Mass Layoffs In January 2006 — 2006-02-23

In January 2006, employers took 1,113 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 108,378, on a seasonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events fell by 195 from December 2005, and was the lowest for any month since October 2000. The number of initial claims due to mass layoff ac- tions declined by 41,187 over the month. In the manufacturing sector, 274 mass layoff events were reported during January 2006, seasonally ad- justed, resulting in 29,541 initial claims. Both figures were the lowest ever recorded in the program.