2001–03 Worker Displacement — 2004-07-30

During the January 2001 through December 2003 period, 5.3 million workers were displaced from jobs they had held for at least 3 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The number of displaced workers increased from 4.0 million in the previous survey that covered the period from January 1999 through December 2001. Since 1984, the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor has sponsored surveys that collect information on workers who were displaced from their jobs. These surveys have been conducted biennially as supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of households that is the primary source of information on the nation's labor force. Displaced workers are defined as persons 20 years of age and older who lost or left jobs because their plant or company closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished.