October 29, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Layoffs hit hotels, airlines

In September 2001, there were 29 mass layoff events and 6,152 initial claimants in the scheduled air transportation industry. In January-August 2001, in comparison, 18 layoff events and 1,523 initial claimants had been reported in the industry. 

[Chart data—TXT]

In hotels and motels, 189 events and 15,653 initial claimants were registered over the January-August period. In September, another 123 events and 20,648 claimants were attributed to this industry.

There were a total of 1,316 mass layoff actions in September 2001, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 158,859.

These data are products of the Mass Layoff Statistics program. The mass layoff data for September includes 3 weeks of initial claims filings that took place in the weeks that include and follow the terrorist attacks of September 11--the weeks ending September 15, 22, and 29. For more information, see news release USDL 01-370, Mass Layoffs in September 2001.