Fourth Quarter — 1998-04-10

In October through December of 1997, there were 1,637 mass layoff actions by employers, resulting in the separation of 297,247 workers from their jobs for more than 30 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Layoff activity was lower than in the same quarter a year ago when employers reported that they had laid off 412,486 workers in 1,913 extended layoff events. "Seasonal work" was the major reason cited for the fourth-quarter 1997 layoffs and accounted for 53 percent of the events and 56 percent of the separations. "Contract completion," and "slack work" together accounted for 22 percent of the events and 19 percent of the separations. Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 9 percent of all events and affected 35,244 workers.