Mass Layoffs In March 2005 — 2005-04-26

In March 2005, employers took 1,194 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 130,848, on a seasonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events rose by 66, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 13,164 from February. In the manufacturing sector, 371 mass layoff events were reported during March 2005, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 55,377 initial claims, both figures higher than a month earlier. (See table 1.) From January through March 2005, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 3,779, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 399,522, were lower than in January-March 2004 (4,043 and 415,048, respectively).