Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2011-03-22

Employers took 1,421 mass layoff actions in February involving 130,818 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in February decreased by 113 from January, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 18,981. In February, 291 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 26,060 initial claims. Both figures decreased over the month, with manufacturing initial claims reaching its lowest level in program history (data begin in April 1995). (See table 1.) The national unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in February, essentially unchanged from the prior month and down from 9.7 percent a year earlier. In February, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 192,000 over the month and by 1,269,000 from a year earlier.