In September, employers took 1,271 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported.

Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer; the number of workers involved totaled 123,656, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events in September increased by 82 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims rose by 5,536. Over the month, 428 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 50,636 initial claims. Compared with August, mass layoff activity in manufacturing increased by 103 events, and initial claims increased by 14,960.

From January through September 2007, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 11,114, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,140,148, were higher than in January-September 2006 when the totals were 10,221 and 1,071,997, respectively.

The national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in September, essentially unchanged from the prior month (4.6 percent) and from September 2006 (4.6 percent). Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 110,000 in September 2007 and by 1.6 million from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 29 percent of all such initial claims in September. The industry with the highest number of initial claims was motion picture and video production, followed by temporary help services and household refrigerator and home freezer manufacturing.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 34 percent of all mass layoff events and 44 percent of all related initial claims filed in September; a
year earlier, manufacturing made up 34 percent of events and 45 percent of initial claims. In September 2007, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (7,759, largely in motor vehicle power train components manufacturing, motor vehicle seating and interior trim manufacturing, and all other motor vehicle parts manufacturing), followed by machinery manufacturing (3,021) and electrical equipment and appliance manufacturing (2,881).

Administrative and waste services accounted for 12 percent of mass layoff events and 9 percent of initial claims in September, primarily from temporary help services and professional employer organizations. Retail trade made up 9 percent of events and 8 percent of initial claims, mostly from general merchandise stores. Four percent of all mass layoff events and 8 percent of related initial claims filed were from the information industry, primarily from motion picture and sound recording industries. Construction comprised 10 percent of all mass layoff events and 6 percent of related initial claims, mainly from the specialty trade contractors industry.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of mass layoff events in September, at 717, was down by 148 from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 20,314 to 67,385. This is due in part to a calendar effect; September 2007 contained 4 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with 5 weeks in each September of the prior 2 years. The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in transportation equipment manufacturing (-5,571), administrative and support services (-3,625), and machinery manufacturing (-1,751). The largest over-the-year increase in mass layoff initial claims was reported in motion picture and sound recording industries (+2,315). The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs also increased in credit intermediation and related activities (+664).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in September due to mass layoffs was in the West with 25,539. Motion picture and sound recording industries, administrative and support services, and specialty trade contractors together accounted for 37 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 17,273, followed by the South with 15,913, and the Northeast with 8,660.

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs decreased over the year in all four regions-the South (-8,077), the Midwest (-8,075), the Northeast (-3,791), and the West (-371). Eight of the 9 geographic divisions had over-the-year decreases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass layoffs, with the largest decreases in the East North Central (-5,274) and South Atlantic (-4,504) divisions. The only division with an over-the-year increase in mass layoff initial claims was the Mountain (+74).

Reflecting motion picture and sound recording industry layoffs, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in September (21,144). Other states with large numbers of mass layoff related claims were Pennsylvania (4,005), Illinois (3,486), Florida (2,985), and Michigan (2,844). These five states accounted for 56 percent of all mass layoff events and 51 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance in September.

Ohio had the largest over-the-year decrease in the number of initial claims (-2,697), primarily concentrated in transportation equipment manufacturing. States having the next largest decreases in initial claims were Kentucky (-2,522), Minnesota (-1,853), Virginia (-1,556), and Louisiana (-1,478). The largest over-the-year increases in claims occurred in Alabama (+821), Oklahoma (+589), and New Mexico (+469).