December 27, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Unemployment insurance claims due to mass layoffs in November

In November 2004, employers took 1,399 mass layoff actions, resulting in 130,423 workers making new claims for unemployment insurance benefits.

[Chart data—TXT]

The number of initial claims was the lowest for any November since 1997 (see chart). From January through November 2004, the total number of initial claims, 1,445,887, was lower than in January-November 2003, 1,696,293.

The manufacturing sector had 34 percent of all initial claims filed in November, about the same proportion as a year earlier.

Construction accounted for 14 percent of initial claims filed in November, with layoffs mainly in highway, street, and bridge construction. 

Workers laid off by establishments in the administrative and waste services sector, primarily in temporary help services, accounted for 13 percent of all initial claims filed during the month.

These data are from the BLS Mass Layoff Statistics program, which collects reports on mass layoff actions that result in workers being separated from their jobs. Mass layoffs data for October and November 2004 are preliminary and subject to revision. Learn more in "Mass Layoffs in November 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-2533. Each mass layoff action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment.