Mass Layoffs In July 2004 — 2004-08-31

In July 2004, employers took 2,094 mass layoff actions, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according 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 253,929. (See table 1.) Both the number of events and initial claims were higher than a year ago, with the number of mass layoff events and the number of associated initial claims higher than any July since 2001. However, July 2004 contained 5 weeks for possible mass layoffs, compared with 4 weeks in each July of the prior 4 years. From January through July 2004, the total number of events, at 10,208, and of initial claims, at 1,049,541, were lower than in January- July 2003 (11,947 and 1,183,024, respectively).