Extended Mass Layoffs In The Second Quarter Of 2006 — 2006-08-10

In the second quarter of 2006, employers took 1,213 mass layoff actions in the private, nonfarm sector that resulted in the separation of 251,341 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics. The number of extended mass layoff actions and affected workers were both slightly higher than a year earlier. (See table A.) The over- the-year increases were most notable in food and beverage stores, food manufacturing, and general merchandise stores. In the second quarter of 2006, extended mass layoffs that involve the movement of work within the same company or to a different company, either domestically or outside the U.S., occurred in 9 percent of the nonseasonal layoff events and 13 percent of worker separations.