1,258 mass layoff actions in August 2003, total 133,839 workers

[protect freedom impeach bush now]

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.nr0.htm

MASS LAYOFFS IN NOVEMBER 2002

Employers initiated 2,150 mass layoff actions in November 2002, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 240,028.

In November 2001, there were 2,721 mass layoff events involving 295,956 workers. In January through November 2002, both the total number of events, 17,799, and initial claims, 1,980,856, were lower than in January-November 2001 (19,027 and 2,245,969, respectively).

Mass Layoff Statistics Program Discontinued |

This is the final news release for the Mass Layoff Statistics
MLS) program. Since 1994, the Department of Labor's Employment
and Training Administration has funded the program. That funding will end on December 31, 2002. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has been unable to acquire funding from alternative sources and must discontinue the MLS program.

Limited historical data will continue to be available at | http://www.bls.gov/mls/ on the BLS Web site. |


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BUT had to re-instate program.

Here's the last report data....



MASS LAYOFFS IN AUGUST 2003


Employers initiated 1,258 mass layoff actions in August 2003, as
measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the
month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of
Labor Statistics. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single
establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 133,839. (See
table 1.) Compared with August 2002, both the number of layoff events and
the number of initial claims increased, marking the first over-the-year
increase in mass-layoff initial claims since May 2002. From January
through August 2003, the total number of events, at 13,205, was higher than
for the same period a year ago, while the number of initial claims, at
1,316,863, was lower.

The monthly data series in this release cover mass layoffs of 50 or
more workers beginning in a given month, regardless of the duration of the
layoffs. Information on the length of the layoff is obtained later and
issued in a quarterly release that reports on mass layoffs lasting more
than 30 days (referred to as "extended mass layoffs"). The quarterly
release provides more information on the industry classification and
location of the establishment and on the demographics of the laid-off
workers. Because monthly figures include short-term layoffs of 30 days or
less, the sum of the figures for the 3 months in a quarter will be higher
than the quarterly figure for mass layoffs of more than 30 days. (See
table 1.) See the Technical Note for more detailed definitions.

Industry Distribution

Temporary help services, with 9,787 claims, accounted for over 7 percent
of all initial claims in August. (See table A.) Five of the 10 industries
reporting the highest number of mass-layoff initial claims recorded their
peak level for August this year.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff
events and 39 percent of all initial claims filed in August, little changed
from a year ago (34 and 38 percent, respectively). Within manufacturing,
the number of claimants was highest in transportation equipment (9,476,
mainly automotive-related), followed by textile mills (7,154), machinery
(6,606), and food manufacturing (5,803). (See table 2.)

The administrative and waste services sector accounted for 13 percent
of events and 12 percent of initial claims filed in August, with layoffs
mostly in temporary help services. Retail trade accounted for 8 percent of
events and 7 percent of initial claims during the month, mainly in general
merchandise stores. Four percent of the events and 7 percent of the initial
claims were from the information sector, largely from motion picture and
sound recording. Transportation and warehousing accounted for 7 percent of
all layoff events and initial claims filed during August, primarily from
school and employee bus transportation. Layoffs in construction accounted
for an additional 9 percent of events and 6 percent of initial claims, mostly
from specialty trade contractors.

- 2 -

Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and 6 percent
of initial claims filed during the month, particularly in local executive,
legislative, and general government agencies. The 7,573 initial claims in
this sector were the most for any August since the program began

more........

[hedda_foil]

1. They had to reinstitute it.

Too many programs depended on the data.

[protect freedom impeach bush now]

2. oops just realized that

will post the lastest data

[ElsewheresDaughter]

3. but, my Albany Times Union says, Bush created 67,000 NEW last month and ..

nare a word about the 400,000 NEW unemployeement claims last month....:shrug:....must be that NEW bush iniative to quash media reports of negative news reports about Iraq...someone screwed the geography part of the memo up :7