Mass Layoffs In May 2004 — 2004-06-23

In May 2004, employers took 988 mass layoff actions, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 87,501. (See table 1.) Both the number of events and initial claims were sharply lower than a year ago. The number of mass layoff events was at its lowest level for any May since 2000, and the number of associated initial claims was at its lowest level for any May since 1996. (May 2004 contained 4 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with 5 weeks in each May of the prior 2 years.) From January through May 2004, the total number of events, at 6,735, and of initial claims, at 661,024, were lower than in January-May 2003 (8,169 and 799,037, respectively).