May 26, 2009 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Mass layoff events and initial claims decrease in April

Employers took 2,712 mass layoff actions in April that resulted in the separation of 271,226 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month.

Mass layoff events and initial claimants for unemployment insurance, December 2007-April 2009, seasonally adjusted
[Chart data—TXT]

The number of mass layoff events in April decreased by 221 from the previous month, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 28,162.

Compared to last year, the number of mass layoff events and associated initial claims more than doubled.

During the 17 months from December 2007 to April 2009, the total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 34,126, and the number of initial claims (seasonally adjusted) was 3,498,427.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. Each mass layoff action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs in April 2009" (PDF) (HTML), news release USDL 09-0547.