Mass Layoffs In March 2006 — 2006-04-20

In March 2006, employers took 1,082 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 118,555, on a seasonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events rose by 9, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 7,087 from February 2006. In the manufacturing sector, 328 mass layoff events were reported during March 2006, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 49,023 initial claims. Both figures were higher than a month earlier. (See table 1.) In March 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, season- ally adjusted, compared with 4.8 percent in February 2006 and 5.1 percent in March 2005.