Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2008-11-21

In October, employers took 2,140 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer; the number of workers involved totaled 232,468, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events this October decreased by 129 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims fell by 3,213. Both layoff events and initial claims reached their highest October levels since 2001, a month that experienced continued layoff activity from the September 11 attacks. In October, 635 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 87,403 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing increased by 32 and initial claims increased by 5,989; the third consecutive over-the-month increase for both.