Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2012-12-21

Employers took 1,759 mass layoff actions in November involving 173,558 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 increased by 399 from October, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 42,385. Mass layoff data for November reflect the impact of Hurricane Sandy on workers in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. In November, 413 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector resulting in 49,169 initial claims. Monthly 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 7.7 percent in November, down from 7.9 percent the prior month and from 8.7 percent a year earlier.