Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2013-02-26

Employers took 1,328 mass layoff actions in January involving 134,026 workers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Data are seasonally adjusted.) Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. Mass layoff events decreased by 181 from December, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 3,813. In January, 357 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector resulting in 43,068 initial claims. Monthly mass layoff data are identified using administrative data sources without regard to layoff duration. (See table 1 and the note at the end of this release.) The national unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in January, essentially unchanged from the prior month and down from 8.3 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 over the month and by 2,016,000 over the year.