June 28, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Mass layoffs in May

Employers initiated 1,726 mass layoff actions in May 2002, 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 180,007.

Number of mass layoff events in January-May of each year, 1996-2002
[Chart data—TXT]

From January through May 2002, the total numbers of events, at 8,222, and of initial claims, at 910,009, were higher than January-May 2001 (7,434 and 880,347, respectively).

Manufacturing industries accounted for 28 percent of all mass layoff events and 29 percent of all initial claims filed in May. A year earlier, layoffs in this sector accounted for 37 percent of events and 41 percent of initial claims.

These data are products of the Mass Layoff Statistics program. Mass layoffs data for April and May 2002 are preliminary and subject to revision. For more information, see news release USDL 02-354, Mass Layoffs in May 2002.