November 23, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Layoffs in October 2007

In October, employers took 1,320 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 employer; the number of workers involved totaled 131,780, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events in October increased by 49 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims rose by 8,124. 

Over the month, 424 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 56,293 initial claims. Compared with September, mass layoff activity in manufacturing decreased by 4 events, while initial claims increased by 5,657.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs in October 2007" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 07-1807.