June 27, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Mass layoffs in May

Employers initiated 1,699 mass layoff actions in May 2003, 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 173,784.

Number of mass layoff events in May of each year, 1995-2003
[Chart data—TXT]

Employers initiated 1,699 mass layoff actions in May 2003, 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 173,784.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. Mass layoffs data for May 2003 are preliminary and subject to revision. For more information, see news release USDL 03-331, "Mass Layoffs in May 2003" (PDF) (TXT). 

Related Articles:

Happy 10th Birthday, TED!

The very first issue of The Editor's Desk (TED) was posted on September 28, 1998. TED was the first online-only publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 10 years, BLS has been committed to posting a new TED article each business day, for a total of over 2,400 articles so far.

Find out more about the story of TED