Mass Layoffs In May 2007 — 2007-06-22

In May, employers took 1,190 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; the number of workers involved totaled 119,089, on a sea- sonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events decreased by 28 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims fell by 5,644. During May, 363 mass layoff events were reported in the manu- facturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 48,849 initial claims. Compared with the prior month, mass layoff activity in manufacturing de- creased by 20 events, while initial claims increased by 5,076. (See table 1.) From January through May 2007, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 6,201, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 644,854, were higher than in January-May 2006 (5,555 and 577,696, respectively).