Mass layoffs, October 2008

In October, employers took 2,140 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month. The number of mass layoff events decreased by 129 from the prior month.

[Chart data—TXT]

Layoff events reached their highest October level since 2001, a month that experienced continued layoff activity from the September 11 attacks.

In October, 635 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted; over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing increased by 32, the third consecutive over-the-month increase.

Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer; the number of workers involved totaled 232,468, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

From January through October 2008, the total number of events, at 16,951, and initial claims, at 1,742,914, were the highest for the January-October period since 2002.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs in October 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 08-1717.