Manufacturing accounts for 43% of March mass layoffs

Employers took 2,933 mass layoff actions in March that resulted in the separation of 299,388 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics of the reported on April 23. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in March increased by 164 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims increased by 3,911. Over the year, the number of mass layoff events increased by 1,348, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 137,891.

In March, the manufacturing sector experienced 1,259 mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 155,909 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing increased by 24, and initial claims increased by 3,291. Layoff events and initial claims rose to their highest levels on record, with data available back to 1995; events in the manufacturing sector also reached its highest level.

During the 16 months from December 2007 through March 2009, the total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 31,414, and the number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 3,227,201. (December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)

The national unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in March 2009, seasonally adjusted, up from 8.1 percent the prior month and from 5.1 percent a year earlier. In March, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 663,000 over the month and by 4,795,000 from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in March was 2,191 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 228,387. Over the year, increases were recorded in both the number of mass layoff events (+1,102) and initial claims (+113,846). This year, both average weekly events and initial claimants reached their highest March levels in program history; data are available back to 1996. Thirteen of the 19 major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the month of March – mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; information; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; arts, entertainment and recreation; and accommodation and food services.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 43 percent of all mass layoff events and 50 percent of initial claims filed in March 2009; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 31 percent of events and 38 percent of initial claims. This March, the number of manufacturing claimants was

greatest in transportation equipment (26,012) and machinery (18,081). The retail trade industry accounted for 8 percent of mass layoff events and 9 percent of associated initial claims during the month.

Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims, six reached their March peak. The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims was temporary help services (9,964).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Of the four census regions, the Midwest registered the highest number of initial claims in March due to mass layoffs (81,957), followed by the South (61,432) and the West (55,505). Initial claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in all four regions, with the Midwest (+47,072) and the South (+33,335) experiencing the largest increases. In 2009, all four regions reported their highest March levels of average weekly initial claims in program history.

Of the nine geographic divisions, the East North Central (64,595) had the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in March, followed by the Pacific (44,514) and the South Atlantic (27,819). All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by the East North Central (+36,748) and the Pacific (+18,158). This year, all divisions except the Pacific reached March program highs in terms of initial claims.

California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in March with 38,130. The states with the next highest number of mass layoff initial claims were Illinois (18,096), Texas (14,284) and Ohio (13,067). Forty-three states registered over-the-year increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by California (+16,318), Illinois (+11,402) and Texas (+9,179). In 2009, 26 states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims for the month of March – Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.