August 22, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Reason for job losses among displaced workers

Of the 3.6 million long-tenured workers displaced during the January 2005 through December 2007 period, 45 percent lost or left their jobs due to plant or company closings or moves, 31 percent reported that their position or shift was abolished, and 24 percent cited insufficient work as the reason for being displaced.

[Chart data—TXT]

The proportion of displaced workers citing plant closings or moves decreased from the prior survey. The share reporting insufficient work or an abolished shift or position was about unchanged.

More than 4 in 10 long-tenured displaced workers in the January 2008 survey had received written advance notice that their jobs would be terminated. Workers 20 years of age and older who lost jobs due to plant or company closings or moves were most likely to receive written advance notice. Of this group, 54 percent received such notice. In contrast, 39 percent of workers who were displaced because their position or shift was abolished and 29 percent of those who lost jobs due to insufficient work were notified in advance.

These data come from the Current Population Survey (CPS). You can learn more about displaced workers in "Worker Displacement, 2005-07," (PDF) (HTML) USDL 08-1183. Workers who worked for their employer for 3 or more years at the time of displacement are referred to as long-tenured.