Compared to last year, the number of mass layoff events and associated initial claims more than doubled. In April, the manufacturing sector reported 1,111 mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 135,252 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing decreased by 148, and initial claims decreased by 20,657.
During the 17 months from December 2007 to April 2009, the total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 34,126, and the number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 3,498,427. (December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in April 2009, seasonally adjusted, up from 8.5 percent the prior month and from 5.0 percent a year earlier. In April, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 539,000 over the month and by 5,240,000 from a year earlier.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The number of mass layoff events in April was 2,547 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 256,930. Over the year, increases were recorded in both the number of mass layoff events (+1,275) and initial claims (+126,120). This year, both average weekly events and initial claimants reached their highest April levels in program history; data are available back to 1995. Twelve of the 19 major industry sectors reported program highs in terms of average weekly initial claimants for the month of April -mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; educational services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 35 percent of all mass layoff events and 39 percent of initial claims filed in April 2009; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 31 percent of events and 37 percent of initial claims. This April, the number of manufacturing claimants was greatest in transportation equipment (19,246) and machinery (18,614). The transportation and warehousing industry accounted for 9 percent of mass layoff events and 11 percent of associated initial claims during the month.
Of the 10 detailed industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims, 6 reached their April peak: school and employee bus
transportation; construction machinery manufacturing; tax preparation services; discount department stores; professional employer organizations; and hotels and motels, except casino hotels. The industry with the largest number of initial claims was school and employee bus transportation (22,324).
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Of the 4 census regions, the Midwest registered the highest number of initial claims in April due to mass layoffs (72,383), followed by the West (65,580) and the South (62,714). Initial claims associated with mass layoffs increased over the year in all 4 regions, with the South (+35,415) and the Midwest (+35,214) experiencing the largest increases. In 2009, all regions except the West reported their highest April levels of average weekly initial claims in program history.
Of the 9 geographic divisions, the East North Central (60,241) had the highest number of initial claims due to mass layoffs in April,
followed by the Pacific (53,587) and the Middle Atlantic (47,061). All divisions experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by the East North Central (+29,069) and the Middle Atlantic (+28,946). This year, 7 of the 9 divisions - all except the Pacific and West South Central - reached April program highs in terms of average weekly initial claims.
California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in April with 43,675. The states with the next highest number of mass layoff initial claims were New York (24,349), Illinois (17,550), and Pennsylvania (15,378). Forty-five states and the District of Columbia registered over-the-year increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by New York (+16,810), California (+15,503), and Illinois (+12,904). In 2009, 25 states reached program highs in average weekly initial claims for the month of April - Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
