Mass Layoffs In July 2006 — 2006-08-23

In July 2006, employers took 1,125 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 114,895, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of layoff events increased by 28; the number of associated initial claims decreased by 4,767 from June 2006. In the manufacturing sector, 363 mass layoff events were reported during July 2006, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 47,287 initial claims. Both the number of events and initial claims in manufacturing were higher than a month earlier. (See table 1.) In July 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.8 percent, seasonally adjusted, up from 4.6 percent in June and down from 5.0 percent in July 2005.