January 23, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Mass layoffs in December 2003

Employers initiated 1,929 mass layoff actions in December 2003, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month. Each action involved at least 50 persons and the number of workers involved totaled 192,633.

[Chart data—TXT]

The manufacturing sector recorded 34 percent of all mass layoff events and 40 percent of all initial claims filed in December. Construction accounted for 17 percent of events and 13 percent of initial claims, mostly in highway, street, and bridge construction. 

Administrative and waste services accounted for 10 percent of events and 9 percent of initial claims during the month, mainly in temporary help services. Seven percent of the events and 8 percent of the initial claims were from the transportation and warehousing sector, largely among school and employee bus transportation. An additional 7 percent of all layoff events and 8 percent of initial claims filed during December were from accommodation and food services establishments, primarily food services contractors.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. Mass layoffs data for December 2003 are preliminary and subject to revision. See the full release, "Mass Layoffs in December 2003 and Annual Averages for 2003" (PDF) (TXT) (USDL 04-70), for more information.