1999 Major Work Stoppages (Annual) — 2000-02-24

All measures of major work stoppages in 1999 were at or below the lowest levels previously recorded in the 53-year old series, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Seventeen major work stoppages began during the year, idling 73,000 workers and resulting in 2.0 million work days of idleness (about 1 out of every 10,000 available work days). Comparable figures for 1998 were 34 stoppages, 387,000 workers idled, and 5.1 million days of idleness. (See table 1 and charts 1-3.) The series, which dates back to 1947, covers strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 workers or more and lasting at least one shift. Of the 17 major work stoppages beginning in 1999, 12 were in the private sector; the remainder occurred in State and local government, all in educational services. In the private sector, seven stoppages occurred in goods-producing industries and five occurred in service-producing industries. There were three stoppages that each idled more than 10,000 workers.