August 23, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Extended mass layoffs sharply higher in second quarter

There were 1,911 mass layoff actions by employers in the second quarter of 2001, resulting in the separation of 371,708 workers from their jobs for more than 30 days. Both the total number of layoff events and the number of separations were sharply higher than April-June 2000.

[Chart data—TXT]

The completion of seasonal work accounted for 27 percent of all events and resulted in 122,615 separations. Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 16 percent of all events and affected 78,452 workers, up from 43,948 workers in the second quarter of 2000. Fewer than half of the employers having layoffs in the second quarter indicated that they anticipated having some type of recall, the smallest proportion since the series began in 1995.

These data are a product of the Mass Layoff Statistics program. "Extended mass layoffs" last more than 30 days and involve 50 or more individuals from a single establishment filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a consecutive 5-week period. Additional information is available in "Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2001", news release USDL 01-276.