Extended mass layoffs most common in manufacturing industries

One-third of all extended mass layoff events in the private sector occurred in manufacturing industries in 2000.

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Layoffs among durable goods manufacturers were most prevalent in transportation equipment and industrial equipment. Among nondurable-goods manufacturers, numbers of layoffs were highest in food and kindred products and in apparel.

Of the extended mass layoffs in 2000 that took place outside of manufacturing, over half were in services, agriculture, or construction. Services accounted for 18 percent of all layoff events, mainly due to the end of seasonal work and the completion of contracts.

Agriculture accounted for 16 percent of all events, largely due to layoffs in agricultural services (primarily among farm labor contractors). Fourteen percent of all layoff events took place in the construction industry, followed by retail trade; transportation and public utilities; wholesale trade; finance, insurance and real estate; and mining.

These data are a product of the Mass Layoff Statistics program. "Extended mass layoffs" last more than 30 days and involve 50 or more individuals from a single establishment filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a consecutive 5-week period. Additional information is available in "Extended Mass Layoffs in 2000" (PDF, 262K), Report 951.