Mass Layoffs In January 2007 — 2007-02-23

In January, employers took 1,237 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, and the number of workers involved totaled 126,368, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events increased by 36 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims de- creased by 7,450. During January, 389 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 51,141 initial claims. Compared with the prior month, mass layoff activity in manufac- turing decreased by 1 event and by 2,687 initial claims. (See table 1.) The national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in January, seasonally adjusted, essentially unchanged from the prior month (4.5 percent) and from a year earlier (4.7 percent).