The national unemployment rate averaged 8.9 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the second quarter of 2011, down from 9.5 percent a year earlier. Private nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, increased by 1.7 percent (1,818,000) over the year.
Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs
Over the year ending in the second quarter of 2011, the number of extended mass layoff events declined in 16 of the 18 major private nonfarm industry sectors. The manufacturing and accommodation and food services sectors experienced the largest declines in the numbers of worker separations over the year. Fourteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in the number of layoff events.
Both events and separations in the manufacturing sector were at series' lows in the second quarter of 2011. Forty-seven percent of manufacturing employers with an extended mass layoff event in the second quarter of 2011 anticipated recalling at least some of the displaced workers-the highest second quarter percentage since 1998.
Construction firms had 219 extended mass layoff events and 26,806 separations, primarily due to contract completion. This sector accounted for 13 percent of the layoff events and 10 percent of the related separations in the second quarter. In these events, a second quarter series high 65 percent of the employers anticipated recalling at least some of the displaced workers.
Reasons for Extended Layoffs
Layoffs due to the completion of seasonal work accounted for 43 percent of extended mass layoff events and 50 percent of related separations in the private nonfarm sector during the second quarter of 2011. Business demand factors, primarily as a result of contract completion, accounted for 30 percent of events and 27 percent of related separations during the quarter. Over the year, the largest decrease in worker separations occurred in layoffs attributed to seasonal factors.
Movement of Work
In the second quarter of 2011, 42 extended mass layoffs involved movement of work and were associated with 6,824 worker separations, a series low for both figures. Over the year, the number of such events decreased by 14, and the number of separations decreased by 4,163. Movement of work layoffs accounted for 5 percent of total nonseasonal events during the quarter.
Forty-five percent of the events related to movement of work were from manufacturing industries. Employers cited organizational changes as the economic reason for layoff in 43 percent of the events involving movement of work. Among the four census regions, the largest proportions of workers affected by the movement of work were in the West. Among states, California, Washington, Oklahoma, and Illinois reported the highest numbers of separations associated with movement of work.
The 42 events with movement of work for the second quarter involved 50 identifiable relocations of work actions. Employers were able to provide information on the specific number of worker separations for 25 of these actions. Among these actions, 76 percent were domestic reassignments, and 84 percent involved work moving within the same company.
Recall Expectations
Sixty-one percent of the private nonfarm employers reporting an extended mass layoff in the second quarter indicated they anticipated some type of recall - the highest second quarter percentage since 2005. Of those employers expecting to recall workers, 45 percent indicated the offer would be extended to all displaced employees, and 82 percent of employers anticipated extending the offer to at least half of the workers. Seventy-nine percent of employers expecting to recall laid-off employees intend to do so within six months. Excluding extended mass layoff events due to seasonal work and vacation period, in which 96 percent of the employers expected a recall, employers anticipated recalling laid-off workers in 35 percent of the events.
Size of Extended Layoffs
The average size of a layoff (as measured by the number of separations per layoff event) was 163 workers during the second quarter of 2011. Events were largely concentrated at the lower end of the extended layoff-size spectrum, with 70 percent involving fewer than 150 workers. Conversely, only 5 percent of layoff events involved 500 or more workers.
Initial Claimant Characteristics
A total of 231,643 initial claimants for unemployment insurance were associated with extended mass layoffs in the second quarter. Of these claimants, 17 percent were black, 16 percent were Hispanic, 52 percent were women, and 24 percent were 55 years of age or older. The percentage of claimants aged 55 and over reached a series high during the quarter. In the entire civilian labor force for the same period, 12 percent of all persons were black, 15 percent were Hispanic, 47 percent were women, and 20 percent were 55 years of age or older.
Geographic Distribution
Among the four census regions, the West recorded the highest number of separations due to extended mass layoff events in the second quarter of 2011. Among the nine census divisions, the highest numbers of displaced workers were in the Pacific and the East North Central. All regions and 7 of the 9 divisions registered fewer laid-off workers compared with the second quarter of 2010.
California recorded the largest number of worker separations in the second quarter of 2011, followed by Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio. Over the year, 36 states and the District of Columbia reported decreased numbers of separated workers associated with extended mass layoff events during the second quarter, led by
California, New Jersey, and New York.
Eighty percent of the initial claimants for unemployment insurance associated with extended mass layoff events in the second quarter of 2011 resided within metropolitan areas. Among the 372 metropolitan areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., reported the highest number of resident initial claimants. When compared with the second quarter of 2010, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas, entered into the highest 10 metropolitan areas in terms of initial claims by residency of claimant, replacing Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif.
