Employers in the private nonfarm sector initiated 914 mass layoff events in the first quarter of 2013 that resulted in the separation of 154,374 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days. Total events and separations both fell to their lowest first quarter levels on record (with first quarter data available back to 1996).
Manufacturing industries had 184 extended mass layoff events and 30,870 separations in the first quarter of 2013, the result of both insufficient demand and the completion of seasonal work. Total events and separations in this sector declined to their lowest levels in program history (with quarterly data available back to 1995).
During the quarter, the construction sector had 178 extended mass layoff events and 20,071 separations, largely because of contract completion. The administrative and waste services sector reported 143 layoff events and 23,284 separations.
These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. Extended mass layoff data for the most recent quarter are preliminary and are subject to revision. For more information, see "Extended Mass Layoffs — First Quarter 2013" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-13-0926. The quarterly 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
