Third Quarter — 1998-01-16

In July through September of 1997, there were 978 mass layoff actions by employers, resulting in the separation of 183,073 workers from their jobs for more than 30 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Preliminary figures may not include all states.) In July-September a year earlier, employers reported that they had laid off 226,660 workers in 1,018 extended layoff events. "Seasonal work" was the major reason cited for the third- quarter 1997 layoffs and accounted for 37 percent of the events and 40 percent of the separations. "Contract completion," "reorganization within the company," and "slack work" together accounted for 39 percent of the events and 35 percent of the separations. Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 13 percent of all events and affected 27,292 workers.