Mass Layoffs (Monthly) News Release — 2011-06-22

Employers took 1,599 mass layoff actions in May involving 143,540 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 May increased by 35, or 2 percent, from April, while the number of associated initial claims decreased by 387, or less than 1 percent. In May, 373 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 38,673 initial claims; both figures increased over the month. (See table 1.) The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in May, essentially unchanged from the prior month but down from 9.6 percent a year earlier. In May, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 54,000 over the month and by 870,000 over the year.