Extended Mass Layoffs (Quarterly) News Release — 2012-11-08

Employers in the private nonfarm sector initiated 885 mass layoff events in the third quarter of 2012 that resulted in the separation of 138,484 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the year, total extended mass layoff events and associated worker separations were down from 1,393 and 235,325, respectively. (See table A.) Permanent worksite closures accounted for 11 percent of all events and 14 percent of all separations during the third quarter of 2012, primarily in the manufacturing sector. Third quarter 2012 layoff data are preliminary and are subject to revision. (See the Technical Note.) Manufacturing industries reported 196 extended mass layoff events and 29,350 separations in the third quarter of 2012, largely due to slack work/insufficient demand. This sector accounted for 22 percent of layoff events and 21 percent of related separations during the quarter.