Mass Layoffs In February 2005 — 2005-03-24

In February 2005, employers took 1,128 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 117,684, on a seasonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events fell by 329 from January and was the lowest for any month since October 2000. The number of initial claims due to mass layoff actions declined by 33,306 over the month and was the lowest for any month since May 2004. There were 345 mass layoff events in the manufacturing sector during February 2005, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 43,186 initial claims, both numbers lower than a month earlier. Over the full historical seasonally adjusted series, the total number of mass layoff events was at its lowest level of 938 in October 2000.