Employers in the private nonfarm sector initiated 1,674 extended mass layoff events in the fourth quarter of 2012 that resulted in the separation of 319,639 workers from their jobs. Layoffs due to the completion of seasonal work accounted for 44 percent of extended mass layoff events and 39 percent of related separations in the private nonfarm sector during the fourth quarter of 2012.
Construction industry firms reported 528 extended mass layoff events and 68,463 separations in the fourth quarter of 2012, largely due to the completion of seasonal work. During the same period, the manufacturing sector had 311 extended mass layoff events and 62,964 separations, also largely due to the completion of seasonal work.
Business demand factors, primarily contract completion, accounted for 32 percent of both events and related separations during the fourth quarter of 2012, resulting in 103,318 separations. Disaster or safety reasons accounted for 34 layoff events that resulted in 6,083 separations.
These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. Extended mass layoff data for the fourth quarter of 2012 are preliminary and subject to revision. For more information, see “Extended Mass Layoffs — Fourth Quarter 2012” (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-13-0236. The series on extended mass layoffs cover layoffs of at least 31 days' duration that involve 50 or more individuals from a single employer filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a consecutive 5-week period.
United States Department of Labor
