June 25, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Mass layoff events in May 2007

In May, employers took 1,190 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, 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; the number of workers involved totaled 119,089, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of mass layoff events decreased by 28 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims fell by 5,644.

During May, 363 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 48,849 initial claims. Compared with the prior month, mass layoff activity in manufacturing decreased by 20 events, while initial claims increased by 5,076.

From January through May 2007, the total number of events (seasonally adjusted), at 6,201, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 644,854, were higher than in January-May 2006 (5,555 and 577,696, respectively).

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs in May 2007" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 07-0878.