Mass layoff events and initial claims decrease in November

Employers took 1,797 mass layoff actions in November that resulted in the separation of 165,346 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month.

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The number of mass layoff events in November decreased by 330 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 51,836, to their lowest levels since July 2008. However, year-to-date mass layoff events (27,669) and initial claims (2,792,736) both recorded program highs for a January to November period. (Data begin in April 1995.)

During the 24 months from December 2007 through November 2009, the total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 51,154, and the number of initial claims filed (seasonally adjusted) in those events was 5,187,170.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. Data are seasonally adjusted. December 2007 was the start of a recession as designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Each mass layoff action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs in November 2009" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL 09-1561.