Extended Mass Layoffs In The First Quarter Of 2003 — 2003-06-18

In the first quarter of 2003, 1,508 mass layoff actions were taken by employers that resulted in the separation of 272,133 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both the to- tal number of layoff events and the number of separations were lower than in January-March 2002 and were the lowest for the first quarter since 2000. (See table A.) The decline from first quarter 2002 was most notable in ad- ministrative and support services, general merchandise stores, and computer and electronic products manufacturing. The completion of seasonal work accounted for 26 percent of all events and 76,203 separations during the period. Layoffs due to internal company restructuring accounted for 23 percent of events and resulted in 77,977 se- parations, both lower than a year earlier.