Mass Layoffs for the West
The West Region is made up of the Mountain Division (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming), and the Pacific Division (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington). Although the West Region has led the nation in mass layoffs events and in initial unemployment claims in most months, an overwhelming majority of those claims come from the state of California, which regularly leads the nation in new unemployment claims due to mass layoffs.
For example, in March of 2007, the West region as a whole reported 41,139 new unemployment claims as the result of mass layoff actions. However, 33,172 of those claims, or 80.6%, were in California. Administrative support services and the motion picture and sound recording industries together accounted for nearly 1/3 of the job loss due to mass layoffs in that region during March.
Again, in August 2007, the West region led the nation in reported mass layoffs. Of the 37,291 initial claims in the west, 40% were from the sound and recording industries. The West region also saw the greatest increase in initial claimants of all the regions, with a 13,150 more initial claimants, though all four regions saw an increase this year. California had the highest number of initial claims filed in August because of mass layoff events.
For more detailed information about mass layoffs in the various Divisions of the West Region, follow the links below.