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Mass layoffs in 2012

January 28, 2013

In 2012, the annual totals of mass layoff events, at 17,080, and of initial claims, at 1,666,931, declined to their lowest levels since 2007.

Number of mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, 2002–2012, not seasonally adjusted
YearLayoff eventsInitial claimants

2002

20,2772,245,051

2003

18,9631,888,926

2004

15,9801,607,158

2005

16,4661,795,341

2006

13,9981,484,391

2007

15,4931,598,875

2008

21,1372,130,220

2009

28,0302,796,456

2010

19,5641,854,596

2011

18,5211,808,451

2012

17,0801,666,931

 

Eleven of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported decreases in initial claims in 2012, led by administrative and waste services, manufacturing, and information. Total initial claims in the manufacturing sector declined to a series low of 448,687 in 2012.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 24 percent of all mass layoff events and 29 percent of initial claims filed in the private economy in 2012, down slightly from 2011 percentages. The number of manufacturing claimants in 2012 was highest in transportation equipment and in food. Total initial claims in 17 of the 21 manufacturing subsectors decreased in 2012 from 2011, with transportation equipment and wood products experiencing the largest declines.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs — December 2012; Annual Totals — 2012" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-13-0106. Each mass layoff action involved 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 2012 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130128.htm (visited March 18, 2024).

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