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Mass layoffs in October 2012

November 27, 2012
On a seasonally adjusted basis, employers took 1,360 mass layoff actions involving 131,173 workers in October, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month. The number of mass layoff events increased by 44 from September, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 8,711.
Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted, October 2009–October 2012
Mass layoff events, seasonally adjusted, October 2009–October 2012
MonthMass layoff events

Oct 2009

1,969

Nov 2009

1,757

Dec 2009

1,719

Jan 2010

1,707

Feb 2010

1,631

Mar 2010

1,676

Apr 2010

1,637

May 2010

1,608

Jun 2010

1,695

Jul 2010

1,519

Aug 2010

1,588

Sep 2010

1,510

Oct 2010

1,654

Nov 2010

1,592

Dec 2010

1,477

Jan 2011

1,536

Feb 2011

1,434

Mar 2011

1,275

Apr 2011

1,548

May 2011

1,600

Jun 2011

1,513

Jul 2011

1,562

Aug 2011

1,551

Sep 2011

1,447

Oct 2011

1,335

Nov 2011

1,332

Dec 2011

1,384

Jan 2012

1,434

Feb 2012

1,293

Mar 2012

1,273

Apr 2012

1,388

May 2012

1,380

Jun 2012

1,317

Jul 2012

1,340

Aug 2012

1,267

Sep 2012

1,316

Oct 2012

1,360

One-fourth (344) of the mass layoffs in October occurred in the manufacturing sector, which resulted in 42,946 initial claims for unemployment insurance (seasonally adjusted).

Over the year, the number of average weekly mass layoff events for October increased by 11 to 286, and associated average weekly initial claims increased by 3,228 to 27,457. Eleven of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims, with the largest increase occurring in manufacturing.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs — October 2012" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-12-2292. Each mass layoff event involves at least 50 persons from a single employer. 

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Mass layoffs in October 2012 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2012/ted_20121127.htm (visited March 19, 2024).

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