Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2013-03-22

Employers took 1,422 mass layoff actions in February involving 135,468 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 94 from January, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 1,442. In February, 295 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector resulting in 39,407 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 February, down from 7.9 percent the prior month and down from 8.3 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 236,000 over the month and by 1,966,000 over the year.