The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that employers completed 1,384 mass layoffs in December, causing 145,648 newly laid-off workers to file initial claims for unemployment benefits. Both mass layoffs and associated initial claims increased from November.
Monthly mass layoffs increased by 52 while the number of workers who filed initial claims for unemployment benefits increased by 14,021. When not seasonally adjusted, mass layoffs amounted to 2,433 and caused 263,665 associated initial claims.
Mass layoffs totaled 18,521 and initial claims totaled 1,808,451 in 2011 (not seasonally adjusted), both the fewest since 2007. The Great Recession officially started in December of that year.
The ten private-sector industries in which workers filed the most initial claims in 2011 were:
1. Temporary help services (“temp workers”)
2. School and employee bus transportation
3. Food service contractors
4. Motion picture and video production
5. Highway, street and bridge construction
6. Professional employer organizations
7. Discount department stores
8. Child day care services
9. Supermarkets and other grocery stores
10. Wired telecommunications carriers
Overall, 12 of the 19 major industries in the private sector reported decreases in initial claims from 2010, with manufacturing, construction and the retail trade reporting the largest decreases. Manufacturing, an industry that analysts consider to be a gauge of labor-market health, reported the fewest initial claims since the BLS started tracking the number in 1995.
|
Across the states in 2011, California reported the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoffs. Pennsylvania reported the second highest in the year, followed by New York, Florida and Wisconsin. Twenty-nine states reported annual decreases in initial claims from 2010, with California, Illinois and Florida reporting the most.
The unemployment rate dropped from 8.7 to 8.5 percent in December, the lowest since 8.3 in February 2009. It averaged 8.9 percent in 2011, the least since 5.8 in 2008.
If you’ve recently lost your job through a layoff or suffered a reduction in work hours, then you might be eligible for full or partial unemployment benefits or unemployment benefit extensions through the state unemployment office. You might also be entitled to continue your employer-provided health insurance coverage through COBRA. To look for a new job, start at the Job Search page.
Congress passed a new law that further extends unemployment benefit extensions for two months into 2012. The law also extends the 2011 payroll (Social Security) tax cut for two months.
For more details, facts and figures from the BLS, see its Mass Layoffs Summary. The BLS intends to release January 2012 mass layoff numbers on February 23. To receive notification like this automatically, subscribe to Employee Rights Blog for free.
- - -
Each layoff reported involved at least 50 workers per employer, regardless of layoff duration. Worker job losses were measured by initial claims for unemployment benefits. However, not all workers who lose their jobs in mass layoffs are eligible for unemployment benefits; subsequently, job losses are often higher than indicated by initial claims alone.
Except where otherwise noted above, mass layoffs and initial unemployment claims were measured on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Seasonal adjustment gives a clearer picture by removing estimated data from seasonal events that affect employment and unemployment numbers; examples are changes in the weather, holidays, and the start or end of the school year. Numbers associated with mass layoffs are subject to revision by the BLS.
The mass layoffs chart pictured above was provided by the BLS.
