November 27, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Mass layoffs in October 2006

In October 2006, employers took mass layoff actions that involved a total of 113,724 workers, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month. This total decreased by 3,049 from the previous month.

[Chart data—TXT]

During October 2006, mass layoff events in the manufacturing sector resulted in 54,852 initial claims; this figure was higher than a month earlier.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 47 percent of all related initial claims filed in October; a year earlier, manufacturing comprised 41 percent of initial claims.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs in October 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release UDSL 06-1998.These mass layoff data are seasonally adjusted. The monthly mass layoff data series cover mass layoffs of 50 or more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the layoffs.