Mass Layoffs In December 2004 And Annual Averages For 2004 — 2005-01-26

In December 2004, employers took 1,614 mass layoff actions, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according 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 161,271. (See table 1.) The number of events was the lowest for any December since 1999, and the number of initial claims was the lowest for any December since 1995 when data became available. The layoff events in December bring the total for all of 2004 to 15,980 and the total number of initial claimants from such events to 1,607,158. The annual totals were lower than in 2003 (18,963 events and 1,888,926 initial claims) and were the lowest annual totals for events since 2000 and for initial claims since 1999.