Second Quarter — 2000-09-20

In the second quarter of 2000, there were 1,187 mass layoff actions by employers that resulted in the separation of 227,114 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 number of layoff events and the number of separations were sharply lower than in April-June 1999, with events and separations at their lowest level for any April-June period since the resumption of the Mass Layoff Statistics Program in April 1995. (See table A.) The data in this release do not include the decline in federal government employment of temporary census workers as they completed their assignments. The completion of seasonal work was the major reason cited for layoffs in the second quarter and accounted for 44 percent of all events and 47 percent of all separations. Layoffs due to internal company restructuring resulted in 45,490 separations.