Mass Layoffs In July

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 04-1712
http://www.bls.gov/mls/

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: 691-5902 Tuesday, August 31, 2004



MASS LAYOFFS IN JULY 2004


In July 2004, employers took 2,094 mass layoff actions, 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 253,929. (See table 1.) Both the
number of events and initial claims were higher than a year ago, with the
number of mass layoff events and the number of associated initial claims
higher than any July since 2001. However, July 2004 contained 5 weeks for
possible mass layoffs, compared with 4 weeks in each July of the prior 4
years. From January through July 2004, the total number of events, at
10,208, and of initial claims, at 1,049,541, were lower than in January-
July 2003 (11,947 and 1,183,024, respectively).

Industry Distribution

The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial
claims accounted for 82,562 initial claims in July, 33 percent of the
total. (See table A.)

The manufacturing sector had 42 percent of all mass layoff events and
57 percent of all initial claims filed in July. A year ago, manufacturing
reported 45 percent of events and 60 percent of initial claims. Within
manufacturing, the number of claimants was highest in transportation
equipment (72,492, mainly automotive-related), followed by plastics and
rubber products manufacturing (13,053) and primary metals (8,177). (See
table 2.)

The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 12 percent
of events and 9 percent of initial claims filed in July, with layoffs
mainly in temporary help services. Temporary help services, with 13,227
initial claims, accounted for 5 percent of all initial claims in July.
Five percent of all layoff events and 4 percent of initial claims filed
during the month were in retail trade, primarily in general merchandise
stores. Transportation and warehousing accounted for 5 percent of events
and 4 percent of initial claims, mostly in school and employee bus
transportation. Construction accounted for an additional 6 percent of
events and 3 percent of initial claims during the month, primarily among
specialty trade contractors.

Government establishments accounted for 7 percent of events and 5 percent
of initial claims filed during the month, mostly in elementary and secondary
schools.

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Table A. Industries with the largest mass-layoff initial claims in July 2004p
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Initial | July peak
Industry | claims |-------------------------
| | Year | Initial claims
------------------------------------------|---------|---------|---------------
Temporary help services ..................| 13,227 | 1998 | 24,601
All other motor vehicle parts mfg. .......| 9,691 | 2004 | 9,691
Light truck and utility vehicle mfg. .....| 9,467 | 1997 | 14,618
All other plastics product mfg. ..........| 8,864 | 2004 | 8,864
Automobile manufacturing mfg. ............| 8,417 | 1996 | 22,644
Motor vehicle power train components | | |
mfg. ...................................| 8,407 | 2003 | 8,905
Motor vechicle seating and interior trim | | |
mfg. ...................................| 7,807 | 2004 | 7,807
Motor vehicle metal stamping .............| 7,061 | 2004 | 7,061
Elementary and secondary schools .........| 4,963 | 2003 | 7,069
Motion picture and video production ......| 4,658 | 1998 | 12,310
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
p=preliminary.


Compared with July 2003, the largest increases in initial claims were
reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (+12,383), administrative
and support services (+4,657), motion picture and sound recording (+3,754),
and professional and technical services (+3,592). The largest over-the-year
decreases in initial claims were reported in electrical equipment and ap-
pliance manufacturing (-3,784) and machinery manufacturing (-3,243).

Geographic Distribution

Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in July
due to mass layoffs was reported in the Midwest, 118,913. (See table 3.)
Transportation equipment manufacturing accounted for 48 percent of all
initial claims in that region during the month. The South region was next,
with 55,404 initial claims, followed closely by the West, with 52,412, and
the Northeast, with 27,200.

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs rose over the year in
three of the four regions. The largest increase was in the Midwest
(+17,380), followed by the West (+6,592) and the South (+6,509). The
Northeast had the only over-the-year decline (-2,987). Six of the
nine geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the number of
initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increase
in the East North Central division (+20,253). The largest over-the-year
decreases occurred in the New England (-3,381) and West North Central
(-2,873) divisions.

Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims
filed in mass layoff events in July (41,702), mostly in administrative and
support services and motion picture and sound recording industries. Michigan
reported 35,562 initial claims, followed by Ohio (26,605), and Indiana
(20,435). These four states accounted for 47 percent of all layoff events
and 49 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance.
(See table 4.)

Michigan reported the largest over-the-year increase in the number of
initial claims (+13,915), followed by Ohio (+9,519), Kentucky (+5,834), and
South Carolina (+5,028). The largest over-the-year decrease occurred in
Georgia (-5,497).

From January to July, California reported 252,330 mass layoff initial
claims, 24 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest
number of claims over this period were Michigan (71,077), New York
(66,849), and Ohio (65,954).

- 3 -

Note

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. For private nonfarm establishments, 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"). The quarterly release 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.

______________________________


The report on Mass Layoffs in August 2004 is scheduled to be released
on Thursday, September 23, 2004.








Mass Layoffs Technical Note
Table 1. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, July 2002 to July 2004
Table 2. Industry distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance
Table 3. Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance by census region and division
Table 4. State distribution: Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance

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Last Modified Date: August 31, 2004