Research >> Economics
January Mass Layoffs total 1,761 actions, 182,261 workers
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Employers took 1,761 mass layoff actions in January that resulted in the separation of 182,261 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. Both mass layoff events and initial claims increased from the prior month after four consecutive over-the-month decreases. In January, 486 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 62,556 initial claims. Both figures increased over the month--the first increases since August 2009 for events and since September 2009 for initial claims.
During the 26 months from December 2007 through January 2010, the total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 53,739, and the associated number of initial claims was 5,425,101. (December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.)
The national unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in January 2010, seasonally adjusted, down from 10.0 percent the prior month but up from 7.7 percent a year earlier. In January, nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 20,000 over the month and by 4,022,000 from a year earlier.
Posted: February 23, 2010 Tuesday 10:00 AM