Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2011-04-22

Employers took 1,286 mass layoff actions in March involving 118,523 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 March decreased by 135 from February, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 12,295. These were their lowest levels since September 2007 and May 2007, respectively. In March 253 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 27,619 initial claims. Manufacturing events decreased by 38 from the prior month to the lowest level on record, while associated initial claims increased by 1,559 from a program low in February (data begin in April 1995). (See table 1.) The national unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in March, essentially unchanged from the prior month and down from 9.7 percent a year earlier.