | 8,252 | 10,279 | ||
Specialty trade contractors |
104 | 121 | 89 | 78 | 7,420 | 8,633 | 6,098 | 5,427 | ||
Manufacturing (1) |
627 | 1,003 | 440 | 421 | 60,045 | 92,719 | 36,324 | 37,088 | ||
Food |
68 | 74 | 60 | 68 | 7,394 | 7,110 | 5,248 | 8,167 | ||
Beverage and tobacco products |
12 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 751 | 544 | 294 | 355 | ||
Textile mills |
9 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 611 | 1,305 | 549 | 563 | ||
Textile product mills (2) |
8 | (3) | 5 | (3) | 878 | (3) | 496 | (3) | ||
Apparel (2) |
29 | 31 | 20 | 14 | 2,165 | 2,428 | 1,347 | 908 | ||
Wood products |
94 | 88 | 56 | 53 | 7,839 | 7,019 | 3,762 | 3,896 | ||
Paper |
14 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 1,075 | 1,607 | 521 | 732 | ||
Printing and related support activities |
14 | 29 | 14 | 14 | 1,351 | 3,048 | 1,157 | 1,537 | ||
Petroleum and coal products |
(3) | (3) | 5 | (3) | (3) | (3) | 368 | (3) | ||
Chemicals |
9 | 20 | (3) | 7 | 565 | 1,525 | (3) | 619 | ||
Plastics and rubber products (2) |
45 | 54 | 20 | 26 | 3,653 | 4,156 | 1,461 | 1,919 | ||
Nonmetallic mineral products |
32 | 41 | 28 | 23 | 2,554 | 3,225 | 2,373 | 1,999 | ||
Primary metals |
38 | 132 | 45 | 37 | 4,153 | 12,969 | 3,852 | 2,857 | ||
Fabricated metal products |
92 | 161 | 52 | 48 | 8,257 | 13,700 | 4,313 | 4,094 | ||
Machinery (2) |
17 | 85 | 14 | 15 | 2,297 | 8,197 | 1,659 | 1,144 | ||
Computer and electronic products |
28 | 42 | 16 | 18 | 2,830 | 4,223 | 1,471 | 1,452 | ||
Electrical equipment and appliances |
10 | 35 | 6 | 8 | 1,247 | 3,195 | 412 | 835 | ||
Transportation equipment (2) |
55 | 77 | 35 | 25 | 6,138 | 10,742 | 2,960 | 2,557 | ||
Furniture and related products (2) |
35 | 51 | 33 | 25 | 4,567 | 5,087 | 2,846 | 2,088 | ||
Miscellaneous manufacturing (2) |
12 | 19 | (3) | 10 | 1,292 | 1,478 | (3) | 991 | ||
Wholesale trade (1) |
19 | 48 | 18 | 21 | 1,891 | 6,517 | 1,443 | 1,566 | ||
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods |
5 | 26 | 7 | (3) | 631 | 2,626 | 414 | (3) | ||
Electronic markets and agents and brokers |
11 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 1,065 | 3,669 | 918 | 831 | ||
Retail trade (1) |
96 | 129 | 107 | 103 | 8,477 | 12,549 | 10,272 | 11,450 | ||
Building material and garden supply stores |
10 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 1,025 | 879 | 1,079 | 615 | ||
Food and beverage stores |
24 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 1,725 | 2,006 | 2,245 | 1,998 | ||
Health and personal care stores |
(3) | 5 | (3) | 7 | (3) | 335 | (3) | 438 | ||
Gasoline stations |
(3) | 9 | 5 | 7 | (3) | 602 | 334 | 473 | ||
Clothing and clothing accessory stores |
11 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 819 | 959 | 389 | 294 | ||
Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores |
5 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 377 | 893 | 406 | 667 | ||
General merchandise stores |
30 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 3,383 | 5,381 | 4,463 | 6,110 | ||
Nonstore retailers |
4 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 313 | 806 | 785 | 527 | ||
Transportation and warehousing (1) |
146 | 185 | 147 | 164 | 14,663 | 15,170 | 13,356 | 18,067 | ||
Truck transportation |
14 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 983 | 2,008 | 770 | 386 | ||
Transit and ground passenger transportation |
94 | 116 | 106 | 123 | 10,569 | 9,346 | 9,780 | 14,868 | ||
Support activities for transportation |
4 | 4 | 6 | (3) | 238 | 284 | 418 | (3) | ||
Warehousing and storage |
21 | 30 | 16 | 24 | 1,513 | 2,408 | 1,267 | 1,867 | ||
Information (1) |
11 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 683 | 1,218 | 1,007 | 3,187 | ||
Publishing industries, except Internet |
(3) | 11 | 7 | (3) | (3) | 774 | 464 | (3) | ||
Telecommunications (2) |
8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 521 | 444 | 464 | 2,449 | ||
13 | 19 | 22 | 13 | 921 | 1,672 | 1,731 | 1,006 | |||
Credit intermediation and related services |
9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 631 | 866 | 946 | 776 | ||
Insurance carriers and related activities |
(3) | 5 | 8 | (3) | (3) | 552 | 528 | (3) | ||
Real estate and rental and leasing (2) |
(3) | (3) | 5 | (3) | (3) | (3) | 308 | (3) | ||
Professional and technical services (2) |
34 | 36 | 34 | 20 | 3,133 | 2,913 | 3,194 | 1,897 | ||
103 | 143 | 111 | 129 | 7,877 | 10,687 | 8,023 | 9,885 | |||
Administrative and support services (2) |
103 | 140 | 111 | 126 | 7,877 | 10,535 | 8,023 | 9,673 | ||
Educational services |
11 | 12 | 6 | (3) | 1,644 | 1,207 | 641 | (3) | ||
Health care and social assistance |
35 | 59 | 51 | 57 | 2,439 | 4,342 | 4,159 | 4,256 | ||
Ambulatory health care services |
5 | (3) | 9 | 10 | 362 | (3) | 697 | 895 | ||
Hospitals |
8 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 652 | 1,753 | 1,673 | 470 | ||
Nursing and residential care facilities |
8 | (3) | 8 | 13 | 524 | (3) | 577 | 990 | ||
Social assistance |
14 | 24 | 19 | 27 | 901 | 1,605 | 1,212 | 1,901 | ||
Arts, entertainment, and recreation |
17 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 1,011 | 1,561 | 1,602 | 1,616 | ||
Performing arts and spectator sports |
9 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 497 | 658 | 725 | 688 | ||
Amusements, gambling, and recreation |
8 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 514 | 903 | 877 | 928 | ||
Accommodation and food services |
54 | 69 | 64 | 76 | 5,534 | 8,219 | 8,981 | 9,926 | ||
Accommodations |
22 | 31 | 23 | 25 | 1,457 | 2,639 | 1,608 | 1,692 | ||
Food services and drinking places |
32 | 38 | 41 | 51 | 4,077 | 5,580 | 7,373 | 8,234 | ||
Other services, except public administration (1) |
(3) | 9 | 6 | 6 | (3) | 488 | 305 | 393 | ||
Repair and maintenance |
(3) | (3) | (3) | 5 | (3) | (3) | (3) | 315 | ||
Government |
21 | 31 | 37 | 50 | 2,580 | 2,748 | 4,232 | 5,823 | ||
Federal |
2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 126 | 673 | 465 | 801 | ||
State |
7 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 539 | 1,026 | 1,731 | 2,361 | ||
Local |
12 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 1,915 | 1,049 | 2,036 | 2,661 | ||
Footnotes |
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Note: Dash represents zero. |
Last Modified Date: March 7, 2012