Fourth Quarter — 2001-02-22

In the fourth quarter of 2000, there were 1,905 mass layoff actions by employers that resulted in the separation of 374,320 workers from their jobs for more than 30 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both the total number of layoff events and the number of separations were higher than in October-December 1999. (See table A.) For all of 2000, however, extended mass layoff events, at 5,522, and the number of worker separations, at 1,117,183, were lower than any other year since the program began in the second quarter of 1995. Additional information on the 2000 annual data is provided in the review of 2000 section, beginning on page 5. The completion of seasonal work was the major reason cited for layoffs in the fourth quarter, accounting for 53 percent of all events and 52 percent of all separations.