September 22, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Mass layoffs in August

Among the four regions, the highest number of initial claims in August 2006 due to mass layoffs was in the West—24,141.

[Chart data—TXT]

Layoffs in administrative and support services and in motion picture and sound recording industries accounted for 40 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in the West during the month. 

The South had the second largest number of initial claims, 21,113, followed by the Northeast, 14,506, and the Midwest with 13,084.

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in three of the four regions. The largest increase was in the South (+2,827), followed by the West (+1,958) and the Northeast (+1,416). 

The Midwest had the only regional decrease in initial claimants (-939).

These data are from the BLS Mass Layoff Statistics program.  Learn more about mass layoff actions and workers filing for unemployment insurance benefits in "Mass Layoffs in August 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-1639. Initial claimants are persons who file any notice of unemployment to initiate a request for compensation. Mass layoff events involve at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed against a single establishment.