Second Quarter — 1997-10-08

In April through June of 1997, there were 1,301 mass layoff actions by employers, resulting in the separation of 274,712 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 the same period a year earlier, employers reported that they had laid off 251,617 workers in 1,345 extended layoff events. "Seasonal work" was the major reason cited for the second- quarter 1997 layoffs and accounted for 47 percent of the events and 52 percent of the separations. "Contract completion," "financial difficulty," and "reorganization within the company" together accounted for 26 percent of the events and 28 percent of the separations. Closure of worksites occurred in 21 percent of all events and directly affected 92,543 workers.