May 2001 — 2001-06-28

In May 2001, there were 1,426 mass layoff actions by employers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 157,759. (See table 1.) In January 2001 through May 2001, the total number of events, at 7,426, and initial claims, at 878,387, were higher than in January-May 2000 (5,873 and 627,520, respectively). The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs.