Mass Layoffs In August 2005 — 2005-09-23

In August 2005, employers took 1,142 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 127,466, on a sea- sonally adjusted basis. (See table 1.) The number of layoff events in August fell by 107, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 3,860 from July. In the manufacturing sector, 328 mass layoff events were reported during August 2005, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 48,155 initial claims. Both figures were lower than a month earlier. (See table 1.) From January through August 2005, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 9,815, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,051,809, were lower than in January-August 2004 (10,773 and 1,089,501, respectively).