Mass Layoffs In September 2004 — 2004-10-21

In September 2004, employers took 708 mass layoff actions, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, accord- ing to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 68,972. (See table 1.) Both the num- ber of events and initial claims were lower than a year ago. From January through September 2004, the total number of events, 11,725, and initial claims, 1,187,546, were lower than in January-September 2003 (14,073 and 1,399,510, respectively). The 10 industries reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims accounted for 27,382 initial claims in September, 40 percent of the total. (See table A.) Temporary help services, with 6,789 initial claims, accounted for 10 percent of all initial claims in September.