From January through May 2007, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 6,201, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 644,854, were higher than in January-May 2006 (5,555 and 577,696, respectively).
The national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in May, unchanged from the prior month and down slightly from 4.6 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 over the month and by 1.9 million over the year.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 32 percent of the total initial claims in May. The industry with the highest number of initial claims was food service contractors with 5,236, followed by temporary help services with 5,080, and motion picture and video production with 3,470. Together, these three industries accounted for 16 percent of all initial claims due to mass layoffs during the month.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 24 percent of all mass layoff events and 31 percent of all related initial claims filed in May; a year
earlier, manufacturing made up 22 percent of events and 28 percent of initial claims. In May 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (10,321, largely light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing and heavy duty truck manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (2,617) and wood product manufacturing (1,823).
Administrative and waste services accounted for 13 percent of mass layoff events and 11 percent of initial claims in May, primarily from temporary help services. Accommodation and food services comprised 9 percent of events and 10 percent of initial claims filed over the month, with the majority of layoffs in food service contracting. Nine percent of all mass layoff events and related initial claims filed were from retail trade, mainly from general merchandise stores. Construction made up 10 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims, mostly from the specialty trade contractors industry.
On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in May, at 930, was up by 58 from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 1,669 to 86,478. The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (+2,664), specialty trade contractors (+1,206), and wood product manufacturing (+970). The largest over-the-year decreases in mass layoff initial claims were reported in administrative and support services (-2,510) and executive, legislative and general government (-1,060).
Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in May due to mass layoffs was in the West, with 27,648. Administrative and support services, motion picture and sound recording industries, and professional and technical services together accounted for 31 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions with 23,747, followed by the South with 22,490 and the Northeast with 12,593.
The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in two of the four regions. The largest increase was in the South (+3,972), followed by the West (+639). The Midwest (-2,791) reported the largest over-the-year decrease in initial claims. Five 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 East South Central (+2,489), the South Atlantic (+1,276), and the Middle Atlantic (+1,045). The division with the largest over-the-year decrease was the East North Central (-1,785).
Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in May (22,244), followed by Missouri (5,459), Pennsylvania (5,412), Kentucky (4,593), and Michigan (4,520). These five states accounted for 48 percent of all mass layoff events and 49 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance.
Missouri had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+3,502), due to more mass layoff activity in transportation equipment manufacturing. States having the next largest increases in initial claims were Kentucky (+2,528), Pennsylvania (+1,912), Wisconsin (+1,441), and New Jersey (+1,345). The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in Illinois (-3,567) and Iowa (-2,758).
