February 20, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Events of 9/11 and layoffs

Reports for the weeks ended September 15 through December 29 show that there were 408 extended mass layoff events directly or indirectly attributed to the attacks of September 11. These layoffs involved 114,711 workers.

[Chart data—TXT]

Thirty-three states reported extended mass layoff activity related in some way to the September 11 incidents. Fifty-four percent of the layoff events and 56 percent of the separations occurred in just five states—California, Nevada, Illinois, New York, and Texas. 

Among the workers laid off because of the terrorist attacks, 39 percent, or 44,756 workers, had been employed in the scheduled air transportation industry. An additional 28 percent, or 32,044 workers, had been employed in hotels and motels.

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. These data are preliminary and are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Extended Mass Layoffs in the Fourth Quarter of 2001", news release USDL 02-79.