Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2008-05-22

In April, employers took 1,308 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 re- ported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single em- ployer; the number of workers involved totaled 133,914, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events in April 2008 decreased by 263 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims decreased by 23,242. In April, 483 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 60,552 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing remained essentially un- changed, but initial claims decreased by 3,536. (See table 1.) The national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent in April, seasonally ad- justed, down from 5.1 percent in the prior month but up from 4.5 percent a year earlier.