Mass Layoffs In November 2004 — 2004-12-23

In November 2004, employers took 1,399 mass layoff actions, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, accord- ing to 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 the number of workers involved totaled 130,423. (See table 1.) The number of events was the lowest for any November since 1999 and the number of initial claims was the lowest for any November since 1997. From January through November 2004, the total numbers of events, 14,366, and initial claims, 1,445,887, were lower than in January-November 2003 (17,034 and 1,696,293, respectively). The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 39,291 initial claims in November, 30 percent of the total.