Extended Mass Layoffs In The Second Quarter Of 2005 — 2005-08-11

In the second quarter of 2005, 1,056 mass layoff actions were taken by employers that resulted in the separation of 211,009 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures re- leased by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both the total number of layoff events and the number of separations were sharply lower than in April-June 2004. Both figures were at their lowest levels for any second quarter since 2000. (See table A.) The declines over the year were most notable in administrative and support services, transit and ground passenger transportation, and food manu- facturing. Extended mass layoffs that involve the movement of work with- in the same company or to a different company, domestically or outside the U.S., occurred in 11 percent of the nonseasonal layoff events and worker separations.