Mass Layoffs In December 2006 And Annual Totals For 2006 — 2007-01-24

In December, employers took 1,201 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 133,818, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events decreased by 19 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims de- creased by 2,522. During December, 390 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 53,828 ini- tial claims. Both the number of events and the number of initial claims in manufacturing were lower in December than a month earlier. (See table 1.) The national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in December, seasonally adjusted, unchanged from the prior month and down from 4.9 percent a year earlier.