Table 2. Reason for layoff: Extended mass layoff events, separations, and initial claimants for unemployment insurance,
private nonfarm sector, selected quarters, 2011 and 2012
Initial claimants for
Layoff events Separations unemployment insurance
Reason for layoff
II I II II I II II I II
2011 2012r 2012p 2011 2012r 2012p 2011 2012r 2012p
Total, private nonfarm (1) ..... 1,810 1,290 1,476 317,546 245,901 262,848 342,530 286,384 221,997
Business demand ................... 517 518 477 74,273 107,583 71,532 97,935 150,923 71,095
Contract cancellation ........... 30 20 31 3,617 4,694 6,466 3,769 3,775 4,451
Contract completion ............. 317 358 311 49,032 83,425 44,536 67,686 124,206 48,429
Domestic competition ............ - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2)
Excess inventory/saturated
market ........................ (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Import competition .............. (2) - - (2) - - (2) - -
Slack work/insufficient demand/
non-seasonal business slowdown. 166 135 131 21,063 17,725 19,896 25,974 19,207 17,783
Organizational changes ............ 70 74 77 16,533 15,077 15,628 12,582 13,495 10,245
Business-ownership change ....... 17 15 16 8,787 3,844 5,533 2,339 1,623 1,346
Reorganization or restructuring
of company .................... 53 59 61 7,746 11,233 10,095 10,243 11,872 8,899
Financial issues .................. 117 114 75 15,854 21,773 13,154 19,948 17,059 9,900
Bankruptcy ...................... 26 16 14 3,668 2,557 2,329 3,374 1,514 1,628
Cost control/cost cutting/
increase profitability ........ 61 52 36 7,084 9,947 6,069 11,427 9,232 5,591
Financial difficulty ............ 30 46 25 5,102 9,269 4,756 5,147 6,313 2,681
Production specific ............... 33 16 (2) 4,369 2,469 (2) 7,382 2,766 (2)
Automation/technological
advances ...................... 3 3 (2) 513 626 (2) 675 911 (2)
Energy related .................. - - - - - - - - -
Governmental regulations/
intervention .................. 5 3 3 690 528 593 1,890 479 284
Labor dispute/contract
negotiations/strike ........... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Material or supply shortage ..... 17 (2) (2) 2,034 (2) (2) 3,134 (2) (2)
Model changeover ................ (2) (2) 3 (2) (2) 1,436 (2) (2) 2,054
Plant or machine repair/
maintenance ................... 3 3 (2) 439 265 (2) 358 428 (2)
Product line discontinued ....... (2) (2) 3 (2) (2) 614 (2) (2) 330
Disaster/safety ................... 11 4 (2) 2,039 676 (2) 2,152 590 (2)
Hazardous work environment ...... (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
Natural disaster (not weather
related) ...................... - - - - - - - - -
Non-natural disaster ............ (2) - (2) (2) - (2) (2) - (2)
Extreme weather-related event ... 7 (2) - 1,244 (2) - 1,529 (2) -
Seasonal .......................... 773 324 656 151,717 54,244 132,820 149,023 57,830 102,180
Seasonal ........................ 468 (2) 371 95,526 (2) 83,593 87,499 (2) 59,339
Vacation period-school related
or otherwise .................. 305 (2) 285 56,191 (2) 49,227 61,524 (2) 42,841
Other/miscellaneous ............... 289 240 175 52,761 44,079 25,323 53,508 43,721 25,022
Other ........................... 29 24 17 3,848 4,905 2,611 4,596 5,069 2,437
Data not provided: refusal ...... 67 70 63 18,512 13,110 9,463 18,538 13,110 9,328
Data not provided: does not
know .......................... 193 146 95 30,401 26,064 13,249 30,374 25,542 13,257
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.
