Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2011-07-22

Employers took 1,532 mass layoff actions in June involving 143,444 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in June decreased by 67, or 4 percent, from May, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 96, or less than 1 percent. In June, 341 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 35,693 initial claims; both figures decreased over the month. (See table 1.) The national unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in June, essentially unchanged from the prior month but down from 9.5 percent a year earlier. In June, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 18,000 over the month and by 1,036,000 over the year.