Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2013-06-21

Employers took 1,301 mass layoff actions in May involving 127,821 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 102 from April, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 10,972. In May, 276 mass layoff events occurred in the manufacturing sector resulting in 33,527 initial claims. Monthly mass layoff events 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 7.6 percent in May, essentially unchanged from the prior month and down from 8.2 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 over the month, and increased by 2,115,000 over the year.