Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2012-10-23

Employers took 1,316 mass layoff actions in September involving 122,462 workers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Data are seasonally adjusted.) Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. Mass layoff events in September increased by 49 from August, while the number of associated initial claims decreased by 4,992. In September, 366 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector resulting in 39,748 initial claims. Mass layoff data are identified using administrative data sources without regard to layoff duration. (See table 1 and the note at the end of this release.) The national unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in September, down from 8.1 percent the prior month and from 9.0 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 114,000 over the month and by 1,806,000 over the year.