From January through August 2007, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 9,843, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,016,492, were higher than in January-August 2006 (9,063 and 951,202, respectively).
The national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in August, unchanged from the prior month and little changed from a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 4,000 over the month; over the year, payroll employment increased by 1.6 million.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 35 percent of the total initial claims in August. The industry with the highest number of initial claims was temporary help services with 8,621, followed by school and employee bus transportation with 5,134, and real estate credit with 5,126. Together, these three industries accounted for 20 percent of all initial claims due to mass layoffs during the month. Real estate credit and mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers from the credit intermediation industry had the third and seventh highest number of mass layoff initial claims, respectively, in August. This month, credit intermediation and related activities reported its highest number of events and initial claims in program history.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 23 percent of all mass layoff events and 25 percent of all related initial claims filed in August; a
year earlier, manufacturing made up 29 percent of events and 39 percent of initial claims. In August 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (5,596, largely in truck trailer manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, and heavy duty truck manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (2,912) and machinery manufacturing (1,846).
Administrative and waste services accounted for 16 percent of mass layoff events and initial claims in August, primarily from temporary help
services and professional employer organizations. Retail trade made up 10 percent of events and 11 percent of initial claims, mostly from general merchandise stores. Finance and insurance comprised 10 percent of events and initial claims filed over the month, with the majority of layoffs in credit intermediation and related activities. Eleven percent of all mass layoff events and 8 percent of related initial claims filed were in construction, mainly from the specialty trade contractors industry.
On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in August, at 963, was up by 255 from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 20,614 to 93,458. While these were the highest number of events and initial claims reported for any August since 2003, this is due in part to a calendar effect. August 2007 contained 5 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with 4 weeks in each August of the prior 3 years. The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in credit intermediation and related activities (+7,910), administrative and support services (+4,204), and general merchandise stores (+2,871). The largest over-the-year decrease in mass layoff initial claims was reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-6,832).
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in August due to mass layoffs was in the West, with 37,291. Administrative and support services, credit intermediation and related activities, and motion picture and sound recording industries together accounted for 40 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The South had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions with 21,452, followed by the Midwest with 18,319 and the Northeast with 16,396.
The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in all four regions-the West (+13,150), the Midwest (+5,235), the North-east (+1,890), and the South (+339). Seven of the 9 geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest increases in the Pacific (+11,006), East North Central (+4,610), and Mountain (+2,144) divisions. The division with the largest over-the-year decrease was the East South Central (-800).
Reflecting administrative and support services layoffs, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in August (31,066). Other states with large numbers of mass layoff related claims were New York (8,776), Florida (5,175), Wisconsin (4,214), and Pennsylvania (4,094). These five states accounted for 58 percent of all mass layoff events and 57 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance in August.
California had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+10,727); this was partially due to more mass layoff activity
in credit intermediation and related activities. States having the next largest increases in initial claims were Florida (+2,678), Wisconsin
(+2,641), New York (+1,734), and Alabama (+1,671). The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in Virginia (-2,806), Kentucky (-2,737), and North Carolina (-1,076).
