Mass Layoffs In January 2004 — 2004-02-25

In January 2004, there were 2,428 mass layoff actions by employers, 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 239,454. (See table 1.) This marked the most events for a January and the third highest January level of mass-layoff initial claims since the series began. Both the number of layoff events and initial claims were higher than a year ago. January 2004 marked only the third time in the last two years that initial claims had increased over the year. Temporary help services, with 17,544 initial claimants, and school and employee bus transportation, with 8,631 initial claimants, together accounted for 11 percent of all initial claims in January. The latter industry reached a peak for a January this month.