Layoffs in January 2007

February 26, 2007

In January 2007, employers took 1,237 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month.

[Chart data—TXT]

Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 126,368, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events increased by 36 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 7,450.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff events and 40 percent of all related initial claims filed in January 2007; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 27 percent of events and 30 percent of initial claims.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs in January 2007," (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 07-0284.