October 22, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Mass layoffs in September

In September 2004, employers took 708 mass layoff actions, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month.

[Chart data—TXT]

Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 68,972. Both the number of events and initial claims were lower than a year ago.

The manufacturing sector had 27 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of all initial claims filed in September. A year ago, manufacturing reported 31 percent of events and 38 percent of initial claims. The number of manufacturing events this month was the lowest for any September since 1997, and the number of initial claims was the lowest for any September since 1998.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. Mass layoffs data for September 2004 are preliminary and subject to revision. See the full release, "Mass Layoffs in September 2004" (PDF) (TXT), USDL 04-2168, for more information.