Mass Layoffs In September 2005 — 2005-10-25

Mass layoff data for September 2005 reflect the impact of Hurricane Katrina on workers in Louisiana and Mississippi and, to a lesser extent, the impact of Hurricane Rita on workers in Texas. In September 2005, employers took 2,069 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 establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 257,454, on a seasonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events in September rose by 927 to 2,069, the highest number of events for any month since November 2001 and the fourth highest number of events since the program began in April 1995.