For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Thursday, February 14, 2013 USDL-13-0236
Technical information: (202) 691-6392 * mlsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mls
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS -- FOURTH QUARTER 2012
ANNUAL TOTALS -- 2012
Employers in the private nonfarm sector initiated 1,674 mass layoff events in the
fourth quarter of 2012 that resulted in the separation of 319,639 workers from
their jobs for at least 31 days, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Over the year, total extended mass layoff events and associated worker
separations were down from 1,903 and 334,383, respectively. (See table A.)
Permanent worksite closures accounted for 7 percent of all events and 10 percent
of all separations during the fourth quarter of 2012, primarily in the manufacturing
sector. Fourth quarter 2012 layoff data are preliminary and are subject to revision.
(See the Technical Note.)
Preliminary fourth quarter 2012 data indicate that in New Jersey and New York,
31 extended mass layoff events related to Hurricane Sandy resulted in 6,759 worker
separations.
Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs
Construction industry firms reported 528 extended mass layoff events and 68,463
separations in the fourth quarter of 2012, largely due to the completion of
seasonal work. This sector accounted for 32 percent of layoff events and 21 percent
of related separations during the quarter. (See table 1.)
During the same period, the manufacturing sector had 311 extended mass layoff
events and 62,964 separations, also largely due to the completion of seasonal
work. This sector accounted for 19 percent of layoff events and 20 percent of
related separations during the quarter. Employers in the administrative and
waste services sector reported 249 layoff events and 55,685 separations,
primarily due to contract completion. (See table 1.)
Table A. Selected measures of extended mass layoff activity
Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants
2008
January-March........... 1,340 230,098 259,292
April-June.............. 1,756 354,713 339,630
July-September.......... 1,581 290,453 304,340
October-December........ 3,582 641,714 766,780
2009
January-March........... 3,979 705,141 835,551
April-June.............. 3,395 651,318 731,049
July-September.......... 2,034 345,531 406,823
October-December........ 2,416 406,212 468,577
2010
January-March........... 1,870 314,512 368,664
April-June.............. 2,008 381,622 396,441
July-September.......... 1,370 222,357 260,077
October-December........ 1,999 338,643 390,584
2011
January-March........... 1,490 225,456 258,220
April-June.............. 1,810 317,546 342,530
July-September.......... 1,393 235,325 291,066
October-December........ 1,903 334,383 403,457
2012
January-March(r) ....... 1,294 246,956 291,174
April-June(r) .......... 1,959 385,983 383,466
July-September(r) ...... 1,124 199,680 228,528
October-December(p) .... 1,674 319,639 273,975
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
Reasons for Extended Layoffs
Layoffs due to the completion of seasonal work accounted for 44 percent of
extended mass layoff events and 39 percent of related separations in the private
nonfarm sector during the fourth quarter of 2012. Business demand factors,
primarily contract completion, accounted for 32 percent of both events and related
separations during the quarter. (See table 2.)
Movement of Work
In the fourth quarter of 2012, 29 extended mass layoffs involved movement of
work and were associated with 6,290 worker separations. Forty-one percent of
the events related to movement of work were from manufacturing industries.
Employers cited organizational changes as the economic reason for layoff in 34
percent of the events involving movement of work. Among the four census
regions, the Northeast had the largest share of workers affected by the
movement of work. (See tables 6-8.)
The 29 events with movement of work for the fourth quarter involved 39 identifiable
relocations of work actions. (See table 9.) Employers were able to provide
information on the specific number of worker separations for 22 of these actions.
Among these 22 actions, most were domestic reassignments and involved work moving
within the same company. (See table 10.)
Table B. Metropolitan areas with the largest number of initial claimants associated with
extended mass layoff events in the fourth quarter 2012, by residency of claimants
2011 IV (r) 2012 IV (p)
Metropolitan area Initial Initial
claimants Rank claimants Rank
Total, 372 metropolitan areas ........... 326,505 220,398
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. ........ 69,571 1 31,715 1
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long
Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. ....................... 18,673 2 15,342 2
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. ....... 15,952 3 11,847 3
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. ........ 13,493 4 9,554 4
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. ........... 11,376 5 7,812 5
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif. ........... 7,539 6 5,434 6
Pittsburgh, Pa. ................................. 3,490 14 4,209 7
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, Calif. ..... 5,064 8 3,887 8
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. .......... 4,889 9 3,825 9
Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. ........................ 6,051 7 3,667 10
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
NOTE: The geographic boundaries of the metropolitan areas shown in this table are defined
in Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 10-02, December 1, 2009.
Recall Expectations
Sixty-three percent of the private nonfarm employers reporting an extended mass
layoff in the fourth quarter of 2012 anticipated recalling at least some of the
displaced workers. Of those employers expecting to recall workers, 37 percent
indicated the offer would be extended to all displaced employees and 78 percent
anticipated extending the offer to at least half of the workers. Among employers
expecting to recall laid-off workers, 74 percent intend to do so within six months.
Excluding extended mass layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period,
employers anticipated recalling the laid-off workers in 41 percent of the events.
(See table 11.)
Size of Extended Layoffs
The average size of an extended mass layoff (as measured by the number of separations
per layoff event) was 191 workers during the fourth quarter of 2012. (See table 12.)
Events were largely concentrated at the lower end of the extended layoff-size
spectrum, with 64 percent involving fewer than 150 workers. Conversely, only 6
percent of layoff events involved 500 or more workers. (See table 13.)
Table C. Selected measures of mass layoff activity, 1996-2012
Period Layoff events Separations Initial claimants
1996 ................ 4,760 948,122 805,810
1997 ................ 4,671 947,843 879,831
1998 ................ 4,859 991,245 1,056,462
1999 ................ 4,556 901,451 796,917
2000 ................ 4,591 915,962 846,267
2001 ................ 7,375 1,524,832 1,457,512
2002 ................ 6,337 1,272,331 1,218,143
2003 ................ 6,181 1,216,886 1,200,811
2004 ................ 5,010 993,909 903,079
2005 ................ 4,881 884,661 834,533
2006 ................ 4,885 935,969 951,155
2007 ................ 5,363 965,935 978,712
2008 ................ 8,259 1,516,978 1,670,042
2009 ................ 11,824 2,108,202 2,442,000
2010 ................ 7,247 1,257,134 1,415,766
2011(r) ............. 6,596 1,112,710 1,295,273
2012(p) ............. 6,051 1,152,258 1,177,143
r = revised.
p = preliminary.
Initial Claimant Characteristics
A total of 273,975 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated
with extended mass layoffs in the fourth quarter of 2012. Of these claimants,
12 percent were black, 22 percent were Hispanic, 29 percent were women, and 19
percent were 55 years of age or older. (See table 3.) In the entire civilian
labor force for the same period, 12 percent of all persons were black, 16
percent were Hispanic, 47 percent were women, and 21 percent were 55 years of
age or older.
Geographic Distribution
Among the four census regions, the Midwest had the highest number of extended
mass layoff events in the fourth quarter of 2012, primarily in the construction
industry. Among the nine census divisions, the highest number of extended mass
layoff events was in the Pacific. (See table 4.)
California had the largest number of extended mass layoff events in the fourth
quarter of 2012, followed by Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. (See
table 5.) Excluding layoff activity due to seasonal work and vacation period
reasons, California, New York, and Illinois had the largest numbers of events.
Eighty percent of the initial claimants for unemployment insurance associated
with extended mass layoff events in the fourth quarter of 2012 resided within
metropolitan areas. Among the 372 metropolitan areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Santa Ana, Calif., had the highest number of resident initial claimants.
(See table B.)
Review of 2012
For all of 2012, employers reported 6,051 extended mass layoff actions,
affecting 1,152,258 workers. Compared to 2011, the number of events decreased
by 8 percent, while the number of separations increased by 4 percent. (See
table C.) The annual proportion of extended mass layoff events involving
permanent worksite closures, at 9 percent, increased for the first time since
2006. The annual average national unemployment rate decreased from 8.9 percent
in 2011 to 8.1 percent in 2012, and private nonfarm payroll employment increased
by 2.2 percent, or 2,410,000.
Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs
In the private nonfarm economy, administrative and waste services firms
reported the largest number of separations, increasing to the highest annual
level since 2009. Manufacturing had the next highest number of separations,
followed by construction.
Reasons for Extended Layoffs
Among the seven categories of economic reasons for layoff, layoffs due to
business demand factors accounted for the largest number of extended mass layoff
events during 2012, mostly due to contract completion. Layoffs attributed to
this reason occurred primarily in construction and in administrative and
waste services, which includes temporary help services.
Movement of Work
In 2012, 137 extended mass layoffs involved movement of work and were associated
with 24,983 separated workers. Both measures reached program lows (with annual
data available back to 2004). Forty-eight percent of events related to movement
of work were from manufacturing industries. Employers cited organizational
issues in 49 percent of the layoffs involving the movement of work, the highest
among the reason categories.
The 137 extended layoff events with movement of work for 2012 involved 187
identifiable relocations of work actions. Employers were able to provide more
complete separations information for 112 of the actions. Of these, 91 percent
involved work moving within the same company, and 84 percent were domestic
reassignments.
Recall Expectations
Fifty-seven percent of employers reporting an extended mass layoff in 2012
indicated they anticipated some type of recall, up slightly from 55 percent in
2011. Of those employers expecting to recall workers, 31 percent indicated that
the offer would be extended to all displaced employees, and 65 percent intended
to do so within 6 months. Excluding events due to seasonal work and vacation
period, employers anticipated recalling laid-off workers in just 38 percent of
the events.
Size of Extended Layoffs
In 2012, the average size of an extended mass layoff (as measured by separations
per layoff event) was 190, the largest average size for a calendar year since 2006.
Extended mass layoffs involving 500 or more workers accounted for 7 percent
of events in 2012 but resulted in one-third of all separations.
Initial Claimant Characteristics
A total of 1,177,143 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were
associated with extended mass layoffs in 2012. Of these claimants, 14 percent
were black, 22 percent were Hispanic, 41 percent were women, and 20 percent
were 55 years of age or older. Among persons in the civilian labor force for
the same period, 12 percent were black, 16 percent were Hispanic, 47 percent
were women, and 21 percent were 55 years of age or older.
Geographic Distribution
Among the four census regions, the West had the greatest numbers of laid-off
workers in 2012, increasing by 22 percent to the highest annual level since
2009. Among the nine census divisions, the Pacific had the largest numbers of
worker separations. Among the states, California had the largest annual
numbers of laid-off workers.
Among the 372 metropolitan areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif.,
had the highest number of resident initial claimants associated with extended
mass layoff events in 2012, followed by New York-Northern New Jersey-Long
Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.
Note
The quarterly series on extended mass layoffs cover layoffs of at least
31-days duration that involve 50 or more individuals from a single employer
filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a consecutive 5-week
period. Approximately 30 days after a mass layoff is triggered, the employer
is contacted for additional information. Data for the current quarter are
preliminary and subject to revision. This release also includes revised data
for previous quarters. Data are not seasonally adjusted, but survey data
suggest that there is a seasonal pattern to layoffs. Thus, comparisons between
consecutive quarters should not be used as an indicator of trend. For additional
information about the program, see the Technical Note.
____________
The Mass Layoffs news release for January 2013 is scheduled to be
released on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
