BOOMERS

Mass Layoffs in December 1997

Internet address:  http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information:   (202) 606-6396    USDL 98-65

                                           For release: 10:00A.M. EST
Media contact:                 606-5902    Friday, February 20, 1998

                       MASS LAYOFFS IN DECEMBER 1997

   In December 1997, there were 1,608 mass layoff actions by employers as
measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the
month, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor's
Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from
a single establishment, and 170,110 workers were involved.  (Preliminary
figures may not include all states.)   Both the number of layoff events and
initial claimants for unemployment insurance were lower than in December
1996.  (See table 1.)
   
   The monthly data in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more
workers beginning in a given month, regardless of  the duration of the
layoffs.  Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and
issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more
than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs") and provides more
information on the industry classification and location of the
establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off workers.  See the
Technical Note for more detailed definitions.
   
   Because the monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or
less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher
than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days.  For
example, 3,412 layoff events involving 394,804 initial claimants for
unemployment insurance occurred in July, August, and September of 1997
combined.  The third-quarter 1997 figures for mass layoffs lasting more
than 30 days, however, were 978 events and 138,545 claimants.  Twenty-nine
percent of all mass layoffs in the July-September  period lasted for more
than a month.  (See table 1.)  In all quarters for which data are
available, the proportion of "extended" mass layoffs to all mass layoffs
varied from about 29 to 47 percent.

Industry Distribution

   In December 1997, manufacturing industries accounted for 36 percent of
all mass layoff events and 40 percent of all initial claims filed.  (See
table 3.)  Manufacturing industries that had the largest numbers of initial
claimants were:

             Food and kindred products                9,386
             Apparel and other textile products       6,852
             Transportation equipment                 6,177
             Textile mill products                    6,161

                                  - 2 -

   Within private-sector nonmanufacturing industries (including
agriculture), services  accounted for 26 percent of the layoff events and
32 percent of the initial claims (primarily in help supply services and
motion picture and video production).  Construction (mostly in highway and
street construction) contributed an additional 29 percent to layoff events
and 22 percent to initial claims.  Nonmanufacturing industries with the
largest numbers of initial claims filed in mass layoff events were:

         Heavy construction, except building          13,503
         Business services                             9,889
         Local and suburban passenger transit          8,957
         Eating and drinking places                    8,574
         Motion pictures                               7,785

   Compared with December 1996, the largest increase in initial claims
occurred in motion pictures (3,757).  The largest declines in initial
claims during the same period occurred in transportation equipment
(-5,848) and electronic equipment (-4,922).

State Distribution

   Among the 49 states and the District of Columbia reporting preliminary
data for December, California had the largest number of initial claims
filed in mass layoff events (34,626), followed by Illinois (12,293),
Virginia (10,713), Wisconsin (10,477), Pennsylvania (9,608), and Michigan
(9,400).  These six states accounted for 51 percent of the total number of
layoff events and initial claims reported.  (At the time these figures were
compiled, information for Arkansas was not available.)  California alone
accounted for 22 percent of the layoff events and 20 percent of the initial
claims.  (See table 2.)
   
   From December 1996 to December 1997, Iowa reported the largest over-the-
year rise in initial claims (3,632).  Michigan had the sharpest over-the-
year decline in initial claims (-11,132), mostly in business services.